《A Dying World [DROPPED]》 Book 1: Chapter 001 - Summoning At the basement of the castle was a King and his Wizard. Their city was falling apart. They had lost many soldiers in the last monster invasion. They no longer had the resources to maintain the city. They could not afford the stone and steel for buildings nor to import food for their people. Their last hope, was to summon a hero from another world to help them. The only problem is that there can only be one hero in a world and it required enormous amounts of resources to call forth a hero. "How goes the attempts to summon a hero?" asked King Caligula. "Not good," said Zedd. "We have many failed attempts at each one attempt costs us a life." "It doesn''t matter," said King Caligula. "These people are slaves, if we need more we can just buy more, but we must summon a hero that can help us." "Very well your highness," said Zedd. "I require more people to provide mana for our next attempt should this one fail as well." "Then you shall have it," said King Caligula. He then left. "Is this really necessary?" said Zedd. "For the price of a hero, we could have probably bought us a small army." Zedd continued to attempt to summon a hero. "Bring in the next one," said Zedd. Two guards brought in a well built man in chains. He had black hair. On his hand was a "T," a slave brand that showed who he had belonged to. The King had bought him from a local farmer in order to attempt to summon a hero. "On your knees," shouted the guard. The guards laid the handles of their spears on the shoulder of the man and forced him to the floor. The guards then walked towards the door and turned around. The man looked around as he saw several more guards with arrows aimed at him. "If I tried to escape, the guards probably would shoot me and then make it so that I cannot move," he thought. So, the man just did what they ordered of him. The magic circle on the ground lit up. A large circle appeared on the ground. From the circle, a hexagram appeared within. Another circle then appeared within the hexagram as a column of light raised to the room. From the roof, another magic circle began to descend. "AHHHHH" screamed the man. He was in severe pain, as if his body and mind was being torn apart. As the magic circle descended, Zedd began to speak. "It''s working!" he said. Zedd continued to channel his mana into the circle. Then, the column of light disappeared. HISS. It was the sound of failure. Smoke rose from the floor and the body of the man. The man had collapsed onto the floor. He was dead. He could not handle the stress of being used as the vessel for the summoning of a hero. "Another failure," said Zedd. "What is wrong? The notes said that all we needed was a vessel, but all of these vessels are failures." Zedd stood quietly in contemplation. "Guards clean this up and prepare for the next one," he said. Zedd was missing something, but he clearly did not know what. Zedd had run his own workshop in town for many years. His name spread as he developed new spells and became powerful. One day, he was summoned to the palace and asked to serve King Caligula. He accepted because it would give him access to incredible amounts of resources and restricted material needed continue his research. He never expected to have to actually carry out experiments on people. As he contemplated, he looked through some of the records of past heroes. There was Arthur, a strong woman who led humans against supernatural enemies. She was both a wise and a skilled leader who eventually died in battle. Next was Guan Yu, a warlord who was a general in the Shu Empire who fought numerous battles and prevented the collapse of the empire dozens of times before he finally lost and was killed in battle. There was also Thoth, the man who united the empires of the world against the invading threat before his death. That alliance had lasted for hundreds of years before its collapse. "The only thing common between them is that they were all strong leaders," Zedd thought to himself. "There''s nothing that tells me the requirement of what is needed in the vessel of the hero." KNOCK KNOCK. "Come in," said Zedd. "My lord, the King has gathered the next set of vessels for the summoning," said the guard. "Okay," said Zedd. "I will head down to the summoning room as soon as I am ready." The guard left the room. "I must figure out what that missing something is before I continue the summoning," said Zedd. "Even if the King wants me to continue, it is useless unless I can figure out what is needed in a vessel." "I wonder...." Zedd thought as he looked through the book on summoning a hero. "The hero summoning requires a lot of mana, and uses a body as a vessel, does that mean that the vessel needs to have the ability to channel mana? This must be something I must look into, until then, I will try what his highness brings me." As Zedd headed down to the basement, he heard some of the guards talk. "Did you hear? They brought in more slaves to try to summon a hero." "How many does that make now?" asked the other guard. "At least 50 I believe," said the first guard. "Really? The King must be extremely wealthy," said the other guard. "He''s not," Zedd thought to himself. "The attempted summonings are straining the country''s resources as it is. If we continue like this, the entire kingdom will collapse before we even find a hero." In the basement, Zedd attempted another summoning. The vessel this time was a young boy who was sold by his family to survive. "It''s a shame for someone so young to die," Zedd thought. The magic circle did not even descend. As the pillar of light appeared, the boy died instantly. The mental strength of children were weak and the process of summoning had broken him. Zedd could not bare to look at the body of the dead boy. "Take him away quickly," he said. The next vessel that came in was a man. He had a brand on the back of her hand. "Another slave," thought Zedd. As Zedd channeled his mana into the circle, the pillar of light appeared and the magic circle descended. "AHHHH" screamed the man. The magic circle descended to the halfway point. "This is it," thought Zedd. "Another death..." However, to Zedd''s surprise, the circle continued to descend. "Almost there!" he said. Then came that deafening sound. HISS. It had failed again. The man collapsed from pain and died. But that was the best so far, but still no avail. The guards brought in one more. "This is the last one," said the guard. It was a young woman with black hair. They had to push the woman to the circle because she would not walk. Zedd activated the circle again and watched the circle descend. "At least this is the last one for today," he thought. Again the circle descended beyond the halfway point. "Twice in one day?!?" Zedd thought to himself surprised. It was rare for even one to make it that far. However, it was the same as before. HISS. The sound that marked a failure. The woman slouched over and the guards picked her up. "Wait!" said Zedd. "What is it?" asked the guard. "I want you to collect as much information as you can about the last two slaves that were brought in for the summoning," said Zedd. "It is very important and I must have it!" "Yes, sir!" said the guard. "I will get someone on it right away." It was nearly two weeks and dozens more dead before Zedd heard any news. KNOCK KNOCK. "Come in," said Zedd. It was the guard. "Do you finally have news?" said Zedd. "We regret to inform you that we only have information about the woman," said the guard. "It is okay, any information will help," Zedd replied. "I am here to report that the woman in question was Rose, she worked in a brothel since she was 12," said the guard. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Is that it?" asked Zedd. "There were some reports that she had a lot of trouble with her customers and was punished multiple times for it," said the guard. "Hmm... I want to search for one vessel myself," said Zedd. "Please inform his highness of this. If his highness gives you trouble, say that this is my personal request and I will call in a favor if I have to." "Yes, sir!" said the guard. He then left. "So, the last vessel was a troublesome prostitute?" Zedd thought to himself. "Is this enough to go on? No, I need more information. One example could just be an exception." Zedd continued recording data from the failed summoning attempts, recording the data of each one based on how long they survived and how far they got into the summoning process before they died. He even found four others who assisted him with his research. "Using live people in experiments breaks everything I ever stood for, but for the sake of this country and maybe even this world, I must continue," he thought. Eventually, the results showed. With help, he was able to determine that the chosen vessels with some history of resistance proved to last longer through the process, meaning that it was likely that they would also have a higher success rate. As Zedd narrowed it down, further, he discovered other hidden factors that could affect the success rate. Things like past exposure to mana and physical fitness were sometimes factors. Using these factors he used specialized equipment and techniques on people he came across to test them. Eventually managed to narrow it down to one real option, Garnet. Garnet was a prostitute who worked in one of the brothels. She appeared to be a woman in her late teens with no known relatives, her real age was unknown. She was a woman with long black hair down to her back and blue and green heterochromia. She even had large breasts that a lot of men wanted in a prostitute. She was physically fit and very beautiful. Her unique features helped to draw a lot of attention, but it also helped reveal that she had a history of resistance against both her owners and her clients. On her left hand was a brand, it was a flower with five petals, showing her status as a slave that worked as a prostitute at a brothel. Using his connections, Zedd had found Garnet. She was indeed working as a prostitute. Zedd went down with four trusted guards to see her. "I want to buy this woman," said Zedd showing a drawing of Garnet that was obtained along with a description of her. "Are you sure?" said Holland, the owner of the brothel. "She is known for causing trouble." "That is exactly why I want her," said Zedd. "I want someone who is a fighter." "Oh so you''re into that kind of woman huh?" said Holland. "Well it might be cheaper to just sell her to you than to actually continue to deal with her. How much are you paying?" Zedd thought about it. A standard slave was expensive, costing about a hundred pieces of gold coins. "How about fifty gold coins?" said Zedd. "That cheap?" said Holland. "Is that so?" said Zedd. "I thought she was just a troublemaker." "She might cause trouble, but she attracts a lot of customers, because of her looks and just like you, some people like fighters," said Holland. "Then how much do you want for her?" asked Zedd. "Five hundred gold coins," said Holland. "Done," said Zedd. "Are you serious?!?" said Holland. "Five hundred gold coins for a trouble making prostitute? I actually wanted you to barter me down for it." "Like I said, I want that woman," said Zedd. "A deal is a deal," said Zedd. "Bring her out here," Holland ordered. Two of the guards in the room went to the back and brought her out. "She is very attractive indeed," said Zedd as he looked at Garnet. Garnet only made a single sound in response to this. BLEH. With a matching expression her face. "From this day on, he is your new owner," said Holland. Again, Garnet responded with only one expression. HMPH. "I look forward to working with you," said Zedd. Zedd brought Garnet to a private room with the four guards. Garnet was not even intimidated by their presence. "Do what you will, but I will not cry," said Garnet. "Oh even when faced with this many people you still resist?" asked Zedd. "Because submission is a sign of weakness, power means little when I have enough information to blackmail half the city," said Garnet. "Well there''s a specific reason that I bought you, but it is not what you think," said Zedd. "Well why did you want me then?" asked Garnet. "You will die for me, but I want you to die fighting," said Zedd. "If you dare to hurt me, I will kill you myself," said Garnet. "Those are the words I wanted to hear," said Zedd. Zedd brought Garnet back into the castle and locked her in a guest room with his trusted guards. He figured it was better than locking her in a jail cell where any one of the guards could attack her at any time. However, this spread rumors. "Did you hear? Zedd brought his personal prostitute into the castle,"" said a guard. "I wish I could afford one," said another. "But my parents only give me a little, I could not afford one." "Maybe you should ask Zedd or another noble to see if you can borrow theirs haha," said the first guard. Zedd heard about these rumors, but he knew that what he was doing was the only way. Only those closest to him knew the truth about Garnet. Not even King Caligula knew Garnet''s true purpose. Zedd endured this because he knew that this was probably the best chance that they were ever going to have. The next day, Zedd brought Garnet down to the basement with his trusted guards and chained her down in the middle of the magic circle. "I have no idea what sort of weird things you''re into," said Garnet. "Even this is new for me." "If this does not work, I have no idea what will," Zedd thought to himself. "Is she secured?" Zedd asked a guard. "Yes, sir!" said the guard. "She is chained and cannot move from her current location." "We begin immediately," said Zedd. "Yes, sir!" the guards all replied. Zedd began to channel his mana through the magic circle. He watched as the circle and hexagram lit up the room. The pillar of light began to descend. "AHHHHH," screamed Garnet. Garnet was screaming the whole time. Zedd watched as the magic circle descended. It was already halfway! Garnet''s screaming intensified to a terrifying high pitch screech that felt like it could destroy someone''s ear drums. This was the screams of someone who was about to die. The magic circle descended finally landed onto the floor and spread across the floor of the room. HISS. The screaming had stopped. It was the sound of failure again. "Another failure..." Zed said. "Take her away," he ordered The guards approached the body and picked it up. "Sir?" said one of the guards. "What is it?" Zedd asked. "She''s still alive," said the guard. "She''s breathing, but unconscious." "Then it was a success!" Zedd shouted. "Bring her to the guest room and quietly inform King Caligula that we have succeeded. No one else must know yet." "Yes, sir!" said one guard as he left to inform the King. The others brought Zedd and Garnet to the guest room. Zedd waited for her to awaken. He sat there waiting, hoping. praying. doing everything he could so that he could quickly find out if his summoning had succeeded or not. But only time would be able to tell. Poll: Main Characters Class/Strength I want to get an idea about how strong people think the main character should be or whether they have certain preferences for weapons and such. FINAL CLASS: Dark Mage - not the evil kind, the rejection of status quo kind Her Basic Character Sheet Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 4 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 380/380 [50*level + 10*vit] MP: 1280/1280 [100*level + 20*int] Fame: 0 Strength: 3+2 (+5) Dexterity: 3+1 (+7) Intelligence: 21+1 (+22) Vitality: 8 (+5) Agility: 5+1 (+7) Charisma: 9+1 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: -One Handed Sword - 5
Magic: - Fire ¨C 0 Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.- Lightning ¨C 2 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 3) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Dogs (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 1) - Captivation: (Level 1) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 1) - Speed (Level 2) - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1) - Physical Resistance (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 1: Chapter 002 - Awakening King Caligula had ordered that Garnet had to be watched every day and night until she awakened. The guards regularly rotated so that there was someone active at all times. When Garnet did awaken, the Wizard (Zedd) and the King were to be summoned immediately regardless of time of day or where they were. It took three days before the woman formerly known as Garnet woke. "AHHHH," screamed the woman in bed. She was holding her head with her arms. "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts." She saw visions, images of people she never knew. Things that she never remembered doing yet had the knowledge of how to. "Quickly, inform the Wizard and the King!" the guard shouted. One of the guards outside immediately ran towards the Throne Room. They had been waiting for this day. The Wizard, Zedd, was the first to arrive. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Headache," said the woman in the bed. "Everything seems to hurt, as if my body and mind was being torn apart." "Can you tell me your name?" asked Zedd. "Riley," said the woman in the bed. "Are you sure it''s not Garnet?" asked Zedd. "I think Riley is my name," said Riley. "I know that name though. Garnet feels vaguely familiar as well." "Can you see something next to me?" asked Zedd. "You''re too loud," said Riley. She looked up at Zedd and that was when Riley saw something. Name: Zedd Level: 71 Class: Grand Wizard Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: ??? "You''re some kind of magician?" asked Riley. "Can you see words by my face?" asked Zedd. "I see it, by your face, I see your name and some numbers," said Riley. "Then it worked!" said Zedd. "After so many sacrifices and attempts, I finally succeeded!" "Then you''re definitely our hero!" said Zedd. "That''s something that only a hero that has been blessed by the system can see." "Hero?" said Riley. She was confused. "I''m not a hero, I''m a student, maybe a soldier." "I used the body you are in to summon you from another world to save us," said Zedd. "Body?" said Riley confused. Riley looked down at what should have been his body. There were bulges in the top that she was wearing. She touched it. They were soft. They were breasts. "Breasts?!?" Riley was shocked. "I need a mirror!" she screamed. Zedd handed Riley a mirror. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was beautiful. Her skin was a bit pale. She had long black hair that had was a bit unkempt. Her face had a little spots of black here and there, but other than that, she was very attractive. She noticed that she even had a blue and a green eye. "Heterochromia," she said to herself. Riley then felt her arms, her body, her legs, and then between her legs. There was nothing between her legs, Riley had definitely become a woman. "What happened?!?" shouted Riley. "I know this is a lot to take in," said Zedd. "But I will explain in due time. What is important is that we need your help." "How can I possibly help?" said Riley with a weak voice. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Like I said, I''m just a student." "But the fact that you were summoned here and blessed by the system means you are our hero," said Zedd. "Please just see if there''s anything you can do. Our kingdom needs your help or else it will fall." "I''m not feeling very well," said Riley. "Rest up," said Zedd. "You will need your strength." He laid Riley down back onto the bed and covered her with the blankets. "When you wake up, I will help you and in exchange, please see if there''s anything you might be able to do to help us." As Zedd was putting Riley to bed, King Caligula had arrived with six guards in tow. "Is our hero awake?!?" he shouted. "She needs to rest," said Zedd. "No, wake her now! We need her help!" Caligula shouted. "That''s not a good idea," said Zedd. "I said wake her!" Caligula shouted. One of the guards with Caligula pushed Zedd aside and began to shake Riley. "What is it?" asked Riley. "I''m tired." "The King has ordered has called for you," said the guard. "Come with me," said Caligula. The guards pulled Riley out of bed. Riley was still holding her head with her hand. It helped ease the pain just a little bit, but she was stumbling. She looked at the guard that had pulled her out. Name: Lloyd Level: 5 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: Knight Stats: ??? "Twice, now," Riley said to herself as she looked at the numbers. "It was not a coincidence." She then looked at herself. "And this I have no idea what to think of or how to deal with yet." King Caligula brought Riley to the Observation Deck. "This is my kingdom," said Caligula. "It is dying and I need your help to save it." In the distance, there were collapsed buildings. The outer walls of the city were in disrepair with obvious holes in it. The inner wall was in better condition. There was visible movement, a sign that numerous people lived within the city walls and it was densely populated. Riley saw a white box with black letters appear in front of her: New Quest: Save Antium "I don''t know what I can do," said Riley. "You''re the hero," said Caligula. "You''ll think of something." "Please," said Zedd. "She needs to rest." "We need her to save my kingdom," said Caligula. "She is the only one that can do it." "She cannot do it when she is exhausted," said Zedd. "If you push her too hard, she might perish before she can even accomplish anything." "Then we can summon a new hero," said Caligula. When Zedd heard these words, he immediately knew that King Caligula was mad. Zedd knew how much resources alone were spent to summon Riley. She was irreplaceable and the kingdom had nearly exhausted its resources to try to just summon one hero. On top of that, there were sometimes centuries between successful hero summons. "I have to do something before the King gets our hero killed, even if it only buys us a little bit of time," he said to himself. "Your highness, I have a suggestion," said Zedd. "What is it?" asked Caligula. "I want to show our hero around the city so that she can see the problems first hand, is that okay?" asked Zedd. "That is a most excellent suggestion," said Caligula. "See to it at once." "I will bring my guards with me as well," said Zedd. "Get to it," said Caligula. "I want to see changes to my city soon." Zedd realized that summoning the hero to save the world was not what King Caligula had in mind. He wanted to summon the hero to preserve his kingdom, not to actually help the people living in it. Luckily, Zedd still had his old workshop in town and that was where he brought Riley. "Rest up hero," said Zedd. "This is as much as I can do for you." Riley was already out. She was weak when she woke up and was even weaker now because she was forced to move around while exhausted. The summoning process was both a physical and mental drain on the vessel and whoever was summoned from another world. Zedd realized that he would have to help Riley escape from King Caligula''s watch if she was to truly become a hero that could save the world. He could only think of one thing, magic. Somehow, he would have to use his magic to help Riley. He began to flip through his books, looking for something that might be able to help with Riley''s recovery or Riley''s escape if necessary. Riley slept for a whole day before waking up again. She was still unwell. "Ugh, my head still hurts," said Riley. "Are you feeling any better?" asked Zedd. "It doesn''t hurt as much and I''m not as tired anymore," said Riley. "That''s good, then you''re getting better at least," said Zedd. "But I''m afraid that you will have to go out today." "I don''t think I should," said Riley with a groan. "But you must, the King expects you to be looking at the condition of the town," said Zedd. "I cannot have him be suspicious of me or you. Two of my guards will accompany you to keep you safe. Just look around for a bit and come back when you feel tired. If you have questions, ask them, they should know most things about the city. I would like to accompany you, but I have other matters to attend to." "Alright," said Riley as she stumbled out of bed. The two guards followed her from the back as she left Zedd''s workshop. Riley began to walk around the city. "What am I even looking for?" she asked. One of the guards responded, "You are looking for problems in the city and how you might be able to fix it, sir," said the guard. Riley looked at the guard and saw his information. Name: Klarth Level: 27 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: Paladin Stats: ??? From what Riley could tell, the guard was at least much stronger than the ones that were with the King. "It was probably why Zedd trusted him with my safety," Riley said to herself. "What kind of problems?" asked Riley. "Everything that might be causing poor conditions in the city, sir. From theft to conspiracy," said Klarth. "I thought I was supposed to be saving this city, not getting involved in political issues," said Riley. "They can be one and the same," said Klarth. "What problems do you think are the greatest in the city?" asked Riley. "A huge portion of the population here does not have access to enough food," said Klarth. "It has caused illness, starvation, and because of this, there is simply just not enough people free to work on construction projects needed to rebuild the city." "And you?" Riley had just asked the other guard. She looked at his information. He was almost just as strong. Name: Kirk Level: 25 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: Knight Stats: ??? "I think that it is the nobles who and their policies," said Kirk. "That''s slander!" shouted Klarth. "You can''t say that." "I think that is the truth," said Kirk. "I think the taxes on food is too high. Food that makes it here is not reaching the people because they cannot afford it, yet the prices continue to stay high. Even though there is work to be done, there are not enough able bodied workers to actually get things done." Riley had been educated in Sun Tzu''s Military Academy. A school for training future military leaders. They studied everything from military strategies to politics. Being able to supply your people and your soldiers with food was the most basic, but she had also heard about how Sun Tzu had to train concubines and Sun Tzu ended up executing a few of them to make the rest obey. Based on Kirk''s words, the nobles probably used fear in some way to keep people from revolting. "Does your King regularly execute people?" asked Riley. "Yes," said Klarth. "They are usually people convicted of high treason against the crown or for plotting to kill a government official." "That was a common accusation to eliminate enemies," thought Riley. "Does your King have high taxes?" Riley asked. "Yes," said Klarth. "But it is necessary to maintain the defenses of the city." Riley remembered what she saw at the Observation Deck. She had seen the poor state of the city from afar. It was clear that not all the taxes were not going to maintain the city. It was going elsewhere, most likely into the pockets of nobles somewhere. The city had numerous problems, but they would all have to be addressed one at a time. The problem right now was finding out how it could be done. "What can you tell me about me?" asked Riley. "How would I know about people from other worlds?" asked Kirk. "I mean the person that this body belonged to," said Riley as she looked at her own hands. "I want to know about the person it belonged to before I took control of it." "I am sorry, but I do not have that information," said Klarth. "Only Zedd knows. He was the one who ordered the collection of information and compiled it. All I tell you is that you were a slave because of the mark on your hand." Riley looked at the flower with five petals on her hand. It was a brand. Something that was often done to runaway or disobedient slaves. "The so called hero who is meant to save the world is a slave, how ironic," thought Riley. "I must ask Zedd later," said Riley. As Riley continued her way through the streets, she overheard voices talking about her. "Hey isn''t she that prostitute that was bought by the Wizard?" said a man. "Yes, I heard that he paid 500 gold coins for her," said a woman. "I wonder where they''re bringing her now," said the man. "Probably to some noble''s house to be utilized," said the woman. Riley recognized this as another problem. Human trafficking. Something that was built and maintained by the nobles in order to satisfy their sick and twisted desires. It often came at the expensive of the poor, where people had to sell their children into slavery in order to survive. The high cost of food was probably one way they did to ensure that there would be at least a few. The body that Riley had was probably one of those children that were sold into slavery and did not die during the years it was abused. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Riley made her way to the markets. She saw that there were a few stands set up, but the market was largely empty. She looked at the prices. It was five silver for a slice of bread. "Are you hungry?" asked Kirk. "No," said Riley. "I''m just looking." "Alright, because if you need food, the cooks in the castle can make you anything you want," said Kirk. "We have plenty there." "If there is so little food, how can the castle afford to make anything that I might want?" asked Riley. "The King and the nobles are wealthy," said Klarth. "They can afford to bring in everything they need from outside of the city, even paying with money out of their own pockets if needed." "That wealth had to come from somewhere," Riley thought to herself. When one person or group has wealth, it means they took it from somewhere. When the difference between the rich and the poor becomes too great, the poor can no longer even afford to buy the most basic of necessities. It was ripe for revolution if there was a leader or a giant welcome mat for invaders. "Why are there so few merchants here?" Riley asked the merchant. "It is expensive to do business, but some of us do it because we can sell our other wares to the nobles for very high prices here," said the merchant. "Why do you not lower your prices?" asked Riley. "If I lower them, then I will not even be able to provide anything at all," said the merchant. "I do it because the city needs food and the nobles are willing to pay more for the few luxuries that I bring in to make up the difference." "How is that even possible?" asked Riley. "There are taxes we have to pay to bring things in or take things out of the region and the taxes set by nobles are very high at the moment," said the merchant. As Riley thought about this, she began to put everything together. The rich have enough to eat and the poor have to pay heavy taxes on everything they buy or make. The poor did have money from the things they made bought by nobles, but they were still unable to afford the things that they needed to survive. There was definitely a high amount of corruption in the city. Sooner or later, the economy and the entire country would collapse. The problem was not the people, the problem was the leadership. The problems are all being caused by policies, not the people. The King wanted Riley, the hero, to placate the people, and preserve his kingdom, not to actually fix it. To the King, saving the kingdom meant saving his place on the throne. Riley''s body was one of the victims of this system. If the kingdom wanted a chance to survive, the system would need to change. To the upper right of her view, Riley saw a box with some text appear. "Return to Zedd''s Workshop." "Did something happen?" she thought. Riley returned to Zedd''s Workshop. "I''m back," said Riley. No one responded. Zedd was not there nor were his guards. "Did he go out?" Riley thought. Riley sat down on the bed. "I need to rest, wake me when Zedd returns," she ordered the two guards. "Yes, sir!" Klarth and Kirk responded. As Riley slept, she had dreams and visions. She saw visions of herself being violated and beaten over and over again. She heard voices of the nobles who spoke about the things they were doing. It was the memories of Garnet, flooding into her head. And at the very end of it, all she could see was light, a painful, agonizing light that burned her and left her body aching all over. It was dark before Riley was awoken by Zedd. Riley was sweating heavily. Zedd had finally returned and he brought food and some clothes. "Here you go," said Zedd as he tossed her some new clothes. Riley went to change, her new clothes were slightly cleaner though not by much. It was loose fitting and the front was the shape of a V and revealed the top of her breasts. She felt uncomfortable looking at herself, even if it was just in front of a mirror. It felt like she was abusing someone else''s body, after all, it was not her own. She had killed its original owner and taken the body for herself. What followed was also the first meal that Riley had eaten since she woke in this world. After eating, she had many questions. "Who was I?" Riley asked. "I don''t know," said Zedd. "You were summoned from another world." "No, I mean my body, who was the person who had this body before me?" asked Riley. "She was a prostitute that was very popular and in high demand by the nobles," said Zedd. "I bought her because she was the most suitable vessel for calling a hero from another world." "Suitable vessel? What do you mean?" asked Riley. "In my attempts to call forth a hero from another world, I learned many things," said Zedd. "But I had to do things. Things that I was not proud of. But luckily, it succeeded, so I keep telling myself that everything I did was worth it if the hero could save us." Riley saw that Zedd suddenly looked downward. He was ashamed. Zedd knew what he did was wrong, but he continued because he was desperate. The world was desperate for a hero to save them and Zedd felt like he was their only hope, so he did things that he thought was wrong, all for the sake of what he felt was the right thing to do because if he did not, the world would fall. Everything was riding on the fact that the hero sitting before him would be able to help them. "For example, to summon a hero, a body with mana and a strong mind to resist is needed," said Zedd. "I bought her because she had both of the necessary requirements, compatibility with mana, and mental strength. She was so mentally strong that despite all her circumstances, I would still describe her as fierce. She often fought with her clients and even threatened to kill me if she got the chance despite being surrounded by my guards." "What was her name?" asked Riley. Zedd got up and retrieved a small book from his bookshelf, it was the book of all the people that he had to experiment on during the summoning. Riley could see that there were even pictures of each person. At the very end, was a picture, it was her. The last person Zedd collected information on was the person he found suitable as a vessel for the summon. "Is there anything else you can tell me about her?" asked Riley. "She was sarcastic," said Zedd. "Even moments before her death, she cracked a joke about what I was doing like she did not have any care in the world." "Garnet," said Riley. "Similar to the color red, like her personality," said Riley. "Zedd..." said Riley. "From this day forward, I want you to call me Garnet." "Why?" asked Zedd. "Garnet gave her life so that I could have one here. If I do something great, it is only possible because of her, so if I become a hero, I want her to be remembered, I want her name to be the one that is shouted, not mine," said Riley. "She is the one who gave everything so that I would have a chance." "Strange..." thought Zedd. "The hero wanted to adopt the name and personality of the body that they inhabited despite knowing its history. Was that the case for all of the heroes?" "I will respect that decision hero. Then from this day forth, I will call you Garnet," said Zedd. "Thank you," said Garnet. "Now I want to talk about those problems that I saw." "What did you see?" asked Zedd. "I saw poverty, human trafficking, and either high tariffs or high taxes or some combination of both," said Garnet. "That is about right," said Zedd. "Why don''t you or anyone do anything about it?" asked Garnet. "I''m afraid the King is the one who holds absolute power and the nobles follow him as well," said Zedd. "He controls most of the soldiers and weapons, he has a huge amount of influence where money is spent, but his closest advisers are the nobles who run everything else." "Has anyone ever challenged them?" asked Garnet. "Those who challenge them end up missing or dead," Zedd replied. "The King and the nobles decides what is done and how it is done. Garnet needed to find a way to solve these problems without drawing attention. It would be extremely difficult as the guards mostly work for the King. They would most likely have firsthand knowledge about this. "What about the nobles?" asked Garnet. "Many of the nobles have their own armies as well to help keep the peace. These are the same armies that the king can call upon when needed," Zedd explained. "But they also manage their own areas under the name of the king." "What about other countries?" asked Garnet. "Some other countries are just as corrupt and do similar things, but if another country invades, it is the poor that get sent to fight and die," said Zedd. "The rich have their children serving as soldiers in the castle or houses of other nobles, far from the fighting." "If there''s nothing that I can do, then why was I even summoned as a hero?" asked Garnet. "The King intended to have you placate the people," said Zedd. "But you are a hero, and you are better than that. In fact, you can do so much more." "What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "The heroes of this world are known for their greatness and making the impossible a reality," explained Zedd. "Heroes of the past have defeated powerful evils and saved multiple countries and the people who lived in them. Some heroes have brought together diverse groups of people to accomplish a single goal when it was thought that cooperation was impossible. The problems of this world extend beyond what you have just seen in this city. This is merely a glimpse at how far the world has fallen since our last hero." Zedd continued, "Despite all of this, the King is not our greatest threat," said Zedd. "What do you mean? The city is slowly destroying itself, how can it get any worse?" asked Garnet. "There is one thing we have not told you about yet, the invasions," said Zedd. "Invasions? From where?" asked Garnet. She had remembered that in the past, great civilizations fell due to problems from within, whether it be corruption or disagreements between nobles. This left the nation weak enough so that a foreign invader could finish them off. "We don''t know," said Zedd. "There are times, when parts of the world, like the sky cracks opens and from a sea as red as blood, terrifying monsters appear. These monsters are what caused the broken walls you see in the city. One of the reasons why people choose to continue living in these poor conditions is the fact that the city wall is one of the things that still work. During these invasions, the King also must send soldiers to the walls to defend when there is an attack otherwise the city will fall." "But what can I do?" asked Garnet. "I don''t have anything." "You have a lot more than you think you do," said Zedd. "You have access to the Hero System, a gift that is granted to all heroes summoned from another world. It grants them great power that goes far beyond reason and the imagination of ordinary people. One man or woman can become a legend with its power. You just have to learn how to use it." "Do you know how it works?" asked Garnet. "Sadly, I''m afraid I cannot help you with that, only a hero has access to the Hero System and there is little recorded information about how it works," said Zedd. "What kind of information?" asked Garnet. "As far as I know, the Hero System mainly grants someone immense power," Zedd explained. "It is different what each hero receives, but it also guides them into doing certain tasks that help the survival of the world and allows them to see things that others cannot." "Hero System huh?" Garnet said to herself. "That means I have to use it to solve all of these problems somehow and not anger anyone in the process. That is a very difficult task," she thought. At that moment, she saw an exclamation mark appear to the top left of her vision along with Health and Mana bars. A white box then appeared directly in front of her vision, there was black text that said "Introduction Complete." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The headaches in the story and the name choice at the end are the result of a fusion of the Riley and Garnet identities. Though "Riley" is technically in control, there will be moments when the "Garnet" personality leaks through as a result of the combination of their identities. So Book 1 is going to focus on just the city of Antium. I''m just making things up as I go along. Next chapter should take longer as I am still tweaking the main character''s abilities. Book 1: Chapter 003 - The Hero System I decided to model the system after The Gamer, a Korean manwha where the main character alone has special abilities that overwrite the rules of reality and can change the environment around him into one like a video game. Repeat an action enough times and you get a skill or stat increase. There are STR/DEX/INT requirements for some items still. Based on the voting. The main character is going to be an OP Dark Mage eventually. HP = 50/level + 10/vit Mana = 50/level + 10/int (main character''s special skill doubles this bonus, so it is 100/level + 20/int) Strength = increases physical attack damage and weight limit Dexterity = increases accuracy, critical rate, and damage with non-magic ranged weapons Intelligence = increases maximum mana, magic damage, magic resistance Vitality = increases maximum health and defense Agility = increases all types of speed and dodge (movement, attack, casting) Charisma = increases ability to influence others and resist influence of others -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What is happening?" Garnet said. "What is it?" asked Zedd. "There''s a box in front of me with words," Garnet replied. "It must be the Hero System at work," said Zedd. "See if you can understand it." Before Garnet was the white box with black text that read: "Introduction Complete!" She closed the box and a new box with several quests appeared. New Quest: Persuade Nobles to Reduce Taxes and Tariffs The cost of living in the city is too high. Find a way to convince the nobility to reduce taxes in the city or their region while ensuring that it is sustainable. Reward: Experience, Fame. New Quest: Rebuild the Outer City Wall The wall was heavily damaged in the last attack, but reconstruction was halted due to lack of supplies and manpower. See to it that the wall is rebuilt before the next attack. Reward: Experience, Fame. Garnet closed this and another box appeared. The white box with black text read: "New Functions Available!" When she closed it another one appeared. You may access any of these using your left hand and swiping upwards. New Function: Inventory New Function: Quest Log New Function: Class Garnet raised her left hand and swiped upwards. A menu appeared with several options. Status Inventory Skills Quest Log Class The Status function displayed information about herself. Name: Garnet Level: 1 Class: None Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 100/100 MP: 200/200 Fame: 0 Strength: 3 Dexterity: 3 Intelligence: 6 Vitality: 8 Agility: 5 Charisma: 9 "Temptress?" thought Garnet. "What is that? How could I have a sub-class without a class?" Garnet continued to look at the numbers that showed her stats. "This body was fairly weak physically, but that would be changed with a bit of training," Garnet thought to herself. Garnet then began to look through the other menu items. Inventory showed what she had on her and her equipment, which was only her clothes. There was not much, but there was currently five spaces for items. The other boxes were all marked with a red X, meaning they could not be used right now. She picked up the book that Zedd had shown her earlier. "What are you doing?" asked Zedd. "Testing something," said Garnet. She put the book inside one of the inventory boxes and it disappeared. There was now a picture of a book in her inventory box. "The book is gone?!?" said Zedd in a surprised voice. "Not quite," said Garnet as she took it out and put it back on the table. "That''s the power of a hero," said Zedd. "There''s more," said Garnet. Garnet looked at her Skills. There were already a few from her Temptress Sub-class. Sub-class: Temptress Enhanced Body: (Level 1, Passive) +5 Strength/Dexterity/Vitality/Agility Captivation: (Level 1) Forces people to listen to you, it can only be resisted by people with a combination of high intelligence and high charisma. Mind Read: (Level 1) By touching your forehead with the forehead of another, you can see their thoughts, memories, or dreams. At higher levels, it is possible to manipulate memories. Drain Will: (Level 1) With a kiss, you may steal the resistance and stats of another for a limited amount of time. A short kiss will make the victim feel pleasure. Using this skill with a prolonged kiss or sexual intercourse can cause paralysis, pain, or even death in extreme cases. PASSIVES Unique Skill: Hero System (Passive) ??? Effects: ??? Unique Skill: Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) Knowledge brought forth from another world allows you to see and understand things that other people cannot. Effects: +20 Intelligence, Removes Weapon Restrictions Unique Skill: Golden Tongue (Passive) Your voice and words are extremely persuasive to others, making it easier to convince them. Effects: +10 Charisma Unique Skill: Mana Compatibility (Passive) Your body is able to sense, channel, and handle Mana better than others. Effects: +100% Maximum Mana, Bonus Mana Regeneration Based on Maximum Mana Unique Skill: Quick Learner (Passive) As a hero, your abilities grow and change depending on the decisions you make and the actions that you take. Effects: Able to learn new skills through actions "Those were a lot of skills for someone who is just a beginner," thought Garnet. "Was it because of ''her'' that I have all of these? No, the Otherworldly Knowledge is definitely that something I as ''Riley'' brought." Garnet moved down to the last option that said Class. When she pushed on it, a much bigger box appeared. There were three options: Melee, Ranged, and Magic. She pressed the one that read "Melee." A huge list of words appeared with a red warning. The warning displayed a single message: "Once you choose a class, you may not change it without meeting special requirements." "Whatever I decide will be permanent," thought Garnet. "I will have to choose carefully." At the top of the list Warrior. When she pushed it, another larger box showed up with numerous lines connecting each box. It was a skill tree. It displayed every skill a Warrior could learn from the moment they became one to when they reached the absolute peak. As she scrolled down she saw more options including Berserker, which specialized in two handed weapons and Thief, which specialized in stealth based attacks. "I have no idea what to pick," said Garnet. "Pick what?" asked Zedd. "The Hero System told me that I have to pick a Class like how you are a Wizard," said Garnet. "But I have no idea what." "That''s okay," said Zedd. "Most people do not pick a Class for many years, you should wait until you find one that is right for you." "How long did it take you to decide?" asked Garnet. "I think it was about five years," said Zedd. "Five years?!?" shouted Garnet. "I was undecided between being a Summoner or just specializing in Space-Time Magic alone, heh," said Zedd. "I can always pick later, but the Hero System has tasked me with certain things to do," said Garnet. "What are they?" asked Zedd. "The first says I have to convince the nobles to reduce tariffs and taxes while the second one says I have to help rebuild the walls of the city," said Garnet. "Those are tough ones indeed," said Zedd. "Perhaps you can pick a Class that will help you fulfill those objectives." "When I do, I cannot change, so I better decide well," said Garnet. The next day, while thinking about what she should do. Garnet began to practice some of the skills that belonged to Riley. Namely, hand to hand combat. She would have to be able to fight and defend herself in this world. Right now, she had no weapon, only her clothes and a few basic skills. She would have to get by with this alone until she decided on a Class to take on for further development. As Garnet practiced, some text boxes appeared: New Skill: Hand to Hand (Level 1) You have demonstrated proficiency in hand to hand combat. Boost to damage when using no weapons. Effect: +10% Attack Damage when using no weapon New Skill: Reflex (Level 1) Your ability to move and think quickly has resulted in faster reaction times. Effect: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Agility New Skill: Speed (Level 1) Run faster! Wee! Effect: +Running Speed Stat Gain: Strength+1 "So, practicing has additional effects here," thought Garnet. "I will need to train myself physically as well, but I wonder what else I could learn from doing things here," Garnet said to herself. Garnet looked at herself and noticed that there was a lack of muscle development. Even with the bonuses from her Enhanced Body, it was unlikely that she would be able to physically compete with any decent guard in the city. It might be enough to take on a random thug or two, but against someone competent, it was definitely not enough. "I must get stronger," Garnet thought to herself. "Maybe there''s someone I can fight with to train." KNOCK KNOCK. "It''s me," said Zedd. "Come in," said Garnet. "What was with that noise in here?'' asked Zedd. "I''m training," said Garnet. "Training what?" asked Zedd. "As you know, I was a student," said Garnet. "But when I was walking around, I found myself stumbling a lot because I''m not used to this body. Now that I am a little more comfortable, I''m trying some more complex movements from my old life." "Is that so?" said Zedd. "Remember to spend some time outside looking around. The King expects you to be doing something to solve his problems." Garnet headed outside again and saw two guards. It was Klarth and Kirk again. "It''s you two again," she said. "Don''t tell me you hate us already," said Klarth. "It has only been about two days." "I don''t hate you," said Garnet. "I just wondered if you two did anything besides stand in front of Zedd''s Workshop all day." "We do other things," said Klarth as he scratched his head. "He probably does nothing but guard this door and sleep!" thought Garnet. "This way it looks official," said Kirk. "Can''t have you running around with strangers all the time." "Did you forget what this body used to do for a job?" said Garnet. "No I did not sir," said Kirk. "Well, I want to go to the outer wall today," said Garnet. "I want to see what kind of damage we have out there." This was the second of her objectives according to the Hero System. The first was to persuade the nobles, which would be a huge problem considering how they were resistant any type of change that would undermine their wealth or power. The second was to fix the outer wall. This felt like something she might have been able to do. As Garnet walked around the city she noticed the same problems. It was the same merchant in the market. There were relatively few guards for a city that large and still a lack of food with beggars on the streets. He was the only one there today, but he had little merchandise. Around the outer wall, there were only 3 gates, one North, one East, and one West. "No South Gate?" she said. "The South is a river," said Klarth. "That''s how we supply water to the city. In fact, most large cities are built near a large body of water." The biggest problem was the hole in the East Gate if you could still even call it a gate. It was left from the last invasion. There was a squad of twenty four guards who watched it, but it was still a giant hole that needed to be fixed. Elsewhere, there was minor damage, such as cracks and holes that needed to be filled in before it deteriorated further. The wall was not only damaged, but also in disrepair from neglect. It would become a serious problem if left unattended. The problem would be getting the needed supplies to fix the wall. That was largely left in the hands of the nobility, who did nothing but sit on them all day. All of the problems returned back to the nobles. "For a kingdom that is freaking out about an invasion, they sure are lazy about getting ready for it," said Garnet. "Normally, the King or a noble makes a contract with some local builders and craftsmen to fix it," said Kirk. "So why hasn''t anyone done it?" asked Garnet. "There''s just no money in it," Kirk replied. "The people with money are too concerned with making money for themselves at the moment and because the last invasion was not too long ago, they feel that they will have sufficient time to prepare for it. It is difficult to persuade them to do it." "Isn''t there any concerns about wars or invasions from other countries?" asked Garnet. "Most countries agreed to a non-aggression pact that prohibits war unless five years has passed without the sight of one," explained Klarth. "You''re more likely to encounter an army of thieves than an actual war between kingdoms." "If only there was a way to persuade the nobles to do it," said Garnet. Garnet remembered. She would not need a special Class. What she needed was to invoke the real Garnet, the one who gave her the power of the Temptress. The power to persuade others. "I don''t think I need a Class for this. I just have to be ''Garnet.''" "We need to go back to Zedd''s Workshop," said Garnet as she ran. "Wait up!" shouted Klarth. "She''s fast," said Kirk. Klarth and Kirk fell behind not because of the armor they were wearing, but because of Garnet''s special abilities. Level Up: Speed (Level 2) The door to Zedd''s Workshop slammed open. "I know what I can do!" shouted Garnet. "What do you mean?" asked Zedd. "How can just being Garnet help you?" "The original Garnet was a prostitute right?" said Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "I need to find a way to get into a room with a noble," said Garnet. "That''s easy," said Zedd. "How is that easy?" said Akiza. "You''re pretty popular among the people in the castle," said Zedd. "Some of the people there even offered to pay me to let them spend a night with you." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "You said no right?" Akiza asked. "Of course," said Zedd. "What are you planning to do though?" "The original ''Garnet'' passed me some skills," said Garnet. "I want to try to use them on the nobles, but the problem is I''m not sure how to use it." "Most abilities are done through either movement, spoken words, or a combination of both," said Zedd. "So you should just try them out until you get it right." "That''s a problem then," said Garnet. "How is that a problem?" asked Zedd. "My abilities require a person," said Garnet. "Kirk get in here!" shouted Zedd. "What is it sir?" asked Kirk. "Garnet requires your help for something," said Zedd. "See to it." "Will this hurt?" asked Kirk. "I don''t know, why don''t you ask her?" said Zedd. "Just come with me to the back room," said Garnet. Garnet led Kirk to the back room and made him sit on the bed. "So what'' the point of this?" asked Kirk. "I''m going to try to seduce you," said Garnet. "Your job is to resist as much as you can." "Okay...." said Kirk in a confused voice. "I don''t understand the point of you telling me that." "Just watch," said Garnet. Garnet''s first movements were clumsy. Although she had the memories of the original "Garnet," she was not used to doing the movements. Kirk watched as Garnet clumsily tried to swing her hips with each step only to fall. "Gotcha," said Kirk as he caught Garnet falling. Garnet looked up with a red and embarrassed face. Kirk had to look away. "It''s working thought," thought Garnet as she got up. She tried other things, like crossing her arms to emphasize her breasts or leaning forward so that Kirk could get a better look at her breasts. Garnet tried walking again, this time it was better. She received a message: New Skill: Sexy Walk (Level 1) Draws the attention of others near by. Effect: +5 Charisma when moving with this skill, chance of activating Captivation All of a sudden, Garnet became perfect at it. It was the power of the Hero System. "The ability to instantly become proficient is frightening," Garnet thought. "Skills that would take you a lifetime to master could be learned in a few days and probably mastered within a week." At this moment, Garnet looked at Kirk. He was looking at her and followed her every step. He could no longer take his eyes off her. He had already fallen victim to the abilities of the Temptress. The next step was to activate Drain Will. By removing a person''s strength with this, it was possible to make them susceptible to her words. Kirk was no longer saying anything. His eyes and head simply turned to face Garnet. Garnet closed in on Kirk who was still looking at her face. This was the first time Garnet was going to kiss someone in her new body, and it was a guy. She hesitated for a moment as she looked at Kirk''s mouth. But, she had to do it. At the moment, there was no other choice. If she was going to change a noble''s mind, she would have to repeat these actions in order to have them fall under her influence. She licked her lips before grabbing Kirk''s head and pulling in for a quick kiss on the cheek. "What was that?" said Kirk. He suddenly turned a little red as he broke out of the trance and realized what had happened. "It didn''t work," said Garnet. "I guess it has to be mouth to mouth," she said as she went closer again. "What do you mean m---" said Kirk as he was interrupted by Garnet''s kiss. "Mmmmmf," Kirk couldn''t speak with Garnet''s mouth on top of his. Garnet saw a new box appear. Level Up: Drain Will (Level 2) Garnet was feeling a rush of energy filling her body. This was the effect of Drain Will. Not only does it take away a person''s strength and resistance, it adds it to your own. During this moment, Garnet was able to push Kirk, someone much bigger and physically stronger than her down onto the bed. Both Kirk and Garnet felt intense pleasure from this action. After a few seconds, Kirk stopped resisting. "I have to be careful with this, it could become addictive," thought Garnet. Garnet backed away and Kirk just laid there. Garnet quickly went to check his breathing. "Are you okay?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Kirk. His voice was different and he was breathing heavily. It was like he was exhausted. "Did it work?" Garnet thought. She tried to look to see if there was any way to tell if it worked. There was not. "There''s only one way to find out," said Garnet. "Kirk, when you recover, I want you to go to the other room and slap Zedd across the face as hard as you can." "Yes," said Kirk. "Is that all you can say?" asked Garnet. "No," said Kirk. "Can you say anything else besides yes or no?" asked Garnet. "Only repeat directions," Kirk replied. "So what did I ask you to do?" asked Garnet. "Slap Zedd across the face as hard as I can when I wake up," said Kirk. "Okay, perfect," said Garnet. She sat on the bed and watched as Kirk laid there. Eventually, his eyes closed. This also gave Garnet a chance to try another one of her abilities, Mind Read. She touched her forehead to his. She saw two images. One of Kirk himself standing proudly in front of a group of knights, most likely his desire to become a leader of some kind. One of Kirk slapping Zedd across his face, most likely what Kirk wanted to do last. Both images seem to have represented some kind of desire or goal that Kirk had. If this worked, using Mind Read could help to see if her Drain Will worked as well. After what seemed like a few hours, Kirk finally woke up. "Hey are you okay?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Kirk. Garnet watched as got up and walked to the other room. "What are you doing?!?" shouted Zedd. SLAP. Kirk had done exactly as Garnet instructed and slapped Zedd. "Sorry, my fault!" shouted Garnet as she came running into the room. "I just felt like hitting you as hard as I could," said Kirk. "I don''t know why, but it felt great." Garnet realized that it meant the victim thought it was their own choice and not that they were made to do it by another. On top of that, it seems to make the victim enjoy the action, so they might continue to do it in the future. Drain Will was an extremely powerful ability though it required intimacy to do it. Zedd turned to look at Garnet. "What did you do?" asked Zedd. "I made him follow my instructions," said Garnet. "Anyways, go back outside," said Garnet. "I have something to discuss with Zedd." "Yes sir!" said Kirk as he walked outside. "So you''re planning to use this on a noble?" asked Zedd. "Yes," said Garnet. "With this I can persuade someone to do something they normally would not." "What are you planning to have this person do?" asked Zedd. "If I could affect a noble, I could order them to lower the tariffs and taxes in their territory and they would not know someone made them do it," said Garnet. "Are you planning on sleeping with every noble in Antium?" asked Zedd. "No, just one or two that might have enough power to be able to influence the economy in this city," Garnet replied. "I thought you heroes supposed to be honest and upright," Zedd commented. "But if this is how you want to do things, I will not stop you. I am desperate after all." "I don''t either," said Garnet. "But unfortunately with the King wanting fast changes to placate the people, I don''t see any other way. The system refuses to change yet the King wants everything to be better. It is just impossible to placate the people without affecting policies. If I have to do downright dirty things in order to save a kingdom filled with people, then so be it. The goal is the lives of the people," said Garnet. "Well said hero," said Zedd. "You put the lives of others first and you do what is necessary even if it might go against your morals. You kind of remind me of myself. But be careful that you don''t tread too deep." "I will," said Garnet. "There are still lines that I will not cross no matter what." Garnet had remembered what Zedd had said about the process of summoning a hero. Zedd had given up on some of his own morals and conducted what amounted to human experimentation in order to find a vessel for a successful summoning. Garnet hoped that she would never have to do the same. "The first thing I can do is at least affect the policy of a single individual noble in his territory, then maybe that one noble can push for more," said Garnet. "Well you might be in a bit of luck," said Zedd. "A Duke was interested in you." "Isn''t that like a King?" asked Garnet. "Sometimes, but in Antium, it is the highest ranking nobles just below the King," said Zedd. "Duke Charles Wellington is his name. He is also called the General of the North and controls nearly all the northern lands under the control of Antium." As Garnet heard that name, she felt an intense mixture of joy, anger, disgust, and sadness. It was a mixture of emotions that she could not understand. "Tell me Zedd, did something happen between the Duke and the old me?" asked Garnet. "Not that I know of," said Zedd. "But if you have questions, you should ask him yourself." "Then he shall be my first target," said Garnet. "But I will also need to think of a way to fight first in case I run into trouble." "That is a most wise decision," said Zedd. "If you wish, I could train you in the ways of the Magician." A box appeared before Garnet: "Do you wish to become a Magician?" Yes/No Garnet pressed No. "I want to think about it some more before I decide what I want to do." "That''s fine," said Zedd. "I''ll keep this offer open, so come talk to me if you change your mind." "But first, I need some more practice," said Garnet. "Come back in here Kirk!" ordered Garnet. Kirk came right back in, just like a perfect soldier. "Come to the back room, I have more tests," said Garnet. Kirk followed Garnet. There were reports of animal noises coming from Zedd''s Workshop for a while. When questioned, Zedd simply said, "Summoning experiments." Level Up: Drain Will (Level 3) After testing her abilities on Kirk, Garnet confirmed the results. First, Drain Will must be initiated through mouth to mouth contact. The length of contact will determine how much strength is drained from the victim. Second, while the victim is exhausted, they can be influenced until they become unconscious. Third, when the victim wakes up, they will proceed to accomplish the task given to them when they were exhausted and will have no memory of the person who influenced them to take action. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 1 Class: None Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 230/230 [50*level + 10*vit] MP: 760/760 [100*level + 20*int] Fame: 0 Strength: 3+1 (+5) Dexterity: 3 (+7) Intelligence: 6 (+22) Vitality: 8 (+5) Agility: 5 (+7) Charisma: 9 (+10)
SKILLS:
Class (none): ---
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 1) - Captivation: (Level 1) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1)
General: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 1) - Speed (Level 2)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive)
Book 1: Chapter 004 - The First Quest First chapter with some actual combat. It''s much longer than I planned it to be. It''s almost as long as two of the previous chapters combined. ------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 004 ¨C The First Quest A hero is someone who has power beyond reason and imagination. These were the words that echoed to Garnet. Although the original Garnet left her with the abilities of the Temptress, Garnet still needed something to fight with. "The nobles will not take action unless they believe there is an iminent threat," thought Garnet. In her walk through the town yesterday, she saw how the East Walls were crumbling, but because of the time between invasions, the nobles did not see it as a priority. "There must be something I can do to force it!" she thought. The key lied somewhere in the Class choices that were presented to Garnet. The Melee types all focused on improving the physical strength of an individual. Even though it was possible to become a One Man or One Woman Army, it would not be perceived as an actual threat. The same could be said of the Range types. That meant the key had to be somewhere in the Magic types. She needed something similar to Zedd''s Summoner Class, but something that had a combination of magic and summons. However, Garnet did not have enough knowledge about magic to understand, so she had to ask the only person who might know, Zedd. "Zedd, can you tell me about the types of mages," asked Garnet. "What do you want to know about?" asked Zedd. "There''s many different types of mages." "Tell me about different Summoners," said Garnet. "Well, I''m a Space-Time Summoner," said Zedd. "I specialize in things like Teleportation and Movement of people and objects. I can summon things like animals and if they make a contract with me, I can call them at will. Then, there''s Druids, who have animal companions like a pet. There''s Shamans that can call animal spirits. Dragon Mages have made contracts with a Dragon and contain part of their power, allowing them to also summon the Dragon in question." "Hmm.." Garnet was in deep thought. She thought about the types that Zedd mentioned, but none of them was suitable for making a perceived threat. A Dragon was definitely fierce, but it also meant that you had to find a Dragon to make a pact with, something that she would most likely be unable to do. "Thanks for the information," said Garnet. "But none of them have what I am looking for." "You can try the library in the castle," said Zedd. "They might have more information on other types of Summoners that I do not know about." Escorted by Kirk and Klarth, Garnet made her way to the library. She made sure to do her Sexy Walk in order to draw attention of others. After all, she needed the attention of some nobles so that she might get the chance to use Drain Will and persuade them to lower their taxes. When Garnet arrived in the library, it had numerous books, about two floors worth, but no people inside. "There''s no one here?" said Garnet. "Most of the nobility are educated in other places," said Klarth. "The books here are usually collected by the Wizard or other intellectuals who work in the castle." "So no one ever comes to read them?" asked Garnet. "Only those who are looking for specific information, like when Zedd was trying to figure out how to summon a hero," explained Klarth. "I see," said Garnet. She walked around the library looking for the magic section. Whoever arranged the books at least had the decency to keep them organized. It took a while before she found what she was looking for on the first floor. There were numerous books on different types of spellcasters. It ranged from things like Blood Mage who used their own blood to fuel their magic to Battle Mages who combined physical strength with magic. Garnet flipped through each of the books, starting with Aeromancer, a magician that specialized in air magic. In the Aeromancer book, Garnet found reference to an Elementalist, someone who used all types of elements. She immediately skipped to the Elementalist book and found a reference to something. It mentioned Dark Magic and Dark Mages, other mages who could also use the power of the elements. However, there was no reference to Dark Mages in the books, but she did not need the books. Garnet opened up the Menu provided by the Hero System and found Dark Mage under spellcasters. Like all the other Classes, it had a massive skill tree. She looked at the first few skills under Dark Magic: Fire Bolt, Lightning Bolt, and Air Bullet. She scrolled down until she saw another skill: Summoning Ritual ¨C Skeletal Dog. The Dark Mage had the ability to summon undead monsters. It would seem like a threat that the nobles would then have to respond to. Perhaps the Dark Mage was what she was looking for, but she wanted to confirm with Zedd first. "Let''s go," said Garnet as she instructed Kirk and Klarth to follow. "Did you find what you were looking for?" asked Kirk. "I think so," Garnet replied. "But I want to confirm with Zedd before I finalize anything." Back at Zedd''s Workshop, he was drawing something on the floor of an empty room. "We''re back," said Garnet. "Did you find what you were looking for?" asked Zedd. "I might have," said Garnet. "But I need to ask you about Dark Mages. What can you tell me about them?" "Dark Mages are something I have not talked about in a long time," said Zedd. "They are individuals who have chosen a path that society demonizes because it typically calls for sacrifice for their abilities." "What kind of sacrifice?" asked Garnet. "Usually with the lives of others," said Zedd. "In exchange, they are granted immense power." "Are Dark Mages bad people?" asked Garnet. This was what she wanted to know the most. If becoming a Dark Mage meant a loss of morals and character, it would not be the way to go. "Dark Mages are bad people only if they lose their sense of self, but most never do and are only bad in the sense that they reject society," said Zedd. "They believe that ultimately, one should empower themselves with their actions and strive to achieve change with the power that they obtain." "What does it mean to lose their sense of self?" asked Garnet. "It means you lose sight of your original goals and your intent constantly changes," said Zedd. "When people choose a Class, they choose it with a specific goal in mind. But sometimes, people lose sight of that reason and goal. And with that, they also lose their sense of self." "So as long as I focus on my goals, there is nothing to worry about," said Garnet. "That is correct," Zedd added. "Are you thinking about becoming a Dark Mage?" he asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "With this, I can force the nobles to take action!" Garnet opened up her Menu and went to Class. She selected Dark Mage. Do you wish to become a Dark Mage? Yes/No NOTE: This choice cannot be changed except for under certain conditions Garnet picked "Yes." A white box with black text appeared: Class: Dark Mage New Skill: Fire Bolt (Level 1) A small bolt of fire is sent from the finger tips to the target location at a high speed. It has a little explosive power It can be fired in rapid succession. MP Cost: 8 New Skill: Lightning Bolt (Level 1) Electricity is fired from the finger tips in a straight line. It is weak, but hits instantly and has a chance to stun its target. MP Cost: 8 New Skill: Air Bullet (Level 1) A burst of air is launched from the palm of the hand. Higher damage at close range with a strong knock bak effect. MP Cost: 10 New Skill: Ritual ¨C Call: Skeletal Dog A skeletal dog is summoned immediately to your surroundings. It is fairly weak, but it is fast. It will grow stronger when the summoner grows as well. A maximum of three can be called at one time. MP Cost: 50 for each Dog New Skill: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1 Passive) As a magician, you are sensitive to the environment around you, allowing you to absorb mana from the surroundings to supplement your own. Effect: +100% Mana Regeneration New Quest: Black Mage Tutortial with Zedd Speak with Zedd With this, Garnet now had the ability to fight. The problem was that she needed somewhere to practice. "Is there anywhere I can practice?" asked Garnet. "Follow me," said Zedd. Garnet followed Zedd into an empty room in the workshop. "Stand close." Zedd activated the magic circle beneath them. A bright light of blue flashed and now they were somwhere different. It was where Garnet had died and where Riley came into this world. "I recognize this place," said Garnet. "This is where you were summoned," said Zedd. "Call: Scarecrow!" Four scarecrows appeared before Zedd in a line. "You can practice here." Garnet raised her arm and opened her palm. This would be her first time using magic. "Fire Bolt!" A bright orange light appeared from her hand and flew towards the scarecrow. BOOM. It was a direct hit. The scarecrow was in flames. "Nice shot," said Zedd. "Do you have any other spells?" "I have a total of four," said Garnet. "Not bad for a beginner," said Zedd. "As you become stronger, you will gain access to more varieties. You should just practice the ones you have now." Garnet changed her stance. She raised one arm and closed her hand. She opened her index finger forward and her thumb upward. This was the closest she could get to a gun. She steadied her right arm with her left hand. "What are you doing?" asked Zedd. "Testing something," said Garnet. "Fire Bolt! Fire Bolt! Fire Bolt!" she shouted. Three consecutive shots of Fire Bolt took out the remaining three scarecrows. At the top left of her vision, she could see that her mana had almost drained by a quarter. However, it was slowly increasing as well. "You''re good," said Zedd. "Did you have something like this where you were from?" "Yes, I had something called a gun that had a similar effect," said Garnet. "If you continue to pour additional mana into a spell, it becomes stronger," said Zedd. "Call: Scarecrow!" said Zedd. Four more scarecrows appeared. Garnet felt the flow of mana in her body. This was one of the advantages that the old Garnet had given her. She could feel as the mana flowed to her finger tips. She concentrated additional mana into it. "Fire Bolt!" Half her mana disappeared in an instant. BOOM. It was a large explosion, one that took out all four scarecrows in a single shot. New Passive Skill: Charging By consuming additional mana for a spell, the cast time and damage of the spell increases proportionally. For some spells, it can increase the effect or the duration. "Very impressive," said Zedd. "There''s one more thing. If you put breaks in the channeling of mana like an on and off switch, you can channel a spell, creating a continuous stream of the spell. Call: Scarecrow!" said Zedd. Four more scarecrows appeared. "Try it." Garnet did the same as before. As she felt the flow of mana in her body, she channeled it, but with brief pauses in between where there was no mana. "Fire Bolt!" Five consecutive shots of fire appeared with about half a second delay each. "This is almost like a gun," thought Garnet. She took the gun stance that she learned from her military training. "Fire Bolt!" It was much steadier, much like a semi-automatic weapon. New Passive Skill: Channeling By consuming additional mana for a spell, it is possible to cast some spells numerous times in a short period of time. "What are you doing?" Zedd asked. "I feel some recoil when I fire that many shots at once," said Garnet. "I''m just trying to find a way to stand where it doesn''t affect me as much." "I see," said Zedd. "Some of the stronger spells have a very strong knockback effect if your stance is poor." "I will be careful of those," said Garnet. "Make sure to try your other spells as well," said Zedd. "It''s best to know what each one does so you can make the most of each. "Call: Scarecrow!" said Zedd. Four more scarecrows appeared. "Lightning Bolt!" shouted Garnet. A beam of electricity instantly zapped the distant scarecrow. It was a quick spell designed to stun a target. The scarecrow showed no visible signs of damage besides a small burn mark on it. "Air Bullet!" shouted Garnet. Nothing happened. "No effect?" "You might need to be closer to use it," said Zedd. Garnet walked up right in front of the scarecrow. "Air Bullet!" VWOOM. The scarecrow was broken in two. It dealt more damage at close range. "I see," said Garnet. Range was a factor in determining the strength of an attack sometimes. "One more right?" said Zedd. "Can anyone see us here?" asked Garnet. "No, why?" asked Zedd. "This is going to be our key to getting those nobles to take action," said Garnet. She raised her arms forward "Call: Skeletal Dog!" Three magic circles appeared in front of Garnet and descended from the height of her waist down to the floor. As it fell, bones began to appear. When it finished, each circle had the skeleton of a dog like animal. "A summoning spell!" said Zedd. "A weak one, but nonetheless a summoning spell. "I''m going to send a few of these around town to draw some attention," said Garnet. "Why?" asked Zedd. "You said the nobles will not take action unless they perceive a threat," said Garnet. "This is how I can make it seem like there is one. I plan to just send a few of these running around town." Zedd thought about it. "It could work to at least raise draw attention to the East Gate and the Walls," said Zedd. "Dismiss!" As Garnet said these words, the dog disappeared into smoke. It was gone without a trace. Quest Complete: Black Mage Tutorial Complete Garnet kept an eye on her mana, timing how long it took to regenerate. She could fire off numerous weak spells, but it was not limitless. She would need something for when she could not actually use mana, just in case. "But, I don''t recommend it," said Zedd. "It''s best not to push them so quickly. I will try to do what I can, but you must work to build influence." "Alright," said Garnet. "Thank you hero," said Zedd. "Hmm, do you think it will be possible for me to get some training with the guards or the knights?" asked Garnet. "I suppose I can arrange for it," said Zedd. "Do you want some training there too?" "I was a soldier where I was from," said Garnet. "But since I''ve gotten here, I haven''t been able to fight anyone." "It might take a few days, but I''ll see what I can do," said Zedd. "Thank you," said Garnet. "Oh and please don''t use your magic on them," said Zedd. "It might also be better to not show anyone your summoning magic. I have no idea how they might react." "Okay," said Garnet. "I won''t use my magic in the city." "Now that you have your first combat abilities, there''s is a task that you can help with," said Zedd. "There are reports of a powerful boar running around free in the East, but no one has been dispatched to take care of it because it is not seen as a priority task. If you can do this, then you will help placate some of the people and help placate the King." A text box appeared: Slay the Giant Wild Boar There has been reports of an unusually strong wild boar loose in the forest near the East Gate. Slay the beast. Reward: Experience, Silver, Fame Yes/No "I''ll take care of it," said Garnet. "I haven''t been able to get much practice fighting, so this is a rare opportunity for me." Quest Accepted! "Take Kirk and Klarth with you just in case," said Zedd. "I have business at the castle, otherwise I would go with you." In other words, Kirk and Klarth was going to be watching over her. Garnet was now unsure whether Kirk and Klarth were spies for Zedd or if they were there to make sure that their precious hero was not hurt. But, the two were strong and could be relied on in an emergency. "I want to try to take care of it myself," said Garnet. "That''s fine," Klarth replied. "But the moment I feel that you are in danger, I will jump in." "That''s alright by me," said Garnet. "I don''t want to die yet either." "Don''t worry, with us around, you will be safe," Kirk added. The two of them were among the top of the guards. "Can I get a weapon by the way?" asked Garnet. "Is there anything you prefer?" asked Klarth. "Something with a blade, but not as long as the swords you carry," Garnet replied. "Then what you want is a short sword," said Kirk. "Where can I get one?" asked Garnet. "The guards have their own armory, I''ll go see if I can get you one," said Klarth. He left. It was now Garnet and Kirk. "Can I fight you?" asked Garnet. "What me?" said Kirk. "Yes you, who else is here for me to talk to?" Garnet replied. "You do realize I am much stronger than you right?" said Kirk. "Do you still want to try?" "Yes," said Garnet. "I want to know how much stronger you are." Garnet was still at Level 1, but Kirk was at 25. There was a huge difference between them and she wanted to know how much the numbers meant. This was an opportunity to try it. "To make it fair, I won''t use any weapons," said Kirk as he put his sword down. "After all you don''t use any either." Garnet got into her battle stance. One arm in front of the other. Kirk on the other hand, just stood there. He had his armor so he assumed that Garnet would not be able to hurt him. If Kirk was slow, then she would stand a chance. "Are you going to attack or not?" asked Kirk. "I''ll give you a free shot." Garnet channeled mana into her hands. She was not going to cast a spell, but she wanted to know if it would work. Where she was from, there was the idea of chi or ki, that you could channel your inner strength through your body for a more powerful strike. If mana worked the same way, then it could work. "Then here I come," said Garnet. She sprinted forth with mana in her hand and threw a single punch. THUMP. Garnet''s hand made contact with his armor. There was the sound of footsteps, Kirk had moved a step back. "Ow, my hand," said Garnet. She looked at her hand it was a little red. Punching armor straight on was not a good idea. New Skill: Mana Strike (Level 1) Bare handed physical attacks deal magic damage instead of physical damage. MP: 20 per hit "That was pretty good," said Kirk. "There was real force behind that punch and I could feel it, but there is a big difference between you and I." "The difference in strength is great," said Garnet. "I must become stronger." "Strength takes time," said Kirk. "I spent a lot of time training and I continue to do so because I want to be better, but it isn''t easy." "I know," said Garnet. "But I feel so powerless, like I need to do a lot more and there''s no time to do it." "You''ve been entrusted with a huge task," said Kirk. "But you''re not alone. Me, Klarth, and Zedd are all here to help you." "Thanks," said Garnet. Shortly after, Klarth returned. "I''m back," said Klarth. He was holding a short sword and something dark brown. "Here you go." "What''s this?" asked Garnet. "It''s leather armor for you," said Klarth. "We can''t have you running around outside in those clothes," said Klarth as he pointed at Garnet. She was still wearing the clothes Zedd gave her. "They were definitely not suited for combat." "I''ll go get changed," said Garnet as she headed to the back room. The back room had sort of become her own personal room now. Zedd''s Workshop was fairly large and could be considered a middle class or upper class dwelling. He had used many rooms for storage, but he had a few spare rooms still. It was definitely much better than what Garnet could have afforded in her old life. She removed her old clothes and put it into her inventory. It whole set registered as "Villager Clothes." She then changed into the leather that Klarth had brought her. She took a look at herself in the mirror. The leather armor and pants was at least practical. It covered the torso and the shoulders with some flaps to cover the thighs. The pants, boots, and gloves managed to basically cover everything else. For once, Garnet was glad that the leather was not revealing. The sword came with holster that wrapped around her leg. For the forseeable future, this was going to be what she was wearing into fights. She then drew the short sword from the holster and swung it around. It worked with either a normal grip or a reverse grip for her due to its length. After taking a few swings, she put it back. New Skill: One Handed Sword Mastery You have demonstrated proficiency with one handed swords. Boost to damage when using a one handed sword. NOTE: It is also possible to use hand to hand and magic abilities with your off hand while using a one handed sword. Effect: +10% Attack when equipped with a one handed sword, negates Hand to Hand Mastery "The power of the Hero System," thought Garnet. When Garnet was done, she walked outside. Kirk and Klarth were staring. "I know what you''re looking at," she said. "Hurry up so we can get moving." After about a minute, Klarth looked at Kirk and finally said, "Okay let''s go." The three made their way toward the East Gate. Along the way, there was a single man in red leading a group of about a dozen guards. Garnet focused on the man in red: Leeroy Level: 30 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: Halberdier Stats: ??? He was very strong. According to the numbers, he was stronger than Kirk or Klarth. "Who is that?" Garnet asked. "That''s Leeroy," said Klarth. "He''s the head of Duke Charles Wellington''s personal guard and helps to manage the Duke''s soldiers as well." The nobles all had their own soldiers to help maintain their land. This was the information that Garnet had obtained from Zedd. If there were many more people like Leeroy, the King''s personal forces were incomparable. The nobles were the ones who held the real power and could probably turn on the King if they wanted. It is no wonder that Zedd wanted Duke Wellington on his side. Garnet would have to persuade him by force with her abilities. Garnet, Klarth, and Kirk made their way out of the East Gate or what was left of it anyways. It was still trashed from the previous invasion, but the nobles had not gotten around to fixing it. If Garnet was going to be the hero that Zedd believed she was, she would need to gain influence over the others. That meant building up fame and respect among the common people. To do that, she would need to accomplish quests. The first one being the slaying of a giant boar to the east. When they exited the castle, it was a large open plain. In the distance was a forest. This was Garnet''s first time outside of the castle. "It''s so big," she said. "Is there not a lot of land where you are from?" asked Klarth. "Where I''m from, we mostly have big cities," Garnet answered. "Most of the flatland have been made into cities." "How is that even possible?" Kirk asked. "It takes an enormous amount of resources to maintain one. "Technology is different in my world," said Garnet. "They created things to build and maintain very large cities." "I see," said Kirk. "Anyways, is there anything I should watch out for?" Garnet asked. "There''s mostly just wild animals," said Klarth. "The common ones here are wolves, boars, and slimes. Wolves are generally fast, boars are strong but slower, and slimes are resistant to physical attacks, so you have to use magic against them." "When we run across them, I want to fight them myself," said Garnet. "There are some things I want to test out." "That''s fine, but remember, if we think you''re in trouble, we''re going to help you," said Kirk. "Alright with me," said Garnet. She led the way with Kirk and Klarth following closely behind. As they walked across the plain towards the forest, there was nothing until the city was almost out of sight. It was there that Garnet saw the first boar. She looked at the boar: Boar Level: 1 Class: Beast Sub-class: None Stats: ??? "So a boar has a class too," thought Garnet. Garnet raised her arm and shaped her fingers like a gun. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet watched as the projectile zoomed towards the boar. BOOM. The spell exploded upon contact and knocked the boar over. It was already dead. Her magic power was incredibly high due to the passive Otherwordly Knowledge. "You''re a mage!" shouted Kirk. "Zedd taught me," said Garnet. Even though she picked the class of Dark Mage, it was Zedd who taught her how to use the basic spells. It was best not to reveal that she was a Dark Mage. Right now, there was no way to tell unless she summoned the Skeletal Dog. "Umm... why did the body disappear?" asked Klarth. Kirk and Garnet turned around to look. The boar''s body had disappeared. In its place was just a single tusk that belonged to the boar. "Is that normal?" Garnet asked. "No," said Klarth. "There should be the bloody body of a boar right here!" It was because of the fact that Garnet was under the effects of the Hero System. SNORT. "That''s the sound of a boar!" Another one had appeared near by. The Hero System allowed Garnet to kill beast creatures for experience and items, but it would reappear soon after. It allowed for the hero to gain experience and train endlessly. When combined with the quests, they could grow in power and strength quickly. It was also dangerous though because it meant the path behind you was never truly clear. After a while, enemies would return, making it dangerous. But this left a big question for Garnet, what would happen if she died. "Would she I return to where I was summoned?" she thought. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet paralyzed the boar and stabbed it with her short sword. She counted. In about thirty seconds, it reappeared again. A text box appeared telling her that her Intelligence had increased from using magic. "It keeps coming back," said Kirk. "Imagine the money you could make if you just kept killing one over and over again for its tusk." Garnet continued to kill boars, but not every single boar dropped a tusk. Sometimes it did, sometimes it did not. She was able to put all of the tusks in a single spot in her Inventory. That meant that she could hold five different items, not just five items in total. She also noticed that the boar did not attack first. It would always wait for her to attack it before it did anything. The Hero System changed the rules of the world around her. It was something extremely powerful and beyond what most people could imagine, exactly as what Zedd had said. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Level Up: Lightning Bolt (Level 2) Stat Gain: Intelligence +1 You have leveled up! It was a message from the Hero System. Garnet had gained a level. She opened her Menu to check her Status. Status: Name: Garnet Level: 2 Class: Dark Mage Sub-Class: Temptress Stats: HP: 280/280 MP: 750/780 Fame: 0 Strength: 3+1 (+5) Dexterity: 3 (+7) Intelligence: 6+1 (+22) Vitality: 8 (+5) Agility: 5 (+7) Charisma: 9+1 (+10) Stat Points: 5 Garnet''s Status looked very different. She had more health and mana now. There was also something new called proficiency. She also had a bunch of numbers next to her stats. She remembered she had gotten the +1 Strength when she was practicing and getting used to her body. The extra point in Intelligence was from using spells just now. Her other skills including Otherworldly Knowledge and Golden Tongue gave the bonuses in the parenthesis. The five points from the level made a big difference. It was no wonder that Kirk who was 25 was able to resist her attack so easily. She knew that as a spellcaster, Intelligence was the most important stat and put everything in. Stats: HP: 280/280 MP: 320/880 Fame: 0 Strength: 3+1 (+5) Dexterity: 3 (+7) Intelligence: 11+1 (+22) Vitality: 8 (+5) Agility: 5 (+7) Charisma: 9+1 (+10) Stat Points: 0 Her maximum mana had gone up with Intelligence as well. Each stat had additional effects besides boosting basic things like damage. She would have to keep track of things like this and study it more in the future. "Are you done yet or are you going to just stand there all day?" asked Kirk. "I''m trying to understand how this thing works," said Garnet. "But I''ll hurry," she said as she continued forward. As Garnet walked, she thought about the benefits of the Hero System. A lot of it depends on what she does. The actions she takes, and the decisions she makes. There was one thing that worried her. As a spellcaster, if someone or something got close, it would be very problematic. She needed to find a way to get around this problem. For now, the sword was sufficient since her base power was not much different from the enemies. The problem was what would happen in the future. She needed to find a way to compensate. Mana Strike was a starting point. Physical training was just as important. She needed the strength to fight back, so she decided to fight against the upcoming enemies with just her short sword. There it was, a wolf. It was staring right at them. Wolf Level: 2 Class: Beast Sub-class: None Stats: ??? It was definitely faster than the boar, but it was not faster than Garnet. As the wolf came charging, she side stepped and stabbed her short sword right into the neck of the wolf and ran it across its body. She repeated this a few times on the wolf as it reappeared. The wolf was not like the boar. It attacked first without waiting for her to take action. New Skill: One Handed Sword ¨C Horizontal Slash A slash that cuts the side of your enemy. Most effective on the torso. Deals reduced damage on other body parts. Effect: +50% Attack Damage when used, +100% if attack lands on torso It was a skill that targetted a certain part of the body. Training with a weapon gave weapon skills that were effective at close range combat. "With this, I can be a lot stronger if someone came close," she thought. It was useful in case her Air Bullet somehow proved to be ineffective. "She''s pretty good," said Klarth. "She''s using the dangers of the real world to practice." "I know," said Kirk. "It''s almost like she''s been fighting for many years." The two stood and watched as Garnet fought several wolves. They were predictable and lept in as they attacked. When Garnet attacked, a blue streak of light appeared as she slashed through the wolf. Horizontal Slash had multiplied her strength when she used that action. "I have to find the others sword techniques," she thought. You have leveled up! Garnet had already reached level 3 from just killing wolves. Stats: HP: 330/330 MP: 450/1080 Fame: 0 Strength: 3+2 (+5) Dexterity: 3+1 (+7) Intelligence: 16+1 (+22) Vitality: 8 (+5) Agility: 5+1 (+7) Charisma: 9+1 (+10) Stat Points: 0 She was already much stronger than when she started. Each level was making a significant difference. She continued to pour all the stats into Intelligence to increase her magic power. Training proved to be effective as well since it provided additional stats on top of levels. What came to her mind was, "How strong is Zedd if that man is level 71 and has been practicing magic for many years?" Eventually, the team made it to the forest. It was not as thick with trees like a rainforest. When Garnet looked up, she could see the sky. If she looked around her though, she saw numerous trees. Somewhere in this forest lived a giant wild boar. She now just had to find it. "Any ideas where to look guys?" Garnet asked. "If you see giant footprints in the shape of hooves, you''re on the right track," said Kirk. "That''s obvious," said Klarth. "But there''s also other things you can look for like caves or hollowed out trees. Large animals sometimes like to live in those places." As the three looked, they mainly saw small boars though there were a few medium sized ones. She took this chance to train both skills. Lightning Bolt to stun, then finish it off with her short sword. This proved to be a very effective combination. It allowed her to raise both her magic and one handed sword skills. There was still one problem, taking a hit. She had not taken one and wondered what it was like to take a hit here. Garnet decided to try. She was now at level 5 and already stronger than all of the boars, so she decided to try to take a hit from them. BAM. "She got hit!" said Kirk. "Is she okay?" It did not hurt as much as Garnet expected. It did no visible damage. There was no bruising or bleeding at all. She was much stronger here than in her previous life. She could take another easily. Garnet got up like it was nothing. Her health barely even went down by about 5%. BAM. She got hit again! "Is she doing it on purpose?" Klarth asked. "I don''t know," said Kirk. "But if it looks like she''s in danger, we can always help, but these things should not hurt her that badly." He drew his sword and began to close his distance. But, it was not life threatening yet, so he chose to wait because of the agreement he made with Garnet." New Skill: Physical Resistance (Level 1) Damage from non-magical sources deal less damage. Effect: Physical Damage Received Down 1% "It''s something," thought Garnet as she enchanted her hand with mana. POW. She punched the boar right in its head as it came charging. New Skill: Mana Shield (Level 1) Mana is reduced instead of health when damage is received. Ratio improves at higher levels. Effect: Damage received is taken from Mana instead at 1:1 ratio. As a spellcaster, this was a highly useful ability, since she had a high mana pool and high mana regeneration, it gave her incredible endurance. "Mana Shield!" Garnet activated the skill and let another boar hit her. BAM. She was hit again, but the boar bounced back this time. She did not feel a thing. Her mana went down very slightly, but quickly recovered. The boar came around again. Garnet used Horizontal Slash and cut it. She watched as it bled on the ground before disappearing. "Are you okay?" asked Klarth. "Are you hurt anywhere?" "I''m fine," said Garnet. "I just wanted to see what it was like to take a hit." The two were worried about her because it was their job. If anything happened to her, they would have been responsible and it could potentially doom their kingdom. As they made their way deeper into the forest, the number of enemies became fewer in number. "That''s strange," said Kirk. "What''s strange?" asked Garnet. "There should be more of them deeper in the forest," said Kirk. "But there''s hardly anything here." "We must be close then," said Garnet. "Stronger animals and beasts tend to mark their own territory and defend it. That''s why they aren''t coming here." SNORT. "What was that?" asked Klarth. It was a noise that was deeper and not as high pitched as the others. "It''s the Giant Wild Boar!" said Garnet. "I know it." BOOM. A tree was knocked over. It was the Giant Wild Boar. It was bigger than all three of them put together. It had a much bigger snout and on it, were horns that were as tall as the boar itself. Giant Wild Boar Level: 5 Class: Beast Sub-class: Boss Stats: ??? It was much stronger than the other enemies that Garnet had come across. It even had a sub-class. Garnet would have to slay it if she was going to complete Zedd''s quest. The boar turned to face them. It stamped its hooves as it prepared to charge. Klarth and Kirk moved away, but Garnet stood her ground. "Hurry and get out of the way!" said Klarth as he pulled her. "I know you want to take it head on, but don''t let it crush you." "Klarth was right," Garnet thought. She was too focused on testing her limits than fighting to win. This was a battle that she needed to win. It was not the time to test. "Lightning Bolt!" The Giant Wild Boar was struck by the lightning, but it had no effect. It turned around and faced Garnet who had drawn its attention with the lightning bolt. Luckily, it was slow, it was easy to dodge and she was able to roll to the side. Garnet focused and accumulated mana into her finger tips. She needed to give the Lightning Bolt more power to stun it. "Wait!" she thought. "There''s a better spell. Since the boar is coming right for me, I just need to accumulate power into an Air Bullet." The Giant Wild Boar came running straight for Garnet. "Watch out!" shouted Klarth as he ran in. Kirk followed in with him. They had deemed it was too dangerous and went to intercept the attack. "Air Bullet!" Garnet released the powerful burst of air at close range. The boar was sent flying back and Klarth was sent flying sideways. Level Up: Air Bullet (Level 2) BOOM. The ground shook as the Giant Wild Boar landed. Garnet looked at Klarth to make sure he was alright. He got back on his feet right away. "She had more spells!" said Kirk. He was lucky that he was a few steps behind otherwise he would have been sent flying too. "She''s got this. Let''s just see how she finishes this." Garnet used about half of her mana for that powerful Air Bullet. But, her mana recharged at an extremely quick rate thanks to her abilities. She began to charge a more powerful Lightning Bolt, one that would hopefully stun the Giant Wild Boar. The Giant Wild Boar had gotten up. It shook its head as it was dazed from the last attack. It looked at Garnet again and prepared to charge. It ran straight torwards Garnet. Kirk and Klarth watched as lightning gathered around Garnet''s finger tips. Some of it was leaking out and striking the ground. Garnet was pouring an incredible amount of mana into one spell. "Lightning Bolt!" she cried. A huge bolt of lightning flew across the field and struck the Giant Wild Boar. Level Up: Lightning Bolt (Level 3) BZZT. The Giant Wild Boar crashed into the ground. Smoke rose from it. It had been stunned. Garnet took out her short sword and stabbed it into the head of the Giant Wild Boar killing it. The only thing that remained, a giant tusk. You have leveled up! Quest Update: Report to Zedd. Garnet looked at her mana bar as it began to fill from nothing. She opened her Menu and continued to pour points into Intelligence. It now served as a boost to her health thanks to Mana Shield. "That was incredible," said Kirk. "That lightning stunned the boar in a single attack." "I poured all my mana into that attack," said Garnet. "I didn''t know how much I needed to actually stun it, so I just put everything in." "Come on, let''s hurry up and report this to Zedd," said Klarth. Garnet put the giant tusk into her Inventory. "I wonder if this has any use?" On the way back, Garnet let Kirk and Klarth take care of anything they ran across. "You sure about this?" asked Klarth. "You don''t need the experience or items?" "No, I got enough," said Garnet. "The most important was the experience. Fighting here is very different from my old life and I learned a lot." "That''s good," said Klarth. "Oh and don''t tell anyone that I can cast magic," said Garnet. "Why?" asked Kirk. "Promise me or I will make you do it!" said Garnet. Klarth understood what these words meant. Garnet had made Kirk slap Zedd across the face and he has no memory of it other than he wanted to do it. If she also had an ability like that, it would be scary to think about what she might do to them. "I promise," said Klarth. "Really?" said Kirk. "Don''t you want to know why?" "Do you want to be a chicken again?" asked Klarth. Kirk remembered. Garnet had made him act like a chicken during her tests. "I promise!" said Kirk with enthusism. "Good," said Garnet. "Then we won''t have a problem." Kirk and Klarth both looked at each other. "She''s scary," whispered Kirk. "Shh, don''t let her hear you," said Klarth. The three made their way back to Antium. Garnet looked at her Inventory. It primarily consisted of Boar Tusks and Wolf Pelts. There was also decent amount of Boar Meat and the Giant Boar Tusk. "I wonder if cooking will have special benefits," thought Garnet. She really wanted to try. If all of those other skills were useful, cooking would have some kind of additional effect as well. If she started traveling, it would also be an important skill that she needed. But, this might not be the time for it either. There were food problems in Antium, but with her ability, it might have been possible to at least acquire some Boar Meat to sell. When the three made it back to Zedd''s Workshop, Zedd was nowhere to be seen. "Is he out again?" Garnet thought. Zedd had been very busy from the looks of it. Although he spent a lot of the first day with her, he now left Garnet to Kirk and Klarth and disppeared early in the day. "Do either of you know what Zedd has been up to?" asked Garnet. "No," Klarth replied. "He told us to just protect you and make sure you don''t do anything stupid." Zedd was clearly up to something, but Garnet did not know what. She felt more comfortable if she knew what Zedd was up to. Zedd did not return until dark. "Oh you guys are back," said Zedd. "I thought you guys would be out there until tomorrow." "Nope," said Kirk. "She already slew the Giant Wild Boar." "Is that so?" asked Zedd. "Here," said Garnet. She pulled out the Giant Boar Tusk. It went from the floor to nearly the ceiling of Zedd''s Workshop. "Incredible," said Zedd. "This tusk is of the highest quality. I can use it for an experiment." Quest Complete: Slay the Giant Wild Boar Reward: 200 Experience, 50 Silver, 10 Fame "Darn, no level up," thought Garnet. She had already obtained a large amount of experience from killing boars in the forest, but she wanted to catch up to the elites like Kirk, Klarth, and Leeroy. "I''ll pay you for this," said Zedd as he handed Garnet 50 Silver Coins in a bag. Garnet placed the bag in her Inventory. That way no one could take it from her. She now at least had some money to spend. "I have a question for you Zedd," said Garnet. "What is it?" asked Zedd. "What have you been up to recently?" asked Garnet. "You seem so very busy." "I''ve been trying to persuade the King and the nobles to fix the East Wall, but with no luck," said Zedd. "We will most likely have to make use of your ability, but that alone will not be enough." "What do you mean?" Garnet asked. "Duke Charles Wellington can certain propose the idea and get some support behind it," said Zedd. "But you need public pressure to persuade a majority of them." "How do I do that?" asked Garnet. "It''s simple," said Zedd. "See if there are any requests by others in the city and try to fulfill them. That will build your reputation and influence with the people whether they be commoners or nobles. In addition to placating the people for the King, you will earn their support and eventually be able to call on them for favors." "Can''t I do the same for the Duke?" asked Garnet. "Most of the high ranking nobles can do with the forces that they have," said Zedd. "They rarely need to call on the King or others for help. The small nobles on the other hand do frequently need help from people like mercenaries, so you can help them. Show them your worth and contribute to their efforts. If you do, they will owe you and you can call in a favor." "That is much easier than having to sleep with every noble," said Garnet. "But I haven''t seen many people with requests lately." "That''s because the people do not believe that people will help them," said Zedd. "What you need to do is to somehow get things started. Once it starts, people will believe again and will begin to ask the guards or more likely, you, for help." "This is going to be a long task," said Garnet. "I know," Zedd replied. "But this is the work that is needed to save our world, even if it means just saving one person at a time." Spoiler : Minor change to stat table. Base stat + gains from training (+skill boost) Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 4 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 380/380 [50*level + 10*vit] MP: 1280/1280 [100*level + 20*int] Fame: 10 Strength: 3+2 (+5) Dexterity: 3+1 (+7) Intelligence: 21+1 (+22) Vitality: 8 (+5) Agility: 5+1 (+7) Charisma: 9+1 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: -One Handed Sword - 5
Magic: - Fire ¨C 0 - Lightning ¨C 2 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 3) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 1) - Mana Shield (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Dogs (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 1) - Captivation: (Level 1) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 1) - Speed (Level 2) - Physical Resistance (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 1: Chapter 005 - Motivation "Saving one person at a time," thought Garnet. This was going to be a tough task. So many problems plagued the city yet she the only one person who had to deal with all of these problems. If she had help it would be different, it would be a lot easier. "What would Garnet do?" she thought. The old Garnet was someone who was gifted at talking and was very persuasive. There was a chance that she could do the same thing. According to Zedd and what she observed, most people could not be trusted. Most people were only concerned with themselves. There was one exception to this rule that she knew of, the merchant. Garnet had seen the merchant when she walked around town. Nearly every other day, he was at the marketplace selling his wares. It mostly consisted of a small amount of food. Most of what he sold was precious gems and luxury items to the nobles. The fact that he was still trying to sell food despite a minor loss meant that he was at least trying to do the right thing. Garnet decided on a plan. She would hunt boars in order to harvest their parts. Their tusks sold for a bit of money to the stores in Antium because they could be traded for other things. What she needed though was their meat. The combination of high prices and low supply of food in Antium caused many problems and an angry people was prime for a revolt. In order to do this, she at least had to make some impact on the food supply. Garnet decided that in order to do this, she needed to move in the middle of the night. But to her surprise... "Going somewhere?" asked Zedd. "You''re awake?" said Garnet. "Of course," said Zedd. "I just want to know what you were up to." "I have a solution to one of our problems," said Garnet. "I''m going to be hunting boars." "Boars?" said Zedd. "Why?" "The creatures that I kill seem to reappear after a period of time, but they leave their parts, so I want to harvest their meat," said Garnet. "And you plan to sell it?" asked Zedd. "Nope, I plan to get someone to sell it for me," said Garnet. "Alright, but be careful, out there," said Zedd. "Take this too." He threw her a leather cloak to hide her face and head. "I''ve almost got Duke Charles Wellington to agree to meet you so don''t do anything stupid out there." "I won''t," asid Garnet as she left. Garnet was wearing her leather outfit and snuck around in the shadows. The cloak made it hard to see her face unless you were right in front of her. She made her way to the East Gate. New Skill: Stealth Allows you to move in silence and undetected as long as you are in the shadows. Level Up: Speed (Level 4) The East Gate was filled with holes so it was easy to get out. This was her first time outside of Antium by herself. In the past, she was always followed by Kirk and Klarth. On her own, she needed to be safe, but she had a good idea. "Call: Skeletal Dogs!" Garnet summoned three of her Skeletal Dogs to accompany her and help her scout. They were weak, but easy to summon with her enormous pool of mana. If any one of them got hurt, she would know that there was an aggressive animal like a wolf around. She also did not want to use her magic because the lights could be visible from Antium, so she had to rely on her Skeletal Dogs and her short sword. The boars were much more plentiful at night than the day, and they were often asleep. It gave her the chance to use Stealth to walk up to them and kill them with a single strike. Garnet thought of something she had learned. Hunting. It was sometimes necessary to survive in the wild and hunt wild animals for food. The bodies of the boars disappeared, but only after an amount of time had passed. She wanted to know if she could use her skills to harvest additional meat from the boars. Garnet approached one of the bars. She activated Stealth and stabbed it in the head. As soon as it died, Garnet went to work. She cut off the skin and removed as much of the meat as she could from the bones. New Class: Hunter New Skill: Hunting (Level 1) Allows you to harvest animal parts. New Skill: Inventory Expansion (Level 1) Allows you to hold more items in your Inventory. Garnet opened her Menu. There was a"!" under Class, Skills, and Inventory. She checked her Inventory first, the number of slots had doubled from five to ten. She could now hold ten different types of items in it. Under Class, there was a new section. Trade Skills. Only Hunter was available and it now had its own skill tree too. The rest were displayed as ???. She would have to discover the others on her own. "There''s more!" thought Garnet. She would have to try out different things later on, but knowing that this was possible was a very big deal. She could acquire more meat from a single boar and guarantee it as an item. There was a few more things she wanted to try. "Call: Skeletal Dogs!" The three dogs all reappeared in front of her. Garnet picked up one of the Skeletal Dogs and put it in her Inventory. It had become an item! "It worked! But how?!?" It logically made no sense. It was a creature, but it could be stored as an item. Then again, the Hero System was beyond comprehension as well. She took the Skeletal Dog back out. "Attack that Boar," Garnet commanded. The three dogs all attacked the boar together. The dogs bit and headbutted the boar until it was dead. "Now I can have them attack while I harvest!" Level Up: Hunting (Level 2) There was a problem with this. Although Garnet''s skills were increasing, they were not providing the amount of experience she needed to level up and become stronger overall. She would have to find stronger enemies in the future. But right now, it was more important to focus on improving living conditions in Antium. Level Up: Call Skeletal Dogs (Level 2) Level Up: Call Skeletal Dogs (Level 3) Level Up: Call Skeletal Dogs (Level 4) Level Up: Call Skeletal Dogs (Level 5) The Skeletal Dogs had almost caught up to her level from fighting. They were much stronger now. "I could have my own personal army in the future," she thought. Having the ability to summon was a huge advantage because it allowed you to outnumber the enemy. What should have been a 1 on 1 fight can instantly turn into a 4 on 1 with her ability. On top of that, at higher levels, she would be able to summon other creatures that were more powerful. The only problem was that they would have to hunt for experience to become stronger as well. Nonetheless, it was much more efficient. Level Up: Hunting (Level 3) By sunrise, Garnet had hunted almost as much meat as she had all day yesterday with Kirk and Klarth. Having more numbers with the Skeletal Dogs was definitely a huge advantage, but it was not something she could be caught doing during the day. Garnet was able to sneak back into Antium the same way that she left. There were numerous holes in the East Gate and very easy to get in. If there was a serious invasion, the city would probably fall in an instant. Yet, no one took action to do anything. She made her way to the marketplace. The merchant was there. Garnet walked up to his stand and looked. "Looking to buy something today miss?" he asked. Garnet looked at the foods that he had. It was bread and vegetables. "Can I trust you to sell something?" asked Garnet. "Yes, but I charge a 30% commission," said the merchant. "You can keep all the money from the sales if you agree to my conditions," said Garnet. "What is it?" asked the merchant. "First, your name," said Garnet. "My name is Samuel Clark," said the merchant. "Most people call me Clark." "I will supply you with Boar Meat," said Garnet. "You will sell it to the people at a lower price and lower the price of vegetables and your other foods. To compensate for that, I will let you keep all the profits of the meat." "Why are you doing this?" asked Clark. "This city is in trouble," said Garnet. "But what we need is an economy to get started, but it just is not possible under the current conditions." "So you plan to change those conditions?" asked Clark. "Yes," Garnet replied. "And one of those things is to change the market. I will supply you with Boar Meat, you sell it. Deal?" "Deal," said Clark. "But I want to know your name." "It''s Garnet," Garnet answered. "If you want to look for me, I can usually be found at Zedd''s Workshop." Reward: 10 Fame, Charisma+1 "I got something for doing that too," thought Garnet. "Is it because he knows my name now?" Garnet walked around a corner and took out an empty crate. She filled it up with some of the Boar Meat that she had acquired and tried to pushed it over to Clark''s stand. "Come help," shouted Garnet. Stat Gain: Strength+1 Clark ran over and saw the crate of meat. "That''s a lot!" said Clark. "That''s the point," said Garnet. "I need the prices to drop, the only way is to put a lot of it out there on the market." "Are you sure about not wanting to keep any of the money?" asked Clark. "This is easily dozens of gold worth of meat." "Yes," said Garnet. "This is not for me, this is for the people who need the food." "Thank you," said Clark. Garnet left the meat with Clark. Now, she wanted to test something else. Cooking. It was another necessary survival skill, but if it was affected by the Hero System, it could lead to huge profits and other unknown benefits. She only had 50 silver, which was not a lot, but with it, it was enough to buy some basic cooking materials. She had seen Zedd''s Workshop and borrowed some of his equipment like his burners and wood. All she really needed was a cooking knife, a cutting board, and a pan to cook in. Total price: 40 silver. She was almost out of money again. When Garnet returned to Zedd''s Workshop, she saw Kirk and Klarth. Kirk had his head down with both hands holding on to it. Klarth was nervously pacing back and forth. As Garnet approached, she spoke, "What''s wrong?" "Oh my god you''re alive!" shouted Klarth as he hugged her. "Hey let go," said Garnet. "Get off of me!" Klarth let go. "We thought something had happened to you." "I just went out early to go to the market," said Garnet. "What for?" asked Kirk who was still nervously sweating. "To get cooking materials," Garnet answered. Kirk and Klarth looked at each other. They were both confused. Garnet went inside Zedd''s Workshop and turned what should have been his laboratory into a kitchen. "Are you sure about this?" asked Klarth. "It''s not like he uses it," Garnet replied. "He has his lab in the castle anyways." On the table, she set up the cutting board and used the burner to heat the pan. She cut up the meat and started cooking it in the pan. New Class: Cook New Skill: Cooking (Level 1) Foods prepared by a cook provide bonus stats or effects for a limited amount of time. New Skill: Inspection (Level 1) By focusing on an item, you can see more detailed information about it. Level Up: Inventory Expansion (Level 2) "It worked!" thought Garnet. Doing these tasks that other people do gave her new skills that were very effective. Garnet focused on the red meat in the pan. She could see more information on it. Name: Cooked Boar Meat Quality: Low Durability: 10/10 As a few moments passed, the quality changed from low to medium. It was getting better because it was almost done. She turned the meat to cook the other side and waited. The quality of the item became high, meaning that it was done. With Inspection, she could prepare perfect food every time. Name: Cooked Boar Meat Quality: High Durability: 10/10 Effect: Bonus Max HP+100 for 30 minutes. "Try it," said Garnet as she handed some to Kirk and Klarth. She bit into a piece herself. She watched as the numbers on her health bar changed from a maximum of 350 to 450. Other foods would most likely have different effects. Kirk was still hesitating so Garnet just pushed it into his mouth. "I said eat it!" she shouted. "It''s good," said Kirk. Klarth then took a bite into his. "You''re right!" Garnet had learned a lot more about her skills during this experience, but there was one major problem. Time. No matter how many skills or abilities she had, she did not have the time to train all of them. She would eventually need to focus on a few. Those were most likely going to be her magic skills for combat, and maybe Hunting and Cooking for survival. Things like Blacksmithing or Farming were out of the question as they took too long. But, she thought about learning how to repair her equipment. That could be something useful. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The Hero System was powerful, and there was still much more to learn from it. It not only came with combat skills, it came with a lot of practical skills too if the user could discover it. There was one thing that Garnet wanted to know most. That was whether it was possible to combine her sword skills with magic. The Class system had said that the initial Class selection could only be changed under certain conditions. She had to find out what that meant and what it could change into. For now, she was simply a Dark Mage with a sword. For now, she needed to get the food supply moving again. "So what is the point of this?" asked Kirk. "I''m going to have someone sell this for me," said Garnet. "Are you becoming a cook now?" asked Klarth. "Something like that," Garnet replied. "This is going to be the key to pushing through some changes in the system. Since the nobles do not want to change, I will change how the merchants work. To do that I need you to get me something from the castle." "What is it?" Klarth asked. "A maid outfit, but you need to cut the length of the skirt so that it only reaches down to my knees," said Garnet. "What?!?" said Kirk. "Just do it!" Garnet ordered. Klarth brought back the clothes and Garnet put it on. She tied some of the parts tighter to make sure that it emphasized her curves and her physical attractiveness. The goal was to draw attention after all. Garnet headed back to the marketplace in her maid clothes. Klarth and Kirk were following, but they could barely keep up now. She had gotten a lot faster thanks to her Speed skill. "I don''t understand the point of this," said Kirk. "You''ll see," said Garnet. "This is to add persuasive power." When Garnet arrived, the marketplace was as dead as ever. Right now, Clark was the only person there. "No customers?" Garnet asked. "Barely any," said Clark. "Few people come around the market now." "I''m going to fix that," said Garnet. "Do you have anything to cook with?" Clark took out a small portable burner with glowing rocks in it. With a match, the whole thing lit on fire. "If you want to put it out, you need to smother the fire with something." Garnet cut off a few pieces of the meat and started cooking. "We''re going to draw their attention with this," said Garnet. "So the smell of food will bring people over?" asked Clark. "It might, but that''s what we''re counting on," said Garnet. "Right now the market is dead because there''s no people, but what we need is people who want to buy and sell. Taxes and tariffs are high and stay high because the nobles have no pressure, so what we need to do is motivate people to create pressure." "How do we do that?" Clark asked. "We create a clear shortage," said Garnet. "The tariffs and taxes cannot stay high if it is obvious that there is a shortage. So what we need to do is create demand for something that is plentiful, then turn it into a shortage." It was economics. The market was dead because few people were willing to buy and sell. All Garnet needed to do was create conditions that would make people want to buy and sell. To do this, she lowered the price of the meat greatly so that people could afford it. She used the Hero System to create supply, and now all that was needed was to create demand. "Set the price to only 1 silver per stick of meat," said Garnet. "That cheap?!?" shouted Clark. "Yes," said Garnet. "Remember, we''re trying to create a shortage first, not make money. Besides you keep it all anyways." Garnet started cutting meat and putting them onto sticks, creating skewers. She handed a few to Kirk. "Take them and pass them out to a few people, tell them you got it from the market," ordered Garnet. Garnet''s Sub-Class as a Temptress gave her the power to make people listen. This was something that she could use to draw their attention. However, she could still not openly say that the people needed to take action against the nobles. Instead, she needed to make them pay attention to their policies that were creating high prices and shortages. Soon, there were a few people gathering at the market. "If you purchase meat from this merchant, I can cook it for you," said Garnet. She had caught the attention of a lot of men. She was using her sex appeal to her advantage, but it was a way to get things started and it was working. However, they were suspicious. The meat was suspiciously low prices. That was her other trap. Klarth walked by, "This is good," he said. The few people turned to look at him, it was the skewers that she had prepared earlier. "I''ll take one!" shouted someone in the crowd. Garnet made one and handed it to him. "It is good!" he said. Stat Increase: Charisma +1 The orders began to pour in. It was cheaper than other places and it was cooked for them as well. More people began to gather when they heard the news. Garnet could even see some of the city''s guards. Level Up: Cooking (Level 2) Level Up: Cooking (Level 3) Then, Garnet suddenly stopped cutting more meat. "Sorry everyone, but we''re out of meat," she said. Stat Increase: Charisma +1 "What?!?" shouted someone in the crowd. "How can you be out?" "It''s just too expensive to bring in that much meat," said Garnet. "The tariffs on bringing in meat is high, and we make very little off of this. I hope you all can understand." There were whispers among the crowd. Garnet''s abilities as a Temptress were able to persuade them to at least listen. The rest was up to them. Over the next few days, Garnet repeated the process. At nights, she would sneak out and hunt Boar Meat. In the morning, she would bring the Boar Meat to Clark. In the afternoon, she would cook the Boar Meat to sell to the people at an insanely low price. Clark did not mind because he was making a profit either way. Stat Increase: Charisma +1 Stat Increase: Charisma +1 Stat Increase: Charisma +1 Stat Increase: Charisma +1 This began to draw the attention of other people, specifically a noble. "That''s Baron Gray!" said Clark. "Don''t anger him," he whispered. Baron Gray was a rather short and skinny man who wore a lot of purple on him. A purple top, a purple hat, and even purple pants. Purple was thought to be the color of royalty and it was most likely that was what Baron Gray was trying to give the impression of. He was about the same height of Garnet who was already considered somewhat small. He was being escorted by four guards. As he approached, the crowd turned silent. "I came out here to see what all the commotion was about," said Baron Gray. "We''re just selling cooked meat," said Garnet. "You do know you have to pay taxes on those," said Baron Gray. "Oh, what kind of taxes?" Garnet asked. "Tariffs," said Baron Gray. "But these are locally sourced," said Garnet. "They were hunted from the forest outside of the East Gate. They have not passed through anyone''s territory." "Then a sales tax," said Baron Gray. "That''s only paid at the end of the month to the King," said Garnet. "Well I work in the name of the King and I order you to pay an additional income tax now," said Baron Gray. Clark handed over a small bag of coins to Baron Gray. "Thank you," said Baron Gray. "You may go about your business." He then walked away. "Why did you do that?" asked Clark. "I told you not to antagonize him." "That''s the point," said Garnet. "We are very public and drawing a lot of attention right now, if something happens to us, then the suspect will clearly be him." Garnet had just secured their safety. Baron Gray had threatened Clark and Garnet with the name of the King in broad daylight with numerous witnesses. "Starting tomorrow, we raise the prices," said Garnet. "We''re going to turn the people against the Baron." The next day, the price of the skewers had gone up. It was now 3 silver. Nearly triple the price, but still much cheaper than most other foods on the market. There was outrage. "It was just 1 silver yesterday." "I''m sorry, but since Baron Gray made us pay additional taxes, we have to raise the prices," said Garnet. For providing food to the town at a low price, they were being punished. Her Golden Tongue was very persuasive. Few people could resist her temptation. People began to spread rumors about the Baron. Stat Increase: Charisma+1 "Did you hear? Baron Gray is trying to starve the city to death," said a man. "Yes, I saw him extort money from the only merchant still willing to sell in this city," said another. "I heard he threatened to kill that poor girl who was cooking the meat," said a woman. These were the voices that targeted Baron Gray, an individual who was deemed acting out of line. But, it was exactly what Garnet wanted. For the first time in a long time, a few people were willing to voice their disapproval. The only problem now is that a noble would have to take action to start reducing tariffs before these people disappeared. When Garnet heard the news. "The first step is complete," she thought. "Now I need to find a way to get nobles to do something." There was always a chance though that this could go wrong. In the worst case scenario, she should start a revolution and a civil war that threatens everything. But this made Garnet think of something. She still had no idea how to get home. Even if she succeeded in saving Antium, she would need to find a way back to her own world. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 4 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 380/380 MP: 1280/1280 Fame: 20 Strength: 6 (+5) Dexterity: 4 (+7) Intelligence: 22 (+22) Vitality: 8 (+5) Agility: 6 (+7) Charisma: 17 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 0 - Lightning ¨C 2 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning - 4
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 3) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 1) - Mana Shield (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Dogs (Level 5) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 1) - Captivation: (Level 1) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 4) - Cook - Inspection (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 2)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 1) - Speed (Level 4) - Physical Resistance (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 1: Chapter 006 - Mysteries I think this is the halfway point of the first arc. Invasions and the problems of the city are not going to be resolved in one arc. There''s more hints about the true nature of the Hero System and the Hero Summoning. I hope I got the numbers on the stats right for once >.> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnet realized her one fatal weakness was her physical strength. In terms of physical strength, she was weaker than most people. She was not sure whether it was due to the poor living conditions of her old self or something else, but she was physically weaker than most soldiers. This was what she needed to overcome the most. She decided to stop using magic when she could and focus on what she could do with her short sword alone. As she cut her way through the Wild Boars, she focused on moving faster. There were of course a few dangers when it came to speed, but her special skills more than made up for it. Level Up: Speed (Level 5) Level Up: Reflex (Level 3) Level Up: Physical Resistance (Level 2) Level Up: Mana Shield (Level 2) Her goal was to be able to fight someone like Klarth in a straight up fight before Zedd could have her train with the other guards. But, that was a tall order. There was over 20 levels of stat differences between them and that was not something to overcome, especially if the other person was also an experienced warrior. Stat Increase: Strength +1 Stat Increase: Dexterity +1 Stat Increase: Vitality +1 Stat Increase: Agility +1 Garnet had gotten some stat ups from her fighting, but people like Kirk and Klarth were experienced fighters. "Their stats would be far higher and they would have gotten a lot more from their fighting," Garnet thought to herself. She continued to push faster with the goal of becoming stronger. She occasionally got hit, but it did not hurt at all thanks to her Mana Shield. It was a frightening ability with her high mana regeneration. Level Up: Enhanced Body (Level 2) New Effect: Resistance to abnormal status effects, such as poison and paralysis New Skill: Double Slash (Level 1) A diagonal slash downward followed by an upward slash, hits twice Effect: +50% Attack Damage per hit As Garnet pushed her way deeper into the forest, she found something. It was a cave that led underground. It was not noticed before because the rest of the ground was flat. It was the only part that sloped downward. New Quest: Explore the Cave There is a strange cave in the forest outside of the East Gate. Investigate it and find out what is inside. Reward: Experience "Call: Skeletal Dogs!" She summoned her Skeletal Dogs to lead the way. She followed just behind them. Even though she was alone, it was a decent team. The only problem, it was too dark to see. She channeled mana into her fingers "Lightning Bolt!" A small spark of lighting floated at her fingers and lit whatever she pointed to. New Skill: Light (Level 1) Provides light in darkened areas, but only a small radius around you Effect: Provides sight in dark areas within 5m As Garnet made her way deeper into the cave, she saw something move. She removed her light and sent her Skeletal Dogs in. CLICK CLACK. It was the sound of something moving. There was something there. "Light!" Garnet pointed her light in the direction. It was a skeleton with a sword! It was a cave with undead monsters. She observed the skeleeton Name: Skeleton Level: 5 Class: Undead Sub-Class: None Stats: ??? It was also a stronger monster, meaning that she could get experience from it. With little knowledge, she did not want to get close, so she resorted to magic again. "Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The skeleton was blown to pieces in one hit. Garnet''s magic power was frightening, but she still had to be careful. She continued to make her way through the cave with her dogs leading the way. They could sense when there was an enemy near by and ran to it. This allowed Garnet to see which way they were coming from. UWA. Something was moaning deep in the cave and it echoed outwards. Garnet made her ways towards the sound that was coming from deep in the cave. With her Skeletal Dogs leading the way, it was very safe. She blasted more skeletons out of the way You have leveled up! Level Up: Call Skeletal Dogs (Level 6) She was getting a lot of skill ups as well against the new enemies. When she arrived at the end of the cave, it was a large room. As she pointed her light in their direction she saw it. People with green and grey skin. They were zombies! Name: Zombie Level: 8 Class: Undead Sub-Class: None Stats: ??? They were much stronger than the Skeletons. But, they were weak to magic. She channeled her mana into a single Fire Bolt. "Fire Bolt!" BOOM. It drained half her mana, but the explosion wiped out most of them. Level Up: Fire Bolt (Level 4) Stat Increase: Intelligence+1 You have leveled up! You have leveled up! The Skeletal Dogs did clean up and finished what was left. Garnet decided to invest points into Agility instead of Intelligence for higher speed in case she needed to run or avoid something she could not beat. Level Up: Call Skeletal Dogs (Level 7) However, there was nothing in the cave. Just lots of undead monsters, so Garnet left. Quest Update: Explore the Cave Report to Zedd Reward: Experience "Report to Zedd?" Garnet thought. "Does Zedd know something about the cave?" Level Up: Speed (Level 6) Garnet headed back to Antium to talk to Zedd about the undead in the cave. However, he was not at the workshop. He had gone out again. It was only Kirk and Klarth. They had gotten used to Garnet running out in the middle of the night and stopped bothering to try to catch her since she was so fast now. "Do you know where Zedd went?" Garnet asked Kirk. "He went to the castle again," said Kirk. "He went early and said something about a meeting with a noble." "Was it Duke Wellington?" Garnet asked. Whenever Garnet mentioned this name, she felt a strange mixture of emotions. She did not know what it was, but it was clearly someone who was important to the old Garnet. "He didn''t say," said Kirk. Garnet helped Clark to sell the Boar Meat again in the afternoon and waited for Zedd to return to his workshop. The Boar Meat had attracted other merchants back and slowly, there was some trading going on, but they would need a lot more in order to improve the conditions of the town. Sadly, people like Baron Gray undermined their efforts. Until Garnet could use her abilities to persuade a powerful noble, such as one of the Dukes, it would be impossible to make great change. It was evening when Zedd finally returned. He was carrying a large box with him. "Oh good you''re back," said Zedd. "I have a few questions," said Garnet. "What is it?" Zedd asked. "I found a cave outside of town filled with undead," said Garnet. Quest Complete: Explore the Cave Report to Zedd Reward: Experience You have leveled up! "So you found it..." said Zedd. "What is it?" asked Garnet. "It is where the people who have been disappeared by the nobles go," said Zedd. Garnet was shocked. The people who were taken by the corrupt nobles often disappeared and no one knows what happens to them, but they were being fed to the undead, which might have been why there were so many zombies in the cave at the end of it. "Doesn''t anyone do anything about it?" asked Garnet. "Like I said, people are afraid to take action," said Zedd. "But luckily, that might change." "How?" asked Garnet. "You managed to start the economy just a little, but now you must meet with Duke Charles Wellington," said Zedd. "When?" Garnet asked. "Tomorrow night," said Zedd. He took the box and gave it to Garnet. "Open it." Garnet opened it. It was a blue evening gown. "It''s a present from the Duke," said Zedd. "Why would he give me something like this?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know," said Zedd. "When I told him you wanted to meet with him, he said to wait for a few days. He came back with this and told me to give it to you and meet him tomorrow at the guest room that you were in before at the castle." "He must want me," thought Garnet. She remembered that she was a prostitute. Duke Wellington might have been one of her customers, but she could not remember his face or any of the time that she spent with him. It was something very puzzling and something that she did not understand. However, this was a chance to meet with the Duke. It was a chance for her to use her ability to make him enact change and hopefully save Antium from its collapse. "In the mean time don''t get distracted from your true goal," said Zedd. "You must remember that you are trying to save this city and eventually, this world. Duke Charles Wellington is the most powerful of the Dukes, so you must gain his support no matter what." "I won''t," said Garnet. "You must become stronger for all of us," said Zedd. "But aren''t you already strong?" Garnet asked. "By this world''s standards, I might be strong," said Zedd. "However, I don''t have the power or mentality that is needed to save this city or the people who live in it." "What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "You seemed to be good at making decisions and planning ahead." "Only because it was something that I was tasked to do," said Zedd. "My planning is often poor and I am unable to see patterns, which is why despite all my knowledge and skills, I have failed to develop a single original spell or magic circle. The only thing I am good at is offering an opinion." "Are you entirely loyal to the King?" asked Garnet. Zedd looked around and closed the windows before continuing. "No," said Zedd. "The King is incompetent and will doom us all, but the only person who can legally usurp the King is a Duke who can challenge the King''s claim to the Throne." "So the Duke has to kill the King to replace him?" asked Garnet. "No," said Zedd. "There are some rules about inheritance. For example, if the King does not have a legitimate child and passes away, the leadership then passes to the strongest of the Dukes in terms of territory and military size, which would be Duke Wellington. If the King had a child that was not of age, then the Dukes will appoint a minister to oversee the country until the child is of age." "Which do King Caligula fall under?" Garnet asked. "The King is someone without a legitimate child," said Zedd. "He has a few bastards here and there, but since they were not conceived when married, they are not considered legitimate." "So that means I have to gain the support of a competent Duke and see that the King somehow has to give up their position," thought Garnet. "Duke Wellington is your best chance," said Zedd. "What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "The Duke is considered one of the two nobler and kinder Dukes of Antium," Zedd explained. "They''re more willing to listen to reason and act on logic rather than for selfish reasons." "So I just have to convince the Duke to support lowering taxes and rebuilding the wall?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "You just need to persuade him, so it might be wise to do as he asks." Garnet took a look at the dress that was given by the Duke. She had no choice if she wanted to convince the Duke. He was the only noble that Garnet had access to at the moment, and she was lucky that he is one of the highest ranking nobles, meaning that he held a lot of influence and power. "I guess I have to do as he asks then," said Garnet. The next day, Garnet did not go hunting nor sell Boar Meat. Whenever the name of Duke Charles Wellington was mentioned, she had a rush of emotions, but could not remember why and it made her scared for the first time. It was something that she did not understand. It was definitely connected to the memories of the old Garnet, but for some reason, nothing clear popped into her head. She wanted answers and the Duke was the one who had them. In the evening, Garnet changed into the blue evening gown and was escorted to the castle by some of the Duke''s guards. They wore his trademark red emblem. It was not as extravagant as Leeroy''s but it was something that marked them as special. She was escorted into the guest room where she waited for the Duke. Garnet was being treated as an important person, not some kind of prostitute that the Duke was trying to sneak around. "What does it all mean?" Garnet simply could not connect the dots and put everything together. Something important was missing, but she could not figure out what. Garnet sat on the bed and waited. KNOCK KNOCK. "Come in," said Garnet as she got up. In came a man she did not recognize. He wore a red jacket and white shirt with black pants. It was like a suit but with a red jacket instead. He was very young and appeared to be the same age as Garnet. Name: Charles Wellington Level: 60 Dual Class: Duke / General Sub-Class: Commander Stats: ??? "He has two classes!" thought Garnet. "I can''t believe it!" he shouted as he ran up to Garnet and hugged her. The force had caused her to fall back down onto the bed. "Hey, wait!" Garnet shouted. "What are you doing so suddenly?!?" She felt his arms wrapped around her. However, the feeling that the Duke gave was not like those men who abused the old Garnet in the past. It was something different. "I missed you so much," said Duke Wellington. Garnet noticed. The Duke was crying, but his hug felt warm. She was someone very important to him, but she still could not remember. "I don''t know you," said Garnet. "But I remember you," said Duke Wellington. He looked closely at Garnet''s face. "You''re looking much healthier now. Have you been eating well? Sleeping well? Has Zedd been taking good care of you?" "Wait one question at a time!" shouted Garnet. "I''ve been worried about you for a long time," said Duke Wellington. "Can you tell me what happened?" Garnet asked. "When I hear your name, I feel a strange mix of emotions, but I don''t know why. I don''t remember you at all." "You had your memories of me sealed," said Duke Wellington. "Memories sealed? How?!?" shouted Garnet. "You asked for it four years ago," said Duke Wellington. "Why?" asked Garnet. She was confused. Why would her old self do such a thing? What happened between the Duke and the old Garnet. "That is because you wanted to erase all evidence that you gave birth to our daughter," said Duke Wellington. "I have a daughter?!?" shouted Garnet. This was the most shocking thing she had heard. She knew that Garnet was a prostitute and that she had connections with the nobles, but what she did not expect was that she had a relationship with one of the Dukes and was mother to a child she does not remember "How? When? Why?" She was more confused than ever. "I was surprised too when I heard that you were sold," said Duke Wellington. "I made sure to have someone pay so that you would stay at the brothel and that I could visit when I wished." "That must have been when Zedd bought me," thought Garnet. "What can you tell me about me or how we met?" "Five years ago, I met you at a brothel," said Duke Wellington. "I had just inherited the land from my father who passed away and someone introduced me to the brothel, but I only wanted to talk about my worries. I wasn''t looking for someone to vent my frustration on or to satisfy my urges. They recommended me to you, who seemed to have a talent for talking to people. At first, you were kind of grouchy, always telling me to hurry up with my sappy stories and move on. But, as we talked, you began to listen and talk as well. And, I came to see you more and more. Eventually, you became pregnant with my child and wanted her to grow up better than you did, so you asked me to take her away. I had the people who helped to deliver the child and have their memories of it wiped too." "What can you tell me about my daughter?" Garnet asked. She wanted to know very much. Duke Wellington took out a small book with pictures. "I wanted to show this to you," said Duke Wellington. "I put it together hoping that you would one day be able to see it. Her name is Ruby and she is currently four years old. I named her after you." Garnet looked through the picture book. It was a young girl with black hair. She had a brown eye and a blue eye. Heterochromia just like her. "I want to bring you to meet her," said Duke Wellington. "She really wants to meet her mother, but I can only say that she is a very busy woman. I was too afraid to tell her the truth." "Maybe someday," said Garnet. "But I have a lot I have to do here." "I understand," said Duke Wellington. "I can''t ask you to just leave and come live with me. But I would really appreciate it if you would come to live with me. I believe Ruby needs you, her real mother in her life. No servant can take that place away from you." "This is just too much to take in," said Garnet as she began to cry. The emotions from the memories of the old Garnet were overwhelming her. Even though the memories were sealed, the emotions that Duke Welling evoked were leaking through. "What else can you tell me about me? There''s so much I cannot remember." The Duke saw that Garnet was depressed from the story and stopped talking, so he decided to change the topic. "I know there''s a lot more you want to know, but it''s better to deal with it a little at a time. Too much at once is bad. Besides, I heard you wanted to see me for something important," said Duke Wellington. "What for?" "I almost completely forgot," said Garnet. "I need you to convince people to lower the tariffs and taxes in Antium and rebuild the East Wall." "Why?" asked Duke Wellington. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it."This city is dying," said Garnet. "The King is clueless about the conditions and the nobles don''t want anything to change. I managed to convince some people to voice some disapproval, but I cannot get anything done without the backing of the nobility." "I can lower the ones in the territories under my control," said Duke Wellington. "But convincing the others to follow or changing the city''s policies won''t be that easy." "Why not?" asked Garnet. "Even though I am a Duke, the city is managed by several nobles who work together," said Duke Wellington. "I alone do not have the influence or power to make them submit to me. Even some of the lands under my control are managed by lower ranking nobles." "What would it take for change?" asked Garnet. "Something that you would be unwilling to do," said Duke Wellington. "But I will still do what I can to help you." "Really?" said Garnet. "Just like that? No tricks?" "No tricks," said Duke Wellington. "Take this too." He handed Garnet a card that was colored red and silver with the Duke''s Crest on it. "What is this?" asked Garnet. "This is something that you need to hold on to," said Duke Wellington. "It is proof that you are in the service of my family." "Thank you," said Garnet. "But what about this?" she asked as she showed the Duke her five petal slave mark. "It doesn''t matter," said Duke Wellington. "You are a slave under my personal service, if someone gives you trouble, send someone to get me or one of my officers." Garnet hugged the Duke. "With this, I feel like something is finally being done," said Garnet. "Actually, one trick," said Duke Wellington. He grabbed a hold of Garnet and laid her down on the bed with him. "I no longer do that kind of work!" shouted Garnet. "Just let me lay here with you for a while," said Duke Wellington. "I need to think of a way to persuade at least two of the other Dukes and this helps me think a little. Besides if you really want true change, you would need to marry me." "How would that change anything?" asked Garnet. "If a slave were to marry a noble, it would override your status as a slave," explained Duke Wellington. "I would get some flak from the other nobles for it, but because of my power, there''s little they can actually do about it." "Okay," said Garnet as she laid there. This was the first time she was this close to a man since she arrived in this world. The old Garnet''s memories of him were gone, but her body still remembered something warm and comforting about him. She felt a little something between her legs. She was being aroused. "In the future, I need to take care of that myself," she thought. Garnet fell asleep in that position. When she woke up, Duke Wellington was still in front of her with his face right in front of hers. "Should I?" she thought. She moved her head closer to his and touched her forehead against his. "Mind Read." Garnet wanted to see what the Duke was thinking about. What she saw was the Duke''s memories of Garnet. All of them and it was overwhelming. She could feel the intense emotion behind each and every one of them. "Stop!" shouted a voice. Garnet regained her senses and moved her head away from the Duke. She looked around, but no one was there. "What was that?" she thought. Garnet felt a sharp pain in her head. She quietly got up and left. It would be bad if they were seen leaving together. As she left the castle, she heard the guards whisper about her. "Who do you think she was with?" asked the first guard. "Probably some Baron," said the second. "The other ones probably could not afford her and the ones above that would not want to be caught sleeping around and gossiping about the things they know or plan to do." This was apparently a common occurrence. More proof that there were numerous problems with the ruling class. "However, the Duke seemed to be an exception based on what he said," thought Garnet. "I wonder if he will actually follow through though." Garnet made her way back to Zedd''s Workshop. When she arrived, only Kirk and Klarth were there. "Where''s Zedd?" asked Garnet. "Shouldn''t he be here?" "He''s been busy working on some top secret project," said Klarth. "He doesn''t want to tell anyone about it until it is done." Zedd was busy going around trying to convince people like the guards to spend time training with Garnet, but to little success. He only had managed to help Garnet meet with Duke Wellington, which was already something big. "So what are we doing today?" Kirk asked. "More selling?" "No," said Garnet. "I want to see if there''s any progress on the East Gate." As the group of three made their way to the East Gate, they noticed a group of soldiers coming. It was Baron Gray with his guard. "If trouble comes, make a run for the East Gate," said Klarth. "We cannot do anything to stop him, but there''s nothing we can do if you get away from us and him." "Okay," said Garnet. "Well look at what we have here," said Baron Gray. "Our little tax evader." "I don''t owe anyone taxes," said Garnet. "But you worked at the market, so that means you must owe something," said Baron Gray. "If you cannot pay, then you must go to jail like the rest of those people until you can pay." "That makes no sense," said Garnet. "You can''t pay it off if you''re in jail." "You just have to work it off in jail then," said Baron Gray. There was no way for Garnet to argue her way out of this. Baron Gray was intent on either extorting money from her or sending her to jail. She had one thing though. She took out the red and silver card that Duke Charles Wellington had given her. "That''s Duke Wellington''s!" said one of Baron Gray''s guards. All of a sudden the expression on Baron Gray''s face changed as well as the guards. Garnet watched as the guards suddenly backed off. "What are you doing? Get her!" shouted Baron Gray. None of the guards were willing to take a step forward once they saw that card. Garnet looked at Kirk and Klarth who were standing near by and even they had a surprised look on their face. The red and silver card given to Garnet by Duke Wellington held an enormous amount of power in Antium. "I''ll be on my way now," said Garnet. As Garnet walked forward, the guards that were with Baron Gray backed off and opened a path for her. She watched as Baron Gray had a furious look on his face. She had outsmarted him. As long as she held that card, most people would not interfere with her because they were afraid of Duke Wellington. "Thank you," she thought. Without the card, she would have probably had to flee the city. "How did you get that?" Kirk asked. "Duke Wellington gave it to me yesterday," said Garnet. "But I didn''t want to have to use it." "You do know what that card means right?" asked Klarth. "Duke Wellington told me that it means I am a servant of his family," said Garnet. "No," said Klarth. "The card''s border was silver. A brownish color made with bronze, copper, or other lower quality metals means you are an important servant who is operating in the name of the noble. The silver color means you are a member of his family." "What?!?" shouted Garnet. "I''m a member of his family?" "Did you know why he gave you that card?" Kirk asked. "He just told me to hold onto it and it would be helpful if I got in trouble," Garnet explained. She immediately put the card away for safe keeping. It was extremely valuable. The three continued on their way to the East Gate. It was there that Garnet saw Leeroy, the guard in red that was employed by Duke Wellington. He was with six other men who were waiting. "Excuse me," said Leeory. "But I''m afraid you must leave." "Why?" asked Garnet. "Security reasons," said Leeroy. "Is the Duke coming?" asked Garnet. "How did you know that?" Leeroy asked. As he said that, Leeroy and the other guards all stood back and gave a salute. Garnet turned around and saw that it was Duke Wellington. "Is something the matter?" he asked. "I was trying to clear the area for your arrival sir!" said Leeroy. "It''s fine," said Duke Wellington. "Let the commoners go about their day. It would be ridiculous to try to stop all traffic." Garnet watched as the Leeroy and the guards simply followed behind the Duke, ignoring her, Klarth, and Kirk. "What are we doing here?" Leeroy asked. "I want to fix this wall," said Duke Wellington. "It''s a bad idea to leave an opening like this for so long." "Why not improve it while you''re at it?" Garnet asked. "What do you mean?" asked Duke Wellington. "Instead of building it exactly like before, why not build it to resist a siege in the first place?" asked Garnet. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 7 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 530/530 MP: 1500/1500 Fame: 20 Strength: 12 (+5) Dexterity: 5 (+7) Intelligence: 33 (+22) Vitality: 9 (+5) Agility: 7 (+7) Charisma: 17 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword - 3
Magic: - Fire ¨C 3 - Lightning ¨C 2 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning - 5
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash - Double Slash
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 4) - Lightning Bolt (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 1) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Dogs (Level 6) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 2) - Captivation: (Level 1) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 4) - Cook - Inspection (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 2)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 3) - Speed (Level 6) - Physical Resistance (Level 2)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 1: Chapter 007 - To Plan Ahead Writing has been a bit slow this week due to Winter Break being over and starting a new semester. I had to cut a lot of content from this chapter because it was revealing too much too soon, so instead of it being a Zedd focused chapter, I changed it to focus solely on introducing the OP skill. The original planned 12 or so chapters will most likely end up as 10 with those planned chapters being pushed down the line to a later arc. If you have any questions, I''ll try to clarify it to the best I can based on current plans and what I write along with my interpretation. I''ll mark them with spoiler tags if it reveals information or plot points that are from an unreleased chapter. It feels clear in my head, but it''s not always easy for others to understand. -------------------------------------------------------------- Zedd had told Garnet about the invasions. A story about how the sky cracks open and from a sea of blood, countless monsters attacked their city walls. The wall before Garnet, Kirk, Klarth, Duke Wellington, and Leeroy was in shambles from the previous invasion. "Why not build a wall to resist a siege?" Garnet asked. "How is that even possible?" asked Leeroy. "The walls give us some advantage, but to counter the attacker is something completely different." "There are modifications that you can make in the wall," said Garnet. "For example, you don''t need your archers to be at the top of the walls to shoot." "Can you explain?" Duke Wellington asked. Garnet picked up a few of the broken rocks on the floor and piled them together. "This is your normal siege wall," she said. "It is meant to stop things from getting through." Garnet then moved a few of the rocks aside, leaving a small hole, small enough for an archer to see and aim. "This will let your arrows get through, but will make it hard for their arrows to come in still." "I see," said Leeroy. "You leave a small opening big enough for your forces to get their attack through, but small make enough to make it difficult for your enemies to shoot inside." "Do you think this can be done Leeroy?" said Duke Wellington. "Yes," said Leeroy. "But I don''t think we would survive a siege long enough to make use of it." "Then make it so you do," said Garnet. "What do you mean?" Leeroy asked. "You have not been planning for the long term," said Garnet. "You have been planning to survive the next invasion and that''s it. You should be aiming to grow and expand despite the invasions." "But it is near impossible to provide food and water to that many people," said Duke Wellington. "That''s where there''s other technologies," said Garnet. "Underground tunnels. Using the river as a source of water. Building weapons to destroy enemy siege weapons. Laying explosives where an enemy might be. All of this can be done long before the invasion." "Can you teach me?" asked Duke Wellington. "What are you saying?" asked Leeroy. "If I want to rebuild this wall, I want to do it right," said Duke Wellington. "She seems like she knows a lot about military tactics, and I want to know about what I can do and what I should look for." "Are you sure about this?" asked Leeroy. "You used to be a commoner too," said Duke Wellington. "But I recognized you and gave you that position because of your accomplishments. If she has important information like this, I would like to know about it too." "I understand," said Leeroy. "But I''m suspicious of her." "It''s alright if you want to follow," said Duke Wellington. "I have to tell you something important anyways." The Duke led Garnet to his private room in the castle. Leeroy was there too. Kirk and Klarth were asked to wait outside. "Before I continue," said Duke Wellington. "You must know something about her." "What is it?" asked Leeroy. "Before I continue, do you promise not to let a single word of this outside?" asked Duke Wellington. "Yes," said Leeroy. "She is Ruby''s mother," said Duke Wellington. "I thought that no one else was supposed to know," said Garnet. "This is the easiest way to get his trust and he won''t tell anyone," said Duke Wellington. "I told him that she takes after you too." Garnet watched as the news hit Leeroy''s ears. He was still thinking hard about it as he looked at Duke Wellington''s face before turning to Garnet. He looked at her face and her eyes for a while before speaking again. "Okay," said Leeroy. He stepped out of the room. "That''s proof he trusts you," said Duke Wellington. "But I get to spend more time with you now," he said as he hugged Garnet. "Let go of me!" said Garnet as she pushed him away. "You lied about the card you gave me." "What do you mean?" asked Duke Wellington. "When I was approached by Baron Gray who wanted to arrest me, he backed off the moment he saw the card," said Garnet. "They said that I was a member of your family." "Are you not?" asked Duke Wellington. "I guess I am," said Garnet. Even if she was not, Ruby was and that meant that she was at least connected to him. "But I don''t think I''m ready to accept the full responsibilities of that position." "Don''t worry," said Duke Wellington. "I will try to win you over, but I will not force you. After all, I need a legitimate heir from you as well." "What are you saying?!?" shouted Garnet as her face turned red. The Duke''s face suddenly changed. "Anyways, enough joking around," said Duke Wellington. "It is time for business. You told me that it is possible to plan for a long term siege. I want to know how." "I heard you were the General of the North," said Garnet. "I thought you knew about these things." "I''m a good leader and maybe a tactician, but I know nothing of long term plans," said Duke Wellington. "The longest battles that I fought were maybe a few weeks in an open field, but we always had supplies delivered to us. That is why I am turning to you." "If you want to survive a siege, you need a steady source of food and water," said Garnet. "You can either make it available from underground water or obtain it from people outside through a series of underground tunnels." "I see," said Duke Wellington. "Anything else I should know?" "You need to keep your people happy," said Garnet. "If they''re miserable, they''re going to rebel against you or undermine your efforts." "Is that why you wanted me to lower taxes?" asked Duke Wellington. "Yes," said Garnet. "Okay," said Duke Wellington. "For now, I will see what I can learn about anti-siege and improve the wall. If I have more questions, I will ask you." "Can you also keep Baron Gray away from me?" asked Garnet. "I feel he will be trouble." "There''s little I can do since he is in charge of security in this city," said Duke Wellington. Garnet had a plan. If Baron Gray was in charge of security at the city. She would just have to make it look like he was incompetent at his job. Then he would be replaced. Her original plan was to use her Skeletal Dogs to create a problem where there were no problems. However, the Skeletal Dogs were not a serious threat yet. She would have to make them a threat. "I''ll find a way then," said Garnet. "Don''t worry about it and focus on the wall." "Alright," said Duke Wellington. "Please consider my offer in the meantime." Garnet had thought about it. Duke Wellington had invoked numerous emotions from her. Even though she could not clearly remember these events, the Duke''s attitude towards and behaviors towards her were much different from how others treated her. "But first things first," thought Garnet. "I must become much stronger." That night, Garnet headed out. She needed to find stronger enemies. Boars and wolves were no longer enough. "Call: Skeletal Dogs!" Garnet summoned three of them. "Find me stronger enemies," she ordered. The dogs all dispersed into the shadows. Even the Duke was trying to get stronger in his own way. Garnet could no longer wait for the opportunity to come to her. Zedd, Duke Wellington, Klarth, Kirk, and Leeroy were all much stronger than her. Garnet headed to the the site of the Giant Wild Boar. When she got there, there was nothing there. The Giant Wild Boar did not reappear after she defeated it. "Do some enemies not return?" she thought. She then headed to the cave where the undead were. There was nothing there either. It was just an empty cave. There were no signs of skeletons or zombies. Garnet''s abilities had peaked since she encountered the undead. Without stronger enemies, she could not gain experience to level up. She had hit a soft cap that could only be breached by fighting stronger enemies. The one thing that she could train was her skills since they leveled up with use. Garnet found an opening in the forest. Here, she laid out some pieces of Wild Boar Meat. The goal was to attract as many aggressive animals to her location as she could. She drew her short sword and waited. HOWL. It was the sound of a wolf. The wolf had gotten the scent of fresh meat and headed towards Garnet. She could hear it quickly approaching as she drew her short sword. She turned to face it as it came running. "Horizontal Slash!" In the blink of an eye, her sword had cut across the side of the wolf and it fell to the ground. She was much stronger than these enemies, but since there was nothing stronger, the only thing she could do was train her skills on these enemies for now. Stat Increase: Agility +1 Soon, she heard the sound of others coming. It was the sound of many wolves approaching. New Quest: Defeat the Wolf Pack Lure out the Alpha Wolf and defeat it Reward: Experience, New Skill, Skill Upgrade "Another quest," thought Garnet. "Will this be enough to make me stronger?" It granted new skills, which could potentially help her overcome the level gap. Garnet focused on fighting with just physical skills. Magic was much easier, but she needed to train her body as well. The wolves slowly gathered. HOWL. It was much louder. "Whatever it is, it is getting closer," thought Garnet. She dashed towards the wolves to start killing them before she was completely surrounded. Stat Increase: Agility +1 "Horizontal Slash!" It cut right through the side of the wolf again. Each use of the skill killed off a wolf, but there were too many of them. "Recall!" The three Skeletal Dogs all reappeared around Garnet as she prepared to face off against the pack of wolves. "Attack them!" she ordered as the dogs began to run around. The wolves were distracted by the three Skeletal Dogs running around and Garnet focused on killing individual wolves. Each of the dogs were able to take on several of the wolves at a time. Even though the wolves were numerous, they were very weak. Every use of her Horizontal Slash resulted in a dead wolf. Double Slash was stronger, but the bodies of the wolves were just too small for it to be effective. They would occasionally land a scratch on her, but it did next to nothing with her Mana Shield protecting her. Level Up: Horizontal Slash (Level 2) Stat Increase: Strength +1 There were wolf corpses littered around the forest clearing now. She had slain dozens of them while her Skeletal Dogs kept the others distracted. Their bodies however, were not disappearing. Garnet was able to smell blood. It reminded her of what the battlefield smelled like. New Skill: Blood Absorption (Level 1) Absorb the blood of nearby fallen enemies to restore your health and mana. Some abilities can be absorbed through this process as well. Efficiency increases at higher level. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet activated the new skill. The corpses of the wolves around Garnet all exploded into red and the blood flowed into her body. She felt a surge of strength as her fatigue disappeared. Level Up: Blood Absorption (Level 2) Level Up: Blood Absorption (Level 3) In an instant, she had recovered her physical and mental strength. Her health and mana were restored the maximum. The cost, was the corpses of her fallen enemies. However, only the dead were affected. Those that were severely injured yet still breathing were unaffected by the skill. It left no evidence behind as their bodies were absorbed into her. The other wolves began to back off in fear. The sheer number of corpses affected by it had also boosted the skill through its first two levels. HOWL. It was the howl of the loud wolf. The remaining wolves around her began to push forward again as if they were being commanded by the howling. Garnet continued to cut her way through the swarm of wolves. "Blood Absorption!" The activation of the skill cleared the ground of the wolf corpses, giving her more room to maneuver and refilling the mana that she had used. Level Up: Horizontal Slash (Level 3) Stat Increase: Strength +1 Stat Increase: Dexterity +1 Stat Increase: Vitality +1 Stat Increase: Agility +1 The prolonged fighting was doing wonders for Garnet''s stats. Even though the wolves were not giving any significant experience, she was still getting stronger skills and increasing her stats. When she got tired, she simply absorbed the bodies of the fallen wolves to recover her strength. The wolves were trying to wear her down, but instead, they had only given her more strength. HOWL. It was the howl again. The wolves all backed away this time. The sound of footsteps approached. It was a large white wolf, as big as the Giant Wild Boar. Alpha Wolf Level: 10 Class: Beast Sub-Class: Commander Stats: ??? It was the leader of the wolves. A typical wolf was only a level 2 beast. The Alpha Wolf was a level 10. Garnet kept her eyes on it as the Alpha Wolf began to circle around her. It was trying to gauge her strength. The other wolves around stood back and watched. The Alpha Wolf was going to fight her alone. Garnet readied her short sword and kept her eye on the Alpha Wolf as it began to speed up, circling around her. ROAR. The Alpha Wolf leapt towards her with a ferocious roar. "Horizontal Slash!" Garnet used her sword to meet the fangs of the wolf head on. CLING. The sword clashed against the teeth of the Alpha Wolf and they were both knocked back. In terms of strength, they were about even, but the Alpha Wolf had its weight behind it. Garnet ran towards the Alpha Wolf. She was going to take the initiative. She slashed downwards diagonally, but the Alpha Wolf leapt back. It was fast. Faster than Garnet. The Alpha Wolf lowered itself as it was ready to pounce. But it did not jump towards Garnet, instead it readied itself keeping an eye on her. It was waiting for Garnet to attack so it could counter and kill her in a single blow. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt of lightning and the dog. Stunning it briefly. Level Up: Lightning Bolt (Level 4) Garnet rushed towards it. "Horizontal Slash!" She cut into the Alpha Wolf''s front right leg, disabling its ability to pounce on her. New Skill: Crescent Slash (Level 1) A slash attack that cuts in a half circle in front of you. It deals reduced damage, but does not lose momentum unless the attack is blocked. The Alpha Wolf''s expression changed. It was much more fierce. HOWL. The other wolves begin to circle around Garnet. "Call: Skeletal Dogs!" The Skeletal Dogs reappeared around Garnet to help her. If the Alpha Wolf was no longer going to fight one on one, she would not either. HOWL. All of the wolves began charging towards Garnet. She turned her sword around. "Mana Strike!" Garnet struck the approaching wolves with both her short sword and her bare hands. It was not as clumsy as dual wielding and even more effective against a large number of small enemies. Level Up: Mana Strike (Level 2) It was faster than swinger her sword and it was just as effective. With Mana Shield coating her body, the damage of the wolves was negligible and she could meet all of them head on. Soon, there were only a few wolves left, and they all backed off in fear. It was up to the Alpha Wolf to finish things, but Garnet had already injured it. Garnet ran in for an attack. The Alpha Wolf swung its left leg at her. She dodged to the side. The Alpha Wolf was slower since its other leg was injured. Stat Increase: Agility +1 The Alpha Wolf continued to move as it swung its whole body around to hit Garnet. BOOM. Its tail swung and hit Garnet, knocking her to the ground. Stat Increase: Vitality +1 Garnet checked her life to make sure it was not too dangerous. She had lost about a quarter of her mana to that attack. It was strong, but she could defend herself against it without much trouble if she was careful. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet shot another bolt of lightning at the Alpha Wolf, but it resisted it. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet shot at the Alpha Wolf again. Level Up: Lightning Bolt (Level 5) Garnet was trying to provoke the Alpha Wolf to attack. It was faster than her, so it could react to her, but if she made the Alpha Wolf attack first, she would be the one who could launch a counter attack. "Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The Fire Bolt struck the Alpha Wolf on the head as it fell over. The Alpha Wolf struggled, but it got itself back up. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet used another one. The Alpha Wolf moved, but it was doing so clumsily. The damage to its front legs was severe enough that it could not move normally. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired three more bolts of fire in an attempt to get the Alpha Wolf to attack. Level Up: Fire Bolt (Level 5) Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 The Alpha Wolf had been worn down by its injuries. It could no longer close the distance between them. The other wolves around them began to run. They were abandoning its leader. The Alpha Wolf ran towards Garnet. She saw its leg as blood continued to flow from it. HOWL. The Alpha Wolf let out one last cry. It was its final attempt to kill Garnet. "Horizontal Slash!" Garnet met its attack head on with her short sword. The Alpha Wolf did not have the same amount of strength as it did in its first attack. SHLUCK. Her sword tore through the side of the mouth of the Alpha Wolf. Stolen novel; please report. Stat Increase: Strength +1 Stat Increase: Dexterity +1 Stat Increase: Agility +1 You have leveled up! Quest Update: Defeat the Wolf Pack Use Blood Absorption on the corpse of the Alpha Wolf "Blood Absorption!" Garnet watched as the body of the Alpha Wolf burst into a sea of blood and flowed into her body. Quest Complete: Defeat the Wolf Pack Skill Upgrade: Call: Skeletal Dogs -> Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 1) Summon forth large dogs made of animal bones. High attack, high speed, low defense. MP Cost: 50 Skill Upgrade: Blood Absorption (Level 1) Absorb the blood of nearby fallen enemies to restore your health. Efficiency increases at higher level. Using this can unlock new abilities. There may be side effects to absorbing some creatures. Garnet watched as her small dogs broke apart and began to rebuild themselves. They changed from small dogs that looked like they were for pets to large dogs that were up to Garnet''s waist. They looked like they could easily tear apart a person. The fight against the wolves had paid off with new abilities that supplemented her old ones. However, there were very few enemies that Garnet could actually gain experience off of, so she had to continue to focus on developing her skills until she could find new enemies. "Go find me stronger enemies!" she ordered. She watched as the Skeletal Hounds ran off at high speeds. They were much faster than her old ones too. She headed back to Antium and left her hounds to search. Garnet returned back to Zedd''s Workshop. Kirk and Klarth were sitting in the corner just watching Zedd. Zedd was drawing something on the wall. "What are you up to?" Garnet asked. "You should tell Kirk and Klarth before you run off you know," said Zedd. "I know they''re used to it by now, but still." "They don''t let me run around," said Garnet. "There are some things that I can only do when I am by myself." "Fair enough, but you still need to tell one of them before you go in the future," said Zedd. "Alright," said Garnet. "I''m reopening the Teleportation Network," said Zedd. "What is that?" asked Garnet. "In my old days, I traveled a lot," explained Zedd. "At certain places, I left magic circles that I could use to move around quickly, but it requires an enormous amount of mana to do so, but over the years their power faded since I did not maintain them, so you will have to make new ones." "Do any of these places have stronger enemies?" asked Garnet. "There are some," said Zedd. "But if you are training, I recommend creating an Instance Dungeon." New Quest: Learn Instance Dungeon Creation from Zedd Increase your maximum mana to 10000. Reward: New Skill "10000?!?" thought Garnet. That was five times her maximum amount. "How do I do that?" Garnet asked. "First, you need to have enough mana to warp space itself," said Zedd. "Then, you can create one that is filled with enemies that you have encountered, but their power is roughly equal to yours." "That means I will always have strong enemies to fight," said Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "But they are only based on enemies that you have encountered. The more you''ve fought, the more diverse it will be." Garnet had thought about the enemy types she had encountered. Boars, wolves, and undead. Two of those were beasts and one was humanoid undead. There were numerous other types of creatures out there, such as birds that she has not encountered yet. There were also people as well, but many of them were either too weak or too strong for her. Right now, her goal had to be to increase her mana so that she can make use of the Instance Dungeon Creation. "Is there a way to increase your mana faster?" Garnet asked. "Lots of practice," said Zedd. "Just keep spending your mana and letting it refill and then spending it again." It was stat grinding. Garnet simply had to use a bunch of magic spells to increase her intelligence. The problem is that leveling up provided her with most of her mana, so in order to increase her intelligence by that much, she needed to use a huge amount of magic. It would take a lot of time either way. "Three long term goals now," thought Garnet. The first was to rebuild the walls. The second was to change the city''s tax policies. And now, to gain the power to create a dungeon was added to her list, but that was because it would give her a way to increase her own power. "By the way," said Zedd. "Keep fighting those monsters that you find out there." "How do you know about that?" asked Garnet. "I have some control over space and time magic," said Zedd. "I know almost everything that goes on in this city." "What is so important about those monsters?" asked Garnet. "By defeating the powerful monsters, you prevent them from ever forming a hierarchy," said Zedd. "A monster that has created a hierarchy can lead an army of its same species to attack, making them very dangerous." That was what happened with the Alpha Wolf. It had led a fairly large wolf pack. If something like that attacked the city, it could be terrifying, especially since the walls were down. "I will if I find any," said Garnet. "Thank you," said Zedd. "Knowing that those things are not around is very relieving." Garnet went back to the market with Kirk and Klarth. Clark was still there. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "He stopped bothering me after Duke Wellington helped out." "Thank goodness," said Clark. "A lot of people that Baron Gray goes after ends up missing. I was afraid the same will happen to you." "They probably ended up in that cave," Garnet thought to herself. Baron Gray was abusing his power, but at the moment, there was little that she could do about it. The most that she could do was stop him from bothering her. She could not abuse the Duke''s card either as it would undermine its importance. "I don''t think he will be bothering us as long as Duke Wellington is here," said Garnet. "He was angry, but he was also very afraid to take any action in the presence of the Duke." "Will you continue to sell Boar Meat?" Clark asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "Until I discover another way, this is the only thing I can do for now." Garnet continued to cook and sell the Boar Meat. Every day, the amount was limited in order to create demand for it. The Boar Meat alone was not enough to push for change though. Something more drastic would be needed. The sale of food was something that largely affected the commoners. She needed to do something that would affect something that the nobles wanted or needed. Stat Increase: Charisma +1 Stat Increase: Charisma +1 Level Up: Cooking (Level 4) "Sorry everyone, we''re out for today," said Garnet as she served the last few pieces of Boar Meat again. Groans could be heard in the crowd. "If we got Boar Meat ourselves, could you cook it for us?" asked someone in the crowd. "I''m sure there are many people who are willing to cook it for you for a small fee, but I think Clark here would be glad to sell it for you as well," said Garnet. Level Up: Captivation (Level 2) WOAH. There was suddenly a large amount of chatter heard from the crowd. "It seems like some of them want to go out to hunt on their own," thought Garnet. If a few people became hunters, it would provide a steady supply of meat to the city and would be able to jump start an economy without worrying about significant tariffs. The would only have to worry about local taxes. The only question now was whether it would be enough. What Garnet could do was very limited. Despite her incredible power and the Hero System, what she could do was still limited. Five people hunting on their own was far more effective than what Garnet could do by selling on her own because it meant that there were five more hunters that could provide supplies to merchants, butchers, and leather workers. But one question came to Garnet''s mind. "Was this the right thing to do?" It was something that she could not shake off. While this had created some kind of market, it also directed the hatred of individuals towards the leadership and the leadership was what needed to change. If the leadership reacted with violence, then it would be a significant problem. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 7 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 540/540 MP: 1520/1520 Fame: 20 Strength: 14 (+5) Dexterity: 6 (+7) Intelligence: 34 (+22) Vitality: 10 (+5) Agility: 11 (+7) Charisma: 19 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword - 5
Magic: - Fire ¨C 4 - Lightning ¨C 4 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 5 - Blood - 2
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash - Crescent Slash
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Lightning Bolt (Level 5) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Dogs (Level 6) -> Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1) - Blood Absorption (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 2) - Captivation: (Level 2) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 4) - Cook - Inspection (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 2)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 3) - Speed (Level 6) - Physical Resistance (Level 2)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 1: Chapter 008 - Resolve 2 more chapters or so after this one until the end of the first arc. I''ll try to get them done by tomorrow night. No guarantees though. -------------------------------------------------------------- Garnet had managed to get the domestic production started just a little bit thanks to her marketing of Wild Boar Meat. There were now hunters, butchers, leather workers, and restaurants that benefited from it. Because all of it was hunted locally, there were little taxes that was levied on the production. The real problem were the tariffs. They were very high and discouraged trade with other cities. Trade was needed in order for an economy to grow. Until Duke Wellington could acquire enough power and influence over the other nobles, there was little that Garnet could do. However, there were several problems in achieving this goal. First, Duke Wellington would need to acquire enough power over the other nobles that they would have to submit to his authority. Second, he would need to secure his position by meeting the qualifications to take the throne once King Caligula passed away. Garnet headed to the castle''s library in order to see if she could learn more about how another noble inherits the throne. To her surprise, Duke Wellington was there. He waved at Garnet. "Hey over here!" shouted Duke Wellington. "What are you doing?" asked Garnet. "I''m looking up information about how to improve the wall," said Duke Wellington. "I never knew there was so much you could do to it." Garnet looked as Duke Wellington flipped open a small book. It contained notes about defensive mechanisms like archer holes and pits where invading soldiers could be stabbed at from a passageway above the gate entrance. Duke Wellington was researching different ways to mount a strong defense. "How about you?" asked Duke Wellington. "I was going to look into ways to-," said Garnet. Duke Wellington put his hand over Garnet''s mouth. "You never know who is listening, pick your words wisely," said Duke Wellington. Garnet nodded as Duke Wellington removed his hand from her mouth. "I was thinking what I could do about the situation to improve your power and influence over the other nobles," said Garnet. "I see," said Duke Wellington. "So you plan to use me to improve the city. There are some methods, but right now, none of the conditions are met." "Can you tell me what those ways are?" asked Garnet. "I want you to do me a favor first then," said Duke Wellington. Garnet grew suspicious of the Duke. He had his own plans as well. "I want you to meet Ruby," said Duke Wellington. "My daughter?" asked Garnet. "How is she important in this?" "In order for me to inherit the throne, I first need to seize power," said Duke Wellington. "But in order to secure it, I need a family." Garnet realized what the Duke meant. He needed her to be his family. "Why not just marry another noble?" Garnet asked. "Many of the nobles are out for power," said Duke Wellington. "Sure they will marry their daughter to me, but that''s because it secures their own power. What I need is overwhelming power over the others by myself and you are the only one who can give it to me. Then, I can do what is needed." Garnet thought about it. Duke Wellington had influence over his territory, but she was unsure of how it was being done. She wanted to see what his rule was actually like, so seeing his manor and his lands would be a good way to start. "I accept then," said Garnet. "I will meet Ruby." "Really?!?" said Duke Wellington. His expression immediately changed from a serious one to a happy one. He grabbed Garnet and hugged her. "Thank you so much." "I have my reasons," said Garnet. "When do we leave?" "I can leave in three days," said Duke Wellington. "Do what you need to before you leave, but it will take about three days to reach my manor." "Alright," said Garnet. "In three days, meet me in front of Zedd''s Workshop." In less than a week, Garnet was going to meet her daughter and see the Duke''s manor. She wanted to see what the rule of Duke Wellington was like, but she was nervous. She had a daughter that she was going to meet for the first time. But there was one thing that bothered her even more than that. If she was going to secure the Duke''s position, she would need to have children with him. A part of her wanted to seeing how the Duke treated her, but a part of her was still suspicious of him because he seemed too good to be true. That night, Garnet headed out under the cover of darkness. She wanted to get stronger before she left. She had no idea how strong the enemies at the Duke''s region was going to be. New Skill: Shadow Walk (Level 1) Allows you to hide under the cover of darkness without being recognized. It can be broken by someone with high dexterity or night vision. It is more effective than Stealth at night. She was still discovering new skills and abilities, but what was most important was that her skills could change and evolve. There was one thing she wanted to try more than anything, applying magic to her hand to hand skills. Her physical strength had developed a lot since fighting the wolves, but it meant neglecting her magical. She needed to find a way to apply both at once. "Call: Skeletal Hounds!" Garnet re-summoned her upgraded dogs. She had let them out to search for new enemies the previous night. Now was the time to see what they found. "Show me where," she ordered. Each of the hounds pointed in different direction with their heads. Each of them had apparently found something different. Garnet just chose the one in front of her and tapped its back. "You, show me," she said. The hound began to walk forward and Garnet followed it. The hound circled around down South along the river. New Quest: Slay the Giant Bear A giant bear has made the river south of Antium its home. This has caused panic among the people there like the Giant Wild Boar to the East. See to it that this threat is removed. Reward: Experience, Fame "No new skill," thought Garnet. However, hope was not lost. She could still use Blood Absorption and perhaps get something from it. As Garnet headed South, she noticed the carcasses of Wild Boars. They had been eaten. "The bear?" thought Garnet. She began to be cautious. "Protect me," Garnet ordered her hounds. The three hounds formed a triangle formation. Two in front, one in the back. This way if she was attacked from any direction, the hounds would be able to spot it. Even though the hounds were undead, they showed some kind of intelligence at least. There was still a few Wild Boars alive. Garnet killed one. "Blood Absorption!" The Wild Boar exploded into a pool of blood and entered her body. Nothing happened. "Does it not work on all enemies?" Garnet followed the direction of the boar corpses and saw a giant shadow drinking water from the river. It was the Giant Bear. Giant Black Bear Level: 10 Class: Beast Sub-Class: N/A Stats: ??? It was roughly the same strength as the Alpha Wolf, but its abilities would most likely be different. The Alpha Wolf was fast, but something as large as the bear was definitely going to be slower, but physically stronger. But, this also gave the opportunity for Garnet to try some new things on a stronger enemy. "I have to be careful still," she thought. She remembered how dangerous it was fighting the Giant Wild Boar and experimenting on it. "Do not interfere unless I am in mortal danger," Garnet ordered her Skeletal Hounds. The three of them stood aside and watched her. Garnet poured a huge amount of mana into her finger tips. "Lightning Bolt!" A powerful burst of electricity instantly connected her finger tips to the Giant Black Bear. Level Up: Lightning Bolt (Level 6) New Skill: Chain Lightning (Level 1) A bolt of lightning hits the designated target and then connects to nearby targets as well. Each target can only be hit once. MP Cost: 50 ROAR. The Giant Black Bear made a loud noise as it fell. BOOM. It was stunned by her Lightning Bolt. "The new skill is useless!" thought Garnet. She was only fighting a single bear at the moment. It was nonetheless a new skill that would add to her arsenal. She quickly closed the distance between her and the bear and struck it with the palm of her hand infused with mana. BAM. New Skill: Palm Strike Use the palm of your hand to strike a target. This attack can be infused with mana to deal magic damage or magic for an additional effect. MP Cost: 30 Garnet quickly infused mana into her other hand and used Palm Strike with wind magic. New Skill: Wind Palm (Level 1) Strike the target using the palm of your hand. The wind magic provides an additional knockback effect. MP Cost: 30 BAM. The Giant Black Bear was knocked onto its side from the force of the punch. There was finally proof that her magic could be infused into her attacks. However, it required her to use hand to hand. Since she had been fighting with a blade, it was not possible other than using it as an off hand attack. Now, she needed to find a way to combine this. ROAR. Garnet quickly backed off once she heard the roar. The paralysis of the Giant Black Bear had ended as it got back up. It now faced Garnet with an intent to kill. Garnet kept her sword in one hand and prepped for a charged Fire Bolt in her other. The Giant Black Bear began to run towards her. It was slow. Much slower than the Giant Wild Boar. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired the bolt of fire in her arm right onto it. BOOM. Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 ROAR. The Giant Black Bear was hit by the explosive force of the Fire Bolt and knocked over once more. BOOM. The ground shook as the Giant Black Bear hit the ground once more. Garnet ran up to it with her short sword. "Double Slash!" Her sword slashed diagonally downward at the Giant Black Bear''s head, then vertically upwards. Level Up: Double Slash (Level 2) Stat Increase: Strength +1 ROAR. The Giant Black Bear rolled back over. Garnet backstepped as she saw this. The Giant Black Bear slashed its claws, but caught only the air. Garnet had already increased the distance between them. Stat Increase: Agility +1 Garnet prepared another Fire Bolt in her hand. The Giant Black Bear focused its attention on Garnet. It dashed towards her once more. Garnet could feel the ground beneath her shake with each step of the bear. She began to run sideways. The Giant Black Bear turned towards her attempting to chase her. Garnet began to run to close the distance and stay at the Giant Black Bear''s side so that she was never in front of it. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired a Fire Bolt at close range into the Giant Black Bear''s sides. ROAR. The Giant Black Bear cried out as it was knocked over again. New Skill: Explosive Palm (Level 1) By infusing a Fire Bolt into an attack, it releases an explosive burst of power that can break defenses. MP Cost: 30 There was still one more element that Garnet needed to try. She infused a Lightning Bolt into her palm and struck the Giant Black Bear once more. BAM. New Skill: Lightning Palm (Level 1) A Lightning Bolt infused punch that can penetrate the defenses of an enemy to stun them. Ignores armor. MP Cost: 30 She then drove her sword into the stomach of the Giant Black Bear. SHLUCK. ROAR. The Giant Black Bear roared out in pain. It was still alive but bleeding out. The beasts that Garnet had fought recently were all incredibly tough. This Giant Black Bear was not as fast as the Alpha Wolf, but it was incredibly durable. She had used numerous attacks on it and it had still not fallen. Garnet backed off once more as the Giant Black Bear tried to move. The Giant Black Bear struggled as it got up on its feet. It was trying to crawl away. Its blood was dripping onto the ground. Either way, it was going to die from its wounds. Garnet charged mana into her hand. "Fire Ball!" It was her new spell. The recoil from the spell was higher and Garnet could feel the knockback as her arm moved upward from firing the spell. BOOM. The Fire Ball struck the Giant Black Bear with incredible force as it was knocked down once more. There was a small crater where the attack had landed. The Giant Black Bear tried to move, but it could not. Garnet watched as it bled out. Quest Complete: Slay the Giant Bear Reward: Experience, 10 Fame You have leveled up! Garnet poured all of her new points into Intelligence. She needed to hit that 5000 maximum mana so that Zedd could teach her the skill. Unfortunately, she was not even halfway there. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet used her skill to absorb the corpse of the Giant Black Bear. The Giant Black Bear exploded into a cloud of blood and entered her body. Level Up: Blood Absorption (Level 4) Stat Increase: Strength +5 Stat Increase: Vitality +5 It was a major boost to her Strength and Vitality stat. It was worth two whole levels in stats. There were still at least two other major enemies left for Garnet. If she could defeat them as well, she would gain an incredible amount of power. "Maybe it only works on special enemies?" thought Garnet. "Where is the next one?" Garnet asked her Skeletal Hounds. The two remaining hounds pointed in different directions. One back in the direction of Antium. The other in the direction of the forest. "Show me," Garnet said as she tapped the hound pointing to the forest. Garnet headed into the forest. New Quest: Slay the Blue Tiger There is a tiger with blue fur in the forest to the east. It is a threat to nearby travelers. See to it that this threat is removed. Rewards: Experience, Fame The three dogs continued to form a triangle shape around her to protect her. ROAR. It was the sound of another wild beast, but it was different. It did not sound like the bear, the boar, or the wolf. It was something different. Garnet followed her skeletal hound as it led her deeper into the forest. It was there that she saw a small pile of rocks that had fallen from the nearby mountain. On top of it was a Blue Tiger. Name: Blue Tiger Level: 10 Class: Beast Sub-class: N/A Stats: ??? It was roughly the same strength as the Alpha Wolf and the Giant Black Bear. As Garnet observed it, she tried to figure out how strong it would be. It was more muscular than the Alpha Wolf, so it was not as fast. It would most likely be much faster and weaker than the Giant Black Bear, but stronger and slower than the Alpha Wolf. With this in mind, she prepared a strategy against the tiger. "Go!" Garnet ordered her Skeletal Hounds to attack. The three of them approached the tiger. ROAR. The Blue Tiger roared out in an attempt to get them to back away. When the Skeletal Hounds did not, the Blue Tiger faced them ready to attack. It leapt forward attempting to slash one of the Hounds. The first hound jumped backwards while the second headbutt the Blue Tiger from its sides. The Skeletal Hounds were working together. The Blue Tiger was at least as strong as the Alpha Wolf, but not as fast. Her Skeletal Hounds were each almost as strong as the Alpha Wolf already. If they leveled up, they would be frightening monsters to deal with. Garnet walked in to close the distance. Her Skeletal Hounds were perfectly capable of taking on the Blue Tiger, but she did not want to entirely rely on them. ROAR. The Blue Tiger had spotted Garnet and ran towards her. BAM. One of the Skeletal Hounds headbutted the Blue Tiger. CHOMP. Another bit on its leg to stop it from moving. ROAR. The Blue Tiger struggled to move, but it could not with the strength of two of the Skeletal Hounds on it. The Skeletal Hounds had disabled the Blue Tiger on their own. CHOMP. The third Skeletal Hound bit on the leg diagonal to the Blue Tiger. It was completely immobilized now. The Blue Tiger''s injuries were superficial. Even though it could not move, it was still barely hurt. It tried to struggle, but the Skeletal Hounds had a tight grip on the Blue Tiger''s legs. It could not move at all. The last Skeletal Hound attacked it head on, headbutting it, followed by biting down on its head. The damage was very small. Despite the incredible strength of the Skeletal Hounds, the Blue Tiger had incredible endurance. Garnet carefully approached the Blue Tiger. "Explosive Palm!" Garnet hit the head of the Blue Tiger with her new attack. BOOM. The explosive force knocked the Blue Tiger loose from the Skeletal Hounds. The Skeletal Hounds reformed around Garnet. Two of them were each carrying one of the Blue Tiger''s legs. Garnet watched the Blue Tiger as it struggled. It could not get up with two of its legs missing and now bled from its wounds as well. Garnet closed the distance and finished it off with a Horizontal Slash, cutting its body and killing it. ROAR. The Blue Tiger let out one final roar before it fell over. Quest Complete: Slay the Blue Tiger Reward: Experience, Fame+10 Level Up: Skeletal Hounds (Level 2) Level Up: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) Her Skeletal Hounds became even stronger. However, it was not enough experience to level up though. She at least could absorb it. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet had gotten used to seeing the bodies of creatures explode into blood and enter her body. Stat Increase: Dexterity +5 Stat Increase: Vitality +5 Stat Increase: Agility +5 Garnet had made significant progress with Blood Absorption. It was indeed a frightening power. It allowed her to take in the stats and abilities of powerful creatures that she defeated. What she wanted though were additional Summons. The Alpha Wolf only evolved an existing one while the others increased her stats. In the past two nights, Garnet had made more progress than she did training for a week against weaker enemies. Satisfied with these results, Garnet decided to head back to Antium for now. "Go find more enemies for me," Garnet ordered. The Skeletal Hounds dispersed once more into the darkness. The Hounds would search in the day, then Garnet would hunt them at night. The results of their work combined with Blood Absorption was amazing. "I need to see if I can fight Kirk now," thought Garnet. As Garnet left the forest, she felt a headache and rested against a tree. "I must be overdoing it again," thought Garnet. She had little rest these days when selling Wild Boar Meat and sneaking out at nights to go hunting with her Skeletal Hounds. "I''m going to take a day off today," she thought to herself. Garnet snuck back into the city and headed to the market. Clark was no longer the only merchant. There were others now. "How''s business?" Garnet asked. "Very good," said Clark. "We have someone selling the tanned leather from the Wild Boars and someone who prepares th meat. I just sell now and I get a share." "That''s good news, but I wonder if it is enough," said Garnet. "Of course not," said Clark. "We are only a few people, it takes a lot more than this to change the structure of a city''s economy. What you did do was encourage a few people to get involved and get started at least." The city''s economy was no longer as bleak. Even though item prices were low due to avoiding tariffs and the fact that there were very little taxes to be collected, few people other than Baron Gray even cared about what they were doing. As a result, they had established a market that was not being taxed yet. "I just worry if this market gets too big," said Clark. "The nobles might pay attention to us then." "Persuading them is not easy," said Garnet. "It never is," asid Clark. "The nobles that do care are too busy managing their own regions and the ones who have influence in this city only care about maximizing profits." "It''s at least a start," said Garnet. "Yes," said Clark. "I''m glad I did not give up, and thanks to you, there is at least something that resmbles a marketplace again." "Why did you keep selling anyways?" asked Garnet. "My family is here," said Clark. "What little money I make, I usually give to them." "I see," said Garnet. Despite the poor conditions of the city. Some people had reasons to not leave. For Clark, it was that his family still lived in the city. "Why doesn''t your family leave Antium?" Garnet asked. "Believe it or not, it can be dangerous outside of the city," said Clark. "Few people are willing to take the risk to travel to another city after such an enormous attack on the city." Clark was referring to the invasion. People did not feel safe for a while after something like that, so they wanted to hide within the walls of the city at all costs. Areas close to the large cities were sometimes attacked, and it was not worth the risk to the people. "I see," said Garnet. Protecting the city was not enough. They had to protect the roads too, but some of the nobles were doing a poor job of it. "I won''t be around in a few days," said Garnet. "I hope you can take care of things from here on out." "Of course," said Clark. "Low prices to force demand. I''m going to keep that up for a little while longer." Garnet headed back to Zedd''s Workshop. Kirk and Klarth were standing outside with a worried look on their face. "What''s wrong?" Garnet asked. "You have a visitor," said Klarth. "An important one." Garnet headed inside. There was no one there. "Where?" Garnet shouted. "Your room!" Kirk responded. Garnet headed to the room in the back. It was Duke Charles Wellington. He was wearing very plain clothes. You could not tell he was a noble from the grey clothes he had on. It was very different from his usual appearance. "What are you doing here?" Garnet asked. "I came to ask you out," said Duke Wellington. "Like a date?!?" shouted Garnet. "Just for food," said Duke Wellington. "Though if it was a date it would be nice." "I don''t feel well, let me sleep," said Garnet. Duke Wellington put his hand on her forehead. Then, he put his other hand on her stomach. "Do you feel anything?" asked Duke Wellington. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "There was a little pain in my stomach earlier," said Garnet. "There''s nothing wrong as far as I can tell, but I insist that we go somewhere," said the Duke. "Fine!" shouted Garnet. "Let me get changed," said Garnet as she pushed Duke Wellington outside. Garnet changed into the clothes Zedd had gotten her. She rarely wore this anymore since she was always out hunting or working at the market. "I''m hungry too, so lets go," said Garnet. The two headed outside. Kirk and Klarth followed. "You two stay," ordered Duke Wellington. Kirk and Klarth immediately turned around and stood back outside the workshop. They did not dare to disobey him. "They''re only ordered to protect me," said Garnet. "It''s fine," said Duke Wellington. "I''m stronger than both of them put together." Garnet had remembered when she first saw Duke Wellington''s stats. He was not only level 60, but had two classes and a sub-class. He was truly someone strong. The thing was that Garnet never saw him fighting before. "So where we going?" asked Garnet. "Just follow me," said Duke Wellington. The two walked around to the North side of town. Duke Wellington led Garnet to a small restaurant by the North Gate. "We''re here." It was a restaurant that served potato stew. "For a moment I thought it was going to be something fancy," said Garnet. "Do you like fancy?" Duke Wellington asked. "Not really," said Garnet. "It''s nice once in a while, but it''s not something I would like to eat all the time." "I see," said Duke Wellington. "While were hear though, call me Charles okay?" "Alright," said Garnet. Duke Wellington ordered a large bowl of beef potato stew. It had many pieces of beef, potato, and carrots. The price was a single gold coin. It was very expensive compared to the food at the market. Garnet only had some silver from helping out Zedd that one time. Since then, she had skipped on her earnings in favor of helping others. She watched as Duke Wellington took his bowl and scooped some out. Garnet was reluctant. "You need to eat," said Duke Wellington as he scooped some out for her. "I have no money," said Garnet. "This is my treat, now eat," said Duke Wellington. Garnet scooped some of it into her bowl and ate. "By the way, did you check for bleeding from down there?" said Duke Wellington. Garnet immediately spat the soup from her mouth back into her bowl. "What are you saying?" she said. "You described your symptoms earlier and I immediately knew what it was, didn''t you?" said Duke Wellington. "That''s why I brought you here as well." Garnet had remembered. The headache on her way back. The pain her stomach. She was having her monthly cycle. She had not gotten it since she arrived in this world and had forgotten about it because of everything else that she was trying to do. "I guess I forgot," said Garnet. She made a mental note to start keeping track of it. "It happens sometimes," said Duke Wellington. "I sometimes forget to do things as well, but I just want to know that you''re okay." "What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "Why wouldn''t I be okay?" "Well, in two more days, you''re going to be moving and you''re going to meet your daughter for the first time in over four years," said Duke Wellington. "It''s a lot to take in and I just wanted to make sure that you were at east for such a thing." "Thank you, Charles," said Garnet. "I know that you''re suspicious of me as well," said Duke Wellington. "I would be too, but I want to show you that there is nothing to worry about." Garnet had been suspicious of him. He was doing a lot of things for her without a second thought. Her memories of him had been wiped from her mind, so she had no idea about their relationship. However, he was the only one who was seriously trying to do things to fix the city. For that alone, she was grateful. "Listen," said Garnet. "What is it?" asked Duke Wellington. "If I am satisfied with the way you run things, then I agree," said Garnet. "Agree to what?" asked Duke Wellington. "I will marry you as long as you agree to my conditions," said Garnet. "What are the conditions?" asked Duke Wellington. "First, I want to be able to travel if needed," said Garnet. "Second, I want the ability to see my child. I do not want to be blocked off from her for any reason. Third, I wish to have input regarding important decisions." "I agree if you visit me and our children at least once a year," said Duke Wellington. He did not even take a moment to think about it. "So fast?!?" said Garnet. "Don''t you need time to think about this?" "I already have," said Duke Wellington. "We also had this discussion years ago." "What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "It was not too long ago that you were still a slave," said Duke Wellington. "When you were, you convinced me that only those with power can change a system. And if the people at the top do not change it, it is those at the bottom that will force that change. I fear that if I do not at least try to begin making changes, there will be a revolution soon." "So what does this have to do with me?" asked Garnet. "I used the information you collected while you were working at the brothel to consolidate my power," said Duke Wellington. "Now, I have a small advantage over the other Dukes, but what I need is an overwhelming advantage." "And how are you going to do that?" asked Garnet. "Are you going to fight them?" "Of course not," said Duke Wellington. "A civil war would be extremely damaging and further divide our already messed up country. I''m going to give them a just cause to join me and fight against anyone who is against change." Garnet took a look at the mark on the back of her hand. The flower with five petals. The mark that she was a slave. But, she did not want to be taken advantage of and neither did he. "Is there any way to get rid of this?" asked Garnet. "Not that I know of," said Duke Wellington. "It is a very powerful spell and it cannot be removed by anyone except the person who made it or by a magician that is as strong as the original caster." "I mean slavery as a whole," asked Garnet. "That is impossible," said Duke Wellington. "Many nobles own slaves and it would be impossible to have them get rid of it immediately, but it is possible to have some regulations so they cannot abuse slaves without consequence. For now, I can at least guarantee that slaves will at least be protected from others, but not their own masters." It was impossible to get people to abandon something. Change required time and the mentality of people to change. "Do you know who made this one?" asked Garnet. "The symbol clearly belongs to someone." "That is the crest of the Duchess of the East, Duchess Kiko," said Duke Wellington. "A woman is a Duke?!?" said Garnet. She did not know this. Most of the leadership so far were men and that was what she expected in this kind of society. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "She is the only female Duke, we call her the Duchess. She even has an elite squad of female soldiers." "Does she have female knights as well?" asked Garnet. "Except for their leader, no," said Duke Wellington. "The Duchess knows what happens to female prisoners, so she was reluctant to employ any but a few and only the very best." "I see," said Garnet. "That makes sense." "Do you want to get it removed?" asked Duke Wellington as he pointed to the crest on her hand. "I know someone who can get rid of it for you." "No," said Garnet. "It serves as a reminder of who I am and what I am." "And what is that?" asked Duke Wellington. "It is a reminder that I have a duty that I must complete," said Garnet. "It was entrusted to me by Zedd and he is counting on me." "I understand," said Duke Wellington. "May I ask what he asked you to do?" The Duke''s expression changed. "Just to save some people," said Garnet. She could not tell him that the Garnet that he knew now only existed in his memories now. Although the old Garnet''s memories greatly influenced her, she was a different person, but she also did not want to completely abandon the old Garnet either. She had a life before Riley merged with Garnet to create the new Garnet. She wanted to at least live a life that would make the old Garnet happy in some way, hoping that the memories of the old Garnet would be satisfied with her choices and accomplishments. "Is that all?" asked Duke Wellington. "That''s all he told me," said Garnet. "I see," said Duke Wellington. "He''s probably hiding something." "I know," said Garnet. "But I''m not going to push it since he seems to be trying to help me." "Is there anything else you want to ask?" asked Duke Wellington. "I want to know more about you as well," said Garnet. "Let''s see, where to begin..." said Duke Wellington. "Well, you know I was born into a noble family, my father was Duke Charlie Wellington and I was named after him. My mother inherited the title of Duchess after her marriage." "That''s not what I want to know about," Garnet interrupted. "I want to know more about you." "I thought this wasn''t a date," Duke Wellington replied. "It doesn''t have to be to get to know you," said Garnet. It had become a date without her realizing it. She was interested in what type of person the Duke was. He knew a lot about her, but she knew little about him. Without others around, she would be able to freely question him without interference. "Well, I value the opinion of others," said Duke Wellington. "But I must insist on having the final decision. I don''t mind objecting to the rules of others, but I need to have power behind me to back that up in case they try to threaten me. I believe that a ruler is only as strong as his or her weakest supporter." "That''s not telling me anything other than your ideology," said Garnet. "What do you like to do?" "I enjoy spending time with Ruby," said Duke Wellington. "But other than that, I haven''t had much enjoyment in my life." "Why''s that?" asked Garnet. "I''m often preoccupied with managing my territory and my free time is spent with Ruby making sure that she is happy," said Duke Wellington. "I don''t want her to end up without parents." "Did you lose your parents at a young age?" asked Garnet. "My father died about six years ago and I inherited everything," said Duke Wellington. "He taught me that a good leader needs to earn the respect of his people and that has been what I have been trying to do. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult to do." "Is that why you want me to meet Ruby?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "She wants to meet her birth mother. Even when she gets sent to a school, I want her to know that she has a family that loves her very much and that a good leader is more than just about being strong." Garnet realized the Duke was not doing this because he wanted power. He wanted Garnet to be in Ruby''s life. Even though Duke Wellington benefited from marrying Garnet, he was not doing it for himself, he was doing it for his daughter. To him, Ruby was what mattered the most. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 8 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 690/690 MP: 1740/1740 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 11 (+7) Intelligence: 40 (+22) Vitality: 20 (+5) Agility: 17 (+7) Charisma: 19 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword - 6
Magic: - Fire ¨C 4 - Lightning ¨C 5 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood - 3
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike - Wind Palm - Explosive Palm - Lightning Palm
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Lightning Bolt (Level 6) - Chain Lightning (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1) - Blood Absorption (Level 4)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 2) - Captivation: (Level 2) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 4) - Cook - Inspection (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 2)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 3) - Speed (Level 6) - Physical Resistance (Level 2)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 1: Chapter 009 - Final Preparations Garnet still had about two days before she was going to leave for Duke Wellington''s Manor. After they finished eating, Duke Wellington left. He had business to attend to. "Nobles must be busy people," thought Garnet. New Quest: Summoning Circles Speak with Zedd in his Workshop. Reward: New Skill "It was a new quest!" thought Garnet. She had not gotten a request from Zedd since the Giant Wild Boar. Garnet quickly returned to Zedd''s Workshop. Kirk and Klarth were still guarding outside. As Garnet entered, she heard Zedd making a lot of noise. "What are you doing?" asked Garnet. "I heard you''re going with the Duke to his manor," said Zedd. "Why?" "He said he would help me save this city as long as I help him," Garnet explained. "He is already even working on the East Wall." "I heard about that," said Zedd. "It is a good start. If he can continue this, then there''s no doubt he will inherit the throne." "Why''s that?" asked Garnet. "King Caligula has been bedridden for a while," said Zedd. "But few people know this." "Since when?" asked Garnet. "Since I asked you to take out that Giant Wild Boar," said Zedd. "That was why you were even able to leave the city." Garnet had thought about it. She had been able to get away with a lot of things that would have been seen as damaging to the King, such as completing tasks that his guards did not want to do in order to promote the safety of the people. The reason why this was possible was because the King could not actually take action. This meant that when the King did pass, Garnet would need to secure Duke Wellington as the King. "I see," said Garnet. "Anyways," said Zedd. "This is a special Summoning Circle." "What is it for?" asked Garnet. "It is for teleportation," said Zedd. "As long as there is another Summoning Circle at the destination, you can use the circle if you supply mana to it. Quest Update: Summoning Circles Learn Teleportation from Zedd Reward: Teleportation Spell "How does it work?" asked Garnet. Zedd took out a book and handed it to Garnet. It consisted of a lot of writing, with pictures of various summoning circles. "Flip to the back," said Zedd. Garnet went to the back. There were three sheets of paper with Summoning Circles drawn on them. "What are these?" she asked. "If you put one on the ground and activate it by supplying mana to it, it will turn into a Summoning Circle on the ground," said Zedd. "Even if the circle is erased by some means, you can still teleport there once it has been put there." "Why are you giving me this?" asked Garnet. "I need you to be able to help this city," said Zedd. "So I''ve placed Summoning Circles at each gate, in the room where I summoned you, and in this workshop so that you can travel here faster. The only question is if you have enough mana." "So how does this work?" asked Garnet. "Stand in the circle," said Zedd. Garnet moved into the center of the circle. "Channel your mana from your body onto the ground." Garnet sensed the mana in her body and moved it to her feet and then outward. The Summoning Circle below her started to light up. In front of her appeared an interface with several blue dots. Each of them was a Summoning Circle. New Skill: Teleportation Allows for quick movement between locations that have a Teleportation Summoning Circle placed. MP Cost: 1500 New Skill: Teleportation Summoning Circle You can lay a new Teleportation Summoning Circle at your feet. MP Cost: 100 Garnet pushed the one in the castle. It was the room where she was summoned and where Zedd taught her to use her magic. In an instant, nearly all of her mana was gone. Luckily, it refilled quickly thanks to her ability. Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 Teleportation was an extremely powerful spell that allowed for instant movement. In a few minutes, Garnet had enough mana to return back to Zedd''s Workshop. Quest Complete: Summoning Circles Reward: Teleportation, Teleportation Summoning Circle "Thank you," said Garnet. "This is help for me too," said Zedd. "If you place Summoning Circles in other locations, I can visit them as well." "I will come see you if I need help," said Garnet. "I also want to learn that other spell from you once I have enough mana." "The fact that you can use Teleportation is proof of your abilities," said Zedd. "It is an advanced magic that few people can learn. I''m surprised you were able to cast it twice in such a short time. If you''re ever in danger, you can use them to escape as well. You can also bring along anyone and anything touching you at the moment of activation." "I understand," said Garnet. "But I won''t need this book." "Did you already learn it?" asked Zedd. "Yes," said Garnet. "Watch." Garnet went to her room. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" The ground lit up with the formation of the magic circle and burned itself into the ground. "Teleportation!" Garnet then used the circle to warp back to the main room of the workshop. "Incredible," said Zedd. "You did not even need to draw it by hand." Zedd began to search through his books and pulled out something. "Take this," said Zedd. "What is this?" asked Garnet. She flipped through the book. It had numerous Summoning Circles inscribed and different pictures in it. "This is my personal research," said Zedd. "Even though I was never good research, I managed to summon numerous creatures that were discovered by others. It contains the information of Summoning Circles for numerous different types of beasts and creatures. If anyone can learn them and put them to use, it is you, but it is extremely difficult." New Quest: Learning Summoning Magic Learn the spells from Zedd''s Summoning Book. Reward: New Skills Garnet flipped through it. Towards the back of the book, she saw something. It was the spell to summon a hero. "This is..." said Garnet. Zedd looked over Garnet''s shoulder and saw the page she was looking at. "That was what I used to bring you into this world," said Zedd. "It calls forth someone with the spirit of a hero from another world into a vessel in this one. As long as you are here, the spell is useless since there can only be one hero in this world." There were a few summoning spells more advanced than that. They summoned powerful creatures. There were even some incomplete spells in the back. Zedd had researched them, but was unable to finish it on his own. "What is this?" asked Garnet. Zedd looked at it. "This is the summon for the legendary Sun Wukong," said Zedd. Garnet had heard this name. It was the Monkey King. He existed in several cultures and was a powerful creature that defied the Gods. Eventually, he ascended into heaven after earning forgiveness and learned to be peaceful. "Why is this here?" she asked. "In times of great danger, we ask for help from beings more powerful than us," said Zedd. "If they deem us worthy, they grant us protection. During the previous invasion, I summoned him and he was the one who saved us from near annihilation. He is the reason that the East Wall is not completely gone." A single creature had the power to fight off an invading army that even Zedd was afraid of. These were powerful creatures and Garnet had been entrusted with the secret of calling them. "Thank you," said Garnet. "You are a wonderful teacher." "I believe in you," said Zedd. "You tried to do the right thing, and I believe that you will continue to do so. Just promise me that you will save us." "I promise," said Garnet. "If I fail, I will die trying." "No, don''t do that," said Zedd. "As long as you survive, this world has hope. A man like me who is a poor leader has little to offer." "You have a lot to offer," said Garnet. "That is why you must be here when Duke Wellington becomes King." "He is going to become King? How?" asked Zedd. "If I see that he is truly a good person, I''m going to secure his position and power by any means necessary," said Garnet. "I want you to be there to ensure that he does the right thing." "Thank you," said Zedd. "If he does become King, I will do my best." "Now there are still things that I want to finish up before I leave," said Garnet. "I won''t keep you," said Zedd. "Do what you must." Garnet put Zedd''s book into her inventory. She changed into her leather outfit and headed out of the city. She wanted to clear the surrounding of powerful enemies to become as strong as she possibly could before she left. Even though she was still feeling a little unwell, she believed that this was the best thing to do. Without the powerful creatures around, the city would be a little safer and she would benefit from taking their power. Zedd had asked her to do so a while back as well. She owed him a lot and she believed that this was the right thing to do. Garnet headed into the forest to the East to make sure no one could see her. "Call: Skeletal Hounds!" The three Skeletal Hounds were re-summoned. "Where to next?" she asked. Each of the three dogs again pointed in different directions. One still faced north of the city, and two faced deeper into the forest. She tapped the head of the one that faced directly East. The Skeletal Hound started to move. Garnet followed a little further behind. She did not want to be seen with the Skeletal Hounds if they were discovered. After all, Zedd had warned her not to be seen by others with them. At night it was okay since there were fewer people, but she had to be careful during the day. The Hounds always waited until Garnet had closed the distance before they continued forward. They seemed to understand her to some degree. "Could they have intelligence?" thought Garnet. The thought of intelligent summons, possibly mythical creatures were of interest to Garnet. Zedd had shown her that there were incredibly powerful summoned creatures. Garnet''s Skeletal Hounds could not compare, but somewhere out there was something that she could absorb in order to increase her power. Levels were not the only way to progress. Powerful skills and abilities were just as important if not more. Garnet followed her Skeletal Hound deep in to the forest. NEIGH. It was the sound of a horse. New Quest: Persuade the Bicorn There is a Bicorn hidden deep in the forest. Find a way to make it serve you. Reward: Unicorn Mount, New Spell "A Bicorn?" thought Garnet. She remembered the legends of a Unicorn. It should only allow someone who is pure, namely a virgin to ride it. That was something that Garnet was not. Even if somehow Duke Wellington was lying, the experiences of the old Garnet definitely felt real. Garnet carefully got closer to the sound, she saw a lake. From it was something that resembled a black horse, but with two horns. Name: Lilith, the Bicorn Level: 10 Class: Mammal Sub-Class: Mythical Stats: ??? Even though it was an animal, it was not classified as a Beast like the other creatures Garnet had encountered in the past. It was also had a sub-class that separated it from the other creatures. "Come forth," said a feminine voice. "Who''s there?" said Garnet. "I know you''re hiding there," said the feminine voice. It was coming from the direction of the Bicorn. Garnet walked forward. "Can you come out?" asked Garnet. "I''m right in front of you," said the voice. It was coming from the Bicorn in front of Garnet. "You can talk?!?" shouted Garnet. She was surprised. It was a black talking horse. "My name is Lilith, and you''re here for my services are you not?" asked the Bicorn. "Yes, Lilith, I want your help," said Garnet. "I sense magical power coming from you," said Lilith. "That means you can be of help to me." "I will help you if it means you will help me," said Garnet. "No, you''re not strong enough yet," said Lilith. "In the future, you will be able to." "So what do I have to do?" asked Garnet. "Catch me," said Lilith. "However, you are not allowed to catch me with magic or leave the view of the lake." The Bicorn had some knowledge of Garnet''s abilities. It could sense the magic within her. She would have to use her physical abilities to catch Lilithin order to make it serve her. She was now glad that she at least tried to train her physical abilities. "Dismiss!" Garnet unsummoned her Skeletal Hounds since she was not allowed to use magic for this. "I want to do this right," though Garnet. "These are the rules for the competition. I will follow them." "We begin immediately," said Lilithas she ran off. "Fast!" thought Garnet. The moment Lilith finished speaking, she almost completely vanished. She was faster than the Alpha Wolf. However, the rules said that she must stay within sight of the lake, meaning that the search area was still limited. Garnet had trained her Speed skill from running around, but it was not enough. Garnet quickly chased after Lilith, but Lilith was already far ahead of Garnet. Level Up: Speed (Level 7) Garnet watched as Lilith zigzagged between trees and jumped over the grasses and brushes. Lilith was doing things that Garnet could not. "You won''t catch me like that," said Lilith. The biggest problem was that Garnet was not allowed to use her magic. If she was, she could stun it and capture it with ease. But, Garnet was not willing to quit. She had until sunset, which was at least a few hours. "Shadow Walk!" Garnet hid herself in the shadows of the forest to move around. "Did you run already?" asked Lilith. "I''m right here!" shouted Garnet as she jumped from the darkness. Lilith immediately used her hind legs to kick Garnet. "Mana Shield!" shouted Garnet as she raised the protective barrier. BOOM. Garnet was hit hard by the hind legs of Lilith, it was enough to knock her to the ground. "Close," said Lilith. Level Up: Physical Resistance (Level 3) Stat Increase: Vitality +1 "I didn''t expect that," said Garnet as she got up. "I''m surprised you''re not hurt," said Lilith. "Mana Shield," said Garnet. "I always have it on." "That''s excusable for magic, since it''s not being used to catch me," said Lilith. "As long as you don''t catch me with a spell, I will accept your victory." "So I can use spells to increase my own abilities?" asked Garnet. "That''s fine," said Lilith. "After all, you are a magic user, it would be unfair if I said no magic at all." "Good enough for me," said Garnet. Lilith moved back towards the lake. She was staying away from the shadows. Garnet was able to hide in them and Lilith knew that now, so Garnet lost one of the tricks that she had. But, she had others planned. Garnet ran and put her arms behind her. "Wind Palm!" Garnet used the knockback effect of Wind Palm to launch herself forward. WOOSH. Garnet felt in an incredible burst of speed as she put her hands forward again. Lilith stepped to the side and dodged at the last second. SPLASH. Garnet fell into the lake. "Nice try," said Lilith. "But the sound gave you away." "How did you hear that?" Garnet asked. "My senses are very heightened," said Lilith. "If I focus, I can tell where you are and how you are moving." "I''m not giving up yet," said Garnet. "I still have time." Garnet needed to raise her speed, she was still too slow. So, she decided to just run after Lilith for a while. Level Up: Speed (Level 8) Stat Increase: Agility +1 "You''re getting faster instead of slower," said Lilith. "Shouldn''t you be getting slower as you get tired?" "I''m much tougher than a normal person," Garnet replied. "I can last until sundown, but I just need to find a way to capture you with what I have." Garnet continued to run after Lilith. Level Up: Speed (Level 9) Stat Increase: Agility +1 "You won''t catch me if you''re just chasing after me," said Lilith. "I could do this all day and all night as well." "I won''t need all night," said Garnet. "I''ll capture you before sunset, I guarantee you that." As Garnet continued to run, she became even faster. The Hero System provided her with this advantage. Given enough time, she would be fast enough to catch Lilith, but the problem was that there was a time limit. Garnet watched the sun each time she failed to catch Lilith. It was already beginning to go down. "You don''t have much time left," said Lilith. "I know," said Garnet. "But I''m not giving up yet. That means I still have time." Garnet continued to chase after Lilith, but Lilith was too fast for her. Each time she got close, Lilith either dodged it or kicked her back. Level Up: Speed (Level 10) Stat Increase: Agility +1 In one afternoon, Garnet''s speed had increased significantly thanks to just chasing after Lilith. However, Lilith was still faster than her. She would have to use some kind of trick. Garnet remembered something. As long as she did not catch Lilith with a spell, she would pass. "Call: Skeletal Hounds." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "You can''t catch me with those," said Lilith. "I don''t have to," said Garnet. "I''m just adding more obstacles for you to avoid. Run!" The Skeletal Hounds began to run around the lake leaping and jumping around. It made it more difficult for Lilith to jump around. "So you''re limiting my movement through other means," said Lilith. "Good choice." Garnet watched as Lilith ran through the trees. She had to slow down because of the movement of the Hounds. They were moving obstacles that were hard to see. If she hit any of them, she would have slowed down considerably and given Garnet a chance. Right now, they only changed Lilith''s movement patterns, sometimes forcing her to change directions. The Hounds always moved to avoid Garnet and not hit her, but they did not do the same for Lilith. "Let''s try that again," said Garnet. She watched as the Skeletal Hounds circled around and the changes in Lilith''s movement. The problem was that she was unpredictable. She would need to catch Lilith when she was not moving. There was only one chance. The only time Lilith stopped moving was when she kicked Garnet away. Garnet had to find a way to get Lilith to stop moving and grab her leg. "Air Palm!" Garnet burst forward with a surge of speed. "That didn''t work before!" shouted Lilith as she stood still and turned around. "I got you!" thought Garnet. She was waiting for this. Lilith had enjoyed picking on Garnet by kicking her when she got too close. That was because Garnet was always aiming for the main body. This time, she was going for the leg. Just like the Alpha Wolf, Garnet had to slow it down by attacking its leg. It was the same here. Lilith liked to kick Garnet a lot, so Garnet just had to wait for that opportunity to grab its leg. Garnet kept her eyes on Lilith''s hind legs as they rose up to kick her. "Air Palm!" Garnet activated the spell again aimed downward at the ground to push herself back a little. A cloud of dust rose from the ground. Garnet had just backed away out of the reach of the legs at the last moment. "That''s!" said Lilith a surprised tone. "I got you," said Garnet as she reached her arm forward. Garnet felt something in her hand. She definitely got something. "Let me go!" shouted Lilith. The dust cleared. Garnet was holding the left hind leg of Lilith. "I did it," said Garnet. "Yes you did, now let me go!" shouted Lilith. Garnet let go of Lilith''s leg. "I did not expect that from you." "I did not attack you directly with magic," said Garnet. "Was this fair enough for you?" "Yes," said Lilith. "I should have said no magic at all, but a deal is a deal." "So how does this work?" asked Garnet. "Do we just sign a piece of paper or something?" "We use our blood," said Lilith. "With this, we can forge a magically binding contract." "How do I do that?" asked Garnet. "I need a drop of your blood," said Lilith. Garnet took out her short sword and pricked her finger with it. A small amount of blood flowed out. "Drip it onto the ground," ordered Lilith. A magic circle appeared beneath Garnet and Lilith. It was a Summoning Circle or at least something that highly resembled it. "This is a Summoning Circle," said Garnet. "It is a Contract Circle, but close enough," said Lilith. "With this, I bind us together in a contract, do you accept?" "Yes," said Garnet. The Summoning Circle beneath them shrunk into the center between them. Quest Complete: Persuade the Bicorn Reward: Experience You have leveled up! New Skill: Call: Lilith (Level 1) Summon Lilith, your Bicorn. She can serve as a mount, but will also change once you grow stronger. MP Cost: 200 Skill Upgrade: Drain Will (Level 3) -> Pleasure Inducement (Level 1) Through any form of physical contact, it is possible to create sexual arousal in the target. When the target achieves climax, they are vulnerable to suggestion until they recover. Warning, repeated uses on a single target can cause addiction. Garnet had learned received another upgrade. "It was worth the trouble," she thought. "So how does this contract thing work?" asked Garnet. "No matter where you are, if you call me, I will appear before you like your Skeletal Hounds," Lilith explained. "So you don''t travel with me?" Garnet asked. "I could," said Lilith. "But the contract states that I get to use your body to host me. Even should I die, you can just resummon me." "What?" said Garnet. "There are terms and conditions?!?" "That''s why it is called a magical contract," said Lilith. "I won''t be your slave or anything right?" asked Garnet. "No, the only condition that I put is that I get to feed off some of your magical power in order to grow," said Lilith. "I hope to regain my original form with your power." "Your original form?" asked Garnet. "What was your original form?" "I was quite a beauty like you," said Lilith. "But due to the lack of magical power, I kind of changed back to this, which is why I need to borrow your power for a while. Become stronger so I can recover okay?" "I''ll try," said Garnet. With this, she had succeeded in getting the help of Lilith. It was not exactly a horse, but it was close enough. If Garnet was traveling alone, she could use it to help her get around. Garnet placed her palm to her head as she felt another headache. "It''s happening again," Garnet thought to herself. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet created a magic circle near the lake. Now she had a quick way to get back to town as well without having to go through the front gates. "Teleportation!" The circle on the ground lit up. In a flash of light, Garnet was back at Zedd''s Workshop. It was very convenient. Garnet laid down on her bed. Something was clearly happening to her. The frequent headaches were a sign of something. It started when she first tried to use Mind Read on Duke Wellington. It triggered something inside of her. The headaches came and went, but it all started from that one time she used it on him. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 8 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 710/710 MP: 1740/1740 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 11 (+7) Intelligence: 40 (+22) Vitality: 21 (+5) Agility: 19 (+7) Charisma: 19 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword - 6
Magic: - Fire ¨C 4 - Lightning ¨C 5 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 3 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike - Wind Palm - Explosive Palm - Lightning Palm
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Lightning Bolt (Level 6) - Chain Lightning (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1)- Blood Absorption (Level 4) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 2) - Captivation: (Level 2) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) -> Pleasure Inducement (Level 1) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 4) - Cook - Inspection (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 2)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 3) - Speed (Level 10) - Physical Resistance (Level 3)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 1: Chapter 010 - Revelations (Mini Arc 1 - End) It''s Mini Arc 1 because the overall focus is still in the area around Antium and there are plans for 4 arcs around it. The second part is going to be a lot less fighting and basically set up for what happens in parts 3 and 4 where everything goes crazy and out of control. ------------------------------------------------ Garnet laid in bed thinking about what she was going to do next. After all, she was going to leave Antium soon and she would have to rely on Duke Wellington to help her. "How''s your new life?" said a voice. It sounded much like her own, yet she was not speaking. "Who''s there?" asked Garnet. She looked around and there was no one there. "It''s me, Garnet," said the voice. Garnet turned around, but no one was there. She quickly got up and looked into the mirror, but she only saw herself. "How is this possible? But I''m Garnet." "You took my place," said the voice. "I''m sorry," said Garnet. "I didn''t mean for it to happen." "It turns out that I didn''t die during the Hero Summoning," said the feminine voice. "I was weakened, so your mind took over my body." "Are you in my head?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said the voice. "I understand you mean well, and you are not even here by choice. You took on my name, you tried to take on my personality, and you even made choices that you thought I would make to try to make it seem like the name Garnet was not just something you took for yourself. But I''m afraid that by doing this, the old you will no longer exist soon." "What do you mean no longer exist?" asked Garnet. "Can you remember anything from your childhood in your old life?" asked the voice. Garnet thought about it, but she could not remember her old home. "A little," said Garnet. "She remembered some of the things she used to do before arriving in this world, but I cannot remember my friends or family. What I remember is mostly studying in school and training to use different weapons. I cannot remember the face of my family." "That''s because my mind is slowly taking over, which is why you are getting these headaches and losing your memories," said the voice. "That is why you must hurry." "But I''m not even sure what I should be doing," said Garnet. "I''m supposed to save this world, but I''ve barely been able to build my strength and the condition of the city hasn''t improved much." "That''s because you''re a soldier, you''re someone passive who is meant to take orders," said the voice. "You just accepted everything that was told to you without even questioning it." "How did you know that?" asked Garnet. "That''s because like how you saw my memories, I saw yours," said the voice. "I saw the world you came from and what you left behind. As smart as you were, you accomplished almost nothing because you only have the spirit of a hero, and not the rest of it. The moment you arrived here, you just obeyed Zedd without a second thought." "What do you mean by the rest of it?" asked Garnet. "What more is there than the spirit of a hero?" "Courage, selflessness, humility, patience, compassion, honesty, wisdom, focus, virtuosity, and most importantly, an unshakable will," said the voice. "While you have some of these, you are missing others." "That''s because I''m not sure about what I am doing," said Garnet. "I''m not even sure about whether what I am doing is the right thing or not." "I can tell you that no one is ever sure, we can always look back and think about it then, but that''s only in hindsight," said the voice. "But while you have some of the traits of a hero, you are only a hero in name only, named by Zedd." Garnet''s confidence was wavering. She had doubted herself before, but now, someone was pointing it out to her. "What should I do then?" "No matter who you are, you cannot remain in the dark forever," said the voice. "You spend so much time in hiding, trying to hide who you really are. You need to become a public figure, even if you are someone who is rejected by society." Garnet looked at the tattoo on the back of her hand. The mark of her status as a slave, someone who was bought and sold. As a Dark Mage, she would also be someone who was feared, which is why Zedd told her to keep her ability to summon Skeletal Dogs secret. The Bicorn''s ability that she received would also be similar. All of these things were considered to be part of the Dark Arts, something shunned and frowned upon by their society. But none of this topped what had bothered Garnet from the very first day. "Do you want your life back?" asked Garnet. "Of course I do," said the voice. "Can you promise me something?" asked Garnet. "What are you planning to do?" asked the voice. "I''m going to give you, the real Garnet, your body back," said Garnet. "If I am the dominant personality right now, it simply means that I have to release control of it." "But what will happen to you?" asked the voice. "I don''t know," said Garnet. "But hopefully, we just switch places." "No," said the voice. "I refuse." "Then just find a way to reverse this," said Garnet. "If there is a spell to summon the spirit of a hero into a body, it should not disappear without reason. And if there''s a spell to summon a spirit, there has to be a way to extract it." "Why are you so willing to give up everything you have?" asked the voice. "Because I feel as if I am the one who took your life," said Garnet. "When I look at myself, I see the face of the person that I killed and I feel like I need to live out the life you wanted." "But that doesn''t mean you can give up on your goals," said the voice. "After all, it is the magic that makes you want to fulfill my desires. With the magic in this world, anything is possible." "Have you asked Zedd?" asked the voice. "No," said Garnet. "Why not?" asked the voice. "If anyone has the answers, it is him. Besides you feel that he is hiding something too can''t you?" New Quest: Truth Talk to Zedd about Hero Summonings Reward: None "Because I''m afraid," said Garnet. "I''m afraid that there''s no way home. I''m afraid that becoming a hero in this world means there''s no going back. I''m afraid that my body is dead since my spirit is now here." "Is the truth more important?" asked the voice. Garnet took a moment to think about it. "I want to know," said Garnet. She got up and walked into the other room. Zedd was there flipping through some books. "Zedd, I have a question," said Garnet. "What is it?" asked Zedd. "What is the Hero Summoning?" Garnet asked. Zedd put down his book and looked at Garnet. "Why do you ask?" he said. "I want to know what happened to me," said Garnet. "If I am here, what happened to the me in that world." Zedd put his head down. It was clearly something he did not want to say, much like when he talked about the things he did in order to make the ritual a success. "I was hoping you would never ask this and just accept it," said Zedd. "Then what happened to me, I want to know," said Garnet. "The old you is dead," Zedd explained. "What?!?" shouted Garnet. "How is that possible?!?" "The Hero Summoning ritual is one that extracts a spirit from another world and places it in a vessel in a body from this world," Zedd explained. "When that spirit is extracted from the body, the body dies." "Why didn''t you tell me this?" asked Garnet. "Because I know how you would react to it," said Zedd. "It was difficult enough to tell you that I killed numerous people to bring you to this world, but it''s even harder for me to tell you that you not only did you already die, but you will die again as well." "What do you mean by again?" asked Garnet. "I''m going to die again?" Garnet realized Zedd, the only person she trusted was lying to her as well. Everyone was using her to some degree. Some she had knowledge of, but others were being manipulative. "At some point, the original personality will emerge because the host will recover their mental streangth and return to take over the body," said Zedd. "And with it, they will absorb all your memories and your personality will be completely overtaken by theirs, they will inherit the power of the hero and the Hero System." "That was the moment when the old Garnet would take over," said Garnet. But there was someone who could help her. It was already happening to her. The old Garnet''s voice had already appeared inside her head. It would slowly take over and become the dominant one in the future. "Why did you not tell me this?" asked Garnet. "Because I was afraid you would abandon us if you learned the truth," said Zedd. "I had hoped you would fight for us until the real Garnet returned." "You''re wrong," said Garnet. "Now that I know, I will abandon you, but I will not abandon Antium. I will continue to do what is necessary to save this city." Quest Update: Truth Find Duke Charles Wellington''s magician that can cast memory magic Reward: N/A Garnet turned towards the door. "Where are you going?" asked Zedd. "To find the only person I can still somewhat trust," said Garnet. "He may want to use me, but at least he''s honest about it unlike you." With those words, Garnet ran outside into the darkness. Quest Failed: Learn Instance Dungeon Creation from Zedd Garnet had failed a quest for the first time as well. It was something she wanted, but now there was something more important, her survival. "All you need to do is preserve your memories. Then, I will find a way to make a new body for you here." "Is that even possible?" asked Garnet. "I don''t see why not," said the voice. "It''s much like building a golem, just a little more complicated." A golem, an artificial life form that was given life. If it was possible for Garnet to animate the dead, it might just be possible to create and animate something like a human body. "And Duke Wellington is the only one that can help me," said Garnet. "The Hero System is much more powerful than you think," said the voice. "It responds to your needs and desires. As long as there''s a will to do something, it will find a way." "I see," said Garnet. She simply wanted to become stronger, which could be interpreted in many different ways. The quests that were generated for her were to save Antium and to give her experience. When she wanted new skills, the system provided a way for her to do so as well. "You are much smarter than me," said Garnet. "We both share the same mind," said the voice. "The main difference is how we use what we know." As Garnet left, the voice in her head began to speak again. "Are you sure you want to rush this, you still have time," said the voice. "It won''t happen immediately." "I want as much of myself to still exist," said Garnet. "I''ve changed since I''ve come here and I''ve already adopted most of your personality, but the earlier this is done, the more of ''me'' that will exist later on." "I understand," said the voice. "It''s scary to lose yourself." Garnet headed towards the castle with the Duke''s card in hand. She flashed it in front of the guard and they let her in. She made her way to the room that Duke Wellington usually stayed in. Leeroy was guarding the door. "I need to see him," said Garnet holding the card. "Why?" asked Leeroy. "It''s an emergency," said Garnet. "I need to see the Duke." Leeroy looked at her. Something was clearly different about her. "I''ll go get him, he''s in a meeting. Just wait here," said Leeroy. He opened the door to the Duke''s room. "Go inside and wait." Garnet sat down in the Duke''s room. It was quite large and fully furnished as well. She had not gotten the chance to see it before, but the Duke''s life was a very luxurious one despite his appearance. "What''s wrong?!?" shouted a voice that was panting heavily. It was Duke Wellington. He had come running as soon as he heard. "I need your help," said Garnet. "And you are the only one who can." "What happened?" asked Duke Wellington. "Something is happening to my memories," said Garnet. "Something is eating away at them and I need your memory mage to isolate some of my memories for me as soon as possible." "What memories are you losing?" asked Duke Wellington. "Memories of another world and another life," said Garnet. "But how is that possible?" asked Duke Wellington. "The only way that you would have memories of another world or another life is if you were reincarnated or if you were a hero." "Guess who''s the hero," said Garnet. "Zedd was the one who summoned me to this world." "That would explain why Zedd was so attached to you and why he wanted me to meet with you," said Duke Wellington. "But where''s my Garnet?" asked Duke Wellington. His face had changed. There was a hint of anger in it. "In here," said Garnet as she pointed to her head. "Right now she is eating away at me and while I do have her memories, I will eventually disappear and she will be the only person left if I cannot stop it." "What do you plan to do?" asked Duke Wellington. "I want you to find someone who can lock away my memories and return control to Garnet," said Garnet. "But there can only be one memory lock in a person," said Duke Wellington. "That means the other one has to be undone first." "That''s fine," said Garnet. "After all, the other one will be the one coming with you to your manor and I think she will be thrilled to remember you." Duke Wellington was thinking. He was trying to figure this out before he made a decision. "Please," said Garnet. Duke Wellington had seen that look before. It was the same face when Garnet asked him to remove the memories of Ruby and him from her life before. She was truly desperate and wanted what she thought was the best for all of them. "Alright, we leave immediately," said Duke Wellington. "Leeroy! Get my carriage ready we leave with haste for Freud''s immediately!" "Yes sir!" shouted Leeroy outside. Garnet could hear the sound of heavy footsteps. "Everything will be okay," said Duke Wellington as he held Garnet in his arms. He was trying to comfort Garnet. "While we wait, can you tell me about the other world?" Garnet told Duke Wellington everything about the other world. The fact that she used to be a man and a soldier who studied to be in the military, though not a successful one, but everything changed when she arrived in this world. From the first day, the Garnet personality buried itself within and she adopted most of the Garnet personality, intending to fulfill what the old Garnet wanted, but she discovered from Zedd that memories of the old life is what would eventually be absorbed into the host as the vessel of the hero recovered. The current Garnet would disappear. The only chance she had was to isolate those memories. "So that''s why you don''t trust Zedd," said Duke Wellington. "There''s no way for me to tell what else he is hiding," said Garnet. "I''ve never felt that he was lying to me, but he withheld a lot of important information until I asked about it." "Why is it that you act nearly exactly like the Garnet that I knew?" asked Duke Wellington. "Because I have all of her memories, meaning that I am exactly like her, but with a little more thanks to my memories and experiences from another world," Garnet explained. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "So what powers did you get?" Duke Wellington asked. "Magic," said Garnet. "Light!" Garnet created a tiny bolt of lightning in her hand. "This is one of many." "You''re a hero with magic," said Duke Wellington. The Duke had remembered that Garnet had never learned magic. She was definitely someone who was charming and persuasive, but it was not magic. "Is that why you made those demands when you agreed to see Ruby?" "Yes," said Garnet. "Because I knew that I would have to save others. I knew I could also keep my promise to you because Zedd taught me a way to travel around quickly, though he kind of did it for himself as well." "Why didn''t you ask Zedd for help?" asked Duke Wellington. "Because I cannot trust him," said Garnet. "I don''t know how long he has been trying to manipulate me, you''re the only person I can trust right now." "I understand," said Duke Wellington. "We''re ready!" shouted Leeroy. "Just follow me." "Let''s go then," said Duke Wellington. The three headed towards the North Gate. It was still dark outside. The sun had only set a while ago. At the North Gate, there was a red carriage with the Duke''s crest on it. "Get in," said Leeroy. The two entered. There was someone else driving while Leeroy and the some other guards bearing Duke Wellington''s crest followed with horses. "Go go go!" shouted Leeroy. The carriage immediately took off. Garnet could feel every bump along the road. "Sorry about that," said Duke Wellington. "This is what happens when we have to go with immediate speed." "It''s okay," said Garnet. "Thank you for believing in me and helping me. Once you seal off my memories, she will take over, though I don''t think she will be much different from me." "Why''s that?" asked Duke Wellington. Even though this Garnet was similar, there was something very small that was off. There was a little something missing from this one. "All of our memories and experiences are shared," said Garnet. "What I feel, she does too. If there are differences, it will most likely be very small as our personalities and memories are shared." "Then I''m glad," said Duke Wellington. "Why?" asked Garnet. "Because it means that you are the same as my Garnet," said Duke Wellington. "You were a little different from the Garnet I knew because the memories of me were locked away, but at the same time, there was something very familiar about you as well." "Why did you believe me so easily?" asked Garnet. "I saw in your eyes when you asked me to take Ruby away," said Duke Wellington. "You may not know it, but when you are desperate and you truly want something, your eyes show it immediately. It''s why I agreed to do some of the horrible things I did to you, and now I feel like I might be doing it again." "But by doing this, you give me a small chance to live," said Garnet. As the carriage sped through the night, Garnet had thought about what she wanted to do. She had hoped to use the ride to see what the Duke''s lands was like, but in the dark, it was not possible. Outside, it was pitch black with the exception of the torch carried by the driver and some of the guards. But, Garnet was glad that there were no bandits that were trying to attack their carriage. The carriage did not stop for anything. Garnet watched as the Duke slept, but she could not. The fact that her mind was slowly eating away at her kept her awake. Even though it was not an immediate process, what scared her was the fact that the process was accelerating. In the afternoons, she had headaches, each one was a reminder that something was eating away at her. "Eat this," said Duke Wellington as he took out a few pieces of bread. "Where did you get this from?" asked Garnet as she looked around. The Duke showed Garnet a few hidden compartments. They were stored with water and a few days worth of food. "I am always prepared," he said. The carriage did not stop until the next evening. "We''re here," said Leeroy as the carriage slowed down. When the carriage came to a stop, they arrived at a small cave on the side of the road. "Where are we?" asked Garnet. "This is the laboratory of the Great Wizard Freud," answered Duke Wellington. "She is one of the rare wizards that can manipulate memories." As they approached the cave, there were a set of doors. KNOCK KNOCK. Duke Wellington knocked on the doors and said, "It is Duke Wellington with a special request." The doors opened. A young woman who appeared to be in her late twenties with brown hair and brown eyes answered the door. She appeared rather normal. "Come in," she said. Garnet and Duke Wellington were the only ones who entered. Everyone else stayed outside. Garnet saw the laboratory. It was filled with numerous books and magic circles drawn on the floor. It was much messier than Zedd''s Workshop. The cave itself stretched several meters underground, creating something like an underground mansion. "What is that that you need?" asked Freud. Name: Samantha Freud Level: 51 Class: Telekinetic Mage Sub-class: Memory Mage Stats: ??? "I need you to undo the old seal in her memories and create a new one around one of her personalities," said Duke Wellington. "That''s impossible, each person only has one personality composed of different smaller parts," said Freud. "What if I told you that there is a summoned spirit inside of me?" said Garnet. "The two are slowly merging, but still separate." "I can see first and then try, but it takes an immense amount of power to create that seal. I''m not sure if it will even work," said Freud "Borrow mines if you must," said Garnet. "I have a lot of mana that you can use." "Mine too," said Duke Wellington. "Doesn''t work that way," said Freud. "Unless you can enter her mind, your mana is useless." Duke Wellington could not, so he could only sit back and watch. "Are you sure about this?" asked Freud. "Once I make this seal, there''s no way to tell if I or anyone can break something so powerful." "Yes," said Garnet. "Then here we go," said Freud. She wrapped her fingers around Garnet''s head and touched her forehead against Garnet''s. It was a Mind Read. Freud had entered Garnet''s head. In there, she saw two groups of disconnected memories and two Garnets. Some older memories were greyed out, meaning that they had faded. Recent ones were bright and full of color. Some memories were slowly starting to connect with another. "I see," said Freud. "So that''s how there''s two of you. It''s almost like schizophrenia." "This one," said Garnet as she pointed to herself. Freud looked and saw that there was something wrong with how she saw herself. The shadow casted by her figure looked nothing like her physical appearance. It was distorted and was not stable at all. The figure of the shadow was slightly bigger and the long hair did not cast any shadows at all the shadow twisted and turned in all directions. It was as if it was another person that was being forced into the shape of Garnet. "Now you''re sure right?" said Freud. "There''s no way I know of to undo this." "Yes," said Garnet. "Then here we go," said Freud. "Dispell!" Garnet watched as the old dark red seal among a small group of memories were broken. It was the seal around Garnet''s memories of Duke Wellington. It combined with the existing memories. Her headaches began to start. "Great Seal!" A red seal began to appear around Garnet as the memories gathered around her. Another sphere formed around them and a large red crest began to form. "I don''t have the power," said Freud. Garnet grabbed her arm and supplied Freud with mana. The crest stuck to the sphere and distanced itself from the other Garnet''s memories. CRACK. It was breaking. It was not holding up. BOOM. The seal around the memories broke. It had failed. The remaining memory bubbles began to merge. The takeover process of the original Garnet was speeding up. What was left of the Riley personality was quickly flooding into Garnet''s. What used to be Riley was beginning to be a part of Garnet. "It failed," said Riley. She looked at herself. She was fading too. The attempt to seal her own memories had worsened her condition. She saw that in the process, her remaining memories were merging with the original Garnet''s. "I know," said the voice. Freud was sweating and breathing heavily. It had took an incredible amount of power. THUMP. She fell and collapsed onto the floor. Garnet immediately grabbed a book and started writing. "What are you doing?" asked Duke Wellington. "I won''t make it," said Garnet. "Tell the other me to send these to my world if she can. If not, that''s fine." "What''s going to happen to you?" asked Duke Wellington. "I don''t know," said Garnet. A window appeared just as she lost control. New Quest: Vessel Create a new body for Riley and learn spirit transmutation so that you can transfer his spirit into the new body Reward: Ressurection Spell THUMP. She fell onto the floor. "Hey are you okay?!?" shouted Duke Wellington. Garnet now had control of her body again. "So that''s how I bring Riley and the new me back," she thought. It was not memory magic that she needed. It was something called spirit transmutation. Riley was dead, but the spell was a Ressurection Spell, one that brought the dead back to life. But there was something that bothered Garnet. She had lived out all of the experiences even though she was not in control. It felt strange now that she was finally in control again for the first time in months. Now, Riley was going to have to be the one to sit in Garnet''s head. The thought that someone would willingly do it made her shiver. After all, there''s nothing scarier than being able to see everything, but not be able to do anything about it. UGH. Garnet has having severe headaches as the memories of both personalities were fusing. She saw all the remaining memories of Riley as they flashed through her head. They mixed with her own experiences.All of Riley''s knowledge of military theory mixed with everything Garnet remembered from her days working as a prostitute. However, the only thing about Riley''s personal life was memories of a library and the time he spent in it. There was the image of a house, but no people. It was strange. The only problem was, there was almost nothing of Riley''s personality at all. It was just memories of things that Riley had seen and studied. There was no emotion or context for them. Even though Riley''s memories were present, the person that was Riley or took up the personality of Garnet did not seem to be in the memories that flooded into her head. "Did it work then?" thought Garnet. Garnet searched through the memories of the other world. One where buildings reached the sky and science had allowed machines to be created. Even if Riley''s personality was gone, some of his memories were still there inside of her. It was evidence that some of Riley was still there. Based on what Garnet saw inside her own mind though, Riley was somewhere in there still, she just had to find a way to enter her own mind and pull it out. Garnet opened her eyes. The Duke was looking straight into hers. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Long time no see," said Garnet as she got up off the floor. "I don''t think it has been that long since you''ve been on top of me." "Is it really you?" asked Duke Wellington. "Yes," said Garnet. "I remember everything," she said as she hugged him. "Tell me something that only you would know," said Duke Wellington. "That''s hard considering we shared memories," said Garnet. "But I could always copy how you scream in bed." "No that''s okay," said Duke Wellington. "Really?" said Garnet. "You wanted proof, but there''s only so much that the other me did not know. I was the one who named Ruby and did not give you a say in it." "That''s good enough for me," said Duke Wellington. Memories of Ruby were all sealed, so since Garnet could remember something about Ruby, he accepted it. Garnet felt another surge of headaches. It was more of Riley''s memories. "What happened to the other you?" asked Duke Wellington. "She''s in here," said Garnet pointing into her head. "There''s memories, but no personality. However, she seemed to have left a way to bring her back, but I don''t have the magic for it yet." Garnet scrambled around grabbing the pages that she had just written down. "What are those?" asked Duke Wellington. "It''s what the other me did with her last moments," said Garnet. She looked at them. It read "To Mom and Dad" at the top. "No I shouldn''t," thought Garnet. She stored the papers inside her Inventory. "If I find a way to send it to the other world, I''ll do it." Freud picked herself up. "Incredible," she said. "Two separate personalities inhabiting the same body, it''s the first time I''ve seen anything like it." She picked up an empty book and started writing into it. "So what do you plan to do now?" asked Duke Wellington. "I''m going to continue what the other me was doing," said Garnet. "I want to meet our daughter again." "Are you sure you don''t want to go back to Antium?" asked Duke Wellington. "I don''t have family there," said Garnet. "I can''t trust Zedd. There''s nothing I can really do unless I can somehow get the nobles on my side, so I''m sure I''d rather stay with you." "I''m glad," said Duke Wellington. "For a moment I thought that you were going to be a completely different person and I would have to explain everything all over again." "We shared memories and experiences remember?" said Garnet. "The other me''s decisions are just as valid as my own though I intend to be more straightforward with mine." "What do you mean by straightforward?" asked Duke Wellington. "I don''t want you to start any wars." "It means if I find something I don''t like in your land, I''m going to beat you senseless," said Garnet. "My territory is doing fine," said Duke Wellington. "That''s why I''m still a Duke." "You think you''re doing fine?" asked Garnet. "I grew up on a farm, I know what they''re like and I saw the farms where Riley was from. We are nothing compared to them unless you somehow vastly improved your land and built a tractor in the last ten years." "What''s a tractor?" asked Duke Wellington. "Exactly!," said Garnet. "Before the next invasion, I will modernize your farms and industrialize your economy!" "Modernize and industrialize?" said Duke Wellington. He had no idea what these words meant. No one did other than Garnet. After all, they were terms that did not exist until technology had advanced beyond a certain point. New Quest: Secure Charles Wellington''s Power Ensure that Duke Charles Wellington holds an overwhelming advantage over the other Dukes in the struggle for the position of King Reward: Title Spoiler : -No changes to stats- Book Extra: Chapter Zedd - To Set Right What Once Went Wrong Why the heck was Zedd so crazy about summoning a Hero to the point that he was willing to sacrifice lives for it? If he was so powerful that he could stop an Invasion himself, why did he need to summon a Hero? This is the backstory that I created for Zedd when I began writing and it covers some events up to Book Two, so you will be spoiled. NOTE: I wrote this BEFORE I wrote Chapter 001, so there may be some inconsistencies. This was mainly for me to try to establish what kind of person Zedd was. WARNING - Spoilers for events in Book Two included. Spoiler : A man stood atop a hill as he overlooked the battlefield. In the distance was the ruins of a city. One that he used to call home. He had shoulder length black hair and wore a black and white robe with a green cape. "I''ve failed," said the man. Before him stood the terrifying army of wild beasts. In the sky was a red moon, hollowed out with the portal to another world with a red sky. From it, the endless legion of wild beasts poured forth. Monstrous animals of all shapes and colors were pouring out. Through the portal was the eye of a wolf that was observing them. It was trying to get through, but it could not yet. "How did this happen?" thought the man. "The Hero was summoned from another world, but he fell in battle so quickly." "Lord Zedd, Queen Caesonia requests your prescence," said a soldier. Zedd turned to the soldier. He was a middle aged man who wore a grey suit of armor. "Sir Klarth, it is good to see you," said Zedd. "You must hurry," said Klarth. "We don''t have much time left. Our forces will most likely not last more than a few more days." "Alright," said Zedd. He ran over to Queen Caesonia''s tent. It was heavily guarded. It only stood out because it was a little bigger and that it was guarded. Other than that, it was impossible to tell it apart from the other tents. "Are you ready?" asked Queen Caesonia. "Yes," said Zedd. "All the preparations are done." "Take this," said Queen Caesonia. "What is it?" asked Zedd. "This contains all the information that we compiled when summoning the Hero," said Queen Caesonia. "With this, you should be able to summon the Hero much earlier, when they would have been able to make a difference in this conflict." "What should I do?" asked Zedd as he looked through the book. It contained some information about what happened to the vessel and what happened to the spirit that was called from another world. Their spirits would be absorbed by the vessel to give the vessel power. "Go to my husband in that time," said Queen Caesonia. "Offer him your help in bringing the people under control and take on the duties of the Royal Wizard." "But I have no idea how to run a country," said Zedd. "You don''t have to," said Queen Caesonia. "As long as you give advice to help him accomplish his goals, he will support you. But, you must ensure that he is no longer able to rule and you must hold the position of Royal Wizard until Duke Wellington is ready to take over. Of all the nobles he has the best chance." "Why him?" asked Zedd. "When Duke Wellington was young, he was a womanizer who caused a lot of trouble, but when he had to take his father''s job, he became a more open leader that was not concerned about keeping secrets or plotting against others," said Queen Caesonia. "Of the four Dukes, he was the most suitable. Duchess Kiko and her father were too strict with their requirements, making them difficult to grow. Duke Innes was too concerned with protecting his own lands. Duke Gray spent much his resources on frivolous things that did not matter." "I will not fail you my Queen," said Zedd. "I will carry this through, no matter what." "But you will have to kill the King," said Queen Caesonia. "What?!?" Zedd was surprised by this request. "What will happen to you?" "What happens to me is not important," said Queen Caesonia. "As long as King Caligula lives, Antium is in danger. He failed to prepare the city for this. You must not only summon the Hero, but ensure that Duke Wellington is able to unite the nobles to defeat Duke Gray during the Civil War." "How?" asked Zedd. "Poison the King slowly," said Queen Caesonia. "Probably the water is best. He will most likely have his food checked, but not every drink of water." "I understand," said Zedd. In order for Antium to survive, the King must fall and a better one must take his place. Otherwise, the city will not be ready for the invasion. "Thank you," said Queen Caesonia. "You must go before it is too late." Zedd walked out the tent and headed out behind. Before him was a three dimensional magic circle. Runestones lined the outer perimeter of it. "Call: Chronos!" Zedd summoned a spirit. Not just any spirit, but the Spirit of Time. "I need you to give me the most amount of time," said Zedd. "You do know that does nothing to fix this timeline right?" said Chronos. "Not only will you kill the other you in that timeline, but only be given a chance to fix that timeline." "I know," said Zedd. "But I want to be able to live in a time where humanity stood a chance against this." "Me too," said Chronos. "Without humanity, the Spirits will fall to the invasion as well. Without the Spirits, the world as a whole will die out and this will simply be another world that is used in an invasion against the others." "Let''s go," said Zedd as he closed his eyes and channeled his mana. "You do realize the price of time travel right?" asked Chronos. "I will never grow young or old," said Zedd. "I will see all my loved ones die until the end of time." "Yes," said Chronos. "Are you sure that you want to go through with this?" "Is that even something you have to ask?" said Zedd. "Time Slip!" Zedd opened his eyes. "It worked!" said Zedd. Before him was a large city, still partially damaged, but it was still there with people in it and all its walls standing. He looked at himself. His hair had visibly gone white and some of it had fallen out. He aged considerably. "I''m the Spirit of Time," said Chronos. "I won''t mess up that easily." "What happened to me?" asked Zedd. "This is part of the price you paid," said Chronos. "You lost some of your time to activate the spell, but should you need to cast it again, it will only cost your mana for activation. But this is what you will look like until the end of time." "I must hurry," said Zedd. "There is a maximum of five years to prepare for the next invasion." He ran as fast as he could to the entrance of the city. Two guards blocked the entrance. "Halt!" said the guard. "What are you here for?" "I am a mage who wishes to serve your King Caligula," said Zedd. The two guards whispered. "Did the King say he was looking for a mage?'' asked the first guard. "No," said the second guard. "But top quality mages are in high demand and it is rare to see one offer their services." "I''ll need to see what you can do first," said the first guard. "Very well," said Zedd. He raised his hand in the air. "Inferno!" A wave of flames spread upwards and outward, covering the entire sky for a few seconds before disappearing. "Amazing," said the second guard. "Go to the castle at the center of the city and tell the guard at the gate that Duke Gray has recommended you." Duke Gray, the corrupt Duke of the South. He spent most of his time managing his own lands and ignoring the city. As great as his army was, he ultimately fell because he refused to provide soldiers to help with the defense of Antium or to leave his homeland. He was surrounded by great men, but his stubbornness got him killed when he refused to support Antium and wanted to let the home of many of his soldiers die. Zedd headed to the castle, but he was not allowed to see the King for two days. He was called to the throne room at the beginning of the third day. Before him stood King Caligula, the most stubborn and stupid King to have ever ruled Antium. If he had a brother or sister, they would have probably been chosen to take over the spot instead of Caligula, but he was the only child and other than his future wife, he was the last in his line. "I wish to offer my services to you," said Zedd as he lowered his head. "You''re the Wizard recommended by Duke Gray?" asked King Caligula. "Yes," said Zedd. "Show me what you can do," said King Caligula. "Of course," said Zedd. "Call: Knights of the Round!" Before him stood an entire encirclement of soldiers. At least two dozen. "Very good," said King Caligula. "But how can I trust you?" "If I wanted you dead, I could have killed you with this entire city," said Zedd. "You''re hired," said King Caligula. "But if you try anything against me, I will kill you myself." "I understand," said Zedd. King Caligula desired power, and Zedd was supposed to help him maintain it. Over the next few years, Zedd devoted his research into the notes provided by Queen Caesonia. It contained the magic circle and requirements for summoning the hero. An indoor magic circle that lined the roof and floor of the building. It had to be in a dark room with minimal light. Those were the only things listed. The rest were just assumptions. The vessel was expected to be physically strong. It listed past known Heroes and their accomplishments. But, there was nothing that guaranteed success. It was all based on luck, but Zedd followed as much of it as he could. Between this, he gave advice to King Caligula in order to earn his trust. That was when the first invasion came. A small red light appeared in the sky one day and it drew the attention of Antium. Over the next few days, it widened into a circle. Zedd had not witnessed the first Invasion himself. He was around the world during that time in the first timeline. When he returned, it was already in the midst of the second Invasion. "You must prepare your army," said Zedd. "Why?" asked King Caligula. "That is the Invasion," said Zedd. "Once it opens up, the otherworldly armies will pour forth. The last one should have been about five years ago." "The last documented Invasion was not in my lifetime," said King Caligula. "What?" said Zedd. As far as he knew, it happened about every five years. As he looked through the documents stored in the library, there was indeed no information about recent invasions. The last one was over fifty years ago. Despite this, the signs were all there. It was as if someone did not want them to know about it. "Please ready your army just in case. As your adviser, I insist." "Since this is the first time you''ve asked me this much, very well," said King Caligula. "Go and summon forth the Dukes!" In two days, the Dukes arrived. Duke James Wellington of the North, Duke Earl of the East, Duke Innes of the West, and Duke Gray of the South with their armies. In the sky, the red circle that was actually a portal grew larger. "The Invasion draws near," said Zedd. "Ready your troops." "Yes sir!" All the Dukes responded. Their forces lined the walls and the outside of the city. In front of them was the drafted soldiers who responded the call. In all, about 5000 soldiers. A few days later, the red circle in the sky spewed a red liquid that resembled blood with numerous bones. The bones built themselves into skeletons. "It''s finally happening," said Zedd. It was a sight that he could never get used to. Each one was as frightening as the last. "Flight!" Zedd flew into the sky and watched the battle from above. "Inferno!" he rained a blaze of fire near where the bones were landing. The main army took on the ones that got through. From a distance, Duke Earl''s mixed army of mages bombarded some of the enemies that got through. As powerful as Zedd was, he could not do everything himself. BOOM. The entire ground shook. "What was that?!?" shouted King Caligula. BOOM. The ground shook again. "That''s not an earthquake," said Zedd. He looked at the red circle in the sky as it opened wide. ROAR. The head of a skeleton peeked through the portal. "What is that?" shouted someone. It was a terrifying sight. The true horror of the Invasion was the final enemy that appeared through it. Zedd could only watch as the soldiers below fled in terror at the sight. "No you must hold your ranks," said Zedd. It was too late, the undead army marched forth. "Inferno!" He laid another field of flames to slow the undead down. Zedd landed on the ground and took out a piece of paper to create a magic circle. He clapped his hands together as if he was praying. As he opened his hands, a powerful beam of light widened in his hands. He watched as the skeleton ripped a large hole in the sky. "I need more time!" shouted Zedd. A group of guards led by Duke James and Duke Earl rallied to Zedd''s side. "Thank you," said Zedd. "All our hopes are on you," said Duke James. Zedd understood why Queen Caesonia trusted the son of Duke James to become King. His father was a good man who had taught Charles right and wrong. As Dukes James and Earl fought against the endless horde of skeletons, Zedd finished channeling his spell. It appeared to be a sword about four feet in length that he held with both hands. "Sword of Light!" A huge beam of blue slashed diagonally across the sky cutting the skeleton and the red portal. The portal shrunk back in size before disappearing. "I did it?" thought Zedd who was surprised by this. It''s power was not enough when he tried it the other times. "Do the Invasions get stronger?" It was something that he had to consider now. The Hero was needed because he would not have the power to fight against them in the future nor did he know of a way to stop them. Duke Earl returned, but he was carrying the body of Duke James. "Is he okay?" asked Zedd. "He was badly hurt," said Duke Earl. As he moved is hand, there was blood on it already. "Take good care of my son," said Duke James. "I will," said Zedd. He had saved Antium, but they lost many soldiers and people. However, Duke James did not die and was simply over reacting to an injury because of the amount of blood he saw. He survived. But because of this invasion, Zedd convinced King Caligula to have resources to try to summon a Hero. Despite numerous attempts, there was no success. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The next invasion occurred five years later. Again, a red portal appeared in the sky. From the sea of blood, numerous beasts appeared. They were stronger and fiercer than the undead and were much harder to kill. The soldiers did not stand a chance. The drafted men were almost all wiped out. The only ones that stood a chance were the soldiers of Duke Gray and Duke James. The battle had seemed lost. The monsters had broken through the East Gate. At the last moment, Zedd was able to call for help as Duke James held off the enemy himself. "Call: Sun Wukong!" It was the most powerful summon Zedd knew of. Sun Wukong was a deity who took mortal form and he managed to slay the beasts. Again, Zedd was able to stop them, but this time, the losses were heavy. Duke Innes took heavy losses and Duke Earl passed away from injuries sustained during the battle. His daughter, Duchess Kiko, took over his position. Some time after, Duke James also passed away, his son, Charles, took over and became the new Duke Wellington. In another five years, there would be another Invasion, and they were already spent. "You must summon a Hero," said King Caligula. "I don''t know why it hasn''t worked," said Zedd. "I''ll give you everything you need, tell me what you need," said King Caligula. "I need people who can subjects for the summoning," said Zedd. "I can only keep trying until one works." "Will slaves do?" asked King Caligula. "Maybe," said Zedd. "I don''t know the specifics." "I will issue a royal declaration calling for the purchase of slaves," said King Caligula. With this, Zedd obtained the test subjects he needed. But one after another, they all failed. Every subject died during the summoning process. He had no clue what was missing. Eventually, one did succeed. It was a young slave woman with blue and green eyes who called herself Garnet. He wrote this down at the back of the Hero Summoning book he received from Queen Caesonia. He explained everything to Garnet over time and let her do as she saw fit. Garnet listened to what Zedd said and was curious about the world with little concern for others. She even accepted the task to save the world. But, something happened that he did not expect. "What do you mean I''m going to lose my memories?" shouted Garnet. "When a Hero is summoned from another world, they take on the heroic characteristics of the summoned person, but the summoned person will lose their personality to the original vessel eventually," said Zedd. "I refuse," said Garnet. "If I''m going to die, I want to die as myself." Zedd watched as Garnet ran off into the night. She had abandoned him after learning the truth. He heard that she was captured by Baron Gray. Soon after, Baron Gray was found dead and Garnet was missing. The next time he saw Garnet, she stood in the middle of the battlefield between the Dukes. A single woman who drank blood and ate the bodies of her enemies wiped out the armies of all four Dukes. He could only watch as she grew more powerful and vented her anger against the people who had wronged her. Before the Invasion arrived, there was nothing that could stop her. During the Invasion, she single handedly took on the army of goblins and bathed herself in their blood. He could only watch as she was consumed by her own desire for power and revenge against the noble classes. Even Zedd was powerless against the former slave who now wielded the might of an army in addition to having her own army of undead. She even transformed into something that resembled a monster with black wings and scales all over her body. Zedd had created something more terrifying than any Invasion ever could. She had the power to fight against the combined forces of the Invasion and the Dukes. This was the true strength of a Hero, who held nothing back, one without the morals or values at all. Thus, Zedd traveled back in time once more. This time, he chose a different vessel and avoided the woman at all costs. However, he found no other suitable vessel during his search. When the Goblin Invasion came, the city was overrun and they ended up in the same situation as before. Each time Zedd failed, he traveled back in time again, hoping to make things right. Despite his power, he was losing ground against each invasion. At some point, his power would not been enough. Each mistake allowed him closer to his goal. On his fourth attempt, he found another person who had the potential to be a Hero. A young man by the name of Stuart was able to survive the Hero Summoning. He was extremely strong and his personality remained intact after the Summoning without the other person ever taking control due to his strong will. However, this meant that he never obtained the heroic qualities and his desire for power caused him to turn against Antium when he wanted to become King. He killed his older brother and declared war against Antium. Eventually, he was killed by his own army who turned on him. As strong as he was, he was too strong, and he failed to become a Hero to the people. Zedd ripped this page from the book, noting that it was a significant failure. Stuart was no Hero. The fifth attempt, Zedd used Duke James'' son, Charles. Charles survived the summoning, but even as Zedd pressured him to train, he chased after women and used his abilities to flirt with women instead. When time came for the Invasion, he was ill prepared and died before he could accomplish much. Zedd again ripped this page from the book. Another failure. He had potential to be a great leader who was supported by others, but he was no Hero. There was only one possible choice that came to mind, Garnet. She was the closest and for a moment, exhibited heroic qualities, but he needed to sustain them. But most importantly, Zedd had to understand why she was the correct choice. On the next loop, he gathered a group to help him research heroes. He found that the vessel was special, one that contained special compatibility with mana and a strong mental fortitude. Although there were several people who fit this bill, they lacked something important. In addition to having the right mind set, they needed someone to guide them. Garnet had the potential, but she was also the only one with the mind set and it strayed when she discovered the truth. As someone who was a commoner and not soiled by the perverse desires of the nobility, she would have something to fight for and was less concerned about protecting what she had because she had almost nothing to begin with. However, if her hatred against the people of were to be Antium, she would condemn all of Antium to death. Zedd used her as a vessel once more, intending to get it right. He would hide as much information about the Hero Summoning as possible from her. But, everything that Zedd did weighed in on his mind. He could not lie to the Hero again no matter how hard he wanted to. After all, she was the Hero who he had to believe in and lying the first time was what caused the problem in the first place. He had to believe that she would do the right thing. Zedd did everything he could to help Garnet achieve her goals this time, believing that he was doing the right thing by helping Garnet and offering suggestions instead of letting her try to do things on her own. Zedd set her up with Klarth and Kirk to watch over her. He set her up to meet with Duke Wellington when she asked. When the question finally came up again, he told the truth again. "At some point, the original personality will emerge because the host will recover their mental strength and return to take over the body," said Zedd. "And with it, they will absorb all your memories and your personality will be completely overtaken by theirs, they will inherit the power of the hero and the Hero System." But this time, Garnet reacted differently. She did not run immediately, she questioned Zedd. "Why did you not tell me this?" asked Garnet. "Because I was afraid you would abandon us if you learned the truth," said Zedd. "I had hoped you would fight for us until the real Garnet returned." "You''re wrong," said Garnet. "Now that I know, I will abandon you, but I will not abandon Antium. I will continue to do what is necessary to save this city." With that Garnet ran into the night, but this time, she was not on her own. She left with someone important to her. This meant that there was still a chance. Zedd decided to continue with this timeline and see how it would play out. He poisoned the King slowly as Queen Caesonia had requested and worked with Duke Wellington who helped him keep tabs on Garnet with Rito, another person who had studied heroes. He too occasionally went to the Duke''s manor to see if Duke Wellington and Garnet were doing well, but avoided contact with her after she told him to stay away unless she asked for him. "It was best not to anger her," Zedd thought to himself. Zedd learned that Garnet was living with Duke Wellington and helping him secure his position, so he took advantage of this. Zedd called forth the team that he was preparing. There were six men, each in green cloaks. "What is it sir?" asked the man in charge. "It is time to fulfill your duty," said Zedd. "You must attempt to kill Duke Wellington, Duke Innes, and Duchess Kiko, but fail and not be caught." The men all looked at each other, confused by the request. "Why fail?" asked the man. "Your job is to unite the Dukes against Duke Gray, not to kill the Dukes," said Zedd. "Afterwards, you are relieved of duty, go hide somewhere in the wilderness or in another town and never reveal what you did." The men all looked at each other. "Are you serious?" asked one of the other men. "This sounds like a joke." "This is NOT a joke," said Zedd. "It is far easier to kill someone than to pretend to kill them and have them believe it was a serious attempt on their life." He visibly showed anger and released an intense wave of mana that struck fear into each of them. "This is the task that you are entrusted with and each of you will be paid well enough to retire and live well for the next fifty years. Is this not enough?" The men had never seen Zedd like this. He was usually calm and collected. "Are you okay?" asked one of the men. Zedd calmed down and his ferocious aura disappeared. "Yes," said Zedd. "I''m sorry for yelling at you, but you absolutely cannot fail this mission. If anything goes wrong, everything I have done since I have arrived here will be pointless," said Zedd. The man in charge looked at the others and whispered to the other men. After a few minutes, he finally turned around, "Okay," said the man in charge. "I''m counting on you," said Zedd. "Make sure that you leave no evidence as to who is responsible and dispose of everything you used in the attempt, but follow the directions I gave you exactly." "We will not fail you," said the man in charge. "We must attempt to assassinate Dukes Wellington, Kiko, and Innes, but fail and pass the blame to Duke Gray. We understand." "Good," said Zedd. "Remember, failure is not an option." Soon after, Duke Wellington came to visit Zedd. He had visited several times in order to communicate about Garnet. After all, Duke Wellington was the only one who believed that she was a Hero outside of the people from the inner circle. "How is she?" Zedd asked. "She''s pregnant," said Duke Wellington. "What?!?" shouted Zedd. "How is that possible?" "I''m the father," said Duke Wellington. This was something that Zedd was not expecting. Garnet now had something that bound her to the world. She would no longer be fighting for just herself. Instead, she would be fighting for her new life and family. "I can''t believe it," said Zedd. "She''s still mad at you last I checked," said Duke Wellington. "But, she hasn''t talked about you." "I expected so," said Zedd. "But that''s just the way things are this time around." "I still don''t have enough influence over the other Dukes though," said Duke Wellington. "Duke Gray blocks all my proposals." "Is there anything I can do?" asked Zedd. "Just wait until Garnet comes to you," said Duke Wellington. "Until then, do what you can to weaken the other Dukes." Soon after, the death of King Caligula was announced. Only Zedd knew why the King was sick for so long and why the King died. Duke Gray suspected foul play and wanted the corpse of the King to be tested, intending to take advantage of this chance to turn the public against the other Dukes. However, they would not know that the King was poisoned to death unless they were familiar with Zedd''s magic. Zedd went to the castle to speak with Klarth who was now Captain of the Guards. "What brings you here?" asked Klarth. "I need you to do me a favor," said Zedd. "What is it?" asked Klarth. "Soon, Garnet will return," said Zedd. "Really?" said Klarth. "What happened to her?" "I cannot say," said Zedd. "But when she returns, you must inform her of the secret weapon that Duke Gray has built in the basement." "Why?'' asked Klarth. "Because it is the key to the upcoming war," said Zedd. "Duke Wellington must win this war." Klarth was surprised. There was a war between the Dukes coming. "Can you tell me what happened?" asked Klarth. "In the future that I saw, Duke Gray wins the war for the crown and we are unprepared for the upcoming invasions," said Zedd. "When Queen Caesonia takes the throne, King Caligula dies, the armies of the Dukes are wiped out, and the city is overrun by a limitless horde of wolves." "Who is Queen Caesonia?" asked Klarth. "She''s the woman who eventually marries King Caligula," said Zedd. "What? How is that possible?" asked Klarth. "I''ve already said too much,"said Zedd. " You must not reveal any information you just heard. Only that Duke Gray built a weapon in the basement do you understand?" "Yes," said Klarth. "I''m counting on you," said Zedd. "Is this enough my Queen?" Zedd asked himself. Everything was falling into place. This was by far the best result. "I finally have a chance," Zedd said to himself. "Instance Dungeon Creation!" This was his opportunity to get stronger. There was only a brief period of time, but that time was enough. In a burst of light, Zedd disappeared challenging the monsters he had created by himself. Book 2: Chapter 011 - The Dukes Lands The chapter ended up much longer than anticipated. This is gonna be a slow fairly actionless arc from the looks of my skeleton though. It''s kind of like the calm before the upcoming civil war and invasion. I learned that I really suck at writing dialogue for children, so I did what I could. WARNING: G/PG rated sex scene towards the end. ----------------------------------------------------------- "That Freud is quite an unusual person," said Garnet. "But that''s why I employ her," said Duke Wellington. "As weird as she is, she is a great magician." "Is that the only reason you keep her around?" teased Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "I''m hoping that one day, her skills will be of use to extract memories from others." The Duke was after a form of torture. One that would forcibly remove memories from someone so they could be used. "So were heading to your place now," said Garnet. "It''s the first time." "I was always afraid that buying you and bringing you home would be a bad decision, and I am sorry for that," said Duke Wellington. "It''s okay," said Garnet. "I know that you bought me for extra days just so that I would not have to work." "How did you know that?" said Duke Wellington. "I know a lot more than you think," said Garnet. "Nobles can be very gossipy." "Would you like to hear about the rumors that are going around about you at the moment?" asked Garnet. "No, I would not like to," said Duke Wellington. "I can already imagine what they''re saying when they see me running around with you." "It won''t matter anyways," said Garnet. "Like I said, I''m going to fix your territory, then no one will be able to compete with you in terms of power." "How is that even possible?" asked Duke Wellington. "I am only barely ahead of the others in terms of resources." "Like I said, industrialize and modernize," said Garnet. "I will explain more after we arrive at your manor." The two sat in the carriage for the remainder of the way. Garnet looked outside and saw what were mostly farm lands. They were patrolled by guards who passed by a few times during the day. In total, they spent two whole days on the road. It would have taken longer, but they rushed the entire first day, which shortened the travel time. As Garnet got off the carriage, she stepped to the side. "Where are you going?" asked Duke Wellington. "One second," said Garnet. She looked at the manor owned by the Duke. It was comprised of several buildings. A main house, one adjacent, and what appeared to be apartment buildings. In the center was a small garden. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet created another point from which she could instantly travel. "What is that?" asked Duke Wellington. "With this, I can instantly go to Antium and return here whenever I wish," said Garnet. "Just some benefits of being a mage and all." The gates to the manor opened. Duke Wellington and Garnet walked in. That was when Garnet heard it. A high pitched squeak. "Daddy!" It was a young girl. "Wait up!" shouted another voice behind her. It was a maid who was following the girl. As Garnet stared at the young girl, she saw who it was. It matched her picture. It was Ruby. A brown and blue eye, heterochromia just like her. Duke Wellington picked her up and held her in his arms before facing Garnet. "Who''s that?" asked Ruby as she looked at Garnet. "Are you going to introduce yourself?" asked Duke Wellington. "I''m Garnet," said Garnet. "I''m a friend of your father." She could not say the words. "She''s your mother," said Duke Wellington. "I finally managed to get her to come." "Bring me closer daddy," said Ruby. Duke Wellington carried Ruby over to Garnet and lifted her head. "Eyes like mine," said Ruby. "Yes," said Garnet as she looked into her eyes. Ruby grabbed on to Garnet. "Mommy!" she shouted. "Where were you?" She was crying. "I''m sorry," said Garnet. "I should have been here earlier." "Daddy says you were always busy, more busy than him," said Ruby. "That''s why you couldn''t see me." "I was," said Garnet. "And I still have a lot to do, but I promise I will make time for you." New Quest: Spend Time with Ruby Your daughter has not seen you in a long time. Spend some time to get to know her. Reward: +Charisma Everyone headed inside the main house of the manor. It was huge inside as well, as big as two floors of a castle. The main entrance was highly decorated with red carpets and various antiques. "Go spend some time with Ruby," said Duke Wellington. "I''ll come join you later." "This way mommy!" shouted Ruby as she led Garnet by the hand. Garnet did not resist and let Ruby pull her. Ruby led Garnet to her room. The room was also primarily red. It seemed to be the running color for everything that the Duke had. Red soldiers. Red carriage. Red manor. Red room. Ruby pulled out several small books. "I''ve been writing down everything I want to talk to you about," said Ruby. Garnet pulled Ruby close to her and Ruby sit on her lap while she told her stories. She had an entire row of books on a shelf, each one marked with different years. She grabbed the first one and showed Garnet. "That was the first time I ever saw daddy get hit in the face by a woman," said Ruby. "Anna said that daddy was touching things he was not supposed to and he had to be punished for it." It turned out, that Charles Wellington used to be quite a womanizer, but the maid and servants turned on him when he obtained the title of Duke from his father. They became even stricter when he brought Ruby home for the first time. He was expected to be a father figure first, so the servants made sure of it. This was the first time Garnet had heard of such a thing. The Duke seemed like he was doing pretty much whatever he wanted. "What do you like to do?" Garnet asked. "I like to run around," said Ruby. "But I rarely get to go outside." "I''ll talk to daddy about it okay and see if you can go out," said Garnet. "Thank you mommy," said Ruby. "This is one time that daddy yelled at me," Ruby continued. It was when she trying to play with the guard''s sword. Ruby had a lot happen to her and she wanted to tell Garnet all about it. Quest Complete: Spend Time With Ruby Reward: +5 Charisma "I''m coming in," said Duke Wellington. "It''s time for dinner, so come down to the dining room." "This way!" shouted Ruby. She seemed to be excited for everything. "This is the first time she''s been like that," said Duke Wellington. "Oh and be sure to call me Charles here." "Okay Charles," said Garnet. She was asked to do this by the Duke before, but she could never do it. It felt too disrespectful, but after hearing Ruby''s stories about what he did, the Duke was much more informal. The dining room was just as big. It seated sixteen people. Charles sat at the head of the table. Next to him sat Ruby and Garnet. Anna sat across directly from Garnet and other servants filled the rest of the table. Name: Anna Level: ??? Class: Monk Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? Garnet could not see Anna''s stats. It was the first time such a thing happened. She could even see some of Zedd''s stats, but many of Anna''s were hidden from her somehow. "Was Anna even stronger than Zedd?" she thought to herself. "I have an announcement before we begin," said Duke Wellington. "Starting tomorrow, she is my wife, so treat her as such." Garnet immediately coughed out her soup. He had already jumped ahead of their agreement. Garnet was supposed to look around first and decide, but now, he had taken advantage of the situation with Ruby and all the servants, announcing her as his wife. "Congratulations," said Anna. "I was wondering when you would finally get married. I was worried you were going to become Christmas Cake like Duchess Kiko." "I''m not that old," said Duke Wellington. His face suddenly changed as he looked at Garnet. Garnet''s eyebrow raised. The Duke knew what this meant. Garnet was clearly mad at what he just did. He had put her in a tight spot and she was going to be known as his wife from this point on. Duke Wellington immediately looked away. "I''m going to need a word with you later Charles," said Garnet. "I understand," said Duke Wellington. At night, Garnet was set up in the Duke''s room. After the servants had heard that Garnet was going to be his wife, Anna had arranged for them to be in the same room. "I can explain," said Duke Wellington. "Then tell me Charles," said Garnet. "What was that about." "It would be easier for them to accept it if I told them right away rather than announce it later," said Duke Wellington. "Oh don''t worry Charles, I''m going to have a lot for you to do tomorrow," said Garnet. She had arranged for some paper and pencil to be delivered. "What are you doing with those?" asked Duke Wellington. "Where the other me was from, there was someone who developed something called a five year plan," said Garnet. "In five years, they went from a agricultural community to an industrialized country. In ten years, they were able to compete with the most powerful nations in the world. That is what I am going to do." "How is that possible?" asked Duke Wellington. "Do you have access to coal and iron?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "We use coal mainly for heating and iron is combined with coal for making the steel weapons that most of my soldiers use." "I''m going to show you how to make it work for farming, building, and making other things," said Garnet. "With this, becoming the most powerful Duke is possible." "You''re serious," said Duke Wellington. "I thought it was just a joke." "It depends on whether you can convince people to do it," said Garnet. "That is going to be the hardest part. I recommend paying some farmers to start trying it, that is probably the best." "Paying workers to try something new?" said Duke Wellington. "I''ve never heard of such a thing." "Basically, you collect taxes right?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "Instead of spending taxes to say make yourself a fancy new carriage, you spend it on your farmers to make sure that they have access to new equipment," said Garnet. "There are some things you can do with just your soldiers as well." "How can soldiers help a country grow?" asked Duke Wellington. "They''re just fighters." "In times of war, they are fighters," said Garnet. "In times of peace, they are manual labor that can be used for things like construction. After all, they have to build and repair fortifications during war anyways." "So you''re making a five year plan for me?" asked Duke Wellington. "Correct," said Garnet. "This is your list of goals with some ways that you can probably accomplish them." "Don''t forget I still need an heir," said Duke Wellington. "And I need you here for that." "Don''t forget that I still haven''t agreed," said Garnet. "And I still need you to slap you in the face for earlier." Duke Wellington stopped talking. "I''m sleeping then." Garnet continued to work on scribbling down her plan. The first and foremost was to modernize the farming community. Smaller farms had to be reorganized into bigger ones owned by fewer people in order to make the most efficient use of tools and land. She drew down and wrote descriptions of some of these tools. Plows for horses and oxen. Seed drills for planting. Of course, things like crop rotation and selective breeding of plants would also help. Next was the use of water power through watermills in order to produce products until something like electricity could replace it. They were lucky that they were near a large river that could be used. The people also had to be incentivized to adopt these, so the leadership would pay them to do it. In the end, everything filled up three small books, and this was only the first step. With this, the first step could begin. It now all depended on the Duke''s ability to convince people to make these changes. But, Garnet also needed to convince the Duke, so she hopped into bed with him, just to make sure that he would owe her more. "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" shouted a voice. It was Ruby. She was excited since Garnet came back and wanted to spend more time with her. As she woke up she saw that Charles Wellington was still asleep. "How can he sleep through this?" thought Garnet. Garnet opened the door and saw that it was Ruby. Anna was standing right behind her. "Put this on," said Anna as she handed Garnet a red dress. "I guess he really likes red," said Garnet. "It''s officially our unofficial color," said Anna. "It just makes things easier for us and a lot of people to be easier to recognized." "One second," said Garnet. She quickly got changed. It was a red chemise style gown. "At least it''s not one of those tight corset ones," she thought. "Alright let''s go," said Garnet as she walked out. "When do you usually wake up?" asked Ruby. "I normally wake up when it is still dark out, but I had to work late last night," said Garnet. "What were you doing?" asked Ruby. "Making sure that daddy is doing the right thing," said Garnet. "What do you mean by that?" asked Anna. "Has he been doing something naughty again?" "No, I just told him he has a lot to fix," said Garnet. "And he has to start soon to reach his goal." The three arrived outside in the courtyard of the manor. They entered the small garden. "This is where I spend most of my time," said Ruby. "What do you do?" asked Garnet. "Mostly run around and talk to people," said Ruby. "There''s not much to do in here." "Let''s go outside then," said Garnet. "Really?" said Ruby. "Daddy almost never lets me go outside." "Why not?" asked Garnet. "He said it''s dangerous," said Ruby. "Bad people might come to take me." "Don''t worry," said Garnet. "I''ll protect you if something does happen. I promise I will not let anyone take you away." "This is not a good idea," said Anna. "We don''t know who might be after her." "Let''s get some help then," said Garnet. "Help from who?" asked Anna. Garnet went to the building that resembled an apartment. There was a list of names. Second floor, first room, Leeroy. Garnet walked over to the second floor and the first room. It was marked with a 201. "Wake up Leeroy!" shouted Garnet. "Are you crazy?!?" asked Anna. "You actually want to wake him up this early." "What is it you want at this time of night?" asked Leeroy as he opened the door. His hair was still a mess and his eyes were half closed. "You''re coming with us!" said Ruby. "You heard the boss, get dressed and come with us," said Garnet. The door closed and sounds could be heard. "You''re the first person to have actually done that in a while," said Anna. "He nearly killed the last person who tried that." "I heard about his relationship with Ruby," said Garnet. "If she orders it, he must follow, so as long as she is with us, he should be okay." "I''ll have to remember that next time," said Anna. "Where are we going?" asked Leeroy as he opened the door. "Out," said Garnet. The four of them went outside of the manor to the nearby village as the sun was rising. What drew Ruby''s attention the most was the smell of fresh bread. The village consisted of a few dozen houses. The manor overlooked the village. There were a few guards that patrolled the village, operating sort of as a police force. "Aren''t you the Duke''s new wife?" asked one of the guards. "Yes," said Garnet. "But please don''t tell anyone I was here." "Yes sir!" said the guard. It was too late though, the gossip had already started and it was her second day here. She could already picture the rumor spreading. The Duke''s new wife was caught sneaking around in the middle of the night. The group of four headed to the bakery. It was just opening and only a few pieces of bread were made. "Wow!" shouted Ruby. It smells good. Anna took out a few silver and bought one for everyone. It was about one silver a piece. "Food seems expensive here still," said Garnet. "It has been for a while," said Anna. "The villages rarely grow larger than this because of it. We''re very lucky to be able to live with the Duke since he covers most of our food and living expenses." "I see," said Garnet. She wondered if Duke Wellington would follow through with her plan. The success of it largely depended on food becoming cheaper and affordable. But, there was still one thing she needed to know, how the Duke treated other people. It was something that she could not directly ask, but there were other ways around it. "How high are the taxes here?" Garnet asked Anna. "Not too bad actually," said Anna. "It''s about 50% overall once you factor in the local taxes by other lower ranking nobility." "That''s low?!?" said Garnet in a surprised tone. "The other Dukes are much closer to 80%," said Anna. The taxes were extremely high. The Duke''s was low by comparison, but still too high. Her plan must work now in order for them to succeed. She would have to convince the Duke to take action. "We should head back," said Garnet. "But I want to walk around some more," said Ruby. "We cannot let dad know," said Garnet. "So we have to get back before he is awake." "Okay," said Ruby disappointed. As the four headed back, they saw a figure by the gate. The guards were pointing something at the figure. "Wait here," said Leeroy as he approached the gate. Garnet, Ruby, and Anna watched as Leeroy spoke with the guards and looked at the person at the gate. Leeroy waved them over. As the three approached, Garnet recognized him. It was Zedd. He had used Teleport to get there. "Go inside," said Garnet. "Okay," said Ruby. She had a scared look on her face as Anna took her in. "What are you doing here?" asked Garnet. She felt an intense hatred toward Zedd, but with that anger was a mixture of respect. One that had been passed on from Riley. Zedd had taken away Riley''s old life in his world and destroyed his chance for a new life in this world as well. Even though Riley''s personality was no longer here, the thoughts and feelings towards Zedd were still there. To Garnet, this was proof that Riley was still alive in there somewhere and that Zedd could only be trusted if the goal was to save Antium. But information wise, he was probably still withholding something. "I came here to apologize," said Zedd. "It''s too late, Riley is already gone until I can find a way to save him," said Garnet. "That''s impossible," said Zedd. "Once the process starts, it is impossible to stop." "That''s what you think Wizard," said Garnet. "The Hero System has found a way. All I need to do is create a suitable vessel and learn how to transmutate a spirit." "That''s impossible," said Zedd. "That would be like bringing someone back from the dead." "Nothing is impossible with the Hero System," said Garnet. "After all, it is what breaks the rules of reality and makes the impossible possible isn''t it?" Garnet echoed the words that Zedd and spoken to her. "What do I need to do?" asked Zedd. "Why do you even care?" asked Garnet. "Because I came to apologize," said Zedd. "It''s too late to apologize," said Garnet. "If you really want to apologize, leave us until I can find something for you to do." "Alright," said Zedd. "But if you need help, please come see me, I will not come here to bother you again." He activated Teleportation and left. "I guess he really wants to try," said Garnet. However, it was not something Garnet could easily forgive. After all, Zedd said he wanted to help, but was lying so that Garnet''s mind would be broken and reassembled. But luckily for her, Freud found a way to preserve the old Garnet the way she was for now. As Garnet entered the main house, Ruby and Anna were waiting. "Everything will be fine," said Garnet. "I told the man not to bother us." "Okay," said Ruby. She was still afraid. "I have things to do as well," said Garnet. "But I will spend more time with you later okay?" "Okay!" said Ruby. Her face changed into that of a smile. Garnet put her hand on Ruby''s head and rubbed it a little before heading to Duke Wellington''s room. "Wake up sleepyhead!" she shouted. The Duke was still asleep. She poked him with her finger, but he just tossed and turned in bed. "If you want to have any hope of having kids, you need to get to work already!" shouted Garnet. Duke Wellington still did not wake up. He was still asleep in bed. "One last chance." "Air Bullet!" Garnet activated a spell. WOOSH. The power of the spell knocked Duke Wellington right out of bed. THUNK. He landed hard. "Are you awake yet Charles?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "I didn''t expect my wife to wake me up like that." "I''m not your wife yet," said Garnet. "You still have things to do. Here is the first step," said Garnet as she pointed to the three books she left on the table. "Read it, apply it." "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "Are you even awake?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "Can I zap you with a Lightning Bolt?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "You''re not paying attention," said Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet used a very weak Lightning Bolt on Duke Wellington to get him up. His hair was messed up. HAHAHA. Garnet could not help but laugh at his appearance now that he finally got up. As Duke Wellington headed downstairs for the official breakfast with everyone. Although he was able to get dressed, the electricity from the Lightning Bolt messed up his hair and it was stuck like that. "What happened to your hair daddy?!?" shouted Ruby. "I made mommy mad," said Duke Wellington. "I promise I will not do it again." Everyone at the table started gossiping. There was not a moment of silence. Soon, the rumors spread. One that the Duke''s wife walked the village at night and one that the Duke was attacked by a ghost. After breakfast, the Duke started going over Garnet''s books. "Incredible," said Duke Wellington. "I never thought of this before." "It''s called agricultural science," said Garnet. "It''s the idea that you can apply science and knowledge to improve farming. But like I said, it depends on you." "But we have to show this to people before they will accept it," said Duke Wellington. "That''s why you use your soldiers," said Garnet. "Take a handful, have them build a watermill and an irrigation system for a farm who wants it." "Let''s go find someone then," said Duke Wellington. He sent a few guards out. Duke Wellington and Garnet got into the carriage. They were being escorted by Leeroy again. He seemed to be the personal guard of Duke Wellington at this point. They headed out to a farm near the river. Garnet looked around the farm. It was very poor in condition. The plants were very spotted and poorly distributed. Some of it was dry indicating that it was being poorly managed. As great as the Duke was, he was too nice. Herion should have been punished for not producing enough and his land should have been seized and given to someone else. However, without the Duke''s decisions, they probably would not have someone desperate enough to try out their farming experiment. "What bring you here lord?" asked the man. "I want to know if you are willing to take on a farming experiment," said Duke Wellington. "We will change a few things on your farm, give you all the equipment you need to do it, and even pay you as long as you follow through with the changes." "Yes!" said the man. "I will gladly do it if you are paying for it." "What''s your name?" asked Duke Wellington. "My name is Herion," said the man. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Well Herion, you have been chosen," said Duke Wellington. "Go report back," Duke Wellington ordered one of the men. He immediately ran back towards the manor. "May I ask what this is about?" asked Herion. "I have come up with a few ideas to improve food production," said Duke Wellington. "But I know people will not do it unless it can be shown to work, so I want you to do it." "How?" asked Herion. "First, do you have a horse?" asked Duke Wellington. "I have an ox," said Herion. "That is fine," said Duke Wellington. "We will give you a large plow for your ox. Just move your ox along while it is tied to the ox and it will help loosen the soil. You immediatley follow it up with a seed drill that will spread the seeds of the crop to make it grow better." "Yours will be for potatoes," said Garnet. "It is a little different but works the same way." "Thank you for this sir," said Herion. "There''s a lot more," said Duke Wellington. "In addition to that, we will be building irrigation ditches to make it easier to water your crops and most importantly, a mill to help process what you make and silos to store them for a long time." "This is a lot to learn," said Herion. "I don''t think I can do it." "Can you read?" asked Garnet. "Only a few words," said Herion. "Gimme a piece of paper," said Garnet. Duke Wellington ripped out a blank page of paper and Garnet began to draw everything. She drew the steps and diagrams. "Follow this," said Garnet as she handed the piece of paper to Herion. "Thank you milady," said Herion. "Is tha better?" asked Duke Wellington. "Yes," said Herion. "I can understand pictures better than words." "If we spread this information, we should do it with pictures," said Garnet. "I agree," said Duke Wellington. "If any problems arise, contact one of the guards and give them your name and request to see either one of us." "Thank you for this opportunity, I promise I will not disappoint you," said Herion. "I''m surprised he agreed that easily," said Duke Wellington as they walked away. "One of the problems with trying out new things is that it is expensive for people," said Garnet. "But, if you offer to do most of it for them, they are likely to agree, especially if you pay them to try it out first." "I see," said Duke Wellington. "But there''s one thing I need to know." "What''s that?" asked Garnet. "Will you bear me a child?" asked Duke Wellington. "When is the next invasion?" asked Garnet. "How do you know about that?" asked Duke Wellington. "Zedd told me it is predictable," said Garnet. "But I cannot have a child with you if it is too soon because I need to fight as well." "When you fight, you will fight alongside me then," said Duke Wellington. "But it is not for about another four and a half years." "You''ve done everything I''ve asked of you," said Garnet. "So I have to keep up my end of the bargain." "Actually, it doesn''t work like that" said Duke Wellington as he held Garnet. "As a former slave, there''s no way you can have a legitimate claim to the throne in any shape way or form. I''m sorry for misleading you." "I actually expected that," said Garnet. "But I want one thing from you in exchange." "What''s that?" asked Duke Wellington. "Please make sure that Ruby is recognized," said Garnet. "I don''t want her to be your bastard child." "But I''m not sure if the others are willing to accept that," said Duke Wellington. "So she can be recognized in some way?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "If the laws are changed and even bastard children have legitimate claim, then it can be different." "I''ll make sure it happens," said Garnet. "But I refuse," said Duke Wellington. "Why would you refuse?" asked Garnet. "Because I want you to be my Queen," said Duke Wellington. "That''s what I will settle for." "Queen," thought Garnet. From slave to queen. It would be an insane accomplishment, but if Duke Wellington became King Charles, it would be possible to change the existing rules and system. That afternoon, Garnet returned to Herion''s farm to oversee the construction. There were about two dozen soldiers that were moving things into place. Garnet was going to have to teach all of them how to do it. But what bothered her the most was what Duke Wellington had said. He wanted to make her Queen, but she would have to give him a legitimate child. However, it would also have to mean that Ruby would be recognized as a legitimate heir as well. "We''re done sir!" said one of the guards. Garnet looked at the guard. He was a little stronger than most of the others in Antium. However, Duke Wellington''s guards were a little higher quality than the ones from Antium because they were not simply just relatives of other nobles. Name: Louis Level: 14 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: None Stats: ??? "Thank you," said Garnet. "I want everyone to listen because you may need to teach others to do this as well." Herion and the guards are stood in front of Garnet, waiting for her to start speaking. She had to explain to them the purpose of a plow, a seed drill, and irrigation. It took a long time, but she handed out drawings of some of them in order to help them understand it. "I see," said Herion. "This would ensure that every seed will grow and that all plants are watered with ease. I could easily maintain a much larger farm by myself." "That is the purpose," said Garnet. "But it takes time for it to work, and then we need to convince others to do it, which is why you must succeed," said Garnet as she pointed to Herion. "I understand, I will not let you or the Duke down," said Herion. "But what is that?" he asked pointing near the river. "It''s not done yet," said Garnet. "But that is a watermill. It uses water to move machines. For yours, it will help you turn something like wheat or corn into flour easily." "So I can grow and make it myself as well?" asked Herion. "Yes," said Garnet. "This is mostly for display, but it works. Normally, you want other people to do it to save time and energy." "Thank you," said Herion. "With this I think I will do great this year." "The guards here will stay to help until they finish with the watermill and the silos," said Garnet. "How was this made so fast though?" asked Herion. "The Duke mobilized a lot of resources," said Garnet. "He wants this to succeed, so he called in people and favors to get this done." "Thank you for the opportunity," said Herion. Garnet looked at the guards. "You''re in charge," said Garnet as she pointed to Louis. "Me?" said Louis. "Every operation needs a leader," said Garnet. "And I choose you." "Yes sir!" said Louis. "I''ll leave everything to you then," said Garnet. "Call: Lilim!" Garnet called forth her Bicorn and rode it away. "Did she just summon a horse?!?" shouted Louis. "Our lord''s wife is a mage!?!" Garnet headed back to the Duke Wellington''s manor. The sun was going to set soon. She had spent all day helping them setup on the farm. She spent more time listening to Ruby''s stories before dinner. "And that was when Anna hit daddy for the third time," said Ruby. "Is daddy always like this?" asked Garnet. "Whenever he does something not okay, either Leeroy tells him to stop or Anna hits him," said Ruby. "It happens a lot." Garnet was learning a lot about Duke Wellington. Even though he maintained an image of seriousness in public, he was a very different person in private. He ate every meal he could with his house servants. He spent a lot of free time with Ruby. And, he had a habit of touching Anna inappropriately, usually by accident because he does not look at where he is going. Ruby had seen it every time and had started counting how many times Duke Wellington got hit by Anna. "What does daddy say about mommy?" asked Garnet. "He said that you will give me a brother or sister soon," said Ruby. "He really told you that?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Ruby. "Then I have to talk with him later," said Garnet. At the dinner table, Garnet made sure everyone heard it. "I need to speak with you later Charles," said Garnet. The entire table suddenly turned to look at Duke Wellington. The chatter started again. "What is it that I did this time?" whispered Duke Wellington. "The question is what haven''t you done yet," said Garnet. Ruby looked at Garnet and Duke Wellington. "Don''t interrupt them," said Anna. "It''s best to leave them be." "Okay," said Ruby. That night, Duke Wellington pulled a piece of paper out to show Garnet. "Look!" he said. "What is it?" asked Garnet. She looked at the piece of paper. The top of the paper said Certificate of Marriage. She looked down. The paper read: "This certifies that Charles Wellington and Garnet were united in marriage. This ceremony was witnessed and celebrated by Anna and Leeroy. Solemnized by Duke Wellington of Antium." It was a marriage license, issued and ceritified by himself. "We''re officially married!" said Duke Wellington. "What do you think?!?" "Why do you keep doing this?!?" shouted Garnet. "Is this is what you were doing in the afternoon while I was at Herion''s Farm?" "Umm... yes?" said Duke Wellington. Garnet raised her palm to her forehead. "Are you okay?" asked Duke Wellington. "Is it another headache?" "No," said Garnet. "I just wondered how stupid you were being." "So are we going to fulfill the rites of a married couple their first night together?" asked Duke Wellington. "Isn''t that something like four years late?" asked Garnet. "I just want a second child," said Duke Wellington. "Alright," said Garnet. "I promised after all if you listened." Duke Wellington was surprised. "Really?!?" said Duke Wellington. "I did not think you would agree." "I''ve thought about all the things you''ve done for me," said Garnet. "You never questioned me and you believed my words no matter how ridiculous they sounded. You took my advice and did something completely new. You never once forced yourself onto me. And as long as you continue to do so, I will be your wife." "For a moment there I was afraid you would stay mad," said Duke Wellington. "But I''m glad. It took many years for me to get to this point and to convince the others." "What do you mean convince others?" asked Garnet. "I actually had to convince a lot of my servants that it would be okay for me to marry you," said Duke Wellington. "Nearly all of them were against it at first, but I managed to get the law changed because after all, I am the Duke." "Why did you do it?" asked Garnet. "Because I want to marry someone who makes me a better person," said Duke Wellington. "Far too many nobles forget that status is not the only thing that is important. But when I spoke to you that first night, you told me something important." "I can''t remember," said Garnet. "That was something that I did not consider as important at the time." Garnet could remember many of their encounters, but not all of them. "What you said was, ''We cannot make a moral sacrifice for any cause whatsoever,''" said Duke Wellington. "Why is that important?" asked Garnet. "When the invasion ended, I saw things," said Duke Wellington. "Many people died and it was the nobles who used the commoners as shields. The actual soldiers were not even mobilized until most of the drafted soldiers were already dead. The only reason that things are okay now is because people rely on the city walls and the invasion ended not too long ago. If things don''t change, there will be a revolution before the next invasion. That will not only divide us, it may guarantee that the city will be doomed." "I understand," said Garnet. "That is why before the next invasion, we must make sure you are King." "But that''s still a long way to go," said Duke Wellington. "It would take a miracle to become that strong." "I have the power to grant miracles now," said Garnet. "So it is not impossible anymore." Garnet laid next to Duke Wellington. "Charles, close your eyes," she said. "I will give you your second child. Just promise me that this is the type of person you will continue to be. Don''t stray from your current path." "I promise," said Duke Wellington. Charles closed his eyes and Garnet kissed him. This would be the first night of many that they would spend together. But despite this, Garnet knew the truth. If in order for Duke Wellington to become King Charles, their relationship would have to be broken. The only way for Duke Wellington to secure his position would be to ally with the Duchess of the East, Kiko, and that meant at best, Garnet would only be a concubine. However, for this brief period of time, she could at least experience the noble life and perhaps live a somewhat happy like with Ruby and the Duke. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 8 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 710/710 MP: 1740/1740 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 11 (+7) Intelligence: 40 (+22) Vitality: 21 (+5) Agility: 19 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword - 6
Magic: - Fire ¨C 4 - Lightning ¨C 5 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 3 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike - Wind Palm - Explosive Palm - Lightning Palm
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Lightning Bolt (Level 6) - Chain Lightning (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1) - Blood Absorption (Level 4) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 2) - Captivation: (Level 2) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) -> Pleasure Inducement (Level 1) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 4) - Cook - Inspection (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 2)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 3) - Speed (Level 10) - Physical Resistance (Level 3)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 2: Chapter 012 - Mystery of the North Garnet went out early in the morning to look at the progress on Herion''s Farm. With Lilith, her Bicorn, she could travel much faster than she ever could on her feet. Garnet was relieved that it seemed to be working so far because the rest of their success would be based on this one farm. Construction on everything except the water mill was already done. They had failed to find others near the river who wanted to try because they believed their methods were fine. It was the worst problem because people clung to tradition and forget that there are times when the new things that are created are much better. The only way to change their minds was to prove that it was superior, so Herion must succeed. But, now that the basics have been established, there was little for Garnet to worry about since all she could do now was wait. It would take at least a few weeks before the farm could show any progress. It would take at least a few months to find out if she got pregnant. Both required time. She could finally focus on becoming stronger herself. Since she arrived at Duke Wellington''s Manor, she spent most of her time working to help Duke Wellington become King, so she neglected to develop her own abilities. "Call: Skeletal Hounds!" Garnet summoned her hounds for the first time in a while and petted them. They reacted by brushing against her. "Find me creatures that will improve my skills," ordered Garnet. While the huge increases in stats for absorbing strong enemies was great, what she needed more than that was new skills. Without high level monsters, it was difficult to actually level up. The difference had to be made with powerful skills. What she wanted more than anything was the spell that could bring Riley back, but that would not be easy. It required very advanced magic, something that neither she nor Zedd would have. Second on her list was a movement spell. One that would increase her speed and agility. While Lilith was able to increase her speed, it was a mount, not something that she could use practically in a fight unless it was something like a large battlefield. As Garnet wandered through, she only saw some weak monsters along the roads. They were just level 5 Wild Boars. They were common to the area around Antium, but there were no signs of anything stronger. HOWL. One of the Skeletal Hounds found something and had called her. It was by the river, so it was close. Garnet rushed over immediately on her feet, going through Herion''s Farm. New Quest: Murder? Around the waters of Herion Farms, there have been bodies washing up from upstream. Find out what is causing it. Reward: Experience, New Skill Garnet saw the Skeletal Hound. It had stopped howling when Garnet got close to it. In front of it was the corpse of a person laying face down. Garnet approached slowly and turned the body over. It was not someone she recognized. It had no wounds. She focused on it, but the Hero System did not show any window that would help her determine who it was. The only clue was that the body seemed to have washed up from somewhere. On the left side of an arm was a tattoo. It was an anchor with RR on it."Is this a sailor?" thought Garnet. There was no way to be sure. "Were they killed upstream?" thought Garnet. She had no clue. The quest hinted that it was something doing the killing, but there was no way to be sure if it was a creature or a disease or something else entirely. "Recall!" Garnet summoned her Skeletal Hounds back from wherever they were. "Find any other bodies around here!" The Skeletal Hounds began to search up and down the river. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet laid down a circle so that she could return to this spot again easily. If more bodies washed up, there might be more clues. Right now, the only hint was the RR Anchor on the arm. There was one thing that Garnet wanted to try though. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet absorbed a human for the first time. New Skill: Call: Skeleton (Level 1) Summon up to five skeletons to fight by your side. They will acquire weapons, skills, and armor as they become stronger. MP Cost: 200 each With the Hounds, she could summon up to a total of eight to fight alongside her. She would most likely not have to worry about being outnumbered now. The question was how strong were they. Since arriving at the manor, Garnet had not seen many creatures, so it was hard to find something to test her strength against. For now, she would just have to make do with what she had. "Perhaps someone has a clue?" Garnet headed back to the manor to ask around. She went to look for Duke Wellington, but he was not there. "Where is the Duke?" asked Garnet. "He went out with a few guards," said Anna. "I see," said Garnet. "Did you need something?" asked Anna. "Do you know what an Anchor with Rs on each side of it means?" asked Garnet. "That''s the symbol for the Retired Reserve," said Anna. "What''s the Retired Reserve?" asked Garnet. "It''s a famous group of retired sailors who continue to work in times of emergency further north," said Anna. "It''s rare for any of them to come down here." "I thought I saw a member of it is all," said Garnet. She headed back outside and used the Teleportation Summoning Circle to go back to Herion''s Farm. She watched as the guards led by Louis continued to work on building the watermill. As the guards saw her, they waved her over. "Come here!" said Louis. Garnet walked over and saw that they were almost done. "How does it look?" asked Louis. Garnet walked inside of it first without even looking at the inside. She looked down at the center it was not moving yet. She went outside to look at the wheel. It was just above the water. "Lower the wheel," said Garnet. Two of the guards pushed hard on a nearby lever and the wheel moved down, beginning to spin. Garnet headed back inside and saw that it was moving now. "It looks good," said Garnet. She took a few handful of oats that had been stored inside and placed it into the mill. They all watched as it turned into flour. "Wow," said Herion. "It would have taken me a long time to do that myself. Processed flour sells for much more than just the raw materials as well." "This is the power of the watermill," said Garnet. "As long as you can maintain it, it will continue to work. You can even have other farmers who want to use it pay you for now." "Thank you for this milady, how can I ever repay you and the Duke?" asked Herion. "Just spread the word of this," said Garnet. "The more people in the Duke''s lands who want to build one on their farm, the better. But try not to let it spread too far, we don''t want others to try to build their own." "I understand," said Herion. The easy part was over, now the problem was to see whether or not the other equipment helped the farm. "How have the crops been?" asked Garnet. "It''s still too early to say," said Herion. "But it has certainly made sowing seeds and watering the plants much easier." "Mind if I take a look?" asked Garnet. "Go ahead," said Herion. Garnet walked back to the main farm and looked at the irrigation system. It let water flow easily, but there was a problem. The ones close to it was getting too much water while the plants further away were not getting enough. They would have to slope it to get it to work properly. "This isn''t working," said Garnet. "The distribution of whatever is uneven." "Then what should I do?" asked Herion. "You can water the parts close to the river with this, but the ones further away you will have to do normally," Garnet explained as she demonstrated it to Herion. The water flowed inland, but after a certain point, the water stopped, so Garnet picked up some of the tools and began to help water the rest of it. New Class: Farmer New Skill: Green Hands (Level 1) Improves the quality of plants grown Level Up: Inspection (Level 2) Level Up: Inventory Expansion (Level 3) "That makes sense," said Herion. "After all, the water can only move so far by itself, but this will mean I won''t have to water a majority of the plants myself." Garnet did what she could to help Herion. After all, a lot depended on his success. Most of what she wanted to do worked. It would take a total of at least three months to see if there is significant progress with the output on the farm because of the time needed to grow food. "I suppose we''re done for now," said Garnet. "Once they finish the watermill, they''ll be leaving as well, but send us a message if there''s trouble." "Will do," said Herion. "There''s a problem!" shouted a guard. Garnet ran over to the watermill. It was a body floating downriver. "Another one?" thought Garnet. "Quick, get it out!" shouted Louis. They all ran downriver following the body until it washed ashore. It was exactly where Garnet had found the previous body. It had floated downstream from somewhere else. "This needs to be reported to the Duke," said Louis. "You, go!" shouted Louis as he pointed to one of the guards. Garnet looked at the arm to see if there was anything that resembled the RR Anchor Tattoo. There was a tattoo of a bird. "What''s that?" asked Garnet as she pointed to the arm. "That''s a sailor''s tattoo," said Louis. "He must have floated here from the North." "Another body from the North," thought Garnet. They were both sailors as well. There had to be a connection. Someone was deliberately killing these sailors and sending them downstream. "Can you tell how they died?" asked Garnet. Louis turned the body over and looked. There were no visible signs of injury. Louis pushed the man''s chest in a little and he spat water from his mouth. "He might have died from drowning," said Louis. "But it''s uncertain since we don''t know how long he has been in the water." Twice was not a coincidence thought Garnet. Someone was deliberately targeting sailors and killing them. "I''m going to head upstream to see if there are any clues," said Garnet. "Wait, I''m coming with you," said Louis. "We can''t let you go alone." The other guards followed Louis. "Alright, you can come," said Garnet. If it was indeed a powerful monster, she could use the help. The group headed North of Herion''s Farm to look for what could have possibly caused this. However, as they went, there were no signs of what could have killed the man. "I think if something was here, it''s already gone," said Louis. "But that man probably just fell in." "You''re probably right," said Garnet. "Let''s head back." She did not want to get them involved. The first time, it could have been an accident. The second time, it was definitely not one. Something was killing these people, and she had to find out what. Back at the farm, Herion was worried. "Did you find anything?" asked Herion. "No," said Louis. "I think he might have just fallen in." "That''s a relief," said Herion. "For a moment, I was worried there was a monster out here." "It was possibly a monster," thought Garnet. The guards and patrols had ensured that there were few dangerous monsters in most of the area, but a few would certainly escape, especially if it was one that lived near or on water. It could probably hide underwater or swim. Garnet then headed back to the manor on her own, thinking about what could have done it. The problem was that there was no description of the monster. The people found were already dead, but with no visible signs of struggle. The only clues were that both victims were male sailors. There could be numerous different things that could cause such a thing, but without more information, it was impossible to know that. The good thing was that if it was indeed a creature that lived in the water, she could just zap it with a Lightning Bolt and it would be over. At night, Garnet headed out using the Teleportation circle. At this point, the guards had already gotten used to it and no one dared to try to stop her after seeing some of the things that she was willing to do. On top of that, the agreement between her and Duke Wellington also gave her the right of free travel. Level Up: Shadow Walk (Level 2) Garnet made her way North of Herion''s Farm. There had to be something there because two bodies had floated down at different times. "Call: Skeletal Hounds! Call: Skeletons! Search for any points of interest!" ordered Garnet. She had no idea what she was looking for, so she could only give a general order. She too moved along the river. With the help of the skeletons, she hoped that it would give her the manpower she needed to find something. The Skeletons were much slower than the Hounds, but their main advantage was that they could use their arms. They were able to move aside objects and things like tree branches. The only problem was that they seemed weak. They would have to be developed like the Dogs were before they were useful. If there were some Wild Boars or other animals around, she could just have them fight, but there were none here. HOWL. It was the sound of one of Garnet''s Skeletal Hounds. It had found something. Garnet immediately rushed to the location. It was near the river. Stat Increase: Agility +1 There was a decomposing body. It had been there for a long time and was killed far earlier than the other two people had. She could not tell if there was a tattoo on it due to the decomposition of the body. With a body like that, it would be difficult to determine cause of death or time of death. However, it was near water, so it was likely that whatever killed the other two also killed this one. "Keep looking," Garnet ordered. There was likely to be more. New Class: Coroner Level Up: Inspection (Level 3) "No new skill?" thought Garnet. It was strange. The others all came with at least two skills. This one did not have an Inventory Expansion either. However, this confirmed that there were numerous different trade skills. It was not just tied to manufacturing. There were other skills that fell into the trade skill category. Garnet continued to make her way North along the river. If all the bodies discovered so far were near rivers, it meant that whatever was doing this either used the river as a dumping ground, or lived in the river. The good thing was that the bodies did not decompose until after they washed up on shore. That meant it was nearby and the likelihood of diseases in the water was much lower. To Garnet''s dismay, she found nothing. No matter where she looked along the river, there was nothing there. None of the skeletons she summoned found anything either. The only thing they found were a few large rocks that stood out in the river. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" She created another place to teleport near where she found the other body. These were the biggest clues so far. But, it was almost day, and she did not want to be caught walking around with a bunch of skeletons. As Garnet returned to the manor, she heard rumors spread of the dead body that was found. "Was it a murder?" asked a guard. "No, there were no wounds on the body," said another. The only clues so far was that it did its crime near water and there were no signs of visible external injuries on its victims. That was all she could gather for now. "The lord and I will be heading upstream," said Leeroy as Garnet approached the front gate of the main house. "May I ask what for?" asked Garnet. "To discover where the body came from," said Leeroy. "Rumors of it spread quickly and some people near the farm have even gone to see it, so Duke Wellington wants to take care of this himself as soon as possible." "I understand," said Garnet. "But I didn''t see why he would want me to know." "That''s because he wants you to come with," said Leeroy. "Me?!?" said Garnet as she pointed to herself. "Yes," said Leeroy. "Now that you two are married, you must make public appearances together as well." The duties of nobility were that of politicians. They had to make an appearance for show, and she had been married into one. Now, she must put on a show as well. "Fine, I''ll go get dressed," said Garnet. Garnet went to change into her red dress. The color red reminded her a lot of blood for some reason. However, going during the day might be able to reveal some clues. At this point, she could not do much more on her own. Even with the help of her new band of skeletons, she was unable to find anything but rocks. She had to rely on others just a little. The group first headed off to Herion''s Farm, where Duke Wellington wanted to take a look at the progress on the farm. Garnet saw that most of the plants were already sprouting, which was a good sign. The first phase of the plan was working. "If things work out like this, I''ll have five times as much as I did last season," said Herion. "Five times?!?" shouted Duke Wellington. "That''s a lot." "The problem before was that it took me a lot more time to make my way around the farm," said Herion. "With this, the entire Western side of the farm basically takes care of itself." "I''ll need to expand this to other farms," said Duke Wellington. "Two years is the goal. In two years, all the farms near the river should adopt this system." However, there as a problem, the inland farms. Even though irrigation worked near the river, the farms inland could not benefit from this. There was not any plastics that could be taken advantage of to change methods, so for now, modernization was confined to near water. "Hey are there any cities or countries with many more than Antium?" Garnet asked Duke Wellington. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "The largest city is to the far far East," said Duke Wellington. "It is said that their largest city holds several million people and is a major trade hub, but it''s near impossible to make that journey by land." "I see," said Garnet. That was a huge clue. Only very advanced countries could manage to have that many people in a single city. She made a mental note of this. Shortly after, the group headed North, near where Garnet had searched before, but this time, they were traveling along that road. The carriage suddenly came to a stop. "What is that sound?" asked Duke Wellington. "I don''t hear anything," said Garnet. "You don''t hear it?" said Duke Wellington. "It sounds like some kind of song." Garnet focused and listened. There was nothing. "I don''t hear anything," said Garnet. "Leeroy!" shouted Duke Wellington. "What''s going on?" Garnet looked out the windows and saw the guards very slowly walking towards the river. "Somethings happening to them!" shouted Garnet. Garnet and Duke Wellington got out of the carriage. The guards were being lured towards the river. There was only one exception. Name: Charlie Level: 25 Class: Warrior Sub-class: Enhancement Stats: High Vitality Garnet realized that she could see some stat information of others. It was probably because of the improvement of her Inspection skill. "Charlie, what happened?" asked Duke Wellington. "I don''t know, they all just started walking in that direction together," said Charlie. "Did anything unusual happen?" asked Garnet. "No, nothing," said Charlie. "Do you hear singing" asked Duke Wellington. "No," said Charlie. "There was nothing unusual before they started walking." "After them," said Duke Wellington. "This might be why that body washed up near Herion''s Farm." Garnet, Duke Wellington, and Charlie all headed after the guards who were being drawn to the river. Duke Wellington spotted Leeroy. "It''s Leeroy!" he shouted. The three walked up to him. He was staring blankly towards the river. "Wake up!" shouted Garnet. However, Leeroy was continuing to walk. He did not even notice Garnet. She watched and saw as some of the other guards fell over objects and bumped into trees. However, that did not stop them, they were still being drawn in. "Get away from him!" shouted Garnet. Charlie and Duke Wellington backed away from Leeroy. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet attempted to stun Leeroy. Leeroy stopped in his tracks. The lightning flowed throughout Leeroy''s body and eventually dissipated. The lightning disappeared and Leeroy continued to walk. "It''s not working," said Charlie. "Go towards the song," said Duke Wellington. "I can''t hear it," said Garnet. "Me neither," said Charlie. "Follow me," said Duke Wellington. He was the only one that could hear it for some reason. "Why is that only he can hear the song?" thought Garnet. "Why is that that neither me nor Charlie can hear it?" The Duke ran quickly. He made his way through the trees and broke a few branches a long the way. Garnet and Charlie followed as quickly as they could, but fell a little behind still. "There!" shouted Duke Wellington. "It''s coming from her." Garnet looked and saw what appeared to be a woman sitting on top of a rock. Name: Siren Level: 15 Class: Mythical Subclass: Enchantress Stats: High Charisma It was a Siren, a monster near waters known for luring men to their deaths. But that did not explain why it did not affect Charlie. Even though Duke Wellington was able to hear it, he too was unaffected by the song. There was something that made all three of them immune to it, but she could not figure out what. Garnet watched as the guards slowly walk out of the forest. They were heading towards the river. The Siren was a monster that tempted men and lured them to their deaths with their song. The reason why Garnet could not find it was because it was only after men. Duke Wellington could hear the song, but his will was strong enough to not be affected by it. Charlie and Garnet both could not hear it. Garnet looked at the Duke to see his stats. Name: Charles Wellington Level: 60 Dual Class: Duke / General Sub-Class: Commander Stats: High Intelligence, High Charisma His combination of intelligence and charisma most likely gave him some kind of protection against the influence of the Siren. "We need to stop it," said Garnet. "How?" asked Charlie. "It''s not like either of us can swim." "We won''t need to," said Garnet. "Fire Ball!" Garnet launched a spell at the Siren. BOOM. An explosion blew up the rock that the Siren was sitting on, but there was no body. Garnet looked to see where it was. She saw a shadow underneath the waters. It rose up. She was a woman with long black hair and topless. Garnet could see that she had some scales on her body and instead of legs, she had a tail like a fish. She could have also been considered a mermaid. "Kill the women!" shouted the Siren. Those words. Plural women, meaning more than one. Charlie was a woman, that was why she and Garnet was unaffected by the song. The Duke probably had strong enough resistance to it because of his level and stats. The guards on the other hand, were physically strong, not mentally strong, making them susceptible to the powers of the Siren. None of them even came close to Duke Wellington in terms of strength and they definitely did come close to his level of charisma or intellect, which might have protected them. Even though the song stopped, the men were still under the control of the Siren. The effects of the song continued even though the song itself stopped. The only way to stop it would be to kill the source, the Siren, so that it could not issue any orders to those under her control or to wait it out. But, there was no clues or hints as to how long that would take, so Garnet had to kill the Siren. "You have trouble," said Duke Wellington. Garnet turned around. She saw Charlie trying to fight off some of the guards. They were slowly approaching still, but were trying to grab Charlie. They were lucky that they were not actually trying to kill them with swords. While they were influenced by the Siren, they were moving very slowly and not with much intelligence. They walked and tripped over each other. If there were a lot of them, they would probably trample each other to death before finding a target. The fact that there were only a few guards made it easy to avoid them. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning. Level Up: Lightning Bolt (Level 7) BZZT. She watched as the bodies of the guards twitched from the lightning coursing through their bodies. A few of them even collapsed. When the lightning stopped, they got up and continued. It had no effect. "I have to try something stronger," thought Garnet. "Chain Lightning!" Powerful bolts of lightning jumped between all of them, hitting Charlie and Duke Wellington as well. AHH. Charlie and Duke Wellington both screamed a little from the shock. Garnet could not control who it hit. It hit its primary target and then bounced outward to all surrounding targets except the caster. "Sorry!" shouted Garnet. Level Up: Chain Lightning (Level 2) Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 "Watch it!" shouted Charlie. "Don''t kill them," said Duke Wellington. "They''re still my men." Garnet watched as the guards all recovered from the lightning. It had no effect. "You can''t stop them," said the Siren. "They''re fallen under my control." Garnet wanted to use her short sword, but they were still Duke Wellington''s men. As one of the guards approached her, she used her short sword to stab him in the leg. The guard did not even respond to the pain. He slowed down though. Even if they weren''t in pain, they could still be incapacitated if done properly. "Hold them off," said Garnet. "How?" asked Charlie. "There''s too many of them." "Run in circles or something and use the Duke as a shield, they''re too stupid to go through him," said Garnet. "I''ll try," said Charlie as she ran towards the Duke. "I''m going to try to kill the Siren," said Garnet. The guards were ignoring Duke Wellington for some reason. It was most likely because he was a man. The Siren enchanted men to kill women or enchanted the men to lure them to their deaths. It was trying to do the same thing here. Because of the Siren''s orders, they did not go through Duke Wellington, they would bump into him and go around him. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt of lightning into the water and looked for any movement. The Siren had to still be nearby otherwise the effect on the men would eventually disappear. The rapidly moving water made it difficult to see. "NO!" shouted the Siren. It released a terrifying scream that made Garnet''s ears hurt. If Garnet was closer, it probably would have destroyed her hearing. However, the Siren made a mistake. It had revealed itself. As long as Garnet could fire a bolt of lightning close enough, it would be affected by it. "Chain Lightning!" Garnet fired the lightning straight into the water and watched as it spread outward. It affected a much larger area, forcing the Siren to come up to the surface again. "You dare!" shouted the Siren. It had revealed itself. Garnet could see the bolts of lightning flowing throughout its body from the electricity. "I got you!" thought Garnet. "Lightning Bolt!" The Siren flew out of the water and into the sky. Its body was still affected by Garnet''s lightning as it pulsated throughout the Siren''s body. "What?!?" Garnet was surprised. The Siren had sprouted wings. It no longer had fins. It had legs. It had transformed. Its upper body was still covered in some parts with scales, but it now had bird like wings. It was neither completely fish nor bird. It was some type of hybrid of the two. Even though the Siren was only a level 15 monster, it had numerous abilities that made it terrifying. It now resembled something like a Harpy instead of a Mermaid or a typical Siren. "Don''t worry about us," said Duke Wellington. "I''ll take care of these guys." Garnet quickly turned and saw that there were several guards on the floor. However, they were also picking themselves up. None of them actually stayed down. Duke Wellington had taken them out with his bare hands. Even though he was a noble, he was still a level 60 general that had fought in battles before. He was knocking them down without much trouble. "Where are you looking?" asked the Siren. It dived towards Garnet. "Air Bullet!" Garnet released a powerful burst of wind that knocked the Siren back. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet immediately followed it up with another attack while the Siren tried to recover. BOOM. The bolt of fire struck the Siren on its shoulder. It was only a little burnt. Not only did the Siren have incredible abilities, it was also extremely tough. The Hero System had definitely guided her to a powerful creature that had numerous abilities. "I must have that power," thought Garnet. Garnet watched the Siren. It kept its distance this time. It was gauging Garnet''s strength and playing it safe now. It waved its hand towards Garnet, but nothing happened. Garnet quickly took a glance to see if it had done anything around her, but it nothing. Whatever it was doing was probably not working. Garnet was glad that there were very few creatures here in the Duke''s lands. This was just a single one by itself, and it was more powerful and caused more problems than all of the previous ones that she had fought. What worried her the most was that there were probably more of these and possibly even stronger ones out there. If something like this was giving her trouble, then she was not prepared for the invasion in four years'' time. Zedd had described it as something even more frightening and more dangerous to the point that where he had to summon the equivalent of a demi-god in order to deal with it. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet fired another bolt of lightning. The high speed of this ability made it impossible to dodge, but it dealt very little damage. BZZT. The Siren was hit by it, and its face only angered. The lightning bolt was not enough to actually stun the Siren or cause any form of significant damage. This gave Garnet an idea. She needed to provoke it so that it would try to kill her up close. If the Siren closed the distance, she could use one of her stronger attacks. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet continued to fire them at the Siren. Garnet could see as its face angered. Despite its incredible abilities, it lacked the intelligence to use it properly. Level Up: Lightning Bolt (Level 8) The Siren revealed its claws. It was going to close the distance between them for an attack. Garnet released her torrent of Lightning Bolts as the Siren went in for a dive. The Siren''s face had a terrifying smile. It was one of a victor that was about to kill its prey. This was Garnet''s only chance. The one attack she had in her arsenal that could probably kill it. "Explosive Palm!" Garnet met the dive of the Siren and its claws head on. SHLUCK. "AHH," screamed Garnet. BOOM. The claw tore into Garnet''s palm, piercing straight through her Mana Shield. The attack had drained her mana a little, but the attack of the Siren mostly went right through her Mana Shield. Garnet''s powerful Explosive Palm knocked the Siren backwards and out of the sky as it landed on the other side of the river. Garnet could see drops of blood splash outward from her arm. It was impossible for her to tell what was the cloth and what was her blood. CRASH. Garnet could only hear the sound of something falling hard onto the ground as she looked up into the sky. She could not move her right arm. Level Up: Explosive Palm (Level 2) New Skill: Fire Ball (Level 1) A much more explosive bolt of fire that deals damage to its surrounding as well as its target. MP Cost: 100 "You did it!" shouted Charlie. "What hap-" BOOM. Leeroy had broken free of the Siren''s control, only to be met with a punch from Duke Wellington. "I''m sorry," said Duke Wellington. There was no level up. "For such a tough fight, the rewards were small," thought Garnet. Garnet lifted her left arm. "Blood Absorption!" However, there was nothing. The attack that Garnet landed on it did not finish it off. There was no quest complete message either. The Siren was not dead yet. It was still alive. "Hey!" shouted a voice. "Are you okay?" another voice shouted. Garnet could not tell who was speaking to her as her vision was blurring. All she could see was a male figure. The pain combined with the blood loss immobilized her. "Hey!" Those were the last words Garnet heard before she passed out. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 8 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 710/710 MP: 1760/1760 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 11 (+7) Intelligence: 41 (+22) Vitality: 21 (+5) Agility: 20 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand - 2
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike - Wind Palm - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1) - Blood Absorption (Level 4) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 2) - Captivation: (Level 2) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 2)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 4) - Cook - Inspection (Level 3) ¨C Farmer, Coroner - Inventory Expansion (Level 3)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 3) - Speed (Level 10) - Physical Resistance (Level 3)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 2: Chapter 013 - Housebound A breather chapter before the fight resumes. ---------------------------------------------------------- Garnet finally opened her eyes. She saw Leeroy, who was shouting. Her eyelids felt heavy and she closed them. When she opened them again, it was Ruby and Anna standing by her side. She tried to reach up, but she could not move her arm. Shortly after, she closed her eyes again. It was not until the third time that Garnet opened her eyes that she was finally able to move. In front of her was Ruby and Anna. "What happened?" Garnet groaned. She could barely get the words out of her mouth. "Mommy?" asked Ruby. She had a scared look on her face. "I''m okay," said Garnet. Ruby''s face changed a little bit. It was no longer like she was about to cry. Garnet tried to get up, but she could not. "Don''t move," said Anna. "You lost a lot of blood." Garnet had her arm torn pretty badly by the Siren. She could not distinguish the blood from her clothes at the time. Even though she lost a good chunk of her health, she was not dead. Despite this, she was still suffering from other conditions like blood loss. "Don''t you remember?" asked Anna. "Charlie about how you fought against the monster." Garnet tried to remember, but the last thing she remembered was blacking out. The monstrous Siren was not dead. She did not even know how injured it was. "I didn''t kill it," said Garnet. "It''s still out there." "But you held it off," said Anna. "That alone is a great achievement." "Are you going to be okay?" asked Ruby. She was holding back and trying not to say anything, but she was clearly still worried. "Yes," said Garnet. "Mommy just needs to sleep for a while." "What happened to everyone?" asked Garnet. "Leeroy was the first to recover after the monster was pushed back," said Anna. "With the Duke, the two of them were able to push the others away until they were far enough away from the monster to recover." "I see," said Garnet. "Next time, I will finish it off." "You need to rest first," said Anna. "That injury is pretty bad," she said pointing at Garnet''s arm. Garnet turned her head to the side and saw that there was a bandage wrapped from her palm up to almost her elbow. That was where the Siren had injured her. The bandage was changed at least multiple times as there was no blood on it anymore. "How long was I out?" asked Garnet. "About half a day," said Anna. "I''m surprised you were up so quickly." It was the Hero System. As long as your health recovered, so did your injuries. Even a fatal wound that would normally kill someone could probably be healed as long as you found ways to restore your health. "Where''s the Duke?" Garnet asked. "He''s assembling a special hunting group," said Anna. "That won''t work," said Garnet. "It affects nearly all the men." "That''s why this one is mostly women," said Anna. "That won''t work, the Siren will not appear unless there are men that can be affected by its song," said Garnet. "That''s why I could not find it earlier and why it tried to kill me and Charlie." This was important information. "I must tell the Duke at once," said Anna. She ran off, leaving Garnet with Ruby. "Sorry for making you worry," said Garnet. "Just promise me you won''t go anywhere for a long time without telling me," said Ruby. "I promise," said Garnet. She tried to move her arm to comfort Ruby, but she could not. "Can you come to the other side?" Garnet asked. Ruby circled around the bed to the other side. Garnet raised up her arm and stuck out her pinky. "You raise out yours too," said Garnet. Ruby raised her pinky too. Garnet wrapped her pinky around Ruby''s. "You do the same," said Garnet. Ruby wrapped her pinky around Garnet''s. "This is called a pinky swear, it is a way of making a promise." "Okay," said Ruby. There was a smile on her face now. She believed Garnet and that was what mattered. Duke Wellington ran into the room. "You''re okay!" he shouted. He ran up to Garnet''s bed. "Stop!" shouted Ruby. "The old man said no touch, no move!" Duke Wellington wanted to hug Garnet again, but since she was injured from the last battle, the recommendation was that she should not move. The Duke had forgotten about it and backed off when Ruby got in the way. "Your plan won''t work," said Garnet. "Why not?" asked Duke Wellington. "The Siren will not appear unless there is a large enough group of men," said Garnet. "When I tried to look for it myself, that was why it did not appear." "But if we go with a large group of men, then they will fall under the spell of the monster," said Duke Wellington. "You need to use them as bait," said Garnet. "Gather a group of fairly weak male guards and bring in a few women that can fight. Most of the women will distract and hold off the men under its spell while a small group of maybe two or three fight the Siren itself." Most of the guards that the Duke would have to bring would actually work against them. However, it was probably what was needed in order to bait out the Siren. The question was why did so few bodies wash up on shore despite the ability to call out to such a large number of men at once. That was something that bothered Garnet very much. "What about archers or magicians?" asked Duke Wellington. "We need them too." "Archers will not help," said Garnet. "The Siren had very strong skin. I could not break its skin, even with magic. I''m not even sure how much damage my last attack did to it, but it was clearly injured enough to have to back away, but not enough to kill it. Unless you have very strong archers, it probably won''t work." "So we need strong magicians," said Duke Wellington. "That''s hard." "Do you know anyone who might help?" asked Garnet. "There''s only one," said Duke Wellington. "But I do not like to ask her." "You mean Freud?" Garnet asked. "No," said Duke Wellington. "She''s busy with her research and she''s not much of a fighter." That was surprising. Freud was a high level mage. "How did she get so strong without fighting?" Garnet wondered. She wanted to know the secret. The same thing might extend to Zedd and the nobles. They were becoming high level without the need for fighting like Garnet had to. "Then who is it?" Garnet asked. "Duchess Kiko," said Duke Wellington. It was another Duke. He would have to ask another Duke for help. When he wanted to consolidate power, he had to turn to another Duke for help. "Why her?" asked Garnet. "Each of the Dukes sort of focus on something different," said Duke Wellington. "I have abnormally strong infantry, Kiko has abnormally strong mages." "Then ask her for help," said Garnet. "It would be a good chance to build a good relationship with her." "There''s a problem," said Duke Wellington. "She may want to kill you." "Why?" asked Garnet. "What does she have against me?" "Because I married you," said Duke Wellington. "She originally wanted me to marry her so that we could unite our territories." In other words, a political marriage. It was exactly what he needed in order to consolidate his power and push to be King. But, it was also what the Duke was against in the first place. He disliked political marriages and he was one of those that pursued romantic love, wanting a marriage with someone he loved. "Everyone else out," said Garnet. "Just me and the Duke." Anna took Ruby by the hand. "This is important for them, let''s leave them alone." The two headed out. Now it was just Garnet and Charles. "You need to do it," said Garnet. This was her chance to push for a political marriage. After all, Garnet was unsuited to be a Queen anyways. As a slave, she would earn a lot of hate and so would the King if people discovered that the King was married to a slave. "But you''re the one I want to be with," said Duke Wellington. "If you want to be King, you''re going to have to make some tough decisions and make some sacrifices," said Garnet. "This will be your first one. If you choose me over the kingdom, you may have problems in the future." Duke Wellington was scared for the first time. Even though he had made enormous strides towards his goal. He had not been faced with a decision such as this. He had to choose between two. He either would have to give up his pursuit of the throne or he would have to give up Garnet. "You don''t have to decide immediately," said Garnet. "There are always other solutions if you can find them." "What do you mean?" asked Duke Wellington. "How can I take a third option?" "A King only has one official wife, that is the Queen," said Garnet. "The other option is for me to become a Concubine or a Consort, but you would have to convince the Queen that inheritance to the throne is by order of birth." It was normal for a ruler, King or Queen, to have multiple spouses and children with them. The idea was that it was more likely for the bloodline to continue and less likely that someone would be able to kill them all off. It was clear that Duke Wellington was against this, but he had little choice. To consolidate his power in four years. He could certain build the economy, but political power was different altogether. To earn the support of the other nobles was much more difficult, especially if the Queen was a slave. The thought that a former slave would now hold power over them would be unthinkable. "I need time to think about this," said Duke Wellington. He was considering it, but it was not something he could decide immediately. It meant that he would have to give up his original plans. He would have to convince Kiko that Garnet would be accepted as a Concubine or a Consort who had nearly equal standing with her and that their children would have priority since it is by order of birth. "Hold off on the plans to fight the monster for now," said Garnet. "Make sure that people stay away from that area for now as well." "I will," said Duke Wellington. "Get well soon." "I will," said Garnet. Her health had recovered, but she still felt some exhaustion. "It was most likely because of blood loss," she thought. That was the only thing that could explain her temporary weakness. Even though her Enhanced Body gave her some resistance and her Mana Shield should have protected her, it was clear that there were enemies that had a way to bypass defensive abilities. It was not something all powerful and she needed to come up with a plan to fight the Siren. The Siren could freely move between land, sea, and air with its abilities. Its ability to fly made it highly mobile. Its fins also made it highly mobile in water, so the best option was to find a way to bind it to the land or limit its ability to fly. In order to draw it out, they would need a fairly large group of men. Then, they would need strong enough mages or fighters that could actually hurt it. At the same time, a few people would need to hold off all men under its spell in order to give the women a chance to fight the Siren. Right now, they were only two. Garnet and Charlie. Sticking to smaller numbers was probably going to be better as well. Garnet had recovered by the second day, but Ruby insisted that she sleep for more. She was only allowed to stay inside the house, but she was bored. There was nothing to do but lay in bed. She started walking around. Most of the other people ignored her. Anna and Ruby were nowhere to be seen. "Were they outside?" Garnet thought. If they were though, Garnet could not go. Garnet headed to the kitchen. The only skill that she could practice inside the house was cooking. Potato was the main thing that they ate. It was in almost every meal even though the other things changed. She decided to make mashed potatoes. The easiest thing that she could do. Level Up: Cooking (Level 5) The only other thing that she could do was read the books in Duke Wellington''s office. There was mainly only books about history and politics. Nothing she was really interested in, but it kept her from just being bored all day laying around in bed. Even though she was stuck at home, she wanted to be doing anything else but lay around in bed. Stat Gain: Intelligence +1 Ruby came to visit several times a day, but she also spent a lot of time outside. Garnet did not want Ruby to have to stay and take care of her, so Garnet encouraged Ruby to spend more time outside. After all, she could at least leave the house. It would be worse to ask Ruby to stay with her. From the windows of the house, she saw that Leeroy was teaching Ruby how to fight with her hands. Garnet realized that was how they became close. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It was a few more days before Garnet was let outside, but during this time she devised a plan. The first thing she needed, a non-lethal weapon, just in case she had to fight a friendly and did not want to hurt them too badly. The Sirens were able to partially control the men, so it would be best to find a way to immobilize them or keep them at a distance. For someone of her stature, a battle staff was best. She searched through the weapons vault in order to find something. There was only one. It was very big. It was as tall as Garnet if not taller. It was made of a sturdy metal, so it would not be easily broken. Garnet inspected the staff. Name: Chang Gun Quality: High Class: Staff It did not seem like anything special, but it was her only choice so she took it out. As long as she avoided the head, it would most likely be non lethal, so she can strike an enemy with it and not worry about having killed them. They might get some bruises or broken bones, but the likelihood of a fatal injury was much lower. It also gave her some reach over others who might be bigger than her. The other problem was that she needed a way to break the skin of the Siren. It was extremely strong. The scales on its body acted like armor. Her explosive palm worked, but it was not enough to cause a fatal blow. Neither was Fire Bolt. There was one thing that might work. Garnet headed outside and aimed her hand straight into the sky. "Fire Ball!" A large ball of fire gathered in Garnet''s hand before flying upward into the sky. It had a longer delay than the Fire Bolt, making it harder to aim, but probably much more effective. BOOM. The ball in the sky burst into a cloud of flames. It had the potential, but it was slow. She reduced the size of it in order to shorten its casting time. The explosive power was smaller, but could be fired in succession like the Fire Bolt. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. "What are you doing?!?" shouted Charlie. She had come running with a few guards. "I thought there was an attack on the manor." "Sorry," said Garnet. "I was trying something." "Just be careful," said Charlie. She and some of the guards stayed and watched Garnet as she launched Fire Balls into the sky. Garnet carefully adjusted the power, attempting to change its range and power. She wanted to recreate something like flak. A type of explosive bullet that would knock enemies out of the sky. As she adjusted the power, the smoke from the Fire Ball turned black. It was something that finally resembled flak. This would at least force the Siren to come closer and Garnet would be able to fight it in melee combat. That was the key moment. "I got it!" Garnet shouted. "Is this to fight that monster?" asked Charlie. "Yes," said Garnet. "I could not deal a fatal blow to it, but I think this might force it to come down from the sky." "I see," said Charlie. "What''s that big stick for?" "Want to fight me and find out?" asked Garnet. "No one wanted to spar with me in the past." "I''ll be glad to as long as you don''t use magic," said Charlie. "That''s fine," said Garnet. "Just give me a second." Charlie ran off. The guards stayed around to watch. They were interested in Garnet for one reason or another whether it was her beauty or they wanted to know how she could fight against a monster like the Siren. Garnet took a moment to swing the staff around and attempt a few strikes with it. The weight of it was much different from that of the sword and was easier to control when most of it was near the body. It could be used in a swing similar to a slashing attack with a sword or a thrust similar to a stabbing attack with a sword. The only difference was the reach and the weight, which reduced its overall speed compared to the sword. New Skill: Staff Mastery (Level 1) Increases attack power when equipped with a staff. Hand to hand skills are limited depending on the size and weight of the staff. Charlie returned with a wooden sword and a wooden staff. The staff was much shorter, in fact, too short. "That staff won''t work for me," said Garnet. "It needs to be longer." Charlie threw the staff aside and just kept the sword. "Since yours is not sharp, it won''t be much of a problem either way," asid Charlie. Charlie underestimated the staff. Even though it was not sharp, it was still heavy. It could probably smash the wooden sword. "Use the actual sword," said Garnet. "No, this is fine," said Charlie. Garnet knew she was being underestimated, but she would not hold back. "Are you ready?" Garnet asked. "Yes," Charlie replied. Garnet swung the staff horizontally at Charlie. Charlie raised the sword to block. BOOM. The staff smashed the wooden sword to pieces. Garnet stopped just as the staff was about to hit Charlie. "Can you use the metal sword now?" Garnet asked. One of the guards had his mouth agape. That was not something he expected. They were whispering to each other. "That''s a good idea," said Charlie as she grabbed her metal sword. This was now the beginning of the actual fight. Garnet waited until Charlie got into her fighting stance again. "I''m ready," said Charlie. Garnet wanted to test something, so she swung horizontally again. CLANG. The metal staff clashed against the metal sword. It could at least withstand the impact of the staff this time. Charlie slid her sword against the staff and pushed it away as she closed in on Garnet. BAM. Garnet raised her leg to kick Charlie in the stomach. The various strikes of the staff often left one hand or one leg free to counter with. New Skill: Thrust (Level 1) A stab against the opponent''s torso. Ignores armor. Charlie stumbled, but recovered. When she did, Garnet had already changed her stance. Charlie readied her sword for a slash and attempted to slash diagonally from bottom to top. It was one of her own sword skills. Garnet met the attack with a downward slash with her own staff. The weight of the staff gave it an advantage over the sword if the opponent did not properly close the distance. CLANG The staff slammed the sword out of Charlie''s hand and onto the ground. "You''re good with that," said Charlie. "I had a few minutes to practice before you arrived," said Garnet. "Just a few minutes?!?" Charlie said in shock. Garnet was clearly no amateur with the staff, but Charlie did not expect Garnet to have only held it for a few minutes. "Thrust!" Garnet pushed the staff forward towards Charlie. Charlie raised her sword to block it. CLANG. Charlie was knocked back from the attack. Garnet could see that Charlie winced in pain. Even though she had blocked the attack, it had dealt some kind of damage to her, so blocking it was not as effective as it appeared to be. Level Up: Thrust (Level 2) The attack was simple enough, but it was a fairly quick and direct strike. Most people protected their upper body, so by aiming towards the lower half of the torso, it was very effective on people who were even a little slow. Charlie attacked with an overhead slash, one that had power behind it. CLANG. It was met with the middle section of Garnet''s staff. Garnet was pushed back by the impact. However, she changed her grip on the staff and used it to push Charlie backwards. The staff was a very versatile weapon, but Garnet needed more practice in order to fully utilize it. "Let''s stop here for now," said Garnet. "Already tired?" asked Charlie. "I just don''t want to push myself," said Garnet. "I just barely recovered." Garnet continued to swing the staff, trying out new stances and different ways to attack with it. It could be used for jab attacks as well as sweeping attacks. The problem was finding out which of them would be effective against the Siren. After all, it had a tough skin that was the equivalent of armor. Garnet could only hope for the best that her attacks that ignored defense would be enough to fight it. That night, Duke Wellington had made a decision. "I''ve decided that I will ask the Duchess for help," he said. "I''m sorry Garnet," he added. "However, you will always be number one to me." Garnet knew what this meant. Duke Wellington had to accept Duchess Kiko in order to get her help, but the marriage itself was political and mostly for show. He would probably have a child with her and they would be King and Queen. Garnet would be on the outside looking in, but as a slave, this was the best that she could do. Garnet had already prepared for this as she knew the truth. "I understand," said Garnet. "You cannot have everything you want, but you must keep your promise." "I assume that Kiko will arrive to help in maybe five days at most," said Duke Wellington. "So within the week, we should be able to kill that monster once we find it." Those words were a relieving thought. It would be worse to let that thing run around and continue to ensnare victims. There was no telling how many people would fall victim to it. "What type of person is Duchess Kiko?" Garnet asked. Garnet had heard the name before, but she knew nothing about Kiko other than that she was the Duchess of the East. "A scary one," said Duke Wellington. "Don''t tell her about Ruby or yourself unless she asks about it." "Alright," said Garnet. "If Duke Wellington was scared of Duchess Kiko, she must have been some kind of monster," Garnet thought to herself. The Duke was strong and not afraid of many things, but there was in fact a person he was afraid of, and she would be coming to meet them. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 8 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress Stats: HP: 710/710 MP: 1780/1780 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 11 (+7) Intelligence: 42 (+22) Vitality: 21 (+5) Agility: 20 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 2 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike - Wind Palm - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1) - Blood Absorption (Level 4) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 2) - Captivation: (Level 2) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 2)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 5) - Cook - Inspection (Level 3) ¨C Farmer, Coroner - Inventory Expansion (Level 3)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 3) - Speed (Level 10) - Physical Resistance (Level 3)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
Book 2: Chapter 014 - Siren Hunt I think this is the halfway point for the second arc, give or take a chapter. This is more or less the only big fight of this arc. There''s gonna be a few time skips from here on out as things die down until the Civil War, which will most likely be divided into two smaller phases as well. Also, stupid Diablo 3 set dungeons are stupid. ------------------------------------------------------------------- It was seven days exactly after the letter was sent before Duchess Kiko arrived. "Anything I should know?" Garnet asked. "Don''t talk, let me do the talking and just agree with anything she says that isn''t about killing you," said Duke Wellington. "Okay," said Garnet. The manor had prepared to receive Duchess Kiko. Special rooms were prepared for them. It was a big deal for another Duke to visit and they had to make a good impression. Garnet was asked to wear another dress. This one was similar to the red one that she had worn before, but it was lighter in color and less revealing. It was much more formal and it gave off the feeling that she was still important. When the Duchess arrived, it was early in the morning. She had been traveling for a few days. She arrived in a carriage with a group of three men and three women guarding her, a total of six guards. Duchess Kiko was the only one who openly used female guards and soldiers in her army. Duke Wellington stood at the front gate and opened the door for her. "Welcome!" "Where is she?" asked Duchess Kiko. As she emerged, she wore a red kimono and had long black hair that almost reached to the floor. The kimono had the five petal brand that was the same on the back of Garnet''s hand. The kimono hid her figure, but she was probably only a little taller than Garnet at best. She appeared very young, younger than Garnet. Appearances were deceiving though. For some reason, it seemed that she was dressed for an Asian style wedding. Name: Kiko Level: 54 Class: Lightning Mage / Duke Sub-Class: Tao Mage Stats: High Intelligence, High Charisma Kiko was a powerful mage. She was nearly as strong as Duke Wellington. Although she had never seen the Duke fight, by raw numbers, he should have had an advantage from the level difference. "Where''s who?" Duke Wellington asked. "Where''s Garnet?" asked Duchess Kiko. Garnet immediately ran into the bedroom. It was bad. The first words that came out of the Duchess'' mouth was asking for the location of Garnet. As Garnet hid in the room, she heard footsteps approaching. It was coming straight for her. She covered herself with the blankets. The door slammed open. "There you are!" said Duchess Kiko. She looked directly at Garnet and approached. Even though the Duchess was not a very big person, her voice and posture made her seem very intimidating. Even Duke Wellington stood back and could not do anything about it. Kiko closed in onto Garnet with both her arms stretched out as if she was going to strangle Garnet. Kiko grabbed Garnet''s arm in order to look at the hand with the five petal flower that branded her as a slave. "That stupid man was never supposed to sell you," said Kiko. "I didn''t want to let go of you, but he did it without permission because of his own greediness!" screamed Kiko. Garnet watched as Kiko acted as if she was strangling someone. "I would do this and that to you if you were here right now," she said. Kiko was mad at the person who sold Garnet to Zedd, Holland. She was never meant to be sold. "But that''s too late now," said Kiko. "You''re someone else''s property now." Kiko turned around and pulled Duke Wellington with her as she left. Garnet had no idea what just happened. Kiko was definitely scary, but she only approached Garnet to look at the tattoo that branded her a slave. Kiko at least still acknowledged that Garnet belonged to someone else now and was not going to forcibly take her back. Garnet took a deep breath and sighed with a breath of relief. "YOU WHAT?!?" shouted Kiko. She was mad at something else now. The sound of footsteps approached the door again. She was coming back for Garnet once more. "But..." said Duke Wellington. He was trying to explain, but Kiko was clearly forcing him along and could not stop her. BAM. Kiko kicked the door open this time and dragged Duke Wellington into the room with her. She was angry. "You married your slave?!?" shouted Kiko. "Over me?!?" "I can explain," said Duke Wellington. "She''s not my slave." Garnet sat there quietly as per the Duke''s instructions. She understood why. Talking would probably make it worse. It was best for her not to talk and to just let Kiko vent out everything first. "As long as I am alive after this, it will be fine," she thought. Kiko was loud and shouted almost everything. Garnet never had a chance to get a word in, but it was probably for the best. She continued to watch and listen to Duke Wellington and Kiko argue. "You''re supposed to marry me!" said Kiko. "I never agreed," said Duke Wellington. "I asked you for help, did you not read the letter." "Help for what?" Kiko asked. She never even read the letter. She had no idea what it was even about. Based on how she was dressed, she probably thought it was a wedding proposal. "Help us slay the monster," said Duke Wellington. "What type of monster is it?" asked Kiko. "Ask Garnet," said Duke Wellington. Kiko turned to face Garnet. Garnet could immediately feel the killing intent and anger that spewed forth from Kiko. But, it slowly dissipated. Kiko took a deep breath. "Well, what kind of monster is it?" "It is a mix between a Mermaid and a Siren," said Garnet. "It hypnotizes men in order to try to kill themselves or women, but we can only lure it out, we don''t have the means to kill it." "I see," said Kiko. Garnet was glad that when it came to business, Kiko was just as serious as Duke Wellington. Kiko was much more vocal and easily angered from the looks of it. It was best to just let her guide the conversation. "Do you have a plan?" asked Kiko. "Yes," said Garnet. She explained her plan. To use a bunch of weaker male guards and soldiers as bait. Two women and the Duke would lure the guards around and distract them while another group of three women would fight the Siren itself. "She is acceptable," said Kiko as she turned to face Duke Wellington. "She will be fine as your second wife, but I am your first!" Kiko insisted on Duke Wellington marrying her. Garnet felt a little discomfort in her heart, but she knew that the Duke loved Garnet and if he ever did marry Kiko, it would be for a political marriage. As long as this was the case, Garnet was fine with it. However, she could not speak up against Kiko yet as they needed her support. "I will help you," said Kiko. "But, only me, you, Garnet, and your guards will be part of this. Everyone else butt out." "What?" said Duke Wellington. "You said there were only three before," said Kiko. "We should recreate the conditions as similarly as possible for the attack to occur again, so bring the same guards if possible." Kiko was not some idiot. She too had thought about it herself. The fewer people there were, the easier it was to manage. Garnet was surprised that Kiko did not try to push her out. She had slept in the same room as the Duke and Kiko was apparently okay with it. In the morning though, Garnet felt an intense killing pressure directed at her throughout the whole house. It felt like wherever she went, someone was waiting to stab her in the back. It was obviously coming from Kiko, who was jealous of their relationship, but until Kiko fulfilled the promise to help, Garnet had no say in the matter as part of the deal. "We go this afternoon," said Duke Wellington. "I want to take care of this as soon as possible." "Me too," said Garnet. Duke Wellington looked at her with a little worry, but no one else knew the truth yet. "Me three," said Kiko who sounded like she just wanted something to say. She was still giving Garnet the evil eye. In the afternoon, the three of them shared the Duke''s carriage. They brought a group of weaker guards this time, but all men. The roads were relatively safe and weaker guards would be easier to manage. The main difference is that Kiko replaced Charlie. It would be up to the three of them to slay the Siren. There was an uncomfortable tension in the air as Kiko continued to stare at Garnet with the intent to kill. Neither of them spoke a word. "How about some tea?" asked Duke Wellington who took some out from the secret compartment of his carriage. He was trying to break the tension as it was unbearably quiet. He was at least trying to get them to talk. "I just don''t like the idea of you sharing a bed with that whore," said Kiko. "Especially one of mine." Garnet had not heard that word spoken about her in a long time. But, she had no right to speak. "She''s not a whore," said Duke Wellington. "She''s my wife." Garnet was surprised. The Duke stood up for her when he was submissive to Duchess Kiko. "If you say that again, the deal is off and I will find another way to take care of this myself," said Duke Wellington. The Duke was serious. It was one of the rare times that Garnet saw anger in the Duke''s face. As much as he was being submissive, he was standing up to Kiko. Kiko backed down. "Fine, have it your way," she said. Kiko did not want to admit it, but it seemed like she needed the Duke as well. If she made Duke Wellington angry, he could break off the deal. If Kiko wanted to earn Charles'' favor, she would need to do what he asked and only then, would she have a chance of an arranged marriage. They passed Herion''s Farm. "What''s that?" Kiko asked pointing to the water mill. "That''s our future," said Garnet. "This whole farm is managed by one person thanks to the new technology." "A whole farm? One person? That''s impossible," said Kiko. "It was impossible until Garnet showed us how," said Duke Wellington. "Stop here and teach me!" said Kiko. "Maybe later," said Garnet. She now had something else that Kiko wanted and they could hold it over her. The carriage came to a halt. It was the same as before. "I hear it," said Duke Wellington. "Hear what?" Kiko asked. "The song," said Garnet. "The monster uses a song that only men can hear to lure its victims." The three of them exited the carriage. This time, it would be Duke Wellington, Garnet, and Kiko who would fight against the Siren. Just three like before. Duke Wellington was still unarmed. He used his hands because he did not want to hurt his own men. Kiko used a sword. Garnet used a staff. "Remember not to kill any of the men under its control," said Duke Wellington. "I won''t," said Kiko. The three approached the river and saw the Siren. "Is that it?" asked Kiko. The Siren turned and heard that voice. It still had a massive burn mark and bruise on its shoulder. It was still injured from the last battle and had not fully recovered. "You!" it shouted. "Kill her!" It ordered the guards under its control to kill Garnet specifically this time. It must have remembered what Garnet did to it. All the guards immediately went after Garnet. "You take care of it," said Garnet. She ran behind Duke Wellington who would fight them off. All Duke Wellington had to do was block the path of the guards. After all, while they were under control, they were slow and acted mindlessly. Kiko placed four talismans in a square around her. Together, they created a magic circle underneath her feet. It was much faster than when Zedd had to draw one under his feet. Garnet could feel the magic power being released from the formation. "Thunderbolt!" Kiko called forth a powerful bolt of lightning from the sky. BOOM. The massive explosion dislocated some of the water, but it was not enough to actually hurt the Siren as the Siren dived into the water to avoid it. Kiko was strong, but the Siren was extremely fast. When it cleared, the Siren flew into the sky. It was not taking any changes right now. Meanwhile, Duke Wellington was punching down his guards left and right. He had also someone got his hands on a one handed sword, but he was not using it. "Are you okay?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "They aren''t very strong, so I just have to land a hit to knock them down. I can probably keep this up for a while." All Garnet could do was stand by and watch due to her lower magical power. Kiko was fighting the Siren, Duke Wellington was keeping his guards away from the two of them. SCREECH. The Siren released a loud scream. "AH!" Kiko screamed as she raised her hands to her head. SCREECH. There was another scream in the distance. SCREECH. And another. There was more than one of them. "There''s three of them?!?" shouted Garnet. They did not predict that there would be more than one. "We have to take this one out quickly," said Duke Wellington. "You two fight it, I will hold these guys off as long as I can." Even though Kiko was strong, the Siren''s abilities made it strong as well. A level 15 creature should have been instantly defeated by Kiko, but this was not the case. It had the speed and strength to support itself in addition to its numerous abilities. It was probably capable of even defeating Leeroy in a straight fight. "Fire Ball!" Garnet released a number of small Fire Balls that exploded into black smoke. The Siren dodged what it could and occasionally got hit by one. "Finish it!" shouted Garnet. Kiko prepared another spell. "Wall of Storms!" Multiple bolts of lightning fell from the sky. BOOM. The Siren tried to dodge the flurry of Fire Ball and Lightning Bolts that were being created. One of Kiko''s bolts made contact with the Siren and zapped it. BAM. Garnet watched as the Siren fell to the ground. Even though lightning spells were generally weaker, Kiko''s was still extremely powerful. If she had other spells, they could probably cause massive amounts of destruction. As the Siren tried to get up, but it could not. Blood was flowing out of its mouth. The landing had caused internal injuries. It would probably die if left on its own. One was down, but there were two more coming. Kiko quickly drew a magic circle down on the ground. "What''s that?" Garnet asked. "This will make our magic stronger," said Kiko. "Make use of it." "Okay," said Garnet. SCREECH. It got louder. The other Siren were coming closer. SCREECH. It was approaching from behind them. BOOM. Duke Wellington and all the guards fell over. The Siren had used some sort of sonic wave attack. The magic circles that Kiko laid down were useless because it required them to stand still. This one was stronger than the others, but Garnet had no time to focus on a single one of them. "Throw your fire at it!" shouted Kiko. "Fire Ball!" Garnet released numerous small Fire Balls into the air in order to keep it moving. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Thunderbolt!" Kiko called a bolt of lightning from the sky. The Siren moved quickly and only had part of its wing clipped. There was a small burn, but negligible damage. "How can we stop it from moving?" Garnet asked. "Use the trees for cover," said Duke Wellington. "These are here for revenge, so they should come after us." The three ran into the trees. The guards had remained unconscious after the second Siren appeared. "You didn''t tell me there was three of them!" said Kiko. "We didn''t know," said Garnet. "We only saw one." "But these two are after us," said Duke Wellington. "That makes it easy because they will come directly for us." "Easy how?" asked Kiko. "If they''re coming after us under the trees, they cannot fly here," said Duke Wellington. "That means they must walk and if they try to fly away, the trees will get in the way," said Garnet. Kiko was already preparing another spell as she drew a magic formation on the ground. It was a lot slower than the way that Garnet was able to instantly lay down the Teleportation Summoning Circle. "What are you doing?" Duke Wellington asked. "Support magic," said Kiko. "This might give us the edge we need." "There''s no spoken words?" Garnet asked. "Nope," said Kiko. "This type of magic is different from standard ones. It is supported by the ground that we are standing on." The entire floor lit up like a magic circle. "Won''t this help enemies too?" asked Garnet. "It only affects who I want it to, which is us three," said Kiko. Garnet could see that her maximum health and mana had increased thanks to Kiko''s spell. There were also several buffs affecting her. Now the only thing to do was wait for the two remaining Siren to appear. SCREECH. Some trees in the forest were knocked over. "They''re literally tearing the forest down!" said Duke Wellington. "I did not expect that." "We''ll be okay," said Kiko. "As long as we stay in the formation, we should be able to take them." Garnet could see as the two Siren flew directly towards them. One of them was flying straight towards them, preparing to release another Sonic Boom like it had to knock them down. "Buy me time," said Kiko. "Okay," Garnet and Duke Wellington said at the same time. The first Siren flew straight towards them. "Air Bullet!" Garnet released a powerful burst of air. VWOOM. The Siren was knocked back hard and slammed against a tree. The moment it landed, Garnet charged up for a follow up sell. "Fire Bolt!" A huge bolt of fire was concentrated in Garnet''s finger tips. BOOM. The explosive power of a highly charged Fire Bolt destroyed the tree and its surrounding. The Siren was down, but not dead. Duke Wellington pulled out a sword and stabbed the Siren in the part that was injured by the fire. SCREECH. The Siren screamed as Duke Wellington stabbed it. The sword barely had the power to penetrate the skin. He was strong enough to pierce its skin and as he did, the Siren screamed upward. "Just one left!" he shouted. SCREECH. The Siren that Duke Wellington had just stabbed got back up. "No...," said Duke Wellington. It was bleeding out, but it was still fighting strong. SCREECH. "Ugh," cried Duke Wellington as he held his hands against his ears. The screech had gotten stronger. Despite that injury, the Siren was still breathing. It was stabbed in what should have been its heart, but it was not dead. It was extremely tough. The last Siren watched them from a distance. "What''s it doing?" asked Garnet. "I don''t know," said Duke Wellington. "But let''s focus on this one first." The Siren swung its arms. Each one came with a powerful wave of Wind magic that tore through the trees. "It''s some type of Wind blade!" shouted Garnet. The trees had slowed down the spell considerably and it even dispersed before reaching them. But, each time it casted the smell, more trees got knocked down. It was slowly increasing its attack angle so that it would have more opportunities to strike at them. One was fighting them up close, the other was attacking from a distance. They would have to keep an eye on both. Either Kiko had to finish her spell or they had to kill the other Siren. Fighting both at once was too dangerous. VWOOM. A powerful burst of air passed right in front of Duke Wellington. The Siren had already cut a path through the trees to them. "This is bad," said Garnet. "Just a little longer," said Kiko. Garnet could see the magic circle underneath her being traced out. It was very complex, almost like there were multiple layers to it. The Siren had slowed down and it could no longer move its wings properly. It was at least unable to fly. Even though it was bleeding out, it was still trying to fight them. SCREECH. It released its terrifying screech, but they were far enough to not be affected. The Siren stopped its screech. It was coughing up blood. With a sword in hand, Duke Wellington and Garnet both approached the Siren carefully. The Siren nearest to them had been severely injured. Now that blood was in its system, it could no longer used its screech. Duke Wellington charged forth. "Hyah!" He slashed downward. CLANG. It came up against the claw of the Siren and was pushed away. Despite its injuries, the Siren was still fighting strong. VWOOM. It was the sound of the attack. Garnet could hear it coming and grabbed Duke Wellington, pulling him back. A blade of wind passed through between the two of them and the Siren. "Thanks," said Duke Wellington. "Be careful," said Garnet. "They''re coordinating their attacks." "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet fired one at the Siren. The Siren struggled, but shook it off. It was much stronger than the first one. "No effect?" said Duke Wellington. "It seems so," said Garnet. "Fire Ball!" BOOM. The ball of fire collided with the Siren knocking it over. "At least that works," said Duke Wellington. VWOOM. The other Siren was slowly expanding its attack angle by clearing the trees. It would be extremely dangerous if they could not finish it off now. "Get away!" shouted Kiko. Garnet and Duke Wellington immediately ran back towards Kiko. Her spell was ready and they were in the line of fire. "Judgment Bolt!" It was Kiko''s spell. The one that she was preparing. It was finally ready. RUMBLE. The ground shook as the sound of thunder crackled through the sky. A powerful bolt of blue lightning amplified by several magic circles struck the Siren. BOOM. The target area exploded and released a powerful shockwave. The pressure from the air could be felt from their distance as dust flew outward away from the impact site. SCREECH. The Siren screamed in pain. Numerous smaller bolts of lightning scattered throughout the area and tore through the surrounding terrain as well. As the dust cleared, the only thing left was a small crater next to the body of the remaining Siren. "Did it work?" asked Kiko. "That better," said Duke Wellington. "That was an incredible amount of magic." Garnet, Kiko, and Duke Wellington made their way to the crater. Many of the trees were bent away from impact site. It was a frightening spell of incredible power. Kiko was exhausted. The spell had drained her mana considerably. As the three approached the crater, it was relatively small. It was underwhelming considering how the spell looked from a distance. "I thought there would be a hole the size of the spell itself," Garnet thought to herself. When she looked at it, she could step into the small crater created by the spell, but it more or less only caused superficial to the ground and the displaced dirt could just be shoveled back in. "I need to check on my men," said Duke Wellington as he ran off. "I''m just going to rest here a while," said Kiko. She sat down and laid back against a tree. The spell had taken an enormous toll on her body. "There was some kind of danger in using high level magic like that," thought Garnet. So far, she had only been using low level magic. "Is it because her body cannot handle the power?" thought Garnet. Someone like Zedd was clearly able to use high level spells. Even Garnet was able to use Teleportation without much trouble. But, high level magic might be too stressful for the body. It could be dangerous to use it continuously, especially if it could cause that much damage. If it was some type of forbidden magic that hurt the body, she could understand, but Kiko did not seem like the type of person that would do such a thing. It was always possible that Kiko''s body could not handle the magic power present in it. All of those were frightening things that she would have to be careful of in the future. SCREECH. Garnet heard the scream of a Siren in the distance. The last one was probably still alive and Duke Wellington finished it off. Quest Complete: Murder? The Three Siren have all been slain. Reward: Experience You have leveled up! You have leveled up! It was two whole levels worth of experience that she immediately poured into intelligence. High level magic consumed a huge amount of mana, mana that she did not have at the moment. But there was still one thing left for Garnet to do. The Hero System had guided her to the Sirens, meaning that they had a secret. Garnet looked at Duchess Kiko, who was asleep against the tree. With Duke Wellington off to check on his guards, she was the only one there, and no one would know. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet activated the spell that allowed her to take on some of the abilities and stats of her enemies. It was truly a terrifyingly powerful spell. It provided her with a few skills and numerous stats already. The Siren were the latest on the list. Garnet watched as the blood flowed into her body from three directions. It had even taken in the blood of the Siren that Garnet just killed. "What is the range on this thing?" she thought. At first, it only activated on nearby corpses, but somehow, it pulled in the Siren that was far away from her. Sure it was near the Duke, but that was still quite a bit of distance. Garnet felt the blood coursing through her body, revitalizing her vitality. It was a pleasurable experience as all her spent health and mana recovered. Not only did the spell let her take on abilities of enemies, it even healed her. Level Up: Blood Absorption (Level 5) Level Up: Blood Absorption (Level 6) New Skill: Blood Bind Use the blood within your target to immobilize their movement MP Cost: 50 Class Change: Temptress -> Temptress of the Night "That''s new," Garent thought to herself. BA BUM. Garnet felt something in her chest. It was a burning sensation. It spread outwards from hear heart to the rest of her body. Her entire body was hot, like it was on fire. Then, she felt a sharp pain in her legs. "UGH!" Garnet groaned. There was no one around. Kiko had exhausted herself and was asleep by the tree. Duke Wellington was in the distance. The pain in Garnet''s body spread to her arms. She held on as hard as she could in order to try to comfort them. It was sharp, like something was cutting through her skin. She felt something. Some type of liquid that was flowing from those points. She watched as the arms of the clothes she wore turned a shade of red. It was blood. "AH!" Garnet screamed. Garnet''s Stats Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 10 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress -> Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 810/810 MP: 2180/2180 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 11 (+7) Intelligence: 52 (+22) Vitality: 21 (+5) Agility: 20 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+10)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 2 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike - Wind Palm - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1) - Blood Absorption (Level 6) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress): - Enhanced Body (Level 2) - Captivation: (Level 2) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 2)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 5) - Cook - Inspection (Level 3) ¨C Farmer, Coroner - Inventory Expansion (Level 3)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 3) - Speed (Level 10) - Physical Resistance (Level 3)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive)
But they''re level 50+ (spoilers about Dukes) Spoiler : Nobles spend most of their time behind desks and with books if you have not noticed. They lack the same combat experience and special abilities that others develop, so despite their high levels, most of their skills are underwhelming and deal less damage than they appear. In addition, most of them use ornate/decorative equipment other than real items used for fighting.0 Book 2: Chapter 015 - Consequences Maybe last chapter this weekend (3 day weekend cause schools are closed today). I will try to get out one more by tonight, but that''s a long shot. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Garnet woke up, she was back at the manor. She recognized the bed and the ceiling of her room. She looked around. The only person in the room was Kiko. She was asleep. Even though Kiko was intimidating at first. She seemed to be more and more laid back the more time Garnet spent with her. "Wake up!" shouted Garnet. Kiko woke up and looked around. "You''re awake!" Kiko said. "I was worried." "How long was I out?" asked Garnet. Kiko was the last person Garnet expected to see, but it was clear that she was worried about Garnet. "I''m not sure," said Kiko. "When I awoke, I saw you lying there on the ground in a pool of the creatures'' blood. I immediately called Charles over and he loaded you on the carriage with everyone and drove you all back here." "How long was I asleep?" Garnet asked. "About a day," said Kiko. "My body still hurts all over," said Garnet. "You''re going to need to look in a mirror," said Kiko. "Why?" asked Garnet. "Something happened to your body, I don''t know what, but you look much younger" said Kiko. Garnet took a look at herself. She was in different clothes. She was no longer in the dress. She wore what resembled a light blue hospital gown that covered her entire body. When she got to her arms, she noticed something. There were black scales. "What''s this?" cried Garnet. "It''s on your legs as well," said Kiko. Garnet rolled up the sleeves of her gown and took a look at her arms. There were black scales there as well. They were almost like armbands. She noticed that her chest size had shrunk a little as well. "How did this happen?" Garnet asked. "Like I said, no one knows," Kiko explained. "When I found you, you were already like that." "Can you help me get the mirror?" Garnet asked pointing to the dresser next to Kiko. Kiko took it out and handed the hand mirror to Garnet. As Garnet looked in the mirror, her face was different. She looked much younger, as if she was still in her mid teens instead of in her twenties. One of her iris turned red and the sclera was black. "My guess is that the bodies of those creatures we fought exploded and their blood somehow merged with yours," said Kiko. "The Hero System?" Garnet thought to herself. The description of the Blood Absorption skill said that she could take on the abilities of some of the enemies that she absorbed. It had only been summons and stats so far, but this was vastly different. At the same time, this was possibly the only explanation as well. By absorbing the three Siren, she had taken on the characteristics of the Siren. "What about the everyone else?" Garnet asked. "Most of the guards only suffered minor injuries," said Kiko. "Only one died and one had severe injuries." "That''s good news," said Garnet. As she moved to get out of bed, she felt a sharp pain in her arms and could not help but wince. "Take it easy and rest," said Kiko. "I''ll go get someone." Kiko walked out of the room. Garnet examined the black scales on her arms. They were extremely sensitive yet also quite hard. They had pierced through from under her skin. If she wore long sleeved clothes, she could hide them. BANG. The door slammed open. "Mommy!" shouted Ruby. "You''re okay." "Sorry for worrying you again," said Garnet. "But I''m back as promised." "I was scared," said Ruby. "I don''t want to lose you again." Garnet could see that Kiko and Anna were standing by the door. She raised her hand and used it to brush Ruby''s hair in an attempt to comfort her. "I''m okay," said Garnet. "I just need to sleep for a while again." "Okay," said Ruby. This time she stayed, she did not leave. She was very worried since Garnet had been injured twice within a relatively short period of time. Ruby stayed until Garnet fell asleep again. When Garnet woke up again, Ruby was asleep on the bed. Anna was watching over them. Kiko was nowhere to be seen. The pain had largely subsided, but there was still an odd sensation. "How long?" Garnet asked. "A few hours," said Anna. "I''ll bring her to bed." "It''s alright, just leave her next to me," said Garnet. Anna carried Ruby and put her on the bed next to Garnet. Garnet put her arm around Ruby. Garnet was still unsure of what she should do as a mother. She only remembered a little of what her parents had done for her during her childhood, but that was not enough to go by. "Where''s Kiko?" Garnet asked. "Duchess Kiko had to return to her own manor for now," said Anna. "A Duke cannot leave their lands for too long because they still have to manage it." "How did Duke Wellington get away for so long then?" asked Garnet. "If they have capable people, they can usually leave for longer," said Anna. "Duke Wellington has a system in place even if he were to disappear, so he can actually leave for quite a long time if he wanted." "I need you to do something for me," said Garnet. "What is it?" Anna asked. Garnet searched through the pieces of paper on the desk. She remembered that she had designed a wheelchair. "Hand this to the Duke and tell him to build this for me," said Garnet. "Alright," said Anna. "Take care of her," she said as she looked at Ruby. "I will," said Garnet. "She''s mine after all." Garnet did not really tell Ruby much about herself. It had always been Ruby telling stories about what she had seen and what she had done. She had done little else for Ruby, but she wanted to do more. Leeroy and Anna were the ones who taught her. The other servants were the one who helped to feed and take of her. Garnet was unsure about her own role. But, Garnet knew that she could at least be there for Ruby when she wanted to speak. It was something Garnet did not have because of her own life. Without realizing it, Garnet had settled for being a housewife and it kind of made her feel a little happy just spending time with Ruby. Since she discovered her abilities, it had always been fighting, but this was a nice change of pace. Garnet had still felt sharp pain when walking around even though it was okay when she laid there. There was still occasional bleeding from her arms and her legs as the scales cut through the skin around her arms. She spent most of her time just scribbling things from Riley''s world onto paper, trying to figure out what could be used and what could not. A few days later, the wheelchair arrived. "Here it is," said Duke Wellington. "What is it anyways?" "It''s a wheelchair," said Garnet. "Help me get into it." Duke Wellington rolled the wheelchair next to Garnet and lifted Garnet into it. Garnet rolled herself around using the wheels to get a feeling of it. It took a lot more strength because the wheels were wooden ones that were not very well made, but it was okay. "Now I can at least get around on my own," said Garnet. "Do you think you can help me with something?" asked Duke Wellington. "What is it?" Garnet asked. "There have been soldiers that were injured during fighting," Duke Wellington explained. "Do you have any tools that can help them get around more easily? I know some sailors and pirates have those wooden legs, but those things are silly." "Push me to the table!" Garnet ordered. Duke Wellington grabbed the back of her seat and rolled her to the desk. Garnet took out some paper and started searching through them. Since she was stuck in bed, she had written down a bunch of things from Riley''s world, but some of them were not used due to the lack of materials or because it would be too harmful to the environment. Handing that much power to a less developed world would only cause trouble. Crutches, walkers, a design for wooden prosthetic legs, and most importantly, paved roads. "Don''t use the cheap wood and keep it dry," said Garnet. "Thank you," said Duke Wellington. "This will help out a few people a lot." The people had started listening to the Duke''s a lot more since the farm. It turned out that production would up nearly a hundredfold on Herion''s Farm in a year at the current rate. The numbers seem exaggerated at first, but when she thought about how poor the condition of the farm was when she first found it, it was plausible. The first harvest was already far superior to the old and Duke Wellington was working with Louis, Charlie, and Herion to spread it to other farms. As long as there were no severe winters... Then, it hit Garnet. Winter was always a problem for farmers, especially ones in the North. "Wait!" shouted Garnet. Garnet could hear loud footsteps of someone running up. "What''s wrong?!?" shouted Duke Wellington. He was scared. He thought something had happened again. After all, Garnet had given him multiple shocks in quite a short period of time. At this point, it was not a surprise anymore. "I just forgot to give you one more thing," said Garnet. "Build this for Herion in the Winter and tell him to plant his crops in it." "Plants don''t grow well in the Winter, so we usually skip it," said Duke Wellington. "This is what will help you grow some in the Winter," said Garnet. "It''s not as much as normal, but it is still something." Garnet sat there thinking. "Is something wrong?" Duke Wellington asked. "Just thinking what else I might have forgotten," said Garnet as she scrambled through the papers on the desk. "Oh and you can have the watermill changed so that it can help cut wood." With this, food production was secure in the North. Garnet could at least work to improve the North while. Once food was secure, the next step up was industrialization. But there was a huge problem with this. Industrialization was messy and poisoned the water if it was poorly done. This was something that had to be avoided. Disturbing the balance of power too much could also lead to numerous wars as people struggled for power. Steam power was something that would help immensely, but they needed to produce enough iron and steel for that first. As long as gunpowder and chemical manufacturing could be avoided, it would be enough. That was the next goal. Every day, Garnet tried to walk by herself, but the pain was always there. The changes from absorbing the Siren had a lasting effect on her body, and she had no idea what to do about it. She was hoping time would help, but it had not. Garnet realized, she had not looked at her skills since absorbing the Siren. She had no idea what changes the Siren had actually caused. The only thing she remembered was the Class Change into a Temptress of the Night before she passed out. Garnet opened her Menu and took a look at the Temptress Class. Next to it was an exclamation mark, which meant there was a change that she had not looked at. New Skill: Sonic Scream By stressing your vocal chords, you can create a high pitched tone that can stun, confuse, and even throw off the balance of your enemies. MP: 200 New Skill: Illusion You can disrupt the basic senses of near by enemies. MP: 100 per second New Skill: Alluring Song Your singing draws people towards you. Their basic senses are disrupted. More effective on males than females. MP Cost: 100 per second New Skill: Flight Wings sprout from your shoulders and gives you the ability to fly MP Cost: 50 per second New Skill: Night Vision (Passive) Allows the user to see more clearly in the dark, even if they were just in a bright area moments earlier. Skill Upgrade: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) New Skill: Transformation Reverts you to your normal form MP Cost: 0 New Skill: Transformation: Temptress of the Night You can change your form to one that enhances your existing abilities. The more mana and intelligence the user has, the greater the enhancement will be. MP Cost: 1% of maximum mana every 5 seconds New Skill: Physical Resistance -> Scale Armor (Level 1) Your body has a layer of scales that reduces incoming damage. Effect: Physical Damage Received -30%, Magical Damage Received -30% New Skill: Supernatural Beauty (Passive) The beauty of an individual that is beyond rational belief. Others can be dumbfounded and lose their rationality from simply looking. Effect: Charisma +10, Enemy Charisma -10, Immunity to enticement and enchantment New Skill: Aura of Fear (Passive) Intimidates all living things within a given area, lowering their stats significantly. Your summons are unaffected, but all other things living or undead are affected. New Skill: Lightning Fire (Passive) Allows for the combination of lightning, fire, and wind magic. It possesses the explosive power of fire magic, the inhibiting power of lightning, and is as malleable as the wind. Skill Upgrade: Captivation (Level 3) Skill Upgrade: Reflex (Level 5) Skill Upgrade: Drain Will -> Pleasure Inducement (Level 1) Through any form of touch, it is possible to create sexual arousal in the target. When the target achieves climax, they are vulnerable to suggestion. Warning, repeated uses on a single target can cause addiction. Skill Upgrade: Enhanced Body (Level 3) Great resistance to abnormal effects. Unaging. Enhanced healing. The last one took Garnet by surprise. Unaging. That would explain the change of her appearance, but to not age was the equivalent of semi-immortality. Absorbing the Siren had given her numerous abilities. It was possible that Garnet harmed herself unconsciously because she could not control the abilities. The other big surprise was Lightning Fire, but she had no spells that could actually be used like that. "Is it because I don''t have enough magic skill to learn any of the spells?" Garnet thought to herself. For now though, there was still one thing that she could do. "Transformation!" Garnet was trying to at least make the black scales on her arms and legs disappear. "UGH!" Garnet groaned in pain. Physical transformation was extremely painful as it warped the person''s body. It was not just an illusion that was maintained by magic. It was an actual change to the body, which was why it did not cost any mana. When the pain stopped, her the black spots on her arms and legs were gone. Garnet touched them and they were still a little sensitive. She could feel the scales still, but they were no longer piercing through her skin. It was a separate layer altogether now. The process was very draining and was something that should not be used very often. The only other spell she could try was Flight. Garnet got out of the wheelchair and stood on her feet. They were still a little sensitive, but not as painful anymore. "Flight!" Garnet activated the spell. RIP. It was the sound of something tearing as Garnet felt extra appendages on her shoulders. She had sprouted two large pairs of black bat like wings. "I''m not human," Garnet thought. It had hit her. The Class Change was from Temptress to Temptress of the Night, another name for a Succubus. She could flap the wings, but she did not want to try it indoors. The damage to her clothes could at least be explained by a fall while trying to move from the wheelchair to the bed and none would be the wiser for now. Garnet had definitely gotten new powers from the Siren, but she would also have to learn to control them. But, she would still need to heal first, so she got back to scribbling down various things that came to her mind. Despite her enhanced healing, she still felt other problems like dizziness, fatigue, and nausea that did not go away. As great as the Hero System and the abilities she could get from it were, it was not the ultimate solution to all of life''s problems. There were no major problems since the Siren were taken care of. The other farms had begun to adopt the technology that she had introduced. By the fall, the entire region''s production had gone up immensely. They now met the conditions necessary for the beginning the stages of industrialization. However, Garnet had other problems to deal with. Quest Complete: Rebuild the Outer City Wall Duke Wellington has completed construction of the East Wall Reward: Experience, Fame+0 You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! Four whole levels! It was the most Garnet had ever gotten at once. "The Duke kept his promise!" Garnet said to herself. It had taken a while, but it was finally done. The easy part was done. Convincing the other nobles to lower tariffs and taxes was still in the works. As Duke Wellington said, there''s not much he can do about it at the moment. The Duke would have to become King Charles before he could make serious changes to the policy. "Are you okay?" Anna asked as Garnet tried to walk around with a walker. "Yes," Garnet responded. After spending a few months in a wheelchair and recovering from the scales protruding through her skin for so long, her legs felt a little weak from disuse and she had difficulty walking normally. Surprisingly, Anna was the one who helped Garnet with her rehabilitation. Ruby would watch with Anna since she could not go outside alone. "You can do it!" she shouted. Garnet received words of encouragement from Ruby. Ruby had encouraged Duke Wellington as well. Garnet was able to walk on her own, but she just pretended she had difficulty. "Who are you anyways?" Garnet asked Anna. "I''m a maid in the service of Duke Wellington," said Anna. "You seem like something more," said Garnet. "That''s a secret," said Anna. "Are you the Duke''s childhood friend whom he had promised to marry before you found out he was a noble?" Garnet asked. "That''s ridiculous," said Anna. "I didn''t even see him for the first time until he was about twelve." "What did you use to do?" Garnet asked. "I took care of children," Anna explained. Garnet wanted to try to get as much information out of Anna as possible, but Anna was not telling her much. After a while of probing, Garnet gave up. Anna was not giving anything important away. She was hiding something. Garnet could not see her level for some reason and she was clearly someone who was very capable. Anna''s basic information even revealed that she was a Monk, meaning she knew how to fight. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Even though Garnet mostly recovered, she still felt some of the same problems. Dizziness, fatigue, and nausea. She was not hearing Riley''s voice in her head, so it was clearly not Riley regaining control of her body. After all, that personality seemed to have disappeared. "Too much stress?" Garnet thought. She had been working to help the Duke implement plans that she had developed from farming to the beginnings of industrialization. Only food and cloth production had been industrialized. Steel was in the works, but preparing the equipment took a long time. Garnet decided to leave the rest alone for now. Quest Update: Secure Charles Wellington''s Power Stop the assassins from killing the Duke. Reward: Royal Title It was a quest update. She had not received one since fighting the Siren. Someone was trying to kill the Duke. "Help!" Garnet shouted. Anna burst through the door. "What is it?" she asked. "Someone is trying to kill the Duke," said Garnet. Anna immediately ran outside faster than she had ever been. A bell was being rung as Garnet ran outside. When Garnet reached the courtyard, there was numerous guards being lined up in rows and columns. "I have received word that someone is targeting the Duke''s life!" shouted Anna. "See to it that it does not happen." The guards all immediately took their positions along the gates and at various positions throughout the manor. It seemed to be something that they regularly prepared for. "Go inside," said Anna. "You and Ruby need to stay safe." "Where''s the Duke?" Garnet asked. "In town with Ruby," said Anna. "Aren''t you supposed to stay with Ruby?" Garnet asked. "She went with the Duke and Leeroy, I was asked to stay here," said Anna. "Flight!" Garnet sprouted wings from her back and took off towards the nearby town. "You can fly too?!?" Anna was surprised. Garnet could see a group of guards mobilizing towards the town. In total, about a hundred guards had been deployed. Most were stationed around the manor, but a fairly large group of about twenty headed into town. From above, Garnet could see everything that was going on. She lowered herself to get a closer look at the people from the sky. Unless someone directly looked up, they would not be able to see her. In the distance, Garnet saw the Duke, he was wearing regular clothes, not his traditional red. He was with Leeroy, Ruby, and two other guards who were in street clothes. Garnet took a sweep around and saw nothing. She quickly dove towards them. BOOM. Garnet crash landed, she still needed to work on the landing. When Garnet got up, she saw the two guards and Leeroy draw their swords. "It''s alright," said Leeroy. "Put down your swords." "Someone is trying to-," Garnet was interrupted. BUMP. Something hit her in the back and she fell to the floor. "Mommy!" shouted Ruby. Leeroy saw the dart on Garnet''s back and immediately pulled it out. It was dripping with a colorless liquid. "Hurry get them out of here," he said. The other two guards dragged Duke Wellington and Ruby. Leeroy picked up Garnet and ran as well. Garnet looked around and saw two people walking away. Her vision was a little blurry. It was due to the effect of what she was hit with, some kind of poison. "Green cloak," said Garnet as she pointed into the distance. Leeroy looked and saw two men in green cloaks walking in the opposite direction. "I''ll be okay," said Garnet. Leeroy put Garnet down. "I''m sorry," he said as he ran towards the guards. "You probably thought I would die," said Garnet. Leeroy was already gone. Garnet was laying on the ground by herself. "That''s three times since I got here," thought Garnet. Her being incapacitated seemed to be a regular occurrence at this point. After a few minutes, Garnet picked herself up. "Are you alright?" asked a voice. Garnet turned to face the voice. It was Charlie. "Yes," said Garnet. "I need to go after them." "What happened?" Charlie asked. "Assassins," said Garnet. "They ran off to the South, Leeroy is already chasing them. Get the dart that was used on me!" "Yes sir!" said Charlie. Garnet took off flying once more. She scanned the area trying to see if she could see anything that resembled the assassins. However, there was no one wearing green cloaks. "It was a distraction!" Garnet realized that they wore something that stood out to draw their attention, but they had changed after they ran and hid. These were professional assassins and Garnet could not catch them. Quest Update: Secure Charles Wellington''s Power Speak with Charles Reward: Royal Title The assassins had gotten away, but they left some evidence. The green cloaks that they wore and the dart that was used on Garnet. They were collected and brought back to the manor for examination. Security was still heavy due to the assassination attempt. It was only stopped by sheer luck as Garnet had landed right in front of the Duke. The person that was the most suspicious of Garnet was Leeroy, who immediately confronted her when he returned. "You should be dead," said Leeroy. "That dart was coated in a very strong poison." "But I''m not," said Garnet. "That''s not possible," said Leeroy. "That poison should have instantly killed you." Garnet rolled up her sleeves. "Touch my arm," said Garnet pointing to the area just below her wrist. Leeroy put his hand on Garnet''s arm. He moved it up and down. "Scales?" said Leeroy with a surprised voice. "It happened when I fought the Siren," said Garnet. "I don''t know how, but it''s there now." "So it never made it into your body," said Leeroy. "Come with me," he ordered. Leeroy led Garnet to a room in the back of the manor. In the room was Duke Wellington and Anna. On the table were two green cloaks, some clothes, and the weapons used on Garnet. It was a hand crossbow that was designed to fire arrows and darts. "This is what was used on you," said Leeroy. They were assassination equipment. They were out to kill the Duke, but hit Garnet instead. "You''re okay," said Duke Wellington as he held Garnet. Garnet was still staring at the items in shock. It was her first time experiencing something like this. "Do you know who was trying to do this?" Garnet asked. "No," said Anna. "There''s no marks that give away who made these, but it is clear that it is someone with quite a lot of money since normal equipment bears markings of its maker." "There''s no unique markings on any of the equipment, but they''re of high quality," said Leeroy. "I suspect a noble. I think it is Duke Gray." "Isn''t it Baron Gray?" Garnet asked. He was the guy that tried to capture her at the market in Antium. "His older brother is Baron Gray," said Duke Wellington. "Is there something you want to tell me?" Garnet asked as she looked at Duke Wellington. "There has been a power struggle in Antium," said Duke Wellington. "The condition of the King has worsened and he is expected to die soon. I never thought that Duke Gray would try to assassinate his enemies." "Who is the other Duke?'' Garnet asked. "There should be four." "The Duke of the West is Duke Innes," said Duke Wellington. "He''s not concerned with struggles of power and cares more about protecting and developing his own territory. The only ones in serious competition are me and Gray." "Is Kiko going to be okay?" Garnet asked. "She''s a lot tougher than she looks," said Duke Wellington. "You kind of threw her off when she was here and her guards are much stronger than mine since all of them are not only skilled fighters, but magic users as well." "I also want you to see a doctor," said Leeroy pointing to Garnet. "But I''m okay," said Garnet. "The poison might be working slower on you for some reason, but this is just to be safe," said Leeroy. "Alright," said Garnet. She could tell she was not poisoned by her status. The dart had done no damage to her and she had no abnormal conditions. However, everyone else was concerned about her, so she agreed. "So what should we say?" Duke Wellington asked. "There was an attempt on the Duke''s life and we are investigating it," said Leeroy. "Until we find some proof, there''s little that we can do." "I''ll bring this over to Freud," said Duke Wellington. "How will that help?" Garnet asked. "People as well as objects carry memories," said Duke Wellington. "She should be able to find out where this was made and who was using it." What worried Garnet the most was that someone knew that Duke Wellington was increasing his power. Someone was possibly spying on them. They attacked at a time when the Duke was exposed. If Freud could do what Duke Wellington had said, then it would be resolved. However, Garnet would have to speed up her plans. If the King was going to die soon, then there was no more holding back, her plans would have to be pushed forward. The next day, a doctor arrived. He was a middle aged man with a beard wearing magician''s robes similar to Zedd''s. "This way," said Anna guiding him to Garnet who was sitting in the kitchen with Ruby. Name: Rito Level: 48 Class: Healer Sub-class: Doctor Stats: High Intelligence Ruby walked over to Anna was. Rito took out his equipment. He pulled out a stethoscope while checking Garnet''s pulse. He then took the stethoscope to check Garnet''s heartbeat. Rito''s face suddenly changed. "Hold still and don''t resist," he said. Garnet did her best to not move, but it was hard. Rito used his hand and magic to check. Garnet could feel the mana flow throughout her body. "Have you been feeling anything strange?" Rito asked. "I had a few days where I felt dizzy and nauseated," said Garnet. "Anything strange cravings for food?" Rito asked. "No," said Garnet. Anna had a strange smile on her face with her hands clasped together in front of her. She was happy about something, but Garnet did not know what. "The good news is there''s no poison in your blood," said Rito. "But I have some other questions." Garnet nodded, "Okay." "When did you last bleed?" Rito asked. Garnet tried to remember. Her last one was some time after she arrived at the Duke''s manor. "Maybe four months ago?" said Garnet. "But there was also periodic bleeding when I was injured, so I''m not sure." "You''re fine then," said Rito. "There''s no traces of poison. Is there anything else?" "No," said Garnet. "If there''s other problems, send someone again," said Rito. "But there should be no problems. Just rest." "Alright," said Anna. She had a big smile on her face. "Looks like you and the Duke have been pretty busy. For a moment there I thought he was going to announce that you were going to have a baby." Garnet waved Ruby over and lifted her to sit on her lap. "Can you tell me more stories?" Garnet asked. "Sure!" said Ruby. She was still going through her diaries. She had almost something for every day. Garnet just wanted something to get the news off her mind. Anything else to think of. She only recently found out that she had a child and now she was going to have another. "And that was when Leeroy taught me when and how to hit daddy!" asid Ruby. Ruby''s stories sometimes shocked Garnet as well. Even though Ruby was still very young, she was very observant and wrote down a lot of the things that she saw. Her father was the main subject and she managed to track all of the bad things that Duke Wellington had been doing, leading to some awkward moments between Garnet and the Duke. It also created a lot of rumors about the Duke since the servants all overheard these conversations. This would not last though. At the age of five, nearly all children of noble birth are sent to schools to learn how to be leaders. It would soon be Ruby''s turn and she only had a few months left. "Have you wrote anything about me?" Garnet asked. Ruby pulled Garnet to her room where she had another book labeled "Mommy." She opened it. The very first picture was from when Garnet arrived at the manor. It had stick figure drawings of everyone including Garnet. At the bottom included notes about what she thought: "Mommy is quiet and likes to listen to me talk." Anna stood quietly outside so the two could spend some time together. "At least it was something good," thought Garnet. Stories about "Daddy" were mostly negative and about all the bad things he was doing. The ones that stood out the most were the ones when Garnet was injured. There were signs of water damage and incomplete sentences. It was most likely because Ruby was crying and did not want to think about what would happen. Garnet held Ruby close to her. "I told you I''m not going anywhere," said Garnet. "You don''t have to worry about me leaving." "I know," said Ruby. "But your face is scary when you are hurt." Garnet was glad that she learned how to use the Summoning Circles for Teleportation because she could visit Ruby any time. All Garnet needed to do was put a magic circle somewhere near the school. "Did you ever write books like this?" asked Ruby. "I did not have money for the paper," said Garnet. "Is paper expensive?" asked Ruby. "No, but it is not always easy to find," said Garnet. "Where I was from, there was nowhere to buy paper. It was just lots of farms." Garnet''s current life was much different from her old one, where she was constantly on the job whether it be at a farm or at a brothel. Relaxing and writing was something that she did not have a lot of time to do. She was at least lucky enough to have learned how to do it. Ruby on the other hand was sheltered. She did not get many chances to leave the manor. She could only learn from others around the manor until she went to a formal school. When Ruby went outside, it was always under guard. "Is there anything you want to know about me?" Garnet asked Ruby. "Why did you disappear?" Ruby asked. It was something Garnet did not expect. "I had to leave because people wanted to hurt me," said Garnet. "If I did not leave, then they would have hurt you and daddy too." That was the best lie that Garnet could come up with. "Okay," said Ruby. "Mommy love us very much, but Mommy did what she had to." "Thank you for understanding," said Garnet. "Daddy says that all the time because he leaves for many days at a time," said Ruby. "He is staying longer now with us though." "Anything else you want to ask?" Garnet wanted to ease Ruby''s mind. "Can I sleep here with you tonight?" Ruby asked. "Sure," said Garnet. She knew that she did not have much time left to spend with Ruby. After all, Ruby would be leaving for school soon. She wanted to feel that she could at least be a good mother to Ruby. After all, Garnet had nothing to offer but talking and listening to Ruby. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 14 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress -> Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1010/1010 MP: 2780/2780 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 12 (+7) Intelligence: 73 (+22) Vitality: 21 (+5) Agility: 21 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 2 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike - Wind Palm - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 6) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Drain Will (Level 3) -> Pleasure Inducement (Level 1) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 5) - Cook - Inspection (Level 3) ¨C Farmer, Coroner - Inventory Expansion (Level 3)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Speed (Level 10) -> Haste (Level 1) - Physical Resistance (Level 3) -> Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Poll: Dialogue Should I ditch the things like said ______. whispered ______. ______ exclaimed. ______ shouted etc. in dialogue? Just wondering what the reader preference is. Most novels I read today seem to not have those things, so I was wondering if that was some kind of preference or if I''m just thinking about it too much. I mainly use it to remember and track who says what because when I read something like "The Rising of the Shield Hero," I get lost in their conversations. Book 2: Chapter 016 - Annas Teachings This chapter took a little longer because it required me to look beyond Arc 4 to plan this. I had to do a ton of rewriting (including scrapping two whole chapters worth of material). ---------------------------------------------------- Today was finally the day Ruby would have to leave. At the age of five, all children of noble birth are traditonally sent to schools to be educated so that they could rule their lands in the future. There were a few that did not follow this. For Garnet, this was something happy because it meant that Ruby was recognized as the child of Charles and Garnet. It also meant that she would be protected from the upcoming war between Duke Wellington and Duke Gray. At this point, it was inevitable. The equipment left behind by the assassins were made in the South under the orders of Baron Gray. The goal was to kill Duke Wellington and Ruby so that there would be no one who was willing to oppose them. "The moment that King Caligula passes away is the moment that the war will begin," said Duke Wellington. "Can''t it be avoided?" asked Garnet. "No," said Duke Wellington. "Duke Gray''s assassination attempts failed." "More than one?" asked Garnet. "They foolishly tried to kill Duke Innes and Duchess Kiko and made enemies of all of them," said Duke Wellington. "When the King dies, we will be in an alliance against Duke Gray." "That sounds too easy," said Garnet. "They wouldn''t be stupid enough to make everyone into an enemy." "I feel they will accuse us of being traitors and poisoning the King when King Caligula is killed," said Duke Wellington. "Can they even do that?" asked Garnet. "You forget, Baron Gray is in charge of security at Antium," Duke Wellington added. "It would be easy for him to poison the King. This whole situation might even be his fault as well." If Duke Gray wanted to be King, he had a way to poison the King. He could even kill the King and then falsely accuse the others of rebellion. It was the perfect trap. "But how would he be able to fight against all of the other Dukes?" asked Garnet. "I don''t know yet," said Duke Wellington. "But I think we still have some time. I''ve already put your plans into motion." "Which one?" asked Garnet. "The steam engine," said Duke Wellington. "With it, we will be able to manufacture at a large scale." Garnet had given him plans for a steam engine. It needed fine tuning, but the engineers were able to figure it out after a few tests once they understood the basic premise. The result was a five horsepower steam engine used to power looms and make clothes. However, it was still just a prototype model that easily broke down. It would need to be refined before they could put it into practical use. It was most likely not going to be ready any time soon. For now, the watermills were the primary source of production. There was a workaround to this, but it would amount of nearly human slavery and it was something that she wanted to avoid at all costs. "We''re ready," said Leeroy. Anna brought Ruby out who was wearing a red dress, their traditional color. Leeroy was going to stay with Ruby. It was his job to protect Ruby from others just in case though responsibility ultimately fell on the school for maintaining neutrality. Ruby wanted Anna to stay, but Anna was tasked to help Garnet once the child came. All students were allowed to bring one attendant with them. Duke Wellington, Garnet, Anna, and Ruby all rode in the carriage together while Leeroy and his team of guards followed from the outside. Garnet was asked to come along by Anna who insisted that Garnet go even though Garnet was already planning to. "Where are we going?" asked Ruby. "To Anzio in the North," said Duke Wellington. "Anzio?" Garnet and Ruby both had no idea what it was. "It is a very large city," said Anna. "It makes Antium look like a small village by comparison. It is also neutral ground ruled by a very powerful King and Queen." "Inside of Anzio is the Anzio Academy, founded over three hundred years ago," said Duke Wellington. "It is where all nobles in the region send their children to study nowadays. I was there myself." "I see," said Garnet. Garnet wanted to see what made Anzio so successful. If she could recreate the conditions in Antium, it would be saved. Tariffs were a big problem, but it was always possible that other things caused tariffs to be so high in the first place. As they headed north, Ruby kept moving back and forth in the carriage to look out the different windows. "What''s that?" she asked pointing outside. "That''s a water mill," said Anna. "Your mother taught us how to do it and now all our farms are much better." In under a year, the technology had already spread to other farms thanks to Duke Wellington''s sponsorship of it. He would subsidize the building, but they would pay the same amount of taxes this year and reduced taxes in the following years if their output increased. It encouraged many people to adopt it and there was a massive increase in overall food production, freeing up others to take on manufacturing jobs. It was the beginnings of industrialization, but further developments were a big leap that they were not ready for yet. After about a day of travel, they reached a rest stop. "We stop here," said Leeroy. It was very big for a rest stop and could be considered a hotel. "How far away is Anzio?" Garnet asked. "About a week," said Duke Wellington. "A week?!?" shouted Garnet. It was only supposed to be three days from Antium to the Duke''s place. It was a week from the Duke''s place to Anzio. "Don''t worry about it, there''s a lot of rest stops along the way," Duke Wellington added. "And once you get there, it will be a quick trip back." Garnet could use the Teleportation spell to bring them back of course. She had a habit of laying Teleportation Summoning Circles everywhere, even at the rest stop that they stayed at overnight. She knew that Zedd was taking advantage of them and even saw him once or twice, but he avoided the manor and Garnet. Zedd was not going to do anything until Garnet forgave him. Soon, she would need to call on him, but for now, she was intent on letting him stay the way he is. "Just one more week in a carriage," thought Garnet. That was a lot more than she could handle though. The next day, the journey continued. "Come with me," said Anna as she hopped out of the carriage onto the top of it. It was the first sign that Anna was not a normal maid. She was someone who was a very capable fighter. "Hey what are you doing?!?" shouted Leeroy. "Don''t worry," said Anna. Garnet followed Anna out onto the top of the carriage. "What are we doing up here?" asked Garnet. She was struggling to maintain her balance on the carriage. "Training," said Anna. From her ring, she pulled out who staves. It was a magical storage ring. "What are you anyways?" Garnet asked. "You''re not some normal maid." "I''m a monk," said Anna. "And I heard you wanted to use my weapon, so I decided to train you myself." The metal staff that Garnet had taken from the armory was Anna''s. Only now did she realize it. Garnet watched as Anna twirled the staff in front of her with her fingers before swinging it horizontally and readying it for a thrust attack. There was barely enough room on top of the carriage to avoid it. "Don''t worry, I won''t knock you off," said Anna as she took out a second staff and threw it to Garnet. "What do I do?" asked Garnet. "Follow my lead and mirror my movements," said Anna. She proceeded to hold the staff horizontally in front of her. One hand on the top half, one hand on the bottom half. "This is if you want to block a slash, but there''s many things you can do from this stance, but your disadvantage is the length of the staff." Anna proceeded to demonstrate. The first and fastest was transitioning to a swing attack from one of four possible directions. The staff was a very versatile weapon. Garnet proceeded to imitate the movements. New Skill: Swinging Smash A diagonal swing with the staff that partially ignores defense. MP Cost: 20 Garnet had learned a new skill without having to train her staff. "Was it because Anna was teaching her?" she thought. If there was a teacher, it would ignore the requirements, like when Zedd taught her how to use the Teleporatation Summoning Circle even though she was not a Space Time Mage or a Summoner. If someone teaches you the skill, it was possible to ignore requirements. "Thank you for the instruction Master," said Garnet. "We''re not anywhere near done yet," said Anna. "I''m going to teach you the full style before we arrive in Anzio." "What?!?" said Garnet. "Learning a full style in a week?" "You can do it," said Anna. "I''ve seen how fast you''ve gotten used to those wings of yours. So let''s continue." Anna demonstrated the thrust attack. "This is the most basic attack and is able to penetrate most defenses, especially if you infuse it with mana," Anna explained. It was the attack that Garnet had already learned on her own. The reason why it ignored defenses was because it was infused with mana, making it a magical attack and not a physical one. "Now do it all at once," Anna instructed. "Start with a high swing followed by a low swing with the opposite end." Garnet did exactly as instructed. New Skill: Double Strike A high attack followed by a low attack. If the low attack connects, it will knock down your target. MP Cost: 50 Staff attacks seemed to have more effects than just ignore defense. If Garnet had trained her sword more, chances were that her attacks would have different effects as well. But with this, it was clear that Anna was an expert, not some kind of amateur. It was also proof that the Hero System did a lot more than respond to the user''s desires. It allowed Garnet to learn extremely quickly. Garnet repeated the strikes as quickly as she could. Upward swing, a middle swing, a downward swing, followed by a thrust. New Skill: Triple Strike An upper attack followed by a middle and a lower. Effect: 150% of normal damage per strike MP Cost: 100 New Skill: Quadruple Strike An upper attack followed by a middle and lower followed by a finishing thrust attack to the body. Effect: 150% of normal damage for first three, 500% damage for the final strike MP Cost: 500 It was the first time that Garnet had seen a weapon skill cost so much mana. It was more than the cost to lay down a Summoning Circle and higher than the cost of many of her spells as well. "That last one felt like it was meant to kill," said Garnet. "It is," said Anna. "Even though the staff is not a sharp weapon, it is still capable of killing with blunt force trauma to the head or to the chest. It just isn''t as lethal because it is not sharp. However, internal injuries and bleeding are nothing to laugh at either." "Are there any uses of the staff that are not as predictable?" asked Garnet. "These attacks seem very straight forward. Anna flipped downward into the cart. "If it gets loud up there, don''t worry too much about it," she said. "I promise we will not break anything." She then flipped upwards again back on top of the moving carriage. It seemed like the movement did not even matter at all. "This is the next stance," said Anna as she held the staff like a two handed sword. "Isn''t this a sword stance?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Anna. "But this is also for smashing type attacks." Garnet watched as Anna used the staff for a vertical smash attack. BAM. It was the sound of a loud smash on the carriage. It was so strong that the staff that Anna was holding cracked a little at the top. Garnet followed. New Skill: Vertical Smash A powerful vertical smashing attack that breaks defenses. MP Cost: 100 "It is near impossible to guard against an attack like this," said Anna. "You can do it the same way, but horizontally as well." "I see," said Garnet. The Hero System had explained it to her. "Is there more?" asked Garnet. "Just stick to these for now and practice," said Anna. "If you want to do a little more, learn to twirl the staff in your fingers like so," Anna said as she swung the staff in circles towards and away from Garnet. "We will do more tomorrow." "There was still more," thought Garnet. There were a lot of skills tied to each weapon. The most she ever learned was three from the sword. In a single day though, Anna had taught her five more. It was far more effective than when she was learning it on her own. A teacher was very important and allowed Garnet to skip requirements, making it easy to learn powerful skills. Stat Increase: Agility +1 Stat Increase: Dexterity +1 Even so, practicing still gave Garnet some stat increases, which was nice. She was housebound for so long that she did not get a lot of chances to practice, but this was a huge opportunity since Anna was teaching her. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The next day, they trained on top of the carriage again. "This time, we combine hand to hand with our staff attacks," said Anna. "How?" asked Garnet. The staff was fairly big, making it difficult to wield like a sword. "That''s cause you''re thinking of it as a sword," said Anna. Garnet watched as Anna tucked the staff under her elbow, allowing her to still use a basic swing or stab the staff with one hand and kept her other hand free. In addition, she was able to use her feet for kicks and sweeping attacks. It was not as effective or free to use as a sword, but still decent. Garnet repeated and followed the movements. New Skill: Sweeping Kick Has a high chance to knock your opponent down with a very low attack MP Cost: 20 New Skill: Horizontal Kick A straight kick meant to knock your opponent back. Low chance for a knock down. MP Cost: 20 Garnet most likely was not going to use the some of these skills, but knowing that they existed gave her an idea. There was a chance that many of these skills could be combined with magic and there was overlap between different weapons as well. The sweeping kick looked like it would do well with fire or wind elemental, but she did not want to try it while on the carriage. There was no way to tell what would happen. Stat Increase: Agility +5 Stat Increase: Dexterity +5 The hand to hand skills could also be used with the sword or alone as well. A good fighting style needed versatility. "Thank you Riley," Garnet thought to herself. This was all knowledge that she would not have had without Riley to provide it. Riley''s knowledge had continued to support Garnet even though the original Riley personality was gone. Garnet was not any closer to bringing Riley back. The Hero System showed that it was possible, but to actually do it was another matter altogether. There was no reference to spirit transmutation. Despite all of the moves Anna was teaching Garnet, it was basically limited to those two kicks. Everything else was just a variation of it. In terms of hand to hand, the staff was limited. However, it would still serve its primary purpose for Garnet, to have a way to fight people without killing them. "Do you know anything about swords?" Garnet asked. "Do you want to learn that too?" asked Anna. "Yes," said Garnet. "Then we can do that some other time," said Anna. "It''s best to focus on one at a time." "Alright," said Garnet. Anna had become her Master, one that was very capable. Garnet noticed something though. Anna''s hand to hand techniques were very familiar, it even resembled the fighting style used by Duke Wellington. "Did you teach the Duke too?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Anna. "I taught him and Leeroy as well." Anna was their instructor. That was her real job. Helping to protect Ruby was just something that she did on the side. She was clearly very capable and trained in multiple weapons. "Why do you dress like that?" Garnet asked. "Looks can be deceiving," said Anna. "It is best to take every advantage you can get. When I''m like this, they think I''m just an ordinary maid under the service of the Duke." "So what are you really like?" asked Garnet. "That''s a secret," said Anna. "But I can tell you that I''m much older than I look. Just like how you got younger after fighting those Siren, I too have a way of keeping myself young." That was another mystery for Garnet. Anna had some knowledge of mana and magic. In addition, she was ridiculously strong and respected by the members of the Duke''s staff. They answered her call to arms without question. "Can you at least tell me what you meant by the secret you said the other time?" asked Garnet. "You can''t feel it yet?" asked Anna. "That''s strange." "Feel what?" asked Garnet. Anna pointed to Garnet''s stomach. Garnet reached down there and touched it. There was nothing. "I don''t feel anything," said Garnet. "You''re pregnant!" shouted Anna. "What what what?!?" shouted Duke Wellington as he pushed his head out the window to see what was going on up there. THUMP. Garnet collapsed onto her knees on top of the carriage. The shock was too much for her. Anna caught on to Garnet so she did not fall off the carriage. "And she''s down," said Anna. When Garnet finally realized what had happened, the Duke was sitting next to her with his hand on her stomach. He was trying to feel something. "I keep telling you it''s too early," said Anna. "You''re not gonna feel it that easily." "How did you know?" Garnet asked. "When did you know?" "I felt it from your aura," said Anna. "You suddenly gave off a stronger one, that meant that there was something else inside of you with life so unless you were trying to sneak in a cat or something, there was only one possibility left." Duke Wellington had a big smile on his face and he was trying to still act dignified, but he could not keep it up. He held Garnet and started hugging her. "Finally!" he cried. "After five years I will have a legitimate heir!" "Congratulations," said Anna. "You''re going to have a brother or sister!" Duke Wellington said to Ruby. Ruby had no idea what it was, but she was happy with him and just followed the mood. Garnet still could not believe it and wanted to stop thinking about it. "Can we change the subject please?" Garnet asked. "But I think this is the only time I get to pick on you without you fighting back," said Anna. "Don''t worry though, I''ll help you." "Thanks," said Garnet. "Is this why you did not want to fight me on top of the carriage?" "Of course not," said Anna. "I''m an expert and I''m teaching a beginner. It is best to just let you practice the motions until you get used to it and we''re going to continue tomorrow as well." The next day, the Duke was still giddy about the announcement. He had trouble keeping it together. Garnet was able to keep herself distracted by training with Anna though. "Are you okay?" Anna asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "It was a scare, but I''m okay." They waited a day before continuing. After all, Garnet''s mindset would have changed after news like that and if she was distracted, the training would be pointless. "Then we continue today," said Anna as she handed Garnet a new staff. Anna twisted the left and right sides of the staff and it split into three sections, each one connected by a chain. "The staff you took has this too." "What is it?" asked Garnet. "This is called a three section staff," said Anna. "It is much more versatile though you are slower to recover. Garnet watched as Anna swung the staff around. The focus was on controlling the middle section and letting the other ends swing freely. However, It was possible to also hold onto one end and utilize it as a whip. Using both hands, it was also possible to use the far ends of the staff as two smaller short staffs. "The techniques are pretty much the same as the regular staff," said Anna. "The only difference is that it is flexible, allowing you to circle behind objects." Garnet tried swinging it around. Immediately, she found it much harder to control. The staff would continue to move even after Garnet stopped. "Start slowly," said Anna. Garnet tried to swing it around herself. BAM. She hit herself in the face. "Haha," Anna could not help but laugh at it. "Don''t worry it''s a very common mistake," said Anna. "Any special tricks?" asked Garnet. "Stop moving a split second early," said Anna. "Remember that the part of the staff that you are not touching will move on its own unless when it is the middle section." Garnet kept those words to heart and continued to swing the three section staff around. She practiced all the moves in order. "Now mirror my movements," said Anna. Anna went in order through all the moves and Garnet matched it, they parried each others'' attacks. "What''s the purpose of this?" asked Garnet. "It is to get you used to the movement in actual combat," said Anna. "Remember the feeling of it being blocked and remember the transition." It was what a lot of martial artists did in Riley''s old world. Two people would train their movements with each other and simply match the incoming attack. They would speed up over time and it would resemble a dance. Because the movements become embedded in their memory, they are able to do it much faster when they actually fight. "I see," said Garnet. "That''s why people train like this." The two continued like this for most of the remainder of the trip. At the end, Anna said she had one more lesson. "This is your final lesson," said Anna. "Watch closely." Garnet watched as Anna positioned herself for a sweeping kick. WOOSH. The kicked ignited a burst of blue flames that scattered outward. Anna had combined magic with hand to hand. Anna then swung the staff and blue flames scattered outward from it as well. "This is what ultimately makes the staff deadly," said Anna. "It is one of the styles that combines magic and melee without the need for a high quality weapon." Anna demonstrated the same moves with wind magic. It extended the reach and would also throw enemies off balance. Because wind could not be seen, it was much harder to avoid and highly deceptive. Garnet realized the difference between a powerful mage and a top tier warrior was not that big. The difference was how they chose to use it. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 14 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1010/1010 MP: 2780/2780 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 18 (+7) Intelligence: 73 (+22) Vitality: 21 (+5) Agility: 27 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 2 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 6) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 1) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 5) - Cook - Inspection (Level 3) ¨C Farmer, Coroner - Inventory Expansion (Level 3)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 2: Chapter 017 - Anzio The next chapter will most likely close out this arc and begin the Civil War arc with a time skip of about 2 years. Everyone is basically waiting for King Caligula to die before they make their move and I don''t want to draw it out though I probably could, with some supplementary chapters after. This is mainly a look around a much more successful city that isn''t a crapsack city to show that the world doesn''t suck. It''s just Antium that sucks. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anzio was a much larger city than Antium. The center of the city was a castle the size of Antium itself. From there, it sprawled outwards in every direction. Walls divided sections of the cities. A large river ran through the city and turned into a river delta where they built numerous farms to take advantage of natural irrigation. At the outskirts of the city was the marketplace. Numerous merchants from throughout the region sold their wares there. The city of Antium felt like it was a small outpost compared to the size of Antium. The first thing Garnet did was lay a Teleportation Summoning Circle just before they entered the farming area. It was best to not lay them too close to town. Someone could find them and another mage could probably remove them. "How did this city get so big?" Ruby asked. "Their King pays people to do certain jobs," explained Duke Wellington. "These people handle everything in the city." It was government bureaucracy or government investment. Officials were probably tasked with certain jobs to complete. If done poorly, it results in corruption like what happened in Antium. "Why isn''t there corruption like there is in Antium?" Garnet asked. "That''s because only people who pass the test can work in the government," said Duke Wellington. "A noble title is meaningless other than for free travel." "What about Anzio Academy?" Garnet asked. "Anyone can get in if they pay the fee or pass a special test," said Duke Wellington. "Most nobles just pay the fee." Along the way, they passed by a big building that was not marked with any labels. "What''s that?" asked Ruby. "That''s the Guild building," said Leeroy. "I used to work there, but they basically put up official requests and people can accept them. If they can do it, they get paid." It was government sponsorship of quests. The city of Anzio used government sponsorship in order to address its problems. It gave former soldiers or travelers something to do to make money. If Garnet was going to travel, she would need to work in places like that. However, a city needs to be fairly well off and wealthy in order to do something like that. "Do Guild buildings exist in all large cities?" Garnet asked. "Most," said Leeroy. "The cities have a lot of problems and people just submit requests along with how much they want to pay. As long as people do that, something like a Guild building will exist." "Where are we going?" asked Ruby. "There," said Leeroy pointing to a large building off in the distance. It was North of the castle. It was visible from the distance. A large grey building that sprawled outwards. As they headed to Anzio Academy, there were numerous guards spread throughout the city. Name: Calvin Level: 20 Class: Knight / Baron Sub-class: None Stats: High Vitality Name: Sarah Level: 20 Class: Knight Sub-class: Knight Stats: High Strength The few that Garnet looked at were much stronger than the ones in Antium as well. It seemed like all people employed by the government was based on a meritocracy rather than connections. "They employ women as well," said Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "It is rare as women are usually relegated to house duties, but they are based entirely on individual performance. Even if you are the son of a Duke, you have to show you can do it." "But most women are expected to marry before the age of 25," Anna added. "If not, they pressure you to sign up for arranged marriages." "How do they afford all this?" Garnet asked. "An income tax on everyone who lives or works in the area determined by the city," said Duke Wellington. It would generate a lot of gold. In Riley''s world, every government did that to varying levels of success. In some places, it led to massive corruption. However, the government could certainly raise enough money to afford everything. They passed through several more walls before they entered Anzio Academy. The school itself occupied the entire Northeast corner of the walls within the city. "All of this is the school?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Leeroy. "The government pays for part of this too." A government that invests in its people. However, people needed to either pass a test or pay up to afford to go to this school. This was where Ruby was going to be staying for a while. The wealthy nobles could afford to send their children to school, which gave them an advantage, but if someone poor saved their money, they could earn themselves an important government job and change their family''s conditions for the better. "How long does someone attend this school?" asked Garnet. "Long enough to pass the civil service examination," said Leeroy. "If you can do it in two years, you stay for two years." "What is their success rate?" asked Garnet. "I would say about 80% after ten years," said Duke Wellington. "Most people make it, but many return to their homes to inherit the land of their parents to manage. Only a few stay with the city and work as bureaucrats for the city." In other words, they train people and get first dibs on them as well if the city wants them. They headed into the administration building. Although the outside looked great, the inside was different. It was in much poorer condition. It was mostly for appearances and the school did not go crazy on decorating. If it was in Antium, someone probably would have lined the inside of the building with marble or something crazy. Duke Wellington showed his card and took out a bag filled with gold coins. It was the enrollment fee for Ruby. "Be good now and listen to Leeroy," said Garnet. "Okay," said Ruby. "Please come visit often." "I''ll try," said Garnet. "I know I haven''t been around long, but I will not disappear." "I know," said Ruby. "You promised." Garnet raised out her pinky and Ruby did hers as well. It was the pinky swear that Garnet had taught her. "I''ll miss you," said Garnet as she hugged Ruby. She did know what else to do. "Are you ready?" asked Duke Wellington. "Yes," said Ruby. "If anything happens, tell Leeroy or one of the teachers at the school," said Duke Wellington. "Okay," said Ruby. For a child, she was obedient. Most children would be crying, but Leeroy was staying with her and she was used to not having a mother around and her father being away on business, so it was nothing new. Leeroy took Ruby away to the residential building and they were gone. Garnet felt something empty, as if part of her disappeared, but she knew that she could at least visit often and fairly easily. It would be a priority for her. "So what now?" asked Garnet. "What did you think of the city?" asked Duke Wellington. "It was very different," said Garnet. "It would be great if Antium could turn out like this." "That''s my plan," said Duke Wellington. "But it will not be easy." "So why did you want me to come so badly?" asked Garnet. "I''m going to negotiate with the King to establish trade," said Duke Wellington. "And I just wanted you to see the city." "Can I come?" asked Garnet. "Nope," said Duke Wellington. "They won''t even allow any of my guards to come with me and Anna brought you to go shopping." "Alright," said Garnet. "We''re going to get you some clothes," said Anna. "Clothes?" asked Garnet. "Why clothes?" "They have highly skilled tailors here that can make magic clothes," explained Anna. "You don''t want to be tearing your clothes every time you fly do you?" "No," said Garnet. Anna and Garnet headed through the city to reach the artisan district. This was where most of the stores were. Each of the stores specialized in different things. There were blacksmiths who made everything from kitchen tools to armor. The one they stopped in front of it had a sign with yarn hanging from it. It was probably the picture for a tailor. The outside featured some clothes that were made by the tailor. Inside of the store, there were numerous different fabrics on display along with pictures of different design. The man who ran the store was fairly old. He had a white beard and dressed entirely in black and white, something that resembled a suit, but was not quite one. Name: Peter Level: 50 Class: Clothier Sub-class: Designer / Patternmaker / Enchanter / Alternationist / Dressmaker / Cutter / Stylist / Runesmith / Embroiderer He had a ridiculous number of sub-classes that all supplemented his main class. It was the first time Garnet saw someone like him, but it was proof that he was good at what he did. "I''m here for eight custom orders," said Anna. "Full outfits that include shoes and clothes." "Eight?!?" shouted Peter. He immediately got up in surprise. "Yes," said Anna. "Seven for her," she said pointing at Garnet. "And one for me." "I''ll need to take your measurements and then you choose your fabrics and custom orders," said Peter. "Only then will I be able to tell you the price." "That''s fine," said Anna. Peter went to the back and took out measuring tape. He worked with Anna first. She was 172 cm tall. He then proceeded to take the other measurements. Bust, waist, and hip before finishing. "Okay, go choose the fabrics or designs that you want," he said. "Your turn," he said as he turned to Garnet. It was Garnet''s turn now. She never really bothered to check in the past. She was almost 160 cm just under. 82 cm, 70 cm, 94 cm. "Okay, you can go choose the fabrics you want," he said. Garnet went to join Anna. "Anything you like?" asked Anna. "I''m not sure," asked Garnet. "These all seem very expensive." "It is," said Anna. "But with what you''ve done, you''ve more than earned it." Garnet could not decide. She chose one that was a mix of blue and black. "This one looks good," said Garnet. "One down, six to go." "Just pick a total of four," said Anna. "The rest is for your maternity clothes." "Alright," said Garnet. She picked another one that was red and white. One that was green and purple, and the last one was pink and teal. "Good choices," said Anna. Garnet looked at what Anna had picked out, it was several plain ones. Red, blue, and green. The last one Anna was holding for herself was red and gold. "Any specific requests?" asked Peter. Anna handed the four that she was holding for Garnet over first. "Make maternity style clothes for her," said Anna handing over the first four. "Red and gold aoqun for me." "And you?" asked Peter. "Just anything is fine," said Garnet. "No that''s not okay," said Anna. "Let me pick for you." Anna immediately turned to four of the pictures that were drawn and chose four. "Make these." "Why?" asked Garnet. "These are special," said Anna. "Make them count." "Any other custom features?" asked Peter. "Add support for runes, gems, shapeshifting, and regeneration to all of them," said Anna. Peter''s mouth dropped. "You do know that is expensive right?" he said. "How much is it for all the extras on everything?" asked Anna. Peter was using his fingers to count. "That amounts to 560 gold coins," he said. "Alright," said Anna. She took out several big bags of gold coins from her ring. It held much more than just weapons. Garnet and Peter both could not believe what they were seeing. They watched as Anna counted in tens and handed the gold coins over to Peter. Garnet already thought that one gold coin was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a single thing. Five hundred sixty gold coins on clothes alone were insane. Anna could live like nobility for the rest of her life is she wanted with that kind of money. "Thank you for your patronage," said Peter. "If you ever need anything made, please come find me." "Will do," said Anna as she continued counting. Peter was trying to earn Anna''s favor to get her to come and spend more. After all, she had just dropped a fortune on clothes alone. "Can I take a needle and some yarn with me as well?" asked Garnet. "Go ahead," said Peter. "Learning to make baby clothes already?" asked Anna. "Yes," said Garnet. She took some yarn and sewing needles from Peter who was more than happy to give it to them. "It will take a few days," said Peter. "So come back in about five days." "Good, that gives us time to train," said Anna as she pushed the last of the gold coins over to Peter. "Do we have that much time?" asked Garnet. "What about the Duke?" "The Duke should be busy for about a week," said Anna. "We''re going to sign you up at the Guild." The Guild, a place that offered state sponsored and state backed quests for people to complete. Apparently, you needed some kind of membership to join. The two left Peter and headed to the Guild. The building was big inside as well. It consisted of a main lobby where there were five receptionists. Upstairs were the main offices and there was much more that they could not see. There were even people who sat at the tables on the side. Some of them were eyeing Garnet and Anna. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Don''t worry about them," said Anna. "You have to be a fairly good person to keep working with Guilds." "Do they have rules to follow?" asked Garnet. "Would you work with a murderer or rapist?" asked Anna. "No," said Garnet. "The same applies to others here," said Anna. "If you ever need people to help, you can trust anyone who has been working with the Guild for a while. Just check their ranks to see how strong they are." "So how does this work?" asked Garnet. "You fill out an application and then take a small test," said Anna. "It''s fairly simple." The two walked to the receptionist. "What are you here for today?" he asked. "One new membership for her," said Anna pointing to Garnet. "I already have one," said Anna. She took out a card. The top read Guild Card. It had a description of what Anna looked like and a picture of her on it. It even had a rank. Garnet''s read Three Star Diamond. "Fill this out," said the receptionist. It was basic information. Name, age, gender, physical description and emergency contact. Garnet filled it out and Anna took a look at it before handing it to the receptionist. "Go through the door in the back to the test area," said the receptionist. The group went around the main desk towards the back. It led to a sealed room where there was someone watching. "He''s the examiner," said Anna. "When he calls your name, just show off anything that shows your strength." "Alright," said Garnet. Garnet watched as the man went through a list of papers. He called several others. They could show skill with sword or magic or some special talent. "Any recommendations?" asked Garnet. "Fly into the sky and shoot things down," said Anna. "That''s probably the most impressive." "Can you help me cut some holes?" asked Garnet. Anna used her hands to tear two openings in the back near Garnet''s shoulder blades. "Thank you." When the man finally called Garnet, only one other person had passed. The rest all failed. "Alright, show me what you can do," said the examiner. "Flight!" Garnet flew up into the sky. "Fire Bolt! Lightning Bolt!" Garnet casted both spells onto empty spots on the ground before diving to the ground. "Air Palm!" she softened her landing and pushed everything away. "Pass," said the examiner. It was like he was unphased by it. "That was easy," said Garnet. "It''s not as easy as you think," said the examiner. "Most people think they can do it and end up getting themselves killed." "I''ll be careful then," said Garnet. The examiner made a slight smile on his face after hearing that. "Just wait at the front desk," he said. At the front, Garnet went back up to the receptionist and received a Guild Card. It had the physical description that she put on the form, but there was no picture of her. "Where''s my picture?" Garnet asked. "Look into the blank spot," said the receptionist. Garnet stared at it and watched as the man touched it. There was a bright light and her face now appeared on the card. "There," he said. "Thank you," said Garnet. As she walked away, she looked closely and saw her rank: One Star. "Now we can get you your first job," said Anna. She brought Garnet over to a huge wall. There was even a crank on the side to move the whole thing up and down. It was more like a wheel than a wall. Every panel on it read "Requests." "Pick one that has no ranking requirement," said Anna. Garnet flipped through them and saw one she recognized. "Request: Wild Boar Meat." Hunting Wild Boars was one of the first things that she did. The reward was 15 silver. She still even had some stored in her Inventory, but she did not use it. The Inventory system even froze the item''s condition. "This one," said Garnet. "Ah that''s an easy one," said Anna. "How much is it asking for?" "Five kilos," said Garnet. "Why don''t they just go to the market to buy it?" "That''s because the markets may not always have these things available," said Anna. "Wild Boar Meat is often not hunted because the meat is too strong for people, but it sure is delicious in a barbecue." "So do we just go?" asked Garnet. "Take the paper to the receptionist and show your card," said Anna. "It means you took the job, but if you do not report back in a certain number of days, they will assume you failed." "I see," said Garnet. She showed her card to a receptionist at the desk with the paper. The receptionist looked at Garnet and the card to make sure it was not fake before writing something on the paper and handing back her card. "You''re all set," said the receptionist. "So what now?" asked Garnet. "Take this," said Anna as she handed Garnet two rings. "What are these?" Garnet asked. "Low quality storage rings," said Anna. "You can''t expect to hold everything with your hands." Anna did not know about Garnet''s ability, but this also gave Garnet a work around for if she was around others. "How does it work?" asked Garnet. "Just apply some mana to it and think about what you want to put in or take out," saiid Anna. Garnet tried it with a single silver coin. It went in and came out as she thought about it. "Can you check what is inside?" asked Garnet. "Push the top jewel of the ring with mana," said Anna. Garnet did so and saw a small empty room. It was the inside of the ring. "I see it," said Garnet. With two, she could hold quite a lot of stuff. However, it was nothing like her Inventory where she could seem to randomly group items into a single slot as well. "Now off we go!" said Anna as she pulled Garnet along. "Right now?" asked Garnet. "Why not?" said Anna. "It''s not like we have anything else to do." Anna brought Garnet with her all the way outside of town and south past the farms. They then headed away from the main roads and into the plains and hills. It was there that Garnet saw a familiar sight. Wild Boars. Name: Wild Boar Level: 6 Class: Beast Sub-class: None Stat: High Vitality They were exactly the same as the ones around Antium, but a little stronger. "So just go and kill one and we can harvest its meat," said Anna. "Don''t blow it up." Garnet took out the short sword she kept strapped to her leg. She would have to kill it fast and start cutting it so that Anna does not find out about her power, but that was easy since there was a long enough delay. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet used her old strategy of stunning it before killing it. She immediately followed it up with a thrust attack and stabbed it right in the head. "Nice job," said Anna. "It''s like you''ve done this before." Garnet immediately started cutting the meat from the Wild Boar. It would be easy enough to harvest five kilos from a corpse. "Correction, you''ve definitely done this before," said Anna as she watched Garnet do it. "This was how I made a living back in Antium," said Garnet. "That would make sense," said Anna. "You could avoid the taxes and tariffs that way." Garnet quickly collected what she could before she turned around. "Alright we''re done here, let''s head back." Level Up: Hunting (Level 4) "What''s the rush?" asked Anna. "We can get some for dinner here as well." The body of the Wild Boar disappeared and another one appeared in its place. "What just happened?" asked Anna. "Ehh... magic?" said Garnet. "I don''t understand it myself." She wanted to lie as much as she could about it. "Every time I kill a wild animal, it tends to reappear after a while." "So much money could be made like this!" said Anna. "We''re going to have a feast tonight," she said as she grabbed Garnet and pushed her towards the boar. "More!" Garnet repeated the process and killed a few more. Total harvest, more than 50 kilos for themselves. "Are we done yet?" asked Garnet. Level Up: Hunting (Level 5) "Yes," said Anna. "I need to bring you hunting more often." The two returned to the Guild to turn in the meat and collect their reward. Fifteen silver was not bad. It was more than a day of work back in Antium. There were four requests out of the hundreds that requested Wild Boar Meat, so Garnet was able to cash it in four times for a total of sixty silver coins. "Can we go rest somewhere now?" asked Garnet. "We''re not done, you have to cook!" said Anna. "I''m going to teach you every thing you need to take care of your new child while were here." "What?!?" shouted Garnet. "Everything?!?" "Yes," said Anna. "I was the one who did most of it for Ruby, so I''m going to teach you cooking, sewing, laundry, diaper changing, and other basic skills!" Anna spent the next few days teaching Garnet to sew and cook. Garnet learned to make baby sized clothes and how to cook with seasonings. New Class: Tailor New Skill: Sewing (Level 1) Allows you to make new clothes. Level Up: Inspection (Level 4) Level Up: Inventory Expansion (Level 4) Before long, their time in Anzio was up, but Garnet knew that if she was going to be traveling in the future, Anzio is probably the place where she will have to start. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 14 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1010/1010 MP: 2780/2780 Fame: 20 Strength: 20 (+5) Dexterity: 18 (+7) Intelligence: 73 (+22) Vitality: 21 (+5) Agility: 27 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 2 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Strike (Level 2) - Mana Shield (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 6) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 1) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 5) - Cook - Inspection (Level 4) - Sewing (Level 1) - Tailor - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Spoiler : Yes, I put Leeroy and Ruby on the bus Book 2: Chapter 018 - Garnets Duties (Mini Arc 2 - End) Last chapter of Arc 2. It''s mainly preparing Garnet for Arc 3 where she is going to try to sabotage Duke Gray from inside Antium while the other nobles are preparing for war. The plan is for 8 chapters. The actual war is probably going to be very short. -------------------------------------------------------- When Duke Wellington finished speaking with the King, they finally returned to the Duke''s manor. In all, they were gone for about a month. Ruby was okay being left with Leeroy. Anna had chosen several different types of clothes for Garnet. A mage''s robe, an ao dai, a cheongsam and one fairly normal looking set of cloth armor in comparison. It was black, blue, and red. None of it was regular every day clothes. Even Anna got herself something Asian themed. She seemed to be fascinated and used the opportunity to play dress up with Garnet. "Did you really have to?" asked Garnet. "Why not?" asked Anna. "It''s hard to find them around here, but he was the only one makes them. Besides, you''re going to need them." "For what?" asked Garnet. "For when you want to annoy Duchess Kiko," said Anna. "Is that really a priority?" asked Garnet. "I would have preferred something normal." Anna picked up the mage''s robe, ao dai, and cheongsam. "These three are all fine," said Anna. Garnet could no longer deny it though. Her belly was starting to show a bump and she had to wear the new clothes Anna had gotten. Garnet had no idea why such fancy maternity clothes would be needed. Then again, Anna started to prioritize her safety. From there, everyone started treating her like she was sick again and refused to let her stay out for too long. "I hate this," said Garnet. "Just bear with it for a few more months," said Anna. "At least you get to spend time with me." "I can''t even go see Ruby because they won''t let me outside the front door," said Garnet. "We don''t know how Teleportation magic will affect you so you are staying in here," said Anna. "Besides you have much more to learn still." Garnet spent a lot of time learning from Anna how to take care of a baby. After all, Anna was the one who had raised Ruby. The biggest problem for Garnet was that not every problem could be solved by the Hero System. There was no class to help her learn the skills that she needed. To Garnet, it was better than having to do it all by herself at least. "When will Charles be back?" asked Garnet. "Not sure," said Anna. "He was still working on something in Antium." Duke Wellington was trying to bridge trade between the Dukes of Antium and Anzio. However, the other Dukes did not benefit from it as only the North had started using machines in their farming. The rest were still doing fairly poorly. As a result, he was gaining power at the cost of the others. Duke Gray did not like it, but he could not take another action since Duke Wellington knew that Duke Gray had tried to assassinate the other Dukes but failed miserably due to attempting to kill them all at the same time. Anna taught Garnet all sorts of different cooking recipes. Each one was recorded by the Hero System like a cookbook and she could look at it if she did not remember how to make it. Level Up: Cooking (Level 6) Level Up: Cooking (Level 7) Level Up: Sewing (Level 2) Level Up: Sewing (Level 3) Level Up: Sewing (Level 4) More than anything, Garnet hated being housebound. The first two times was due to injuries. Now, it is because of pregnancy. "I feel like I''ve spent more time indoors than outdoors since I''ve come here," said Garnet. "That''s probably true," said Anna. "After all, you got hurt a lot and you have a habit of it. So that''s why we must keep you in doors." "So all of it is my fault," said Garnet. Had she not been so reckless fighting the Siren, absorbed the Siren, or had not gotten hit by the poison dart, she probably would not be in this situation now. One thing worried her more than anything though. She wondered how she would be able to save Antium with a family. She was more or less tied down for the next few years until her child joined Ruby at the academy. She will still need to travel in the future. But, worrying was not going to help. Garnet needed to deal with one problem at a time. The only thing Garnet could do for now was learn from Anna and simply wait. Luckily, the months went by without many problems. Duke Wellington had successfully established trade between Anzio and Antium, resulting in high profits for his region and a surplus of food that could be traded. The tariffs and taxes in the region dropped significantly as a result, but income taxes could not be implemented until he became King. Ruby was doing well in her studies as the early classes had to do with literacy, but she advanced to mathematics and literature already. Chances are, she would finish around the age of twelve or so. But, not everything goes according to plans. "It''s coming," said Garnet. "What?!?" shouted Anna. "It''s two months too early." Garnet was pregnant for only seven months. The Duke was still away. The only person present was Anna and the other servants. "It''s not gonna wait two months," said Garnet. Anna ran outside. Garnet could only hear shouting. "I sent someone to get a doctor," said Anna. "I don''t think it''ll be fast enough," said Garnet. Anna had taken care of Ruby, but she had not actually done child birth before and was nervous like Garnet had never seen her be. "Relax," said Garnet. "You can do this. Grab some blankets for the baby." Luckily for Garnet, Riley''s knowledge covered nearly everything, including what to do for child birth due to health studies. So far, everything else was accurate, and this should be too. "What do I do with it?" asked Anna. "When the baby comes out, wrap it with the blanket and leave only the face uncovered," said Garnet. She was starting to breathe much quicker. She tried her best to sit up on the bed. Anna sat next to Garnet and waited. She could only feel that there was life within Garnet, but despite all of her abilities, she was clueless on what to do. Eventually, a few maids gathered in the room as well to help. "HAHA," Garnet laughed. "Is something funny?" asked Anna. "This is the first time I''ve seen you not in control," said Garnet. "This is scarier than fighting," said Anna. "At least I know what to do in a fight." "The baby''s coming!" said Garnet. She could feel it move through her as she pushed it out. Garnet screamed. AH. The maids pushed Anna out of the way as she was clueless on what to do. She lost track of time, but eventually, Garnet was able to push out the first baby. The maids quickly wrapped it in blankets and handed it over to Anna. "It''s a girl," said Anna. Anna felt something was wrong. There was still a sign of life within Garnet. She was having twins. "There''s another one coming," said Garnet. The maids quickly gathered around Garnet again and prepared for the next one. It came out with much less trouble. "It''s a boy," said Anna. "Am I done?" asked Garnet. Anna tried to sense if there was another life within Garnet. There was nothing. That was it. "Yes, you''re done," said Anna. "Can you bring them over?" asked Garnet. Anna brought the two babies over to Garnet. Garnet looked at the girl. She had one green eye and own brown eye. To keep with the tradition of naming, Garnet decided to name them after gemstones. "Jade will be her name," said Garnet. The other baby was a boy. He had a brown eye and a blue eye. "Jasper," said Garnet. "You''re not going to ask Duke Wellington for his opinion on names?" asked Anna. "He wasn''t here for their birth so too bad," said Garnet. "Fair enough," said Anna. "Can you take care of the two of them for now?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Anna. "Go get the crib in here," she ordered. The maids went to retrieve the one that was made. They were not expecting twins. It was big enough to hold the two of them for now, but they would need another. "I need to sleep," said Garnet. She passed out from exhaustion. Anna watched over Garnet to make sure she was okay. It was now her job to make sure that Garnet and her children would be safe. When Garnet awoke, it was to the sound of crying. Anna fell asleep while watching over her. Garnet tried to get up, but it hurt too much. "Hey wake up," said Garnet as she poked Anna in the face. "Huh?" said Anna. She was drooling. "Carry them over to me," said Garnet. Anna did so and watched as Garnet fed them. "If you need anything be sure to tell me," said Anna. "Tell Charles to hurry his butt over," said Garnet. All Garnet could do was watch over them. After all, she had no experience. The maids helped a little and told Garnet what she needed to do once in a while. "I already did," said Anna. "It''s at least two days from Antium to here." Garnet remembered. When she rushed over, it took almost a day and a half to reach Freud''s laboratory and it took even longer to reach the manor. The next day. SLAM. Garnet could hear the door slam open downstairs. "He''s here," said Garnet. Duke Wellington had a habit of that when he was in a hurry. As he approached the room, he slowed down and opened the door quietly. He at least had the sense to not slam the door where the babies were sleeping. Garnet watched as he approached the crib. Anna put her finger over her mouth, signaling to him to stay quiet. He cried as he looked over them before hugging Garnet. "Be gentle," whispered Garnet. "It still hurts." Duke Wellington had no words. He stayed there and watched over them. Garnet was sleeping almost as much as the babies. "The boy is Jasper and the girl is Jade," whispered Garnet. "You weren''t here, so you don''t get a say." "I know," said Duke Wellington. "That was the same for Ruby." Duke Wellington had to return to his duties, so he had to leave them again. He was busy spreading Garnet''s ideas to other farms in under his control. His wealth had increased significantly and some of the farmers even willingly offered a larger share to offset his investment into their farms, which he gladly accepted. The only thing that he was missing now was military might. With that, he would be able to challenge Duke Gray for control of the throne. That left Garnet and Anna to take care of the two children. Garnet did her best, but she often had to rely on the others for assistance. She was happy that there were others to help her. After all, it was two children. If she was by herself she would have no idea what to do. Anna had some experience with Ruby, but taking care of both of them was still difficult. The maids and other servants often had to help. Since the Siren incident, there were no major problems. Garnet could not help but worry. "Is there anything I should I know about?" asked Garnet. "No need," said Anna. She had intercepted all information and told Garnet on a need to know basis in order to not stress her out. "No monster sightings, no dead rising from the ground, and no one is flirting with your dear husband." "That''s good," said Garnet. She had largely recovered from giving birth, but still felt exhausted from taking care of her children. No amount of vitality would help her with this. "Do you have any kids?" Garnet asked. Stat Increase: Vitality +5 "No," said Anna. "Any plans?" asked Garnet. "Nope," said Anna. "Really?" said Garnet. "I thought you''d at least get with Leeroy or something." "I''m a loner," said Anna. "I like it that way." "But you spend so much time with me," said Garnet. "There''s no way you like being alone." "I mean in terms of relationships," said Anna. "When I was young, my parents arranged for me to get married. In response, I ran away and joined a temple to hide." That was where Anna had gotten her skills from. When she joined the temple, she trained in their martial arts and fighting. This was the first time Anna had talked about herself. Garnet wanted to know as much as possible and took advantage of this chance. "So what happened?" asked Garnet. "They kicked me out when they discovered I was a girl," said Anna. "How old were you when this happened?" asked Garnet. "Eight," said Anna. "What did you do?" asked Garnet. "I traveled the world working for various Guilds," said Anna. "Eventually, the Duke invited me to take care of things here so I ended up working here." "But why would he trust you with a baby?" asked Garnet. "Most of those people are fighters." "He met me in the day care at a guild," said Anna. "I was hired by the guild itself, not doing their requests." "That makes a lot more sense," said Garnet. "But what made you decide to accept?" "I just wanted a change," said Anna. "I spent so much of my life fighting and I just wanted to get away from it for a while." "What about now?" asked Garnet. "This life is good," said Anna. "I have to fight sometimes, but the reasons for it are good. To protect someone rather than to kill something. It was not what I expected, but it is nice." A year passed before important news arrived. Both Jasper and Jade were capable of crawling on their own now and struggling to walk. The other servants were much more able to aid Garnet in taking care of them, but Garnet and Anna did everything but wash their clothes. That was left up to the servants. Garnet felt relieved that there was help. "The King is nearing death," said Anna as she finished reading the letter. "That means its almost time," said Garnet. "Yes," said Anna. "It is likely that Duke Gray will accuse the other Dukes of poisoning the King and killing him." "How do you know this?" asked Garnet. "That is probably the easiest way for Duke Gray to build his own support while undermining the others," said Anna. "With control of security in the city, it is easy to get away with poisoning the King yourself and then blaming it on others." "People won''t just believe him right?" said Garnet. "That seems ridiculous." "Kings are often poisoned to death near their end if someone desires their power," said Anna. "With his control solidifed in Antium, there''s a little you can do about it." "What if there was someone who had just as much if not more influence than him?" asked Garnet. "That''s impossible, the only person who is more powerful than a Duke is the King or his Wizard," said Anna. "I know the Wizard," said Garnet. "He owes me a favor." "Then it isn''t impossible," said Anna. "When the time comes, you can try to call it in, that would disrupt his power and prevent him from seizing Antium for himself." Now all they had to do was wait. Duke Wellington was already setting things in place. The alliance with Duchess Kiko and Duke Innes was already in place. The condition was that when Duke Gray turned on them, they would unite against him. Duchess Kiko only agreed on the condition that she would be Queen when they won. Duke Wellington agreed. Garnet spent her free time traveling between Anzio to visit Ruby and taking care of Jade and Jasper. She had her hands full with just those duties. "Will our kids be safe?" Garnet asked Duke Wellington. "I''m not sure," said Duke Wellington. "But I plan to send them up north with Leeroy and Ruby." "Doesn''t the school only accept them once they are five?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Duke Wellington. "But I arranged for a house up there with a few servants and Leeroy. If we sent them, they should be safe." "Thank you," said Garnet. "What do you plan to do?" asked Duke Wellington. "What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "I want you to leave with Anna and go North to Anzio where you will be safe," said Duke Wellington. "If they capture any nobles or their servants during a war, they will most likely be executed." Those words dwelled on Garnet''s mind. She wanted to keep her family safe, but Duke Wellington would have to fight in the front lines if he was going to be King. "How can Duke Gray challenge three other Dukes at once? That seems impossible," said Garnet. "Not if you''ve been skimming from the royal treasury for many years," said Duke Wellington. "It''s likely that is how he built his army in the first place." It turned out that the King might not have been the problem. As crazy as King Caligula was, he had some smart people around him like Zedd. It was Duke Gray who was able to redirect some money and it prevented the other nobles from being able to do their jobs. Although the Dukes were technically equal in standing, they struggled with each other for power and Duke Gray had the largest military, which he used as a threat against many others. Through that he was able to consolidate his power and keep the others weak. Garnet knew that one day she would have to return to fighting, even if it was not for Duke Wellington or Antium, it was clear that Zedd knew she would have to do more. Antium was only the first step. "I need you to teach me more," Garnet said to Anna. "Teach you what?" asked Anna. "The sword and the fist," said Garnet. "These are the most common weapons yet I barely know how to use them." "I did say I would," said Anna. "Why do you bring this up now?" "I feel that there''s not much time left until we''re going to have to fight," said Garnet. Anna''s face changed. It was one that of worry. "So you''re going to fight?" asked Anna. "I might have to," said Garnet. "It''s something that someone entrusted to me. Even if they lied to me, it''s why I am here." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "I''ll take care of your kids, you won''t have to worry about them," said Anna. "But remember your promise to Ruby, you have to come back." "I know," said Garnet. "So can you teach me?" "Of course I will," said Anna. "The more you know, the better chance you have of surviving." It was a few more days before Anna brought it up again. "Okay, I''m finally ready to train you," said Anna. She tossed Garnet''s ao dai at her. "Wear this." "Finally?" said Garnet. "It''s been three days." Garnet put on the ao dai and saw that it increased all of her stats. She wanted to check, but did not want to show Anna more than necessary. Name: Anna Level: ??? Class: Monk Sub-Class: Lotus Warrior Black Stats: ??? Garnet still could not see Anna''s level. She really wanted to know how strong Anna was, but Anna was somehow able to hide her personal information from Garnet. It was clear that Anna was very strong, but Garnet wanted to know how strong. "I had to get something made," said Anna. She took out numerous swords and books in front of her. "Pick two," said Anna. "Why two?" asked Garnet. "There''s generally one weapon for fighting other people and one for other monsters," said Anna. "Books?" asked Garnet. "Why are there books?" "Each weapon comes with a philosophy and set styles," said Anna. "If you don''t understand the philosophy, you will never understand how to fully use the weapon." "What about dual wielding with two swords?" asked Garnet. "Don''t be silly, that is both stupid and impractical," said Anna. "Not only is your body unsuited for it, you won''t be able to use its full power and it is more effective to wield a one handed sword with both hands to increase its power instead." "What do you recommend?" asked Garnet. "This," said Anna. She pointed to a sword with a gold, blue, and black hilt. It was sharp on both sides and had an oily look throughout most of the sword. The edges of it looked like a normal sword. It came with a matching blue scabbard as well. "It''s called a Damascus Sword." Garnet picked up the sword to look closer at. The hilt was fairly big and the sword was much bigger compared to the short sword that she used. It was also not made of metal. It was made of some type of wood. "What makes this one so special?" asked Garnet. "It is forged of a special steel and can be used to channel magic through it," said Anna. She took the sword from Garnet. "Watch." Anna closed her eyes and the entire sword erupted in blue flames. She swung it around before dispersing the flames. "I never knew you could use a sword like that," said Garnet. "There are few swords that can do this, but as a mage, I think this one is best for you," said Anna. "Thank you," said Garnet. "I''ll use that one. What about the second sword?" asked Garnet. "With a sword like that one, you can just stick with one since it will be effective against monsters as well," said Anna. "What about something like a dagger?" asked Garnet. "Like the one you like to keep tied to your leg?" said Anna. "That''s not a bad idea as long as you don''t accidentally cut yourself with it." She took out a very short sword that was a little curved. It was barely even a sword. It was an Asian style sword. Garnet watched as Anna removed it from the scabbard. "This is called a wakizashi," said Anna. "It''s basically a class of short swords." "Is there a difference?" asked Garnet. "Nope," said Anna. "But it''s small enough to keep hidden and tied to your leg." "Then I will choose this two per your recommendation," said Garnet. "You should take this too," said Anna as she pushed forward a hand crossbow. She tied it around Garnet''s wrist and folded it. She pushed the arrow down into the slot and it opened up. She then pushed in the sides and the whole thing folded up. It could be hidden under the sleeves of something like a robe or a dress. "This seems like a lot," said Garnet. "This is to keep you safe," said Anna. "This way you are prepared for every situation." Garnet was able to wear her sword at her side. The short sword she strapped to her leg. The hand crossbow on her right wrist. "Get used to moving around in that setup," said Anna. "If something doesn''t work, try rearranging your weapons." Garnet walked around and the sword at her side threw off her balance. She strapped it to her back and pulled it out like that instead. "This is okay," said Garnet. "Then show me what you already know," said Anna. Garnet only had three sword skills. Horizontal Slash, Double Slash, and Crescent Slash. She demonstrated each of these to Anna. "Just these," said Garnet. "Not too bad," said Anna. "But there''s a lot to learn." Anna picked up a similar length sword and stood next to Garnet. "Follow me," said Anna. Garnet watched her sword movements very carefully. Anna slowly did a horizontal slash, a diagonal slash, then a downward slash. It resembled the number four when it was completed. Garnet repeated the movements. New Skill: Triple Slash (Level 1) A horizontal slash followed by a diagonal upward slash and then a downward vertical slash. Breaks guard. MP Cost: 50 Anna only smiled at Garnet. At this point, she had expected that Garnet would learn it easily, so it was no surprise. The next attack was a diagonal upward slash, a diagonal downward slash, followed by a horizontal slash. BOOM. There was a giant triangle smashed into the floor. "What was that?!?" shouted Garnet. "That did not seem like a sword attack." "It is and it isn''t," said Anna. "It uses the sword, but it can also be used at a distance. You need to infuse wind magic into your attack to do this one." Garnet repeated the movements, keeping the mana flowing into her sword. The result was just a simple triple slash into the ground. No explosion. New Skill: Delta Attack (Level 1) A diagonal upward slash, followed by a diagonal downward slash and then a full spin horizontal slash. Can be infused with magic to be used at a distance. Breaks guard. MP Cost: 100 All of the skills had special effects. The ones that Garnet learned on her own were simply different types of slashes. The ones that Anna was teaching her were far superior. "Just practice until you can do it in the future," said Anna. "There''s still a lot more." "How many more?" asked Garnet. "That depends on how much you have time for," said Anna. "There''s possibly hundreds, but I''m teaching you the most versatile ones." "Hundreds?!?" shouted Garnet. She never knew that there could be so many. "There''s always simple techniques like so," said Anna as she thrust the sword forward with a dash. BOOM. There was a loud explosive sound. In that short distance, she had created a sonic boom like the Siren did. Garnet tried it, but she could not replicate it. She only covered a fraction of the distance. "That''s one thing I cannot do yet," said Garnet. "That is no means simple!" "I''m glad, for a moment, I thought you would be able to instantly learn everything," said Anna. "That would indeed be scary, but it is still simple because it is a straight movement. Nothing fancy." "I see," said Garnet. "What about skills for fighting multiple enemies?" "Basically you just want wide swings," said Anna. "But the real problem is the loss of momentum from trying to cut several enemies." She held the sword backwards with the blade facing downward and swung her sword at almost a full 360. "Feel free to add fire or wind to it as well." She did it again and blue flames spread outward in every direction. Garnet tried it with the full spin. New Skill: Spiral (Level 1) A full 360 degree swing that hits everything around the user. The damage to targets after the first one is reduced. Magic can be added to increase its effect. MP Cost: 100 "Just stick to these for now," said Anna. "Having too many at this point will only wear you down considering we still have hand to hand skills." Garnet continued to swing her sword. "Can you mirror me?" she asked. "Sure," said Anna. She raised her sword and the two went through the moves slowly. Garnet wanted to feel what it was like for sword to strike sword. It was the best she could do for a simulation without hurting anyone or getting hurt. It was not as good as the real thing, but it was better than nothing."Okay, that''s enough," said Garnet as she put away her sword. "Take the books too," said Anna. Garnet went to take the books for the corresponding swords. She flipped through them and there were detailed images of different movements. "Were these made by you?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Anna. "I put what I learned in these books and divided them by weapon type." "I will study hard," said Garnet. She remembered she still had Zedd''s book, but out of spite, she had not taken a look at it. At this point though, she would need to as well. There was no telling how dangerous the upcoming war was going to be. Anna walked up to Garnet. "Just follow my movements," said Anna. Garnet had only learned a few simple punches and kicks. Her most advanced techniques were palm strikes that had been infused with mana. She watched as Anna used both her hands. Garnet''s attacks had only used one hand at a time. "Every attack with your hands and feet can be infused with magic," said Anna. "It makes it much more dangerous, but it also gives away that you are either a mage or a very high level warrior, so be careful with it." "Okay," said Garnet. The first was an upward swing that could be accompanied with a dash to increase its power. New Skill: Uppercut (Level 1) A powerful upward blow aimed at the opponent''s chest or head. Can cause the enemy to stagger. MP Cost: 30 Next was a punch that was accompanied by a loud sound. VWOOM. It was as if a giant burst of wind was released with a punch. New Skill: Ki Burst (Level 1) A mana infused attack that releases an explosive burst to knock away or knock down opponents. MP Cost: 200 "The advanced skills all require you to have high speed or a way of increasing your speed," said Anna. "So most of them are out of your league for now." "Aww," Garnet cried disappointedly. "But you should be able to do multi hit combos," said Anna. "Watch closely." Anna lowered herself and moved left and right in a figure eight. As she changed direction, she launched a punch. "But it is important to be able to move freely and disrupt your own movement as needed. Anna was able to back away even though it looked like she was moving in to attack. Garnet did poorly at trying to interrupt her own movements, but nonetheless was able to do at least the basic movements. New Skill: Dempsey Roll A combination of movement and attacking that makes the attacker much harder to hit. MP Cost: 100 "But, here is the most important skill," said Anna. Garnet felt an overwhelming amount of power being released by Anna. "Hold still," said Anna as she moved her index finger towards Garnet. "It will hurt for a second, but when you feel the power flow through your body, I want you to maintain it as much as you can." "Why did you wait until last to teach me the most important skill?" asked Garnet. "Because I''m pretty sure you''ll be out for a while after i do this," Anna explained. "Okay," said Garnet. She tried her best not to move, but she stiffed up. "You need to relax otherwise this will only hurt more," said Anna. Garnet tried, but she barely loosened up. The amount of mana being released by Anna was a frigtening amount. Anna touched her finger tips to Garnet''s forehead. "UGH!" Garnet groaned as she collapsed on the ground. Garnet felt the mana coursing throughout her body, but it was very painful, as if all the blood vessels in her body were being forced open with pure power. Skill Upgrade: Mana Strike + Mana Shield -> Mana Armor (Level 1) By continuously releasing mana around your body, you are able to convert your physical attacks into magical, use mana to reduce or negate all forms of incoming damage, and sense objects that come into contact with your armor. MP Cost: Varies depending on the strength of it and amount of incoming damage, applied per second, minimum cost of of 10 per second and damage ratio of 1 mana per 5 damage "That''s it for now," said Anna. "Just remember to aim for easy to hit locations like the chest and stomach. Avoid the head because that is a smaller target." "Okay," groaned Garnet who was still collapsed onto the ground. "And be sure to find yourself a weapon that can enhance your magic," said Anna. "I don''t have something like that, but I''m sure you''ll be able to find one somewhere or make one yourself in the future." Garnet practiced these skills every time she was free when she did not have to take care of Jasper or Jade or visit Ruby in Anzio. She even kept her Mana Armor on as much as possible every day. The results were significant, but it still did not feel like much compared to some of the other people. Thanks to Anna''s training program, Garnet''s stats nearly doubled in all areas. Even intelligence received a massive boost. Stat Increase: Strength +20 Stat Increase: Dexterity +20 Stat Increase: Intelligence +20 Stat Increase: Vitality +20 Stat Increase: Agility +20 Zedd could probably do much more for Garnet when it came to magic. Garnet wanted to call in that favor, but it seemed like this was not the time for it either. Garnet knew that these days would not last. Before long, the news finally came. King Caligula was dead. He had passed away after being sick for over three years. The long anticipated struggle between the Dukes was finally going to begin. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 14 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1260/1260 MP: 3180/3180 Fame: 20 Strength: 40 (+5) Dexterity: 38 (+7) Intelligence: 93 (+22) Vitality: 46 (+5) Agility: 47 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 2 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 1 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) - Lightning Fire (Passive)\ - Blood Absorption (Level 6) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 1) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 1) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 7) - Cook - Inspection (Level 4) - Sewing (Level 4) - Tailor - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book Extra: Chapter Charles Wellington - The First Meeting Another extra chapter, Duke Wellington''s. Again, not canon. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Your father has called for you," said the servant. "Me?" said Charles. "Why me?" "He''s not going to last much longer, and he wants to talk to you before he leaves," said the servant. "Alright," said Charles. Charles ran up the stairs to the master bedroom. His father was Duke James Wellington, one of the four Dukes of Antium responsible for managing the lands. James was responsible for managing the North. KNOCK KNOCK. "Come in," said James. COUGH. Charles opened the door to the bedroom and saw Charles. He was pale and in bed. "How are you father?" asked Charles. "Not well," said James. "I won''t last much longer." "Why did you ask for me?" asked Charles. "I want you to remember something when you take over as Duke," said James. "What is it?" asked Charles. "As you take on an important role, other people will try to change you," said James. "You must remember to be true to yourself and do what you think is right." COUGH COUGH. "What do you mean other people will try to change you?" asked Charles. "Who is going to try to change me?" "The other nobles," said James. "Most of them are not good people and they will try to make sure that you are on their side so that they can take Antium''s resources. You must not become like them, but you also must not openly show it until you are ready." "How will I know when I am ready?" asked Charles. "You''ll have to figure it out yourself," said James. "Maybe when you have some close friends who you can trust? Or maybe when you have obtained enough power to force others to listen to you?" COUGH. "The important thing is for you to do what you think is right," said James as he handed Charles the Gold Card. "This is!" said Charles. "Take good care of it," said James. "You''re the boss now." "To do what I think is right..." Charles repeated. Charles never really had any friends. He was usually by himself. In fact, most nobles were by themselves. They went to school alone with a guard. They returned alone after ten years or so after learning how to rule and manage a given plot of land. Charles did it in five, half the time that was needed. Charles had no friends or power. He would only acquire power after his father passed away, which was at any moment now. Those were the last words that James said to Charles. Soon after, James passed away. His injuries from fighting in the last Invasion were too great. With the death of his father, Duke James Wellington, Charles became Duke Charles Wellington and inherited all of his father''s lands and power. At the age of ten, he was the youngest Duke There were only two people that Charles really knew, both were in Anzio. The first was Leeroy, a member of the Guild who specialized in hunting. He was hired by James to protect Charles while Charles attended Anzio academy. Leeroy was often found at the Guild, looking for work, but the demand for hunters were few. Charles spotted him sitting at a table. He was the man with messy black hair. He looked fairly scrawny, but he was among the strongest because he fought with numerous wild animals from boars to tigers. In terms of raw strength, he was definitely one of the strongest despite his appearance. "What do you want kid?" asked Leeroy. "Did your father need me to protect you again?" "I need to you to help protect me," said Charles. "What happened to your father?" asked Leeroy. "He passed away from injuries during the fight," said Charles. "He told me to find people I could trust." "Oh? But I work for money," said Leeroy. "Money is the only thing I trust." "I will pay you," said Charles. "Your job is to keep me safe, you will have full access to my security." "I''m surprised you trust someone like me," said Leeroy. "I just told you I only trust money." "And money is what I have, that means as long as I pay you, you will keep me safe," said Charles. "Very well," said Leeroy. "I''ll take on that job. It''s better than working for chump change hunting boars and wolves all the time. There''s no exciting game here anyways." With time though, Leeroy changed. "Duke Wellington, your carriage is ready," said Leeroy. "I''ve assembled this team of six for your security detail." "Thank you, Leeroy," said Charles as he climbed on board the carriage. "Remember, we''re heading to Antium," said Leeroy. Even though Leeroy said he only worked for money, he was loyal to his employer. After all, Guild members depended on it. He stopped numerous attempts on the Duke''s life both at his manor and in Antium. Today was the first time that Charles was attending the meeting of the nobles. All of them gathered to discuss city policy and goals. It was headed by King Caligula himself. "Our duty is to quell the riots in Antium," said King Caligula. "See to it that it is done." Those were the only instructions that King Caligula gave before walking away. He was really hands off and did not input anything else. He had no family, which put the whole country in danger as with his death, the Dukes will fight over his position as per tradition. "First order of business is to welcome Duke Charles Wellington, son of Duke James Wellington," said Duke Innes. "Welcome young Duke." "Thank you," said Charles. "I look forward to working with all of you." "Me as well," said Duke Earl. "But for now, you should focus on getting used to managing your own lands." Charles could immediately hear whispers among the crowd. A young Duke with no parents or family. He could already hear the sounds of people plotting against him. He did not feel safe among the other nobles. "The second order of business is to repair the East Wall," said Duke Gray. "It has been in ruins since the last Invasion and it needs to be repaired." "Who will oversee this?" asked Duke Earl. "The Marquessate Robin will," said Duke Gray. "The funds will be provided, see to it that it is complete." "Thank you for this opportunity," said Marquessate Robin. The division of work for the nobles seemed to go by very quickly. Nobles were assigned jobs according to their position once they have settled in. As you rose up in position, you acquired better tasks, more recognition, and the increased power that went with it. The goal of the nobles were to ascend to the position of Duke and then King or Queen. Little did Charles know that all that was divided up was the money. The tasks themselves were rarely done. When Charles returned to his manor, there was a message for him. One of his maids was dead and nailed to the front door. In her blood it read: "Welcome Our New Duke." Someone had gotten into the manor. "I''ll go check first," said Leeroy. "Wait here." "Okay," said Charles. He waited outside as Leeroy went in with a few guards. They swept through the house. SCREAM. There was the sound of a scream. Charles was worried, but going in would be even more dangerous. Soon after, Charles could hear footsteps and Leeroy came out, throwing the body of a man in a green cloak out onto the floor. "Someone take care of that mess," said Leeroy. The guards immediately began to work to clean up the front door and the house. "Is there anyone else?" asked Charles. "You''re okay for now," said Leeroy. "There''s no one else bad in here." "It doesn''t feel that way," said Charles. "If you want to feel safe, there''s someone I can recommend," said Leeroy. "Who?" asked Charles. "Her name is Anna, the greatest caretaker in the world," said Leeroy. Charles did not sleep well that night knowing and seeing what had happened. Despite the appearance of the nobles, they were savage and vicious people. There was no way he could trust any of them knowing that someone had just tried to kill him. Charles spent a while managing his lands, but his farming output was too low to produce much else, so he had to focus on that. At nights, he did not sleep well knowing that people could sneak in and kill him. After about a month, Charles was mentally exhausted and had minimal sleep. "You don''t seem okay," said Leeroy. "What''s wrong?" "It doesn''t feel safe here," said Charles. "That was why Duke Gray left that message in the first place," said Leeroy. "How did you know it was him?" asked Charles. "I had people take a look at the equipment the man used," said Leeroy. "It was specialized equipment that was produced in the South, the lands under Duke Gray''s control." "What should I do?" asked Charles. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Get Anna, she will make you feel safe," said Leeroy. "Where is she?" asked Charles. "She works at the Guild in Anzio now," said Leeroy. "Though you might be surprised when you first meet her." Charles and Leeroy headed to Anzio''s Guild. "Where is she?" asked Charles. "Follow me," said Leeroy. He headed upstairs away from the main area. He headed towards the back into the day care. "A day care?!?" said Charles. SHHH. The woman whispered at him. "That''s Anna," said Leeroy. It was the woman that whispered at him. She looked rather young and was dressed in a maid outfit. Charles continued to look at her and the fact that she looked rather normal. The woman turned around and walked up to him. Charles could see that she had brown eyes and she was definitely under the age of thirty. "Stop oogling me and leave," said Anna. "Unless you have a child of your own to drop off here before you get to work, go away." "I''m here to hire you," said Charles. "I don''t do that kind of work anymore," said Anna. "I retired from fighting." "He needs you to protect his house," said Leeroy. "I recommended him to you." "You should know better," said Anna. "His home was attacked and he doesn''t feel safe," said Leeroy. "What did he lose?" asked Anna. "He lost a servant and his sense of safety," said Leeroy. "Welcome to the real world," said Anna. "Now go away, the children need to sleep," she said as she pushed them out. "That did not go as expected," said Charles. "We''ll need to visit her a few more times," said Leeroy. "To show that you really want her help and it''s not just because you want power." "Is she always like this?" asked Charles. "She used to pull out her staff and just knock you right out of the room," said Leeroy. That was a frightening thought. Anna did not look like the kind of person that could do that, but according to Leeroy, she could. "How do you know her anyways?" asked Charles. "During a mission, we were both asked to escort a carriage," said Leeroy. "She fought fiercely against everyone who tried to attack it, but never killed a single person." "Why?" asked Charles. "Isn''t it normal to kill your enemies?" "She said that killing was a precious waste of life and wants it to stop," said Leeroy. "But from what I could tell, I think she has killed many people. The intense aura she displays in a fight would scare anyone." The next day, Charles and Leeroy went back to Anna. "I thought I told you two to leave," said Anna. "Since you won''t help me, I want you to teach me to protect myself," said Charles. Anna was suddenly interested. "What do you want to learn?" asked Anna. "I want to be able to protect myself and stop others from hurting me, even if they have a weapon and I do not," said Charles. Anna looked at him. "You''re kind of young to be worrying about this kind of thing are you not?" Anna asked. "Someone has already killed one of my servants, I think they want to kill me next," said Charles. "Who are you anyways?" asked Anna. "I''m Duke Charles Wellington," said Charles. Anna looked at Leeroy and then at Charles. With a surprised look, she looked at Leeroy again. "You''re doing this kind of work now?" asked Anna. "Yep," said Leeroy. "Times are changing and so am I." Anna looked around the room at what she was doing. She was taking care of children. Protecting Charles was going to be the same. The children at the Guild were relatively safe, but Charles was not. "Alright, I''ll help you," said Anna. "But I refuse to fight your petty wars, I will only work to protect your home." "That''s fine," said Charles. "She doesn''t seem that great though does she?" Charles whispered to Leeroy. "SHHH," Leeroy was trying to silence Charles. POW. Charles immediately felt something hit the back of his head. "I heard that ," Anna whispered. Anna was clearly someone that was far different from her appearance. She was incredibly strong, but hid her power by doing mundane tasks, something that she seemed to get a lot of joy out of. When she arrived at the Duke''s manor, Anna took on cooking and cleaning yet found the time to train all of the Duke''s guards. CRASH. Something had broken through a window and landed on the front door. It was a man with a magic cloak. "Stay out!" shouted Anna. The man on the ground could not move. "Interrogate him!" Leeroy ordered. "Why do so many people want you dead?" asked Anna. "I don''t know," said Charles. "It''s been happening since I attended the first meeting with the other nobility." "Someone probably wants your power," said Anna. However, after learning that Anna was there, the assassination attempts seemed to have stopped. Either that or Anna and Leeroy became very good at covering them up. Anna alone had taken on dozens of them and crippled them. But it became clear, nearly all the assassins came from the South or were hired in the South. Duke Gray wanted Charles dead. As long as Leeroy or Anna were there though, he would be safe. At the next meeting, Charles brought it up. "You know, there''s an awful lot of men from the South trying to kill me," said Charles. A lot of nobles immediately turned to Charles and began whispering. "What are you insinuating?" asked Duke Gray. "I said, there''s an awful lot of assassins coming for me from the South," said Charles. "You need to get your act together and clean up your mess." "You dare accuse me of sending assassins to kill you?" shouted Duke Gray. "I never said you sent them, I just said they came from the South," said Charles. This was Charles'' declaration of opposition against Duke Gray. Although Charles was weaker, he was the only person who could stand up to Duke Gray. "You know, that wall your Marquessate is supposed to be working on has seen no progress either," said Charles. Duke Gray was furious at this. It was clear that he would not take it sitting down, but there''s nothing he could do in public. If Charles was killed in Antium, his brother who was in charge of security would be blamed for allowing such a thing to happen and would most likely lose his position. The only way for Duke Gray was to kill Charles far away from Antium, but he was too well protected. Eventually, someone else introduced Charles to the things that nobles did. For example, some wrote off expenses to steal money from the treasury and projects. Others raised tariffs and taxes to pay for their own increased expenses. "Now that you''re fifteen, it''s time to be a man," said Baron Aden. "What do you mean?" asked Charles. "Come with me," said Baron Aden. He brought Charles to the outer edge of the city along with Leeroy. "I''ll wait out here till you''re done in there," said Leeroy. Charles went inside not knowing what it was. He looked inside one of the rooms, it was a brothel. "Find someone you like," said Baron Aden as he showed Charles the book. Charles looked inside. It was like a catalog. It had pictures of different people in it. Most of them were fairly young women though there were a few men and young buys in it as well. "I''ll be off," said Baron Aden as he dropped off 10 silver coins went into a room on the side. "My name is Holland, do you need help?" asked the man at the front desk. "I just want someone to talk to," said Charles. "I recommend this one," said Holland as he flipped to the back where the "luxury" workers were. Charles looked at the price. It was 50 silver for a single session compared to the others. The girl was about the same age as him with long black hair and a blue and a green eye. She was fairly well endowed as well. "Why is she so expensive?" asked Charles. "She''s real popular with some of the nobles," said Holland. "She talks a lot and fights back if you want her to as well." "Isn''t that dangerous?" asked Charles. "Some people like a girl that resists," said Holland. Charles was disgusted at the thought of it. "This was what the nobles of Antium were like," he thought to himself. "Do you want her?" asked Holland. "Yes," said Charles. "I just want someone to talk to." "Last room way in the back," said Holland. "If she tries to kill you, be sure to shout for help." That last bit was something that made Charles afraid, but he went in anyways. At the back was a double door. As he opened it, he saw a young girl with long black hair who turned around. She had a blue eye and a green eye. "Do I have to help some noble''s kid with their first time again?" said the girl disappointedly. Book 3: Chapter 019 - Behind the Scenes Beginning of Arc 3! Anyone catch the reference of Zedd and his friends? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Word spread that King Caligula had passed away in his sleep. Immediately after, Duke Gray ordered an investigation just to be sure. "It has begun," said Duke Wellington. "They''re going to announce that King Caligula was poisoned to death by someone under our service." "Yes," said Anna. "I''ve already prepared to take Jasper and Jade to Anzio with Leeroy and Ruby. Louis will take over as head of the guards for now." Anna wanted to avoid fighting at all costs. She was already tired of it and would only fight when she had to. Because of this, Garnet entrusted her with the safety of her children and sent her North with them. "Are you sure you don''t want to go with them?" Duke Wellington asked Garnet. "I''m sure," said Garnet. "I need to talk to Zedd." Garnet had been training herself in order to prepare for the upcoming battle. However, it was not much. Her special skills and abilities allowed her to match up to someone twice her level despite being less than half that level. It was still not enough to overcome someone like Kiko or Zedd though. They were still tiers above her. Garnet felt relieved that levels were not everything though. It was a tough lesson that she learned from fighting the Siren. "I''ll take care of things here," said Duke Wellington. "We will be mass producing weapons and storing food for the upcoming war. I''ll leave a few messengers here in case you need something." "Teleportation!" Garnet warped back to Antium. This was the first time she returned since she departed. Zedd had kept to his agreement and not bothered Garnet. He was not to bother Garnet until Garnet wanted to talk to him. Garnet arrived in the room that Zedd had set aside for Garnet to use. Everything was exactly the same as she left it. In three years, there was not a single change. There were voices. "Someone''s here," said Zedd. SLAM. The door slammed wide opened. "Who are you and what do you want?" asked Zedd with his hand raised at her. He did not recognize her. After all, Garnet became several years younger thanks to the effects of absorbing the Siren. "Wait," said Garnet as she showed her hand with the crest. She still felt a hint of anger, but it was not as intense. Time had weakened it. "It''s me." "Garnet?" said Zedd. He looked closer and saw her eyes. It was the same blue eye and green eye. "What happened to you?" "I kind of absorbed a Siren," said Garnet. "It messed me up pretty bad." "Thank you for convincing the Duke to fix the wall," said Zedd. "It took them a while, but they did it and made it even better." "I''m here on business today," said Garnet. "Please wait a moment," said Zedd. "Come and meet the others." "Others?" asked Garnet. "Other what?" "The other important members of the Hero Research Society," said Zedd. "We are all people who were fascinated with the stories of heroes and hoped to meet one." Garnet walked into the room. She recognized Rito, the doctor who had checked up on her from before. There were three people that she did not recognize. Name: Zedd Level: 80 Class: Grand Wizard Sub-Class: Contracted Summoner Stats: High Intelligence Name: Rito Level: 48 Class: Healer Sub-class: Doctor Stats: High Intelligence Name: Rita Level: 52 Class: Elementalist Sub-Class: Alchemist / Transmutator / Magicrafter Stats: High Intelligence Name: Thrax Level: 52 Class: Thaumaturgist Sub-Class: Healer Stats: High Intelligence Name: Scorpina Level: 50 Class: Shapeshifter Sub-Class: Copycat (Empathetic Mimicry) They all appeared to be high level mages of some kind. Each one of them was much stronger than Garnet. Zedd had also become much stronger and gained a whole nine levels since she last saw him. "Who are you people?" asked Garnet. "We are people who have dedicated our lives to researching heroes," said Zedd. "It''s an honor to finally meet you," said Thrax. "I''ve been waiting for years." They all crowded around her to greet her. "What brings you here today?" asked Zedd. "I came to ask you for a favor," said Garnet. "I need you to do something about Duke Gray. I think he is going to announce that other Dukes are traitors who are responsible for the death of the King." "And because you''re not related to Duke Wellington, they will come after you too," said Rito. "Baron Gray already tried to capture me once," said Garnet. "I think they will come after me again." "What?!?" shouted Zedd. "When was this?" "Shortly before I left Antium," said Garnet. Zedd was thinking. "Alright, there''s something that I can do," said Zedd. "Since it is going to be a report made by Duke Gray and not the officials of Antium, it is going to be by his word only." "What will that do?" asked Garnet. "It will make it look like he is the one who has been trying to overthrow the King," said Zedd. "At the same time, I will counter with an official statement that states that the King was most likely killed by a guard who was recommended by Duke Gray." "Thank you," said Garnet. "I''m sorry for how I have treated you." "No," said Zedd. "I should have told you everything from the start, but I was afraid that you would leave us and I drove you away myself. It is my fault." "I know you meant to harm," said Garnet. "But when everyone around me was trying to take advantage of me and lie, I did not know who I could trust. So, I will forgive you." "I understand," Zedd. "If there''s anything you need, please ask us." "Do any of you know how to create a vessel or spirit transmutation?" asked Garnet. Everyone looked at Rita. Her class had read Transmutator. "I only do normal transmutation," said Rita. "Spirit transmutation is something different altogether." "Can you teach me?" asked Garnet. There was a chance that this could be the key to Spirit Transmutation. "It''s not that easy," said Rita. "You have to understand what something is made up of and be able to change its form." "What about just basic magicraft?" asked Thrax. "It should be easy enough." "You need a contracted elemental spirit, enough mana, and a magic circle," said Rita. "Then, just study up from this book." New Quest: Learn Magicraft Make a contract with an elemental spirit. Reward: New Skill It was another book. There was a picture of a magic circle on one side of it but it was unmarked. "I''ll take a look at it later," said Garnet. "Thank you." She stored it inside her Inventory. It was too valuable to lose. There was also one more thing that she needed. "I can help you acquire the basic ones later," said Zedd. "But there are other things you should do first." "Do you have any magic weaponry?" asked Garnet. "That''s something you have to make yourself," said Rito. "Otherwise, it is not as effective." "I see," said Garnet. "Thank you for the information." "What do you plan to do?" asked Zedd. "I need to report to Duke Wellington," said Garnet. "Let me do that," said Zedd. "I''ve spoken to him many times and I know about your plan to secure his power. You should go talk to Klarth, Kirk, and Clark." "What would those three want?" asked Garnet. "Clark had made a big name for himself since he started selling Wild Boar Meat," said Scorpina. "He''s now the Head of the Chamber of Commerce and helps to manage the businesses. If you can get his support, you can probably convince the entire city of Antium to support you." Zedd left to report to Duke Wellington. Garnet was now left with the others. Zedd placed great trust in them, so she felt like they could be relied on as well. "What about Klarth and Kirk?" asked Garnet. "Klarth was promoted to Captain of the Guards after displaying his strength among the other guards," said Rito. "If you convince him as well, Antium will most likely support your side instead of Duke Gray." "How is this possible?" asked Garnet. "Don''t tell me Kirk became someone important as well." "Kirk is still Kirk," said Thrax. "Despite that, he''s Vice Captain of the Guards." "Anything else?" asked Rita. "Will you lend your aid for me and Duke Wellington when the fighting begins?" asked Garnet. "Of course," they all said together. "That''s why we met up today," said Rito. "We were considering it just now. Zedd placed his faith in you, and you put your faith in us. We will support you." "Thank you," said Garnet. "Now I must hurry to the others." "Be careful," said Scorpina. "You must avoid Baron Gray at all costs." "Okay," said Garnet. She then left to search for the others. As Garnet walked through Antium, it was much better than before. The East Wall was rebuilt and guarded now. The marketplace had a lot more people though most of them were merchants from the North and not other places. There was still a lot that needed to be done. There were still no merchants from the East, West, or South. Garnet saw the Chamber of Commerce Office, but it was swamped with people. There was no way she could get inside to meet Clark with that many people there. Garnet headed to the castle. She figured that it would be where she could find Kirk or Klarth. Either one of them would do. There was a problem though. Garnet did not want to be seen because it might alert Baron Gray to her presence. As she waited, neither Kirk nor Klarth appeared. Level Up: Stealth (Level 2) Garnet decided to take a different approach and headed back to Zedd''s Workshop. She tried to changed into the blue dress that Duke Wellington gave her, but it no longer fit. Since absorbing the Siren, her physique changed and she was a little smaller than before. She searched through the stuff that Zedd had given to her in the past, but none of it fit. She was stuck with what she wore. There was still something that she could do. "Teleportation!" She activated the magic circle and entired the room where she was summoned. She could hear the wind blowing from outside of the castle and the occasional footsteps from behind the door. She checked the door itself and found that it had no lock. It was strange. Garnet was now inside the castle and needed to sneak around. As long as there was no one highly perceptive, she would not be caught with a combination of stealth and illusion. The problem was that she would have to reach the office of the Head of the Guards, which was two floors up. As long as the guards she encountered were weak, there would be something that she can do. Garnet slowly made her way down the hallway with her stealth skill. It reduced the sound around her and made it difficult to see her if she stood in dark places, which there were actually quite a few of. There were also numerous corners to hide around. Garnet heard two guards talking as they walked down the hall. She slipped down to the hallway on the side. "Illusion!" Garnet blocked their senses from being able to observe her. Level Up: Illusion (Level 2) The guards walked by with one of them looking in Garnet''s direction as they were talking, but he did not see her. She made her way past several more. For some reason there were far more guards than she remembered. A lot of them were also heading downstairs to the basement. Garnet approached the stairs to the main floor. "Who''s there?!?" shouted a voice. Garnet immediately stopped moving. She hid behind a curtain. "Illusion!" She hoped the combination of hiding herself from view and covering herself with magic would hide her. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching her. BUMP BUMP. She heard the sound of metal greaves landing on the rocks of the castle, it was getting closer. The guard continued to move towards Garnet''s location as he began to pull the curtains to the side. He was checking every corner and shadow as he approached. With each footstep, Garnet could hear it getting louder. BUMP BUMP. Then the sound of curtains and drapes being moved. BUMP BUMP. The sound was now right next to her. The guard brushed the curtain to the side. Garnet immediately grabbed him by the neck. "Pleasure Inducement!" "UGH," moaned the guard. His eyes closed and his mouth opened. He then immediately collapsed on the floor. It had somehow gone through the guard''s armor. "I was never here," said Garnet. It was to make sure that the guard would not remember her face. Garnet thought about all the things she could do to Charles, but immediately shook her head and re-focused on finding Kirk or Klarth. When Garnet arrived on the main floor of the castle, there was fairly few people there. She only saw a few servants walk by and there were no guards. All of the guards seemed to be in the basement for some reason. She eventually found the Office of the Captain of the Guards. She leaned her ear against it and heard nothing. She gently pushed the door. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Who''s there!" shouted a voice. It was a familiar voice to Garnet. She pushed open the door and closed it behind her. "It''s me," said Garnet. The office itself was square. On the shelf were a few books. Opposite of it was a door that led to another room. Klarth had even gotten a bust of himself made with a crystal at the base of it. It was Klarth. "What are you doing here?" whispered Klarth. "Baron Gray has been looking for you." "I''m here to talk to you or Kirk," said Garnet. "Why is Baron Gray looking for me?" "He said that you were responsible for the death of the King," said Klarth. "Has the announcement been made yet?" asked Garnet. "No," said Klarth. "It is only been circulated within the castle." "That''s what I came to speak to you about," said Garnet. "In a short time, he will declare that Dukes Wellington, Kiko, and Innes will have poisoned the King. I want you to support Zedd in saying that this is a claim made by Duke Gray alone and that officially, you stand by the Grand Wizard who claims that one of Duke Gray''s guards murdered the King." "Does anyone else know about it?" asked Klarth. "Only you and Zedd," said Garnet. "I could not get to Clark." "That merchant who became the Head of the Chamber of Commerce? What does this have to do with him?" asked Klarth. "I want him to stop dealing with Duke Gray," said Garnet. "We need to cripple him before he acquires too much power." "I''m afraid its not that easy," said Klarth. "Why?" asked Garnet. "Duke Gray took a lot of money from the treasury to fund a secret project down in the basement," said Klarth. "Do you know what it is?" asked Garnet. "Duke Gray said it is something that will make magicians pointless," said Klarth. "How many were made?" asked Garnet. "Only one," said Klarth. "There was not enough resources to make another as far as I know. Duke Gray tried to collect some more, but there was not enough available in the area." "That must be what the guards are trying to protect down there," said Garnet. "You snuck in from the basement?" asked Klarth. "Yes," said Garnet. "That reminds me, wait one second." Garnet laid a Teleportation Summoning Circle right in Klarth''s office. "Now I can just come directly here." "Magic is great," said Klarth. "I wish I could use it." "Do you know where the project is?" asked Garnet. "It is near where Zedd summoned you," said Klarth. "Thank you," said Garnet. "I''ll leave you now." "If Zedd is on your side, then I''m on your side too," said Klarth. "I''ll wait for his announcement and if it is made, I will be against Duke Gray as well." "Teleportation!" Garnet activated the Summoning Circle and disappeared. "I must go inform Kirk," thought Klarth as he ran outside. Garnet returned to the spot where she was summoned. She made her way down to the other secret rooms in the basement. It was there that she spotted one that was guarded by four soldiers and a locked door. The patrols circled about every half hour, so she would have to somehow use that window of time to get through. The biggest problem was the guards. She could instantly take out two of them, but the other two would most likely fight her. It also had to be done quietly to not alert anyone else of her presence. "Or maybe, I should alert them of my presence," thought Garnet. She immediately headed back to the room where she was summoned and left the door partially open. "Air Bullet!" VWOOM. A powerful burst of wind slammed against the door. BANG. The door collided against the wall before closing shut again. Garnet ran to hide in a corner of the dark room. She heard foot steps coming from different directions. The steps got louder as the guards approached. Garnet could not tell how many of them there were, but it sounded like a lot. CREAK. The door slowly opened and a guard carrying a sword slowly walked in. Others followed. A total of eight guards entered the room. Their average level, only ten. They were elite compared to most of the others, but still very poor. However, Garnet was able to see the reflective light of their armor from the light coming through the room. Once the guards were in the room, Garnet was the only one who could see clearly because of how dark it was in there. All of the guards were blind by comparison. It would take a few minutes before their eyes adjusted to the darkness, and in that time, Garnet could probably kill them all if she wanted to. When the last guard entered, Garnet grabbed his arm. "UGH," moaned the guard as he fell on the floor. "What happened?!?" shouted a guard. BAM. The door closed shut. Garnet could see them, but they could not see her. Two down, six to go. Garnet''s Pleasure Inducement skill immediately incapacitated someone for quite some time. She ran up to the guard that was giving orders and grabbed his hand. "UGH," he moaned as he collapsed. "I saw something!" shouted a guard. "It was the figure of a woman, but I could not see what it was." "Someone open the door to show some light in here," shouted another. Garnet watched the guard ran towards her and the door. She immediately grabbed him around the waist. "UGH," he moaned as he collapsed. Three down, five to go. Level Up: Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) "Can anyone see it?" shouted a guard. There was no one who could respond. Panic was beginning to spread among them. Even though the room was not that big, with the door closed and no other source of light, it was pitch black in there. Garnet ran up to them. "Air Bullet!" She released a powerful burst of wind that scattered the remaining guards. Level Up: Air Bullet (Level 3) SLAM. The guards all collided against different parts of the room. Only one guard managed to get up. The others were all groaning in pain on the floor. Garnet circled around him and grabbed the back of his head. She watched as he fell to the ground and moaned in pleasure. "UGH," moaned the guard. Garnet went around and made sure she did the same to the remaining four before leaving the room. "None of you saw me," said Garnet as she left. All of them would be incapacitated long enough and would probably be too embarrassed to stay anything even if they could. When Garnet approached the door that was previously guarded by four guards, there was only one left. "Illusion!" She walked up to him and grabbed him. "UGH," the guard moaned as he fell onto the floor. Pleasure Inducement was an extremely powerful ability. Because it pushed the sexual pleasure of the victim, they easily collapsed from the experience. It also left them unable to move for a while, unable to remember what recently happened, and allowed her to suggest thoughts. It was quite powerful and an improvement from Drain Will overall. Garnet slowly opened the door and saw a cannon. Name: Magitech Cannon Class: Artillery Element: Fire Uses mana from any source to generate an explosive ball of fire that detonates on contact. MP Cost: 1000 per shot Garnet looked closer and was able to see the inside of it. She saw a large transparent crystal conduit with red crystals above and beneath it. The only thing she could do was sabotage it. Garnet took out a piece of Wild Boar Meat and tossed it under the crystal. Nothing happened so it was most likely not a trap. She reached her hand in it and took out the crystal. Name: Crystal Conduit Class: Catalyst Element: None Allows mana to be focused through the item in order to amplify it. It was a high quality crystal of some kind. Garnet had an idea. She stored the crystal she just obtained inside her Inventory. It was another important item that could not be lost. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" She immediately ran back to the summoning room and used the magic circle to return to Klarth''s office. When Garnet arrived, she saw nothing. She removed the crystal from the base of Klarth''s bust and returned to the room with the cannon. When her mana refilled, she warped back to the room and replaced the crystal with the one from the bust. The size and shape were a little different, but they looked similar enough. She looked for anything else that she could do to hinder it. The cannon itself used wheels, so she cracked one of them with her hands. BAM BAM BAM. Each punch she threw cracked it further. This would make it so that when it was moved, it would eventually fall, but it would look like it was it collapsed under its own weight. There was one last thing that she could do, damage the barrel of the weapon. That way, it would look like every single thing that could fail, in fact did fail. "Chain Lightning!" Garnet released electricity that filled the weapon before dissipating. Nothing happened, but that was the most that she could do. Anything that was too loud would draw attention. With that, Duke Gray''s secret weapon was damaged, but he would not know it until he actually used it. A few days later, Duke Gray made an official announcement. Duke Wellington, Kiko, and Innes were wanted for crimes against the King. But, Garnet noticed something was missing, there was no official or royal seal on it. It was something in the hands of Zedd, who published his own countering Duke Gray''s position, stating that Duke Gray was the one who was responsible for the death of the King. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 14 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1260/1260 MP: 3180/3180 Fame: 20 Strength: 40 (+5) Dexterity: 38 (+7) Intelligence: 93 (+22) Vitality: 46 (+5) Agility: 47 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 2 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 2 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 3) - Mana Armor (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 6) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 7) - Cook - Inspection (Level 4) - Sewing (Level 4) - Tailor - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 3: Chapter 020 - Zedds Plans Zedd was standing in front of Duke Gray in the throne room. Until the next King appeared, Zedd was in charge and could run the state like a King could until a Duke was chosen to be King. Before him stood Duke Gray, who had complained about what Zedd had done. He knew that Duke Gray was not responsible for the poisoning, after all, Zedd was the one who did it. However, all the evidence showed that Duke Gray had to be involved. "What is the meaning of this?!?" shouted Duke Gray as he threw the papers that Zedd had posted all over the city onto the ground. Duke Gray was an older man that as very tall. He wore a green robe fastened around the waist. Underneath it was a green and white shirt. The sleeves on the outermost layer were slashed three times on the arms equal length apart from one another. Underneath his cap was his hair short that was mostly black, but with some white streaks in it. "It''s exactly what it says," said Zedd. "It was too early to determine for certainty that the other Dukes are behind it. Besides, King Caligula was being protected by the guards that you chose, how did you not catch that he was being poisoned for three years?" "I..." Duke Gray had nothing to say. He had chosen most of the guards and nobles that worked in and managed the city of Antium. "The other Dukes interfered with it!" "Really?" asked Zedd. "Is that why your little brother tried to capture a prostitute under your name? Is that why there''s tens of thousands of gold coins that are unaccounted for in the treasury? Is that why your weapon is stored under the castle?" When Zedd was angered, he was frightening. Duke Gray had witnessed Zedd''s power twice on the battlefield. It was not something that he or is army could stand against. Even if he somehow did manage to defeat Zedd, he would lose so much that he would not be able to fight against the Dukes. "Stay out of this battle," said Duke Gray. "This is a battle between me and the other Dukes." Zedd was already involved in a way that Duke Gray did not expect. He made Klarth Captain of the Guards instead of Duke Gray''s own men. He arranged to have Garnet sabotage Duke Gray''s secret weapon. And, he united the other Dukes against Duke Gray by making them think that Duke Gray was responsible for their assassination attempts. Garnet was back at Zedd''s Workshop studying Summoning and Magicraft. The two were related to one another. One must have a nature type Spirit that represented some kind of element and the proper materials. Only then could they use magicraft. The problem was acquiring the spirit, so she would have to learn to summon first. The magic circle in Garnet''s room lit up. Zedd returned. "Where were you asked?" Garnet. New Quest: Magicraft Learn magicraft from Zedd instead of the book. Reward: New Skill This new quest replaced the ones that asked Garnet to acquire a spirit and learn magicraft from the book. It was an alternative. Zedd had been willing to teach her a lot and would probably teach her more if she asked. "Just taking care of some business with Clark since you haven''t been able to speak to him," said Zedd. "I thought you would have returned to the Duke''s manor by now." "I actually need your help," said Garnet. "What is it?" asked Zedd. "I need you to teach me magicraft," said Garnet. "What makes you think I know it?" asked Zedd. "You''re both a Grand Wizard and a Contracted Summoner," said Garnet. "You must have a spirit and know a lot of magic." "You''re right," said Zedd. "So please, help me," said Garnet. "I learned how to fight from Anna, but my magic development has hit a halt." "The amount of help I can give you is limited," said Zedd. "Most of it depends on your own ability." "I will do my best," said Garnet. She was determined. In the upcoming battle, she wanted to be as prepared as possible. "Hold on to me," said Zedd. Garnet grabbed Zedd''s shoulder. "Teleportation!" Garnet and Zedd arrived by the lake where Garnet acquired Lilith. "Why are we here?" asked Garnet. "Just for safety reasons," said Zedd as he took out a piece of paper and chalk. "Here, draw this magic circle on the ground," he said as he handed Garnet the paper. It used a standard magic circle as a base. However, the inside of it was different. At the center was a symbol that looked like an A without the line going through the middle of it. It had two lines that were kind of diagonal, but not touching it. (»ð) Garnet tried to use her own magic to do it, but it did not work. "It''s not working?" thought Garnet. "This is something that must be drawn," said Zedd. "No way around it has ever been discovered." Garnet took the piece of chalk and started to draw it. After a few minutes, it was done. "Is that it?" asked Garnet. "Now channel your magic through it like any other magic circle," said Zedd. The entire magic circle glowed blue, then changed orange. The whole thing disappeared. At what used to be the center of it appeared a small orange and red flame that hovered above the ground. "This fire is a spirit?" thought Garnet. She was confused. Then again, it was the first time she had ever seen a spirit. The closest thing so far was the Bicorn, and that was actually a magical creature. "Give it a second," said Zedd. "It usually takes it a minute to wake up." Garnet watched as the flame continued to burn in mid air. It began to move around. Some parts of it stretched, other parts of it narrowed. "Did someone call for me?" asked a feminine voice. "I did," said Garnet. The flame transformed into a small girl with short red hair, orange skin, and a red one piece dress with red eyes. On her back were two wings made entirely out of fire. "My name is Nuria," said the flame. "I wish to make a contract," said Garnet. "What are you offering in exchange?" asked Nuria. "Her blood," said Zedd. "Oh?" asked Nuria. "Let me take a look." She flew around Garnet and looked at her. "You look kind of young to be a strong Summoner. Are you sure the perverted old man didn''t summon me for his granddaughter?" "I summoned you myself," said Garnet. "We''ll see about that," said Nuria. "A drop of your blood." Garnet took out her short sword and pricked her finger with it and dripped it onto the ground. She watched as Nuria touched it. "Very good," said Nuria. "I accept!" New Skill: Call: Nuria Summon forth Nuria, the Spirit of Fire. Her strength is proportional to the Summoner and will not disappear unless dismissed by the Summoner or her physical form is destroyed. MP Cost: 1000 "Call: Nuria!" Garnet tried to summon her right away. It required quite a large amount of mana that most people probably did not have. The magic circle that was used to summon Nuria appeared underneath Garnet''s feet and Nuria appeared in front of her. The Nuria in front of her was a little bigger, but not by much. "So you do have the power," said Nuria. "What did you need me for anyways?" "Magicraft," said Garnet. "Have fun with that," said Nurnia. "What now?" asked Garnet. "Have you read the book given to you by Rita?" asked Zedd. "I didn''t understand any of it," asked Garnet. "Basically, you need a magic circle, an elemental spirit to assist you, and a material to work with," said Zedd. "A spirit of fire like Nuria works with metals." "What about this?" asked Garnet as she took out the Crystal Conduit she took from the Magitech Cannon. "That''s not a metal," said Zedd. "If you ever decide to make a magic staff or magic robe, you can probably use it to amplify your magic." "I have a magic robe," said Garnet. She pulled out the robe that Anna had made for her. It was a black mage robe that consisted of several parts. It appeared to be a black dress with a hood and a boat style neckline. It parted at the sides just below the waist. It came with a pair of black pants, gloves, and boots as well. "So beautiful," said Nuria. She was still here hanging around them. Garnet had not dismissed her and she did not leave. She just wanted to see what was going on. "Give me the dress and the crystal," said Zedd. Garnet handed the two objects to him. He took a closer look at each. "These are very well made, where did you get them?" "A friend in Anzio gave it to me," said Garnet. "This looks like it was made by Peter," said Zedd. "It was," said Garnet. "Then I have no doubt this will be good," said Zedd. "Hold on one second." Garnet watched as he took the Crystal Conduit and began to sew it onto the dress just below the neckline. However, it was not regular sewing. She could feel that Zedd was releasing an incredible amount of mana to do it. When he finished, some of the fabric of the black dress began to eat away at the crystal. "What''s happening to it?" asked Garnet. "The dress is absorbing the Crystal Conduit," said Zedd. "When it is done, you can wear it and it will amplify your power." "Thank you," said Garnet. "So about magicraft." "Hold this," said Zedd as he handed Garnet a lump of metal. Garnet looked at it confused. "It''s different types of steel," said Zedd. "Now comes the hard part." BOOM. Garnet was still looking at the lump of steel when she saw a large cauldron appear in front of Zedd. "What is that?" asked Garnet. "This is a cauldron," said Zedd. "We use this for all forms of magicraft." "Don''t we need a fire?" asked Garnet. Zedd pointed at Nuria. "That or whatever spirit you''re using is going to be your fire." "What do I do with her?" asked Garnet. "Just throw her in the pot," said Zedd. "Really?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "Get in there," said Garnet. She watched as Nuria flew in. A red fire appeared underneath the pot. "Now throw in your other items," said Zedd as he rummaged through his bag. Garnet threw in the lump of metal. Zedd threw in several more. "Now what?" asked Garnet. "Just apply your mana and stir," said Zedd as he took out a stick from his bag. Garnet grabbed the stick and began to stir. She began to mix. It felt like the entire pot was filled with liquid when there was only a little from the metals at the bottom. "When the white smoke appears, stop stirring," said Zedd. BOOM. A white cloud of smoke exploded. "That''s not a white cloud," said Garnet. "That''s an explosion of white smoke!" COUGH. Garnet could not stop coughing as she was the one standing near the white smoke. New Sub-Class: Alchemist New Skill: Magicraft Allows you to use a cauldron to create magical items. MP Cost: Varies Skill Upgrade: Inspection (Level 5) "Same thing," said Zedd. "Stop stirring and take the stick out." Garnet looked into the pot and the amount of white smoke began to lessen. When the smoke disappeared, all that was left was four bars of steel. "That''s all there is to it," said Zedd. "You''ll need to find other spirits yourself." "How?" asked Garnet. "Find an area that is rich with a certain type of element and hope Nuria or one of your other spirits can guide you to it," said Zedd. "Hmm..." thought Garnet. They were in the woods. "Are there wood and water type spirits?" "Of course," said Zedd. "There are many types including space, time, and creation." "What do you think Nuria?" asked Garnet. "There''s a water one right here," said Nuria as she pointed to the lake. Nuria wrote out a symbol in the air. (Ë®) Garnet drew a magic circle on the ground again with the chalk with that character in the middle and channeled her mana. A ball of water floated in the spot. "It worked!" shouted Garnet. "Not so loud," said a feminine voice. "You''re a girl too?" asked Garnet. "Unless you suddenly turned into a boy, all spirits will appear like a girl to you," said the voice. "I''m Mazu." The ball of water turned into a small girl with long blue hair and a blue one piece dress. Unlike Nuria, she did not seem to fly. She had no feet either and instead, her legs were simply a stream of water that sprouted out of the ground. "A summoning contract please," said Garnet. "Her blood is delicious," said Nuria. "I''ll see that for myself," said Mazu. "Give me a drop." Garnet dripped it onto the floor for Mazu to get a taste of it. Mazu circled around it. "I accept!" said Mazu. New Skill: Call: Mazu Summon forth Mazu, the Spirit of Water. Her strength is proportional to the Summoner and will not disappear unless dismissed by the Summoner or her physical form is destroyed. MP Cost: 1000 "Dismiss!" Garnet immediately sent both of them away. "It was like there''s two of them," said Garnet. "Three," said Zedd. "They tend to take after the person who summons them." Garnet realized that Zedd was talking about her. The spirits react to not only the person who finds them, but their personality as well. That was how Garnet appeared to other people. "Don''t worry about it too much," said Zedd. "Fire is good for making metals and metal weapons while water is good for making medicines and curative items. It''s a good start." "Thank you for the help," said Garnet. "No problem," said Zedd. "You''re probably gonna need them for when the fighting starts." "How would those two help?" asked Garnet. "Spirits can only be harmed by magic," said Zedd. "Around here, that is rare. And, they can harm anything they want." "In other words, they can fight, but others cannot fight back," said Garnet. "Correct," said Zedd. To be unable to fight an enemy in front of you. It was frightening. Only the strongest would be able to fight against her now. "Take the cauldron and mixing stick with you," said Zedd. "Don''t you need it?" asked Garnet. "I have another set with me," said Zedd. "I had this made for you." "Thank you," said Garnet. She stored it away in her rings. After all, she will probably have to use it often in the future. There was still one more thing that Garnet needed. Combat magic. "What about combat magic?" asked Garnet. "What do you already know?" asked Zedd. "Only how to make a Fire Ball, Chain Lightning, Blood Absorption, and Mana Armor," said Garnet. "Just Blood Absorption?" asked Zedd. "Have you already used it?" "Yes," said Garnet. "Did you get any abilities from it?" asked Zedd. "A few," said Garnet. "Show me," said Zedd. "Call: Skeletal Hounds! Call: Skeletons!" Garnet summoned her group of undead. She saw that Zedd was sweating. He was nervous about something. "They''re a lot bigger than I remember," said Zedd. "That''s because I got them after using Blood Absorption on a powerful wolf and some dead man who washed up near a river," said Garnet. "Would you happen to be able to transform?" asked Zedd. "Yes," said Garnet. "Show me," said Zedd. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" This was the first time Garnet was actually using her full transformation. She had only used it to retract her scales at first. "UGH," Garnet''s eyes closed as she groaned. She grabbed her sides as if pain. A pair of black wings sprouted from the shoulder blades on her back. Her arms and legs turned black starting from the fingers and toes. From there, it spread to the rest of her body, covering almost all of it in black scales. The scales stopped just as it was about to reach her neck. Her hair grew down from about halfway to her waist down until it almost touched the ground. When she got back up and opened her eyes, they were red and black instead of white and green or white and blue. She was unrecognizable. Zedd was visibly frightened by this transformation. "Is something wrong?" asked Garnet. Garnet looked at herself. She appeared more like a monster than a human. The ao dai that she was wearing was gone. It was swapped with whatever she had transformed into. In the corner, she saw an icon that showed that all her stats were being increased. "How did you obtain this power?" asked Zedd. "I absorbed three Siren," said Garnet. "When the war begins, you need to attack Duke Gray in this form with your spirits," said Zedd. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "What? Why?" asked Garnet. "Your form is very frightening, you resemble a monster," said Zedd. "It will greatly devastate the morale of the enemy troops." "Isn''t it ridiculous to attack the main enemy army alone?" asked Garnet. "That''s suicide." "That''s only if they have access to high level magics," said Zedd. "I doubt anything outside of a very dense Mana Armor can hurt you." "Isn''t Mana Armor for defense?" asked Garnet. "It''s for offense too," said Zedd. "Mana Armor Overlay!" Garnet watched as Zedd activated his Mana Armor. A blue skeletal like structure wrapped around his entire body. In his hand, appeared a blue long sword about three feet in length. "How did you do that?" asked Garnet. "When your Mana Armor is strong enough, I can teach it to you," said Zedd. New Quest: Enhanced Mana Armor Raise Mana Armor to level 5 and speak with Zedd. Reward: New Skill Zedd was truly frightening as a mage. Garnet noticed that even a strong fighter like Anna was able to use magic. It was clear that a powerful mage like Zedd would be a match for most warriors. The line between the two blurred at higher levels. "How strong is Duke Gray''s army anyways?" asked Garnet. "He has a very large army," said Zedd. "I estimate that his combined force is probably four times the size of the other three combined, so probably a total force of about fifteen thousand." "Fifteen thousand?!? How is that even possible?" asked Garnet. "Duke Gray owns a very large amount of land that is populated by cities, not villages like the other areas," said Zedd. "He was able to build them with the money he''s been taking from the treasury over the years. However, his soldiers are extremely poor in quality, especially their officers who are mostly just wealthy nobles." "Do you think I can do it?" asked Garnet. "You can beat anyone for sure except Duke Gray," said Zedd. "He''s the big older man who has black hair and white streaks in it, he''s easy to see." "So kill some soldiers and avoid Duke Gray, got it," said Garnet. "Try to taunt them a little and capture Baron Gray while you''re at it," said Zedd. "You can use him as leverage and force him to surrender." "You seemed to have thought this out," said Garnet. "I did not have much to do for three years," said Zedd. "I had time for it." Garnet took a look at herself again, flexing her fingers and running around. "Will you fight me?" Garnet asked Zedd. "Not seriously though." "Are you sure?" asked Zedd. "Yes," said Garnet. "I want to feel what it is like to fight in this form. I''ve never done it before." "Let''s fight seriously then," said Zedd. "Instance Dungeon Creation: Training Arena!" A bright flash of light appeared and blinded Garnet. "I can''t see," said Garnet. "Give it a second," said Zedd. The bright light gradually weakened before it disappeared. Garnet stood on a large square stage with Zedd in front of her. As far as the eyes could see, it was just white. "What is this?" asked Garnet. "This is a Time-Space Spell, that allows me to control the flow of time and flow of space," said Zedd. "If you die here, you''ll just feel the pain, but you''ll be okay." "What about you?" Garnet asked. "The same for me," said Zedd. "It took me many years and attempts to learn the base spell, this is just a small modification to the spell." "I did not think this was possible," said Garnet. "Yet you exist as an impossibility in that form," said Zedd. "You are someone who can rewrite the rules of reality and exists as something that is both human and not." Garnet looked at Zedd. His Mana Armor Overlay was changing. She watched the skeleton over Zedd''s body was covered in another flesh and skin. Something that resembled clothes that were black and white appeared over it. His hair turned black and grew to the length of his shoulders. His face began to unwrinkle. "What is happening to you?" asked Garnet. "Much like you, I am something that is human and not," said Zedd. "This is the real me." On top of his now younger form appeared a layer of something that looked like, but was not armor. It changed from the white to blue to numerous colors before changing to a dark shade of green. "You''re kind of attractive," said Garnet. "A married woman shouldn''t speak like that," said Zedd. "And we''re here to fight." Zedd''s aura had completely changed. He was releasing and burning through an insane amount of mana. "Mana Armor!" Garnet activated her Mana Armor. It paled in comparison to Zedd''s, but this was an opportunity for her to train it. "And remember, fight to kill!" shouted Zedd. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet immediately flew up into the sky upon hearing these words. A huge beam of fire appeared from Zedd''s finger tips. He was aiming it like Garnet did and fired them continuously. They were nothing like Garnet''s Fire Bolts. They were more like beams. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired her own Fire Bolt. Her Fire Bolt was no match for the power of Zedd''s. It was instantly swallowed by Zedd''s. "There was no sound of explosion," thought Garnet. "Does this arena stretch endlessly?" Stat Increase: Agility +1 "What''s the matter?" asked Zedd. "You wanted a fight, now you got one." Zedd''s power was frightening to Garnet. He was not holding back and a single hit could kill her. If she got close, Zedd''s sword would probably instantly kill her. If she kept her distance, Zedd could continuously throw spells at her. Garnet turned around and flew directly toward Zedd. "Lightning Bolt!" Zedd was using Garnet''s own spells against her. BZZT. Garnet was hit by it and crashed to the ground. BOOM. "Get up," said Zedd. "You need to be better than this, you need to be stronger than this." Garnet''s mana was being drained while transformed, but thanks to her passive skills that increased her mana regeneration, it stabilized at around 50%, meaning that she could use any spell in her arsenal except Teleport. SHING. Zedd had stabbed Garnet with his sword. "UGH," Garnet groaned in pain. She collapsed on the ground and lost consciousness for a second. When she opened her eyes, Zedd was standing in front of her. "How did death feel?" asked Zedd. "Very painful," said Garnet. "Maybe you''ll learn to avoid it next time," said Zedd. "How am I still alive?" asked Garnet. "I control everything in here," said Zedd. "I told you, as long as you are in this space, you won''t die from any injury. It doesn''t mean you can be careless though." Avoiding Zedd''s attacks taught Garnet how to control herself better, but it was still not enough to actually fight Zedd. She wanted to use Anna''s dash attack, but she was not able to do it. "Maybe with this new body, I can do it!" thought Garnet. Zedd released more Fire Bolts. "Ki Burst!" Garnet wanted to see how effective Anna''s abilities were. VWOOM. The Fire Bolt released by Zedd was neutralized and scattered. "I see you''ve learned some new tricks," said Zedd. "But is that enough? Lightning Bolt!" Zedd was now no longer using fire because Garnet had just shown that it would be ineffective against her. He was using lightning now. Zedd was changing and adapting to the circumstances of the battle every moment. Even with her Enhanced Body, Garnet could not resist the effects of his Lightning. The attack itself was impossible to avoid. "How can I get around lightning?" thought Garnet. It is too fast. Zedd by himself is already fast enough to keep up with her "All of my speed advantage is gone." There was nothing to attract lightning, except, her sword. Zedd approached Garnet as he kept her paralyzed with his lightning. "You still haven''t even been able to attack me yet," said Zedd as he stabbed Garnet. Stat Increase: Vitality +1 Garnet opened her eyes and in pain again. She drew her sword this time. What she was doing before was not working, so she had to change it to even have a chance. "Call: Mazu!" Garnet did not have access to water magic herself, so she needed to rely on a spirit. "Wet as much of the ground as you can," she ordered. Garnet watched as Mazu spread water all around the ground. If Zedd used lightning, there was a chance he would shock himself as well. If there was nothing to stop it, she would make it so that everyone would get shocked. Garnet flew towards Zedd. "I need to be faster!" Garnet thought. Skill Upgrade: Speed (Level 10) -> Haste (Level 1) Greatly increases the speed of the user It was a little faster, but still not enough. "Horizontal Slash!" Zedd met the attack head on with his own sword. CLANG. The two swords collided. "Strange, my sword should have cut right through yours," said Zedd. His eyes moved up and down, looking at Garnet''s sword. "Why did you not attack with your hands?" "I''m pretty sure you can cut right through me," said Garnet. "Stop fighting like a human and fight like a monster!" shouted Zedd. "In that form you are not human," said Zedd. It was hard for Garnet to accept those words. She was something that was not human. However, she had to at least try. After all, Zedd was someone who was very experienced and probably even seen the ability before. "Sweeping Kick!" Garnet lowered herself and swung her leg sideways, igniting flames along the path. Zedd almost fell over as Garnet''s sword stopped resisting his, but he was able to regain his stance and step backwards before Garnet was able to kick him. This was the first time that Zedd was on the defensive since the fight started. Garnet knew that Zedd was still holding back. He was a powerful mage, but he was not using any strong magic against her. Zedd had only used spells that he had seen Garnet use. Instead, Zedd chose to attack her at close range. Garnet looked at Zedd''s stance. He was still standing in a rather defensive stance. He was not attacking at all. Zedd wanted Garnet to attack. He wanted to see how strong she really was. Garnet flew straight towards Zedd with her fist. Zedd raised his sword to block, but Garnet expected this. Her hand opened up when she saw Zedd raise his sword. "Explosive Palm!" BOOM. A powerful explosion knocked Zedd back, but he was relatively unharmed. "More aggressive!" shouted Zedd. "Fight fierce with all your might, hold nothing back!" SCREECH. Garnet used the loud screech that the Sirens were able to do. The loud high pitched, shrill sound would definitely scare those who have heard it before. If you were close to it, you would suffer hearing loss or a loss of balance. Zedd was unaffected by it. "When you fight outside, you are fighting to survive! If someone is trying to kill you, you must try to kill them right back!" Garnet had not fought to kill another person yet. It has only been monsters. Zedd was pushing her to be able to fight and kill another human. After all, it was what she was going to need to do in a war. If she broke down the moment that she killed someone, everything they have done up to this point would have been for naught. Garnet charged forth with the intent to kill Zedd. She tucked in and dived low, making it as difficult as possible for Zedd to actually hit her. Her fingers closed in on themselves so that it acted more like a knife, she hoped they were close enough to each other so that she could stab straight through someone with her hand. As she pushed forward, Zedd intercepted it with his own sword supported by his Mana Armor. CLANG. The collision between Garnet''s fingers and Zedd''s sword produced sparks. However, Zedd did not move a single step. Zedd had been playing it safe and backed to make sure that he had sufficient time to react to Garnet''s attacks. At no point had Garnet been able to actually hurt Zedd in any way, shape, or form. "We''ll stop here," said Zedd. "That''s good enough for me." "I couldn''t break through your defense," said Garnet. "I would be surprised if you could," said Zedd. "You are strong enough to beat any soldier in Antium, even Duke Innes and Duke Gray in a head on fight if you fought like that." "How is that even possible?" asked Garnet. "You don''t realize it yet, but your transformed self exhibits an aura of oppression," said Zedd. "This aura reduces the abilities of your enemy. If you combined it with your own boost in your own abilities from your transformation, it should be easy to do it." "Why don''t you fight Duke Gray?" asked Garnet. "Because I must at least maintain the illusion of neutrality," said Zedd. "I keep the King''s throne safe until someone is qualified to take it. That is my duty. If it was known that I was favoring a certain Duke, it would make it harder for others to accept that the Duke earned it." "Then the battle will largely be up to me," said Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "But if you can strike fear into their hearts early on into the battle with that form, it will greatly reduce their morale." "Transform!" Garnet undid the transformation. "UGH!" she groaned. Her hair retracted and turned black, the black scales on her body and her wings retracted. It was still extremely painful because it transformed entire body. It consumed mana to maintain the form, but thanks to her high mana regeneration, she was able to maintain it if she did not cast a lot of spells while transformed. "That looks very painful," said Zedd. "It is," said Garnet. "Yours looks so tame by comparison." "Thta''s because it is mostly an appearance change," said Zedd. "It does very little to change my power, but yours grants you immense power by physically changing your body." "So they''re fundamentally different?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "Mine would be like a 10% power increase at best, while yours doubles your power." It was a frightening thought. You could double your strength in an instant through a simple transformation. Even with Garnet''s low level, she could be a match for someone who was almost four times her own level. "How is that even possible?" asked Garnet. "The Dukes are each like three or four times my own level." "Levels are not everything," said Zedd. "I''m sure you''ve noticed it at least some point." When Garnet fought the Siren, the level 15 Siren proved to be more powerful than she ever thought. She did not see the others, but they were a match for Dukes Wellington and Kiko. "The Hero System is truly frightening," said Garnet. "As important as levels are, experience is what matters most," said Zedd. "Combat experience, training, and for us mages, studying. All of these vastly increase our strength more than experience ever could." "Then why do the Dukes seem kind of weak?" asked Garnet. "Many of them are suited for magic because of the things they do, but they choose to use decorative weaponry instead," said Zedd. "In order words, they aren''t able to use their full power and their stats are being underutilized," said Garnet. "Correct," said Zedd. "Duke Wellington is a decent fighter, but he is suited for public speaking and and oversight more than anything. Duke Innes is a tough fighter, but because of his style, he often avoids fighting. As for Duke Gray, he is fairly straightforward and lacks special skills that most other fighters have. " "Duchess Kiko was quite a powerful mage though," said Garnet. "That''s because she still actively studies magic," said Zedd. "She developed some very high level lightning spells though her mana pool is quite low since even though she studies magic, she doesn''t actually utilize it enough." "I saw some of those spells," said Garnet. That was also what would explain why Kiko fell asleep after using the powerful lightning spell. She ran out of mana and fainted. "And do not speak of anything you saw or did here today," Zedd added. "Okay," said Garnet. "Do you know when the fighting will begin?" Garnet asked. "Wait for the impatient Duke Gray to attempt to seize control of Antium and the throne with his army," said Zedd. "That will give the other Dukes a good reason to fight back." "Okay," said Garnet. "Then, I will go into Antium transformed and strike terror into their hearts." "I have no idea how long this war will last," said Zedd. "It is best that you try to whittle down Duke Gray''s power as much as you can so that the other Dukes can finish him off. Book 3: Chapter 021 - The Occupation of Antium Last chapter for the weekend. Pretty good progress in my opinion considering how long it takes me to write each one despite having plans and outlines. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnet was still in Antium when Duke Gray made his move. She could hear the sound heavily armored footsteps. When she peeked out the window of Zedd''s Workshop, she saw them. Numerous soldiers that all bore Duke Gray''s green crest on their armor. The soldiers also wore full plate armor, which was normally very expensive. However, it also made them very hard to kill due to arrows having little effect. Only melee combat or magic could hurt them. Luckily, few people recognized Garnet. Baron Gray knew the older Garnet, but since she absorbed the Siren, she had actually appeared younger. If Baron Gray was still looking for her, he would probably not be looking for someone as young as her. Among the soldiers were a few banner carriers. She saw several men and women who wore bright colored armor adorned with gold. They were probably the other nobles from the South who were supporters of Duke Gray. Thanks to Duke Gray controlling most of the guards in the city, some of the soldiers was able to walk right in. The army made their way toward the castle. Duke Gray announced his demands, "As of this moment, Antium is under the control of King Arnold the First, formerly Duke Gray of the Southern River." A well dressed knight appeared before them. It was Kirk. "What is the meaning of this?" asked Kirk. "No noble of Antium is allowed to mobilize their army to the city unless it is requested by the King." "King Arnold Gray has ordered it," said Baron Gray. "He is now the one true King of Antium." "That''s preposterous," said Kirk. "A King can only be chosen once a majority the four Dukes have agreed." "The other Dukes were traitors who plotted against the King and poisoned him," said Baron Gray. "They lost their right to claim the throne in doing so." Kirk drew his sword and the other guards at the front gate followed. "It is my duty to protect this castle and I will not let you take it!" he shouted. Suddenly, something came and landed right in front of Kirk. A cloud of dust rose and the ground was cracked from the landing. The dust took a minute to settle and before Kirk stood an old man with white hair. "Zedd?!?" Kirk shouted. He was surprised, Zedd had made a move. "Don''t you remember our conversation?" asked Zedd. "Or did you forget that your guards were the one who failed to discover that the King was being poisoned for nearly three years. Evidence points to you being the traitor." "TSK," King Arnold grunted. Even though he had threatened Zedd, he knew that in a real fight, Zedd would be able to roll through his entire army. That was the true power of a mage. He had witnessed how Zedd managed to defeat the giant creatures of the previous two Invasions. A skeleton the size of a mountain was brought down in a single swing. Zedd stood in front of them unmoving. "Well?" he asked. "Are you going to stand there or are you going to fight?" "Secure the city," said King Arnold. "We will deal with them after we''ve dealt with the other nobles." The soldiers dispersed all around the city and began to occupy it, taking over both homes and businesses. "Thank you," said Kirk. "I''m just doing my job," said Zedd. "Has Klarth informed you yet?" "Of what?" asked Kirk. "For the duration of this war, we will only hold the castle until the one of the Dukes emerges as King," said Zedd. "Do not get involved no matter who asks, do you understand?" "Yes sir!" said Kirk. "But I heard you showed some favoritism towards our Hero," he whispered. "The Hero can choose which side she wishes to take," said Zedd. "If for some reason, the Grays made her mad, then that''s their own fault." Kirk knew what he was talking about. Baron Gray had tried to capture Garnet. If anything, he had made an enemy of her and it was his own fault. Now, Garnet would have a chance to pay them back. "Now, I have some business to take care of," said Zedd. "If you need me, burn one sheet of this paper," said Zedd as he handed Kirk five sheets of paper with Summoning Circles on them. "What is it?" asked Kirk. "Each one can summon a powerful creature that is under my control," said Zedd. "For that duration, it will listen to either you or Klarth and only either of you two. If someone tries to take the castle, use it." "Alright," said Kirk. "Where are you going?" "To make sure that this King Arnold loses this war," said Zedd. "Teleportation!" In an instant, Zedd disappeared leaving Kirk and the guards in front of the castle relieved. Meanwhile, Garnet decided to go elsewhere. It would be problematic if they searched Zedd''s Workshop and found her. "Teleportation!" Garnet warped over to Anzio, where Anna was staying with Jasper and Jade. "How are things down South?" Anna asked. "Duke Gray just invaded Antium," said Garnet. "I just came here to lie low until they''re done searching the city," said Garnet as she picked up Jasper. Jasper was still struggling to walk on his own while Jade was able to already. Both of them were able to start speaking, calling Garnet "ma." Garnet had wanted to see Ruby, but she was busy in school. Leeroy was watching over Ruby, so there was nothing to really worry about. "Ruby has been doing fairly well," said Anna. "I know," said Garnet. "I just can''t help but worry though." "Welcome to being a mom," said Anna. "I''m surprised it took you this long." "Anything I should know about?" asked Garnet. "Nothing specific," said Anna. "Despite all the crazy things down South, it''s pretty calm up here in Anzio." "That''s good news," said Garnet. "For a moment, I thought that someone would ask Anzio for help in a war." "Don''t be ridiculous," said Anna. "A major trade city like this making enemies would be extremely bad for everyone. At least right now, everyone has an equal stake or interest in Anzio and no one wants to make a move though Anzio could probably make one or two and still get the support of all the other countries." Once it was dark, Garnet headed back to Zedd''s Workshop. Back at Zedd''s Workshop, Garnet watched as the soldiers settled down after they had spread across the city. Some of them went into the homes of people. "What''s happening?" she thought. "They''re occupying the city," said Zedd. "It is a smart move considering that this city is now a fortress thanks to Duke Wellington''s improvements." "So what now?" asked Garnet. "As night falls, you need to pay some of these soldiers a visit," said Zedd. "Just kill a single soldier in a brutal fashion. I recommend you use your scream at as close proximity as possible or perhaps stab one through the chest while transformed and remember not to absorb their body. We need them to find the body." "Okay," said Garnet. Quest: Distrub the Peace (I) Duke Gray has declared himself King Arnold, see to it that this King''s reign is short by breaking the morale of his troops. Reward: Experience Zedd had tried to prepare her for this. Garnet had lacked the intent to kill and Zedd drew it out from her. However, she had not killed a single human yet. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Every time Garnet transformed, she groaned and occasionally screamed from the pain. This was the price for the enormous gain in power. "I don''t think I will ever get used to seeing that," said Zedd. "I don''t think I will ever get used to feeling it," said Garnet. "Alright I''m off. Teleportation!" Garnet used the Teleportation Summoning Circle to move to outside the East Gate. From there, she could see the city from the outside. She could also make it appear like the monster attacked from outside the city and was not already inside. "Flight!" Garnet flew high into the sky from which she could see some of the soldiers. Atop the East Gate were numerous guards, so it was impossible from there. She needed to find isolated ones. Strangely enough, the soldiers were not looking up. "Do they not have flying enemies or are they just that stupid?" thought Garnet. Without much difficulty, she was able to just fly and land straight in the city. She landed in the small alley where she once observed the East Gate. "There''s too many of them," she thought. Then it hit her. A place where a soldier was most likely to depart alone. The brothel. Chances are that some of the soldiers would take this chance to go. Even if they entered together, there was a chance that they would depart separately. Garnet headed over to the brothel that she used to be part of. She watched as a few people entered and left. The best thing to do would be to find one that was leaving alone. They would be distracted and not be on guard. From the rooftop of a nearby building, she could see people coming and going. As the night went on there were fewer and fewer people walking the streets. This was the prime opportunity. If someone walked out alone and there was no one walking towards the brothel, then the kill was secure. Garnet saw a lone soldier walk out of the brothel. Name: Lloyd Level: 8 Class: Warrior Sub-class: Knight Stats: High Vitality It was the jerk who kicked her awake when she was exhausted after the summoning. "Well, looks like karma is going to get you back," thought Garnet. She flew up and straight down. She could see Lloyd clearly, but Lloyd could not. "Hey girl, you want to come back to my place?" asked Lloyd. His words made it clear that he could see the outline of at least a female figure, but not her complete appearance. Garnet walked forward and saw as Lloyd''s smile widened. However, it gradually turned into one of fear. "Stay away!" shouted Lloyd as he drew his sword. "I thought you wanted me to come over," said Garnet. "So I did." "No, stay away from me you monster!" shouted Lloyd. "There''s no one around to hear you scream," said Garnet. "But there''s also no one around to hear me scream either." SCREECH. Garnet screamed with all her might. Before her, Lloyd collapsed and fell on his back. CLANG. The sword he held dropped on the floor. Garnet had not laid a single finger on him, and he was already down. She walked up closer to look at his body. Lloyd was bleeding from his ears, eyes, mouth, and at least several other places. The power of the Sonic Scream was terrifying, yet someone like Zedd was unaffected, just showing how strong he truly was. Lloyd was Garnet''s first kill, but she felt little emotion. She was not sure whether because it was she felt that Lloyd deserved it or because she was a monster herself now. But either way, Lloyd was in the wrong place at the wrong time. After all, Lloyd was one of the King''s bodyguards yet it was under his watch that the King was poisoned to death. There would be many people who wanted him dead, but few could do such a thing to him. After this, Garnet quickly left the scene and back to Zedd''s Workshop. The next day, there was no word about the death of Lloyd. When Garnet returned to the scene of Lloyd''s death, there was no body or blood. Someone had cleaned it up to hide it. As she walked through the streets, she caught some of the guards staring at her, but none of them actually tried to do anything. Normally, there would be lots of sexual assaults, but for some reason there was not. Perhaps it was because King Arnold was trying to win over the people, so he explicitly forbid it in exchange for being allowed to use the brothel or there was another reason for it. However, this meant that if the killing was covered up, she would need to do it again and make it impossible for them to cover it up. The only thing that came to mind was a brutal killing. One that was vicious and meant to send a message. It would also have to be someone important, not just anyone. It had to be a noble, preferably a middle ranking one. However, it was not easy to get her hands on one and they would not willingly meet with her. "Wait a second!" she thought. Garnet ran over to the brothel. At the front desk was Holland, the manager. He was still there. She thought that someone like Duchess Kiko would have killed him for selling Garnet after seeing how Kiko reacted when she found Garnet with Duke Wellington. But, Kiko was more sensible than that. She kept capable people around her and if this was a brothel managed by her, it meant that Holland was very capable. "I''m looking for work," said Garnet. "You''re Garnet!" said Holland. "You look so different, as if you were five years younger." "I''ll spend one night here to work with you on one condition," said Garnet. "What is it?" asked Holland. "I will only accept nobles under Duke Gray''s territories as customers, and they will wait for me at a room above the bar, not here" said Garnet. "Of couse," said Holland. "I could charge an extremely high fee considering that you were almost booked every night by some anonymous noble for quite a long time." Holland was referring to Duke Wellington. Charles did not want it to be known that he was visiting Garnet so often, so he often arranged for a meeting at another place through a third party. However, her popularity had not decreased by much. Garnet watched as Holland drew up a sign: "Garnet''s Return! One Night for the Highest Bidder!" Holland wasted no time in taking advantage of this opportunity to make some quick cash. He sent out a few people to post the banner and spread the word. "Let me show you to the place," said Holland. He brought Garnet to a bar that also doubled as a lower end inn. Upstairs were several rooms. On some nights, they would rent out the rooms if there were more guests. It was also less obvious and some higher ranking nobles would also arrange for this to maintain a degree of secrecy. Garnet was brought to the room furthest in the back. "Thank you," said Garnet as she entered the room. It was a plain room with only a queen sized bed and a desk with a chair. Tonight, she would kill a high ranking noble in a brutal fashion here. This would make it so that the death could not be covered up. No matter how much they tried to, when a noble goes missing or is killed, it is a very big deal and an investigation is often ordered immediately upon discovery of such a thing unless the death was arranged by someone higher up. Garnet waited outside of the brothel, observing in the shadows. As she waited and watched, she saw several people, come and go. However, there was no one that resembled a noble of any kind. If there was, they probably dressed in casual clothes, but they were more likely to send someone to arrange for it. To be safe, Garnet went in to ask Holland in the evening. "So who is my customer?" asked Garnet. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Don''t know," said Holland. "A man bearing one of Duke Gray''s silver cards showed up and paid 200 gold coins immediately for the location." That meant it was a family member or someone related to Duke Gray. It was not King Arnold or whatever he called himself now, but it was someone related. No matter what, the person that Garnet killed could not be kept hidden. King Arnold would immediately try to find the killer if someone killed one of his family members. The problem was that it was impossible to tell as there was so many. That night, Garnet waited outside of the bar just to be safe. As she waited, only one person stood out. The person wore a cloak and was being escorted by four men who wore casual clothes and also covered themselves in some nice looking cloaks that would help protect them against the cold. They were trying to hide, but they clearly stood out. The person being escorted went in while three of the four went inside. Garnet entered the bar herself and saw another man stay at the ground floor. She went upstairs and saw two of the men standing in the front guarding the door of the room that she was supposed to go to. The entire floor was silent. There was sound coming from downstairs, but there was clearly no one in the upstairs room. This person had reserved all the rooms so that they would not be heard. Garnet approached the door. "Hold it!" said one of the guards. He looked at Garnet''s face and into her eyes. He was checking to see if she was who she really said she was. Garnet''s main identifier was her blue and green eyes. Not only was the color odd, it was rare to have them both present in one person and she was probably the only person in Antium with this trait. The guard then patted her down to make sure that she was not carrying any weapons. The guard opened the door. Garnet walked inside and saw a middle aged woman with long black hair. She was quite tall and was dressed as a man when she entered in order to hide her identity. Name: Boelyn Gray Level: 38 Class: Longbowman / Viscountess Sub-Class: Hunter Stats: High Dexterity, High Agility She was definitely a member of the Gray family based on the name. However, Garnet had not expected a woman. There were times when Garnet had female customers, but they were extremely rare. A noblewoman was exceptionally rare and during her years as a prostitute, Garnet had never had one as a customer before. "I''ve been waiting for you Garnet," said Boelyn. "Hello," said Garnet. She had no other way to respond. "I wanted to see what my brother was all stressing over," said Boelyn. "He sure has fine taste in women." "Who?" asked Garnet. "Oh right, you probably know him as Baron Gray," said Boelyn. Garnet was going to have to kill Boelyn in order to induce panic among the soldiers of Duke Gray. She was hesitating. Boelyn walked up to Garnet and took her by the arm. "What are you waiting for?" she asked. "I paid good money for you." She guided Garnet to the bed and pushed her down. Boelyn was really going to go through with it. A hundred gold coins was the price that she was paying for Garnet and she wanted to use it. As Garnet felt Boelyn press her down, she turned the situation around and pinned Boelyn to the bed. "I''m sorry about this," said Garnet. "Pleasure inducement!" Garnet watched as Boelyn begin to pant heavily. She covered Boelyn''s mouth with one hand so that if Boelyn screamed, it would still be hard to hear her. "UGH," Boelyn moaned as she grabbed onto Garnet tightly as she could. A second later, she let go and fell back onto the bed. Boelyn laid on the bed with her arms spread out and breathing heavily. Her eyes closed as she fell asleep. This was now Garnet''s chance. She opened her Inventory and took out her old short sword that she had gotten from Klarth. She held the sword in her hands above Boelyn''s chest. "One...," Garnet breathed deep. "Two...," Garnet held her breath. "Three!" She plunged the sword straight into Boelyn''s heart. You have leveled up! Killing people granted experience as well. It was proof that Boelyn was dead since experience was only granted from kills. Blood flowed onto the sheets and Garnet watched as the red spread outwards. Boelyn was now dead and no one else around was the wiser. Next came the hard part, Garnet had to make it look like a brutal killing. She took out the sword and punctured the body two more times to make it three holes in her body. She then put away the sword in her Inventory. With this, they would not be able to find it. Garnet rolled around in some of Boelyn''s blood so that it was all over her body as well. She turned and opened the window before crouching into a corner facing the wall. Garnet crouched down and wrapped her arms around her legs. She then began to rock back and forth for a bit. "KYA!!!" Garnet screamed as loud as she could. BAM. The door instantly bursted open. "What happened?!?" shouted the guard. "Oh no.." said the other guard as he looked at Boelyn''s body. The first guard turned to Garnet and pulled her up. "What happened? Who did this?" asked the guard. Garnet slowly raised her right arm shaking and pointed at the window. The guard turned to the window and looked outside. He was scratching his head. "What do I do?" he said. "Did you do this?" asked the guard. Garnet shook her head. "Did you see who did this?" asked the guard. Garnet trembled as she spoke. "Bat... wings... claws...." said Garnet. She did as best as she could to say a few words about her own monster form, hoping to sew the seeds of fear into their thoughts. "Look at this," said the guard who was looking at Boelyn''s body. He was pointing to the three puncture wounds in her chest. "It looks like something sharp pierced through her chest at three different points at once," said the guard. He continued to inspect the body to look for any other details that might stand out. However, without knowing more about what happened, there was nothing he could really say. "Did anything else you see stand out to you?" asked the guard. "White... hair... all... black...," said Garnet. "No... more..." The guard tried to touch Garnet''s arm to move her out of the corner. "No!" screamed Garnet. The other guard turned to Garnet. "You must speak nothing of this," said the guard."You were never here, we were never here, you never saw this woman, do you understand?" asked the guard. Garnet nodded in response. The guard took out Boelyn''s spare clothes and tossed them to Garnet. "Cover yourself with this as you leave, speak to no one on the way out, and get rid of the clothes after," said the guard. He was trying to erase all evidence that Garnet or Boelyn had ever been there to reduce the amount of attention. Garnet nodded. She changed her clothes and wore the cloak over herself and walked straight out. The people downstairs did not hear what had happened. After all, they were quite loud downstairs with all the drinking and yelling. Even Boelyn''s other guards just stood there and watched. They were unable to hear the scream. Garnet left the bar and headed straight back to Zedd''s Workshop. There, she cleaned herself up and thought about what she had done. Boelyn was someone that Garnet did not know, yet she killed Boelyn in cold blood without a second thought. "Call: Nuria!" Garnet called forth the fire spirit and used the cauldron to melt down the bloodied sword into steel bars, burned the clothes that she had used and taken, and the towel that she had just used to kill herself. Now, anything that tied Garnet to the killing of Boelyn was gone. Level Up: Magicraft (Level 2) Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 The next morning, Zedd was waiting for Garnet. "Don''t you have a castle to run?" asked Garnet. "Nope," said Zedd. "King Arnold is trying to run everything, so I have nothing to do." "Why are you here then?" asked Garnet. "So I heard about what you did," said Zedd. "That was brilliant." "I did not expect Boelyn Gray to be the visitor though," said Garnet. "Me neither," said Zedd. "You were hoping it was the Baron Gray that you hate so much, but Boelyn is Duke Gray''s favorite." "What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "Boelyn is Duke Gray''s beloved older sister," said Zedd. "He is certain to seek revenge and he will not be able to keep silent about it." "Was it the right thing to do though?" asked Garnet. She could not help, but ask because Zedd mentioned the word beloved. "Boelyn might have seemed like a nice person at first, but she was pretty brutal herself," said Zedd. "She loved and took care of her brothers, but she was almost as cruel as the rest of them." "Cruel how?" asked Garnet. "She enjoyed the power she had over other women," said Zedd. "I won''t get into the details, but I can assure you, she was not a good person. There are plenty of other women at the brothel who can tell you that." "Are there any good nobles out there at all?" asked Garnet. "It feels like Duke Wellington is the one and only." "There are," said Zedd. "Those are the ones that chose not to fight, knowing that Duke Gray was a fool and had no right to claim the title of King like he tried to do." "Is there anything we can do about it?" asked Garnet. "Duke Gray will be publicly executing them in a few days," said Zedd. "What?!?'' shouted Garnet. "How can he do such a thing?" "A King has to find a way to maintain loyalty among his citizens," said Zedd. "You can do it through any way you see fit. King Arnold is trying to do it to show what will happen to traitors." "What should I do?" asked Garnet. "The same thing as before," said Zedd. "You must strike fear into their hearts." "How?" asked Garnet. "King Arnold will be publicly executing them," said Zedd. "That means you will know where he is and when he will be there. A certain monster just has to make an appearance." "How do you do it?" asked Garnet. "How can you kill people so cold heartedly?" "It''s because I know I am doing the right thing," said Zedd. "As much as I would like to save everyone, I am trying to find the best outcome in which most people survive. If we let Duke Gray do this, in less than two years, the Invasion will wipe out Antium." "The Invasion is coming in two years?" asked Garnet. "Don''t you remember?" asked Zedd. "It happens every five years or so and that time is coming sooner than you think. In order for Antium to stand a chance, this war will need to be resolved in a year and the newly crowned King Charles must rebuild Antium and gather its forces to repel the Invasion." Time was something that Garnet did not have a lot of anymore. She had used her own time to spend with her family, but that time was gone now. The faster King Arnold was eliminated, the more time they would have to prepare. If it took too long, then they would not have time and they would be easily overrun. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 14 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1270/1270 MP: 3200/3200 Fame: 20 Strength: 40 (+5) Dexterity: 38 (+7) Intelligence: 94 (+22) Vitality: 47 (+5) Agility: 48 (+7) Charisma: 24 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 2 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 5 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 2 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 5 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 3) - Mana Armor (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 6) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 7) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 2) - Alchemist - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 3: Chapter 022 - The Execution Grounds Have to teach a cooking class this week as well, so a little slow on the releases. I''ll try to get three chapters out before Sunday. No guarantees though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the next few days, Garnet and Zedd watched as gallows were being assembled in front of the castle. This was where Duke Gray was planning to kill those who did not support his cause. In the corner of her eye, she spotted Baron Gray, who was overseeing the completion. He was wearing much fancier clothes than before. They were a dark green with outlines of white and three slashes across each arm. There were about three dozen soldiers who were working to build the gallows. Garnet caught Baron Gray looking at her several times, but he did not speak up. It was either because he still did not dare to or because he did not recognize the much younger Garnet. Either way, Garnet did not care and Zedd was there to protect her if something did happen. Public executions were used to send a message, often as a way to discourage certain behaviors. For Duke Gray, it was to silence opposition to him. Garnet realized that this scene looked quite familiar. It was when the invading army would present important prisoners in front of the enemy castle before executing them as a way of trying to lure out the defending army. The strange thing was that Duke Gray was killing nobles that should have been fighting under him. This would only provoke more rebellion among some of the people and might cause his own soldiers to defect if they were loyal to the executed nobles and not Duke Gray. A few days earlier, Zedd had spoken to Garnet about what to do. "On the day of the execution, I want you to transform and land straight into the execution grounds after the first execution," said Zedd. "Why after the first?" asked Garnet. "I want you to make it look like King Arnold was the one who brought the monster," said Zedd. "The first group of nobles will have to die." "I want to save as many as I can," said Garnet. "Then you will have to make up some excuse as to why you are there," said Zedd. "But you have to make sure that King Arnold is the one blamed for luring the monstrous you to the city." "So the purpose of this is to burden King Arnold with more problems?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "And make sure you make a show of it." "Make a show?" asked Garnet. "What do you mean?" "Speak loudly and direct people''s attention to certain things," said Zedd. "For example, ''I came to taste some fresh blood'' while pointing at the bodies of the executed. Emphasize certain words in your speech, do an evil laugh, use that scream of yours. All of these work." "That sounds silly," said Garnet. "It doesn''t matter how it sounds," said Zedd. "What matters is what the people feel, and they need to feel that King Arnold is the one that brought forth a terrifying monster to the city." As Garnet looked over the execution grounds, she was thinking about how to do this. Getting in and out of the city was easy. Killing these weak soldiers were easy. Finding an excuse and showboating was not easy. In her mind, she played through different things that she could do. In order to grab people''s attention, when she lands, she should kill a soldier, making it look like it was very easy for her to kill and she would do it without a second thought. That was as far as she got. In terms of what to say, she had no idea yet. Luckily, there was still some time as construction on the gallows would take a few days and it will take even longer to make sure that enough people showed up to watch the execution. "Anything good come to mind?" asked Zedd. "Nope," said Garnet. "How about ''I''m going to pleasure myself with your blood''?" asked Zedd. "That sounds like something a dirty old man would say," said Garnet. "Maybe you should ask Duke Wellington to help?" Zedd suggested. "I''m sure he can think of something." "Maybe," said Garnet. She decided to give it a try. She headed back to the Duke''s manor. As Garnet arrived outside the manor, she only saw some soldiers doing drills and running back and forth. They were still training. The actual battle was still a long way away. She headed to the Duke''s office inside the main house. There was Duke Wellington sitting at the desk quickly writing away. "What are you doing?" asked Garnet. "How about I haven''t seen you in a week my dear?" said Duke Wellington. "It is good to see you again," said Garnet as she hugged Duke Wellington. "What brings you here?" asked Duke Wellington. "I heard from Zedd that you were working hard in Antium." "I need you to help me more intimidating," said Garnet. "You, intimidating?" said Duke Wellington as he laughed. "That''s impossible for someone as small as you." "Transform: Temptress of the Night!" Garnet rolled around on the floor. "Hey are you okay?" asked Duke Wellington. Black wings sprouted from Garnet''s back as her skin blackened. When Garnet finished transforming, she looked at Duke Wellington who had his back against the wall. "How about now my dear?" asked Garnet. Duke Wellington was visibly frightened by Garnet''s appearance. It seemed like no matter who saw her in this form, they were always afraid of her to some degree. "What happened to you?" asked Duke Wellington. "Remember the Siren?" asked Garnet. "I managed to take their power for my own when my blood mixed with theirs." "That was why you were in bed for so long," said Duke Wellington. "I recovered when I learned to control the transformation," said Garnet. "I want to use this form to intimidate Duke Gray and make it look like he is responsible for bringing a monster to Antium." "So you need my help for what?" asked Duke Wellington. "I may look intimidating, but I do not sound intimidating," said Garnet. "I want you to help me with that." "Have you tried to laugh?" asked Duke Wellington. "HAHAHAHAHAHA," Garnet laughed as best as she could. "No," said Duke Wellington. "Mwahahahaha." "MWAHAHAHAHAHA," Garnet tried laughing again. COUGH. She had to stress her throat. "Better," said Duke Wellington. "It''s hard for you to make that deep of a voice, but it will do." "What about choice of words?" asked Garnet. "Talk about blood and death a lot I guess," said Duke Wellington. "Like what?" asked Garnet. "Tonight I will dine on someone''s blood," said Duke Wellington. "So who is it going to be?" "That sounds very bad," said Garnet. "That sounds like someone Zedd would say." "It isn''t the choice of words that makes it intimidating," said Duke Wellington. "It''s how they feel." "That''s exactly what Zedd said!" Garnet exclaimed. "Because visuals are far scarier," said Duke Wellington. "As long as you can maintain that illusion, it should be enough." "Thank you," said Garnet. "You''re not going to do anything too dangerous are you?" asked Duke Wellington. "No," said Garnet. Duke Wellington got close to hug Garnet. "You feel weird," said Duke Wellington. "You should have waited for me to change back," said Garnet. "It doesn''t matter what you look like to me," said Duke Wellington. "As long as you''re you, that''s good enough for me." "Thank you," said Garnet. "Your skin feels kind of rough," said Duke Wellington. "That''s cause I have scales," said Garnet. "Have you thought about how many more kids you might want?" asked Duke Wellington. Garnet immediately pushed him away. "This is not the time for it," said Garnet. "Besides you need to maintain your image with Duchess Kiko." "I know," said Duke Wellington. "But remember that you are my wife and that there will be a place for you no matter what." "I know," said Garnet. "I just wish that you could have been Queen," said Duke Wellington. "Not everything works out all the time," said Garnet. "But just promise me that you won''t have a bunch of women around. Ruby''s stories really worried me." "That was the young me," said Duke Wellington. "Before I became Duke. Since then, I''ve mostly stopped and when Ruby came, I did my best to stop and I eventually did." "I know," said Garnet. She kissed Duke Wellington before stepping back. "Transformation!" Garnet collapsed on the floor as she transformed again. "Don''t tell anyone about that appearance," said Garnet. "If I did, I don''t think anyone would even believe me," said Duke Wellington. "I have one more thing to ask," said Garnet. "What is it?" asked Duke Wellington. Garnet handed Duke Wellington some of Zedd''s Summoning Circle Talismans. "Place this somewhere near you so I can reach you in case of an emergency," said Garnet. "I will," said Duke Wellington. So, the most important thing was to at least seem scary. What Garnet had to say did not really matter as long as she could look scary to everyone else. Even though Zedd''s lines seemed silly at first, it was still the right thing to do. Garnet Teleported back to Zedd''s Workshop and began to practice her lines. This was all she could do was practice until the execution date and then try to stop it. She emphasized development of certain behaviors to make it seem like she was more animal than human. New Skill: Partial Transformation (Level 1) You are now able to transform individual parts of your body and do not have to transform entirely. Stat Increase: Charisma +1 It was finally the day of the execution. The gallows were set up right in front of the castle. The goal, to silence all opposition to King Arnold by executing the nobles who did not agree with Duke Gray''s self proclamation. There were about two dozen nobles and their families present. They were locked in cages that were pulled along by horses. As they paraded through the streets of Antium, various soldiers announced that there was going to be an execution and people were to gather in front of the castle to witness it. Garnet headed to the outside of the city to transform. In addition, she summoned everything that she could. "Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu! Call: Lilith! Call: Skeletons! Call: Skeletal Hounds" Together with Garnet, they numbered eleven. "I was almost worried you weren''t ever going to call me out," said Mazu. "How about me?" asked Lilith. "I haven''t been summoned in years!" "We''re going to scare some people today," said Garnet. "It''s best to leave the armored soldiers injured rather than dead." "The hounds and skeletons will follow Lilith and intimidate the city from outside the West Gate," said Garnet. "The rest of us will go in directly to the execution ground." "What do we do?" asked Nuria. "Attack any soldier who gets too close," said Garnet. "If a civilian gets too close, just push them away or let me do it." "Alright," said Nuria. "Let''s go!" "Our goal is to make it look like Duke Gray or King Arnold or whatever he calls himself look like he is unable to keep the city safe," said Garnet. From there, she flew towards Antium. Nuria and Mazu were both able to fly after her despite Mazu not having wings or any sign that she could fly before. When the sun was almost directly overhead, she flew upwards and over the city. The streets were not empty though. There were people who did not go to see the execution. After all, death by hanging was fairly gruesome. The soldiers were gathering some people and pushing them to attend though. After all, it would be pointless if there were not enough witnesses. King Arnold stood on top of the gallows preparing his speech. His voice was being amplified by one of his mages. Zedd, Kirk, and Klarth stood in front of the castle with some guards in case anyone tried to attack the castle or force their way. Just behind the gallows were four carriages. Each one had a noble and their family in it. Surrounding the whole place were probably two hundred or so of King Arnold''s soldiers in ornate equipment. The whole thing was made to be a ceremony. King Arnold was using them to display his wealth and power, quite contradictory to what he claimed he was standing for. "People, listen to your new King!" shouted King Arnold. "The noblemen who stand before you are the traitors who have stolen your money!" There were boos from the crowd. "Their punishment, is death!" said King Arnold. "Bring forth the first group!" he shouted. "Are you sure she will be here to stop this?" Klarth whispered to Zedd. "Don''t worry, she''ll be here," said Zedd. "I don''t see her anywhere," said Kirk. "You won''t be able to miss her," said Zedd. "She will be the angel that descends from the sky to stop this." Garnet watched as a few of the soldiers began to take out the first noble and his family. He had three kids that were very young. The whole family of five were all to be executed. For her plan to work, she would have to trust Zedd and his knowledge. SCREECH. Garnet used her Sonic Scream as she circled above them. The goal was to imitate what a crow did. Circling above a site where people were going to die and feast on the remains. Zedd looked up. "She''s here," he said. Kirk and Klarth looked up to see where it came from. Far above in the sky, was a humanoid figure with wings circling above. It was slowly getting closer as it circled. "What''s that?" shouted someone in the crowd who pointed up. A lot of people suddely started looking up in the sky. SCREECH. Garnet used her Sonic Scream as she dove straight for the empty ground between the people and the soldiers. "It''s coming straight for us!" shouted someone in the crowd. The people all began to move backwards. BOOM. Garnet landed. With pitch black scales covering her body, long white hair, and eyes as black as the night with pupils as red as blood, people did not know whether to awe her beautiful or cower in fear. Around her was a ball of fire and a ball of water. Beneath her feet, the ground fell into a small crater and the stones underneath were all smashed. The soldiers and the people all began to move backwards. "Looks like I was a few minutes too early for dinner," said Garnet as she looked around. "What is that?" asked Klarth. "That''s Garnet," Zedd whispered. "But it must not be known." "I''m not leaving until I''ve had my fill of blood," said Garnet as she looked at the crowd. She then turned to the soldiers, the gallows, and then finally to King Arnold. "If I don''t get my fill, then the King will have to pay for it with his own blood." Name: Arnold Gray Level: 58 Class: Titan / Duke Sub-class: Defender Stats: High Vitality "If you''re our King, do something about the monster!" shouted someone in the crowd. Garnet looked at King Arnold. He was extremely nervous and sweating. Her aura was terrifying to most people. "Guards, seize her!" he shouted. "Have it your way," said Garnet. "Nuria, Mazu, come to me!" The ball of fire and the ball of water around Garnet began to take humanoid forms. The three of them stood before two hundred soldiers. Their highest level was fifteen. The average was only ten. They were barely a match for the old Garnet. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Three women stood before two hundred soldiers who created a semi-circle around them, but the soldiers were not prepared for battle, they were prepared for a ceremony. As great as they appeared to be, their equipment was not mean for fighting. "If you don''t want to die, then get out of my way!" "Air Bullet!" Garnet released a powerful burst of wind that knocked over one of the soldiers in the front that was charging at her. She began to make her way through towards King Arnold. "Die monster!" shouted one of the soldiers as he ran straight towards Garnet. Many of the other soldiers were all immobilized by her Aura of Fear. Garnet raised her hand and grabbed the soldier''s ornate sword. With a twist of her hand, the whole sword snapped hin two. "Lightning Palm!" With a single strike, the soldier fell to the ground. "This is by far the weakest King I''ve ever seen," said Garnet. "Are you even sure you''re a King?" Garnet asked. She saw that King Arnold gritted his teeth. He was mad that she was challenging his claim to the throne. "Go!" said King Arnold as he looked at the mage to his side. A good mage was usually stronger than a dozen soldiers. Name: Aaron Level: 10 Class: Wind Mage Sub-Class: None Stats: ??? The mage did not even have a high stat that stood out. He probably was not a good one. "Air Pike!" shouted the mage as he launched a blast of wind at Garnet. Garnet raised her arm. VWOOM. "Air Bullet!" The wind was scattered and knocked over some of the people around her. It had no effect thanks to her Mana Armor. "So the mighty King sends forth his underlings to do his dirty work huh?" said Garnet. "You''re no King. Your men at the gate are probably dead by now as well." "What?!?" shouted Kirk. "Then this city is in danger!" "Shh," whispered Zedd. "I doubt she will do any serious damage and is doing something for show." "Not coming down?" asked Garnet. "Then I''ll make you come down!" Garnet dashed towards the soldiers in front of her. "Air Bullet!" She alternated releases of Air Bullet with each of her arms to cleave a straight line towards the gallows. Level Up: Air Bullet (Level 4) When Garnet reached the base of the Gallows, all of the other soldiers kept their distance from her. They knew that they were no match for her. "Wind Palm!" With a powerful burst of wind, Garnet pushed over the gallows and the whole thing collapsed onto the ground. Many people saw it as her raw strength because they did not know that she was using wind magic. The executioner who was the only other person on the gallows besides the King was caught under it. King Arnold himself had jumped back. "The mighty King has fallen behind," said Garnet. "What a pity." "I''ll fight you myself!" shouted King Arnold. Someone had brought his armor, sword, and shield. They were obviously of high quality and shined brightly. However, it also meant that the items were more likely to be ornate than practical. Ornate items are not only weak, but they are not durable. The only purpose they serve is for ceremonial purposes. Someone who was used to fighting would have brought out something more practical. Name: Ceremonial Blade Quality: High Effect: Charisma +20, Damage Dealt -90%, Bonus Skill: Allure Name: Ceremonial Armor Quality: High Effect: Charisma +10, Damage Received -10% Name: Ceremonial Shield Quality: High Effect: Damage Received -10%, Immunity to attacks that ignore armor and defense The shield at least had some uses, but the sword was practically pointless when it came to a fight since it would not deal any damage. It would have been better to just punch someone directly than to use that sword. "Blood Absorption!" The corpse of the executioner and a soldier bursted into blood and flowed into Garnet''s body. "UGH," Garnet moaned. "That feels so good," she said as she licked her finger. Level Up: Blood Absorption (Level 7) The crowd was visibly frightened now. After all, she had devoured two people in an instant, turning them into blood and left no trace of them behind. It was frightening to see. Even Klarth and Kirk were frightened by this. "Die monster!" shouted King Arnold as he dove straight for Garnet. Garnet took her Damascus Sword out of her Inventory. To others, it would appear as if it appeared out of nowhere. Garnet saw that her sword was also wrapped in her Mana Armor. It applied to everything that was considered to be a part of her. It was another thing she did in order to make it seem like she was something beyond impossible. CLANG. Garnet''s sword came into contact with King Arnold''s. She felt the pressure and actually had to take a step back to withstand the attack. King Arnold was very strong, but Garnet''s transformation was able to withstand it. With the buff provided by her transformation and the reduction of King Arnold''s stats thanks to her Aura of Fear, it was possible. Zedd had said it would be easy. For some reason, the nobles were not very strong fighters. According to Zedd, it was because they did not have practical combat experience despite their stats. Their skills were probably mostly stuck at level one due to lack of use while Garnet who was in numerous fights constantly got stronger from stat gains and skill level ups in additional to her normal level gains. Chances are, a level 40 guard who is constantly working and training would be much stronger than King Arnold right now. Garnet drove her left palm towards King Arnold. "Explosive Palm!" BOOM. A powerful explosion knocked King Arnold a few steps back. Despite its power, King Arnold withstood the attack. He was definitely not someone weak. Level Up: Explosive Palm (Level 3) "Blood Bind!" Several tentacles of red erupted from the ground and wrapped around King Arnold''s arms and legs. His speed and strength was severely hampered by this spell. It took him several seconds to get up. Yet, he still could still slowly walk towards Garnet. This gave her a chance to taunt King Arnold some more. "I got this sword from a King to the West," said Garnet. "Now that I think about it, you are a joke compared to him, not even worth my time." "How dare you!" shouted King Arnold. "I am King Arnold Gray, no monster can stop me," "You''re in no position to resist or protect your people," said Garnet. "Help me!" shouted King Arnold as he faced Zedd. Kirk and Klarth both drew their swords, but Zedd raised his arms to stop them. "The monster is not after the castle nor the people here," said Zedd. "It has not harmed anyone except for in self defense and I do not intend to antagonize it. To antagonize it here would endanger all of the people here and I am sure that she will be able to kill at least a few thousand in the time it takes me to bring her down." In other words, Zedd was not going to help unless Garnet attacked the people of Antium straight on. "HAHA," laughed Garnet. "What''s so funny?" asked King Arnold. Garnet looked at King Arnold on the ground and walked toward him. "You claim to be a King, yet your people do not support you," said Garnet. "You can''t even protect your own people. You''re no King, you''re a pretender." "I''ve had my fill of blood for now," said Garnet. "If you had royal blood in you, maybe I would consider devouring you as well. Maybe I''ll be back for more later when you do become King." Garnet turned around and flew into the sky with the ball of fire and ball of water around her. They did not even have to do anything. There was one more thing Garnet wanted to do before she left. To show her power, she would break down the West Gate and make it easier for someone like Duke Innes to invade. Garnet dove straight for the gate. "Explosive Palm!" Garnet crashed straight into the gate. BOOM. Shards of wood splintered outward. The bottom section of the gate was now just a hole. As she turned around to face the gate from the outside, she saw numerous soldiers who were standing at the battlements facing Lilith and the squad of skeletons. The only damage was to some of the stones on the wall. There was no significant damage to the wall itself. Garnet noticed that there were a lot of arrows near the skeletons and Lilith. The soldiers guarding the gate had fired on them, but they could not reach. Her horse along with her skeletons just stood there to intimidate them. "Dismiss!" In an instant, all of them disappeared as Garnet flew away into the distance. Back at the execution ground, Zedd continued to watch King Arnold as he struggled to break free from Garnet''s Blood Bind. All of King Arnold''s plans were ruined by the appearance of a single monster. "You did this!" shouted King Arnold as he pointed at Zedd. "It''s not my fault you let that monster walk all over you," said Zedd. "I told you, my duty is maintaining the throne, if I picked a fight with a monster that you could not beat, it might have killed thousands of people." Kirk and Klarth were surprised that Zedd was talking like that to King Arnold. They were whispering to each other. The crowd was still paralyzed in fear. They all stood by and listened to King Arnold and Zedd argue. "You can''t speak that way to a King!" shouted King Arnold. "I told you," said Zedd. "You''re no King until at least two of the other Dukes recognize you as one." "Are you sure its okay to antagonize him like that?" asked Klarth. "I''m only stating the truth," said Zedd. "Antium has rules, traditions, and procedures that need to be followed. It is my duty to ensure that they are followed and someone who is worthy of the throne takes it. Otherwise, we will just have another Caligula on our hands. If King Arnold wishes it to be changed, he can once he properly obtains the position. Until then, the throne is still waiting for the recognized King." "Help clean up that mess!" Klarth ordered as he pointed to the gallows that were now just broken pieces of wood. A few of the castle guards began to disassemble the remaining pieces. "The rest of you, go back to your business," said Kirk. "We''ll take care of it from here. As long as Duke Gray does not provoke the monster, you should stay safe." "Nice job," said Zedd. "What?" asked Kirk. "Not only did you reinforce the blame placed on King Arnold, you also made it sound like he was responsible for the whole thing," said Zedd. Meanwhile, Garnet flew off into the forest. When she saw that no one had followed her, she returned to her normal form. "I didn''t even get to do anything," said Nuria. "That''s fine," said Mazu. "It means that I did not even have to use my full power," said Garnet. "And they know it." "That seemed to easy though," said Nuria. "I know," said Garnet. "I only know about his Magitech Cannon, but I feel like he is hiding a lot more." Quest Update: Disturb the Peace (II) Help Clark expose the truth behind what Baron Gray is doing Reward: Experience King Arnold was not going to give up on trying to stop her. In fact, she might have only made things worse. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 15 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1320/1320 MP: 3400/3400 Fame: 20 Strength: 40 (+5) Dexterity: 38 (+7) Intelligence: 99 (+22) Vitality: 47 (+5) Agility: 48 (+7) Charisma: 25 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 6 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 3 - Summoning ¨C 7 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Mana Armor (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 7) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 2) - Alchemist - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 3: Chapter 023 - Escalation I have the feeling the next chapter is going to be insanely long... I may also toss some of my rejected ideas into another story on the side to burn through it and come up with something. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnet had successfully provoked King Arnold. As she walked through Antium to the marketplace, she saw several posters asking for the aid of powerful members of the Guild in order to hunt a strong humanoid demon clad in black scales. There was no requirement. The reward, 100 gold coins for the person who brought the head of the demon. In other words, King Arnold wanted to kill Garnet. King Arnold was drifting away from trying to bring order and stability to Antium. He was now just aiming for vengeance. Quest Update: Disturb the Peace (II) Help Clark show the truth behind what Baron Gray is doing Reward: Experience "Nice job by the way," said Zedd. "I followed your advice and tried to speak like someone who was threatening," said Garnet. "You didn''t use enough bad one liners," said Zedd. "But that''s fine." "Why does King Arnold want to kill me now?" asked Garnet. "He showed weakness," said Zedd. "In order to silence his doubters and solidify his position, he is going to try to kill you and show proof in front of everyone as his power." Garnet headed over to the Chamber of Commerce to try to talk to Clark. However, upon her arrival, the entire place was occupied by numerous soldiers. More than most of the other places. They were occupying it for some reason. The market itself was empty. "Over here," whispered someone. Garnet turned around and saw that it was Clark, who was in a green cloak that resembled the people that worked for King Arnold. "How did you recognize me?" asked Garnet. "You look a little younger, but more or less the same," said Clark. "What happened?" asked Garnet. "They took over the entire marketplace to control the supply," said Clark. "Most of the is going to feed and supply King Arnold''s army." "How can they even do that?" asked Garnet. "Baron Gray has my family and the family members of some of the merchants as prisoners," said Clark. "If we don''t do what they say, Baron Gray will kill our families." "Do you know where they are being kept?" asked Garnet. "No," said Clark. "Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Garnet. "Take this," said Clark. He handed Garnet a box camera. It looked like a box, but you could use it to take pictures through the film in the box and the camera on the outside. "Use it to find proof." "Proof of what?" asked Garnet. "Proof that King Arnold is taking innocent people hostage," said Clark. "If you can show that Baron Gray is kidnapping people, then you might be able to help turn the people against the King even more." New Quest: Bring Proof to Clark Baron Gray is kidnapping the families of important people in Antium, find out where they are being kept and report to Clark. Reward: Experience Another quest, another problem. Quests were coming in larger and larger numbers. King Arnold could not earn cooperation, so he had to force it. "Do you have anything that belongs to one of your family members?'' asked Garnet. "I might be able to find them if you do." "What are you a dog?" asked Clark. "No, but I have a friend who has one," said Garnet. "Alright, come with me," said Clark. Clark brought Garnet to his house. It was very small compared to Zedd''s Workshop, but for a family of four or give, it was pretty good. "Wait here," said Clark as he went into the back room. Garnet looked around and saw that there were lots of boxes. The furniture in the house was pretty good, proof of his wealth. It was almost like he was on the way to becoming wealthy in Antium, which was a hard task. On a shelf was a single gold coin in a small glass box. "Thank you, Garnet," was written on a plaque just under the box. "Here it is," said Clark. He brought out a grey shirt. "It belonged to my brother." "Alright," said Garnet as she tucked it along with the camera into one of her rings. "I''m going to see what I can find." "Thank you," said Clark. "If they''re not okay, that''s fine too. It''s better than not knowing how they are at all." Garnet headed back to Zedd''s Workshop and Teleported out into the woods. "Call: Skeletal Hounds!" Garnet took the clothes that Clark gave to her. "Find this person," she ordered. The Skeletal Hounds sniffed the clothes for a while before they all ran in a single direction. As Garnet followed them, she recognized the area. It was where she found the undead in the cave. The hounds all slowed down and began to sniff around the entrance of the cave before proceeding inside. Garnet followed them. The cave was dark, but she could see inside of it. The problem was going to be finding proof of it. If anyone else was in here, they would have to use light to see. As Garnet headed to the back, she could hear voices. "Shh," she hushed the hounds, signaling them to stay quiet. They immediately stopped moving. Garnet moved closer and looked around the corner. She saw that there were several carriages along with Baron Gray and six soldiers who were tasked with guarding them. However, the soldiers were not in the traditional armor used by the Grays. The only proof was that Baron Gray was there and he was the one ordering the soldiers around. Garnet took out the camera and she laid it down on the floor to take a picture. She pushed the butotn and waited. It would take some time and as long as there were no significant movements, she would actually be able to take a clear picture. CLICK. The camera made a noise. "What was that?" shouted someone. Garnet tapped one of the hounds. "Go!" she whispered. The hound walked forward and revealed itself to them. "There''s still more of them?!?" shouted Baron Gray. "I thought you guys took care of all the undead in here!" he shouted. Garnet was the one who took care of them a while back. The soldiers most likely found nothing when they arrived and they did not bother to check if there were any in hiding. While they were distracted, Garnet was able to take a few more pictures, including pictures of the prisoners they had. With this, Garnet had what she needed. She immediately stored the camera in her Inventory. After all, she could not risk losing it in any way. "Go!" she ordered the other hounds forward. They were going to distract Baron Gray long enough until she could return to town. Quest Update: Bring Proof to Clark Take the camera back to Clark Garnet quickly made her way out of the cave. If they found out that she was there, they would most likely move the prisoners and make things harder. If it was just undead, then it was expected, after all, the cave had numerous undead in it before. Level Up: Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 4) The hounds had killed one or more of the soldiers. It would be problematic if they moved, but there was too late to change it now. "Teleporation Summoning Circle!" Garnet immediately laid a circle right outside of the cave and returned to Zedd''s Workshop. Garnet immediately headed to Clark''s house, but took great care to avoid drawing any attention. After all, everything would be for naught if Clark was caught. Garnet knocked on the door. She waited for a few minutes before a hidden compartment opened. It was Clark checking who was outside. "You''re back already?" asked Clark as he opened the door to let Garnet in. "Yes," said Garnet. She quickly entered and watched as Clark locked up the door. He was extremely nervous. "Did you find anything?" asked Clark. Garnet took out the camera. "Here," said Garnet. "There are pictures of Baron Gray with some prisoners and soldiers." "Thank you," said Garnet. Quest Complete: Bring Proof to Clark Reward: Experience, Fame+10, Gray Family Reputation Down Quest Complete: Disturb the Peace Reward: Experience "I owe you for this," said Clark. "If you need anything, feel free to ask." "I want information," said Garnet. "I will answer to my best of my knowledge then," said Clark. "Why are there so many soldiers at the Chamber of Commerce?" asked Garnet. "King Arnold is trying to seize control of the economy of Antium and impose strict rationing laws," said Clark. "Why?" asked Garnet. "He plans to seize and divert resources for his army," said Clark. "Can you stop them?" asked Garnet. "Unfortunately, no," said Clark. "They have all the official paperwork and stamps under their control." "No signature required?" asked Garnet. "No," said Clark. "In hindsight, a little more paperwork might not have been a bad idea." "Can you get me in at night?" asked Garnet. "What do you plan to do?" asked Clark. "I want to burn the place down," said Garnet. "My goal is to hinder King Arnold''s plans at all costs." "That''s impossible," said Clark. "It''s under constant watch and guard." If it was constantly being watched, then there was a problem. However, there was still something she could do. She could always make someone else do it. That was not too difficult to do with her abilities. New Quest: Persuade Chamber of Commerce King Arnold is using the connections of the Chamber of Commerce to seize supplies and issue ration orders, see to it that this is stopped Reward: Experience "Is there any other way to hurt King Arnold economically?" asked Garnet. "He is currently using the newly built tunnel under the city to steal money from the treasury," said Clark. "How do you know this?" asked Garnet. "I helped organize the people who built it," said Clark. New Quest: Block the Tunnels Under Antium King Arnold is using the new tunnel network under the city to move things in and out of the city, see to it that it is stopped. Reward: Experience It would be a lot easier if Garnet had help, but it was too risky. She was unsure who could be trusted with the exception of the people that she met from before she left Antium. After all, most of the city was under the control of the Grays and chances are, they would reward people who gave information to the capture of people who were resisting their control. "Do you know where these tunnels are?" asked Garnet. "No," said Clark. "Some of the construction workers might know, but I bet they''re being kept as prisoners somewhere so they cannot speak. However, I think there is one that runs under the East Gate." "Do you know how many tunnels there are?" asked Garnet. "There is one large one and at least two smaller ones," said Clark. "Is there anything else I should know about?" asked Garnet. "A while back, the Grays requested for certain rare materials including a Crystal Catalyst and many pounds of magic ore," said Clark. "Whatever they are up to, it cannot be good." He was referring to the Magitech Cannon that they she had found under the castle. Garnet had already took care of that problem. "I see," said Garnet. "I''ll take a look into this." Garnet''s next objective was to stop the Chamber of Commerce. This was easy enough. She waited outside the brothel for a lonely soldier to walk by. After all, these men sometimes wanted company, but King Arnold had threatened them with death if they assaulted the populace, so they would have to approach one of the brothels. All she had to do was wait for someone to approach her. "Hey want to go somewhere?" asked a guard. Garnet turned to look at him. Name: David Level: 5 Class: Soldier Sub-Class: None Stats: High Vitality He was weak, but that made him a target. "Sure," said Garnet. "Follow me." The soldier followed Garnet even as she walked into a dark alley nearby. As she turned around, she pulled David close. "You work fast," said David. "Close your eyes," said Garnet. She watched as David closed his eyes and moved his face closer. She grabbed his face with both her hands. "Pleasure Inducement!" "UGH," moaned David as he collapsed onto the floor. Garnet could see that David was breathing short rapid breaths. "You will set fire to the Chamber of Commerce and destroy as much of the papers inside as you can before tomorrow morning," said Garnet. "Do you understand?" "Yes," said David as he breathed deeply. "I will set fire to the Chamber of Commerce." With that, the easy task was out of the way. "Do you know where the entrance to the tunnels that run under the city are?" asked Garnet. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "One in castle," said David. Those were the only words he spoke. It was useless to Garnet. Garnet backed off and waited to see what David would do. After all, this was the first time that Garnet had given someone orders to do something other than forget about her after her ability evolved. When David woke up shortly after, he proceeded to a garrison set up by King Arnold near the West Gate. Garnet could see the hole through the gate that she made. Because of it, there were more guards now. Garnet waited outside and watched as David came back out with a lit torch. David made his way through the streets and to the Chamber of Commerce. It was here that David finally put out his torch. "Halt!" said one of the guards. "What are you doing here?" "I''m here for the papers," said David. "King Arnold has requested copies of the documents to be made." "I have not heard of such a thing," said the guard. David handed the guard a piece of paper and the guard immediately opened the door to let him in. It was quite clear that the paper was something important. As David entered, the door behind him immediately closed. Quest Complete: Persuade Chamber of Commerce The Chamber of Commerce has been destroyed. It was a close alternative to hindering them. Reward: Experience You have leveled up! Garnet watched as black smoke began to rise out of the door. "Fire!" shouted David. "Someone forgot to put out the candle!" The other soldiers immediately opened the door and pulled David out. Garnet left as she saw this. After all, her job was done here. When David awoke, he would not remember a thing, just like her Drain Will. Pleasure Inducement was a much more potent version of that skill and relied solely on touch. No intimate contact was necessary. A few days passed before Garnet made her next move. After all, drawing too much attention to herself could be a problem. She saw new people who arrived in Antium that were directed to King Arnold''s tent. Some of them carried the poster calling for the slaying of the humanoid demon. In other words, people who were going to try to kill her. Luckily for her, she looked nothing like the transformed version of herself. It would be impossible to find her. All King Arnold would be doing is leading people around on a hunt for something that was impossible to find. Even though there was a monster that made an appearance before hundred if not thousands of people, there was little evidence left behind to actually find the monster. After all, Garnet had mislead them. For example, Garnet''s main Teleportation Circle was from the East, yet she flew out from the West. They would be looking for a slightly older woman with extremely long white hair that reached down to their legs. However, Garnet''s was not even half that length. If the other features were described to people, it would seem even more impossible. As long as Garnet did not have to transform, King Arnold''s efforts would all be wasted. Garnet approached the guard with her Guild Card. "Can I sign up too?" she asked. The guard took a look at her card and immediately threw it back at her. "Only three star bronze and higher," said the guard. The ranks were being used as a measurement of experience and strength. Because Garnet had hardly done anything, she was seen as inexperienced and completely ignored by them. She could demonstrate her power, but that would make her stand out too much. As Garnet walked around the city, she noticed that it would be impossible to approach the city from the outside without being caught. There were enough sentries posted along the wall that she could be spotted coming a mile away. Swimming under the river was not really an option as she could not breathe underwater. "Why didn''t the Siren give me its Mermaid like abilities?" Garnet thought to herself. Without knowing where the tunnels were in the city of Antium, it was impossible to mess up the network. Garnet headed back to Zedd''s Workshop to plan her next move. Zedd was not there, so she was working on her own again. She wanted to know if there was any way to find the hidden tunnels, but nothing came to mind. She started taking a look at the book that were given to her by Rita. New Recipe: Metal Ingot New Recipe: Soup New Recipe: Healing Potion New Recipe: Antidote Magicraft could not only make potions, it could also make food. "Magic food?" Garnet thought to herself. The whole time, Garnet thought that it would be for making magic tools, but it was clear that magicraft extended far beyond that. If anything, magicraft was certainly diverse, but actually making things would take a while. The next day, Garnet walked through town, still looking for a way to enter the tunnels. However, there was nothing that was newly constructed that stood out. The hidden tunnels were either constructed inside of certain buildings or being hidden. Using any of her magic summons to look for them would be highly suspicious as well. It was most likely that this was something that she had to give up on until the actual fighting began. One day, it finally happened. King Arnold led a large expeditionary force combined with soldiers and people hired from the Guild in order to hunt down that humanoid monster. They departed from the West Gate, the direction in which it was last seen departing towards. There were at least a few dozen people. About 50 in total from Garnet''s estimates. Every single one of them was fully armed in high quality gear. Garnet was unsure if even she would be able to fight all of them if they met. This provided an opportunity though. King Arnold himself was gone and if Garnet could create some sort of panic in Antium, it would not only hurt King Arnold, but greatly benefit her overall goal of weakening his rule. Along the way back to Zedd''s Workshop, Garnet saw a new poster, one with a picture of Baron Gray and his guards standing next to a cage full of people. Clark had found a way to secretly publish and reproduce the photos without being caught. As the main representative of the Chamber of Commerce, he probably had the connections to do so. There would be a serious problem if he was caught though, so Garnet had to up the stakes so that there was something bigger for King Arnold to worry about. Inside Zedd''s Workshop, no one was there. Zedd had not returned in a while, but he was most likely keeping watch on the castle to make sure none of King Arnold''s men tried something silly. "Call: Nuria!" Garnet summoned her spirit. "What is it this time?" asked Nuria. "I want you to burn down the outpost at the West Gate," said Garnet. "But try not to kill anyone." "Why?" asked Nuria. "If these are enemies, don''t you want to kill them?" "Only survivors can spread fear," said Garnet. Garnet was continuing to make the people feel unsafe and that King Arnold was unable to protect them. To do so, all she would have to do is continue to obstruct King Arnold''s goals. Nuria flew off. Shortly after, Garnet heard it. BOOM. The sound of a large explosion coming from the West Gate. Garnet quickly ran over to it with many other people who wanted to see it. The small outpost that was built was now a burning pile of wood. "Dismiss!" With that, all evidence pointed that the monster that fought with King Arnold was behind it and managed to attack them while King Arnold was okay, showing just how powerless he was to protect his people. After a few days, King Arnold finally returned. When he came into sight, the number of people in his group had been reduced to just over ten. It was clear that he had fought with something, but they did know what. "Prepare to defend!" shouted King Arnold. Several messengers spread throughout the city, rallying the troops at the West Gate. After all, it was vulnerable from Garnet''s attack. "The war was finally beginning!" thought Garnet. She was waiting for the other Dukes to finally take down the self proclaimed King Arnold. New Quest: Defend Antium''s West Gate (71:59:52) King Arnold has provoked an army of undead and led them towards Antium. Protect the volunteers and drafted soldiers so that they can become a symbol of resistance towards King Arnold. Reward: Experience, Fame It was not a war. There was a countdown timer. Three days. She would have to help defend Antium in three days. In his search for Garnet, King Arnold had foolishly awoken an army of undead. A few were already on their way, but they were very slow stragglers that had followed King Arnold. The main force would probably attack later. With his return, he also drew the undead army to Antium itself. Zedd would probably step in to fight if the city was in serious danger. However, it was also an opportunity to show others how incompetent King Arnold was if she could make the volunteers outperform the King''s own soldiers. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 16 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1370/1370 MP: 3600/3600 Fame: 30 Strength: 40 (+5) Dexterity: 38 (+7) Intelligence: 104 (+22) Vitality: 47 (+5) Agility: 48 (+7) Charisma: 25 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 6 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 6 - Lightning ¨C 8 - Wind ¨C 3 - Summoning ¨C 8 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 2) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Mana Armor (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 4) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 7) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 2) - Alchemist - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 3: Chapter 024 - March of the Dead I didn''t want to end it on a cliffhanger, so this chapter turned out to be twice the length of most other chapters and took me quite a while to write. Probably no chapter tomorrow because I''m going to walk around the Lunar New Year Festival most of the day. Maybe one more chapter till this arc ends, which will hopefully be out Sunday evening (PST). Last chapter of the arc will be... Spoiler : The other Dukes finally arrive and Zedd turns on King Arnold, but the people have already turned against King Arnold cause of his screw ups (mostly thanks to Garnet''s meddling). Garnet largely stays out of the fight because of the importance of appearance. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first group of skeleton scouts were taken care of as they carelessly marched towards the West Gate. Every so often, a few more would make their way through. Garnet was among the first to sign up as a volunteer to help the city. She filled out her application. Her job assignment, Food Service Specialist, in other words, a cook. She was also handed some papers with descriptions and pictures of other people. Along with that, an instruction manual. "What is this?" Garnet asked. "That''s your job," said the man at the desk. "As a young woman and one who is literate, it is your job to help feed the soldiers." Garnet was disappointed. She had hoped to fight on the front lines. But, at least she was doing something. There would at least be an opportunity if something were to happen. As Garnet flipped through the manual, there were instructions on how to fill out requisition forms, where to obtain supplies from, things like that. Around the city, there were notices being posted. At least one male from each family was being required to sign up for the military. In other words, it was a draft, but King Arnold could not call it that because Antium was not at war or facing an Invasion. So, he used other means to force people to join the army. King Arnold was taking advantage of this to enlist the people to help him defend the city. In the worst case scenario, he would probably send the drafted soldiers to their death to protect his own like he did in the previous Invasions. Garnet was assigned to the Seventh Battalion. A group of about 500 volunteers. Along with about 10 elderly men, Garnet was to help provide food for all of the soldiers. They were to be housed in what used to be inns. Luckily, Garnet had all the knowledge that Riley had passed on to her. With this, she could probably organize and command a fairly large team. "What were they thinking though?" Garnet thought. It was clear that they took every young man they could to increase the size of the army and those who could not were relegated to some type of service job to support the army in another way. "So what do we do?" asked the old man. Name: Randy Level: 5 Class: Farmer Sub-class: None Stats: High Vitality "At least some of them would probably be able to endure it," Garnet thought as she looked around. Only a total of three people stood out. Name: Samson Level: 8 Class: Merchant Sub-class: None Stats: High Strength Name: Larry Level: 10 Class: Foreman Sub-class: None Stats: High Strength The rest were average. It was up to these three to do most of the work. "Larry, Randy, Samson, come forward," said Garnet. The three men stood in line in front of her, treating her like a real army officer. "At ease," said Garnet. She watched as they still stood nervously. She would have to show real leadership in order to get them to not worry. "Larry, you will be responsible for getting the materials for each meal. Take everyone except Randy and Samson to do that job. This will be done three times a day." "Yes sir!" Larry replied. "Samson, once the others return, it is your job to help them prepare the food as needed, such as peeling, cutting, and other things like that," said Garnet. "Before the others return, have all the tools needed out and ready. Between cooks, make sure to clean your equipment." "Yes sir!" said Samson. "And lastly, Randy, your job will be with me to prepare to cook and to do most of the cooking," said Garnet. "But first, we will go get our equipment with Randy today." "Yes sir!" said Randy. "Everyone will help to serve the food and everyone will clean together after," said Garnet. "Any questions?" asked Garnet. "What time should we assemble?" asked Larry. "Two hours before sunrise," said Garnet. "If you don''t know when that is, it is when you barely see the light over the horizon. If you see the light, you need to assemble here." As they all departed to do their jobs, Garnet felt strange that she was the youngest one here by far yet the one in charge. She was glad that they listened and were not problematic like some of the others she met. She was with Randy and Samson on their way to get supplies. She took a requisition form and numbered down everything she needed. "Are you from a military family?" asked Randy. "Sort of," said Garnet. "I have some experience." "Even though you don''t look like it, you give off the aura of a leader," said Samson. "I see why they chose you to be in charge now." "I think it''s because I can read and write," said Garnet. "There''s that," said Samson. They arrived in front of a large unmarked building. "Halt!" said one of the guards. Garnet handed over the requisition form. The guards brought out all the equipment. "I''ll take the pot," said Garnet. "You two take the rest." "I''ll help you," said Larry. "I said I got it," said Garnet as she picked up the huge pot meant to provide for 500 and the water as well by herself. "How?" asked Samson. "I''m much stronger than I look," said Garnet. "I wanted to fight, but they sent me here." Larry and Samson carried the cutting equipment and other cooking equipment. When the three of them returned, the other people were already there with the potatoes and vegetables. There was no meat, which was probably a luxury food. However, it was at least something. Garnet had to instruct them on how to prepare it. How to prepare potatoes, how to wash them, and how to cut them. "This is different from how I learned," said Larry. Level Up: Cooking (Level 8) "This is the right way to do it," said Garnet. "This will not only make the taste better, but also more nutritious." No matter what job Garnet was relegated to, she wanted to do it right. She was tempted to use Nuria to use magicraft and make the special soup, but it would be too obvious here. Nonetheless, they were hard at work. Level Up: Cooking (Level 9) It was taking more and more work for Garnet to make progress with the skills, but when working with such high volume, it was still possible. They all stood in line to prepare for the volunteers who would be eating. "Remember, one serving per person," said Garnet. "That''s one bowl with some potatoes and carrots. Is that clear?" "What if they cause problems?" asked another elderly man. Name: Carlton Level: 5 Class: Farmer Sub-class: None Stats: High Vitality "I will take care of them, don''t worry," said Garnet. "You don''t seem that strong," said Carlton. "Trust me, she''s strong," said Larry. "She carried the whole pot over here by herself." "That''s funny," said Carlton. He thought it was a joke. "Don''t forget to save a small bowl for yourself," said Garnet. As the soldiers made their rounds each one of them received a bowl of soup. Some of them looked dissappointedly at what they received while others did not care and seemed to just be here for the food. There were a few that oogled at Garnet, but most of them cared more about the food. "This is good," whispered one of the soldiers. Garnet was glad that some people were enjoying the food. Even if she could not fight, she was at least helping in some way. Then, it finally happened. "This is it?!?" shouted one of the volunteers. "I want more!" he shouted. "This is all you get as per the rations," said Garnet. "I''m risking my life here," said the man. "I deserve more than this." He was causing trouble and he was starting to stir up the crowd. Name: Stephenson Level: 8 Class: Farmer Sub-class: None Stats: High Strength "Stop causing trouble," said Garnet. "How about you take care of me tonight?" asked Stephenson as he reached out his arm. Garnet immediately grabbed his arm and began to twist it. "I''ll take care of you right now," said Garnet. The atmosphere had immediately changed. Garnet forced Stephenson onto the ground with just one arm. Even though Stephenson tried to break free using both his arms, Garnet was able to keep him down. "Do you know what it is like to be treated as weak and useless all your life?" asked Garnet. "Do you know what it feels like to have nothing to offer but your body to others?" "No," said Stephenson. "I do," said Garnet. "If anyone has a problem with how I do things, you are free to fight me," said Garnet as she let go of Stephenson''s arm. Stephenson immediately backed away. Garnet turned to face the other members of her team. "How?'' asked Carlton. "I told you she''s strong," said Larry. "She also commands an aura," said Samson. "It is a mix of fear and respect that I would die to have." "If anyone gives you trouble, tell me," said Garnet. "Yes sir!" they all replied. "That goes for all of you out there too," shouted Garnet. "If anyone from another battalion gives you trouble, come find me, as your team mom, I will take good care of you all." Stat Increase: Charisma +1 The next day morning, Garnet and her team continued on their duties as cooks. There were reports of different types of undead approaching. The last one was an armored undead that still had flesh attached to its body. Fresh undead were much stronger as decomposition had not set in yet. As Garnet looked at the volunteers before her, they were woefully unprepared. They might have had two more days to prepare, but it was not enough. "Can you guys take care of everything here?" Garnet asked. "What are you doing?" asked Samson. "I''m going to give them a chance to survive," said Garnet. "They are unprepared, I will prepare them like how I was prepared." "Draw your sword!" Garnet shouted as her voice echoed throughout the area. The crowd immediately turned to face her and turned silent. After all, they had witnessed how strong she was before. "Someone toss me a sword," said Garnet. One of the volunteers walked forward and handed her a sword. "Thank you," said Garnet. "Anyone wish to face me?" asked Garnet as she stood in her stance. "I will," said a man who stepped forward. He was shorter than the rest and much younger. "My name is Barry." Name: Barry Level: 10 Class: Warrior Sub-class: None Stats: High Strength "You don''t look so bad," said Garnet. "You seem to be someone my age," said Barry. "I think this is the closest I will ever get to fighting someone of my own age." "Are you ready?" asked Garnet as she held the sword with both hands. "Yes," said Barry as he drew his sword and a shield. "I''m coming for you!" shouted Garnet as she swung her sword overhead. She held back just a little. CLANG. The sword crashed into Barry''s who was forced back. "She''s pushing him back," said Larry. "Isn''t he the strongest among our group?" asked Stephenson. Garnet turned her sword sideways. "Horizontal Slash!" She smashed her sword into Barry''s who was sent flying back. Barry picked himself up and saw Garnet closing the distance. He swung his sword sideways. It was a Crescent Slash. Garnet saw the attack coming and did not continue. Instead, she halted her movement for a split second and Barry''s sword caught nothing but air. Garnet jumped forward once more and punched Barry straight in the chest, knocking him own again. "I surrender," said Barry. "Already?" asked Stephenson. "I know I cannot win," said Barry. "She is not only stronger and faster than me, it was clear that she recognized my sword attack." "I will train all of you for the next two days," said Garnet. "The first rule, you must not speak of this to anyone, is that clear?" New Skill: Leadership (Passive) Improves loyalty of followers. This skill cannot be fully utilized unless the user is a Hero. "What?!?" Garnet thought to herself. She was not a Hero. It made no sense since she had the Hero System passive. "What does that even mean?" Garnet saw as a few people nodded, but they stayed silent. "I''m waiting to hear a response." "Yes sir!" shouted someone. "Yes sir!" they all collectively shouted. "Good, we begin immediately after eating," said Garnet. After they ate, Garnet began their training. "Divide into pairs and face your partner with your sword drawn!" Garnet shouted. "Repeat the following stances!" Garnet had learned this trick from Anna. Two people stood before each other and slowly swung and practiced their stance and their attacks. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and even guard movements. In total, there were about twelve moves. "Your job is to learn these moves today, and to master them tomorrow!" "That''s impossible!" shouted Stephenson. "It''s not," said Barry. "It''s twelve simple moves that make up a stance isn''t it?" "Yes," said Garnet. "The idea is that you will have the tools to attack and respond to different attacks." Garnet walked through their lines as she watched them train. It was similar to standard weapon drills. "You two are in charge of this," said Garnet as she pointed to Stephenson and Barry. "Me?" asked Barry. "I''m too young to be an officer." "But you clearly understand the purpose and know how," said Garnet. "Your job is to advise people like Stephenson who are too loud and do not think their actions through. However, people like Stephenson are needed as well because they can sometimes make the best decisions to help everyone survive during the worst situations." "Thank you," said Stephenson. "I have to get back to my duties," said Garnet. "It is up to you guys to decide whether you want to learn this or not." Over the next two days, Garnet watched as the volunteers began to improve. Their movements became faster as they memorized the moves. On the second day, they were no longer mirroring and began to respond to what the other person was doing. In two short days, they had to learn the basic moves. Garnet kept a watch on the countdown timer on the corner of her eye. When it hit 09:00:00, she shouted. "Everyone stop!" "What is it?" asked Stephenson. "You guys will most likely have to fight tomorrow," said Garnet. "You will need to rest up." "Thank you," said Barry. "I''m taking care of you guys here," said Garnet. "Make sure you guys take care of things out there." "Why don''t you join us out there?" asked Stephenson. "I would like to," said Garnet. "But I am relegated to tasks in here, but if something horrible does happen, maybe I might actually get a chance to fight. Just remember to line the men with shields in front and have the people without shields attack through the shield openings and rotate often to reduce the overall stress on your team." With that, everyone started heading back to their rooms to rest. Only Barry remained. "Do you ever wish that you were born as a man?" asked Barry. "Why?" asked Garnet. "You seem to behave much more like a man than a woman, but society states that you are to do these jobs because of whether you''re a man or a woman," said Barry. "There are advantages of both," said Garnet. "There''s nothing wrong with being a woman or a man, but rather what you choose to do yourself. I could jump onto the battlefield myself if I wanted to." "Why don''t you then?" asked Barry. "Because people who make poor decisions are the ones that have to live with what they do," said Garnet. "For me, if staying back here is the poor decision, than so be it, but to be honest, I think this is better than trying to protect the King from his own foolish mistakes." "How is King Arnold responsible for this?" asked Barry. "Don''t you remember the King''s recruitment and expedition?" asked Garnet. "You mean when he went to look for that monster, he brought the undead to Antium?" asked Barry. "That''s the only explanation," said Garnet. "That woman used undead after all, so he went looking for undead." "And now, we are the ones who are paying for his mistake," said Barry. The next day, Garnet watched as the volunteers were all summoned to the East Gate. The army of the dead was steadily increasing in numbers and frequency of appearance. Soon, the full might of the army would arrive. The timer on the corner of her eye showed that there was just one hour or so left before the undead army would arrive. In the air, Garnet noticed a foul smell of rotting flesh. Even from this distance, she could smell it. The sun had barely just risen and the orange light was still visible in the distance. Yet, there was an atmosphere of doom. Garnet wanted to take a look at what was going on, so she headed towards Zedd''s Workshop. Inside, Zedd was there. "Aren''t you going to help?" asked Garnet. "I will help if they make it to the front gate," said Zedd. "Do you understand how much danger the city is in?" asked Garnet. "Not much at all," said Zedd. "You plan to fight don''t you?" "I will if needed," said Garnet. "I suggest you wait until your volunteer unit is the only one left," said Zedd. "How did you know about that?" asked Garnet. "I know all that goes on in this city," said Zedd. "With their training, they should last a little longer than the others, but you must make sure that you are the one who pushes them back, not King Arnold''s forces do you understand?" Quest Update: Defend Antium''s West Gate (00:21:02) King Arnold has foolishly led an undead army towards Antium. The city must not fall before Duke Wellington and his army arrived. See that the army is held back by the volunteers and not King Arnold''s forces. Reward: Experience, Fame "Is this another one of your plans?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "As long as a large enough group speaks up, they can show how poorly the King treats his own people. I even brought you this," said Zedd as he brought a sword and some armor for Garnet along with some underclothes. "This looks like what the volunteer soldiers are wearing," said Garnet. "It is, but the sword is made to handle the channeling of spells into it," said Zedd. "If you want to join your men, this is the chance." "Thank you," said Garnet as she hurried to get changed. When she came out, she tied and hid her hair under her helmet. Her figure was partially hidden by what she wore, but if someone looked closely, they could tell that she was a woman. Garnet immediately ran out towards the West Gate. "You''re late," said one of the guards. It was one of King Arnold''s men. "Sorry, I forgot my sword," Garnet responded. "Which battalion are you in?" asked the guard. "Seventh," said Garnet. "That''s the left flank, go," ordered the guard. Garnet quickly ran outside and headed to the left flank. She recognized some of her men. She was not carrying a shield, so she lined herself with the soldiers. Quest Update: Defend Antium''s West Gate (00:02:31) It was going to begin any moment now. In the front were Stephenson and Barry who were trying to rally the soldiers together. "Do not forget we have been trained for this!" shouted Stephenson. "Do not let our team mom be disappointed in us!" "He actually said team mom," Garnet thought as she put her hand to her forehead. During this speech, she quietly made her way to the front of the lines. The volunteers were highly unorganized and did not even have a proper officer. Stephenson and Barry served as commander and vice-commander for a largely non-existent chain of command. It was better than nothing. Quest Update: Defend Antium''s West Gate (00:00:00) Garnet could hear the sound of marching footsteps. In the distance, she saw as a pale knight in red and black armor rode atop a horse made entirely of bones appear. Name: Romulus, Knight of Blood Level: 40 Class: Dread Knight Sub-Class: Duelist Stats: High Vitality Behind him stood countless skeletons clad in armor. A woman in a red dress who rode another horse made of bones appeared. She carried with her a black and red scythe. She was as pale as the knight. Name: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood Level: 40 Class: Reaper Sub-Class: Blood Mage Stats: High Vitality They were no longer fighting just any undead, they were fighting an organized undead army. She saw fear in the eyes of the soldiers. It was clear that these were no ordinary undead. The two who led the army released a frightening aura. It was not as strong as Garnet''s transformed state, but it still hindered them. Garnet herself was unaffected, most likely because of her own abilities. Before them was an undead army that would kill them. Behind them was the army of King Arnold, who would most likely cut down anyone who tried to run away. Garnet stepped up. "What are you guys doing?!?" she shouted. "That voice!" said Barry. "You came!" "I came to see how you guys were doing," said Garnet. "But what do I find? A bunch of cowards." "I''m sorry," said Stephenson. "When they come, hold your shields up!" shouted Garnet. "Have the person with the shield take the main blows and attack them from the side. Work together, not alone. If someone gets tired, fall back and pass the shield to someone else. Do you understand?" "Yes sir!" shouted Barry and Stephenson. In the distance, Garnet could see the knight give orders and the first group of skeletons marched forward. Name: Skeleton Soldier Level: 10 Class: Undead Sub-Class: Warrior They were relatively weak, but not too weak either. They were more than a match for King Arnold''s soldiers. "Ready your shields!" shouted Garnet. The entire front line raised up their shields. Garnet ran her sword across them to make sure they were steady. "Remember, shields low, swords high!" Garnet watched as the undead crossed the plains. The skeletons were marching straight for them. She looked up at the castle walls. "What are you doing?!?" she shouted at them. "What''s wrong?" asked Barry. "King Arnold''s forces atop the walls should be firing arrows at the undead army," said Garnet. "But he is not. It is clear that we are meant to die and he does not intend to help us." "What?!?" said Stephenson. "Do we have ourselves another Mad King?" "We might," said Garnet. She had no idea what a Mad King was, but it made King Arnold sound crazy, so she went with it. "Partial Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Garnet felt some sharp pain in her arms and legs, but nothing she could not handle. Without giving away her identity, she could enhance her strength, speed, and endurance beyond normal human limits. At that moment, Garnet felt something watching her. She had drawn the attention of something powerful. When she turned to look at the commander of the enemy forces, the woman in red was staring right at her. In the distance, thundering footsteps could be heard. The undead army was now running towards them. "You must hold this line!" Garnet roared. "If we fall, so does Antium!" BANG. The repeated sound of metal crashing against metal could be heard as the undead army came into contact with the front line. To Garnet''s sides, she could see some of their formations falling apart already. Even her own was barely holding it together. Even though the undead were not very strong, they still had a lot of weight and appeared in large numbers. "Hold!" shouted Garnet. "When the pressure reduces, push them back and attack!" After about ten seconds, the sound of foot steps stopped. "Push!" Garnet shouted. The front line pushed forwards with their shields, knocking the undead back. The shields lowered. "Attack!" ordered Garnet. The line of soldiers just behind began to attack the undead in front. The armor protected the skeletons a little from slashing attacks, but they were easily smashed still. When the head or the arm with the weapon was disconnected from the body, the skeleton became useless. Her group began to spread outward form their position, killing the skeletons they came into contact with. Along with the Eighth and Sixth Battalion, their forces suffered the least amount of injuries. A few of the men in front already had to retreat to the back. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere."Reform!" Garnet ordered. The soldiers immediately returned to their positions. "Thank you," said a soldier in the Eighth Battalion. "We have to work together," said Garnet. "Follow my lead and my strategy." The Sixth Battalion sent a soldier as well. "Please guide us," said the man. "Barry to the left, Stephenson to the right," said Garnet. "Repeat my orders as I say them to coordinate our attacks." "Yes sir!" Barry and Stephenson shouted together. Stat Increase: Charisma +1 The next wave was led by calvary. They were much fewer in number, but there were undead skeletons riding on top of undead horses. It was a frightening sight. Name: Skeletal Knight Level: 15 Class: Knight Sub-Class: Warrior Stats: High Strength "Any spears and pikes to the front line!" shouted Garnet. There were only a few, about a dozen in all, but it was better than nothing. "Two men to a shield!" Garnet ordered. The extra weight behind them would make it more difficult for the knights to break through. Garnet took one shield for herself and stood in the front. The sound of thundering footsteps could be heard. It was much faster and fiercer than before. The Skeletal Knights made their rush. "Push as soon as you feel the weight!" Garnet ordered. "The goal is to knock them all off balance and then kill them!" Barry and Stephenson repeated the orders to the nearby battalions. "Yes sir!" was the response that she got. Garnet was amazed that they were listening to her. After all, she was a woman who was thought to have no place on the battlefield. BANG. Garnet felt an incredible amount of force against her shield. It was strong, but lighter than actual horse since the horse was all bones. There was no flesh and as a result, it was possible to actually push them back. "PUSH!" she shouted. Stat Increase: Strength +1 "Ugwah!" shouted the man next to her who forced the knight''s horse off. Garnet took her sword and smashed the head of the knight that she had knocked over. "Remember, break off the head, make sure of it!" she ordered. "Switch all personnel as soon as possible." Garnet quickly took a look to the left and to her right. She could see them following her instructions. However, in the distance, she saw the right wing of the army start to collapse. They had already lost many of their men as they failed to defend against the horse. Yet, no one was doing anything, they lacked the leadership and had no chain of command. The goal of King Arnold''s draft was just to have the drafted soldiers and volunteers thin out the enemy numbers so that his own could finish the job. That way he could claim the glory. But, if Garnet was able to hold it, then they would not get that chance. The enemy was continuing to attack in waves, sending in more ground soldiers. They probably did not have any cavalry left after the last attack. This time, they focused on the right wing of the defense. They had spotted the weak spot and were now going to focus on it. "We''re marching forward!" shouted Garnet. "Advance at my pace all soldiers with shields, keep them pointed in the direction of the enemy!" "Let''s go!" shouted Stephenson. Even though he had been reckless at first, under Garnet''s orders, he was quickly able to guide the soldiers. Her group could not move fast. After all, they were not trained soldiers. Reforming after breaking apart would take too long, so it was best to move at once and maintain formation. Most of them were able to follow. With three battalions under her command, she formed a new line in front of the old ones. The formation was no longer as wide and concentrated their defense along the entrance to the West Gate. "Have the remaining soldiers reinforce our ranks," said Garnet. "They can no longer stand on their own with losses like that." The real problem was that Garnet was unsure how many enemies remained. Most of them were being called out by the knight in charge and emerged from the line of trees behind them. How many soldiers were remaining was kept hidden. In the worst case scenario, there were ways for them to replenish their numbers. With their small numbers, it would be hard for Garnet and her soldiers to last for more than a day or two. "The King is a useless fool who left us out here to die!" shouted Garnet. It was the only thing Garnet could think of to further annoy King Arnold. Amplified by her scream, she was certain that even all the soldiers in the back who stood behind the volunteer soldiers could hear it. In order to win, they would have to take down the two leaders, Romulus and Sylvia. They could not hold out forever against the undead. King Arnold was already expecting them to fail. But, if they could hold out, it would be a different story. It would make King Arnold seem like a coward if a drafted or volunteer soldier was able to win a battle that he had no hand in helping. "Forward!" Garnet ordered. The soldiers to her sides began to follow as Garnet advanced forward. They were a slow and heavily grouped formation, but it made it difficult to break through them. Garnet saw as the knight in charge sent forward another group of Skeleton Soldiers. They were largely ineffective, but could delay them. Their reinforced formation with just three larger battalions now marched forward, easily able to break through the undead soldiers being sent their way. The only worry was the knights if they had more. With another wave of his hand, the knight called forth more, but he began to ride towards her with the woman in tow. "Halt!" shouted Garnet. The enemy commander was coming straight for them with his army behind him. Garnet''s side all stood still ready to fight. The enemy commander how stood before her. A knight clad in red and black armor. He was much taller than Garnet up close. "I wish to speak with the enemy commander! I am Romulus, Knight of Blood, and I seek vengeance against the royal family that killed me and my wife," he shouted. Garnet stepped forward. "I am the one leading the defense," said Garnet. "For a moment, I thought it was that coward, King Arnold or whatever he calls himself," said the Romulus. He took a moment and looked at Garnet. "Now it seems like you are a leader." "I am no Queen," said Garnet. "I am but a slave," said Garnet as she removed the gauntlet on her right hand. She revealed the symbol, the brand that made her a slave. "What?!?" shouted Barry. There was instantly chatter among the people behind her. "Why do you wish to protect that fool?" asked Romulus. "Because this is my home, and these are innocent people who have been caught in something much larger," said Garnet. "If I can defeat you, not only will I make King Arnold lose face, but save my people as well." "I see," said Romulus. "What is it that you plan to do?" "I wish to challenge both of you in a duel," said Garnet. "If I win, you two will serve under me." "That''s a bold claim," said Romulus. The woman stepped forward as well. "I am Sylvia, Priestess of Blood," said the woman. "You will be fighting us together." "I have no intention of fighting you alone either," said Garnet. Barry and Stephenson stepped forward. "Not you two," said Garnet. "Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu!" Garnet summoned forth her elemental spirits of water and fire. She wanted to stall for a minute by continuing to speak while her mana recovered. "You called?" asked Nuria. "I finally get some time to let loose," said Mazu. "You''re a mage!" said Stephenson. "Yep," said Garnet. "But my magic is limited." "Why did you not offer your services to the King?" asked Barry. "You would be living a great life." "I refuse to offer my services to that man," said Garnet. "Neither Caligula nor Arnold are proper Kings." Romulus got off his horse and drew his sword and shield. Sylvia raised her scythe. The two of them were much higher level than Garnet, but she had the help of her spirits and she had numerous special abilities. Their strength should be roughly even. "Stand back," Garnet ordered her men. All of them immediately backed away. "You as well," said Romulus. The skeletons all heeded his command and took several steps backwards. Garnet with Nuria and Mazu by her side now faced off against Romulus and Sylvia. "Let''s stop standing and fight!" Nuria shouted as she dashed forward. With her hands, she shot a concentrated amount of flames at Romulus. Romulus raised his shield and intercepted the flames. "Go!" he ordered. Sylvia dashed to the side and swung her scythe at Nuria. CLANG. It came into contact with a block of ice that appeared out of nowhere. It turned into water. It was Mazu who intercepted it and froze again, trapping Sylvia''s scythe. "That''s a clumsy weapon," said Mazu. "Reform: Weapon!" shouted Sylvia. Several of the nearby skeletons broke apart and reassembled themsleves into another scythe. "Blood Scythe!" The scythe turned red as it was coated in blood. Garnet ran forward and swung her sword at Sylvia. "Horizontal Slash!" CLANG. It was met with the handle of Sylvia''s scythe. It was not going to be easy to break through. Garnet saw that the blood on the scythe disappeared. It seemed like it was something that was only good for one swing. Nuria''s flames continued to push down on Romulus, but his shield seemed highly resistant to it. Although Romulus was slowed down, he was continuing to push forward. Garnet could see no openings. Romulus and Sylvia were fighting together as a team. Together, it would take at least four people. Romulus was slowly pushing Nuria back with his shield. He seemed to feel nothing from the heat being generated from Nuria''s flames. "Switch!" shouted Garnet. Garnet and Mazu headed straight for Romulus while Nuria flew towards Sylvia. Garnet raised her shield and charged against Romulus. BANG. Romulus met Garnet''s shield with her own and slowly pushed Garnet back. "You''re stronger than you look," said Romulus. "I can''t lose here!" shouted Garnet. She raised both her hands to hold Romulus back with her own shield, but she was slowly losing ground. Romulus was physically stronger than Garnet. Romulus swung his sword towards Garnet. SPLASH. A powerful stream of water from Mazu knocked Romulus over. "Thanks," said Garnet. Meanwhile, Nuria was fighting Sylvia. Sylvia swung her scythe with such a powerful force that it was able to disperse Nuria''s flames. However, Nuria was able to continue the pressure and prevented Sylvia from attacking others. Either way, they were going to need to take out one of them first. Romulus seemed like the easier choice as he was more defensive. Romulus charged towards Garnet with his shield raised. "Crescent Slash!" Garnet slashed in a half circle pushing Romulus to the side. "What?!?" shouted Romulus who was surprised by this. He should have had the strength to push over Garnet, but this attack had a lot of weight behind it and was enough to knock him to the side. "Mazu!" shouted Garnet. "I got it!" said Mazu as she followed up with a powerful stream of water that pushed Romulus to the ground. The impact dug up some of the dirt under him. "Blood Sacrifice!" shouted Sylvia. Blood flowed out from her body and into Romulus. Romulus'' injuries immediately healed. Sylvia was supporting her by using her own health. She had blood flow from her mouth. It was the sign of an internal injury. This combination was not a defense that was going to be easy to break through. "In exchange for her own health, she can restore mine," said Romulus. "Blood Absorption!" Sylvia shouted. It was a skill that Garnet was very familiar with. The bodies of her own fallen soldiers were being absorbed into Sylvia to replenish her own strength. In an instant, Sylvia healed herself. "I should have known after seeing that she was a Blood Mage," said Garnet. "How did you know?" asked Romulus. "I also know that you''re a Dread Knight," said Garnet. "Then you should know that my heart is filled with hatred and a desire for vengeance!" shouted Romulus. "Why?" asked Garnet. "Do you know who killed me?" asked Romulus. "No," said Garnet. "It was King Caligula," said Romulus. "Why did he do it?" asked Garnet. "He was afraid that I was going to overthrow the noble system," said Romulus. "Afraid that I would lead the peasants to revolt against the class system." "Were you?" asked Garnet. "No," said Romulus. "I just wanted a system where the nobles were not the only ones to made the important decisions. I wanted a system where the peasants had a say." "Is that why they killed you?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Romulus. "That fool of a King and this new self proclaimed King Arnold killed me and my entire family." "That''s why we''re going to change it," said Garnet. "How?" asked Romulus. "A new generation of nobles have come who wish to reduce the power of the nobles," said Garnet. "They plan to use Anzio''s system to do it." "Anzio''s system?" asked Romulus. "What is that?" "One based on meritocracy where an individual''s accomplishments matter more than their name," said Garnet. "That would be a sight to see," said Romulus. "But power alone is what matters and if you want to see change, you must have the power to show that you can do it!" Romulus was intent on fighting. Garnet turned to Stephenson and Barry. "Tell everyone, they must not tell anyone, especially King Arnold or his men what you see here today," said Garnet. "Is that clear?" Barry and Stephenson both nodded. They could only watch as Garnet fought with them. The other troops all stayed silent. After all, Garnet was the only thing that stood between them and certain death. "I will make you my servant and show you then," said Garnet. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet too absorbed blood from the bodies of the soldiers nearby. It was mostly done to deny access of the bodies to Sylvia. "How?" asked Romulus. "You see, I too am a mage," said Garnet. "And I will see to it that they are saved from you." "Come at me!" shouted Romulus. Garnet looked at Nuria who was holding her own against Sylvia. They were evenly matched. Nuria fired flames at Sylvia who then deflected them. Right now, Garnet had to defeat Romulus first. "Blood Bind!" Garnet used the blood that she had just absorbed in order to lock Romulus down. Romulus attempted to struggle, but it was tied all over his body and he could not break it off. "Help me!" shouted Romulus. "Blood Sacrifice!" Sylvia tried to give Romulus the strength needed to break the binding that Garnet placed on Romulus, but it was not working. Garnet''s Blood Bind was much stronger. Romulus continued to struggle. "It looks like I can finally let loose," said Garnet. "So you were holding back this whole time?" asked Romulus. "I am holding a lot back, but I will let my magic run free this time," said Garnet. "Chain Lightning!" Garnet released a powerful bolt of lightning that went through Romulus. It jumped out from behind him and began to jump between his soldiers. Level Up: Chain Lightning (Level 3) Level Up: Chain Lightning (Level 4) New Skill: Lightning Ray Fire six bolts of lightning towards a single target at once. MP Cost: 200 BZZT. Bolts of lightning surged all around Romulus'' body. Even if he was undead, he was still using a human body composed of flesh and blood. Lightning would disrupt him as much as anyone else. "You''re strong," said Romulus. "But I will not give up!" he shouted as he dashed forward. Mazu released a powerful burst of water. VWOOSH. The water spread out over Romulus'' shield as he pushed towards Mazu. Garnet charged forward with her sword in hand. "Double Slash!" She led with a slash downward. CLANG. Romulus parried it and deflected it downwards. The second slash immediately came upward and slashed Romulus'' chest. Romulus did not react. There was blood, but he felt no pain. Level Up: Double Slash (Level 3) The skeletons began to march forward. They showed some loyalty to Romulus and wanted to protect him. "Stop!" Romulus shouted. The skeletons all immediately stopped in their tacks. "This is a fight between me and her," he said. "No one is to interfere!" Romulus turned to face Garnet once more. If Romulus had anything, it was honor. Garnet was fighting him with only her summons and no other people. "Me and my wife are fighting you alone," said Romulus. "That was the deal and I stand behind it." "You are far too honorable for your own good," said Garnet. "Honor is the only thing I have to live by," said Romulus. "Without honor, there is no honesty nor compassion." Romulus readied his sword and shield again. "These nobles had no honor otherwise they would confront me instead of stabbing me in the back." The Blood Bind had greatly turned the side of the battle against Romulus. As long as Romulus and Sylvia were separated, they could not use their true power and coordinate their attack and defense. Garnet raised both her arms. "Lightning Ray!" Six bolts of lightning all rushed towards Romulus at once. BZZT. The bolts of lightning all flew outward from his body. His body was heavily damaged. Even though Romulus had trouble moving, he did not show any signs of fatigue or pain. That seemed to be an advantage of the undead. "I''m glad I got to meet someone like you," said Romulus. "Can you promise me that fool will be dethroned?" he asked. "I promise," said Garnet. Romulus knew he was going to lose at this point. Once Garnet revealed that she could use magic, he was already at a severe disadvantage. Without Sylvia to back him up, Romulus was certain of his defeat. "Return home and protect our land," said Romulus. He was ordering his soldiers away. They all began to walk in the direction they came from. "They listen to you?" asked Garnet. "The undead are smarter than you think," said Romulus. "In time, they will grow to be as intelligent and wise as anyone else." "Romulus!" shouted Sylvia who rushed to his side. "I failed to protect you again." "No, we''re in good hands," said Romulus. "If she is like you, then we will meet again soon." "Finish it," said Sylvia. "I admit my defeat as well." "Fire Ball!" Garnet released a single Fire Ball towards them. BOOM. Romulus and Sylvia were both dead once more. "Is that it?" asked Barry who was standing there astonished. "One more thing," said Garnet. "Blood Absorption!" Romulus and Sylvia both exploded into blood and flowed into Garnet''s body. New Skill: Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood Summon forth Romulus, Knight of Blood, who possesses superior defense MP Cost: 2000 New Skill: Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood Summon forth Sylvia, Priestess of Blood, who possesses superior recovery abilities MP Cost: 2000 New Skill: Transformation: Blood Reaper Transform into a form that enhances the effects of blood that is used as offensive, defensive, or supportive magic. New Skill: Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) Uses your own blood to heal the injuries of another HP Cost: Varies depending on the target New Skill: Blood Scythe (Level 1) Creates a scythe made of blood that can be swung once. Uses Intelligence stat instead of Strength to deal physical damage. HP Cost: 100, 50% of damage dealt is absorbed back as HP New Skill: Blood Bullet (Level 1) Uses your own blood as a projectile. Uses Intelligence stat instead of Strength to deal physical damage. HP Cost: 20 New Skill: Dance of Blood (Level 1 Passive) Must be in Blood Reaper mode to use. Automatically drains blood from nearby open wounds. New Skill: Summoning Commander (Level 1, Passive) Increases the abilities of summoned creatures under your control Effect: All summons have their stats increased by 20% New Skill: Call: Skeletal Knight (Level 1) Call forth an undead armored knight that can wield a weapon and rides atop a horse. Only one can be summoned at a time. MP Cost: 500 Level Up: Aura of Fear (Level 2) Level Up: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 3) Quest Complete: Defend Antium''s West Gate Reward: Experience, Fame+100 You have leveled up! You have leveled up! What stood out the most was the other Blood Magic that Garnet acquired. But, Garnet also gained two allies that she could call forth in battle. At this rate, Garnet could eventually summon forth an entire army. "Remember, you must never speak of this to anyone," said Garnet as she looked at her soldiers. "I kept you all alive, and this is what I ask of you in return." "Yes sir!" the soldiers responded. Garnet had earned their respect. Even those who doubted her now saw what she was capable of. But, no matter how many soldiers there were, news was going to leak out about a mage who led the battle against the undead army. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 18 Class: Dark Mage Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1470/1470 MP: 4000/4000 Fame: 130 Strength: 41 (+5) Dexterity: 38 (+7) Intelligence: 114 (+22) Vitality: 47 (+5) Agility: 48 (+7) Charisma: 27 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 6 - Lightning ¨C 10 - Wind ¨C 3 - Summoning ¨C 8 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Mana Armor (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 4) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 3) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 1) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 2) - Alchemist - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 1) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) ¨C The Skill - Summoning Commander (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 3: Chapter 025 - Purge (End of Mini Arc 3) Slightly shorter story arc. Extras this time will be just some rejected ideas that I threw out along with some things that will come in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------ Garnet hid among the soldiers as they returned to Antium. All of the soldiers walked straight ahead. Even King Arnold''s troops opened a path for them out of fear. After all, volunteer soldiers had just taken out the entire invading army by themselves. They suffered heavy losses as well, nearly 40% in all, but the right wing was almost annihilated. By any standard, losing nearly half your army was very a heavy loss. In addition, they all looked at King Arnold''s men with discontent. King Arnold had left the volunteer soldiers to die, intending to have them thin out the number of enemies and no intention to save them. The volunteer soldiers never received any help. No archers, no mages, and a bare minimum amount of equipment. PTOOEY. Stephenson even spat at the ground in front of the regular soldiers. Garnet could see that they were using their eyes looking for someone among the crowd, but the soldiers all wore identical equipment, making it difficult to differentiate between them. As the volunteer army made their way back to the city, they were blocked by King Arnold and some of his men. "Halt!" shouted King Arnold. "I demand to know who is in charge." Everyone stayed silent. Garnet was surprised, she was certain that someone was going to turn them in. "We''re in charge of the Seventh Battalion!" said Barry as he stepped forward with Stephenson. "I don''t know about the rest though," said Stephenson. Garnet watched as from each of the battalions, two people stepped forward. "I''m in charge of this battalion," said another man. "Who is your commander though?" asked King Arnold. "That is what I want to know." "We have no commander," said Stephenson. "We decided that our battalion needed some kind of hierarchy during the battle, so we decided on a co-officer situation." Stephenson had just undermined the fact that nobles were needed to lead the people. A volunteer army led by volunteers completely challenged what they were used to. It was believed that a noble was the leader because they had the special knowledge and skills needed for leadership while the commoners did not. Garnet could not help but smile at this. She no longer needed to provoke King Arnold on their own. With this, commoners and nobles had leaders that were willing to go against King Arnold now. Garnet watched as King Arnold became infuriated. "Bring the ones who stood forward to the prison!" he shouted. Immediately, the soldiers armed with shields stepped forward and blocked the path of King Arnold''s men. There was now a confrontation between King Arnold and the volunteer army. If it was known that King Arnold fought against the volunteer army, especially one that just saved the city, things would become even worse for him. "Stand down," said King Arnold. "If this is what a soldier is treated like, I quit," said Stephenson as he threw down his sword. "I refuse to support a King who has no concern for me." Barry immediately followed and did the same. Some of the other volunteers began to follow. If King Arnold turned on them now, he would be killing his own civilians in front of thousands of witnesses. Garnet joined the masses of people doing it so that she would not stand out and would be able to blend with everyone. She could see that King Arnold was infuriated by this action as he was losing more and more control over the people. "Where are you going now?" Barry asked Garnet. "Home," said Garnet. "I suggest you all do the same." "Is something going to happen?" asked Stephenson. "King Arnold declared himself King and seized control of Antium without the approval of the other Dukes," said Garnet. "Do you think they are going to take it sitting down?" "No," said Barry. "Do you want to be here when the fighting breaks out?" asked Garnet. "No," said Stephenson. "So I suggest you flee somewhere," said Garnet. "Otherwise, there is a chance that King Arnold might try to march you to your deaths again." This was not something easy to do since King Arnold''s troops occupied the city. They controlled every entry and exit from the city. "But if they do make us march, what should we do?" asked Barry. "Defect," said Garnet. "Take your army and everything you have to the other Dukes and turn everything you have against King Arnold. If you can''t do that either, just refuse to fight and lie down on the battlefield and faking your death or something." All of these seemed like bad ideas for anyone who actually lived in Antium, which was most of the people there. The farmers could most likely return to their lands, but those that lived in Antium, had nowhere to run to. Their best option was to stay indoors and refuse to fight and feed the soldiers stationed in their homes. The problem was that King Arnold''s soldiers forced them to join with threats. "Anyways, figure out what you want to do," said Garnet. "I recommend you open the way for the other Dukes to attack Antium though." With those words, Garnet left and hid herself among the people of Antium once more. Barry and Stephenson did the same. After all, they had just angered King Arnold. If King Arnold was going to retaliate against them, it would be soon. But, before King Arnold could respond, it finally happened. There was a bell being rung that could be heard throughout the city. Garnet watched as numerous soldiers ran to the West Gate. Quest Failed: Block the Tunnels Under Antium The city is under the siege of the Three Duke Alliance. Dukes Wellington, Kiko, and Innes had arrived with their armies in tow, united against King Arnold. "A new King has been chosen by three of the four Dukes of Antium," announced Zedd as his voice boomed throughout the city. "Welcome King Charles the First." However, King Arnold would not take this sitting down. After all, he had the largest army and the most resources among all of the nobles in Antium. He was going to take his position by force. This was the true outbreak of the civil war. Garnet had weakened King Arnold, but Charles Wellington had to secure his own position by defeating King Arnold in battle. Garnet teleported to the castle''s throne room, where Zedd was waiting. "What now?" Garnet asked. "We will help King Charles," said Zedd. "How?" asked Garnet. "You and I are going to block King Arnold and his soldiers from retreating into this city," said Zedd. "Most of them are stationed outside of the West Gate in order to counter King Charles'' army." "Is that even possible?" asked Garnet. Then again, Zedd is probably the greatest mage in existence. Such a task was probably easy for him. "I just need to make my way to the West Gate," said Zedd. "Afterwards, you should join King Charles and see if he needs help." "Okay," said Garnet. Helping Charles might not be a good idea though. Charles Wellington needed to prove that he could earn the position of King himself. If she single handedly turned the battle around, there might be those who would not accept that he earned the position. She did not want to go unless Charles called for her using the papers that she gave to him. The two of them made their way to the West Gate. The army of King Arnold were mostly outside. There were a small number of men who remained in the city in order to continue its occupation and provide for a location for them to fall back to if needed. Garnet watched as Zedd positioned himself in front of the West Gate. "Brambles of Ice!" It was an ice spell. Numerous thorns and vines popped up from the ground and blocked the West Gate. There was no way for them to get in or out. "Zedd you bastard!" shouted a voice from the outside. "What are you doing?" shouted one of the guards on top of the walls. "My duty!" shouted Zedd as he stared down the soldier. "I am securing Antium for its rightful King!" A soldier shot an arrow at Zedd. With a single wave of his arm, the arrow flew sideways and hit the ground. Zedd stared down the soldier who fired at him. The soldier put down his bow and arrows. "I surrender," said the soldier. Zedd made his way around the wall to greet the other soldiers. None of them had the guts of the first soldier. They all surrendered quietly. "Good," said Zedd. "Now I won''t have to fight." The surrendered soldiers all gathered themselves at the West Gate near the ice spell Zedd had cast. "How did you do that?" asked Garnet. "As the King''s Wizard, I have a lot of influence," said Zedd. "In addition, I also fought off most of the previous two invasions myself, few people are willing to go against my power." It was the power of fame and reputation, something that Garnet was severely lacking at the moment. That was why she had to earn her respect through hard work. Zedd had most likely done the same while most of the nobles were born with it. The only fame Garnet had was with some of the volunteer soldiers. "I''m going to join the others," said Garnet as she took off. "Alright," said Zedd. "I''ll take care of things in here." "Form ranks!" shouted King Charles. The soldiers of the Dukes had combined with his own. They lined up. The men with pikes and long spears were up front in order to counter any cavalry. Behind them were the swordsmen who also carried shields. The third line was the archers and finally way in the back, a small number of mages. From the sky, garnet watched the events unfold. After all, this was a battle that Charles needed to win on his own to lay claim to the throne. Surprisingly, both sides had about 5000 soldiers. Most of King Arnold''s soldiers were cut off because Zedd blocked off the West Gate and then forced the others that were still occupying the city to surrender. The fact that King Arnold still held on despite this disadvantage showed just how much more powerful King Arnold was on his own. The plains of Antium were the only thing that stood between King Charles and King Arnold, two nobles who laid claim to the throne. However, all of the support was thrown behind King Charles, not King Arnold. Both sides sent magicians to their leaders to amplify their voice. "Surrender or else!" shouted King Arnold. "You have to where to go," shouted Duke Innes. "If you surrender, you will only suffer an occupation." "Never!" shouted King Arnold. "As the most powerful Duke, I am the one who is the rightful heir." "For someone who tried to kill us all, you sure seem to think that we''re the ones who are wrong," shouted Duchess Kiko. "I have done no such thing!" shouted King Arnold. "But I will face all of you in combat if we must! Ready the cannons!" King Arnold ordered. "Cannons?" thought Garnet. "There was more than one?!?" She quickly scanned her eyes around the battlefield, but could not see anything. She watched as both sides started to send men forward. In the corner of her eye, she saw several buffs activate, greatly increasing her stats by several fold. At this moment, Garnet was stronger than she ever was in the past. "Ready the archers!" shouted Charles. Both sides released arrows and fire spells that flew in an arc towards the enemy. The soldiers raised their shields and blocked it. Very few people were hit. Garnet kept her eyes open while flying over the battlefield. "Somewhere out here are multiple Magictech Cannons," she thought. She had seen the image and power of cannons from Riley''s world. It was something she hoped would never be used, but King Arnold had secretly built them. She continued to expand her search radius, but she could not keep her eye off of the battle that was happening between the Kings. They were evenly matched, but the cannons could easily turn the tide of the battle. BOOM. It was the sound of a loud explosion. Garnet watched as a bright red ball flew several thousand meters towards the battlefield. She flew immediately towards the sound. Behind her, was the sound of an explosion and many people screaming. "Fire at will!" shouted someone from below. Garnet turned her head and saw numerous mages who were operating three cannons. Only one had fired so far, but the mages were channeling their magic at the cannon. The crystal of the cannon that had just fired was red. "It isn''t working," said one of the mages. They were operating the cannon that Garnet had messed with. She had to take them out so that they would not be able to use them to turn the tide of the battle. However, fighting that many mages at once could be problematic. She did not have time to transform either. "Call: Nuria!" The only thing Garnet could do was rely on her summons to help even it out just a little. "Stop them from firing!" Garnet shouted. The streak of flame flew straight towards the mages. "What is that?!?" shouted a mage. "Get it away from the cannons!" another shouted. "Call: Skeletal Hounds! Call: Skeletal Knight! Call: Skeletons!" Garnet summoned as many undead as she could in order to thin out their numbers. The hounds began to run around, knocking over the mages where they went. The knight led the skeletons as they charged the mages. "Fire Bolt!" shouted the mages. They were rapidly shooting as many Fire Bolt as they could at Nuria. "Keep firing!" ordered the mage in black. The enemy mages were firing all types of magic at Nuria and were able to even hurt her. As the mages concentrated their offense, Nuria was being pushed back from the relentless assault of Fire Bolts. There was too many of them. They had only been able to take down one or two mages. Garnet needed something stronger. "Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood!" BOOM. A pale man clad in red and black armor suddenly appeared in the center of mages. "I''m alive?" said Romulus. A Fire Bolt struck Romulus in the head. "Hey that hurt!" he shouted. There was a giant black spot on the side of his head, but he acted like it was nothing more than a simple slap on the head. "That''s impossible!" shouted a mage. "You should be dead." "You will be," said Romulus as he began his march towards the enemy line of mages. His shield was incredibly tough and it allowed him to deflect the single shot spells thrown in his direction. "Help me!" shouted Garnet. "We need to stop them from firing those cannons." "You!" shouted Romulus. "Where''s my wife?" he asked. "Give me a second, I need mana before I can summon her," said Garnet. Garnet watched as Romulus began his assault. Just with his presence alone, the attitude of her undead monsters suddenly changed. They began to coordinate their attacks and focus their target on individual mages. Romulus was somehow commanding them. "Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood!" Garnet summoned Sylvia as well. With this, the tide of the battle will greatly change. After all, they were the strongest as a team and Garnet only won because she was able to separate them with the help of Nuria and Mazu. "There you are!" said Romulus as he rushed to Sylvia''s side. "I was right to believe in her," said Sylvia. "Now we''re together again." Romulus slowly pushed his way towards the other mages. While they were numerous in number, they were no match for Romulus'' incredible defense, especially with Sylvia supporting him. BANG. One of the mages blew off Romulus'' arm carrying the sword. "Blood Sacrifice!" Sylvia sacrificed some of her own health to restore Romulus'' arm. "Monsters!" shouted the mage in black. "You''re all monsters!" He and the other mages started to run. "Leave them," said Garnet. "We have something more important to do." "What are you doing?" asked Sylvia. "Taking something important and making sure that these things are never used," said Garnet as she proceeded to rip out the Crystal Catalysts of the two remaining cannons. "Make sure to protect me while I do this." The Crystal Catalysts were powerful. After all, Zedd used them to enhance Garnet''s clothes. It was likely that she could use them for other purposes as well. "I can feel people dying," said Sylvia. "Over there in the North, where we fought, are two Kings fighting over control of Antium," said Garnet. "What are you doing here then?" asked Romulus. "Shouldn''t you help them?" "I am," said Garnet. "They were going to use these to turn the tide of the battle, now I''m going to use them for myself." "That''s a Crystal Catalyst!" said Sylvia. "I''ve seen pictures and descriptions, but never one in person." "Are they that rare?" asked Garnet. She thought about the one that was being absorbed into her mage robe. "Ones of that size are very rare," said Sylvia. "If you could process them, then you could embed them into a robe to amplify your magic." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Zedd could probably help with that. After all, he was the one that taught Garnet a lot of magic. "Stand back," said Garnet as she finished extracting the two Crystal Catalysts. "Fire Ball!" BOOM. The Magictech Cannon began to crack. "Fire Ball!" The Magitech Cannon shattered into pieces. Garnet did the same with the others. Garnet hoped that no one would ever use such a weapon again. After all, they were terrifying weapons, ones that could kill multiple people in a single shot. She then took many pieces of the cannon fragments and hid them away in her Inventory. There was always a chance that she could use the magic ore that made the cannons for something else in the future. Afterwards, Garnet hurried back to the battlefield, where the forces of King Arnold and King Charles were still fighting. Romulus and Sylvia followed closely behind. Level Up: Haste (Level 2) "Foolish people are still fighting to protect the nobles who exploit them," said Romulus. His hatred for the nobles of Antium was fierce. She could see it in his eyes. He wanted to kill King Arnold. "No," said Garnet as she raised her arm to hold Romulus back. "He must pay for his crimes the right way." "You expect me to sit here and watch?" asked Romulus. "You''re stupid," said Sylvia. "Hurry up and just end this, you have the power." "But will people accept King Charles'' rule if someone else single handedly turned the tide of battle?" asked Garnet. "The point of this battle is for King Charles to show that he is a better man and also stronger than King Arnold, not having to resort to dirty tactics to win. If he does not fight this battle himself, what will happen when he does become King? Will people accept him?" These were questions Garnet had been pondering as well. She could have removed King Arnold from power by force. She even had the chance at the execution grounds, but that would have left another power vacuum and it would not be easily accepted as a victory. On the other hand, tradition states that the Dukes decide, so if the Dukes are the ones who choose a new King, there might be less resistance. From there, the King could direct policy once more to guide other changes. The battle was hard fought with no clear victor after the first day. Both sides had lost about 30% of their troops yet neither side was willing to give up. Numerous bodies were just laying there on the ground. "Why do these people fight so intensely for a horrible King?" Sylvia asked. "Because they believe it is the right choice," said Romulus. "They believe in their King, much like how Garnet believes in hers." No matter how much Garnet wanted to intervene, she could not. If she did, there was a chance that people would doubt Charles'' power because it came from someone else, not from Charles himself. Garnet felt that there was also something that prevented her from interfering. It was as if the Hero System forbade her from being directly involved in an internal struggle. At least if Charles wins, it could be the power of his leadership and his ability to guide his soldiers to victory. If someone like Garnet turned up on the battlefield and just slaughtered the troops of King Arnold, it would not be accepted as a true victory. Taking out the unseen cannons from afar was already interference to turn the tide of battle in Charles'' favor. Over the second day, Garnet could see that the troops of King Arnold were slowly being pushed back. In the distance, she saw someone, a woman with a scorpion tail that was tearing through King Arnold''s front lines. King Arnold''s army was also being bombarded with numerous high level spells. She focused her attention on the woman with the scorpion tail. Name: Scorpina Level: 50 Class: Shapeshifter Sub-Class: Copycat (Empathetic Mimicry) It was one of the people who were working with Zedd. She had joined the battle. Even if Zedd could not participate himself, he had sent Charles some help to ensure victory over King Arnold. Chances are the rest were in his army somewhere as well. King Arnold was at a disadvantage because he had nowhere to retreat to and did not have access to supplies to feed their soldiers. After all, Zedd had cut them off from the back while they were attacked from the North by their enemies. The only thing King Arnold could do was flee South, and he was probably too stubborn to do so. Garnet continued to watch and study the tactics that were being used from both sides. Charles was mainly using the mages on his side to force the enemy troops forward into attacking at which point his archers and front line could whittle them down before the soldiers fought, giving Charles a clear advantage. King Arnold was trying to goad Charles into a head on fight by provoking his enemy. In a head on fight, King Arnold would probably win as he had better equipped soldiers. However, Charles was the one with resources to whittle down his opponent. There was not much time left though. The soldiers of King Arnold was without food and they were taking water from the river to survive. This could not last long though. The longer they waited, the worse it would be for King Arnold. Near the end of the second day, it finally happened. In the distance, Garnet saw a single soldier walk forward carrying a white cloth on his sword that was still in its scabbard. It was a white flag, the sign of surrender. A soldier from King Charles'' side walked up to accept it. "Throw down your arms and walk away," said Charles. "Only King Arnold has to remain." Many of the soldiers walked off, but some chose to stay. They were the ones devoted to the Gray family. They probably wanted to die with their King, so they chose to stay. After all, the victor was the one who decided what would happen to the losers. Soldiers from Charles'' side tied up the people who chose to stay and marched into the city. Garnet teleported to the throne room, where she waited for Charles to arrive with Zedd. The chair for the Queen had sat empty for many years as King Caligula never married. Charles entered the throne room with Duke Innes and Duchess Kiko by his side. Zedd stepped out of the way for Charles to approach the throne. "Welcome, King Charles," said Zedd. Charles Wellington, now King Charles stood before the throne. Duke Innes and Duchess Kiko stepped to the side. "It''s all yours," said Duke Innes. "From here on out, lead us better than King Caligula did." "I will," said King Charles. "But first..." He walked up to Garnet and reached out his hand. "Do you accept?" "What about Duchess Kiko?" Garnet asked. "I''ve already taken care of that," said Charles. "She will take control of my old lands since I am now managing an entire country, at least until another Duke is appointed." Garnet looked at Kiko who nodded. She was fine with this. "What about the people?" asked Garnet. "They will learn to accept some of the changes I am making," said Charles. "After all, I plan to protect slaves as well." "I don''t know what to say," said Garnet. The whole time, she thought Duchess Kiko would become Queen. Now, Charles was offering her the position. "Do you agree to marry me again?" asked Charles. "Yes," said Garnet. "Then take my hand," said Charles. Garnet slowly reached out her hand. Charles grabbed it and pulled her along as he walked up to the throne. "You first," said Charles. Garnet sat down on the throne meant for the Queen and looked at everyone. To her left, was Charles, who now sat as King. At the side of the King, Zedd, the Grand Wizard of Antium. Quest Complete: Secure Charles Wellington''s Power Duke Charles Wellington is now officially recognized as King Charles the First. Reward: Queen Consort Level Up: Hero System (Level 2) Multi classing and promotions are now available. New Skill: Queen''s Presence (Passive) Soldiers are loyal to your cause and your presence alone increases their power Effect: +50% to stats of nearby allies "I never thought in my life that this would happen," said Garnet. "I don''t know what to do." "That''s alright," said Charles. "I''ll take care of most things, but I will ask you and Zedd for advice if that''s alright with you." "That''s okay," said Garnet. "You have a kingdom to build." "So how does this work?" asked Charles. He was clueless even though he was King. "Well, you have to decide what to do with the prisoners of war," said Zedd. "Then you have to set a policy for the kingdom along with what goals you want to pursue and present it before the nobles." "My first order, is to put Duke Gray on trial for his crimes," said Charles. "What are you charging him with?" asked Garnet. "Unlawful conscription, kidnapping, and embezzlement," said Charles. "Do you have proof of this?" asked Zedd. "Summon Clark of the Chamber of Commerce, he will have proof," said Garnet. "How do you know this?" asked Charles. "I helped him find proof that Baron Gray was kidnapping people," said Garnet. "But first, we must get you to look like a Queen," said Charles. "What does that mean?" asked Garnet. Garnet was provided with a wardrobe of fancy dresses. She had to straighten her hair and always hold her hands in front of her. She was not to speak until spoken to, at least in public and official meetings. They were fairly basic, but there were times when she felt like she really wanted to say something, but could not, so instead, she would whisper to Charles or Zedd and one of them would speak on her behalf. In a few days, the nobles of Antium were convened for the crowning of the monarch. Charles looked and acted very different than he usually did, at least in public anyways. "My first order of business, is to see to it that Arnold Gray pays for his crimes," said Charles. "The people who will decide whether he is guilty or innocent, are the nobles of Antium." The nobles immediately began to speak among themselves. "Bring forth the prisoner," said Charles. Two guards brought Arnold Gray, who was on trial. "Identify yourself." "My name is Duke Arnold Gray of the South," said Arnold. "Formerly King Arnold of Antium." "Clark Sung, present your evidence," said Clark. "Yes my King," said Clark. He took out numerous papers."Here are the papers that document the expenditures of Arnold Gray. These papers show that money that should have been going to repair the East Wall four years ago disappeared." He handed them out to the nobles, but he was not done. He took out pictures. "These are photos of Baron Gray, brother of Arnold Gray, with prisoners he had taken in the cave where the nobles often send people they do not like." "How do you plead?" Charles asked. "Guilty," said Arnold Gray. "What do you plan to do to me?" "I want to set an example," said Charles. "You and your family are to be stripped of your noble title and lands, Marquasette Osbourne will oversee your lands for now. I think this is a fitting punishment." "Why don''t you take my life?" asked Arnold Gray. "I''m not a bloodthirsty tyrant," said Charles. "You abused your power as Duke to secure power and resources, so I''m taking that away from you. It seems fitting for your punishment." "Thank you for sparing my life," said Arnold Gray who bowed before Charles. Even though Arnold Gray wanted power, he knew when he had lost and was humble in his defeat. "Does anyone object to this decision?" asked Charles. The nobles all talked among themselves. Gradually the voices began to disappear until it was silent. No one was in disagreement. Garnet was unsure whether they were afraid of Charles or whether they accepted the decision. Since this was Charles'' first official order of business, this would set a precedent on how he is seen by others. "Next order of business," said Charles. "We are going to be enacting reforms." "Earl Linsey objects," said a noble. "On what grounds?" asked Charles. "This is a power seizure by the King to deprive the nobles of their power," said Earl Linsey. "Is that so?" said Charles. "Well then, I want you to tell me your plan to deal with the invasion in a year." "I don''t have one," said Earl Linsey. "Well, I have one," said Charles. "If you want to listen, then listen, if not, then I suggest you leave right now because I don''t have the time to play around with children anymore. There''s just over a year until next Invasion and when it comes, we must be ready." Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 18 Class: Dark Mage / Queen Consort Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1520/1520 MP: 4200/4200 Fame: 130 Strength: 41 (+5) Dexterity: 38 (+7) Intelligence: 119 (+22) Vitality: 47 (+5) Agility: 48 (+7) Charisma: 27 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 6 - Lightning ¨C 10 - Wind ¨C 3 - Summoning ¨C 8 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Mana Armor (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 4) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 3) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 1) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 2) - Alchemist - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) ¨C The Skill - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book Extra: Rejected Ideas Just some things so you can ponder the what if. Things that are still planned to be used in the future are going to be marked with spoiler tags. I''m going to warn you, the spoilers are going to spoil plot points in the next major arc after Antium and the Invasion is resolved. Garnet, the Gun Mage Riley was originally supposed to bring whatever he had on him and his body would turn into blood to merge with Garnet''s. As a result, everything Riley had on him was left behind and Garnet would take those items with her. One of these would be Riley''s Gun, from which Riley would use to cast all the powerful spells with the gun as a catalyst. The idea was ditched for just having her just go as a pure mage with Riley''s body left in the other world. This somehow led to the basis for Blood Magic. Charles Wellington, The Worst of the Worst Originally, he was meant to be a bad guy. In fact, the worst of the four nobles of Antium. One of the things he enjoyed was strangling Garnet while sexually assaulting her and Garnet uses her strength and this opportunity to reverse rape him and force him to fight the other Dukes to death, creating conditions for a revolution in Antium that allows her to decide who the winner would be. This was too squicky and I decided to change him to be the one good who opposed the bad while the other two remained neutral. The horribleness of his character was divided into King Caligula, Boelyn Gray, and Baron Gray. Just think about that for a second. Garnet''s Sparring with the Guards Garnet was originally supposed to make it to the sparring grounds with the other guards after Duchess Kiko''s main guard, Camilla, offers to train Garnet. This duty was eventually passed on to Anna, one of Charles Wellington''s guards. Fleeing Antium Originally, Garnet was supposed to run away by herself to Anzio when she learns that Zedd is lying and Charles Wellington was not there to help her. So, she fled north on her own, making her way to Anzio by herself. Raid of the Red Manor Assassins sent out by Duke Gray to kill Duke Wellington make their way to Duke Wellington''s residence. Ruby is killed and causes Garnet to start mentally deteriorating. She seeks out Samantha Freud in order to learn memory magic, which combines with her own and results in the creation of memory manipulation magic in order to seek vengeance against Duke Gray by literally mind raping members of his family. Again, I felt it was too much and decided against it. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The Previous Hero Spoiler : Name: Assad He is the previous Hero that was present during The Great War of Constantinople. In a last ditch attempt to halt the Invasion, he flies into the eye in the sky, causing the eye to disappear and the Invasions stop for thirty years before resuming. It is believed he died, but in reality, he has not. He has ascended from Hero to Overseer in an attempt to stop the ones who are Invading other worlds. Thus, a "Hero" no longer exists in their world. The Hero System itself was created by the Yellow Emperor in an attempt to find others who had this potential. Assad is the only one who has done it through the Hero System so far, making the Hero System itself largely a failure. There are also people who falsely claim the title of Hero. Sometimes it is done to unite the people. Sometimes it is just because someone is being an asshole. Anna Spoiler : Title: Embodiment of Metal Anna is one of the five human form golems of the previous Hero, Assad. This is why she seems to not age and Garnet cannot see all of her stats. For example, she has no visible level because her level is based mostly on the strength of her creator. If I had to give her a number though, she would be above Zedd, probably level 120 or so. She is a Metal Elemental type and is capable of creating weapons without the need of spirits or Alchemy. She is also responsible for creating the Space-Time Magic that Zedd uses. Anna created it in a desperate attempt to try to find Assad, but gives up on it when she realizes that her attempts and emotions could make her the next person to start invading other worlds, which is what she was created to help stop. She is one of two known survivors of Constantinople. The other remains as a guard for the treasures left behind in Constantinople to ensure that its knowledge can be preserved and used to fight future Invasions. Book 4: Chapter 026 - Plans I wanted to release this chapter sooner, but I had to go through about 100 essays at my main teaching job, so I was unable to work on this for a while. This is the beginning of Mini Arc 4 and will bring an end to the Antium Arc while setting up for the next arc as well. The focus of this arc is beginning to understand the Hero System and the Invasions, which has only been mentioned by a few people up till now. This arc will be broken into 2 smaller events. Number 1 Spoiler : Garnet taking on the special examination for her class up so she can acquire Lightning Fire magic. She had the passive before, but not the skills. Number 2 Spoiler : The invasion itself. If you''ve seen Book Extra: Chapter Zedd, you kind of know what''s going to happen, but there''s a little I haven''t revealed yet. If you''ve been paying close attention to how it is described though, you should be able to figure it out. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The discussion of the Invasions were serious business. Failure to stop it meant a dangerous army would establish a foothold in their world and will spread outward to destroy everything unless someone else could step up to stop them. "Was Antium not built on this very spot to deal with the Invasions?" asked Charles. Garnet whispered to Zedd. "Offer them the farming technology from the North in exchange for helping with the Invasion," said Garnet. "The King has proposed a deal for you," said Zedd. "What is it?" asked a noble. "As you know, the King recently acquired access to certain technology that greatly improved his lands," said Zedd. "He has agreed to share it with you on the condition that you agree to his terms and conditions." "What are the terms?" asked Earl Linsey. "First, you must invest in the technology with your own wealth, the treasury of Antium will not pay for it," said Charles. "Second, you will help raise and train an army to provide for the defense of Antium. It is up to the Duke of each region to decide how many troops to provide in total, but keep in mind how costly the last Invasion was and the consequences if you fail. Lastly, you must encourage trade with the neighboring regions. I will give you time to discuss among yourselves." The technology that Garnet provided them was probably about a few decades worth of advancement. Even then, they still had not figured out the other things like the steam engine. But, the water mill and special farming tools alone would greatly improve their farms. Charles had offered them the ability to produce a vast amount of resources, but it was up the nobles to make sure they spent it well. Any failures would also be blamed on the nobles for failing to provide resources needed to fight back. "I accept these terms," said Earl Linsey. The person who objected first was now on their side. It was a good sign. The access to new technologies was something very powerful and it allowed one noble to increase their power over others. By accepting Charles'' terms, they would become stronger because they will be able to increase their wealth. The nobles would also have to rely on Charles a little as well, providing a room to build additional alliances. If the others objected now, they would be losing ground. "I agree too!" shouted another. Pretty soon nearly all of them agreed. There were a few who were suspicious, but for the most part it was good. The other topics covered were the promotion of a new Duke to the North, but Duchess Kiko would help manage and take a share until the new Duke could securely control, the repair of the West Gate, which was broken by Garnet, and the conversion of the other major gates into fortifications like the ones present on the East Gate. The goal to do this, was one year. Quest Complete: Persuade Nobles to Reduce Taxes and Tariffs The nobles have mostly agreed to lower taxes and tariffs Reward: Experience, Fame+0. You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! Quest Complete: Save Antium "By the way, I''m going to need another baby from you," Charles whispered to Garnet. "Isn''t three kids already enough?" asked Garnet. "Most royal families are very big after a few generations," said Charles. "It''s best to start early." "Alright," said Garnet. "We still have over a year until the Invasion, but definitely no more after this one." After about a week, Anna arrived with Jasper and Jade. The twins that Garnet had about two years ago. Ruby was at the school with Leeroy still. "Long time to see!" said Anna. "It''s only a few weeks," said Garnet. "They miss their mommy very much," said Anna. "Leeroy helped me take good care of them." "Are you absolute sure that he isn''t interested in you?" asked Garnet. "I''m sure he is," said Anna. "But like I said before, it''s not something in my mind at the moment, besides I hear you''re going to have another." "Charles said its customary for a new Queen and King to have a child together," said Garnet. "Usually," said Anna. "It''s proof that the royal family will have a new generation to continue and we don''t have to worry about something like another Civil War. Just don''t make me help you deliver another one." "I want you to be there since you''re going to help take care of it," said Garnet. Almost a year later, King Charles and Queen Garnet had their first child since becoming royalty. It was another girl. It was the first baby Garnet had that Charles was actually there to witness the birth of. She had brown eyes. The announcement of the birth of a child for the King was a joyous occasion because it guaranteed a continuation should the King and Queen die. Even though they already had three, the people treated it like it was the first since it was the first one that had been announced in decades. "Amber will be her name," said Garnet. "Don''t I get a say in this?" asked Charles. "I''m not going to break the theme now," said Garnet. "I don''t want you to either." "Theme?" asked Charles. "My name is Garnet, our first daughter''s name is Ruby, second is Jade, third is Jasper, and fourth is Amber." "You''re all named after gemstones," said Charles. "Yep," said Garnet. Garnet spent a lot of time with Charles, but it was mostly for ceremonial purposes as was not allowed to speak. Every time she wanted to speak, she would have to whisper it to Charles who then decided if it was worth bringing up. Most of the time, it was, but Garnet was still frustrated by this. "Why can''t this tradition change?" asked Garnet. "The monarch alone is the voice of the entire royal family," said Charles. "That''s just how it has been. I think it is because if every member of the royal family had a say, they could change the results of votes and policies too easily." Garnet had chosen to accept this. If the King and the family had too much power and influence over the city, they would be able to do whatever they want and the decisions of the other nobility would not matter. They had a long way to go before they would reach Anzio''s standards, but it was better than nothing. "How are the kids doing?" Charles asked. "They''re doing fine," said Garnet. "Jade and Jasper have both started talking and walking on their own. Why don''t you spend more time with them?" "Because I have a lot to do as well," said Charles. "I want to make sure that there is still a home here when they return. In half a year or so, the Invasion should be coming and I fear we are not ready." "Have the troops been training?" asked Garnet. "Almost every day as far as I can tell," said Charles. "Anna told me there was a young man who could not stop talking about you." "How did you know it was me?" asked Garnet. "A young beautiful woman who was cooking potato stew for all the volunteer soldiers beat up some guy who was talking too much and then somehow assumed leadership of a volunteer army in order to defeat two powerful undead creatures that feasted on blood," said Charles. "Unless you have a twin sister, I''m pretty sure it was you." It was Barry. The young soldier who was said to be strongest among her battalion at the time. That was the only person who matched the description. "That was shortly before you arrived," said Garnet. "What did Arnold Gray do?" asked Charles. "He forced people into the volunteer army and used them as human shields for his own soldiers," said Garnet. "That way, we would weaken the enemies and then he could claim all the fame and glory for himself when he defeated the weakened enemies." "Why didn''t you add that to his list of crimes?" asked Charles. "He was already in for conscription," said Garnet. "I don''t want to see him punished for the same crime twice." "I see," said Charles. "That would make sense." Garnet thought about all the things that she still had to do. She had saved Antium for now, but the Invasion was just around the corner. Zedd described it as one of the most frightening things he had ever seen or experienced. There was also the chance that Arnold Gray might try something since he probably still had a few loyal followers. "If there''s anything that ever worries you, feel free to speak to me," said Charles. "What if I want to travel after the Invasion?" asked Garnet. "To where?" asked Charles. "I don''t know," said Garnet. "But somewhere out there is a way to bring Riley back, and I want to find it." "Your promise," said Charles. "Yes," said Garnet. "Even if I cannot bring Riley back, I want to at least find a way to send the papers that he wrote to another world." "What about your family?" asked Charles. "At the age of five, they will go to Anzio," said Garnet. "I can just visit them there. I have the spell, so I can go whenever I want." "I forgot about that," said Charles. "I can visit you any time I want as well," said Garnet. "Well, if you have time for me." "I will always have time for you," said Charles as he held Garnet close to him. "You are the most important person to me, that''s why I want to know when something is troubling you as well." "I know," said Garnet as she pushed him away. She knew what he wanted, but she did not want to give him the chance. "But does any of the other nobles except Kiko know that I used to be a slave?" "Not yet," said Charles. "I don''t know how they would handle learning that a slave had a higher position than them." "Will you ever tell them?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Charles. "I just want them to be more accepting of others first." "Traditions are hard to change," said Garnet. "If they weren''t they wouldn''t be called traditions I guess." There was one way that she could earn acceptance still, fame. If she could acquire enough fame, she would be able to change many things and influence others. The problem was actually acquiring it because it was not easy to. Garnet''s past quests had given her about 10 points of fame each. Fighting against the undead that Arnold Gray had lured to Antium had given her 100, which was a lot. All that resulted in was a few stories about her achievements. Garnet had four kids now. Three girls, one boy. She should have been around 25 by now, but because of absorbing the Siren, she had not aged at all. She saw Charles age a little and her own children age, but Garnet herself had not changed much. The only real changes to her body was when she had a baby. The only thing that lasted was the stretch marks on her body from having so many babies, but even those gradually disappeared. In fact, she looked younger than when she was used in the Hero Summoning since she would have been about 20 then. While the others around her were getting older, she was staying the same and felt out of place. Anna was not very talkative, so Garnet went to talk to the only person who might understand, Zedd, who was younger than he looked as well. "How does it feel like to live forever?" Garnet asked Zedd. "It''s sad seeing the ones you love die before you," said Zedd. "But you also get to see how the world changes and all the good that you''ve done for others." "Do you like it?" asked Garnet. "What makes you think I''m an immortal?" asked Zedd. "When you transformed, you seemed much younger," said Garnet. "Anna too seems to be a lot older, but she appears quite young to me. There is a trick." "When you become strong enough, age is no longer a factor," said Zedd. "It is the reality of how things are." "Are there many people who are immortal?" asked Garnet. "True immortality is rare," said Zedd. "Most of us just have something that slows aging or makes us unaffected by it." "What do you have?" Garnet asked. She was curious. "I exist outside of time, so I am unaffected by aging," said Zedd. "I can still die if someone kills me, but at the same time I can also cheat my own death, by changing the flow of time. But I choose to keep going." "Why?" asked Garnet. "Because there are still things that I want to do," said Zedd. "There''s always things that I want to do and it keeps me going." "So do you like it?" asked Garnet. "I feel burdened with the task at hand, but I learn to enjoy every new experience," said Zedd. "I know something happened to you so you don''t age, but I suggest you go see the world for yourself." "I will," said Garnet. "I have a promise to keep." "Riley?" Zedd asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "To be able to create a body for her." "I suggest you travel North of Anzio and then East," said Zedd. "If there are clues, that is where I would look." "What''s to the Northeast?" asked Garnet. "A millennium ago, there was a great city known as Constantinople," said Zedd. "But a great Invasion that numbered in the millions arrived. It was the largest Invasion ever recorded in our history. For years, the people of Constantinople fought against it, but they could not hold out. In their last ditch effort, they hid their knowledge in the ruins below the city and set the city ablaze with the monsters trapped inside, in doing so, they destroyed most of the invading monsters. The remaining ones spread throughout the land where most were destroyed by neighboring empires, but it was believed that a few monsters from that era still exist as well." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Do you think that the city will have that knowledge?" asked Garnet. "If anyone has it, it is them," said Zedd. "I discovered how to use Space-Time Magic from a single tome there." "Where is the book now?" asked Garnet. Zedd pulled a book out from a purple ripple in the air. It was similar to storage rings, yet not the same. "Here," said Zedd as he passed it to Garnet. "Learn the Instance Dungeon Creation spell," said Zedd. Garnet remembered the requirements. "I don''t have the mana for it," said Garnet. "I only have half of the required mana." "At your age, that''s not too bad," said Zedd. "I would be surprised if you did." "What about other ways to increase your mana?" asked Garnet. "I''ve noticed that there are times when my maximum mana can be increased by other means." "Take out your robe," said Zedd. Garnet took it out of her Inventory. The shape itself was different than when she remembered it. It looked more like a black dress now than a magic robe. The Crystal Catalyst had transformed the entire robe. At the legs, it split open on the sides. If she removed the hood, the top revealed her shoulders. It was a slit dress. The gloves and boots were the same. Name: Robe of the Shadow Empress Quality: Legendary Effects: Self Repairing, +10% bonus to Magic Damage, +100% to Mana Regeneration, High Resistance to Slash, High Resistance to Blunt, High Resistance to Pierce, Shapeshifting It had incredible stats. The only thing it was missing was runes. "Would you be able to do more to it if you had additional Crystal Catalysts?" Garnet asked. "Do you have more?" asked Zedd. "Two more," said Garnet. "I took them from Arnold Gray''s cannons." "So that''s where you got the last one from," said Zedd. "I was wondering what happened to the others." "Were you after them too?" asked Garnet. "Yes, but I settled for just the magic ore after," said Zedd. "So can you do anything with them?" asked Garnet. "Do you want to use something like a magic staff?" asked Zedd. "I already have a normal staff for fighting," said Garnet. "I would like to avoid it if possible." "Can I keep what is left of the crystal after I polish it?" asked Zedd. "Sure," said Garnet. Zedd cut the crystal in half each and then shaped them into the largest orbs he possibly could. He then sewed them onto the gloves. Garnet watched as they were absorbed into the dress. Name: Dress of the Dark Goddess Quality: Mythical Effects: Self Repairing, +50% bonus to Magic Damage, +500% to Mana Regeneration, +100% Maximum Mana, Mana Consumption -50% (still requires mana to cast spell before reduction calculation), High Resistance to Slash, High Resistance to Blunt, High Resistance to Pierce, Immunity to Acids, Immunity to Decay, Shapeshifting The dress gave absurd benefits. "How is that even possible?" asked Garnet. "Such a high quality item to exist." "This is the true power of superior magicraft," said Zedd. "The hardest thing is finding the materials you need." "Thank you," said Garnet. "Can''t the materials be made?" "Most recipes were lost along with their techniques," said Zedd. "Most of them were unwilling to share their knowledge and held it as a closely guarded secret. What an Alchemist makes today with their magicraft is only a small fraction of the knowledge that has been recovered." "Why wasn''t that information duplicated?" asked Garnet. "Their techniques were a closely guarded secret," said Zedd. "It was made so that only a few people ever knew because they relied on it to be a successful and powerful country." "And we have to deal with the consequences of lost knowledge," said Garnet. "Correct," said Zedd. "That is why many magicians who work for royalty often ask for and arrange to create a library to compile and save that knowledge." "Do you think you can get me access to other libraries like this?" asked Garnet. "You''ll need to do that yourself," said Zedd. "I heard from Anna that you have a Guild Card correct?" "Yes," said Garnet as she pulled it out. She had no rank, just a plain card. "If you can either become a magician in the service of a King, your husband does not count, or if you can acquire a high enough rank, you might get a chance," said Zedd. "What rank would I need?" asked Garnet. "At least Triple Adamantium," said Zedd. "Is that high?" asked Garnet. "Very high," said Zedd. "Each Guild Card is unique and as you make significant progress, they give you a better card that shows your status. The rarer the materials are to make the Guild Card, the higher ranking you are." "That''s going to take a while," said Garnet. "Just go hunt some big name monsters," said Zedd. "It''ll save you some time." "There''s rank requirements though," said Garnet. "Take out a big one, bring proof of it along with the request card and just show it to them," said Zedd. "They''ll have to take it." Garnet had never thought about that. She always followed the rules, but this was a work around. They would have to acknowledge her strength if she did not have the rank to qualify. That might allow her to accept more difficult tasks as well. "I want you to put on the dress in two days," said Zedd. "What for?" asked Garnet. "You need to complete the Mastery Examination for Mages before the Invasion," said Zedd. "A test?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "It is an ancient test developed by mages for mages. By completing this test, you should acquire new abilities and increase in strength. Few mages pass it, but it would be the equivalent of improving your own Class if you do. I''m interested in seeing what powers a Dark Mage will acquire." "What do I have to do?" asked Garnet. "There''s usually three parts," said Zedd. "The first, is a display of power. The second, is a test of endurance. The last, is a test of character. It is different for each person." "What happens if I fail?" asked Garnet. "Nothing," said Zedd. "But if you fail twice, you can not take the test again." "Why not?" asked Garnet. "If you fail the third time, your magic is sealed and you will be considered as a failure," said Zedd. "But knowing you, it should be possible for you." "What makes you so confident?" asked Garnet. "You alone have done more than I could have ever hoped to," said Zedd. "This is just another stepping stone on your path to greatness." "I still have not felt like a Hero," said Garnet. "I work from the shadows to persuade others and weaken enemies so that someone else can finish them." "A Hero is more than about winning," said Zedd. "The fact that you did those things without concern for acquiring credit for your work and the fact that you continue to stand up for what you believe in is what makes you such a Hero." Garnet sat there and thought about something. "Why are there Invasions?" asked Garnet. "I''m not sure," said Zedd. "As far as I can remember, there was one every five years or so, but for a period of time, there were none in the historical records." "That means there must be a way to stop them or delay them right?" Garnet asked. "There might be," said Zedd. "But I have no knowledge about this." "I think this is something that I need to look into as well," said Garnet. New Quest: Learn About the Invasions What causes them to occur in the first place is still unknown. Maybe the Library of Constantinople has some information after their 30 years of experiencing it? Reward: Experience, Fame "My theory is that it is simply another world that has been overrun by monsters on the other side of the portal that they appear from," said Zedd. "But that means they still must come from somewhere," said Garnet. "They don''t just appear out of nowhere." "That is true," said Zedd. "But to this day, neither I nor any of my spirits have found such an origin point for the Invasions." "Is there anything else you can tell me about the Invasions?" asked Garnet. "The enemy forces are organized into a hierarchy," said Zedd. "They usually send scouts and weak soldiers out first. From there, they start sending in the stronger creatures. The final one is usually the leader, a much larger and more powerful monster." "How did you defeat them in the past?" asked Garnet. "Others held off the enemies while I prepared magic that was able to counter them," said Zedd. "Like when I summoned Sun Wukong, something big enough to destroy their leader." "I feel like I won''t make a difference," said Garnet. "That''s where you''re wrong," said Zedd. "A Hero is special, they make the impossible possible, just like how you became a Queen. If anyone can create a miracle, it is you." "I think you have too much confidence in me," said Garnet. "You doubt yourself," said Zedd. "Why?" "I''m trying to be a mother, a Hero, and a wife, but I feel like I''m not doing enough for any of them," said Garnet. "There''s always more to do," said Zedd. "You will never have the time to do everything that you ever want to do, but as long as you are there for the important things, that is what really counts. "Do you think the test will prepare me for the upcoming battle?" asked Garnet. "It will make you more prepared, but there''s always more you can learn to do," said Zedd. "We are limited by the amount of time that we have, so we have to choose what to focus on." "And that''s what I''m having trouble with," said Garnet. "In due time, you''ll figure things out," said Zedd. "You''re only 25, but you look like you''re 15. What I would give to look that young again." "How old are you really?" asked Garnet. "I''m not sure," said Zedd. "I stopped counting long ago. I chose to focus on just what I can do and I track time through my accomplishments." "I want to be remembered for what I do as well," said Garnet. "I hope I''m remembered in a good way and not as King Charles'' baby factory or something." Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 21 Class: Dark Mage / Queen Consort Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1670/1670 MP: 4800/4800 Fame: 130 Strength: 41 (+5) Dexterity: 38 (+7) Intelligence: 134 (+22) Vitality: 47 (+5) Agility: 48 (+7) Charisma: 27 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 6 - Lightning ¨C 10 - Wind ¨C 3 - Summoning ¨C 8 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Mana Armor (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 4) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 3) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 1) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 2) - Alchemist - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) ¨C The Skill - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 4: Chapter 027 - Test of the Hero (Part 1) - Might Buy playing Digimon Cyber Sleuth in between helping out with Lunar New Year stuff, so maybe one more chapter much later in the day or tomorrow, but I''ll definitely won''t leave it on a cliffhanger for more than a day. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnet was wearing the Dress of the Dark Goddess. Zedd had prepared the Mastery Examination for Mages for Garnet. "Are you ready?" asked Zedd. "What will I find on the other side?" asked Garnet. "Something that will represent the embodiment of your power," said Zedd. "It varies from person to person, but generally, the bigger it is, the more powerful your potential." "What do you mean by in general?" asked Garnet "There are always exceptions," said Zedd. "For example, you might find the reincarnation of a powerful warrior inside of yourself or perhaps a rare spirit from another world." "What makes them so special?" asked Garnet. "Reincarnations and rare spirits often possess unique abilities that cannot be obtained anywhere else," said Zedd. "The only way to acquire these powers is to past their test." "Why do our powers want to test us?" asked Garnet. "That does not seem to make sense." "All of our abilities come from somewhere," said Zedd. "The limits of our power is determined by how strong our bodies are at a given moment." Garnet breathed deeply and prepared herself. "I''m ready," said Garnet. She stepped into in a very complex multi-layer magic circle. The only thing that even came close to its complexity was the Hero Summoning spell, but that spell was far more complex than this one. This one was somewhere between the Hero Summoning spell and Kiko''s Indignation spell, which made it very high tier magic. "Here we go," said Zedd. "Inverse Summoning Circle: Mage Examination!" Garnet watched as the magic circles underneath her began to lit up. Three smaller magic circles lit up and formed a triangle around Garnet. From there, a circle went through the center of each of the magic circles. Numerous smaller rings connected the three circles before a pillar of blue light filled everything Garnet to see. She had to cover her eyes because the light was too bright. "Get out of the circle!" shouted Zedd. Garnet watched as mana was continuing to be drawn out from Zedd. Zedd was trying to say something, but Garnet could not hear what. Garnet could not move or speak. New Quest: Test of the Hero Something unexpected happened as Zedd prepared for the ritual for the Mage Examination. Complete the tasks given to you and prove that you are a true Hero Reward: Class Change As the light disappeared, Garnet saw nothing but darkness. "Where am I?" she said. She looked around, but even with her Night Vision, she could not see anything. "Light!" Garnet activated her only light spell, but that too was not helping. She still could not even see herself in the darkness. "What is going on?" she thought. Garnet started to walk around, looking for anything that would help her find out where she was. Under her was some kind of dirt, but it was very solid. She did not leave any footprints as she walked in it, but she could not break it either. Wherever she was, nothing was as it appeared to be. What appeared to be soft dirt under her feet was something very strong. ROAR. It was the sound of something very fierce. Blue flames began to light up around Garnet, revealing the surrounding darkness. Garnet could at least see herself and the area around the flames, but nothing beyond that. STOMP STOMP STOMP. Something was coming closer. Its footsteps were heavy enough to shake the ground. It was something very big and heavy. "Welcome back," said a deep voice. "Where am I?" asked Garnet. "Inside your mana reservoir," said the voice. "What is that?" asked Garnet. "It''s where all the mana you have accumulated is stored in your body," said the voice. "I can''t see you," said Garnet. "Walk closer to the edge," the voice responded. Garnet walked to the very edge of what she could see from the blue light, but all she saw was darkness. "I still can''t see anything," said Garnet. The ground beneath Garnet began to shake. She looked around, but it was too dark to see anything. ROAR. The head of a dragon with black scales suddenly emerged from the darkness. It was accompanied by the sound of metal chains. "You''re finally here," said the dragon as it yawned. "I''ve been watching you for quite some time." It spoke as it approached her. The head alone was dozens of times bigger than Garnet could see its neck, but the rest of it was enveloped by the darkness. The rest of its body was much larger. She had no idea how big it actually was. Metal chains were attached to its neck and other places as well. "Do I know you?" asked Garnet. The dragon began to shrink and transformed into a man with shoulder length black hair. He was fairly thin for a man with no prominent muscles. In a way, his face was almost feminine as well. He was wearing a black shirt, but had a jacket of black, brown, dark green, and light green colors on it. There were shackles on his arms and legs that stretched into the darkness, but it did not seem to restrict his movement at all. "You don''t remember me?" asked the man. "No," said Garnet. "May I ask your name?" "Your first test is to figure out who I am," said the man. "I know who you are Garnet, but do you remember who I am?" "No," said Garnet. "You don''t look familiar." "You''ll have some time to figure it out," said the man. "I exist as part of you and at the same time, not part of you." "What does that even mean?" asked Garnet. "As mana, I am part of you, but mana is something that can be shaped and directed outside of the body, so I''m not exactly like a physical part of you," said the man. "What do I have to do?" asked Garnet. "Are you sure you want to move ahead so fast?" asked the man. "I don''t have a lot of time," said Garnet. "I have to pass this test so I can become stronger." "Oh?" asked the man. "Do you desire power?" "Yes," said Garnet. "I fear that I will not have the power when I need it." "Alright," said the man. "Since you want to become so strong so fast, you can think about who I am during your next test. All you have to do is defeat all the enemies around you." Garnet could hear something was moving around in the darkness, but she could not tell what. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet released a Fire Bolt, but it quickly dissipated. "Lightning Bolt!" Sparks appeared in Garnet''s fingertips, but they quickly fizzled out as they flew away from her body. "What happened?" asked Garnet. "You won''t be able to use the full power of your attack spells or transform in here," said the man. "After all, you can''t always rely on it." In other words, Garnet had to fight with her bare hands. "How did you know I can transform?" asked Garnet. "I told you, I''ve been watching you," said the man as she flew into the center of the visible area above Garnet. "Why?" asked Garnet. "I was told to," said the man. "I was unsure about it at first, but since I had nothing to do, I thought it might be interesting to see how you''ve used the time." Garnet could hear something else approaching. She kept her eyes open, but could not see beyond the small distance, so she could not tell what was actually coming. STOMP. It was the sound of something very heavy. Until it got closer, Garnet could not see what it is. STOMP. A foot appeared entered the circle of flames. It was metal. STOMP. Another food entered the circle of flames, there was more than one of them. STOMP. The first one was now fully in view. It was a suit of armor, but instead of a person, inside was a head of stone. It was a puppet or a golem of some kind made with stone and steel. Name: Armor Spirit Level: 20 Class: Spirit Sub-Class: Defender Stats: High Vitality Garnet tried to open her Inventory, but could not. She could not access her rings either. "Don''t I get a weapon?" asked Garnet. "You get what you have on you right now," said the man. "No weapon? You have to work with what you have then." Garnet tried to use attack spells, but they would simply pop as they went out of her reach. "Everything that would go against the rules is blocked," said the man. "No matter how hard you try, it will not work unless it is allowed by the rules." The problem was that Garnet could not tell how many enemies there were in all, but more of them were approaching. Without weapons or attack spells, the only thing she could do was fight them head on with Mana Armor and whatever hand to hand techniques that she had. "Palm Strike!" BAM. Garnet hit the armor with her first. The Armor Spirit staggered and was knocked back by the attack, but there was no significant damage dealt to it. "This thing is too tough," said Garnet. "It''s not," said the man as she continued to circle above Garnet. "With all that power in your hands, you still don''t know how to use it do you?" Garnet focused more mana into her hands and she struck the Armor Spirit. GUH. The Armor Spirit groaned as it was knocked apart and flew back several feet. "I got it!" thought Garnet. The Armor Spirit reassembled itself and got right back up. The only signs of damage was the cracks in the armor that remained from Garnet''s attack, but even those were slowly disappearing. "No," said the man. "It''s usually not as easy as it seems." "Power comes in many different forms," said the man as he stood straight in the air to observe Garnet. "You only know brute force despite all that you''ve experienced." Garnet tried to focus her attention on the man, but could not make sense of any of the information that the Hero System gave her. It was just a jumbled mess of random letters or words that Garnet did not understand. Name: Nemao Level: Drendo Class: Niha Cumtean Sub-Class: Ymlrasecd Stats: +*$Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 22 Class: Dark Mage / Queen Consort Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1740/1740 MP: 4970/4970 Fame: 130 Strength: 42 (+5) Dexterity: 39 (+7) Intelligence: 140 (+22) Vitality: 49 (+5) Agility: 49 (+7) Charisma: 27 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 6 - Lightning ¨C 10 - Wind ¨C 3 - Summoning ¨C 8 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 4) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 3) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 1) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 2) - Alchemist - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) ¨C The Skill - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 4: Chapter 028 - Test of the Hero (Part 2) - A Test of Character This is late. I tried to get it done sooner, but had to set up about half a dozen orders of chicken and roast pork for various members of my extended family with insane lines. Hopefully picking it up later today won''t take anywhere near as long >.> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the white light around Garnet began to weaken, she began to regain her sight. She was no longer in a dark cave. Instead, it was a forest with trees that reached up into the sky. Light seeped through the trees from the foliage. As she looked down, she saw that she was in the middle of a four way intersection on a path. The predominant sounds were the rustling of leaves as the wind blew against them and the sound of birds chirping. It was almost peaceful. As she looked around, the man with chains was no longer in sight. "Where are you?" she asked. There was no response. Garnet was alone. RUSTLE. There was the sound of something moving behind the trees near her. "Who''s there?" shouted Garnet. "Relax, I''m not your enemy," said a feminine voice. "I''m here to oversee your second test." From behind the trees and brushes, a young woman stepped forward. She was wearing the same spotted clothes as the man from before. She looked very similar to the man except that she was maybe an inch or two shorter and had curves where the man did not before. She kind of looked like Garnet before Garnet absorbed the Siren into her body. These were the only clues that Garnet had, but it was not enough to go on. She still did not recognize the person in front of her. "Who are you?" asked Garnet. "I''m the one who will observe your test," said the woman. "Do you know who I am yet?" "No," said Garnet. "I''m even more confused." "You should know that your form is not something that is fixed," said the woman. "You can change the way you appear as well can you not?" Garnet already had two transformations. This person was also capable of transforming, so it was even harder for Garnet to figure out who he or she was. It could have been anyone that she met before. "Can you give me any hints or clues?" Garnet asked. "Like I said before, I cannot without you failing this test," said the woman. "Why is your identity so important?" asked Garnet. "An identity is how you see yourself and how you feel about yourself," said the woman. "So what do I have to do here?" asked Garnet. "This is a test of character," said the woman. "In this forest, there are numerous creatures, but only one is evil. You have to find that one." "How will I know which one is evil?" asked Garnet. "That''s for you to find out," said the woman. "If you kill a creature that is not evil, then you fail this test." Garnet would have to find a way to see if whether a creature was good or evil before she could kill it. In the past, the enemy was always clear, it was the one trying to kill her as well, but trying to find an evil creature in a forest was near impossible. After all, nearly everything could try to kill her for different reasons. She might be stepping on a creature''s hunting ground, a creature could attack her to defend its home, or the creatures could just be fighting each other because one of them is a predator. "I''ll be watching you," said the woman as she flew into the sky. The personality of the woman was also different from the man''s. This woman was straight and to the point. She did not say more than she had to, making it even harder for Garnet to try to figure out who he or she was. "One thing at a time," thought Garnet. She needed to focus on finding the evil creature in the forest. There was minimal light in the forest, but it was still better than where she was before. At least she could see things in here and her Night Vision skill allowed her to see everything clearly still. It was almost as if the other place purposely inhibited her senses. "Flight!" The spell did not activate. "Are my spells being limited here too?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said the woman. "We don''t want you to accidentally shoot up the forest you know." "What spells can I use then?" Garnet asked. "The same ones as before," said the woman. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet tried a basic spell. The spell began to dissipate as it went further away from her body. She was again limited to her close range palm and hand to hand skills. The Mana Armor was enough though. As long as the woman did not send anything crazy, Garnet would be fine. Garnet just chose a random direction and began to walk. At the next spot, there was another four way intersection. Garnet crouched down and tried to scratch something into the dirt, but it was solid. There was no way for her to mark where she had been. She tried to mark the tree next to her. There was no mark either. It was impossible for her to leave anything to see where she had been. The forest itself was most likely a maze of some kind. With no other option, Garnet continued forward, counting the number of intersections she crossed. After the fifth one, there was something. In front of the cave slept a boar. "Is this the evil creature?" Garnet thought. "No, it can''t be that easy. There has to be a way to find out." Name: Spirit Boar Level: 20 Class: Spirit Sub-class: Beast Stats: ????? Using her ability to see the stats of the creature did not help. Garnet had to find another way to see whether the boar was the evil creature or not. She decided to get closer. SNORT. The boar begin to sniff very loudly. Garnet stopped moving and looked at the boar. SNORT. The boar continued sniffing and moved its head around. It was already too late, it had sniffed out Garnet. SQUEAL. The boar made a loud noise as it charged straight for Garnet. BANG. It crashed straight against Garnet, but her Mana Armor protected her from the strike and only drained a tiny amount of her mana. The boar repeatedly smash its head against Garnet''s Mana Armor. Garnet started to run backwards. She could not kill the boar without knowing if it was the evil one in the forest. She decided not to take any risk at all and just continued to run. As Garnet made her way back to the forest path, the boar slowed down and Garnet gained distance on it. When she finally turned around, the boar had stopped. Garnet looked at the boar and the boar looked right back at her. The boar slowly turned around and headed back to the cave. It was not trying to kill Garnet. It was simply protecting its territory. Once Garnet moved out of the territory, it left her alone. The boar was not the evil creature in the forest or at least, it did not seem like it. Garnet decided to turn back and check out each of the other intersections of the forest. Each one seemed to be inhabited by different animals. There was a pack of wolves near part of the forest that had numerous rocks about. Name: Spirit Wolf Level: 20 Class: Spirit Sub-class: Beast Stats: ??? Most of them were sleeping and it did not seem like they were doing anything. Garnet decided not to approach them considering what happened with the boar. A pack of wolves would be far worse. One by one, Garnet checked different areas of the forest. There were other animals such as squirrels, bears, foxes, and numerous small insects. The problem was that none of them were more aggressive than a normal version of that creature. It was impossible to determine which one was evil. Rather than wander around aimlessly, Garnet decided to sit and think about it. She looked up into the sky and stared into the trees. "Give up yet?" asked the woman. She was sitting right next to Garnet. "Where did you come from?!?" shouted Garnet. "I was just watching," said the woman. "Do you give up?" "No," said Garnet. "I''m thinking." "Call me if you give up and I''ll let you out," said the woman as she flew backwards into the trees. She was gone again. There had to be a clue, but Garnet did not know what it was. Some of the creatures were predators that hunted other creatures, but that lone did not make them evil. They were just doing what was necessary to survive. The same could be said for the boar that defended its cave or the ants that protected their home. Just because they killed other creatures does not necessarily make them evil. But, according to the woman''s words, there was definitely something evil in the forest. Garnet just had to find out what it was. Garnet continued to make her way through all of the intersections of the forest. Each part of the forest seemed to be inhabited by different creatures. In the very last intersection was a long path. Garnet followed the path to a large tree that reached higher than the rest of the ones she had seen. At the base of the tree were two chipmunks that had collected nuts and ran up the side of the tree. A pair of birds flew up high into the branches. At the very base of the tree was a large black bear. Name: Spirit Bear Level: 20 Class: Spirit Sub-Class: Beast Stats: ??? There was nothing special about the bear either. This part of the forest was only a little different because there were multiple types of creatures that shared a single habitat, a tree. Other than that though, there was nothing special about it. Nothing that would direct Garnet to find what was evil in the forest. The forest was a perfect vision of nature that had been undisturbed for who knows how long. "Undisturbed?" thought Garnet. That was not correct. There was something that disturbed the habitat, it was Garnet. She was the one that was introduced recently and her presence would alter the relationship dynamic because she was a foreign living creature. In addition, she was the one that went around looking for something to kill in order to disrupt the balance. In other words, the evil that Garnet was looking for, was herself. "I have the answer," said Garnet. The woman flew down from the sky. "What is your answer?" she asked. "I am the evil in the forest," said Garnet. "Why do you say that?" asked the woman. "The creatures in here were peacefully co-existing," said Garnet. "When I came in here, I disrupted the natural order and changed it by attacking the boar." "So what can you do to fix it?" asked the woman. "By leaving, so take me out of here," said Garnet. "That is the correct answer," said the woman. "Remember that not everything that is aggressive towards you is evil. Because of your personality, you may lose sight of that and forget." "I won''t," said Garnet. "You''ve passed the second test," said the woman. "Are you ready for your last one?" "Yes," said Garnet. "Very well," said the woman. She released a bright flash of light again. When the light cleared, Garnet was standing in the darkness once more. Again, she could not see anything. "Where are you?" she asked. There was no answer. CLICK. A blue flame lit up at Garnet''s side. Several more flames begin to light up, creating a path straight ahead. VWOOM. A strong gust of wind flew through the area, lighting up the rest of the flames as far as Garnet could see. Garnet could still not see far into the darkness, but the flames at least provided a little light. With no other choice, Garnet decided to continue ahead with the path in front of her. Up ahead, she saw an opening, an end to the tunnel. Behind her was a path like a cave. In front of her was a huge platform surrounded by suits of armor on the ground. It was where she was fighting the Spirit Armors before. This was the deepest part of the cave. It was clearly a trap, but there was no other choice. She either had to go forward or go back. "You''re finally here," said a feminine voice. Garnet saw from above that a figure descended. She had black hair, a blue eye and a green eye. Her curves was much like Garnet''s own. "You''re me?!?" said Garnet. "That is correct," said the woman. "But not exactly." The woman raised both of her hands. A blue flame appeared in each hand. CRASH. CRASH. Two wooden poles landed in the wooden platform. When the dust cleared, Garnet saw two people tied in chains attacked to the wooden poles. In the chains were the man and woman from the previous two trials. The woman who looked like Garnet raised her arm and pointed each of the blue flames to one of the two in chains. "One must live, one must die," said the woman. "Which do you choose?" Garnet was being offered a sadistic choice. She knew neither of them and neither of them seemed like particularly bad people, but one them had to die. "Kill me instead!" shouted Garnet. "That is not the choice," said the woman. "So they both must die!" "No!" shouted Garnet. It was too late though, the woman shot the blue fire at both the man and the woman. BANG. Where the two stood was now just large blue flames. "No..." cried Garnet as she fell to her knees. There was something on Garnet''s shoulders. She looked over and saw the man from before. "How?" asked Garnet. "This was your last test," said the man. "I wanted to see how you would react if you were offered a sadistic choice." "Why?" asked Garnet. "A Hero is more than just strength," said the woman with black hair. "There may come a day when you have to make such a choice, but you offered yourself without much hesitation." "What is the point of all of this?" asked Garnet. "Why ask me who you are? Why have me fight against endless hordes of enemies only to have me try to find something that does not exist?" "Nothing is ever as simple as it seems," said the woman who looked like Garnet. "Do you recognize us now?" "No," said Garnet. "Line up!" said the woman with black hair. The three of them lined up. The feminine looking man was on the left. The woman who looked like Garnet was in the middle. To the right was the woman with long black hair who looked like the man. "Do you recognize us now?" asked the woman with black hair. "No," said Garnet. "The middle person looks like me, but the man to the left and you, I have no clue." "Are you sure about that?" asked the woman who looked like Garnet. "Don''t you know someone who went through this?" "Someone who went through this?" Garnet repeated. Someone who was a man, then became Garnet, then became a woman. "Riley?" asked Garnet. "Correct," said the woman with black hair. The other two figures disappeared. Garnet hugged her. "You''re okay," said Garnet. "I had thought about you, but I did not know what happened to you." "I became part of you here and was supplying you with mana for a while," said Riley. "When it stopped, I could move freely on my own." "Why did you do all of this?" asked Garnet. "I received a message to put you through this trial," said Riley. "From who?" asked Garnet. "He gave no name, but said it would be something that would help you," Riley explained. "I was told to present you with this test to determine whether you are truly worthy of the power of a Hero." "Why?" asked Garnet. None of this made any sense to her. "A Hero is supposed to represent the embodiment of all that is good," said Riley. "While you have the power, your methods and behavior so far is not anywhere near the embodiment of good, so the voice wanted to be sure that you had not strayed from the path of a Hero." "What about you though?" Garnet asked. "Why did you agree to such a thing?" "It''s not like I have anything else better to do," said Riley. "I spent a lot of time thinking about it, but I didn''t know what I should do, so when I saw some of the things you did to King Arnold''s men, I decided that it was necessary to test you. That is why I decided to test you." "But aren''t you a man?" asked Garnet as she looked at Riley. "Did you forget what happened to me?" asked Riley. "You were losing your memories," said Garnet. "Your memories replaced some of mine," said Riley. "And apparently, this is now how I see myself now," said Riley as she tossed her hair backwards and gave Garnet a seductive look. It was something that Garnet used to do to her clients. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Garnet looked at Riley. She looked a little like Garnet, especially her physique, but had long black hair and brown eyes that resembled Riley instead. In fact, this one would probably be what a daughter between Garnet and the male Riley would look like if she grew up. Even though Riley was a man, it was clear that this one knew how to act like either or maybe even Garnet herself. "I wish I could remember more about my old life though," said Riley. "I have some visions of it, but it is worse than knowing nothing." "There''s one thing," said Garnet. Garnet opened her Inventory and took out a pile of papers. "Do you remember this?" asked Garnet. "Only a little," said Riley. "I rushed to write down what I could before I lost control." "Take them, maybe it will help," said Garnet. "Thank you," said Riley as she looked through them. Garnet saw there were some tears in Riley''s eyes. "Is there anything that you can remember?" asked Garnet. "There was someone who was very important in my previous life," said Riley. "I had someone in my school who helped take care of me. She was someone very important, but I cannot remember her face or name." "Was she your wife or girlfriend?" asked Garnet. "I don''t know," said Riley. "I saw a nameless and faceless person who was frequently there with me, but that''s all I can remember. I can''t remember much of anything else, such as things I studied about." Garnet had taken those memories from Riley. The Hero Summoning was not something that simply called forth someone from another world, it exploited them, using the summoned person as a prisoner and taking important knowledge from them. Garnet wanted to help Riley recover her body and her memories, but the question was how such a thing would be possible. There was one thing that Garnet wanted to know for sure. "Is it still possible to bring you back?" asked Garnet. "Of course," said Riley. "You just need to gather the ingredients, make a body for me, then place me inside of it." "No progress on that end though," said Garnet. "It''s alright," said Riley. "You have all the time in the world once you face the Invasion." That reminded Garnet. She was doing this test in order to prepare for the Invasion. "Wasn''t this test also supposed to give me skills?" asked Garnet. "Oh right," said Riley. "I forgot about it. Congratulations!" Quest Complete: Test of the Hero You have been accepted and completed the tasks given to you by the Hero System and it has granted you power using Riley as its Avatar. Reward: New Skills Class Change: Dark Mage -> Chaos Mage A Chaos Mage can use spells of any element and even combine them for multiple element spells. Stat Increase: Strength +10 Stat Increase: Dexterity +10 Stat Increase: Intelligence +10 Stat Increase: Vitality +10 Stat Increase: Agility +10 Stat Increase: Charisma +10 Level Up: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) Level Up: Hero System (Level 3) New Class: Hero Skill Unsealed: Aura of Leadership (Level 1, Passive) Provides a passive boost to the abilities of all allies in the immediate surrounding Effect: Increases loyalty of allies, +10% to stats of all allies, all hostile enemies lose 10% of their stats if you are with allies New Skill: Aura of the Hero (Level 1, Passive) As you face down the creatures from another world, you provide a boost to the stats of anyone fighting alongside you, but you are unable to fight in a human war. Should you fall in battle, all your comrades will receive a significant boost to their stats. Should you run from battle, all your comrades will have their stats heavily reduced. Effect: The stats of all allies are increased by 300% in the presence of monsters or creatures that are categorized as Invaders. The stats of all allies are reduced to 20% of normal if you flee from a winnable battle. If you die in battle, your allies are all boosted by an additional 500% until the current Invasion is over. New Skill: Heat Wave (Level 1) A wave of wind spreads outward scorching everything it touches. More effective against armored targets. More effective at close range. MP Cost: 500 New Skill: Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) A bolt of fire is enhanced by lightning and wind, possessing explosive and penetrating power. Ignores armor and non-passive defensive abilities. MP Cost: 500 New Skill: Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 1) A sword enhanced with lightning, fire, and wind is created in the user''s hand. When the blade is swung, the magic is released in a destructive wave that spreads outwards and destroys everything in its path. It can be also used with a sword that can have magic channeled through it. This blade can only be used once before it disappears. MP Cost: 5000 New Skill: Fire Mastery (Level 1, Passive) Your flames are now enhanced with Wind Magic, creating more powerful blue flames. Also enhances Lightning Fire magic. Effect: +50% to Fire Damage, Lightning Fire magic is enhanced by half of this value New Skill: Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) Transform into the embodiment of the elements, enhancing your elemental magic. MP Cost: 1% of maximum mana per 5 seconds Effects: Increases damage of all elemental type spells by 50% when active. New Skill: Item Enhancement (Level 1) Allows you to upgrade existing items by pouring your mana into it to create a magic item. The limit is determined by how much mana the item can contain. MP Cost: Varies Effect: Varies New Skill: Disassemble (Level 1) Allows you to break apart items into their components to be used to create new items. The mana in those objects will be divided into the items created. MP Cost: Varies New Skill: -ERROR- User already possesses skill Completing the Mastery Exam gave enormous changes to skills and greatly increased Garnet''s overall stats. "I promise I will find you a new body," said Garnet. "Will I be able to see you again?" "In a while," said Riley. "I was told there was a temporary solution. It''s not a good idea to mess around your mana resevoir too much, so I do not recommend you try to come in here again unless its for another Class Change." "How will I put you inside the body though?" asked Garnet. Making a body was going to be hard enough. Being able to put an entire consciousness into the body was something different altogether. "I have no idea," said Riley. "But there''s supposed to be a way to put a spirit inside a crafted vessel." "Who told you about a temporary solution?" asked Garnet. "The Hero System did," said Riley. "It spoke to me." "How?" asked Garnet. "I only get those messages that tell me when my skills level up." "I just hear a voice in here sometimes," said Riley. "It told me that I should follow its instructions if I wanted to get a chance to move around, though I will be bound to you until you restore my body." The Hero System was guiding both Garnet and Riley towards something, but they did not know what. Garnet was granted power and some of Riley''s memories, mostly his knowledge. Yet at the same time, it did not want Riley to disappear. Instead, it wanted Riley to become something greater. There was a chance that the Hero System itself was something sentient. "Can it tell me how to stop those Invasions?" asked Garnet. "I don''t know how to stop it, I only know where they come from," said Riley. "The next one is already unavoidable, so even if you know how, there''s nothing to stop it. All I can say is, just wait until after the first Invasion is over." Garnet''s vision was starting to fade to black. Her time was up for now. "Alright," said Garnet. "Until we meet again." She could see Riley waving to him before it all turned back. Suddenly, Garnet''s vision turned completely white before her vision returned. When it cleared, she was laying in a bed in Zedd''s Workshop and looking at the roof. She was not in the room where Zedd had begun the Mastery Exam. "Ow," cried Garnet as she tried to move. She felt a massive headache. "Try not to move," said Zedd. "You took a pretty bad fall." "What happened?" asked Garnet. "I activated the spell, but something messed it up," said Zedd. "You collapsed and I brought you here." "How long was I out for?" asked Garnet. "About a week," said Zedd. "A week?!?" shouted Garnet. She was normally only out for hours. Even that was considered a problem, but a week should have resulted in some serious problems. She looked at her stats. Her mana was no longer filling to maximum. Riley was draining away at it. "I''m sorry," said Zedd. "I messed up the spell somehow." "You didn''t," said Garnet. "Someone intentionally changed your spell." "That''s not possible," said Zedd. "I drew the magic circles precisely and even checked it multiple times. No one from the outside could have interfered with it either." "Yes, but someone from the inside interfered with it," said Garnet. "You did?" said Zedd. "Why?" "It wasn''t intentional, but it was done by the Hero System for a purpose," said Garnet. "And, it also fulfilled the same purpose, I got new skills and abilities as well." "I guess it ended well," said Zedd. "I saw Riley in there," said Garnet. "That is because he was used as a catalyst for the Hero System to increase your power," said Zedd. "But that''s a good sign if there''s enough of him left to be conscious, it means that bringing him back is as easy as removing him from there and putting him into a new body." "Do you know how to create a human vessel?" Garnet asked. "Sadly, I do not," said Zedd. "That was one of the technqiues I sought after, but I was never able to find it because it was being guarded." "Guarded?" asked Garnet. "Someone is guarding it?" "Deep within the ruins of Constantinople remains a powerful spirit that is protecting its most valuable items," said Zedd. "I believe the secrets of that technique is in there, but I could not even get close. Every time I did, a figure made out of water would approach me." "Could you not defeat it?" Garnet asked. "No matter how much I tried, it would regenerate," said Zedd. "I retreated when it froze my arms because I knew that I could not defeat it myself." Within Constantinople was something even more powerful than Zedd, and Garnet would need to find a way through it to reach what she was looking for. But Garnet needed to deal with the Invasion first. Only then could see think about Constantinople. Garnet remembered that Riley was borrowing her power as well. In the corner of her eye, she saw that her mana was capped at a quarter of its full value. Riley was taking the rest to make herself into a spirit that was bound to Garnet''s body. "What else can you tell me about the Hero System?" asked Garnet. "I know you did not tell me everything last time." "It''s a long story, but I''ll tell you what little I know," said Zedd. "It starts thousands of years ago with a man named Huangdi." Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 22 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1840/1840 MP: 1292/5170 Fame: 130 Strength: 52 (+5) Dexterity: 49 (+7) Intelligence: 150 (+22) Vitality: 59 (+5) Agility: 59 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 6 - Lightning ¨C 10 - Wind ¨C 3 - Summoning ¨C 8 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 1) - Light (Level 1)
  • - Air Bullet (Level 4)
- Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Loitus: Blade of Lightning (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 4) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 1) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 2) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 1) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 4: Chapter 029 - Zedds History of the Hero A little background information on the Invasions, narrated by Zedd. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "It''s a long story, but I''ll tell you what I know," said Zedd. "It starts thousands of years ago with a man named Huangdi." "Huangdi is a man who became known as the Yellow Emperor, a great inventor and revolutionary who led an empire in the East to greatness," said Zedd. "What happened to the Yellow Emperor?" asked Garnet. "Like most people, he passed away of old age," said Zedd. "But, his empire still stands strong today as it continues to battle against the Invasion in the East." "There''s other places where Invasions occur?" asked Garnet. "There are major cities built near the sites of past Invasions," said Zedd. "Antium as well. It was built as a military base meant to combat against the Invasions that appear in this region. But over time it changed." "How many of these cities are there?" asked Garnet. "I don''t know," said Zedd. "But there''s at least three that I know of. One is Antium, one was Constantinople, and one is Beijing. The one in Beijing is currently the one that produces the fiercest enemies, but they are holding on." "Why didn''t they summon a Hero?" asked Garnet. "The conditions were simply not right," said Zedd. "A Hero can only be summoned when one of the cities near the portal is truly desperate, but as long as they are holding on, they cannot be desperate. Right now, they are holding on with a wall that spans the continent." "What other conditions do you know of?" asked Garnet. "There''s requirements with the vessel," said Zedd. "The one that is known as great mana compatibility and it is believed that the vessel needs to be physical fit. But other than that, it is unknown, but it is likely that the mentality of the person has to be right as well." "How is it that thousands of years have passed without much knowledge about this?" asked Garnet. "A lot of knowledge is lost between summonings," said Zedd. "A Hero Summoning is very costly in terms of resources so few people are willing to try it. Hundreds of people die before there is a success and few mages have the power necessarily to summon one." Garnet remembered the book of people that Zedd had tried. Those were the only ones he documented. She had no idea how many other people Zedd had tried it on before she became the success. "Any other questions before I begin with the story?" asked Zedd. "I''ll wait until after," said Garnet. "Alright, so I''ll continue," said Zedd. About four thousand years ago stood a great empire to the East. It is unknown how long the empire was around, but four thousand years ago was when they started keeping records of their own history at the request of Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor. It was believed that the Yellow Emperor was a God that had descended onto the mortal realm in order to live with the people after he was bored of living with other Gods. The first of his achievements, the building of great cities. In what is known as East Asia, he built ten grand cities. They are Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Taipei, Chengdu, Hong Kong, and Hangzhou. "What makes these cities grand?" asked Garnet. "Each one of these cities contains a population of over ten million people," said Zedd. "Ten million each?!?" Garnet was surprised by this number. Even Antium and all of its surrounding areas did not equal to ten million people. The population of his empire was at least a hundred million. "How is that even possible?" "It is possible because of the Yellow Emperor," said Zedd. "He introduced revolutionary technology that allowed them to feed and support such a large population." "Over a hundred million people," thought Garnet. "He did it with the Five Crops that we know today as soybeans, wheat, corn, rice, and potato," said Zedd. "These five items were able to feed armies and we continue to cultivate them today." The second of his achievements, a unified reading and writing system allowing communication for the entire region. Everyone in those lands spoke a common language in addition to their native language. Every language in the world today is believed to be descended from that language, but it is referred to as "the common tongue." Then, the First Invasion came. "The first ever?" Garnet asked. "The first as far as we know," said Zedd. "It is possible that it existed before then, but we do not have any records of it." Zedd described the story. A red moon appeared in the sky and cracked open, creating a hole. From there, blood oozed onto the land and turned it black. The First Invasion that arrived was an army of the dead. Skeletons rose from their graves and marched throughout the country. It was here that the Yellow Emperor created his first miracle that caused people to believe that he was a God. By calling upon the power of the land, he was able to mold and shape the earth itself into a weapon. Where there was dirt, the Yellow Emperor became a powerful warrior. That is the origin of magic. "The Yellow Emperor was the first mage?" asked Garnet. "Not the first, but one of the strongest" said Zedd. "He moved the lands with his power and he was able to use it to push back the invaders. After a few short years, they were pushed back." What happened next was something they did not expect. An army of armored skeletons poured forth from the portal. Organized and fierce. The Yellow Emperor''s army fought against it for a decade, but there was no end in sight. The enemy continued to receive reinforcements. It was there that the next miracle occurred. The Yellow Emperor trained others to use magic, these became the first large group of mages that worked together to cast powerful spells through a single magic circle. Soon after, it was discovered that it was possible to move water and fire in the same way. With their power, they pushed back against the other Invasions. But that was not the end, when the undead army was pushed back, another great power came forth. The red star in the sky turned black as a mountain of bones and blood poured through. It turned itself into an undead that towered over cities. No matter how hard they fought, they could not defeat it. It trampled through Tianjin and headed towards Beijing, home of the Yellow Emperor. It was here that the Yellow Emperor devised the Hero Summoning method. In order to defeat a monster so great that no human could defeat it, they would call forth something that could. That is the origin of the Hero Summoning. By overlaying multiple magic circles, it was possible to multiply its effects exponentially. By layering hundreds of them together, it becomes possible to call forth a being from another world. But, there was a price. The being needed a body as a host. So, the Yellow Emperor chose a slave, a slave by the name of Gilgamesh. This slave became the first Hero and slew the giant undead, but what happened next, the Yellow Emperor did not expect. Gilgamesh abandoned the Yellow Emperor, saying that he was no true King. Gilgamesh united people to the West and created his own country to combat the Invasion. No matter how hard the Yellow Emperor tried to summon another Hero, it did not work. The person meant to become the Hero would die. This is why it is believed that there could only be one Hero in the world. So far, it has been proven true. The Yellow Emperor did manage to defeat the Invasion after Gilgamesh stopped the giant undead, but it was only for a while. Shortly after, another red star appeared in the sky followed by another Invasion. The same happened in Gilgamesh''s new country. There were now two Invasion points. Gilgamesh died in defense of his country, but his people managed to defeat the Invasion. But, before he passed away, he created a new type of magic. Summoning. One that could call forth other allies to help him fight and even out the numbers. Upon hearing this, the Yellow Emperor tried again and managed to summon another Hero. He was successful after many tries. This woman became known as the Lady of Yue and is famous for bringing weapon skills, special skills and techniques that can only be used with weapons. Her skills were passed down to the soldiers who fought under the Yellow Emperor and with these skills they fought off the next Invasion, one composed of green skinned humanoids. Soon after though, both of them died. The Yellow Emperor died after living for one hundred years and the Lady of Yue died at a young age of thirty from a mysterious illness. In her last words, the Lady of Yue asked to spread the skills she developed and the knowledge of the Hero Summoning to other places in case they faced similar threats. This is how the knowledge spread to Constantinople. As knowledge spread, there were many who claimed the title of Hero, but only those created by the Hero Summoning spell are considered as true Heroes. The true Heroes claimed they saw things that others could not. They had memories of another life and grew powerful at incredible rates. But sadly, many of them died in battle, giving their lands a chance to defend their home. Many of their accomplishments became local stories and legends. One of these people was Thoth, who was believed to have overcome death itself because when he died, we woke up after and destroyed the final creature from the Invasion before his body fell apart and he died once more. It was believed that the Yellow Emperor used his power to give Thoth one last chance to save his people. Others believe he overcame death itself and continue to walk the world today, teaching others to overcome the Invasion. "Is there a way to know whether someone is a true Hero?" asked Garnet. "We believe that anyone who can see the stats of another person is a true Hero," said Zedd. "This is the only common characteristic that has proven to be true." "So that''s why you immediately believed me when I saw it," said Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "What about Constantinople though?" asked Garnet. "I haven''t gotten to that yet," said Zedd. "I merely gave you the background information." Constantinople was built out of the ruins of Gilgamesh''s country. For some reason, Invasions were more frequent in this area, so in response, several kingdoms got together and built a great city that was also a fortress in the middle of the known locations of the Invasions. This was Constantinople. A city meant to collect knowledge as a way to combat the Invasion. From here, they devised numerous technologies and magics. Damascus weaponry, anti-fortress magic, summoning techniques, all of these are possible due to research from Constantinople. Travelers from all over the world would attempt the journey to bring knowledge back to their home. When a Hero fell, they discovered a way to increase the success rate of the summoning. They would offer additional people as sacrifice in order to reduce the burden on the main vessel. These people would all die, and the Hero would be weaker, but it was a guaranteed summoning as long as there was not another Hero in the world. The weaker hero was essentially used as cannon fodder for a single Invasion or to delay the enemy, but it was not a viable long term solution because a single strong Hero was much more useful. "Why is that city in ruins now if it was so strong?" asked Garnet. "They faced off against the most powerful Invasion ever in an event that became known as The Great War," said Zedd. The Great War began an unknown time ago. A black moon appeared in the sky and monsters poured forth from it and over a dozen eyes appeared. It was endless. For years, they fought. They summoned numerous Heroes. When one fell, they summoned another. In total, it is believed that they fought for over 50 years yet the Invasion had no signs of letting up. They believe that the Invasion was too massive, others categorized it into something different altogether. It was not an Invasion of a single type. Armies of millions marched through at a time composed of everything from undead to dragons. One Hero, by the name of Assad finally devised a way. He would send himself through the black star to the other side and see if he could stop it at its source. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "What happened to Assad?" asked Garnet. "No one knows for sure," said Zedd. "He flew through the portal and stopped the monsters for many years, but after a few decades of peace, the monsters returned and people believed he failed. The black star did not disappear until Constantinople burned itself and destroyed nearly after luring all of the invading forces by itself. In total probably several million invaders were killed from that one event alone. But the fact that another Hero could be summoned means that Assad is dead." "It feels like you skipped a lot," said Garnet. "Much of the knowledge of Constantinople is still lost in the ruins beneath the city," said Zedd. "They have a recorded history, but not all the books have not been recovered. Assad was the last known true Hero before you. There could be more if there was history that covered the years in between Invasions, but as far as we know, there isn''t." Beneath Constantinople was the world''s largest known library. Many of their books and much of their knowledge was stored underneath the city, which survived the fire. Somewhere under the city was the knowledge that Garnet was looking for. She was looking for both the magic to revive Riley and any knowledge of the Invasion. "Why didn''t Constantinople summon more after Assad?" asked Garnet. "They simply did not have the resources anymore," said Zedd. "It is believed most of their mages eventually fell in combat and they did not have the mana to call forth a Hero, but it is also possible that they simply knew that they could not hold on any longer and just chose to take down as many enemies as they could by themselves." "In other words, Constantinople has the answers to all of this," said Garnet. "It''s possible they did," said Zedd. "For some reason though, they could not use it." "Fifty years of fighting, I cannot imagine that," said Garnet. "It''s usually what happens if they cannot clear out an Invasion before the next one comes," said Zedd. "At regular intervals, enemies will pour forth, if it is possible to defeat them all before the next one, then it is not a problem. Should you fail, then they will accumulate into a larger and deadlier force. There''s also a chance that they will increase in frequency." "Increase in frequency?" asked Garnet. "You mean less than five years?" "Yes," said Zedd. "Rumor was that at one point, they were occurring every few days in Beijing, which is why they constructed the wall that spans the continent in the first place." "How is it possible that these places can send in so many to fight?" thought Garnet. "They should have limited resources as well. Did they come from multiple different worlds? There were still too many questions." "That''s basically what we know, the rest is speculation," said Zedd. "It is possible that they have a much larger world and can mobilize such forces or all the dead enemies from the Invasion are somehow grown and replaced faster than we can destroy them." "That''s it?" asked Garnet. "What about other Heroes?" Zedd gave Garnet a book. "These are the people we believe to be Heroes," said Zedd. Garnet flipped through the book and skimmed it. There were descriptions of Heroes and their known achievements. It was possible that some of these people were not Heroes despite their huge list of achievements. "Since then, most countries have followed the policies set forth by the Yellow Emperor and Constantinople," said Zedd. "A great country is supported by the Five Crops and they built a city that doubled as a fortress to fight the Invasions near where they were known to occur. For the most part, it worked fairly well." Garnet''s own list of achievements, lowered tariffs in Antium and convincing someone to rebuild the East Wall. It paled in comparison, but that was because she had not faced an Invasion yet. "Is there anything else known about the Yellow Emperor?" Garnet asked. "Unfortunately, no," said Zedd. "There are stories that he returned to being a God once more after his death, but that''s about it." "So, the spell itself was created as an act of desperation, but they had trouble controlling the Hero," said Garnet. "Most Heroes are unpredictable as the person has multiple personalities that are combined from the vessel and the spirit from another world results in something new," said Zedd. "Has there been an instance in which the Hero turned against their summoner?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "Some of them turned against their summoner when they saw that the people who summoned them were not deemed worthy, so they searched the world for someone they found worthy." "How is that even possible?" asked Garnet. "With great empires and great countries comes great pride," said Zedd. "Some of these rulers were so filled with pride that they refused to acknowledge the problem within their own countries and then the Hero sided with the people who then turned on its rulers when they realized that the rulers were not trying to protect the people, just their empires." "Why would they even do such a thing?" asked Garnet. "Won''t turning on them make things worse?" "Not always," said Zedd. "The living conditions of these people were so miserable and caused by Kings and Queens who demanded that they pay tribute to support an army that could face off against the Invasions. Yet corruption led to a largely ineffective army that was useless anyways. The Hero saw this as a grave injustice that needed to be corrected before any real progress could be made. They saw it as something that went against stopping the Invasions." Garnet probably would have done the same had King Caligula not died on his own. She would have most likely led a rebellion against the nobles for the people so that they had a chance to be ready to fight against the Invasion. Even Garnet''s attempts to sabotage Arnold Gray and his operations could be considered the same type of rebellion. It just was not as severe as trying to kill King Caligula by herself. "Funny thing is that many of these revolutions if done properly, actually made the country better off and prepared them to fight the next one," said Zedd. "It was almost as if these Heroes could not help but fight against what they saw as injustice." "Did any of the Heroes live happy lives?" asked Garnet. "A few of them did live long happy lives," said Zedd. "The ones that died young were usually those that were summoned long after the Invasion had started. They were often ill prepared and died in battle, but those who had time to prepare and train became very strong Heroes. Many of them even had families of their own and died from old age, not from battle." Garnet had a chance to be one of those happy ones. As long as she could fight off the next Invasion, she had a chance to live a happy life with her family after. But, she would have to also make a body for Riley first and possibly fight off multiple Invasions until she could find a way to stop them. "What about a Trial for a Hero?" asked Garnet. "Is there such a thing?" "I know nothing of it," said Zedd. "I''ve heard of the Trial of the Warrior, the Trial of the Mage, and the Trial of the Ranger, but not the Trial of the Hero," said Zedd. In other words, it was something unique to a Hero. The other people went through their normal trials, but only a real Hero would go through the Trial of the Hero. "What did the other people go through though?" thought Garnet. "Does something like that exist?" asked Zedd. "That''s what I want to know," said Garnet. She was lying, but if other Heroes did not speak of it, there must be a reason why. There was probably some sort of secret to the Trial of the Hero. "Why are there false Heroes?" asked Garnet. "Some people want the fame and glory that comes with being a successful Hero," said Zedd. "Others do it to inspire hope in others. There''s many reasons. I suggest you do not mention your status to anyone just to be safe." "Why?" asked Garnet. "They''ll do things like demand proof or even try to kidnap you and force you to work for their country if they believe you are one," said Zedd. "After all, if you are a true Hero, you will have special abilities that they can benefit from." It was best to not let people know unless she wanted to be targeted by other countries. It seemed like there was a danger to being anything special or anything that stood out. Dangers of being a slave. Dangers of being a mage. Dangers of being a Dark Mage. Dangers of being a Hero. It felt like there was nothing that was safe. "Are there any false Heroes around now?" asked Garnet. "I''m not sure," said Zedd. "You would have to travel East to Constantinople and find out, but I''m sure there''s one or two out there. There''s always people who want to benefit off of the title." "Is there a way to check whether someone is a Hero?" asked Garnet. "There''s no certain way," said Zedd. "All we have are the witnesses to the Hero Summoning, though people have tried to do it by paying other people to endorse them." "My witness is you," said Garnet as she pointed to Zedd. "That is correct," said Zedd. "Along with a few of my guards." In other words, people would not believe her easily unless they were desperate and just wanted something to believe in. "Wouldn''t other attempts to summon a Hero just result in dead people as long as I am here?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Zedd. "After all, there is only one Hero in the world. That is why they usually only use it as the absolute last resort. After all, all those previous failures when I tried to summon you could be that there was another Hero still alive, but there''s no way to be certain." It was a horrible thought, but those people did not know any better. Without proper means of communication and extremely high amounts of trust, it was not possible to figure out whether someone was a Hero or not and to spread the information if they did discover a Hero. The only way was to earn recognition. Only then would they truly be recognized as a Hero. "I need to become famous then," said Garnet. "That way people will recognize me as a Hero." "That will be hard around here," said Zedd. "Why?" asked Garnet. "People around here usually see women as inferior," said Zedd. "You will have a hard time convincing them that you are a Hero." "Isn''t there anything else I can do?" asked Garnet. "For now, the best thing you can do is successfully help King Charles lead the united army against the Invasion," said Zedd. "You will have to fight a little, but hopefully it will be enough to earn some recognition." "How much time do we have left?" asked Garnet. "Less than half a year," said Zedd. "I''m not exactly sure as there''s always a little variance." "I need to reach Constantinople and learn more about Invasions and magic," thought Garnet. Even with all of Zedd''s knowledge, what he really knew was only the basics, the history of Invasions and Heroes. There was very little beyond that. There also existed the possibility that the Invasions were planned and intentional. Someone was doing it to weaken their world for some reason. However, it was unclear why someone or something would do that. Without more information, it was too early to draw conclusions. -------------------------------------------------------- No change in stats. Spoiler : This is how Zedd sees the Invasions, which is different from what Riley knows from her contact with the Hero System. Book 4: Chapter 030 - The Red Star Garnet was training under Zedd, trying to improve as much as she possibly could within the brief period of time. Since her Class Change into a Chaos Mage, her power had grown immensely and had a powerful new skill. Charles was taking care of everything else, so Garnet took her time to train. Garnet''s mana was still not charging all the way to maximum. Riley was draining her still. "Instance Dungeon Creation: Testing Grounds!" Zedd had the power to warp reality around him. Garnet''s power was not anywhere close enough to do the same. The lowest version of the spell required 10000 mana. Garnet was just over halfway there. Hopefully, this training would help her. "Show me what you can do," said Zedd. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired off a bolt of fire that was wrapped in lightning. BOOM. The whole thing exploded in mid air before hitting a target. The explosive power was intense and it left the ground scorched in flames. "Incredible," said Zedd. "Even I cannot cast dual element spells." "Heat Wave!" Garnet watched as the wave of hot air spread outwards. It was slow, but she could tell that it was doing something to the ground. "Call: Skeleton!" Garnet summoned some skeletons to use as targets. "Sorry about this." "Heat Wave!" Garnet tried the spell once more. The hot wave of air went right past them. "It did nothing?" asked Garnet. "Be careful and check up close," said Zedd. Garnet walked up to the skeleton and put her hand close to it. She could feel the heat coming off of the skeleton. It was likely that the bones were scorching hot. This spell would basically use an opponent''s armor against them and could probably cook them from the inside out. It was something she definitely should not use on humans unless she wanted to kill them. "There''s one more spell," said Garnet. "It requires more mana than all of the my other spells so far though." "Let''s see it then," said Zedd. Garnet drew out her blue and gold handled sword. "Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning!" Sparks flew around Garnet''s sword. The lightning began to surround the sword itself as flames wrapped around it. The size of the sword continue to grow and grow. Because Garnet could not channel her full mana into the blade, she had to wait for it to regenerate as she slowly added it, making it require an incredibly long amount of time to prepare. "That looks like one of my spells too," said Zedd. Garnet was too focused on her own sword to pay attention to what Zedd was saying. The blade of flame and lightning had grown to twice its original size and was radiating with power. With a single swing, the lightning and flame shot straight ahead. BOOM. There was a massive explosion. Garnet and Zedd could feel the heat and wind from where they were. However, the spell was not done yet. The lightning and flames spread outwards from the explosion. On the ground, the flames remained burning. "So powerful," said Garnet. "It''s even more powerful than my version of the spell," said Zedd. "Your version?" asked Garnet. Zedd put his palms together and began to pull them apart slowly. "Sword of Light!" A blue sword appeared similar to the one that his Mana Armor had. As Zedd swung the sword, it simply cut the ground. Garnet''s not only cut the ground, it exploded and left it burning as well. "So what should I do?" asked Garnet. "Just keep training your magic," said Zedd. "Alright," said Garnet. "Can you keep this place open for me?" "Sure," said Zedd. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet continued to fire them to spend her mana. Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 "Did you get any new transformations by the way?" asked Zedd. "Yes," said Garnet. "Have you tried them?" asked Zedd. "No," said Garnet. "One of them apparently sucks blood from the surrounding and I find that dangerous." "You still need to get used to your transformations," said Zedd. "If you don''t use them, you will not be able to use your full power." "Transformation: Blood Reaper!" Garnet''s entire mage robe turned red. It even became more revealing with a deep V on her chest. Her back and legs were fully exposed as well. Her hands were covered in blood as well. Her hair even turned red. "This doesn''t feel right," said Garnet. "Its purpose is to allow you to absorb blood through your body," said Zedd. "Of course it''s going to be revealing." "What''s wrong with my hands?" asked Garnet. "No idea," said Zedd. "Only another Blood Mage would know." "Oh that''s right!'' said Garnet. "Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood!" "You called?" said Sylvia. "What is this?" asked Garnet as she raised her arm. "Try swinging your arm," said Sylvia. Garnet swung her arm and a wave of red blood appeared. She quickly checked her health. There was no change. The normal one would have cast from her health. "It looks like every swing is the same as a Blood Scythe," said Sylvia. "Blood Scythe!" Garnet cast the spell just to make sure. They both looked very similar. One was with her hands and one with was with a weapon with a longer reach. Other than that, they were the same. It looked like in this mode, she could use Blood Magic without it taking her health. "Fire Bolt!" It did not work. Nothing happened. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Nothing either. "Flight!" Garnet could not fly either. It looked like in this mode, only Blood Magic could be used. All other magic was disabled while in Blood Reaper mode. "Thanks for the help Sylvia. Dismiss!" With that Garnet felt like she had a feel on what Blood Reaper mode was like. It was a berserker style fighting where one would go in and kill and drain health from enemies in order to restore her own. It was probably not something that she was going to use since it prevented her from using her other magic as well. Zedd simply stood and observed seeing if he could offer any advice. "Transformation: Elementalist!" This was the mode that Garnet got with the Class Change to Chaos Mage. Her entire robe changed again. She was glad it was not revealing like the Blood Reaper. The Elementalist one changed the colors. Her robe was blue. The gloves were red. The shoes were green. Her hair turned yellow. Four colors. It looked like a child just painted each part of her clothes differently. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired a massive Fire Bolt that shot forward at an incredible speed. It reached the ground in an instant. BOOM. There was a massive explosion. "Lightning Bolt!" Every one of her fingers generated lightning as it zapped forward. The lightning was much larger and thicker than her normal cast. "Air Bullet!" VWOOM. Garnet was knocked back and fell down from the force created by it. "Blood Bullet!" BANG. Garnet felt pain flow through her body when she used the spell. After all, Blood Magic used health instead of mana. It was risky, but it had a lot of special effects. The spells were all enhanced by her transformation. "Any special preferences?" asked Zedd. "Elementalist and Temptress of the Night," said Garnet. "It''s best to focus on those and ignore the rest then," said Zedd. "How many transformations do you have?" Garnet asked. "Let''s see," said Zedd. He was counting. He actually needed to count how many he had. "Correct that, how many do you actually use?" asked Garnet. "Two," said Zedd. "You saw one. This is the other. Transformation: Grand Wizard!" Garnet watched as Zedd created a suit of armor around himself. On his left floating to his side was his staff. On his right was the sword used by his Mana Armor. It was most likely a form that used sword skills and magic. This further reinforced the idea that the strongest people were very similar. But, Garnet also wondered what Anna would use. She was definitely strong, possibly even near Zedd''s level. Garnet continued to train her magic, constantly depleting her mana at Zedd''s order. The problem was that her mana recovered extremely quickly. Sadly, the increase was not as much from fighting. Stat Increase: Intelligence+10 "Don''t you have any special training programs for mages?" Garnet asked. "Sadly, not at your level," said Zedd. "They require you to be able to create your own Instance Dungeon." "That means I still need a lot more mana," said Garnet. Garnet had hoped there was a faster way to power, but there was not. "Lord Zedd, you must come up here fast!" a guard interrupted. "Instance Dungeon Deletion!" The moment Zedd said those words, the area that he created disappeared. "What is it?" asked Zedd. "The sky, a red star has appeared!" said the guard. Zedd immediately rushed to the balcony of the castle. Garnet followed too. As Garnet looked up into the sky, she saw a red moon alongside the actual moon. "It''s coming," said Zedd. "The Invasion is coming. Inform the King and tell him to gather the soldiers as soon as possible." "Yes sir!" said the guard as he ran off. Garnet stared into the blood red moon. She felt something strange as she looked into it, as if something was squeezing her heart in her chest. It was extremely discomforting. New Quest: The First Wave (253:59:50) Defend Antium from the first wave of the Invasion. Reward: Experience, Fame "What''s wrong?" Zedd asked. "I feel sick looking at it," said Garnet. "There''s a pressure at my chest like something is crushing my heart." "Let''s get you back to bed so you can rest," said Zedd. "We will need you to be in top condition for the fight." Zedd carried Garnet to the King''s Chambers so she could sleep. "Thank you," said Garnet. "You look pale," said Zedd. "I''m going to call a doctor to be sure." Rito rushed to Garnet''s side and began to check her. He took out a stethoscope and checked her heartbeat. "Don''t resist," said Rito. Garnet relaxed and felt Rito check her body with his mana. "Can you tell what''s wrong?" asked Garnet. "Something is draining your mana," said Rito. "Why is this happening now?" asked Garnet. It was a lot more than what Riley was draining before. She only had about five percent. "I don''t know," said Rito. "I don''t think this is just a coincidence." "Just rest up for now," said Zedd. "We need you to be as strong as possible. Let me and the King take care of everything." "Are you there?" asked Riley. "Where are you?" asked Garnet. "Still inside of you," said Riley. "But when I saw that red moon, I saw that I needed to help, so I need to borrow more of your power for a bit." "What are you doing with my mana?" asked Garnet. "I''m trying to restore at least part of myself with a temporary body," said Riley. "With this, you will be able to call me like any other spirit that you summon." "How is that even possible?" asked Garnet. "Did you forget?" asked Riley. "I''m a spirit. That means I should be able to be summoned like any other spirit." Garnet fell asleep. Riley was draining a lot of her strength. When she finally woke up, Charles was there next to her. "How long was I out?" asked Garnet. "A while," said Charles. "You were asleep for most of the day." Garnet was still exhausted. Sleeping did not help. Riley was draining an incredible amount of her strength. "This better be worth it," Garnet thought. After all, she was losing valuable time. Then, it finally appeared. New Skill: Call: Riley Call forth Riley, the Rune Elementalist. Her power scales according to the summoner''s intelligence. MP Cost: 5000 The mana cost to summon Riley was immense. It was on the same cost as the sword spell, but it also meant that Riley would most likely be just as powerful. After all, the higher the mana cost, the greater the power. Level Up: Magicraft (Level 3) Level Up: Magicraft (Level 4) Level Up: Magicraft (Level 5) "Done!" said Riley. "I''m going to be back in your mana resevoir, if I stay here too long, I feel I might do permanent damage to you." "Alright," said Garnet. "Take care." That was the reason why Garnet also should not go in her mana reservoir too often. The exhaustion Garnet felt was just from Riley trying to cross over to give her a little help. The same thing would probably happen if Garnet tried to go inside her mana reservoir again. Continuing to do this would most likely shorten a person''s lifespan. But for some reason, Riley''s actions increased her own skills. "Did we share the experience?" Garnet thought. Garnet took a look at the countdown timer. She had lost a few days. Quest: The First Invasion (173:28:15) Defend Antium from the first wave of the Invasion. Reward: Experience, Fame As Garnet got up, there were guards outside her door. The guards saluted her as she opened the door to look out. "Where is everyone?" Garnet asked. "They are preparing at the courtyard your highness," said the guard. "Zedd asked you to join as soon as you can." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "Alright," said Garnet as she closed the door again. She got dressed and headed to the courtyard. King Charles was with Zedd, Duke Innes, Duchess Kiko, and two new Dukes. All of them bowed except for Charles as Garnet approached. "You''re awake!" said Charles as he hugged Garnet. "Not here," said Garnet. She looked at the other Dukes who all faced away. "I''m Duke Keith," said the young man. "I replaced Duke Gray." "I''m Duke Joey," said the middle aged man. "I took over King Charles'' territory." "Nice to meet you both," said Garnet. "Can someone tell me what is going on?" "The red moon in the sky has gotten larger," said Zedd. "It''s going to be a big Invasion." "We''ve prepared an army of about 20000 for this," said Duke Innes. "They''ve been preparing since Charles asked for soldiers to be provided." It was much larger than the army that fought against King Arnold. However, as Garnet took a look at them. Their levels were fairly low. The average was probably ten or so. "Are they strong enough?" Garnet asked. "They''ll be as strong as they need to be," said Charles. "We need you to be on the battlefield as well." "The mere presence of royalty and nobility inspires people to fight," said Zedd. "So we are trying to get as many of them as possible to join us in the fight." That was why Garnet received such a huge boost in stats while on the battlefield when the Dukes were fighting against King Arnold. Their presence provided a huge boost in stats to the soldiers. The same thing would work here, but with a King and Queen. "I wish to fight as well," said Garnet. "No, that is too dangerous," said Charles. "I don''t intend to go alone," said Garnet. "You will only fight as a last resort," said Zedd. "I''m going to have you prepare a spell with me." "What spell?" Garnet asked. "One that combines our swords together," said Zedd. "This is the first spell I ever created on my own and I believe it will have the power in case we need it. I call it the Sword of Elements." "It would be great if we could have more soldiers though," said Duke Keith. "I can get you a few more," said Garnet. "No," said Zedd. "I''m Queen, what are they going to do to me?" asked Garnet. "There''s a reason why it is taboo and I told you not to do it," said Zedd. "At this point, any help is appreaciated," said Duke Joey. "I don''t care if you''re going to raise the dead." "See," said Garnet. "I won''t stop you," said Zedd. "Here we go," said Garnet. "Call: Riley!" A pillar of light appeared similar to a Hero Summoning. A young woman with black hair and brown eyes appeared dressed in a black and green bodysuit a layer of leather armor appeared on top of it. "Riley?" asked Garnet. Riley immediately hugged Garnet. "You did it!" said Riley. "Wait a minute," said Charles. "Isn''t Riley you?" "Take a close look," said Garnet as she pulled Riley over. Charles looked at both of them. They had a similar body figure and Riley looked a little like Garnet, but with brown eyes. "Are you two related?" asked Duke Keith. "Sort of," said Garnet. "She drained a lot of my mana these last few days to make it possible. What can do you by the way?" Garnet asked. Riley changed into a slightly older Garnet. It was exactly like Garnet''s old appearance before returning before returning to the appearance that reminded Garnet of what Riley would look like if she was the daughter of her and the old Riley. However, Riley could not use a full transformation like Garnet could, only partial transformation. "I can do almost everything that Garnet can do," said Riley as she created blue flames in her hands. "I have more," said Garnet. "Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood! Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood!" "That''s the man that attacked us!" shouted Duke Keith. "Correction, I only wanted King Arnold and King Caligula dead," said Romulus. "Me too," said Sylvia. "I have nothing against you as long as our master has nothing against you." "I told you, I would raise the dead," said Garnet. "Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu! Call: Lilith!" The fire spirit, water spirit, and a human appeared. "Huh?" "What''s wrong?" asked Zedd. "You look different," said Garnet as she looked at Lilith. She was no longer a horse. In fact, she looked a little like Garnet in her Temptress of the Night form. "I''m finally myself again!" Lilith squealed. "Thank you!" she said as she hugged Garnet. "That''s the monster that attacked King Arnold at the execution ground!" shouted Duke Innes. Lilith immediately turned to look at Garnet who never revealed that she was actually the one who did it. "Yep, that''s me," said Lilith. Garnet was relieved that Lilith took credit for it. "I wanted to have some fun with some young men, but none of them really interested me," said Lilith as she licked her fingers. "So, I chose her, who interested me," said Lilith as she pointed at Garnet. She was trying to seduce them and she implied a lot of things. "Not here!" said Garnet. "I don''t know what you perverts are thinking either!" "Alright, I''ll stop," said Lilith. "Last ones," said Garnet. "Call: Skeleton Knight! Call: Skeletons! Call: Skeletal Hounds!" Numerous skeletons appeared. A total of nine. "Riley, you''re in charge of them!" "Me?!?" said Riley who was surprised by this. "You should have some knowledge of how to lead a group, figure it out," said Garnet. With this, they had an extra group of strong soldiers, but Garnet was unsure whether it would actually help them or make all the other soldiers in their army even more worried. But, the additional fifteen were much stronger than the rest of their soldiers. Unsure of how powerful the Invasion would be, they would settle for anything. Even though Garnet had never witnessed one before, it was clear that the ones who did were very nervous and wanted as much to be in their favor as possible. "So, what do you think?" Garnet asked. Everyone was standing their with their mouths agape. "Teach me!" shouted Kiko. "Tell me how you learned those summoning spells." Kiko was more interested in acquiring power than what Garnet was doing. "They''re mostly contracted," said Garnet. "You''ll have to find one on your own if you want to do it." She was lying, she still did not flat out reveal that she was a Dark Mage. There were others who used similar magic, so as long as Garnet could come up with a believable excuse, it was alright. Zedd had warned her about Dark Mages, but it was clear that there were other mages with similar abilities at this point. None of the nobles were questioning what Garnet was doing. She was unsure whether it was because either they were desperate or they just did not care. "I''m glad you''re on our side," said Duke Innes. "Please support us as we fight." "You''re going to fight?" Garnet asked Duke Innes. "The Dukes traditionally lead the front line and represent the will of the King on the battlefield," said Duke Innes. "I promise, we will not fail you," he said as he kneeled before King Charles and Queen Garnet. The other Dukes all followed Duke Innes. Garnet was still uncomfortable with this. Nobles kneeling before someone who was still a slave. "There''s one more thing I still have to show you," said Garnet. Garnet removed her glove and revealed the slave crest to the Dukes. "I want to make sure you know everything and know what you''re fighting for," said Garnet. The Dukes all looked at Kiko to see how she responded. Kiko looked at the crest on Garnet''s hand and grabbed it. "I wish you were still mine," said Kiko. "But I''m glad you''re fighting alongside us." Duchess Kiko had accepted Garnet. "In the face of something like this, it matters not who you are," said Duke Joey. The other Dukes accepted her as well. "Thank you," said Garnet. "I still do not think you should show that to others in public though," said Duke Keith. "There are some that do not accept the changes Charles has made." "I know," said Garnet. "That''s why I''m only showing it to you guys." "Thank you for trusting us your highness," said Kiko. They all faced the red moon in the sky. The Invasion had finally arrived. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 22 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 1840/1840 MP: 5400/5400 Fame: 130 Strength: 52 (+5) Dexterity: 49 (+7) Intelligence: 161 (+22) Vitality: 59 (+5) Agility: 59 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 6 - Lightning ¨C 10 - Wind ¨C 3 - Summoning ¨C 8 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 4) - Call: Skeletons (Level 1) - Call: Skeletal Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 1) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor
  • - Magicraft (Level 5) ¨C Alchemist- Item Enhancement (Level 1)- Disassemble (Level 1)
- Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 4: Chapter 031 - The First Invasion There''s most likely going to be something equal to a genre shift after this arc ends because Garnet will no longer be sticking around Antium. She''s going to travel north to Anzio, then East towards Constantinople and we''re going to see more about how Anzio functions and other things like small villages and even villages controlled by mercenaries/bandits. That''s the plan anyways. One more chapter for Riley''s explanation of the true nature of the Invasions will occur after this chapter and bring the major arc revolving around Antium to a close. ----------------------------------------------- Quest: The First Wave (01:08:42) Defend Antium from the first wave of the Invasion. Reward: Experience, Fame It was almost time for the Invasion. They had just a little hour left. Up in the sky, the red moon was almost entirely peeled away, revealing a red hole in the sky. On the other side, was something that resembled an eye. It was definitely a strange and sight. The entire army raised by Antium stood in front of the East Gate and they stared down the red hole in the sky. Some of the soldiers were nervous, but in front of them were some of the nobles of Antium, leading the charge. With them were Garnet''s summons. Their presence alone made some of the soldiers worried because they were not human after all. Anna, Klarth, and Kirk led the main defense behind the East Gate just in case the enemies did somehow manage to defeat their army and break through the East Gate. Between them were the King, Queen, and Wizard, who overlooked everyone. One of the scariest things was not knowing they were up against. In a normal war, people stared down their enemies and could see what was coming. An Invasion was different. You never knew who the enemy was until they appeared, the result was often shock, which led to the troops being demoralized and often scattered. In the corner of her eye, Garnet saw numerous buffs. It looked like there was one for the King, one for the Queen, one for the Wizard, one for each Duke, and one for the Hero. In total, eight buffs that vastly increased their stats and abilities. Garnet was the only one who could notice this difference, the others could not. Garnet could see that her health was increased at least ten fold. If the effect was the same for the soldiers, then each soldier was probably equal to at least a level 100 soldier. The question was whether or not this was enough though. Garnet had never seen an Invasion herself, so she did not know. "Just over an hour left," said Garnet. She could feel the fear in the atmosphere. Most of the others had experienced an Invasion before. The last one nearly destroyed Antium. "Can you not summon the same beast from before?" Charles asked Zedd. "I cannot," said Zedd. He had tried, but for some reason, the powerful summons were not responding. "Which is why I prepared the Sword of Elements as an alternative." Zedd had arranged a huge magic circle to be constructed using the walls of Antium as the circle and the castle balcony as the center. If it came down to it, the entire city would be used as a giant magic circle to amplify Zedd and Garnet so that they can use their most powerful spell. The only problem was that they could probably only use it once and it would have to be to take down the final enemy of the Invasion. "How much time left?" Zedd asked. Quest: The First Invasion (00:01:22) Defend Antium from the first wave of the Invasion. Reward: Experience, Fame "Less than two minutes," said Garnet as she checked the time. Garnet, Charles, and Zedd all looked into the sky. The red star that resembled a moon had turned bright red. Quest: The First Invasion (00:00:00) Defend Antium from the first wave of the Invasion. Reward: Experience, Fame ROAR. "It''s here!" said Zedd. "Quickly, find out what type of Invasion it is!" Garnet saw a brown and yellow eye look through the portal. It looked straight at Garnet almost as if it recognized her. It then turned to scan the entire region, looking at the ground and the castle walls. Numerous balls of fire began to rain down from the portal. The eye continued to look, observing the entire battlefield from above. CRASH. The ground shook as each ball of fire landed onto the ground in front of them. In all, there were probably a hundred or so. "The first wave is the scouting wave," Zedd announced. "They are mainly there to see how strong we are. Slowly advance and pick them off." "I''m off," said Riley who was able to communicate with Garnet. She led Garnet''s summons against some of them. ROAR. As each of the balls of fire cleared up, a monster was in its place. They were black, red, and green colored dogs. "Black, red, and green colored dogs," said Garnet. Name: Hell Hound Level: 50 Class: Invader Sub-Class: Wild Beast Stats: High Agility, High Strength It was the highest level enemy that Garnet had seen so far. Only people like the nobles had a level like that. The average level of the soldiers were much lower, but with the buffs of the leaders, it was possible to beat them as each soldier was several times stronger than normal with the presence of their leaders. Riley and her team faced off against the first Hell Hound. GRR. The Hell Hound saw them as enemies. It charged at Riley. CLANG. Romulus intercepted the attack with his shield. "Hurry and kill it," said Romulus. Sylvia swung her scythe at it and cut its head right off. "One down," she said. "This isn''t so tough," said Riley. Her group moved to the next one to continue picking them off. Level Up: Skeletal Hounds (Level 5) Level Up: Skeletons (Level 2) Level Up: Skeletal Knight (Level 2) Even if Garnet was not getting any stronger, her summons were. With the buff provided by everyone, even her weak skeletons that were supposed to be weak were extremely powerful. "It''s a Wild Beast Invasion!" Zedd announced. "All forces prepare for anti-beast combat!" Garnet watched as the front line soldiers swapped from swords and shields to shields and spears. They stood back and did not advance yet. They were waiting for Zedd''s orders. Zedd was watching the sky and looking at the balls of fire that continued to rain down. He was waiting for something. The balls of fire suddenly stopped raining down. "Advance!" Zedd ordered. The soldiers armed with the spears and shields began to walk forward in a line. They spread outwards from the East Gate and began to pick off the Hell Hounds one by one. They were no match for the soldiers of Antium. "Is that it?" asked Garnet. "No," said Zedd. "Even though it is the first wave, there are multiple stages. They usually start with the scouts, then come the fighters, and then the siegers. They finally end by sending in their own equivalent of a leader. Only then is one wave complete." There were possibly three more groups of enemies in the first one. The eye in the sky was observing the whole time, gauging their their strength. "Once you have eliminated the last monster, return to your positions!" Zedd ordered. The first wave was relatively weak. Only a few soldiers were injured, nothing significant. The eye in the sky looked around, searching the battlefield for something. "I think it''s looking for something," said Garnet. "Probably a weak spot," said Charles. "That''s what I would be looking for after I send in scouts." Numerous balls of fire began to be fired from the red moon at incredible speeds. BOOM BOOM BOOM. They landed fiercely and the ground began to shake. "It''s coming," said Zedd. The fighters were coming. This was the main force of the Invasion. Garnet could not see how many there were, but probably thousands. The ground continued to shake as if it was a single continuous earthquake that seemed to have no end. As the ground began to clear up, there were mostly red and black hounds. They were different from the previous group. "Go Riley," Garnet ordered. Riley''s team went to investigate one of them. HOWL. The red and black hounds began to run towards them. Name: Fire Hound Level: 50 Class: Invader Sub-Class: Wild Beast Stats: High Strength, High Agility "Die monster!" screamed Romulus. THUNK. "Huh?" Romulus'' sword got stuck. "It''s not cutting its skin." Sylvia slashed at the Fire Hound with her scythe. It did not work either. It got caught and she ended up just knocking the Fire Hound over. "Air Bullet!" Riley hit it at full force up close with wind magic. The Fire Hound was sent flying and seemed to stay down. "Slashing attacks do not seem to work on the enemies," said Zedd. "Switch to magic and spear formation." The soldiers in the front remained, but the mages all began to chant spells. Garnet watched as balls of fire, earth, and ice began to shoot towards the enemies that were away from the front line from the castle. It was like it was raining different colors, but each one of those colors was a spell meant to kill its target. Countless numbers of spells bombarded the enemies. At this point, Garnet wished that she had not destroyed the Magitech Cannon. It could have been useful here. ROAR. The Fire Hounds in the back started to move. Garnet could see why they were dangerous. One of the Fire Hounds opened its mouth and began to set the ground on fire, scorching everything in its path. The other Fire Hounds followed and a wall of fire began to move towards Antium. Garnet could feel the sudden rise in temperature. The enemies were not just a horde of wild animals. They were coordinated, and being led by something. That made them far more dangerous than anything. "I''m going down there," said Duchess Kiko. "Alright," said Charles. "Be careful." "I will," said Duchess Kiko. Garnet watched as Duchess Kiko rode down and towards the battlefield. She could see lightning coming from Kiko as she made her way down, breaking a hole in the wall of flames. Garnet wanted to go down there too. More balls of fire rained down from the sky, reinforcing their numbers. The ground began to shake again. There were probably thousands more. "How many more could there possibly be?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know," said Zedd. "I just hope we are prepared for when the big one comes." "I need to go down there," said Garnet. Level Up: Skeletons (Level 3) "It''s too dangerous," said Charles. "I''ve already been in a small war," said Garnet. "I can handle myself." "Not yet," said Zedd. "I need you just in case the big one at the end is too much." Zedd was very afraid of the "big one." Garnet did not know what it is, but if Zedd was afraid of it, then it was obvious that she needed to be careful of it too. There were Hell Hounds mixed with Fire Hounds now and they all charged forward. Garnet watched as the forces of Antium clashed with the multi colored dogs. Leading the charge was the nobles and her own summons. Level Up: Skeletal Hounds (Level 6) Garnet''s summons were doing a good job. For some reason though, the human summons were not leveling up, it was only the undead summons. There had to be a reason for that. Now was not the time to worry about it though. Had the East Gate not been repaired, it would have been easy for the Invasion forces to just rip through the wall and destroy Antium. Each undead under Garnet''s control that fell could be replaced by Riley, Sylvia, or Romulus, so Garnet had no need to worry about them. She only needed to worry if one of the main leaders fell. The sheer number of Hounds rushing forth was beginning to overwhelm their forces. "I''m heading down too," said Duke Innes. He was probably the strongest physically out of all of the Dukes. "Stay safe," said Garnet. "I will my Queen," said Duke Innes. He rushed down too and onto the battlefield. Suddenly, they were starting to push back the Hounds. Duke Innes and Duchess Kiko had turned the tide of the battle. When they were boosted by the presence of everyone else, they became extremely powerful. The Kiko that Garnet saw fight the Siren paled in comparison to the power of this one. Her lightning spells jumped between numerous targets, disabling them for long enough periods of time for the soldiers to finish them off. Duke Innes charged forward and was able to push through the flames of the enemies with just his sword and shield alone. It seemed like the higher ranked the person was, the more powerful they were. There was a reason why these people were Dukes. They were incredible fighters that knew their own abilities very well. Their weakness was that they did not have time to develop their abilities, but with the extra stats, the levels of their abilities did not matter. The pure power granted to them more than compensated for it. "This is too easy," said Zedd. "Something is wrong." "What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "We''re winning." "That''s the problem," said Zedd. "The previous Invasion was not this weak. They''re holding something back for sure." Zedd was being extra cautious. He continued to observe the battlefield, keeping an eye on the giant eye in the sky that was still watching over them. ROAR. The giant eye in the sky released a terrifying sound. HOWL. The Hounds began to resonate with it. A red mist began to rise from each of the Hell Hounds as they changed in color to nearly completely black. Name: Burning Hound Level: 50 Class: Invader Sub-Class: Wild Beast Stats: High Strength, High Agility "They changed!" Garnet shouted. "Changed how?" asked Zedd. "I only see their names changed," said Garnet. "What''s going on down there?" Garnet asked Riley. "Busy!" said Riley. The Hounds began to charge recklessly at their targets. "It''s like they''re all in some kind of trance." Garnet watched the battlefield and saw that the Houds were all rushing towards Antium, ignoring their own safety. It was like a suicide charge and they were pushing through fiercely. The red mist was most likely the Burning Hounds boiling their own blood using their flames to increase their own power. "Get everyone away from the battlefield," said Garnet. "I''ll take care of this in an instant. Flight!" "Alright," said Zedd. He understood what Garnet was going to do. The Burning Hounds had a great weakness since they were boiling their own blood to increase their strength. Garnet''s Blood Reaper mode would be able to immediately kill all of them since they would all technically be bleeding. This would also stop them from repeating the same thing. "All troops fall back!" "I''m coming," Garnet said to Riley. Garnet from above could see the soldiers retreating. She flew down onto the battlefield. Before her stood the might of the Invasion. "Transformation: Blood Reaper!" Garnet''s robes turned red and became revealing. This was not the time to be concerned with that though. She charged in with her bare hands. From every direction, blood was flowing into her body, she could feel the surge in strength from being in the presence of blood. The only ones that did not retreat were Garnet''s summons. After all, they were not affected since they technically did not have blood. They ran on mana and did not bleed like other people. "Blood Scythe!" In a single swing, Garnet took out a dozen of the Burning Hounds in an instant. What should have given the Invaders an advantage immediately became a disadvantage. The enemies were being drained to empower Garnet and she could use her blood magic to instantly kill them. Level Up: Blood Scythe (Level 2) "I''m surprised we would fight side by side so soon," said Riley. "I wanted to come sooner, but they wouldn''t let me," said Garnet. "When Zedd saw what the enemy was doing, they let me come out here to do this." Around them, all of the Burning Hounds were collapsing as blood left their body. Garnet could not control what it drained blood from, but she was draining blood from everything around her. Sadly, Garnet did not gain any experience for defeating them this way otherwise it would have been a ridiculous amount of experience. She had to deal a killing blow for it to grant experience. Either that or they were just not worth any experience. She gathered their blood into a ball in her hand. "Yes we did it!" Riley shouted proud of taking down the hounds. "Blood Sacrifice!" Garnet used the blood that she gathered to heal the wounds of the summons. She wanted it to help the soldiers, but they were too far away. Skill Upgrade: Skeletal Hound -> Undead Hound Skill Upgrade: Skeleton -> Revenant Skill Upgrade: Skeletal Knight -> Death Knight Something unexpected happened. When Garnet used the blood she gathered to restore the Skeletons, they changed. They began to develop flesh and bone, making them much stronger than before. They were not as fragile anymore. Even Romulus and Sylvia began to gain a little color in their flesh. "Hey what did you just do?" asked Riley. "I was trying to heal them, but I think I just made all of them stronger," said Garnet. Garnet looked up at the eye that was staring straight down at her. She felt something from the eye, but did not know what. But, according to Zedd, it was still not over. "Let''s go back for now," said Garnet. "I don''t want to be here when they unleash the rest of their army." "Go," said Romulus. He turned around and slowly moved backwards, keeping an eye on things making sure nothing would surprise them. "That eye is creepy. It keeps looking at me." "I think it''s focused on me," said Garnet. Her summons returned to the front line, stronger than ever. In total, about 20% of their forces were unable to fight, but the Invasion lost far more. In exchange for 4000 soldiers, the Invasion probably lost tens of thousands. On the way back, Garnet could hear the cheers of the army. They had successfully held off a major attack with relatively little losses. The problem was that they still did not know how much forces the Invasion had. According to Zedd there was still the siege group and the final group. The eye in the sky continued to look at them, judging its options. For a brief moment though, the forces of Antium got to rest a little. Garnet flew back up to the top of the castle walls. "You did it!" said Charles as he grabbed Garnet for a hug. "I told you, not here," said Garnet as she pushed him away. "We''re not anywhere near done yet." "Yes," said Zedd. "We still don''t know how much more they have." "Rotate out the soldiers and rest for now," said Charles. "But have them keep watch in case the eye makes a move." "Rotate soldiers and rest," Zedd announced. The soldiers that had not fought yet suddenly took the front lines. The soldiers were highly trained and they obeyed the orders. Even though they were showing fear at first, something about them clicked when the nobles started heading down to fight. It was as if their fears disappeared and they fought ferociously. "We''re doing fairly well compared to last time," said Charles. "Last time, we lost all our drafted soldiers and half of our main army before we even reached this point." "Don''t let your guard down yet," said Zedd. "We only got a victory because we were able to exploit a critical weakness in their strategy. They won''t make the same mistake again." HOWL. The eye in the sky released another loud howl. The ground began to shake as the numerous balls of fire landed on the ground. "Quick, scout them," said Zedd. Quest Update: The First Invasion (00:00:00) Defend Antium from the second wave of the Invasion. Reward: Experience, Fame Riley and the undead were already on their way to see what it was. "More hounds," said Riley. "Some of them have multiple heads." Name: Cerberus Level: 55 Class: Invader Sub-Class: Wild Beast Stats: High Strength, High Agility, High Vitality The Cerberus were much bigger as well. They were at least twice the size of the other hounds. Some of them were even bigger than that. This was most likely the siege group that Zedd mentioned. The bigger and stronger hounds were better for knocking down walls if they made it that far. However, the fact that they were sending their siege creatures meant that they were also probably running low and had no choice but to do it. "All forces intercept!" Zedd ordered. "Do not let the large ones reach the walls." "I''m heading down there too," said Duke Keith. "I''ll go with you," said Duke Joey. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Go," said Charles. "This will probably be the most difficult part if Zedd is correct." This was the group that was meant to break the walls. If they succeeded, then Antium would be extremely vulnerable. But, if the army was able to hold them back, then they would almost have a certain victory since they prepared for the final enemy of the wave already. The reinvigorated soldiers were stronger than ever after Garnet had taken out the Burning Hounds. Garnet kept looking at the eye on the sky, seeing if it had any other tricks. After all, Zed had said it was too easy, meaning that there was probably another trick here as well. CRACKLE. Some of the Cerberus began to breath fire as well. They sprayed it in a wide arc against the soldiers. Despite their armor, the heat was going through and causing some problems. It was most likely that their flames had a similar effect to being able to ignore armor or defense. Riley and her team were fighting against many of the Cerberus. "I got it," said Lilith who used her arm to puncture the head. Despite this, the Cerberus continued to move. "You have to get all the heads," said Romulus. "There''s no point if one of them is still moving." "Lightning Ray!" Riley used lightning which was able to at least stun the enemy for a brief period of time. "Go Sylvia!" Sylvia slashed the heads off with her scythe. With her incredible strength, she was able to make a clean cut through most of them since only some of the one headed one had the special skin that made them difficult to cut. The good part so far was that the monsters from the Invasion, despite their numbers, did poorly when fighting in large numbers. They had to spread out otherwise they would hurt each other with their own flames. This allowed the soldiers to pick them off one at a time and use distractions to create openings where they could kill the creatures. The soldiers were improving as they fought because they were getting large amounts of experience. The ones that survived the Invasion would most likely become very powerful. HOWL. In the distance was a group of wolves that organized themselves into a circle. "They''re casting magic!" shouted Zedd. "Can you stop them Riley?" Garnet asked. "No, they''re too far away," Riley responded. "We won''t reach it in time," said Zedd. The eye turned to face the magic circle. The ground used the twelve wolves on the outside and the spread out wolves on the inside to create a dodecagon magic circle using each of the wolves as a point on the magic circle. A blue pillar of light appeared in the sky and connected the two. It was a powerful summoning spell. "The wolves were arranged to create a magic circle," said Zedd. "They spread out on purpose!" An orange flame appeared in the center of the magic circle. A giant purple paw appeared. BANG. The ground shook as it hit the ground. The other paw appeared. BANG. The ground shook again. Out of the flames stepped a huge two headed dog. They had summoned a more powerful creature. Name: Twin Headed Cerberus Level: 70 Class: Invader Sub-class: Wild Beast Stats: ??? ROAR. It let out a deafening roar that seemed to rally all of the hounds together. "Is that the leader?" Garnet asked. If the giant hound reached the walls, it would probably break through it easily. "I''m not sure," said Zedd. "It could still be part of the siege wave. "Should we use the Sword of Elements now?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zedd. "That beast must not be allowed to reach the walls." "Flight!" Garnet flew up to the balcony of the castle. From here, she could see everything. Specs of fire light up and disappeared in the distance. There were magic spells flying out of the castle and towards the enemy. The one thing that stood out, was the Twin Headed Cerberus. "Form your sword," said Zedd. Zedd began to concentrate mana into the palm of his hands. He was creating his. Garnet began to do the same in hers. The Twin Headed Cerberus began its advance. HOWL. It howled and ordered the other hounds to create a spear formation. "Wall of Storms!" Kiko created a wall of lightning that paralyzed the weaker hounds in front. This slowed them down. The big Twin Headed Cerberus was an easy target and was constantly being bombarded with lower tier spells. It could shake some of it off, but the occasional ball of fire or giant rock knocked it backwards, slowing it down. Dukes Innes, Joey, and Keith began to cut their way through the weaker hounds, but there were too many of them and more of them were coming. It seemed like their enemy was investing everything into this attack. "Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning!" Garnet created her large blade of flame and lightning. It was bigger than her. Zedd''s spell took longer. He was still pulling the blade out. "Begin channeling your mana into the magic circle underneath us," said Zedd. Garnet did as ordered and the walls of Antium begin to glow with a light blue. The entire city had been converted to a giant magic circle. The problem was that the power needed to activate it was enormous. Zedd alone did not have the power, so he needed Garnet''s power. Her high mana regeneration meant that she could fill it in due time. The problem was whether the front line would last long enough. The Twin Headed Cerberus was slowly pushing them back. The regular soldiers and the mages simply just did not have the power to deal significant damage to it. HOWL. There was another loud howl. Another pillar of blue light appeared. "There''s more?!?" shouted Garnet who was surprised by this. "This is not the final enemy," said Zedd. "This is still the siege wave!" "But our front lines are barely holding against one of them," said Garnet. "We will have to use the Sword of Elements to try to take them out then," said Zedd. "But we only have one shot." Zedd held his blue sword in the middle of the magic circle. Garnet put her red, orange, and yellow one next to his. The two combined into a blue sword that was surrounded by lightning and flames of numerous colors. The magic circle began to fill up faster, but it was still going to take time. The light was going up the walls of Antium now. It would still have to reach the point at the top of the castle. "How much more time?" Garnet asked. "I''m not sure," said Zedd. On the front lines, Riley and the new summons were putting up a decent fight against the hounds. The Revenants and Death Knights could almost each take out a hound on their own now. "We can''t do this forever," said Riley. "We just need to hold out until the spell is ready," said Romulus. "Just the same as the last one." "Can''t you use some super power?" Sylvia asked Riley. "Nope," said Riley. "I can''t use any of Garnet''s full transformations. I''m already using the partial Temptress of the Night transformation to increase my abilities." Lilith was the closest thing to a fully transformed Garnet. She could tear her way through most of the hounds like they were paper, but they were still too many in number. A dozen or so troops could take out hundreds, but against the thousands, definitely not. The soldiers were slowly losing ground. "Lightning Ray!" Riley fired the strongest lightning spell that she and Garnet knew at the Twin Headed Cerberus. BZZT. The Twin Headed Cerberus tried to shake it off and push forward, but it was greatly slowed. "Lightning Stream!" A much larger bolt of lightning flew across the battlefield and zapped the other Twin Headed Cerberus. Kiko had used a powerful spell in order to immobilize it as well. The one held by Riley was only slowing down, while the one held by Kiko''s had completely stopped. "Focus on killing the one that is still moving," ordered Charles. The back line of soldiers began to mobilize from their defensive position towards the Twin Headed Cerberus that was fighting with Riley. HOWL. It was another loud howl. A third Twin Headed Cerberus appeared. "There''s three of them now!" shouted Riley. The magic circle was still only halfway filled. "Can''t we use it without channeling it all the way?" Garnet asked. "We could, but that would make it pointless, since it will probably only wound them," said Zedd. "If they''re weakened, do you think that the soldiers can fight it?" Garnet asked. "Maybe," said Zedd. "Let''s launch it now, then we split up," said Garnet. "I''ll go join Riley''s group to take out the middle Twin Headed Cerberus, you take the one on the right that''s making its way up and then afterwards, we go to the one that is being confined by Kiko." "Alright," said Zedd. "Sword of Elements!" Zedd swung the sword horizontally and watched as it cut across the battlefield. BOOM. The ground shook from the massive explosion that caused flames and lightning to rise from the crack in the ground. The Twin Headed Cerberus that was paralyzed by Kiko lost one of its heads and legs entirely. The one being held by Riley collapsed on the floor, but it was still struggling to get up. The third one that was uncontained only suffered burns. "We will fight the three hounds separately," Zedd ordered. "Do not let them group up. I will be heading into battle with the Queen." "Flight!" Garnet flew towards the battlefield and headed towards the middle hound. She watched as Zedd activated his Mana Armor. In his hand was a sword. The other hand carried his magic staff. He was going to fight the third Twin Headed Cerberus on his own. Garnet watched as Kiko and her group finished off the Twin Headed Cerberus on the left. The main problem was the one on the right that did not suffer many injuries. But to reach it, they would have to cut across the one in the middle as well. As Garnet landed, she began to engage the Twin Headed Cerberus. "Tranformation: Elementalist!" She changed into a mode that would enhance her magic. She saw that Riley benefited from this transformation as well. Riley''s black hair had changed into yellow. She was a blonde now, but the other changes did not occur. "Lightning Ray!" Garnet fired stronger bolts of lightning at the Twin Headed Cerberus. "Go!" she ordered. Level Up: Lightning Ray (Level 2) Lilith, Romulus, and Sylvia spread out, aiming for different legs. Lilith struck the left leg, but she could not cut through it like she did with the regular hounds. She repeatedly smashed the leg. CRACK. The Twin Headed Cerberus began to limp on one side. "I got it!" said Lilith. Romulus and Sylvia headed towards the right one, repeatedly slashing at it. The first few attacks did very little, but as they repeatedly hit the leg, it began to bruise and weaken. The Twin Headed Cerberus struggled as it tried to move its legs to counter this attack, but the lightning greatly impaired its movements, making it impossible to step on the ones attacking it. HOWL. The Twin Headed Cerberus howled as it fell to the ground. "Attack its heads!" Garnet ordered. The Twin Headed Cerberus raised its head and tried to bite the people that approached. Even though its body was slowed down, it could still react quickly enough if it was just the head. "We can''t get close," said Lilith. "Go help them," said Riley. "I''ll take care of slowing it down." Riley continued to channel the lightning on her own while Garnet went to join the others. "Flight!" Garnet flew towards the others. "Grab on," she said to Romulus and Sylvia as she pulled them up. Lilith followed on her own by flying. Garnet brought them up about ten feet above the head of the Cerberus. "Go!" she ordered. Romulus dropped down with his sword in his hands. SHLUCK. The extra momentum helped him cut right into the head of the right head. The left head was the only one still moving now. Sylvia came straight down and smashed the left head. YIP. The hound cried in pain as its head crashed against the ground. Lilith followed and smashed its head, caving in part of the skull. "Did we do it?" Garnet wondered. The hound struggled as it tried to move. "No," said Riley who was still trying to keep it paralyzed with lightning. "Finish it off." The hound could barely move, but it was still not dead. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired one more spell at the hound. BOOM. The explosion knocked the head aside, dislocating its neck. She could hear a loud CRACK as well. You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! It was five whole levels. Then again, it was by no means an easy enemy. It was extremely tough and was nearly three times her level. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet absorbed the body of the Twin Headed Cerberus. Stat Increase: Strength +5 Stat Increase: Vitality +5 Stat Increase: Agility +5 It was a little bit of stats. Still better than nothing at least. In the distance, Garnet saw the last Twin Headed Cerberus tip over. The ground shook as it fell over. Zedd had finished off the last Twin Headed Cerberus on his own. As long as no more arrived, the siege wave would be over, meaning that there was still just one final enemy. In all, the forces of Antium lost about 30% so far, mostly due to injuries, but there were certainly some deaths as well. If Garnet had not stopped the berserk charge by the Burning Hounds, there would certainly be more. "All forces fall back and prepare for the next group!" Zedd ordered. The soldiers headed back to the East Gate and lined themselves again. The injured retreated back inside the city. They were down to almost half as many soldiers as they started. It was a significant loss and it was still not over. There was still the final enemy. The eye in the sky scouted the battlefield once more looking for something. Garnet could not figure out what it was looking for. At one point, it was staring at Garner as if it was interested in her, but then its attention changed to other things on the battlefield, such as the city of Antium itself. Quest Update: The First Invasion (00:00:00) Defend Antium from the last wave of the Invasion. Reward: Experience, Fame A great ball of fire larger than all the previous ones appeared. BOOM. As the ball of fire landed, the ground shook with the force of a powerful earthquake. The rumbling did not stop for several seconds. Out of the fire stepped a large three headed dog. Name: Three Headed Cerberus Level: 90 Class: Invader Sub-class: Wild Beast Stats: ??? Numerous smaller balls of fire launched from the eye, giving the Three Headed Cerberus a small army to support it as well. The eye in the sky suddenly disappeared and with it, the red star or moon like object. "Did it give up?" Garnet wondered. The mighty Three Headed Cerberus charged straight for Antium. "All forces intercept it!" shouted Zedd. Garnet could see that a cage of lightning was being used to slow down the Three Headed Cerberus, but it was doing little to it. It barely even slowed down as it ran straight for Antium. "We can''t stop it!" said Riley. "Zedd!" Garnet shouted. "I know," said Zedd who was preparing a powerful lightning spell in his hands. "Buy me a little time." "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" In her most powerful form, Garnet headed into the battlefield as well. The lightning spells were not working against the Three Headed Cerberus, so they had to fight it head on in order to keep it busy for Zedd. The powerful spells took a lot of preparation time, which was their disadvantage. Riley, Nuria, Mazu, Lilith, Romulus, Sylvia, and the squad of undead were all trying to fight the Three Headed Cerberus, but it was too strong for them. Even though Garnet''s summons technically could not be hurt by something unless it was made of mana, they were still being knocked around. Each of the heads were coordinating their attacks and covering their weak points and blind spots. Lilith tried to attack it from above, but it avoided the attack. Romulus and Riley tried to knock it over, but the giant hound was able to maneuver itself quite well. Garnet dove in. "Blood Scythe!" She swung the giant scythe of blood in a wide angle. BAM. It struck one of the heads and the Three Headed Cerberus lost its balance for a second opening it up for follow up attacks. Even though the Three Headed Cerberus was fast, it could still not dodge everything. If they used attacks that covered a wide area, they would still be able to hit it. Romulus tackled the leg of the Three Headed Cerberus, pushing it over. Sylvia raised her scythe and swung at its under belly, cutting at it. Meanwhile, the skeletons were focused on trying to attack its head, which was still ferociously trying to bite back. "Prepare your sword," Zedd messaged to Garnet. "You guys will need to stall it," said Garnet. "Alright," said Riley. She had some of the benefits of Garnet''s transformation. Riley''s hair turned white and she was stronger and faster than before. "Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning!" Garnet began to charge up the blade. "When the hound is paralyzed, use your sword to destroy it!" said Zedd. "Got it," said Garnet. Meanwhile, Riley was leading the others against the Three Headed Cerberus. Her theoretical knowledge of combat was paying off significantly. She was watching the legs of the Three Headed Cerberus and calling out its attacks. "It''s going to swipe with its left leg!" Riley announced. Immediately, Romulus rushed in with his shield to block it. This gave the others a chance to knock it off its feet. Lilith rammed into the side of the Three Headed Cerberus and Sylvia swiped at its right leg, knocking the whole thing off balance. The undead hounds and skeletons then tried to hold it down to stop it from recovering. The problem was that the skin of the Three Headed Cerberus was too tough. Their attacks could not break the skin. The group was only dealing superficial damage to it. "I''m ready!" shouted Zedd. "Get away from it!" A yellow light flashed from Zedd in the distance. Everyone immediately backed away from the Three Headed Cerberus. Six yellow lightning rods fell around the Three Headed Cerberus. From there, they each fired a bolt of lightning towards the center. The Three Headed Cerberus was tagged by it. The lightning rods formed a cage as the bolts of lightning began to tug the Three Headed Cerberus in every direction. It fell over with its legs being drawn apart. It could not move anymore. The spell was not done though. Lightning flowed from the surrounding towards the center and bound the Three Headed Cerberus almost like rope. To finish it off, a large spear made of lightning fell from the sky and impaled it through its back before the cage dissipated, leaving only the spear on its back and the lightning bolts that tugged at it. "Now!" said Zedd. Garnet swung her Blade of Lightning. BOOM. Garnet was blown away by the explosive power of the impact. There was a crater where the Three Headed Cerberus used to stand. At the center of it, was the body of the Three Headed Cerberus. It was badly burned with numerous scars all over its body. Level Up: Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) You have leveled up! You have leveled up! New Skill: Wind Blade (Level 1) Throw an arc of wind that can cut objects it comes into contact with MP Cost: 50 "You did it!" shouted Riley. Quest Complete: The Final Wave Defend Antium from the Invasion. Reward: Experience, Fame You have leveled up! "Blood Absorption!" Garnet absorbed the body of the Three Headed Cerberus. Skill Upgrade: Call: Undead Hounds -> Call: Cerberus The hounds under your control are now living and breathing beings capable of breathing fire. A maximum of 5 can be summoned. MP Cost: 500 each Garnet''s summons changed immensely from this one Invasion and were much more powerful than ever before. But that made Garnet think of something. "Was whatever behind the Invasions a summoner of their own?" That would make sense considering what appeared to be an endless number of enemies. On the other hand, if the eye did have an endless number of summons, why did it give up so easily? There were still many questions that were unanswered, but it was best to do them one at a time. The first of those questions, Riley. She had come into contact with the Hero System and even claimed that it spoke to her. It was time to figure out what she knew. Book 4: Chapter 032 - Departure (Mini Arc 4/Antium Arc End) This chapter brings the Antium arc to an end and reveals a little more behind the Invasions and what happened to Riley. The next arc will be shorter (2 mini arcs maybe?) and will focus on the journey to Constantinople. The first one will probably be Garnet as she looks for ways to get help to reach Constantinople, while the second will be the actual journey. There might be a wait before the next chapter. --------------------------------------------------------- Now that the Invasion was finally over, there was some time to rest. The first thing to do was clean up. The land outside of the East Gate of Antium was badly damaged from the rain of fire caused by the Invasion and the earth and water mages were quickly working to try to repair it. Meanwhile, King Charles and Zedd were trying to organize a temporary demilitarization and to calm the public. After all, Invasions were very scary. Even if it was not dangerous, the appearance of it was extremely intimidating. Once that was done, the city could focus on development and expansion, which would greatly improve their ability to support a larger army and make it easier to fight the next Invasion as well. In the mean time, Garnet needed answers, answers that Riley might have. Riley had come in direct contact with the Hero System at some point during her disappearance. In reality, she became part of Garnet''s mana reservoir. But, the cost was that her memories were further fragmented. "What was the voice that you heard?" Garnet asked Riley. "You must keep everything you hear from me a secret, do you understand?" Riley asked. "Yes," said Garnet. Riley checked to make sure no one was listening. "Let''s go somewhere quiet before we talk." "Grab on," said Garnet. Riley touched Garnet''s shoulder. "Teleportation!" Garnet warped the two of them to the forest outside of the West Gate, far away from the city. The only person who might be able to hear their conversation here was probably Zedd. Riley went around once more to check and make sure that there was no one around. She was being extra cautious. "Call: Cerberus! Call: Revenants!" Garnet summoned some of her allies. "Scare away any people that come around here," she ordered. The two groups nodded and walked into the nearby trees. Riley began to speak. "The Hero System is what grants the people of a world the chance to stand against the Invasion," said Riley. "Each world can potentially be given one by an Overseer." "What''s an Overseer?" Garnet asked. "An Overseer is someone who has grown so strong that they are able to control the development of their world, but choose not to," Riley explained. "They possess knowledge and power that makes them seem like a godlike being. Think of them like extremely powerful mages." "Why did they not attack us directly?" Garnet asked. "There''s always danger in fighting by yourself," said Riley. "Even if you are level 100, you can still die if you are swarmed by enough enemies." "How do they relate to the Hero System?" asked Garnet. "The Hero System is a bit of power to jump start the development of an individual," said Riley. "The purpose of this individual is to give them a fighting a chance against a Guide." "Overseer? Guide?" Garnet was still confused. "Think of it like this, an Overseer is one that believes in non-interference, they simply watch the development of the world, only interfering if say there''s something like a worldwide disaster because they believe that the beings of a world should be allowed to develop on their own," said Riley. "The Guides are the opposite, who want to take over worlds because they believe that development should be directed and guided in order to speed it up and give the world a better future." "Why did they not intervene in the Invasion then?" Garnet asked. "The voice told me that there were many Guides trying to invade, but they''re often busy fighting each other because they disagree on what they think is the right way for a world to develop," Riley explained. "An occasional weak one gets through because he or she has to focus on the strongest ones, that is the source of the Invasion." "What''s the purpose of the Hero Summoning then?" asked Garnet. "I thought that was what selects the Hero." "It''s partially true," said Riley. "The Hero Summoning offers up a person to the Overseer. The Overseer then determines whether the person is worthy and whether the conditions are right and there are no other Heroes. If they are, they are granted the power of a Hero." "Why only one Hero then?" asked Garnet. "Wouldn''t we have a better chance if there were multiple?" "Conflicts would arise between Heroes and they would end up fighting," said Riley. "To reduce this risk, they created the policy of one Hero per world." "What about the failed summonings that kill people?" asked Garnet. "Unfortunately, there''s nothing they can do about it," said Riley. "The ritual itself kills the person, they only live if another consciousness is added into the body to reduce the stress placed on the mind and eventually use the extra potential to gain strength. That is the cost of power." "Is there anything else you can tell me?" asked Garnet. "The one that spoke to me was reluctant to intervene because they believe that if they told us too much, it would interfere with our free will," said Riley. "But they believe that it is up to you to determine what you want to do." Garnet thought about what she wanted to do. She definitely did not want to be a Guide. After all, many innocent people get killed during an Invasion and it is possible that the entire world could be overrun by those monsters before someone could take control of a world. However, right now, the goal was to restore Riley''s body, then she could focus on fighting the Invasion. "What is the Trial of the Hero?" Garnet asked. "That was a test to make sure that you had the qualities to actually be a hero," said Riley. "When some people have their personalities merge, the qualities that people consider are good and desirable in a Hero can be lost." Things do not always work out the way you expect them to. No matter how good a person is, they can be corrupted by different things. If Garnet did not have her memories with Charles Wellington, there was a chance that she might have hated the world and sought to destroy everything with her power. If Riley''s personality conflicted with Garnet''s, they could probably have conflicts of their own as well, leading to development of extreme personalities. "Is there anything you can tell me about our Overseer?" Garnet asked. She wanted to know more about what the person was like. "They just tried real hard to persuade me to help you in anyway I can," said Riley. "I don''t know much else about him or her or it. I''m not really sure what it was." "Why did you even trust it then?" Garnet asked. "It seemed like it genuinely wanted to help," said Riley. "I watched you struggle to become stronger and I realized you needed help, so I agreed to do as it asked. It even offered me some help in being able to reach out to you in different ways. The ability for me to make myself into a spirit was one of them. The voice also said that there''s someone in Constantinople that will help you." Garnet wondered if Zedd was an Overseer. He was extremely strong, but he still did not seem godlike. Chances are that he was not. An Overseer was even stronger than Zedd. If she met one, she probably would not be able to fight it. But that made her wonder. If an Overseer actually stepped into their world, they might be able to destroy everything and force the world to obey them. "Do you know how many Overseers and Guides there are?" Garnet asked. "No," said Riley. "Do you know how strong Overseers and Guides are?" Garnet asked. "No," said Riley. There was very little information to work off of. As far as Garnet knew, they might as well be rumors, but Riley claimed that she had direct contact with an Overseer. For now, this was the only thing that she had to work with other than Zedd''s stories. Zedd''s stories did not explain much since they were stories. The Yellow Emperor in Zedd''s stories might have been an Overseer though. There was always that possibility since he was the one who was credited with creating modern magic and the Hero Summoning. "But what happened to him?" Garnet wondered. There were just too many unknowns. Garnet decided to focus on one thing at a time. After all, that had been working. The next thing to do was to find a way to restore Riley with a body so she was not just an disembodied spirit that hung around Garnet all day. If Riley was far enough from Garnet, she would start to fade. "What do you want to?" Garnet asked Riley. "To be honest, I''m not sure yet," said Riley. "I don''t even know where I belong." Riley''s old memories were missing, so she did not feel attachment to her old world. At the same time, she did not know anyone in this world, so she lacked attachment to this one as well. "How about we work on getting you your body back first?" said Garnet. "That would be great," said Riley. "It feels so weird having to be attached to you." "So you want to find a husband somewhere?" asked Garnet. "That''s not what I meant," said Riley. "I just want to know what I''m supposed to do. Right now, I seem to feel no attachment to anything and that''s a scary thought. If I had my memories, I might feel or understand something." Riley''s memories were still somewhere in Garnet''s body. There were hints of it early on when Riley suddenly disappeared, but most of it seemed to have faded away by now. However, they might not be gone. When Garnet and Riley were sharing a body inside Garnet''s mind, she saw faded memories inside her mind. It was likely that they could be retrieved and restored as long as there was not some kind of time restriction. There were other problems though, Garnet would be a young woman who was essentially traveling alone. Even with Riley by her side, it was not going to be safe. She was going to need to find a group to Constantinople. With some luck, she might be able to find a group in Anzio, but even then, her rank with the Guild was poor. She would need to raise it to earn an acceptable level of respect before she would be able to find a group that was willing to go. In addition, she would need to plan for a long trip. However, there was a need to do one thing at a time. "I''ll help find a way to get you a body," said Garnet. "Thank you," said Riley. "By the way, do you remember anything because of the notes?" Garnet asked. "I know I have a sister," said Riley. "The notes that I scribbled down before my consciousness faded were to her." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Is that the woman you saw in the memories that you can remember?" Garnet asked. "I''m not sure," said Riley. "There''s no context and so there''s no way that I can know." "Hopefully, we find a way to restore your memories as well," said Garnet. "All we can do now is hope for the best." Garnet needed to speak to Zedd and Charles. If she was going to go on a journey, she needed to tell them. Both of them were very busy though. The only person she found free was Anna who had returned to helping Garnet take care of her children. Jasper and Jade were walking around on their own now. Two years old. Amber was still too young to move about on her own. Garnet worried that Anna would be driven crazy by having to take care of all of Garnet''s kids. Jasper and Jade crawled to hug Garnet''s leg. Garnet picked up and held each one in her arm. Despite their size, Garnet was strong enough to do so. "Are you okay?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Anna. "There''s a lot of help around here, so I''m not doing it alone." "Anything I should know about my kids?" Garnet asked. "Your twins will miss you," said Anna. "I''m going to be leaving Antium soon," said Garnet. "What? Why?" asked Anna. "There''s something I have to find," said Garnet. "I asked Zedd, but he doesn''t have the answers, so I''m going to find it on my own." "I see," said Anna. "You''re still young, go see the world while you still can." "How old are you?" Garnet asked. She really wanted to know the answer to this question. Anna acted anywhere in age from the range of ten to a hundred depending on her mood. "That''s a secret," said Anna. "But I don''t really remember myself." "How do you not know?" asked Garnet. "At some point, I just stopped counting," said Anna. "I didn''t find it important, so I kind of stopped caring and just acted however I felt even though people kept telling me to act my age." It was similar to what Zedd had said. Zedd stopped paying attention to the numbers and started to pay attention to his accomplishments. Garnet had only two accomplishments. One, saving Antium and two, having a large family that she was quite happy with. "Have you told Charles yet?" Anna asked. "No," said Garnet. "I wonder how he will take it." "He could handle five years without you, though not very well," said Anna. "I''m sure he will be okay as long as you visit sometimes." "I think so too," said Garnet. "You two still have a lot of time to have more kids too," said Anna. "I''ve had enough already!" Garnet replied. Anna seemed to be fine with it. There was still Charles and Zedd. Zedd seemed to let Garnet do whatever she wanted to and would probably be fine with it. "I heard you''re leaving," said Zedd who was suddenly standing behind Garnet. "Don''t scare me like that," said Garnet. "You have ears everywhere in this city, you could at least just not try to surprise me." "Are you going to Constantinople?" Zedd asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "Be careful," said Zedd. "It''s dangerous for a young woman your age to travel alone." "Twenty five?" Garnet asked. "You may be twenty five, but you appear as a fifteen year old and sometimes act like one too," said Zedd. "Be careful out there as there will be people who target someone like you." "I plan to find help in Anzio," said Garnet. "I see," said Zedd. "High ranking members of the Guild are trustworthy." "Yep," said Garnet. "I hope some of them will help me." "Get your Guild Card upgraded a few times and advertise yourself as an Elemental Mage that is looking to research Constantinople," said Zedd. "That will draw a lot of attention." "Why does that draw attention?" Garnet asked. "Most mages in the world are single element and not very strong," said Zedd. "Someone that can command two elements is considered talented and one that can command three is considered as a genius. But to combine them, you are pretty much a one of a kind. Oh and make sure you joined a mixed group of men and women." "Thanks for the advice," said Garnet. "Take this with you," said Zedd. He handed Garnet a small pin. "What is this?" asked Garnet. "This is something that will allow us to communicate anywhere in the world once you channel mana into it," said Zedd. "But sadly, it only works in pairs, otherwise it would be great for long distance communication." "I''ll talk to you if anything comes up then," said Garnet. "Don''t forget to visit me and your family," said Zedd. "I know our relationship did not start on the best of terms, but I want to be able to help you achieve what you want to do." "I''ll start reading up on the books that you''ve given me," said Garnet. "To be honest I''ve neglected the studying part of being a mage." "You never exactly had the time for it with all the running around you''ve had to do," said Zedd. "But as you travel, there will be days where you have nothing to do in the evenings, so just relax by a campfire and read a book." "I''ll be seeing you another time then," said Garnet. Zedd walked closer to Garnet and put his hand on Garnet''s shoulder. "I''m not much of a hugger, but I don''t know exactly how to show that I care," said Zedd. "It''s alright," said Garnet. "Everything you''ve done was done with good intent, even if it was lying to me. You even tried to make amends for it, and that was good enough for me." "Thank you," said Zedd as he walked away. With that, the only person left to talk to was Charles. Garnet waited in bed for Charles to finish up his duties. Since he became King, he was very busy trying to improve the conditions of Antium, often directly influencing policies and the actions of the nobles to make sure that nothing got too far out of hand. "So tired," said Charles as he walked into the bed. "I need to talk to you," said Garnet. "What is it?" Charles asked. "I plan on leaving Antium soon," said Garnet. "What did I do?" asked Charles. "It''s not because of you," said Garnet. "It''s something to help Riley and to learn more about myself as a Hero." "To be honest though, I''m surprised you even agreed to marry me," said Charles. "You didn''t seem like the type of person who would be tied down, but I''ve managed to keep you hooked in for many years now." "Are you sure I''m not the one who tricked you into turning a slave into a Queen?" Garnet asked. "There''s always that possibility too," said Charles. "Don''t worry, I''ll be here for you and the children for all the important things," said Garnet. "Just promise me you will come back safe," said Charles. "I''ll try to visit when I can," said Garnet. "I know I''ll be gone for a while, but please help me take care of the kids." "I will," said Charles. "If any problems come up talk to Zedd, he has a way to communicate with me no matter where I am," Garnet added. "I will," said Charles. "Is there anything I need to take care of as Queen before I leave?" Garnet asked. "Nope," said Charles. "One monarch can represent the whole family, so I''ll take care of everything with Zedd''s help." "Is there anything you want me to do before I leave?" Garnet asked. "One more night with me?" Charles asked. "I thought you were tired," said Garnet. "Tired of work, but never of you," said Charles. With that, Garnet and Charles spent one more night together. A few days later, Garnet got dressed as a mage, fully armed with a sword on her back, a knife on her leg, a hand crossbow on her arm, a staff in her hands, and food and water stored in her rings. Charles, Zedd, Clark, Anna, Klarth, and Kirk were all there to see her depart from the throne room. Garnet was not going alone though. Riley was going with her. She wore Garnet''s old leather outfit on top of her strange looking bodysuit. As much as Garnet wanted to use other summons, she would be restricted as the Revenants and Death Knights still looked like undead monsters. Only the Cerberus no longer appeared to be undead, but they were still frightening. After all, Zedd had warned her that they were not widely accepted. She would only use it in the most dire situations, but she still had a ton of other ways to fight back if needed. "Are you sure you don''t need anything?" Garnet asked Riley who was just going dressed in her leather armor. "It''s not like I can eat anything," said Riley. "Oh that''s right, I forgot about that," said Garnet. "Any last words?" Garnet asked. "I''ll miss you," said Charles as he hugged Garnet. "Thank you for everything you''ve done for me," said Clark. "You not only helped me create a business, but you also helped me save my family." "I''ll take care of your kids for you," said Anna. "Don''t worry about them, but just visit from time to time so they don''t forget about you okay?" "I will," said Garnet. "I plan to visit Ruby as well." "I still think you should bring guards with you and make it official like true royalty do," said Klarth. "I don''t think it matters where I''m going," said Garnet. "I''m just glad I''m no longer used for your experiments," said Kirk. "I still can''t remember what happened, but I feel really strange." "It''s best that you don''t remember," said Garnet. "What did you do to me?" asked Kirk. "Nothing," said Garnet. "Remember, we''re sisters," said Riley. "It''s best to just say that for now." "Alright big sis," said Garnet. "Let''s go to Anzio and build up our reputation." Riley grabbed on to Garnet''s shoulder. "Teleportation!" Garnet teleported both of them to the outskirts of Anzio. "She''s gone again," said Charles who suddenly started sobbing. "I miss her already." "Just don''t try to touch me as if I were Garnet again," said Anna. "Pretty soon you''re going to look like an old man trying to chase after a little girl." ------------------------------------------ No changes to stats. Spoiler : Funny thing is that I pictured someone sending "/w Riley help plz" Plans: Second Major Arc - Constantinople (Not a Chapter) Probably no chapter this weekend. I''m still working on planning some things out, but so far, here is a brief overview of each one. Mini Arc 5 - Anzio Spoiler : This arc is mostly going to be filler. Not much happens other than to show some of the other things that occur in the world. Garnet and Riley spend some time in Anzio, learning about some of the different groups, organizations, and their purposes. This will include an auction house, mages, sponsored expeditions, and maybe a few bandits. However, none of these work out in helping Garnet reach Constantinople, but with a bit of luck, she ends up being able to create Animal Vessels for her Cerberus. Someone will send her a message, telling her to go to Constantinople, the bait is the spell for creating a Humanoid Vessel, but she is unable to meet the requirements to create it. A Humanoid Vessel is different from a true Resurrection Spell that is needed to give Riley her life back, but it is the first major step. However, a Vessel can allow Garnet to maintain a summon indefinitely until its body is destroyed without draining her own mana past the initial summon. Mini Arc 6 - Journey to Constantinople Spoiler : Garnet and Riley make their way East to Constantinople, seeing a few other villages and cities. Some of them have their own problems, but we will also see the introduction of a force of nature, one that controls the flow of waters in the sea. We will also see another Dark Mage, but significantly weaker than Garnet because they are not a Chaos Mage. However, this Dark Mage will survive the counter and come back stronger in the next arc. He will have his own Succubus summon, but Garnet''s vastly superior strength proves to be too much for the Dark Mage. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Mini Arc 7 - Constantinople Spoiler : Garnet will meet the creature that beat Zedd. A water type artificial life form created by the previous Hero in order to protect the secret library under Constantinople. It has been protecting the secret library because it contains the Mana Reactor, a tool that will allow Garnet to apply her own mana to it and start to rebuild Constantinople by first protecting it from additional raiders and eventually, the Dark Mage from the previous arc as he returns stronger than ever in an attempt to seize the knowledge of Constantinople. Afterwards, Garnet discovers that there are a total of five artificial life forms created. The three that sacrificed themselves to protect Constantinople by scorching its surface, the one guarding the secret library, and Anna. Mini Arc 8 - The War for Constantinople Spoiler : Other countries are interested in the spoils of Constantinople. They begin to see Garnet as someone who is trying to monopolize the resources and knowledge of Constantinople for her own benefit, resulting in several other groups declaring war. Garnet has to protect Constantinople and secure her rightful ownership of it by protecting it. People begin to break non-aggression treaties and pacts in an attempt to do so. This leads a few places exposed for Invasions, leading up to the arrival of a new Invader Book 5: Chapter 033 - Starting in Anzio So this begins the second major arc, which will probably be shorter than the first arc as it did a lot to establish the world and Garnet''s powers. At this point, there''s going to be less focus on the world and a little more towards the smaller things, specifically, things like the value of magic. Characters are probably still going to suck though. I''m not that good with characters. By my estimates, arcs 5 and 6 will be about 6 chapters each because they can be treated as filler with the important parts foreshadowing future enemies. I''ll also try to develop some of the locations a little more. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anzio was a trade city that had been developed by the King and other members of the government using a meritocracy that rewarded people and chose people based on their qualifications rather than their title. Anyone could move up the ranks provided they met the requirements. Nobles could lose important government positions for corruption of if they railed to do their job properly and they would be replaced by someone else who was better qualified. They still had some advantages such as not having to pay taxes and having the wealth needed to send their children to Anzio Academy, so it was not completely fair either. The security outside the city was heightened and Garnet and Riley both needed to be searched before they were allowed in. Garnet headed straight for Anzio academy. Along the way, she saw that there were a lot more guards and they were heavily armed compared to the ones Garnet saw last time. Certain buildings even had additional guards in front of them. The entire city felt different from the last time that Garnet was there. Ruby was unavailable the last few times Garnet visited. Garnet had gotten information from Leeroy instead. "Mommy!" Ruby cried. "It''s been a while." she said as she hugged Garnet. "We''ve been busy," said Garnet. "How bad was it?" asked Leeroy. Leeroy could probably see that the Invasion was occurring all the way from Anzio, which was hundreds of miles away from Antium. It was hard to miss that eye. It was also likely the reason why security was raised in Anzio. "About a third of the soldiers were injured or killed," said Garnet. "That''s not too bad then," said Leeroy. "At least compared to the last one." Garnet remembered that they had lost nearly everything in the previous Invasion. A third of your forces lost was still a big deal though. Soldiers were not easily replaced and took time to train. Antium was lucky that the average Invasion was something like five years apart. "Have you been doing well Ruby?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Ruby. "Has she been good?" Garnet asked Leeroy. "Yes," said Leeroy. "Except I think that she might be the one picking the fights soon." "Why do you say that?" Garnet asked as she looked at Ruby. She had grown a little taller and her hair had grown out a little longer. "She got into an argument with one of the other students about a better way to collect taxes," said Leeroy. "So what happened?" Garnet asked. "Nothing yet," said Leeroy. "They just argued." "Don''t hit people unless they hit you first okay?" said Garnet. "Yes," said Ruby. "By the way, who''s that?" asked Leeroy as he pointed to Riley who was standing by the door still. "That''s my sister," said Garnet. Riley waved at them. "Your sister?!?" said Leeroy. "Why did you never speak of her?" "We''re not related by blood," said Garnet. "You can say we know each other because of similar interests, which is what I''m here to talk about." "So you''re going somewhere?" asked Leeroy. "Yes, I plan to go to Constantinople," said Garnet. "Why there?" asked Leeroy. "That''s one of the most dangerous places." "I believe there''s information that is only recorded inside the ruins of the city," said Garnet. "I don''t plan on going alone, I''m going to find other people who are willing to come with me." "Come outside," said Leeroy. "I need to see how strong you are first." It was a test. Constantinople was a dangerous place and Leeroy wanted to make sure that Garnet was strong enough to survive. The two headed outside into the big courtyard where others often trained to fight. There were people who were training in the ways of swords, spears, and bows. There were other weapons on the ground, but no one used them. "Why are you two fighting?" Ruby asked. "Don''t worry, we won''t hurt each other," said Garnet. "It''s just so Leeroy can see how I''ve changed," said Garnet as she pat Ruby on the head. Leeroy Level: 36 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: Halberdier Stats: High Agility, High Vitality Leeroy had gotten stronger too. He was not just sitting around. However, by comparison, Garnet had improved far more. Leeroy walked over to one of the weapon stands and picked up a heavy looking wooden sword. He swung it around and put it down. He moved to the next one. After repeating this three times, he went back to the second one and settled on it. "Take any weapon you want," said Leeroy. "I''m fine with this staff," said Garnet. Leeroy looked over Garnet''s staff and had already begun to formulate his plan. Ruby covered her eyes. She did not want to see them fighting. "It''s okay," said Riley who stood in front of Ruby and held her close. "I''ll tell you when it''s over." "Okay," said Ruby who looked up at Garnet. "You feel like mommy." Leeroy charged towards Garnet with his sword. He was fast. Garnet tilted her staff to the side to block the attack. CLANG. A loud sound rang throughout as the sword came in contact with the staff. Garnet had to take a few steps back as she deflected the sword towards the ground.. Even though Leeroy was only a few levels higher than Garnet, Leeroy was strong. He was much stronger than Arnold Gray. Leeroy had been a person who actually fought on a regular basis and constantly trained himself. Leeroy did not give up. He continued his assault with a one handed swing. "He''s up to something," thought Garnet. Garnet parried the blow with the staff. CLANG. Leeroy used his free left hand to strike Garnet in the stomach. Garnet titled her entire body, moving her shoulder forward and countered with a tackle, knocking Leeroy a few steps back. "You seem like you have a lot of fighting experience," said Leeroy. "Anna taught me," said Garnet. "That would explain a lot," said Leeroy. "One more move. If you can block this, you pass." Leeroy held the sword directly in front of him with both his hands. He was probably going to use a weapon skill of some kind. Garnet did not recognize it though. It was not something that Anna had shown her. Garnet decided to play it safe and focus on defense this time. In an instant, Leeroy dashed forward covering the distance between the two of them in about half a second. "Sonic Rush!" It was Leeroy''s own special skill. Leeroy aimed for Garnet''s left side, which was partially exposed because of how Garnet held the staff. However, Garnet had a counter for this too. She rolled her body to the side, delaying how long it would take for Leeroy''s attack to land by a split second. That split second was all Garnet needed. "Ki Burst!" With an explosive force, Leeroy was knocked sideways and down. "Are you okay?" asked Garnet who did not realize how much force that she used. "Yeah," said Leeroy. "That hurts." "It''s over," said Riley as she let go of Ruby. Ruby looked over, still partially hidden behind Riley''s body. Garnet reached out her hand and helped Leeroy up."Did I pass?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Leeroy. "If you were trained by Anna, you were definitely ready. It''s just I wanted to see for myself. I never knew you were this strong." Garnet was not always that strong. Since she got the benefit of the Hero System though, she improved immensely. Leeroy was by no means weak either. He took on the full force of the Ki Burst yet he got up shortly after as if it was almost nothing. "I take it you''re going to work for the Guild?" asked Leeroy. "Yes," said Garnet. "A young woman like yourself needs to be careful," said Leeroy. "There are some bad people out there who target young women like you." "I know," said Garnet. "Zedd already warned me of it, which is why I''m going to build up a reputation with the Guild first." "I see," said Leeroy. "Do you know any quick ways to rise through the ranks?" asked Garnet. "Usually, supply quests are the fastest if there''s a lot," said Leeroy. "You can just find a bunch that asks for similar materials and then hunt for all of them at once." "Thanks for the information," said Garnet. "Oh and if you need a place to stay, use the house that Anna was staying at," said Leeroy. "King Charles kept it and I''ve been taking care of it as well." "I will," said Garnet. "Be good now," Garnet said to Ruby. "I won''t hit anyone unless they hit me first!" said Ruby. Garnet and Riley headed to the small house. It had two rooms. The place was a little dusty because it was not used for a while, but it was still in good shape. One room had a bed in it. The other still had a crib and some of the other baby stuff that was used to take care of Jade and Jasper. It was not as big as Zedd''s place, but Garnet could still set up a workshop and use the cauldron to make things if she needed. There were still a few things Garnet wanted to try though, Item Enhancement and Disassemble. Garnet took out one of the Iron Ingots she had made with Zedd. "Disassemble!" Nothing happened. She tried it with a piece of Wild Boar Meat. "Diassemble!" Nothing happened either. "Did it need to be a created item?" she thought. If it did, she did not have the materials or the ways for it yet. Without an earth spirit, Garnet could not use the cauldron like a forge to make a weapon. She decided to try something else. She applied her mana to the Iron Ingot. "Item Enhancement!" Success! Name: Iron Ingot+1 Quality: Low Effect: Weapon forged with this can channel a small amount of mana through it. Garnet suddenly wanted to try it with different things. She pulled out the knife strapped to her leg. "Item Enhancement!" Failure! Skill level is too low. Garnet''s skill was only level one still since she barely started to use it. She would have to level it up before she could do more. There was something she could do though. If she could find some low quality weapons for a cheap price, she could enhance it with magic and then sell it back. It would be a nice source of income. Riley just watched Garnet confused at what she was doing. "If you''re not going to do anything, I''m going to clean this place a little," said Riley. "I can''t believe you''re willing to just leave the dust like that." Garnet had a supply of Wild Boar Hides and Wolf Pelts from a long time ago she never touched. It was still in her Inventory. She wanted to try it. "Item Enhancement!" Success! Name: Wild Boar Hide+1 Quality: Low Effect: Slightly stronger than normal Wild Boar Hide The quality of the items used to be high, but when Garnet used Item Enhancement on it, it suddenly became low. She tried a few more times. Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 2) Name: Wild Boar Hide+4 Quality: Medium Effect: Stronger than normal Wild Boar Hide, more resistant to cold Upgrading items with Item Enhancement could provide them with additional effects. Garnet wanted to see how high it could go. Each successive enhancement seemed to consume more mana as well. Success! Success! Failure! Success! Failure! Skill level is too low. Name: Wild Boar Hide+7 Quality: High Effect: Much stronger than normal Wild Boar Hide, resistant to heat, resistant to cold, resistant to piercing, resistant to slashing, resistant to blunt. There was a massive difference. It was likely that Peter used high quality hides and cloth like this to create his clothes with so many effects. Item Enhancement had a lot of potential. As long as Garnet had the time, she could make use of it and exploit it. The problem was that she would need to find a buyer, preferably though the Guild so that she could work towards a higher ranking in the process. But first, Garnet decided to try to make as many as she could. Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 3) Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 4) Name: Wolf Pelt +7 Quality: High Effect: Much stronger than normal Wolf Pelts, immunity to cold and slashing Items made from such high quality materials would be very powerful, but only someone with specialized tools and equipment would be able to do it. If an entire army was equipped with such a thing, they would probably be unstoppable. However, it was unlikely that such a thing would be possible since it would take multiple hides and pelts to make even just one piece of clothing. To make enough for thousands was impossible unless you had an army of mages employed just to enhance the materials and then another army of artisans dedicated to processing the materials. Garnet stored about three dozen of each inside her rings and headed to the Guild to see if there were any requests that asked for them. If not, she was going to see if Peter would buy them off of her. "I''m heading to the Guild," Garnet announced. "I want to come with," said Riley. "I haven''t actually been in it myself." Riley had spent most of her time cleaning the place since it was dirty from no one living in it. It now looked fairly decent compared to when they entered. She had a keen eye and there was almost no dust or dirt left in the house. Garnet and Riley headed to the large Guild building. Garnet took out her Guild Card, which was unmarked. Proof that she was still of the lowest rank. The only thing she had done was supply some Wild Boar Meat to them and earned a tiny bit, but that was worth almost nothing. She needed to do the high profile jobs in order to acquire enough fame and reputation. Only then would she be able to find people who were strong enough and willing to go to Constantinople. As Garnet and Riley entered, there were a lot of eyes focused on them. "Ignore them," said Garnet. "Alright," said Riley. The two headed towards the wall that was filled with requests and started browsing. Most of them had rank requirements, meaning that Garnet could not accept them. There were a few "Expedition" type requests that were looking for large numbers of people, but those also had high requirements. Last time, Garnet was in a hurry and only picked the one she recognized. This time, there were a lot more that she did not notice before. Most that requested items did not have a rank requirement, after all, it was expensive to get high ranking people. But, it also meant that the amount of danger was uncertain. A request for someone to process gold into ingots. A request for someone to kill a monster that had taken over a coal mine. A request for 2 square meters of leather. A request for two square meters of warm fur. "That was it!" thought Garnet. She pulled down the sheet and walked over to the counter. Garnet presented her Guild Card along with the request and took out some of the Wild Boar Hide. She handed everything to the receptionist at once. "Here you go," said the receptionist as he handed Garnet back her card and some silver. It was not what she had expected. Gathering of materials was very unrewarding. Yet, she had to do it in order to make her way up the ranks. "Are there any other requests for things like Wild Boar Hides or Wolf Pelts?" Garnet asked. "I have a lot of with me." "One moment," said the receptionist as he looked through the requests. After a few minutes, he spoke again, "There are four others that fit that category." The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "I''ll fill them all," said Garnet as she took out a bunch of Wild Boar Hides and Wolf Pelts. The receptionist picked out a few of them. "That''s enough, you can keep the rest," said the receptionist. The receptionist took the pieces and stamped Garnet''s card before handing it back to her. Her card now had a single copper coin stamp in the empty spaces where Anna''s had three star shaped diamonds. Garnet wanted to move up the ranks faster, but this was too slow. There was always the other option, to find a request with a strong enemy and kill it before taking the request. Then, come back, take the request and show proof that you already did it. It was risky though as Garnet did not know the ranking system. She might challenge something that was too strong. That would be the worst thing that could happen. On the other hand, it could also draw too much attention to her, which could be just as bad if it was unwanted attention. Garnet made her way back to the request wall to see if there was anything she could do at her low rank. But for now, there was nothing. For now, she just decided to leave. "That''s it?" asked Riley. "There''s only so much you can do as a beginner," said Garnet. "At least we have some money now." "I suppose," said Riley. "For a moment, I thought I would actually get to fight something." "Soon," said Garnet. "But for now, it''s best to take things slowly. I don''t want to draw too much attention just yet." At the house, Garnet continued to process as much of the Wild Boar Hide and Wolf Pelts as she could. Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 5) Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 The rate at which the skill was going up started to slow down. She would need to work with different materials to raise it faster. Garnet tried to enhance her knife. Failure! Skill level is too low. It still was not enough. There seemed to be a chance for each increase and the rate decreased as more enhancements were applied. Success rate was tied to the user''s own skill level and the quality of the item. Luckily, failure did not mean breaking the item. As long as Garnet had mana, she could keep going, so she continued to enhance more. Success! Name: Wolf Pelt +8 Quality: Exceptional Effect: Much stronger than normal Wolf Pelts, immunity to cold and slashing, reflects a small amount of damage back at the attacker Garnet tried again. Failure! Skill level is too low. Garnet decided to bring it to Peter to see how much it was worth. "Hey long time no see," said Garnet as she entered Peter''s shop. It was bigger now. "Your friend isn''t with you?" asked Peter. "No, she''s in Antium doing some work," said Garnet. "I came here because I want you to take a look at this," said Garnet as she took out the Wolf Pelt. "That''s just a Wolf Pelt," said Peter. "It''s not worth much." "I want you to take a closer look and see if you can spot anything different about it," said Garnet. "It''s not normal Wolf Pelt." "Alright, one second," said Peter as he took out a monocle. He first began by feeling the entire pelt from top to bottom. He stretched it a little before taking a closer look with the monocle. "This is a very high quality wolf pelt, where did you find something like this?" asked Peter. "I made it," said Garnet. Peter immediately closed the doors and windows. "How?" asked Peter. "How did you make something like this?" "I used a technique I learned involving magic," said Garnet. "You must not tell anyone that you can do this," said Peter. He had a worried look on his face. "Why is it that bad?" asked Garnet. "Quality furs like this make extremely strong armor," said Peter. "There are people who will kill to get their hands on something like this because they are insanely rare." "How are they rare if you can make them out of normal Wolf Pelts?" asked Garnet. "Something of this high quality is only from a creature that is powerful because it has fed off of magic from either people it killed or because it absorbed it from the environment," said Peter. "You must promise me you won''t tell anyone that you can make this alright?" "I promise," said Garnet. If it was as rare as Peter said it was, then it would be dangerous to let people know she could make such a thing. "But, because this is valuable, I will pay you for this if you''re going to sell it," said Peter. "How much?" asked Garnet. Peter thought about it for a second. "Fifty per square meter," he said. "Fifty silver?" asked Garnet. "Oh no, fifty gold," said Peter. "Fifty gold?!?" shouted Garnet. "Why do you think those clothes you got before were about eighty a piece?" asked Peter. "That''s because good materials are hard to come by and very expensive." Garnet had dozens of similar items in her inventory right now. She had also given away a few at the guild for a significantly lower price and wanted to bash her head against the wall for doing such a thing. "How much do you want?" asked Garnet. "How much do you have?" asked Peter. Garnet whispered to him, "About forty pieces of Boar Hide and Wolf Pelts of similar quality." "What?!?" shouted Peter. "I can only take a few square meters off of you at best." "It''s alright," said Garnet. "I''ll give you some for helping me with this." "Thank you very much," said Peter. He took out about a hundred gold coins. Garnet gave Peter about five of each, worth about three times as much as that. She stood there was Peter looked at each one closely, amazed by it. "I''ll leave you alone for now," said Garnet. "How can I reach you?" asked Peter. "If you can continue to supply me with things like this, I can make quite a bit of money." "I thought it was not a good idea to let people know, wouldn''t they come after you if they knew you had a supplier?" asked Garnet. "Don''t assume that I cannot defend myself," said Peter. "Tailoring skills can be just as deadly as knife skills." A tailor used a lot of sharp and blunt objects after all. Peter could most likely hold his own in a fight. Garnet pictured what Peter would look like armed with a pair of scissors and a mallet to strike down his foes. It was silly, but knowing how skilled Peter was with his hands and his tools, it was a real possibility. "Never mind," said Garnet. "I live in a small house on the West side that is marked with Duke Wellington''s crest, just come look for me there or leave a note or something." "I will," said Peter as he continued to analyze the hides and pelts. "If you can find me silk of this quality, I can make something even greater!" Silk was going to be expensive. After all, it was a material from the far east. Even Duchess Kiko''s Kimono was just an imitation made of similar materials. The real thing was too expensive and too hard to get normally. For now, Garnet decided to just take another look at the Guild. She at least did not have to worry a lot about money for now. With a hundred gold coins, she could live decently for a while. When she walked in, there was a commotion. At the front desk was a large elderly man who was at least seven feet tall. He was shouting. "I want to know who supplied those Wolf Pelts!" he shouted. The receptionist at the desk made eye contact with Garnet who had just walked in. "I told you, I cannot reveal that information," said the receptionist. "You can submit a request and if the person wishes to reveal themselves, then they can." The elderly man slammed his face at the transparent wall that separated the receptionist and the outside. BANG. "You will tell me!" The elderly man was very strong. No one dared to stop him. Name: Dan Level: 52 Class: Warrior Sub-class: Leatherworker Stats: High Strength, High Dexterity He was on par in level with the nobles, but his stats were most likely much higher if he had been a fighter until recently. Garnet walked up behind him in line. "Are you done yet mister?" she asked. "NO!" Dan shouted as he turned around. He looked confused before he looked down and saw Garnet who had her hands against her ears. "Oh I''m sorry little girl," said Dan. His personality suddenly changed. "Are you lost?" "I''m just here to look for work," said Garnet. "I''ll wait till you''re done." Dan calmed down and filled out the paperwork for the request and handed it to the receptionist. "Thank you," said the receptionist. Dan then walked away. During this whole time, he maintained his calmness and posture. The man was very frightening to everyone else. "Next," said the receptionist. Garnet walked up. "Isn''t he scary?" she asked. "He''s not the first to do that and won''t be the last," said the receptionist. "But thank you for that." "I have a special gift to make people listen to me," said Garnet. "Why was he looking for me?" "He saw that the Wolf Pelts that you submitted were of exceptionally high quality," said the receptionist. "He wanted to get more, but the only way to do so is often to find the original person who supplied it. With something like the Guild that acts as an intermediary, it is nearly impossible unless you step up and even then, there''s a chance it will be a fake." "Why did you not tell him?" asked Garnet. "Because we have rules and procedures," said the receptionist. "We match requests with people who can do them and that''s it, we will not reveal information unless it is absolutely necessary, such as for things like bodyguard work." "I see," said Garnet. "So, is there more work suited for me?" "Not today, sorry," said the receptionist. "By the way, what''s your name?" Garnet asked. "My name is Hagel," said the receptionist. "I''m Garnet, it''s nice to meet you," Garnet responded. "I look forward to working with you," said Hagel. Looking for suitable work at the lower ranks was going to be tough, she really needed a fast way to move up. "Do you know of any ways to move up the rankings faster?" Garnet asked. "There''s one," said Hagel. "Wait for the King to sponsor and Expedition that anyone can join." "An Expedition sponsored by the King?" Garnet asked. "It''s a quest that involves a large group of people that want to take on a strong creature that no one else wants to deal with," said Hagel. "Around here, it''s usually something like a dragon or some type of giant poisonous creature like a scorpion. If your contributions are recognized, then you will be rewarded with not only a higher rank, but a fair amount of money as well, far more than what you get from collecting pelts and hides as long as you pass their qualification test." "What''s the qualification test?" asked Garnet. "It''s just a test of strength or skill," said Hagel. "If you''re strong enough, you can go." "When is there going to be one?" asked Garnet. "I''m not sure, but just check back frequently," said Hagel. "I will," said Garnet. With this, she had a clue on how to make significant progress. She just had to wait for the King to sponsor an Expedition. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 30 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 2290/2290 MP: 7020/7020 Fame: 130 Strength: 57 (+5) Dexterity: 49 (+7) Intelligence: 202 (+22) Vitality: 64 (+5) Agility: 64 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 7 - Lightning ¨C 12 - Wind ¨C 4 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 5) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 5) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 5: Chapter 034 - Spirits of Nature Had to rewrite this entire chapter. Instead of adding more action with dialogue, I chose to convey a few things through conversation instead and limited anything that showed what other people were thinking to focus on what Garnet could see. Main change was the removal of one sub-plot that will probably not occur until way later (like 20 chapters later), so I took out most of the references to it from this chapter. The next one should not have the same problem and the references should stay in the next one because it makes a lot more sense there. --------------------------------------------------- The only way for Garnet to advance more quickly through the ranks was by participating in a King''s Expedition. An Expedition was a special type of request that gathered many people together in order in search of something whether it be a rare material or a powerful monster. Normally, they required people of a certain rank to participate, but the one issued by the King was different. In order to participate in the King''s Expedition, you only had to pass a test of strength. The problem was that they were rare. They only occurred when there was a powerful creature that was discovered or some place was to be explored and others were unwilling to issue a request of their own. It was something that was very unlikely to happen. "So bored," said Garnet as she sat at one of the tables at the Guild. "There''s no decent requests on this thing," she said. She had looked through the list of requests for several days, but there was nothing she was allowed to do and fighting a powerful creature was just too risky. "You can''t expect a request like that to come that easily," said Riley. "After all, they''re only issued by the King himself when there is significant trouble." "I know," said Garnet. So far, all of the requests she found had been gathering simple items from the countryside. Most of it was lower end animal parts and some of it was local plants. Garnet''s Inspection skill allowed her to find plants based on their names so it was easy. However, despite all of this, she had only advanced to the three copper coin rank in the Guild. There was a big difference between ranks. "It''s not helpful at all," she thought to herself as she made her way to the request wall to look again. "Why don''t you do something else for now?" asked Riley. "You''re not making progress here." Garnet was stubborn. She would spend most of her time focused on one goal. Currently, it was to advance through the ranks by completing requests. She was unwilling to take on the dangerous hunts for a chance to advance quickly because failure to understand your opponent''s strength was certain death. If she was working with a large group, that would be different. It was too risky at the moment though. So, Garnet decided to try something else at the request of Riley. "Let''s go," said Garnet. "Where to?" asked Riley. "To look for some medicinal plants," said Garnet. She took out the magicraft book that she had received from Rita. If Garnet could improve the quality of raw materials, it was likely that she could also improve the quality of medicines and other items she made. She had learn the recipes for some of the basic items before. Recipe: Healing Potion Requires: 2 Bunches of Magic Grass (Powdered), Water, Water Spirit MP Cost: 100 Note: This recipe is stored in your sub-class menu Recipe: Antidote Requires: 1 Bunch of Magic Grass, 1 Drop of Flower Nectar, Water Spirit MP Cost: 100 Note: This recipe is stored in your sub-class menu Garnet opened her Class and went to the Alchemist sub-class. Sure enough, there was a sub-option: "Recipes Learned." She was able to see the items that she could make along with all the items needed to make them. She pushed on the Magic Grass. There was a description box that told her how to get the item as well. Name: Magic Grass This item is used as a base for nearly every medicine. It is a result of grass absorbing mana from the water or the ground. In other words, all Garnet needed to do was find grass and infuse it with mana. It was literally that simple. Item Enhancement made acquiring high quality basic materials extremely easy. From there, Garnet could use it to make other things if she had the skills. But for now, she could rely on other people to make things as long as she gathered the materials. It was impossible to master every skill and Garnet had neglected some of the skills she learned. "We just have to find grass," said Garnet. "I can make it into Magic Grass with Item Enhancement." "Seriously?" said Riley. "We''re going to pull grass?" "Yes," said Garnet. The two headed outside of town and went off the main road. There was literally grass everywhere. She sat on the ground and started to pull some of the grass out. "I thought you were joking," said Riley. "I''m not," said Garnet. "The recipe calls for Magic Grass, which is made by infusing normal grass with mana." Garnet gathered a few handfuls of grass. She would need a mortar and pestle to grind it down. For now though, she just wanted to enhance it. Anything that was enhanced by mana would instantly become much more potent. Garnet spotted some grass that stood out as Magic Grass, but she could not actually feel any mana coming from it, probably because it was that weak. Name: Magic Grass Quality: Very Low Effect: Slightly increases the effects of medicine "Item Enhancement!" Garnet repeated the process until it failed because of her skill level. There was a little more mana radiating from those plants, but they were still very low in terms of quality. Name: Magic Grass+5 Quality: Medium Effect: Increases the effects of medicine by a moderate amount Garnet repeated the process with about two dozen more bunches of grass so that she could build a stock. When she gathered a lot together, she could feel some of the mana that radiated out from the plants. With that, Garnet headed back to town and purchased a mortar and pestle from a general supply store. Most people used it to grind down things like herbs for food, but she was going to use it to make medicine. Garnet set the cauldron up in the extra room in the house. "Call: Mazu!" Garnet summoned her water spirit and went to work making the Magic Grass into a fine powder with the mortar and pestle. "You know, an earth spirit can help you with that," said Mazu. New Quest: Seek Out an Earth Spirit Earth Spirits traditionally live in either caves, deserts, or mountainous areas. Find one. Reward: Two Spirits "I would use one if I had one," said Garnet. She still only had a fire and water spirit. She had no luck finding more. For now, Garnet would have to do it by hand. She tossed the ground Magic Grass into the cauldron along with some water and had Mazu get to work. The liquid in the cauldron began to turn and mix slowly. The green color of the Magic Grass lightened and reduced to a slightly thicker liquid. "It''s done," said Mazu. Name: Healing Potion Quality: Low Effect: Increases health regeneration by 50 per second for 10 seconds. It actually restored quite a decent amount of health. It could be useful in battles. The problem was the low quality. But if this was low quality, high quality medicines might be far more effective. "Item Enhancement!" Garnet tried to upgrade the medicine she made as well. Failure! This item cannot be enhanced. It did not work. Item Enhancement was limited. It probably did not work because it was an item created through Alchemy. Then again, there were signs that weapons and armor could be enhanced, so this was confusing. There was most likely something that prevented medicines from being upgraded by just adding mana to it. It was most likely the ingredients used or the process for making medicines. Both of which could affect the quality and thus the effectiveness of medicines. There was still a lot to learn. Other things interested Garnet as well, such as Zedd''s ability to seal spells into paper for other people to use. She had no idea where to even start with something like that. For now, all she could do was improve her Alchemy. The first step, was to find an earth spirit. The only place that resembled something like that was the mountains to the North. Without requests to make significant progress, Garnet decided to just go in search of a spirit, after all, it would be more productive. "I''m heading to the mountains in search of an earth spirit," said Garnet. "And you''re coming with." "Alright," said Riley. "I don''t even know what earth spirits look like." "As a spirit, you should be able to feel it to," said Garnet. "Or at least Nuria and Mazu can feel it." "It''s better than wandering around lost," said Riley. "That''s tough if its in the mountains." A lot of people froze when they went through the mountains unprepared. So, Garnet decided to take some precautions. She went over to Peter''s shop first. "I need something warm," said Garnet. Peter was still working with some of the boar hides that Garnet had brought over, but Garnet could not tell what he was doing. "Take a look at this," said Peter as he pulled out a fur coat fashioned from Wolf Pelts. Name: Wolf Cloak Quality: High Effects: Immunity to Cold, Cannot be Detected by Smell, Resistance to Slashing "How much?" Garnet asked. "I''ll trade you for some more Wolf Pelts," said Peter. "How about five?" "Done," said Garnet. This was not an item she could make herself, at least not with her current skill level. People seemed to value high quality materials due to its rarity, so Garnet was able to trade them for many valuable things. "You''re not going to barter?" asked Peter. "I told you, i have a few dozen and I can make more," said Garnet. "Five isn''t much." "Doesn''t your friend need one?" Peter asked pointing at Riley. "No, she''s unaffected by weather conditions," said Garnet. "It won''t do much for her." "That must be rough," said Peter. "Unable to feel the warmth of the sun or the cold of another person''s hands." Garnet had never thought of it like that. To not be able to feel anything would definitely be strange and discomforting. "Thanks for the coat," said Garnet as she put it on. It was kind of big for her, but she did not mind. With the coat in hand, Garnet and Riley went North towards the mountains. They ran by at speeds that surprised other people. It was much faster than by horse or by carriage. The further North they went, the fewer people that she saw. By the time she reached the base of the mountains, there was no one there. The peaks of the mountains started to have a bit of snow. At the entrance was a sign, Apennine Mountains. "Can you feel anything like a spirit here?" Garnet asked Riley. "I don''t even know what a spirit feels like," Riley responded. "Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu!" Garnet summoned the fire and water spirits. "Do either of you feel anything like a spirit here?" Garnet asked them. "No," said Nuria. "Me neither," said Mazu. "Maybe if we go further in, we will find something." The four of them began to ascend the mountain together. There was something that resembled a trail, so there were at least some travelers here. A short while into the trail, there was a split. One headed up the mountain, one headed down to the side of the mountain. "Which way?" Garnet asked. "There''s something strange higher up," said Riley. "What do you mean by strange?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know," said Riley. "There''s like a cold and empty feeling." "We should at least check it out since were here," said Garnet. "To the top then!" The four of them made their way up the mountain. "I feel it now too," said Nuria. "There''s definitely something strange up there." Along the way, Garnet saw that snow was beginning to fall. After all, it was winter already. It did not snow to the South and this was her first time actually seeing snow. Garnet was glad that she went to Peter''s for the Wolf Cloak. "I hear something," said Garnet. BAA. It was the sound of most likely a sheep or a goat. Name: Goat Level: 10 Class: Beast Sub-Class: None Stats: High Vitality There was a goat chewing on some of the grass on the ground. "Is it aggressive?" Riley asked. "Go check, Nuria," said Garnet. Nearly everything she encountered was aggressive. Nuria flew up to its face. The goat seemed to ignore her. "I think its fine," said Nuria. "Alright, lets go then," said Garnet. They slowly made their way around the goat who was chewing on the grass. The goat looked at them and then continued eating. Garnet was glad that not everything was trying to kill her. All the boars, wolves, and bears that she encountered before were aggressive. They soon reached a cave about a third of the way up the mountain. "It''s coming from in here," said Riley. Garnet, Nuria, and Mazu all could not feel anything, but for some reason Riley could. It was almost like she was sensitive to the presence of life. They proceeded into the cave. Nuria''s flames managed to provide light for the others, but Garnet did not need it. After all, she could see in the dark thanks to Night Vision. "There''s nothing in here," said Garnet. "No there definitely is," said Riley. "It''s further in." The cave stretched deep into the mountain. Garnet cautiously made her way in. The last cave she saw had a bear in it. The one before that was filled with undead. CLICK CLICK CREAK CRACK CLACK. It was like the sound of numerous cracks and creaks. HISS. There was definitely something here. HISS. A large insect with numerous legs appeared. Name: Causeyella Level: 20 Class: Insect Sub-class: Poison Stats: High Agility "Attack!" Garnet ordered. Riley, Nuria, and Mazu are moved forward. The giant insect dove right towards them. Mazu trapped the insect in some ice. Riley intercepted it with a fierce punch. BANG. It spewed out green blood from its mouth. HISS. The blood of the creature burned away at the ground. "Be careful of its blood!" shouted Garnet. SQUEAK. The insect squealed in pain from Riley''s attack. Despite its large size, it was not that strong. Nuria set the entire insect on fire. SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK. It was squirming in pain. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired off a spell at it to finish it off. BOOM. The explosion blew a hole into the side of it. The blood splattered everywhere. "Watch out!" shouted Riley. "Blood Absorption!" Even though the body was partially burnt, Garnet could still absorb it. The acidic blood entered Garnet. She felt a little pain in her body as she absorbed it. Stat Increase: Agility +5 "At least with Blood Absorption, I can get stronger without having to gain levels," Garnet thought to herself. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "It''s further in," said Riley. They continued on the path inside the mountain. "Woah," said Garnet. In front of her was a giant block of ice. Inside of it was a pale woman who seemed to have light blue skin, dark blue lips, and black hair and a blue and white halter top dress. It almost seemed like she died of hypothermia. "Who is that?!?" cried Garnet. "She''s not dead, she''s an ice spirit," said Mazu. "I thought you were ice," said Garnet pointing to Mazu. "I''m water," said Mazu. "I can change between the three forms of water: ice, water, and steam, but this is a true ice spirit." "What''s the difference?" Garnet asked. "An ice spirit is a combination of wind and water," said Nuria. "Think it will make a contract with me?" asked Garnet. "Only way to do it is try," said Riley. Garnet looked through her books for the character for ice. She drew the magic circle on the ground. The character on front of it this time was ice (±ù). It was far more complex than the other ones. She channeled her mana through it. BANG. The ice around the woman suddenly exploded. "Oh a mage?" said a seductive voice. The woman that was in the block of ice began to walk forward, swinging her hips. She was much bigger than the other spirits, she was basically a full sized human by comparison. "I wish to make a contract with you," said Garnet. "Oh?" said the ice spirit. She approached Garnet and took her hand. She bit directly into Garnet''s finger. "Ow!" shouted Garnet. All the spirits seemed to have a taste for blood. "It''s worthy," said the ice spirit. "What is your name?" Garnet asked. "My name is Sino," said the ice spirit. New Skill: Call: Sino Summon forth a the combination of wind and water, the ice spirit Sino. MP Cost: 2000 "It''s nice to have you with us," said Garnet. "Not quite what I was expecting though." "What were you expecting?" Sino asked. "I came up here looking for an earth spirit," said Garnet. "But, I found you instead." "The earth spirit lives at the base of the mountain," said Sino. "You went the wrong way." Garnet placed her palm to her face when she heard that. "Well we''re going back the way we came anyways, we can make another stop," said Garnet. As Garnet headed exited the cave, it was already dark. "I think we should just camp here," said Riley. "Camp in the mountains?" said Garnet. "That''s dangerous." "It''s even more dangerous to try to get around at night, even if you can see in the dark," said Riley. "I suppose," said Garnet. She and Riley sat outside the cave. She used Nuria to create a small fire. After all, she still felt cold. Riley did not because she was a spirit. They were largely unaffected by anything other than magic. "Is it strange being unable to feel anything?" asked Garnet. "It''s been like this for a while," said Riley. "I''m used to it already. I can feel a little mana though, which is better than feeling absolutely nothing." It was not something pleasant to be used to. Being used to having breakfast every day was good. Being used to playing in the snow was good. Being used to not feeling anything felt like a nightmare. Garnet would have probably tried to do anything, just to feel something that made her know that she was alive. Riley was more or less a walking corpse bound to Garnet. "Like I said, I''m going to help you make a new body," said Garnet. "I know," said Riley. "I''ve already waited something like five years. It''s important to take one thing at a time." "And first is to find a way to create a body for you," said Garnet. Once there was light again, the group made their way down the mountain and down the trail. Going down the mountain was much scarier than going up the mountain because you were looking at where you could potentially fall the whole time. Garnet could fly though, so it did not really bother her that much. Even if she fell, she just had to activate flight and she could get back up. The only danger was potentially any flying creatures she did not know about. The most dangerous things were the things that you could not see. They eventually reached the path where there was a split. This time, Garnet went the other way and down the side of the mountain. It was here that Garnet found a large cave. "Here we are," said Sino. The cave was enormous. There was even a small stream running the side of it. Inside of it were several holes where light could shine in. At the center of it, was a tree that received light from all the different openings in the cave. "So where is this spirit?" asked Garnet. "Right in front of you," said Sino as she pointed at the tree. "That''s a wood spirit." A wood spirit, a combination of water and earth. With this, Garnet would literally have three spirits that could be capable of using water, not counting Riley. "Come out!" shouted Sino. The wood of the tree began to distort and a figure began to emerge. What looked like a walking piece of wood began to take on the form of a humanoid woman. She had slightly tanned skin, long brown hair, green eyes, and round ears. She wore a green tube top and pants paired with brown boots. She was almost like an elf in terms of appearance, but without the white skin or pointy ears. "What are you doing here Sino?" asked the wood spirit. "I thought we agreed you would stay in the top half and I would stay in the bottom half." "I''ve formed a contract," said Sino. "She''s quite powerful." "You actually formed a contract with a human?" said the wood spirit. "You must be getting weak." "Why don''t you taste her blood yourself?" asked Sino. The wood spirit turned into leaves and disappeared. Something was wrong. Garnet felt the ground vibrate beneath her and quickly moved out of place. In an instant, the tree spirit appeared. "Oh you felt me coming?" said the wood spirit. Riley grabbed her sword and began to run. "Don''t interfere with their fight!" Sino shouted as she ran in front of Riley. "The wood spirit must approve of her." "The ground was shaking funny so I decided to move," said Garnet. She was unsure if the wood spirit was going to actually hurt her, so she had to be safe. "I just want a drop of your blood," said the wood spirit. "You can have a drop from my finger if you want," said Garnet. "But nowhere else." "That''s no fun," said the wood spirit. Her arm turned into a vine and she swung it across the room. Garnet raised her staff and blocked it. CLANG. The wood spirit was seriously trying to kill Garnet. The vine twisted and grabbed onto Garnet''s staff. Garnet tried to pull the staff back, but the wood spirit''s grip on it was too strong. Garnet had to let go. The wood spirit pulled the staff backed and wielded it on her own. "That was too easy," said the wood spirit. Garnet pulled out her sword. This was her real weapon anyways. The staff was mainly so that she did not have to seriously hurt anyone. Garnet fired the crossbow in her arm at the tree spirit. CHUNK. The arrow hit the wood spirit right in the chest, but the arrow was just stuck there. The wood spirit did not have the physiology of a regular person, such an injury was just superficial. The wood spirit threw its other arm as a vine at Garnet. With a single swing of her sword, the vine was cut. The wood spirit did not feel any pain. The vine retracted and it was a fully formed arm again. Like a plant, she could regrow her parts if she lost them. "Lightning Ray!" Garnet fired six bolts of lightning at the wood spirit. "Learn your elements!" shouted the wood spirit. The lightning bolts were not very effective. It continued to advance. A wood type like the one in front of Garnet was probably resistant to lightning. The one element that would work on the wood spirit was fire since it would burn like wood. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt of fire at the wood spirit. In an instant, the wood spirit disappeared again. BOOM. The explosive power of the Fire Bolt caught the shoulder of the wood spirit. The part that had turned black from the flames quickly restored its color. Fire was not effective either. It needed to be something stronger. "Everyone get back!" shouted Garnet. She ran to the side and put her back to the wall. "Heat Wave!" This was the one spell Garnet was reluctant to use because it super heated everything it came into contact with. It was a spell that would kill normal people. "AHH," the wood spirit screamed. It emerged from the ground a few feet away from Garnet. She could see that there were orange parts that glowed all over her body and some of the green parts even turned brown as a result. Even with its resistance, it was no match for the heat. "Help her Mazu," said Garnet. Mazu splashed some water onto the wood spirit. "Thanks," said the wood spirit. "Why didn''t you use that spell first? You could have won immediately." "That spell can kill," said Garnet. "I don''t want to use it unnecessarily." "I see," said the wood spirit. "I lose, so I''ll just take a drop from your finger." Garnet drew the magic circle onto the ground with the symbol for wood on it (ľ). It was fairly simple compared to the symbol for ice. "What''s your name?" Garnet asked. "My name is Meliae," said the wood spirit. New Skill: Call: Meliae Summon forth a spirit of earth and water, the wood spirit Meliae. MP Cost: 2000 "Welcome to the group," said Garnet. Quest Complete: Seek Out an Earth Spirit With this Garnet had acquired an ice and a wood spirit, which meant that she could use the four basic elements of earth, fire, air, and water in addition to two additional elements of wood and ice. It was enough for all the magicraft types that she had seen so far. "I wish I had spells of those elements as well," Garnet thought to herself. But sadly, she was still restricted to lightning, fire, wind, and blood. There had to be a way to learn the other elements, but for now, she had to work with what she had. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 30 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 2290/2290 MP: 7020/7020 Fame: 130 Strength: 57 (+5) Dexterity: 49 (+7) Intelligence: 202 (+22) Vitality: 64 (+5) Agility: 64 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 7 - Lightning ¨C 12 - Wind ¨C 4 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 5) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 5) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 5: Chapter 035 - Royal Workshop Another chapter should be posted in a few minutes. ------------------------------------------------------------- With Meliae and Sino in hand, Garnet began to work on her Alchemy. One of the biggest restrictions in Alchemy was having the right type of spirit needed to create certain items. In general, fire, wind, and earth were needed for metals. Fire and water were needed for medicines. Earth and wind were great at controlling temperatures and heating. With this, she was finally able to create better medicine, one that was red in color. The liquid that made up the medicine almost looked like blood. Garnet used Meliae to grind the Magic Grass into a powder. Nuria provided the heat. Mazu controlled the movement of the medicine. Sino, Mazu, and Meliae then all worked together to control the temperature. The results, were much better. Name: Healing Potion Quality: High Effect: Increases health regeneration by 80 per second for 20 seconds. Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 New Recipe: Remedy It was signficantly more effective than the low ones. It healed for over 50% more and lasted twice as long. It could almost heal Garnet from a near death state to full health in a mere 20 seconds. However, this was still not the best. After all, she knew that Item Quality could reach the Exceptional level and that was still not the top. As a result, Garnet continued to refine her process using the Magic Grass that she had created. The color changed from red to purple and white steam rose from it. Suddenly, she received a notification of a double skill level up and two stat increases. Stat Increase: Dexterity +1 Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 New Recipe: Nectar With a change like that, Garnet immediately inspected what she had created. Name: Healing Potion Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Increases health regeneration by 100 per second for 30 seconds. A Masterpiece quality potion. "Was this the highest quality?" Garnet thought to herself. "It looks like poison," said Riley. "I would never drink anything purple." "I think this might be able to save lives," said Garnet. The problem was that Garnet did not know anyone who specialized in making medicines, so she had no idea how good it actually was. She decided to take a look at the new recipes first. Recipe: Remedy Requires: 1 Healing Potion, 1 Antidote, Water Spirit MP Cost: 500 Note: Heals status abnormalities It was an item that was capable of healing almost anything, but Garnet did not have the Flower Nectar to create an Antidote yet. Recipe: Nectar Requires: 2 Drops of Flower Nectar, Water, Wood Spirit MP Cost: 100 Note: Increases mana regeneration by 50 per second for 10 seconds. A mana potion. Flower Nectar seemed to be an important ingredient for making medicine, but Garnet could not get her hands on it, so she could not make any progress. Even if the effects were useless to her, if it was needed for other recipes, the item itself was still important. For now though, she had purple potions that could heal significant injuries. With all of the potions bottled up, she had fifty potions in all. Twenty green ones, twenty red ones, and ten purple. With nothing else to do, Garnet brought them to the Guild, hoping that Hagel knew someone who might be interested. "I haven''t seen you for a few days," said Hagel. "I was busy working on this," said Garnet as she took out three bottles. One of each of the green, red, and purple healing potions. "What are these?" asked Hagel. "Healing Potions," said Garnet. "Do you know anyone who might want them?" "It depends on the quality," said Hagel. "Healing potions are rare because few mages spend time to make them, but the poorly made ones are nearly worthless because the results are insignificant." "Do you know how much these are worth?" Garnet asked. "I''m no expert on medicine," said Hagel. "But I can get someone to look at them if you''re willing to wait." "Sure," said Garnet. She and Riley sat down on the tables nearby. "Looking for some help?" asked a man. He had a sword and bow on his back. He looked like some kind of soldier. Name: Darril Level: 10 Class: Ranger Sub-class: None Stats: High Dexterity "No thanks," said Garnet. "We''re just waiting to hear back from the receptionist." "I can help you if you need any wild monsters slain," said Darril. "I also know someone who is friends with one of the King''s guards." "That''s not what were here for," said Riley. "Just go away." Darril reached his arm around Riley and put his left arm on Riley''s shoulder. Immediately, Riley reached across her shoulder with her right arm and twisted his fingers. "AH," Darril screamed. Garnet looked around and saw that people were looking at Riley. "She told you she doesn''t need your help," said Riley. "Now go away before I break it. Am I clear?" "Yes," Darril cried. "Good," said Riley. She let go. Darril ran off holding his arm. That was the first time Garnet saw Riley mad like that. In the past, she usually held it in. Riley did not. "Is something wrong?" Garnet asked. "I just don''t like being touched very much," said Riley. "I guess I kind of lost it." "I''ve never seen you act like that before," said Garnet. "You''re usually like a doormat, quiet and unnoticed, even when people are walking all over you." "Ever since I became like this I don''t like the way people look at me," said Riley. "No matter how much I get used to living as a woman, being stared at as one still feels weird." "Would you like your body to be male when it is made?" asked Garnet. "I think that would be even weirder," said Riley. "After all, I''ve been living as a woman for nearly as long as I can remember." Riley had been affected by Garnet''s memories. Even if Riley recovered his memories, he too would end up like Garnet. A combination of the two personalities though Riley seemed to have taken on only some of Garnet''s traits. With nothing to do, Garnet looked through the requests board. It was better than sitting at a table waiting for someone to harass Garnet or Riley again. There were still few requests that she was qualified to do. The low ranking hunts were practically non-existent. Soon after, Hagel came out. "Come with me," he said to Garnet. Garnet and Riley followed him upstairs to the second floor and into a quiet room with strange square like panels. She could not hear a single sound from the outside. "This room feels weird," said Garnet. "This room is for special meetings," said Hagel. "The walls are designed to absorb sound. Not a single word spoken here will ever reach outside." "What are we doing here?" asked Riley. "I had someone take a look at it, but they were unable to analyze it," said Hagel. "So, he called for someone higher, a Court Magician, who now wants to meet with you." "What''s a Court Magician?" asked Garnet. "A court magician is one of the mages that are employed by the King himself," said Hagel. "They are very strong mages." "So what does this court magician want with me?" asked Garnet. "I don''t know," said Hagel. The door opened and in came a man with a brown mage robe with a hood that covered him from head to toe. He removed his hood and revealed himself. He was a middle aged man with black hair and brown eyes. "I came to meet with the one who created those potions," said the man. "That''s me," said Garnet. The man looked at Garnet. "Real funny," the man said. "It''s you isn''t it?" asked the man as he pointed to Riley. "Me?" said Riley. "No." "You give off the feeling of mana," said the man. "It has to be you." Riley pointed to Garnet. "She''s the mage your looking for," said Riley. Garnet had the appearance of a fifteen year old girl. It would be difficult for anyone to believe someone who was so young to be a talented mage. Most of them spent their whole lives studying just to develop a few spells. Talented mages like Zedd was exceptional. "You have no idea how much I want to hurt you right now," said Garnet. "But since this is business, I won''t." "You have no idea who you''re dealing with do you?" said the man as he channeled mana. "I am Tim, a court magician employed by the King himself. One of the greatest mages in Anzio!" It felt like the man was going to cast a powerful spell. Name: Tim Level: 22 Class: Earth Mage Sub-Class: Alchemist Stats: High Intelligence He was not bad, but he was still much weaker than Garnet. Garnet could feel that most of the mana the man was gathering did not even end up in his hands. Instead, it flowed outward, which was why the room was shaking, not because of his magic. "Stop!" said Hagel. "You''re going to destroy this building!" "Lightning Bolt!" BZZT. Garnet zapped Tim with lightning and watched as he fell face first onto the ground. "Is he going to be alright?" asked Hagel. "I think so," said Garnet. "I only used a low level lightning spell to paralyze him a bit." "Ugh," Tim groaned. "Oh he''s awake," said Garnet. "Sorry about that I thought you would at least have something like a Mana Shield to protect you." Tim slowly got up shaking his head. "So what do you want with me?" asked Garnet. "Those potions you made where of very high quality," said Tim as he stumbled onto his feet. "I was told to invite you to be one of the Court Magicians." "I''ll take a look, then decide," said Garnet. "Very well, that''s good enough for me," said Tim. "We''ll be off to the castle then." Tim left with Garnet and Riley. This was the first time Garnet was heading inside the castle of Anzio. It was much larger than Antium''s. People were usually unable to access the castle grounds outside of special circumstances, such as joining the city guard or festival days. There were numerous city guards who were undergoing training. Their average level, 20. It was much higher than the average of Antium. "This way," said Tim. Garnet followed him to the gate of the castle where Tim presented a gold card with a brown staff on it to the guards. The doors opened and they were let through. "Are you the head of a noble house?" Garnet asked. "No," said Tim. "Why would you think I was a noble?" "You had a gold card, in Antium, that meant you''re the head of a noble house," said Garnet. "In Anzio, anyone who is employed in an important position gets a gold card," said Tim. "If you were to become a Court Magician, you would get one as well." Tim brought Garnet downstairs into the basement of the castle. It was lit with lightning magic that was kept in a tube and ran in a loop around the basement. It was artificial lighting. "This is one of the many things we have been able to do," said Tim as he pointed to the lightning. "To be able to see in the dark as if it were day." The basement of the castle was very different from Antium''s. There were no steel doors or secret projects. Instead, there were numerous rooms filled with books as if it were a study for a mage. While Antium had one room as a library that was curated by Zedd, Anzio had one that was put together by multiple mages. "If you become a Court Magician, you would gain access to all of these resources," said Tim. "That''s a lot," said Garnet. "But where are we going?" "We''re going to meet the Royal Wizard, the leader of the Court Magicians and adviser to the King," said Tim. In other words, someone who was like Zedd, but for Anzio. As they headed further in, Garnet saw there were other mages dressed like Tim, who were all working on different things in their own rooms. The work rooms had transparent glass that could be seen through. One mage was working on a Summoning Circle of some kind. Another was writing in a book. There were some private rooms that were impossible to see inside of, but Garnet could tell that something was being worked on inside of it. In total, there were about twenty mages present. The whole time, Riley focused her attention on the ceiling instead of on what the other mages were doing. Garnet could see that Riley was following something with her eyes, but she could not tell what it was. "How many mages does the King employ?" Garnet asked. "About a hundred," said Tim. "He also finances their research as long as they produce satisfactory results, too many failures or a lack of progress and your funds will be pulled." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. In other words, the King wanted to invest in research to develop things for the country, but if you failed to show progress, then it was too bad. "We''re here," said Tim. Garnet, Riley, and Tim stood in front of the big double doors. Tim knocked on the door. "Come in," said a voice. Tim opened the door to a large room. The room had books lined on the walls. A cauldron sat in the center of the room with a blackboard at the back. On the blackboard were numerous numbers and letters. It was recorded data. The cauldron was bubbling. Next to it stood an elderly man with a large beard. Name: Morgan Level: 60 Class: Shadow Mage Sub-Class: Alchemist Stats: High Intelligence, High Charisma "Have you brought the mage that made those potions?" asked Morgan. "Yes, here she is," said Tim. Garnet stepped forward. "Is she your spirit?" Morgan asked as he pointed to Garnet. Morgan did not judge by appearances like Tim. He just wanted to learn. "Yes," said Garnet. "She''s a spirit?!?" Tim shouted. "It''s a temporary condition I''m working to fix," said Garnet. "But to do that, I need to be able to find people to help me travel East to Constantinople." "Is that your goal?" asked Tim. "Yes," said Garnet. "Well, if your contributions are enough, then the King may agree to such a request," said Morgan. "I don''t want to owe the King though," said Garnet. "There may be a time when what I find is what the King desires, and I want him to have no claim over it." "I see," said Morgan. "If your contributions are great enough, then you might be able to get his majesty to agree to an unconditional request." "So I can choose all the terms and conditions?" asked Garnet. "Precisely," said Morgan. "Now, that potion. How did you make it?" Garnet looked at what Morgan was doing. His cauldron was bubbling it was too hot. There was an awful smell coming from it. He probably tried to add other things to it. There were vials of red potions on his table, but he was trying to recreate the purple one. "Set up a cauldron for me," said Garnet. "I''ll show you." Morgan took one out from his ring and cleared the way for Garnet. "Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu! Call: Sino! Call: Meliae!" Garnet summoned all four of her spirits. "So many..." said Tim who was surprised. Nuria lit the flame under the cauldron and Garnet began to get to work while the water was being heated. She infused the Magic Grass with mana. Name: Magic Grass+10 Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Greatly increases the effects of healing medicine. "That Magic Grass is so rich with mana," said Morgan. "How is that even possible?" Meliae ground the Magic Grass into a fine green dust. The four spirits regulated the temperature as Garnet added the ground Magic Grass to the cauldron and watched as the spirits controlled it on their own. Garnet occasionally stirred it, but it was still left to the spirits to do most of the work. It reduced to a viscous purple liquid. "Done," said Garnet. Name: Healing Potion Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Increases health regeneration by 100 per second for 30 seconds. "So the entire process is done with just spirits," said Morgan. "That would allow for perfect control of everything, allowing you to produce the same results every single time." "Yep," said Garnet. "I assume you don''t have four spirits though." "Of course not," said Morgan. "Even one is amazing. Most mages still do it by hand." Spirits were not necessary for Alchemy, but they definitely made everything better. "So, what are the duties of a Court Magician?" Garnet asked. Morgan was too busy looking at the potion to answer. "There''s two," said Tim. "One, produce satisfactory results, but with a potion like this, I think you can convince the King of that. And two, swear loyalty to the Kingdom of Anzio." "I''m sorry, but I cannot do that," said Garnet. "I''m already loyal to another King." "No..." said Morgan. "Who is this King?" "He is King Charles," said Garnet. "Wait what?!?" shouted Tim. "That''s alright," said Morgan. "Anzio and Antium have been on very good terms since the King opened trade routes with us a few years back. It won''t be a problem if I speak with the King." "Alright, then I agree to producing satisfactory results," said Garnet. "But I have a request of my own too." "What is it?" asked Morgan. "I want to participate in the next Expedition sponsored by the King," said Garnet. "That''s fine," said Morgan. "A few of us usually goes anyways since the outside recruits are only if we lack the manpower. "Tim, go help Garnet set up," said Morgan. "That''s alright," said Garnet. "Just show me to my room." Tim brought Garnet and Riley to one of the empty rooms. There was an empty bookshelf and a cauldron. "So lets go get your stuff," said Tim. "I got it," said Garnet. She laid down a Teleportation Summoning Circle onto the ground. "I''ll be right back, Teleportation!" In a flash Garnet disappeared. She reappeared with some of the tools from the house. There was not much, but still something. "You can use Space Time magic too?!?" shouted Tim. Mages at the level of Zedd were very rare and everything she was doing was surprising Tim who seemed to be a newbie that barely met the requirements to become a Court Magician. "Do we have to gather our own materials?" asked Garnet. "No," said Tim. "Come with me." Tim led Garnet and Riley down a hall. There were two guards in front. They stepped aside when they saw Tim approach. "This is the vault," said Tim. "The materials are here and you just need to write down what you took." "Alright," said Garnet. She looked around and used inspect to see all the items that were there. There were tons of different ones, but she was looking for Flower Nectar. This was the key to making better medicines. She finally found it. It was in a small ceramic bottle with a cork. She took ten bottles of it. There were no metals. Even though Garnet had the ability to refine metals as well, it seemed like most mages could not do it. There were only medicinal items. "This is all I need," said Garnet as she wrote her name down along with ten bottles of Flower Nectar. "What are you going to do with that?" asked Tim. "I''m going to make some medicines," said Garnet. "So go away and let me concentrate for now." "Alright," said Tim. It was so easy for Garnet to enter the castle as a Court Magician. All she had to do was show off a few bottles of medicine. But, there were things about the system that she really wanted to learn. After all, Antium was trying to copy Anzio. This information could be useful in the future, so she wanted to get in on an Expedition as soon as possible to see what it was like and what they did. For now though, all Garnet could do was show off her skills as a mage by making high quality medicines. Name: Nectar Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Increases mana regeneration by 100 per second for 30 seconds. Name: Remedy Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Removes all status abnormalities Stat Increase: Dexterity +1 Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 With this, she would become known as an expert on medicines and would earn favor with the other Court Magicians and the King. And, she was the only one who could do it because of the conditions necessary to make such things. Garnet would become something valued that they could not afford to lose. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 30 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 2290/2290 MP: 7080/7080 Fame: 130 Strength: 57 (+5) Dexterity: 51 (+7) Intelligence: 205 (+22) Vitality: 64 (+5) Agility: 64 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 7 - Lightning ¨C 12 - Wind ¨C 4 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 5) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 5) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 5: Chapter 036 - Auction House Since Garnet started working as a Court Magician, she suddenly started receiving special treatment at the castle. She had her own room to conduct research in and was given free access to a lot of their supplies. In exchange, all she had to do was show off some of what she could do. Word of the three medicines she was able to make spread quickly. Name: Healing Potion Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Increases health regeneration by 100 per second for 30 seconds. Name: Nectar Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Increases mana regeneration by 100 per second for 30 seconds. Name: Remedy Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Removes all status abnormalities Three basic recipes, but in the hands of someone who had access to all the basic elemental spirits, she was able to create high effective medicines that were extremely potent. The problem was that Garnet was not making any progress in regards to being able to rank up in the Guild or find people who would assist her in her journey to Constantinople. She was starting to have doubts about this. She would rather spend this time with Ruby and her family instead if all she was doing was making potions. She was promised the opportunity to research, not manufacture medicine yet this was all she was doing. "Maybe this was the wrong decision," said Garnet. "It is still too early to say," said Riley. "This more or less means you just bypass the test to join an Expedition." "But that means little when I''m sure I can pass it on my own," said Garnet. "All I''m doing here is making batches of medicine." Garnet looked at all the progress she made as a Court Magician. It came out to a grand total of zero progress. She was exactly where she started. There were a few benefits, but they were not the ones that she needed. She probably could have made more progress selling medicine on her own and then using that money to finance her own Expedition. She did not need to be Court Magician or a high rank in the Guild if she had the money. The only thing decent Garnet found so far was the collection of books, but none of it had what she was looking for. There were recipes for some advanced medicines and refinement techniques, but she was not interested since she could learn it on her own through the Hero System. Garnet walked to Morgan''s room. KNOCK KNOCK. "Come in," said Morgan. Garnet entered the room and saw Morgan testing something again. "I resign as Court Magician," said Garnet. "Why?" asked Morgan. "Did someone do something to you?" "I''m not making any progress towards my goal here," said Garnet. "In fact, I think I can do better by just making and selling medicine on my own." "Please reconsider," said Morgan. "As a young woman you still have a lot of time to develop your potential, you cannot waste this opportunity." "But that''s the thing," said Garnet. "I''m wasting lots of time doing nothing but making medicine here. You said it would bring me closer to my goal, but if anything, it has stopped me from doing my research as I''m frequently flooded with requests to make medicines for troops." "Is there anything I can say or do to convince you to stay?" asked Morgan. "Can you get me an Expedition to Constantinople in a month?" asked Garnet. "No," said Morgan. "Then I''m sorry, but I cannot stay," said Garnet as she took out the card she received. "I''ll clean out my things before I leave and I''ll leave everything I''ve made with your resources on the table." "Alright," said Morgan. "I''m sorry to hear that." For a brief period, Garnet had earned her way to a high status and a little bit of power, but it was all suppressed by the demands of others. The bureaucracy was something that she wanted to stay out of. Even though they were financing research, she was quickly becoming the person who had nothing to do but make medicines. "There was someone else in that room," said Riley. "I only saw Morgan, who else could be there?" Garnet asked. "It''s not like there''s anywhere to hide in that room." "I''m not sure," said Riley. "Let''s worry about it when it gets here, we have other things to focus on," said Garnet. "Did you hear all of that?" said Morgan. "Yes," said a voice in the shadows. From a hidden panel in the ceiling, a man in a grey cloak descended. "So what''s the plan?" asked Morgan. "We''ll take care of it," said the man in the grey cloak. "You just focus on trying to figure out how to make the medicine, my men and I will take care of the girl." So, Garnet cleaned out her things and left. "What do you plan to do now?" asked Riley. "Since no one is willing to finance an Expedition, I''m going to make one myself," said Garnet. "How?" asked Riley. "I just need to use my Item Enhancement skills to make some money," said Garnet. "With this money, I will hire people who are interested in going to Constantinople." "How much money is that?" asked Riley. "It sounds like it will cost a lot." "Let''s go ask the only person who might know," said Garnet. That person was Hagel. The one who worked in the Guild and was informed of ongoing events. "What happened to you?" Hagel asked. "I quit," said Garnet. "Why?!?" asked Hagel. "To be a Court Magician is a great honor." "But all I do is make medicine every day," said Garnet. "I don''t even get to do much research and I''m no closer to my goal. I figured since it''s something I can do at home, I can just make my own and sell it myself." "I see," said Hagel. "But word is, there''s an Expedition soon." "To where?" asked Garnet. "It''s one sponsored by the King himself to slay a Zmaj," said Hagel. "What''s a Zmaj?" asked Garnet. "A Zmaj is a special type of dragon," said Hagel. "One that has three heads that can regrow if any of them are damaged or removed, green scales, and the ability to spit fire from its mouth." "That sounds very dangerous," said Garnet. "It is," said Hagel. "That''s why no one else was willing to sponsor their own Expedition, but to kill one is no easy feat." "So I just have to take the test?" asked Garnet. "Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Hagel. "I am certain there will be at least a casualty rate of 70%." It was a very high number. It meant that people who went were most likely going to die. At the same time, Garnet did not have much a choice. This was the fast and dangerous way to the top and it was definitely safer than trying to hunt a large monster on her own. "Do you know when they will hold the tests?" Garnet asked. "Most likely in a few weeks," said Hagel. "They often have to get things organized, but as a talented mage that is also a former Court Magician, I think you should get in easily." "Is being a mage really that great?" Garnet asked. This was something she had questioned. Zedd was a powerful mage, but many others were weak by comparison. There were also many mages who knew just a few spells, but they were still mages nonetheless. "True mages are those that know at least a dozen spells," said Hagel. "I''m sure you can do that right?" Garnet counted. She definitely had at least a dozen, but not much more since she generally stuck to using just a few skills. "Yes," said Garnet. "Alright," said Hagel. "Continue to check in with me, I''ll tell you as soon as I find out more." New Quest: King''s Expedition (I) The King of Anzio will soon issue a request for people to participate in an Expedition to slay a dragon. Pass the test and join the expedition group. Reward: Experience, Fame "Thanks," said Garnet. "But why are you so nice to me?" "You''re not someone who is here for money or fame," said Hagel. "You''re here with a clear purpose, it''s like a stepping stone for your journey to Constantinople and that is only your first goal." "Yes," said Garnet. "But I will need money and fame to do that. Do you know where I can sell my potions for a good price?" "You currently hold a monopoly on the purple colored potions," said Hagel. "I hear other people have tried, but all failed. The best they can do is red, which is not as high quality as the purple." "So how does that help me if I don''t have people to sell to?" asked Garnet. "Take this," said Hagel as he handed Garnet a white card. Garnet took a look at the card. All that was written was a name, "Skinner" along with an address. "What is this?" Garnet asked. "It''s an auction house that sells high end goods," said Hagel. "I would consider your potions up there." "So I get to watch a bunch of rich people pay a ridiculous amount of money for things?" asked Garnet. "If you want to stay and watch, yes," said Hagel. "But they do honest work and won''t try to cheat you. Their reputation depends on it." Garnet headed to the location stated on the Skinner card. It was deep in the business district. It was past Peter''s shop and she even passed along numerous other shops. As she got closer, she started noticing more stores focusing on luxury goods rather than every day things. In front of her was a large mansion built out of white marble. It was at least five stories tall. It completely stood out compared to what were mostly wooden or brick buildings next to it. "This looks like the place," said Garnet. "This looks more expensive than the entire castle," said Riley. "I know," said Garnet. "I wonder how much money it took to build this." As Garnet walked up to the double doors made out of some type of metal, she pushed it open. It was very light, but probably extremely sturdy as well. Inside was just as elaborate as outside with black granite table tops and high quality furniture everywhere she looked. It was extremely expensive. Straight ahead stood a young woman in a scarlet red and black uniform who acted as the receptionist. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Welcome to Skinner Auction Services," said the young woman. "Are you here to buy or sell?" "Sell," said Garnet. "What are you selling?" the young woman asked. "Ten of these," said Garnet as she took out the purple healing potions. She noticed that the young woman had a name tag that read Carol. "Wait one minute," said Carol. She walked to the back and brought out a young man dressed in a red and black suit. His name tag read Adam. Adam proceeded to look at the potion closely. "Can I take a drop of it?" asked Adam. "Yes," said Garnet. The man opened the bottle and with a pipette took a drop of it and began to take a close look at it. "So this is the famous purple healing potion I''ve heard rumors about," said Adam. He pricked his own finger and then applied the drop of potion to it. In an instant, the wound disappeared as if it was never there. "This is the real thing." "Alright," said Carol. "I expect this to sell for about 10 gold coins each." It was close to what Garnet had gotten for the Wolf Pelts and Wild Boar Hides. She took those out as well. "How about these?" asked Garnet. Adam began to take a close look at them. Unlike Peter, he did not judge right away. He took a very close look and even pulled out a monocle to take a close look. Garnet could instantly see the surprise on Adam''s face. "This is... oh my," he said. "I think these might be worth about 50 gold a sheet," as he continued to look through them. It was about the same price that Garnet was offered by Peter. "I want to sell it all," said Garnet. "The fee is 20% of sales," said Carol. "Is that okay?" "Yes," said Garnet. In other words, she would only get 8 gold coins per potion and 40 gold coins per pelt or hide, but having someone sell it for her would be more efficient. She could earn to two thousand gold coins with her current stock and it was easy to make more. She had a near monopoly on those high end items and a clear monopoly on the potions. "So many gold coins lost because I spent time brewing them as a Court Magician," she thought. "Do you wish to observe the auction tonight?" Carol asked. "Why?" asked Garnet. "It''s so you know they didn''t rip you off," said Riley. "Go do it." "Wait, I''ll watch," said Garnet. "Alright," said Carol. "Come in formal attire." In other words, a dress. The closest thing she had was a cheongsam that she had gotten from Anna, but that should have been enough. "Can my guard come too?" asked Garnet. "Sure," said Carol. "We provide security and anonymity to our sellers if needed." "I''ll prefer my own," said Garnet. "Very well," Carol replied. "People will start gathering at about sunset, so be here at that time as well." That night, Garnet headed to Skinner Auction Services dressed up. It had been a while since she needed to do something like this. When she checked in, she was escorted down some stairs in the back to an elevating viewing booth. From here, she could see the main stage and watched as people began to fill in the seats below. The room was designed as a large indoor amphitheater. It could seat a few thousand, but only the lower seats were being filled today, so it was at least a few hundred people. "Welcome to Skinner''s Auction!" announced a voice. "Please make your way into the main auction room and we will begin shortly." A woman in a red and black dress appeared on the main stage carrying a megaphone. She stood there while the first item was being set up. When it looked like the room was filled, she began to speak. "Tonight''s first item is the Bust of Julius!" announced the woman. Name: Bust of Julius Quality: High Effect: Gives +50% health regeneration in the room Garnet was able to see quality and effects of items, so she knew when it was something good. "The bidding will start at 100 gold coins, with 10 gold coin increments" the woman added. Suddenly, there were people moving and raising small little black signs with white numbers on them. "The gentleman up front has bid 100 gold coins, will someone go higher?" Other people began to raise up theirs. "110, 120, 130, 140, 150..." the woman announced as each person raised their signs. The bust ended at an astonishing 400 gold coins. Someone had actually paid 400 gold coins for a rock that resembled the head and shoulders of someone. "Sold for 400 gold coins!" the woman shouted. Garnet watched as some of the other items sold. There were small pieces of pottery, ancient currencies, and even dinner plates. These objects barely sold for double digits, but it was still something. Then, came something Garnet recognized, some of her Wolf Pelts. One of them was being stretched out to show how big each one of them was. "I have here some of the highest quality Wolf Pelts ever discovered," said the woman. "These are believed to have been made from a legendary class wolf." A man stepped forward holding onto a large broadsword. The sword itself was very impressive. Name: Broadsword Quality: High Effect: +20% bonus to slashing attacks. With a mighty swing the man smashed the sword against the stretched out Wolf Pelt, only for the sword to bounce back, knocking the man off balance. The Wolf Pelt itself sustained no visible damage. "How did Peter even work with something like that?" Garnet thought. Someone so big and clearly strong just smashed his sword against it to no effect. "The bidding starts at 500 gold coins for ten pieces of this fur, at increments of 20 gold coins," announced the woman. In an instant, people started raising their signs, only putting them down when it got too expensive. A lot of people wanted it. But with a material that is so hard to work with, the final result was going to be excellent. "Sold for 800 gold coins!" the woman announced. Garnet had just made 640 gold coins from ten of them. There were at least two more sets of skins and the set of purple potions. Nearly 2000 gold coins from a single night at the auction. She could definitely fund her own expedition to Constantinople with this. But, they did not bring out her other animal skins, only her potions, which sold for more than expected. A whopping 300 gold coins of which she got to keep 240. A single night yielded 880 gold coins. It was more gold than Garnet had ever had in her entire life. She would no longer have to worry about food, clothes, and money. There were even a few slaves being auctioned. Towards the end, they brought on the fancy items that went over 10000 gold coins in cost. A curved sword from the far east. A bed that was once used by the King. These were items that were mostly famous in name only. After the auction ended, she was greeted by a man in red and black who was waiting outside the room. "This is your your items," said the man as he handed garnet a ring with a blue jewel on it. "Confirm its contents yourself." Garnet checked it and saw that there was indeed 880 gold coins in it. "Why didn''t they sell my other items?" Garnet asked. "It''s usually not a good idea to try to sell too many at once," said the man. "It lowers the price, so we will probably sell them in a week or so." "I see," said Garnet. Too many of them would cheapen it unless it was something that was always needed in large quantities, like her potions. "Check in at reception to see if they sold it," said the man. "Make sure you do not lose the ring." "Is it for identification?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said the man. "That''s how we tie your identity to your items." The amount of gold coins she had now was about a thousand. But, hiring people was not going to be easy. She would have to look at their levels, their equipment, and see how well they fought before she could determine if they were of any use at all. "Why don''t you just get more Summons instead of trying to recruit people?" asked Riley. "I don''t think I have enough," said Garnet. "I don''t have enough mana to maintain that many yet. On top of that, I want some people at my side in case they have some crazy anti magic weapon or something that I do not know about." For now, it was best to see what an Expedition was like first. Then, Garnet could plan what she wanted to do and estimate how much it would actually cost. Trying to do it herself without any knowledge was going to be dangerous. Zedd had knowledge of the Invasions, so he knew how to react the moment he saw what kind of enemy they were up against. Garnet did not have the knowledge, if she tried it, she would not know what to do. At least for now, money was not something that Garnet needed to worry about. It would be enough for things like food and clothes and she did not need to buy any equipment since she already had some good ones. Spoiler : No change in stats Spoiler : This arc will end in another two chapters or so. I hope to finish it by tomorrow. It will end with the defeat of the Zmaj and Garnet decides that she needs to go alone. This arc and the one that immediate follows is going to be a bit boring for some of you cause it''s mostly world building. If you''re not interested in that, the main plot will not move much further along for a while. Book 5: Chapter 037 - Treasures I''ll try for the next chapter tonight, but I might not be able to finish it. I might have to go to a relative''s place in about an hour. -------------------------------------------- Garnet was tired of waiting for things to happen. She had to wait for requests she could handle to appear. She had to wait for the King''s Expedition. Garnet took out the book that Zedd had given to her regarding summons. She acquired it from him a long time ago, but never looked in it because of the combined hatred between her and Riley towards Zedd. But if there was a time to do it, now would be as good as any since Garnet had nothing to do but wait for the Expedition announcement. Garnet took out Zedd''s book on summoning research. Many of Zedd''s own attempts had failed and there were numerous incomplete diagrams. However, there were a few towards the beginning that were complete. The question was whether any of them would actually be useful. The monsters at the beginning were all weak. They were simple slime like creatures that were weaker than the boars and wolves Garnet fought for her early battles. At the middle, there were some stronger creatures, but they needed something like a vessel, a body to hold their power, which Garnet did not know how to make, so they were not an option. The ones at the back required such an insane amount of mana that she was uncertain she would be unable to do it. But, with money in hand, there was something that she could do. She headed over to the Guild. "What brings you here today?" asked Hagel. "I want to issue a request, one for a book on how to create a high level magic vessel that can contain a spirit," said Garnet. "The reward, 500 gold coins." "Five hundred?!?" said Hagel surprised. "That''s more than all the other requests on the board." "But it will only be paid out when it is determined to be authentic," said Garnet. She took out the gold coins stored in her ring and handed it to Hagel. "Is this fine?" she asked. "Yes," said Hagel. He began to fill out the paperwork. "Just sign your name here," he said. Garnet did as told. "Is that it?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Hagel. "It''s fairly simple to issue a request, but to get a response is much harder." "Any news on the King''s Expedition?" Garnet asked. "Rumor is that he''s currently looking among his men for a leader," said Hagel. "Once the leader is chosen, he or she will choose qualified soldiers, which are very few in number, and then recruit the extra they need from outside." "How long do you estimate?" Garnet asked. "Maybe two weeks at most," said Hagel. "Alright, thank you for the information," said Garnet. It was another thing she was still waiting for. She wanted to scream, but there was not much she could do about it. "No problem," said Hagel. Soon after, Garnet saw her own request posted on the board. It had no ranking requirements because it was simply to retrieve an item, but the reward was immense. It was also made using a special type of metal plate rather than paper or cards like other requests. With this done, Garnet could focus on improving her magicraft skills. Somewhere in that versatile skill laid the key to unlimited potential. The ability to upgrade and refine anything in her possession. Sadly, her skill level was still too low for the weapons that she had, so she had to find other ways. The key to this was the Iron Bar that she had from smelting down the sword she used to kill Boelyn Gray. Name: Steel Ingot Quality: High Effect: None "Item Enhancement!" Garnet wanted to see how far this could get her. Success! She kept going as high as she could. Failure! Skill level is too low. Name: Steel Ingot+3 Quality: Low Effect: Damage +15% It was a massive increase to damage. Fifteen percent did not sound like a lot, but in the hands of someone strong, it could make a big difference. Since Alchemy could make something like metal bars, it was likely that it could make weapons as well. Garnet looked through the Alchemy book for recipes related to making weapons. The easiest two were on top. They both required three spirits. New Recipe: Knife Requires: 1 Metal Ingot, Fire Spirit, Earth Spirit, Water Spirit MP Cost: 500 New Recipe: Sword Requires: 2 Metal Ingots, Fire Spirit, Earth Spirit, Water Spirit MP Cost: 1000 As long as this worked, she could constantly recycle and refine the materials with Disassemble to raise her skill. She took out the Iron Ingots and began working with those since she only had one steel one. "Item Enhancement!" Garnet upgraded the Iron Ingot as far as it would go. Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 6) Name: Iron Ingot+7 Quality: High Effect: Damage +35%, Ignores Slashing Resistance Now, it was time to make a sword, with a cauldron. It did not make sense to Garnet at all. Swords were traditionally made in forges by a blacksmith with a hammer and anvil. But, according to Alchemy, this would work, so she gave it a try. "Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu! Call: Meliae!" With the three spirits Garnet went to work. They could control the conditions properly. Garnet specified some conditions. "We''re making a standard sword with a fuller, a cross guard, and a pommel," she said. The spirits all nodded like they knew what she was talking about. Sure enough, they did. The ingot melted down into a liquid where it was shaped into a sword and came out as a completed sword. Alchemy seemed to be limitless with the potential to make anything as long as you had the recipe for it. Name: Iron Sword Quality: High Effect: Damage +35%, Ignores Slashing Resistance The effects of the Iron Ingots transferred directly onto the sword. "Disassemble!" The Iron Sword in Garnet''s hands instantly reverted to two Iron Ingots. Name: Iron Ingot+7 Quality: High Effect: Damage +35%, Ignores Slashing Resistance It was like they were never used at all. Garnet kept repeating this cycle to level up her skills. Level Up: Magicraft (Level 6) Level Up: Disassemble (Level 2) Level Up: Magicraft (Level 7) Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 Stat Increase: Dexterity+1 Eventually, she was able to make a maxed out Iron Ingot. Name: Iron Ingot+7 Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Damage +50%, Ignores Slashing Resistance and Immunity It turned into a high quality sword. Name: , needs to be named Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Damage +50%, Ignores Slashing Resistance and Immunity She had created a named sword. One that was considered a masterpiece and to be collected or wielded by the famous. "Let''s call it, Dawn," said Garnet. The name of the sword suddenly changed. Name: Dawn (Iron Sword) Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Damage +50%, Ignores Slashing Resistance and Immunity Manufacturing high end items worthy of a legend was now a simple task for Garnet''s Alchemy. But much to her dismay, she was still unable to enhance the weapons given to her by Anna. The sword and knife were something special. But, Garnet could at least enhance the sword in her hands. Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 6) Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 7) Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 8) Name: Dawn (Iron Sword)+10 Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Damage+100%, Ignores Slashing Resistance and Immunity, Can Channel Magic, Resists Corrosion, No Durability Loss To Garnet, this opened up a new possibility. If she could create a high quality vessel and arm them with similarly high quality equipment, she could create her own army that could rival any nation. Working with higher quality items also gave her the chance to increase her skills even further. "Come to think of it, I never actually took a close look at Anna''s sword," Garnet thought to herself. She took out the blue and gold sword to take a look at Name: Excalibur Replica Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Unbreakable, Immune to Corrosion, Can Channel Magic, Ignores All Immunities It was already a masterpiece without needing to be upgraded, that was probably why she could not upgrade it with her current skill. The weapons that Anna had were far superior to anything Garnet had or create. If Garnet could upgrade this sword, it would be even greater. That was not going to be an easy task though. But for now, she had the knowledge that she needed. It would be possible for her to create her own army, one that could handle the Invasion by themselves. Then, she would have no need to have to worry about it. There would be no need to buy and trade slaves. There would be no need to worry about finding people who were willing to go on her Expedition. With Dawn in hand, Garnet brought it to Skinner''s Auction Services, where she could sell it. "Welcome back," said Carol. "This is yours," she said as she showed Garnet a ring. Garnet took a look, it was a huge amount of gold coins. About another 1200 in all. "This is from the fur?" she asked. "Yes," said Carol. "What brings you here today?" "This," said Garnet. She brought out the sword Dawn. "No sheath?" Carol asked. "No," said Garnet. "Just the sword." "Adam!" Carol shouted. Garnet could hear some stumbling as Adam came out from the back. He was a mess. "What is it?" he asked. "This sword," said Carol. "Take a look at it and tell me what you think." Adam took a look at the sword closely. "I don''t recognize the handiwork, I can''t tell who made this sword," said Adam. "But it''s at least equal to the work of one of the masters." "The masters?!?" shouted Carol. "How is that possible?" "What''s a master?" Garnet asked. She had no idea. "The masters are what we call the greatest swordsmiths," said Carol. "One of their swords are nearly priceless because of their high sharpness and durability. They''re among the best forged swords in the world." "Well, the only thing bad about this sword is that it is made of iron and not steel," said Adam. "But other than that, it looks the same and is probably as good as any of the other masterpieces though there''s no signature." In other words, the sword was missing the specialized features of a handmade sword. The quality combined with the lack of distinguishing features meant that it could be traced back to Garnet if they knew she was the one manufacturing them, so it was probably best not to sell more than one or two of them for money or at least do it with long wait periods between. Anymore than that, people would start assuming that she was the one manufacturing them. "I''ll sell this sword," said Garnet. "Very well," Carol replied. "Can I know what you have for sale?" Garnet asked. "Are you interested in buying?" asked Carol. "Yes," said Garnet. "But I''m looking for something very specific." "What is it?" asked Carol. "Books, scrolls, tomes, and other texts on magic," said Garnet. Carol took out a book from the side. It was a catalog. "If there are any, they''ll be in here," said Carol. "Are are items listed in a book?" asked Garnet. "Not all," said Carol. "These are the items that no one really wants, it ends up in a book like this, but we are willing to hold on to a few strange items just in case the odd customer ever comes around." Garnet looked through the book. There were some really strange things in there, like a collection of antique puppets and dolls and mummified body parts. There were some interesting materials like golden wood, but they were all in too small of an amount to be useful or too expensive to be practically used by anyone so they ignored it. But something was strange. "I thought someone would surely buy things like this," said Garnet. "But they sometimes request a minimum price," said Carol. "That price is just too high to sell." Despite the thick book, only two things related to what Garnet was looking for. One was a scroll of water spells. "I am missing water and earth," she thought to herself. The other was a tome on golem creation that was recovered from the ruins of Constantinople. The most important thing was being able to create a strong vessel though. Even if she could not do it yet, she could probably level up the skill to make the golem and then improve it until she could create the type of body that was needed to hold something like Riley or her other spirits. "Are any of these items fake or counterfeit?" asked Garnet. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "Skinner''s Auction Services will vouch for everything," said Adam. "If something is not what is described, you can return it." "That''s convenient," said Garnet. "It''s because we have to rely on people''s trust," said Carol. "If they lose trust in us, everything we do will not matter." "How much for this tome?" Garnet asked as she pointed to it in the book. Carol looked over at what Garnet was pointing at and looked it up. "200 gold coins," she said. "I''ll take it," said Garnet. "You''re actually interested in this junk?" asked Carol. "It''s only junk because people don''t know how to use it," said Garnet. "Even junk can be valuable if it is used the right way or you find the right people," she said as she took out the money to pay for the tome. "I''m sure someone realized it was valuable and kept it." For Garnet, she was trying to force her way through to find what she needs instead of waiting. She was tired of waiting and hated doing so. A few moments later, Adam reappeared with the tome. It was thick. With this though, Garnet might have a chance to finally create a physical vessel that could be used by her summons and have them far away from her without much problems. "Thank you for your patronage," said Carol. "For a moment I thought I would have to go through an auction to get this," said Garnet. "It went through the auction, but there was no mage qualified to use it," said Carol. Garnet immediately flipped open the book and looked through it. As Garnet flipped through it, she saw the basic recipes. Even though they were considered "basic," the mana cost was enormous, even for simple things. New Recipe: Animal Golem Requires: 40 Magic Clay, Earth Spirit, Water Spirit Effect: Can give a permanent body to any animal summon MP Cost: 5000 However, this was proof that the tome was real. Further in contained things Garnet could not understand, but the golems were no longer humanoid in nature. They became grander like giants and dragons. The humanoid golem was a little deformed. It looked more like a rock golem than a person. Garnet was suddenly surprised by a note inside the book addressed to her. "There is a gift that will arrive in the Guild soon." That was all it said. "Is it what you were looking for?" asked Adam. "It''s close enough," said Garnet. "Thank you for this." "Please come back to us if you have anything to sell as well," said Carol. She was trying to maintain Garnet as a customer. To them, Garnet had access to rare materials and items. With the recipe in hand, Garnet immediately proceeded to try to craft the vessel. Clay was easy to get near sources of water and Anzio just happened to have some in the farming area near the river. She did not even need to dig for it. Outside of Anzio, Garnet simply followed the river South until there were no more farms. "Call: Meliae!" "We''re not making things today?" asked Meliae. "Sort of," said Garnet. "I need clay first." "..." Meliae had to response. "You do realize with a spirit that has control over Earth and Water, you''re making her dig through dirt right?" "Yes," said Garnet. "High water content or low water content?" asked Meliae. "Low," said Garnet. High water content would probably not stick as well. "How much?" asked Meliae. "How much can you get?" asked Garnet. Meliae planted her arms into the ground. The ground shook around Garnet. She could feel something moving beneath her feet. Vines wrapped around chunks of clay suddenly began to appear all around her. The ground itself began to move a little with a depression forming as Meliae pushed the clay towards the surface. "Get it yourself," said Meliae. Garnet circled around and collected a huge amount of clay. It was heavy, but Meliae has essentially created a clay pit from which Garnet could just put the clay into her Inventory since it could store far more than rings and just put everything inside a single spot in there. With it, she at least had the resources to do it when she was ready. The problem was the mana cost was still too high and there was no way to restore Riley''s memories. For now, Riley would still have to attach herself to Garnet. Garnet wanted to at least try to make sure it worked, so she enchanted a large amount of clay. Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 9) Name: Magic Clay+10 Quality: Masterpiece Effect: Durability +50%, Bonus Skill: Endurance, Regeneration With this, Garnet could now create the clay body using Alchemy. The recipe was different though. It did not use a cauldron like other Alchemy. Instead, it used a magic circle. However, that also gave Garnet an advantage as she did not really need to draw most magic circles. She could actually etch it into the ground with magic. After creating the magic circle, Garnet put the pieces of clay onto the center. "Call: Meliae! Call: Sino! Call: Mazu!" She technically had three water spirits and one earth, but she wanted to make sure nothing went wrong. After all, this was going to be big. Garnet activated the magic circle. In a flash of light, the clay shaped into something that resembled a dog. However, Garnet had no idea what she was doing. "So uh, what now?" she asked. "Did you even read the whole thing?" asked Riley. Garnet opened the book and looked in it. "Place your hand on the golem and summon forth what you want to place in it," Garnet read aloud. Garnet put her hand against the clay dog. "Call: Cerberus!" The clay began to change shape, it gradually turned into the shape of the hounds that she recognized. When it was done, it looked exactly like one of her summons. "I guess it worked." "Stay!" said Ganet. She wanted to see if the summon would disappear for any reason. She tried warping to Antium and back and waiting. If distance was a factor, it would have disappeared, but it did not. "Dismiss!" the hound did not disappear like any other. "Call: Cerberus!" Garnet summoned it again, there were two more with it. It counted towards the total number that she had summoned. She put her hand on the hound and felt that it was different from the ones in the past. This one still had the clay body that Garnet gave to it. The effects would yet to be seen, but it was clear, she could now give permanent bodies to her summons and even travel far from them without much consequence. This would open up numerous possibilities. "What if I could teach them to use my magic?" thought Garnet. New Quest: Minion Development Level up your summons enough to unlock the Minion Development skill Reward: New Skill Suddenly, there was a new long term goal for Garnet. One she found her way to Constantinople or restored Riley''s body, she would have another task to focus on. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 30 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 2290/2290 MP: 7100/7100 Fame: 130 Strength: 57 (+5) Dexterity: 52 (+7) Intelligence: 206 (+22) Vitality: 64 (+5) Agility: 64 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 7 - Lightning ¨C 12 - Wind ¨C 4 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 2) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor
  • - Magicraft (Level 7) ¨C Alchemist- Item Enhancement (Level 9)- Disassemble (Level 1)
- Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 5: Chapter 038 - Expedition Quest Update: King''s Expedition (I) The King of Anzio has issued a request for people to participate in an Expedition to slay a dragon. Pass the test and join the expedition group. Reward: Experience, Fame Garnet saw a flyer with the royal seal. "It''s what you''ve been waiting for isn''t it?" Riley asked. The King was now recruiting people for an Expedition. Garnet took the flyer and immediately headed over to the Guild to meet with Hagel. She walked up to him and placed it on the counter. "I want to join," she said. "I was wondering when you''d be back," said Hagel. "Any news on my quest?" asked Garnet. "No," said Hagel. "There were a few who tried, but the books were determined to be fake." "How did you know it was fake?" asked Garnet. "We have a few mages who know the basics of each subject that advise us," said Hagel. "If they presented a low level technique, they could recognize it or they at least knew enough to know that it was not something for making a vessel and more like something for summoning." "Did anything like a package arrive for me?" Garnet asked Hagel. She was wondering about the note that was left for her in the other book. Whoever it was, they knew what Garnet was looking for. "No," said Hagel. "Are you expecting something?" "Yeah," said Riley. "Someone left her a message telling me that something would be arriving for me." "I''ll keep an eye out for it then," whispered Hagel. At least Garnet knew that the Guild knew what they were doing and she would not be cheated. "Is there anything you can tell me about the Expedition?" Garnet asked. "The King is currently recruiting," said Hagel as he showed Garnet the copy of the flyer that he had. "The leader of the expedition is Lord Hawk, a very strong swordsman. All you have to do is pass the test." "That easy?" asked Garnet. "They''re fighting a dragon," said Hagel. "Most people would consider such a task as suicide. I would be surprised if they could even get more than two dozen people." "Then why even have a test? Why not just let anyone who wants to join go?" asked Garnet. "They don''t want useless baggage either," said Hagel. That made a lot of sense. Weak people would only hold them back. "Thank you for the information," said Garnet. "I''ll head over to the castle grounds." "Don''t be a hero and stay safe," said Hagel. "I will," said Garnet. Garnet headed over to the castle with Riley and with the flyer about recruiting people to slay the dragon in hand, all she had to do was show it to the guard by the open door. "Halt!" A small squad of guards stopped them. "We''re here for this," said Garnet as she showed them the flyer. "Go to the training grounds," said the guards. Garnet and Riley headed to the training grounds. She saw a man clad from head to toe in black armor. He had both a large black two handed sword and a shield. Name: Gus Hawk Level: 48 Class: Dark Knight Sub-class: Defender Stats: High Strength He was the man who was leading the people to fight the dragon. "I should''ve asked who I should look for," said Garnet. "Why not just ask the man in charge?" asked Riley. Garnet walked up to Lord Hawk. The guards near him were ready to draw their swords, but Lord Hawk raised his hand and they immediately backed down. "I''m here about the Expedition to slay the dragon," she said. "A kid like you?" laughed one of the guards. "This is no place for children." "Just let me take the test and I''ll leave if I don''t pass," said Garnet. "The same goes for my sister." Riley stepped forward and looked at the guard. "He looks kind of weak don''t you think?" she said. "I heard that!" he shouted. "He''s quite easy to anger too," said Garnet. "Do you think he can even follow orders?" "I''ll test you right now!" the guard shouted. "Come with me!" "Shouldn''t you stop him sir?" asked the other guard. "Let them," said Lord Hawk. "If they''re strong enough to beat Sergio together, they deserve a spot." "I am Sir Sergio, Knight of Lord Hawk, son of Lady Serpico, and Heir to the Eastern Fief of Mesafint," said the guard. Garnet had no idea what that meant, but it sounded like Sergio just announced his title and what he was known for. "So who first?" Garnet asked. "I''ll take you both on at once," Sergio said with a grin on his mouth. He was focused more on Riley because she seemed like a greater threat in terms of size and strength. "I''m just going to end it then," whispered Riley. "Alright," said Garnet. "Lightning Bolt!" BZZT. Riley fired a bolt of lightning at Sergio who collapsed on the floor. "Is he going to be okay?" asked Garnet. "I think so," said Riley. "You''re a mage!" shouted Lord Hawk. "Welcome to the team." That was all it took. "What about me?" asked Garnet. "Are you a mage too?" asked Lord Hawk. "Yes," said Garnet. "Show me," said Lord Hawk. "Fire Ball!" Garnet unleashed a ball of fire into the sky. BANG. A loud explosion rang out as it exploded. "That''s good enough for me," said Lord Hawk. "So do we just wait?" asked Garnet. It was that easy. Just a single spell was all it took. "Here," said Lord Hawk as he handed out a metallic bronze card to Garnet and Riley. "What is this?" asked Garnet. "Just show this to the guards and you will get access to sleeping quarters and the mess hall if you get hungry," said Lord Hawk. "Just wait until then." Quest Update: King''s Expedition (II) The King of Anzio has issued a request for people to participate in an Expedition to slay a dragon. Slay the Zmaj in the cave beyond the forest in the West. Reward: Experience, Fame By the time recruitment ended, there was only a total of twenty four people including Garnet and Riley. There were no mages. None of the Court Magicians chose to participate. Their numbers were very small for a group that was going to fight a dragon. The average level of the group was 40 though, much higher than the guards of Anzio. A few days later, Lord Hawk gathered everyone at the training grounds and organized everyone. Lord Hawk and some of the other guards took the front. There were two men who used bows in the middle. Garnet and Riley were towards the back with two guards behind them who were dedicated to protecting them. "I don''t think we really need guards," whispered Garnet. "I don''t like it either," said Riley. "But, Lord Hawk is the strategist, so just let him handle it." "Alright," said Garnet. "Our target is the Zmaj dragon to the West!" Lord Hawk announced. "The twenty four of us will slay it together! Follow my commands and we will be okay! Any questions before we depart?" There was none. "March!" Lord Hawk ordered. The group began their march West on foot. The group was slow, but that was because there were many of them. When Garnet and Riley traveled, it was really just the two of them and they could move much faster. The larger the group, the slower they were. "Do you like what you see?" Garnet asked as she turned around to look at the guards. "I''m used to it." She saw that the guards had suddenly looked away. They were caught staring at her behind. "Well I''m still not," said Riley. It took a few days before they started heading off the main road. The moment they did, there was suddenly more enemies. "Keep your eyes open," said Lord Hawk. "Most things here attack in large groups. Maintain formation and shout if you see something." HUHUHU. Garnet could hear the sound of grunting. A group of red haired monkeys blocked their way. Garnet drew her sword and was ready to fight. The men at the front raised their shields and fought against the monkeys. In the corner of her eye, Garnet saw something. "Behind the tree!" she shouted. The guards behind her immediately turned to face the tree, standing between Garnet and the gorilla. ROAR. A gorilla with white hair and a yellow chest appeared. Name: Silverback Gorilla Level: 35 Class: Beast Sub-Class: None Stats: High Strength, High Vitality "Lightning Ray!" Garnet did not wait. She fired bolts of lightning towards the Gorilla. Level Up: Lightning Ray (Level 3) The gorilla turned on its side, but was still hit by the incredible speed of the lightning. BZZT. "GRR," the gorilla grunted as it fell on the floor. "Keep your eyes open everyone!"shouted Lord Hawk. "There''s probably more." Garnet kept her head moving, seeing if she could see anything hiding nearby. Several monkeys descended from behind. They were trying to surround the group. "Stand back!" Garnet shouted. The two guards in front of her immediately moved behind her. "Heat Wave!" A blast of scorching hot air moved towards the monkeys. Garnet watched as their hairs glowed orange and their skin began to turn red from burns. A few immediately collapsed on the floor while the others ran. The monkeys knew they could not win. The others started backing off too. "Check if everyone is okay!" shouted Lord Hawk. There were no significant injuries. It was a good sign. If someone was injured, then they would be down a person when it came time to face the dragon. "We''re okay back here," shouted one of the guards. "Alright then, let''s continue," said Lord Hawk. Garnet could see that there were still some monkeys that were keeping an eye on the group, but they were doing so from a distance. After the previous confrontation, they were afraid since they lost many in a single attack. It was another two days before they made their way through the forest. When they came out of the other side, they were nearing the slope of a mountain. "Somewhere in this mountain lies the Zmaj," said Lord Hawk. "Before we continue, it is important you must know what to do." Lord Hawk described the Zmaj. A three headed dragon with green scales. If you cut off the head, it will regrow, so you must stun it or not chop it off completely. The goal is to destroy the crystal which is equivalent to the heart in its body. That was the only real way to kill it. Somewhere in the mountains was a large cave where the dragon resided. "Remember, do not reveal yourself," said Lord Hawk. The group began to circle around the base of the mountain. This was where the largest cave would be if there was one. But, there was nothing. The Zmaj was somewhere higher up the mountain. There would be less room to maneuver and it would be harder to fight up in the mountains. There was no way to access the higher part of the mountain unless they were on foot. That was probably why they decided to walk since things like horses and carriages would not be of any use. "Hold it!" said Lord Hawk as he looked around the corner. He peered over the corner. "Come take a look at it." Everyone gathered around Lord Hawk and looked. There was an enormous hole inside the side of the mountain. It could not really be considered a cave considering how big it was. Garnet saw the Zmaj. It was a three headed dragon one red, one blue, one green. Its body was covered in a rainbow of colors. Its body was quite big. Name: Zmaj Level: 70 Class: Dragon Sub-class: Tri-Elemental Stats: ??? It was still asleep. "Mages, you will attack first," said Lord Hawk. "Use the strongest spell you can. We will cover you the moment it begins its attacks." Garnet looked at Riley. "Can you use it?" she asked. "Yes," said Riley. "I just can''t use the full transformations on my own." "Then let''s do it," said Garnet. "We need a direct shot towards the Zmaj." "Everyone, stand to their sides, not at front of them!" ordered Lord Hawk. Garnet pulled out her sword. "Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning!" "Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning!" Riley created one too, but without a sword to channel it through, it was smaller and weaker overall. The two of them aimed it directly at the Zmaj. The Zmaj did not notice what was going on. It was still asleep. If they could finish it in one shot, it would be great, but the odds of that happening were unlikely. Garnet and Riley both swung their swords. A road of fire connected them to the Zmaj. BOOM. There was a massive explosion. The sides of the mountain was blown open and the cave even began to collapse on itself. "What power!" said Lord Hawk surprised. "Everyone ready!" He shouted. He was not taking any changes against a dragon. ROAR. The Zmaj burst forward from the rocks. It was heavily injured and bleeding all over, but it was not near defeated. At its chest was a red crystal that was partially exposed. The fact that it survived meant it was stronger than the monsters from the Invasion. "Good work you two, we''ll take it from here," said Lord Hawk. Lord Hawk, Sergio, and three other guards formed a front line consisting of five shields. ROAR. The red head of the Zmaj fired a blast of flames at the five of them, but together they resisted. The other guards began to do that on the sides as well. Sixteen front liners, five for emergency, two archers and two mages for attack. "Archers!" he shouted. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The two bowmen in the formation fired arrows at the Zmaj. ROAR. The green head of the Zmaj fired a burst of wind and knocked the arrows back. "It''s not just fire?!?" Lord Hawk said surprised. "We''re going to need to help them," said Garnet. "Transform: Elementalist!" Each of the heads of the Zmaj was using a different element. The red one was fire, the blue one was water, and the green one was wind. When Lord Hawk got close, the blue head would shoot a stream of water at them to push them back. "We can''t get any closer!" shouted Sergio. "Lightning Ray!" Garnet and Riley both fired lightning bolts at the Zmaj. ROAR. The Zmaj screamed and fired blasts of elements in every direction, breaking itself free. It was strong enough to resist the lightning. They could not lock it down. "Aim to kill, not to stun," said Garnet. "Alright," said Riley. Garnet wanted to use Heat Wave, but because the others were so close, she could not. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt aimed at the main body of the Zmaj. BOOM. ROAR. The Zmaj screamed and focused its attention on Garnet. Riley followed up with one of her own. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The heads all became divided, focusing their attention on different targets. The water one went focused its attention on Garnet. The wind one went after Riley. The red one continued to pressure the front of the main group. The magic was having little effect on the Zmaj. It felt the impact of each attack, but there was no lasting damage. When the spell ended, they Zmaj would recover its damage. There was not enough time to cast the strongest spells. "Archers!" shouted Lord Hawk. Several arrows hit the main body of the Zmaj, but they missed the crystal. "You guys need to hit the crystal!" "We can''t shouted the archers, the wind is blowing it off," one of the archers replied. "Wind Blade!" Garnet fired a blade of wind at the Zmaj. SHING. The blade of wind cut into the body of the Zmaj and dissipated over the body, leaving no damage. Her wind magic did not have the power needed to get past its scales. HISS. The Zmaj hissed at Garnet. It fired a stream of water towards her. "Watch out!" shouted Lord Hawk. Garnet raised her arms to block. BANG. She felt an enormous pressure against her arms, but her Mana Armor protected her. She rolled to the side. BANG. The rocks where she was standing was crushed. Her mana had dropped a significant amount, but the Mana Armor was strong enough to protect her still. Garnet looked at Lord Hawk and saw that he was surprised, but he instantly focused back on slaying the Zmaj. Stat Increase: Vitality+1 "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired another one. BOOM. It slammed against the side of the Zmaj, temporarily breaking its stream of elements. Their spells were still not making it through the scales of the Zmaj despite the heavy focus on a single spot. Even though the Zmaj was injured, it was only because of the powerful attacks Garnet and Riley used at the beginning. Their attacks since then has been doing little to nothing to the Zmaj. It was looking more and more likely that the Zmaj had some kind of magic resistance. Garnet only had one way to deal physical damage to it, Blood Magic. However, she needed to get close for it to be effective. "I need to get closer!" she shouted. "Cover her!" Lord Hawk ordered. The two guards who were tasked with protecting Garnet along with the five on stand by formed a wall for her. "Follow me," said the guard. Garnet stayed right behind the them and began to push forward with their help. However, the water pressure was too much for them. They could not get close enough. The three heads were able to cover every direction they approached from. There was no blind spot or opening from which they could attack. "I''m going to try to distract it long enough," said Riley as she prepared another spell. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley fired one at the side of the Zmaj. It would roar nearly every time it was hit by one. With some luck, there would be a small opening where they could get closer. BOOM. ROAR. The Zmaj roared. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley fired another one. ROAR. The Zmaj roared again. It began to focus more attention on Riley, who was attacking the fiercest. "Hurry, push forward!" ordered Garnet. The two guards in front began to push forward as fast as they could. All of their front line was locked down now by the three heads. They fired quickly enough to keep everyone at a distance. "I need you do one more!" shouted Garnet. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley fired another at it. BANG. ROAR. "Flight!" Garnet flew forward and aimed straight at the crystal at its chest. The Zmaj caught sight of Garnet. "Blood Scythe!" Garnet swung the scythe at the crystal at its chest. All three of the heads of the Zmaj aimed at Garnet. They were going to fire a combined blast at her. Lord Hawk ran straight towards her. CLING. It was the sound of something breaking. VWOOM. Garnet felt the enormous pressure of something collapsing on top of her. It was burning and freezing at the same time. "Garnet!" Riley shouted. You have leveled up! "Ugh," Garnet groaned as she fell over. Her clothes were tattered from the damage of the three combined breath attacks. She felt cold. BOOM. The Zmaj fell over. Garnet had broken the crystal at its chest with her Blood Scythe. "Hey are you okay?!?" shouted Lord Hawk. "Say something." Quest Complete: King''s Expedition (II) Slay the Zmaj in the cave beyond the forest in the West. Reward: Experience, Fame+20 You have leveled up! Garnet saw that her health had taken an enormous hit. She wanted to make sure that she was not dead yet because she certainly felt like she would die at any moment. It was almost as if all the warmth in her body was blasted out by force. Her mana had been emptied for the first time in who knows how long and she took significant damage, but she was not dead. She would be all right. "Bring me over to the Zmaj," said Garnet. Lord Hawk picked her up and carried her over. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Can you promise that you and your will not speak of anything that you see here?" asked Garnet. "You saves us all from the Zmaj, so yes," said Lord Hawk. "Okay," said Garnet. "I''m going to use the body of it to heal myself. Blood Absorption!" The body of the Zmaj turned into blood and flowed inside her body. "Ugh," Garnet groaned. She saw her health increase by a significant amount. It was just over half now. New Skill: Aqua Strike Fire a ball of water at your target. Knockback effect MP Cost: 50 New Skill: Jet Stream Fire a burst of water at your target. Ignores Armor. MP Cost: 200 New Skill: -LOCKED- Level Up: Scale Armor (Level 2) Stat Increase: Vitality +5 Stat Increase: Intelligence +5 "Not bad," Garnet thought to herself. She had water magic now as well. "What did you just do?" asked Lord Hawk. "I used the blood within the Zmaj to heal myself," said Garnet. "I see," said Lord Hawk. "Remember men, no one is to speak of this." "Don''t we need proof we killed it?" asked Sergio. Lord Hawk walked over to the fragments of broken crystal that was still on the ground. "We show this to the King, the heart of the Zmaj. This is our proof," said Lord Hawk. "Now, help carry her." "No, I got it," said Riley who picked up Garnet. "Thanks," said Garnet. That was the closest Garnet had ever gotten to death because she was too reckless. Even though her health was recovering, she still felt a chill all over her body from the breath attack. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 31 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 2400/2400 MP: 7400/7400 Fame: 170 Strength: 57 (+5) Dexterity: 52 (+7) Intelligence: 216 (+22) Vitality: 70 (+5) Agility: 64 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 7 - Lightning ¨C 13 - Wind ¨C 4 - Water - 0 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 1) - Jet Stream (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 7) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 9) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
-LOCKED- Skill is... Spoiler : Locked skill is Elemental Breath, but has special requirements, specifically, another Class Change into a mage that focuses on building monster like features to use. Book 5: Chapter 039 - Journey East This technically begins a new arc as Anzio is no longer the focus, but I''m keeping it together because the goals have not changed. ----------------------------------------------------------- Garnet finally made it back to Anzio. "Are you sure you two don''t want to meet with the King?" Lord Hawk asked. "He offered to make time for you if you did." "Yes," said Garnet. "I don''t like the feeling of the castle very much. I''ll just settle for my reward." "Me neither," said Riley. "I don''t want to be dragged into politics." "Here you go," said Lord Hawk as he handed Garnet a large bag of coins. "It''s about 500 gold coins." "Five hundred?!?" Garnet was surprised it was so much. "You are responsible for nearly all the damage done to the Zmaj," said Lord Hawk. "On top of that, you were the deciding factor. In addition, you even let us have the Dragon Core. You earned it." Garnet did not really need gold. "Do you think I can trade this gold for the Dragon Core instead?" she asked. "Are you sure you want the broken Core?" Lord Hawk asked. "It''s basically useless." It was not useless to Garnet though. It was likely that it could be repaired with magicraft. "Yes," said Garnet. "Alright, I''ll take this gold back and bring you the core," said Lord Hawk. He walked away and returned a while later with the Dragon Core wrapped in a red and gold cloth. "Here you go," he said. "Thank you," said Garnet. "Come see me if you ever want to go on another Expedition," said Lord Hawk. "I guarantee there will be room for you." "I will if I have time," said Garnet. "I have other things to do." With that done, Garnet knew that an Expedition was not something that was suited for her needs. It required a team that could work together. Hiring people would not fulfill that requirement. Her spirits and her summons were the key. She headed to the Guild building to see if there was any updates. "You''re back!" said Hagel. "Yeah," said Garnet. "We made it." "That''s great," said Hagel. "For a moment I actually didn''t think you would make it." "Hey that''s not nice," said Garnet. "Haha, it is a dragon after all," said Hagel. "Most of the time, nearly half the people in the fight die." That was a high death ratio. "No wonder people did not want to go," said Garnet. "Well, you actually wanted to go," said Hagel. "That''s usually a sign that someone is either very strong or reckless." "Anyways, any updates?" asked Garnet. "Just one," said Hagel. He went to the back and took out a single thin book. "This was brought by someone and I think you might be interested in it." "What is it?" asked Garnet. "I don''t know," said Hagel. "Even our mages could barely understand that it was a combination of an artificial body and a summoning." Garnet opened the book and took a look at it. There was a note inside the book as well. "I''ll be waiting for you in Constantinople." That was all it said. New Quest: Journey to Constantinople Someone is awaiting your arrival in Constantinople. Find her. Reward: Unlocks Seal "Seal?" Garnet thought. "What could be sealed?" A map appeared in front of Garnet, showing her current location in Anzio along with the path that she should take to reach Constantinople. As Garnet flipped through the book, she saw it, the spell that she was looking for. New Skill: Human Form Vessel Requires: 100 Magic Clay, Magic Core, Earth Spirit, Fire Spirit, Water Spirit, Wind Spirit, Advanced Magicraft Create a body that is shaped like a person. It can be greatly customized and be inhabited by a spirit. MP Cost: 10000 This was what Garnet was looking for the whole time. A way to bring Riley back and allow her to not be attached to Garnet the whole time. It was not the same as a resurrection spell which would restore her original body as well, but it was a nice alternative. Whoever gave Garnet the book knew what she was looking for. "This is what I''ve been looking for," said Garnet as a tear flowed from her eyes. "I''ve finally made some progress. Thank you Hagel." "No problem, I''m just doing my job," said Hagel. "Can you tell me who brought this book here?" asked Garnet. Hagel leaned in closely to Garnet. "Surprisingly, she told me that it was okay to tell you, but she did not give a name," said Hagel. "What did she look like?" whispered Garnet. "She was a woman with blue hair dressed from shoulder down to toe in different shades of blue and white," said Hagel. "The clothes were transparent at the waist, at the legs, at the arms, and at the neck." "That''s quite an unusual appearance," said Garnet. "Yes," said Hagel. "But she said she was leaving the city and heading East to Constantinople." "What?!?" said Garnet as she was surprised by this. "She must be strong to do something like that alone." "I wouldn''t be surprised if she was a mage," said Hagel. "Alright," said Garnet. "I guess I need to start heading East too." "So your goal is to go to Constantinople as well?" asked Hagel. "Yes," said Garnet. "I''m looking for certain information that is only available there." "Have a safe trip," said Hagel. Garnet knew that it was not safe to travel alone, but she no longer had to be. When she returned back home, the Cerberus was still there waiting for her. Even though Garnet was gone for maybe a week, it was still fine. With her Animal Golems, she could create a squad of Cerberus to help guard her. They were not undead, so she did not need to hide them. The goal now was to make sure they got stronger, strong enough so that Garnet could unlock Minion Development or get the requirements to create a Human Form Vessel. If she could get more cores, she could even create bodies for each of her spirits. "So, we''re going to go to Constantinople with just us?" asked Riley. "Yeah," said Garnet as she began to pack. "We wasted a lot of time and didn''t get much done. The Guild takes too long to rank up. It''s too hard to organize people for an Expedition. I think it''s better if we just go with us." "You don''t have to rush this," said Riley. "I know," said Garnet. "But I''m going to at my own pace. I don''t want to be sitting here waiting for the small chance that it might happen." "I understand," said Riley. "You''re surprisingly okay with this," said Garnet. "I don''t know what else to do either," said Riley as she began to help. "I think your decision making is better than mine." There was not much to pack. The only thing to really take was the books and the cauldron, and they could easily be stored. But, Garnet created two additional Cerberus out of the Animal Golems. "You three will protect me on our journey," said Garnet. "Stay out of sight unless you feel it is needed or if I call you." The three dogs all stood up straight and listened to Garnet. Even though they could not speak, they could motion and gesture to each other. They all ran off, following the orders Garnet issued. After saying goodbye to Leeroy and Ruby, the two began to walk East. At the gate, they were checked before the man in grey robes above the city gates motioned to let them through. In front of them was a road. As long as they followed it, they would eventually reach the Ruins of Constantinople. Garnet could see that the Cerberus were hiding in strange places. One was following by swimming in the river where only its head was exposed. Nonetheless, they were still following orders. "Last chance for anything," said Garnet. "I''m fine," said Riley. "Are you sure you don''t want to visit Charles?" she asked. "They''re fine," said Garnet. "They''re still busy developing the country and if something did come up, Zedd could always contact us." "Then off we go," said Riley. As the two headed East, they looked back at Anzio. The city itself was massive, so much that you probably had to be on a big hill at least a thousand meters up to see everything. Garnet could only make out the Northeast corner of the city where Anzio Academy was and the castle because of how high they stood above everything else. They were heading East, where the Invasions are thought to have originated from The further East you went, the stronger the enemies were. Zedd believed that there was an Invasion that has been going on for centuries in the far East in a city called Beijing. The first big obstacle was the mountain pass to the North. Garnet had visited earlier in search of spirits, but this was the first time that they were going to cross it. "I have no idea how we''re going to do this," said Garnet. "There should be a trade route somewhere in these mountains," said Riley. "You could always just fly though." Flying would have made it easy, but there was no telling what kind of crazy creature might spot them from the ground below or be flying in the sky. For example, if there was another Zmaj hiding in these mountains, they would be spotted and it could chase them. That would not be good. "I think it''s better to just walk," said Garnet. "After all, there weren''t that many aggressive monsters here." "Why don''t you ask one of the spirits for help?" Riley asked Garnet. "Oh yeah," said Garnet. "They lived here. Call: Meliae!" "Don''t tell me you want to dig up dirt again," said Meliae. "I just need directions," said Garnet. "How do I get the other side of the mountain?" "Just follow the main road up past Sino''s Cave and down the other side," said Meliae. "The next time you call me, it better be for something important." She then disappeared into the ground. "I guess we go up," said Garnet. As they made their way up, they noticed that there were more wild animals. Goats and sheep were plentiful in the mountains despite the small amounts of grass available. Unlike the Western Mountains, the Eastern ones did not feature any crazy aggressive animals. They were mostly passive. The most aggressive one that they saw was a Ram that looked at Garnet and Riley until they left. Higher up the mountain past Sino''s Cave, a thick layer of mist began to form. It was dangerous because it was hard to see. Even Garnet''s Night Vision did not help much because it was a fog, not because of the lack of light. HOWL. It was the sound of one of the Cerberus. "Did they find something?" thought Garnet. New Quest: Bandits of Dolomite Clear the bandits in the Dolomite Mountains and continue East. Reward: Experience "Someone''s coming," said Riley as she drew the short sword strapped to her leg. Garnet could see the shadow of a man. He limped forward. "Help me..." he said as he reached out his hand. He was injured, but Garnet was not taking any chances. Name: Liam Level: 15 Class: Tracker Sub-Class: Scout Stats: High Agility There was a high chance that he was one of the bandits that was mentioned by the quest. With a Tracker Class, it would be possible for him to track someone like Garnet through the mountains. With a Scout sub-class, it would be easy to gather information from unsuspecting travelers. The thing was that Liam was less than half of Garnet''s level. If he tried to do anything, she could probably push him off the mountain with a single Air Bullet. Riley walked up to the man. "Be careful," said Garnet. "I know it''s a trap," Riley whispered as she walked by Garnet. The man collapsed into Riley''s arms. "Thank goodness," he said. "Are you okay?" asked Riley. She saw that the man was wearing a brown fur coat and a white shirt under. His pants were white or grey in color as well. It would be hard to spot him with the colors he was wearing. "I was attacked," said the man. "There were many of them," he said as he looked at Garnet. He then turned to face Riley. Riley saw that he was looking at her body. She was aware when someone was doing this. The man was trying to gauge how strong she was. That was most likely his job. He would then disappear and then inform his allies of the people coming up or he would take them on himself. "Rest," said Riley. "We''ll take care of the rest." Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. "Take this," groaned the man as he reached into his coat. "And die!" he shouted. Riley immediately grabbed his arm and twisted it. "AHH!" the man screamed. "I''m surprised you didn''t want to capture me alive," said Riley. "I thought bandits only killed men and captured the women." "How did you know?" asked the man. "Your colors are for hiding, not for traveling," said Riley. "Now it''s my turn to ask you questions." "I will not speak," said the man. "Do you want to try to make him talk?" Riley asked Garnet. "Alright," said Garnet. She grabbed onto the arm of the man. "Pleasure Inducement!" "UGH," groaned the man as he collapsed onto the floor. He was suddenly panting heavily. "How many people are ahead of us?" asked Garnet. "Ten not counting me," said the man. "Who is the strongest in the group?" asked Garnet. "Me," said the man. Everyone else in the group was weaker. They were probably comparable to the soldiers of Antium at best, but far fewer in number. "What kind of people are in the group?" asked Garnet. "Just fighters," said the man. "Recall!" Garnet recalled the Cerberus. "Scatter the bandits ahead for us," she ordered. The Cerberus all circled the man on the ground, sniffing him. Then, they went ahead. They could track the people in the fog. It was most likely because of their dog like characteristics. They did not need to see. They could rely on smell as well. "AHH!" There was a scream. The Cerberus were getting to work. Normal people did not stand a chance against them. After all, they were extremely powerful. The ones Garnet fought were level 60, but hers were probably not near that level. "AHH!" There was another scream. Garnet could hear some kind of shouting, but she could not make out what it was. Then, silence and the Cerberus returned. Quest Complete: Bandits of Dolomite Reward: Experience Normal people did not stand a chance against the Cerberus. "Continue to protect me well," said Garnet as she pet the Cerberus. The Cerberus reacted by rubbing its head over Garnet''s hand. They were very attached to her. They then disappeared again, hiding from plain sight. "Let''s go," Garnet said to Riley. The two continued on their way. When they reached the top of the path, they saw a tight turn. Around the corner was the bodies of some of the bandits. There were only about three maybe four bodies. They were hiding there, waiting to ambush the people who were coming around to take the path because it was nearly impossible to see around the corner. It was likely that Garnet and Riley would have been attacked by their large numbers if they had followed the man. A little further down, they saw something that resembled a camp. It was built mostly using stones, creating crude shelters that barely protected its inhabitants from the elements. One building stood out as it was made of wood while the others were all stone. There was movement, it was clearly a place where people lived. "This looks like where the bandits lived," said Garnet. "Should we take a look?" asked Riley as she quickly scanned the town with her eyes. "I think it''s likely that many of them would be inside," said Garnet. "If they''re attacking people passing by, I think we should do something about it," said Riley. Garnet laid down a Teleportation Summoning Circle and began to walk towards the camp. There was no howl or warning from the Cerberus. It was not a trap as far as she could tell. It was likely that the bandits were a group of people that acted independently of the town. Garnet and Riley walked in to see that it was a village. It was not the bandits. As she looked around, she saw that there were families here, but they were poor. They built their village near the water that flowed down from the mountain. As Garnet walked through the village, she saw two people who were heavily injured. One had bite claw marks on his arm and bandages wrapped around his leg. It was likely that he was one of the people who were planning to attack her. With so little in town though, she could see why they did it. They relied on trade for food as it was difficult to grow in the mountains. The only thing they had was the wool and the limited amount of food they could get from the animals on the mountain. "Are you going to help these people?" asked Riley. "How did you know?" asked Garnet. "I can see it in your eyes," said Riley. "You want to do something about this." "I will," said Garnet she said as she walked up to a merchant who was selling a few pieces of clothing. He also had some processed wool on the side. Name: Wool Quality: High Effects: Resists Cold "Interested in something?" asked the man. "I''ll trade you," said Garnet. "Wool in exchange for Wild Boar Meat." The man''s eyes lit up immediately. He was interested. "What''s your ratio?" he asked. "Five pounds of wool for this," said Garnet as she took out three and a half kilos of boar meat. "So much," he said. "Do you accept?" Garnet asked. "Yes!" the man shouted. He immediately grabbed up the meat and brought out the wool to Garnet. "Thank you so much," he said. Garnet stored it inside her ring and began to look around for other things. The other merchants all began to bring out some of their finer wares. They wanted Garnet to buy from them too. What they did not know was that Garnet was not interested in their fancy things. She was looking for things like raw materials. Things she could use. Since everyone was paying attention to her, she decided to just shout, "I''m looking for Flower Nectar, does anyone have it?" A middle aged woman walked forward. "I do," she said. Garnet looked at what she had. Name: Flower Nectar Quality: High Effect: Heals abnormalities Garnet took out several flanks of Wild Boar Meat. "Will this do?" she asked. "Yes!" said the middle aged woman. Garnet was thinking of what else these people might have that she could use. Gemstones could possibly be mined from mountains as well. "Anyone with precious jewels?" she asked. No one stepped forward. Garnet looked around to make sure, but there was no one. It looked like this mountain did not have any precious gems. They could probably serve as good catalysts or be used to create high quality golems and vessels though. Giving away food was not going to help since people would just flock to her and ask for some. So, she decided to walk around and see what she could find. There was a few pieces of pottery that were being made. "Hey do you have any glue?" Garnet asked. "Glue?" asked the man. "What''s glue?" "It''s something made from animal fat or taken from trees that makes things sticky," said Garnet. She wanted to see if they had a way to repair the Dragon Core she had. The man took out a jar of what looked like a sticky orange liquid. It was sort of like sap. "Do you mean this?" he asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "Along with some of the powder you use your pots shiny." The man took out a jar of red dirt. "This?" he asked. "Yes, that," said Garnet. "How much for it?" "I want ten kilos in meat," said the man. Garnet realized what he was doing. "I''ll give you three," said Garnet. "Seven," the man countered. "Five, take it or leave it," said Garnet. "Deal!" said the man with a smile on his face. It just might be possible to repair the Dragon Core with materials like this. Even a village high up in the mountains had a lot of treasures. The problem was that there were not many visitors, so their economy mostly relied on each other and that was limited. Trade was something very important, but the mountain pass and relative isolation made it difficult. Carriages could not make it up the mountain, so people would have to travel on horseback or by foot, making it difficult to transport large volumes unless they had something special like rings that could store materials. In the entire village, only one person had something like that. HOWL. Garnet heard the howl of the Cerberus coming from higher up in the mountain. It meant danger was near. She looked around and spotted a tall man approaching. The people looked around fearing that it might be some wild animal attacking. "Stop right there!" shouted Garnet. The entire market suddenly turned silent. "Give me the food that you have and I might let you live," said the man. He was very tall. Garnet probably barely reached up to his chest. The man had numerous injuries over his body. His right leg was red from a burn. His arm had a bandage on it. His chest had some dried blood on it as well. In his left hand was a knife. It was likely that he was one of the bandits that had tried to ambush her but was scattered by the Cerberus Thanks to Garnet''s size and appearance though, she was being underestimated. Riley stepped forward. "I can handle this," said Garnet as she stepped forward. "I told you to give me the food that you have," said the man. "Why should I?" asked Garnet. "If you have something to trade, I''ll reconsider it." "Don''t you understand that I could just take it from you?!?" the man shouted. "No, you cant," said Garnet. "You THINK you can take it from me, but can you really?" she asked. "Do you think the people here accept you?" The man looked around. All of the villagers were looking at him with intense hatred. It was probably because of people like him that the town''s trade declined. People would not visit an isolated town even if they had quality products if there was a high risk of being attacked. It just was not worth their time or their safety to visit. Garnet was their biggest customer in a while, and she was still buying from them and giving them what they really wanted, food. All she wanted in exchange, was a few things that she needed. "If you want to fight, then I will not mind hurting you more," said Garnet as she drew her sword. "But I''m going to look around more," she said as she turned around and put her sword away. Garnet started to ignore the man, but Riley kept an eye on him. CLANG. The man dropped his knife and turned around. He walked away. Someone walked up and took the knife away. Garnet turned around and continued on her business. "How did you know?" asked Riley. "It''s something I learned from your knowledge," said Garnet. "There''s a risk for every transaction, and the bandits here only made the risk higher." It was likely that bandits like that discouraged trade and worsened the conditions in the village. As things got worse, their attacks would increase in frequency in order to secure what they needed. In doing so, they probably prevented other travelers from getting through and over time, they stopped going by this route and looked for another. "I see," said Riley. "Do you have any memories of me?" "Only memories of when we shared the same body," said Garnet. "If you''re looking for memories of your past life, I don''t have much of it, only a little about what you did at your school before you came here." "That''s what I know too," said Riley. "Don''t worry," said Garnet. "We''ll find your memories somehow." "I know," said Riley. "But you also have things that you must do and I don''t want to be what stops you because there is far more at risk." "I know," said Garnet. "Hopefully Constantinople has both." Garnet continued to browse through the market, but the small village had little much else to offer other than a few vials of Flower Nectar. She settled on a little more wool before departing down the other side of the mountain. Spoiler : No change in stats. There''s probably going to be a lack of change in stats for a while as fighting becomes less of a focus until the next arc. Book 5: Chapter 040 - Plague Garnet and Riley left the town and the two headed down the other side of the mountain. Compared to going up from Antium''s side, the road winded around much more, but it also meant that it was not as dangerous. As they headed down the mountain, the fog began to lift. Yet, there was no one in sight. People seemed to avoid the mountains altogether. "Is it because of the bandits?" Garnet thought to herself. There was always the likelihood that there was something scary. Antium and Anzio were relatively safe in comparison. There was rarely an organized group that attacked travelers because guards patrolled the roads to keep people safe. The Bandits of Dolomite were barely organized, but still organized. On the other side of the mountains, it was practically empty. Nonetheless, Garnet laid a Teleportation Summoning Circle so she could return to this spot more quickly if she needed to. Now, she needed to head East and find a road. Without knowing what was ahead, Garnet decided to play it safe and avoid flying while keeping her Cerberus close. "I guess the best thing to do is find a city," said Garnet. "Do you even know if there is a city near us?" asked Riley. "No, but I''m sure there is if there''s people who live in the remote mountains like that," said Garnet. "Are you just going to pick a direction and walk?" Riley asked. "That does not seem to be a very good idea." "It''s the only thing we can do," said Garnet as she looked at the map. There were several small villages and a few big cities along the way. Garnet took one last look at the mountain and just walked away from it in the opposite direction. Having a guide would have helped a lot, but the likelihood there was even someone who could do it was very low since few people journey to Constantinople. "That''s a fence!" shouted Riley. Garnet squinted her eyes and saw something sticking out of the ground far away. She could barely notice the outline of it yet Riley could see it. Garnet walked up to it and saw it. It was a fence made of several sticks tied together with wire of some kind. Several of them fenced off a small farm of radishes. There should be people who lived here. "Let''s ask for directions," said Garnet. "Alright," said Riley. "Just be careful." New Quest: Investigate the Farm There is a farm nearby. Find out what is going on. Reward: Experience, Fame Garnet looked around and only saw a mound in the distance. It did not resemble a traditional house and was more like a hut made of mud. As she approached it, she saw that it was bigger than it seemed from the distance. The outside of the house was not mud, it was more like ceramic that had been baked. It was pieced together by wire, sand, and mud. She knocked on the door. "Is anyone here?" she asked. There was no reply. "Is it empty?" asked Riley. "I don''t think so," said Garnet. "This farm looks pretty well maintained. Maybe they''re out?" "That could be it," said Riley. "But that seems unlikely." Garnet''s Cerberus did not howl. That meant that there was no signs of danger around. If there was, they would have howled to alert Garnet. "Maybe this farm was abandoned for some reason," said Garnet. "What would have scared away these people then?" asked Riley. "It doesn''t look like monsters or bandits attacked." "That''s a good question," said Garnet. "I''m going to wait a bit and see if anyone returns first." "Alright," said Riley. "Just don''t waste too much time here." "I won''t waste time," said Garnet. "I hate waiting too." After waiting a short while, there was still no one. "Was this farm abandoned?" Garnet thought. "If it is, why was it abandoned?" That was a mystery. If it was abandoned, then there had to be a reason why. Quest Update: Investigate the Farm Find out why people left the farm. Reward: Experience, Fame "Recall!" The Cerberus all appeared before Garnet. "Find anything strange nearby," she ordered. To completely abandon a farm was unusual, especially one that was doing well. If it was not an attack or an immediate threat, it was probably some kind of unseen threat. Suddenly, there was an unusual smell of some kind. It smelled a little like something died. "Oh no," said Garnet. "What is it?" asked Riley. "I think there might be some kind of airborne sickness," said Garnet. "That''s a good reason to leave a place like this isn''t it?" "We don''t know for certain," said Riley. HOWL. That was the sound of the Cerberus. They found something. Garnet and Riley hurried to where the sound originated from. There was nothing there, but something smelled. The Cerberus moved its paws. "Is it from under?" Garnet asked. The Cerberus nodded. "Can you dig it up?" Garnet asked. The Cerberus began to dig, moving the dirt onto a large pile behind it. Garnet saw some kind of bone. The Cerberus continued to dig eventually revealing an entire skeleton of a cow. There was something wrong with it. There was little flesh that had been discovered, it was mostly bone, and some parts of the bone had turned black. This was clearly the source of the disease. "Call: Nuria!" This was the only way Garnet knew how to deal with something on such a large scale. "Burn it," said Garnet. Nuria released powerful flames that scorched the skeleton. Even if the skeleton does not die, the fires will at least be enough to kill whatever is causing the sickness. "There might be more around here," said Riley. "Yeah," said Garnet. "If they bury their dead animals like that, there''s certain more." There was in fact three more. A total of four buried cattle skeletons that were partially black. Quest Update: Investigate the Farm (II) Go to the nearby town and help them cure the disease. Reward: Experience, Fame "There''s a town somewhere nearby where the disease is spreading as well," said Garnet. "How do you know?" asked Riley. "Quest update," said Garnet. "I remember those," said Riley. "I can''t see them anymore though." "Are you okay?" asked Garnet. "I feel okay," said Riley. "It probably only affects physical bodies, not ones made of mana." Garnet heated her clothes and her body to be safe. Even if her Enhanced Body protected her from the illness, she could still be a carrier. If it really was a sickness though, she would need to make enough Remedy for the people, which could be difficult. The problem now was finding out where that town was. "Where''s the nearest town?" Garnet asked her Cerberus. The Cerberus all pointed their head in a single direction. "I guess that''s the way," said Riley. "They haven''t been wrong just yet," said Garnet. The two headed in the direction that the Cerberus pointed to. There was almost no people around. It was strange. Even the roads that were nearly abandoned in Antium and Anzio at least had a few people once in a while, but here, there was zero. Not a single person or living animal as far as the eyes could see. It was probably safe to fly. "Flight!" Garnet flew up high into the sky. There was nothing in the air around either. The animals probably knew there was something wrong in the area and avoided it, but the people did not, which is why the whole town nearby was affected by the disease. Riley followed Garnet into the air. "Are we going to fly to the town?" she asked "Yes," said Garnet. "But we''re landing outside and walking in." After flying for a while, Garnet saw some houses below. The town consisted of probably a hundred buildings or so. It was not as big as Antium, but it was definitely bigger than the village in the mountains. It was strange though, there was no movement at all. At least Antium, Anzio, and the village in the mountains all at least had people moving that she could see. It was as if this town was abandoned as well. Garnet landed outside, laid a Teleportation Summoning Circle down and proceeded to walk into the town. She stopped right outside the village entrance. There was no one either, but she could feel that someone was watching them. "There''s people inside the houses," said Riley. "They must be staying inside to avoid the sickness," said Garnet. "This town will not last like this," said Riley. "These people have to come out some time." "Let''s just see what we can find," said Garnet. She entered into the town and began to look around. The entrance of the town seemed to be like a marketplace, but it was devoid of people or things for sale. There were just a couple of empty crates and some rotten meat of some kind. Garnet took a close look at the piece of meat. It was rotting, but she had to be safe. "Fire Ball!" BOOM. She incinerated the meat. If it was some kind of sickness, that should have destroyed it. It also drew attention to them. "There''s more people looking at us," said Riley. "I know," said Garnet. "I just used magic, that will draw some kind of attention. I was hoping someone would come out to talk to us at least." She looked around to see if she could find anything else that could potentially carry the disease, but none was in sight. In the worst case scenario, someone preserved and stored the meat, which could then also infect someone if the process did not kill whatever was causing the illness. As Garnet passed the marketplace, she entered the town square, which was also empty. It was well built with a stone foundation. The road was even paved here. There were signs that there was some deterioration already with decomposing trash in some spots. Mold could form and cause disease as well, so she burned it as well. At the center was a fountain, one with clean water that went through it. The water itself was clear, there were no signs of anything like coloration in the water. There was always the chance that the water had problems that she could not see. She put her finger in the water and tasted it. The water was bitter. There was something strange with it. "Is there anything that you can do?" asked Riley. "We''re going to make some Remedy," said Garnet. She took out her cauldron. "Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu! Call: Sino! Call: Meliae!" With her spirits, Garnet could create a very potent remedy and dilute it into the town''s water supply. It should cleanse it of any problems and help spread the cure. Even if people did not drink it, it would at least be absorbed into the ground where it will prevent the illness from taking root. Garnet did not know how much of the Remedy needed to be made, so she made as much as she could, using all the Flower Nectar that she had just acquired from the village in the mountain. Level Up: Magicraft (Level 8) She poured in a few drops and let it mix into the water. After a few minutes, she tasted the water. It was no longer bitter. "It worked," said Garnet. She refilled her stored water. "Someone is coming," said Riley. A pale old lady walked towards Garnet. "How are you okay?" she asked. Name: Belle Level: 10 Class: Mayor Sub-class: Seamstress Stats: High Vitality "I cleaned the water," said Garnet. "Your water was bad, so I fixed it." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "How?" asked Belle. "This," said Garnet. She showed Belle a bottle of Remedy. "This looks like medicine," said Belle. "It is," said Garnet. "I made it." "Can I have some?" asked Belle. Garnet handed Belle the remains of the bottle that she had just used on the fountain. "Just this is for free," said Garnet. Belle took a few drops of it in her mouth. Garnet watched as the paleness disappeared and was replaced with a little color to her cheeks and her fingers. "I feel better," said Belle. "How is that possible?" "We''re you sick with the illness too?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Belle. "They said I would die in a week, but it''s already been five days." "How long ago did the illness begin?" asked Garnet. "About a year ago, there was the first case," said Belle. "One of the farmers came into town with a cow that did not look quite right, but he was selling it for cheap, so the butcher bought it and sold it. The meat looked normal and there were no problems at first. However, people started getting sick about two months later and no one knew why. We believed it to be from that cow and it spread to other things." "Do you have other sources of water in town?" Garnet asked. "A few wells," said Belle. "Why?" "How many?" asked Garnet. "Eight more," said Belle. Garnet handed Belle eight more vials of Remedy. "In exchange for this, I want a place to sleep and a hot meal. Can you do that?" she asked. "Yes," said Belle. "Talk a bottle of each and pour them inside your water," said Garnet. "Do not drink the water until at least half an hour has passed okay?" "Yes," said Belle. "Thank you for this." "You''re welcome," said Garnet. Quest Complete: Investigate the Farm (II) Go to the nearby town and help them cure the disease. Reward: Experience, Fame+50 You have leveled up! "Only about 2000 more mana to go," Garnet thought. Ten thousand mana was the breaking point for some of the most powerful spells. She was getting closer. Garnet sat at the fountain and waited to see if anyone would come out. No one did. They were still scared. A while later, Belle returned. "Come with me," said Belle. Garnet and Riley followed Belle to a large two story building. Inside was an office of some kind, but it was empty. "Is this your house?" Garnet asked. "It''s the mayor''s office," said Belle. "But when people got sick, everyone chose to stay home and did not want to risk going outside." "How many people died from the illness?" Garnet asked. "About 40 so far," said Belle. "We burned their bodies to make sure, but I think that may have spread it even more." Burning the bodies was the safer choice. It would actually kill whatever was killing people. The problem was that they were already infected, making it do little else. "Did you spread the Remedy across all the water sources?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Belle. For now, Garnet needed information. "Isn''t there a noble who oversees your lands to help with this kind of problem?" Garnet asked. "There are no more nobles here," said Belle. "So when we run into trouble, we have to take care of the problem ourselves." "Isn''t there a doctor?" Garnet asked. "He was one of the first to die trying to help all the sick people," Belle explained. "Without him, the disease spread even faster." A single problem was all it took to bring this village to its knees. It would crumble soon if something was not done. They really needed help. "Do you have any uninfected food?" Garnet asked. "Just some preserved meats and vegetables," said Belle. "But it won''t last long." "There was an abandoned farm to the West," said Garnet. "I think someone can go take care of it afterwards if they treat everything with the medicine." "Thank you," said Belle as she shook Garnet''s hands. Garnet spent a few days at the village. She observed the town''s wells with Riley, watching people. The people only took the water when they were desperate because the water was also making them sick. She watched as the people who drank the water improved. The Remedy had cured them and allowed them to recover their strength. Slowly, the people who recovered began to return outside and continue with their lives instead of hiding at home. "Can you stay here?" Belle asked. "Sorry, but I cannot," asked Garnet. "We''ll give you food and a place to stay," said Belle. "Sorry, but I must go to Constantinople," said Garnet. "The ruined city?" asked Belle. "Why would you want to go to such a place?" "I''m looking for something that might only be found there," said Garnet. "Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay?" asked Belle. "We need a new doctor and you can help us." "I''m afraid I cannot," said Garnet. "The water should keep your people healthy for a while. That''s all I can do." "I understand," said Belle. "Thank you so much. I''m afraid I have nothing to give you." "All I wanted was food and a place to stay for a while," said Garnet. "That''s enough for me." " "But you two took so little," said Belle. "Surely that not is enough to eat." Belle was suspicious because the little food Garnet took could not have fed both Garnet and Riley. "It''s enough," said Garnet. "I''ll be going now." "Please visit us again on your way back," said Belle. Garnet learned that the villages East of Anzio were relatively disconnected from one another. It was important information and there was no system of nobles to manage or oversee all the lands. The people took care of the lands themselves and when a major problem came up, there would be no one they could turn to for help. Isolation also prevented trade from benefiting the region. However, with a problem that affected an entire village, it was unlikely that even a King could do anything to help other than to burn the place to the ground so that the disease would not spread. It was also likely that a town like that would not expand very much. But, the fact that Constantinople existed meant that there were large towns and cities. They were just further apart. With that in mind, Garnet and Riley continued East towards Constantinople. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 32 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 2450/2450 MP: 8160/8160 Fame: 220 Strength: 57 (+5) Dexterity: 52 (+7) Intelligence: 221 (+22) Vitality: 70 (+5) Agility: 64 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 7 - Lightning ¨C 13 - Wind ¨C 4 - Water - 0 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 1) - Jet Stream (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 8) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 9) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 5: Chapter 041 - The Power of Mana Chapters are slow partially because I''ve been busy and because of rewrites due to some parts that I did not like. I don''t have as much time to write as I did before either. A few of the rewrites has been made into concepts for future enemies. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few hundred miles east of the diseased village was a huge city. One that was only just smaller than the size of Anzio with probably even more people. The strange thing was that half of the city seemed to be floating on water while the other half of the city was on land. "How did they do that?" Garnet wondered. It looked very dangerous. Nonetheless, it was a city that she could see. After laying another Teleportation Summoning Circle outside of the city, she headed towards the city. Strangely, the city was not walled. Instead, it was surrounded by water. There was only one way in by foot, and that was through the front door. The other way in was by gondola, small boats what would ferry a few people and a few objects. Garnet saw that at the entrance of the city, there were guards. It was not like the city was without security, but it was much more lax compared to the walled cities she had encountered so far. The guards did not even bother to stop and check her as she entered the city. "Are they not worried?" thought Garnet. "Anyone could just walk in and out." "What are you thinking about?" asked Riley. "This city seems to relaxed," said Garnet. "If something dangerous were to come along, they would be in big trouble." "I don''t think that''s going to be a problem," said Riley. She pointed out into the waters. Garnet saw large ships made of metal far off in the distance. They had constructed metal ships to defend their city if needed. It was far more advanced than the technology that was in Anzio and Antium. Even though they had metal ships, strangely enough, they did not have anything like cannons. Then again, with mages, you did not really need cannons. The mages could just fire spells. The city had all kinds of things for sale. Lots of food, lots of clothes, and lots of rare materials as well. The problem was that it was all very expensive. Even the cheapest foods were several gold, but Garnet could tell that they were of high quality. In the end, it was a city for luxury goods. The buildings in the city mostly belonged to different artisans that made everything from plates to swords to delicacies. Yet like many special abilities and techniques, they are kept secret and only passed down to someone the artisan selects on their own to be apprentices. "Whose apprentice are you?" asked a voice. Garnet turned around and saw an old man with a white beard. He had wrinkled skin and was wearing a purple robe and was taking a close look at Garnet''s robe. "How did you sneak up on us?" asked Riley. Normally, she could tell if people were coming close, but somehow, the old man did not register. "I don''t make much noise when I move," said the old man. "Who are you?" asked Garnet. "You don''t know who I am?" asked the old man. "We''re not from around here," said Garnet. "We''re traveling." "I see," said the old man. "My name is Saul, and I''m a pretty famous weaver from around here." "So what do you want?" asked Garnet. "I want to know who made your robe," said Saul. "It was made by a tailor and then modified my a mage," said Garnet. "Ah that would explain a lot," said Saul. "Explain what?" asked Garnet. "Your robe is rich in magical power," said Saul. "Normally it takes a very long time for it to accumulate so much." Garnet''s robe was specially modified by the Crystal Catalysts she had acquired from the Magitech Cannons. It helped with the process and gave the robe immense magical power. "Does magic power accumulates in everything?" asked Garnet. "Only objects that are made with the right materials and have had enough time," said Saul. Garnet''s own Item Enhancement skill did not require time. Instead, all it took was her own mana to infuse into items. "What can you tell me about this?" Garnet asked as she took out an enhanced iron ingot. "This is very rich in magic," said Saul. "You could probably make a high quality sword with it." "Why are they so rare?" Garnet asked. "I''ve heard that they are very expensive." "Areas that are rich in magic produce the best materials," said Saul. "But it also means that the area is populated with a huge amount of creatures that feed off of that mana as well. The richer the mana, the stronger the enemies that appear." "What about abnormalities like a dragon by itself?" asked Garnet. "Creatures eat each other too," said Saul. "When one creature accumulates mana regardless of the methods, they will grow stronger." Quest Update: Minion Development Feed your summons mana to unlock the Minion Development skill Reward: New Skill "Thank you for that information," said Garnet. "Is there anything you need besides my clothes? I''ll be willing to compensate you for it." "No," said Saul. "I learned enough from what you told me. A method to enhance an object with magic is rare, but at least I know it is possible now." "Do you know if there''s any strong creatures around here?" asked Garnet. "There''s one that lives in the waters just outside of the city," said Saul. "The ships keep it away." "Anything else?" Garnet asked. "No, sorry," said Saul. "That''s the only one I know of." With that, Saul took his leave. He walked away excited as if he had discovered something new and exciting. Garnet took one look at his stats as he walked away. Name: Saul Level: 34 Class: Weaver Sub-Class: Shadow Stats: High Agility, High Dexterity There was nothing exceptional about him. Garnet had to find a way to feed her undead summons her mana or mana from others. It was likely that was why Dark Mages are feared or held in contempt. It was because they sacrificed people to allow their undead army to grow. That was not something Garnet wanted to do. She wanted to do it without harming others, which meant she had to use her own mana. The advantage Garnet had was that her mana recovers at an unbelievable rate. What takes Zedd days to recover to his maximum, Garnet can do it in several minutes without the need for an item to aid her. It was likely that Garnet''s Blood Absorption functioned on the same principles. Blood contained mana, so by absorbing the blood of her enemies, Garnet also acquired their abilities and mana. "Any clue how to feed my summons mana?" Garnet asked Riley. "Maybe you should ask one of your other spirits," said Riley. "They could tell your blood was rich in mana." Outside of town, Garnet called forth all of her summons. Riley, four elemental spirits, Romulus and Sylvia, and a small group of undead. "I was told I could feed you guys my mana," said Garnet. "Any ideas how to do it?" "We just need your blood," said Nuria. "I can cut you open to do it," said Meliae. "I thought you guys took mana from my body," said Garnet. "Not really," said Mazu. "We can borrow it to give ourselves a body when you call us, but it''s different from if we take it from you." "Can''t I just prick my finger or something?" Garnet asked. "It''s best if you just channel it into us, you can also prick your finger," said Romulus. "Why did no one tell me about this earlier?" Garnet asked. "I could have avoided so much trouble." "Because it''s not that easy," said Sino. "If you use up too much mana, you will weaken or permanently cripple yourself. It''s only possible with a large enough mana pool." Garnet realized that with the aid of the Hero System, she could avoid this problem altogether. It allowed her to control how much to use and the rate at which she could release it. "Cerberus first," said Garnet. The three Cerberus approached Garnet. She took her sword and pricked the tip of her left index finger and the blood drip. Each of the Cerberus took a drop in their mouth. Skill Upgrade: Cerberus -> Cerberus "No name change?" she thought. Garnet watched as the Cerberus changed their tail into one of a snake. They still only had one head though. They did not have the two or three heads that the others did. Quest Complete: Minion Development Reward: Minion Development Garnet checked her Menu and saw that there was a new option, Minion Development. The last one she obtained was the ability to see recipes, but this was sort of the same thing, but for her summons. Every one of her summons was listed from the Cerberus to Riley. For some reason though, Riley could not be modified yet someone like Romulus and Sylvia could. Some upgrades, such as enhancement to abilities only required mana, but there were others that required special materials. For her generic summons, she could only increase their numbers, the system would not let her increase their stats or teach them abilities yet. She had not met the requirements. "There''s so many options," Garnet said. Garnet spent the mana that she could to increase their numbers. Up to eight Cerberus, ten skeletons, three knights. For some reason though, she could not change the strength of Nuria, Mazu, Sino, Meliae, Romulus, and Sylvia. However, Romulus and Sylvia started to resemble people more than undead. Their pale skin now had a little color in them. If they became stronger, they might actually resemble living people some day. The spirits acquired proper human sized bodies though their skin was still very different from a normal person and would draw too much attention. The cost was a ridiculous amount of her mana. Yet, she could not do more because it would require her to increase her maximum mana even further. Stat Increase: Intelligence +9 If Garnet could put all of them inside a physical body, such as a golem or a vessel, she could start building her own army. It was not going to be easy though as it required an insane amount of mana that she just did not have yet. The next step up was the 10000 mark. There seemed to be something special about that number. Some of the skills Zedd wanted to teach her had 10000 as a requirement. To create a human form vessel was 10000 mana. With just Riley, Garnet headed back into the city to look for the Guild building. It was hard to find because all of the buildings were pretty high quality and none of them particularly stood out. Garnet received a lot of looks from people, but the people were not other Guild members who were looking for work. Instead, it looked like people who were surveying potential people to hire. On the requests wall were hundreds of requests for different materials. They all went unfulfilled. The city had a huge demand for high end items, but there was not many suppliers. Garnet had the ability to fill three kinds, animal hides, animal furs, and metal ingots. "They''re all looking," said Riley. "I think they want to know what rank I am or what I have," said Garnet. "What do you plan to do?" Riley asked. "I''m wondering if I should skip a few ranks by handing in a bunch of materials," said Garnet. "Shouldn''t you see what one gets you first?" Riley asked. "It''s not wise if they don''t give you much for it." "You''re right," said Garnet. She took out from her ring one Iron Ingot and a piece of Wild Boar Hide, both enhanced to the maximum values and walked to turn them in along with the request papers on the wall. HOWL. It was the sound of the Cerberus. There was danger. At that moment, Garnet felt something press on her back. CLANG. When she and Riley turned around to look, there was a knife on the floor. The people watching were not potential employers, they were people looking to kill the people looking to collect their rewards. In a Guild building of all places as well. Garnet was lucky that the Mana Armor protected her. The guards that were in the building did not do anything. They simply watched. Garnet turned to look at the people who worked for the Guild. "Aren''t you going to stop them?" Garnet asked. "We''re not strong enough to," said the man behind the desk. Garnet looked at the people. A total of ten people were in their mid thirties. The other fifteen or so people were lower, barely at the twenties. They were much higher than the people in other places. It was likely either the wealthy could afford them or because they all were working together. After all, they had just tried to kill Garnet. It would be unwise to let them get away. "So who threw that?" Garnet asked. All of the people who were standing around looked at each other. No one was going to speak up. Garnet could not tell if they were opposed to each other or if they were colluding and working together to take on a single person. "You do realize that if no one speaks up, it means I''m going to fight all of you right?" she said. A lot of the people suddenly turned towards one man. A man probably in his late thirties with a beard. Name: Bartholemew Level: 32 Class: Tracker Sub-class: Assassin Stats: High Dexterity "Is it you?" Garnet asked as she pointed at the man most of them were looking at. The man did not move or step forward. He continued to look at Garnet like the others. "What are you going to do about it little girl?" asked Bartholemew. Garnet looked at the other people who were all looking at her now. She handed the items she was carrying to Riley. She took her staff and started walking towards Bartholemew. "I''m going to make an example of you," said Garnet. "If I let that go, then others will come after me won''t they?" said Garnet as she looked at the others in the Guild. Bartholemew readied what looked like two daggers. He was dual wielding. A technique that Anna once said was extremely stupid. It certainly looked intimidating, but wielding multiple weapons was not an easy feat and they could be easily defeated if they lost control of even one. The other people began to back away from Bartholemew and Garnet. They knew a fight was going to start. Garnet dashed toward Bartholemew and Bartholemew raised his daggers. Garnet swung her staff horizontally. She saw Bartholemew take a step back, dodging it. He was preparing to jump towards Garnet and finish her off. Garnet rotated the staff around her waist so she could continue attacking. BANG. As Bartholemew jumped forward, he was struck on right side of his torso with a powerful strike. Garnet could hear a CRACK. It was the sound of broken bones. "UGH," Bartholemew groaned as he was sent flying several feet. Bartholemew landed several feet away to Garnet''s left. "GAH," he screamed as he held his right ribs. Garnet had dealt serious damage to him. "That''s what I''m going to do about it," said Garnet. "Do you want to continue?" Garnet asked. "No," said Bartholemew. "Does anyone else want to continue?" Garnet asked as she looked around. She could see that at least two others were planning sneak attacks, but they did not dare move once they saw what she did to Bartholemew. Garnet walked back over to Riley and took the Iron Ingot and Wild Boar Hide. She walked over to the counter with the requests and handed them in. Meanwhile, Riley continued to keep an eye on the others, making sure that they did not do anything. "Here," said Garnet as she handed over the materials along with her Guild Card. "You''re such a low rank," said the receptionist. "How did you do that?" "I''m only a low rank because there were no requests," said Garnet. "If there were more, I could probably rank up many times." "I see," said the receptionist. "Allow me to make you a new Guild Card." "Alright," said Garnet. She waited a few minutes and saw the man return. Her card now had three Bronze Stars on it. "Is this close to another type of card yet?" "Yes," said the receptionist as he returned the card along with Garnet''s payment of 200 gold. "You just have to take on one of the Silver requests to move up." Garnet walked back over to the request board, but did not see any Silver ranked requests. The Guild was still more or less useless to her. Garnet turned around and noticed the receptionist signaling to her. He was moving his eyes to the lower left over and over again. Garnet turned to her left and saw a man that wore heavy armor was blocking the door. He was staring straight at Garnet. "Who here dared to inure one of my subordinates?!?" the man shouted. "Is your subordinate that Bartholemew guy?" Garnet asked. "It was you?!?" the man asked surprisingly. "He lost to a little girl?!?" he laughed. "He attacked me first," said Garnet. "It''s not my fault." "It doesn''t change the fact that you injured him," said the man. "You''re going to have to take responsibility for it." "I don''t want to fight you," said Garnet. "I just want you to pay me the reward you owe him," said the man. "You mean the reward he tried to take from me?" Garnet asked. "No way. If he wanted that reward, he should have tried to collect the materials himself." Garnet looked around and saw that most of the people were scared. The man in front of Garnet was someone who frightened them. Name: Alexander Level: 50 Class: Duelist Sub-class: Defender Stats: High Vitality He was definitely much stronger than the others, but he was someone that Garnet could fight now. "I suppose you want to fight me too," said Garnet. "Yes," said Alexander. "I am Alexander, son of David and slayer of the Red Dragon." "You actually killed a dragon?" Garnet was surprised by this statement, but she did not care. She had killed a dragon of her own after all. "Yes," said Alexander. He took out a fang. It was very large, but Garnet could not tell what creature that actually belonged to. It was possible that Alexander was just lying as well. Name: Fang Quality: High Effect: Bonus damage if crafted into a knife Garnet was not going to take her opponent lightly. She put away her staff and drew her sword. "If you want to fight, then come at me!" Garnet provoked. "You should learn your manners little girl," said Alexander. He pulled out a two handed great sword that was enormous. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Garnet could feel that there was a little mana in the sword. It was special and definitely something high quality. Name: Bone Greatsword Quality: Medium Effect: Bonus damage to heavy armor "If I lose, then I will give you the reward," said Garnet. "But what will you do if I win?" Garnet asked Alexander. "If you win, you can make me do whatever you want," said Alexander. "Because I will not lose!" Alexander charged forward. "Horizontal Slash!" Garnet swung her sword in arc in front of her, predicting Alexander''s head on assault. CLANG. Garnet''s sword came into contact with Alexander''s. Garnet could feel the pressure of Alexander''s sword. He was much stronger than the others she had fought so far. "Partial Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Garnet partially transformed her arms and legs that were covered so that she could benefit from at least a little of the enhanced abilities. Alexander slid Garnet''s sword off to the side and took a step back. "You''re no amateur," said Alexander. "Who is your Master?" "My maid taught me," said Garnet. "Delta Attack!" Garnet performed three strokes in the air. Each one released a wave of air that flew towards Alexander. Alexander stepped to the side. BANG. Garnet saw that the impact had struck a nearby table. Alexander''s shoulder armor was partially chipped. He was not able to completely avoid the attack. "I can see why he lost now," said Alexander. "He lost when he tried to sneak attack me," said Garnet. "If you''re going to try to take it from me, at least do it in my face!" Alexander readied his sword. He was preparing for a powerful swing. One that was probably going to try to cut Garnet in half. He slowly walked forward, he was counting on Garnet to attack first so he could counterattack during the small opening. "No more playing around," said Garnet. "Lightning Bolt!" She was not going to take any more risks. BZZT. Garnet zapped Alexander with a powerful bolt of lightning. In an instant, Alexander was down on the ground and twitching. Garnet kicked away his sword. "I win," said Garnet as she held her sword to the side of Alexander''s head and struck it into the ground. There were loud gasps and chatter among the crowd. They were surprised by the results. Garnet walked over to the counter and handed the receptionist twenty gold coins. "Sorry for the damage," said Garnet. "It''s nothing," said the receptionist who was surprised by the results as well. Garnet took a seat at one of the tables and waited for Alexander to get up. "UGH," Alexander groaned. "You''re finally awake," said Garnet. "I won." "You can use magic," said Alexander. "Of course you won." "Now, there''s the part of the agreement where you said I can ask you to do anything," said Garnet. "That is what I said," said Alexander. "I want you to stop crap like this from happening," said Garnet. "What do you mean by crap like this?" Alexander asked. "No attacking people in the Guild to steal their rewards," said Garnet. "If you or others want it, they have to earn it themselves, not steal from other hard working people." "I swear by it," said Alexander. "A promise is a promise after all." With one look at the crowd of people gathered, they started to disperse. "If I find out you''re still doing something like this, I''m going to have to have a word with you," said Garnet. "Am I clear?" "Y-y-yes," said Alexander. He was afraid now. Garnet''s Aura of Fear was affecting Alexander who accepted her terms. "Looks like no matter how great a city looks, there''s always trash," said Garnet. "Everyone and everything has their own problems," said Riley. "Even your spirits." "I know," said Garnet. "I suppose it will not do us much to stay here longer." "Please stay at least until things calm down," interrupted the receptionist. "Alright," said Garnet. Over the next few days, Garnet stayed at the Guild for most of the day, keeping an eye on the people. A few of the people who were there before showed up, but immediately walked away when they saw Garnet. Two of them actually started fulfilling the requests on their own, but the others still seemed like they were trying to take what others had earned. The guards in the city were still not doing anything. To Garnet, that was not okay. She would have to pay a little visit to Alexander. "Do you know where Alexander is?" Garnet asked the receptionist. "He usually stays with his men in the Sour Fish," said the receptionist. "What''s the Sour Fish?" Garnet asked. "It''s a bar and inn by the Northern Docks in town," said the receptionist. "Another bar," thought Garnet. The last time she was in one, she had to kill someone. "Thanks for the information." Garnet and Riley headed to the Northern Docks. They were in front of the Sour Fish. It was a bar that had a logo of a mug of beer and a fish on it. There was an odd smell coming from it, but that was probably because of the alcohol. "What do you plan to do?" Riley asked. "It''s time to scare them straight," said Garnet. "Call: Cerberus!" Garnet called forth eight hounds. Only three had physical bodies though. She did not have time to make more yet. "Don''t kill anyone even if they try to attack me," Garnet ordered. "Alright, knock down the door." One of the Cerberus rammed itself against the door. BANG. The entire door collapsed on the floor. The hinges on the side were broken. Garnet stepped into the bar and began to look around. At the back, she saw Alexander and Bartholemew. "I''m hear for them," said Garnet. "If you want to fight, take it outside," said the owner. Garnet placed a few gold coins on the owner''s table. "I''m sorry about the mess, but I have some trash to take out right now." She saw the fear in Bartholemew''s eyes. Alexander was less afraid. Alexander really thought he could win against Garnet. "I''ll wait for Alexander and his men outside." People looked at Garnet with shock. Alexander was supposed to be the strongest in the city. No one dared to pick a fight with him, but Garnet did. She sat in the middle of the street with her Cerberus, all faced at the bar. Some of the people looked out the window to stare at her, but she waited for Alexander to come out. A few of the city guards were already converging around her, but they were too afraid to do anything. "Why don''t you guys do anything about that guy?!?" Garnet shouted. She took a look at the stats of the city guards. Their average was at best level 20, far below the others. Only a single guard stepped forward. Name: Eddie Level: 19 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: None Stats: High Vitality "He''s much stronger than anyone else in this city," said Eddie. "There''s nothing we can do." "Did you at least try?" Garnet asked. "The last person to do so is dead," said Eddie. "He greatly outmatches any of us." Alexander was stronger than all of the guards in the city. He was level 50. "What about mages?" Garnet asked. "Our mages are dedicated to supporting the city against the creature in the waters," said Eddie. "That''s a much bigger problem than Alexander will ever be, so they let him go as long as he helps to keep order in town though." "All it would take is one person though," said Garnet. "Not against someone of Alexander''s calibur," said Eddie. "He''s more than a match for any of our mages as well. As long as Alexander does not threaten any of the city''s officials or managers, he can basically get away with anything he wants." Garnet was able to defeat Alexander without much trouble though. There was the chance that he was hiding something. "Go back," said Garnet. "Don''t let him see you with me." Eddie walked away. "You''re too nice," said Riley. "I don''t plan to kill Alexander," said Garnet. "But I do plan to cripple him," she added. Alexander was still not coming outside. He was inside. "He has to come out some time right?" Garnet asked Riley. Riley shrugged her shoulders. "He could always just live off the food in there," said Riley. "Well, if he doesn''t come out, I''ll just drag him outside," said Garnet. "It''ll be faster." Garnet walked towards the pub. BANG. The door slammed wide open. Alexander was armed in a full body of silver armor. He even brought a few friends who were wearing something similar. Name: Silver Sword+6 Quality: Medium Effect: Damage+30%, Ignores 25% of Slashing Resistance Name: Plate Armor+4 Quality: Medium Effect: Defense +20%, Resistance to Slashing and Piercing They were armed to deal with physical attacks and not magical. The group had literally wasted their time preparing equipment bringing swords and armor to a magic fight. "You can''t be serious right?" Garnet asked as she looked at the group of thugs standing before her. "I am," said Alexander. "I''m going to enjoy myself once I capture you. Bring her in alive!" he ordered. Garnet could not help but put her palm to her face. Alexander had wasted a whole day preparing his team against the wrong type of enemy. They had only prepared against Garnet''s sword and not her magic, which was her primary weapon. She looked to her left and saw Eddie along with another guard who stood there. Garnet needed to make sure that Alexander would not cause trouble, but also not undermine the guards. The best option was to cripple Alexander and let the guards bring him in. "Go," Garnet ordered her Cerberus forward. "You can break their bones, but don''t kill any." Garnet''s squad of eight Cerberus began to advance towards Alexander and his group of twelve men. "Take care of them," said Alexander. "I''ll take care of the girl myself," he added. As the group of men approached the hounds, they began to swing at the Cerberus. THUNK. A sword had hit something like the trunk of a tree that resisted it. "It''s not working!" shouted one of Alexander''s men. His sword had slashed at the Cerberus, but it did not break through the tough skin. All they could do was anger the Cerberus. Alexander was able to knock the Cerberus attacking him aside, but even they did not suffer significant damage. The Cerberus were truly terrifying compared to her old Skeletal Dogs. Garnet sat on the ground and watched the events unfold. Alexander''s men were demoralized. "I''ll give you a chance to surrender to the guards now," said Garnet. A few of the men looked at Alexander who had a furious look on his face. If they ran back, Alexander would kill them, if they walked towards Garnet, they would most likely be hurt bad. One of the men threw down their sword and ran towards the city guards with his hands raised. A few followed. "You''re all quitters!" shouted Alexander. "I''ll take care of these things myself!" Alexander walked forward with his sword held with both hands. One of the Cerberus leap towards Garnet, intending to intercept the blow. With a powerful swing, he knocked the Cerberus aside. "WHINE," the Cerberus cried in pain. It was knocked aside, but it was not dead. Despite how strong Alexander was, it had only hurt the Cerberus a tiny bit. It made the Cerberus much more angry. GRR. The Cerberus growled. "What is that thing made of?!?" Alexander was shocked that even he could not cut through them. "Last chance," said Garnet. Alexander was still fighting even though Garnet could bring him down with a single spell. Alexander was probably not very smart. Low magical resistance and extremely stubborn. "Fight me!" shouted Alexander as he bashed the blunt side of his sword against his armor. He was taunting Garnet, but she could resist it thanks to her high intelligence stat. "I already won last time," said Garnet. "There''s no reason to. Break his arms so that he can never hold a sword again," she ordered. The Cerberus began to surround Alexander. Even with his special sword skill, he could not fight against eight Cerberus that he could not cut. With a single swing, he could injure one, but another would just attack him. "Die monster!" he shouted as he swung. The Cerberus all surrounded him and bit into his body as viciously fought back. There was a Cerberus on each of his arms and legs with their fangs buried deep within Alexander''s body. He swung his arms wildly trying to shake them off, but he could not. "Damn it!" he shouted. "I''ll make you pay for this!" Garnet watched as Alexander weakened in his struggle against the Cerberus. He was slowly being drained as he bled out. Garnet walked up to Alexander. "Keep his hand up," Garnet ordered. Two of the Cerberus pushed up Alexander''s arms raised in front. Garnet put her palms close to Alexander''s hands. "Wind Palm!" Garnet released a powerful burst of wind at close range against Alexander''s hand. CREAK. "ARGH!" he screamed. The scream was so loud that it could probably be heard throughout the city. Garnet had broken his hands, ensuring that even if he did recover, he would never be the same. "What did you do to me?" Alexander asked as he held onto his arm. "I broke your hands and your arms," said Garnet. "You will never be able to hold a sword again. This is your punishment for abusing your power." ROAR. Just then, in the distance, Garnet could hear the loud roar of something in the waters. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 32 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 2450/2450 MP: 8340/8340 Fame: 220 Strength: 57 (+5) Dexterity: 52 (+7) Intelligence: 230 (+22) Vitality: 70 (+5) Agility: 64 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 7 - Lightning ¨C 13 - Wind ¨C 4 - Water - 0 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 1) - Jet Stream (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 8) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 9) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 5: Chapter 042 - Leviathans Treasure Chapters are coming out slowly because I keep changing what I want to happen later, thus having to rewrite parts of this chapter. I think three more chapters before the end of this arc and I will be able to get them out because of Spring Break next week where I work. One chapter is for the introduction of another Dark Mage. One for the purpose of the Grey Cloaked Men. Neither will be immediately solved, but set up for some of the problems in the next arc. There was originally more, but I did not want to drag out this arc by more pointless wandering around that does not introduce anything useful or new. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ROAR. Just then, in the distance, Garnet could hear the loud roar of something in the waters. "What was that?" Garnet asked. "That''s the Leviathan," said Eddie. "It''s the powerful creature that our mages and our ships are focused on keeping away from the city." Garnet heard a deep and terrifying voice. "You will all pay for your thievery!" it shouted. Garnet looked at the guards and they were not scared at all. They watched as the events unfolded. It seemed to be a regular occurence. The shout was coming from the Leviathan. Even from the city, Garnet could see it as it extended its head above the water. It was a large serpent covered in rainbow colored scales. Its head was like that of a dragon''s, complete with horns, but it had fins and gills that separated it from a dragon. Most surprising of all was that it spoke. Name: Lotan Level: ??? Class: Serpent Sub-Class: Divine Stats: ??? Garnet could not see its level. The city was somehow able to defend against the monster. Garnet watched in the distance as ships armed with mages were deployed. The first group created a dome of water that shielded the city. Meanwhile, the others began to create a net of lightning around the Leviathan. They had developed a way to combat it. To Garnet though, it did not make sense. The Leviathan should have been able to break through the barriers erected by the mages. On top of that, the city was only protected by a dome of water. It probably could have swam under the dome and attacked it then. It was almost as if the Leviathan was holding back its power, choosing not to attack the city so that the people would think they actually had the strength to stop it. "I swear, I will get my orb back," said the Leviathan as it screamed at the top of its lungs. "I don''t care how long it takes!" "Orb?" Garnet thought. "Did the city take something from the Leviathan?" If it was the case, it was likely that the Leviathan did not know where the treasure was and that was the real reason why it did not attack the city. New Quest: The Leviathan''s Treasure Find out what happened between the Leviathan and the town of Venice Reward: New Recipe There was a quest for it as well. If the Hero System deemed that it was important, then it probably is. The question was how to reach it. The Leviathan was kept away from the city by mages who have been trained to repel it. It seemed to live far out into the water. All Garnet could do was try to find it and talk to it, assuming it did not try to kill her first. "What do you think?" Garnet asked Riley. Riley paused for a second to think. "Perhaps there''s more going on than we know," said Riley. "Information is very important and I think we need to find out what happened to the Leviathan." "I agree," said Garnet. "I wonder what its treasure is though." "Let''s try to ask around," Riley suggested. "I''m sure someone knows." "Go back to hiding," Garnet ordered her Cerberus. They were getting very good at it, finding strange alleys and passageways in the city to hide in. She was surprised that the mages of the city did not do anything about it. Then again, the mages of the city did not do anything about Alexander either. Their duties were probably divided in some way. Garnet went back to the one place she thought would have the information, the Guild. There was the same receptionist from before. "I need information," said Garnet. "For your help, I''ll do what I can," said the receptionist. "What''s your name?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know what to call you." "My name is Elisio," whispered the receptionist. "Okay Elisio, I want to know what is the Leviathan''s treasure," said Garnet. Elisio gestured for Garnet to get closer. Garnet leaned and Elisio began to whisper quietly. "I only heard rumors, but a long time ago, someone was hired to take something from a cave underwater," said Elisio. "Do you know what it was?" Garnet asked. "I heard it was a bright blue orb of some kind with power over water," said Elisio. "However, that''s all I know." "How long ago was this?" Garnet asked. "I would say three years," said Elisio. It was not a very long time. The Leviathan itself was something much older and probably much more powerful. The people of the city had devised a way to block the Leviathan from entering the town using a combination of warships and lightning. "I heard the Leviathan shout something about wanting the orb back," said Garnet. "Do you know where it might me?" "You''re asking me to help you steal?" Elisio asked. "Can you?" Garnet asked with her hands clasped in front of her. "Just don''t tell anyone about me or where you got it from," said Elisio. "I won''t," said Garnet as she gave a wink and walked away. "Rumor is that it is stored underneath the artisan district of the town," said Elisio. "One of the buildings is only for show and underneath it is a secret vault that contains the orb of the Leviathan, but I cannot confirm if this is true." "That''s more than enough," said Garnet. "Thank you." The goal was to take the orb and bring it to the Leviathan as a sign of peace. That way, the Leviathan would be less likely to kill her on sight. "I don''t think this is a good idea," said Riley. "Breaking into a building to steal something and offering it to a monster that hates this town sounds very bad." "Worst case scenario is that I get killed or it destroys the city," said Garnet. "But I think I can negotiate with it." "Your skills might only work on people," said Riley. "It might not work on something as powerful as that thing." "That''s why I want to offer the orb as an offering," said Garnet. "If it truly is as valuable as the Leviathan thinks it is, it would want it back at any cost." "But what will happen if it tries to destroy this town?" asked Riley. "Then I''ll put myself in the way to stop it," said Garnet. She was determined. She felt that returning the orb to the Leviathan was the right thing to do. It was not like anyone could stop her anyways. "If things look dangerous, I''ll step in though," said Riley. "If something happens to me, you can always just summon me again anyways." Garnet and Riley headed to the Artisan District. It was possible that one of these buildings contained the orb that the Leviathan was looking for. "I don''t sense anything unusual from these buildings," said Garnet. "You can barely feel mana from an item when its in your sight," said Riley. "Did you think you could just sense it?" "Yes," said Garnet. "But it looks like it won''t be that easy." There was another way for Garnet to look. If it was indeed inside an artisan''s building, she could go in and look at their wares. The one with unusually strong people or powerful items equipped would be suspicious as most artisans often only employed one or two guards. There were no exceptional artisans that employed numerous guards as far as Garnet knew. None of the buildings were exceptionally large either because those would be suspicious as well. "Well, let''s get started," said Riley as she opened the door into the store on their right. The best way was going to search each quadrant of the city at a time. There were images carved onto boards that hung in front of each store so you could see what the store was selling without having to walk in. The first one was a bakery. Garnet walked in with Riley and began to look around. It was an unguarded bakery. There was just the cashier in front and some bread on display. "Welcome," said the man in front. "What are you looking for?" he asked. "Just browsing," said Garnet. "Just bring what you like over here if you''re interested," said the man. Garnet could see highly decorated bread. It was five silver for most of them with sweets being more expensive and the highly decorated items like cake costing gold coins. It actually seemed reasonable compared to the other places she had looked at before in the town. She selected a few pieces of bread and purchased them. "I''ll take these," said Garnet. The man took a close look at her coins and weighed them individually. "Thank you for your patronage," said the man. As Garnet bit into the bread, she could feel the soft texture in her mouth. It was definitely still warm as well and sweet. Inside of the bread was some kind of cream. It was very different from the foods that was available back West. The next store was a butcher that sold cured meats, something Garnet had not seen often as salts and spices were very expensive. The meat was incredibly expensive, but was incredibly well preserved. If she ever decided to try to make food with magicraft, it could be useful. Next to that, was carved fruits. It was almost as if everything there was food. "Do you think there''s some kind of layout?" asked Garnet. "It''s possible," said Riley. "I didn''t think a city like this would be organized, but I don''t think it will be easy to ask without drawing suspicion." "I have an idea," said Garnet. She walked over to the chef who was cutting some fruit and arranging it to make a tree. "Do you know where the shops that carry magic items are?" she asked. "You''re going to have to look at the East End of the Artisan District," said the chef. "Thank you," said Garnet. "See, it was not that hard." Deep into the Artisan District, Garnet saw that there were more guards here. Some of them even stood outside of the stores. Inside of the stores were even more guards as well. Compared to the other areas, security was much higher. As they walked by, Garnet could see that the guards were looking at them.She chose a random store and just walked into it. It was a jewelry store. Inside, there were about a dozen more guards and people browsing. Each item was contained in a secure case that was locked up within a display case. The security was very high, but the security did not stand out. They were only level 20 and wore standard equipment. The next store was a blacksmith. One that had numerous small blades on the wall. There were also four guards. Name: Isaac Level: 40 Class: Warrior Sub-class: Guardian Stats: High Strength, High Vitality The man in charge stood out because his class was not an artisan. He was in fact a warrior, which was suspicious. There was a chance that the store was just a front. Garnet looked around the store. The guards looked at Garnet and Riley as they browsed through the goods. Unlike the other store owners, they also did not speak up when Garnet and Riley entered. If they were trying to maintain the image of a shop, they were doing poorly. After spending some time looking around at the store, Garnet walked outside with Riley. "I think this is the place," said Garnet. "The person at the counter was not a blacksmith of any kind, he was a warrior." "That is suspicious," said Riley. "Is there any way to know for sure though?" "Not unless I can use my power," said Garnet. "I think if I use it here, it will draw too much attention." "Then are we just going to wait for one of the guards to separate and go home?" asked Riley. "They have to leave at some point right?" said Garnet. "We can just grab one when they''re heading to work or when they''re going home." The two decided to walk around the other stores nearby to see if there were any changes to the guards. In total, there was a total of four changes, but it was clear that the guards at the stores nearby might also be working to hide whatever was at the blacksmith. In total, there were probably about four dozen guards. It was a lot and they were definitely hiding something valuable. The next night, Garnet waited for a shift change to make her move. She watched as the guards each took turns moving around with some of them leaving. She followed one of them as they left the Artisan District. It was here that she made her move. "Flight!" With her feet not touching the ground, the guard would not be able to hear her footsteps. She flew straight for the guard and grabbed him by the neck. "Pleasure Inducement!" The guard immediately collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud. "What are you protecting in the Artisan District?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know," said the guard. "It''s treated as top secret and is only known to the top city officials." "How many guards are there?" asked Garnet. "Twenty four on the outside, six in the first room, and another twelve inside the hidden room," said the guard. A total of forty guards. However, it was likely that more would arrive if she alerted them. She would have to find a way in, and that was not going to be easy. But, there was also the other option. "Hey Riley, I''m not going to go after the orb myself," said Garnet. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "Then what are you going to do?" asked Riley. "I''m going to tell the Leviathan where it might be kept," said Garnet. "I think that might be enough if it knows where its treasure is." "How so?" Riley asked. "The Leviathan was rampaging about, but I feel that if it can speak, it is intelligent," said Garnet. "I think it will find a way to retrieve the orb on its own if it knows where it is." The problem now was to find the Leviathan itself. It lived in the water and Garnet could not exactly swim deep under water. Her transformation gave her scales, but not gills to breathe through. She would have to wait for the Leviathan to surface. Garnet headed outside of town and flew out into the waters with Riley. They circled around the town to make sure that they did not draw any attention to themselves. If the boats spotted them, it would be problematic. While they were over the water, Garnet saw the clear blue color of the water below them, unpolluted and pure. As they headed further out, she saw that the water was no longer clear. It was dirty and had black spots, similar to oil. Around it was dead fish that had floated to the surface, much like an algae bloom. There was definitely something strange with the water. A clear circle divided the dirty from the clear water. It was strange though. The city was the one that was probably pouring things like chemicals in the water. It did not make sense that the water away from the city was dirty without making the water in the city dirty as well. The reason for this must have had something to do with the Leviathan''s treasure. Garnet released a Sonic Scream into the water. SCREECH. She waited for a moment to see if anything would respond. This was the closest she could get to sending a message down into the water. There was nothing. She decided to try one more time. SCREECH. VWOOSH. A giant serpent erupted from the waters splashing water everywhere. "Keep it down will you?" asked the serpent. This was Garnet''s first time seeing it up close. It was enormous. Garnet was not even the size of one of its teeth. Its bright rainbow colored scales made it quite a beautiful sight when it was not trying to destroy everything. Its eyes were a combination of black, gold, and yellow, resembling that of a snake. "I think I know where your orb is," said Garnet. "But I cannot get it." The Leviathan circled around Garnet and Riley, taking a good look at each of them. "Friend of a spirit I see," said the Leviathan. It could tell that Riley was a spirit. "But why are you helping me?" the Leviathan asked. "I want to know what the town did to you," said Garnet. "There has to be a reason why you are so angry at it." "Those foolish humans stole something important," said the Leviathan. "Do you know who I am?" "I only know that you are named Lotan, but I do not know who or what you are," said Garnet. "That is correct, I am Lotan, Lord of the Seas," said the serpent. "What do you mean by that?" asked Garnet. "It is my job to control the flow of water in the oceans," said Lotan. "I used the orbs to regulate the flow of water in the seas of this region." "What are the people of the city doing with that orb?" Garnet asked. "They stole it," said Lotan. "The orb was kept in an underwater cave, but they took it and used it to change the flow of water. Now, they''re using it to push in the fish and push out their pollutants and trash out into the sea without a care for anything else." That was the black stuff that Garnet saw past the line. They made it so that all the nasty stuff they created from their production of quality goods was pushed into the sea around it. If they did not have the orb, who knows what it would be like in the city. "If you knew where the orb was, could you retrieve it?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Lotan. "So far, they expect me to always attack from a single direction and they think I''m weak, but I can break through their electric net at any time I want." "What will you do with the orb?" Garnet asked. "I will restore the natural flow of the seas," said Lotan. "And, I''m going to make sure that the trash stays in the city." "Won''t they just take the orb again?" Garnet asked. "I''ve devised a way to seal it," said Lotan. "No one but me will ever be able to move the orb once I''m done with it." "What does the orb look like?" Garnet asked. "It''s more of a crystal than an orb," said Lotan. "Does it look something like this?" Garnet asked as she took out the broken crystal from the Zmaj. "That''s from the dragon isn''t it?" Riley asked. "Yes," said Garnet. Lotan circled around and looked at the broken crystal from different angles. "Sort of, but this one does not exhibit the same level of magical power," said Lotan. "It pales in comparison to the orb." "If I tell you where the orb is, what will you do for me?" Garnet asked. "A mage like you certainly values knowledge," said Lotan. "What if I taught you how to create magical cores?" "What is a magical core?" asked Garnet. "It is sort of like a jewel that can store and gather mana," said Lotan. "It goes under different names including Mana Core, Mana Crystal, Jewel of Magic, among others. You can use it for any purpose, such as using it to amplify spells or power up a golem you created." It was almost as if Lotan knew exactly what Garnet wanted. She was glad to accept it. "The orb is most likely located in a blacksmith shop in the Artisan District in the East part of the city," said Garnet. "It is heavily guarded." Quest Update: The Leviathan''s Treasure Help the Leviathan retrieve its orb Reward: New Recipe "That means it will be under the shop," said Lotan. "That''s easy." "How is that easy?" Riley asked. "That''s because the crystal must be touching water to be effective," Lotan explained. "I simply have to grab the whole part that is sticking out and just take everything with me." Garnet felt like this was a bad idea. There was a chance that Lotan could just sink the entire city. "Can''t you retrieve it without sinking the entire city?" Garnet asked. "If it sinks, then the city was poorly built and was only being supported by the orb," Lotan added. "That''s their fault for not thinking things through, like those idiots who built their city next to an active volcano." "..." Garnet had no words. The city was built on top of water. If it was being maintained by magic, then that was fine, but if it was being maintained by the orb, the whole thing would sink. "Can''t you keep it afloat with the orb?" Garnet asked. "They might use it to just do the same thing again," said Lotan. "I know it sounds bad, but what they''re doing is just slowly killing themselves by poisoning their own water." Lotan was right. What the people of the city were doing was definitely not good for their environment. The steel used to build those ships had to be manufactured. With no smokestacks to let the chemicals flow into the atmosphere, it was likely that they found a way to force it into the water, which was what made it so dirty and pushed away the fish in the first place. Garnet watched as Lotan swam to the city. It was extremely fast. Garnet could not keep up with her flying speed. Even before the city was in sight, Garnet could hear something that was a combination of a horn and a bell, similar to an alarm. As Garnet approached, she saw Lotan overlooking the city and the mages getting into formation to cast the lightning net. Lotan dove under the water and swam straight for the city. Since, it knew where the orb was, it could just avoid the defenses altogether. The mages on the ships were confused. In the past, Lotan had always retreated, but this time, it went straight for its goal. The ships and spells were too slow to react to Lotan as it ripped the entire room from under the city. Suddenly, Garnet could feel an enormous amount of mana coming from Lotan. A powerful source of mana that was not there before. She saw that its tail was carrying a large blue stone. Name: Stone of Currents Quality: Mythical Effect: Controls the flow of water Lotan took the stone and fled. It did not even bother to look behind it. It had accomplished its goal. The town itself remained floating. Garnet was glad that Lotan did not trash the whole city to retrieve it. Garnet followed Lotan as quickly as she could. It headed back out into the sea. Past the clear waters, she saw Lotan again. The black stuff in the water began to slowly move its way back towards the town. Lotan had reversed the process. Garnet was worried that she might have doomed the town. "What will happen to the town?" Garnet asked. "It''s up to them to clean up their mess," said Lotan. "But as promised I will teach you. Take out the stone again." Garnet took out the broken crystal she got from the Zmaj. Lotan opened its mouth wide. "Put it in," it said. Garnet dropped the broken crystal shards into Lotan''s mouth. When she backed away, the mouth closed. "What are you doing?" she asked. Garnet watched as Lotan moved the crystal to the side of its mouth. "I''m repairing it using the power of Earth and Fire," said Lotan. "Earth is needed to crush it into a powder, then fire to melt it, then earth again to shape it. With that, you have a complete stone that can be made from almost anything." Lotan opened its mouth and there was a shiny blue orb. Name: Mana Crystal Quality: Mythical Effect: Empowers summons and allows them to gain mana and experience. Quest Complete: The Leviathan''s Treasure New Recipe: Recipe: Mana Crystal Requires: Magic Sand, Earth Spirit, Fire Spirit Effect: Empowers summons and allows them to gain experience MP Cost: 1000 for base, additional mana for upgrades Garnet took it out. "If you could do this, why didn''t you make a new orb?" Garnet asked. "It would be much easier than taking it back wouldn''t it?" "Then I would have to replace all of them around the world," Lotan answered. "The orbs were made in a set and interact with each other in a certain way. If I replaced one, I would have to replace them all." "What do I do with it?" Garnet asked as she stared into the orb. "Take the orb and insert it into the heart of your friend," said Lotan. Garnet took the blue orb and put it to Riley''s chest. There was a faint white light as it entered and seemed to have bonded with Riley. Skill Upgrade: Riley Riley can now use full transformations. Riley was empowered by the stone. "Is it possible to give more to a single summon?" Garnet asked. "No," said Lotan. "You must remove the previous one to put the new one in." "How do I do that?" Garnet asked. "Just push in the new orb and the old one will be forced out," said Lotan. "It''s that simple." "Thank you," said Garnet. "This will be very useful." "You did great to help me," said Lotan. "But now that this issue is resolved, I must get back to my duties." "Alright," said Garnet. "Maybe I''ll see you elsewhere." "If you do, you can be guaranteed that it is going to be trouble," Lotan replied. Garnet and Riley watched as Lotan dove into the water and swam away. With the matter of Lotan being settled, Garnet and Riley continued on their journey. As they passed by the town again, Garnet noticed that the black liquid produced by the town was now gathering within their waters. They had relied on the power of the Stone of Currents in order to keep their water clean and they were now poisoning it themselves. That was their punishment for stealing from Lotan. If they did not change their ways, they would only be dooming themselves. The existence of Lotan meant that there were possibly other powerful creatures that were responsible for maintaining the world. Chances are that it was not the only one. Garnet thought about the one for wind. It would be scary if someone was able to control it. The question was why they did not do anything to stop the Invasion. "Is there no creature to protect the world from Invaders?" she thought. Then again, Garnet remembered that the creature is responsible for maintaining the flow of water, something natural in the world. The Invasion itself was probably an unnatural event, which meant that the world had no natural defense mechanisms against it. "If I was strong enough, could I make one?" Riley looked over her shoulder into the hills in the distance. "What''s wrong?" Garnet asked. "I''m not sure," said Riley. "For a brief second, I felt like someone was looking at me. When I turned around there was nothing there." "Maybe it was an animal?" Garnet asked. "Probably," said Riley. "I thought only people triggered the reaction, but maybe animals too now." ---------------------------------------------- Spoiler : No change in stats Book 5: Chapter 043 - Crossen The last of Book 5 is going to be published in a few minutes. This chapter and one more. I had to change a lot, so it was delayed quite a bit. ------------------------------------------------------ Garnet and Riley stood outside the gate to a city. This was the halfway point to Constantinople. The large sign at the gate said "Belgrade," but the gates were closed and it was heavily guarded. There was a line of people waiting to get in. Garnet and Riley were way towards the back and it was moving slowly. "This is even worse than Anzio," said Garnet. "I''m sure they have a reason for something like this," said Riley. "Maybe they were attacked recently." "Or maybe they''re just paranoid," Garnet replied. Slowly, the line moved forward. There were a few people who were turned away, but most people seemed to have been able to get in as far as Garnet could tell. At the front of the line were a few buildings constructed out of wood. They were more like shacks than actual houses or offices. Numerous guards were present, watching all of the people. The closer they got to the gate, the more guards there were. Even the top of the gate was lined with guards armed with bows. Leading them was a man in a grey cloak who was scanning everything in his sight. "To the right," said the guard. Garnet and Riley stepped towards the right and were directed to the temporary building. KNOCK KNOCK. "Come in," said a voice. Garnet opened the door and let Riley in. Garnet followed her right in. Inside was a single desk and five chairs. In one of the chairs was one of the guards. There were several guards positioned around the room. "Purpose of visit?" the guard in the chair asked. "Rest stop on the way to Constantinople," said Garnet. "Employer?" the guard asked as he began filling out the paper in front of him. "None," said Garnet. "It''s something for myself." The guard suddenly raised his eyes and looked at Garnet. He was suspicious of Garnet now. "Guards, check them," he ordered. Garnet stood up and removed her weapons. The staff, sword, short sword, and hand crossbow were all on the table. Riley removed hers as well. Two of the guards stepped forward and patted down their bodies, checking to see if they had anything else on them. "She''s clean," said one of the guards. "This one too," said the other guard. "Now arrest them," said the sitting guard. "Really?" Garnet asked. "This is what it''s going to be like?" "We''re at war, we have to be cautious," said the sitting guard. "We''ll just take our leave then," said Riley. She turned around and the guards all pointed their weapons at her. "Looks like they''re not going to let us leave," said Garnet. "I don''t think it''s a good idea to force our way through." Garnet took out the red and silver card given to her by Charles. "Will this help convince you of my identity?" she asked. "I have no idea what that is," said the sitting guard. "Alright, force it is," said Garnet. "I''ll let you take this one." Riley grabbed one of the swords pointed at her and with her bare hands, twisted it, turning the guard off his feet as well. THUD. He crashed into the ground. With the guard''s sword in hand, Riley hit the head of another with the hilt, then grabbed him and swung him sideways, using him to knock down several other guards. As Riley turned around, there were only two guards still standing, deathly afraid. "Like she said, we''ll be taking our leave," said Riley. Garnet looked and saw that the remaining guards were scared. She took back all of her gear and headed away from the city. She did not want to deal with a city that was going to be so heavily guarded. Instead, she went further East. According to the map, there was another major city about thirty miles away called Kalemegdan. Kalemegdan was another city. It was much bigger than Belgrade. At the entrance was also some security, but it was not as tough as Belgrade. The guards simply watched as people walked into the city, but they did not stop anyone. Garnet and Riley were able to walk into the city as well. There were archers positioned at the top of the city walls. The guards looked at them, but did not pull them over or anything. Compared to Belgrade, it was much easier to get in despite the heightened security. HOWL. As Garnet walked closer to the city, she heard the howl of the Cerberus and looked around. She saw nothing dangerous, but it was clearly a warning. "Do you see anything?" Garnet asked Riley. "No," said Riley. "But if the Cerberus are howling, then we should be careful." The city itself was enormous. It was at least the size of Anzio. It looked bigger than Belgrade did from the outside, Within the city were guards everywhere as well. There was a large number of them positioned inside the walls as well as at the outer perimeter. Next to the gargoyle statues, the city looked far more intimidating than Belgrade did. She noticed that many of the guards looked a little pale despite standing out in the sun. It was a little strange. The first thing Garnet wanted to do was to find a place to rest. As they headed further East, stops were getting further apart. Garnet looked around until she saw a building marked "Inn." She walked by the two guards outside and wrote her name at the front desk. "How long will you two be staying?" the woman asked. She had brown hair and fairly dark skin. She was dressed in what appeared to be a grey robe that covered her from head to toe. "Maybe two or three days," said Garnet. "The cost is 10 silver a night," said the woman. "That''s cheap," said Garnet as she took out thirty silver coins to pay the woman. "It''s because the King is providing for us," said the woman. "As long as he''s here to protect us, we will be fine." "Who is the King?" Garnet was curious. "King Mutimir," said the woman. "He is the one protecting us from Belgrade." "What''s going on with Belgrade?" Garnet asked. "Don''t you know?" asked the woman. "We''re at war with them." "What?!?" Garnet was surprised. War was forbidden between countries because of Invasions. However, Garnet remembered something. Belgrade and Kalemegdan were far from any of the Invasion sites. Anzio, Constantinople, and Beijing were all many miles away. It was likely that they had never seen one. "Both cities are so close to each other, but I did not know because I''m not from around here," said Garnet. "That''s why our security is a little higher than normal," said the woman. "But the King has provided us with enough soldiers to keep us safe." Garnet remembered all the guards that she had seen on the way into the city. "I wonder how the King provided all these soldiers," said Garnet. "Things have been great for us since the King got a Wizard," said the woman. "A Wizard?" Garnet was surprised. A local King had actually found a Wizard. If the Wizard was indeed great, they would be able to win against Belgrade easily. A strong mage could easily turn the tide of a fight if the opposing side did not have something equal. The only other kingdom that Garnet saw a Wizard in was Antium. Even the city out in the water only had mages, nothing that resembled a Wizard like Zedd. "The Wizard was able to recruit all of these soldiers and bolster our army," said the woman. "Now, we can''t lose." "Thank you for telling me," said Garnet as she headed to her room. "Don''t you find those soldiers to be a little strange?" asked Riley. "They''re a little pale," said Garnet. "Not just that," said Riley. "Don''t they look a little like Romulus and Sylvia in terms of color and complexion?" "Come to think of it, they do," said Garnet. She looked outside the window of her room and focused on one of the guards. Name: Pale Guard Level: 10 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: Undead Stats: High Strength, High Vitality It was undead. Garnet looked at a few more to make sure. All of them were the same. They were all level 10 undead warriors. There were thousands of them throughout the city. If they were united, they could probably be a match for Antium. "They''re all undead," said Garnet. "Do you think it''s another Dark Mage?" Riley asked. "According to Zedd, it''s either a Dark Mage or a Necromancer," said Garnet. "They''re the only classes with the ability to raise a large number of undead." "Can''t Romulus and Sylvia raise the dead too?" Riley asked. "They''re similar," said Garnet. "Their undead are different. They were all raised from the dead at about the same time, meaning that something or someone else did it." If there was another Dark Mage in the city, Garnet would have to be careful. Garnet had heard a few things about them from Zedd, but the fact was that they used other people to make themselves stronger. She had heard about extracting mana from other people to use and it was possible that the Dark Mage in the city was doing that in order to create the army of the dead necessary to fight their enemy. In a way, it was similar to how Garnet obtained power from blood. However, if there was really another Dark Mage in the city, it was possible that they could have detected Garnet''s presence or be ready for her. Since a Dark Mage would want someone who had mana as a sacrifice for their arts, it was possible that they would want to capture Garnet to use. "Keep an eye out for anything strange," said Garnet. "Someone might come after me." "Alright," said Riley. "I won''t show any suspicion yet though," said Garnet. Knowing that all of the guards in the city could turn on her at any moment if they wanted to come after her. Despite this, Garnet knew that she had the power to take them on. Her own undead were also much more powerful than the Pale Guards stationed throughout the city. As Garnet and Riley headed towards the the square. They saw three statues in the middle of the city. The first said "Viseslav, Son of the Unknown Archon, Founder of Kalemegdan." The statue was of a man with a beard. Looking at the years, it was clear that he had been dead for a long time. The next statue was "Caslav, the Liberator, Unifier of Lands." He too was dead for a long time. His statue wore a winged helmet and he had a mustache as well. The last statue was "Crossen, Grand Wizard of Kalemegdan." He was the current Wizard for the King. He was a man with shoulder length hair with part of it covering one of his eyes. He wore a mage robe and carried a book. It was likely that he was a Dark Mage as well. After looking around the square, Garnet headed to the market. The market itself had numerous stalls, but they did not seem to have much for sale. The whole place was heavily guarded. As Garnet and Riley entered, they were stopped. "Halt," said the man in armor. It was one of the city guards. Name: Zaheer Level: 32 Class: Guardian Sub-Class: Warrior Stats: High Vitality He was at least human unlike the others. "Do you have a ration card?" Zaheer asked. "No," said Garnet. "I''m just a traveler who came into town today." "Take this," said Zaheer as he handed Garnet and Riley each a card. "There is a limit on how much you can buy." "Are supplies low because of the war?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zaheer. "As a result, we can''t just have people buying whatever they want and it prevents people from panic buying." "I see," said Garnet. "Thank you." "Just remember, they''re not allowed to sell you more than what the card states and we will check you as you leave," said Zaheer. As Garnet and Riley walked through the market, they saw the limited amount of food and clothes available. Despite travelers bringing more with them, there was a limit on how much they could sell to each person and the King took some of what each person brought in as a tax. It was a way for them to support themselves during the war. As a result of rationing, prices were not extraordinarily high like they were in Antium when King Caligula was in charge. This was indeed better than the alternative. The whole time though, the undead guards throughout the city were keeping an eye on Garnet. At this point, it was clear that they were watching her. Riley noticed it too, but did not speak up. After buying some food and restocking on water, they left. "Show me what you bought," said Zaheer. Garnet took out the three pounds of preserved meat, some dried fruits, and vegetables to show Zaheer. He carefully took each one and weighed them before returning them to Garnet. As Garnet stored them inside her ring, Zaheer was looking closely at her ring. He too was watching Garnet. At this point, she was certain that they were keeping an eye on her. Back at the inn, Garnet and Riley began to talk. "The city guards are watching you," said Riley. "I know, so is Zaheer," said Garnet. "I saw the way he was looking at me." "Are you sure he''s not looking at you because you''re attractive?" Riley asked. "I''m sure," said Garnet. "He wasn''t keeping an eye on you, just me. The undead guards were doing the same. I''m almost certain someone is after me." "Wouldn''t it be best to just leave then?" Riley asked. "I think if I tried to leave, they would stop me," said Garnet. "I''m almost certain that they have a way tracking me." "I''ll keep an eye out for you tonight," said Riley. "Thanks," said Garnet. "But I have a feeling that Crossen is going to come straight for me otherwise the guards would have tried to grab me." "Does he know that you''re a mage though?" Riley asked. "Maybe he suspects it and that''s why he hasn''t sent anything after me," said Garnet. That night, Garnet heard a knock on the door. As she took a look outside the peep hole, she saw that it was the woman at the receptionist desk. Garnet opened the door. "What is it?" she asked. "There''s guards asking you to come down," said the woman. Garnet got dressed and headed downstairs with Riley. There were about a dozen guards in total. In the front was a middle aged man who was human. The others were all pale and probably undead guards. Name: Samir Level: 30 Class: Guardian Sub-Class: Warrior Stats: High Vitality The guards here were a lot stronger than the others that Garnet had encountered before. "You''re coming with me," said Samir. "Why?" asked Garnet. "You are spies for Belgrade," said Samir. "The King has requested for you to be brought in." "Don''t you mean the mage Crossen?" Garnet asked. Samir was suddenly surprised by this. "How did you know it was Crossen who asked for you?" asked Samir as he prepared to draw his sword. "I have my reasons," said Garnet. "Don''t worry, I''ll come along." Even if Garnet was surrounded, all she would need was a few seconds to cast Teleportation and escape. "That''s not a good idea," said Riley. "You could be walking into their trap." "There''s not a lot of things that can stop me," said Garnet. "I think I can handle this. The undead guards are not very strong." Samir and the guards escorted Garnet and Riley North of the town square towards the castle. The castle itself was not too big. It was much smaller than Antium''s and looked more like a glorified mansion with fortress walls. As Samir walked forward, the two guards in front opened the door. As Garnet walked by, she could tell that the guards were pale and undead. It was likely that they were everywhere in the castle as well. If Crossen wanted to take over the castle, he probably could. Garnet was brought forward to the throne room. "Are you sure you don''t need to cuff me?" Garnet asked. "The Great Wizard Crossen needs not to worry about a child like you," said Samir. Again, Garnet was being underestimated. She would use every bit of this to her advantage. As the doors to the throne room opened, she saw the Wizard Crossen with his shoulder length black hair, black robe, and carrying a black tome. It was almost like he was not hiding the fact that he was a Dark Mage. Name: Crossen Level: 34 Class: Dark Mage / Wizard Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: High Intelligence At the center of the room was a magic circle similar to ones used in summonings. There was nothing special on the walls, just a few banners. "Welcome," said Crossen. "You have been chosen to help serve the needs of the King." They were planning to use Garnet as a sacrifice. The mana she had was definitely going to make her a great sacrifice if it was successful, much like the Hero Summoning had. "So a Dark Mage huh?" Garnet asked. "How did you know?" asked Crossen. "The undead soldiers are everywhere," said Garnet. "Sure they look a little pale, but they are definitely undead." "Are you a mage too?" asked Crossen. "Of course," said Garnet. "I was wondering what you were like, but I''m a little disappointed." "Well, you won''t be alive for long," said Crossen. "Bring her towards the circle." Samir walked to push Garnet forward. "Recall!" Garnet immediately channeled her spell and all eight Cerberus under her command appeared. "I have yet to fight a powerful mage such as yourself," said Garnet. "But there''s a first time for everything." Garnet saw that Crossen was enraged. "All soldiers, attack!" he commanded. The Pale Guards in the room began to advance towards Garnet. There were dozens of them and more were going to come through from the outside. However, Garnet did not need to fight them all. "Two of you hold the doors shut," Garnet ordered. "The rest of you fight." Two of the Cerberus slammed the doors shut and held themselves against it. With their immense strength and toughness, little would get through. Before her stood Crossen with about forty Pale Guards. Riley took this chance to destroy the magic circle that Crossen had laid out on the floor to prevent any tricks he might use with it. "Quickly, summon the others!" Riley shouted. Garnet began to focus her mana to start calling out the other summons. They were severely outnumbered and in case the enemy ever broke through the two Cerberus, they would need to be ready. "What''s the matter?" asked Crossen. "Is it too much for you to handle?" "It''s about handling it in a smarter way," said Garnet. "Call: Revenants! Call: Death Knights!" Garnet was aiming to at least even up the odds in her favor. Ten undead soldiers backed by three powerful knights. They all appeared in front of Garnet. Crossen was not the least bit worried. "You''re a Summoner too I see," said Crossen. "But let''s see who is the better one." Crossen jumped back to the throne while Garnet''s undead pushed towards him, easily cutting up his skeletons. Despite this, Crossen was not worried at all. He had a back up plan. Crossen placed his hand on the throne where a magic circle that filled the entire room lit up. "Call: Leilah!" It was a summoning much like Garnet''s own. As Crossen poured his mana into it, the magic circle grew brighter and smaller. A figure appeared on the throne. It was a young woman with bat like wings, long black hair, red eyes, and had dark skin covering certain parts of her body. It was something like a Succubus and resembled Garnet''s own transformation, but this one lacked the scales on the body or the black in her eyes. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "You called me Master?" Leilah asked. "Help me defeat them!" Crossen ordered as he pointed to Garnet and Riley. Leilah took a look at them. Garnet could feel the killing intent from it. "Riley!" Garnet shouted. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" From Riley''s back, wings grew and black scales covered her entire body from head to toe. Her hair turned white and her eyes turned red and black. "That can''t be!?" Leilah suddenly showed fear. "What''s wrong?" asked Crossen. "That''s not something I can defeat," said Leilah. "You must escape from here Master." "I will not run from them," said Crossen. "I will fight alongside you." "It''s too dangerous," said Leilah. "You forget I am a mage," said Crossen. He was intent on fighting. Leilah would not be able to convince him otherwise. Garnet''s undead squad had already torn through all of the undead. Leilah charged forward. BOOM. With a single stroke, she smashed a Death Knight to the side. It broke into several pieces and shattered like glass before disappearing. She was not to be underestimated. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Garnet transformed as well, going through the same process as Riley. "Another?!?" shouted Leilah. "That can''t be possible!" The other of Garnet''s Cerberus and undead backed away to let Garnet and Riley fight. "She can do whatever I can," said Garnet. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt of lightning straight at Leilah. Leilah raised her arm forward and focused the lightning into her palm. BZZT. She crushed the lightning and stopped it. "Fire Lance!" Crossen threw a spear of flames at Garnet. Riley stepped forward and grabbed it with her hand. VWOOM. The Fire Lance dispersed into flames and disappeared. "It doesn''t look like magic of that level will be resolving this fight," said Crossen. "Jet Stream!" Garnet released a continuous stream of water from her hands. "Magma Stream!" Crossen countered with his own fire elemental. At the center where their attacks met, stream erupted at an incredible rate. As Garnet continued to channel the mana, she focused more into her mouth. "Sonic Scream!" SCREECH. "AHH!" Crossen screamed as he put his hands to his head. "Master!" shouted Leilah as she stood in the path of the Sonic Scream. "I''m okay," said Crossen as he picked himself up. There was a little blood coming out of his left ear. The Sonic Scream had already damaged his hearing. Riley charged forward and tackled Leilah, pushing her out of the way so that Garnet could continue her assault on Crossen. "Earthen Wall!" Crossen rose the ground and created a barrier between him and Garnet. "Fire Ball!" Garnet shot a ball of fire straight towards the wall. BOOM. The Earthen Wall Crossen had created earlier broke to pieces. Slowly, she was getting the upper hand over Crossen. Garnet''s superior mana regeneration meant that Crossen would tire out long before Garnet would. She could already see it as Crossen was beginning to sweat and breathe more heavily. Meanwhile, Riley was exchanging blows with Leilah. Riley''s superior strength from the transformation allowed her to hold Leilah at bay despite Leilah being more experienced. Every punch or kick thrown by Leilah was countered by a parry. "You''re no beginner," said Leilah. "I''ve had many years of practice," said Riley. "Just no chance to use it." Leilah dove straight for Riley. Riley raised her hands in a cross and caught Leilah''s arm. "What?!?" Leilah was surprised. It was not just a simple block or deflection. It was a counter. Riley twisted her arms and smashed Leilah against the ground. BAM. "Explosive Palm!" Riley immediately followed up with an attack meant to finish off Leilah. "GAH!" Leilah screamed as she coughed up blood. She was injured, but she survived. The single attack had not finished her off. "Wind Scar!" Crossen released a powerful burst of wind that cut straight through the stone on the ground. He was aiming to kill with his spells now. He was getting desperate and would not be able to hold out much longer. He wanted to finish the battle as soon as possible. He was no longer aiming to capture Garnet. Garnet was able to dodge the first one. She sidestepped it as it when by. "Heat Wave!" Garnet countered with her own wind type attack. It was impossible to see because it left no visible trail. "Mana Shield!" Crossen raised his book in front of him as the powerful burst of wind set the banners on the wall ablaze. Garnet could see that Crossen was weakening. The Mana Shield had not protected him entirely. There were parts of his robe that was glowing red and were going to ignite at any moment. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired it straight at Crossen. "Master!" Leilah shouted as she leapt towards him. BOOM. The powerful bolt struck Leilah as she wrapped her arms around Crossen to protect him. As the explosive power of the spell created high winds, Garnet saw that the spot where the two of them were standing was now just a hole. It was possible to see the sky outside. A few feet away Leilah was laying on the ground with Crossen. "Ugh," Leilah groaned as she picked herself up. Level Up: Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 2) New Skill: Wind Blade Attack with a blade of wind that is unseen, but can cut through almost anything MP Cost: 200 When Leilah turned around, Garnet saw that she was hurt. One of Leilah''s wings was missing about a quarter of it. Blood was flowing from the side of her mouth and she was holding on to her arm. "You''re still alive I see," said Garnet. "Do you surrender?" "You must escape Master," said Leilah. "You can always resummon me." "I spent years planning this takeover," said Crossen. "All of it ruined by two women." Crossen began to run and went outside through the hole that Garnet had just created. He was fast and quickly disappeared along with the presence of his mana. It was like he was never there in the first place. Leilah stood her ground, covering for her Master''s escape. "Why do you serve a Master like that?" Riley asked. "He gives me what I need," said Leilah. "We have a mutual agreement." "Something like a contract?" Garnet asked. "I suppose," said Leilah. "You know if you kill me, you can chase after my Master." "The fact that I could not sense his mana means that he is already long gone," said Garnet. "It would be difficult to find him anyways." "You''re smarter than you look," said Leilah. "To think we would be outmatched this greatly." "If I find that your Master is using people as sacrifices for his summon again, I will kill him without hesitation," said Garnet. Leilah charged forward. "If you won''t fight, I will!" she shouted. She stood no chance, but fought to cover for her Master. She could be resummoned anyways. Leilah aimed to thrust her arm straight into Garnet, realizing that she was the mage and Riley was the summon. Garnet raised her own arm to meet Leilah''s. BOOM. As their fists made contact, a fierce shock wave was released by their might. Their fists repeatedly made contact as they struggled to land a hit on each other. Each one released a powerful wave. BAM. One of Garnet''s fists made contact with Leilah''s chest, but she continued to press on. Riley charged at Leilah from the side, forcing Leilah to retreat. Even though Leilah was already injured, she was still strong. "To think, I would meet two Queen Succubi working together in a place like this," said Leilah. "It does not matter who we are," said Garnet. "We''re just here to stop people like you. Even if you''re a mage, you should not be using people to fuel your magic." "Aren''t you being hypocritical?" asked Leilah. "Don''t you use people for your magic?" "I don''t," said Garnet. "They are created from my own mana. I have yet to use the mana of innocent people, only those that have tried to kill me and or have been aggressive enough to attack others." "Then all those are created from your own magic?!?" Leilah was surprised. "Yes," said Garnet. "They are created from my own power." "I see," said Leilah. "There''s no way I can win then if you have that much power. Hurry and finish it." "I won''t," said Garnet. "You just want to protect your Master." "But if you don''t kill them, won''t they just create more trouble?" asked Riley. "Even if I killed her, her Master can just summon her again," asid Garnet. "It makes no difference since Crossen got away already." "She''s right," said Leilah. "Kill me and my Master can summon me again. Don''t kill me and I just get to fly away. It makes no difference." "If you ever want to serve a different Master," said Garnet. "I''ll be here." "Not unless my current Master dies or breaks the contract," said Leilah. "I''ll remember the two of you." With that, Leilah flew away. With Leilah gone, Garnet and Riley returned to their normal forms. Garnet just remembered Samir was still in the room and was shocked by what he saw. "Are you okay?" Garnet asked. "What just happened?" Samir asked. "A battle between Dark Mages you must not speak of," said Garnet. "Do I make myself clear?" "Yes," said Samir. "Where is the King?" "Most likely dead or turned into one of the undead," said Garnet. "I suggest you look into it." Samir quickly ran towards the throne and turned right. There were doors that were hidden just so that if you were not standing right on the throne, you would not be able to notice it. As the doors opened, Garnet saw that it was a bedroom of some kind, but it was empty. "What is this place?" Riley asked. "This is the King''s safe room," said Samir. "In times of emergency, this is where the King can hide. If he knew something was wrong, he should be in here.." Garnet escorted Samir through the small castle, clearing out the remaining undead along the way. Samir checked everywhere he thought the King might be hiding, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was very likely that the King had been turned into one of the undead. With no King and no Wizard, they would have to find another way to lead themselves. "Surrender to Belgrade," said Garnet. "What?!?" Samir was surprised. "This would solve your problems," said Garnet. "A renegade Dark Mage killed the King and took over as leader, using the army of undead to force your people to do his bidding and to fight the war. You may not have known it, but that''s basically what happened. Force them to agree to the terms that as long as they help rebuild the city, they can rule it." Samir thought about it for a second. The alternative was to have no leadership, which would lead to a power struggle and their eventual defeat. As long as the terms of surrender were acceptable, they would both benefit from it. "I suppose," said Samir. "I will propose it to the others." "I''m going to take my leave," said Garnet. "Why?" asked Samir. "I just fought a battle with another Dark Mage," said Garnet. "It is likely that people will start coming here and asking questions. Worst of all, I know that others can track me because of my mana now. I must move before another mage who wants my mana wants to find me." Garnet was not really scared. She knew she was more than a match for most mages in terms of abilities. There were few people that could really defeat her. However, if Crossen became stronger, it was likely that he would be a match. "Thank you for saving us from the Wizard," said Samir. "I promise I will not speak of you to anyone else." "Good," said Garnet. "I will take my leave then." Garnet and Riley left the city in a hurry before anyone else found out what had happened in the castle. "Was that the right thing to do though?" asked Riley. "What do you mean?" Garnet asked. "You just replaced a ruler and vastly changed the outcome of a war," said Riley. "The alternative was to let someone sacrifice people to make an army of undead so that he could expand to another city and repeat the same," said Garnet. "Of the two options, I think this was the better one." There was indeed a moral dilemma here. Garnet had used her own power to overthrow who was essentially the ruler of a kingdom. However, that was only because she was pulled into it by force. Had that not happened, she probably would have left things the way they were. She was starting to actively shape the development of her world because of it. The worst thing was that there was another Dark Mage present. If Garnet did not have the Class Change, she probably would not have been able to win. It was due to her specialty in Lightning Fire that gave her a clear advantage. The spell itself was incredibly powerful, but it was not enough for the likes of the Invasion or probably anyone that commanded the Invasion. Garnet needed to become stronger. For now, all she could do was manufacture Mana Crystals. Level Up: Magicraft (Level 9) Skill Upgrade: Call: Revenant Revenants can now become intangible. Skill Upgrade: Call: Cerberus Cerberus now possess poisonous snake tails. Skill Upgrade: Death Knight Death Knights now have increased magical resistance Level Up: Minion Development (Level 2) You can now allocate additional mana to improve the abilities of your summons based on the Mana Crystal within them. It was a big improvement, but the problem was the incredible mana cost requirements. Even an upgrade to the Cerberus'' defenses was over ten thousand mana. As a result, Garnet did not even bother to check the others. They were simply too high for Garnet to do anything with for now. For some reason though, the spirits and special ones like Romulus and Sylvia did not gain benefits from the Mana Crystal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 32 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen Consort / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 2450/2450 MP: 8340/8340 Fame: 220 Strength: 57 (+5) Dexterity: 52 (+7) Intelligence: 230 (+22) Vitality: 70 (+5) Agility: 64 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 3 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 8 - Lightning ¨C 14 - Wind ¨C 5 - Water - 0 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Spatial - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 1) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 1) - Jet Stream (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 2) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Stealth (Level 2) - Shadow Walk (Level 2) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Illusion (Level 2) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 9) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 9) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 5: Chapter 044 - The Grey Hunters End of Arc 5. Arc 6 might take a while because there are a few more details I''m still working on. Namely, the new five guardians of the city. ----------------------------------------------------- As Garnet and Riley traveled East, the number of cities and towns were farther apart. They were just barely enough for the two of them to resupply, though Garnet could always just use Teleportation to return to a town and continue exactly where they left. After passing through a mountain, they arrived at the next large city on their map, Bucharest. This was the last large city before they would arrive at Constantinople. "It''s huge!" said Garnet as she stared at a clock tower that rose above the city itself. It was at least ten stories tall by her estimates, even taller than the castle. Garnet had memories of Riley''s world where there were large buildings called skyscrapers as well, but this was the first time Garnet had actually seen something close to it in person. "It reminds me of home," said Riley. "Do you remember something?" Garnet asked. Riley had lost a huge chunk of her previous life. At most, she had only remembered fragments. "I know I lived in nothing like that tower," said Riley. "It was a large room that I shared with probably fifty other people." "So you do remember something," said Garnet. "It''s nothing new though," said Riley. "It''s something I''ve always remembered." Garnet had hoped that Riley had at least gained some memories, but there was no progress. For now, all the hope relied on the lost knowledge of Constantinople, and it was a huge gamble. There was always the chance that the journey would not pay off. The only clue they received was the message along with the book, teasing Garnet to go to Constantinople. As they walked through the city, Garnet noticed that there was an enormous section of the city that was burned black, most likely by fire. In large cities, disasters were very damaging whether it be flooding, earthquake, or fire due to how compact it was. That was when Garnet started to feel a strange chill. "Do you notice the people following us?" Riley asked. "There is something strange about the atmosphere," said Garnet. "Can you tell how many?" "No," said Riley. "I have an idea, let''s head to an inn," said Garnet. Going through an inn meant that they would be in a very public place. If someone was going to attack them, it was going to be very difficult without drawing attention to them. If they wanted to attack her, they would also have to go through an entire building of people. As Garnet headed to the inn, she kept her eye out, looking to see if she could spot any of the people that were tracking her. Riley''s eyes were focused to her right. She was always able to tell if someone was looking at her for some reason. However, if they were focused on Garnet instead, it was possible that Riley would not notice. Whoever was following them was skilled and possibly part of a larger group. As Garnet and Riely arrived at the inn, Garnet still could not tell who was following them. The inn itself was much larger than in other cities. It could be considered a hotel if it was maintained better. The lobby had quite a lot of people in it. "One room," said Garnet as she handed some silver coins to the receptionist. "Third floor, room twenty," said the receptionist as she handed Garnet a key with the number 320 on it. If the group that was following Garnet wanted to find her, they would have to go through two floors with people and such a large group was bound to draw attention. That meant the people after her would have to attack her when she was outside. The room itself was very plain, just a single double bed and a table. The window had horizontal shutters that could be adjusted. With it, Garnet could look outside and it would be difficult to look inside. "To your lower left," said Riley. Garnet took a small peak out the window and looked a little to the lower left. It was there that she saw a man in a dirty grey cloak and brown clothes. He looked very plain, but he was standing by the side of the building. Name: Frank Level: 41 Class: Tracker Sub-class: Thief Stats: High Agility His class made him suspicious. It was likely that he was sent to follow Garnet. The problem was figuring out who sent him. "Do you know where he is from?" Garnet asked. "I don''t remember any person or group dressed like that," said Riley. "Do you know if they were following us before or after we entered the city?" Garnet asked. "I didn''t feel it until after we arrived," said Riley. "If they found us outside of the city, I''m sure they would have just attacked us." There were two options for the people who were watching them. The first would be to wait until Garnet and Riley left the city, then follow them until there was an opportunity to attack them. The other option would be to attack Garnet and Riley at night when there were few or no people around. This was assuming that the people watching them wanted to attack of course, but it was best to prepare for the worst case scenario. However, there was still something Garnet could do. "Do you think we should intimidate them?" Garnet asked. "How?" Riley asked. "Light!" Garnet created a spark of lightning in her hand. "I just walk by and do this," said Garnet. "It should serve as a warning that I know they''re after me." "Are you sure?" asked Riley. "It will almost guarantee that they will prepare for a fight with you." "I''d rather take care of the problem here," said Garnet. "It''s better to fight them here and now than wait for when we are at a disadvantage." "Alright then," said Riley. "I agree with what you want to do." Garnet and Riley left the inn and walked in the direction of the man in the grey cloak that they saw earlier. As Garnet walked by, she created a spark in her hand. "Light!" As she did so, she looked at the man and gave a smile before crushing the spark in her hand. "Think he got the message?" Garnet asked. "I think it''s too soon to know," said Riley. Garnet decided to at least look around town to see if there was anything interesting that she could learn about. There was a Guild building here as well, but after her last experience, she did not want anything to do with Guilds for a while, especially if she did not know what the conditions in the city were like. The appearance of a city had little to do with how well it was managed. Even the best looking cities could be corrupt. Anywhere she visited could have people who wanted her dead. Nobles in Antium could want her dead because they disagree with King Charles. The people of Anzio might want her alive because she held the secret to medicines. This village atop the mountain might blame her for the death of loved ones that she ordered to be killed. The diseased village might want her for medicines as well. The city on the water might have connected the dots and figured out that Garnet worked with the Leviathan. The people of Kalemegdan might blame her for the death of their King and the loss of their Wizard. Her list of enemies was growing larger with every town she visited. It was no use dwelling on it though, there was nothing she could do about it now. As Garnet looked around town, she noticed that they were engaged in industrial manufacturing, something she had tried to jump start in Antium, but largely failed. The city of Bucharest was manufacturing many things on a large scale, but it also created problems. The air was dirty and the farms had to be built far away from the city. If they were ever sieged, they would face huge problems. Numerous people were also sick and coughing, probably because of the poor air quality. It was like the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, but unlike the city on the water, they did not have any means to mitigate the damage. New Quest: Survive the Grey Ghosts There is an organization known as the Grey Ghosts chasing after you. Survive the assault by making it to your destination in Constantinople. Reward: Experience Upon seeing this notification, Garnet immediately looked around. "How many are there?" she asked. "At least four dozen by my estimates," said Riley. "If each of them was as strong as the man we saw observing us, we don''t stand a chance," said Garnet. "Not necessarily," said Riley. "We have our summons and we are much stronger thanks to surviving the Invasion. Remember, our levels do not match our strength." Garnet''s transformation would be able to make up the difference in levels, but not necessarily the skills. In fact, if their skills were high enough, they would be able to overcome the stat difference. She was going to be taking a big risk by fighting them if she knew nothing about them. Garnet moved her eyes around trying to see how many of them she could spot. They were all circling around her. Three in the alley to her right. Two in the rooftop to the left. Another three slowly walking towards her. She channeled mana into her arms. The moment they started anything, Garnet would be prepared to counter with the full power of a Wind Palm. They were getting closer. Garnet did not want to be the one to start the fight. The one who initiated it would be the ones who were in the wrong. If there were any witnesses they had to be able to say that she was the one being attacked. The three who were slowly walking towards her were almost directly in front of her now. Garnet raised her arms, ready to fight. The man in the grey cloak to the left raised his arm with a knife in it. He lunged towards Garnet. "Wind Palm!" Garnet immediately responded to the attack. VWOOM. The powerful burst of wind knocked the three men back. They were not down though. They were powerful enough to resist the attack. "They''re strong," said Garnet. Level Up: Wind Palm (Level 2) "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Riley was not waiting. She was already going to leap in to fight. "Quickly, summon the others!" shouted Riley. "Recall!" The eight Cerberus immediately reappeared before Garnet in order to even up the numbers. From every direction, men and women in grey cloaks jumped out of the shadows to surround them. "Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood! Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood!" Garnet started with the ones that she thought would be the strongest in a direct fight. "Buy me time to call the others!" shouted Garnet. Romulus and Sylvia covered Garnet''s flanks. CLANG. One of the men in grey cloaks to Garnet''s left had already begun to clash with Sylvia. They were unphased by the fact that Garnet had suddenly called forth so many. "Everyone down!" Garnet shouted. Romulus, Sylvia, Riley, and even the Cerberus immediately ducked. "Sonic Scream!" SCREECH. Garnet released a powerful scream and turned her head horizontally starting from left to right. "AHH!" Garnet could hear the screams. The people that she were fighting were obviously not prepared with knowledge of her abilities. This gave her a slight advantage against the powerful group. None of them stayed down though. Once the scream stopped, they got right back up. "Take care of the ones in front!" ordered the man in the grey cloak in the front. They were beginning to surround Garnet. Garnet needed numbers, not strength. "Call: Revenants! Call: Death Knights!" Even with this, Garnet was still outnumbered two to one. Despite her high mana regeneration, it still was not enough. She needed time before she could summon the spirits. They would be the ones to turn the tide of this battle. "What?!?" shouted a woman in a grey cloak to Garnet''s left. She had thrust her sword deep into the neck of one of Garnet''s Cerberus. Yet, the Cerberus continued to move as if nothing had happened to it. The fact that she could pierce the skin of the Cerberus was proof of her strength. However, the strength of the magic clay was far superior, making the Cerberus extremely tough. Name: Lana Level: 40 Class: Assassin Sub-Class: Shadow Walker Stats: High Strength, High Agility "Watch out!" shouted Romulus. A man to Garnet''s left lunged straight for her. "Blood Scythe!" Garnet swung her arm and the scythe of blood appeared. The man raised his sword to block what he thought was a sword being formed in Garnet''s hands, but it was really a scythe. Instead of clashing against Garnet''s weapon, he was sent flying. BOOM. The man slammed against the side of a building and fell onto the ground. He was only unconscious at best. "Blood Bind!" That would ensure that the man stayed down for at least a while. "One down, forty seven to go," Garnet thought. "Blood Bind!" Garnet used it on another. "No!" shouted the man Garnet used it on. He screamed and broke through the Blood Blind with sheer force. Garnet would have to weaken them before she could immobilize or kill them. Even though her attackers were strong, they were not invincible. They had no experience fighting monsters. This was Garnet''s only advantage for now. "Call: Meliae!" With enough mana, Garnet began to call out her spirits. "Slow down the attackers!" Garnet ordered. "There''s quite a lot of them," said Meliae. Meliae began to use various vines and roots. The moment you were caught by one, you were gone. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet heard a familiar spell. In the back of the formation was at least a mage. BANG. A small explosion broke off Meliae''s vine. She immediately grew it back. Garnet''s attackers were no ordinary group. "Heat Wave!" Riley released a powerful burst of hot wind towards the entire right flank. The grey cloaks that the group wore were suddenly glowing with an orange light. It had protected them, but it was now burning. With a little more, they would be forced to remove it. Meanwhile, Meliae began to dig her feet into the ground and spread her roots. She would be able to attack without the others realizing it. They just needed enough time for Meliae to spread her roots into the ground. With that spell, the group was beginning to act a little more cautious. They could not see the attack, but only estimate its strength and trajectory based on how they acted. "Chain Lightning!" Garnet released a bolt of lightning that bounced around between the targets. Most of them were unaffected by it. Maybe a few of them were stunned momentarily, but that moment bought time for Garnet to recover more of her mana. "We need to take care of her before she summons anymore help," said one of the men in grey cloaks. "We need to attack together." "We can''t," another man responded. "We need to attack in waves, when she is recovering from the previous attack." A group of three men approached from the front, bearing large shields. They were going to try to force their way through with brute force and hope that Garnet''s spells were not powerful enough to break through. However, this short delay gave enough time for Garnet to call forth more help. "Call: Sino!" "How many spirits does she have?" wondered one of men in a grey cloak. "We only know of two," said a woman in a grey cloak. "These must be new." "Knowledge of two," thought Garnet to herself. It was likely that the attackers were from Antium or Anzio then. Garnet had acquired the others after she arrived in Anzio. They probably did not see her in the mountains or along the way until they arrived in Bucharest. "She would have to ask questions later." "Create an opening for Riley to attack!" Garnet ordered. Riley and Garnet were the only ones that could use Pleasure Inducement. One touch was all it took to disable someone regardless of who they were. "Blood Scythe!" Sylvia swung it at her attackers who all moved back. Riley immediately flew in her direction. Riley put her finger on one of the men who was a little slow. "Pleasure Inducement!" The man suddenly collapsed onto the floor. "UGH," groaned the man as he collapsed on the floor. The others were suddenly scared. With a single touch, Riley had incapacitated one of the men. For Garnet and Riley, a single touch was a victory. For her attackers, even striking someone in the head was not a lethal blow. "Who are you?'' Riley asked. "We are the Grey Cloaks of Anzio, our duty is to carry out missions for the glory of Anzio" answered the man on the floor. The fact that such a group was sent after Garnet meant it was something serious. Riley had heard something when Garnet decided that she would leave their service. If they wanted her for something, it was likely because of her knowledge of medicines. The questions would have to come later. Right now, the fight was to survive. "Call: Lilith!" Lilith was probably the next strongest after Riley. She was a slightly weaker form of Garnet and Riley, but her power had also grown considerably and was very mana efficient compared to the others. She too had taken on Garnet''s Temptress of the Night abilities, but her magic was limited by comparison. "Call: Sino!" Her ice powers would help slow down her attackers. The ability to manipulate wind and water was powerful. With a single swing of her arm, she blew back several people. "Call: Nuria! Call: Mazu!" With that, all of Garnet''s forces were gathered. It had taken a while, but the shock of Garnet''s abilities had slowed down her attackers, causing them to hesitate and panic. Stat Increase: Intelligence+1 "Break through the left!" the leader of the Grey Ghosts ordered. Suddenly, about a dozen people moved in from the left all pushing towards Romulus. As strong as he was, he lacked the special abilities that Garnet''s other summons had. Garnet rushed to support him. Romulus followed a pattern of defense and counter. The problem was that with so many attackers, he was stuck defending. CLANG. CLANG. Every time Romulus blocked a sword strike, there was already another one coming towards him. He had no opening to attack. "Icicle Edge!" Sino created a large blade of ice and swung it at one of her attackers. CRASH. The collision between her blade and the man broke the blade. BOOM. The man was pressed into the ground where he left an indentation as blood flowed from different parts of his body onto the ground. "Another one down," Garnet thought to herself. She could not afford to hold back anymore. She had to push herself. "Transform: Elementalist!" Her spells would be a lot stronger in this form. "Advance!" the leader of the Grey Ghosts ordered. The men with the large shields began to push through the Cerberus. "Retreat from the men with shields!" ordered Garnet. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The explosive power slammed against their shields, pushing the men back. When the smoke cleared, the three men were collapsed on the ground with their shields badly burnt. A Heat Wave would have probably killed them. "We''re not prepared for this!" shouted one of the men in a grey cloak. "We need to fall back." "Our orders are to capture her alive," said the leader of the Grey Cloaks. "If we fail, we die here." The leader of the Grey Cloaks drew a short sword, one that had a blade that was almost entirely white. Name: Mithril Short Sword Quality: Legendary Effect: Damage +100%, Ignores Defense from Heavy Armor It was a dangerous weapon, but Garnet was not using heavy armor, so it as not as effective against her. This did not mean that the man was not a threat though. All of them were dangerous. The leader of the Grey Cloaks pulled out a talisman and activated his own magic. "Cry of the Silver Wolf!" It was something that was to be used in emergencies, much like how Zedd had given a few to Charles. Five wolves with shining silver fur appeared. Name: Silver Wolf Level: 60 Class: Beast Sub-Class: Summoned Creature Stats: High Strength, High Agility "We have to retreat," said Riley. Riley was right. If they had summoning magic as well, at their level, it was likely to be equal to Garnet''s if not superior. "To where?" Garnet asked. "Anywhere but here," said Riley. "Just lay a Teleportation Summoning Circle and warp back to any of the towns we visited." "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet laid one down right under them in the middle of town. "Teleportation!" An in instant the light appeared and Garnet was now outside of Bucharest. "Recall!" In an instant, all of Garnet''s summons reappeared near her as well. With that, there was no trail for them to follow other than the Teleportation Circle. It would take them a long time to figure out how it worked and by then she would reach Constantinople by then. However, now that she was being hunted, it was very dangerous, especially since they were willing to attack her in broad daylight in the middle of a city. "Should we head straight for Constantinople or head back to Antium?" Garnet thought to herself. It was definitely easier to go back, but then it would mean that the journey was pointless and Anzio might do something to attack Antium while it was still weakened from the Invasion. After all, a city like Anzio had a bit of clout with other nearby regions as a major trade hub. For now though, it was best to head straight for Constantinople. They were already most of the way there and there was only a few hundred miles to go. "Dismiss!" All of the summons except the Cerberus and Riley remained. "We''re heading straight for Constantinople," Garnet said to Riley. "Are you sure?" asked Riley. "Won''t it be safer to head back?" "Anzio has enough influence to convince people to turn on Antium," said Garnet. "I''m worried about my family, but I think entering either city now will only make it worse for them." The Anzio Academy relied on its reputation to be able to keep its guests safe. Going there now would make them target Ruby, even if their school''s reputation relied on it, she could not risk it. Going to Antium might make Anzio turn on Antium as well. Garnet checked on her Cerberus as well to make sure that they were okay. As she took a look at the one that was stabbed straight through the head, she realized that it was okay. It''s physical body had been damaged, but it was repairing itself. As something that was created out of mana, it was very light damage. Had it been hit by magic, it would have been a different story altogether, but their magic was limited, which had given Garnet an opportunity to escape. With the Grey Ghosts not far behind, Garnet headed straight for Constantinople on the map. The Grey Ghosts were unsure of Garnet''s goal or abilities before, but now, they had a pretty good clue. As a larger group, they would definitely be slower than Garnet or Riley though. About two hundred miles remained between Garnet and her destination. "Except for you two, scatter in every direction!" Garnet ordered her Cerberus. "To throw off their trail?" Riley asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "It is likely that the Cerberus will have my scent and their wolves might be able to track it. With this, it will confuse them just a bit." By doing this, the Grey Ghosts would have to scatter as well. While Garnet would be able to use Recall to bring her entire force together, they would not be able to, giving Garnet a huge advantage. Garnet took out the small pin that Zedd had given to her. "Are you there?" Garnet asked. "What is it?" asked Zedd. Garnet could hear his voice. "Anzio sent a bunch of men to attack me," said Garnet. "Do you know anything of this?" "No," said Zedd. "Are you okay? Do you need help?" "They called themselves the Grey Ghosts," said Garnet. "That''s the elite group under the command of Morgan," said Zedd. "What does he want with you?" "I don''t know," said Garnet. "I just know they want me alive, but it might have to do with the medicine I created while I was in Anzio." "I see," said Zedd. "If you need my help, just shout it into the pin. I can immediately Teleport to you with it." Garnet looked and saw that there was a tiny Teleportation Summoning Circle on the pin. It was almost invisible, but Zedd had somehow done it. "I will," said Garnet. "What can you tell me about the Grey Ghosts?'' Garnet wanted to know what she was up against. "They''re all poweful fighters of some kind," Zedd replied. "Do you know how many were sent after you?" "At least forty eight," said Garnet. "Forty eight?!?" Zedd was surprised. "They want you bad." "Is that such a big deal?" Garnet asked. "One is enough for an assassination," said Zedd. "You only mobilize that many for a war." Anzio wanted Garnet desperately enough to send the equivalent of an entire army after her. Even Garnet''s own was not enough to match them. Garnet felt safe knowing that Zedd could help her if she really needed it. The downside was that it would most likely antagonize Anzio, making Anzio and Antium enemies. She really wanted to avoid it at all costs. "Alright, I''ll be rushing ahead to Constantinople," said Garnet. "I have no time to waste." "Flight!" Garnet sprouted wings and immediately flew in the direction of Constantinople. With this, she could cover the remaining distance within a day. It was likely that the Grey Ghosts will attempt to track her down and there was no telling how fast they were. Garnet raced towards Constantinople as fast as she possibly could. The Grey Ghosts were still on her trail. Every so often, Garnet looked behind her to make sure that there was no one following her. "Aren''t you being a little paranoid?" Riley asked. "There''s no such thing as being too careful," said Garnet. There were some winged creatures in the sky, but Garnet and Riley quickly zoomed past them. They did not pay any attention to either of them. BOOM. There was a loud sound in the distance. It sounded like somtehing had just broken the sound barrier. As Garnet looked in the distance, she could see a speck that was growing larger. She immediately stopped. "Heat Wave!" Garnet was not taking any risks. The only people who would be after her now would be the Grey Ghosts. The figure came to a halt as the grey robe was scorched off. Garnet could see that it was a young man with medium length brown hair. The wings on his back were white bird wings covered in feathers. He too was a mage that was capable of flight and was definitely faster than her. In terms of skill with flying though, it was likely very different and they would most likely be unable to match Garnet in a drawn out battle. "I see why they sent so many people after you now," said the man. "Why won''t you people just leave me alone?" Garnet asked. "Your knowledge and skills are too valuable to be lost," said the man. "We will take it back by force if we have to," said the man as he drew his sword. Name: Londo Level: 52 Class: Blademaster Sub-Class: Mage Stats: High Strength, High Agility If the Grey Ghosts had split up, it was likely that they had a way to communicate with one another and they would quickly converge on their location. However, the number that were capable of flying was probably very low. If it was a one-on-one duel, Garnet had the advantage. With Riley at her side, it would be much easier to fight as well. Garnet readied her own sword while Riley drew her short sword. Londo immediately charged towards Garnet. "Cruxifiction!" Londo aimed his blade towards Garnet''s wrists and ankles, intending to criple her. Garnet suddenly dropped down, causing Londo to miss all four strikes. When fighting in the air, it was a three dimensional battlefield. It was something that Londo did not seem to understand. "Wind Palm!" Garnet released a powerful burst of wind, pushing Londo high up. It took a few seconds before Londo was able to stop. He was good at controlling his own movements, but he was poor at responding. When Londo recovered, he came diving towards Garnet, using his altitude advantage to try to break Garnet''s guard. "Overhead Smash!" He was intending to completely smash Garnet''s weapon. Suddenly, Riley charged foward and rammed Londo with her shoulder. She was not going to take any risks. "Let''s get rid of this guy as quickly as possible and continue," said Riley. Another person down would make it much easier for Garnet should they all converge on her location. After all, one person down meant one less person to fight later and they could not waste this opportunity. "Fire Ball!" Garnet continuously fired small balls of fire that exploded into black smoke. Despite Londo''s speed at flying in a single direction, he was unable to make sharp turns. Level Up: Fireball (Level 2) Fighting the Grey Ghosts was slowly increasing Garnet''s skill levels and stats due to their superior levels. Even though Londo was a mage, he was only using it for flight and maybe to enhance his own physical abilities. He was unable to use it for offense like Garnet was. That did not stop him from trying to attack Garnet though. He was trying to aim straight for Garnet. "Lightning Thrust!" Garnet could see that his sword glowed with blue electricity all around it. It lacked the same speed as Garnet''s lightning bolt, but would most likely incapacitate her if it connected. "Lightning Ray!" Garnet fired several bolts of lightning all towards Londo. BZZT. Londo was immediately struck by the lightning and he start falling towards the ground. Since he was charging straight towards Garnet, he was unable to avoid it. At this height it was likely the impact would kill him. THUMP. Garnet could hear the sound of Londo crashing to the ground. However, he was only down. He was still alive. Even a fall from this high was not enough to kill him. "Are you going to finish it?" Riley asked. "Yes," said Garnet. She could not take any more risks. With a large number of people trying to chase her down, she needed to get rid of as many of them as possible before they gathered. It was likely that Londo had somehow warned the others as well, otherwise they would not be so willing to spread out. She descended towards Londo. "Wind Blade!" Garnet released the blade of wind. SHING. She could see it as it cut into Londo''s body. You have leveled up! You have leveled up! Two levels for killing him. Another one down, and at least forty six more to go. As strong as the Grey Ghosts were, they seemed ill suited for individual combat. They were most likely trained in teams to coordinate their attacks and abilities. Londo thought that he had superior speed, but he lacked control. The moment that something went wrong, he was unable to react. This was what allowed Garnet to win. "Let''s hurry to Constantinople," said Garnet. She continued flying towards the city as fast as she could. According to the map, she had covered about half the distance betwen Bucharest and Constantinople, but it was likely that the Grey Ghosts would beat her to it if they were as fast as Londo. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "There''s more of them coming!" Riley warned. Garnet turned around and saw nothing. She looked down and two small specs from the ground as they turned to look around. Even on the ground, they were able to keep up with Garnet''s flying speed. These people were not ordinary. Against a normal person, they would be feared, but as long as they did not group in large numbers, Garnet would still have a small advantage over them since they did not expect Garnet to be flying. "Call: Lilith!" Garnet wanted the odds to be in her favor. "We kill them with one strike if possible," said Garnet. The three of them were now directly above the two specs. Garnet could see that one of them was male and one of them was female from their figures. The explosive power of Lightning Fire would give away their location for sure, so if others were on their way, they would have to take care of them without drawing too much attention. "I''ll take care of the woman on the left," said Lilith. "I''m sure you two can kill the one on the right." "Alright," said Riley. Lilith turned around and began to accelerate the speed. Doing it too suddenly would give away their location, but if she was already approaching at a high speed to begin with, it would be harder to notice. Riley and Garnet followed Lilith''s lead. Lilith dove for the woman on her left. Riley followed after. Lilith drove her hand straight into the woman''s shoulder. "GAH!" screamed the woman. Before the man realized it, Riley had drove his arm straight into the man''s chest, killing him instantly. The woman was still alive though. "Oh? You''re still alive?" asked Lilith. "We''ll bring you back one way or another," said the woman. "Pleasure Inducement!" Garnet wanted to take advantage of this situation. "UGH," moaned the woman. Garnet could manipulate them if they were not communicating with each other directly. "Tell the others we were heading directly south," said Garnet. She wanted to tell them that they found nothing, but that would be too suspicious. After all, Garnet had taken down three people and were known to be heading in this general direction. Just a slight detour would buy her the time she needed to get ahead of them. There was one other thing that Garnet wanted to know. "How did you find me?" Garnet asked. "A tracker used the scent left behind in your workshop," said the woman. Garnet''s Teleportation had only temporarily separated them. Since Garnet did not move very far from Bucharest, they would be able to find her quickly. "We have to go now," said Garnet as she ran off in a hurry. It was possible that what Garnet had just told the woman to do would have no use. If they could track her with just her smell, it was likely that her flying would not help either. "Flight!" Garnet activated the spell and began to rush towards her destination. Only a hundred miles to go. It would only be a few hours at most. The strange thing was that the quest stated that arriving at Constantinople was enough. Garnet did not have to lose the Grey Ghosts or defeat them. "Anything?" Garnet asked Riley. "No," said Riley. "Did your plan actually work?" "That would be too easy," said Garnet. "The wolves they had with them should have been able to track me." HOWL. It was the sound of one of Garnet''s Cerberus. It was likely that it had spotted the Grey Ghosts. HOWL. It was another howl, different from Garnet''s Cerberus. It was likely the one from one of the Silver Wolves that was summoned by one of her pursuers. In terms of strength though, Garnet''s own Cerberus should have been stronger since they had multiple upgrades. "I see them!" shouted Riley. Garnet immediately turned around and looked down and saw six figures that were running in their direction. They were starting to gather in large numbers and moving almost as fast as Garnet was flying. It would be difficult to eliminate them all before reinforcements arrived, so fighting was not really an option. In the distance, Garnet could see ruins. However, it was unclear what she was looking for. "Zedd!" Garnet shouted into the pin. "I need your help." The pin began to glow and the summoning circle appeared under Garnet. As the bright light cleared up, Zedd suddenly appeared. "To be honest, I was waiting for your call," said Zedd. "There''s our problem," said Garnet as she pointed to the large group of people gathering below them. There was now a total of eight Grey Ghosts. Zedd began to charge his mana and prepare for a powerful spell. "So what''s the plan?" he asked. "We need to reach Constantinople," said Garnet. "Not just the entrance though, but something further in." "Are you sure?" asked Zedd. He had seen the powerful creature that protected the ruins. Even he was no match for it. "That''s what the Hero System is telling me to do," said Garnet. "I have to reach a certain point in Constantinople." Suddenly, a large magic circle appeared on the ground that seemed to stretch on for several miles. "Is that you?" asked Zedd. "No," said Garnet. "It''s not something I''m doing." That was when Garnet saw it. Her mana was being drained. "Something is draining my mana!" "It''s an anti-magic field!" shouted Zedd. "We must get clear of this quickly!" BOOM. He charged ahead of Garnet and Riley releasing a sonic boom and breaking through the range of the anti-magic field. However, the whole anti-magic field was moving with the people below Garnet. This was how they were trying to bring her down. "I don''t think this will stop us," said Riley. Garnet took a look at her mana. The rate at which it was decreasing was slowing down. "You''re right," said Garnet. Garnet had the ability to regenerate mana based on how much mana she was missing. At some point, it would reach an equilibrium and stop decreasing. On the other hand, Riley did not have this ability and she was already slowing down. It was probably affecting Riley more since she was a spirit that relied entirely on mana. "It''s alright," said Riley. "You can just resummon me later. I''ll slow them down for you." Riley flew down and crashed straight into the group. "Dismiss!" Garnet did not want to see Riley fight a losing battle just to buy some time for her. Up ahead, she saw Zedd preparing another spell. Garnet saw Zedd''s lips move as he smashed his hands into the ground. "Earth Spike!" The ground began to crack along the entire road towards Garnet and the Grey Ghosts. The entire ground distorted, breaking the anti-magic field that they had deployed. Numerous pillars of rock burst through the surface. It was a way to use earth magic in order to destroy magic circles. If you could not directly interfere with the spell, you could break the formation with magic of your own by dislocating all the important points. The larger the spell, the more weak points it had. "Why did Zedd say his Teleportation Summoning Circles were not affected by physical terrain?" Garnet thought. The anti-magic field was clearly affected by it, but there was probably a way around it as well. Garnet headed towards Zedd and watched as Zedd began to cripple the speed of his enemies. "Mudslide!" As Zedd placed his hands on the ground, mud spewed forth from some of the crevices that Zedd had just created. They would not be able to walk through it without slowing down. They could go around it, but that would take longer. "Go!" shouted Zedd as he ran towards Constantinople. Garnet followed as quickly as she could. The outer walls of Constantinople were now visible. They were yellowish in color and broken into very small fragments. The city itself stretched as far as the eyes could see. There were some larger buildings, but they too had collapsed. Somewhere in this city was the person that she was looking for. Somewhere in this city was also something that Zedd himself could not defeat. Garnet spotted Zedd on the ground and landed where he was. "Which way?" he asked. "I don''t know," said Garnet. "I only received a message to meet someone here. I don''t know who it is." Zedd stood there thinking for a moment. "Can''t you fight them?" Garnet asked. "The Grey Ghosts of Anzio are very strong," said Zedd. "Without knowing what they have, it is dangerous to fight them. With a smaller and stronger anti-magic field, they could probably even get close to killing me if they got close enough." After a moment, Zedd finally responded, "Take out the book I gave you," said Zedd. "I think I know who we might have to meet." Garnet retrieved the book on space time magic that Zedd had given her from her Inventory. It was something she never got to use because she did not have the mana requirements. "Which way?" she asked. "This way," said Zedd as he pulled Garnet by the arm. The gates of the city and the walls were in shambles. It no longer even resembled walls with that many holes to walk through. There were numerous buildings. The ones near the entrance were still standing, but as they went deeper in, most were destroyed.The two of them passed by a large broken dome and what appeared to be a stadium of some kind. The two arrived in front of a large pile of rubble. "No..." "What''s wrong?" Garnet asked. "The entrance is blocked," said Zedd. "This was where I entered the underground chambers last time, but she must have blocked it off." "She?" Garnet asked. "Who''s she?" "The creature that I was not able to beat," said Zedd. "A woman dressed entirely in blue that could transform herself into water and ice." It was likely the same person that Garnet had to meet. The description of the woman who dropped off the book at Anzio''s Guild was a woman dressed in blue. The two were in fact the same. "Do you know of any other way?" Garnet asked. "No," said Zedd. "Then we have to force our way through," said Garnet. "Fire Bolt!" BOOM. Garnet fired numerous small Fire Bolts in succession, slowly blowing away the rubble that covered the entrance. Slowly, Garnet revealed some stairs. CRASH. The rubble that was around fell in and covered the stairs again. Garnet tried to clear as much as she could. "They''re here!" shouted Zedd. Garnet turned around and saw about two dozen men and women in grey cloaks who were approaching. The mud that Zedd had created only slowed them down for a few minutes. The others were most likely on their way. "We''re here for her," said the leader of the Grey Ghosts as he pointed to Garnet. "I can''t let you do that," said Zedd. "Then we''ll have to take her by force," said the leader of the Grey Ghosts. A man to the left began to deploy a smaller anti-magic field, one that would be harder to interfere with. BOOM. A man in black robe suddenly landed between them. "Morgan!" shouted Zedd. "Morgan?" thought Garnet. She only knew of one person who had that name. The man removed the hood from his robe. It was indeed Morgan from Anzio. The same person who Garnet had worked with for a short time in Anzio. "I had hoped that you would come peacefully," said Morgan as he raised his arms. "But it looks like I''ll have to use force." Name: Morgan Level: 60 Class: Shadow Mage Sub-Class: Alchemist Stats: High Strength, High Intelligence, High Charisma "Watch the shadows!" shouted Zedd. Morgan was a Shadow Mage, and even though he was not much stronger than before in terms of level, he had gotten a new sub-class, and that meant new abilities. "I want to thank you for leaving such an easy to follow trail," said Morgan. "It wouldn''t have been this easy if you hadn''t tried to do something in every city along the way." "So that''s how you found me," said Garnet. The attention she drew to herself in each city made it easy for them to look for information about her. And now, they tracked her all the way to Constantinople. "Keep the old man busy," Morgan ordered. "Shadow Bind!" Morgan''s shadow transformed into a hand and reached for Garnet. "Light!" Garnet''s lightning turned into a ball of light that floated in her hand. The shadow coming for Garnet had suddenly scattered, forming a small circle around her. "Shadow Prison!" Morgan had a follow up on the spell. The shadows began to wrap around Garnet, slowing pressing around her. Garnet could only focus on maintaining the Light. "Lightning Dome!" Zedd had released a powerful lightning spell and it scattered everywhere, forcing Morgan to take a few steps back. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Garnet took this chance to transform. She needed to be stronger in order to be a match for Morgan. Morgan quickly recovered and continued his assault. "Shadow Blade!" A thin shadow emerged from Morgan''s own shadow. Garnet used her wings to turn sideways. BOOM. The shadow had cut some of the rocks that were directly behind Garnet. However, as long as she could keep an eye on Morgan''s shadows, she would have the advantage. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet counterattacked with her own. "Shadow Wall!" Morgan''s own shadow propped up from the ground. There was no explosion. The shadow ate the entire spell. It was like nothing happened. The wall then quickly fell apart. Morgan was sweating and breathing heavily. "To think, it would be that strong," he groaned. It looked like Morgan did take damage from the spell even though he did not take a hit. It was sort of like mana armor, but it completely negated the damage. However, the price to pay was heavy, most likely because the strength of the attack was immense. "Give up!" shouted Garnet. "Not here," said Morgan. "Realm of Shadows!" Morgan''s shadow began to grow larger as it wrapped around both Morgan and Garnet. "To think I would have to use this spell." Everything in Garnet''s sights had turned pitch black except Morgan and Garnet. "Light!" Even Garnet''s Light spell did not do anything. It was still dark. All she could see was Morgan. Garnet immediately started moving to not give Morgan an easy target. SHING. There was suddenly a cut in the ground. It was a Shadow Blade, but she could not see it coming due to nearly everything being pitch black."It''s better to not even give him a chance to attack," Garnet thought. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet immediately began to fire numerous bolts of lightning at the direction Morgan was in, using the small amount of light it generated to keep track of Morgan''s movements. The relentless bursts of electricity forced Morgan on the defensive. Morgan moved as fast as he could, but the bolt of lightning was being directed by Garnet''s hands and Morgan could not stand still, thus preventing him from using most of his spells. "Shadow Warp!" Morgan suddenly disappeared. Garnet did not know where he was. "Heat Wave!" Garnet released the powerful spell all around herself. "ARGH!" screamed Morgan. Garnet had hit him with the Heat Wave, but she could not see where he was. Garnet turned her head from side to side, but still could not see anything. Then suddenly, the black dome disappeared. All she saw was Zedd who had downed about ten of the Grey Ghosts already. "Nice work," he said. Garnet looked around and saw Morgan collapsed on the ground with burns on his face. The Heat Wave spell must have hit him when he was just about to hit Garnet, resulting in damage that his robes could not protect him from. CLANG. There was suddenly the sound of glass shattering. The man in the grey cloak who had deployed the anti-magic field suddenly keeled over. In his body were numerous shards of ice. Blood did not flow from the body, instead the spots the ice had hit began to freeze as well. "She''s here," said Zedd with a smile. Garnet saw that there was water moving. It moved in an arc around the men and gathered in front of Garnet and Zedd. The water rose from the ground and turned into a woman. A woman dressed in blue and white clothes, transparent at certain parts to expose her stomach, her legs, her arms, and the top of her breasts. Name: Serena Level: ??? Class: Blue Elementalist Subclass: Lotus Warrior Blue Stats: ??? She deployed ten water tentacles from her arms. Behind her were eight flowers each with eight petals of ice. "What are you?" Garnet asked. "I''ve been waiting for you for a long time Hero," said Serena. "I''m Serena, and I''m here to help you on your next major task." She suddenly turned to Zedd. "And you owe me a book!" she shouted. "This one?" said Garnet as she raised it. "That''s it," said Serena. The Grey Ghosts in front of them stood there in shock. There was another person who appeared to protect Garnet, and it was clear that she was stronger than both Zedd and her. "Attack them together!" the leader of the Grey Ghosts shouted. "Death Blossom!" One of the petals of ice exploded into ice fragments and rained downwards towards her enemies. Immediately, the Grey Ghosts backed away. Where they should have been standing were numerous shards of ice. Had they charged in, they would have all been severely injured. "Hurry, form a contract with me," said Serena. "How?" Garnet asked. "What type of spirit are you?" "Just place your hand on my back," said Serena. Garnet placed her hand on Serena''s back between Serena''s shoulder blades. A blue light glowed. "Do you accept this contract?" asked Serena. "Yes," said Garnet. New Skill: Call: Serena Call forth Serena, the Lotus Warrior Blue. Has a permanent body and does not need to be resummoned unless completely destroyed. MP Cost: 50000 "Fifty thousand?!?" thought Garnet. A normal spirit would cost ten thousand to create physical body. Even powerful spirits were only five thousand. If Serena fell, she would be extremely difficult to resummon. However, their strength rose exponentially based on how much mana was required to summon them. If Serena cost fifty thousand, she was insanely strong. It was such a summon that would outclass Zedd. "Now I can finally let loose," said Serena. "No more worrying about lack of mana." Garnet watched as numerous flower petals formed around Serena. "Icicle Rain!" The flower petals exploded and rained towards her enemies. The Grey Ghosts all drew their weapons and deflected as much of it as they could. It was not enough. "GAH! UGH! NO!" Garnet could hear the screams as they were bombarded with numerous shards of ice. A single touch of the ice was all it took to incapacitate someone. The ice spread outward from the wound, eventually paralyzing the victim. In an instant, about ten of them had fallen. A few were barely standing. "We have to retreat!" shouted one of the women in the group. "No," said the leader of the Grey Ghosts. "You remember our job right? If we don''t bring her back, we die trying." "I''m going to kill all of them," said Serena. "Do you have any objections?" she asked "No," said Garnet. She watched Serena get to work. Each of her water tentacles were controlled by one of her fingers. She walked forward and grabbed two of the injured, intending to kill them. CRACK. Serena squeezed them tightly and let go. BUMP. Their bodies fell lump onto the ground. "Two down," said Serena. Each of her eight arms formed into different weapons and she swung them towards the Grey Ghosts. "Die monster!" shouted one of the men as he charged forward. VWOOSH. A wall of water appeared from the ground and knocked him back. The Grey Ghosts were startled by this. Serena grabbed the man who was just knocked down. "Three down," she said. "Which one of you will get to live a little longer?" she asked. "Die witch!" shouted a Grey Ghost as he dove straight for Garnet. Garnet raised her sword, but before she even could swing it, the man was sent flying. Zedd had pushed him with his palm and the man was sent to the ground. One of the water tentacles grabbed onto the body. "That makes four," said Serena. "The rest of you will follow shortly." "Dance of the Kraken!" Serena walked forward with the tentacle arms swinging wildly in every direction. It was as if she was in the eye of a hurricane and everything else was being torn to pieces by her power. One of the Grey Ghosts attempted to jump in to stop Serena. In an instant, the body was torn to pieces the moment it touched one of Serena''s tentacles. You have leveled up! Garnet was getting enough experience from killing the Grey Ghosts to give her significant experience. "Aim for the master!" shouted the leader of the Grey Ghosts. All of the Grey Ghosts circled around Serena, aiming straight for Garnet. "Recall!" Garnet resummoned the Cerberus. There were only six that appeared. Two had fallen somewhere out there. Nonetheless, it was enough to protect Garnet as it would be difficult for them to approach with so many people protecting her. "Lightning Rain!" Zedd had cast another powerful lightning elemental spell. BOOM. Bolts of lightning crashed down around Garnet, Serena, and Zedd. There was no way to escape from such an attack except for protecting yourself. The only one who was still standing after that spell was the leader of the Grey Ghosts. He now stood alone. "To think, the three of you could take down the elites," said the man. "We were not prepared for this Expedition." "Expedition? What do you mean?" asked Garnet. "We were paid for by the King of Anzio," said the man. "If we fail to return, there will be more who will come for you." "That doesn''t matter," said Serena. "Many have come for the treasures of Constantinople, you are no different." "The armies of Anzio and its allies will come for you soon enough," said the man. Garnet counted the number of bodies, but it was nowhere near forty eight even if they included the few that they hurt earlier. Even including the few that she and Riley had killed, there were maybe forty in total. Some were most likely told to observe and report. That would be the logical thing to do since their information on Garnet was limited. "The allies of Anzio," Garnet thought. Its location made it an important trading city and it had enough influence with its surroundings that it could probably gather them together to make a few attempts. It was possible that they were now going to try to take Constantinople like others have tried before. Garnet would need to become a lot stronger. This was not even the main army of Anzio. It was likely that they had other high level soldiers for a real war. Garnet was unprepared for such a confrontation considering her lack of leadership abilities. With her limited forces from her summons, it was nowhere near enough to fight back against an entire army of thousands. "Don''t worry," said Serena. "With you here, we will be prepared," she said as she looked at Garnet. "What can I do?" Garnet asked. "You have the task of rebuilding Constantinople," said Serena. "All the resources and knowledge of this city will be at your disposal." With that, Serena walked around and finished off the remaining weakened Grey Ghosts. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet wanted to make sure to make use of this. It was likely that they were very strong. Stat Increase: Strength +40 Stat Increase: Dexterity +10 Stat Increase: Intelligence +25 Stat Increase: Vitality +15 Stat Increase: Agility +40 New Skill: Shadow Bind Allows you to use your shadows to tie up someone with your own shadow MP Cost: 100 New Skill: Shadow Grip A follow up to Shadow Bind, allowing you to crush someone who is under the effects of Shadow Bind MP Cost: 100 New Skill: Shadow Crush A follow up to Shadow Grip, instantly killing someone who is under the effects of Shadow Grip MP Cost: 300 New Skill: Shadow Wall Creates a barrier that can absorb attacks. The more powerful the attack, the more mana it will consume. MP Cost: Varies Skill Upgrade: Shadow Walk + Stealth -> Shadow Warp Allows you to instantly move to any spot that is covered in shadows MP Cost: 500 Skill Upgrade: Illusion + Realm of Shadows -> Doppelganger Create a body double that lasts for one hit using a combination of magicraft and shadow magic. MP Cost: 1000 It was a huge stat increase that was equal to the Class Change that Garnet completed. They were probably not worth much individually, but together, it was definitely a significant increase. Her only low stat was Charisma now, but few people had high Charisma, so it did not matter that much. Quest Complete: Journey to Constantinople City Development unlocked New Title: Queen Consort -> Queen Quest Complete: Survive the Grey Ghosts You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! New Quest: Rebuild Constantinople (I) Begin to rebuild the great city so that it can stand as the fortress between this world and the forces of the Invasion. The first step is to restore power to the city. Reward: Minion Development Upgrade The problem was that Garnet had no idea how to rebuild a city or even manage one. She did not even know where to begin. "I have no idea how to manage a city," said Garnet. "Don''t worry," said Serena. "I will teach you the basics, but first, you must revive the core of the city." "The core?" asked Garnet. "This way," said Serena. "You can come this time too," she said as she looked at Zedd. She cleared the rubble blocking the stairs and they descended down under the city. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 40 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 3000/3000 MP: 10460/10460 Fame: 220 Strength: 97 (+5) Dexterity: 62 (+7) Intelligence: 296 (+22) Vitality: 85 (+5) Agility: 104 (+7) Charisma: 37 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 9 - Lightning ¨C 14 - Wind ¨C 6 - Water - 0 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 1) - Jet Stream (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 2) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 9) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 9) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive)
Book 6 Preview: Chapter 044.5 - The Dark Mage Council I could not find anywhere else that this would fit, so I decided to put this little bit in as sort of a preview for the upcoming events. ------------------------------------------------- "Move it!" Crossen shouted angrily as he pushed a man out of his way. "I''m sorry sir," the man replied as he bowed. Crossen made his way down the hall of the building. A large pair of red and gold double doors decorated with a black magic seal was at the end of it. He placed both of his hands on the seal and channeled his magic. The seal glowed white. CREAK. The two doors slowly opened into a large empty room with a light at the center. There were twelve figures concealed by shadows. They were the Council of Dark Mages. Twelve of the strongest mages who practiced the Dark Arts. Not all of them were of the Dark Mage class, but they used forbidden methods to make themselves stronger. They used everything from drugs to using people to fuel magic to supplement their powers much like how Crossen used people as vessels for his undead. "Step forward into the light," said a deep voice. Crossen slowly and nervously made his way into the light. He already knew what they were going to say. "So?" asked a feminine voice. "How did you lose your hold on Kalemegdan?" she asked. "There were two Dark Mages," said Crossen. "They had the ability to transform into a scaled monster that resembled Queen Succubi." The members of the Council immediately turned to face one of the three female members. "It wasn''t me!" she shouted. "What happened?" asked the deep voice. "She summoned forth a horde of undead in an instant," Crossen said nervously. "Among them were One Headed Cerberus." "A Cerberus?" asked a voice. "The legendary creature?" "Yes," Crossen replied. "There were at least eight of them. Along with them were three Death Knights and an unknown number of ghost like skeletons." "Ghosts?!?" shouted one of the members. "There''s no one among our ranks that can summon ghosts." "The only one in our history that has been able to summon ghosts was Moros," said one of the female members of the Council. "Since then, no one has been able to." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The deep voice suddenly spoke, "For your failure, you must return the book." Crossen took out the book that he had and nervously placed it onto the floor with his hands shaking. He had heard about what happened to the other failures. Some of them became vessels for powerful demonic servants. Others simply disappeared. "I''m sorry for my failure Chancellor," he said. "Two years worth of resources and you failed, even with an army of undead," said the deep voice. "Our influence only extends to three major cities at this point." "So what''s our plan?" asked a male member. "We need to learn more about these two mages," said the deep voice. "I agree," said another. "I think we should recruit them." "No," said a female member of the Council. "She is going against our plans and she must be stopped." Crossen remained silent as the members of the Council argued amongst each other about what to do about the new Dark Mage. If he interrupted them now, they would surely take their anger out on him. "Silence!" shouted the deep voice. "For now, we will collect information. Do not engage them alone." "Who will go though?" asked a male member. "Adria, Percy, Quinton, and Xiaomei will go with Crossen," said the deep voice. "Four of us?!?" said Adria. "I''m not taking any chances," said the deep voice. "Crossen will help you identify them. If you cannot persuade her to join us, then she must be killed." "Understood," said Crossen. "The two were heading East of Kalemegdan along the main road." "That means they were heading to Constantinople," said Quinton. "Then that is your destination," said the deep voice. "You''re in charge of the book Xiaomei. You may also take anyone you need with you." "Yes sir," Xiaomei replied to the deep voice. "Let''s go," she said as she jumped out of the shadows and into the light with Crossen. "This is one mission we cannot fail." Crossen, Adria, Percy, Quinton, and Xiaomei all headed out the door together. Their destination, Constantinople. Their goal, the two transforming mages. Poll: Garnets Second Class Change Which one do you want to see? This will be a ways down the line, but I have to start planning for it soon. Option 1: White Chaos Mage Garnet will gain the ability to give form to her elemental magic, much like Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning. It''s been kind of useless due to its insanely long prep time. This class will mitigate it and transform most of her existing spells as one off weapons as well. Wind Blade for example, will become an actual sword that can be used for a number of swings before it disappears. Lightning Fire Bolt will become like a gauntlet that you can fire by throwing a punch, but you could also punch someone with it at close range for insane damage with it. The downside to this form is that it has very high mana consumption and it will give Garnet a disadvantage in long drawn out fights though she will dominate in short ones. Option 2: Black Chaos Mage Garnet''s transformations will increase in power, with some of them losing their restrictions. For example, the Blood Reaper mode will lose its magic restriction and become useful along with being able to poison people with its magic. Elementalist will merge with the Temptress of the Night form to give birth to one even stronger. The sealed skill Garnet got from the Zmaj will also unlock from this option (Tri-Element Breath) along with a few other breath attacks. Absorbing certain enemies will also grant new transformations. The downside to this form is that maximum mana is decreased while transformed, preventing Garnet from using the top tier spells. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Option 3: Red Chaos Mage This one will set Garnet down the path of weapon based combat, using her weapon combined with elemental magic. All of her attacks will be able to have elements. You will see more attacks like the Palm Strike variations and less long ranged magic, which has been the main focus so far. Crescent for example, will be able to release a semicircle burst of any element. Partial Transformation will also have a key role in this, allowing Garnet to have something that is something like dual wielding, but without the disadvantages of it. Mana consumption is much lower in this one form. The downside to this form is that most magic will have reduced areas of effect, making it less efficient in large scale combat. A Dying World On Google Docs You should be able to view and download them if needed. I''ve only done up to Book 3 because formatting from here back to Google Docs is hard. Redoing the character sheets are also a pain because of all the color text and stuff that they automatically add for formatting, so I think I''m only going to do it at the end of the volume. Side Note: I already have drafts for most of Volume 6, but I''m not sure if I want to stick to the second half yet, which is why I haven''t posted anything. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it On Google Docs: Book 1 - Antium Book 2 - The Duke''s Manor Book 3 - Civil War Book 6: Chapter 045 - The Ruined City Serena guided Garnet and Zedd down under the city. Tubes of lightning lined the corners, lighting up the whole underground tunnel. Zedd was on guard against Serena. "You know it''s pointless right?" said Serena as she walked in front of them. "I could kill you at any time." "Are you that much stronger than him?" Garnet asked. "As a Guardian of this city, it is my job to protect it until the one meant to inherit it takes over," Serena explained. "That is you," said Serena as she pointed at Garnet. "Why me?" asked Garnet. "I have no idea how to build or manage a city." "Once you restore the other Guardians, it won''t matter," said Serena. "We will be able to help, but you must acquire the power to do so first." Serena stopped in front of a dead end. She placed her on the door. A flower with six petals appeared and the entire door opened. "A secret passage," said Zedd. "I never knew." "This is the shortcut to get down to the Ark," said Serena. "The Ark is the back up copy of all the knowledge the city has acquired over the years. It is here that you will revive the core of the city." "The city has a core?" Garnet was confused. The core of a city was usually a building like a city hall that officials gathered in to manage its affairs. "It''s a large crystal that acts as a mana generator to the city," Serena explained. "Over the years, it has decreased in power and the first thing you have to do is restore it. Only then can we start to rebuild the city." There was a wooden double door in front of them. Serena opened them. In front of them was an enormous transparent crystal. Only the top half of it was visible through the ground. Name: Mana Core Quality: Mythical Effects: It''s supply is channeled throughout the conduits of the city in order to power the city''s equipment and buildings. Level 1: 0/10000 Mana "I''ve never seen such a Mana Conduit so large," said Zedd. "This is a special crystal," said Serena. "Only the Hero can use it and once she restores it, we can begin to rebuild the city." "Go on," said Zedd. Garnet walked up to the crystal. She put her hand against it. Strangely enough, on the floor underneath her was a Teleportation Summoning Circle, but a little different in design from the ones that she and Zedd used. A system message appeared: Do you wish to upgrade the Mana Core? Requirements: 10000 Mana Yes/No Garnet pressed yes. She felt the mana being drained from her body and it filled the crystal, turning it a light shade of blue. Quest Complete: Rebuild Constantinople (I) Power has been restored to the city. Reward: Minion Development Upgrade A system message appeared: Minion Cap removed Garnet looked at her Minion Development Menu and saw that there was no longer a maximum number that she could summon. Quest Update: Rebuild Constantinople (II) Restore the guardians of the city. Reward: Automated Defense System Garnet took another look at the Mana Core. Do you wish to upgrade the Mana Core? Requirements: 20000 Mana Yes/No She did not have the mana for the upgrade. It could be developed further, but it would take a lot. "It''s done," said Garnet. "Good, then I can bring you to the Vault," said Serena. "Follow me." Serena guided Garnet to a pair of large metal doors behind the crystal. She put her hand on it and opened it. Inside, where numerous small drawers. "What is all this?" Garnet asked. "Each one of these contains an artifact created by the city," said Serena. "All of the treasures created by the great spirits and past Heroes are preserved if possible." Serena headed to the back and took out a single gold ring with a white crystal on it. She handed it to Garnet. Garnet took a look at the ring. Name: Ring of Mana Quality: Legendary Effect: 0/100000. Can be used to store a percentage of excess mana and be consumed later. "I see," said Garnet. "With this, I can store enough mana even for spells that I cannot cast." "Yes, but you need to put the mana into it yourself by wearing it," Serena explained. "Once you''ve filled up the ring, we can begin to summon the other guardians." "How many guardians are there?" Garnet asked as she put on the ring. "Five including me, though there was a sixth in the works, she was not completed," said Serena. "What do you mean by not completed?" asked Garnet. "How can a guardian be incomplete?" "Each guardian is a man made life form," Serena explained. "Master Assad was in the process of creating a new guardian to bring our numbers up to six, but he disappeared before he could complete it." "Master Assad as in the Hero Assad?!?" shouted Zedd. "Yes," said Serena. "When Master Assad left this world, there were a few things that were incomplete. The first is the guardian. The second is the sword, but I do not know where he kept them." "How can you not know?" Garnet asked. "It''s because they''re rooms that only the Hero can access," said Serena. "As a guardian, I do not have the special trait to open it even if I found it." "That means I have to discover it," said Garnet. "But you have something more important to do first," said Serena. "Follow me." Serena guided Garnet and Zedd back to the room with the crystal and headed through one of the doors on the side. As the doors opened, there was a metal table at the center of the room. "There''s nothing in here," said Zedd. "Just this table." "This is no ordinary table," Serena explained. "Hero, place your hands on the edge of the table and channel your mana into it." Garnet placed her hands on the edge of the table and channeled mana into it. The surface of the metal table began to change. It took the shape of ruins, ruins she recognized as she had seen it just earlier as she flew above the city. "This is a map?" said Garnet. "A map of the city and the surrounding region," said Serena. She then touched four spots and turned them red. "These are spots you need to get to." "What is there?" Garnet asked. "The Mana Sub-Crystals," said Serena. "They are responsible for powering the automated defenses of the city." "Automated defenses?" Garnet was confused. She had the image of a cannon that fired spells without anyone actually using it. "Remember the book I gave you?" asked Serena. "The golem book?" said Garnet. "Did you mean that?" "Yes," Serena replied. "There are golems in the city, but because the mana sub-crystals have been drained, you need to restore them in order for them to work again." "What do I have to do?" asked Garnet. "Just channel your mana into it," said Serena. "Once there''s enough mana in it, it will activate on its own." Suddenly, another system message appeared: Map Menu Unlocked. Sure enough as Garnet opened the Menu, there was a Map feature. At first, it was only included in her journey to the city and followed details along a specific route. But now, she could manipulate it. Zoom in, zoom out. Turn it on its side. She could even see where people were on the map. There were currently eight people wandering in the ruins of the city somewhere. It was unrivaled in terms of intelligence gathering. "I will never have to deal with incomplete information on the battlefield again," said Garnet. "So, take care of those crystals okay?" said Serena. "Alright," said Garnet as she headed back to the room with the Mana Core. She put the ring on her finger and activated the Teleportation Summoning Circle. The Menu that appeared was different from hers, showing twelve points in the city that she could warp to. She tapped the one closest to the sub-crystal and in a flash of blue light, she had teleported. Meanwhile, Zedd stared at Serena. "I won''t do anything to you unless you decide to steal something again," said Serena. "I don''t plan on it," said Zedd. "I''m more interested in your library. Do you think I can have a look?" "Sure, but I''m keeping my eye on you," said Serena. Garnet wanted to make sure she was not alone. "Recall!" The surviving Cerberus all appeared next to Garnet. "Call: Riley!" She also resummoned Riley to be safe. "You''re okay!" shouted Riley as she hugged Garnet. "Yeah, I had some help," said Garnet. "I know," Riley replied. "Looks like you''re going to have your hands full." "One thing at a time," said Garnet. "First thing I have to do is fix this place up." As Garnet made her way to the location marked on the map, she realized how dire the situation was. Constantinople was the city that was built to resist the Invasions. Right now, it lied in ruins with no one having attempted to rebuild or repair the city. Instead, people were raiding it, trying to grab a hold of whatever technology or knowledge they could from the city in the hopes that they could use it for themselves. There was also knowledge that could be dangerous, such as technology to make weapons. It could single handedly turn the tide of a war, and it was likely that Constantinople had such things as well. Garnet approached the marked location on the map. It was just a pile of rocks. "It''s in here," said Garnet. "Really?" asked Riley who began to dig around. "It just looks like junk." Garnet walked up to the rubble and began to move the larger chunks of rocks out of the way. Her increased strength made it quite easy to even push the largest pieces. "Do you trust Serena?" Garnet asked. "She''s one of your summons now right?" said Riley. "There''s no reason not to trust her." "This just seems too convenient," said Garnet. "She showed up out of nowhere to save us." "Didn''t Zedd talk about her before?" said Riley. "I think it might be her job to protect this city and she''s helping you because your goals align." The two had found the ground, however, nothing was there. They kept pushing forward, looking for a crystal of some kind. "Do you think we can stop people from raiding the city?" Garnet asked. "It''s possible if you can establish it as your domain that you have power over," Riley answered. "I recommend a show of force." "A show of force huh?" Garnet repeated. "That sounds easy, but is probably very hard considering what we had chasing us a short while ago." "A city like this probably has defenses of some kind to help us," said Riley. "Remember that when we were defending Antium, we were all stronger?" The status increases granted by the presence of royalty was truly great. If Constantinople had something like that, it would be very helpful as well. "I remember," said Garnet. "I hope this city has something like it." "I think it does if you consider the stories we heard from Zedd," said Riley. "If a city like this can face off against a million strong army and still survive, I think there are some powerful secrets." "Serena mentioned that," said Garnet. "It seems like only I can find them though." The two saw a large crystal under the ground in front of them. Only the tip of the crystal reached close to the surface with some kind of circular magic circle design on the ground, perfectly preserved, connecting the two. "There it is!" Riley shouted. She began to push everything aside. Garnet placed her hand on top of it and saw a system message. Do you wish to activate the sub-crystal? Yes/No Garnet pressed yes. It drained away five thousand mana, but Garnet was quickly recovering it, so it was not an issue. CLICK. "Did you hear that?" asked Garnet. "Yes," said Riley. "It sounded like something locked into place. Did you hear where it came from?" CLICK. "There it is again," said Garnet. Suddenly, there were hundreds of clicking noises all coming from under the rubble. CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK. EEK. There was the sound of a large piece of rubble falling over. A black and gold metal humanoid rose from the rubble. It looked like a tall and thin person, but it was clearly made entirely of metal. Name: Automaton Level: 1 Class: Guardian Sub-Class: None Stats: High Vitality Another appeared, and another. Many of them rose from the rubble in front of them. At least a hundred in all. "Are these the ones responsible for the defense of the city?" Riley asked. "I think it might be," said Garnet. "If there are three more of these, then there might be something equal to an army." The automata looked at Garnet and Riley. Then, they started looking around. When the last automaton rose, they all began to scatter in different directions. "What are they doing?" Riley asked. "I have no idea," said Garnet. The automata started pushing the rubble aside and clearing the ground around it. "They''re cleaning," said Riley. "I think they''re responsible for maintaining the city." "With four of these, we can immediately start to rebuild the city," said Riley. "Let''s hurry," said Garnet as she opened the map. "Flight!" She started heading to the next location. Riley followed Garnet closely from behind as they made their way to the next destination. Even at their incredible speed, it was taking a few minutes. "Watch out!" shouted Riley. Garnet immediately turned side ways and looked down. She spotted a man in a grey cloak. The chunk of earth passed right by Garnet. Name: Leon Level: 40 Class: Mage Sub-Class: Druid The sub-class was something Garnet had no knowledge about. Even though she had encountered Crossen, Crossen was still mostly a fire type that had access to a Succubus summon and some undead. "After him!" Garnet shouted. Riley immediately gave chase while flying downwards. "Recall!" Riley recalled the surviving Cerberus and they appeared in mid-air. As they landed, they immediately gave chase. Garnet followed Riley giving chase to the man. The Cerberus were fast, jumping over the rubble. The man disappeared into the ruins. With Garnet and Riley in the skies, it was impossible for him to fly away. "Who was that?" Riley asked. "He was wearing a grey cloak," said Garnet. "Do you think he''s with Anzio?" "If he is, then we have to kill him," said Riley. "We can''t let them know any more about the city." Garnet and Riley circled from above, looking for anything trying to escape. The Cerberus on the ground were slowly sniffing around. Slowly, the group was narrowing their search range. As long as the man did not escape underground, they would be able to catch him. Then, surprisingly, his trail disappeared as the Cerberus starting spreading out again. "He''s not here?" Garnet thought. "No, he has to be, he has a way to hide himself." "Go look as well Riley," Garnet ordered. Riley had a talent for being able to recognize when someone was looking at her. She could lure out the person like this. Riley began her descent and hovered just above the ruins. She slowly circled around when she felt something. "There!" she shouted as she pointed to a ruined building. BAM. The man in the grey cloak knocked aside the rubble in the front of the building as he ran for it. "Stop him!" Garnet shouted. The Cerberus all ran towards him. Garnet flew in low attempting to cut him off. "One touch is all I need," she thought. The man in grey turned around. Garnet watched as the man''s face began to turn red. Scales appeared on his face. He opened his mouth and Garnet saw an orange light. Garnet immediately circled to the opposite side. The man spat fire out of his mouth. He did not have to speak the words to his spell. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt of lightning at the man. The man paushed for a second before shaking it off. Riley had finally caught up to the man because of that short pause. He turned around. His scales turned green. "Be careful!" Garnet shouted. Riley grabbed the man''s throat and shoved her hand into the man''s chin, forcing his mouth closed. A small amount of green liquid seeped through the side of his mouth. As it dropped to the ground, there was a hissing sound as it burned the ground. "An acid," said Riley. Garnet and the Cerberus caught up to the man. Riley still held his mouth shot. MMF. The man could not speak. Garnet grabbed a hold of the man with Riley. She titled him over. "Let go of it just a little," said Garnet. The green liquid in the man''s mouth fell to the ground, turning the ground black as it burned away at the ground. "Who are you?" Garnet asked. The man did not speak. "Pleasure Inducement!" Garnet would have to use more persuasive means. "UGH!" groaned the man. "Who are you?" Garnet repeated. The man turned to try to look at Garnet, but Riley kept his head turned straight. "Oh no you don''t," said Riley. "You''re only facing down until you answer." The man did not speak. "Pleasure Inducement!" Garnet used it again. Even if he was resistant to it, repeated uses had cumulating effects because the body could not resist pleasure for long. "One more time, who are you?" Garnet asked. "Leon," said the man. "Who do you work for?" Garnet asked. The man kept his mouth closed. "Pleasure Inducement!" "GAH!" The man groaned. At this point, Garnet could tell that there was a wet spot on his crotch. Slowly, the man was beginning to weaken. "Who do you work for?" Garnet asked. "A man in a grey cloak told me to collect information on this city," said Leon. "Are you a part of the group of men in grey cloaks?" Garnet asked. "No, it''s my reward for agreeing to help them," said Leon. "It was made of good materials, so I took it." The Grey Ghosts were most likely using other people like the Guild to collect information from Anzio. If they failed, then there would be no payout. They would not have to risk their own forces. Unfortunately, it meant that they could probably send a lot of people over to collect information. "What should we do with him?" Riley asked. "We can''t let him go," said Garnet. "I agree," said Riley. "The less information Anzio has on us the better." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Mu-" Leon attempted to cast a spell. Before he could even finish saying the word, Riley slammed his mouth shut, preventing him from finishing the spell. "What do we do with him?" Riley asked Garnet. "There''s only one thing we can do," said Garnet as she drew her sword. "He''s an enemy combatant who refuses to surrender. We''re already at war with Anzio anyways." "Are you sure about this?" Riley asked. "So far, you''ve mostly been protecting yourself, but this will drive you towards a path of war with Anzio." Garnet hesitated for a moment, but she turned to Riley with confidence. "I''m sure," she said as she lowered the sword. "MMF," Leon tried to scream ,but with Riley covering his mouth, it was muffled. "Blood Absorption!" Garnet absorbed his body. Stat Increase: Intelligence +10 Stat Increase: Vitality +5 Stat Increase: Charisma +5 New Skill: -LOCKED- New Skill: -LOCKED- New Skill: -LOCKED- New Skill: -LOCKED- Garnet was almost certain that she would get a skill from Leon considering the unique transformations he had and the ability to cast magic without having to call out the spell, but they were all locked. However, there was nothing, not even a locked skill. It was something strange. "Let''s hurry up and activate the sub-crystal." Garnet and Riley headed back towards their destination on foot. It was likely that there were other people who were around and may be after her. As the two approached the destination, there were no others in sight. "The fight might have scared them away," said Riley. "I hope so," said Garnet as she began to push the rocks aside. "The less people there are, the less trouble it will be later." Garnet placed her hand on the magic circle design. Do you wish to activate the sub-crystal? Yes/No Garnet pressed yes. Again, she lost five thousand mana. A total of twenty thousand mana would need to be spent. The automata began to reassemble themselves once more. The black and gold metal were able to reconstitute themselves from what appeared to be complete destruction. It was likely that the only reason they even fell apart was because they were depleted of mana. As long as there was mana circulating from the main Mana Core, they could be invincible. "Two down, two to go," said Garnet. "Let''s be careful as we make our way to the other ones, we should try not to be spotted," said Riley. "Let''s just use the warp points," said Garnet. She opened up the Map and looked for the nearest warp point. "This way," she said as she walked forward. Sure enough, there was another magic circle on the ground. "These things sure are convenient," said Riley. "With a city this large, I think there might be more of them than we initially saw," Garnet added. "It could just be that they are inaccessible for one reason or other." The two carefully made their way to the third sub-crystal. It was here that Garnet spotted something strange. "What is that thing?" she wondered. Riley peeked over the side and saw it. There was a creature. Its head resembled a lion, but it had the head of a lion, but none of its fur. It''s face was red. Its head had horns and its body was covered by some type of green plates that combined, formed something similar to plate armor. Name: Nian Level: ??? Class: Sacred Mountain Beast Sub-Class: Divine Stats: ??? Garnet recognized the words Divine. It was similar to Lotan. "Zedd," Garnet whispered quietly into the pin. "What is it?" Zedd asked. "I need your help, come quickly," said Garnet. "Can I just warp to you now?" Zedd asked. "Wait a moment," Garnet replied. Garnet and Riley ran back in the opposite direction. "Okay now." Zedd used Teleportation on the pin to instantly warp to Garnet. "What''s the problem?" Zedd asked. "A level unknown creature," said Garnet as she guided Zedd back to the spot. As they approached the spot, Garnet leaned against the wall and pointed over her shoulder. Zedd took a close look over. "It''s a Nian," said Zedd. "That thing is dangerous." "A Nian?" Garnet was confused. "What''s a Nian?" "It''s a creature with thirteen transformative abilites," said Zedd. "Each one has thirteen different abilities." "I need to get past it," said Garnet. "Do you know of a way?" "No," said Zedd. "It is very aggressive and if it spots us, it will attack." "Can we fight it?" Garnet asked. "You should be strong enough." "That thing is on a completely different level," said Zedd. "It can use powerful magic and unlike other creatures, it can speak and understand human words." "What does it want?" Garnet asked. "The Nian is a creature that is meant to protect something," Zedd explained. "It is likely that it is protecting whatever is nearby and attacking it might provoke it." Garnet remembered that Lotan was tasked with protecting various orbs around the world. If Nian was doing something similar, then it was not going to be leaving. "I have to try to talk to it," said Garnet. "Wait!" Zedd said angrily. It was too late, Garnet had already stepped out. GRR. The Nian growled at Garnet. "I just want to talk," said Garnet as she stopped walking. "What do you want human?" Nian asked. "I want to activate the mana sub-crystal nearby, that is all," said Garnet. Nian''s eyes changed and looked at Garnet. "You''re just like the others, trying to steal the treasures of this city!" Nian shouted. "I''m not," Garnet replied. "I already activated two of the other crystals. I just need this one and one more to go." Nian looked up into the sky as if it was looking for a sign. "I can feel it, you''re not lying," said Nian. "How do I know that you''re not just trying to take control of the army?" it asked. "I cannot prove it," Garnet replied. "At least you''re honest," said Nian. "May I ask what you are doing here?" Garnet asked. Nian lowered his guard and returned to a passive stance. It looked in Garnet''s direction. "What about the other two hiding there?" it asked. "Come out," said Garnet. Zedd and Riley came out of hiding. Zedd was visibly frightened. "I see you know about me old man," said Nian. "I do," said Zedd. "I''ve been here since the city was abandoned," Nian explained. "Why?" Garnet asked. "The city''s previous Master instructed me to protect this place," said Nian. "Is the previous Master Assad?" Garnet asked. "How do you know that name?" asked Nian. "Assad was the Hero before me," said Garnet. "I am the current Hero." "I need proof," said Nian. Garnet removed the Ring of Mana from her finger. "Nothing here," she said. Then, Garnet opened the Inventory. From it, she removed her old clothes. "See?" "That''s the Inventory of the Hero!" said Nian. Nian began to channel its mana. "Very well, I''ll believe you if you can complete this contract." Marks on the ground began to appear as Nian etched markings all around. A complex magic circle composed of multiple layers appeared. "It''s so different," said Garnet. "It requires powerful magic to bind a powerful beast," said Nian. Garnet placed her right hand on Nian''s head. "Your left hand is required," said Nian. Garnet took back her hand and switched to her left. Nian lowered its head, signaling submission and acceptance. No blood was required for a contract with this beast. Nian channeled its magic, lighting up the first layer. "Now you do it," said Nian. Garnet channeled her own magic into the circle. The other layers lit up. The ground lit up with twelve animal symbols lightning up. The column of blue light descended. As it reached Garnet, it slowed down. The symbol on her left hand began to light up as one of the petals filled itself with the color of blue. A second petal, one of yellow lit up. "Nian is one of the guardians?" Garnet thought. The other petals remained empty. New Skill: Call: Nian Summon forth the Great Mountain Beast, Nian MP Cost: 50000 New Skill: Guardian Contract Turn a creature into a guardian of the city of Constantinople. Their abilities are significantly boosted and further enhanced while in the perimeter of the city. WARNING: Limit of 5 MP Cost: 5000 "Guardian Contract?" Garnet thought to herself. "I can make new guardians?" It was something she would have to learn more about later on. But there was something more important to do first. "So what you say is true," said Nian. Nian stepped aside.. Behind it was the crystal. "Here it is," it said. Garnet placed her hand on it. Do you wish to activate the sub-crystal? Yes/No Garnet channeled her mana into it and activated it. "Three down, one to go." The familiar sound of the automata reassembling themselves was strange, but it was also good. It was then that Garnet realized something. "Hey Nian, do you know of any secret rooms in the city?" she asked. Serena had said there were at least two. "I do not," Nian replied. "Only the Hero can access those rooms. No one else." "By the way, as a Divine creature, what do you manage?" Garnet asked. "I manage an aspect of time," said Nian. "Alright, thanks for the information," said Garnet. Garnet opened up the map and looked at the last spot. "Closest warp point is a bit to the south," she said. The five of them used the warp point and approached the final sub-crystal. "Please no more surprises," said Riley as she crossed her fingers. "Riley is acting a little different," Garnet thought to herself. It was almost as if she had started to regain some of her personality. But, Garnet had to focus on one task at a time. With the city fixed, she could then create a body for Riley. "We already had two surprises," said Garnet. "I think not having something there would already be a surprise." As the group approached the final sub-crystal, Garnet started to be cautious. That was when something else surprised Garnet. Nian suddenly ran in, spotting a group near the crystal. ROAR. It released a terrifying roar that rang throughout the area. It was so strong that almost everyone in the region of the city could have heard it. "There!" said Riley as she pointed to a group. There were three people, one man who was heavily armored, one woman in leather and cloth, and one woman who was dressed in a mage''s robe. Garnet could tell the three was terrified, but they were intent on continuing. Nian stared them down. "Stop!" Garnet shouted as she jumped inbetween them. "Leave now!" she shouted. "So you can take the valuables of this city? Never!" shouted the man in heavy armor as he dashed foward towards Garnet. Name: Kuro Level: 50 Class: Dark Knight Sub-Class: Guardian Stats: High Vitality Name: Lune Level: 51 Class: Crystal Mage Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: High Intelligence Name: Marta Level: 43 Class: Assassin Sub-Class: Thief Stats: High Agility Before Kuro could get more than a step foward, Nian intervened. BANG. Nian crashed head first into Kuro, knocking him over. Lune cracked a crystal in her hand. "Crystal Guardian: Amber Lion!" A large orange portal appeared and a golden lion fell from it. It was a form of summoning that utilized crystals instead of magic circles for summoning. It was much faster, but it was probably costly for all the crystals that had to be used as catalysts for this type of magic. Garnet ran to help. After all, it was a three on one. "Stand back!" Nian shouted. "It can talk?!?" Kuro was surprised by it. Nian took advantage of this chance, splitting himself into two identical copies. They charged the lion, shattering it with a single tackle. "Retreat!" shouted Marta. "Crystal Guardian: Sapphire Anaconda!" Lune cracked another crystal. A purple portal appeared and a large purple snake fell from it. Nian pushed foward, easily tearing the large snake in two. Like Serena, Nian had many special powers, and that made it extremely powerful. Garnet only had to watch as it easily pushed away three people. Once they left, Nian looked around once more. "It''s clear," it said. "Thank you," said Garnet as she walked towards the last sub-crystal. Placing her hand on it, she activated it. Quest Complete: Rebuild Constantinople (I) Power has been restored to the city. Anything categorized as your minion can now be customized under the Minion Development Menu. Reward: Minion Development Upgrade Skill Upgrade: Minion Development (Level 3) New Quest: Rebuild Constantinople (II) Rebuild the armies of Constantinople Reward: City Development The moment Garnet completed one quest, another appeared. Rebuilding the city was not going to be an easy task, even with automata that could work day and night to rebuild it. There were many other factors, such as people searching for treasures, that would interfere with their work. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 40 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 3050/3050 MP: 10660/10660 Fame: 220 Strength: 97 (+5) Dexterity: 62 (+7) Intelligence: 306 (+22) Vitality: 90 (+5) Agility: 104 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 9 - Lightning ¨C 14 - Wind ¨C 6 - Water - 0 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 1) - Jet Stream (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 2) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 9) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 9) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1)
Book 6: Chapter 046 - City Guardians Garnet brought Nian back down to the Ark under the city. She had questions for Serena. When she entered, Serena was nowhere to be seen. "Serena?" she shouted. "Where is Zedd?" Riley asked. "Zedd?" Garnet called out using the pin. "She was in the library with Serena," Zedd replied. "Where is that?" Garnet asked. "Door immediately to the right by the entrance," said Zedd. Garnet entered the door. There was Serena putting back all of the books that were lying around on the floor. "What happened here?" Garnet asked. "It looked like there was a tornado." "That happened," said Serena as she pointed at Zedd. "You''re organized aren''t you?" Garnet asked. "Usually," said Zedd. "But when I got your message, I rushed out." "More importantly, what''s that?" Serena asked as she pointed to Nian. "I was hoping you could tell me," said Garnet as she raised her left hand. In addition to the blue petal, there was a yellow one. "So there''s two guardians now," said Serena as she put her hand to her chin. "Three more to go." "What are the guardians?" Garnet asked. "They''re the ones responsible for protecting and managing this city," Serena answered. "Each of us is responsible for an aspect of it. I''m responsible for protecting the knowledge of the city. The other guardians except the guardian of the Vault fell in the final battle." "What happens when the guardians are assembled?" Riley asked. "The primary functions of the city will all be restored," said Serena. "Tha duty of the guardians is to maintain it." The question now was where to get three more with a potential sixth hidden away somewhere. "So what can you tell me about Assad?" Garnet asked Nian. "I don''t see how he''s important to this conversation," Nian replied. "Assad was the previous Master of the city, and Serena''s Master as well," said Garnet. "If you know anything, you may know where one of the secret rooms are." "I''ve never been under the city before," Nian replied. "If something is here, I would not know about it." "What was the last time you saw Assad?" Serena asked. She was curious about something. Nian started thinking for a bit. "I think about ten years ago," it stated. "Didn''t the city fall over fifty years ago?" Zedd asked. "Assad should have disappeared with the city." "Aye, but he returned on at least two occasions," said Nian. Zedd and Serena were suddenly surprised by this revelation. "What did you say?" asked Serena as she shook Nian. Nian struggled to push Serena away, but could not. "Let go of me you crazy woman!" Nian shouted. "Not until I have answers," said Serena. "Tell me!" "Stop shaking me first!" shouted Nian. Serena stopped. "Now tell me before I shake you again!" "Master Assad spoke of a threat to this city," said Nian. "He said that when the next Hero comes to rebuild the city, the Allied Forces will return to try to claim it." "What are the Allied Forces?" Garnet asked. "I only know it is a collection of over forty major cities located around the world," said Nian. "I don''t know the members of the group." "Do you know?" Riley asked Zedd. Zedd shook his head. "I don''t know about it," he said. "This is the first time I''ve heard of this term." New Quest: Defense of Constantinople (??:??:??) The Coalition Army will attack Constantinople, be prepared for it. Reward: Experience, New Title, New Skill Garnet recognized the question marks. It meant that there was a timer, but there was no fixed time yet. It was likely that it was not even beginning. "Three more guardians and an army is needed," Garnet thought. She looked at the ring that Serena had given her. Name: Ring of Mana Capacity: 1209/10000 It had filled a small amount, but nowhere needed to the amount to summon new guardians. It charged mana at a much lower rate than Garnet regenerated. She would also need an army. The value of an army would be far greater than the guardians. The aura given by the city would greatly improve their defenses, but they would need three qualified guardians first. However, there was something Garnet needed to do first. "Riley, there''s something I want to do," said Garnet. "What is it?" Riley asked confused. Garnet took out a huge amount of clay and used magicraft to create a human shaped body. "It''s time you had a physical body back," said Garnet. "Dismiss!" Garnet dismissed Riley. After a few minutes, she placed her hand onto the vessel. "Call: Riley!" The vessel in front of Garnet changed shape. Slowly, it turned into Riley. As Riley reoriented herself, she put her hand on her chest. "No heartbeat still," said Riley. "It''s not a true ressurection, but it''s a start," said Garnet. "I plan to do this with the rest of the spirits and summons, this will be the closest that we will have to an army." "Master Assad was able to build his own army," said Serena. "You should be able to as well." Garnet opened up the Map and was able to see a City Development progress bar that measured how much of the city was classified as unusable, damaged, or intact. There was an exclamation mark next to Minion Development. Garnet opened her Minion Development Menu and looked at it. Riley now had her own sub-section that allowed her to be customized in different ways. The same for her Cerberus and Revenants. There was something that stood out to Garnet. As she looked at the Revenants, there was a skill for them that costed fifty thousand mana to develop, Assimilation. It was far higher than anything else by a long shot, even more than the cost to further evolve her Cerberus. Name: Assimilation Target humanoid is devoured and the Revenant takes on the form and memories of what it devoured, but it maintains its loyalty towards the summoner no matter the circumstance. Can be used on a target alive or dead. MP Cost: None It was a powerful skill that could be used to build an army. With all the people raiding the city, if Garnet could capture them and feed them to the Revenants, she could have something that resembled an army, was intelligent, and loyal to her. There were of course moral issues, but the fact that they were enemies at war kind of made morality much less of a factor. "I may have a solution to our army problem," said Garnet. "The problem is that I don''t have enough mana to be able to do it yet." "How much do you need?" Serena asked. "Fifty thousand," said Garnet. "As much to summon a new guardian." "How much do you have?" Riley asked. "Just over ten thousand," said Garnet. "I can help with that," said Zedd. "It''ll drain me for a while, but I can do it." "Are you sure?" Garnet asked. "All I ask for is a chance to study the library in the city," said Zedd. "Is that okay with you?" Garnet looked at Serena. "I leave this up to you," said Serena. "Make sure you put everything back," said Garnet. "I will," said Zedd. "Hand me the ring." Garnet removed the ring from her hand and gave it to Zedd. Zedd put on the ring on his left hand and put his right hand over it. Garnet could feel a tramendous amount of mana surge through Zedd''s hand. "Mana Transfer!" The mana was visible to the naked eye and shined brightly. The gem on the ring turned from white to blue, then red, then yellow. Zedd stopped as he kneeled over onto the ground. "It''s done," said Zedd as he breathed heavily. "Are you okay?" Garnet asked. "Just a little tired," said Zedd. "Is there a bed?" he asked. "This way," said Serena as she guided him through a door. Garnet looked at the ring. Name: Ring of Mana Quality: Legendary Effect: 61270/100000 Zedd had transferred over sixty thousand mana into the ring. "Incredible," said Garnet. She put the ring back on and went to check on Zedd first. As Garnet and Riley entered the room, Zedd was already sleeping and Serena had just put him to bed. "Will he be alright?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Serena. "Transferring such a large amount of mana at once just exhausted him, but he should be okay after a day if he didn''t use his own life to get that mana." Zedd was not foolish enough to do something like that. He was also semi-immortal, so he was probably going to be okay after some rest. Garnet opened the Minion Development Menu and pressed the Assimilation button. Do you wish for all Revenants to learn Assimilation? Yes/No Garnet pressed yes. Another system message appeared. Insufficent mana. Do you wish to use mana from another source? Yes/No Garnet pressed yes again. Another system message appeared. Select Source: Ring of Mana Garnet pressed the Ring of Mana and watched as the mana depleted from it, turning the gem of the ring back into blue. Her Revenants now had the Assimilation skill and she just needed to make a few to hunt down people who are searching the city. "Can you use Magicraft?" Garnet asked Riley. "No, only your transformations and attack spells," said Riley. "I can''t even use your Temptress skills." Garnet had hoped Riley would be able to help make them, but it looked like she would not be able to. Garnet would have to make all of these Revenants on her own. "Can you at least go get the materials?" Garnet requested. "Sure, once you give Meliae a body to help," said Riley. Garnet had collected a lot of clay, but the problem was mana. Creating a vessel took nearly all the mana she had. It would take more to call out a spirit and even more to customize their enhance their bodies. However, it was something necessary, so she began to work on it. For now, one Revenant and Meliae were the ones that were needed. Garnet took out the clay and used her magicraft to create a human vessel. After waiting for her mana to regenerate, she put her hand to the vessel. "Call: Meliae!" The vessel began to take form, but it was a little different from before. Meliae used to look like an elf with brown skin, but she now had four green wings like a fairy on her back. "You look different," said Garnet. Meliae looked at herself. "It feels different too." "That''s because you have a physical body now," Riley explained. "Come on, we''re going to gather some clay near the sea to the East." Riley left with Meliae, leaving Garnet by herself. Garnet was tempted to use the mana in her ring, but she needed it to charge up so she can call forth more guardians or at least strengthen some of the things in the city. So, she waited. After all, mana regeneration was high and if she used it more, she would regenerate even more mana. Garnet used most of her remaining clay to create two humanoid vessels. "Call: Revenant!" The two humanoid vessels took on the form of what appeared to be a mix of undead and ghosts. Garnet had only used them once during the first Invasion. The Cerberus were superior in every aspect, but with Minion Development, it was likely that the Revenants could become superior. The two Revenants just stood there. "Go help Nian protect the city and use Assimilate on the mages you encounter," Garnet ordered. The two Revenants phased through the roof of the room and headed to the surface. "They really are ghosts!" Garnet thought to herself. Their abilities gave them a unique advantage as long as the city were in ruins. Garnet followed the Revenants to the surface, just to check up on them. She saw Nian running around the city, splitting himself into twelve copies. The automata were focused on repairing the walls of the city rather than clearing the inside since they needed to make it harder for people to enter first. Garnet took a look at the Minion Development Menu. As she scrolled down, she could see the two Revenants, her Cerberus, and even her spirits. However, Serena and Nian had their settings locked. Garnet could not even take a look at them. There was something special about them. The automata were grouped together under one setting, but she could only increase their base stats to a cap for now. In order for them to be more effective with special abilities, she needed special items to customize them, not just mana. Name: Mana Coating Requirements: 5 Vials of Liquid Mana Crystal Effect: All Resistance +50% That was what she needed, but she had no idea how to make them. "Zedd would know," Garnet thought. For now though, Zedd was incapacitated. Her mana potions were too small to make a big impact on Zedd''s mana. For now though, Garnet just needed to establish her domain and force out people who were still trying to raid the city for items. With twelve Nians running around, it would be more difficult for them to sneak around. However, that was when Garnet noticed what they were doing. They had spotters that were communicating the location and movement of Nian and the Revenants. Even if Nian could divide into twelve, the city of Constantinople was huge. They could just split up and avoid Nian. The automata could fix this problem in the future, but they were focused on rebuilding the city. They started from where they reassembled themselves and started deconstructing the ruins. Some parts of the land were now flat, ready for something new to be built on top of it. Nothing needed to be built yet, so it remained empty. Until the armies were rebuilt, she could not actually develop the city itself. Garnet began to issue orders. "There''s a few people that are spotting Nian from a distance, we need to take care of them first," she ordered. "Okay," Nian replied. "Call: Nuria!" Garnet needed to call for help. The more that they had, the easier it would be to spot people and prevent them from running away. The goal was to force them together so that they were manageable or to push them out of the city. "They''re running already!" shouted Nuria. When they spotted Garnet approaching, they too began to run in the opposite direction. They had a way of communicating with each other as well. This group was much more well coordinated than the last. They had roles divided among them and were operating in a wide formation, allowing them to cover an enormous area. "Focus on catching just one of them!" Garnet ordered. It would be difficult to try to catch all of them since they did not know how many there were. However, it is a lot easier to catch just one since there would be more than twenty of them going after the same target if they counted Nian''s abilities and Garnet''s other summons. "There!" Nuria shouted as she pointed at someone in a black cloak. The black cloaked figure dived into the ruins, avoiding the rooftops and surface area. "We lost them," said Garnet. "Not yet!" Nian shouted as his copies began to circle around. With the help of the Cerberus, Nian was able to close off escape routes on the ground. Garnet and Nuria were observing from the sky. Now it was just a matter of finding them. "Search starting from one corner and focus on one section at a time," Garnet ordered. "They will not be able to escape." Nian used one of its bodies to begin to search. Two more stood outside in case the person tried to escape. "Come out wherever you are," said Nian as it began to check building by building. Each time nothing was discovered, the grid shrank and would force the person in hiding into a smaller area. The only way they would be able to escape was if they had time-space magic or a way to hide their presence and visibility entirely without the use of mana. Suddenly, a figure moved through the shadows. "There!" Nian shouted. One of the Cerberus immediately grabbed the figure with its snake tail wrapping around the person. "Let me go!" she shouted. It was a woman. She had shoulder length black hair and was clad entirely in a mixture of black cloth and leather armor from head to toe. Name: Nyx Level: 41 Class: Assassin Sub-Class: Soul Eater "Recall!" Garnet called one of her Revenants over. It was time to use its new ability. "Assimilate her," Garnet ordered her Revenant. The Revenant moved closely to Nyx. It used its hand to grab hold of Nyx and the Cerberus let go once the Revenant had a tight grip on her. The Revenant hugged Nyx. Slowly, Nyx began to merge into the Revenant. "NO!" Nyx screamed. "Not like this!" As the Revenant absorbed Nyx into itself, it began to take on the shape of Nyx. It was a very disturbing sight to see. Garnet could not even imagine what it felt like. Slowly, the screams disappeared as the Revenant began to take the shape of Nyx. The body changed first with its legs shrinking in height. The legs then narrowed into female looking ones. The torso began to be shaped like a woman''s. Then it moved to the arms and finally the head. The clothes of the victim then emerged from the skin. When it was done, the Revenant looked exactly like Nyx, but with red eyes. She kneeled before Garnet. "Thank you Master." "I will need to make use of your abilities in the future," said Garnet. "I will do whatever you ask of me," the woman replied. "What do I call you?" Garnet asked. "Nyx is fine," the woman responded. "Well Nyx, I want you to help me trap at least one other person for the other Revenant," said Garnet. "Any preferences?" Nyx asked. Garnet thought about it for a second, but she knew what she needed. "I need a powerful mage," said Garnet. "There is only one among the group Nyx was from," said Nyx. "Who is it?" Garnet asked. "A man clad in black who belongs to an order of Dark Mages," Nyx replied. "Is it Crossen?" Garnet asked. "No," said Nyx. "His name is Adam, and he is also a Dragonian." "What''s a Dragonian?" Garnet asked. There were other Dark Mages out there, but they were few in number. Getting another to her side by force was probably going to be important. "It is someone who has the blood of a dragon and can actually transform into one," Nyx answered. "So we have to fight a dragon," said Garnet. "Most likely," said Nyx. "What does Adam look like?" Garnet asked. This was going to be vital information if they were going to be able to spot him. "A man with red hair wearing an orange and black cape," said Nyx. "Go lure the man out," Garnet ordered. "We need to make sure the other Revenant takes him." "Yes my Queen," said Nyx. "I will do everything I can to persuade them to make another attempt on the city." Fighting a dragon was not going to be an easy task, so Garnet wanted to make sure all her spirits were ready. The only ones who were not available were Riley and Meliae. Sino, Mazu, Lilith, Romulus, Sylvia, the Cerberus, and the Death Knights were all called. They prepared to make their move at a moment''s notice. They could not let a potential Dark Mage with the ability to summon as well get away. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It took a few hours before Nyx returned with the others. Garnet was able to spot that there were several figures moving. One of them returned directly to Garnet. It was Nyx. "Did it work?" Garnet asked. "Not everyone wanted to return, but since they thought they lost no one, they agreed to try again," Nyx replied. "So where''s Adam?" Garnet asked. "He''s somewhere in the eastern part of the city," said Nyx. "Alright, let''s move quickly," said Garnet. They spread out and began to move east. Garnet could spot that there were a few figures keeping an eye on her and moving around. But, by drawing attention to herself, they would pay less attention to the rest of her summons. The others could escape, but they needed Adam. Garnet scanned everything in her view, hoping to spot someone with red hair or a red and orange cape. HOWL. It was the familiar howl of a Cerberus. Garnet immediately headed towards that direction, flying as fast as she could. She spotted someone on the roof of a building. A man with brown hair. Name: George Level: 39 Class: Archer Sub-Class: Sniper Stats: High Dexterity It was not the person she was looking for. Garnet kept an eye on him as she flew by, making sure that he did not make a move against her. In the distance, there was an orange glow followed by white smoke rising into the air. Someone was fighting with fire. Garnet immediately headed in that direction. She spotted a man with red hair. Name: Adam Level: 40 Class: Dark Mage Sub-Class: Puppeteer Stats: High Intelligence It was the man that she was looking for. "Recall!" Garnet immediately recalled her spirits to her side. "Remember, we need him for the Revenants." Adam quickly spotted Garnet and looked around. He suddenly realized that he was being surrounded. He pulled out a needle of some kind and injected himself with it. Red scales appeared on his face and red scaled wings appeared on his back. It was a transformation of some kind, but it was not done by a spell. Instead, it was done with an item. "Fire Blast!" Adam did not wait to see if Garnet was actually an enemy. He started to attack. A rounded bolt of green fire flew towards Garnet. Garnet rolled sideways, avoiding the blast. It was incredibly fast, but the light from the spell made it easy to see coming. PEW. The bolt of fire flew past Garnet. BOOM. It exploded behind her, creating a massive shockwave that shook the ground. "Call: Greater Undead!" Adam immediately followed up with a summoning spell. The ground began to shake. BOOM. Dirt flew in all directions as a large hand of bone emerged from the ground. BOOM. The second explosion marked the appearance of a head. The dirt and rocks began to fall as an enormous skeleton rose from the ground. It towered over the ruins of the city. "Take care of that thing!" Garnet ordered her summons. Name: Greater Undead Level: ??? Class: Undead Sub-Class: None Stats: High Vitality Garnet herself went after Adam since she did not know how strong the Greater Undead was. It was best to leave it up to the strongest summons. She at least had an idea of Adam''s strength from his level. Adam flew towards Garnet for a direct confrontation. In his hand left hand was a sword. His robe had torn from his transformation and Garnet could see the red scales throughout his body. He was also wearing a backpack of some kind. "Why are you after me?" he asked. "I have many reasons, but the first is to stop people like you from robbing this city," said Garnet. "Did you forget that this city belongs to no one nation?" Adam asked. "By breaking these rules, you will make an enemy of everyone." "Rules are only followed when it suits those in power," Garnet replied. "Anzio is already hunting me, so it makes no difference if I make a few more enemies." "Anzio?" Adam was surprised by the mention of it. "Then there must be a bounty on your head as well." He suddenly began to channel his mana and prepare for another spell. A ball of green flames appeared in his hand. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet did not wait for Adam to finish charging his spell. She shot several bolts at him. Adam had to stop charging his spell in order to evade. From his movements, Garnet could tell that he was an experienced fighter when it came to combat in the air. Garnet did not want to give Adam the opportunity to continue channeling his magic, so she followed up with more spells. "Wind Blade!" Adam did not try to dodge. Instead, he opened his mouth as green flames spewed forth from it. The blade of wind was immediately devoured by the flames and the flames spread out in an arc as it pushed towards Garnet. Garnet countered with her own. "Jet Stream!" She fired a burst of water that dispersed the flames. The geyser of water pushed quickly towards Adam. FWOOSH. The water had knocked him out of the air. As Adam began to fall, his wings spread wide open in order to slow his descent, giving him enough time to recover from his fall. Garnet continued her assault of magic. "Fire Ball!" POP. The sound of small explosions filled the area as Garnet shot numerous small explosives towards Adam. Adam zigged and zagged his way through the skies in order to close the distance between them. He was now trying to engage Garnet in close range combat knowing that Garnet probably had an advantage in terms of pure magic based combat. As the distance between them narrowed, Garnet drew her own sword and began to dive straight for Adam, using her positional advantage to pressure Adam. Garnet swung her sword. CLANG. A loud sound resonated in the skies as the two met in combat. Garnet was not done though. In terms of strength, they were similar, but Garnet also had sword skills. "Spiral!" Garnet''s sword began to push Adam''s to the side. SHING. Sparks flew from the swords as they slid against each other. Garnet''s sword broke free as she spun around. BANG. Her sword smashed against Adam''s, shattering it. Adam immediately raised his hand to try to catch the sword as it came around again. DING. Garnet''s sword met with Adam''s red scales. "GAH!" Adam screamed as his hand was cut. Adam had used his hand to slow down Garnet''s sword, preventing a more damaging strike. He had sacrificed a little to protect his life. He quickly increased the distance between them. Garnet was not going to let him recover. "Lightning Bolt!" Using the fastest spell she had, Garnet wanted to immobilize and bring this fight to an end. However, it had no effect on Adam. It was too weak and the scales on Adam''s body protected him from the full effects of Garnet''s abilities. Adam quickly took out two more vials and injected himself with it. The red scales began to cover him entirely as he began to grow several fold in size. The wings grew. The head changed shape with horns emerging from his head. He quickly grew to the size of almost the skeleton as he fully transformed into a dragon. "I haven''t had to use this technique in a long time," said Adam. Garnet wasted no time. "You just made yourself a bigger target!" she shouted. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The explosive force of the Lightning Fire Bolt was unmatched by anything so far. A single burst of the spell had immediately knocked Adam''s head sideways. Like the Zmaj Garnet had encountered, it resisted the attack quite well. ROAR. Adam in his dragon form was quickly able to recover from such an attack. His claws dug into the ground as he prepared a huge ball of green flames in his mouth. Garnet immediately flew to the side, hoping to get out of the firing arc of the breath attack. FWOOM. Green flames scorched across the ruins of Constantinople, setting ablaze everything in sight. Even though the attack was slow and took a long time to prepare, it offered a huge amount of power in exchange for it. Adam swung his claws, tearing into the ground and throwing rocks into the air towards Garnet. As Garnet dodged them, the rocks crashed into the buildings around them. A few of the buildings even collapsed from the damage. With Adam''s transformation, most of her spells were not doing much damage and even physical attacks did little. All Garnet could do was continue to whittle him down. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet continued her barrage of spells and fired a few more shots at Adam. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. Adam being as big as he was now, took every shot. The damage was starting to accumulate as Garnet noticed a few drops of blood beginning to flow from the neck. As much as Garnet wanted to use her strongest spell, she simply did not have the time to do it. Adam prepared another breath attack as the fire in his mouth grew larger and larger. This time though, his feet were not dug into the ground. That meant it was a different attack. Adam turned his head as Garnet moved, keeping his aim on her. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt straight at Adam''s mouth. BOOM. The explosive sound was not from Garnet''s own bolt, but rather Adam''s attack. Numerous small green balls of fire flew towards Garnet. BOOM. The bolt Garnet had fired exploded in mid-air as it came into contact with one of the green balls of fire. The green balls of fire began to rain down across the ruined city. "Jet Stream!" Garnet countered with the stream of water. It pushed towards Adam''s mouth, forcing him to stop his assault as the water easily put out the green fire. The problem was that the spell did nothing to Adam in terms of damage. It did not have the power to push through Adam''s skin to significantly hurt him. BOOM. The ground shook as Garnet turned in the direction of the sound. The large skeleton that Adam had summoned earlier had collapsed. However, the top half of the body continued to move around, attempting to smash the ground around it trying to kill her summons. Garnet could not help but think of how much trouble it was going to be to clean up this mess once the fight was over. ROAR. Adam released another powerful breath of flames towards Garnet while she was distracted by the falling of the skeleton. "Jet Stream!" Garnet countered with another powerful push with water. Level Up: Jet Stream (Level 2) In the match up of fire magic against water magic, water magic would almost always win. The problem was that Garnet could not deal any damage to the dragon body itself. She had to gamble on the fact that it would wear off. Adam had to use injections in his body to transform, so there was a chance that once the injection wore off, he would be weakened to the point where Garnet could deal serious damage to him. In a battle of attrition, Garnet always had the advantage thanks to her mana regeneration rates. For now, Garnet would try to immobilize Adam. It was not going to be easy because of his large body though. "Blood Bind!" Numerous large red ribbons erupted from the ground and wrapped around the body of Adam. Adam attempted to flex his arms and legs in order to break free, but he could not. "What?!?" Garnet was not done yet. She had follow up skills. "Shadow Bind!" On top of the red ribbons, black ones emerged from her shadow and began to wrap around Adam, further constricting him. She raised her hand and began to move her fingers closer together as if she was squeezing something in her hand. "Shadow Grip!" With this technique, Garnet had hoped to suffocate Adam, weakening him long enough for her Revenant to be able to take hold of Adam. Adam began to shake violently, attempting to break free of the hold that Garnet had on him. "No!" he shouted. Garnet increased the intensity of Shadow Grip. She squeezed her hand as hard as she could. Before long, she was able to close entire hand. "Shadow Crush!" CRACK. It was the sound of something breaking. Adam suddenly collapsed and could no longer resist. Garnet flew in towards Adam. As she approached, she could see that Adam was still breathing. As powerful as Shadow Crush was, what should have been a killing blow was still not enough to kill Adam. He was barely breathing and bleeding all over. "Recall!" The Revenant appeared before Garnet and began to assimilate Adam. The large skeleton summoned by Adam began to collapse into pieces. The bones that it was composed of dissolved into dust and evaporated into the air. Soon after, the Revenant began to take on Adam''s trademark red hair. He had the same red eyes as Nyx. "When you''re ready, I have a job for you," Garnet said as she looked at Adam. "But there is a problem," said Adam. "What is it?" Garnet asked. "Adam was but one of several Dark Mages who are attempting to find you," said Adam. "Several Dark mages?" Garnet thought. "What do they want with me?" she asked. "Their goal is to either recruit you or to kill you," said Adam. "How many are there?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know, but they are being led by four of the Council," Adam replied. "What Council?" Garnet asked. "The Council is a group of twelve powerful Dark Mages who have enhanced themselves using taboo methods," Adam answered. "Four of them are tasked with bringing you in." Another problem suddenly presented itself. Constantinople had brought Garnet more enemies than she ever thought possible. New Quest: Dark Mages (I) Four Dark Mage Council members and an unknown number of their group are heading to Constantinople in order to search for two Dark Mages they believe are going against their objective. See to it that these Dark Mages are stopped before they draw too much attention to the Constantinople. Reward: Experience Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 40 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 3050/3050 MP: 10660/10660 Fame: 220 Strength: 97 (+5) Dexterity: 62 (+7) Intelligence: 306 (+22) Vitality: 90 (+5) Agility: 104 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 9 - Lightning ¨C 14 - Wind ¨C 6 - Water - 1 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 1) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 2) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Magicraft (Level 9) ¨C Alchemist - Item Enhancement (Level 9) - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1)
Book 6: Chapter 047 - Threat of Darkness Garnet had put Adam to work creating more Humanoid Vessels with the materials that Riley and Meliae were able to retrieve from the waters to the East. "Good work," said Garnet as she observed Adam. "Thank you Master," said Adam as he gathered clay together. The red headed mage was a decent addition as he had the ability to manufacture one vessel a day with his current level of magic and reduce the workload of Garnet. Level Up: Magicraft (Level 10) -> Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) Level Up: Item Enhancement (Level 10) -> Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) If the Revenants could get their hands on the other Dark Mages, Garnet''s forces would receive a huge boost in power. With this, Garnet was able to direct her attention to other tasks. The first was to upgrade the automata in the city so that they could improve the city and also act as defenders to the city. The second was to provide sufficient upgrades to her existing summons, but this proved to be the most difficult due to mana requirements. For now, she too had to focus on creating more Revenants. The last was to upgrade the Mana Core, which might be the secret to unlocking more hidden locations in the city. Right now, Garnet was standing in front of the Mana Core. Her limited knowledge of magic as a whole made it difficult for her. Because of this, she had to rely on Zedd, the person with the most knowledge about magic in the world. Serena had tried to look through the library for any clues, but she had no luck. "Are you sure you''re okay though?'' Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zedd as he kneeled down on the ground to take a better look at the Mana Core. "I fully recover my mana in about three days." "You didn''t look okay," said Garnet. "He never looks okay," Riley added. "There are times if I wonder that he even sleeps." "I sleep enough," Zedd replied as he continued to feel around on the ground. He marked some of them with colored chalk. "What are you looking for?'' Garnet asked. "With a Mana Crystal this large directing mana to multiple locations, there has to be a path leading to the hidden rooms as well," Zedd explained. "The problem is finding the right one." "How do you know which one is the right one?" Garnet asked. "They all look the same." "You just have to follow each one to their destination," Zedd explained. "The red ones here are the ones that we know where they connect to. The white ones are the ones we don''t know yet. What I''m looking for are the ones that are not activated or that we don''t know where they connect to." "Then those should lead us to the hidden rooms right?" said Riley. "Yes," said Zedd. "The problem is finding where they start." "Do you think they''re not activated yet?" Garnet asked. "Is that a reason why you might not be able to find them?" "What do you mean?" Zedd asked. "When I first upgraded the Mana Core, it unlocked the sub-crystals to activate the automatons," said Garnet. "Is it possible the hidden rooms will remain hidden until the Core is upgraded?" "It is possible," said Zedd. "If there''s more mana flowing through it, it might make it easier to detect the hidden rooms as well." "Then there''s not much we can do about right now then," said Garnet. "You''re probably right," Zedd admitted. "But I''m going to keep trying." "Alright," said Garnet. "Contact me if something happens." "I will," said Zedd. "I''m going to see if Serena''s library has anything to improve my situation," said Riley. "Call me if you need me." Garnet had to delegate work to more people now. That was the only way to efficiently rebuild the city. Nian was working with Garnet''s spirits who now all had vessels in order to keep the city safe with the Revenants while the automata tried to rebuild what they could. Only sections of the outer wall had been completed, but it at least limited the entrance points into the city. With work being delegated, Garnet could focus on improving the automata. She checked the upgrade requirements. All they had for now were passive abilities, nothing special like the Revenants. Name: Mana Coating Requirements: 5 Vials of Liquid Mana Crystal Effect: All Resistance +50% Name: Mana Amplifier Requirement: Mana Crystal, Mana Core Level 5 Effect: All Stats +10% Name: Mana Conduits Requirements: Liquid Bio-Metal Zi Effect: Damaged Automata Recover Twice as Fast, unlocks Evolutionary Tree Garnet knew how to make the Mana Crystals, but the rest were things she had never encountered. Mana Core Level 5 was something that required way more mana than she reasonably had. That meant her only options were to pursue the Liquid Mana Crystal or the Liquid Bio-Metal Zi. As much as Garnet wanted to upgrade her other summons, the automata were far greater in number, meaning that improvements on them would have a greater effect than improvements on her other summons. If the automata could become combat ready, Constantinople would have a powerful army at its disposal. "Hey Zed?" Garnet asked. "What is it?" said Zedd. "How do you make Liquid Mana Crystal?" Garnet wondered. "Just melt a Mana Crystal using heat," said Zedd. "It''s easy if you make sure it doesn''t burn." "Really?" said Garnet surprised. "It''s that easy?" "It requires a very high temperature to melt it and eliminate any impurities, so it isn''t that easy, but your spirit should be able do it," said Zedd. New Recipe: Liquid Mana Crystal Requirements: Mana Crystal, Fire Spirit, Earth Spirit (Optional) Effect: Can be used to add defense to any item "It still sounds too easy to be true," said Garnet. "Well, most items are simply refined versions of lower tier items or lower tier items that have been enhanced with enough mana," Zedd explained. "As long as you have enough mana, even the worst items can be made into effective tools." "What about Liquid Bio-Metal Zi?" Garnet asked. Zedd thought about it for a moment. "I haven''t heard of such a material," he said. "Have you tried to ask Serena?" "Not yet," said Garnet. "You tend to know more about magicraft, so I came to ask you first." "I know a lot, but I don''t know everything," said Zedd. "Thanks," said Garnet as she began to leave. Garnet headed over to the library where Riley and Serena were spending most of their time. The library itself was huge and consisted of thousands of thick books, many of which even Serena did not know the contents of. Because of this, they began to search through the books, looking for a true resurrection spell and any type of summoning magic that could help them. "Serena, do you know about Liquid Bio-Metal Zi?" Garnet asked. "One minute," Serena responded. Serena went over to one of the other shelves and pulled out a book. She flipped it open to the page on Metal Zi. "Here." Garnet took a look at it. Metal Zi was a synthethic metal of some kind mixed with several others. New Recipe: Metal Zi Requirements: Mercury, Hihi''irokane, Fire Spirit, Earth Spirit, Water Spirit, Wind Spirit Effects: Durability +10000% It was the recipe for Metal Zi, but not Bio-Metal Zi nor the liquid version of it. For now it was useless. "Is this it?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Serena. "Any information about what that Hihi''irokane is?" Garnet asked. "It''s a rare red ore that can only be found where the sun shines directly on it for an extended period of time," Serena replied. "It''s rarely been found in small amounts in the tallest mountains." Even the database of Constantinople did not have everything. However, the fact that the Hero System had knowledge of the material means that it most likely exists out there. Garnet just needed to find it. For now, she could work on what she already had, Mana Crystals. Garnet needed to try to make the Liquid Mana Crystals immediately. She headed to one of the empty rooms. There were lots of them and even Zedd had made use of two of them already. She set up the cauldron needed for Magicraft and began her work. "Recall!" Garnet recalled Meliae and Nuria. Fire and earth was needed to make the base Mana Crystal. Nuria would then be needed to melt it. "Hey, we were working out there you know?" said Nuria. "I have something more important I need the two of you for," said Garnet. "More important than defending the city." "What can be that important?" Meliae asked. "Ensuring the city can protect itself," said Garnet. "Now stop complaining and to work." Creating the Mana Crystal was fairly easy since it only required basic materials. Item Enhancement could then be used to improve the purity or effectiveness of an item as needed. Then, refinement through a second magicraft process made the item even better. This was the principle behind it. "So, five Mana Crystals, then melt them," said Garnet. Garnet watched as Nuria and Meliae went to work. The crystals were made with ease. Afterwards, Meliae covered the entire pot with clay as Nuria heated it. Garnet could feel the intense heat needed to melt crystals, especially ones that were meant to absorb and contain magical power. It was not something that could be done by an ordinary person unless they had incredible fire magic. As the heat dissipated, the clay came off. Even the inside of the clay was glazed like glass. As Garnet looked in the pot, there was a clear blue liquid. She quickly opened her Minion Development Menu and activated the Mana Coating upgrade. The Liquid Mana Crystal in the pot disappeared into dust. "Did it work?" Garnet thought. The Minion Development Menu showed that the upgrade was completed, but it would be too hard to tell without getting a closer look at one of the automata. "Alright, you''re done here for now," said Garnet. "Get back out there." Nuria and Meliae left. With their new bodies, they were capable of unlimited flight and could train their abilities too. Right now, nearly every single one of Garnet''s summons were being utilized to help patrol the large ruins to try to keep people out. Even Romulus and Sylvia had to be utilized. Even then, they were unsuccessful as people found different ways to infiltrate the ruins. This presented an opportunity though. If Garnet could get her hands on those people, her Revenants could acquire their individual abilities and put them to use to help protect the city. These people were also very elusive, using complex means to communicate with each other and avoiding the summoned creatures was very easy. It was almost as if they already knew what they were going have problems with at Constantinople before they even arrived. At a rate of one Revenants being produced a day, it would probably take months before they had a group sufficient to defend the city. What happened next was something that Garnet could not have possibly predicted. Nian came running into the Ark. "Where''s Garnet?" it shouted. "She''s in the library with Serena and Riley," said Zedd who was still studying the Mana Core. Nian quickly rushed over to the library. "Hero, there''s trouble!" Garnet turned to Nian. "What happened?" she asked. "A strange carriage of red and gold with a black dodecagon seal arrived just outside the Western Walls," said Nian. Quest Update: Dark Mages (I) Four Dark Mage Council members and an unknown number of their group are using the area around Constantinople in order to search for two Dark Mages they believe are going against their objective. See to it that these Dark Mages are stopped before they draw too much attention to the Constantinople. Reward: Experience Garnet immediately headed over to the Western Walls. A fraction of the Western Walls had been rebuilt by the automata, but their progress was slow as people always found a way to destroy them again. Until the walls were more durable, this would continue to be a problem. Garnet slowly approached the carriage. "Be careful," Riley warned. The door of the carriage opened and a familiar face stepped out. "They''re here Master," said Leilah. She was the Succubus like creature under Crossen''s control. "That means your Master is here too," said Garnet. "Of course," Leilah responded. Leilah held the door open as a robed man emerged from the carriage. "It''s been a while," said Crossen. Garnet took a quick look at Crossen. He was about as strong as before. A small scar was visible on his forehead, most likely as a result of his last battle with Garnet. There was not much improvement in terms of his stats, but Crossen gave off a completely different atmosphere. "A few weeks by my estimate," said Garnet. "What are you doing here?" Name: Crossen Level: 35 Class: Dark Mage / Wizard Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: High Intelligence "Quite a place you''ve tried to claim for yourself," said Crossen as he looked over Garnet''s shoulder. "You ruined my plans, and I will now ruin yours." "You haven''t answered my question," said Garnet as she drew her sword. "What are you doing here?" "I''ve been asked to invite you to join our guild of Dark Mages," said Crossen. "The Council wishes to speak with you." "Council?" Garnet thought. There was someone who directed Crossen. "Sorry, but I have my own plans." "How about you?" Crossen asked as he turned to Riley. "I''m with her," said Riley. "That''s a shame," said Crossen. "If you refuse to join us, then that means we''ll have to kill you." "You could only run away the last time we met," Garnet countered. "You''re not strong enough to defeat me." "I don''t have to be," said Crossen. "I already prepared for this! Recall!" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.It was a trap. Crossen had prepared summons ahead of time and was going to call his own. Garnet was not going to wait. "Recall!" She countered by recalling her own summons. Behind Garnet, her Spirits, Revenants, Romulus, and Sylvia were all gathered along with a few of the Cerberus. Nian and Serena were not because they gathered just on top of the walls where they could see the battle and provide support while being enhanced by the protective features of the city. Outside of the city, their power greatly diminished and Garnet did not want to lose that advantage. Behind Crossen was his own group. A single Three Headed Cerberus, a Two Headed Ogre, a Giant Troll, about three dozen skeleton, and an armored undead knight of some kind. "I''ve gone for quality instead of quantity this time," said Crossen. Name: Cerberus Level: 80 Class: Demonic Beast Sub-Class: Wild Beast Stats: High Agility Name: Ogre Level: 72 Class: Demi-Human Sub-Class: Warrior Stats: High Strength Name: Troll Level: 73 Class: Demi-Human Sub-Class: Slayer Stats: High Strength Name: Dullahan Level: 78 Class: Undead Sub-Class: Guardian Stats: High Vitality Name: Skeletal Guardian Level: 70 Class: Undead Sub-Class: Warrior Stats: High Vitality They were all creatures that were on par with the weakest of the Invasion, but much fewer in number. "You''ve brought better creatures this time," said Garnet. "You already took out our normal undead," said Crossen. "This was the back up plan." Crossen was most likely referring to the undead that he had used to try to take over a city. It was fairly easy for Garnet to take care of them. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Garnet and Riley both transformed. Crossen and Leilah were strong and they were both being supported by powerful summons now. Romulus immediately jumped to the front in order to serve as a front line. "I''ll take care of the skeletons with Sylvia, the rest of you figure out how to take care of the rest," he said as he charged forward. "Go quickly!" shouted Sylvia as she knocked several skeletons aside with her scythe. Nuria and Mazu charged in. "Flame Strike!" Nuria drove her first the ground. CRASH. The ground immediately distorted as huge chunks of rock were sent flying upward, further dividing the enemy ranks. Normal skeletons were usually slow and only a little tough to break down in most cases, so they were probably not going to be of much threat. The biggest danger was probably going to be the Cerberus thanks to its abilities. The other three creatures looked physically strong and most likely had special skills. "I''ll take care of Crossen, Riley can take Leilah," Garnet ordered. "The rest of you clear out the other monsters then rejoin me." An in instant, shards of ice rained down upon the enemies. KA-THUNK. A huge shard of ice embedded itself inside the body of the enormous ogre. It died instantly. "Fall back out of the range of the city!" Crossen ordered. The skeletons did their best to reform their ranks and form a line between Garnet and Crossen. "Should we chase?" Riley asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "They might lead us to where the others they were talking about are." Crossen and Leilah quickly made their way back along the main road. "Be careful, there may be traps," said Riley. "Can you check Meliae?" Garnet asked. Meliae disappeared into the ground and into the distance. BANG. Another skeleton flew onto the path of the main road as it broke into pieces. "There are probably more summoned creatures in the road up ahead," said Nuria. Garnet and her group slowly made their way forward. At this range, Serena would be unable to provide support. Garnet also did not want to draw everyone away from the city, which could also be part of their plan. A large portion of Garnet''s summoned creatures remained in the city. SHING. It was the sound of someone drawing their sword. Garnet turned in the direction and saw a young girl with shoulder length black hair in yellow and black clothes quickly approaching them with a sword in her right hand. Romulus turned to intercept. CLANG. Their swords met and the sound of the clash rang throughout the forest. Romulus struggled to push back against the girl. "Viper Bite!" The girl''s left arm turned into a snake as she aimed at Romulus''s head. "Watch out!" shouted Sylvia as grabbed the snake with her hand. Garnet swung her sword at the girl. "Desquamation!" The girl instantly moved back, leaving a hollow stone statue in her place. "Who are you?" Garnet asked. Name: Xiaomei Level: 63 Class: Azerathian Monk Sub-Class: Guillotine Assassin "I''m Xiaomei, the one tasked with taking care of your situation," said the girl. "Since you refused our invitation, you are our enemy." Crossen was not working alone. He had the help of others. Xiaomei immediately began to run foward. "Lightning Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt of lightning at her. To Garnet''s surprise, Xiaomei flipped into a side step and avoided the bolt of lightning. This person was incredibly fast and was able to dodge a bolt of lightning, something that had hit its target precisely every time before. Again, Romulus moved to intercept her. "Heaven''s Fall!" Xiaomei swung her sword with an underhand swing. CLANG. The sword slammed against Romulus''s tough vessel body. It could not cut through his leg. "Double Sting!" She followed up immediately with a double kick to the back of the sword, but the sword barely moved, only pushing Romulus a step back. "It appears I''m not strong enough," she said. Sylvia swung her scythe at Xiaomei. "Desquamation!" Again, Xiaomei''s body turned to stone and the real her disappeared. Xiaomei reappeared several steps away. She was a speed focused assassin. Against a normal person, her technique would have been an instant kill, but against the tough vessel bodies, she was at a disadvantage. "Blood Bind!" Red ribbons appeared from the ground attempting to tie Xiaomei down. Xiaomei manuevered her entire body, lowering it to the point where it was nearly touching the ground as zig zagged side to side, avoiding all of the red ribbons. Those maneuvers seemed liked they required a huge amount of arm and leg strength. She was insanely fast. She sacrificed physical power in exchange for extreme speed. "It seems like we''re at a tie," she said. "No," said Garnet. "I have the advantage in numbers! Go Cerberus!" she ordered. Two of the Cerberus that were with the group immediately charged forward. "Venom Sting!" Xiaomei thrust her sword against the neck of one of the Cerberus. SHING. Much to Xiaomei''s surprise, her sword slid right off of the throat of the Cerberus, unable to pierce it''s body. "Toxigenesis!" She followed up with a second attack. Her entire sword became coated with some type of green liquid. HISS. The spot that Xiaomei had struckon the throat of the Cerberus began to glow green. There was some kind of acid that was trying to burn away at the Cerberus, but the tough skin of the Cerberus made it impossible. THUNK. The Cerberus tipped over, still breathing, but immobilized. "I understand now why Crossen had so much trouble with you," she said. Xiaomei backed away and pulled out a book. "That''s Crossen''s book!" Riley shouted. "Call: Wraith!" The book lit up with a magic circle and a large humanoid green creature with white hair appeared from it. A black cloak then draped on top of the creature, hiding its appearance and presence. The only part of it that was still visible was its sharp fingers and glowing white eyes through the hood. A white mist of some kind spewed from its body, obstructing their view. SCREECH. The wraith released a distorted scream as it swung its arms, knocking the Cerberus aside. The rest of them waisted no time as they threw everything they had at the wraith. "Lightning Ray!" Fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning all crashed against the body of the wraith. SCREECH. The wraith screamed in its distorted voice as it tried to push forward. However, the immense power of Garnet''s spirits were able to push it back. THUMP. The wraith fell onto the ground and collapsed. Garnet immediately look her sword and stabbed it in the chest. Xiaomei was nowhere to be seen. She had disappeared during the commotion, but Garnet learned one thing. Xiaomei and Crossen were both part of a larger grop of Dark Mages and these people were in the area looking for Garnet and Riley. "Take that Cerberus back and have Zedd take a look at it," Garnet ordered. "I want to know what kind of poison that was." Crossen had help this time. Garnet had no idea how many people she would be facing, but they were more organized and fairly strong. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 40 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 3050/3050 MP: 10660/10660 Fame: 220 Strength: 97 (+5) Dexterity: 62 (+7) Intelligence: 306 (+22) Vitality: 90 (+5) Agility: 104 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 9 - Lightning ¨C 14 - Wind ¨C 6 - Water - 1 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 1) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 2) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1)
Book 6: Chapter 048 - Mount Ararat Garnet had brought the Cerberus that was poisoned by Xiaomei back to Zedd, hoping that he could identify what it was. Zedd had not made any progress with the Mana Core, reinforcing the idea that it needed to be upgraded before the hidden rooms might reveal themselves. "So, what happened to it?" Garnet asked. "Your Cerberus was stopped with a poison that blocks the flow of mana," said Zedd. "It will be fine once the blockage clears." Garnet''s body protected her from most poisons, so even something that is deadly at most makes her weak for a while. It was one of the advantages of her unique physiology. Nonetheless, it was something that might weaken her long enough for someone to kill her. With another threat looming over her and the city of Constantinople, she needed to become stronger and she needed that strength quickly. "I need to add her abilities to one of my Revenants," Garnet thought. Xiaomei was incredibly fast. She sacrificed strength for speed, but using the powerful poison could make up for it since it could probably kill with no more than two hits. The first to immobilize, the second to kill. Adding Crossen''s abilities to one of her Revenants would be great as well. There was one thing that remained in Garnet''s mind though. Crossen mentioned the Dark Mage Guild. Both Crossen and Xiaomei referred to themselves as "we" and "our," referencing a larger group. Chances were that there was going to be more than two of them out to capture or kill her. They also had the means to summon much stronger creatures as well, not just undead anymore. The current combat ability of her enemy was very high, yet also unknown. For now, Garnet decided to focus on developing the automata. A thousand potential soldiers to add to her ranks. The goal was Hihi''irokane, a mysterious red ore that is rarely found on the top of the highest mountains. The tallest mountain around Constantinople was directly to the North. A part of the mountain extended above the clouds. That was going to be the destination. "Can you take care of things while I am gone?" Garnet asked Serena. "Where are you going?" Serena asked. "To the mountain in the North to look for Hihi''irokane," Garnet responded. "I need it to make improvements to the automata." New Quest: Search for Hihi''irokane (I) Ascend Mount Ararat. Reward: Experience "Don''t go to Mount Ararat alone," said Serena. "There still may be creatures from the past Invasion up there." "I''m not going alone," said Garnet. "Riley, you''re coming with." "Aren''t Serena and Nian stronger?" Riley asked. "You should get them instead." "They''re better with protecting the city than you are," said Garnet. "I''m brining you along with some Cerberus." The power of the Cerberus and the Death Knights were declining in relation to the other summons, but they were by no means weak. Against regular enemies they encountered, they could easily overpower their enemies. They were not effective against the strongest people because they had ways to deal with creatures like the Cerberus. People had fewer ways to deal with creatures like Revenants that could pass through walls. Garnet and Riley headed North, where there was no road. Luckily, the tall mountain was easy to spot and so was Constantinople. It was going to be easy to find their way back and impossible to get lost until they got above the clouds. "Flight!" Garnet activated her flight ability, but kept close to the ground in order to cover ground faster. She wanted to go higher up, but she remembered the large bird she saw when she was rushing to Constantinople. She was not confident in dealing with creatures like that yet. After all, the Three Headed Cerberus took many people to defeat and the Zmaj nearly killed her. There were very few creatures on the way to the mountain. There were mostly birds in the region surrounding Constantinople. Everything from ducks, geese, vultures, and pelicans even. There were no large creatures other than the one that Garnet saw above the clouds. Most of the animals were small as well with the largest being a tiger that was eating a goat. "Please let there be nothing large and terrifying," she thought to herself. The base of the mountain was already problematic, with three mountain trails that split off near the entrance. There were no guiding signs. "Which way?" Riley asked. "Can you sense anything?" Garnet asked. "There''s something at the top, but I don''t know which way is to the top," she said. "Cerberus?" Garnet asked. The Cerberus sniffed around and along all three paths. They shook their heads. They had no clue either. "Recall!" Garnet recalled Meliae to help. "What am I looking for now?" Meliae asked. Meliae knew exactly what Garnet wanted. "Any strong source of mana or something strange," said Garnet. "Everything feels the same here," said Meliae. "What do you mean?" Garnet asked. "Normally, there''s differences, like a stronger source of mana here, or an odd feeling of a chill there, but everything is exactly the same here," said Meliae. "It''s as if it is the same from the top to the bottom." "That''s strange," said Garnet. "It is," said Meliae. "Chances are, someone is purposely creating this." They were of no help to Garnet, so she decided to try something different. "Each one of you take a different path," Garnet ordered her Cerberus. "Return if you reach a dead end." Chances were that the one where they did not return was going to be the longest path and the path to the top. Three of the Cerberus headed off on their separate routes. The first one to return was the one that went down the middle path. It returned with a bone in its mouth. "A bone?" said Garnet. "Why did it bring a bone back?" "What kind of bone is it?" Riley asked. "I''m not sure," said Garnet. "Do you know?" Garnet asked as she turned to Meliae. "It looks human, but it isn''t," Meliae replied. "It looks old as well." "Can you tell how old?" Garnet asked. "No," said Meliae. The next one to return was the Cerberus that went down the left path. That meant the one on the right path was going to be the longest and probably the way to the top. "Recall!" Garnet recalled the last Cerberus as they all headed down the right path together. "Why don''t you just fly?" Meliae asked. "I don''t want to be spotted by any dragon in a cave," Garnet replied. "I want to be able to see the creature first so I can kill it before it sees me. In the worst case scenario, all the aggressive creatures will chase after me." "Fair enough," said Meliae. Part of the way up the mountain, they saw bones scattered among what looked like a camp site. "It looks like a lot of people died here a long time ago," said Garnet. Riley headed over to the scorch mark on the ground. "This isn''t a fire pit of anykind," she said. "It almost looks like it was burned by something else." "It looks like they were attacked," said Meliae. "By what?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know," said Meliae. "But it looks like it was a surprise attack." Garnet headed over to Meliae and saw that there were holes in the ground. The area was cleaned up a little, but not entirely, so marks left by their battle still remained in some spots. "I found something!" Riley shouted. Garnet and Meliae headed over. They saw a small bone arrowhead. "A bone arrow?" said Garnet. "Looks like it," said Riley. "All we keep finding are bones." "But it''s clear now that there was at least a fight here in the past," said Garnet. "We should be wary of any enemies as we climb the mountain." As the group headed further into the mountain, they spotted a cave that split off from the main road. "Which way?" Riley asked. "Let''s check the cave first," said Garnet. "I found both Sino and Meliae in different caves." The group turned towards the cave. It was extremely large and hollowed out. There was nothing inside, just a huge patch of yellowish red dirt on the ground. "There''s nothing here," said Garnet. "Wait," said Meliae. "There''s something strange here. This isn''t dirt." "What is it then?" Riley asked. "I think it''s bone," said Meliae. "Bone?!?" said Garnet surprised. "All of this dirt is bone?" "Mostly bone," said Meliae. "There is some dirt here, but not all of it is dirt." "Why is there so much bone here?" Garnet wondered. The ground began to shake. VWOOM. A large yellowish white colored bone appeared from the dirt. VWOOM. Hundreds of smaller pieces followed and they made their way to the first yellowish white bone. BANG. The pieces snapped together as if they were parts in some kind of puzzle. Its large head had jaws that made it look like an insect. It had two large arms with hands. The rest of its body resembled a centipede of some kind. Name: Spectre Level: 60 Class: Undead Sub-Class: None Stats: High Strength, High Vitality The creature reached to its back and pulled out a long stick. The stick then opened up, with the blade of a scythe appearing. The scythe was big enough to reach almost anything in the cave. It used its tail to block off the entrance into the cave. It was almost as if the creature was designed to fight in the cave. "Was this Crossen''s trap?" Garnet thought. For now, she would have to focus on the target in front of them. "What the heck is that thing?!?" Riley shouted. "It''s an undead of some kind," Meliae answered. "I know that much," said Riley. The entire body of the Spectre rotated around the room in order to reposition the torso for an attack. The soft ground composed of a mix of bone meal and soft dirt prevented it from making much noise. It swung the scythe at the group. Garnet raised her sword and pushed at the scythe. CLANG. The bone scythe that the Spectre was using was as hard as her own sword. To top it off, she alone was not strong enough to stop it. The Spectre continued to push and without solid ground it was difficult to push against it. Garnet was slowly being pushed back. CLANG. Riley made it as well and joined Garnet in the push against the Spectre''s scythe. "We''re at a disadvantage here," she said. "It''s not like we can force ourselves out of here without collapsing the entire cave," said Garnet. BANG. The Cerberus crashed themselves against the main body of the Spectre, slightly tipping it off balance. "Horizontal!" Garnet used her sword skill to push the scythe off of her and it created an opening. "Jet Stream!" Garnet fired a stream of water against the main body of the Spectre. However, the Spectre was starting to resist. The Cerberus knocked it off balance for a second, but the pressure of the water was not enough to keep it down. Fire was too dangerous to use in the enclosed space and lightning probably would not work since it did not have muscles and Garnet''s own lightning magic was not strong enough to completely immobilize a target. It was down to either wind magic or shadow magic. The scythe of the Spectre descended upon them again with another swipe that was meant to clear the room. Garnet swung her sword towards the scythe, meeting it head on. CLANG. Again, the scythe made contact with Garnet''s sword and it slowly pushed her back. Garnet raised her. "Explosive Palm!" BOOM. The explosive force knocked the scythe off target and causing it to crash into the ground. Riley followed up on it. "Ki Burst!" BOOM. The explosive force of the attack pushed the scythe down, embedding it deep into the ground below the dust that they were standing on. "Careful!" Garnet shouted. The cave shook a little and a few small rocks fell. A storng enough blast could potentially cause the entire cave to collapse. They were lucky that it did not. Meliae used her roots and did her best to tie up some of the Spectre''s legs, slowing it down, and causing its steps to clumsy. Neither of these slowed the Spectre down as the Spectre continued its assault with its hands. It slammed its hand down towards Riley. "Flight!" Riley used her wings to move sideways. BANG. The bone hand smashed into the ground, knocking up the dust. SWISH. The arm moved sideways, throwing up the dust into the air. CLANG. Riley used her sword and smashed it against the arm of the Spectre as hard as she could. Garnet followed it up. "Wind Blade!" The powerful burst of air dug into some of the bone, but it was not a clean cut. The burst of wind knocked a huge amount of dust into the air. The Specter moved its body and positioned its back farthest away from the cave. An orange light appeared in its mouth. "It''s about to use fire!" Riley shouted. This was the trap. The dust in the air would increase the explosive power and make it easier to ignite the materials. Both Garnet and Riley reacted to this immediately. "Heat Wave!" While the spell itself would not be effective against the Spectre, the wind released by the spell would push all the dust particles back towards the Spectre. BOOM. The explosive power released by the spell and the combination of the environment was devastating. "Shadow Wall!" Garnet used the spell in order to protect them from the potential effects. As the spell ended, the Spectre had severely damaged itself, with cracks all over its main body. But, it was not down yet. The body continued to move. "Still?!?" said Riley. "Why won''t you die already?!?" she shouted. The superheated bones of the Spectre made it dangerous to touch. "Jet Stream!" Garnet fired water at the Spectre again. CRACK. The superheated bones of the Spectre began to break apart from the rapid cooling. The cracks on the body of the Spectre began to intensify. BOOM. Part of the torso broke off of the body. "Heat it again!" Garnet shouted. "Heat Wave!" Riley released another one in order to heat the body of the Spectre again. CRACK. Another part of the torso began to break apart. Slowly, it stopped moving. "Is it down yet?" Garnet asked. "You always have to double check to make sure it is dead," said Riley. Garnet slowly walked up to the head. "Explosive Palm!" BOOM. The head of the Spectre shattered. You have leveled up! "It''s dead now," said Garnet. "Blood Absorption!" It did not work. The Spectre was made of bones and did not have blood or muscle to be absorbed, but Garnet had to at least try it. It would have made it easier to escape as well. "Let''s rest here for now," said Riley. "I agree, it''s best not to continue in the dark," said Garnet. "I might be able to see in the dark, but it still allows people with special skills to move around undetected at night." The assassin that she fought recently came to mind. With their current location, if anyone wanted to attack them, they would have to enter through the entrance to the cave. As creepy as it was to be sleeping on ground up bones, it was better than trying to move up or down the mountain. At the crack of dawn, the group continued their march up. Sleeping on the soft dirt and bone mix was not as bad as sleeping on rocks. "I hope the victims here don''t come to haunt us," said Riley. "They should be grateful that we killed that monster for them," said Garnet. "If anything, they should be thanking us for getting revenge for them." "I wouldn''t count on it," said Riley. "It''s bad luck to sleep in a cemetary." "Everything is bad luck according to someone somewhere," Garnet argued. "I should have over a thousand years'' worth at this point for all the things I''ve done. I basically just desecrated a graveyard if you think about it. That should be an eternity of bad luck by any measurement." "Enough, let''s go!" said Meliae. "Alright," said Garnet as she headed out the cave. They were barely a third of the way up the mountain. There was always going to be the potential for more traps and more problems. "Scout ahead," Garnet ordered her Cerberus. "Is something wrong?" Riley asked. "The strange feeling of this place and the undead skeleton we encountered made me suspicious," Garnet replied. "An undead creature like that must have been created by someone right?" said Riley. "Yes," said Garnet. "Do you think it''s Crossen and Xiaoming?" "It''s possible," said Riley. "Is there any other reason why it might happen?" "I heard stories about malice being gathered and given form to, but that is largely used as a story to scare children into not messing around a graveyard," said Garnet. "Who else might do something like this?" Riley asked. Garnet had to think about it for a moment. "Maybe someone in the Grey Ghosts?" The Grey Ghosts had not been seen for a long time. Ever since their failure to capture Garnet in Constantinople, a majority of them disappeared. If they were preparing for something, Mount Ararat was not too far from Constantinople and could be used as a gathering point of some kind. "What else could it be?" Riley asked. "I don''t know," said Garnet. "This whole place feels wrong." "I agree," said Meliae. "Mana should be unevenly distributed in an area and should have the presence of different elements. Here, it feels like everything has been mixed together, as if everything is the same." "Is that why you cannot sense anything?" Garnet asked Riley. "I don''t know," Riley answered. "I can feel the presence of people normally, but it feels like there''s nothing here to me." "Whatever this mountain is, it is definitely strange," said Garnet. "There''s no wildlife past the base of the mountain." "There''s only been some plants and trees," Meliae added. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The last time there was a lack of wildlife was because there was actually a plague spreading. "Is it poisonous?" Garnet asked. "No," said Meliae. "It''s just uniform mana, as if someone purposely shaped it like this." "I''m certain that there''s someone here," said Garnet. "They''re using the mana to hide their presence, but even they cannot trick the senses of most animals." As the group headed further up the mountain, the amount of plants significant decreased, eventually disappearing altogether. The rocks turned from brown to grey and there was no sign of snow despite the cold weather. "There is definitely something wrong here," said Meliae. "There should still be signs of plant life at this height. "Do you know what''s wrong?" Garnet asked. "The ground itself is corrupted," said Meliae. "It''s as if the ground was being poisoned by something." "Is it Crossen?" Garnet asked. "No," Meliae responded as she shook her head. "Corruption is different from poison. It''s like as if undead recently rose from this place." "You''re not wrong considering what we fought," said Riley. "This is different," said Meliae. "It''s like if something was draining the life directly out of its surroundings. We need to be careful as we go further in." As the group got close to crossing the line of clouds towards their destination, Garnet spotted the Cerberus that she had sent ahead. They all did not continue and were standing in front a certain spot. "What''s wrong?" Garnet asked. All of the Cerberus used their paws to point in the same direction. "Is something there?" Garnet asked. The Cerberus nodded in response. Garnet turned to Riley. "Can you feel anything?" she asked. "No," said Riley. "It''s the same as before." "How about you Meliae?" Garnet asked. "It''s definitely something strange," said Meliae. "It''s as if something had sucked the life out of everything here." Slowly, Garnet made her advance towards the summit, taking extra care to look around the corner when possible. The strange feeling was very worrying, especially when they had encountered such a large creature. If that cave was a trap, that meant that someone had created that trap. "Do you hear that?" Riley asked. "Hear what?" said Garnet. "There''s someone talking," said Riley. "Where''s it coming from?" Garnet asked. "There," said Riley as she pointed to a cave off to the side. The cave looked like the one the trap from the other one. Garnet carefully approached. She heard the voice to. She put her index finger over her mouth, signaling for Riley and Meliae to be silent. "Enough for twenty," said a stringy voice. "Excellent," a deep voice replied. "I know it''s been over fifty years since you''ve been stranded, but soon, we will be able to return to help." "I will remain here as long as you need me to Master," said the stringy voice. "How strong is their city now?" asked the deep voice. "Their numbers are growing every day, but they seem to be only gaining one or two," said the stringy voice. "That''s not a large amount, so it will not be a problem," said the deep voice. Garnet took a peek over to see who was talking. She could not believe what she saw. Inside of the cave was enormous treasures. Jewels and precious metals were stockpiled in huge amounts. As she moved further out, she saw the figure, a bone skeleton that wore a brown overcoat. In its hands was a bone staff adorned with a large red crystal. Name: Lich Level: 62 Class: Arch Mage Sub-Class: Undead Stats: High Intelligence Garnet was trying to see what the creature was talking to, but she could not see another figure. Carefully, Garnet took steps to get closer, taking extra care not to touch anything. Quest Update: Search for Hihi''irokane (II) Defeat the Lich atop Mount Ararat and secure its treasures Reward: Experience "Necro Bolt!" The Lich fired a black bolt of magic directly towards Garnet. BANG. The powerful bolt was fast and struck Garnet''s arm as she raised it to defend. Her Mana Armor managed to protect her from the attack. The Lich had sensed Garnet. As Garnet looked at the Lich, she noticed what was next to it. Its glowing green eyes matched the ball next to it. The black ball had a green eye. There was only one other time she saw something like this, the Invasion. The Lich was somehow likely connected to the Invasion. "They cannot be allowed to escape!" shouted the green eye as it disappeared. "Create Undead: Bone Vulture!" Five skeletal bird like creatures emerged from the ground. "Take care of them Cerberus!" Garnet countered with summons of her own. Her Cerberus easily tore the birds apart before they were even ready to attack. The Lich took its staff in its hand and activated the magic circle in the room. "Shadow Bolt!" A black streak of lightning fired towards Garnet. Meliae stretched out her arm as a vine and intercepted it, directing the lightning into the ground. Riley took the chance to try to restrict the Lich from using its magic. "Shadow Bind!" The Lich''s arms were tied to the side of its body. "Shadow Puppetry!" The Lich used the power of his own shadow to force his own body to move, negating the effects of Shadow Bind. His body had no flesh or muscle to be damaged. "Lightning Ray!" Garnet fired six bolts of lightning straight at the Lich. BZZT. The lightning dispersed all over its body. Without flesh and bone, Garnet''s level of lightning magic did not have many effects. "Looks like you people still don''t know how to deal with undead," said the Lich. Garnet''s magic was limited. Her primary element, lightning, lacked destructive power. Water was often not strong enough to break bones. Wind might be able to cut them. Fire was too dangerous to be used in an enclosed area. She had to at least try. "Aqua Strike!" The ball of water that formed in Garnet''s hand flew forward at an incredible speed. BANG. The force of the water was able to knock the Lich over. The Lich had gotten overconfident, making it lower its guard. Unlike the Spectre, the small body of the Lich did not have the weight to resist water. "Necro Rondo!" The Lich released a black cloud that spread outward from its body. The aura then began to focus into his staff. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired a bolt of fire straight towards his staff, aiming to disrupt the spell. The Lich withdrew its spell, having to protect its staff. "Let''s aim for the staff," said Riley. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night." Garnet transformed as well. "Transformation: Elementalist." She needed the magic power to be able to counter the Lich. "Necro Blast!" A green burst exploded outward from the Lich as it attempted to push Riley back. Riley pushed her way through it, grabbing the Lich''s staff. "Quickly!" she shouted. Meliae stretched out her roots, pulling the staff out of the Lich''s hand. "What?!?" it shouted surprised by the current events. Garnet ran up close to the Lich. She focused her mana into her hand. "Aqua Strike!" Level Up: Aqua Strike (Level 2) BANG. The burst of water struck the Lich in the chest. "GAH!" the Lich groaned. Garnet continuously fired the spell into the Lich''s chest. "RAWR!" the Lich exerted all of its strength, breaking off its own arms and abandoning its staff to fall back. The Lich manipulated its own shadows, reaching in the ground to pull out spare bones and repair itself. It attached itself with a new set of bone arms. It stretched its arm up into the air. "Necro Orb!" The orb quickly formed and it launched the orb directly at them. "Shadow Wall!" Garnet raised the wall in order to absorb the attack. It was too dangerous to risk an explosion while inside the cave. Riley closed the distance between the Lich and herself, hoping to prevent the Lich from getting an opening to attack with. "I need you to grab its torso," Garnet said to Meliae. "I''ll try," Meliae responded. "But it isn''t staying still long enough for me to use my roots through the ground." "Can you get close enough to do it with Riley?" Garnet asked. Meliae ran up to the Lich as well. The Lich was being forced into close range combat. As a magic user, it was at a disadvantage. "Aura of Fear!" the Lich shouted as it released black smoke throughout its body. It had no effect on Garnet or her allies. "That''s impossible!" shouted the Lich. "Was Riley''s own Aura of Fear interfering?" Garnet thought. It seemed like the two auras cancelled each other out. The Lich was now having to fall back into a corner. "I will not be done in by lowly spirits!" it shouted in anger. "Domain of Souls!" It spread its aura to fill the entire cave. Small blue lights appeared all around them. "Soul Devour!" The Lich absorbed all of the lights into its mouth and it began to push back. "Wind Palm!" Riley struck the Lich in the chest as hard as she could with one hand and grabbed the left arm of the Lich. "Now!" she shouted as she turned her body to the side. Meliae successfully grabbed the Lich''s right arm when it was hit by the Wind Palm. Garnet followed up on Riley''s attack. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" With both Riley and Meliae holding on to its arms, the Lich had to separate its arms again, but it was too late. Garnet was already up close to it. "No!" the Lich shouted. BOOM. The explosive power of Lightning Fire Bolt knocked all three of them aside. Level Up: Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) New Skill: Incinerate Fire a concentrated beam of fire towards your target. Ignores defenses. MP Cost: 100 per second New Skill: Lightning Blast Fire a slower, ball shaped lightning that explodes upon contact, striking everything within its range MP Cost: 300 You have leveled up! Quest Update: Search for Hihi''irokane (III) Search the treasures of the Lich Reward: Experience It was confirmation that the Lich was super dead. There was one thing Garnet needed to try. She picked herself up off the ground. "Everyone alright?" she asked. "Yeah," said Riley. "That was dangerous you know." "It worked though," Garnet argued. "And you can''t say it was stupid because it worked." Garnet walked up to the body of the Lich. She had to hurry before it disappeared. "What are you doing?" Riley asked. "I have to try," said Garnet. "Recall!" Garnet called over a Revenant. "Can you Assimilate it?" she asked. The Revenant merged into the remains of the Lich. The bones began to reassemble themselves. When the bones finished, the figure was kneeling before Garnet. "What is all this?" Garnet asked. "These are all materials that were accumulated by the Lich in order to prepare for the arrival of its Master," said the Lich. As Garnet took a closer look, she looked at all the materials assembled. There was a huge amount of gold coins and various types of metals. "Is there any Hihi''irokane here?" Garnet asked. The Lich pointed at the orb on top of the staff. "There''s one there," it said. "And another here," it said as it got up and walked over to the pile of gold coins, tossing many of them aside. "Are you in any way connected to Crossen?" Garnet asked. "No," said the Lich. "This body used to work for the Guide, Angol, but it never saw its Master." That bit of information confirmed what Garnet had thought earlier. The Lich was indeed connected to the Invasions, but was created on this world. "Here it is," said the Lich. Garnet saw it. A small, fist sized chunk of bright red crystal. "Is this it?" she asked. The Lich nodded. Garnet realized she needed a name for the Lich. "Do you have a name?" she asked. "No," the Lich responded. "Do you have a preference?" Garnet asked. "No," said the Lich. "Do you mind if I give you a name?" Garnet asked. "No," said the Lich. "Can you say anything else besides no?" Garnet inquired. "Yes," said the Lich. "But the Lich and the Revenants exist to serve our Master." "How about Raphael?" Garnet asked. "Is that okay with you?" "Then I shall refer to myself as such from now on," said Raphael. "Let''s clear all of this out," said Garnet. "I''m sure we can make use of all of these materials in the future." Meliae, Riley, and Raphael all gathered the materials into Garnet''s storage ring. The gem on the ring suddenly changed color and expanded. She could feel the amount of mana from the materials flow outward of the ring. The precious materials gathered inside of it leaked some its power onto the ring. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 41 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Temptress of the Night Stats: HP: 3100/3100 MP: 10860/10860 Fame: 220 Strength: 97 (+5) Dexterity: 62 (+7) Intelligence: 311 (+22) Vitality: 90 (+5) Agility: 104 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Blood Absorption (Level 7) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Dance of Blood (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Temptress of the Night): - Enhanced Body (Level 3) - Captivation: (Level 3) - Mind Read: (Level 1) - Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) - Sexy Walk (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Alluring Song (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Fear (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1)
Book 6: Chapter 049 - Guardian of Metal I only just realized that the new formatting here kind of messed up spell check as well >.> --------------------------------------------------- After Garnet returned to Constantinople, she could not help but look at all the materials the Lich Raphael had collected. There were two large chunks of Hihi''irokane, the material that Garnet was looking for. On top of that, there was a huge amount of gold, and numerous random metals and crystals. There was also black metal similar to the Hihi''irokane called Orihalcum, and a white metal similar to the Hihi''irokane called Mithril. Without the knowledge to actually process the materials, it was impossible to do anything with them for now. "Do you know how to process these metals?" Garnet asked Zedd. "No," said Zedd. "These materials are extraordinarily rare. Did you check with Serena?" "She said that we needed to open the hidden door of the Vault in order to do it," Garnet replied. "Any ideas how?" Zedd asked. Garnet shook her head. "It''s impossible without the Guardian of Metal," said Garnet. "Serena did not know what happened to the Guardian of Metal, she supposedly disappeared during the Invasion about fifty years ago. Since then, there was nothing." "Do you know what this guardian looks like?" asked Zedd. "If you did, maybe we could find them?" Garnet headed to the library where she found Riley and Serena, still rummaging through the books for the right spells. "Serena, do you have any idea what the Guardian of Metal looks like?" she asked. Serena headed towards the back of the library. "Follow me," she said. "Where are we going?" Garnet asked. "Our generation of guardians was based on numerous experiments," Serena explained. "We were mostly slaves, offered up by our Masters in order to become artificial Heroes to protect our city." "Artificial Heroes?" said Garnet. "The Hero Summoning was considered as unreliable, so the people of Constantinople sought another way," said Serena. "This was the origin of the Guardians. In exchange for some of our free will, we are granted immense power." "How many generations of Guardians have their been?" Garnet asked. "Three since they started keeping track," said Serena. "Yours will be the fourth." Serena placed her hand on the blank wall. A blue five petal flower appeared as her hand slipped right through the wall. "This is the only hidden room, that I have access too," she said as she pulled out a book. "What is this book?" Garnet asked. "It is the document of every known Guardian of Constantinople since the city started keeping track of them," said Serena. Garnet opened the book. The first on the list was a young boy about ten years of age with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was named: T-308. His element, earth. Next was a young man with reddish skin and black hair. N-44, the Guardian of Wood. "Can you just show me who I should be looking for?" Garnet asked. Serena flipped the book several pages over. "She is the one you''re looking for," said Serena. "It can''t be," said Garnet as she looked at the picture. It was Anna. The same Anna that was taking care of her kids. "Riley!" Garnet shouted as she ran back. "Wait what is it?" Serena asked. "I think I know her," said Garnet. "Riley!" she shouted again. Riley came running. "What is it?" she asked. "Is this Anna?" Garnet asked as she pointed to the picture. Riley looked at the picture of the person. "It does look a little like her, but she has longer hair in this picture." "Zedd!" Garnet shouted. "I know you''re in here!" Zedd jumped down from one of the areas higher up in the library and floated down. "What is it?" he asked. "Is this Anna?" Garnet asked as she pointed to the picture. Zedd looked closely at it. "I think so," he said. "I have to know," said Garnet. "Teleportation Summoning Circle! Teleport!" Garnet immediately headed back to the castle of Antium. When Garnet arrived in the throne room, there was no one there. Two guards stood outside and bowed to Garnet as she walked by. "Where''s Anna?" she asked. "The same place as usual, with your children," said one of the guards. "Thank you," said Garnet as she walked off. "Did you see her enter?" asked the other guard. "No," said the first guard. "I hope we don''t get in trouble for this," said the other guard. Garnet ran over to Anna''s room as quickly as she could. She knocked on the door. The door slowly opened as Anna stepped out. "They''re sleeping," she said. "I came to speak with you today," said Garnet. "What''s wrong?" Anna asked. "Guardian of Metal?" Garnet quietly asked. Anna''s face suddenly changed. "So you know who I am," said Anna. "What are you?" Garnet asked. "I am an artificial metal spirit," Anna explained. "My generation of Guardians were all artificial elemental spirits." "Why did you not say anything?" Garnet asked. "It''s not something I want to remember," said Anna. "Do you remember what I told you?" "You''re tired of fighting," said Garnet. "I remember." "I severed my connection to Constantinople during its fall," Anna explained. "Why?" Garnet asked. "Serena was looking for you." "I know," said Anna. "But I don''t want to go back. If I go back, it will be my duty to become the Hero''s weapon once again." "I won''t make you if you don''t want to go back," said Garnet. "Besides, I feel safer with you watching over my children." "Thanks," said Anna. "So may I ask what you are here for today?" "The hidden door of the Vault," said Garnet. "Serena said you have access to it." "How bad is it for you to need to open it?" Anna asked. "What is in the Vault?" Garnet asked. She had no idea what Anna was referring to. "The Hidden Vault is the official name of it given by Master Assad," said Anna. "It contains the great weapon that he was working on before he ascended." "There are at least two groups of enemies that are after me and Constantinople right now," said Garnet. "The first is the Grey Ghosts, who said the allied forces of Anzio would descened upon the city. The second is a group of Dark Mages. And, I think there might be another Invasion soon." "That is bad," said Anna. "But do not worry, I will protect this region no matter what." "Did you know that I was the Hero?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Anna. "As a former Guardian, I could sense off the unique aura that you gave off in addition to your ability to make natural creatures you kill respawn." "I give off an aura?" said Garnet. "I never knew that." "It''s only something an artificial Guardian that went through the Rebirth process can do," said Anna. "So that''s why you and Serena can sense me," said Garnet as she realized how Serena knew. "You''re quite a good actress by the way. I really thought that you were surprised by my special ability." "I''ve had time to practice," said Anna. "Thank you for not forcing me back." "I will not force you to do something against your will," said Garnet. "You''re a good friend and I trust you." "And I will trust you," said Anna as she took a black ring out of her storage ring. She handed the ring to Garnet. "What is this?" Garnet asked. "The key to the Hidden Vault of Constantinople," said Anna. "I know I called it a key even though it is a ring, but that''s what it is used for." "Do I just put it on?" Garnet asked. "Use it with your Map," said Anna. "Follow the light of the ring." "Do you know where the hidden rooms of Constantinople are then?" Garnet asked. "Heh, the hidden rooms is a joke that Master Assad liked to play on everyone," said Anna. "The only hidden rooms are the ones available to each Guardian." "But, Serena kept the book of past Guardians and you kept Master Assad''s weapons locked away," said Garnet. "Does that mean there''s three more?" "Well if you really want to know," said Anna. "Don''t blame me if it ruins your image of the Hero." Garnet really wanted to know. "What could it possibly be?" she asked. "One is dirty magazines," said Anna. "..." Garnet was speechless. "You''re serious?" she asked. "Yes," said Anna. "Dirty magazines. As a Hero, he was not allowed to have martial relations by the city until much later in his life because they were afraid he would prioritize his family over his duties. As a concession, they at least allowed him to have dirty pictures and magazines. It didn''t help that both me and Serena worked with him often." "And the other two?" Garnet asked. "One contains Master Assad''s favorite snacks, probably expired by now and one is his private quarters," said Anna. "Those are the five hidden rooms of Constantinople." "Where is the Hidden Vault?" Garnet asked Anna. "Put on the ring and walk around in the vault," Anna explained. "Follow the light. If it gets brighter, you''re getting close. If it dims, you''re moving away." For a short time, Garnet imagined Constantinople as a city filled with secrets and treasures. She knew now that the only treasures were the Ark and the knowledge contained within it. The rest were remnants of an abandoned city. "Why doesn''t Serena know this?" Garnet asked. "Serena took her job way too seriously," Anna replied. "In fact, the other Guardians did as well, so Master Assad only told me about this because he was worried about the shock that would happen to them." Garnet was shocked by this too. If the other Guardians who dedicated their life to protect Constantinople knew this, they would probably react negatively as well. She needed to immediately get this out of her mind as well. "You said you''re a spirit of metal right?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Anna. "An artificial one, but I can do what most normal spirits do as well." "Were most of Constantinople''s Guardians made like you?" Garnet asked. "Some humanoid ones were," Anna responded. "Some were immensely strong creatures or spirits, others were made from scratch." Garnet took out the Hihi''irokane. "Can you process this into Liquid Bio-Metal Zi?" she asked. "For the automata?" Anna asked. "Yes," Garnet confirmed. "Do you have the other metals?" Anna asked. "Other metals?" said Garnet. "What other metals?" "The Hihi''irokane needs to be combined with Orihalcum and Mithril to be made into Liquid Bio-Metal Zi," Anna explained. "I have all three," said Garnet. "A Lich had all three in its possession and it was speaking to an eye like the one overlooking the city during the Invasion." "Then it''s good you took it," said Anna. "It was likely they were trying to create this metal as well." "What''s so special about this metal?" Garnet asked. "It''s a liquid metal can be injected into anything in order to increase their abilities by increasing their sensitivity to different types of energies like mana," said Anna. "You can turn a nobody into a gifted mage. A gifted mage could become an incredible one." Garnet had a thought. "Would it work on me?" she asked. "It works on anything," said Anna. "Are you sure you want to do it? If you do, I can make an injection for you." Garnet remembered Adam had used something like an injection before. "Do mages use things like this often?" she asked. "When a person''s strength reaches a bottleneck, they will try to do different things to reach the next level," Anna explained. "There are some items that do have side effects, like injecting your body with poison over time to give yourself poisonous attacks would weaken your endurance in the long run." Garnet realized that was most likely what Xiaomei had done. "Did you do anything like that?" she asked. "How do you think Guardians of Constantinople are made?" Anna asked. "We''re injected with this stuff as well." "Are there any side effects?" Garnet asked. "Just a little pain," said Anna. "That''s why this material is so precious. It''s called a bio-metal because it works with people or objects." "Do it," said Garnet. She needed the strength. The Grey Ghosts had lots of combat experience and were stronger than her. Xiaomei had the speed and skill to overcome Garnet''s strength. She was falling behind in terms of power compared to the others. "Let''s go somewhere with few people," said Anna. "Is it okay to leave them in there?" Garnet asked as she pointed to the room behind Anna. "There''s two other maids working with them, they''ll be fine," said Anna. "This way," said Anna as she pulled Garnet by the hand. The two headed to Zedd''s room in the castle. "Should we be using it without his permission?" Garnet asked. "He lets Rito and his friends use it all the time," said Anna. "He won''t mind if we borrow it for a second." "What do I have to do?" Garnet asked. "Nothing," said Anna. "Just throw everything in the pot." Garnet carefully placed the Hihi''irokane, Orihalcum, and Mithril into the cauldron that was normally used for magicraft. "It''s in," she said. "You don''t have to be careful with that stuff," said Anna. "They''re durable and I''m going to be melting them down anyways." "Work your magic then, oh great Guardian of Metal," said Garnet sarcastically. "Real funny," said Anna. She pushed Garnet to the side. "Just stand back and watch." Anna raised both her hands and stretched out her fingers. She straightened her hands and began to press them together. The metal in the pot began to react to the movements. When it was done, the red crystal had turned into a bright piece of red metal. "Step one done," said Anna. "How many steps are there?" Garnet asked. "Three," said Anna. "Step two begins now." Anna superheated the pot. The whole thing glowed orange. The black and white metals in the pot melted into the red one, turning the whole thing into one large shiny silver ingot. "I don''t think something like that could be placed inside a person''s body without killing them," said Garnet. "Just wait until I''m done," said Anna. The metal slowly melted as the heat died down. "I thought metals were supposed to melt at high temperatures, not low ones," said Garnet. "Liquid Bio-Metal Zi is something very unique," said Anna. "No matter how much people have experimented or tried to tweak the recipe, it hasn''t worked. It is something very unique and does not follow traditional laws of physics." When the metal completely cooled, it turned into a silver colored liquid. No matter how she looked at it, Garnet could not help but think that it was something poisonous. "Are you sure it''s okay to be injected into a person''s body?" she asked. "Yes," said Anna. "It''s how the Guardians of Constantinople are made." "Can each of the automata become as powerful as a Guardian?" Garnet asked. "I wish," said Anna. "But sadly, the core of the city cannot support such a powerful army." Garnet watched as Anna took out a needle and filled it with the silver liquid. "You''re sure this is safe right?" Garnet asked. "I injected mana into your body to awaken your Mana Armor last time," said Anna. "This should hurt less than that." It was not very comforting for Garnet. When Anna awakened Garnet''s Mana Armor, Garnet collapsed onto the floor in pain. Garnet braced herself for the pain as she looked away from the needle. "I''m ready," said Garnet. Anna inserted the needle into Garnet''s forearm. Garnet felt a little pain as the liquid entered her body. "It''s going to take a few minutes before it goes into effect," said Anna as she disposed of the needle and took out a huge jug. "No need to store it," said Garnet as she opened her Minion Development Menu. She activated the Mana Conduit upgrade on the automata. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. A system message appeared. Select an option: Class: Enforcer An offensive class focused automata that specializes in high speed and high attack. Class: Protector A defensive class focused automata that specializes in high defense and support. Class: Judge A balanced class that has average stats, but a greater sense of independent action. Garnet selected Judge. It would be best if the automata continued acting on their own and required less management. Class Change: Automaton -> Automaton Judge Automata can now gain experience. "A thousand soldiers," Garnet said. "That''s what I just created in an instant." The thought of such an ability was frightening. However, this might give Constantinople the power it needed to stop people from raiding the city all the time. "A legendary material, almost all gone in an instant," said Anna. "Like always." Garnet looked over and saw a few drops left. "How did you know there was enough for me?" "I did this for Master Assad as well," said Anna. "You might want to sit down as well." "I knew it," said Garnet. "It''s gonna hurt isn''t it?" she asked. "Maybe," said Anna. FWOOSH. "Gah!" Garnet screamed as her wings bursted from her back, unable to retract them. "It''s starting," said Anna calmly as she crossed her legs to watch. "What''s happening to me?" Garnet groaned. "Master Assad referred to it as Secondary Evolution," said Anna. "It''s when your transformation somehow mutates and grants you new abilities. It usually happens when you use your transformations enough." Garnet recognized it as what happened to Adam. Adam had used some type of injection to be able to transform into a dragon. Garnet used the bio-metal instead. "Will I remain human?" Garnet asked. "Yes," Anna replied. "It would be pointless if this thing turned you into a monster entirely. Most people don''t even change their appearance. It might change your transformation though." Skill Upgrade: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) -> Quintessence Force (Level 1) Your body generates its own energy, rate of mana regeneration is enhanced by both intelligence and vitality Effect: Mana Regeneration Bonus of (Intelligence + Vitality) per second It was continuing. Garnet''s head was burning. As she looked, her hair turned white and then back to black. "UGH!" Garnet groaned as horns bursted from the sides of her head. The pain that spread throughout her body was like the one she had during her early transformations. Anna was right, Garnet''s transformation was changing, and Garnet could feel it throughout her body. Skill Upgrade: Aura of Fear (Level 2) + Dance of Blood (Level 1) -> Aura of Nightmares (Level 1) All enemy stats down 10%, negates all enemy passives Skill Upgrade: Enhanced Body (Level 3) -> Supernatural Body (Level 1) All Stats +10, Immunity to abnormal status Skill Upgrade: Mind Read (Level 1) -> Cosmic Awareness (Level 1) Allows you to read the intent of others without having to have physical contact with them. Does not work on individuals with strong magic resistance. MP Cost: 100 per second Skill Upgrade: Pleasure Inducement (Level 3) + Alluring Song (Level 1) + Sexy Walk (Level 1) -> Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) In addition to being able to weaken the will of others near you through arousal, it is possible to add their will to to your own, increasing your strength MP Cost: 100 Skill Upgrade: Scale Armor (Level 2, Passive) -> Plate Armor (Level 1) Your body is covered by a thin but sturdy shell that protects you from both physical and magical damage Effect: Damage Reduced from All Attacks by 50% Sub-Class Change: Temptress of the Night -> Queen of the Night Skill Upgrade: Blood Absorption (Level 7) -> Essence Absorption (Level 1) Allows you to analyze and absorb any fallen entity, restoring your health and mana. It can also unlock new abilities, but you have a choice whether to accept the ability or reject it. Skill Upgrade: Transformation: Temptress of the Night + Transformation: Blood Reaper + Transformation: Elementalist -> Transformation: Queen of the Night Allows the user to transform into a Queen Succubus. It has even greater power than a normal Temptress of the Night. All stats are increased by one point for every five intelligence. MP Cost: Maximum Mana reduced by 50% while active Skill Unlocked: Fire Breath (Level 1) Allows you to breathe air and expel it as fire, no need for voice activation or incantations MP Cost: 100 per second Skill Unlocked: Aqua Breath (Level 1) Allows you to breathe air and expel it as water, no need for voice activation or incantations MP Cost: 100 per second Skill Unlocked: Wind Breath (Level 1) Allows you to breathe air and expel it as a powerful gust of wind, no need for voice activation or incantations MP Cost: 100 per second Skill Unlocked: Lightning Breath (Level 1) Allows you to breathe air and expel it as a burst of lightning, no need for voice activation or incantations MP Cost: 100 per second Skill Unlocked: Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) Allows you to breath a combination of fire, lightning, and wind, no need for voice activation or incantations MP Cost: 1000 per second Garnet breathed heavily as she recovered from the transformation. She stumbled to get back on her feet. "Congratulations on your Second Evolution," said Anna. Garnet looked at her own body. Her hands were shaped more like a normal person''s rather than claws though her feet still looked more monster like than human. Parts of the black scales fused into a thin smooth layer instead of being rough, giving her more flexibility and making it easier to move. It resembled the plate armor that Nian had, but was pitch black in color. "Can I get a mirror?" Garnet asked. She still needed to look at her face. Anna handed Garnet the mirror and Garnet stared into it. Her head now had a pair of black horns, but her face resembled her untransformed face more. Her hair still reached down to the floor like the previous. Her eyes were normal, her face was normal. There were black marks that stretched to her cheeks She could still be recognized as Garnet when transformed. "It looks a little like a mix between your old transformation and your normal self," said Anna as she looked over Garnet''s shoulder. "It feels incredible," said Garnet. "It''ll take your body a while to adapt to the changes," said Anna. "Until then you shouldn''t fight in this form." "What happens if I fight in this form?" Garnet asked. "Your mana will drain incredibly quickly and it will not last long," said Anna. "New transformations tend to do that and it will leave you weak." "I never knew that," said Garnet. "That was why you were bedridden for so long just from maintaining a partial transformation and why you healed from it so fast once you were able to stop it," Anna explained. "How long does it take?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know," said Anna as she shook her head. "It''s different for each person. For now, maintain the transformation, but don''t fight in the form," said Anna. "Your body will adapt to it quicker." "Thanks for the information," said Garnet. "Now, I think I should head back." "Don''t forget to stop by some time," said Anna. "I''ll try, but I''m worried my presence will draw attention to Antium," said Garnet. "Oh those grey cloaked people already know," said Anna. "They''ve tried to get in many times, but every time, I will stop them." "Is Ruby okay in Anzio?" Garnet asked. "She''s safe," said Anna. "I made sure of it." "How did you do that?" Garnet wondered. Anna took out a pair of bracelets. Each one had a blue crystal in them. "See these?" Anna asked. "Yes," said Garnet. Anna pulled out a sword and struck her arm with it. CLANG. The entire sword bounced right off of her arm. "Ruby has this and so does Leeroy," said Anna. "That''s a relief," said Garnet. "But what if they aren''t wearing it?" "The effects are absorbed into the person over time," said Anna. "It eventually becomes a passive ability for the wearer." "That''s incredible," said Garnet. "It''s something that only the top magicrafters can make," Anna explained. "Don''t worry about the safety of Antium or your children, I promise you I will protect them no matter what," said Anna as she placed her hand on Garnet''s shoulder. "Aren''t you weakened without the protection of Constantinople and the power of the Guardians?" asked Garnet. "Did you forget what I did after I left Constantinople?" Anna asked. Garnet remembered Anna traveled the world as a member of the Guild. She had reached diamond rank during her travels. Garnet could not even make it out of copper, the lowest set of ranks, due to the lack of requests. For Anna to have done that, it would have required many years. "Thank you for your help," said Garnet. "Any time," said Anna. "Do you want the remaining drops as well?" she asked pointing to the pot with the remaining Liquid Bio-Metal Zi. "Is there anything that I can do with that little?" Garnet asked. Anna put her finger to her chin as she thought. "Oh I know!" she said as she clapped her hands together. Garnet watched as Anna shaped the remaining Liquid Bio-Metal Zi into small round drops. They solidified into tiny beads. Anna attached them onto a pair of earrings, handing one to Garnet. "Here you go," she said. Name: Anna''s Ear Pin Class: Mythical Effects : ??? "What is it?" Garnet asked as she looked at it. There were numerous tiny little markings all over it, including something that resembled a magic circle. "Hold onto it," said Anna as she pinned it onto the hole on her ear. "What does it do?" Garnet asked as she stored it inside her Inventory. "If you ever run into an emergency, channel your mana into it," said Anna. "It will create a copy of me at a fraction of my power." "Thank you," said Garnet. "Your family has done more for me than I can ever repay you for," said Anna as she hugged Garnet. "Promise me you will take care of yourself." "I will," said Garnet as she held onto Anna''s arms. "I''m glad you''re part of my family." "Me too," said Anna. "If Constantinople is facing a true threat, then you need to be ready. Hurry and retrieve Master Assad''s weapon." "Alright," said Garnet. "Tell Charles I wanted to say ''hi.''" "I will," said Anna. "Teleportation!" Garnet returned to Constantinople with the key to the Hidden Vault in hand. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 41 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 3100/3100 MP: 10860/10860 Fame: 220 Strength: 97 (+5) Dexterity: 62 (+7) Intelligence: 311 (+22) Vitality: 90 (+5) Agility: 104 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1)
Book 6: Chapter 050 - The Hidden Vault Garnet returned to Constantinople. "Was it Anna?" Riley asked. "It was," said Garnet. "Is she coming back?" Serena asked as she grabbed onto Garnet''s arms. "No," Garnet replied. "She said she doesn''t want to fight anymore and I accepted her decision." Serena looked sad all of a sudden. "You need her don''t you?" she asked. "She gave me this," said Garnet as she took out the black ring that Anna gave her. "That''s the key she was responsible for," said Serena. "You should be able to open the hidden area of the Vault." "I have to find it first," said Garnet. "Any ideas where?" "No," said Serena. "Only Master Assad did." Garnet had the clues given to her by Anna. As long as she wore the ring, she could find the Hidden Vault by following the glow of the ring. "I''ll need to start looking then," said Garnet as she slipped on the black ring. "By the way, have you guys found anything interesting in this library?" "No ressurection spell," said Riley. "No human transmutation either." "That''s rough," said Garnet. "I don''t really mind that anymore," said Riley. "I care more about space time magic that will bring me back." "But won''t your family and friends be unable to recognize you?" asked Garnet. "That''s fine if I have my memories," said Riley. "I remember only a little, but I think it is returning." "That''s good news," said Garnet. "If you can remember anything important, I will try my best to help you." "Thanks," said Riley. Garnet turned around and headed out the library to the Vault. Somewhere within the Vault was the Hidden Vault. The key was Anna''s black ring. The Vault itself was enormous. It looked like a hallway from the entrance, but it split up in numerous different directions and it was possible to get lost in there. Garnet was only able to navigate it with the help of the Map. Somewhere in the Vault was what she was looking for. As Garnet stepped into the Vault, she looked at the ring. There was no light from it. She tried to point her finger with the ring in different directions, hoping it would react. Again, there was nothing. "I had hoped it was going to be easy," she said to herself as she began to walk forward. Garnet kept her eye on the ring as she moved, hoping to get some kind of reaction from the ring. At the first intersection, she tried to point it in each of the four cardinal directions. There was no reaction from the ring. "Does this thing even work?" she thought. Since she came from the East, she decided to head North to the next intersection. As Garnet walked along, she could not help but think about how strangely quiet it was. The only people who were in the Ark were Garnet, Zedd, Riley, and Serena. Everyone else was above ground. Serena had somehow survived in an environment like this for many years, mostly by herself as well. "Hello?" said Garnet. "Hello?" Garnet''s voice echoed back. When it stopped, Garnet continued forward towards the next intersection. She turned her hand with the ring again, trying to get at least some idea of where she needed to go. She could not sense where it was either. However, this also provide Garnet with some time as she searched. "Transformation: Queen of the Night!" Garnet transformed in order to spend more time in this form. It capped her mana and was temporarily weaker than it was supposed to be because it was a new transformation. She would have to spend some time transformed in order to draw out its full power according to Anna. Garnet turned around back to the first intersection and headed South, hoping the ring would provide a response. There was nothing. "I really hope this thing isn''t broken," Garnet said to herself. Garnet continued to make her way through the Vault along a snake path, hoping that the ring would show some sign to guide her. After a while, a faint white light appeared on the ring. Against the black background of the ring, it was easy to notice the change. Garnet raised the ring and tried to point it in different directions. Left? Right? Straight ahead? The strongest light was from the right. It was strange. According to the map, the right was somewhere she had already passed by. It should have lit up earlier if it was to the right. Nonetheless, Garnet headed towards it. After all, the ring was the one that guided her. It was possible that the Vault itself was a puzzle within a maze and the ring was guide towards the exit. Garnet used the Map in order to trace her movement through the maze. The route that she was making resembled an octagon of some kind. It was similar to a magic circle, but with straight points instead of being a curved path. The ring then guided Garnet to a completely different direction, away from the route that she just took. Following it led Garnet to a dead end. "There''s nothing here?" she thought as she looked. "No that''s not right." The ring was surely bringing her there for a reason. It was glowing brighter than ever before. Thinking about all the doors that Serena had activated, Garnet placed her left hand on the wall. The two petals on her hand lit up and the completed magic circle lit up on the wall. It was a security system that was highly problematic. It would be impossible to access in times of an emergency. As the entire wall moved downward into the ground, it was pitch black, even for Garnet. The only thing she could see was a white path lit up from the entrance to a sub-crystal in the back of the room. She followed it and touched the sub-crystal. Activate the sub-crystal? Yes/No Garnet pushed yes. Lightning began to flow into the tubes located along the wall of the room. The entire room lit up. The white path reached the back wall of the room and spread along it. The back wall of the room slid open into another room. Inside was a single large tube in the center of it. On the side was a desk with a clock on it and numerous bookshelves with about a few dozen books in total scattered between them. Against the back wall were dozens of swords. "What is that?" she thought as she approached the tube. Garnet approached the tube and looked inside of it. It was filled with some kind of liquid. Inside of it was a figure that she could not make out. It looked like it was the shape of a woman, but she was not sure. She needed a closer look in order to know for sure. The liquid prevented the person from being clearly seen, but it was clear that the person inside was not moving. Name: ??? Level: ??? Class: ??? Sub-Class ??? Stats: ??? There was no information, but it was clearly something living, otherwise Garnet would not be able to see its stats. New Quest: New Guardian (I) Complete the work needed to awaken the Silver Guardian. Reward: New Guardian There was a quest for it, but she had no idea where to start. Assad was fairly secretive with his work. The clues were most likely going to be in the books since the person in the tube was still a work in progress. For now, Garnet needed to find the weapon. It should have been somewhere in here as well. The back wall had hundreds of different swords with their sheaths just piled together as if they were trash. Next to it was a pot like the one that was used for magicraft. Garnet picked up the one on top and took a close look at it. The hilt was white. The blade of it was a shiny silver color as if it was never used before. The sheath itself was made of redwood. Name: Harpe Replica Quality: Legendary Effect: Indestructible Garnet took a look at another sword. One that had a green blade and was adorned with gold. There was a Mana Crystal embedded on the hilt. Name: Gandring Replica Quality: Legendary Effect: Ignores Armor It was another replica. All of these weapons were replicas like the ones Anna had. Name: Caladbolg Replica Quality: Legendary Effect: Piercing, Extended Range All of them were legendary as well. Somewhere in this room was the weapon that Assad made, but none of these looked like it. Otherwise, they would not be piled together here like they were junk. The fact that all the weapons piled there were swords made it almost certain that Assad''s weapon was a sword. "Level 42," said a voice. Garnet turned around and saw a middle aged man. He had a scruffy beard and brown skin. He wore a white cloth wrapped around his head and a fairly dirty brown robe. "Who are you?!?" Garnet shouted. Name: ??? Level: ??? Class: ??? Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? Garnet could not see any stats of the man either. "Shh, keep your voice down Garnet," said the man. "How do you know my name?" Garnet demanded. "I''ve been waiting for you to find this room," said the man. "Answer my question," said Garnet. "I''m the man that the others refer to as Assad," said the man. "Hero and Master Assad?" Garnet asked. "How is that possible?" she asked. "Can''t there only be one Hero in a world?" "Yes, but I technically left this world more than fifty years ago," said Assad. "I heard stories, but how can I know for sure you are Assad?" Garnet asked. Assad reached his hand into the air and pulled out a white and gold sword. "This is my Inventory," he said. "I can also read your stats as a Chaos Mage and see all of your skills." Garnet had many questions for him. "Why did you leave this city?" she asked. "The source of the Invasion cannot be stopped in this world," Assad replied. "Which is why I left it to try to fight it at its source." "It doesn''t seem to have worked," said Garnet. "They still occur." "How far apart are they?" Assad asked. "They said five years, but I''ve only seen one," said Garnet. "Then we still have time," said Assad. "Time for what?" Garnet wondered. Assad placed his hand on the desk and channeled his mana into it. A timer appeared on the clock. It was constantly moving up and down. "This will show an estimated time that an Invasion will occur," said Assad. "I''ve been holding back various armies with my own, but I cannot fight against all of them forever. I even occasionally have to let the weaker enemies slip through to the East." "If you can''t win, what chance do I have?" said Garnet. "I will buy you time to train, to develop your army, and to rebuild this city into the great fortress it once was," said Assad. "When it is, you should be able to defeat whatever comes with your own abilities." "What is the goal of the Guides?" Garnet asked. "That''s simple, to become stronger," said Assad. "Why attack this world then?" Garnet asked. "You gain more experience from fighting higher level enemies right?" said Assad. "Yes," said Garnet. "So what happens if you send in a large amount of monsters for them to fight?" Assad asked. "The survivors get experience and level up to become stronger," Garnet replied. "Then when you''re strong enough, they will come to kill you and gain that experience," Assad added. "They have been using this method to develop worlds like farms." "What chance do I have if even you cannot beat them?" said Garnet. "It seems impossible when there are enemies around me that I cannot beat." "That is why I am here," said Assad. "I''m going to grant you the power you need to stand against them." Garnet looked at Assad. "How?" Assad looked at the pile of swords. "Call: Lilith! Call: Aion! Call: Uru! Call: Zuvelk! Call: Luplus! Call: Silwest! Call: Nymph! Call: Grupt! Call: Fanatos! Call: Eital! Call: Plua! Call: Faustus! Call: Uryu!" Assad summoned thirteen different elemental spirits. Unlike Garnet''s, some where male and others were female. "So many...," said Garnet as she was surprised. She only had four elemental spirits not counting Serena and Nian. Adding them, she only had six. Assad moved all the swords to the pot and the spirits went to work. "This is going to take a few minutes, but I''m going to have to leave after," he said. "I will answer any questions I can while I am here." "Why can''t you stay and help?" Garnet asked. "If I stayed here, the Guides will be able to send in much more of their forces to attack this world and a few others," Assad explained. "The only one I can directly interefere in right now is this world because of my connection to it. I can also destroy most of their forces by matching it with my own." "And the others?" Garnet asked. "I''ve provided what information I can to them in order to fight back," said Assad. "However, without a Hero System like in this one, their power to fight back is much weaker. The most I can do is try to intercept the stronger armies and let the worlds fight the weaker ones." "Are there others like you?" Garnet asked. "Overseers like me are greatly outnumbered because of the sheer number of Guides out there," said Assad. "Which is why you must become strong enough to join us in the future." The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "It takes a long time," said Garnet. "I just don''t have the time or resources to become strong." "I''m afraid you must," said Assad. "To the East is a constant Invasion, one that has been bottlenecked so that it is slow to advance. That is where you must go." "Why there?" Garnet asked. "The bottleneck makes it so that only a few enemies appear at regular intervals, but it means that it is also possible to train and gain experience from them because of their manageable numbers," Assad explained. "If you hunt those creatures, you can surely become stronger faster." "It still doesn''t seem enough if those Guides are coming," said Garnet. "That is where the next part comes in," said Assad. "There is a hidden option in the System Menu, some of which will only appear at level 100, you will get a choice." New Menu: Exchange "What choice?" Garnet asked. "What do I have to choose between?" "Choose Ascension," said Assad. "What''s the others?" Garnet asked. "Why have this choice?" "It is something the Hero System gave so that they have an option to pass their duties onto another instead of being bound to it for life," Assad replied. "The first choice is Rebirth, in which you are reborn into the world but without your Hero abilities so that you can live a normal life once more and your duties will be passed on to the next person. The second is Ascension in which your level is reset to one, but you are made stronger. The third is the Exchange, where you can reduce your level, but have a wish granted based on the levels and fame that you have accumulated." "How is that possible?" Garnet asked. "The Hero System itself is sentient to a degree as a mid-level reality warping spell," Assad explained. Garnet realized that would explain why the Hero System generated quests based on her own thoughts sometimes and on one occasion even granted her abilities based on the circumstances. The question now was why did it not always generate quests in order to give her the advantage she needed.¡°Are there limits to the Exchange?¡° Garnet asked. ¡°Almost none,¡° said Assad. ¡°The only limit to the Exchange is based on how many levels you have accumulated. With enough levels you can do anything.¡° Garnet would have to create a gift for the next Hero someday and leave this world one day to join the struggle. It was either that or to lose her memories and live a normal life. On the other hand, the wish could also give Riley what she wanted more than anything, her own life and world back. Garnet quickly opened the Exchange Menu ans saw the Level Market, a place that you could buy things in exchange for your levels. There were some features that allowed Garnet to trade levels for new skills or items. At the very bottom, was an option called "Wish." She pressed on it and a system dialogue appeared: "Speak your wish." "What would it take to send Riley back to her world with her memories?" Garnet asked. A system dialogue message appeared: 60 Levels to grant this wish. Yes/No The "Yes" button was greyed out because Garnet did not have the levels. "What are you doing?" Assad asked. "Keeping a promise I made," Garnet replied. "However, I don''t have the levels for it." "That may be unwise," said Assad. "We need you and other potential Heroes to join the Overseers to that we can combat the threat of the guides." "You may have been a Hero in name, but I think you forget what it means to act like one," Garnet countered. "In the last few years, I have been in a huge number of fights, more than anyone should experience in a single lifetime. War changes people and causes us to see things a different way. Even if you ask me to join you, this is my world and my home. It is my duty to protect it, not to raise a successor to take my place." "The decision is ultimately yours to make," said Assad. "That is the principle of the Overseers and I will abide by it. However, I highly recommend you reconsider and focus on joining us." Garnet felt a sudden burst of mana as the weapon was completed. A single black and gold sword remained. "What is that?" she asked. "This was my final creation," said Assad. "I split it into numerous smaller weapons through magicraft so that others could not find it." "What were you going to do if one was stolen?" Garnet asked. "You can''t leave this room with any of the incomplete ones, they will simply shatter in your hands and reappear here," Assad explained. "Then how can I use this if I cannot even leave the room with it?" Garnet wondered. "Take a close look at the sword," said Assad. Name: ??? Quality: ??? Effect: ??? "I cannot see any information about it," said Garnet. "Exactly," said Assad. "Only I know how to use it," he said as he took the sword into his hand. "Then it won''t be a help to me will it?" Garnet said sarcastically. Assad took the sword and stabbed it into Garnet''s mana resevoir. There was no pain. Instead, there was a surge of mana flowing throughout her body as she was able to see her own veins glow yellow from the energy. "What are you doing?" Garnet asked. The sword disappeared. "I''ve used it on you," said Assad. "You should be receiving the skills soon." Numerous windows appeared in front of Garnet, showing all the skills she acquired. New Skill: Thaumaturgy (Passive) Grants access to Miracle Class abilities. New Skill: Magic Negation (Passive) It is possible to cut through or disperse enemy spells if your spells are of a higher tier. Ignores the amount of mana put into an attack. Skill Upgrade: Blood Scythe No longer disappears after one swing. It remains until it is broken. New Skill: Mugen A Miracle Class spell that rains down bolts of every element that you have access to in a given area. The smaller the area, the quicker the bolts will appear. MP Cost: 1000 per second New Skill: Magic Seal Allows you to place restrictions on items made by magicraft. "I hope that one day, you will make something for the Hero that will succeed you as well," said Assad. "Only then will we stand a chance against the Guides. Make no mistake though, this power alone is not enough to grant you victory." Assad created a magic circle underneath him. "Wait," said Garnet. "I have more questions." "Unfortunately, I don''t have the time," said Assad. "I''ve done what I can to help you, but I must return to the struggle. You will have to come find me once you are ready to join me." New Quest: Join the Eternal Struggle The Eternal Struggle between the Overseers and Guides have been going on for as long as anyone can remember. See to it that the Overseers are not pushed further back by adding to their ranks. Reward: Experience, Fame The quest description made it seem like the Overseers were the ones losing. It was possible that was why the Invasions were occurring. The Overseers could not stop everything from getting through. Every once in a while, something had to get through. Assad took out a purple sword and slashed a hole into space. He stepped into it and the hole disappeared. Garnet was left alone in the room once more with the gift that she had been given by Assad. New Quest: Legacy Create something that will pass on abilities or grant strength to the next Hero and seal it inside the Hidden Vault of Constantinople Reward: Experience With knowledge of the Exchange function, it was possible to help Riley or anyone. The cost was going to be her own strength and progress though. The greater the request, the higher the price for Garnet. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 41 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 3100/3100 MP: 10860/10860 Fame: 220 Strength: 97 (+5) Dexterity: 62 (+7) Intelligence: 311 (+22) Vitality: 90 (+5) Agility: 104 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 6: Chapter 051 - The Power of a Wish "Zedd!" Garnet shouted as she rushed back towards the library. Garnet had learned about the Exchange feature from Assad. She now needed to gain levels as quickly as possible in order to restore Riley. The problem was that it needed a lot of Garnet''s levels, levels that she did not have. Ten levels for Riley''s memories, twenty levels for Riley''s body, and thirty levels to send Riley back home. That was the total price. "What''s the matter?!?" shouted Zedd as he rushed towards Garnet worried. "I need you to make me an Instance Dungeon," Garnet requested. "Aren''t you strong enough to make your own now?" Zedd asked. Zedd was right. Garnet had the prerequisite of ten thousand mana needed to make her own. However, Zedd''s would have much more powerful creatures. They were also higher level and would make it easier for Garnet to gain levels. "I need strong enemies," said Garnet. "Even if I made my own, it''s not enough." "You do realize that the creatures in my Instance Dungeon are much stronger right?" said Zedd. "Yes," Garnet confirmed. "That is exactly why you must be the one to open it." "Can I ask what the problem is?" Zedd asked. "I need levels to perform a miracle," said Garnet. "Hmm¡­," said Zedd as he pondered quietly. "If that is the case, let me help you." "How?" said Garnet. "I''ll weaken the enemies and you land the finishing blow," said Zedd. "Would that work?" "I''ll have to try it to know," said Garnet. "Instance Dungeon Creation!" Zedd created a silver colored portal and stepped through it. "Be prepared for what you''re about to witness." Garnet took a deep breath and stepped inside Zedd''s creation. The sky inside Zedd''s Instance Dungeon was a blood red. As Garnet looked up into the sky, the moon was shattered into numerous small pieces and what could be seen as an asteroid belt floated above. The land itself was barren dirt, no signs of grass, trees, or foliage anywhere. All around, she could see terrifying creatures. They ranged from small lizards to creatures the size of mountains. It was a truly terrifying sight. "What is this?!?" Garnet shouted in surprise. "Welcome to my Instance Dungeon," said Zedd. "I mean what is that thing!" Garnet shouted as she pointed to the mountain sized monster. "That was something I encountered during an Invasion," Zedd explained casually. "The Instance Dungeon contains everything I have ever encountered before." Zedd had truly seen some terrifying things in his life. There were unspeakable horrors. There were mutated birds with snake like tongues, monstrous people with large balls of flesh sticking out of their bodies, and even a ten headed hydra. If Garnet had not experienced the numerous undead and the various other monsters she had seen before, she could have fainted from the shock of such a sight. It was still difficult for someone like Garnet to wrap her mind around. The warped humanoids were the most frightening to her. "Relax," said Zedd. "You may encounter creatures like this in the future, so this might not be a bad experience." "I can see now why you are always so calm and collected," said Garnet as she slowly recovered from the experience. "So I will deal a mortal wound to the enemies, but you have to hurry up and finish them off," said Zedd. "Okay," Garnet confirmed. Zedd flew up and began to look down at some of his targets. He activated his Mana Armor Overlay. "Just follow me," said Zedd as he dived towards the first enemy, a large rock creature shaped like a lizard. Name: Magma Lizard Level: 96 Class: Beast Sub-Class: Earthen Stats: High Agility CREE. The Magma Lizard screamed as Zedd slashed its neck, causing it to bleed. The lizard''s blood touched the ground and ignited, setting the barren soil on fire. Garnet dove for its head and thrusted her sword into its eye, instantly killing it. You have leveled up! It was a level for a single kill and very little work thanks to Zedd. Garnet realized now why Zedd was able to fight off so many members of the Grey Ghosts and level up rather quickly. He could down an enemy at his level in a single strike. Zedd looked at Garnet and spoke, "Good job." "It worked," said Garnet. "I gained a level from that." "How many do you need?" Zedd asked. "Sixty," Garnet replied. "I can do them in small intervals, but it doesn''t change the amount needed." "Then we''d better get to work," said Zedd. "All these creatures that you see will also be added to your own Instance Dungeon once you make one as well, just keep that in mind." Garnet had a terrifying thought about what her own Instance Dungeon would look like. Zedd''s already seemed like it was an end of the world situation. If seeing these added them to her own, it would be even worse. Nonetheless, she needed to push on. The only way to restore Riley''s memories right now was to gain the levels needed so that she could spend them in the Level Market. The time that Garnet, Riley, Zedd, and Serena spent in the library looking for a way proved to be fruitless so far. The next creature was a large black hydra with ten heads. Each head had a fin on its back and fangs. "Earth Pike!" With a single spell, Zedd knocked the hydra off its feet. BOOM. The ground shook as the massive creature hit the ground. "Sword Rain!" Zedd followed up with two dozen or so swords made of stone, pinning the heads of the creature to the ground. The entire thing was immobilized in seconds thanks to Zedd. Garnet stabbed it in the crystal that composed its heart, instantly shattering and killing the creature. You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! Three levels for such a creature. Dragon like creatures have given more experience. They were probably stronger than other similar leveled enemies. All of the creatures within Zedd''s Instance Dungeon were extremely powerful and if Zedd had used this place frequently, he could have been even stronger. One by one, Zedd crippled the large enemies, letting Garnet finish them off. A giant titan like creature had its legs slashed off in an instant. You have leveled up! A golem made of ice had its body shattered, leaving only its heart. Zedd had clear knowledge of how to defeat each and every single enemy in the Instance Dungeon. You have leveled up! Six levels down, four to go. "Four more should do it for now," said Garnet. "Alright," said Zedd. You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! "Okay, it''s enough for now," said Garnet as she opened up the Exchange Menu. She scrolled down to wish. "Return Riley''s memories to her." A system dialogue message appeared: 10 Levels to grant this wish. Yes/No Garnet pressed yes. "AH!" she screamed as she suddenly felt a huge amount of strength leave her body. She fell to the ground on her knees. "Are you okay?!?" Zedd shouted. "Yes," said Garnet. "It was sudden, but I think it worked." "Let''s get out of here," said Zedd as he opened the silver portal. "Yeah that''s a good idea," said Garnet as she stumbled her way through. The Exchange was a price to be paid for something that could not be obtained through normal means. However, it was also something that made the impossible possible. The moment they were out, Zedd immediately collapsed the Instance Dungeon. "Do you feel better now?" Zedd asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "I just felt a moment of weakness after using the ability." "Next time, move to somewhere safe first," said Zedd. "Let''s go see Riley," said Garnet. As Zedd and Garnet headed back to the library, Serena came running out. "Riley collapsed!" she cried. The three of them rushed over to Riley who Serena had placed into a bed. "Did anything happen?" Garnet asked. "She cried out ''Lucy'' just before she collapsed," Serena replied. It was likely the rush of memories flowing into her head. Garnet remembered the experience that she had as her own memories clashed with Riley''s. She only acquired fragments of Riley''s memories and it was already bad. To restore all the memories would have been much severe. "Let''s wait a while and hope that she recovers," said Garnet. There was something worrying though. The wish itself was divided into three parts. "What if the wish to restore the body was necessary so that she could handle the rush of memories?" It was always a possibility. After a while, Garnet could hear a voice. "Ugh," Riley groaned. "You okay?" Garnet asked. "Yeah," said Riley weakly. "What happened?" "Do you remember?" Garnet asked. "Remember what?" Riley asked. "Anything from your old life," said Garnet. As Riley laid down there, she began to think. She remembered. "Lucy," said Riley. "That''s the name of my sister." Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "So you can remember," said Garnet. "That''s a relief." It was proof that the Exchange worked. Right now, Garnet needed fifty more levels in order to help Riley. Twenty to give her old body, thirty more to send her back to her old world. Riley was left weak by the ordeal. "I need to head back to the Instance Dungeon," Garnet said to Zedd. "I have to do all of them." "Why?" Zedd asked. "I think the three parts of the wish are tied together," Garnet replied. "The first wish is to grant Riley her memories back. But, she also needs a body that can handle it, which is her old one. Lastly, it is possible her body cannot survive in this one, which is why she needs to be sent back to her old world. When I did only the first part, this is what happened." "That means since we started the process, we have to finish it," said Zedd. "That is correct," said Garnet. "So we have to worry. I''m afraid that something bad will happen if we don¡¯t." "Keep an eye on Riley for us," said Zedd. "We''ll be back soon." Garnet took out all her remaining bottles of potions and handed them to Zedd. "You might need the mana," she said. "Thanks, but I have something better," said Zedd as he revealed a small white vial filled with a clear liquid. Name: Limitless Mana Potion Quality: Mythical Effect: +1000 mana per second for 1 hour, mana regeneration down 80% for 24 hours afterwards. Cannot be used again within 168 hours. "One hour is our limit huh?" said Garnet as she looked at the clear liquid. "That is correct," said Zedd. "But the question is whether or not you can keep up. Instance Dungeon Creation!" Garnet''s new mana regeneration ability was far superior to her old one. It gave her an immense flat rate of recovery on top of being able to restore missing mana. "I will," said Garnet. "Transformation: Queen of the Night!" There was no more pain when Garnet transformed. All the time that she spent transformed had helped her get used to the feeling. "You''re different," said Zedd. "There''s been some improvements," said Garnet. "We have to do this quickly. Not only do I need enough levels to help Riley, I also need a few more in order to be stronger as well." The two of them walked into Zedd''s Instance Dungeon. Zedd stood on the ground as he began to channel his mana into creating a magic circle on the ground. With a sword in hand, he prepared extremely powerful spells. "Meteor Rain!" Numerous chunks of rocks in all shapes and sizes began to fall from the sky. Zedd drank the mana potion. "Keep an eye on them and pick off the survivors," he said. The numerous chunks of rocks falling through the air reminded her of the Miracle Class spell that she was able to obtain from Assad. However, Garnet did not have the mana to keep it up like Zedd. She had to fly to her targets and attack. Nonetheless, the enhanced abilities of the Queen of the Night transformation was more than enough. She was able to cut through the bodies of the creatures without much trouble. New Feature Unlocked: Party Allows you to share some benefits of the Hero System with another non-summoned entity. Experience can be shared between members if they are within a certain distance. "Wait!" Garnet shouted as she flew towards Zedd. "What is it?" Zedd asked as he stopped channeling the spell. Garnet pressed the Party feature and pushed in the name Zedd. "What?!?" said Zedd surprised. Garnet saw the Hero System provide Zedd with a pop up box confirming the party. "It''s to ask you to join my group," said Garnet. "So this is the Hero System," said Zedd as he pressed "Yes." Garnet could see that his name appeared just below her own health and mana. She could see Zedd''s health and mana as well. "Continue the channeling," said Garnet. Zedd started the spell again. "Meteor Rain!" You have leveled up! It was clear that the effect was working. "I don''t even have to deal the killing blow now," said Garnet. Garnet could see that even Zedd leveled up from doing this. He was now up to level 97. Three more and he would hit 100. The "You have leveled up!" messages appeared in large numbers. The massive area effect of Meteor Rain was killing numerous creatures. The only reason Zedd could do this was thanks to the mana potion that he drank. Garnet realized that Zedd had done this in the past. This was the only thing that could explain his sudden rise in levels from the time that she left to the time of the civil war in Antium. Within ten minutes, Garnet had enough for the next wish, but worrying about the consequences, she decided to wait until she can complete both remaining parts at once before she would do the Exchange. However, she noticed that the level up process was slowing down. It was because as you leveled up, it required more experience and it was now taking multiple enemies for a level up. When Garnet hit 70, it slowed down even more. This was where she had to use the wish now. If she did not, they would not make it within the time limit. Garnet opened the Exchange and spoke her wish, "Restore Riley''s body." A system dialogue message appeared: 20 Levels to grant this wish. Yes/No Garnet pushed "Yes" and could feel the strength draining from her body. The Exchange was also physically taxing. Quest Failed: Vessel Garnet had failed to create the proper body for Riley, so she was unable to obtain the resurrection spell. There were always different ways to approach a goal. "Are you okay?" Zedd asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "I had to do it otherwise we would not make it within the hour." "Be careful, you look pale," Zedd warned. The amount of strength that was being gained and drained at the same time was starting to heavily tax Garnet''s body. Even with her enhanced physique and the Hero System helping her, the Exchange was something was a heavy price that she could not use frequently. In the future, it would be something that should only be used in an absolute emergency. For now, saving Riley was what needed to be done. There was no telling what would happen if the process was not done. Minutes before the potion was to expire, the thirty levels were acquired. "Continue channeling," Garnet said to Zedd as she opened up the Exchange feature. Zedd nodded in response. Garnet spoke her wish, "Send Riley back to her world." A system dialogue message appeared: 30 Levels to grant this wish. Yes/No Garnet pressed "Yes." "Ugh!" Garnet groaned as she collapsed onto the floor. A huge amount of her strength was sucked out of her body. Skill Lost: Call: Riley Zedd held onto Garnet as she fell. He could see the sweat from her forehead as her transformation was automatically cancelled. "Garnet!" Serena shouted as she came running in. "Don''t worry, she''s okay," said Zedd. "That''s not the problem, Riley disappeared after she changed into a man!" Serena shouted. "That''s what our Hero wanted," said Zedd. "It''s alright." "It worked then," said Garnet. She slowly recovered her strength, but even then, she was fatigued from having her levels drained from her. The Exchange system was definitely capable of miracles, but the price of it was extremely high. "I was able to send her back and keep my promise." To Garnet, this was still the right thing to do. She lost all the levels that she would have gained with Zedd, but to her, it was okay. Riley and her promise to Riley was more important. After several years of being unable to do anything, Riley was finally able to go home. With Riley gone, Garnet could now focus on the other pressing matters of Constantinople. The immediate threat was the Dark Mages. The long term threat was going to be Anzio and its allies. Somewhere further down the future was going to be the Invasions. But, for every action, there were consequences. Even sending Riley back home would have its own consequences, one that Garnet would not realize for a long time. Shortly after, Garnet received a message of some kind. In her view was an envelope icon from the Hero System. As she pressed it, the message appeared. From: Riley-872 [World-P3X-774] To: Garnet-192 [World-M35-117] Message: Thank you There was no option to reply. No matter how much Garnet looked, she only had an Inbox and could only receive messages. However, Garnet realized something. If Riley was able to send this, she had become a Hero as well. The Hero System had spread to another world. Spoiler : No overall change to stats, all gains were lost thanks to Exchange Book 6: Chapter 052 - The Dark Blizzard Really hope I got the math right for stats here >_< --------------------------------------------------------------------- Soon after Riley was sent away, snow began to fall in are over Constantinople. Garnet could help but look amazed at the sight of the year''s first snow. "Is it your first time seeing snow?" Serena asked. "No," Garnet replied. "But it''s the first time in a long time I''ve actually seen it falling." The year''s first snow marked the end of the harvest season as many crops would die. Luckily, they did not have that problem in Constantinople as there were no farms yet. The problems that Constantinople always had to face was outside threats. Those threats right now were people still trying to raid the city, Dark Mages, and a potential attack by a coalition led by Anzio. All of these could be defeated by sufficient manpower, but with only a thousand automata, a few hundred summons, and a dozen spirits, it was impossible to cover the massive city. Garnet had done her best to train with Zedd every day, who often held back so that Garnet could face an opponent of similar strength. Zedd always had new tricks, allowing Garnet to fight against numerous different styles. During her free time, she would create as many Revenants as she could with her vessels. It allowed her to greatly expand their numbers. The problem was that people were not being caught by the Revenants, meaning that they could not take people for their abilities. New Skill: Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) Allows you to create a temporary pocket dimension where you can fight past enemies you have encountered. Higher levels distort time, resulting in less time passing in the real world than in the pocket dimension. MP Cost: 10000 "Train me," Garnet asked of Zedd. "In what?" Zedd asked. "Combat against different kinds of mages," Garnet answered. "I encountered a woman who could transform parts of her body and a man who was able to transform into a dragon by injecting himself with some type of liquid." "You encountered members of the Dark Mage Guild didn''t you?" Zedd asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "That woman was faster than my lightning bolts. If I was alone, I don''t think I could have won." "You''ll need to prepare mana potions for me then," said Zedd. "Unlike you, I cannot recover as quickly." "Already done," said Garnet as she stacked the mana potions that she had along with others that she made using the materials she found around the city. Zedd had shown Garnet three types of mages that most fell under. The most common and weakest form is the Elemental Mage. One that stands back and attacks from a distance. They used their allies to provide cover in order to give them time to prepare large and powerful spells. This was the most common type in the Western part of the world and Zedd fell into this category most of the time. The second type was a Battle Mage. Garnet fit under this category. Battle Mages were mages that fought primarily at close range or mid-range. They had high physical prowess in addition to high magical attack. They could work alone or in groups. The third type was Warrior Mages. Anna fit into this category. These were people who primarily trained as fighters, but developed magic later on. They eventually added the magic they developed into their physical skills, creating elemental based attacks. This was the most common type in the Eastern part of the world. "Which one is superior?" Garnet asked. "None of them are," said Zedd. "Each one has their own advantages though the weakest tend to be Elemental since they are terrible at up close combat. Once an Elemental Mage becomes stronger, you can cover for your weakness by training to fight up close as well in order to move into the Battle Mage category. However, a skilled Elemental Mage would be able to take you out before you even get close and would use their abilities to keep you away until you were dead." Zedd would simulate each of the different types of mages for Garnet to fight against. Elemental Mages that used all the basic elements of earth, fire, wind, and water. Battle Mages like himself who would combine a sword with close ranged use of magic. Warrior Mages that used elemental strikes. Zedd proved to be proficient in all types. Stat Increase: Strength +20 Stat Increase: Dexterity +20 Stat Increase: Intelligence +10 Stat Increase: Vitality+5 Stat Increase: Agility +20 In a short amount of time, Garnet had raised her stats by several levels worth. Afterwards, she would go to her own Instance Dungeon and train in there as well. The powerful creatures she saw in Zedd''s Instance Dungeon appeared in her own along with the ones she encountered. There were everything from boars to dragons to spirits. Leveling up this way was slow, but it also gave Garnet time to hone her skills in fairly safe circumstances. You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! Stat Increase: Strength +5 Stat Increase: Vitality +5 Stat Increase: Agility +10 There was a noticeable difference between her own training and training with Zedd. But, none of it compared to actual combat. That was the one that gave the most stats and skills. A few days later, the snow began to turn into a blizzard. "Is it normally this intense?" Garnet asked. "No," said Serena. "The winds outside are blowing at a different speed than the ones inside the city." Quest Update: Dark Mages (II) Four Dark Mage Council members and an unknown number of their group are using the area around Constantinople in order to search for two Dark Mages they believe are going against their objective. Stop the Dark Mage Council before Constantinople is destroyed. Reward: Experience "That''s because someone is intentionally causing this," Garnet informed Serena. "I''m going to put together a group to try to find out what''s going on." Garnet gathered her spirits, about a dozen Cerberus, and a dozen Revenants. The rest were to remain to protect the city. Raphael could continue to summon Revenants into the vessels made by Adam. Nyx help Nian to search the city because Nyx was better at hiding and harder to detect than Nian. Garnet could see that her Map showed the destination. A giant "!" marked on the map showed that slightly to the North, there was something there. "We''re heading north," Garnet informed her group. "Are we going to that mountain again?" asked Meliae. "No," Garnet replied. "Our destination is only about a quarter of the way towards the mountain, it''s fairly close to the city. Any other questions?" There were none. "Alright, let''s go," said Garnet. The Revenants and Cerberus led the front of the group. The spirits protected the sides and the back with Garnet in the middle. The blizzard limited their vision and because it was not something caused by darkness or the lack of light, she was unable to see through it. Riley would have been able to see through it with her ability to sense things. There were no problems as the group approached their destination. When they arrived at the designated location, there was nothing on the map. "Are you sure we''re in the right place?" Nuria asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "That''s what the map says." The blizzard here was slightly weaker than the other spots. But as Garnet looked around, she could not see anything. "It doesn''t feel strange either," said Mazu. Garnet focused. She heard a voice. "In the cold night¡­" It was someone singing. "The moonlight shines¡­" It was in a different language. "Do you hear that singing?" Garnet asked. "Which way is it coming from?" Sino asked. Garnet focused, but could not tell. "I can''t tell," Garnet replied. "It''s almost as if it''s on top of us," she said as she looked up. Above them, she saw a large blue ball of light that floated high in the sky. It was not the sun or a magic spell that was flying towards them. It was just floating up there in the sky. At regular intervals, the shine of it grew brighter. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired the bolt at the ball of light in the sky. PING. It was deflected right off the ball, as if it was protected by the barrier. "It looks like we have to stop the source," said Meliae. UHH. It was the sound of groaning. As Garnet turned to face it, she saw undead approaching them. Name: Ghoul Level: 30 Class: Undead Sub-Class: None Stats: High Vitality As they approached, Garnet saw that they were much larger in number. The blizzard limited their vision and as a result, the massive number of ghouls could be hidden in the snow. "Let''s get rid of them," said Garnet. "Fire Ball!" BOOM. A single explosion ignited numerous ghouls and the fire took out many of them. The Cerberus lined themselves in a wall. The spirits bombarded the back lines with various elements while the Cerberus would spit fire if any of the ghouls got close. When the last one fell, Garnet watched as the bodies shattered and disappeared, keeping an eye out for their summoner. "Anyone here?" Garnet asked one of the Cerberus. WHINE. The Cerberus whimpered as it held its nose. It seemed like it did not know. "Anything strange?" Garnet asked Meliae. "No," Meliae replied. "The only thing unnatural here is the movement of the blizzard. I can''t tell you anything else about it." A single robed figure began to approach them. As they came into view, Garnet recognized the person as Crossen. "I was wondering when you''d show up," he said. "You really seem to want this fight," said Garnet. "I''m not the one who wants it, but I''m the one who has to take part in it," said Crossen. "Recall!" Leilah appeared as she made a mad dash for Garnet. THUMP. One of the Cerberus head butted Leilah, pushing her back. "What?!?" she cried as she was surprised that they could keep up with her speed. The Cerberus were even stronger than before. Whereas before Leilah and even members of the Grey Ghosts could knock them aside or deal lethal strikes to them, their power increased with Garnet''s own, allowing them to now hold their own. "I''ve been making myself stronger to prepare against you guys," Garnet explained. TSK. Crossen grunted. "Recall!" He began to recall other summons to the battle. There were likely others that he and the other Dark Mages had summoned before and they were now calling them out to the battlefield. The troll and the Cerberus that he had with him the last time they fought appeared. ROAR. Crossen''s own Cerberus was larger and had three heads. It was much more fearsome than a single headed one as it could combat multiple enemies with ease. The troll swung its club at Garnet''s Cerberus, keeping them away. "Leilah, fall back!" Crossen ordered. "Flight!" Garnet opened her wings so she would be able to instantly create distance if needed. "Magma Cannon!" Crossen fired a molten rock enhanced with flames. "I''m not the same as before," said Crossen. "I can use more dual element spells just like you now!" Crossen misunderstood Garnet''s abilities, but that was to her advantage. Garnet''s Lightning Fire was deceiving as it called out only two elements, but was actually composed of three. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The explosion was not from the sound of the two bolts colliding, but rather from Garnet''s Lightning Fire Bolt shattering Crossen''s Magma Cannon. BOOM. A second explosion followed as Garnet''s Lightning Fire Bolt struck the ground near Crossen, forcing him back. That was when a second figure appeared. A man dressed in leather and cloth. Name: Zack Level: 40 Class: Metal Mage Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: High Intelligence The man clapped his hands together. "Binding Cage!" Black iron bars appeared from his hands and wrapped around Garnet. Meliae wrapped her roots around them. CLANG. The metal bars shattered to pieces and returned to black dust. "It doesn''t look like this will be easy," said Zack. "Why do you think Xiaomei took so many of us?" said Crossen. "She is not an easy target." "Are we not investing too many resources into this?" Zack asked. "Do you dare to question the Chancellor?" said Crossen. "No," said Zack. "He''s kept us safe for so many years." There was now another mage with different abilities. Chances are there were more and were quickly approaching. "We have to take out one of them fast," said Garnet. "Call: Lava Golem!" Crossen summoned another creature composed of fire and rock. Its chest glowed orange and the liquid from it flowed throughout its body. Steam rose from its body as snow came into contact with it. Sino quickly reacted to it. "Icicle!" CHING. A large spear of ice pierced the body of the golem, returning it to stone as it fell over and shattered onto the ground. "We won''t be able to hold on much longer," said Crossen. "Stick to the plan," Zack replied. "Just a little longer." "Recall!" Crossen called forth the Dullahan. The undead knight made its way straight for Garnet''s group. NEIGH. The undead horse spat purple flames out of its mouth as it approached. If Garnet had not seen the things in Zedd''s Instance Dungeon, this might have been a terrifying sight. Sino released a burst of wind, throwing the Dullahan off balance. Behind the Dullahan was Leilah, who had used the Dullahan and the snow as cover as she ran towards one of the Revenants shielding Garnet. There was a grin on her face. BANG. Leilah struck the Revenant in the chest, but she was surprised. The Revenant was down, but it grabbed onto Leilah''s hand and pulled Leilah down with it as well. The Revenant tried to absorb Leilah''s hand into itself. "Help me Master!" she cried. "Recall!" Leilah instantly reappeared next to Crossen, but her hand was already gone. The Revenant had it now. "Don''t touch those things," Leilah warned as her own hand regrew. "Blade Forge!" Zack created swords that floated in the air and threw them at Garnet. It was a spell similar to Icicle, but with metal instead of ice. He threw the swords towards Garnet. Garnet dodged to the side. CLANG. However, the blades never passed by her. The Revenant had caught it with its hands. "Impossible!" Zack shouted. When Garnet focused her attention on Zack and Crossen again, she spotted a huge mountain of snow behind them moving. "Move it!" shouted someone. Zack and Crossen dodged to the side as the snow moved forward and changed its shape into like a wave. Someone was riding on the snow and he turned his attention to Garnet. Name: Percy Level: 67 Class: Blue Mage Sub-Class: Spear Master Stats: High Agility The man had short black hair and wore white and blue leather armor with lots of padding on it. In his arm was a golden trident. Percy quickly approached Garnet, using the snow to push aside Garnet''s summons, scattering them. The snow brought by Percy contained numerous different undead creatures in it and they scattered themselves all throughout the battlefield, forcing Garnet''s own summons and spirits to fight them or risk being surrounded by them. In an instant, Percy had evened out the battle with his reinforcements. As Percy aimed straight for Garnet, she flew straight up and aimed downwards. "Heat Wave!" The blast of hot air instantly melted the snow beneath Percy''s feet. THUD. Percy landed on his feet. The snow quickly filled the ground again as Percy gathered the snow under him again. "Why didn''t you tell us about that spell?" Percy shouted angrily at Crossen. "I thought it was just a wind spell," said Crossen. "I had no idea that it was a fire spell as well." Garnet realized that Crossen had not told them everything about her. She had used the spell against Crossen, but Crossen did not inform them, so they were fighting blind and cautiously as well. The longer it would take her, the more enemies would appear. She had to work fast to take out some of them. The weakest were Zack and Crossen, so they could be taken care of more easily. "Go Cerberus, kill those two," Garnet ordered pointing to Crossen and Zack. The dozen Cerberus all immediately began to rush towards the two from different angles. "Protect me!" Crossen ordered his Three Headed Cerberus. The Three Headed Cerberus was already weakened from clashing with Garnet''s Cerberus earlier. The bites from Garnet''s Cerberus were poisonous thanks to the snake abilities on them and the Three Headed Cerberus had slowed down. While the two were distracted, Garnet could focus her attention on Percy. "I see now why you would be a problem," said Percy. "Why do you want me dead?" Garnet asked. "If you join us, then we don¡¯t have to kill you," said Percy as he began to circle Garnet on his snow. He was preparing to attack depending on Garnet''s answer. "I refuse," said Garnet. "Did you even hear our offer?" Percy asked. "What offer?" Garnet asked. "I heard from Crossen that the Council wanted to invite me." SIGH. Percy put his fingers to his forehead realizing that Crossen did not even properly explain the offer. "If you keep quiet and follow our orders, we won''t have to kill you," Percy explained. "Sorry, but I refuse," Garnet replied. "I have my own goals. But I will not mention the Dark Mages to anyone if you leave immediately." "That''s not my decision to make," said Percy as he began to raise the snow behind him. "Avalanche!" The snow fell as a wave towards Garnet, forcing Garnet to move backwards and upwards. Percy took advantage of the movement of the snow, using it to quickly propel himself towards Garnet. He pulled a clear blue spear made of ice out of the snow. "I got you now!" he shouted with a smile on his face as he aimed the blue spear and trident that he had straight at Garnet. "Sonic Scream!" SCREECH. Garnet''s cry caused Percy to instantly lose his concentration as he was forced to cover his ears. Again, the snow under his feet broke apart and he fell to the ground. Percy''s weakness was that he had to get in close to strike Garnet, leaving himself open to attacks that wither affected his snow or were usable at close range with little warning. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Leilah quickly snatched up Percy in order to not give Garnet the chance for a killing blow. "Now!" she shouted. The chill suddenly grew greater as the blue ball in the sky began to spin. THWISH. TWISH. It was the sound of numerous arrows firing. "Incinerate!" Garnet fired the beam of flames straight towards the blue ball in the sky. However, its spinning deflected the flames and it continued to rain arrows in every direction except for the flames towards Garnet. Garnet was unable to stop the spell. She needed to stop it at its source. "Transformation: Queen of the Night!" With her transformation, Garnet received a massive burst of speed, allowing her to catch up to Crossen and Zack who were falling back after being injured. CRASH. The large ball in the sky scattered as it turned to snow. The blizzard stopped as well. Garnet saw the other mages in in the distance. Xiaomei stood there in front of a woman in a red and black robe. The top half resembled a dress. In the air behind the woman were several huge red magic circles that were spinning. Next to Xiaomei was another man in black cloth armor lined with white fur. Name: Adria Level: 68 Class: Song Mage Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: High Intelligence "It failed," said Adria. "That''s fine," Xiaomei said to comfort Adria. "It''s not worth killing our own allies for it." "All three of us should attack her at once," said the man next to Xiaomei. Name: Quinton Level: 69 Class: Centurion Mage Sub-Class: Dark Mage Stats: High Intelligence "Remember not to hit each other," said Xiaomei as she stepped forward. The three of them were all going to fight Garnet at once. "Recall!" Garnet recalled all of her summons. A different song started as a white ball of light floated above Adria. The magic circles that floated behind her accelerated and began to spin faster. Quinton reached his hand into the ground and pulled up a black sword made of stone in one hand. "One Handed Sword Style: Defense of the Great Buddha!" He projected an aura of warmth from his body. He then reached inside his chest and pulled out a red sword that seemed to be made of his own blood. "Two Sword Style: Last Battalion!" That aura of warmth suddenly transformed into one of coldness. "Transformation: Monarch Butterfly!" Xiaomei''s skin cracked with green as what appeared to be scales formed over her body. Garnet could tell that Xiaomei was not being serious the last time they fought. Their first encounter was more likely an attempt to collect information, which was why she retreated so quickly. The scales on Xiaomei were slowly falling. "You''re going to need to hurry if you want to kill me before your scales fall off," Garnet taunted as she drew her own sword. Quinton dashed towards Garnet, leading with his black sword. "One Handed Sword Style: Earthly Smash!" BOOM. Garnet flew backwards, dodging out of the way. Quinton''s attack knocked numerous rocks into the air. "Sparrow Slash!" Xiaomei followed up with her own sword swing. FWOOSH. The swing of the sword launched a powerful gust of wind, sending the rocks knocked up flying at Garnet with incredible speed. "Heat Wave!" Garnet released her own burst of wind to push the rocks back, causing them to fall halfway between them. "Do you know how many elements she possesses?" Quinton asked. "At least four," Xiaomei replied. "That spell was at least two," Quinton observed. Garnet took a quick look to her sides as the two mages in front of her spoke. The summons brought by Percy were gradually being overwhelmed by Garnet''s. She just had to hold on until her own summons made their way through them so that they could support Garnet. There was still something about the third mage behind them who was doing nothing, but singing. The white ball of light in the sky was not doing anything that she could notice. She needed to buy time for her summons. Quinton continued his assault. "Earth Spike!" A large chunk of rock popped up from the ground and straight at Garnet''s location. Without waiting to see if the spell connected, he followed it up. "Blood Burst!" A splash of red liquid burst from the rocks, scattering it all in Garnet''s direction. Garnet quickly flew upwards to escape the range of it. "Incinerate!" The intense beam of fire ate through the dirt and turned the place that Quinton was standing on into glowing orange rock. "Poison Needle!" Xiaomei launched ten small needles from her fingers towards Garnet. "Ki Burst!" Garnet pushed the needles away from her and watched as they fell into the ground. "Why do you want me dead?" Garnet asked. "Is it just because I don''t want to join your club?" "Does she not know?" Quinton asked. "Did Crossen not explain it to you?" Xiaomei asked. "He only said to join or die," Garnet replied. "The existence of Dark Mages must remain hidden," Xiaomei explained. "If word were to get out, we may be hunted out of existence once again." Garnet had heard a little about what happened to Dark Mages, but he never specified what happened. "I have not revealed to anyone other than my teacher that I am a Dark Mage," Garnet replied. "He has not told anyone either. The only ones who might know are the Grey Ghosts, but they have not made a move since their last attempt to chase me." The expression on Xiaomei''s face suddenly changed when Garnet made that statement. "Doesn''t that make this fight pointless?" Adria asked as she stopped her singing. The ball of light remained floating above in the sky. "That idiot," said Xiaomei as she shook her head. "All of this could have been avoided if he explained it in detail. What a waste of resources." Xiaomei lowered her weapon. "Stop fighting right now!" she shouted. All of the summons stopped in their place. She walked a few steps closer to Garnet. "I just want to talk," she said. Garnet lowered her guard just a little, but kept her eye on the other two. "Just you," Garnet warned. Adria and Quinton stepped back, but Quinton kept his swords drawn and Adria kept the ball of light active. "Do you know what happened to the Dark Mages?" Xiaomei asked. "I know they were persecuted," said Garnet. "The cause of their persecution was because of a few mages who were carrying out human experiments, but they weren''t all Dark Mages," said Xiaomei. "People used that opportunity to hunt down mages that disagreed with them." Garnet knew that this happened before. If someone went missing, they were often captured into slavery to be sold. After all, no one would notice if poor and homeless people went missing. Some people were sold as servants, some into prostitution, and some just flat out disappeared. The only person she knew of that actually carried out these experiments were Zedd. "What is the fight over then?" Garnet questioned. "It was whether mages should be required to serve their rulers," Xiaomei answered. "Those of us that disagreed were the ones hunted and became the modern Dark Mages." "What is a Dark Mage then?" Garnet asked. "A Dark Mage is anyone who looks for different ways to empower themselves," Xiaomei explained. She revealed a mark on her arm with two holes in it. "I drain the venom of different creatures into my body to create a unique poison. Many of us are willing to give up something for the power we need to fight against those who would hunt us." Garnet realized it was different from a true Dark Mage, which is why only a few people in the group of Dark Mages actually had Dark Mage listed as a class. Many of them had other things as their class or sub-class instead. "What does this have to do with me?" Garnet asked. "You must have exhumed numerous bodies to create your summons," said Xiaomei. "Someone is bound to find out." "I did no such thing," said Garnet. "Call: Death Knight!" An undead knight appeared. "I don''t need any bodies." "What about those?" Xiaomei asked as she pointed to the Revenants as she looked on with surprise. "Human Form Vessels," said Garnet. "Where''s your tome?" Xiaomei asked. "What tome?" Garnet asked. "You can use such spells without a tome?!?" said Xiaomei who was surprised by this information. "You should have a book like this," she said as she took out Crossen''s book. "I learned to make it as a spell," Garnet replied. "Once I acquired the mana to do so, I immediately began to work on building my own force." "So that''s why no one recognizes your name or knows of your existence," Xiaomei said to herself. "I don''t know why you''re so surprised," said Garnet. "Only the weakest of mages need magic circles to use magic and even stronger mages can cast lower end spells without the need to draw them. On top of that, you are creating dozens of summoned creatures yourself." "There are limits to our summons," said Xiaomei. "Even though we can command armies, it is not easy to acquire the materials to create vessels nor summon high level undead. You seemed to have summoned many high level ones without either requirements." "It''s a special skill I have that lets me manage them," Garnet replied. She did not want to reveal any more than she had to. Talking to Xiaomei seemed to be reducing the tension and it was likely that Garnet could end the fight without needing to actually fight if Xiaomei was only after information. "If you do not reveal your status as a Dark Mage to others and join us, we will retreat," said Xiaomei. "Do you accept?" "I refuse to work with you," said Garnet. Xiaomei thought about it for a moment as she scratched her head. "Fine," she said as she took out a black, red, and gold ring. "Alternate deal, keep this on you and reply when the call is made." "No!" shouted Quinton as he raised his swords. "You cannot do that without the approval of the Chancellor." "I''m the one he put in charge!" Xiaomei countered. Quinton immediately backed down. "Sorry," he replied as he lowered his swords. "My duty is to either stop you or get you to ally with us by any means necessary," said Xiaomei. "What is the call?" Garnet questioned. "The call will be made the day that a crusade against us is announced, Xiaomei replied. "It might not happen tomorrow, but it will happen again someday when we are discovered. When that happens, you must stand with us against whoever is trying to eradicate us." "What if I need help?" Garnet asked. "If you want help, you will have to speak with the Chancellor," said Xiaomei. "Only he can label you as someone who is important enough to be protected." Garnet thought about it. If any trouble arose, then she could just use Teleport to escape. "Bring me to him then," said Garnet. If she could convince the Chancellor to protect her, then she would not have to deal with the forces of Anzio or the Coalition Army by herself. "I will wait for you in three days outside of the Western Walls of your city," said Xiaomei. "If you do not appear, it means you declined and we will likely fight once more." Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 44 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 3350/3350 MP: 11660/11660 Fame: 220 Strength: 122 (+5) Dexterity: 82 (+7) Intelligence: 336 (+22) Vitality: 100 (+5) Agility: 134 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Blood Reaper (Level 1) - Transformation: Elementalist (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 6: Chapter 053 - Declaration of War End of Book 6. I won''t be able to get much else done this weekend as I have to help prepare for a fundraising/anniversary celebration thing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnet was waiting outside of the Western Walls for Xiaomei to arrive. "Are you sure about this?" Zedd asked. "Yes," said Garnet. "We need allies badly. We''re unable to protect this city as it is and the automata are not doing a sufficient job at rebuilding. We need people to help us." "But can they be trusted?" Nian asked. "Didn''t they just try to kill you?" "You threatened to kill me before as well," said Garnet as she looked at Nian. "I guess I did," said Nian. "If anything happens, remember to Recall us." "I will," said Garnet. "But I''m going to propose a deal to them." "What kind of deal are you thinking?" Serena asked. She was worried. "We will give them access to the land on the surface," Garnet replied. "But we keep and manage the walls and the Ark itself." Garnet could tell that Serena was getting angry. She had spent a long time trying to protect the city and keep intruders out, but now, Garnet was going to let people in. "I suppose," said Serena as her face suddenly changed back. "Master Assad allowed others in too, but those people betrayed us as soon as we were no longer useful to them." "Which is why I have a back up plan," said Garnet. "We have the Revenants. If something is amiss, we can use them to take the people that we need." "Haha," Nian could not help but laugh. "When the time comes, I will help you, even if you backstab them." "Me too," Serena added. "I don''t condone it, but your well-being is more important," said Zedd. "Don''t you have to watch over Antium still?" Garnet asked Zedd. "I told you not to worry," said Zedd. "My trusted friends are taking care of things there. If you''re really worried you can always go and check yourself." Garnet removed the black ring she got from Anna. "Inside the Vault, follow the light of the ring," said Garnet as she handed the ring to Zedd. "There''s a hidden room and I want you to take a look at something inside of it." "I will," said Zedd. Garnet had no idea what to do with the thing inside the tube. If anyone knew, it would be Zedd. Soon after, Xiaomei arrived by herself as she stood outside the walls. "It looks better than the last time I saw it!" she shouted. "We''ve been working on fixing it," Garnet shouted back. "Flight!" She flew down to meet Xiaomei. "So what is your decision?" Xiaomei asked. Garnet took a look at Xiaomei and did not see any aggressive intent. Xiaomei had come alone and only carried the sword that she had with her before. "I want to meet your Chancellor," Garnet replied. "Very well," said Xiaomei. "Where is the other one?" "Other what?" Garnet asked. "Crossen reported two Dark Mages, where is the other?" Xiaomei asked. "Gone," said Garnet. She had sent Riley away. She had to because she did not realize the consequence of using an incomplete wish through the Exchange at the time. "Alright, just you then," said Xiaomei as she looked at the group up on the walls behind her. "Everyone else has to stay here." Zedd nodded in agreement. Serena turned her back and headed back into the city. Nian just stood there and continued to watch. "They''ll stay," Garnet confirmed. "Very well," said Xiaomei. "Place your hand on me." Garnet put her hand on Xiaomei''s shoulder. She could feel the rough skin of Xiaomei. It was definitely not something that reflected her age. It felt wrinkly like an older person''s, but it was also hard like a scale. Xiaomei took out a crystal in her hand and crushed it. "Warp Prism!" The white dust from the crystal enveloped both Xiaomei and Garnet, turning into a thick fog. The fog slowly cleared and it was clear that they were now indoors. As Garnet looked around, she spotted numerous things in red, black, and gold. The floor had a large magic circle on it as well as the door. There was a single large bed with some chests and drawers. "Where are we?" Garnet asked. "My private room," said Xiaomei as she rummaged through the chest. "When we walk, follow me closely. Do not look at anyone and do not speak to anyone. Am I clear?" Garnet nodded. She had to follow the rules to leave a good impression if she was going to negotiate with the Chancellor. Xiaomei took out a dark blue cloak and handed it to Garnet. "Wear this over your clothes and keep the hood up as well," Xiaomei ordered. Garnet did as ordered. The cloak was a little big, so it dragged on the floor. "What is this?" she asked. "It''s a mage''s robe," Xiaomei explained. "Your normal outfit sticks out too much." Xiaomei opened the door. "This way," she said. Garnet walked and only looked straight ahead at Xiaomei. As she walked, she noticed that the few others that they encountered all backed away from Xiaomei. Some members even bowed to her. Xiaomei was clearly someone who was feared by the others. Red and black seemed to be the primary colors. Most wooden and metal objects were black or a dark blue while a few objects had some gold coloring on them. Garnet took a peek when she could and noticed that there were not many objects or people. In fact, most of the building seemed to be empty, but it looked like an abandoned castle. "Here we are," said Xiaomei. They stood before a pair of wooden double doors with a red, black, and gold crest. The crest had a three headed hydra on it with its body being shaped like a shield and colored blue. It was not a nobility crest that she recognized. KNOCK KNOCK. "It''s Xiaomei," said Xiaomei. "Come in," said a deep voice. Xiaomei opened the double doors and walked inside. She pulled Garnet in before closing the doors shut. "Chancellor, one of the Dark Mages wishes to speak with you," said Xiaomei. "And the other?" the Chancellor asked. "Gone," said Xiaomei. "Dead you mean?" the Chancellor asked. "I''m not sure," said Xiaomei. "Very well," said the Chancellor as he stepped forward to look at Garnet. "Step aside Xiaomei." Xiaomei stepped to the side and Garnet got a clear look at the Chancellor. He was quite old, but kept himself fairly clean. There were wrinkles on his face and even liver spots on his face. However, his teeth were perfectly clean and it looked like he groomed himself quite well. Name: Murad Level: 100 Class: Kinetic Mage Sub-Class: Elemental Summoner Stats: ??? The Chancellor was even stronger than Zedd based on levels. But, Garnet knew that levels were not everything. "You''re quite young for such a powerful mage," said Murad as he circled Garnet. "So, what will it take for you to join our ranks?" Murad asked. Garnet looked at Xiaomei. "Go ahead and speak," she said. "I want you to help me against the Grey Ghosts," Garnet replied. "That''s a term I have not heard in a long time," said Murad as he sat back down on his desk. "Do you know why they want you?" "No," said Garnet. "Do you know where they came from?" Murad asked. "Anzio," said Garnet. "So Anzio''s branch of Grey Ghosts wants you," Murad repeated as he began to think. "What did you do in Anzio?" he asked. Garnet thought about it. She had done alot. "Let''s see..." said Garnet as she took a deep breath. "I sent someone to school there. I worked for the Guild for a moment. I bought a ton of clothes. I worked for Morgan for a while before leaving. I sold medicines and swords to an auction house." "That doesn''t really help does it?" said Murad. "But if I had to guess, it would have to do with either the medicines or the swords. You must be able to make something of high quality." "Yes," said Garnet. She took out one of the elixirs that she made and handed it to Murad. Murad took a close look at it. "High quality," he said. "Not close to the robes you''re wearing under that cloak, but still high quality. This would be enough of a reason for them to come after you." "So, will you help me?" Garnet asked. "What can you offer us?" Murad asked. "If you want our protection, you must have something that we want as well." "I will give you access to the lands in my city," said Garnet. "But you can''t even protect it yourself," said Murad as he looked displeased with Garnet''s request. "I can''t protect the city yet, but I can protect myself," said Garnet. Serena was able to take on a huge number of Grey Ghosts by herself without much trouble. Zedd was also there to help. It would take more than a hundred of them to fight just those two. The only real threat was when they attacked with a full army. "It''s taking time to make progress, but I''m adding to my forces every day and I will eventually be able to. It''s just that it takes time to create powerful creatures that can help me defend the city." "The real question is whether we need you more or you need us more," Murad replied as he clasped his hands together in front of him. Garnet knew that Murad was not going to take this deal. It was not good enough for him. He wanted Garnet under his command. However, this was not much different from being captured and working for the Grey Ghosts. The only thing was that she was basically surrendering herself to the Dark Mages. "I''ve presented you with my conditions," said Garnet. "Access to my land and resources on the land in exchange for your protection. I will not be your vessel making slave." "Not good enough," said Murad. "If I''m going to be sticking my neck out for someone who is being hunted by the Grey Ghosts, I want more." Garnet could tell that Murad was a little afraid of the Grey Ghosts. The way he spoke of them also implied that there were many of them out ther. The Dark Mages themselves might have been hunted before. It would explain why the Grey Ghosts had things like Anti-Magic Fields to be deployed. However, Murad was confident in facing the Grey Ghosts if she was on their side. That meant that she alone had the power to turn the tide of the battle. It was likely that she did not need the help of the Dark Mages as much as they needed her''s. But most importantly, Garnet knew that Murad was disrespecting her. That alone was enough not to trust him. "Then I''m afraid that I cannot agree to those conditions," said Garnet. "Think about it for a moment," Xiaomei interrupted. "You do not want to make the Chancellor your enemy." "I''m not making him my enemy," said Garnet. "I won''t openly attack either of you unless you come after me again. If you do, then we are enemies." "Then we will be enemies the next time we meet," said Murad. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "You had no intention of even listening to my agreement," Garnet countered. "You''re no different from the Grey Ghosts, operating in the shadows and going after the people who are useful to your plans. Your group is not one that I can trust." "Show her the way out," said Murad. "I will at least prove that you will need our protection." Xiaomei took out another crystal. "No need," said Garnet. "I''ll show myself out." Garnet opened up her Map and took a look at where she was. She marked it on the Map, noting where the Dark Mage hideout was. It was in the ruins of a city south of Kalemegdan. "Teleport!" Garnet warped back to just outside Constantinople. Quest Update: Dark Mages (III) Murad intends to kill you and take Constantinople. Make sure that neither happens by stopping the Dark Mage Council. Reward: Experience, Fame Knowing that she had to prepare for war, Garnet decided she would need to take a few risks and experiment with a few things. However, against a level 100 enemy, it was going to be difficult. It meant that her opponent was stronger than Zedd, and she would need something special to defeat him. Nian ran out of the city gates. "What happened?" Nian asked. "We could not come to an agreement," Garnet answered. "It felt like he wanted to capture me like the others, so I think he is going to come after us soon." "Then you need to get stronger faster," Nian added. "There are some things that I want to try," said Garnet. "What is it?" Nian asked. "How do the automata of the city become stronger?" Garnet asked. "The easiest way is to upgrade the Mana Core according to Serena," said Nian. Garnet had high mana regeneration, but she needed a flat amount of mana in order to upgrade the Mana Core, which was not an option right now. The same applied to a lot of the Minion Development upgrades. Her high mana regeneration did not help in upgrading them because she needed higher maximum mana. The ring accumulated mana at a very slow rate, so Garnet would have to choose her upgrades carefully when they were available. "What about slower ways?" Garnet asked. "You''ll have to ask Serena yourself," said Nian. Garnet went to Serena, who was standing at the entrance to the Ark. She had nothing else to do since Zedd was not rummaging around the library anymore. "Serena, how do the automata get stronger?" "Upgrade the Mana Core," Serena replied. "Other than that," Garnet added. "They have to fight like anyone else," said Serena. "Without many enemies around here nowadays, its kind of hard for them." Most enemies were located outside and there were a few weaker enemies out there. Sending too many out at once would leave the city defenseless, so all she could do was send a few out at a time. "Alright," said Garnet as she opened the Minion Development Menu. She wanted to see what she could do with them. There was an exclamation mark next to the automata, signaling something new. There were three settings: Rebuild, Patrol, and Attack. Rebuild was their default setting where they tried to rebuild the ruins of the city. Patrol caused them to move back and forth between set locations. Attack caused them to march towards a designated location and attack anything hostile along the way. Garnet set one group to Attack towards where she remembered seeing the giant bird creature. Only time would tell how this would work out. "It''s something," she thought. "Why do you suddenly need them?" Serena wondered. "The Dark Mages essentially declared me an enemy," Garnet replied. "If they''re coming after me, they''re probably going to send a lot of people." "This provides an opportunity for your Revenants does it not?" Serena asked. If they were able to defeat some of the Dark Mages, the Revenants would be able to Assimilate them and take their powers. "I don''t think it''s going to be that easy," said Garnet. "I would probably beat some of them in skirmishes and if the fight is drawn out. I''m not so certain that I can win against an entire army with our current numbers." "Do you have any information about our enemies?" Serena asked. "They''re all mages of some kind, but only the strongest members pose a serious threat," said Garnet. "Unfortunately, I don''t know how many of them there are, but at least four or five." "The plan is simple then," said Serena. "Simple how?'' Garnet asked. "Give command of the soldiers to Zedd and let him command your forces while you, me, Nian, and your spirits fight against the strongest members," Serena explained. "Zedd is a good commander," said Garnet as she remembered Zedd''s ability to command during the Invasion. "Unfortunately, I think their strongest member is stronger than all of us," said Garnet. "He is level 100 and his class was a Kinetic Mage with an Elemental Mage sub-class." "In the confines of the city, me and Nian should be stronger," said Serena. "So you have to find a way to bring him in." Garnet thought about it for a second before she realized what she had to do. "Teleportation is the key," said Garnet. "If I can touch him, then I can bring him to one of our Teleportation Summoning Circles." "He''s a Kinetic Mage though," said Serena. "Do you know what it means?" "No," Garnet replied. "It means he has the power to push and pull objects, including people, with his magic," Serena explained. "It''s going to be very easy for him to keep his distance." Teleportation was not going to work then since Murad could just push Garnet away with his magic when she got close. She would need to find another way to deal with such an enemy. "Do you know how to deal with it?" Garnet asked. "A strong enough spell should be able to overwhelm his ability to push back your spells, but there''s no telling how much power you would need for that," Serena replied. "Zedd might know," said Garnet as she began to walk towards the Vault. Zedd should have been there since Garnet gave him the ring to look for the Hidden Vault. "Wait up," said Serena as she chased after Zedd. Garnet made her way to the Hidden Vault and saw that Zedd was inside, looking at the tube. "Find anything?" Garnet asked. "No," said Zedd. "The magic used here is more advanced than anything I''ve seen. It''s based on golem and vessel creation, but it feels like it''s something superior to that." "Well, we''ve got a bigger problem," said Garnet. "I''m pretty sure the Dark Mages want me dead based on what their leader said to me." "Who''s their leader?" Zedd asked. "A Kinetic Mage by the name of Murad who is even higher level than you," Garnet answered. "A Kinetic Mage huh?" Zedd repeated as he began to think. "Well for starters, level are not everything, so I''m sure I can take him on a direct fight." Zedd then suddenly realized something. "Did you get access to Morgan''s Shadow Magic?" Zedd asked Garnet. "Some of it," said Garnet. "I can only use his shadows to restrict movement before killing someone." "That''s good enough," said Zedd. "You see, Kinetic Magic only works on physical things, so while spells and spirits might be dispersed with the spell, a shadow is not something that can be physically touched, giving you a slight advantage if you are faster than them." There lied the problem. Garnet was much lower level and was most likely weaker and slower than Murad was, even with all her bonuses and stat buffs. "I don''t think I can beat someone more than twice my level," said Garnet. "I could not even match a skilled person who was thirty levels above me. There''s no way I can do it to someone almost sixty levels above me and probably more skilled than me as well." "I can''t train you again for another three days and even then, I don''t have many of those potions left," said Zedd as he began to think. "I don''t think that''s a good idea," said Garnet. "Gaining and losing levels like that was taxing, even for me." "Is there another way for me to get stronger?" Garnet asked. Zedd began to think about it. "I''m going to assume you want to remain human." "Did you even have to ask?" said Garnet sarcastically. Zedd took a cube out of one of his rings. It was composed of nine smaller cubes that could be rotated. On each of the six faces was a picture and it looked like with a few turns, all of the pictures would match up. "This will open up a temporary portal to another world," said Zedd. "Their leaders might be able to help you." "Would that make us Invaders?" Garnet asked. "No, I met one of their inhabitants as they traveled between worlds long ago," Zedd replied. "He was relatively peaceful and was interested in my stories. He gave me this so that I could visit his world." Garnet reached for the cube. "Let me finish," said Zedd as he pulled the cube back. "You will have to pass the trials of the four leaders if you want their help." "What trials are they?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know," said Zedd. "I failed the first one when they asked me questions. Apparently, they said I was not being honest even though I felt like I answered everything truthfully." "Could they read your mind?" Garnet asked. "Don''t be ridiculous," said Zedd. "I think they could read emotions and body language though." "I think it would be better if you came with me," said Garnet. "They might mistake me for an enemy if I went alone." "Can you keep this place safe until we return?" Zedd asked Serena. "Of coruse," said Serena. "I''m no longer alone here, so it should not be a problem." "Good," said Zedd as he began to turn the pieces on the cube. Once all of them were matched, Garnet could feel a familiar feeling. It was the same that she got as she stared into the eye in the sky during the Invasion. A red portal opened and Zedd stepped into the portal without hesitation. Garnet looked into it and saw trees on the other side. Knowing that it was not as scary as the Instance Dungeon, she stepped right into it. Spoiler : No change in stats Actual story spoiler Spoiler : The big fights will start next book with the continuing assault led by various members of the Dark Mage Council until the Grey Ghosts get involved, which turns it into a messy three way war. Book 6: Chapter 051.5R - Reawakening (Some Book 7 Spoilers) This chapter fills in what happens to Riley between her disappearance and her return late in Book 7. There are spoilers. You have been warned. ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ugh," Riley groaned as he opened his eyes. It was a familiar sight. The red drapes on the wall and the yellow cream color of the bedroom wallpaper was something he woke up to every morning for many years of his life. "Was it all a dream?" Riley took a quick look around and recognized it as his room. He had fallen asleep on the desk in his room. His uniform hung on a hanger behind the door. It was where Zedd believed him to be dead. He put his hand to his chest and felt his heartbeat. It was definitely moving. He was definitely not dead. "Are you awake?" asked a woman from outside the room. Riley recognized the voice as Lucy his sister. "Yes," Riley replied. Re-initialization Complete! OK It was a Hero System message box. Riley had not seen one in a long time. Riley raised his finger and pressed on the OK button. It was not a dream. Name: Riley Level: 1 Class: Chaos Mage / Gunner Sub-Class: Tactician / Temptress of the Night HP: 210/210 MP: 380/380 Stats: Strength: 4 (+5) Dexterity: 9 (+10) Intelligence: 9 Vitality: 6 (+5) Agility: 9 (+10) Charisma: 4 Skills: Fire Bolt (Level 1) Ice Bolt (Level 1) Lightning Bolt (Level 1) Air Bullet (Level 1) Earth Pellet (Level 1) Blood Bullet (Level 1) Blood Absorption (Level 1) Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 1) Flight (Level 1) Transformation: Temptress of the Night (Level 1) Transformation (Level 1) Magicraft (Level 1) Item Enhancement (Level 1) Enhanced Body (Level 1, Passive) Reflex (Level 1, Passive) Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1, Passive) His stats had reset to their default values at level 1, but he had retained the class of Chaos Mage along with some of the skills. Most of the abilities were gone though. As Riley got up, he examined his body. It was strange to be male again. After all, he had spent several years as a woman as far as he could remember. At the same time, it felt normal to him too. He opened up the Hero System Menu and saw a single new option "Message." As he opened it, he only saw a single person on the contact list: Garnet-192 [World-M35-117]. Riley pressed the name on it and saw three options. Invite was greyed out. Message and Delete were the only ones available. Riley pressed his finger on Message and typed out a two words: "Thank you." He then pressed send. "How long are you going to be?" Lucy asked. "Just a minute," said Riley. "Don''t forget you are supposed to see Preston at 8 AM today even though it is your day off," said the woman. "I won''t Lucy," Riley replied. Riley got dressed in the uniform that hung on his wall. He had not worn it for five years, at least according to his own memories. He put on the blue uniform and stepped outside. A woman with shoulder length black hair was waiting for him. She only stood up to his shoulder. She reached out to his arm and straightened out his uniform. Name: Lucy Level: 12 Class: Sniper Sub-Class: Nurse Stats: High Agility, High Dexterity As talented as his sister was at fighting, she was constantly plagued by her health problems, which prevented her from earning the favor of their father and from actually fighting on the front lines. "It''s alright," said Riley. He felt like he was about to cry at any moment, but he managed to hold back his tears. His sister was the one always there for him, and he had not seen her in years. "It''s not," said Lucy. "You have to finish the officer course soon otherwise father will be disappointed in you." "And do what with it?" Riley asked. "This was all his decision." "Our family comes from a long line of military people," said Lucy as she examined how Riley tucked in his top. "You have the talents, but just not the opportunity." "What''s the point of this anyways?" Riley asked. "I don''t like your tone," said Lucy. "You need to take this seriously." "I am," said Riley. "I just don''t see the purpose of it." "I suddenly don''t feel so well," said Lucy as her voice weakened and she began to fall. Riley caught her. "Is everything all right?" he asked. "Yeah, just a little dizzy again," said Lucy. "It''s been happening more often." "Have you seen a physician?" Riley asked. "Yeah," said Lucy. "They said it''s a blood problem, but their medicine isn''t effective." Riley knew that his magicraft knowledge could do something about it if he could acquire the means to do it. For now though, he just had to follow what the others wanted him to do. "Where am I going again?" Riley asked. "Sheesh did you forget already?" Lucy asked. "You''re off to see Sergeant Major Preston for a chance to jump the lines and become a real officer." "Oh right," said Riley. He had completely forgotten about this. His father had arranged for Riley to be able to take the commissioned officer test. "I''m just not sure if that''s what I want to do though." "I don''t care if it''s what you want to do," said Lucy. "It''s what father wants you to do that''s important, so hurry up and get going," said Lucy as she pushed Riley out the door. "I''m going," Riley responded as he headed out. The base was a familiar sight. There were dozens of old military vehicles on display at the Sun Tzu Military Academy. Riley took a moment to take in all the new sights before heading to Sergeant Major Preston''s office located in the administration building. KNOCK KNOCK. "Come in," said Preston. As Riley opened the door, he saw the middle aged man with white hair in uniform sitting at his desk. "So you''re Zack''s son," said Preston. "Yes," said Riley as he gave a quick salute before continuing. "I was told to come meet with you." "Your father really wants you to become an officer you know," said Preston. "He even arranged for a special chance for you to take the test." "I know," said Riley. "Come with me," said Preston. Preston got up and began to walk. Riley stood next to Preston who was walking. "Where are we going?" Riley asked. "To the Training Center," said Preston. "I just want to see something for myself." At the Training Center, Preston arranged for Riley to have a training gun. "What''s this for?'' Riley asked. "I want to see what you can do," said Preston as he walked towards the Shooting Gallery. A single thin cardboard figure was positioned about twenty feet away as he readied the gun. BANG. Preston fired a single shot as a red pellet smashed against the cardboard figure, covering it with numerous small droplets of red paint. He then handed off the gun to Riley. "I want to see what you can do," he said. Riley took the gun and fired several shots at the chest of the target. BANG. BANG. BANG. All three landed on the chest. It was much easier than Riley remembered. He used to have to take some time to aim. It was almost like second nature to him now. It was no different from aiming a Fire Bolt. Riley wanted to try it, but this was neither the time nor the place. "Good shot," said Preston. "Thank you," said Riley as he handed the gun back to Preston. "You definitely have the skills like your sister," said Preston. "Anyways, do you know why I agreed to see you?" he asked. "Is it because my father asked you for a favor like he does with everyone else?" Riley asked. "Kind of," Preston replied. "I''ve seen your record, but you don''t seem to excel at anything." "That''s because I was not sure what I wanted to do yet," said Riley. "You talk like you do now," said Preston. "Is that true?" "I do," said Riley. "I want to be able to help people." "Help how?" asked Preston. "For every person you kill, you probably create new enemies." "I don''t know yet," said Riley. "I haven''t figured that part out yet." "It''s difficult living in someone else''s shadow is it not?" asked Preston. "Yes," said Riley. Riley was always living in someone else''s shadow, following someone who was more successful than him. His father, his sister, Zedd, and even Garnet. That needed to change. Riley needed to prove that he could become someone strong enough to protect others. Someone suddenly ran into the room. "Sergeant Major Preston, there''s something you need to see!" he shouted as he began to take deep breaths. He had run there as quickly as possible. "What is it?" Preston asked. "Go outside and you will see," said the man. Preston ran outside and Riley followed. The man from earlier caught up with them and pointed up into the sky. New Quest: The Invasion Spreads (167:59:59) Stop the Invasion from destroying your world. Reward: Experience, New Skill Riley could not believe what he was seeing. "It can''t be," he thought to himself. In the sky floated a black ball with a green light inside of it. It was like the red star from the Invasion, but green instead. There was only a week until the Invasion arrived. "What is that thing?" Preston asked. "No one knows," said the man. "The brass has called you in for a meeting to deal with it." "Preston you must convince everyone to prepare for battle as soon as possible," said Riley. "I don''t have proof, but you need to believe me." "Do you know what that thing is?" Preston asked. "I saw it once before, an army of fire breathing dogs appeared with them," said Riley. "I know it sounds impossible, but you have to believe me." Preston looked directly into Riley''s eyes. "You seriously believe it, don''t you?" he asked. "Yes," said Riley. "I don''t know exactly when or what will show up, but it will eventually the moment that black star appears in the sky." Saying too much might make Preston suspicious rather than trusting. "I''ll have someone look into it," said Preston as he ran off with the messenger. Riley was left alone looking up at the black star with hints of green. Now that he took a moment to look at it, it kind of looked a little like one of Garnet''s eyes. In one week, an Invasion would arrive in their world. They did not have magic, but they had much more advanced weaponry. The only question was whether it was enough. "I need to get stronger before then," Riley thought. The difference was going to be huge though. In one week, he would need to do what took Garnet five years. "Head to your room," said a voice. "That voice," thought Riley. "Assad?" he asked. "Go quickly," said the voice. Riley quickly ran back to his room. Inside, he saw a silvery portal like the ones Zedd opened. It was an Instance Dungeon. "How?" he thought. Magic was uncommon in their world. "Use it, this is all I can do for you from here," said the voice. "Boo," said a female voice from behind him. Riley turned around and saw a familiar looking person. It was Anna. "How are you here?" she asked. "The Overseers may not be able to traverse the worlds freely without being noticed, but others can as long as they have the skills to do it," said Anna. "What about Antium?" Riley asked. "What about Garnet?" "They will take care of themselves for now," said Anna. "I''m here to help you. Magicraft!" Anna took out a familiar looking blue and gold sword and handed it to Riley. "This sword is Garnet''s," said Riley. "One of many similar looking ones that have now been named as Excalibur Replicas," said Anna. "You have to prepare yourself to protect the world that you live in." Then, Anna took out a very different looking purple sword. "Keep this in your Inventory for now," said Anna. "It will let you traverse between worlds when the time comes." "I lost most of my skills," said Riley. "I have to start over from level 1." "A month to train you up is more than enough time," said Anna. "We''re going to be following my schedule so you need to keep up." Riley and Anna stepped into the portal. It was indeed an instance dungeon. The familiar look of various animals from boars to wolves to dragons. The timer on the quest suddenly changed. It was climbing from 167 hours to 670 hours. Roughly a month. "What about my sister?" Riley asked. "You need to be strong enough to protect everyone," said Anna as she took out eight rings, two bracelets, and two earrings. She handed them to Riley. "Your family should be safe as long as they don''t do anything stupid." Riley no longer had Inspection, so he could not tell what they were, but he put them on. All of his stats increased greatly. Stats: Strength: 4 (+174) Dexterity: 9 (+180) Intelligence: 9 (+170) Vitality: 6 (+175) Agility: 9 (+180) Charisma: 4 (+50) "Can you still transform?" Anna asked. "Yes," said Riley. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Pain spread throughout Riley''s body. It was something that Riley thought he had gotten used to with the frequently transformations. "Now that''s the Riley I recognize," said Anna. Riley look at himself. Or more precisely, herself now. Riley had become a woman again when transformed. The black scales and the white hair were all familiar to her. "How am I going to explain this to my family?" Riley asked. "You won''t have to," said Anna. "Riley is going to go missing during the Invasion." "Why?!?" Riley asked surprised by this. "Why?" she repeated. "Garnet is going to need you," said Anna. "You were never meant to come back to this world so early, but she forced it with the Exchange. In doing so, this world and many others had the barriers between them weakened. It is almost certain that with low level Invasions, the Guides themselves will be able to pass through the portal that they create and the higher level Invasions will start to occur." "Barriers between worlds?" Riley said confusedly. She had no idea what was Anna was talking about. "Barriers can only be seen when you''re trying to force your way through," said Anna. "That is why Invasions take so long to occur. The barrier of the world is strong and it takes time for them to break through it. But when Garnet forced you back, it broke through the barriers of multiple worlds, weakening them and making it easier for others to pass through. What should have taken a Guide a week to break might now only take a day." "What''s happening to Garnet then?" Riley asked. "In due time, she too will be forced to confront an Invasion that she has no chance of defeating because of overwhelming odds and the Guide that is coming with it," said Anna. "We will be there to help her and you have to learn to combine your magic with your technology before then." New Quest: Trial of the Chaos Gun Mage Complete Anna''s training and awaken as a Chaos Gun Mage Reward: New Class, New Skills "Magic and technology?" Riley was confused. "Magic can also be created by sufficiently advanced technology," said Anna. "Your world has guns does it not?" "Yes," said Riley. "Don''t guns resemble fire magic to a degree?" Anna asked. Riley thought about it and how fire magic behaved. Using lower powered Fire Bolts and firing them in bursts was exactly like a gun. "They do," said Riley. "Is there anything that would prevent you from making a gun that shot Fire Bolts?" Anna asked. "Only technology," said Riley. "Magicraft!" Anna created a gun in her hand. "This is what happens when you properly combine the two." As Anna pressed the trigger, three shots of Fire Bolts launched forward in an instant. "This is what I will train you to use, magic weaponry," said Anna. "I''m ready," said Riley. Riley needed all the time she possibly could to train once more. Anna handed several weapons to Riley. "You can use magicraft to create your own," said Anna. Riley focused on it. "Magicraft!" Missing Required Materials It did not work. Unlike Anna, Riley did not have the materials. "I can''t do it," said Riley. "I don''t have the materials." Anna placed the two guns that she made onto Riley''s arms and strapped them on. The trigger was modified so that they could be fired if you clenched your hands together the right way. Instead of using bullets, they used mana to create the magic. "Go and defeat what you can," said Anna. "Stick to using bolt type spells only. Do not use Blood Absorption or melee weapons otherwise the correct class will not appear." "Okay," said Riley. Riley spent the first few days fully transformed at all times, using various mana potions from Anna to keep mana regeneration up. Skill Upgrade: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 2) Skill Upgrade: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 3) Stat Increase: Intelligence +7 A single squeeze of the trigger drained a huge amount of mana, but it killed things quickly. You have leveled up! Level Up: Fire Bolt (Level 2) Stat Increase: Intelligence +1 Stat Increase: Agility +1 Riley worked her way up using different types of bolt spells. Level Up: Lightning Bolt (Level 2) Level Up: Ice Bolt (Level 2) Skill Upgrade: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 4) Every waking moment was used by Anna to train Riley. "How do you know all this about classes?" Riley asked. "I too have been through several Ascensions in my time and seen several others," said Anna. "My power comes from the repeated level 100s and starting over." "How many times have you actually gone through the process?" Riley asked. Anna started counting on her fingers. "I think it''s 11 or 12." Anna was at least the equivalent of someone who was over level 1000 in terms of stats. It would also explain the power and strength of the Guardians. "Then how are you able to cross into this world?" Riley asked. Anna took out the purple sword and slashed a hole in space, revealing Riley''s room. "This," said Anna. "One of my special creations." New Skill: Mana Glyphs Allows you to divert mana into power, speed, regeneration, or defense to increase them by a fixed amount per percentage point of mana. MP Cost: Reduces maximum mana in exchange "That''s different from before," said Riley. However, she was starting to face the same problem Garnet did, mana limits. And to make it worse, her regeneration was much lower than Garnet''s, meaning Riley could not fight for as long or output as much power. Reduction in mana in exchange for power was a huge price. Riley approached Anna with this problem. "How do I improve mana regeneration?" Riley asked. "Spend more mana," said Anna. "Fire your bolts at everything and let it recover." It was the same answer that Zedd gave. So, Riley started shooting bolts as often as she could into the sky even when she was not fighting. It did not grant skill experience, but it did count as mana expenditure. Unlike before though, leveling up the bolt spells alone was not enough to grant access to more powerful spells, most likely because she had chosen a different route. Skill Upgrade: Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 5) After two weeks of intense training within the Instance Dungeon, it finally occurred. The guns that were created by Anna strapped to Riley''s hands changed into more of a gauntlet as a result of the upgrade. They were Riley''s own, not Anna''s or someone else''s. Quest Complete: Trial of the Chaos Gun Mage Reward: New Class, New Skills Class Change: Chaos Mage -> Chaos Gun Mage New Skill: Transformation: Magic Gunner Transforms into a form that specializes in rapid casting and usage of projectile spells. Excels in close range combat and allows the use of sword and hand to hand skills while guns are equipped. MP Cost: 0 New Skill: Transformation: Magic Sniper Transforms into a form that specializes in the casting of powerful single attacks. Downtimes between attacks are increased. Excels in long range combat. MP Cost: 0 New Skill: Magic Blade Allows you to create different types of blades from your guns MP Cost: 50 per second New Skill: Caster Shell Allows you to store powerful spells inside a bullet that can be used at a future point for no mana cost MP Cost: Varies based on spell stored within a bullet New Skill: Bullet Recovery Mana spent on bolt skills is staggared and recovered over a period of ten seconds. New Skill: Momentum Damage dealt to enemies is increased by 0.5% per consecutive attack "I did it," said Riley. "A class change." "Congratulations," said Anna. "That leaves about two more weeks to train." Under Anna''s training, Riley improved at an extraordinary rate, learning numerous new skills. Then, the day came for the Invasion to arrive. New Quest: The Invasion Spreads (00:10:28) Stop the Invasion from destroying your world. Reward: Experience, New Skill "Will you be helping me?" Riley asked. "I''ll do what I can," said Anna. "But the focus should be preventing the attack from spreading. If we can confine it to just a small region, then it will be manageable. When the Guide arrives, I will face him or her myself." This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Riley and Anna headed outside and stared at the giant black star in the sky as the eye overlooked them. There was some panic as people had not seen something like this in their life time. In the past, there was only one Invasion ever recorded in their world, and it was over two hundred years ago. But, that was all the evidence they needed to believe that it was a real threat and responded by setting up defensive lines all around it. Quest Update: The Invasion Spreads (00:00:00) Defeat Apollo, Guide of Malto. Reward: Experience, New Skill ROAR. A large mechanical serpent poked its head through from the black star. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Storm Level: 80 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Vitality The moment it did, numerous ordinances were fired at it. It whittled through its armor. WHINE. It cried out as it began to fall through from the sky. However, it was only the first of many. Three more quickly moved through and began to circle the sky. ROAR. A magic circle connected the three together and they summoned forth a giant humanoid creature the size of a building. BOOM. As it crashed onto the ground, the ground shook. People immediately began to fire at it. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Dreadnought Level: 95 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Vitality The giant mechanical soldier began to walk towards Riley. More serpents appeared. ROAR. "They''re much more powerful than the Cerberus," said Riley. "This is still is considered a weak Invasion," said Anna. "Transformation: Blade Dancer!" Anna''s standard maid uniform transformed into a suit of armor. There were four blades hovering on her back and one in her left hand. In addition, she had blades strapped to her arms and her legs. She arranged the four blades under her like a platform and stepped onto it. "Flight!" Riley could still activate her wings. "Transformation: Magic Sniper!" The guns on each of her arms combined into a large rifle in front of her. In the rifle was a slot for Caster Shells to be placed. Her outfit was now a red and black skin tight suit that covered her from head to toe. Riley aimed the rifle at the chest of the Dreadnought. The glyphs on her body lit up as she focused all of it into attack power. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. A loud sound rang from the rifle as the Lightning Fire Bolt was discharged. Riley was worried it might damage her hearing. BOOM. A second explosion was heard as the bolt crashed against the chest of the Dreadnought. The entire thing tipped over as it fell onto the ground. It was not enough to finish the monster, but it was enough to hurt it. Anna went in to fight the Dreadnought. CLANG. Anna jumped on top of the Dreadnought. "Petal Dance!" SHING. Her blades pierced its chest and scattered all around Anna. BAM. The blades crashed into the ground after having gone through the Dreadnought. The entire Dreadnought was now in pieces on the floor. You have leveled up! Meanwhile, the three serpents in the air continued to call forth more Dreadnoughts. ROAR. More of the serpents began to appear in the sky. These were different from the others as they had what resembled feathers on them. There were now at nine different sets of serpents summoning Dreadnoughts. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Typhoon Level: 80 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Vitality PEW. It was the sound of the rapid firing of bows. The metal feathers were scattered everywhere on the ground. That was when Riley realized they were not feathers. They were soldiers. The feather like objects began to split open, resulting in arms and legs. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Dust Devil Level: 20 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Vitality The Dust Devils carried weapons with them. Everything from small swords to large hammers to long range bows. "Transformation: Magic Gunner!" The leather outfit on Riley began to transform into something that resembled more of a dress. A red and black patterned cloth with pants while a more ornate red and black a-line dress covered the top. Gloves with straps for the guns were also part of the outfit. Riley also rearranged her Magic Glyph to provide the boost to defense that she needed in close ranged combat. The other forces set up here were bringing down some of the Dust Devils, but there were still too many of them because of the Dreadnoughts that had to be dealt with as well. The main focus was on bringing them down. Anna had already downed at least eight of them, but they kept coming. The hundreds of Dust Devils were only making things worse as they began to assault the ground forces. They were going to be overwhelmed soon. When it did, their lines would fall and they would have to retreat to the next defensive line. However, it also meant that the enemies would have control over a larger area and be able to call forth more forces. Anna continued to jump from Dreadnought to Dreadnought in order to take them down, but they needed to reach the Storm types way up in the sky in order to stop their summoning. "I''m heading for the ones up there," Riley said to Anna. Anna nodded, giving Riley confirmation that she was heard. Riley spread out her wings and flew straight up into the air. One of the Dreadnoughts attempted to grab Riley. "Magic Blade!" Riley created a beam saber with her gun. CRACKLE. The Magic Blade sliced right through the arm of the Dreadnought, causing it to stumble. Anna jumped straight at the Dreadnought, knocking it down onto the floor. BOOM. The Dreadnought fell onto its back as Anna cut off the head. The serpents continued to summon more of the Dreadnoughts. Riley aimed her guns straight ahead towards one of the serpents and began to fire. Fragments of the serpent began to fall off. ROAR. The serpent began to fall towards the ground. The summoning process continued, but it was slower. You have leveled up! Riley focused her attention on bringing down the other serpents. By taking down the serpents, the number of Dreadnoughts that appeared would slow down. But, the assault was not ending, more serpents appeared from the eye that was overlooking them. Even one serpent by itself was enough to summon a Dreadnought. Just like the Invasion before, they needed to take out the big targets because they were the ones that were clearing the path for the little ones. BANG. The two remaining serpents popped like balloons as their fragments fell to the ground. Riley turned and looked. There were numerous metal fragments on the ground from all the Machine Spirits that had been destroyed. The strange thing was that they seem to have been destroyed on their own. Riley remembered that the Invasion was often broken into stages. One meant to weaken their forces, one meant to siege, and one to basically finish everything off. If the serpents were meant to weaken their forces, the Dreadnoughts would be there to siege them, but the Dust Devils were weaker enemies that were not meant to end everything. There was still one more that was coming. The eye that was overlooking them vanished, but the black ball still remained in the sky. VWOOM. A large metal spike fell through the black star and impaled itself into the ground. BOOM. As it landed, it created a deep crater in the ground. Fragments of metal were slowly being drawn towards it. A small speck came out of the black star. It was a person wearing some kind of black cloak. His face was partially covered, but Riley could tell that he was not that old. Name: Apollo Level: 120 Class: Metal Mage / Sword Master Sub-Class: Magitech Master / Invader Stats: High Intelligence. "Magicraft: Machine Spirit King!" The fragments of metal gathered around the metal spike. Fragments of the destroyed Dreadnoughts began to attach itself to the metal spike. The entire thing glowed as the metal fragments began to fuse together. Name: Machine Spirit King Level: 100 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Strength, High Vitality A single large humanoid was formed. It wielded a large silver sword breaker in one hand composed of the pieces of the fallen serpents and some type of glowing tower shield in another that was built around the torso of a fallen Dreadnought. The person with the black cloak stood on top of the giant''s shoulder. "I finally broke though!" said Apollo. The black star in the sky disappeared. That normally was supposed to mark the end of an Invasion, but the creatures that came forth from it still rampaged. A few serpents were still summoning more Dreadnoughts. The real threat was the Machine Spirit King and Apollo. Anna stood next to Riley. "He''s the main target," said Anna. "He''s an Invader too," said Riley. "Is he the Guide?" "Yes," said Anna. "When the Guide cannot break through, they usually rely on their large powerful creature to destroy what they can. If they can break through, they can command their creatures." Riley noticed as the speed of the Dreadnoughts began to increase. The Dust Devils also began to push with intense ferocity as if they were consumed by bloodlust. Apollo was providing his machines with some type of buff. "But what happens when a Guide does make it through?" Riley asked. "We have to stop them before they make a foothold in this world and claim it as their own," said Anna. "And to do that, we have to kill the Guide themselves," said Anna as she pointed to Apollo. Apollo was already making his move. "Magicraft: Titanic Blade!" He created a large metal sword and threw it at one of the cannons. BOOM. Apollo moved to take out the heavy weapons that were destroying the Dreadnoughts. "How do we stop him?" Riley asked. "All Guides should be treated as a powerful mage," said Anna. She combined three of her swords into a single large one and threw it at Apollo. "Let''s bring this guy down together." "Alright," said Riley. "I''m going to go first," said Anna. "Shoot him with your long range form when you get the chance to." "Transformation: Magic Sniper!" Riley transformed as she grounded herself on the top of a building overlooking the Machine Spirit King. Anna flew towards the Machine Spirit King. The sword that she threw crashed straight into its chest, knocking it with enough force to cause it to bend backwards. BAM. "What?!?" shouted Apollo as he looked around. With the giant sword in hand, Anna swung her sword in a full circle around her. "Wave of Destruction!" A shockwave was released that pushed everything around her back. Even the neck of the Machine Spirit King was blasted backwards from the force. Apollo turned to face Anna. "You haven''t established a foothold in this world yet either, that means I can fight you for the rights to this world," said Apollo. "I don''t care about the rules of engagement for your people," said Anna. "I''m here to stop you." "Overseer?" asked Apollo. "No," said Anna. "Just a concerned citizen." "I don''t know who you are, but I will stop anyone who gets in my way," said Apollo. "Magicraft: Twin Blades!" Apollo created a pair of silver short swords in his hands as he rushed towards Anna. "Blade Art: Double Strike!" A sword appeared behind Anna as it swung in a quarter circle towards Apollo. Anna immediately then pulled out a second sword, performing an overhead smash. CLANG. Apollo raised his swords to block the attack. "You''re strong," he said. When Anna saw that the attack was blocked, she readied her next one. "Blade Art: Cross Strike!" Two swords appeared and slashed in front of her in an X shape. The attack forced Apollo to fall back. Riley could see no opening to shoot as the two constantly exchanged blows. With her finger on the trigger, she had to wait until Anna created an opening before she could shoot. "Magicraft: Claymore!" Apollo switched to a single two handed sword and pushed towards Anna. Anna took out a sword that Riley had never seen before. A single black and gold sword. "You dare to face me, a Divine Sword with a sword of your own?" asked Apollo. "Overconfidence leads to death," said Anna. "The fact that you are an expert sword wielder is the reason I draw this sword." Apollo rushed forward with his claymore. "Avalanche!" The entire sword glowed blue as he approached. He swung the sword. Liquid metal poured forth from the blade. Anna''s black and gold sword cut straight through the liquid, freezing it in place. She immediately jumped back, leaving Apollo wide open. BANG. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley fired the shot at Apollo''s chest. The shot went straight though Apollo''s chest. BOOM. The explosion behind him knocked him back, but as he was still holding onto the sword, he did not move. "Gah!" Apollo screamed as he let go of his sword. The sword was still frozen in place, even when Apollo let go. Anna''s black and gold sword had frozen everything it touched in place. BANG. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley fired again. BOOM. Apollo rolled over in order to avoid it. The shoulders of the giant that they were fighting on was already beginning to weaken as fragments of metal fell off of it. "I cannot die here," said Apollo as he drew a purple sword and slashed it, creating a hole in space. "Delta Strike!" Anna immediately used a ranged sword skill. The hole was frozen and Apollo bumped into it trying to get back in. "Impossible," said Apollo as he clawed against the hole in space, trying to get in. "This is one world you will never be leaving," said Anna. "Heart Seeker!" Apollo raised his sword to try to block it. Against Anna''s black and gold sword, it was useless. CLANG. The moment Anna''s sword touched Apollo''s, Apollo could no longer move his own sword. Anna immediately then lowered the sword and drove it straight into Apollo''s chest. You have leveled up! Apollo looked into the distance at where the gun shot came from and Riley saw Apollo looking straight at her. "Hero?!?" he shouted. SHING. The sword went clean through Apollo''s chest. "I win," said Anna. Once Riley saw that their fight was over and Apollo stopped moving, she flew down to take a closer look. "Is it done?" Riley asked. "Not yet," said Anna. "You have to absorb him." "Blood Absorption!" Apollo''s body exploded into blood and entered Riley. Stat Increase: Strength +40 Stat Increase: Dexterity +10 Stat Increase: Intelligence +50 Stat Increase: Vitality +10 Stat Increase: Agility +20 New Skill: Metal Craft Allows you to create metal weapons with your mana without the need for materials. Items disappear after a certain amount of time has passed. MP Cost: 100 per creation New Recipe: Metal Craft: Swords Allows you to create swords with your mana. New Recipe: Metal Craft: Gun Allows you to create guns with your mana. New Recipe: Metal Craft: Bullet Allows you to create standard, armor piercing, and silenced, types of gun ammunition with your mana. New Skill: Magicraft: Machine Spirit Allows you to create metal golems with high defensive power. Disappears after twenty minutes. MP Cost: 1000 New Skill: Transformation: Metal Form Changes your entire body to be similar to metal. Increases Vitality and Strength equal to a quarter of your own Intelligence. Cannot be used with any other elemental transformations. Upgradeable: Requires Guardian Vessel MP Cost: Maximum mana reduced by 10% As Riley turned around, the Machine Spirits were no longer being summoned. As the serpents circled the sky, they were slowly being shot down. "We have to leave before they start searching and asking questions," said Anna. "How?" Riley asked. "Remember the sword I gave you?" Anna asked. "The strange purple one?" Riley asked. "Yes," said Anna. Anna took the purple sword that Apollo dropped. "Follow me," she said as she slashed a hole into space. Riley looked into it and saw what appeared to be the walls of Constantinople. There were numerous undead creatures smashing themselves into the wall. "What''s going on there?" Riley asked. "Something that is quickly becoming a war between four different factions," said Anna. "You and I have to ensure that Garnet does not die when the Guide arrives." "What about here?" Riley asked. "What about my home?" "The Invaders will recognize both you and Garnet as Heroes," said Anna. "When they do, they will come for you. If you want to protect your home, you must leave here right now." Riley realized that was what Apollo meant when he said the word "Hero" as he died. It was because Apollo recognized Riley. If she stayed here, other Guides will come for her. If she returned to Garnet''s world, Guides will track her there instead. Riley took a look around one last time and saw that the people were finishing off the Dreadnoughts. She took one look and saw various medics beginning to clean up. In the distance, she saw Lucy, her sister, as she dragged a body out of the rubble. Knowing that Lucy was safe, Riley felt a little comfort. "Alright," said Riley. Riley took one good look at her stats. Level: 42 Class: Chaos Gun Mage Sub-Class: Tactician / Temptress of the Night HP: 3860/3860 MP: 8580/8580 Stats: Strength: 84 (+174) Dexterity: 103 (+180) Intelligence: 409 (+170) Vitality: 56 (+175) Agility: 302 (+180) Charisma: 4 (+50) With Anna''s help, she had become much stronger despite her low level. Anna grabbed Riley''s hand. "Let''s go, the Invasion in that world has already started as well," said Anna. The two jumped into the purple portal. Riley was returning to the world that she was forced to once. This time, she was going by her own choice to help the one who had brought her home. Summary of Important Points You May Have Missed Spoiler : 1) Riley has limited time traveling powers. He''s gone for six years and remembers everything with actual proof that it happened, but when he wakes up, it''s the next day. Lucy has no idea what he has done. 2) Garnet has the means to cure Lucy''s illness (elixir) and will return with it. Riley lost the recipe when he returned to his world, making him unable to create it. The proper ingredients also do not exist in their world (it''s not made clear, but that''s the case). Eventually, Lucy will most likely join them as the 5th and final guardian (current plan anyways). She is currently weakened because of her illness, resulting in a massive level down that they do not realize as Riley is unable to see status effects on others. 3) Invasions regularly happen in other worlds, but the amount of time it takes between the appearance of the colored star in the sky and the appearance of the monsters depends on the strength of the barrier between worlds and the strength of the Invader. If the difference in strength between Guide and Invader creatures is too great, the time it takes to break through the barrier makes it impossible for both to appear at once and the Guide usually gives up and hopes the creatures they summoned at least weakens the world for the next attempt. A method that is used to force transport between worlds weakens the barriers that protect it from Invasions, thus makes it easier to Invade. 4) There are a few rules and guidelines to claiming a world for yourself. If you don''t follow them, someone else can challenge you for claims without consequences. 5) The Guides have a fairly straightforward strategy for attacking a world. Send in summoners, send in troops, send in siege, finally send in ace and hope you can enter the world. 6) To a degree, Guides are able to identify people who have been under the effects of the Hero System because they produce a unique aura, just like how some Guardians can do it. Strange coincidence is it not? 7) Killing a Guide means nothing if they have made back up bodies through Human Form Vessels and Spirit Transmutation. The only consequence is a level down effect if they create another. This is why there was no Quest Complete message for Riley despite Anna having killed Apollo and Riley having absorbed his body. Apollo is still out there. 8) Anna is a lot older and stronger than she pretends to be (she''s been doing this for a long time already). She is also in regular contact with Assad, who is able to use the same Messaging system that Riley has though Assad''s Messaging is more like a recorded voice. However, Assad is also capable of hearing voices that are directed at him even though he may not respond. 9) The empty vessel in the Hidden Vault is meant to combine the abilities of a Hero with the abilities of a Guardian. The current candidate for it is Riley, which Assad has been trying to prepare her for since the time she got her spirit body. 10) Leaving a world is easier than entering another. There are special tools made for this as well as a result of escalating war between Overseers and Guides. Injury Announcement -> Slight Delay (4/30/2016) I accidentally cut part of my middle finger on my left hand yesterday. Just a bit of nail lost and a small cut. It just makes it hard to type because it''s hard to use my pinky and I can''t use my left middle finger to type and I''m not used to typing with 8 fingers at the moment. Almost done with Chapter 54, but I might only get that one chapter done this week because of the injury. Book 7: Chapter 054 - Ban, Barrier Guardian So, now that my finger actually healed mostly and I can type normally, I actually finished this chapter. The reason for the delay was that I also have to plan for the summer classes that I have to teach as well (Beginning English and World History), so I have to start spending time on that as well. Update about Book 7 description since the content is way different from my original outline that I posted a while back. Spoiler : A lot has changed since I first planned this book, so the descriptions are way off if you looked at my first Book 5 to 8 plan. The purpose of most of this major arc is to push Garnet to desire power, but not to get too out of control with it. She''s already willing to sacrifice other people to her Revenants if she can catch them. The problem is that she sees starting to see things as either "allies" or "enemies" and treats them accordingly. This chapter marks the beginning of Book 7 of which only the first two chapters take place in another world. So far, we''ve only seen the impact of one Invasion that was fairly easily defeated in Garnet''s world, and not the others. What happens when an Invasion is actually successful will most likely be explored in the late third or maybe early fourth major arc. The third major arc will most likely take place in the Eastern Empire as Garnet attempts to find out how they''ve held off against such powerful Invasions for so long. The key person to this will be Xiaomei who will defect from the Dark Mages when she realizes that Garnet''s true goal is to fight the Invasions, not other people. The current plan is for Garnet, Riley, Zedd, and Xiaomei to travel to the Eastern Empire together after all the major problems have been dealt with. Of course, plans always change. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The moment Garnet stepped through the portal, she heard a high pitch voice. "Humans!" it shouted. Garnet saw what appeared to be a humanoid snow leopard. "Humans!" it continued to shout as it ran away from them. Garnet took a look around. They were in the middle of a fairly flat land with sparse trees scattered in every direction. It looked like some of the unpopulated areas of her own world. It was hard to believe that this was another world considering it looked so similar to some of the forested areas of her own. Zedd was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. "Shouldn''t we be looking for the four leaders?" Garnet asked. "Wait for someone to greet us," said Zedd. "We don''t want to cause any more panic than we already did coming here." Garnet sat down next to Zedd. "What is this place?" she asked. "This is a world that is mostly populated by different humanoids with animal characteristics," Zedd replied. "They have become humanoid like us over time, resulting in creatures like the one you just saw." Garnet stood back up to take a quick look around the vicinity. As far as she could see, it was a field with a few sparsely placed trees. "Who are we waiting for?" Garnet asked as she continued to look around. "A humanoid bear by the name of Lance," said Zedd. "How do you know this guy?" Garnet inquired. "I found him our world a long time ago," said Zedd. "He was hurt, so I patched him up and sent him on his way. He gave me that cube so that I could visit him at his home. I came here a few times though I only met with Lance once or twice." Before long, Garnet could sense several things approaching them. "Something is coming," Garnet warned Zedd. "Relax," said Zedd. "They''re just taking precautions." Numerous different humanoid figures surrounded them. Garnet saw what appeared to be a humanoid cat and a large rhino. Both stood up on two feet. Name: Natalie Level: 29 Class: Druid Sub-Class: Monk Stats: High Dexterity Name: Paul Level: 30 Class: Warrior Sub-Class: Titan Stats: High Strength Garnet could see their stats like anyone else. There were others among them. "Is that you Zedd?" asked the humanoid bear as it stepped forward. Name: Lance Level: 40 Class: Titan Sub-Class: Monk Stats: High Strength, High Vitality The bear had black fur and round ears. It was enormous and was easily twice the height of Garnet. It wore a large ragged brown shirt and pants that were torn in multiple spots. "Long time no see," said Zedd. "It''s okay everyone," said Lance as he grabbed Zedd for a hug. He picked Zedd up off the ground. "You can stop now," said Zedd as Lance continued to hold him off the ground. "What brings you here today?" Lance asked. "I brought her here to see the great spirits," said Zedd as he looked at Garnet. Lance took a quick look at Garnet. "Don''t you think she''s too young for the trials?" Lance asked. "The people of your village do it at a much younger age don''t they?" Zedd asked. "That''s because they''re born and raised here with the intention to take the trial," said Lance. "You people are not, which is why you failed." "But unfortunately, I''m afraid we don''t have a choice," said Garnet. "I need to complete it to become stronger." Lance''s expression changed. "Come to my place," he said as he began to walk. Garnet and Zedd followed him. Some of the others were still suspicious of her and Zedd. "If you''re just here for power, you should turn back now," said Lance. "Why?" Garnet asked. "The great spirits do not offer their help to those who just desire power," said Lance. "Power isn''t my goal, it''s a means to my goal," said Garnet. "People say that, but the great spirits will read your heart and see through your lies," Lance warned. The group arrived at a small city filled with humanoid creatures. There were some who were like animals and others that were like elementals. Garnet could not help but stare at all the people and places around her. The animals and elementals stared at her and Zedd as well. Both were seeing rare or new things. The city barely qualified as one. It consisted mostly of small huts with only one large stone building on top of a huge mount of dirt in the middle of the city. Most of them were small houses constructed of perishable materials like sticks and straw. There were perhaps only one or two stone or wooden buildings that she passed by. A few had even chosen to build their homes underground instead. Lance''s house was relatively small. It was constructed from a mound of dirt and mud that was stacked together with bags and metal wires to hold them together. The entrance was like a cave. "Come, sit," said Lance. "I want to talk with you for a bit." Zedd and Garnet sat down across from Lance. Zedd gestured to Lance to go ahead. "Do you know what the trial is?" Lance asked. "No," Garnet replied. "I was just told that it is a way to become stronger if I succeed." "It does grant you power if you can do what the spirits ask," Lance confirmed. "However, most people fail because their reasons are ultimately selfish." "All desire for power is selfish," said Garnet. "If I am selfish for trying to protect what is important to me, then so be it. But, I think the real question is what you want to do with that power." "Interesting," said Lance. "I''ll bring you to the great spirits, but there''s no telling what they will think of it." "Thank you," Garnet replied. "I''m not the one who makes the final decision," said Lance. "The great spirits are." For some reason, Garnet felt terrified by how Lance spoke of the great spirits. They sounded like monsters who could read and understand everything about her and judged everyone who approached them. "When can I meet the great spirits?" Garnet asked. "In due time," said Lance. "For now, take some time to look around the village." "Is it okay?" Zedd asked. "Aren''t you worried?" "Things have changed since the last time you were here," Lance explained. "They''re more tolerant now and less likely to cause trouble now that we have travelers from different worlds as well though there is a tendency to dislike humans like you." Garnet could not help but worry. "Are you not afraid of someone attacking you?" "The great spirits have protected us many times," said Lance. "Even those Invasions that Zedd has been so afraid of has been stopped by them before." "What?!?" Garnet was surprised by this information. "The great spirits can stop an Invasion by themselves?" "They''ve taken it upon themselves to protect this world," said Lance. "When we were attacked, they could no longer stand idling by and decided to take an active approach." "So that''s why you haven''t had any problems," said Zedd. "The great spirits are extremely powerful after all." "Anyways, I''m going to go meet with the great spirits and see if they are willing to meet you," said Lance. "Take some time to look around. I''ll be back here with any news in a bit." Zedd went outside and Garnet followed after him. "Where are you going?" she asked. "To look around," said Zedd. "It''s been a long time since I''ve been here." As Garnet made her way around the village, there were no other humans besides her and Zedd. Most of them were some animal like humanoids, such as alligators that stood on two feet. Garnet was getting the same looks from the inhabitants. To them, she was the strange one. Zedd seemed to pay no attention to them and continued walking around. "I never knew there were places like this," said Garnet. "If you ever travel the world, you will find other strange places as well, but this is a different world entirely," said Zedd. "It looks very similar to ours though," said Garnet. "That''s because life is only possible on worlds with certain environments," Zedd explained. "If it''s too different, then life is not possible or is very limited there." "Have you been to worlds like that?" Garnet asked. "A few," said Zedd. "This is the only other world I''ve been to multiple times." Garnet thought about the words Assad said to her. Someday, she would have to leave her own world and join the fight against the Guides. This place gave Garnet an idea of what she was fighting for. Each world had people with their own way of life and the Invasions were disrupting that way of life. The place resembled some of the other villages Garnet had visited before. She spotted a dog like creature cooking what appeared to be grilled lizards to sell in the market. Others had merchants selling crafted wares like pottery and plates. It was like other markets from her world. "Anything you find interesting or want to see more of?" Zedd asked. "Not really," said Garnet. "It''s surprisingly similar to our world." "Haha," Zedd laughed. "All intelligent life has similar pursuits of what we call civilization. Their technological development here is a little behind ours though because of over a hundred years of constant warfare." The two made their way back to Lance''s home. When they returned, Lance was not back yet. Zedd sat back down and waited. Garnet was a little impatient. "Can you tell me anything about the trial?" "I wish I knew more," said Zedd. "But I don''t. Like I said, I kind of failed the moment it started when they asked me a few questions." "What kind of creatures are the great spirits?" Garnet asked. "There''s a turtle and a snake," said Zedd. "I haven''t met the other two before. Lance said one was a lion and the other was a monkey." "Couldn''t you tell what they were like?" Garnet asked. "Nope," said Zedd. "They were very focused on me and the monkey kicked me out as soon as they didn''t like my answer." Soon after, Lance returned. "Oh you''re already back," he said. "How did it go?" Zedd asked. "Ban has agreed to meet with you," said Lance. "Ban?" Garnet wondered. "Who''s Ban?" "Ban is the name of the turtle spirit," said Lance. "What about the other three?" Garnet asked. "They have not agreed to meet you yet," said Lance. "I suggest you go see Ban immediately since if you can persuade one of them to help you, it''s better than nothing." "Then what are we sitting here for?" Garnet asked. "Let''s go immediately." Lance brought Garnet and Zedd over to a large ritual ground just outside of the city. There were four stone pillars erected in the corners. There was a single paved road that went straight into tress in the distance. The trees covered a single area entirely the other trees were still spread all around. "We''re here," he said. "What am I looking for?" Garnet asked. Lance pointed to the road straight ahead towards the area covered with trees. "You go alone," Lance instructed. "Alright," Garnet responded as she began to walk forward. "We''ll be waiting for you here," said Zedd. New Quest: Trials of the Four Beasts Gain the approval of the four beasts that live in the forest of the Cube World Reward: New Skills Garnet turned around and began to walk towards the only road in front of her. It was a paved dirt road that was commonly traversed. Footprints of different shapes and sizes could be seen in the ground. It was proof that there were others who walked along this path. Once Garnet entered the cover of the trees, she began to advance slowly and careful. "You don''t have to worry," said a deep yet comforting voice. "Who''s there?!?" Garnet shouted. "It''s me, Ban," said the voice. "Where are you?" Garnet asked. "Keep walking forward," said the voice. Garnet continued to walk forward. In the distance, she saw a strange black hill. "Are you over there in the distance?" she asked. "Yes," said the voice. Garnet walked over to the black hill. There was just enough light that shine through the leaves of the trees above to create a pattern of light and darkness on the ground. As Garnet drew closer to the black hill, she realized it was not a hill. Name: Ban Level: 229 Class: Divine Sub-Class: Barrier Master / Earth Guardian Stats: ??? The hill was the turtle. It was enormous. There were even a dozen trees growing out of its back. "Do not be afraid," said Ban. Garnet carefully approached Ban, taking a closer look at it. She noticed that there were chips in his shell on his back. It was signs of battle damage. Some parts of the shell was smoothed out as well, as if it was growing back. There were clearly defined lines on Ban''s skin as well. "Thank you for meeting with me," said Garnet. "I was interested in why a human such as yourself would risk crossing worlds to meet me," said Ban. "So why are you here?" it asked. The trial had already started. It was seeking infromation from Garnet. On top of that, it was able to read her to a certain degree. "I want power," she said. "Didn''t Lance warn you about beeing greedy for power?" asked Ban. "He did," Garnet replied. "But in order to accomplish my goals, I need power." Ban began to stare down Garnet. Garnet could see her own reflection in Ban''s eyes. "What are your goals?" Ban asked. Garnet could see the head began to move around to take a good look at her. "My goal is to protect my family and myself," said Garnet. "That''s only one of your goals isn''t it?" asked Ban. "I can tell there''s more to it." "There is no simple answer," Garnet replied. "I''m in danger because of my own actions and now I seek the power to protect myself from the people who are after me. Most of it is because of problems that I have caused on my own. I believe I do not have the power to face these people in battle." The eyes of Ban squint at Garnet as if it was looking for something. "But you''re not afraid," said Ban. "Why are you not afraid if someone you cannot beat is after you?" "Because I know I will have to fight them no matter what," said Garnet. "If I cannot beat them now, I will retreat, get stronger, and fight them. If I don''t, I die. With or without your help, this is something I must do." "Is that a veiled threat?" asked Ban. "I''m just telling you what I''m going to be doing regardless of what happens," said Garnet. "I will be fighting with those people or without your help anyways." "But you must be desperate to seek help from something like me are you not?" asked Ban. "Yes," Garnet answered. "I fear there is an enemy that even my friends cannot help me with." "And what is the threat you face?" Ban asked as he looked Garnet in the eye. "People who I believe are after me life," said Garnet. Ban closed his eyes for a moment. "I see," it said. "But I can tell that not everyone is after your life. You''ve made some friends along the way, even with those that are not human. Because of this, I will help you, but it depends on whether or not you can understand." "Thank you, I will do my best," said Garnet. At that moment, she felt something watching her. She quickly took a look over her shoulder and saw looked to be a shadow in the form of a humanoid move in the trees. "Is something wrong?" Ban asked. "I thought I saw something," said Garnet. "No one else is here," Ban responded. Garnet knew that Ban was lying. She was certain that she had felt someone watching and looking at her. For now though, she had to trust Ban. Ban was the only one that could give her power. There was nothing else she could do. "I''m ready to begin when you are," said Garnet. "What do you draw your power from?" Ban asked. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon."Draw power from?" Garnet thought. "What do you mean?" "Do you source your power from mana like Zedd or from something else?" Ban asked. Ban knew about Zedd. Ban even knew that she was connected to Zedd. What surprised Garnet was the fact that Ban said "mana or something else." Were there other sources? "What sources of power are there?" Garnet asked. "The most common ones are either mana or chi drawn from certain points in the body," Ban explained. "However, there are others, such as those who open the chakras in their body and draw power from those. There are others who infuse their body with the marrow and blood of powerful creatures to gain their abilities. The different types are nearly limitless." "I draw my power from mana," Garnet replied. "Show me what you can do," Ban ordered. "I don''t want to damage this forest or hurt you," said Garnet. "Where can I use my spells?" Ban narrowed his eyes and directed them again towards Garnet with an intense aura. "Hit me with the strongest spell you got," said Ban. "Don''t worry, I''ll be fine." Ban deployed a purple hexagonal barrier in front of him. It then multiplied around into a full barrier that covered the entire front half of its body. Garnet raised her hands into the air and began to channel her mana. "Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning!" Just gathering it in her hands already caused the air around her to distort from the heat. Ban deployed another barrier in the shape of a dome around the forest as well. The only spot was a single part of the top from which the energy could be vented through if needed. "For safety so it doesn''t spread," it said. Ban was still confident in its abilities. When the blade was completely formed, Garnet spoke, "Here I go!" She swung the blade downwards. FWOOM. The flames burned everything between her and Ban. BOOM. The blade then exploded, creating a shockwave. To Garnet''s surprise, the barrier still held strong. The entire fire was contained and killed by the barriers as they collapsed around it. "Very impressive," said Ban as it lowered its barrier. "But that''s not even close to what you need to fight off the Guides." Garnet was surprised. "How did you know?" she asked. "I know everything," said Ban. There was not a single scratch or burn mark anywhere on Ban. Garnet could now understand why Ban was not worried at all. "Did you feel anything when channeling that mana?" Ban asked. "It feels like I''m channeling fire, wind, and lightning at the same time," Garnet replied. "Have you wondered why your own fire doesn''t seem to burn you?" Ban asked. This had never occurred to Garnet. "No," said Garnet. "I haven''t thought about it until now." "Spells created from your own mana cannot hurt you," Ban explained. "But have you ever used those spells on yourself?" "You mean attack myself with my own magic?" Garnet thought. "Why would I do that?" "Observe," said Ban. Garnet could feel an incredible amount of mana flowing out of Ban. The power suddenly turned inward towards Ban. "Earth Form." The power from it was absorbed into Ban''s body. The color of Ban began to change as its black shell turned green and the cracks and gaps in it filled in. Its rough skin also turned brown and resembled stone now. There was something else coming from Ban besides mana. It was distinct enough to be separated from the mana, but Garnet could not tell what it was. It was almost as if there was another source of energy being drawn into it. The trees on his back began to bloom as fruits spawned from the trees. They were also releasing some kind of sweet nectar smell. "That''s a transformation," said Garnet. "That is correct," said Ban. "I used my own magic on myself to transform." "How do I do that?" Garnet asked. "When you gather mana to cast the spell, direct it throughout your body instead," said Ban. "You cannot be hurt by your own mana as long as it is not channeled into your heart or back into your mana resevoir, so do not worry." It was like when Garnet concentrated the bolt of lightning in her hand to create Light. This time, she would have to concentrate it throughout her own body. However, that gave Garnet an idea. Since she only needed to concentrate the mana into her body, she did not need it to flow through her body properly. She had a skill for it. She concentrated the mana into her hands for a Lightning Bolt. This time though, she did not use it for lightning. "Essence Absorption!" New Skill: Lightning Form Transforms your body into one of lightning. Your Agility is further increased by half of your Intelligence in this form. Cannot activate another transformation afterwards without reverting to your base form. Can be upgraded by merging with a spirit while this form is active. MP Cost: -10% Maximum Mana while active Garnet''s entire body glowed with a yellow aura as lightning began to spark around her body. "What happened to me?" "Impressive, you did it so quickly," said Ban. "Your body is partially comprised of lightning at this moment," Ban explained. "Does that mean I''ll die if I''m dispersed?" Garnet asked. "It''s not quite that simple," said Ban. "You''re more like a spirit, a being with a limited physical form. It is possible to turn into an element entirely once you become skilled enough with it." "This seemed a little too easy," said Garnet. "It normally isn''t that easy," said Ban. "For some reason, you were able to absorb it into yourself without much difficulty." It was most likely due to Essence Absorption. With it, Garnet was able to take in some of the properties of anything she absorbed, even magic. "What happens if you try to absorb another person''s magic?" Garnet asked. "It is likely to overwhelm and destroy you," Ban explained. "Magic from another person destroys your body, that is why it can be so damaging to others." That seemed to contradict Garnet''s own abilities and her skill description. Under normal circumstances it would destroy her. Under the conditions granted to her by her Supernatural Body and Essence Absorption, it was theoretically possible. After all, she had absorbed corpses and took their power as her own with Blood Absorption. It would be weird if everything so far was an exception. If Essence Absorption was truly an upgrade of Blood Absorption, then it would not be a problem. "Thank you for this," said Garnet. "With this, I might be able to keep up with those stronger than me." "We''re not done here," said Ban. "Lightning Form!" The giant turtle stacked lightning transformation on top of his earth one already and blocked off Garnet''s exit. It deployed an entire dome barrier once more. Despite its size, its incredible speed with the transformation allowed it to move even faster than Garnet. "What are you doing?!?" Garnet shouted. "Did you think you were just going to walk out of here for free?" Ban asked. Ban had trapped Garnet within the confines of the forest. Garnet could see streaks of lightning flowing outward from Ban''s body. "Transform!" Garnet had to revert before she could transform. "Transformation: Queen of the Night! Transformation: Lightning Form!" Garnet stacked the two transformations together. Her maximum mana was significantly reduced, but her stats were increased immensely. "Very interesting," said Ban. "I knew you were no ordinary human." Garnet had no idea how many abilities Ban had. The barrier was probably its main ability, but the ability to grow the trees on its back and the lightning transformation were very different. She had to keep her distance from it and find an opening. However, Garnet knew she could not harm Ban. If Ban was like the other Divine creatures, it was responsible for controlling some force of nature. Hurting it would mean that it could cause damage to the world somehow. "Barrier Cage!" Ban''s barriers covered the entire area with hexagonal purple barriers began to move around Garnet, creating a cage. It was already too late. Ban had trapped Garnet inside the barrier. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired a shot at one of the barriers. PING. The shot was deflected. It bounced between different barriers before flying straight for the ground. BOOM. It created a crater on the ground. "Damn it," Garnet thought to herself. She was trapped. Strangely enough though, Ban was not moving. Garnet kept her eye on Ban, but Ban did not try anything yet. Garnet took this chance to try to escape. She immediately moved to the area furthest from Ban and aimed straight for the barrier. "Explosive Palm!" BOOM. The explosive power of the attack struck the barrier. Despite the force released by the blast, there was not a single crack in it. Garnet was trapped within the dome. She would have to confront Ban to escape. As Garnet turned around to face Ban, Ban had not moved from its spot. It was still standing there, observing her. Garnet realized this was most likely another test. She had panicked when Ban turned on her. She calmed herself and took another look at Ban. Ban stood there quietly observing her. It had no intention of attacking her. This was most likely just another test to see her reaction. "Most people''s first instinct is to attack me," said Ban. "Why didn''t you?" "You''re a Divine type creature," Garnet replied. "You must manage some important aspect of this world. On top of that, I know I don''t have the power to defeat you in any type of fight." "You pass," said Ban as it lowered the barriers around them. "So, you realize the importance of the Divine creatures." "What are the Divine Creatures?'' Garnet asked. "I''ve only met two, but I''ve never wondered to ask." "Divine Creatures help maintain the natural world," Ban explained. "When the Divine Creature of Earth fell, this world was thrown into chaos." "It was slain?!?" Garnet was surprised by this. Lotan and Nian were both extremely powerful creatures. For something to slay one, it was no easy task. After all, all of them so far were at least level 100. "Yes, by creatures that appeared from an eye in the sky," said Ban. "Invaders," said Garnet. "That''s what you call them," Ban explained. "A large number appeared and killed Terra, the Divine Creature of Earth." "What happened then?" Garnet asked. "The power of the Earth was lost for a while," said Ban. "Earth magic was weakened, lands broke apart, the soil lost most of its natural productive abilities for a few years, resulting in the relatively small population that you see now." "Then how was it fixed?" Garnet wondered. "I rose up as the new Divine Creature of Earth," Ban replied. "How?'' Garnet asked. "The worlds needs the Divine Creatures to maintain it," said Ban. "If one is lost, the world will attempt to support a new creature that meets the requirements fill that position." Garnet thought about how it sounded similar to what happened with the Hero System. If the Hero was lost and another person fulfills the requirements, then that position will be filled by whoever meets the requirements except it did not require a Hero Summoning Ritual. "How does it do that?'' Garnet asked. "Do they just select you?" "I became aware of my duties in a vision," Ban explained. "I saw memories of another, one I believe to be the previous Divine Guardian." "That doesn''t explain a whole lot," said Garnet. It did sound familiar to what Riley went through with hearing voices though. Garnt remembered that a voice had spoken to Riley before, one that belonged to the previous Hero, Assad. Even with Garnet in this world though, Assad retained his Hero abilities. That brought up the question of why Riley did not retain hers though. "I know it doesn''t," said Ban. "I was just granted awareness of the situation and the abilities to bring it under control by some outside force." The Divine Creatures may not be natural and could be artificial creations made in order to fulfill a specific purpose as well. The question was how it related to the Hero System. The two were similar, yet seemed to be very different at the same time. A Hero was chosen through man made means and only when one fulfilled the requirements would they be reborn as a Hero. Failure meant death. On the other hand, the Divine Creatures were carefully chosen by something, but what was that something? It also resembled the Guardian Contract as well. Garnet was able to choose someone or something to become a Guardian of Constantinople. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please tell me if I messed up the stats below. I haven''t had much sleep these last few days so I''m pretty certain there''s a mistake somewhere in there. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 44 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 3350/3350 MP: 11660/11660 Fame: 220 Strength: 122 (+5) Dexterity: 82 (+7) Intelligence: 336 (+22) Vitality: 100 (+5) Agility: 134 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 7: Chapter 055 - Sunny, Master of Transformations Again, sorry for the slow releases that amount to basically what manga chapters get. I''ve mostly been planning what I''m going to teach for the Summer and making lesson plans for those classes. I''ve only been writing when I get some good ideas. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another creature suddenly jumped down from the trees down next to Ban. It had dark orange hair and was shaped like a humanoid more than a monkey. It wore a green and gold armor. He dressed kind of like Xiaomei, but with heavy armor instead of something light. The way he jumped around kind of reminded Garnet of Xiaomei as well. It placed its red and gold staff down on the floor and took a close look at Garnet. "You were the thing up in the trees!" said Garnet. "I''m surprised you noticed," said the monkey. Name: Sunny Level: 292 Class: Divine Warrior Sub-Class: Master of Seventy Two Transformations Stats: High Strength, High Agility "Who are you?" Garnet asked. "Name''s Sunny," said the monkey. "I''m surprised you can pass Ban''s test." Garnet stood still as Sunny circled around her to get a look and smell of her. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Just trying to see how strong you are," said Sunny as he jumped on top of its staff and balanced himself on it. "Not that impressive." Sunny was already done and bored. He climbed on top of Ban and grabbed a fruit from one of the trees on the turtle''s back. Garnet watched as Sunny laid himself down in the tree and began to eat the fruit. "I thought the others did not want to meet me?" said Garnet. "Sunny gains interest and loses it fairly quickly," Ban explained. "Try not to mind him too much." Garnet wondered if Sunny was putting her through his own test. She had no way to be certain. For now, she just decided to ignore Sunny and focus on Ban. "Thanks again," said Garnet as she turned around and began to walk. Sunny suddenly appeared in front of Garnet. "Where do you think you''re going?" Sunny asked. "Again?!?'' said Garnet. "I already went through this once with Ban." "I can''t let you leave until you make me interested," said Sunny. "Interested in what?" Garnet asked. "Interested in you," Sunny answered. "Sorry, but I''m already married," Garnet replied. "Not remotely what I meant!" Sunny shouted angrily. "The fact that you appeared before me and won''t let me leave means you''re already interested are you not?" Garnet asked. "Tsk," Sunny was surprised by this statement. "I mean stay interested in you," he corrected. "If I can do it then what?" Garnet asked. "I will give you anything you want as long as it is within my power," said Sunny. "Deal!" said Garnet. "No take backs." Garnet had already figured it out. All she had to do was to continue to ignore Sunny. Whenever she ignored Sunny, he would have to try to draw her attention. The problem was getting Sunny to admit that he was interested. As strong as Sunny was, he clearly did not know anything about playing mind games with others. Garnet turned around to the turtle and began to talk. "Can you tell me stories about Sunny?" Garnet asked. "What?!?" shouted Sunny. "That¡¯s cheating." "You didn''t say I couldn''t," said Garnet. "All you said was to make you interested in me, so I''m collecting information to find out how to do it." "Don''t tell her anything!" Sunny shouted at Ban. "I won''t," Ban replied. Garnet was disappointed by this. "Well, since there''s nothing here of interest, I''ll be going now," said Garnet as she turned to the exit. "Where are you going?" Sunny asked. Garnet stepped around Sunny and headed towards the exit. She was completely ignoring him. "I''ll see you the next time I''m here Ban," said Garnet. "Stop!" Sunny shouted as he raised his staff. Garnet could suddenly feel an intense amount of killing intent being released from Sunny. It was enough to even get past her own aura. BAM. Sunny''s staff had transformed into a flail, but it had clashed against one of Ban''s purple barriers. "She won did she not?" said Ban. Sunny angrily looked at Garnet for a second. Garnet could tell that Ban would not let Sunny hurt her. "Fine," Sunny said angrily as he reverted his staff and stabbed it into the ground. "You win." "What do I win?" Garnet asked. "What do you want?" Sunny pouted. Garnet thought about it for a second. "I want your staff." Sunny instantly grabbed and held onto the staff. "It''s mine," he said. "I want something like it then," said Garnet. "A weapon that can transform." Sunny looked at Garnet. Ban suddenly bumped him in the back with one of its feet. "A promise is a promise," said Ban. Sunny angrily grunted as he took out a hair from his head. It expanded into a staff similar to Sunny''s as he turned his head away from Garnet and shoved it towards her. "Here," he said. Garnet slowly reached out to grab it, being wary of Sunny. As Garnet''s hand clasped around the staff, Sunny suddenly turned around to look at her with a silly face. "Huh?" said Garnet as she looked confused. "I was hoping for at least a laugh," said Sunny. "Haha?" said Garnet. "Just stop," said Sunny. "You win, just please, stop." Garnet took the red and gold staff into her hand. As she looked into it, she saw that it was not gold that was on the staff. It was a mana crystal or at least something like that designed to be wrapped around the staff. "So how does this thing work?" Name: Staff of Transformations Level: 1 Quality: Mythical Effect: 0/2 transformations The staff had levels on it, which was the first time that Garnet saw something like this. "Does it mean it will level up and transform as well if I use it?" "You have to use it before it can transform," Sunny confirmed. Garnet swung the staff. "Nothing is happening." "It doesn''t count if you don''t hit anything with it," said Sunny as he put his hand to his face in frustration. "When you defeat enemies, it will gradually develop new transformations, up to a maximum of 108." "How many do you have?" Garnet asked. "Ninety Six," Sunny replied. Garnet thought about how that contradicted Sunny''s sub-class. It said Seventy Two Transformations yet Sunny could use ninety six. It probably would not update until Sunny acquired the others. Garnet took a quick peek at Sunny''s staff. Name: Staff of Transformations: Level: 100 Quality: Mythical Effect: 97/108 transformations Sunny actually had ninety seven. He probably did not figure out how to use the latest one yet. "Thank you for this," said Garnet. "You earned it," said Sunny. "It was kind of easy though compared to the first trial," said Garnet. "Shut up!" Sunny shouted angrily. "Now now, keep it down," said Ban. "She won fair and square." "I know," said Sunny as he continued to pout. Garnet looked around, hoping to see the other two spirits. "The others aren''t here," said Ban. "No matter how much you look, you won''t find them." Garnet forgot that Ban could do something like that. "Again, thank you two for the gifts," Garnet repeated. "I hope you are able to save your people," said Ban. "Me too," said Garnet. "Stay strong against the Invaders." "You too," said Sunny. "You really are not as mean as you look," said Garnet as she turned to compliment Sunny. "Shut it!" Sunny shouted in response. "Transform!" Garnet reverted back to her original state. Maintaining the double transformation reduced her maximum mana to ridiculously low amounts. Just over four thousand mana compared to her original state of nearing twelve thousand. As Garnet headed back out, she turned around to see Ban and Sunny talking to each other. The two were really on friendly terms and their bantering seemed normal. Everyone had a few friends, even powerful god like beings like Ban and Sunny. When Garnet finally reached the outside again, she saw Lance and Zedd waiting there for her. "How did it go?" Zedd asked. "I got some help from two of them," said Garnet. "Ban and who?" Lance asked. "Ban and Sunny," Garnet replied. "Oh!" Lance said surprised. "You actually got that monkey to help you." BANG. A red and gold staff suddenly crashed in front of Lance. "I heard that!" Sunny shouted from the distance. "Sorry Sunny," said Lance. "He doesn''t like being called a monkey." THUD. A rock flew onto Lance''s forehead from the same direction as the staff. It looked like Sunny heard that too. "I think we should talk back at your place," said Zedd as he pushed Lance back the village. "Those two are incredibly strong," said Garnet. The staff returned in the direction of Sunny. From its motion, Garnet could tell that the staff was already on the move. It looked like it was moving towards the direction of the city. "They''ve survived dozens of attacks from what you call the Invaders," said Lance. "They seem to get stronger with each one." That was because they were earning experience from their battles. If they had fought off many of them, it would make sense that they were that strong. After all, Garnet had gotten numerous levels from only fighting a small number. If the four spirits had gotten together to fight the Invasion themselves, they would be very high level and very strong. As the three made it back to Lance''s place. They were met with another surprise. "You!" shouted Lance who was surprised by the sight. It was Sunny. He was eating the fruits that he had gathered from Ban''s back at Lance''s place. "I told you that you got my interest," said Sunny. "I''m not leaving until I''m satisfied with it." "I''m afraid that''s not possible," said Garnet. "Why not?" Sunny asked. "I''m not a resident of this world," Garnet replied. "I already know that," said Sunny. Garnet thought about it for a while. This would be a nice opportunity. "Would you like to be my servant?" Garnet asked. "What?!?" Sunny shouted angrily. This was bad. Ban was not here to stop him. "It was just an offer," said Garnet. "If he wants to follow me around, that is my condition." Sunny was seriously thinking about it for a moment. "I accept!" he said. "What?!?" Lance and Zedd shouted in unison. They were both extremely surprised by this. "You can''t be serious right?" Lance asked. "Yeah," Garnet added. "Don''t you have to protect this world?" "Ban alone can easily do that," said Sunny. "Maggie and Ziggy are way stronger than Ban and me in terms of power anyways." "Don¡¯t you have to stay as a Divine Creature because of something you have control over?" Garnet asked. "If I leave, another one will quickly take my place here," Sunny replied. "We are not bound by that duty for eternity. The only problem is when one of us dies while we still carry the power because it completely disappears for a while. Leaving by choice only causes the power to drain a little.." Garnet thought about it for a moment. She suddenly realized why it sounded strange. It was exactly like how the Hero System functioned. Only one of them could have the power of a Divine Creature and they would be tasked with controlling an aspect of something. A Hero was tasked with holding back the Invasions. By comparison, the Hero System granted someone the power to be an artificial Divine Creature tasked with protecting the world from Invasions. The Divine Creature that Garnet had thought about when she met Lotan was actually herself. If Sunny was serious, he would be a powerful addition to the team. "Alright," said Garnet. "Guardian Contract!" The complex magic circle composed of numerous animals appeared. "What is this?!?" said Lance as he stared at the ground in disbelief. "It''s a powerful magical contract," said Zedd. "One that can even bind the strongest of creatures to do their duties." "Do you agree to follow my orders?" Garnet asked Sunny. "As long as you continue to do what is right towards your goal and as long as it does not hinder my own," Sunny replied. New Skill: Call: Sunny Summon one of the Great Beasts of the Animal World, Sunny MP Cost: 50000 The magic circle lit up, accepting the conditions and creating a huge pillar of light before disappearing. "The contract is complete," said Garnet as she looked at her hand. A third petal lit up. This one was green. Sunny had become the third Guardian. Like the other guardians, Garnet would not be able to summon him if he was ever lost. She needed to increase her maximum mana quickly. Suddenly, Garnet could feel an immense amount of power flowing out from Sunny, even greater than his killing intent from before. "What did you do to me?" Sunny asked. "I made a special contract," said Garnet. "As long as you serve me, you will be stronger than you were before on your own." A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Now I''m very interested in your abilities," said Sunny as he looked at Garnet in the face. Sunny was so close that Garnet could feel him breathing on her face. "Too close," said Garnet as she pushed his head back with the palm of her hand. Lance quickly ran outside to make sure that everything was okay. "I''ll be right back," he said as he quickly ran outside. He might have to reassure people who might have been surprised by the light of a magic circle. After all, they had witnessed humans for the first time in a long time and might be nervous. "So when do we go?" Sunny asked. "Almost," said Garnet. "Are we done here?" she asked Zedd. "Yes," said Zedd. "I''m surprised you managed to get his approval though when I could not get one." "That''s because this old man here is like a doormat that everyone walks over," said Sunny. "I remember your trial very well." Zedd was shocked to hear this. "You normally don''t seem to care, why did you pay attention to me then?" Zedd asked. "I don''t," said Sunny as he continued to eat fruits. "I just have a good memory." Sunny could potential be infuriating to others, but he was a welcome addition to Garnet''s team. "What now?" Zedd asked. "I suppose we should return and work on building our forces," said Garnet. "What more could you need?" Sunny asked. "You already have me." "I''m up against an unknown number of mages with special abilities and people who have skills that are meant to kill mages," Garnet replied. "Who know is they have abilities to counter someone like you." "Then why don''t you just switch it up?" Sunny asked. "What do you mean switch it up?" Garnet asked. "Switch what up?" "Use something besides mana for your magic," said Sunny. "Wait!" Garnet shouted. She thought for a moment. Magic without mana. It would circumvent her transformation weakness. "How is it possible to use magic without mana?" "Mana comes from here," said Sunny as he pointed to an area just under his heart. "You can feel it flow out from your body from there when you cast magic right?" "Yes," said Garnet. "Do you know about the other types of energies in your body?" Sunny asked. "No," said Garnet. Sunny pointed to the mid-point above his stomach and below his heart. "This is the Dantian," he said. "It is possible to train your Chi if you use that as a focus point." "What are the others?" Zedd asked as he sat down and began to focus. He too was interested. Sunny then pointed to a spot on the base of his spine. "This is the first of eight chakras," he said. "They are affected by your state of mind. Only by controlling your emotions can you open them." "That''s strange," said Garnet. "What is?" Sunny asked. "You don''t seem like someone with a lot of control yet you speak of mastery of opening the chakras," Garnet replied. "I opened five and none of them have anything to do with anger, so shut it!" Sunny shouted. "Anyways, if you want to learn any of the others, I suggest you stick to using either mana, chi, or chakras as your basics first." "Can you show me?" Garnet asked. Sunny put down his staff and raised his arms into a fighting stance. "Earthen Uppercut!" As he threw and upward punch, the ground beneath him moved as well, creating an earthen pillar. When Sunny''s arms retracted, so did the ground, reverting to its initial state. He then did a full spin kick in place. "Wind Kick!" A burst of wind followed the motion of Sunny''s leg. Garnet recognized a move like that. It was similar to the one that Anna showed her a long time ago. However, the difference here was that the ground quickly returned to normal. Unlike the magic Garnet used, it did not cause a change to the land, but its attack power was very low in exchange for the speed. "Was it possible that Serena, Anna, and Nian knew how to do this?" she thought. Being able to draw upon multiple sources of power would make it possible for them to ignore anything that tried to negate their abilities. It would even counter the Grey Ghosts who tried to use anti-magic fields and give them a secondary source of energy so that mana was not the only resource Garnet had to draw upon. Garnet turned to Sunny. "Please teach me!" she said. "I''m afraid it cannot be taught," said Sunny. "What?!?" said Garnet. "How can it not be taught?" "I can awaken your ability to channel it by force, but you have to learn to train and channel it yourself," said Sunny. "It cannot be taught because it is different for each person." "Then awaken the ability," said Garnet. "I refuse," said Sunny. "You will more likely burn yourself out and probably permanently hurt yourself in the process if you cannot control it immediately, so it is best to learn it the proper way." Shortcuts almost always had a price in exchange for the quick increase in power. "Then how is it possible to even learn it?" Garnet asked. "You can''t teach it and you shouldn''t force it." "You have to learn to sense it on your own," said Sunny. "It''s something you can only learn with time." "Want to learn it with me?" Garnet said as she turned to ask Zedd. However, Zedd was already sitting on the ground and focusing with his eyes closed. "I''ve already figured it out," said Zedd. "All these years I didn''t know what those teachings that I heard and read about meant, but now I know. I always concentrated it on the wrong part of the body, which was why the energy never stayed in my body. Now that I know, I just have to concentrate it in the right spot." Garnet could feel there was something about the mana that flowed around Zedd. He was redirecting it in his body, trying to find that single point. "Impressive," said Sunny as he put his arm around Zedd''s head. "Let go of me!" Zedd shouted as he struggled to free himself from Sunny''s headlock. "I want to know where you learned that from," said Sunny. Zedd could not break himself free from Sunny no matter how hard he pushed. "In our world, Chi based fighting comes from the Eastern Empire, but the fundamentals that allow someone to train in it is a closely guarded secret by those that can use it," he said. "If I wanted to learn it, I would have to steal it because the key points are always withheld and not passed down other than from master to student." Sunny finally let go. "This world of yours is very interesting," said Sunny. "Let''s hurry and get to it already." "What about me?" Garnet asked. "You know enough about where to focus, you just have to be able to find the trace amounts of chi in your body assuming you''ve been training your body," said Sunny. Sunny began to push Zedd out the door. "Let''s hurry and go already," he said. "Alright," said Zedd. "Let me say good bye to Lance first." As the group headed outside, the crowd had already dispersed. "I''m heading back," said Zedd. "Feel free to come back again," said Lance. "I will, but we''re currently facing multiple threats," Zedd replied. "When things settle down, I may come again." "Alright," said Lance. "Take care." "Let''s go," said Garnet. "I''m worried that they may try to attack while we''re gone." "Me too," said Zedd. Back at the empty plains, he took out the cube and realigned the parts, opening the portal again. Through it, Garnet could see the ruins of the city. "That doesn''t look good," said Sunny. "That''s actually normal," said Garnet. The three of them made their way back to Constantinople. Garnet with two new abilities and a weapon. Zedd returned with access to chi though he needed to train it before he could actually use it, something that would prove to be difficult without a proper person to train him in the use of it. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 44 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 3350/3350 MP: 11660/11660 Fame: 220 Strength: 122 (+5) Dexterity: 82 (+7) Intelligence: 336 (+22) Vitality: 100 (+5) Agility: 134 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 7: Chapter 056 - Shaman Queen Only 2 chapters tonight, which is more than my usual. Again, help me look for any mistakes as spellcheck does not always catch all of them. ------------------------------------------------ Since Garnet returned to Constantinople, she had been focusing on trying to learn chi. However, she was unable to feel anything from the point on her body that Sunny had been talking about. Zedd had made it look easy, but that was because he had a basic understanding of what chi was from his own research from the past, but even that did not help him in actually utilizing it. For Zedd, the chi that he could sense and develop could not be used throughout his body without the proper training. Sunny proved to be no help in understanding how to use it. Garnet on the other hand, had established a habit of drawing power from her mana reservoir. Breaking this habit was difficult because it was something that she had been doing for years. Sunny meanwhile, had been taking this chance to look around the area around Constantinople. Garnet had forbidden him from going into cities because of his appearance. While Sunny was able to transform his weapon, he was unable to transform himself, so all he could do was look at things from afar. It did not stop him from causing trouble though. Zedd had been spending what time he could trying to figure out how to complete whatever was in the tube inside the Hidden Vault. Garnet would sometimes take a break to check up on him. "Anything?" Garnet asked. "According to the papers, the guardian should already be done," said Zedd. "That can''t be right," said Garnet. "Assad said that I had to finish it, which means something is not done." Quest: New Guardian (I) Complete the work needed to awaken the Silver Guardian. Reward: New Guardian Garnet checked her quest log just to be sure. Zedd was still in her party, so she could show him the quest menu. "See!" she said as she pointed to it. "The word work implies that it isn''t physically done yet then," said Zedd. "Have you tried using that spell you used on Sunny on it?" Garnet placed her hand on the tube. "Guardian Contract!" The magic circle appeared, but nothing happened. It disappeared shortly after forming. "Nothing," she said. "Then I think we have to wait it out," said Zedd as he continued flipping through the books. "Everything here implies the thing inside is complete." "We should just focus our attention on how to better protect this city then," said Garnet. "I have a suggestion," said Zedd. "What is it?" Garnet asked. "I could use some help." "I want to deploy an anti-magic field across the Western and Northern Outskirts of the city," said Zedd. "You mean the ones that drain mana?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zedd. "But I want to deploy one along the main road on the way here, that way it only weakens them and it won''t affect us if we fight near the city." "What are the side effects?" Garnet asked. "It will definitely damage the wildlife in the area," Zedd replied. "Over time, the land could become barren." "Then my answer is no," said Garnet. "Even I have my limits on what I am willing to do even though some decisions do seem ruthless at times." "I understand," said Zedd. "I''ll follow what you think is right." Zedd continued to train his chi. He was already strong as a combat mage, but if he developed this secondary resource, he would be even stronger in close range combat and would be able to stop people who specialized in anti-mage combat. "Can you teach me?" Garnet asked. "I''m afraid Sunny is right when he says it cannot be taught," said Zedd. "The feeling is different for each person, so even if I taught you, it might not apply to you. In fact, it might make it even harder to learn. The only real advice I can tell you is that you have to remain calm to do it." "Alright," said Garnet disappointed by this information. "I''m going to take a break." "That''s probably for the best," said Zedd. Garnet headed outside and looked at the walls. The walls of the city were basically completed with the number of people who tried to enter the city decreasing significantly. Those who flew into the air were instantly shot down by Nian, forcing them to resort to enter through one of the unfinished gates or climb over the walls and hope that there was nothing there waiting for them. The Revenants were only able to get their hands on a few people. Most of them were able to escape and avoid capture. Her plan to try to capture those people and assimilate them with her Revenants had failed. Nonetheless, she at least had something that could at least be considered a standing army now. A thousand automata backed by hundreds of Revenants and Cerberus. The only weakness now in their army was the Death Knights. Their upgrade cost were all enormous, and something that Garnet could not afford at the moment. Skill Upgrade: Heavy Weaponry MP Cost: 20000 Effect: Gives every Death Knight the ability to ignore armor with their weapons. Skill Upgrade: Spirit Armor MP Cost: 15000 Effect: Increases protection against elemental sources Skill Upgrade: Spirit Mount MP Cost: 15000 Effect: Grants immunity to negative terrain effects Skill Upgrade: Ghastly Fog MP Cost: 30000 Effect: Seals passive abilities of enemies within striking range Skill Upgrade: Magic Sword MP Cost: 20000 Effect: Grants Death Knights the ability to use magic Evolution: -LOCKED- Requires other upgrades to be completed first Garnet had already purchased every available upgrade for Revenants and Cerberus with her current maximum mana, giving them much greater power and durability than ever before. The automata in front of her had gotten stronger because of the others that were training. They had leveled up since Garnet sent out some of them to attack the monsters along the road to Constantinople. However, they leveled up extremely slow as they shared the experience. Name: Automaton Judge Level: 8 Class: Guardian Sub-Class: Judge Stats: ??? If they were just a little stronger, they would be equivalent to the average soldier. They were useless against the elites, but it was better than nothing. They were now beginning to clear the inside of the city, breaking down the old buildings into usable resources. In the future, the same resources could be used to rebuild the city. They were slowly working their way inwards from the walls. Garnet sat down on top of the walls and looked out into the vast empty plain between the walls and the few trees way off in the distance. With this image in mind, Garnet tried to clear her mind to calm herself. She closed her eyes. She tried to forget about the potential threats that she would be facing. She tried to stop worrying about her children being safe. There was suddenly a warm feeling, as if fire was near. BOOM. Garnet was disturbed by the sound of a sudden explosion behind her. In front of her, she saw that there were three other balls of fire slowly approaching. She quickly turned around and saw that the explosion was caused by one of the balls of fire. She realized the warmth she felt was probably from the fire, not her own thoughts. From the fire emerged a Lava Golem, something that Crossen had been using. "We''re under attack!" she shouted. "Recall!" Garnet wasted no time recalling Serena, Nuria, and Sino over. Against fire types, they were probably the best. The Lava Golem was different from before. It wielded a sword in its hand and emitted blue flames instead of orange ones. Name: Infernal Titan Level: 80 Class: Golem Sub-Class: Warrior Stats: High Vitality BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The other three landed. There was a total of four of them. "Transformation: Queen of the Night!" The Infernal Titan reached for Garnet, trying to wrap its hand around her. "Lightning Blast!" BZZT. BOOM. The lightning wrapped up the arm of the Infernal Titan and exploded, knocking it off balance and onto the ground. Serena transformed her arm into a water tentacle, but at the tip of it was a blade made of ice. She swung at the creature several times, turning parts that her blade came into contact with into stone. "Everyone back!" shouted Sino. "Blizzard!" A cyclone of snow erupted from the center and spread outwards, turning the glowing stone creatures into just rock. Off in the distance, Garnet could hear something. "UGH¡­" It was the sound of moaning. It was likely the sound of a large number of undead coming. "Recall!" Garnet recalled Meliae. "Plug up the hole in the gate." Meliae spread her roots into the ground, creating a wooden barrier where the gate should have stood on the wall. This would at least prevent the undead from breaking through the wall. For now, the problem was the Infernal Titans that still remained. Serena was at work cutting one of them up, but that still left three. The Infernal Titans were built to be durable, not strong. As the snow cleared, the flames of the Infernal Titans were extinguished, but they were still moving golems. Their cores glowed with an orange light and would probably reignite the golem after enough time passed. "We need to take them out quickly," said Garnet. "Pillar of Ice!" Sino created a long blunt shard of ice. BANG. She smashed it right into the core of the golem, shattering both the pillar and the golem. Two down, two more to go. "Jet Stream!" Garnet pushed an enormous amount of water at the core of the golem. HISS. The sound of water turning into steam could be heard, but the light on the golem core began to dim. It eventually extinguished, causing the golem to collapse onto the ground. The last golem reached for the wall. It was trying to tear down the wall to make a space for the undead to enter. "Oh no you don''t!" said Serena. "Water Armament!" Her tentacle turned into a mallet. BAM. She smashed the arm and the shoulder of the golem, shattering it into pieces. Garnet walked up to the core and smashed it with her hand. "Flight!" She quickly flew up to get a look at the situation. Garnet was correct, there was a horde of undead approaching. They were still a distance off, but whoever launched the attack was hoping that the Infernal Titans could probably create an opening for the undead. The question was who was behind this attack. Judging from the types approaching, it was most likely the Dark Mages. "Recall!" Garnet called Nuria. "Take care of the undead here." "You got it," said Nuria. "Meliae, support Nuria and make sure that noting gets through," Garnet ordered. "If something happens, call for Nian, it should be on its way if it''s not already here." "What will you do?" Meliae asked. "Serena and I will try to see if we can find whoever is launching this attack," Garnet replied. "Do you not want to bring the others?" Serena asked. "I want them here in case something does happen," said Garnet. "It''s why I''ve often gone with small numbers. It''s also easier to approach them than with large numbers." Serena turned herself into water and took flight. "Where to?" Serena asked. Garnet checked her Map to see if there was anything. To the West was a single exclamation point. "I think I know," said Garnet. "Follow me." Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. As Garnet and Serena moved westward, they saw that there were many undead slowly approaching. It was nearly all various forms of zombies and skeletons. Name: Skeleton Level: 5 Class: Undead Sub-class: None Stats: Average Name: Zombie Level: 5 Class: Undead Sub-class: None Stats: Average Name: Ghoul Level: 10 Class: Undead Sub-class: None Stats: High Vitality None of them were strong, but they were in large numbers. There were definitely hundreds of them all spread out along the road marching towards Constantinople. "Can we do something to stop them?" Garnet thought. "You should send someone down to slow them down," Serena suggested. "They should be more manageable if we can force them to spread out." "Recall!" Garnet brought Romulus and Sylvia to the battlefield. They were probably the best suited for fighting in an open area like this. Without the need for Garnet to give orders, the two began their work, smashing their way through the undead. "That should do it." As Garnet and Serena headed towards the source, Garnet could feel an enormous source of mana active. If that source of mana was being utilized, it would explain how so many undead could be summoned so quickly. As the two drew closer to the source of the mana, Garnet could start to feel a little pressure, one that similar to the aura that she emitted according to others. "There''s something like you up ahead," said Serena. "You can tell?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Serena. "It exhibits some kind of aura meant to weaken us, but it seems to not be affecting you from the looks of it." Garnet''s aura had improved and negated the passive abilities of her enemies. However, it was affecting Serena and there was no telling how much weaker she would be under the aura. "Whatever is emitting it, you should leave to me," said Garnet. "You should handle any creatures that are being summoned." Garnet cold not risk losing Serena because there was no way for Garnet to resummon Serena at the moment. A loss of any of the guardians would be a huge blow to their forces. Garnet did not want to take any risks. "Alright," said Serena. Garnet was able to see the figure in the distance. It was a woman that was transformed into a Temptress of the Night similar to Garnet''s old transformation. She had red hair and her eyes were red and black. Almost her entire body was covered with black scales. Just above her breasts was a glowing orange spot. It seemed to be coming from some kind of gem. Name: Marianne Level: 81 Class: Shaman Sub-Class: Temptress of the Night Stats: High Strength, High Agility In her hand was a book, one like the one Crossen and Xiaomei had, but there was a different seal on its cover. It was a magic circle, but it also had runes on it. Name: Book of the Dead Quality: Mythical Effect: Allows for summoning of low level undead without the need for vessels. MP cost of summoning is reduced by 80%. Summoning times reduced by 90%. NOTE: ??? of 12 The book had an extraordinary power. It would also explain why Xiaomei and Crossen had theirs. The question was whether that without vessels meant using the summoning spell or making permanent undead. There was no way to know without trying it for herself. For now though, just securing the book was enough. "Who are you?!?" Garnet shouted. The woman did not speak. She wasted no time. "Call: Rudra!" A blue mana spirit appeared in front of her. "Spirit Fusion: Rudra!" She took the spirit and turned it into a ball into her hand and pressed it against the glowing spot. The spot turned from orange to blue as the woman transformed. Her wings turned transparent and seemed to be composed of crystals. The scales on her body turned a light shade of blue. Name: Marianne Level: 81 Class: Shaman Sub-Class: Icy Temptress of the Night Stats: High Strength, High Agility Her class had changed, and most likely her abilities with it as well. It was similar to Garnet''s own Lightning Form, but she was using spirits to do it instead of absorbing elements into her own body. "Snow Crash!" Snow suddenly appeared from every direction, tossing and turning in every direction until the entire ground was turned white by it. The undead creatures continued to appear from under the snow. "Dance of the Kraken!" A single circular area remained uncovered by the snow. In the middle of it was Serena. Her ten water tentacles appeared and began to take out the undead. With this the undead were being slowed at three different locations, hopefully it was enough to prevent the walls of Constantinople from being overwhelmed. "Incinerate!" Garnet fired the beam of fire straight at Marianne. Marianne flew higher up and began to move around. As much as Garnet tried to move her hands, she could not keep up with Marianne with a spell like Incinerate. The continuous channeling of magic restricted her movements, making it impossible to keep up. Garnet had to get closer in order to use the more powerful spells. Marianne took advantage of this opening given by Garnet. "Snowstorm!" A powerful blizzard began to blow in the air, restricting flight and vision. The Snow Crash spell under them had not completed yet. Marianne was stacking spells on top of each other for their continued effect. Garnet had no choice. She needed to prevent their effects from stacking. "Mugen!" Garnet channeled the spell only for a second, but that was all that was needed. Numerous balls of fire, lightning, blood, and ice fell from the sky, accompanied by powerful bursts of wind. The snow spells created by Marianne were instantly scattered, neutralizing their effect. Various sounds could be heard as each ball crashed into the ground. Marianne''s facial expression suddenly changed. "Say something already!" Garnet shouted at her. Marianne was not falling for Garnet''s provocations. "Call: Agni!" An orange figure shaped like a woman appeared. "Spirit Union: Agni and Rudra!" She combined the fire spirit in her as well. One of her ice wings suddenly ignited, shattering it. She now had one wing and one arm of fire though most of her body remained of ice. A bow made of flames appeared on her left arm as well. Again, Garnet could feel a change in the mana coming from Marianne. Marianne pulled back on the bow and fired it. FWOOM. In an instant, a beam of fire connected the bow and Garnet''s shoulder. There was no warning of cast time. It was as fast as her own Lightning Bolt. BOOM. The beam exploded, knocking Garnet back just a little. Garnet could tell that Marianne was surprised by how little damage that attack actually did. But, Garnet knew she could no longer hold anything back. "Transformation: Lightning Form!" Garnet had to use her second transformation now. She needed at least the speed to be able to avoid the near instant attacks from the bow of fire. Garnet was still not used to the speed increase, so she was reluctant to use this form. The massive difference in speed meant that the timing and the feeling of each attack was different. Even though Lightning Form greatly increased her speed, she was still only as fast as her own reaction time. The extra speed was useless and would even work to her disadvantage if she could not react to it in time. As a result, going at max speed was not an option at the moment. As Marianne readied her bow again, Garnet began to circle around Marianne, making it difficult for her to aim for Garnet. Even if the attack was instant, being able to track your target was not something that could be done instantly. The most important thing for now was to increase and decrease her speed randomly to at least make herself unpredictable. Garnet sudden broke her circling and dove for Marianne. "Explosive Palm!" She had to slow down as she approached Marianne to have enough time to aim her strike. Marianne attempted to reach her hands to grab Garnet''s arm, but it was too late. She was unable to keep up. BOOM. Marianne was sent crashing into the ground. Garnet knew that this was not enough to stop someone who was transformed into a Temptress of the Night. Leilah took an enormous beating from Riley and was still able to keep moving without much trouble. BAM. As Marianne crashed into the ground, Garnet flew in after. "Lightning Blast!" Garnet activated the spell at close range. BOOM. Marianne was pushed further into the ground, sending dust into the air. As the dust settled Garnet could see that Marianne was injured. Marianne placed her arm on the place that Garnet had struck. The flames had gone out and some of the ice parts on her had cracked. There was some blood flowing, but it was not enough for a kill. Garnet would need a lot more power in order to deal a decisive blow in a single strike. Marianne clawed herself out of the ground and placed her hands together. "Call: Seele!" Garnet suddenly felt a different warmth from one of fire. It was something with a calming effect. The burn marks on Marianne began to lighten before completely disappearing. That was when Garnet realized. Seele was a healing spirit. "Spirit Union: Seele!" As Marianne merged with the spirit, she reverted to her basic transformation, but the scales all turned white. The fire and ice spirits within her were pushed out, but her injuries were healed in the process. It was as if the battle that she and Garnet just went through never happened at all. "Serena!" Garnet shouted. "I need your help!" Serena flew up into the air in her water form. "What is it?" she asked. "She can heal herself," said Garnet. "I don''t have the power to finish her in one blow, so you need to do it." "Call: Void!" Marianne summoned another spirit. This one was like a purple and black smoke thing. Garnet could not make out what it was. "Spirit Union: Void!" Marianne''s eyes turned entire black as her entire body dissolved into smoke. She suddenly vanished. She was able to hide herself. "Where did she go?" Serena asked. "I don''t know," Garnet replied. With her Cosmic Awareness skill, she should have been able to detect Marianne, but she could not. Marianne was able to completely hide her presence. Below them, magic continued to be funneled into the magic circles, allowing a constant stream of undead to approach Constantinople. This was going to be a problem that someone would have to keep an eye on. For now, Garnet moved her automata here. For now, the constant stream of undead would give them something to train on and hopefully gain experience from. The problem was that it was going to need to be fixed somehow. With the display of that power, Garnet had no doubt though. Marianne was certainly sent by the Dark Mages. The book alone was a connection considering people like Crossen and Xiaomei were the only other ones with books like it. Spoiler : No stat change Book 7: Chapter 057 - The Messenger I haven''t posted any new chapters for a while because I was working on creating finals, administering finals, grading finals, and entering the grades. I haven''t been able to check here until I finally finished this afternoon and got to work. It''ll be about three weeks before my summer job starts, so I''ll have some time between now and then to right. Remainder of Book 7 Spoilers and some Book 8 Spoilers Spoiler : So far, the plan is that this arc is going to end fairly abruptly without the major problems being resolved until the future. 1) The Dark Mages are continuing to try to whittle down the city with undead, but with no avail thanks to the small army that is now there leveling up from the undead attacking the city. 2) The Grey Ghosts will plan a proper attack on the city once the scouts get some data on the city. Firefly only serves as a scout at the moment. 3) Plans are interrupted as a new Invasion suddenly appears over the city. Riley and Anna return with Anna telling Garnet that she must become stronger than Anna before the high level Guides start to appear. 4) Both the Dark Mages and the Grey Ghosts will pursue Garnet into the next arc as Garnet and her friends try to temporarily shake off both groups by heading to the Eastern Empire. Both groups eventually decide it''s too much of a hassle to chase them and settle on trying to siege Constantinople instead. 5) Garnet and friends discover that Zedd is the target of many powerful individuals there because his information exchange in the past led to the start of an arms race. Garnet is forced to take action as the arms race has made it easier for Invaders to cross the border between worlds. --------------------------------------------- Garnet was keeping an eye on the large summoning circle that was created by Marianne. It continued to release undead creatures at a steady rate. With one squad of automata watching over it, they were able to slay the undead before they moved away from it. For now, the problem was contained, but it was not solved. Zedd was getting a close look at the magic circle, but he too realized it was a problem. "It''s like the Teleportation Summoning Circle, but one that doesn''t seem to be releasing any mana despite staying open," he said. "Wiping it away or breaking it won''t get rid of it." "Is there anything we can do?" Garnet asked. "We have to get rid of whatever is providing it with its mana," said Zedd. "And that is?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know," said Zedd. "It feels like its channeling mana from its surrounding, but at the same time, there''s something else feeding mana into it to keep it going. It is likely mana is being channeled into it from another location." "Do you know where," said Garnet. "It''s likely there''s someone close by still maintaining it," said Zedd. Garnet opened her Map, but there were no signs of exclamation marks or anything that would point her in the direction of its source. There was no quest either. The only clue was the magic circle itself. With no clues as to where to look, Garnet was lost. The only option was to storm their headquarters, but that would be a terrible idea considering how much power they had in comparison to Garnet. If it was one on one, Garnet was at an advantage. Against three of them, Garnet could probably stall out long enough to wear them down and win. Against all of them though, she would quickly be overwhelmed. "What if you deployed an anti-magic field over it?" Garnet asked. "An anti-magic field only restricts new spells cast in the area," Zedd explained. "It would not affect the summoning circle that is already here nor will it make it require more mana to maintain." "Recall!" Garnet had one other person she could turn to help. "Sunny! Do you know how to break this magic circle?" Sunny took his staff and smashed it into the ground, cracking the entire area and displacing the stones. "That didn''t work," said Sunny. "We already know just smashing it won''t work," said Garnet. "I figured since you knew about things like chi, you might know how to stop it." "I''m knowledgeable in training and developing my own skills, not in magic," said Sunny. "I don''t know how to stop channeling magic other than killing its user." Sunny was useless. Even Serena was more knowledgeable in magic than Sunny was and she only knew the basics in addition to her current magic. "Never mind," said Garnet as she put her hand to her forehead. "Just go back to whatever you were doing." Sunny ran off again. "That guy is useless for anything but fighting," Garnet thought to herself. "Sunny called it channeling magic did he not?" said Zedd. "That''s right," said Garnet. "I see," said Zedd. "This is not a summoning magic circle. I''ve been looking at it all wrong. This is channeling magic." "Is there a difference?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zedd. "What we need to do is isolate this magic circle from its magic source." "Can you do it?" Garnet asked. Zedd took out ten sheets of rectangular paper. "I need you to create the Teleportation Summoning Circle on these," said Zedd. Garnet took them all in her hand. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" the Teleportation Summoning Circle appeared in each one. "What are you doing?" Garnet asked. "I''m interfering this undead summoning circle into a teleportation one by overlaying our own magic circle on top of it," said Zedd. "Even if it doesn''t work, it should at least disrupt it enough to slow it down." Zedd placed the ten sheets of paper equidistant from the center and from each other. He then channeled his mana into it. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" The two magic circles laid on top of each other began to combine together. "Are we sure you won''t just end up having the undead creatures spawn at all our magic circles?" Garnet asked. "I''m sure," said Zedd. "I know how to disrupt a channeling magic circle as well as a summoning one. Just make sure you don''t try to teleport to this one." Garnet took a look at her own Teleportation Menu and saw that this location was not an option, so that was not going to be a problem. The undead creatures stopped appearing. Mana was still being channeled into it, but no new creatures were appearing. The magic circle still lit up as mana was channeled, but it would go dark every few seconds and then light up the teleportation one instead. It was successfully disrupting the flow of mana. "Done," said Zedd. "It worked," said Garnet. "Now I know what to do if we find more." Garnet suddenly felt someone approaching. "Someone is coming," she said to Zedd. "Where?" Zedd asked. Garnet turned to face west. "From there," she pointed. Zedd could not see anyone approaching. The two waited for a few moments before a brown cloaked figure came into view. The figure was being chased by another group of undead. Behind him were two armored men who were trying to fend off the undead. "Should we help?" Zedd asked. Name: Fox Level: 31 Class: Speedster Sub-Class: None Stats: High Agility "Yes," said Garnet. "Earthen Fissure!" Zedd created a gap between the figure and the group of undead chasing the person. The person gained distance on the undead chasing him. Some of the undead fell into the opening in the ground. They began to make their way around. "They''re really persistent," said Garnet. The automata next to them turned to face the oncoming undead and began to march forward. The figure ran past all of the automata and towards Garnet. The man stopped in front of Garnet. "Thank you," said Fox. Garnet could see that he had brown hair and a beard that went around his entire face. His dirty brown cloak had holes towards the bottom and covered almost his entire body. Underneath his body was just clothes, not even armor. He only carried a single plain looking sword on his back. "I was almost caught," he said. The other two that were with Fox kept their heads down and stayed quiet. They were probably servants meant to protect the messenger. "What are you doing out here?" Garnet asked. "I cannot say," said Fox. "My Master entrusted me with a mission." "Who is your Master?" Garnet asked. "I cannot say," said Fox. "Sigh," Garnet moaned. "I''m trying to help you, but I can''t if you won''t tell me anything." "Sorry, but my mission is of the utmost secret, which is why I was sent without any escorts," said Fox. "What is your destination at least?" Garnet asked. "I''m not sure," said Fox. "All I know is that they are probably in Constantinople." "You probably won''t find anything there," said Garnet. "It''s only populated by monsters at this point." Fox sat down onto the ground to catch his breath. "Are you sure you can''t tell us anything?" Zedd asked. "Like where you''re from?" "I''m from Anzio," said Fox. "Is your Master from Anzio as well?" Zedd asked. "Yes," said Fox. "He told me I was looking for a pair of young women who were being chased by men in grey cloaks. One of them had different colored eyes." Garnet immediately knew who they were talking about. Fox was looking for her and Riley, but since Riley was no longer here, Fox did not suspect that Garnet was who he was looking for. "Is there any information that you can provide us about the people you are looking for?" Garnet asked. "They participated in the Expedition to slay the Zmaj with my Master," said Fox. That helped to narrow down the number of people who it could be. "Is your Master Gus Hawk?" Garnet asked. "No," said Fox. "How do you know that name he asked?" Garnet thought about who else was on the Expedition. "Is your Master Sergio then?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Fox with a surprised look on his face. "Did you know Master Sergio?" "I was one of the mages on his Expedition to slay the Zmaj," said Garnet. "Unfortunately, I don''t have the broken Dragon Core to prove it." Garnet took her Guild card out and showed it to Fox. "This is the only proof I have." This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "You''re Garnet?" asked Fox. "Yes," said Garnet. "Then you are one of the two I have been looking for," said Fox. "Why are you looking for me?" Garnet asked. "Master Sergio got news that you were being hunted by the Grey Ghosts," said Fox. "That is true," said Garnet. "But what does that have to do with me?" "I was told to warn you that the Grey Ghosts are coming for you once more," said Fox. "And not just any, but the Firefly himself is coming for you." Garnet had no idea what Fox was talking about. "Who is the Firefly?" Garnet asked. Garnet looked at Zedd who shrugged. He had no idea who the Firefly was either. "Only a few of the highest ranking members in the government of Anzio actually know who he is," said Fox. "He is said to be the strongest of all the Grey Ghosts in Anzio." "I thought Morgan was the leader?" said Garnet. "Morgan was merely an officer with a few dozen under his command," Fox answered. "Firefly is the ace fighter and he has been mobilized in hopes of Constantinople the city for Anzio. He is able to use green colored flames and has a backpack that allows him to fly. He also has very long range magic, so it is recommended that you fight within the ruins of the city." "Thank you for the information," said Garnet. "No, thank you for saving me," said Fox. "I have to return now that my job is complete," he said as he took out a small crystal attached to a ring. He smashed the ring, releasing an orange cloud and disappeared with his two guards. "It looks like the people you''ve helped and the friends you''ve made has paid off," said Zedd. Garnet knew she could not take on both the Grey Ghosts and the Dark Mages at the same time. "Do you know of a way that we can get the Grey Ghosts and the Dark Mages to fight each other?" Garnet asked. Zedd thought about it for a second. "We can use some of the undead," he said. "But the Grey Ghosts certainly know I can use undead if they''ve been observing me right?" said Garnet. "Then we need to provoke them to attack at about the same time," said Zedd. "I have an idea," said Garnet. "Oh?" said Zedd. Garnet and Zedd returned to the city in order to prepare for the next attack. It looked like it was not going to end any time soon with the constant stream of undead. "Recall" Garnet called Sunny again. "I want you to trash this place a little," said Garnet as she pointed out the Dark Mage base on a map that was copied earlier. "Finally, something I can do," said Sunny. "Don''t kill everyone," said Garnet. "We need them to remain strong. We just want them to get angry enough to attack us." "Can I ask why you''re doing this?" said Sunny. "We''re going to get our enemies to fight each other," Garnet replied. "Besides, they attacked us first." "Alright, I''m off," said Sunny. "If you can capture one or two of them alive, that would be great too," Garnet added. "I''ll try, but no promises," said Sunny. "I might even have to kill a few." Sunny threw his staff into the air and turned it into a white board that he jumped on and flew off. "I hope I can do that someday," said Garnet. "You haven''t even used your staff to fight yet," said Zedd. "You have to use it now if you ever want to be able to use it in an actual fight." "I''ve had practice with a staff and I''ve even used it a little in fights before," Garnet retorted. "But not a transforming staff," said Zedd. "That''s much different. You have to account for things like delays in transformations and the difference in weight or balance." Garnet began to position some of the automata, Revenants, and Cerberus outside of the city in order to get an advance warning. For the most part, her forces were located within the walls of the city. There was no telling when they would arrive, but since her army was undead, she did not need to worry about things like exhaustion. They were strong and did not have to worry about things like fatigue. The Revenants would be the key to this battle. For every person they were able to Assimilate, the more powerful her own side would become. Soon after Sunny returned with a prisoner in hand. There was a small dent on his armor with a few scratches in several places. Sunny showed no signs of injury though. It was just his clothes that were damaged. "I did as you requested," said Sunny. Garnet lifted up the purple robed woman with black hair that stretched down to her shoulder blades and looked at her. Name: Karina Level: 39 Class: Symbol Mage Sub-Class: Barrier Mage Stats: High Intelligence "What do you want with me?" she asked. "I want information," said Garnet. "I want to know when Murad will be attacking Constantinople." "I don''t know what you''re talking about," said Karina. "Embodiment of Lust!" Garnet used her ability to force Karina to answer. She did not even need to touch Karina for it to work. "Ugh," Karina moaned as she fell under the effects of Embodiment of Lust. Garnet asked again. "When will Murad and the other Dark Mages attack the city?" "They''ve already attacked," said Karina. "I want to know when they will attack again," said Garnet. "I don''t know," said Karina. "They are setting up magic circles to summon forth an undead army on the west and north of Constantinople." "Are you supposed to be there?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Karina. "Will they know if you went missing?" Garnet asked. "Yes," Karina replied. "Alright," said Garnet. "Recall!" Garnet recalled a Revenant. "Assimilate her," Garnet commanded. The Revenant fused into Karina, transforming into her, but with the trademark red eyes. The Revenant kneeled before Garnet. "I want you to remain in their ranks and follow their orders, but when the fighting starts, I want you to disrupt them any way you can and then immediately abandon them." "As you command," said Karina. "Not going to fight fair?" Sunny asked. "We''re vastly outnumbered," said Garnet. "There''s no way this is going to be a fair fight to begin with." "I''m more than a match for their army," said Sunny. "You got the surprise on them," Garnet retorted. "I''m not going to take any risks. I''m going to make sure that there are as many favorable factors as I can possibly make." "Then I suggest we begin plans to immediately undermine any potential operations they will carry out," said Zedd. "The Revenants need to patrol the outskirts of the city pick off any stray mages outside of the city that she finds as well," said Garnet. "Hopefully, they will convert a few to our side. Adam and Raphael should continue to produce vessels and Revenants. Serena, Nian, and Sunny will continue to keep an eye for anything suspicious on the walls of the city. The automata will be set to patrol the city and support you guys." "Spoken like a true leader," said Zedd. "But what about me?" he asked. "You''re going to serve as my tactician, like you did for Charles," said Garnet. "Might I suggest to make the battlefield more favorable to us?" said Zedd. "How?" Garnet asked. "We''re going to mess up the terrain outside of the city," said Zedd. "Say large mud pits or numerous tree roots to make it difficult to advance." "Recall!" Garnet summoned Nuria, Mazu, Sino, and Meliae. "You four are in charge of creating as many terrain hazards as you can to the west and north of the city. The goal is to slow down advancement of potential summons and mages." "Easy," said Nuria confidently. "Lava pits, here I come." "Finally, something besides collecting clay," said Meliae. "Mud pits it is then," said Sino. "What about me?" Mazu asked. "Perhaps join Meliae and Sino in creating more mud pits or something?" Garnet suggested. The four spirits headed outside. Garnet observed as they went to work. The Dark Mages were likely capable of using different elements, so these traps might not be effective since they could be neutralized, but it would at least prevent a standard army from approaching them easily. It would give them the opportunity for Garnet to bombard the enemy before they approached the city. "Zedd?" Garnet asked. "What is it?" said Zedd. "Do you know of any special formations that might help us?" Garnet asked. "I remember you tried to make one to increase our attack power for our swords back during the Invasion." Zedd thought about it for a second. "Do you want defense or offense based?" "Defense," said Garnet. "Specifically something that can prevent magic from getting through." "An anti-magic barrier huh?" said Zedd. "Can you make it protect from magic coming in, but still allow for magic to go out?" Garnet asked. "That will be a challenge," said Zedd. "But I will do my best. It should be possible with the right combination of runes, but it will be difficult." "If anyone can do it, you can," said Garnet. "But I barely created any original magic," said Zedd. "You''ve done well to create the ones you already have," said Garnet. "I am confident you can do it." "I''m not going to fail you my Queen," said Zedd as he sat down and began scribbling things on the floor, trying to figure out a way to make a magic barrier that would protect them while still allowing spells to be launched outward at their enemies. The plan was now set into motion. Hopefully, it will work out and the Grey Ghosts will end up fighting the Dark Mages and thin each other out, giving Garnet the chance to finish off both groups. However, she needed a backup plan as well in case things did not work out. Garnet realized that there are always surprises on the battlefield and she needed to be ready for them. Spoiler : No stat changes Book 7: Chapter 058 - Escalation I finished writing the remainder of Book 7 (4 chapters after this one), but I haven''t proofread them yet. Maybe in a few hours? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zedd was furiously at work on the anti-magic barrier that Garnet had asked him to make. "Any progress?" Garnet asked. "I''ll need to borrow one of your elemental spirits," said Zedd. "Recall!" Garnet recalled Nuria. "What am I doing here?" Nuria asked. "A test," said Garnet. "Stand right here," said Zedd as he pointed to a magic circle that had no markings on the inside. "Now, stand still and don''t move." "Fire Bolt!" Zedd fired a shot at Nuria, but Nuria absorbed it. "What happened?" Garnet asked. "The magic circle redirects elemental based magic to one of the spirits located in the magic circle," Zedd explained. "With enough spirits, you can neutralize all elements. There''s room for a maximum a hundred and eight spirits if we deployed a full magic circle like this around the city." Garnet took a quick account of the spirit elements that she had. Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Wood, and Ice. Six elements in all, but also the four most common. If she included herself and it worked, lightning would be another. "It will take the spirits out of combat would it not?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zedd. "That is the problem." "Can you deploy this over the city and show the spirits where they will have to be?" Garnet asked. "It''s better than nothing." "Sure thing," said Zedd. "Could you come help as well?" "Sure," said Garnet. Garnet''s spirits would not be able to do much in this battle, but it meant that most of the enemies would have to force their way inside the city before they could attack it with magic and this was a huge advantage for Garnet''s own forces. "Focus your mana and let me guide it," said Zedd. Garnet began to channel mana as Zedd placed his hand over hers. The mana began to flow outward, engraving a magic circle using the city walls to form the outside of it. The inside of it was etched in place with Garnet''s own mana. Within minutes it was done. In the corner of her eye, Garnet noticed that Zedd had hit level 100 himself. By completing Garnet''s requests, Zedd was essentially completing his own quests and getting experience from them. The more difficult the request, the greater the experience. Meanwhile, the number of undead that marched toward the city continued to increase. There were more magic circles out there that continuously spawned them. Garnet was unable to discover the source of all of them. For now, it was great experience for the automata, but they could not keep this up forever. At some point, they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers alone. New Quest: Zedd''s Ascension Help Zedd achieve a new class Reward: Experience New Feature Unlocked: Promotion Allows you to upgrade the class of a loyal ally Garnet took a look at the Menu and saw that there was an exclamation mark next to Party. As she pressed it, there was an exclamation mark next to Zedd''s name. When she pushed it, she saw five options with Promote and Squire greyed out. Change to Party Leader Class Change Expel Promote Squire Garnet pressed Class Change and saw Zedd''s stats Name: Zedd Level: 100 Class: Grand Wizard Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: Strength: 291 Dexterity: 507 Intelligence: 2816 Vitality: 960 Agility: 809 Charisma: 72 Options: 1) Conjurer Mage "Your stats are incredible," said Garnet. "Can you tell me what it says," said Zedd. "Yes," said Garnet. "You have more than eight times the intelligence that I have and all of your other stats except strength are significantly higher than me. I can even upgrade your class." "You mean I can skip the trials?" said Zedd. "I think so," said Garnet. "What are my choices?" Zedd asked. "Just one, Conjurer Mage," said Garnet. "Select it for me," said Zedd without hesitation. "Are you sure?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zedd. "To be able to skip the difficult trials is huge." Garnet pressed Magic Creator and saw Zedd''s stats change. Name: Zedd Level: 1 Class: Magic Creator Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: Strength: 391 Dexterity: 607 Intelligence: 2916 Vitality: 1060 Agility: 909 Charisma: 112 All of Zedd''s stats except Charisma went up by a hundred points. This was most likely the power of Ascension that Assad had talked about. His health and mana ratios also improved significantly. "I''ll have to test my limits later," said Zedd. "Be sure to teach me anything interesting you learn," said Garnet. "Maybe you should take some time to read those books you got already," said Zedd. "Ugh," Garnet groaned. "Those things are so boring. I''d rather have someone teach it to me." Garnet knew that she had better things to do. For now, the endless stream of undead that approached slowly provided Garnet with a unique opportunity to train her skills. The enemies were weak, but appeared in large numbers. They were slow and gave her an opportunity to have her mistakes unpunished. "I''m going to train on those undead instead," said Garnet. The Staff of Transformations was something that Garnet had not used yet either. With the Staff of Transformations in hand, Garnet headed to the Western Walls and began to use the techniques that she learned, smashing her staff against some of the undead. Staff of Transformations: Sword Unlocked The sword was the first thing that was unlocked. It made sense considering that it was the most common weapon and what many people preferred. As Garnet pictured the image of a sword, the staff she held transformed into it. It was the familiar form of the Excalibur Replica that she had been using so far. "Horizontal Slash!" Sword based skills worked with the Staff of Transformations as well. As long as the Staff of Transformations can transform into that weapon, Garnet would be able to use the skills. Sunny had a ridiculous number of transformations on his Staff of Transformations. To achieve mastery with so many different weapon types was no easy feat. Name: Skeleton Level: 8 Class: Undead Sub-Class: None Stats: ??? The undead were higher level than the time when Garnet fought against Marianne. "Wait a minute," Garnet thought to herself. If they did continue to level up, then it was going to be a real problem. The only reason why they were manageable right now was because of their low levels despite their numbers. If the undead did level up and become stronger, they could eventually be strong enough to push through the walls of Constantinople. For now, it was best to be safe than sorry. "Recall!" Garnet called Nian to her. Nian quickly took a look around itself to get a hold of where it is. "I''m outside the city?" "I need you to find magic circles for me," said Garnet. "Any idea what they look like?" Nian asked. Garnet shook her head. "No," she said. "But they should be coming from where these undead are coming." Nian split into multiple copies of itself. "I''ll leave one with you so I can inform you when I find one," said Nian. "Alright," said Garnet as she pushed her way through the undead. Staff of Transformations: Fan Unlocked "Fan?" Garnet thought. As she focused the sword in her hand turned into a black and red metal fan connected by a deep purple cloth. The metal parts almost looked like knives. Name: Staff of Transformations Level: 1 Quality: Mythical Effect: 2/2 transformations For now the Staff of Transformations was capped out on the number of transformations. For sure, Garnet thought that she was going to get some hand type of weapon considering how much she used her palm strikes compared to other things. As Garnet cut her way through the undead, she spotted a location from which the undead were rising from the ground. As the skeleton rose from the ground, the ground quickly repaired itself, hiding the fact that it had even been there. "It looks like that''s where it''s coming from," said Garnet. "It''s strange," said Nian. "The ground here is being covered by some kind of magical power that hides its presence." "I''m guessing the enemy wants to wear us down before the big fight," said Garnet. "That would make sense," said Nian. "But it fortunately also allowed those machines to get stronger." "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet laid her own magic circle over theirs like Zedd had done. The undead stopped appearing from it. "It worked!" "Did you think it would not?" Nian asked. "I only saw Zedd do it once," Garnet replied. "This was my first time trying it myself." Nian sighed. "You humans are satisfied by the smallest things," it said. "By the way, are you a boy or a girl?" Garnet asked. "What do you mean?" Nian asked. "I''ve always thought of you as an it because I''ve been unsure, but are you a male or a female?" Garnet asked. "Our species has no concept of gender, so you can call yourself me you want," said Nian. Garnet had a bunch of questions about how that would work, but she decided it was best not to pry too deep. "I''m going to continue referring to you as an it then," said Garnet. "I''m just used to it now." "One of my bodies is fighting against someone," said Nian. "Lead the way," said Garnet. "Flight!" Nian ran quickly. Garnet followed as close as she could from behind, but could not keep up. "Transformation: Queen of the Night! Transformation: Lightning Form!" With her increased speed from her transformation, Garnet was able to overtake Nian just for a little before slowing down. Nian ran off the main road and onto the plains. It was here that Garnet saw numerous undead rising from the ground all around. It was likely that there were multiple magic circles here that were calling forth the undead. At the center of it all was Marianna in scales of gold, who was clashing with Nian. "She''s a match for you," said Garnet. "She''s a match for a fraction of my power," said Nian. "If I concentrated all my bodies here, it would be easy to defeat her." "No," said Garnet. "You need to find the other magic circles as well, that''s more important. I''ll fight her. I need you to do one thing for me though." "What is it?" Nian asked. "When we fought last, she was able to hide her presence and escape, I need you to be able to track her," said Garnet. "Do you think you can do it?" "I can try," said Nian. "Do you have any information that might help me?" Garnet thought about it. "She summoned something called Seele to heal herself before calling another called Void to hide her presence," she said. "Are you sure it''s not space-time magic?" Nian asked. "I''m not sure," said Garnet. "That''s why I need you who seems to have a knack for this to try to do it." "Alright," said Nian. "I''ll do my best." "I''m counting on you," said Garnet as she flew towards Marianne. As Garnet flew towards the fight, the first Nian waited while the second Nian began to use long range attacks. "Fire Bomb!" A ball of fire flew from Nian''s mouth towards Marianne. Marianne slapped the ball aside with her hand as the gold aura released a huge amount of mana. Garnet flew towards Marianne, transforming her staff into a sword. "Horizontal Slash!" BAM. Garnet''s sword crashed against Marianne''s gold scales. The scales felt and sounded like scales to Garnet, but the texture of it appeared to be a rough metal that was yellowish in color. "You again!" shouted Marianne. "So you can talk!" Garnet shouted back. "Here I thought you were some kind of deaf mute." "I''m here for one purpose and one purpose only!" Marianne shouted as she fired a purple bolt of fire at Garnet from her arm. "Care to tell me what that is?" Garnet asked as she quickly dodged to the side as the purple bolt flew at her. The bolt singed her hair as it flew by. BOOM. Garnet heard the explosion. Marianne sacrificed the speed she had with her first bow for power. As Garnet refocused her attention on Marianne, Marianne had already prepared the next bolt. Garnet flew as fast as she could in circles around Marianne, forcing both of them to engage in close range combat. "Demon Fist!" Marianne''s entire arm glowed red as she flew towards Garnet. "Crescent Slash!" Garnet swung her sword to strike Marianne''s arm. BAM. Garnet''s sword crashed against Marianne''s arm pushing it aside. BWOOM. Marianne''s arm released a red aura that shot forward like a beam of fire. Had Garnet blocked it, she would have taken the full force of that blast. "You know, I didn''t think there were many others that could transform like me," said Garnet. Marianne did not respond to Garnet''s words. "I was surprised when there was an entire group of people out there that had the ability to transform," Garnet continued. The bow on Marianne''s arm began to glow. As she pulled back on it, a large purple bolt with a black outline appeared. PEW. As she released it, a high pitched noise could be heard. The arrow exploded in mid-air with no noise. Instead, it began to draw in wind. The pull from it got stronger as the explosion began to expand, pulling Garnet in with greater force. Luckily for Garnet, her wings allowed her to move despite the pull from the blast. If she could not fly, she was certain to get dragged into the blast. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The arrow changed color. It was now a solid golden color. As Marianne released it, there was no sound this time. It was slower so Garnet was able to move out of the day. THUD. The arrow hit the ground hard, leaving a crater in the ground. It did not explode or have any special effects. It just hit hard. If Garnet had been pulled in by the purple arrow, the golden one would have surely finished her off. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired several bolts of her own. "Crystal Bolt!" Marianne returned her own shots, completely white in color. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The sound of explosions rang out as their bolts met in mid-air. Every single one of Garnet''s bolts were countered by one from Marianne. CLANG. The Crystal Bolts shattered as they came into contact with the Lightning Fire Bolts and they scattered in Garnet''s direction. The fact that Garnet''s own Lightning Fire magic could be neutralized by Marianne meant that they were of at least the same tier if not higher. "Water Wall!" Garnet raised a wall of water, trapping the crystal shards in the water. Marianne readied her bow again, but shrunk its size down. As she pulled back on it, the bow expanded greatly. Wings of different elements appeared on Marianne''s back: fire, ice, wind, water, earth, poison, wood, a purple light, a white light, and a solid gold. Ten in total. Each of them began to grow in size as Marianne slowly pulled back. The light then began to gather into a single arrow in front of her. "Transform! Transform: Temptress of the Night!" Garnet had to undo her own Lightning Form in order to use her strongest attack because of maximum mana reduction. "Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning!" Garnet prepared her own strongest attack as well. Marianne seemed to want to settle it with one strike. She was going to do the same. She focused as much mana as she could into it. Meanwhile, Garnet could see that Marianne''s arrow was imbued with the power of all of Marianne''s wings, causing the arrow to glow with a rainbow light. Garnet raised the sword she had high into the air. Marianne''s eyes focused on Garnet, waiting for Garnet to swing her sword. "Here I go!" Garnet shouted as she swung her sword. "Ether Bolt!" Marianne released the arrow towards Garnets. BOOM. In an instant, the two collided, sending Garnet flying backwards. BANG. The explosive force caused Garnet to crash into the ground. Level Up: Mana Armor (Level 3) "Are you okay?" a small silhouette asked. It took a moment for Garnet to regain her bearings. She recognized the silhouette as Nian, who had come running over to her. "Are you okay?" Nian asked again. "Yeah," Garnet groaned as she put her hand to her head. "Cough," Garnet spat some blood out of her mouth. She was hurt just a little, but she was fine. Nian used his mouth to help pull Garnet up into a sitting position. "Where is she?" Garnet asked. "There," said Nian as he looked towards a crater on the other end. As Garnet looked, the entire field was scorched black. It was possible to tell where their spells had met as it was the epicenter of a giant black mark on the ground. At the opposite end of it was a crater, much like the one Garnet was in. Garnet slowly walked over. She could feel some aching all over her body from the impact. As she looked in the corner of her eye, her HP was still nearly full. Her mana was full too. It was likely that the impact had crushed her mana enough to damage her HP, but she had recovered mana by the time she awoke. She looked at herself and saw that she was still transformed. Since maximum mana was the cost, the transformation was maintained, even if mana reached zero. Garnet looked around. The other Nian was still smashing all the undead that were rising from the ground. As Garnet walked over to the other crater, she saw Marianne lying there still. "Looks, like, you, won, this, round," she groaned with her eyes partially open. "But, I, won, the, war, heh." Marianne was not protected by the effects of something like Mana Shield or Mana Armor or it was weak enough to the point that it was not enough to mitigate the damage. She took the full force of the blast. Garnet watched as Marianne continued to try to pick herself up, but could not do much other than move her shoulders just a little. Garnet began to realize how powerful something like Mana Shield or Mana Armor was. It was enough to make the difference between life and death on more than one occasion. If Marianne had not expended mana prior to using the spell, it might have killed Garnet. "Embodiment of Lust!" Garnet grabbed onto Marianne hoping to get some answers. She also needed Marianne''s abilities, meaning that using a Revenant to do it was not a real option. "Ugh," Marianne groaned. "Who do you work with?" Garnet asked. "Dark Mages," Marianne said weakly. "Are you a Council member?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Marianne. "What are the Dark Mages planning?" Garnet asked. "Overrun the city with undead and take over," said Marianne. "How many magic circles are there?" Garnet asked. Marianne coughed up a huge amount of blood. She could no longer speak and was blinking her eyes. She was almost like she was trying to force herself to answer Garnet''s questions by messaging with her eyes, but Garnet could not understand it anymore. Garnet took her sword once more and stabbed Marianne in the glowing spot in her chest with it. "Essence Absorption!" Stat Increase: Strength+10 Stat Increase: Dexterity+30 Stat Increase: Intelligence+20 Stat Increase: Vitality+5 New Skill: Note: Requires Earth Element New Skill: Spirit Union Allows you to temporarily fuse with one of your spirits, borrowing their powers and physiology. Cannot be used with transformations acquired through Essence Absorption of your own spells MP Cost: 1000 New Skill: Spirit Link (Passive) Allows you to send and receive telepathic messages from spirits New Skill: Final Strike A miracle class spell that puts all of your mana into a single powerful multi-elemental spell. It is recommended that you are grounded and have wings to brace for the recoil to be used. MP Cost: 100% of current mana, damage dealt is increased based on amount of mana spent It was the skill that Marianne was using. It was definitely potent considering the damage that was caused by the collision between their spells. However, Garnet would need more spirits to get the full effect of it. Marianne''s body disappeared, leaving behind the book that she had on her. Name: Book of the Dead Quality: Mythical Effect: Allows for summoning of low level undead without the need for vessels. MP cost of undead summoning is reduced by 80%. Summoning times reduced by 90%. Note: Part of the Necronomicon Set [1/12] Garnet bent over and picked it up. She put it away in her Inventory. She needed to test it out and see how it worked later. There were others like it out there as well. The one Xiaomei and Crossen had was different as well. Garnet had one more thing she had to do, neutralize the magic circles here. She made her way over to each of them, creating a Teleportation Summoning Circle over them in order to neutralize the threat. "Are you okay?" Nian asked. "Yeah," said Garnet. Her body was still aching a little from the crash against the ground, but it mostly disappeared. When she got hurt, she was able to recover quickly. It was one of the benefits of the Hero System. "I think you should rest a little," said Nian worryingly. "I''ll ask Zedd to take care of the other magic circles that I''ve found." "No, I''ll finish it," said Garnet. Zedd was busy working to try to create a barrier that could protect the city. It was best not to pull him away until it was absolutely necessary. Even with the benefits of the Hero System, it was clear that fatigue still affected her even though it was not a visible stat of any kind. While her summons and contracted creatures seemed to be largely immune to this, Garnet herself was not immune. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 44 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 3400/3400 MP: 12060/12060 Fame: 220 Strength: 132 (+5) Dexterity: 112 (+7) Intelligence: 356 (+22) Vitality: 105 (+5) Agility: 134 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 7: Chapter 059 - The Three Dark Mages Likely the last chapter for tonight, the next one is like 16 or 17 pages that I divided into two halves. I''ll do those tomorrow. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite stopping Marianne and the large number of magic circles, the number of undead that reached the gates of Constantinople did not decrease. They were still coming at a similar pace. Killing Marianne was not enough to even slow it down. Garnet was now certain that there were multiple people responsible for them. It was the only way that it was possible for them to have so many of them so spread out. With so much going on, Garnet could not concentrate on trying to unlock her chi like Zedd had. She even had difficulty even trying to figure out a solution to the undead problem. No matter what she did, she felt like she was running into barriers that blocked her progress. Nian working with Zedd to clear the magic circles was not enough. Adam and Raphael were too busy making more Revenants. Romulus, Sylvia, Serena, Sunny, and the spirits rotated on a regular schedule to try their best to help clear out the massive numbers of undead. The book Garnet acquired from Marianne only saved a tiny bit of mana since it was useless for creating vessels. It was only useful for calling the actual summons out, but her mana regeneration far exceeded the costs of summoning. Garnet and her allies did not need sacrifices for their undead for some inexplicable reason while others needed things like special books to have the same effect. It was a massive advantage, but with that knowledge, Garnet knew that it was certain that the Dark Mages had several of the books. Garnet looked down the side of the wall, watching as the city''s automata continued to kill the undead. Name: Skeleton Level: 10 Class: Undead Sub-Class: None Stats: ??? The skeletons already reached level 10. They weren''t a serious threat, but the fact that they continued to slowly increase in level was worrying. "What''s the matter?" Serena asked. She too was worried about Garnet. "That''s the matter," said Garnet as she pointed out over the wall. She could see the undead slowly approaching at all times every day. It had scared away most of the people who used to visit Constantinople trying to search for riches, but the constant march of undead was a problem that she just could not ignore. "This city has faced far worse things," said Serena. "A handful of undead creatures like this is nothing to worry about." "Maybe you''re right," said Garnet. "But I have a feeling that this is just the beginning, and that is what really worries me." One of the things that worried Garnet was the fact that there were no high level summons. When Crossen reappeared in front of Constantinople, he brought things like a level 70 troll. This meant that the Dark Mages had the ability to summon powerful creatures. The problem was that Garnet had not seen any of them in a long time. The conclusion that she drew from this was that they were saving up their high level creatures somewhere in order to prepare for their real attack on the city. When that moment came, the full force of the Dark Mages would be unleashed upon Constantinople. "Worrying about it isn''t something you should spend your time doing," said Serena. "You should be focusing on what you can do to solve the problem." "I am," said Garnet. "We have the anti-magic field that protects us. We have an army of Revenants and Cerberus. But it somehow still does not feel like enough." Garnet took out the Book of the Dead that she got from Marianne. "This is my proof," said Garnet as she handed the book to Serena. "I want you to keep it locked away in that library of yours." Serena opened the book and looked inside of it. "There''s summoning spells for undead in here," she said. "That''s one of the books the Dark Mages were using," said Garnet. "There''s eleven more of them out there with similar contents and probably effects as well. I want to make sure they don''t get their hands back on it under any circumstance." "Alight," said Serena. "I''ll keep it in the secret area with the other book." As Serena left, Garnet watched the field as a large blue cloaked man came running straight towards them. Name: Raven Level: 62 Class: Augmentation Mage Sub-Class: Monk / Summoner Stats: High Intelligence, High Vitality Based on his stats, he was likely one of the Dark Mages. "Recall!" Garnet called forth Meliae, Sino, and Sunny. "HURAH!" shouted Raven as he dashed straight for the walls. Even though Garnet had already called for help to stop them, Raven did not stop. In fact, he kept on charging. "Out of my way!" he shouted. BANG. A thunderous roar erupted as Raven crashed straight into Sunny''s staff. Sunny swung his staff pushing Raven back. "You''re much stronger than I thought, Garnet," said Raven as he looked at Sunny. Garnet took a quick look at the heavily built man. He seemed more like an experienced warrior than a mage. His muscles were bulging out of his clothes and it looked like he was at least seven feet tall. "Is he talking to me?" Sunny asked as he looked at Garnet. Garnet shrugged. "I don''t know this person," she said. Raven looked at Garnet who was still up on the wall. "So you''re Garnet," said Raven as he turned to face Garnet for real this time. "No, I''m not Garnet," said Garnet. "Then who''s Garnet?" said Raven confusedly. "I think he''s an idiot," Meliae whispered to Garnet. "I don''t know, but can you tell me who you are?" Garnet asked. "I am Raven, Fifth Chair of the Dark Council," said Raven. "I am looking for a book that may be lost out here." "He''s definitely an idiot," Meliae whispered to Garnet. "He just told us who he was. You should kill him quickly before he realizes who you are." Garnet spotted two others approaching towards them from the horizon. One was running on foot and one was riding on something. "Can you show me what it looks like?" Garnet asked. She wanted to confirm if they actually had it or if Marianne and Xiaomei were exceptions. Raven threw a book up towards Garnet. Name: Book of the Undying Quality: Mythical Effect: MP Consumption for summoning undead -50%, HP of undead summons increased by 200% Note: Part of the Necronomicon Set [5/12] Garnet could not believe how dumb Raven actually was. "I''ve seen a book like before," said Garnet. "Really?" said Raven. "Could you tell me where you last saw it?" "I think it was back along the main road west," said Garnet. "Thank you very much," said Raven as he turned around and ran off. He was focused on his task that he forgot to even retrieve the book. The two figures in the distance approached Raven. After a short while, the three of them turned back towards Constantinople. Garnet''s deception was quickly seen through. When the three figures approached, Garnet saw who they were. It was Percy, Xiaomei, and Raven. Percy was on foot this time, but Xiaomei had butterfly like wings, most likely because of her transformation skill. "Look who''s here to pick a fight with me again," said Garnet. "Give Raven back the book," Percy said angrily. Garnet could tell that Raven was visibly mad, like he was going to smash something at any moment. "Why should I?" Garnet asked. "You declared me your enemies and even set up this endless swarm of undead to attack this city." "That wasn''t us," said Xiaomei. "Now you''re lying too," said Garnet. "Book of the Dead." "How do you know about that?" Percy asked. Xiaomei had a surprised look on her face. She was suddenly lost in thought. "Wouldn''t you like to know?" said Garnet as she tried to provoke them. "If she has the book, we have to get it back," Percy whispered. "The Chancellor is going to be mad if we don''t." "We don''t know if she actually has the book," said Xiaomei. "The Chancellor said not to directly attack until we were ready." "My orders are to kill her," said Percy. "I don''t care what you do as long as you don''t get in my way." "Wait!" shouted Xiaomei. But, Percy did not listen. He ran ahead. "Come Raven." Raven and Percy both ran forward. Garnet could hear all of this shouting. "Since this book seems pretty important, I''m going to hold onto this and see if there''s anything that will help me against the undead coming my way," said Garnet. Garnet wanted to see their reaction. Three of them gathered together was suspicious enough, especially since Xiaomei was someone who reported to the Chancellor. If they did not help, it was clear that they were the ones responsible for it. If they did help, they would probably be working against Murad''s plans. "Sorry, but we cannot help," said Xiaomei. "We''re here looking for something else." Garnet knew they were lying. "No!" shouted Raven. "I need that book back!" he shouted as he ran towards the wall. That was the proof that Garnet needed. Raven revealed their true intentions. As much of an idiot as he was, he was someone dedicated to his task. "Stop!" Percy shouted. It was too late already. Sunny met Raven in combat as Raven prepared to smash Sunny. "Black Armament!" Both of Raven''s arms were coated with a black transparent layer of smoke shaped like claws. Sunny was confident in his own physical abilities and met Raven''s attack with his own punch. "Hammer Strike!" Sunny''s staff transformed into a mace as he swung it. BAM. The sound of the two colliding released a loud sound. The victor was clear though, Sunny had broken cracked the black coating on Raven''s arm. "Gah!" Raven cried out as he was pushed back. "You''re too weak to face me," said Sunny as he confidently displayed his staff. "Call: Ancient Beast!" It was already too late to stop Raven. "We can''t stop him," said Xiaomei. "This is what the Chancellor wants," said Percy. "If you''re not going to help, stay out of the way." Xiaomei was emotionally torn. This was supposed to be for the good of the Dark Mages, but the Chancellor''s actions were selfish now. For now, she just stood back and watched them fight. Raven called forth a large beast. It appeared to be a hybrid of reptile and avian of some kind. It had long arms that stretched out like wings. It was clearly capable of flight. Its mouth looked like a lizard with a long tongue, but its feet resembled that of a chicken''s. Name: Ancient Beast Level: 80 Class: Primal Sub-Class: Titan Stats: High Vitality Xiaomei ran straight for Garnet. Meliae saw this and immediately reacted. "Burst Seed!" A blast of pellets sprayed towards Xiaomei, forcing her back. "You will be fighting me," said Meliae. That left Garnet with Percy, whom she had defeated before thanks to Percy having to close the distance in order to fight. In terms of match ups, Garnet''s side had obtained the best one possible. "I won''t make the same mistake as last time," said Percy. "You won''t have to," said Garnet confidently. "Transformation: Queen of the Night! Transformation: Lightning Form!" Garnet wasted no time rushing Percy, who was caught by surprise. He did not even have time to create snow beneath his feet. "Horizontal Slash!" Percy raised his spear to intercept the attack. "Frozen Tip!" The tip of his spear glowed blue and began to spread outward, creating a shell. BOOM. Garnet''s Explosive Palm smashed against the thin blue shell formed by Percy, knocking him back, but preventing the direct damage the attack would have caused. "What the hell was what?!?" shouted Percy. "It''s like she''s growing stronger every time we fight her." "Then we need to finish her off here," said Raven. "We can''t let her get stronger." Sunny was singlehandedly taking on both Raven and the Ancient Beast. Even though Raven and the Ancient Beast seem to be pushing against Sunny, it was clear that Sunny was toying with thim. On the other hand Xiaomei was being pushed back by Meliae. "You know your poisons won''t work on me right?" said Meliae as she caught Xiaomei''s sword in her hand. "Desquamation!" Xiaomei immediately fell back in order to create some distance. Meliae was a Wood Spirit, one that was even capable of regeneration. She confidently stood up to Xiaomei who had thought all she needed was one strike to finish her opponent off with poison. "We won''t know until we find out," Xiaomei replied. She began to focus more of her mana. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Xiaomei was already breathing heavy. Her Desquamation spell allowed her to avoid injuries, but it took a lot out of her. Garnet focused her attention on Percy, knowing that the other enemies were being taken care of. Percy had gathered the snow under his feet as he floated up above. But, Garnet knew how to deal with this. Percy''s snow could be melted. "Recall!" Garnet called forth Nuria. "Spirit Union: Nuria!" Garnet took the glowing orange ball that was now Nuria and pushed the ball into her neckline like she had seen Marianne do. New Skill: Transformation: Lightning Fire Form Transforms into a combination of Fire and Lightning, granting you the bonuses of Fire, Lightning, and Wind elements. Your Strength, Agility, and Dexterity are all increased by half of your Intelligence. MP Cost: Maximum Mana reduced by 30% With Queen of the Night and Lightning Fire active, Garnet was down to a low 20% of her mana, but she had incredibly stats to back it up now. Her wings glowed with a red light and lightning regularly sparked and crackled around her body. While Lightning Form prevented Garnet from activating another transformation, it did not prevent her from activating a Spirit Union, which was classified differently. "That''s Marianne''s skill," said Percy who was surprised. "Did you steal it from her?!?" Percy shouted angrily. "I don''t know," said Garnet. "Are you behind the undead attacks on Constantinople?!?" Garnet snarked back. New Skill: Transformation Mastery (Level 1) Reduces mana penalty and consumption from transforming by 10% Garnet wanted to finish off Percy as quickly as possible. "Final Strike!" Garnet put all her mana into a single attack, much like Marianne did. It would be ironic that the second of the Dark Mages to be killed would be by an attack developed by one of their own. For Garnet, the cost was not great as her maximum mana was low and regenerated at a fast rate. The bow on Garnet''s arm enlarged into a yellow one similar to lightning. As she pulled back on it, the bow enlarged even further. An orange petal appeared to the side of her bow, then green petal appeared adjacent to it, then a yellow to the side, and then a blue. It was four petals arranged in order around her. Garnet released the attack straight towards Percy. "Glacial Wall!" Percy reacted as quickly as he could to it, raising a thick sheet of ice between him and Garnet. BOOM. The wall of ice shattered as the arrow pierced straight through the wall of ice. BOOM. There was a second explosion as the arrow itself exploded, transforming into numerous small bolts. The scattered fragments rained outward in a huge arc and each one carried the properties of the elemental bolt on a lower scale. As the explosion cleared, Percy lied there, missing an arm and a leg. He was bleeding heavily, but Garnet could tell he was not moving. He was already dead. "Retreat!" Xiaomei shouted. "No!" Raven shouted back at Xiaomei. "If I lose that book, I''m as good as dead." "The Chancellor will not kill you for such a silly reason," said Xiaomei as she tried to persuade Raven to retreat. All her shouting fell on deaf ears as Raven continued to fight against Sunny, who now appeared to be toying with Raven instead. With every strike Raven threw, Sunny switched to a different weapon in order to block it. Sickle, scythe, hammer, fist, axe, bow, kris, shield, staff, gun. The mix of weapons forced Raven to focus on the weapon and Sunny, which divided his attention further. "Essence Absorption!" Garnet absorbed what remained of Percy. New Skill: Water Wall Create a barrier of water between you and the enemy. Very effective against projectiles. MP Cost: 200 New Skill: Icicle Lance Throw a spear of ice at your opponent. Ignores armor. MP Cost: 100 "Two down, an unknown number left to go," Garnet thought. Strange thing was that Percy did not give any stats. "Was he that weak?" she thought. DONG. A sound rang in the sky. The sound vibrated through Garnet''s ear and she was able to tell that it was coming from the sky. She suddenly felt the presence of another worldly creature, but there was nothing in sight. As Garnet looked up, she saw a familiar sight. "Now? With no warning?" she cried. New Quest: Survive the Invasion (39:59:59) A blue star has appeared in the sky. Ensure that the Invasion is defeated. Reward: Experience There was just over a day until the Invasion arrived. Garnet would not have time to deal with the Dark Mages nor the Grey Ghosts. "Tell your boss that I have other problems to deal with," said Garnet. "I''m going to deal with that first," she said as she pointed into the blue star in the sky. "I will deal with you guys after if you survive." It was the strange feeling along with the sight of a blue star. "Fall back!" Xiaomei repeated once more. "Not yet!" Raven shouted back. Xiaomei''s aura began to change. There was something else mixed into the mana. "Serpentine Art First Verse, Serpent''s Skin!" The butterfly wings on her back dissolved into a green mist. The green mist condensed into a bright green liquid cloak that covered most of Xiaomei''s back. It resembles a transformation, but at the same time, it did not transform her entire body. It only created something like a piece of equipment on her back and her arms. Garnet could feel that there was something different about the form. There was something else mixed into Xiaomei''s mana, as if there were multiple sources of power that she was drawing from. "You leave me no choice," said Xiaomei as she suddenly turned away from Meliae and ran towards Raven at an incredible speed. BANG. She slammed Raven in the neck. THUD. Raven fell over unconscious. "I''m leaving with him," said Xiaomei. "Be warned, the Chancellor will not take the loss of two council members so easily." "I don''t want to fight you either," Garnet replied. "But if you continue to provoke fights, then I guess the fight between us will be inevitable." Xiaomei picked up Raven. "I''ll be back to help you against that, I promise," she said as she pointed to the black star above them. She then picked up Raven on her back and carried her off. Garnet took the Book of the Undying and threw it over to Xiaomei. "I''ll give it back to you this time," she said. "Why?" Xiaomei asked. "Proof I don''t really want to be your enemy," said Garnet. "Thank you," said Xiaomei as she picked it up. With it in hand, she ran off with Raven on her back. Garnet could not understand why Xiaomei would help, but any help was going to be useful since she did not have anything that resembled an army. The only thing she had was a semi-organized mess of powerful undead. Unlike before, Garnet was the only one with the authority to control them. Even if Zedd ordered something, Garnet would have to relay it. The only question was whether Xiaomei could actually be trusted. After all, they were on opposing sides of a fight yet every fight between them ended with Xiaomei stopping the fight and preventing it from escalating. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 44 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 3400/3400 MP: 12060/12060 Fame: 220 Strength: 132 (+5) Dexterity: 112 (+7) Intelligence: 356 (+22) Vitality: 105 (+5) Agility: 134 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1, Passive)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 7: Chapter 060 - Undead Summoners Before the Invasion could start, another problem had arrived. A small group of soldiers in silver armor appeared. They were cutting their way through the undead and slowly moved towards the walls of Constantinople. Garnet had hoped that she could deal with the threats individually, but it looked like this was not going to happen. The Dark Mages may have retreated, but the Grey Ghosts were finally approaching. As Garnet took a look at the timer. It was almost certainly going to overlap. The countdown had been accelerating all day and there was now less than an hour left. Quest: Survive the Invasion (00:49:18) A blue star has appeared in the sky. Ensure that the Invasion is defeated. Reward: Experience The goal was going to be to survive until the Invasion occurred. Then, Garnet could let the two weaken each other. "How long?" Zedd asked. "About fifty minutes," said Garnet. The soldiers in grey and silver were beginning to line up. They had cleared up some of the undead summoning circles, but it was clear they did not get all of them as there were still undead appearing in the distance. Garnet scanned the battlefield in an attempt to try to find out which people were actually members of the Grey Ghosts and which were the grunts. Their numbers totaled around two dozen, but their strength varied greatly. Their weakest was level 10, which would be about the strength of a normal soldier. Two people were level 60, which were probably the members of the Grey Ghosts that were visible. What worried Garnet was the fact that there was no one named Firefly or higher level than 60. "Are the traps ready?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zedd. "Once either of us channels mana into one of these conduits the traps will activate." Zedd had prepared four conduits for the Northern and Western walls. Each one would trigger a terrain trap when mana was channeled through them. In addition, there were points in which Nyx, Adam, and Raphael were positioned as a seventh trap. The spirits were mostly positioned along the Northern Walls away from the majority of the army. Their power gave the city a temporary shield against the elements. In front of the city were the automata, Cerberus, and the Revenants. Undead ghosts paired with high tech soldiers seemed like an odd contradiction at first, but that contradiction was what could create doubt in the enemy. The automata soldiers were probably a match for them in terms of numbers, but not strength. "Were we being underestimated?" Garnet thought. That was the only reason why they would send such weak soldiers. However, the Grey Ghosts were present to see what Serena could do, so they should not have sent such low numbers to fight them. "The moment they move forward to attack, I want you to use that sword of yours," said Zedd. "Alright," said Garnet. "Do not forget, our goal is to cause confusion and hope that they flee," said Zedd. "I haven''t forgotten," said Garnet. In the distance, a single orange light glowed. "Is that fire magic?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Zedd. "Don''t worry, the shield will protect us if Nuria is doing her job." The orange light turned green before being directed into a beam as it flew towards the city. VWOOSH. The fire spread outwards against Zedd''s anti-magic field, scattering the flames in every direction around the city. There was no damage as a result of the blast. Garnet began to prepare her spell in response. "Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning!" "Fire it as soon as you can," said Zedd. Garnet swung the blade downward. It flew towards the forces standing before them. BOOM. The explosion spread outward, creating an arc of flames in front of the enemy forces. You have leveled up! That message confirmed deaths. It was either a group of people or one of the powerful ones. Dead center of the explosion was a single green light that directed the flames to the side. A few people were still caught in the blast. Either way, it was successful. The forces began to move forward. "Activate the first trap," said Zedd. Garnet channeled her mana into the first conduit that Zedd had set up. The entire thing glowed blue as several feet of suddenly appeared in the ground between the Grey Ghosts and Constantinople. Anyone wearing metal was likely to be affected by the cold. They were already forced to halt their advance and reconsider their strategy. That was when the enemy activated their own defense, an anti-magic field. At the center of it was a single person who protected their allies from the weather. They were able to move through the snow, but only three of them. Even if they made it through, they were going to be outnumbered. "Now the second," said Zedd. Garnet channeled her mana into the second conduit. The ground cracked as pools of lava appeared. The only way through was either through the narrow paths or to go all the way around. The heat would also mess with any armored troops and prevent a reckless charge, but there was no large army, just a small group that tried to navigate it. The trap brought all of the enemy forces to a halt as they had to reconsider their plans once again. There was no way that they could have predicted something like this would occur. Quest Update: Survive the Invasion (00:09:18) A blue star and a green star has appeared in the sky. Ensure that the Invasion is defeated. Reward: Experience The time left until the Invasion was suddenly reduced to just under ten minutes. Garnet looked up in the sky and saw that there was now a second eye that was green had appeared. Both of them were looking around. "We won''t make it in time," said Garnet. "Activate all the traps," said Zedd. "That way when the Invasion forces land, some of them might land in the traps and make it easier for us." "Alright," said Garnet as she began to channel her mana into the remaining traps. Vines burst from the ground distorting the ground even further. They would have to watch their step as they approached. The ground was then made soggy, increasing the chances something would be trapped if they stepped in it a little too hard. As Garnet looked out into the distance, the Grey Ghosts were not pulling back. They were still waiting for something. "Were they planning to use the Invasion to their advantage?" Garnet thought. That was always a possibility, but that also meant that they must have had a way to track the Invasions as well. Multiple summoning circles began to appear from the line of people in front of Garnet. Dozens of familiar looking white wolves appeared. Name: Silver Wolf Level: 60 Class: Beast Sub-Class: Summoned Creature Stats: High Strength, High Agility They were a threat before, but with Garnet''s newfound strength, they would be easy to handle. What worried Garnet was that everything seemed too easy. For a force that was assembled by the Grey Ghosts, it was inferior to the group that was sent to hunt her in terms of overall strength. Garnet realized something was definitely wrong. A single green bolt of magic flew into the sky. It came from somewhere in the mountains way off in the distance. The blue eye disappeared for a second as a burst of white light surged through it. The timer was cut down even further. Quest Update: Survive the Invasion (00:00:18) A blue star and a green star has appeared in the sky. Ensure that the Invasion is defeated. Reward: Experience The timer suddenly went down to almost zero. It was already too late. "Fall back," said Garnet. "What?" said Zedd. "What''s wrong?" he asked. "We''re out of time," said Garnet. "Fall back. With some luck they will be drawn in and the Invasion come to finish them off for us." "That''s impossible," said Zedd. "It hasn''t even been thirty hours yet." "The timer kept skipping time," said Garnet. "We should have had at least seven hours left at this point, but that isn''t the case. We have ten seconds." The black star in the sky now showed a blue eye and a green eye. A black liquid poured forth from the green eye. The black goo moved away from the hazardous areas and reformed. In it, a single skeletal figure in a purple mage robe with yellow highlights appeared. Name: Conrad, the Lich Master Level: 101 Class: Necromancer Sub-Class: Summoner / Invader Stats: High Intelligence The creature that appeared through the eye in the sky had a name. It was different from the other times when it was just named after whatever creature that was summoned. The most surprising thing was that it was over level 100. There were very few enemies that were over level 100. "Disable the traps," said Zedd. "It''s only going to make it worse for us if we get caught in them during the fight." Garnet smashed the magic conduits in front of her, deactivating them. The ground slowly began to return to normal as the rocks around it fell in around the area. Conrad raised his hands and he began to channel mana into them. To his left, a blue column of light appeared. To his right, a red column of light. As he channeled his mana into it, creatures appeared in each one. In the blue column to his left appeared an undead soldier of some kind heavily clad in armor. In the red column of light to his right appeared a bound skeletal dragon. Garnet was unable to see either of their stats, so it was likely neither were something alive or actually there. "Fusion Summoning!" The two columns of light began to move towards each other and merge. The light from the two columns turned white as a large white skeletal arm appeared. BANG. The arm smashed against the ground as the creature began to pull itself out. Name: Undead Dragon Knight Level: 100 Class: Undead / Dragon Sub-class: Knight / Invader Stats: High Vitality A layer of liquid metal armor appeared on top of the bones, covering it. From the light emerged a humanoid. ROAR. The voice of a dragon bellowed from the knight. It had green and gold armor from head to toe. It was only possible to see the glowing green eyes through its helmet. The helmet itself had horns to the side. It stood at least two and a half meters tall, much bigger than most people. In its left hand was a large sword. In its right was a shield made of the skull of the dragon. It began to march towards the Grey Ghosts. In the distance, a small green light from the Grey Ghosts made its way towards the Undead Dragon Knight. Name: Ricky Level: 100 Class: Sun Warrior Sub-Class: Arsonist Stats: High Intelligence / High Agility It shot green flames towards the Undead Dragon Knight. BOOM. The flames engulfed Conrad and the Undead Dragon Knight. "Repelling Winds!" Conrad released a powerful burst of wind that dispersed the flames all around them. Garnet saw that the green light was actually a person. It had engaged the Invasion. "Do we help?" Garnet thought. If she was going to help, it might persuade them to back off later. However, if she helped it might also leave them weak enough to be finished off later. "Let''s go help," said Zedd. "The Invasion is a threat to the whole world. The guardians can protect this city if anything happens." "Yes," said Garnet. "Transformation: Queen of the Night! Transformation: Lightning Fire Form!" Conrad began to create another two pillars of light. One with a tree and one with a ghoul of some kind. "Fusion Summoning!" "Ugh!" the creature groaned. Name: Petrified Oak Level: 100 Class: Undead / Golem Sub-Class: Wood Stats: High Vitality A gray tree with a face emerged from the light and quickly it made its way towards the Grey Ghosts. Conrad was summoning powerful creatures at an incredible rate. "Nian will guard the city while Serena and Sunny you two take on the summoner," Garnet ordered. "I''m going to head to the summoner as well," said Zedd as he split off from Garnet. "Be careful around that man." The summoner was still the strongest in terms of level, but the guardians should be stronger. Garnet and Zedd headed towards the Undead Dragon Knight in order to support Ricky, who was trying to fight it. Garnet channeled her Lightning Fire Bolt into her hand and rushed towards the Undead Dragon Knight. New Skill: Lightning Fire Palm Strike the target using the palm of your hand. The combination of wind, fire, and lightning combines explosive power, knockback, and a stunning effect. MP Cost: 500 "Lightning Fire Palm!" Garnet aimed straight for the chest of the Undead Dragon Knight. The Undead Dragon Knight raised its shield to protect its chest. BOOM. The power of the palm strike knocked the Undead Dragon Knight back several feet and cracked part of the skull on its shield. Ricky was flying with some sort of device on his back that resembled a rocket. His entire body was covered with some type of dark red leather. It released green flames downward in order to allow him to fly. "Thank you," said Ricky. "But this is only temporary. Once this fight is over, we are enemies once more." Ricky began to gather flames in his hands. As he did so, the back of his hands glowed with a magic symbol of some kind and green light. "Fire Pit!" The entire ground collapsed as the Undead Dragon Knight fell several feet, knocking it off balance. The bigger they are, the slower they were to react and the easier they would be to knock down unless they had extra feet to balance themselves. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. More black liquid spewed forth from the black star and began to shape into more liches. "Fusion Summoning!" Another creature was being summoned by Conrad. The number of creatures were not very high, but they were tough. They were appearing faster than they could be destroyed. Conrad did not need to stay still to summon. He was moving about and his magic circles just followed him. Sunny swung a mace at Conrad. BANG. "I got you!" he said. He repeatedly smashed Conrad over and over again with his hammer, but it was already too late. The summoning was complete. A large block of black ice took to the field. Name: Black Ice Golem Level: 100 Class: Undead / Spirit Sub-Class: Frost Mage / Invader Stats: High Intelligence, High Vitality "You take the ice one," said Garnet. "Your magic doesn''t seem to have much effect on this guy." Name: Zeus, the Lich Master Level: 101 Class: Necromancer Sub-Class: Summoner / Invader Stats: High Intelligence The black liquid continued to pour downward like a waterfall. The new liches had already begun to to channel their magic and summon more creatures. There were three of them summoning with more on the way and they had a variety of undead creatures with them. All around them, pillars of red and blue light began to form. The pillars of light were now becoming a familiar sight. "Fusion Summoning!" A ball of fire combined with a ghoul of some kind. Name: Blazing Ghoul Level: 100 Class: Undead / Fire Mage Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Strength, High Vitality They were summoning level 100 creatures with ease and Garnet''s forces did not even have enough time to bring down one before more appeared. They were going to be defeated quickly if they did not take any risks. "All forces advance!" Garnet ordered. "Seize the bodies of any fallen enemies!" Their only chance was to take some of the Invasion creatures for themselves. With their superior numbers, Garnet''s forces should be able to take down a few of the Invasion creatures. When they did, the Revenants could absorb them and all them to her own forces. With Garnet''s own buffs, they should be strong enough to face them. The Undead Dragon Knight picked itself up out of the burning pit of fire. Its armor glowed red from the heat, but it had not taken any significant damage. Its eyes were focused on Garnet now. Garnet flew up close to the Undead Dragon Knight, not giving it a chance to recover. "Lightning Fire Palm!" BOOM. The Undead Dragon Knight was smashed back into the ground before it could fully recover. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet repeatedly fired bolts at its chest. BOOM. BOOM. Each time it tried to get back up, Garnet fired at it again. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. Level Up: Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 4) Stat Increase: Intelligence+1 Another creature had already appeared. A large skeletal snake that emitted poison from its entire body. The undead would need to handle this since they were the ones who were poison resistant. Name: Undead Hypoptophis Level: 100 Class: Snake / Undead Sub-Class: Poison Mage / Invader Stats: High Agility, High Vitality "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired again at the Undead Dragon Knight. BOOM. CRACK. The armor of the Undead Dragon Knight broke as it finally stayed down. You have leveled up! "Recall!" Garnet recalled a Revenant. The Revenant began to fuse with it. Garnet immediately headed to where the summons were coming from. There were at least twenty Lich Masters now with more coming from the black liquid behind them. Zedd and the guardians had smashed a lot of them, but there were more coming still. Serena had activated some type of ice armor over her body instead of using her water tentacles. In her hand was a transparent sword of blue and white ice. "They''re quite durable," she said. "Not strong, but still tough." BANG. In the distance, the Black Ice Golem collapsed onto the ground as it collapsed into pieces. The entire golem was burning with green flames all over its body. Garnet could see that her Revenants had already began to rush them, focusing on the downed creatures first in order to absorb their abilities. The strange thing was that none of the Revenants were transforming from consuming their victims. They had already consumed one Lich Master, one Undead Dragon Knight, and one Black Ice Golem. "Was it because they''re sharing one corpse?" Garnet thought. Ricky and his forces began to fall back as they collapsed on the tree that was attacking the Grey Ghosts'' main group. Garnet''s forces was going to have to deal with the Invasion by themselves. "Was it a trick?" she thought. If they pulled back, they might have the numbers needed to win after the main fight, but now was not the time to think about it. The main threat was the Invasion. Garnet could always flee Constantinople and rebuild it later if others attack. Zedd was making quick work of a lot of the enemies that he was facing. He was shaping his elements into solid weapons. Hammers of various elements seemed to make quick work against the high vitality targets. He was making effective use with his new spells as a Magic Creator. Even lightning spells that were mainly meant to immobilize a target now contained a fierce amount of damage. "Thunder Lance!" Zedd created a spear made of lightning in his hand and threw it. THUMP. The spear pierced the body of the Undead Hypoptophis, pinning it down. The Revenants wasted no time as the converged on its body. They began to tear into the body, each of the Revenants absorbing pieces of it. None of them acquired enough to actually fully transform into the creature they used Assimilate on. Some of the Revenants had partial transformations. One had a hand of what appeared to be a woman. Another had shoulders of black ice. Another had legs of wood. Garnet focused on monitoring the entire battlefield, something that was usually done by Zedd. At the moment, Zedd was focused on pushing through to the summoners while the guardians rushed down the summoners. A metal humanoid suddenly emerged from the portal. It resembled the undead by looking like an armored ghost. BOOM. It crashed into the ground and landed on its feet, creating a small crater at its landing site. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Excelsus Level: 105 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Union / Invader Stats: High Vitality It looked around for a second. BANG. The metal humanoid broke into pieces. The pieces flew towards one of the Lich Masters. The pieces attached itself to the Lich Master and attached itself like armor. Name: Gunther, the Arch Lich Level: 104 Class: Undead / Machine Sub-Class: Union / Invader Stats: High Intelligence, High Vitality The pieces of metal that was attached to the lich began to glow, augmenting the lich''s magic. A magic circle opened up in the sky as several large mechanical serpents appeared. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Storm Level: 80 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Vitality They began to circle the sky and summon more creatures as well. "What are those things?" Zedd asked. "I don''t know," said Garnet. "But they''re definitely part of the Invasion." "There''s two different people launching an Invasion at us together," said Serena. "They''re combining their abilities." PEW. The sound of numerous arrows firing from the sky could be heard. Countless metal feathers rained down on the battlefield. The strange thing was that it was not aimed at people. The feathers were aimed at empty spots on the ground. They began to split open, revealing a head, arms, and legs. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Dust Devil Level: 20 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Vitality They also carried various weapons with them. They were the ground soldiers of the Invasion. Unlike the previous one where the small creatures attacked first, this one opened up with the large ones and the small ones came after. The strange thing was that these were much lower level compared to the other creatures that came from the Invasion. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 44 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 3400/3400 MP: 12060/12060 Fame: 220 Strength: 132 (+5) Dexterity: 112 (+7) Intelligence: 356 (+22) Vitality: 105 (+5) Agility: 134 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1, Passive)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 7: Chapter 061 - Undead Machines The new metal soldiers that rained down from the sky began to rush towards Constantinople. The Revenants responded by charging right back. BAM. The sound of metal being smashed could be heard as the Revenants began to crush the Dust Devils. Even though numerous Dust Devils rained down from the Storms, they were vastly weaker and inferior to the Revenants that composed most of Garnet''s forces. BOOM. A large metal soldier crashed into the ground. It was one summoned by the Storms that flew in the sky above. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Dreadnought Level: 95 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Vitality It began to walk towards Garnet as if it was drawn towards her. More were being summoned. "Even with our greater strength, they greatly outnumber us," said Sunny. "We have to win though," said Garnet. "We can''t let them claim this place." "I agree," said Zedd. "When an Invasion takes hold of an area, they can use it to begin their conquest of the world." "They''re being summoned faster than we can destroy them," said Serena. "We''re just too outnumbered. At the same time, retreating is not an option." "Transform: Fire Form!" Sunny transformed his entire body as fire began to radiate outwards from it. "I''ll just have to push harder then!" he shouted. With the automata and the Spirits protecting the city. It was okay to charge forward into the Invasion for now. As long as nothing else too big surprised them, it should be okay. The attention of all the monsters were being drawn to their group. As strong as the enemies were, most undead were not very smart and the Lich that led them were too distracted by the constant battling around them to focus on anything more than evasion and summoning. Garnet now joined the main fight. They had to take out the summoners before anything could be done. The Revenants could help contain things for now, but eventually, they would be overwhelmed by the numbers. With her sword in hand, Garnet charged towards the Dreadnought. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The explosive bolt knocked the Dreadnought back just a little, but not even enough to cause it to take a step back. The most it did was push the torso back just a little. "Icicle Lance!" Serena followed with her own attack. KA-CHUNK. The large icicle pierced right through the metal armor of the Dreadnought, causing it to fall over. You have leveled up! The Arch Lich jumped on top of the fallen Dreadnought and placed its hand on top of it. Glyphs appeared on the body of the Dreadnought as it sprung back to life with a wide open mouth. ROAR! "Is that a resurrection spell?" Ganet asked. "No," said Zedd. "It''s most likely a berserker spell meant for a quick recovery and augmentation of power." The enemies that Garnet and her forces defeated were not staying down. Instead, they were coming back stronger. "Fusion Summoning!" The Arch Lich on top of the revived Dreadnought used it in a summoning ritual. The body of the Dreadnought began to glow with a blue light. On the opposite side was the impaled Undead Hypoptophis. The two of them combined together. From the light stepped forward a smaller Dreadnought armed with a large axe made of bone. Its body was covered by a layer of dark grey or black rocks. Underneath it was still metal. Its mouth spewed out a black mist. Name: Undead Machine King Level: 105 Class: Undead / Machine Sub-Class: Union / Invader Stat: High Strength, High Agility, High Vitality The Undead Machine King was emitting some kind of aura from the black mist, but it looks like Garnet''s abilities protected her and her companions from it. Garnet took out the earring that Anna had given her. If there was any time to use it, now would be it. She channeled her mana into it. The earring dissolved into a magic circle onto the ground underneath her. Garnet stood back and watched as from the ground, a humanoid golem emerged and took the form of Anna, but it was entirely silver in color. In her hand was a single black and gold sword. Name: Guardian Replica Level: Class: Sub-Class: Stats: There was something different about it. It did not display question marks for stats, just "." It was differentiated for a reason, but Garnet did not know why. The Guardian Replica began to march forward towards the Undead Machine King. "That''s Anna!" shouted Zedd who was surprised. "It''s a copy with only a fraction of her power," said Garnet. "At least, that''s what she told me." The Guardian Replica charged towards the Undead Machine King, dispersing the mist before it. The sword in her hand slammed against the Undead Machine King and the Guardian Replica moved on to the next target. "She''s not finishing them off?" Garnet thought. The Undead Machine King had stopped moving since the Guardian Replica struck it. It was frozen in place. "Quickly, we must finish it before the enemy forces are able to build momentum," said Zedd. The Guardian Replica along with the other three Guardians were holding out against the superior numbers for now, but there were still too many. Even though the Guardians could take out the powerful creatures, the problem was that there were too many for the three and the Guardian Replica. The Revenants could only continue to feast on some of the corpses as they began to accumulate their power from the numerous dead creatures. Some of them were able to gather in large enough numbers to take down a large creature, but the Invasion was starting to push back against the large numbers of undead creatures on Garnet''s side. BAM. Zedd smashed the blunt side of a large blue blade onto the Undead Machine King, tipping it over. He went to work cutting off its arms. "Fusion Summoning!" A pillar of blue light surrounded the Undead Machine King and pushed Zedd back. BAM. Zedd smashed his blade against the pillar of light, but was unable to do anything against it. The fragments of the Undead Machine King broke apart and lined up in a straight line across the sky. A red pillar of light appeared as the image of a skull descended upon it. From it, a large six armed skeleton armed with sickle shaped blades appeared. "There''s more?!?" said Zedd who was surprised by this. Garnet was surprised by this as well. The enemy forces were continuing to increase their strength. Their fallen comrades simply became resources for the next summoning, resulting in fewer numbers, but an overall stronger enemy. The metal fragments attached itself to the six armed skeleton, giving it a strong protective armor. Red skin and black scales began to overlay the bones of the skeleton. Name: Mortarion Level: 190 Class: Demon / Machine Sub-Class: Invader / Spirit Stats: ??? It immediately turned its attention to the Guardian Replica, which had frozen numerous large creatures in place, allowing Garnet''s Revenants to feast on. The Revenants were not absorbing the physical characteristics of what they ate, but they were at least absorbing their strength, becoming faster and stronger with each enemy they defeated. However, none of this would matter if they could not defeat Gunther, the Arch Lich. Gunther was continuously using the corpses of the dead to summon new and more powerful enemies. They would eventually be overwhelmed regardless of how strong they were. The Guardian Replica leapt towards Mortarion. A black ball condensed in front of one of its arms. It was a spell of some kind, one that Garnet had never seen before. "Don''t get hit by that thing!" Zedd shouted. "Funerary Rites!" The black ball disappeared and wrapped around the Guardian Replica. BAM. The liquid black substance wrapped around the Guardian Replica and crushed it. The Guardian Replica fell onto the ground as metal goo. "What was that?!?" Garnet asked. "Death Magic," said Zedd. "It can cause instant death on most things. You absolutely must not get hit by that thing." The Guardian Replica glowed with a silver light and reconstituted itself. It picked itself back up and charged once more. "Quickly, we must take advantage of this to stop that thing!" Zedd shouted. Garnet prepared the strongest attack she had. "Final Strike!" Garnet pulled back on the arrow that formed in her hand. The Mortarion was a very large target. She released it from her hand. FWOOM. In an instant, the arrow flew forward, piercing the chest of the Mortarion. ROAR. The Mortarion bellowed with a powerful battle cry. It was not dead. There was an enormous hole in its chest from Garnet''s attack, but it was still holding strong. "Shivering Trident!" Serena launched a sharp spear of ice at the Mortarion. KA-CHUNK. The entire spear embedded it in the chest of the Mortarion. The Mortarion swung its arms around wildly, throwing fire everywhere. Sunny enlarged his staff and swung it overhead. BANG. The staff smashed against the head of the Mortarion, sending it face first into the ground. The Mortarion''s two highest positioned hands readied black balls. It was going to use its Death magic again. "Divine Arrow!" Zedd released a white bolt of lightning that penetrated the center of the Mortarion''s chest. "Ugh¡­" the Mortarion groaned as it collapsed. "I need more power!" Gunther shouted. This was the first time the Arch Lich actually spoke. Yellow lights descended from the blue eye in the sky, surrounding Gunther and engraving a multi layered magic circle onto the ground. A long thick mist purple in color descended from the black star in the sky. The tip shaped itself like a snake before entering Gunther''s body. Gunther placed its hand onto the ground and activated the magic circle. "Call: Mortarion!" Two more large six armed and red skinned creatures appeared. There was now three of them. The green eye in the sky vanished with that, but the black ball that floated there remained with a blue eye still watching over them. The Invasion was not over. The three Mortarions continued their advance. "Any ideas?" Serena asked. "Venom Tail!" KA-THUMP. A green liquid icicle pierced the body of the Mortarion. It fell over as the green liquid dissolved and began to spread over its body. As Garnet turned to look at where it came from, she saw that it was Xiaomei. She had returned. "I told you I would help," she said. Garnet was still concerned. After all, Xiaomei was from the Dark Mage Guild that had basically declared war against her. For now though, Garnet would just keep an eye on her. After all, Garnet needed all the help that she could get. "I thought you were bringing help?" Garnet asked. "I was only able to convince one other person to help," said Xiaomei. "He should be here soon." Two other people from the Dark Mages was not as much as Garnet was expecting. She was hoping the Dark Mages would join, but that was unlikely. After all, Murad was more concerned with his own survival. It was unlikely they would send a lot of help. "Ground Dasher!" The ground beneath the other Mortarion began to break apart, moving up and down like a wave. The Mortarion lost its balance and fell onto the ground. Garnet saw that it was Quinton, one of the other Dark Mages that was with Xiaomei from before. They were only two, but they were two at least decently strong people. "I can''t believe I actually betrayed the Chancellor to do this," he said. The Guardian Replica jumped towards it with its sword, stabbing the Mortarion several times before it stopped moving. All around, Garnet''s Revenants were being incapacitated. As strong as they were and despite their ghost like bodies, they could only take so much punishment as well. They would recover over time, but not fast enough to deal with the number of enemies. "Where''s the leader?" Xiaomei asked. Garnet pointed to Gunther, the Arch Lich who stood out with its shiny metal armor. "That thing," said Garnet. Gunther was continuing to jump around, calling forth more creatures using its fallen allies. This was in addition to the other summoners that were still calling forth more machines and undead. "We have to stop it from summoning the stronger ones." Garnet, Zedd, Xiaomei, Quinton, Serena, and Sunny all ran towards the Gunther. Gunther called the other large creatures to block the path, creating an artificial wall between them. Zedd, Serena, and Sunny charged first, knocking the creatures aside to create a path. Xiaomei quickly jumped through the path that opened up. "Serpentine Art, Second Verse, Serpentine Strike!" The bright green liquid cloak around her body wrapped around her arm and transformed into a spike as she dived straight for Gunther. Gunther was moving backwards in an attempt to gain distance to summon another creature, but Xiaomei was much faster. BANG. Xiaomei''s fist connected with Gunther. Gunther did not look like he took any damage, but when it came to Xiaomei''s poisonous attacks, that was always deceptive. The metal on his chest began to melt from the poison. Gunther quickly detached the metal parts that were affected, but this would leave it open to the follow up attacks. "Quagmire!" Quinton created a pool of mud underneath Gunther''s feet that trapped it. "Lightning Fire Palm!" Garnet struck Gunther''s now exposed chest with her strongest close range attack. BOOM. "Gah!" Gunther groaned. Gunther was injured, but he was not dead. Garnet took her sword in her other hand. "Triple Slash!" Garnet quickly followed up with multiple strikes against Gunther''s chest. "Lightning Fire Palm!" BOOM. The sound of a second explosion came with the sound of cracking. Garnet saw that the bones on Gunther''s chest had been shattered. Gunther collapsed onto the ground on his back, with his feet still bound by Quinton''s Quagmire. "Essence Absorption!" Gunther''s dissolved into a black mist and entered into Garnet''s body. New Skill: Summon Mastery (Level 1, Passive) Effect: Increases stats of all summoned creatures by 10% Now was the main problem, the other Lich creatures turned themselves inward and focused their power in a single magic circle supported by the Machine Spirits circling from above. Together, they created two magic circles that connected with each other. The magic circle from the sky began to descend as the magic circle from the ground shrank. As the two began to meet, a pillar of light connected the two. A small black cloaked humanoid figure began to rise from the ground. Name: Apollo Level: 108 Class: Metal Mage / Divine Sword Sub-Class: Magitech Master / Invader Stats: High Intelligence "It''s a Guide!" shouted Serena. "Be careful, there might be more than one of them!" Garnet had heard that word before from Riley and Assad. A guide was a person from another world who intended to take over a world in order to shape it a certain way. His level was far higher than the others. "How do we stop him?" Garnet asked. "This is a battle that I''ve been preparing for a long time," said Serena. "Transform: Ten Armed Buddha!" Serena''s water tentacles began to shape into hands. Each one was armed with a different weapon. The ground beneath her feet began to freeze as a crest of ice appeared on her back. This was the first time Garnet had seen Serena activate this transformation before. For the most part, she stuck to her water tentacles, which were always enough for the job. Apollo opened his eyes as he began to look around. "You!" he shouted as he saw the Guardian Replica. Serena and the Guardian Replica both began to rush Apollo. "I''m not making the same mistake as last time!" Apollo shouted. "Avalanche!" Liquid metal poured from the sword in his hands and began to spread everywhere. "Magicraft: Iron Golem!" The pools of liquid metal transformed into twelve metal humanoid soldiers. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Sand Storm Level: 110 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Golem Stats: High Vitality The metal soldiers began to march towards Garnet and company. Even though they were smaller in size, they were much higher level and most likely more dangerous as well. "Thunder Hammer!" BANG. Zedd struck the first metal soldier with a powerful bolt of lightning from the sky. The metal soldier was sent crashing into the ground face first. The metal soldier picked itself up and continued moving forward. "Ticking Death!" Sunny wasted no time in launching the first attack. His staff transformed into a scythe and released a circular shaped spinning shockwave. BANG. The blast connected with one of the metal soldiers, knocking it over. A few seconds later, it picked itself up again. Like many of the other creatures that attacked this Invasion, they were extremely durable. "Let us take care of this," said Quinton as he stepped up with Xiaomei. "Against anything with a strong defense, we can slow it down." "Alright," said Garnet. "Open up a path for us to the Guide." "Quagmire!" Quinton again dissolved the ground underneath the metal soldiers. Their weight caused them to sink into the ground, trapping them. Xiaomei ran forward and created a green sword in her hand. "Serpentine Art, Third Verse, Venomous Swipe!" The blade stretched out in an arc towards the target. FWOOSH. The blade splashed onto the target and began to dissolve into it. HISS. The sound of something burning away from the poison could be heard. Xiaomei''s poison was very effective against high defense targets because it just ate right through most armors. Garnet, Zedd, Serena, and Sunny ran through the metal soldiers and pushed towards Apollo, who was already fighting against the Guardian Replica. "I will not fall for that trap again!" Apollo shouted. "Again?" Garnet thought. "Did Anna fight him before?" Apollo raised his large two handed sword and activated an area of effect aura. The sword split into two smaller one handed swords. "All Divide!" Garnet could suddenly feel strength leaving her body. When he looked in the corner of her eye, she saw an icon that showed that all her stats had been decreased. Even her health and mana were cut in half. CLANG. Apollo was now fighting evenly with the Guardian Replica. CLANG. There were numerous swords that were stuck in mid-air. Every time that the Guardian Replica''s sword struck Apollo''s, Apollo''s sword would get stuck and he would create a new one in his hands. "Double Strike!" Apollo quickly thrusted his sword forward. CLANG. The strike quickly countered by the Guardian Replica who blocked the first one and negated the second. "Gungnir!" Several spears rained down from the sky towards the Guardian Replica. The Guardian Replica quickly retreated backwards. Apollo was now switching to long range combat because he could not win up close. Zedd began to channel his mana. "I''m going to try to restrict the hooded man," he said. "Let the two fight and do not interfere unless it looks like Anna is losing." "Alright," said Serena. Garnet and Sunny stood by and watched as Apollo and the Guardian Replica continued to clash. Their fight was escalating into another level. If they got close, it was likely that they would be caught up in the fight as well. "Is she even human?" Sunny asked. "I think so," Garnet replied. "Or at least she used to be human." Apollo and the Guardian Replica continued to throw blades at each other. Every single weapon that Apollo threw was countered by one from the Guardian Replica. The entire battlefield became littered with their weapons. "Lightning Crucifixion!" Zedd released his spell. A pillar of lightning came crashing down on Apollo. BAM. He was smashed face first into the ground. Four more pillars of lightning came crashing down. One on each hand and one on each foot. "Quickly!" he shouted. The Guardian Replica jumped towards Apollo. "Blaze Beat!" BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The Guardian Replica was struck by several purple bolts of fire. "You''re late!" said Apollo. As Garnet looked up into the sky, the second eye had disappeared, but the black star still remained floating in the air. A second robed figure with his hood down appeared. His robe was a deep blue, different from Apollo''s. There was some kind of purple marking covering the right side of his face. He was older than Apollo. Name: Yarik Level: 120 Class: Necromancer Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Intelligence Yarik smashed the Lightning Cage with a red spear of some kind. "Thanks," said Apollo. Name: Phoenix Lance Quality: Legendary Effect: Pierces Mana Shield, Strength+20, Dexterity+15, Vitality +15, Agility +20 "You were too careless again," said Yarik. "We need to take out that thing," said Apollo as he pointed to the Guardian Replica. "Her sword freezes anything it touches, so watch out." The two of them rushed the Guardian Replica. "We have to help," said Garnet. "If we lose it, we don''t stand a chance against the Guides." The Guardian Replica was the only one that was holding strong against one of them. Against two, it was going to be difficult. Serena was the first one to make it as she transformed her entire body into water to move quickly. "Thousand Blades!" Serena swung the weapons generated by her arms of water, quickly slashing against Apollo. "Another?!?" he shouted. A few strikes landed on him, but he was able to block most of them with his sword. Sunny was the second to make it. He transformed his staff into a mace and went for an overhead smash against Apollo. "Sinking Star!" BOOM. A loud sound and a powerful shockwave erupted as Sunny''s mace slammed against Apollo''s sword. "Gah!" Apollo cried as he his feet dug into the ground. If they all teamed up, they would stand a chance. "Spiral Dance!" Apollo countered by spinning several metal fragments around himself, forcing Sunny and Serena back. "Lightning Bind!" Zedd released a continuous bolt of lightning from his fingertips. It wrapped around Apollo, following the metal fragments that he had made around himself. Apollo quickly reacted by dropping the metal fragments. The lightning around him scattered as well. "There''s quite a lot of you for such a weak world," he said. Eleven more pools of liquid emerged from the black star in the sky. Each one took on the shape of Yarik. Name: Yarik Level: 120 Class: Necromancer Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Intelligence Each of them also had the same stats as Yarik. They were barely dealing with one, but now, there were twelve more. "Crap!" shouted Serena. "There''s no way we can win this." "We won''t know unless we try!" Sunny shouted as he charged forward. "Stop!" Zedd shouted. Sunny ignored Zedd''s words. "Recall!" Garnet immediately pulled Sunny back. "Why did you stop me?!?" Sunny shouted. "I''ve fought people like him before." "But twelve of them?" Garnet asked. Sunny had a sudden realization. He was too hot headed and would have charged into his death. He too had to acknowledge that this was a battle that he could not win. "Against one or two, I think I could." "With all the Guardians and spirits, I think we might be able to handle five or six, but not twelve," said Serena. "We have to retreat." "What about the city?" Garnet asked. "We can''t let them get their hands on it." "What''s important is in the Ark under the city," Serena replied. "As long as the Ark and the Mana Core is there, the city can be rebuilt any number of times." "What about you?" Garnet asked. "Us Guardians can be revived any number of times as long as you have the book and the power to do so," said Serena. "Fifty thousand mana," Garnet thought. It was the cost to resummon a Guardian. However, it meant that they could still live, even if they died, so death was really not the end for them. The twelve Yarik formed a magic circle between them. The magic circle descended from the sky and a small red skinned, horned humanoid appeared in it. In its hand was a large sword. Name: Greater Demon Belphegor Level: 250 Class: Demon Sub-Class: Invader Stats: ??? ROAR. Belphegor screamed as loud as it could. "What is it Master?" he asked. "Kill everyone," Yarik ordered. "As you wish," Belphegor replied as he picked up his sword. His eyes turned towards Garnet and he began his advance. Belphegor raised his hand and pointed his index finger straight out. "Inferno!" A ball of fire appeared in front of his finger. PEW. As it was fired, it continued to expand. "Glacial Wall!" Serena countered by raising a large block of ice between them. BOOM. The fireball broke when it came into contact with the block of ice. The block of ice was shattered, but the fires were scattered to the sides of the ice. "I''ll hold them off as long as I can," said Serena. "You guys should run and prepare to fight another day. If it''s within a year, I don''t think they will have a large enough army to take over the world yet." With that Serena, charged towards Belphegor. With her tentacle arms, she began to clash. Belphegor had superior strength, but Serena was able to match it by committing multiple arms to counter an attack. Since Belphegor only held one weapon, he opened him up to Serena''s other attacks. Slowly the cuts built up on Belphegor. However, it was not enough. "Restoration!" Belphegor''s wounds suddenly healed thanks to a healing spell from the Yariks. They were supporting Belphegor and simply watching the fight unfold. Two of the Yariks charged flew forward using wings they had sprouted from their backs. The remaining ten maintained the magic circle. With the strongest of the group fighting off the hordes of monsters, it was up to Garnet and the summons that she could call out to fight against them. "Transformation: Lightning Fire Form!" As Garnet approached the two Yariks, each of them pulled out a Phoenix Lance. Not only did they have high stats, each of them also had high end equipment. "So, they sent a child to face me," said Yarik. Garnet held her sword in front of her, ready to face the two of them. "I''m more than a match for you," said Garnet. "We''ll see about that," said Yarik. "Demon Fangs!" A pair of blue fire bolts flew towards Garnet at incredible speed. Garnet dove downwards to avoid it, but the bolts curved and followed her. "Water Wall!" The two bolts of fire collided with the Water Wall, instantly fizzling out when it came into contact with the water. One of the Yariks rushed Garnet from behind. Garnet turned around and prepared an attack. "Horizontal Slash!" CLANG. Garnet''s sword slid against the Phoenix Lance as it slid off to the side. From the other side, the other Yarik approached. Garnet reached out her hand. "Shadow Bind!" Black stripes appeared all around Yarik, slowing him down. "Phoenix Force!" BOOM. Yarik reacted with his own ability. An explosion of flames wrapped around Yarik, engulfing his wings in fire. Flames began to slowly circle Yarik. Yarik continued to push forward. Garnet took out the Excalibur Replica that she kept in her ring. Against two opponents, she needed to be able to use her swords independently to deflect their attacks. The first Yarik renewed his assault, thrusting his spear forward. "Spear Rain!" His spear began to speed up and the tip of the spear shot a beam of fire with every strike. The two Yariks coordinated their attacks. Garnet was not used to fighting two highly skilled opponents at once. When she was able to block one attack, another would strike at her arm or her leg. If it were not for her incredible mana regeneration, she would have been dead several times already. As long as neither of them were able to land a clean blow, she should be able to survive. "Recall!" Nian suddenly appeared underneath them. Garnet needed help. Nian was the only one left who might be strong enough. "Flight!" Nian sprouted a pair of wings from his spine. They were made from bones and were connected by some type of pink flesh. "Recall!" Yarik reacted as well, calling four more Yariks to their location. There were now six of them against Garnet and one Nian. "Flame Tornado!" The Yariks all twirled their spears in front of them, creating a beam of flames. "Water Wall!" Garnet countered by surrounding both her and Nian in flames. The flames began to surround them, trapping them in a pillar of flames. "Ice Beam!" Nian fired a beam of blue from his mouth. The beam itself was able to pierce through the wall erected by the flames. One of the Yariks reached out his hand. "Fire Beam!" The two beams collided in mid-air and neutralized one another. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. A large bolt suddenly struck Belphegor from the sky. "What was that?!?" shouted Yarik as she looked up at where the shot came from. Garnet looked up and saw that the black star in the sky still remained, but two more figures stood in the sky above them. Name: Riley Level: 52 Class: ??? Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? Name: Anna Level: ??? Class: ??? Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? It was Riley and Anna, but their stats and levels had changed. All of Anna''s status information was hidden now. Riley continued to fire several more shots at Belphegor, striking holes into his arms and delaying his regeneration. As Anna fell from the sky, she jumped towards Garnet. "Tempest Turn!" Anna began to spin, increasing in speed and finally releasing a wind blast in every direction except for directly above and below her. FWOOSH. The flames were not only dispersed, but the Yariks were all scattered as well. "Quickly, make me a Guardian," she said. Garnet wasted no time as she reached her hand out. "Guardian Contract!" The magic circle with the animal symbols appeared. "I accept," said Anna. She wasted no time in accepting it. New Skill: Call: Anna Summon forth Anna, Guardian of Metal MP Cost: 50000 The forth petal on Garnet''s hand lit up. This time it appeared a white colored petal filled in. Four of the five were now filled in. "Transform: Blade Dancer!" Anna only carried a single sword in her hand. It was not as visually impressive as the transformation of the other guardians. "I will incapacitate as many of them as I can, but let Garnet kill them so that she can become stronger," Anna instructed. "Save your questions for later." "Okay," said Serena with no hesitation. "Who are you?" Sunny asked. "A friend," said Garnet. "It''s alright." "Reunion!" Anna reabsorbed the Guardian Replica that was fighting Apollo. With the metal from it, Anna created five more blades that floated on her back. When she released the sword he had on her hand, it returned to her back as well. Six swords floated on her back. Anna wasted no time as she charged towards Belphegor. "Mortal human, feel the power of a Greater Demon!" Belphegor shouted as he raised his sword. "I''m no ordinary human!" Anna shouted back. Anna gripped her hand and one of the swords were instantly transported from her back to her hand. "Scorching Lotus!" Anna''s entire sword ignited with flames as she quickly danced around Belphegor, slashing him four times. BOOM. There was a delayed explosion with Belphegor at the center. "Argh!" Belphegor screamed as he fell over. Anna wasted no time as she continued towards the Yariks. "Desolate Sands!" Yarik casted another spell. The ground underneath Anna began to dissolve into sand. However, her footsteps changed quickly, allowing her to jump across the sand. "Cursed Seal!" Yarik wasted no time to cast another spell. "Transformation: Transcendence!" Anna raised her arms and charged straight for Yarik. Anna activated a second transformation. The blades on her back split in half. There were now twice as many. Lightning crackled between some of them before transforming into light that bridged the gaps. There was now a pair of bright yellow wings on her back made of pure energy. A single long blade remained in her hands, glowing with a bright light. "You''re fairly weak for a Guide," she said to Yarik. "Transcendent Wings!" Anna''s wings lit up and projected a burst of energy backwards, giving Anna even more speed. A magic circle appeared around Anna and began to close in around her. "HA!" Anna screamed and released a powerful burst of energy. The magic circle underneath her shattered. Anna was charging towards Yarik, and nothing could stop her. "All Divide!" Apollo once more casted the spell that reduced the stats of their enemies. Anna visibly slowed down, but she continued her advance. Even with her stats cut in half, she was still going to fight. "Now!" she shouted. "Lightning Fire Blast!" Riley fired another shot towards Apollo. A beam of fire and lightning connected the sky and ground. BOOM. This one was much larger than Garnet''s normal cast of the spell. It was similar to the Fire Bolts that Zedd could cast. Using this as cover, Anna jumped towards Apollo. Four of the swords in her back combined together into a large two handed sword. With a powerful overhead slash, she aimed straight down at Apollo. "Wrecking Blow!" CLANG. Apollo blocked with his sword, but he was sent crashing into the ground anyways. Anna''s strength simply far outclassed Apollo''s strength, even with her stats reduced. "You again!" Apollo shouted. "Why must you keep getting in my way?!?" "You attacked a friend, I''m just returning the favor," Anna replied. In her other hand, a black and gold sword appeared. Apollo instantly fell back the moment he saw that sword. He knew what it could do. "Don''t touch that sword, it will freeze you in place," he warned Yarik. The Yariks and Apollo stood in front of Anna. Anna was receiving support from Riley, who was overlooking the battlefield and waiting for opportunities to shoot. Meanwhile, Garnet approached the body of Belphegor. There was a small crater around him from Anna''s attack. Belphegor was bleeding heavily from Anna''s attack, but he was not dead. He turned his head to look at Garnet, but he could not speak. He was barely able to move at all. Belphegor tried to reach for his sword, but he no longer had the strength. "Lightning Fire Palm!" Garnet struck Belphegor in the chest with it. BOOM. Belphegor was once again pushed further into the ground as the crater widened just a tiny bit. "Essence Absorption!" Belphegor''s body broke into a red mist and entered Garnet''s body. Stat Increase: Strength+10 Stat Increase: Intelligence+5 Stat Increase: Vitality+20 "Shouldn''t we go help Anna?" Zedd asked. "No," said Serena. "Let her fight alone, that way she doesn''t have to hold back." "Alright," said Garnet. The group continued to watch Anna fight against the Guides on her own from afar. To their surprise, Anna was winning. She alone was winning against thirteen enemies that were able to coordinate their attacks. Anna kept shifting her eyes, watching for movement and moving the blades on her back around to deflect attacks. No matter how many enemies there were, only four of them could attack at a time without endangering each other. Her fighting style was unorthodox, making it difficult to predict and read. The swords behind her moved independently of the sword that she held in her hand. It was like watching a single person using five swords at once to fight. However, it was still difficult to find an opening when there are thirteen enemies trying to attack you. "Phantom Strike!" To everyone''s surprise, Anna rammed one of her swords straight into the ground. It appeared underneath Apollo and stabbed him from the ground, injuring his leg. "Cover me!" she shouted. "Fire and Ice!" Riley rained several shots from above, this time in a circle around the Guides. BOOM. The Fire Bolt created a cloud of smoke. Several Ice Bolts embedded themselves into the ground and created ice pillars that made it difficult to maneuver around. "Transcendent Blade!" Anna''s sword turned transparent as she slashed a Yarik that was behind an ice pillar without breaking the pillar itself. All Garnet could hear was screams. When the smoke cleared, Apollo and three of the Yariks were down. "Impossible¡­ This world was supposed to weak," said Yarik. "Did you forget who came from this world?" Anna asked. "No one of importance," Yarik replied. "That''s why you fail," said Anna. "If you come back with any of your bodies, I will destroy them all." "Sky Dragon Crest!" BOOM. With a single strike, she slammed her sword into one of the Yariks, pushing him straight into the ground. The entire ground glowed with a magic circle with a dragon emblem underneath it. Slowly, the dragon emblem from the ground shrunk and the dragon wrapped itself around Yarik''s body. "Eight to go," she said. "Retreat!" Yarik shouted. "Everyone fall back!" Each of the Yariks drew a purple sword that they used to open up a portal of some kind. The remaining Guides all ran away. This time, Garnet was saved by Anna. Anna was incredibly strong, stronger than anyone she had ever seen or met before. It was clear that Anna was stronger than even Serena, Sunny, Nian, and Zedd put together. But Anna had fought for a long time, long enough to be tired of all of it. There was no telling how long she had been at it and she had gained incredible strength. Anna''s skills were far beyond that of any ordinary person. "Are they gone?" Garnet asked. "I think so," said Serena. "They all at least left this world for another." The Revenants, Xiaomei, and Quinton began to clean up the remaining summoned creatures. If any of them escaped, they could probably message their summoner and help aid in the next Invasion. For now though, Garnet needed to get stronger. The enemies this time were far stronger than anything she had encountered even though they were only about twenty levels higher and Garnet was much stronger than during the first one. Despite this, they would have lost without Anna''s help. This could not happen a second time. "Essence Absorption!" Garnet absorbed the body of Apollo and the Yariks that Anna had killed. New Skill: Sword Rain Creates metal swords that flies towards your opponent. MP Cost: 200 Stat Increase: Strength+50 Stat Increase: Dexterity+40 Stat Increase: Intelligence+80 Stat Increase: Vitality+20 Stat Increase: Agility+40 Quest Complete: Survive the Invasion Reward: Experience You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! Like the previous Invasion, it gave Garnet lots of experience and stats. The problem was that it was not enough. The enemies were twice her level. She needed to get stronger, much stronger, if she was going to be able to defeat the next one. Even though Garnet was the Hero, she was not the one saving everyone, she was now the one that was being saved. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 52 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 4000/4000 MP: 15360/15360 Fame: 220 Strength: 192 (+5) Dexterity: 152 (+7) Intelligence: 481 (+22) Vitality: 125 (+5) Agility: 134 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Metal - 0 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Sword Rain (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Call: Anna (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1, Passive)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 7: Chapter 062 - Next Goals (Book 7 End) Sorry for the delay again. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out new abilities for each of the five people in the group and I''m still not certain those are the ones that I will stick with. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "How did you get here?" Garnet asked Riley. "I thought you were back home." Riley and Anna had showed up from out of nowhere. "From that," said Riley as she pointed to the black star that floated above. "I was home, but there are things that threaten my home and now I''m here again." "You''re not an Invader though are you?" Garnet asked suspiciously. After all, Riley and Anna just came through the same way that the Invaders did. "We''re here to help this time," said Riley. "Even if I was, I would be the good kind." "I thought you changed back to a man," Garnet said as she began to poke Riley in the arm. Riley quickly brushed away Garnet''s hand. "Transform!" She reverted back to her original male form. "I can change when I wish, but I''m more used to fighting while transformed, so I''m staying like this for now." "I see," said Garnet. "Anyways, thanks for the help." "You failed horribly today," said Anna as she raised her finger at Garnet. Garnet realized how weak she was. All she could do was stand back and watch as her underlings did the work for her. She did not know how to build a country. She did not know how to train an army. She had no idea what she was doing. "I have no idea what I am doing," Garnet countered. "I don''t have knowledge on how to run a country much less build one. I did what I could with what I had to work with." "I know," said Anna as she sighed. "But what are we going to do about that?" Garnet asked as she pointed to the black star in the sky. Even though the Invasion was over, the black star still remained. There was no eye in it though. It just ominously floated in the sky. "You weakened the barrier between worlds with that trick of yours, and this is the price," said Anna. "It''s now easier to travel between several worlds, meaning that an Invasion could happen at any time." "No¡­" said Garnet. "But that is why you must get stronger," said Anna. "You must become strong enough to fight off the next one. I might not always be here to help and there will come a day when a Guide that neither I nor Assad cannot defeat will appear." "What can I do then?" Garnet asked. "You''re already so strong, there''s no way I would stand a chance." "You have to get stronger," said Anna. "For starters, learning to use something other than mana to strengthen your physical body perhaps?" "I tried," Garnet replied. "But I cannot even channel chi in my body." "Were you trying to learn how to use chi?'' Xiaomei asked as she stepped forward. "Yes," said Garnet. "But according to Sunny, there''s no way to teach it." "There is a way," said Xiaomei. "I learned from studying the techniques from my family." "But it cannot be taught," said Garnet. "Teaching the principles can be done, but the practice and ability to use it depends entirely on you," said Xiaomei. "In other words, I can help you understand the basic ideas, like controlling your breathing and feeling for the power to flow through your body. As for actually using it, you have to do it yourself." "You have to teach me!" said Garnet as she shook Xiaomei. At this point, she was even more desperate for power. "Then we have to go to the Eastern Empire," said Xiaomei. "Why?" Garnet asked. "Why is it important that we go?" "Years of extended use of mana has made it difficult for you to sense other forms of energy," Xiaomei replied. "Even if you learn it here, it is a land flooded by magical energy due to the extensive use of it, which makes it even harder. That is why we have to head east to one of the Holy Grounds that is inhabited by a Spirit God. These are lands that are rich in chi because more people there use it. It will make it easier to practice there." "What about this city then?" Garnet asked. "I cannot leave it." "Give me administrative permissions," said Anna. "What is that?" Garnet asked. She was confused. "Administrative permissions will allow me to run the city in your place," said Anna. "I will focus on controlling the automata to rebuild here while protecting your family in Antium as well." "How do I do that?" Garnet asked. "Check the Party Menu," said Anna. "That''s how Assad did it." Garnet opened up her Party Menu. There was nothing there. She invited Anna to the Party first. Anna accepted. Anna''s name appeared on the list of people along with Zedd. As Garnet pushed Anna''s name. Promote was lit up There was a new feature under it that was unavailable to Zedd: "Administrative Powers." Anna must have had the experience from Assad, meaning that she would know how to help build and manage the city. Garnet went down the list and checked every single box, giving full privileges to Anna except for the ability to expel people from the Party and to declare allies and enemies, which were only available to the Hero. "Done," said Garnet. Anna turned to Zedd. "You, Riley, and Quinton should all go with her," she said. "Why me?" Quinton asked. "I only agreed to help Xiaomei fight some monsters." "We will need all your help in the next Invasion," said Anna. "The more of you that can get stronger, the better. Getting a new energy source gives you a slight boost of power. Mastering it makes you much stronger and improves your already existing abilities. If each of you can become as strong as Serena is now, we will stand a much better chance." Serena was strong enough to fight against the demon that was summoned by Yarik. It was a massive leap in strength, and not something that was going to be easy to achieve. "I will go," said Zedd. "I too need to learn how to control the chi that I unlocked and I feel like it is too difficult for me to do on my own." "Riley?" Anna asked. "I will go too," said Riley. "I need to become stronger in case they come for my world again." "That just leaves you," said Anna as she turned to Quinton. "Fine, I''ll go too," said Quinton. He did not want to be the only person to hold out. After all, he and Xiaomei technically fled from the Dark Mages, which meant that it is likely that Murad will send someone after them. "But promise me you will help us fight against them." "What kind of people?" Garnet asked. "Well, me and Quinton kind of fled from the Dark Mage Guild to help you," Xiaomei replied. "It is likely they will send someone to try to hunt us down and bring us back. The people that are sent out are fairly strong members, though not as strong as councilmembers like us, but still strong and people we have to be careful." "It''s alright," said Garnet. "Then, you can help me when the Grey Ghosts come after me." "¡­That''s not funny," said Quinton. "You don''t know how dangerous the Grey Ghosts nor the ones chasing us can be." "I do," said Anna. "That''s why I will protect this city if they come looking for you. I''m more than a match for them, but I need all of you to become stronger for the future for when the Guides start to arrive in large numbers." "But we''re all in a similar situation now," said Riley. "We will have to work together to become stronger." "I must warn you though," said Xiaomei. "What is it?" Quinton asked asked. "In the Eastern Empire, there are groups that seek power through any means possible," Xiaomei answered. "What do you mean?" Riley asked. "They will kill, they will steal, they will even blackmail you to try to get what they want," Xiaomei explained. "Do they just fight in the streets?" Garnet asked. "Sometimes," said Xiaomei. "But they officially do it in organized competitions at least once a year and some clans invite outsiders and host their own tournaments as well. Fighting on the streets is something that happens sometimes though there are rules." "You''ll have to teach us then," said Zedd. "Don''t worry, as foreigners, there will not be many people who wish to fight you," said Xiaomei. "It is largely used as an attempt to display their strength to their own people." "But you have to remember," said Anna. "They are a culture based on warriors because of the black star that appears just outside their Northern Walls. For thousands of years, monsters have slowly poured forth from theirs just like it will soon flow from the one here. Do not take them lightly. They have thousands of years of time to build upon and refine their fighting techniques." "There are hundreds of shrines located in the Eastern Empire," said Xiaomei. "Each one is often controlled by a single clan or school in an attempt to monopolize that power though there are a few that remain hidden because the families that control them have never revealed it to outsiders or because the spirits lived in remote areas. If you earn the approval of the Spirit God, you are given the opportunity to learn the powerful techniques from that God. I acquired mine from the Serpent God. The strongest ones are believed to be the Dragon God and the Phoenix God, but both types are controlled by large and powerful schools that train people in those techniques." New Quest: Divine Power Gain approval of one of the Divine Creatures in the East and learn their techniques. Reward: New Skills "But what most of them don''t know is how to combine chi and mana," said Xiaomei. "Both are considered mutually exclusive powers." "Are they not?" Zedd asked. "They are, but it is possible to combine them," said Sunny. "I''ve never been able to do much with it other than augment my own physical abilities." "Observe," said Xiaomei. She used her mana to create a single green bolt. The bolt then transformed into a detailed spear. It was sort of like what Zedd did with his magic now. "That''s what makes having multiple sources of power so good as well," said Sunny. "In addition, you can use one and when you run out you just use another. Under normal circumstances, you can try to use all of them to increase your abilities, but to be able to use them together in a single new ability is a completely different matter though." "I will teach you guys everything I can," said Xiaomei. "But you will need to gain the approval of one of the Gods on your own." Xiaomei began to demonstrate something else. She pulled out a sword from her ring. It looked a little different from the ones Garnet had seen. The sword itself was thinner than others, yet still thicker than a rapier. The entire sword began to glow a light green. "This is a typical high end weapon that you see," she said. "But then, you can do this!" "Blade Waltz!" A replica of the sword appeared and swung in mid-air. It was as fast as any other swing, but the distance and agility was very different. Instead of just flying towards its target, the sword could be manipulated without having to touch it. It was different from the weapons that Zedd could create as well. It could circle around the user at will. If it resembled anything, it was a primitive version of Anna''s abilities to wield multiple floating swords. "Hopefully you can do this someday as well," she said. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Why can''t you just teach me everything?" Garnet asked. "Because it is more than just teachings. If I pass on my powers to you directly, it''s a diluted source and only at about 30% of the strength as if you got it from the original source," Xiaomei explained. "If you then passed it on to someone else, then it''s 30% of yours, so the power dilutes extremely quickly if you do not acquire it from the original source." "As strong as you guys are, I''m certain that there are at least a few people out there stronger than you guys," said Anna. "So I recommend you don''t get into any reckless fights. The weakest person in your group is going to be what they''re going to focus on so be careful." "I''ll keep them out of trouble," said Zedd. "I''ve been there once, so I at least know how to behave." Zedd had traveled to many places before. If other worlds were places that he had visited, it wouldn''t be surprised if he had been everywhere in this world as well. Despite this, Zedd still lacked some knowledge and did not know absolutely everything. There were limits as some knowledge was closed to outsiders. Some of that information would be what Xiaomei knew. "So what''s our destination?" Garnet asked. Xiaomei took out a map and pointed to the northwest point on a long wall that stretched across the Eastern Empire. "Here," she said. "This is one of the entry points into the Eastern Empire." From the looks of the map, it was about twice the distance that it was from Anzio to Constantinople. "This is a long trip, don''t we need to plan for this?" Garnet asked. "Not if we use this road," said Xiaomei as she highlighted a long stretch of road that started a ways northeast of Constantinople. "It is a paved road that stretches across the continent and is maintained by all countries that use it. There are even rest stops along the way." "Is there anything we need to be careful of?" Quinton asked. "Like bandits?" "There are some," said Xiaomei. "They often attack in large numbers when they do because they need to overwhelm guards that are patrolling along the road. They''re fairly easy to handle compared to the creatures we may encounter though." "What creatures?" Garnet asked. "There are creatures that have fed off of travelers," said Zedd. "They acquire the strength of those that they defeated, so it is likely that you will see creatures that have magical arts or transformation." "Are all of the powerful creatures like that?" Garnet asked. "Very few," said Zedd. "Others acquire that strength naturally by becoming stronger in the wild, but those are even more fearsome because they know how to use the strength they acquired. But if they attack too often, others will hunt them down and kill them in order to make tools from them." "If we stick to the main road, we should be able to avoid those things," Xiaomei explained. "Just don''t go off into the mountains or forests looking for trouble. The stronger creatures are intelligent to avoid populated areas because they do not want to be hunted down." "So our goal is to go east and look for a Holy Ground from which we can more easily develop our strength," said Zedd. "Correct," said Xiaomei. "But that''s going to be difficult since most of them are already claimed and chances are we will not be able to fight them for one." "What about forming a temporary partnership after the tournament?" Zedd asked. "Can''t we enter it with our group?" "The tournament allows ten participants, but we only number five," said Xiaomei. "Are you sure we can do it with our numbers when they are likely to have people much stronger than myself?" "We have to try," said Zedd. "They have access to the Ancient Graveyard do they not?" Garnet had no idea what they were talking about anymore. The conversation has entirely shifted from their original goals. "Are you insane?!?" Xiaomei shouted. "You want to participate in the annual raid of the Ancient Graveyard?" New Quest: Land of the Dead (I) Enter the Ancient Graveyard. Reward: Experience, New Skills, New Equipment, New Spirit "Wait a minute!" Garnet interrupted. "What are you two talking about?" "The Ancient Graveyard is something like another world that is accessed by the winners of the annual tournament," Xiaomei replied. "They have the right to search the Ancient Graveyard for artifacts and elixirs of powerful individuals who created their tomb there." "I don''t feel comfortable robbing a grave," said Garnet. She remembered what happened to Romulus and Sylvia. They were beyond angry and were able to push themselves for vengeance. If other powerful individuals were doing the same, they could be awakening another vengeful spirit much powerful than Romulus and there was no guarantee that she would be able to defeat or persuade them. "As long as you don''t intentionally destroy their tomb, it will be fine," said Xiaomei. "With some luck you may even persuade one of them to teach you something." "Aren''t they dead?" Garnet asked. "How can they teach me anything?" "Some of them were on the road to immortality, developing their mana, chi, and other abilities," said Xiaomei. "As a result, when their physical body dies, they don''t die entirely. Instead, they transform into a human spirit. Their spirit then remains for some time after until they run out of energy and their spirit dissipate." "So there''s a chance one of them might be able to teach us something as well," said Zedd. "I think we should try it." "That means we would have to enter a competition between schools with just half the members," said Xiaomei. "But we can do it," said Zedd confidently. "I believe we should set that as our goal." Xiaomei was contemplating. "If we do that, then time is going to be tight, even if we can find a Holy Ground," she said. "But what we can win from the Ancient Graveyard is just too valuable. So the plan is to try to find a Holy Ground first. If we can''t, we will do what we can to become stronger until the annual tournament. Hopefully, we can make contact with a God from a Shrine at some point. Then, we will try to win that and gain access to the Ancient Graveyard." Garnet suddenly realized something. "Can''t we use the one that you went to?" Garnet asked. "Ehh¡­ I''m not exactly on good terms with my clan," said Xiaomei reluctantly. "I kind of broke into the Shrine and learned it without permission. I don''t think they would let me back in even if I wanted to. In fact, they might try to send someone to kill me if they knew." So they had to find another one. That was not going to be easy without a place to look. What worried Garnet more was the black star that continued to float above Constantinople. The good part was that as long as Anna was here, she would be able to help the other spirits and guardians. They should be enough to protect the city for a while with the Revenants and Automata. "For now, we should to try to reach a Holy Ground," said Zedd. "Then it''s decided," said Anna. "I will make sure the city remains standing while you are here." Zedd took out a small earring and handed it to Anna. It was like the one he made for Garnet. "Take this," said Zedd. "I''ll contact you if anything happens," said Anna as she put on the earring. "The Guardians here will protect this city to the best of our ability and await your return." Anna sounded completely different from her normally playful self. This was a more serious Anna, one that was dedicated to fulfilling her duties. Garnet had never seen Anna like this before. "Anyways, we should depart as soon as possible," said Xiaomei. "There''s no telling when more creatures will appear from that thing in the sky." "She''s right," Anna added. "Prepare as soon as possible, but you have to avoid using any of the creatures that you have summoned here because I will need them for the defense of the city." "We can always summon new ones," said Garnet. "I suggest you don''t," said Zedd. "The Eastern Empire has a rather strong dislike of summoned creatures that don''t resemble native creatures." That meant Garnet had to rely on the skills that she had. She would not be able to rely on superior numbers either. She had to rely on her own strength. "Then it is even more important that I become stronger," she said. Anna suddenly threw a bunch of clothes at everyone except Garnet. "You have yours from before," she said. Garnet remembered she obtained a bunch of clothes from Anna before. Anna continued, "Wear these to fit in together as much as possible," she said. "This way it also looks like you''re all from the same school." It was the cheongsam that Garnet received from Anna during their first trip to Anzio. "That is the official wear of the Eastern Empire while you''re in the Eastern Empire," said Anna. "By matching your clothes, you are signaling to everyone that you are from the same school." Garnet took out her cheongsam that was mostly red and white with a few stripes of pink. The same style was for Xiaomei and Riley as well. Zedd and Quinton received ones without the traces of pink, but had a few stripes of blue in its place. On the back of Zedd''s robe was a large golden five petal flower. "When did you prepare all of this?" Garnet asked. "I have spares that I just sewed on a logo," said Anna. "Lots of them from my days traveling." Anna had thrown away hundreds of gold coins like they were nothing. She could literally make magic jewelry as long as she had the right materials. She was probably wealthy beyond imagination, yet she chose to remain as a servant despite having earned her freedom long ago. "Are you ready?" Xiaomei asked one last time as everyone entered the room changed into their new clothes. "This still feels weird and is itchy in all the wrong places," said Zedd. "You''ll get used to it," said Anna. "I''m ready," said Garnet. "There''s no telling when the next Invasion will be anymore and we have to be ready to face whatever threat comes whether or not we like it. This Invasion should me exactly how weak I was. I was ignoring my personal training for so long, relying on the strength of others. Look at what that''s gotten me. I have to become strong, not only to protect myself, but to protect the others around me as well." Garnet knew it was clear. A lot of stronger people were after her and there were even stronger people from other worlds. If she was going to stand a chance, she needed to become stronger. One way to do this was with another power source, but chi was not working. Perhaps there was another one out there that she could learn. She hated standing on the sidelines, watching the Guardians and summons fight in her place. She wanted to be able to fight her own battles next time so that she would not be forced to rely on others. Spoiler : No stat changes Book 8: Chapter 063 - The Northern Walls I''m skipping the long travel from Constantinople to the Eastern Empire because I don''t want another arc of the five of them just wandering to a new location. I already did that with Garnet and Riley last time and it is not going to be any different except with less action and maybe one bar fight or something. This arc will also address some of the things that were introduced way back during the first major arc. This also marks the beginning of the third major arc. It will start to reveal the sources of the Invasion and Spoiler : why the black star in the sky does not always disappear after an Invasion. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Garnet, Zedd, Riley, Xiaomei, and Quinton made their way east along the main road that connected the northwestern part of the world to the eastern. The road itself was surprisingly well maintained and highly guarded. Merchants from cities and villages all along the road traveled it. There were even frequent rest stops along the road for travelers to stop at. Compared to the journey from Anzio to Constantinople, it was safe and largely without incident. Along the way, Xiaomei did her best to teach everyone the principles behind the usage of chi. Chi was a resource that was drawn from a different spot in the body from mana. The mana reservoir was located close to the heart while chi was stored in a place between the stomach and the heart known as the Dantian. Zedd, who had some knowledge of this from before and had learned to awaken his own chi with the help of Sunny was the first to pick up on it. Despite this, he still could not use it without proper training. However, it took Zedd a while before he got used to drawing energy from both sources. The two energies within his body intertwined and merged, greatly enhancing the quality and strength of his mana. The key to unlocking one''s chi had to deal with regulation of the different energies within the body through the control of breathing. For Garnet, this was something new and different. She was used to simply focusing an amount of power into her hands and then releasing it either all at once or at regular intervals. No matter what she did, all she could do was feel the power of mana. It coursed through her veins like her blood. It was impossible for her to separate the two since she has been at it for so long. "I hate this," said Garnet. "Well, this is the only way I know how to explain it to you," Xiaomei responded. "But you''re naturally an impatient person, which is why this is so difficult. As long as you can resist Intent though, you will be fine." Intent was a projection of energy. It could be done with mana or chi and Garnet had used it unknowingly before as well. If you have a larger or denser amount of mana, it is possible to focus and direct it at a target, striking fear into the target and potentially incapacitate them. With Garnet''s natural resistances and mana armor, it was nearly impossible for her to be affected by Intent. Simply hitting someone with Intent was often enough to weaken them significantly. Quinton and Riley were not doing any better with their training. The two of them were still trying to even feel the energy within their body like Garnet. They already had huge amounts of mana, so identifying that trace energy proved to be extremely difficult. "Anyways, I think we should rest," said Riley. "We won''t get much further when were tired like this." "We should be at the Northern Walls by tomorrow," said Zedd. "That black star in the sky still frightens me," said Quinton. "I can never get used to it." Quinton was referring to the black star like the one above Constantinople that floated just above the outside the Northern Walls of the Eastern Empire. Creatures supposedly appeared from it once in a while, as Invaders attempted to break through and attack. Luckily, they have always been fought back. And because of this, the Eastern Empire had built a tradition based around worshipping and supporting strong warriors who could fight back against these creatures. Unlike the west that developed mana, the east developed chi because there were safer artificial means to boost the strength of a chi user than a mana user due to their locations in the body. The mana reservoir was close to the heart, making it easy to injure yourself if things were done wrong while the Dantian was far enough from the heart that messing up resulted in fewer negative consequences, often just a little discomfort, but it also meant that it was harder to train due to the difficulty in sensing it. "I can''t get used to it either," said Riley. "I can''t believe there''s another one like that outside my home too." Unlike the Eastern Empire, Anzio and the western countries never developed a unified culture based on fighting the Invasions like the Eastern Empire did. Their focus on their individuality rather than for a common good forced them to worry about protecting themselves rather than finding a way to combat or stop the Invasions entirely. By comparison, the Eastern Empire was a united front, one that stood against the Invasions together when the time came. To do so, they sacrificed their individual goals for a collective one that guaranteed their survival. Nonetheless, they still struggled for power and influence for their own groups. Conflicts were between various schools or clans in an attempt to outdo one another. DONG. Garnet suddenly felt something strange. As she looked outside, she saw a flash of light as blue beams of light crashed onto the ground. Something had emerged from the black star. In the distance, she saw several streaks of light. Something that appeared to be weapons as they slashed down the four legged neon creatures that had appeared from the black star. The people had instantly responded to the threat and stopped it. "What was that?" Riley asked. "Invaders," said Garnet. "I recognized the feeling." "The guards at the Northern Wall immediately responded to slay them," said Xiaomei who joined them. "It is their duty to ensure that no Invader ever gets past the Northern Wall." "Has anything ever broken through the wall?" Riley asked. "It has been broken a few times," said Xiaomei. "As big as it is, it is not impenetrable. However, the people have always been strong enough to push them back." No new lights appeared. It was only a few small creatures that made their way through and they were instantly slain. The strange feeling that Garnet felt from the Invaders disappeared. "I''m going to get some rest," said Garnet. "I just hope nothing crazy stops us from getting through the wall." The next day, the group headed towards the wall. As they approached, more creatures fell from the black star in the sky. Again, it was a black shadow like creature, but this time with bright red markings on it. It looked like a human, but moved around more like a spider than something human. Some of the people along the road were scared by this. Garnet could hear gasps. Name: Green Impurity Level: 80 Class: Evil Spirit Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Agility "Don''t worry," said Xiaomei. "The guards are always around." The creature crawled on all fours and began charging towards the wall. As it leapt into the air, it was shot by an arrow. THUNK. The arrow struck the creature and fell down onto the ground. A man in a black and gold robe raised his white and gold sword over his dead. "Vertical Slash!" KA-SHING. The sword drew a clear white line in the sky through the creature and onto the ground. The creature dissolved and vanished. It left no body. At the same time, it was different from when Garnet killed the natural born creatures of the world. There was a faint aura that could be felt from the creature when it was killed. Name: Hou Tian Level: 73 Class: Sword Dancer Sub-Class: Cultivator Stats: High Agility Hou Tian turned his head to look at the people who were walking by before continuing towards the other creatures. A few others followed him from behind, in the same black and gold robe. One of them carried a bow made of white wood and a bow string coated in gold. It seemed like they dressed in specific colors. They made their way around to take out the other Invaders. Soon after, the group made it to the wall. There was a line. "Do those things appear so often?" Garnet asked. "No," said Xiaomei. "It''s unusual for them to appear twice within such a short period of time." Garnet realized it was probably her fault. Anna had mentioned that Garnet''s attempts to send Riley back to his own world weakened the barriers between worlds, making it easier for Invaders to make their way through the walls that separated the worlds. It is likely that the creatures were appearing more often now because of Garnet. Even a few creatures every day could be frightening since some of them can destroy cities. On the other hand, it would also mean an increased source of experience that could be exploited by someone to become stronger. "Let me and Xiaomei do the talking," said Zedd as he took out a black and gold coin. As the group approached the checkpoint, the guards were checking for something. Xiaomei took out a small green and gold coin with a snake crest on it. It resembled the card that Garnet got from King Charles. It was likely a symbol of nobility as the moment Xiaomei showed it, they were allowed through without question. Zedd showed his gold and black coin and the guards immediately bowed to him. The coin that Zedd had held significant meaning, enough for the guards to stop what they were doing and apologize. "I''m sorry, please forgive me," said the guard. The guard was deathly afraid. "It''s alright," said Zedd. "Lift your head. My friends and I just want to get through." "Of course," said the guard as he stepped back to let them through. The group moved without much trouble, but that definitely drew attention. "What was that about?" Quinton asked. "I just helped them a while back and got it as a reward," Zedd replied. "Don''t dwell on it too much." Garnet was really curious now. What was it that Zedd did in order to earn him that much fear? It was clear that the guards were surprised by it, so it was not something common. The group came out through the other side of the wall. In front of them was an enormous city built on top of what looked like barren land. There was very little grass to be seen. It was just an enormous city with small building the eyes could see. Even Anzio paled in comparison to the size of this city. According to Zedd, this was not even one of the ten largest cities. "Welcome to Taklamakan," said Xiaomei. "So what now?" Riley asked. "Do we just go around asking people about Holy Grounds?" "No," Zedd answered. "We need to find specific grounds that meet the right conditions." "That is one that is rich in energy, but also has to be unclaimed," said Xiaomei. "Any suggestions?" Quinton asked. "The easiest way is to find a land in which a powerful creature resides," said Xiaomei. "So for now, we should collect information on where we might be able to find powerful creatures." "And just like in the west, the best place to start is the local tavern," said Zedd as he led the way. "Oh and remember to stay on the side of the road, not in the middle." Zedd had informed the group about some of the cultural practices they needed to pay attention to. Staying to the side of the road as a group is what a humble person does. Standing in the middle of the road is an attempt to display power and invited challenge. As the group walked down the main road, they saw other groups in matching clothes that walked to the side of the road as well. Their matching clothes was a symbol of their unity under a certain school. They only encountered one group that walked in the middle of the road bearing the colors of black and yellow. Eventually, the group arrived in front of a bar. It was a little different from the ones Garnet had seen back in Anzio. This one was high end and the inside was decorated with cloth instead of wood. People sat down at tables instead of standing up next to the barkeep. "Wait here," said Zedd as he pointed at an empty table. The group sat down. "What did Zedd do?" Garnet asked. "I thought you knew," Quinton replied. "You''re friends with him after all right?" "Yeah, but I didn''t even know he was here before until we actually talked about it back at Constantinople," said Garnet. "How about you?" Xiaomei asked Riley. "I didn''t know either," Riley replied. They were all curious about what Zedd did, but no one wanted to ask directly. "Do you at least know what the coin that Zedd had meant?" Garnet asked. "It''s a token given to someone who has made a great contribution to the Eastern Empire and is officially recognized by the Emperor and is formally requested by a Viceroy of the Empire," said Xiaomei. "So Zedd has connections here as well then," said Riley. "It might be easier to get things done than I thought then." "Connections can''t always get you everything you need," Garnet countered. "It might provide us with a little access, but it doesn''t mean that we will be able to find what we need." Zedd continued to speak with the barkeep and then handed the barkeep a gold coin, most likely a bribe to get what he needed. Zedd then leaned in to the barkeep who whispered something into his ear. With that, Zedd left and returned to them with his hands full of drinks. "What did you learn?" Garnet asked. As Zedd placed the drinks down, he sat down and cleared his throat. "There are rumors of an Odd-Eyed Tiger in the southwest," said Zedd. New Quest: The Odd-Eyed Tiger Defeat the Odd-Eyed Tiger and secure the area around it. Reward: Experience It seemed too easy, but Garnet appreciated an easy quest once in a while considering the last ones she got required her to build a city and she could not even do it herself. She had to entrust it to someone else and hope that they did a better job. She was lucky that she did not fail the quest either considering the only thing she had actually got done was rebuild the walls. "I don''t understand what''s so special about an Odd-Eyed Tiger," said Quinton. "An Odd-Eyed creature means it is capable of using two elements together," said Xiaomei. "It''s a rare occurrence that happens through unnatural means. We might be able to find hints of a Holy Ground nearby, especially if the tiger acquired it from a nearby God." "Wild animals can gain the abilities from a God as well?!?" Garnet said surprised. "Yes," said Xiaomei. "If an animal comes into contact with a God, they can undergo the trials and earn the abilities as well if they are compatible. The result is a powerful and often intelligent creature." "So should we go?" Garnet asked. "I think we need more information first," said Riley. "I agree too," said Zedd. "They also told me that many of these creatures have recently been found slain as well." "That means someone must be hunting them too," said Garnet. "Most likely," Zedd confirmed. "I want to get some information about them first if possible." Zedd spent some more time asking around, but there was little information. There was even some conflicting information. There were stories of a black and gold robed group as well as a green and gold and a red and blue robed group hunting those creatures. That meant at least three different groups were hunting them. "So there''s at least three schools hunting them," said Xiaomei. "Schools are hunting powerful creatures? What for?" Riley asked. "To make Artifact Weapons," Xiaomei replied. "It is a weapon that is imbued with the abilities of whatever creature it was created from," Zedd explained. "For example, if you slay a poisonous snake and used its bones in the creation of a sword, you can probably create a poisonous sword equal in strength to the snake itself." It was another way of forging high quality weapons. Using the body parts of rare and powerful creatures was a common practice to create powerful items, even back in Antium and Anzio. The only problem was the lack of the high quality materials needed to create these items. However, if a wild creature obtained power from a Divine Creature and was then slain, it could make a powerful weapon. "I don''t think it''s wise to challenge them," said Riley. "We have to," said Garnet. "Without it, we don''t have a way to find a Holy Ground." "The problem is that we don''t have the numbers to compete with a school or a clan by ourselves," said Zedd. "No matter how strong any of us are, we''re no match for hundreds or even thousands of trained individuals." Stolen story; please report. "And they might be preparing these weapons to strengthen their own groups for the Annual Tournament as well," said Xiaomei. "They won''t hesitate to fight against others who are aiming for the same goal." "We''ll sneak around in small numbers like we always do," said Garnet confidently. "I don''t think we will be able to sneak around when we''re trying to capture or kill a powerful creature," said Zedd. "You should know better." The stronger a creature was, the larger the scale of the attack was going to be. Garnet knew from experience. The most powerful creatures had wide area attacks that could hit anything in sight. A forest of flames or the shaking of the ground was clearly going to be noticed by someone nearby. "Then is there nothing we can do?" Garnet asked. "We can only challenge their hunting groups head on," said Xiaomei. "If we can weaken them or persuade them to retreat, then we can do it on our own." "Isn''t that the same as fighting then?" Garnet asked. "Not quite," said Xiaomei. "If we reach the creature first, then we should have claim first. If they challenge us for a claim, then they are trying to steal from us. At that point, we no longer have to hold back if they''re the ones challenging us." "Isn''t this just based on words between people?" Garnet asked. "Would you spread news that your clan was defeated by a small group of unknown foreigners?" Xiaomei asked. "I see," said Quinton. "We turn their own rules against them. They want to be recognized as strong, but they will not admit to defeat because they will lose face if they tell others that they failed." "As long as we do not initiate a fight or try to steal from them, then we should be fine," said Riley. "So shall we get moving?" Zedd asked. "If we learned about this from here, I think the others will know as well and try to hunt it as well." "Alright, let''s get going," said Garnet. "I don''t want to miss this opportunity." The group of five headed southwest towards the exit of town. Along the way, there were other groups of people in matching clothes, most likely from the same schools or clans as well. Garnet noticed one in green and gold heading towards them. Xiaomei immediately turned her head down and stood behind Quinton to hide herself. The group in green and gold robes approached them from the front. Garnet recognized the clothes a little. It resembled the ones that Xiaomei was wearing during their first encounter. There was sixteen or seventeen of them and they were all fairly young. "I''m surprised they let foreigners into a clan," said the young man in front. Name: Rux Level: 53 Class: Swordsman Sub-Class: Pugilist Stats: High Agility "Let me handle this," said Zedd as he walked forward. "Can I help my fellow Junior with something?" Zedd asked. "I heard you were asking around about the Odd Eyes to the southwest," said Rux. "I''m afraid that''s ours." "Oh? Did you already complete your hunt?" Zedd asked. "Help me!" shouted a voice. Garnet looked around, but could not see where it came from. It was coming from the direction of Rux. "No, but we''re not going to let anyone get in our way," said the young man next to Rux. Name: Leo Level: 51 Class: Spearmaster Sub-Class: None Stats: High Strength "Over here!" the voice shouted again. Garnet turned towards the direction of the voice. It was coming from Rux, but there was no one else that was talking. "I do not wish to fight you, Junior," said Zedd. "Well I wish to fight you and your clan, Senior," said Rux. Zedd took his sword from his ring and raised it towards Zedd. "You dare threaten my students?!?" Zedd shouted as he released a powerful aura. Garnet could feel the aura that Zedd was releasing was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was much stronger than before. This was a result of Zedd''s training. A few of the people behind Rux stepped back the moment they felt it. Rux drew his sword. The blade of it was a light brown with some parts of it still nearly white in color. "Help me!" the sword screamed. "Did anyone else hear that?" Garnet asked. "Hear what?" Riley asked. Garnet was the only one who could hear it coming from the sword. There was something special about it. "Take that sword from him," said Garnet. "Don''t let him walk away with it." "Thank you," said the sword. "Alright," said Zedd. "Don''t worry, I won''t kill you." "Don''t act like you already won old man!" shouted Rux as he charged first. Zedd held his sword with both hands and took a deep breath, watching Rux closely. "Earth Saber!" Chunks of rocks wrapped around the sword as Rux raised his sword into the air. "Overhead Smash!" BANG. Rux''s sword lowered straight onto Zedd. Garnet knew that an attack of that caliber could not stop Zedd. After all, even if Zedd took the hit, he still had his Mana Armor to protect him. Zedd''s sword had made contact with Rux''s sword. Zedd''s sword had dug a little into Rux''s sword, cutting into the dirt and reaching the blade inside. With a single swing, Zedd sent Rux flying backwards. The rocks that were wrapped around Rux''s sword began to fall apart. "So your weapon is superior to mine," said Rux. "Big deal." "Did you think the sword is what made the difference?" Zedd asked as he stabbed his sword into the ground. Rux picked himself off the ground. The people around him were stunned by this. Zedd stepped forward, closing the distance between them instantly and grabbed Rux by the neck. "I don''t need a weapon to beat you," he said. "Put down your sword and surrender and I''ll let you go." "Ne-ver." Rux struggled to speak as Zedd choked him. Rux flailed his arms wildly, clawing away at Zedd. Zedd turned to look at the others. "What school or clan are you with?" "Xiao Clan," said Leo. "Are you not going to help him?" Zedd asked. "Master warned us that Rux was going to pick a fight he could not win one day and it would be best to leave him to his fate," said Leo. "That''s not good," said Zedd. "If your teammate was in trouble, wouldn''t you help them?" "I know I cannot win," said Leo. "Even if I attack you, chances are that we would both lose our lives." "Good to know that you are wise enough to recognize that," said Zedd. Rux lost consciousness as he dropped his sword. Zedd put him down on the ground and took the sword. "Per the terms, I will let you go," said Zedd. "But you must make sure to keep him in check." "I will do better next time Senior," said Leo. "Thank you for your mercy." Two of the other men picked up Rux and began to walk away. Zedd continued to look at them with the sword in hand until they were out of sight. "Are they gone now?" Xiaomei asked. "Why did you hide behind me?" Quinton asked. "They''re from your clan aren''t they?" Zedd asked. "That would explain your name." "Yes," said Xiaomei. "I''m considered an Outlaw by them and they have orders to kill me." "We''ll protect you," said Garnet as she tried to comfort Xiaomei. "Don''t worry about it." "Thanks," said Xiaomei. "But I don''t think our small group is enough. You haven''t seen the things that they will do in order to become strong." "By the way, why did you want this sword?" Zedd asked as he handed the sword to Garnet. Garnet took the sword in her hand. "I heard a voice from it," she said. "It was crying out for help." New Skill: Call: Kaimera Call forth the Spirit, Kaimera MP Cost: 5000 "Call: Kaimera!" A ball of light emerged from the sword and transformed into a small creature with three heads. One of a lion, one of a goat, and one of a dragon. All three heads spoke at once. "Thank you," said Kaimera. There was a weird echo to its voice. "What is that thing?!?" shouted Quinton. "I am Kaimera, a Spirit," said Kaimera. "I was imprisoned inside that sword by the Xiao Clan." "Why?" Riley asked. "It''s the most efficient way of channeling your power isn''t it?" Zedd asked with a worried look on his face. "Yes," said Kaimera. "There are many others like me trapped in those weapons. I was surprised that someone was able to hear my voice." "So what do we do with this thing?" Garnet asked. "Should I just keep it as another spirit?" "Help me free others like me," said Kaimera. "That''s not exactly why we''re here though," said Garnet. "We came with a specific goal." "She''s right," said Zedd. "We have problems of our own to deal with." "Why not?" Kaimera asked. "I''m afraid we don''t have the strength to challenge the other clans," said Zedd. "I''m sorry." Zedd was right. Their weakness has always been their numbers. "I see," said Kaimera disappointedly. "But if they continue to hunt us, it is likely that the black star will awaken." "What do you mean awaken?" Zedd asked. "How are the spirits and the black star connected?" "Us spirits are chosen as successors should a Divine Creature fall," Kaimera explained. "If there are none of us, then when the Divine Creature dies, then the world will start to fall apart." Garnet had heard about this from Ban before. "How is it possible that there are none of you to succeed a Divine Creature?" Garnet asked. "Aren''t there a lot of you out there and hidden?" "They were," said Kaimera. "But over the centuries, we have been hunted and there are not many of us left." If the weapons were manufactured in large numbers, then it could be possible that there were not many spirits left. If the Guides had a way to detect the number of spirits left, it was likely that they would start sending in more creatures to attack since it would mean that there were no spirits left to become successors should a Divine Creature fall. "Is that why those creatures are appearing through the black star so often now?" Xiaomei asked. "Yes," Kaimera confirmed. "But since we are being hunted now, we can no longer approach it to help humans fight anymore." "I''m afraid we cannot help you until we get stronger," said Zedd. "Do you know of a Holy Ground or a Divine Creature that can help us?" Kaimera thought about it. "If I help you, will you help me?" Kaimera asked. "Yes," said Garnet. Zedd agreed, "We''ll help." There really was no choice. They could not let the black star get out of control. After all, if the Eastern Empire was overrun, then the Guides would be able to establish a foothold from which they could attack other parts of the world. "I will bring you to the strongest Divine Creature I know, the Phoenix God," said Kaimera. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 52 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 4000/4000 MP: 15360/15360 Fame: 220 Strength: 192 (+5) Dexterity: 152 (+7) Intelligence: 481 (+22) Vitality: 125 (+5) Agility: 134 (+7) Charisma: 42 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Metal - 0 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Sword Rain (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Call: Anna (Level 1) - Call: Kaimera (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 2) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 1) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1, Passive)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive)
Book 8: Chapter 064 - In Pursuit of Strength This chapter took a lot longer than expected because I realized that I basically had to write out a draft of nearly everything that will happen in the remainder of the current arc. So basically, I know what the next book and a half is going to be about. Spoiler : Because each of the nine tails of the fox form will come to develop a unique power I ended up spending a lot of time creating abilities for some of the characters that will appear later on. Unfortunately, this will not speed up writing as my summer job had a few surprises for me as well. I ended up having to teach a class that I did not plan for and had to improvise. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Kai led everyone out of the city, bringing them to the ruins of a city southwest of Taklamakan. The whole city resembled the ruins of Constantinople, with fragments of some buildings remaining, but most of it remained uninhabited. Like Constantinople, the city was destroyed by something. The group continued following Kai through the ruins. "It''s somewhere around here I think," said Kai. "What happened here?" Garnet asked. "An Extermination," Xiaomei replied. "It''s deemed as a last resort when something is deemed too dangerous to continue and all other attempts to stop something has failed," Zedd added. "But what could have provoked such an action?'' Riley inquired. "What were they doing?" "Like all the other schools and clans, they were trying to become stronger," Xiaomei explained. "But they did the unthinkable, they killed their own Divine God and crafted items from its body while they shared the corpse of the Divine God among themselves." If someone killed a Divine Creature, then the world would be plunged into darkness or chaos would it not? Sunny had explained what would happen if a Divine Creature was killed, but why did it seem like it did not happen here? "What happened after?" Garnet asked. "The spirit of the fox went berserk," said Xiaomei. "Its entire body reanimated as a skeleton and sought out those who had killed it. For nine months, the creature ravaged the lands, destroying everything in its path until the four strongest clans unified themselves and fought the fox. Since then, this land has been abandoned and most people do not dare to come close to this place in fear of awakening the fox once more." Kai began to crawl under some of the rubble, looking for something. Shortly after it emerged again. "Nope, not here," said Kai. "Wasn''t it killed?" Garnet asked. "Sealed," said Xiaomei. "They couldn''t find a way to kill it permanently. Each time it was killed, it resurrected itself even stronger. So in response, they buried the place and burned down everything they could in order to hide the place." "Is it safe to really be here?" Quinton asked. "Isn''t it bad if we awaken the spirit of the fox?" "The anger of the spirit should be directed at those who killed it in the first place," Kai interrupted. "You guys should be fine unless you took one of them." Garnet realized there was a contradiction in the story. If the Divine Fox''s anger was directed at those that killed it, then why did the Divine Fox go after all of those people and rampage for nine months? "What happened to the items that were created from the body of the fox?" Garnet asked. "They were taken by the four clans," said Xiaomei. "It''s most likely why the fox remained so angry, but it''s also why the clans spent so much time to develop the ability to seal a living creature inside an item now." Kai was one of the victims of it that was freed. Luckily if they were just sealed, it also meant that they could be unsealed without much harm though being sealed and aware of your experiences might not be pleasant either. There was an ongoing arms race between the major clans and schools in an attempt to be the strongest and this has what it has led them to. Even if they are not allowed to openly fight each other for power, they will find other ways to do it, just like how the nobility struggled for power back an Antium. "I think this is it," said Kai as it re-emerged from the rubble underneath a huge building. "You''ll have to make yourself an opening and head under." Zedd led the way and began to push some of the rocks aside. Riley, Quinton, Xiaomei, and Garnet followed. After removing some of the largest pieces, they saw an opening underground. There were familiar looking engravings in the ground around it with some black and red paper talismans. "It''s a seal," said Zedd. "Breaking a seal doesn''t sound like a good idea," said Quinton. "This is the only way in," said Kai. "They''ll also be aware that we''re here once we break the seal," said Zedd. "The talismans placed here are transmission talismans. If we go in, we have to commit." "The seal is already broken," said Kai as it used one of its legs to point at the corner of the seal. Zedd looked closely and saw that there was a tiny chip in the stone. It was most likely from the seal not being properly maintained, but it was already broken. "It really is broken, so we should be able to go in undetected," he said. "Wait," said Xiaomei. "What is it?" Quinton asked. "This is a fox spirit," said Xiaomei. "It will most likely try to trick one of us into freeing it. Promise me, none of you will try to free it." "I promise," said Garnet. "I promise," said Riley. "I promise," said Quinton. Everyone turned to look at Zedd. "I promise," said Zedd. "Good," said Xiaomei. "If any one of us looks like we''re about to free the fox spirit, make sure to stop them." Everyone nodded in agreement. If the fox spirit was a Divine God and wanted revenge, then they absolutely could not let it free, especially with the black star just outside the wall releasing new monsters on a regular basis. However, Garnet needed to know the answer to why the death of a spirit here did not harm the world. The fox spirit would have the answers. Zedd smashed the seal and pushed the rocks aside. What remained was a ramp leading to a crudely formed opening under the ruins of the city. It did not appear to go as deep as the one in Constantinople. With a torch in hand, he led the way down. "Help me!" cried a deep voice. It was the same as Kai. "I hear it calling to me," said Garnet. "The fox spirit?" Riley asked. "I''m not sure," said Garnet. "It''s like when Kai called out to me." "You have a gift," said Kai. "It was no coincidence that you heard my voice the first time." "I can feel the pain that is coming from the spirit," said Garnet as she fell to her knees. "It''s calling out to me and it hurts in my chest." She felt as if there was something burning in her heart. She looked in the corner of her eye to see if it was really serious. There was only an abnormal status. It read "Spirit Link." "Should we go back?" Zedd asked. "No," Garnet replied. "We can''t waste this opportunity." After a few moments, the pain subsided. "It''s gone," said Garnet as she stood back up. "I think we should head back," said Quinton. "If this is already causing you trouble, it might be worse as we get closer." "No," Garnet repeated. "We cannot waste this opportunity. This is the only information we have to meet a Divine God." "I agree," said Riley. "If Garnet is fine with it, we should continue." "If it gets too bad, I''ll warn everyone and we''ll leave okay?" said Garnet. "Alright," said Quinton. "If you''re fine with it, then I won''t stop you." The group headed straight down the narrow corridor. It seemed more like a crudely constructed tunnel than a corridor. The dirt was just held in place with some wood. On the sides of the corridor were numerous talismans. "Explosive talismans," said Zedd. "They really didn¡¯t want this spirit to get out." "If it tried to escape, they would just detonate them and cause the whole place to collapse," Xiaomei added. As the group went deeper into the tunnel, the types of talismans began to change. "These are sealing talismans," said Zedd. "It should be impossible to break through them, but the fact that we can walk through it means that their power has been depleted." "If this fox spirit is such a feared creature, why isn''t anyone maintaining it?" Quinton asked. "It could have been forgotten or someone is intentionally doing it," said Xiaomei. "After all, if another conflict breaks out with the fox spirit, there will be another chance to acquire Artifacts." "Someone wanted this?!?" said Riley. "Who in their right mind would intentionally threaten their own home for power?" "The strong clans have threatened the weaker ones before," said Xiaomei. "We refer to this as ''Suppression'' when we talk about it. We threaten everything from their lives to their businesses." Things here were not much better than they were in Antium. Nobles continued to struggle for power and would threaten each other in order to acquire that power. The group arrived in front of a large empty hall with a large wooden door. On the door were large talismans along with a formation like one of the ones that Duchess Himiko used. It looked like there was still another seal on top of that. There were at least eight different types of seals on it from the looks of it. Even though the seals before it had deteriorated, this one was still active. Kai called over to them. "Over here!" it shouted. The group ran over and saw that there was a hole that was large enough for a small person to crawl through. Even though the door itself was sealed, the area around it had worn off. The talismans had lost their power and could no longer maintain the seal. Garnet took a peek inside the hole. She tried to move through it, but she could not fit and she was the smallest person in the group. On the other side was a single skinny, white haired man. He had a pair of black ears that popped out from the top of his head and he did not have ears on the side of his hair. He had nine tails that Garnet could see moving around behind him. Each of the tails were nearly as tall as him. He was fairly skinny. His arms, legs, and neck, and tails were all chained. The chains were attached to the sides of the cave, but were long enough for the man to move around within the large area. Name: Gorry Level: 100 Class: Fox Spirit Sub-Class: Divine / Transformage Stats: High Agility As the chained man raised his head to look at Garnet, Garnet could see the yellow pupils in his eyes along with what appeared to be whiskers across his face. "You''ve come!" he said. "Please, get me out of here!" he cried desperately. The mind games had begun. The fox spirit was pleading for help, trying to get sympathy from them while sounding desperate. "It''s a Divine Spirit," said Garnet. Xiaomei took a look. "It''s in its human form, not its natural form," she said. "Its natural form should be a large white fur fox with nine tails each the length of its body," said Zedd. "So what''s the plan?" Riley asked. Zedd sat quietly and thought about it. "Well, we can break the surrounding rock to enter the main room, but the question remains of how to secure its help without it threatening our lives," said Zedd. There was no plan for that. If they freed it, they would have to rely on its trust to help them, but then again, a spirit that has been sealed for a long period of time would not be friendly towards people. There was no way to know for certain that it would help. "Anyone have any ideas?" Garnet asked. "The only way that I know of would be to seal him into something, but we don''t have anything capable of handling that kind of power," said Zedd. "I don''t think you should seal him," said Kai. "It might just make him angrier, even if it''s just something temporary." "How about a magic contract?" Riley suggested. "I don''t know of one that can be made on something so powerful," said Zedd. "It might work if they don''t resist, but if they do, then it''s useless." ROAR. Gorry transformed back into his natural form. A four legged fox with nine tails all covered in white fur began smashing against the walls of the cave. Even though the fox had been sealed, it still had incredible strength. Since the seal was not being renewed or maintained properly, it was making progress by slowly chipping away at the surrounding rocks. Sooner or later, it would break free. The only question was when. If it was not for the fact that this was the only free Divine God that they knew of, they probably would not have stayed. "Is there any way to acquire its power without breaking the seal?" Zedd asked Xiaomei. "I''m not sure," said Xiaomei. "This is the only one I''ve ever seen sealed. But I don''t think it would be willing to help us unless we do break the seal." "Then there''s nothing we can do for now," said Zedd. "I think we should retreat and find another way. This is just too risky." BAM. Gorry began to smash against the door. He was trying to break through the seal again. BAM. He was repeatedly smashing against the seal, but it still held strong. "Since you''re not coming to help me, I''m coming to you!" he shouted. "Let''s get out of here," said Quinton. "I agree," said Zedd. The group quickly made their way out the way they came in. The narrow corridor seemed a lot smaller now that they were trying to run. All of the fail safes behind them were useless since they had deteriorated. A message box appeared: Skill Lost: Call: Kai. "Kai?" Garnet shouted. "Recall!" It was of no use. Kai was gone. It was the only one that had not ran out of the cave. The sound of footsteps could be heard behind them. As the group turned around to face it, the sound of the steps began to hasten. "Kai?" Zedd asked. "No," said Garnet. "It''s something else." If the skill was lost, that means something happened to Kai. Kai reappeared with its scales turned white. Its head was transforming, slowly turning into the head of a fox. "I have to thank you for bringing that spirit here," said Kai. The voice that was coming out of Kai''s body was not his own. It was Gorry''s, the fox spirit. Gorry had merged with Kai''s body and made it his own. Its appearance was slowly transforming into that of the fox. The left eye of the main head was already growing the white fur that they had seen on Gorry''s original body. "What did you do?!?" Riley shouted. "Spirit Transmigration," said Kai. "I can move my spirit into another body and make it my own and I need a human host to further my plans." "He''s after one of us, be careful!" said Zedd. Kai''s small body was extremely nimble under Gorry''s control. "Trigram of Wind!" Several small octagons with patterns of black lines appeared underneath him and in the air around them. It used these symbols to amplify its speed. The first one it aimed for was Zedd who stood in front. "Watch out!" Zedd shouted as he swung his sword, swatting Kai aside. One of the trigrams moved behind Kai, who used it as a springboard to continue forward. "Lightning Bolt!" Riley''s lightning struck Kai''s body. ROAR. Kai released a powerful roar that pushed the lightning back. "Trigram of the Earth!" Another octagon with patterns of black lines appeared in front of Kai, deflecting everything that was being thrown at him. Kai continued his dash towards Garnet. "Jet Stream!" The burst of water from Garnet did nothing to stop the barrier. "Spirit Transmigration!" Kai''s body went limp as a small white fox spirit leapt from its body and went straight for Garnet. Gorry entered straight into her chest. "I win!" Gorry proudly shouted. A white box appeared in front of Garnet: Foreign Presence Detected. Activating Defense Mechanism. Garnet could feel that the wings on her back emerged and she was partially transformed. Her body was reacting to the presence of Gorry in her body. She could feel what Gorry went through during his time sealed. All his anger swelled up inside of her. "Get out of my head," she said. "Give in to the anger," said Gorry. "Your hatred towards the nobles is one that you share with me." "I''m not like you!" Garnet shouted. "I''m not aiming for their death!" "But with your power, you can kill them any time you want," said Gorry. "No!" Garnet shouted. Her eye transformed. Through it, she was able to see a dark place. Through Garnet''s right eye, a blue flame appeared. Garnet quickly turned her head around, but what her right eye and her left eye saw were different. With her left eye, she saw Riley and everyone else running towards her. With her right eye, she saw the blue flames around her light up, eight in all. She quickly looked down and saw that dirt was underneath her in both places. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ROAR. Garnet heard the sound of Gorry''s roar from in front of her. The white fur glistened from the presence of the blue flames. "Where did you take me?!?" Gorry shouted angrily. "This isn''t your mind!" The Defense Mechanism the System Message gave Garnet earlier reacted to Gorry entering her body. It had moved Gorry into another part of her body. "I wish I could tell you, but I don''t know," said Garnet. "I''ll take your body anyways," said Gorry as it ran towards Garnet. ROAR. Another roar came from behind Garnet. This one was much louder. CLANG. It was the sound of metal breaking. CLANG. Another one. CLANG. The sound repeated as numerous pieces of metal broke apart. The blue flames turned white in color. Garnet knew where she was now. Her mana reservoir. There was a large dragon in here that Garnet could see part of when she was here before. It had transformed into Riley the first time, but it was clear now that the dragon was a resident of this place. The dragon transforming into Riley was possibly what happened when Assad overwrote the trial. The dragon was now free. ROAR. The dragon flew over Garnet and crashed straight into Gorry, knocking him to the ground. BOOM. Its claw struck Gorry in the chest. BOOM. It continued to smash Gorry. Garnet could see that this was no ordinary dragon. When it revealed itself in the light, its skin changed colors, like it had transformed. Patterns of golden light glistened off the scales. It had six wings that were each much larger than its main body. Spikes protruded out of its spine. It looked very different from the dragons that she had seen before. "I refuse to give up so easily!" said Gorry. "Fox Fire!" Each of its tails spread outward as they generated a small blue ball of fire. They flew outward merged at the designated location, the dragon in front of Garnet. BOOM. The flames crashed against the body of the dragon, forcing it back. Gorry pushed with all its might pushing the dragon over. However, the dragon did not relent. It continued its assault before Gorry had a chance to recover. It opened its mouth. "Lightning Breath!" A yellow light appeared in its mouth before hundreds of bolts of lightning flew outward towards the direction of Gorry. "Trigram of Earth!" Gorry deployed the same octagon with patterns of black lines in front of him in order to deflect the blast. It seemed to be able to deflect any attack that was coming from the front. Garnet would have to help the dragon if they were going to be able to defeat Gorry. Back in Garnet''s other eye, Riley and Zedd had finally reached her. It was as if everything around her was moving in slow motion. She could see their lips move, but she could barely hear what they were saying because of how slow it was moving. "Let me concentrate!" Garnet shouted. Zedd and Riley took a step back and watched as Garnet fully transformed into her Queen of the Night form, but this was done involuntarily. This was her body reacting to the presence of Gorry, a foreign creature trying to take possession of her body. Meanwhile, inside of her mana reservoir, the battle between Gorry and the dragon continued. Although Gorry''s power was able to push the dragon back, the dragon was not sustaining any damage at all. As Garnet looked into the corner of her eye to see how this was affecting her, she noticed it. Whenever the dragon took a hit, her mana decreased a little, and then it quickly recovered. The dragon was tied to her mana and it recovered whenever Garnet recovered mana. As long as the dragon could wear down Gorry, the dragon would eventually win. Garnet decided that she needed to participate as well. She needed to fight back against the foreign presence in her body. "Shadow Bind!" Garnet used the lack of light and the shadows around her to restrict the movements of Gorry. Each of its tails were pressed down on the floor. As fast as the fox was, it would lose its advantage once the shadows tied him down. "Blood Bind!" Garnet activated a second skill to limit the movement of Gorry. The mix of black and red ropes wrapped all around Gorry''s body, removing its speed advantage. "Let go!" Gorry shouted as it stretched its head, trying to break free of the bindings. "It won''t be that easy," said Garnet. The dragon rammed its head straight into Gorry''s. BANG. The dragon''s immense strength pushed Gorry over and began to dig its claws into Gorry''s body. BAM. Gorry''s thick fur proved to be a challenge for the dragon to pierce through. The dragon was able to keep Gorry pinned down. "Fox Fire!" Gorry attempted to use its tails again, but this time, the tails could not spread properly and the fire was concentrated in strange parts. The fire spread outward like a brushfire, but not in the direction of Garnet or the dragon. Gorry did not continue to panic. Instead, it tried a new attack. It opened its mouth and prepared for some kind of breath attack. "Fire Blast!" A blue flame emerged from Gorry''s mouth. BOOM. It smashed against the dragon and scattered all around its upper body. Garnet''s mana took a massive hit, but the dragon still stood strong. The problem was that the dragon could not break the tough fox skin of Gorry. Garnet would need to do it for the dragon. "Wind Blade!" Garnet shot the wind at the fox. FWOOM. The wind scattered along its fur. It was not enough to penetrate the skin, but it made a small cut into the skin. "Icicle Lance!" SHING. The spear of ice pierced through the skin of the fox. ROAR. Gorry roared in pain. It tried to reach its arm out in order to remove the lance, but the dragon kept it pinned. Garnet continued her assault. "Sword Rain!" Six swords appeared and pierced the skin of the fox. ROAR. Gorry continued to scream in pain. "It can''t end like this!" it shouted. "I should be stronger than you!" "Your mistake was attacking me within my own body," said Garnet. In a head on fight, she would have lost, but Gorry needed to invade her body to take it over. What should have been Gorry''s advantage was now becoming his reason for losing. "Trigram of Earth!" A barrier appeared between Garnet and Gorry. "Sword Rain!" Garnet called forth another six swords. SHING. The swords got stuck in the barrier that Gorry deployed. Garnet tried it again. "Sword Rain!" Another six swords appeared. One of the swords pushed a sword stuck in the barrier, breaking it and pushing all of the swords through. Two piercing type spells that strike the same spot in a barrier was able to break it. This was information that Garnet could use in the future. The dragon began to smash the swords into Gorry''s body, pushing them deep into Gorry''s body. Gorry no longer even had the strength to move its limbs. "Why do I feel so weak?" he asked. Soon Gorry would breathe its last breath. "The youngest is also usually the mentally weakest," Gorry said to himself. "That''s because you underestimated me," said Garnet. "You never treated me as a real threat, so when you start to lose ground, you started questioning your own abilities." COUGH. Blood flowed from Gorry''s mouth as he bled out. "I should have gone for the old man," said Gorry. You have leveled up! You have leveled up! You have leveled up! Gorry died. "Essence Absorption!" Garnet wanted to get any abilities she could from Gorry. After all, it was a Divine Creature. Stat Increase: Dexterity+10 Stat Increase: Intelligence+5 Stat Increase: Agility+30 Stat Increase: Charisma+20 New Skill: Transformation: Nine Tailed Fox Transform into a fox. Flight is unusable while in this mode, but fire and cloning magic is enhanced along with your agility and dexterity. MP Cost: Maximum Mana-30% New Skill: Fox Fire (Level 1) Creates Fireballs from each of your tails. They can lock on and track targets. Only usable in Nine Tailed Fox Transformation. MP Cost: 500 New Skill: Doppel Rush (Level 1) Summons three Doppelgangers that all rush a target at once. They disappear once the attack connects or if they are hit by something. Only usable in Nine Tailed Fox transformation. MP Cost: 2000 New Skill: Spirit Transmigration (Level 1) Allows you to copy or move your spirit into another vessel. The vessel can also be replaced by yourself upon death. MP Cost: 10000, 10% of Current Experience New Skill: Double Jump (Passive) Allows you to jump in mid-air and change directions. Skill Upgrade: Fire Mastery (Level 2) Skill Upgrade: Haste (Level 3) As Garnet''s vision returned to normal, she saw that she had unknowingly transformed into a Nine Tailed Fox. The white flames in her mana reservoir returned blue as the dragon looked at her and was bound in chains once more. Quinton and Xiaomei had their weapons directed at her just in case. "Ugh, my head," said Garnet as she groaned. "Are you you?" Xiaomei asked. "Yeah," said Garnet. "You can put your sword down." "How do we know for sure?" Quinton asked. "Cause your sword won''t do much against this skin anyways," Garnet replied. "I saw how tough that thing was." Zedd approached Garnet and hugged her. "A Hero cannot be possessed by others," he whispered. The Defense Mechanism within Garnet had protected her. Garnet looked around for Kai, who was still nowhere to be seen. It looked like Kai was gone. The ground had also started to darken, with the grasses turning brown and the leaves starting to fall from the trees. The local Divine Spirit had fallen, and the area would now suffer for it. However, one will eventually come to take its place. "Are you going to be like that the whole time?" Riley asked. Garnet took a look at herself. She had nine tails sticking out of her back and cat ears on the top of her head. On each cheek were three lines marked like whiskers. Her eyes had also turned both her eyes red. Even the nails on her hand became sharp. On top of that, she could not use her wings. "I''ll have to try this form out later," said Garnet. "Transformation!" Garnet quickly returned back to normal. "So what now?" Garnet asked. "We don''t have a Divine God to help us nor a spirit to guide us anymore." "I suppose we can just go back to looking for the Odd Eyed Tiger," said Riley. "That seems like the most appropriate course of action." "I agree," said Xiaomei. "We need to find you guys a Divine God that can help you as soon as possible." Riley and Garnet both turned their heads. "Be careful, someone is watching us," said Garnet. Everyone formed a circle facing outwards, looking for what was coming. "I never thought I''d see you of all people here," said a middle aged man who stepped forward. He was wearing black and gold robes, one of the colors that was described in town that was seen hunting the Odd Eyed creatures. His robe also contained an embroidered golden dragon that wrapped around the entire robe. His face was kept clean shaven and he held a single sword in his hand with a white and gold bow on his back. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 55 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 4150/4150 MP: 16060/16060 Fame: 220 Strength: 192 (+5) Dexterity: 162 (+7) Intelligence: 501 (+22) Vitality: 125 (+5) Agility: 164 (+7) Charisma: 62 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Metal - 0 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Sword Rain (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Call: Anna (Level 1) - Call: Kaimera (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Nine Tailed Fox (Level 1) - Fox Fire (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Spirit Transmigration (Level 1) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Doppel Rush (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 3) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 2) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1, Passive)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive) - Double Jump (Passive)
Where The Chapters At? - Hiatus Until Early August Sorry for taking so long to announce this, but I have been busy with my job in real life (currently working 9 hours a day/6 days a week just at school). I''ll get back to writing as soon as I can, but for the remainder of my current semester (ends July 27th), I''m going to be very busy and unable to get much done. Rest assured, I haven''t dropped this and I will be continuing to write it when I have time. It''s just that by the time I get home from work, I''m too tired to do much else. There should be a good number of releases between July 27th and the start of the new semester on August 17th as I will have my vacation then and will actually have time to write. Book 8 is currently planned to be 14 chapters long. So here are some details. Book 8 - Spoilers Spoiler : Xiaomei''s family is directly responsible for the nonsense that is going on in the Eastern Kingdom, having secretly poisoned the Emperor and forcing him to change his policies to allow for the power struggles going on at the moment. It will also reveal a little more about what the heck is going on with the Invasions and what the Hero System is. More details - Invasion Spoiler : The "black star" that remains in the sky after the Invasion is literally a hole in space. When there are enough of them, they will connect and open like a "tear" in the sky. The result is a massive hole in the sky that an enormous army and numerous Guides can pass through, allowing for an Invasion on a worldwide scale to be initiated. This is what Constantinople had to deal with in the past, but the holes were sealed by others. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. There are currently 3 holes. One in Constantinople, one outside of the Eastern Empire (the biggest of the three, monsters frequently pass through it with ease), and one in the Saharan Peninsula (this one hasn''t been shown yet and is the smallest of the three). In the future, one will appear near Anzio/Antium and one will be in the Archipelago Islands More details - Hero System Spoiler : There are indeed other "Heroes." The "False Heroes" that Zedd spoke about will appear at some point. They are people who have inherited other Hero Legacies that function differently from Garnet''s, which is known as the Mana Beast (the dragon like entity that appears inside of her yet refuses to talk to her), yet grant similar levels of power. The "Heroes" are results of different experiments in an attempt to create a being powerful enough to combat the leader of the Guides, a lich that has spent multiple lifetimes stealing powers from the dead like Garnet has. The four most powerful Heroes right now are Mana Beast - Garnet Four Cardinal Spirits - Shaman Physical Reinforcement - Conduit Spirit Elementalist - Avatar Book 8: Chapter 065 - Zedds Deeds Finally done with the semester. Just one final party on Monday to wrap everything up. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The man in gold and black stepped forward as others in a similar gold and black robe appeared, but they lacked the golden dragon that the man in front of them had. "It was a mistake to teach you and the others that technique Yee," said Zedd. Name: Yee Level: 84 Class: Divine Swordmaster Sub-Class: Golden Dragon Warrior Stats: High Strength, High Agility "The clans have put the magic seals that you taught us to great use to control our spirits," said Yee. "But that''s not what I''m here for today. I never thought you would be here. The clans would gladly put you on trial for your crimes." "I refuse," said Zedd. "I have nothing to answer to. Everything I did was in service to the Viceroys and the Emperor. They are the only ones who can judge what I''ve done." Garnet realized that the magic circle that Zedd used were most likely being modified by the clans in order to seal spirits within them. It made sense now why Zedd did not want to speak about it and why he was valued so much. He alone could shift the balance of power with his techniques. "I suppose I''ll have to take you with me by force," said Yee. "We''re a lot stronger than when you were last here!" he shouted. In terms of levels, Yee was fairly high, higher than when Garnet first met Zedd. However, Zedd had gotten a lot stronger and was most likely more than a match for Yee. However, they could not let their guard done. "I sense at least eight of them," said Riley. Garnet focused and tried to see how many there were. There were eight in the immediate area excluding Yee, but there were another three hiding in different places among the ruins. "Be careful, there''s another three in hiding," said Garnet. "Dragon Fangs!" Yee''s entire body began to emit a faint yellow light as scales emerged from his body, covering his hands, his neck, and parts of his face. "Dragon''s Bone Activate!" The bone in Yee''s arm glowed yellow as it began to cover the rest of his body in scales. His back even sprouted a pair of golden wings. "What did you do to your spirit?!?" Zedd shouted angrily. "I found a way to use its power without its approval," said Yee. He stomped the ground with his leg causing three rocks to float up into the air. With a loud thud, each rock was sent flying towards Zedd. "You fool!" Zedd shouted as he smashed the rocks aside with his bare hands. "You''ve doomed yourself and entire clan!" "What was that?" Garnet asked. "It wasn''t magic." "I don''t know," said Riley. "Do you?" she asked as she turned to Xiaomei. "No," said Xiaomei. "It''s not chi nor mana." Zedd and Yee continued to exchange projectiles. Zedd fired weak bolts of fire at Yee while Yee continued to manipulate the rocks. "This will be over if you surrender yourself to us," said Yee. "What''s he talking about?" Garnet asked. "When you gain the approval of a Divine God, the Divine God imbues your spine with its own blood and marrow, granting you power that can potential rival the Divine God''s," Xiaomei explained. "However, if you take a bone from a Divine God and implant it in yourself, in theory, it should grant you a similar power, but it will most likely permanently cripple the Divine God. They must have found a way to forcibly suppress the Divine God." Garnet thought about it for a moment. "Did they capture their own Divine God?" Garnet asked. "It is possible," said Xiaomei. "After all, the most important thing is to monopolize its power." "But that sounds like there would be serious consequences to doing such a thing," said Riley. "It is likely their Divine God will eventually die and their power will begin to decline as they are forced to pass down the powers of the Divine God through multiple generations," said Xiaomei. Thirty percent was the maximum amount that could be transferred if it was done between people. The second generation was already thirty percent of thirty percent. Each generation would be thirty percent of the previous and so on. Before long, there would only be small droplets of power that remained in each one. In exchange for power now, the clan had sacrificed their own future. "Focus on the fight in front of you," said Garnet. "We''ll take care of the rest." "I''ll explain everything to you guys later," said Zedd. "Watch out for any Boosters they might be using." The eight people in the gold and black robes formed a wall and began to march towards them. Garnet could make out six men and two women. Zedd walked forward and the eight opened a hole for Zedd to pass through to face Yee. They then spread themselves out, two per person. Zedd approached Yee. "If you think you can win, then you surely must be joking," said Yee. "I''ve been training since we met and I will not lose." "My comrades are stronger than you think," said Zedd. "I''m going to weaken you enough just so that you can watch so you can see how wrong you are." "Golden Dragon''s Sixth Verse, Dragon''s Wingbeat!" FWOOSH. Yee released a powerful burst of wind from his wings. "Null Wind Zone!" Zedd countered with his own technique. He swung his hands as a powerful burst of wind began to circle around them. They were now standing in the eye of the tornado, where the winds were weakened. With a single move, Zedd had neutralized Yee''s attack and took away his ability to fly. Zedd began to channel lightning into his fingertips. "Thousand Bolts!" BZZT. The lightning surged throughout Yee''s body. "Guh!" Yee groaned. He pushed forward and reached out his hand, resisting the effects of lightning. He was barely able to move, but that little bit was enough. "Hah!" Yee shouted as he stomped the ground, raising a barrier of rocks between him and the lightning. "I win," said Zedd. "Wall of Brambles!" Vines emerged from the ground and wrapped around Yee, pressing his body against the rocks he had just created. "Impossible," said Yee. "I''ve grown so much stronger than everyone else, I was sure I was stronger than you." "But I''ve grown as well," said Zedd. "My comrades are not as weak as you think. You can watch as your comrades fall." "There''s a bounty on your head Mei," said the man who took the lead. Name: Lucco Level: 64 Class: Senior Swordmaster Sub-Class: Dragon Warrior Stats: High Dexerity "Are they willing to risk so much to capture me?" Xiaomei asked. "You know a clan''s power is dependent on whether they can control access to it," said Lucco. "I''ll gladly bring you back home. Kill the rest," he ordered. The others drew their swords. "Serpentine Art, First Verse, Serpent''s Skin!" Xiaomei deployed the green cloak around her body as she prepared for combat. Everyone else readied themselves as well. "Transform: Nine Tailed Fox!" Garnet wanted to give her new form a try out as well. "Transform: Magic Gunner!" Riley transformed too. She wielded a small handgun instead of her usual larger rifle. "I never thought we''d have enemies to worry about here as well," said Quinton. "You''ll learn that no matter where you go, you will have enemies as long as your goals conflicts with theirs," said Garnet. Lucco and the others pulled out a small crystal filled with a red liquid inside. Name: Divine Dragon''s Blood Quality: Mythical Effect: Enhances Dragon related abilities for 30 minutes. They all drank the liquid in the crystals. Together they transformed. "Divine Dragon Art, First Stance, Dragon Scales!" Each of them grew black scales and wings. They looked a little like Garnet''s old transformation except that there were horns that grew backwards and sharp fangs in their mouth. They resembled miniature dragons. "Two each," said Garnet as she charged forward. Each of them would have to defeat two of the enemies before them. Garnet pulled out her staff. Everyone scattered towards their enemies. Garnet''s new form was incredibly fast as she was the first to reach the group that stood before them. "Swinging Smash!" She swung the staff horizontally. CLANG. One of the females in the group blocked it with her sword. Name: Hana Level: 60 Class: Senior Swordmaster Sub-Class: Dragon Warrior Stats: High Agility The strength of the blow was still enough to push her off her feet, but the man next to her caught her before she fell to the ground. "She''s strong," said Hana. "Back up squad!" Lucco shouted in reaction to this information. Another three consisting of two men and a woman joined them. It was the ones in hiding. There was now a total of eleven enemies. "I''ll take on these five," said Garnet. "Do you think you can actually take on five Senior Disciples from the Golden Dragon Clan alone?" asked one of the men. Name: Simon Level: 60 Class: Senior Swordmaster Sub-Class: Dragon Warrior Stats: High Dexterity The others were already fighting. Quinton was the one who struggled the most as he used blood magic, which hurt himself to use. "Of course not," said Garnet. "Call: Cerberus!" Garnet called forth eight of her Cerberus. "I never intended on fighting you alone," she said as she began to channel her magic. The group in front of Garnet took a step back. "Magic!" shouted Hana. "Calm down," said Lucco. "We can take her together," he said as he pulled out a white and gold sword. Garnet could hear some mumbling from the sword, but not a clear voice. "Was it being suppressed?" she thought. Lucco raised his hand and projected his Intent towards Garnet. FWOOM. The burst of chi was deflected by Garnet''s own Mana Armor. Garnet wanted that power for herself, and this was the first chance she had to take it from someone. After seeing the results of his Intent, Lucco wasted no time as he readied his sword. He was the first one to lead the charge against Garnet. The first Cerberus snapped forward at Lucco. Lucco twisted his body to the side and used the Cerberus as a springboard to jump higher. It was a move Garnet had seen Xiaomei do once. "Three Pronged Strike!" Lucco used his sword and aimed for Garnet''s shoulder. It was the first time Garnet had seen someone use a multiple hit sword skill other than Anna. "Quadruple Strike!" The first strike from Garnet''s staff knocked the first strike sideways. The second staff strike pushed Lucco off course. BAM. The staff then sent Lucco crashing into the ground. Lucco quickly rolled sideways before the finishing blow could strike him. "I was certain that would have gotten you," said Garnet. The other attackers began to look worried. Garnet was clearly a tougher opponent than they were meant to be dealing with. They all began to rush Garnet in unison. Using the staff, Garnet positioned it horizontally as she maneuvered it to start deflecting each of the approaching strikes. The members of the Golden Dragon Clan had to keep a minimum distance in order to avoid being hit. When they got close, the Cerberus began to move. ROAR. The Cerberus interrupted their charge. They managed to push away three of the attackers, reversing the two on one situation for everyone. The attackers were now the ones who were outnumbered. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. The repeated strikes against Garnet''s staff created a resonating sound that spread throughout the whole battlefield. "What?!?" shouted one of the attackers as his sword became trapped in the Cerberus''s body. No matter how hard he pulled, he could not remove the sword. With that, Garnet knew that even her summoned Cerberus could be a match for them. After all, these warriors lacked the same destructive power that a magic user had. It would be very hard for them to destroy the Cerberus in a single attack. "Divine Dragon Art, Second Stance, Wingbeat of the Dragon!" FWOOM. The one swordsmen released a powerful burst of wind from his sword as he forcefully removed the sword stuck to the Cerberus and pushed each other apart. With the use of each of the Divine Dragon Arts, the enemies were getting stronger. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Garnet fired her magic towards Lucco. Lucco swung his sword in an attempt to deflect the attack. BOOM. The moment Lucco''s sword came in contact with the spell, it exploded, knocking him and several others back. His sword suffered no damage. It was most likely being protected by something. "Divine Dragon Art, Third Stance, Dragon Claw!" Lucco swung his sword, releasing a yellow beam of light that dug through the ground. Garnet jumped to the side to avoid it. BOOM. There was the sound of an explosion in the distance. Garnet was able to reposition herself in mid-air while in the fox form, allowing her to use the air as if it was the ground. As she did so, the magic trigram appeared underneath her feet. Although she could not fly in this form, she could pull of similar feats as long as she kept track of the position of her feet. She could even propel herself by jumping multiple times in a short distance. "Fox Fire!" Each of Garnet''s tails began to emit a blue flame at the tips. Each of the tails released fire bolts that could be made to target different people on the battlefield. It produced a lot of chaos as the enemies had to track multiple targets. Garnet did not stop there though. She continued her assault in order to create as much confusion as possible. "Doppel Rush!" Three exact copies of Garnet appeared. They all charged forward at Lucco. Lucco swung his sword at the first one. BAM. The copy of Garnet grabbed the sword, stopping it before disappearing. "Sweeping Kick!" The second clone tripped Lucco, causing him to lose his balance. The third clone jumped straight up into the air with the staff. "Vertical Smash!" Hana and Simon quickly rushed to Lucco''s side in order to help him against Garnet. Most of their forces were now focused on her. BAM. The staff struck Lucco''s sword as he was pushed into the ground. "It seems like I underestimated you," he said. Riley was the one who had the greatest advantage over the others. She did not need a vocal command to attack other than to switch the type of bolts that she was using. "Lightning Bolt!" BANG. BANG. BANG. As Riley fired several bolts of lightning, one of the disciples stomped the ground like Yee had, creating several rocks between them. The lightning broke apart as it came into contact with the dirt. The second disciple began to kick the rocks, sending them flying towards Riley. "Fire Bolt" BOOM. Each shot of Fire Bolt was more destructive, easily blowing apart the rocks. Unlike Garnet though, Riley had no summons to even out the odds. "Metal Craft: Sword!" Riley held a sword in one hand and a gun in the other. She barely remembered any sword skills that Garnet had used and only remembered the basics. It was mostly going to be for defense if an enemy got too close. She had already felt Garnet channeling magic for her summons. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. One of the disciples dive kicked the rock, using the rock for cover. Riley fired her Fire Bolt at the rock. BOOM. The rock broke to pieces as she turned around and swung her sword. "Horizontal Slash!" The Golden Dragon Disciple prepared an overhead slash. "Avalanche!" Riley recognized this skill. It was not just a simple sword skill, it also attacked with the element of the user. She instantly backed away, abandoning her sword. BOOM. A huge amount of dirt fell from the area around the sword, creating a pile of rocks where Riley was just standing. "Feeling outmatched yet?" asked the disciple. "In about two seconds," said Riley. "What?" said the disciple, who was unsure of what Riley was referring to. From out of nowhere, a Cerberus leapt towards the disciple, pushing him to the ground. Riley took advantage of this chance to shoot the other. "Frigid Javelin!" Three long pointed shots of ice were launched by Riley towards the disciple who raised rocks around himself to defend. "Gah!" There was suddenly a scream. As Garnet turned to see what happened, she saw that Riley had taken down the first of the Golden Dragon Clan disciples. There were several small holes in his torso. Around him were several rocks with holes in them as well. Riley had pierced not only the rocks, but the person behind them as well. Garnet continued her assault onto Lucco, Hana, and Simon. "Doppel Rush!" She repeated use the ability to cause distraction, forcing them to focus on defense rather than attacking. "There''s so many of them," said Simon. Each Doppelganger that they struck down, another one appeared in its place. "Blood Bind!" As Hana struck the last Doppelganger, red ropes appeared right behind it, tying her down. "What is this?!?" she shouted. Lucco attempted to slash at the red ropes that bound Hana to the ground. BAM. They were incredibly tough. His sword only chip it slightly. "Keep her safe and stay out of my way," said Lucco. Simon stood between Garnet and Hana. Lucco held his sword with both hands as he thrusted it into the air. "Divine Dragon Art, Eighth Stance, Soul of the Divine Dragon!" A beam of light shot straight up out of his sword. It began to change shape into the head of a dragon. Lucco swung his sword towards Garnet, the dragon following a direct path to her. Garnet immediately started jumping sideways. The dragon followed her. As Lucco moved his sword, he was able to redirect the dragon. Garnet had to charge Lucco and force him to break the attack. "Doppel Rush!" Stat Increase: Agility+1 The three Doppelgangers rushed towards Lucco. Lucco spun around, moving the base of the dragon''s neck around in order to deflect them. The technique itself as a combination of offense and defense. It kept the opponent at a distance while making it extremely difficult to attack up close. Lucco separated his hands and drew another sword. The dragon split into two heads. The swords floated up and now moved with Lucco''s hands, mimicking their movements. The two swords positioned themselves over his head. "Breath of the Golden Dragon!" The two dragon heads opened their mouth and began to spray Garnet with yellow flames. "Tri-Element Breath!" Garnet channeled a breath attack of her own. She could only maintain it for a few seconds, due to its high cost. Her mana regeneration would not be able to offset the ability. FWOOM. Garnet''s breath attack spread far and wide as it ignited the dead grass and trees in the area. The yellow flames were instantly pushed back. Her own attack was of a superior tier, neutralizing Lucco''s breath attack. Lucco reacted by pushing his dragon heads closer, hoping to get more pressure, but it was not enough. Garnet''s breath attack was powerful enough to break apart Lucco''s dragon creations. Slowly, the light that composed the dragons began to dissolve. The heads began to wrap themselves around Lucco as he attempted to protect himself from Garnet''s Lightning Fire Breath. Garnet continued the breath attack until her mana was depleted. Even though the exchange took place for only a few seconds, the outcome was clear. Lucco''s arms had blackened and his nerves were visible thanks to the effect of the lightning. CLANG. Lucco dropped the swords as he was unable to control or move his arms anymore. "How?" he asked. "I had all the power of my bloodline." The others had already won their fights. The chaos caused by Garnet had turned the odds against the Golden Dragon Clan. There were even a few people who were caught up in Garnet''s breath attack. "Forcibly drawing out power is not the same as learning how to use it," said Garnet as she carefully approached Lucco. "There''s nothing that can substitute proper training and learning to use your abilities." "Heh, it doesn''t matter," said Lucco. "If I fail, they will surely send others deal with you." "Is everyone alright?" Zedd asked. The five of them regathered and they were mostly unhurt. They all stood around Lucco who was heavily injured. "What do we do with him?" Xiaomei asked. "Information of course," said Zedd. Garnet grabbed Lucco''s neck. "Embodiment of Lust!" Direct contact was usually more effective. "Tell me about the Golden Dragon Clan." "NO!" Lucco shouted as he tried to resist the effects of Garnet''s ability. He began to squirm as everyone tried to hold him down. "What else do we need to know?" Garnet asked. "How big is your clan?" Riley asked. Lucco did not respond. Garnet repeated the question. "How big is your clan?" Garnet asked. "Five thousand strong," said Lucco. "But only about fifty directly received their power from the Golden Dragon." "In other words, those are the ones we really have to worry about," said Xiaomei. "Artificial means of empowerment almost always has consequences," said Zedd. "In this case, their physical transformation should be the price." "Shouldn''t we kill him?" Quinton asked. "We should, but is there anything else we need to know?" Zedd asked. "How many Artifact Weapons does your clan have?" Garnet asked. "I don''t know, but at least hundreds," said Lucco. "Alright, finish and absorb them," said Zedd. Garnet stabbed her sword through Lucco''s chest. "Essence Absorption!" Stat Increase: Strength+10 Stat Increase: Dexterity+5 Stat Increase: Intelligence+10 Stat Increase: Vitality+10 Stat Increase: Agility+10 New Skill: Requires a Dragon Spirit or additional Dragon Blood to use New Skill: Requires a Dragon Spirit or additional Dragon Blood to use Garnet could not use the skills that she acquired from Lucco and the other members of the Golden Dragon Clan. She reached out to try to grab Lucco''s sword. FWOOM. The sword evaporated into air. "What happened?" said Garnet. "It''s a safety precaution," said Xiaomei. "They most likely made it so that if someone without the power of the Golden Dragon touches it, it will return to their armory or another protected location." "You have some explaining to do," said Riley. "All of this is my fault," said Zedd. "A long time ago, I showed them how I used my summoning magic in exchange for knowledge about chi and other sources of energy. What I didn''t know was what they were doing with that knowledge." "What happened?" Garnet asked. "If you invert a summoning circle, you can turn it into a sealing circle," said Zedd. "If you change some of the finer details, you can change the type of energy that is channeled for activation." "So that''s how they acquired the knowledge to create Artifact Weapons and seal spirits inside of them," said Quinton in realization. "I have a favor to ask of everyone," said Zedd. "What is it?" Garnet asked. "I want us to participate in the Annual Tournament and outlaw the use of Artifact Weapons created through the use of spirits if we win," said Zedd. "The other clans would never agree to such a thing," said Xiaomei. "They would fervently object." "Would they break the traditions of the Annual Tournament and disagree with the Emperor?" Zedd asked. Xiaomei thought about it. "I don''t think anyone would disagree, but wouldn''t the next winner just change the policy and allow it once more?" Xiaomei asked. There was no easy solution to this problem. The knowledge was out there, and there was no way to contain it. Zedd looking at the ground had a sudden realization. "If they don''t follow it, then there is another way to punish them," he said. "If there''s a way to seal off the flow of mana and chi, then there has to be a way to seal off access to it as well." "But for now, what do we do?" Riley asked. "Do we continue with our plans?" "Let''s stick to our plans for now," said Zedd. "I need all of us to be stronger if this plan is going to work." Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 55 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 4250/4250 MP: 16260/16260 Fame: 220 Strength: 202 (+5) Dexterity: 167 (+7) Intelligence: 511 (+22) Vitality: 135 (+5) Agility: 175 (+7) Charisma: 62 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 4 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 15 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Metal - 0 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Sword Rain (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Call: Anna (Level 1) - Call: Kaimera (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Nine Tailed Fox (Level 1) - Fox Fire (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Spirit Transmigration (Level 1) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Doppel Rush (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 3) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 2) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1, Passive)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive) - Double Jump (Passive)
Book 8: Chapter 066 - The Odd Eyed Tiger Spoiler : Zedd already has Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ. Yugioh joke... About the poll: So in a few chapters, Garnet will learn a little more about heroes, their origins, and their duties. I was wondering how much you would want me to reveal. Should I reveal the leader that is keeping the Guides in check? Should I reveal the true origin of Garnet''s Hero System? (Right now we only know of it through Zedd''s legend about the Yellow Emperor) Should I reveal the identities of some of the other heroes? What about the plan the Guides have put together to launch a full scale Invasion like the Constantinople one? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Thanks for the update," said Garnet as she and Zedd talked to Anna about what was going on in Constantinople. Zedd had transformed into his more youthful self, hoping that the members of the Golden Dragon Clan would not be able to recognize his younger self. The undead were on the rise again, slowly moving towards the city. There numbers were slowly increasing, but it was a long time before they were a match for even the automata in the city. However, there was always a chance that the Dark Mage Guild or the Grey Ghosts would attack. Both groups knew where the city was, but neither of them knew of the approximate strength of their forces. They continued to scout the city for information, but neither dared to approach for now. For now, the focus was on the problem that they started to collectively call "Spirit Hunting." Various groups in the Eastern Empire had been Spirit Hunting for a long time and weaponizing them into Artifact Weapons. The result was a severe decrease in the number of spirits, the rise of Odd Eyed creatures, and more frequent attacks by creatures that pass through the black star located just outside the Northern Walls. People were even after Zedd once they heard of his return to the Eastern Empire because the techniques he introduced is what allowed for the arms race for Artifact Weapons now. "Why is this world turning to shit so quickly?" Garnet groaned as she began to rub the sides of her head. "Every place in the world has their own problems," said Quinton. "Some just aren''t that easily noticed." Antium was in terrible condition until Charles took over as King, but even then, changes and improvements were slow and there were places that were still awful. "I just wish we had an easier way to deal with this," said Garnet. Zedd continued his work on creating a magic circle that was able to completely seal off the flow of energy within an area, thus neutralizing the Holy Ground and potentially prevent anyone from ever using those areas to gather any type of energy. This gave Garnet and the others time to learn chi under Xiaomei, but the only one who was making any progress was Riley. She was starting to sense the flow of chi, but was unable to channel it within herself. "It seems like this pursuit of chi is not working for you," said Xiaomei. "It''s not easy when all I''ve ever learned to do is channel my mana," said Garnet. "No matter what I do, I seem to always focus on that spot out of habit." Garnet had drawn her power from mana for as long as she could remember and she had a talent for it. She was able to channel the power from near her heart ever since she learned she could use it. For some reason, she was unable to figure out chi and her Quick Learner skill did not seem to help her at all. "I still think you should force it open," said Garnet. "I heal quickly anyways." "You might be willing, but I''m not," said Xiaomei. "I don''t have the fine control needed for it and a simple mistake may prevent you from ever using it in the future." Garnet was growing increasingly frustrated with her lack of progress. She had been attempting to do it ever since she saw Zedd do it after meeting Sunny. Using Essence Absorption on other people who could use it did not automatically grant Garnet access to it. "Alright, we should get going," said Zedd. "It''s a bad idea to stay around here for so long." "It''s likely that they will find out that their people went missing soon," said Riley. "But since you ate them, they won''t be able to pin it on us will they?" Quinton asked. "They''ll be able to connect the dots easily," Xiaomei countered. "They''ll probably send even stronger people after us." "Am I the only one in this group that no one wants to kill?" Quinton asked. "Nope, I''m sure the Dark Mages will have a bounty for you as well," said Garnet. "Ugh," Quinton groaned. "Well, at least I don''t regret my decision. I think it was the right thing to do." He tried to find at least something to be happy about. "Alright, let''s get going," said Zedd as he returned to the group. "Any progress?" Garnet asked. Zedd showed them the seal that he had constructed so far. "It''s a multi-layer barrier like the one I made for Constantinople," said Zedd. "However, this one does not need to control what goes in and what comes out. It just needs to stop all energy from passing it, but I fear it might not be enough." "What more could you do?" Riley asked. "I want to make it absorb energy," said Zedd. "This is the problem though," said Zedd as he demonstrated the seal. Zedd began to push his mana into the seal. The seal began to light up, turning from black to blue. It then turned white, yellow, and then the entire paper ignited into ash. "Too much power," said Quinton. "Yes," said Zedd. "If too much energy is placed into it, the seal will break anyways. It needs to have a way to empty the energy that it absorbs back into the ground or direct it away. For now, refining the seal to be able to handle more power is the best place to start." The group continued to walk with Zedd leading the way. "Which way?" he asked. "Recall!" Garnet called back all of the Cerberus. "Anyone find the Odd Eyed Tiger?" she asked. One of the Cerberus pointed its head towards the south. "Good work," said Garnet as she pat the Cerberus on the head. "Warn us if you see any other group approaching us," she instructed. The Cerberus scattered once more. "No wonder you were always prepared for our attacks," said Quinton. "It''s like having extra sets of eyes everywhere." "They''re great," said Garnet. "I understand why the Chancellor wanted your power so badly now too," said Xiaomei. "With that, you would not only be able to have your own army, you would have absolute control over them. On top of that, they were also a fearless, immortal army that would fight to the death for you." "Focus," said Zedd. "Don''t forget why we''re out here in the first place." "Odd Eyed Tiger," said Riley. The group followed the Cerberus, leaving the outskirts of the ruined city and heading deeper into the woods. The Cerberus was being extra careful as it moved slowly. HOWL. It was the warning signal from another Cerberus in the distance. The Cerberus in front of them suddenly paused, giving Zedd a startle as he bumped into it. "Shhh!" Garnet gestured as she stepped out in front and followed the Cerberus. There were whispers in the distance. It was another group of people that were most likely hunting the Odd Eyed Tiger as well. "Can you see who it is?" Riley whispered. Garnet took a peak over and tried her best to see. She could not make out anything other than the color of the robes. "Red and gold robes," said Garnet. "Divine Phoenix Clan," said Xiaomei. "That''s bad, their power rivals that of the Golden Dragon Clan." "We took care of them easily enough," said Quinton as he placed his hand on his sword. "The Golden Dragons we encountered earlier was no accident," said Zedd. "It was likely that they were heading here when they ran into us." Garnet tapped her Cerberus on the head. "Can you find us a way around them?" she asked. The Cerberus took a left turn and began to walk again. "Who''s there?!?" shouted a voice. Garnet looked around seeing if they were the ones being spotted. "Should we attack?" she asked. "Wait," said Zedd. Garnet immediately pulled the tail of the Cerberus. "Stop," she whispered. The group from Divine Phoenix Clan were approached by a group of Golden Dragon Disciples. One of the Divine Phoenix Clan members stepped forward. He had the crest of a phoenix on his back. He wore a hood with a pointed top and with golden wing marks on the side. Name: Holdin Level: 70 Class: Phoenix Knight Sub-Class: Fire Mage Stats: High Intelligence, High Vitality "A mage?'' Garnet thought to herself. "Could he be someone who can use mana and chi?" Like the leaders in the Golden Dragon Clan, they wore a symbol that demonstrated their rank. "Are you responsible for the disappearance of our allies?" asked a man from the Golden Dragon Clan as he stepped forward. The man had a beard and looked much older than the others. He even wore a black cap that was decorated with scales and wings on the side. Name: Harold Level: 82 Class: Divine Swordsman Sub-Class: Dragon Master Stats: High Intelligence, High Agility "No," said Holdin. "There were signs of a battle going on near the Forbidden Area, but we stayed away from it." "Really?" asked Harold suspiciously. He was already doubting Holdin''s words. "Our clans have been rivals for hundreds of years. I think you''re using it as an excuse to kill my fellow clansmen." "You dare accuse us of murder?!?" shouted a Phoenix Disciple who immediately drew her white and gold sword. The sword was decorated with golden bird wings. The other Phoenix Disciples immediately followed the woman who drew her sword. The others were now all prepared to fight. "It feels like everyone wants to fight," Riley whispered. "Backing down is a sign of weakness and submission," said Xiaomei. "They''re not going to back down without at least exchanging a few blows." "Am I the only one who thinks we should get out of here before they notice us?" asked Quinton. "If they go all out, I''m sure we will be noticed." "Yes," said Zedd. "Let''s take advantage of this and move on ahead before they notice us." Garnet pat the back of the Cerberus and the Cerberus continued to move. The group started moving away from the others. Moments later, Garnet noticed pillars of flames rising into the sky. The fight had started. A single man flew into the air as the silhouette of a phoenix appeared behind them. "It feels like they''re going all out," said Garnet. "So much for the cultural rules," said Xiaomei. "I really don''t want to be around when they realize that they''ve killed members of the opposing clan." Garnet had suddenly realized that she and her friends had accidentally sparked a clan war between the Divine Phoenix and the Golden Dragon Clans. "Aren''t we the ones responsible for this?" she asked. "Let''s hope they never find out," said Riley. "The clans were never this aggressive before," Zedd added. "I wonder what is driving them to such extremes." "Are any major events happening soon?" Garnet asked. "Not that I know of," said Xiaomei. "There must be something else going on between the two clans that outsiders don''t know about." Once the Cerberus felt that they were a safe distance away from the others, it began to move quickly again. The fight was still continuing in the distance. It felt like the fight had gone on for more than ten minutes and it had no signs of slowing down. Although Garnet was interested in finding out whether Holdin could truly use mana and chi together, it was not worth the risk. Pillars of flames could still be seen even though they were a long distance away. The Cerberus suddenly began to change directions. It was no longer running in a straight line. "The Odd Eyed Tiger must be on the move," said Xiaomei. "Maybe it knows we''re coming." In the distance, Garnet spotted the other Cerberus closing in around them. They were tracking the Odd Eyed Tiger as well. ROAR. There was suddenly the loud roar of a feline creature. "I think they found it," said Garnet. They quickly approached the sound of the noise. In the distance, Garnet saw the tall ridges of what appeared to be a mountain of some kind. They were quickly approaching the base of it. As they got closer, Garnet could hear the sound of fighting. There was a black tiger with white stripes and a pair of long fangs in front of it. One eye of the tiger was brown, the other was blue. Name: Black Striped Tiger Level: 81 Class: Forest Beast Sub-Class: Elemental Stats: High Strength, High Agility ROAR. The tiger kept swinging back at Garnet''s Cerberus. Each time the tiger swung, it roared. Garnet''s Cerberuses snapped back at the tiger, keeping it trapped in the corner. The tiger did not show any signs of intelligence. "We need it to show us to the Holy Ground that it got its power from," said Xiaomei. Garnet stepped forward and started walking towards the tiger. "Hey wait!" said Quinton. Garnet approached the tiger. Her eight Cerberuses now encircled the tiger. "I''m not here to hurt you," said Garnet. "I just want some information." ROAR. The tiger roared at Garnet furiously. "Watch out!" shouted Riley as she began to run towards Garnet. "Wait," said Garnet as she held out her hand and signaled to them to stop. "Let me take care of this." "Alright," said Riley as she stepped back. They needed information and hurting the tiger would only prevent them from finding the Holy Ground. "I need you to show me where you got your colored eye from," said Garnet. ROAR. The tiger jumped straight for Garnet. Two of the Cerberuses lined up, ready to pounce. "Air Bullet!" FWOOM. The burst of air pushed the tiger backwards. Garnet hoped that not using any attack that might seriously harm it might convince the tiger to show them the way. Garnet pointed at her own different colored eyes, hoping that the tiger would understand what she was trying to say. However, the tiger continued to look at her aggressively. "Spirit Link!" Garnet attempted to force a connection with the tiger on her own. However, there was nothing. Spirit Link only worked with a spirit, and the tiger was not a spirit. It was just a powerful creature that received the aid of a spirit. There was only one other way to get it to listen, force it into submission. The tiger continued to look at Garnet, grunting as it looked around for a way out. "It''s not working," said Quinton. "We should just take care of it here and now," he said as he drew his sword. "No," said Zedd, holding Quinton back. "Can you find the Divine Spirit yourself?" For a moment, Quinton forgot about their original plan. They were no closer to finding a Divine Spirit than when they arrived. The Odd Eyed Tiger was still the only thing that could possibly direct them to one that was not already claimed by another clan. "Let it out the side," Garnet ordered. One of the Cerberus moved out of the way, giving the tiger a chance to escape. The tiger took it and began to run. "Follow it!" Garnet ordered. The Cerberuses all began to track the Odd Eyed Tiger, following after it. Garnet gave chase. "After them!" shouted Zedd as they all began to give chase. Zedd wanted to use the summoning circle on the earring, but the others would all lose track of both of them then. The Odd Eyed Tiger suddenly stopped and turned around to face Garnet and her Cerberuses. Zedd held everyone back so that they were not too close. In the distance, the fighting between the Golden Dragon Clan and the Divine Phoenix Clan had stopped. The Odd Eyed Tiger had realized that as well as it ran. "Will you help us?" Garnet asked it. The Odd Eyed Tiger continued to run, ignoring what Garnet was saying. Since Garnet was not treated as a threat right now, it was focusing on the group that was further away. "Hello?" she asked. "The tiger is ignoring her," said Xiaomei. "It''s likely running from something else," said Zedd. "If we don''t take care of it, the tiger probably won''t help us." Garnet could feel the presence of five people approaching, but more were entering her detection range as time passed. "They''re coming!" Garnet shouted as she turned around. "Keep going," she whispered to the Cerberus. They could not lose track of the Odd Eyed Tiger. After all, it was still their only clue to a Divine God. They all drew their weapons. Zedd, Riley, Xiaomei, and Quinton turned around as well, all facing the same direction as Garnet. "There''s fifteen," said Riley. "All that and no deaths?" Garnet asked. "That doesn''t make sense." "It''s considered worse to live with the shame of defeat," said Xiaomei. "Chances are that some of them are injured, but they''re still moving with the group for safety. However, if they fought for reals and didn''t hold back, I''m sure someone would have died." The clans probably lived by a policy of leave no one behind. However, it was unlikely that they had perfect unity. After all, people prioritize their own survival and when it comes down to it, they may leave their friends behind if it¡¯s the only way for them to save themselves. The sound of footsteps could be heard as the group was running towards them. Garnet spotted a single person in red and gold who was carrying someone else on their shoulders. It was Holdin from earlier. He was carrying one of the other members of the Divine Phoenix on his back. Garnet immediately realized that they were running from something. There were at least four others that were too injured to fight and many behind them were still running. "Stop!" shouted the man in front. The entire group came to a halt as they approached Garnet''s group. "Don''t attack unless they attack first," said Zedd. "Are you here for the Odd Eyed Tiger as well?" "Not anymore," said Holdin as he looked around. "Please help us." "On one condition," said Zedd. "What is it?" Holdin asked. "We want to meet with the Divine Phoenix," said Zedd. "Do you agree to our terms?" "Yes, I swear," said Holdin. "I will talk to the Clan Master, but please help us." "Go hide," said Zedd. "We will meet you in the Northern Wall of Taklamakan." He stepped forward towards the direction that they were heading. Holdin and the other members of the Divine Phoenix Clan ran behind Garnet and kept going. Not once did the man with the golden phoenix crest look back. "Are you sure about this?" Xiaomei asked. "I realize now that we cannot accomplish our goals alone," said Zedd. "Chasing after Odd Eyed Creatures and fighting every clan that comes along just isn''t a plan. If we can make allies with one of the clans, it might be possible." The sound of footsteps coming towards them could be heard. "Get ready," said Garnet. A single man in black and gold leapt through the air and dove straight towards Zedd. Zedd raised his sword and swept it outwards. "Wind Saber!" FWOOM. The burst of air pushed the man back. The man landed on all fours as he looked up at Zedd and began to speak, "You''re not a member of the Divine Phoenix Clan." Name: Kelso Level: 82 Class: Divine Swordsman Sub-Class: Dragon Warrior Stats: High Agility "It seems like you''re looking for a fight Junior," said Zedd. "You should know that it is forbidden to kill." "If you die, then it just means that you''re too weak!" Kelso countered. "It''s not my fault if you can''t avoid the attack." Several other members of the Golden Dragon Clan appeared behind Kelso. "We''re wasting time, let''s kill them and move on," said the woman who stood behind Kelso. This group was much weaker than the ones that they had fought before. Kelso was the only one that was strong. The rest of them did not even hit level 50 yet. Nonetheless, their skills were still stronger than most of the other opponents Garnet had fought before. Zedd raised his sword and activated his Mana Armor Overlay. This was a technique that Garnet had not seen in a while. But, Zedd did not stop there. He began to channel his chi into the sword. A fusion of mana and chi coated his entire body and his sword in lightning. "Twin Lightning Blades!" Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The Mana Armor Overlay that Zedd used before had become a form of transparent shell that emerged from Zedd''s body. It resembled the upper half of a person''s body and underneath it was Zedd, who wielded his own sword charged by lightning. "Your mistake was to use a spirit technique," said Kelso as he pulled out a talisman with the image of a dragon on it. "Dragon Seal!" The dragon on the talisman emerged and circled around Zedd, attempting to bind him. As the dragon squeezed down, it passed right through Zedd''s body and returned to the talisman. "What?!?" said Kelso who was surprised by the results. "Why didn''t it work?!?" "I assume your seal only works on spirits," said Zedd. "I am no spirit nor am I using a spirit technique." Zedd raised his sword and swung it outward in a wide arc. Lightning blasted in an arc from the sword. Two people were caught by it and collapsed onto the floor, paralyzed by the lightning. Kelso stood strong against the attack as his body was protected by the aura of a dragon. "Kill them!" Kelso shouted. "The Grandmaster will deal with the consequences for us." The members of the Golden Dragon Clan charged forward and scattered themselves, hoping to avoid taking a direct blast from Zedd. "Here we go again," said Riley. "Let''s just take them out and move on," said Garnet. "Remember to leave at least one alive so that we can collect some information." ''I''ll try," said Quinton. He was the weakest in their group and he struggled a little in the previous fight. Unlike the others, he did not have the luxury of trying to capture an enemy alive. The highest level in their group except Kelso was about 50. They were even lower level than Garnet now. Garnet ran towards the one closest to their group. "Lightning Palm!" BAM. "Guh!" the man groaned. She struck the first Golden Dragon Disciple in the chest. He fell over paralyzed from the attack. Garnet continued to the second person. "Lightning Palm!" BAM. She struck the woman in the chest and she fell over too. Level Up: Lightning Palm (Level 2) "It actually leveled up!" Garnet thought to herself. By the time she was done with the second person, the only person still fighting was Quinton who beat only one of the Golden Dragon Disciples. Zedd pinned Kelso with his face to the ground and his sword of lightning stuck in Kelso''s hand. "Now then, we need answers," he said. "Go ahead," he said as he turned to Garnet. There was a strange aura coming from Kelso. "Embodiment of Lust!" "No!" Kelso shouted. His veins began to pop as they glowed yellow. He was channeling his spirit through them. "Fight!" he shouted. "I will not lose here! Dragon God''s Rage!" Around them, the bodies of his comrades began to move, even the ones that were paralyzed by Garnet earlier. "What''s happening to them?!?" said Quinton who was shocked by this. He was not the only one. They were all surprised. "I don''t know," said Zedd. "I''ve never seen something like this happen before." "Ugh," Kelso groaned as he grabbed his head. He suddenly leapt forward towards Zedd. CLANG. Kelso''s hand slammed against Zedd''s sword. His hand was covered in scales and he attempted to crush Zedd''s sword, but he did not have the strength to. He then refocused his attention on Zedd who kept slashing at Kelso''s body. Zedd stabbed his sword through Kelso''s bicep. Despite the blood flowing from it, he continued to attack. Zedd slashed off Kelso''s arm. It did not stop Kelso though, he kept attacking Zedd like a madman, with no regards to his own safety. Even cutting off his limbs did not stop him. The other Golden Dragon Disciples underwent the same effect. They too were possessed as they began to charge towards the nearest unpossessed target. A few of them underwent a partial transformation ranging from dragon like horns on the forehead to the emergence of claws or a tail. Xiaomei was the first to clash with one of them. "Double Strike!" As she struck the disciple with her sword, the poison seeped into her body. The Golden Dragon Disciple''s leg was paralyzed, but the disciple continued to push forward despite her injury. SHRIEK. She screamed as she continued forward. "What is with these guys?!?" Quinton shouted. "It''s like all they care about is killing their enemies." "Lightning Palm!" Garnet struck another one of the Golden Dragon Disciples in the chest. The disciple was knocked a few steps back, but he continued to press forward. "It''s like they''re not even bothered by our attacks." Riley had shot her target several times with ice, leaving several holes in the disciple, but he continued to press forward. As the disciple rushed towards her, she created a sword. "Magicraft: Sword!" A blade appeared in her hand as she swung it towards the man''s neck. CLANG. The sword smashed against the man''s neck, but it was covered by scales. She needed to hit it harder in order to actually kill the man. Garnet struck the man who was charging her in the chest. "Palm Strike!" The man coughed up a little blood as he was forced to take a few steps back. Once the man regained his composure, he attacked again. Not only were they stronger, they were insanely tough compared to before. "Lightning Fire Palm!" BOOM. Garnet struck the man in the chest with a powerful blast. He fell to the ground from the burst. But, the man refused to stay down. He picked himself up. His head was stuck in a downward position, most likely because his neck was broken. He was still limping towards Garnet. She used her sword and stabbed the man in the chest. "Ugh!" the man groaned as he continued to push him through Garnet''s sword. "Lightning Blast!" BOOM. Scorch marks now ran across the man''s chest. "Aim for the head!" said Zedd. Garnet saw the man in front of him had a hole in his head and was down. She turned to face the severely injured man in front of her. She placed her hand right in front of the man''s face. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. Garnet was pushed back by using the blast at close range, but she used her wings to brace herself. The man''s head was blown clean off, but his body stayed on the ground. Staff of Transformation: Spear Unlocked After a few moments, they finished off the remaining Golden Dragon Disciples. "What happened to them?" Garnet asked. "It''s almost like they were possessed," said Riley. "The only way to stop them was to completely blow off the head or immobilize them." "We''ll have to dispose of them like the others," said Zedd as he looked closely at one of the bodies. "If they find the bodies, it is likely that they will know someone killed them and might use it as an excuse to start the war. If they cannot find the bodies, then perhaps wild animals got the best of them." Some of the disciples might be innocent and just following a senior member. However, Zedd was treating this like a war. They had killed members of the Golden Dragon Clan and if the clan found out it was Garnet and her friends doing it, the clan will almost certain hunt them down. "Essence Absorption!" The bodies disappeared as Garnet absorbed them. Stat Increase: Strength+5 Stat Increase: Dexterity+5 Stat Increase: Intelligence+5 Stat Increase: Vitality+10 Stat Increase: Agility+5 Skill Unlocked: Protection of the Golden Dragon (Level 1, Passive) Reduces the effects of non-chi based attacks by 10% Skill Unlocked: Scaled Wings of the Dragon (Level 1, Passive) Your wings are now coated with dragon scales, increasing their resistance to magic. "Your wings!" said Xiaomei as she pointed to Garnet. Garnet turned around and looked at her wings. They felt different from before. They were a lot rougher. "Make sure they''re all dead first," Zedd interrupted. They double checked to make sure that none of the bodies were still there. The body count was rising quickly. In just over a day, more than three dozen members of the Golden Dragon Clan were taken out. At least two were mid or high ranking ones. "Are we going to keep going?" Garnet asked. "I think we should," said Riley. "It''s better to have something to fall back on than to rely on the Divine Phoenix Clan keeping their promise." "Me too," said Quinton. "I hope the spirit is able to give me its power." "Let''s keep going," said Xiaomei. "Yes, let''s," said Zedd. The five were in agreement. They were going to track down the Odd Eyed Tiger. "Recall!" Garnet recalled one of the Cerberus. "Lead me to the others," she said. The Cerberus quickly ran as everyone followed it. The tiger had passed under the mountain in a hidden passage of an old mine shaft. It was here that Garnet saw her Cerberuses standing together. They all waited outside the tunnel, but were scared to go in. "In there?'' Garnet asked as she pointed into the tunnel. One of the Cerberus nodded before making a whine and then backing off. Garnet was the first one to go in. "Guess that means we''re all going," said Zedd as he followed her. Everyone else went in. The Cerberuses stood outside the tunnel, afraid to go in. "It''s too dark in here," said Xiaomei. "Light!" Garnet and Riley both created a spark of lightning in the palm of their hands to provide light. Both of them had the ability to see clearly in the dark, but the others did not. At the end of the tunnel was a wide open cavern. Water flowed just under them and was even visible at the far end of the cavern. There was a little light that shone through from the roof of the cave to a few spots on the ground, but it was not enough to see. Sitting in the corner was the Odd Eyed Tiger, ready to pounce on them. "It''s been a long time since I''ve had a human visitor," said a high pitched voice. Everyone faced the direction of the voice. Hanging upside down on the roof of the cavern was a bat. It was enormous and as big as a person. Its wings were extremely wide. Name: Thomas Level: 100 Class: Spirit Sub-Class: Mammal Stats: High Agility The bat descended from the ceiling and the ground. "I never thought that you humans would come this far into the wilderness to hunt for spirits," said Thomas as he spread his wings wide. "Wait, we''re not here to fight!" said Garnet. "Then what are you here for?" Thomas asked. "We have come seeking your power," said Zedd. "But we want to do it the right way." "Is that so?" said Thomas. The Odd Eyed Tiger gave a series of soft growls. "Is that so?" said Thomas as he responded to the tiger''s noises. "You guys don''t seem to want to hurt us," said Thomas. The Odd Eyed Tiger growled again. "What''s it saying?" Quinton whispered. "I don''t speak tiger," said Riley. "Do you?" Thomas nodded in understanding. "I see," he said as he closed his wings around himself. "Very well, I will grant one of you my power." "Who?" Garnet asked. "I will let you decide who," said Thomas. "What is your power?" Xiaomei asked. "The Art of the Bat is one that manipulates your own blood," Thomas replied. "You can even use your enemy''s blood to heal yourself." "This sounds like a power that is for you," said Zedd as he pointed to Quinton. "Me?" said Quinton who was surprised. "I''m the weakest here. I think someone else should take it." "That''s precisely why you should take it," said Xiaomei. "You might become a lot stronger since it matches one of the elements that you use." "I agree," said Zedd. "We are only as weak as our weakest member." "Go ahead," said Garnet. "We can find more elsewhere." "Alright," said Quinton. He turned around and stepped forward. "I''ll be the one to receive your power." "Final decision?" Thomas asked. "Yes," said Quinton. Thomas bent over and looked Quinton in the eye. "Hold still," he said. "Stand back," said Xiaomei. "For what?" Quinton asked. Thomas sunk his fangs into Quinton''s back and his chest for a split second. When Thomas backed off, Quinton was bleeding from four holes. Two in the front, two in the back. Quinton collapsed on the floor as he groaned. "Ugh¡­" The holes on his body healed up in a few seconds. "My power is yours to command," said Thomas. "Now leave us be." "Are you alright?" Riley asked. "Yeah," said Quinton. "But my head hurts." Quinton''s forehead began to glow with the white light of the bat''s wing. "Ugh!" he groaned again as he grabbed his head. "It hurts." "Wait," said Xiaomei. "Let it take its course." Quinton began to toss and turn on the ground. "What''s happening to him?" Garnet asked. "His body is adapting to the presence of the foreign matter in it and his mind is taking in the knowledge of the Art of the Bats," said Xiaomei. After about a minute of Quinton tossing and turning on the ground, the glow on his forehead disappeared. "I''m okay," he said as he got back up. "Easy there," said Xiaomei as she grabbed hold of Quinton. "People who undergo this are usually weak for a few moments after." "I told you I''m okay," Quinton repeated. Xiaomei let go and Quinton was already standing on his own. "I understand," he said. He turned to Thomas and bowed to the giant bat. "Thank you," he said. "Go ahead and try it if you want," said Thomas. "Art of the Bat, First Verse, Bat''s Wings!" Quinton''s back lit up as his arms transformed into wings just like the ones on Thomas. "I can fly now too," he said as he flapped his wings." "You got what you wanted, now leave," said Thomas. "Shoo," he said as he approached the group, pushing them towards the exit. "Alright, we''ll leave!" Garnet shouted as she turned around towards the door. "You could have at least given us five minutes to rest." "And five more minutes for someone to follow you here?" said Thomas. "No thanks." The group was now back at the entrance of the tunnel. "I''m marking this place," said Garnet. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" She then turned around and faced the tunnel. "I''ll be back you hear?!?" she shouted. "Don''t provoke the spirit," said Zedd. "Well, we at least got what we came for," said Riley. "Now on to the next one," said Zedd. "Let''s see if the members of the Divine Phoenix Clan will keep their promise." "Let''s take the fast way back," said Riley. "Hold on," said Garnet. Everyone grabbed on to her. "Teleportation!" In a flash, they were back at Taklamakan. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 55 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 4350/4350 MP: 16360/16360 Fame: 220 Strength: 207 (+5) Dexterity: 172 (+7) Intelligence: 516 (+22) Vitality: 145 (+5) Agility: 180 (+7) Charisma: 62 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 5 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 16 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Metal - 0 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Fire Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Sword Rain (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Call: Anna (Level 1) - Call: Kaimera (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Nine Tailed Fox (Level 1) - Fox Fire (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Spirit Transmigration (Level 1) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Doppel Rush (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 3) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Protection of the Golden Dragon (Level 1) - Scaled Wings of the Dragon (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 2) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1, Passive)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive) - Double Jump (Passive)
Book 8: Chapter 067 - The Divine Phoenix Clan I think this will be the halfway point for Book 8. It''s a lot longer because I plan to merge the mini arc that occurs right after this into this book because I cut out some of the finer details for Book 9 in order to preserve the nature of the "true enemy." There will still be a few hints along with what happened in the past. About a character name you might recognize... Spoiler : If you remember at the end of that one, I left Akiza''s fate uncertain as the Immortals met to discuss what would happen next and a powerful lich emerged to begin an attack on the world. Over time, they gathered their own forces, this is the Guides. There are those that who chose to stay out of the conflict and preserve themselves. These are the Overseers. Akiza is part of the last group that wants to directly fight the Guides if possible. They don''t have a name as they are not united due to the losses they suffered in their previous conflicts. The emergence of Heroes from different worlds is a result of the Immortals experimenting on people from different worlds in order to create something powerful enough to fight the Lich that rose from that story. Of the characters from that story, only Akiza, Serph, and Himiko are alive. The rest all perished in the conflict while some of the remaining Immortals are still in hiding trying to create a Hero that can stand up to the Lich. She will become an important character in making Garnet take a more active role in fighting the Guides. A few hundred years in the timeline and many world jumps later, the character from my older published story appears. That one was my first attempt at a Xianxia style novel while trying to keep its form, which was ultimately a bad decision and what ultimately led me to write this one. I chose to abandon their short chapter style and focus on basing each chapter around a series of big events that I want to happen in that chapter and this has been the style I have mostly followed since unless the chapter is really long. I might take another shot at writing that type of story when I finish this one to learn from my past mistakes. Two days had passed since Quinton acquired the powers of bat from Thomas. Quinton was focused heavily on trying to move his wings from his arms to his back so that he could fly and fight at the same time. Zedd was still awaiting a response from the Divine Phoenix Clan. Everyone else was still attempting to activate the chi within their bodies, but there was little progress. Garnet on the other hand, could not clear her mind. She worried about all the other things that were going on, such as the small chance that the Grey Ghosts would pursue Ruby who was still in Anzio Academy. Dark Mages could be coming for Xiaomei and Quinton. Powerful monsters could attack the city of Constantinople and Taklamakan. Various clans could be chasing after Zedd. There was no end to the number of threats. Garnet had encountered something with the powers of the Phoenix Clan before, the Guide Yarik. Yarik was from a different world though and probably acquired his power from a different Spirit God than the Phoenix Clan. "Are you there?" Zedd asked. Zedd was sending a message through the earring. "Yes," Garnet replied. "Gather everyone and come to the Northern Wall," Zedd instructed. "Holdin is waiting to bring us to their clan." Holdin kept his word. He said that if Zedd and the others helped him escape the Golden Dragon Clan, he would allow us to meet the Phoenix God and he was actually honoring that promise. "It''s time go to the Divine Phoenix Clan," said Garnet. "We''re heading to the Northern Wall." Everyone gathered their belongings and headed towards the Northern Wall. They spotted Zedd who was trying to get their attention by waving at them. Standing next to him was a man in red and gold, Holdin. "I''m surprised you all survived the Golden Dragons," said Holdin as Garnet and the others approached him. "Most of our disciples could not even compare to the lower ranking masters." "What rank are you?" Garnet inquired. "Senior Disciple," Holdin replied. "I have orders to bring you to meet one of the Senior Masters. Are you ready?" "Yes," said Zedd. Holdin took out an orange crystal. "Stay close," he said. It was another teleportation crystal like the one Xiaomei used before. Holdin crushed it in his hand and the orange mist began to spread around them. When the dust cleared, they were in the outskirts of a large bustling city. "Where are we?" Quinton asked as everyone looked around. They were standing at the edge of a large and bustling city. At the center of the city was an enormous tower that stretched several stories up. Around the sides were enormous curved walls with an opening at the top that an enormous tree stretched out of. It almost looked like they had carved out the inside of a mountain and built their within it. Near the west end of the city was a river that stretched across the city. However, this characteristic gave it natural walls and basically turned the city into a fortress that could be sustained with the water near it. "Welcome to Phoenix City, home of the Divine Phoenix Clan," said Holdin. There were many people in the uniforms of the Divine Phoenix Clan, but there were many others who were not. They seemed to be ordinary people without any kind of special abilities or training. "Lead the way," said Zedd. "We''re heading there," said Holdin as he pointed to the giant tower in the center of the city. "That is the home of the Divine Phoenix Clan." Garnet stayed in the back for a moment as Holdin was speaking. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" She quietly laid a teleportation point in case they ever needed to return here, whether as allies or as enemies. "I don''t know why, but I pictured the clans as secret societies that keep their Gods hidden in some cave underground so that others cannot get to it," said Quinton. "There are a few that do that," said Holdin. "Those are the ones that don''t have the power to defend themselves from the larger clans." Holdin was trying to brag about the strength of their clan. After all, making a good impression on visitors is very important. There was something on Garnet''s mind though, the transformation that the Golden Dragon Clan Disciples went through. That was definitely something stimulated by one of their members and it gave them immense strength. It could be the type of strength that she was looking for, but it was pointless if the user could not control their own strength. They passed by something unusual as they crossed the river. It was a graveyard. "What is that place?" Garnet asked. "It was a graveyard that was set up during the early days of the city," said Holdin. Atop the entrance read the words: "West Wind Graveyard." Garnet read the tombstone that was closest to the entrance: "Master Cixi." Under the name was a single snowflake. In front of the gravestone was a single white flower. Someone had recently visited the grave. There were at least several dozen other tombstones. After passing through numerous busy streets, the group finally arrived at the entrance of the Divine Phoenix Clan. The front gate had their red and gold emblem stretched across it. They were still quite a distance from the tower. The outer city comprised about four fifths of the diameter of the city, but the Divine Phoenix Clan itself was basically at the center. "Senior Disciple Holdin has returned!" Holdin said to the two guards at the door. "Welcome back brother," said one of the guards as he opened a small door on the side. "What''s the point of that then?" Garnet asked as she pointed at the enormous gate with the symbol by the door. "That''s only used when we mobilize a large force," said Holdin. "Since it''s just six people, we can just go through like normal." "It is impractical to have to open huge gates every time they let someone through," said Zedd. As the group passed by the door, Garnet noticed that there were several talismans and charms along with some type of formation lain around the gate and the door. It was not something that you would be able to break through by force that easily. "Stay with me," said Holdin. "If you walk off on your own, you might be considered an intruder and attacked since normally, only ones who wear the Phoenix Clan Robes are allowed in. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes," everyone said together. The group headed towards the tall tower. Along the way, they saw many others who were wearing the red robes of the Divine Phoenix Clan. They were different from the ones that Garnet had encountered before because their colors were different. While the primary color was still red, very few of them wore red and gold. Some wore red and yellow, others wore red and white, there were even a few that wore red and black. Many of them gave strange looks at Garnet and her group. After all, they were outsiders and their robes stood out. "Help me!" Garnet could occasionally hear the cry of a few Spirits as well. They too had been crafted into Artifact Weapons. When they arrived in front of the tower, Garnet could see how big it really was. It was an eight story tall tower above ground and it even extended into the ground below them. Again in front of the tower were a few guards. This time there were three of them. "We''re going down to meet Master Akiza," said Holdin as he showed a small red and gold coin with the head of a bird on it. The guards opened the door for them and let them inside the tower. Compared to the outside of the tower, the inside of it was not as elaborate or decorated. In fact, it was rather simple and plain looking. There were no fancy ornaments nor decorative displays. All of the expensive decorations were on the outside of the tower. The center of the tower itself was blocked off by a tube of some kind that seem to run throughout the building. "Isn''t the inside usually fancier than the outside?" Riley asked. "It usually is," said Holdin. "But many years ago, our clan''s ancestors decided that the pursuit of material wealth was detrimental to the clan and while individuals are free to pursue material wealth, the clan itself should not make it a goal nor a priority. It hasn''t stopped some of our members from getting greedy though." No matter how righteous or upstanding a group is, it could be corrupted from within or from external factors if they are pushed far enough. Garnet wondered to what extremes the Divine Phoenix Clan worked to acquire power. The Golden Dragon Clan grafted fragments of their spirit within their own bodies. The Phoenix Clan was probably doing something similar. Towards the opposite end of the entrance was stairs leading downward underneath the tower. As they headed town, there were no guards nor other people. There was an eerie silence. There was not a single sound to be heard. There were some flames along the walls to provide light, but the main source of light was a bright yellow light coming from underneath them. "What is this place?" Zedd asked as he scanned the walls. Along the walls were what resembled markings of a magic circle. However, the magic circle markings also contained trigrams that were unique to magic from the east. There were lines that connected the base of the tower to the top. On top of that, the power that flowed through it was not mana alone. It was drawing from multiple sources of power and directed that power throughout the tower. "It''s a special area that was constructed by Master Akiza many years ago," said Holdin. "She is the care taker of the Divine Phoenix that resides at the very bottom of the tower." "Is she the leader of the clan?" Zedd asked. "No," said Holdin. "But she is the oldest one here. She has been here for as long as the other Masters and even the Grandmaster have known. But, she is definitely the strongest. So in addition to letting her take care of the Divine Phoenix God, they generally let her do as she pleases while everyone else runs the day to day operations of the clan." As the group reached the bottom of the tower, the light got brighter. The light itself was coming from underneath the pool of water at the bottom of the tower. At the middle of the water was a tiny island with a woman sitting in the middle of it. "That''s Master Akiza," Holdin whispered as he pointed to the woman. The woman was very young. She was probably under twenty years of age. She had long black hair that reached to her lower back. There was some type of bandage covering the left eye of her face and her forehead. Her ears were a little pointed at the top. She wore a light red version of the Phoenix Clan Disciple uniform with black highlights. Her shoes also resembled boots more than regular shoes. Across her back was a single medium length curved sword. Name: Akiza Level: ??? Class: ??? Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? All of her stats were hidden. She was sitting there quietly with her eyes closed, breathing extremely slowly. "Look at that," said Quinton as he pointed under the water. Underneath the water an enormous sphere shaped flame. The water was not extinguishing the flame nor was the fire evaporating the water. "That is the Divine Phoenix God," said Holdin. "It''s amazing don''t you think?" The color of the flames would frequently shift between orange, red, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink, and white. "Shouldn''t the phoenix be boiling the water or the water be extinguishing the phoenix?" Garnet asked. "Normally, yes," said Holdin. "But over the years, the phoenix trained itself and acquired total mastery over its own form. Now, it can change its shape, its properties, and its form as it pleases." Akiza stood up. She reached her hand straight out above her. "Spirit Union!" The Divine Phoenix God emerged from the water. "KYA!" The Divine Phoenix God shrieked. Name: Meiying Level: ??? Class: Mythical Beast / Demigod Sub-Class: Divine Spirit Stats: ??? The Divine Phoenix God shrank in size as it condensed into a small purple bird shaped flame. It flew in a half circle before merging with Akiza. Akiza''s hair turned red and her clothes turned bright red with the black highlights turning into gold. "She just merged with it!" said Xiaomei. "How?" Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "If you''ve trained yourself enough, it is possible to contain the power of a spirit within you," said Holdin. "Akiza was the first in our clan to refine this technique and she has been improving it for years." Akiza sprouted wings from her back and flew towards Garnet. The wings resembled what Yarik used. It was similar because they were both using phoenix spirits. However, Akiza''s flames were much more stable. They looked like normal wings, but colored red and orange instead. They did not look like flames at all. "Thank you for helping the clan," said Akiza. Garnet looked at Akiza and could see that Akiza''s eye had turned red as well. "We did it because we are at odds with the Golden Dragon Clan," said Zedd. "They attacked us once before." "I see," said Akiza. "But I sense no Intent from any of you, so that''s good. It also seems like three of you possess spirits of your own already." "I wish to speak with the Divine Phoenix God," said Zedd. "Ask away," said Akiza. "I speak for it and it speaks for me." Zedd turned around to the others. "Anything you guys want to know?" he asked. "Well first thing we need to know about is whether they will grant one of us power," said Xiaomei. "Then we need information about the Golden Dragon Clan," said Riley. "Like the insane Golden Dragon Disciples that we fought," said Garnet. "We could also use more information in general about what''s going on with Spirit Hunting," said Quinton. "Alright," said Zedd. "Let''s go in order then," said Akiza. Her voice suddenly changed in tone. It was higher than before. "I will grant any of you some power from the Divine Phoenix if the phoenix itself fully trusts you. But, that means you have to earn it." Akiza then raised her fingers and signaled the number two. "Second, the Golden Dragon Clan has basically killed their Golden Dragon Spirit," said Akiza. "I have not felt its presence in a long time." "What?!?" said Holdin. "How can they have the power to kill a Spirit God?" "A Spirit God is just an older and more powerful spirit," said Akiza. "They used techniques to weaken, break up, and then seal the Golden Dragon Spirit once they adapted the summoning techniques. It is likely that members of their clan now possess fragments of the Golden Dragon within them." Garnet''s group had encountered a man like that a few days ago. He had a bone of the bone of the Golden Dragon within him. They even drank some of the dragon''s blood to activate their power. Akiza continued, "The Golden Dragon can be revived if we reunite enough fragments of the Golden Dragon in a single place. A spirit does not die simply because its physical body dies." Garnet had absorbed some of its blood and possibly even one of its bones. It would explain why she suddenly had access to a few of the Golden Dragon''s abilities while requiring more of it to unlock its powers further. "You''re a good choice since you already have some of its blood within you," said Akiza as she pointed to Garnet. "How did you know?!?" said Garnet who was suddenly surprised. "I can feel the Golden Dragon''s Blood coursing through your veins," said Akiza. "But it''s peaceful, meaning that the Golden Dragon Spirit has accepted you as a potential vessel." "How can you tell if it''s peaceful?" Zedd asked. "When a Spirit''s abilities are forcibly taken or activated against the will of the Spirit, it becomes violent and unstable," Akiza explained. She raised both her hands. On her left hand was a perfect sphere of fire. On her right hand was a wild flame. "When you have a Spirit within your body, this is what it is doing to your insides. Which one would you rather have inside you? In addition, which one do you think is easier to control?" "Of course the stable one for both choices," said Zedd as he pointed to the perfect sphere of fire. "Exactly," Akiza confirmed. "When you take advantage of the unstable form and forcibly draw out its power, you get what is called a God''s Rage." "Is that what happened to those Golden Dragon Disciples who would not give up fighting until we killed them?" Quinton asked. "Yes," said Akiza. "It takes advantage of the anger the Spirit feels about its user and the user is able to direct it outwards. The stronger the hate, the more powerful it will be, but also the more damaging it will be to the user of the technique." Akiza was almost the exact opposite of it. She had chosen to bond with the Divine Phoenix, become its vessel by choice whereas the Golden Dragon Clan acquired their power by force. However, they were not perfect, some of their tools were also crafted from parts of deceased Spirits and Garnet could hear their voices calling as well. "Before I continue to Spirit Hunting, I assume that you can hear the voices of the Spirits calling for help since you possess the Dragon God''s Blood," Akiza said to Garnet. "I can," said Garnet as she stepped forward. "That means you too can perform a Spirit Union right?" Akiza asked. "Yes," Garnet confirmed. "By Spirit Hunting, I assume you mean the Golden Dragon Clan''s attempts to lock spirits within objects," said Akiza. "Is that correct?" she asked. "Yes," said Zedd. "That is what we are referring to." "It is easier to seal a living spirit now than it is to kill a spirit or a creature that has been given a spirit''s power," said Akiza. "As a result, Artifact Weapons are on the rise because of how easy it is to do this now. People fail to realize the long term consequences that the death of spirits will do. Spirits maintain boundaries of all kinds, even boundaries between worlds. It will eventually destroy our lands and make it easier for the creatures that come through the black portal." Akiza was referring to what was left by the Invasions. The single black star in the sky that remained would occasionally have a few creatures appear from them. "There''s something I need to know first," said Akiza. "And what is that?" Zedd asked. "How strong each of you are," said Akiza. "If you guys are too weak, then you are of no use to me at all." Akiza suddenly released an incredible amount of pressure. There was a powerful Intent being directed towards them that was meant to kill. She drew her sword. "You are free to move anywhere from here to the ground floor of the tower," said Akiza. "You may even use any weapon you wish. I just need to see how strong you are." "You''re underestimating us," said Garnet. "Am I?" Akiza asked. "The five of you should have no problem defeating me then." Akiza held her curved sword with a reverse grip with her right hand and placed it to her side. She raised her left hand with an open palm like a claw aimed in front of her. "Phoenix Form: Fire Storm!" Four pillars of flames erupted from the ground and began to wrap around Akiza. They shrunk and condensed themselves, each one forming a ball to Akiza''s side. "I will lead, the rest of you support me," said Zedd. Garnet could not tell how strong Akiza was. She was able to hide her stats. But the fact that she was currently in a Spirit Union with the Divine Phoenix meant that she was going to be at least as strong as handle the full power of the Divine Phoenix. If any of them faced Akiza directly, she could probably finish them in one hit. "Twin Lightning Blade!" Zedd started off with his newest technique. The ghostlike lightning armor covered most of his body. Akiza was still waiting for them to make the first move. She had all her attention focused on their group. Riley distanced herself and prepared her long range gun. Quinton stood at mid-range with Garnet and Xiaomei. "I will try to poison her, provide me cover," said Xiaomei. "Alright," said Garnet. "Go!" Zedd shouted as he charged forward. "Spirit Union: Chronos!" Zedd activated his own Spirit Union. A purple figure entered Zedd''s body, changing his lightning armor into purple. As he moved forward his body occasionally generated some type of purple mist and he would jump a few steps forward, creating illusions of himself. He swung his sword towards Akiza. "Avalanche!" Akiza lowered her body in response to the overhead attack. Zedd''s sword was coming from overhead while his lightning armor swung the sword from the side. No matter where Akiza moved, she would be hit. "Phoenix Wing!" Akiza clasped her open hand together as a metal fan appeared in it. CLANG. Akiza''s metal fan and metal sword both blocked one of Zedd''s attacks. The metal fan scattered Zedd''s lightning while the metal sword blocked the sword in Zedd''s hand. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley had climbed up and braced herself against the side of the tower. She fired a bolt straight at Akiza. Zedd jumped back at the last possible moment. BOOM. The explosion blasted the water upward. To everyone''s shock, the fire around Akiza expanded to cover the side that she was attacked from. After a moment, it condensed itself back to the balls of fire. Akiza was not even scratched from the attack. "Very impressive from just two people, but I''ve yet to see what the rest of you can do," she said as she pointed her sword towards Garnet, Quinton, and Xiaomei. Zedd led the attack once more, charging ahead. He began to move quickly towards Akiza. It seemed like at random intervals, he would jump ahead a step or slow down one, making it harder to predict. "Meiying," said Akiza. She casually spoke the name of the Divine Phoenix. One of the balls of fire around Akiza went inside her body. FWOOSH. Flames erupted from Akiza''s body forming her wings and giving her an external transparent armor made of flames. CLANG. Akiza''s own armor began to clash with Zedd''s Twin Lightning Blade technique. "Go!" Xiaomei shouted. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" Riley rained several bolts downward. "Take over," said Akiza. The armor of flames began to move independently of Akiza, clashing with Zedd''s and Riley''s as Akiza moved on her own. They were not fighting a single person anymore. They were fighting two people who were acting in perfect unison. "Blood Spear!" Quinton launched a lance towards Akiza. Akiza swung her sword. CLANG. With a single strike from her sword, she deflected the spear off target. Quinton began to charge forward. Garnet went under them using her wings to keep herself just above the floor. "Lightning Fire Palm!" "Flame Strike!" Akiza''s released a close range burst of flames with her own hand to counter. BOOM. The burst sent Garnet crashing into the ground. Quinton swung his sword. "I got you!" he shouted. CLANG. The sword came into contact with a thin pillar of fire that had appeared between him and Akiza. "What?!?" Quinton said surprised. One of the balls of fire had transformed into a solid wall of flames. It looked like flames, but it was so hard that even Quinton''s sword could not even penetrate the flames. There was something very strange about the flames. As Quinton looked, the Divine Phoenix had covered for Akiza by using one if its wings to create a solid pillar of molten rock. Akiza could use more than just fire. She was just toying with them at this rate. Xiaomei suddenly appeared from behind Zedd as she aimed for Akiza''s side. "Viper Bite!" Akiza raised used her own hand and grabbed the sword. "Got you!" Xiaomei thought. "You know it''s poisonous right?" she said to Akiza. "I know," said Akiza. "But did you look?" she asked. Xiaomei looked closely at Akiza''s hand. The sword was unable to pierce her skin. Even though it looked close, it did not actually make contact. "But you guys pass," said Akiza. "I''m happy with the results." "Really?" Quinton asked. "Yes, really," said Akiza. "You five put up a decent fight together." "If you''re so strong, why don''t you take care of the Golden Dragon Clan yourself?" Garnet asked. "It''s because I need a contingency plan in case something does go wrong," said Akiza. "Even if I defeat them, if I cannot transfer the power to a compatible vessel, it will just be taken by another Golden Dragon clan member." "So, will you grant us the Divine Phoenix''s power if we help you?" Riley asked. "I will convince Meiying grant all of you the Divine Phoenix''s power if you help me free the Golden Dragon Spirit," said Akiza. "Do you accept?" "Well everyone, what do you think?" Zedd asked. "I think it''s a good deal," said Riley. "A chance to acquire power from two spirits and deal with the Golden Dragon Clan." "There''s something else that I want," said Quinton. "What is it?" Akiza asked. "Protection," said Quinton as he pulled Xiaomei to the side. "Both of us are being hunted by the Dark Mages Guild and there is another group in gold and green that might be after her as well." "I will provide you shelter in this clan if needed until our agreement is resolved," said Akiza. "Thank you," said Quinton. "That''s the only thing I have to add." "Alright, we''ll do it," said Garnet. "It''s good to hear that," said Akiza. She took out five red and gold coins and handed one to each of them. "Don''t lose these," she said as she handed them out to each person. "They will allow you to come and go from the clan and visit me when needed." "So what''s our first task?" Zedd asked. "We have to find out where the main body of the Golden Dragon Spirit is," said Akiza. "If it is too weak when we find it, we will have to serve as a host to it. Most likely a high ranking member of the Golden Dragon Clan has the main body. We just have to find out who. The best time do that will be during the Annual Tournament. I am sure they will send out the person who has it then." [spoilers] No changes to stats [/spoilers] Book 8: Chapter 068 - Chasers Second chapter for the day. No bulk release. Just two. This one is a little shorter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Can we trust them?" Garnet asked. She was suspicious that Akiza was so willing to grant outsiders the power of the Divine Phoenix. "Well, we are doing them a favor by basically getting rid of their biggest rival," said Zedd. "We both have something to gain from this." Three days passed since Akiza agreed to give them the power of the Divine Phoenix if they agreed to help free the Golden Dragon. It was under the control of someone within the Golden Dragon Clan. Right now, they were still trying to figure out who it might be. The likely candidate was one of the ten Master rank members of the Golden Dragon Clan, but it was still unsure which one had it. For now though, they were resting in a private room within the Divine Phoenix Clan that Holdin had brought them to. "I think she can be trusted," said Xiaomei. "Why do you think so?" Zedd asked. "Akiza seems personally driven to free the Golden Dragon," said Xiaomei. "I''ve spoken to her a few times, but she seems really driven to kill the person responsible for imprisoning the Golden Dragon in addition to others who are trying to kill the spirits." "So she''s just using us to further her own goals?" said Zedd. "Most likely," Xiaomei replied. "But she is willing to give us the power of the Divine Phoenix right." "Doesn''t it seem too generous though?" Garnet asked. "Isn''t this a power that you want to keep for your own clan?" "She also seemed too willing to help as well after just seeing us in a single fight," said Zedd. "I have my suspicions about her as well though, because she reminds me of someone." "Of who?" Xiaomei asked. "A long time ago, when I visited the Eastern Empire and demonstrated mana to the clans, I remember there was a young woman with red hair as well," said Zedd. "I am starting to wonder if that woman and Akiza are the same people." "Can you not remember?" Garnet asked. "I remember the major clan leaders," said Zedd. "The Black Dragon Clan, The Red Phoenix Clan, The White Rabbit Clan, and the Green Serpent Clan were the major clans present. There were a few smaller clans present, but I don''t think that she was there." "I think she was," said Garnet as she got close to Zedd. "During our fight, she used an Explosive Palm variation on me." "Now that I think about it, she also knew how to counter Avalanche as well," Zedd added. "And what I thought was my own original technique was something that she used very well." "You mean the Mana Armor combined with chi?" Garnet inquired. "Yes," said Zedd. "She was far better and it and even allowed the Divine Phoenix to move independently of her main body. She fully trusted the Divine Phoenix to act independently." "For now, we should trust her though," said Xiaomei. "If we can get the powers of the Divine Phoenix, awakening your chi will be much easier." "What makes you say that?" Garnet asked. "Is there something special about it?" "The Phoenix types are believed to be able to speed up regeneration and recovery," Xiaomei explained. "Not only would you be able to train longer, it might even bring out all the other energy sources within you." "Then we have to succeed," said Zedd. "I have a question though," said Garnet. "What is it?" Zedd asked. "If she is so great, why is it that the Divine Phoenix Clan is losing to the Golden Dragon Clan?" Garnet asked. "The easier paths to power often comes at a price," said Zedd. "The Divine Phoenix Clan is unwilling to pay that price while the Golden Dragon Clan is willing to. It is likely that the Golden Dragon Clan will disappear in two or three generations if they fail to secure powerful spirits on a regular basis." "The transplants," said Garnet as she realized what Zedd meant. If you had to take parts from the Spirit God and place them into the disciples, there was no way that there would ever be enough for everyone. At some point, you would run out and the clan would die. There is also no telling what will happen to the host with the transplant in the long run. "Precisely," said Zedd. "If the transplant is truly from something dead, there would be necrosis that causes the host''s body to decay. If there is not, then the forced submission would mean that as they get weaker, the host will slowly be destroyed by their own power. Either way, their clan will disappear unless it can keep absorbing in new members and new spirits to fuel their development." "Where is Riley and Quinton by the way?" Xiaomei asked. "They went walking around town since they wanted to see the place," Garnet replied. "Like on a date?" Xiaomei asked. "I doubt it," said Garnet. "But they said it was mainly for safety since if they get into trouble, Riley should be able to activate Teleportation as well." "Let''s go see as well," said Zedd. "Sitting in here all day training only makes you more frustrated." The three of them headed out to look around Phoenix City. After all, it was a city that was supported by the Divine Phoenix Clan''s economy. Everywhere they looked was the logo of the Divine Phoenix Clan. That single bird on a red and black seal as its primary colors appeared on everything. It was impractical to put gold on everything since there was better things it could be used for. A lot of the top tier weapons Garnet saw had also incorporated gold into them. Barbecue made using numerous spices along with some type of pot where people simply boiled everything and then ate with a dark sauce seemed to be the most popular food items. The closer you were to the tower, the higher end and more expensive the items were. There were even some people selling something called elixirs. "What is that?" Quinton asked. "There are two types of medicines that help people train more quickly," said Xiaomei. "The first is a supplement, it makes it easier to train by either restoring your strength or making it easier for you to become stronger. The second type is an elixir, which directly grants you a power increase. Xiaomei began to walk around the store and looked around on her own. Garnet looked at the man who was carefully grinding down roots and putting them into some type of machine. The machine sorted out the materials and then recombined them. When the finished product came out, it was a single black pill. This process was done five times in a minute. The result was five identical pills. Name: Supplement of Fortitude Quality: High Effects: HP+1000, Cures All Abnormalities, Chi+500, Mana+500, Earth Affinity+100, Forcibly activates Earth Chakra for 10 minutes The pill restored four different resources. Garnet only had mana. But just seeing the medicine told Garnet that there were at least three other resources that could be used. Inside the store was a small vial encased in glass and protected by numerous talismans and magic seals. Name: Elixir of Life Quality: Mythical Effects: HP+100000, Experience+100000, Experience x2 for 120 min The Elixir of Life literally granted someone a huge amount of experience, directly making them stronger. The price itself was over ten thousand gold coins. That was more than the amount of money Garnet ever saw Anna spend. "How can they keep something so valuable on display like that?" Garnet asked. "Just look at how well protected it is," said Zedd. "The seal itself probably already makes it so that only the seal maker can break it. On top of that, there are guards." Garnet looked around the store and saw two large men who were keeping an eye on them as they looked at the Elixir of Life. One had his hand on the sword that he kept strapped to his side. If any one of them made a suspicious move, the guards would act. Garnet stepped away from the glass container. "I never knew such a thing existed," she said. Name: Nguyen Level: 60 Class: Taoist Swordsman Sub-Class: Pugilist Stats: High Agility Name: Ryu Level: 52 Class: Slayer Sub-Class: Martial Artist "Very few people can make such a valuable item," said Zedd. "Even I don''t have the skills to craft such an item." "Then who can?" Garnet asked. Anna was only capable of working with metals. Some mages could make decent elixirs. "You might in the future," said Zedd. "Does that mean the maker of this was another Hero?" Garnet whispered to Zedd. "It''s possible," said Zedd. Garnet looked at amazement that such a thing even existed. "I have to learn to make one of my own," she said. Two more people entered the store and began to look around. That was when Garnet heard something. "Watch out!" shouted one of the guards as he drew his sword. The other guard drew his sword in response. Garnet and Zedd both quickly turned around and saw that two men in full length cloaks had approached Xiaomei with concealed blades in their sleeves. "Lord Chancellor Murad sends his regards!" shouted the man as he thrusted his palm straight towards Xiaomei. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Desquamation!" Xiaomei quickly substituted herself with a stone copy of herself. Name: Antonio Level: 58 Class: Black Wizard Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: High Intelligence Name: Humphrey Level: 60 Class: Black Wizard Sub-Class: Assassin Stats: High Intelligence, High Agility "They''re most likely from the Dark Mage Guild!" said Garnet. The two guards quickly rushed the two men who attacked Xiaomei. Ryu grabbed Humphrey by his cloak and pulled it in with his sword. "Substitution!" The cloak remained in Ryu''s hands, but Humphrey was already out of reach. "We failed," said Humphrey. "Recall!" Antonio called two more men to his side. "We will leave peacefully once we take her head," said Antonio as he pointed towards Xiaomei. "Vigilante justice is not accepted here!" said Nguyen. One of the new men that appeared pulled out a book black book marked with VII on its spine. Name: Omar Level: 65 Class: Wind Mage Sub-Class: Summoner Stats: High Intelligence Name: Book of Filth Quality: Mythical Effects: Summoned Undead HP+100%, All Summoned Undead Creatures Can Cause Poison and Infection Note: Part of the Zombie Pandemic Set [7/12] It was not part of the Necronomicon Set. It was part of another one. "Call: Ghoul General!" As Omar called forth undead, Xiaomei was suddenly frightened. "Everyone back away from them!" The Ghoul General began to run towards the nearest living thing, trying to claw at them and bite them. "Don''t let it cut you otherwise you will be infected by it!" said Humphrey. Ryu drew his sword. "Phoenix Claw!" Three vertical swings quickly cut down the Ghoul General and ignited its body, but more were coming. The Ghoul General fell over as its body decomposed from the fire. Garnet, Zedd, and Xiaomei all drew their weapons. They knew what happened. The Chasers had finally found Xiaomei and were now trying to kill her. "We have to hold out until the Divine Phoenix Clan arrives," said Nguyen. "No, we''ll fight this since I''m the one they''re after," said Xiaomei. "Keep everyone else away." "Alright," Ryu confirmed as he began to push people away from the street. "Quickly, summon your own creatures to deal with theirs," said Zedd. "Call: Cerberus!" Garnet summoned four of her own dogs to help prevent the spread of the ghouls. They would also make it difficult for the Dark Mages to escape. "I''ll be bait," said Xiaomei. "When they come for me, smash them into the ground." "Okay," said Garnet as she began to take steps forward. "Call: Zombie General!" An armored undead rose from the ground and began to rush towards Xiaomei. It was nowhere near strong enough to take either of them out. Zedd used his sword and smashed the blunt side of it against the head of the zombie. The head of the Zombie General was knocked clean off as the whole thing disappeared. They were not using vessels this time. They were using just the normal summons. The four men lined up in a straight row with Omar leading the way. "Burst Strike!" FWOSH. The blast of wind collided with Zedd''s sword. The powerful winds forced Zedd to just close his eyes partially. One of the mages took advantage of the blast of wind and used it to propel themselves forward and over Zedd. "Air Bullet!" Garnet released her own burst of wind to push back. "Recall!" The one who had leapt over Zedd was now sent flying back. THUD. The man hit the ground hard. He slowly picked himself back up. The four men did not seem to have any special abilities, and that was what worried Garnet. There was always a chance that they were hiding some kind of technique, so she had to be careful. The Cerberus was at least able to keep their summons in check. Another one jumped off of the man in the air, propelling himself over Garnet as well. "Venom Bolt!" Xiaomei threw a green bolt of poison at the man. POOF. The green bolt shattered, releasing a cloud of green gas. THUD. The man fell to the ground unconscious. The fourth man disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. "Keep your eyes open," said Zedd as he pinned Omar to the ground and stuck a piece of cloth into his mouth. "Lightning Pillar!" BANG. A bolt of lightning struck Omar''s torso, keeping him paralyzed and pinned to the ground. The other man was nowhere to be seen. "Where did the other one go?" Garnet asked. A few of the Divine Phoenix Disciples began to gather around. "We''ll take it from here," said the man who led them. He was wearing a white yet somewhat dirty muffler over his uniform. They handed the men who had attacked Xiaomei over. "There''s at least another one out there," said Zedd. "They caught him over on the other side of the market," said the Divine Phoenix Disciple. "He was caught trying to attack another man wearing the same clothes as you." The last man was probably aiming for Quinton, the other person who ran away from the Dark Mage Guide. "Alright," said Zedd. "Shouldn''t we question them?" Garnet asked. "No," said Zedd. "This is the land of the Divine Phoenix Clan, let them take care of it." The three of them headed back to their room. When they entered, Riley and Quinton were already there. "Are you two okay?'' Garnet asked. "Yeah," said Quinton. "The bat spirit within me could hear the attack before it actually happened, so we were able to avoid it." "Those men were definitely part of the Chasers," said Xiaomei. "Once the Chancellor finds out they failed, they will definitely send more." "Are they so willing to sacrifice many of their own to silence the two of you?" Garnet asked. "The only reason they have survived this long is because they''ve been able to silence other mages," said Zedd. "If word got out of what they were doing, the Dark Mages would be hunted once more. I wouldn''t be surprised if they tried to destroy this whole city to hide their secret." "Now that I think about it, isn''t what the Golden Dragon Clan doing similar to what the Dark Mages have been doing?" Garnet asked. "They are using artificial means to boost their power," said Xiaomei. "It is strange that someone has not come to pursue them yet." "Do you think it''s because there isn''t someone strong enough in the Grey Ghosts to handle them?" Riley asked. "No, I doubt that," said Xiaomei. "There are some very powerful individuals among the Grey Ghosts from what I''ve learned about them. There''s Firefly in the western half of the continent. The eastern half of the continent is rumored to have a man known as the Beetle. The Southeastern Isles used to have a woman known as the Snow Leopard. There''s definitely more of them out there that we don''t know about as well. There is believed to be at least one agent in each region of the world that is assigned to deal with what they consider as extraordinary problems." "How long do we have until the Annual Tournament?" Garnet asked. "Months," said Zedd. "There''s a little variation depending on the conditions within the Ancient Graveyard." "I need to train," said Garnet. "I can''t just be here trying to unlock my chi with no success." "Have you asked for permission to use the Holy Ground yet?" Zedd asked. "Oh yeah, we can use it starting tomorrow," said Xiaomei. "But I don''t think we''re going to be alone in there. I''m pretty sure Akiza is going to be there." "Well as long as we can use it, it doesn''t really matter," said Riley. "Just be glad she''s willing to share it with us." "Well, the Holy Ground that we get to use is the one that Akiza keeps the Divine Phoenix in," said Xiaomei. "It''s where we met and fought her." "Is that actually a Holy Ground?" Garnet asked. "If the Divine Phoenix resided there for a long period of time, I am certain," said Xiaomei. "Its power would have leaked into the ground. In addition to it, there''s also that strange pool of water." "Do you know what that pool of water is though?'' Quinton asked. "It''s not normal." "I could feel different types of power coming from it," said Zedd. "There was mana in there for sure, some hints of chi, and others that I could not identify." "Why is it there though?" Riley asked. "It doesn''t seem like it''s something for the Divine Phoenix." "We could always just ask her," said Garnet. "She seems like the type of person who would answer honestly." "You are too trusting," said Xiaomei. "Have you even tried?" said Garnet. "¡­No," Xiaomei replied. "Well, I''m going to ask her some questions while we''re there tomorrow," said Garnet. "Since you''re too afraid to ask, I will." "You can''t go around just asking people about their personal life," said Zedd. "It''s not nice." "If they don''t want to talk about it, then they won''t and I''ll know why," said Garnet. "If she talks, then that''s fine too. Either way, I will get answers to at least some of our questions." [spoilers] No changes to stats [/spoilers] Book 8: Chapter 069 - Akiza The next morning, Garnet rushed over to Akiza''s room under the tower. Akiza was meditating in the water this time. She was sitting nearly completely submerged in water. On her little island was a small cup filled with tea along with a few cookies on a white and blue porcelain plate. Her red hair floated on the surface of the water. All of the colors in the pool were divided into sectioned off into different areas and slowly entering Akiza''s body at different rates. As Garnet looked closely into the water, she saw that there were various stones, bones, leaves, and other objects in the pool of water. Akiza was absorbing the energy of the pool of water into herself. The power that was being generated by the water most likely came from those objects. "What did you need?" Akiza asked. "Answers," said Garnet. Akiza stepped out of the pool and onto the island. "Phoenix Wings!" The burst of heat instantly dried her clothes. She approached Garnet. "I''ll try to answer to the best of my abilities," she said. "I want to know about you," said Garnet. "What do you have against the Golden Dragon Clan?" "The Golden Dragon was a friend," said Akiza. "They sealed him when I let their clan roam free," she said angrily. "And I will take him back." "Friend? You befriended a spirit?" Garnet asked. "I didn''t have many friends or a family growing up," said Akiza. "In reality, I only had one friend and a few Masters who taught me. Now, most of them are dead and my spirits are the only ones left around here." "Why is that?" Garnet asked. "How long ago was this?" Garnet asked. "The Golden Dragon Clan seems to be an established clan." "Almost a year," said Akiza. "From what I know, they fed their original Dragon Spirit to my Golden Dragon Spirit and fused it into one of their own disciples in order to prevent it from escaping. That was when they started to attack other clans openly." "Why doesn''t the Emperor or others do anything about it?" Garnet asked. "Because the Golden Dragon is on a completely different scale," Akiza replied. "Even the Emperor and his retainers do not know how to handle it at the moment. Its power is beyond the spirits that you encounter because it is a spirit that has trained and developed itself like any other fighter you''ve encountered. The spirit itself though is very old, possibly thousands of years old. Although the Emperor does not want to admit it, the spirit is a match for more than his forces." "So how do we free it?" Garnet wondered. "Just make the vessel expend their energy," said Akiza. "Once they run low enough on energy, the Golden Dragon should be able to free itself and find a new host." "I see," said Garnet. "Thanks, for some reason, my friends don''t trust you." "Of course they don''t and you probably shouldn''t either," said Akiza. "I''m using you and them to help me get revenge to destroy a rival clan." Garnet felt like she could trust Akiza, mainly because Akiza was honest about everything that she was doing. She answered her questions and even revealed her intentions. If Akiza said she would betray them, Garnet would probably believe it as well. "Can you help me become stronger?" Garnet asked. Akiza looked closely at Garnet. "Give me your hand," Akiza. Garnet put her hand out face up, revealing her palm. Akiza took Garnet''s palm into her hand and placed her index and middle finger onto Garnet''s wrist. "For someone who only has access to mana and nature energy, you''re pretty strong," said Akiza. "I have access to nature?" said Garnet confused. "You didn''t know?" Akiza asked. "No," said Garnet. "I thought that I only had access to mana and spirits." "Spirits reinforce one of the existing types," Akiza explained. "Your multi-elemental magic is most likely a result of long term exposure to spirits or the absorption of different elements into your body." "I want to awaken my chi, but I can''t," said Garnet. "That''s because you probably don''t have the calm personality needed to awaken it yourself," said Akiza. "You will only be able to awaken it by force at the current rate." "Thirty percent of the power is better than none," said Garnet. "But Xiaomei won''t do it for me." "What if I told you there''s a way to awaken it to one hundred percent?" said Akiza. "There is?!?'' Garnet was surprised. Forcibly acquiring power usually had downsides. Then again, there were ways to boost your mana without compromising yourself. "Well, it only works if you trust the person who is trying to awaken it within you," said Akiza. "If you don''t trust the person, then you only get a fraction or it might even fail and leave you injured. Afterwards, there is usually a long recovery period." Garnet checked to make sure that there was no one else coming down yet. "Do it," said Garnet. "I need to be stronger." "Why do you want power?" Akiza asked. "Because I have met many enemies that I cannot defeat," Garnet replied. "They nearly killed me the last time we fought and I need to be ready to fight them should they appear again." "Interesting," said Akiza. "May I know the name of your enemy?" "I have lots," said Garnet. "Grey Ghosts, Dark Mages, Apollo, Yarik, and Anzio so far, but that''s not counting the nobles in the country that hate me." "I''m hated by many as well," said Akiza. "The Grey Ghosts are a common enemy that we share. That''s why I spend most of my time down here." "So, will you help me?" Garnet asked. "Alright," said Akiza. "I''ll help you, but only if you listen to what I ask you to do. Is that a deal?" "Yes," Garnet replied. "I''ll listen." "It also depends on whether you trust me or not," Akiza added. "What do I have to do?" Garnet asked. Akiza grabbed Garnet''s hand. "Follow me," she said. "When I strike you, drink this, roll into the water, and meditate," said Akiza as she placed the potion on the floor next to Garnet. Name: Supplement of Fortitude Quality: High Effect: HP+10000, Max HP+10000 for 120 minutes, HP Regeneration +500% for 120 minutes. "This is going to hurt isn''t it?" Garnet asked. "Yes," said Akiza. "And you must lower your Mana Armor to do it." Akiza recognized Garnet''s defensive ability even though she never really took a clean hit. For the first time in forever, Garnet deactivated her defenses. "You really are trusting," said Akiza. "Aren''t you afraid I''m going to kill you?" "I have to for this to work right?" said Garnet. "I also feel no ill intentions from you." "Or maybe I''m just really good at concealing it," said Akiza as she dashed forward. Akiza was suddenly in Garnet''s face. BANG. Akiza struck Garnet in the stomach. BAM. Then once more about an inch and a half above it. BAM. Once more right next to her heart. "Ugh!" Garnet vomited blood from the impact and the pain. There was a little, but she only lost about ten percent of her health. However, it also allowed her to breathe more easily for some reason. Compared to how she was breathing before, it felt like some kind of blockage was cleared. "Quickly, drink the potion," said Akiza. Garnet drank the potion and tried to roll herself into the water, but she could barely even move. "A little help?" she asked. Akiza pushed Garnet into the water. Slowly, her health was filled, but she was still being affected by a weakness status effect. "Do not reactivate your defenses until the pain stops," Akiza instructed. "And don''t throw up or infect in my pool with your blood otherwise you''re cleaning it!" SPLASH. Garnet sunk into the water as she sat with her back against the water and only her head was above the water. She could feel some of her strength returning as she absorbed some of the water into her body. She closed her eyes so that she could focus on it. She understood now why Akiza closed her eyes when she meditated. It was so that she could feel the flow of energy within her body. The energy that was in the pond flowed through the pores in her body and went into her heart. From there, the heart pumped the energy throughout her body in bursts. Each burst of energy swelled the veins in her body, causing her pain. She started thinking that it was possible that Mana Armor was what was affecting her ability to sense other forms of energy. Since mana was always flowing throughout her body, everything else was blocked off. Garnet could feel that the mana flowed to a spot just above her stomach and that spot began to push something warm into her heart. This warm sensation was the chi that she was trying to hard to acquire. Slowly, that warm feeling began to ease the pain in her body with each beat of the heart. "Anyways, you''ll still need a spirit that is able to utilize chi before you can use it properly," said Akiza. "Elemental spirits won''t help you unless they know how to use it as well." "Could you tell me more about yourself?" Garnet asked as she tried to divert her focus away from the pain. "I assume you''ve heard of the Ancient Graveyard?" Akiza asked. Garnet remembered it was what many of the schools were after. "Yes, I heard it was what many of the schools are after during the Annual Tournament," she said. "Do you know what makes it so valuable?" Akiza asked. "There are tombs of powerful individuals with powerful Artifact Weapons and items that can enhance your strength in there," said Garnet. "That''s partially true," said Akiza. "The land itself is an amalgam of destroyed worlds, formed as fractured and destroyed worlds collided with one another and merged into one, so there are remains of items that were strong enough to survive other worlds." "What does this have to do with you though?" Garnet asked. "A long time ago, there was a young boy and a young girl," Akiza continued. "The two of them entered as disciples, hoping to become stronger. Little did they know, the young girl''s actions caused someone who hated them immensely to lock them inside a dangerous world as a dense fog and powerful creatures descended upon them." "What happened to the two of them?" Garnet asked. "The young boy and girl survived off of the carcasses of monsters until they met an old man who lived alone in that world," said Akiza. "The old man taught and trained the two of them. Little did they know, the young girl''s hatred physically manifested, causing her great pain, consuming part of her, and nearly killing her." "How did they escape then?" Garnet asked. "They survived for a full year fighting under the old man''s protection and tutelage until the path to return was opened once more," said Akiza. "They didn''t learn the truth about the land until long after they left." "What happened to the land?" Garnet asked. "It became a hiding ground for people when the powerful monsters came through the black star," said Akiza. "For many years, many hid in there, fought, trained, and eventually returned to take back their home from powerful undead creatures." "Were you that girl in the story?" Garnet asked. "No," said Akiza. "She was a different person who could not believe in anyone but herself and her one friend." "Where is the boy now?" Garnet asked. "Gone," said Akiza. "He''s not around here anymore." "Easy to acquire immortality?" Garnet thought. She had semi-immortality and so did Zedd. There are people who would kill for this information. As Garnet looked at Akiza, she realized that this was a painful memory for Akiza. She stopped talking and just went silent. Pain was still surging throughout Garnet''s body. Every time the liquid from the pond was absorbed into her body, she felt a rush of pain that spread from her stomach to the rest of her body. "What happened?!?" Zedd shouted. He had jumped down last several flights of stairs. The others had arrived. "I''m okay," said Garnet. "I just hurt myself a little while training." "What kind of training were you doing to get yourself hurt so badly?" Zedd asked. "Flight training," said Garnet. "I was trying to practice flying in a confined space and I took a pretty bad fall, so I drank a potion and sat in this water." Riley, Xiaomei, and Quinton arrived shortly after. "You don''t look so well," said Riley. "I''m okay," said Garnet as she continued to lay in the water. They all looked at Akiza suspiciously. "You did this didn''t you?!?" Zedd shouted at Akiza. Akiza did not respond. She did do it after all. "I''ll be okay after a while," said Garnet. "Just let me rest here." "I heard you were attacked yesterday," said Akiza. "Yes, five men attacked us in two separate groups," said Xiaomei. "They interrogation team told me that they were mages from the west who were after three of you that they referred to as traitors," said Akiza. "Care to explain?" "We ran away from a clan that wanted to unite the mages against a group known as the Grey Ghosts," said Quinton. "We were only protecting ourselves." "Those guys again," Akiza whispered to herself. "I need you to tell me who you really are," said Zedd. "You know a little too much to be some Master of the Divine Phoenix Clan." "I suppose you''ll tell your fellow disciples everything you''ve done then Warlord Zedd?" Akiza asked. "Or should I call you the Seeker of Immortality? Maybe the leader of the Hero Worshipping Cult?" "How do you know those names?!?" said Zedd as he drew his sword. He felt threatened by Akiza''s statements. "A powerful mage from the west matching Zedd''s most recent description shows up with disciples and is hunted by the Golden Dragon Clan," said Akiza. "That Zedd is replaced with another, much younger Zedd two days later? Not a coincidence. You''re more famous than you think." "We already know," said Garnet. "He told us why they''re after him. If the other clans found out they would be after him as well. As for the rest, let''s save those for another day." Zedd still held onto his sword, still aimed at Akiza. "Stop it Zedd!" Garnet shouted. "Not unless I know that I can trust her," said Zedd. "Did you think you were the only one with knowledge of mana?" Akiza asked. BOOM. A massive shockwave was released by Akiza as she released her Intent. Everyone except Zedd already fell to their knees. Even Zedd appeared to be paralyzed. "Do you think I don''t know what it''s like to be hunted?!?" she shouted at Zedd. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. BOOM. Another shockwave was released. A purple aura of flames surrounded Akiza and formed the silhouette of a phoenix behind her. "You may have been hunted for a few decades, but I have been hunted for centuries!" Akiza stopped projecting her Intent once more and everyone stood back up. "What was that?" Riley asked weakly. She was still feeling the after effects of Akiza''s Intent. Her forehead was dripping with sweat as she tried to wipe it off. Xiaomei and Quinton were in no better shape. "That was an extremely trained and focused Intent," said Xiaomei. "I never experienced anything like it. I literally could not move no matter how hard I tried." Garnet was on the opposite side, so she did not experience it at all. It was directed away from her. "Are you guys okay?" she asked. "Yes," said Zedd as he clapped his hands against his cheeks. He had taken the full blast of the Intent twice head first, yet he was still alright. "Who are you?" Quinton asked. "I am Akiza, caretaker of the Divine Phoenix," said Akiza as she released the Divine Phoenix from her body. The Divine Phoenix circled above them. Zedd was suspicious. Akiza was clearly hiding something from them, but he had nothing to work with. Asking around town did not help because not everyone knew her name despite being the one who manages and controls the Divine Phoenix. The Masters of the Divine Phoenix Clan were unwilling to meet with him and many of the disciples refused to talk about it. Zedd was certain it was out of fear more than respect. The Divine Phoenix entered the water once more. "Why doesn''t it speak to us like the others?" Garnet asked. "She hasn''t deemed any of you as worthy yet," said Akiza. "None of you have proven yourselves to her yet." New Skill: Shared Resource (MAX) All skills can be casted using mana as a resource. Garnet''s health was starting to recover, but at a very slow pace from the injury. It was not just an external injury. The forced unlocking of chi likely caused some internal injuries as well. The chi resource also did not appear. It was possible it did not work. "Until you free her brother, the Golden Dragon, she probably will not speak to you," said Akiza. "Anyways, you''re free to meditate here. Just stay off my island, she said as she pointed to the small piece of land in the middle of the lake." Akiza returned to the island in the middle of the lake. It felt like she rarely left this place. The water in the pool began to move just a little bit as the Divine Phoenix swam around in it, creating small ripples. The water suddenly gained a regenerative effect from the presence of the Divine Phoenix, allowing Garnet to heal up faster despite the abnormal condition. "What really happened?" Zedd asked as he looked at Garnet. "It was nothing," Garnet replied. "I was floating my way down when she released a burst of power. She did not know that I was here and I was smacked against a wall before I fell down." Garnet elaborated a little on what happened, but still lied. She did not want to tell them that Akiza awakened chi and other potential resources by force. After all, there were supposed to be extreme negative consequences. They would blame Akiza for anything that happened to her from this point on. If it was just this pain, the rewards were certainly worth it. Zedd turned to Akiza. "If we''re going to work together, I need to know that you won''t betray us," said Zedd. "I can guarantee you that I won''t as long as you don''t attack me," Akiza replied. "That''s not good enough," said Zedd. "You are keeping many secrets from us." "And you''re still keeping secrets from your students," Akiza countered. "Have you told them why you were once known as the Lightning Warlord? Do they know about why you have that black stone?" Zedd was suddenly surprised by this. Garnet rarely saw Zedd like this and for the first time, Zedd showed fear. "How do you know that name?" he asked. "Everyone who knows it should be dead by now." "History does not die when the people who witnessed it dies," said Akiza. "It is recorded forever in the memories of its people. That''s why the Golden Dragon Clan wanted to capture you alive, so you can stand judgment for all the people you''ve murdered in the name of the Emperor, not because of your knowledge or your abilities." "Stop it!" Garnet shouted. "We shouldn''t be fighting. We''re both getting something out of this are we not?" Zedd stared down Akiza. "I''ll stand by your decision, but I still don''t trust her." "You don''t have to," said Garnet. "You just have to work together until the Annual Tournament when we can retrieve the Golden Dragon for her. Then, we can earn the power of the Divine Phoenix for ourselves." Akiza remained calm. She just stared back at Zedd. After a moment, she turned her back to Zedd and sat back down in her meditative stance. Everyone else just stood back and watched. They did not want to get in a fight between Zedd and Akiza. For now though, it looked like they were willing to work with one another. Xiaomei began to instruct everyone on how to utilize chi again, hoping they would be able to sense it. It was clear that Akiza knew more, but she stayed silent. She did not want to share or help them. Once in a while, Akiza would look at them to see what they were doing. After spending more time in the pool, Garnet felt well enough to step out of it. New Skill: Earth Chakra (Level 1, Passive) 10% increase in all stats when activated. New Skill: High Speed Regeneration (Level 1, Passive) Recovers 1% of your missing health every 5 seconds Garnet started to feel her strength returning. There were noticeable improvements, mainly to the efficiency of her magic. Akiza''s technique actually worked. Strangely enough though, Garnet did not gain a new resource. Her abilities just improved. "Are you ready to continue?" Akiza asked. "Yes," said Garnet. Akiza placed her hand on the wall and a silver portal appeared. "This is where you will go," she said. "What is it?" Garnet asked. "Another world," said Akiza. "A world where numerous people on the path of immortality have trained in an attempt to be stronger. There are powerful creatures and powerful items present. However, I want you to go alone." "You can''t! It''s too dangerous!" said Zedd. "Wait," said Garnet. She wanted to know more first. "Why alone?" Garnet asked. "There''s a man you have to meet in there," said Akiza. "Like me, he is able to read emotions and your friends aren''t exactly friendly people. You will know him because he has short white hair. His name is Serph." Garnet turned around and looked at the others. They were all focusing on their training, trying to take in the benefits of the rich atmosphere in the Holy Ground in order to increase their strength. "How will I find this man?" Garnet asked. "With some luck, he will find you," Akiza replied. "However, he will most likely be in one of the clearings within the Ancient Graveyard. Inside one of those clearings is a small city. If you find fog, you''re probably in the wrong place." "What if I cannot find him?" Garnet asked. "What should I do then?" "Look for a woman named Himiko," said Akiza. "She wears fairly plain looking clothes and if you see other people, ask them. They will know for sure." "Other people?" said Garnet confusedly. "There''s people who live there?" "Yes," said Akiza. "There''s a small town there that is built by survivors of various worlds." "I''ll go," said Garnet. She was not good with sitting around. She needed to move around and actually do things in order to learn and become stronger. On top of that, her attempts at sitting down to try to learn that way proved fruitless. Akiza handed Garnet three stones. "Break one of them in order to return here if you get in trouble," she said. "Other than that, you''re on your own." Garnet took the stones into her ring. "I''ll be back soon," said Garnet as she turned towards the silver portal. "Are you going to be okay like that just after taking such a fall?" Riley asked. "Yeah," said Garnet as she walked in. Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 55 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 4350/4350 MP: 16360/16360 Fame: 220 Strength: 207 (+5) Dexterity: 172 (+7) Intelligence: 516 (+22) Vitality: 145 (+5) Agility: 180 (+7) Charisma: 62 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 5 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 16 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Metal - 0 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Fire Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Bind (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Sword Rain (Level 1) - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Call: Anna (Level 1) - Call: Kaimera (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Bind (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Nine Tailed Fox (Level 1) - Fox Fire (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Spirit Transmigration (Level 1) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Doppel Rush (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 3) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Protection of the Golden Dragon (Level 1) - Scaled Wings of the Dragon (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 2) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1) - Earth Chakra (Level 1) - High Speed Regeneration (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive) - Double Jump (Passive)
Book 8: Chapter 070 - The Ancient Tomb A little spoiler about this part of the story Spoiler : This world of fog will become an important place in a much later arc because it serves as where the fragmented ruins of various worlds meet. The people who survive this process become the third group in the factions that are fighting. We have Overseers, who choose a policy of noninterference, Guides, who choose to interfere for their own gains, and the last group is one that believes that the Guides must be stopped at any cost. However, this group has been fighting the Guides for a long time and have lost most of their forces. The ones that remain are the ones who are still searching for ways and training people to fight back. The first group of which is located in the Ancient Graveyard. The moment Garnet appeared on the other side of the silver portal, there was a quest update. Quest Update: Land of the Dead (II) Find a Spirit God Reward: Experience, New Skills, New Equipment, New Spirit The Ancient Graveyard and Akiza''s Immortal Realm were one and the same. However, there was an extremely thick layer of fog that made it very difficult to see. Her vision abilities only worked on light and darkness, but this was something else. She could only see about ten feet in front of her at best. She could feel traces of mana in some directions. "If I find fog I''m in the wrong place? Everything here looks like fog to me!" she thought to herself. Somewhere in this world were Spirit Gods or powerful objects. "Call: Cerberus!" The spell did not work. Garnet could not call her Cerberuses. "Call: Revenant!" That spell did not work either. "Call: Nuria!" It did not work. None of her summoning magic was working. "Air Bullet!" FWOOSH. That spell worked. "Water Wall!" So did that one. "Lightning Bolt!" That one worked too. "Flight!" Garnet sprouted wings from her back. She was glad that it was not all her magic that was limited. It was just her summoning. Without a spirit to help guide her towards another spirit, Garnet was basically lost. She had nothing to help her through the fog. There was nowhere to go but straight forward. She could at least use her enhanced senses to detect when there were indeed creatures around. They were very scattered. For now, she just had to look around and explore. Working alone was dangerous though. If you were surrounded, it would mean certain death. Without knowing the strength of the enemies, it was best to be cautious for now. As Garnet made her way forward, she stumbled her way into trees. It was almost like a forest around here. The thick fog made it difficult to see already and now the thick foliage and trees further limited her view. She would have to rely mostly on her senses. HOWL. The sound of a wolf could be heard off in the distance. There was certainly different kinds of life around her, but the problem was that she could not see. All she could do is move forward. As she made it out of the forest, she carefully made her way forward, eventually stumbling upon the face of a cliff. As she looked up, all she could see was the thick white fog. It was probably best not to try to fly upwards without knowing what type of creatures filled the sky. She decided to follow the side of the cliff and use it as a reference. Eventually, there was a cave opening in the ground. The fog did not reach this point, instead the fog remained at ground level. At least inside the cave, she could see. There were no sources of light as Garnet made her way through the cave. There were no visible creatures as well. It was empty. Garnet opened up the Map Menu. It was here that she discovered something strange. The Map only showed the places that she had been to. It showed where she arrived, and where she was now. The rest of the map was blank. For now, she moved one of the stones Akiza gave her to her Inventory so that even if she lost the ring, it would not be a problem. For now, the best thing to do was just keep going forward in one direction. If she got lost, the Map would be at least able to guide her, even if she could not see. Continuing on her way, the ground changed. This time, the mountainous terrain transformed into a desert. She was now stepping on sand. At least the sand cushioned her footsteps so that she did not make as much noise. Garnet suddenly felt something approaching her. She could not see or hear it. It was approaching very slowly. "Flight!" With her feet off the ground, she would not make any noise as she slowly moved ahead. HISS. The sound of a snake could be heard. Garnet looked around. If it was this close, then it was surely close enough to see. She quickly turned her head around and saw nothing. ROAR. An enormous snake leapt out of the sand towards Garnet, screaming at the top of its lungs. It was mostly black with bright red colors and very long. Name: Crimson Snake Level: 50 Class: Beast Sub-Class: None Stats: High Agility It was low enough level for Garnet to defeat, but she had to catch it first. She continued to move, carefully trying to sense where it was. She now knew that it was going to come from underneath at least. In the distance, the snake continued to circle around her, waiting for her to lower her guard, and then strike. However, keeping her guard up meant that the snake remained cautious, so she lowered her guard instead. She started walking again at her normal pace. Slowly, the snake approached. Garnet could feel it approaching from behind her. She just needed to wait for the right time. HISS. The snake made the sound again. Garnet prepared her counter attack. ROAR. The Crimson Snake made the same sound again as it attacked. "Water Wall!" Garnet erected the wall of water between her and the snake. The snake got caught in the Water Wall. It tried to squirm free, but it was trapped within it. The snake itself was about ten feet long. Its fangs had a few drops of venom that leaked into the water that Garnet created. "Lightning Bolt!" The Crimson Snake squirmed in the water before it finally stopped moving. "Essence Absorption!" The snake popped and the colored mist entered Garnet''s body. Stat Increase: Agility+2 That was it. No skills. No special abilities. Just two points into agility. It was better than nothing. For now though, she needed to remain cautious. That was just one of many different creatures that were out here. As Garnet moved out of the sand, she was now standing on solid rock of some kind. Ahead of her were numerous broken boulders. There was no flat ground to walk on anymore. She checked her Map to confirm her position. She was still making a straight line from where she started. There was no time to check how long she had been here. Since she did not feel tired at all, she decided to keep going. The faster she found a Spirit God to help her, the faster she could leave this place. Eventually, the fog became noticeably thinner in one section. As Garnet confirmed the map, it was one spot on the map where it was thinner. That was where she headed. As she approached, her vision cleared up, allowing her to see into the distance. She crossed numerous markings drawn on the ground. The fog was not as dense here because there was some type of formation protecting it. As the fog cleared up, Garnet realized why it was called the Ancient Graveyard. There were numerous tombstones stretched across the area. They were lined up perfectly and were well maintained. Someone or something cleaned this place up nicely. Up above, the fog surrounded the area in the shape of a dome. At the center was a single pedestal with a crystal on top of it. It was likely the device that kept the fog away. Garnet looked around and saw no one. The man was not there. On each tombstone was a name. There were no birthdays or death dates. Despite this, there were no spirits here. It was eerily quiet. Not a single sound could be heard. It was likely that the device kept the other creatures away. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet marked this place so that she could have a safe place to escape to if she ran into trouble later. As she left the protection of the graveyard area, she heard the sound of creatures fighting. She caught a look at the two. Name: Shadow Wolf Level: 67 Class: Beast / Spirit Sub-Class: Berserker Stats: High Strength, High Agility Name: Black Beetle Level: 65 Class: Insect Sub-Class: Defender Stats: High Strength, High Vitality The wolf''s entire body was covered by black fur and had some scars on its body. The beetle had numerous cracks in its shell. Both looked like they were battle worn. If the two killed each other, she would have the chance to claim their bodies. As the fight dragged on, the Shadow Wolf continued to headbutt and claw at the Black Beetle''s Shell, but neither were backing down despite their injuries. The Shadow Wolf''s forehead was leaking blood and the Black Beetle was leaking blood from all over its body. From the looks of it, the Shadow Wolf was going to win. HOWL. The Shadow Wolf howled and released a powerful burst of wind at the Black Beetle. The Black Beetle dug its head into the ground and quickly lifted it. It flung rocks towards the Shadow Wolf. BANG. The rocks smashed against the howl. As they exploded in mid-air, the rocks fell fairly close to the impact point, showing just how even the two were. The two continued to clash, repeatedly butting their heads. That was when Garnet started to sense other things approaching. Other creatures could probably smell their blood and they wanted in on the corpse. Strangely enough, none of them came anywhere near Garnet. It was like each of them claimed their own hiding spot and awaited the results of the fight. It seemed like there would be another fight after this to see who gets to claim the spoils. But, Garnet did not need to fight. The moment one died, she just needed to use Essence Absorption and then run. THUD. The Black Beetle collapsed onto the ground. Garnet watched as the other creatures all began to run towards the Shadow Wolf. They were going to finish off the weakened wolf and then try to claim the corpse. "Essence Absorption!" Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Stat Increase: Vitality+1 Garnet quickly took the corpse and ran. Again, no new skills. She would need to find an exceptionally strong or a unique enemy to get new skills. The most important thing though was to find a Spirit God. Everything else was just a bonus. In the distance, a few of the creatures remained to fight while most of them fled. Without the corpse, many of them had no reason to stay anymore. Garnet suddenly felt one of the spots with mana nearby. It was strange since it was different from normal life forms. As she approached, she saw a faint light that shone through the dense fog. It was a flower that gave off a faint blue light. Name: Moonlight Flower Quality: Low Effects: None The flower itself had no effects, which was strange since it gave off the feeling of mana. It was likely that the flower needed to be processed before it could be used. Nonetheless, it was something that could be of value. Garnet picked it up and placed it within her ring. The flower was a very weak compared to objects imbued with mana already, but it was still something. Garnet still needed to find a spirit, but there was no way to sense them without the help of another spirit. The spirits around here were all wild beasts, not ones that she could communicate with. There was nothing she could do but keep wandering until she found her way. After all, there was at least a safe spot that she could return to if she did encounter trouble. "Teleportation!" Garnet returned back to the graveyard area to rest and plan her next path. Going around randomly was not going to help. She needed to find a way around. She opened the map again and while it was being filled out, there just was not enough information to find out where she needed to go. Serph could be anywhere. A spirit could be hiding in any corner. There was no pattern that she could figure out. She passed by forests, deserts, and mountains. "Where''s the water?" Garnet thought. All of these locations did not have water. If someone was living here, they would definitely need water. That was going to be the key. She needed to find water. Following the water in theory should lead her to someone if they were living here. The problem was that if they used underground water, there was not going to be a river or a body of water to follow. It was going to be a slim chance, but it was her only chance at the moment. Looking at the map, Garnet decided to head north, using the map to guide herself. She came from the west, explored a bit of the south and the east, but there was nothing there. If there was nothing else there, she would probably have to start moving around in a circle or something until she found something. There were numerous different creatures in every direction. Some were spirits, some were not. They all took different forms of various animals. Animals like birds and wolves were rare. It was mostly large plant eating animals that gathered around the forested areas. The more trees there were around, the more creatures there were around. THUMP. "Ow!" Garnet cried as she hit her head. There was nothing around. She reached her hand out and felt a wall, but there was nothing there. She could not see what was there, but there was definitely something there. The fog was extra thick and she could not even see past the wall in front of her. It was as if all the fog was concentrated there. As Garnet felt around, it was definitely something solid, like a wall, but it was invisible. As she looked down on the ground, she saw the faint lines of a magic circle that still had mana flowing through it. With her hand against the wall, she began to circle around. Somewhere around here should be an opening to get through. Garnet circled the whole area. On the ground level, there was no opening. "Flight" She began to circle it and try to feel around for an opening at higher levels. There was still nothing. It was a perfectly sealed half sphere from top to bottom. "Only one way left." "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The spell exploded right in front of her as it came in contact with the invisible wall. There was not a single scratch. She tried to aim it downwards at the ground where the magic circle was. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The dirt outside of the magic circle was blown away, but the magic circle itself and everything underneath it was still fine. There was no way to force your way through. For now, Garnet just marked it on the Map and continued onwards. Staying here any longer would just be a waste of time. Further north was a swamp like area. The water reached up to Garnet''s waist if she stood up in it. There were grasses and trees growing out of the water, but there was no way to see what was actually in the water. "Flight!" Garnet carefully floated above the water, keep an eye out for anything. She did not want to be surprised by something like the snake again. There were signs of life in the water and in the trees around her, but they were not aggressive. Garnet simply floated on by and they ignored her. It was strange that there were so many different environments so close to one another. Usually, these differences would be at least hundreds of kilometers apart. There was suddenly an usual feeling. There was a spot that felt like it was devoid of anything and was trying to pull her in. If it was a source of mana, she could feel the energy being released by it. Here, it was like something was trying to drain her energy. Slowly and carefully, Garnet followed it. The wildlife of the area reduced in the number the closer she got to it. When she arrived, there was almost no life at all. It was dead silence. At the center, was a small stone building with a stone door. There was a single stone bridge connecting it to somewhere outside of the swamp. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet laid down a teleportation spot before she approached the building. The door was inscribed with a message: During the darkest of days, The great tyrant will return. The colored sky will fall down, Then the brightest moon shall rise. Beware of the false bearers, For they only bring darkness. Only those who can unite, Can face the Tyrant of Night. The message was too cryptic to understand. There was no context. "What''s the point of leaving a message that no one can understand?" she thought. As she pushed the door, it moved once she applied a bit of strength. There was no seal. It just seemed like the hinges of the door were stuck. There were skeletons in view already. Some were of people, others were of animals. The moment she entered, her mana was being drained. Her regeneration was more than enough to offset the loss, but something here was draining everything in the surrounding area and feeding it towards something. There was only a single path forward, and it was stairs that led downwards. Some of the path was broken, but the parts that remained were still very solid. The building was not made up of any normal stone. The stones were filled with mana even though it had probably been neglected for years. The mana then acted as a shield, protecting them from damage. The mana from nearby was flowing into the stones and then the stones directed it elsewhere, acting as a conduit. As long as she followed the flow of mana, she should be able to find whatever is draining it. Much to Garnet''s surprise, there were no living creatures. She was certain that there would be some powerful guardian or something here. Instead, it was just a single long corridor. As Garnet stepped forward, the ground lit up. The faint blue light flowed from her footstep to the side of the wall and then down the corridor. Each step she took drained part of her mana, feeding it towards something. When Garnet reached the end of the hallway, there was only a single room with a single crystal clear coffin in it. Inside the coffin was a skeleton dressed in a green and white robe. This was a tomb of some kind. She looked around and saw nothing. The skeleton was there in the coffin with a sword that was held by both hands. If this person had become a spirit, they were probably long gone as well. Even though nearby mana flowed through to feed the skeleton, that did not seem to be where all the mana was going. Garnet started to look around. If something here was absorbing mana, then it should be very rich in power from all the time it spent accumulating mana. Garnet ran around a bit, watching the movement of the mana. It was not going to the base of the coffin, instead, it was going to something just behind the coffin. Slowly and carefully, she looked around the back of it, being careful not to move or touch the coffin just in case doing so would trigger some kind of trap. There was a crystal embroidered with gold. All of the mana that was gathered from nearby was flowing into it. Name: Crystal Core Quality: Mythical Effect: 938574/100000000 Mana There was nearly a million points of mana on it and it could store a hundred million. Garnet carefully removed and placed it in her Inventory. With a million points of mana, she could do a lot, namely upgrade her summons further since her Ring of Mana was very slow to accumulate large amounts of mana. Garnet removed the Crystal Core from its slot and put it in her Inventory. It was not a spirit or the person that she was looking for, but it was still something. As she headed out, she closed the door to the tomb. It would be bad if something got in and destroyed the body. As she did so, she looked at the message once more. It sounded like a warning of some kind, but she could not make sense of what it was referring to. It could have different meanings, but it was a warning of some kind for sure. There was no quest for it either. Garnet was certain that there would have been a quest that would help her, but there was nothing. For now though, she had to continue to try to find a spirit that could guide her to other spirits. Without one, she was just wandering around lost in the fog. Garnet continued her way north. Her ability to sense mana was the best guide that she had under this fog. Spoiler : No status change Book 8: Chapter 071 - The Metal Knights Garnet continued her way north through the fog. As she did so, she noticed just how many varieties of creatures there were. There was an enormous lizard with an extremely long neck chewing on the leaves of a tree. Name: Riojas Level: 58 Class: Lizard Sub-Class: None Stats: High Vitality For the most part, there were no significantly higher level creatures. As far Garnet knew, she was the strongest thing around. However, it still did not mean that she could be reckless and just trample through everything in her path. There was always a chance that there was something much stronger and the chance that the creatures might all attack her together out of fear for their lives and without her summons, Garnet would get mobbed to death. As she continued north, there was a shadow in the distance. It was tiny, but she could not make out what it was. There was no feeling of mana from it. As she approached it, the object got larger, and the fog got thinner. This was another one of the spots that somehow blocked the fog, meaning that it was important in some way. The more she walked, the bigger the object became. It was very far off in the distance, yet she was able to see it for some reason. As she approached she began to make out the structure of it. It was definitely a large building of some kind, with some kind of tower next to it as well. When Garnet finally reached it, the fog began to lighten and she could finally see it. It looked like a manor of some kind. It resembled an enormous house rather than a fortified castle. There was a torn banner draped on the sides of the manor. Most of the windows were broken and the color of the building began to fade. There were no signs of mana inside, but nonetheless, it was still something worth checking out. Unlike the other places though, the fog did not completely disappear, it was only thinner than the other places. Taking a quick look around, Garnet did not see any sort of magic circle active or worn. There were no talismans protecting the manor. It was just there, standing tall in the middle of the fog with nothing inside of it. It was strange that the creatures in the surrounding area did not enter this place. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Garnet''s map was starting to fill with various landmarks of the Ancient Graveyard. First was cave, then the graveyard, then the strange barrier, followed by the tomb, and now a strange manor. The Ancient Graveyard was filled with many mysterious things. Garnet pushed open the main entrance to the manor. CREAK. The old doors made a loud noise as they opened. If anything was here, they were bound to hear it. The manor was in ruins inside as well. At the entrance was a single table. The wood was large rotten. The tiles on the floor were broken and various weeds and plants had grown through the ground already. There were a pair of metal suits on the ground that had fallen down. The metal suits looked like they were still in good condition even though they were covered in dirt, grass, and all sorts of other debris. Behind them was stairs that led up, then split into two different directions on the second floor. It was likely that this place was abandoned. "Hello?" Garnet shouted. There was no response. If someone was here, it would be too much of a coincidence. After all, she had no idea how big the Ancient Graveyard was. If there was other people here, they were very unlikely to run into each other since they could not even see each other in the distance. You would have to rely on sound or something else to track them. Garnet started with the ground floor. There were many small rooms. The doors and corridors to most of them had fallen apart. They were not made of the same high quality materials as the manor itself. The granite pillars that were around for decoration were broken so badly that only the base remained. The rest of it lied as pieces all around the ground. As Garnet made it to the next large room, the bookshelves were filled with books. She reached for one of them and took it out. The cover was already worn to the part where there were no letters in it. When she opened the book, the pages were already crumpled and fell onto the floor as scraps of paper. The words were so faded that it might as well just be a blank piece of paper. There was nothing of value here. Garnet made her way through each room, hoping to find something that was useful. Everywhere she went in the house, everything was too old to be used. What remained of the curtains were already torn. The appeared to be the master bedroom was empty and so were the bathrooms. Whoever lived here moved out a long time ago and took everything with them. CLANG. There was suddenly a loud metal noise. Garnet turned around to face where it was from. It was coming from the main hall. She quickly ran outside to see what was going on. The two metal suits of armor on the ground were now standing up. Garnet could clearly see them now. They were a bright silver color composed of numerous smaller metal pieces. Each of them carried a large two handed sword. Name: Adamantine Knight Level: 70 Class: Warrior / Golem Sub-Class: Guardian Stats: High Vitality The two Adamantine Knight suddenly turned to face Garnet. CLINK. Each footstep they took came with the sound of heavy metal. They began to approach with their swords drawn. By stepping into the master bedroom, she had triggered some sort of trap and defense mechanism that activated the knights. It was most likely a defense against potential assassins and they did not have the means to reprogram them when they abandoned the place, so the knights were abandoned as well. Once the Adamantine Knights saw Garnet, they began to run towards her. "Fire Bolt!" Garnet destroyed the second set of stairs that led up to the second floor in order to limit their advance. This way, they would have to approach her from the stairs directly in front of her. The first one approached Garnet with its sword high above its head, ready to swing downward. "Incinerate!" Garnet fired a beam of fire towards it. FWOOSH. The fire spread around its body. It was not a focused beam like it should have been. Its body was made to greatly reduce the effects of magic. The Adamantine Knight slowed down, but continued to push through the flames towards Garnet ever so slowly. Garnet had to switch up her tactics. "Icicle Lance!" The icicle flew towards the Adamantine Knight. CLING. It shattered as it push the Adamantine Knight backwards and onto the other. But, the Adamantine Knight suffered no damage from the attack. The Icicle Lance should have been able to pierce through its armor, but it did not. They had some kind of magic resistance. Garnet let the Adamantine Knight recover and approach. When the Adamantine Knight was about to swing its sword, Garnet took a step forward and pushed her palm towards the Adamantine Knight''s chest. "Lightning Fire Palm!" BOOM. The explosion from the strike sent Garnet and the Adamantine Knight backwards. Garnet''s own hand went numb and she realized that she took a small amount of damage from the blast. The Adamantine Knight was not cancelling out her magic. It was deflecting it. With her sword in hand, Garnet switched to physical focused combat. The Adamantine Knights came at her again. This time, the Adamantine Knight prepared for a thrust attack. "Horizontal Slash!" Garnet swung her sword towards the open side of the Adamantine Knight. BUNG. As Garnet''s sword hit the Adamantine Knight, she was still knocked back from the strike. Hitting the hard metal body of the Adamantine Knight caused vibrations to move throughout her sword as well. The Adamantine Knight again fell down. It was likely that the Adamantine Knight did not deflect just magic. It was likely that the armor deflected everything it hit. Garnet wanted that power for herself. If her summons could make use of that metal, they would definitely be invincible. On top of their high toughness, they would be able to deflect incoming attacks as well. CLANG. The two Adamantine Knights broke into pieces on the floor. Garnet realized something was wrong. After all, they were clearly not destroyed. They were doing something else. The metal pieces on the floor began to shake. The sound of metal on metal scratching could be heard as most of the metal pieces recombined themselves into one. Name: Adamantine Asura Level: 70 Class: Warrior / Golem Sub-Class: Guardian Stats: High Strength, High Vitality The two became a single knight with four arms. Each of the two arms on either side carried a two handed sword. Its body was reinforced with pieces from the other Adamantine Knight. "Spiral!" Garnet swung her sword horizontally, aiming to strike the torso of the golem. CLANG. Her sword collided with the Adamantine Asura''s. Garnet was knocked back and the Adamantine Asura was thrown off balance. The ability of the Adamantine Knights to deflect damage neutralized the Spiral''s ability to make use of momentum and not be stopped by objects it collided with. The only way was for Garnet to beat down the Adamantine Asura until it stopped standing up. Her Mana Armor would give her the necessary protection as long as she could outlast it. The sword at her disposal was not sharp enough. It needed to become stronger through use. "If not sword, then fan?" Garnet thought. She had never used the fan before, but she remembered when Akiza used it, the fan was powerful and amplified the power of the elements. There was a chance that it could enhance her magic. Garnet first transformed. "Transformation: Temptress of the Night!" Then, she switched over to the fan. The fan was quite strange. It was a folding fan, but instead of being wooden sticks connected by cloth, it was a metal folding fan made up of five metal blades. The point was sharp and if the fan was folded up, it could be used as a knife to stab someone with it. The fabric that connected the blades together was made of golden colored cloth, but it was not ordinary cloth. It was a little elastic yet very hard and cold to the touch. The cloth had some black spots that looked like flower petals on it. "Here goes nothing," said Garnet as she raised her hand towards the target. "Fire Bolt!" BOOM. The explosion shook the entire house. CRASH. The Adamantine Asura was sent crashing into the wall. BAM. It slammed against the wall before hitting the ground with a loud clang. The ground beneath them began to collapse from the impact of the blast. Luckily, Garnet had wings that were able to keep her floating in the air. The Adamantine Asura on the other hand, was not so lucky. It could not fly, so it fell another story. The Adamantine Asura picked itself up as the rocks and dust from the blast fell out of its empty inner body. It was still alive and kicking, but there was a noticeable dent in its armor. This thing was made to be durable and hard to destroy. However, it was not very smart because it was an automated defense system. It looked up at Garnet, but could not reach her because she was flying and the Adamantine Asura could not fly. Its heavy weight also made it impossible to jump that high either. It just stared at Garnet following her with its eyes. The spear might have worked, but without any training or knowledge on how to use it, it was not a good idea. It looked like for now, she could not destroy it. The body was just too tough. She just had to try one more blast. "Lightning Fire Bolt!" BOOM. This explosion was much bigger than before. The blast sent Garnet flying back as well since it was used in an enclosed area. BAM. She smashed against the wall of the house, face first. When the dust cleared, the Adamantine Asura was lying on the ground. Slowly but surely, it picked itself back up. There was a much larger and much more noticeable dent in its armor. It was still not enough power to outright destroy it. She needed something with piercing power, more than just her icicles in order to destroy the Adamantine Asura. Garnet quickly flew away from the manor. As she reached the edge of the territory, the Adamantine Asura stopped following her. It collapsed on the ground and changed back into inanimate armor, waiting for the next person to trespass into its territory. She was lucky that it did not follow her around everywhere, otherwise it was going to be a problem. For now, she had to keep looking for that fog clearing where the city was. The only fog clearing she found was the actual graveyard. "Transform!" Garnet reverted to her base form and continued to search for the city. TAP TAP TAP. There was the sound of footsteps, slowly approaching. It was likely the fight that she had with the Adamantine Asura drew attention from somewhere nearby. A figure appeared before Garnet, heavily clad in bright silver armor. Name: ??? Level: ??? Class: ??? Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? All of the person''s stats and abilities were hidden, even their names. "Grey Ghosts?!?" Garnet shouted. "Die monster!" shouted the figures in silver. He took two steps and leapt towards Garnet on this third with incredible speed. Garnet drew her sword and swung as hard as she could. "Crescent Slash!" CLANG. Garnet''s sword smashed against the silver figure''s pushing him aside. Compared to the Adamantine Asura, these were weaker. However, they were also speaking, meaning that there were people inside. "Wait, I''m looking for someone," said Garnet. Two others clad in silver suddenly appeared and smacked him on the side of the head. "Of course there are," said the silver figure to the left. This one was likely a woman from the sound of her voice. "Don''t forget that there are occasionally worlds that merge into this one, bringing in their survivors with them." "Besides, she''s just a little girl," said the third silver figure. "May I ask who you''re looking for?" asked the silver figure. "A man by the name of Serph," Garnet replied. "I was told he was somewhere in this world." The three of them paused for a while and began to speak to one another. "Serph?" thought the silver figure. "I don¡¯t know any Serph. Do you?" The others shook their head and both replied, "I don''t." "Maybe the Headmaster knows?" said the third silver figure. "The Headmaster would know," said the silver figure. "Would he meet with her though?" "There''s no way without checking," said the female silver figure. "Let''s ask him first." "Alright, come with us," said the silver figure. Garnet followed the three as they stayed just in front of her to guide her. They were moving very slowly, being careful to avoid all the creatures. "What''s with the armor?'' Garnet asked. "The armor protects us from the fog and allows us to see through it," the silver figure replied. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "I see," said Garnet. "That would explain how you were able to find me." "You give off an enormous amount of mana," said the third silver figure. "It would be hard not to spot you once someone is close enough." The silver figures were able to find Garnet because she was using mana. When fighting, she was expending a lot more, so they were able to track her down. They were now leading Garnet towards an area she had not been to before to the northwest. The fog suddenly became extra thick. It was like the sealed off area within the fog that she had encountered before. It was likely this was like that barrier. "Grab onto my hand," said the silver figure. Garnet reached out and grabbed his hand. The figure slowly pulled Garnet forward. "Don''t force your way in, walk in very slowly," said the silver figure. The silver figure walked in very slowly. His body began to slip through the barrier as the barrier shaped itself like the silver figure, wrapping itself around him like goo as he passed through. His hand slowly pulled Garnet forward at a slow pace. She had to be very gentle in order to pass through. Push too hard and you would not be able to get through. Try to force your way halfway through and you might get stuck. It was a very interesting method of defense. Garnet followed his movements as closely as possible. As she got closer to the barrier, she closed her eyes. As she started to pass through the barrier, she felt a strange tingling sensation. PLOP. When Garnet fully passed through it, she opened her eyes. In front of her was a small city crudely constructed entirely out of wood and stone. There were no tall buildings. The highest was only two stories tall. Up above, there was a tiny opening in the barrier that somehow allowed sunlight to seep through the fog. "What is this place?" Garnet asked. "Welcome to Sanctuary," said the silver figure as he began to remove his helmet. He had short black hair and was fairly young, probably under twenty. There was a few bits of facial hair that stuck out, probably because he had not shaved in a few days. Name: Adrian Level: 51 Class: Spirit Warrior Sub-Class: Swordsman Stats: High Vitality Garnet could see his stats once he removed his helmet. It was likely that the armor prevented them from being detected, which was why she could not see his stats before. The other two silver figures passed through the barrier and removed their helmets as well. Name: Nina Level: 50 Class: Spirit Warrior Sub-Class: Swordsman Stats: High Vitality Nina had short brown hair. Her cheeks were a little puffy and was also very young. She had a small mole under her right eye. Name: Santo Level: 50 Class: Spirit Warrior Sub-Class: Advanced Swordsman Stats: High Vitality Santo had tan colored skin. He was a lot taller than the other two. Like the others, he too was young and had green eyes. "This way," said Adrian as he pointed off into the distance. The three in silver armor surrounded Garnet and kept a close eye on her. They were suspicious of her and if she tried anything, they would probably try to kill her. As they walked through the city, Garnet took a look around. There were houses and businesses like any other city. They were making things out of the creatures that were found in the fog outside. "What is this place anyways?" Garnet asked again. "Like I said, this is Sanctuary," said Adrian. "But what is Sanctuary?" Garnet asked. "Knowing the name of it or what the purpose of it is does not tell me anything." "This place was the only safe haven during the Dark Age," Nina replied. Garnet never heard about the Dark Age before. "What is the Dark Age?" she asked. "You don''t know of the Dark Age?" said Adrian who was surprised by Garnet''s reaction. "Well, it has been at least a few hundred years," said Santo. "The only one who lived that long is probably the Headmaster." "The Dark Age was a time of great disaster," Adrian explained. "A powerful undead entity from another world absorbed the remnants of a high ranking Demon, transforming it into a creature the world had never seen or encountered before. The strongest Immortals in the world tried to fight it, but failed as it could absorb the strength of other dead creatures to restore itself. In a last attempt to preserve the remaining worlds, they sealed off many worlds from the entity that only a chosen few can get around." "Is that seal, the dome that protects this place?" Garnet asked. "No," Santo replied. "When there is a hole in the seal, that part of the world turns black, making it easier for horrific creatures to get through." Garnet started thinking. A whole part of the world would turn black and horrific creatures would get through. Garnet realized it. It was the Invasion. The Invasion was a product of the seal around the world breaking. There was permanent damage when the black star remained in the sky because the seal was unable to repair itself. It might not be the same, but there was a connection. But, that did not explain how other worlds were facing the Invasion. "What happened to the undead entity?" Garnet asked. "Was it defeated?" "No," said Nina. "It was sealed off from accessing all the worlds." "Then it is not a problem?" said Garnet who was trying to remain optimistic. "The barrier for each world will break one day," said Adrian. "It''s not a matter of if, but when, assuming it survives that long. But once the barrier is broken, the entity will be able to return in full force." "How come the Immortals were not able to stop it?" Garnet asked as they continued walking. "There was no way devised to defeat another Immortal," said Nina. "They never thought they would have to fight one of their own." "So, they created the barriers in order to buy time to create something that could defeat an Immortal," said Santo. "This was based on the different incarnations of a Hero." The term Hero came up. They were referring to the Hero System that Garnet was using. "I thought there was only one Hero?" said Garnet. She needed to know more. "There are countless Heroes," said Adrian. "Each one is based off of a different power in order to try to harness something that could defeat the entity." "The ones that we know of for sure are called the Mana Beast, the Avatar, the Elementalist, and the Conduit," said Nina. Zedd believed in only one Hero. These people believed in multiple. It was sort of like an argument about which gods to believe in. If this was indeed true, then Garnet was not as special as she had believed. There are others out there who can deal with the Invasions as well, which is why the Invasions have not taken a successful foothold despite having occurred on a regular basis for many years already despite not having a proper Hero present for some of them. There were others out there capable of leading the charge and defeating the powerful Guides. She needed more information to confirm this though. But, it would make sense why Akiza referred to Zedd as the leader of the Hero Worshipping Cult when Zedd said he did not trust Akiza. "Can you tell me about each of them?" Garnet asked. Adrian began to explain, "The Mana Beast is one that feeds off of the mana of the dead. As it devours more of the dead, it becomes stronger. Funny enough, this is supposedly what the powerful entity does as well, so it was more like an experiment to try to replicate its powers. The Avatar is born with spirits sealed inside of them and they are able to nurture them and help them grow in order to become stronger. The Elementalist can shape any element they wish as long as they can mentally picture it in their mind, even if it did not exist before. The knowledge acquired by each Elementalist is passed down to the next person who then inherits the knowledge of all their predecessors. Lastly, the Conduit is someone who can use all the different types of energies in the world, such as chi, mana, and aura to augment their physical abilities far beyond the physical limit without consequence. However, they are unable to shape those types of energies for some reason." There was a lot of information, but the Mana Beast did sound like Garnet''s powers. She had the power to absorb things to become stronger. Killing things did indeed grant her experience that helps her become stronger. The city here still had a lot of people even though it was supposed to be small. There were probably a few hundred people judging from the size of the houses. It was more like a large village, maybe a small town at best. The people greeted Adrian, Nina, and Santo as they passed by. The group slowly made their way towards the center of town. Instead of a large building of some kind, it looked like a very simple log cabin. Adrian approached the door. KNOCK KNOCK. "Come in," said the voice of a woman inside. Adrian slowly opened the door. "Headmaster, we investigated the source of mana and found this girl," said Adrian. "She says she''s looking for someone by the name of Serph." The woman stepped out of the other room. She had middle length black hair. She wore a gold hair ornament that kept her hair tied up. She wore a white cloak over rugged brown and green clothes. Unlike the others, the woman had no armor, yet Garnet could not feel her presence at all. It was like she was not even there. However, she gave off a familiar presence like Akiza did. Name: Himiko Level: ??? Class: ??? Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? Himiko stared at Garnet. "Who was it that sent you?" she asked Garnet. "Akiza," said Garnet. "How is she doing?" Himiko asked. "She seems well," said Garnet. "She got a little frustrated with one of my friends, but other than that, she seemed well. She doesn''t say a lot though." "That''s good news," said Himiko. "She was never a friendly person. If you tried to talk to her too much, she would probably yell at you." "Who are you?" Garnet asked. "That depends on who you ask," said Himiko. "To them, I am simply the Headmaster. But, I am also the one who protects this town." Himiko turned to the other three. "Do you know who she is?" All three of them shook their heads. "This is the Mana Beast," said Himiko. "We finally found one of the other Heroes." There were suddenly smiles on their faces, almost if they were ready to celebrate. However, they held themselves back in the presence of Himiko. "So can you help me find Serph?" Garnet asked. "I''m afraid he''s not here," said Himiko. "We went off on a journey to other worlds in order to try to build up an army that can resist the forces of the Lich King." "I encountered some Archlich that were defeated with enough strength," said Garnet. "They are nothing compared to the Lich King," Himiko replied. "The Lich King is one that has acquired the power of chi and mana as well as a demonic physiology in order to make itself stronger. It is not so simple to defeat." "Do you know why Akiza sent me here then?" Garnet asked. "I thought I was going to find a Divine Spirit God or something." Himiko shook her head. "The Divine Spirit Gods we have collected are for the Elementalist," said Himiko. "Your power requires you to hunt powerful creatures does it not?" "Yes," said Garnet. "How did you know this?" "When the Immortal Council first came up with plans to create a stronger warrior, we tried everything," Himiko explained. "However, we eventually ran into one problem, limited resources. When everyone is competing for the same resources to become stronger, it is nearly impossible to have them work together. So, the Immortal Council devised ways to make multiple Heroes. We knew from history that there existed one that relied on inheriting the knowledge of items and another was able to nurture spirits within their body. So, we avoided those two and began to seek alternatives." "Am I one of those?" Garnet asked. "Yes, the Mana Beast relies on defeating creatures and absorbing them," Himiko repeated. "Which is why, these three will guide you to the creatures you have to defeat." "But how will this help me?" Garnet asked. "The Lich King, like other Immortals, have acquired a type of energy known as Divine Energy," Himiko explained. "In order to defeat it, you must acquire some of that energy as well because only Divine Energy can defeat Divine Energy. These creatures possess trace amounts of Divine Energy and will provide you with unique transformations if you can defeat them. Because the amount of Divine Energy they have is low, you should theoretically be able to defeat them." Quest Update: Divine Beast (I) Find and persuade the Divine Beasts in the Ancient Graveyard to help you. Reward: New Skills, Experience "And if I cannot?" Garnet asked. "Then you will have to train first," said Himiko. "The creatures that you have to defeat are no laughing matter. They are extremely powerful." There were specific creatures here that could empower Garnet. "Can you help me?" Garnet asked. Himiko shook her head. "The most I can do is send a few people to guide you and make sure you don''t die," said Himiko. "In order to acquire the full power of the Divine Beast, you have to slay it yourself." This brought up the crystal that Garnet took. It was likely meant to be for someone else. She took the Crystal Core out and gave it to Himiko. "I think this is meant for someone else," said Garnet as she handed it over. "You are correct," Himiko confirmed. "This crystal is meant for the Conduit. I will return it to its proper place until the Conduit appears to collect it." Garnet was somewhat relieved to know that she was not the only person who was tasked with saving the world. But with this, she also learned that there was a bigger threat out there. The Guides were prone to infighting, but they did have rules and a hierarchy developed by something much stronger. Now is the next stage of her development, she had to defeat the Divine Beasts. But just when she thought she had answers, there were now even more questions than ever before. "I have many more questions," Garnet added. "In due time," said Himiko. "But I need to see how strong you are. If you cannot even bring down a sealed Divine Beast, then you are not ready to even face a middle tier Guide much less a high level one." Spoiler : No status change Book 8: Chapter 070Z - Zedds Task There''s going to be a few chapters that has Zedd going around on his own (three planned so far). Garnet has split up from the main group and the others are doing other things. These chapters are meant to help fill in what the bad guys are doing as you will not see them for a while. So far the plans are Zedd - 3 chapters Riley - 1 chapter Anna - 2 chapters Unnamed Hero - 1 chapter This is the first of the Zedd chapters. They''re not as good as the main chapters, but they help fill in some of the gaps. The other Zedd chapters planned are Spoiler : Zedd attempts to hunt down the source of the antagonist''s resources of the arc''s primary antagonist as he makes his move. Zedd attempts to lead several of the clans to fight back against the antagonist. Riley chapter (but this one is the least likely to be finished as it is of little importance to the overall plot and I''m mainly doing it for myself for character purposes) Spoiler : Riley awakens the sleeping beast inside of her that evolves her Hero class. We know Garnet has one inside of her, but Riley does as well and undergoes her Hero Trial to awaken its power. Her power will be spacial based, allowing for use of instant movement across short distances through teleportation without the need of magic circles. Anna chapters Spoiler : Anna attempts to deal with the Coalition that has finally arrived at Constantinople. Anna attempts to deal with the Dark Mages that decide to attack Constantinople after they believe the Coalition has weakened it. Unnamed Hero Chapter Spoiler : The Hero attempts to assassinate the antagonist, but fails and accidentally kills members of another clan, sparking a war between several major clans and sects that the antagonist is able to take advantage of. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Now then, I have a task for you as well," said Akiza as she turned to Zedd. "Me?" said Zedd. He was confused. He was the one that Akiza trusted the least, yet there was something that she needed to have him do. "Yes, you," Akiza confirmed. She took out a vial from her hand. "If you accept this task, I will give each of you, including Garnet, this." Zedd took a closer look at the vial. In it was a strange red and orange mixture. He did not know what it was. "What is it?" he asked. "This is the blood and marrow of the Divine Phoenix," Akiza explained. "It will grant you the ability to use any of the arts of the Divine Phoenix Clan, the ability to use Divine Phoenix exclusive items, and the ability to produce the blood of a phoenix within your own body." "That''s crazy," Xiaomei commented. "That would basically mean that you would be the same as a high ranking clan member." "You also said you would not give it to us until after the Annual Tournament," said Riley. "Why the sudden change?" Zedd was suspicious. She would not give away something like this for free. "In the coming fight, I fear that we may see the return of the Demons," said Akiza. "When that time comes, I need as many people that can utilize the power of a Divine Spirit or Spirit God as possible." "What makes it so special?" Quinton asked. "Why not just any spirit?" "The Demons possess a unique attribute that makes their defenses strong and difficult to break," Akiza explained. "For some reason, a spirit that possesses Divine Energy can penetrate their defenses and their skin with ease." "Why do you not just give this to everyone?" Xiaomei asked. "Because it also provides them the same protection to those who receive it," Akiza replied. "I don''t want to entrust this to someone I feel will use it to their advantage. Normally, only blood is given because it can be expended quickly yet can also be replenished in small amounts up to how much they had before." The special blood in their body would make them incomparably tough. If they turned on the Divine Phoenix Clan, they would be strong against the flames of the phoenix and have incredible strength, endurance, and regeneration as well. "How do you know I will not turn against?" Zedd asked Akiza. "Because you submit to your Hero, Garnet," Akiza answered. "As long as she is here, you will not do anything reckless." Akiza was right. Zedd was ultimately obedient to Garnet. As long as Garnet listened to Akiza, Zedd and the others would as well. "Alright, what is my task?" Zedd asked. Akiza took out a map of the Eastern Empire. "We are here," she said as she pointed to a spot on the map marked as the Divine Phoenix City. "I need you to go here and look for Demi-Humans along with what they are up to," explained as she pointed to a spot far in the southeast of the country. "Demi-Humans?" said Zedd. "What kind?" "The last report was orcs, but since then, I stopped receiving messages from the scout," Akiza explained. "I want you to gather information from there and report back to me what you find." "Why me though?" Zedd asked. "Shouldn''t this be entrusted to a member of your clan?" "I cannot trust a member of the clan to do this," said Akiza. "Why not?" Riley asked. "Because I suspect the person behind this is Han Dou Gu," Akiza answered. "The prince?!?" shouted Xiaomei. "Yes, the prince," Akiza confirmed. "He may be working with the Demi-Humans, or in the worst possible situation, leading a large scale Invasion that this world has not seen in fifty years. Because of this, a person from this country may be reluctant to report on their own leaders. That is why, foreigners like yourselves, are more suited for this task." "I accept this task," said Zedd without hesitation. If it was fighting against the Invasion, it was going to help Garnet. When Garnet was away, he would have to take care of things here. "Be wary though," Akiza warned. "If he is indeed a powerful person that is indeed involved in the Invasion, you might not be able to beat him or he might even be able to use Parallel Convergence." "Parallel Convergence?" said Zedd. "What is that?" "It is the skill that summons the black sphere in the sky to call forth an army," Akiza explained. "If he uses it from this world, he can bring in his forces without delay." "Then it is dangerous," said Zedd. "That is why if you confront him, you must make sure to not be recognized," said Akiza. Zedd changed his appearance to his older self. The one more people were likely to recognize. "I can go like this then," he said. "But how did they make it into this world?" Riley asked. "Don''t they need to use the black sphere?" "There are other ways to travel between worlds," said Akiza. Riley remembered the sword that the Guides used. There was also the silver portals that Akiza used. "Yes, there is," said Riley. "In the Southern Isles is a unique place," said Akiza as she pointed to an island directly south of the Eastern Empire. "Right here is a unique formation where nearly a dozen worlds meet." "So they can pass through from another world without needing to use any special tools," said Zedd. "Exactly," Akiza confirmed. "The reason why they set up here in the southeast is because it is easy to reach from there." "Alright," said Zedd. "My mission is to find out what Han Dou Gu is planning there and to report back." "Good," said Akiza. "In the meantime, here is your reward," said Akiza as she handed out the vials. "Zedd, make sure not to use the abilities of the phoenix while you are there." Zedd nodded as he took two vials from Akiza. "Two?" he asked. "One for Garnet when she returns," said Akiza. Zedd put one away and drank the other. He could feel the warmth of the flames of the phoenix as it entered his blood. "Flight!" Wings of fire spread from his back. They were unstable and very chaotic. Zedd focused his mind and slowly, the wings of fire were extinguished and replaced by wings of stone. "This will have to do for now," he said. "Go quickly," said Akiza. "And make sure you do not tell anyone what you find except me okay?" "I understand," said Zedd. "Teleportation!" As Zedd disappeared, Riley, Quinton, and Xiaomei remained with Akiza. "So what now?" Xiaomei asked. "Training," said Akiza. "We''re going to make sure you''re ready to fight a Demon." Zedd arrived in the ruins of the city where they had fought Gorry. Garnet had set a Teleportation Summoning Circle here like at all the major cities they visited. From here he started flying east, avoiding all the major cities he could except to gather information about where other cities were. Everywhere he went, he saw a similar problem. Clans were hunting spirits to make objects out of them. There were a few times where he spotted actual hunts going on. The Annual Tournament was going to be in a few months and they needed it in order to compete with the others. However, Zedd knew that there was a massive power difference between the schools just from observing. They were few in number and struggled to capture even a weak mountain tiger spirit. They would most likely be wiped out in the first round of the tournament. After a few days, Zedd arrived in a town in the southeast called Shen City, an enormous port by the ocean. It was here that he started to feel something unusual. There was a constant feeling of disgust. As Zedd looked around, the city was still heavily populated. The feeling of disgust was only near the entrance of town. The rest of the city was as lively and popular as ever. With that, he went to work to collect information. Zedd headed to one of the larger buildings that was selling seafood. The top read Ban Chao''s Fish Market. Inside he spotted a man who was well dressed. "Are you the owner?" he asked. "No, I''m the supervisor," said the man. "What can I do for you?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Zedd reached out his hand with the black stone is hand, "My name is Zedd and I am looking to purchase four hundred pounds of bluefin tuna, along with some information," he said. "R..Right this way," said the man as he stuttered, guiding Zedd to an office in the back. Zedd sat down and looked around the room. There were pictures of a young man who was standing next to an enormous fish that was being hung upside down. Next to the young man, was a much younger Zedd. "The manager will be here in a minute," said the man. Zedd sat down on the chair and waited. The supervisor was still extremely nervous in his presence. "I''m no longer one of the Warlords," said Zedd. "I don''t plan on killing you or anyone today." The supervisor just stood there silent. There was still an extreme fear of him. After all, he had been one of the enforcers that brought the entire Eastern Empire under the control of the previous Emperor. An old man quickly ran in, "Sorry I''m late." "Take a deep breath," said Zedd. "I''m here to purchase both fish and information." "I''m sorry, but I don''t deal in information," said the old man. "You used to deal in information, did you not Zhongsheng?" asked Zedd. The old man drew the sword by his side. "Stop!" shouted the supervisor. But, it was too late. "Who are you?" asked the old man with his sword in hand. "Do you not recognize me?" Zedd asked. The old man took a close look at Zedd''s face. "Zedd?" said the old man. "Yes, it''s me," said Zedd. "It''s been so many years," said Zhongsheng as he hugged Zedd. "I was right, this was your place," said Zedd. "I''m surprised you remembered," said Zhongsheng. "You may leave us," he said to the supervisor. The supervisor quickly ran out. He was clearly terrified of Zedd. "You wanted to move here and name a place after your uncle, so I figured it might be you," said Zedd. "So what brings you here?" Zhongsheng asked. "I''m looking for someone," said Zedd. "If anyone knows around here, I figured it might be you." "I don''t deal in that type of business anymore," said Zhongsheng. "But you still have connections that you maintain do you not?" Zedd asked as he looked at Zhongsheng with one eye. "You never let anything get away do you?" asked Zhongsheng. "Of course not," said Zedd. "If I did, I would not be so feared." "What information do you need?" Zhongsheng asked. "Dirt on the local government official?" "Further south or maybe southeast of here, there were reports of Demi-Human sightings," said Zedd. "Do you know that?" "Of course," said Zhongsheng. "Individuals have been sent to deal with them, but none have ever returned." They had powerful backers and anyone who approached was probably killed and disposed of. "Do you know what type of Demi-Humans?" Zedd asked. "Trolls, Goblins, Orcs, Kobolds, and Merfolk," said Zhongsheng. "That is an unusual combination," said Zedd. "They are usually at war with one another are they not?" "They were working together this time," Zhongsheng answered. "That is unsettling," said Zedd. "It is, but they are not approaching Shen City, so we are safe," said Zhongsheng. "Oh one more thing, has Prince Han Dou Gu been here recently?" Zedd asked. "He was here about a month ago and made a big purchase from Kang''s forge," said Zhongsheng. "Why?" "No, just curious what he was up to now," said Zedd. Zedd took out a small bag of gold coins. "For the information," said Zedd. "No need," said Zhongsheng. "I''m always here for a good friend." "Then consider it a favor that you can pay back to me with more information," said Zedd as he got up. "Alright," said Zhongsheng as he took the money. He knew when it was a good deal. "Stop by again soon, I''d love to hear about what you''ve been up to." "When I have less to do, I will," said Zedd. Zhongsheng looked terribly unsettled by those words. He knew something was going to happen. "If you are in trouble, I will protect you, do not forget," he said. "I won''t," said Zedd. "But I hope I will not have to." Zedd left with a few pieces of salted bluefin tuna that he ate as he headed south. His destination was the coastline to the south. There was something definitely strange here. Along the way, Zedd noticed that there was a decreasing amount of animals despite the high amount of foliage still present. When the animals ran away, there was something definitely dangerous. He put on a grey colored cloak he took from one of the fallen Grey Ghosts. "Call: Tracker Wolf!" Zedd summoned a black wolf. "Warn me if something is walked directly towards me," he said. The wolf nodded and stayed near Zedd. It was difficult to move under the trees without making noise. There was no clear path or even an animal path present that he could follow. The only thing present was the birds that flew overhead. Even then, they seemed to all be flying away from a general direction. Naturally, Zedd headed towards the direction the birds avoided. It was deep in the forest that Zedd began to notice the first change. There was indeed strangely placed trees in some places. The area around it had been cleared, but there were always ten trees left arranged in a circle. At the center of it was soft soil, one that looked like it had been recently dug up. Zedd walked out and took a closer look. He did not notice anything unusual, like a formation or magic circle. He closed his eyes and focused. Looking for the thinnest traces of magic or chi. However, he could not sense anything. Zedd thought to himself, "I need to be certain." Zedd placed his hand on the ground. "Strike Slip!" RUMBLE. The soft soil area rose up a few feet, revealing what was in the soil. The soil fell apart as it rose, revealing the head of a strange creature. It had ears like a pig, teeth like a goblin, and gills on the side of its face, but was clearly as big as an orc. Its skin was black in color. It was a hybrid creature of some kind that was still unconscious. There was no telling how many of them could be hidden in the ground or when they could be awoken. "Strike Slip!" Zedd returned the creature to the ground. It was best if they never knew he was here. The Demi-Humans were working on some type of hybrid being, one that incorporated all of the best traits of the Demi-Humans. Zedd needed to know how many there were, so he continued looking around. In total, there was at least ten of those patches of soft soil and tree formation. The problem was that it was impossible to know how much were in each or their estimated combat strength. He needed to capture one of the Demi-Humans and interrogate them. "Find me a Demi-Human," Zedd ordered his Tracker Wolf. The Tracker Wolf quickly ran as Zedd followed it. The Tracker Wolf made its way through the trees and the rustling of the leaves and grass could be heard as it did so. It eventually came to a stop near one of the openings, where several goblins were spotted. "Hurry," the goblin ordered. The goblins were digging something out of the ground. The ground was not the same formation as the others. They were digging up big pieces of stone and rolling them into carriages that were pulled by horses. Zedd needed to get a closer look at the stones they were digging up, so he followed it. The carriage brought the stone over to an empty field. It was here that Zedd spotted a carefully camouflaged entrance to an underground area. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Zedd placed one onto a talisman and threw it at the cart. This way he could get in without being spotted. The cart went in underground and Zedd tracked it on a special map. He took care to wait for it to stop moving for several minutes before going in. "Teleportation!" Zedd arrived inside the underground area. It was enormous. They had worked for who knows how long to dig the entire underground complex. "Call: Nightshade!" Zedd summoned his Spirit of Darkness. "Conceal me," he ordered. Nightshade wrapped around Zedd, completely hiding his presence as long as he remained in dark areas. As Zedd looked around, the carriage had been left there. He went in search of the stones. CLANG. It was the sound of metal striking metal. Zedd headed in its direction. There were dozens of goblins forging metal tools. He took care to slip by them just in case. The area was left completely unguarded with no patrols. Past the forge was a storage area for all the tools that they made. Looking at it carefully, he noticed carving knives of some kind along with chisels and hammers for working with stone. They were clearly going to be making the stone into something. On the other side of the storage area was more tools including anvils. These seemed more like they were working with metal. The goblins were going to be making equipment for their hybrid army. Or at least that''s what he thought until he saw the blueprints. It was to make powerful armored wood and stone golems. Ones capable of regeneration. This was not simply a manufacturing site. It was a site to produce and equip an entire army. It had also been here for a long time. It was not something that was just established recently. They had a lot of time to prepare and work on the things here. They had probably only been discovered recently when some of the Demi-Humans ventured into the grounds above this location. If they could acquire the supplies to manufacture an army here, they had to have had a powerful backer. However, Zedd was unable to confirm whether Prince Han Dou Gu was actually the one responsible as there were only Demi-Humans here. Zedd took out extra scrolls. "Trace!" The contents of each one was copied onto his own. Even without Han Dou Gu, it was a success. Whoever built this place was clearly preparing for a long battle. What worried Zedd was that this might not be the only site like this. After all, if Han Dou Gu had bought a large amount of iron, then it was clearly not all being used here. There was no way that making these small tools would use up huge volumes of iron. There could be other ones out there from which they could build more armies. "Teleportation Summoning Circle!" Zedd placed one here in case he needed to return. "Teleport!" With that, he left and reported his findings to Akiza. Someone was building an army that was preparing to attack the Eastern Empire from underneath. And under the current circumstances, there was no way there would be ready to face it. Book 8: Chapter 072 - The Divine Dryad Sorry for such a long delay since the last chapter. I''ve been extremely busy (working 11 hour days, 7 AM to 6 PM basically) so I haven''t had time to edit the chapters. I''ve spent the free time that I have had writing and I currently have drafts up to Chapter 87 including Riley''s Trial and two chapters involving Zedd. This major arc (Eastern Empire) should end by Chapter 90 and will begin the fourth major arc immediately after. The Anna and Riley one is being worked on where Anna reveals more about her past and it will explain what she did during her travels to other worlds. Riley''s is mainly a change to a class that allows military and weapon knowledge to be put to good use. The main problem is that I don''t have time to read through it to elaborate on certain parts that I feel like need fixing. This chapter and the next one will set up for the "Annual Tournament" and the revelation of who the main enemy is for this arc. I''ve had a hard time dividing this arc into books as well, because the events basically flow from one to the next. But in case you cannot wait, here are some spoilers Eastern Empire''s Final Enemy Spoiler : Han Dou Gu is the major enemy of this arc. He is the one who gave the Golden Dragon Clan the "Berserk" ability and was hoping to give it to others to have them kill and weaken each other. This will allow him, a Guide, to lead his Demi-Human army against the weakened Eastern Empire. However, his plains are foiled when he is forced to step in to fight Garnet who helps to protect the Divine Phoenix Clan. Garnet''s Next Evolution Spoiler : Triggered by absorbing a inhuman "Chimera" type Guide. This forces Garnet''s different forms together with each of the forms transforming into a "tail" that she can use in her new Empress of Shadows form. It will grow and evolve as she acquires new powers. On top of that, more of her old abilities will start merging with new ones, creating evolutions there as well and stopping her from just being overloaded with weak abilities. Anna Spoiler : Acquired the powers of a Guide during her "travels" between the fall of Constantinople and her return to Antium. She willingly sealed away her own powers to prevent herself from abusing it. However, she will unseal it with the arrival of the first "high tier" Guide further down the line. A high tier Guide is a Guide that has merged with a Demon and has successfully taken control of it, granting them immense power and resistance. Anna''s is a "Greed Demon," hinted at by the fact that she is the keeper of the treasury and seems to have a near limitless amount of weapons to throw around. Lucy Spoiler : Named as Garnet''s "price" to help protect Riley''s world in order to bring her back to Riley. Akiza teaches Garnet how to create copies of herself like the Guides do, but this one comes without the penalty, but is also something unique and requires numerous special skills to perform. She will be brought to the empty body in Constantinople from which she will be linked with to form the sixth guardian. Next Major Arc Spoiler : The next major arc will continue right where this one leaves off. With the defeat of Han Dou Gu, numerous black spheres are opened up in the sky and they are drawn towards one another. Eventually, they start connecting and create the "tear" in the sky that is mentioned in the poem. This allows mid tier Guides like Han Dou Gu to enter much more easily and a high tier Guide can make their way through with just a little force. This results in the opening of a massive rift that stretches across the eastern hemisphere of the planet, forcing the remainders of the Coalition Army to finally band together and form an offensive. In the mean time, Garnet will have to work with Constantinople, the remnants of the clans in the Eastern Empire from Han Dou Gu''s Invasion, and a few other allies to fight off the Invasion by triggering one of the hidden secrets of Constantinople, the ability to draw all Invaders in the world to a single point, Constantinople itself. The same ability was used by the previous Hero, Assad, in an attempt to buy time, but failed as he lacked support from others. This time, Garnet will have to use it and ensure that the city survives with the help of the Eastern Empire that now trusts her. However, the Dark Mages have not forgotten Garnet''s declaration of war and will use this opportunity to try to seize the city for themselves to turn against the Grey Ghosts. Anyways, here is the actual chapter ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There were a total of twelve Divine Beasts, each one taking on the form of something that would eventually create the zodiac. However, Garnet would likely not need them all. In order for her to become stronger, she had to defeat these creatures herself and absorb them. Each of them were supposed to be incredibly strong. Garnet thought that this was going to be a simple meet the Spirit God, befriend them, and get their power. However, this was turning into something much different. On top of that, she had no idea how much time had passed since she entered the Ancient Graveyard since there was no proper day and night cycle. When she slept, it was sunny. When she awoke it was still sunny. "So are you ready?" Nina asked. "Just a second," said Garnet as she headed out. There were a few spare rooms for the occasional guest, but there were not many of them. After all, most people did not stay when the fog was present. Most people were only here when the fog was gone because the creatures were weaker then too. As Garnet headed out, Adrian, Nina, and Santo were already waiting for her. They were to escort her to the Divine Beasts. Garnet had doubts. After all, she could barely do anything during the last Invasion against all the powerful creatures that were being sent out. She was now told that she had to defeat some powerful creatures in order to become stronger. If she was not strong enough, she would have to train first. "We''re ready when you are," said Adrian. "So where are we going?" Garnet asked. "We''re going to the one Divine Beast that is partially sealed and much weaker than the others," Santo replied. "Why did they not just seal all of them?" Garnet wondered. "It would make it easier." "Because this is a trial for you to show that you are strong enough to face the incoming threats," Nina replied. "If you cannot even defeat this creature yourself, there''s no way that you can face the new threats that will someday appear." "Do you know what kind of spirit they are?" Garnet asked. "The sealed one is a Dryad," Santo answered. "It''s something that resembles a wood spirit, but is still alive." The mention of a wood spirit brought up the image of Meliae in Garnet''s mind. "Let''s get going," said Garnet. As the four of them left the protective barrier, Adrian, Nina, and Santo put on their helmets. They walked around in the fog in the full metal suits in order to be able to see and sense things. "Why don''t I get one of those metal suits?" Garnet asked as they continued to walk. "It takes them a while to make new ones, and the materials are not exactly easy to come by," said Adrian. "It would be nice if there were more of us since we could then actually explore this place thoroughly." "It''s not fully explored?" Garnet was surprised by this. "We thought it was at first," said Nina. "But then over time, Himiko realized they were small changes, and this place is constantly changing. It''s not easy to have a group large enough or strong enough to keep track of all the changes. We only keep track of the important fixtures." "Such as?" Garnet asked. "The four items meant to be given to each Hero," said Santo. "That is something that we work to keep track of and maintain." "Have you met any of the other Heroes?" Garnet asked. They all shook their head and said, "No." "The Heroes live on the other side in the world without fog," Santo replied. "While it would be nice to see that world, it is our duty for now to maintain this one. I would like to meet the others someday though." Garnet did as well. She wanted to meet the others. Hopefully they would be something like her. It was nice to know that there were others who would eventually help her fight against the Invasions besides her friends. At first it seemed like some people were not really treating it like something serious and busy with power struggles, but it was only in the areas around Anzio and Antium because of their policies. They were places like the Eastern Empire that constantly monitored the black star in their area even though they were dealing with their own power struggles. The four of them passed through the mist for a long time before they approached the entrance to a thick forest. "We''re here," said Adrian. Trees stretched as far as the eyes could see. Not only was there a thick fog, there was also darkness. Darkness that even Garnet''s eyes could not see through despite her Night Vision. This was no ordinary darkness. On top of that there was a strange feeling coming from deep inside the forest. It was as if the temperature suddenly dropped to freezing temperatures. "Something doesn''t feel quite right here," said Garnet. "The Divine Beast''s power is dispersed throughout the forest," said Nina. "That''s how it is weakened." The Divine Beast had enough power to affect the entire forest. That was proof of its power. Even though it was sealed, this was still what it was capable of. Its power exceeded anything she had ever come across. If this much power was concentrated into a single person, they could probably destroy a city in an instant. "So somewhere in this forest is the Divine Beast right?" Garnet asked once more. "Yes," said Adrian. "You have to face it alone. It should not be able to move in its seal and if you keep your distance it shouldn''t be able to kill you either." This was the first time Garnet was going to have to face a terrifying creature by herself. In the past, she always had help of some kind. It weighed on her mind as she thought about whether or not she was strong enough to defeat the creature and absorb it. She looked upon the vast forest that stood in front of her. This was the result of the Divine Beast''s power simply leaking out. That power was enough to shape the landscape. No matter how much Garnet tried to prepare herself mentally, she imagined an extremely large and beast like tree, much like one of the ones that attacked during the Invasion. "Alright, I think I''m ready," she said. "Good luck, we''ll wait for you here," said Santo as he waved to Garnet. Garnet turned around and headed into the dense forest. It was unlike any of the other forests that she had been inside. The trees were so tightly packed that there was no clear road. The roots of the trees on the ground seemed to almost overlap with one another. She had to be careful not to trip over the roots as she made her way around the trees. The fog was not able to make its way in here, but it was still extremely dark. As Garnet looked around, she saw no signs of life at all. Like the tomb she found before, there were no signs of life around it unless you counted the trees and plants. The living animals and insects stayed far away from this place. It was almost as if they treated the area like it was toxic. But, if they knew that there was a powerful creature lurking here, it was enough of a reason to stay away. No one wants to be eaten by whatever was living here. Stat Increase: Vitality+1 The difficulty was finding the correct path. Even with her map, there was no clear path to the center of the area. She had to weave around the trees and find paths that she could walk through. The roots of the tress overlapped in numerous places, making them seem as if they were all intertwined. It was impossible to fly and see anything below with the thick tree coverage. If Garnet could have at least sensed the Divine Beast, she might have had an easier time finding it, but the amount of energy in the land was evenly distributed throughout the area, making it impossible to sense anything right now. Stat Increase: Vitality+1 There was also something very unusual about some of the trees. Normally, the trunk of a tree only has a few variations of colors. They were usually brown, white, black, or red. However, there were a few trees that had blue, gold, purple, and even pink trunks. As Garnet slashed at the colored trunk with her sword, even the inside was similar. They were of unusual colors that matched the outside of the tree. It was definitely something not normal. In every hundred or so trees, two or three would be of a different color. Stat Increase: Vitality+1 It was extremely quiet. As Garnet made her way forward, the only thing she could hear was her footsteps. Whenever she stopped moving, it would just be dead silence. The leaves of the trees not would even rustle due to the lack of wind. Garnet continued forward, trying to keep this eerie feeling out of her head. Garnet could not tell how long she was wandering around in the forest. It could have been a few hours or a few days. There was no way to know for sure. Eventually, Garnet found a large red tree with a metal plaque. On it was the same message as the one in the tomb: The door was inscribed with a message: During the darkest of days, The great tyrant will return. The colored sky will fall down, Then the brightest moon shall rise. Beware of the false bearers, For they only bring darkness. Only those who can unite, Can face the Tyrant of Night. Eight lines, seven syllables each, telling about the darkest of days and how a powerful creature will return. Himiko called it the Elder Lich. The undead summoners that Garnet had fought before were called Arch Lich. It was likely that the two were related, but the Elder Lich was much stronger. Even Anna worried that there was something powerful that she could not defeat either. There were several more of these metal plaques on the trees in the surrounding area. Garnet continued on her way until she finally spotted something unusual. There was a single woman, tied with roots to a single tree. She was wearing a green and gold dress, something similar to the one that the Xiao Clan wore, but this one was not a functional robe. It was more ornate and for like an event. The woman had long brown hair with green eyes and green lips. She appeared much more human than any spirit that she had encountered. With the exception of her oddly colored lips, she could pass as a human. Name: Silwest Level: ??? Class: ??? Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? She was very beautiful, and she was peacefully sleeping there. Garnet thought about how long it has been since she slept without worrying about something. She could not remember at all. Ever before she became a Hero, she rarely had peaceful nights of sleep. Now that she was duty bound to save the world, it was even harder to sleep at night. Underneath the woman was some sort of crystal base. The roots were coming from there. Silwest had her power drained through those roots and then the roots directed them throughout the rest of the forest. Garnet looked around to see if there were any traps like in the tomb before. There was nothing. She carefully approached the woman, worried that there were traps. Luckily, there were none. There was probably some different for each Hero to undergo. Quest Update: Divine Beast (I) Find and gain the approval of the Divine Beasts in the Ancient Graveyard. Reward: New Skills, Experience If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.Her quest suddenly changed. It was no longer "defeat." It was now to gain the approval of. "Why did it suddenly change?" Garnet thought to herself. Garnet looked at the woman real close in the face. She was indeed sleeping. Her face was extremely pale as well. She reached out her hand and poked the woman in the stomach. Nothing happened. Garnet continued to poke, each time a little harder. "Alright stop it!" said the woman as she opened her eyes. Garnet suddenly took a step back, afraid of what might happen. The woman could only move her head and her right hand, but just a little bit. "I thought you were dead for a moment there," she said. "The name''s Silwest, and I was wondering what you were going to do," said the woman. "The last person who came here just flat out tried to kill me!" Silwest was probably referring to Assad, the previous Hero. "So what do I have to do for you to help me?" Garnet asked. "Kill me," said Silwest. "You have to do it in order to acquire my power." She closed her eyes and raised her head, exposing her neck. Garnet looked at Silwest. Silwest had no intention to or was incapable of defending herself. All Garnet had to do was cut her neck or stab her through the heart. But, the fact that the quest updated itself from "defeat" to "gain the approval of" meant that the goal might not be to defeat them. "No," said Garnet. "It''s the only way," said Silwest. "I''ll find another way," said Garnet. "You don''t deserve to be sealed here for all of eternity." Garnet drew her sword and began to try to cut away at the roots binding Silwest. "What are you doing?!?" Silwest shouted angrily. "Kill me, let me die, let me fulfill my lifelong duty!" "I refuse," said Garnet. "I''ll find another way. If the previous Hero could become as strong as he was without killing you, that means I can too." No matter how hard Garnet chopped away at the roots, they would heal. They were maintaining themselves using Silwest''s powers. "Come on," said Silwest. "You know you want to kill me and take my power." "If you are in fact a Divine Beast, that must mean there is a way for you to transfer your abilities to me without killing you does it not?" Garnet asked. Silwest''s face was suddenly met with surprise. "So you''re not just an idiot child," she said. "Very well, I''ll concede." The roots around Silwest disappeared into her body. The ground that she was standing on was indeed some type of Crystal Conduit. However, Silwest was not actually sealed, she just made herself look like it. "You''re right, there are other ways," said Silwest. "I just wanted to see how far you would be willing to go for power." "I want power, but I don''t want my desire for power to consume me like it does others," Garnet replied. "Did you know that your predecessor did not even hesitate to try to thrust his sword into my heart?" Silwest asked as she stepped forward towards Garnet. "I didn''t know," said Garnet. It gave the image that the previous Hero was a very violent person. Judging from how Assad spoke and acted, it was always possible. Even the abilities he bestowed upon Garnet were very suited for killing. "It''s why he failed at this step of the Hero''s Journey," said Silwest. "He could not even get past me. After this, he simply dedicated himself to fighting." "I have many questions," said Garnet. "The power of the Divine Beasts is meant to supplement that of the Mana Beast," Silwest explained. "It will help the development of your Hero System abilities." Silwest took out an empty flask. She then fashioned a wooden knife from her hand and cut her wrist. Her yellow orange blood began to flow into the flask. When the flask was filled, the blood resembled syrup. She handed the flask to Garnet. Name: Blood of the Divine Dryad Quality: ??? Effects: ??? "Drink it and you will obtain my power," said Silwest. "Be warned though, if you are not really a Hero, you will die from exposure to it." In other words, do not let anyone else touch or take it. Garnet had a few questions for Silwest though. "Can you tell me more about the Elder Lich?" she asked. "I was born long after the Elder Lich came to power," said Silwest. "I don''t know much about it." "What about the Invasions?" Garnet asked. "If you''re asking about the monsters that periodically attack a world, the worlds are sealed off," Silwest replied. "But occasionally, a hole opens up in the sky and frightening creatures are allowed to come through. It is said that when several holes open up, they will connect and tear an enormous opening into the sky." The meaning behind the "darkest of days" suddenly became a lot clearer. The black stars in the sky will create a rip large enough for the Invasion to occur over a large section of the world. There was currently one in Constantinople and one out outside the Northern Walls of the Eastern Empire. "Why do you live here by yourself if you''re not really sealed?" Garnet asked. "I don''t really like other people," said Silwest. "I much prefer to spend time by myself and it''s much more relaxing than having to deal with people all the time." "What about Himiko?" Garnet asked. She had questions since Himiko was not telling her a lot. "She''s a crazy old woman who has built entire societies," said Silwest. "She acquired her Immortality by siphoning energy off the land to fuel her abilities. But if you want information about her personal life, I don''t know anything about it." "I see¡­" said Garnet as she thought about other questions. Silwest only had basic information, it was too little to actually make sense of or put to use. She needed to ask Himiko directly for real answers. "Alright, that''s all I have to ask for now." Garnet took the flask and drank all of the yellow orange liquid. It was sweet, the texture was kind of like honey. There was something comforting about it. It felt almost as if she just had some delicious warm homemade chicken noodle soup. But then Garnet suddenly realized that what she was drinking was actually in fact, a living thing''s blood. The blood suddenly began to flare up in Garnet''s body, causing her to feel a hot sensation flow throughout her body. She had experienced this before, but it was less severe. Class Change: Hero -> Hero of Mana Stat Increase: Strength+50 Stat Increase: Dexterity+50 Stat Increase: Intelligence+50 Stat Increase: Vitality+50 Stat Increase: Agility+50 Stat Increase: Charisma+50 New Skill: Note: Will unlock with time Skill Unsealed: Crystal Bolt (Level 1) A bolt that deals blunt damage with the first hit, but then explodes into smaller fragments that pierces. MP Cost: 500 New Skill: Earth Spike (Level 1) Fire a sharp rock at your target. More effective against armored targets. MP Cost: 30 New Skill: Stone Claw (Level 1) Wraps your arms in stone, reinforcing your attacks with extra weight and power MP Cost: 100 Skill Upgrade: Shadow Bind + Blood Bind + Vine Bind -> Elemental Binding In addition to lowering the target''s stats and abilities, it also prevents your target from using skills. MP Cost: 500 New Skill: Elemental Resistance (Level 1, Passive) Reduces damage taken from all magical sources by 10% New Skill: Fairy Blood (Level 1, Passive) Immunity to abnormal status effects New Skill: Transformation: Fairy Enhances the power of multiple elemental spells and increases your defense against elemental sources MP Cost: -50% Max MP Quest Complete: Divine Power Gained the approval of Silwest There were not a lot of new skills, but they were all very powerful. Stacking the damage reduction passives made even the most powerful of attacks deal significantly less damage. The skill that stood out to Garnet was Crystal Bolt, the skill that Marianne had used on her before. Now, she could use it as well. Garnet also acquired a new transformation, Fairy. Judging from the bonuses, it was a form that was more defensive than her Queen of the Night or her Nine Tailed Fox transformation. "Transformation: Fairy!" She could not help but try it out. Her clothes turned green and gold. Her winds split into four light green transparent wings. Her hair even turned green. "Be careful in your pursuit of power," Silwest interrupted. Garnet turned to Silwest and asked, "What do you mean?" "In pursuing power, there is a chance you might become a monster yourself," said Silwest. Garnet had never thought about it that way. She had always been absorbing the blood and essence of whatever she defeated. It made her stronger because a human''s body is a lot weaker and more fragile than people realize. It was possible that at some point, she would absorb too much and even her original body would transform. It was even possible that her judgment and decision making abilities were affected since she justified her own ruthlessness at times. Absorbing the Siren was what caused her first unintentional transformation. Thinking about it now, she was surprised that the other things she absorbed did not change her as much. "I''ll be careful," said Garnet. "See that you do," said SIlwest. "I don''t want you to transform into another monster." "What does that have to do with anything?" Garnet asked. "It is believed that when a Hero loses the blessing of the Hero System, they are said to have become a monster that can no longer be worthy of saving the world," said Silwest. This was surprising news to Garnet. It was actually possible to lose the Hero System based on your own actions. Just awakening to it did not mean it was yours to keep. If you lost its approval, you lost its power as well. It was also possible that there was a time limit to being a Hero. Despite Garnet''s semi-immortality, absorbing the blood and essence of so many creatures could one day transform her into a monster incapable of wielding the Hero System. The question was what happened to those that did lose the blessing. "Do you know of anyone like that?" Garnet asked. "No," said Silwest. "I have seen others come close, but it is possible that a Hero who loses the blessing will become an equally powerful monster." Spoiler :
Name: Garnet Level: 55 Class: Chaos Mage / Queen / Hero Sub-class: Queen of the Night Stats: HP: 4880/4880 MP: 17360/17360 Fame: 220 Strength: 257 (+5) Dexterity: 222 (+7) Intelligence: 566 (+22) Vitality: 198 (+5) Agility: 230 (+7) Charisma: 112 (+20)
PROFICIENCY:
Weapon: - One Handed Sword ¨C 7 - Hand to Hand ¨C 5 - Staff - 1
Magic: - Fire ¨C 10 - Lightning ¨C 16 - Wind ¨C 7 - Water - 2 - Summoning ¨C 12 - Blood ¨C 6 - Metal - 0 - Shadow - 0
SKILLS:
Weapon (One Handed Sword): - Horizontal Slash (Level 3) - Double Slash (Level 3) - Crescent Slash (Level 1) - Triple Slash (Level 1) - Delta Attack (Level 1) - Spiral (Level 1)
Weapon (Hand to Hand): - Palm Strike (Level 1) - Wind Palm (Level 2) - Explosive Palm (Level 3) - Lightning Palm (Level 2) - Lightning Fire Palm (Level 1) - Sweeping Kick (Level 1) - Horizontal Kick (Level 1) - Uppercut (Level 1) - Ki Burst (Level 1) - Demsey Roll (Level 1)
Weapon (Staff): - Thrust (Level 2) - Swinging Smash (Level 1) - Double Strike (Level 1) - Triple Strike (Level 1) - Quadruple Strike (Level 1) - Vertical Smash (Level 1)
Class (Dark Mage): - Fire Bolt (Level 5) - Fire Ball (Level 2) - Incinerate (Level 1) - Fire Breath (Level 1) - Lightning Bolt (Level 8) - Chain Lightning (Level 4) - Lightning Ray (Level 3) - Lightning Blast (Level 1) - Lightning Breath (Level 1) - Light (Level 1) - Air Bullet (Level 4) - Wind Blade (Level 1) - Wind Breath (Level 1) - Aqua Strike (Level 2) - Jet Stream (Level 2) - Aqua Breath (Level 1) - Water Wall (Level 1) - Icicle Lance (Level 1) - Shadow Grip (Level 1) - Shadow Crush (Level 1) - Shadow Wall (Level 1) - Sword Rain (Level 1) - Earth Spike (Level 1) - Stone Claw (Level 1) - Wood Prison (Level 1) <- - Heat Wave (Level 1) - Lightning Fire Bolt (Level 3) - Crimson Lotus: Blade of Lightning (Level 2) - Tri-Element Breath (Level 1) - Elemental Binding (Level 1) - Crystal Bolt (Level 1) - Mugen (Level 1) - Mana Armor (Level 2) - Call: Cerberus (Level 1) - Call: Revenant (Level 1) - Call: Death Knight (Level 1) - Call: Romulus, Knight of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Sylvia, Priestess of Blood (Level 1) - Call: Lilith (Level 1) - Call: Nuria (Level 1) - Call: Mazu (Level 1) - Call: Sino (Level 1) - Call: Meliae (Level 1) - Call: Serena (Level 1) - Call: Nian (Level 1) - Call: Sunny (Level 1) - Call: Anna (Level 1) - Call: Kaimera (Level 1) - Recall - Dismiss - Quintessence Force (Level 1) - Lightning Fire (Passive) - Essence Absorption (Level 1) - Blood Scythe (Level 2) - Blood Sacrifice (Level 1) - Blood Bullet (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Lightning Fire Form (Level 1) - Transformation: Nine Tailed Fox (Level 1) - Transformation: Fairy (Level 1) - Fox Fire (Level 1) - Teleportation (Level 1) - Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1) - Instance Dungeon Creation (Level 1) - Spirit Union - Spirit Link (Passive) - Spirit Transmigration (Level 1) - Final Strike (Level 1)
Sub-class (Queen of the Night): - Supernatural Body (Level 1) - Captivation (Level 3) - Cosmic Awareness (Level 1, Passive) - Embodiment of Lust (Level 1) - Shadow Warp (Level 1) - Sonic Scream (Level 1) - Doppelganger (Level 1) - Doppel Rush (Level 1) - Flight (Level 1) - Aura of Nightmares (Level 1, Passive) - Plate Armor (Level 1, Passive) - Elemental Resistance (Level 1, Passive) - Fairy Blood (Level 1, Passive) - Transformation (Level 1) - Partial Transformation (Level 1) - Transformation: Queen of the Night (Level 1)
Tradeskills: - Hunting (Level 5) - Hunter - Cooking (Level 9) - Cook - Inspection (Level 5) - Sewing (Level 4) ¨C Tailor - Advanced Magicraft (Level 1) ¨C Alchemist - Magic Seal (Level 1) - Advanced Enhancement (Level 1) - Alchemist - Disassemble (Level 1) - Inventory Expansion (Level 4)
Passives: - Hand to Hand (Level 1) - One Handed Sword (Level 1) - Staff (Level 1) - Reflex (Level 5) - Haste (Level 3) - Scale Armor (Level 1) - Protection of the Golden Dragon (Level 1) - Scaled Wings of the Dragon (Level 1) - Aura of Leadership (Level 1) - Aura of the Hero (Level 1) - Summoning Commander (Level 1) - Queen''s Presence (Level 1) - Fire Mastery (Level 2) - Transformation Mastery (Level 1) - Earth Chakra (Level 1) - High Speed Regeneration (Level 1)
Unique: - Hero System (Level 3, Passive) - Minion Development (Level 2, Passive) - Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive) - Golden Tongue (Passive) - Mana Compatibility (Passive) - Quick Learner (Passive) - Channeling (Passive) - Charging (Passive) - Night Vision (Passive) - Guardian Contract (Level 1) - Thaumaturgy (Passive) - Magic Negation (Passive) - Double Jump (Passive)
Book 9 - Chapter 073Z - Han Dou Gus Plan After a long search with his connections, Zedd had finally tracked down Han Dou Gu. He was staying at one of the vacation homes of the royal family. It was not surprising since he was the Prince of the Eastern Empire. Strangely enough though, he was not protected at all. There were no guards at the door. There were no caretakers cleaning up the place, yet it looked like it had been perfectly maintained the whole time. That was suspicious enough for Zedd to realize that someone was indeed staying here. If not, the grass should have grown through the cracks in the ground. The walls should have been faded with color. Zedd stepped up to the door and knocked. "Is anyone there?" he asked. His goal was to pretend to be a lost wanderer and see what information he could get out of Prince Han Dou Gu. An old man opened the door partially. It was not the Prince. The Prince should have been in his twenties. This old man had a moustache and liver spots on his face. He had a lot of wrinkles. He wore a black and grey robe. However, he was by no means frail. His arms were very muscular and he was physically well built. He looked like someone who was both a trusted servant and a guard, someone who would be very close to the Han Family. "Yes?" the old man asked. Zedd did not expect this. His informant was very reliable and someone was close friends with. It was possible that the old man was not the only person here. "Is the Master of the House here?" he asked. The old man opened the door all the way. "The master is on the porch," said the old man. "Thank you," said Zedd as he walked forward. When he turned around to look, the old man had disappeared. He was surprised by this. The old man was either very strong or a mirage. Either way, it meant something important was here. The courtyard was decently sized. It had two trees, one on each side for symmetry. At the back was a set of stairs that led to the porch and the house. At the porch was a young man sitting with a folding fan, just fanning himself. He was looking at a Go board. He was playing a match against himself. It was something that people used to train themselves mentally, provided they were already skilled enough. "I''ve been expecting you," said the young man. He wore a black and gold robe with the crest of the Han Royal Family, two dragons that were chasing one another. "It''s been a long time, Zedd." Zedd tried to remember where he had seen the young man before, but he could not. "May I ask who you are?" "Do you not remember me?" the young man asked. "Well, when we last saw, I was but a child, so of course you probably do not recognize me." "I am sorry," said Zedd. "I try to remember everyone I meet, but I cannot remember you." "My name is Han Dou Gu," said the young man. "I was present at my uncle''s funeral, when my father ascended to the throne." Zedd tried to remember. That was a long time ago. At the end of one of the many Civil Wars of the Eastern Empire, it resulted in the death of Han Ping. That was the death that Han Dou Gu was probably talking about. His father, Han Ming, then took the throne since he was the younger cousin and the next in line. That concluded the war and Zedd left the Eastern Empire since. "I know you''re here because of what you saw," said Han Dou Gu. "!" Zedd was surprised. "I have my own connections and information sources," said Han Dou Gu. "But I mean you no harm." "Those creatures though," said Zedd. "They''re the kind that the Guides use in their Invasion." "What if I told you they were copies of species from another world," said Han Dou Gu. "The ones you saw are the original Demi-Humans of various worlds." "Why are they here?" Zedd asked. "What are you doing with them?" "They are here to help me unify the Eastern Empire under the Han Family," said Han Dou Gu. "I''m tired of these clans fighting amongst themselves. They care more about their own power and with the threat of the Guides coming ever closer, we can no longer sit back and wait." "You''re planning a rebellion against your father?!?" said Zedd. "No," said Han Dou Gu. "I am threatening to forcibly subjugate those that do not obey." "That''s madness!" said Zedd. "You may think so, but I can no longer wait," said Han Dou Gu. "My sources tell me that there are a group of powerful Guides coming in addition to another group of Guides that are growing in number to the West." Zedd was thinking of what group Han Dou Gu was talking about, but he had never heard of such a thing. "There''s a group of Guides to the West?" said Zedd. "How do I not know?" "They formed recently," said Han Dou Gu. "They must have gained access to the Trial Grounds and are putting all their members through the test. They currently number in about thirty, maybe close to forty now. When they attack, it will be in extremely large numbers." "Guides from our own world," said Zedd. However, he knew he could not trust Han Dou Gu at his word. He needed proof. "I need to verify the information." "No need," said Han Dou Gu. "Master Arthur, please bring out the leaders." The old man returned. Han Dou Gu had called him Master, meaning that he was either a teacher or someone much higher ranking than Han Dou Gu himself. "There''s no need for that," said the old man. He had reappeared next to Zedd. His speed signaled that he was at least someone on Anna''s level. Zedd turned to face him and saw five other Demi-Humans with him. There were Goblin, Orc, Kobold, Merfolk, and Fairy. They were often summoned creatures. He never imagined that they were actually real species of living creatures. "Is he Zedd?" the fairy asked. She was strange. She had what appeared to be pink leaves and translucent wings covering her entire body. Her presence was that of a half human and half spirit. It was a strange feeling and sight. "Yes," said Han Dou Gu. "If you want help, you will need to plea to him and his Master." The goblin turned to Zedd and dropped to his knees to bow. It was the Eastern Empire''s tradition for when you were willing to give up everything you have in order to ask for help. Han Dou Gu had probably taught them. "Please, we want to live in Constantinople," said the goblin. "My name is Mudfoot Greytac." This was something that Zedd did not expect. He had expected Han Dou Gu to be an enemy, but this was clearly different. "Then why is the Phoenix Clan so suspicious of you?" Zedd asked. "That''s because of me," said Arthur. "Allow me to reveal my true self to you." An incredibly dark aura surrounded Arthur. The robe around him had turned completely black. It was the robe of a Guide. An enormous black shadowy creature emerged from behind him. Zedd recognized it as a low level demon. This was a Guide that had subdued or entered a contract with a demon. Zedd readied his sword in response. "I am not an enemy," said Arthur. "I know I cannot undo what I have done, but I am here to help." "Master Arthur is my teacher," said Han Dou Gu. "He has guided me in the ways of magic, chi, and divine energy." "But why?" said Zedd. "Aren''t you all fighting amongst each other to create stronger armies and gain the leadership of the Guides?" "Along with a few others, I have abandoned that goal and worked towards protecting the other worlds," said Arthur. "Why the sudden change of heart?" Zedd asked. "My daughter," said Arthur. "Xena, come out." A young girl with light blue skin came out from inside the house. She wore a white dress and had a pair of small brown horns on her head, partially covered by her hair. She had blue scales on parts of her body. Zedd guessed her age to be around twelve or thirteen. "Say hi to our guests," said Arthur. "Hello," said the girl as she did herself behind Arthur''s leg. "My name is Xena." She was shy and only looked over Arthur''s shoulder to look at Zedd before turning away. This was definitely something that Zedd had not expected. There was something strange about Xena though. Her presence was nothing like that of a demon''s. It felt more like a spirit''s. "Confused?" Arthur asked. "Very," said Zedd. "She is the daughter of a human and a demon," said Arthur. "I escaped with Isis, my wife and her mother, when we realized how much of a danger this war was becoming." If someone as strong as Arthur had to run, that means that this war was becoming far more dangerous and larger than Zedd could ever imagine. It was no longer just a war between Guides and the occasional Guide and world. This was literally an interplanetary war with no clear side. At any moment, their world could be dragged in. "So what''s your plan?" Zedd asked.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "I have already secured the support of the Scarlet Fairy, Burning Heaven, Xiao Poison, Descending Dragon, and Midnight Lotus clans," said Han Dou Gu. "They are not big, but they are powerful." "Then why the sneaky tricks with the Golden Dragon Clan?" Zedd asked. "We needed a common enemy," said Han Dou Gu. "A reason to forcibly subjugate the clans." "No," said Zedd. "That will not work. You need to convince them to be willing participants." "That''s the point of the tricks," said Arthur. "Is it not right?" "Of course not," said Zedd. "We will use the Annual Tournament in our favor instead." "How?" Han Dou Gu asked. "That''s only a few months away." "Gather the leadership of the clans that support you," said Zedd. "We are going to have them share knowledge and declare an open alliance." "That will not work," said Han Dou Gu. "Do you know how secret they keep their techniques?" "Exactly," said Zedd. "But at the same time, what if you could demonstrate the strength of an individual who had the support of all the clans and was able to integrate the techniques?" Zedd asked. "What if you had someone who had a perfect cultivation with no weaknesses and was done under the support and guidance of the Han Family?" Zedd has seen how strong Garnet had become by integrating different techniques together. If he could convince these members to do the same, then they would all become very powerful. "Propaganda," said Arthur. "Brilliant." "Yes," said Zedd. "We will use the tournament to our advantage and demonstrate exactly how strong each of these clans are. In fact, this will work best if you have their leadership formed by senior members of each of the five clans and the participants be one disciple from each clan." "I will send for them immediately," said Arthur. "Wait," said Zedd. "For the Xiao Sect, I have a condition." "What is it?" Han Dou Gu asked. "They need to forgive Xiaomei and accept her back into the clan," said Zedd. "That is the only condition." After a week had passed, sure enough, the heads of each of the clans showed up with their top disciples. The exception to this was the Xiao Clan, which had brought Xiaomei as their representative. Despite his age, he has been able to maintain his youthful appearance with his qi. There was a slight greying of his hair, but otherwise, he looked like a man in his thirties when he should be Zedd''s age as well. "It''s been a while," said Xiao Ru. He was one of the Senior Masters of the Xiao Clan and someone that Zedd had fought against a long time ago in the past. "It has," said Zedd. "You''re taking part?" "Of course," said Xiao Ru. "Your plans were always quite intricate and ingenious. If this works, the strength of the Eastern Empire will improve several fold." Zedd took a look at Xiaomei who was still a little nervous about this. She did not fully trust the Xiao Sect just yet. After all, they had been hunting for her for a while. It was a miracle that they were both here at the same place at the same time. The next to introduce themselves was a member of the Scarlet Fairy Sect. This was a sect of only women and one of the few gender select clans. The reason was that their primary cultivation technique only worked for women. Men who tried to practice it would bleed out for some reason. However, their true strength came from their runes. On each of their members'' forehead, hands, and chest was a rune that allowed them to channel their mana and qi to use an element they normally would not be able to. Thus, the average member was able to use every basic element of fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. The result was a small, but very powerful clan. "Headmistress Bai greets the Great Warlord," said the middle aged woman. She had tied up her shoulder length hair and wore a purple and pink dress. Zedd could tell there was some type of weapon strapped to her underarm. She pulled the arm of the younger girl gently to guide her. "This is Yue, my personal disciple." "Hello," said Yue. "Master Xiao Yu has spoken a lot about you." "Welcome," said Zedd. The Descending Dragon Clan was next. At first the two appeared to look like homeless men, but that was part of their attire. They wore worn clothes with straw hats and carried walking sticks. The senior member had a large white beard and carried a gourd of alcohol with him. "My name is Chen Guyan, Senior Member of the Descending Dragons. With me is my son, Chen Hong Qigong." Chen Hong Qigong was probably the oldest of the disciples here. He was in his mid-twenties and was already growing out a lot of facial hair. Nonetheless, if they were recognized as disciples and not masters, their age did not matter. "I hope you will participate with us," said Zedd. "Of course," said Chen Hong. "I expect this exchange of knowledge to benefit all of us." The Burning Heaven Clan wore bright red and gold clothes similar to that of the Divine Phoenix Clan. Instead of a phoenix though, they only had the symbol of a sun on their backs. That was what differentiated the two. "Greetings Warlord Zedd, I am Lord Su Rong," said the man. "It is nice of you to join us," said Zedd. "I hope this will benefit all of us." "This is my clan''s participant," said Su Rong. A girl stepped forward. She seemed more concerned with her beauty. She wore her long hair loose and had a ribbon to keep her hair together in a ponytail. She wore a red and gold colored top, but a skirt and shorts under with high boots as well. On her ears were a pair of red and gold earrings. "Greetings Master Zedd, my name is Su Mei," said the girl as she cupped her hands together and bowed. "I will try to learn everything I can from this exchange." There was something about the girl''s tone of voice and her appearance. There was a stark contrast with her eyes of seriousness. She seemed more serious about this from her tone than any of the others. She looked at Zedd with intense determination. "No need to bow before me," said Zedd. "This is meant to be a friendly exchange." The girl let her hands apart. Zedd could see the scars and damage on her hands. It was the results of intense training and physical work. She had the appearance of a young girl and probably used her cultivation to improve her physical appearance, but she had chosen to keep the scars on her hand as proof of her hard work. By far, she had the most potential of the group so far. The last person to introduce themselves was the Midnight Lotus Clan. They wore black and purple and covered up their entire bodies from head to do. Only from their voices could Zedd tell one was a man and one was a woman. "Greetings," said Zedd. "Hello, Warlord Zedd," said the taller man. "I am Shao Luan, Third Master of the Midnight Lotus Clan." "I am Yueli," said the girl. "Prime Disciple of the Midnight Lotus Clan." Zedd could tell from her voice and tone that she was younger. The good thing was that no one was trying to cheat them so far. "I''ve never heard of that title," said Zedd. "What does it mean?" "It means that she is first in line to become a Master," said Shao Luan. "I see," said Zedd. "Welcome." Each of the Seniors lined up with their Juniors. It was interesting to see such a gathering of people. "I assume you know why we have gathered you all here today," said Zedd. Arthur and Han Dou Gu stood next to Zedd. "In order to reunite the Eastern Empire, we must demonstrate that there is strength in unity!" Zedd shouted. "That is why, from today until the tournament, we will be exchanging skills and techniques at an unprecedented level." There were no objections. Everyone else was already informed and stared at him. "If you are here to take advantage of this opportunity, then leave, the future of the Eastern Empire has no room for you," said Zedd. He looked around and saw that there were no objections. "Allow me to be the first to demonstrate and teach you," said Zedd. "My greatest lightning spell, the Lightning Cage." Five rods instantly fell around them as lightning crossed towards the center. An enormous pillar of lightning then fell in the shape of a spear at the center. None of this hit any of the observers. Zedd began to give instructions on how to use this spell, "This is a technique that relies fully on mana, though you can use your chi to make the creation of the spears much easier." Zedd raised a small shield around each person. "Please do not move," he said. A final enormous spear fell from the sky. BOOM. The explosive power fell at the center, raising an enormous cloud of dust. Zedd had used his expert control of his mana to make sure that no one would be hurt from this. "Incredible," said Su Mei. "I am giving each of you this scroll," said Zedd as he revealed five copies of the scroll. "This is my gift to each of you. I hope you all will collaborate in your endeavors." With this, Zedd took a step back and gave the stage to Han Dou Gu. "I am Prince Han Dou Gu of the Eastern Empire second in line for the throne," he said. "However, my goal is not the overthrow of the Han Family or becoming Emperor. My goal is the reunification of the fractured Eastern Empire. This is my goal and I hope to achieve this peacefully. We will encounter many challenges and those who may lie, but we can leave those people under watch as the rest of us surpass them in every shape and form!" Arthur began to take out a bag. "This is our gift to you," said Arthur as he began to hand out a small pouch to each of them. "This is!" said Cheng Hong. Xiao Yu opened his bag and saw what was inside. He took it out. It was two small golden red vials filled with a bright red liquid. He kept looking at it to make sure it was real. "These are Spiritual King Elixirs!" he shouted. "One of these is said to benefit even those who are trying to achieve the level of Spirit Emperor!" This raised some suspicion. "Rest assured, they are not poisoned," said Han Dou Gu. "This is our gift to you from me and Arthur. There is only one for each of you." Such a great gift had raised suspicions from some of the others. This relied on an individual to break this. This was Xiaomei''s job. She opened the vial and drank it without hesitation or second thoughts. Immediately, Xiaomei''s chi began to condense and become much thicker. The chi around her body had more than doubled and continued to flow outward from her body. She closed her eyes and focused on ensuring that as much of it as possible remained in her body instead of escaping. Green scales began to form around Xiaomei''s cheeks. It was one of the transformation techniques of the Xiao clan. She began to channel her own chi to burn up as much of it as possible so that the dense chi from the Spiritual King Elixirs could be absorbed into her body. Several times, they felt a rush of chi escape from her body before disappearing. It had been about ten minutes before the release and disappearance of chi had disappeared. Altogether, Xiaomei had absorbed a majority of the power from the Spiritual King Elixir. "Ha!" Xiaomei shouted as she released a burst of her Intent and thus, her chi outward. Even the Masters from the various clans were unable to contend with her newfound strength. Her body had transformed though. She had the snake scales present on the sides of her face. However, this was insignificant compared to the unparalleled power that was granted by the elixir. Zedd realized that this power was similar to what Ascension did for him. It was likely that this elixir could push those that were near Ascension through to the next level, much like what Garnet helped him do when he reached his bottleneck. Forcing yourself through the bottleneck to the next level is extremely rare and extremely difficult to do. Many cultivators seek out immense resources to do so, but still fail. As a result, items like the Spiritual King Elixirs are extremely rare resources that cultivators would kill for. "Unfortunately, the resources to manufacture this are rare," said Han Dou Gu. "Ten was all we could make. Whether you give it to the senior member or junior member of your clan is up to you, but you only get two each." There was immense temptation to get it for yourself because of how much power it could grant. But, Xiao Yu knew better. The future of a clan was in its Juniors. Without them, there is no future to the clan. He took his and handed it to Xiaomei. "You take it," he said. "You can make better use of it than I can." Xiaomei reached out with both hands to receive it. "Thank you," she said. The rest were still a little hesitant to act because the treasure in their hands was the same as having immense wealth. To use it up would be like burning away a mountain of gold. "I will be the next to share," said Yue. "Although many of my techniques are restricted to women only, this one is not." Yue took out five stones. She reached out to Xiao Yu''s hand. "I can put one in your forehead, hands, and chest," said Yue. "What element can you not use?" she asked. "Fire," said Xiao Yu. "I can use Earth and Water." Su Mei took out a stone with a small red flame on it. She pressed it against his palm. The stone melted into a liquid as it merged with Xiao Yu''s palm. A small flame mark appeared. She handed a single page to Xiao Yu. "This is a basic Fire Bolt," said Yue. "Learn it." Xiao Yu took a few minutes to read the scroll. He then aimed his fingers straight up into the air and shouted, "Fire Bolt!" BANG. The sound of a bolt shooting. BOOM. There was an explosion in the distance. Xiao Yu had just used a fire spell, something he could not do before. "I can use fire¡­" he said. "How?" "These runes grant individuals who cannot use an element the ability to use them," said Yue. "This is my clan''s gift for this exchange." "This is mine to yours," said Xiao Yu as he held up Yue''s hand. "Hold still." Using his other hand, he used the tip of his nails to inject something into Su Mei''s hand. "Ah!" Yue moaned as she fell to the ground. Headmistress Bai was surprised and rushed to help Su Mei. "What did you do?!?" Bai asked angrily. "Poison resistance," said Xiao Yu. "As a poison clan, we can often use our own poison to counteract another. By giving you a small amount of it, your body will become resistant to it in the future. Over time, it will also grow and become part of you, allowing you to resist almost any lethal poison. That is my gift." For a minute Yue was dizzy before she recovered. She then stood back up as if nothing happened. The wound in her hand had fully healed already. These three exchanges began to force the others to move. The Chen Guyan handed each of them a scroll, "The Descending Dragon Palm, our clan''s most powerful hand to hand technique." This one was something for them to learn themselves. Shao Luan was next. He too took out a scroll. "Movement skill, Midnight Shadows," he said. In a flash, he had disappeared. It was an incredibly high speed movement technique that left no sound or traces. He then suddenly reappeared behind Arthur who was already facing him. "!" Shao Luan was surprised that Arthur could keep up. "Very good," said Arthur. "But you forgot to completely hide your presence." "I underestimated you," said Shao Luan. "This skill is for you all to use." The last was the Burning Heaven clan. "Like Zedd,''s mine is more of a demonstration, but I fear I cannot control it, so I will inscribe it in a scroll here," he said as he took out a single copy of the scroll. "I only had time now to make one, so I will provide more later." The scroll detailed six of the techniques of the Burning Heaven Clan, first to sixth verse. "You can incorporate any element into the techniques," he said with his sword drawn. As he swung the sword, flames emerged and scattered around. It was a sword style that incorporated the power of a spirit and the elements that one could use. All of these were great techniques. "So, for the next few months, I ask that each of you train and develop the skills that were demonstrated here," said Han Dou Gu. "The Seniors, Zedd, and myself, will do our best to help facilitate this and help teach the Juniors that may not comprehend a technique." "On the day of the Annual Tournament, we will enter as the Five Elements Alliance," said Zedd. "This will be the founding of a new clan, one that promotes unity rather than separation. With our strength, we will convince the other clans to unify together!" There were smiles and hopeful faces. This was the first step. The second step now was to make sure that there was not going to be a negative reaction. When clans came together it was often bad, they wanted to either challenge a stronger clan to bring them down or declare a revolution. With Han Dou Gu, backing them, it was not exactly going to be clear. They were going to need something greater. "Arthur, I have a favor to ask of you," Zedd whispered. "What is it?" Arthur asked. "Can you control that demon of yours independently?" Zedd asked. "Yes," said Arthur. "Why?" "On the day of the Annual Tournament, I want you to use it to attack," said Zedd. "The Five Elements Alliance will then fight back against it." "Are you sure?" Arthur asked. "You can try to cause minimal damage and focus on targeting certain strong fighters to avoid causing unnecessary death," said Zedd. "But only do this if you notice there is considerable worry or opposition to the Five Elements Alliance during the Opening Ceremony. Can I trust you do to this?" Zedd asked Arthur. "Yes," said Arthur. "I have seen the strength of these people. Each one of them can be a match for a legion of Invaders or even the low level Guides. If we can bring them together, we may be able to challenge the high level ones." The high level Guides were another problem altogether. Anna had mentioned that even she was not strong enough to fight them. There was certainly going to be a day when they were going to clash. This was what Han Dou Gu and Arthur were already preparing for. Zedd now had to prepare for it as well. He looked at the earring in his hand. "I suppose I need to tell her now," he said. "Better sooner than to let her find out about it after." Chapter 074 - Arthur the Betrayer As Garnet returned from the fog world, she could immediately tell something was wrong. She felt the presence of a Guide, and it was coming from the man standing next to Zedd. "Get away from him!" Garnet shouted. "It''s okay," said Zedd. "We know who he is and what he is." "Why is he here?!?" Garnet asked. "He wanted to offer an exchange, but it requires your approval," said Zedd. The man with the black robe stepped forward. He removed his hood and revealed his wrinkly face. He was very old. His moustache twitched with his nose. Name: Arthur the Betrayer Level: 201 (108) Class: Wyrmfolk Sub-Class: Guide / Dark Fire Mage Stats: High Intelligence "My name is Arthur," said Arthur. "I wish to seek shelter in Constantinople." "Why should I help you?" Garnet asked. "My daughter needs somewhere to be safe," said Arthur. "Constantinople is the best place." Garnet was a little surprised. Arthur was doing it for his family. "How do you know that Constantinople is the best place?" Garnet asked. "Because Constantinople is at the center of the Nexus here," Arthur answered. "What Nexus?" Garnet asked. "Do you not know?" said Arthur. "I do not know what you are talking about," said Garnet. "Listen, Constantinople is the center city here," Arthur explained. "If you have control over Peking and Anzio as well, you can activate the Nexus and turn this world into a near impenetrable fortress." This was the first that Garnet has heard about this. "So Peking and Anzio are like Constantinople?" Garnet asked. "Yes," Arthur answered. "Each of them has a city built under them by a past Hero. The three of them together amplify Constantinople''s defensive abilities and turns it into the ultimate weapon against the attacking Guides." "And how do you know this?" Garnet asked. "Several hundred years, a Hero by the name of Jesse activated two of the three," said Arthur. "But no Hero since then has been able to activate more than one." This was the first time Garnet had heard of this. Arthur was much older than he looked to know this. It looked like Zedd trusted him, so there was no reason to not trust Arthur for now. "Alright," said Garnet. "But, Anna will keep a close eye on you. One wrong move and you''re out, got it?" "Yes," Arthur answered. "Zedd, go help Arthur''s people," Garnet commanded. "Please see to it my daughter is taken care of," said Arthur. The little girl with scales and horns that walked out with the others gave Arthur a hug before continuing. She was his daughter. There were Merfolk, Goblins, Kobolds, and others that went with Zedd. It really was a lot of demi-humans. "Are you not going?" Garnet asked Arthur. "I will stay here and teach you to fight against others like me," said Arthur. "I will help you in your fight as much as I can." Arthur was willing to expose his own weaknesses to help Garnet. "Like what?" Garnet asked. Arthur''s shadow emerged as a monster behind him. It was a black shadowy mist that began to solidify and looked exactly like Arthur. "This is what a high level Guide is capable of," said Arthur. Garnet then realized what it looked like, Yarik. Yarik and some of the other Guides used multiple bodies and coordinated their attacks. But, this was on a completely different level Arthur had a separate body that he could control at will. It was an advanced form of just coordinating attacks with your clone. With the shadow, Arthur could perfectly coordinate two attacks at once. "This is but one of our tricks," said Arthur. Garnet was definitely going to need additional experience. Fighting Arthur was going to be like fighting one of the stronger Guides. That is, as long as Arthur could be trusted. "So, teach me," said Garnet. "Is that your fighting form?" Arthur asked. "Transformation: Queen of the Night!" Garnet revealed her transformation to Arthur. "Transformation: Lightning Fire Form!" The two stacked on top of one another, causing the tips of Garnet''s wings to flicker with lightning and flames to rise.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Is that it?" Arthur asked. "What do you mean by that?" Garnet asked. "Observe," said Arthur. "Demonic: Transformation: Emperor of Darkness!" The sky darkened as the black shadow that stood behind Arthur fused with his body. His entire body turned much darker as his dark aura wrapped his body. It appeared as if his entire body was wrapped in black flames. His skin turned purple in color as black scales appeared over his face. "This is a Demonic Transformation, one that Guides use to match the power of the Divine that Heroes possess." Garnet was shocked at this. She had acquired some divine power from Silwest, but it paled in comparison to what Arthur was displaying. His power was literally warping the space around them and would completely overshadowed Garnet''s transformation if his power was not being repressed by Garnet''s passive skills. "How?" Garnet asked. "How did you do that?" "You need to fuse the divine spark you possess within you with your mana," Arthur explained. "Then, your transformations will fuse, creating a more powerful form. I heard the greatest Hero ever manage to take it one step further and specialize her Divine Transformation and regain all of her past transformations and made them even more powerful." "So this is the next step," Garnet said to herself. "I have to learn to use the divine energy that I now possess and fuse my transformations together." Garnet''s most powerful transformations were the Queen of the Night and the Nine-Tailed Fox. If she could fuse these two, then the power would be immense. The only question was how to do it. She had no idea where to start. She had divine energy in her body, but she had no idea how to utilize it. Arthur tossed Garnet a vial of bright red blood. "Drink it," said Arthur. "What is it?" Garnet asked. "A gift from Akiza," said Arthur. "The blood of the phoenix." Garnet looked at the vial to make sure. Name: Marrow of the Divine Phoenix Meiying Quality: Mythical Effect: Bestows high regeneration and the ability to use phoenix arts to the being who consumes this. Garnet popped open the vial and drank it. Her entire body burst into flames. New Skill: Transformation: Phoenix A form capable of flight and overwhelming flames. These flames can be used to heal allies and hurt enemies. MP Cost: 0 New Skill: Flame Heart Heals a target for 1% of your maximum mana per second for ten seconds MP Cost: 500 New Skill: Blazing Phoenix Scorches the target area with phoenix fire, preventing healing effects while the flames burn on the target. MP Cost: 500 New Skill: High Speed Regeneration (Level 1, Passive) Restores 1% of your maximum HP every second. It was another transformation. Garnet could feel something different within herself. It was as if the mana in her body began to condense into something thicker. Instead of freely flowing through her body, the mana felt like slow moving molasses that pushed against her body. Her entire body felt warm as the phoenix blood fused inside of her body. Now came the real problem, combining the individual transformations into one. There were: Queen of the Night, Nine-Tailed Fox, Fairy, and Phoenix. Garnet focused on one thing, Partial Transformation. Garnet did her best to only transform parts of her at a time. She activated the head part of the Queen of the Night, the tails of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the wings of the Fairy, and the burning body of the Phoenix. She looked like a hideous chimera experiment that attempted to fuse different creatures together. Yet, for a brief moment, their power could all be felt flowing through her body at the same time. "It''s not as simple as just activating each one partially," said Arthur. "You need to activate all their full transformations at the same time." The problem for Garnet was that when she activated another transformation, it would overwrite the previous one, making it impossible. There was a limit to how much she could achieve through brute force with the Hero System. While in the past, it was able to mold some skills through sheer willpower, the transformation was a lot harder to do. She was missing something to help fuse the skills together. She was capable of using them individually, but the essence of the combined form was still foreign to her. There was a lack of understanding for some aspect of it. Garnet tried different combinations of Partial Transformation, but it was nothing compared to Arthur''s transformation. Arthur''s transformation was the perfect combination of at least what appeared to be three transformations. The flow of his mana and demonic energy within his body had perfectly melded together. When Garnet used her Partial Transformation, it was not a perfect melding. The mana within her body was still separate, it would take on properties of that specific form when her mana neared that part of her body. The result was an imperfect combination. She needed to maintain the same combination throughout her body for the Divine Transformation to work. That meant a lot of practice, something that she absolutely hated. Garnet tried her best to balance the flow of the mana within her body. Her body would unintentionally transform and un-transform whenever her mana flow changed significantly enough. Finding the perfect balance was going to be difficult even though it was the key. The more forms you had to meld, the more difficult it was going to be. If one of the forms had a little too much mana placed into it, it would immediately overwhelm the others and Garnet would fully transform into one form. If there was not enough mana, then her body would not even transform. Garnet began to experiment with the mana. She not only tried different combinations of each form, but she needed to sense that spark of power. That spark was the key. She had felt it for a brief second when all the forms were activated at the same time, but she had no idea how to recreate the feeling. Yet, that feeling was going to be the key. She needed to find it again and hold it. The problem was that trying to transform into all of them partially at the same time no longer recreated the feeling. Garnet stacked the Lightning Fire Transformation on top of all her partial transformations. Again, she felt the light spark of power. The moment Garnet felt it, she held her mana output exactly at that amount, not changing it at all. Garnet could feel what felt like a fire burning near her heart in the mana reservoir. This was the key. This unique feeling of pain and discomfort began to spread throughout her body. The mana flow thickened and intensified as it forced its way through the vessels of Garnet''s body. There was unbearable pain, yet the pain compressed Garnet''s mana more and more. Over several days, the spark began to grow. Parts of Garnet''s transformations began to merge together, transforming into Lightning Fire as they did so. Through careful adjustments, Garnet could feel the spark grow and more parts of her transformation merge together. But, the outcome should be worth it. To combine the best aspects of each transformation would be incredible. Her power would grow several fold over. Garnet could feel something solidify within her mana core. It was as if something was growing inside of it. The spark was growing and in it, something else was growing. The mana, chi, and divine energy within her body gathered within her mana reservoir. From there, the chains around the dragon disintegrated. The pitch blackness was being replaced by solid stone. The dragon began to shrink in size as the stone emerged from the ground. Four colored flames were arranged in a square around a young blonde woman in a green shirt dress with green eyes who now stood where the dragon was. Garnet could feel the power flowing through her body as the blood vessels in her body were thickened and pushed to the brink. It felt as if her entire body was on fire. The vessels contracted as the power was pulled back into her mana reservoir. The four flames of black, blue, green, and orange within the temple in her mana reservoir crystallized. Skill Upgrade: Queen of the Night -> Empress Succubus Transforms the user into a great ruler of the night. All skills are enhanced by two levels. All stats are increased by one point for every three intelligence. MP Cost: 0 It had taken a while, but Garnet had done it. She had fused her forms together. She appeared almost entirely human now. Her wings were shaped like a succubus''s with a deep violet color, but transparent like a fairy''s now. All signs of horns, scales, and a tail disappeared. Yet, it felt like her body was even stronger than before. Most importantly of all, there was no mana consumption. That was the biggest advantage of all. Garnet could see a strange, but enormous black aura around Arthur and a strange white aura around herself. It was almost as if she could see the power her opponent had. "Very good," said Arthur. "You''ve achieved a Divine Transformation." "How do I compare?" Garnet asked. "Can you tell how strong I am?" Arthur shook his head. "I cannot without fighting you," said Arthur. "But, you should be about twice as strong as your previous form. That''s about how much changes when you move from a standard transformation to a Divine Transformation." The skill description matched that. The ratio of intelligence to stat gains was almost cut in half. But most importantly, the dragon within Garnet changed. It had become human form as well. There was something about divine energy that made things more human. The same might even apply to Arthur and his Demonic Transformation. "Incredible," said Garnet. "I feel like I can take on anything." "Don''t be too confident," said Arthur. "All of the high level Guides can do something similar. This will only put you on even ground." That was where Arthur was wrong in that aspect. Garnet had suppression abilities. Abilities that essentially let her crush her opponents if they were even. With the Annual Tournament less than a month away, Garnet needed to get used to this form before the fighting started. There was something still manipulating the clans of the Eastern Empire into fighting each other and she needed to stop them before they destroyed each other. Otherwise, the defensive wall they had set up might fall to a large attack. "Now I just need practice," said Garnet. "And that''s what I''m really here for," said Arthur. The shadow behind him split into six more. There were eight Arthurs that now circled around Garnet. Garnet was caught off guard by this. She did not expect Arthur to be able to do this. If a Guide could split into this many, facing more than one of them could still be dangerous. "Ready or not, here I come!" Arthur shouted. Chapter 075L - Lucy "After her!" the guards shouted. A girl with shoulder length black hair at just above five feet tall was running. She was running away from the guards wearing a blue uniform. She had taken something very important from the battlefield. It was only a few months ago that the black spheres appeared in the sky. Giant mechanical beasts rained down upon the battlefield. It was there that a pair of women fought against their leader and forced the mechanical beasts back. Since then, the army had begun to scavenge the remnants on the battlefield and attempted to reverse engineer the technology they found. One of those people that were working on it was Lucy. She had found a way to melt the metal on the creatures and turn it into a malleable metal. The result was what she called a "Power Suit." In theory, it would enhance the physical capabilities of its wearer tenfold. However, because of the materials used, the Power Suit was even greater than that. The suit could absorb mana from the atmosphere into its booster. The thicker the mana was, the faster it could recharge. For brief moments, it was possible to activate the booster, increasing regeneration, healing, strength, endurance, and speed for however long it lasted. The maximum amount of time was one minute. This was possible because the technology was amplified by magic, just like how the two women in the sky fought that day. "Stop, Lucy!" shouted Preston. Preston was the man in charge of the facility. He allowed Lucy in because of her extensive knowledge, but now, Lucy was the one who was going to ruin their plans. Lucy built nearly the entire suit by herself in the lab. "You cannot stop me," said Lucy. "I will find my brother!" "Your brother is dread!" said Preston. "Nothing can bring him back." "No, he is not!" Lucy answered back. "I will find him, even if it¡¯s the last thing I do." The visor on the suit lowered itself and covered Lucy''s face. She could see some general information about everything around her. Name: Preston Level: 70 Class: General / Soldier Sub-Class: Commander Stats: High Vitality Threat Level: Low Lucy turned around and continued running. She made her way past the scraps of metal that used to be the large fearsome creatures. As her breath ran short, the suit pumped extra energy into her body, instantly restoring her strength. With the suit, even her sickness could be halted. If she could make her way outside, then she would be free to pursue her brother through the black sphere. A large mechanical goliath stood in front of the exit, blocking Lucy. A goliath was a mechanized power armor that was built from the scraps of the Dreadnoughts during the attack. It was repurposed to allow someone to pilot it. Name: Machine Spirit ¨C Goliath Level: 95 Class: Machine Sub-Class: Invader Stats: High Vitality Threat Level: High Lucy activated the booster. Ten black blades appeared behind her, simulating wings. With a powerful push, Lucy increased her speed. BANG. She smashed into the Goliath and knocked it through the large gates. She had broken through the sealed exit through sheer force. Lucy immediately headed straight towards the black sphere in the sky. She had seen the two women disappear into there. One of them looked suspiciously like her brother. She might know where Riley was. Lucy penetrated the thick viscous black clouds. She could feel vibrations that shook her armor. It was still holding stable, but it was very dangerous. If the booster ran out, her suit might break as well. The black smoke cleared and all Lucy could see was a black sun with grey clouds. The mana was incredibly thick here, but there was not much else. The ground itself was cracked and barren. She had no idea where she was. As she looked around, there was not much around. There were no signs of life in any direction. As she looked closely, she spotted that the ground itself was not barren, but made up of sheets of metal. As far as the eyes could see, the ground was covered entirely by metal.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. As Lucy looked around, she spotted that there were machines building more machines. They were trying to replace the ones that were lost in the previous attack. As much as Lucy wanted to take them down, the weapons on her suit was poor. All she had was a single projectile weapon. It was not enough to take down the hundreds that they were building. Worst of all, if she attacked even just one, they might all turn around and attack her. For now, she needed to find a way out of here. She needed to find a way to where those two women went. If only there was a way to track them. Lucy looked around and spotted a few more black spheres in the sky. Each of them led to a different world. But, there was almost a dozen of them. She had no idea where to find her brother. She needed a clue of some kind. Two of the Machine Spirit ¨C Storm types took off into the black spheres. One headed to the black sphere that Lucy came from. One headed into another. Lucy followed the second one as it passed through the black sphere. The turbulence was a lot less than when she went through it by herself. The Machine Spirit ¨C Storm absorbed the brunt of it. When the turbulence cleared, Lucy could see a wide open plain. Behind her was an enormous wall that stretched as far as the eyes could see. The side panels on the Machine Spirit ¨C Storm opened up as the Dust Devils within began to rain down onto the ground. Lucy quickly let go and went off to hide in the hills in the distance. From there, she could observe the fight using the suit. The Machine Spirit ¨C Storm opened up an enormous blast towards the wall. But, it was met by someone who deflected the attack away. There was a man in black and gold who stood atop the wall. He had single handedly stopped the attack. A group of individuals in black and gold rushed to intercept the attackers. The Dust Devils began to glow with a yellow light and entered into a berserker frenzy, jumping at the closest enemy. One by one, the Dust Devils fell to slashes by the group in black and gold. Within a minute, they had all been stopped. "You know, you stand out in that," said someone from behind Lucy. Lucy turned around and saw a woman dressed as a maid. She recognized the woman from the attack on her world. Name: Anna Level: ??? Class: ??? Sub-Class: ??? Stats: ??? Threat Level: DANGER! Lucy was not able to see Anna''s abilities. But, the fact that it read danger meant that she needed to run. She turned around, but the maid was already in front of her. "You were there during the attack¡­" said Lucy. "Where did you get that suit?" Anna asked. The woman stared into Lucy''s eyes. "Riley? No, you''re not Riley." "You know a Riley that looks like me?!?" Lucy shouted. "I do," said Anna. "Please, take me to him," said Lucy. "Why?" Anna asked. "He''s my brother," said Lucy. "I''ve been looking for him." "He''s in the Forbidden City, scouting out the area before the Annual Tournament," said Anna. "I cannot bring you to him now." Anna remembered seeing Lucy''s face somewhere. "You''re that girl from Riley''s world, but why do you have that suit?" "I built it," said Lucy. Anna bit her finger nervously. "Who else has one?" "Just me," said Lucy. "I figured out how to make it by analyzing the remains from the attack, but I took it so that I could search for my brother." Anna let out a sigh of relief. "You must not let anyone, but your brother take a look at that suit do you understand?" Lucy nodded. "Will you take me to my brother if I do?" "Not yet," said Anna. "Your brother is doing something important in preparing for the upcoming war. You will have to wait to see him." "War?" said Lucy. "What war?" "A war that will decide the future of several words," said Anna. "But, I do have a task for you and your suit. If it works, you can help your brother come back more quickly as well." Lucy considered that it might be a trap. She did not know this woman very well, but she could have killed her at any point, but chose not to. For Lucy, this was a chance to survive and to find her brother. "What do you need me to do?" Lucy asked. "Far to the west is an enormous city called Anzio," said Anna. "I need you to go there and look for ruins beneath the city." "Ruins? What kind of ruins?" Lucy asked. "One that appears ancient, but has advanced technology," said Anna. "That is going to be key to the upcoming fight. If you can find it, it will make things easier for everyone and might be able to stop your home world from being attacked again." Lucy paused for a second, but she had to trust this woman. After all, this woman helped protect her world. She at least owed this woman a favor for that alone, even if it meant delaying seeing her brother. "In exchange, I want to see my brother as soon as possible," said Lucy. "I will tell him to wait for you in Constantinople when he is done here," said Anna. "Is that okay with you?" "Where is Constantinople?" Lucy asked. Anna placed her hand on Lucy''s shoulder. "Teleport!" In a flash, Lucy had moved to the middle of a large city. There were all sorts of strange creatures moving around and clearing up the rubble here. "Zedd!" Anna shouted. An old man flew towards them. "Who is this?" Zedd asked. "Riley''s sister," said Anna. "She''s going to help search Anzio." "Then if Riley and Garnet can take Peking with Akiza, we will be ready to face the Guides," said Zedd. Zedd turned to Lucy. "But can you handle it?" Zedd asked. "I will do anything you ask of me as long as I get to see my brother again," said Lucy. "Even kill?" Zedd asked. Lucy hesitated. "If it''s a bad person who intends to cause harm, I will kill," said Lucy. "But I will not kill innocent people." "Good," said Zedd with a smile. "Because if you were willing to harm innocent people, then we would have a problem." Anna handed Lucy a piece of paper. "You are looking for this," said Anna. Lucy took a look at the piece of paper. There was a symbol on it. In the center of it was three triangles with an inverted triangle at the center. Around the corner of each triangle was a sphere. "May I ask what this is?" "It is one third of a multi-world defense spell," Anna explained. "If we can get Garnet to activate and link all three cities, we can activate a defensive barrier that will force the Guides to this world and under the effects of a suppressing spell that will greatly weaken them and make them easy to kill." Lucy was surprised. She had no idea such a thing was possible. On her world, they were focused on increasing their own power to become a match for their enemies. They had never considered finding a way to weaken their enemies. But, if you could strengthen yourself while weakening your enemies, it would vastly increase the difference in power and it would also be easier than always trying to build something bigger and better since innovation would often reach a bottleneck at some point. By closing in from two directions, you could make it a lot easier. Zedd handed Lucy a few scraps of paper. "When you are ready to return, use one of these," said Zedd. "What is it?" Lucy asked. "A teleportation spell," Zedd answered. "Just channel your mana through it." "I can''t use mana," said Lucy. "Mana only comes from this suit." "Can you channel the mana from your suit into it?" Zedd asked. Lucy focused on activating the booster with the teleportation paper in hand. The paper lit up and flashed, warping Lucy several meters back where she first appeared in the city. "I guess that''s a yes," said Lucy. Chapter 074.2 - Arthurs Assault The spawned copies of Arthur''s shadows rushed Garnet from every direction. But, Garnet could feel their presence approaching. The aura they gave off allowed her to even tell which one was going to arrive first based on how close their aura was. Even though there were eight of them, it was stupid to send all of them to attack at once because they would just interfere with each other. So, they attacked in sequence. Garnet struck each one in the torso with a powerful palm strike as they approached, forcing them to retreat. "Is that all?" Garnet asked. This even made Arthur surprised. It was clear that Garnet''s abilities far surpassed what Arthur thought it was. If Arthur was a high level Guide, Garnet was going to be more than a match for several of them at a time. "Call: Minotaur King!" A humanoid bull about twice the size of a person with brown skin and far more muscles appeared. There was a ring on its nose and it carried an enormous sword in its hands. As it raised its sword, burning wings appeared on its back and a halo of flames appeared around its head. ROAR. The Minotaur King released a powerful roar that emitted a powerful wind pressure. It charged towards Garnet. Garnet struck the torso of the Minotaur King, sending it flying back. One of Arthur''s shadows immediately appeared just to the side of Garnet and another appeared right above her. They had used the Minotaur King to expose an opening. "Ki Burst!" BANG. The two shadows were evaporated. Garnet had completely outclassed Arthur. There was nothing he could do to penetrate her defenses. Arthur fell to his knees as the last shadow was taken out. ¡°You¡¯re so strong already¡­¡± said Arthur. The sweat from his forehead dripped down as he struggled to stand. It was clear that Garnet was stronger than what Arthur had thought. On top of that, Garnet had not used any secondary transformations either. She had won through pure fighting power. ¡°But I¡¯m not done yet!¡± said Arthur. He squeezed his hand tightly and blood began to flow. ¡°Armament: Doppelganger!¡± The shadows that emerged from his body were even darker than usual. They were also armed this time with blood red armor made of a familiar looking flexible metal that seemed to perfectly wrap around his body. His aura strengthened even further.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The doppelgangers spawned from his body no longer went down with a single hit. On top of that, they seemed a little different. It was as if each one was unique or had their own types of transformations. Garnet had to rely on multiple doppelgangers to take down each one. ¡°This is the true might of a high level Guide!¡± Arthur exclaimed. ¡°This is the might that you have to be able to resist!¡± Garnet punched as hard and as fast as she could while trying to summon more doppelgangers. But, her concentration was waning. It was difficult to concentrate on the fight while trying to command doppelgangers to attack as well. Somehow, Arthur was able to do it with his doppelgangers though. Arthur¡¯s doppelgangers were much more coordinated than Yarik¡¯s clones. The Guides that relied on clones only thought similarly, but it felt like Arthur¡¯s doppelgangers were sharing a single hive mind. Level Up: Doppelganger (Level 2) Your doppelgangers now possess 10% of your maximum HP and no longer go down in one hit. Each of them can also transform up to one of your transformations. Suddenly, the three doppelgangers that appeared before Garnet took after her existing transformations: Nine Tailed Fox, Fairy, and Queen of the Night. They were once again superior to Arthur¡¯s doppelgangers. The clash of their doppelgangers had drawn the attention of everyone else around them. Han Dou Gu and the others could only watch from a distance as their immense power seemed to shake the very ground they stood on. Yet, Arthur was the one who was struggling. The high level Guide who was so confident of his abilities was falling behind now as Garnet¡¯s abilities seemed to improve more and more the longer the fight went on. Arthur gathered the doppelgangers into his hand, concentrating them into a black ball of pure energy in the palm of his hand. ¡°Ha!¡± he shouted as he released it. An enormous beam of pitch black energy vaporized Garnet¡¯s doppelgangers. ¡°Water Wall!¡± An enormous wave of water appeared between Garnet and Arthur. The wall of water was being evaporated by the black beam, but the black beam was also shrinking in size as the water absorbed the full impact of the blast. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Arthur groaned as he fell to his knees. The armor around his body shattered into black mist as he returned to his original form. ¡°It looks like you were tougher than I thought. Once again, I underestimated a Hero.¡± ¡°You did fine,¡± said Garnet. ¡°That was a lot more than I expected.¡± ¡°Your ability to endure in a fight is incredible,¡± said Arthur. ¡°Far greater than any Hero I have encountered. You just might be able to survive the Trial of the Forbidden City.¡± ¡°What Trial?¡± Garnet asked. ¡°Unlike Constantinople, the Forbidden City will not submit to the Hero so easily,¡± Arthur explained. ¡°You will have to prove yourself to the Five Elemental Guardians there.¡± That would have to wait though. The Golden Dragon needed to be taken care of first. Im Going to Rewrite the Story From Scratch I know I haven''t had any updates in a while. Today is literally my first full free day since early January now that I''m done with grades for summer school. The main reason is that I feel like I''ve advancied the story too fast, much further than I was prepared to at any given time because I felt a sense of urgency to have regular releases. Entire story arcs were compressed into a single book. This made it difficult for me to concentrate on quality and I became obsessed with just trying to push out chapters on time.As a result, I overlooked things that could have made the story a lot better and I intend to look onto those mistakes. However, it also means that there will only be bulk releases of entire story arcs at once (not that I''ve posted anything in a while). Each book will be exactly one story arc in length for consistency. I''m not sure how long it is going to take, but I want to thank the people who did support me and the critics as well. I learned a lot and hopefully, the rewrite will show a massive improvement in quality. Some details below. NOTE: I only have like 2 weeks of time to write between now and the start of the new school year, so I might not even be able to get the first book''s rewrite done. Spoiler: Spoiler This time, it will be a Riley centric story told from first person. I am no longer going to pay as much attention to what everyone else is doing. There will be hints and signs, but first and foremost, it will be a Riley story. Think of it as an alternate timeline where Zedd trusts Riley from the very beginning and letting her run free, never causing Garnet to resurge or have their pesonalities meld and ultimately giving Riley more freedom to explore the world rather than be the only one who can save it. This will hopefully allow me to give the main character, Riley, more development rather than a focus on what is going on to the worlds as a whole. They will still be addressed, but at a much slower pace. I will integrate Frei (the blonde woman who is the true form of the dragon) as someone who is present and watching over Riley from the beginning, providing a balance to Zedd early on instead of having someone like Anna or Akiza show up later to provide a sense of balance. The story will ultimately come to the same conclusion, but I will be able to bring in the other things I had to leave out due to poor planning. This three that I had planned but never got to are: why Dark Mages also call themselves the Dark Mages when it was an identifcation that could get them killed, why Antium has similarities to Constantinople, and why the Guides choose to maintain the Black Spheres even after a failed Invasion (and why there are people to watch over them as well).Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The "other worlds" will largely be ignored, focusing solely on what happens in the world that Riley is in with no traveling to others. The powerful spirits like Nian and Lotan will take on a greater presence in the story. Riley''s powers will be based on touch. The absorption kind of came out of nowhere, but I will make it more clear from the beginning what Riley''s powers are and the lack of limitations. Physical contact will trigger absorption and Riley will grow the more people she can touch. Instead of a staff of transformation, Riley will have something like Unlimited Blade Works, allowing her to create one weapon in her hands at a time and putting her soldier skills from her previous life and training to good use. By changing weapons, she in turn also changes classes (sort of). The summons will be slime based rather than undead. Slimes have no form and can eventually take on forms based on what Riley has absorbed. The result is that her summons can transform. The reason for this is that the undead are either too weak or too strong with few inbetween and have very strict limitations. On the other hand, slimes, normally seen as the weakest enemy type in most RPGs can take on any form that Riley can, resulting in the ability to make copies that can be controlled. There are others as well, but like I said, this is going to be a long rewriting process. Changes to Rileys Powers, Reordered Events, Etc. I''m going to flat out just give Riley "unlimited" resources compared to others, but her abilities will require "ramping up." Each skill/spell is tied to a resource. The ones available right now are Mana (elemental magic), Chi (spirit magic), Nature (bodily transformation magic), Soul (summoning magic), and Divine (fusion spells like Garnet''s Lightning Fire). Basically, she will have to chain together weaker spells to use stronger ones, but will result will allow her to flat out overpower anyone in an extended fight and allow even older skills to not become outdated. Power will also not scale up as much. I plan to make the the promotions a bigger deal as well, but I''m still coming up with a way to make them more consistent (currently on a level cap/reset system depending on the class). Riley will acquire abilities from the things she makes physical contact with, allowing her to gain access to numerous skills and abilities. As she levels up, she can enhance them with a combination of absorbed essences and skill points from leveling up. She can also learn skills from books directly, bypassing Garnet''s book dumb weakness (I was so stupid for not thinking about this earlier). The rewritten first major arc will go: Summoning/Introduction -> Rileyas an Adventurer -> Undead Army/Dark Mage Attack -> Riley''s First Invasion -> Noble Rebellion. This will lead into the Dark Mages and the Dark Continent, which will form the second major arc (the diseased farm was supposed to lead into this, but I forgot about it and instead turned it into an Undead City which was going to be the penultimate event of the arc). Spoiler: Spoiler NOTE: There may be additional changes to this because it is only a draft of first chapter. I looked up into the sky. The dawn sky of orange light was just visible overhead. It was very early in the day. As a soldier, I had to get up at this time every day. My hands were still shaking in the cold. In the distance, I could spot the Two Towers, the center of government of Europa, the country that I lived in. My name is Riley, and I come from a military family. As far back as I could remember, I heard stories about how my family was destined for great things. My great-great grandfather served in the Imperial War, a conflict between the large empires to the Eastern Federation and Western Empire with his home of Europa caught in the middle of it. Because of the frequent conflicts, all children aged five to eighteen were engaged in military training. This was the norm in the entire region. However, as the son of a military family, my training extended through to the age of twenty. The purpose of this was to prepare me to take command as an officer should the need ever arise. Every day, I would get up at the crack of dawn to engage in endurance running. Upon return, it was firearms training, then melee combat. Afterwards, it was war theory and political tactics. Unlike my family though, I was not strong. I was frail and weak by comparison. I almost always came in dead last in my morning runs. During combat, I was beaten by everyone else unless my opponent had already sustained injuries beforehand. Despite almost being in training for almost fourteen years, I had no achievements to show for it. The only person I was more fit than in my family was my sister, who was suffering from a physical condition similar to severe asthma that made her unable to physically exert herself. There was a lot of noise building up as most of the soldiers on the base were now awake and readying for their day. The lower ranking soldiers at the rank of private were lining up. The lieutenants were checking up on the ranks before the officers arrived. Once the officers arrived, anything out of line would be met with reprimands. This would then in turn cause the lieutenants to take their anger out on the privates. In essence, it created a chain of screaming where the higher ranking officers would shout at the lower ones. At the very bottom of the food chain was the privates, who often turned their anger on each other. The worst part was that this was encouraged in order to single out the weak and support the strong. The Major walked up and down the single file line, looking at everyone. The badge on his arm was prominently displayed for everyone to see. It was the proof of the Major¡¯s accomplishments. He had been in at least one war and was very successful in it or two wars and was mildly successful in both. It was impossible to know without getting a look at his records. A few steps behind him were two medics, ready to carry away anyone the Major injured. The angry look on his face was bad news. Something had upset him and today, and his squad would pay for it with extra rigorous training. At the worst times, the Major would take someone from the squad as a sparring partner and then proceed to break their arm or leg during practice. The Major finished walking down the line and turned around. ¡°Ten kilometers, let¡¯s move it!¡± he shouted. The man at the very front of the line began with a walk before accelerating into a jog. The lieutenant at their side began to call out steps. ¡°One¡­ two¡­ one¡­ two¡­¡± Ten kilometers was only a little more than usual. With just an hour to do it before breakfast, it would not be too bad for most of them. For me however, I would be one of those that cut it close. I ran five minutes a kilometer at best and today was not one of those days. I was not as physically fit as the others and could only run consistently at a slow pace. If I had to speed up, then I could not last long. I could already feel the strength draining from my body as I picked up my pace. I wanted my training to be over. I wanted to be an officer of some kind. That way, I would no longer have to put up with this mind numbing repetitiveness. I could take up a hobby like how my father took up fishing and waited at home until he was actually called upon to serve. Having served in two wars had earned my father the rank of colonel and this privilege. As for me, I wanted to take up an instrument of some kind. I had not decided on what instrument, but I wanted to learn to play something. Doing the same thing every day was exhausting. As the sun rose, I could feel the light coming from directly in front of me. It was blinding. Even though I was following closely behind someone else, it was not at an angle from which the light was blocked. It was impossible to see as the orange light shone directly on not only my face, but everyone¡¯s faces. This made the morning jog even more difficult and was one of the reasons why I did not like the morning run. As I continued, I could feel the strength draining from my body even more quickly. I felt like I could fall over at any moment. I was getting tired and needed to rest. ¡°Hey are you okay?¡± the man beside me asked. I turned to look at the man, but all I could see was a blur. I could only make out the shape of the man and could not tell anything about him other than that he had a round face and black hair. As I attempted to move my mouth to speak, my body did not respond. The blurry vision began to fade, turning black. As my mind slipped, all I heard was a shout, ¡°Riley!¡± There was nothing but darkness. I was unsure about how long it was. I could not hear or see anything. I could not move either. ¡°Am I dead?¡± he thought. ¡°Hello?!?¡± Despite shouting or at least thinking I was shouting, I could not hear my own voice. I was not even sure if my mouth moved as I felt nothing. I definitely knew I was trying to move and it definitely felt like something moved, but there was nothing to show for it. It was still pitch black. It was like sleep paralysis. It was the worst experience because there was nothing you could do about it. The first thing to return was sound. I was sure that he could hear something. It was faint, but it was not nothing, and that was a good sign. He was still okay. Even though I had lost consciousness, I was not dead. One of the worst things that could happen was to die during training. It meant all the resources that were spent to prepare you for battle went wasted. Once again I tried to move my mouth. ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked. As I mouthed those words, my lips did not move. In fact, I still could not move. All that I could tell was a there was a very light sound coming from the distance. Yet, I could not make sense of these sounds to help him deduce where I was. In the worst case scenario, I was actually completely paralyzed, only a single step away from being brain dead and would be considered a ¡°vegetable¡± by many. To me, this was a fate worse than death. As the thought of it dawned on me, I attempted to struggle, trying to move any part of my body at all to get someone to notice him and see that he was not dead. ¡°Let me out of here!¡± I cried to myself.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Over time, the sounds grew louder. I was slowly regaining my senses. I could start to make out the faint sound of a few men talking. But, I could not make out what they were saying nor could I see. My body still did not obey me. No matter how hard I tried, I could not move my body. No amount of willpower or determination changed this. I did not know how long it was until I felt the first spec of light enter my eyes. There was some kind of light nearby, but without the ability to actually open my eyes, I could not see where he was. Despite this, Riley felt relief that he was not dead. The fact that I was regaining my vision meant that things were improving for him and that he was not dead. When enough time passed, he should regain his full senses and with it, his ability to move as well. It was not long before I started to feel a tingly sensation throughout my body. My sense of touch was starting to return. This meant that I was not paralyzed from whatever accident I had. I would be able to regain his movement. With it, I was no longer worried at all. Things would return to normal for me soon enough. The first thing to return was my eyesight. I was able to make out the dark brown roof. It was not a hospital. It seemed dirty and almost like an underground prison. I could see, but I still could not hear clearly. It was not before long before an old man with a white beard and white hair appeared before me. He had a liver spot on his cheek. There were wrinkles and bags in his eyes, seemingly from the lack of sleep. He wore a long dark grey robe that seemed to cover his body from his neck down. His lips moved, but I was unable to make out any of the words coming from his mouth. All I heard was a few faint sounds that were too low to be distinguishable words. The old man continued for a moment, looking into Riley¡¯s eyes for a while before stopping. He then walked away. A while later, I heard footsteps. The old man had returned. ¡°Blink twice if you can hear me,¡± said the old man. I blinked twice to acknowledge the old man. ¡°Thank goodness,¡± said the old man. ¡°I was wondering how long it would take for you to recover.¡± I tried to move my mouth and his body, but they would not respond. No matter how hard he tried to move, his body did not. The old man looked into my eyes and saw that they were not focused on him. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± the old man asked. My eyes moved diagonally, trying to signal the old man to his hand. The old man looked in that direction and saw nothing. ¡°Blink twice quickly if I am talking about the right thing,¡± said the old man. ¡°Your shoulder?¡± the old man asked. I did not respond. I wanted the old man to respond to questions about his body. ¡°Your hands?¡± the old man asked once again. But, my body did not respond to that either. I attempted to move my eyes left, down, and right, attempting to signal anything in my body. I wanted any sign that it would be alright. ¡°Are you wondering why you can¡¯t move?¡± the old man asked. I blinked twice to confirm. This was a visual message that was often used to communicate when someone was speaking under duress and in the view of the person I was speaking to. ¡°You should recover in a day¡¯s time,¡± said the old man. ¡°We can talk then, for now, do not worry. You will recover in due time.¡± I felt relieved as the man who was looking over me confirmed my well-being and that I would be well soon. The inability to move was likely due to heavy anesthesia, which numbed the entire body. It was rare for such a thing to last a day and often wore off after a few hours of exposure to it. Pretty soon, the numbness began to subside in his extremities, allowing me to twitch his fingers and toes a little. It was a very subtle movement, but it was better than nothing. It felt great to be able to move again and to feel cold and warmth. When the old man noticed, he no longer left. He began to stay by my side, calling for others through the door to bring him things when needed. Then, my mouth was able to finally move. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked. The voice that came out of my mouth was strange, much higher in pitch than I remembered. ¡°You can speak!¡± said the old man surprised. ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered. ¡°What happened to me?¡± A strange white aura appeared next to the old man. The aura began to separate themselves into letters and numbers, turning into a white box with finely printed black letters. Name: Zedd Level: 88 Class: Time Wizard Sub-Class: Summoner Primary Stat: Intelligence ¡°Zedd?¡± I asked. ¡°How did you know my name?¡± the old man asked. ¡°I see it,¡± I replied. ¡°Your name is Zedd. You are level 88, a Time Wizard, a Summoner, and are someone very intelligent.¡± ¡°It worked!¡± Zedd exclaimed. The old man jumped up in joy as he repeated the phrase several times. He seemed like a child now. ¡°Where am I?¡± I asked once more. ¡°What happened to me?¡± Zedd calmed himself down and regained his composure. ¡°Greetings Hero from another world,¡± said Zedd. ¡°Hero?¡± I was confused. ¡°I brought you here from your world into this vessel so that you may help us from the coming threat,¡± Zedd explained. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked. ¡°Is this some kind of game?¡± Zedd reached over to the side and grabbed a mirror. He held it in front of Riley and showed him what it was before putting it in front of him. What Riley saw was not himself, but rather a young, beautiful woman. This woman had a blue and a green eye, heterochromia, a condition in which two different eye colors exhibited co-dominance. She had long black hair that flowed down past her shoulders. Her face was perfectly symmetrical with no visible conditions, not a single freckle nor mole. It was a little round with a smooth transition into the red cheeks and the rest of the face. In my own world, I would be one of the most beautiful women with a face like this. Zedd tilted the mirror a little, showing that she was quite well endowed and had fairly low body fat. Even the neck did not have the slightest sign of tan lines, which was impossible. ¡°What happened to me?!?¡± I cried. ¡°You were called to this world into another body, a vessel if you would,¡± Zedd replied. ¡°It is the only way for us to call upon someone to help us.¡± ¡°Turn me back!¡± I shouted. ¡°I cannot,¡± said Zedd. ¡°I only have the means to call upon help from another world. I cannot return you nor change what you have become.¡± ¡°No¡­¡± I whimpered. ¡°If you need some time to think, I will leave you alone for a bit,¡± said Zedd. ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted at Zedd. ¡°Who was this person?¡± she asked. ¡°What was she like?¡± ¡°The body you are in belonged to a woman by the name of Garnet,¡± Zedd explained. ¡°She was a prostitute who was brought into their service when she was just a child, having been sold off by her family to pay for a debt.¡± I felt sad for this Garnet that she had never known. It sounded like something terrible happened to her. ¡°So, what happened?¡± ¡°She was bought in the name of the King and used as the vessel to call forth the Hero that will deliver us from the great evil that looks down on our land,¡± Zedd explained. ¡°I will show you in time, but you should rest first.¡± ¡°Did she have family?¡± I asked. ¡°None other than her parents that I know nothing about,¡± Zedd answered. ¡°If you are worried about having taken her life, that is the burden that lies with me. I have taken many lives and ruined yours as well. I just hope you will forgive me enough to help me save a kingdom that may not be worth saving to you.¡± ¡°Then why do you go through this trouble?¡± I asked. ¡°One poor King and his court does not mean the people of the kingdom are not worth saving,¡± said Zedd. ¡°These people deserve better, and as long as the threat looms over us, there cannot be better times for these people. It is only when the threat is gone that the King can turn back towards the people and focus on making their lives better.¡± I tried to turn my head to look around. If I could see, then he might be able to see what things were like. ¡°I want to see,¡± said Riley. ¡°Rest for now,¡± said Zedd. ¡°When you can move, I will show you and tell you everything you want to see and know. I promise.¡± ¡°Can you trust a person you don¡¯t know though?¡± I asked. ¡°I have faith in you,¡± said Zedd. ¡°You may not believe in yourself, but I believe your calling to this world is no accident. The greatest heroes come from the reluctant and the most reliable comes from the most empathetic.¡± ¡°And if I fail?¡± I asked. ¡°Then it is my fault for not teaching you,¡± Zedd answered. ¡°You will bear no responsibility as I am the one who is responsible for everything that happens from this point on. If I fail to convince you, that is my burden to bear. If I fail to protect you before you are trained, that is my misjudgment.¡± ¡°I will think about it,¡± I replied. ¡°Good,¡± Zedd said happily. He seemed satisfied with his results so far. It was strange. A stranger was who knew nothing about me was willing to put his faith in me. It felt weird to be depended on. For as long as I could remember, people looked down on me. Even though I studied hard, my below average body made it difficult for me to do the things I wanted to do. When I wanted my legs to move, I would sometimes fall because I could not actually push my body beyond its physical limits. I thought about the body I was in right now. It belonged to a woman named Garnet. She was someone who was an ideal beauty and someone who was perfectly physically fit. Her body fat was less than twenty percent. The only problem was the lack of muscles, which might make it hard to actually hold a weapon or something heavy. Against a much larger opponent, I would be at a disadvantage without a superior weapon. Despite my appearance though, Zedd put all his faith in me. The question was whether or not his problem was something that I could solve. I was a soldier who was taught to support my country no matter what. Questioning of this belief would cause weakness and our eventual defeat. The only thing to learn from is mistakes you make on the battlefield. Until I see Zedd¡¯s problem though, I would have no way to know if I could actually fix it. Yet, Zedd reassured me that I could do it. Perhaps I could achieve something great here. Appearing in this world and in this body clearly changed me and gave me something that I did not have before. Perhaps with this, I could be someone greater than back home. Perhaps here, I could be a successful soldier and become a decorated veteran who gets to retire to a nice, quiet villa. Then, I could relax and enjoy the rest of my days doing what I wanted instead of training myself to exhaustion every day.