《Adventures of Faven》 Chapter One ¡°Vereth! The Burning Phoenix Faction managed to sneak some troops past our frontline and now they¡¯re headed straight for the capital! The king is in danger!¡± A chubby middle-aged man who was wearing a black and red robe called out. ¡°Fuck!¡± Vereth who was wearing a similar robe shouted, ¡°Yuki, can you cover this sector?! I¡¯ll try to be back in an hour!¡± A young girl who was throwing spears of ice shouted back, ¡°Yeah! But hurry! The Immortal Sword Sect is sending reinforcements to try and break through our sector.¡± Vereth nodded and flew away from the bloody battlefield where millions were currently fighting with their lives on the line. Following the middle-aged man and several others, they flew towards a large forest away from the warzone. Landing in the forest several hundreds of miles away Vereth asked the middle-aged man, ¡°Dosen, where are the enemies?¡± Before he got a reply, he suddenly felt something pierce through him. Looking down he saw a hole the size of a head in his chest. As blood began pouring out he fell to his knees and glared at Dosen. ¡°Pfft hahahaha!¡± Dosen suddenly burst out laughing, ¡°That look on your face. So you finally figured it out after we put an earth spear through you.¡± ¡°You guys . . . were the traitors. . . . that were leaking . . . intel,¡± Vereth barely managed to speak. Dosen nodded, ¡°Yeah. The Burning Phoenix Faction also offered us a pretty sweet deal. All we had to do was kill you, and bring your head. Then, we get a ten legendary demon cores. Can you believe that? Your head is worth ten legendary demon cores. What an honor for you right?¡± ¡°You pieces . . . of shits!¡± Vereth tried to stand, but he had lost too much blood and could already feel himself losing consciousness. ¡°Ah that¡¯s right,¡± Dosen clapped his hands together like he just remembered something, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to send your family to you after this war is over.¡± Before Vereth could respond, Dosen drew his sword and detached Vereth¡¯s head. ¡°Well boys! We¡¯re finally going to be rich!¡± One of Dosen¡¯s men yelled out and the rest of them cheered while Dosen simply smiled. After they quieted down Dosen was about to pick up the decapitated head, when he suddenly saw a flash of light. When the light faded, he saw that his hand, which was reaching for the head, was on the floor.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Auuuugh!¡± Dosen screamed. ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM YOU FUCKING PIG!¡± An enraged girl¡¯s voice yelled out. Suddenly, Yuki flew down from the sky with a robed person. Yuki slowly kneeled down beside Vereth¡¯s head as Dosen and his men were drenched in cold sweat. Picking up Vereth¡¯s head with shaking hands Yuki began sobbing, ¡°WAAA~~~~H. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry I was too late. *sniff* I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Finally holding back his screams, Dosen managed to speak through gritted teeth, ¡°How did you find out.¡± Yuki refused to speak so the robed man replied, ¡°A little after you and your band of trash left, we got a report that said they finally figured out who the traitors were. At first I couldn¡¯t believe that you, Vereth¡¯s best friend, could actually do something like this, but you proved me wrong Dosen.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Dosen burst out laughing like a maniac, ¡°Best friend? What best friend? Mister genius over there? Fuck him! Ever since we were kids everyone always looked up at him and praised him, flocked to him. But me? I was fucking left in his shadow! I was the fucking lame guy who always stuck with him!¡± At this Yuki turned a piercing glare at Dosen, ¡°Lame guy? Left in his shadow. Stop your fucking pathetic excuses Dosen. You were just a fucking greedy little pig. When did Vereth not share his wealth with everyone. When did he not lend a hand to someone who asked. When did he not help YOU whenever you asked for help. You were just jealous you fucking pig!¡± A black card suddenly appeared in her hand. ¡°Eat this you fucking pigs. [Lotus Explosion]!¡± She flung the card towards Dosen and his men. ¡°O SHIT!¡± Dosen and his men screamed. Before they could take more than a few steps away, the card exploded. ¡°[Absolute Shield]!¡± When the robed man had seen the black card, a black card had appeared in his own hand which he held front of him while standing in front of Yuki. The explosion quickly expanded and took the shape of a blooming lotus, as it swallowed up everyone. After several minutes, the fire from the explosion finally died down. Only the robed man and Yuki were left, standing in a clear bubble shaped shield that had been torn in several places. After the smoke cleared up, the robed man was able to see that they were standing on a small mound in the center of a huge crater several tens of miles wide. Shivering he released the torn shield and his black card crumbled to dust. His clothes were torn and his skin had gashes and cuts, but luckily they were not too serious. ¡°P-p-princess. Where did you get that magic card? Even my [Absolute Shield] was completely destroyed. Wait. No. I mean, why in the underworld did you throw that so close to us?! It almost killed us as well!¡± Yuki however was hugging Vereth¡¯s head she continued to cry. Rubbing his head, the robed man said, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for your loss princess. But we must go. The emperor needs to know that Blade King Vereth has passed away. It will definitely affect most of our war plans.¡± After several minutes, Yuki wiped away her tears and slowly stood up. She gently placed Vereth¡¯s head in a pouch and turned to the robed man. ¡°Yes. Father needs to know. Let¡¯s go.¡± Two beams of light left the crater and flew into the distance. Chapter Two *Cough Cough Cough* As I dragged himself out of a river, I coughed out the water that filled my lungs. ¡°What *cough* happened.¡± I painfully pulled myself to my feet as I tried to figure out where I was. As I was slowly able to focus, I found that I was in the middle of a forest and it was nighttime. However, not a forest that I remembered. ¡°Shit. Where am I. *Cough cough* Where did *cough* where did Dosen go. That fucking bastard.¡± I limped towards a large root and sat down. ¡°Wait. I should be dead. Is this the afterlife?¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± I had a splitting headache as a name came into my mind. ¡°Faven? My name is Faven? No it should be Vereth.¡± After several minutes I slowly began to understand the situation. ¡°So I was reborn in this body which belongs to a boy named Faven. However, I can only remember his name. Nothing else.¡± I fell silent for a minute before I stood back up and walked towards the river I had just dragged myself from. From the reflection of the river I saw a young boy with jet black hair and piercing black eyes. ¡°Damn. This pretty boy was better looking than I was. And I was considered to be one of the most handsome male in all of the mainland continents. Nevertheless, I do apologize for taking your body Faven. I¡¯ll make sure to properly thank you when I see you in the afterlife. For now, I¡¯ll be borrowing your body and name.¡± After offering a small prayer for a safe passage for the old Faven¡¯s soul to the underworld, I headed towards a bright light that he was able to see from above the trees. As I walked along a path through the trees, I began searching through a small pouch I had found on myself. ¡°Oh? A spatial bag. The inside leads to another space where I can store things and freezes the time for whatever is inside. These fell out of fashion in my continent a couple hundred years ago. The infinite ring is a much popular choice now. Does the same thing, but you didn¡¯t need to reach in to grab stuff. Just think and it appears.¡± From the bag, I pulled out several books and some coins. ¡°Some silver and gold coins. It looks just like the main continents¡¯ currency so it should go from bronze, silver, gold, crystal, and black crystal. One hundred bronze coins makes one silver, one hundred silver makes one gold, and so on. Simple enough.¡± Then I turned to the books.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Book of Body Reinforcement Techniques, Book of Pill Making, Book of Magic Card Creation, Book of Rune Drawing, and Book of Cultivation? These are all basic books that we hand out in newly found continents. So I¡¯m in a developing continent huh?¡± Thinking for a moment, I climbed to the top of a tree, studied the sky for several minutes before finally climbing back down and continuing along the path. ¡°From the star formations in the sky, I¡¯m guessing that I¡¯m far south of Blue Dragon Continent, which is the southern most major continent, and pretty far south at that. I almost couldn¡¯t recognize some of the star formations.¡± Soon, I found myself in front of a huge gate with tall gray walls on either sides of the gate stretching towards the horizon. I called out to one of the guard towers that stood on either side of the gate. Several seconds later, a man dressed in what seemed to be a guard uniform was standing by the window. I shouted out, ¡°Hi there! Do you think you could let me in?¡± ¡°Sorry but no can do!¡± The man shouted back. ¡°Right now the gates are closed because the City Lord¡¯s daughter has gone missing! The City Lord ordered that no one is to leave or enter the city until they find out where she is! Just in case it was a kidnapping you know?¡± The man continued, ¡°But if you need a place to stay for the night, you just need to follow this wall here and you¡¯ll find a campsite where other people who are waiting for the gates to open are staying. Some city guards are guarding the site so it will be safer from the demonic beasts running around in the forest at night. Just let them know that you want me rest for the night and they should let you in.¡± After thanking the guard, I followed the wall in the direction that the man had pointed out. Several minutes later, I saw a large camp and continued walking closer. When I arrived, I saw that there were several thousand people with wagons and carriages spread out in the campsite. Around the edge of the campsite were the city guards. I walked up to a bored looking guard who was leaning on his spear. ¡°Hello sir. Do you think I might be able to take shelter for the night in the campsite? ¡°Huh.¡± The man had not noticed me walking up, ¡°Sure. Just make sure that you don¡¯t bother anyone. Some the people here are wealthy merchants and adventurers and they¡¯re not in the best mood right now.¡± ¡°Is it because they couldn¡¯t get in the city?¡± ¡°Yeah. So you already heard?¡± The man asks. ¡°Mhmm. I heard that the City Lord¡¯s daughter went missing and that they closed the gate in hopes that if it was a kidnapping, the kidnappers wouldn¡¯t be able to get away.¡± The guard nods, ¡°Yeah. Everyone is going nuts trying to find the daughter right now. Apparently, she suddenly went missing in the morning. They say that she was in her private palace when the maids found out that they couldn¡¯t find her.¡± ¡°They must really care about that girl if they¡¯re going this far to try and find her.¡± The guard gave Vereth a strange look, ¡°Well yeah. Even if you forget the fact that she¡¯s the city lord¡¯s daughter, she is also a genius in her generation. She¡¯s a rank seven mage at the age of fifteen and she even found out how to make the longevity pill that even the greatest pill masters couldn¡¯t figure out how to make. I heard that it could stop you from aging for one hundred years!¡± I thought to myself. Rank seven mage at the age of fifteen? That¡¯s really slow. The average time it takes to fully grow a mana core to become a magister should be ten years. I turned back to the guard. ¡°May I ask something?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Do you know when the books on mana was spread in this continent?¡± The guard tilted his head, ¡°You mean the Coming of the Magisters?¡± I nodded. ¡°It should be exactly six hundred and three years ago. Hey kid. This is basic history. How do you not know this?¡± ¡°Sorry. I lost a lot of my memories when I was almost drowning a while ago.¡± ¡°Eh? You almost drowned? Well that explains why you¡¯re still wet. You alright?¡± ¡°Yeah I am. Just a bit of a memory loss, but nothing too serious.¡± ¡°If you say so. You¡¯re lucky you kept your life you know.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded, ¡°Well, I hope that they find her soon. I¡¯ll be going in now. Keep up the good work sir.¡± Vereth walked into the campsite, leaving the guard behind. Chapter Three Stepping past several groups of people surrounding their campfires, I slowly made my way towards a side of the city wall where no one was camping. As I did not have a tent or any bedding, I simply leaned back on the wall, and began thinking. I noticed from looking at all the artifacts and magic cards that people are using in this campsite that this continents knowledge of magic is still basic. Well, six hundred years is short in the study of magic. Most developing continents take at least a thousand years before they get to a level where they can be considered to be a third grade continent. Anyways, my number one goal should be becoming a magister. That¡¯s the minimum requirement to make a teleportation tower to return back to Lyras Continent, my home. Then I¡¯ll go find that bastard Dosen and smash his fucking face in after asking Yuki for an army or two. Knowing her, she¡¯ll definitely let me borrow them. First, I need to figure out where I stand with my cultivation and if Faven had any family or friends. I¡¯ll make them think that Faven went on journey or something so that they don¡¯t worry too much. That¡¯s the least I can do for him. Closing my eyes, I began to sense the inside of his body for a mana core, which usually formed around the right side of the chest. Level three mage? This is going to take a while. Better to start sooner than later. Taking a lotus position, I slowly began to expand my senses. In my mind ¡¯s eye, I was able to see tiny balls of lights floating around the air. The mana in the air is thin. If it¡¯s like this all over this continent, it explains the slow pace of cultivation here. Whatever. Focus. Imagine sucking in the mana and letting it flow into the body. Let it flow to where the mana core is, then rotate it while compressed to make the mana core as round and smooth as possible. As I was cultivating his mana core, several people in the campsite felt the sudden change in the air. ¡°The mana in the air is disappearing fast!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on? I¡¯ve never seen mana disappearing so fast before.¡± Everyone began looking around but was unable to find the source as I had made sure to make the mana flow in such a way to make sure no one can pinpoint where the mana was going using a simple technique called Chaotic Mana Absorption that was taught to every soldier. While the soldiers were trying to recover mana, it was easy for enemies to find them through the flow of mana. However, by utilizing this technique, it caused the mana flow to become erratic which made it hard for enemies to pinpoint where the recovering soldiers were, which essentially bought them time. I was able to absorb most of the mana in the surrounding area in only several minutes. The mana really is too thin. If I want to be able to cultivate faster, then I¡¯ll need to make a magic card that absorbs mana as I move around. But first, some rest. Unable to hold back my exhaustion any longer, I laid down, stared at the night sky, and drifted to sleep. -Early in the Morning- I, who had been sleeping peacefully was violently woken up. ¡°Ugh! What the!¡± I curled up into a fetal position. I forced open my heavy eye lids to see another kick flying towards me. I tried to roll in the other direction only to be blocked by the city wall, allowing the kick to land on my back. Ignoring the pain I quickly jumped up. ¡°Stop! What in the underworld are you doing!¡± I yelled as I quickly took a defensive stance. Standing in front of me was a young girl with long bright red hair and eyes. I would have said that she was almost as cute and Yuki if not as cute if she had not start punching at me, forcing me to block fist after fist. ¡°WHERE. HAVE. YOU. BEEN. FAVEN?!¡± she screamed each word while throwing a punch. ¡°Huh? Did I know you?¡± I asked confused as I ducked another punch that was about to land square on my face. Hearing that the girl froze. ¡°You. What? Hey. Tell me your joking. Your joking right?¡± The girl¡¯s eyes started turning teary. ¡°Eh? Er. Sorry, but I really don¡¯t remember anything,¡± I shrugged, ¡°The last thing I remember is nearly drowning in a river last night.¡± ¡°No way,¡± The girl slumped to her knees and started bawling, ¡°You. You jerk! I spend all day and night looking for you and you don¡¯t even remember me anymore! Waa~~h! I hate you! You should¡¯ve drowned! You¡¯re a bastard.! You. . . You. . ¡° She went on for several minutes, making less sense with every insult she could think of. By the time she started saying something about Faven being a womanizer a crowd had started to gather. Starting to feel awkward, I kneeled beside her, ¡°Hey girl. Sorry that I don¡¯t remember you but can you stop. People are starting to stare you know.¡± She slowly quieted down and mumbled out something. ¡°What?¡± I asked her. ¡°Only if you carry me back home!¡± she looked up at me fiercely with a red face. ¡°. . . Okay?¡± I said slowly. ¡°Really?¡± She asked with her eyes sparking, ¡°You always said no before!¡± ¡°Yes yes really.¡± I turned around so my back was facing her, ¡°Hurry up and get on.¡± She quickly jumped on, nearly knocking me forward. ¡°Alright,¡± I asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your house?¡± ¡°Inside the city,¡± she points towards the wall. ¡°Inside the city? You know the gates are closed right?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°No more questions! Just go!¡± She pouted. The last thing I wanted was her to make another scene, so I began walking towards the city gates. ¡°By the way, do you really not remember anything Faven?¡± she quietly asks. ¡°Hmm? Nothing but my name. Why? Were you really a really important person to me? You don¡¯t look similar to me so maybe a close friend?¡± I ask. ¡°Close friend,¡± she mumbles. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Yes! I was your close friend! So you better be nice to me!¡± She quickly answers. For some reason I didn¡¯t feel as though she was being completely honest, but I just shrugged and kept walking. When I finally reached the city gates I saw the same guard he saw at night by the window. ¡°Hi there again. Is the gate open now?¡± I called out to the guard. I noticed that the guard had his eyes wide open in shock. However the guard was not looking at me, but the girl on my back. ¡°L-l-l-l-lady Flara! Where were you?! The whole city is looking for you right now!¡± The guard shouted. ¡°You¡¯re the city lord¡¯s daughter?¡± I asked the girl shocked! Turning my head to look at her I saw that she was wearing some very plain clothes. Did the guard get the wrong person? ¡°Teehee.¡± She simply tried to make a cute face and smiled. ¡°Hold on kid!¡± The guard called out to me, ¡°I¡¯ll open the gates for you right now. As the gates slowly creaked open I hurriedly tried to get her down as it would be embarrassing to be seen holding the city lord¡¯s daughter like this when I didn¡¯t even know Faven¡¯s social status in this city, but she clung on tight and refused to let go. ¡°Hey! Let go! Do you think it¡¯s alright for the city lord¡¯s daughter to be carried around like this?¡± Vereth said. ¡°No! You promised to carry me all the way home! So keep your promise!¡± Her grip on my neck tightened suffocating me so I stopped trying to pry her off. Damn this weak body. When the gates finally open a squad of guards rushed out and surrounded me, or well the girl. ¡°Eh? L-lady Flara! Why are you on his back?! Please get off of that boy! Your father would be furious if he saw you right now!¡± A female guard tried to persuade her. ¡°He¡¯s already pissed off,¡± one of the guards mumbled. ¡°No! Faven promised to carry me back home so buzz off!¡± Flara told the guards. ¡°Faven? As in the trash of the Veritis Clan Faven?¡± The female guard took a step back in shock. ¡°Trash? You¡¯re the trash! You¡¯re entire family is trash!¡± Flara yelled angrily. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry Lady Flara! Please don¡¯t be angry with me!¡± The guard bowed in apology then turned to face me, ¡°Then if you would follow me young master Faven.¡± She quickly turned away and began rapidly walking towards a large castle that stood in the center of the city. As we were walking along the streets surrounded by guards, I noticed that everyone passing by suddenly stopped and stared with their jaws dropping to the floor. Seeing this and thinking about how the guards reacted, I was guessing that perhaps Flara usually did not act this way in public. And there was also the guards saying that I was trash. It sounded like something that was well known. Did Faven do something that deserved that title? As went continued our way to the castle Flara was talking to me, telling me about times that Faven and her and spent together. ¡°When we first met when we were little, you saved me from a horned rabbit. Do you remember? There was also that time when we pulled a prank on the general, dumping water on him. Do you remember that?¡± She continued to tell me about the past we shared in hopes that I would remember something. After an hour of walking, with some breaks in between, as I was getting exhausted from carrying Flara while she refused to get off, we arrived finally arrived at the castle gates where several people wearing silver armor, knights, were waiting with a middle aged man standing in the midst of them. Seeing how he was standing and his extravagant clothing, I was guessing that he was Flara¡¯s father, the city lord, and he did NOT look happy. ¡°Flara! Where have you been!¡± the city lord repeated the exact words Flara has said to me when she found me. Flara finally climbed down from my back, allowing me to fall on my behind and finally take a proper rest. ¡°I was looking for Faven because YOU wouldn¡¯t lend me soldiers to help find him!¡± She crossed her arm and glared at her father. ¡°That boy is trash! He¡¯s only a third level mage when all the other noble children at his age are fifth level mages! You shouldn¡¯t lower yourself to be with him!¡± The city lord also crossed his arms and glared at his daughter. ¡°I choose who I want to be with! Not you! So lay off dad!¡± The city lord had veins bulging on his forehead. ¡°Hey guys!¡± I held up a hand after finally catching my breathe, ¡°Sorry to interrupt you father daughter quarrel, but can I leave. I have some stuff I want to do.¡± ¡°¡±NO!¡±¡± The father daughter turned to me and shouted. ¡°Just asking,¡± I mumbled while thinking of how this father daughter pair is like reflection of each other. After yelling back and forth for several minutes a guard walks over to the city lord and whispers something into his ears. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll leave this alone for now. Faven follow me, your family is waiting for you inside.¡± The city lord turns around and walks away. As I follow behind the city lord, I turn around to see Flara following me. ¡°Aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± I ask her. ¡°No, there is something I need to be there for.¡± She rolls her eyes and continues following. Seriously, I couldn¡¯t understand the old Faven¡¯s relationship with this girl. When she says that she¡¯s his close friend, she didn¡¯t sound too sure about that. But she acts like she¡¯s much closer than a close friend. Which one is it really? I wish she was like Yuki and made it clear. After following the City Lord into the castle, we finally arrive in a large room where several people were waiting. As soon as I took a step into the room someone tackled me from the side. ¡°Oh Faven! Where were you for the last few days,¡± I turned my head to see beautiful women hugging me. ¡°Are you my mother?¡± I was able to see the resemblance between her face and the one I had seen in the reflection in from the river. ¡°What?¡± she pushed me to arm¡¯s length to take a good look at my face, ¡°You don¡¯t remember me? I¡¯m your mother! The one who gave birth to you!¡± I gave a wry smile, ¡°Sorry but I lost my memories last night. The last thing I remember is drowning in a river.¡± I was apologizing a lot this morning. She was first shocked then turned to face a the bearded man who was wearing a silver armor, similar to the ones outside, but more elaborate. ¡°See Vincent! I told you not to pressure our son so much! Look at what he ended up doing to himself! He drowned himself! DROWNED! What kind of father are you?¡± She screeched at the man. He face hardened as he replied, ¡°He will become the future leader of the Veritis Clan! Of course I have to be harsh on him! If I wasn¡¯t . . .¡± ¡°SHUT UP! Clan this. Future leader that! Can¡¯t you just let him be and just be a good father dammit!¡± My mother screeched at him. Wow my new mother was completely walking all over my new father. ¡°*cough* If you would please set aside your personal disputes until later.¡± The city lord interrupted. ¡°Ah! Yes. My apologies city lord,¡± my mother and father apologized. I rolled my eyes as I remembered how he had done pretty much the same things with his daughter only a few minutes ago. ¡°I called all of you here today because I needed opinions,¡± the city lord had a serious face. ¡°Right now as you all know, the news about my daughter being able to create the longevity pill spread through my Floating Cloud City and is making its way to the other cities.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± a bald man who was dressed in a silver armor spoke, ¡°We¡¯ll be pressured into selling the information of what she did to successfully create it.¡± ¡°Yes. But there is one problem here.¡± The city lord places a hand on his forehead and closes his eyes. ¡°My daughter is refusing to tell how she did it unless we meet her demand.¡± Everyone turns to Flara. ¡°And what is it that Lady Flara wants?¡± The bald man asks. ¡°Just one thing,¡± Flara smiles, but for some reason it did not feel very friendly, ¡°I want my arranged marriage to Gold Heart city lord¡¯s son, Jeron, cancelled.¡± A gasp ran through the halls. The bald man spoke first, ¡°Lady Flara. That¡¯s impossible. The marriage with the Gleizberg family was meant to tie our two cities together! If we were to cancel the marriage, then there no telling what the Gleizberg family will do!¡± A fat man in a white robed joined in, ¡°Please rethink this Lady Flara. Jeron is a genius in his generation just like you, and I heard that he was quiet a good looking fellow. He¡¯s a far better match for you than this trash who was stuck as a level three mage for that past two years.¡± ¡°Shut it fatty! You think I haven¡¯t heard of how Jeron goes around sleeping with every damn pretty girl he can get his slimy hands on. And you know nothing of Faven so don¡¯t you dare call him trash!¡± The fat man¡¯s face turned purple with rage. ¡°Enough.¡± The city lord sighed. ¡°As you can see this is our current situation. I would appreciate it if everyone could help come up with solutions by tomorrow. Dismissed.¡± The city lord walked out of the room with Flara following behind. ¡°Son,¡± Hearing my mother¡¯s voice I turned to her, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± She took my hand and led me out the castle with my father following behind us.