《Hound of Ériu》 Prologue - One thing that has made itself clear throughout my life is that everyone has different values, be it moral or immoral. To somewhat quell the conflict from differing values man created laws and punished those who broke these laws. This created an illusion of order that continues to this day. I myself am all for laws, very much so, but for laws to be enforced requires absolute power and the ability to make people truthfully obey the laws. This is where humanities countries fall short. They do not have the correct balance of power and authority to make their citizens obey. Now because of what some would call a ''warped sense of justice'' that I possess, I am none too popular with my peers. They yell and rage like baboons when I inform them of rules and laws that they must obey, none too pleased with my higher moral standpoint. This has left me with scant friends. Scant but not none. My only friends are a trio of sisters and although they are beauties they scare the life out of me when they''re angry so I try to keep it purely platonic. Now although they are triplets and beauties they all are different types of beauty. Beth (when not angry) is like when a warm sunlight shines on you, the comfortableness is like a tonic for the soul. She has platinumblonde hair, pale blue eyes as cool as an arctic glacier. While her stand out feature between the three is a mole just under her right eye. Her personality is quite tomboy-is and she loves to fight. (With ten years of Boxing I''d be surprised if she didn''t)Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Mackenzie''s beauty is similar to what the Japanese callYamato Nadeshiko. She is a cool beauty who is disinclined to talk with the common folk, although she does have her own cute moments. Her standout feature would be, although a bit boorish to say, her breasts. With 34F breasts, it''s very hard for them not to stand out. Her main hobbies are archery and chess. Now Morgan doesn''t have the confidence of her sisters but even still is the kind of beauty that when a man sees them they have the instinctual feeling of wanting to protect it. Although she usually acts shy, there are times where her personality switches and becomes alike to the personification of death. Of the three I am closest to Morgan while also being most afraid of Morgan. Her main hobbies being related to Japanese culture such as Anime, Manga & Light Novels. Now I myself know the aspects of female beauty but for male beauty, I''m not too sure of. I''ve been told that if my personality wasn''t so rotten then I could''ve had 10 Girlfriends by now. To me, I just look average in the mirror. With short platinum blonde hair (I sometimes am asked if I''m related to Beth as our hair colour is the same) and a height of 6 foot 3 inches with a lean muscular build. Withholding my height I can''t help but feel average.
Now, this is where this story begins, starting with a tragic end to a simple life. Chapter 1 ''Too many great stories are ended prematurely, some because the antagonist dies before the final battle, though the main one being the protagonist just wasn''t good and dies before he can complete his quest. An example given could be the Legend of C¨²chulainn after he is killed by his enemies plot. But I never thought I would be one of them. How pitiful. For my valuable life to be ended by this lowlife. Is this what the Buddhists call Karma? I wish I could at least say goodbye to Beth, Mackenzie and Morgan before I pass on. I would''ve never guessed I''d have regrets when I died. But I really regret not thanking them for being friends with me at the end.'' Just as I finished my thought I saw them standing by the doorway with horror in their eyes. At least I can thank whatever God there is for letting me see them one last time. And with that, I, Lewis Cain died.
6 Hours Earlier *beep* *beep* *beep* Fuck! I need to get a different alarm! That stupid ringing every morning, one day I''ll probably kill myself from that annoying beeping. Nevertheless, it is effective in waking me up even if it is in an annoying way. Sigh, I best get dressed and get out quickly beforethey wake up. One saving grace of my life is that my school uniform is a comfortable Blazer+Slacks combo. Grabbing my cell phone on the way down I quickly bangon my parent''s door before grabbing my bag and swiftly heading out. Now, this may seem a bit too quick for getting ready for school, but I really don''t like meeting them in the morning and to achieve that this is what I have to do. Usually, with this swiftness, I would succeed. But Lady Luck was not smiling on me today as I saw the dreaded trio as I stepped out my door. "Hey Lewis, what were you trying to do leaving so early on this specialday? You couldn''t be trying to avoid us could you?" Beth said this with a smirk on her face knowing why I leave so early. They knew why I leave so early, but as terrible morning people, they could do nothing to stop me. "Hi guys, this is the time I leave everyday Beth why would today be any different?" I said honestly as I didn''t know what was so special about today. "I told you he wouldn''t remember!" Mackenzie said in a very annoyed tone and stormed off with Beth taunting me while tagging along with her. "Oh, what have I done now? Jeez, I guess the Devil should bow down and beg to be me student considering how bad I am. Hah..." "D-Don''t worry Lewis I''m sure she''s not that mad...maybe?" Morgan said with a stutter trying to cheer me up "Thanks, Morgan, I appreciate it." I smiled weakly at her "I-It''s OK..." Morgan said getting very red in the face. With the other two walking forward, it was just myself and Morgan walking to school which was fine by me as I wouldn''t be given glares every few seconds from Mackenzie. "So what is it that I''ve forgotten exactly?" Usually, if anything important was coming up one of the three would barrage me with reminders as I wasn''t good at remembering important events. "Um...our birthday...."Morgan said with a mumble so low I couldn''t hear itThis novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "What was that? Speak up." "OUR BIRTHDAY!" She yelled at me which is very rare for her "Uh...." I was speechless, not at her yelling at me but for forgetting about their birthday which is pretty bad even for me "Look, Morgan, I''m sorry I don''t really have an excuse but I''m sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" Hearing that her angry expression quickly changed into a bright beaming smile "I thought you might say that. I''ll tell you what you can do after school, meet us at our house as soon as you get home." I couldn''t help but feel that I''d been tricked after the quick switch in expressions from Morgan. After she said that she quickly ran ahead to catch up to her sisters, leaving me to walk the rest of the way by myself.
The school day was business as usual. With three core subjects (Maths, English, Irish) and 4 choice subjects (I myself picked History, Geography, Chemistry and Physics). All the classes except Irish and Physics were interesting and fun while Irish wasn''t because of the subject itself and Physics because the teacher''s personality was as dry as the Sahara Desert. History was my top subject with my main interest lying in Ancient Mythologies. The only subjects I shared with the girls was Physics which didn''t help today as I was getting death glares from Mackenzie the entire time while the other two were enjoying my suffering. But my suffering was alleviated with the chime of the bell, so I quickly packed my bag, headed for my locker and tried to make a hasty retreat home. Alas, today really was not my lucky day, as I was stopped by Bale Smith on the way down the stairs. "Oi Cain, what did I tell you about talking to the Crowe Sisters!?" "But I haven''t talked to them today!" "Don''t you fucking lie to me you little shit, S¨¦an told me he saw you talking to Morgan this morning on the way to school!" Shit! Why the fuck did that prick S¨¦an have to tell this cunt. See although I am pretty fit, I am not fit enough to beat the Leinster Rugby U-18''s Captain in a fight. "Piss off Bale, I''ve had enough. I''m going home!" "Oh no, you''re not. You''re coming with me, I''ve got a little surprise waiting for you." With that said Bale grabbed by the scruff of my neck and brought me to the Boys changing room. "Now shitface it''s time to teach you a lesson in social standings." With that, a fist landed in my gut sending me to the floor. "Lesson #1: Loners don''t socialise with anyone, especially not popular people." With this a stomp landed on my ankle and judging by the pain, it was shattered "Lesson #2: When someone of higher social status than you tells you to do something, you fucking listen." This time it was a wrist that was crushed. "Lesson #3: Once trash, always trash!" As he was about to land a stomp on my chest I grabbed his leg. Glaring at him but unable to say anything due to the pain. "Huh, so the piece of trash doesn''t like being called what it is? Well time to show how worthless you are!" With this, he walked away while taking out his phone. As he was too far away and I was in too much pain I couldn''t make out his conversation but evidently, it didn''t last long as he was quickly back with a predatory grin on his face. "Time to show the world how worthless you really are." Saying this he took out a knife from his inside pocket while his gaze only got crueller and crueller. With it, he began to trace it along with my blood vessels while licking his lips. "Maybe if you beg for mercy I''ll let you off, with another couple broken bones?" "Go fuck.... yourself...!" I squeezed out a few words stubbornly resisting the brute, which set him off even more. "Hahaha, a mere ant who doesn''t know the height of the heavens! Oh well, time to let the ant suffer for its ignorance." And so began the torture of having small punctures dotting my blood vessels along my body causing my body to be covered in crimson blood. Seeing the blood seemed to cause Bale to get more excited, puncturing more and more. Until he seemed to wake up after glancing at his hands. "S-Shit! Fuck! I-I didn''t want to.... Damn! Fuck! Fuck!" And with that, I was left alone bleeding out in a boys locker room. Not the place I would''ve imagined passing away. That was how I died, but that is not this stories conclusion. No, far from it. It''s only beginning. Chapter 2 In front of me was a landscape of white, not snow but white. As soon as I saw it reminded me of the Gate of Truth scene from Fullmetal Alchemist.Of course minus the Gate. What was there, however, was a man sitting upon a throne. The man wore a mask with the depiction of a Joker in one eye and the Devil within the other with a crescent moon shaped smile adorning it. He was wearing an animal leather cape with some sort of mane on the top, and what appeared to be silken pants and shirt, and a pair of rough leather boots. What was most striking about the man was his hair was never a set colour, it kept shifting to a different colour every few seconds, which only seemed to add to his eerieness. "Hello young lad, I am the God in charge of your afterlife. We''ll be seeing each other often, best regards." The voice that came out neither seemed old nor young, masculine nor feminine, just neutral. But one thing it did sound like was very facetious. His words brought back my last moments and realisation dawned upon me. I was dead. Now it seemed there truly were Gods who ruled the world. "So what now?" I finally managed to squeeze out a question after breaking out of my shock. "Now my boy we decide what''ll happen to you and where you''ll end up. Maybe this time next millennia I''ll be seeing you burning in a pit of fiery brimstone. Or maybe you''ll be living luxuriously surrounded by heavenly babes gorging on delicacies? Who knows? Oh wait, I do! Hahahaha!" It seems this God had a sense of humour that was lost on me due to the circumstances. "Well boy, here''s the deal, due to Godly interference your fate was changed. You were originally meant to live till the grand old age of 103 all alone but having done great research into the fields of biochemistry. But alas fate be a cruel mistress, and instead you died a dog''s death. So you get compensation. That compensation is one of three choices." "#1 - Ascend to whatever your religion or beliefs system version of heaven is." "#2 - Reincarnate back into the Earthly Cycle." "#3 - Reincarnate into Gaia''s Cycle" So my real choice is to reincarnate or give up on living? No matter how heavenly it is, there would not be the excitement of the chaos of a true life. So cross out option 1. "What is Gaia?" "Oh goodie, I''m so glad you asked, it''s very rare someone gets the privilege to reincarnate there so I rarely get to do the speech on it." He honestly seemed really excited as if this really was a great privilege. "Gaia, the land of heroes, where all legends originate, where even a simple slime has the power to destroy all life on Earth, where Gods fight for power and champions try to earn their favour. Gaia, the apotheosis of creation and a holy land for combat where monsters roam and demon lords are as common as a field mouse. Gaia the land of opportunity." So that means my options are to go back to a peaceful but dull life on Earth or an exciting but dangerous life on Gaia. Well I guess ''nothing ventured, nothing gained'' is an apt expression here. "I choose Option 3. Is that it? Do I just reincarnate straight away or is there some extra compensation?" "Good lad, that intelligence will serve you well in Gaia. You do in fact receive extra compensation besides the choice. Firstly you get to retain your memories from your previous life. Secondly, you''ll get two surprises once down there, one as a gift from myself." "Really? Well thanks, I guess..." Having only talked to the man for a couple of minutes I was feeling extremely grateful for his help. "I wouldn''t be thanking me yet. Well time to send you down." He said as a wicked grin formed on his face. "Huh?" I couldn''t help but feel that I had fallen for something, causing alarm bells to go off in my head. *Whoosh*Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "I hope you''ll amuse me young lad, or else my effort would have been wasted..."
After what felt like a car crash I began to feel as if free falling through the sky, but instead of air rushing against me I felt what seemed to be flakes of all different colours and auras surrounding them but they all seemed to radiate friendly feelings towards me. I kept feeling as if I was on some acid trip. This didn''t continue for long before I got the feeling reminiscent of squeezing into a tight pair of jeans but with my whole body. And once I finished squeezing into the ''jeans'' I passed out.
When I woke up, I felt as if I had just had a refreshing sleep and was raring to go. Yet my body wouldn''t respond, all I could manage was a twitch or spasm at best, I couldn''t even manage to open my eyes, instead as soon as I started moving something was shoved into my mouth and starting releasing a sweet liquid which I instinctively started drinking with gusto. After drinking my fill I felt stronger but I still couldn''t do much, I guess sleep is the only option I have in this state.
Once again waking up, this time I could at least manage to open my eyes which I should probably count as a blessing. Though what I saw nearly sent me back to the afterlife due to shock. Lying in front of me was a three-headed dog and 4 smaller regular dog pups.Oh God, how did I end up in a cave with a Cerberus? What the fuck is that Gods deal? When I tried looking closer at the Cerberus I was once again shocked by what greeted me.
Cerberus
Reputed as the guard of the Underworld, this beast is the child of the Gods Echidna and Typhon. Anyone capable of slaying it will immediately gain great fame and valour.
Um.... What?Is this a description of it? A status maybe? Does everything have one? Testing my idea I decided to try it on the pups
Flare Pup
One of the children of the Guard Dog of the Underworld, due to this it is a variant breed at the start of its life
Frost Pup
One of the children of the Guard Dog of the Underworld, due to this it is a variant breed at the start of its life
Volt Pup
One of the children of the Guard Dog of the Underworld, due to this it is a variant breed at the start of its life
Void Pup
One of the children of the Guard Dog of the Underworld, it is a rare breed with great possibilities for future evolution
So, for now, we can conclude that everything has some form of status, I''m guessing that includes me. Usually, in these types of situations, main characters would think Status to themselves and then BAM, Status. No harm in trying. Status!
Status
Name: Lugh Species: Sun Pup Level: 1
Health: 40/40 Mana: 260/260 Stamina: 60/60
Strength: 3 Agility: 4 Intelligence: 13
Vitality: 2 Wisdom: 17 Luck: 25
Titles: Reincarnated One, Child of Cerberus, Blessing of Loki
Skills: Appraisal, Fire Magic, Light Magic
Wait a minute! I''m a fucking dog!? How come!? Wait a minute, Loki? Don''t tell me that God was Loki? I was right, I was being tricked! Give me back my gratefulness you bastard! He even got my name wrong, some God he is... At least I know magic so I''ll have something to do while I wait for my body to develop. I just need to figure out how to use my mana. Whenever I saw it in shows or shows with something similar it would either be stored in an organ or be something similar to blood. So at least there''s a starting point. So I closed my eyes and tried sensingsomethinginside of myself I guess. After what felt like hours I finally got some results. I found something shaped like a grapefruit in proportions just behind and below my stomach, and stored within was a transparent substance which I can only assume is my mana. Willing it to flow towards my mouth I spit out a ball of propertyless mana that just glowed in front of me. Sucking it back in and trying again this time so as to add either my fire or light property to it. As I was trying to get either to affect the mana, it seemed instead of one I got both and instead of another plain mana ball, I got a mini-sun.
You have learned Sun Magic!
Sun Magic was apparently its own sub-category of magic, which probably means any fusion of magic types will probably have its own sub-category magic. Too bad I didn''t have anything to try it out on, but the show must go on. Next Experiment, changing the form of the ball. Chapter 3 It has been five days since I first came to Gaia, or in others word since I was born. The first day I had nothing to do, but from the second day onward I was able to practice my magic whilemy body grew stronger. Now I could manage to stand unsteadily, so in a couple more days I should be able to walk around. Since I am still growing, my basic stats are increasing without me doing anything which is a relief to see because if I''m going to be fighting I''d like more than 40HP. Status!
Status
Name: Lugh Species: Sun Pup Level: 1
Health: 100/100 Mana: 340/340 Stamina: 120/120
Strength: 6 Agility: 8 Intelligence: 17
Vitality: 5 Wisdom: 21 Luck: 25
Titles: Reincarnated One, Child of Cerberus, Blessing of Loki
Skills: Appraisal, Fire Magic, Light Magic, Sun Magic, Basic Mana Control
Considering how young I am and the growth of my stats in just 4 days I can assume that by adulthood my stats will be quite fierce, all the better to keep myself alive with. When notpractising magic or trying to stand, I would either use Appraisal on all the things around me or mess around with my siblings. I don''t know if it was pack mentality or something else but I felt surprisingly close to the other pups. It does make me homesick for Earth though as it reminds me of the girls... I wonder how they''re doing about now?
Earth, 5 Days Ago: [Morgans POV] How...!? How could.... he die...? We were meant to be together forever! How could you leave us alone!? Surrounding Lewis'' corpse were my sisters bothwith slightly different reactions. Beth, was both furious and sorrowful at the same time, while deep within her eyes was a determination not there previously. Mackenzie, unlike her usual self, was weeping her eyes out while bawling in an ungraceful way while clutching onto Lewis'' body. While I myself am just numb with disbelief. How could he just up and die like that? We were meant to spend the rest of our lives together! Now, what''s left!? A corpse and three heartbroken girls! Turning my head towards Bale who was cowering in the corner from the aura I was emitting, I began walking towards him. "So Bale, thought you were hot stuff huh? Thought you could touchourman and no one would find out? Too bad you messed with the wrong women. I guess it''s time to show you what hell is really like..." As I finished my sentence my aura manifested and surged around Bale''s body which gradually withered until all that remained was a mummified corpse.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. When I reached out to grab ahold of his soul before it entered the afterlife I suddenly saw it disappear with a joker''s mark emblazoned on the chest of the corpse. "LOKI YOU DARING BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU TAKE A SOUL CLAIMED BY ME!" Just as I finished my sentence I was tapped on the shoulder and greeted by my sisters two grim faces. "Morrigan it''s not just Bale''s soul that has been taken, Loki has done something with Lewis'' as well. It seems the bastard has gotten cocky after we''ve left Gaia for so long. Guess it''s time to go back and teach him his place and find out what he did with Lewis'' soul." "Alright then, let''s go Badb, Macha it''s time to return to Gaia."
[Somewhere in Gaia] [Loki''s POV] Ah, so the board has been set and the game has begun. Just one final piece to put in its correct position. "Hello young lad, I am the God in charge of your afterlife. We''ll be seeing each other often, best regards." I greeted the trembling boy laying on the ground before me, though after what he''s just experienced can you blame him? Though his pain does send a shiver of ecstasy down my spine. "W-Who are you!? What happened to Morgan, that bitch, she was just here! Wait where is"here"? Oi, answer me you reject carnie!" Ah, this is the reaction I was looking for! The other boy was just too calm, this is the feeling I should get as a reward for saving these two bums from that boring old life. Who doesn''t like a life of chaos and strife? Hopefully, this game will stir the all too peaceful pot up. "I young one am your benefactor as I just saved your soul from being tortured by a God of Fate. Nasty bunch those who work with fate. One misdeed and all your future lives are fucking miserable. Even other Gods can''t help you once they get their hands on you. Luckily I was there in the nick of time. Well boy? Show some gratitude to my exalted self for saving your all but condemned soul." "Hmph, I didn''t ask for any help from a kook like you. And what''s with all this Gods, Souls and Fate bullshit? Sorry mate but I don''t have any money for your fortune telling mumbo jumbo." Hah, this is what I get for doing a good deed. I guess I should stick to the mischief schtick. Well the sooner the board is fully set the sooner the interesting conclusion will be reached. "OK, here''s the deal, you are being reincarnated into a land calledGaia, the land of heroes, where all legends originate, where even a simple slime has the power to destroy all life on Earth, where Gods fight for power and champions try to earn their favour. Gaia, the apotheosis of creation and a holy land for combat where monsters roam and demon lords are as common as a field mouse. Gaia the land of opportunity. In this land, you can gain the power to get revenge on the sisters who killed you and the young man you killed that started this whole situation. So that should be objective #1. I''ll be sure to keep in touch but for now Ciaossu!" And with that, a portal opened beneath his body andlittle Bale fell down the hole, bumped his head and bruised his soul. "You can''t do this to me you bastard! You fuuuckeeeer!!!" I hope you enjoy the "Wonderland" that is Gaia Bale, just remember Wonderland is not as wonderful as the name would have you believe.
Status
Name: Balor Species: Fomorian Level: 1
Health: 200/200 Mana: 80/80 Stamina: 260/260
Strength: 13 Agility: 8 Intelligence: 4
Vitality: 10 Wisdom: 4 Luck: 6
Titles: Reincarnated One, Prince of Fomorians, Blessing of Loki
Skills: Appraisal, Superhuman Strength, Eye of the Depths
Chapter 4 It has now been 14 days since I was reborn on Gaia. Within this time I think I''ve made good progress.
Status
Name: Lugh Species: Sun Pup Level: 1
Health: 140/140 Mana: 380/380 Stamina: 160/160
Strength: 8 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 19
Vitality: 7 Wisdom: 24 Luck: 25
Titles: Reincarnated One, Child of Cerberus, Blessing of Loki
Skills: Appraisal, Fire Magic, Light Magic, Sun Magic, Basic Mana Control, Mana Reinforcement
While all my stats have gone up by around 2 points, the main gain over this time was the Mana Reinforcement skill. After trying to use mana on my muscles I aquired the skill. With testing it turned into a very handy skill as my mana is a fair bit higher than my stamina and I could now support my stamina using this skill. Besides that, my skill in manipulating my mana and using my magic has improved significantly. One thing I learned about magic is that the key component to casting is imagination/creativity. While I could just cast a simple fireball and be done with it if I think more creatively I can compress it into another shape such as a bullet or arrow. If I then add a spin to the magic the damage goes up immensely. All in all, I have gained a lot in these past few days. Although my peaceful days were fated to be short. Over the past few days, I have noticed our mother giving us less and less food. This isn''t because there is no food to give, the opposite, in fact, the food she has hunted has increased but less has been given to us. I can only assume that soon we will be given no food and will be forced to hunt for food ourselves. As I recently learned while studying my skills this cave leads to a vast forest and from within its depths I heard the howls and cries of many beasts. So there is no lack of available food, the question is just whether or not my siblings and I are able to hunt that food. Speaking of my siblings, it seems most of them have congregated around my sister the Void pup and formed something reminiscent of a pack. While I myself and two other scrawny pups are lone wolfs so to speak. I myself don''t have much of a problem with this arrangement as it''s not like I''m being ostracised, I choose not to enter and am not ridiculed because of that choice. The other two, on the other hand, the same case cannot be made. With them being weaker and less fit they have been excluded from the group and forced to stay away. Although I felt pity for the two of them but this world runs on the law of the jungle and unless they shape up that law will swallow them whole.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. After practising a bit more I decided to leave the cave and head for the forest. While I could wait for our mother to force my hand and need to go hunt, by that time I would already be hungry and inefficient. So while I am still in good condition I head out to commence my first hunt.
As I took my first few steps from the cave and into the forest I noticed the Void Pup spying on me from the entrance. Shrugging it off I fully disappeared from the caves view. I would be lying if I said I wasn''t nervous and uneasy being surrounded on all sides by trees where any kind of beast could be hiding. After strolling around for 5 minutes and finding and sensing nothing my nerves relaxed slightly. Suddenly I heard a rustle from a shrubbery a few feet in front of me. From within the shrub, a green midget appeared while grunting and growling. Within its hands was a thick stick and the only clothing it had on was a dirt clad loincloth just barely covering its delicates. When I cast appraisal I saw what it was for certainty.
Goblin
Level - 4
HP - 80/80
As I thought, a Goblin, a typical RPG enemy nearly as iconic as the slime. While it was 3 levels higher than me I still had a higher health than it. I guess that just shows how important species rank is. Swiftly before it could react I used my Fire Magic to form a bullet of flame and adding a spin, aimed it to land between the Goblins eyebrows.
-222 Fatal Hit!
As soon as I fired the Goblin seemed to collapse on the floor before me. While I was still shocked by the instakill another message appeared before me.
Level Up!
Assured it was dead by the system I approached its corpse. After waiting a minute by its body I began trying to eat it. And while the taste wasn''t as bad as you would think it was still not great. It felt like chewing on a rubber boot but with the slight taste of kidney. I was overjoyed by what I gained after eating it.
VIT +1
Besides levelling up and growing naturally, I could also gain stats by eating monsters. Although I wonder why I never gained stats from eating the food brought by Mum? Is it because I didn''t kill it? That seems like the only plausible reason. With this, I was even more enthusiastic to hunt. Chapter 5 After defeating the first Goblin I began to search the area for more, so as to level up and gain more stats. I encountered 4 more Goblins afterwards and without incident killed them. With that, I levelled up to Level 3 and my Vitality and Strength was enhanced by two each. After two level ups and the 5 stats gained from eating the Goblins, my status looks like this/
Status
Name: Lugh Species: Sun Pup Level: 3
Health: 360/360 Mana: 780/780 Stamina: 400/400
Strength: 20 Agility: 26 Intelligence: 39
Vitality: 18 Wisdom: 40 Luck: 35
Titles: Reincarnated One, Child of Cerberus, Blessing of Loki
Skills: Appraisal, Fire Magic, Light Magic, Sun Magic, Basic Mana Control, Mana Reinforcement
Judging by the stats I''m getting per level it''s clear I am meant to specialize in magic. With the extra Vitality and Agility my survivability has risen which in a forest filled with enemies is most welcome. As I finished setting the remainder of the Goblin''s ablaze, I heard a yip of pain faintly in the distance. Surprised I ran towards the sound as fast as my four legs could carry me. Once there I saw my Void Pup sister cowering against a tree while being surrounded by two goblins and a slightly taller but different colour Goblin. The taller Goblin was a dark green almost black colour and while normal Goblins stand at around 3 feet this one stood at about 4 feet. While preparing Flame Shots I cast appraisal on the larger Goblin.
Elite Goblin
HP [240/240]
Level - 8
So that''s why it looked different! Not wanting to take any chances instead of using a regular Flame Bullet I began casting a Sun Magic version. The main difference being the Solar Bullet has an explosive trait. Quickly I shot the bullets towards the Goblins.
-377 -211 -219 Fatal Hit(s)
Level Up!
Level Up!
As soon as the flame bullets pierced the Goblins skulls they were done for. The Elite Goblins death, on the other hand, was a sight to see. As soon as the solar Bullet pierced his body the scene turned into a bloody flower blooming. All that was left of its body was its lower half as the rest burst apart. Approaching and trying to check if my sister was okay, I was suddenly tackled by her and shebegan to whimper against me. [A/N As they are both the same basic species type they can talk between each other.] "Are you alright big sis? It''s alright I''m here to help you. I''m not going anywhere" I said trying to comfort her. A skill I became adept in since on Earth it seems I was always upsetting one of the sisters in some way or another.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "R-Really? *sniffle*" She looked up at me giving me literal puppy dog eyes. Maybe if I was a normal pup I would''ve fallen for her with that but a shame that I''m human on the inside. "Of course! How could I just abandon my dear big sister out here?" I obviously just couldn''t leave... wait come to think of it, I don''t even know my sister''s name. "Um this may seem rude but what is your name? Mine is Lugh. I hope we can get along in the future." "Maeve. My name is Maeve. You better remember it and likewise, let''s get along in the future." With introductions out of the way, I tried to lead Maeve back to the cave but she wasn''t having any of it. "You got strong from hunting out here right? Take me along with you! I want to get stronger too!" I couldn''t exactly say that I could already kill Goblins in one shot from the start and dampen her spirit. Since she was tagging along with me anyway, I began to eat the Goblins and Elite Goblin. From the two Goblins, I received 1 Intelligence and 1 Strength. While from the Elite Goblin I received 4 Vitality. After I lead Maeve around trying not to one-shot all the enemies so she could get some experience which was surprisingly more difficult than just killing them. Once Maeve had hunted 4 Goblins with my help, it seemed she was fine by herself soI turned to separate myself. Just as I walked a couple of steps away I heard sniffling from behind me. "You big liar! You said you weren''t going anywhere! You said you weren''t going to abandon me! You big dummy!" Oh no. It seems I have stepped on an emotional landmine this time. She always seemed so tough and strong when she was in front of our other siblings that I thought that once she got some experience it would be fine to let her go back to before. "Hey hey I''m not leaving you for good. I''m just letting you hunt by yourself, we''ll still see each other in the cave and it''s more efficient anyway to hunt separately." "Did I do something wrong!? Did I do something to make you hate me? Tell me and I''ll apologise, just don''t leave...*sniffle*" "You did nothing wrong and I don''t hate you if it makes you happy I''ll stick around with you. Come on let''s head back okay?" "*sniffle* Okay..."
[Earlier on] [Maeve''s POV] That weird little brother of mine is leaving the cave for some reason. Why? Mommy is bringing us food and it''s safe in here. He really is weird. First, he distances himself from the group even though he is as strong as everyone else. Then he leaves the comfort of the cave to go out into the forest. If he''s not weird then he''s just stupid. I guess I should follow him to make sure he doesn''t hurt himself, that''s what a big sister should do right? It''s totally not like I''m curious about the forest... After following him for a while he encountered a scary green creature that popped out of the bushes. Seeing it I ran away in fear. Some time later after running for what felt like an hour, I realised what I just did. I abandoned my brother to die to that green creature. Even worse I wasn''t paying attention when I was running and now I''m lost. But I''m sure Mommy will be able to find me, right? [20 minutes later] "Waaaah! Mommy help me! I need you! I can''t do this by myself!" As I was crying out I heard rustles and footsteps coming closer towards me. "Mommy! Mommy! I''m over here!" But what appeared wasn''t my Mommy, it was two more of the scary green creatures and an even darker scarier looking one. "WAAAAAAH! No don''t eat me! I''m not tasty!" Suddenly the bad green guys stopped moving and the big one even went boooom! I then saw behind them was my little brother who I thought was dead. Once I was safe and saw so was my little brother, I let my feelings out. I tackled him and lay against him. I felt safe and comfortable with him next to me. I felt happy with him with me. Then when I thought he might leave me I got scared. I didn''t want him to leave and to lose this happy feeling. Seeming to sense my emotions he reassured me that he wouldn''t leave me. He then asked me my name. I realised I didn''t know any of my siblings'' names, I also didn''t remember being given a name but I instinctively knew what it was. After asking him to take me along with him so I could get stronger like he did, he brought me to find more green things and helped me beat them. After beating a few of them, a weird thing appeared in front of me.
Level Up!
Curious about it but not knowing how to ask about it to Lugh I lost my chance to ask about it as I saw him walking away from me. I was really afraid he was leaving me for good, I thought I did something wrong or I disappointed him somehow that was causing him to leave me. I was ready to apologise or change anything about myself that disappointed him if it meant he''d stay. I will never let him leave me... Chapter 6 When we got back to the cave I thought that Maeve would separate from my side that she was glued to since we started heading home. Alas, this was not the case as it seemed she stuck even closer than before. I assumed she was just emotionally unstable after her close brush with death in the forest. I''ll leave to be for the moment, she''ll eventually distance herself a bit. With my stomach full of goblins, I lay down to sleep with Maeve laying down right next to me with a weird look in her eyes. With everything that happened today, I was glad to have a nice rest.
When I awoke I noticed Maeve was no longer laying next to me, that''s not to say she had left but instead had gotten so close that she was practically on top of me. Looking around I could see my other siblings giving us weird looks. I sighed and began trying to move away without waking her. I thought I had gotten away successfully and began to leave to *ahem* relieve myself. Just as I was starting I was jolted as I saw Maeve standing next to me staring. "Umm Maeve? A bit of privacy, please?" Oh god, this really is getting out of hand, or paw in this case I guess? "Why? Also, what''s that thing you''ve got attached to you Lugh?" Really out of hand... "Go ask Mum, just let me go to the toilet in peace like seriously." I showed a dissatisfied expression which seemed to work on her and she rushed away. After I was done I found Maeve talking to our mother and seeing that she wasn''t paying attention to me I slipped outside and began trying to hunt again. When I had just killed a Goblin I saw Maeve walking towards me with a sad expression. "How did you find me?" I asked as I was honestly curious. "Well Bro, to be honest, I found you by your scent." I can''t tell if I should be creeped out as that sounds slightly stalkerish or okay with it because she''s a dog. "Bro I thought you were mad at me because of before?" She said looking down at the ground sadly. "I''m not mad at you, you just need to learn boundaries. There are certain situations where I don''t want you next to me. One of which being when I am going to the toilet. OK?" I felt that with Maeve unless I told her what was okay and what wasn''t she would never understand so I got this one out of the way for future instances. "OK, Bro!" She beamed with what I could only assume was as close to a smile that a dog could give, and her tail wagging intensely. So we set out to hunt more.
After a full day of hunting, I had levelled up another two times and gained an additional 5 points into Vitality and 3 points into Strength, which made my stats look a lot more impressive compared to before I first began hunting yesterday. On our way back to the cave I saw a twinkle in the distance and approached where I saw it. Once there I saw what cause the twinkle. In front of me lay a rock that looked so reminiscent of Meridia''s Beacon from Skyrim that I half expected to hear "A New Hand touches the beacon!" instead when I tried to pick up the rock with my mouth I was scared by Maeve who always seems to show up at the worst times. So much so that this time because of it I ended up swallowing the rock. I don''t think dogs are meant to eat rocks for whatever reason. Especially after the feelingI got after eating this one, as my insides felt they were being torn apart from the inside. I quickly passed out from the pain.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
[Two Days Later] As I awoke, remembering how I passed out I expected to be in pain but surprisingly I was feeling better than I had ever before. I noticed that once again laying next to me was Maeve and that we were in the cave. What was more shocking was that we were laying against our mother. Seemingly awoken by my movements my mother opened her eyes. In her eyes, I saw worry and concern. Which to be honest seems odd considering that my mother was a three headed demon hound. As I was looking at her, her three heads came closer to me and began licking my body. I don''t know if it was a show of affection or to check if I was alright but once she was done I gave snout a lick back to show that I was OK. Seeing that I was OK her face seemed to light up and she began rubbing her heads against mine. Once I tried to move away she spoke to me. "You shouldn''t move too much dear, the energy in your body was a mess when Maeve brought you back. I think you should just stay next to Mommy so you don''t hurt yourself anymore okay?" "Okay Mommy I''ll stay next to you until I get bett-" she interrupted me before I could finish. "No, no! It''s too dangerous! I thought it was fine to let you hunt to teach you how to survive but now I realise it''s too dangerous. You''re my precious son. You resemble your father so much that I just can''t stand the thought of you getting hurt like he did." This doesn''t look good for me. I''m now stuck between an overprotective mother and a stalker sister. "Mommy I''ll be fine this was just a one-time thing. Nothing happened before this." "No means no! That''s final." Knowing that for now, I''d have no chance of getting away from my over-powered Mom, I resigned myself to my fate and decided to look at my status to see what that stupid rock did.
Status
Name: Lugh Species: Sun Pup Level: 7
Health: 1300/1300 Mana: 2200/2200 Stamina: 1280/1280
Strength: 64 Agility: 85 Intelligence: 110
Vitality: 65 Wisdom: 100 Luck: 125
Titles: Reincarnated One, Child of Cerberus, Blessing of Loki, Blessing of Meridia
Skills: Appraisal, Fire Magic, Light Magic, Sun Magic, Advanced Mana Control, Mana Reinforcement, Life Magic, Arcane Magic
What the hell! It really was Meridia''s beacon! And besides that what is with this absurd boost to my stats! My luck had doubled than what it was before! I had also gained two new magic skills alongside my mana control skill changing from basic to advanced. Oh well, I guess this was a blessing in disguise literally! Taking this chance I began looking at what all my titles did exactly.
Reincarnated One
As a soul from another world born anew, your soul is stronger than most which aids in your mastery of magic and perception of the Dao.
Child of Cerberus
Born from one of the most legendary monsters and descended from the Gods Typhon and Echidna you exude a natural valour that makes monsters of a similar species cower before you. You are more attuned to the earth element as a descendant of Typhon while as a child of Cerberus you are more attuned to the Fire element.
Blessing of Loki
Blessed by the God of Chaos and Mischief himself you will find yourself in weirder and weirder situations. You are more lucky and smarter due to this blessing.
Blessing of Meridia
Blessed by the Daedric Prince(ess) of Life and Infinite Energies you gain stronger vitality and strength while also gaining more control over the energies you possess. Improves your affinity with the Life and Arcane Elements.
Chapter 7 Of the four titles, one thing stood out from them. In the Reincarnated One title it mentions the Dao, which seems out of place in a world of magic. For the most part, the Dao is in Xianxia and Xuanhuan novels to a lesser extent. While from what I''ve seen of this world so far it leans more towards an RPG fantasy similar to Japanese Light Novels. Although Loki did mention in his explanation of Gaia that heroes and legends are found all over Gaia. I assume that also includes famous Chinese heroes like Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang and Sun Wukong. But the problem is that I have no idea what exactly the "Dao" is. Usually, in stories, it will be something like "The Way" or the essence of the world. How in the hell am I meant to perceive the essence of the world!? Let''s just leave that alone for the moment I guess, not much I can do about it. If only there was a WikiHow of How to Perceive your Dao. For now, I''ll try and see what type of magic Life and Arcane are. Starting with life. From what I could gather it appeared to be nature magic. To give a comparison it would be like Senju Hashiramas Wood Jutsu in Naruto with medical ninjutsu as well. Arcane was a doozy. It was split into 8 different categories depending on what you wanted. It was essentially pure magic, able to be shaped into what was needed in the situation. The 8 categories are: Abjuration spells are protective in nature, though some of them have aggressive uses. They create magical barriers, negate harmful effects, harm trespassers, or banish creatures to other planes of existence. Conjuration spells involve the transportation of objects and creatures from one location to another. Some spells summon creatures or objects to the caster¡¯s side, whereas others allow the caster to teleport to another location. Some conjurations create objects or effects out of nothing. Divination spells reveal information, whether in the form of secrets long forgotten, glimpses of the future, the locations of hidden things, the truth behind illusions, or visions of distant people or places. Enchantment spells affect the minds of others, influencing or controlling their behaviour. Such spells can make enemies see the caster as a friend, force creatures to take a course of action, or even control another creature like a puppet. Evocation spells manipulate magical energy to produce the desired effect. Some call up blasts of fire or lightning. Others channel positive energy to heal wounds. Illusion spells deceive the senses or minds of others. They cause people to see things that are not there, to miss things that are there, to hear phantom noises, or to remember things that never happened. Some illusions create phantom images that any creature can see, but the most insidious illusions plant an image directly in the mind of a creature. Necromancy spells manipulate the energies of life and death. Such spells can grant an extra reserve of life force, drain the life energy from another creature, create the undead, or even bring the dead back to life. Creating the undead through the use of necromancy spells such as animate dead is not a good act, and only evil casters use such spells frequently.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Transmutation spells change the properties of a creature, object, or environment. They might turn an enemy into a harmless creature, bolster the strength of an ally, make an object move at the caster¡¯s command, or enhance a creature¡¯s innate healing abilities to rapidly recover from injury.
Because Arcane Magic is so expansive it would seem absurd to be able to use all different categories, from it. Of the eight categories, the ones that appeal to me the most would be Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination and Illusion. Abjuration is obvious as it would help ensure I continue living. Conjuration is mainly because stuff like teleportation and summoning sounds freaking awesome! Divination is more because information is vital to winning. "If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles." Illusion is basically there as a last resort if the need arises. Either way since Mum isn''t letting me leave her side for the foreseeable future I''ll have ample time to study my new abilities. To begin with I''ll try and figure out how to make a shield from the Abjuration school. I began by releasing a bit of mana as a ball in front of me. I then tried to shape it into something shield-like. The basic shape was like a Heater Shield. Then I began to use my imagination to make the mana denser so that it could block attacks. After that, I couldn''t think of anything that would make it more effective as a shield. For now, I flipped the shield around and sent it around 5 meters away from me. I then formed a fireball and shot it towards the shield(ward). I only shot a standard fireball with nothing fancy added in and besides a few flames that went around the ward, it seemed that it was physically sound. To stop the problem of flames going around the sides I could either expand the size of the shield so the flames will just hit more ward or just make sure that the ward is a certain distance in front of me when I cast it. Obviously, the better option is to expand the ward but with that, the consumed mana is increased while it''s simpler to just keep the ward a certain distance away from me. I''ll have to see which is more viable in an actual combat situation. Moving on I began trying to make an Anti-Life Shell. The premise is that it sets up an area that prevents living creatures from entering. I can, of course, let people I want into the shell. But with the shell protecting a wider area it consumes a lot more mana compared to the basic ward so much so that with my current mana I can only have three set up at one time. The idea is essentially to make a big ward dome that if you don''t meet certain conditions you can''t enter. Though since it is still a ward with enough power it can be broken. Another Abjuration spell that works well in conjunction with Anti-Life Shell is Alarm as I would be able to set up an Anti-Life Shell, apply an alarm and then I would know if the Anti-Life Shell is broken entirely or just broken into. So the combo is basically installing a lock on your door and if your door is broken then the alarm will tell you your house is being broken into. My mother curious as to where I had gone came over and saw me practising my Anti-Life Shell she was shocked. "Honey when did you learn to use magic!? And Arcane Magic at that!" "Um I ate a weird rock... and that''s what caused me to pass out. When I woke up I just had a feeling I could do it. Did I do something bad?" I gave Mum puppy dog eyes knowing she would go soft on me judging from her previous attitude towards me. "No, No! Nothing of the kind! The opposite actually, you did something really really good! Look at mommy''s little genius, already knowing Arcane Magic at such a young age." I underestimated how coddling my Mum was as I was once again in what could be considered as close to an embrace that two dogs, especially one with three heads, could manage. Trying to keep up the facade of a child I did my best to laugh shyly and innocently. "Mommy has to go get some food for you and your siblings, when I get back I''ll help teach you some magic OK? Now while I''m gone you best behave and don''t step a paw outside this cave." "Yes, Mommy!" After I replied she turned around and headed for the entrance. Now the question is whether I leave against her wishes and get yelled at or be a good little boy? Who am I kidding, of course I''m gonna go out into the forest. Chapter 8 When I exited the cave instead of heading the same way I went before I decided to travel in another direction to see if I could find any new creatures. I wasn''t disappointed. After about a 4 minute walk I found a small lake, and there I found a creature that looked like a buff deer with pincer-likeantlers atop their heads. Once I got close enough I cast appraisal on one.
Antlion Deer
HP [720/720]
Level 12
So that explains the pincers I guess. If I plan on killing these then I''m going to have to be more careful. Their health is triple what the Elite Goblins was and with there being over 10 of them here I''m either going to have lure some away or figure out a way to beat them all at once. As they are currently just grazing at this lake I should be fine for the moment. So I began to brainstorm for either a way to lure only some away or to kill them all at once. Then an idea struck me out of nowhere. My idea was simple. Although Life Magic has Life in the title it is more akin to Nature Magic and so I assume that within Life Magic there is a way to create poison. All I have to do is use said poison on the lake or the grass surrounding the lake and I would have easy kills. Although I would probably have to make it only last for a certain amount of time as I can''t just ruin an area for a bit of experience. Since magic mainly relies on imagination, when I cast my magic I imagined a paralysis poison as I didn''t want to kill all the wildlife that comes to the lake. Then I applied it to the area of the lake that the deer were drinking from. With that done I waited for the poison to take effect. After about 3 minutes a deer collapsed and soon after another 6 fell down as well. That left me with 3 more to deal with by myself. To start since I still had the element of surprise I sent 3 bullets straight for their head. Sadly with 7 of them collapsing, they were on alert. Still, I managed to kill one deer. That left me facing two more. Seeing me appear before them they both charged towards me while baring their pincers. I quickly set up a flame wall and then ran to the left of it similar to a matador just that the flames were my cape. Of course running through flames is still going to hurt a bit so they were none too pleased when they realised what I''d done. When they tried charging again I decided to try something different. I used my life magic to make the roots in their path stick out more with my aim being to make them fall over. One of them does fall for it luckily while the other has to try and find an alternate path to reach me. Although he will probably be an ally down by that point. Towards the fallen deer I sent out a Solar Bullet. The result is anti-climatic and spectacular at the same time. Anti-climatic because it was a one-hit kill since the damage had been increased with my increased intelligence. While it was spectacular as for the same reason the damage improved, so did the effect and all that remained of the deer was its hind legs.
Level Up!
As the notification appeared before me, the other deer had managed to manoeuvre around the roots and make its way over towards me. I grinned and sent three Flame Bullets towards it and since they were magic bullets I could try that curving bullets trick from Wanted.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. It dodged the straight bullet but as it had not expected the bullets to curve it was hit in its hind legs, I then decided to see if I could make a higher calibre bullet since at the moment when I imagined the bullet I have imagined a bullet you would see in a handgun. Feeling that sniper was a bit much, I started with an assault rifle while imagining a carbine rifle similar to the Commando in COD Black Ops or M4A4 in CS:GO. With the change in imagination besides the bullet packing more punch the firing rate also increased you and I quickly riddled the deer with bullet holes as it wasn''t expecting so many fired in its direction. Now all that''s left is the 7 paralysed deer who have just seen their three members being killed in quick succession. With them being paralysed it was rather simple. After killing them and eating them alongside the three killed previously I was met with two notifications
Level Up!
Level Up!
You have gained: +8 Strength, +7 Agility, +4 Vitality
With this, I had gained 3 levels and nearly all my stats were about to pass the 100 mark. All in all, I gained a lot from this short encounter. Although I better get back before Mum or else I really will get yelled at. Once I got back I noticed that Mum wasn''t back which was great as that meant that I was successful in hunting without her noticing. She came back around 40 minutes later and I had to try and eat the food she hunted for me with difficulty as I had already eaten 10 deer. I did manage in the end thankfully.
The peaceful day continued for another week until troubles began. It started with Mum having a worried look on her face,then a couple days later I realised the cause of it. Apparently, Grandma Echidna had found out Mum was hiding here and called her back home. It seems my mother refused until she showed up in person. It seems she didn''t know that my Mum was well a mum. To describe Grandma Echidna? Well first is she doesn''t look like a grandma at all. She looked like a Naga but her human half was really young. She looked about 23ish with soft pale skin, smooth red hair and piercing snake-like eyes. Even though I say piercing that was just the appearance as when she looked at me and my siblings she showed a lot of care. "Cera come back with me to the clan, please? The children are welcome there as well and they would grow better there than secluding them in this forest. It''s not safe in Gaia right now, the balance has been broken. Although Hellas is still relatively peaceful the waves are being to spread. It seems to be originating from the Norse so you must understand this forest is much too close for comfort. So please come back with me." My mother hesitated at first but once she heard about the danger she seemed to remember my incident last week and readily agreed to head back with Grandma. So thus I left my birthplace and headed for the Hellas Monster Clan.
Status
Name: Lugh Species: Sun Pup Level: 10
Health: 1800/1800 Mana: 3100/3100 Stamina: 1920/1920
Strength: 96 Agility: 128 Intelligence: 155
Vitality: 90 Wisdom: 136 Luck: 155
Titles: Reincarnated One, Child of Cerberus, Blessing of Loki, Blessing of Meridia
Skills: Appraisal, Fire Magic, Light Magic, Sun Magic, Advanced Mana Control, Mana Reinforcement, Life Magic, Arcane Magic
Chapter 9 Our mother led us outside the cave entrance where instead of seeing the forest spreading out before us we saw a squirming starry void encasing all of the cave''s entrance. My siblings were excited to see the outside world but as Maeve and Ihad already been outside wewere rather calm in comparison. As I had already learned magic I wasn''t amazed by this sight, I was more intrigued or curious about how it worked than awed by its appearance. My mother seemingly noticing my curiosity explained to me what I was looking at. "Curious? That''s your grandma''s special portal, it has nearly no danger so even the weakest creature can travel through it. It can teleport to any place Grandma''s been before, so if there is ever an emergency she can just directly relocate the entire clan. She stabilises the portal by using something similar to magic pillars to support the space channel and Life Magic to allow weaker life to pass through the channel harmlessly." "Hey what are you telling him all that for? It''s not like he''ll understand it. It takes months before monsters can use magic, you know that. Most rely on their bodies to fight before that." Grandma interrupted sounding more lecturing than angry. "But Mum he already knows magic and he even knows Arcane Magic! I saw it! Show her Lugh!" Mum became mad when I was underestimated and I was foisted into the spotlight. My siblings after hearing the commotion were now looking over and looking especially intently at myself in the centre of it all. Now even though I could step up to people breaking rules or laws I was generally afraid of being in the limelight as shown by how I only had three friends in my entire life. I wasn''t very social and was very neutral thus most people overpowered me in conversations that weren''t debates. Shyly shuffling on the spot I looked up and saw both my mother and grandmother staring at me. My mother was staring in expectation while my grandmother was staring with a twinge of curiosity. Resigning myself with a sigh I began to cast a basic ward spell to quickly end this incident. As we were in the cave and the entrance which would usually allow light in was blocked the surroundings were near pitch black. So when my bright ward appeared it caused a sensation that I didn''t intend for. Lying on the ground were my siblings whimpering while covering their eyes. Besides myself, there were only three others still standing though still somewhat blinded. My Mother, Sister and Grandmother all looked at me with three very different gazes. My mother was ecstatic and her eyes were radiating joy but slight worry over her other pups. My sister''s eyes were full of passion and looked like she wanted to tackle me right there and shout ''Amazing!'' Lastly, my Grandmothers face was the image of shock. Her gaze was locked on the ward floating in front of me radiating a brilliant light though it was dimming under my control. "A-Arcane Magic! H-How!? You are only a few weeks old at the most! It should be impossible! Even elementary magic shouldn''t be possible until you are at least 4 months old! Boy, speak! How did you manage this?" Her face gradually recovered while she was speaking while her tone also became more and more curious than shocked. I myself was stumped trying to think of how to reply. I can''t just casually say "Oh yeah I was reincarnated by Loki God of Chaos and received the blessing of MeridiaDaedric Princess of Life. No biggie." Although Echidna herself is at least a Demi-God according to mythology and is sometimes a God so it might not be the worst course of action. Although from the conversation earlier things seem turbulent in Norse lands. Oh well, I never was good at lying so I might as well come clean and maybe get some advice. "Um... It''s kind of a long story. I don''t know how long your portal can stay open so do you want me to explain it here or wait until later Granny?" While saying this I put on the most pitiful expression I could trying to gain sympathy points from her. "You''re right we should head out first we''ve been delayed long enough. Everyone gather up! We''re heading out!" With that, we all stepped into the portal and left behind our birth place and began our lives in the Hellas Monster Clan.
As I stepped into the void-like portal I experienced an odd sensation that I knew was magic but a kind I had not encountered up until this point. Which wasn''t saying much as I had experience with only Fire, Light, Sun and Abjuration out of Arcane Magic. Thinking logically I would assume that the magic was Space magic which is near identical to Conjuration from the Arcane Magic or it might in fact just be Conjuration magic. After thinking along those lines I began to try to get a sense for this feeling in case it came in handy when I was trying to learn Conjuration magic. After focusing my mind and trying to get a feeling of this magic the sensation I got was like staring down a deep hole that has no end in sight. Besides that, I felt the magic constantly moving. Not like the wind. More like when it is so hot it seems as if you can feel and see the heat. Within that feeling, there was constant movement almost alike to a squirming bug. It was a very loose and vague feeling that it was hard to describe. Suffice to say that it was difficult to understand. While being engrossed in sensing out this magic I quickly reached the end of the tunnel and could see a clear white light at the end. Once I appeared out of the tunnel I was greeted with a large wall that stretched upwards nearly blotting out the sun from behind it. If I had to guess it would be at least 100 feet in height. That''sminimum.Even at my lowest estimate, it is still nearly 4 times as large as the Great Wall of China. As I could only see one face of the towering wall I couldn''t get a sense for its thickness. It''s appearance, however, was a clear and distinct marble as pure and bright a white as I would expect an Angels wings to have. Inscribed on those walls were passages of text spread evenly around the wall, the language which I could only assume was Ancient Greek, shone on those white walls with a golden lustre that shined brightly with the glaring sunlight shining down on them. In-between two passages of text was a large gate that reached to about 80% the height of the wall made of what appeared to be golden scales and a dull white metal as support. Standing next to this gate were two statues that gave off the image of supporting the gate. One was of Echidna, the matriarch of the clan, and Typhon, the patriarch of the clan.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Besides the gargantuan walls and the images upon them, surrounding me was a hub of activity. The portal had led to a square in front of the clan as it seems the clan was in the centre of a city. Which was here first is pretty clear with the reverent gazes the civilians around are sending our way as we stood in the square with Grandma in the lead but Mother taking the limelight in her massive form. "Cera, can you please change form? You know how it freaks out the inhabitants of the city to see a member of the clan in the city." Grandma sighed as if having had this conversation with her many times before. I noticed that her form had also changed and besides her beauty, she looked just like an average human. Looking depressed with having to change form, Mother quickly gave out a puff of smoke that seemed to be both a grunt of dissatisfaction and a way of hiding her changing form. Appearing out of the smoke was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties at most. Her features were soft which gave her an innocence to her youthful looks. This was immediately dissipated though when you look further down and see the clothes she was wearing. She was wearing a deep tiger-red sports bra and matching yoga pants. This by itself was fine, but with her figure, it turned the outfit near obscene. Her breasts were straining the bra''s straps to their limits to the point that I''d salute it for its valiant service. Her hips were wide enough that I would think that standard human doors would not allow her entry walking in normally. It didn''t help the yoga pants that her thighs and ass were her best feature to the extremes that it wouldn''t be a surprise for a cult to form to worship it. Her hair and eyes being a fiery red tied the appearance together. All in all, she seemed like a mixture of a sex god and an innocent virgin even though it seemed like a contradiction when you looked at her it seemed to perfectly fit. In her new form, she approached me and picked me up into her arms where she then began petting me with an obscene expression on her face. if not for the system title in my status I would have questioned whether this woman was my mother or just a sexual deviant who kidnapped us all. "Ah! My spirit is being healed. Lugh you''re such a good boy. You helped me show off in front of Granny so I''m rewarding you with a round of petting. You better be thankful." Really, she gave that as a reason as to pet me. I would call her Tsundere if she actually got angry so what Dere would this be? Of course, as I was now a dog I did really enjoy her petting and my tail began wagging in joy. So much so that I began licking her on the face. This caused a giggle to escape from her mouth which then turned into a full fit of laughter. Even in her changed form, she attracted everyone''s sight and soon we were once again the centre of attention in the square. Grandma was standing a slight distance away with a happy expression with a slight trace of reminiscence in her eyes. Maeve, on the other hand, was glaring in jealousy at Mum. Most would think she is jealous of the petting I''m receiving but then she would be glaring at me not Mum. Finally, Grandma clapped her hands loudly and gathered our attention. "We can''t stay here all day. Come on Grandpa is waiting for us inside." With that, we obediently followed her lead into the clan through the massive gate....''s side entrance. There was no way they would open up an eighty-foot gate just for two humans and around a dozen pups. Within those massive walls was an unexpected sight. I expected a fantastical scenery to be laid before me or at least an outstanding scenery worthy of the massive walls surrounding it. But no it was as if the walls weren''t even there and what appeared before was what looked like more city. The only difference would be that there were the occasional massive proportion houses or stores dotted around the clan''s part of the city. Which would make sense since I would think my Mum is not the only one who prefers to be in original form. We were lead to a large courtyard in from what I could tell was the centre of the city. It looked like a mixture between a Roman villa and a Chinese courtyard. I could tell they were aiming for more of a Chinese feel though as the landscape was dotted with bamboo and a few koi ponds. If it was on Earth it would''ve probably been criticised as a botched job but here in Gaia with its mystical elements, the landscape looked beautiful. At the centermost pond, there was a man resting against a rock while fishing, if you can even call it that as it seemed he held no interest in his rod at all. With Granny in the lead and us following like obedient chicks, we approached the man who still seemed to not have noticed us. It wasn''t until Granny whacked him across the head and I heard a snort of waking that I realised he had just been asleep. "What are you doing sleeping you old coot!? I told you I would be bringing Cera''s lot back today to meet you but you go and doze off! You really do never change! I would''ve thought after all these years you would have copped on." Grandma began a stream of berating that caused the man''s complexion to get worse and worse but he had no way out as he was in the wrong here. I might''ve been imagining it but I thought I saw a glint pass by his eyes. He tried to settle the situation in the only way he knew how. With a flash, Granny was in his embrace with their lips locked. She gave a weak attempt at resistance but finally gave up. It was only ten minutes later that he let Granny rest. He carefully lay Granny, who was out of breath, down on the grass. He then looked over at us seeming to have only remembered we were here. His eyes seemed to light up when he saw Mum. "Ah, Cera! My dear Cera! Come give daddy a hug!" With that, he leapt towards Mum. Sadly for him, things didn''t end well. With a kick to the face, he was sent flying. "Hmph, you think after that display I''m letting you anywhere near me or my kids? Dream on. Come back when you''ve fixed your bad habits, you lecher." With that said she went over to check on Granny with me still being carried in her arms. When she reached Granny''s side and let me down. I went next to Granny and gave her a lick on the cheek to see if she was alright. She turned her head to look at me and gave me a sweet and warm smile and began petting me. I understand I''m soft and all but why does everyone keep petting me!? I shyly backed away and ran to hide behind Mum hoping to avoid head pats. Even there I was unsafe as I was then picked up by Grandpa and then he also began rubbing me. No matter how good it feels I just want to be left alone! "Hmm so this is the little tyke is Cera''s prized child. He doesn''t seem too special? Especially to warrant such affection from Echidna. Although this sensation is quite satisfying. Kid, you don''t mind me using you as a pillow right? Good, let''s..." Before he could finish he was pierced by three glares, while one could be neglected the other two quickly made him drop me to save his hide. "Ty do you need a beating? It seems you''ve been too relaxed lately you''ve started getting rebellious. This old lady will have to knock some sense back into that thick skull of yours." With a tight grasp on his skull, it seemed like there was no escape for Grandpa. My condolences. I quickly ran into the litter of speechless pups so that I can escape being pulled into the spotlight again.
We finally managed to get things back on track soon after where Grandpa explained the basics of the clan. Roughly the Clan had 10 main branches based on the children of Echidna and Typhon. Orthus, Cerberus, Lernaean Hydra, Sphinx, Nemean lion, Prometheus'' Eagle, Ladon, Crommyonian Sow, Gorgons, Colchian Dragon, Scylla. As the Orthus was just a two-headed variant of Cerberus they were classed as the same branch. Although my auntie Orthus was on really good terms with Mum it seems the same could not be said for the rest of the branches. Besides Echidna and Typhon, the other branches were fighting to gain more and more power within the clan so that they''re offspring would get better resources from the clan. That was why Mum left the clan to give birth as she was afraid something might happen. Now that my siblings and I are here we will be mixed into this chaos. Can I just have my peaceful days back?