《Seeker of Myths》 Myth 1: Prologue to New Beginnings Myth 1: Prologue to New Beginnings This story begins in a secluded mountain home with a very somber atmosphere. The dark clouds in the sky blanketing the surrounding with the pitter patter of rain fall. In the main living room a group of people kneeling on the ground and bowing in respect as a great person has left the realm of the living. This man was Miyamoto Hanzou. He was known for being one of the last traditional sword smiths in the art of creating Japanese traditional swords best known as katana. This long forgotten art form is one of Japan`s national treasures and his swords were well sought out by many Japanese politicians, military leaders, and underworld bosses. He was also known for being a descendent of the great Miyamoto Musashi and has taught many practitioners of the Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu sword style at this location. His disciples ranged from yakuza to military officers. He did not believe in any political or legal standpoint to teach his way of the sword or better known as bushido. The only request he has given them was to only teach those they can trust. Hanzou also practiced ninjutsu and was considered a grand master of this fighting style. Not the ninjutsu found in stories and manga but actual assassination arts. He only taught the best students these arts and they are put under oath to not share these arts to no one but their descendents. At the age of eighty he passed on with many achievements in warfare, martial arts, philosophy and also some unmentionable titles in the criminal underworld. Within his lifetime he has only sired one child. His beloved wife died a few years after his only son was born. He had high hopes for his son to carry on his legacy but his son did not follow his wishes. He taught him as much of his skills as possible but his son was not built for fighting. He knew that and allowed his son to follow whatever dreams he wanted to pursue. The man standing in front of everyone and greeting each member had a very sharp and handsome face. Although he was in his forties he did not show any traces of it except a silver lining of hair on the right side of his head. This man was Miyamoto Kenshiro the CEO of the Yamato Corporation. He owned the second most successful business in Japan for this period of time. He was considered a genius in business with connections both legal and in the underworld. He was also well regarded in the area of science and mathematics. He did not smile nor showed any emotion in his face. Beside him was his second wife Miyamoto Sakura and their fraternal twin children Miyamoto Kenji and Miyamoto Hanabi. The children had red puffy eyes from crying as someone important to them has passed away. There was another young man who stayed in the corner of the room. Eyeing the picture and the urn with Hanzou`s ashes. Turning his gaze towards the twins and once he made eye contact he nodded his head. The two children walked towards him and he bent down and hugged him. ¡°Aka-nii!¡± Quietly sobbed Hanabi as she tightly grasped her elder brother. Her other brother buried his head into the young mans shoulder wiping tears on the mans suit. The young man had medium length black hair slicked back in a very similar style as his father. Wearing a black suit and a tie, he allowed the two sobbing children to hug him while their tears began to fall and merge with his suit. His name was Miyamoto Akaro. His father was not the one who named him. It was Hanzou that did. The same grandfather who had had been cremated not too long ago. After a bit of time he slowly got up but still held his siblings hands one on each side. Their noses and eyes moist after rubbing the tears and runny noses they had. They have calmed down but they all went stiff as their eyes met their fathers. The front of the room showed a picture of his late grandfather. There was no urn filled with ashes of his cremated grandfather. Instead there was a very beautiful katana displayed by the picture. Many of the discerning eyes believed and named it Miyamoto Hanzou''s greatest work but there was a secret to the blade that only his direct family will ever know. It was made by his only apprentice in the art. Miyamoto Akaro. Kenshiro showed no fondness for his first son. His first wife died after giving birth to him. The hatred and helplessness he felt as he watched the love of his life succumbing to the hands of death was all directed to Akaro. He had left the boy in his father''s care as even a glimpse of him put him in a foul mood and would tempt him to kill the child. In order for him to run his business he had to cut out any weaknesses that would cause him to falter. He knew his son was not at fault for the death of his mother, Nu Eun Mi, but nonetheless the hatred grew. After a few years the hatred turned into indifference. He had no longer deemed Akaro as a son. But he could not do anything about it as he is technically his heir. As long as his father was alive the possibility of that changing was impossible. Now that he has passed the opportunity has presented itself. He was a businessman and he was not going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers. ¡°I''m sorry for your loss.¡± Another stern looking man made a comment. Kenshiro who was brought out of his dark thoughts looked back at the man. ¡°You give us great honour for visiting us in this time of mourning. Kusanagi-dono." Kusanagi clan was heavily affiliated to the yakuza. Their leader was Kusanagi Tatsumi and was a very honourable man. He was Miyamoto Hanzou''s very first disciple in the way of sword. Kenshiro was talking to this man and he turned to look at the young woman beside him. ¡°Kusanagi Kiyomi-hime has grown to be a fine beauty like her namesake. Thank you for coming.¡± Kenshiro remained polite as this was a man who was quite close to his grandfather and one of the people who supported the Miyamoto clan in the shadows. ¡°Thank you for your compliment and my condolences.¡± Kiyomi replied. Kiyomi looked behind her and saw the young man comforting his siblings. She unintentionally glared as she had a grudge against the young man but this was not the place to act on it out of respect to her father''s sensei. She and her father left after making their greetings. Many other people greeted Kenshiro before leaving. Some of Hanzou¡¯s disciples from different countries who held considerable political power. Many were politicians in power who has backed the Miyamoto clan financially and some who were active board members of his company. Once the last man left home he turned his attention to his family. ¡°Miyamoto Akaro,¡± Kenshiro spat out before he continued, ¡°As you may have already come to know, I do not see you as a son. Nor will I ever acknowledge you as the heir to the company I worked so hard to build.¡± Akaro did not flinch or react to the hateful words coming out of his father''s mouth. He only nodded as he stared at the raging eyes before him. His half siblings reacted almost immediately startled by his raised voice and hid behind him. ¡°Hanabi, Kenji.¡± They jumped as they were being called by their father as he continued, ¡°Go to your mother.¡± They silently walked and sat beside their mother on tatami floor. She was wearing a traditional black kimono used for mourning at a funeral. Although she was wearing plain clothing her face showed a serene type of beauty that can be only described by the Japanese as a Yamato Nadeshiko. As her husband spoke she kept a composed face. Although inwardly she hated how her husband treated her stepson but out of respect for her husband she did not openly shared her feelings. When they married Akaro was only the age of seven as he was brought along with her soon to be father in law. She wanted to befriend him and wanted him to acknowledge her as his new mother but her husband was highly against it. It was not until after she gave birth and visited Hanzou every year with her own children did she create some sort of bond with the boy. She knew he wouldn''t accept her as a mother but she wanted him to know that she did not share the same views as her husband. Taking out a piece of paper, Kenshiro laid it out in front of Akaro. ¡°Sign this.¡± Akaro read the paper as he held the pen in his right hand. It stated: ''I, Miyamoto Akaro, renounce my name and any claim on any profit the Yamato Corporation will have present and in the future. I sign my name here to verify that I have no more ties to Miyamoto Kenshiro and the Miyamoto family.'' Upon my signature of these terms I will take the inheritance that my grandfather, Miyamoto Hanzou, has left me in a lump sum to be entrusted to my other grandfather, Nu Myung-Dae, until I have proven to be able to handle my own inheritance. I will also leave the country of Japan and live with Nu Myung-Dae in Korea and spend the rest of my life in Korea.'' Signature............................................ Witness..................................................... The eighteen year old boy pondered. This was an opportunity for him to meet his family in Korea. He knew of them when he spoke with his grandfather as he explained that he was half Korean. He had no other family left other than his step siblings and mother. He knew they did not think the same way as this man who he was told his father. He had no love for this man who seldom showed up in his life. The only memories with this man were the glimpse of pain and sorrow in his eyes for brief moments before replaced with hatred. He was about to sign the paper until he heard the voice of his younger brother. ¡°DON''T SIGN IT ANIUE!¡± Shouted Kenji. ¡°Father he is your son and my brother! This is disrespectful to our honoured grandfather.¡± ¡°Kenji!¡± His father bellowed. ¡°You are the next heir of the family. I will not have you disrespect me!¡± As he walked towards the younger boy and prepared to strike him Akaro moved like a shadow and stopped him. ¡°I will sign. Do not hurt him.¡± Akaro finally spoke throughout this night. He seldom spoke and his whole family knew that. One of the reasons he was deemed unworthy of inheriting the name Miyamoto, was his lack of social skills. He grew up in the mountains with only his grandfather and his grandfather''s students. Even then he only spoke with his grandfather and never made any friends with the pupils as they had a large age gap of twenty years. Breaking free from Akaro''s grasps he then scowled and glared at Kenji. He hated how his other children held such respect for the older boy. He then looked at his wife and noticed the icy glare staring back at him. He knew she loved her children and any harm to them would be a faux pas. He grimaced as he knew he will not hear the end of it later on this evening. Mustering up his courage Kenji continued, ¡°Then I propose a slight change in the contract.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Kenshiro amused with his son trying to barter with him. He taught the boy the essence of business and groomed him to be a proper heir. Out of curiosity he motioned the boy to continue. Kenji sighed as waves of relief hit him, ¡°I want to propose that he does not cut ties with us his siblings. We want to be able to visit him whenever we want. I will acknowledge I am the sole family heir but I do not want to lose my Aka-nii.¡± At that both Hanabi and Kenji kneeled in seiza position as if asking for forgiveness for their rude behavior. ¡°Anata you should consider this as they would have not been here if not for his aid and guidance.¡± Sakura added on. Taking the paper from Akaro, Kenshiro took out a pen and made the adjustments. He knew at this point this would probably be the best he can get out of it. Giving the paper back to Akaro he motioned him to sign. ¡°Be thankful I am letting this change happen.¡± he blurted out and waited for the young man to sign it. Akaro did not hesitate and signed the piece of paper and gave it to his step-mother to sign as the witness. He was quite pleased that his step family cared for him but he did not smile. It was part of his training to keep his emotion in check regardless of the situation. After confirming the signature was made Kenshiro took the paper and signed it as well. He then started speaking, ¡°You will be packing all your things and I have already made sure all the items my father wanted you to have are in the plane. You will be leaving tonight.¡± With that he left the room as he knew his family will want to speak with him. He went to a bedroom that was prepared for him and his family. Once their father left the room the twins latched onto Akaro without hesitation as they sobbed. They were so saddened that he was leaving them. Their mother also stood up and gave him a quick hug before leaving to berate her husband in private for the way he was acting in front of the children. ¡°Onii-cha..an¡± Hanabi sniffled out, ¡°You''ll stay in contact with us won''t you?¡± ¡°I''ll send a letter.¡± Akaro simply replied smiling slightly as her dishevelled hair and face came into view. She was a cute girl that takes after her mother and for sure would grow up to be a beauty. ¡°You should get a laptop and send emails to us. But then again...¡± Kenji started out to say before his face contorted as he continued, ¡°The last time we tried to get you to use a laptop you blew it up.¡± ¡°That was an accident! I saw a bug and screamed and he... he... tried to protect me!¡± Hanabi defended. ¡°By throwing the laptop at the cockroach and throwing several kunai along with it...¡± Kenji sighed at the overprotective attitude his half-brother displayed in that memory before continuing, ¡°Regardless aniue still has problems with electronics. Even when I wanted him to play some video games with me, we would play on the old super famicom (super nintendo) as the controls were simple.¡± complained the younger boy. ¡°Promise me aniki you''ll try to get used to technology. I cannot be there to help you with that, now that you are leaving.¡± With an apologetic facial expression Akaro nodded at his junior. The young boy, like his sister, was cute. He knew that Kenji looked very similar to his father but had a more gentler look. He also knew his younger sibling was right as he was not used to using technology. His grandfather believed that technology made people forget about training their bodies and the major cause of laziness. He doesn''t hold the same prejudice but he grew up with less access to modern technology. He would prefer to read then to play games. He humoured his brother and played an old system his father apparently used when he was a child. He thought it impossible his father would play games but remembered that everyone was a child once. As soon as the goodbyes were set he went to his room to pack his belongings which wasn''t much. He had the first katana he ever made, his dark red ninja garb he used for training, and a whole library of books that ranged from history, fantasy, languages, and even biology. Particularly the languages he was most interested in were Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Tagalog, and German. Majority of languages he wanted to learn were due to not only the disciples that have come to learn under his grandfather but also in grandfather¡¯s many war stories.Having a photographic memory helped in learning to write with these languages but also because of his grandfather¡¯s disciples he was able to also practice speaking with them as well. Not as fluent as a native speaker but just enough to be able to hold a conversation. This made his heart somewhat more calm as he will be heading to a land where he can somewhat understand the language. He knew that his mother was from Korea and was one of the languages he decided to learn first early on. To be more precise his grandfather made sure he was to learn it first out of honour to his mother. As he did not attend school growing up, most of his education was either self taught or guidance from his grandfather. As he was being driven to the airport he used this time to meditate and calm his nerves. He was going to miss his home in the mountains and he missed his grandfather the most. Although he was already the age of eighteen and was a young man he couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly afraid. As they arrived at the airport he clenched his fist as he was directed to the private jet. Once seated he only held on tightly as the plane quickly departed. The anxiety of being in a vehicle that flew also did not help with his nerves but he could not help but see the beauty of seeing the top of clouds illuminated by the moonlight. The country of Japan did not lose one national treasure but two. The greatest legacy that Miyamoto Hanzou has left behind was not his students, nor the swords he created, or even the achievements he accrued throughout his life. It was the black haired youth who was now becoming a citizen of Korea. *** Touching down at the Incheon International Airport he had finished reading his book and was taking a small nap. The moment the landing gear hit the ground Akaro woke up immediately. Checking his surroundings he got up and prepared to leave the plane. The moment he stepped out of the private jet his body froze. The notion of entering another country has now hit him. The feeling of unfamiliar territory caused his senses to tense and his focus to increase. Now he understood the meaning of a foreigner. Still wearing the suit he wore for Hanzou''s funeral he followed the direction the pilots were going. As he was about to ask about the luggage a man came up and bowed to him. ¡°Young master, we will be handling the luggage. Please continue to follow the pilots to enter the airport.¡± A man shorter than him bowed and spoke to him in Korean. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. As his understanding was still limited to basic Korean he nodded.. As he thought he was being called young master would mean that his grandfather in Korea, Nu Myung-Dae, must be someone of importance. As he was pondering he entered the airport and a whole group of people started to stare at him. Feeling the stares he frowned slightly as he thought maybe they thought he was an eyesore as he believed they saw an ugly foreigner. Contradictory to what he was speculating they were looking at him as he was some kind of actor from overseas. His facial look was considered handsome to most women and men alike. He was taller than the average Korean and his build from training for the majority of his life showed through even with the suit covering most of the skin. They also saw him leave from the private exits saved for rich businessmen rather than the exits used by those who flown the commercial flights. Looking a bit lost he thought, ¡°Strange, now that I think about it. I do not know anyone here. How am I going to find my grandfather?¡± Standing in the middle of the airport in thought, women began to gather around him but kept a safe distance away as they continued to stare at him. They began to whisper between each other and started rating him and daring each other to try and approach him. Feeling the predatory eyes of the women around him Akaro thought, ¡°They all look like they would try to eat me...¡± Growing up in the mountains and only being surrounded by men he was sheltered from the advances of women. The only women he knew was his step mother and his half sister. Not liking the situation he started to silently walk towards the exits of the airport in which the taxi cabs can be found. As Akaro stepped out of the airport he was then approached by a beautiful women in her late thirties. She wore a suit jacket and matching skirt. She had beautiful dark brown hair that was cut up to her shoulders. She had glasses that matched well with her eyes. She then hugged him before he can react. Feeling him being tense she chided herself for acting so familiar with him. ¡°Hello my nephew.¡± She quickly said as she let go of him and apologized, ¡°I''m sorry for hugging you all of a sudden. You reminded me of your mother.¡± A stray tear came out of her eyes. After hearing her say those words and noticing the tears attempting to leave her eyes he nodded. Akaro understood that this person was someone related to him from his mother''s side. The embrace caught him off guard but he let it go as she was being sincere. Still he stayed silent as he was wondering what her name was. ¡°I''m your aunt, Kim Juhee.¡± Juhee quickly followed up, ¡°Call me, auntie.¡± He nodded once more before replying, ¡°Yes auntie.¡± Juhee was surprised from hearing his voice as this was the first words he spoke to her. She thought ¡®He has a really nice voice just like, unni.¡¯ Looking him up and down she saw that this boy was going to be breaking a lot of hearts but she can feel that he was not used to that type of attention. She spotted a grouping of girls starting to gather around and decided it was time to leave. ¡°Follow me. I''ll be driving you to abeoji.¡± As she pulled him towards her luxury vehicle. Akaro followed her and sat on the passenger side. He felt the predatory looks start to fade away and was quite thankful for his aunt. They started to drive towards the location where his grandfather resided. During the trip he quickly memorized the street names and highway information they passed by in the case he ever had to go back to the airport. As they drove he started to notice less of the concrete commercial buildings to a more rural area. Seeing many houses were built so close together and knit themselves onto the hill. As they started driving up one street where he noticed a house with farm animals being raised. ''So they could raise chicken and rabbits in this neighbourhood. Must be a good area.'' He pondered as he notice the area with young families and the elderly living in the surrounding area. He saw a house for sale nearby the one house with the chickens and he made note of it mentally.'' Driving up the street they came to a secluded driveway that lead further in. His aunt continued to drive until they reach a traditional Korean house with a large front yard. The serenity that exuded from this house showed that it was well kept and as not even a spiderweb nor and damage can be found on it. The stone walkway curved towards the home while the yard itself had a pond and a man-made waterfall falling into it with a gentle soothing noise as it hit the stones and rocks below it. After leaving the car he walked towards closer to the pond and noticed many gold fish in it as well. Very similar to the koi ponds in the home he lived before. He had a thought that his Korean grandfather might have similar taste to his Japanese one. Following his aunt he took off his shoes at the entrance and silently walked beside his aunt. His movements were so quiet that if Juhee had not already known he was beside her she would have jumped as she may have seen a ghost. As they entered the living room he saw an elderly old man reading a novel. He had snow white hair and golden rimmed round glasses. He looked to be in his sixties as he looked a bit younger than Hanzou. His face had a dignifying look only found on those who were accomplished and held great wisdom. Placing his book down, Nu Myung-Dae stood up and eyed the young man with a sincere gaze. The same sincere eyes stared intently to measure his grandson. In Japanese he spoke to Akaro, ¡°Welcome my grandson. My name is Nu Myung-Dae. Please call me harabeoji or whatever you are comfortable with. I also like gramps, grandpa, or even old man.¡± He winked at the last statement as he said that to be humorous as a smile showed on his face. Akaro didn''t return the smile as he was still wary with this old man. He gave a polite nod and bowed towards his grandfather as he done so many times in the past to show respect. As there was no reaction to his joke Myung-Dae was taken aback slightly. He was hoping that joke would have broken the ice but instead he saw his grandson bowing to him out of respect. The surprise was only for a moment before he spoke, ¡°There is no need for such formalities. I am your grandfather and even though this is our first meeting I just want you to relax and let us get to know each other.¡± He quickly glanced at Juhee and she gave him a look as if asking ¡°Is this normal.¡± Juhee during the whole trip tried a few times to start a conversation but was greeted with silent nods instead of a verbal response. She sighed as he was doing the same thing to her father. ''I wonder why he is so quiet. Even when he walks he''s like a ghost.'' She slightly shuddered at the thought of him haunting her. He had that eerie atmosphere around him but she chalked it up as nervousness meeting with his Korean family for the first time. Juhee, Myung-Dae and Akaro all went towards a square table and sat in the cushioned chairs. Myung-Dae smiling as he got to see his only grandson while he was still alive. Juhee showing the same smile feeling she just got a new son. While Akaro stared blankly at the both of them not knowing if he should returned the smile or not. ¡°What is your first thoughts on our lovely country?¡± His grandfather asked him in Japanese. Although it was not the best accent he still understood it. Akaro thinking that it may be uncomfortable for his grandfather to continue speaking in Japanese he replied in Korean, ¡°It is warm place honoured grandfather.¡± ¡°Oh you speak Korean? When did you learn?¡± Myung-Dae asked. ¡°At a young age. Grandfather wanted me to honor my mother by learning it first.¡± Akaro simply replied. ¡°It is still quite good.¡± His aunt replied first. ¡°You said first? What other languages do you know?¡± His grandfather caught onto that sentence right away. ¡°English, German, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tagalog..¡± Akaro replied. Showing no change in his emotion. At this point the two older members of the room noticed that he has not showed any expression in their conversation with him. They knew that he did not have the greatest father as Kenshiro offered Myung-Dae over 3,000,000,000 won just to take the youth out of his hands but they have heard he was quite friendly with his step family. They looked at each other and nodded as if they telepathically both informed each other it was going to take time for him to open up to them. They both had a positive outlook with their interaction with him and with fire in their eyes they made a silent promise to have him open up to them. Myung-Dae then gave Akaro some papers to sign. He explained, ¡°Akaro, as per your father''s agreement we are obligated to change your name. If you do not mind I have renamed you Nu Myung-Ki. After my own name. Is that okay with you?¡± Akaro knew that it was about time this talk needed to happen. He knew in general his name needed to change in order for him to be accepted as a Korean citizen and to be able to blend in within this country. He nodded without hesitation although inwardly he felt a little bit of regret as the name Miyamoto Hanzou has given him was one of the many keepsakes he was given. ¡®My father made sure to take that away from me as well.¡¯ He kept that dialogue within his mind of course. Signing the papers Nu Myung-Ki was born as a true citizen of Korea. He gave back the papers to his grandfather and watched as Myung-Dae gave the papers to Juhee. ¡°Make sure to take this and get all the papers authenticated. You have now adopted your nephew as your own.¡± Myung-Dae smiled at his daughter. He knew she always wanted children but was unfortunately not blessed with the ability to do so. Her ex-husband left her for that reason and he knew she was lonely. He hoped that Myung-ki will be able to help mend her heart and is one of the reasons he did not mind having this young lad live with them. ¡°Myung-ki you may call her eomma as she is now your legal guardian.¡± Mixed feelings began to arise in Juhee. She has always wanted her own child and was happy she was given the opportunity to have Myung-ki part of her life. He was the sole son of her elder sister and he was abandoned by his own father. She hated his father with a passion. She hated how he treated his son and how he took her sister away and brought her to Japan during the pregnancy. She blamed him for her death although in her heart she knew that her sister had a weak constitution. Like Juhee, Eun Mi was not expected to give birth to a child. Miraculously she did but at the cost of her own life. Juhee believed that Eun Mi gave her life so that she can provide that man with a son. ¡®She would be crying now knowing what he did to Myung-Ki.¡¯ her face scowled at the thought. She then looked at Myung-Ki with the intent to know what his answer was. She can already feel the emotions welling up in her if he decided that he would not accept her as family. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes threatening to fall upon hearing his answer. Myung-Ki on the other hand did not know this history. He himself has never really grown up with a female figure other than his step-mother from time to time. Here is another situation he was not used to. His face did not show his discomfort but he steeled his resolve and accepted his fate. He is no longer a Japanese man of the Miyamoto family but he still remembers what he was taught. **Flashback** ¡°Akaro. Men protect the weak and innocent. That is what we are born to do. I teach you my techniques so that you may be able to use it to protect your family, and any loved ones you''ll come to know in the future.¡± With a voice that held great authority, Hanzou continued, ¡°Promise me Akaro. If you ever get the chance to meet your family in Korea. You will protect them the same way you protect your step siblings.¡± Young Akaro nodded at his grandfather. ¡°Good good. I may have taught you too well. You hide your emotions all too well!¡± His grandfather bellowed while laughing. ¡°Remember a shinobi must not show any of his emotions in front of an enemy, but to people he loves it is okay to smile and show them some emotions.¡± The youth smiled back at his grandfather a toothy grin. ¡°That''s it! Now enough of that lets go do some survival training!¡± His grandfather although quite elderly still moved like a young man. **End Flashback** *** The memory ended and Akaro glanced back at Juhee. ¡°Yes eomma. I will be happy to be your son.¡± He then smiled at her which quickly turned to a worried look. His aunt had fallen over in tears while a serene smile was on her face. ¡°Don''t worry grandson. She just fainted from being happy!¡± his Korean grandfather laughed at the situation. ¡°That''s more like it grandson. You should smile like that more with us. We are your family now! Forget about all the depressing things in the past and let us move onward to the future!¡± Myung-Dae spoke with energy. ¡°I will also have your aunt be in charge of your inheritance. This is equal to 90,000,000,000 won. That is quite a lot of money. What would you like to do first?¡± ¡°Can we buy a house down the road?¡± Myung-ki said as his aunt finally started to wake up. He helped her up as he asked this question. ¡°Hmm why would you need a new house. You can stay here with me. This house has enough room for the three of us.¡± Myung-Dae said as he started to feel a little depressed after hearing his grandson was already planning to move out. ¡°Honorable grandfather...¡± but before Myung-ki could continue he was smacked upside the head. It hurt so he stopped to rub his head. ¡°Aigoo! Stop calling me honorable grandfather. Makes me feel older and makes me feel like a stranger. I hate formalities. Just call me gramps.¡± The old man sternly scolded his grandson. Continuing Myung-ki started again, ¡°Gramps, I am now eighteen. I should start to learn to live on my own. There is a plot of land down the road that it would be nice to set up a house. I would still like to continue my routines and need a proper location to do so. I do not want to damage your lovely home for the type of training that I do.¡± Feeling a lot more comfortable now with his new family he did not need to hold his tongue and spoke freely among them. ¡°I can agree on one condition. I will be moving in their with you.¡± Juhee wiping her tears and regaining her composure continued, ¡°What kind of mother would I be if I do not even take care of you and feed you.¡± Myung-Dae hearing his daughter''s condition for the situation happily said, ¡°I can agree in those terms. But this will have to be built still so you will be staying with me here until then. I can make arrangements to buy the plot of land there and get the construction started. Do you have any conditions that we need to know?¡± ¡°I just need a large room to practice martial arts in, a library for all my books, and maybe a shed where I can do a bit of swordsmithing.¡± ¡°The first two should be easy but the last request. Sword making is not something we come across too often but I''ll make sure they build you the perfect residence.¡± Myung-Dae proudly said. ¡°This will not be coming out of your own pocket. This is my gift to you for missing all those birthdays.¡± ¡°Then I will make sure to add in a few things for myself in this home.¡± Juhee also put in her two cents as her father will be paying the bill, ¡°We''ll need a good kitchen, bathrooms in all the bedrooms and maybe a place where I can garden. We''ll also need capsules for Fighting Destiny Online as well.¡± She then looked at her new son, ¡°We will be living here while it is being built. With father''s resources shouldn''t take more than a month.¡± ¡®Fighting Destiny Online?¡¯ Thought Myung-Ki. He decided to not worry about it and just nod his head and agreed to all the conditions as he did not have any idea on what is needed for a house to be built. Following his aunt he went to his temporary bedroom and spotted all the items he has packed and a few other boxes and bags of items his grandfather left to him as an inheritance. After the roller coaster of emotions he experienced in a day his eyes felt really heavy. His father figure had passed on and he was forced to leave the life he always knew behind. But he took this as a new beginning as he had obtained another grandfather and even a mother of his own. He smiled as this was the first time he felt true freedom. Next Chapter Myth 2: Fighting Destiny and Looking Good Myth 2: Fighting Destiny and Looking Good It was five in the morning and there was a shadow running through the forest. He started to climb and jump from tree to tree. Myung-ki felt comfortable in nature. He grew up in the mountains and it was second nature to him. He could move through the trees without any fear of falling thanks to his training. He thought this was primarily ninjutsu training but it is very similar to parkour. The ability to move around with speed and precision even if the jump was over ten feet long he would still be able to do it. With muscles so well trained he can easily enter the summer Olympics and get some gold medals if he wanted too but he did not know what the Olympics were. He devoted most of his life to reading and training. Once a year he would be entertaining his step siblings and played games. Other than that he had no other reason to live. He did not have any goals or any friends to talk to. He was a loner and now he was living in a country that excelled in manufactured goods and technology. After finishing his morning routine he went back to his house and took a shower. After his shower he changed into his funeral suit once more. He didn''t really have that many clothes. All he had was changes of underwear, the suit he was wearing, and his training gi that he wore that morning. As he walked into the kitchen his new mother frowned at him. ¡°Why are you wearing that suit you wore yesterday! Go change!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°I don''t have any other clothing.¡± Myung-Ki replied. ¡°WHAT?!¡± the facial expression on Juhee''s face was hard to describe, ¡°You''re telling me you only have that suit and what you wore when you came back home this morning?!¡± ¡°I changed my underwear at least.¡± He replied with a frown. It isn''t something he was use to. He would normally bathe and wash his clothes as well underneath a waterfall in Japan. He didn''t understand the need to have more than the clothes he was wearing. ¡°Aigoo... this boy. 18 years old and already giving me a headache.¡± Juhee sighed. ¡°After breakfast we are going to the mall and getting you more than one set of clothing. Your lucky my work is very lenient with hours right now. I''ll call them and let them know that I will be in later.¡± Curious Myung-Ki inquired, ¡°Where do you work?¡± ¡°I work as an editor for a broadcasting company called Korea Gaming Communications. We do mostly gaming videos and interviews with people who play popular games.¡± His aunt answered him. ¡°I''ll get you involved in the game I¡¯m playing. Hopefully you¡¯ll make some friends this way.¡± She worried about the boy. He didn''t seem to be sociable and probably would be hard for him to make any friends. ¡®A job that involves games?...¡¯ Myung-ki wanted to ask more but was interrupted by a yawning old man. ¡°Morning my beautiful daughter and my handsome grandson.¡± Myung-Dae smiled toothily before continuing, ¡°Why were you so loud this morning?¡± He asked. His daughter replied, ¡°Your grandson only has two outfits he wears. Not even house clothes.¡± ¡°So?¡± Myung-Dae responded. He was in the lazy faction and he only changed his clothes if needed to. ¡°Aigoo... this family. I''m not going to let him grow up like you.¡± She sighed as the response of her father did not help her at all. ¡°He''s not a writer like you. He is still young and he should enjoy his youth. But I will not let him go out there in the same suit day after day. He has to have more dignity than that. He is the son of a model and the nephew of a classy business women. His looks must match our expectations.¡± ¡°That''s wrong with you kids these days. Always caring about your looks.¡± Myung-Dae sighed, ¡°I like how he thinks. A suit for events and training gear for exercise. All you need. We don''t need too much material things to live right grandson?!¡± He winked at Myung-Ki. Myung-Ki only smiled and shook his head before replying, ¡°I need to make eomma happy. I will listen to her.¡± Although he didn''t care for clothing he wanted her to smile more as he thought she was pretty like that. Juhee almost fainted a second time after hearing his comment while bringing the western style breakfast to the table. She was a really good cook and her occupation in Fighting Destiny was also a chef. She was elated every time she heard him call her mother. ''Eun Mi, I''m living out your dream. I''ll love him as my own and make sure he grows up well.'' As she thought of that she then said, ¡°Hurry up and eat so I can take you to the mall.¡± After they all ate breakfast Myung-ki and Juhee drove to the mall. As they pass by the lot instead of a for sale sign it had sold written on it. Myung-Ki could only look in surprise on how fast his grandfather acted. He did not only see a sign but workers already digging up the land to set up the foundation of his soon to be home. Arriving at the mall he saw more signs and advertisements for various games but not as profound as the Fighting Destiny Online game. He found out it was a very popular virtual reality game played by many people regardless of age. He was going to ask more about it but he had no time to bring it up as his aunt dragged him from store to store. He was getting measured by a tailor in order him to make suits for him. He did not know that the cost of each suit would make a certain people curse him for being frivolous with money. As he was trying different suits he always had a chill on his back as his senses informed him of predatory looks being directed at him. Looking at his aunt she would smile proudly as women of various ages would gather and stare at him either from inside the store or from the glass looking in. This was not a feeling he liked. Again with his lack of female interactions he did not understand their looks. He did not know he was considered handsome at all. The clothing his aunt was choosing for him accentuated his looks even more. He easily looked like a Korean pop singer or actor.. No one dared approach as they saw his aunt. Although she was happy with the attention that he was getting she was not going to let just anyone try to talk to her son. She was in total mom mode as the total costs of the purchases could easily buy a house. But Juhee did not relent on the purchases and actually thought they did not buy enough. In total he had eight different suits made for him, about twenty casual outfits that can be mixed and matched, and some clothes he can use for sleeping like pajama pants and shorts. After she was finished with clothes shopping, she then moved over to the accessories and bought him various wallets, sunglasses and hats. Then she bought electric toothbrush and other bathroom needs for a young man like hair products and the like. Myung-Ki was extremely tired. He felt that this was more tiring than actual ninjutsu training. With all the stares of the various females and some males he made a mental note not to go into malls unless he really needed to. It was just too crowded for him. It didn''t feel natural nor did he feel safe at all. He sighed in relief when they had to cut their shopping short as his aunt had to get to work. So she drove him back home before heading to work. He sighed and went to his bed wanting a nap after all that happened that morning. He opened one of his books and started to read. *** ¡°Fighting Destiny Online has been at the top of the virtual reality scene for gamers and most games cannot compare to it. Why would you say that is?¡± A reporter asked the question to the man on the stage. ¡°Fighting Destiny Online, as the name implies, is a gateway for people who do not love the fate they were born with. If one was weak in reality they can be strong in FDO, if they lacked money thanks to our auction system they can get money in return for playing a game, martial artists are able to fight without the risk of injury to themselves, and most importantly,¡± The man¡¯s face gave a gentle look before continuing, ¡°With our new medical capsules, those who are being treated for illnesses and cannot move their real bodies are now able to experience a life they can only dream about. In the sense this is a game meant to fight the destiny you were born with.¡± ¡°Mr. Kang Lee, rumors said you created this game primarily for your wife?¡± Another reporter asked. ¡°Of course. What kind of man would I be if I didn¡¯t find a way for my disabled wife to be free of her burdens? In this game I am able to hold her and she is able to do the same. The only added bonus is I can make a profit as a capsule is not cheap but it is a lifetime investment if used properly.¡± Kang Lee reiterated. He was still a businessman of course. ¡°Is there any point of this game for players to obtain a goal or defeat a demon lord?¡± Another question from a female reporter. ¡°The answer to that question is quite simple. There is no point to this game. If you are looking for adventure travel the game¡¯s world, if you are looking to be a hero help those around you, if you are looking to be a villain then harm those around you, if you are looking for fame and glory do something no one else had, and if you are looking to rule then you must earn it. The game is all about freedom. Unlike the reality that we live in there are things in the world I created that can be changed for the better. Players can grow at the pace they want to. Those seeking fame will obviously push harder to conquer the world. Those who want strength will need to work hard to obtain it. Of course limits are in place that are made by the AI that runs the game but to better understand those limits I would suggest everyone here to also get this game and join in. That¡¯s enough questions for me today, I¡¯m going to login and be with my wife. We are having a date. Hahahaaha!¡± Kang Lee ended the answer with a laugh. He was genuinely happy and decided to walk off the stage. ¡°The man who created this game seems to be a good man.¡± Myung-Dae said aloud. ¡°What do you mean by good man?¡± Myung-Ki asked. ¡°Well you¡¯ll understand when you find a woman you will care about as much as he does.¡± Myung-Dai smiled at the young man. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand but whatever you say honoured¡­¡± Myung-Ki didn¡¯t even get to finish before getting whacked in the head. ¡°Itai! I mean grandfather.¡± ¡®How can he hit me so quickly? I couldn¡¯t even sense that.¡¯ ¡°Now stop talking and lets continue to watch your eomma¡¯s work. She said she does a lot of the video editing for the game footage.¡± Myung-Dai stated. ¡°This game looks interesting.¡± Was the last comment Myung-Ki made as they watched KGC. *** After a few weeks Myung-Dae got a call from the construction company he hired to work on the house. He informed them if they can finish before the months end he would be giving them a twenty percent increase of the payment he originally assigned for building the home. With that type of incentive the workers worked hard but made sure not to cut any corners as they did not want to lose any reputation with this man. His famous writings were well known in the region and no one dared fault this man in any way. ¡°Myung-Ki, Juhee.¡± Myung-Dae called his family over, ¡°They finished the house. Let me show you it.¡± He excitedly informed the two of them. Getting into a car they drove to a home they have not dreamed about having. It was a two story home with a modern feel to it. Entering the home they walk into a foyer which then lead to the living room which was completely furnished. The kitchen in the next room had an island in the middle and pans hanging from the ceiling. The gas stove and oven was in the middle of the island. The back door led to a large yard and an open aired shed showed a kiln for smelting metal and heating metal as well. Also a grinder and other tools that can be used for general metal work. Myung-Ki smiled as he saw that they got everything he needed and even set up so that it was open air concept so that the smoke would vent out properly. It was also put into a position that would prevent any stray fire to land on any of the surrounding homes. Now that he thought about it it looked as if his grandfather bought the other homes that were originally there and had them removed as this home was much larger than expected. Continuing on the tour the older man brought them back inside and showed the two bedrooms upstairs and then brought them back downstairs leading them to the basement. ¡°I''m proud of this! This Myung-Ki is your room. I will be taking one of the bedrooms upstairs!¡± His grandfather couldn''t control his volume and excitement as he spoke. ¡°Wait grandfather. How about your other house?¡± Myung-Ki asked. ¡°That old place. It¡¯s more fun with more people. That will be our cabin in the woods and a good place for you to go if you get too tired from training.¡± Myung-Dae answered with a smile. Myung-Ki opened the basement door and noticed that the wall was lined with sound proof lining. He walked down the stairs and found a large open area where can practice and exercise. Some weights in the corner of the room and a computer on the other side as well. He continued to walk further and opened another door on the far right and he found a large room with ample of enough space for all his books and he found out that it was the library. It had a lounge area for him to read in. He then entered another spacious room but in the middle of the room he saw two capsule looking devices. These were the capsules his adopted mother was talking about. They were used for playing the game Fighting Destiny Online. His curiosity itching at him to try it out. He looked at his mother but she just smiled in return. ¡°First we need to get our things together then we can go and try it. Abeoji wants to have a good lunch as well so go and grab your things and start setting up your room. The capsules will be there when you¡¯re done.¡± Juhee replied to her son¡¯s stare. As they finished unpacking and had an enjoyable lunch together Juhee brought Myung-Ki to the room once more with the capsules. Seeing as he was hesitant to jump into it due it being completely foreign for him she decided to give him some pointers. ¡°Myung-Ki. This machine will link itself to the neural responses and make it feel like you are actually in the game. The nice thing that it does it also measures your bodily impulses. If it feels that you need a bathroom break it will inform you and log you out. Also it puts you in a state of sleep when you enter so sometimes I don¡¯t need to sleep as long as I play this game. Your body will feel refreshed once you leave.¡± She started to explain. Myung-Ki looked at her as if she was speaking another language. ¡°Ah well basically. Your body will be resting while you play the game so when you finish training you can go into this game to rest. It allows people to do something even when they are asleep. Also it makes sure you don¡¯t accidentally soil yourself as it forces you to go to the bathroom. Does that make sense?¡± She simplified her explanation a bit. ¡°It can do that?¡± Myung-Ki looked at the device with amazement. ¡°So this thing is really expensive. So throwing kunai at this would be bad.¡± ¡°Throwing kunai? What is a kunai?¡± Juhee asked. ¡°This.¡± Myung-Ki took out a kunai he always hides on his person. ¡°WHERE WERE YOU HIDING THAT! Ahem.¡± Juhee shocked to see her son with a weapon scolded him, ¡°You are not allowed to throw that or any other sharp objects inside the house. Also not allowed to hit people with that. Now give it to me as you will not need it in there.¡± ¡°So I should give you all my weapons right?¡± Myung-Ki was not used to being scolded for having weapons so he decided to ask that question. ¡°How many do you have? Actually don¡¯t answer that. Come back in here after you put them all in your room.¡± Juhee starting to feel a headache coming around. After hiding his weapons he felt considerably lighter and Myung-Ki came back to the room. ¡°Alright now it¡¯s time for you to get into this device. Don¡¯t be scared. Once in make sure to go to the tutorial it provides. It will guide you throughout the process. Once it asks where you want to start, choose Four Swords City. My avatar name is Cooking Queen so when you get there wait until I find you. What are you planning to name yourself?¡± Juhee asked. ¡°Akaro. I want that name for my avatar.¡± Myung-Ki quickly said. ¡®I see he still wants to be called that. That is fine he has lived with that name for eighteen years and it¡¯s not his fault his father is good for nothing sister killing bastard.¡¯ Juhee¡¯s face contorted into a frown for a brief moment before relaxing again. ¡°Alright then I will look for you at the town center. Head there after.¡± Myung-Ki finally entered the machine and watched as his newly appointed mother gave him a reassuring nod. He then watched as the lid closed and a screen opened up in his eyes. A gentle female voice also chimed as soon as the lid closed. ¡°Good afternoon. I am the game artificial intelligence assistant or Gaia for short. Records indicate that this is your first time entering a capsule. Would you like us to register your information?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Myung-Ki automatically answered. ¡°Please provide the following information. Full name, Age, and an email address to link to this account.¡± Gaia continued the registry. ¡°Nu Myung-Ki. Age 18.¡± He quickly answered but had to ponder on the email address. ¡®What did Kenji say it was¡­ ah I remember now.¡¯ Although having photographic memory it still helped if there was a trigger to that memory. He needed to think of Kenji in order for him to recall all the memories revolving him. ¡°[email protected].¡± Myung-Ki finished the last part of his registry. ¡°One moment. Registration complete. Please close your eyes and the system will now link with your body.¡± Gaia instructed. The moment he closed his eyes he could see some flashes of light bright enough so he he can see a bit through his eyelids. It didn¡¯t take long until his body felt heavy and he started to fall asleep. The moment he did he felt that he woke up in the dark. Suddenly in front of his eyes a message popped up.
Welcome to Fighting Destiny Online
Did you want to see the introduction video?
YesNo
¡°Yes.¡± Myung-Ki continued. It was kind of strange for him to respond. It really felt that he was awake and he was moving his own body, even speaking felt natural. Immediately after he said yes the screen disappeared and now he was viewing a video from a first person perspective. As he looked around he then heard the narrator speak in a subdued but yet gentle voice. It was a female voice. ¡°The origin of our world began when it was created by Alphala, the Goddess of Beginnings. She created a world with an immortal beauty. She wanted to share this beauty with her love the God of Endings, Ohmega. As he was the one who ends all, her creations began to lose their beauty. He told her if she wanted him to be around then her world will experience an end as well. Being a stubborn Goddess and not wanting her love one to leave her, she decided she would give up her world¡¯s immortality as long as she can keep him close. Instead she used her power to have any of her creations gain the ability to produce so that the beauty may grow once more. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Out of their love they gave birth to seven other Gods and Goddesses. The two oldest were twins. One was the god of the sun, the other the goddess of the moon. Each other child also had dominion over parts of their mother¡¯s creation. This consist of the sea, land, sky, light and the last of darkness. They¡¯re children curious of their power created many living things and they lived in harmony in their mother¡¯s world.¡± Myung-Ki watched as the scene in front of him as it didn¡¯t really show much other than statues of the gods they were explaining until it got to the creations. Various creatures started appearing and one of them being humans and other humanoid creatures. He watched in amazement as the scene was now showing everything in peace and harmony. Until it showed the last of the Goddesses. ¡°This was true to all of their children but their last child. Calypso the Goddess of darkness was not able to create anything with her own power. Feeling jealous at her siblings being able to create living beings she coveted that power. However she found she had other ways of creating species of her own. She was able to convert her siblings creatures. Some of the conversions did not work which then created beings with darker personalities and or they would turn into monsters.¡± The scene then showed some of the original creatures transforming or faces started to show grim expressions. ¡°Her siblings reacted to what she had done negatively and continuously chastised her. This bore hatred in her heart and she decided to share these feelings with all the creations in this world. This bore evil intent, hatred, greed, and other negative aspects. Their parents seeing this felt it was needed to punish her but they still loved her as their child so they sealed her away so she could not affect the world anymore. Although the feelings she shared were originally on the darker ends of the spectrum, it also gave these creations the free will of choice. These choices also gave consequences and many wars erupted between the creations. Desperate the other gods and goddesses decided if they unleash into the world as a being of pure evil their creations will start to work together. So they planned and waited until the time was right. They then brought back their sister into the world once more but this time as a mortal being. Her immortality stripped from her, Calypso was enraged. She went on a massacre and destroyed any creation in front of her, including the ones that were changed by her. With the world falling into darkness, the creatures began to band together. Beings who were known as the Hero Gods began to appear. Blessed by a corresponding celestial being with both magic and weapons they were able to slay the Goddess and brought peace into the world.¡± The scenes he saw were various humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs waving a united banner and battling Calypso with weapons that glowed as bright as the Sun. The darkness that was creeping onto the world was being pushed back. Calypso¡¯s fall was the last scene as the six other Gods and Goddesses smiled as they were able to keep their creations from fighting. Then it moved to Ohmega sitting on his dark throne guiding the souls that have died. ¡°Ohmega being the Elder God of the end saw his daughter in his domain and was struck with grief. He wept as he brought his daughter¡¯s soul to her mother. Alphala wept and looked at her other children and cried out in disbelief. For their love of their own creations she saw that her children were willing to sacrifice their own sister. The two Elder Gods punished them by also removing them from accessing the world unless called upon by their creations. They then allowed Calypso¡¯s soul to return with all the other souls ready to be reincarnated into the world. They waited until the day she will be reincarnated so they can get their child back. They are still waiting.¡± ¡®Such a sad story. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever do something like that to my own siblings. Definitely looking into more of this story.¡¯ ¡°1700 years later the world had now continued to thrive without the supervising watch of the Gods but they were not forgotten. Their creations still regard their creators and religion is still a cornerstone of their culture. You will be born into this world of life and death. Where will your destination take you?¡± At this point the intro ended and Gaia showed up in front of Myung Ki. She had short neck length hair and it was a cyan in color. Her eyes were emerald green and for arguments sake she had a very pretty symmetrical face. She wore a tight white coloured outfit that did not hide her curves. If she didn¡¯t introduce herself as a female AI she would have probably been hit on by many players. In hindsight that actually might have happen to her already regardless if she was an AI. ¡°Thank you for taking your time to learn a bit of our history. Please select which race you want to become?¡± Her neck lengthed hair seemed to move seemingly with her head movements as she asked the question. Myung-Ki looked at the options that were available. In total there were about ten known races each with their own attribute. He didn¡¯t need long to choose as he wanted to be human. ¡°I choose to be human.¡± Myung-Ki declared. ¡°Please choose the type.¡± Gaia started. ¡°What are the differences?¡± Myung-Ki had to ask. ¡°Humans have three different types. The first type are known as Ascended Humans and have increased mana points. Their base stats have increased wisdom and intelligence but have a decrease in vitality and strength. This type of human is made for magic based classes that utilize the mana point the most. The second type are Martial Humans. They have an increase in health points and stamina points and focused in physical combat. They are more proficient with weapons and will be known to seek combat classes focused on strength and vitality. The last are the divine humans. They get a new status bar called faith points. Due to being a spiritual focused trait they automatically begin in a church of their choice. They have increased wisdom and spirit but most of their classes are known for supporting the other type of humans. They have access to restricted abilities that are given to only the followers of a given religion. Restrictions compared to the other two types will be dependent on the religion chosen as rules for the set religion differ from one another. The other two human types can obtain faith points if they choose a religion to follow in game but classes available will be dependent on the type one has chosen. Examples are templars which are combat based religious warriors and can only be obtained by Martial type humans who follow a religion. All human species obtain the ability of adaptability.¡± Gaia explained. ¡°Adaptability?¡± Myung-Ki said slightly confused. ¡°Different races have abilities specific to their race. Human¡¯s ability of adaptability allow the player to convert to different classes and adjust the stat placement of bonus stats that are given to a set player. This gives them the ability to restructure the stats to best fit the change of classes. Human types can be changed as well depending on the class chosen for their main class. Supporting class will also allow for these changes. An example would be if you chose a martial type of human at the beginning it can change to an ascended human when choosing a mage class. Bases stats will change and any extra stats that were given are free for that user to place into intelligence to increase the potency of their spells.¡± The AI assistant replied. Although he was getting a little dizzy at the explanation he thought that there was only one type he needed to choose at the moment as he was pretty sure he was going to get a combat oriented class. ¡°Martial.¡± Myung-Ki chose right away after hearing the brief description. ¡°You are now a human gifted with the abilities for combat.¡± Gaia explained before continuing. ¡°Please choose your appearance.¡± Myung-Ki watched as the screen showed a reflection of him as the default and he wanted it to stay the same. He changed his mind on only two things. ¡°Change the hair color to a blood crimson and my eyes to match.¡± They young man stated. He chose red to honour his name and also it reminded him of a hero in the game he played on the super famicom with his brother. ¡°What will be your avatar¡¯s name?¡± Gaia asked with her gentle voice. ¡°Akaro.¡± Myung-Ki said almost immediately. ¡®I will have my name in this game father. In here my life as Miyamoto Akaro will continue.¡± ¡°You can choose your city now or would you like to go through our tutorial to better understand some of the basic game systems?¡± Gaia asked with a smile. Normally he would be quiet and observe situations but as he needed to understand this game a bit more he was more inclined to inquire. He did the same with his grandfather as he learned better when he can ask more questions to clarify what he just learned. ¡°I better go through the tutorial and is it okay for me to ask questions after?¡± Akaro now walking around in his avatar returned the question. ¡°Not a problem. As an game assistant I will be happy to answer your question. First let us begin with the three bars that will be important for your to pay attention too. At the top left corner you will see three bars. One consisting with HP, the other MP, and the last SP. We¡¯ll first start with health points and is important to pay attention to as this will determine whether or not your character will die in the game. Getting zero here will cause you to be revived at the same location but after you pay the penalty of a full twenty-four hours login restriction and the loss of half of your experience you gained after your previous level up. Consecutive deaths can also drop your level and the system will start removing bonus stats. ¡± Gaia began. ¡®So don¡¯t hit zero. Got it¡­ make sense that even though we can revive our avatars that dying still has its demerits.¡¯ ¡°Mana points is the second bar. This indicates the amount of mana one has to use skills, spells, and abilities that require mana to use. Mana is very important for those wishing to use high casting magical spells. Even some weapon skills will use mana if needed. The last is Stamina points. This will be used more often than mana for martial humans. This allows you to be able to swing weapons and use weapon related skills more often. It¡¯s regeneration speed is dependent on the player¡¯s hunger and rest level. If you have not eaten or have not rested your stamina will deplete faster and regenerate slower. Both health and mana can regenerate as well but the regeneration speed for those are directly affected by stats. All three can be also affected by certain items and food that can help instantly, over time, or even decrease the level of regeneration.¡± Gaia continued her explanation. ¡°So I will need to pay attention to this to make sure I don¡¯t run out. What happens when I run out of MP or SP?¡± Akaro had to ask for his future reference. ¡°Running out of mana would normally disallow a player to cast spells but in this game we have a system in placed called mana burn. When a player uses a skill that requires more mana than they have a mana burn will take place. This causes your spell to take whatever cost it¡¯s missing from your mana with your health instead. Very dangerous to inflict mana burn as the lasting effect is a drop in magical potency of your magic for a certain length of time. For stamina points when that hits zero you will be encumbered and players will feel symptoms like fatigue and paralysis depending on how much stamina was consumed and their levels of hunger and rest.¡± ¡°I think I get it. So SP at zero is to mimic muscle exhaustion in a way and having to eat and rest in the game also makes it seem real. That¡¯s good to know.¡± Akaro nodded as he said this. ¡°The time in game is different from regular time in your world. One hour of your time is equivalent to seven days in the game. This device is able to manipulate your mind¡¯s sense of time and it will actually feel as if seven days have passed to you. Be advised once you do leave the game it will mostly be a couple of hours. Game time will continue while you are not playing so it is advised to have any companions or pets be taken care of by fellow players or NPC¡¯s that are willing to take care of them for you.¡± ¡°NPC¡¯s?¡± Akaro asked as he didn¡¯t understand that concept. ¡°Non-player characters. I am an NPC who mainly focuses on teaching you about our game. You will come across many NPCs in the game but they will not know that this is a game. This is our world after all and you are just joining it with your character. There are only three NPCs that know it is a game and I am one of them. The other is the mother of all AI who creates other NPCs whenever one is needed and also sets the rules for any skills or classes learned. The last one is in charge of network security and will prevent any hackers from entering the game.¡± ¡®Hackers?¡­ I don¡¯t understand. But I¡¯ll just nod my head.¡¯ ¡°The next topic we will go over are stats. Stats can increase a player¡¯s effectiveness in battle and also out of battle as well. The basic stats that all species have are strength, vitality, intelligence, wisdom, agility, dexterity, endurance, perseverance, spirit, focus, tenacity, toughness, luck, and charisma. Each stat will affect certain aspects for the player¡¯s daily life in the game. Strength increases damage for physical attacks, vitality increases health points, intelligence increases damage for magic based attacks, wisdom increases the amount of mana or faith points, agility increases movement speed and evasion, dexterity increases accuracy and critical hit chance, endurance increases stamina points, perseverance decreases stamina point consumption, spirit increases effectiveness of faith based abilities and health regeneration, focus increases mana regeneration, tenacity increases stamina regeneration, toughness increases defense, luck increases critical hits and rare item drops, and lastly charisma increases the chance to gather and lead allies. There are other stats that can be gained through special means but I cannot tell you how to obtain them.¡± This was a bit more detailed compared to the game he played on the super famicom but he listened and tried to understand to the best of his ability. ¡°Stats are increased by many factors. The easiest way to gain more stats is to grow in level. This requires experience points which is indicated to the bar on the bottom left. Once you have enough experienced points to get to the end of the bar, a level up will ensue and you will have all your stats go up by five automatically. Then you will also gain ten bonus stat points to add to your stats to increase any number of them. Another method is through a more unorthodox method. Gaining titles and gaining fame can also give you bonus stats to allocate as you wish. The third method is a bit harder to do and requires discipline. Certain stats can grow based on the repetitive activity for example if you continue to sprint from one wall to another continuously you may increase your agility. I say may as it is also dependent on how strenuous the action took. If you already increased the stat from going wall to wall then the next step would be to increase the distance of your sprint to fully utilize growth. Similarly those who seek to be mages will practice spell usage and reading magic related literature can increase their magic attributes.¡± Gaia seemed to have taken a bit of a breath as she just divulged a huge amount of explanations. ¡°So if I train in the game I can be rewarded with stats that can increase attributes I have.¡± Akaro smiled at the statement he made. The third type of stat gaining seemed the most logical to him as he had already disciplined himself in the real world to train. With the added time bonus of the world it seemed like he could train even more diligently. ¡°Another method of gaining stats is directly related to the classes you obtain. Certain classes give special attributes upon level up bonus increases. For example mages would get increased intelligence, wisdom and focus upon level up as those are the three main stats that will affect a mages combat capabilities. All players can have two different classes. One as the main class and the other as the support class. This can be two different combat classes, or even two crafting classes. Regardless of which two you choose originally, players are allowed to change the class at the cost of any bonus stats given by that class and any skills learned to be forgotten. Most players will choose their classes carefully as to not waist time and effort on their proficiency with a class. Proficiency for the class skills will be determined by the number of use the abilities have undergone. All classes have a heroic level where they can gain a skill that is incredibly powerful regardless of the class chosen. Obtaining that level will certain prerequisites to be completed first. Classes can be obtained through the guild and job class building that is found in all settlements for all races. Also they can be obtained during specific quests.¡± ¡°Is there a ninja type class?¡± Akaro asked hoping. ¡°In this game ninja¡¯s are also a class available. To obtained this class you must perform certain prerequisites as it is not a class that can be learned at the guild and job class building.¡± Gaia quickly answered before continuing. ¡°So I will need to find the method then I can get that class.¡± Akaro said to himself aloud. What he didn¡¯t know he could do was look up the message boards at the online forums for the game to inquire about that information but his actual online experience could be counted by his fingers and he was not one to care about the internet. ¡°There are several windows a player can access by simply thinking the keyword for it. These keywords are equipment, items, skills, abilities and status. There are many more depending on the things you do and classes you get. It is suggested to once you are in the game to try calling out these windows to see it first hand. Storage for your items is depended on the clothing you wear and what bags or storage devices you have. There is a set limit so be careful on keeping your bags too full with items.¡± Gaia started to finish up her explanation. ¡®So I have to make sure I keep in mind how many items I have as well. This already feels like real life to me.¡¯ ¡°The last aspect that players need to understand that this world is completely a free world. Non-player characters like myself also have the freedom to choose and will react like most people would in your world. This freedom is now for you to decide. Will you learn how to fight and use it for good or perhaps for evil? Will you gain knowledge and become one of the greatest magic wielders? Will you choose the path that brings you the most wealth or fame? This is a decision that you can only make as you play the game. I hope you enjoy your time in Edesia.¡± ¡°I believe I will.¡± Akaro replied. ¡°Being part of the human race you can only start in a human city or settlement. Which city will you choose?¡± Gaia then brought up a map and the flashing portion of the map showed the human territory. It was on the west side of the main continent and it had three gates leading to other territories. The northern gate led to the dwarven territory and the south led to the elven territory. The east gate led to the Central City that was in the middle of the continent and was the main hub for all races regardless of the ones they chose. To the west of this city many little towns and villages and then the city he was looking for. Closer to the western coast Four Swords City can be found. Akaro chose the city his mother told him to go to. ¡°May the six bless you on your journey. Hope we will meet again.¡± Gaia winked as Akaro¡¯s vision turned a blinding white. Myth 3: A Whole New World Myth3: A Whole New World *Flash* With a flash of light he appeared in Four Swords City. The bright light caused him to close his eyes for a while and as he opened them he slowly got use to the sunlight coming in from the top of him. He looked around and saw that the buildings had a western european feel to them. Akaro stood in amazement as took in his surroundings. He then started to move around his fingers then his arms and then outright jumping just to see how it would feel. ¡®I feel so much weaker here. Looks like those stats that Gaia was talking about will be important. I guess the first thing to do after finding eomma is to start training although I do want to read more about the city I¡¯m in. So a library will be nice.¡¯ Although he was lost in thought his actions seemed to have garnered the attentions of people passing by. ¡°Must be a newbie.¡± ¡°He''s pretty good looking!¡± ¡°He probably changed his avatar to look like that. He''s probably an old fat guy.¡± A woman wearing an apron approached him. ¡°Feels strange doesn''t it?¡± Akaro looked up and he knew right away that this was his eomma. Nodding silently he agreed with her. Her username was Cooking Queen. Watching her son look amazed put a smile on her face. ¡°I''m going to teach some of the basics you need to learn. Open your status window.¡± Following her instructions he opened his status window. [tbody]
Status Window
NameAkaroAlignmentNeutralRaceMartial HumanLevel1
Reputation0Faith0
Health200Mana100Stamina200
Vitality20Strength20Agility10Dexterity10
Wisdom10Intelligence10Charisma10Luck10
Tenacity20Focus10Spirit10Toughness10
Endurance20OpenOpenOpen
Resistances
None
Classes
CategoryTypeNameLevel
Main???NoneNone
Sub???NoneNone
Titles
TitleAttribute
Seeing his stats he frowned at how weak his stats looked. Although he did pick the best race type to go with his goal for a ninja class, he saw for the first time in a long while that he was really weak. As it was his base stats he frowned as he pondered on what to level up first. ¡®Should I first get my strength up to a certain degree or maybe focus on stamina...¡¯ Seeing his frown, Juhee followed up with, ¡°You are level one right now. You''ll get more stat boosts the more you do things. Think of it as if you are a baby relearning everything from the beginning. Didn¡¯t you meet Gaia for the tutorial?¡± Akaro nodded as he did remember as it just happened not too long ago. Although he did remember it did not mean he could feel a little disgruntled at the feeling of weakness. ¡°You can get stats from training, fighting monsters and animals and other npc''s. Like she said.¡± Cooking Queen Continued, ¡°Even some quests will help you with your stats and offer experience as well. So there is a lot of things to do in this world but you don¡¯t have to do them all. Just do what you want to do, as long as it doesn¡¯t embarrass us as a family.¡± The word NPC stuck in Akaro''s mind. He then asked, ¡°Non-player characters right? I still don¡¯t really understand when Gaia was talking about it. To me she just looked like any other woman.¡± ¡°Non-player characters.¡± She replied. ¡°A lot of the people in this city who owned the various stores and even the guards are digital artificial intelligence. Characters that were created with the game and followed programmed algorithms.¡± He stared blankly at her as she started to speak jargon to him. In his attempt to understand he said, ¡°So they are not real people although they seem to act like it¡± He was watching them interact and made a mental note that he''ll treat them like regular people for now as did not have the experience of playing games similar to this. The NPCs he was familiar with repeated the same lines over and over until you did something in your quest. She nodded her head slightly embarrassed as she started going off in technical terms already knowing that he did not know what she was saying. Juhee then continued, ¡°Think of it this way. This is a new world and it is up to you to experience it. Follow me for a bit.¡± Following his mother he noticed that his movement as well seemed to be just like how he would act in the real world. He made a mental note that he''ll just train and act like he usually does in the real world for now. As they reached their destination it was a restaurant not too far from the training grounds. She ushered him in and he saw a group of NPCs in the back greeting his adopted mother. ¡°Cooking Queen. Nice of you to join us at work. Roping in a young lover I see.¡± The oldest chef started to speak first. ¡°No no. I''m just an ajumma now. This is my son.¡± Juhee clarified while smiling proudly. Whistles from all the NPC started. They gathered in the front and started shaking Akaro''s hand. ¡°Such a handsome young man. Welcome to Hunter¡¯s Delight. Since your mother works here, whenever you are hungry come here. We''ll fix you up some food at no cost to you. Little brother.¡± The head chef toothily grinned at the young man. Bowing he paid respect to all of them. ¡°Thank you for your assistance.¡± Then a pop up message showed up.
You have made friends with the chefs at a prestigious restaurant. Their relationship with you has improved immediately. Being the son of one of their famous chefs has increased your reputation by 20. You have gained a new title! Hunter¡¯s Delight¡¯s Little Brother Luck has increased by 10.
He was amazed as simple things like making friends could assist with his stats. He made another mental note. What surprised him the most is that he got a title for just being the son. All the chefs welcomed him warmly as well. ''There is a good reason for being friendly with NPCs.'' Akaro then looked at his mother, ¡°Can I explore this city now?¡± Asking for permission before leaving. Cooking Queen smiled, ¡°In this game you do not need to get my permission. You are free to do what you want. I want you to socialize and make friends with some real people too you know. Here I''ll be your first friend in the game.¡±
Cooking Queen wants to be your friend.
YesNo
Of course Akaro said yes without any hesitation as it was his own mother. The feeling of a mother was still foreign to him and he did not understand completely as he lived most of his life without one. He had no good memories associated with his mother¡¯s name so far other than death and the hatred or apathetic looks coming from his father faces. He mentally scowled as the negative aspect of photographic memory came into play. ¡®Don¡¯t want to think about him right now.¡¯ He then left the restaurant with a bento he put into his inventory. The younger chefs prepared a lunch for him for when he got hungry. Looking into his inventory he had the a rusty knife as his starter weapon, beginner training armor for his torso, legs and feet and three loaves of rye that newbies started out with. He did not know that because of the bento and access to free food caused him to have an advantage over all the other beginners. He did not need to scrape and do quests to earn money for food. He saw the training grounds but decided not to head there just yet. He wanted to find the library and learn more about the Gods of this world and why the city was called four swords. Passing by many NPCs and players he finally found what he was looking for. It was not too far from the training grounds and it looked a little lonely. Walking into the library he saw the attendant there smile at him. ¡°Hello friend. Welcome to the Four Swords Second Library.¡± The elder scholar started to speak, ¡°Is there anything you wish to read? I can help you with your selection.¡± He spoke quite a bit. This was the second other player he has seen all month. Most beginners would go to the more well known first library which was closer to where the guildhall, market, and the castle was. The main difference of the two other than location is the kind of books that can be read. The first library had many intelligent boosting and magic knowledge orientated books while the second had more of the history and lore type of books housed in it. The forums of many gaming sites have informed players to just go to the first library to begin with as it helped a lot more at the beginning. This in turn dropped the turnout rate of many adventurers for the library and the old man had very few visitors. Technically just one who sits at the library and just reads books. Doesn¡¯t interact with him at all no matter how friendly he was. After a few weeks of the same treatment the old man just sat and did his work. He was quite surprised when the new visitor decided to speak to him. Akaro already learning that being friendly is a good way to get some stats replied, ¡°Can you help me get books about this kingdom and other cities as well?¡± The older gentleman beamed as he had no one to talk to for a while. ¡°Of course. Follow me. Since you we have a lot of private rooms you can take one for yourself. There is only one other person who comes here and he likes to not be disturbed. I will be the only other one who can enter this room being as I am the owner of this establishment. By the way my name is Joshua. Feel free to call for me if you need any other assistance.¡± Another message popped up.
You have befriended Joshua the scholar and he has given you a private room.
Luck +10
Guiding Akaro to the room it was a small room with a large table and a comfortable looking chair to sit in. ¡°If you wait here I will bring you your books.¡± He left Akaro as he looked like he was skipping towards the book aisles. ''Must have been a lonely guy. I¡¯ll be sure to be friendly with him.'' After seeing the reaction of Joshua and how he skipped away, Akaro sat on the chair and waited for the older man to come back. Joshua returned with about fifty large hard covered books and various scrolls. He was a bit zealous in his selection and seemed to have brought the whole shelf and other materials he thought would help. Looking at what he brought he berated himself inwardly as his action may make his only visitor want to leave. ¡°Thank you.¡± Akaro gave a small smile. In truth he was elated. Here was information, history, and stories he has never read before. He loved reading and was happy whenever he had a birthday because his grandfather would bring him books about various subjects and history. Seeing the smile Joshua nodded and went back to his desk at the front. He did not want to bother Akaro when he read and he knew as a scholar that anyone reading a book would prefer peace and quiet. He was a librarian of course so silence was important to him. Akaro dove into the books. First starting with the history of Four Swords Kingdom. With the help of his photographic memory he only need to read through it once but since it was new information he decided to take his time and read through the books carefully. One book explained how the first disciple of the Hero God Demascus trained three of his own disciples. Being human it was unorthodox that he would have an elf, a dwarf, and an orc as disciples but they ended up saving of what was originally a town from a dragon. With them being the town¡¯s heroes it was renamed to four swords. After a long period of time it became a major city. It also explained that it had it¡¯s own separate ruling system that is based off the central city government. Albeit the main difference is the ruler is still a human king but they were very tolerant of the other races and free travel was allowed within this portion of the human territory. The actual capital city for the humans was called Demascus City and was set on an island heavily fortified and also ruled by a king. There were no other races allowed other than humans within that portion of land. Due to conflicting views there have been civil wars between the two cities which are mostly instigated by the ruler of Demascus city. A majority of the reason why they failed to take over is that the Four Swords city focused on defending and having the Central city so close also prevented any siege tactics being used. Even though the territory boasts its neutrality against other races some prejudices against certain races still occur. Currently only people who have official permits of being from Four Swords city can enter other territories using one of the hero gates which are named by the hero trained by the first disciple, Roderick Kane. The northern gate of the dwarves was called Stonebeard gate, the south to the elves was called Willowstrider gate, and the one leading to central city was called Horanth gate. The human territory is the only territory that has two cities that have different kings. The dwarven capital was call Black Anvil city, the elven was called Moonleaf city, and the orcs had Burning Stone city. The other two territories belonged to a different group of races that are somewhat still looked down upon as their territory was considerably smaller. They went by the Darkness Coalition and Feral Alliance. They both were Island Nations and had three main races connected to them. Darkness Coalition¡¯s capital city was Bloodmoon city and for the Feral Alliance they had Suntail city. Although they were both mention not much information can be found in the books he had available. Akaro made a mental note that he would have to try and head to both areas in the future to learn more about them. Being an avid reader, one of the genre¡¯s he liked were history. As the game had its own history he was fascinated by it. He had read the history of his country, Korea, China, and other Asian countries as Japan did participate in wars involving them. The spark of interest also coincided with his grandfather¡¯s experiences as the stories he would tell of island countries he was posted in. He closed the last book and was surprised on how quickly he read through them as it was barely three hours since he started. A message window popped up on his screen once more.
You have gained the title Quick Reader. INT + 5. WIS + 5. Focus + 5.
With shock he saw that he gained another title and had an increase in his stats. ''So you can even get titles like this. It also increased my stats.¡¯'' As the books Akaro were reading were focused on history and not really on learning magical information the stat gaining was slower than compared to reading books in the main library. But the system still rewarded him with how quickly he read through the books and bestowed a title in response. As he already finished the last book in front of him, he then started to take a look at the scrolls that Joshua brought. Unlike the books, they needed even more special care as they were quite a bit older. Upon opening the scrolls he would carefully look at the first few sentences. ¡®These are pretty old and I don¡¯t quite understand what these symbols mean. I might have to note this but I don¡¯t have anything to copy it over to a new page. It would be highly disrespectful to write on these scrolls.¡¯ His thoughts were interrupted when his stomach started growling. Surprised as the system even mimicked these functions as well. He saw that his stamina was gradually dropping in level as he got hungrier and hungrier. ¡®Eating is very important.¡¯ He took out the bento and opened it. It was filled with some fried rice and honey garlic chicken. The smell alone was enough to make anybody¡¯s mouth start to water. As he was about to dig in the door knocked. Joshua¡¯s head popped in and a drooling mouth was plastered on the old man¡¯s face. Akaro seeing the man decided to put a bit of it on the lid and said, ¡°I don''t have extra utensils but you can use the spoon. I''ll make do with the fork.¡± ¡°You mean...?¡± Joshua verified. ¡°Would you like to share?'' Akaro answered. Joshua sat down grab the lid that had half the food on it and started eating with the spoon he could only tear up as the taste was phenomenal. Akaro finally taking a bite received a message.
You have eaten Honey Garlic chicken and fried rice. All stats raise by 10 for the next hour. Stamina restored 100%.
Noting that food can give special attributes depending on how it was made he continued to eat the rest of the food. Finishing up the portion that was given to him, Joshua returned the lid and with the utmost sincerity in his voice stated, ¡°Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful meal. Please let me know if you need anything else. I¡¯ll be sure to try and accommodate you.¡± Akaro immediately responded, ¡°Not a problem. Now that you have mentioned it do you have paper and something to write with. These scrolls seem to not be in the best of shape. It would be better to preserve them and I would feel better if I made a copy just in case.¡± ¡°I can bring you paper and an inkwell and a pen. Not a problem.¡± Joshua who was about to leave was stopped by Akaro. ¡°You can also take the books back. I''m done with them.¡± Akaro motioned to the stack of books he had on the side of the table. Joshua looked at the young man with astonishment and disbelief. ¡°Did you read all of them? It has only been four hours since you have been in here.¡± Rubbing the back of his head while smiling slightly Akaro replied, ¡°I read pretty quickly. I just need to look on the page and I would have memorized it. Although the scrolls are a bit harder to read so that''s why I haven''t finished going through them yet.¡± The older man had to take a few steps back. ¡°Incredible. To be able to read this quickly would mean¡­ you read about fifteen books per hour. Sure some of them didn¡¯t have a lot of pages on them but still that is quite a feat.¡± Joshua amazed by the youth in front of him. The other person in the library that had a private room, only read about ten books in an hour¡¯s time. He estimated this by being a bit of a snoop and watched to see when the other male would go and grab more books to read. Before he finished a thought came to him ''If it''s him maybe he can do it.'' ¡°You¡¯re quite amazing. I have a favour to ask of you, is that alright?¡± Akaro stared back and asked, ¡°Since you have treated me so kindly I''ll be happy to help.¡± ¡°Tomorrow please come back again! I have to leave now to get the item and I should be back by tomorrow.¡± Joshua excitedly informed the young man. ¡°I need to close up so would you be able to continue this tomorrow?¡± Akaro got up and put the empty bento case back into his inventory. ¡°I see no problem with that. I''ll return tomorrow to hear your request.¡± Akaro replied. As he got up to leave he heard Joshua knock at the room beside him. ¡°Hyun-Ki, I have to close the library early today and will be busy tomorrow. How about I¡¯ll lend you as many books as you want and just return them when you are done.¡± He saw the door open and another young man was there with black hair that seemed like a bowl was placed on his head. He had large spectacles and if someone were to see him they would assume he was a book worm. Normally disregarded by most people but Akaro¡¯s instincts told him otherwise. ¡®I don¡¯t know why¡­ but he seems strong.¡¯ With that last thought he left the library. Walking around just outside the library, he pondered on his next sort of action. He really wanted to read those scrolls but when he saw how Joshua reacted he could tell that he¡¯ll have his chance the following day. ''I need to exercise as well. Since I got here I can¡¯t really tell what kind of strength I have. Grandfather would always say the way to a healthy life is to balance body, mind, and soul.'' Seeing the instructor in front of the training grounds he decided to try and sneak past him. His grandfather usually did that to him when he first started training and would usually startle him. He stopped walking and closed his eyes. Akaro needed to control his breathing and to start focusing on his surroundings. He needed to make himself invisible in plain sight. He needed to diminish his presence. After about two minutes he started walking again. Walking with the crowd of people his movement kept him in pace with them but did not alert them of his presence. Using them as camouflage he weaved through them and quietly went behind the instructor.
Earned the title Sneaky. Earned a new stat known as Stealth. Stealth +10
Smiling as he manage to pass through, Akaro decided to head towards the furthest part of the training grounds which had a fewer scarecrows and training equipment but had only one other person there who was kicking the scarecrow thoroughly. He looked at the equipment that was freely given to players while in this area and quickly obtained two wooden swords. Upon grabbing them it felt to him it was too light. Even with his strength only at twenty, the weapons he was holding only needed a strength of one. ''Way too light. I''ll just work on my form first then.'' Getting into a regular stance with both swords in each hand pointing downwards he started to attack the scarecrow one strike at a time. He needed to feel the strikes on the scarecrow before doing anything advance. As it was a stationary object it did not take long for him memorize each and every part of it. He then started attacking with simultaneous strikes. This continued on for about two hours as he got various messages.
STR up by 1 VIT up by 1 AGI up by 1 DEX up by 1
This form of training felt the most familiar to him and triggered the most fondest memories of his grandfather. The bonus of his base stat points increasing while doing his training also gave him a bit more incentive to concentrate on the training. But one can only train so much as stamina was not a constant in the game. He was soon experiencing the drop of recovery for his stamina bar and understood he would need to stop soon. So he decided to see if he can use the same sword forms in the game. Taking the two wooden swords he got into a different stance the before. He brought the blades together and spun extremely fast. It was a strike using two swords as if they moved as one. This was the first sword form his grandfather taught him which was called Amaterasu. It was a technique that Hanzou developed using the base of Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu. The Goddess of the sun for the Shinto religion is what he named this technique after as she represented the sun and this technique used circular motions to strike one part with both swords. The need for equal timing, speed, and power would determine the damage that would ensue. The more flawless the execution the more devastating the damage. It was meant to slice through the defense of an opponent. Akaro brought the two wooden blades down on the chest area of the scarecrow. The swords already losing a bit of their durability earlier splintered and disappeared but not before half of the scarecrow fell slightly as it cracked the wooden rod keeping it up. Pieces of straw flying everywhere before the scarecrow spawned once more. Even if they were with wooden swords if it was a person standing in front of him their collarbone would have been broken and a large gash would be found on their chest as the friction alone would burn them. He also dropped down as he it used up a lot of his stamina and noticed that some of his mana was used as well.
STR up by 2 VIT up by 2 AGI up by 2.
[
You have earned the title Dual Wielding Swordsman. Sword Proficiency Experience + 5%.
You have acquired the passive skill Sword Mastery (Beginner Lv 1): Attack Damage increased (10%) when wielding sword class weapon. Attack Speed increased (3%) when wielding sword class weapons You have acquired the passive skill Dual Wielding (Beginner Lv 1): Attack Damage increased (5%) when wielding a weapon with off hand. Attack Speed increases (3%) when wielding a weapon with off hand.
The system recognizes the attack used as combat skill. Please name this combat skill.
With this new message screen he was surprised with the new title and skills but he quickly composed himself and answered. ¡°Ameterasu.¡±
Ameterasu Rank [A] Dual sword technique. Using the pinnacle of speed, power, and centrifugal force simultaneously in a well placed strike unleashes a devastating attack. Consumes 300 Ki. Damage increases by 300% 20% chance to cause bleed 20% chance to stun 20% chance to ignore defense If user has not yet acquired the Ki points system or still does not have enough to Ki points, the cost will be taken out from stamina points and mana points.
¡®Ki points. Another point system that I can learn in the game. That¡¯s surprising. I wonder if I can learn it like how ojiisan taught me. If I don¡¯t learn it soon, using this skill will literally wipe out my stamina and a good amount of my mana. This is really dangerous with the current me.¡¯ Akaro felt his body tensing at the heavy loss of stamina has was nearly completely drained. He quickly ate a piece of bread to increase it quickly and got into a lotus position. He needed to learn the ki system so he decided to do what he would do in reality. He started to meditate to not only to rest his body but to also focus his mind. Meditation was the key action to use when using ki or chi energy. In Asian society this was a normal thing to hear about. Feats that could only be described as superhuman in reality is explained by this energy. People more attuned to their bodies in both mental and physical realms can learn to utilize this energy. Some martial artists in the past that are quite famous were known to use this superhuman skills. As he concentrated on meditation he ignored his surrounding but it did not mean that they ignored him. ¡°Did he just break a scarecrow?!¡± ¡°Is he a player?¡± ¡°Isn''t he just a beginner? Did he pick up a sword technique skill book?¡± ¡°What class is he?¡± His demonstration of Ameterasu has caused a lot more commotion than he knew about. Two pair of eyes were now fixated on him. One was the instructor he eluded at the beginning and the other was the young man who was kicking the scarecrow not too long ago. Akaro could feel the stares but decided to proceed with his meditation. As a few minutes passed his body began to lighten as he could start to feel an energy around him starting to emanate from within the center of his body. Soon it started to flow throughout his body and he could feel this energy starting to strengthen him.
You have acquired the Ki point system. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!Due to the allowance of only four systems you may choose to remove either the Faith Point system or Mana Point system. Please choose which system you will like to lose.
Thinking of the situation that he had. He still did not understand either of them too well but went with removing his Faith point system. He chose the corresponding system he wished to lose.
Faith system has been removed. Ki points will increase as vitality, intelligence, and spirit increases.
You have gained the title Faithless. As you have given up the Faith system you will not be able to join any of the six religious orders and receive their blessings. Damage received from faith based attacks will damage +10%
Akaro did not know either to frown or to be happy. He obtained the new point system of Ki but then given a drawback title which caused him to take more damage from faith based attacks. Before he can ponder further the young man who was near him decided to interrupt his thoughts. ¡°You are really strong. I want to fight you. No. I need to fight you. A man cannot let this opportunity go!¡± The redhead stared at the young man in front of him. They were about the same age and his body showed that he also trained as a martial artist. He had spiky black hair that grew long enough to give him bangs. He was wearing a white gi with a black belt fastened around his waist. He seemed to be slightly a higher level than him in the game but something told him he also had increased his base stats with training. His black opal eyes seemed to burn with a fighting spirit that only belonged to other martial artists. To most people he would be considered to be a rugged handsome face but compared to Akaro it was quite lacking. Akaro of course wouldn¡¯t have thought that as he didn¡¯t even think he was really that handsome although people have said otherwise. ¡°Why?¡± Akaro replied. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel it. We were meant to be rivals! Two men fighting it out to become stronger. COME MY RIVAL LET US DUEL!¡± The black haired youth declared. ¡°...¡± Akaro was stunned by the declaration. He had a nostalgic feeling and memories of another young boy popped up into his head. ¡®Another annoying type.¡¯ Akaro was not really fond with high energetic people and they tend to give him a headache. But he considered the offer for a duel. It was a good way for him to practice his skills as a scarecrow can only do so much. Nodding to the young man he got up from his lotus position. ¡°This is going to be a fight to remember. My name is Chul-Moo. Hangul (Taekwando) sixth dan.¡± ¡°My name is Akaro. Reikenjutsu (zero sword form). Original style.¡± Chul-moo was caught off guard as Akaro went into a fighting stance without picking up a new set of swords. ¡°My strength is not to be underestimated. You should get new swords.¡± Chul-Moo felt a little bit offended. Akaro simply replied, ¡°I don¡¯t underestimate anyone. It is only fair that I face you weaponless.¡± Smirking the moment that Akaro replied, Chul-moo answered back, ¡°I apologize. It looks like you are really worthy to be my rival. Now let us talk with our fists.¡±
You have been challenged to a duel by Chul-Moo. Will you accept?
YesNo
The message popped up the moment he saw Chul-moo get into a fighting stance as well. Akaro accepted it and immediately a set of rules popped up right after.
Dueling Rules:
  1. 1. While in a safe zone like training grounds or city limits, duels end when one party has reached one hp left.
  1. 2. Opponents that have higher levels will have their health points reduced to match the lower leveled opponent. Stat points will remain the same.
  1. 3. Duels within the safe zone cannot be interrupted by outside interference.
  1. 4. Duels outside of safe zones will end upon death. Interference from other players are allowed.
  1. 5. Experience points will be given to the winner of the duel. The higher level the opponent the higher amount of experience can be gained.
  1. 6.All duels can end when another player concedes.
  1. 7.At the end of the duel 50% of a player¡¯s HP will return. Any other point system will not replenish.
The countdown began right after the rules were displayed. They both did not move as their eyes locked in at each other. The battle already began the moment that Akaro accepted. As fighting between accomplished martial artists usually began with mental pressure. The one who can make the best move usually won. Like in old samurai movies, the first move could also be the last in some cases. As the timer hit zero they still stood there. The pressure they were emitting was intense. From the perspective of the audience they stood still but everyone still held their breath as the tension increased. The instructor was also watching and waiting as to who would move first. He did not have to wait long as he watched the black haired young man burst forward and went for a straight kick. Any normal person would have been caught off guard but the other person was not normal. Immediately after the kick came the other young man avoided it and immediately went for a counter attack with an open palm strike towards the chest. This was in turned blocked immediately and they backed off. They now had a feel for each others strength. ¡®Chul-Moo¡¯s power is strong. That kick could have done a lot of damage.¡¯ Akaro eyed his opponent after having his strike blocked. ¡®He moves so silently and quickly, without hesitation. What a worthy rival!¡¯ Chul-Moo couldn¡¯t help but smirk as his blood was beginning to boil. No words were needed as they began again. This time it was Akaro who decided to strike first. Using an open palm he once more aimed at the chest expecting Chul-Moo to block. As it was blocked he immediately went for a quick low kick towards Chul-Moo¡¯s legs to try and reduce his kicking power. Chul-Moo didn¡¯t have time to move back so instead moved towards the kick to shorten the distance and reduce some of the damage. With the reduced damage then returned the kick with his own low kick and aimed for Akaro¡¯s arms. Akaro could only brace for the impact and was pushed back due to the force of the kick. Chul-Moo this time won the exchange in moves as he didn¡¯t take as much damage as Akaro. They both can see that with the health bars above their head. The system¡¯s pain sensors made it seem real as Akaro was having trouble moving his left arm. ¡®Very powerful kicks. I can¡¯t keep taking them so I¡¯ll have to aim for his joints.¡¯ Akaro focused his mind as he prepared for the next assault. Chul-Moo however saw an opportunity as he managed to land an effective hit and was already dashing towards Akaro and prepared to do a high to medium kick chain. He was then caught off guard by Akaro¡¯s sudden dash the moment he struck out the high kick. Akaro ducked and immediately attacked the knee joint of his other leg and forced Chul-Moo to bend down. Now that Chul-Moo had lost his balance, Akaro decided to hit as many times as he could, at the joints and back of the thighs of Chul-Moo. He hit them with a fist where the index and pointing finger joints were slightly extended so that it can effectively focus the damage. It was effective as Akaro watched other young man¡¯s health bar went lower than his own. His arm strength could not be compared to Chul-Moo¡¯s leg strength but was still very effective due to it being able to strike faster and more abundantly. Chul-Moo grimaced as he felt his legs scream out in pain. Although he thoroughly trains his kicks, the damage done by Akaro was perfectly aimed at the weaker portions of his legs. The numbness of feeling like getting hit by a charlie horse with the added bonus of pain behind his knees. He had trouble getting back into a horse stance. His kicking power was reduced greatly. Although Akaro knew his attack did damage he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Chul-Moo was grinning. The fierce look in his opponent''s eyes still showed that he still had more to give. Although he did say his style at the beginning of the match, he still hadn¡¯t used anything he created himself. Currently he used attacks from various chinese kenpo that he manage to learn from some of his ojiisan¡¯s disciples. His style was bits and pieces of styles he fought before which included aikido, karate, various chinese kenpo, tai chi, and of course kenjutsu. The strongest of these is his swordsmanship but as a rule in his grandfather¡¯s ninjutsu training he had to be prepared to fight without his main weapon. So he developed a style which included what he learned and created his own mix of hand to hand combat. Chul-Moo already could feel that Akaro¡¯s style cannot be pinpointed to one specific style. As a user of pure hangul he had masteries of advanced techniques meant to fight various other forms of martial arts. Although Akaro had flexibility in moves to choose from, he himself had moves practiced ever since he can remember. Akaro was still at a disadvantage as he wasn¡¯t using his strongest form of martial arts and Chul-Moo was about to show him the difference between their martial arts style. The instructor continued to observe and he could see that the red headed one was currently at an advantage. The next move though immediately turned the tables once again. He watched as the black haired boy threw defense out the window and decided to go with fast and heavy blows from above. First moving closer while keeping one leg up prepared to kick for a counter attack. The strange movements were meant to confuse an opponent while also helped closing the distance. The moment he got close enough, Chul-Moo launched an aerial offensive. The speed of his kicks dramatically increased despite the pain he was feeling. Akaro had no choice but to block and parry the best he could but the sudden increase of speed caught him off guard and the damage was heavy. He had immediately lost half of his remaining HP. He manage to take a few steps back but found himself now backed against the wall and very little options of escape. This was going to be the last move for either of them. Advantage was still with Chul-Moo as he had just a bit more health than Akaro but one can see that they both are wary of each other still. If one could see the aura they were emitting, Chul-Moo was giving off a fiery orange aura ready to explode with bursting power while Akaro was an icy blue that felt like it can pierce the soul. ¡®I guess I have no choice...¡¯ Akaro¡¯s thought as he watched Chul-Moo preparing to dash towards him once more. He had to strike at the right time or else he would lose this duel. The audience held their breath as the tension once more was incredible. By now they have attracted all the attention of anyone in the training grounds. The instructor himself was standing in front of the crowd to keep them from getting too close. He watched as the final moves of the two were now taking place. Again with a dash the hangul user quickly tried to land a fierce kick towards the stomach. Akaro on the defensive, evaded a effectively as he could with his current body. At a certain point Chul-Moo was able to get past Akaro during one of the exchanges and he then prepared his last move. He quickly jumped backwards onto a scarecrow and jumped off it. This increased the height as he raised his right leg over his head in preparation from an axe kick from five feet in the air. ¡®Haneul Naeryeo Chagi! (Heavenly Axe Kick)¡¯ Chul-Moo shouted in his head. ¡®Reiken no issatsu. Tenheki. (Zerosword first kill. Sky piercer)¡¯ Akaro cooly thought as he prepared his counter. The moment he saw that Chul-Moo was going to attack in the air he had the one chance to counter. Many martial arts started in Japan reflected the era of samurai as a way to kill an opponent effectively in times of war. Akaro¡¯s was no different in that retrospect as his original style is meant for killing his opponents. He would always avoid using his original moves and fight with burrowed techniques but with the opponent in front of him he had no choice. With one fluid motion he jumped towards Chul-Moo¡¯s attack and using his one good arm he struck out with his right hand, like a blade, and aimed directly at the throat. He knew he would get damaged as well but who would do greater damage would determine the outcome. Using his opponents momentum and inability to dodge in the air he struck hard against the Hangul user¡¯s throat. In reality Akaro would have pierced through his throat and killed him then and there but as this was a friendly duel within the training grounds death and blood was not displayed. Instead spit came out of Chul-Moo¡¯s mouth as the sudden shock of the attack and the amount of pain received caused him to lose consciousness slightly as they both landed ungracefully on the floor. Normally one would think they would both land and one person would fall but in reality they both took quite a bit of damage. Akaro was not free from the pain from Chul-Moo¡¯s attack as he was also hit slightly as he struck his counter. The HP counter of both Akaro and Chul-Moo had only a difference of one HP. Akaro with two HP was declared the winner of the duel. Their HP was replenished to half but the fatigue of the fight was still there. The fight itself only lasted a couple of minutes but the crowd cheered once the winner was announced.
Congratulations you have won your first duel. You are now Level 2 You have earned these titles. Duelist All stats increase by +1 when fighting duels. Chul-Moo¡¯s Rival Experience and stats increase the more you and your rival duel Instant Kill Red Head This is a title given by the crowd. Reputation increased by 10
The last title made him slightly frown as his reputation with people of the city increased in a strange direction. He was also surprised that titles can be given if more than enough people state it. Then a familiar window came up again. [table] Akaro pondered at the skill information. He understood the game gave values to certain skills but he couldn¡¯t help feel a bit perturbed that a certain kill move he created was only a rank B. He was soon taken out of his thoughts. ¡°Excuse me young man. I¡¯m sorry to interrupt but I don¡¯t remember seeing you enter my training grounds.¡± The instructor was the first person to approach the two since the end of the duel. Looking back at the instructor Akaro replied, ¡°Through the front door.¡± The instructor smiled before continuing his line of questioning, ¡°I would have remembered letting you in but that doesn¡¯t matter. You are quite skilled. That one over there has been dueling any opponent that accepts. He has been here for a while now but you are the first to have fought him and won. Albeit no one higher level than him has accepted his challenge. You also broke one of the scarecrows with a skill I see. Very surprising for someone who has entered here for the first time.¡± Akaro nodded in response still wary if this man was about to attack him for sneaking in. He could sense that the person in front of him was strong. There was no status bar above him so he couldn¡¯t tell what level the instructor was but something told him he was not weak either. ¡°I will not let you get by me next time. I''ll remember you. What is your name?¡± Asked the instructor. ¡°Akaro.¡± He replied before continuing, ¡°You will not catch me.¡± Akaro had great pride in his ninjutsu training. He did not believe this man had the ability to detect him. Laughing the instructor stuck out his hand and shook Akaro¡¯s hand. ¡°It''s a deal. My name is Ezekiel the instructor for this location. I help fledgling adventurers like you all the time but because you were able to sneak past me you cannot train here unless you can repeat that once more.¡± Ezekiel gave a broad smile before looking at the other player who finally regained consciousness. It did not take long for Chul-Moo to understand what happen. Since he woke up he already felt that he lost the duel. Grasping his neck just to make sure there wasn¡¯t any holes in it he looked at Akaro with a beaming smile. ¡°Finally! You beat me and you were just level 1!! I found a worthy rival that even the game has made us rivals!!! I can¡¯t wait until our next fight!¡± Chul-Moo exclaimed. ¡®So loud. I think I¡¯m going to get a headache.¡¯ Akaro didn¡¯t respond and closed his eyes to meditate and regain some of the Ki he lost. Unlike the other system points, Ki regeneration was solely dependent on rest and did not regenerate like the others. Although ignored Chul-Moo took it as Akaro being shy. ¡°Don¡¯t need to be shy. Here I¡¯ll give the request to befriend you.¡± [table][tbody]
You have created a new combat skill. Name was already given. Reiken no issatsu: Tenheki Rank (B) Hand to Hand combat technique A counter that relies on an opponent''s own momentum and striking at the neck with great speed to pierce and subdue them. Consumes 200 Ki. Damage increases by 100% + Opponent Momentum Speed Backlash damage 40% of damage given 20% chance to cause bleed 20% chance to cause death
Chul-Moo requested to be your friend. Will you accept?
YesNo
The redhead seriously wanted to say no as he felt that Chul-Moo was the type he couldn¡¯t get along with but because his mother asked him to try to make friends in the game he accepted. ¡°Haha. I knew you would accept my friend. Come let us go eat. I know a place where they have a very pretty chef! Instructor Ezekiel, we will come again!¡± Chul-Moo grabbed Akaro from his meditation and started dragging him outside the training grounds. Ezekiel smiled as he watched the two as he was started to expect great things from the two of them. Akaro finally was able to slip out of Chul-Moo¡¯s iron grip scowled at the other young man. He wanted to say something but decided to stay quiet so he didn¡¯t instigate any reason for the other to talk. The two looked ragged and remnants of their fight was apparent as they both looked a lot scruffier than before. They entered the Hunter¡¯s Delight which Akaro was already familiar with as he was there earlier that day. ¡°Hello older brothers. Is the pretty Noona around?¡± Chul-Moo asked as soon as he entered. ¡°You¡¯re back again you flatterer. You¡¯re still not getting a dis¡­ AKARO?!¡± Cooking Queen exclaimed as she saw how scruffy he looked. She rushed to him immediately and checked to see if he was injured anywhere. Even though it was a game her motherly tendencies seemed to have slipped out. ¡°What happened to you? Why are you with him? Did you do this? What do you have to say for yourself?¡± Her head darted back and forth between the two young males as she rapidly shot questions at them. ¡°Eomma. It¡¯s alright. We had a duel. I won.¡± Akaro smiled slightly at the last part. He of course had pride in his skills. ¡°WAIT! This pretty noona is your mother. Then I have been rude to my rivals mother. Auntie please accept my apology. But you are still very pretty. Can I have some free food?¡± Chul-Moo bowed but as his hunger was his main focus he couldn¡¯t help but at that last part. This time the head chef Gaspar entered the scene. ¡°Cooking Queen. You should let the boys be boys. It¡¯s good that he already made a rival. Young brother come and eat. Of course no charge for you but the other one you still have to pay.¡± The two boys sat at a table while Akaro¡¯s mother started preparing their meals. ¡°Such a pretty woman as your mother. I guess it would make sense that a pretty mother would make a good looking child. I unfortunately got all my looks from my father.¡± Chul-Moo attempted a conversation with the stoic redhead. ¡°...¡± Akaro didn¡¯t respond as he went back to his interrupted meditating. Not taking that as a signal to stop talking Chul-Moo continued. ¡°You see this game is fun. Father saved enough for me to play it as he wanted me to find a rival best suited for me. He always said that I won¡¯t be able to find a rival while fishing with him out at sea. We¡¯re fisherman. The classes I chose in the game is first Martial Artist as you can tell already and my subclass is fisherman¡­¡± Akaro was trying tune him out as he just kept going on and on while the food was still being prepared. As his ki replenished his mother came with their order. For Chul-Moo he got noodles in a pork broth and various garnishes and while Akaro got marinated grilled beef sirloin, a full vegetable platter and seaweed fried rice. Chul-Moo¡¯s mouth watered at the grilled meat and grabbed his chopsticks. ¡°Brother Akaro, you won¡¯t mind me taking a small piece of meat right?¡± Chul-Moo had to suck up a bit of the drool as he was saying this. Just as he was about to grab a piece of meat a flash of chopsticks blocked. The hangul user was shocked and then understood as he saw the glint in Akaro¡¯s eyes. It showed that he wouldn¡¯t just let him have his meat. ¡°It¡¯s a match then!¡± Chul-Moo exclaimed as the two started fighting each other with chopsticks. While Akaro defended the meat with his left he used his right to eat at the same time. Chul-Moo was no slouch as he used his free hand to grab his bowl and drink back broth and noodles in between strikes with his chopsticks. Other customers couldn¡¯t help but watch as these two was having a battle for food. Just as Chul-Moo was able to evade and placed his chopsticks on meat however, Cooking Queen came and slammed frying pans on both their heads. ¡°Enough fighting for food. Chul-Moo you didn¡¯t pay for it so you should have asked politely. Akaro it¡¯s not good to be greedy.¡± She scolded the both of them. They both started rubbing their heads as if a big bump would appear. ¡°Fufu, such energetic boys. I overheard that you fish Chul-Moo. If you bring us anything you catch we can trade it for beef dishes like our younger brother¡¯s there.¡± Gaspar chimed in. ¡°Really?! Then after this I will go do some fishing. What will you do after Akaro?¡± Chul-Moo asked as he skillfully taken a piece of meat off of Akaro¡¯s plate and into his mouth immediately. Scowling at the boy for sneaking a piece while he was being scolded Akaro sat in thought. ¡°Probably train some more.¡± ¡°Well I can¡¯t wait until you get stronger. I can¡¯t believe you beat a level ten at level one. I chose a good rival.¡± Chul-Moo proud for his decision. The remainder of the meal wasn¡¯t as eventful as Akaro reluctantly shared some of his meat with Chul-Moo as he was getting glares from his mother informing him not to make another embarrassing scene. Chul-Moo left soon after to go fishing and waved goodbye to the chefs. ¡°Akaro we heard you were going to train again after. Here are some snacks for you from your older brothers.¡± The group of young chefs came and gave him a container with dried meats and breads. He thanked his older brothers with a bow before he started to head towards the training grounds. Gaspar and Cooking Queen had left earlier to restock their ingredients and left as the two boys ate their meals. Again using the same methods as before he manage to sneak in a second time, eluding Ezekiel¡¯s line of sight. He continued to walk quietly past everyone still in the training grounds which seemed to have lessened quite a bit as it was getting closer to sundown. As most players had already left for inns or went outside to farm the mobs that are more lively in the evening, Akaro was soon spotted by Ezekiel. The instructor had already started walking towards him with a smile on his face. ¡°Snuck by me once more. You are very skillful. Alright you can train whenever you want. But if I can ask, can you continue trying to sneak by me? As after meeting you I¡¯ve felt I¡¯m becoming a bit rusty in my detection skills. A former Four Swords Knight, I do have some pride left.¡± Ezekiel asked in earnest. ¡°I planned to do so from the beginning.¡± Akaro returned the smile. Then he thought of asking the instructor of one of his main goals, ¡° Ezekiel, do you know the process to obtain the ninja class?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ no unfortunately. You can always ask the adventurers guild headquarters as they usually information like that but you have to be level ten before you can enter that building. You can start fighting some of the creatures outside to level up or do quests. But if you want to hear my opinion, I would suggest to train here and raise your stats. I can see you just started so you¡¯re techniques aren¡¯t as strong as they could be. I can also look into stealth like classes for you so you don¡¯t have to worry about going there just yet. As an instructor it would pain me to see such potential be rushed by excessive leveling. The lower level you are the easier your stats can increase from training.¡± Ezekiel answered. ¡°Thank you for the information and for the help. Please let me know if you figured out anything.¡± Akaro smiled as he felt he was going to get closer on getting the ninja class with the help of the instructor. As the instructor left Akaro started to continue his training and eating the food his older brother chefs have given him. His stats continued to grow but the length of time increased between pop up messages and he only went up ten points in different categories. As it was a good time as any he decided to inspect his new stats and titles. [tbody]
Status Window
NameAkaroAlignmentNeutralRaceMartial HumanLevel2
Reputation30Ki375/375
Health270/270Mana200/200Stamina200/350
Vitality27Strength33Agility21Dexterity19
Wisdom15 (20)Intelligence15 (20)Charisma15Luck25 (35)
Tenacity25Focus15 (20)Spirit20Toughness15
Endurance35Perserverance15Stealth15(25)Open
Resistances
None
Classes
CategoryTypeNameLevel
Main???NoneNone
Sub???NoneNone
Titles
TitleAttribute
Hunter''s Delight Little BrotherLuck +10
Quick ReaderInt +5, Focus +5, Wis +5
SneakyStealth +10
Dual Wielding SwordsmanSword profficiency Exp +5%
FaithlessDamage by Faith +10%
DuelistAll stats +1 during duels
Chul-Moo''s RivalDuels with player increase Exp and stat growth
Instant Kill Red HeadReputation +10
Akaro saw that the stats in the parenthesis were the ones that were affected by his titles. He made a mental note that acquiring titles really does help him but he needed to make sure he got the ones that matter. Before he can continue training he was interrupted by a message. Cooking Queen: ¡°Akaro time to log off. We¡¯ll be having dinner soon. You can come back to the game after.¡± He then logged off from the game. His body felt rested and he can now understand what his mother meant. This device completely amazed him and he could not believe it could benefit him. He quickly went upstairs to eat as he could not wait to get back into the game. He wanted to do so many more things in the game but he knew he needed to help out the old librarian with a favor. Logging back into the game Akaro ventured straight towards the library as he was curious at what Joshua would have him do. Although Akaro may not know it yet but soon his life in the game will began to move forward. Myth 4: Weaver of Myths Myth 4: Weaver of Myths As he entered the library he could not see Joshua at all. As he walked towards his own private reading room he could hear rustling of papers from within. Deciding to play a little prank on the older man he quietly snuck into the room. There he saw the older man trying to organize a group of papers and scrolls on the desk. So focused at what he was doing, it was so easy for Akaro to sneak up on him. ¡°Good morning Joshua.¡± Akaro simply said already beside the librarian. Joshua looked as if he had a heart attack as various papers flew out of his hand. Akaro put up his hands in apology after inwardly laughing a bit. He then started to pick up the fallen papers. ¡°Akaro-nim. Why did you sneak up on me like that?!¡± Holding his heart he sighed deeply. ¡°Surprises aside, quickly come here. Put that bag on the table and open it. Then take out what''s in it.¡± Akaro found the bag and placed it on the table. He then unbuckled the latches keeping the flap closed and pulled out a large black tablet with writing he did not recognize at all on it. ¡°That is an ancient artifact inscribed by one of world¡¯s greatest scholar and historians. It was even said he was one of the hero gods that overthrew the Darkness Goddess Calypso. ¡± Joshua who caught his breath explained. ¡°Akaro-nim, I have spent all my life trying to solve this tablet but I¡¯m unable to surpass the wall that is in front of me on my own. Would you please help me in translating it?¡± A message popped up.
Hero God Tablet The old scholar Joshua has brought to you an ancient artifact he spent his whole life trying to unlock its secrets. As he was getting older he did not have much family and did not want all his research to be squandered. Due to your relationship with him he has deemed you worthy to continue his life goal. Difficulty: B Quest requirement: Failed if you decline
¡°I have already agreed to help you yesterday.¡± Joshua with a smile on his face continued. ¡°I will leave you to it. Use all my research and if you manage to figure this out I¡¯ll be sure to reward you greatly for this. I would have asked the other person that frequents this location but he has been rather cold to me and doesn¡¯t seem to be the type that would help others.¡± Akaro heard the last comment whispered to him. He remembered the other male and also remembered the feeling that he was someone strong. Nodding at Joshua he looked at the quest window for the first time. ''I can accept ten of these quests at a time.'' As he was still learning he didn''t really understand that quests usually lead to experience and awards. The only game he can use for reference was an RPG that was just shy of being released twenty years ago. So he just took it as a request from an elderly man too old to continue his work. ''I''ll be sure to complete his work.'' Akaro first started going through the work of the old man and what he has done so far. Although it only took him an hour to read through it he needed to spend time trying to understand it. The stone tablet had many cracks and some of the lines looked like they eroded through time. In order for him not to damage the tablet he decided to make a copy. Grabbing a piece of parchment he started to trace the outline of the stone. Due to his memory he can pretty much replicate the image while drawing it with ease. After drawing it he set the tablet aside in a safe place before he began his work. He first wanted to find out what was the proper direction to translate the image. As he was not familiar with the writing itself he started sifting through the pages in Joshua''s research. Three hours passed by and he was able to determine the proper way to start working on the lines of text. According to the notes, he found certain issues with how Joshua was trying to decipher the stone originally. The tablet was rectangular but it was was not written in regular format. It was written similar to Japanese novels from top to bottom. Also the text was meant to be read from furthest right and towards the left. Akaro only found this out when he was able to translate the word "the" which should be the most common three letter words in sentences according to his experience. Akaro''s stomach growled. It was time to eat and as if on queue Joshua came in. "Ah you have been working hard. I have made some tea for us to drink. Let us go to the front and eat there. I would hate to spill on your progress." Joshua and Akaro sat at the front desk. He had a tea set waiting while Akaro took out his bento. This time Joshua placed a plate and a set of cutlery in front of him. As the food was being divided between the two Joshua poured tea for the both of them. "It is always good to relax the mind with a good cup of tea." Akaro tasting the bitter taste of the tea drank it slowly. This time in his bento they gave a seafood deluxe set. "How is it going?" Joshua inquired. "I was able to find the proper layout to begin translating. Thanks to your work I was able to decipher the proper way to read the artifact." Smiling Joshua responded, "Already made this much progress, how long do you estimate before you will have the full translation." Thinking of all the information he has already and now that he can figure out how to read the tablet Akaro answered honestly. "Six to seven hours should be enough to do it." Joshua paled. ''Over fifty years of work and it only took him a day...'' "It is all thanks to your dedication, if you had figured out the layout you would have not needed me." Akaro tried to encourage the man. It must have been effective as the man smirked. "Of course. I am too old to continue this work and so I asked you to finish it Akaro-nim." Akaro then felt a cold glare from across the room. His senses picking up a bit of killing intent. He quickly looked at the direction of the glare and found the one male already standing up and leaving towards the door. The redhead did not understand the animosity that was directed at him. He did not understand the amount of weeks that player waited and read through books to find a hidden quest. He did not understand that because Joshua requested for Akaro¡¯s help in a span of one day that the one player was now holding a grudge against Akaro. He will soon come to butt heads with this player in the future but not yet. As Akaro watched the player leave he shook his head and started eating again.As the meals disappeared and he sat quietly. He ignored the message of what stat boost he received after eating as it would not matter. He would have to not train today to finish deciphering this artifact. ''Well there is lots of time with the way this world works.'' *** ¡°Where is my rival?!¡± Chul-Moo was agitated as he was looking for Akaro to spar with. *** Akaro sneezed as he started heading back to the room to continue his work. He then started using the word he had already translated and started matching the letters to the same symbol found on the tablet. After marking each symbol with either ''t'', ''h'', or ''e'' he looked at it. It still was quite a lot of letters to figure out. He then opened the ancient scrolls he was going to read the other day and tried to see if he can find any written patterns in relation to what he translated. He noticed the scroll used old English so there were a lot of words like thou, and Ye. Using the likelihood of this replicating in the tablet he started doing guess work. Sometimes he would get the right ones and other times he would have to scratch an hour''s worth of work as the letters did not match. He made notes on which letters did not match the corresponding symbol. Although the work Akaro was performing a task that regular players would avoid, he enjoyed it. He was playing a game and he got to do what he loved while in it. He enjoyed it even more as the time reading in the game gave the opportunity to acquire vast amount of information and stories that he has never heard before and all within a small amount of time in real life. This excited him even more as he really wanted to read what this tablet had to say. More and more symbols had matching letters attached to them and Akaro was getting faster. As more letter were found the ability to structure the sentences and finding the missing words became easier. Even the symbols that look faded or were damaged by cracks was getting translated. Once he put in the last letter he saw the tablet at the corner of the table started glowing. Picking it up a pop up message appeared.
You have completed the quest Secrets of the Arpen tablet. Take the tablet and your translation to Joshua to finish the quest.
Walking towards Joshua, he brought both items to him. It had been just over seven hours since they ate lunch and Joshua was astonished at this young man¡¯s achievement. Taking the translation and the tablet he began to read. "To whomever deciphered this stone I commend thee. Thou art a fellow with a kindred spirit. To thee I offer no gold, nor weapon as those will disappear through the ravages of time. I bequeath unto thee my immortal soul. Thou may be wondering how can I give thee anything as I no longer have live in this world. Are thee not reading this stone? My knowledge and my art is what I leave to thee. I have witnessed the rise and fall of my brethren Hero Gods. My written works have been tampered with and the world thy knows may be false. This stone was thine first stepping stone to uncover the truth. Thine life will now be blessed and cursed with the destiny of translating my words. Search this world for more pieces of my soul, and more truths will be revealed to thee.. Create thine own legends, write thine own myths, continue my life, my one and only disciple. Do not trust the words of others and seek the truth thyself. The Gods are not as innocent as they seem. " - Myth Weaver Belthazar of the six Hero Gods. There was a faded out symbol on the tablet that also redrew in the translation. As Joshua finished reading the translation he had to sit back as Akaro started to glow in a golden light. A pop up message came up.
You have finished the quest of the Hero God Tablet. Human type has changed from Martial Human to Ancient Human Base stats have changed. The passive Adaptability has been removed. Restriction to class changes have been added due to class. Int + 30 Wis + 30 End + 30 Luck + 30 Mana + 50 Speech +100 Reputation + 30 You have leveled up to level 10 You have earned new titles: Artifact Decrypter Int +10 Wis +10 Faithless has been turned to Blasphemer Damage by Faith based attack have increased another +10% Eventful Life ??? Four Swords Apprentice Scholar Focus +10 Int +10 Wis +10
You have acquired the hidden class Legendary Myth Weaver. Subclass allotment has increased by two Classes learned are permanent and cannot be changed. Learned Speech Stat Related to any verbal skills. Will increase the succession of any skill relying on verbal commands. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat. Learned Art Stat Works of art will increase this stat. Cannot put any bonus stats in this skill. Skills: Learned Storytelling Learned Illustration Learned Inscribe Learned Persuasion Learned Coercion Learned Translation Learned Identification Learned Decipher Learned Contract
Knowing that he leveled up as well he put his bonus stats in things that had less stats as he wanted a balanced character. "Stats." [tbody]
Status Window
NameAkaroAlignmentNeutralRaceAncient HumanLevel10
Reputation60Ki1525/1525
Health870/870Mana1350/1350Stamina1050/1050
Vitality87Strength103Agility111Dexterity99
Wisdom105 (130)Intelligence75 (100)Charisma75Luck75 (85)
Tenacity85Focus75 (90)Spirit70Toughness35
Endurance105Perserverance75Stealth75(85)Art70
Speech175OpenOpenOpen
Resistances
Magic 10%
Classes
CategoryTypeNameLevel
MainKnowledgeLegendary Myth WeaverBeginner
Sub???NoneNone
Sub???NoneNone
Sub???NoneNone
Titles
TitleAttribute
Hunter''s Delight Little BrotherLuck +10
Quick ReaderInt +5, Focus +5, Wis +5
SneakyStealth +10
Dual Wielding SwordsmanSword profficiency Exp +5%
BlasphemerDamage by Faith +20%
DuelistAll stats +1 during duels
Chul-Moo''s RivalDuels with player increase Exp and stat growth
Instant Kill Red HeadReputation +10
Eventful Life???
Four Swords Apprentice ScholarFocus +10, Int +10, Wis +10
Artifact DecrypterInt +10, Wis +10
¡°Skill Window.¡±
Skill Window
NameDescriptionExperience/Proficiency %
LevelEffectConsumption
Legendary Myth Weaver:
CoercionEnable the user to persuade using threats or black mail to force others to do as the user requests. As it is a negative form of persuasion spirit stats will be affected.0%
Beginner: 130% chance to obtain condition but 10% success rate"20 Speech 5 Spirit "
ContractEnables the ability to make contracts for trades and battle. The other party must sign in order for the contract to work. Higher level in contract increases the amount of conditions that can be put into place. The more detailed the contract the stiffer the punishment for breaking it.0%
Beginner: 1Create, alter, cancel contracts created by the user as long as the conditions are met. Broken conditions will cause random penalties to occur. 1 condition/per contract.50 mana/condition
DecipherEnable the Ability to read and understand ancient texts.0%
Beginner: 1100% accuracy in translating ancient texts but 10% success rate1000 mana
IdentificationEnables you to learn the true value of unidentified items0%
Beginner: 1100% accuracy in identifying iems but 5% success rate20 mana
IllustrationEnables the ability to sketch images that depict an instance in the story.0%
Beginner: 1Increases the artistic value of stories created10 mana/second
InscribeEnables the ability to write on any surface. Corresponding tool will be needed to use this ability.0%
Beginner: 1Able to write on any physical surface.10 mana/second.
PersuasionEnables the user to increase the likelihood of having succeed any attempts to acquire favors, items, passage, etc... with speech0%
Beginner: 125% chance to obtain condition but 5% success rate10 Speech
Storytelling (passive)Enables the ability to use speech or writing to create a story using one''s imagination.0%
Beginner: 1Increases the popularity of any story created depending on retention of audience/readers. This skill can greatly increase Speech and Art stats. Reputation may increase as well.N/A
Passive Skills
Sword MasteryEnables the user to use sword class weapons.25%
Beginner: 1"Attack Damage increased (10%) when wielding sword class weapon. Attack Speed increased (3%) when wielding sword class weapons"10 Stamina/strike
Dual WieldingEnables the user to use a weapon in both hands.20%
Beginner: 1"Attack Damage increased (5%) when wielding a weapon with off hand. Attack Speed increases (3%) when wielding a weapon with off hand."10 Stamina/strike
Combat Skills
Ameterasu"Using the pinnacle of speed, power, and centrifugal force simultaneously in a well placed strike unleashes a devastating attack with two blades. "N/A
Rank (A)"Damage increases by 300% 20% chance to cause bleed 20% chance to stun 20% chance to ignore defense"300 Ki
Reiken no issatsu: Tenheki"A counter that relies on an opponent''s own momentum and striking at the neck with great speed to pierce and subdue them. "N/A
Rank (B)"Damage increases by 100% + Opponent Momentum Speed Backlash damage 40% of damage given "200 Ki
¡°Akaro-nim, what happened? Are you okay? That seemed to be a class change but it was the first time I saw anyone glow golden like that.¡± The older gentleman recovered from being surprised and asked the youth in concern for the young man¡¯s health. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I think I¡¯m alright. I have a class called Legendary Myth Weaver and my race is now Ancient Human.¡± Joshua¡¯s eyes almost bulged out. ¡°Legendary Myth Weaver and also became a new race¡­ I¡¯ve heard of people changing into a different type of human but not one to the original type. The class itself is already amazing as that is the same class as Belthazar. You must be blessed by the Gods.¡± ¡®Actually quite the opposite¡­¡¯ Akaro thought as he was considered faithless but did not say it aloud. Instead his face contorted in confusion as he wasn¡¯t really interested in this type of class but as he was given no choice to decline it, he decided to just deal with it and get the ninja class as one of his three sub classes. The race type change still surprised him and decided to ask Joshua as the elder seemed familiar with it. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between ancient human and the other types?¡± Akaro started. ¡°Think of it this way, over the years the types emerged between humans as aptitude to certain vocations were very apparent. Ancient humans are what would be considered the origin of our species before newer generations later the evolution of man split into three different types. I¡¯m not too sure what changes have occurred but you would have a better understanding of that than I. You are the first case that I have come across anyway.¡± Joshua explained. ¡°I do see that all of attributes have increased quite a bit but I lost the adaptability passive and any classes I¡¯ve chosen are permanent.¡± Akaro sighed at the end. ¡°Hmm I could see that could be a problem later down the road when you find more things to do. You¡¯ll have to be careful on what you choose for your other class. Regardless of the restrictions, you will probably benefit more with a class that a Hero God used.¡± Joshua began before continuing with a more serious face, ¡°I¡¯ve decided. I need to report our findings to the Central City¡¯s Scholar¡¯s guild. They will give us both quite a bit of recognition for this achievement.¡± The older man grinned as he said the last line and started to gather items that was on the table and placing it in his bag. Another message popped up just as Joshua finished.
With the translation of the secret stone tablet of the Hero God Belthazar, your name will be announced to the world once Joshua has given his report to the Scholar Guild in Central City. With this your name will be well known throughout the continents. Reputation will increase up 2000 You will also get a title. Will you accept this achievement?
Most players will be elated when a message like this would pop up but Akaro truly felt that he didn¡¯t deserve it. He may have helped Joshua in uncovering this secret but a lot of the research was done before hand. He decided to tell Joshua how he felt about it. ¡°Joshua I can¡¯t accept my name on your work. Just let them know that you translated this on your own. You deserve all the credit as all I did is help rearrange it.¡± Akaro tried to persuade using his new skill.
You have declined.
¡°Do not be so humble. Even with all the research and time I have put into this, I would have never found the truth without your skills of deduction. You¡¯ll gain fame and be allowed to get access to many other ancient artifacts throughout this country and even in other countries. You can become a scholar of the guild and enjoy life just reading and finding new discoveries in ancient texts. Why would you want to decline this type of opportunity?¡± Joshua was astonished that this young man would not take such a prestigious opportunity. ¡°Then how about you sign a contract with me? You will place this achievement under your name and you will grant me access to these libraries when I need to as your apprentice. I do not need the extra attention as I want to travel this world and I do not have the power to refuse certain kingdoms if they try to acquire me by force.¡± The last comment was not a lie. Being a measly level ten and obtaining this much reputation will cause problems for Akaro. He wanted to enjoy himself and felt that having the extra attention would put him in troublesome situations. This time he used the contract skill and a piece of parchment appeared before him when he decided to use the skill. The only problem now was he didn¡¯t have a pen to write out the conditions. Joshua pondered and smiled before saying, ¡°I can accept that condition. But I¡¯m going to give you something of equal worth. It¡¯s a very important item and since I do not have children of my own, it¡¯s only proper to give it to my apprentice.¡± Joshua took out a black box from his pocket. He then handed it over to Akaro with a look full of sincerity. Akaro opened the box to find a very ornate pen. With the same symbol of Belthazar on it like what he also saw on the tablet. It was a scroll with a sword pierced through it, engraved in gold at the base of the pen. The color of the pen seemed to go from black to silver depending on where the light hit it. The tip was not metal but a red crystal that gave a dim light. ¡°This pen is no ordinary pen. Using mana instead of ink it can write on just about everything. This has been an heirloom of my family for years. You see one of the reasons I have this stone tablet is that it was passed down to me from my family. I was the only one who has tried to solve it and now because of you I am the first one to be able to read it. I have no other family and I am getting old. Please accept this and the key to this library. I hand over the ownership to you.¡± A pop up opened up once more.
Belthazar''s pen This pen was the heirloom of Joshua''s family. A special red crystal was used as the tip and the pen casing was crafted with a mixture of orichalchum and mithril and enchanted to be indestructible. This pen does not use ink but uses mana to write. The color of the ink will be determined by the users thoughts. Does not lose any durability Inscribe level will affect the abilities of the pen. Uses 10 mana per second when in use. This cannot be dropped or taken. Myth Weaver skills will improve 10% faster. Can be equipped under the special equipment slot that is unlocked at level 50. When equipped: Mana increase by 2000 All stats added by 10 points Art increased extra 200 points Speech increased extra 200 points Restriction need to have Inscribe at intermediate level to equip
Reading the effects of the pen, Akaro decided that he needed to work on increasing his proficiency up with these skills as much as he can. The special equipment slots can be unlocked after every fiftieth level according to what Akaro has viewed. At max players can equip up to five special equipment. He started with inscribe and started writing with the pen the words needed. He needed to write quickly as he watched his mana get drained. Twenty mana per second for the inscribe skill and the pens effects as well. Finishing the contract with just enough mana to spare he handed it over to Joshua. Once Joshua signed the contract more pop up messages displayed. Level Up: Inscribe (Beginner Level 2 25%) Speech +10
Level Up: Persuasion (Beginner level 2 50%) Success rate increased to 7.5% Speech +10
Level Up: Contract ( Beginner level 3 20%) Can now add up to 3 conditions to contracts made. Speech + 10
Thanks to the pen it made it easier for him to level up his skills and because Joshua agreed the first time he tried to persuade it seemed to have cancel the cost to use the skill. Contract and inscribe actually increased his speech some more. ¡®So succeeding is very important. I can¡¯t keep using the persuade skill if I run out of stats in the speech section. But it¡¯s not a system point but actual stats that get used up. I wonder if there are any other classes like this where stats get affected.¡¯ As Akaro was still trying to understand the new skills, Joshua took out a key and another piece of parchment. ¡°Akaro this is the deed for the library. You will be part owners with me as you are now my apprentice. Your job is to maintain this place as I¡¯ll be heading out to Central City. You cannot deny this as you are my apprentice.¡± Joshua handed over the other two items.
Gained title Four Swords Librarian Int +10 Wis +10 Reputation +40 Gain Title Joshua¡¯s Apprentice Able to gain access to any Library
Obtained Four Swords Second Library Deed You are now the second owner of the library. As Joshua is the primary owner he will still be handling the taxes and general costs of the library. You have permission to set the time and which days the building will be open.
Akaro understood the importance of how his skills increase in experience. For most of his skills was verbal which meant he needed to be a lot more vocal than he¡¯s used to. This was a challenge he was willing to accept. The contract level though surprised him. It leveled up twice even with the help of the pen. ''It must mean that depending on the conditions that are in place the proficiency will increase. Probably also depending on what is agreed upon. The more advantage to me the more I get out of proficiency. '' The young man made a mental note on how he can exploit this skill in the future. Then his face contorted to an amused expression as a memory popped into his head. ''Funny how I am now the one giving contracts instead of just signing them.'' ¡°Now I must go to central and it will be a long carriage ride. Please take care and if you need any help please contact me in the Central continent. I¡¯ll leave this device which will give you a way to contact me.¡± Joshua took out a purple gem like stone that he placed on top of the desks. ¡°You just need to write a message and place it on this stone. It will then transport the message out to me. This is how I¡¯ll send you messages as well. I am probably going to be staying at the famous Freedom of Heaven Research Institute and compare notes with other colleagues in the same field. Once again I thank you Akaro-nim.¡± Seeing the older man off Akaro changed the time the Library opens to early morning and closes at lunch. He wasn''t sure if anyone will come to this library as most NPC¡¯s and players alike go to the more popular First Four Swords Library. Nonetheless he felt he had a responsibility to the books and he will start reading through them as he passes the time. As it was evening Akaro decided to sneak into the training grounds once more. This time the instructor seemed to a bit more vigilant. Akaro knew he could not do the same things so this time he decided to go from the rooftops. He climbed a tree and jumped to a building about four buildings away. From the roof he started to jump between buildings nimbly and with such quickness no sound could be heard with each transition. Landing on the last building he waited until the instructor greeted or talked to another player before jumping onto one of the scarecrows and then flipping in a fashionable way and landing in a crouch. ¡°Did he jump from the building?¡± ¡°It as if he think he''s some sort of ninja.¡± ¡°He''s just a show off.¡± The players who noticed him made comments but Akaro ignored them. The one person he wanted to avoid was the instructor. After a few minutes Ezekiel clicked his tongue after seeing the redhead had once again stealthily avoided him. Akaro had already got up from his previous position and picked up two wooden swords and continued his training. This time he wanted to practice another sword form his sword master of a teacher has taught him. The stance he took was quite strange. Akaro put the two blades behind him and stood there focusing on where to strike. This was important as it was a skilled based on Iai. It was a quick draw technique that required a lot of focus and skill to utilize. As the swords stayed behind his back he pictured the scarecrow in his mind and aimed for the section between the head and the body. In a move quicker than the eye can see he struck the scarecrow and put his swords back into the same position. Due to the speed the only markings on the wooden swords were the scratches from the straw it had just sliced. As the scarecrow head fell it went grey before another flash occurred and a new scarecrow replaced it.
You have created another combat skill. Please name the skill.
¡°Raijin.¡±
Raijin Rank [A] Dual sword technique Using lightning like speed in drawing the twin swords you can land a blow before your opponent can even react. Damage increased by 400% Consumes 500 Ki 20% chance to instant kill 20% chance to cause confusion 20% chance to ignore defense
Level Up: Sword Mastery Beginner (Beginner level 3 10%)
Level Up: Dual Wielding Beginner (Beginner level 2 30%)
''Another high casting skill...'' Akaro saw that the sword techniques that his grandfather taught him since he was young will be very helpful once he can start hunting and gaining more experience. He also noticed that learning these new skills increased his proficiency quite a bit but noticed it was less than the last time. Akaro opened up his skill window and reread his skills. ''All unrelated class skills get 75% less experience until I pick up some sort of warrior or fighting class.Thankfully the swordsman title helps decrease that a bit.'' Akaro sighed as he did not want a warrior class. He wanted something along the lines of assassin or if there was a class called ninja he would make it in one of his subclasses in a heartbeat. He decided to just wait on getting a combat class for now and continue his training even if it would mean it would take him much longer now that he¡¯s in charge of a library as well. Although the real world time showed one in the morning, he didn¡¯t need to sleep thanks to the machine he was in. He got to enjoy the game a lot more and continued to train his game body until it was time for him to wake up in real life. During his training, Chul-Moo actually showed up and sparred with him a little. Again Akaro did not lose in any of their fights but Chul-Moo was always getting closer. Akaro didn¡¯t want to admit it but he was gaining more comfortable with the game thanks to the hangul user. His grandfather would be glad that he found himself a worthy rival to help push him toward perfecting his art. *** Waking up at five in the morning Myung-Ki was greeted by his grandfather as he was about to leave for his morning jog. ¡°Honourable grandfather I apologize for yesterday. I got caught up in my amazement of the game to properly thank you.¡± Smacked in the head again. Myung-Ki squinted in slight pain. ¡°If you continue calling me that I will not hesitate to hit you.¡± Believing in using discipline for the strangest of reasons Myung-Dae finished scolding Myung-Ki. ¡°Playing the game is fine. I feel more comfortable that you are enjoying yourself. I even saw you smile, so that is all the thanks I need.¡± Myung-Ki smiled again for his grandfather. ¡°Gramps, you are a writer right?¡± ¡°Oh ho... we must speak in hushed voices now. If your mother found out you are interested in writing she would blame me for corrupting you.¡± Looking at his grandfather with a perplex looked he continued to enquire. ¡°In the game I obtained a class called Legendary Myth Weaver. Myth is another word for story right?¡± Myung-Ki asked. ¡°My oh my. Do not show your mother your class. Anything unique would make you a target for her occupation. Myths were one of the first form of storytelling like in the stories of ancient Greek gods and heroes.¡± With an amused smile Myung-Dae explained. ¡°I know you do not play the game gramps but is it okay for me to ask your opinion from time to time as it seems to be a class that requires a lot of knowledge in literary work.¡± Myung-Ki continued. Myung-Ki practically said the magic words as huge smile was plastered on his grandfather''s face. ¡°Hufufu. Of course my beloved child. I will do my best to support you. Remember we have to keep this secret from Juhee. IF she ever found out about you writing. Well she won''t be able to stop you but my ears would fall off from her complaining.¡± Nodding in agreement Myung-Ki left to start his morning routine. As if her ears were burning Juhee woke up and just missed the exchange between grandson and grandfather. ¡°Abeoji. You stayed up again writing didn''t you!¡± ¡°I sleep during the day so it is fine. This old man has a young heart.¡± ¡°You are setting a bad example for Myung-Ki. If he picks up your behaviour you will not hear the end of it!¡± Myung-Dae gave an infuriating smirk before he replied to his daughter. ¡°I''m well prepared.¡± Juhee glared at her father before going to the kitchen to start their breakfast. Myth 5: The Blacksmiths Apprentice Myth 5: The Blacksmith''s Apprentice Myung-ki''s real life schedule would start with waking up from the game at 5 am and start his morning routine of jogging to the forest and start his parkour like training until about 7 am. He then would sprint home and take a shower in his own private bathroom before joining his family for breakfast at 8 am. He would then work in the backyard in the small forge and made kitchen knives and dull swords for decorative purposes as making real weapons would be illegal. He did not know what to do with them but Myung-Dae said he would handle it. Two knives or one sword would take about an hour of his day. He then would train his body and sword technique in his room until it was time for lunch. After eating a lot for lunch he would then log into fighting destiny and play the game only taking a small break for dinner. In the game Myung-Ki''s avatar Akaro continued a routine as well. During the mornings he kept the library open he would quietly read as many books as he can. He obtained a title and a myth weaver skill that helped with this endeavor. After his morning read and maintenance of the library, he would then eat lunch at the restaurant and sometimes the chefs would join him. Even his aunt would take a break and have a meal with him. He would then get a bento and obtained the training meals his brother chefs would give him. He used various ways to sneak into the training grounds like using persuasion on little children to distract the instructor, causing disturbances near by that would force the instructor to help, and other devious ways to allow him to get into the training grounds without detection. He would alternately use previous methods in random intervals to prevent the Ezekiel from figuring out any patterns. From time to time Chul-Moo would challenge him to duels if he was caught by hangul user during training sessions. This always gave an audience whenever they do fight and Chul-Moo always was a higher level than him. Chul-Moo would leave the city to train and fish while Akaro would gain experience from reading and doing small quests for the restaurant. At one point Chul-Moo asked that Akaro would use his two sword fighting style in their duels as he wanted to test how strong the redhead truly was. It was an immediate defeat as Akaro would target all the joints whenever they fought and there would be no time for the young Korean to react to Akaro¡¯s slashes. This however did not deter the young man but rather spurned him on more to get even stronger and challenge Akaro even more. He would continue to train and only take small breaks to eat and meditate to replenish his status points. He did not know that resting at an inn would improve his experience gain yet so he just continued on until the morning where he would have to open the library once more. By the fifth week in the game, Akaro finally got to the last book in the library and another pop up message appeared.
You have acquired a secret achievement. You have gain an update to a title. Four Swords Master Scholar WIS +50 INT +50 Focus + 50 Mana +1000 Reputation up by 100 Level up: Literary Understanding (Beginner level 9: Exp: 10%)
The skill Literary Understanding was a skill that he obtained that allowed him to only read new information in the books compared to similar books he has read before. It was a passive skill that would automatically begin whenever he read something similar to what he read before.This helped him get through most of the history and lore of the Four Swords country. Akaro was starting to understand that in this game, in order for skill proficiency to increase he would need to use it constantly. He watched as other players that started out around the same time as him were adventuring and obtaining armor and weapons from questing. He primarily stayed within the city so he has yet to experience fighting monsters and animals outside the city gates. Although he hasn¡¯t ¡°grinded¡± like normal players, he instead focused on grinding in reading and training his body. This helped increase his base stats a lot better but it was still a slower way to gain experience. The young man was treating a game as if he was just in another world and this avatar he created was another facet of himself. That being said he wanted to make sure he was comfortable in his new body and wanted to make sure he was getting close to a similar condition of how his real body would feel. He felt that something was missing from his equipment as he only had the beginner¡¯s short sword which was obsolete to what he would normally use. ''I need to make two katana...'' Finishing his first goal of reading the books and now that he was starting to feel more comfortable with his current strengths he decided that he needed weapons. He did not one just any iron sword he could buy or get from beginner quests. His prideful Japanese soul would not allow him to use such weapons. His grandfather always said that the best weapon anyone can have is one they made with their own sweat and blood. He followed this saying well as he also gained the experience and knowledge of swordsmithing from his grandfather. ''Need to find a place to smith first.'' He contemplated on where to start and decided to ask his brothers at the restaurant. "Isn''t it younger brother. Got hungry already?" The head chef greeted. He was use to not seeing Akaro until around lunch but he was here a lot earlier. Already familiar with these group of people Akaro could not help but smile. "No Oji-san. Wanted to find out if you can help me?" "I see no problem with that at all. Tell uncle what you need and I''ll help you? Is it by any chance a woman?" Ignoring the lecherous grin the older man had Akaro explained. "I am not so popular to have any worries with woman. I want to make swords to my liking but I did not come across any forges that I can use to do so." The head chef shook his head as this boy must have a screw loose. ''A boy this handsome with no women problems is unbelievable. He must have been living under a rock or he is as dense as one.'' Although not too far from the truth the man replied. "Well if you do have any women issues feel free to talk to me. I use to be a lady killer until I got married you know. But as for a forge. Old man Melchior has a forge not too far from here." Gaspar informed the young man. "Can you tell me where I can find him?" Akaro asked with the thought of making his weapons starting to elevate his mood. "Hold on. Before you go to him you need to be prepared. I''ve been his friend for awhile now but that''s because he likes my food. He''s a cheap skate and he does not take apprentices easily. Actually he does not have any apprentices as he is very hard to please." Gaspar explained. The chef pondered a bit before saying, "I know how I can help you. He loves my food although he won''t openly admit it. Maybe strike a deal with him that I''ll provide him a meal everyday if he takes you on as an apprentice." Akaro wrote a simple contract between him and the head chef. ''I, Gaspar of Hunters Delight, will provide one meal a day to Melchior provided that Akaro is accepted as his apprentice.'' The chef just signed it as he already trusted Akaro. He also told him how to meet with the blacksmith.
Speech stat increased by 30
"I was hoping you would follow your mother''s footsteps but it looks like you are following your own path. Cooking prince would have had a nice ring to it." Gaspar smiled, "Good luck on trying to persuade that man. OH! Take this with you as well." Gaspar handed Akaro two bento. One for him and obviously the other for Melchior. *** After leaving the restaurant he walked westward passing the training grounds. The instructor spotted him and kept his gaze on him. But Akaro kept walking as his focus was not on training but on getting access to a forge. He did know what to expect when he got there but he needed to prepare a contract in order for this to work to his advantage. ''I need access to the forge when he''s not using it. So I need to make an agreeable terms for that. Also need access to materials as well.'' Akaro was starting to get a headache. If what Gaspar said was true, getting materials from Melchior will be a pain. He took a deep breath and just decided that he''ll have to face the music. It was exactly what he expected. The smithy was known as the Rusty Nail. It was full of soot and the clanging of metal can be heard. He also saw a bit of a line up from players who just came back from fighting deer and rabbits as the location was quite close to one of the exits leading outside. The line was for repairs and requests to make equipment. "Repairs are 15 copper." "Can I pay you 10 copper instead? I don''t have the rest right now but my sword only has 1 durability and I don''t want to lose it." "Do you think this is a charity?! You should have taken care of your weapon. Swinging it like it''s some sort of toy. Either pay the 15 copper or stop wasting my time." Akaro watched at the conversation taking place. The young player gave up and left and the next person in line came up. The old man was built like a mountain. Although he had a full white beard he could see singed hairs from working closely to hot metal. He was tall and had a very brawny build. He wore no shirt but just a soot covered apron. His face showed many wrinkles and it looked like he had a permanent frown. "ANYONE ELSE WHO THINKS THEY CAN BARTER WITH ME FOR REPAIRS BETTER LEAVE THE LINE! 15 COPPER FOR REPAIRS!" Melchior bellowed after the last customer he dealt with. Repairing for a master blacksmith did not take a lot of time but he was still running a business. He was also quite a famous blacksmith in the kingdom and is often commissioned by nobles quite often for swords and armour. He also made other items that various people would need like nails, horseshoes, and other items but he made most of his money on weapons. Akaro approached and chose his words carefully. "Are you the great blacksmith of Four Swords City known as Melchior?" "Trying to butter me up like toast will not work. Not buying whatever it is you''re selling." Melchior continued to repair while replying to Akaro. "I am not selling anything. Just wanted to make sure you are the same Melchior that Gaspar was talking about." Hearing the name Gaspar, Melchior turned and looked at the red headed young man. "You know Gaspar? What does that fool chef want?" Now that Akaro had peaked his interest he needed to persuade Melchior to make him an apprentice. "He is like an uncle to me and when I asked if there was a forge that I can use he mentioned that there was no greater forge than yours." "Just speak what you want or go away. If you are looking for free armour and weapons come back again when you are stronger greenhorn." Still wearing the starting gear showed that Akaro was not rich and showed lack of strength. "Well straight to the point is what I am more comfortable with anyway. I would like to use your forge to make my own weapons." "I don''t take apprentices that do not know the value of hard work. Letting a greenhorn like you use my forge is impossible!" "I did not come here empty handed. Gaspar is willing to make you a meal everyday if you take me on as an apprentice. If you want I can help you at your forge during your working hours and only use it when you have closed up shop." "That''s pretty interesting proposal. I am quite hungry and those bentos that you have smell of his cooking. What would you look for in a wage? I am not going to pay you the same way I pay myself as you are just a green horn." ''Hooked... now to slowly get him to agree on a contract.'' "I can make a contract with you with these conditions." Akaro started to write on a piece of parchment while also using his persuasion skill to hopefully suade the older man into accepting the terms. ''I, Melchior of the Rusty Nail, Will make Akaro an apprentice at the Rusty Nail. Akaro will have access to the forge, tools, and any needed raw materials to use. In return Melchior will receive a meal from Gaspar from Hunters Delight every working day. Also Akaro will work for Melchior at the cost of 1 copper per piece work he completes.'' "So if you repair for 10 copper you would only cash in 1 copper? Are you right in the head?" Frowning at the insult Akaro nodded. Melchior was frugal there was no doubt in that and he also had a keen eye for business. This was an opportunity for practically free labour. "I will agree to these terms." Signing the paper Melchior looked at Akaro. "I''ll teach you the repair skill. You will start working now. And give me my meal." Ding
Speech up by 30 Level up: Persuasion (Beginner Lv. 4 24.5%) Level up: Contract (Beginner Lv. 4 12.8%) Level up: Inscribe (Beginner Lv. 3 33%) Learned Repair
Taking an extra blacksmith apron Akaro got ready to take on orders. "THIS IS MY NEW APPRENTICE! REPAIRS THROUGH HIM ARE 5 COPPERS FOR NOW UNTIL HE GETS BETTER! YOU MAY LOSE DURABILITY ON YOUR ITEMS! THERE ARE NO REFUNDS" Akaro cringed at the older mans volume but was amazed at how quickly this man estimated the costs. Shaking his head he got ready as the line seem to have gotten bigger as the other beginner users with less money, cheap skates, or females who saw his face wanted to have him repair it. Players brought in weapons and paid the 5 coppers for each item. As Akaro''s repair skill was beginner level 1 they lost about 10 durability each time he repaired an item. But it didn''t matter to the players as it was cost effective and they were mainly beginning items that did not cost that much to begin with. This continued throughout the day and Akaro only stopped to eat his bento before continuing again. As time went on the repair skill leveled up. By the end of the day it was at beginner level 3 and the durability loss was decreased by 1 each time. "Alright we are closing shop. Come again tomorrow." Melchior grunted. "Damn I''ll have to wait until tomorrow to get my sword repaired." "Noo I didn''t get to see the pretty boy!" "I hope it''s 5 copper again tomorrow." Akaro overhearing some of the groans and some strange comments of him being pretty put a frown on his face. Melchior looked at the youth and was surprised that he just continued to work throughout the day with no complaints. ''I was sure this amount of work would drive him off. Oh well I''ll still get a free meal.'' Although Melchior was beginning to get ready to leave Akaro stretched and prepared himself for the real work. Akaro first needed to smelt some ore for him to use. Seeing the open aired furnace he prepared it by shovelling coal to keep the fires burning at intense heat. On top of it he put the mold underneath to catch any of the molten iron that melts. As the preparations were done Akaro then put a layer of charcoal first and then added iron scraps as another layer. He followed up with another layer of charcoal. After 10 minutes he would add another layer of iron scraps and charcoal. Although it wasn''t the traditional way to get steel he just needed metal to work with as he didn''t have a lot of time to make tamahagane (Japanese steel). Melchior who was watching silently was surprised at the knowledge the young man had. He knew now he was trained in this skill before and because of his social standing could not afford a forge he can work on his own. ''That''s why he is so desperate to use this forge, even forgoing fortune to do what he wanted to do. Make weapons. But it''s still too early to think that. I''ll check the results of his work tomorrow.'' Leaving the red headed boy Melchior walked towards a certain restaurant as he wanted to speak with a certain someone. Akaro continued to smelt until about an hour has passed. He then took out the collected molten iron and set it aside to cool down. Taking a steel poker he start poking up and pieces of charcoal would fall. Removing any excess he kept poking at it until a metal sound could be heard. He quickly used metal tongs and removed the alloy to let it cool. Ding
Successfully made steel alloy. Learned Smelting
Although he created the item he was not able to see the quality of his work unless he used a certain skill he acquired after becoming a Myth Weaver. ¡°Identify.¡±
You failed to identify the item.
You failed to identify the item.
You failed to identify the item.
You failed to identify the item.
You failed to identify the item.
The constant failures was beginning to wear down his mana but he had to continue regardless of the loss. He was able to succeed finally and was able to inspect his creation.
Impure steel alloy Due to using iron scraps with various degrees of purity and carbon percentage of 1.7% the steel is regarded weaker than normal steel. Items made with this alloy will have decreased attack compared to other steel items. Iron Purity: 30% Carbon content: 1.7% Quality: F
''Not good enough.'' Akaro continued another batch using the same technique but with subtle changes each time. It was four in the morning before he stopped due to exhaustion and hunger. He set aside to the last piece of steel in a group of about four other pieces. ¡°Identify¡± [table] [table][tbody]
You failed to identify the item.
You failed to identify the item.
Steel Alloy The average alloy that is used throughout the kingdoms. Iron Purity: 70% Carbon Content 1.0% Quality: C
Akaro happy that he got to this level as that was the highest he was going to get with scraps of iron. Knowing that Melchior will not let him touch the pure iron sand until there was a bit more trust between them, he decided to go get some breakfast at the Hunter''s Delight. After arriving he was greeted by Gaspar, Cooking Queen and surprisingly enough Chul-Moo. ¡°I do not know how you did it but he accepted you. Good job!¡± Gaspar patted Akaro''s back. ¡°So are you planning to have the blacksmith as a class?¡± His mother asked concerned. ¡°I already have a class. But I plan to make it one of the classes that I''ll learn once I get the message saying it.¡± Akaro replied simply. ¡°Oh my rival finally has a class?! I have the martial artist class and fisherman as my subclass. What amazing combat class did you get? Assassin? Swordmaster?¡± Chul-Moo excited that his rival was always getting stronger. ¡°It¡¯s a knowledge type class called Myth Weaver.¡± Akaro deadpanned. ¡°Myth Weaver? That¡¯s not a normal type of class. Akaro is it a unique class?¡± Cooking Queen wanted to verify out of curiosity and the need to protect her son from unwanted attention even from her own work. ¡°Yes.¡± Akaro answered back immediately. He had no need to lie as the class name itself was very vague. ¡°Aigoo¡­ do not tell anyone you don¡¯t trust about it. A unique class is like a treasure amongst full time players and they would hound you until you tell them how you obtained it.¡± His mother sighed. ¡°Sounds powerful but a knowledge class? Isn¡¯t that what those wimpy mages use.¡± Chul-Moo made a disgusted face. ¡°A man only needs his own body to protect himself. Magic are for weaklings!¡± ¡°I¡¯m assuming then you won¡¯t be learning any magic.¡± Gaspar interjected. ¡°Can¡¯t even if I wanted to. I replaced my mana with Ki so I got the title Manaless. Makes me weaker against magic attacks but I can beat them regardless. They take too long to cast spells.¡± Puffing out his chest the hangul user proudly stated. Akaro was interested in a way as he hasn¡¯t come across it yet. The term magic in the game was vague to him, as his base knowledge of it was what he read. Apparently magic users use mana to conjure spells that can do a lot of damage. The main weakness is the activation and cooldown. They weren¡¯t meant to fight solo as they lack in the physical side of things. ¡°As my rival you must get a combat skill to get even stronger. I can¡¯t see you using any magic with your skills at fighting.¡± Chul-Moo continued. The redhead couldn¡¯t disagree as in all honesty it was a very foreign subject and ¡°ninja¡± magic is just a way for certain tools to be used to cause confusion and surprise whether to escape or gain advantage in a fight. Also it was only considered magic in the past as people were more superstitious than the current society norms. ¡°Well I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll learn how to use it or replace it when a new class is available to you.¡± Cooking Queen started as she was sure that the boy in front of her already has an idea for what he wanted as his first class. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I lost the ability to change classes and adaptability passive that humans get.¡± Akaro responded. ¡°Eh?!¡± His mother was shocked already with his unique class but losing the ability that all humans started out with shocked her even more. Ding [table] Akaro accepted without any hesitation. [table] [tbody]
You have been invited to Cooking Queen¡¯s party. Do you accept?
YesNo
Status Window
NameAkaroAlignmentNeutralRaceAncient HumanLevel20
Reputation300Ki2225/2225
Health1550/1550Mana2700/2700Stamina1550/1550
Vitality155Strength203Agility201Dexterity149
Wisdom156 (170)Intelligence126 (205)Charisma125Luck125 (135)
Tenacity135Focus125 (185)Spirit120Toughness85
Endurance155Perserverance125Stealth125(145)Art120
Speech545OpenOpenOpen
Resistances
Magic 10%10% damage reduction from magic
Classes
CategoryTypeNameLevel
MainKnowledgeLegendary Myth WeaverBeginner
Sub???NoneNone
Sub???NoneNone
Sub???NoneNone
Titles
TitleAttribute
Hunter''s Delight Little BrotherLuck +10
Fast ReaderInt +10, Focus +10, Wis +10
StealthyStealth +20
Dual Wielding Adept SwordsmanSword profficiency Exp +10%
BlasphemerDamage by Faith +20%
Advanced DuelistAll stats +2 during duels
Chul-Moo''s RivalDuels with this player increases Exp and stat growth
Instant Kill Redhead DuelistReputation +100
Eventful Life???
Four Swords Master ScholarFocus +50, Int +50, Wis +50, Mana +1000
Artifact DecrypterInt +10, Wis +10
Four Swords LibrarianInt +10, Wis +10, Reputation 40
Joshua''s ApprenticeGain access to any library
Close Quarters FighterCombats skills +10% Damage
As she was the leader of the party she was able to look at his status page. It shocked her at how strong he was compared to a normal player. He had many titles and all his stats were quite even. What really caught her eye was that his type of human was called ancient. This was the second time she has come across that type. The first belonged to the strongest player in the game who is the highest ranked officer in the other human capital, Demascus. She only was able to know that as she was in charge of editing the game video for that player¡¯s interview. She sighed as she already knew that the boy in front of her was very secretive and having this class would be the opposite of what he would desire. She disbanded the party before speaking to her son. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Akaro, this is a way for you to group with other people and fight together sharing experience points and japtem. Japtem means loot.¡± Cooking Queen started to explain to the two young men in front of her. Nodding Akaro listened to his eomma. ¡°You can also share your stats with party members. But don''t show this to people you don''t trust. There are a lot of PKers out there.¡± Warned about player killers, Akaro was about to ask the question until he was interrupted. ¡°Murderers! I do not serve foreigners who kill civilian folk and foreigners alike. They cannot hide their notoriety in front of the guards or the church.¡± The head chef was upset as he knew of many instances that players that frequented his restaurant daily would miss a couple of day to only find out they were killed by other players while farming japtem. ¡°So players can kill other players?¡± Akaro asked aloud. ¡°They can try to kill me. I¡¯ll accept all challengers.¡± Chul-Moo grinned. Akaro made another note in his head. ''This is too real for a game. I''ll have to watch myself.'' ¡°Yes they can. But most of these PK players do not attack near a town or city. Bounties will be created for you and your avatar name will be shown in red for all the public to see. You will also lose trust amongst the NPCs around you. The good thing is we can defend ourselves by being able to attack them without any penalties. Players who do this regularly for the reward are known as PK Hunters. So I better not see a bounty on either of you!¡± Juhee explained to her son and his friend before giving them a warning. ¡°I would never kill another player outside of a duel. That is dishonourable.¡± The hangul user said with strength in his voice. ¡°As long as they are innocent players I won¡¯t kill them. But if they are these player killers¡­¡± Akaro started off before displaying a cold gaze in his eyes. The people around him shuddered at the look. The redhead¡¯s upbringing was of course to be able to handle himself against dangerous situations in real life but since he made a promise to his grandfather of not using their techniques to kill unless times of war, he refrained from using any of the more dangerous skills he knows on sparring partners. As this was a game he believed he was allowed to use the full potential of the skills he knew without worry. ''So I can kill them if they tried to kill me.'' Akaro thought. ¡°Just be careful. If anyone tries to bully you make sure to tell me. I¡¯ll make them pay. I may not look like it but my subclass is warrior.¡± Cooking Queen also gave a steely gaze as she started thinking of players trying to hurt her son. ¡°Anyways, both of you sit. Gaspar and I will be done preparing breakfast soon.¡± Chul-Moo and Akaro both had to swallow their saliva as the breakfast Juhee was cooking was almost finished. It was beef steak with a side of scrambled eggs with rye toast. They all ate together as the younger chefs started to trickle in one by one. Akaro left them to prepare for the day and started heading back to the Rusty Nail. He had already closed the library for the time being as it shouldn¡¯t be a problem as there was no one else that really went to that library. Even the bowl hair cut player was no where to be seen at that point. Again as he past by the library going past the training grounds he felt the gaze of a pair of eyes on him. Ezekiel was once again watching Akaro as the redhead walked by. Once Akaro got to the rusty nail he was surprised to find an even longer line than what he saw the previous day. A majority of the people in the line were female from what he can tell from a glance. A lot of them looked like housewives holding various cooking utensils and other items. ¡°You are good for business.¡± Melchior mocked him as Akaro put his apron on. ¡°THE COST FOR MY APPRENTICES REPAIR SERVICES HAVE NOW INCREASED TO 6 COPPER.¡± Groans could be heard by the cheapskates but to the newer players that meant he would be able to repair with less loss of durability. The females, both players and NPCs, did not care as they had ulterior motives. They started their day once more. As more and more of the repairs were being done by Akaro alone Melchior was able to work on private requests. He then saw in the corner of the room the different group of steel that Akaro had made the night before. He inspected the different piles. ''He was able to make four Steel alloys out of the scrap metal I left around. Not bad for a green horn. But there is a lot of cruddy steel here.'' Out of the different grades of steel in total out of twenty pieces four was good, five was mediocre, and the rest were of the impure variety. Although impressed with the work Melchior believed that flattering would lead to laziness and so he yelled at him. ¡°OI GREENHORN! Only four passable steel ore you made. Are you trying to waste my materials?!¡± Akaro stared at the man and only bowed in apology. He knew he had a lot of wasteful steel not good enough to use as weapons. ¡°I will do better tonight.¡± Happy with the response Melchior started to work on a custom sword a noble requested. Meanwhile Akaro was starting to think the line would not end. He was getting quicker at repairing but the line continued to grow. What he quickly noticed throughout the day the ratio of women to men were increasing. ¡°There he is.¡± ¡°He has to be an NPC to be that good looking.¡± ¡°So?! He''s still eye candy!¡± ¡°I''ll find out if I try to friend him.¡± ¡°My husband is so lacking when compared to him.¡± ¡°I wonder if he is taken.¡± The gossiping women chatter was beginning to give him a headache. Akaro was also noticing a gaze from them similar to what he felt at the mall. Ding
Learned skill Awareness (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to take in the surroundings and feel if there are possible threats in the nearby area.
Akaro sighed at the new skill. Unlocked by the ferocious gazes from these women he could only shake his head in disbelief. Chul-Moo happened to be returning from the west gate and spotted his rival busy at work repairing items. From his point of view he thought that his rival was charming the women with ease. This made him feel a little agitated as one of his goals in the game were to find a girlfriend. Walking up to the counter he took off his shirt and looked at all the women in front of the line. ¡°All of you ladies. Who is better, a man wearing an apron or a man with muscles like mine!¡± He stated to the crowd in front of him. He was flexing his muscles and normally some women would probably be impressed by the physique as if compared to Akaro there were some major differences. Chul-Moo had more muscle in general and looked bigger than his rival in terms of size. In an aesthetic look he had more defined muscles than his rival. Akaro¡¯s body can be compared to tennis players in the sense that the muscles only needed to use swordplay were strengthened to a degree without losing his flexibility. Unfortunately for the hangul user he was also carrying a sack filled with fish and the smell of course isn¡¯t the best one to come across. He got his answer right away as various pots and pans were thrown at him. ¡°Get away from there! You stink of fish!¡± ¡°Of course we would go for the more handsome one!¡± Chul-Moo was forced to leave as he continued to dodge various metal objects. He swore some of them were knives. ¡°You¡¯ll regret saying no to a man like me!¡± Was the last comment he said before dodging another pan. Akaro sighed after the interaction of his rival and the women in line. He thought that Chul-Moo would be able to persuade some of the woman to leave the line due to his antics. Akaro did not understand why Chul-Moo was not able to do so. A lot of the romance books showed pictures of topless men with a lot of muscles. He read even a few of them but did not understand anything that was written. He just stopped his thoughts and continued to do the menial repairs. The women brought Akaro pots and knives that needed repairing. The problem was not in the repairing but it was getting them to leave after the repair was done. They would try to start talking to him but as he was quite uncomfortable he did not reply back. Friend requests would often pop up in which he would ignore and say no under his breath. The person who requested would pout a bit before deciding to be content that she can look at him. One scene in particular increased his belief that women were to be feared. Akaro had just finish repairing a kettle that was quite sturdy to begin with. After the repair the woman paid the six copper and retrieved the kettle. She then placed it on the ground and picked up moderate sized stone and threw it on the kettle. The scariest part was not her action but what she said after. ¡°Oh I''m so clumsy. I guess I''ll have to get it repaired again.¡± ''YOU JUST THREW A ROCK AT IT!!'' Akaro mentally shouted out a tsukkomi. She wasn''t the only one unfortunately for Akaro. Many of the other women were beginning to get the same idea and so he saw a lot of the same faces. ''Kami please save me.'' Melchior chuckled at the situation. He did not care if they kept coming back. He was raking in quite a bit of profit. Akaro''s prayer was answered about thirty minutes to lunch as his mother walked by carrying two bento. ¡°Melchior-nim here is your bento.¡± Cooking Queen was not happy of what she had heard. As Chul-Moo was delivering the fish to the restaurant, she heard him complain that his rival was even beating him with woman. Although originally she was going to send one of the younger chefs, she decided to go herself. She was not happy all with what she was seeing. Many women were beginning to get a bit more aggressive in their approach showing off skin and leaning over to thank Akaro revealing a bit of their cleavage. One look at Akaro''s face informed her all she needed to know. ¡°Ah-dul (son). Here is your lunch.¡± Juhee made sure the surrounding women heard her before she set her gaze on the surrounding women. ¡°I hope there is no one causing you any hassle.¡± Many of the women started to button up their tops and started to act properly amongst themselves. If the women were to be described as a pack of wolves, Juhee would be the mother bear protecting her cub. Juhee''s glare alone ran chills throughout their spines. ¡°I will return everyday you are working here.¡± ¡°Thank you eomma.¡± This was the first time Akaro spoke all day. If his mother''s words were ice cold water, his voice was gasoline that revived the embers that she just put out. ¡°Did you hear his voice?¡± ¡°He''s an angel.¡± ¡°I wonder if he''s a singer in real life.¡± ¡°Not in Korea he''s not.¡± ¡°Maybe he''s a foreign pop star?!¡± Even though she was a bit worried Cooking Queen had to leave and log off to go to work. Akaro cursed his luck as the women who was just quiet, started talking again and now they had another goal and that was to make him talk. This continued until the end of the week. Akaro had closed the library for the time being and stopped training to focus on his metal work. Every time the regular hours ended he would continue to work and smelt. By the end of the week he had made one hundred impure steel, seventy-five mediocre class steel, and thirty steel alloy. Due to not having the blacksmith class yet his smelting was hampered in proficiency gain due to his current class. Although it only went up to beginner level 3 it still decrease the time to do the same amount of work he did on the first day. Also his identification level was only beginner level 2 even with all the ores he had identified. `Lets do some practice first. Going to use up the bad alloy first.` Melchior watched Akaro grab one of the impure steel and placed it in the forge. `Let`s watch and see what this green horn is going to do.` Using the metal tongs Akaro grabbed the heated metal and brought it to the anvil. He then grabbed a hammer and started striking the metal. He missed a couple of times due to trying to get his body to move the way he thought it to but Akaro`s accuracy slowly started to increase. Once he got a square like shape he heated it up again. This time he started folding the metal. Every hit from the hammer there would be metal sparks from the heat. Also impurities were starting to burn off. He repeated these steps until he folded the metal about seventeen times which was his favourite number. On the seventeenth fold he heated the metal once more and started to make the shape of a knife. He did not want to make a katana out of poor material after all. Since he had a lot of metal to work with he made a chef knife. After making the point of the blade he then started to work on the edge. This whole process took hours game time. By the time he had finished the basic outline of the knife it was time to eat lunch. Akaro`s mother came by again and with food for both him and Melchior. Taking this time Melchior decided that he need to know who taught Akaro. ¡°Greenhorn. Who taught you to forge like this?¡± ¡°My grandfather did.¡± ¡°He must have drilled it in to you pretty good. You are quite disciplined. Where is your grandfather? I would like to have a drink with him.¡± ¡°He passed away awhile ago.¡± Akaro''s face showed a brief moment of sadness before his usual unemotional face returned. ''This boy must have been from a good family. Why does he have to work at my forge?'' ¡°Sorry to hear that. How about your father? Why did he not let use the forge at your place?¡± ¡°My father does not believe this work is suited for the wealthy.¡± ''Noble blood.'' Melchior thought as he was an NPC after all. Still curious about the lad he asked another question. ¡°If you do not mind me asking greenhorn. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?¡± ¡°You have given me a chance to use your forge. I do not mind sharing a bit of my story.¡± Akaro started to tell Melchior details of how he came to be raised by his grandfather and how he was about eight years old when he first lifted a hammer to help his grandfather forge. He then told him how after his grandfather died his father kicked him out to live with his grandfather and aunt from his mother¡¯s side. Of course he omitted locations as it was still a game based in a different world but he did mention how this was a new experience for him. ¡°What a despicable man! To have thrown out his own son like a piece of garbage!¡± After he told his story Akaro got a pop up message.
You have told a tale of your honest past. The hardened man, Melchior, who has heard the story has softened his heart. Level up: Storytelling (Beginner Lv. 2 20%) Int up by 1 Wis up by 1 Luck up by 1 Speech up by 20 Art up by 10 Mana up by 100 Reputation up by 10
''This boy was experiencing this much pain and here I am taking advantage of him.'' ¡°Boy.¡± Akaro looking a bit confused with the change of his nickname looked at the old smith. ¡°We are going to change that agreement. I will acknowledge you as my true apprentice and we are going to change how much you earn. I cannot take advantage of the amount of work you do. It would disgrace me. From now on any profit you make we split 40/60. I still get a bit more as this is my forge but this should help you on purchasing your own in the future.¡± ¡°Alter Contract.¡± ''I, Melchior of the Rusty Nail, Will make Akaro an apprentice at the Rusty Nail. Akaro will have access to the forge, tools, and any needed raw materials to use. In return Melchior will receive a meal from Gaspar from Hunter''s Delight every working day. Any profit Akaro makes at the Rusty Nail he will give 60% of it to Melchior.'' They both re-signed the piece of paper. ¡°Starting next week when we open again I''ll pay you properly.¡± Melchior smiles at Akaro before changing his face to a stern look. ¡°Your story took too long boy! I am going have to stay at the forge longer. You better use up all that ore!¡± Akaro smirked before nodding. ¡°Yes master.¡± He felt good talking about his story to Melchior. Akaro felt his heart was slightly lighter. He knew that Melchior was not a real person but he did not care. He treated the man with the proper respect as if he would to any elder. Getting back to the forge he started working on a new piece of impure steel alloy and repeated the steps he did that morning. He wanted to finish making the base knives before continuing to the sharpening step. This continued until he used up about fifteen percent of the impure steel ore. He had to eat some of his beef jerky and bread as the bento was not enough to keep his hunger from growing. Using the hammer and hitting the metal brought up his stats as well. He had also picked up the dexterity stat not too long ago as well. ¡°Stats.¡± [tbody] [table] ¡°Skills.¡± [table][tbody]
Status Window
NameAkaroAlignmentNeutralRaceAncient HumanLevel20
Reputation300Ki2225/2225
Health1550/1550Mana2700/2700Stamina1750/1750
Vitality155Strength210Agility201Dexterity149
Wisdom156 (170)Intelligence126 (205)Charisma125Luck125 (135)
Tenacity135Focus125 (185)Spirit120Toughness85
Endurance175Perserverance125Stealth125(145)Art120
Speech545Dexterity120OpenOpen
Resistances
Magic 10%10% damage reduction from magic
Classes
CategoryTypeNameLevel
MainKnowledgeLegendary Myth WeaverBeginner
Sub???NoneNone
Sub???NoneNone
Sub???NoneNone
Titles
TitleAttribute
Hunter''s Delight Little BrotherLuck +10
Fast ReaderInt +10, Focus +10, Wis +10
StealthyStealth +20
Dual Wielding Adept SwordsmanSword profficiency Exp +10%
BlasphemerDamage by Faith +20%
Advanced DuelistAll stats +2 during duels
Chul-Moo''s RivalDuels with this player increases Exp and stat growth
Instant Kill Redhead DuelistReputation +100
Eventful Life???
Four Swords Master ScholarFocus +50, Int +50, Wis +50, Mana +1000
Artifact DecrypterInt +10, Wis +10
Four Swords LibrarianInt +10, Wis +10, Reputation 40
Joshua''s ApprenticeGain access to any library
Close Quarters FighterCombats skills +10% Damage
Skill Window
NameDescriptionExperience/Proficiency %
LevelEffectConsumption
Legendary Myth Weaver:
CoercionEnable the user to persuade using threats or black mail to force others to do as the user requests. As it is a negative form of persuasion spirit stats will be affected.0%
Beginner: 130% chance to obtain condition but 10% success rate"20 Speech 5 Spirit "
ContractEnables the ability to make contracts for trades and battle. The other party must sign in order for the contract to work. Higher level in contract increases the amount of conditions that can be put into place. The more detailed the contract the stiffer the punishment for breaking it.13%
Beginner: 3Create, alter, cancel contracts created by the user as long as the conditions are met. Broken conditions will cause random penalties to occur. 3 condition/per contract.50 mana/condition
DecipherEnable the Ability to read and understand ancient texts.0%
Beginner: 1100% accuracy in translating ancient texts but 10% success rate1000 mana
IdentificationEnables you to learn the true value of unidentified items0%
Beginner: 2100% accuracy in identifying iems but 5% success rate20 mana
IllustrationEnables the ability to sketch images that depict an instance in the story.0%
Beginner: 1Increases the artistic value of stories created10 mana/second
InscribeEnables the ability to write on any surface. Corresponding tool will be needed to use this ability.33%
Beginner: 3Able to write on any physical surface.10 mana/second.
PersuasionEnables the user to increase the likelihood of having succeed any attempts to acquire favors, items, passage, etc... with speech24.5%%
Beginner: 425% chance to obtain condition but 20% success rate40 Speech
Storytelling (passive)Enables the ability to use speech or writing to create a story using one''s imagination.0%
Beginner: 1Increases the popularity of any story created depending on retention of audience/readers. This skill can greatly increase Speech and Art stats. Reputation may increase as well.N/A
Literary Understanding (passive)Makes reading quicker as it omits any redudancy when reading.30%
Beginner: 920% of redudant information is omitted.N/A
Passive Skills
Sword MasteryEnables the user to use sword class weapons.25%
Beginner: 3"Attack Damage increased (17.5%) when wielding sword class weapon. Attack Speed increased (6.5%) when wielding sword class weapons"10 Stamina/strike
Dual WieldingEnables the user to use a weapon in both hands.20%
Beginner: 3"Attack Damage increased (12.5%) when wielding a weapon with off hand. Attack Speed increases (6.5%) when wielding a weapon with off hand."10 Stamina/strike
Crafting Skills
RepairEnables you to repair weapons and armors.37%
Beginner: 3100% success rate but loss of durability 820 Stamina
SmeltingEnables you to draw out raw materiel from items melted down, and compound it to a solid form to use as material for smithing.0%
Beginner: 3Effectiveness and quality increase by 10%20 Stamina
Combat Skills
AwarenessEnables the user to locate and potential threats within a given area.0%
Beginner: 1Withing 5 meters from current position50 Stamina
AmeterasuUsing the pinnacle of speed, power, and centrifugal force simultaneously in a well placed strike unleashes a devastating attack with two blades.N/A
Rank (A)"Damage increases by 300% 20% chance to cause bleed 20% chance to stun 20% chance to ignore defense300 Ki
Reiken no issatsu: TenhekiA counter that relies on an opponent''s own momentum and striking at the neck with great speed to pierce and subdue them.N/A
Rank (B)Damage increases by 100% + Opponent Momentum Speed Backlash damage 40% of damage given200 Ki
RaijinUsing lightning like speed in drawing the twin swords you can land a blow before your opponent can even react.
Rank (A)"Damage increased by 400% 20% chance to instant kill 20% chance to cause confusion 20% chance to ignore defense"500 Ki
Reiken no nissatsu: RyuseiWhile an opponent on the ground, using a closed fist aiming and using full force upon any open vital point. Most common the back of the head or the wind pipe.N/A
Rank (B)Damage increased by 150% +/- defense of location struck.250 Ki
KojinLike a raging flame burning anything in its way, this technique will strike with 17 random attacks with two blades.N/A
Rank (A)"Damage increased by 25%/Hit + 50% of Attack Speed 20% chance to cause fear 20% chance to critical hit 20% chance to ignore defense"750 Ki
*** Once again Akaro logged off after inspecting his stats and reviewing his skills, as it was now five in the morning. ¡®I think I¡¯ll just play this game for a while since I¡¯m using a forge there. I¡¯ll hold off on making anymore knives as I don¡¯t want to keep bothering grandfather on finding ways to use them.¡¯ With this decision he is now able to play more actively in the game. Thankfully due to him already well off he was able to play a lot more. Unfortunately due to his gaming knowledge, he did not understand that he can buy items with his money to make his game life a bit easier. He won¡¯t come to understand this until a later time. Myth 6: Family Matters and The Strongest Myth 6: Family Bonds and the Strongest An older man stared outside a window as Myung-Ki went for his morning run. Myung-Dae watched his grandson in the morning quite often. Being a writer he tends to stay up until it was time for breakfast. He would usually sleep from noon until the evening when he wakes up and writes some more. ¡°Master I have contacted the local restaurants and they say they will buy as many as we can provide.¡± A male voice coming from the other side of the room. ¡°Good job Dong-sun. Tell them we can only provide twenty of these knives right now and when Myung-Ki makes more we will sell them as well.¡± Dong-sun was the man that Myung-Ki first met at the airport. He was the one who brought all of the luggage and bags to Myung-Dae''s residence. He was Myung-Dae''s personal butler and confidant. He did whatever he was asked by Myung-Dae and made sure the older man''s personal schedule ran on time. ¡°Are you not worried the young master is focusing most of his time on this game?¡± ¡°Not really Dong-Sun. Although this game has only been out for over a year, I''ve heard that there are quite a number of women playing this game as well. I''m sure the day he finds a girlfriend will not be long.¡± ¡°But if it does not go the way you want it? I''m not an expert but I know of a lot of unattractive people are the ones who play these type of games.¡± ¡°Of course at that point I will intervene. I know a lot of my friends have beautiful daughters he can start courting. Hufufuufu.¡± Myung-Dae chuckled. He was not worried about Myung-Ki''s lovelife but it didn''t mean he cannot play a hand in it. He wanted a great grandson but that was his own personal wishes. ¡°Make sure any of the profits go under the business name Nu Corporation and brand them Nu Knives. I will help him establish a company before I leave this world. I want him to enjoy this game and get more comfortable in Korea.¡± Myung-Ki''s grandfather was using the knives he made to start a small company. As any starting business men know in order for your company to grow you need good products, to be hard working, and have the ability to sell to anyone. One important quality is to have the money to back the company in which Myung-Dae had more than enough of that. One advantage was their last name as it was not very common even in their own country. Using the play on words of New and Nu was quite clever and would make it really hard not to remember the brand. ¡°As you wish master.¡± The butler left to start making the arrangements for the sale. *** Kim Juhee unfortunately was at KGC working while worrying about Myung-Ki. ¡°I cannot believe those women!¡± She muttered underneath her breath. The past week in the game she had watched her son get sexually harassed quite a bit. Well to Juhee she believed it was sexual assault when he watched one of the more brazen women players forced Akaro to touch their breast over their clothing pretending it was an accident. What made her sigh in relief and worry was that her son looked at the woman and gave a deadpan apology. The woman cried and left immediately as she must have taken a big hit on her self-esteem. He was then known to be a man with quality tastes and the remaining women tried to be more conservative in their approach.The following day she saw the same woman in line again. ¡°Having issues with your new son already? Planning to make you a grandma?¡± Her best friend in the editorial department, Park Hye Su commented. ¡°Nothing of the sort. He is too shy to do that.¡± Juhee commented. ¡°He is still a man. There will be a day where he will start skirt chasing.¡± The best friend continued. ¡°Not any time soon I hope. He is still too young mentally. What I''m more worried about is not him but the women who will see him.¡± Juhee sighed. Juhee slumped down on her chair. ¡°He is too good looking for his own good. I''m thankful he''s playing a game and keeping a low profile in his real life...¡± she continued with another sigh. ¡°He cannot be that good looking.¡± Hye Su replied, ¡°Show me a picture.¡± Kim Juhee showed her best friend the first picture she took when they went out shopping. ¡°I said a picture of your son not some hot model!¡± The best friend said in disbelief. Hye Su saw Akaro in one of the suits he acquired and he looked rather pleasing to the eyes. With a proud look in her eye, Juhee watched her friend stammer and even blush a bit. ¡°This is my all natural son. No plastic surgery or anything.¡± With bugged out eyes Hye Su reacted with a serious face. ¡°Does he like older women? How about sexy divorcees?¡± ¡°Hey you!¡± Juhee glared at her friend. ¡°I''m joking don''t worry unless...¡± Hye Su continued but got smacked on the head with a roll of paper. ¡°You will not hit on my son.¡± Her friend Hye Su was not ugly but not extravagantly beautiful either. Park Hye Su was a fellow divorcee and was one of the reasons they got along so well. She also got along with her grandfather as both have joined the lazy faction. ¡°Well if I was in your shoes I would be happy. My son has no social life other than Fighting Destiny. He''s not even a looker. I cannot wait until he meets a woman who can take him away from my basement.¡± Hye Su said while looking tired. Her husband left her for another woman and they divorced when the child was sixteen. This caused stress for the young mind and he secluded himself in various video games in attempt to cope with some of it. The relief was temporary and he then became addicted to it, and became what was known as a dark gamer. ¡°The chance of that happening is probably less than 10 percent. As he''s doing pretty well with selling his items.¡± Hye Su sighed. ¡°That reminds me. He¡¯s been playing since the beginning. Do you remember the one player from England who obtained a special race trait? Ancient Human?¡± Juhee asked after remembering about Akaro¡¯s status page. ¡°Yes. His name was Edmund Wellington. An exchange student who¡¯s taking courses at the University of Korea. Player name, what was it again¡­ Arthur Dragonson. Ranked number one in levels. Didn¡¯t we do a special about him a couple of months ago?¡± Hye Su answered. One of her redeeming factors even though she was lazy, she still did her job well and detailed, when she gets around to it. ¡°I remember now. He was a knight that found the hero god class Solar God Knight. Was rediculously strong for a knight class. He was the first to hit level 200. Currently he is one of the few players who is a high rank in the Demascus Capital City.¡± Juhee¡¯s memory of him kicked in. ¡®Does Myung-Ki have a hero god class as well? If that¡¯s the case, then two players have found those classes. They are permanent and cannot be switched out even if they found a class they want. But still, to be able to find one so early in playing the game, what was he doing?¡¯ Her thoughts were interrupted when their supervisor came over. ¡°Ladies please stop your gossip and start editing some of these videos. We need them to be aired soon.¡± Their supervisor looked at the two chatting women. She was the last one that completed their trio known as the editing troublemakers. Her name was Kim Yun Hee and was not at all related to Kim Juhee. She was also single but never had a husband. She had a strong sense of woman leadership and believed she did not need a man. The title they were given in KGC stemmed from a certain event when the three of them met for the first time. They swore to each other not to ever let it happen again. More so with Hye Su as she was the main instigator and victim while the two Kim''s were stuck with the aftermath. ¡°Let''s go talk more about it later. Since both our boys are focused on playing Fighting Destiny, let''s go out and have a drink! supervisor come with us too!¡± Hye Su joyfully announced. ¡°I want in on this. You guys can fill me in later. But now it''s work.¡± The supervisor Yun Hee replied. Juhee sighed and went to her monitor. ''Today''s going to be another long day.'' *** ¡°Kenji-nii wait for me!¡± Cried out a young girl while gasping. ¡°You are too slow Hanabi.¡± Kenji called back. The two were doing a morning jog. Unlike their brother they just started getting into the discipline of running in the morning. ¡°You were like me when Aka-nii was leading.¡± Hanabi stuck out her tongue. Kenji shook his head as they both continued to run. Once they both got tired they rested at nearby park. Watching the sunrise they both yawned. ¡°How can aniue do this every morning...¡± It was about six in the morning and the both of them were wearing expensive looking tracksuits. Kenji was wearing blue and Hanabi was wearing a yellow one. Kenji was standing while Hanabi was crouching as she was more tired. Gasping for some air Hanabi added on, ¡°Well he did not have to go to school like we did. Grandfather home schooled him. This was part of their routine.¡± ¡°That''s why Aka-nii was so bad at math. Grandfather was the same...¡± Kenji could only sigh. He knew both his grandfather and half-brother were more muscle brained then they would think. ¡°Aniue would be a genius if father let him attend a private school like the one we have to go to.¡± "I would be worried about the girls around him if he went to a school." "That''s true. Even I''m starting to get love letters. I''m only ten but these girls are quite pushy. It''s the same for you right Hanabi." "Unless they are cool like Akaro-niichan, they do not stand a chance." "Bro-con." "I am not! He will always be my eternal brother. I will never think of him as anything other than that." Hanabi blushed as she was put on the spot. She loved both Kenji and Akaro equally but because she had such high respect for Akaro she unfortunately had high standards when courting would be involved. "That reminds me Kenji-nii of the time..." Hanabi started talking as Kenji nodded in agreement. **Flash back** When the twins were about seven years old they had visited their grandfather with their mother. Seeing their older brother there, as they were not yet as friendly with him as they were in the future, they hid behind their mother. ''Otou-sama (father) told us not to get close to our brother as he killed his mother.'' Kenji stared at the other black haired youth. He tried to make sense of what his father said as from his standpoint this did not make sense. ''He does not smile at all. So scary.'' Hanabi was also staring at him. She did regard him as a handsome youth but his lack of emotions didn''t really appeal to her. Sakura was trying to get the set of children to be more friendly with their older brother but it seemed to fail once more. This was the first time that Kenshiro was not there to hamper her progress. "Come to jii-chan. Hanabi. Kenji. Let me hug the both of you." They complied immediately. Wrapping them up in his old tired arms he looked at their mother. "Kenshiro has not come today?" "He has an important business meeting today so we finally get to relax. Akaro have you been eating well?" The young Akaro nodded politely to the question being asked. "Okaa-sama. Otou-sama said Akaro-niisama killed his hahaue. Is that true?" Hearing that statement from Kenji put a confused look on Akaro. "Your father is wrong and do not believe that nonsense! How can a baby kill an adult!" Hanzou bellowed angrily. This caused the young children to run in fear as he was pretty imposing when upset. He had never raised his voice in front of the two and because he had such a scary look they continued to run into the forest. "Kenji! Hanabi! My children!" "I''m sorry Sakura. I must have scared them. Akaro make sure they get out safely." Akaro did not need a second to process the request and bolted through the forest to catch up to the siblings. Hanzou stayed to comfort the crying mother as her worry would only grow as she knew the reputation of the forest. "Jii-chaaan was soo scar... scary!" Hanabi was bawling as that was the first time she saw the older man that angry. Kenji who was a little more composed but was afraid as well. "Where are we?" As they did not look to where they were going they were in the middle of a forest. Then they heard a twig snap and a few growls. "Kenji-nii! Wolves!" Hanabi shrieked and trembled in fear. Wolves were originally thought to be instince in Japan. Finding two rare female wolves changed the world. To try and at least help their population they obtained wolves from Canada and enacted a law to breed the two creating a new species of Japanese wolves. With the abundance of deer and other smaller mammals the wolves soon flourished but to an extent that their population needed to be monitored. Wolf hunting was normal at certain times of the year and only if you obtained certain permits in order for them to be hunted. Unfortunately for the twins they would be soon to be meals for said wolves. Two wolves were eyeing their prey and snarling while baring their sharp fangs. "Behind me Hanabi!" Kenji who was also shaking in fear but knew he had to protect his weaker sister, stood in front of her. He could not move as he watched one of the wolves lunge at him. He closed his eyes as the beast came closer. His sister screaming behind him did not help his nerves. But he did not feel a bite or even a scratch on him. He opened his eyes and saw the wolf biting down on his brothers shoulder. Akaro who had just caught sight of his two siblings and the wolves. He had hunted wolves before and was thanking his luck as there was only two. He saw them prepare to strike so he did not have time to defend effectively. He jumped in between the wolves and children and unfortunately was bitten on his shoulder. Not the best place but he was able to throw the wolf off. With a set of short knives he stood preparing to counter when the other wolf would jump. Once the second wolf decided to attack he used the knife in his right hand to quickly stabbed it in the neck. Using his free hand to defend against the other wolf. With a short whimper the wolf who was stabbed in the neck died. He was starting to lose a lot of blood as the wound on his shoulder was quite severe. The other wolf used this as an opportunity to attack. It drove it''s sharp teeth into Akaro''s right arm which was connected to his previous attack. Akaro winced in pain before taking his left arm and plunging the knife through the skull of the wolf. He was ambidextrous so he had perfect control with both arms. As the two wolves died he looked at the two children. "You did well on protecting your sister." Kenji felt a hand rub his head. The ferocity of the situation quickly dissipated and all the adrenaline in his body disappeared. He started to cry like his sister. He then got a smacked on the head. "Don''t start crying. Men only need to cry when someone close to them died. You are both alive." Akaro showed them both a smile before wincing in pain. Hanabi who saw the blood fainted. With fear stricken tears streaming down her face. "We cannot stay here. Grab one of the wolves and bring it with you." Akaro took one of the wolves and placed it on his shoulder while picking up Hanabi with his one good arm. Kenji was confused at first but decided to listen to him. In his eyes he saw a hero not a murderer. He grabbed the other wolf and dragged it back with them. By the time they neared the house Hanzou and Sakura spotted them and ran towards them both. Akaro had passed Hanabi to Sakura who carried her safely to the house. Kenji who was sweating while hauling the one wolf dropped it and ran towards his mother and hugged her once they got to the house. Akaro who dropped the other wolf smiled as he accomplished his mission. He then started to fall as the loss of blood was making him dizzy. Hanzou caught his young apprentice and lifted him up bridal style. "You kept your promise on protecting them. You did well. Now lets get you patched up. We''ll cancel your training today." After inspecting her two children she saw the bloodied arm of Akaro. Sakura had skills in the medical field and would have been a nurse if she had not met Kenshiro. She quickly grabbed the first aid kit as she knew where it was as scrapes and cuts happened before whenever she visited. After her father-in-law put the boy on the porch she prepared what was needed to disinfect and to close the wounds. "Otou-sama. Please cut off the clothing. I need access to the wounds." Hanzou followed what she said. He was just going to put some ninja remedies over it as per usual but seeing her face he knew better to interrupt. He cut open the training gear that Akaro was wearing and gave clear access to the right side of the body. Sakura started to work. The one on the arm was the less severe injury so she disinfected it and using a needle and surgical string stitched the deeper teeth marks. She was more worried of the shoulder as it had very deep gashes and shredded flesh. Working as quickly as she can she wiped away the excess blood with a damp cloth that Hanzou brought to her. Hanzou bringing the salve he usually puts on wounds, finished the treatment by applying it to both wounds. Sakura then put gauze and medical tape to seal the wounds. Kenji who was awake watched as they treated his older brother. He had concern written all over his face but one look at his mother''s relieved smile put him more at ease. Hanabi finally started to wake up and saw the wounded boy and she cried again. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website."Mama! He''s not dead is he?!" "Ssh. Hanabi. He''s just resting. Both you and Kenji almost gave me a heart attack. Do not run off like that again!" Sakura had directed the comment to both of them as she rested Akaro''s head on her lap. "Everything is alright. Kenji come here. You will learn how to skin a wolf." Looking at his mother for permission, she smiled and nodded. He then went with his grandfather. "Grandfather is he going to be alright?" "Your brother fought five wolves when he was about your age. He''ll be fine." "So why are we skinning the wolves?" "You must learn this Kenji. When one takes the life of an animal and does not consume it, it will become an evil spirit. Whatever you kill must be eaten out of respect to it." "We are going to eat the wolf?" "Yes. That''s why Akaro asked you to drag one here even if he was injured." Akaro''s eyes opened and saw the smiling face of his step-mother. The moment he showed awareness he watched as tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you so much for bringing them back alive!" Although Sakura was crying, she had a beautiful smile on her face. Akaro who was not accustomed to women in general but when he saw that smile he decided it was quite pretty.. "You have a pretty smile..." Was the last thing he said before passing out once more. Anyone who lost that much blood wouldn''t have woke up within ten minutes of being treated. After another ten minutes of rest he stood up and stretched his one good arm. Still feeling the pain in his right side he decided better not to agitate it. "Thank you onii-sama!" "Thank you aniue!" Both his siblings bowed to him in gratitude. Hanabi had a blush on her face and Kenji had a big toothy grin. "Let''s eat!" Their grandfather who had just finished preparing the barbecued wolf meat shouted out. **end flashback** ¡°His memory is so scary sometimes. Last time I took one of his pieces of barbecued meat and he got mad at me. Then whenever we have meat he would count it just in case.¡± Hanabi frowned remembering the memory. ¡°Well you do not come between a man and his food. Plus he already had given you three pieces. If you keep eating like that you will get fat.¡± joked Kenji. ¡°Moouu!!! Don''t even say that.¡± She started hitting her brother. Hanabi was in all definition a healthy girl. ¡°Well it''s time to start heading back. Kaa-san would get mad if we miss breakfast.¡± Kenji said as he started jogging back. ¡°Hey don''t leave me!¡± Hanabi yelled as she ran after her twin. *** ¡°Where are the twins?¡± Kenshiro asked his wife. ¡°They are out jogging.¡± Sakura replied. ¡°You should start jogging also. You are beginning to gain some weight.¡± ¡°I go to the gym everyday. The only weight gain is the muscles I have earned.¡± a red faced Kenshiro spat out. Clearing his throat, ¡°They still have not talked to me.¡± ¡°Can you blame them?¡± Sakura eyes glinted dangerously, ¡°You took their brother away and sent him to another country.¡± ¡°Why should you care? He is not your child and now he is not my problem anymore.¡± Kenshiro said with a flat voice. ¡°I did not get a chance to raise him. You made sure of that.¡± Akaro''s step-mother replied still keeping her composure but her voice was quite icy. ¡°My father raised me and I turned out fine. That boy should be fine and he does have family there.¡± Kenshiro ignored the last comment. ¡°He''s in another country and they have a different culture there. I hope he is doing well. It has been a week and a half already.¡± Sakura had worried expression. ¡°I hope he''s eating well.¡± ¡°Quiet woman. I do not need to hear anymore of your worries. All three of you will be flying out to see him in six months. Check on him then.¡± Kenshiro said as he got up headed out the door. ¡°I am heading to work.¡± Sakura loved her husband regardless of his behaviour. He treated her and her children quite well. She knew all too well that the boy resembled his mother. Sakura found a picture in her husband''s private office and she could not help and be a little bit jealous. Nu Eun Mi was a drop dead gorgeous model and was quite famous. Miyamoto Sakura was definitely beautiful in her own right but she felt she could not compare to Eun Mi''s beauty. ''You left a hole in his heart that I''m trying to fill. I must apologize to you for what he did to your son. From one mother to another I will find a way to make amends.'' Sakura inwardly apologized while looking up. *** Myung-ki after completing his morning exercise was about take a quick shower before jumping back in the game. As he got towel and headed to his bathroom, his grandfather Nu Myung-Dae, was also there. ¡°We are family now. Come wash your grandfather''s back.¡± ¡°Yes gramps.¡± Myung-ki had no reason to decline the old man''s request. He has done this with Miyamoto Hanzou all throughout his life so it was quite normal. They both entered the bathroom and in all honesty it was probably the most spacious one in the whole house. Myung-Dae set it up like one of those bath houses people use if they did not have a bath set up in their home. Myung-Ki technically only used the shower portion of the bathroom and did not waste any time cleaning himself. Myung-Dae''s face stared at his grandson''s body. He noticed that Myung-Ki had various scars all over his well toned body. ¡°Grandson, are all those scars from training with your other grandfather?¡± ¡°A lot of them are when I first started using real katana when I was ten. I have a few bites and claw marks from wild animals in the mountains but I got to eat them in the end.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Such an experienced young man. Those scars will attract women for sure among other things.¡± Myung-Dae gave a laugh of a pervert as he noticed Myung-Ki''s package. ''Your lover would be happy for sure. Handsome face, chiseled body, and a strong cannon.'' Confused Myung-Ki looked at his grandfather, ¡°Ojii-sama said the same thing. Scars are trophies that women will come to love.¡± ¡°Your grandfather was a good man. I have only met him a few times throughout my life. I''ll make sure to tell you the stories some other time. Right now wash my back as I''m sure you want to return to your game.¡± Turning around Myung-Dae showed his back to the young man. Stunned at what he saw, Myung-Ki had to ask another question. ¡°Gramps you have a tattoo of a silver dragon on your back. Ojii-sama had tattoos like yours. He had Genbu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Seiryuu on his back as well. Gramps told me that they were affiliated to something I did not need to worry about. Will you tell me?¡± ¡°Hahaha. If the opportunity befalls upon you then I will tell you. These tattoos are reminders of our past I''m sure your grandfather said the same thing. We older men have our secrets too.¡± Frowning Myung-Ki sighed and started to wash his grandfather''s back. *** After their bath bonding Myung-Ki and Myung-Dae changed and sat on the training room floor. ¡°Myung-Ki. I have been selling your knives to local restaurants. They fetch a good price so keep making more if you can.¡± ¡°Gramps, I''m taking a break from that as in the game I''m concentrating on working on that skill.¡± ¡°Oh?! You can do that in the game as well. My how technology has improved.¡± ¡°Gramps do you know how to use a computer?¡± ¡°Not really. I prefer handwriting then using computers. My editors hate me for it.¡± ¡°Hate you?! Should I be worried?¡± ¡°No no, my dear grandson you need to have a sense of humour.¡± ¡°Oh you were joking.¡± ¡°Why did you ask? Your eomma is really good with these contraptions.¡± ¡°I wanted to contact my younger brother and sister. I have not tried to send them an ''email''.¡± ¡°What the hell is that? Just send them a regular letter. It comes from the heart.¡± ¡°Alright, I''m more comfortable with that. I''ll ask eomma later to teach me.¡± His grandfather and him had a few more funny conversations before Myung-Dae got up to leave. ¡°I need to sleep now grandson. I have been up all night writing.¡± ¡°You should take care of your health gramps.¡± Myung-Ki said concerned for his ageing family member. ¡°I''m a lot stronger then I look. Go play your game. Gramps needs sleep.¡± Taking that as a queue to leave he went over to the machines and logged in. *** ¡°So why did you bring up the strongest player all of a sudden?¡± Hye Su immediately asked as they were ordering their food and drinks. ¡°Oh. Do tell? Is there something we don¡¯t know? You play more than us so did he drop by your restaurant?¡± Yun Hee got into the conversation. ¡°As long as none of you tell our director. He¡¯ll be demanding to have us interview him.¡± Juhee sighed. ¡°So it does have to do with your new son!¡± Hye Su was the first to comment. ¡°Wait when did you get a son? I thought you weren¡¯t¡­ Uh I¡¯m sorry. That¡¯s a touchy subject. But still you didn¡¯t tell me you have adopted a son? How old is he?¡± Yun Hee apologized before asking her question. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You both know that I can¡¯t have children and why I¡¯m divorced anyways. You guys are like my sisters so you don¡¯t have to worry about hurting my feelings. I¡¯m strong and I can take it. But I do now have a new 18 year old son. He¡¯s technically my nephew and I adopted him.¡± Juhee explained it to her supervisor and friend. ¡°Do you have a picture?¡± Yun Hee asked curious. ¡°You will love what you see. Might even change an icebox like you to start dating again.¡± Hye Su teased. Juhee showed the picture of Myung-Ki and her friend immediately blushed. ¡°Doe he like older women?¡± Was the first thing that came out of Yun Hee¡¯s mouth. ¡°Haha. I asked the same question. She¡¯s not going to let Ajumma¡¯s like us corrupt her precious child.¡± Hye Su answered as the look of Juhee was showing a bit of irritation. ¡°So what kind of class did he get in the game that got you so worried?¡± Yun Hee changed the topic as she didn¡¯t want to get anymore death glares. ¡°Legendary Myth Seeker. Not too sure which of the hero god had that title but we definitely must keep it a secret. It would be fine if he was a high rank player but since he got it at the beginning. He¡¯ll probably be bombarded with requests to join guilds, parties, and other requests.¡± Juhee started. ¡°Wow. A special class right at the start of the game. But I don¡¯t see that being a problem. He¡¯ll be able to join strong guilds which could level him up quicker.¡± Hye Su commented. ¡°Well I wanted him to enjoy the game himself. That and he doesn¡¯t really play games much. This is his first modern game that he has played.¡± Juhee continued explaining, ¡°But I¡¯m worried he may dislike the game if he gets those type of requests. The more popular a player is the more people will try to take advantage of him. I¡¯ve learned the type of personality he has as I live with him and also see him frequently in the game. He will be overwhelmed and he just moved here from Japan. I¡¯m trying to ease him into our culture slowly at a time.¡± ¡°I see so you¡¯re being overprotective. He should be able to decide his path in the game.¡± Yun Hee chimed in. ¡°But I understand what you mean. Many players have quit the game because their first experience with it was being taken advantage of by other players.¡± ¡°This is really a good game. I enjoy that I can play as a chef in the game as I love to cook. But this job pays so much more than quitting and becoming a chef. This way I had to experience the best of both worlds. My son has been living in the mountains training and hunting wildlife. So I wanted him to ease into society and find his own goals. This game just makes it easier for him to transition as he¡¯ll be able to make friends. He already made a good friend, although they fight all the time, and I want him to learn the game at his own pace.¡± Juhee finished explaining. She was truly worried about Myung-Ki¡¯s lack of social interaction. At least in the game it would be easier for him to meet more people be it AI or real. He¡¯ll be able to learn how to socialize as time goes by and then she would be able to worry less if he ever decides that he wants to go out and explore their town or even the rest of the country. Yun Hee was the first to speak, ¡°Well. You were truly meant to be a mother. I¡¯m happy that you are able have a son that you can worry about like that. But remember he is 18 now so don¡¯t keep him on a leash. I can¡¯t speak from experience but I believe any man or woman needs to be able to learn things on their own from time to time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. He¡¯s sho good looking that he¡¯ll bag any girl he wants to have as hish woman! They can teashc him about our lovelysh country fo Korea!¡± Hye Su already started to get drunk from the soju they have ordered. ¡°Unlike my shon! Rotten good for nothing! Never going to leave hish mother¡¯sh bashement!¡± ¡°Hye Su! You¡¯re drunk already. Have you been drinking since our conversation started!¡± Juhee couldn¡¯t help but scold her friend. ¡°Hey Jushhheee! Have my shon become friendsh with your shon! MAYBE some of hish good looksh will rub off on him!¡± Hye Su getting rowdier. Then she made a look as if she had an epiphany. ¡°YAH! Why am I the only one drinkingsh?! Come on you two!¡± The two Kims could only laugh at their friend as they started to drink with her. It was quite common in Korea for both women and men to drink at local little shops that sell street food and soju. They continued to drink and talk about their troubles all throughout the night. *** ¡°How are the preparations going Sir Arthur?¡± A regal voice can be heard. ¡°It is going much slower than expected my liege. There is only a handful of knights that I would say would be ready.¡± Arthur Dragonson replied. ¡°Take as long as you need. We want to win this war and impatience can lead to our downfall. Even a Hero God as yourself cannot defeat a nation on your own. We must first unit all of our human brethren before we can think of invading another country.¡± King Agni the third stated. ¡°Do not worry my liege. My guild the Sun Warriors have been gathering only the high level players to our side. Soon we will have a fighting force strong enough to handle our wayward brothers.¡± Arthur reassured. ¡°Soon the true rulers of this land will finally take hold. We will unite the lands under human rule. No one will be able to face the might of our armies. Continue your good work.¡± King Agni smiled a devilish grin. Arthur returned the smile as they were thinking quite a bit alike. ¡®I¡¯ve always been at the top and what better way to keep that going than dominating every other area. Soon I¡¯ll become the emperor of this game land.¡¯ *** ¡°My liege. We have a report from our spies in Demascus City.¡± An elder man started speaking. ¡°Elder Juan. Give me the report.¡± King Deckard of Four Swords City ordered. ¡°Yes my liege. It seems your speculation is right. War will soon come upon us. They are in the midst of recruiting and training their army. Their numbers are large but the main concern are at the battle strength. They have the Sun Warriors backing them.¡± Elder Juan informed. ¡°That is to be expected as the Hero God has made his home there. We are at a strategic disadvantage and we cannot report this to central as of yet. We will need their help in this but as of right now that may still not be enough. Have we received word from Queen Willowstrider in regards to an alliance?¡± King Deckard asked his confidant. ¡°No my liege. No word as of yet. They are still at war with the Vampires so it may be harder to count on their strengths.¡± ¡°This does not bode well. With all the other countries in their own little wars, they may not see the biggest threat. We don¡¯t have enough proof to persuade them otherwise and when we do we may have not enough time to gather them all against this threat.¡± King of Four Swords City commented. His worries were not unfounded as the strongest guild, and strongest player has joined sides with one of the most radical kingdoms in all of the countries. Unlike Four Swords City who pride themselves in racial diversity, Demascus City believed that Humans needed to dominate all the other races. This wasn¡¯t the first time a war has broken out but it was easily quelled with the strength of central city backing them. But now that the adventurers showed extreme strength and power throughout all the countries the balance of each race has been put out of whack. Wars between races were becoming more common and frequent. Each side having their own set of adventurers. The main problem is that Central City was like the world¡¯s peace officers and many of their forces are sent out to help settle disputes as a neutral party and their strength is now divided. With the lack of resources on the strongest city, Four Swords City will now have to look into training and amassing their own army. ¡°Where is my son Elder Juan?¡± King Deckard asked. ¡°Prince Jason is currently missing. We are currently searching for him.¡± Elder Juan apologetically answered. ¡°Don¡¯t waste any resources on that. He¡¯s probably pretending to be an adventurer again. It might be time for him to go on a journey and understand this world like I did and my father before me.¡± King Deckard said reminiscing of the past before continuing, ¡°He¡¯ll need to experience that for him to better understand what it means to be king of a culturally diverse kingdom like ours. Even with the threat of war, if anything were to happen to me then we will need a king that understands this. When he does show up again tell him to gather adventurers to better protect him when I send him on this journey. But for now start recruiting adventurers to join our armed forces. The stronger they are the better.¡± The king intertwined his hands and furrowed his brow as he starts to focus on different strategies to the upcoming war. Myth 7: Clothes make the Man or Woman? Myth 7: Clothes make the Man or Woman? Akaro in his second week at the forge has gotten proficient enough in repair that the durability loss was only about six. Repairing became a lot more easy with the amount he had to do in each day. Like usual depending on his progress Melchior would change the price. The only difference now he was getting more money out of his own repairs. The price for repairs through him now were eleven copper to the disappointment of the cheapskate players and the enjoyment from his master''s greed. A new player who looked familiar came up to him. ¡°I only have ten copper right now. Can you repair my gear and I will pay you back tomorrow with the rest after I go out to train some more.¡± Akaro remembered that this was the first client he saw with Melchior the other day. Looking at Melchior, as if asking for what he should do, Melchior frowned and shook his head. ¡°Your repairs, your choice. It''s still money in my pocket.¡± Taking that as approval from his master he looked at the new adventurer. ¡°I see no problem with that. The agreement will be I will repair your sword for ten copper right now and you will pay back the remainder by tomorrow. Contract.¡± The player had a message pop up on their screen that stated the contract and asked if he will accept. The difference between making a contract with NPCs and Players was very apparent. As players get their own windows like skills and the like, his contracts also displayed in a new window. As long as the conditions were made verbal the window that will pop up for the other player will have an accept or decline. Although it made it easier to set contracts up, the downside is he couldn¡¯t level up his inscribe skill. ¡°I accept!.¡± Elated the player answered quickly. ¡°I will give you a warning. If you do not pay tomorrow this skill states that a punishment will occur. I do not know what it is as no one has ever broken a contract with me.¡± Akaro warned the player. ¡°Understand. I will be back tomorrow to pay.¡± The player could not wait to start training again. Seeing this scene, the cheapskate players were starting to think of ways to work the system. ¡°I''m so poor and I can''t make money without a weapon. Please take five copper now and I''ll pay the rest in two days?¡± ¡°I can pay you one copper today and the rest in four days?¡± This continued and Akaro''s contract proficiency was growing, albeit a slow progression because of simple terms for the contracts, but it was growing nonetheless. He was also seeing his speech stat starting to grow as well, as he was conducting deals with the players. ¡®I¡¯ll need to keep that growing this stat as I¡¯m sure more Myth Weaver skills will use more speech.¡¯ Hearing the news of the blacksmith apprentice who gave out payment terms, was a relief to a lot of new players who was struggling on making money on just hunting deer and rabbits and selling to shop owners. Most of the new players were quite honest and followed the contracts to the letter. They would pay on time and there would be no issues. But the situation happened when one of the scam artists who only paid one copper decided not to pay Akaro back. ¡°GAAAAHHHHHH!¡± A scream was heard out in the forest. That player learned quickly why Akaro warned everyone. The system''s random punishment caused his armour and weapons to be unusable until the amount was paid back. A half naked player ran from the forest being chased by wolves that he would have normally killed but could not because he had no weapon. Various players who tried to cheat Akaro fell to similar fates. Some were quite severe as they had more complex contracts. One player was struck by lightning and died. The weapon he had repaired dropped and was free game to other newbies. This then put a new reputation on Akaro as the demon blacksmith. ¡°He''s a devil!¡± ¡°Do not sign a contract if you cannot pay him back! He''s worse than the mob!¡± ¡°He''s a hot devil. I''ll sign my soul to him anytime.¡± Were some of the comments that were being made. With the exception of the last comment most were negative. Although the negative comments increased, business was not affected because each contract was broken by the players and not by Akaro who was offering an alternative way to pay. Ding
You have acquired a new title. Demon Blacksmith Reputation +100 Dex +10 Damage by Faith +5%
The new title worried made him frown once more. As he seriously could get hurt by players who have faith based abilities. He may not be an expert in math but just from the look of getting twenty-five more percent damage means it will hurt more. He decided as long as he didn¡¯t anger any of the religions or players who are part of them he should be fine. Thankfully for him that the religious based classes have strict rules to what they can attack but there are many ways to find loopholes for these conditions as he¡¯ll learn in the future. Melchior however couldn''t help but smile a greedy smile. The blacksmith master chuckled under his breath at the punishments that occur in front of him. One could say if Akaro was a demon then Melchior was the devil in this ''If they do pay him back I get money. If they don''t they get punished and I have some entertainment. I love this boy.'' *** After another week of solid hammering in the off hours, Akaro finally turned the remaining impure steel alloys to knives without proper handles. The next step in the process was to sharpen them enough to be able to use. He had gotten a bucket of water and a grinding stone. Traditionally he would have more than just one grinding stone depending on what he was sharpening. Drenching the stone in the bucket he took it out and placed it on a wooden ramp he constructed earlier that week. Grabbing one of the hundred he started sharpening. It was a slow process but he need to make sure the sharpening was even and did not damage the blade itself. Using water after every few grinds he cleared out any excess debris. One knife would take him twenty minutes game time to complete. After the first knife a pop up message came up.
Learned Weapon Sharpening (Beginner Lv. 1 0%) Enables the user to sharpen blade weapons using traditional methods. Increases Attack power of the weapon by 2% Decreases durability by 1. Requires a whetstone.
Akaro smiled at the new skill. What he learned from new skills is that it decreased the time it takes to complete the same task manually. He enjoyed the relative ease this world gave thanks to skills he had to learn through continuous practice. Picking up a new knife he placed it on the whetstone. ¡°Sharpen.¡± He only had to do a few strokes to get the same result. Which took less than a minute to do. Akaro happy with the convenient skill, did not hold back and started to do the same to the rest of the knives. His proficiency rose to level two but it was relatively slow for experience gain. Once more the lack of a proper associate class was impeding his growth but he continued anyway. Before making the handles he had to inscribe them as per tradition for Japanese sword smiths. Even though they were knives and not swords Akaro still had a level of pride in them. They were of course the first things he made with his own two hands in the game world. Taking out Belthazar''s pen he pressed it against the metal. ¡°Inscribe on.¡± Turning on the skill he could feel the high amount of mana starting to diminish as both the pen and his skill was draining it. He chose to just write the kanji for red on the handle portion of the blade. Akaro acted quickly as the longer he let the skill stay active the less mana he would have. If properly calculated his mana divided by the mana usage and divided again by sixty seconds would determine how many minutes he could write. Being level twenty he had about two thousand and seven hundred mana and with his current focu stat he was able to regain eighteen mana per ten seconds. Ding
Level up: Inscribe (Beginner Lv 4. 30%) Mana up by 200 Dex up by 1
Noticing that his mana grew which increased his limit in terms of using the inscribe skill, he made a mental note to try and use this skill as much as possible. The knives that were completed showed an etched inscription of the kanji for red but it was also dyed red due to the special ability of the pen. Red was the colour that was on his mind so it made sense that was the ink as well. He still had a long time to wait before his mana replenishes itself as even though he can recover eighteen mana every ten seconds the drain of twenty mana per second cleared out his mana completely. Akaro knew in the game he played on the old system there were items that restored mana. ''Ether or elixir were what they were called.'' He did not know where he can get these type of potions so he asked the only person he knew in the game. His mother. Akaro: Eomma. Where can I get mana ether or elixer? Cooking Queen: Hmm you would have to go to a potion shop but it should be closed right now as it''s after hours. Akaro: Where is the closest one? Cooking Queen: That would be to the other side of where you are. It should be called Alchemy Haven. Akaro: Thank you eomma. The chat feature made things easier in terms of contacting other players who are part of your friends list but it also allowed private conversations. Akaro once again gave the game praise for it''s convenience. Although he still had to wait a bit and he did not know what he can work on next. He was saving the other ore once he had the blacksmith skill to make sure his proficiency in smelting will not be hampered. Melchior who was just finishing a tailor''s scissors looked at his young apprentice. ¡°Stop loafing around and deliver this for me to the owner of Spool and thread.¡± Ding
Delivery to the Tailor #1 Melchior finished the tailor''s scissors for the owner of Spool and Thread and needs it to be delivered. He has asked you, his apprentice, to deliver the item. Difficulty: E Quest requirements: Cannot refuse as it was a request from your master. Failed if the item has broken.
¡°I will deliver it master.¡±
Quest accepted.
¡°I''m not done with you yet. Here are the needles they have also requested. Annoying things to make. Let her know I gave some extra at no extra cost. It would have been a waste of metal. That''s all.¡± Ding
Deliver to the Tailor #2 Needles that were requested by Melchior was also completed and ready to be delivered. Seek the owner of the Spool and Thread to complete this quest. Difficulty: E Cannot refuse as it was a request from your master. Failed if the needles are not delivered or damaged. Bonus rewards given for the remaining number of needles in the delivery
Quest accepted.
Simply nodding he took the box of needles as well. Akaro then looked at his master. ¡°Where is it?¡± Melchior sighed. *** At the Spool and Thread a plain looking female player was carrying bundles of thread and various fabrics to her work station. Although one could say she was plain, she was still technically of another race than human. This race were quite beautiful and although she didn¡¯t attempt to accentuate it too much with her attire, she looked a lot more approachable compared to the more beautiful type known as the high elves. The player¡¯s name was Serenity. ¡°Madame Orchid, when are we going to get the new needles?¡± Serenity asked her master. ¡°I spoke with Melchior earlier today. He''s going to have his apprentice send it over.¡± Orchid replied. ¡°The grumpy old man has an apprentice!¡± A shocked elf said in disbelief. Serenity couldn''t believe that cheapskate would have an apprentice. One of her first quests was to ask the old man blacksmith to make a box of needles and she was given a sum of money and to try and negotiate the price. She made the mistake of letting him know how much she brought and when she asked for the price he said the exact amount. She completed her quest but when she returned she got scolded by Madame Orchid and informed her if she actually manage to talk the price down any left over copper would be her bonus reward. She scowled at the memory. ¡°Rumour has it he''s quite a looker. If the rumour is true I already have permission from Melchior to use him for the store.¡± The madame of the store hummed. Serenity listened to her boss. ¡°I''ve seen handsome men. I will be the judge of that.¡± Serenity scoffed. Madame Orchid only nodded in agreement as she could only trust her apprentice. ¡°I hope he get''s here soon. I''ve been itching to try out a new look for leather armour.¡± Serenity tapped her foot eagerly. Just then a familiar red haired young man entered the building. Akaro who got lost as this location was in the vicinity in the more busier parts of the city was scowling. He had to avoid different swarms of female players and npcs while also trying to keep the box of needles intact. He thought he could put the quest items in his inventory but was then informed by the game that it cannot conduct that action. Due to that fact and the amount of women he had to avoid the quest can easily be a D class quest. Using every skill he can think of that would help him with his situation he sighed as he also picked up new skills while being chased by women. Ding
Learned Escape (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Helps user locate and perform escapes from locations and inconvenient situations. Consumes 50 mana Learned Balance (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables you to keep balance while moving on any surface. Consumes 5 Stamina/second Level up: Awareness (Beginner Lv. 2 88%) Stealth stat +20
Looking at his apparel he found that he had many tears on his beginner armour. He repaired it with his skill before looking at the two people in front of him. One had brown short hair that went to about her chin and she had a plain face with little make up on. She had a beige cotton button up top and what seemed like brown leather pants. She was holding up a piece of chalk in her hand and he then saw it drop. What caught his eye primarily was that she had different set of ears than a humans. The other person was the most alarming to Akaro. Although he hid his surprise quite well but if anyone saw what he was looking at for the first time, they would scream out monster. This person was not too tall but the muscles on her were as big as his head. The face alone showed heavy makeup and an orchid tattooed on the left side of the neck. He knew from a glance that this wasn''t a woman. But he shook his head as the man was wearing a silk dress with floral patterns all over it. ¡°Who is the owner?¡± Akaro wanted to get out as he started to hear the women outside who was chasing him earlier. The faster he could complete the quests the better. The missing link said in a very shocking feminine voice replied, ¡°I Madame Orchid is proprietor of this fine house of fashion. You must be Melchior''s prized apprentice. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance.¡± Akaro bowed as that was his go to plan whenever he couldn''t muster any words right away. ¡°Pleasure to meet you.¡± ¡°Wow so polite. Serenity introduce yourself.¡± Madame Orchid looked at her apprentice. ¡°Se-re-ni-ty. You are being quite rude you know.¡± The young woman had a gaping mouth open. She eyed Akaro from head to toe to head. She has never seen someone as handsome as he was. In her real line of work she would see many male models but none that can exhibit the natural look of the man in front of her. ¡°Nice to meet you Serenity.¡± Akaro felt kind of awkward as the young woman just stared at him blankly. Serenity eyes bulged out and started to tear up as she wanted to cry. ''WHY DID I HAVE TO MAKE MY AVATAR SO PLAIN!'' Serenity was kicking herself. Her avatar was plain as she did not want to attract attention to herself as her real face would cause quite a commotion in Korea and other places in the world. Although she didn¡¯t want to be regarded as ugly, she chose a race that was still beautiful facially compared to the other races. Regardless of this fact the person in front of her was still waiting for her to say something. ¡°I...I''m sorry. My name is Serenity.¡± Watching her bow so enthusiastically Akaro bowed back. ¡°My name is Akaro.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Now Akaro do you have the package that Melchior gave you.¡± Madame Orchard interrupted the two. ¡°Melchior wanted me to tell you that he gave you extra as to not want to waste metal.¡± Akaro relayed the message to the owner. After handing out the scissors and box of needles to Madame Orchid, he received a pop up message.
You have completed Delivery to the Tailor #1 Health up by 100 AGI up by 5 You have received 2 silver You have leveled up to 22
You have completed Delivery to Tailor #2 Health up by 100 AGI up by 5 You have received 4 copper for each needle You have received a bonus 2 copper for each needle for not losing one You have leveled up 23
Akaro smiled as he grew three levels bringing him to level 23. He focused all of the bonus stats onto his agility as they were the least growing stat for his character at the moment. ¡°Well I am going to head back now.¡± The redhead bowed. ¡°Just wait one moment young man.¡± Stopped by Madame Orchid''s massive hand, Akaro could not move at all. ¡°Papa did not tell you but there is another request that needs to be fulfilled.¡± ''PAPA!'' Akaro stared at the proprietor of Spool and Thread. ¡°We needed a young male to be used as a model for our new set of male armour and clothing we are revealing today.¡± Ding
Measurements of a Model #1 The owner of Spool and Thread, Madame Orchid, has asked you to stay and model for her so she can create working clothing for male individuals. Also you will be modeling these clothes in her store¡¯s reveal show. Difficulty: E Requirements: Need to be male Cannot refuse the quest.
¡°I will help...¡± Giving in as Akaro did not have any other option. For some reason Madame Orchid was extremely strong and even if he tried to use escape he knew it would fail.. ¡°Where do you need me?¡± ¡°Serenity. Show him to the measurement room. Then get his measurements.¡± Orchid winked at her apprentice as she knew Serenity was already infatuated with the good looking man. ¡°Y...Yes madame.¡± With a permanent blush on her face she guided Akaro to a room with one mirror. Taking measuring tape she started taking measurements. ''Wait I''m in the room by myself with him. I can use this for my advantage.'' ¡°Please lift your arms and spread them wide.¡± Akaro just followed what was being asked. Serenity took the measuring tape and wrapped around his chest. In the position that she was in, she took it a step further and hugged him. ''He feels sturdy and warm.'' ¡°Are you okay? You look sick.¡± Concerned as he saw her face close up after her hug. ''She''s really red.'' Backing away immediately she berated herself for not being professional. ¡°I''m okay.¡± Akaro nodded and Serenity continued the measuring with a bit more professionalism. Writing down the measurements Serenity gave it to the owner. ''It was fun while it lasted.'' Still standing with his arms raised he waited until the next instruction. ¡°You can relax now. I got all of your measurements.¡± ¡°Now what do I do?¡± ¡°You can just sit down and relax for a bit. We will start working on the clothing.¡± Akaro found a seat and watched Serenity work with the fabric. She was prepping the pieces for Madame Orchid to sew. As he watched he noticed her face was smiling. She had the same look on her face that he had when he reads a book. ¡°You really enjoy working with clothes don''t you? Your smile is quite pretty.¡± Blushing up a storm she nodded furiously. ''He said I''m pretty. Well it¡¯s not like it¡¯s my real face he¡¯s commenting on. I am using the elf race...¡¯'' As she was overthinking his compliment, Akaro truly just commented on her smile. He really had no preference when it came to beauty. He liked it when women smiled honestly as it seem to be a calming look. Not the ferocious smiles he sees in the mob of women that chased him earlier that day. ¡°My such a smooth talker. Don''t take my apprentice away. I just got her.¡± The owner of the store joked and Serenity looked down hiding her blushing face and concentrated on her work. Akaro then looked at the owner and asked the question that was bugging him for the last thirty minutes in game. ¡°Is Melchior truly your father?¡± ¡°Yup. I''m his beloved daughter. He married my dwarf mother and they had me.¡± ¡°That makes sense then. So you are a half dwarf?¡± Akaro inquired. Knowing that this was his master¡¯s daughter he felt that he had to be at least to be polite although her appearance doesn¡¯t match her gender. ¡°Yes I am.¡± As the pieces started to fall together he continued his questioning. ¡°I have not met your mother. Is she around?¡± ¡°No she is at her homeland running our second blacksmith shop there.¡± ¡°So both Melchior and your mother are blacksmiths?¡± ¡°Yup. That''s how they fell in love. Such a beautiful story of rivals turning into lovers.¡± Madame Orchid seemed to have hearts floating around her when she said this sentence. ¡°So why did you not become a blacksmith?¡± ¡°I liked pretty clothes since I was young. A delicate flower like me found my calling the moment I first wore a silk dress.¡± ''A delicate flower with muscles the size of watermelons!'' Of course Akaro kept that to himself. He had just verified that the owner was in fact a woman and saying things like that would be rude. Serenity finished prepping all the material and handed it to her master. The real work was going to be done in assembling the outfits by a master tailor. Orchid took the clothing and started sewing everything by hand. Even with her size and stature she was able to nimbly sew each piece together with such accuracy and finesse that you would not have believed she made it. ¡°You are definitely his daughter. You move with the same precision as master. It is quite awe-inspiring.¡± Honestly commented the redhead. Akaro was truly impressed as he was also a craftsman. He may have not understood how to sew but he knew what she was doing would need a lot of practice as each sewed part was completely even with each pull of the thread. ¡°My my. If my apprentice did not want you I would have went for you.¡± ¡°M...MADAME!¡± Serenity exclaimed at her master¡¯s statement. ¡°Do not worry. He is too skinny for my tastes anyway.¡± Seeing the banter between master and apprentice Akaro smiled. ¡°You both seem close.¡± ¡°Did you know she showed up here and begged me to apprentice her? She was so cute I couldn''t say no.¡± Madame put her hand to her cheek as she replied. Like a mother praising her child Orchid responded to Akaro. ¡°Do you have your eyes on anyone Akaro? Are you taken by any chance?¡± Watching her master ask the questions she wouldn''t dare bring up, Serenity listened closely. ¡°Don''t I have eyes on the both of you right now? I cannot be taken as I am here.¡± Both had sweat drops on their heads at his response. ¡°No my young model. I mean are you in a relationship with any woman?¡± Madame spoke more directly to the dense young man. ¡°I have just gotten a new mother. I also have a stepsister and I''m quite friendly with my stepmother?¡± ''Hopeless.'' The both of them thought. ¡°Never-mind you just answered my question.¡± Orchid gave a wink to Serenity. ¡°Um... Do you mind if we become friends?¡± Ding ]
Serenity has requested to be your friend
Yes]No
¡°I do not see any problems with that. You both have treated me well.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Serenity blurted out before composing herself. ¡°Akaro I need you to stand in the middle of the room again. Going to put this on you to finish the last steps of making the clothing. Please take off your shirt.¡± He immediately took his shirt off without any hesitation. Akaro had no reason not to trust what Orchid was asking him to do. Serenity fainted the moment she saw his body. ¡°She''s okay. You are quite a specimen. I''m surprised you do not have a lover yet. Or maybe you are a wolf in sheep''s clothing.¡± Akaro stared blankly at Orchid. ¡°Lovers is the terms for people who love each other and are in an intimate relationship. Some of the romance novels I have read indicated that. I have not felt those emotions with anyone.¡± He openly admitted that he had read romance novels. It did not bother him as he believe any book could provide information. ¡°Not even growing up?¡± Orchid was working on the clothing she had put on Akaro when she asked that question. Akaro chose this time to explain a brief history of his past. She was technically his master''s daughter so he did not mind sharing that information. Serenity was still passed out from over stimulation so he did not need to worry about her hearing his story. *** The makeup that was on Orchid''s face was completely ruined by tears that have fallen from her eyes. ¡°Poor boy.¡± A sniffling Orchid who had just finished hearing his story commented. Ding
You have once again told a story of your honest past. As Orchid learned of your past she felt sadness from your story. You have caused her to cry. Level up: Storytelling (Beginner Lv. 3 10%) Int up by 1 Wis up by 1 Luck up by 1 Speech up by 20 Art up by 20 Mana up by 100 Reputation up by 10
Akaro frowned a bit. ''I''ve made her cry. I''ve shamed jii-chan.'' Looking concerned at the crying hulk of a woman he got an answer from her. ¡°Do not worry. It is not like you hurt me you know. Women are very emotional flowers. Of course they will cry after hearing that. Can you take care of Serenity? I''m going to go to the powder room. Cannot go around looking like this.¡± Nodding Akaro then put his attention on the sleeping girl. He mentally noted that you can sleep in game as well if you wanted to. Watching her serene face he smiled a bit at how she can just sleep on the floor. ''How do I wake her?'' Akaro then took his pointing finger and started poking her cheek. ¡°Wake up.¡± Grumbling a bit of drool escaped her face. Serenity slowly opened her eyes and shuffled away like a crab from the kneeling red head. ''So embarrassing!'' After standing up and regaining her senses she looked at him. Serenity could only gasp as he stood up. He was wearing a gold lined blue coat over dark brown leather armour that had a golden orchid sewed on it. The intricate buttons that were sewed on were also gold in colour. He wore dark brown leather pants that went really well with his outfit. ¡°Almost perfect.¡± Orchid had returned with repaired make up. ¡°Your hair does not match the outfit. Blue and gold with your blood red hair clashes. Lucky for you I have just the thing.¡± Orchid disappeared once more as she was looking for the item she mentioned. Various fabric and tools were being thrown and any sharp object was embedded into the wall. ''Her strength is no joke.'' Akaro inwardly commented as he waited patiently. ¡°Found it!¡± Coming out of the other room, Orchid came back with a black haired wig. ¡°This will hide your red hair and it matches the outfit much better.¡± Orchid put his red hair underneath some sort of hair net. Then placed the black hair piece on his head. After putting the wig on he looked exactly like himself in real life much to his ire. ¡°Akaro-nim. Is that how you normally looked?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Akaro did not tell a lie but he was not aware he just made it a goal for Serenity to find him in person. ¡°Serenity you know I''ll be using you for the female model. Hurry up and get ready.¡± Serenity was about to do so when she got a message from the real world. ¡°I''m sorry master I have to leave now. Something important came up.¡± She really felt bad but her real job needed her and she was actually running late. ¡°That''s okay... I have another plan in place.¡± Serenity logged off as soon as her master said that last sentence. *** ¡°Hurry Ru Hwa Young!¡± A woman with glasses yelled. ¡°I''m so sorry Song Young Soon.¡± A beautiful young woman replied. She had gotten out of the capsule and had quickly put on a dress. ¡°Aigoo! You always cause trouble for me. We are going to be late for the photo shoot!¡± ¡°Sorry manager.¡± ¡°Make sure to pack your bags after this shoot. We are going to Milan for the fashion show the day after next. Life of a famous model is sure is tiring. I should have just stayed working at the office.¡± ¡°You can''t do that! You''re my best friend! I need you.¡± ¡°If your fans find out how needy you are...¡± The banter between the two women continued even after they left their apartment. *** Chul-Moo was returning from fishing from the river not too far from the city. He was carrying the fish over his shoulder even though he could put it into his inventory. As the river water dripped from the fish with each step he took, he noticed that his back would slightly get wet due to it. He decided to unequip his training gi and just walked shirtless towards the restaurant. As he entered the restaurant the chefs all looked at him as if he was crazy. ¡°Oi you idiot. Go to the back. You¡¯ll scare away our customers!¡± Gaspar said reprimanding the young man. ¡°Yeah you¡¯re right. Sorry hyung-nim.¡± Chul-Moo bowed with his apology which lead to the fish hitting the floor hard. ¡°Aigoo¡­ Just bring it here already. Why you carry it instead of putting it into your bag still confuses me.¡± The head chef sighed as he requested for the fish. ¡°Hyung-nim, where¡¯s my rival?¡± Chul-Moo asked as he gave the fish to Gaspar. ¡°Not entirely sure. When Melchior came by he said he sent him on a task to the tailors in the middle of town. You know that famous one?¡± Gaspar answered. Chul-Moo shivered as a memory came by him. The owner of the establishment gave him his training gear after saying it was a thank you gift for showing her some eye candy. Although he was thankful for the free gear the look in her eyes scared him. ¡°Madame Orchard is one scary woman. She¡¯s too strong, I remember she dragged me around to go on a date although I said no.¡± Chul-moo shuddered once more. ¡°Well she is definitely stronger than most of the knights here in the Four Swords kingdom. Now go and take a bath. You reek of fish. Next time use your bag to carry it here!¡± Gaspar again scolded the young man. ¡°Yes Hyung-Nim.¡± Chul-Moo said with a smile. ¡®Hopefully you don¡¯t get roped into any troublesome situations Akaro.¡¯ *** Orchid looked at Akaro and placed both her hands on his shoulders. ¡°I have another favour to ask...¡± Akaro tried to squirm away but could not escape. Volume 1 Chapter 8: Memories of a Family Chapter 8: Memories of a family It was the evening where most players would come back to the city to avoid fighting the stronger monsters as they get a boost at night. The city square where the Spool and Thread was located was a lot busier than normal. The reason for the amount of people could also be attributed to in fact the Spool and Thread. As the location was quite popular among the fashionable players who played to look good in the game. This included many dancers, bards, and any rich player who liked to collect clothing. ¡°Hello everyone. Thank you for waiting. I know you have been waiting for over a month for our new apparel but you do not have to wait any longer.¡± Orchid was in a flashy orange dress and a white boa was around her neck. As she made the announcement many players cheered regardless of her muscle bound feature. She was actually quite popular for the players as she was a master tailor and the clothes she made were unique to the region. ¡°I even got some lovely new models to help me out with this months release. Now without further ado, I present first my newest female gear. It will definitely boost your attractiveness two fold!¡± The set up for Spool and Thread was a main building in which one can enter and a stage just to the right of it that had a mini runway. The curtains parted and every female and male players gasped. *** Cooking Queen, Kim Juhee, and her best friend Park Hye Su who''s avatar was called Sue were one of the many people in the crowd. KMC wanted a video of the new clothing release for Spool and Thread. ¡°I can''t believe you named your avatar Sue.¡± ¡°Well I''m not so stuck up to name myself a queen!¡± ¡°No you just lack creativity.¡± ¡°It''s not like I play this game on my free time. I prefer to sleep.¡± ¡°Yeah I know. You created the avatar as an obligation for work. You are still a woman. Take pride in yourself.¡± ¡°I can see why your husband left you.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Joking joking.¡± The two woman were smiling at the last exchange as they usually get into this argument whenever they play. ¡°Melchior-nim. Akaro is going to be here right?¡± Melchior who was with the two women nodded. ¡°My daughter is beautiful isn''t she?¡± ¡°You mean the gorilla in a dress?¡± Melchior glared at Sue and Cooking Queen could only sigh. ¡°Do not be rude to Melchior-nim. Your daughter is quite fashionable.¡± She slapped Sue on the head for her rude comments. ¡°Thank you. Your man for a friend is blind.¡± ''YOU''RE BLIND! YOU DOTING FATHER!'' Sue mentally shouted. Spotting her son she called out. ¡°Yong Suk! Come here.¡± A fully armoured man with a giant sword on his back walked towards the group. ¡°Eomma! Don''t say my real name here. My name here is Goliath.¡± Smacking him in the head Sue looked at him angrily. ¡°If you can spend this much time in the game trying to look good you should go exercise in real life! Goliath... The only Goliath I see when I get home is you fattie. 21 years old already and no girlfriend.¡± ¡°Eomma!¡± Tears escaped the brawny man. In reality he was considered chubby amongst his peers. In the game though he had made his avatar quite good looking and muscular. He also spent some stats on his attractiveness as well. Cooking Queen and Melchior watched the exchange of mother and son. ¡°At least I don''t have to worry too much about my son attracting women... just have to worry about him getting the right ones.¡± ¡°That boy doesn''t even know he''s gifted in that sense. He always looks to me to save him from the pushier customers.¡± Just then they heard the announcement from Melchior''s daughter. When the curtains revealed the model Cooking Queen gasped. ¡°Eonni!¡± Juhee fainted and Melchior caught her. Melchior was confused as he looked at the model. ¡°Oh no...¡± Sue who also saw the model went to assist her best friend. ¡°I''m in love!¡± Goliath''s reaction caused his mother a headache. ¡°Good luck with that.¡± *** The curtains revealed a drop dead gorgeous beauty. She had long white hair and was wearing a flowing dress that had two pieces. The inside piece accentuated her breasts and was built for defence. It was made of light brown leather and a snow white silk. The outside piece was a flowing silk coat that was a pale sky blue. She wore pale sky blue leather boots that had a slightly higher heel (TN: I''m not a woman. I don''t know the proper name for them.). But what silenced the crowd was was the unemotional face attached to the model. It gave off the feeling of the untouchable beauty of an ice queen was staring at the crowd. ''This is embarrassing.'' The secret of the model unfortunately was that she was a he. Akaro grimaced inwardly at the second quest he received. *Flash Back two hours ago* ¡°No.¡± ¡°Please. I need your help in order for this to succeed. And you have beautiful features. I''m really good at make up and no one will recognize you. Promise.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I''ll do anything. I need your help. Don''t make me cry!¡± Akaro sighed and read the message in front of him. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Measurements of a Model #2 Madame Orchid needs you to fill the shoes of a female model after losing the original model. She needs you to pretend to be female and don on the outfit she had prepared for the evenings reveal. Difficulty: E Requirements: Quest fails if gender is exposed. Cannot decline.[/col][/box] ¡°I will but you will sign a contract with me first.¡± ¡°Anything!¡± ''I, Akaro, will pose as a woman to help Madame Orchid in her reveal show on the condition that he can ask her to commission clothing using any material he brings her and to be able to sell her leather and other clothing material at 20% more than its actual price. Also she may never reveal the truth of this event to anyone.'' ¡°Agreed. Let''s sign that contract and get to modifying the clothing.¡± Madame Orchid signed immediately. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have accepted the quest.[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Contract (Beginner Lv. 8 50%) Able to offer 8 conditions[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Persuasion (Beginner Lv. 5 33%)[/col][/box] Taking off the men''s apparel and black wig he gave it to Orchid. He was given a bra stuffed with breasts pads. Akaro then was immediately given a dress to put on. ¡°Hmm. You are still a man and those muscular shoulders and arms will be hard to hide... unless.¡± Quickly grabbing pale blue silk she started snipping away at it. She made the coat so that it was flowing and it did not reveal the arms and made his shoulders look less broad. ¡°Now your hair. Wait one moment.¡± Akaro watched the muscular woman leave the room to only see her come back with a white wig. ¡°This will do. We need to make sure no one will recognize you after all.¡± Orchid started to pin the hair on his head. She need to make sure it would not move even if he twirled or bang his head. Happy at the realism of the hair she then smiled. ¡°Almost there. Last but not least is your face. We have to make it look more feminine.¡± Grabbing her make up kit she carefully administered the foundation. She was quite pleased that her subject was already considered pretty as a man as it made it easier for her to accentuate the more feminine features. She then put on an icy blue eye shadow on his face. Attaching fake eyelashes soon after. She then put on a blue lipstick on for him as well. ¡°Haha. You can definitely pass for a woman now.¡± ¡°Only doing this once. My face feels weird.¡± Akaro walked towards a mirror and could not recognize his face. He really looked like a woman. He couldn''t help but stare at the face as he remembered seeing his mother''s face in some of the photos around his grandfather''s house. ''I look like my mother.'' ¡°Oh my. You need to speak like a woman to and also walk like one. Let''s first work with movement.¡± Akaro watched as Madame Orchid showed him the proper way to walk as a female model. Toe pointing forward and taking small steps. Also accentuating the hip movements. Before he could practice himself he was given blue boots. ¡°You have to do that wearing these.¡± Putting on the boots Akaro started to practice. He almost fell over a couple of times as the boots were strange to him. ''Women wear these things? It''s impractical in a fight.'' He thanked his balance skill that was growing in proficiency due to this situation. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned new Legendary Myth Weaver skill Mimicry (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to mimic the speech and movement of any living being. Consumes 10mana/sec when copying speech[/col][/box] After about thirty minutes in game he was able to finally walk around sufficiently enough that Orchid spoke to him once more. ¡°Now you need to change the tone of your voice. Try to copy mine.¡± Calling out the skill Mimic in his thoughts he started to speak. ¡°Does this sound okay?¡± Orchid fell over with a huge crash. ¡°You sound exactly like me! What kind of godly skill do you have?¡± ¡°I just learned how to mimic. But I can only actively use this for about 6 minutes. It drains my mana.¡± Akaro spoke in his real voice and turned off mimic. ¡°Good good. Well you don''t want to sound like me. Do you remember Serenity''s voice. Use that.¡± Akaro helped Orchid up from her sitting position. ¡°Now we are almost ready. Keep practising on your walking. Once I separate the curtains you only have one chance to not embarrass yourself when you walk onto the runway.¡± Nodding Akaro continued to practice. **End Flash Back** Now in the present time Akaro looked at crowds of people before he walked towards the front. With elegance and precise movements he got to the front. He had to wait until Orchid spoke. ¡°This matching ensemble provides moderate defence with the leather pieces found on the chest portion but still would be nice to wear for a stroll around town. The flowing silk coat will move to the breeze as if nature itself embraced you. I''m sure you ladies who are looking to attract men can agree that this would be the dress to do it in and for you men what better gift to give. The cost for this outfit is 15 gold. Akaro spun around once when the flowing silk coat was mentioned. Taking advantage of the situation, Orchid had an a greedy idea. She was daddy''s little girl after all. ¡°The colour scheme that is available for the outfit are winter princess, spring empress, summer queen, and fall monarch. You can place your order with my lovely model Eun Mi.¡± That was the name Akaro decided on as he did look like his mother in this form. He had to fight a frown on his face after hearing he will be the one taking the orders. ¡°She''s so beautiful. Can you be my older sister?!¡± ¡°Do you have a boyfriend?¡± ¡°She''s out of your league bro.¡± ¡°I wonder if I should get that.¡± ¡°I want it for sure.¡± ¡°Will you be my girlfriend?¡± ¡°I have money! Let''s go on a date!¡± Multiple requests from women and men alike to be friends with him popped up in the messages. With an icy glare he decided to try to end the slew of requests. Using Serenity''s voice he replied. ¡°No. Not even if hell froze over.¡± Obviously not the politest reply but what he thought would dissuade the group of people only made them louder. ¡°She''s so cool.¡± ¡°A cold beauty.¡± ¡°My heart cannot take it. I think I''m a masochist.¡± ¡°Step on me ice queen!¡± ¡°More! Be mean to me more!¡± ¡°You men are gross. Don''t bother eonni!¡± Seeing the nonsense of the crowd Akaro took it another step further. ¡°Anyone who is not ordering. Get out. If you are, then line up in a straight line.¡± As if it was a general who commanded his troops the cold tone of his voice got everyone in order. He then made contracts with each player on behalf of Spool and Thread. Taking the orders and the money he handed them to Orchid. ¡°Alright everyone. Give us a few minutes to prepare for the male ensemble.¡± The crowd were begging for Eun Mi to stay but he gave them a glare to silence them. *** Waking up finally Cooking Queen saw that the model''s name was her sisters name. She thought at first it was someone who copied her face but she knew in her heart that was not the case. The only person who knew the truth was Sue. Cooking Queen: ¡°Sue keep this a secret.¡± Sue: ¡°Hahaha. Your son is a cross dresser.¡± Cooking Queen: ¡°Enough. Don''t make me mad.¡± Sue: ¡°I know I''m joking. You are probably going to talk to him when you get home.¡± Cooking Queen: ¡°I hope it was just a quest.¡± Sue: ¡°Well if it isn''t. You would have gained a daughter.¡± Cooking Queen: ¡°...¡± Sue taking the silence as danger looked to see a finger flick her forehead. ¡°So violent to me. Can''t you take a joke?¡± ¡°Say no more or I will do that...¡± Sue stopped joking and nodded furiously. Whatever she was threatened with stopped her behavior immediately. Melchior was looking confused. ¡°Why did you faint after seeing that model?¡± ¡°I have anaemia.¡± Juhee lied as she did not want to say anything that can lead to Akaro. ¡°I love her. Eun Mi. What a beautiful name...¡± Goliath was still enamoured with Akaro''s female form. ¡°Give up on ever seeing her. What can you do with your fake form.¡± His mother discouraged the boy as she already knew the truth. ¡°I cannot just give up on her. I will wait until she leaves the store and try to get her to add me as a friend.¡± Sue tried to stop herself from laughing. ''If you only knew.'' The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.*** Removing the make up was extremely easy. It only took about ten minutes before Akaro''s face was returned to normal. ¡°Fufu. I should maybe ask you to model for me more.¡± ¡°We signed a contract for this time only. The will not happen again.¡± Akaro glared at Orchid who put her hands up in surrender. Changing to the male outfit he wore earlier that day, he had to ask Orchid to help with hair piece. Once he was ready he hid behind the curtain once more. Orchid stepped outside and was preparing to announce the next piece. ¡°Thank you everyone for your love and support. I will be sure to have all those outfits ready for you as quickly as possible. Now without further ado. Time to show off the menswear.¡± Walking out feeling more comfortable he could not help but smile slightly. Which in turn attracted the female crowd. ¡°Isn''t that the blacksmith apprentice?¡± ¡°He has black hair.¡± ¡°His face is too handsome to have more than one of him.¡± ¡°It''s gotta be a wig. The red hair wouldn''t match those clothes.¡± ¡°He looks like a prince.¡± ¡°The demon blacksmith!¡± ¡°Look at his evil smile!¡± ¡°But the clothes look so cool. I''ll sign his evil contract.¡± ¡°Look at these gawking women. Shameless.¡± ¡°Like your one to talk. You were the one asking Eun Mi to step on you.¡± ¡°This and that is different.¡± Akaro sighed as he got to the front of the runway. ¡°This lovely regal ensemble would make any man look like a noble. The gold trim and royal blue coat on top of a dark leather armour would definitely have the monsters stop and think twice of attacking you. Ladies feel free to purchase this for your boyfriends as this would match the dresses you have already bought. Also 15 gold for the whole outfit. Comes in Royal Blue, Aristocrat Purple, Regal Red, Sovereign White, and Bureaucrat Black.¡± Orchid''s naming sense for the colours would make anyone shake their head. Using persuasion, Akaro decided to try and get everyone organized again. ¡°Can everyone who wishes to order make a straight line? I do not want anyone to be trampled.¡± Again the straight lines were made. The females were already use to this at the Rusty Nail and the men, well they were afraid to incur his wrath. ¡°Are you going out with Eun Mi?¡± ¡°You guys would make the perfect pair?¡± ¡°You better not be! The ice queen is mine.¡± ¡°In your dreams maybe.¡± Comments like that happened as he made contracts once more and obtained the money for the orders. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Contract (Intermediate Lv. 1 10%) Enables you to make contracts with the undead Able to offer 10 conditions[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned Word Teleportation (Beginner Lv. 1 0%) Enables you to instantly transport to a location as long as there is an item there that was inscribed with a word Consumes mana depending on distance travelled 10 mana for each meter travelled.[/col][/box] ''Word Teleportation sounds really useful for travelling although 10 mana for each meter. 100 meters would be 1000 mana. This class uses too much mana.'' Bringing the order forms and money to Orchid he saw a greedy smirk on her face. ''Definitely master''s daughter.'' ¡°Has anyone ever told you Akaro that you are good for business.¡± Orchid praised Akaro before turning to the crowd of people. ¡°Alright everyone. I will have new outfits once more in two months. Look forward to it then. Thank you for your patronage. Remember if you need armor repaired please go to my father''s shop at the western entrance. Akaro will be there!¡± After the shameless advertisement Akaro and Orchid went back into the building. The crowd started to dissipate as the excitement was now over. ¡°How about Eun Mi?¡± ¡°Did anyone see her leave?¡± ¡°I was too distracted. Did she log off?¡± ¡°Someone post her video and let''s all search for her.¡± Various conversations about what transpired was going around town. What Akaro did not know that he had created a seed for a myth. The myth of the ghost of Eun Mi but that was another tale he will figure out later. *** ¡°Juhee. Did you manage to interview either Eun Mi or this Akaro character?¡± The one of chiefs of KMC was talking to the lovely older woman. ¡°No sir. She logged out almost immediately and she did not accept my friend request. Akaro also left the scene.¡± Juhee lied to protect her son. This much attention were sure to make him more introverted in real life. ¡°I heard a rumour that Akaro is your son''s avatar. Do you want to bring him in for an interview?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°But...¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Someone as handsome as him would bring up ratings...¡± ¡°No.¡± Juhee denied her boss three times on giving permission to interview her son. ¡°Kim Juhee. I am your boss. You will bring your son for an interview or I will fire you.¡± With a cold glare she looked at the man. ¡°Then I quit.¡± About to storm off he literally jumped at her feet. ¡°I''m sorry. I was joking. Please don''t leave.¡± In truth she was one of the best editors they had. She worked with no complaints and the results would always turn out excellent. She was also in the running to be the chief editor with her flawless record in the company. As they were smaller than other broadcasting companies losing a talent like hers could put them in precarious position as she would be swooped up by the competition the moment she left the building. Still mad Juhee continued to glare at her boss. ¡°Then you will drop this issue and give me a week''s vacation starting today.¡± ¡°I''ll give you two weeks! Promise you won''t leave.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± With the negotiations complete she left his office. Juhee was then approached by Hye Su and her supervisor Yun Hee. ¡°His begging could be heard from the hall. He threatened to fire you?¡± ¡°If he did you should have just left.¡± Kim Juhee looked at her fellow employees and smiled, ¡°I am on two weeks vacation starting today.¡± ¡°Lucky!¡± The both of them said. ¡°So are you going to talk about you know what to you know who?¡± ¡°Yeah I''m going to head home now and speak with him.¡± ¡°Hey don''t leave me out. I may be your supervisor here but I''m still one of your friends.¡± ¡°As long as you don''t tell anyone I''ll let you know.¡± The three women continue to have a conversation before Juhee went to the parking garage to leave her workplace. *** [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Health up by 100 STA up by 20 Speech up by 30 Fame up by 30 Bonus: Received 1 silver for each order that was taken for the male clothing. 100 orders equal to a reward of 1 gold. You have leveled up You have leveled up[/col][/box] You have completed Measurement of a Model #1 [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned Attractiveness Stat. Increases the users ability to charm others with looks alone.[/col][/box] Before the next pop up message came up he deleted the stat. ''Useless and troublesome stat.'' [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have completed Measurement of a Model #2 Health up by 100 STA up by 20 Speech up by 30 Art up by 20 Bonus: Received 2 silver for each order that was taken for the female clothing 200 order equal to 4 gold. Bonus: At not being discovered as a male all your stats will increase by 10. Experienced gained multplied by 10. You have leveled up You have leveled up You have leveled up You have leveled up[/col][/box] ¡°Good work today. As a bonus gift for working this hard I''ll make you some leather armour and a scarf to help hide your face. I think your handsomeness is a blessing for business but I can see that you dislike the extra attention.¡± Orchid smiled as she said this. ¡°Can it look like this?¡± Using illustration skill he took a piece of paper and drew out sketches that looked like his training gear in real life. The back of the training gear had a spot where he can slide in two katana. Also had many hidden pockets where he can store shuriken, kunai, and needles for throwing weapons. The pants also had pockets that he can hide items in as well. ¡°Hmm. I can definitely do something like that. You''ll let me design the scarf right?¡± ¡°I see no problem for that. Thank you for your gift.¡± Bowing, Akaro smiled. ¡°Such a cute boy. Shame if only you had the muscles like my dad you would be perfect for me.¡± ''Never!'' Was the final thought of Akaro as he got ready to return to the forge Rusty Nail. ¡°It will take me about a week or so but I''ll have this armour ready for you and I''ll send Serenity to give it to you.¡± Nodding he took off by first going to the roof of the building. What he learned today that walking on the main street was troublesome. Now that he had nothing to carry he moved around freely. As he got closer to the training grounds he jumped down onto the street. ¡°Akaro.¡± Hearing his name be called he turned to see the instructor. ¡°Hello instructor.¡± ¡°Why haven''t you come by to train? I''ll be honest it''s been kind of lonely as not many players have been training lately. Especially one with your skill. The last skill you displayed where you slashed 17 times was especially exciting to watch. Being a fellow swordsman I was in awe with your skill.¡± ¡°I''m focusing on making a pair of swords right now and once I have accomplished that I''ll come by to train again if nothing else comes up.¡± ¡°That is great to hear. Our agreement is still in place.¡± ¡°I''ll put it into a contract so I cannot break it.¡± Quickly drawing up a contract he bid the instructor farewell as he continued to walk towards the forge. Cooking Queen: "I need to talk to you. Log off." Before he replied she logged out. *** ¡°Nu Myung Ki.¡± Myung-Ki cringed. The tone in his mother''s voice sounded like he was in trouble. Myung-Dae was also in the living room observing. ¡°Yes eomma.¡± Sighing before Juhee started talking. ¡°I know you are not that use to women but I do not think dressing up as one in the game will help you understand us better.¡± Myung-Dae laughed so hard before until an icy glare came from his daughter which alerted him to stop. ¡°It was for a quest. I do not have that type of hobby.¡± Frowning Akaro knew if anyone else found out he would have had a very hard time fitting in. Relieved Juhee continued. ¡°Promise me you will tell me before accepting a quest like that. My heart cannot stand the heartache if my sister''s son liked to put dresses on.¡± ¡°I promise eomma. But I did look a lot like mother.¡± ¡°Yeah you did. It was like looking at a ghost.¡± ¡°Can you both tell me more about her?¡± ¡°That''s right you haven''t even gotten a chance to get to know her yet.¡± Myung-Dae interrupted at this point. ¡°My boy she was the most beautiful girl in all of Korea. She also had the personality of an angel. She was very charitable even before she became famous for modelling.¡± ¡°My sister was also very kind. She had no violent tendencies at all. Even when she scolded me she always looked sad as if she did not want to punish me.¡± ¡°Eun Mi was also very intelligent. She was able to even recall what I had for breakfast when she was five years old.¡± ¡°She also had the most beautiful laugh. I mis...¡± Juhee started bawling before she could even complete her sentence. Tears upon tears fell from her beautiful face as she remembered her beloved sister. The memories that sprung up continued to flash before her eyes. Akaro seeing the sadness that his aunt was displaying hugged her. Myung-Dae continued to talk. ¡°When she left us it was not the greatest situation. I forbade her to go with your father but she married him in secret. Then she moved to Japan with your father.¡± In between sobs Juhee responded. ¡°Tha... that devil. Took her away from our family!¡± ¡°Juhee! Enough. He also loved her and he managed to capture her heart.¡± ¡°Father loved her?¡± Akaro was confused. If he loved her so much then why would he be so cruel to him. He couldn''t comprehend the situation. Love was not something he understood. ¡°Yes my boy. Your father was more of a romantic then when I was courting your grandmother. God bless her soul.¡± ¡°I won''t deny it. He was different then he is now.¡± Juhee started to recover from her sadness. ¡°Grandson. Your father loved her too much. As you remind him of her he probably couldn''t stand being near you. But that is no excuse to how he treated you. As long as you''re here we will treat you with love.¡± Myung-Ki asked out of curiosity. ¡°When did grandmother die?¡± A sad expression was on Myung-Dae''s face. ¡°She died of heartache... when eonni died giving birth to you she could not take it anymore.¡± ¡°But it is not your fault. Do not even notion the idea that you killed your mother. She gave her life so you can be brought to this world.¡± Myung-Dae declared before hugging his daughter and grandson. It was such a loving scene. His grandfather and aunt had tears rolling down their eyes. Myung-Ki could feel the emotions his two family members were emitting but because he had not known either his true mother or grandmother he could not replicate the same feelings they were experiencing. Instead he closed his eyes and continue to hug the both of them. ''I promise I will make sure not to cause you this much sorrow.'' He mentally promised as they all just sat there. Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter Volume 1 Chapter 9: Potions, Knives, a Dog, and a Turtle? Chapter 9: Potions, Knives, a Dog, and a Turtle? Akaro took a day off from the game after what had transpired the other night. He spent the whole day with his grandfather and aunt reminiscing about stories of his mother and grandmother. His eomma had two weeks off and like him enjoyed Royal Road as well. So they both logged in the next day. ¡°Akaro I''ll bring you to the potion shop.¡± Nodding Akaro followed his adopted mother to the shop. ¡°Here it is. Now be nice to her regardless of the smell inside. She is one of our loyal customers and my friend in this game. I do not want to hear that you have been rude to her. I must go and get ready at the restaurant.¡± Juhee would be the only one who would take a vacation from her regular work to start working in the game. That was how much she enjoyed cooking. After his eomma left him he entered the shop. Various foul stenches and smells wafted around the room. Akaro was trained to endure these smells and some of the tools and herbs he used in Japan were very similar. ''It''s as if it is a constant use of a ninja black egg.'' ¡°Hello?¡± He called out as there seemed to be no one around. Akaro knew better thanks to his awareness skill. There was one other person here. ¡°Welcome...¡± He heard a lazy drawl of a voice coming from the other room. ¡°I''ve come to purchase some mana ether or elixer.¡± ¡°They are called mana potions here.¡± At last the voice from the room appeared. She had ebony hair that covered her face and large spectacles around her eyes. She walked like a zombie towards the counter as she moved quite slowly. She was about the same age as Cooking Queen in terms of look. ¡°How much do they cost?¡± ¡°10 copper for the basic, 10 silver for the better ones and 1 gold for the really good ones.¡± Akaro stared at her as she seemed to be quite bored with his questions. ¡°How much mana recovers with the basic one?¡± ¡°50...¡± ¡°The better one?¡± ¡°500...¡± ¡°Really good one?¡± ¡°1500...¡± Hearing her answers he started to ponder. Right now he had about 4000 mana so the really good one was sounding the best one to get. Looking at his current money situation he had about 10 gold, 78 silver, and 41 copper. ¡°I can only get 10 of the really good ones... is there a way I can get it for cheaper?¡± ¡°No...¡± The one answers were beginning to annoy him. He then tried to persuade. ¡°Is there anything I can do to get them cheaper? Maybe help you with a request?¡± ¡°No...¡± His persuasion failed immediately. ''Well that didn''t work. I need a lot more potions to even start working with inscribe skill and the pen.'' ¡°You do not need any help around here?¡± Taking a look around at his surrounding he found that everything was a mess. He found various ingredients on different shelves and were not very organized. What caught his eyes were that some of the books were used as place mats for liquid beakers and other strange looking glassware. ¡°No...¡± ¡°That''s a lie. Look at all this mess. Even if you won''t give me a discount I can''t let those books be misused like that.¡± Akaro''s switch was turned on as he started organizing everything. One of his pet peeves would be the mishandling of literature as he treasured his own books and believed people should do the same. The woman just watched as the red head was practically almost finishing tidying up. She saw how he treated the books as if apologizing to them. ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± ¡°Well you looked like you wouldn''t do it. So I helped.¡± Akaro was not a busy body normally but this woman looked helpless. ¡°Thank you...¡± Akaro smiled at her after she thanked him. ''At least she''s polite.'' ¡°Well I can only buy 10 of the really good ones. Can I get those?¡± ¡°Discount... Free for help...¡± ¡°No I cannot do that. I helped you on my own free will.¡± ¡°Free...¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Free...¡± ¡°No.¡± The woman scowled. She never had such a long argument other than a certain chef who dragged her into a restaurant. ¡°Then what do you want to do?...¡± ¡°I''ll buy them normally. If you want to give me one potion free I am fine with that. I don''t want all of them free.¡± ¡°But you helped me...One is not enough...¡± She was really thankful as her shop did look a lot cleaner. She just didn''t have the personality to say it clearly. ¡°Well can you teach me how to make a mana potion? By the way my name is Akaro.¡± ¡°My name is... Poison... I can teach... but it is hard...¡± ¡°Hard for you to teach or hard for me to learn?¡± ¡°Both...¡± Akaro shook his head. He did not really have the time to learn a new skill at the moment. He wanted to finish his knives and he was going to be late to work at the forge. ¡°Can you teach me next time? I''ll buy the potions for now and come back later to learn more from you after?¡± ¡°Not free... you take twenty now... you make twenty later to pay back...¡± ¡°I''ll even make a contract with you. I''ll take twenty really good mana potions now and I will help you make twenty more later.¡± A simple contract but they both signed it. Taking the potions he smiled at Poison. ¡°Thank you for your generosity Poison. I''ll be sure to come back to repay this favour.¡± She smiled back. ¡°Your welcome... your promise... don''t forget...¡± Akaro saw her smile and thought that she had a hidden beauty as her smile was quite honest. Although she was an NPC he treated her like any other woman who showed a pretty smile. ¡°You look prettier smiling like that. I will come back to repay this favour. I won''t forget.¡± He left the store. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned Charm (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to use flattery to persuade the opposite sex. Likelihood to influence decisions of women 5%. Requirement: Persuasion Beginner Lv. 5 Can be increased by the attractiveness stat. Do you want to add the attractiveness stat?[/col][/box] ¡°No.¡± Again he denied the stat. He is starting to learn that his face was quite pleasing to a lot of people although he did not know why. ''I''m just normal.'' All the normal men in the world have cried at that thought. *** Arriving at the Rusty Nail Akaro was greeted by a grumpy blacksmith. ¡°You''re late. Did working for my daughter cause you to get lazy?!¡± ¡°I''m sorry master. I was trying to get potions.¡± ¡°From the old man in the centre of town?¡± ¡°No from Poison-ssi.¡± ¡°From that creepy woman eh... Well I can understand why it took you longer. Actually I have no special work today so you can focus on finishing your damn knives that are taking up space. I''ll handle the repairs.¡± Groans from the line can be heard as the women quickly left to just watch Akaro from a distance. ¡°Thank you master. I''ll be sure to clean this up.¡± Akaro got to work on the knives. Now with twenty mana potions he should be able finish inscribing the knives before he runs out of mana. Using up about four mana potions he finished marking each knife with his name. He grabbed two clamps and placed the knife between them so that the centre of the handle was visible and not obstructed by the clamp. Using a hammer and a sharp steel puncturing tool he poked a hole in the middle of the handle. He continue to do this for each knife but it was a long process because he had to clamp the knives properly or he will damage all the work he had already completed. It was about lunch when he finished puncturing holes on the handles of the knives. On queue, the delivery of food came. Cooking queen came with three bentos as she was going to eat with Melchior and Akaro. ¡°Melchior-nim. Is Akaro doing well as your apprentice?¡± ¡°The boy has more than enough talent to smith. That is why I was making him repair so he can learn the class skill. I''m not going to just give him the class skill. He has to earn it.¡± ¡°Wouldn''t it be easier for you to teach him?¡± ¡°Eomma. It''s okay. He''s letting me use his forge and materials to do the work I want. If it takes longer for me to get the class that is fine with me.¡± ¡°Well as long as you are okay with that. Well I have to go and get back to the restaurant. I heard from Poison-ssi that you helped her clean up the shop and that you called her pretty.¡± ¡°The boy is starting to learn. You better be careful he might break a lot of hearts.¡± ¡°Be that as it may, Akaro please be careful with your words. They can be very effective for an attractive person.¡± ¡°I will eomma.¡± Once his mother left, he went to the pile of wood on the side and just picked up any rectangular piece. He then cut it with the proper length for a handle and cut that in half length wise. Using his photographic memory he grabbed a small sharp chisel and started working on one half to make a groove that the knife handle end would fit in firmly. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned skill Wood Carver (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to manipulate wood using the proper corresponding tool. He smiled after learning the skill. This was a skill very similar to sculpting. But as he was making handles and not pieces of art it was used differently. It was still considered a crafting skill and was affected by his class restrictions.[/col][/box] ''Now I can use it to make the same grooves with no problem.'' Placing the knife in the groove he just carved out Akaro made sure it fit firmly in it before taking a manual hand drill and drilled through the hole and through the piece of wood. As he drilled the squeaks of turning the gear for the tool could be heard. Once the hole was made he put an adhesive on both pieces of wood before putting them together to seal the knife metal handle portion. He then using a leather twine wrapped the two pieces of wood as tightly as possible to prevent the two blocks of wood from separating. He did this ninety-nine more times and stacked all the knives in the corner. They needed about six hours to set and dry before working on them again. ¡°Master. I am running out of food to keep my stamina up so I will be heading to Hunter''s Delight. Did you want me to bring you back some more food?¡± Melchior who was still repairing replied, ¡°Yeah bring me another bento. I''ve forgotten how tedious repairing was.¡± Leaving the Rusty Nail he started walking to the restaurant. As he got to the alley where the back door was he noticed a furry creature lying down on the alley way. Upon closer inspection it was a shiba inu (type of Japanese dog). It looked malnourished and needed water. ¡°I''ll bring you food. Just stay alive.¡± He hurriedly opened the back door and asked his older brother chef''s for a bowl of water and some of the meat. As they saw that Akaro was in a rush they quickly gave him the items. Some of the younger chefs had gotten curious and followed Akaro out the door. He then watched as the red headed boy fed the dog outside. The shiba inu first drank the water and after gaining back some strength started to eat the pieces of meat from Akaro''s hand. It did this slowly at first but started to gobble up everything presented to him. ¡°Younger brother. You are so kind. I''ll grab you more food. That dog still looks pretty hungry.¡± Hearing that her son was just outside Cooking Queen came out. She smiled at the scene as the dog who had recovered was now licking her son''s face. Akaro inspected the dog. It had redish orange and white fur. The two tones created a shape on the forehead that looked like a lightning bolt. ¡°Hey do you want to sign a contract with me?¡± The dog seemed to understand him as it wagged it''s tail. ¡°I Akaro, as your master will take care of you, provide you food and shelter and give you the name Rai. You will listen to every command I give and protect me.¡± As it was a dog it couldn''t sign a paper but it barked in response as if saying yes. Ding. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Rai has accepted the companion contract. All companion contracts will be found under the contract window. Successful commands will be determined by their loyalty to you. You own 1 companion contract. Contract proficiency has increased.[/col][/box] ¡°Rai stat window.¡±
Status Window
NameRai
RaceDogLevel1
Health630Mana0
Stamina150
Loyalty100%
Strength30Agility80
Vitality60Instinct100
Wisdom1Intelligence1
Leadership0Luck60
Attack30Defence30
Combat Skills:
Running HeadbuttATK +75% Consumes 20 stamina Damage received 10% of damage given.
BiteATK +20% Consumes 10 stamina
Special Abilities:
Scent DetectiveAs a canine his sense of smell is much stronger than most animals. He can pick up the scent on anything he had smelled before.
Akaro pat Rai on the head. ¡°You will be quite useful to me Rai.¡± Rai barked and wagged his tail. ¡°My a boy and his dog. Now this is a scene that''s for sure.¡± Looking up from Rai, Akaro saw that his mother, Gasper, and many of the other chefs came to see the two. They all had pieces of food with them. ¡°Let me feed him.¡± ¡°Rai an easy name to remember.¡± ¡°Well at least it''s here in the game and not at our house. I''m allergic to them.¡± ¡°Such a good boy. They totally match well together.¡± They all started petting and feeding the dog. Remembering what he came here to do and asked for a resupply on the dried meat and bread. They gave him extra so that Rai had food as well. He also had two bento for him and Melchior. Returning to the forge Rai barked at Melchior as if saying notice me. ¡°I send you out to get food and you come back with a dog. Are we going to eat him?¡± Melchior eyed the dog which in response Rai whimpered. ''He really does seem to understand us.'' ¡°Don''t worry Rai. I won''t let anyone eat you.¡± Happy to hear his master say that Rai sat beside Akaro as the two ate their dinner. ¡°Rai. Simple name for a simple boy.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Akaro didn''t take that statement as an insult. ¡°Well you two look like you belong together as you both have red fur on your head. I checked your knives and they will still take a bit of time for the glue to hold. You should go and play with your mutt.¡± Akaro took that as permission for him to play with Rai. He never had an actual dog. He raised a wolf in the mountains until it was old enough to hunt on it''s own but this was an actual normal pet. He did not know what the regular reaction to play was. He decided to use the remaining four hours to explore the outskirts and train his dog. Reaching the field he saw a bunch of level one rabbits. ¡°Rai attack!¡± Rai rushed at the closest rabbit and finished it off with a bite. As it disappeared it left behind rabbit meat. Rai brought it to Akaro in which he stashed it in his bag. Akaro was already level 13 and was not going to get experience even if he attacked the rabbits bare handed. So he focused on training Rai. Clearing the rabbits he decided to walk towards the river. Akaro was looking for clay to use for when he was ready to forge his swords. As he was looking he heard Rai barking. Akaro could see at a distance that the dog was barking at a rock from what he can tell anyway. ''Too bad I can''t understand you... wait.'' ¡°Translate!¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have failed to translate.[/col][/box] ¡°Translate!¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have learned Canine Language: Enables you to understand animals listed under this category. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Any language learned will be found in the Language window. INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 LUCK up by 1 Speech up by 50 Level up: Translation (Beginner Lv. 2 39%)[/col][/box] ¡°Master! Master! A moving thingy!¡± Akaro was surprised as now he understood the overly excited Rai. ''Although he''s a bit stupid.'' Remembering Rai''s INT stat was rather low, Akaro sighed. He then walked towards his talking dog. ¡°Rai what is moving.¡± ¡°This master. I tipped him over and he cannot get up.¡± Looking closely at the rock he noticed that it was indeed moving. Upon closer inspection it was a turtle or it looked like one. The colour scheme matched all the rocks around him and even his shell had the camouflage matching the rocks. He picked up the turtle and turned it over. ¡°Sorry for my dogs behaviour. You can go now.¡± The turtle looked at it''s saviour as it eyes sparkled. It walked towards Akaro and made a noise. Already learned the canine language he might as well try to learn this one as well. ¡°Translate.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have learned the Reptilian Language. Level up: Translation (Beginner Lv. 3 20%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Luck up by 1 Speech up by 50[/col][/box] ¡°Thank you for saving me. I want to follow you hyung!¡± ''The turtle just called me big brother.'' ¡°Well do you want to form a contract with me?¡± ¡°Yes. I''ll do anything to stay with you and furry hyung.¡± ¡°I Akaro, will provide food and shelter for you and will rename you Genbu. In return you will follow my command and protect me.¡± ¡°Anything for you hyung.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Genbu has accepted the companion contract. Level up: Contract (Intermediate Lv. 2 20%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 100[/col][/box] ¡°Genbu''s stats¡±
Status Window
NameGenbu
RaceTurtleLevel1
Health1000Mana0
Stamina150
Loyalty100%
Strength10Agility1
Vitality100Instinct10
Wisdom1Intelligence10
Leadership0Luck0
Attack10Defence100
Combat Skills:
Clay SpitterATK +15% Consumes 10 stamina 50% chance to cause blind
Stone FormDEF +50% Consumes 10 Stamina 10 Minute duration
Special Abilities:
Earth EaterDue to being a rare species that live in the mountains, these turtles are able to eat rocks and soil as a way to replenish stamina.
Metal ChewerWhen chewing on metal ore they consume any of the impurities in the metal. Leaving behind a much more pure ore.
Akaro eyes showed complete surprise. This turtle will be very useful for a blacksmith. ¡°Genbu and Rai... you both are still weak so we need to train some more.¡± It has only been an hour since they started training and it was still be a bit before he had to return to the forge. Genbu was really slow but had very high defence. Rai was quick but stupid which usually led him to hurt himself more than the opponent. Then a thought came to him. Lifting Genbu he noticed that he weighed like a rock but he still placed it on Rai''s head. It looked ridiculous as Rai was just barely able to lift his head. The turtles head was just above Rai''s lightning mark. ¡°You two will work together. Rai you hurt yourself trying to headbutt the rabbits but with Genbu on your head you will not take that much damage. Genbu whenever Rai rushes for a head butt use your Rock form to build up your defence so the both of you won''t get hurt.¡± With this new battle plan they trained against the grey and brown rabbits. After a few incidents of Rai dropping Genbu and tripping over him they soon started to work well together. Then they started aiming for the level 5 deer as well. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have trained two animals to fight for you. You can learn to be a beast tamer. Your animal companions will get a boost in their abilities. You can unlock special skills if you have sufficient enough leadership and charisma. Did you want to have Beast Tamer as a recorded Combat Class skill?[/col][/box] ¡°No.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have declined the Class change.[/col][/box] Akaro was just training his companions so they can work together. He was not just going to use his pets to fight for him. It sounded cowardly and his pride will not allow him to put them in any danger he is not willing to be in himself. ¡°Did he just stick a turtle on that dog''s head?¡± "So cute. I want to pet them. But I don''t want to bother him.¡± ¡°Did he get a beast tamer skill. I''m going to ask the information guides on how to get that skill.¡± Players who were observing the red head were quite amazed at his actions. Some just continued to watch him train as they either wanted to watch his animals or liked watching his face. Not once did Akaro intervene in the training of his two pets. He did not need to as they followed his every command and he did not steer them into any danger. He had to feed Rai from time to time to replenish stamina but Genbu would just stick his head into the ground and start chewing on soil and grass. ''Genbu is a good turtle. I do not have to worry about him.'' This continued for the next couple of hours. Both Genbu and Rai grew quite a few levels. ¡°Contract Companion window¡±
Contracted Companions
Companion #NameLevelLoyalty
1Rai7100%
2Genbu6100%
He did not need to look at their stats as they grew by 2 every level up with the exception of health and stamina which grew by 10. Since they did not have any magical attributes they had no mana. So the current stats would only show increased stats but the ratio will stay the same. Genbu will never be faster then he is now and Rai will remain an idiot. Akaro sighed at Rai who was chasing his tail causing Genbu to get dizzy. ¡°Alright guys. Let''s go back to the forge.¡± *** ¡°You leave with a dog and you come back with another animal. Are you trying to make my forge a zoo?!¡± Melchior gave him his opinion on the matter. ¡°They are my companions. I cannot just leave them somewhere.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. A strange looking turtle you got there anyway.¡± ¡°He''s special.¡± ¡°I bet.¡± Not noticing the sarcasm Akaro nodded with a pleasing smile. ''Ingenious at times and then an idiot right after. My apprentice sure is entertaining.'' ¡°Well I already removed the twine for your knives and drilled the holes through the other side. I also hammered in the wooden lock to keep them in place. All you have to do is carve the handles. It was quite slow when you were not here. I kept hearing the adventurers talk about a turtle on a dogs head. That was definitely you.¡± ¡°Thank you for your help master.¡± ¡°You think I did it for free? I''m taking it off your pay.¡± ¡°I understand master.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Akaro then saw the knives that Melchior did some finishing touches to. He grabbed one and used a proper carving knife to work on the handles. Genbu was dropped into a bucket with water and whetstones while Rai had lazily slept near the entrance as it was too hot at the forge. Genbu did not mind the heat as he was technically made out of rock. It also barely floated in the water thanks to how the shell was designed but he would be bobbing in and out of the waters surface continuously. Finishing the shape of one handle, Akaro grabbed sand paper and started smoothing out the edges of the handle. His wood carving skill was slowly growing as he did the same process for every handle. On the last handle he received a pop up message. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Wood Carver (Beginner Lv. 3 10%)[/col][/box] He then got varnish and a rag and started sealing the wood with the varnish to give it the glossy look and keep it safe from moisture. Once all the knives were varnished he place them in warm dry place for it to set once more. This only needed about thirty minutes to do. The last step was the final sharpening and polishing of the metal to give it that shine. As he tried to grab a whetstone he was interrupted by Genbu. ¡°Hyung use me. I''m much better then these lousy stones.¡± ¡°What do you mean use you...?¡± ¡°My belly can sharpen those blades. I want to be useful to hyung. That and I''m bored.¡± Genbu had been watching Akaro for the last six hours as he worked. Grabbing the turtle, Akaro set him up on his shell on the ramp he would usually use for a whetstone. Once set up, Genbu tucked in his two front legs and his head before he started talking in a muffled voice. ¡°You can start hyung.¡± Akaro started to use the turtle as a whetstone and it was working quite well. ¡°Sharpen.¡± Using his skills once more he finished the last sharpening for the knife. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Weapon Sharpen (Beginner Lv 4 20%) Using a rare whetstone no durability was loss. You have created a kitchen knife without the blacksmith skill. Using different methods from regular blacksmiths you have learned a secret subclass.[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Do you want to add the skill under the listed class skills?[/col][/box] ¡°Yes.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Do you want to have it saved under Grandmaster?[/col][/box] ¡°No¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have added Ancient Bladesmith Class under Master. STR up by 30 VIT up by 30 STA up by 30 DEX up by 30 HP up by 500 MP up by 500 Blacksmith skills that have been learned will no longer be restricted Learned Handicraft (Beginner Lv1 1 0%): Enhances crafting skills and has extra effects to certain combat skills Learned Weapon Break (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to decrease a weapons durability in combat. Can decrease the durability by 2 Consumes 300 mana Learned Deconstruction (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to completely deconstruct equipment to its rawest form. The amount is determined by the level and size of the equipment and the level of the deconstruction skill. 2.5% chance to succeed 30% of the material to make the equipment will be recovered Consumes 500 mana Learned Weapon Modification (Beginner Lv. 1 0%)Enables the user to adjust weapons to either increase durability, add special affects, or to completely change the shape. To increase durability raw ore is needed. To add special affects gems and crystals are need. To change the shape a proper hammer is needed 2.5% chance to succeed to add additional properties or durability Changing shape will be determined by the blade smith''s skill Consumes 500 mana Learned Weapon Smith (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to smith any type of weapon. 2.5% Damage increased 2.5% Durability increased[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Special traits of the class: Weapons wielded have 25% more damage Weapons wielded have 25% more durability Armour that has been created will have durability set to 1 Armour that has been created will have defence set to 1 Reduces level requirements of weapons by 100 Reduces level requirements of armor by 50 Enables you to equip weapons regardless of class restriction Enables you to equip weapons regardless of stat restriction Enables you to equip armour regardless of class restriction Enables you to equip armour regardless of stat restriction[/col][/box] Akaro reviewed his skills and then he looked at Melchior. ¡°I got a black smith class I think...¡± ¡°What does your class say?¡± ¡°Ancient Bladesmith¡± Melchior smiled at his apprentice. ¡°Looks like you got a blacksmith subclass. Usually are really good but there are steep penalties. What are your penalties?¡± ¡°Any armor I make will have durability of 1 and defence set to 1.¡± ¡°Pretty much telling you to never make armour. That''s too bad as now you can probably wear any armour. Just none that you have made.¡± Akaro scowled a bit. If he had known he may have just waited until he got the regular blacksmith skill as at least he can make his own armour. He always wanted to try it out after watching his master the last few weeks. Melchior looked at his apprentice and grabbed something from a hidden compartment in the back. ¡°Don''t be so discouraged. You will be able to make fine weapons with that class. My wife also has a subclass. She is also can only make weapons as a Dwarven Weapon Smith. Her armour skills are horrid. Only reason I believe she married me was that I was really good at making armour.¡± Akaro then saw the item that wrapped in dirty rag. ¡°This gift I''m giving you as my first official apprentice. You have graduated and this will help you smith quite a bit better.¡± ¡°Thank you master.¡± Retrieving the gift he opened it and revealed a mythril imbued hammer. ¡°Identify.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have failed to identify[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have failed to identify[/col][/box] Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Melchior''s First Hammer The first hammer that was gifted to Melchior by his own master. It has many years of use and has experienced making many different kinds weapons and armour. Durability: 890/900 Damage: 55-75 Improves created equipment by 20% Requirement: Must have a blacksmith related class Strength 200 Level 100[/col][/box] ¡°Now stop slacking off. You and your turtle have 99 more knives to go. Also feed your mutt. It''s been over 6 hours!¡± Akaro smiled at his master before replying. ¡°Yes Master.¡± Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter Volume 1 Chapter 10: Books are Precious Chapter 10: Books are Precious Akaro had everything he needed to make his swords but he had a promise to keep first. Melchior and Akaro''s contract was now over and he was not obligated to work at the forge. Graduating from apprentice he was now allowed to use the forge at any time he wanted. He was walking down the east side of the city and reached his destination. Opening the doors of the Alchemy Haven, the same musty smell invaded his nostrils. ¡°Poison-ssi. I''m here to repay the favor.¡± The same gloomy woman entered his line of sight. She looked liked she was moving a little faster than when they first met. ¡°Welcome... Akaro...¡± ¡°So what is the first step?¡± ¡°Follow... me...¡± Poison led Akaro to the room she just exited. She had a large black cauldron in a corner of the room bubbling a viscous blue liquid, various ingredients on top of a large oak table and a large book. ¡°Akaro... important to note everything...¡± She handed him a book with blank pages. ¡°To record any recipe''s I''ve made?¡± ¡°Yes..¡± ¡°First recipe... basic mana potion...¡± He took out his enchanted pen and prepared to take notes. ¡°Inscribe on.¡± ¡°Leaf with blue mark...need 10...¡± Akaro wrote down the first step. ¡°Then dry leaves...¡± ¡°Wait... just need ten of those plants? No other ingredients?¡± Akaro was surprised at the simplicity of the basic mana potion. Then again it only replenished 50 mana. ¡°You listen... I teach...¡± ¡°I''m sorry Poison-ssi.¡± Poison had a small smile on her face. She was avoided due to her gloomy look as if she was the ghost in the ring. So her interaction with players was quite minimal. Also most players avoided crafting skills like Alchemy as it is class that requires a lot of work. The moment Akaro had asked her to teach him she felt a bit of joy as she could share her knowledge to someone. ¡°Dry leaves... take at least... 1 day... in sun¡± Poison grabbed some leaves she had dried earlier. ¡°Then grind them...¡± She placed the dried leaves in a mortar and started to pound and grind the leaves. Akaro watched as he was familiar with that tool as when making ninja pills a mortar was needed as well. ¡°Boil water...¡± She had a beaker set up with water and put the burner underneath the glass and it started to heat up. ¡°Add mint...¡± ¡°Mint?¡± ¡°Flavor...¡± He had a sweatdrop on his head. Akaro jotted it down regardless. ¡°Blue leaf... really bland...¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Then put powder in...¡± Nodding his head, he watched as the powder went in but it was still clear. No change in colour happened at all. After a minute of it boiling he started to see it turn a bluish hue. ¡°Ten minutes... basic done...¡± ¡°Wow that does not take that long to make. I guess that''s why it''s basic.¡± ¡°Yes... good pupil...¡± Akaro wrote down the basic formula. ¡°For better... need 50 leaves...¡± ¡°So putting in more increases the potency.¡± ¡°For really good... need 100 leaves... 50 clover...¡± ¡°Clover as well for the one''s that I drank yesterday?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Akaro wrote the last comment down. He was able to use the inscribe skill a bit longer now as he had an increase of mana when he added the blacksmith subclass the other day. ¡°Now... there dry leaves... there clover...¡± As Poison pointed to the two locations of the ingredients, Akaro put his book down and started to count. ¡°Important... exact number... too little turn bad... too much waste...¡± ''If it isn''t exactly like she told me then it would change the effect. Too little made the potency weaker and too much would waste the extra ingredients put in.'' Akaro was getting the hang of understanding Poison''s strange way of talking. After acquiring the ingredients he started following her instructions. It took him ten minutes to make one really good mana potion. ¡°Good job... 19 more...¡± Poison watched her young apprentice as he continued to make potion after potion. By his twentieth potion he received a message. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Completed contract with Poison the alchemist.[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Handicraft (Beginner Lv. 2 28%) Sword Mastery (+6% ATK)[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have learned how to make various mana potions. Would you like to add alchemist as a class skill?[/col][/box] ¡°No.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have declined learning the class.[/col][/box] ¡°Akaro... don''t like alchemy..?¡± Poison was sad as it seemed like her apprentice declined to learn her art. ¡°Poison-ssi. I do like alchemy but I do not want the class right now. I''ll learn the basics though.¡± Lifting her head, she looked at him while he said that. She gave a nod before grabbing the potions. ¡°Good potions... you talented... come back later... learn class... anytime...¡± ¡°If I need to I will definitely come back. I will come back to buy potions from you though. So you will still see me around. Thank you for teaching me.¡± ¡°Good boy... go now...¡± Bowing at the smiling woman he left towards the restaurant first. ¡°Young brother. Rai has been a good dog. Rai go with your master.¡± One of the chefs who was watching Rai while he was out called for the shiba inu. In it''s mouth he carried bentos and the supplies he needed to keep up his stamina and to feed Rai. ¡°Master! What are we doing today?¡± ¡°Going back to the forge. We need to start making a few gifts first for the people who has helped me during my time here.¡± Patting the dog on the head, they both started to walk towards the Rusty Nail. Genbu was chewing on pieces of the ore that Akaro made earlier and spat out the remains in a different pile. ¡°Hyung! Look I helped you make better ore.¡± Proud of his accomplishment, Genbu was looking for acknowledgement from his self proclaimed older brother. ¡°Let me check. Identify.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Mediocre Steel Alloy + As the impurities of the ore have been removed the quality of steel has also improved to a degree. Iron Purity 70% Carbon Content 1.4% Quality C[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Steel Alloy+ Average alloy which purity has improved making it more flexible. Iron purity 80% Carbon Content 0.9% Quality: B[/col][/box] Akaro noted that Genbu can increase the quality of the alloy by one rank after using his Metal Chewer ability. ¡°Genbu you have done well.¡± Genbu started to dance. It was more of a shuffle but it still showed his happiness. ¡°That turtle is a really good for any blacksmith to have. Mind selling him to me?¡± Melchior asked as he could already see the dollar signs in the future if he had become the owner of the turtle. ¡°He''s not for sale. I promised him I''ll take care of him.¡± ¡°Too bad. Well better you then any other blacksmith. As I can always say you are my apprentice. Hahaha. Oh by the way... you should sell your kitchen knives that you finished.¡± ¡°Will do. Can I sell them here?¡± ¡°Of course. Do you want to go with a different contract this time. I already accepted you as an apprentice... how about becoming a partner?¡± Pondering Akaro accepted the notion before a wry smile was plastered on his face. ¡°Then we split the profits 40/60. Sixty for me and forty for you?¡± ¡°Haha my greed has rubbed off on you. As you did majority of the work I do not mind that type of deal. As this is a partnership, do you want to change the name of this forge?¡± ¡°Hmm... I think I know a good name for it.¡± Akaro looked at Genbu before he wrote up the contract. ''I, Melchior, will acknowledge Akaro as a partner for the Iron Turtle. Any equipment sold here will be split forty to sixty depending on who created the item. Costs for raw materials and maintenance costs will be divided evenly. Akaro and Melchior can access the forge at any time.'' Signing the new contract, Akaro shook his master''s hand. ¡°You are my only official apprentice. So don''t give me a bad name.¡± Ding. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Received new title. Graduated Apprentice of Melchior Fame up by 30 Speech up by 40[/col][/box] ¡°Well time for me to get back to work. Make sure you sell those damn knives. They''ve been an eyesore for over a week now.¡± Nodding he set up his usual spot and grabbed the 100 kitchen knives and put one of them on display. Akaro needed to sell them but first he needed to know their attributes. ¡°Identify.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Kitchen Knife of Akaro Durability: 120/120 Damage: 20-50 A knife created by the apprentice of the blacksmith at what was known as the Rusty Nail. Due to the care in forging this knife the durability was quite high and it''s so sharp that cutting pumpkins would be easy to do. Equip: Cooking Skill effectiveness increased by 25% Requirement: No level restrictions. Required strength 10[/col][/box] Now that he knew his product how was he going to sell it. Genbu who was at Akaro''s feet was pulling his pants. ¡°Hyung! Carry!¡± As if picking up a baby, Akaro lifted his turtle and placed it on his red hair. Although Genbu was heavy, Akaro ignored the weight as he continued to ponder on how to sell the knives. Genbu stared at Akaro while bending his head so their eyes met. Akaro than had an epiphany. He could tell a story. He had read about how salesman in the old west would start off spouting out stories to attract customers then he would sell them a miracle cure that was sure to cure all. Using that knowledge Akaro prepared himself go get into character. He needed to be loud like his master but not obnoxious. ¡°To all who aspire to be chefs or just want to cook great tasting food for their family come to the Iron Turtle! I have excellent cooking knives that are so sharp it will cut your preparation time in half!¡± ¡°Is it really that sharp?¡± One of the NPC mothers that heard his message asked. ¡°Is it really that sharp? Let me tell you a story. This forge use to be known as the Rusty Nail but then the old man Melchior chanced upon a rare turtle he changed the name to Iron Turtle. Why was the turtle rare one may ask? Well he would eat the very ground you are walking on and looked to be a child of a mountain. The legend goes when this turtle chewed on any bad iron it would miraculously turn pure as if it was made from the rare iron sands of the east.¡± The small group of NPCs that have gathered were all curious now. ¡°That''s unbelievable.¡± ¡°Why would a turtle eat the ground or metal?¡± ¡°Don''t they live in the water?¡± ¡°I can sense many of you are disbelievers. Lo and behold on top of my head is the very turtle who had provided this miracle.¡± Grabbing a piece of dull looking iron ore he placed it on the counter. ¡°Now watch as I order this turtle to turn this dull looking ore to a much purer form.¡± Genbu was lifted up and also placed on the counter. Already understanding his masters intentions he chewed on the ore and spat it out. It shone brightly in the sun and that was all the evidence the people need to be interested. Akaro who was starting to enjoy telling this tall tale couldn''t help but embellish a bit of the truth. Melchior who was watching his apprentice with a big smile on his face. He knew this boy originally was quite silent when he first arrived at his forge but as the weeks went buy. he started to show similarities with Melchior. Following his example the boy picked up the knack for selling and the value of money. ¡°As you can see it shines in the sun so brightly that it has to have improved in purity. Now these knives I have only 100 of them. I have apprenticed under the great Melchior and he provided me this forge where these knives were crafted. As you can tell from it''s gleam this is a very rare knife. I''m willing to part ways with it for 15 silver. As I have only a limited supply I can sell knives to the first 100 clients in line.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have told a story of Genbu, your pet turtle and his ability to clean the impurities of ore. You have told this story with passion and wonder that the crowd was enticed to hear more and be willing to purchase from you. The people who buy your knives will remember this story and they will retell it to their friends and family. Iron Turtle fame has increased Melchior the blacksmith fame has increased Fame up by 10[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Storytelling (Beginner Lv. 5 30%) INT up by 2 WIS up by 2 Speech up by 100 Art up by 30[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Persuasion (Beginner Lv. 9 34%)[/col][/box] They all started to crowd around trying to be the first one in line. ''I cannot believe that worked. This Akaro is already different from the real me. Or is it the real me?'' Having no time to dwell on that thought he took out the first knife. The first customer seemed to be a mother with children. ¡°I would like to purchase one of your knives please.¡± As she was showing a blush the greediness that was seeded in his soul began to sprout. It''s as if his persona took on the personality of a shrewd businessman. ¡°For you lovely madame I''ll be happy to but alas. This won''t do...¡± The mature lady looked confused and slightly concerned that she would not be getting one of the rare knives. He looked at the woman and smiled with a wink. ¡°For such a lovely lady I cannot just leave this knife as it is. You have a cute daughter so a cute symbol is needed on the knife. Would you like me to personally inscribe our forge''s name and a picture of a turtle on the handle? It''s only another 5 silver. I''ll even let you pick the color.¡± Akaro needed to work on his inscribing and illustration skills. He also used charm as it was a woman in front of him. Now that he''s been playing the game just over two weeks in real life non-stop, he was beginning to understand that he needed to use his skills more often as the bonuses would just help him in the long run. The woman blushed as she saw him wink. ¡°Yes. Please do! My daughter''s favourite colour is pink.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Charm (Beginner Lv 3 20%)[/col][/box] With a charming smile Akaro took out Belthazar''s pen and thought pink for the colour. He used inscribe first to write the name, Iron Turtle, on one side of the handle and used illustration to draw a picture of Genbu on the other side. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Inscribe (Beginner Lv. 8 25%)[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Illustration (Beginner Lv. 4 30%)[/col][/box] He then got paid 20 silver and Akaro gave the knife to the woman. She showed the picture to her daughter who smiled at him. ¡°Can I pet the turtle?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Genbu who was getting lightly petted by the little girl did his shuffle dance which the crowd all thought was quite cute. It also helped that a majority of the crowd were mothers who had children. ¡°Next please.¡± ¡°I''ll pay the 20. I want my turtle in blue!'' One after one, the knives slowly were disappearing. The line only had a bout fifty NPCs and the rest were actually new adventurers. They heard a rumour of a knife that was stronger then the beginner sword was being sold for 15 silver. Once the last knife was sold he called out. ¡°I''m sorry everyone but I have run out of stock. But do not fret. Melchior here can make fine weapons and when I''m around I can take orders as well.¡± The crowd of people left. Some were happy that they manage to get a knife and others were trying to buy the knives off of the NPCs. Cooking Queen had come by with two bento''s for both him and Melchior. Even though the original contract ended, Gasper kept sending Melchior meals. ¡°Your son did rather well selling some good cooking knives to the public. He picked up my greedy sales tactics like a proper apprentice.¡± Juhee frowned as she did not like how an NPC was beginning to influence her son. ¡°Just tell me he did not lie to the people.¡± ¡°He did not lie. He just made it sound more exciting.¡± Akaro smiled as both him and Melchior gave each other a wink. ¡°Aigoo... next your going to tell me you will be writing like abeoji.¡± ¡°You don''t have to worry about that eomma. Gramps did not tell me to start writing.¡± ¡°Good.¡± What he didn''t tell her that he had started on that path long before Myung-Dae was even a factor. ¡°Eomma can you take Rai with you. He seems to not like the heat and I''m sure the hyungs would like to play with him.¡± ¡°No problem. Rai come with me. Do you want some tasty chicken? I made some earlier and I have a lot of scraps.¡± Wagging it''s tail Rai barked. What Akaro heard from his pet was "food!". He smiled at his simple dog. After they ate lunch Akaro then started going through the improved mediocre steel. He decided to make gifts out of the steel for his older brothers in the restaurant. He made a set of chef knives for all the younger chefs. With a proper class he was able to make the knives quicker and so much better than the ones he just sold. He also used some of the ore to make a new sign for the forge and gave it to Melchior to hang up. Genbu already knew his role as being Akaro''s blacksmith tool. He wanted to be used for it after all and the more he was relied on the happier he felt. He was also elated to find out the forge was named after him. Akaro was working quicker and a lot more efficient with his Ancient Bladesmith skills. He wanted to get his weapon smith level much higher before he started working on his katana. After completing the gifts for the younger chefs which took him a couple of days to complete about eight sets of eight different knives, he started asking Genbu to start spitting out workable clay. ''I need to first make tamahagane steel.'' Akaro wanting a big batch started working the clay Genbu provided. He made a tatara, which was a clay tub furnace smelter that he placed in the forging area. It was quite large but with the amount of steel he wanted it was necessary. After making the tatara he needed to wait for it to harden and dry. Once the clay tub was dry he started putting coal to start the heating process. This was an important start so he told his mother and Melchior he will be working on this for the next three days with no rest. He couldn''t afford to let the heat drop or stop mixing in iron sand and charcoal every ten minutes. Acquiring the very pure iron sand from Melchior cost him his profits for the next couple of months but that was fine with him. The steel he was making needed only the finest ingredients and the utmost attention. He began to shovel iron sand and charcoal on top of the opening for the tatara. This was usually done with a lot more people but as it was a game he was able to accomplish this on his own. This continued on for days. Melchior even closed the shop as he knew Akaro would probably need help while doing this. He helped with shovelling the charcoal after Akaro shovelled in the iron sand. They would both start turning over the mixture from time to time. Being an NPC fatigue hit him regularly as the virtual world was his real world and time was moving at his pace. On the fourth day Akaro was satisfied with what he has done and only prayed that there will be a lot of steel for him to work with. As he stopped stoking the flames it started to cool enough for him to break the clay tub he made three days ago. Clearing out the debris he and Melchior took out the steel. To most people they would see giant mass of metal but to Akaro''s trained eyes he knew his work succeeded. He saw many layers of steel he can use. He also had a trump card in improving it. ¡°Genbu. Listen carefully. I will direct you on what to bite off and how to separate it properly. There will be three types of steel we will get out of this if done right.¡± ¡°Alright hyung.¡± He didn''t need to break off the metal as that could mix the steel together. Using Genbu for this job not only increased the quality of the steel but the risk of damaging his work has lessened. ¡°It''s spicy.¡± Akaro only shook his head at the turtle''s description. ''How can metal be spicy?¡± This went on for hours and Akaro would identify each ore piece that Genbu would spit out. He made sure the went to the right pile. The three piles he made had different forms of tamahagane. "Identify" Succeeding the first time he inspected each metal alloy. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Tamahagane type Hagane+ Extremely hard steel made using the methods of an ancient tribe in the east. No flexibility. Iron purity 100% Carbon Content: 1.0% Quality: S[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Tamahagane type Kawagane+ If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.A mixture of hard and soft steel using methods of an ancient tribe in the east. Moderate flexibility. Iron Purity 100% Carbon Content: 1.0% Quality: S[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Tamahagane type Shigane+ A very soft steel using methods of an ancient tribe in the east. Extremely flexible. Iron Purity: 100% Carbon Content: 1.0% Quality: S[/col][/box] The amount of steel he procured was easily enough to make 100 katana if he wanted to but he only need to make four in total. He was going to also make another set of chef knives for his mother and for Gasper. His skill as a swordsmith would be tested the moment he started working with the steel. He needed to be fast and accurate in order for him to fold the katana correctly. For this to be accomplished he first made the knives he was going give us as gifts to his mother and Gasper. Because of the quality of the ore his weapon smith skill would rise quite a bit even if he was just making knives. After making the sixteenth knife that was part of his mother''s set of eight he called out his Ancient Bladesmith skill window. As he had been ignoring pop ups during this whole process. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Ancient Bladesmith Repair (Intermediate Lv. 1 40%): Enables you to repair weapons and armors. Beyond Lv. 5, you can forge new weapons and gears. No loss in durability when repairing Consumes 50 mana Smelting (Intermediate Lv 2. 20%): Enables you to draw out the raw material out of various items and compound it to a solid form of raw material for use in a forge. Weapon Sharpening (Intermediate Lv. 2 23%): Enables the user to sharpen blade weapons using traditional methods. Increases Attack power of the weapon by 24% Requires a whetstone Wood Carver (Beginner Lv 8. 10%): Enables the user to manipulate wood using the proper corresponding tool. Handicraft (Beginner Lv. 7 10%): Enhances crafting skills and has extra effects to certain combat skills Sword Mastery increased by (+21% ATK) Weapon Break (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to decrease a weapons durability in combat. Can decrease the durability by 2 Consumes 300 mana Deconstruction (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to completely deconstruct equipment to its rawest form. 2.5% chance to succeed Consumes 500 mana Weapon Modification (Beginner Lv. 1 0%)Enables the user to adjust weapons to either increase durability, add special affects, or to completely change the shape. 2.5% chance to succeed Consumes 500 mana Weapon Smith (Intermediate Lv. 1 15%): Enables the user to smith any type of weapon. 30% Damage increased 30% Durability increased[/col][/box] Akaro''s main focus was his Weapon Smith skill. It had reached intermediate thanks to the sixteen chef knives he just completed. Normally that would be a big deal in the game but because Akaro has not used the internet to post videos or actually showed his skill to anyone other than his mother he was left alone. Also his level was a measly level 13. He did not feel the need to brag about the skills he has or obtained. For the most part players just thought he was a blacksmith. It was now time to work on the first katana. Grabbing a piece of parchment he inscribed a Shinto prayer on the piece of paper. Then grabbing a good handful of Shigane pieces, put them in a pile carried by a steel spatula he made earlier after making the knives. Then drenching the parchment with a mixture of ash and wet clay from Genbu he started heating the metal. Once it was hot enough to work with he hammered it with his new mythril hammer. He made a long and thick rectangular piece which then set aside to cool. He repeated this step three times for the Shigane as this was going to be the core of his katana. As the Shigane were cooling he started a similar process with the Kawagane but the main difference was he did this eight times instead of four. He also made them slightly thinner as these were going to be connected on each side of the core. Heating up the core he would hammer the Kawagane and Shigane together. The last step was the most tedious as it dealt with folding. Preparing the Hagane he needed to be quick as this was harder ore and heating it up constantly would make it slightly weaker. Also as this was the outside of the blade he needed to fold it continuously before fusing it with the core. He had to do this with the Hagane sixteen times. As he needed enough steel to cover the core completely on all sides. Thicker steel for the blade portion and thinner pieces to protect the core but still be able to be flexible enough to block blows without too much of a vibration. This whole process if done right took him another two days. To set up all the pieces and to fuse all the metal together before making the shape of the katana. During this process both Genbu and Melchior watched Akaro work like a machine set on automatic until he was forced to eat to keep up his stamina. ''The amount of work he did in the last few weeks does not even amount to what he has done in the last few days.'' His diligence was from years of discipline and pride in his work. Most players would not spend this much time on forging a sword. Myung-Ki was also not a typical teen who focused on socializing amongst peers but would rather spend it with family, training, or reading a book. His newest hobby, Royal Road, allowed him to do all three. There was now four katanas that are ready for the hardening process. ¡°Genbu. I need a lot of clay again.¡± ¡°Yes hyung.¡± To harden the steel it need to be heated to set temperature before soaked in cool water. Akaro had propped up the first katana on two pieces of wood that held it for him as he used a brush to cover the katana in a layer of clay. This would protect the blade once it was cooled. Once the katana was covered in clay he would then mix in some ash and charcoal powder into the clay, he then made another clay line separating the sharp edge and the covering the back of the blade. This will help curve the blade as the back of the blade would cool much slower then the blade portion which was covered only once with just clay. The design of his ash-clay line looked like as if the blades were kissed by flickering flames. That''s how his hamon or blade design would look like once the sword has hardened. After applying the clay on all the swords he asked Melchior if he can cover the windows and the doors to prevent any excess light to come in. This step was crucial as he had to heat up the blade once more to begin the hardening method but he needed to take it out at the right colour once the steel was heated. The colour when he took out the blade was a bright red as if looking at the sun during sunset. He cooled it with water and watched as the natural curve developed. The blade portion hardened first while the back of the blade curved due to still having more clay which slowed the cooling down slightly. Each blade was done exactly the same way. The rough sharpening was the next step. He used whetstones as Genbu''s underbelly was very fine and it would be easy for him to sharpen them too well. He had to wait to use Genbu for sharpening once the sword was ready for the final sharpening. He had roughly sharpen it to inspect to see if there was any mistakes made during this whole process. As an artisan of the sword, he would hate to show the world an imperfect blade. During this whole process Cooking Queen would watch from a distance as she was worried he would overwork himself. As in the game it was close to a week but it was about a day as he missed both breakfast and lunch and she was worried he would starve. She knew not to bother him though as the seriousness of his face spelled out interrupt me and die. *** Serenity had finally returned to the game after being quite busy with her real life schedule. She wanted to find out what happened after she left and she had a long conversation with Madame Orchid. She was told by the half-dwarf that she found a replacement for the female model and that it was Akaro who had found her. Due to his assistance Orchid had made a gift for him a set of leather armour and a scarf. Serenity''s thanked her master as she was given the quest to deliver it to Akaro. As she walked towards old man Melchior''s forge she was surprised that it had a change of name and that his sign looked a lot more modern. She saw an older beauty in a cheongsam or chinese outfit and an adorable dog beside her. They were both watching the same thing. ¡°Excuse me, is Akaro here?¡± ¡°Ssh. Do not bother him right now. He''s really focused. Who are you?¡± Juhee asked the shorter girl who had a cute face and hair cut. Bowing Serenity replied to the older woman. ¡°I''m Serenity of Spool and Thread. I''m here to deliver Madame Orchid''s gift for his help during the clothing reveal.¡± ¡°You can leave it with me. I''ll give it to him once he''s done.¡± ''I''m not going to let you ruin my chance on seeing him.'' ¡°It is my quest so I need to see it through.¡± ¡°Sure your ''quest''. I''m pretty sure you here to just try to get your hands on my son.¡± ''Oh no... this is his mom!'' ¡°I''m sorry if I seem to be rude Akaro''s mother. But we are friends and I have not seen him as my work prohibited me to play for a while.¡± Juhee sighed as she pet Rai on the head. ¡°You can wait here with me. He''s not done yet.¡± *** The young man in question was now working on creating a saya or scabbard for the blades. The two swords he set aside as gifts, was made to look more traditional with a hilt and using rope like fabric with the wooden handle. He needed to trace the blade on the wooden pieces he was going to use for the scabbard portion. After tracing the outline using a sharp chisel he planed the inside portion of the trace he just made. He needed to make it tight enough for it to stay still but spacious enough for the person to draw the blade. Once that was done he glued the two pieces of wood together and wrapped a rope like fabric around the wood to keep tightly together. He did this for all four swords. The only difference were the ones he was taking for his own use. There was no hand guard and the saya and handle met flawlessly. As he had to wait he wiped sweat of his brow. He had lost his chest piece due to it losing durability while worked closely with the heat. So when he walked outside for some fresh air he was greeted with whistles from women passing by, a scowling mother and a blushing friend. Rai fortunately broke the awkwardness by launching himself towards his master who he had not seen for a while. Getting licked on the face, Genbu, who slowly walked by found it''s way to Rai''s head. He then latched himself to the familiar position. ¡°Akaro-ssi. Here wear these clothes.¡± Serenity with a blushing face gave the package to Akaro. She saw him shirtless once before so she did not faint this time. ¡°Akaro go inside and change before I hit you.¡± ¡°Yes eomma.¡± Akaro left and came back out with a new look. His leather armour matched his training gear perfectly. Each pocket counted as extra inventory as he soon came to find out. It was made of hard deer leather and it was dyed a dark red colour that could match his hair. It had black contrast with the sleeve and neck portion which looked like a thin turtleneck. The scarf was his favourite item. It was made to cover half his face with a black spandex like material that stayed on his face. The scarf would start from black in the middle before fading to a crimson red at the end. The clothing showed that it was made by a master. ¡°Inspect armour¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Chest of the Red shadow Leather chest armour created by the master tailor of Spool and Thread. Following the sketches of a ninja it was dyed to match the ninja''s preference. Defence: 50 Durability: 400 Inventory increased by 20 slots Stealth increased by 30% Requirement: AGI 100 Level 55[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Pants of the Red Shadow Leather leg armour created by the master tailor of Spool and Thread. Following the sketches of a ninja it was dyed to match the ninja''s preference. Defence: 30 Durability: 350 Inventory increased by 20 slots Stealth increased by 30% AGI increased by 25% Requirement: AGI 120 Level 50[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Scarf of the Red Shadow A silk scarf that hides the users face. The tailor of Spool and Thread made it to prevent any unwanted attention. Defence: 20 Durability: 500 Stealth increased by 30% Requirement: AGI 70 Level 50[/col][/box] Akaro was happy that the blacksmith class allowed him to wear armour and weapons that were above his current level. He took the limits though as guidelines on what is the best level to use said equipment. He was literally the strongest character under level 15 in the game. He could probably take on a level 50 with little to no problems. He did not understand that due to his experience in real life, the game was having a hard time to continue to restrict him as what Akaro was doing was not normal for most gamers to do. Walking back outside in full gear he looked quite mysterious and menacing. ¡°Wow that looks really good on you. It''s as if you could assassinate anyone with it.¡± Serenity was the first to comment. ¡°Master looks cool.¡± ¡°SO COOL HYUNG!¡± ¡°This does actually suit you and your personality more.¡± Akaro smiled behind the scarf. ¡°Can you please send my thanks to Madame Orchid and tell her that the clothing is amazing? Nothing less from a master tailor.¡± ¡°I sure she''ll be happy to hear that. Are you doing anything now?¡± ''Tsk. This girl is already on the offensive.'' ¡°Son. Mother is worried about you. Can you log out and eat now and then just log back in after? I''m sure they will be dry once you come back online.¡± ¡°I''m sorry Serenity. My eomma is right. I haven''t eaten anything in real life yet. I will see you later.¡± ¡°Yeah no problem. I''ll be around from time to time. Promise me a date okay?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Akaro logged off. ¡°Eomma why did she want a sweet fruit?¡± Juhee looked at her son with a bit of shame. ''Poor girl.'' *** After a quick meal he logged back in and just like his mother said the saya were now dry enough for him to carve and sand. Once they were all smooth he varnished all of them with an onyx colour. He then checked to make sure the scabbard and the blade did not stick together. He then grabbed Genbu. ¡°Time for the last polish. Your belly skin is quite fine and perfect for sharpening. Thank you for all of your help.¡± ¡°No problem hyung.¡± He sharpened all the blades with Genbu for the final time. Putting them back all in their scabbards he took the one he was going to gift to Melchior. Using the illustration skill and Belthazar''s pen he designed the scabbard with hammers, anvils and gold pieces. On the blade itself he inscribe a short haiku. ''Hammer thy Spirit Grasp your Soul''s Prosperity Bring to life your work'' Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have created an incredible weapon. Will you give it a name?[/col][/box] ¡°Melchior''s Spirit¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have created a masterpiece of a weapon. Due to your discipline you have surpassed your intermediate skill.[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Melchior''s Spirit Durability 1000/1000 Damage: 150-250 Created to reflect the apprentice''s affection towards his master. The intricate design on the scabbard and poem on the blade help boost it''s attractiveness as an art piece. Equip: +20% ATK Damage +20% ATK Speed +20% Luck Requirement: Level 200 STR 200+ VIT 150+ DEX 100+[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]STR up by 3 VIT up by 3 DEX up by 3 Speech up by 100 Art up by 100 Level up: Weapon Smith (Intermediate Lv. 3 48%) Level up: Weapon Sharpening (Intermediate LV 3. 70%) Level up: Wood Carving (Intermediate Lv 1 30%) Level up: Inscribe (Beginner Lv 9 10%) Level up: Illustration (Beginner Lv. 5 0%)[/col][/box] Akaro wasn''t done there. He grabbed the blades he made for his personal use. ¡°Inscribe.¡± He wrote down the kanji for the sword he will use with his right hand. It read ''Yusuke'' with the kanji for the direction right. On his other katana, he wrote ''Sasuke'' (TN: Not Naruto) with the kanji for the direction left. Only other Japanese people would be able to read what was inscribed as it would not mean the same thing in any other language that uses these same characters. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Due to having been made the exactly the same way you have created a new class of weapon. You have created dual sword weapons. What will you name them?[/col][/box] ¡°Yusuke of the Right and Sasuke of the Left.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Yusuke of the Right and Sasuke of the Left. Durability 1000/1000 Damage 100-200 Twin ancient blades of the east that cannot be used separately. Each designated for the hand it was named after. The flame like design on blades edge increased its beauty as even enemies would have to stop and stare at the dangerous weapon. Equip: +30% ATK Damage for Dual weapons +30% ATK Speed for Dual weapons AGI 50 Requirement: Level 110 STR 70+ VIT 70+ DEX 50+ Must have Dual Sword Mastery skill[/col][/box] Akaro was really happy with the two swords. Even though he did not make them as fancy as Melchior''s gift, he did not mind as they were to be used for actual combat. When he equipped the two blades in the designated slot just above the joint where the spine and hip met behind his back. They fit snugly behind him and it felt like they were meant to be there. The last blade he will finish at a later time. Akaro then took Melchior''s Spirit and gave it to his master. ¡°This is an extremely powerful weapon. Are you sure you want to give it to me? I just may sell it one day.¡± ¡°This is for all that you have taught me.¡± ¡°I didn''t teach you anything about being a blacksmith.¡± ¡°But you taught me the value of money.¡± ¡°Of course. An idiot like you would have sold all your hard work for peanuts if I didn''t drill it in your head that us blacksmiths don''t do charity work.¡± Bowing to his master, Akaro called Genbu and Rai. ¡°Master where are we going?¡± ¡°To get some food and hand out some gifts to the people who have been providing us food.¡± Upon hearing food Rai''s tail wagged furiously. The trio went to the Hunters delight and was greeted like he would normally be. ¡°Haha. So it''s true about the dog who wears a turtle as a hat.¡± Gasper was laughing at the two pets. He then looked at the leather package Akaro was holding. ¡°Here is a gift as a thank you for all your help and generosity.¡± Akaro handed over the most expensive looking chef knife set to both his mother and Gasper. ¡°These are quite beautiful. Thank you my son. I will cherish them. Item window.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Iron Turtle Chef Knives Deluxe Durability: 1000/1000 Damage: 50-90 Various knives with various purposes. A must have for any master chefs. Equip: Cooking skills 75% more effective AGI up by 20 DEX up by 30 Requirements: No level requirements AGI at 50 DEX at 50[/col][/box] ¡°It seems to say that you have learned a proper skill there. These knives will cut my cooking time in half... no even more so. It was a good thing I helped you with Melchior. I feel bad that the other chefs won''t have these as well. They look rather expensive.¡± ¡°I did not forget my older brothers.¡± Akaro handed the slightly weaker versions to the young chefs. ¡°With this I can open my own restaurant.¡± ¡°I could never afford my own set of knives.¡± ¡°Yeah. We got these for free. Look!¡± ¡°I have the same one, you idiot.¡± The camaraderie of the restaurant was like another home to him. They closed the restaurant as they were all happy and wanted to celebrate. They all drank beer until it was early in the morning. Walking with Rai and Genbu they headed towards a neglected location. ''I need to clean up the library. Probably all dusty as it has been about two months.'' Opening the door to the Library of Rosenheim he received a message. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Special Event: The reign of the Rat King and Spider Queen DUNGEON: You are the very first player to discover Ruined Library of Rosenheim Reward: Fame +100. Every day for one week, double EXP and double item drops. The rarest items will drop from killing the first monster of each type. Subsequent kills will drop common items.[/col][/box] Upon entering he looked through the door. ''NOOOOOOOOOO! MY BOOOOOOOKS!'' End Volume 1. Previous Chapter<>Next volume Author Notes, Updates, Corrections, random tests(Last Update 12/06/15) Saw that a page like this will be helpful for people to point out any corrections that I need to make and it will be easier to track down discussions that fellow writers, fans, and I started. Please try to use this to help me keep track of mistakes and inconsistencies for me to fix. Thank you everyone. ***June 12, 2015*** Chapter Progression: Volume 1: Rewrite Volume 2 Chapter 1: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 2: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 3: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 4: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 5: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 6: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 7: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 8: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 9: Posted Volume 2 Chapter 10 Status:
Currently working on rewrites for Volume 1. Thank you for the ongoing patience. Once I finish new chapters will start up again. Thanks again for enjoying my work.s.
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] CHARACTER LIST (So Far) Miyamoto Akaro/Nu Myung-ki/Akaro (avatar): Our loveable dense ninja blacksmith librarian is the main character of the story. Family: Miyamoto Hanzou (Deceased): Grandfather Nu Myung-Dai: Grandfather Miyamoto Eun Mi (Deceased): Mother Miyamoto Kenshiro: Bastard... I mean Father Miyamoto Sakura: Step-mother Miyamoto Kenji: Step-brother Miyamoto Hanabi: Step-sister Kim Juhee/Cooking Queen (avatar): Aunt and now Mother by adoption Family related characters: Park Hye Su/Sue (avatar): Juhee''s best friend and coworker Park Yong Suk/Goliath (avatar): Hye Su''s dark gamer son Dong-Sun: Myung-Dai''s confidant and attendant Friends Kusanagi Kiyomi/Anko (Avatar): Childhood friend Ru Hwa Young/Serenity (Avatar): First friend in game Friend related characters: Kusanagi Tatsumi: Kiyomi''s doting father and leader of the Kusanagi Yakuza Kusanagi Saaya: Kiyomi''s mysterious mother who likes to tease her daughter Song Young Soon: Ru Hwa Young''s best friend and manager. Pets/Companions/Familiars Rai: Trusty idiotic savant dog, part of the dynasty brother trio Genbu: Mountain Turtle, part of the dynasty brother trio Byakko: White cat who fights for justice, part of the dynasty brother trio Kuroneko: Black cat who is one of the smartest yet has a sadistic personality. Kogane: Golden fur red fox who has a strange attraction to Akaro. Hikaru: White fur red fox who has a strange appetite for fireflies. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.Kagerou: Black fur red fox who has a trickster mentality. Suzaku: A cardinal falcon who can be said to be a gentleman amongst gentleman. Yasu: An eagle Owl who takes scatterbrain to a whole new level Seiryuu: A vibrant green river snake that likes to tell lies and can be a tsundere at times. Tsukino: A mad white rabbit and by mad I mean someone you don''t leave around your food. NPC: Joshua: Previous Library owner/Scholar Melchior: Blacksmith master in game/partner at the Iron Turtle Madame Orchid: Master Tailor/Serenity''s master/Melchior''s daughter Ezekial: Will rename the training instructor to this in rewrite Quest NPC: Toxingfangs: A lieutenant of the spider race and soon to be general. Venomstorm the second: New King of the spider race Characters introduced but not yet sorted: TBA [/col][/box]
Dynasty Brothers: Genbu, Rai, and Byakko* ( 20 votes )21.28% Kuroneko ( 9 votes )9.57% Kogane ( 7 votes )7.45% Twins ( 3 votes )3.19% Suzaku ( 9 votes )9.57% Seiryuu ( 10 votes )10.64% Yasu ( 17 votes )18.09% Tsukino ( 19 votes )20.21% Results of Pet Popularity Contest 1. Oh my this is a horrible Map but here goes. MAP KEY: Yellow: Human territory, City on the main land is Four Swords City. City on the island is the Human capital Demascus City. Grey: Dwarven territory, City: Black Anvil city Red: Orc territory, City: Burning Stone City Green: Elven Territory, City: Moonleaf City Light blue: Darkness coalition: City: Bloodmoon City Mauve: Feral Coalition territory, City: Suntail City IF ANYONE CAN DRAW ME A BETTER MAP PM ME!!! Volume 2 Chapter 1: The Meeting of the Dynasty Brothers Chapter 1: The Meeting of the Dynasty Brothers The city Serabourg is a good location for many new players to Royal Road. One of the most well guarded locations with it''s city guards and roman like military system. It was easy place to take haven from monsters and player killers. Due to its higher security the likelihood of a place for new players to level up against monsters in the city should be close to none. Unfortunately one young man had to be part of the one percent that did not have the ease to just relax in the city. The owner of a neglected library had been gifted with a special dungeon involving his building. This felt it was like the game itself wanted him to suffer as he was technically a cheat character. Not in the terms of being a hacker and modifying the programming as that would have been a lot easier to catch and administer punishment to as it was an illegal act. The game was troubled by the ability of this certain player to go past the realm of the restrictions for certain classes and skills just due to his real life experience. The virtual reality game boasted it''s realism and freedom of choice but it never expected a player who had train all his life in different aspects such as survival, combat, and the being an artisan of sword making. There was also his ability to read through books like a machine and memorize everything that he had just finished reading All those experiences combined Akaro was rewarded with a legendary class, secret sub class for a blacksmith, powerful equipment for a low level character, and to top it off two pets. The game just decided that he needed to suffer a little bit for pushing the system so far. In the Library of Rosenheim a certain red headed youth had a look of despair on his face. His library filled with his books was now the abode of two different entities. One was the Rat King who had taken strong hold in the basement and the other was the Spider Queen who resided in the second floor. The main floor unfortunately became a breeding ground for dozens upon dozens of mice. ¡°Hyung are you okay?¡± Genbu, who was still on the head of his furry brother, said in concern. He had watch his brother stand silent for over ten minutes. It was an eerie situation. Rai unfortunately had better instincts then Genbu and he all to well knew that his master was not feeling happy. He started to back away as he felt what was going to happen next. ¡°Genbu. We need to stay back for a bit.¡± ¡°Why Rai-Hyung?¡± ¡°Just watch.¡± Akaro just finished having a really good day. He finished making his swords and he obtained a blacksmith class. He also had a few drinks with his hyungs at the Hunters Delight. So some could say he was on top of the world until the wheels of fate decided to play a prank and spun forward to the worst day possible for him. ''Pages everywhere... History of Rosenheim... the knight of holy light legends... the biology of foxes...'' He was listing all the books he saw were completely ruined and need to be repaired or completely replaced. Like a chant his inner thoughts were becoming vocal. A red aura was beginning to form around him. In front of him were a bunch of mice chewing and eating various books. These mice did not stop at the edges or the corners of the books that they have started to consume. Some of the books actually looked like they were Swiss cheese as there were many holes chewed through them. That was not the only atrocity as a lot of the books spine where the glue held the pages together had been chewed through and papers floated everywhere. Some just on the ground or on spider webs. Looking up at the second floor, he noted that it looked like a cloud from the sky outside was taking refuge in his library. Akaro could see that the spiders webs were really thick and dense. He can probably guess that he can walk on it if he could get on the second floor. This fuelled his rage even more as he did not know what mayhem was occurring to the various scrolls and other irreplaceable literature. The only positive thing was that the spiders and the mice seem to not have gotten along as there were traces of various battles between the two. Regardless of the fact that there won''t be a collaboration of their two forces, Akaro simply did not care in his current state. ¡°Ha... haha... hahahaha....¡± ¡°Why is hyung laughing?¡± ¡°Ssh. Just watch. Master is going to go berserk. Can''t you feel it? The danger around him.¡± ¡°Rai-hyung. I''m scared.¡± Akaro had started laughing while one hand was placed on his forehead. His eyes were closed but he continued to laugh. This caught the attention of many of the mice and spiders alike. Unlike the spiders the mice were braver when they had the number advantage. They soon turned their whisker filled faces towards the laughing madman. The he stopped laughing which seem to have increased the tension in the air. The red aura around him seemed to have grown. Looking up, Akaro countenance was quite dark. Taking out some needles he put them between his fingers. These weren''t the generic sewing needles that are quite small. These were shinobi needles that were quite large and was built for piercing flesh to reach to the veins and arteries of enemies as it was usually laced with poison. He had made various throwing weapons out of the extra ores of steel that wasn''t used for his chef-hyung''s knives while he waited for their handles to dry. ¡°SHIIII-NEEEE!!!!" (Die) All at once the silence was broken and as if a dam broke, the rage within the red head burst out. He threw several needles at groups of mice each piercing them before they disappeared in a grey flash. This was not the careful movements of a trained ninja but rather a tempest contained in human form. Once he had run out of needles he switched to shuriken. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned Throwing Mastery (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user the ability to throw various projectile weapons using ones hands. AGI up by 1 DEX up by 1 Fighting Spirit up by 1[/col][/box] The level difference between the mice and him was large and in his favour. The mice on the main level were ranging between level 5 to level 10. What the real issue was the staggering number count of the mice. Akaro can kill one mouse with no issues. The main issue is when they started swarming but he was not deterred. He knew he was out numbered a thousand to one but again that did not matter to the current Akaro. ¡°Hyung looks scary...¡± Genbu shuddered as he watch his older brother throw shuriken, needles, and kunai at a lot of mice. ¡°We should help master but...¡± ¡°I know Rai-hyung. We don''t want to get in the way. How about we gather all the things the mice were dropping.¡± ¡°There was something shiny after first mouse die. Let''s grab the shiny!¡± Genbu and Rai walked casually around picking up the various japtem and gathering them for their master. The shiny object they found was a rare silver ring. They kept that around one of Genbu''s legs. The only japtem that dropped around them were mouse tails but they also gathered their masters thrown weapons. While the two gathered the items their master had just run out of things to throw. His anger was very apparent and he eyed the mice with malice. The mice were naturally cowardly creatures that tried to avoid their predators but the fear they were feeling from the red headed individual was in a different league. But the mice stayed even if their instincts told them to run. The reason was soon clear as a rat about the size of Rai came out from the basement door. It squeaked out as if it was giving an order. One of the mice squeaked back and it was then killed by the rat. The rat was acting as if he owned the mice and it had every right to. It was about level 35 while the mice were much lower. He then stared at Akaro as if smirking. This infuriated the young ninja and he unsheathed Yusuke and Sasuke from his back. ¡°Kakkate Koi!¡± (Come and attack!) As if on queue the mice army started to attack on the rat''s orders. They were originally taken by surprise by the flinging of sharp tools from their first skirmish but now that they have regrouped and they attacked as a unit. Unfortunately for them the skills Akaro used prior were not his main ones. Now that he had his swords the battle was still to his advantage. With one swing of Yusuke he killed five mice in a row. The attack damage he had with his weapons were alarming and no creature would be able to withstand them unless they were a boss class or had enormous amount of health. Still the battle of attrition waged on. Rai and Genbu watched in awe and fear as their master was literally slaying any mouse who chose to try and attack him. To animals they can understand other animals due to the translation system of the game. Players had to pick up the skills to understand animals manually or if they were lucky enough to get the skill to be able to talk to animals. Not many gamers would bother trying to understand animals as most of them would attack them for experience. ¡°Do not let that man get close to me at all. If you do not follow this command we will eat your children!¡± ¡°Noo my babies! Even if I will do at least 1 damage!¡± ¡°He''s so strong!¡± ¡°FOR THE RAT KING!¡± Rai and Genbu continued to watch the onslaught of mice attacking their master. Although he was quite skilled and had powerful weapons. One man can only handle so much. They soon started surrounding him and attacked his blind spots. ¡°We''ll cover your back hyung!¡± ¡°You dare hurt master!¡± The two pets had now entered the fray. As the mice were a lot more cunning and agile than Rai he was not able to catch them with his Running Headbutt so he had to rely on bite. Genbu was already slow to begin with but thanks to Rai he could spit out clay at the mice who were not yet in Akaro''s attack range. Akaro''s wrath continued. Slash after slash as mouse tails seemed to be raining. Mice were jumping at him from the various shelves and he reacted quickly slashing them the moment he felt their presence. This not meant he got all of them as he was not in a calm state of focus. So he could not use sword skills that require a lot of focus like Raijin or Ameterasu. Instead he used Kojin from time to time as it matched the situation a lot better. His movements would accelerate and he would strike seventeen times that would catch multitudes of mice. ''Not enough... more shall suffer this injustice!'' Akaro then spun at quickly slashing at the air. He spun to the right with both his blades pointed at the direction of the movement. He spun about seven times and as he spun he would gradually go lower which ended with Akaro in a crouching position before he flipped the direction of his blades and spun the other way. This created an equilibrium to prevent himself from getting dizzy. He knew this skill would send him a message and he already had his answers ready. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have used a new combat skill. What would you like to name the skill?[/col][/box] ¡°Fuujin!¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Fuujin Rank [A] Dual Sword technique Spinning like a tornado the twin blades are able damage everything in its wake. Attack power with two weapons (+200% ATK) Attack speed with two weapons (+200% ATK SPD) Consumes 1000 mana 20% chance to cause fear 20% chance to cause confusion 20% chance to ignore defense[/col][/box] The massacre that occurred after the skill was used, instilled immense fear to the surrounding mice that even the rat boss cowered. Feeling that the they were at a disadvantage with their current numbers, the rat then shrieked even louder and the mice joined in. ¡°Master we must run!¡± ¡°Hyung they are calling more mice!¡± Akaro who snapped out from his anger looked at his two pets and started to calm down. His pets health were beginning to lower at dangerous levels and if they get attacked even more they may die. He understood as they were denizens of this world and he would lose them forever if they died, so to prevent that he heeded their advice. Rai and Genbu was first to head towards to the door. Akaro seeing the mounds they created earlier stopped and grabbed as many of his tools and mice tails as possible before a thundering of steps could be heard. Behind the trio was a literal wave of mice and rats. Akaro thanked his attentive pets as they must have understood the shrieking earlier. They closed the door behind him and he locked the door. ¡°Sorry...¡± Akaro felt responsible for his pets getting hurt. He slumped down on the door looking a bit depressed. ''If I had kept going I would have lost my companions. I shamed grandfather.'' ¡°Don''t apologize hyung! We''re sorry that we are so weak.¡± ¡°Master don''t be sad.¡± Rai licked the young man''s face. ¡°No I am at fault. I went into a blind rage and did not understand my surroundings like a proper shinobi. The alcohol also dulled my senses.¡± As he was not a drinker but still had the occasional sake with his grandfather even though he was a minor during those times. His grandfather would just say a man needs to understand the dangers of alcohol with experience. ¡°Hyung... what are we going to do?¡± ¡°Master''s home taken. Must kill furry mouses.¡± Akaro nodded at Rai before replying to his mountain turtle. ¡°We need to rethink our approach. We lost the first battle against the vile vermin.¡± Noticing the glare of the sun reflecting off of Genbu''s leg he found that there was a ring on it. Genbu took it off and gave it to Akaro the moment he noticed. ¡°Look master. First mouse dropped shiny!¡± ¡°Identify.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Ring of the Mouse Saint Legend speaks of a mouse who helped a paladin from danger. Due to his benevolence he was allowed to become human. This is the ring that was given to him by the paladin. Durability: 60/60 Equip: Health is doubled Mana regeneration 2 mana/second Requirements: Level 50 Faith 100[/col][/box] Akaro equipped the ring as it doubled his health and increased his mana regen which will come in handy for the next bout with the rodents. The funny thing he noticed was the ring changed in size to fit whatever finger he placed it on. This meant he can equip a total of eight rings as he did not count the thumbs as it would feel strange having a ring there. ¡°My stats.¡±
Status Window
NameAkaroAlignmentNeutral
RaceHumanLevel16
ClassLegendary Myth Weaver
TitleGraduated Apprentice of Melchior
Reputation575
Health2780Mana6460
Stamina135 +10
Vitality95 + 10Dexterity63 + 10
Strength97 +10Agility117 +10
Wisdom145 +10Intelligence145 +10
Leadership20 +10Luck100 +10
Perserverance87 +10Fighting Spirit70 +10
Speech750 +100
Art150 +20
Magic Resistance
Fire0% +10%Water0% +10%
Earth0% +10%Black0% +10%
[p=left]+ All stats are added 10 points + All stats are added 10 points +Speech stat is added extra 90 points +Art stat is added extra 10 points +Magic Resistance added 10% +Enables you to equip certain item specialized equipment for this class +Enables you to learn spell books bypassing any restrictions +Enables you to learn one other Class to Grandmaster +Ancient Blacksmith Master Class +Weapons wielded have 25% more damage +Weapons wielded have 25% more durability +Armour that has been created will have durability set to 1 +Armour that has been created will have defence set to 1 +Reduces level requirement to equip weapons by 100 +Reduces level requirement to equip armour by 50 +Enables user to equip weapons regardless of class restriction +Enables user to equip weapons regardless of stat restriction +Enables user to equip armour regardless of class restriction +Enables user to equip armour regardless of stat restriction +Enables you to learn one other Class to Master +Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level of Story Telling +Increases Fame by stories that are written or spoken that become wide spread +Decreases the learning of any skills by 75% unless related to class skills +All other skills can go no further than basic unless related to class skills +Legendary Story Weaver max skill level is Master + Base Health Doubled + Mana Regeneration increased by 2 mana/second[/p]
He can easily handle himself in there but keeping his pets safe would be a different issue. He then thought of some of his grandfather''s teachings. ***Flashback*** Two Japanese martial artists were in the middle of a valley. Both equipped with two blades. The melodious sounds of metal clashing can be heard. An old man that showed the epitome of technique and experience while the younger student showed his strength, speed and cunning. Both seemed to be in a dead lock. As it looked like the battle was going to take on forever the youth tripped over a wire that his grandfather manage to put into the ground during their exchanges. This ultimately made him fall and before he could correct himself he was force to concede as the older man had a blade pointed to his neck. ¡°Jii-chan! That wasn''t a fair duel!¡± ¡°Who said I was duelling you. All I said was that we would be fighting until one was forced to concede. You were the only one who thought this was a duel. To me this was a battle.¡± ¡°I don''t see the difference.¡± ¡°You are still young. You''ve only turned 14 years old. You should be proud that you were able to put up a fight at all. But let me explain it to you with another question.¡± Akaro waited epectantly at the question his grandfather was going to ask. ¡°Are you a samurai?¡± ¡°No, I''m a shinobi.¡± ¡°Exactly. There is a major difference between the two in this country''s history. Samurai were used in battle openly while shinobi were used to end a battle before it even started. Our job was to tip the scales in our lord''s favor while the samurai showed the lord''s honour and power.¡± Understanding a bit of what his grandfather was explaining he had to ask another question. ¡°So what would the shinobi do when fighting stronger opponents?¡± ¡°We could use various methods. Poison imbued weapons, assassination when the samurai slept, and even using their loved ones as leverage.¡± ¡°Doe that not make us bad people?¡± ¡°No Akaro. I''m teaching you the major difference between the way we fight. We do not fight to be fair but to ultimately be the victor. As the victor gets to go home alive to their loved ones and to their lord that they serve. In modern times us shinobi need to continue honing our major strengths. What is our nindo or ninja path Akaro?¡± ¡°Stealth, speed, knowledge, adaptation, and patience.¡± ¡°Why stealth?¡± ¡°We need to be able to sneak in to steal their secrets, scout, and assassinate targets without being seen to ensure there will be no proof of our existence for the mission.¡± ¡°Why speed?¡± ¡°We need to move like the wind to catch our opponents off guard or to escape when the mission put''s our lives in danger.¡± ¡°Why knowledge?¡± ¡°For a shinobi to accomplish his mission one must first learn of the target and what surrounds it Proper knowledge can turn the situation to our favour when all options have been taken to account.¡± ¡°Why adaptation?¡± ¡°To be able to live in any situation and quickly realize our current situation. If we are in the forest we learn to survive. If we are in the city we look to follow the habits and culture of our fellow men to decrease suspicions of our trade. If there is an obstruction to our mission we find ways to deal with it or avoid it.¡± ¡°Why patience?¡± ¡°One must not rush into any situation without proper preparation as that can lead to death of yourself or your comrades. If the advantage seems too easy to obtain it will usually mean that there is a trap.¡± ¡°Good good. Your memory is quite powerful. This is one of your many weapons Akaro. Remember to always think calmly and do not lose focus in front of you enemies. The moment you let your emotions take over you are bound to make mistakes.¡± Akaro nodded. He did not feel that he would ever be one to lose to his emotions but he always heeded his grandfather''s words. ¡°Alright Akaro. Remember what I just told you. We ninja will do what it takes to accomplish the mission or goal set before us. There is nothing we do not use to retain the advantage.¡± **End Flashback** His jii-chan was right. Akaro went into the situation without the proper amount of preparation to control the issue. His emotions had strongly influenced his actions in his first battle and caused him and his companions harm. Even though it was a mixture of alcohol and one of his pet peeves, he knew that if he kept going he would never be able to finish them off. Looking at his two companions before closing his eyes he began to analyze his situation. ''My library has been taken over by the king of rats and the queen of spiders. But it seems the two sides are not friendly. The mice ate baby spiders and the books. Saw some of the mice who tried to invade the stairs leading to the web die by what it looked like bigger spiders. The first target should be the rat king as they were the most hostile. The spiders did not attack me even when they had the perfect opportunity to do so.'' Akaro remembered that there was a sea of white above him and he could see the spiders gather at the move about on the web with ease. They had many opportune moments to attack him in his rage filled assault but they just quietly observed. ''Now the focus of my assassination of the rat king. The mice who are naturally cowardly creatures due to them being so low on the food chain are actually attacking me. That means there is a chain of command and that rat was leading them. I do not know the number of mice and rats but I do know that whenever I killed one, more would soon replace it.'' ¡°Quest window.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Special Event quest: Reign of the Rat King and Spider Queen The library has been taken over by two forces that have waged war and many of the literary works found in the library were caught as collateral damage. You need to remove the forces fighting within. Difficulty: D Stolen story; please report. Rat King Forces: 1658/2000 Spider Queen Forces: 1785/2000 Requirements: Rewards will be based on contributions on removing the threats of the library.[/col][/box] Akaro noticed that the numbers of the two forces gradually changed but thanks to his influence he made a dent to the rat army. Just as he was about to close the window he noticed that the Rat King Forces seem to be growing once more. He watched as the screen window showed that the Rat King Force had reached to 2000 once more. ''Kuso... Mice with their high birthrate due to being targeted by so many predators, were actually growing back to their original numbers...'' ¡°Genbu. Rai. Go to the restaurant for now and wait for me there. I''m going to check on something.¡± The two pets went to wait at the restaurant. Akaro logged off. *** ¡°What has troubled you grandson?¡± ¡°Mice has taken over my library and eaten a lot of my books...¡± Myung-Dae looked surprised. ¡°Here in this new house?!¡± ¡°No in the game.¡± Myung-Ki shook his head and cleared the misunderstanding. ¡°That is a travesty. We cannot let that continue on. Do you not have companions to help you?¡± ¡°I only have two friends and one is eomma. I can''t let her fight my own battle. The other one is a tailor and I do not know if she can fight.¡± ¡°Then how about making more companions.¡± Myung-Dae suggested. Dong Sun who was also in the living room with the two decided to make a suggestion as well. ¡°Did you not say you have pets as well. Why don''t you get more pets who can naturally defeat the mice? Like cats, foxes, and snakes.¡± Myung-Dae and Myung-Ki looked at him as if he was a genius. ¡°I can do that. I''ll look for the companions first and make my own army of natural predators. The next problem after clearing the library is to repair or replace all the books. Gramps do you know how to repair books?¡± ¡°Yes I do. I have a lot of information with the publishers. I can help you with that after.¡± ¡°Well the first thing I have to do is clear it. I''ll ask you again after. I need to start right away.¡± Myung-Ki dashed back downstairs to login again. ¡°Dong-Sun. Make arrangements for two more of those Royal Road machines. Grandson needs our assistance.¡± Myung-Dae would do anything for his grandson and obtaining the capsules would allow him to help him directly in the game. ¡°As you wish. But why two?¡± ¡°How else will you attend to me if you are also not in the game?¡± ¡°Forgive me for my lack of thought.¡± *** Walking to the restaurant he wanted to pick up his two pets and tell them his battle plan. ¡°Genbu. Rai. How do you feel about adding more companions?¡± ¡°More friends?! Master get more friends!¡± ¡°Yes hyung. As long as they know I''m second in command. Is that okay Rai-hyung?¡± ¡°I don''t care as long as master tells me what to do.¡± Akaro shook his head. ¡°Genbu it will all depend on who we find. We are going to be getting natural predators against the mice so there may be rivals for second in command. I will not decide who is top between any of you. You will have to figure that out and let me know.¡± Rai then panted and started wagging his tail. ¡°Master who are we going to get first?¡± ¡°What are mice most afraid of?¡± ¡°Cats!¡± Rai unexpectedly answered before even Genbu had a chance to ponder about it. ¡°How will you be if we have cats in our team Rai?¡± ¡°Master. I don''t mind cats. I know of two that we can get. Both are alley cats.¡± ¡°Good boy Rai. Do you remember where they are?¡± ¡°I can sniff them out master. I owe one of them as she fed me once.¡± ¡°Well, we will follow you to them then.¡± Following Akaro''s turtle wearing companion, Rai started to sniff through the alley ways trying to locate the two cats he had met before. Thanks to his Scent Detective skill he was able to locate their scent and soon he bolted off towards the scent. Akaro was able to run closely behind his dog due to his agility stat but if this was real life he wouldn''t have been able to follow along so well as four legged animals are usually faster than the biped ones with the exception of a few ground birds he read in some animal kingdom books. They finally reached an alley where they sold fish on the main street. Rai was about to go up to them but was held by his owner. ¡°Not yet Rai. We first have to watch what they are doing.¡± Akaro watched as the two cats were eyeing the tuna at a fish store. The first cat he spotted was devoid of any other colour but black with the exception of her pale silver eyes. This cat lurked in the shadows who seemed to be biding her time. The second one who had white unkept fur and various black stripes seem to nod after looking at his sister. He jumped up and grabbed a fish in his mouth and was deliberately trying to get the owner to notice him. The owner came out with a broom and started to chase the white cat who expertly avoided the broom swings. The black cat then jumped from its hiding spot and started flinging fish towards the alley with her paw. It so happens that this was the same alley that Akaro and company were hiding in. ¡°Good choice Rai. Now stay back with Genbu. I need to obtained their fish.¡± Akaro stealthily grabbed the fish that was just flung into the alley before the two cats noticed. He then went back to where Rai and Genbu was hiding. The white cat noticed his sister finishing her job dropped his fish and ran towards the alley along with the black cat. Upon entering the alley they noticed their hard work seemed to have disappeared. The could smell the fish and another foreign smell. They both thought human and followed the scent. They did not have to go far as they spotted the red head and the two other animals. One of which they remembered. Akaro watched as the black one jumped onto one of the trash bins and just stared at him as if trying to find out his actual purpose. ''She''s the smarter one of the two. Unlike the other...'' The cat in question was meowing and hissing. Akaro had a feeling he was being threatened so he used his translation skill to understand him. He had failed about five times before the familiar window came up. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have learned Feline Language: Enables the user to communicate with animals listed under this category. Level up: Translation (Beginner Lv. 4 78%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 LUCK up by 1 Speech up by 50[/col][/box] ¡°You evil doer. You stole our fish!¡± Genbu was the first one to react acting as if the villain. ¡°That''s right! Hyung has taken your stolen fish and it is now ours.¡± ¡°I challenge you human! Don''t stop me sister. I will not let him have our hard work. ¡± Akaro sighed as he looked at the white cat. His voice sounded youthful and it seemed to think he was the bad guy. Although he just watch the two cats steal from the fish vendor owner. ¡°Are you scared human?¡± Akaro decided to step up as if accepting his duel. ¡°So you accepted my duel. Prepare to taste the wrath of my tiger claws technique!¡± Before he even got to move Akaro went and smacked it on the head. ¡°Ow. You were suppose to wait! I have to prepare my special move. Then how about this. WHITE TIGER OF THE WATERFALL UPPER...¡± Bop. He was hit once more. The white cat placed his paws on his head with the pain. ¡°I am a defender of justice. You will feel the pain of my white tigers roar!¡± Akaro watch the cat meow extremely loud. He then bopped him on the head again. Meanwhile with the other three animals. Genbu was eyeing the black cat and Rai was happily panting. ¡°Nuna! How are you doing?¡± ¡°Doing well dongsang. You have found quite a powerful owner. I can sense it.¡± ¡°Wow Nuna! You are so smart. I''m called Rai now.¡± ¡°Okay Rai. Why did you come here for?¡± ¡°Master needs cats to kill mice. Lots of them. They almost killed me.¡± The black cats ears perked at the sound of a lot of mice. She was thinking the pros and cons of having an owner. Her freedom would be restricted but it would be nice to have a stable amount of food and affection. ¡°My poor Rai. This Nuna will definitely help you. But you will obey me if not ordered by the master right?¡± Genbu watched as the cat was starting to manipulate her way through the hierarchy. He did not like where this was going. ''This nuna is dangerous.'' ¡°I''m the second in command and Rai-hyung was before me. So obviously you will be number three if Rai-hyung will listen to you.¡± ¡°My my. What a smart turtle... Of course I understand that but if Rai is your hyung then you cannot be second in command. Rai would be and because I am his nuna and he conceded to me that would mean I am your nuna too. So it only makes sense that I become second in command right?¡± Genbu did not have the intelligence or wisdom to combat the black cat''s wit and logic. ¡°Yeah. Nuna is right. I was before you so I was the older one.¡± Rai also made a comment obviously influenced by the black cat. She had just gained the position of second highest in the chain of command amongst the animals. Coming back to the white cat and Akaro. The one sided battle continued. The cat had indomitable will power as it continued to stand. If this was a cartoon he would have multiple round bumps on his head with all the knocks from Akaro''s fist. ¡°Ow ow ow ow... I give up. You are too powerful. How can you be so strong?¡± The white cat was really surprised. Most of the humans he ever had to fight off were shop owners and children who did not have enough battle experience to catch this cat. This was the first player he had ever faced and probably the worst one to face first. Akaro was technically the king of the noobs as his combat strength for his level was alarmingly high. He saw every move the cat had made earlier in it''s fight with the fish vendor owner so he had already knew what the cat planned. The black cat had jumped in and bowed in her cat form. ¡°Rai''s master. Please forgive my brothers impertinence. I have heard why you were looking for us from my dongsang. We would love to join your group.¡± ¡°NUNA! Why do we have to join...¡± Smack! The black cat smacked her younger brother with her paw. ¡°I''m sorry nuna. I didn''t mean to disobey you.¡± ¡°Now apologize to the new master.¡± The white cat was obstinate at first but then came up with an idea. If their master was strong, he can learn how to be just as strong. ¡°I''m sorry seonsangnim. Please take me as your disciple!¡± Now both the cats were bowing. Akaro verbally issued a contract. ''Disciple... huh. Well I''ll make sure he stops yelling out his attacks before he actually uses it.'' ¡°I, Akaro, will take care of both you Kuroneko and Byakko and provide you shelter and food as long as you two obey and protect me your master.¡± When calling out their names he made sure to look them straight in the eye so they understood what he would call them. The two cats did not have names yet as they never had an owner. They had lived in the streets for a while and most animals can communicate without having a naming system like humans had to do. The black cat seemed to like her name and the white cat was quite happy with his. ¡°That names sounds cool. I accept.¡± ¡°It is a lovely name master. I gladly accepted.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Kuroneko has accepted the companion contract. Byakko has accepted the companion contract. Level up: Contract (Intermediate 3 7%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 100[/col][/box] ¡°Kuroneko''s stats.¡±
Status Window
NameKuroneko
RaceCatLevel10
Health400Mana0
Stamina220
Loyalty55%
Strength40Agility100
Vitality30Instinct50
Wisdom70Intelligence140
Leadership30Luck70
Attack50Defence30
Combat Skills:
ScratchATK +20% Consumes 10 stamina
Silent KillerATK +100% Stealth +75%, Consumes 30 Stamina 20% chance to instant kill
Special Abilities:
Nocturnal VisionLike most cats she is able to adjust her eyesight depending the amount of light is available.
DominateDue to her nature she is able to cause lower intelligent creatures to follow her command using either logic or fear tactics.
Soft PawsCats have paws that allow them to silently move while they stalk their prey. Also very soft to touch
¡°Byakko''s stats.¡±
Status Window
NameByakko
RaceCatLevel9
Health640Mana0
Stamina300
Loyalty80%
Strength90Agility60
Vitality60Instinct118
Wisdom19Intelligence23
Leadership0Luck20
Attack60Defence40
Combat Skills:
Legendary Attack of the White Tiger ClawATK +20% Consumes 10 stamina Damage received 10% of damage given.
Legendary White Tiger Waterfall Cutting UppercutATK +30% Consumes 30 stamina
Legendary Attack of the White Tiger Twin ClawsATK +40% Consumes 20 stamina
Legendary White Tiger''s RoarOpposition Defence -20% Consume 20 stamina 10 minute duration
Legendary White Tigers Pounce of a Thousand ScreamsATK +75% Consumes 50 stamina 10% damage/second on duration of bite
Special Abilities:
Nocturnal VisionLike most cats he is able to adjust his eyesight depending the amount of light is available.
Indomitable WillAble to stand even with zero stamina and continue to fight as if he had full stamina for ten minutes. Obtained by constant fighting with other felines and opponents stronger than him.
Soft PawsCats have paws that allow them to silently move while they stalk their prey. Also very soft to touch
Akaro had gotten a headache from reading Byakko''s skills. The cat had a naming sense as if he was a middle school student or better known as chuunibyou in Japan. ¡°Byakko...as your sensei... I have to tell you one thing.¡± ¡°Yes sensei?¡± ¡°Change the names of your attacks or I''ll change them for you.¡± ¡°BUT SENSEI! How can a hero of justice not have moves to scream out that will instill fear into my enemies.¡± ¡°Byakko...¡± ¡°Yes sensei? OW!¡± Akaro had threw another closed fist on the cats head. ¡°Don''t talk back to your sensei.¡± ¡°Yes sensei. How should I change them?¡± ¡°Since your namesake is off a legendary beast already, you can just change it to your name. Byakko claw and Byakko Roar. Shorter names will make it easier for me to command you.¡± ¡°Yes sensei. I''ll rename my skills.¡± ¡°Good student.¡± Byakko then turned his attention to his senior companions. ¡°I challenge the both of you for the third leader of the group!¡± ¡°Alright white cat.¡± ¡°I accept your challenge. Rai-hyung! Let me stand on my own two feet.¡± The three boys separated from each other. Each eyeing each other down. Rai originally did not care about his position but he was challenged by a cat so he felt that he needed to fight. Genbu hated that he lost his position as second in command so he was gunning for the next position. Byakko just wanted to fight as he wanted to see who was the strongest. Akaro sighed as he watched the three prepare to fight. He knew he had already told the animals to decide the hierarchy and after hearing Genbu accept the challenge, he knew the turtle must have lost his position to the black cat who made herself comfortable on his shoulders. She must have used her dominate ability as she had extremely high intelligence for an animal and unfortunately Genbu was just a bit smarter than Rai. He gently pet her cuff and she purred. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Kuroneko''s loyalty up to 75%[/col][/box] ''I must have found her favourite spot.'' Taking out one of the fish from his inventory since they had already fallen on the ground it was a bit dirty. Grabbing a knife he skinned the fish and cut a piece off and tasted it. It was quite fresh so the fish vendor must have just gotten the fish today. He cut a piece off for Kuroneko as well. ''I can get use to this.'' Kuroneko and her younger brother grew up in the alley way and had to steal food to survive. Now that she had an owner who actually treated her and was willing to feed her she was quite content. But she was not going to trust him completely as she has met many house cats who left their household as they were mistreated. Then the two turned their attention to the other animals who were still glaring at each other. ¡°Just start the fight. I don''t have all day.¡± Akaro mentioned as them talking was taking him away from his true objective. ¡°Try to get past this. Rock Form!¡± ¡°Byakko Claw!¡± The white cat launched himself at the turtle who had retreated to his shell. As the claw collided with the hard shell he broke one of his nails. ¡°Damn your shell is tough. But you can''t attack me if you hide in there! Byakko Uppercut!¡± ¡°Rushing Headbutt!¡± Rai had launched his head towards the white cat and knocked him away. Due to his speed it was hard for Byakko to dodge him. ¡°OW!¡± Genbu had bit down on Rai''s tail that swayed close to him. Byakko taking advantage of the situation decided to attack the dog. ¡°Byakko Twin Claws!¡± His two claws struck Rai on the side. Rai was now losing health and stamina and decided to shake off the turtle who landed with a thunk on the ground. ¡°Rushing headbutt!¡± He rushed towards the turtle at alarming speed and was greeted with a defence boosted shell. This knocked him out and fell over with thud. Byakko using his paw, he got underneath the turtle and jumped high in the air while extending his one claw. It was as if he performed a move from a certain fighting game which Akaro had played on the super famicom. After the paw collided with the underbelly of Genbu he was launched into the air and spun. During the spin he came out of the shell and spat out multiple clay shots at the cat. ¡°I''m blind!¡± One of the shots had hit Byakko square in the face and he ran towards a wall and knocked himself out as well. Once Genbu hit the ground he landed unfortunately on his back which put him in an unfavourable position. They all were now incapacitated but the final blow was from Genbu and he just couldn''t flip himself over. ¡°Victor Genbu.¡± Akaro announced officially as the other two quadrupeds recovered. Akaro cleaned up Byakko''s eyes and Kuroneko flipped Genbu over. The three fighters all looked at each other and started to laugh. ¡°Genbu-hyung won. You are strong for a turtle.¡± ¡°His shell is too hard to hit. My head hurts.¡± ¡°Haha I''m still the third in command.¡± Byakko had fire in his eyes as he was about to say something with immense passion. ¡°Genbu-hyung has impenetrable defence and Rai-hyung is extremely fast. If both of you and my power and technique combine we will be unstoppable. Do you want to make a brothers oath?¡± ¡°Brothers oath?¡± Genbu asked as he wasn''t sure what the white cat wanted to do. ¡°Yeah, an oath to train together, fight together, and die together in order to protect sensei!¡± ¡°I like that. Let''s be sworn brothers!¡± ¡°Yes protect master together!¡± ¡°So as of today we are all brothers by oath.¡± Akaro watched at his three pets and only shook his head. This reminded him about a scene from a historical book he had read. ''It''s like they are Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and Liu Bei... Only stupider.'' He had now increased his battle power with the new addition of the intelligent Kuroneko and the scrappy young cat of justice, Byakko. ¡°Master we got cats now. Are we going to try again?¡± ¡°No Rai. Our team is not yet complete. We will have to go outside to the forest to get our next set of companions.¡± ¡°Outside! Are we going to train again master?¡± ¡°Yes. We need to work on our team work and one of the companions I''m looking for only comes out at night. So lets head out.¡± Akaro then looked at the ebony cat. ¡°Kuroneko, you will train the three while I search. However you like to train them I leave to you.¡± Kuroneko responded with a couple of meows. ¡°I''ll make sure to train the three idiot brothers.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± The three brothers responded at being insulted. ¡°Master give our group a name.¡± Akaro thought about what he remembered earlier about the three members of an older dynasty. ¡°I''ll call your group of three, dynasty brothers.¡± The three were happy with the new title they were given. The party of one shinobi and four animals started to head towards the western gate. The myth of the Dynasty Brothers will begin from this point on... Previous Volume<>Next Chapter Volume 2 Chapter 2: Rivals and Recruits Part 1 Chapter 2: Of Rivals and Recruits Part 1 Kusanagi Kiyomi could be described as an untouchable queen. Reason being as not only was she beautiful but she had the reputation of being one of the best martial artists in the world. She grew up learning swordsmanship from her father who had trained under the great Miyamoto Hanzou. One of the last known masters of traditional kenjutsu that was still residing in Japan before his death. Not many people were regarded like that anymore. Even her father who was one of the disciples could not attain the level of mastery his sensei had accomplished. As a child she would often join her father in the summer and winter holidays when she had no school to train with him in the secluded mountain location where his master resided. There she met her eternal rival. Miyamoto Akaro was the driving force that made her excel in the sport of kendo. She trained and trained to surpass him. Throughout her middle school, and high school career she came back with many medals and her school team would win that year as long as she participated. She was also one of the youngest people to have entered the Olympics for kendo and came out on second place her first time attending against opponents who were technically in their twenties. Once she reached the age of eighteen she participated once more and this time took the gold. As kendo was a sport, it had certain rules and regulations that she had to follow. Her actual martial arts would be a lot more lethal as she was proficient in the martial arts using a naginata. She trained hard to obtain techniques that she would call her own so that when the time came to face her rival she would be ready. The day she obtained the gold in the Olympics was when she felt that she was strong enough to spar with him once more and emerge victorious in their hundredth duel. Then life took away her father''s sensei and she with him to the funeral. There she had met her rival again, who was being embraced by Kenshiro''s other children so she did not approach. She could not just challenge him during that day out of respect to the deceased and wanted to wait a month before issuing a challenge once more. Unfortunately for her she was not able to get that chance which caused her current foul mood. ¡°Koi!¡± A muscular man with a bokuto or wooden training sword had just rushed forward to strike the ebony haired nadeshiko. It was immediately sent flying and he was brought to the ground by a sweep of the weapon she was wielding. ¡°Again.¡± ¡°Kiyomi-himesama. We are no match for your naginata skills.¡± ¡°This is why you men lose to all the other families. Do you want the Kusanagi to be laughed at?¡± After this comment she stood the long pole on its flat end, while the wooden blade end that looked like a katana was completely over her head. ¡°The other families do not have to face a talented individual such as yourself.¡± It was true the Kusanagi heiress was not only skill in the martial realm but was an honour student as well. Following the bushido of hard work allowed her to get to this level. She worked hard in both her studies and in her martial arts to prepare herself for the role of leadership after her father. ¡°Tsk... there is no one worthy enough to challenge anymore except for father.¡± *** Kusanagi Tatsumi was the father of the untouchable queen and even though he''s not regarded as highly as his master, he was still a formidable master. He had faced many swordsman as part of his training and only lost once to a Korean who was much older than he was. He would say that the skill of that person was equal to his master. This man was also in a foul mood which was influenced by the mood of his daughter. He knew all too well that she had an obsession with trying to duel a certain young man. Tatsumi thought it was a good thing as she was so focused on beating her rival that she disregarded any aspect of dating. Which gave him a sense of relief that most fathers dream of having. What made him angry was that he had to be the one to tell her that her rival is gone and no longer able to be found. Now he was forced to find out what happened to the young man or he''ll soon run out of physically fit students. He had hoped that after they settle their duel, he could try to have the two engage each other as a man and woman rather than two rivals. Tatsumi promised his master, Hanzou, that he will continue to train with the young man. He was hoping during that time he can play match maker and get them to fall for each other as he would have loved to be the father-in-law tp his sensei''s heir. He would have gained not only prestige but also obtained the secret arts of his master. He knew all too well about the secret arts but was not shown or taught them. This would boost the already strong presence of the Kusanagi. His master was one who taught his disciples until they were proficient enough to continue their training on their own. The wishes of the head of the Kusangi''s sensei was to have each of his students develop their own techniques that were derived from what he taught them. He never taught any of his students everything except for the young boy who was always with Hanzou. Regardless of the past, he was waiting in an area reserved for VIPs in the Yamato Corporation headquarters. He had scheduled a meeting with the man who was responsible for his daughter''s current temperament. ''My men are begging me to find a way to stop her from sparring with them. I''m even getting tired of her constant requests to spar with me.'' ¡°Kusanagi-sama. Miyamoto-sama is ready to meet with you. Please follow me.¡± Following the young secretary he entered the expensive looking office. ¡°How can I help you Kusanagi-sama?¡± ¡°Where is the boy now?¡± ¡°Right to the point I see. He''s no longer my concern.¡± ¡°I need to know.¡± Miyamoto Kenshiro looked at the yakuza head with an indifferent glance. ¡°Why do you need to know?¡± ¡°My daughter wants to have a duel with him.¡± ¡°Well to be honest with you Kusanagi. I don''t give a damn about your daughter.¡± ¡°Do you know who you''re talking to?!¡± ¡°The question is do I care?¡± Tatsumi was flabbergasted. He was always treated with respect by this man but now that his father was no longer in the picture and they were in the privacy of his office Kenshiro spouted whatever he wanted. ¡°The truth of the matter is Kusanagi-san. We no longer need your support. We are backed by other more influential yakuza and various other companies. We only have close ties due to the fact the old man apprenticed you the second I chose to not follow his ways. Now you are demanding an answer to the location of that boy. I''ll give you a bit of a parting gift since our families use to be close. He is living in Korea now. Now please leave and never come back.¡± Immediately leaving, Tatsumi slammed the door behind him. He never felt so humiliated in his entire life. ''That rotten devil of a man... At least I know he didn''t head into Europe or anything. I''ll talk to our branch in Korea to see if they can locate the boy. I''ll hold off on telling my daughter until we know his exact location.'' *** Kusanagi Saaya had just entered the dojo seeing her daughter beating up her husband''s disciples. ¡°Kiyomi-chan enough. These men still need to do their job and protect our home.¡± ¡°I''m teaching them how to do it better. A bit of bruises should not be complained about if they are men.¡± ¡°Ara ara. Kiyomi-chan, must I need to repeat myself.¡± Kiyomi bowed immediately. The true power of the Kusanagi household was with her mother. Kusanagi Saaya may not have the martial prowess like her and her father but she knew deep down her mother was very strong in a different way. ¡°I''m sorry hahaue. Everyone you are dismissed.¡± ¡°Good girl. Now come with me. I have something to show you.¡± Following her mother she walked into her own room. It was amazingly feminine with many stuffed toys that were given to her by her father on her birthday. This information is only saved for the servants and her main family. She loved cute things but always hid that fact in her daily life as much as possible. What she did notice was a strange capsule beside her bed. ¡°Hahaue, what is that machine?¡± ¡°The answer to your frustration my dear.¡± ¡°Is it one of those machines that log into that Korean video game... What did my classmate say... Royal Road?¡± Saaya smiled at her daughter as she looked at her through the creases of her eyes. She always seemed to have her eyes closed but she saw perfectly fine. This added to alluring beauty and cause her to seem quite mysterious and fox like. ¡°Yes it is. It is quite expensive to import you know.¡± ¡°I don''t need such a machine. I need to keep training in order for me to beat him!¡± ¡°Ara? So focused on a man I see. My daughter is starting to get to that age.¡± ¡°Hahaue! It''s not like that. We made a promise. He has to acknowledge it.¡± ''Acknowledge the promise or acknowledge you?'' ¡°Love and hate are such fickle things my dear. If you keep thinking about him you will soon find yourself unable to stop thinking about him.¡± ¡°On my honour that will not happen. I will beat him once so I can finally prove to him we are equals. He will know humiliation!¡± ¡°Oh are you done talking? Can we continue our previous conversation?¡± ¡°Hahaue you cannot just stop listening!¡± ¡°Oh you''re not done. I''ll wait.¡± ¡°Hahaue!¡± ¡°Good your listening now. What I''m explaining to you is in this game you can also train and relieve your stress without actually hurting our own men. You are the daughter of Kusanagi Tatsumi. You have to stop acting like a child. You are already 18 years old.¡± ¡°Fine. If it makes you happy, I''ll play the game.¡± ¡°Plus maybe you''ll find another man to think about.¡± ¡°Hahaue! Please stop joking.¡± ¡°Who said I''m joking... A girl your age with no boyfriend. I''m worried about the future. When will I see my grandchild.¡± ¡°I''m too young for that!¡± ¡°That Kiyomi-chan was a joke. Now go play that game.¡± *** Akaro had just reached the western gate with his party of four quadrupeds. ¡°It''s the beast trainer guy!¡± ¡°No that''s the demon blacksmith!¡± ¡°No he''s obviously some sort of ninja. Look at his gear.¡± ¡°The cats look so cute. I want to pet them!¡± ¡°I''m more of a dog person.¡± Various players were commenting as this was still near the city and the beginners all hunted these grounds. ¡°I''ll make sure these three are ready for the task at hand. I will train them thoroughly.¡± ¡°I''ll go with you sensei!¡± Byakko was trying his best to get out of the situation they were going to be. ¡°Byakko stay here and train.¡± ¡°Oh my. Byakko, did you try to leave your nuna here?¡± He gulped at the sight of his sister. Even though they were animals it seemed as if she was smiling sadistically. ¡°Sensei help!¡± ¡°Master is gone white cat.¡± ¡°Hyung will be back. It can''t be that bad.¡± ¡°Now we will begin. For punishment for trying to run away. Byakko you are to run from here to that tree with your eyes closed until I say otherwise. Getting knocked out by hitting a wall. So shameful, I feel bad for master.¡± Genbu and Rai gulped. *** Leaving the dynasty brothers and Kuroneko, Akaro was already looking for his next target. Another predator that hunted mice were foxes. He would need to avoid the beginner players who were hunting near by as the foxes there would soon be attacked. He chose to go to an area where less beginners would tread. The area where fox and wolves would meet. Due to the AI of the animals they were able to fight one another in order to level up or obtain food. He wanted to find foxes in these areas as not many beginner players would go here due to the wolves who attacked in packs. Akaro had many advantages for him. Even though they would be around his level he had hunted wolves before and literally ate them. Thinking about it now he could barbeque some wolf meat if he ever had to fight them. Entering the area he immediately was spotted by a pack of four wolves. ¡°Look at the stupid human. Going to this forest all alone.¡± ¡°Let''s eat him!¡± They rushed at him but as soon as they did Akaro had already slashed the front two with Yasuke and Sasuke. Looking at the other two who spoke before attacking, he pulled down the silk covering his mouth and licked his lips. ''Barbeque wolf meat!'' It was the wolves now who felt like the prey as fighting spirit exuded from Akaro. They tried to run but was immediately impaled by kunai. As they flashed out grey he picked up the wolf leather and meat and stored it in his pouch. After slaying the four wolves he pondered. He was not going to get a lot of experience from the wolves as they were technically a lower level than him so he can work on skill proficiency. Then he remembered he obtained Word Transport. It sounded weird to him so he renamed the skill. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Renamed Word Teleportation to Shukuchi[/col][/box] Now that it was easier to say for him he then looked at the items he could use the skill with. Basically all of his weapons had the kanji for red inscribed on them so everything he threw could be a target. Seeing a pack of wolves he threw a kunai directly at one of them. It hit the forehead of one of the wolves with a thud. As the wolf was about to fall over and disappear in a grey flash Akaro disappeared in plume of red smoke before the other wolves could react. Reappearing again right beside his kunai he threw it again and again. Activating shukuchi imediately after. This made his hunting quite easier. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Shukuchi (Beginner Lv. 2 30%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 DEX up by 1 AGI up by 1 Mana up by 200[/col][/box] ''If I can instantly transport myself to one item... can I do more than one?'' Inwardly asking that question Akaro threw a kunai at a nearby tree and another kunai to another tree. He then threw several shuriken at another pack of wolves. The shuriken flew at them but as they had already noticed him they dodged. Then in multiple red smokey poofs Akaro had teleported to each shuriken and threw them once more towards the wolves. The wolves did not know what hit them as the red smoke masked his scent and blocked their line of sight. He had disposed of four of the seven wolves that he attacked. The shuriken although lighter did quite a bit less damage than the kunai. As the wolves regained their senses they saw him standing in the midst of them and decided to pounce just to only hit another plume of red smoke. This caused even more confusion as he was in the trees now and collected the two kunai he had thrown earlier. He then threw them both hitting a corresponding target. This left the one wolf who did not know what to do. His instincts told him that he could not beat this man. Akaro did not wait for the last wolf to regain its composure. There was one last thing he wanted to try. He threw his kunai straight at the wolves legs and another kunai straight into the air. He first teleported to the wolf and grabbed him, then he teleported to the kunai that was just starting to descend. Now that he was in the air the wolf screamed as Akaro threw one kunai at a tree before positioning himself to stand on top of the canine. Just before he hit the ground he teleported to the tree while the wolf collided into the ground below, leaving only a small pit and wolf meat. Akaro gathered all his tools once more and was happy with his progress. He could use shukuchi constantly as long as they stayed within a short distance. Since every meter it would cost about ten mana he had many uses for this type of skill. ''It feels like I''m one of those ninja legends like Sarutobi Sasuke or Hattori Hanzou.'' Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Shukuchi (Beginner Lv. 4 34%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 DEX up by 1 AGI up by 1 Mana up by 200[/col][/box] Now he needed to focus on the task at hand. It took him about fifteen attacks from different packs of wolves before he found his query. Getting annoyed of getting attacked he started travelling from the branches of the trees and tossing kunai if he couldn''t reach the next tree by jumping. Then he saw something peculiar and decided to observe. ¡°Come here Wolf-sama. I have something I want to give you.¡± A vixen with a mixture of golden fur and dark red fur had some how lured a lone wolf to a secluded area. She had golden fur all around her body except for red fur that looked like eye brows on her face, on the tips of her ears and her tail as well. Her paws and her chest were the dark red. She looked quite beautiful from an animal standpoint. The wolf seemed to be smitten with the fox and then he saw two shadows come out of the ground. The first to strike was was a black fox with the same dark red markings as the vixen. It bit one of the hind legs of the wolf. Then other fox which was covered in pale white fur and also had the same dark red markings as the other two bit the other hind leg. Now that the wolf could not escape the vixen struck with no mercy and started biting the wolf making sure to stay away from the wolf''s mouth. With a howl it flashed grey and dropped some wolf meat. The three split the meat evenly amongst them. ¡°We did it nee-san.¡± ¡°Anego the plan went perfectly and now we get to eat.¡± ¡°You two be quiet. We don''t want other foxes or wolves to catch us.¡± Akaro stayed watching as he can see what was going to happen next. With that last howl it notified it''s pack. The three foxes were soon surrounded by about fifteen wolves. ¡°You killed my son! I will make sure to eat you slowly!¡± The pack leader threatened. Now the three foxes were scared. No matter how cunning they were the wolves outnumbered them. ¡°Fox Medley!¡± The three foxes seem to have gotten to be a bit stronger. They moved faster and were evading some of the attacks from the wolves. Attacking when they can the white fox seemed to have thicken it''s fur as the slashing attacks from the wolf claws didn''t do that much damage to it. The black fox seemed to have dug various holes that it can pop out of and attacked unsuspecting wolves. Other wolves seem to fighting each other for the golden vixen''s attention. ¡°ENOUGH!¡± The pack leader growled as all the wolves started to regain their composure. The leader then attacked the white and black fox and bit both their legs while his wolf minions tackled them and sent them towards the golden fox. ¡°NOOO! Otouto!¡± She went in front of them as if trying to protect them. The were now in an even more dire situation as the two younger foxes were quite injured. The wolves were now eyeing them as they knew they were no where for them to run now. ¡°I''m going to eat your younger brothers in front of you before I kill you.¡± The pack leader was now walking towards them as he knew his revenge would be soon complete. ¡°Someone... anyone please help...¡± The vixen was sobbing as she did not want to see her siblings die in front of her. ¡°No one will be able to stop us now foolish fox. Kill the two boys.¡± ¡°SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE US!¡± With that cry, the two wolves that were about to bite the younger foxes flashed grey. Another wolf decided to jump the vixen but soon met the same fate as a plume of red smoke appeared and two streaks of light went through the wolf before it flashed grey. As the red cloud dissipated Akaro, who had just finish using Raijin, glared at the wolf pack. Relaxing his stare he looked behind him. ¡°I''ll protect you three.¡± Akaro then looked at the pack leader. ¡°Foolish human. Do you really think you can take all of us on?¡± Akaro didn''t even answer as he disappeared in a red puff of smoke. Prior to his arrival he had thrown a few projectiles behind the wolves which he used to attack the pack from behind. To ensure control of the victory he unsheathed the two katana he wore and started slashing at as many of the wolves as possible. He needed to terminate as many as he can before they could regroup, this way he can make sure the three foxes stayed safe. Then the pack leader who was level 20 started howling and a few more wolves would appear to replace the ones he just killed. ''He needs to be killed first. I need to make an example of him.'' The leader knew that something dangerous was coming. He felt it all throughout the morning as he had heard rumors of a red headed demon. This must be the man as he had red hair and would appear in a red smoke throughout the battle. He then noticed a metal needle being thrown at him. He dodged it but was surprised to find himself caught by a hand on his leg. ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Akaro then threw a kunai to the sky and he used shukuchi to bring him and the wolf there. He grabbed the pair of legs and put the wolf on his shoulders. He then let gravity do its job as he went towards the ground head first. As they plummeted towards the ground, Akaro had let go of the wolf and used shukuchi to teleport to the foxes before they both hit the ground. The pack leader crashed into the ground with a loud thud before he flashed grey leaving behind a high quality pelt. With their leader gone the wolves all bolted screaming red haired demon. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Shukuchi (Beginner Lv. 6 45%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 DEX up by 1 AGI up by 1 Mana up by 200 You have leveled up The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.You have leveled up[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned the Charisma stat: Increases the chance for your orders to be obeyed and will make it easier to tame pets. You are prohibited from distributing bonus points to this stat.[/col][/box] During his combat the foxes got to watch their soon to be master but there was two different views. What the vixen saw through her eyes was a man who was surrounded by falling sakura petals and he had sparkling aura around him. Of course all of this were her own delusion. ''My hero... I think I''m in love.'' What the two male foxes saw was a bit more realistic but they would probably swear that they saw him pose heroically after each kill. As if he was some sort of Saturday morning cartoon hero. ''I wonder if he can teach me that poof skill thing. It was so cool.'' ''He''s the perfect candidate for my aniki!'' Akaro took out bandages from his pouch and applied it to the young males to prevent anymore of the bleeding. He then started gathering a bunch of dry wood and leaves to start a fire. He grabbed a flint stone and struck it with his kunai. This happened a couple of times before he saw an ember start burning the dry grass and he continued to blow on it to start the flame. Once the fire was ready he started putting the wolf meat he collected on sticks and barbequed some wolf meat. The smell was also wafting its way to the three foxes. Their mouths salivated as they watched Akaro cook the meat. Ding. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned Cooking (Beginner Lv 1. 0%): Enables the user to create dishes from various ingredients.[/col][/box] It wasn''t a skill that he can excel at but the one thing he did know how to do was roast meat over a fire and find herbs, and other wild vegetation that was edible. He did learn how to survive in a forest after all. Finishing the meat making sure they were about medium rare he took the sticks of meat to the three foxes. The white fox was a little too eager and burned his tongue as it was hot. ¡°Hot!¡± ¡°Be patient and wait for it to cool. You need to recover some strength before we join your other comrades.¡± Akaro then looked at them and he needed to give them names in order for him to create the contracts for each of them. ¡°I''m going to call you Kogane. As you are golden in colour.¡± The golden fox nodded and licked him on the lips. Akaro didn''t bother moving as he knew most dog like creatures like to show affection that way. ''I kissed him. Yay!'' The golden fox was blushing and happy that she got such a strong master. ¡°How about me Yuusha-niisan?¡± (Hero Brother) The youngest voice of the three spoke out. This dark black fox looked at him ¡°Since you are mostly black I''ll call you Kagerou.¡± Akaro then looked at the white fox. ¡°Since you are the opposite of your brother I''ll call you Hikaru.¡± Akaro then recited the lines he needed to make the contract. ¡°I, Akaro, will protect and provide for Kogane, Kagerou, and Hikaru. In return they will obey my commands and keep me safe.¡± The three foxes nodded simultaneously. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Contract (Intermediate Lv. 4 1%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 200[/col][/box] Akaro was starting to notice that even though he did not have restrictions on contract skill it would grow a lot slower. Since it was companion contracts it still gave off quite a bit of proficiency but it was now slowing down. ''Companion contracts are simple to do so I might have to do more elaborate contracts in the future.'' ¡°Kogane, Kagerou, and Hikaru stats.¡±
Status Window
NameKogane
RaceRed FoxLevel10
Health420Mana0
Stamina170
Loyalty100%
Strength30Agility120
Vitality30Instinct180
Wisdom70Intelligence90
Leadership30Luck18
Attack50Defence40
Combat Skills:
BiteATK +20% Consumes 10 stamina
Fox WaltzParty Evasion +50% Consumes 25 Stamina Duration 10 minutes
Special Abilities:
Sirens VoiceAbility to lure males with a sweet and sultry voice which can charm males who have a lower intelligence than the vixen.
CaptivationDue to the allure of the vixen any male opponents with low intelligence have the risk to be charmed and will have no choice but to follow her wishes.
Shovel PawsFoxes are known for their love of digging. Able to break apart dirt and dig holes and tunnels as long as the soil is soft enough.
Status Window
NameKagerou
RaceRed FoxLevel7
Health440Mana0
Stamina120
Loyalty85%
Strength30Agility120
Vitality30Instinct120
Wisdom50Intelligence70
Leadership0Luck18
Attack70Defence25
Combat Skills:
BiteATK +20% Consumes 10 stamina
Fox TempoParty ATK+50%, Consumes 25 Stamina, Duration 10 minutes
Special Abilities:
Shadow WalkThe fox had trained itself as a scout and is able to move around like a shadow.
Shadow PranksterAble to see in dark places and makes using tunnels that he digs great places to hide and scare others with.
Shovel PawsFoxes are known for their love of digging. Able to break apart dirt and dig holes and tunnels as long as the soil is soft enough.
Status Window
NameHikaru
RaceRed FoxLevel9
Health440Mana0
Stamina160
Loyalty95%
Strength40Agility110
Vitality30Instinct134
Wisdom50Intelligence70
Leadership0Luck18
Attack25Defence70
Combat Skills:
BiteATK +20% Consumes 10 stamina
Fox RhythmParty DEF+50%, Consumes 25 Stamina, Duration 10 minutes
Special Abilities:
IlluminateThe ability to shed a pale light when in pitch dark areas due to the luminescent fur he obtained for eating fireflies as snacks.
Hardened FurThe fox''s fur has special attributes that can hardened when in danger and decreases the chance to be pierced or slashed.
Shovel PawsFoxes are known for their love of digging. Able to break apart dirt and dig holes and tunnels as long as the soil is soft enough.
After looking at their stats he found that regardless of their actual colour they were all part of the red fox race. They were as big as Rai but clearly had more toned features due to actual combat with wolves. Their skills also indicated that they would be good at hiding or manipulating the enemy. Except the one ability Hikaru had. ¡°Your favourite snack is fireflies?¡± ¡°Are you psychic aniki? Did Kagerou tell you?¡± ¡°I didn''t tell him nii-chan.¡± ¡°You still eat those disgusting bugs...¡± ¡°Nee-chan they are tasty!¡± The white fox seemed to be under attack. ¡°That''s alright if you eat them. Thanks to that you will be useful if we ever have to explore a dark cave. If I ever find any I''ll make sure to give you some.¡± Akaro promised as it shouldn''t be too hard to catch them as they do glow in the dark. ¡°You promise? Yay... such tasty bugs.¡± Ding: [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Hikaru''s Loyalty increased to 100%[/col][/box] Akaro shook his head and smiled. His loyalty level with the white fox increased after a promise to give him fireflies.. Animals were very simple creatures and even more so when you can understand them. ¡°You can only eat them after I inspected them. You never know if they touched poison or anything like that.¡± ¡°Aw nee-chan. You''re no fun.¡± Watching the worrying sister he smiled again before lifting up the two injured foxes. ¡°We cannot stay here any longer. The wolves may come back. Kogane you can follow behind as best you can. I''m going to run back to town to where your other companions are.¡± ''Too bad I didn''t leave anything behind near the others with something I inscribed.'' As he finished that though he started to run back to the gates where he left his other team of animals. ¡°Yay feels like I''m flying!¡± ¡°Aniki faster!¡± ¡°Be careful you two! Do not bother Akaro-sama so much while he''s running.¡± *** ¡°Nuna! When am I finished?¡± ¡°When our master returns. Keep running.¡± Byakko complained to his sister who forced him to start running back and forth. He was panting as his training consisted of running from the gate to the tree but now with his eyes open. If you looked closely you can see the imprint of his face on the tree as each time he ran towards it he would hit the tree full force. He would not dare peek as it would mean more blind running. ¡°This is tiring. How do you expect me to turn myself over?¡± Genbu''s training consisted of being flipped over on his back and using whatever method he can think of to try and flip over without any outside assistance. ¡°Your pathetic display after being flipped over would trouble your hyung. Do you want to be a burden to him?¡± ¡°Never. I''ll keep trying.¡± ¡°Now where did Rai go?¡± ¡°Nuna, I think I saw him head towards a group of rabbits.¡± As if on queue Rai came back with something white in his mouth. He dropped the white thing in front of Kuroneko. ¡°I saved this one from rabbit bullies.¡± It was a frightened snow white rabbit with red eyes. Shivering in horror at the atrocities she just witnessed. Although he was half right about her being targeted by the other rabbits but the reason will remain unknown as he had completely massacred the other rabbits. ¡°Good job Rai-hyung. Truly your are my brother in justice!¡± Byakko joined them as he took this as a sign to rest from his training. ¡°Rai-hyung so honourable.¡± Seeing Genbu still having issues, Rai walked to him and flipped him over and picked him up to join the group. The rabbit was now surrounded on all sides so escape was no longer an option. She also felt that if she moved from her position the black cat who was eyeing her would kill her immediately. ¡°Rai, where is the food I told you to bring?¡± ¡°In the field next to us...¡± ¡°You mean the one where a lot of foxes have taken all the rabbit meat you dropped? That field?¡± All the dynasty brothers gulped as soon as they heard that last comment. They could feel that they were going to get punished for this as they all stopped training without her permission. ¡°Well at least we have one live rabbit. We can eat her as she seems to be a rude one. She did not even say thank you to her saviour.¡± ¡°I''m sorry! Thank you for saving me! Please don''t eat me!¡± The rabbit immediately prostrated her self in apology. She seemed quite cowardly and easily tried to appease the cat''s anger. ¡°Well that does not solve our food problem. I don''t think that our master would need an animal that has no use to him.¡± Hearing that the rabbit quivered in fear again. She now understood the reason why such a group of animals were gathered. They served an owner that was definitely like the people she had seen hunt her kind before. She needed to prove to him that she can be of use. That was her goal when he arrived. ¡°I can be very useful! Just let me meet him once and I''ll prove it to him.¡± ¡°My my, you are in no position to be demanding anything you know.¡± ¡°Nuna! We must let sensei decide!'' ¡°Yeah, hyung won''t just kill her.¡± ¡°I just saved her Nuna.¡± The dynasty brothers went in front of the scared mammal. She was so surprised she teared a little bit. ''These three are friends I can rely on!'' Relieved that at least the dog and other cat won''t eat her and the turtle was a fellow herbivore so she felt safest with him. ¡°Oh. You dare rebel against me.¡± The four other animals quivered in fear as the black cat had used her dominate ability. ''Save us master!'' As if hearing their prayer Akaro showed up with the three foxes. Placing down the two injured foxes he walked to his companions. ¡°What''s going on here?¡± The rabbit reflexively shook as she saw that their master looked rather imposing in his red and black get up. ¡°Hyung!¡± ¡°Sensei!¡± ¡°Master!¡± ¡°SAVE US!¡± The three oath brothers shouted at the same time. ¡°Kuroneko explain.¡± Akaro asked the smartest of the bunch as asking the other three would most likely give him a migraine. ¡°Welcome back dear master. I was about to punish the three for disobeying me. But the reason for their rebelling is because of that rabbit.¡± The white rabbit was now being stared at by the red headed human. It resolved itself and move from behind her three protectors. Then it started making a few groaning noises. ¡°Translate.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned the Lagomorpha Language Level up: Translation (Beginner Lv. 5 45%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 100 Speech up by 50[/col][/box] ¡°I..I can be useful to you sir... Please don''t kill me. Allow me to prove it to you.¡± Simply nodding he watched the rabbit scamper off to come back with a few plants in its mouth. It then chewed it up and spat out it out. It reminded him of Genbu so he had a feeling she was about to explain. ¡°I am really good at finding medicinal plants and telling which plants are poison. It''s one of my abilities. Please use this for the foxes.¡± ¡°How do I know you are not trying to poison my brothers?!¡± Kogane gave a warning growl at the rabbit. She trusted only her master after all and anyone planning to harm her little brothers will feel her wrath. Before she can stammer out her answers Akaro took the goop and put it in his mouth. ¡°Akaro-sama!¡± Players who were curious on what was going on began to feel sick. ¡°Did he just stuff what the rabbit puked out in his mouth?¡± ¡°I don''t think I want to be a beast tamer anymore...¡± ¡°Look away unless you want to get sick.¡± Ignoring the players Akaro waited for the message to pop up. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have eaten a potent mixture of medicinal herbs. Due to being at full health already other bonuses have been applied. Health increased by 100 for the next hour Decrease the chances of being poisoned[/col][/box] He then took the rest of the goop and placed it on the wounds after taking the bandages off. The foxes looked at him but they trusted him as he hadn''t died yet. They both healed instantly and voiced out their surprise separately. ¡°Onee-san I''m all better!¡± ¡°I can catch fireflies again!¡± She then stared at the rabbit who shook as Kogane stared at her before bowing. ¡°Thank you for providing your help formy brothers. I am sorry I doubted you.¡± ¡°I, Akaro, will name you Tsukino and promise to protect and feed you as long as you obey me and protect me. Will you accept?¡± ¡°A thousand times yes! Please take care of me.¡± Relief hit the rabbit. Now that she was his property and companion she felt more at ease as the likelihood of her being killed has decreased exponentially. ¡°Tsukino''s Stats.¡±
Status Window
NameTsukino
RaceRabbitLevel3
Health150Mana0
Stamina86
Loyalty95%
Strength5Agility134
Vitality15Instinct80
Wisdom104Intelligence104
Leadership0Luck100
Attack10Defence15
Combat Skills:
Rabbit hammerATK+15% Consume 10 stamina
ProvokeAggro+15% Consumes 10 stamina
Rabbit SprintAGI +75% Consumes 20 Stamina Duration 5 minutes
Special Abilities:
Unnatural LuckAble to escape perilous situations that can risk the rabbits life.
Medicine MakerThe rabbit is so use to finding medicinal herbs, it is able to consume and mix them to create pastes, salves, or other medicine that can heal, buff, or even cause ill affects
Toxic resistanceAble to withstand any poison that is consumed or administered to it.
¡°Alright everyone time to introduce your new teammates. Kogane, Hikaru, Kagerou and now Tsukino will be joining us.¡± Akaro then looked at his four original pets. ¡°They are Kuroneko, Genbu, Byakko, and Rai.¡± This brought Akaro''s pet count to eight. Looking at the rabbit he spoke to her directly with a very sadistic looking smile. ¡°Tsukino. You will be joining me for the next set of companions. You will be quite useful.¡± Tsukino did not know if she should be scared or happy. As the smile she was seeing felt a bit dangerous. Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter Volume 2 Chapter 3: Rivals and Recruits Part 2 Chapter 3: Of Rivals and Recruits Part 2 In a grey flash an extravagant new player joined the world of Royal Road. She did very similar movements to a certain red head and she was looking at everyone around her. Kiyomi created an avatar and named her Anko, as that was her favourite filling for a certain bread dessert. She coloured her hair to be a dark purple with a tinge of red mixed in to match more the colour of the red bean paste. It felt very real to her and she could not help but gasp in how she felt everything as if she was in real life. She had one main objective at the moment and that was to relieve some stress so she started to look for a place to train. ¡°Hey pretty lady want me to teach you ins and outs of this game with me?¡± A seedy looking player started to hit on the violet haired beauty. ¡°No, I have no use for you. Where is the training grounds?¡± Anko was not going to fall for his obvious intentions. She did not show him any respect either. ¡°You better watch your mouth I''m much stronger than you. You wouldn''t want to mess with our guild.¡± He stopped as the stare he was getting from her was incredibly volatile. ¡°Oh you''re stronger than me? I did just start the game. Want to duel at the training grounds?¡± ¡°Ha. Alright I''ll duel you. I''ll show you where it is.¡± The duo walked toward a familiar training ground. The male player just brushed aside the instructor and entered. However, Anko was still brought up to be respectful to people of authority and bowed to the instructor. She obviously did not know what NPCs were as she was just told to start the game. She always thought that video games were childish so her knowledge would be equal to a certain red head. ¡°May I use your training grounds to show this truant some manners?¡± She was still bowing out of respect to the instructor. ¡°By all means young lady.¡± ¡°Honourable instructor is there a staff or a spear like weapon I can use?¡± ¡°I do have some wooden staffs you can use if you do not prefer swords.¡± ¡°No I do have swordsmanship skills but I prefer a pole weapon. I''m not too sure if you have a naginata?¡± ¡°That''s the spear like weapon with a curved sword on top is that right? Unfortunately I do not have anything like that. I do know of a good blacksmith that can make something like that. He not that far from here. I won''t mind showing you if you want?¡± ¡°I cannot take anymore of your time but I thank you for your assistance. I must conclude my business with this man here.¡± She received the training staff and looked at her opponent who brandished out his usual weapon. ¡°You are going to spar with a real weapon? Are you not a man?¡± ¡°Do you have a problem with me using a real sword? It''s not my fault a noobie decided to fight me without a weapon.¡± ¡°Ah so this is the level of a man you are. I''m sure your other sword is just as useless as you are.¡± Other players who was interested in the duel started to speak up. ¡°Is he fighting a noob with real weapons?¡± ¡°It''s a woman too. Talk about weak man.¡± Goliath who was nearby noticed the duel. His imposing stature and already known high level immediately had players notice him. ¡°Hey you I''ll fight you instead of this woman and we''ll see how cocky you are.¡± ''I sure looked cool saying that.'' Goliath saw that the young lady put her hand in protest. ¡°No I don''t need any help. I can handle this miscreant myself.¡± Noticing Goliath and knowing of his reputation he decided not to become enemies with him. He unequipped his sword and grabbed a training sword. The player felt insulted being understimated and issued the duel against the young woman. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]Swordjester45 has challenged you to a duel. Do you accept?[/pc][/col][col colspan=2 valign=middle width=50% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]Yes[/pc][/col][col colspan=2 valign=middle width=50% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]No[/pc][/col][/box] ¡°I accept the duel from this fool.¡± She saw his health display and noticed he was level 25. The difference between stats and armour were enormous but that did not deter Anko. She knew now that he was using a training sword so she stood a chance. Getting into stance she launched herself towards the swordsman the moment the timer finished counting down to indicate the beginning of the duel. It caught the player by surprised but he still used his sword thrust skill to strike three times in a row. As it was movement governed by the game he did not react fast enough and was instantly struck on the face after she had dodged his initial strike. As he tried to comfort the blow on his face, his legs were completely swept by Anko''s staff. As he was on the ground she put her foot on his chest and pointed the end of the staff on his face. ¡°If we were using real weapons you would definitely be dead. You who were a cocky fool was too early to beat my technique. Do you concede or do you wish to embarrass yourself some more?¡± ¡°I forfeit.¡± He could have gotten up and tried again but he had a feeling that it would be futile to continue. He was already humiliated enough as he was beaten by a woman and even worse by a beginner. He overpowered her stat wise but could not even get a strike in as he was not skilled in martial arts like his opponent. He relied on the skills the game provided and this was his downfall. He left but not before cursing at the woman. ¡°You just made the wrong enemy!¡± Anko watched the retreating player who was red in the face from embarrassment. She received the pop up message of learning the staff mastery combat skill. Happy with the results various players applauded. ¡°Did you see that?¡± ¡°She must practice in real life. That''s how she beat him.¡± ¡°Maybe I should pick up a martial art.¡± ''She is extremely skilled and a beauty too... but my heart only belongs to Eun Mi'' Goliath walked away from the training grounds to begin his search once more for the ice queen that has captured his heart. Bowing to the people who were applauding, Anko could not help feel a bit more relax. She knew now with her skills in this game she can be a lot stronger and can test her skills against other strong players. ''He was level 25 and I defeated him. But in a real duel he would have killed me with my abysmal stats and gear.'' The instructor came up behind her and congratulated her. ¡°Miss you have done this training ground proud. I''ve only come across few people like you. I''ll remember your name may I ask what it is?¡± ¡°Anko.¡± ¡°Feel free to grab any of the training staffs instead of the swords and use this hall freely.¡± ¡°Thank you for your permission.¡± She then proceeded to walk towards a training dummy. She pictured a certain someone''s smug face on it and started striking it with staff. ''I''ll find you and defeat you.'' *** The person she was looking for was currently feeding his pets some of the wolf meat he barbequed earlier that day. All the animals looked at each other and started to figure out the new hierarchy. ¡°Hmm... we got foxes now. Kogane was it. You dote on your siblings too much. Blowing on their meat before giving it to them. They won''t be reliable men if you continue to spoil them.¡± ¡°Well it seems like your brother fears you so much he wants to run away from you.¡± ¡°My brother knows that I just love him too much to allow him to be babied. He needs to learn to take care of himself.¡± ¡°My brothers need to be watched as who knows what trouble they''ll get in to. Especially Hikaru who has weird cravings for bugs.¡± ¡°It''s not strange!¡± The white fox disputed to his sister. ¡°If he was my brother he would have had a smack on the head to dare yell back at his nuna.¡± ¡°Byakko-kun. Do you like me or your sister better?¡± Kogane winked at the justice minded cat. Byakko couldn''t help but blush and nodded which soon ended when he saw his sisters face. Then he slinked away and hid under Rai. ¡°I can''t answer that question.¡± ¡°That''s okay. Genbu-kun and Rai-kun will follow my orders too right?¡± ¡°Rai-hyung is it possible to love another animal?¡± ¡°Pretty fox...¡± ¡°Rai-hyung you''re slobbering on me!¡± Byakko started to say. ¡°I can''t believe I have a crush on a fox. Genbu-hyung. I don''t think we can win against her...¡± ¡°I concede third command to Kogane-nuna.¡± With that simple exchange the dynasty brothers were charmed immediately and let her take third command. It was looking hope less for any of the dynasty brothers to become leaders in their own party now. So they looked at the twin foxes who were also staring at them. Kogane then looked at the next adversary. She knew that the black cat was not going to let go the spot closest to their master easily and even was prepared to fight for it. Kuroneko was calculating the proper solution for the situation that she was in. She knew that Kogane was infatuated with their master and she could not blame her as she even has a bit of those same feelings. She was never going to concede and in terms of fighting capability Kogane was stronger. She had to be crafty with her next step. While the two dominant females glared daggers at each other the third female Tsukino was trying to figure out what her new master was planning. She had no interest in being roped in to actually be responsible for the males. She was fine with being at the bottom as she was aware she couldn''t beat any of them anyway with her abysmal combat strength. ¡°So you are Genbu-nii, Rai-nii, and Byako-nii. Nice to meet you. My name is Kagerou.¡± The black fox who was a lot more playful then his older brother introduced himself first. ¡°Senpai. Please take care of me.¡± Hikaru bowed to the three. The dynasty brothers finally had little brothers to show off too. ¡°Hello younger brothers. Do you want to join our team that fights for justice!¡± ¡°Honto (really)?! Do you have secret moves!¡± The most interested one was of course was Kagerou but Hikaru was also listening in. ¡°Did you know we all have special moves. Watch this. Byakko uppercut!¡± The white cat did his on of his skills in which the two foxes gasped. ¡°So cool! Teach us Byakko-nii.¡± ¡°Muahaha! Stick with me younger brothers and we will be allies of justice!¡± ''Thank you my little brother.'' Kuroneko had now the means to continue being the second in command thanks to her pabo of a brother. ¡°Omo! Kogane if you do not do anything soon your brothers will be following the path of my idiot brother.¡± ¡°Nani?!¡± (What?!) Kogane looked behind her but it was too late as the two foxes all started to try doing the uppercut. They were now infected with the white cat''s syndrome. ¡°Do you want me to put an end to it? You stay third in command and I''ll let you take master''s left side? Do we have an agreement?¡± ¡°I agree. But how are you going to stop that?¡± With this Kuroneko smiled. ¡°Byakko... what are you doing?¡± ¡°Teaching them how to be allies of...OW OW OW...I''m sorry nuna...¡± Byakko was currently in pain as his tail was being pierced by his older sisters claws. ¡°Now you two boys. You know who is stronger right? Please do not listen to him unless you have permission from your sister or I. Understood?¡± The twins immediately nodded their heads. ''This nee-san is scary.'' ''Anego!'' Kogane couldn''t help but be amazed at how quickly Kuroneko squashed the seed that Byakko had placed on the twins. Still she felt that it wouldn''t end there as technically they are still under them in terms of command. She couldn''t help and feel that at one point they will become idiots like their older brothers. Especially Hikaru who was already eating insects. Akaro watched while chewing on more meat He was a glutton for barbequed goods as that was the only type of meat he ate in the mountains. ''So now we have Kuroneko, Kogane, dynasty brothers, the twins, and Tsukino. Only two more types to get.'' ¡°Tsukino make sure you eat. You''ll come with me to gather more herbs. The rest of you listen to Kuroneko and Kogane. Kuroneko focus on base stamina and speed. Kogane teach teamwork. Your combo with your brothers should be the example to use.¡± ¡°Yes master. I will make sure to train them well. I still have to punish them from their earlier offence.¡± ¡°I''ll make sure they learn how to work together Akaro-sama.¡± The white rabbit jumped at the sound of her name. She followed her owner until they reached a clearing. ¡°Now Tsukino I''m going to look for a few things in the forest. Make sure you hold onto this needle. If you are in danger scream out. I''ll come to you immediately. If you see any thing that can harm you make sure to provoke them. The closer they are to you the better I can protect you.¡± ¡°That... doesn''t even make sense! Why make them try to attack me?! Aren''t you just using me as bait?¡± ¡°Hmm... if you think about. Yes. Make sure to gather herbs as well.¡± The same sadistic smile was on his face. Tsukino couldn''t help but thumped the ground out of anger and fear. She then thought about the needle and knew he said that he will protect her so she can only have faith in the man. Akaro stayed close by sitting on a branch from one of the trees close to the valley. He needed to stay out of sight in order for his target to lock onto the rabbit. He was staring at the grass making sure he didn''t miss the chance to spot any snakes looking to eat Tsukino. As if she was cursed with bad luck, it wasn''t a snake that she had attracted but a falcon. The raptor in question had a build like a peregrine falcon but it had red feathers that pointed on the head like a cardinal. Its beak was just as red as the feather and the it had seemed if it was wearing a monocle as one of its eyes had a black ring around it with a streak of black leading to it''s breasts. The tail feathers and the tips of his wing were also red. It had black feathers everywhere else except its breast was an ivory white with black stripes leading to its talons. It had just spotted a lone white rabbit in the field and was preparing to descend but it was staying a safe distance away. Tsukino spotted the falcon and remembered her owners words. He needed the bird to be closer in order to protect her. So she used her provoke skill. ¡°H..Hey! Bb.. Birdbrain! Come and get me if you can!¡± The falcon answered back immediately. ¡°I will savour eating you young rabbit. Never in all my days have I met such an impertinent prey goading me to attack. This gentleman will have to teach you proper predator and prey etiquette.¡± ''PROPER WAY FOR PREY TO REACT?!'' Akaro was too far to proper translate what it said to Tsukino but whatever she did was effective. The falcon started to dive bomb from the sky and it opened it''s claws. It was moving so fast that Tsukino held the needle in her teeth and started praying as she knew she couldn''t out run the falcon. The moment it''s sharp talon opened and he was mere centimetres from acquiring his prey familiar red smoke appeared. Grabbing the falcon by it''s legs and holding him up like a chicken he looked at the rabbit making sure she didn''t get hurt. ¡°Aigoo... my heart. My heart stopped for a moment. You should have told me you could do that!¡± Tsukino would have literally died if he was a second slower. She couldn''t help but yell at him due to the adrenaline that had rushed through her veins. ¡°I told you to hold onto that right? I came to save you like promised.¡± The falcon didn''t know what happen. One second he was descending ready to take the insulting rabbit and now a red headed human was holding him upside down. The bird started to shriek and squawk. ¡°Translate.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Translation (Beginner Lv. 6 30%) You have learned Aves language INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 100 Speech up by 50[/col][/box] ¡°My good fellow. Please release me this instant. This a rather undignified position that you have precariously placed myself in.¡± ¡°I''ll let you go if you become one of my companions.¡± ¡°As your servant? I think not. If you beat me in a gentleman''s duel then I may consider it.¡± ¡°If I win you become my companion and if you win you get the rabbit.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Tsukino glared at her owner. ¡°Don''t worry I won''t lose.¡± ¡°Confident fellow. I accept the parameters of our duel.¡± Akaro released the crimson bird and it took flight immediately. He watched as it prepared itself and dove with even more speed than what he saw earlier. ''He''s taking it seriously now.'' Akaro had to dodge as the bird itself was about his level. He was level 18 after killing off the wolves and the falcon was level 16. ¡°It is quite unfortunate for you to not be able to fly. It seems fate has taken a fancy to me.¡± ¡°Don''t worry. I''ll come to you.¡± Akaro quickly threw out needles as they were his lightest arsenals and using his strength it flew towards the falcon. ¡°I say. You must do better than that to catc...¡± The bird of prey was surprised as when he looked down he only saw a cloud of red smoke. As his instincts took over, he quickly flew away as the red headed man had appeared behind him. ¡°Good sir. You are full of surprises. This shall be a duel that will be talked about throughout animal kingdom.¡± Akaro who was mid air threw another needle at the bird. Which was again avoided and the raptor decided to continue to avoid these needles. The red head had to continously use shukuchi to stay in the air and his mana was beginning to diminish. ''I''ll run out of mana if this continues like this. I''ll have to go higher to catch him off guard.'' Akaro threw a needle at the raptor before throwing one in the air. The bird as per usual dodged the first needle but did not see the second needle Akaro threw. ¡°Where did that fellow go?¡± Then he felt it. A surge in his instinct told him that he was in danger. He wanted to dodge but he did not know where it was coming from. Akaro was falling from a higher position and grabbed the bird on the throat as both of them started to descend towards the ground. Waiting until he was closer to the ground he used Shukuchi towards the needle that Tsukino still had. Holding a kunai at the birds throat Akaro smiled. ¡°Good sir you may release me now. I have lost this duel and as a gentleman I will honour our agreement.¡± Releasing the raptor it flew before it landed right beside Tsukino. ¡°I, Akaro, will provide food and shelter to Suzaku as long as he obeys my orders and protects me. Do you accept?¡± ¡°On my honour I will give my life to you sir.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Suzaku has accepted the companion contract. Level up Contract (Intermediate Lv. 5 20%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Speech up by 20[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Shukuchi (Beginner Lv. 7 17%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 DEX up by 1 AGI up by 1 Mana up by 200[/col][/box] ¡°It is only customary for a servant to know his master''s name. What may I call you?¡± ¡°My name is Akaro.¡± ¡°You have given me a splendid name as well. Does it have any meaning?¡± ¡°Suzaku was the vermillion bird that protected the south of a city in my home country.¡± ¡°Then I shall live up to that honour and protect you my dear benefactor. Sir Akaro is there anything you need from me?¡± ¡°Not at this moment unless you know where I can find a snake and an owl.¡± ¡°I dare say I do good sir. I have a colleague, strange fellow, but he is definitely in the same class as me in terms of aerial maneuvers. As for ground sliders there is one that I have been searching for but he is quite crafty. He managed to escape me twice with some sort of mental sorcery. He had eluded me every time I have spotted him but I do know where he hunts. If we have the proper bait we can lure him out from whatever rock he is under.¡± At the word bait, Tsukino responded automatically with a shiver. She then looked at both Akaro and Suzaku who were staring at her. ¡°Please no master! Anything but that!¡± ¡°Don''t worry. You will be safe.¡± ¡°My fair rabbit, as a gentleman I will come to your aide as quickly as the vile serpent shows up.¡± Tsukino knew she was not going to get out of it and only sighed in response. ''Why is my luck so bad?'' *** Meanwhile with the other half of Akaro''s team. ¡°I did it finally! Nuna I flipped myself over.¡± ¡°Good job Genbu!¡± Kogane congratulated the turtle. Byakko who did not want to lose to his fellow brother screamed out. ¡°I have also gotten a lot faster. I can go to that tree in half the time now!¡± ¡°I got rabbit meat for you pretty lady.¡± Kuroneko watching the three boys couldn''t help but laugh a little. She then walked to the group. ¡°What good work you three. Genbu you must be faster. You took too long. It has been an hour since we flipped you over. Again and this time faster. Byakko you and Rai need to work on some team work. Kogane-ssi can you take over and teach them. I''ll watch the turtle.¡± Kuroneko flipped over Genbu once more to have him be able to do it a lot faster. ¡°Nuna why do I need to go faster?¡± ¡°In battle we cannot burden our master. You being able to flip yourself faster will make it better for you to help anyone else around you. Even if you are on Rai''s head, it does not mean you will always be on there.¡± ¡°I do not want to be a burden. I''ll do it nuna. I''m sorry for not listening earlier.¡± ¡°It''s okay. As long as you listen now then you will not get punished again.¡± His punishment earlier was to be spun around until Kuroneko was bored. Genbu shuddered at the thought. He was so dizzy he couldn''t see straight. Rai''s punishment was exactly as Byakko''s earlier one but because Rai had a sturdier head he completely cracked the tree after the tenth time of hitting it. Byakko was force to run backwards until Kuroneko was done punishing Genbu. Kogane brought the cat and the dog to where her brothers were practicing their movement. ¡°Teamwork is all about knowing your partners abilities and movement. You must be one with them. The both of you are two different animals but I''m sure we can make something work. Rai already has a bit more experience due to working with Genbu but you both seem to fight alone. We are a team now.¡± ¡°Okay pretty fox.¡± ¡°As a protector of the innocent I shall follow what you say, Kogane-nuna.¡± ¡°I''m going to first show you an example. Kagerou. Hikaru. Fox Medley.¡± The three foxes used their prospective skills. Hikaru used Fox Rhythm, Kagerou used Fox Tempo, and Kogane used Fox Waltz. They were moving around like it was some sort of dance but after the skills were used they were moving faster, stronger, and seemed to know where the other was. ¡°In battle our skills will be doubled thanks to the support we give each other. Both of you are attackers so you should concentrate on an attack you can use together.¡± Byakko looked at Rai and they both tried to used their strongest techniques on each other. Rai ran at Byakko with a rushing headbutt and the cat use Byakko Pounce to try and bite onto Rai''s head. This as you may have guessed was a bad idea. ¡°This isn''t going to end well for the senpai.¡± ¡°This looks like it''s going to hurt.¡± Kogane sighed as she watch the both of them collide to each other. ¡°Rai. Byakko. Why are you using your attacks against each other? I said work together. For now just hunt deer together.¡± ¡°Why did you rush towards me? You were trying to kill me!¡± ¡°Stupid cat jump in front of my eyes. Could not see. Your fault we got hurt.¡± Kogane watched as the two bickered. ¡°If you guys manage to create an Akaro-sama approved combo move then I''ll promise a kiss to the both of you.¡± ¡°Cat we must hunt deer now.¡± ¡°Way ahead of you Rai-hyung.¡± They both started rushing to the deer area while screaming out. ¡°FOR THE KISS!¡± ''Nee-chan is horrible.'' ''Anego you''re so bad.'' ''Cute little brothers.'' *** Anko was starting to get into her training. She noticed that some stats would level up. She was also another person who did not play video games normally. She knew that stats would increase her base power as she felt stronger the more stats she obtained. ''Going to have to research this later when I log off.'' Taking a small break and eating her second bread she watched as other players were just practicing their skills. Then she picked up the scent of something extremely delicious. She did not have the scent of smell like wild animals but she did have one scent she could not get enough of. ''Anko!'' She quickly got up and started heading to the direction where she picked up the smell. Cooking Queen was baking a red bean dessert. She first made the dough and was now making in the shape of a turtle. Inspired by her son''s pets she made dog heads and turtles. She made them quite thin as she had to put two together after putting the red bean paste that she mixed with a couple of cups of sugar to make sweeter. After putting in the paste she would then put the other half of the dough shape on top. She would lightly press them together and seal the sides. After sides were sealed she would work on some minor details and applying cuts to let the steam out while it cooks as well. The holes were set up to either look like eyes or the shape of the shell. She placed it in the oven and waited for about twelve to fifteen minutes. Once it was a golden brown she set it by a window to cool. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Walking in the Hunter''s Delight, Anko walked towards the counter. ¡°Excuse me. How much are those red bean desserts?¡± ¡°Hmm I''m selling them for 50 copper coins.¡± Completely dejected Anko was starting to walk away. She was just a beginner and did not have that much money yet. She hasn''t even learned what quests were yet. Juhee watched as the girl seem to have gotten depressed. ''To get that sad for not getting the dessert. She must really like it but it looks like she just started. I can''t just let her go feeling like that.'' ¡°Pardon me Miss. Did you want one?¡± Quickly returning to the counter she nodded furiously. ¡°Oh my so enthusiastic. The first one is on me.¡± ¡°Thank you! Please I cannot just take charity. Is there something I can do to pay you back?¡± ¡°I''m not too sure. Gasper is there anything that we need right now?¡± ''Quite a beauty. Might be good to set her up with young brother.'' ¡°We need a dishwasher to clean some of the plates. If she can do that we can probably use her as a waitress later on.¡± ¡°Wash dishes? You don''t have servants to do that?¡± ¡°Are you a rich girl? I''m not too sure if you can do it then. It might be hard for you.¡± ¡°I''ll do it! I cannot take advantage of your generosity!¡± ¡°This girl has a good head on her shoulders. Alright we''ll take you in as a dishwasher.¡± Whistles all came from the young chefs in the back. ¡°Working with another beauty!¡± ¡°We have a good looking younger brother and a pretty younger sister!¡± ¡°Is she single?¡± ¡°Oi you brats! Keep working, I don''t pay you to hit on women.¡± ¡°Don''t worry... Ah I didn''t catch your name.¡± ¡°My name in this game is Anko. Thank you for having me.¡± ¡°Such a polite girl. Alright let this ajumma teach you how to wash dishes but before that here.¡± Cooking Queen handed over one of the treats to the young woman. Anko took a bite on the golden brown turtle''s head and couldn''t help and let out a cute noise. ¡°Sooo good! Oba-san your baking is so delicious.¡± ¡°No chef can deny a compliment for their cooking. Once you finish that we have work to do. If you do well, I''ll give you three more.¡± ¡°Three more! I''ll work hard miss um...¡± ¡°Cooking Queen.¡± ¡°A queen! I apologize for my rude behavior.¡± Anko bowed to the older woman. ¡°You stop that. That is my game name. Now stop fooling around.¡± Juhee was shaking her head at the young player. ¡°I''ll teach you more about the game as well. My son was just as hopeless as you.¡± ¡°Please take care of me.¡± *** Hopping with tears in her eyes, Tsukino was walking towards a river that was quite close by. She was sobbing as she had to resign her fate as bait for the snake that her master was after. Firmly holding onto her master''s needle that he gave her earlier. She hopped closer and closer to the waters edge. Akaro and Suzaku were at a nearby tree watching the rabbit from afar. ¡°Sir Akaro. This snake has quite a nasty bite. Will she be alright?¡± ¡°Even if she gets bitten she has a high tolerance for poison. So her life will not be in any immediate danger. But I will make sure that doesn''t happen.¡± ¡°Of course. We cannot have a lady be injured in this endeavor. Even if the lady is a rabbit.¡± ¡°Sir! The vile creature is coming from the river.¡± The falcon had better eyesight than his owner and spotted it it first. It was a dark shadow in the river gliding towards the white rabbit. It''s blue head left the surface before it launched it''s attack. ¡°Eeeek!¡± Red smoke appeared and blocked the snakes eyesight and sense of smell. Looking confused it spoke out. ¡°What isss thisss red sssmoke?¡± ¡°Suzaku now!¡± Suzaku was in the air and it had already started his descent to capture their query. Grabbing the snake in it''s talons it flew straight into the air. ¡°Waaahhh... master. I was soo scared!¡± Tsukino jumped into her owners arms with tears in her eyes. ¡°You did well Tsukino. I''ll make sure to get some carrots for you later.¡± ¡°At least three. One because I did good. Two because you used me as bait.¡± ¡°Hai. Hai.¡± Suzaku was above the clouds now with a snake in between his talons. ¡°We meet again fiend.¡± ¡°The bird I essscaped from. I can essscape again!¡± ¡°Not while being at this height. I''m sure if I were to release you, mother earth would embrace you.¡± ¡°Ssstop. Pleassse don''t drop me!¡± The snake was looking down on the ground. It had sapphire blue outer skin and it''s belly was a bright yellow green. The highly vibrant colours indicated he had very potent poison. ¡°Sir Akaro. I have apprehended our slithering query. What shall we do with him?¡± ¡°I, Akaro, will provide shelter and feed Seiryuu. As long as he protects me and obeys my command. He will also not attack any of his companions. Do you accept?¡± ¡°Never you ssstinking human. Nothing you can do change my mind.¡± ¡°Suzaku. Drop him.¡± ¡°It will be my pleasure.¡± ¡°Nooooooooo! Pleassse I accept. I acceptssss!¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Seiryuu has accepted the companion contract. Contract proficiency increased. INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 100 Speech up by 50 Due to using Coercion Speech down by 50 Level up: Coercion (Beginner Lv. 2 20%)[/col][/box] ¡°Suzaku.¡± ¡°Pity. Would have loved to eat his carcass.¡± Suzaku quickly swooped down and retrieve the falling reptile and placed it safely in front of Akaro. Just as quick as he was put down he seemed to get ready and launch an attack at Akaro. Seiryuu unfortunately did not know the danger he just put himself in both with the contract condition and Akaro''s own reflexes. Akaro caught the snake by the throat and with his other hand held a kunai to it''s mouth. ¡°Did you just try to attack me Seiryuu?¡± ¡°Mo Masstaaa. Mai wahs gawing to gibss you a kisshh!¡± (No Master. I was going to give you a kiss.) ¡°Well I''m all for affection but biting me with venom in your fangs speak otherwise. You know what that means right Seiryuu.¡± The kunai was drenched with venom from Seiryuu''s fangs. The blue and green snake started the wiggle and move around randomly. ¡°It''ssss sssoo itchy. Massster what did you do?¡± ¡°One of the punishments for not following a contract was a punishment dealt by the gods themselves. They have given you one that I''m familiar with. It makes you itch for the next hour. Tsukino probably knows a remedy but you tried to attack her not too long ago.¡± Akaro said gods as it being a game cannot be really explained to NPCs who lived in it. Although they are programmed to know about class skills and how players were always hunting and asking for things to do, they are still living beings in the world itself. So he decided to use gods as that could alleviate the unexplainable to the snake. ¡°Pleassse masster, help me... I''m sssorry. I will not do it again.¡± ¡°No.¡± Akaro simply let the snake suffer as he continued to hold it by the head making sure it had no chance to rub on anything around him. When he said no, he made sure Seiryuu saw his glare. Suzaku and Tsukino had to shiver at the cruelty but did not say anything as the snake did try to kill their master. ¡°Sir Akaro. We are close to my fellow winged colleague. He should be awake as he is quite strange for an owl.¡± Still holding the snake he walked with the other two to what looked like an old oak tree with a giant hole in the middle. Soon enough an owl came out. It was quite large, probably bigger than Suzaku, and it had horn like feathers protruding out on top of his head. Already knowing the Aves language Akaro decided to speak to the amber eyed owl. ¡°Good afternoon. Can you help me with a request?¡± ¡°Who goes there?¡± ¡°Akaro.¡± ¡°Akaro what a funny name. How can I help?¡± ¡°I need your help with some mice and rats.¡± ¡°Who goes there?¡± ¡°Akaro.¡± ¡°Akaro what a funny name. How can I help?¡± ''This one really has a bird brain.'' Akaro looked at Suzaku and cardinal falcon took over. ¡°Fellow raptor please help us with our noble quest to slay foul vermin. We can eat our foes, as that would assist my benefactor.¡± ¡°Ah the red falcon. Nice seeing you again. I can join you.¡± ¡°I, Akaro, will provide shelter and food for Yasu and he will obey and protect me. Do you accept?¡± ¡°I accept. What did I accept?¡± Everyone had a sweat drop on their head towards the birdbrain of an owl. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Yasu has accepted the companion contract. INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 100 Speech up by 50[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Contract (Intermediate Lv. 6 24%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Speech up by 20[/col][/box] ¡°Suzaku, Seiryuu, and Yasu stats.¡±
Status Window
NameSuzaku
RaceCardinal FalconLevel16
Health1250Mana0
Stamina300
Loyalty100%
Strength70Agility220
Vitality100Instinct300
Wisdom50Intelligence140
Leadership50Luck0
Attack80Defence30
Combat Skills:
Aerial DiveATK +75% Consumes 40 stamina
Aerial SlashATK +100% Consumes 50 Stamina
Aerial GripATK +50% Consumes 30 stamina, 20% chance to cause bleed
Aerial DropATK +10%/10 meters above ground Consumes 50 Stamina
Cry of the RaptorOpponents Decrease ATK -50% Consumes 50 Duration 10 minutes
Special Abilities:
Raptor EyesThe keen sense of sight that belong to birds of prey. Able to see longer distances then the human eye.
Razor FeathersDue to constant fighting with other birds of prey it had adapted and sharpened its wing feathers with a fine edge
Aerial AcrobaticsThe falcon has adapted in close quarter flying with both flexibility and awareness.
Status Window
NameSeiryuu
RaceRiver SnakeLevel10
Health450Mana0
Stamina170
Loyalty10%
Strength30Agility100
Vitality45Instinct220
Wisdom100Intelligence140
Leadership0Luck0
Attack30Defence40
Combat Skills:
Venom BiteATK +20% Consumes 50 stamina 100% chance to poison
ConstrictATK+10% ATK +2%/Second Consumes 10 Stamina Consumes 2 Stamina/second
Venom SprayATK +50% Consumes 60 stamina 100% chance to poison
Special Abilities:
Basilisk EyesAble to hypnotize his opponents causing them to be unable to move their muscles for a limited amount of time.
Water BreatherA snake known for it''s ability to breath under water.
Vile DeceiverAble to fool creatures of lower intelligence to listen to his orders or suggestions
Status Window
NameYasu
RaceEagle OwlLevel18
Health1300Mana0
Stamina300
Loyalty50%
Strength186Agility142
Vitality100Instinct300
Wisdom250Intelligence130
Leadership0Luck0
Attack25Defence70
Combat Skills:
Silent FlightStealth +50% Consumes 20 stamina Duration 10 minutes
Silent Aerial StrikeATK +50% Stealth +50% Consumes 50 stamina
Silent Aerial GraspATK +70% Stealth +50% Consumes 60 Stamina, Duration 10 minutes
Special Abilities:
Quiet FeathersDue to the special feathers that owls possess they can fly a lot quieter in order for them to sneak up on prey
Nocturnal Raptor EyesAble to see at far distance while in darkness due to their big round eyes.
Mind LapseDue to having a birdbrain mentality it is unable to be attacked with anything that constrains mental aptitude.
Akaro was quite surprised at Yasu''s level of intelligence. He was not a stupid bird but unfortunately due to the Mind Lapse ability it made it seem that way. Suzaku seemed exactly how he looked but unfortunately the snake was the least loyal of the group. Due to coercing Seiryuu, Akaro had forced the contract on him. ''Makes sense that he has animosity against me. I''ll have to worry about that later.'' ¡°Time to head back and join the others. He was the last on my list that I needed to combat the mice. Now we are going to work on teamwork.¡± The new group of companions and Akaro headed towards the western gates once more. *** Rai and Byakko was covered in bruises and dirt. They had tried so many different combinations but could not find anything that would not end up in failure. ¡°This is so frustrating. How can we not figure anything out by now!¡± ¡°Combo move is hard to make. Kiss so far away now...¡± ¡°Don''t give up Rai-hyung! We are not done yet.¡± Just then a wolf had entered the area. It had been eying the two animals for a while and it had left it''s pack to get a snack of it''s own. ¡°Look at these two pets trying to train. Your owner isn''t around so it''s perfect time to get a snack.¡± ¡°You think you can take down allies of justice!¡± Byakko bravely spouted at the wolf. He prepared to attack and was joined with Rai. They both did not have a lot of stamina so it was important that they kill the wolf or they become food. ¡°White cat.¡± ¡°Yes Rai-hyung.¡± ¡°Get on my head.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°I fight better when there is something on my head.¡± ¡°I''m not Genbu-hyung!¡± ¡°Just do it. We need to fight at our best.¡± Rai forcefully picked up Byakko and flipped him on his head. Byakko was scowling but listened anyway. Using his strongest move, Rai ran towards the wolf with a rushing headbutt but forgot the person on his head was Byakko. ¡°YOU STUPID DOG!¡± Byakko screamed and as they were about to hit he jumped off of Rai''s head and did an uppercut before Rai collided into the wolf. The wolf whimpered before it grayed out. ¡°We did it!¡± ¡°Rai-hyung we got a new combo move!¡± ¡°Yay kiss!¡± ¡°We need to give it a name... How about Rising Dragon of the rushing River?¡± ¡°Master won''t approve. Too long and hard to say.¡± ¡°Right... we need sensei''s approval. How about CD Rushing Uppercut!¡± ¡°CD?¡± ¡°Cat. Dog. Rushing from your move and uppercut from mine.¡± Byakko gave a grin. Rai nodded as the only one who liked calling out special moves was Byakko anyway. The two started heading back and found that their master was waiting for them to return. ¡°Master! You''re back!¡± ¡°Sensei we have a new move that needs your approval so we can get a reward!¡± Akaro watched the duo and nodded. ¡°Alright. Try it on me. I''ll see how much damage it does.¡± ¡°Don''t cry if you get hurt sensei! Rai-hyung lets do it!¡± Byakko jumped on Rai once more and the move was started. Akaro watched carefully as the speeding cat and dog rushed at him. ¡°CD RUSHING UPPERCUT!¡± Byakko tried to do the uppercut but only grazed Akaro who dodged slightly but still got caught with Rai''s charge. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have received 500 damage.[/col][/box] The collision brought Akaro and the two boys down with him. Akaro couldn''t help but laugh as Rai had started licking his face as if saying sorry. ¡°Sensei, is it a good move? Is the name good?¡± ¡°The moment you said uppercut I knew to dodge it. So don''t say it before. Heroes usually say their finishing moves after the move was completed. But good job both of you. I approve.¡± ¡°Yes! Kogane-nuna. The reward please!¡± ¡°KISS! KISS!¡± ¡°I did promise.¡± Kogane walked up to the both of them and lick them once on the cheek. She also gave Akaro a lick on the lips. ¡°Sensei still gets the best reward.¡± ¡°...¡± Rai was lying down happy while Byakko pouted. Akaro was happy that they started to get along. ¡°Alright now that everyone is here. These are our newest members. Suzaku, Yasu, and Seiryuu.¡± ¡°Good afternoon my fellow companions.¡± ¡°Greetings. Who are you again?¡± ¡°You are all foolsss following thisss human.¡± Well there were mixed reactions. Most of them were hate towards the snake for insulting them and their owner. The owl was being inspected by the fox twins. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Yo big bird.¡± ¡°Greetings young foxes. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Have you ever eaten fireflies?¡± ¡°Why is everything fireflies with you. I''m ashamed I''m the youngest.¡± ¡°Don''t knock it until you try it.¡± ¡°Greetings young foxes. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°You said that already.¡± ¡°I did? Well I''m not as young as I use to be.¡± ¡°I don''t think being old has anything to do with it.¡± The foxes thought the owl was strange but fun to talk to. ¡°Greetings my fair ladies.¡± ¡°My what a gentleman. You can be the fourth leader.¡± ¡°So polite. He is perfect for that position.¡± The cardinal falcon bowed to the two older sisters. ¡°Fourth leader? Madame I am most suited in this group to be Sir Akaro''s right hand man. As his faithful servant I will take no lower position.¡± ¡°Oh? I believe you will not like me as an enemy. Second leader position is mine or do you want to test your skills against mine?¡± ¡°Please madame, a lady should not needlessly choose violence as their first action. Your threats do not frighten me as I have eaten far bigger prey.¡± ¡°Don''t be like that. Us women need to be closest to Akaro-sama. We must protect him from the wiles of other females you know. Please reconsider?¡± ¡°I''m sorry miss but you are the wrong species for me to be allured by your beauty. Albeit you are still a gorgeous vixen but my ideal lady is a little more feathered if you understand my meaning.¡± Their attempts to dominate and captivate the red headed bird. They needed a different approach to have him do what they wanted. ¡°Alright you can take second in command. I guess we will have to work hard on training the young ones ourselves Kogane. Too bad we do not have any proper man to take over their training.¡± ¡°Your right Kuroneko. So hard to teach the boys how to be proper gentleman when we are just two lowly women.¡± ¡°What?! Young men who do not know how to act accordingly is quite an insult to men everywhere. Do not worry my beautiful companions I shall train these boys into proper gentleman. I''ll be the fourth in command to not overburden you with these young rapscallions.¡± ''Too easy.'' The two ladies of their group again reaffirmed their positions as second and third in command. Genbu was having an argument with Seiryuu. ¡°Hey snake. Don''t insult hyung like that!¡± ¡°You don''t know what he did to me.¡± ¡°It cannot be that bad. I don''t see you injured anywhere.¡± ¡°He would have dropped me from the sssky if I didn''t accept hisss contract.¡± ¡°Ssso? You probably dessserved it for whatever you did to hyung.¡± ¡°Are you insssulting my ssspeech turtle!¡± ¡°Isss that a problem for yousss?¡± ¡°If I could harm you without retribution I would have done ssso already.¡± The two glared at each other. Their relationship started off quite rocky although they were both reptiles. ¡°Okay everyone gather around. We are going to agree on a contract as a team.¡± ¡°Can I name the team The Tigers of Justice?¡± The white cat had such a passionate face it would have been hard to say no if it was someone else. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Ow what was that for Nuna?¡± ¡°For being an idiot and interrupting master. Please continue master.¡± Akaro watched Kuroneko smack her brother before she looked at him to continue. ¡°Even though we all just gathered recently you have all promised to listen and protect me. I will do my best to protect you and prepare you for the upcoming battle. We cannot do proper training as I need to prepare for our upcoming battle.¡± Akaro began but was interrupted by an excited Suzaku. ¡°What a great stage for us to be in my comrades! To stake our strength against a common foe.¡± ¡°Mice? Where are the mice? Who are you people?¡± Akaro glared at the two birds to shut them up. ¡°As I was saying, I will be putting Suzaku, Kuroneko, and Kogane in charge of the training of the team. Kuroneko will be in charge of training Yasu and Kagerou as our stealth unit. Kogane you will be in charge of the support unit which will consist of Hikaru, Tsukino, and Seiryuu. Lastly Suzaku you are in charge of the dynasty brothers which are Byakko, Genbu, and Rai. You are an attack unit and even though Genbu is mostly defensive he already works will with Rai and the combination of both of them is already really strong.¡± ¡°We will be so silent that the mice will not know what hit them. ¡°We will be sure to able to assist you with all our skills.¡± ¡°Sir Akaro, the training of these young men will be an honour. They will be made into gentleman in no time.¡± Akaro nodded and smiled at his army. They were still outnumbered but he had obtained the natural predators of most rodents. Albeit the turtle and rabbit really cannot help against their adversary in that regards but one was his second companion gained and the rabbit was perfect for support. ¡°All of you train hard and I will come to get you tomorrow when it is time to commence the operation. You are not just my companions nor pets. You are now my family that I will swear to protect from any danger. All of you please agree to the contract of as long as you are contracted to me that you will all protect each other as well. No matter what you think of each other. I''m talking to you Genbu and Seiryuu.¡± ¡°He started it!¡± ¡°He made fun of my ssspeech.¡± ¡°Seiryuu! Watch out!¡± A warning came out of Genbu''s mouth as an arrow was flying straight towards the snake. Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter Volume 2 Chapter 4: Demon Blacksmith Revelations Chapter 4: Demon Blacksmith Revelations It was the afternoon in the game of Royal Road and a lot of the players who were hunting rabbits and deer had stopped and watched a certain player who had a group of animals around him. ¡°Look it''s the demon blacksmith with his group of animals. Does he have a beast tamer subclass?¡± ¡°Why is he talking to them like they understand him?¡± ¡°Beast tamers could talk to animals. My friend in another city got the class and he can talk to his wolf telepathically.¡± ¡°But he''s actually talking to them.¡± ¡°Look at those three foxes. Those are rare. I wonder what we get if we attack it?¡± ¡°Apparently once under a beast tamer they don''t drop anything anymore.¡± ¡°Why did he not just kill them as they seem rare?¡± ¡°If you were a beast tamer would you kill a rare animal?¡± Goliath was also in the western gates. He was searching for his love. The one girl that he couldn''t get out of his mind. ''Eun Mi... Will I ever see you again?'' He saw the gathering of other players and saw what they were talking about. ''If I''m not mistaken. Isn''t that aunt Juhee''s son?'' While the experienced player was thinking a small party who returned from hunting in the forest was walking by. There was a level 50 archer named RobbingHood, TinyJohn24 a level 45 thief, and a level 51 warrior named WillofWays. ¡°Hmm we did a lot today. I even got a new rare bow. It will be good to sell after I find a stronger one later on. Too bad I have nothing to test it on.¡± RobbingHood was having a conversation with his other members. ¡°What are those players looking at?¡± TinyJohn24 asked when spotting a group of beginner players discussing and observing Akaro. ¡°Looks like there''s a beast tamer who kind of looks like a ninja over there. He has a big group of animals so he must have searched everywhere to get that many animals.¡± ¡°This is perfect Will. I have a chance to use my bow after all. Time to show that player the risks of having low level animals.¡± ¡°Are you sure RobbingHood? He doesn''t look that weak.¡± ¡°I''m not attacking him, I''m attacking his pets. I''ll just pass it off as an accident.¡± RobbingHood had already taken out his new elven bow that he obtained from one of the dungeons that many players can farm in. Taking aim he use the skill penetrate to increase the damage dealt. He was sure that he could kill the snake that he was targeting. ¡°Watch that snake closely. My aiming has been so good that I can probably snipe him from here.¡± ¡°1 gold you miss!¡± ¡°I''m in John.¡± ¡°Prepare to lose your gold. Penetrate!¡± The arrow was launched using the aiming guidance of the game. As his proficiency as an archer was quite high he was pretty sure he was going to hit the snake. As it flew to a mere centimetre from the snakes face the red head grabbed it while it was in the air. ¡°Are you okay Seiryuu?¡± ¡°Thank you Massster!¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Seiryuu loyalty up to 40%[/col][/box] Seiryuu had just had a close brush with death. He could smell the metal of the bow tip before his owner caught it. He looked up at his master as he was thankful to be saved. He then shuddered. The cold glare coming from his master showed that he was very angry. ¡°Weapon Break.¡± Akaro used his only combat skill with the new bladesmith class he obtained. Since arrows had really low durability it shattered before disappearing in a grey flash. He then saw the instigator who had two other companions. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Weapon Break (Beginner Lv 2. 10%) Durability loss increased by 2[/col][/box] ¡°Did he just catch your arrow?¡± ¡°The stupid animal must have told him. No one has reflexes like that.¡± ¡°I think you pissed him off.¡± TinyJohn24 watched the eyes of the red headed player. It was if instinct told him that they did something they were going to regret. ¡°I''m sorry. I thought your animals were things I can hunt. If you want I can duel you.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]Robbinghood has challenged you to a duel. Do you accept?[/pc][/col][col colspan=2 valign=middle width=50% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]Yes[/pc][/col][col colspan=2 valign=middle width=50% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]No[/pc][/col][/box] ¡°Yes.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have accepted the duel.[/col][/box] The timer to indicate the beginning of the duel started to count down. Robbing hood prepared his skills and was watching Akaro from a distance. ¡°The fool is facing an archer from over 20 meters away. This won''t take long. He''s only level 18.¡± Watching the archer Akaro saw that he was ready to fire the first shot. The red head didn''t want to take out his swords as it would have ended too quickly. Another pet peeve he had was anyone trying to harm his family or cause them pain. He wanted to make the person pay and beating him would not teach him a lesson. He needed to take something away from him. What Robbinghood did not know about his opponent he was facing is that he trained to avoid arrows. His grandfather would shoot arrows at Akaro as part of his training. Although the arrows were blunt and didn''t pierce well, it still would cause welts or bruises as the speed of them still applied. It was as if being shot by a BB gun. Akaro would gradually get use to the speed and now is able to dodge a speeding arrow within five feet from him. The countdown hit zero and the fight began. Robbinghood shot another penetrate skill enhanced arrow this time aiming at the red head. It was then caught once more and it flashed grey. ''Hmm so he does have some skill. But how about this.'' ¡°Multi Shot!¡± Robbinghood''s level of mastery with the skill has been improved to beginner level 5. This allowed him to shoot five arrows at once. He watched as all five arrows were heading towards the walking red head. He noticed that Akaro did not run or try to dodge the arrows. Robbinghood watched Akaro take his right hand and swiped at the arrows. Four of the arrows were instantly destroyed from the initial swipe and the last manage to hit the shoulder. Although he saw one of the arrows hit the target he was feeling anxious as cold sweat started to go down his neck. Looking at the glare he was getting felt like he was the one being hunted. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have taken 300 damage.[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Weapon break (Beginner Lv 3 34%)[/col][/box] Akaro took out the remaining steel needles he had made. With three in between his fingers, he threw all of them at the player. His throwing proficiency was not that high at only a beginner level of 4 but his agility stats were probably on par of the archer if not a bit more. Plus he had the dexterity which also increased his accuracy. The three needles flew but it hit the bow instead of the player. ¡°He cannot even aim. He hit my weapon by mistake. What a fool.¡± Robbinghood said aloud to help with his nerves. He fired another multi shot and this time two arrows hit it''s mark. But the red head continued to walk closer, which caused him to start to panic. He got ready to fire another five arrows. After he released the skill and as the arrows flew it went through a puff of red smoke. ¡°Huh?¡± He voiced out his confusion but before he can regain his senses he heard his companion shout. ¡°Look out!¡± Underneath the archer was Akaro who had made a knuckle with the middle finger slightly further then the others. He then took the knuckle and struck hard at the archers solar plexus. The result was the archer buckled in pain as the wind was literally knocked out of him. ¡°You attacked my family and for that you need to be punished. You like this bow right?¡± The archer felt the anger in this young man''s voice. He meekly nodded his head as he was still in pain and confused at how Akaro appeared in front of him. With the red head holding it, Robbinghood could not prepare another shot. Akaro had grabbed the bow which was the life blood of an archer. Robbinghood was sure to have knives for close combat but the combination of the surprise attack and fear, the archer stood there frozen. ¡°Weapon Break. Weapon Break. Weapon Break...¡± Akaro whispered at first but soon it became louder. He watched as Robbinghood started to get even more anxious. ''He must have noticed what I''m doing about now. This is for trying to kill a member of my team.'' Constant messages kept popping up in Robbinghood''s screen. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 6[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 6[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 6[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 6[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 8[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 8[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 8[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 8[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 8[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 10[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 10[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Bow of the elven hunter durability decreased by 10[/col][/box] ¡°Please I''m sorry! Don''t break my bow!¡± Akaro just stared coldly at the archer. This was a heavy blow to any dark gamer. This item not only boosted the strength at a player''s current level but would make them money by selling it in auctions after he was done using it. Akaro however did not care about that. His goal was to make sure this idiot paid for his actions. The archer could not help but watch as his weapon''s durability dropped quickly. Being a level 50 item it had a durability in the 200''s but the first three hits from the needles had damaged it for about forty-five of the durability and now with the constant use of the Weapon Break skill the bow was already nearing the zero mark. The bow in Akaro''s hand disappeared in a flash. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Weapon Break (Beginner Lv. 6 10%) Decreases Durability by 14[/col][/box] Due to his already high mana he was able to use the skill about twenty times before the weapon finally broke. Akaro made sure to continue to glare at the archer while doing so. ¡°Aim for my family again and I will hunt you down wherever you go and break any weapon you come across. This is my only warning. Do you concede?¡± The two other party members of the archer froze in place. They had just spent the past week in the dungeon to farm and finally get the rare drops. They themselves also had gotten rare weapons but fighting against this player puts those very weapons in danger. ¡°I concede....¡± Robbinghood was depressed. His cocky attitude was overtaken by a sense of dread. ¡°Did you see that!¡± ¡°You don''t mess with the demon blacksmith!¡± ¡°He just broke his weapon like it was glass.¡± ¡°He just went poof. You tried to kill my family... like some sort of ninja. It was epic.¡± ¡°He''s a danger to all dark gamers.¡± ¡°That was so cool. He didn''t even need to take out his weapon.¡± ¡°I''m in love.¡± ¡°If the duel queen and the demon blacksmith meet who do you think will win?¡± ¡°Duel queen!¡± ¡°Demon blacksmith hands down!¡± Players who were watching the duel couldn''t help but be amazed at the achievement. Goliath who also witnessed the duel was surprised that Akaro had the ability to destroy weapons. ''All that money gone in an instant. He really is the bane of dark gamers like me. I better be friends with him instead. I''ll ask aunt Juhee to introduce me later. I don''t think he wants to talk to any players right now. Can''t risk me losing my weapons.'' Like the other players they all avoided trying to approach him and his pets. Akaro started walking back to his animal companions. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]All companions were impressed with your skills and increased loyalty. All your companions agreed on the earlier contract given. INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Leadership up by 20 Charisma up by 10 Speech up by 20 Contract proficiency increased.[/col][/box] ''All their loyalty increased?'' The animals who were watching the duel could not help but be in awe as they saw their master broke the archer''s spirit and won the duel without actually attacking. ''The way he dominated the fight made my heart flutter.The look at that archers face... I can''t get enough.'' ''Akaro-sama sugoi! I''m so lucky to have him as my master. Too bad he isn''t a fox.'' ''As expected of Sir Akaro. He is worthy of being my benefactor. I have never seen such a display of power.'' ''Serves you right you stupid archer. Sensei, who is an ally of justice, wouldn''t lose to such flimsy arrows.'' ''He promised to protect me and he showed that he can. He promised me fireflies. He will give them to me.'' ''I want to learn that poofing skill too. It would be great to scare the senpais.'' ''Eeep. Ssso ssstrong! He sssaved me asss well. At leassst I know he''ll keep hisss promisssesss.'' ''Soo cool. I''ll never doubt him again if I''m used for bait. Wait what am I saying? Never again!'' ''That''s my hyung!'' ''Master too strong.'' ¡°The greatest folly that practitioner of the bow has done was to wake a sleeping lion. Aiming at ones family and loved ones will unlock an unforgiving rage that no man nor beast should ever experience.¡± The other animals looked at the owl with shocked expressions. ¡°Who are you lot? You guys look surprised? Did something happen?¡± All the animals sweat dropped at the owl who had said something philosophical then had returned to his absentminded self. He seemed similar to an old man who had gone senile. ¡°Alright guys. We have attracted too much attention. Let''s go in the city for now. I''ll treat you guys to some food.¡± Their party walked towards the Hunter''s Delight and went to the familiar back alley. Akaro noticed a purple haired young woman washing dishes outside in a tub and the water pump. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Isn''t it proper to introduce oneself before giving out your own name.¡± Anko obstinately replied to the red head. She eyed him up and down and saw he was dressed in ninja like garb. ''He seems strong.'' ''That''s fine. I''ll just go ask eomma.'' He didn''t really care about her as this was their first meeting. He unlocked the back door but was stopped by her. ¡°How do you have keys to oba-san''s restaurant?¡± ¡°I''m her son.¡± ¡°Ah! I''m sorry for being rude.¡± Anko bowed immediately. ¡°My name is Anko. Your mother helped me a lot and she makes delicious food.¡± Smiling beneath his mask he nodded. ¡°Anyone who can praise my eomma''s cooking is not a bad person. My name is Akaro.¡± ''AKARO! It can''t be can it? Well it''s a game so I don''t think he would be playing it. But just maybe... but his mother is Korean. The Akaro that I know was definitely Japanese.'' Anko pondered before replying politely. ¡°Nice to meet you Akaro-san.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you Anko-san. Can you watch my animals while I get something for them to eat?¡± ¡°I have no objections to that.¡± ¡°Who is this home wrecker?¡± ¡°She''s pretty for a human. If she was a fox I would still be prettier.¡± The two older sisters voiced out their dismay but all Anko heard was meows and yips. She had to hold herself back as she thought they were all cute. She put out her hand to see if they will come closer. ¡°Come now ladies. It is only natural a strong knight like Sir Akaro to attract exquisite ladies like her.¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± The cat and fox turned their backs to the woman who was confused as she didn''t believe she did anything to deserve such a reaction. However Rai was a lot more proactive. He smelled her extended hand and licked it. Anko smiled as she started to pet the dog. She could never have pets in her household due to her mothers allergic reactions to all type of animals. She brought home various cute animals and try to hide them in her room. But her mother would always know as she would sneeze and told her to give it away without even looking for the animal. After Rai''s response, Byakko and the twin foxes walked closer too. Genbu unfortunately was slow to arrive as it took him some time after Rai put him down earlier. ¡°Oh yeah. She knows where to pet like Master!¡± ¡°Don''t hog. My turn Rai-hyung.¡± ¡°Senpais let''s take turns.¡± ¡°Doe she have fireflies?¡± ¡°Enough with the fireflies! I''ll tell Akaro-nii not to get you them.¡± ¡°Don''t do that. Fine little brother. I''ll keep quiet about them for now.¡± She couldn''t help herself now. The pleasing sounds of their yips, panting, and purrs made her quite elated and she knelt down to hug them. ¡°Soo cuuute!¡± ¡°Oh my. She has already started to like your pets younger brother.¡± Anko hearing the remarks of one of the young chefs stood up immediately. She forgot she was actually working to pay for the red bean paste desserts she wanted for after training. She blushed as she had embarrassed herself. ¡°Alright. I have food for everyone.¡± Akaro started to lay down barbequed meat the he made using the facilities. Cooking Queen was happy that her son showed a bit of interest in cooking and allowed him to use some of the seasoning when making his barbequed meat. He also had some cabbage leaves for Genbu and a carrot salad for Tsukino that had various fruit and lettuce mixed in. All the carnivores devoured their barbeque meat quickly. In regards to Seiryuu a little too quickly as he swallowed it whole. A big bump could be found between his head and tail. ¡°Look he has a bump to play around on.¡± The twin foxes started to jump over the hump of the snake. ¡°Ssstop you two. It will wreck my indegessstion. ¡° He was too full to normally react. It was the first time he was fed something so delicious. Cooking queen looked at Akaro. ¡°Akaro, did you properly introduce yourself to Anko.¡± ¡°Yes eomma. She praised your food.¡± ¡°Younger brother, you should show her around the city. She just got to the city today.¡± A clear conniving smile was plastered on his face. Cooking Queen glared at Gasper and he just shrugged it off. ''A handsome boy like him should make a lot of memories. Hufufu!'' His lecherous smirk caused him to get a smack from Juhee who knew what he was thinking. ''Don''t corrupt my boy!'' She didn''t voice it out as both the girl and boy would be embarrassed. Well she knew the girl would be but her son still worried her as his level of social interaction with the opposite sex was almost futile. ¡°I don''t see a problem with showing her around the places I know. As long as she''s fine with it.¡± ¡°It would help me a lot. Your mother taught me a lot but I don''t know my way around yet. If you do not mind Akaro-san.¡± ''That and maybe I can get more information about you.'' She has yet to see his face thanks to his scarf. Everyone could only see his eyes and red hair as his other physical attributes are blocked by the gear he is wearing. This lessened the attraction of females who only looked at his face. Red hair itself is pretty common in a game after all. People who did recognize him kept a safe distance as approaching him could lead to unknown consequences thanks to his demon blacksmith reputation. After the animals ate, the pair Anko and Akaro started going around the city. Kuroneko and Kogane made sure there was a significant gap between the two, the other four legged animals were following behind them. Genbu on Rai walked beside Akaro and the two raptors roosted themselves on Akaro''s shoulders. Anko was holding onto Tsukino while Seiryuu had wrapped himself around Akaro''s left arm. ¡°Look it''s the weapon breaking demon blacksmith and his minions.¡± ¡°Wow she''s pretty. Hey isn''t that the queen of duels earlier today?¡± ¡°So she likes the mysterious bad boy types.¡± ¡°Well you don''t stand a chance then.¡± "The strongest combo!" "Nah she and him are probably going to duel later." "Let''s just keep watching them and wait for it to happen." The two did not hear any of the comments of the other players as they walked towards their first destination. It was the closest and Akaro had a very important request to ask. They reached the Alchemist Haven. ¡°Poison-ssi, you around?¡± ¡°Akaro... in lab room...¡± ¡°What is that smell?¡± ¡°Akaro-nii, the smell hurts my nose.¡± The youngest fox had said while the other four legged animals had the same thought. The animals with the stronger sense of smell left the building first. Leaving only Genbu, Seiryuu, and Tsukino. Genbu did not really care, Seiryuu has a toxic poison that smelled about the same, and Tsukino had experience with herbs so it didn''t bother her. The two raptors felt cramped and wanted to fly around for a while, and left with the other animals. Anko who was also not use to foul smelling scent couldn''t help but cover nose with her hand. ¡°That''s just the herbs and potions she makes. This place is a good place to buy potions to restore health and mana.¡± The purple haired young lady nodded her head. Still holding her hand on her face. ¡°Akaro... bring date?..¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°I didn''t bring fruit unfortunately. Do women like fruits?¡± He was looking at Anko as this was the second time it was brought up. As she was as clueless as he was when it come to dating she responded in a similar manner. ¡°I''ve never eaten dates before so I don''t know how it tastes.¡± Then it clicked almost immediately what the black haired alchemist was implying. ''She means when going out with a boy! Wait this isn''t a date right? He''s just showing me around... Plus I''m not attracted to him anyway. A man should never need to hide their face.'' ¡°No this isn''t what it looks like Poison-san.¡± Akaro was left in the dark completely as he lacked the social interactions that the young woman had. She actually went to a school and had friends who dated. Akaro didn''t have any real life friends his age growing up. The closest was an annoying boy who kept bugging him to spar. ¡°Okay... Akaro attractive.... without scarf... be careful...¡± ¡°I will.¡± Anko just responded normally. ¡°Akaro you... brought animals... ingredients?¡± The three animals shivered at the thought and looked at their owner. ¡°No not ingredients. My pets.¡± ¡°Akaro... you come... to learn... Alchemy?..¡± ¡°Well no... I wanted to find out about poisons against mice...¡± ¡°I... help... only if you.... become alchemist...¡± Akaro had to think about the arrangement. He only had two class slots left. One was his grandmaster slot which he would leave for a combat related class. Still hoping to unlock the shinobi one, he was holding out on any combat class. The other was a master. He didn''t have anything else he wanted to have so he shrugged. ¡°I can become an alchemist.¡± ¡°You accept... me... as teacher?¡± ¡°Yes Poison-sensei.¡± ''Sensei is a Japanese honorific...'' The ebony haired woman smiled her gentle smile. She never had an actual apprentice to pass down her skills to. She was going to make sure he learned everything she knew. She started to look through a chest filled with dusty old books that kept her older recipes. Akaro and Anko watched as she shuffled around. Anko was now use to the smell so she did not need to block her nose. ¡°Where... is... skill... book...found it...¡± She came out of the chest with a scarlet book. She then handed it over to Akaro. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Do you want to learn the class in this book?[/col][/box] ¡°Yes.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have unlocked the Hermit Alchemist Do you want to save it under Grandmaster?[/col][/box] ¡°No.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Hermit Alchemist has been added under Master.[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Hermit Alchemist Learned Acute Tongue (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables you to accurately discover the properties of the ingredient you''ll be using after consuming it. 2.5% Success rate Learned Poison Craft (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables you to make poisons. Potency increased by 2.5% Learned Medicine Craft (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables you to make curative items that restore certain conditions Potency increased by 2.5% Learned Pill Producer (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables you to make pill forms of potions you have created. Amount is affected by the amount of the concoction and by the level of the skill. 10 pills/1 litre of potion Consumes 500 mana Learned Innovator (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to increase the success rate of combining acquired ingredients to form a new concoction. This may lead to new alchemy skills. Success rate increased by 2.5% Learned Recipe Book (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to record recipes that have been learned or created in a book that bound to the player. Level corresponds on learning new recipes. Once user hits the max recipes the skill will level up and add pages accordingly. Current number of recipes that can be recorded is 5.[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]INT up by 30 WIS up by 30 DEX up by 30 STA up by 30 Health up by 300 Mana up by 300 You have acquired new title. Poison''s First Apprentice[/col][/box] ¡°You are... first apprentice...¡± ¡°I won''t disappoint you Poison-sensei. But can I ask to take the lessons after my quest. Mice are eating my books right now.¡± ¡°Mice are small... any poison can kill... I need time to prepare... come back tomorrow...¡± ¡°Maybe Seiryuu and Tsukino may be able to help you.¡± The two looked at him as he was crazy to leave them with the person who wanted them to be ingredients earlier. ''He named them with Japanese names for certain folktales... Seiryuu the blue dragon and Tsukino which means moon, so rabbit of the moon. Maybe he is the one I''m looking for...I need to see his face.'' Akaro was unaware he was being investigated in regards to his origin. He looked at the rabbit and the snake. ¡°Tsukino has the ability to make better properties for healing herbs and Seiryuu has a potent poison.¡± ¡°Rabbit skill.... show me...¡± Giving Tsukino some herbs, she began to chew on it and spat it out. Poison like her apprentice took it and shoved it into her mouth. ¡°Increased healing... by twenty-five... percent... Good rabbit for alchemy... Now snake...¡± ¡°Seiryuu. Spit on this glass dish.¡± ¡°Don''t want to.¡± ¡°Do you like flying?¡± ¡°No massster I''ll lisssten.¡± Seiryuu afraid of the threat spat out poison in the petri dish. Then all of them watched as Poison took the dish and drank it. ¡°Sensei!¡± ¡°Poison-san!¡± ¡°Don''t worry... I''m immune... tasted too much... poison and survived... when still apprentice...¡± They were both shocked to find out she was immune to poison. Akaro being her new apprentice thought of what she said. ''So if I can survive being poisoned I can get an immunity like sensei. I wonder how many poisons she tasted then...'' ¡°Very potent... can kill small to mid range bodies... take about... 2 hours to kill human...Snake also useful...¡± ¡°Then I leave them in your hands. I still have a few places to show Anko-san. Thank you for your help sensei.¡± ¡°Remember... after quest... come here to learn...Nice meeting... Anko...¡± Although she was still getting use to her speech Anko replied. ¡°Nice meeting you also Poison-san.¡± The two left and was once again joined by Akaro''s pack of animals. This time they started to walk towards the centre of the city. They entered a building called the Spool and Thread. ¡°Akaro-ssi!¡± Serenity had got up from her desk to say hello to her crush. Then she saw the other woman beside him. She immediately went into battle mode. ¡°Hi there my name is Serenity. What is yours?¡± ¡°Anko.¡± ¡°What is your relation to Akaro?¡± ¡°He''s showing me around.¡± Sighing slightly out of relief she then heard her teacher. ¡°Oh my... Akaro you have brought me a new model, yes?¡± ''What is that?'' Anko eyes bulged slightly as she watched the half-human half-dwarf scope her out. ¡°She''s a perfect replacement for that female model you won''t introduce me to again.¡± This earned Orchid an icy glare from the red-head in which she just returned with a wink. ''Another girl! So many rivals!'' ''Model... is she talking about me?'' ¡°So do you sell clothing here?¡± Anko tried to change the direction of the conversation. Madame Orchid looked at the young woman and said, ¡°Of course. Only the best.¡± ¡°Ah then it would be too expensive for a newcomer like me. I just started today.¡± Anko didn''t even have money as she didn''t even start any quests yet. She just started at the Hunter''s Delight after all. ¡°You have a man right beside you. He could pick up the bill.¡± Akaro looked at the muscular women with a questioning stare. ''You want me to pay? You money grubber. Just like master alright.'' ¡°Alright I''ll buy a set of beginner clothes for her. Use these wolf pelts that I got earlier as per our agreement.¡± ¡°Tsk. You caught on too quick.¡± Orchid said under her breath. She did remember to offer him quite a bit of discount and selling the pelts pretty much covered all the costs for clothing a level 1 can wear. ¡°Give me a day and I''ll have clothes ready for her.¡± ¡°I cannot ask you to do that. I do not know how to pay you back.¡± The purple haired female protested as she did not want to be indebted to another player. ''That and if I owe you a favour and you are that Akaro then I would have to hold off on our duel until I repaid the debt.'' Akaro thought about it. He had his animal army to combat the mice but it may not be enough. Having more people would help him and being a low level who was stuck in the city for four weeks put her in a position of just training and work anyways. ¡°You can accompany on a special quest I have to complete. Any japtem or loot that drops we split seventy ¨C thirty. I get the most of it. Is that agreeable?¡± Before she can even agree Serenity spoke up as she was being nudged by Orchid. ¡°Can I come too Akaro-ssi? I''m level 25 and I want to help out.¡± ¡°That would be perfect. I can give Serenity your friends clothing when you two meet up for the quest.¡± The hulk of the woman had a very suspicious smile on her face but he ignored it as it only made sense to increase their battle power. ¡°Then we split the loot three ways. I get forty and both of you get thirty is that fair?¡± ''I wouldn''t mind giving you my share as long as I can be with you.'' Serenity nodded immediately. ¡°I agree. Thank you for helping out a player like me Akaro-san.¡± Anko was really in his debt now and so she can only accept the generosity. ¡°That''s fine. Eomma would have told me to do this anyway. My hyungs wouldn''t leave me alone if I didn''t at least do this much.¡± He knew the young chefs already expect him to be polite. ¡°Now why did you bring animals to a clothing shop.¡± The glare coming from Orchid showed her animosity to the situation Akaro has brought to the store various animals that shed and molted fur and feathers. It was the worst thing to do in a place that sold clothing. ¡°Well I''ll be heading out now.¡± Akaro tried to make his escape but was soon dragged by Orchid. Giving him a dustpan and broom he was forced to clean up after his animals and have them wait outside. After cleaning Akaro looked at Anko who was having a conversation with Serenity. ¡°Just a few more places to go now.¡± ¡°Alright. Nice meeting you two.¡± ¡°Wait Akaro-ssi. I''ll go with you as well. I need to know where the library is and you also don''t know that many places.¡± Serenity was not going to let the two of them have anymore alone time. When they exit the shop the black feline and red vixen were glaring at the other woman. ¡°Another one! Master is too popular.¡± ¡°That pretty lady gave master his clothes yesterday.¡± ¡°Rai. Was she close to master?¡± ¡°Kuroneko-nuna. She asked him for a fruit also.¡± ¡°She asked him for a date. What did master say?¡± ¡°He said yes.¡± They were all whispering out of Akaro''s earshot and he was busy talking to the other ladies. The party now went towards the training grounds. With the cat and the fox on both sides of him and the girls who were walking by each side. Kogane had to nip a bit at Serenity to force her to keep her distance. ¡°Akaro-ssi. You have a lot of animals.¡± ¡°Yeah. They are my army.¡± ¡°Against what?¡± ¡°Mice and spiders.¡± Serenity had to stop as she feeling squeamish after hearing what they were going to be fighting in the quest. ''I''m scared of mice!'' ¡°Doesn''t sound like a challenge.¡± Anko couldn''t believe the quest was against small rodents and spiders. She was thinking of what they were in real life after all. Unlike most women she was not really afraid of creatures smaller than her. She thought most of them were cute even some of the more stranger looking ones. ¡°The mice range from level 5 ¨C 10. You just started so they are a lot more formidable for a level 1.¡± Akaro explained what was informed to him by his aunt. ¡°So the more levels they have the stronger they are. Even small mice can kill you. Serenity-san why aren''t you saying anything?¡± ¡°I...I''m scared of mice...¡± ¡°Don''t worry I''ll protect you.¡± Anko said with full confidence but Serenity didn''t feel relieved. The two people in front of her were definitely lower level than her. Akaro seemed like he can handle himself but she couldn''t figure out how Anko was so confident. They continued to walk towards the training grounds. ¡°Akaro-nim! You can''t sneak in if I spot you so quickly.¡± ¡°Hello instructor-nim. I''m not training today. Need to take care of a pest problem at the library.¡± ¡°Isn''t Joshua-nim taking care of that?¡± ¡°I''m the owner. So it''s now my responsibility.¡± ¡°That''s good for a man to understand his responsibilities. You have also met Anko-ssi.¡± Akaro looked at Anko then back at the instructor. ¡°So she has been here already. This was the next place I was going to show her but that''s good she has already been here. That will shorten the tour.¡± ¡°Akaro-nim is showing Anko-ssi around. Also this young lady as well?¡± The instructor looked at Serenity who bowed out of respect. She went straight to find tailoring master first and left outside to train and level up when she first started. She has not visited the training grounds once as she thought it would be boring to attack still targets with swords. ¡°She is helping me show Anko-san around. She is also going to give Anko-san her new gear.¡± ¡°I thought as you were a good looking young man you have enticed both of them. You know what they say about a flower in each hand.¡± Anko shook her head saying no but Serenity just stood their blushing as his looks did attract her initially. ¡°I''ve read books using that expression but never really understood how two flowers in each hands would mean anything. It just means your hands are full.¡± The instructor and two young women looked at Akaro with a sweat drop appearing on their heads. ''Is he really good looking?'' Anko thought about it but she did not really have a good reference as the men around her wore more gruff appearances. She didn''t have a set preference for men but they had to be strong like her father. Thinking about it more clearly she believed unless they can beat her father than they wouldn''t be worthy to have her hand in marriage. After all strong children would be necessary to grow a strong clan. ¡°Well I will head back here after I take care of the library. I also have to replace any of the books that have been damaged.¡± ¡°Then Akaro-nim. Please take care and I am sure you will finish your basic training as soon as you get back. Show those pests not to mess with swordsmen.¡± ¡°Don''t worry I''ll show no mercy to those who decide to destroy my books.¡± He said that with a fire in his eyes. He really hated the situation at the library and he had to make proper preparations so their won''t be a repeat like last time. He was unhappy but he wasn''t going to risk the lives of his companions. The animals who were watching the interactions between the humans continued to listen. ¡°Sir Akaro''s passion could be felt with that statement. We must make those vile vermin pay for upsetting our benefactor.¡± ¡°Hyung was really scary when he opened the doors and saw all the books wrecked. We only had to leave because Rai-hyung and I were weak.¡± ¡°Do not worry young turtle. I will train you and your two brethren to be proper strong gentleman. ¡° The group left towards the library. Since Akaro held the key not anyone can enter the special dungeon unless he let them in. ¡°This is where we are going to meet tomorrow evening. I have a lot of preparation to do before we go in. Please prepare as well. I will explain more tomorrow.¡± Akaro looked at his two new player teammates. ¡°Anko. To make it easier to contact me. Do you want to add me as a friend?¡± Anko received the friend window and she responded with yes. She needed to stick close with her target after all. She still had a few doubts that need to be clarified before she can say this was the rival she had been so upset on hearing that he left Japan. ¡°Serenity.¡± Serenity looked at the red head immediately when her name was called. ¡°Being the highest level here as I''m only level 18. You will be important in this fight but since you are afraid of them are you a range class by any chance?¡± ¡°The first weapon I picked up was the bow. I am still a tailor but some of my class skills work with it. So I primarily fight behind people.¡± ¡°That will work well. Anko how about you.¡± ¡°A true warrior fights in the front lines. I am close to mid range fighter. I use the naginata.¡± She was proud of her skills so Anko had no reason to feel she couldn''t fight in the front. ¡°Then do you have a naginata?¡± Anko was about to say yes but she just remembered they were in a game and she just started. ¡°I do not...¡± ¡°That''s alright I''ll make you one. You can pay me back later. Will 50 copper be alright with you?¡± ''He can make weapons?'' ¡°I can get that once I get more work at the restaurant. They said they would pay me as well once I help them with serving food. Cooking Queen-obasan said that she will help me learn. I have never worked before.¡± ¡°I can understand that. I''ve been training all my life and never really worked as well. Maybe I should work there to pay back the hyungs...¡± Serenity watch the two have the strangest conversation. It was as if she was the only one who had ever had to work in her life. Sure she was famous now but she only got there with hard work when she was younger. ¡°Did you two grow up in the mountains?¡± Serenity said as a joke as she thought they were joking with her. ¡°Yes.¡± Akaro answered honestly. He didn''t really need to lie to a friend after all. ¡°No. I lived close to one but I did go to school. Just never had to work I guess.¡± Her eyes bulged at both of their answers. ''She''s the daughter of some important politician or CEO or something like that! But what Akaro replied. He must be joking. No he''s not joking... he never really joked before...'' Changing the topic Akaro wanted to finish his duty so he can continue preparing for the upcoming battle. ¡°Alright I''ll be going to the forge now to work on your weapon. Serenity can you follow me as I''ll need your assistance as well.¡± ¡°May I come with you. It will be important for me where I can obtained more weapons as well.¡± Anko asked Akaro as she really wanted to see where the blacksmith location was. As she didn''t know how to make weapons she would need to know someone who can make and maintain them. Serenity frowned that Anko was going to butt in again as she really thought she''ll get some alone time with him. ''He bought her armour. I''ll make him buy stuff on our date. He didn''t say when though. I''ll ask him again after this quest.'' The trio and the party of animals started walking towards the western gates where the Iron Turtle was located. They were immediately greeted by a cranky old man. ¡°You bring to me more animals! At least you brought women with you this time. You had me worried for a while. I know this one... but who is the purple haired one?¡± ¡°Her name is Anko-san. She just started today. I''m going to make her a weapon as she is helping me with a quest.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°I''m Melchior this punk brat''s blacksmith master.¡± The two greeted each other while Akaro went to have a conversation with his pets. ¡°Alright. You already know how you will all be training, support team stick with the attack team. The exit is that way. We will meet here in the morning. Suzaku, Kogane, and Kuroneko please keep everyone safe. I''ll have presents ready for when all of you return.¡± The three leaders of each team nodded. The support team lead by Kogane had lost two members for now but they were being used for supplies so it was fine. The stealth team left first as they needed to prepare for their hunt. The last team was the attack team and they also headed out with the support team right behind them. They all seemed to be smiling as if they did well with their training their master was going to give them presents. Serenity then asked Akaro as she wasn''t sure what she would be doing. ¡°Akaro-ssi. What did you need me to do?¡± ¡°Well I got this from one of the pack leaders of the wolves.¡± He took out the pelt that he picked up from the wolf leader from earlier on that morning. ¡°Can you make this into leather and make leather strips so I can attach metal tags on them? I want to make collars for my companions so they won''t be mistaken as wild animals.¡± The earlier confrontation had upset him quite a bit so having collars on his pets will make it easier for other players know that they belonged to someone. ¡°I can do that. But all my tools are back at the shop. I''ll make it and come back here is that okay?¡± She didn''t want to leave but in order for her to make it she needed her tools. Serenity looked at the redhead who nodded back at her saying that''s fine. "What level is your bow?" "Level 10 requirements why?" "Leave it with me. I''ll make some adjustments to it." Akaro took the bow that Serenity took out of her inventory. She already knew how good he was so she trusted him completely. He then watched as Serenity took the pelt and started running towards the Spool and Thread. ¡°Melchior-dono. Is that a katana behind you?¡± On display was the katana that Akaro had made as a gift. Melchior grabbed it and gave it to Anko to inspect. ¡°This is a really beautiful sword. I did not know you can make a sword like this Melchior-dono. I''m sure as Akaro-san is your apprentice he will make me a good starting naginata.¡± ¡°I didn''t make it. He did.¡± Anko stared at the red head who was watching Serenity leave. ''He made such a beautiful blade. The hamon alone is beyond rare. It looks like the one that my naginata blade has at home... and my father''s own long katana... but that was a gift from Miyamoto Hanzou-sama. Is he really that Akaro?'' She was trying to piece things together and she was getting a headache. The young man in front of her was respectful and generous. Nothing like the smug attitude of the Akaro she had faced when they were younger. She couldn''t comprehend that this was more his personality then the one she had interpreted when they were children. Akaro had walked back and he saw a scowl on Anko''s face. ¡°Anko-san is there anything wrong? Feeling sick?¡± Shaking her head no she sighed a bit. ¡°You are a pretty amazing sword smith to have made this katana for your master. Isn''t 50 copper for a naginata a little too cheap if the quality you make is this good?¡± ¡°Only 50 copper. Seems like my apprentice needs another lesson in proper pricing.¡± Melchior frowned after hearing how much he was charging the young lady. ¡°50 copper and she is assisting me on my quest. She needs to be equipped properly in order for her to fight properly.¡± ¡°Oh then you are getting other services then out of it. Well go ahead. I get 40% anyway.¡± Akaro took off his armor and put on a blacksmith apron. The moment his scarf was taken off Anko gave a scream. ¡°IT IS YOU!¡± Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter Volume 2 Chapter 5: Red the Hero Chapter 5: Red the Hero ¡°IT IS YOU!¡± Anko had screamed the moment she saw Akaro''s face which was partly confused by the purple headed girl. ¡°Don''t you recognize me!¡± ¡°Anko-san.¡± ¡°How about in black hair?¡± ¡°The woman at the funeral.¡± ¡°When we were kids?¡± ¡°We did not meet when we were kids. I never met any girls growing up.¡± ¡°Yeah you did! Remember. Spar with me!¡± ¡°You were once a boy?!¡± Akaro was literally surprised. That line was spoken by a young boy he met when he was younger. ***Flashback*** ¡°Spar with me!¡± ¡°Did you say something?¡± Kiyomi flushed red with anger as she was being ignored again. It upsets her whenever she was disregarded when she wanted to be taken seriously. ¡°You know you heard me! Don''t underestimate me this time. I''ve figured you out!¡± Akaro was getting annoyed by his fellow peer. Ever since their first fight when he first met this boy, the Kusunagi kept asking him to spar with him. ¡°Fine.¡± They got into a stance. This time it was a barehanded contest. The other boy threw a punch at Akaro, but that was the moment the young ninja took advantage of. He threw the boy across the training dojo after grabbing the punch and when the boy didn''t get back up he sighed. For some reason the boy seem to pass out after every fight. ''Too light... he''s not eating enough.'' The young Kiyomi who was pretending to be a boy and was getting pummelled every time they sparred. Waking up after a couple of minutes she started to look for the young boy. ''Where did he go? That makes it my ninety-ninth straight loss.'' Kiyomi started looking for Akaro who seemed to always disappear after every duel. She never understood that she was actually knocked out for a couple of minutes each time they had fought. To her it felt that the boy would be like a ghost after beating her. She couldn''t stand the thought of losing and dishonouring her father who was the first disciple to a master swordsman. She needed to win at least once. Hanzou was with the young half-japanese. ¡°You were challenged once more by the Kusanagi child?¡± ¡°He lost again.¡± Akaro stated a fact. As this was the ninety-ninth time he won and he was starting to get tired of all the challenges. At first he thought it was amusing as he never really spent time with anyone his age before. Then it started to annoy him so he would usually try to ignore the boy whenever he was challenged. That way at least the duels would end faster as the young Kusanagi would always try to strike first in which he could counter and knock him out. Also it made him laugh at how red in the face the boy got. Hanzou already knew the special situation with Kiyomi as his first disciple did not have any sons. He found it quite funny as Akaro wouldn''t hold back even if he knew the boy was a girl. ¡°How do you feel about the young boy?¡± ¡°Nothing really. Maybe a bit annoying.¡± ¡°How about making him a tomodachi?¡± ''To make that troublesome guy as a friend.'' Miyamoto Akaro was seriously debating whether or not to do so. ¡°If you want me to jii-chan. I don''t think I really need one.¡± ¡°Well it is always nice to have friends your age. Actually you only talk to me so I''m a little scared that you won''t be able to open up to people when I''m gone.¡± Miyamoto Hanzou always worried about the boys social awkwardness. Since he home schooled the child he never had any interactions with peers of his own age. He had been greeted by disciples every once in a while but never really got to know anyone. He was happy that this young girl had taken an interest to his enigmatic grandson. Death was a concept that Akaro had learned quite early as his grandfather wanted to make sure to know that people do die and because of his grandfather''s advanced age he knew that Hanzou can kick the bucket at any given time and with no warning. ¡°I''ll consider it when you die. So about fifty years from now.¡± ¡°You have such high expectations of your ageing grandfather. That will make me over a century in age.¡± Hanzou smiled at his grandson. ''He may know about death but he is still just a boy.'' ¡°FOUND YOU! Spar with me!¡± The huffing young child pointed a finger at Akaro. ¡°I''ll go back to training now then jii-chan.¡± ¡°Don''t ignore me again!¡± ¡°I have no interest in another duel.¡± ¡°But I need another one. I''m leaving tonight! You have yet to acknowledge me as someone worthy to fight with!¡± ¡°It will be one hundred times if we duel again. So how about you get stronger and have other people call you strong. Then I''ll fight you again.¡± ¡°Then it''s a promise. I''ll fight you again when I prove to other people I''m strong. Don''t forget!¡± The young cross-dresser left to find her father who was getting their things ready as they had to hike down the mountain to reach their limo. ¡°I cannot forget.¡± ***End Flashback*** ¡°I''ve always been a girl. I just pretended to be a boy so you will fight me seriously!¡± ¡°I wouldn''t have held back even if you were a girl. A duel is a duel.¡± ¡°Well I didn''t know that... but stop changing the subject. Our one-hundredth duel. Let''s do it now!¡± ¡°Did you say something?¡± ¡°Stop ignoring me. Are you running away?¡± ¡°Nope. Just don''t want to do it now.¡± ¡°Fine after the quest then?¡± ¡°If I have time.¡± ¡°If you are going to argue like a married couple please do it somewhere else.¡± Melchior was getting a headache at the two young folk. ¡°Mar...Married?! No way. We are rivals nothing more.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. You don''t have to explain things to me. Talk about this later. Can''t you see he already left you.¡± Akaro had already went into the forge to work on the weapon for Anko. Even though he just learned that the most annoying boy he had ever met was actually a girl he just shrugged it off and smiled while he thought. ''Might have explained why she never went and took a bath with me when we were young. That was the only time I could relax...now she''s asking for that duel again... well at least I kept my promise with jii-chan and became friends with her.'' Anko was miffed at being ignored but she had to calm herself. He just bought her training gear and is now making her a weapon in the game. She may have disliked his attitude when they were kids but she now knew he was a lot more mature then he let on. ''People change after all. Of course he wouldn''t recognize me if I show up as a girl in front of him. What am I an idiot?... I got so excited I lost my composure. I have to show him that I''m a lot stronger now.'' She was about to interrupt him but she noticed the concentrated look on his face. He was now folding some steel to make the blade of her weapon. She decided to grab a stool and watch him. Melchior smirked as he was somewhat proud at the popularity of his apprentice. The women around the area would always come by and ask about his apprentice but still would use the services of the Iron Turtle. Just because of the red head''s first few weeks at the forge and the demon blacksmith reputation the location was actually quite popular for the foreigners and citizens alike. The story of the Iron Turtle also helped advertise the location. Akaro was working with quality ''f'' steel. He needed a low level steel in order to make the weapon usable for the purple haired young lady. Beginner weapons obviously were poorer in quality as most players who started out wouldn''t be able to afford such weapons. He was technically increasing her power exponentially due to his blade smith skills. Even if it was poor quality weapon the damage would be even higher than an iron knife or sword. He finished the blade and started a simple sharpen. He still properly hardened the steel afterwords as well as it was a weapon made by him. The flame like hamon was found on this blade as well but you can tell it wasn''t the same quality as the katana he made. After he cooled the blade down he grabbed one of the longer pieces of lumber. He needed to make it so it had it''s own handle and could be attached to a pole to be a proper naginata. Thankfully his wood carving skill was a lot better. He made a simple ornamental look at where the hilt of the blade and pole met. He made sure that the pole was well rounded and smooth. He still had to wait for the glue to set on the handle, saya, and the connecting part for the pole. Anko who was watching the entire process had been mesmerized by his focused look and when he finished the form and shape of the naginata she finally got out of her stupor. ¡°Anko-san. It will take a while for the wood glue to set. It may be better for you to log out and eat something before we meet.¡± The red head spoke with the purple haired beauty normally. ¡°Alright. I will be right back after I eat. Don''t run away again because I''ll find you.¡± Akaro looked Anko with a questioning look. ''Run away?'' Before he could ask the question she logged off like he said. *** Getting up from the capsule Kiyomi couldn''t help but smile on her face. She had been quite unhappy not able to locate her rival who she promised when they were children to have one more duel when she was acknowledged as strong. Because of that said smile when she walked out of the room her mother, Saaya, put her hand on her mouth. ¡°Ara ara. Looks like you are in a better mood now.¡± ¡°Hahaue! I found him! He''s also playing the game!¡± Kiyomi felt relieved that she can duel her rival once more. ¡°It''s as if you are bound by the red string of fate.¡± ¡°Hahaue it is nothing of that sort. I can duel him. Our hundredth duel that he promised me once I got stronger. I can finally show him my strength.¡± Kusanagi Saaya smiled as she knew how obsessed her daughter was to get stronger. She also knew what she really wanted was for Miyamoto Akaro to acknowledge her as a martial artist. ¡°Let''s say you do duel again and you win. What will you do?¡± The dark haired young woman didn''t think that far ahead. ¡°Well he will know that I''m strong and um...¡± ¡°Ara ara. You only wanted to be noticed by a boy. My daughter is growing up.¡± ¡°Hahaue! I told you it''s not like that.¡± ¡°Saa. Let''s go eat some dinner as your father has come home.¡± The two walked towards the dining room. ¡°Good evening, Chichiue. I have news for you.¡± Kusanagi Tatsumi was sitting at the head seat on the dining room table. He caught sight of his wife and now smiling daughter. ¡°Oh? You seem to be in a better mood. Our men will be happy to not get beaten up by you anymore.¡± ¡°They are just weak.¡± Kiyomi was always disappointed with the students that her father trained. There was probably only one who can contend with her skill and that was the his first disciple but he was in charge of their operations in Korea. ¡°No my dear. You are just too strong. But what has perked up your behavior.¡± This time it was Saaya who interjected. ¡°She met a boy in a game and is now infatuated.¡± ¡°HAHAUE!¡± ¡°Who and where can I find him? Who dares try to take my daughter away?!¡± Tatsumi had a very intimidating glare on his face as he was looking for information. ¡°Chichiue! Calm down. Hahaue is joking. I''ve found my rival!¡± Calming down the Kusanagi yakuza head look at his daughter. ''So he''s playing a game also? Wait what game...? Isn''t he in Korea?'' ¡°Anata, I was indeed poking fun at our daughter''s expense but it is true that a man has been filling her stubborn head.¡± ¡°What game are you playing?¡± ¡°Royal Road. Hahaue set it up in my room today. I need to hurry up and eat so I can go back in and make sure he''s still there.¡± ¡°Ara ara. She cannot leave him even for a second. He must be quite a handsome young man. Worried he will be taken from you?¡± ¡°Mou... Hahaue. Stop these jokes.¡± ¡°Well lets hurry and eat then.¡± ''What a stroke of luck. My men will definitely be able to heal now that she is preoccupied with a game. Still I need to search for that boy in Korea. I''ll call Takahashi later today to start investigating.'' Tatsumi and his family were served food by their personal chef. The two parents watched as their daughter who usually ate with grace was now trying to scarf down the food. ¡°Kiyomi-chan. A lady shall always eat with grace. No matter how much of a rush you are in, you should not act like this. Anata speak to your daughter.¡± ¡°Saaya it''s okay. This is the first time she has an interest in something other than beating up our men. Must be a fun game.¡± Once they were finish eating they were surprised once more when their daughter gathered the dishes and brought them to the kitchen. She was going to wash it but was stopped by the servants. ¡°I need to learn! Teach me how to wash dishes.¡± She protested against her servants. The servants were so confused with her actions they looked at the lady of the house. ¡°Ara ara. Kiyomi-chan. Why are you so stubborn? I thought you were in a rush to play the game?¡± ¡°Hahaue. I have a job in the game and I am burdening the ones who were kind to me. As a Kusanagi we cannot let such kindness be taken without giving something back.¡± ¡°You have a job? My goodness what kind of game is this?¡± Saaya had a hand on her cheek. In just a couple of hours she saw her daughter not only became happy, she wanted to also do some manual labour. ¡°It is alright hahaue. I''m actually quite happy. For the first time there are those not treating me like I''m from a famous household. It is quite refreshing.¡± ¡°There is got to be something other than that. Don''t lie to your mother. I know you better than you think.¡± ¡°I... was given anko filled pastries.¡± Kiyomi confessed that she only started working for her one and only kryptonite. ¡°The truth comes out finally. I knew it had to be something more selfish then just returning kindness. So you can eat your favourite food in the game without gaining the weight. That is fine with me. Let her do what she wants.¡± The Kusanagi house wife directed the last sentence to the servants who had now begun teaching their ojou-sama the basics of washing properly. *** Akaro also logged off to have a meal with his family. ¡°Myung-Ki did you treat our newest worker well?¡± ¡°She was actually an old acquaintance when I lived in Japan.¡± Myung-Dae perked his ears at hearing that. ¡°Grandson is she pretty?¡± ¡°She''s about the same as eomma just younger.¡± ¡°How did you not recognize her with your amazing memory?¡± ¡°I thought she was a boy when we were younger.¡± ¡°My goodness. First my son dresses like a girl and now my dishwasher use to dress like a boy. What is wrong with your generation?¡± ¡°Eomma I told you that was for a quest. I''m going to head back to the game now. Thank you for the food.¡± Myung-Ki finished his food and made sure to put the dishes in the sink before heading back to the game. ¡°That boy is getting too interested in the game. Maybe we should ask him to attend university.¡± His worried mother spouted an idea out to her father. ¡°Don''t be so rash. He''s at least interacting with real people now. Which reminds me... I''ve ordered two more capsules but they will arrive in a couple of days. Teach me about this game.¡± *** It was now evening and the stealth team was now eyeing a level ten deer. Thanks to the evening boost both their prey and them get a boosted amount of attack. ¡°Kagerou. Dig a pit and we will lure the deer here.¡± ¡°Yes Kuro-nee, I''ll make a pit big enough to trap it.¡± The black and red fox started digging using his shovel paws skill. ¡°Yasu-nim. Can you get on the other side of it and lure it here?¡± The absentminded owl nodded his head. ¡°Of course I can do that. Why did you want me to do that?¡± Both the fox and cat sighed. Although he was technically stronger than both of them he was a lot more whimsical whenever he was asked to do anything. ¡°So we can get some deer meat and work on our teamwork.¡± ¡°Of course I can do that. What did you want me to do again?¡± ''Hopeless... Why did master assign this guy to me?'' Kuroneko was getting frustrated with the owl. So she decided on a more direct approach. ¡°You guide the deer here or I will make sure you won''t fly if you fail.¡± ¡°Roger that madame.¡± The owl flew silently behind the deer to immediately guide it to their trap. The deer that was startled by the owl ran straight for the pit. The moment it fell in Kuroneko decided to finish it off with her Silent Killer skill. She jumped into the pit and flipped forward. She made no sound as she jumped and when she struck it square on the head with all four of her claws. As it made no noise when she landed and due to actually activating the instant kill the deer disappeared in a flash. It dropped some deer meat which the three of them split. ¡°That was cool Kuro-nee. How did you learn that?¡± ¡°My younger brother kept asking me to make a special move. It''s the only one that I use if I manage to sneak or trap my opponent. I usually just make him fight for me.¡± The young fox then asked the smaller animal. ¡°Can I learn something like that?¡± ¡°You have other skills that are useful. Create a technique that is unique to you. You like to play pranks by making pits people and animals fall into. Do something with your digging skill.¡± ¡°Hmm... I think I have an idea but can you watch me?¡± Kuroneko put a paw on his head and rubbed it. ¡°Why can''t my brother be as smart as you?¡± Meanwhile in another field that said brother was getting berated by a falcon. ¡°Young Byakko. Stop shouting out your attacks before attacking. I''m sure Sir Akaro has told you this many times. It is utterly ridiculous to declare your intentions to the enemy.¡± ¡°A hero cannot just attack an enemy without screaming out the name!¡± Both Genbu and Rai watched the exchange between the two. ¡°A gentleman does not need to raise his voice when having a conversation. Young lad please refrain from screaming like a spoiled brat.¡± ¡°You want to fight you stuffy bird?!¡± That was the last straw for Suzaku who picked up the bratty cat with his two talons. ¡°Waaah!¡± ¡°Do you want to disobey me again?¡± ¡°You''re worse than nunaaaaaa!¡± An obsidian coloured cat sneezed. ''I''m pretty sure that my brother just compared me to someone. I''ll make sure to punish him later.'' The support team which consisted of just Kogane and Hikaru could only sigh at the nonsense they were spectating. They were told to support but Byakko kept jumping in and either scared the prey or screwed up all the work they put into planning their method of attack. ¡°Young feline, you need to learn how to follow instructions. When we say to wait, don''t run ahead of us.¡± Suzaku was lecturing while just gliding with the surrounding air currents. ¡°It''s so boring to just stay still and wait.¡± ¡°Did you know, Sir Akaro bested me by planning ahead. When he used his techniques he didn''t even say it aloud, let alone shout it like you. He defeated me by outwitting me and also in physical ability. As you are strong physically already we need to work at your tactics. I''m trying to teach you how our benefactor fights and put some manners in your untrained brain.¡± Byakko was literally tense with the fear of being dropped. But while he was being held there he had an idea while the air moved his fur around. ¡°Suzaku-hyung. What if we create a combined technique with Rai, Genbu, you and I?¡± ¡°A combination technique before you even learn how to work as a team. Well it is not a common method but if we can coordinate an attack as a unit I''m sure Sir Akaro will be quite happy. Let''s try making one before meeting him in the morning.¡± The red falcon came back closer to the earth and dropped the cat off and started to discuss what they plan to do and started attacking various creatures in the field. They even attacked packs of wolves as Suzaku could literally slice them in half with an aerial assault but his focus on was getting the dynasty brothers to work and coordinate with each other. Kogane and Hikaru were buffing their team and even attacking when they had a chance. With the shovel paws ability they caught the wolves in various holes in the ground. The wolves began to tell stories of the red headed demons dark minions. All you can hear were wolves screaming bloody murder throughout the night. *** Akaro logged back in to find a waiting Anko who was tapping her foot. ¡°Making a lady wait is bad manners you know.¡± Akaro gave her a blank look before going straight to the pole he was working on. ¡°Hey don''t ignore me?¡± ¡°Hmm did you say something?¡± ¡°Hey! Listen to me!¡± Akaro after finding out that she was the boy he tend to ignore he went with what he was most comfortable with. Even though he did think they were friends he always thought it was kind of funny how the boy reacted when they were kids. ¡°Mou... don''t ignore me like when we were kids!¡± Akaro smirked before shaking his head. ¡°That''s the Kusunagi I remember.¡± ¡°What do you mean that''s the Kusanagi you remember?!¡± ¡°Let''s work on your weapon.¡± ¡°You did it again! Stop ignoring my questions!!¡± Akaro couldn''t help but laugh inwardly while taking out the pole weapon. He hammered the wooden peg that would hold the blade in the naginata. He then started slimming the pole before sanding so that it was smooth and cylindrical. The saya he made for it was also form to fit with the pole so it can be used a staff weapon when not using the blade. ¡°Anko-san what do you want to call your beginning weapon.¡± ¡°Wakaranai... I''m not really good at naming... how about Kemushi?¡± Akaro understood what she called it. As it was just a beginning weapon it was as if it was a caterpillar. He drew a caterpillar on the saya and took it off so he can engrave the blade and named it Kemushi. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have created a pole weapon. Do you want to name it?[/col][/box] ¡°Kemushi.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Kemushi Damage: 20 ¨C 60 Durability: 250/250 A low quality weapon made by an intermediate bladesmith. Although it was made of poor material the discipline of the blacksmith has given it a bonus attributes. Equip: STR +20 AGI +20 VIT +20 Requirements: No requirements[/col][/box] He then handed the newly crafted weapon to Anko. She inspected and she frowned a bit that she had to accept a weapon from her rival. Anko then started moving it around to check the balance. It was not as good as her actual naginata but she knew she couldn''t ask for anything better at her current level. ¡°It''ll be fine. Best way to test is to spar with someone...¡± Hearing her implications Akaro chose to ignore her again. ¡°You should go to the training grounds and get use to it. I have more items I need to prepare for this quest.¡± ''Drat... he didn''t fall for the bait.'' ¡°I''ll meet you at the library later tonight then. I''ll go train for now then head to the restaurant to continue to work until it''s time. I''ll make sure to pay my debt to you.¡± They talked to each other as if they returned to when they first met. It was a more familiar speech then the politeness like before. After the purple haired beauty left, Akaro started replenishing his supplies of throwing weapons. With the projectiles he only need them to be formed, hardened and sharpened. This allow him to produce more of them with less time. A majority of them can be resharpened later as they would lose durability each time it struck an object, be it alive or inanimate. The one skill he wanted to try out was the weapon modification skill. Taking Serenity''s bow he memorized how it looked and compared it to the memory of bows he actually used as a child. The main difference was the length. Traditional Japanese bows, known as yumi, were quite long while the bow he was looking at was much shorter. The difference would also determine use. Serenity had a basic bow any archer can use but the distance the arrow can fly is limited to the strength of the bow. The more she can pull back will allow a lot more tension and cause a stronger shot. He needed to balance the strength of the bow and how strong Serenity was. She was a higher level then him at level 25 but she didn''t look too strong. He decided to make a shorter version of yumi known as a hankyu. This was still longer than Serenity''s bow but it would increase her range and accuracy at the cost that she may have to exert herself a bit more. Akaro grabbed various type of wood and compared the elasticity by cutting it to about the same length and width of the bow and bending the wood. Once he heard a crack he knew it wasn''t good to use. He then settled on a bamboo like wood about five feet in length half the normal size. After shaping the width of the bow he started to boil some water over the forge in a large troth looking like container. The reason for needing boiling water is to start tillering the bow. This allowed the wood to soften enough for him to start forming the proper curves in it to look like a bow. He needed to boil the wood for about thirty minutes before taking out and shaping it by hand and holding it in place so it keeps the shape. This continued past midnight before the bow''s shape was completed. Akaro then took the tailor''s bow and deconstructed it. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Acquired quality F Yew wood. Level up: Deconstruction (Beginner Lv. 2 10%) 5% chance to succeed[/col][/box] Surprised he succeeded the first time, Akaro took the material and decided to use the weapon modification skill. This allowed him to modify a weapon using raw materials. He wanted to increase durability and adding a different raw material will also modify how the end result the bow would be. As it was still a game he had skills that would improve weapons regardless of his actual expertise in the weapon making. He was not a bow expert so he can only do what he can from memory. He had learned a bit from the other craftsman his grandfather had visited during his childhood. He failed miserably at the first through fifth attempt which drained his mana reserves. The succession rate of 2.5% is no laughing matter but after the fifth attempt he did receive a message window. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Weapon Modification (Beginner Lv. 2 14%) 5% chance to succeed.[/col][/box] Although still a low success rate it was better than 2.5%. He drank some of his mana potions and started again. After the seventh attempt he finally succeeded. What occurred was a silver flash and the bow itself seem to have changed. On the outer was the yew wood and the bamboo became the backing as it would retain its tinsel strength. The shape still stayed the same where the top of the bow was thinner and more flexible while the grip was slightly lower than centre of the bow as the bottom half was thicker and a bit heavier. This balanced the bow as the bottom weight will help in keeping it straight when the archer uses it. In ancient times these bows were made for shooting while riding a horse so this allowed the archer a bit more control when shooting while moving. The downside of this made the bow unbalanced when shooting while holding the bow horizontally unless the user was proficient enough in using bows. He hoped that Serenity will like the change as he got the bow string attached. The young woman in question showed up just as he was finishing. ¡°Akaro-ssi! Is that my new bow! It''s beautiful!¡± ¡°It''s not done yet. I need you to name it.¡± ¡°Cheonsa. As it kind of reminds me of angel wings.¡± Akaro then inscribed the name on the bottom half of the bow. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Cheonsa Damage: 70 ¨C 75 Durability: 150/150 A mid quality white bow that was strengthen by low quality material. The durability is decreased due to the quality. Inscribed on it is the word angel in an eastern language. Bonus attributes were given due to the discipline of the blacksmith. Equip: DEX +20 AGI +20 STR +20 Requirements: Level 20 Strength 40[/col][/box] ¡°You may need a bit more strength in order to use it. I''m not too sure if you have enough stats in that.¡± ¡°Don''t worry. For tailoring I had to put at least forty strength so I can puncture some of the leather and carry some of the fabrics. I should be able to use this just fine. Thank you so much.¡± ¡°Did you finish with the pelt?¡± Serenity took out what looked like a spool of wrapped up leather. ¡°It was a really good quality pelt. I managed to process a good amount after processing it to leather.¡± Akaro looked at the spool of thin leather. He had more than enough to make collars for his animal companions. ¡°Can you help me make the collars for when they get back?¡± Serenity nodded gleefully as she didn''t see Anko around and technically they were the only ones at the forge. Being a tailor she always brought basic tools for patching equipment or general sewing so she was prepared for any situation regarding emergency repairs. She watched as Akaro was working with a long piece of steel and flattening it into a long, flat, and rectangular bar. Akaro was taking the steel and steadily hammered away to get it quite thin as he was going to attach it to the collars. He needed enough length he can inscribe their names on it. The tailor who was sitting was already prepared to take measurements for when the animals returned. She dreamily stared at Akaro who was now working on arrows for her to use. He was making the bladed ends before attaching them to sturdy bamboo. Time rolled by and soon the two players could hear the animals arriving just outside of the forge. Finishing the last arrow he and Serenity walked outside the forge. ¡°Hyung! We''re back.¡± ¡°Sensei we are so much stronger now.¡± ¡°Master! I missed you. Raw meat not as good as your cooked meat.¡± ¡°Sir Akaro the attack team has returned to you as new.¡± The dynasty brothers and their new trainer were the first to respond. They seemed to be the most beat up looking out of all the animals but they all seemed happy. Akaro felt as if they were smiling but as they were animals it was hard to see it. ¡°Huhuhu. We have returned to the human city. Who is that?¡± ¡°Nii-san. When I get stronger can you teach me that poof technique?¡± ¡°Master please don''t leave me with that bird anymore. And why is she here?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Kuroneko felt stressed for the first time as the owl was too intelligent to dominate. Also it had the tendency to sleep whenever it felt like it to the chagrin of their leader. Kagerou she like and primarily worked with him. She was also upset due to the female who was standing beside him. ¡°Akaro-sama I missed you!¡± ¡°Aniki we supported them but Byakko is a baka.¡± Kogane had already sprinted to sit beside her crush while glaring at Serenity. Hikaru was complaining about the white cat. ¡°You want to fight firefly eater!¡± ¡°Anytime you screaming baka-nii!¡± The dynamics of his team was starting to form. Some animals had good relationship but others didn''t. Akaro kept note of that as that will help him when he sets them off on individual training again. Seeing that the two white quadrupeds were about to fight he picked them both up at the scruff of their necks. ¡°Don''t waste energy fighting each other. If you disobey me I''ll have Yasu and Suzaku give you a little ride.¡± They both shut their mouths immediately. Byakko already experienced the air punishment and did not want ever go through that again. As they were animals that liked having their feet on the ground it was only natural for them to be afraid of heights they couldn''t jump from. ¡°After all of this over I''ll organize some way for all of you to spar with each other.¡± Serenity could only watch as she didn''t understand why he was having a conversation with them. She can only hear the sounds the animals would normally make. ¡°Sir Akaro that is a splendid idea. We can have an animal tournament between everyone here. We can see how much stronger we are compared to each other.¡± The cardinal falcon loved the idea of a tournament between all of them. ¡°We''ll talk about it more later. We have a mission to accomplish. I have a gift for all of you but I need all of you to be properly measured by Serenity.¡± The female tailor started working from the first one that walked up to her which was Kuroneko. The cat followed her masters command but as soon as the measurement around her neck were taken she walked away not even giving the girl a chance to pet her. Same thing happen with Kogane who was prepared to nip Serenity if she tried to pet her. The boys however were much more obedient and allowed Serenity to pat them or scratch under their chins. After all the measurements were taken she cut the collars from the leather long enough to safely go around each of their necks and still be relatively loose so it wouldn''t choke them whenever they moved. She then added the metal buckle so the collar can fasten correctly before giving them to Akaro who would finish it by adding a piece of the flat steel piece. Akaro wrote in the name of who the collar belonged too and an open book as the symbol to represent him. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Level up: Inscribe (Intermediate Lv. 1 20%)[/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned new Myth Weaver skill Spell Link (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the ability to grant symbols, that are inscribed by the user, affects of spells that qualify. The symbol is forever linked to that spell and cannot be linked to any other symbol. Consumes 1000 Mana to link inscription Consumes 200 mana to activate linked spell 30 minute duration of activated spell Current qualified spells that can be linked: None[/col][/box] ''Hmm a new skill I can''t use yet. It doesn''t seem to be attack type spells as I have weapon break and that''s not a qualified skill. Shukuchi is already based on inscription so that doesn''t count either. Skills like identify and decipher also don''t meet the requirements. I guess I''ll have to just learn spells until I get a required one before actually using the skill.'' Disregarding the fact he just learned a new skill he turned his attention to his companions and started putting on the collars around their necks. ¡°Akaro-sama gave me a pretty necklace. I love it.¡± ¡°This makes us look like a proper gang aniki.¡± ¡°Yay. It goes swish swish around my neck.¡± ¡°I wear this with honour. Thank you for your gift Sir Akaro.¡± ¡°Thank you hyung.¡± ¡°This makes me want fight for you some more sensei!¡± ¡°I''m happy I have such a nice master.¡± ¡°Thank you nii-san.¡± ¡°The bonds between master and servant have now been manifested into the physical. We are now all united under the banner of the crimson one. Let us all rejoice that he has blessed us with his benevolence.... What was his name again? Oh well I''m going to sleep.¡± Again the ambiance Yasu painted with his articulate words were ruined by the fact he had a bird brain. Yasu''s other companions all had sweat drops as they are starting to understand he somewhat retains his memories but when he speaks he''ll just spout what thought came out first. He flew onto Akaro''s right shoulder and fell asleep. As it was made for nocturnal times Akaro just let it sleep on his shoulder. To balance him out, Suzaku flew to the other shoulder. ¡°Serenity thank you for your help. I have the two extra collars for Seiryuu and Tsukino. I would suggest to practice a bit with the bow as it''s a completely different style. Anko should also be practising there.¡± She didn''t really want go but she didn''t want to be a burden for Akaro who seemed to be really serious about the situation with the library. She did not like mice nor spiders but Serenity knew she wanted to be of use to Akaro. ¡°I''ll do just that. We all have to get ready so I''ll go there to train with Anko. Thank you for the bow again.¡± ¡°Thank you for the collars. Everyone please thank her.¡± Serenity heard all the animals each voice out a thank you she assumed except again the two females who just glared at her. She then parted ways with Akaro and entered the training grounds after greeting the instructor. The group went past the training grounds where Anko and Serenity were currently training and headed towards the Alchemist Haven. Upon arrival on their locations Suzaku flew off his shoulder while Yasu stayed on his shoulder. Suzaku then perched itself on top of Genbu who was on Rai. Akaro saw that his dog was a lot stronger as the added weight seemed to not bother him at all. ''They all seem stronger. I''ll make sure to check on their stats before we go in.'' Walking into the building he heard a commotion. ¡°Ssstay away from me! I have no more poissson to give you persssissstant women!¡± ¡°Muahahaha. Come here Seiryuu! We need more!¡± ¡°You ssstupid rabbit! Go back to chewing herbsss!¡± Akaro decided to take a look at the situation. He saw Seiryuu being chased by both Tsukino and Poison-sensei. ¡°Massster! You''re back! I misssed you!¡± Seiryuu slithered towards the red head and wrapped himself around his leg. ¡°Ssstop thossse two monsssterssss!¡± ¡°Akaro... more venom... extract...¡± ¡°He cannot poison me so I was helping.¡± The red head watched and he had a general idea on what was happening. As both of them seem to have a menacing glint in their eyes. The rabbit especially as she wasn''t her usually cowardly self. He had a feeling there were other reasons why she was actually getting attacked by the other rabbits but just left it as a thought. ¡°Don''t worry Seiryuu. I''m here now. Posion-sensei, he says he doesn''t have anymore venom to give.¡± The snake looked at it''s master as if he was the messiah with how relieved he felt. ''What did they do to him?'' Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Seiryuu loyalty increased to 80%[/col][/box] ¡°Tsk... it was just about to get fun.¡± Tsukino mumbled under her breath. ¡°Too bad... Well I''ve finished the poison for you...¡± Poison took out purple pellets that actually smelled quite good. ¡°Put cinnamon... to mask smell...mice will eat...¡± ¡°Thank you sensei.¡± ¡°Master. I also made a lot of healing salves too. See!¡± Tsukino was treated well in the shop and she made a large jar''s worth of mushed up medicine. It smelled of mint. ¡°Also made... mana potions for you... Finish quest quickly... can''t wait... train you...¡± ¡°I will finish as quickly as I can Poison-sensei.¡± He then bowed to his alchemist instructor as he was quite happy with the supplies he obtained. Now survivability has increased due to the medicine and poison he had obtained. ''Just you wait you rodents. I''m going to make you pay for ruining my books.'' Seiryuu and Tsukino shuddered as they instinctively could feel the killing intent from their master. Looking at his two pets that he hasn''t seen for a day he took out the two collars he asked Serenity to make out of measurements from his memory. The only difference between the two was that Seiryuu wasn''t really a collar but more like a sock. It had a sleeve portion made out of flexible material that the tailor provided which fit snugly on the tail and a leather strap which held it in place. The metal was made to follow the contours of the tail so it had the same point and actually gave Seiryuu an added weapon. This way when the snake shed it will always fit on him. ¡°Thisss isss... it feelsss cool. It has our namesss on it. Thank you massster. I can ussse thisss end to ssstrike at ratsss.¡± Seiryuu had already resigned itself that it will not win against the man in any fight so might as well accept his protection. ¡°Those dumb rabbits can''t touch me now... maybe I should poison them again... hufufu.¡± ''Oi... when did you have this personality!'' ''You''re the real bully!'' Both Seiryuu and Akaro tsukkomi the rabbit with their thoughts. She was showing more of her real personality which resembled a mad scientist. ¡°Sensei we are going to head out now. Please try to sleep. You seem like you''ve been up all night.¡± Poison yawned in response to the red head. ¡°You''re right... going to sleep... here key... lock up...¡± She handed him a key and she just lay down on the table and fell asleep. ''Well she''s really strange but she''s a nice sensei.'' Akaro left the building and made sure to lock up behind him. In fact all the animals seemed more sleepy than hungry. Still he wanted them to eat before they go to bed so they went over to the restaurant. ¡°Younger brother. Are you and your pets hungry?¡± Gasper was outside sweeping and setting up the outside tables. Akaro nodded to the question. ¡°Alright have a seat here. I''ll bring out some food. Your mother is busy prepping but I''ll tell her you''re here. We can all have breakfast together.¡± Akaro sat at the table and waited for the head chef to come back. Gasper and his mother actually returned with many dishes for his animals and him. ¡°Akaro are you a beast tamer now? You have so many animals we may actually have to charge you for food.¡± Cooking queen was actually looking at the sleeping owl on his shoulder. She couldn''t help but feel amazed that he had so many pets at his current level. ¡°No I declined the class. I want a ninja class. These are just my companions. I can tell them what to do but I want to make sure they can think for themselves too.¡± Akaro then looked at his mother and Gasper. ¡°I am really thankful for feeding me and my companions. If you need me I''ll work here to pay off all the food you fed me and them.¡± ¡°Hahaha. You can be our main attraction. But I heard you have a quest so finish that first. The lovely younger sister came by and told us you made her a weapon for it and bought her clothing. You did well. Hufufu.¡± Cooking Queen smacked the head chef on the head and glared. If she let him continue to influence her son he''ll become some sort of womanizer. She rather not raise a child like that. She wanted him to learn how to devote his attention to one person although with his current looks that may be harder to do. ''This boy will always worry me.'' ¡°Thanks?¡± Akaro didn''t know how to respond to the praise. If he was going to have her join him, she needed proper gear to be able to survive and buying her armour and making a weapon is a good way to do so. ¡°I''ll make sure she brings supplies of food so don''t worry about it. We can''t have you dying on empty stomachs after all.¡± Gasper was truly a friendly civilian. He really cared for his younger brother and new employee. He enjoyed watching foreigners enjoy his food after all. He was also happy that he obtained a very talented chef like Cooking Queen. So he wanted to make sure she stayed happy and make sure he looked out for her son. After their meal he and the animals gathered in front of the library. ¡°Master... sleepy.¡± Rai yawned once they got to the library. ¡°Alright so that everyone is rested we will sleep here.¡± All the other animals all tried to get comfortable as only Yasu was already asleep for a while. Suzaku flew and roosted on the roof of the building. Kogane and Kuroneko has taken his lap. Seiryuu wrapped himself loosely around Akaro''s neck. Dynasty brothers were on his right and the twin foxes on his left. Lastly Tsukino nuzzled her self behind his back as if making sure she was in the most protected spot. It was a spectacle to watch a player being literally covered in animals. The ones who noticed the most was of course the NPC children. The little girl that he had met when he was selling knives to the mother was the bravest and soon sat near him. She then shyly spoke to him. ¡°Oppa what is your name?¡± ¡°Akaro. What is your name?¡± Akaro asked back as he couldn''t move even if he wanted to. ¡°My name is Crystal. Mama always said I shine like one. Akarooppa...¡± The little girl got tongue tied as it was hard to say together. ¡°You can just call me Aka-oppa.¡± ¡°Aka-oppa can I pet the kitties?¡± All the animals were completely pooped so none of them were conscious enough to react. Akaro did not want to disturb them as he needed them to rest. ¡°Hmm not right now. They have not slept yet.¡± ¡°Aww... that''s too bad... we wanted to come here and pet them.¡± ¡°We?¡± Akaro then saw a group of children hiding around the corner of a building. He nodded as if telling them they can come closer. ¡°We can''t pet them... we have to be quiet. They are sleeping.¡± The other kids had dejected looks on their faces. ''I don''t like it when kids don''t smile.'' ¡°Do you all want to sit here and hear a story?¡± They all looked up, smiled and plopped themselves in front of the red head. As it was a game based in older times, stories would be the equivalent of television in the game. ¡°Hmm... what story does everyone like?¡± ¡°I like one with heroes.¡± ¡°Has to have a princess!¡± ¡°I like dragons.¡± ¡°Can you have a cat like that one?!¡± ¡°Has to have a lot fighting.¡± ¡°Can the princess get a kiss? That will be romantic.¡± The children all gave out what they wanted to hear. ¡°Alright give me a second and I''ll think of one.¡± Akaro wanted to tell them a story with a lot of their suggestions but he needed to at least work out some plot for it to follow. He hummed as he thought of he would start the story. Once he was ready he looked at the children and smiled before he opened his mouth start ¡°Long ago there was a boy with red hair.¡± ¡°Like your''s oppa?¡± ¡°Yes like mine. This boy did not have any friends or any family. He only lived by fishing and gathering food in the forest. One day he met a pretty young girl crying in the forest.¡± ¡°The princess?¡± ¡°Ssh. Let him tell the story.¡± Crystal was the one who told the kids to be quiet. She seemed to be the leader of the group. ¡°Yes she was a princess of the kingdom who went out to play but got lost. She was so scared as she has never went too far from the castle. The young boy went up to the crying little girl and asked her why she was crying. She told him she was lost.¡± The children all gasped. They all thought of times they were lost and how scary it was. ¡°The young boy then told the young princess not to cry. He told her his name.¡± ***Story*** ¡°Don''t cry. My name is Red. I will bring you back home. Where do you live?¡± ¡°My name is Hime. I live in the castle... can you really help me?¡± ¡°Of course. I''ll bring you home no problem. Just follow me.¡± The red headed boy started heading towards the castle. As they were about to exit the forest a wolf came out of the bushes. ¡°Haha. I will eat you.¡± The princess screamed. She was really scared of the wolf and it''s sharp teeth. The boy however picked up a stick. ¡°I''ll protect you Hime. Stay behind me.¡± Courageously said the young child. ¡°But you only have a stick.¡± Sniffled the princess. ¡°With a stick. What foolish brat. I will eat you first.¡± The wolf then went in for a bite. **Royal Road** ¡°Oh no! Red is going to be eaten!¡± ¡°Wolves are scary.¡± Akaro then continued his story. **Story** The wolf lunged at the red head but met with a stick hitting him in the nose. ¡°You got lucky brat. But not this time.¡± The wolf bit at the stick and took it away from the boy. Now the boy had no weapon but his fist. He was really scared but because there was someone behind him he needed to protect he kept fighting back. He jumped at the wolf and started punching it in the face. **Royal Road** ¡°Go Red. Beat that wolf up!¡± ¡°How can he fight when he''s scared?¡± ¡°He''s a man. He has to protect the girl. Daddy told me that.¡± **Story** The wolf was taken by surprise and started to fight back. It managed to bite the boy in the hand but the boy kept hitting harder and harder. ¡°Red! Please don''t die!¡± The princess was yelling. She was really scared but then she remembered they were close to the castle. She started to run towards it to get help. The wolf was going to chase after her but he was being pulled back by his tail. He looked and found the red headed boy grasping the tail with all his strength. He kept holding on until she was a good distance away. Completely running out of strength he let go which caused the wolf to tumble. The wolf got up and glared at the boy. He was so angry that he planned to eat the boy head first. The wolf then jumped onto the boy again. **Royal Road** ¡°Noo... don''t tell me he gets eaten!¡± **Story** Red did not have much strength in him but he still grabbed a stick and manage to hold the wolf back if only for a second. But that second was all he needed. The princess had reached the castle gate and called for help quickly. A horse carrying a red armoured night came out of the castle with a lance in his hand. He sped towards where the boy and the wolf was. The horse flew by and he struck the wolf by throwing his lance at it the same time the boy blocked the bite with a stick. The wolf died and the boy laid down after he knew the wolf had perished. The red knight then walked to the boy and picked him up and put him on his horse. ¡°I am the red knight Gabriel. You who have protected the princess will now be my squire. I will train you to be a great knight.¡± Red just smiled at the knight before he completely shut his eyes and slept. **Royal Road** Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have created a new story. What do you want to call it?[/col][/box] ¡°That is the story of Red the Hero.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have created a children story called Red the Hero. This story had inspired the children who had listened to it. The children will be sharing the story with their friends and family. The story contained the genre''s fantasy, action, and adventure. Library of Rosenheim Fame increased by 100 Local Fame increased by 200 Fame increased by 50 Level up: Story Telling (Beginner Lv. 7 23%) Speech up by 100 Art up by 30 INT up by 2 WIS up by 2[/col][/box] ¡°Wow. He was saved in the end.¡± ¡°What''s a squire?¡± ¡°Oppa is there more to the story?¡± ¡°I want to hear more!¡± Akaro looked at the excited children and smiled. He then looked at the time of day and was surprised it was already after lunch. As he was too engrossed on telling the story he had missed lunch. ¡°Well there may be more but you all should go home and get something to eat. When I open the library again I''ll continue where I left off.¡± Crystal and the children all got up where they sat. The animals were still sleeping throughout the story and Akaro still couldn''t move. ¡°We''ll wait for the library to open again to hear more of the story.¡± ¡°I''m going to be like Red. I''ll protect you.¡± ¡°I''m your sister! You better!¡± The children laughed as they walked away and starting to reenact the story. Akaro watched before closing his eyes and joining his animals for a nap. He hadn''t moved so he didn''t lose much stamina. *** Serenity had met up with Anko at the restaurant and gave her the new equipment that Madame Orchid had completed earlier that day. ¡°Serenity-san. Thank you for delivering this to me.¡± Anko was wearing leather made out of wolf skin. The armour was a light lavender in colour and it would fade to a very pale lavender at the end of her long sleeves. To contrast the white various lavender flowers were sown around the wrist portion of the sleeves. It of course had accentuated her body like most of the clothing made by the master tailor. She wore leather pants that also hugged her legs and was a darker purple then her chest armour. She also had leather boots that matched the colour of her armour and also faded to a brighter lavender at the base of the boots. As it was beginner leather armour it only had basic function of extra defence. Anko was also holding her naginata which rested on her right shoulder on a slight angle as she walked. She had a lunch bento for the party and a supply of food that Gasper gave them. Serenity also dressed in battle gear prepared to her by her master. Orchid didn''t want her young apprentice to lose in appearance and had prepared leather armour for her as well. She was wearing a dark rose coloured top that had a very similar style to Anko''s but instead did not fade to a lighter colour. It went to a deeper crimson colour with bright white coloured rose floral arrangement around the wrists. She also wore her beige leather pants even though her master tried to force her to wear a skirt. It was a quest after all and she would hate to have a mouse touch her bare legs. She also wore leather boots that had strips of the same dark rose on them as well. She had her bow and arrows equipped on her back. A lot of male players were whistling at the pair as they looked as if they complimented each other quite well. Anko ignored it while Serenity tried but couldn''t stop the blush that appeared on her face. As they were walking towards the library they couldn''t help but be surprised with what they were seeing. Akaro was completely still and looked as if he was meditating while his animal companions slept either on or around him. It was quite a serene image and it was not just noticed by them. Many players had stop to watch the situation and many females who knew of the red head were all looking at him with love filled gazes. ¡°Akaro-san. Wake up.¡± Anko was the first to speak up as she wanted to get started with the quest. The animals all started to yawn, while the red head opened his eyes surprisingly fast while looking at the two girls. ¡°Who are those ladies?¡± ¡°It''s the hussies from yesterday who was beside him and walking for a stroll.¡± ¡°Lucky guy.¡± ¡°He should die and let us have those two beauties.¡± ¡°They wouldn''t even look at you so just give it up.¡± ''They are here now. Time to get up.'' He stroked Kuroneko''s ear for a bit, while Kogane licked her master on the lips before they both got off his lap. The Dynasty brothers had drool escaping their mouths and looked quite funny as Genbu wiped his spit on Byakko, Byakko wiped his on Rai, and Rai just let the drool fall. The fox twins were still lying down trying to ignore the situation. They were the youngest so Kuroneko smacked both of them on the head to wake them up. Kogane would have protested but she was glaring at the other females. Tsukino was forced to wake up and she sat beside the dynasty brothers. Seiryuu remained on Akaro''s neck but he looked directly at the people who interrupted his sleep. The two girls looked at him as if waiting for something. ''What are they looking at me for? Maybe they are looking at Seiryuu. They are not saying anything. They are just staring at me... what are they waiting for?'' Noticing his benefactors folly, Suzaku flew down and perched on the other shoulder. ¡°Sir Akaro. The two have dressed in new attire and it is only proper manners for a gentleman to compliment them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Akaro then looked at the two girls and decided to make sure he inspected them to think of a good compliment. ¡°You two look like pretty wild flowers that I have seen in the mountains.¡± ¡°Thank you for purchasing this for me Akaro-san.¡± Anko replied with a slight brush. She was still female and she still liked the compliment and the clothing she wore. ¡°Thank you Akaro-ssi.¡± It wasn''t the most appropriate compliment but it was probably the best they will get from the straightforward ninja. Serenity held the rosy blush on her face. He then took out a bundle of arrows that numbered about a hundred and handed them over to Serenity. ¡°I made some arrows for you to use. As arrows do not have a level restriction they are probably a higher quality then the ones you are using. They should be durable enough for you to pick up after use.¡± What he said was true as the ones he made had a durability of ten, which compared to regular arrows with durability of one or two would make it easier for an archer to save on replacing arrows. She inspected them and agreed with Akaro. ¡°I''ll make sure to pick up these ones. I''ll only use them if I have too. I have a lot of the regular arrows with me right now so I''ll try to save them since they are a lot better.¡± Akaro nodded before turning his attention to his animal companions. ¡°Contract Companion window.¡±
Contracted Companions
Companion #NameLevelLoyalty
1Rai17100%
2Genbu19100%
3Kuroneko20100%
4Byakko18100%
5Kogane19100%
6Hikaru15100%
7Kagerou15100%
8Tsukino12100%
9Suzaku22100%
10Seiryuu1480%
11Yasu2070%
Akaro was little surprised that Tsukino and Seiryuu leveled up but it must have been quests given by Poison to them. It was the only explanation he can think of as quests did give experience. ¡°Alright the plan is to get Anko to level up first. So make sure to take down any enemy about to die.¡± ¡°Isn''t that a bit too cowardly. I don''t think I could do anything dishonourable like picking off an enemy that is about be beaten by someone else.¡± Anko did have a samurai like sense of honour after all. ¡°The teams for the pets this time round will be...¡± ¡°Don''t ignore me! You have to listen.¡± ¡°Do you want to duel after this or not?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Do you want me to actually try?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°Then listen to me.¡± The argument was won and decided by logic and Anko resigned to the decision made by their leader for the party. ¡°As I was saying. Seiryuu you will join Kuroneko and Kogane. You three will be in charge of causing mayhem in their ranks. You all have skills that cause problems for low intelligence and I''m sure the mice are not as smart as you three. If they don''t listen you have permission to dispose as many as you want until they understand.¡± ¡°Yesss massster. I''ll make those mice fight amongssst each other.¡± ¡°Don''t worry Akaro-sama. We''ll entice them all.¡± ¡°Do we get a group name like the three idiots?¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Akaro then thought a bit before replying to his black cat. ¡°Mastermind Trio.¡± The three got together and started working on ways to use their ability together so they can maximize the amount of mice they can manipulate. ¡°Next team will consist of the dynasty brothers and the two birds.¡± ¡°Sir Akaro please provide a name that befits Yasu and I.¡± ¡°Sky Knights.¡± Akaro was running out of ideas and just made a quick one for the two flying creatures. ¡°That name befits us quite well.¡± Last but not least was the twin foxes and Tsukino. ¡°You three will be the support team. You will be providing healing and joining other teams under my direction.¡± What the women were watching was Akaro speaking to animals while they all replied in their natural speech which just a mix of meows, barks, squawks, and hisses. ''It''s as if they are an animal army the way they are responding.'' ''It''s kind of cute how they all react when he talks.'' Akaro had split the teams depending on level and skill. His main attackers either had flight or got along quite well. His three mind manipulators were going to be key in this battle and the support team are going to be his reserves. Although Tsukino has no combat prowess that he knew of but she is going to stay as a healer regardless of the situation. With a set plan in place Akaro unlocked the door and prepared for the worse. He and his party walked through the door. Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter Volume 2 Chapter 6: Clash of the Three Armies Chapter 6: Clash of the Three Armies Akaro and his party entered the library to be shocked to find a battle occurring. As the rest of his party watched the battle ensue he made sure to lock up behind him to prevent anyone from escaping or anyone coming in and interfering. This was the start of his battle and he needed to make sure that scales of victory would only tip to his favour as outside sources could impede or alter his chances at victory. He then looked at his small brigade. ¡°Everyone stay quiet. I''m going to observe the situation first.¡± Serenity only nodded meekly while hiding her face behind Anko. She was literally frightened at the vast amount of mice and spiders. She wanted to scream and leave the library but she needed to stay to make sure the one she was hiding behind didn''t have Akaro all to herself. The other young woman, was trying to verify the situation like the red head. She was still the next leader of her clan and her experience in leading would help in this situation. Anko wanted to say something but nodded as she was told to keep quiet. ''I''ve never seen him that focused. It''s as if he was making my weapon again.'' The red head watched the scene play out. It seemed like an even battle at first but it started to tip into the rat king''s army advantage as mice had a higher birthrate than spiders. In terms of numbers, spiders have the most but the mice could replenish their forces thanks to the games accelerated birthing program. Spiders matured a bit slower than the mice and it caused the spiders to lose out even with them being stronger. Akaro could easily tell that the mice were level 5 to level 10 were no match for the spiders who went from level 15 ¨C 20 depending on size but they were outnumbered. The mice utilized suicide tactics and aimed for legs to immobilize the spiders. Once their movement was impaired the stronger spiders would fall prey to the large rats. It was an effective strategy and the mice were the only ones who can utilize it in this situation. Akaro couldn''t help but click his tongue at the situation. ''The mice and rats have such a large number advantage. The only thing I can tell though is that the mice were the only ones replenishing forces. The spiders that killed rats or were fighting rats were taken down first. That means the rats are a set number and cannot replenish like the mice.'' This was good news for Akaro as taking out the rats would be his main objective. He knew right now he needed to steadily grow the strength of his party and he cannot just ignore the mice. ¡°I got the battle plan.¡± Akaro started out while addressing his brigade. ¡°Hyung I''m ready to take them on this time.¡± ¡°I will show them the claws of justice.¡± ¡°Kill vermin! Make master happier.¡± ¡°We will follow your orders Sir Akaro.¡± ¡°Say the word Akaro-sama.¡± ¡°They look pretty tasty Aniki.¡± ¡°I can''t dig here but I''ll still sneak up on them Yusha-nii.¡± (Hero-bro) ¡°Ssstupid mice. Ssseiryuu is going to consssume you all.¡± ¡°I''ll stay behind and watch from here.¡± ¡°Master, I will make sure they know what fear means.¡± ¡°I smell the scent of my favourite food. Let me attack them... uh who are you again?¡± Continuing Akaro pointed at the dynasty brothers and the sky knights. ¡°Suzaku you will lead the dynasty brothers and Yasu to attack.¡± The red falcon responded almost immediately. ¡°It will be our honour to lead the charge Sir Akaro. The three young lads and us winged knights will show no quarter to the vermin.¡± ¡°I want you all to massacre them and to instill fear into these mice. Suzaku and Yasu aim for the rats first.¡± Anko was watching the redhead hand out orders to the falcon that seemed to respond positively. She then looked back at the eyes staring back at her. ¡°Anko-san. You will be going out front and you will aim for only the mice. We are going to assist the spiders as we may need their help to beat the mice.¡± She nodded to the red head. ¡°The enemy of our enemy is our friend strategy. That is the right choice in this situation. Please take care of me.¡± Anko bowed to the animals who seemed to have reacted accordingly. ¡°Hyungs! We must protect master''s woman in the name of justice!¡± ¡°Will protect serious pretty lady!¡± ¡°We must defend her for hyung!¡± ¡°Sir Akaro this woman is quite polite. We will protect her in your stead.¡± Akaro nodded. Then he looked at the remaining eight. ¡°Kuroneko you will be in charge of Kogane and Seiryuu. We want to cause dissension in their ranks. All three of your skills will be important for this. If one of you can, capture one of the rats alive for interrogation.¡± ¡°Asss you wisssh massster. I will enjoy causssing them ssstrife.¡± ¡°Akaro-sama. I will make you proud.¡± ¡°We will catch one master. Seiryuu and Kogane. Follow me we are going to sneak around back.¡± Kuroneko wasted no time following her owner''s orders. Because of her high intelligence Akaro had seemed to have fully trusted her capabilities to lead. ¡°Hikaru and Kagerou. You will boost everyone here before they head out. Then you will be Serenity''s and Tsukino''s body guards. Protect them from any mice heading to them.¡± Akaro continued to issue orders as he will also be joining the fray but he needed to make sure they are all taken care of. ¡°Tsukino you are the leader for the support team. You are also in charge of healing.¡± ¡°I...I''ll try my best. Please leave some of the poison with me.¡± Akaro looked at the white rabbits eyes and he could see not a scared rabbit but she seem to have a mad glint in her eyes. She had a plan and he could only trust in her at this point. He took out the jar of healing items and the poison. He took some of the healing slop of herbs and put it back in his inventory. The rest he gave to Tsukino to distribute to any team member who was feeling weak or injured. He also left a handful of poison to her and she greedily started chewing on it. ¡°Tell her to use the poison with her arrows.¡± ''So that is what she was thinking of. By shooting the poison tipped arrows she''ll be able to kill mice even if she grazed them. But why did she have such a crazed look in her eyes.'' ¡°Serenity. The poison that she spat out will be effective against the mice so as long as you graze them they will die by the poison.¡± The young woman tailor nodded furiously. She has been in parties before to hunt rabbits, foxes, and wolves but never an amount this grand. Also it was animals she detested and feared. Hearing that she got a poison to mix with her arrows made it easier on her now. ¡°So just aim for the mice and rats?¡± ¡°Yes. Try to protect as many of the spiders as possible. Our goal is to push the mice back to the basement.¡± Akaro then looked back at the main attacking team focus. ¡°Everyone. I want a massacre. Show no mercy. Slaughter them all.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Leadership up by 30 Charisma up by 30 [/col][/box] With the familiar falcon shriek they charged forward. ¡°YOU HEARD SIR AKARO! SHOW NO QUARTER!¡± ¡°YEAH!¡± The dynasty brothers lead the charge with Genbu and Rai just running straight through as they caught the mice off guard. They cleared a path for Anko to go in with her unsheathed naginata. ¡°You will all fall to my blade.¡± She started spinning it and slashing anything she deemed as a threat. The blade spun and manage to kill some of the mice that were struck by the rampaging Rai. Byakko was behind Anko and was watching her back. Biting and slashing at any mice who tried to get close. ¡°Byakko twin claw! Byakko Roar!¡± The meow instilled the natural fear the mice had for cats. ¡°IT''S A CAT! RUN!¡± ¡°THE DOG HAS A STRONG HELMET!¡± ¡°JOE NO!!!!¡± Various mice were scampering around trying to figure out what was happening. Suzaku had already flew with speed towards one of the rats. As he didn''t have a lot of space to manoeuvre as it was still a building and the ceiling was filled with silky webs he could only make sure he was accurate. He found his query and quickly dug his sharp talons through it''s body. It didn''t die right away as it was still slightly higher level but the initial strike stunned it and he used his beak to pierce and nip the stomach. If it was extremely real the rat would have had his insides taken out but as it was a game it just flashed grey. Another metal ring fell as it was the first rat killed by the party. He took it in his beak and looked for his owner. ¡°Sir Akaro! I have obtained a treasure from the first rat.¡± Akaro caught the ring the falcon dropped to him before it went off to join the battle once more. ¡°Identify.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Ring of the Rat Knight Durability: 200/200 Equip: Mana regen 4 mana/sec VIT +30 LDR +20 Requirement: Level 70 [/col][/box] Wearing it at once as it will help him with his mana regeneration he rushed towards the spider forces. He then threw needles at any mice he can lock on. One particular spider who was bigger then most of the rats was getting assaulted by multiple mice. Throwing weapons would cause damage to the spider so Akaro decided to go in with his katana. Slashing in an arch he dispatched the wave of mice on the left side and stood beside the spider. ¡°Take the right side.¡± The spider made a hiss as if accepting and started attacking his right side leaving the left to the ninja prodigy. In a few moments mice were afraid to attack and decided to retreat. Due to the injuries of its legs Akaro took it back while the other spiders covered their retreat. The large spider started to making a strange chittering noise with its fangs. To regular people it would look like the spider was about to attack but Akaro already knew better and decided to use translation. It failed quite a few times before succeeding. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You have learned the Arachnid Language Level up: Translation (Beginner Lv. 7 20%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 100 Speech up by 50 [/col][/box] ¡°Great warrior. Thank you for your assistance. My name is Lieutenant Toxinfangs. Our commander has already fallen earlier and our forces have become quite strained. Please forgive me for asking but will you please help us against these mice and turn this losing situation around?¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Spider Queen''s army request #1 Lieutenant Fangs has given you a request to drive the rat king''s army back to the basement. Difficulty: D Quest Requirements: Failure: Lieutenant Toxinfangs dies If more than half of the spider army forces dies [/col][/box] ¡°It has already been my plan to drive them back to the basement. I accept.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Quest Accepted [/col][/box] Akaro: ¡°Serenity please come to the stairs as quickly as you can. I need Tsukino.¡± Serenity: ¡°We are a little busy but we will start heading over...EEEK!¡± Akaro: ¡°Are you okay?¡± Serenity: ¡°Yeah. I''m sorry we are going to head there now.¡± What happened with Serenity''s party was they were attacked by about twenty to forty mice. Unfortunately for the mice they didn''t expect to see foxes guarding her. ¡°Fox duet!¡± The twin foxes shouted using their buffing skills together. This increased the parties attack and defence which gave them the boost they needed to kill the mice without worry of retaliation. The mice seeing they were not fairing too well decided to aim for the weakest member on the team. They spotted the white rabbit and were slightly cautious to the violet mixture on the ground. ¡°Hey you stupid mice. I can''t believe we were once known as rodents. You guys are disgusting and not even worth my time.¡± Tsukino used her provoke skill which worked amazingly well. They got angry and ran towards the rabbit who was surrounded by the poison that smelled like cinnamon. The moment the remaining mice got close to her they flash grey as the toxin invaded their small bodies quite quickly. ¡°Hahaha. You fools think you can kill me! I am invincible in this pool of poison.¡± ¡°Hikaru-nii... Tsukino-chan is quite scary.¡± ¡°Don''t look at her blood red eyes Kagerou. You might catch her crazy.¡± The two foxes commented on their white haired companion who seem to be dancing on the mice tails that have dropped. ¡°Um... your master asked us to go to the spiders now. Let''s go before more mice come.¡± The party of four started running towards the stairs whey they spotted the red head. *** ¡°We can watch Myung-Ki''s actions from here.¡± Juhee was speaking to her father and Dong-Sun. ¡°So grandson is currently with two lovely ladies. Look Dong-Sun! Told you I didn''t have to worry. Haha. I might see my great grandson soon.¡± ¡°Abeoji! You keep joking like that I''m going to smack you!¡± ¡°You going to hit old men now?¡± ¡°There is no age requirements for punishment.¡± ¡°Haha. True true. Alright I''ll leave that topic for now. Looks like someone doesn''t want to be a grandmother yet.¡± Kim Juhee pouted at the word of being a grandmother. She was still young considering she was in her late thirties but it was the thought that little Myung-Ki''s running around scared her. ''If they all acted like him I would have a heart attack. One Myung-Ki is enough.'' "Anyways. Your grandchild looks like he has some exciting quest we can watch. I was also a bit curious after Anko-ssi said they were doing a quest when I have never seen the boy leave the city." Myung-Dae nodded as well. "It is surprising that the pets he has are actually talking to him. I''ve never knew you could do that in a game." "I can see why he''s been talking to them. It makes a lot more sense now." Juhee commented before looking at the other man in the room who was watching the screen. ¡°I can see why young master would be furious. Look at the destruction of all those books.¡± Dong-Sun commented while they watched from the linked television. Myung-Ki''s capsule was linked so they can watch his videos. ¡°Didn''t he read all those books Dong-Sun? He''ll need help to rewrite them. Maybe even write some of his own...Oops.¡± ¡°Abeoji... what is this about writing? He''s writing like you! Aigoo...¡± Juhee slumped herself down on the couch. ¡°We did not mean to keep it from you but he asked me about writing on his own accord. Please do not get mad at him. I told him to keep it from you.¡± Myung-Dae was trying to be apologetic. ¡°Abeoji... Does he want to do it?¡± ¡°Well he is just asking about writing and story telling as it''s related to the class he picked up.¡± ¡°Enough... I''ll talk to the both of you later.¡± ¡°About the writing?¡± ¡°No for lying to me.¡± Myung-Dae looked to Dong-Sun for support but was ignored. The butler decided to continue watching the screen as the fight between the mice and Akaro''s party continued. *** ¡°Hello boys. Do you guys want to follow me?¡± Kogane gave a wink to the mice. Any of the males were soon charmed and started shouting. ¡°Kogane! Kogane! We love Kogane!¡± This caused the female mice to get angry. ¡°Hey she''s not even a mouse!¡± ¡°Men are so stupid!¡± ¡°Ladiesss... the men think you are all ugly... ssseriousssly punisssh the foolsss... You are all beautiful after all.¡± The deceitful words from Seiryuu soon persuaded the female mice to fight against the males. ¡°Oh no. Are you guys going to just let those women try to hurt me?¡± ¡°NOOOO! PROTECT THE GODDESS KOGANE!¡± Soon two hundred mice were in a middle of a gender war. The women falling to Seiryuu''s lies and the men charmed by the golden fox were all destroying each other. If they had hands the two of them would have given each other a high five but Seiryuu smiled and Kogane just winked as they watched what their actions has done. Kuroneko was also not just standing by. ¡°You all will follow me or...¡± A wicked smile could be found her face as she took one of the mice and lifted to her mouth and bit off the arm while purring. ¡°George!¡± ¡°Please just kill me...¡± Kuroneko looked at the mouse called George then at the mice. ¡°Where is the fun in that?¡± The mice who didn''t want to experience the painfully slow consumption like their colleague quickly replied back. ¡°We follow your commands our empress!¡± ¡°Bring me one of your rat oppressors. Even if you die, you will bring one here. If not I''ll kill you all myself quite slowly just like your little friend here.¡± ¡°My legs.... just finish me off...¡± The other mice knew she was not joking and somehow knew she would enjoy it if they didn''t listen to her. ¡°Yes your highness.¡± A swarm of two hundred mice began to fight other mice as they rampaged towards one of the rat commanders. While this was happening Genbu and Rai had slowed down but clearly caused quite a bit of confusion. Anko was still picking off mice but she was now level 8. This made it easier as she also progressed her staff/pole mastery skill. Akaro: ¡°Anko fall back to the stairs leading to the second floor. I need you to regroup with me and Serenity so we can properly work with the spiders.¡± Anko: ¡°No honorifics? Fine I''ll call you Akaro starting from now. I''ll tell your pets and we''ll start heading back.¡± ¡°Your master is calling for us! Let''s regroup!¡± Anko commanded and the animals couldn''t help but follow it. She did have a charismatic voice and personality. ¡°Yes nuna!¡± Rai barked as the attack group followed Anko towards where the red head was. With the confusion of the retreating backs of the attacking force the mice and rats also decided to regroup as they have lost quite a bit of their forces. Serenity and Anko both arrived around the same time and accepted the quest that Akaro was talking about. ¡°So we really need to push them back while protecting the spiders as well.¡± ¡°They are safe... right?¡± Akaro looked at the two females before continuing. ¡°Yes. We are changing formations. Anko you will be in the front lines with me and we will keep the spiders safe. Serenity you and the spiders will be firing at the mice. You with poison arrows and their webs will slow them down. It would make it easier for the front lines to attack. They don''t have any range so it''s an advantage we have.¡± Serenity nodded while she couldn''t keep her eyes off his face. He looked rather dashing when he was giving orders. He felt like some sort of general and she couldn''t help and try to suppress her blush. ''I''m in love. I''m definitely in love.'' Anko was thinking less romanitc thought and more on his maturit as she was more familiar with a more silent personality that he had when they were kids. ''He is a lot more vocal now then when we were younger. He would usually reply with one or two words but never really had a conversation with me... but then again I just kept screaming out to spar with him. I was so immature then.'' Anko was broken out of her thoughts when she saw the animals all looked quite serious as the red head spoke to them. ¡°Alright. Attack team we are going to the front lines. They know we are here now and have already marked us as dangerous. Dynasty brothers you will stay with Anko. Sky Raptors will stay with me. We are going to use some hit and run tactics now.¡± Akaro finish informing the attack team then looked at the support team. ¡°Tsukino you will be healing any wounded spiders. Your main focus will be Lieutenant Toxinfangs. He cannot die.¡± ¡°Great warrior Akaro. I will be fine. I should lead the group in my Generals place.¡± ¡°You''ve done well Lieutenant. Let me be in charge if you do not mind. We are now allies and we need to make sure the spiders have a commander. Do you all agree with me!¡± ¡°Leiutenant Fangs sir please leave the front line to us.¡± ¡°We will follow you friend of spiders!¡± ¡°We all know of your kindness!¡± Akaro wasn''t expecting them to already follow orders. His leadership was high for his level but he didn''t know if it was high enough to lead the spider army. The last comment of his kindness was quite particular but there was no time to dwell on it as the rat army was now calm and started to retaliate in full. ¡°Quest status¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Special Event Quest Rat King and Spider Queen Forces The library has been taken over by two forces that have waged war and many of the literary works found in the were caught as collateral damage. You have allied with one of the forces and only need to take down the Rat King Forces. Difficulty: D Rat King Forces: 1340/2000 Spider Queen Forces: 1203/2000 Crimson Brigade: 514 Requirements: Rewards will be based on contributions on removing the threats of the library. [/col][/box] Another surprise shocked Akaro. He had some how increased his forces by five hundred. This had to be the work of his mastermind group. It was a shame that he couldn''t order them right now as they must be attacking away from the main forces somewhere. ''Kuroneko is with them. I''ll trust her for the time being. She will make sure to use the forces wisely.'' ¡°Sky Knights, Anko, and Dynasty brothers. We will lead at the front!¡± Akaro, Anko, the dynasty brothers and two raptors were at the front of the spider army. ¡°Spider Queen forces! We have not met long but I lend my strength to you. Lieutenant Toxinfangs has given me command but I will not force you to follow me. For those that do I promise to avenge your fallen comrades and bring an end to this war! To all who wishes to follow me into combat let us show these mice no mercy!¡± Akaro wasn''t use to using a booming type of voice but learning from Melchior he knew that it was necessary to make sure the masses can hear him. ¡°YEAH!!!!¡± The entire force of the army started to scream. To people who didn''t understand all they heard was loud hissing. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Leadership up by 20 Charisma up by 10 Arachnid Army Loyalty 80% Fame with Arachnid Race increased by 200 [/col][/box] ''He seemed to rile up the whole army. He is completely different now. I wonder if he got stronger as well...'' Anko couldn''t help but give praise to the red head who had somehow increased the fighting spirit of their army. She may have not understood what they said but their actions was enough. ¡°Anko let''s lead the charge. You seem to be a lot stronger now.¡± He had looked at the party stats and Anko had grown to level 10 in no time during the earlier skirmish. This put them in a better situation as she would have gained some much needed stats in order to fight without having a guard around her. The two decided to sprint towards the front in a phalanx position where the dynasty brothers on Anko''s right slightly behind her and the sky raptors following behind Akaro. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The rat army was ready for an assault this time but what they were not ready for was Akaro''s next actions. Closing his eyes to gain some much needed focus he started to get into a stance. He needed to eliminate a lot of them but still be careful with his allies. He did not want to use his Fuujin skill as it had a large area of effect and he may attack an ally by mistake. ''Tsukiyome no Mangetsu.'' Akaro jumped into the middle of the rat army and thrusts forward with his two blades and pierced a group of mice. Then using his right arm he started to spin clockwise with the first blade and when it reached directly behind him he slashed with his left blade as if following the first katana. He stopped it once he reached a first circle. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You have created a new combat skill. Please give it a name. [/col][/box] ¡°Tsukiyome no Mangetsu¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Tsukiyome no Mangetsu Rank [A] Dual Sword Technique A move meant to representing the full moon and with the proper focus it can damage all around the user. Attack power with two weapons (+100% ATK) Attack speed with two weapons (+100% SPD) Consumes 400 Mana 20% chance to cause bleed 20% chance to double damage 20% chance to ignore defence [/col][/box] Akaro only quickly viewed the skill before he got onto another stance. ''Tsukiyome no Hangetsu'' This time he thrust Yasuke forward while standing side ways. On the opposite direction he had thrusted Sasuke at the same time. With his arms still extended he brought the two blades together until the blades just overlapped each other. Any mice that was on his left side were taken out and all what was left were mouse tails. Ding You have created a new combat skill.. Please give it a name. ¡°Tsukiyome no Hangetsu.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Rank [A] Dual Sword Technique A movement that represents when the moon wanes to a half moon, with focus it can damage all opponents in front of the opponent. Attack power with two weapons (+100% ATK) Attack speed with two weapons (+100% SPD) Consumes 400 mana 20% chance to cause bleed 20% chance to double damage 20% chance to ignore defence [/col][/box] The mice all around were now fearing for their lives. By jumping in and using the two moves he had already made a clearing around him. This only took him two minutes to do and the rat that was leading this squadron of mice was already looking for ways to escape. Anko who did not want to fall behind in terms of skill rushed and pierced the front lines before spinning similar to Akaro''s Ameterasu skill. She also received a message regarding creating a skill. ¡°Enso!¡± It was the word that represented the zen circle or void. Simple naming but it was a simple action that massacred some mice around her. She was still about the same level as them so the ones that died were the ones who were not level 9 or level 10 but the damage was great enough that she thrust the blade to finish off any of the stragglers. Rai, Genbu, and Byakko had to watch in awe as they just saw a quarter of the forces in front of them decimated by a few moves. But that didn''t mean the two wasn''t in any danger as they saw the other battalions of rats and mice were now converging on the two. Back to back Anko and Akaro looked at the situation. Even though he and her brought down a lot of the forces it did not mean they couldn''t get tired. Akaro who was a higher level, seem to be doing fine while his counterpart was breathing heavily as she just unlocked a skill that used up her stamina as she did not have the mana to support it yet. ¡°We are getting surrounded Akaro.¡± Akaro had to think quickly. His action of jumping in was to do minimal damage to his allies but it did put him in a disadvantage. He did not have to worry long as the sky raptors did their job to support the red head. ¡°Aerial Slash.¡± As the rat army started to focus the two players, their allies were free to attack with little retaliation. Suzaku had swooped low and started striking mice left and right with his wings as if he was a flying blade. Yasu was aiming specifically at any rats who thought they were safe and using his Silent Aerial Grasp where he would pick them up with his talons and crush whatever life they had. The dynasty brothers also wanted to save their leader and rushed in using a new move they had together. Rai launched Genbu and Byakko in the air as high as he could. Genbu used rock form and hid all his limbs and head into his shell while Byakko then kicked him which made him fly backwards but as he was a cat he landed on his feet quite gracefully. ¡°CDT Spinning charge!¡± The rock turtle literally was spinning forward using the force of the kick and the speed of gravity to accelerate downwards and he landed shell first. Which bounced for a bit but then steadily accelerated forward. The force of the attack caused any mice caught in it''s path to disappear immediately. Rai and Byakko had to run after their brother made weapon but that was fine as the damage was done. The spiders who were watching the vanguards capabilities stared in awe and decided to charge in to help the two players out as well. Shooting webbing to slow the converging enemies down enough for the two players to be able to continue their charge. Serenity who had stood on one of the shelves to watch couldn''t help but feel a little jealous when she watched the two fight. They were moving steadily forward while watching each other to make sure they did not collide as they fought. It was as if they were doing a deadly dance as their proximity to each other as they fought was extremely close. The only reason why they were able to fight this way is that they both trained in similar styles that was derived by Miyamoto Hanzou. That and they fought each other enough when they were younger to know each others'' tendencies. "Daebak!" Serenity whispered under her breath. As she was really impressed with the way they were fighting. ''I wish I knew how to fight like her then I would be beside Akaro-ssi. I won''t give up. There are things that I can do still.'' She just decided to support by firing arrows from her position towards any of the rats she can find as the poison would greatly decrease their health. She only had a few more poison covered arrows left before she had to just use normal iron tipped arrows. This time a group of eight rats that were level 40 decided to come out and try to stop Akaro and Anko. As they surrounded the two players, their mice army placed themselves as a barrier to keep the spiders and companions out. ¡°Anko how many can you take?¡± ¡°Honestly only one. The last rat that I tried to strike hit me quite hard. Any more I might not have enough health.¡± ¡°That leaves me with seven then.¡± Back to back the two eyed their opponents. Akaro had already used a good chunk of his mana using the Tsukiyomi kata continuously. He had to use shukuchi this time round in order for him to strike against this many opponents. Anko had to kill the two that she was targeting as fast as possible for them to get into a better situation. Serenity also saw the situation and decided that she needed to assist. She started firing the last of her poison arrows on the rat Anko was fighting before showering the rat army with normal arrows. Although most would hit the mice she manage to hit some of the rats. Once the rats reacted to being hit by the arrow the duo bolted. Akaro had no time to waste and used Ameterasu for the first rat quickly killing it before throwing two kunai at the two that was beside Anko. Anko could only put her trust in the red head as she aimed for one of the rats that had the poison arrow and multiple arrows stuck on it. It had the lowest health and she needed to kill it quickly. Using her naginata she thrust with all her might. The rat was impaled by the blade and disappeared in grey flash. She leveled up twice which brought up some of her missing health but two other rats were now about to descend on her. They both fell on the ground when two kunai was embedded in them. She took this chance to strike one with three thrusts. She obtained another skill with her quick succession of strikes. ¡°Sukisasu no Sankai.¡± This literally meant penetrate three times. The rat also flashed grey from the strikes of her naginata. Again her stamina was used up and she felt quite a bit weaker. She could no longer move but she felt at ease as what she was observing showed that their leader was still in control of the situation. Akaro had appeared on the other kunai and kicked it into the rat making sure it disappeared in grey flash. He drank two mana potions to recover the lost of mana and watched the remaining six. He had to cover for Anko who had to eat one of the packed meals to replenish health and stamina. He had made sure she had a bit of the healing mixture that Tsukino made but she had used it up already during her first encounter with a rat. Seeing as they could die at any time the rats were also waiting for the perfect time to attack the weaker of the two. In the midst of their talk two raptors finally manage to bypass the walls of mice and took two of the rats leaving four. Due to the confusion of losing two of their ambushing partners Akaro had manage to throw out needles at the four. When they moved to dodge, Akaro used shukuchi on a kunai that was thrown to the rat who was the furthest left. He then placed his left arm extended all the way out with the blade edge facing inwards. His right arm bent at the elbow but the blade pointed in the same direction. He then moved in a crescent using his whole body to slash all four rats at the same time. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You made a new combat skill. Please give it a name. [/col][/box] ¡°Tsukiyomi no Gengetsu!¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Tsukiyomi no Gengetsu Rank [A] Dual Sword Technique A movement that represents when the moon wanes to a crescent moon where it strikes anything within the range of the attack. Attack power with two weapons (+100% ATK) Attack speed with two weapons (+100% SPD) Consumes 400 mana 20% chance to cause bleed 20% chance to double damage 20% chance to ignore defence [/col][/box] The rats disappeared in a flash and with the loss of their commanders the mice quickly fell to the onslaught of spiders who took advantage of the panicked mice. All the remaining mice was pushed back to the basement door by the spiders and Akaro and Anko had just sat down. With the amount of damage that they did it was clear they easily took out over half of the opposing army while the companions and spider army finished off the much weaker mice that were too slow on escaping. Getting licked in the face by Rai, Akaro looked at the situation of his pets and the remaining spider forces. As this was still a war he did lose some of the spiders who got into close combat with the mice. ¡°Did we complete it? Nevermind I spoke too soon.¡± Anko started to say before she saw a wave of mice and a rat that had blue rope all around him. After closer inspection it was Seiryuu who tightly constricted a rat. Akaro then told everyone around them to stand down. ¡°Hut 1 Hut 2 Hut 1!¡± The battalion of mice was being led by Kuroneko and Kogane. Seiryuu was their rope to hold the rat. ¡°Let me go foolish slaves of humans!¡± ¡°Sssure let me jussst give you sssome ssslack.¡± ¡°Aaugh! You squeezed tighter!¡± ¡°Just be lucky that massster sssaid to capture one of you alive.¡± After they stopped Akaro used his translate skill on the rat. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Learned Rodent language: Enables the user to communicate with animals listed under this classification Level up Translation (Beginner Lv. 8 5%) INT up by 1 WIS up by 1 Mana up by 100 Speech up by 50 [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] As this is the seventh beginner level language learned you have unlocked a new myth weaver skill Learned skill Language Breaker (Beginner Lv. 1): Enables you to become the beacon that breaks the barrier between languages. Requirement of Translation Beginner Lv 5 Can only provide translation for languages the user has learned Consumes 1000 mana Duration 1 hour This spell can be assigned to a symbol. [/col][/box] ''This will be quite useful in this current situation. Serenity and Anko will be able to speak to the spiders in future battles as long as I''m around. Now to focus on our prisoner.'' ¡°Language Breaker.¡± The skill activated and the two other humans in the library could now hear what the others were saying. ¡°Goddess Kogane. Where shall we put the nonbeliever?¡± ¡°Just put him in front of Akaro-sama.¡± ¡°Gently you ssstupid mice!¡± ¡°You better treat Seiryuu-oppa well!¡± The mice were obviously being controlled and the twins couldn''t help but comment. ¡°Nee-san did it again Hikaru-nii...¡± ¡°She did that with a whole bunch of foxes last time and sacrificed them so we can escape...¡± ¡°Looks like Seiryuu-senpai had tricked the women...¡± ¡°I''m just going to ignore it Kagerou...¡± The twin foxes couldn''t help but shudder at some of the actions their sister would do in order to either protect them or simply out of boredom. ¡°Sir Akaro what is this language breaker skill?¡± ¡°Who is Akaro? Who are you?¡± ¡°Sir Yasu. Please my friend, silence yourself so I can hear his explanation.¡± The falcon didn''t need to hear an explanation from Akaro as he would soon find out what occurred. Anko who now understood what they were saying was quite surprised. ¡°I can understand what they are saying... is that what you always hear Akaro?¡± ¡°Wow. They sound so cute! My little body guards.¡± Serenity was getting excited as she now could hear the twins different personal ways of speech. ¡°Master! They can understand me!¡± ¡°Haha. Sensei''s power of justice is so strong he can break even language barriers!¡± ¡°Hyung. You are too cool...¡± The dynasty brothers also joined in in the conversations. Akaro watched as Serenity and the spiders were beginning to talk to each other. ¡°I''m sorry if I shot any of you.¡± Serenity bowed as she did shoot some of the spiders by mistake as she was technically still a tailor even though the class did give her a stronger penetration skill when using weapons that pierce. She chose the bow as it allowed her to stay comfortable at a distance as she did not have a sturdy body to take damage. ¡°It is okay miss.¡± ¡°Think nothing of it.¡± ¡°You have a really strong commander.¡± ¡°I''d follow him even if we were not fighting.¡± The spider army forgave her quite quickly. ¡°Massster. Can I kill him yet?¡± ¡°Kill?! Please spare me! I promise I''ll persuade the Rat King to leave you alone.¡± Akaro then looked at the rat who was pleading for his life. He then remembered which rat this was. It was the same one that smirked at him earlier. The rat was now level 42 but thanks to having a large force capturing one rat it did not take that long to subdue it. ¡°I remember you. We can do this two ways. The painful way or you cooperate and I''ll release you from the pain. Seiryuu tighten the grip so he knows I am not lying.¡± The rat squirmed as some of the bones began to crack as Seiryuu was literally squeezing the life out of him. ¡°Oka...y. I get it. I''ll talk.¡± ¡°How many rats does the rat king have in his army?¡± The rat was cowardly to begin with so it felt as if was ready to spill the beans. But like how the saying goes you can never trust a rat. ¡°There is only ten of us left.¡± Akaro knew he was already lying. Taking down quite a bit of the rats in their previous skirmish he knew there had to be quite a few more. Looking at Seiryuu he watch as the snake nodded his head. ¡°Aarrg!¡± ¡°You dare lie in front of sssnake! We are the sssymbols of deceit!¡± ¡°I get it.... there are in total of one hundred rats in our forces....!¡± Akaro still didn''t want to trust that information completely but there was truth in it. There had to be around that much but there seems to be something off. If he took into consideration the forces he acquired with the help of the mastermind trio, the Rat Kings forces would still replenish to one thousand. He didn''t know how many of the rats were killed prior to their intervention but they easily have taken out about twenty or more of them between him and his companions. Something didn''t add up if there was only a hundred of them. When he first started this even it would always replenish to two thousand but now it is maxing out at about half of that. He only killed the mice at the start so the mice was the only one that returned in numbers. Taking into account that his forces converted five hundred of the mice. Then it didn''t make sense why another five hundred would disappear in the standard. Then it hit him and he knew what to ask next. ¡°Rat how many mice were you commanding?¡± ¡°I don''t understand what you.... MEAN?!¡± Seiryuu started squeezing as he did not like the answer he gave. ¡°You are trying our patience rat! Ssstop acting the fool.¡± ¡°Alright.... I command fifty rats and they each command fifty mice.¡± The pieces came together and Anko was the first one to understand the line of questioning. ¡°Akaro that means for every rat we dispose of fifty mice who would have no commander. We took out quite a bit of mice but the mice always returned in full. We need to kill all the rats in order for us to win.¡± Akaro and Serenity both nodded at the explanation as it made perfect sense. But Akaro then had a wicked smile on his face. ¡°No not just aiming for rats. We are going straight to their king.¡± Serenity then looked at Akaro and also smiled. As if they took down their leader than there won''t be anyone to command the full force of the army. ¡°That''s perfect Akaro-ssi. We can finish this quest faster if we attack the king directly!¡± ¡°Ha! You really think you can fight the king. He''s guarded by our strongest. No way you and your fur ball can stand a ch..CE!¡± ¡°Shut up rat. Massster wasss not talking to you.¡± ¡°I told you what I know! Let me go already! You promised!¡± Akaro looked at the rat then at Seiryuu. ¡°Why is the snake squeezing me?!¡± ¡°I promised I would end your pain. I didn''t say I would let you go.¡± With that last comment the rat disappeared in a gray flash. The mice who witnessed the execution shuddered and marked Akaro as a source of fear and to make sure to stay on his good side. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Obtained Special Title Rodent Reaper Special Trait: Rodents will be 10% weaker and will have 30% chance of fear status when entering combat. [/col][/box] ''Well that''s a good title to have. I don''t feel like making any rodents as pets anyways.'' *** "He has potential in our previous career sir." "Ssh. Not in front of my daughter. She still does not know." Myung-Dae and Dong-Sun we''re whispering while Juhee was watching in horror as she hugged one of the couch pillows. ''Aigoo... I can barely watch this without worrying about him. I cannot believe he''s fighting against such filthy creatures. What''s worse now he''s befriending the spiders... Hopefully he doesn''t get a pet spider. Eun Mi please help me.'' The foster mother could only shake her head as she continued to watch the video. *** ¡°I thought you were going to let him go Akaro-ssi!¡± ¡°This was the right choice Serenity. We cannot let our enemy be warned of our plans.¡± ¡°Ahem.¡± The lieutenant of the spider army who was also watching finally made a noise to get noticed. ¡°May I ask your name warrior?¡± ¡°My name is Akaro.¡± ¡°Nay. Not just Akaro. For helping our army. We will give you the honorary title of Spider General. My unit and I will be glad to follow you in battle.¡± Akaro bowed and the lieutenant did the same. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Obtained a special title Spider General Special trait: Arachnids will know of your achievements and will follow your commands once sufficient loyalty has been made. The quest completed and the party increased by two levels. [/col][/box] ¡°Yay we got stronger master!¡± ¡°Justice will always get stronger.¡± ¡°Hyung I''ve gotten stronger!¡± ¡°Sir Akaro. We continue to grow under your guidance.¡± The dynasty brothers and their leader were the ones who voiced out that they grew in level. This informed Akaro that the NPC''s also know when they grow in level. As it it was the norm of the world it wasn''t that surprising for players to understand that they would level up but for NPC Akaro was surprised they would get the same notification. Now that the animals around could be understood thanks to Akaro''s new skill and the women of the party was now able to hear the complaints of the females of the animal party. ¡°You two do not deserve to be beside our master.¡± ¡°Akaro-sama doesn''t need you fawning over him when he has us.¡± Anko a little irked being told off by animals glared at Kuroneko. ¡°I''m a better partner then a small feline!¡± ¡°I don''t fawn over him!¡± Kuroneko and Kogane continued. "Coming from someone who barely had any way of fighting until our master gave you armor and a weapon." "Who are you kidding? You''re only here because you''re worried that the other hussie over there would get closer to him. I''ve already kissed him!" Serenity commented first. "So you licked him and you think he belongs to you. It''s not like it would work out with you and him anyway. You''re a fox!" "It may be true that I am indebted to him but I knew him way before any of you came into the picture. If anything I should be his second in command of this group." Each conversation was accompanied by glares between the females. If this was an anime, sparks of lightning would have come out of their eyes and fight over dominance. ¡°Hikaru-nii... why are girls scary?¡± ¡°Kagerou... I don''t know...¡± ¡°I''m not scary. I''m a rabbit and I''m the weakest of the whole group.¡± ¡°If they only knew. You''re the ssscariessst of them all.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± The support team and Seiryuu were also having their own conversation while the women were having their fight. Just then they could hear marching coming from the upstairs. Akaro and company stared and almost all of them had their mouths open. ¡°Lieutenant Toxinfangs and Spider General Akaro. You have been summoned by the queen.¡± Previous Chapter< >Next Chapter Volume 2 Chapter 7: The Spider Royal Family Chapter 7: The Spider Royal Family The party of animals and humans had open gaped mouths as what they saw was a large hybrid of man and spider. Just shy of two meters the man-spider creature bowed to the group. He had an upper half of a man that wore black armour that protected his chest with intricate designs that looked like white webs. The bottom half was still spider like except there were only six legs as the two arms he had would be the remaining of the eight limbs. He had a rugged face that showed a commanding aura. Although it was the head of a human he had eight eyes. Two large ones where regular eye sockets would be and the others spaced out evenly on the side of the head. If one were to look closely, his skin was made up of very small fuzz like hairs that were pale blue in colour. ¡°Lieutenant Toxinfangs and Spider General Akaro. You have been summoned by the queen.¡± Lieutenant Toxinfangs had no problems with the new arrival. He instead saluted the man-spider hybrid with his front leg. ¡°General Toxinwebs. We understand. I will bring Spider General Akaro to see the queen.¡± ¡°Lieutenant, it is a pity that we lost your general. Toxinacid was a fine warrior and probably the bravest of us all., but it seems you are now following a reliable hero.¡± Akaro finally composing himself as he was literally surprised as this was not something you would normally see. Although large rats and spiders was already out of the norm for reality but the man and spider mixed creature reminded him that this was a fantasy game. He finally decided to speak out after saluting as he followed the same gesture of Lieutenant Toxinfangs. ¡°Greetings. General Toxinwebs. I don''t deem myself a hero. More of an avenger to the destruction of my library.¡± ¡°That is quite understandable. Do not worry we have protected the more irreplaceable literature. But we will have more of a discussion later. My army will keep our foes in the basement while you meet with the queen.¡± The general saluted Akaro before his group of large spiders made a barrier of webs surrounding the entrance way to the basement. His group consisted of about ten slightly smaller versions of the man-spider general. ¡°Come General Akaro. We can''t keep the queen waiting.¡± ¡°One moment lieutenant. Is it alright for me to bring my team along?¡± ¡°Of course. She would love to meet the heroes who turned this battle around. Your squad is more than welcomed.¡± Akaro nodded then looked at the still dumbfounded group. Although they closed their mouths they still couldn''t believe that such a creature exists. For his male animal companions they had their own thoughts on the situation. ¡°Hikaru-nii... how did that spider have a human body?¡± ¡°He maybe ate him like how I eat fireflies?¡± ¡°Hyung is a general. We are moving up in the world.¡± ¡°Sensei do you think I can fight that guy after? He looks strong.¡± ¡°Sir Akaro you undoubtedly are the calmest one of this group. To be faced with such surprising mixture and having a conversation with him no less. I am truly honoured to be following you.¡± ¡°Master. Big spider man was scary but he seemed to be a nice guy.¡± ¡°Such a surprising situation to be faced with a creature as unique as that general. I am sure the queen will be of the same type. Who is Spider General Akaro and why is he making the queen wait?¡± ¡°Thisss owl isss really annoying... but he doesss have a point. Massster we ssshould go.¡± The females unfortunately after regaining their composure returned to glaring at each other. Akaro was still not aware the animosity that was occurring between the ladies. Especially now they can actually understand each other and they voiced out their opinions. ¡°Alright everyone we will be meeting the queen so everyone needs to behave.¡± Kuroneko was the first to react out of the four as she needed to corral the men under her command. She gave one last glare at the woman who was trying to take her position. ¡°Empress. How about us?¡± The mouse representative stated to the black cat. ¡°Master. What do we do about the forces we have acquired?¡± The ebony cat looked at her master as she was at a loss with what to do with the five hundred mice they have assimilated. Akaro had to think of the next move in regards to fighting the Rat King but he couldn''t bring them to see the queen. Looking at the lieutenant being a little restless he understood every second he made the queen wait could be detrimental to their alliance as her personality was still a mystery. He quickly gave out an order. ¡°You mice will remain here and stay out of sight from your former colleagues. I''ll have an important mission for you all once I return.¡± The mice who already knew that this was the cat''s commander followed the order without any resistance. They ultimately feared him thanks to his new title but also they witnessed the skills he had used to dispatch their former commanders. They all stood at attention and used their tails to salute at Akaro before he and his group followed the lieutenant up the stairs. Entering the second floor he could see wall to wall webs surrounding the shelves but it seemed they were there to protect rather than to destroy. He smiled as the general did explain to him they were protecting it. He made the wise choice of befriending the spiders as they do seem a bit more peaceful and what they ate were insects or the mice so they had no real reason to destroy the books anyway. From the looks of the surrounding area the majority spider army was at the main floor as all what remained upstairs were the royal guard who were made up of spider-human hybrids. There was a mix of both female and male spiders that consisted of ten of each gender. Some of the armour was different as the males wore similar armour to General Toxinwebs but the females had one would say more risque armour. The females that had a weapon like a spear or sword had armour that barely covered their breasts and stomach area. It showed off their pale blue skin and the muscles that they had. The other females wore silky robes that were quite see through over the armour and they seemed to be equipped with rustic looking wooden staffs. One could tell they were wielders of magic. Akaro and company were expecting the queen to have similar appearance as the female royal guardsman. As she would be the royal of the spider forces they imagined her to be quite beautiful and they were not disappointed. Lieutenant Toxinfangs was the first to enter the spider base camp which looked like a tent made out of webs and within were two humanoid spiders. He bowed almost immediately and looked at Akaro to do the same. The party of human and animals followed suit and bowed before they brought their gaze back from the ground to the two who were in front of them. The one sitting on the side was male and looked to be slightly younger than Akaro, Anko, and Serenity. He wore silver armour that contrasted his midnight blue skin. His eyes a dark purple in shade were large like all the other hybrids but the smaller eyes formed a triangle formation just off to the side of the larger eyes. He had short silver hair and his boyish looks showed his youth. As he was standing beside the monarch they all assumed him to be the prince. What really caught the attention of the group was the queen. A mysterious aura can be felt from her and one could say she was quite alluring regardless of her being half spider. Unlike the other spiders her main eyes were angular which gave it a more familiar human like look. They were a vibrant red in colour and had the same position similar to the prince. Her delicate features was surrounded by silky silver hair which flowed down her body. She had a voluptuous torso as her breasts were hugged by a very thin fabric which was fortunately or unfortunately, depending on the person, not see through like the other silk like clothing worn by the other females. Above her breasts she wore a silver necklace that held four gems. A purple gem in the middle which was surrounded by an amber coloured gem at the top, a silver coloured gem at the bottom right and an icy blue like gem at the bottom left. It made a triangular shape and only rounded at the corners as the gems themselves were round. Her bottom half was similar to a black widow as the familiar red hour glass symbol can be found on both the top and bottom half of the abdomen. ''She has a dignified feeling about her. Feels like I''m seeing my mother.'' Anko thought as she too was entranced by the beauty. ''Wow. This game already surprised me with the human looking spiders, but she is soo beautiful. She has the look I want when I model.'' Serenity was also in commenting in her thoughts as she wouldn¡¯t dare say it out loud, as they were in front of royalty. The animals too had thoughts regarding the queen but they all looked at their leader who has not said anything yet. This fact told them not to say anything until their master has made the first move so to speak. What broke the ice was not Akaro but the lieutenant who guided them there. ¡°Your majesty. We have come at your summons. Please forgive our late arrival as we had to make sure our forces had their orders before we arrived.¡± With a voice that match her silk like appearance she replied to the large spider. ¡°Lieutenant Toxinfangs there is no need of an apologies. I have heard of the intense battle that was conducted not too long ago. I am only saddened that General Toxinacid perished. He was such a brave soul who vowed to bring our family safely here and to continue to protect us.¡± Then the queen looked at Akaro and smiled. ¡°You have brought our dear hero here as well. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Venomsilk, monarch of the Arachnae race. This is my son Venomstorm the second.¡± ¡°Greetings your majesty. My name is Akaro and these are my companions. We humble ourselves at your presence.¡± Akaro returned the greeting and tried his hardest to find the right words to respond to the queen. ¡°No need for that much formality. We are familiar with your achievements and also heard stories of your kindness from the spiders who took residence in your library.¡± ¡°Yes your majesty. I have also heard from some of the spiders in the army that they have mentioned actions showing my kindness. I''m not too sure what they could be referring to.¡± ¡°Ah. That is correct I have forgotten that this is our first actual conversation. I should start from the beginning and explain to you how we came to your library.¡± Akaro nodded and him and his party relaxed and sat on the web floor. Queen Venomsilk began to tell the tale of how the situation at the library came to be. ¡°As you may know we are a special race of spiders that do not normally appear on the surface where humans reside. Our kingdom is underground, beneath this very city and it is called Spinneretta. We were in the middle of a war against the rat kingdom. My husband...¡± At this the queen sobbed a bit at the memory. Then what Akaro, Anko, and Serenity was surprised to find the scenery completely change. Akaro felt like his soul had left his body as he could only watch what was transpiring. The reason why he felt that way was due to the fact he was experiencing it from the point of view of the queen herself. This gave him a sense of helplessness as he could not move his body nor could he look around for himself. He just continued to view the event taking place. ¡®This is really surprising. This game continues to surprise me.¡¯ ***Flashback*** It was a dark landscape only illuminated by pale green, purple, and yellow lights coming from fungi tiling the walls in random patterns. The largest of these mushrooms could be found on the ceiling that was directly over a temple like building that had runic words written on the structure. Here was where the retreating royalty of the spider army was heading towards. Their kingdom had been ransacked by the forces of mice and rats invading their lands. The queen sobbed as her home had been defiled and ruined by the onslaught of rodents. They had no choice but to continue their retreat. They were clearly at a disadvantage in terms of numbers but they did not look hopeless. ¡°General Toxinacid.¡± The queen look at the handsome spider who her husband had called. ¡°It is time. We may lose our home but we can end this war. Are the preparations in order?¡± ¡°Yes sire. We can destroy it but are you sure sire? This is one of the forbidden laws of our lands.¡± ¡°I know general but there is no other choice. I will take full responsibility for the loss of our people.¡± The king who had silver short hair and a silver beard that contrasted his dark blue skin ordered his general. ¡°Lieutenant Toxinfangs. Inform Lady Venomcindra she may start the spell.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± The queen watched as the familiar large spider crawled towards another female spider that shared characteristics matching her own. This spider was her sister and the only mage in their army that could use the taboo magic of fire. ¡°Ignus Evictus Fira!¡± A spark of fire ignited on nearby threads and the spiders watched as a trail of embers start spreading downwards to the castle. It did not take long for an inferno to take place and engulf the castle and started spreading to the surrounding area. Screams from both rodents and any remaining spiders could be heard as many flashes of grey occurred. ¡°Father we did it! We won!¡± ¡°Not yet junior. Victory can only be won if King Phantomfur has retreated.¡± Venomsilk watched as her home burned and flashes of memories rapidly went through her mind as if reacting to the floating embers. Remembering the magic lessons her mother was teaching to her and her sister. Meeting the general who would soon be her husband and the new king. Giving birth and watching her only child grow into the young man that he is now. This was the last memory she saw as the fire settled and only smoke blanketed the kingdom. She could only gasp in horror as the nightmare was not yet over. Out of the smoke was the very reason why her home was destroyed. She watched as the white hand of their enemy¡¯s king pointed towards them. ¡°Sire! We must retreat to the temple!¡± General Toxinacid pleaded as an army of mice were scurrying towards them. Their own forces only numbering about two thousand and majority of them were spiders that were the same size of the mice. The queen and her family hurried towards the temple doors and the remaining army followed suit. The last to enter was her sister Venomcindra before they shut the door and barricaded it. They were in the main foyer of the temple and you could see the intricate statues and ancient looking altars. The spiders continued to ascend up the stairs towards a room that had an elevated platform with ancient runes written underneath it. ¡°We must use this to escape sister.¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t know how to use it.¡± ¡°Well unlike someone who got married and had a child, I focused on learning ancient magics.¡± ¡°But we do not even know where it will lead?¡± ¡°It will bring us to a location that has the same runes according to the ancient texts.¡± Although Venomsilk had her doubts they had no time to deliberate as the destruction of the temple doors could be heard. ¡°I need time as there is a lot of us.¡± As her sister started to whisper the spell, the rat army finally arrived at the second floor. She watched as they did not proceed any further due to the command of their king. The tension in the room escalated tenfold and it would seem this would turn out to be the extinction of their race. The fear the queen felt stiffen all her muscles as at any moment there could be blood shed. ¡°King Venomstorm. Our king wishes to give you pathetic lot of spiders mercy by giving you one chance. He wants a duel with you and the winner can decide what comes after. Do you accept?¡± The rat representative had a smug smile on his face. He looked like the same rat that Akaro had executed. The queen looked at her husband with dread blossoming in her heart. She had a feeling if he accepts she will not see him anymore. ¡°Father you can¡¯t accept this duel!¡± The young prince was the first to comment. ¡°I, General Toxinacid, shall take his place!¡± ¡°No, I General Toxinweb shall accept the duel.¡± Venomsilk knew that her husband would accept. She understood no amount of pleading from her or his son would stop him. As a proper queen she waited for the decision of her king. ¡°No. I will accept this duel. Allow me some time for me to have a private talk with my family.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± The rats left to gather at the main floor where the duel will take place. ¡°Sire! We cannot let you proceed with this!¡± She looked at Venomstorm¡¯s face and could not help but shed tears. The resolve in his eyes indicated that his decision was final. His love for his people, friends, and family was one of the reasons she fell for him in the first place. ¡°I am the only one here who is skilled enough to fight him. The both of you have lost in the battlefield trying to fight him. How many men sacrificed themselves to bring you back safely? I cannot let their deaths be belittled. I still need you two to protect my family in the event I fail to take his head.¡± ¡°Father. Let me fight with you! We can win this if we all work together.¡± Venomsilk gently cupped her son¡¯s hands. ¡°My young Venomstorm, your father wants to protect all of us. We have no choice but to follow his order.¡± The gate started to glow as the spell was in its final stages. The spiders all saluted their king. ¡°We have no time. I¡¯ll stay behind so when he wins I¡¯ll bring him back to you sister.¡± The queen looked at her sister and a sliver of hope embedded itself in her heart. If her sister was there to watch the duel then there may be a chance he can come back to her. ¡°Venomcindra. Please be careful and come back safely back to us. We will wait for you and my dear husband.¡± ¡°I will. Now hurry on.¡± ¡°NO! Father I¡¯ll..uff¡± She watched as the two generals knock out her son and dragged him to the platform. They looked towards their king and gave him one final salute. She knew of their bond as former lieutenants to her husband. They soon became close friends and are even considered uncles to her son. Now it was her turn. Their eyes met and words were not needed. He just went up to her and held her before bringing her face to his. They shared a deep kiss as it could be their last.Venomsilk¡¯s hopes and wishes, her fear and dread, her prayer for his safety, and her love were all conveyed in the kiss. She stepped back onto the platform and watched as her beloved and her dear sister smiled at her before the whole area flashed white. The party of spiders soon found themselves in a dark room with many blank papers, ink stones, and pens. They saw a light coming from the doorway and they all started to ascend the stairs. ¡°Sergeant Webfangs you and two hundred soldiers keep guard here. Report immediately when you see any activity.¡± General Toxinacid ordered his men before looking at the queen. ¡°Your majesty. We will first scout and prepare a base for you and the young prince to rest.¡± She nodded. **End Flashback** After the memory the three players all had different feelings. Unlike the animal counterparts who only heard what the queen described they had actually experience what she saw. ¡°Those vile rats! I¡¯ll kill them all!¡± Anko was first to vocalize her disdain to the situation. Her anger escalated when she watched the scene of their home having to be destroyed to stop the onslaught of mice and rats but failed nonetheless. She was now more than ever invested into the spiders situation and was prepared to wreck havoc on their foes. ¡°Is he alive? Is your sister alive?¡± Serenity was more frantic as her heart ached at the feelings the queen felt. Not knowing what happened to your soulmate and sister and forced to leave your home. She was already shedding tears as this was too sad for her to control her emotions. Akaro however had a resolute look in his eyes. The feeling of being forced to leave your home by an outside force coincided similarly to his own predicament. The queen caught sight of Akaro¡¯s fervent gaze and all knew too well that he had made a decision. He resembled her husband in that sense and could only give a small relieved smile. ¡®There is still hope for us Venomstorm. This man will be our savior.¡¯ Akaro however was not aware that he is to be the savior of a race when he responded. ¡°We will help you and your army take back your home. We know at least your sister is alive.¡± The prince was the first to react. ¡°How do you know if aunty is alive?¡± The redhead looked at the young prince and smiled at him. ¡°The rats and their forces have to use the gate to get here. So they have to keep her alive as she¡¯s the only one who can open the gate.¡± ¡°Then father can still be alive!¡± It was the first time the prince smiled as the hope that his father lived grew stronger within him. Akaro however knew for sure the sister was alive but for the king, he unfortunately felt that he died in the duel. Still he felt that crushing the prince¡¯s hope would be detrimental for their cause so he gave a nod. ¡°Then please Spider General Akaro. Please save my family!¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Save the Royal Family You have been asked to save the Spider Queen Venomsilk¡¯s family. Putting all their hopes in the newly appointed general you are tasked to save any living family and to end the reign of terror of King Phantomfur Difficulty: C Requirements: Arachnid race fame: 200 Special title: Spider General Quest is completed with the death of King Phantomfur Prince Venomstorm must survive Rewards: Based on remaining members of the Spider Royal Family Special Reward If Queen Venomsilk is still alive you can unlock the Arachnid Race for other users to use. [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Do you accept? [/col][/box] ¡°I will save your family Prince Venomstorm. You have my word.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You have accepted the quest. [/col][/box] Akaro bowed before looking at the queen. ¡°Our first goal is to take control of the gateway to your kingdom. Then we go and save your sister.¡± ¡°We are also going to kill the rat king, Phantomfur, right Akaro?¡± She was seething when she said his name. Anko wanted to end the rat¡¯s existence. ¡°We will. But we must make sure the queen and her son is safe.¡± Akaro assured his passionate companion. Then he remembered something that was still bothering him. ¡°Your majesty. I know now how you got here but why do you say you know of my kindness?¡± ¡°Oh my dear hero. You should know now as you can speak the language. We have talked to the spiders that have been residing here on how the owner is like towards spiders. They have said the master of this library would never clean their webs or kill any of them. You would also often tell them how you want them to protect your books from worms or other insects. They have been observing you and have already deemed you as a friend to spiders.¡± The young man felt a little embarrassed as she just told the surrounding people that he was talking to the spiders whenever he cleaned up the library. ¡°Talking to spiders before you even learned their language.¡± Anko was the first one to smirk a little at the socially awkward man. Serenity was giggling as she could imagine him in an apron with a duster talking to the spiders. This lightened the mood at the base camp. ¡°Well we need to recover and reorganize the forces. How bout we take a break for lunch?¡± Akaro said to the group and the royal guards also heard that they will be eating so they too entered the base camp tent. ¡°We have kalbi, rice, kimchi, and danpatjuk.¡± Anko said taking out grilled beef ribs, rice, kimchi and a sweet red bean soup with sticky rice balls. There was enough to feed the party and the surrounding spiders. ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank Gasper and the aniki-tachi for preparing this.¡± The mood was very festive as the animals, spiders, and the human party shared a meal together. The way the spider forces ate piqued the interest of the twins. ¡°Hey Hikaru-nii. Look they are spinning the meat in a web.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I wonder why Kagerou?¡± Lieutenant Toxinfangs answered the question of the two curious foxes. ¡°Well my young lads. We have to dissolve the food first with our acid in order for us to slurp it up. The webs help keep it the liquid from spilling out like this.¡± The sound of him sucking out the liquid was like trying to slurp up the last little bit of soda through a straw. ¡°Hikaru-nii he¡¯s making slurping sounds.¡± ¡°Kagerou do you think nee-san will let us try one of these too?¡± Hikaru who already had peculiar taste eating fireflies received a glare from his sister. ¡°You two don¡¯t even think about it. Lieutenant Toxinfangs just finished saying they used acid. That will burn through your stomachs!¡± Serenity who loved watching the twins came with a bowl of danputjuk. ¡°You can slurp on these, cuties.¡± This earned her a glare from the golden fox. Serenity just stuck out her tongue before commenting. ¡°You should try to understand your brothers. They just wanted to do the slurping sounds they heard.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from a hussy. They are my brothers so don¡¯t even try to think you can take them away from me.¡± Lieutenant Toxinfangs and the twins knew better and decided to slowly move away as the tension between the two females were escalating. Meanwhile Suzaku, Seiryuu, and Tsukino was talking to the queen. ¡°Your majesty as Sir Akaro have said we will help and take back your home. As we all know that a gentleman¡¯s words are like a promise.¡± ¡°Thank you. May ask what is your name.¡± ¡°My apologies your highness. The moniker that has been bestowed upon me by Sir Akaro is Suzaku. The young rabbit is Tsukino and the dastardly fellow there is Seiryuu.¡± The last part was said with a pinch of disdain. ¡°Ssstupid bird giving me a bad reputation to the queen. Thisss bird isss jussst sssour that he had lossst to me twice.¡± ¡°Yes with your underhanded methods. You have yet to face me in a fair duel!¡± Tsukino shook her head and hopped on Seiryuu¡¯s body. ¡°You¡¯re being rude in front of the queen. Do you want me to give you a kissssss again?¡± Seiryuu blanched at the thought. ¡°Anything but that. Forgive me queen for ssstarting a fight with the ssstupid bird.¡± ¡°Yes. He is right although he is nothing but a scaly worm. I must ask for forgiveness as my actions have been quite impolite.¡± The queen could only giggle at the silliness of the three animals. ¡°Pardon the stupidity of the men.¡± Tsukino bowed in front of the queen. The dynasty brothers were enjoying their food in peace as they had a conversation with the prince. ¡°So hyung is like the strongest ever. If your dad¡¯s alive our hyung will save him.¡± ¡°Yes Master is really strong. He¡¯ll save prince''s papa.¡± ¡°Rai-hyung stop talking while your eating. Your spilling spit and your chewed up food, all over my food!¡± ¡°Sorry white cat.¡± ¡°You did it again!¡± Byakko was about to throw a bone at Rai but was stopped after feeling a chill behind him. ¡°Byakko¡­ are you going to make a mess in front of the prince.¡± Kuroneko was right behind the white cat and the three boys and the prince seemed to have froze in place. ¡°It is fine um¡­¡± ¡°The name master had so lovingly gave me is Kuroneko, your highness.¡± The earlier chill disappeared as she politely spoke with the young Venomstorm. ¡°As my three little brothers have mentioned, our master will be sure to rescue your family.¡± ¡°I feel much more assured as a strong hero as himself is assisting us. Thank you Kuroneko.¡± ¡°Now I do apologize but I must punished my younger brothers for displaying such a mess with their eating.¡± The prince nodded and made an apologetic expression on his face as he moved towards Yasu who was eating peacefully. He could here the whining of the animals he just spoke with. ¡°Noona! OW! OW! I wasn¡¯t going to throw it¡­ okay...OW! I was lying. I wasn¡¯t going to throw it hard!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry noona. Rai promise he¡¯ll speak after eating.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong Noona! I just praised hyung!¡± ¡°You get punished due to your association with these two.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair! It¡¯s all your fault Byakko.¡± The prince smiled a second time today as he can see how close they all were. This reminded him when he was growing up. Getting scolded by his father whenever he went off on his own. The kindness of his aunt whenever he got into trouble with his parents. They were now part of the team to help return those times to him. ¡°The vibrant life that can be found in any family is being displayed in front of you. Family in which our young master shall return to you, young prince. Do not fall to despair and continue to grasp the hope you have been holding within you. I am sure your hope and wishes will be granted.¡± Venomstorm Jr was surprised by the sudden comments from the owl. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°For what you just said.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± ¡°Yes you did.¡± ¡°I did not young spider.¡± ¡°But you just did?¡± The prince was now thinking he may have imagined it but was soon saved by Akaro. ¡°Don¡¯t worry prince. He¡¯s always like that. His name is Yasu but what he said can be taken to heart. I¡¯ll do the best I can to get the rest of your family.¡± Akaro bowed to the young spider before looking around to verify if everyone has finished eating until he came across Anko. The purple haired beauty was downing the leftover danpatjuk. She was acting quite cute as she vocalized her enjoyment. ¡°Korean food is so tasty. Especially this soup. I can¡¯t have enough of it.¡± ¡°Anko are you done eating? I want to gather everyone and go over our battle strength once more.¡± Emberassed by her behavior she nodded at Akaro. ''I can''t believe he saw that.'' With that last comment from Akaro the rest of the team convened together with their leader. Their new allies also joined in to listen to the red head. ¡°First Anko and Serenity what are your levels now.¡± After the battle they had a steady flow of experiencing being shared between the animals and them and they have yet to add any of the extra stats for the level up they experienced. ¡°I¡¯m now level 20.¡± Anko was the first to reply. She was the one who benefitted the most of this quest as she was still technically a beginner and she has yet have her four weeks in city. ¡°I¡¯m level 35.¡± Serenity also had leveled up considerably. She was at the highest level entering the dungeon and so she continued to be the highest level in their party. ¡°I just got to level 28.¡± Akaro divulged to his team. Considering he did the most fighting against the level 30+ rats, there was no surprise he was leveling up exponentially. ¡°The animals are also around the same level as us.¡± Looking around at the spiders Lieutenant fangs was level 50, the queen was level 75, the prince level 60, and the royal guards were all level 60¡¯s as well. Akaro remembered that the general they met was level 80. Considering the level differences he knew there was stronger rats in the basement. The last rat they killed was in the level 40¡¯s. ¡®This means I will need the spider army for the next part of this mission. There must be higher level rats and maybe also humanoid rats.¡¯ The last thought came to him due to the fact he was talking to humanoid spiders that was losing. This meant that the rat forces had similar soldiers to contend with the ones he is observing in the very room. ¡°Taking into account all the forces we have about 1700 army strong against a force over 1100. We may have the number advantage but I have a feeling the rats are a lot stronger than I thought. Well I have another plan that will help keep the advantage to us. Anko and Tsukino how are we supplies.¡± ¡°Well we ate all that they packed for us for lunch. I have the other bento¡¯s for dinner still. Only enough to feed about the same number of people in this room again.¡± ¡°You have the jar still for healing but nothing else.¡± ¡°We can assist with that. We can make bandages using our webbing.¡± Lieutenant Toxinfangs chimed in. ¡°That¡¯s good. Lieutenant we will need a team of spiders to be Tsukino¡¯s medic team.¡± ¡°I get my own little team. Yes! We will make sure to heal the wounded among other things. Hehe.¡± Ignoring the strange muttering of his rabbit Akaro looked at the queen who was addressing Toxinfangs. ¡°That reminds me Lieutenant. Are you sure you do not want to become a general? And why don¡¯t you return to your original form?¡± The queen asked as she looked at the large spider. Akaro and party also looked at him before he replied. ¡°Your highness. Thank you for the opportunity but I will follow this general if you will have me. Out of respect for General Toxinacid I will hold off on getting promoted until this war is over. I don¡¯t feel like I deserve the title just yet.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. It will make easier for me if a spider is leading the army. I¡¯ll relay my orders to you. I do have to ask, this is not your original form?¡± This time the prince decided to also speak out. ¡°Our race has a caste system and depending on which caste you¡¯re in will determine your form. My mother and I are both royalty and belong to the Venom tier. Toxin tier is reserved for elite warriors and commanders of the army. They also can have the same form as us. The Web tier is for anyone enlisted in the army. Last are just citizens and they have no special title in their name. Technically you would be considered as Spider General Toxinakaro.¡± This now made more sense as some of the names among the Web and Toxin titles were the same. The party has met two Toxinfangs, one was the lieutenant and the other was of the royal guard. As they were spiders not many of them had unique names and most of them were named after parts of a spider or abilities that they used. This did not affect the spiders as they can recognize each other but for Akaro and the team it can get quite confusing. ¡°I chose to stay in this form in order for me to stay under General Toxinacid as I did not feel I have yet proven myself to lead my own army.¡± Akaro nodded as he understood this type of bond. If his grandfather was a general and even though he would be given the same opportunity he would also stay under his Jii-chan¡¯s command. ¡°Alright so I want to make sure everyone is in fighting shape. I can repair everyones items¡­ actually Anko.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Did you get any armor from any of the drops?¡± ¡°No. Just a whole bunch of rat tails and one ring.¡± ¡°That is going to be a problem. You might as well fight naked with your current armor.¡± Akaro just made a simple analogy but this got him glares from the females in the room. Anko with a slight blush was also glaring daggers at Akaro. ¡°What did I say?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t ask people to fight naked.¡± Serenity was the one first to comment as they all seemed to misunderstood. ¡°I did not tell her to fight naked. I said her armor is as if she was naked. The defence is not enough to keep her from getting hurt.¡± This was the truth as she was wearing gear with very little defence due to being level 1 when she started. Now that she¡¯s level 20 the armor was just clothing. ¡°Spider General. We have armor that you and your party can use but only if you accept being a knight.¡± Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You are offered the chance to receive the special class Spider Knight. Do you want to add the class to the Grandmaster Class slot? [/col][/box] ¡°I¡¯m sorry I will decline being a knight.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You have not accepted the class. [/col][/box] Akaro was still in search for the class he wanted and again declined another combat class. Serenity also follow suit as she still wanted to be a tailor and will only switch her class to tailor related classes. Anko accepted as she would benefit the most. She was already level 20 without a class so it would only makes sense. ¡°Akaro. I¡¯m a spider knight!¡± ¡°Congratulations. It¡¯s a special class so you are probably the only one in the game.¡± Akaro praised the elated young woman. ¡°I¡¯m one step closer on defeating you!¡± ¡°Hmm did you say something?¡± ¡°Mou! Stop doing that!¡± Akaro smirked as he once again riled her up. The friendly atmosphere between the two was making the three other females of his group glare at him. ¡°Well she needs to change. So all men are banned to the main floor!¡± Serenity bursted out trying to change the atmosphere. ¡°Agreed. Master it is rude to watch a woman change. I will not approve of a perverted master.¡± ¡°Akaro-sama just finish the meeting with the boys downstairs.¡± The fox and cat started nudging him towards the direction of the stairs. ¡°You hear the ladies. Men are to go downstairs. That includes the one in the royal guard and you my son.¡± Queen Venomsilk nudged her son as well. The prince nodded and all the men left the tent and headed towards the stairs. The ones left upstairs were the queen, Anko, Serenity, Tsukino, Kuroneko, Kogane, and the female royal guards. At the main floor Akaro was completely bewildered at what transpired. ¡°I would have just left. I don¡¯t think they needed to forcefully tell me to leave.¡± ¡°Master, females are confusing.¡± ¡°Yes hyung. We will never figure them out.¡± ¡°I will only understand justice.¡± ¡°Sir Akaro has a lot to learn about a maiden¡¯s heart.¡± ¡°You sssaid it bird. How our massster is this obliviousss isss a wonder to me.¡± ¡°Hikaru-nii I don¡¯t understand girls.¡± ¡°If nii-san is confused, then we will never figure them out.¡± ¡°Ho. Ho. A man¡¯s fantasy is to peek. Red headed master maybe you should take a peek?¡± ¡°Yasu I respect their wishes. What kind of man would I be if I betray their trust?¡± ¡°A happy man. What was your name again?¡± Disregarding the comments from the perverted owl, Akaro looked at the other men and their worn out armor and weapons. ¡°Alright everyone form a line and I will repair your equipment while we wait for them to join us. Genbu I¡¯ll need you here with me.¡± Akaro declared and the armored spiders all agreed. Even the General who watched them enter the main area dropped of his equipment for Akaro and Genbu to repair and sharpen. *** ¡°Hahaha. I love that owl. A happy man. Pure genius!¡± Myung-Dae commented as they were still watching his grandson. ¡°I even have to worry about his pets trying to corrupt him. That owl is going to get a scolding.¡± Juhee declared as they were all sharing a bowl of popcorn. ¡°This is even more interesting to watch than some movies that have been released just recently.¡± Dong-Sun, who brought the popcorn, also stated his opinion. They had been watching Akaro for the past hour. ¡°I¡¯m betting on the Japanese one to be the first to get through his thick skull.¡± ¡°I think the Korean archer has a better chance to show him what romance is.¡± ¡°Too bad the black cat wasn¡¯t human. She would also be a good choice.¡± ¡°The fox also wants to be with him. His attractiveness goes beyond mere people.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the rabbit has an interest in him that much.¡± The two men got hit on the head with a rolled up newspaper. ¡°Stop making bets on Myung-Ki¡¯s love life! The animals are not even real people!¡± *** The women however were busy with Anko and getting her new armor. But as that would not take that long they decided to have a female only conversation. ¡°You two are quite beautiful you know.¡± The queen commented on the two young women in front of her. Serenity blushed and gave her thanks. ¡°Not as beautiful as you Queen Venomsilk.¡± Anko politely responded back. ¡°Which one of you two is his wife?¡± The two women went completely red at the question. ¡°Neither. I don¡¯t approve of any of them for Master.¡± ¡°Akaro-sama won¡¯t be with either as long as I am around.¡± ¡°Now now ladies. We are just animals so we can¡¯t really compete with those two.¡± ¡°Who asked you rabbit?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you anymore!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m lying please don¡¯t glare at me!¡± Watching the interactions of his pets the queen responded. ¡°You do have to understand your master is also a man. He may not be interested in it now but he may fall for one of them. Being his closest companions it is your job to make sure he chooses the right one.¡± ¡°Your highness! I don¡¯t think of him that way. I just want to fight him and beat him once in a duel. I¡¯ve been training most of my life to do so.¡± Anko responded after recovering from the queen¡¯s earlier comment. ¡®Me being that guys wife. You must be joking. Sure I understand that I¡¯m pretty sure he can fight father and maybe win. Then he would be strong enough to be keep the clan strong. WHAT AM I THINKING?! Never!¡¯ Serenity was a bit more honest with her feelings. ¡°I don¡¯t know about wife but I wouldn¡¯t mind being the one he loves. It¡¯s really hard as there are a lot of women around him being as he¡¯s so handsome.¡± The queen smiled at the two women in front of her. ¡°Well lets leave it at that. Did you know my sister and I were rivals in love as well?¡± At this the females in the tent came closer to listen. ¡°My husband is quite handsome as well when he was younger. He was still a general back then but how my sister and I would fight for his attention.¡± The queen started to tell the tale of meeting her first love to the women. ¡°How did you beat her?¡± Anko was the one who asked the question surprisingly. Afterall she was still a teenage girl, albeit a tomboy, but still a teenage girl. ¡°I don¡¯t know why he chose me and he has never told me the reason why. My sister was much prettier, stronger, and younger than me. He picked me and we got married.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair. He should have at least told you why.¡± This time it was Serenity who commented. ¡°That¡¯s the situation Serenity. Some men also like to be mysterious in the way of romance. My husband was a romantic once he chose me. He is very similar to your commander.¡± ¡°Master being a romantic?¡± ¡°Akaro-sama is a little slow in that department.¡± ¡°Hahahahahahahaa! That was good joke.¡± The three female animals of the group gave their opinion in that matter. ¡°No not in being a romantic. But being passionate when the time comes. All of you have seen glimpses of it. That focused and resolute look in his eyes. If I wasn¡¯t married I would have fallen for your master.¡± All of the women nodded their heads as they all saw that in him. It was one of the reasons why he was attractive. ¡°But enough of this talk. Put the armor on now Anko.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little too revealing?¡± Anko wore the armor and it was similar to what the royal guard wore. The armor accentuated all her best features and barely covered her skin. It looked more like a swimsuit than armor. ¡°Hmm¡­ you don¡¯t really have the same skin as our royal guards so you might be revealing too much. Although this would probably attract his attention.¡± The queen winked at Anko who blushed and severely shook her head. ¡°No. This isn¡¯t practical for battle. Like Akaro said I might as well fight naked.¡± ¡°I know what we can do. Give me the armor that master gave you and that armor as well.¡± Serenity smiled as it was her turn to shine. *** ¡°What¡¯s taking them so long?¡± Akaro whispered to himself as he was not use to waiting for women to change. He understood if this was like the time at the fashion show but she was just wearing armor so they can fight. He had already finished the majority of repairs and was now waiting for them to join the group so he can explain the rest of the plan. ¡°Sir Akaro you cannot rush women.¡± ¡°Why Suzaku-nii?¡± ¡°Like a flower that only blooms in the sunlight, women need time to display their beauty.¡± ¡°That makes no sense.¡± Kagerou who had asked the question replied to the crimson falcon. From the stairs Serenity, Queen Venomsilk, Tsukino, Kuroneko, and Kogane came walking down after the female royal guards entered. The last to descend the stairs was Anko in her new attire. The spidermen all whistled and clapped as they watched her descend the stairs. Even the male animals couldn¡¯t help but be bugged eyed at the new look Anko was sporting. To deal with the alarmingly amount of exposed skin, Serenity used her skills and manipulated the clothing her master originally made. Instead of just being a bikini top it looked more like armor over a short sleeve shirt. It still outlined her breasts but there was less cleavage showing and it also covered her stomach. The dark black armor contrasted the violet of the clothing and she wore matching gauntlets. Around her head there seemed like a tiara looking headband that only covered her forehead. Her hair was still in a ponytail and a bit of her bangs covered the headgear. The bottom half instead of being just armored bikini bottoms she tailored the leather pants into more like spats covering the skin on her assets but still hugged firmly around her hips. The rest of the fabric acted as a skirt that just went underneath the armor but just above her knees. They swayed as she walked. She wore armored boots instead of the leather ones she had. It was a mixture of cute and sexy from the standpoint of the men. Serenity was conflicted on how to feel. She did not like that she helped her rival become more appealing but she was really proud with the adjustments she made. Then she looked at the one who she wanted to hear the opinion of. She wasn¡¯t the only one as everyone in the room seemed to be staring at Akaro. ¡°So what do you think?¡± Anko asked as she was feeling uncomfortable with him just staring at her. She had moved closer so he could take a closer look. She also spun once around. ¡°You are exposing a bit more skin and and the only good place the armor is protecting is your heart and your fore head. The defence will be better due to the armor being metallic and it looks like you can move around in it freely without affecting your technique. So I would say it¡¯s better.¡± Everyone all looked at him sighs and disappointment. Even the prince who had a blush on his face was surprised at the comments Akaro made. The purple haired beauty also didn¡¯t like the comment and punched Akaro in the arm and huffed to the side. ¡°Master you¡¯re horrible. I may not like her but even I feel bad for her.¡± ¡°Akaro-sama you are cruel.¡± ¡°Hahaha! Just like I expected. You girls had your hopes up for nothing.¡± Out of the male animals only Suzaku and Seiryuu had a sigh. Yasu was still being his usual self. The other boys did not understand why they were calling their master mean. Akaro was also at a lost at what he did. He didn¡¯t understand why he deserved a punch in the arm. ¡°What did I say?¡± ¡°Forget it.¡± Anko turned away from Akaro. Serenity was also a little angry that Akaro didn¡¯t comment if it was cute or sexy. Her pride as a tailor was hurt. *** ¡°...¡± ¡°Dong-Sun what are you thinking?¡± ¡°Is he really your grandson? You would have showered her with compliments.¡± Myung-Dae and Dong-Sun both shook their head at the actions the young man took. ¡°I¡¯m going to scold him later. I¡¯m definitely going to scold him later. Poor girl.¡± Juhee was also disappointed at the young man. *** After an awkward moment the allied forces all turned to Akaro once more. ¡°Alright here is the plan.¡± Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter
So I posted Chapter 7 earlier as I just finish rewriting it. I''m going to post the chapters once I''ve finished them for the rest of the volume. Again if you spot anything let me know. I''m a bit tired due to human errors on my part while I was editing. Hope you guys enjoy. OTL I bow to all the loyal readers. Thank you for making me #2. Volume 2 Chapter 8: Phantomfurs end? Chapter 8: Phantomfur''s end? ¡°Get those mice!¡± ¡°Vile vermin dare steal from us!¡± Three hundred mice carrying various bentos, were scurrying away from a scouting group of spiders. The reason they were being chased was they have snuck into the camp of the spiders and stolen food from their newly acquired ally. Unfortunately for the mice they were caught by a scouting party. This group quickly descended the stairs still holding the treasured food they risked their lives to steal. ¡°Mike keep running! They are gaining on us.¡± ¡°Victor can¡¯t believe you tricked the humans!¡± ¡°Talk later. We need to get to the basement.¡± The two mice who was leading the group were conversing between themselves. Of course the moment they entered the basement the chase of the spiders halted altogether. ¡°Tch. Those damn mice are lucky. We can¡¯t go further than this. Sargent Webslinger, we will have to report to the Lieutenant about this situation.¡± The spiders did not dare tread towards the basement as they were mere foot soldiers and they would not be a match for whoever they would encounter in the enemy stronghold. ¡°Victor we did it! Now the food is ours!¡± ¡°You mean ours you stupid mice.¡± The mice were caught off guard as rats the size of cows decided to show themselves. Altogether there were about ten guarding the entrance to the portal of where their forces were. ¡°So the leader of the runts actually brought us some food.¡± ¡°You stinky rat. You are going to let our kind starve again!¡± ¡°Tough luck Victor. You either hand over that food to us¡­ or we will have mice appetizers as well. Your choice.¡± Victor the mouse looked at his compatriots. They themselves were no match for the rats that were ranging in Level from 65 - 75. He knew he had to give up the food and with a saddened look he nodded. ¡°Smart choice. But because you took too long¡­¡± ¡°MIKE!!!!!¡± The giant rat ate the loud mouse who was Victor¡¯s best friend. Then the other rats grabbed the bento¡¯s that had an alluring scent of cinnamon coming from them. They opened it up and only split it amongst them. They did not share with the fifty mice they were in command of. Victor had snuck away while the rats greedily ate the bento he had stolen and started ascending the stairs once more. ¡°Sargent Webslinger. Tell the general it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t it suppose to be Mike to tell us of this?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°We will make sure to avenge him.¡± Victor returned back and started the second part of his mission. Being a spy was what was instructed to him by the red headed ninja. ***Flashback*** ¡°Here is the plan. Kuroneko gather the mice.¡± ¡°You heard my master. Come here.¡± ¡°Yes empress.¡± The five hundred mice gathered in front of Akaro. ¡°Who would you say is the leader of your group?¡± ¡°Victor.¡± All the mice looked towards a mouse with a scar over his right eye. As cliche as it may have sounded he was a constant nuisance to the rats as he would often question their authority hence why he had a scar on his face. ¡°Then Victor. I have a plan but I need you and your group to accomplish this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s in it for us?¡± Just like Akaro thought he had a very rebellious feeling from him which was perfect to utilize. He chose the best way to get from what he wanted from the mouse. ¡°From what I understand the mice followed their orders from the rat commanders. If your kind proves themselves helpful in this war I will speak to the queen to give asylum to the mice. But only to those who defect over to our side.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe words coming from the man who slaughtered our kin!¡± ¡°I will promise you this. If you want we can sign a contract. But if you still say no¡­ I will kill all of you now.¡± Akaro had used coercion at the cost of some speech stats during this last statement. The reaction from all the mice was instant. He had no qualms with killing them as they were all just above Level 10. In terms of strength they were not enough to do anything insignificant. He needed all the mice to make a difference. Victor looked at the one called the Rodent Reaper and understood the truth in his words. He knew that if this man wanted he would have disposed of them. A sliver of hope had also pierced him when he was threatened. ¡°We will sign a contract. If we can make an agreement I just want our kind to be treated fairly.¡± The spider soldiers were also listening and understood what this meant. Their family that was killed by mice like them would not be avenged if this proceeds any further. ¡°Spider General Akaro! Forgive me for the interruption but we can just dispose of these vermin and fight their forces head on!¡± General Toxinwebs was the first to vehemently object the actions of their ally. It was not Akaro who replied back but the queen herself. ¡°At ease General Toxinwebs. Spider General Akaro is right. Before this war we had a good relationship with the rat kingdom. These mice are soldiers just like our own. They have lost family just like us. We need to end this war so this suffering can end.¡± Her red eyes looked at the young man and she looked down towards the rebellious mouse. ¡°Victor. If you and your kind accomplish the mission that the Spider General has given you then I will give asylum to mice who vow to make peace with us.¡± Victor was shocked and awed that the queen spoke with him directly. When the queen accepted the selfish request, the sliver of hope grew within him as this was the one thing he wanted. A place for the mice to have peace. He looked at the red head and nodded. Akaro had already prepared the contract and it became the peace treaty between these two races. The three signed the paper as Akaro had made the adjustment as the Venomsilk already agreed to the peace between them if they succeed. Akaro was their witness to the contract. Although General Toxinweb was not happy with the situation he understood what the queen wanted. It was the same type of decision his brother-in-arms King Venomstorm would have done. ¡°Rodent Reaper, now that the agreement has been signed what is our orders?¡± ¡°You will have to put an act. I want you all to deliver food to the rats and then persuade the other mice to join our ranks. That is why I asked who was the leading authority amongst the mice.¡± Victor nodded and the other mice understood but was confused about the food. ¡°Why feed your enemies?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to poison the food. The more we weaken them the better chances we have on all coming out alive. I¡¯m sure they are much stronger as they manage to push the spiders out this far. This will make sure we keep the advantage.¡± Akaro had planned this at the very beginning and Anko understood what she needed to do. She grabbed the bentos in her inventory and placed it in front Akaro. Akaro took out the poison and evenly distributed between them. ¡°How will you know they will eat the bentos instead of sharing it to the mice?¡± Serenity was curious as to how the plan will work as she saw the poison in action and the mice immediately died from touching the goop that Tsukino had used earlier. Victor was the one who replied to the young woman. ¡°Because they are greedy, filthy, and disgusting creatures. They starved us to begin with and we had to eat the ¡­¡± Victor gulped as the look from Akaro instilled fear in him. It was the look that the redhead first had after seeing his books decimated. ¡°Victor is correct. The personality of these rats are selfish and will for sure want the spoils of someone else¡¯s work. The only problem is we have to make it believable. General Toxinwebs.¡± ¡°Yes Spider General.¡± ¡°I need a small scout party of spiders that will chase and kill the mice as they run away. In order for this to work the mice has to feel like they will lose their life. Is that understood Victor?¡± ¡°We mice agree. They are smarter than us so they will figure it out if we just show up with food.¡± ¡°Then since you are willing to sacrifice this much I will appoint Sargent Webslinger as the chasing party. General Akaro you are a masterful tactician. When shall we commence this plan?¡± ¡°Now.¡± Akaro took a deep breath and shouted. ¡°YOU DAMN MICE! BRING BACK MY FOOD!¡± **End Flashback** Victor shuddered at the memory as they lost a hundred mice almost immediately and more while they ran. He felt that the Rodent Reaper did not want any indications known to the rats of the ploy they had created. ¡°Hey guys. I¡¯m going to betray the rats. Join me.¡± ¡°What can you do Victor? They just ate Mike.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve allied with the enemy.¡± ¡°With the Rodent Reaper?!¡± ¡°Ssh. Yes. Just watch the rats.¡± It did not take long for the poison to work as the rats consumed the defiled bentos quite quickly. They all started to foam at the mouths as their health bars started decrease alarmingly fast. The rats finally noticed that they had been duped by the rebellious mouse. ¡°VICTOR! YOU DARE BETRAY US!¡± ¡°Serves you right you rat bastards! This is for Mike!¡± ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡± One of the rats started to rampage and head towards the one eyed mouse. The level difference was still there and it looked like Victor¡¯s demise was soon to follow but webs were shot at the rat and it was held into place. Victor looked up to see his allies. General Toxinweb was the who shot a web at the mouse trying to attack him. With the feeling of gratitude welling up in his heart he let out a battle cry. ¡°MICE! WE ARE GOING TO OPPOSE THOSE WHO STARVE US AND EAT US! LET¡¯S FIGHT WITH THE RODENT REAPER AND WE CAN KILL ALL THE RATS!¡± The mice didn¡¯t even need to be persuaded at this point as they saw that the rats were already on the verge of death. The low-leveled creatures outnumbered them fifty to one and the level difference did not matter thanks to the poison. The end of the rats guarding the portal had already been decided by their greed in eating the food. Akaro¡¯s army had now grew in size. He had Lieutenant Fangs and his army under him and he himself had his allies and an army of mice of eight hundred. ¡°You did well Victor. We have cut their forces in half once more. This will make it easier once we invade their base.¡± ¡°You were merciless when chasing us so the rats didn¡¯t even suspect a thing.¡± ¡°So this is the gate that leads to your lands¡­¡± Akaro looked at the huge glowing area. It¡¯s eerie light was matched with the runic symbols around it. The symbols looked familiar to him but he had no time to decipher as he had to prepare for the next mission. He looked at the forces he had brought with him. General Toxinwebs, his army of five hundred, and ten royal guardsmen accompanied them. Lieutenant Toxinfangs had an army of three hundred that he commanded. Tsukino had her band of medics that numbered about ten. Anko had Seiryuu with her as support for her. He brought the twins with him and the rest were guarding the queen. Akaro couldn¡¯t help but trust his gut and leave his main attacking party to guard the queen although they did have their protests. ***Flashback*** ¡°We are going to attack in full force and if Victor accomplishes his mission we will have a force of over two thousand.¡± Akaro had quickly said as he watched Sargent Webslinger chase Victor¡¯s group. ¡°Serenity, Kuroneko, Suzaku, Yasu, Rai, Genbu, Byakko, and Kogane. I need you all to stay and guard the queen and prince. I want to make sure they remain safe.¡± ¡°We will protect her sensei! In the name of Justice!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her hyung! We will make sure she¡¯s safe.¡± ¡°Master says protect pretty spider lady. I will protect her.¡± ¡°Sir Akaro it is my honor to fulfill this mission you have bestowed upon us.¡± ¡°Who is it that dares point their blades against this beautiful rose? To you the red headed man, I know not your name, but I will protect beauty at all costs!¡± Akaro and the other male companions looked at the owl and found that he had another facet to him. He was intelligent but it felt like he couldn¡¯t leave Yasu alone with the queen for obvious reasons. ¡°Sir Akaro as a fellow Sky Knight, I shall keep Sir Yasu in check as his behavior to women concern me.¡± The females of the group was not so accepting with their role. Serenity was the first to comment on the role given to her. ¡°Akaro why can¡¯t I go with you and Anko?¡± ¡°Because I need you to protect the queen.¡± ¡°But why not Anko?¡± ¡°She¡¯s too low a level and she still needs to get use to her new class. You are the highest level between the three of us and you are perfect for keeping enemies at a distance. This is important and you are the only one who can fight with range out of our forces.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Serenity! We will make sure no mice comes this way!¡± ¡®That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about...¡¯ Serenity only sighed in defeat as logically she would be too open a target if she joins them on an offensive. She also didn¡¯t mind the role of protecting the queen. ¡°My son and I are in your care Serenity.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to protect you.¡± Akaro then gave Serenity a thin leather straps that they have made together and on it was the open book symbol and her name engraved on a metal piece. ¡°This item will allow you to speak to the animals here. I have given the symbol the same spell attributes of my language breaker. I¡¯m going to activate it now and it will last for about an hour and a half.¡± The skill he was referring to was the Language Breaker and it was the only spell in his arsenal that could be assigned to a symbol. He chose the symbol he engraved on all his pets as it was a symbol he already created. With his use of Language Breaker during the conversations with the spiders and mice he had manage to bring it up to the second beginner level. This increased the duration it will last before needing to activate it once more. ¡°Anko this is yours. If we get separated you will have at least be able to speak to the spiders around you.¡± He handed her the same strap but with her name on the metal plate. He had created both of them when he was waiting for Anko to change to the new armor. ¡°Another item I need to pay you back for.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a gift but a necessity. You are part of our allied force and you need to be able to communicate. All the animals can already talk to other animals, only us humans really need it to understand them.¡± Now it was the two last females of the group he had to talk to as their disgruntled face at being told to be left behind was too apparent for even Akaro not to notice. ¡°Master why do I have to be left behind with trio of idiots?¡± ¡°Akaro-sama please don¡¯t leave me behind. I want to watch over my brothers!¡± It was true that Akaro was taking the two foxes with him but that was because he felt that they did not grow as quickly as the others so he is taking them to help them grow. ¡°Kogane I am going to help your brothers grow. Do you trust me?¡± ¡°Yes Akaro-sama. With all my heart.¡± ¡°I will bring them back alive. But I need you both to also look out for the royalty. I cannot shake the feeling that I am getting that they will be in danger when I leave them. Kuroneko you answered your own question. You are the best at handling those three and Suzaku and Yasu need to focus on fighting if the need arises.¡± Kuroneko and Kogane saw the concern in his eyes, and they knew why he was asking them to be left behind. It was because he trusted them to root out whatever is causing their master this feeling of doubt. ¡°Yes Master. If you are feeling that way then who better than I to support you. You, the purple haired one. You better do your job properly and protect our master!¡± ¡°Hmph. You just make sure you don¡¯t accidentally kill the queen!¡± Anko and Kuroneko smirked at each other before they look towards their leader. ¡°Seiryuu you will stay with Anko and be her support.¡± ¡°Asss you wisssh massster. I ssshall not disssappoint. Woman I will wrap myssself around your waissst.¡± ¡°So be it.¡± Anko felt the slithering snake climb up her leg and wrapped himself around her slender waist. She felt a slight chill crawl up her spine as her body was still trying to get use to the cool feeling coming from the snakes scales. ¡°Tsukino you and your medic team will be in the back of the forces to heal and bandage any spiders we send back.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t make sense if I¡¯m in the front you know although¡­¡± ¡°No experiments.¡± ¡°Damn.¡± Akaro was starting to understand now that why the rabbit was scorned by her own kind as she was quite peculiar. He can only shake his head at the mayhem the rabbit and Poison-sensei will do now that they will be able to talk to each other. ¡°Kagerou and Hikaru.¡± ¡°Yes nii-san!¡± ¡°Yes Akaro-nii!¡± ¡°The both of you will be my support. Your abilities will be needed for what I have planned.¡± ¡°YAY! We are going to finally learn how to be awesome like our master Hikaru-nii.¡± ¡°Looks like we get to do something exciting this time.¡± ¡°Both of you listen to Akaro-sama! Come back to me safely!¡± ¡°Hai nee-chan!¡± The two foxes couldn¡¯t control their joy as they finally get to go with their older brother in a real fight. Although they knew to not do anything too drastic, as their sister will find a way to kill them a second time if they died on her. ¡°Lieutenant Toxinfangs is your army ready?¡± ¡°Yes our general. We are prepared to finally end this war.¡± ¡°General Toxinwebs are you fine with the treaty we have signed?¡± ¡°The queen herself has signed it. As a soldier we will follow orders to the end.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Generals! The rats have taken the bait.¡± Sargent Webslinger arrived with news from their advanced party. ¡°To war!¡± The allied forces cried out as this was the first time the spider race were on the offensive end in this battle. ***End Flashback*** Akaro had to act quickly while the element of surprise was still with them. ¡°Everyone to formations. Our first goal is to secure Venomcindra. Victor rally up the mice. You will be the first to go through. We need to confuse them.¡± ¡°Yes sir! You heard him you bunch of cowards. We won¡¯t get our freedom by being afraid.¡± ¡°NO!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Why should we lead first? They just want us to die.¡± This time Akaro stepped in as it seems that Victor still didn¡¯t have their respect. ¡°You either go through now or I¡¯ll kill you myself.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Level up Coercion: Beginner level 4: 24% Speech reduced by 50 Int up by 1 Wis up by 1 Charisma up by 1 Leadership up by 1 [/col][/box] ¡°YES SIR!¡± ¡°TO NOT DIE BY THE RODENT REAPER!¡± ¡°CHARGE!¡± ¡°FOR MIKE AND GEORGE!¡± ¡°WHO IS THAT GUY?!¡± The strange battle cries of the mice was giving Akaro a headache. Their sense of unity was questionable but thanks to the Coercion skill he knew they would follow orders. In terms of fear he was on the higher scale than the rats. The only problem he can see is when attacking the rat king himself. His charisma must be much higher than his own and he cannot afford to have them meet the rat king. The mice disappeared into the portal. Soon followed by General Toxinweb and his army as their back up. With the remaining forces he looked at Anko and Toxinfangs. ¡°Anko, Toxinfangs, and Seiryuu. Stay close to me. We are going to go straight to whoever is holding Venomcindra. Hikaru and Kagerou you two will also stay close. Our objective will happen the moment the queen¡¯s sister is safe.¡± ¡°Hai aniki!¡± ¡°Yes Akaro-nii.¡± ¡°As you wish Spider General.¡± ¡°Anko.¡± Akaro this time singled out the female warrior. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What skills did you learn after becoming a Spider Knight?¡± Anko forgot to check as they immediately went into battle. She called up her skills screen and read it out for Akaro. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Spinnerette Shooter (Beginner Level 1: 0%): Enables the user to shoot out spider webs from the palm of their hands. Consumes 10 mana/meter 20% chance to slow targets Venomize (Beginner Level 1: 0%): Enables the user to coat weapons with poison using their own saliva. Consumes 100 mana Wall Climber (Beginner Level 1: 0%): Enables the user to cling walls and other vertical surfaces. Consumes 10mana/sec Spider Eyes (Beginner Level 1: 0%): Enables the user to view their immediate surroundings as if they had 360 degrees of vision. Consumes 25mana/sec [/col][/box] ¡°That is just the beginner skills for us spider knights miss.¡± Lieutenant Toxinfangs commented after she recited her skills. ¡°So there is more to this. My stats also improved and now I don¡¯t have any issues with using my weapon. I¡¯m one step closer to beating you Akaro.¡± ¡°Hmm. Did you say something? Well lets get in and get ready to help our allies.¡± ¡°Did you just ignore me?!¡± Akaro didn¡¯t even respond as he entered the portal. Hearing Anko¡¯s skills he can see how he would have used it for himself but it wasn¡¯t what he himself wanted. He had to blink as when he entered the portal the cries of both mice and spiders could be heard. ¡°YOU DAMN MICE! DARE BETRAY THE KING!¡± ¡°YOU DAMN RIGHT! WE DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE BY THE RODENT REAPER!¡± Soon after Anko and the rest of their forces entered and they too surveyed the situation. They needed to find Venomcindra and it did not take them that long. She was being guarded by a rat the size of an elephant that was level 80. ¡°That¡¯ssss a big rat¡­¡± ¡°Go kids. If you get hurt your older sister rabbit will be sure to heal you. Just come back right here. As there is no way in rabbit hell am I going to face that.¡± The two foxes looked at their older brother. ¡°Aniki.¡± ¡°Akaro-nii¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry we are not going to fight him. Anko is.¡± ¡°REALLY?! YES!¡± Anko was excited as she really wanted to test out her new skills. Akaro only shook his head but knew she and the army should be able to handle it. ¡°Why am I alwaysss with the crazy onesss?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry snake. I¡¯ll assist.¡± Toxinfangs and the army will also be joining Anko in taking down the humongous rat. ¡°What are we doing aniki?¡± ¡°We are going to assassinate the rat king.¡± ¡°Did you hear that Hikaru-nii? We are going to fight the rat king¡­¡± ¡°ARE YOU CRAZY ANIKI?!¡± ¡°We are going to be fighting first. The rest of the army will be joining us after.¡± Akaro was trying to explain to the frantic young foxes his actual plan but it was proving to be a bit difficult. ¡°We are not strong enough to fight him.¡± ¡°I already said you guys were my support. Nothing else. I need your skills and don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll protect the both of you.¡± ¡°Well if Akaro-nii says so. As long as we don¡¯t get in trouble with nee-san.¡± Akaro and the two foxes snuck away from the portal and as they were approaching the door leading towards the main floor a humanoid rat jumped in front. ¡°RODENT REAPER! I, Deathfur, challenge you.¡± ¡°I have no time for you.¡± The red head wanted to conserve his strength but this giant of a ratman was in his way. As he was about to unsheath his blades another voice entered the fray. ¡°Deathfur you cannot face him without facing me.¡± ¡°Toxinweb. You¡¯re still alive. You think you can beat me?¡± ¡°Spider General let me handle this vermin.¡± Akaro nodded and the trio descended down the stairs. ¡®That black rat was only a couple of levels above Toxinweb. He should be fine.¡¯ *** ¡°These spiders have finally gotten so desperate that they sent a tiny human girl to fight me. HAHAHA¡± The elephant sized rat bellowed as he saw the approaching violet haired woman. ¡°Hmph. As they say the bigger they are the stupider they are.¡± Anko also threw out an insult. She watched as the giant rat moved forwards her and the small army behind her. Although she wanted to jump in and start slashing away she remebered that she wasn¡¯t alone. ¡°Men. Use your webbing and seal it¡¯s movements. Make sure to bind his tail.¡± The trunk of a tail made a big thump on the ground as he moved it menacingly towards the army. The main advantage they had as a group was numbers and they needed to be utilize against such a large foe. Lieutenant Toxinfangs was no idiot and knew that in order for victory to come about, sealing its movements were important. ¡°Spinnerette Shooter!¡± Anko joined the mice and sprayed the tail of the rat to try to seal it or to at least slow it down. Seiryuu was getting annoyed at her decision to shoot webs. ¡°Woman¡­ You need to attack. Ussse your venomize. Let the sssmall fry handle the sssupport.¡± ¡°The name¡¯s Anko.¡± ¡°Ssstupid isss more like it. Wasssting time ssshooting ssspider websss while doing no damage to the rat. No wonder why massster is going to fight the rat king alone!¡± ¡°WAIT! HE¡¯S FIGHTING THE RAT KING WITHOUT ME?!¡± Now her anger had came out. ¡®Think that I¡¯m not strong enough to fight with him against the Rat King!¡¯ ¡°You stupid rat. Prepare to DIE!¡± Anko was now unleashed thanks to the insults of the snake. ***Flashback*** ¡°Seiryuu.¡± ¡°Yesss masster.¡± ¡°You will support Anko.¡± The snake looked at him as if questioning his mental aptitude. ¡°Why ssshould I?¡± ¡°She¡¯s going to try out some of her new skills but she doesn¡¯t have the experience with them yet. She just started so she may waste her mana. So I need you to goad her into using one skill and primarily fight with just her weapon. I¡¯ll be fighting the rat king alone at first but the faster everyone saves the sister, the faster you can come to help me.¡± Seiryuu looked at his master and he had to admit he was starting to like the man. ¡°Massster. Are you ssstupid? Fighting the rat king alone isss sssuicide.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be alone if you help her free Venomcindra.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ussse any method.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ***End Flashback*** ¡®Hahaha. Massster we¡¯ll be there sssooon. But ssshe may be the one to kill you if you don¡¯t already die from the rat king.¡¯ Seiryuu smiled as he watched the girl fight while trying to stay around her waist. ¡°Venomize!¡± She unsheathed her naginata and licked the blade. It was an unnatural action for her but it had another type of effect. The giant rat seemed a little frightened. What the rat saw was angry demon lady who just licked a sharp object. He could have sworn he saw her eyes glowed red. The rat just picked up on the killing intent she was giving out and he was not prepared for it. Anko used that brief hesitation to dead sprint at the giant rat and pierced her weapon straight into it¡¯s chest before using it¡¯s body to jump up onto the wall. Using her wall climbing skill she look down menacingly at the giant rat. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The rat shrieked in pain and stared back at the woman. He had lost a considerable amount of health thanks to the strike but he was now also afflicted with poison. His annoyance with the constant amount of webs being shot at his limbs and tail was beginning to enrage him. ¡°Continue shooting webs. We must make it easier for her to fight. I¡¯ll be joining the fray!¡± Lieutenant Toxinfangs also joined in the fight in order to alleviate some of the attention Anko was receiving. In gaming terms all aggro was on Anko at this point of time. ¡°Venomizer. Twin strike of the fangs!¡± He launched himself towards the rat and slashed the area that was just pierced by Anko. The wound opened more and as he was well versed in the class than Anko, he had used his skills more fluidly. He was no slouch when it came to hit and run tactics as he also jumped away as soon as the rat had his attention on him. This type of fight continued. Anko jumping from the wall and piercing any opening the rat gave when it turned it¡¯s attention to Toxinfangs. They did not come out unscathed however as the rat would rush towards the support spiders that were shooting webs. This in turn started to reduce the amount of webbing that held the rat back. All the injured spiders and mice were all brought back to the medical team. ¡°Hey I said bandage that group over there!¡± ¡°Miss Tsukino. We have a bleeder over here.¡± ¡°Is it a mouse or a spider?¡± ¡°Mouse.¡± ¡°Damn it. I¡¯ll be right there. You over there make sure to wrap those spiders in bandages their legs are practically coming off!¡± Tsukino was busy organizing her team to bandage the spiders primarily. She was the only one who can really help the mice with her diluted healing salve. She had to constantly be brought water to hydrate her mouth again and again. ¡°Are you an angel?¡± ¡°Wrong species you dumb mouse.¡± ¡°I hurt in my mouth.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to kiss it?... Wait what are you doing?¡± A perverted mouse flashed grey in front of everyone. ¡°Oops. Must have used poison instead of the healing salve. Anyone else want a kiss?¡± All the mice in the vicinity shook their head no. ¡®I must have been trick by master. I got so excited having a team but there is no free time healing this army.¡¯ Tsukino looked at the opposing army. They were still in the advantage. There were rats the size of cows left but they were getting thrashed by the newly inspired mice. Victor was leading them by using her master''s title as a reminder for them. What concerned her the most was the battle between the General Toxinweb and the black ratman. Although they were the similar level the ratman, Deathfur, was easily overpowering the general. She then turned her gaze to the other end where the elephant sized rat was combatting the other human of their group. Although they were wearing it down he still was giving her extra work with it marauding over the other spiders that could not dodge in time. The one person she was looking for seemed to not be within the vicinity. ¡®Where did master go?¡¯ Tsukino wasn¡¯t informed of the danger he put himself in as she was with the ladies earlier. The only ones who knew were Suzaku, Yasu, and Seiryuu. The younger boys were not given the information as they would react almost immediately. ¡°Tsukino we have another bleeder!¡± ¡°Coming¡­ I don¡¯t even get paid for this. Where¡¯s my water?!¡± *** The trio of human and foxes descended the stairs. The surrounding was much darker as there was light trickling through the surrounding. Hikaru automatically started to glow as he lead and guided the other two down the stairs. The glowing mushrooms dim light was not enough light to illuminate this one room. When they were all on the main floor the door opened which quickly filled the room with the soft glowing light from the large fungi that was outside of the building. From the door a figure was standing there. His white fur reflected the different coloured light that came from the mushrooms. ¡°Hello Rodent Reaper. I¡¯ve been expecting you.¡± ¡°King Phantomfur I presume.¡± The two foxes were shaking but remembered what was discussed before going down the stairs. They started digging through the floor as it was just made out of soil. The one thing that Akaro remembered from the queen¡¯s memories was the layout. This also included the ground they walked on and the familiar feeling of soil informed him that he can utilize the foxes shovel paws abilities. ¡°It seems that you have brought boys to a fight between men.¡± He walked further in the room and more of his figure could be seen. He was approximately two meters tall, his bleached white fur can be seen all around his body. Phantomfur was proper name for what Akaro was looking at. He had a golden crown on his head but what really caught Akaro¡¯s attention were the blood red eyes looking back at him. The rat king was level 90 but like in most games, when entering a dungeon the monsters are usually stronger than their level suggested. He was triple Akaro¡¯s level and he had a very domineering aura around him. He wore golden armor with a red cape. The weapon he had in his hand was a halberd. ¡°Come now Rodent Reaper. Where is you scythe? Forgive me if I may be rude but you are not what I was expecting.¡± ¡°Oh. I was thinking the same thing. Golden armor is usually given to heroes who are opposing evil, not given to villains who cause pain and suffering.¡± ¡°Rodent Reaper. Don¡¯t put me in some archetype that you would find in children stories. Gold and red suits my white fur the best does it not? Even my tail, has a sharp golden blade on it. But to come at me with the rags such as yours. Some great spider general you are. Why waste time trying to save a dying race? Join me Rodent Reaper.¡± ¡°No thank you. I rather take your head for what you¡¯ve done to my library.¡± Akaro outright refused. The anger from his emotions were beginning to seep out but he took breaths and calmed himself down. He still needed to buy time for his plan to work and also allow his allies a chance to come and help. Being adept in the martial realm, Akaro knew he was going to be facing someone quite strong. Looking at the health bar that belonged to the rat it showed half of it still there. ¡°It seems that you have noticed. The reason why I haven¡¯t joined by army in the front lines is I have still the injuries that wretched king has given me.¡± The redhead tried to find if there was any clues in his statement in regards to the wellbeing of King Venomstorm. ¡°Did you kill their king?¡± ¡°My my. You¡¯re interested in to save him as well. I¡¯m sure you have already your hands full on trying to save the queens dear sister.¡± Phantomfur made gesture the moment he mentioned the sister. ¡°If you really want to know¡­ then you shouldn¡¯t dawdle and face me now. No?¡± Akaro could feel that the fight was about to begin between the two of them. The time for talk had ended and Phantomfur got into a fighting stance. Unsheathing his twin blades he prepared himself. ¡°COME AT ME RODENT REAPER!¡± The crimson haired youth did not reply. Instead he calmed his mind and forgot all the formulated plans and let his battle instincts take over. He couldn¡¯t afford to hesitate in any of his actions or it will be his downfall. He entered to what most athletes would say was the zone. With a burst of strength he lunged towards the rat king. He needed to close the distance between them to decrease the effectiveness of the halberd. As it was a pole weapon it had great reach for a melee weapon. Similar to the naginata but it had a blunt piece like a hammer, the blade of an axe and the piercing ability of a spear. This was a weapon with three clear functions and he was not wanting to test it out on his own body. The king however reacted by swinging the halberd in an arch with the axe end to try and slice Akaro. Phantomfur expected Akaro to jump over but was surprised as Akaro dove and slashed at the king¡¯s legs. With that brief moment Akaro landed his two strikes before quickly getting up and trying to slash at the king some more. His two blades met with the pole portion. Then Akaro quickly jumped back from the swinging golden blade descending on him. ¡°I see that tail is also dangerous.¡± ¡°I have to say. You are probably on par with Venomstorm. He is the only other person to have dodged a strike from my tail.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need your compliments.¡± ¡°True. I¡¯m going deal with you the same way I dealt with the Venomstorm.¡± Again they went in to another skirmish but this time sparks flew the moment they collided with each others weapons. Being of lower level Akaro was pushed back. Damage to his body was still minimal but this was not looking good. Akaro knew with a quick assessment conserving mana would be nigh impossible to do. So he decided to just use every skill he can. The red headed dodged once more the slash coming from the tail and threw his word at the king. ¡°Throwing your weapon away. Did you really think I would not dodge such a simple attack?¡± No reply was given as he used shukuchi to quickly teleport to his flying weapon. Unloading his entire arsenal of projectiles, he had literally blanketed the king in a rain of sharp metal. Due to the sudden descent of all the weapons, Phantomfur was only able to parry a small amount of them. He had taken quite a bit of damage but like most game bosses his health was an alarming amount even with only half of it remaining. Only about ten percent of his health had decrease since the start of their fight. ¡°Full of surprises. I really want to kill you now.¡± Akaro saw the eyes of the rat king and knew that he had just released the beast within. The rat king jumped towards him thrusting his spear at Akaro. Using shukuchi he teleported back to the ground but had to immediately roll away. ¡°I can sniff you out young man. You will not get the drop on me a second time.¡± *** ¡°I never knew he was that skilled! Daebak!¡± Juhee was literally awestruck with the way her son was fighting. She was watching from the beginning but he was just fighting creatures roughly the same level as him so she thought all her skills came with his class. She has not seen anyone in the current game fight like he did yet. She had edited a lot of video gameplay but she understood if this was broadcasted he would be an overnight celebrity. This further steeled her resolve of making sure no one will know of this until he says he wants to. ¡°His other grandfather must have drilled in everything he knew into this boy.¡± Myung-Dai had a proud look in his eyes. It was the look of a fellow warrior. He looked at Dong-sun and they shared a hidden conversation between them with just their eyes. Both Dong-Sun and Myung-Dai had an ember lit in their eyes that ignited feelings they have not felt in quite a long time. Watching the young man on the screen gave them the same senses they had in their younger days. *** ¡°Lieutenant. We are almost there. Just a bit more.¡± Anko was literally panting as she had just run out of all of her mana. She can now only rely on her fighting ability alone. The jumping from walls and casting Venomize had drained her completely. The rat himself was now in the last ten percentile of health. That was when his fur started glowing red and he went on a rampage. Survival instincts had kicked in and now they had to attack a rampaging elephant of a rat. ¡°ALL FORCES ATTACK UNTIL IT FALLS!¡± Toxinfangs had ordered the remaining uninjured forces to stop the web shooting and focus on damage. They all decided to do suicide jumps towards the rat and bit at him and inject him with venom. The rat continued to rampage and Anko was already out of juice to put poison on her blade. ¡°Let me take over now.¡± Seiryuu slithered up the pole and spat out his venom on the blade.He then slithered back back to his original position. ¡°Thank you snake.¡± ¡°The name is Ssseiryuu. Ssstupid woman.¡± She then looked at the rat. ¡°Hey big and stupid. I bet you can¡¯t kill me.¡± As it lost its mind already the giant rat just rampaged at the woman who first injured him. He rampaged directly at her, unaware that he had fallen for her trap. Sticking the bottom end of the naginata to the wall she prepared for the damage she will receive. She watched as the head of the rat was impaled and as his body got closer and closer it soon flashed grey and items dropped from him. She was relieved but unfortunately for her the naginata did not make it. It was destroyed and she lost the weapon Akaro had made for her. She slumped against the wall and felt the hole the weapon had made once it collided with the wall ¡®This was a lot harder than I thought. Still I leveled up but how am I going to join him without a weapon. Wait what is that?¡¯ Anko picked up the key which opened the gate for the cage Venomcindra was in. She also picked up a spear that dropped. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Spear of Tormented Souls of Spiders Durability: 240/300 Damage: 35 - 45 Level: 30 A black spear that was made out of the remains of the slaughtered spiders the Rat King had vanquished. Their souls will not rest until the rat king is dead. Equip: STR 30 VIT 30 Cursed weapon. Requirements Spider Knight class Spear cannot be unequipped until the Rat King is dead Level will grow with user Spears damage is reduced due to the curse Cannot be repaired due to the curse [/col][/box] Although not the greatest weapon for her at the moment, Anko still needed a weapon. She equipped it regardless of the curse but she may have took it too lightly. The weight of the spear required all her strength to just pick it up. ¡®Well that¡¯s why it said it was cursed.¡¯ Taking the key she opened the door to find Venomcindra still casting the spell to keep the portal open. ¡°We have come to save you. The queen sent us.¡± ¡°Yesss. Pleassse leave the cage now.¡± Seiryuu didn¡¯t want to rush the female spider but the more they dawdled the longer Akaro would be in danger. ¡°RABBIT! COME HERE!¡± ¡°You rang? Oh it¡¯s the queen¡¯s sister. Alright she just looks a bit tire from overuse of the spell. We will need someone to escort her.¡± ¡°I will. I¡¯ll bring her back to the queen.¡± General Toxinweb had showed up ragged and panting. He had just lost his duel but he still had a smile on his face. ¡°What about Deathfur?¡± ¡°There is no need to worry. There is a reason why he was given the name Toxinfangs.¡± ¡°Thank you all. Once I have gained my strength. I will open the portal once more.¡± Venomcindra finally spoke but was panting as she had to keep the portal active. ¡°General if you please?¡± ¡°Not a problem milady. Now all of you we have already defeated the rats. You must join your General. He is fighting a battle he cannot win alone.¡± With that last comment the two humanoid spiders went through the portal and the light coming from it disappeared. ¡°Anko you need to recover some mana. Master gave me some potions for you. Seiryuu what did the general mean he¡¯s fighting a battle he cannot win alone?¡± ¡°He¡¯sss fighting the king right now with the two foxessss.¡± ¡°WHAT?! Why didn¡¯t you say anything sooner?¡± ¡°He sssaid it was important for everyone to firssst concentrate here then join him after.¡± ¡°Alright guys bandage everyone and get everyone to go. We need to go save my master.¡± The medic team quickly bandaging and all of them were ready to go but they all had to stop and watch the Lieutenant fight Deathfur before they could enter. All of them was surprised at what was occuring. *** ¡°Why did that general switch with a runt like you? You are not even worth my time.¡± ¡°I have no time to discuss anything with you. I have already lost one General due to a stupid vow I made to myself. I will not lose another.¡± Lieutenant Toxinfangs started to glow gold and he became one of the humanoid spiders. He had two curved looking blades in each hands and his level had also increased to Level 82. He had the same armor type that Anko wore but made for males. His hair was a short yellow that contrasted his bluish skin. ¡°Yes a challenge now. I¡¯ll cut you in half with my claymore!¡± Deathfur swung down but Toxinfangs used one of the curve knives to parry and guide the blade towards the ground. He then jumped to a nearby wall and looked at the humanoid rat. ¡°I will end this now. Venomize.¡± Toxinfangs coated his two curved knives and then attached webbing to the handles. Using a skill he could not use with his previous form he quickly threw the knives like boomerangs and they landed behind the black ratman¡¯s back. He then pulled them back quickly and the blades pierced the flesh and lodged itself in the shoulderblades. ¡°ARRRG!¡± Using the knives he pulled himself towards the rat and shouted out another skill name. ¡°Toxic Fangs!¡± As he descended towards the rat, webbing shot out of his mouth took the shape of tiny fangs and all of them were laced with poison. It covered the rat completely who was still trying to dislodge his sword from the ground. Toxinwebs had already did heavy damage to the rat but was not strong enough to finish the job. Toxinfangs just decided to use the strongest skill he had available as he wanted to join Akaro in the main floor as quickly as possible. Deathfur flashed grey dropping the claymore he was using. The army who witnessed all of this and looked at Toxinfangs. ¡°Let us go and save our brave general! Mice stay here and gather the spoils of war. We will return.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Victor knew already they couldn¡¯t join the spiders in the next floor so he and the other mice started gathering all the items that were dropped during the skirmish. *** Panting Akaro had lost about half of his life and only brought the rat kings lifebar to about a quarter health on his own. He had about a quarter of mana left but he had to keep going. The fighting in the second floor has not stop yet and he needed to buy more time. He could not afford to lose his life before they were finished on the second floor. ¡°Kagerou, Hikaru¡­ NOW!¡± On queue the foxes appeared and dug under Phantomfur and his leg collapsed into a hole. That brief moment Akaro appeared in a puff of red smoke in front of the king. ¡°Ameterasu! Raijin! Kojin!¡± In succession he use his three sword skills. First he spun around and slashed with both blades before sheathing them and using the iai type attack Raijin. Last he just held his breath and attacked with everything he got and the seventeen hit combo landed. Still was not enough as the Rat King started blinking red. Akaro was immediately launched to a wall. With a thud he hit the wall hard. this brought his health down to fifteen percent. ¡°You are running out momentum young warrior. Rodent Reaper, you will die by my hands.¡± Phantomfur stepped out of the hole he was in and prepared to thrust at the fallen body. Akaro had used up all his mana and even a bit of his stamina in the last attack and he was exhausted. ¡°PROTECT THE GENERAL!¡± ¡°MASSSTER YOU BETTER NOT DIE!¡± ¡°YOU IDIOT MASTER!¡± ¡°YOU CANNOT DIE TO A RAT! YOU HAVE TO DUEL ME AFTER THIS!¡± ¡®So loud you idiots.¡¯ Akaro smiled as his companions had made it in time. ¡°HAHAHA. So this is what you were stalling for. Stopping me from joining my army.¡± Phantomfur still blinking red started to go on a rampage against the spiders shooting webs at him. As the rat king was pushed back, Tsukino hopped towards her fallen master. ¡°All of you men are battle hungry idiots. You better eat this to recover. If you die who¡¯s going to give me my salads that you still owe me!¡±¡± Tsukino scolded him. Although it was trivial as he heard that he would have just been unable to connect for a day. He never thought that his companions would still not want to see that happen. He had to plan it this way as the mice was were the trump card against the rats in the portal room. If the king showed up with all that mice he probably could have forced them back to his side. Akaro could not let that happen. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for worrying you. But I¡¯m not done yet.¡± He sat and focused his mind for the next attack he will conduct. ***Flashback*** ¡°Akaro. I have taught you all I know but there are two katas that you need to experience for you to understand.¡± ¡°Yes jii-chan.¡± Akaro watched as his grandfather got into a stance. ¡°The first kata is known as Izanami. This is a sure kill move. Do not use this unless you are at war. You will be striking at all the vital spots of the body with each strike of your blades. What is important is not the technique itself, but the feeling. You cannot hesitate when using this move as it will require every ounce of physical and mental strength you can muster.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand jii-chan.¡± ¡°That is why I am going to show you.¡± Akaro felt it for the first time. He felt the reason why his grandfather was respected and also feared. The killing intent was massive and it suffocated him. Then he saw his grandfather flashed before him and felt as if the wooden blade had cut all over his body. If it was real he would have died without knowing what had happened. ¡°Akaro I pray you will never have to use this technique on people. I pray you will continue to have peaceful days.¡± ***End Flashback** Akaro remembered the first sensation he felt when learning the first stance. This was the first memory he had when he feared his grandfather. The look on his face was still vivid and he could not help but shudder at the thought. After recovering enough of his health he looked to see the army was still being pushed back by the rat king. ¡°Anko, Hikaru, Kagerou, and Lieutenant fangs. Keep him immobile for at least a minute.¡± ¡°Yes Spider General Akaro!¡± The spider army started to shoot webs to slow the rat king down. Hikaru and Kagerou dug holes around the legs to drop him so that the webs had an easier time to fasten him in place. He prepared his mind first to remember all the places he felt the cuts on his body. The memory of him looking at a mirror and finding all the friction burns where the sword had landed on his body when his grandfather attacked. The trick to the stance was the killing intent. The moment the opponent stood still and felt the killing intent, the success of the attack increases immediately. Akaro then took the memory of all the suffering the spiders had when their kingdom was destroyed, the feelings that he saw in the prince and the queen when they lost family, the attacks on his animals, and finally the destruction of his books. He turned the anger he felt into pure killing intent and directed them solely to the slowed Phantomfur. The rat king felt it. The coldness that was directed at him. It was like a cold steel blade had pierced his brain. Then he looked at Akaro in the eyes. That was the moment where he lost sight of Akaro. Akaro used proper shukuchi. The martial arts skill to disappear from an opponents field of vision to unleash an attack. With Yasuke and Sasuke in his hands he put the layout of body overlapping the rat king¡¯s physique. ¡®Heart, Brain, Liver, Lungs, Stomach, Kidneys, Wrists, Waist and Jugular.¡¯ ¡°Izanami.¡± He quickly pierced all these areas in quick succession and with such speed Phantomfur had not felt it. The rat king¡¯s health bar reached to 1% and he dropped into a kneel. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You have created a new skill. Please give it a name. [/col][/box] ¡°Izanami.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Izanami Rank [S] Dual Sword Skill Aiming for various organs and veins that can instantly kill an opponent. Named after a goddess that vowed to kill 1000 living souls. Attack power with two weapons (300%ATK/Successful hit) Attack speed with two weapons (300%ATK SPD) Consumes all remaining mana Consumes 99% stamina 75% chance to instant kill 75% ignores defence User will lose all ability to fight for a period of 5 minutes. [/col][/box] ¡°Rodent Reaper is an appropriate name for you after all.¡± Akaro could not move a muscle at all and also knelt on the ground. ¡°What happened to the king? Did you kill him?¡± ¡°HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA¡­.¡± Phantomfur burst out laughing after the question was asked. It was abruptly stopped after Anko thrusted the cursed spear through his head. ¡°Laugh at this you bastard.¡± The dropped items were the golden halberd and a piece of paper. ¡°WE WON!!!!¡± ¡°VICTORY IS OURS!¡± The mice hearing the cheering descended down the stairs and joined in the reverie. ¡°WE¡¯RE FREE!¡± ¡°FOR MIKE AND GEORGE!¡± ¡°SERIOUSLY WHO IS THAT GUY?¡± Akaro did not smile as he felt something was off. ¡®Why did he laugh all of a sudden. This doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ What could have been so funny?¡¯ Anko picked up the halberd and handed it over to Akaro. Seiryuu had the note in its mouth and dropped it in front Akaro. ¡°Akaro are you okay?¡± ¡°Just exhausted. That last move uses all my stamina and mana. I need to eat something.¡± She handed him a bento but he only took small bites. He opened the note that Seiryuu dropped. ¡°What does it say?¡± ¡°Everyone recover quickly. The queen is in danger. I need to recover all my mana.¡± ¡®How can I not think of that possibility?¡¯ Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter
I might have a lot of mistakes in this one. Kind of finished this about 2 am in the morning so let me know. I''ll be taking a break on writing the main volumes for this story after this volume. Reasons: - Catching up on reading on FF''s and stories that I like to read. - Chrismas month. Hard to think straight - Been really busy at work But as you may have deduced I will be making a 2.5 volume: This will include interviews with the characters. What happend to Seiryuu and Tsukino And many more. I''ll post more details in the discussion page. If you haven''t done so already please vote your favorite animal companions. Volume 2 Chapter 9: War of the Library Finale Chapter 9: War of the Library Finale Serenity watched as the main force marched through the basement doors. She still felt a little bit unwanted being forced to stay behind but she also did invited herself to join his quest. ¡®Sigh. If only I knew how to fight like Anko, then maybe he¡¯ll let me join him.¡¯ While she gave a sigh the queen approached her. ¡°Serenity. Did you want to join them? I¡¯m sure the royal guard can keep me safe.¡± ¡°I promised him I would follow his orders. It also makes sense to have one of us three here to protect you just incase there is a sneak attack.¡± ¡°But you are still worried?¡± ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s spent more time with her than the entire time I¡¯ve known him.¡± Venomsilk smiled in understanding. ¡°So is this just mere jealousy?¡± ¡°No. Well maybe. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well has he ever said he liked her more than you?¡± ¡°Well no. He hasn¡¯t said anything like that to anyone from what I can tell.¡± The queen patted the space beside her to indicate Serenity should come and sit. ¡°Well as we are waiting for the end of this war here. We might as well get to know each other better.¡± ¡°I would love that.¡± *** Kuroneko: ¡°Are you worried prince?¡± ¡°Ah. Kuroneko. A little. I don¡¯t know if my father or my aunt is safe.¡± The black cat sat beside the young spider royalty. Kuroneko: ¡°My master will do his best prince.¡± ¡°Please call me junior. Prince is too stuffy.¡± ¡°Alright. Junior. You are young, yet you had to experience such pain, but it doesn¡¯t seem you have given up.¡± ¡°I was about to. I was not even awake when we left my father and aunt. The generals knocked me out cold. I woke up when they created the base upstairs.¡± The young prince looked down for a minute and Kuroneko looked up at him. ¡°I have been feeling powerless. I¡¯m still young. I don¡¯t have the skills or experience to fight like my father. I don¡¯t have the intelligence or calm like my mother. I didn¡¯t know what I could do?¡± ¡°So what changed?¡± He smiled at the question. ¡°When I saw your master for the very first time. I was peering from the stairs just out of sight but I saw him. The amount of fury he had when dispatching the mice. I felt like I could cheer for his victory. Then I saw how his demeanor changed once he saw the turtle and the dog in danger. He chose to flee to protect them. It reminded me of father.¡± Kuroneko: ¡°Yes. I remember Rai telling me. I joined shortly after that event. I also saw the strength in our masters eyes. The cold look he gave to anyone who would dare harm anyone he cared about. The sadistic ways to punish those who are guilty of those transgressions were quite¡­ ah that is my own personal feelings. How did he remind you of your father?¡± The prince was a little surprised at the sudden look in her eyes but he answered her question. ¡°Father was always courageous. He never showed fear in front of an enemy. I always aspired to be just like him. I learned a bit of swordsmanship from General Toxinacid. Military tactics from General Toxinweb. But father didn¡¯t want me to learn how to fight first. He wanted me to learn politics. He always said ¡®You can always learn how to wield a sword but what a king needs to learn the most is compassion for his subjects. Putting their needs above his own. That¡¯s what I want to teach you.¡¯ He never taught me how to fight but would bring me out of the place to speak with the civilians¡± Kuroneko watched the as the prince¡¯s lips curved upwards in a small smile. ¡°I enjoyed those trips. He would solve petty squabbles between spiders, help them with their work, and even dance with them. Father told me he started as a commoner unlike all the other generals and that was normal to him. He proved his mettle in the old wars with the rats and once he became a general himself he told me that he strived for peace. He persuaded the old king to make peace with the rat kingdom and when they succeeded. He was promised my mother as his queen. My father was so amazing but¡­¡± Kuroneko: ¡°You felt you could not live up to his achievements.¡± ¡°Exactly¡­ I strived hard to understand what he taught me but it may have already been too late. What if I don¡¯t see him again? What if they go there and they are all dead? What if the rat king is too strong?¡± Kuroneko looked at the young boy who was being burdened with the uncertainties of the situation. She thought a bit before replying to the young royal. Kuroneko: ¡°All questions that start with what if¡­ You are thinking too negatively. Don¡¯t over think it and just believe. Believe that your family is alive. Believe that the rat king can be defeated. I believe in my master and you should try to believe in him to. He will do his best to save them and win this war.¡± The young prince nodded. The glimmer of hope still burning brightly within him. ¡°I¡¯ll believe in the Spider General Akaro.¡± *** Suzaku was with the dynasty brothers watching the portal. Genbu: ¡°Suzaku-hyung. Are you worried about hyung?¡± Suzaku: ¡°I am sure Sir Akaro will be fine regardless of the doubts that linger.¡± Rai: ¡°Master is strong. He will beat rat king guy. We must protect pretty spider and young prince.¡± Byakko: ¡°But I¡¯m so bored. How can an ally of justice just stay behind? I should have gone with him, not the two young foxes!¡± Suzaku: ¡°Sir Akaro wanted us to be here. What kind of gentleman of justice does not want to protect a damsel in distress?¡± Byakko: ¡°I¡¯ll protect a damsel in distress!¡± Suzaku: ¡°Good young lad. I have a feeling we may see some action yet. I cannot help but feel that something is amiss. Come let us go back to the queen.¡± The group of males ascended the stairs. Suzaku looked back at the portal just before he took off. The feeling he was getting was solely due to his animal instincts. Bird in particular were known to feel changes in atmospheric conditions and would migrate out of instinct alone. As his instinct stats are one of the higher ones in the group, he knew they were not safe yet. ¡®Sir Akaro. We pray for your safety.¡¯ *** Kogane and Yasu was scouting the area to make sure there wasn¡¯t any surprises that can attack them while they waited for the main group. Kogane: ¡°I hope my brothers and Akaro-sama are alright.¡± Yasu: ¡°Who are they again?¡± Kogane: ¡°I forgot who I was speaking to. My brothers like me are young and went with our master.¡± Yasu: ¡°Ah. Do not worry fair lass. Our master has already shown what he would do to those who would harm his family. Your brothers are included in that.¡± Kogane: ¡°I still can¡¯t help and worry about them. I¡¯ve always been the one to take care of them and always there to protect them.¡± Yasu: ¡°Young boys will need to experience trials of their own before they can grow to be men. They can not be under your wing forever. Our master will be sure to keep them safe.¡± Kogane: ¡°You¡¯re right. For a birdbrain you are pretty wise.¡± Yasu: ¡°Who are you?¡± Kogane had a sweat drop as sometimes she can have conversations with him and sometimes she can¡¯t. *** ¡°So you put on beautiful clothing and flaunt it in front of a crowd? How bold.¡± The queen put her hand up to her mouth as she gave a smirk. ¡°I don¡¯t see how that is different with what you and your spiders wear. Almost see through at how thin they are.¡± Serenity jokingly replied to the queen. ¡°Yes we make our clothing from our silk. Oh that reminds me. You have said you were a tailor correct?¡± ¡°Yes. I am a tailor. Why?¡± The short haired young woman looked at Venomsilk. ¡°I did say we make our clothing out of silk. I can pass on this skill to you as well.¡± ¡°Really? How?¡± ¡°Give me your hand.¡± Serenity did as she was told and a spell rune appeared on the palm of Queen Venomsilk¡¯s hand. She then saw a message. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You have acquired new Tailor skills. Silk Maker (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user to create silk thread at the cost of mana. Consumes 25 mana/10cm Silk Weaver (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Increases the user¡¯s proficiency in handling light and fragile type of thread. Sewing proficiency increased 10% Learned Arachnae Tailor Designs [/col][/box] ¡°Thank you so much. This will decrease the costs for fabric by a lot. Also got to learn how you create your type of clothing. This is amazing.¡± The young model was truly grateful at the skills she was given. She now had the ability to make her own silk thread. This itself increased the monetary possibilities as silk is a very expensive type of thread. ¡°A smile on your face is what you should show him whenever you are together. He did say he liked your smile.¡± The queen winked at the female tailor who started turning red. ¡°Queen Venomsilk if you don¡¯t mind me asking, when you and your sister was fighting over King Venomstorm, how did you guys remain close after that?¡± Serenity had to ask as she didn¡¯t want to lose Anko as a friend even though they were rivals in love. ¡°Well. It was not easy. Venomcindra was really envious when he chose me. We also didn¡¯t talk for a year but when junior was born she came back and we reconciled. She then became quite a loving auntie to our son. Venomstorm was still on her mind as she always had that longing look whenever he would kiss me. I knew she still had feelings for him. It was one of the reasons why she remained single and focused more on her magic. It was also one of the reasons why I felt more assured of her staying back with him. She would do her best to protect him as well.¡± Venomsilk shed a tear remembering her sister and her husband. She loved them both and wanted them to return safely. She would give anything in the world to have them safely back with them. Wiping the tear off her face she looked at the female tailor. ¡°Serenity, if I was not the one that Venomstorm picked I probably would have been devastated as well. I don¡¯t think I would be as strong as my sister and come back after a year.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know how I would feel if Akaro rejected me. If he does¡­ would we still be friends?¡± ¡°Well, my dear, I¡¯m not the one who can answer that question. My only advice is that nothing ventured nothing gained.¡± Serinity nodded before the two started to converse on other aspects as they waited on the results. This helped cut the tension in the air as the result of this war is determined by the other party. Suzaku and company also decided to appear to join in the conversations. Suzaku: ¡°Miss Serenity, where is the peculiar owl, Yasu?¡± Kuroneko: ¡°He and kogane are checking the area to make sure there isn¡¯t any hidden rats waiting to attack us.¡± Kuroneko and the prince also joined the defence party. Genbu: ¡°Noona, we just came from downstairs but so far no rats came out.¡± Byakko: ¡°They would be killed immediately even if they tried but Sensei wouldn¡¯t let that happen.¡± Rai: ¡°Pretty spider lady. Master will win. Then you and boy spider will be happy. No more rats!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be happy if that happens. You put a lot of faith in your master.¡± The queen looked at the trio who reacted the moment she said the sentence. Dynasty Brothers: ¡°He¡¯s the best!¡± Kuroneko: ¡°The fanboys aside, I¡¯ll patrol as well. It will be better for me to be out of sight just incase the unexpected happens.¡± The black cat took her leave as she felt that the prince was in good hands with all of them there. It was a little while longer until news from the basement started flooding in. ¡°We have news for the Queen!¡± ¡°They completed! They actually managed to save her!¡± ¡°Quickly we must bring her quickly.¡± With the excitement coming from the spiders that were left behind it soon reached the ears of the two royals who have been waiting patiently with the animals. ¡°Could it be true?¡± The prince said in disbelief. The first objective was to rescue his aunt and hearing the excitement coming from his subjects he was starting to lose his composure. ¡°Venomcindra¡­¡± The queen sobbed as the figure of her sister being guided by General Toxinweb. She got up and ran towards her sister and hugged her tightly. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re alive!¡± Venomsilk bawled. All her anxiety and the tension she had been burdened with lightened by the appearance of her sister. With that instantaneous rush of emotion no one could really blame her for crying. The prince himself also rushed in to hug both his mother and his aunt. Dynasty brothers: ¡°HE DID IT!¡± Suzaku: ¡°As expected of someone as chivalrous as Sir Akaro.¡± Serenity also affected by the scene was also crying. Shedding tears of joy and happiness for the reunited family. ¡®He really is amazing. Even if this is a game this scene is just too much. You are amazing Akaro-ssi.¡¯ ¡°The both of you are still safe. Thanks to the new spider general you guys recruited. He is quite remarkable.¡± ¡°Sister, Spider General Akaro, brought you to me. He shall be greatly rewarded.¡± ¡°Aunt. Any news of father?¡± Junior Venomstorm asked as he was still clinging to the idea that he was still alive. ¡°Now that you mentioned it. I have another surprise for the both of you.¡± Venomcindra smiled before she closed her eyes and started an incantation. ¡°Vemonstorm I summon you.¡± A smaller runic area appeared before them and the visage of the king appeared before them. He had scars all over his body but his majestic white hair and facial features stayed the same. Venomsilk gasped while the prince ran and hugged his father. Venomsilk was about to join in but she stopped. Something felt wrong to her. Even though the person in front of her was her husband in body but the look in his eyes were dead. They did not hold the same soul she fell in love with. ¡°Junior come here for a moment.¡± ¡°Mother?¡± ¡°Venomcindra, what¡¯s wrong with him?¡± The prince let his father go as he wasn¡¯t being hugged back. He then started walking back to his mother but the next event froze him solid with grief. ¡°NOOOO!¡± It was too late as Venomcindra had taken a ritual knife and literally stabbed her sister in the back. The blade¡¯s point had exited the front of her body. ¡°Why¡­?¡± Venomsilk asked in between gasps as the knife was still in her. ¡°Hmm¡­ no other reason. Must take out any obstacles in my way for my true love and my own happiness.¡± Venomcindra had no guilt whatsoever in her answer. It felt as if she was just doing what seemed natural to her. ¡°How dare you attack the queen?! You insolent witch!¡± Toxinweb was the first to recover from the initial shock that had occurred. He brandished his blade and was ready to attack the queen¡¯s sister but instead stopped by the summoned king. ¡°Tsk tsk. Venomstorm, be a darling and kill that loudmouth.¡± ¡°You witch I demand you release his highness from your mind control!¡± The general shouted as now he had to protect against himself against the attacks from his former brother in arms and current king. Although he himself is still recovering from his battle against Demonfur the king¡¯s health was also about quarter life left. It seems the damage from the rat king was still apparent. As this was still technically an event quest at the ¡°C¡± rank that it was only natural the enemies had certain handicaps in order for players to accomplish the quest although there is still a level gap. The king was level 100 while Venomcindra was level 90. It was now Serenity and company to react. Suzaku was the first to issue an order as Serenity was still trying to process what happened. Suzaku: ¡°Rai, Genbu, and Byakko! Grab the prince!¡± The dynasty brothers followed it immediately and dragged the prince to safety. He had no energy to walk on his own. ¡®What just happened? I thought this was suppose to be the end of the quest. We kill the rat king and then we all win. What kind of development is this? The queen! She must be feeling horrible! Must save the queen!¡¯ Serenity ended her thoughts and nocked an arrow to her bow string and fired at Venomcindra who simply burned it. ¡°My my. Looks like trying to kill you has angered your protectors. Oh well. I need you alive still as living blood is needed for this ritual. Venomstorm please protect me while I conduct the ritual. So stop playing with that second rate swordsman already.¡± With that comment the dead eyes of the king stared directly at Toxinwebs. In an instant the general had dropped his sword as Venomstorm had used his own unique sword skill. Throwing his blade he struck abdomen of Toxinweb. This was the first part of the technique as the second it landed he was then stunned by a bolt of electricity coming from Venomstorm¡¯s sword. The current actually came from webbing that originated from his hand and using lightning based magic he paralyzed the general. This had an effect similar to stun guns. One of the reasons why he was known as storm was his ability to use lightning magic and swordsmanship at the same time. Toxinweb could only watch as one of his closest friends pull the sword from his stomach and brought it over his head to finish him off. He saw a tear escape the kings eyes. Toxinweb smiled before closing his eyes to accept his fate. ¡®Spider General Akaro. Please stop this madness.¡¯ With one swipe the general fell. The other spiders were completely disheartened as they watched their general get killed before flashing grey. What completely diminished their spirit to fight was that it was the very King himself that dispatched Toxinweb. The situation they were in was being completely controlled by the female spider who was conducting a strange ritual. The necklace that was once around Venomsilk¡¯s neck was now floating as the blood from the queen was also starting to rise towards it. The blood coated the necklace and it seemed as if it was corroding the silver metal that held the gems in place. The gems themselves began to illuminate light as if power that was held dormant began to seep out. The mood of the whole room was particularly grim and with the sight of the necklace giving off foreboding light all seemed hopeless. Serenity knew she can¡¯t just let let the queen¡¯s sister do whatever she wanted and for the first time in this whole quest she took command. ¡°This is not the time to be sad and let our emotions and fear take over us. Everyone we need to stop that ritual and save the queen! Help me save her!¡± The royal spiders got up and looked at the short haired woman. The failure of letting the queen come to harm still heavily weighed on their minds but with her mere words they hardened their resolve. ¡°We cannot give up here!¡± ¡°We won¡¯t let a monster like her rule us!¡± ¡°That is not the king we love. We must protect the queen!¡± Rai: ¡°Pretty spider lady in trouble. We fail master if we can¡¯t rescue her.¡± Byakko: ¡°Alright Rai-hyung. Let¡¯s save the queen in the name of justice!¡± Genbu: ¡°I¡¯m ready to fight. Hyung would be disappointed in us if we don¡¯t at least try to save her!¡± Suzaku: ¡°Well said young lads. We will apprehend this fiend. For Sir Akaro¡¯s honour!¡± The four males prepared for battle. Suzaku was quite angry at himself for not realizing it much sooner. His instincts told him that there would be trouble but he as well fell victim to the emotions everyone had when they saw the reunion. He needed to save the queen not to only redeem himself in front of his benefactor but to also be able to forgive himself for his own negligence. He should have stayed closer to the queen and now she may die. The only one who was still shocked was still not in a position to do anything. The prince was blankly staring at the situation. He just watched his aunt, who he regarded as a second mother, impale his birth mother. He also watched as his birth father kill the general whom he regarded as his uncle. For any young mind this was a lot to process. He had not the mental fortitude nor the maturity to handle such a backlash of emotions. ¡°Why¡­ why¡­. why¡­ I don¡¯t understand¡­?¡± He continued repeating that aloud as the other spiders and Akaro¡¯s party prepared to battle against the king. Serenity surveyed the amount of battle power they had and it was not looking good. Other than the royal guard and Akaro¡¯s party the remaining spiders were quite low in level. ¡°All spiders below level 30 please focus on support! Just shoot webs at the king. Everyone else we have no choice but charge from the front!¡± Not the greatest of battle plans that she could think up of but it was not a bad choice either. She was a tailor first than an archer. She wasn¡¯t battle orientated but with the look of the remaining spiders looking so bleaked she had to take on the mantle as commander. She nocked her bow once more and started targeting not the king but Venomcindra who was preoccupied with the ritual. Doing this the king was focused on stopping the arrows with his sword. This allowed an opening for the royal guard to close in and strike. Suzaku picked up on the plan and like before used a hit and run tactic. He instead focused on landing blow after blow on the king as he was the main obstacle in their rescue attempts. Genbu, Rai, and Byakko also followed suit but as they didn¡¯t really come up with a plan decided on head on tactics regardless if the king was distracted or not. Rai and Genbu would use their primary combo of a rushing headbutt and Byakko would jump off the back of Rai and plant a Byakko Uppercut. Even with all of this going on, the health only decreased slightly. As a majority of the fighting force was only half his level. The webs just barely slowed him down and spiders who were too slow to react would either die or be injured when the king was able to actually strike back. Then it happened. The gemtones began to flash and Venomcindra was being enveloped by the lights coming from the gems. Her form was beginning to change into a spider. ¡°This power is forcing me to my original form. It is incredible. Foolish sister. You had all this power around you but you just used it as an ornament around your neck. The queen could only weakly look at her sister as she watched as the more and more of the gems luster began to decrease as more and more of the power was flowing to the traitorous sister. Serenity saw the situation and a message popped up in front of her eyes. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Special event: Venomcindra is in the process of acquiring unlimited power and if the process finishes the event quest will fail and the destruction of a race and the very library is inevitable. Time remaining before process is complete. 15:00 minutes. [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 14:59 [/col][/box] The timer was counting down on her visual on the bottom right. Serenity knew that they needed to stop the process somehow. ¡®Akaro we need you more now than ever. Hurry and come back.¡¯ *** Akaro was meditating with the rest of his group. He needed to recover as quickly as he can but remembered he can chat with Serenity. Akaro: ¡°Serenity. What is the situation?¡± Serenity: ¡°We were betrayed by the queen¡¯s sister. She started a process to become stronger and we only have less than fourteen minutes to stop her. We are also being stopped by the king who she controls.¡± Akaro: ¡°I see. I¡¯m almost done recovering health and mana. We¡¯ll be there as quickly as we can.¡± The redhead looked at the team. He could only take a handful of them and come back for the rest later. ¡°Everyone. We have been betrayed by Venomcindra. I need the strongest spiders to join me and my party. I only can have about ten of you not including the Lieutenant.¡± The whispered amongst themselves and the ten were chosen. All from Toxinweb¡¯s army. Lieutenant Toxinfangs in his humanoid form had a grim look on his face after hearing the news of betrayal. Anko who saw this decided to speak to him. ¡°No one knew. We were all betrayed. It is not your fault.¡± ¡°I cannot help but feel helpless. The only one who can get us there is the Spider General but he had suffered great fatigue and is still recovering.¡± Toxinfangs replied to the purple haired beauty. He was being realistic with the situation. Their main battle force was stuck in their homeland while only a handful of able warriors stayed with the queen. He knew Toxinwebs was still injured as well and may not be able to fend off the queen¡¯s sister. ¡°We cannot lose hope. Aren¡¯t you a man? Show your resolve and prepare to fight. We are not beaten yet.¡± Anko, who had lectured her father¡¯s men before when they got too pessimistic, had tried to console the man-spider the only way she knew how. ¡°You¡¯re right. We are not yet defeated. Spider General Akaro. How much longer?¡± ¡°Very soon. Let¡¯s hope we are not too late.¡± Akaro monitored his health and mana religiously. He was preparing himself to use the shukuchi skill to get back to his team but he wasn¡¯t sure how much mana it would use. The distance between the library and the underground temple was not something he can measure with just eyesight. As the skill was based on meters it would expend a lot of his mana. With the insight of the battle coming from Serenity, he had a general idea of what needed to be done but the amount of mana left remaining will determine what skills he can use when he gets back up there. Thankfully the others he¡¯s bringing with him will have full mana as well and they will be combat ready if needed to take a break. ¡®Hold out a little longer. I¡¯ll be there to help soon.¡¯ *** [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 10:45 [/col][/box] Serenity knew that the main problem was stopping the transformation of Venomcindra and they needed to focus on her. The problem was she had the queen and was able to destroy any of the arrows being aimed at her. Also the king was pushing them back regardless of his injured form. She literally had to come up with a plan as quickly as possible as any longer will put them more in danger. This was the first time she felt like this in the game. She felt more invested into this one quest then the total amount of play time doing quests with other parties. To her this felt like if she failed she would probably weep at the loss of the spider race she just started to get to know. ¡®I can¡¯t let her die like that! We need to stop Venomcindra. But how?! Think¡­ think¡­ think... ¡® She looked up and saw the ceiling of webs and an idea hit her. ¡°Suzaku! I need your help. Come with me!¡± Suzaku: ¡°As you wish miss. Boys I leave the defence to you!¡± Serenity left with Suzaku leaving behind the dynasty brothers to fend off the king. Genbu: ¡°Alright Rai-hyung, let¡¯s beat this guy up!¡± Rai: ¡°Come on turtle and white cat. We can stop him!¡± Byakko: ¡°FOR JUSTICE!¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 08:34 [/col][/box] The trio decided to hamper the king by aiming for the legs. They targeted one leg at a time while the royal guard that remained fended off the king¡¯s sword attacks. This basic plan helped in impeding Venomstorm¡¯s movements greatly and the spiders morale were slowly recovering. ¡°We can do this!¡± ¡°Spider General Akaro¡¯s Dynasty Brothers are heroes!¡± ¡°Keep up the attacks!¡± Genbu: ¡°Everyone aim for the legs! We don¡¯t need to beat him!¡± Rai: ¡°We just need to keep him busy until master comes!¡± Byakko: ¡°Our hero of justice will come to save the day. Until then lets stop the king!¡± The three boys rallied the spiders and started to push the king back. They were not doing a lot of damage but with the number advantage they were holding him off. The group was lucky because the once great general and now king was not in control of his own body. He was using skills that is available to him but he isn¡¯t using the years of experience that he had under his belt. This made his movement predictable to a degree. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 06:32 [/col][/box] Venomcindra watched as they were pushing her love back with their unrelenting attacks. ¡°ALL OF YOU STOP ATTACKING HIM! FOR YOUR INSOLENCE I WILL KILL HER!¡± Kogane: ¡°Not if we have anything to do with it!¡± Yasu: ¡°For such a beauty to have been encompassed by the ugliness of envy to this degree. We will not let you harm your sister anymore than you have already done so.¡± Kuroneko: ¡°Silent killer!¡± Kuroneko was the first to attack and aimed for one of the sister¡¯s legs. ¡°AAARGH!!¡± The leg was barely hanging onto her body with the damage dealt. Kogane came in right after with a bite and tore off the remaining piece of flesh that kept the leg attached. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Yasu had a different objective. Being an overly large bird with considerable strength. His talons latched onto the shoulders of Venomsilk and he did his best to carry her out to safety. He was moving slowly so he would have been an easy target if it weren¡¯t for the two females relentless barrage of attacks. Venomcindra was still a mage class so her martial prowess was very limited and she barely defended the quick attacks coming from them. She was also limited in the number of spells she can actively use while the transferring of power was taking place. She still however did not just give in. ¡°I¡¯ll show you some of the power I have received!¡± The queen¡¯s sister glowed purple and Kogane was lifted up and thrown towards a shelf. Kogane did not get up but was still showing signs of breathing. Then Venomcindra glowed blue and icicles started to fall around Kuroneko. The black cat nimbly avoided the attack and went in for another claw strike but it bounced off with a metal clang. The large spider had once again glowed to a silver as her body became metallic. ¡®Damn!¡¯ Kuroneko thought to herself as she quickly retreated. She wanted to take out another leg as Venomcindra¡¯s health was still at the ninety percentile. She looked at her younger brothers and saw they were able to corner the king. She decided to cut her losses and maybe free them up to help her with Venomcindra. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 03:40 [/col][/box] ¡°I¡¯ll get you this time!¡± Serenity shot three arrows at Venomcindra once the metal form receded. ¡°You still don¡¯t learn girl!¡± Venomcindra fired a fireball at the arrows which burned them but the fire kept going. It was burning along web silk that Serenity had attached before taking her shot. ¡°NOW!¡± Serenity shouted out and Suzaku started cutting the ceiling with his wings. After quickly cutting a large section of the web ceiling he used his talons and grabbed the center and started barreling towards Venomcindra. The flame also started to loop towards Suzaku as the silk thread was attached to his left talon. With a spin he quickly wrapped the thread around the abdomen of Venomcindra who was not prepared for his speed. The flame line that was following him had now engulfed the webs he had brought and was now damaging Venomcindra. Suzaku: ¡°I¡¯m not done yet!¡± He then quickly pecked of the line attached to his talon and flew straight to the ceiling once more and grabbed more sections and started dropping them on the large spider. He then stood a distance away and started using the air from his flapping to fan the flames to burn hotter. ¡°RAARHHG!!!¡± Venomcindra was starting to burn and her health was dropping quickly. Although she was able to use fire she was not immune to the effects. ¡®Did that do it?¡¯ Serenity asked herself before looking at the timer. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 02:00 [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 01:59 [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 01:58 [/col][/box] The timer kept going and Serenity knew it wasn¡¯t enough. A blast of lightning launched her towards another bookshelf and she crashed hard enough to break it. She coughed as the damage done to her was enough to bring her to twenty percent of her health. Suzaku was also blasted from the air by lightning and he landed close to kogane. Suzaku: ¡°Sir Akaro. I¡¯ve done what I can.¡± He said aloud before he passed out from exhaustion. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 01:23 [/col][/box] Rai had saw this and knew he had to do something. He then noticed the floating gems that were around the spider. He looked at his two younger brothers and they all nodded at the same time. Kuroneko who saw this could only sigh as they planned to do a suicide mission. Rai: ¡°We need to break gems!¡± Genbu: ¡°Just throw me towards the blue one!¡± Byakko: ¡°I¡¯ll get the silver one!¡± Kuroneko: ¡°This is a stupid plan but if we survive this I¡¯ll punish the three of you for making me agree to this.¡± Dynasty brothers: ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go!¡± Rai started sprinting with Genbu on his head and the two cats on his back. Venomcindra shot lightning bolt after lightning bolt to try and kill the Akaro¡¯s original four but Rai had a strange knack of dodging everything. The moment he got close to the floating gems each animal jumped off. In the case of Genbu he was thrown towards his target. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 01:00 [/col][/box] Rai was the first to grab the amber like gem and took it into his mouth. Genbu had bit the blue gem, Byakko the silver one and Kuroneko had reluctantly obtained the purple gem. Then they each tried to break it but it was too hard. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 00:40 [/col][/box] Rai then looked at the compatriots before looking at Venomcindra who was starting to glow purple. He then swallowed the gem whole. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 00:33 [/col][/box] Genbu did the same and so did Byakko. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 00:20 [/col][/box] Kuroneko: ¡°Of all the idiotic things we do for our master.¡± She also then swallowed hers. [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] 00:10 [/col][/box] Serenity received a message. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You have successfully stopped the full transformation of Venomcindra. [/col][/box] ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOO!¡± Her purple aura launched out and pushed the four animals towards walls and bookcases knocking them all out. She then looked towards the love of her life before fixing her gaze upon Serenity. Serenity watched as her form began to return to the mix of human and spider. The damage done to her still remained. Her face had also lost half of it¡¯s beauty as the other half was now burned. ¡°You have stopped my final transformation. You and your army has hurt my beloved. YOU HAVE MADE ME LIKE THIS!¡± Medium haired tailor nocked her bow and prepared to attack once more. Already knowing that she is only twenty percent away from a game over she took a shot with her remaining arrows. Again they were burned by the spider mage. ¡°You still haven¡¯t learned that your arrows do nothing. Now you have no more arrows. Your companions are scattered. The queen is already about to die but you still struggle. Foolish woman.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me about struggling. Coming from a crazed woman who cannot accept rejection. So what if he didn¡¯t choose you. You are, were beautiful! You could have moved on and let them enjoy their peace. You instigated this whole war instead and attack your own sister! I might die here but Akaro will not let you live!¡± Serenity spat out as the fatigue hit her and she fell back on her bottom. ¡°Do you mean the same Spider General Akaro trapped in the temple with no means of getting back as I am the only one who knows the warp gate spell? An amusing notion but I don¡¯t see that a possibility. Even if he managed to find a way to climb up here you would be dead and I would have been long gone.¡± With confidence Venomcindra replied to the fallen tailor. She then looked at her puppet and gave him a command. ¡°Venomstorm I want you to kill this wench.¡± The controlled king sprinted towards Serenity, running past the elite spiders who were trying to stop him. He then raised his blade and prepared to finish the girl off. Serenity could only watch as the blade was coming down as she had no means to escape in her current state. She closed her eyes just as Toxinwebs did before her. ¡®Akaro¡­ please stop this mad-woman.¡¯ The blade was stopped by another blade. It wasn¡¯t by the red head but by his own son¡¯s sword. ¡°I will not let you!¡± Venomstorm the second declared as tears were running down the sides of his cheeks. A burst of electrical charge came from the sword and repelled his controlled father. ¡°Prince Venomstorm?!¡± The female model said in disbelief as she was thankful her avatar was still alive. ¡°I am no longer just a prince. I am now King Venomstorm the second. It is my turn to protect my countrymen and my friends.¡± ¡°Well said. Sorry we were a bit late.¡± The new king looked at the new arrival and couldn¡¯t help but smile a little as the glimmer of hope returned. As he truly believed the redhead in front of him was a hero. ¡°A hero always shows up when he¡¯s needed most.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t arrive soon enough. I¡¯m sorry about your mother.¡± Akaro bowed his head in apology. ***Flashback*** Yasu was still flying Queen Venomsilk to safety as his fellow companions started an attempt to stop the transformation. He finally got close enough to where the prince was as the fatigue of carrying someone two times his size was getting to him. Setting her down he could already she had not much time to live. He then looked at the prince who was just standing and staring into space. Yasu: ¡°Young prince come here and properly bid your mother farewell as she has not long to live in the mortal realm.¡± The prince did not hear the owl and this made Yasu a little annoyed. Although he was normally birdbrained he still knew that the prince needs to speak to his mother. He flew by the prince and did not hold back with a giant slap to his face with his large wings. Yasu: ¡°Get out of your stupor and grow the proverbial pair. Your mother needs to say goodbye to you and I do not want you to regret not being able to speak to her. This is your time now young prince. Nay young king. With your mother dying and your father not in his right mind it is up to you to lead your people out of this predicament.¡± The prince understood that the owl in front of him was right. He then quickly went to his mother as her breaths were getting ragged. ¡°Mother¡­¡± Holding back tears he looked at her pale face and a stream of blood was escaping her mouth. He took a piece of his clothing and wiped it off. ¡°Junior¡­ stay strong¡­ please stop your father¡­ he does not want to do any of this¡­ I can see it in his eyes¡­ please stop him¡­ Don¡¯t cry my love... I know you can do it... You are your father¡¯s son...after all...¡° With those last comments the queen silently breathed out her last breath and faded into gray particles of light. Venomstorm junior cried out and sparks of electricity began to shoot out of his hands. He finally unlocked the same power as his father and he knew that he was the only one who can stop him amongst his people. ¡°Thank you Yasu for bringing me back to my senses. You are very wise.¡± Yasu: ¡°Why thank you for the compliment? Young man what is your name and rank?¡± ¡°King Venomstorm the second.¡± Yasu: ¡°Ah royalty. I slapped a king once back in the day. He kind of looked like you young lad.¡± ¡°You are a strange bird but let us go stop my father. Are you with me Sir Yasu.¡± Yasu: ¡°It would be an honour to be of services.¡± *** ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± Akaro got his group in order. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Event Update You have failed to unlock the Arachnae race as Queen Venomsilk has perished before the quest has ended. [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Contract Update Companion Contract 1: Expired Companion Contract 2: Expired Companion Contract 3: Expired Companion Contract 4: Expired [/col][/box] ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Anko said as she watched the redhead¡¯s face turn somber. ¡°The queen has died. I was too late. My contract to Genbu, Byakko, Rai, and Kuroneko has also expired.¡± The purple haired beauty and the rest of his team also had quiet stares as they were losing heart. With a heavy heart Akaro looked at his companions as he needed to raise the morale. ¡°But the prince is still alive! We must keep him alive! We are going to our allies now and take our vengeance against the traitor!¡± The fire in everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. They wanted retribution. They all wanted someone to pay for this atrocity. They all had one target. The queen¡¯s sister. Tsukino: ¡°Uffufuufufufufufuuf!¡± Seiryuu: ¡°Tearsss and foaming at the mouth. Yup the rabbit hasss gone rabid.¡± Tsukino: ¡°I¡¯ll make her pay for hurting our master¡¯s family...my family...ufufufu¡­¡± Kagerou: ¡°Kuroneko-neesama please be alright!¡± Hikaru: ¡°Bakaneko better be alive! Rai-nii and Genbu-nii too. We are on our way!¡± Akaro ordered everyone to grab a hold of him as this was also an experiment for him as well. ¡°Shukuchi!¡± ***End Flashback*** ¡°We can talk later. It¡¯s time for us to put an end to this. Leave my father to me. Please take care of my aunt.¡± ¡°Yes your majesty.¡± Akaro simply replied while he looked at the woman who betrayed everyone. He then looked at his party of ten elite spiders, Toxinfangs, Anko, Seiryuu, and Yasu. ¡®My mana reserves is less than a quarter left with that whole trip. That was over 600 meters. That means I can¡¯t fight at full capacity. I¡¯ll have to coordinate with everyone and try to preserve my mana for shukuchi.¡¯ ¡°Everyone get ready. This is going to be a long fight.¡± Addressing his team Akaro got into a battle ready stance. ¡°So you manage to escape the temple. I see that I am not the only one with the magic to transport oneself. Does not matter. As all of you will fall to my magic!¡± Venomcindra started to glow yellow as sparks were appearing on her hands. Although the transformation was not complete a portion of the power was still transferred to her. ¡°Time to die you fools!¡± *** Tsukino hopped towards Serenity almost immediately and started doing some emergency treatment. Her emergency treatment consisted of taking the herbs she had left stuff into her mouth, chewed and literally gave Serenity some mouth to mouth administered aid. ¡°Bleagh! Thank you Tsukino¡­ but I could have put it in my mouth myself.¡± Tsukino: ¡°You know you liked it. Well stop sitting around and help me find the others. They might still be alive!¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we help Akaro and the rest?¡± Serenity struggled a bit to get back onto her feet and had to take a short break as fatigue in the game also affected motor ability for her avatar. Tsukino: ¡°I¡¯m not fit for combat no matter how much I want to drown a certain spider¡¯s throat with poison. I can¡¯t lose hope that Kuroneko and my three favourites are dead. I can¡¯t accept it.¡± ¡°Dead? They can¡¯t be dead. They were just thrown towards the walls after stopping the transformation. I survived so I¡¯m pretty sure they did too.¡± Tsukino: ¡°Then let¡¯s go and heal them already! Oh the two boys!¡± Kagerou: ¡°I have nee-chan. She¡¯s hurt and needs help.¡± The black fox carried his golden furred sister. Not to far behind was Hikaru with Suzaku on him as well. Hikaru: ¡°I found Suzaku-aniki. He needs help too.¡± Tsukino also did some emergency kisses to the two which had them regain consciousness. Kogane: ¡°Kagerou! Hikaru! You¡¯re okay!¡± Kagerou: ¡°Nee-chan I¡¯m happy you¡¯re okay too. We have to find the nii-sans and Kuroneko-neesama.¡± Hikaru: ¡°Believe in them. Even if the white cat is an idiot, they are all stronger than us two.¡± Suzaku: ¡°Although I will never deny a kiss from a lady but please Lady Tsukino please refrain from using that method again. My reputation would take a hit if it were to ever be found out that my beak interlocked with the mouth of my prey.¡± Tsukino: ¡°It¡¯s a good method. You just don¡¯t know how to appreciate it.¡± ¡°Alright guys. Lets split up. We need to find them and they were thrown one on each side. I¡¯ll take north with Suzaku.¡± Suzaku: ¡°I agree to these terms. I do not mind assisting you once more.¡± Kagerou: ¡°Then me and nee-chan will go south. Hikaru: ¡°I will take the west.¡± Tsukino: ¡°I¡¯ll get the last side. Everyone bring them to the east side when you find them.¡± The search party ended their meeting and headed out to their respective side. *** ¡°Father. I will put an end to your suffering by my own hand. Using the techniques you have taught me.¡± The father and son stared at each other before Venomstorm started using the same technique he used to dispatch Toxinwebs. ¡°That won¡¯t work on me!¡± Junior used the same technique and they collided. The one clear advantage junior had was full control of his mind. This meant that he could fully recollect all the times he watched his father trained. The times they practiced together although he couldn¡¯t fully utilize them due to the lack of the electrical charge his father can produce. The way his father was fighting was very basic and did not have the fluidity of the way he fought in his memories. As the sparks flew, junior continued to use technique after technique. All being deflected or avoided by the mind controlled king. But little by little he was gaining ground. He noticed that although his attacks were being avoided the electrical charge that he had was a lot stronger than his father¡¯s. Probably thanks to the magical abilities he inherited from his mother that he was able to produce a stronger voltage. ¡°VENOMSTORM ASSAULT!¡± He had only done this in training but he could only hope that he would be able to pull it off. He threw his blade up and as it spun above his father he shot web after web on various spots on his fathers body. Once they landed he used a surge of electricity to shock his father. As his father was stunned by the attack he jumped up and grabbed the sword and and slashed haphazardly. Striking his father as much as he can before he can regain mobility. Feeling the fatigue of the attack he stopped and watched as his father slumped forward. ¡°You¡¯ve done well son¡­¡± Venomstorm senior fell into a pile of gray particles leaving his son with a smile on his face. The prince also slumped down and cried out a second time. The spiders around him all bowed their heads to the fall of their previous king. *** Akaro¡¯s party was not faring well against Venomcindra¡¯s magical attacks. She had lightning that was unpredictable and incredibly hard to avoid and lot of the elite spiders were either incapacitated by the sheer power of the strike or stunned by the charge of electricity. To those lucky enough to avoid the lightning would be then frozen in place by ice then picked up telekinetically and thrown aside. If they could avoid all that then they had to strike her and most weapons were repelled by the metal skin she donned and then burned for getting that close. Anko who was using her newly acquired spear was feeling the same resistance. Slowly her health would go down but not as fast as how much health the party was losing. With no active healer they had to use a wave strategy and attack in waves. The first wave would go in and attack then retreat to recover some of the damage they themselves received. She was in the first wave and Toxinwebs was the second. ¡°This crazed woman is not making it easy that¡¯s for sure. We are outmatched in sheer power.¡± Seiryuu: ¡°You were too clossse that lassst engagement. I almossst burned alive!¡± ¡°You¡¯re still fine. We only got a little burnt.¡± Seiryuu: ¡°At leassst we are doing a bit better asss a group. With massster jumping and sssaving people before it isss too late. But I don¡¯t think he can lassst that long.¡± The vibrant coloured snake was correct as Akaro was using his ability to teleport to either move party members away from immediate death or trying to strike her when the metal armor was down. As it was still a boss, her impervious to physical damage metal armor only lasted so long before she could be attacked. This timing was what was being targeted but he had a limited mana supply and no more mana potions to bring it back up. Venomcindra was getting damaged until she got to the red zone. Once here all the spells she casted felt as if they were autocasting as there was a miniscule amount of time before her metal armor would return. At this point Akaro¡¯s mana levels were non-existent and they could only hope and pray for a miracle as none of them were fast enough to catch her off armor without taking lethal damage. Akaro and Toxinfangs decided to change the strategy to have all the elites support the pair while Anko, Seiryuu, and Yasu tried to do hit and run tactics. Brandishing his two blade Akaro ran towards the vile spideress and started slashing with as much strength as he could muster while his stamina was starting to deplete his well. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of you Spider General Akaro!¡± Apparently the plan they tried to use backfired when she used her telekinetic powers and pushed everyone out but Akaro who was panting due to fatigue. Venomcindra had made a protective bubble to keep the other party members out as she froze Akaro to the ground. Being unable to move and no mana to shukuchi out, Akaro could only slash at the ice hoping to break it apart but to no avail. He was shocked immediately by lightning. Although he had great martial prowess he was still in a game. One of the major weaknesses of melee units was magic resistance. ¡°AAAAARRRGH!!!¡± Akaro could only scream out in pain from the electrical shocks and fireballs being thrown at him. Once he got out of the ice he was almost immediately frozen in place again. ***Reality*** ¡°HOW DARE SHE HURT MY SON?! EOMMA¡¯S COMING!¡± Juhee exclaimed and dashed towards her own capsule to login. ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN¡¯T INSTALL IT TODAY?! MY GRANDSON IS DYING! I NEED TO HELP HIM! DON¡¯T YOU DARE TELL ME IT¡¯S JUST A GAME!¡± Dong-Sun was trying to keep Myung-Dae from breaking the phone. ***In Game*** Akaro¡¯s health was decreasing rapidly. The outfit he wore was now completely tattered and even the scabbard for his katana were beginning to burn away. With all things considered this would be normal to an average gamer. Someone as low as level 40 joining a quest meant for players in their level 70 and above. Although he has stronger stats than most, it did not mean he was invincible. ¡®I think I¡¯m going to die¡­¡¯ The redhead thought as he had no mana, his stamina almost completely out and his health is soon heading in that direction. The only thing that can save him now was a miracle. Rai: ¡°MASTER!!!!!¡± Genbu: ¡°HYUNG!!!!¡± Genbu: ¡±HYUNG!!!¡± Byakko: ¡°SENSEI!!!¡± Kuroneko: ¡°YOU DARE HURT OUR MASTER!!!!¡± He heard the cries of the four he thought were dead. He smiled knowing that they are alive. He was dying but his thoughts now lead to why his companion contracts expired. Then he looked towards the shouting. Akaro then saw why they expired. ¡®I was wondering why I heard Genbu twice.¡¯ The purple aura wall broke completely as Kuroneko glowed purple and used her own telekinetic power to dismantle it. She was now as large as Kogane and sporting two tails. The purple gem she had swallowed was now fixated on her forehead. Rai seemingly teleported with how quick he ran and took the next lightning strike that was shot out and ate it completely. He was a lot larger. One would say he was the size of a donkey and probably can be giving rides. But his size was not the only that has changed. He no longer looked like a Shibainu but rather more wolf like. His fur wasn¡¯t the reddish colour it was now yellow similar to the electrical pulses that surge from his body and he also sported the amber like gem on his forehead. Genbu size had also increased to the size of Rai¡¯s previous form. He was using ice to move around and he slid past Rai and chose to shoot a beam of ice towards Venomcindra¡¯s legs. Freezing them immediately. His color was onyx in colour except for an ice blue gem on his shell. He still looked pretty much like a tortoise but there was a second head coming out of where his tail use to be. It looked like a snake but sounded exactly like Genbu. Byakko was pretty much a white tiger with his size. He had the silver gem on his forehead. He ran and jumped towards Venomcindra while screaming. ¡°WHITE TIGER SPINNING DRILL OF METAL CLAWS!¡± His claws elongated and metal armour covered him completely as he spun. Just as you may have expected with the elaborate name, he literally drilled through Venomcindra¡¯s own metal armour and pierced her. ¡°NOOOOOOOOooooooo!!!!¡± Venomcindra cried out before disappearing into gray particles leaving behind some item drops. Ding [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] You have completed the special event The Reign of the Rat King and Spider Queen Fame +100 You have leveled up 10 times Rewards will be given by the new Spider King Venomstorm II. [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Did you want to post on the main website as the first to have completed this special event? [/col][/box] ¡°No.¡± [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Contract (Intermediate Level 6 78%) has obtained a new sub category. [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Familiar Contract: This contract allows you to make pacts with beings that have the ability to use mana. Requirements 2000 mana to complete contract. Conditions for contract still apply for main skill. Amount of mana reserve familiars can access can be set in the Familiar Contract Window [/col][/box] [box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5] Obtained 100% loyalty from 10 or more companions Unlocked Affection Stat for Companion and Familiar Contracts Companions at full loyalty will have the stat change into affection. [/col][/box] As he closed the last window that popped up, he was immediately dogpiled on by all his animal companions.. His human companions just smiled at the scene of Akaro being hugged, scolded, and licked by his animal army. Rapid knocking could be heard at the door. ¡°AKARO ARE YOU OKAY?! LET EOMMA IN!¡± Everyone had a teardrop seemingly appear on their head at the ruckus outside. He then lobbed the key at Serenity. ¡°Can you please let her in? I don¡¯t think I can move right now.¡± With everything completed and the tension gone everyone decided some much needed rest and relaxation was at hand. Akaro drifted to sleep while once again surrounded by his animal companions. Anko off to the side of Akaro also laid down as even though it was a game she felt the need to take a nap. Cooking Queen entered the library to find her son and the rest of the campaign of spiders all passed out. She smiled out of relief and started cleaning up the library. Previous Chapter<>Next Chapter
SO yeah. I''ve been on Hiatus. Here is a bit of an update: I work at home now. You would think I would have more time but you are wrong. I don''t feel relaxed enough to write while I''m working. There is a new addition to my household which like to eat, sleep, poop, and cry whenever he wants. My nephew/God son. After chapter 10 I am going to to dismantle anything affiliated to Royal Road in my story and make it my own. What this means is Vol 1 and Vol 2 will have adjustments. Still doing VR but just going to go a more original route. What this means is a lot of rewriting. So Vol 3 will not start until I get back from my trip in March. I will be gone for a month. So that''s the current update. Again sorry for the long wait guys. I''ll try to go faster but no promises. The end of Seeker of Myths Akaro: "..." Me: "You know I love you as a character. I have you in your original story in my mind. It''s just not written down yet." Akaro: "..." Me: "Come on. You have to say your good byes too. You know I would love to write if I had the time but sadly I don''t."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Akaro: "New story promise?" Me: "It won''t be today, or may be another couple of years. Hard to say. Too much going on." Akaro: "That''s fine. But you really have to start writing again. So I can read it." Me: "You do know that you are in my stories..." Akaro: "..." Me: "..." Akaro bowed down with his animal companions to ask forgiveness from the readers. Although this story has ended, this will not be the last you hear of Akaro. Skeleton of original plot After book 2: Library dungeon war the rewritten story of the war between rats, mice and spiders. Book 3: Myth Seeker Obtaining the class which would have propelled the story forward.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Book 4: First myth, Orochi His first target would be hunting down the legendary snake monster. Book 5: Fox princess Would do some back story on the 3 foxes Book 6: Second myth, Thor As you can probably tell by the title hehe... Book 7: Ninja Turtle A story specifically for the blacksmith turtle That''s as far as I got in my logs. Well until I start writing again. Thanks for reading everyone.