《TERRA》 volume 1: PROLOGUE PROLOGUE Finally its time, for weeks now there has been a buzz about the new game TERRA that the Telsar Corporation had made. From the interviews and even the preview of the game the public had gotten a glimpse of the first virtual reality MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role play game) ever. The game came with a head gear that is necessary to play the game .for most youths even some adults this is an opportunity to take a vacation in a new world without leaving the comfort of their homes and for the diehard gamers this was something they had only been able to dream about . The countdown for the launch of the game was almost at an end and due to the amount of people who wanted to buy the game the telsar corporation was forced to limit the amount they released into the market to half a million copies . To make things easier people were allowed to log on with their headgear before the launch of the game to create their avatar only. But some like me wanted to wait for the game to start before we created our avatars either due to laziness or other reasons. Right now I was re watching an interview of one of the top researchers in charge of the game Mr. Wright and one of the top beta testers Ryan Lin on TV. The host a blue eyed blonde in a suit was asking Mr. Wright about the dynamics of the game, ¡°well most things that can be created here in the real world can also be created in the game with magic and the right materials ¡°he says. ¡±Really¡± the host asks in surprise showing in her voice. ¡°Yes that¡¯s true during the beta testing phase there were players who made guns that ran on magic and fired balls of magic at the target¡± Ryan adds .¡±So basically what that means is that if I have the blueprints for an aircraft I can make a magic aircraft in the game, so what about the weapons.¡± the host asks . Adjusting his tie Mr. Wright answers, ¡°in order to make the game as medieval as possible there are only a few exceptions to the creation of modern day weapons like nuclear war heads though as a player levels up they might get enough mana to be able to cast spells that have large blast radii.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Shuffling through a stack of paper on the table beside her the host she asks a question that most of the people watching the show want to know, ¡°so from the beta testing the game TERRA is said to have no hp (health point) bar why is that ?¡±. Sitting up in his chair Ryan answers the question ¡°the game makers had an aim of making TERRA as realistic as possible and having hp bars defeats that purpose¡± drinking the glass of water beside him Ryan continues. ¡°when there are hp bars people tend to fight carelessly while it is full and it makes a high level player hard to defeat for a lower level player with the removal of the hp bar a level 5 player can easily kill a high ranked player with a well aimed thrust of a small knife into the head or heart of a level 20 player if he his lucky to catch his opponent unawares¡±. ¡°Mr. Wright is there anything the public should know before the launch of the game¡± the host asks. ¡°Yes in order to increase competition amongst players the prize of a hundred million dollars will be given to the first player to finish the game be it be a solo player or an entire guild¡±. The shock of that statement could be seen on the faces of both the host and Ryan¡¯s face.¡±That¡¯s amazing, so what will the main quest of the game be¡± the hosts asks what¡¯s on the mind of every gamer watching the show. ¡°to become a not just a god but the king of the gods or in the case of a guild becoming the major pantheon in the game world, that is the main quest of the game Terra online¡± Mr. Wright replies. Composing herself the host ended the show. Switching off the TV I walk to my bedside where the head gear is already charged and connected to the internet .laying on my bed I find a comfortable position, wear the head gear and switch on the power button of the head gear. I blink my eyes as the view of my room changes to that of a white room, ¡°welcome to Terra online avatar creation¡± a voice says to me as I look around the room.¡±There are three races to choose from; dwarf, elf or human which would you be?¡± the voice asks me. ¡°Human ¡°I reply, suddenly an image of myself appears only difference is that the image is wearing loose shirt and trousers. ¡±Are there any adjustments you would like to make to your avatar before you begin the game ¡°the voice asks?¡±yes ,turn my eyes from brown to blue then make my hair white¡± I say after some thought .following my instructions the avatar now looks only a little like me .¡±I am ready to start ¡°I announce to the voice after surveying my avatar. volume 1 chapter 2 CHAPTER 1 A bright light surrounds me and when the light vanishes I see myself in a courtyard of sorts with people all around me moving around .moving my arms and legs I see that it¡¯s the same as real life so I walk out of the courtyard and begin to tour the city. After walking around through different parts of the city from a place that sold only weapons to another that specialized in selling magic potions both of which I was to broke to purchase I feel a tug on my shirtsleeve turning I see an old woman was the one who stopped me. ¡°How may I help you?¡± I ask hoping that she will give me a quest like saving her daughter from bandits or recovering her family¡¯s lost treasure from a dragon. ¡°My children are all grown up and have left me can you help me fetch some water from the well over there ¡°she says as she offers me a wooden bucket. Hiding my disappointment I smile at her ¡°sure just wait here¡± I reply. Taking the bucket I walk to the well that has a small queue there and after some time I fetch the water and bring it back to her. ¡°if it is not too much to ask can you bring the water to my house¡± she asks as I am about to leave.¡±No just lead the way¡± I reply. After walking for ten minutes, dodging both npcs and players we get to her house a small house. Walking into the house I drop the bucket, looking around the house I can really see that the old woman needs help. Steeling my mind I grab a broom lying around and begin to sweep the house ¡°you don¡¯t have to do that ¡°the old woman says.¡±I know but I would like to do it¡°I reply as I continue my sweeping. After sweeping I look for a rag and dust the entire house, it takes hours but by the time I am finished with the cleaning the house is looking far better than before though it could still do with a paint job. Moving to the door so I can head back into the city I hear a voice ¡°young man may I have your name¡± looking back to see the old woman I reply¡± Michael¡±. ¡±Michael¡± she says as she walks closer to where I stand at the door ¡°it¡¯s getting later why don¡¯t you stay here for the night and continue your journey tomorrow .looking at the sky I see that she is right the sun is almost down and so far I didn¡¯t want to touch the two silver coins every player is given at the start of the game. Alone in the room I bring up my player status to check how my status looks like. Player: Michael Level: 1 Race: human Title: Mana: 200 Strength: 5 Speed: 5 Agility: 5 Stamina: 10 Luck: 5 Respect: 5 Buffs: none Intelligence: 5 After looking at my stats for some time I check out the help option in the player menu. There is a small note about the money exchange rate in the game that npcs use. Terra currency 1 gold coin= 100 silver coins 1silver coin = 100 bronze coins 1 bronze coin = 10 copper coins Closing the menu I log out form the game and wake up in the real world on my bed. Seems like I will have to hunt monsters and do more quests in I want to have a chance with all the other players moving around the city¡± I say to myself as I fix a late dinner. Three hours later when I logged back into the game the day was just beginning to brighten .sitting n the bed I look around the sparse room the old woman Elena had given me to use, she said it was her son¡¯s room .walking to the kitchen I find the old woman sitting in one of the chairs with a box at her feet, ¡°I guess you will be leaving now¡± she says to me. ¡°Yes I will ¡°I reply. ¡°Take this with you as you go ¡°she tells me as she pushes the box to me .opening the box I see a plain sword wrapped in red silk, taking the sword I open the player menu and place the sword in my inventory. ¡°Thank you¡° I say turning to her. ¡°Just remember to visit me whenever you are in the city.¡± she tells me as I walk out the door and head into the city. As soon as I leave the house a small window pops open. Quest completed: fetch water for grandma Rank: E Rewards: Respect +1 Quest completed: gain Grandma Elena¡¯s favor Rank: C Rewards: Respect +4, Shiva¡¯s sword Moving through the city I come across different quests from tending to a shop to walking a dog and babysitting a child. From what I have seen until you finish a quest you won¡¯t know the rank of the quest or the possible rewards so a player has to take most requests from the npcs around as the reward maybe a rare item. Moving to the city gates I see different players with placards looking for members for their guilds .paying no attention to them I continue on my way, pass the city gate and head off to the surrounding country side to look for monsters to fight with.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. After thirty minutes I come across a wild boar grazing in the grassland not what I was expecting but I will have to do with what I am provided. As soon as the boar noticed me it charged at me .rolling to my left I dodge the boar as it barrels past me ,before it can turn round and charge at me again I quickly form a circle with my right pinkie finger in front of me and my player menu opens up. I equip Shiva¡¯s sword just in time to slice the side of the boar after side stepping the boar¡¯s second charge. Looking at the boar the wound I inflicted on it didn¡¯t seem to slow it down in fact it seemed more agitated than before as it came for a third charge. When the boar gets close enough to me I surprise it by jumping on it ,noticing the passenger on it the boar jerks wildly and begins to run across the field trying to get me off its back while I hold on to one of its tusks with one hand as I tried to position myself to stab the boar . A minute later when I feel as if my arm will disconnect form my body the boar stops abruptly, taking the chance I quickly stab my sword through the skull of the boar effectively ending our bouts. Looking at the dead boar I wait for it to disappear but after ten minutes the only thing that has happened is a window popping up telling me I had gained 20 experience points. I spend the next four hours killing boars and the occasional fox. By night fall I have gained 50 copper coins intending to save my small wealth I head back to the old woman¡¯s house to spend the night while I log out. By the fourth day after the launch of the game, the city was beginning to empty out as most players spent their time in the heart of the nearby forests grinding or moving to the bigger cities where they could get a larger variety of quests to complete. As for me, I decided to make this city Elmond, my home. After all, I had free food and shelter that was exclusively mine, unless I decided to leave the old woman. Every day I make sure to log in at 6 A.M. game time so I can help around the house, and then I spend the rest of the morning. Then I spend my afternoons at the edge of the forest killing the wild boars around. From the old woman, I had learnt that every part of animals and even monsters can be used and there were people willing to buy live monsters ? though for now I can¡¯t go deeper into the forest because of my low level, which really bothered me, as the fastest way to level up and increase my avatar stats was to defeat monsters. But I wasn¡¯t strong enough to defeat them yet. Today after logging in, I move to the kitchen to find another person in the house that I share with the old woman. ¡°Who are you and what are you doing here?¡± I ask the person. Turning to face me, I see that the person is a girl ? about five feet six inches with dark hair wearing a cloak, though through small slits in the cloak I can see armor. ¡°My name is not of importance,¡± she replies. I move closer to her, that¡¯s when I step on something sticky. Looking at the floor, I see a red liquid. Seconds later, I realize that what I am seeing is blood. Taking a step back, I scan the kitchen for the source of the blood, and see the old woman lying behind the table with a slit throat. The best defense is an offense. With that I mind, I take hold of one of the wooden chairs in the kitchen and toss it at the girl, which she blocks with her left arm. She unsheathes a sword with her right hand. Before I can equip my sword from the player menu, she lunges at me with a strike that is meant to decapitate me. Raising my hand I manage to avoid losing my head, but my arm is virtually hanging by a few pieces of bone. Pain explodes in my hand. I thought this was a game, I yell in my mind as I fight the pain and pull my sword out. The shock of me using my arm as a shield stops the assassin momentarily, and I use this chance to stab her through the heart. Pulling my sword out of the now dead assassin, I move to where the old woman¡¯s body lays. Kneeling down beside her, I remember how she used to joke around that there were people that would be happy to see her die. Back then I thought she was just an old woman spouting nonsense, but know I can¡¯t help but think that maybe her fears had a reason ? but I can¡¯t imagine why someone would want to kill an old woman. While I kneel there thinking, I fail to see the shadow moving in the city until it looms over me. By then it¡¯s too late, as I feel something blunt hit the back of my head, knocking me unconscious. When I came to, I was in a dark room. Trying to stand up, I find that my arms and legs are tied to the chair. Suddenly, a bright light enters the room, momentarily blinding me. When my sight returns, I look around to see a person in a cloak with the hood pulled up to hide their face, leaving only the chin and mouth visible. ¡°What were you doing in one of the members of the mage council¡¯s home?¡± the hooded person asks. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± I reply. I don¡¯t see the blow, but I definitely feel the force of the punch on my jaw as it snaps my head to the side. I breathed deeply, feeling the pain in my jaw begins to grow. ¡°Let¡¯s try this again. Why did you kill the mage?¡± I am asked. ¡±I don¡¯t know what you are talking about, I only killed someone that killed the old woman I stay with,¡± I answer. This time I see the fist coming, and I tilt my head to the side to avoid the punch. I guess dodging the punch wasn¡¯t such a good idea, as the hooded person pulls out a slim dagger. ¡±When you are ready to tell me the truth let me know,¡± my interrogator says to me. He begins to slice my face, making thin lines. The pain is so much that the game system forces me to log out. Lifting up the helmet, I place it on the table beside my bed. I feel like I just had a dream in which I was being beat. Moving to the sitting room, I use my laptop to check the Terra online forum that was created by the game makers to help players share tips, and to announce upcoming events. Scrolling through the posts, I think of ways to escape my current jailer. No doubt there might be other guards, so what I need now is some type of spell that teleports me to another location. But, seeing that I don¡¯t even know how to cast a spell in Terra, I have to first go to the tutorial page the game makers posted. After two minutes of search I finally see it. ¡°There it is,¡± I say to myself. How to cast magic spells: In Terra, there are different ways of casting spells; from saying the name of the spell to having the picture of what the spell is to do firmly in the casters mind, and even incantations of three to more sentences for high level spell for the cost of mana. For instance, saying the word ¡®fireball¡¯ with the image of the size of fire ball desired materializes a fireball. Now I need to find if anyone has posted a teleporting spell online. It takes two hours before I can find a spell that transports the caster to another location, but with the spell I found, the caster has no control on where he or she will reappear. Though I can¡¯t complain, I think as anywhere else is better than the room where I am being tortured. Going back to my room, I put on the helmet and log into the game. The wounds on my face are not as painful as before, though I can still feel a dull throbbing on my face where the blade sliced me. ¡°Welcome back stranger,¡± a voice says. Looking around, I see the two hooded people; one with a bloodied blade in his hand and another person, though from the way the cloak hugs the person I can tell it¡¯s a female. ¡°My partner here is the one that healed your arm when you first got here, and she dulled the pain on your face,¡± the interrogator says to me as he gestures to the woman beside him. ¡°I am going to torture you until you are about to die then have you healed only to repeat this until you confess,¡± he says as he goes to a table I didn¡¯t notice before, which had knives, hooks, and other torture devices on it. Seeing the devices on the table motivates me to begin the spell I found. ¡°Oh great west wind, I ask for thy embrace, lead me to safety away from the land of my enemies,¡± I whisper. Turning to look at me, the healer sees me smirk, and shouts a warning to her partner ? just as a bright light engulfs me. chapter 2 CHAPTER 2 when the light disappears I find myself in a forest with lots of scratches on my arms and face groaning I stand up .opening my inventory I see that Shiva¡¯s sword is missing guess the person that knocked me out took the sword ,the only thing in my inventory is a change of clothes and a 12 inch dagger equipping the dagger I open the world map and see that I have been transported to the western edge of ethiel form where I was in the city of Elmond in the northern part of the same continent. It¡¯s been hours since I appeared in this forest and so far the only good thing that has happened is that I haven¡¯t met any monsters while I search for a way out of this forest. Pushing aside vegetation I walk into a small clearing with an abandoned house at the center of the clearing, from the looks of the outside of the house I doubt if anybody has been here in years. Walking to the front door I see that something had torn off part of the door, holding my dagger with my right hand I gently push the door open with my left hand to reveal a room that looks like a sitting room only it¡¯s filled with dust and cobwebs. Going round the house I discover a bedroom, a kitchen that has a small backyard that has a dilapidated well and another room that whose door even after trying to break is still locked. Deciding to use this house until someone comes to claim it I pull off my shirt and tuck the dagger into the waist band of my trousers, taking a broom from the kitchen I begin tidying up the house from the kitchen to the sitting room then the bedroom. While arranging the room I find a piece of paper that been rolled up and upon reading it I see that the paper is a deed of ownership .suddenly two small windows appear with a pop sound in front of me the first one reads . Property in the forest gained: you are now the new owner of the abandoned house in the forest. While the other window is a notification telling me that I have leveled up. After cleaning up the house I decide use water from the well to have my bath only to see that the well is dried up. Releasing a sigh I toss a shovel I found at the backyard into the well and tie a large bucket to a rope a one end and secure the other end tying it to one of the trees close to the house and descend down the rope into the well. Reaching the bottom of the well I see that there is a board, lifting the board I am faced with an underground passage .dropping from the rope I see that the passage leads in only two directions. After some thought I decide to follow the tunnel going left ,as I walk I pass different rooms filled with different things .the first three rooms were like cells with chains hanging from their walls while the fourth room held a lab with vials and other instruments I knew nothing about. There was another room that had a well in it guess the previous owner felt that his well needed to be close to his lair .The sixth room was more like a hall than a room and it was filled with books, lots and lots of books and at the end of the hall was another door that led to a stairs that took me to the sitting room of the house, guess I won¡¯t have to drop a rope anytime I want to go to the lair. With the way the game was unless you buy a detailed map from players or npcs the only your player map would only show places you have been to which leaves me with the problem of how I am supposed to know the way to the nearest town or village after thinking the only solution to this problem is to die but part of the rules of the game was that for every time you die you lose a level. Deciding to sacrifice the level I just gained from escaping my prisoners I walk into the sitting room where I left the dagger and before I can chicken out I stab my heart . When I came to, I found myself in front of a small shrine that was carved in a tree. Looking around it seems that instead of a city the closest thing to my house in the forest in terms of gathering was a village .walking round after asking the npcs around I find a shop selling provisions. After buying provisions to last me at least a month I walk to the only stable in the village where an old man is busy cleaning a stall. ¡°hello there,¡± I say to him as I enter the makeshift stall.¡±How much does a horse cost?¡± I ask.¡±A silver coin, that¡¯s the least I can sell to you for¡± the man replies. Noticing a donkey at the back of the stable I nod at the man ¡°what of that donkey over there. ¡°Same price as the horse.¡± what does this old man take me for I think to myself.¡±Sorry but I can¡¯t buy your donkey for that amount of money ¡°I tell the man as I begin to leave the stable.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Wait right there ¡°the man yells after me as I leave his stable wait until he is close to me then ask him ¡°what is it you want.¡± rubbing the back of his head with his left palm he smiles at me ¡°since you can¡¯t afford the donkey can you give me that nice dagger you have strapped to your waist and I will sell the donkey for forty bronze coins¡± he tells me. ¡°Sorry I can¡¯t give you my dagger,¡± I tell him.¡± It¡¯s not like as if I have something else to protect myself with¡±.¡± if that¡¯s the reason you can have a gun I have back at my house, I assume you can use a gun?¡±The man asks me. From a dagger to a gun seems like an upgrade to me though the old man probably is going to give me a useless piece of metal I think as I follow the old man back to his stable. As the old man leads me to the stable I look at the building in this village and for a village that has a blacksmith and a stable the most of houses look bad as if they were destroyed partway then patched up.¡±Hey old men are there any monsters around here¡±. I ask as we move towards a house make of stone with some parts made of wood. ¡±If humans can be called monsters then we have some monsters living around here, wait here¡± he tells me as he enters the house. After what seemed like hours the old man came out of the house with something rapped in a black cloth, taking the package I open the cloth to reveal a black gun similar to the ones used by soldiers as handguns .the sun reflected on the dark surface of the gun and I couldn¡¯t help but feel lucky that I had the dagger after I escaped. ¡±Here press this indent and the bullets can be loaded into the handle of the gun ¡°the old man says to me. It took me ten minutes before I can get used to loading the gun after which I bid the small village goodbye as I made my way with my donkey laden with supplies using the player map that had been updated with the map showing that my property in the forest was some hundred kilometers into the forest. The first day spent on the way back home was uneventful to say the least. The donkey was already trained all I had to do was hold on to the lead rope and the donkey would follow me wherever I went. That first night I camped near a small stream I found with my camp having a water body behind it the only way to attack me was forward, I didn¡¯t sleep to avoid waking up to a missing donkey or to see myself in the spawn centre of the village I just left. By the end of the second day I was already bone tired but I still didn¡¯t sleep, throughout the day I felt as if something or someone was watching me and I was loath to give them the chance to carry out their plans whatever they may be on me. The third day was when things began to get interesting, first by noon there was a small group of creatures I guess they were goblins though I couldn¡¯t say for sure as I had never seen them before came out of the shadows the trees made. ¡±Hey what do we have here.¡± one of the goblins noticed me. The group of four was badly armed the first one who had noticed me before his fellows wore leather armor that had seen better days and held an axe that was nearly as tall as him. The second and third wore pieces of leather covering their chest only and wielded a sword each while the last goblin wore what seemed to be rags that I wouldn¡¯t even use to clean the floor with and held a bow with a small quiver filled with arrows slung on his back. ¡°If it¡¯s the donkey you want you can take it ¡°I tell the goblins as I discreetly inched my hand the gun strapped to my waist.¡± who said anything about wanting a donkey¡± the goblin with the bow said.¡±Shut up who made you the boss ¡°the one with complete armor yells as he bumps the goblin with the bows¡¯ head with the pommel of his sword. ¡°Try that again and you are going to get a stomach filled with arrows.¡± the bullied goblin yells back. Disregarding the obvious threat to his life the bully bumps the already angry goblin again. Quickly an arrow is drawn and fired at the goblin with the leather armor that dives sideways to avoid the arrow only for the arrow to hit one of the goblin spectators. Seeing the one hit kill on his comrade makes the last goblin to charge the goblin with the bow. Facing the new threat the goblin seems to have forgotten about its leader and that is its mistake as it didn¡¯t see the sword coming from behind until it was thrust into his back and the tip of the sword slides through his chest. Before they can remember their human audience I pull out the gun and calmly take aim at the gang leader I squeeze the trigger and watch a hole appear dead centre of the targets¡¯ head. Seeing his leader fall must have cleared all the rage the goblin felt as he ran through the forest but is brought down as I shot him in the back, walking to where the goblin is desperately trying to crawl away I smile at my supposed robber as I end its life with a bullet to the head. The shocking thing is that the donkey didn¡¯t seem skittish about all the fighting going on around it as it was busy crunching on branches low enough for it to get to with its mouth. As I move around I help myself to anything of value from the corpses, by the time I am finished I have gathered a small pouch that had ten silver coins and I stripped the leather of the group of his leather armor and took all the weapons and put them in my inventory. A notification window pops up but I close it without reading the information and picking up the lead rope hurrying the donkey home before another group of goblins or even human bandits meet me here with my entire fortune on me. chapter 3 CHAPTER 3 Six hours later just before the sun set for the day I arrived at the clearing where my house was located. Leading the donkey to the makeshift stable at the back of the house I unloaded the supplies and tied the donkey to one of the pillars of wood stuck into the ground with enough leeway for the donkey to move around. Slowly I move all the supplies into the underground bunker, opening the player menu and check my stats only to see that they have risen as I have leveled up from fighting the assassin in Elmond and the goblins I just killed. Player: Michael Level: 5 Race: human Title: none Mana: 500 Strength: 30 Speed: 15 Agility: 10 Stamina: 30 Luck: 3 Respect: 3 Buffs: none Intelligence: 10 Wow seems like my level has gone up though compared to the people topping the player made top 50 strongest player ranking I am still an amateur .Sighing I load the, gun strap it to my waist and retrieve one of the goblin sword from the inventory and head into the forest to hunt monsters The forest was dark with only the light of one of the moons of terra illuminating only a few feet in front of me. The only blessing this brought was that if I couldn¡¯t see then my prey would be able to see too. I wandered about in a two kilometer radius with my house at the centre and with my gun I killed another three goblins and level up once, after a while I saw a dim light. Quietly moving towards the fire I found a creature that would have been mistaken for a human or elf if not for the light from the small camp fire exposing its hideous face. Lifting my gun from its strap I take aim at the creature and fire only for it to roll dodging the bullet picking up a sword from the floor as it stood up. ¡°Your puny gun won¡¯t save you from becoming my dinner¡± the creature growls out as he looks at my direction. Walking into the clearing I fire a nearly the whole clip, five bullets at the creature only for him to dodge some and use his sword to deflect others into the forest around us. As the last bullet is deflected the creature charges at me with a speed that shocks me giving me barely enough time to unsheathe my sword and block a slash that would have separated my waist form my legs. The force of the strike pushes me and I can feel my arm vibrating .this time I charge at the creature and try to stab his chest only for it to grab my wrist and hit my face with the pommel of his sword. The familiar feeling of blood sliding down my face tells me that the skin on my face broke. ¡°Is this the best you can do? ¡°The creature taunts ¡±just what are you?¡±I ask. ¡°You are in the presence of an orc elite in training and you are this weak ¡°I guess they only need to send trainees to destroy your race¡± the creature replies. Even if you are stronger and faster than me a bullet I wonder how fire proof you are I think to myself as I remember the first spell I read about. Firing the last two bullets in the gun drop the gun as I use the time the orc uses to deflect the bullets to get closer to the orc and stab at him with my sword, this time as soon as he grabs my wrist I place my left palm on his chest and cast the fireball spell at point blank range twice. The result is a whole the size of my palm in his chest, the creature thrusts his sword at my chest but I manage to wiggle away with my left should sporting a deep wound.wow even with a small hole in its chest it can still have enough strength to move, my respect for this orc increases .my vision is getting blurred from the rapid blood loss and the head trauma I have to end this fight soon or else I might just drop dead. looking at the mana bar at the edge of my vision I have more than half mana, with this information I bombard the orc with fire balls the size of my fist from both hands .with his speed already slowed by the first two fireballs the orc fails to dodge most of the spells coming at him and by the time my mana is finished his corpse is burnt beyond recognition . Tearing a strip from the sleeve of my shirt I tie the shoulder wound and reduce the blood loss, checking for any loot I find a small knife with a wooden handle that is polished picking up the orcs¡¯ sword I notice that the design is simple but the sword looks as taken care of as Shiva¡¯s sword picking both weapons I leave the camp and make my way back home to tend to my wounds. After twenty agonizing minutes spent stitching the wound on my shoulder I lock the house and move underground to allow my avatar sleep I in safety while I log out .When I logged back in the pain in my shoulder was faint but due to the stitches I couldn¡¯t move the arm much or risk ripping the stitches. Since fighting in the forest was going to be difficult with creatures like that orc forms before I decide to go through the library and find something to read while my arm healed. Whilst checking out the books in the library I found one titled The Foundation of Magic. Removing it from the shelf I set on of the lanterns in the room on the table and begin to read through the book. The first three chapters were all about finding your mana and how to project it outside your body. There were also an exercise written that helped mana growth, closing the book I sat down on the floor and crossed my legs just like the monks in movies I watched back in the real world .though I had used the teleportation and fire magic according to the book not having a grasp on your mana could make spells fail to work even if the right incantations were made, focusing on myself I try to sense any form of mana in me. After what seemed like hours I felt something small like a light the size of a tennis ball, ignoring the notification sound I continued focusing on the light and it began to grow larger before it reached the size of a soccer ball and refused to grow larger. Guess that¡¯s it for now, opening my eyes I see that my mana has increased. The last time I checked it was 500 now it¡¯s on 1000 double its previous capacity and all this just from meditating. Finishing the book I discover there are different types of magic but the one that caught my interest most was the elemental magic and the power to summon elemental spirits in battle. Unfortunately for me the book had only a small definition on elemental magic though I do believe that somewhere in the library a book contains the information I need to begin my learning. With this in mind I begin at the first shelve grab a book and start reading jotting down some points in a small blank book I found. As I go through the different books I begin to feel that just maybe learning swordsmanship was easier than this, with one mistake here a person could blow up an entire city or turn a peaceful dog into a mutated half dog half wolf. Now I understand why the previous owner had a cell with chains, my shoulder healed faster after I learnt how to heal from one of the books though it still took me three healing sessions for three days it was better than waiting for it to heal naturally and with that came another problem I was out of bullets .seems like I will be visiting that old man again to see if he has any ammunition laying around, this time will be using the non lethal way I think to myself as I remember how I got to the village the first time. Releasing the donkey I had taken to calling Daisy form the small pen I made for her I strapped my sword to my waist put a book and some herbs I found in the forest into a knacks sack I bought from the first journey .with no attacks which is strange on its own for a forest that previously was said by the villages to be filled with bandits and creatures I arrive at the village. Now I know why there wasn¡¯t any attack on me while on the way here because the things that should have attacked me where all here both goblins and orcs with the village burning all around them as they gorged themselves on human flesh. Tying Daisy to a tree I grab the orc sword and begin the strongest incantation for lighting I know for the first time. ¡±I call on thee thunder god bless me with your favor, punish my enemies with your wrath come from the heavens I plead¡± as soon as I finish the incantation I feel the constant presence of the ball of light that is my mana disappear and watch lightning in the shape of a bird crash down from the sky onto the village .shrugging off the dizzy feeling I unsheathe my sword and charge the few survivors I see trying to get their bearings. A slice here another stab there moving through the village I lost track of how many I killed with my sword when there was nothing to kill anymore I drop to my knees palms and sword slick with blood ignoring the notification in front of me I walk to the old man¡¯s shop and see his corpse or at least what¡¯s left of it, the lightning spell that had killed most of the monsters had burnt most of the villagers and their homes. Walking around I search for any monster that I might have missed and find two goblins crawling away from a smoking house, killing one I tie up the other after knocking it unconscious with the pommel of my sword. Time to gather my loot I think to myself as I begin searching all the dead bodies monster and human ,checking the houses that I could for anything valuable .This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Have you heard a guild went and killed an army of orcs elites¡±, ¡°no I heard it was a single player¡±. ¡°Both of you are wrong they said a dragon came and burnt everything to the ground. The rumors about what happened to Ritz were numerous; the truth was that no one really knew what happened there .the king of Roland had always left the people of Ritz to their own devices and was only bothered when two weeks after his taxes were supposed to come in they were yet to arrive. Sending a small regiment of soldiers to collect the taxes they came back with the news of the burnt down village with monster and human corpses littering the streets. Most players that teleported to the area for the loot left behind by such a massacre were disappointed as the entire village was picked clean ,nothing of value to a player at least was left behind giving the impression that it was a group of players that had attacked the village while they were defending against the orcs . ¡±Hey, Tara lets go everyone¡¯s waiting¡± my friend Beatrice says to me interrupting my thoughts .the both of us had bought the game at the same shop and had bumped into each other. Now a week after the Ritz massacre as everyone was calling it we were off to see what we could gain there. We had paid the city lord to use his mages to transport us to Ritz as the both of us used guns and didn¡¯t know how to use mana. Most players had given up going to Ritz because of the forest around it had strong monsters but I believe that between me and Beatrice we can manage. ¡°Your spacing out again is something wrong.¡±Beatrice says as we walk to the city hall were the teleport portal was located. ¡°Nothing just thinking about the monsters around Ritz¡± I reply. The group travelling with us consisted of a woman wearing robes and three guys wearing chainmail and with swords .finally the teleport spell was casted and we appeared in a burnt down room the walls were blacked and most of the ceiling was missing. Leaving the other players we moved out the building to see little reconstructions going on in the village. People were hesitant to live somewhere that had been recently attacked. Walking around there is very little to find in the village, deciding to see what the fuss about the forest is Beatrice convinces me to join her and explore it. After an hour it was clear that we were going around in circles ¡°I don¡¯t see what so bad about this place¡± Beatrice says. Feeling tired I sit down on a fallen log just as something passed where my head was, looking behind I see a large flaming hole in the tree I was leaning on behind me .Removing my guns from their holster I watch as Beatrice does lifts her sniper rifle from her back. Both of us crouch low as we look around for the person attacking us, another fireball flies from a bush towards me. Rolling to the side I unload ten bullets into the bush as soon as I complete the roll. Coming out of the bush is an ugly looking monster with a staff in one hand and a sword in the other. The creature rushes at me while his staff shoots multiple fireballs at Beatrice while dodging the bullets we shoot at him. Once he gets close to me he swings the sword in a swipe that would have decapitated me if I didn¡¯t use my guns to block his sword. Beatrice mean while begins to shout as I dodge and block some of the creature¡¯s sword strike gaining a slice on my arm and a nick on my face. Sparing a glance at Beatrice I see that she has sunk into the ground up to her knees the frightening thing is another of the creature currently beating me advances on Beatrice with only a sword in hand. The time I use to check Beatrice seems to be my undoing as the creature I am battling plunges its sword into my stomach. It¡¯s not the first time I am dying in game but I still haven¡¯t gotten used to the pain that comes from a stab wound and watch a fireball forms at the tip of the monster¡¯s staff and after some seconds the fireball begins to grow as the knowledge that this monster intends to burn me to a crisp. Now I know why people are scared of this forest I think to myself. Just as the fireball is the size of two basketballs a white light strikes the chest of my attacker and I pass out from the blood loss. The shouting lead me to the orcs as they toyed with two girls, one of them had a sword in her stomach pinning her to the ground .definitely not an exercise I wanted to practice, the other girl was knee deep in the ground .Feeling like being good I fire a lightning spell at the orc shaman first, those guys were hard to take down I knew from experience. The spell makes a hole right where the creature¡¯s heart was place killing it instantly. Pulling a sword I got from the orcs I had defeated before I watch as the orc near the other girl sizes me .walking closer to the orc I watch as fear shows on the orcs¡¯ face as it looks at the sword in my hand, suddenly the look of fear turns to that of anger as the orc charges at me with a roar. As the orc rushes at me I move behind it with a flash of white and stab it through the heart with my sword, looking at the girl stuck in the ground I move to her friend on the ground and heal her wound .lifting her unconscious body on to my shoulder after grabbing the staff of the first orc .I walk back to the girl in the ground and remove the spell and say to her ¡°come with me if you want to live¡±. I can¡¯t believe these girls; they had absolutely no talent other than shooting things with their guns .I had been carrying the unconscious girl for the last three hours and I was getting tired. Dropping the body on my shoulder to the ground I lean on a tree and watch the second girl. ¡±Why did you drop her like that she could hit her head and die ¡°the girl says as she rushes to her friend to check her for injuries. ¡°Stop disturbing me if she dies then she dies not big there¡± I reply. Seeing that her friend is still breathing she sits on the ground and asks me ¡°what were those things back there¡±. ¡±Orcs, elite orcs in training from how easy they went down ¡°I answer as I pick a leave and begin passing my mana from one end of it to the other making it glow. ¡°Easy, those so called orcs almost killed Tara and I ¡°the girl screams at me. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault you are weak¡± I tell her as the leave turns to ashes after I add lightning to the mana running in it. Dusting the ashes off my hands I ask ¡°so what¡¯s your name¡±. She answered ¡°Beatrice¡±. Picking up Tara I am glad my strength has leveled up a lot¡± it seems miss Beatrice you girls owe me 10 gold coins for saving and leading you back to Ritz ¡° I tell her as we continue walking. ¡°How come you are charging us ¡°she says in disbelief? ¡°Nothing comes free ¡°I tell her. Another two hours and the forest becomes too dark to walk in without stumbling ,¡±let¡¯s make camp here¡± I tell Beatrice as I place Tara gently on the ground and begin looking for pieces of wood to start a fire. ¡°So what level are you¡± Beatrice asks as I return with the wood and use a small fire spell to get the camp fire going. ¡±level fifteen¡± I reply.¡±You¡¯re not higher than Tara and I so why could we fight the orcs but you defeated them easily¡± she complains to me. ¡°because he is a mage and a sword user but we only use guns¡± a voice says to my side .turning to the voice I see Tara trying to get up .moving to her I gently push her back to the ground, ¡±rest you almost died back there¡± I say. ¡°Tara, you¡¯re awake¡± Beatrice exclaims as she moves to her friend and they share a hug and begin talking most likely about me and the orcs from before. Giving the girls space I move to the other side of the small camp and begin my usual mana exercise expanding my raw mana out of my body and drawing it back into my body for ten minutes when I hear a gasp. ¡°What is it ¡°I ask with my eyes closed. ¡°You are glowing white¡± a shocked voice says. From the tone of it I know its Tara. ¡°yes I glow now any other thing you want to say before I continue my exercise¡± I ask.¡± no ¡°Tara replies. ¡°then while I meditate talk with Beatrice and find a way to pay me my saving fee¡± I say as I continue meditating spend the night meditating as I don¡¯t trust these girls enough to log out or even sleep. By morning when I wake up Tara and Beatrice up my mana has leveled up twice. After moving for three hours we reach the village whose name I found out from Beatrice was Ritz, ¡°now that you are out of the forest safely I will be collecting my money now¡± I say to the girls. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the tavern our things are in the room we rented there¡± Tara says as she begins walking after giving Beatrice a look that I miss. We move around the village that is slowly recovering from the orc attack. We enter a one storey building and make our way upstairs where Tara enters a room after unlocking it with a key she pulls from her inventory. Following Tara I walk into the room only to meet the barrel of a gun at my face, ¡°is this a joke?¡± I ask. ¡°What does it look like¡± Tara says as she shoves the gun closer to my head. ¡°open your inventory let¡¯s see what you got from the fight with the orcs¡± Beatrice says to me as she pushes me deeper into the room and locks the room .releasing a sigh I open my inventory as Tara watches the interface with her gun still pointed at me. ¡°Wow seventy gold coins and look at those weapons ¡°Tara says.¡±So seventy gold coins and thirty gold coins for the bounty add the weapons we can make a hundred and twenty gold coins minimum¡± Beatrice says after some calculation. ¡°What bounty are you talking about¡± I ask shocked that someone would pay to have me dead for thirty gold pieces. ¡°Here read this¡± Beatrice says as she tosses me a paper with my face with a price tag of thirty gold coins as the reward. ¡°Just get on with it a simple bullet to the head so I can continue on my way after I spawn at a temple¡± I say with a smirk. ¡±Oh I forgot to say the bounty wants you alive to be imprisoned ¡°Tara says with a giggle. Things are about to go down I think to myself as I push a small trickle of mana towards my back where Tara stands and add lightning to the mana after it forms a rope round her waist ¡°I call on thee THOR¡± I chant as the room explodes. The explosion rocked the small room, looking around I see pieces of what I think is Tara and Beatrice missing an arm. Jumping through the missing wall I roll as soon as my feet hit the ground and begin running towards the forest. ¡°Capture him and get twenty gold coins¡± Beatrice yells at the small crowd that begins to run. Not now I think as I dodge an arrow from a player and punch the stomach of the first person to block my way lifting the person two meters into the air. Unsheathing my sword I parry a katana aiming for my chest and stab the owner. The crowd has started growing; at this rate I will be dead or worse captured. Reaching deep into my mana I release a wave of pure mana that pushes everyone one around me away. ¡°Earth golem¡± I shout and pour mana into the ground through my feet and humanoid monster seven feet tall, made of earth rises from the ground. ¡°Kill them all¡± I order my construct as I feel a slice on my back. Turning to face my attacker I see a knight with a sword and shield behind me. ¡°Fire bomb ¡°I say as I throw a fire ball the size of a basket ball at the knight and watch it kill the knight with a few players around him. The heat of a fireball that sings my hair returns my attention to the fight at hand. A girl about sixteen years stands before me wielding a mage staff as she shoots balls of fire at me. Today isn¡¯t my day I think as a ice spike goes through my left shoulder from behind. Casting heal on myself I call out ¡°minion defend me¡± as three knights surround me. The construct returns from its rampage and barrels into the knights. Drawing all of my mana I open a portal and six orc elites emerge .I had found a way to force the orcs to my will in one of the books in my library and stored them in a pocket dimension that I made ¡°destroy my enemies and I will free you¡± I tell the orcs as they spring into action and the fight begins to turn in my favor. That¡¯s until I see a two man team made3 of a man wearing robes wielding a katana and a woman with a mages robe making mince meat of three orcs. Putting my palms together I make the largest fireball I have ever made, one the size of a fridge and shoot the pair causing havoc. The swordsman jumps in front of his partner as the fireball gets close to them swinging his sword in a way that releases mana which cuts the fireball in half. Docking out of the way see a lightning spell coming at me from the mage, cant they be weak like everyone here I think t myself as I dodge the lightning only to see it curve and hit my back pushing me off my feet. Now I know how the orcs feel when I use lightning on them as my body refuses to move to my commands. The last thing I see is the staff crashing into my face as I lose consciousness and everything goes black. chapter 4 CHAPTER 4 When I wake up I find myself all chained up in a cage being pulled by a horse with a large amount of soldiers walking around me. Quietly I try gathering my mana only to receive a small electric shock, ¡°the cuffs stop you from using magic ¡°a voice says form outside the cage. Following the voice I see the mage and swordsman that captured me riding horses beside my cage. ¡°You really caused a scare like that killing fifty players like that¡± the mage says.¡±So miss mage, why am I stuck in a cage?¡±I ask.¡±MY name is Morgana and you are here because of the amount of people you killed while leaving Ritz¡± Morgana answers. ¡°In case you didn¡¯t know I was attacked first and was only defending myself¡± I say as my anger begins grows. ¡°Don¡¯t forget he has a bounty of forty gold coins on his head and he has orcs working for him ¡°the swordsman says.¡±I was framed for a crime¡± I say as I begin to realize that my bounty has gone up probably due to my killing the players in Ritz. ¡°Well when we get to the king there the Roland court will judge you for your crimes and will have a chance to defend yourself there¡± Morgana says. ¡°What¡¯s your partner¡¯s name¡± I ask Morgana.¡±Arthur, like King Arthur of legends¡± she answers.¡±Arthur and Morgana were siblings and had an affair is it the same with you too¡± I ask with a smirk on my face. ¡±No, it¡¯s not like that at all¡± Morgana yells as she blushes drawing the attention of the soldiers around us. ¡°Know this, I might not escape in a week or month but when I am free I will hunt the both of you down¡± I snarl. ¡°So says the one in the cage ¡°Arthur says and the soldiers laugh at me. The journey takes eight days and every time I log out I think of ways I will exact my revenge on the people that framed me along with the cities of Roland and the starter city of Teneris .that¡¯s right I should have gained something from all that fighting, checking my player menu I see that all the money I had before and weapons are gone ¡°did you guys have to rob me¡± I yell at Arthur. ¡±No but you were just too rich and we couldn¡¯t leave you with weapons in your inventory so let the other players to take something for the stress you put them through¡± Arthur replies. ¡°How much did I lose?¡±I ask Morgana.¡±About a hundred and fifty gold coins and some change¡± Morgana answers with a shrug. Opening my player status I see that at least my stats have increased. Player: Michael Level: 26 Race: human Title: Orc slayer Mana: 800 Strength: 55 Speed: 30 Agility: 25 Stamina: 55 Luck: 2 Respect: -10 Buffs: none Intelligence: 25 Hmm so a person can get negative respect I guess that means the respectable npcs would not give me quests and soldiers might attack me if I wander into a city. Checking my mail I see a new message from the game admin: due to demand there are new batches of the game reaching stores worldwide tomorrow and because of this each player will have a maximum of three chance to spawn after death and the fourth time a person dies his avatar will be erased .thank you for playing Terra online. Yikes now I really need to find a way to get out of here, but first I need to log out. Logging out I drop the nerve gear on my bed and fix a light breakfast for myself as I had been playing all night, entering the game forum I see a lot of complains about players having a maximum of three spawn. Leaving that I look for the requests section and type: need a player called Michael to be rescued from the dungeons of the capital f Roland, reward two hundred gold coins I type as I remember the hard I stashed in my house .that should get some attention I think as I submit the request I go back to my bed and take a nap. The noise made by a tray hitting my table drew my attention from the book I was ready¡±what is it sis¡± I ask the girl responsible for the disruption.¡±That boy we captured has posted a reward for anyone that can rescue him¡± she fumes. ¡°How much¡± I ask as I open my laptop to confirm what she¡¯s telling me. ¡°Two hundred gold coins¡± she says as she sits beside me.wow now I can see why she is angry, with that much money even with the death penalty now in use there would still be people strong, brave or stupid enough to try getting him out of jail .Checking the game forum I see that his post is currently the hottest topic, already there were replies and comments asking for people to work as a group to free him.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡±Well this is going to make someone very rich¡± I tell my sister with a smile. ¡°What are you talking about ¡°She asks. ¡°well just let the kings of Roland and Teneris want him dead or imprisoned for life we just offer to keep the other players away from him for a fee of course and only for a limited amount of time, this way we get paid and level up at the same time while taking things from the players we defeat¡± I reply. This is getting annoying I say to myself .it¡¯s been a month in the game since I was convicted for killing the High mage of Teneris and the residents of Roland both of which I was innocent of and was sentenced to spend the rest of my life in prison, even with my reward for anyone that can rescue me those wicked siblings had killed anyone that came so much as fifty meters close to my cell in the dungeon of Roland¡¯s capital. The only good thing is that my strength and endurance has gone up like crazy due to the torture and the exercise I do when I am left in my cell .right now this is what my stats look like; Name: Michael Race: human Level: 40 Title: Orc slayer Mana: 1400 Strength: 140 Speed: 60 Agility: 50 Stamina: 100 Luck: 2 Respect: 0 Buffs: none Intelligence: 40 Most of the time, I can heard the sounds of swords clashing and spells battering the walls if the prison although none have made it to see my face maybe today all that will change. Last night I meet a person online what after chatting with for an hour agreed to free me. At first I was doubtful if one player could succeed where more than ten had failed that was until the person sent me a snapshot of their stats .the suddenly the ground begins to shake and a hole the size of a coin appears on the floor of my cell steadily increasing to the size which a person can pass through .A red haired elf girl with light armor crawls out the hole and dusts her clothes before she addresses me. ¡±Michael, I presume¡± she says.¡±Yes, and who might you be¡± I ask.¡±Leah the one who was chatting with you last night in the real world¡± she replies .searching a pouch she produces some metal bars and unlocks the cuffs stopping me from casting spells .conjuring a small flame I relish in the feel of warmth the flame provides,¡±how are we getting outside the prison¡± I ask as I stop the flow of mana and the flame dies. ¡°Well since I used up all my mana getting here I guess we will have to use the front door¡± she says with a shrug. ¡°You do know that there are players and npcs guarding this place¡± I tell her. ¡°so what, are you scared¡± she replies.¡±No was just checking if you knew¡± answer as I walk up to the door of the cell and blast it open with a lighting spell. ¡±Don¡¯t you need a weapon¡± she says as she follows me as we make our way out of the building into a small courtyard that is filled with soldiers ¡°not for these children¡± I say as I run to the nearest soldier, with my high strength rip his arm from his shoulder with my left hand and blast the others beside me with a strong gush of wind. Leah jumps into the fray using two short swords to hack off any body part that gets close to her. Covering my entire body with lightning I electrocute any one that gets close to me as I move from one part of the courtyard to the other ripping heads and the occasional arm and leg of the soldiers and few players here .the large group is now reduced to less than thirty and Leah is coated in the blood of her opponents while the lightning burns up any splash of blood that comes in contact with my skin, the soldiers backed to the gate make a pathway for the two people responsible for my capture . ¡±thanks for coming for this event Arthur and Morgana¡± I say to the two players I will never forget.¡±just go back into your cell quietly and we won¡¯t kill you and your accomplice¡± Arthur says as he unsheathes a long sword.¡±I could have left this place the moment my cuffs were open why do you think I was wasting time with these small fries¡± I ask as I charge a large fireball in my right hand the size of a horse and compress the flame to the size of a soccer ball increasing the heat it generates . ¡±Leah please keep the guy with the sword busy for me¡± I yell as I shot my fireball at Morgana who erects an earth wall that melts halfway from my attack.¡±Got it¡± Leah yells back as she disappears and appears behind Arthur with her sword aiming for his neck only for him to row away from the attack. ¡°How are you this fast¡± Arthur asks as he blocks a furry of slashes from the two swords Leah is wielding. ¡°sorry can¡¯t tell you, it¡¯s a secret¡± she answers as she disappears again only to appear with a sword in Arthurs gut .Arthur¡± Morgana yells as she shoots a spike made of earth at Leah . Blasting the spike I knock it off course, ¡°your fight is with me¡± I tell her .I have always wondered if most mages are any good in close range combat, running towards Morgana I dodge or block all her spells until she summons an earth golem that looks like a lion . ¡±Is this the best you can do¡± I ask as I summon two golems, a wind one that resembles an eagle and a fire golem in the shape of a lion. ¡°Kill them ¡°she orders her golem as it charges at I and my golems.¡±Wind of the East, flames of hell¡± I whisper as my wind golem releases large bursts of wind that increases the already large fireball from the fire golem. The resultant spell destroys everything in front of me from the Earth golem to the dead bodies of the soldiers, even the wall is blackened and at the center of it all is Morgana with most of her body burnt as she lays on the ground ¡±hmm you managed to survive that blast¡± I say walking to her . ¡°I would have left you to die here but this is a chance to bring you closer to game over so¡± I tell her as I conjure an earth spike through her heart and her body disappears .¡±how did they capture you if you were this strong¡± Leah asks me as she walks towards me .turning to her I answer¡± I wasn¡¯t this strong and you could say I wasn¡¯t ready to start killing players¡±. ¡±but you are ready now¡± she asks.¡±Yes, I will tell you where to come collect your money when we chat in the real world¡± I tell her.¡±don¡¯t worry I don¡¯t want your money, I want something else ¡°she tell me with a smile ¡±what do you want¡± I ask her as we walk out of the destroyed prison yard into the open air where the smoke is less .¡±Let¡¯s create a dark guild together¡± she answers with a smirk as she teleports away. chapter 5 CHAPTER 5 Things required for creating a guild in the world of Terra:
  1. A deposit of ten thousand gold coins
  2. A deed of landed property.
  3. At least ten players signed notes to join the new guild.
There were other things a player needed to make a successful guild like individual respect and popular but right now these were the necessary things, that night after logging out Leah had agreed to fight monsters to get the money needed while I would be in charge of recruitment as I would be the guild master when the guild is created. For an hour now I had been checking the game forum looking at the rankings to see if any name with a low respect stat would interest me enough to warrant a search when I went back into the game. So far there were three names that caught my attention, a level 41 dwarf whom was wanted in the dwarf kingdom of thranduil with a bounty of two hundred gold coins and two elves with levels 38 and 40 that had a joint bounty of three hundred gold coins after they murdered half the royal family of one of the elf kingdoms. Seriously I don¡¯t understand red players advertising their usernames on rankings when they can decide to not be on the rankings. The only problem with finding said players was that while people were after them all no one knew where they had been staying so it was more of a search mission first before I could even think of asking them to join me. Ping, looking at my mailbox I see a message form Leah ¡°if you are trying to find hidden players send them a message through the game forum maybe they will reply¡± the message says.ahh what would I do without Leah ii think as I go to each prospects profile and leave a message each of them and waited for a response. Thirty minutes later the elves had sent a reply saying they were in a desert in the Elf continent, no wonder no one had found them yet I doubt many players will go into a desert just to kill someone. After another thirty minutes the dwarf replied saying he was on his way to the elf continent too as he needed somewhere to lose the heat his bounty was bringing him. All I need now is money to pay for the journey, I mull as I wear my Nerve Gear and log into the game. I appear in the forest three days walk from my prison and according to my map a week¡¯s walk to the house I owned in the forest around Ritz. The sound of dogs barking alerts me to the people coming my way before I even hear their voices, casting illusion I hide in plain sight and hope that the group coming doesn¡¯t have a strong mage that can detect me . ¡±Hey, are you sure we should be hunting this guy I mean he slaughtered everyone in the prison even Arthur and his sister were killed by him¡± a voice says as the barking gets closer. ¡°We can¡¯t kill him alone so that why we have five hundred of the guild top players here along with two hundred soldiers from Roland¡± the second voice says. ¡°Shut it both of you before you scare away our prey¡± another voice says as a player steps through the bush around me then another and soon there are more than hundred players passing me. Some of the players are mages some carry bows while most of them carry swords or axes with them. Time to have some fun I whisper as I equip a dagger I picked after the jail break, waiting for fifteen minutes I step behind the last person in the column. With a quick move I place my left palm across the players mouth and stab him twice through the neck avoiding his armor .I kill two more players this way before the group notices the dead behind them ¡°He is here fall into formation mages at the centre with archers and swordsmen at the front¡± a player wielding a staff yells as the players scramble to follow her orders. Seeing that my sneak attack would work again I switch to a bow and begin shooting arrows into the swordsmen at the front averaging a kill for every two arrows I use as I move around the place to avoid been traced from the path of my arrows. Suddenly an ice spike stabs into my shoulder stopping making my spell to fall, ¡°mages fire at the murderer in turns level 5 spells¡± the leader yells as I watch another spike come at me from her staff. Summoning my fire golem I watch as it charges into the group and burns most of the swordsmen to a crisp.¡±Call for reinforcements a male archer yells as I charge my favorite lightning spell THOR and fire it into the cluster of mages killing at least ten of them. What was at first a large group of about a hundred and fifty is now a small ragtag group of thirty as my golem causes havoc on their forces. The mage I have identified as their leader shoots a flare from her staff into the sky where it explodes into a shower of bright lights, less than ten seconds later a group appears a few yards away from the battle and soon there are more groups appearing. ¡°good show the grim reaper what you have to offer in his feast¡± I roar as I summon a wind and lightning golem to face the new groups forming up and rush into the first group stabbing the first player that approaches me with a hand covered in mana.¡±How is this possible¡± the knight says as his body falls to the ground. Glancing at my mana bar I see that I have half of my mana, remembering a skill I wanted to test before I got captured by Arthur and his sister I yell ¡°lightning blade¡± and a blade made of lightning thirty meters long appears on my fist. With the amount of mana the spell consumes I know I can only keep it going for maximum a minute before my mana drains completely. Spinning in a circle I cut down all the remnants of the first group and yell out three spell for my golems to execute before they run out of mana ¡±burn to a crisp Vulcan, fury of the west wind, Rajin ¡° and the three golems fire off high level spells before they run out of mana and disappear leaving me with at least two hundred soldiers and no mana . At least I still have my stats, I reason as I chase away the sliver of fear in my mind and use my speed to virtually teleport in the midst of the mages and archers. With the fear of hitting their allies they fire low level stun spells at me which have n effect for someone of my level while I dodge the arrows and rip the small army apart, so for the next twenty minutes I dance around them and pick off the mages and archers one after the other running away from any swordsman that comes close to me. When my mana gets back to one quarter I cast the lighting armor on myself and my speed doubles changing the fight into a one sided massacre and after an two hours of fighting the last person standing is an elderly man in chainmail with a long sword in his hand trembling from the fear of what I have just done. ¡°Leave this place and spread word of my strength make sure you bring more offerings to the feast next time¡± I say as I pierce his heart with a lightning blade. Going round I select all the high level equipment and pick the coins littering the ground ¡°this should be enough to fund my journey¡± I say as I gather a total of two hundred gold coins in total and check my player profile. Name: Michael Race: Human Level: 63 Title: Most wanted Mana: 3600 Strength: 370 Speed: 220 Agility: 195 Stamina: 240 Luck: 10 Respect: -200 Buffs: none Intelligence: 170 I gathered some of my magic books from my house then travelled the port city that was aptly named Newport. The npcs didn¡¯t attack me on sight so it seems news of my criminal activities hasn¡¯t reached here though the people of the city act. Walking into a the office of the docks master I pay twenty gold coins for the trip to the elf continent along with two other players who wore robes and held staffs that indicated that they were players that focused solely on being mages in the game. ¡°You really need to be conscious of your surroundings¡± a voice says beside me as I watch the city shrinks slowly away and the ship begins its journey. Turning to see who it is I see a human player with the small green diamond floating above his head indicating the person is a player. Taking my time I evaluate his armor from the heavy chainmail that seems to sparkle to the short sword sheathed at his side and the shield strapped to his back that gives a faint glow.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Has to be a high level player¡±sorry but it isn¡¯t your business what I do or don¡¯t do¡± reply and turn my attention to the sea around us.¡±I know who you are Mr. Michael¡± the player says drawing my gaze back to him. Quickly I begin to run mana around my body with little sparks on my skin in preparation for my spell lightning armor. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t hunt you yet¡± the player says and leaves me to go talk with other players. Great now I have a potential bounty hunter on my tail I think angrily. Throughout the journey of six days I stay in my room reading the books I brought with me and at the same time avoiding the player whose name I found from one of the crew for the ship to be Joe. For days I thought of strategies to use in defeating Joe after the third day when he defeated most of the pirates that attacked the ship single handedly. By the last day of the journey I had lost all hope of escaping if Joe decided to kill me or even capture me, that was until we reached the one of the ports in the Elf continent and found it under attack from a large amount of ships with pirates landing by the dozens. ¡°Captain please try getting the ship as close as you can to any of the pirate ships¡± Joe yells as the crew of our ship begin to panic at the sight before them. ¡°Sorry good sir but I can¡¯t risk been boarded, not with the amount of pirates around¡± the captain yells back. ¡°If you can bring the ship close to them will pay you two hundred gold coins¡± Joe says. ¡°Pay up front before I do anything¡± the captain replies. After watching Joe pay the captain I wait for the ship to move and jump onto the nearest ship I can find. ¡°Enemies on board¡± a pirate screams as he runs at me with his sword raised. A quick punch to his chest drops him and I pick his sword as Joe also lands on the deck of the pirate ship. ¡°We will meet again when your bounty has reached a sufficient amount¡± Joe says to me as he grabs his shield and unsheathes his sword charging into a group of five pirates. ¡°That was close¡± I whisper as I watch Joe kill each pirate with a maximum of two hits blocking with his shield only when he can¡¯t dodge their attacks and finishing them off with a stab through the heart or a slit throat. Coating my body in lightning I feel my speed increase and hop from ship to ship killing pirates as I move closer to the docks of the city. Boom, the sound of a cannons firing echoes around the area and mixes with the cries of the people and pirates as they die. Looking at the city that will surely have loot in it I give a small smile and change course from running into the surrounding forest I make my way into the city. Everywhere there are pirates going into the houses dragging out men and killing them there on the streets while the women and children are dragged back to their ships but I pay no heed to the chaos around me and continue running deeper into the city as the houses begin to become more fancy with large gates and some elf soldiers with bows and arrows running towards the docks. Choosing a house at random I run towards the fence and leap across the fence landing with a thud in a small garden with a statute of an Elf wearing armor at its center. The compound is devoid of sounds but I equip my orc sword just in case and move into the house and begin my search for anything small and of great value. After three houses seven dead bodies later I have a pouch filled with diamonds and other gems. Running through the forest I pass survivors of the attack as they flee the city into the forest. The best thing to do would be to move in the opposite direction as the people will generally head to the closest city when been attacked I reason as I leave the npcs and players alike, moving deeper into the forest. By the time my mana is half way from the armor usage I am already out of the forest and in front of a mountain range, finding a hidden spot at the foot of one of the mountains I open my player menu and log out. In a cave far away, ¡°What do you think we should do about that¡± a voice says in a dark cave as an elf tries to make a fire to warm the cave that has ice along some part of its walls. ¡°We let that guy meet us then we see if he can offer something we need¡± the elf says as the fire bursts from her palms and the wood she gathered begins to burn. ¡°What can he offer us; we have an army what more do we need¡± the voice says as the fire shows the second speaker to be another female elf. ¡°What will we do if a group of high level players find us, remember three deaths and game over for us Jade¡± the second elf says. ¡°How will he find us if we keep hiding Paige¡± Jade asks. ¡°send out some of your minions to the village nearby and order them to burn the place to the ground¡± Paige replies ¡°if he can¡¯t find us in two weeks time then I won¡¯t even consider join forces with him¡± Paige finishes. ¡°Good, my zombies have been getting hungry for live flesh some time¡± Jade says as hundreds of pairs of red eyes begin to glow inside the cave. ¡°Have you heard Broken sorrow guild is going to hunt a dragon that has been destroying small villages¡± an elf player said to his drinking partner in a pub. ¡°Really wish I could go with them Finn¡± the partner replies. On the elf continent there were plenty of guilds popping up around the place and one of the more prominent ones is Broken sorrow lead by the guild master Zero a mage. Days after the pirate attacks began at the port cities at the western edge of the continent there appeared a dragon that burnt down villages going as far as to attack people fleeing the burning places. All attempts by the attack kingdom of Elfienhiem were without success so due to the recent goblin subjugation carried out by the Broken sorrow guild got the quest to defeat the dragon. ¡°Me too but they are only accepting guild members and even with that the member has to be above level 70¡± Finn says. Back in the broken sorrow headquarters which was a three storey building with a hall attached at the back the top members were busy preparing for the upcoming dragon hunt. ¡°What information have we been able to get¡± Zero asks the players sitting around him in what is called the conference room by the members of his guild. ¡°So far there hasn¡¯t been any survivor, because of this we have learnt nothing about the dragon¡± says Blue man a level 101 player that focused his fighting style in archery. ¡°All that we have found out is that the dragons attacks villages within three days ride from the kaledera mountains¡± iron fist a level 92 player that was ranked in top 500 by the player even though he used only his fists and foot as weapons. ¡°So how many people are we using for the hunt¡± Zero asks. ¡°Including personnel for cooking and other chores three hundred elves not counting the mercenaries and soldiers that the city has provided for us¡± an npc called Dave that had joined the guild in its infancy reports. ¡°Good gather the group we will leave the city in two days time¡± Zero announces to his officials thus ending the meeting. The members of the meeting leave their guild master alone in the room as he ponders the dragon hunting quest, due to the structure of the game he didn¡¯t know the rewards for this quest and if he declines the quest some other guild may get the quest along with great rewards. ¡°You are beginning to doubt us¡± a voice says form the small shadow at the back of the room. ¡°What do you want Haden¡± Zero snarls when he sees the person coming from the shadow. The person is wearing black armor that absorbs the light around it and if one looks closely they can see a faint aura around the man. With a black hilt sword at his hip and black hair shielding most of his eyes Haden has the look of a seasoned killer something that Zero isn¡¯t used to seeing in people.¡±The leader wanted to remind you of the consequences if you fail in this task¡± Haden says with a smile as he notices the unease his contact is feeling. His guild Grim reapers had at the beginning of the game acquired gullible npc youths, trained them and sent them into the world to form separate guilds as there was no distinction form the npcs and players. Four months in the real world almost a year in the game since the launch of the game started these youths have become powerful individuals but still serve the guild. ¡°don¡¯t worry if the dragon you guys tamed is any good the even as they are blessed by the elf goddess to revive after being killed then it would reduce their lives¡± Zero says. ¡°Make sure it goes according to plan¡± Haden says as he steps into the shadow and teleports from the room. Haden at first hadn¡¯t like the fact that the game makers forced the players¡¯ avatar to be erased after dying three times but now he could see the advantages it held for someone in the shadows after all if permanent death happens to a thousand people then that was a thousand less people in the race for the prize money and the leader had seen this hence the use of npcs. Appearing in a dark cave that had been hollowed out by the slaves they bought then killed after the cave was transformed into an underground fort Haden made his way into a hall that had the feel of been a throne room as there was a large throne that like his armor absorbed the light but unlike his armor this light s converted to mana and is transferred to whoever sits on the throne. ¡°It is going according to plan¡± Haden says as he kneels before the figure on the throne with a staff in its hand. ¡°Good then tell us your twenty brothers and sisters news of the world above us¡± the figure whizzes as torches flicker into existence showing the players sitting on thrones around the hall. Haden shivered as he felt the intense gaze of his guild comrades, of the twenty members of Grim reapers at level 140 a level that would be applauded if he submitted his profile to the people in charge of the player ranking he is the weakest in this guild as the players were in range of 150 to 170 and the guild master was a whooping 190. Even in their street gang back in the real world the guild master whom is also their leader there is considered somewhat of a fighting monster. Not wanting to anger those who could kill him for the smallest reason Haden cast the spell memory exchange transferring the visions of all he has seen and heard to the guild. ¡°Soon my friends the world will feel our power but for now become stronger¡± the guild master says as he sinks into the ground and out of sight. Elsewhere¡­ The sound of wings flapping disturbed the peace that was in the heart of the Kaledera Mountain range. a red dragon of about 30 meter s from the tip of its head to the end of the tail flew through the air with haste not bothering to rest from its journey into the elf lands around it. Suddenly the dragon descends to the top of a mountain and enters the cave where another dragon this time the close to a hundred meters in length rests at the end of the cave¡± my king I have found the youth that was missing some months ago¡± the red dragon growls out as he arrives before the other dragon. ¡°Well why isn¡¯t he here with you I can¡¯t feel his presence nearby or could it be that he is dead¡± the golden dragon asks. ¡°No my king he has been tamed by some elves and burnt down some of the villages at the edge of the forest¡± the red replies. Someone wants the elves to kill a dragon maybe advance into our territory in the process as well then they can use the fact that a dragon was the one who first attacked if I bring up the treaty I signed with their rulers seven hundred years ago the golden dragon reasons. ¡°Gather some of the warriors, ten should be enough in case the elves meddle in the affair and bring me back that tamed dragon dead or alive¡± the golden dragon growls with wisps of smoke coming from his nose as he remembers the humiliation the elves put his father when he was capture, made into a tame animal from his post as one of the highest predators in the world to the pet and pack animal tilling fields after his wings were cut. ¡°If the elves attack what should we do¡± the red dragon asks as he remembers stories of war from a time before he hatched and the resulting treaty that the dragon before him agreed to when it looked like they were going to lose the lives needlessly. ¡°If it¡¯s a war they want we will give them a war¡± the dragon says releasing an intense burst of fire at the ceiling of the cave. chapter 6 CHAPTER 6 Logging back into the game I sat at one of the trees around the entrance of the mountain range where I appeared .slowly eating an apple I packed when I was on the human continent as the player inventory allowed inanimate objects like armor and weapons only to be stored there any other thing had to be carried manually. Before coming back online I had checked the game forum only to see that there were a lot of comments about the first dragon hunt that was to happen in the elf continent since the start of the game. According to information players posted the green dragon being hunted ravaged the villages around the same mountain range I now stood before so it was most likely that the expedition of players would cross paths with me if I stuck to the main paths. Equipping one of the numerous orc swords in my inventory I made my way into the mountain range as I wanted to avoid meeting other players. The time for the hunt had reached and the small army marched out the city gates with a lot of fan fare as the citizens of the city threw flowers on the paved road before we passed their houses. Some of the priests of the elf goddess Freya even blessed us as we left increasing the power of the spells we cast and also increasing our strength as a gift, though I can¡¯t wait to see their faces when we come back defeated I think to myself as I ride my horse leading the march. The journey to the mountains that the dragon used as a lair was five days because of the carriages carrying provisions for feed the soldiers that came on the hunt. As we got closer to the mountains signs of dragon attack were seen more frequently with the occasional scorched farm land and when we got to a day¡¯s march from the mountain we moved past whole villages that were burnt to the ground. At the foot of the first mountain I addressed the army ¡°soldiers today we hunt a being that is strong¡±. some of the people hearing this nod their heads in affirmation, continuing my speech I say ¡±but with our combined strength even a dragon will tremble before us, in these mountains hides a dragon that has attacked us with any reason so we must show other dragons that we will not sit back will they destroy our homes and kill our families¡± . By now the tension in the army can be felt by someone that is not even a warrior¡±who is with me ¡°I yell at the end of my short speech inspiring a loud yell from the army. The yell was so loud that even the ground seemed to tremble. With that scouts were sent to each of the nearby mountains to climb and see if there was any cave on the mountain. After two days, sixteen mountains five of which had empty caves we final found one where at the entrance of the cave the loud breathing of a dragon could be heard. Making sure we entered quietly fifty members of my guild made our way into the cave with the dragon sleeping at the end of the cave. The plan was to get close to the dragon before it woke and bombard that was until when someone kicked a small piece of stone and it struck the wall of the cave with a loud thud. Grooowl, the dragon had awakened and seeing intruders it let out a loud roar that put our yell at the beginning of the hunt to shame. Standing on its four limbs the dragons head almost touched the ceiling of the twelve meter from the ground. ¡°wow that¡¯s a big dragon¡± blue man said beside me as arrows and spells began to fly at the dragon.hmm if only they knew this is a child according to dragon standards I think as I blast the dragon with a intense burst of fire from my staff .Retaliating to our attack the dragon made an audible intake of breath, ¡°mages cast a shield on everyone¡± I yell as I notice the incoming dragon flame. The burst of flame from the dragon washed over the shield spell and in some places the spell cracked .hiding in the shield for what seemed like hours but was actually forty seconds we waited until the fire died down to reveal a severely blackened cave. Even the temperature of the cave had increased drastically making it uncomfortable for those in armor whom felt like they were been cooked alive in their armor. Suddenly the dragon charged at us as it ran to the mouth of the cave and jumped of the small cliff there. ¡±hurry don¡¯t let the beast get away¡± I yell as we make our way outside where the rest of the army has engaged the dragon with arrows and spells as it began flying around the area. ¡°Knights and sword men try climbing up the mountain and jumping onto the dragons back¡± Dave yells as he shoots an ice spike that fails to pierce the scales of the dragon. So far the fight has been a one sided fight with the dragon descending to pluck soldiers and tossing them after flying to a large height. With Dave¡¯s suggestion the dragon is now hindered by the three that managed to get a foot hold on its back that was until it rolled while flying dislodging any passenger. The roaring of other dragons alerted us to the eleven specks in the sky that were coming towards the battlefield at an alarming speed. ¡°More dragons incoming¡± a knight yells as he picks the bow and quiver of arrows left beside the broken body of an archer and begins shooting the dragons once they get into range even though it¡¯s useless. Seeing the extra dragons the thousand or so adventures that tagged along to watch the fight begin hurling spells at the dragons as they in turn release jets of fire at their attackers, with this the area has truly become a battle field in every sense as there a spells arrows and even bodies flying all over the place. The noise is becoming too much I mutter as the fight between the elves and the dragon begins. Climbing a small mountain far enough to see the fight but not close enough to be noticed by the combatants I watch as the dragon decimates the elven army in minutes. ¡°Attack the eyes you fools, there are no scales on its eyes are they¡± I say as I watch spell after spell hit the scales of the dragon and have little to no effect on the beast. Seems the players tagging along will get their chance with the dragon sooner than later I think as a group of red dragons join the fight attacking the elves and the green dragon also. ¡°Now why will dragons attack each other¡± I whisper. ¡°Because the dragon is breaking the truce between the two races¡± a voice says behind me .unsheathing my sword I spin around while crouching only to see the knight from my sea voyage standing behind me watching the fight with a dull expression on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry when I come for you I won¡¯t sneak on you besides my name is Gabriel¡± he says. ¡°How do you know the dragon is been controlled and isn¡¯t just mad or has been tamed by a player¡± I reply with my hand still on the pommel of my sword. ¡°You are a mage warrior, send a small amount of mana to your eyes and look at the dragon¡± Gabriel says to me. Doing as he says I see a small part of the fore head of the green dragon glowing with a black light and a string moves form the ball of light into the trees around the battle field. ¡°That string will lead to the person controlling the dragon, tamed dragons have a white light and wild dragons don¡¯t have glowing foreheads¡± my fellow spectator says. Three minutes later when the elves remain about two hundred from the combined amount of players that tagged along and the receivers of the quest Gabriel announces ¡°I found the controller until we meet again¡± as he begins running down the mountain with a speed I will need lighting armor to reach. Shrugging my shoulders I use lightning armor heading over to the battle field to do what I do best, killing things.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Within seconds I have reached the battle field and head for the elves first punching my fist into the chest elf I reach. Pulling my fist I release the players heart and watch it fall to the ground as the entire combatants focus on me ¡° stop fighting the dragons want to capture the green dragon and kill it ¡° I yell as I dive into the midst of already weakened players hacking off arms with the swords still in their grips. At least they can reattach the hands I cut I think as I make sure I don¡¯t kill anyone. ¡°the human is in league with the dragons and they have come to conquer our homes¡± a mage with a staff that has a large crystal at the top of it yells increasing the urge of the elves to attack me ¡°filthy human¡±, ¡°humans are not even fit to rule themselves¡±. Different yells come from the npcs as they turn their attacks form the dragons to me.¡± This is why I hate meeting players in this game ¡°I mutter as I start killing the elves near me.¡±Grav pull¡± I whisper as I pull a knight towards me and spear him with my sword ending his life instantly.¡±Grav push¡± I say again pushing everyone in a two meter radius around me into the air. Using wind magic I discovered that I could push or pull different objects to me depending on the amount of mana I poured into the spell and so I created my first spells Grav push and Grav pull both wind based spells. With the elves been occupied the other dragons subdue the green dragon quickly with numbers and I finish up the elves as few of them run away from my onslaught. Walking to the dragons I watch as the light on the dragons head goes out guess Gabriel has killed the one controlling the green dragon I conclude. ¡±human you have helped us rescue our brother for this the dragon king will like to see you¡± the largest dragon says to me as the other dragons use their claws and pick up the green dragon as it is too weak to fly on its own. With me not being in a hurry to find the elf twins for my guild I reply¡±I will be honored to meet the Great dragon king, but I can¡¯t fly like you and don¡¯t think I can keep with the speed at which you fly¡±. Nodding its large head the dragon says ¡°climb on my back and hold onto the scales there we will fly there now¡± as it lay on the ground making it easier to get to its spine where I sit. ¡°To the nests we go ¡°the dragon carrying me says to the other dragons as they all lift off and head into the sunset. The flight took three hours with the dragons stopping for ten minutes to drink from a river we passed by. Even with the smaller dragon being carried the landscape still went by at a speed that would be hard to match by players and monsters alike. The more we went the more dragons we passed, green red and even a blue dragon all flew by us some of them sounding greeting to the lead dragon whose name I found was Salazar . Approaching a large valley filled with dragons the first trace of fear begins to manifest in my mind. One dragon youth I can fight but with the hundreds of dragons flying and on the ground I doubt even if the top ten players could fight their way out of this place if the dragons turn hostile.¡±I can fear you fear and it disgusts me¡± a black dragon flying by Dave sneers at me. ¡°Silence Thorn, the king wants to meet him leave him be¡± Salazar says to the black dragon. ¡± he might be your king but he isn¡¯t mine¡± Thorn retorts as he flies away when Dave lands by the mouth of a cave. ¡°go inside he is waiting¡± Dave says as his group of dragons take to the skies again.¡±Won¡¯t you be coming with me¡± I ask. ¡°No I am not need to defend the king from a human of your strength.¡± Salazar replies as he walks away from me. Gathering whatever little courage I have left I move into the cave that has black walls most likely from dragon fire, beginning to think the cave is empty as I can¡¯t see anything even after sending mana to my eyes checking if there is an illusion spell in the cave until a voice says ¡°so you are the one that helped free my kin¡±. With that statement the cave lights up, looking at the source of the light I see a golden dragon resting upon a heap of treasure. The light seems to be emanating from the scales of the dragon bowing my head I address the dragon ¡°I was only doing what was right noble dragon king¡±. shifting a claw the size of my body the dragon pushes some of the treasure it sits upon closer to me saying ¡°come closer and take your reward for the help you have given to my brethren¡± .remembering stories about dragons and their love for precious things I shake my head ¡°I must refuse I did what I did without hoping for a reward more so seeing you is reward enough¡± I say not moving an inch closer to the being. Slowly the dragon lifts from the bed of treasure and tilts its head towards me ¡°a human that refuses gold, what a rare sight tell me why did you kill the elves that time¡± the dragon asks.¡±I don¡¯t think dragons should be tame, if they decide to accompany a person on their own then that is different¡± I say hopping I haven¡¯t offended this king. ¡°You are certainly strange I will gift you with something most haven¡¯t seen in millennia¡± the dragon says as Salazar enters the cave. Stopping in front of me Dave opens his mouth to reveal an orb the size of a fist, shinning a slight green. ¡°What is this¡± I ask as I can feel raw mana coming from the orb similar to the type the dragons emit form their body. ¡°This is the essence of a dragon or as you humans say its soul¡± the dragon king says. ¡±I the fiftieth dragon king Igneel of the first continent hereby gift you with this dragon essence¡± the king says out loud. With that said Salazar drops the orb into my awaiting hands and the orb begins to glow brighter as it dissolves into my hand making my palms feel like they are being held across a large flame. When the burning sensation stops I look at my hands to see a faint trace of the pattern of dragon scales.¡±I accept you as one of us with this all monster with reptilian ancestry can become companions so if a dragon asks for help you are expected to comply¡± Igneel says as I look for the physical changes that have happened to my body. ¡°You should leave here until you are summoned again¡± a voice says in my head. Looking around I see Igneel is focused on me ¡°how did you do that¡± I ask. ¡°the gift and curse of been king¡± Igneel replies .without another word he rests on his bed and is soon asleep ¡°I will take you to the border lands¡± Dave says as he walks out of the cave. When I reach outside the fresh air seems like a blessing from heaven after staying in a cave with a carnivorous animal. ¡°From where did the elundari come from¡± I ask. ¡°Dragons are not meant to be tame the dragon we brought back died soon after we got here and the orb belongs to him¡± Dave answers as he lays down for me to mount his back. As we fly through clouds I open the player menu to check my stats. Name: Michael Race: Human Level: 75 Title: most wanted, friend of dragons. Mana: 5000 Strength: 480 Speed: 280 Agility: 250 Stamina: 300 Luck: 20 Respect: for humans;-300 with elves; - 70 with dragons; 30 Buffs: friend of dragon grants the following, dragon fear can paralyze weaker opponents for three seconds. Dragon scale hardens skin; dragon rage increases abilities by 5% for a minute. Intelligence: 240 Con firming the level and stat increase the title and new stat for respect with races startles me a little. Thinking about it dragons are usually preying on other races in the game and the other races in turn hunt dragons so helping a dragon increases respect with dragons but reduces respect with other races . ¡±We have arrived¡± the voice of Dave jolts me from my thinking. Landing carefully on a plain field with I hop down from his back¡± is there any advice you can give me¡± I ask. ¡°For now avoid phoenixes we have a truce with them though it is shaky but elves and sea serpents will attack you the more you stronger the essence in you grows¡± Dave responds. Nodding at his advice I say to him¡± thank you for helping me¡±. ¡°No need after all you are a friend to all dragons¡± Dave says as he takes to the skies turning into a small speck as he flies farther away until he disappears. Well time to look for the recruits I mutter as I begin walking in a random direction. Back at the elven city news of the expedition¡®s defeat spread by the people that followed to watch the hunt was making waves. Most players were shocked that Zero whom they thought was a player had left a dead body for days something only npcs do. In a hall voices were being raised ¡°a dragon attacked our villages and when we try to defend other dragons come to its defense¡± an old elf yells out in a voice that is surprisingly loud for someone of his age. ¡°This clearly means war¡± a female elf beside him also yells. A young elf wearing silver armor bangs the handle of his spear against the ground causing the noise in the hall to reduce drastically. ¡°the people that went to watch the hunt report a human saying that the dragon was been controlled and also the red dragons that appeared first fought with the green dragon before leaving with its beaten down body¡± the man in armor says. ¡°Commander John the fact that the human also killed most of the soldiers and children of the goddess shouldn¡¯t be over looked¡± an old woman says as she stands up with a staff emitting power supporting her frame. ¡°Lady Esther you are right but we attacked the human first¡± John replies. ¡°So what do you want us to do, a human and dragon combination have killed our people but you defend them¡± the old man from before yells. ¡±Elder Ernest we don¡¯t know who he is and without the backing of the other elven kingdoms we can¡¯t have guaranteed victory against the dragons¡±John says with a sigh.¡±I Elder Ramon also agree with commander John¡± an old female elf wearing armor made of dragon scales says ¡°the closest kingdom to us is dealing with that necromancer problem they have so I suggest we hunt this human ourselves while gathering a punitive force to at least revenge our peoples death¡± Ramon finishes . knowing that the elves with their long life span are stubborn in changing their ways and consider themselves the superior race John shakes his head saying¡± all those in favor of hunting this human and gathering forces either mercenaries or help from our alliances raise your hand¡±. More than half of the elves in the hall raise their hand in response to the statement.¡±Elder Ramon we will leave the matters of the hunt in your hands while we send out a force to help Rosenheim deal with the necromancer¡± John says dismissing the meeting. Sitting at the back of the hall I think to myself as I walk with my colleagues ¡°truly the time for peace is about to end maybe I can revive Him this time¡±. chapter 7 ¡°It¡¯s official I am lost¡± I whisper as I have been walking for three days without seeing anything. The landscape is always the same just infinite fields of grass. I have tried everything from running in one direction to passing mana to my eyes checking for illusions. Nothing, only after checking the game forum did find an article about the endless grass field which an ancient mage created thousands of years ago. According to people once in the field a person¡¯s sense of direction totally went hay wire. You might think you are walking east but you were actually walking in circles. The only good thing so far was that the place was devoid of monsters. Sitting down I begin to pass mana through my skin pores forming a mist around me. With each breath I exhale mana and about a large amount back into my body. Minutes, hours the feel of time becomes a blur as I continue the mana exercise. This time when I check the spot in my chest where the mana is generated from I feel another presence similar to that of the green dragon from before ¡°so you have found your way here¡± a voice says to me in my mind. Instinctively I know that this voice is from the orb I absorbed ¡°what is your name¡± I ask.¡±I was given the name Tusker by my brood mother¡± the voce answers.¡±I thank you for aiding in my release from my prison¡± Tusker says ¡°no need to thank me, so is there anything I need to know about you being in me¡± I reply. ¡°No much just that when you reach a certain level of power I will fuse with the mana pool in you giving you some physical attributes of dragons¡± Tusker comments. ¡°Now that I know what to expect do you know a way to get out of this place¡± I ask. ¡°Yes ¡°he answers. ¡°Please tell me the way out¡± I urge. ¡°it simple, you look for the way out but keep going deeper into the field so try going deeper into the field and you will leave this cursed place¡± Tusker says with a hint of pride sipping through in his voice. Following this advice I begin walking with the intent to find the center of the field and within a day find myself at the edge of a forest.¡±Tusker why did Salazar drop me in such a place¡± I ask after I begin resting at the edge of the forest. ¡°Most likely he forgot of the field as it doesn¡¯t affect higher dragons¡± Tusker answers. Snap! The sound of a branch breaking alerts me to something approaching stopping m conversation with my tenant. Unsheathing my sword I wait for the creature to come out only to see a zombie wearing scraps of leather amour holding a broken sword. Sheathing my sword I ignore the zombie and watch it continue its journey as if it didn¡¯t see me. Following the slow paced zombie is tiring so I give it a thirty minutes head start and use this chance to master the crude tracking skill I have under Tuskers supervision. Three hours later the zombie makes its way into a cave and I follow it a fist on fire acting as a torch and my sword ready for action. The small cave leads to another cave this time one that looks like a large hall capable of housing three to four adult dragons. ¡°Who dares to enter my domain¡± a voice that echoes around the cave says. ¡°My name is Michael, may I know who is addressing me¡± I reply as I enter a larger cave with lots of zombies standing at attention gazing at me. ¡°It¡¯s about time you showed up¡± the voice coming from a girl with a mage staff leaning at the cave entrance I just passed. Most of the girl¡¯s body is hid by the darkness in the cave but after pass mana to my eyes I see her clearly. I see that the girl is an elf from the pointed ear and looking at her face I see an average face. Short brown hair, no scars to distinguish her even her dress seems average but the staff she holds emits a strong mana though not up to the bounty hunter or the dragons. ¡°Sis, he asked for your name don¡¯t you think he is rude after all we have already talked before in the real world¡± another voice says. Suddenly a shape falls from the ceiling of the cave but at the last moment rights itself landing with a crouch kicking up dust. When the dust settles I see another girl who¡¯s a look alike to the elf with the staff only this elf has black hair and is wearing black amour with a sword handing by her waist. ¡°My name is Paige and that is my twin Jade¡± the elf with a sword says to me as she stretches her hand out for a handshake. ¡°Good down to business¡± I say taking her arm is a light grip allowing her to crush my palm. ¡°Careful with the necromancer, I don¡¯t think Igneel will be happy with you if your friend uses a dead dragon for her magic¡± Tusker says in my mind. ¡°Why should we join your guild¡± Jade asks as she swirls her staff around walking towards me. ¡°Because you can¡¯t survive alone, not with the amount of negative fame you have now or will get in the future¡± I say calmly. ¡°Right now we haven¡¯t been killed so I don¡¯t think we need you¡± Paige says. ¡°That¡¯s true but can you enter a town or even a village in peace¡± I ask remembering the amount of people back on the human continent hunting me for the bounty. ¡°What you say is true but even though we will join your guild we won¡¯t follow orders we don¡¯t like¡± jade says as she steps close to me. ¡°Are there any other terms¡± I ask. ¡°All loot we get is ours to keep¡± Paige says. Nodding her head Jade agrees with her sister. ¡°In this case I have a term for you don¡¯t attack any wild dragon¡± I say. Jade erupts in laughter on hearing this while Paige looks at me like I have gone mad. ¡°how can we just leave such huge lumbering animals alone, when everything about them can be used or sold for money and power¡± jade says after her laughing fit.¡±I don¡¯t care but if you can¡¯t leave them alone I will withdraw my invitation¡± I tell the twins without showing any emotion on my face. ¡°Sorry but we can¡¯t abide by this particular tem cant you overlook it¡± Paige says with a smile. ¡°No sorry but I can¡¯t seems like I will look for others to join me¡± I say turning to the exit. ¡°we are also sorry but we have to kill you since you know where we are, at least by the time you spawn we would have left this place¡± Jade calls out as an arrow whizzes past my ear slicing it a little . Turning back to them I say ¡°we are all criminals so I won¡¯t betray you even so are you sure you can kill me¡±. ¡°With my zombie army of five thousand even you can¡¯t stand a chance¡± Paige says as the previously dormant zombies begin moving towards me. Rushing at me Paige raises her sword that glows with an eerily black hue. Blocking the sword strike my orc sword breaks with the force used, ¡°wow such strength¡± Tusker says. ¡°Can¡¯t you help me¡± I ask Tusker. ¡°I thought you would never ask¡± he replies as whips of fire extend from my body slicing at Paige as she retreats. By now the first of the zombies has reached me and though Jade may be a high level player her undead are low level and slow. Dodging the clumsy strike I quickly open my inventory and equip two short axes. ¡°You can still let me go¡± I yell as I lunge one axe into the head of a zombie and decapitate another with the second axe. With Tusker using my mana to cast spells at enemies I focus solely on using the axes to the fullest. Suddenly a dark fire flame flies past me singing my clothes a little ¡±what was that¡± I ask as I move around killing zombies while dodging the flames. ¡°Dark fires something necromancers are fond of¡± Tusker says ¡°brace yourself¡± he says as I feel almost all the mana in have I my body disappears. The spell Tusker uses with the man creates a dragon smaller than him when he was alive but is made entirely of fire ¡°leave the necromancer and zombies to me get the other elf¡± the dragon roars with Tuskers voice.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Not thinking how this is possible I move with a speed that is slower than what I usually use I throw my axes at the elves giving me enough time to equip a sword from my inventory appearing in front of Paige who is hiding with her sister behind the army f zombies. Putting all of my strength into the swing I hit Paige with my sword like a baseball bat. Even with her blocking with her black sword she is still smashed into the wall ten meters away forming a human sized crater as she collapses to the ground.¡±Paige get up¡± Jade yells as she battles the flaming dragon now that her zombies are being burnt into a cider just by been close to the dragon. As Paige struggles to get on one knee I appear in front of her with my knee already in motion. The sound of my knee hitting her face echoed around the cave, dropping my feet I send a left hook to her face which she manages to dodge by tilting her head backwards.¡±Oh so you think you can try to kill me and think you will survive what a joke¡± I say to her leveling my sword at her. I stab my sword into her heart pining her to the wall. Seeing the corpse of her sister Jade seems to go mad as now skeletons of men and large creatures rise from the ground.¡±Tusker finish your fight quickly¡± I say to him in my mind using our link as I prick the black sword from where it lay on the ground some meters away from Paige¡¯s body. With a roar that shakes the entire cave Tusker releases a large burst of flame that incinerates all the skeletons and Jade leaving only a badly burnt staff that is now misshapen. With the battle over the dragon turns into a stream of light and goes into my body allowing me to recover some of the mana I used in the fight. ¡°Take the gem on the staff it might be useful¡± Tusker says to me when I pass the staff on the way out. Turning back I pick up the staff and with a fist covered in mana pry the gem of the staff .placing my new loot in my inventory I walk back to the entrance of the first cave to see that its now night time. Guess I will have to stay here tonight I think to myself as I unequipped a blanket while heading back to the larger cave to sleep. When I logged back in the game the site of the ceiling of the cave greeted me. Folding my blanket I stretch my muscles a little and make for the entrance of the cave. ¡°Guess I have to look for other compliant criminals to form my guild with¡± I whisper as I head into the forest around the cave. With no sense of direction I decide to just walk south as my player map doesn¡¯t have any settlements around my location. The game masters should make our maps show undiscovered cities I think as I kick a pebble on the ground. Two hours later I reach a road wide enough for a carriage, but for now the only people on the road was a group of elves camping at the edge of the road just beside the forest as they eat some pieces of bread , Walking to one of the elves on the road I ask ¡°please can you tell me the direction to the nearest town or city¡±. Raising his head the elf looks at me with a face full of scorn and replies ¡°just follow the road you will reach a town someday¡± as his travelling companions laugh at me. ¡°Arrogant elves always thinking they are better than everyone else¡± Tusker comments in my mind. Resisting the urge to gut the idiot I walk away from the group in the choosing to go south with the road. Walking down the road I pass many elves some on horses most on foot with a few of them in carriages that had family crests on the doors. After asking I found out that the nearest settlement was a city a day¡¯s walk from me called Eris. Not wanting to stay any longer in the woods, I pass mana to the muscles in my legs strengthening them. With the preparations complete I shoot down the road like a bullet creating a cone of dust as I race down the road. Dodging the traffic on the road is easier than fighting using the same speed I muse as I race past an elf on a horse startling his mount. In four hours just as my mana runs out I see the walls of a city in the distance, stopping the mana following I rest at one of the trunks of the many tress doting the road side. Removing a piece of fruit from my backpack I eat as I watch the city walls noticing the soldiers on the wall and at the gates, from my observation the people entering show some sort of document at the gates to be allowed entry .wiping the juice from my snack on my trousers I equip a sword as I make my way to the queue for people wanting to enter the city.¡±I hate elven cities¡± Tusker says to me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry we won¡¯t be here for long¡± I soothe the dragon in me. When it¡¯s my turn the solider t the gate asks¡± where is your identification stranger¡±? ¡°Sorry but I don¡¯t have any identification on me at the moment can you tell me how to get one¡± I reply. ¡°You have to pay five gold coins but seeing that you are a human the fee is fifteen gold coins¡± the soldier says to me with the hint of a smirk showing through the visage of his helmet. ¡°And they say Dragons are greedy while elves are a noble race¡± Tusker says disgust evident in his tone. Looking at his partner I see shock on the other soldier¡¯s face. Nodding at this I turn to the first soldier as I open my pouch making sure he sees the large amount of gold totaling sixty coins in it. Removing the fee I pay the guard the coins and receive a piece of leather with an eagle on it¡± with this you can enter the city anytime without paying again¡± the second soldier tells me as he waves me into the city. As soon as I step through the city gates I am besieged by a group of rough looking children wearing what could only be seen as rags. ¡°Sir, come with me I will show you round the city¡¯ one of them yells as he tries to grab my hand.¡±Yeah, more like take him to the sewers to get robbed¡± another yells. Through the yells of service I pick the smallest of the bunch and shoo the rest away. ¡°What is your name young elf¡± I ask.¡±Nathan sir¡± the child replies. ¡°And how old are you Nathan¡± I ask as I watch him shift from one feet to another. ¡°Thirteen but I can do any work you have for me¡± he says when he notices e staring at him. ¡°First take me to a good inn if possible the most expensive one around¡± I say as I watch a female elf ride in wearing dragon scales as her armor. Behind her are ten elves all of them riding black horses with a sword piercing a dragon drawn on their chest. ¡°The blood elf¡± Tusker says as I feel his attention on the elf leading the group. Following Nathan I walk deeper into the city passing markets with elves peddling their ware and houses. The further into the city we go the less people we see walking and the more fancy the houses become. Even the shops here have colorful signs compared to the shops we passed at the outskirts of the city. Stopping in front of a two storey building Nathan says¡± the Baron¡¯s hearth the best inn in the city¡± pointing at the building. ¡°How much do you make a day don¡¯t lie to me¡± I ask. ¡°Fifteen coppers on a bad day and thirty coppers on a really good day¡± he answers. ¡°Here stay with me and I will pay you one silver a day with food excluded¡± I say tossing a silver coin I fetched from my pouch at him. ¡°Anything you need I will get it for you, my Lord¡± Nathan says after he examines the coin for a second. ¡°For some coppers you are a sir and a silver coin makes you a lord I wonder what he will call you if you give him a gold coin¡± Tusker says as his roaring laugh echoes in my mind. Walking into the building I move pass the small diner and make my way to the counter where a pretty elf stands.¡±I would like a room with two beds¡± I announce as I reach her. ¡°That will be ten gold coins per night food costs an extra five gold coins¡± she says in a chirpy tone. Dropping fifty gold coins I answer¡± take this and tell me when the payment is up¡±. Seeing the amount of money on the table isn¡¯t even enough to make her bat an eye brow. Pulling out a key from underneath the counter she rings the small bell on the counter and a young elf male wearing a fine tunic arrives at my side.¡±Thomas please can you take the customer to room four¡± the elf behind the counter says handing him the key. ¡°Yes Miss Martha¡± Thomas replies .turning to me he says ¡°sir am sorry but the child with you will have to leave as the establishment doesn¡¯t allow street rats here¡±. ¡±Oh that won¡¯t be a problem as Nathan here has been employed in my service¡± I reply and wave for him to lead the way Following Thomas I am led to a hall on the ground floor we walk past three rooms and stop at the fourth room ¡°this will be your room for the length of your stay¡± Thomas says as he opens the door to reveal a nice room. The room has a window with thick fancy curtains, a bed at the center of the room and another smaller bed at the edge of the room though the two beds are better than what I am used to so there isn¡¯t much room to compare after sleeping in caves and bare ground. ¡°Please have two hot baths brought to the room¡± I tell Thomas. ¡°That will cost two gold coins¡± Thomas says and stretches out his hand to receive the money. Paying him the money he disappears and minutes later four elves come into the room each pair carrying a large tub ¡±bring the meal and leave it on the table¡± I tell Thomas. When he leaves I face Nathan who has been silent since we entered the Inn. ¡°Well what are you waiting for take off your clothes and get in the tub; I want you sparkly clean when you are through¡± I say to him using a dagger to divide the soap that the elves brought in. Handing a piece to Nathan I climb into the tub and allow the hot water to seep into my muscles while I take a short nap. chapter 8 A slight touch on my shoulder woke me from the light nap I was taking in the tub. Turning around I see that Nathan is through with his bath and the water in his tub is murky to the point of looking brown. After the bath Nathan and I sat down to the freshly cooked meal. ¡°So is there a blacksmith around here or a shop that sells weapons¡± I ask Nathan as I drink a cup of honeyed wine that came with the food .¡±Yes sir, there are the shops at the market center where most people forge or buy their swords¡± Nathan replies before he stuffs the leg of a chicken in his mouth. Finishing the food I drop my backpack beside the large bed ¡°take me to the shops that sell finished weapons first¡± I say to Nathan who has long reached the maximum capacity for his stomach. Leaving the Inn Nathan leads me back to the city center where there are numerous shops catering to players and npcs alike. After some minutes of search we find a shop with a large sign of a sword hanging by the door. Pushing the door open I notice that there is a bell that rings as a person enters the shop. Looking around the large shop I can see different weapons hanging on the wall. From axes to swords to the occasional spear there are even some in a glass display by the counter where an old man sits. ¡°sir, I would like to buy a weapon preferably a sword¡± I tell the old elf as I near his station.¡±hmm what is a human scum like you doing in our great city¡± the old elf replies.¡±I came to visit the Elven continent and heard of your shop from one of the people I met on my journey¡± I lie to the elf. ¡°I guess you think flattery will make me sell to you; leave my shop before I have you arrested for stealing from me¡± the elf yells at me in anger.¡±I guess he didn¡¯t like your face¡± Nathan says to me as we enter the streets once more. ¡°You don¡¯t say¡± I reply sarcastically. ¡°Don¡¯t be upset I get treated like that most of the time¡± Nathan says to me with a smile missing the sarcasm in my voice entirely. We spent the whole day getting chased away from shops one of the shop keepers even tried to attack me, tried being the key word cause as soon as the elf had picked up a sword to attack me I had stunned him with a small bolt of electricity effectively paralyzing him . Back at the Inn Nathan and I had decided to have our dinner in the room so with the echo of the music been played in the main hall of the Inn we ate our meals and while Nathan went to bed I logged off. When I got back into the game Nathan was already awake and was almost through with the soup bowl before him.¡±I didn¡¯t know that the goddess children could disappear¡± he says to me when he notices me in the room. ¡±well we do, is there anything like a black market n the city¡± I ask.¡±No there isn¡¯t the nobles have stopped any attempt to make one in the city¡± he replies.¡±So is there a black market outside the city¡± I ask. ¡±yes just east of the city¡± Nathan answers.¡±Why didn¡¯t you tell me this since¡± I ask him with a frown on my face thinking of all the time we have wasted going around. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me about a black market¡°. We leave the city and walk into the forest just beyond the eastern gate of the city and find ourselves in a bustling market. This place is even more crowded than the market in the city and is filled with different races of elves with a lot of humans buying things. Moving to the first shop I see with weapons displayed I ask the dark elf manning the shop ¡°how much for that sword¡± pointing at a sword that gives off a green glow. ¡°Oh that my friend is a poison sword good for fighting and its poison is strong enough to kill a strong elf in about a minute¡± the dark elf replies. ¡°What of that large sword¡± I ask looking at a sword that is almost thirty cm in width.¡±ah yes the heavy sword, I am not sure you can use that but it¡¯s good for pummeling opponents to death and it had a fire stone embed in it so can give fire damage when used with mana¡± the elf answers. After going round the market I discover that most of the shops have similar sword and there are no blacksmiths around. Walking back to the first shop I pay the elf twenty gold coins for the poison sword and we head back into the city. ¡°My lord where do you want to go to next¡± Nathan asks when we enter the city that evening. ¡±Take me to the city library tomorrow for now stay in the Inn I am going to hunt monsters¡± I reply. ¡°Can you take me along¡± Nathan asks. ¡°you are not strong enough to fight monsters and have no weapon¡± I reply.¡±I wasn¡¯t talking about the hunt but f when you finally leave the city for good¡± he says looking at me.¡±Let me think about it¡± I say as I walk away from him. ¡°You have been quiet all day¡± I say to Tusker as I leave the city with the sun almost through with its descent into the horizon. ¡°That¡¯s because I have been working overtime here while you went looking for swords you don¡¯t need¡± he replies. ¡°What work were you doing¡± I ask. ¡°Remember that elf that wore dragon scales¡± Tusker says ¡°she specializes in killing dragons and is always hunting them or in this cases you because I felt someone trying to use magic to find you¡±. ¡±wow if that¡¯s so I need to leave this city quickly¡± I think to myself. ¡°What should I do about the young elf¡± I ask my companion.¡±Take him and mold him into the most loyal elf ever, who knows you can form a guild with him if layers don¡¯t work out for you¡± Tusker answers. Moving into the forest I pass people most likely players trying to level up hunting wolves and foxes, as I go deeper into the forest the amount of people reduce drastically. With my poison sword equipped and at my waist I hold a standard orc sword in my right hand as I make my way deeper into the forest. Walking up to a group of three female elves and a male elf I ask the male wearing armor looking a knight with a sword strapped to his waist and a shield on his back ¡°please is there a boss monster around here¡±. ¡°I am not sure but there are a lot of were animals farther in¡± he replies.¡±You can come with us if you want¡± a female elf wearing robes and holding a staff says to me. ¡°Jane stop inviting him we don¡¯t even know who he is¡± a female elf dressed like the male says to the elf with a staff.¡±Stacy stop being rude, besides the four of us are in the mid 70 levels so we can take care of ourselves¡± the last elf dressed in leather with a bow slung across her back says to the female knight.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°It¡¯s ok I don¡¯t want to follow you guys¡± I say to the group as I leave them moving farther into the forest. ¡°You should have killed them¡± Tusker says to me. ¡°Wow can you try to not be so bloodthirsty¡± I say smiling in the darkness of the forest. ¡°What can I say I am a dragon and I hate elves¡± Tusker replies.¡±I didn¡¯t hear you complaining about Nathan¡¯ I tease the dragon. ¡°That¡¯s because he is young and hasn¡¯t been introduced to their ways¡± Tusker says with a huff. ¡°we are being followed¡± Tusker says to me ten minutes later.¡±I know those elves are noisy¡± I reply as I listen to the faint foot falls around me. ¡°You can come out I know you are there¡± I yell. Seconds later the group from before emerge from the forest. ¡°Sorry about our behavior, lets team up for the hunt¡± Jane says. ¡°you can follow me but we are not hunting together¡± I reply coldly.¡±See I told you not to look for him¡± Stacy tells her friends. Flashing directly in front of her I grab her throat and lift her off the ground¡± don¡¯t try me I should kill you for disturbing me, I don¡¯t need your voice alerting the monster of our presence¡± I threaten in a low vice. Dropping her I leave as she tries to regain her breath, drawing her sword she takes a step towards me and stops when I flare the mana from my body into the surrounding making my body glow red as my clothes flap from the force rushing out of my body. ¡°Are you sure you can take me on, I am on level 84 just by level alone I am above you¡± I say to her. ¡°You sneaky liar you are on level 94¡± Tusker whispers in my mind. Hearing the gap in levels Stacy sheathes her sword in anger and stomps away from the group. It seems my show brought an audience because soon a group of three werewolves enters the small clearing we are standing in. Not waiting for the others I charge at the closest monster with my sword raised. The werewolf raised its claws to block the swing that came from below but the force I use in the swing pushes him off the ground.¡±Show me your strength¡± I yell at the werewolf as I jump up bringing my sword down on it. there is no chance to block for the monster as I cut it in two at its waist .dropping to the ground I look at the second werewolf that is keeping Jane and the archer are busy fighting while the knight is in a slug fest with the third werewolf. Running to the girls I say to them ¡°leave this one for me, go and help your friend¡±. Nodding at me they leave and within a minute the werewolves are dead. Just as we settle down a scream comes from within the forest.¡±Stacy¡± Jane yells as she takes off after the voice. ¡±Sarah we have to help them¡± the knight says to the archer.¡±I know that Stefan¡± she replies ¡°I know she is rude to you but your help will be welcomed¡±. ¡°One monster killed is five gold coins choose quickly¡± I say to Sarah. ¡°No problem¡± She answers. Running with Sarah in lead and Stefan in the rear we enter a large clearing. The first thing I notice is Stacy propped on a tree trunk with a her sword in pieces beside her .I can see why even her armor is in tatters as I look round the clearing and see Jane backed into a tree as she uses a mana shield to block the two were tigers attacking her. The bodies of two were tigers were on the floor. Seeing the new opponents one of the remaining monster let out a loud growl and in seconds there are were tigers entering the clearing. After a minute there are fifteen were tigers and it seems that is the extent of reinforcements here. ¡°Fifteen times five is 75 gold coins pay up front ¡°I say to Sarah as she shoots an arrow at one of the monsters. ¡°Please help promise to pay you¡± she pleads as the monsters have now noticed us and are running their meal. Sighing I raise a finger and point at the lead monster. ¡°Air bullet¡± I say in a bored tone as a condensed ball of air gathers at the pointed finger and moves at a high speed piercing the lead were tigers¡¯ head and the two behind him killing them instantly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you capture them and tame them¡± Tusker says to me. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea¡± I reply. This time I charge a bolt of lightning and shoot a monster but it burns him to a crisp killing him. ¡°too much mana output¡± I mutter as I charge another spell this time a I use earth magic erecting cells made of rock around ten of the were tigers .¡±I think you can take care of the remaining¡± I ask Sarah as my help has reduced the monsters. ¡°Yes we can thank you¡± She says as Stefan stabs his opponent through the heart making his kills excluding the first fight two. On the side Jane has impaled a weretiger in front of her with an earthen spear. Sitting down I push mana out of my body towards the ten cells and their prisoners. The act of sending living things to another dimension is stressful but I have enough experience from doing it to the orcs so using my mana to draw glyphs and sigils on the cells are easier though it takes more than half of my total mana.¡±What of the monsters in the earth prisons¡± Stefan asks as he sits beside me. ¡°They have been taken care of¡± I reply crumbling the cells as if I killed them and disintegrated their bodies. ¡°Now that has been taken care of pay up¡± I say to the group. Grumbling Stefan opens a pouch tied to his waist and pays me 65 gold coins. Pocketing the money I say to them as I leave them it was good doing business with you don¡¯t see you later¡±. Leaving them I spend three hours hunting all types of were animals but I don¡¯t come across one that can be labeled a boss or even a mini boss. Leaving the forest I make my way to the inn where Nathan is waiting for me ¡°we will be leaving this city tomorrow morning and if you ever betray me I will torture you till you can¡¯t even think straight¡± I tell him as I drop to the bed and log out. When I wake up in the real world it¡¯s already morning so I quickly bath and prepare for school. Honestly I could do without college but I need to feed myself and I can¡¯t do that by playing games. Reaching my school I attend classes but my mind is on the Blood Rose that is in the city. At least she has to be about level 190 to 200 for Tusker to caution me about her, if I am unfortunate she might even be in the mid two hundreds.¡±Hey, dude class is over¡± Ryan my only friend in this prison says to me bringing back my attention to the surroundings. ¡°So are you ready for Matt¡¯s party today¡± Ryan asks. ¡°No I have things to do¡± I answer as I get up from my seat and make my way home. Checking my mail I see a message from Leah asking where I was in the game. Typing a reply I tell her that I am about to leave Erin when I log in and ask if she has made contact with any recruits. Closing my laptop I eat a light lunch and wear my nerve gear entering the world of Terra Online. As I appear in the room I see that it¡¯s already close to noon but that doesn¡¯t bother me. ¡°You said we would leave by morning¡± Nathan says from his spot on his bed. ¡°Well you can leave if you can¡¯t wait for me¡± I say as I pick my back pack. ¡°No need I can wait¡± Nathan says as he follows me outside the Inn. Walking down the street I notice that the amount of people in the streets are small compared to yesterday but I don¡¯t see any other thing suspicious I grab Nathan¡± use another route to leave the city and head to the edge of the forest there, if I delay head to the mountains with this so I can track you¡± I say pushing a blue gem into his hands. I make my way to the gate on the east side of the city. As I am about to pass through the gates I sense something coming at me with speed and do a back flip as where I was moments ago explodes. Landing on my feet I see three elves coming into the city with staffs raised and pointed at me. All of the elves are from the group that rode in previously with the Blood elf. ¡±Michael for crimes against Elves and aiding dragons ¡°the elf in the middle yells. Casting fireballs I begin bombarding the elves blocking the way but before my spells can reach them a wall of water rises to quench them. ¡°This is bad¡¯ I say to myself as I unsheathe my poison sword and charge at them. Spells move past me as I close the distance between I and the elves dodging fireballs and the occasional lightning that is until an air bullet hits me in the shoulder breaking the bones in my left shoulder. ¡°No time for half measures release all were tigers¡± Tusker yells in my mind. Even though I haven¡¯t tamed the monsters I bank on the fact that they hunt elves and summon all of them buying me enough time to heal my shoulder. By the time I finish healing the last of the monsters falls with only one casualty on the other side. ¡°You are very resourceful for a human¡± a voice says behind me. Turning I see the npc that has been plaguing my mind for some time standing with someone I never expected to see with her.¡±Leah with are you doing with her¡± I ask the shock showing in my voice and am sure my face. chapter 9 ¡°Leah what are you doing here¡± I ask.¡±Leah so you know this filth¡± the blood elf says casually. ¡°Yes I met him once he was disguised and I wasn¡¯t as strong as I am now so I let him go¡± Lea replies. ¡°That lying elf¡± Tusker says in my mind with his rage showing clearly in the tone of his voice. ¡°So you are just going to sell me out like that¡± I say calmly. ¡°Yes for a hundred million I will sell even my mother¡± Leah says as she draws her sword. ¡°Let¡¯s do this¡± I say to my dragon partner.¡±Try not to die¡± he replies as a dragon made entirely of fire appears beside me and charges at the blood elf. Meanwhile the two elves at the city gate begin running at me. The first elf swings his sword in a straight line from above. Side stepping the strike I thrust my sword into his chest using his body as a shield to block the second elf that shoots a spike made of ice at me. ¡°Into mud¡± I whisper as I push the now dead elf off my sword. The sudden change of the solid ground into mud disrupts whatever spell the elf was preparing giving me the split second I need to throw my sword at her. The thrown sword is dodged by the elf as she rolled in the mud. The moment she gets up I am hit with a barrage of ice spikes. ¡°Earth wall¡± I yell quickly creating a wall to block the spells .that¡¯s until the wall explodes into pieces. ¡±damn elf¡± I whisper as now my opponent has switched to fire spells. Running in a zigzag pattern I manage to evade the incoming fireballs that have the size of a small shield. With no sword equipped I need to distract the elf for some time so I summon an earth golem that looks like a snake. ¡°Attack the elf¡± I order as soon as it materializes. Quickly I equip a sword with I stab into the ground then I equip a bow and a quiver filled with arrows. While the elf is distracted with the snake summon I empty the quiver shooting at her. Most of the arrows hit the snake and fall to the ground but three of the arrows reach their target leaving the elf with two arrows in the chest and one in the leg. Grabbing my sword I flash over to where the elf is still trying to battle with the snake and behead her in one strike. ¡°Nice and clean¡± I mutter as the head rolls on the ground. Looking at Tuskers fight I see there are players and npcs have joined the fight against him. Inhaling i know at any time Tusker can disappear and enter me so I make my way to the gate only for the arch of the gate to collapse. ¡°You have to be kidding me¡± I shout in anger. ¡°you didn¡¯t think I would let you go after all the stress I went through to find you now did you¡± the voice of the blood elf echoes around me.¡±Michael run¡± Tuskers voice yells in my mind as Leah equips a freaking bazooka and points it at me. Seeing the monstrosity I flash all around the place as she shoots missiles at me barely missing .ROAR the sound of Tusker growling in pain fills the area as I watch his temporary form being pierced by hundred of ice spikes. ¡°The human is mine¡± the blood elf yells out as Tuskers form disappears and I hear a faint voice in my head saying ¡°I am sorry¡± .Rage at Tuskers clouds my mind as I yell ¡°age of destruction heed the call of your servant and bring forth your darkness to consume my enemies take this offering as my tribute to you oh holy one¡±. At the end of the spell the clouds that were clear seconds ago turn dark and after five seconds the cloud covers the whole city of Erin releasing lightning bolts into the streets of the city killing players and npcs by the dozens. ¡°Wow so you can use black magic¡± the blood elf says without a hint of fear in her voice at the power of my strongest spell. The spell I am using makes me feel stronger at the cost of all my mana and even the book where I saw t cautioned against using the spell as it also draws the life force of the caster but right now I only care about killing the blood elf and Leah who stands next to her in the chaos my spell creates. Flashing towards Leah at twice my normal speed I appear behind her with my swing already in motion. Clang the sound of swords clashing resonates in my ears as I watch the force of my swing push Leah into a wall creating a human sized in print in the wall she crashes into. ¡°Good but can you keep up with me¡± a voice says behind me as I and grabbed and slammed into the ground making a small crater. I ignore the pain that spreads around my back and open my mouth releasing a large burst of fire at the elf that is standing over my body. Jumping away from me she manages to avoid most of the flames although her armor is now in looking worse for wear. Standing up I am about to charge at the blood elf when I feel a pin prick on my left shoulder. Turning my head I see a sword going through the shoulder and the wielder of the sword is a Leah that has definitely seen better days with part of her eye swollen shut and blood dripping from her mouth. ¡°Leave me alone you insect¡± I roar as I swipe a hand coated in lightning effectively beheading Leah and cauterizing the wound on her neck. ¡°You will pay for killing her¡± the blood elf screams at me. Smiling at her I charge at her only for her to disappear. ¡°Where did she go¡± I think out loud. ¡°nowhere and everywhere¡± a voice says as I feel my body being cut at different angles with a speed my enhanced body can never hope to reach for now. With a roar that I would later find out that sounds like a dragon I release a large amount of lightning in every direction and me as the center of the blast. Ah! The sound of someone screaming in pain clues me in on the opponent¡¯s location and I unleash a large gush of electrified water in that direction forcing the blood elf to appear. Looking at the elf that had seemed so confident some seconds ago I laugh out loud at the sight of her trembling on the ground. Walking to her I stand over the body and raise my fist in the air gathering all the available mana from Tusker I coat the fist in fire and lightning a sure kill for most monsters and punch a hole through the remaining armor creating a small mushroom cloud.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. When the dust clears I see only splatters of blood from my punch in the large crater. Looking around I notice more than half of the city is now in ruins. Taking a step I make my way out of the crater coughing out large amounts of blood that I clean with the rag that was the clothes I was wearing before the fight. ¡°Halt in the name of the king, move another step and you shall be attacked¡± a voice yells before I make my way out of the crater. Raising my head I see that the crater is now surrounded by elves in robes and armor. Ignoring the voice I continue walking only for the sight of arrows, spells of different colors and sizes coming at me. ¡°Oh shit¡± I think to myself as my vision goes dark and a white screen appears in front of me. ¡°You are dead; you can log in 24 hours from now at your last safe zone¡±. After five seconds in the dark I am forcefully logged out and the sight of my bed room greets me in the real world. Michael 24 hours of not being able to log in, what do these guys expect me to do during this time I think to myself? ¡°Might as well check the game forums¡± I mutter as I sit at my reading table and open the game forum. There was news about a subjugation of orcs in the human lands, guess the monsters ate someone important. Also there was news of a civil war in the dwarf continent while in the elf lands there was a war going on between two kingdoms over territory. After a page a comment caught my attention ¡¯check out this cool fight¡¯ the post had a link and already had half a million views .clicking on the link I am redirected to a third person view of my fight with the elves . It seemed a player around the gates had filmed the fight from when I charged the first set of elves until when I was killed .most of the comments were from people asking who I was and if I could join their guild. ¡°Yeah right join a guild and get stabbed in the back again¡± I think out loud .it would e better to hang around npcs though they also want my head now more than ever after killing their icon. That¡¯s when it hit me, the dragons had told me to meet with the lizard men as they the dragons were like gods unto the less evolved lizard man monster. Now to find where these lizards are, I think. Going back to the game forum I click on the search button and look for any posts about lizard men. Fifty results came out twenty of them were about successful subjugations in the elf continent ¡¯seems like the elf hate for dragons split over¡¯ I chuckle as I read it. ten are in the dwarf continent while twenty are in the human continent and the remaining ten were about the locations of the few known lizard villages with raids planned on two of them this week. Finally I can log back in after wasting precious time wearing my gear I quickly log in and find myself in a familiar cave .just like when I slept that zombie girl and her sister. Quickly I check my status to see if there is any change from dying and there isn¡¯t although my level only increase by one so I think if they had killed me before I finished off the blood elf I might have lost levels but instead the levels I gained were just taken back. ¡°Thank the gods you are back¡± a voice echoes in my head.¡±Tusker your alive¡± I say with a smile showing on my face. ¡°Of course I am alive, that is until you die the third time and we leave this world for good¡± he replies in a dry tone. ¡°Good it¡¯s time to visit the lizard men in the human continent¡± I say as I open my inventory and see I am thirty gold coins and some weapons poorer than before I died. ¡°Is that a good idea because I don¡¯t think the humans probably haven¡¯t forgotten your adventures over there¡± Tusker says with concern.¡±Don¡¯t worry as long as I don¡¯t face anybody stronger than the blood elf in a city where they can have reinforcements I will be fine, probably, most likely¡± I reply with a shrug and make my way to the entrance of the cave. Opening my map I see that the port I can in is now showing along with Erin and that god forsaken field .Boosting my legs I race until I don¡¯t have any mana which takes six hours, six hours of watching the landscape pass by and occasionally blasting people out of my way on the road. With a short rest of thirty minutes I am able to continue the journey and after a total of ten hours of running I reach the port city .cutting my mana I make my way to the ship harbor where there are elves off loading cargo and some loading fresh cargo into a ship.¡±I want to buy a travel ticket to the human continent¡± I tell the first elf I meet. ¡°you¡¯re in luck this ship is leaving to that destination in the next four hours all you have to do is pay me ten gold coins for your ticket¡± the elf replies. ¡°Ok, just know if you try to do any funny business you will die¡± I reply as I open the pouch at my waist. ¡±Ah well you see I am just one of the people loading if its travelling with the ship you want then it¡¯s the captain you will be needing to speak with¡± the elf stammers. ¡°And how do I know who is the captain¡± I ask.¡±It¡¯s a female elf blonde hair with a scar on her face so, check the ship she should be on board¡± he answers. ¡°It¡¯s nice talking with you¡± I tell the elf leaving him to continue his work. ¡°let¡¯s see this captain¡± I say to Tusker .climbing aboard the ship is see a lot of rough looking elves running around the ship doing things I think are preparation for the voyage. There is an elf which matches the description I was given and I walk to her whilst dodging all the running elves.¡±What do you want¡± she yells at me. ¡°I heard this ship is heading to the human continent, I want to pay you to take me there¡± I answer. ¡°Sorry but we only carry cargo and I don¡¯t want any filthy human on my ship¡± she sneers at me. Hearing this I sigh ¡°have you heard what happened to Erin and about the death of the Blood Rose¡± I ask?¡±Yeah so what¡± she asks with a huff of annoyance. ¡°That was my work¡± I tell the elf. ¡°Now I could kill you and leave this place before people even notice so I am using your ship regardless of it¡¯s a merchant ship or a pirate ship¡±. ¡°In that case welcome to my ship the journey should last about two weeks as we stop at some islands to resupply and sell some things¡± she says to me.¡±Hook, I want you to lead this man to one of the fancy rooms or better yet give him my room I will use the fancy room¡± she yells out and an elf walks up to us. ¡°Please follow me to your room¡± he says. Following Hook I am led to a room with some decorations on the wall and a fluffy looking bed.¡±I will be transferring her things¡± Hook says once I sit on the bed. With two boxes are pulled from the cupboard where I spy black clothes hanging. After ten minutes the boxes are taken away and before I can close the door a hand holds the door from closing totally. Opening the door I see the captain standing there, ¡°may I know your name¡± she asks as she stands at the door probably out of fear.¡±I didn¡¯t get your and isn¡¯t it custom to give your name first before ask the other person¡± I retort. ¡±ok my name is June¡± she replies.¡±I am called Michael¡± I say as I try to close the door again. ¡°If you need any company I can be of service¡± she says lick her lips in what is supposed to be a seductive act. ¡°Sorry but I don¡¯t do Npcs¡± I say as I slam the door narrowly avoiding her fingers. Once I am certain she won¡¯t knock on the door I move to the bed sitting on it in a stance I saw a Buddha statue in online and begin to meditate. After what feels like mutes I find myself above of a small town with what looks like an even share of stone and wooden houses. ¡°Welcome to residence of your mana¡± a voice says beside me. Turning to the voice I see a dragon identical to Tusker except now he doesn¡¯t have wounds all over. ¡°Yes I am tusker and this town is the spiritual representation of how large your mana pool currently is¡± the dragon says. ¡°So what am I doing here¡± I ask nervously. ¡°You are here to evolve¡± he replies. chapter 10 ¡°So how do we do this evolution stuff¡± I ask. ¡°Just relax and think of a city the houses, the castle that houses the lord of the city and most importantly the walls of the city that protect¡± Tusker says. As I imagine the things I begin to feel drowsy, and an itching feeling begins all over my body. ¡°Try not to sleep as long as you can¡± Tusker says in a calm voice. Following the instruction I stave of sleeping for what feels like a minute until I can¡¯t and the world goes black. When I wake up the itching feeling is gone and I am back in my room aboard the ship. ¡°That was intense¡± I say as I wipe my head only to feel something on my skin. Looking at my hand I see that it is covered in tiny red scales that feel just like my skin. My nails now are talons as my fingers have been transformed into claws. ¡°This is the most you can transform into as you slept before you could finish the process¡± Tusker says in my mind. ¡°Now you have t wait for another major event probably your second death before you can further transform into a dragon. ¡°Can I change back into a human¡± I ask. ¡°Not until the transformation is complete so for now no¡± Tusker replies.¡±I didn¡¯t grow horns right¡± I ask. ¡°No but you will in time¡± he replies. ¡°Later I need to rest¡±. With that the voice in my mind goes quiet. With nothing to do I get used to the new look. Claws that can dig a hole into wood just by pressing my finger into it¡± I could get used to this¡± I say to myself.¡±Mr. Michael supper is ready¡± a voice calls outside my room. Casting illusion magic I receive the tray of food from the elf at my door. For days I focus on increasing my mana points as if I had enough I might have escaped after killing the blood rose. Standing on the deck I watch as another ship gets closer to us and when we are side by side some goods are transported from ship to ship then we leave. The transaction happens six times on the journey and the island she wanted us to stop on was uninhabited though we left some things there as we left. Finally we have reached the human continent, docking at the nearest port I leave my room and make my way to the deck where once again the captain is yelling at her crew members. ¡°Until we meet again¡± I said to the captain as I leave. ¡°Time to find these guys before they are wiped out¡± Tusker says to me. Bringing up the map I see that the nearest known sighting of lizard men is .five hours east is the forest of Night on the map that¡¯s the closest place .leaving the port city before anybody can notice my illusion I follow the road till it is parallel to the forest then I leave it. ¡°How to find monsters¡± I wonder out loud .usually a player just moves around a d attacks anything he sees but since I don¡¯t want to anger the local population I just can¡¯t attack anything I see. ¡°This is more stressful than I thought¡± I tell tusker. Boom! The sound of explosion rocks the forest somewhere to the south of where I am. Running towards the sound I see a sight that seemed to be mocking me. Hundreds of humans are storming a wooden wall that is being defended by lizard men .walking to towards the humans I see some wagons that are been tended by an old man and a young boy. ¡°Excuse me, what kingdom am I in¡± I ask. ¡°Young man this forest is in the kingdom of Fenalis¡± the old man replies.¡±Ok and are there children of the goddess around here¡± I inquire. ¡°Yes though none of them can be compared to the commander Arthur and his sister Morgana who are heroes of the kingdom¡± the man comments with pride. ¡°That¡¯s a pity¡± I say with a smile as I remember the siblings that imprisoned me weeks back. ¡°Why do you say so¡± the old man asks. ¡°They are about to die for the second time¡± I say as I drop the illusion on my hand and pierce his chest then I pull out his heart. The teen beside him is paralyzed with fear as I drop the illusion revealing my new form. ¡°Monster¡± the ten stutters as he tries to walk backwards. ¡°Indeed I am a monster¡± I say as I swipe my claws at his throat and watch the fountain of blood that erupts from his throat. ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can breathe fire without using mana¡± I whisper as I inhale deeply thinking of a dragon fiery breath and exhale. The burst of fire that comes out incinerates the rear of the human force attacking the town. ¡°Behind us¡± a soldier yells as I grab the shoulder of the nearest person to me with my left hand and with my right hand holding his sword arm I rip the arm from his body with pure strength. Picking the sword I ask tusker¡± how many are here¡±. ¡°About five hundred or so¡± he replies. ¡°Take care if the soldiers I have some friends to see¡± I tell Tusker as he materializes as a dragon made entirely of fire. Charging into the mass of soldiers Tusker burns anything that gets close to him as he moves. ¡°First let¡¯s get me some dead mages¡± I whisper as I use the spell lightning step to teleport and appear in the midst of several robed persons.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Hello, time to die¡± I say to the mages as I begin killing them. ¡°Even as there isn¡¯t anything similar to classes like other games the players still play like they have classes with mages boosting their intelligence stat mostly¡± I think to myself as I behead a mage and dodge the ice spike fired by another. Concentrating on the ground around me I pour mana into it and spikes erupt from under the mages killing most of them. Suddenly a fireball hits my back but the pain is like an insect bite, something I can ignore. ¡°Wow these scales are not just for show¡± I think as I shoot a burst of lightning at the mage responsible for the fireball. ¡°Rush him, don¡¯t give him time to rest¡± a familiar voice yells. ¡°Grabbing one of the mages I use her as a meat shield against the ice spikes that are coming my way. Tossing her dead body at her colleagues I jump into the sky and release a dragon breath at the mages Looking around as I fall I see that the soldiers that had entered the town have been forced to retreat as I have disturbed their cover fire and Tusker is destroying those outside. ¡°Arthur come out don¡¯t make me chase you¡± I yell at the disarrayed soldiers. The soldiers part to reveal a knight riding a horse. The armor of the knight is amazing; with a white chest plate decorated with an eagle and other parts of the armor emitting a faint glow. ¡°How do you know my name monster¡± he asks. ¡°Ah, so you have forgotten me¡± I sigh. Teleporting to his spot I plunge my hand into the flank of his horse forcing him to jump off before the horse fall downs. ¡°I mean I killed you after all but you still forget me that am just a shame¡± I tell him when he unsheathes his sword. ¡°Michael so you are now a monster¡± a voice says. Turning to the voice I see Arthur¡¯s sister Morgana walking towards her brother. ¡°How did you get like this¡± Arthur asks me. ¡°Ask me again after kill you¡± I yell. ¡°Tusker, if you would burn everything in sight it will be very much appreciated¡± I yell as the dragon that was in active becomes more destructive leaving me to face the two commanders alone. Michael Rushing at Arthur I slash at him with my claws. Raising his sword he blocks the slash but the force behind it pushes him away. ¡°Such brute strength¡± Arthur says in wonder as a fireball hits my back. Looking around I see Morgana chanting for another spell. Inhaling a deep breath, I exhale a burst of flame at Morgana just as she finishes her incantation. The fire meets with a barrage of ice spikes and mist forms covering the area around us. Around us I can hear the screams of soldiers as Tusker kills them in dozens. Opening my inventory I equip an orc axe I had picked up before. Casting a wind spell the mist is blown away and I can see that the siblings are now together. Heaving the battle axe I charge at the siblings dodging the occasional fireball and ice spike .just before I reach them I throw the axe at Arthur forcing him to duck. Seizing the chance given I move to Morgana before she can retreat. ¡°Wrath of the lightning king¡± I whisper as my body begins to glow. This was one of the spells I learnt at the abandoned house but the mana I had until now was not enough to use the spell. The lightning gathered in my body shoots at Morgana at close range changing into the head of a dragon as it hit her head on. As I watch her body spasm from the shock I feel a pain in my shoulder. Looking at the shoulder I see a sword half way into my body stopped only by the strong scales I now have. ¡°Holy light¡± the owner of the sword Arthur yells as the sword begins to glow and the pain increases as the sword burns my muscles and flesh. Grabbing the sword I ignore the burning pain on my palms as I wretch the sword out of his grasp.wih a back handed slap that pushes Arthur some meters away I turn back to his sister who is trying her best to stand up even with her body still receiving small aftershocks. ¡°Time to deal with you¡± I whisper. Watching out for any sign of an attack I walk up to her, Arthur¡¯s sword in hand. ¡°You are just very unlucky o meet me today¡± I say to her as I behead her with one swing of the sword. Acting on instinct I move to the side as a sword almost as big as me strikes where I was standing previously. ¡°Wow that would have killed me¡± I think to myself as I look at the split in the ground the sword made on impact. The user of the sword is a human probably a player wearing brown clothes with no piece of armor on his body.¡±I didn¡¯t know a boss level monster would be here but I am glad I came¡± the person yells as he swings his large sword at me. ¡°Who do you think you are calling an npc¡± I ask the swordsman as I dodge his swings. ¡°Razor, leave him this is my fight¡± Arthur says as he too tries chopping me into two with is new glowing sword. ¡°Sorry but I need the exp to level up and he might drop good loot¡± the swordsman says dismissing Arthur. Seeing that he was ignored Arthur charges at me with a overhead strike which I block with the sword I collected from him. ¡°Sorry Mr. Swordsman I am not an npc but I have a quarrel with Arthur here¡± I say as I parry Arthur¡¯s sword towards him forcing him to retreat a bit. ¡°Oh so you are player¡± the swordsman asks stopping mid swing .taking the chance I cast quicksand on the ground below him. As he struggles with the sinking ground I dive at him piercing his heart with my claws. ¡®At the end he was all brute strength and no sense¡¯ I think to myself as he dies. ¡°Now we can continue our fun¡± I say to Arthur as I notice the amount of soldiers is less than fifty. Gritting his teeth Arthur raises a horn at his hip and blows it. The soldiers hearing this sound begin to retreat as fast as they can. ¡°You are not going to escape me¡± I yell as Arthur runs towards his men. Looking around I notice Tusker has gone back into me. ¡°Do you know any spell to kill all of them in one shot before they scatter into the forest¡± I ask him.¡±I do but I doubt if you are strong enough for the spell to work. ¡°Don¡¯t bother just give it to me¡± I yell as Arthur is almost at the edge of the surrounding forest. Then chant for the spell flashes in front of me and I read them out. ¡°Falling star prince of the cosmos I ask for your aid send forth your arm and scatter my enemies with meteor shower¡± I chant. As I finish the spell I can feel all my mana drain and I cough out large blobs of blood. The sky is covered with three large meteorites the size of a truck within seconds they crash on the soldiers killing everyone including Arthur whose death brings a smile to my face even as I lose consciousness. chapter 11 Nathan Walking around the city I feel lost. The only person that had treated me well was just killed in front of me and everyone is celebrating it. Walking around the city I feel a hand drag me into an alley on the side of the road. ¡°Quickly knock him out¡± a voice yells in the darkness before I lose consciousness. When I wake up I am in a room filled with elven children. ¡°Where am I¡± I ask the nearest person. ¡°We are on our way to the human continent¡± the girl replies as she hugs her legs closer. ¡°How come I don¡¯t remember going on a ship¡± I say to her. ¡°We were kidnapped and are going to be sold to the humans¡± another child a boy who has dried blood on his blonde hair says. ¡°Elves selling their kin to humans¡± I mumble. ¡°The whole world should just burn¡± I think as I begin to cry. The door of the room opens to reveal three men with swords on their waist ¡°keep quiet you worm¡± one of the human yells at me as he lifts me by my collar. Pulling the dagger on his waist I plunge it into his heart three times before his friends can stop me. One of them unsheathes his sword to kill me when the other holds his hand ¡°stop he will come back but if you kill this elf his death is for nothing, we sell him to one of those special lords¡± he says with a smile that tells me I won¡¯t like these lords he is talking about. Sheathing his sword they lift the body and take it outside locking the door behind them. ¡°That was very stupid of you¡± the girl from before says. ¡°Well what is done is done¡± I tell her as I find a spot on the floor to lay my head before falling asleep. The time I have spent in this room seems like years. Sometimes the humans come into the room with a bucket filled with a soup like meal made of only potatoes and even if they tasted like dirt all of us here rushed the bucket like it held the banquets of kings. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have killed one of them¡± the elf whose name I found out was Trina told me as we waited for our next feeding.¡± I don¡¯t care at least I killed one of them¡± I reply as I adjust my leg to allow blood flow through it. ¡°They might sell you to one of the houses that treat elves as objects for their pleasure¡± Trina tells me. ¡°They can sell me but one day I will gain my freedom and have my revenge on them¡± I reply thinking of my brief stay with the human who treated me well. ¡°Hey shut up some of us are trying to sleep here¡± one o the captured elves yells from further in the room. ¡°Shove it Drew¡± I yell back. Among the elves some of them had tried to bully me during meal times but I had quickly used what I learnt on the streets of Erin to dissuade them from more attempts. Drew was one of those who had tried the first time but now even as he was still trying to see if he could bully me but now it was more like friendly banter between the two of us. ¡°Wonder when we will get to wherever we are sailing to¡± Steve a small elf with red hair that is rare among elves asks. ¡°Suddenly the door to the room opens and the humans enter the room this time the bucket is missing. ¡°Line up quickly it¡¯s time to meet your potential owners. Igneel ¡°He has reached the first stage of evolution soon the old days will be upon us¡± I tell the dragon before me. ¡°Some of the conclaves disapprove of you giving him the soul¡± Salazar says to his king as they fly in the sky watching the peaks of mountains pass. ¡°Let them complain, if they are tired they can try to challenge me¡± I reply. ¡°Is there any lead on the elves that are responsible for tusker¡¯s capture. ¡°No but they will move again and this time we will be ready, the patrols have been doubled and all little ones have been moved deeper into the lands¡± Salazar answers.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Good now we wait for the one I have chosen to fulfill his fate¡± I say as I watch a herd of deer run on the grasslands. Unknown ¡°What happened there¡± a voice says in a dark cave. ¡°There was a human there and some dragons even appeared¡± an elf kneeling in the cave replies. ¡°What of our people in the city¡± the voice asks again. ¡°They are ready to move¡± the elf says. ¡°Good then let our conquest of Erin begin¡± the voice says. Standing up the elf reveals golden eyes of Leah as she smirks at the man on the throne before her. Michael When I came to, the sight of a wooden ceiling showed me that I was in a wooden house and the lack of restraints assured me that I was not captured by an enemy.¡±I see you have awakened¡± a voice says from the shadowed part of the room. ¡°Who is there¡± I ask preparing to attack if there is need to protect myself. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I am not your enemy¡± the voice says as a lizard man emerges from the shadows. The lizard man was slim but one could say he was all muscle with no atom of fat on it. Wearing a green tunic that went against its brown scales I watched as the lizard man came closer to me .the trousers that had two swords at its waist. ¡°where am I¡± I ask the lizard man.¡± My name is Mina and this is the village of the forest lizard men¡± the monster replies. Hearing the name I now notice the bulges on the chest that show a bit of feminine characteristics.¡±I need to speak with your chief¡± I say standing up from the bed. ¡°You are speaking to the chief of this village¡± Mina replies. ¡°Ok¡± I say in shock.¡±I was sent by the dragons in the elven continent to unite the lizard men and save them from destruction¡± I lie.¡±Hmm, where were the dragons when other villages where been attacked and years ago when we were almost brought to extinction¡± Mina asks in anger. ¡°look they have their own problems if this continent didn¡¯t favor you guys you could have moved closer to them but that didn¡¯t happen¡± I say ¡°if you want my help tell me so I can look for the other villages before they are destroyed¡±. ¡°We will accept your help but know that I am the one in charge¡¯ Mina says as she leaves the room and a pop up window appears. Quest: join the lizard men Description: get the lizard men to allow you to join their ranks before they are wiped out from the face of terra by other species. Level: B Rewards: raised intimacy with lizard men .you have leveled up x4. ¡®Ah the famous box that has been absent in my life due to me running around on my own needs¡¯ I think to myself ¡®now if I can get them to follow my lead that would be great¡¯. Leaving the room I emerge from a house to see that the town for the monsters is very similar to those human npcs use. Walking around the town I meet different lizard men from hatchlings that are chasing each other to some that are selling this. After meeting one of these merchants I find out that the method of payment is a form of trade by barter system where the two parties have to agree on the things or services exchanged. Going back to the house I woke in I rest on the bed as I log out. Arthur ¡®I can¡¯t believe it that guy killed me again¡¯ I think as I sip the juice in my lunch box.¡±Hey guys have you seen the fight at Erin in the elven continent¡± James my best friend says as he sits on the chair opposite I and my sister as we eat our lunch in the cafeteria. Grabbing his holo pad I watch the fight a player had recorded between a human and a group of elves.¡±I have to say he is brave, fighting elves on their home ground¡± James comments. ¡°The human looks familiar¡± Morgana says. ¡°That¡¯s because we know him¡± I yell in anger as I see the face of the player as he stabs an elf. ¡°That¡¯s the guy that killed us the first and second time¡± I tell my sister. ¡°wow you have died twice already¡± James says as he begins to laugh at us. ¡°Just hope you don¡¯t meet him because then it would be me laughing at you¡± I tell him with a frown on my face. ¡®this time I will use all my money and influence to hunt you down¡¯ I think as I watch the fight till it reaches where he dies. The lizard town isn¡¯t so bad when I think about it, I mean I can¡¯t hunt them for exp but any other monster is game.¡±Michael, I have a quest for you¡± the village chief says Mina says to me. ¡°What is it¡± I ask the female npc.¡¯I have to leave this place soon and search for other settlements¡¯ I think to myself. ¡°There have been a lack of communication between our brothers and sister across this continent, I want you to go find the six towns and inform their leaders that a meeting will take place at the old nesting grounds¡± mina says. The notification window pops up for the quest as soon as she finishes. Quest: message to the leaders. Rank: B Rewards: gain favor with the lizard race. ¡°I will need a map of where the other settlements are located¡± I tell Mina. ¡°Here it is the map has only one town, when you reach there the chief there will give you a map to the other town¡± she tells me as I unroll the map that has only one town located on it. ¡°When can I leave¡± I ask. ¡°As soon as possible¡± she replies. Nodding at her answer I go round the village, buying anything I might need like bandages and arrows.¡¯ I am definitely not going miss this place¡¯ I think to myself as I walk past the gates of the town. chapter 12 Leah ¡°When are we moving out¡± I ask the elf sitting beside me. ¡±soon, the plans are almost complete¡± he replies.¡±I can¡¯t wait to finish this game and claim the cash prize¡± another male elf says as he sharpens his sword on a whetstone. ¡°Max you have a long time before we can even start thinking about the money, remember we have four gods to kill and who knows the stats that they will have¡± I sigh ¡°or what do you think Jack¡±. ¡°we might lose have of the members of the guild before we even take down one of the gods not to mention taking down all of them and even killing other players that gain the stats of gods¡± jack comments. ¡°Whatever we are getting that cash even if it takes three years to do it¡± Max says as he sheathes his sword. ¡±let¡¯s go before I get frost bite¡± Max announces as we continue our journey into the frozen north of the elven continent. ¡°Why are we even here¡± Max asks as he pulls his cloak tighter on his body. ¡°Didn¡¯t you listen to anything the leader said before we left¡±? ¡°There is a myth that one of the fallen gods had a temple in the north though we are just here to scout out the place¡± jack answers. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I am on the same team with this idiot¡± I complain. ¡°At least you are not living with him in the real world too, sometimes I pity Martha for dating a dumb guy like my brother¡± Jack says as we walk a little ahead of our teammate. ¡°Duck¡± Max yells from behind as the air makes a whistle sound. Dropping to the ground I see a frozen axe pass where my neck was some moments ago .spring to my feet I turn to the direction from whence the axe came from to see three snowmen charging at us. ¡®wow a second late and I would be down another live in this game¡¯ I think to myself as I feel sweat rolling off my face even in the cold. Unlike the snow men we made back in the real world for Christmas that was fat, these one were muscular though their whole body is made of ice from the speed of the axe that passed these guys are no joke. ¡°Jack take the center, Max the left I will deal with the one on the right¡± I yell as the snow men get closer to us. ¡°Flames of the south burn them¡± I chant as I gather mana and release a large fire ball at my opponent. Seeing the incoming fireball the snow man counters with the equal of a ball made of ice and the two spells collide creating a small amount of mist that covers the area. Acting on instinct I move away from the mist only to see a spike made of ice erupts from the ground where I was standing before. ¡®that was too close¡¯ ,¡±northern wind clear the path for me¡± I chant as I use a wind spell to dispel the mist to reveal Max being pressed by the dual wielding snow man and Jack missing an arm as he tried frantically to deflect the blows of the axe wielding snow man. Roar! The sound of one of the snow men screaming shocks me back into battle in time to block a strike form above with my sword. ¡°Any help would be appreciated¡± Jack yells as I parry the thrust of the snow man and stab where a human would have his heart. Bending his head as if to ask ¡®is that it¡¯ the snow man gets hold of my sword as he swings his in a diagonal slash forcing me to leave my sword in his body. ¡°These guys are not dying¡± I yell as I watch the snow man remove the sword letting it drop to the ground. ¡°So you just found out¡± Max yells out. ¡°Why do you think we are about to be slaughtered¡± Jack yells as I move backwards trying to find any openings. ¡°These guys are made of ice so shouldn¡¯t a fire spell take care of them quickly¡± Jack asks as the trio is gradually herding us together. ¡±yeah right this one is a swordsman and a mage so any spell gets counter¡± I answer as I cast another fire spell this time a spell that shapes the fire into that of a horse that charges at the snow man. The spell hits a wall of ice that wasn¡¯t there when I cast my spell making me more frustrated. ¡°Let¡¯s switch opponents¡± Max suggest as we are now back to back.¡±I can¡¯t believe this but I agree with you¡± I say as we switch opponents and I fire off a large fire ball at the new opponent and watch as part of its arm is melted as a result of the spell. ¡°It¡¯s working, just keep the mage busy¡± I yell as I blast the snow man away with a wind fire combo. Moving to the second snow man I give Jack time to recover his breath as I bombard the snow man with fire spells and in ten seconds it¡¯s dead. ¡°Time for this snow man to die¡± I whisper as there is only monster left which is the mage. ¡°Lightning orb¡± I whisper as I throw a ball of electricity at the snow man that paralysis it for a few seconds that Max uses to behead it. ¡°Guys that was intense¡± Max says as I pick Jack¡¯s amputated arm. ¡°You are lucky you know enough magic to cauterize the injury or else you would have bled to death¡± I say to Jack as I hand him his arm. ¡°Well excuse me but some of us don¡¯t understand the use of magic in this game world like the npcs¡± he retorts as he takes the hand. ¡°Not to be rude but we have to leave this place¡± Max says stopping the argument before it can go far. ¡°What is it¡± I ask with a frown.¡±That¡¯s the problem¡± he answers as he points into the horizon. Looking at the direction he is pointing at I see a large amount of figures getting closer to our position. ¡°Eagle eye¡± I say as I cast the spell for enhanced vision. ¡°Wow that¡¯s an army of snowmen and a rather large army if I say so myself¡± I mutter as I see thousands of snow men marching with some of them carrying a banner that has a white palm on it. ¡°We have to return to base and let the leader know what¡¯s going on¡± I say to my teammates.¡± And what is going on¡± Max asks. ¡°It is a monster invasion¡± I answer. Michael Three towns and I am totally convinced that Mina is a rude monster. At the other towns once they saw my golden scales the members of the town treat me with the same respect they give the chief. Though with my lightning speed what would have taken a normal player at least two to three days was done in a day. ¡®The fact that some of the towns where close to each other and others where nothing but ashes helped¡¯ Tusker says in my mind as I walk beside the chief of the last town as we make our way to the so called nesting site. ¡°So what can you tell me about this world, because as a child of the eldest goddess I don¡¯t know much about this world¡± I ask the chief Igor. ¡°first of all there is eldest goddess some races call her the mother or the eldest but all religion even the evil ones agree that she made the world though she didn¡¯t populate it¡± Igor says. ¡°After the eldest are the gods and goddess of the different races¡±. ¡°Under these are the fallen those immortals that were banned from their brethren to stay on this world while their siblings reside in another realm¡±. ¡°so who is the god for dragons and lizard men¡± I ask. ¡°That Orion the golden, he was a fallen that is why the other races could bring our numbers down almost into extinction¡± Igor says with a sigh. ¡°So there will never be another god for our race¡± I ask smelling a clue to the end of this game. ¡°a normal person can become one of the fallen and then if he or she is strong enough to defeat one of the other gods then he will officially become a god though the only way to stop anyone from challenging you and killing your creations is to defeat all twenty gods and goddess¡± Igor finishes . ¡®Tusker do you know how to become one of the fallen¡¯ I ask the dragon in my mind.¡±Yes, it¡¯s rather simple all you have to do is absorb one of the souls of a fallen even if the fallen is on the verge of dying¡¯ he answers. ¡®Then why hasn¡¯t one of the past dragon kings not done that and raise the mantle of the dragon god once more¡¯ I ask. ¡®None of us has ever been born with the power to absorb a soul though it seems you have that power¡¯ he comments in a dry voice. ¡°Then my mission in this world will be to raise myself and become the god of dragons¡± I say out loud by mistake. ¡°That¡¯s a good goal though you are going to need comrades. Other children of the eldest to go far in your task¡± Igor comments as he walks ahead of me.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Nathan ¡°I hate humans¡± I whisper as I carry a tray with a bottle of wine on it to my so called master. ¡°that¡¯s to be expected you are an elf after all¡± the human slave carrying the meal for the owner of the house we are in says as we make our way to the dining room where the ruler of the region is having lunch with his family. ¡°That¡¯s not the reason, I hate elves too¡± I comment as I dodge one of the slaves hurrying around the corridor. ¡°So is there anyone whom you don¡¯t hate¡± the human Maki asks. As we reach the door of the dining room. ¡°For now no¡± I reply as I open the door and step into the room. ¡°ah there he is¡± the earl Joe says as we enter the room.¡±Mage Roan the elf carrying the wine is the one I was talking of¡± the Earl says as I notice the man in robes sitting beside him. ¡°Well he will do for the kind of things I want to test¡± the mage says in a voice that chills my spine. ¡°Little elf you are now a property of Mage roan over here as I have given you as a gift to him¡± the Earl says with a laugh. The same type of laugh he had when I had refused to play his game of cowering before him like all the other countless slaves he has. ¡°If he ever comes back I think he will prefer you to what I have in mind for him¡± the mage says in a cold voice. ¡°Elf leave and wait for me at the stables, I assume you know where they are¡± he asks. ¡°Yes sir, but I am not sure you know where they are¡± I reply. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I know where they are¡± he says with a sinister smile. Dropping the wine I leave the room with Maki in tow. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have made the master angry enough to sell you to a mage¡± Maki says once we are far away from the doors. ¡°don¡¯t worry I will be fine¡± I say trying to convince myself as well as the human beside me.¡±I doubt it as all the others that went to him before never came back the same¡± Maki says as she points at one of the slaves we have taken to calling drone as he never speaks. ¡°He did that¡± I ask as I watch drone walk by. ¡°yes and that¡¯s one of the better ones, some can¡¯t even function without an overseer with them others will work themselves to death if given the chance¡± Maki says as the reality of my situation brings a tear to my eyes that I quickly wipe with the sleeve of my shirt. Michael Because of the speed the message was delivered in the group I was with arrived three days before the meeting was to hold. With time on my hands, I wandered the nesting grounds that is in fact an abandoned fortress with the walls crumbling and the gate caved in. Most of the houses were in ruins with scorch marks on the sides of the building and bones in some houses though the bones are that of non human shapes. ¡°What do you think they are¡± I ask Tusker referring to the bones. ¡°Creatures long gone from this plane of existence¡± he replies.¡±Hmm can¡¯t wait for the meeting to finish¡± I mumble as I walk past the bones. After wandering around and killing the local monsters the time for the meeting had arrived. Sitting in a round table all the lizard chiefs five of them in total were at their chairs that looked to be made of polished wood as I stood behind Mina as the meeting commenced. ¡°So why have you called this meeting when the next meeting isn¡¯t for another ten years¡± Tajar chief of the towns asks. ¡°First of all I want you all to know that the humans have destroyed three of our sister towns¡± Mina says with a frown. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for the others but I feel that they were weak for a force made of humans to overcome them¡± Rosai the chief I disliked the most commented with a sneer. ¡°Don¡¯t say that even our ancestors the dragons could be killed by humans when they wielded magic and had numbers on their side¡± Igor says as Mina bangs her hand on the table in rage. ¡°I remember you town been pushed from your former home by goblins now compared to the fallen who is more pathetic¡± Alia another female chief roars as she unsheathes the sword at her hip. ¡°Please stop acting like animals¡± I say bringing all the attention on me. ¡°Who is this lizard man that you brought to a meeting for chiefs only¡± Talon the last chief asks as he rubs his snout with a golden feather. ¡°He was sent here by the dragons from the home land and I brought him here to meet with the souls of the fallen¡± Mina answers. ¡°how are we sure he isn¡¯t a human that has used illusion magic to fool you or is his golden scales to attractive for the Terror to think straight¡± Rosai says with a smile at Mina that tells a tale. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you believe or not I will do what I was told to and that was to make contact with their descendants of the dragons¡± I said to the group. ¡°If you can¡¯t help me I will report back to the dragons what has happened here¡± I say without a hint of emotion on my face. ¡°if he is lying the fallen will devour him we all know that so let¡¯s get this on the road¡± Alia says as she produces a bowl made of a material that looks like silver but Tusker corrects me as it is made of mithril the ore of elves. ¡°You all know what is needed¡± she says as she slits her wrist with a talon and catches the flowing blood in the cup. Passing the cup around the other chiefs add their blood to the mixture with the cup ending up with Alia. With the blood in the cup and her talon as a brush Alia begins to draw what looks like a pentagram with various symbols and characters on the inner and outer part of the two circles that circle the pentagram.¡±oh mighty creator a candidate for ascension has appeared judge him and if you see fit grant him the power to once more restore our race to its former glory as your enemies tremble in fear¡± she chanted. The more she repeated the chant the more the pentagram seemed to glow until I was sure that it was glowing with a steadily increasing golden light. Soon the light just before it was bright enough to blind us as it deemed and a golden door replaced the pentagram on the floor. The door was made of gold with some parts of it covered in a dark red material that looked similar to blood with pictures of dragons covering both parts of the door ¡°enter and be judged¡± the chiefs say in a voice that is nothing like how they talked some minutes ago ¡®they have been possessed by the creator to stop others from gaining information about the ritual from them¡¯ tusker says in my mind. Bracing myself I put my hand on the door to push only for it to open on its own to reveal a space that is void of light. ¡°Well here goes nothing¡± I say as I step through the door and the door closes behind me. Walking in the endless space I begin to feel tired as if something was draining me of my strength checking my mana city that represents my total mana I see it under attack by some giant worms that seem to be eating anything in sight. ¡°Tusker how do I fight here¡± I ask in panic as one of the worms begins to head to the palace in the city. ¡°this is a representation of your mind and the worms are a foreign body trying to devour you, all you have to do is imagine soldiers protecting the city and they will appear though they will only be as strong as you are now¡± he replies as another worm joins the first on its foray to the palace while their comrades eat the buildings. Remembering the look of the solders I have fought till now I focus on populating the city with foot soldiers and as soon as I complete the thought soldiers begin running out of the palace. Though there is a problem, ¡°arm them with weapon¡± Tusker screams as the first worm begins crushing the soldiers around it with its weight. Imagining the soldiers using swords and spears my troops begin to battle the worms in the city as more worms enter through the broken walls of the city. ¡°You have to plug the holes in the wall¡± Tusker advises as I watch one of the soldiers stab his spear into the mouth of the worm. Within minutes the worms are defeated and there are masons I created fixing the wall when a voice says ¡°first phase complete, starting second phase in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­starting up¡± As soon as the countdown ends I watch as a five large black gates open up in the void in front of my mana city. Once the gate materializes completely they open up to reveal dogs the size of horses with red eyes that glow and flames on the tips of their tails. ¡°Those are hellhounds¡± Tusker says as the hellhounds begin bombarding the partly fixed walls opening some parts. Directing most of the soldiers to the entry points I notice that the soldiers are constantly being created at the same rate my mana regenerates. ¡°Try creating mages mixed with soldiers¡± tusker suggests as the hellhounds barrel through the soldiers with ease. Following the advice people wearing robes with a golden dragon on their cloak running towards the hellhounds as fireballs and spikes of earth struck the hellhounds. The battle lasted for what seemed like hours with most of the edge city in ruins.¡±I don¡¯t know how many of these I can take¡± I sigh as the strain of regenerating mana and commanding the soldiers begin to take its toll on me. And so the phases continued with five minutes period of rest between each phase. Phase three were three headed dogs that were bigger than the hell hounds causing me to create cavalry. Phase four was difficult as the group had flying monsters that looked like a crossbreed between humans and birds. Phase five was a mix of the harpies of the previous round and the hellhounds. Phase 6 three hydras, luckily Tusker materialized and dealt with one while I fought the other and the soldiers kept the third one busy before Tusker and I took it apart. The last was the most annoying of the bunch, a phoenix that really lived up to its name of being a immortal bird as when it seemed to be on the brink of death it would shrug off its death like appearance like a worn out cloak and become as strong as it was when the fight began. The only saving grace was the fact that there was only one phoenix to deal with; also I noticed that the water spells of my mana creations affected it more than my lightning spells and brute force attacks with my sword did. After freezing the phoenix and shattering the remains the voice says in its robotic voice, ¡°all stages complete commencing fusion of fallen core with mana area of candidate¡±. With that sentence a pain that rivaled that I felt when I was torture at the start of the game spreads over me as I watch my mana city expand and become more populated as the walls become higher, thicker with trechubets manned at the towers that are growing out from the ground. The pain forces me to return to the real world where the void is now been replaced with the scene of hundreds of glowing orbs of different sizes and colors floating around me. ¡°What a strange creature, first a human, then a hybrid and soon to become something else¡± a voice says coming from one of the floating orbs. ¡°leave them alone they are not yours to fuse with¡± a voice that sounds like that of a grandfather says as two orbs float closer to me .the first orb is easily the largest orb in this place and the brightest too though the second orb seems to radiate something that makes a chill crawl up my spine. ¡°it¡¯s time to return what was lost¡± a voice says from the larger orb as the sound of dragons roaring fill the area and the two orbs enter my chest .with that I am teleported out of the area back to where the chief are still standing . chapter 13 With my exit the golden door vanishes and the chiefs recover their senses as the pentagram disappears from the ground and Alia stores the cup into a sack on the table. ¡°Welcome back, my lords¡± the chiefs say as they kneel on the ground with their heads touching the ground. ¡®Lords¡¯ I ask myself. ¡°They mean the both of us¡± a voice says beside me. Turning to the voice I see that there is now a small black dragon the size of a dog curled at my feet. ¡°Excuse me who are you¡± I ask as I have never seen that particular dragon before. ¡°After staying inside you all this while you can¡¯t even recognize me in another body¡± the dragon says with what I assume to be a sigh but sounds more like a growl to me. ¡°Tusker is that you¡± I ask in shock. ¡°How many souls have you kept in you that you mistake me for another¡± the dragon growls with wisps of smoke coming out from its nostrils. ¡°Ah sorry about that¡± I say as I bring up my player status Name: Michael Race: Dragon god (fallen) Level: 220 Title: fallen, mass murderer, creator of dragons Mana: 30000 Strength: 1250 Speed: 780 Agility: 600 Stamina: 1500 Luck: 120 Intelligence: 1200 Buffs: creator of dragons makes all reptile monsters breeding rate increase by 70% all around the world. Respect: humans= -900, elves=-710, dragons= max Seeing my new stats I am shocked to the bone. Just gaining the power of a fallen I gained more than seventy levels and my stats skyrocketed.¡±Hey Tusker what¡¯s up with this creator of dragons title I have now¡± I ask the dragon at my feet. ¡°The fallen that chose you was formerly known as Orin the creator the father of dragons¡± Tusker says as I feel a lot of mana coming, ¡®closer guess I will test my new powers now¡¯ I think to myself as I grin. Walking through the now bustling city I passed lizard men as they went about renovating the city. Every step I made through the city was filled with fury. Back in the real world just bombed a test and as if to laugh at me as soon as I logged back into the game I had a muscle cramp.¡±Tusker I need to go on a rampage¡± I tell my friend telepathically. ¡°Come outside the city I will be waiting¡± he replies. Even the lizard men around me notice something different in me as I seem to be giving off an aura. When I reach the city gates I see Tusker there in a smaller form as he watches crews of workers remove the remains of the goblin army that attacked before. ¡°Aren¡¯t they through with this¡± I ask as I reach the dragon. ¡°No, you made some of the leather they wore melt halfway into the ground¡± Tusker replies with a yawn. ¡°So what¡¯s got you so tensed¡± he asks. ¡°Other world stuff¡± I reply as I mount his back avoiding the many spikes that line it. Flying in the clouds for hours the sound of earth exploding reaches me and my partner up in the sky. ¡°Let¡¯s go down and see what¡¯s happening there¡± I tell Tusker. ¡°Probably some people fighting¡± Tusker says to me as he descends. The sight of people fighting greets us as we break the cloud. For miles around there are people fighting, with some places showing small craters that still smoke. ¡°This will do¡± I mutter as I watch the thousands of players and npc kill each other. ¡°Choose a part of the field and stick to it¡± I tell Tusker as I jump of his back and begin falling. Coating my body in lightning I hit the ground forming a hole in the ground as I blast the people there away killing some and incapacitating others. ¡°Thank you all for gathering here today for me to get exp¡± I yell at the stunned soldiers. ¡°Who the hell are you¡± one of the soldiers yells as he helps his comrade stand.¡±you don¡¯t need to know as you all will soon be dead¡± I reply as I move towards him in the blink of an eye.¡±I am the one who will rule this world¡± I whisper to the soldier as I plunge my hand into his chest retrieving his heart when I pull out my hand. ¡°Get him¡± a soldier wearing the same armor as the one I just killed yells as he raises his sword and charges at me. ¡°Attack¡± someone yells as the crowd goes into action. Grabbing the closest person to me I throw that person at the charging soldiers and this incites the other group in this war. ¡°Get this thing¡± they yell as they join their previous enemy to fight the new presence within their midst. ¡°Fireball¡± I whisper as a fireball the size of a football appears in my palm. Shooting at the people around me move through the crowd dodging swords and the occasional spell as I spam the fireball spell to the fullest. ¡°time to switch things up a bit¡± I yell as I coat my right arm in lightning with a long whip attached to the tip of my fingers doing the same to the left hand but this time with fire I whip anything brave enough to get into the range of my whips. ¡°Attack it, he can¡¯t keep using magic forever¡± someone from the crowd yells as I melt a soldier and his armor. ¡®That¡¯s the case for normal people but I don¡¯t think I can be classified as one now with my status as a fallen¡¯ I think to myself as I doge one of the ice spikes fired at me. Suddenly I feel as if my back has been hit with a bat, the force of the blow pushes me a few steps away. Turning back I see a large man wearing blue armor with a large hammer in which he drags on the floor.¡±oh so you only moved back, one of my blows kills the average man but since you are not a man I think I will see how many more you can handle¡± the man says as he lifts his hammer resting it on his shoulder. ¡°You are not worth my time¡± I say to the man as I create an earthen spike just under him impaling him before he can even notice anything. ¡°So you can use earth magic too¡± a voice says from my right. Looking for the voice I see another person that looks to be high level, with a leather armor that has drawings that seem to be enchantments and a staff in one hand while a short sword rests in the other hand this person looks the type the people would call a mage warrior.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Was he your friend ¡°I ask pointing at the now impaled man that used the hammer. ¡°No but I would have preferred if he died at my hand so I could get the exp but alas I will settle for you¡± the mage warrior replies. Walking to the hammer on the ground I notice the soldiers are backing away from me probably due to the way I just killed someone that had seemed to be at the pinnacle of strength to them. ¡°Good weapon¡± I say as I pick up the hammer. ¡°Come at me with your strongest attack¡± I tell the mage as I charge at him. ¡°Giants shield¡± the mage yells out before I reach him conjuring a metal shield that is seven feet tall. Raising the hammer I slam it on the shield using my full strength destroying both the shield and the hammer in the resulting strike. ¡°Flames of hell¡± the mage yells as the shield comes down. ¡±glacial hand¡± I counter as the dark fireball that is about to leave his hand becomes a ball of ice. ¡°Is this the best you can do¡± I ask as I punch the mage and he tries to block with his staff only for my hand to break through it hitting his chest. My punch carries the mage some meters away where he is killed by soldiers. ¡°Wow all that claim of strength and he is killed by normal foot soldiers what a waste¡± I say as I plunge into the soldiers ranks again causing mayhem. Elsewhere ¡°Are you watching this John¡± a woman says as the entire MMTV crew watch from the feed of their online reporter as a figure falls from the back of a dragon and begins killing everything in view. ¡°Right now there was the chance that the Crimson falcon guild might have won this war but with the new factor killing both sides I don¡¯t think we are going to have we winner today¡± the female co host says. ¡°Well I don¡¯t know about winning this war Kim, but the human continent is the worst place to be now¡± John says as the watch the figure blast large amounts of soldiers to their deaths. ¡°What do you mean by that¡± Kim asks. ¡°We have a dragon riding player or npc who can destroy a city with the wave of a hand, the dwarves have started their attack on the human continent even mist of the dark guilds have begun attacking cities¡± John replies. ¡°You are right compared to the elf continent that has been fairly quiet, the human continent seems to be a war zone¡± Kim comments. ¡°we are asking anyone who has information on the mysterious figure at the battle field to call in and share what they have on this person that is shaking the continent¡± John says as the screen shows large pillars of fire that reaches the heights of more a hundred meters move through the area around the unknown figure. Back on the battle ¡°Where are all the strong guys¡± I mutter as I behead a soldier with a sword I picked up. ¡°Feeling a pressure from the right I roll on the floor to see a large sword pass where my head was seconds ago. ¡°I was wondering who was killing all my men but I can see it¡¯s just an animal that learnt how to stand on its feet¡± the owner of the sword says to me. The user of the swords is a red haired woman wearing golden armor with a cloak that matches her well. ¡°I heard that humans were formerly apes so I will take that as a compliment¡± I reply as I charge the woman. ¡°How rash, try thinking before you rush at me¡± she says as she raises her sword to deflect my hand going for her heart. ¡°I don¡¯t need to think to crush an ant¡± I reply. Focusing on the mana in me I imagine small explosions around the face of the swordswoman. Once the image is complete the actualization happens. Small explosions enough to tear a limb go off in her face and all around her body. When they finish the woman is dead but her armor is still intact. ¡°Stupid, wearing high level armor but leaving the face unprotected¡± I comment as I touch the body and it disappears to my pocket dimension. Roar The sound of Tusker having fun echoes around the battle field as I join in on the fun. An hour after I entered the battle there is little more than a hundred soldiers on both sides of the armies.¡±Tusker it¡¯s time to go home¡± I say to my partner. Letting out a loud roar Tusker ascends to the skies where I join him by using wind mana under my feet to fly. ¡°Let this be known all lizard men are under my protection hunt them and I will hunt you¡± I tell the survivors before I leave. ¡°Gather your guards towards the inner part of the ruins some bugs are approaching this place¡± I say to the chiefs around me as I cast wind magic to ascend into the sky that would drained me fast before today. ¡°Can I eat some of them¡± Tusker says as he flaps his wings in the air beside me as we await the people coming to us. ¡°Depends on the amount that they bring, I want to test some things out on them¡± I reply as the lizard men huddle in the building where the ritual took place. Soon the clearing around the ruins was filled with short disgusting creatures that roamed around my house ¡®goblins¡¯ the most populous monster in the human continent. Most of them wore leather armor with all their swords looking good at least they were made recently as they still seemed new and goblins don¡¯t maintain their weapons. After reaching the edge of the ruins the goblins made way, letting large creatures that had tusks coming from the upper jaw and curving once they reach the chin. The smallest of these creatures was at least seven feet and clad in iron armor I know to the average player these guys would bring a lot of trouble. ¡°Do you know what they are¡± I ask Tusker. ¡°am not sure as they aren¡¯t in the elven continent, but these should be ogres an evolution of goblins when they reach level 120¡± Tusker replies as the creatures begin to growl at the ruins. ¡°Who leads this mess¡± I yell from my position in the sky as magic amplifies my voice throughout the area. ¡°Little lizard come down here let me split your skull and drink your blood¡± the largest of the creatures says. ¡°Hmm¡± Tusker says as a fireball from him incinerates the ogre that was speaking.¡±I will ask for the last time who leads this mess¡± I yell as I begin to descend towards the goblins. ¡°They kill ogre, ogre kill them¡± another ogre yells as he charges at me with an axe raised at me prompting his comrades to yell as they follow his lead with arrows flying towards me. ¡°Kill the ogres but leave the goblins to me I need their numbers¡± I say to Tusker as I cast a wind shield and stop all the arrows in their tracks. Leaping from where I am I land in the midst of the goblins and manipulate the wind around me to blow outwards pushing everything around me. The result is devastating; I am now standing in a small crater as all goblins in a five meter radius have been tossed like dolls. ¡°What next¡± I mutter as the goblins start entering the crater. ¡®Even with the power I showed now they still want to fight guess that spell should work¡¯ I think to myself. ¡°Meteor shower¡± I whisper as another large amount of mana leaves my body. Unlike the first time that I casted the spell at the soldiers attacking the lizard town this time the amount of rocks falling from the sky is ten and they are all as large as a shipping container. ¡°I think you over did it¡± Tuskers¡¯ voice says above me as the dust from the spell clears and there is no goblin in sight. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault none of them was strong enough to escape it¡± I say with a shrug. ¡°What are we doing next¡± Tusker asks. ¡°Let¡¯s meet the chiefs first then we talk¡± I reply. Walking back to the ruins, with Tusker walking beside me I think about all the books I left in my home with the underground lab. ¡°My lord what are your commands¡± Mina asks with a bow. ¡°All of you should go back to your towns and gather your people¡± I tell them ¡°bring them here, there will be no more different towns just to survive¡±. ¡°Where will you be¡± Tajar asks. ¡°Cleaning up some trash, come Tusker lets go¡± I say as I ascend into the sky. Surprisingly Tusker increases in size until he is as large as a bus when he reaches the sky. ¡°Get on my back¡± he says as a tendril of smoke leaves his nose. ¡°So are you going to tell me where we are flying to¡± Tusker. ¡°A city named Teneris¡± I reply as I pass the coordinates of Teneris on the continent map. Elf continent ¡°How is the army doing?¡± a voice says from the mist that seems tangible. ¡°Good sir, the artifact is making it possible for us to move closer to the south without destroying ourselves in the process¡± a man wearing white dragon scale armor says as he kneels before the mist. ¡°Attack and convert any city you meet, leave the villages and towns to smaller raiding parties¡± the voice says. ¡°As you will¡± the armored man says as he stands to leave the place. ¡°Stay away from the dragons for now¡± the voice says as the man walks away. chapter 14 Dwarf continent In a mountain far away from the underground royal city of humming ground, the sound of hammers hitting anvils echo all around under the mountain as dwarfs do what they do best forging weapons. ¡°My lord Garas, the airships are ready¡± a dwarf in chainmail says as he kneels in a hall decorated with gold statues. In front of the dwarf is throne made of mithril with a red haired dwarf sitting on it whilst cleaning a large war hammer that glows a bright green light. ¡°Good assemble the armies, it¡¯s time we paid the humans a visit¡± the dwarf on the throne says as he steps down from the throne. Within minutes the dwarf with the war hammer is surrounded by other dwarves as they help him wear his armor, Boaz¡¯s bane the best armor that the forges in that particular mountain had made since they came there. Worn by the first king of the dwarves as a gift from the dwarf god it is said that while wearing it a persons¡¯ strength is multiplied three times and the person becomes immune to all fire magic. Walking through the golden gates that led outside the mountain stronghold Garas took in a deep breath of the air ¡°ah there is nothing as soothing as fresh air¡±. ¡°How long will it take to get to the human continent¡¯ he asks the dwarf standing beside him. ¡°at maximum even if we are attacked by flying beasts we will reach there in three days¡± the dwarf replies as the two of them watch ten airships based on the zeppelin .¡±just wait you filthy human we are going to pay you back for betraying us in the Great War¡± Garas mutters as he descends to the walkway where dwarfs are getting o their ride to war. Teneris ¡°Selling healing potions can heal even fatal wounds¡± a voice cries out. The market plaza of Teneris is filled with people both players and npcs.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°So when are you leaving for Tojan¡± a hooded man asks his drinking partner as they wait for their guild mates. ¡°Soon silver, I have to get a better sword than the one Ares is using if we want to win the guild war coming soon¡± the blonde man replies. ¡°still don¡¯t know how he got that type of sword, Roan¡± Silver says as he takes a gulp from his glass.¡±I know that sword Shiva has the ability to grow with the user and is what helped them defeat three other guilds when they entered the competition last month¡± Roan replies. ¡°Say, it¡¯s not about to rain is it¡± Silver asks as the area around the market becomes dark. ¡°Not that I know of¡± Roan answers as he leaves the tavern they were in to check what¡¯s happening outside as people are running away from the market. ¡°oh no¡± Roan says as he looks at the sky only to see it is blocked by a large black dragon that is just flapping its wings as if waiting for something. ¡°Silver we have to run now¡± Roan yells as he enters the tavern. ¡°What is it?¡± silver asks following his friend outside. ¡°That is wrong, that thing shouldn¡¯t be here¡± Roan replies as he points towards the dragon in the sky. ¡°what are you scared of, our levels are around 140 and according to the info we have on the game so far dragons are like trapped in the elven continent so this one is probably a bonus from the game makers to give experience and loot to whoever can kill it¡± Silver says as he equips a bow from his inventory. ¡°Is it worth your life¡± Roan asks as he watches a glowing arrow appear in the bow. ¡°Yes it is worth the ten million I might get if we win the game¡± Silver says as the arrow is released. Boom. The sound of the arrow reaching its target echoes around the city. Seeing that someone is attacking the dragon some players begin to bring out bows to shoot the dragon down while other cast spells at it. As soon as the spells reach the dragon they detonate with a force that is enough to shake the buildings in the area. ¡°Did we get it¡± a woman wearing robes asks as she lowers her staff. ¡°First of all I am not to be called it¡± a loud voice says from the cloud .slowly the dragon begins to descend and that¡¯s when everyone notices the creature on the dragon. ¡°My name is Lord Tusker as for my rider you are not worthy enough to know his name¡± the dragon says as he releases a large fireball into the market plaza incinerating all in sight. ¡°Not even one of them can use advanced magic¡± the creature on the dragon whispers but it is somehow reaches the ears of all the people in the city. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like playing with these guys now¡± the creature says as lightning begins to strike at random places in the city. After five minutes the lightning stops and the streets are littered with burnt up bodies. Raising his hand the humanoid creature creates a large fireball that is at least enough to cover a football pitch. With a wave of his hand the fireball comes crashing down into the city burning everything in a 3km radius. chapter 15 Michael ¡°Seriously I have become too strong for these people though I don¡¯t know what I will do I f a god sends someone after me with a bit of their power¡± I say as tusker flies away from the molten city. ¡°that¡¯s why you have to ascend fully before they notice¡± Tusker says as we reach what served as my home since I started this game.¡±I can put the entire house in a spatial dimension so no need to go down there¡± Tusker says as the house and underground facilities disappear as if the land was gorged out. ¡°Thanks now it back to the ruins, I will leave shortly to see if I can contact some people that we will make fallen¡± I tell Tusker as we begin to fly back to the ruins. In two hours we are back and after showing Tusker where to materialize the house I logout of the game. Standing up from my bed I drop the nerve gear on the bedside table and eat the leftover food from last night. ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can find those elves again¡± I mutter as I look for the mail that the elven sisters that I killed sent me before we met. Finding their email I ask if they want enough power to end the game, quickly I receive a reply that they do and within minutes as they chat I tell them to come to the human continent where I am based. Closing the laptop I think about ways I can use to raise my level up as now there will be few people in the world of Terra that can actually put up a fight against me. Hayden ¡°Are you saying that there is a large monster army roaming around in the north¡± I ask the three people standing in front of my guild members. ¡°Yes and they should average around level 120 for the scouts so imagine what the general will be¡± one of them replies. ¡°So what are we going to do guild master¡± I ask as I face the highest pillar in the cave where there is an elf with a large sword on his back. ¡°Nothing for now, let¡¯s see if this army will stay in the north or if it will come south¡± the man replies as he disappears. ¡®I really hate that guy acting all mysterious and all¡¯ I think to myself. Leaving the cave I use shadow portal to move back to my mansion in the city of Coris where they will soon be giving me a title due to my work there. ¡°Welcome back master¡± the butler says as he opens the door to the main house for me. With knowledge of how people who can teleport are great assassins I made sure that the house I would be living in blocked all forms of teleportation even mine. ¡°The city council has requested for your presence¡± the butler says as I enter my study. ¡°Send a message that I will be there soon¡± I tell the butler as I begin to check all the financial records of the mansion, can¡¯t have those old geezers thinking I am at their beck and call I laugh inwardly. Howard ¡°Sir we have a problem¡± a voice says as soon as I enter the company building. As one of the major source of finance for the company the board of directors had assigned me the task of monitoring the goings of the game we put in the market ¡®Terra online¡¯. ¡°What is the problem shay¡± I ask my secretary. ¡°According to the report sent last night one player has completed a large part of the story line and if the situation continues he is due to clear the game in the next six months¡± she says as she hands me a folder. ¡°Get Christo to my office immediately¡± I tell her as we leave the elevator and walk to my office. ¡°He is already waiting there for you; also there is a video conference with the board in the next five minutes¡± Shay replies. Opening the door to my office I see a young man with red hair fiddling with a black cube sitting in one of the chairs meant for visitors.¡±Howard how nice of you to come to see me¡± the man says when I seat at my desk without looking at me.¡±I didn¡¯t come to see you, this is my office and I don¡¯t remember saying you could come here when I was absent¡± I say to Christo. Raising his head he looks at me as if I just said something strange, ¡°that¡¯s by the way I came here to remind you that I told you so¡± Christo says causing Shay and I to groan. Months before the game had been released to the public after the beta test had been completed Christo had complained of the easy level of the game and the fact that we had actually forced the AI in charge of the game to have something akin to the games of old a major storyline that leads to the game. ¡°The deed has already been done, does your team have anything that can reduce the damage¡± I ask the man across from me. ¡°Yes when you and the board had refused to follow my advice we built in safeguards for occasions like this, one of which has been activated¡± Christo answers. Crane ¡®Playing this game has been one of the best experiences in my fifty years of living¡¯ I think to myself as I swing the broad sword in an overhead strike decapitating the dwarf in front of me. All around me players and npcs fought. With the invasion of the dwarves some of the human kingdoms had pulled resources together and sent out an army made of players and npcs when they saw the Relai kingdom burn to the ground.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Lord Crane, the enemy has begun to retreat¡± Zia my vice guild master says to me as she uses her short sword to slit the throat of her opponent.¡±Good have the mages use area of effect spells when they are far away from us¡± I yell at her as I block the axe of a golden armored dwarf. ¡°your comrades are leaving¡± I tell the dwarf as I step out of the reach of his axe, swinging at his neck I watch only for him to roll towards me dodging my sword and reduce the distance between us again. ¡°Even if I die I will take as many of you human trash as possible¡± the dwarf growls at me as he tosses his axe at me. ¡°Denons might¡± the dwarf yells as his muscles begin to bulge cracking the armor on him. Within seconds the dwarf that was at most five foot is now more than seven foot tall with muscles that would make a pro bodybuilder envious. ¡°So that¡¯s your backup plan, becoming bigger and buffer¡± I ask the monstrosity in front of me. Dodging the punch he threw at me I chop at the monster¡¯s hand to watch my sword bounce of the skin like it was made from mithril.¡±In this form no one is a match for me¡± the former dwarf yells as he tosses me with a swing of his hand that I block with my sword. ¡°Boss, how do we fight something like this¡± a voice says beside me as the monstrosity walks slowly to me. ¡°Do you still have that hammer of yours Kal¡± I ask the person beside me. By now there are few sounds of fighting across the field and even those are reducing as the army I led here begins to form a circle around the only threat. ¡°Yes I have it¡± Kal answers as he pats the hammer beside him. ¡°I am going to have to borrow it for a while¡± I say to him. Heaving the hammer in my hand I remember the quest that brought us to the ruins where we found the hammer. On that quest we lost fifty of the hundred and thirty guild members that went there and twenty of those where on their last live. ¡°Light up the world Mjollnir¡± I whisper as I raise the hammer to the sky. ¡®Truly you live up to the name of being a divine weapon¡¯ I think to myself as lightning strikes the hammer healing all my injuries and removing fatigue. The hammer of the thunder god, the higher the level of the player the more of its power that can be brought forth and as the highest level player around I am the only one that can even use it for more than thirty seconds due to the drain on a person¡¯s mana is astronomical it should do the job here I reason as I point the hammer at the former dwarf. With the speed akin to a bullet the hammer flies at my opponent caving his head in as lightning emits from the hammer frying the body to a crisp husk .Beckoning at the hammer it leaves the corpse and flies into my hand ¡°Victory¡± I yell as I raise the hammer to the sky. Hours later The cleanup of the battle field was tiring fortunately enough as a high ranking guild member I was exempt from that. ¡°That was a good thing you did¡± a voice says behind me as I watch the sun set on the lone hill near the battle field. Turning around I see a woman dressed in armor that had to have cost a fortune, with the spear in hand a sword strapped to her waist and a shield shaped like a cross this woman looked like a warrior goddess. ¡°You are right about me been a warrior goddess¡± the woman says to me. ¡®Did she just read my mind¡¯ I wonder. ¡°Of course I read your mind, my name is Minerva the human goddess of war and I was happy with your performance against those cretins that failed to be humans¡± the woman says. ¡°So what would make a goddess of your stature talk to me¡± I ask apprehensively. ¡°No need to try drawing your sword, even if you had fifty of your traveler friends as strong as you none of you can even make a scratch on me¡± Minerva says as I place my hand on the hilt of my sword. ¡°There is an abomination in this continent, a human traveler that seeks power he shouldn¡¯t seek¡± Minerva says. ¡°Let me guess you want me to kill this person¡± I ask with a smile. ¡°Yes I will gift you with a divine weapon that will grow with you though you have to kill this thing before the end of three weeks as he grows stronger by the second¡± she answers. ¡°How come you don¡¯t kill this traveler yourself¡± I ask with a hint of worry. ¡®Wouldn¡¯t put it past these so called gods to send me to kill something that I can¡¯t kill¡¯ I think. ¡°your faith in my pantheon is rather low, there s a pact that the gods swore to that unless a god has a very good reason even if they are from opposite sides the other gods are bound by their oath to destroy the offending god¡± Minerva explains to me. ¡°I will carry out the mission for you though I will need the weapon to be a sword similar in shape and size to my current sword¡± I tell the goddess. ¡°It is done¡± she says in a voice that sends a chill down my spine. Stabbing the spear into the ground she holds out her right hand and an small orb forms there, seconds later the orb grows until it is the size and shape of my sword though it is far different in look. Where my hilt is a light brown the divine weapon is black with red fur around the pommel and don¡¯t even talk about the blade itself for the one year in game I have never seen a red blade that seemed to have been soaked in blood. ¡°Here, as stipulated if you can¡¯t kill the abomination then I will require a total of two hundred draconian souls from you¡± Minerva says to me as she tosses the sword at me and disappears. Holding the sword I inspect the bade before the last words she said registers with me ¡®when did we agree on that part about the souls, manipulative woman just wait till I become strong enough to get back at you¡¯ I think as I make my way down the hill. Reaching the foot of the hill I see people ¡°pack up we just got a divine quest¡± I tell the crowd causing them to start cheering. ¡°Officers with me¡± I say as I walk to the command tent the guild is using. ¡°What is the mission¡± Raven one of the best mages in the guild asks. ¡°We have to kill one guy that seems to have the goddess of war in a twist¡± I reply with a smile. Nathan ¡®Working in this place has to be the worst thing that has happened to me so far¡¯ I reason as the masters whip slices into my back. Biting down the groan I cry silently as any form of emotion only makes my punisher happier. After leaving the seaport where the ship carrying I had been sold at the slave auction first to a nobleman that wanted his servants to be made up of only elves. With no skill in housekeeping apart from washing the dishes I was quickly sold to a woman who liked sending elves to her friends as gifts. Spending a month there showed that no matter what they wanted to do I did the opposite. This seemed to be the branch that broke the camel¡¯s back as the woman in her infinite wisdom sold me to the coliseum to fight till I died in the arena or died of old age. I still remember the day my new owner came to pick me. With him were five men and two women all wearing the slave collars on their necks even when they were carrying all sorts of weapons that I hadn¡¯t even known existed.¡°You must be the runt who seems to be impossible to train¡± the only person not wearing a slave collar said to me when I was presented to him. Nodding my head to show positive response all I received was a slap that dazed me for a while. ¡°When I ask you anything you will respond to me and all your responses shall end with ¡®master¡¯¡± the man says as one of the guards drags me away by the chain connected to my hands. And so began my journey into the world of gladiators. chapter 16 Michael ¡°You look troubled¡± Tusker says to me as he gnaws the bones of one of the larger species of Trolls. ¡°We have been gods for some time now but apart from overpowering my spells I don¡¯t seem to have any divine abilities¡± I say as I watch the now bustling city below me from the top of the palace. ¡°Have you tried speaking to Orion¡± Tusker asks. ¡°No I don¡¯t even know if I can speak with him¡± I reply. ¡°you can speak to him; I have been speaking to the soul I merged with for a week now I thought you knew¡± Tusker says as he finishes his meal.¡±I didn¡¯t, how do you speak to them anyway¡± I ask. ¡°it¡¯s simple really just imagine speaking to them and a connection to them will be established¡± he replies¡± I am going for a stretch will be back later¡±.¡± Try to avoid causing too much chaos we don¡¯t want the other gods coming for us yet¡± I tell him with a smile as he ascends into the sky. ¡°As if what we have been doing through the time we evolved isn¡¯t too much already¡± Tuskers voice resounds in my mind. Checking to see if Tusker was correct on how to communicate with the souls we merged with I send a probe into my mind that is now virtually a planet, ¡°Orion are you there¡± I ask. Waiting for what seems like hours but probably didn¡¯t reach a minute I feel the planet vibrating as I thought comes from it. ¡°so you have finally decided to talk to me¡± the voice says. ¡°Who are you¡± I ask. ¡°what type of question is that apart from me the mighty Orion king of the dragon gods have you merged with any souls lately¡± the voice asks in a tone that seems like that a parent uses to scold a child. ¡°sorry didn¡¯t know that you would dwell in my mind¡± I answer.¡±Stop apologizing you are the dragon god king and dragons do not apologize to anyone, doing so was what gave the others the chance to wipe us out¡± Orion says in an angry voice. ¡°That¡¯s true is the most powerful beings in the mortal and immortal world so what is the word to use¡± I say as I think of a word to say ¡°wretched¡± Orion finishes for me. ¡°Well I will tell you the story of our demise on three conditions¡± Orion says. ¡°and what would that be¡± I ask.¡±I will give you training goals and hints to complete those goals, every time you complete a goal then I will tell you a part of our history¡± he says. ¡°What are the other conditions¡± I ask not wanting to enter the agreement with only half of the requirements known. ¡°Indeed that would be foolish¡± Orion replies reading my thoughts. ¡°Do not fight with any champion sent by the gods rather create your own champions and have them fight each other, the other condition is that you find people or creatures that are loyal to you to gift the souls of my brothers and sisters¡± Orion finishes. ¡°I can understand the making of more gods a little but I don¡¯t understand the part about not fighting the champions sent by the other gods¡± I say to my new partner. ¡°Before our fall there was a pact stopping gods from fighting with mortals¡± Orion answers.¡±I still don¡¯t understand the fact that you want me to follow a pact made with enemies¡± I say with a frown. ¡°It¡¯s not the people that we made the pact with but who enforces the pacts that makes me behave like this¡± Orion explains ¡°the pact is enforced by the three elder gods and in terms of power just one of them is enough to wipe out the dragon gods when we were at our prime¡±. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of power, if that is all then we have an agreement¡± I tell my new tenant. Hayden ¡°How is your stay¡± I ask the sisters in the cell of the dungeon below the castle. ¡°one day we will get out of here then we will see if you can still act as you do¡± the elf wearing the magic nullifier says as she strokes the head of her sister on her lap. ¡°I am not going to be stupid enough to kill you so till the end of the game or as the npc say the end of days you will stay here¡± I say to her with a smirk.¡± my lord the council awaits¡± a guard says as he walks up to me. ¡°See you later¡± I say to the elf as I leave them to enjoy their home. Walking through tunnels into the hallways of the castle I make my way to the council room where my so called advisors are waiting for me. ¡°Lord Hayden, I still don¡¯t know why you haven¡¯t executed those girls in your custody¡± Tamon a three hundred years old elf says as I sit at the head of the table. Looking at Tamon I notice that he is not wearing the gift I gave to him. ¡°You all know that I and those in custody are both children of the elder goddess Gaia, remember that we have to be killed three times to become truly dead¡± I say to the elf. ¡°Yes and what has this to do with killing them for their crimes¡± he asks. ¡°what he means is that as long as they haven¡¯t died two time when we execute them they will just reincarnate at some other part of the continent¡± Sera an elf woman answers the question. ¡°That is the reason we don¡¯t want them wandering around getting stronger while they think of revenge after we kill them so they can stay in the dungeons till they rot¡± I finish. ¡°On to other matters there have been sightings of a monster army moving in from the north¡± I announce to the council. ¡°These have been confirmed with our scouts reporting that the army numbering into the hundreds of thousands¡± Oloff the commander of the city army states. ¡°We will have to call for a council of states¡± I comment thinking of the guild report. Finishing with all other matters I make my way to the royal chambers where I log out. Arthur Looking around me I can¡¯t help but smile as the guild I and my sister created is now celebrating our victory over some goblins. ¡°You don¡¯t look too happy¡± I say to my sister as I watch her look at our comrades without a hint of happiness. ¡°We lost thirty members that were players ten of whom that was their last life¡± she replies with a sad smile.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Don¡¯t be bothered yet, we still have to finish this game then we can divide the prize money¡± I tell her as I walk to the person in charge of the finances of the guild.¡± ¡°Prince what is the status money wise¡± I ask. ¡°we are good for two months by then the fortress should have been renovated and we would have an economy here but we will still have to hunt for bounties for a while¡± the red haired replies. ¡°Good we need the funds if we want to compete with the big guilds¡± I comment. Michael Closing my eyes I send out my senses feeling everything in a ten meter radius around me. ¡°How is this different from what I could do before my ascension¡± I ask Orion. ¡°Just shut up and keep increasing the radius¡± he replies. ¡°Grumpy old dragon¡± I mutter as the radius increases. Fifty meters One hundred meters Two hundred meters¡­ In less than a minute I can spread my senses in five thousand kilometers around me. ¡®Wow so much life¡¯ I think as I can actually differentiate the different energies I can sense. ¡°What is that large presence I can feel¡± I ask. ¡°That feels like another god though that should be impossible¡± Orion replies. ¡°It feels like it¡¯s coming towards us¡± I say as the feeling becomes stronger with each passing second. ¡°Let¡¯s wait if the god has a fight on its mind we run, we can¡¯t fight with someone that has been a god for over millennia¡± Orion advises. In twenty seconds the god can be seen in the horizon and the shape from this far out is that of a humanoid. Soon the god in front of me and I have to say I am surprised by the appearance. In front of me is an old man wearing what can only be described as a rag, from his bald head to the wrinkled face scared body and tattered shoes I could pass this guy on the road and think he was a beggar. ¡°What do you want with me¡± I ask. Smiling at me the man replies ¡°is that how you great your elders¡± as he exerts what Orion has told me before ¡®Divine Presence¡¯ .I have to say for the face time facing this type of pressure I did poorly. With each breath I take I can feel myself becoming weaker. ¡°Wake up you fool we have to flee¡± a faint voice yells in my mind. Regaining a little of my strength I push all the mana I can into my legs I flee the area. ¡°Where do you think you are going to¡± a voice behind me yells as I run away. Turning back I see the man is now wearing armor with a large war hammer strapped to his back as he chases me. Running to the city of lizard men some kilometers away I quickly move to the room holding the souls of the gods. ¡°Why are you leading me here¡± I ask Orion. ¡°Only those dragon gods allow can enter here now matter the strength of a god no one apart from the elder gods can enter here¡± Orion replies as I enter the void holding the other souls of dragon gods. Markel ¡°This brat wants to hide here hmm¡± I say as I look down on the disgusting lizards that dare to copy the form of humans. ¡°You there what are you doing ¡°one of the lizards says to me as others of his kind begin pointing at me.¡±You all are things that shouldn¡¯t have been made¡± I mutter looking at the creature.¡±Final judgment¡± I whisper as a white orb forms in my hand and drops into the city. Once the orb reaches the city it detonates incinerating everything in a ten kilometer radius. ¡°Hide all you want but I will find you as soon as you show yourself in the world¡± I roar just as I am about to go. ¡°Who gives you the right to make so much noise human rat¡± a voice says. Following the voice I see a black blur coming close to me. Recognizing the shape as that of a dragon I punch the dragon¡¯s snout just as it reaches me sending it into the crater that was once the hovel for its brethren. ¡°Know your place lizard¡± I say to the dragon as my war hammer appears in my hand. Charging at the now dazed dragon I slam my hammer into its snout shattering its skull and spreading its brain all over the ground. ¡°Piece of filth¡± I spit at the corpse as I fly away from the area. Michael ¡°What the heck was that¡± I ask remembering the overwhelming pressure from the god. ¡°From the armor and his manners that should be the human god of war¡± Orion answers.¡±I thought you said gods couldn¡¯t fight except through champions, avatars and whatnot¡± I sigh. ¡°That was during my time thousands of years ago; though for things to have changed to this point I fear the worst¡± Orion comments. ¡°Can you tell me these fears of yours¡± I ask. ¡°Not yet I don¡¯t want to say that which may not be true¡± he replies. ¡°I can¡¯t feel his presence anymore so he should be gone¡­hopefully¡± I say as I leave the void and return to the world only to be standing in what seems to be a crater. ¡°He destroyed the city¡± I whisper. ¡°Yes he did¡± a voice says. Looking for the source of the voice I find myself staring at an elven child though the presence the elf is giving off is more than that of the previous god. ¡°What do you want¡± I ask with a sigh knowing escaping will do nothing but add to the list of gods that want to kill me. ¡°I want you to restore the balance¡± the elf says as the world fades away into a white background. ¡°What do you mean by restore the balance¡± I ask. ¡°Walk with me¡± the child replies as a garden appears around us. ¡°Five hundred thousand years ago, a hundred thousand years before the dragon gods demise a human god, elf god and a dwarf god formed an alliance and found a loophole to the no fights pact. ¡°Creating poison that was lethal to gods they began killing lesser gods of creatures like the ogres and were animals absorbing their powers to grow stronger¡± the child says as we walk through the garden. ¡°After a while they turned to other gods of their own races, and then before the elder gods could do anything they did what was thought to be impossible since the creation of this world¡±. ¡°They killed an elder god didn¡¯t they¡± I whisper in shock. ¡°Yes they did¡± the child replied. ¡°Contrary to beliefs of there being four or five elder gods there were only two at the creation of the world before they created other gods lesser than them in strength but still gods in their own rights. Killing an elder god brought balance to the edge and the remaining elder god tried to have a child that would have the powers of its sibling that was killed as it still lacked the strength to kill its own creation¡± the child explains as she picks up a rose. ¡°But something must have gone wrong if I am here¡± I deduce. ¡°You are tight, creating something as strong as itself weaken the elder god enough for the gods to kill it leaving me the last of the elder gods and in a way an orphan¡± she finishes crushing the rose in her fist. ¡°What do I gain by doing this request of yours¡± I ask.¡±I have nothing to give you, I am not as strong as either of my parents and they were killed so I won¡¯t come to the world as much though I will help you in your journey when I can and you have to fight these gods as they won¡¯t rest until you are dead as you signify a new race of gods¡± the child says. ¡°Well get me back home then I will see what I can do¡± I say to her and moments later the scene changes to that of the crater. Biding the goddess goodbye I look around the crater and notice Tusker sleeping on the ground. ¡®Guess he was waiting for me when he saw the destruction¡¯ I think as I move towards my partner. ¡°Tusker we have to move before something comes here¡± I say as I reach the body of my friend. ¡°Stop sleeping¡± I say as I poke the dragon with my finger only for him to roll over and I see his skull smashed to bits. ¡°He killed him¡± I whisper as the sight of Tusker¡¯s dead body burns into my mind. ¡°When I find that guy I going to kill him slowly¡± I growl. ¡°Yes but first you have to become stronger than you are then form a guild like the others do but this will be a guild of gods¡± Orion says as I burn the corpse of my friend and leave the area. And so ends book one. will be posting an edited and longer version on patreon under the same username there.