ã€ŠFantasy Unlimited (Dropped)ã€‹


 Prologue: Fantasy Unlimited

    When virtual reality, nicknamed VR, was first released, it took the world by storm.

    Heralded by many, criticized by many, the uses for VR affected them all whether it was used by governments to communicate without ever leaving the comfort of their offices, doctors and researchers alike attempting to discover what may have been impossible at breakneck speed, or the masses simply playing a game. In a world where money ruled, virtual reality became an escape for many.

    Soon after VR was introduced, major video game companies began to come up with massive online games, better known as VRMMO. Tens of millions of people played various games, but one game dominated the popularity charts ever since it was released: Fantasy Unlimited.

    Fantasy Unlimited, sometimes ridiculed as FU in the online community, quickly shot through the charts boasting realism and unlimited possibilities within the game. The company that created Fantasy Unlimited was ever popular due to their uncanny ability to figure out what the masses wanted in the games and added those into the regular updates. These updates also brought a story line that never seemed to end as well as adding ever realistic content and options for players.

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    Fantasy Unlimited never faltered in popularity over the years and continued to bring tens of millions into a world where an alternate reality, where one was the master of their own fate. That was until the five year anniversary of the game. Fantasy Unlimited creators revealed that the game was ending and their servers were going to be shut down, never citing any real reasons as to why. This prompted mass outrage and by the hundreds of thousands, players quit angry for all the wasted time spent on the game. Only one day was left before the end of the game, but there only remained one player online wanting to ride the game all the way to end; and he was the number one ranked player in the entire game: Cyrus.

 Chapter 1: Final Escape

    A young female nurse ran her daily tests while making an honest attempt at conversation, ¡°You know Cyrus, you should try to get to know some of the people here. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to make friends right?¡±

    Emotionlessly, the young man answered, ¡°Why should I try to make friends when I¡¯m probably going to die pretty soon? And you already know my parents sad excuse because it apparently ''breaks their hearts to see me in this state.'' Not even my parents want anything to do with me anymore. The only thing that keeps me going is FU and that¡¯s coming to end too. Why not just pull the plug?¡± He knew he was being rather harsh with the same nurse he¡¯s had since being admitted into the hospital, but he was frankly too exhausted to care.

    He looked at himself in the mirror only to the shell of the person he used to be. Dull yellow hair that used to shine golden in the sun, hollow cheeks and bony chin adding depth to a once strong yet gnetle jawline and pale white skin. But what really stood out the most, were his eyes. Dull and lifeless blue eyes stared back, only to elicit a sigh from the young man as he wondered what he had done to deserve such a miserable life.

    Cyrus had been diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer that had slowly and painfully spread throughout his body by the time of discovery. He was given only a few years left to live, which was miraculous given his current state, but he was never allowed to leave the hospital for fear of his health and his parents had given up on him, currently grooming his older brother to take over the family pharmacy. It was during this difficult time that Cyrus discovered Fantasy Unlimited. Whenever Cyrus had free time, which was pretty much all the time except during his daily tests, he would spend his time playing Fantasy Unlimited, for tens of hours continuously. Ever since discovering VR and the game, he dedicated his sole time to his alternate reality, one where he could enjoy his freedom and near limitless possiblities, things which his current life denied him. He had no need to go to a bathroom anymore with a catheter in place and his meals were being pumped into his stomach due to complications with a growing tumor in his throat.

    In the span of four years, Cyrus¡¯ time spent on Fantasy Unlimited paid off as he climbed the ranks to claim the number one rank in the game, as a solo player no less. But that wasn¡¯t truly the greatest feat by Cyrus. In the game, where realism is a constant motto, players can pretty much do whatever they want, and obtain whatever class they want. It was similar to how you could attempt to obtain another degree or learn a new profession. However, the creators understood that doing this should be rather difficult and time consuming just like how in reality, most people didn¡¯t have the time to spend trying to learn craft after craft after craft. Therefore, the creators came up with a simple formula to make it all the more difficult. For each new class claimed, the time needed to spend to learn and master said class, raised by a hundred percent. This deterred nearly every player except Cyrus from attempting to master multiple classes. Not only did Cyrus have the time to do it, but he had nothing better to do. Cyrus had became the first player to master not only a second and third class, but even a fourth class. However, because of Cyrus¡¯ incredulously high level and lack of friends, no one knew about him mastering multiple classes and no one could analyze his profile either when playing with him.

    Fully aware that the game will end tonight at midnight, Cyrus dejectedly stared outside the window pondering the insane amount of time spent playing and his decision to play until the bitter end. Maybe it had something to do with his boredom or maybe it had to do with his inability to cope with his failing body, truthfully he had no clue. There was one thing that Cyrus knew and that was his determination to see his alternate reality end in-game. Putting his VR helmet on, he dove into his only escape from reality.

    He appeared in a large yet modest bedroom. The room was barely furnished with just a queen-sized bed, a dresser and a mirror. A crystal chandelier in the ceiling gave off a light bright enough to light the entire room but not enough to hurt the eye. A large window next to the bed showed that the room was on the second story. Glancing outside the window, two bright moons in the night sky overlooked a clearing surrounded by a dark forest.

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    This was Cyrus¡¯ home, which he purchased using his in-game currency. Of course all the land and the house had cost him quite a lot, but granted Cyrus had gained so much money over the years that price no longer mattered to him. Of course, Cyrus never become overly materialistic but he wasn''t some poor penny pincher either. Rarely did Cyrus splurge, often attempting to find his own desired items through trades or requests and rewards.

    The creators receiving feedback that pop up menus were outdated and that a telepathic menu linked to a player''s memory would be more convenient, a recent update came to fruition. Ever since, players only had to use their thoughts to peruse the menu while the information from the menu was like an extension of their memory.

    Without so much as a word, Cyrus changed into his best lightweight gear, put on a pitch black cloak with a hood and equipped his most powerful sword, which also happens to be the most powerful sword in the game. Cyrus had won the sword through the most recent and final event in which he had to fight the final boss within the game. The community thought it would be fun to have a final boss, that truly was a final boss and the creators answered with such, a boss that no one could defeat but was not overpowered enough to deliver utter defeat so that it was both fun and a challenge for everyone. Although Cyrus had died several times and used multiple revival pills, each costing nearly the same amount as his land and house, it was all worth it to beat the boss that no one had been able to beat. As a reward for being the only player to win the event, the creators awarded Cyrus with more money than he knew what to do with, an ancient tome on all the monsters and plants in the game and the sword that the final boss had used, said to be the best in the game, or at least that¡¯s what the backstory said anyways.

    Of course, Cyrus also spent an enormous amount of time reading the tome as well. In the game, tomes can become a part of your in-game memory, but must be read first and the game made sure that a player read the entire book before becoming a part of a player¡¯s knowledge. Of course, this took too long and there weren''t many tomes given as rewards, so they eventually became a rare but useless collector''s item and to find someone who had read an entire tome, like Cyrus, even rarer. Although, that was the only tome Cyrus decided to read.

    Although Cyrus never had the chance to use the sword because there was nothing or no one to use it against, he felt the need to wear it in order to display his love for the game and his desire to end it in his most prized possessions.

    As Cyrus sat on the bed, fully changed, he could only stare at the two cream-white moons, deceptively close together as the minutes ticked by. His land, his home, his gear, all of it reflected Cyrus¡¯ dedication to the game. He knew that soon, all of it would end though. Although he never took the game for granted, he also knew that FU was only a game, yet Cyrus was still quite sad to see it end.

    Soon the countdown began:

    ¡°10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Thank you playing Fantasy Unlimited!¡±

    As the countdown reached its end, darkness ensued and Cyrus lost all connection to the world he loved.

    A/N: Although I am a native English speaker, my grammar and use of the language isn''t perfect so if you spot any mistakes let me know! Thanks for reading

 Chapter 2: A Whole New World

    A/N: Just to give a heads up for those who''ve already read the first chapter, I changed the setting of his house. He now lives in the same home but in a large clearing in the middle of the forest. I have been editting some bits here and there, when I spot something as this is just a fun summer project for me. But if something inconsistent pops up, let me know

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    Clutching his head, Cyrus jolted upright on the bed and screamed, ¡°Why does my head hurt so much? Great, do I have a fucking head tumor too now!?¡± Cyrus rolled around on his bed in the fetal position, still clutching his head.

    ¡°Nurse Angie, I need your help! There¡¯s something wrong with my head.¡± Cyrus yelled reaching around to find the nurse call button, only to find nothing. Bright light assaulted Cyrus as he opened his eyes.

    Looking around, he realized that the room was completely different from his hospital room. If anything, it looked eerily similar to his bedroom in Fantasy Unlimited. Gazing at the mirror, Cyrus saw something that he didn¡¯t quite understand. Mirroring every move, the person in the mirror looked exactly like his FU character. When Cyrus lifted up his left hand, the mirrored image also lifted up its left hand. When Cyrus slapped himself with that same hand, the image also slapped himself with the same hand.

    Cyrus got up grimacing, his cheek still red from slapping himself. He walked over to the full size mirror on the wall and carefully looked himself over. Just like how his character should look, he had wavy golden hair neatly tied up into a ponytail. His face was slim with a slightly delicate appeal, but still gave off a masculine feel. It was as if you didn¡¯t know whether a punch would cause the man to cry or start a fight. He had pointed ears, and a slim figure that concealed any knowledge of the compact muscles that hid underneath his clothes and armor. Looking into his eyes, bright light blue eyes stared back. His eyes no longer dull and lifeless, but sparkled in the sunlight. The very eyes his mom used to dote him on.

    Every feature nearly looked the same as he used to in real life. In fact, that was the very case. Except, for the pointed ears and well-toned muscles, Cyrus based his character off of what he used to look like. Of course his race was different. After his first few surgeries, Cyrus felt how weak the human constitution could be and chose a race that was described in the game as one of the longest living humanoid races: Elves. Although it was still a game, Cyrus felt more secure about having a non-human body.

    Cyrus¡¯ character was an elf, but because FU was so dedicated to catering different people, they diversified each major race, humanoid or not, as long as you were able to fill all the in-game criteria. He had transformed his character into a High Elf. High Elves were said to have been one of the few original elf subraces, and had high affinity to magic but over time some abandoned their use of magic to learn the way humans fought, earning the ire of the Elf Gods. However, all High Elves were blessed for combat, so they excelled either way, earning them the moniker Blood Elf. Becoming a High Elf allowed a player to keep certain racial perks, but also gave players a choice to choose the path of magic or warrior, an option no other elf subrace allowed. For someone who didn¡¯t care for magic, High Elf was perfect for Cyrus who wanted longevity and to fight with a sword. Through arduous tasks and requirements, Cyrus spent three years playing in order to change his character¡¯s subrace to High Elf becoming one of the few players in the game to do so, and the only one to pick the warrior route.

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    Cyrus didn¡¯t understand how he was still in the game. If anything, the game seemed more lifelike than before. He could feel the strength as he flexed different muscles, his flexibility as he stretched: details in the game that were never replicable.

    Cyrus telepathically called for his menu but nothing happened. Even calling for a log out didn¡¯t do anything. Cyrus tried repeatedly, but got the same result each time. Unsure of what to do, Cyrus tried to send messages to previous party members and even Game Moderators, but it was all useless. He wasn¡¯t even able to access his menu, which had all of his equipment and money.

    ¡°Even my health and experience points are all gone.¡± Cyrus mumbled under his breath. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I definitely can¡¯t assume I¡¯m still in the game.¡±

    Cyrus unsheathed his sword, a red shine giving off a very powerful aura. The sword looked similar to a katana, but was less curved, indicative of its use for stabbing as well as slashing. His mind set, he quickly ran the edge across his palm. Blood quickly seeped out from the cut followed by a sharp pain, causing him to drop his sword.

    ¡°Well, I at least know it¡¯s not a game anymore. Pain like this could only mean that I was somehow brought into a different world, similar to the game I assume. I wonder if I kept my racial abilities¡­¡± Only silence answered the young man as he put pressure on his hands, only to notice that his hand very slowly begin to heal. A racial perk of High Elves included regeneration, although it appeared to be rather slow in reality. Nodding to confirm his thoughts, Cyrus went downstairs and out of the house. Using a cloth he found downstairs, he wiped the blood off of his hand, careful of the cut.

    The sun, way up high, lightly beat down on him, but it was neither hot nor cold outside, the air crisp and unpolluted. It felt as if it were spring, the air smelled of blooming flowers and gentle winds shook the trees, causing the shade underneath to dance along. Looking around, he could see the forest that surrounded his home. Cyrus smiled, happy to be able to smell fresh air and listen to all the different birds singing.

    Rosea Forest stretched for miles and went on for miles as well. In the game, Rosea Forest formed part of the southern border of Elderon Kingdom, one of the largest kingdoms on the continent. Cyrus chose this decently-sized clearing in the middle of the forest as his home because not many players entered this forest, opting to explore more rewarding dungeons and woodlands. But for Cyrus, this forest was perfect for his solitary life; and all different kinds of herbs and plants grew here aiding in his mastery of the Alchemy Subclass, one his four mastered classes.

    ¡°Music?¡± A barely audible sound of a stringed instrument caught Cyrus¡¯ attention.

    The dense forest blocked most of the volume, but it was enough for Cyrus to hear clearly. Cyrus approached the large forest that bordered the clearing and followed the music. As he got closer, the music got worse and tone-deaf singing accompanied the tune. Walking into a smaller clearing about a mile away from his house, he found several raggedly dressed men forming a semi-circle around another man who was relentlessly thrusting into a gagged and tied up girl. The men sang and drank occasionally shouting insults and demands for their share of the girl. Cyrus immediately stopped moving upon the horrid sight. Nothing could take his eyes off of the girl with her lifeless eyes, as if she had given up on the world.

    One of the tone-deaf singers noticed Cyrus with a surprised look on his face, ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡±

 Chapter 3: Test Run

    The man stopped thrusting and threw the girl down. He turned to face the intruder, red faced from the prior physical exertion. At first, the man was angry for being interrupted, but a smile quickly masked his scarred face, ¡°Looks like we just got us another one! Elves catch a good price these days and his face ain¡¯t too bad eith¨C¡±

    In one fluid movement, Cyrus leapt forward, unsheathing his sword and slashed upwards decapitating the man. Blood sprayed rained onto the men behind. Gently landing, Cyrus stood still allowing the other men time to understand what just happened.

    ¡°What did you do to boss?¡± The remaining six men drew their weapons, but their faces could not hide their shock.

    ¡°How clich¨¦... First, the rape, now your stupidity.¡± Cyrus only shook his head in disapproval. ¡°Look, I killed your ¡®boss¡¯ and I¡¯m about to do the same¨C forget it.¡±

    Believing in the strategy of numbers, the group circled around Cyrus. He dashed towards the nearest bandit, stabbing right through the man¡¯s neck and killing him instantly. Without pulling his sword out, he used his leg to push the body off of the sword and into an oncoming man, knocking him to the ground. Cyrus escaped the encirclement by jumping over those two men and quickly slid his sword across the struggling bandit¡¯s neck underneath. Spinning around, he reached into his cloak and threw two knives in quick succession into the neck and heart of another bandit charging with an axe overhead. Stumbling forward, the man fell face first, blood pooling around his convulsing body.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s a good enough test run for me. Seems like I really am like my character from the game. But my bloodlust and ease for killing is kind of unsettling, it just feels too natural.¡± His abilities did not betray his mastery of the warrior class and he knew it. By this time, the last three bandits surrounded Cyrus, but he only smiled as they came closer.

    Cyrus thrust his sword into the stomach of the man to his right. Letting go, he knocked the man behind him over with a low leg sweep. From his crouching position, Cyrus leaped towards the last bandit, letting a weak attack from the sword slide over his arm gauntlet. He then hooked his arm around the back of the man¡¯s neck and pulled down sharply, effectively breaking his neck.

    With this happening within the span of a few short moments, the last surviving bandit didn¡¯t even have time to get up before Cyrus walked with his sword, still covered in blood.

    ¡°I promise elf sir, I won¡¯t be doin¡¯ no more of this if you let me go. You can take the girl, but please, please let me go.¡± The man pleaded while poorly attempting to stifle his sobs.

    ¡°I have a few questions, so if you answer them maybe I¡¯ll do something for you. Alright? And stop crying, it¡¯s uncomfortable.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure. I¡¯ll answer the questions ya got.¡± The man rubbed his face with his bloodied sleeve, leaving streaks of blood on his face.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s better. Anyway, what country are we in?¡±

    ¡°Rosea Forest in Elderon Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the date and who¡¯s king?¡±

    ¡°Well, I ain¡¯t really know the date elf sir, but the king is still Rainier, that¡¯s fer sure.¡± The man explained, hoping there would be no backlash for not knowing.

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    Suspicious, Cyrus quickly asked what had happened to King Walter, the king of Elderon in Fantasy Unlimited.

    ¡°King Walter¡¯s been dead fer ¡®bout three hundred years. I think that¡¯s wha¡¯ my Ma said before.¡± The answer left Cyrus speechless for a moment.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I needed to know for now. Here¡¯s what I¡¯ll do for you.¡± Cyrus cut the man¡¯s head off in one clean cut, giving him the least painful death of the group. He cleaned his sword of the blood. Then he retrieved his knives, cleaned those as well and put them back. Underneath his robe, the light armor that Cyrus wore held a few sheathes of varying sizes, two of which belonged to the recently cleaned knives.

    He walked towards the blood speckled girl, and noticed that she was unconscious but breathing normally. Cyrus undid the gag and the bindings. She had bruises on her face, and her body was covered in scratches and bruises as well. Luckily, her body didn¡¯t show any signs of serious injuries, but he wasn¡¯t too sure. As a warrior and a hunter, his new body came with certain knowledge of the humanoid and animal physiology, but he didn¡¯t know enough to diagnose things like diseases or inconspicuous internal injuries. The mostly likely possibility is that she was going through shock and her mind shut down. Taking his cloak off, Cyrus wrapped it around the naked girl and scooped her up. With no other idea, he decided to take her back to his house in an attempt to nurse her back to health.

    Looking at her, the girl seemed quite young, at most several years younger than his twenty-four year old self. He couldn¡¯t tell how attractive she was under all the grime and bruises, but he wasn¡¯t particularly interested either. Cyrus knew that he only saved her because she reminded him of his hospital days. What did strike him as interesting though, were the pointed ears poking through her tangled and dirty silver hair. Even if he was an elf too, it was still surprising to see someone that wasn¡¯t human. Cyrus fought off the urge to touch her ears, repeatedly telling himself that it would be creepy.

    Walking back the way he came, Cyrus left the bloody scene relieved to have finally gotten some answers. He was smart enough to know that he wouldn¡¯t be able to help or save every person he found. But he still couldn¡¯t decide on how to react the next time.

    Cyrus remembered using his arm gauntlet to deflect an attack, and checked to see if it was damaged but not a scratch was found. Forged with dragon scales and lightweight adamantite, his armor would stop most attacks. But opting for light armor, Cyrus was only fitted with a connected chest and back piece, and gauntlets for his arms and shins. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m too overpowered.¡± He continued to walk, not troubled by his vulnerabilities due to his type of armor.

    After thirty minutes of walking, Cyrus reached his house. He laid her on the couch in the living room and did another thorough check up. Somewhat satisfied, Cyrus took his armor off and sat down across from the girl. Cyrus knew he would need to find some herbs soon to help heal some of her injuries so he made a mental checklist of what he would need. A darker tinge of orange sunlight filtered through the window. Cyrus knew that the sun would be setting soon and quickly went out to search for the necessary ingredients.

    A/N: Writing is fun but mentally exhausting... Not sure when the next chap will be up. Hope you guys are enjoying it

 Chapter 4: Potion Making

    Silence filled the forest as two moons shined down. Every once in a while, the sound of prey struggling to fight off the predators echoed throughout. Stars twinkled in the night sky and fireflies danced below in the distance as if conversing.

    Nights like these were what made a person appreciate nature, except for one lone figure seen flicking fireflies out of the way as he continued his search. It wasn¡¯t that Cyrus didn¡¯t appreciate what was around him, but his current predicament allowed for no spare thoughts. In the game, harvesting had been extremely easy, storing away as many things as you wanted into the menu. But the lack of a menu function currently stumped him. In both hands and mouth, Cyrus carried different plants as he walked back, mentally exhausted from his longer-then-expected foraging. He decided that he would need to make money somehow to buy a bag, vowing never to go through this again.

    ¡°I wonder if they have something like an extra-dimensional bag or something.¡± Or at least that¡¯s what Cyrus attempted to say but he mumbled about with his mouth full. He made sure not to have swallowed any and kept walking. This is how he spent the past couple hours while collecting what he needed.

    Soon, Cyrus made it back to his house. The female elf seemed the same as when he had left her. She must not have been with those men for so long, due to the lack of major injuries and symptoms of long-term abuse. So he went to a door near the staircase that led to the second floor and opened it, revealing a staircase that led down to the basement.

    In the basement were a couple of large tables and an endless array of bottles, test tubes and all different kinds of equipment that resembled a lab. He put the ingredients down on the table and went in search of what he needed: a scale, flasks, a heating stone, a bucket of water, and a mortar and pestle. Cyrus quickly ground the plants that he brought and placed some in a flask and poured some water in. Waiting for the heating stone to bring it to a boil, he carefully measured out different quantities of the other ground up herbs. Cyrus had collected enough ingredients to make several potions, but he wasn¡¯t sure how the quality would turn out outside of the game. After the first flask started to boil, he poured a couple different piles of ground herbs and added more water. The liquid in the flask began to turn pink, then blue in color, the color of a normal potion.

    Now with the base of his potion done, Cyrus began to grind the different flowers that he had found that should increase the quality of the healing potions. Cyrus knew this is where it got tricky, he had to pour perfect amounts of each flower into the base at specific intervals and in a precise order. Not doing so would lead to ruining the entire potion. This part was the most difficult and time consuming part of making high quality potions, which is why most alchemists in the game avoided it. Cyrus, however, enjoyed the process. It may have something to do with his family¡¯s business, but he enjoyed the challenge of making high quality concoctions. He also experimented quite often, usually leading to loss of spending huge amounts of money to buy ingredients but the rare results were worthwhile and always kept him going.

    By now, roughly an hour passed by and Cyrus had used that time to make several other average quality potions that he hoped to sell somewhere. With enough money, he could buy processed ingredients at an alchemist¡¯s shop rather than spending so much time foraging. Even though Cyrus was a master alchemist and enjoyed alchemy, he preferred to experiment rather than make things to sell. But with a lack of funds, he would need to change his priorities for a while.

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!Leaving the other potions in the basement, Cyrus walked up the stairs with his now blood red potion. It was very late into the night and Cyrus was starting to feel the effects of his mental exhaustion.

    Before Cyrus gave the girl the potion, he wanted to clean her face first, something he probably should have done earlier but forgot to. He cleaned her face of all the blood and dirt with a damp cloth but decided against cleaning her body. He decided it would be better for her peace of mind if she did it herself later. Putting the dirtied cloth away, Cyrus leaned her head up on a pillow and gently opened her mouth. He slowly poured the potion into her mouth, making sure not to put in too much at a time. When the flask emptied, her wounds, internal and external, immediately began to heal. He knew that she would probably not wake up for a while, but he was still unsure of her reaction when she does wake up. Although the potion would heal all of her injuries and potential diseases, it could not heal mental injuries.

    Exhausted, Cyrus went upstairs and jumped on the bed, bothering only to take his sword off. Staring at the ceiling, Cyrus thought back to everything that had happened in just one day. As his eyes began to close, Cyrus hoped for a more peaceful and quiet life.

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    A pair of delicate green eyes fluttered open. Quickly looking around, fear gripped the female elf when she couldn''t recognize her surroundings. She remembered running away from home and hoping to travel to the Kingdom of Elderon in search of her elder brother. She realized that she had been tricked by several men and kidnapped, then been beaten and abused. She didn¡¯t know where she was, but her mind was too filled with fear to think properly. Clutching the robe, she stumbled to get outside. The chill morning air gave her goosebumps but that didn¡¯t stop her from running. She didn¡¯t know where she was running to, be she just had to get away, away from it all. Running deeper into the forest, the young elf made no effort to hide her presence.

    The scent of the elf caught the attention of a creature sleeping inside a large hole in a tree. Normally a nocturnal predator, the black dire wolf couldn¡¯t let the thought of such easy prey go. With quick determination, the wolf chased after her. Seeing the large monster behind her, the girl could only try to run faster, but the dense forest was unknown to her. She tripped on the mangled roots beneath her and fell to the ground. The girl let go of the oversized cloak and tried to crawl as far as she could. But she no longer had the power in her legs to get up and continue running.

    The dire wolf charged faster seeing its prey so vulnerable. Reaching a close distance, the monster lunged at the elf¡¯s neck. Crashing down, a red sword right in the middle of the dire wolf¡¯s head pinned it to the ground right in front of her.

    ¡°Thanks for helping us get breakfast.¡± A smiling male elf sat on top of the large wolf, both hands on the hilt of the sword. His blue eyes sparkled with amusement at the situation.

    A/N: Sometimes it takes me multiple hours to write a chapter because I have no set plan for this story, so sorry for the lack of chapters and their length. If any of you guys have any ideas for anything or comments, let me know. Thanks for reading

 Chapter 5: Fools Gold

    A/N: Hello there, I''ll have to apologirze beforehand for this chapter. I''m not exactly the best at ''world-building'' but wanted to put out enough info of the capital of Elderon so you guys knew a little bit about it. I didn''t try to get into too much detail, but hopefully it was enough for you guys to get some idea. I didn''t think it was too bad, but I still decided to give you guys a longer chapter to make up for it. Hope you enjoy

    Hundreds of birds flew over the sprawling capital of the Kingdom of Elderon below. The city was surrounded by a just as extensive wall that towered well over a hundred feet. But that was just the first wall, a second and third wall separated the slums and normal residential area from the more affluent areas of the city. As the walls got closer to the center of the city, the height of the walls decreased by a third of the previous one. The walls that surrounded the city protected from invasions, both foreign and domestic.

    Most of the hustle and bustle of the capital, Fendrel ¨C named after the royal bloodline¡¯s family name ¨C occurred in the less affluent parts of town. Markets and stalls persuaded people to take a look and haggling would ensue for items of poor quality, yet these were the only things they knew they could afford. Dust was in constant upheaval due to the movement on the main dirt roads that ran throughout the district.

    During times of hardship, some would look at the walls shorter walls with hope and admiration, but most looked at it with jealousy and anger. Most of the people of the capital lived in this area known as the Outer District, nicknamed the Slums. The Outer District housed an estimated two hundred thousand people and spanned roughly half a mile from the outer wall to the second wall. About half of the people in the Outer District were poor enough to live out on the streets or in deep poverty, but the other half are usually small-time business owners and low-ranking knights. Buildings were built close to each other in order to maximize space, and gave off a poor and cramped feeling. Many of the wooden buildings were so close that small alleyways were numerous the entire district.

    Major brothels were also located in the Outer District, where the profession was more accepted. Many in the slums were also slaves of all different races, who were usually forced to work as prostitutes and laborers. People of all kind could be seen frequenting these places, even in broad daylight.

    The major guilds were also found here, such as the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. But each guild was not a part of a kingdom¡¯s power but independent group. And each country understood their roles and did not dare to abuse the power in fear of losing business with them, which were always a good source of a state¡¯s tax haul.

    On the other side of the second wall, the wealthy avoided looking towards the Outer District as if that part of the city never existed, an obvious dissonance between the two sides. Cobbled roads, cafes and fancy stores stood out on the sides of streets, enticing customers with looks of luxury rather than words. Buildings were much larger and better spaced out in order to give the people more privacy and a sense of wealth.

    This area of the capital was known as the Noble¡¯s District. Although not all were nobles, all of the residents had enough money to live there and still support their lifestyles. A few hundred wealthy citizens resided in the Noble¡¯s District, all with varying power and wealth. The Noble¡¯s District was also had slaves. Slaves were identified by their collars around their neck and their ownership was given with magic and thought to be unbreakable. It was common for many of the Noble¡¯s District residents to compare wealth and power by the number of slaves and paid-servants one had.

    The deeper one went into the Noble¡¯s District, the larger the homes and less populated it became. The reason why the name, Noble¡¯s District, was used, the top nobles living in the capital lived here. Although most of the important nobles lived here, some were in charge of their own territories within the Kingdom and chose not live in the capital.

    In the center of the city, a large building stood inside of the third wall. The land around the castle leading up to the wall was by no means small either, a half mile in diameter. The land was large enough that multiple military barracks and a large cathedral took residence in the area around the castle like building. Men shuffled in and out of the dull grey barracks. Most were dressed in their full armor of various quality, showing their differing ranks and posts. Sounds of metal clashing resounded as men trained in the fields.

    Singing and chanting echoed throughout the elegant cathedral. Its white walls made it difficult to look directly at the cathedral and the stained-glass windows showed a single figure acting out multiple scenes. Men and occasionally women dressed in white scurried about. Churches and temples smaller in size were plentiful throughout each section of the city, but this cathedral represented the main headquarters within the kingdom.

    An expansive castle stood in the center of the entire city. Although, not the type of stone castle most would think of, but a mansion with castle-like qualities with towers, guard posts, etc. It seemed as if the cost of that very mansion could buy the entire capital. Hundreds of ornate glass windows covered the light red building, showing off its luxury. The castle was filled with palace guards and servants, each one seemingly busy.

    ~ * ~

    A man dressed in regal attire stood atop one of the several balconies overlooking the city beneath. He had a rather young looking face that was neither handsome nor ugly. But his brown hair streaked with gray hinted at his true age being older than he looked. On his head, he wore a golden crown covered in jewels of all different colors that matched well with his lightly tanned skin.

    A knock on the door broke the man¡¯s concentration, ¡°Enter.¡±

    ¡°Your highness, the guards have retrieved the elf, Everard, as you¡¯ve requested. They are awaiting your arrival in the throne room. The queen and princess are currently there as well.¡± A well-aged man dressed like a butler entered informing the king, often called the Fool''s Gold King by the people and even most of his retainers.

    Although called the Fool''s Gold King behind his back, he was not entirely unintelligent. The current king had a penchant for satisfying his own desires and used his power as king to do so, even to the dismay of the people. As a spoiled only son of the late King Grayson, he had received whatever he desired and only got worse as he gained power. King Rainier had a thirst for wealth and power, and that usually came at the expense of the people of his kingdom. He had a knack for pretending to be working for the people, but most knew of his selfish antics, thus earning him the name Fool''s Gold King.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Without so much as a glance, the king answered, ¡°I will meet them at once.¡± The butler opened the door and bowed, allowing the king to go first. The butler soon followed at a respectable distance.

    The two men walked through a large indoor corridor, furnished with luxurious goods and carpeted with a golden silk rug that ran throughout all of the indoor corridors of the castle. Large brown double doors covered in detailed carvings awaited the two. A maid stood by with her head down and the door opened for the king to enter. Upon entering the throne room, a spacious, but barely furnished room greeted the king. He climbed up a few steps towards the larger of two golden thrones at one end of the room. On the smaller throne was a woman with a pretty face and black hair that ran down to her back. She appeared to be slightly younger than the king, but not by much as evidenced by the small wrinkles on her face. She also wore a crown, albeit less lavish than the king¡¯s. Next to her, stood a beautiful teenage girl with a petite face, slim figure and curly light-brown hair that fell to her shoulders. Both women wore elegant dresses with intricate designs sewn onto them. She had a worried look on her face, seemingly as if on the verge of tears.

    As the king sat down on his throne, he looked down on his visitor and smiled. He had a stature that attempted to show his authority, but was not overly intimidating. ¡°Well done gentlemen. I appreciate your hard work in apprehending the culprit. Answer me elf, why did you force yourself onto my daughter, a princess nonetheless?¡±

    A swollen face looked up from his forced-down position, his arms held back by two men in bronze armor, ¡°King Rainier, your daughter and I love each oth¨C¡±

    The king, leaning forward, slammed his fist onto the armrest, ¡°SILENCE! I know that you tricked my beloved daughter to sleep with you! Do not think you could trick me with your words. There is no such thing as love between an elf and royalty! And do not dare speak so casually with me, such insolence will not be tolerated. Now speak only the truth.¡± The king leaned back and the face of his daughter visibly worsened at his words.

    ¡°Your highness, I¡¯m sure it would be greatly beneficial for the royal family of Fendrel and the royal family of Ashdell. If you would just please listen, your daughter and I, we truly do love each other. I am sure my father would be very happy at the thought our union!¡± The well-built elf prince, popular for his looks and brains, knew he had been defeated. Usually too intelligent to let something like this happen, his romance with the princess had blinded him long enough to get caught. He knew they could not kill him, but he didn¡¯t know how far they would go.

    He would have to play the fool so as to not anger the king, Everard thought.

    The king could only stare incredulously, ¡°You believe that I care for a worthless elf?¡± He scoffed at the mere idea. ¡°Elves believe themselves to be above a human, but you are poorly mistaken young elf. You have no position here, nor anywhere on this side of the continent. You are a mere subhuman and do not understand the station in which elves belong. I am the one that allowed you to study at the royal palace. Yet, you have not only made a mockery of me and my family, but to the human race as well!¡± Rainier spit the last sentence vehemently, veins bulged in his neck.

    ¡°Gawayn, Erec.¡± Two guards wearing full golden armor, signifying their position as the elite group known as the royal guards, came forward and knelt in front of the king.

    He quickly gave out his orders, ¡°Take the elf to the prison and torture him for vulnerabilities within the Elven Kingdom, but do not kill him. Get a priest to heal his wounds before each session starts again. Tell no one of his whereabouts. He cannot be found and we cannot afford to go to war with the Elves.¡± Yet.

    ¡°Yes, your highness.¡±

    Although a large and economically thriving nation, mostly in part to the well governed cities throughout the kingdom, the Elves equally as dangerous in that regard, if not more so. There affinity for magic always posed a problem for anyone who trifled with them. But Elderon¡¯s military numbers was nothing to scoff at either.

    ¡°No! Father, please believe Eve! We really do love each other.¡± The young princess ran down towards the elf lunging forward to embrace him, only to be stopped by royal guards, Gawayn and Erec. She started crying, pleading for her father¡¯s forgiveness for Everard, but Rainier only looked at the girl with pity.

    I can¡¯t believe she had already come up with a nickname for the elf prince. She would have to be married to another kingdom soon, in order to maximize her use, he thought sadly, though not for his daughter¡¯s sake.

    ¡°No one is to speak a word about this. Guards, confine Aria in her room for today, she is not allowed to leave the palace grounds nor allowed to speak to anyone but the queen and I. Do not let her out of your sight outside of her room. And inform my son of the current situation. Everyone may now leave.¡±

    The king eyed the elf prince as he was led out of the throne room. He questioned if the rumors were true of his intelligence after watching him go without a struggle.

    The queen looked on with sure acceptance. She loved her daughter, but the queen had grown too accustomed to wealth and power. She wanted the Elven Kingdom¡¯s wealth for the family, and although a by-product, she knew that her husband was doing what needed to be done in order to achieve it. She would buy her children the best wealth can offer and make the royal family, the envy of other royalty. She could already feel the elven necklace grace her neck and the added luxury to their food. Her eyes glazed over at the thought of the chests full of clothes and accessories.

    Why bother to stop there? Who could stop her from buying an entire kingdom for their future vacations?

    Her daughter would be grateful once this was all over, she was sure of it: Money will always buy happiness.

 Chapter 6: Everyone Has Plans

    A/N: I know some of you guys wanted the mc back, but I promise he will be in the next chapter. Also, for all those commenting and rating, I really appreciate it and love to read what you guys are saying. Another thing is, yes my story is pretty cliche at the moment, and full of cliche moments. But I hope that my story will at least be decent in that regard and if not, then who cares, to each unto his (or her) own. Ah, for any who are confused with the different squiggly lines, I''ve just been playing around with, section breaks (is that what they''re called?). Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

    Two guards dragged the struggling princess to her room, while the other guards forced the elf to walk towards the prison below the castle.

    Aria couldn¡¯t believe they would treat her like this, like a criminal for loving someone. All she had wanted was to find someone who loved her as a person rather than her position, and she had finally found him, only to be taken away to be used in her father¡¯s ridiculous games. She couldn¡¯t help but feel betrayed by her family and the people around her.

    Aria slammed on the doors of her room, making as much noise as possible but there was no response. She knew that her room, being royalty, would be more private than others but for once, she despised her privacy. White curtains partially blocked the sun from entering the second story room while freshly brewed tea sat atop a table in the corner of her room.

    She understood that political marriages and appearance were all a part of royalty, but she so desperately wanted to live her own life. She was no longer a child, a woman at the age of eighteen years. And she saw the way people would look at her, as if she were the same as her fool of a father and mother. Those two were too selfish and absorbed to understand that most nearly everyone looked at them with malice.

    She had not been blessed like her brother in fighting nor in intellect like Everard, but regardless she also wanted to be someone, not just the royal princess who wears nice clothes all day. She wanted to do to things for the sake of others, she wanted to feel proud of who she was.

    Out of frustration, she tore her elegant pink dress off her body and threw it against the door. She jumped on her bed fit for three people covered in plush animal furs and screamed into one of her many pillows. Yet, she had done nothing, accepting whatever came her way. What a hypocrite she was.

    Calming down, she looked up at the ceiling. Its texture made it very difficult for her to tell if it was smooth or not. Letting her angry thoughts subside, she understood that her outburst was not going to get her anywhere. She would need to come up with something, anything. She vowed to find a way to let them be together, even at the price of her position.

    But first, she should put some clothes on.

    ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    The Crown Prince, Dorian Fendrel¡¯s, heavy steps echoed throughout the second story of the castle. A butler and a maid, attempted to follow but could not keep up with his quick and determined pace. He walked while rubbing both hands through his clipped short, dark brown hair, his tall and muscular stature overlooking most in the castle.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand my father! What is he trying to do, incite a war that would probably destroy the kingdom?¡± Dorian continued walking as he vigorously rubbed is head, utterly confused by his parent¡¯s crazed antics. He was just so glad to have been brought up by his uncle, a general in the army, otherwise he probably would have ended up just like his parents.

    He quickly approached the doors to his father¡¯s study, guarded by two men in golden armor. Letting the Crown Prince go by, Dorian slammed the doors open, his armor making loud sounds as if to voice his anger.

    ¡°Do you understand what you are doing to his kingdom? You do realize that a war with the Elves is nearly a sure thing, and although I have faith in our army, the kingdom will be devastated. Have you any brains left father?¡± Dorian quick-fired the questions, knowing his father won¡¯t even answer. For over a decade, his father had been making decisions that did more harm to the kingdom than the nobles had, usually a rare occurrence if history lessons were correct. Although his father had been a rather bad monarch, he never did enough to bring the kingdom so close to a disaster like now.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry son, I have everything under my control.¡± Rainier gave his son an overly large smile. ¡°Ah, do you think you could get me some herbal tea for my head. My headaches have been worse today than it has been in years.¡± Dorian¡¯s father¡¯s eyes looked bloodshot and glazed over.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Seeing his father in such a state, he no longer felt the desire to argue right at this moment. He immediately turned around and walked out, informing the butler and maid that had eventually caught up to him to retrieve what his father desired.

    Going over his thoughts, he wondered, ¡°He¡¯s been drinking that tea for years now, but it¡¯s never looked like it works. When did some of the other people start drinking it too?¡±

    ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    The elf prince looked down as he walked down an endless flight of stairs. He was determined not to give any information to the king, even if they killed him. He knew that this was his fault and he would have to handle it himself. He would not survive an escape so he would have to endure for the time being. Everard just hoped that his sister wouldn¡¯t do anything too rash after not hearing back for so long. He knew she was too weak to handle the rigors of the world outside the Elven Kingdom.

    Finally downstairs, small light crystals dimly lit the way. It was a narrow and damp corridor and each side of the wall had numerous barred cells. But Everard wasn¡¯t placed into any of them. Confused, he kept walking until he reached the end of hall where several doors instead of cells now fitted each side. Pushed into one of the brightly lit rooms, Everard tumbled forward and promptly tied down into a stone chair. He faced a man with burn marks all over his face and a vertical scar that ran from his left eyebrow to his chin, standing behind a table full of tools. The top half of his right ear was missing and his left eye was wooden. The man wore a dark robe that covered his entire body neck down. The two guards stood by the door, to make sure nothing went too far.

    The robed man clapped his hands as if applauding, causing his eye to fall onto the table. ¡°Oops, can¡¯t be losing that now can we. I need that to see!¡± He pushed aside some of the tools before licking the wooden eye and shoving it into the socket with a popping sound. ¡°Ah, much better!¡±

    ¡°Hello there elf prince, do you mind if I call you Eve during your little stay? I heard that¡¯s what the princess calls you.¡± The man cackled in laughter, his yellowed teeth showing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, I¡¯m just an assassin class who like to dabble in torture. It¡¯ll be a good way to pass the time and learn more about each other. So let¡¯s put a smile on that face!¡± Brown hair fell over his eyes when he leaned forward on the table. Moving his locks aside, he revealed a smile full of insanity.

    ¡°Besides, I heard some rumors saying elves regenerate.¡±

    ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    Two hooded figures were drinking out of wooden mugs around a tall bar table. The air inside was stuffy and sweat gleamed off of the two foreheads.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why you chose this place. I know it shouldn¡¯t the Noble¡¯s District, but you could at least bring me to somewhere¨C¡± the man was interrupted when a drunk man bumped into him, causing him to spill the contents of his drink onto the table. Pushing the man off of him, he continued, ¡°These people smell disgusting, the place smells disgusting, and I have no idea what I¡¯m drinking. You could have at least brought me somewhere more civilized. If we weren¡¯t trying to be so hush-hush about this, I would have killed that man right now. You¡¯ve never picked a place like this. Hmph.¡± The man pulled his hood tighter over his face to try and hide his apparent anger.

    ¡°Calm down, Ellis. This place is so crowded and everyone is too drunk to understand our conversation. I received good news earlier and that¡¯s why I thought this was a good place to tell you. I was told that we can finally return. That was the last batch of sugg weed to finally put this kingdom down and drag the elves with them.¡± The other man smiled at his friend.

    Ellis¡¯ eyes looked up, no longer filled with anger but with relief and joy, ¡°That¡¯s the best news I¡¯ve heard in years! What about the maid girl you got to fall in love with you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been taken care of. Tonight will be the last night I meet with her. The poison will take her out in a week, and make it look like food did her in.¡±

    Downing the rest of their drinks in one go, both men got up and walked out, laughing as they walked through the narrow alleyways of the Outer District.

 Chapter 7: Breakfast and a Story

    Leaving the sword in the dire wolf¡¯s skull, Cyrus picked up his cloak and gently tossed it at the girl.

    ¡°Here, put this on. It¡¯s a little chilly out this morning.¡± He turned around and walked toward the wolf but stopped. ¡°Also, if you want something to eat, you might want to follow me. And you could run away again, but let¡¯s be honest, you¡¯d probably die out there if the past couple minutes were any indication¡± Cyrus continued to walk without looking back. He hoped he had not been too harsh, but he knew he shouldn¡¯t force her to do anything.

    If his senses weren¡¯t so acute, he probably wouldn¡¯t have known that she ran away until it was too late. Waking up as soon as he heard footsteps, he rushed downstairs to find that she had left. Not even bothering to put his gear on, just taking his sword, he ran after her. Luckily, he had been there when the dire wolf heard her so he was able to kill it just in time. Although, he won¡¯t tell her that he let it chase her longer he could have, to add a sense of fear into the forest and hope that it would help her trust him.

    He ripped the sword out of monster¡¯s head and dragged it by its jaws. He walked slowly, not because the body was too heavy but because he was waiting for the female elf to gather her wits.

    Although dazed, she shakily put the cloak on and followed him nervously looking around at the slightest movements in the woods. She knew she would not be able to survive on her own any longer and had to take the chance, no matter how suspicious the man seemed to be.

    After a short thirty minute walk, Cyrus walked out into a sandy bank with a large lake ahead. He left the wolf¡¯s carcass near the bank and walked up to the frail elf. He took his sword out of the scabbard, causing her to shrink away, but Cyrus only flipped the sword handing her the hilt.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna gather some firewood, you stay here. You probably don¡¯t trust me yet so I¡¯ll let you hold onto the sword if it makes you feel any better.¡± She only stared at his ears. ¡°And yes, if it makes you feel better, I am an elf and I live around here. Also, you might want to wash up. I promise I won¡¯t look.¡± She finally nodded, slightly more relaxed, and tried to take the sword. The sword, being apparently very heavy, caused her to drag the sword across the ground as she walked towards the carcass.

    While he collected firewood along the tree line, Cyrus was sure he could hear her trying to stifle her crying.

    ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    The fire crackled and the smell of roasted meat permeated the air. Light smoke rose in the air and stretched towards the skies, dispersing at the slightest push of the wind.

    Cyrus watched the light dance on the surface of the lake. He made sure the meat stil wasn¡¯t uncooked and the large black hide was drying properly.

    ¡°So, uh, Princess Aradhel, you¡¯re telling me that you only remember being hit and that they forced you to do some stuff with your mouth?¡± Cyrus curiously looked at the elf across from him.

    ¡°Please call me Aradhel, I don¡¯t really like titles. And yes, that is all I remember of those men,¡± her face was downcast and she barely whispered the last part. She had finally relaxed enough to talk, especially when he had told her she could hold onto the sword during breakfast. Although Cyrus had not said too much about himself, he had told her enough to trust him somewhat it seemed like. Although, Cyrus was quite sure part of that may have to do with the fact that he was also an elf. He was quite surprised when she had told him that she was the princess of the Elven Kingdom.

    Well, I really don¡¯t know if I should tell her what happened. I think I¡¯ll let it go. I don¡¯t know how I would break it to her anyways, Cyrus quickly fired thought after thought questioning his role.

    ¡°Ah ok, well at least nothing went too far, I guess.¡± Cyrus cringed at his response. ¡°So, what is a princess doing out here, alone nonetheless?¡± Cyrus handed her some skewered meat, its oily fat dripping down the tender red meat.

    Her petite figure was dwarfed in the cloak that she now properly wore. Grateful, she took a bite of the meat and opened her eyes. With each bite, she would rip another piece off of the wooden skewers and the oil dripped down her chin unnoticed.

    If she hadn¡¯t told him that she was around a hundred years old, he probably would have guessed her to be anywhere from sixteen to eighteen, especially with her small stature and body development. She reached around Cyrus¡¯s chest height, around five feet. Not that Cyrus knew if that was a normal elf height or not since you could customize to a certain extent in the game.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m looking for my older brother. I haven¡¯t heard back from him and he always writes me once a week.¡± Aradhel had a very shy demeanor, but he wasn¡¯t sure if she was normally like this. ¡°King Elr¨C my father, he probably knows by now about me going to see what happened to my brother, but he probably doesn¡¯t care what happens to me.¡±

    Cyrus didn¡¯t miss the fact that she nearly called the king by his name. ¡°Why would the king of an entire kingdom not care about his only daughter? I won¡¯t force you to tell me, it seems like something you¡¯re uncomfortable with. But the more you tell me, the more I can help. Maybe even help with your brother.¡±

    She looked up quickly with a little hope before looking back down, but Cyrus knew that he may have hooked her there. ¡°The truth is, King Elron is not really mine and my brother¡¯s father. Queen Gwendelyn is infertile and he found us at an orphanage he visited during one of his travels. To be honest, he didn¡¯t want to take me, he only wanted my brother. But my brother refused to go unless I could go as well.¡± She smiled when she mentioned her brother. ¡°I have a chronic illness, and no magic or medicine can cure it. The king didn¡¯t want anything to do with someone like that, but my brother was a prince before he even became one. He was smart, always had friends, and he never stopped taking care of me. I never amounted to anything, not even magic.¡± By this point, tears were trickling down her slim face. ¡°But I know my brother, he would never forget to write me back. I asked the king if he could help me figure it out, but he never listens to me unless my brother asks him too.¡±

    She looked up at Cyrus again, this time without tears, but with determination. ¡°Please help me find out what happened to my brother.¡±

    Cyrus was momentarily stunned, not because of the story but because that sounded like her entire life story and it sounded like the truth too. Why should would put so much trust in him now, he did not know.

    Maybe he should have started with her brother first, Cyrus joked with himself. He stared at the determined face and made up his mind, ¡°I have some business in Elderon regardless. I guess, we can go together, but I won¡¯t promise to risk losing my life for your brother. Is that fine with you?¡±

    Cyrus had decided to help where he could, but what he really wanted was more information. The city would be a good start but there would be no one better than someone who was royalty.

    Aradhel only nodded, fully knowing that she could not ask for more than that.

    ¡°First we need to go back to the house, so I can get my gear. We¡¯ll get you some clothes at the nearest settlement. How far away is Fendrel from the border?¡± In the game, Cyrus could fast-travel, but he knew that would be impossible here.

    Cyrus kicked some sand into the fire. He wrapped up the rest of the raw meat with the dire wolf¡¯s pelt, but Cyrus could not help but wish for the convenience of the menu.

    Aradhel put a finger on her chin as she thought, ¡°I believe it would be about three days ride on horse. And thank you. For everything.¡± She looked down again, this time her concentration on the sword, while she clutched at the cloak with both hands.

    Cyrus could only smile at the girl, already ruining his hopes for a quiet life. He knew that getting to the prince would not be as simple as fighting several bandits. But maybe that¡¯s the kind of life he wanted, he didn¡¯t know.

    He turned around and began walking, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. You may be sick, but I won¡¯t take it easy on the trip.¡± Cyrus paused. ¡°And as payment for my services, you can hold onto the sword for me.¡±

    Aradhel walked to catch up, both hands on the hilt, but she could only struggle as she dragged the sword through the forest. As they both walked, Cyrus could only wonder if she had some type of brother-complex.

    A/N: I think I finally found the death of me and my writing: non-action scenes. It''s quite hard for me to write something like this I found out and not the most enjoyable either. Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know that college will be starting up soon for me and I doubt I will have much writing time. Just a heads up. Don''t know if I''ll be able to continue or try to work through it, but as a college student with a part-time job, I have more on plate than to worry about a novel that was meant just for fun. It''s up to the rest of you guys if you want to keep reading or not. Regardless, hope you enjoy the chapter.

    Also, do you guys think this story would be better read as a first person or as is? And I can try one chapter as a first person

 Chapter 8: Midnight Stroll

    A/N: So I got quite a bit of comments and some of you guys have pointed out some plot holes you found (if they were or not). Many of you have valid points that I completely forgot to talk about. Unfortunately, I will not fixing anything nor editing the story because it would take too much time and not worth it for an on-a-whim story. But I am very glad to know all of these and hope to apply it to my future writing, one where I actually plan out what I am doing. Anways, thanks for all of the comments and happy reading!

    It was mid-morning when they got back to the house. He put the rest of the meat in a magic box that kept the food frozen and hung the pelt outside to dry. For some reason, he knew that nothing would come to steal it. Then again, he wondered why no one ever walked by his house.

    Cyrus put on his light armor and sword. Surprisingly, Aradhel wanted to carry his sword and dragged it all the way back to the house. Her arms, not used to the weight, shook from the exertion, but she seemed to have a proud look on her sweaty face. He went downstairs with some plants he found on the way back. As he made some extra potions, Aradhel watched.

    ¡°Tell me what kind of symptoms you have from your illness.¡± Cyrus was curious if he could figure out what possible disease she had and if his potion had cured it.

    ¡°Um, usually I cough a lot and it doesn¡¯t stop when it happens. Recently, I started coughing up blood as well.¡± She seemed more open towards him after settling down and having that talk.

    ¡°You most likely have a disease called Tuberculosis. I originally gave you one of my higher-end potions when I first brought you back here. I think it cured you of any physical ailments you may have had.¡± Cyrus nonchalantly continued to work while Aradhel just stared at him.

    ¡°I¡­ um¡­ Thank you. Again.¡± She couldn¡¯t even believe that her something that has caused her endless amounts of pain could vanish so quickly. Cyrus only shrugged at the response.

    ¡°Is that a high quality blue potion? How could you make such a thing?¡±

    ¡°These are high quality?¡± Cyrus had a confused face. In the game, this would have been an average item that could be bought at a relatively low price.

    ¡°Depending on who you sell it to, those should go for about ten silver for a small potion!¡± Aradhel couldn¡¯t understand how he could make such potions and not know of their apparent worth. Cyrus never replied, but he figured that potions were in high demand during these dangerous times. Cyrus didn¡¯t plan on telling her that he had used a blood red potion on her.

    After Cyrus divided the blue potions into small flasks, he had Aradhel place them into the multiple pockets lining the inside of the cloak. He walked out with Aradhel in tow. He set out for a fast pace, knowing the general direction from when he had played the game. Cyrus kept his pace at a moderate speed, so that Aradhel would not get left behind but enough to keep her walking at her max pace. The walk was mostly silent for the next few hours, except to tell Aradhel there would be a break, for which she was grateful. Cyrus never really cared for a conversation if he didn¡¯t have to and Aradhel was too shy to speak up, as well as still having some apprehensions. The walk was entirely uneventful as well, with nothing disturbing the pair.

    Finished with their last break Cyrus and Aradhel began walking along an old game trail. This time, there was no silence. Cyrus wanted to know about Lindor the Elven capital, and the king who was also different from the game. ¡°So tell me about Lindor and the King.¡±

    Aradhel perked up at a chance to speak, ¡°Lindor is located in the center of the Elven Forest. There are about a hundred thousand elves living in the capital and more in the surrounding cities. Although our population is smaller compared to other nations, we are a thriving kingdom. Although Elron is the king, there is a small council as well, full of elders from throughout the kingdom.¡± Ardhel paused thinking of what to say about her adoptive father. ¡°King Elron is a powerful mage who overtook the throne, as a general, when the previous king was killed during an invasion by the dwarves a couple hundred years ago. I don¡¯t know exactly how old he is, but his magic seems to be declining recently. He also despises anyone who is not elvish, especially humans and dwarves. My brother wanting to study in a human kingdom brought him a lot of grief. However, to those he cares about, he is a kind man. But to those he dislikes, he is a man of hatred.¡±

    Cyrus figured that she had felt much of the latter from the king. ¡°I hope I never meet him.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I would like to kill the man.¡± He didn''t tell her that the king reminded him of his father.

    Before Aradhel could respond, the forest thinned out and a decent-sized town came into view. Although there were a few guards that appeared to patrol the outer portion of the town, there was no wall or any type of surrounding defense. He figured the patrol was more of an early warning system for the rest of the soldiers inside the town as well as to deter any rogue bandits.

    They found a path that led to the town. ¡°Here¡¯s the plan. And unfortunately, you can¡¯t argue with it. I¡¯m only telling you because it¡¯ll be simpler if you understood my intentions when we arrive. We are going to sell a couple potions and see what we can get from that. If we can¡¯t get enough stuff, I¡¯ll have to get it through unconventional methods.¡± Cyrus continued to walk in a relaxed manner as they approached the town. Aradhel had not said anything, but he assumed she was listening. He would do what he had to do, regardless of if she followed. To be truthful, he kind of hoped it would resort to that. He wanted to test himself with different types of fighters.

    ¡°Stop!¡± A thick-built guard from one of the patrols came up to us. ¡°State your intention.¡±

    ¡°Hello, my sister and I are just travelling and we needed a place to stay. It gets pretty dangerous out there at night, you know with the bandits and all.¡± Cyrus flashed a friendly smile while putting up both hands in the air to show his lack of resistance.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Why doesn¡¯t she have any shoes on?¡± The guard eyed Aradhel¡¯s dirty feet.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s actually a funny story. You see, we were walking through the forest, you know, trying to get here through a short cut. But then all of a sudden, a dire wolf started chasing us. So we had to climb a tree and wait it out. We used my sister¡¯s shoes to try and lure the thing away. Thank the gods, it worked.¡± Cyrus quietly laughed, shaking his head.

    ¡°A dire wolf? Damn, those things are bad news. Not many can say they escaped! Well, welcome to Larel.¡± The guard chuckled, completely buying into the story.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Thank you, so nice to see people again.¡± Aradhel had kept silent the entire time without looking up. Cyrus, assuming the town followed the same map-out of the game, Larel had some cheap beginner¡¯s clothes stores as well as a beginner level alchemist¡¯s shop.

    ¡°Aradhel, what is the currency?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s 100 copper coins for 1 silver coin, and 100 silver coins for 1 gold coin. Every country should be using the same currency so that trade would be easier.¡± She looked up at him a little confused why someone would ask such a simple question. Cyrus just ignored the look, but scowled at the fact that his inventory held thousands upon thousands of gold coins.

    They walked through wide streets and many of the people they passed stared at them. They all wore simple clothing that showed the complete lack of wealth in the town. Although, not exactly as the game had mapped it out, the alchemist¡¯s shop was found in the same general area, with a sign of a bubbling flask hanging from the awning. The two walked inside, finally escaping the obvious looks from the town¡¯s people. Inside were shelves lined with alchemy equipment and a few various types of plants. Behind the counter was an old man, with a scraggly white beard and a bald head with a few grey strands sticking out.

    ¡°Oh, a pleasure to meet an elf. It¡¯s been quite a while. How may I be of assistance?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I would like to sell some potions. Here.¡± Cyrus put a hand out to Aradhel who handed him a small flask.

    ¡°Is that what I think it is? Where did you get such a high quality potion?¡± The old man reach out to grab the blue potion but Cyrus moved it away from reach while putting his other hand on the mans forehead. The man struggled and swung his arms to reach but Cyrus was too strong to let him get past.

    ¡°I made it. Now, give me the right price.¡±

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll give you seven silver coins.¡±

    ¡°Make it ten each and I¡¯ll give you three.¡± Aradhel placed two more small flasks on the counter, making the old man¡¯s eyes widen.

    ¡°Argh, fine. You have a deal. Tell me where you got these.¡± The man bent over and grabbed a pouch, letting it fall onto the counter with a thud. He took thirty silver coins and handed them to Cyrus, who then gave the alchemist the third flask.

    ¡°Sorry, but that¡¯s a trade secret. By the way, how much would a blood red potion cost? And before you get all excited, no I don¡¯t have one on me.¡± Cyrus pocketed the silver coins.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one in my entire life, but they¡¯d probably go for a couple gold. I heard those things could cure just about anything, even an entire limb if you had enough!¡± The old man began to daydream without ever noticing the pair leave the shop.

    Cyrus wondered why no one used the plants in the forest so close by. But he guessed it had something to do with the difficulty of the forest for people in real life, where respawns don¡¯t exist. Even the guard was quite scared of a dire wolf, which were mid-beginner level monsters, a little tougher than a few goblins.

    For the rest of the night, Cyrus and Aradhel, mainly Cyrus, haggled their way through store after store, getting what they needed, though most was for Aradhel. They also were able to buy a cheap canvas bag for Aradhel to carry and put the rest of the potions in. They had found an incredibly cheap inn and rented a night with one bed for a couple¡¯s reduction price, at the expense of Aradhel¡¯s embarrassment. Although there was no bath, much to both member¡¯s disappointment. They had roughly eighteen silvers left after their recent shopping spree. What they were not able to afford were horses that would speed up their current travels, but Cyrus already had a plan for that. There was a stable by the inn and he had heard sounds of horses from inside.

    He had planned to leave with Aradhel in the middle of the night to steal a couple horses and hope a guard doesn¡¯t catch them before they leave. Or maybe he did. His recent desire for bloodshed was more than unsettling, compared to his desire for bloodshed during a fight.

    After eating a bland and unimpressive dinner compliments of inn, Aradhel in her new civilian clothes and Cyrus went over the plan in their tiny room. Cyrus, himself, had never ridden a horse, but his character could and he made a good guess as to his riding ability. Aradhel was quite hesitant about stealing and even more so for killing, but she knew she had no choice.

    During his playing time, Cyrus had to figure out exactly what he wanted out of the game. He wanted to play to enjoy it. Therefore, he chose the warrior path first because he had always admired the knights and samurais of old. But once he mastered that class, he wanted to try something completely opposite, in terms of playing style. Therefore, he chose the assassin class, one where he could relish in thought out assassinations of other players. Now that Cyrus thought about it, he probably had some issues to pick those two to fight, but it wasn¡¯t the time to delve into his psyche to root out his issues. Fortunately, he can now somewhat justify his mental problems by using what he could to steal the horses. Not that Cyrus thought it would be all too difficult. Two horses, how hard could it be?

    Turns out harder than it should have been. Cyrus had not only successfully, and quite easily, stolen the horses without any notice. He did have to knock a beefy man with an axe sitting by the entrance of the inn though. The real problems began after they were slowly clopping down small streets.

    Aradhel rode without problem, a product of royal teachings. But as soon as she saw a guard, who was actually asleep against a wall, she panicked and rode her horse at full speed out of the town. The town not being overly large, helped in that regard, but the noise the horse made alerted many of the guards if not all. Fortunately, they were out of the town by the time they began chase but with a large group like that, Cyrus knew he couldn¡¯t let too many follow. The two could probably outride them if need be, but he didn¡¯t know if they would stop looking. He needed to get rid of the witnesses and fast.

    Once the town was out of sight, Cyrus yelled, ¡°Keep going a couple miles and wait for me!¡± Aradhel looked back, but kept riding until she was out of sight as well.

    The group was about five hundred feet behind now and seemed to only be five guards. Not that there were too many in that town. ¡°Most of them must have stayed back just in case of an impending attack.¡±

    Letting her go, Cyrus stopped his horse and jumped off. His jet black cloak fluttered as the wind blew over the plain. He led the horse off of the road so as to get it out of the way and tied it to a nearby branch. He stood waiting as the sound of hooves got closer and closer. He could only smile as his unsheathed sword already seemed to drip blood in the dim moonlight.

 Chapter 9: Blood Elf

    Cyrus crouched with both hands on his sword behind him as the guards approached him unaware. He closed his eyes while he stood waiting as the sound of hooves came closer and closer. Cyrus let the first one pass, without even being noticed. The second guard came soon after, and Cyrus¡¯ eyes shot open. Swinging his blade low and across, he cut part of the horse¡¯s leg, all the way up to the knee, throwing the guard several feet in front. However, Cyrus was not done. As the swing came to its end, he switched the direction and swung a backhand slash at the third horse that came after, causing the same throw for the guard. Not able to catch up to the speed of the fourth and fifth horse which came immediately after, Cyrus turned around with two horses on the ground beside him. He saw that the guards were wearing full body armor but no helmet, most likely due to the low visibility.

    By now, the guards were aware of Cyrus and circled around to face him. Both of the fallen guards were able to get up, albeit groggily. Two of the mounted guards charged with swords raised high while the unmounted guards quickly limped toward him. Cyrus didn¡¯t move. Actually, he couldn¡¯t move. His body wouldn¡¯t let him. If anything, his vision was beginning to get a little blurry and red, but he couldn¡¯t figure out why. But just as quickly as it came, it went, leaving Cyrus just like he was before. He was confused but did not have the time to think about it because of the approaching enemies.

    The mounted guards quickly approached, but that was enough for Cyrus, taking a knife out, he threw one at an incoming horse, hitting it in the throat. The guard this time was prepared but not well enough. He was thrown toward Cyrus as the horse buckled underneath, but the guard¡¯s falling position indicated he was trying to right himself mid-throw. At the same time, the other mounted guard, swung downwards with a powerful arc.

    To Cyrus¡¯ surprise, the guard yelled, ¡°Power cleave!¡± But what really caught Cyrus¡¯ eyes was the blade as it came down. It shimmered brightly, not to the point where it was blinding but enough to light the entire sword! That must have been a skill! Why had the man said it, he did not know. But he had completely forgot about his skills because he had simply assumed they would not work since the menu would not work. And since the bandits never used one, he assumed there weren¡¯t any in this new world.

    In the game, a player never said their skill so as to not give the other player an advantage. Although players were free to call it out if they wished, there was no advantage for doing so. What made the game even better, after a certain update, was players no longer had to think of the skill¡¯s name. As long as a player was able to practice enough, a player would gain muscle memory of the skill¡¯s movements and the skill would just activate when performing with the intention of the skill in mind, no longer needing to fully think about the skill. That actually played a part into a player¡¯s mastery of a class. Their dedication to their skills had to be excellent enough to have the skills become second nature. Although it did take time and quite a bit of practice, many of the truly better players like Cyrus were able to do it. Cyrus may have been the best at it, but there were many players right behind him, in that regard. All of that truly made the game an immersive experience for the player.

    What would indicate a skill activating was the weapon of choice would activate. Activations were different depending on the weapon class and not all looked alike. In the game at least, the more powerful the skill, the less bright and harder to detect the activation became. That was because the creators felt that weaker players would try to exploit better players by gaining an understanding on their skill set so that PVP would eventually become easier for them since a weaker player¡¯s respawn wasn¡¯t too costly. This had actually occurred in the beginning of the game, since looting was possible, when low level players would challenge better players and try to take notes on their skills so that they could trade the information to closer level players. That¡¯s why creators made it so only if opposing players were close enough in levels, they would be able to see each other¡¯s activation. For something that wasn¡¯t an intelligent species in the game like trees or animals, the activation was shown no matter what, and skills that weren¡¯t for weapons had an activation where used, like the eyes.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    He would have to try a skill right now, he had to know. Cyrus gracefully dodged it at the last second with a spin and as he spun, he swung his sword horizontally going through the motions of his beginner skill ¡®side slash¡¯ at the falling guard¡¯s neck. All that the other guards could see was the faintest shimmer in the moonlight. As the body hit the ground and slid to a stop, the head kept rolling leaving a bloody streak on the dirt road. Some of the blood splashed onto his face and clothes, the smell of blood wafting into his nose.

    Cyrus, at the moment, was upset because he could feel the sword begin its activation, but immediately faded away, as would a failed activation in the game would do. The clean cut had just been a result of his sword mastery, not of a skill.

    But the smell of blood got his heart pumping again. But the sound grew louder and louder, and Cyrus¡¯ heartbeat pounded away in his head. He could hear it too clearly and it started to give him a headache. Closing his eyes momentarily, he tried to will it to go away but it wouldn¡¯t, it only got worse. Cyrus couldn¡¯t think, his head hurt too much.

    Against his own will, his eyes opened and once again, his vision was blood red. But it was not blurry nor did it fade away. His senses sharpened even more and the smell of the blood on his face grew stronger.

    His body was no longer in control. It was if something primal was taking over Cyrus¡¯ mind and subconscious. All he could think about as his vision grew clearer, was his desire to see the blood of his enemies, but who his enemies were, even he could not remember anymore. He saw the guards up ahead and smiled a smile so wicked that even the gods themselves would be afraid. The blood on his face trickled down to his lips and he licked it, smiling even more.

    Only one thought wandered into his mind. He was a High Elf, better yet known as Blood Elves, and killing was his right, his purpose. That was his sole right as the gods had granted the Blood Elves. And he would make sure it would rain red tonight so that he could have his fill.

    A/N: Hey guys, so some of you commented about skills, and to be completely honest, I completely forgot.... orz. Anyways, I hope to try and add that in here because I didn''t know how else to do it without completely redoing some parts of the novel. Hope you guys don''t mind. Let me know if you guys think skills are a good idea or not or at least my version of skills were good or not. To be honest, I could never really like skills because the names always sound so cheesy. I wanted skills to be something that wasn''t yelled out, but more of something you would just do, like when you''re playing a sport, you don''t think of the move as you do it... You just do it. JUST DO IT! Labeouf references aside, hoped that I kinda conveyed that. Sorry for the short chapter as well, but I have some RL stuff coming up.

    Also, does the novel seem too forced these days? If it is, I feel like I should stop writing and trying to force things because that would just make it a crappy story and as much as it is for fun, I also have my pride in writing and would rather write a proper story (but that would mean I write one before releasing chapters). Anyways, be honest, and let me know what you guys think. Happy reading

 Chapter 10: Red Rain

    A/N: One comment said something about making classes seem more like styles rather than classes! And having skills like martial skills rather than RPG mechanic-styled ones! Why didn¡¯t I think of that¡­ orz. I feel like I should just make a group book together with you guys instead. Anyways, I think I¡¯ll start implementing the class as style thing without changing the other chapters, unless you guys say no. I hope you guys don¡¯t mind the change and read this for future reading, but what can you do? Nothing, cause I¡¯m the one writing muahaha. Well, I guess you guys could stop reading. Don¡¯t leave me! Also, don''t know when new chapter will be out. I feel like my wiritng quality has dropped significantly and I''m forcing too many things. Anyways, please enjoy and let me know what you guys think in the comments

    Be warned: Might be too graphic for some readers

    The guards could not move. Fear struck their minds when they saw Cyrus going through some sort of transformation. All they could see were blood red eyes and a smile that spelled their imminent deaths.

    For Cyrus, it was if a switch was flipped. He no longer thought, he only did. And the smell and sight of blood was intoxicating.

    The guard behind Cyrus had not seen his transformation, but he did see a dark red aura around him. One of extreme bloodlust, so thick it was visible even in the dark. Normally extreme bloodlust was not visible, but only in the most extreme cases could it be seen. Not that any of the common guards knew that. All they saw was a red mist around Cyrus and the eyes of the God of Death himself.

    Cyrus lurched one step forward, then another. He kept lurching until he was in front of the two unmounted guards, who were halfway from the guard all the way in the back. The guards couldn¡¯t move, their bodies wouldn¡¯t listen. All they could do was watch Cyrus struggle to walk towards them.

    Standing in front of the two, Cyrus swayed back and forth looking dazed. All of the guards held their breath not knowing what would happen. He stopped swaying and pointed his sword at one of them. He smiled, and then with one leap covered ten feet. Cyrus pulled his sword arm a little and thrust it out mid-jump. His sword went straight through the guard¡¯s chest. The sword slid right through the armor with a screech noise and came out the backside covered in blood. The guard went limp on the sword and Cyrus let go letting man and sword crumple to the ground.

    As for the other guard, he grabbed the man by the neck and held him up with one hand, as if the man was as light as air.

    Immediately, Cyrus threw the man down, and brought his hands into the man¡¯s mouth. The guard screamed and cried, and tried to bite down but Cyrus¡¯ hands were too strong. The guard was able to draw blood from the fingers that gripped his mouth, but could do nothing else. Cyrus pulled the jaws apart as hard as he could, ripping the jaw from the skull entirely.

    The sound of bone cracking through the air brought the last two guards out of their stupor. Horrified but outraged, they gathered what remained of their wit. The one behind Cyrus charged with his sword and yelled, ¡°Power cleave! Die demon!¡± The guard charged while the last guard brought up a bow and nocked an arrow. He attempted to aim at Cyrus but his hands were shaking too much for him to aim properly.

    Cyrus stomped on the man¡¯s head, crushing it with brute force, splattering blood all over. He turned around to face the guard charging him and smiled. He grabbed his sword and roughly pulled it out. Cyrus charged at the man and swung perpendicularly to the oncoming sword. He sliced right through the shimmering sword as if it were butter. After Cyrus had cleanly cut the sword in half, he continued to swing down and around to slice deep into the horse¡¯s hind leg. The horse fell over whinnying but not able to get up.

    Turning around, he slowly walked over to the fallen guard, who had fallen unconscious after hitting his head. Cyrus gingerly picked up the man by his head from behind which slightly bled from the fall. The man hung limply as Cyrus held him in front of his stomach.

    Cyrus turned the guard¡¯s face towards the guard with the bow, who still had not calmed down. Then, he lifted his blood-covered sword up to the man¡¯s neck and paused to smile at the guard with the bow.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill him you fucking bastard. Don¡¯t you dare do it! I swear I will shoot you!¡± The armed guard had threatened Cyrus, but in truth, he still for the life of him, could not aim. ¡°Please don¡¯t do it. I beg you, he¡¯s our captain. Please.¡± By now, the yelling had just turned to whimpering.

    Cyrus only smiled and slid his sword deep into the unconscious guard¡¯s neck, blood spraying the ground in front in a never ending fountain. Watching the bloody fountain finish, Cyrus tossed the body down and walked towards the last guard who was only thirty feet away.

    ¡°NO! Fuck you demon!¡± Not caring whether his aim was off, shot the arrow, which flew and miraculously hit Cyrus in his uncovered left thigh.

    Cyrus only laughed and ripped the arrow from his leg, blood flowing down. But his wound was rapidly healing.

    The last guard had seen all of his friends die mercilessly and had even managed to shoot the thing, but no matter what he did nothing could stop it. He couldn¡¯t think, let alone move to escape. His horse whinnied at his rider, but it didn¡¯t eve register. All he could do was stare in to the blood red eyes and see the future that awaited him. Blood, everything was bloody. And it was all from his body. That was what the guard saw in those eyes. A brutal death. His death.

    By now, Cyrus was in front of the horse who also whinnied as if uncomfortable in Cyrus¡¯ presence.

    ¡°Please let me go. I have a family. I¡¯ll just say we were attacked by bandits. Please¡­ don¡¯t kill me.¡± The guard shook uncontrollably as he pleaded with Cyrus for his life. But all Cyrus could hear was his heartbeat pounding in his head, but now it had become natural.

    Cyrus just smiled, lifted his sword and thrust it through the man¡¯s neck, quickly and efficiently killing him. More blood splashed onto his face, staining his pearl white teeth. He walked and he kept walking.

    Cyrus wanted more to kill. He wanted the thrill of the battle, the spray of blood in the air. The sound of metal clashing and the screams of the fallen. He wanted to see bodies fall one by one as he walked by.

    ¡°What, no. I don¡¯t want to kill everyone. What am I doing? Get out of MY HEAD!¡± Cyrus fell to his knees and clutched his head. ¡°I am death. My life is a battlefield and I will not stop until the rivers flow red.¡± Cyrus laughed maniacally, still clutching his head. ¡°Get out!¡±

    ¡°Hello Cyrus, you seem to be having some trouble there. Let me help.¡± The mysterious voice whispered into his ears and he wanted to lash out, but something felt like it washed over his body. Something soothing, his head felt calmer and he no longer felt a desire for killing. His eyes slowly returned to their original azure blue color and his head no longer hurt.

    After several minutes, Cyrus let his head go and looked up. He saw a man in a suit that looked oddly like the founder of virtual reality and the CEO of the game, FU. ¡°Jason Tollom?¡± Cyrus quizzically asked the middle-aged man in front of him.

    ¡°No, no. Well, technically, that¡¯s just a person I created during my time on Earth. My name is better known as Scurra.¡± The man beamed a perfect smile at him. His short-cropped grey hair shined in the moonlight.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What do you want with me? Are you God or a God, I guess?¡± Cyrus couldn¡¯t comprehend why the founder of the game would be here.

    ¡°All in due time Cyrus. Let me explain it.¡± The man waved and a table with two office chairs appeared. ¡°Come, come. Sit. It¡¯s more comfortable.¡± Once again, the man waved his hands and Cyrus was instantly cleaned of all the blood that had gotten on him. ¡°Ugh, you smelled disgusting. So I febrezed you up! Sorry if you don¡¯t like febreze, but they¡¯re one of my sponsors, so can¡¯t help it.¡±

    Once they both settled down, he started to explain, ¡°I am a God, yes. Although, there are many gods in this realm, such as the one that created the High Elves. Yes, they are real and this world is real, trust me on that. And I have an important thing to tell you Cyrus. I brought you here, into this world. One of the worlds that I help rule from the heavens, or wherever you consider gods to live. Now, I know you¡¯re confused and probably don¡¯t believe me. Well, unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t matter and you¡¯ll have to listen. Oh, and please don¡¯t interrupt me. I can¡¯t stay down here too long, per the rules.¡± The man¡¯s faced creased as he chuckled loudly.

    ¡°As a higher god, who watches over many worlds, I can either be really bored or really busy. For millennia, I have been bored out of my mind. There¡¯s always ¡®the world is too peaceful or someone is too strong, blah blah blah.¡¯ Unfortunately, as gods, we cannot interfere too much with the worlds. And don¡¯t ask me why, it¡¯s just a rule.¡± The man snickered at Cyrus and took a breath for pause.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Cyrus was very confused but he didn¡¯t want to upset a man who could will office supplies out of thin air. ¡°So, what does have to do with me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m getting there. That¡¯s why I went down to Earth, invented virtual reality using magic, and secretly created the game you played called Fantasy Unlimited. I wanted to see how people would play my game and I came across you. As you know, the game is very similar to this world. And you probably figured it out, the game was based on this world. Cyrus, I brought you here, because I know you no longer had much of a will to live. You had a few months to live at most and had no purpose. So I gave you a second life!¡± Scurra stretched his arms out, embracing the still world around him.

    To Cyrus¡¯ surprise, the world had completely stopped. Nothing moved, there was not even wind.

    Cyrus tried to talk but Scurra just put his finger on Cyrus¡¯ mouth and hushed him. ¡°Ah, ah, ah. I said no talking right. I¡¯ll tell you what I have to and then I really have to go before I get in trouble by the gods around here. So boring these ones are, not caring for any fun at all. Crazy right?¡± He pulled his finger back and Cyrus could not speak. He literally could not speak even if he opened his mouth, no sound would come out. ¡°Heed my words! I¡¯ve always wanted to say that.¡± Scurra just smiled at Cyrus as if they were best friends.

    ¡°Anyways, what I wanted to tell you was that, I noticed you struggling here.¡± He pointed to carnage behind him which Cyrus turned around too look at as well. What Cyrus saw made him cringe. He knew he had done it, but his mind registered the magnitude of the assault he committed. It felt like he was just simply watching a very red and interactive movie. There was blood everywhere and bodies, both of humans and horses, laid about.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about those things Cyrus. They¡¯re just weak, that¡¯s why they died. In this world, the strong rule and the weak die. If you have power, you can do so much and have so much.¡± The man glanced over Cyrus¡¯ aftermath and waved out a McDonald¡¯s Happy Meal. ¡°See what you¡¯ve done? Now I¡¯m hungry.¡± Scurra went on to eat his meal why Cyrus just looked with disbelief.

    ¡°Now where was I?¡± Scurra put a slender white finger to his chin after making the remains of his meal disappear. ¡°Oh yes, so I noticed that you were struggling. I can help with that and other problems you may be having. But only on one condition. You must play my little game.¡± Scurra smiled, his blood red lips parting to show his perfect teeth once again.

    Finally able to talk, Cyrus just glared and asked, ¡°I pretty much have no choice right? Either I do as you say or I probably die. Fine, I have nothing to lose. But that doesn¡¯t mean I will willingly let you do whatever you want with my life. And if I ever get the chance, so help me gods, I will kill you.¡±

    Scurra laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. ¡°That¡¯s exactly the spirit Cyrus! Anyways, yes, you have no choice. But don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t control everything you do in life. Even I can¡¯t do something like that. Us gods are neither omnipotent nor all knowing. We just happen to have more power than any mortal being, as far as we know. But what I can have you do, is play my little game, like, say, cause a war or mess around with the other god¡¯s toys on this world. Gods know that they love them so much, even if they¡¯re weak and petty little things, the lot of them.¡± Scurra spit the last sentence.

    Cyrus inwardly sighed. How could he go against a god? ¡°So if I play your games, what will you do for me?¡±

    ¡°So, what I can do for you now since the other gods don¡¯t know about you yet, is I can give you back your skills and your inventory.¡± Cyrus tried to talk again but Scurra stopped him. ¡°Hush, I¡¯m running out of time. Look, that is all I can give you, actually I¡¯m going to give you access to arcane magic as well!¡± Scurra¡¯s eyes had a dangerous glint in them as he smiled once again. ¡°Although, since I have no power over that, you will have to learn it and it will take time but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have uses for it. It¡¯s quite simple if you can apply your world¡¯s logic to it it¡¯ll be so fun! I can only give you the flow to mana, but the rest you must gain for yourself. With practice, who knows what you could do.¡±

    Once again, Scurra had to pause to catch his breath after rapid-firing every sentence. ¡°Unfortunately, I cannot give you everything without the gods knowing but that much I can do. For your inventory, I will give you this ring. It pretty much does what the inventory does and is limitless and you will have most of what you originally had like money and weapons. As for the skills, well you were the best at it so you know what to do. And magic, it¡¯s more fun to let you figure that one out!¡±

    Cyrus tried to butt in, but Scurra just ignored him, explaining things even if Cyrus wasn¡¯t listening. He had wanted to ask about magic, but it was useless.

    Scurra snapped his fingers, ¡°Oh yes, I forgot. Here. Take this necklace. As long as you wear it, your Blood Elf heritage will be suppressed.¡± A thin and long golden chain with a blood red ruby in the shape of a teardrop floated down into Cyrus¡¯ outstretched hands.

    Cyrus able to get his attention again, asked, ¡°How do I know it¡¯ll work? And what happened to me earlier?¡± Cyrus asked pointing to the ring he now wore and the necklace.

    ¡°First, it will work. Not only did I make that, but it¡¯s designed with a certain magic that applies similarly to VR, I mean how do you think I created VR? As for the necklace, let¡¯s just say I borrowed it from a little friend who created the High Elves, millions of years ago. But should you lose it or take it off and you get¡­ aroused, again, something similar will happen and who knows how much damage you would cause. Not that I would mind, but I can¡¯t have you giving me up yet can I? You are a High Elf, and the description in the game already said that they were called Blood Elves. Well, it''s true. High Elves have a penchant for killing once they get overly stimulated during battle. By the way, you¡¯re the only High Elf in existence, so you must keep that a secret Cyrus, unless you want everyone against you. There are no High Elves remaining for a particular reason. Although the gods would not be able to harm you directly, they have a lot of influence throughout.¡± At this, Scurra paused to think about something but opted to not say it in the end.

    ¡°Every once in a while, you¡¯ll receive a little message from me, like in the game.¡±

    <table><tbody><tr><td>Hello Cyrus</td></tr></tbody></table>

    All of a sudden, a message like the game popped up. Cyrus was stunned but what could he do, the man was a god and Cyrus literally couldn¡¯t speak anyways, Scurra had shut him up again.

    ¡°It¡¯ll tell you what result you need to achieve. As long as you follow the general guidelines, it should be fine for the both of us for you to do whatever. Play my game, and I¡¯ll let you go eventually. I might even bring someone else too. Fair warning, I might have them come play with you!¡± Scurra looked at his wrist, even though there was no watch there.

    ¡°Oops, I overstayed my welcome. Good luck Cyrus. Oh and do try to enjoy your new life a little.¡± With that, Scurra vanished leaving Cyrus able to fully talk again and his surroundings back to normal. The chair and the table vanished as well, causing Cyrus to fall.

    Cyrus had sworn he could hear a snicker.

    ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    Cyrus wasn¡¯t in the greatest of moods. Not only did he have to play some game with some mentally challenged god, but he had no choice. Also, he couldn¡¯t find his horse either. The good news was that if Scurra really did stop time like Cyrus thought he did, then Aradhel wouldn¡¯t have been waiting too long.

    Walking on the road for an hour, Cyrus finally saw Aradhel on the side of the road, letting the horse graze while she waited for him.

    Walking up, all Cyrus could manage to say was, ¡°You ok?¡±

    Aradhel nodded and seemed to have some questions, but Cyrus stopped her.

    ¡°I lost my horse, so we¡¯ll have to share.¡± With that said, Cyrus climbed onto Ardhel¡¯s horse and helped her up. Getting settled, they set out on the road again with Aradhel clutching at his waist.

    Not soon after, a ding sounded in Cyrus¡¯ ears and a blue box appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Gods damn it Scurra!¡±

 Chapter 11: Information

    A/N: Used some of your guys'' ideas, thanks for the all of the comments. I think I will use style rather than class. I''m trying to keep a low amount of rpg mechanics, as I try to maintain more of a like fantasy type world. But alas, I screwed up a couple times already with that. But it''s a learning process. As always, comment, rate, whatever. Happy reading

    <table><tbody><tr><td>Check your inventory, I have a surprise for you!</td></tr></tbody></table>

    At first Cyrus couldn¡¯t figure out how to use the ring. No matter how much he thought about it or tapped it, nothing would happen. The ring consisted of a golden silver band, with a pure white stone on top. The stone and the band were covered in engravings in a language that both Aradhel and him did not know.

    Aradhel noticed his frustration, and was hoping to help Cyrus, even if she was confused as to how he got the ring and the necklace, both very expensive looking items. ¡°Have you tried binding them?¡± She assumed that he was trying to open whatever was in his ring.

    ¡°Binding?¡± Cyrus did not understand what binding was, nor was it ever in the game.

    ¡°It¡¯s when you put a drop of blood on the item, it¡¯ll bind to you and only you can use it. Although, if someone already bound it before you, you can¡¯t use it without having a mage unbound it.¡± She added that last part just in case he stole it. ¡°Oh, but binding doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t lose it, so be careful.¡±

    Without a word further, Cyrus pricked his fingers with his teeth, drawing a few drops of blood. He wiped them on the ruby and the ring, both glowing for a second to acknowledge his binding.

    He first tried to think about the necklace but nothing happened.

    All Cyrus had to do was think about his inventory and it all popped up, just like the game. There were countless items in there from his playing time. One thing that was missing though, were all of his alchemy related goods. He was missing all of his different types of confections. It seemed as if Scurra had left him only gear/clothes, weapons, and some other useless junk he really didn¡¯t have a use for in the game that he had collected during his time playing. Cyrus had no idea why he would do that. Maybe to make it harder for him or to be a pain in the ass? It was definitely was giving Cyrus a headache since he would probably have to start over and the time it would take would never be able to offset the amount he could make. Just searching for some of the ingredients had killed him before in the game. And judging by the price of the small blue potion, he would have made another fortune with just all of his potions he had previously made.  Checking his currency, what he saw was a mere one hundred gold coins.

    Cyrus gaped and couldn¡¯t understand what had happened to his fortune. Now he had another reason for an even worse headache that began to pound away at his mind.

    <table><tbody><tr><td>I had to pay a little fee with your funds for overstaying my welcome. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure something out. Stay tuned for a message when you reach the capital. xoxo</td></tr></tbody></table>

    ¡°Fuck you Scurra, and your games!¡± Cyrus yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping that it would somehow reach the heavens.

    There was a moment of silence before Aradhel broke it. ¡°Um, Cyrus? Who¡¯s Scurra?¡± Aradhel wore a look of confusion. Ever since Cyrus came back from killing the guards, he had seemed different; and maybe a little bit angrier.

    Cyrus ignored her question and asked, ¡°That reminds me, do you know anything about a god named Scurra?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anyone named Scurra, let alone a god. Why?¡± Aradhel was even more confused now but Cyrus was not giving her any answers.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Cyrus wondered who Scurra really was. He could have been a god like he said, but there¡¯s currently no evidence proving so except his word. I don¡¯t enough about this world to know what he really wants and who he really is, but thinking about it now won¡¯t do me any good, Cyrus thought.

    Cyrus cursed his luck. Life would have been so much easier if he had all of his money. In fact, even if he didn¡¯t know the rates for most things in this world. He was sure he probably could have bought several kingdoms with it. What kind of fee did that man have to fucking pay?

    Cyrus knew his lack of information was against him so he would have to gather as much information as he could about Scurra. He knew that if a god really wanted to mess with other gods, he wouldn¡¯t have to take someone from another world. He had no information, but he had time and he made sure to find out. He also needed more information about who he really was I this world. He trusted the necklace now because he had no choice. Cyrus figured that the origin of this necklace would also help him understand what and who he¡¯s really dealing with.

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    With some sort of outline of a plan in place, he now had many things to do after he was done helping Cyrus.

    Riding the horse hard, they made good time. However, Cyrus had to go around the towns that they occasionally came across. It wasn¡¯t that he was afraid of getting caught or having every town searching for them, if they could actually do that. There was no need for magic of that sort in the game since messaging was more convenient and efficient.

    Cyrus just didn¡¯t want to have to deal with people. He could care less that he had stolen a horse. And to be honest, he didn¡¯t care if he was about to dive into a potential warzone for all he knew. He was confident he would be able to get through it somehow. All he needed to know was some sort of plan for his future endeavors so he could get Scurra and potentially the whole planet, if they figure out what he is, off of his back.

    Cyrus could tell that the horse was getting tired, veering off of the dirt road, Cyrus carefully rode them into the woods. They didn¡¯t go too deep but not shallow enough to be easily detected. Cyrus constantly wondered why there had been no one on the road during their travel, it seemed odd for a country as big as this.

    Helping Aradhel off, Cyrus tied the horse to a low tree branch and sat by the tree. Aradhel followed suit, and soon fell asleep, occasionally quietly snoring.

    ¡°I pushed both of you guys pretty hard huh? But it looks like we only have a couple more days travel.¡± Cyrus had asked no one in particular, but the horse whinnied at him and went back to graze on the grass below.

    Cyrus pulled another identical knife from the one he had left in the horse back at the bloody scene, and put it in its vacant spot.

    ¡°I hope they don¡¯t have some kind of finger print magic here. That would just be pathetic for me to be caught like that, a former assassin, right?¡± This time, Cyrus had directed his question to the horse, but it completely ignored him.

    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll let her sleep for an hour. Maybe I¡¯ll try to practice some magic.¡±

    Cyrus didn¡¯t actually know how to use magic. When he was a normal elf during the game, he had just opted not to use it and after becoming a High Elf, he chose the warrior path, denouncing his claim in magic. So naturally, he had no clue how to use it. Even during times when he would play with random party members, he had never bothered to ask how they used magic. He knew that there were magic type skills, but how to activate them he had no clue.

    He assumed that they probably just thought about it just like a weapons user did, so Cyrus gave that a go and tried to start with something easy. Was as a fireball easy? Well, he figured he would find out. Scurra did say something about his world, so he probably meant the game.

    Cyrus thought hard about conjuring a fireball but nothing appeared. He spent minutes desperately trying to gather energy or mana or whatever would make a fireball out of thin air appear but he could not figure it out. No matter if he said fireball out loud or in his head, or just flicking his palm out, nothing came of it. Sweating profusely from his miserable time, he noticed the sun would soon set.

    ¡°Damn, this is gonna take a while. I guess there¡¯s no point in trying to find some place tonight. We¡¯ll just make a camp further in. At least Scurra let me keep my freakin¡¯ tent and a blanket. I guess they¡¯re not so useless in reality.¡± Cyrus looked towards the distance, but all he could see was the empty dirt road and endless amount of trees and grassland. There was so much green, it sometimes overwhelmed him.

    He could still remember his bleak, white hospital room. The only reprieve from his dull surrounding had been the single window that showed the colorful garden outside. ¡°I wonder how Nurse Angie is doing...¡±

    Wiping the sweat off of his face, he woke Aradhel up. Together they walked a little deeper into the forest, to set up their camp for the night.

 Notice

    Hello everyone.

    I have recieved many comments about the story and my writing. As you may have noticed, this story has indeed begun to pretty much contradict itself in a way. During my time writing this story, I would notice the mistakes or they would be pointed out, and I would attempt to fix them by writing a solution to said problems. One may write like that, but in the end, I am only trying to prolong the actual problems and the lack intrigue this story could create. In the end, I am growing quite disastified with the way I am writing this story. Some might say it was inevitable considering that I''ve been writing each chapter spontaneously, but for me, that is not good enough.

    I have learned a lot from this experience and all of my readers who commented or messaged me, letting me know of certain plot holes or mistakes that I may have made. With that information, I hope to write a better story, one which people can enjoy and find exciting, wihtout goinig through too many dull moments (I will try, but spare me, I am still an amateur).

    In essence, yes. I am no longer continuing this story. I hope to come up a with a better idea and write it better so that both my new readers and I, as an author, can be satisfied. I am sorry for those who found enjoyment in this short piece of writing and would like me to continue, and I also apologize for dropping this story, which can be quite frustrating as a reader.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    I am not asking for forgiveness, just your understanding.

    I also know that I didn''t have many readers in the first place, at least compared to the better ranking stories (not that I''m ungrateful). This is just my way as an author and a reader to let you guys know of the situation rather than leaving people hanging, which I hate the most.

    I want to thank you guys for your time. If you guys will allow it, I hope to continue our journey together in the near future, one where I can put my new ideas into words and hope to share them. I may still not write as well then, nor will it be close to perfect, but in the end, all I can do is try.

    Yours truly,

    Marine

    P.S. If anyone would like to take this story for themselves, feel free to do so.

 New Notice

    Long time no see folks,

    Well truthfully, I''m not sure if I have the capacity to actually write. But regardless, if you would like to see my next attempt, please take a look at this link and check out the Author''s Note beforehand.

    Not sure how to actually link....

    If this doesn''t work, well, let me know I guess.

    http://royalroadl.com/fiction/11669

    Oh... looks like I can''t technically publish anything unless it''s five hundred words at the least. So please ignore the following.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.