《True Insanity》 Chapter 1 - Prologue Ever since he was born he was abnormal. By the time other babies would be starting to learn to walk he was already walking normally. By the time others would barely be speaking a few words he could already form full coherent sentences. He didn¡¯t go to school. Why would he? By the time he had to he was studying high school material. By the time he was twelve he could give lectures to university students if he cared about doing it. But he didn¡¯t. He did nothing for the world. He didn¡¯t use his genius to benefit other people. After all, why would he? If he would only put in some effort he could definitely advance the world¡¯s technology by decades. He could literally revolutionize the world¡¯s science. But why? Why should he? He didn¡¯t care about the world. In fact, he detested it. On his list of things he cared about his little sister who was neglected by their parents because of him would be at the top and the world? Humanity? They wouldn¡¯t even make it on it. Humanity would be at the top of the list of things he hates and the world would be right below it just for having humanity in it. If those religions were right and he would someday get the chance to meet God after he dies, the first thing he would do is run up and bash his fist straight into his face. For creating humanity. And for leaving it to do whatever it wanted afterwards. Of course he knew that wouldn¡¯t happen. Even if a god existed he was definitely not all-powerful and he was sure that he had reasons for not interfering in the world¡­ you know¡­ other than being a gigantic prick. It¡¯s not as if he cared much about nature or something like that. No, he didn¡¯t care about deforestation or toxic waste as long as it didn¡¯t affect him or the little sister he loved because his parent¡¯s wouldn¡¯t. The real reason he hated humanity was for what it did to each other. Murder, rape, torture, drugs, kidnappings. What the fuck was wrong with these assholes, he often wondered. He had no idea how messed up you¡¯d have to be to get enjoyment out of the suffering of innocent people. Ironically enough he hated the kinds of people who got enjoyment out of others¡¯ suffering so much that he would often get enjoyment out of their own. Yeah he was a hypocrite but they were worse so why should he feel bad for it? By the time he was eighteen he had grown bored of doing nothing but reading and studying so he had decided to take up martial arts and had already been practicing for a few years. It was tough at first even for him after all he hadn¡¯t exercised much at all even if he had done a bit of running from time to time to at least keep himself in average shape. At first the exercises were difficult and his muscles screamed after every day of practice but he quickly learned to enjoy it and after a while his body had gotten used to it. That was all he needed. After his body got strong enough he started improving at a pace that would make world level athletes blush from embarrassment. And at this point when he was 18 he had already mastered several of the martial arts he practiced and moved on to others. Aikido, karate, muay thai, judo, hell he even went as far as to practice swordsmanship, knife fighting and even practiced with bows and guns just because he felt like he might as well add some ranged weaponry to his deadly arsenal of skills. He soon grew bored of training martial arts so he came up with his own styles instead. And one day after coming back from a long day out he found the door of his house open. His parents: dead, his sister - nowhere to be found. Just a few days later he got a call from the ones responsible. It was one of the many companies that wanted to recruit him and work him like a slave for their advancement in the industry. One of the most successful companies in the world. They claimed to have his sister. He had his suspicions. It had already been a few days since they kidnapped her. He had already lost hope. Why should he believe them now? But¡­ they let him hear her voice¡­ they made a mistake. He immediately knew it was a recording. Just a week later one of the most powerful companies in the world had gone bankrupt. All their illegal dealings and secrets revealed in court. The CEO and several of the shareholders in the company had a lifetime sentence. And all of this had been done by one eighteen year old boy. Nobody wanted to mess with him anymore. But they couldn¡¯t either. He was gone. Nobody could find him for the next two years. Until the civil war broke out. The country didn¡¯t even see it coming. It only took a few months to take it over. And of course the one who was in the middle of it all. The leader of the so called revolutionary forces was the same man who disappeared 2 years ago. And so he took the country immediately declaring that the republic will now be a monarchy and himself the king. The country was in chaos for a while but as soon as he took over it calmed down. He rebuilt the economy, flushed out the corrupted ex-officials and hired actually capable people, he abolished the more inefficient systems replacing them with new ones and fixed problems with some of the ones he decided not to replace outright. This all only took two months. It would have usually taken longer but he brute forced his way through a lot of the problems. Killed all that got in his way. Nobody standing between him and his goal would live. Other countries tried to take advantage of the countries moment of weakness before it was over but by the time they were ready it was too late. The weakness which truly lasted only a moment was all ready fixed and the ones trying to take advantage of it put down like rabid dogs. And so the conquest began. Country after country fell and by the time the rest of the world got their shit together and realized they had to stop it at all costs it was too late. He had already taken a third of the world and they couldn¡¯t stop him from taking over the rest. Even though they made their alliance, even though they knew they had to stop him they were too worried about themselves and couldn¡¯t fully oppose him with all their strength. They had to leave some for after the war right? He didn¡¯t though. He didn¡¯t care what was left of his army. Nor did he care what would happen if he somehow didn¡¯t win the war. It would be the end of him anyway. And if the world stayed the same as now then he would care little even if it imploded right after his death. His tactics were ruthless, effective and used every single resource he had available. The other countries tried to stop him but they couldn¡¯t. While their armies were commanded by seasoned war generals his were commanded by none other than himself. To him exchanging tactics with these veteran generals was like pitting a chess master against someone who learned the rules just a few days ago. A man who could go far enough to aim for world domination with nothing but his personal skills and what he acquired through them. How could they pose any threat to him? How could he let them pose any threat at all? The rest of the world slowly fell and the countries that were left one by one started waving a white flag. They gave up. Nothing could stand between him and ¡°bettering¡± the world. He was already sixty years old when he finally succeeded and he knew the end was close. His life was shortened by the enormous amounts of stress and expectations he was forced to carry during it. It was coming to an end soon and he could feel it. He spent the rest of his life fixing as much of the world¡¯s problems as he could. He concentrated on making the world a place where what happened to him would not happen to anyone else. Of course he knew it was impossible. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to change human nature. He knew it best. He was also one of the humans he hated so much and he felt sick for it. He cursed the fact that he was born human so many times in his life even before what happened to his sister and ten times more after it. He cursed it so much that he was almost consumed by it. He had already gone insane by the time he was done with the world. He could hear voices. Screaming at him to kill, to destroy anyone he saw. But he resisted. He always resisted. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Well, it was too late now anyway. He was dying and he could finally rest. He could finally stop being one of the humans he hated so much and escape from the torment people called life. Of course he didn¡¯t think about leaving the world to some random pieces of shit he barely trusted with tying his shoes without them pulling a knife out and trying to stab him. He had adopted three sons and trained them all in whatever he could to insure that they would rule correctly. He taught them about justice and how the good should be respected and favored over those that harm them for their own pleasure and not be punished for protecting themselves from them. His own ideals were hypocritical and twisted but he didn¡¯t want those twisted ideals to be passed on to his so called sons. Even if he didn¡¯t care too much for them as his sons. He still cared about them as people. He just¡­ couldn¡¯t handle having a family again. As his death drew closer and closer he got weaker day after day. He let them take care of more and more of his matters both because he was tired and because he hoped it would help them get some experience in dealing with these things before he would join his sister in the void that is called death. After all, he wasn¡¯t religious and even if heaven existed and he had the chance to go there he would gladly choose to go to hell instead. He felt like he could get along with Satan much more than with that dick Christianity named God. The day his sons were ready and left to take care of all matters from now on would ironically become the day he died. Feeling like he had done enough he could finally return to the town he was born in. It wasn¡¯t like he liked the town. Not like he wanted to live there specifically. But his sister¡¯s grave was there so he set it as his destination. It would help if he had some kind of goal in the place he would fly to. At this point he could barely walk without his cane. The genius tactician and master martial artist had been reduced to nothing but an old man that could not wait to take a rest in death¡¯s sweet embrace. But he still climbed into the private plane he had had built for efficiency rather than bragging rights and took off across the Atlantic to meet with his sister one last time before his demise. Of course nothing always goes to plan. Or does it? The plane was sabotaged and he knew it. He just pretended not to. He had already finished talking to his sons about it. He told them what he had in mind and although they protested greatly he forced them to accept it. He would die. His plane would fall in the Atlantic never to be dug up and his body would be in it. The only reason he had finally used the planes auto-pilot function instead of leaving it to an actual person was because he had not wanted to ruin some poor sod¡¯s life for his own death agenda. The whole flight he smiled more than he ever had in life. His face which was usually emotionless and cold had the warmest look ever on it. If anyone saw him now nobody would think this poor old man was the hated tyrant that conquered the entire world, probably for his lust of power¡­ Right? He looked at his watch and realized it was about time it happened. As the last few seconds of his life ticked down on his watch he heard an explosion from the fuel section of the plane. Yet he was only happy for it. Yes, he would finally die and his sons would become the heroes who got rid of the terrible tyrant that was their father. According to his plan the next day they would come with promises that they would make the world a better place and would not let themselves walk in the footsteps of their adoptive father and everyone would love them for it. He was correct. But wasn¡¯t he always? While he was seconds away from death¡¯s door there were a few people who actually mourned for him. They mourned today as they wouldn¡¯t have the time to do it tomorrow. They would after all have to take care of the things he left behind. Though few and far in between there were people who respected him. Among them his three sons were at the top. Though their father was strict he was loving. Though he was cold he gave warmth to all those around him. If anyone asked them why they felt that way about their father their answer would simply be ¨C ¡°Because he lives life for himself.¡±. The meaning of those words would probably be understood by few if any at all. They remembered some of the good memories they had of him as they cried. But all good things in life have to come to an end. And so does life itself. The man¡¯s time had finally come and the airplane was only seconds away from crashing into the ocean. Still wearing the brightest smile anyone had ever worn, closing his eyes, he uttered his final words. ¡°Today is truly a happy day" (Old tired tyrant) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two beautiful women were sitting down in the middle of a colorful garden that was only making them look more beautiful with it as the background. The crimson-haired and eyed beauty with sharp features had just finished telling her friend the beautiful story of a man who had hated humanity and the world and had spent the better half of his life trying to conquer and change it. Her friend had platinum blonde hair and though her appearance was petite she had a motherly aura to her that would make anyone feel at home her presence. That gentle friend of the crimson-haired woman who was wearing a mischievous smile was currently left speechless by the story she had just heard. ¡°What do you think?¡± (Crimson-haired woman) ¡°¡­ Where did you find this person?¡± (Petite woman) ¡°Oh he was in some backwater world that didn¡¯t even have magic in it.¡± (Crimson-haired woman) Her friend couldn¡¯t believe it. To think there was someone so impressive born in a world which didn¡¯t even have magic in it! Her champion was apparently also born in such a world which they managed to figure out from the bits and pieces she had left of her memories but she was nowhere near as impressive as the man she had just heard about. ¡°You look like you want to ask why the hell he was born there and not here so you could take him for yourself.¡± Said the crimson-haired woman with a smirk on her face. Hearing that the petite woman snapped out of her speechless state and coughed once trying to cover up her embarrassment. She definitely thought about it for a second but she ended up denied it. ¡°No I would admit he is incredibly impressive he would not be suitable for me.¡± (Petite woman) ¡°True. He is too impure to be yours. (Crimson-haired beauty) The petite woman only nodded once before continuing the conversation. ¡°I do think he would be perfect for you though. He¡¯s strong and proud but unlike your children who are easily angered he seems like the type of man to keep a cool head while dealing with the situation at hand.¡± Said the petite goddess nodding once to herself as if to confirm her statement. ¡°I wonder about that.¡± Answered her friend with the giant smirk still splattered on her face. ¡°What? Am I wrong?¡± (Petite woman) ¡°I think so at least. Did the guy really sound so noble to you? (Crimson-haired beauty) The petite woman only tilted her head not understanding her friend¡¯s implication. She thought him to be a noble soul who was undeserving of his suffering. Though he did sound impure his heart sounded like it was in the right place. ¡°Well whatever. I¡¯m going to go now. Don¡¯t want him to wait for too long after all.¡± (Crimson-haired beauty) She said so with an awkward smile. Her friend only smiled warmly and waved her off. She could not wait to speak with the man. So she hurried. Hoping to get to him before it was too late. Chapter 2 I was flying in my private jet with my plan fully in motion. I looked at my watch and it was currently 13:57. Three minutes left until I would face my untimely demise. I can¡¯t wait for it. I could tell I was smiling but I didn¡¯t exactly know how that looked on my face. I remember cockishly smirking in the face of a lot of my opponents just to piss them off but I don¡¯t remember ever having a sincere smile on my face¡­ Wait no. I do remember. But every single one of them was from a time when my sister was still alive. And that was a long time ago. Forty two years. I really got old didn¡¯t I? Back then my sister was neglected by my parents who were disappointed in her not being a genius like myself. Fuck them! She never blamed me for it. We actually got along really well. My father once told me to stop talking with my sister too much. I was fourteen and had done martial arts for two years now. My dad should be glad he only got off with nothing but a broken nose and arm because I personally would have loved to kill him at that point in time. The police tried to get involved but unfortunately or fortunately depending on whether they were the kind of cops that enjoyed their jobs or not a threat here and a bribe there and they were out of the picture. Of course it wasn¡¯t my parents that did that. It was all me. My parents couldn¡¯t wipe their own asses after taking a shit if I wasn¡¯t their son so I could wipe it for them. But really the only person who enjoyed my company not because she wanted to get close to the world-class genius with a bright future but because she actually loved me was my sister. Sure she was proud of having me as her brother but it was a different kind of pride than the one my parents had that made them more and more useless. Her pride made her try harder so she could be like me. I knew she couldn¡¯t quite be exactly like me and I also knew she shouldn¡¯t aim for being like somebody else not to mention being like someone with a heavy case of misanthropy or as pulled straight out of my memories of what I read about it on the internet ¨C hatred, contempt or even disgust towards the human race or human nature in general. I helped her with her schoolwork but never just did it for her. I rather taught her the parts she didn¡¯t understand or she couldn¡¯t do herself. I really did have fun while hanging out with my sister. Those were the brightest times of my life. Until¡­ shook my head trying not to remember what came after those happy times putting my genuine smile back on my face before looking at the watch on my wrist again. 13:59. Whoops. Looks like I indulged in memories a bit too long. 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ *BOOM* Ah yes that sound was certainly music to my ears. Ignoring the heat of the fire coming from behind me I closed my eyes and indulged myself in my happy memories once again, waiting for the plane to crash and my life to be over. ¡°Today is truly a happy day.¡± (Old happy tyrant) *SPLASH* *BOOM* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was floating in pure darkness. I could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing. I couldn¡¯t even feel or see my own body. Did I even have one at this point? Death is interesting. Wonder if I could do something in here. I tried concentrating and ¡°feeling¡± the world around me like some monks or martial artists would do if they wanted to attune themselves with nature. I didn¡¯t do much of that. I didn¡¯t have the affinity for it. I did a lot of stuff to try and alleviate my boredom during my life as a tyrant. Games, books hell I even got into anime at some point but meditation was never something that interested me. Now though. What was really stopping me when everything else I could do involved floating in a void of darkness? And with that thought in mind I meditated. After a while I started to feel a light. How I felt a light I have no idea. It was a weird, hard to explain feeling. But I definitely felt it. The light. I think it was coming from where my body was supposed to be. Was that light me? Maybe it was my soul? I had been floating here for who knows how long meditating and eventually I could feel another light and then another and another. After a while I could feel all of the lights around me and I felt like the previous darkness was a joke. Of course it wasn¡¯t. None of those lights could feel me or any of the other lights themselves. I was a little sorry for them. But as I was thinking that another light came into view. A bigger light. Not like the ones in here that were barely holding on to their own existence and from time to time disappeared. This light was big. Bright. It was like the sun. I hated it. I never had liked the sun after all. ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that. I actually quite like you.¡± (Bright light) Why is it even speaking to me anyway? Wait¡­ I didn¡¯t really say that last part out loud did I? Could I even? Can this thing read my mind? ¡°Sure can little tyrant.¡± The bright light spoke to me. I swear I could feel the grin on its non-existent face as it was too. ¡°Haha. Well you would be right at the fact that I would be wearing a big smirk on my face right now but it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m making fun of you or anything. I¡¯m just glad I could finally find and speak to you.¡± (Giant light) Great. I¡¯m almost honored for a giant ball of light to come all the way over to this part of the void just for my sake but I don¡¯t feel like holding a conversation right now. You see I was actually enjoying the peace and quiet while watching all the other lights flickering in and out of existence. I was truly a little annoyed at this light. It really did ruin the rest I had so patiently waited for all my life. ¡°It¡¯s quite interesting that your current pastime is watching souls either being devoured by the void or being reincarnated. Is it fun just floating here in nothingness with nothing to do but that for all eternity?¡± (Giant light) You say all eternity but didn¡¯t you say something about reincarnation just now? Wouldn¡¯t I have to just wait for that? I mean unlike the other lights that are around here barely keeping themselves intact I don¡¯t seem to be having trouble shining brighter than anyone else. It was true among the lights here I was the biggest by far. Of course the biggest except for the giant one in front of me. If the lights around me were candles then I was like one of those huge bonfires that people sometimes made for festivals and the giant light in front of me was, as previously stated, like the sun. ¡°Right. Reincarnation. You see that¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I¡¯ve called dibs on you so you won¡¯t quite be reincarnated anytime soon unless it¡¯s by me and as you said since your soul is a lot stronger than those around you, you will stay here and you will just float in the void in the meantime.¡± (Giant light) Oh? So what? You¡¯ve come to reincarnate me? And what you called dibs? Really? Am I that interesting to you? I was getting more and more annoyed at the light. It had ruined my long-deserved rest to only drag me back into that hellhole of a place. Why should I go back? I¡¯ve done my job in that world now. I had no reason to go back. ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that! Sure your old life might have sucked a bit but hey I¡¯m not even gonna revive you in the same world and you¡¯re gonna get some benefits.¡± (Giant light) Benefits? That¡¯s nice but I would much prefer it if you just- ¡°What if I told you, you would be reincarnated as something much more powerful than a simple human?¡± (Giant light) ¡­I¡¯m listening. Fuck she managed to get my attention. I couldn¡¯t just ignore the chance of reviving as some kind of an existence that was different and more powerful than humans. Maybe then I could finally not care about them and just live my life for myself. ¡°You really are someone worth pitying aren¡¯t you? Why do you hate humans so much? I don¡¯t understand it. I understand you hating humanity for what they did to your sister but not to this extent. What I feel from you is greater than hatred. It¡¯s a disgusting mix of hatred, bloodlust and ironically disgust.¡± (Giant light) ¡­ ¡°Not willing to talk? No hiding your thoughts? Impressive. Normally a normal soul shouldn¡¯t be able to hide their thoughts from me. Then again you¡¯re not really a normal soul are you?¡± (Giant light) Humanity¡­ I don¡¯t really hate humanity. What I hate is ¡­ No nevermind. Fuck! Just thinking about it is making me angry. Now I want to go back to life even less! Look if your aim is to convince me to let me reincarnate me then you aren¡¯t doing a very good job of it. ¡°I¡¯m not? Heh. Well let me explain anyway. You see in the world where I would be reincarnating you I am somewhat of a goddess and you. I need you to become my champion?¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Champion? What exactly would that entail? Why should I become your champion when I met you just a few¡­ moments (?) ago. Shit I really couldn¡¯t tell the passage of time in this place. It felt like it could have been decades since I started talking to the self-proclaimed goddess but it also felt like it could be a few minutes. God this place is confusing when you actually have a reason to want to know the time. ¡°Ignoring your rant about the passage of time in the void.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) If you¡¯re gonna ignore it then don¡¯t mention it. ¡°Right. Being my champion would mean you get more power than any other of my children could possess. It wouldn¡¯t mean you would be undefeatable but you would definitely be more powerful than any of them. Then again with your talent you would probably be able to surpass them anyway.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Uh-huh. So I would be born as your ¡°child¡± and be the strongest among them. That¡¯s great and all but I still have no reason to believe you¡¯re just offering that. Again. What¡¯s the catch? ¡°Always about the catch aren¡¯t you? My children are what people call dragons and-¡°(Self-proclaimed goddess) Wait what? ¡°Dragons.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Dragons? ¡°Dragons.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) ¡­ Dragons¡­ Uh. Right the catch. I¡¯m listening. I totally went out of control for a second there. Fuck. Dragons. Who wouldn¡¯t want to be reincarnated if they were told they could be the strongest dragon ever. Even someone like me who hated life was greatly tempted. ¡°Back to the catch. You see I would need you to do some things for me once you are ready.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) I swear if I was alive I would have died of the pure smug she exuded that last sentence. Things? ¡°Things.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) I don¡¯t like how you aren¡¯t specifying what ¡°things¡± are. Why should I trust you and become your champion if you don¡¯t even tell me what I must do for it? Always read the contract before signing kids. ¡°Okay, okay. You will need to get involved in some dirty stuff¡­ like wars.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Wars? Oh come on you can¡¯t mean wars if you say dirty things. You seem to know how many of those I¡¯ve not only been involved in but caused myself. ¡°Sigh¡­ Nothing manages to escape you does it? Okay I¡¯ll be specific. I want you to exterminate all other dragons amongst other things. But that¡¯s the main thing and is your only true responsibility. The others would be more lie favors you can accept or deny.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) ¡­ Just that? ¡°Just¡­ What do you mean just that?¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) I mean¡­ I don¡¯t know that sounds way too simple for what you¡¯re offering in return. ¡°Believe me it¡¯s not as simple as it sounds. You may have the potential to become the strongest dragon but you won¡¯t be one the moment you¡¯re born.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Well isn¡¯t that obvious? Do I have a time limit or something? Something that you¡¯re keeping out that would make it more difficult than just simply exterminating dragonkind? It really sounded way too simple to be true. Destroying one race was all that was keeping me from reincarnating as a dragon and that sounded like way too good of a deal. ¡°No. No there is no time limit. As long as you do it before they destroy the other races or something I have no qualms about how long you will take but¡­ do you really feel like it will be that easy? The dragon race are something I¡¯m quite proud of. I don¡¯t think exterminating them will be that easy.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Okay. Now this was interesting. Why would she want me to exterminate something she is so proud of? I was now, way more interested in her reason for asking this of me than the actual mission. If I had no time limit then I could just bide my time until I got stronger and then hunt them down one by one. Even if they formed an alliance to stop me every army has a weak point and as long as I could exploit that I was sure I would have a chance at defeating them. And if I failed then what? I would die at worst. Even if my soul was truly eliminated somehow since this sounds like a world where things like that are possible then that would be true eternal rest with no one to bother me with bullshit like reincarnation. ¡°You really are the weirdest-¡­ I swear there must have been a mistake somewhere when you were born as a human.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) I thought the same thing multiple times during my life.. ¡°Right. My reason for wanting to destroy the dragon race is simple. They¡¯ve gotten too cocky.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) What? That¡¯s it? ¡°It might not sound like much but what happens when one of the most powerful races suddenly become incredibly brutal and bloodthirsty? They kill, pillage and rape as much as they want and nobody can stop them.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Just hearing the mention of rape filled me with a fire. They must die! Rape has always been a pet peeve of mine. Why? Because when my sisters body was discovered I found out she was used to vent the frustration of the kidnappers before¡­ or after being killed. Those guys are currently climbing up to the top of my shitlist. They sounded like a fucking bandit gang! How could dragons become fucking bandits! ¡°Right? At first I made them proud and mighty creatures that were above all other races but just how the humans in your world regressed so did the dragons in mine. They became selfish and arrogant. And at this point not many remain that would listen to the voice of their own mother. Some of them even took over a country and are living as kings!¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) What after being bandits now they¡¯re a bunch of delinquent teenagers going through puberty? Seriously what is wrong with the dragons in your world? ¡°Pfft. Could you stop making me laugh when I¡¯m talking about serious stuff please?¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Anyway. What about me? ¡°What about you?¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) What about me after I¡¯m done with the dragons. I¡¯ll be a dragon and I¡¯ll be alive. ¡°I don¡¯t think I have to worry about someone like you regressing to what the dragons have become. You currently might not be the brightest light here but the way you¡¯re not affected by the abyss in the least is incredible. The other souls in here are like lights slowly being absorbed by the void but you¡¯re shooing it away like it¡¯s an old friend you don¡¯t want to deal with right now. Even I can¡¯t resist the void like that.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Now that she mentions it the giant light that was before like a sun had been reduced in size a bit¡­ ¡°Exactly so you can understand when I tell you that I don¡¯t have all eternity right?¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) I wanted to nod but I didn¡¯t have a body to do it with so I went with the next best thing and formed this sentence in my mind to inform the goddess of my understanding. ¡°Pfft. You know for a cold and emotionless tyrant you sure make me laugh a lot. Are you doing that intentionally?¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) ¡­So let¡¯s summarize. You will reincarnate me as the most powerful dragon ever and the only thing you want in return is for me to exterminate all dragons in your world. As long as I do it I can take as long as I want to prepare and after I¡¯m done I would be free to live my life however I want? ¡°Yes.¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) Sign me up. ¡°Pfft. You¡¯re suddenly awfully eager to go through with this aren¡¯t you?¡± (Self-proclaimed goddess) *Ahem* ¡°In that case from today on I give unto thee the name of Vedqothur and the title of Champion of Vozahrah the goddess of chaos, freedom, choice and Mother Goddess of dragons!¡± (Vozahrah) The scenery suddenly changed. I again had a body, though it was different than the one in my previous life and in front of me instead of a giant light was standing a beautiful woman. No, to be exact the light was still there but it was something I felt. What I saw was different. The woman in front of me had long crimson hair reaching down to around the middle of her back and eyes of an even brighter crimson color though instead of a pupil that looked human it was slit like that of a serpent. She had features that were a good balance of sharp and soft and had a mischievous smile plastered across her face. She was wearing a white one piece dress that reached down to her knees as well scarlet plate gauntlets and knee-high plate boots. They didn¡¯t look bulky for being plate armor. In fact they were on the small side. ¡°Impressed?¡± (Vozahrah) Sure I guess. I haven¡¯t ever seen a woman as beautiful as you before but I don¡¯t see a reason to be too impressed about it. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s wrong? Were you that enamored by my beauty that your brain stopped working?¡± (Vozahrah) Oh¡­ right. ¡°Aww well. I could also get used to this. Now then let¡¯s sit down and talk. We don¡¯t have all eternity and I can only answer so many of your questions before you are actually born.¡± (Vozahrah) ¡°Oh I see so this is only temporary.¡± (Vedqothur) ¡°Correct now then care to sit down and have a talk?¡± (Vozahrah) She pointed to a gazebo and not waiting for my answer started walking towards it but there was already another occupant. The girl was small but I could instantly tell she wasn¡¯t anywhere as immature as a girl the age she looked to be. Her hair was platinum blonde and curly, reaching almost her ankles in length, and she was wearing a toga. She looked like she would be a Roman or Greek goddess if she was one in the first place. She seemed to look over at me surprised. I was currently wearing a simple tunic and trousers so I didn¡¯t know what she was staring and¡­ slightly blushing at? ¡°Oh Renie you were still here? Were you waiting for me or was it just a coincidence?¡± (Vozahrah) Looking over at the goddess I would soon be the champion of her smirk seems to have only grown seeing the petite goddess. Maybe it was because she was obviously impressed by my current appearance? Even though I myself had no idea what I looked like other than that it was different from before. ¡°I was waiting for you. I did want to speak about your champion but¡­ I didn¡¯t expect he would be capable enough for you to bring him here.¡± (Renie?) ¡°Oh I was slightly surprised about that at first too but his soul was completely immune to the abyss¡¯ corruption not to mention it was already strong enough for him to be able to enter here as long as he had a personal escort.¡± (Vozahrah) Renie¡¯s eyes opened widely as she was obviously surprised at the information she had just received. I guess it was pretty impressive for someone to be immune to something not even the Mother Goddess of motherfucking dragons isn¡¯t but to me it didn¡¯t feel like something I had achieved myself so I wasn¡¯t impressed with it and didn¡¯t even have to try and not let it go to my head. ¡°That¡¯s certainly impressive.¡± (Renie) At this point I was kind of tired of just listening about two people talking about me in front of myself so I made an effort in being noticed. *Ahem* ¡°Oh right sorry about that Ved. Let me introduce you. Renie this is Vedqothur my soon-to-be champion and Ved this is-¡° (Vozahrah) ¡°Eirene goddess of peace and innocence and mother goddess of the celestials.¡± (Eirene) Ignoring the fact that Vozahrah had already shortened the annoyingly long name she had given me to three letters as if it was a pain to say it all even though she had been the one who thought it up, I made a polite bow towards the goddess of peace. From the qualities she represented as a goddess I could understand why everything felt so at peace around her. I could just sit here gazing at the petite girl all day long and I probably still wouldn¡¯t get tired of it. Peace and quiet are the best after all. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you Eirene.¡± (Vedqothur) ¡°Haha. See? Isn¡¯t he interesting? This is his first time addressing you and he¡¯s already calling you by your name.¡± (Vozahrah) Well I wasn¡¯t about to start addressing someone with respect just because of a title they were born with. It¡¯s the same as expressing respect to a snot-nosed brat who was born into a rich household and spoiled straight to hell. I would properly express respect only to those who managed to earn it from me and my respect was very hard-earned. But¡­ contrary to my beliefs Eirene didn¡¯t seem bothered by it. She actually seemed a bit happy. I see. So she¡¯s the type of person who enjoys being away from the responsibilities given unto her with her title and didn¡¯t indulge in its privileges. She hasn¡¯t earned my respect yet but she sure made a good first expression. ¡°Well then why don¡¯t you sit down and we can talk until it is time for you to go.¡± (Eirene) I nodded my head taking up her offer and sat down on the opposite side of her and next to Vozahrah. This seemed like it would be an interesting little chat and I intended to get some proper information about this world. Chapter 3 Time passed as me and the two goddesses were absorbed in talking. I learned quite a bit from talking to them though they were limited in what they could talk about without breaking the laws. Even to their own champions. For starters they taught me the languages of the different races. Eirene was surprised when I managed to learn one of them in less than a day. I kept learning after that finishing in a week. We didn¡¯t need to sleep here and I didn¡¯t need to eat or drink for whatever reasons though refreshments were provided for the two goddesses. I learned about some dragon abilities that will be useful to me along with some parts of dragon biology that I would need to know. Apparently there were actually two types of dragons in general. Those were lesser dragons and greater dragons. My mission would entail killing all greater dragons while I could leave the lesser dragons alone mostly. They were much less intelligent and much less powerful than real dragons and although they were still quite formidable even non-champions could manage to bring one down with a well-established group of around twenty adventurers. More powerful people could take them on by themselves with minor difficulties and the champions of the other gods could probably take on dozens of them at once. The goddess of peace really did earn my respect. Easier than anyone else ever could. She established a new record and I don¡¯t think anyone is breaking it anytime soon. She was kind and understanding and even though we had a difference in beliefs from time to time she didn¡¯t complain about it but seemed to instead be interested in my point of view on the matter. We were alike in some way though we were also very different. Zahrah also seemed pleased that me and her friend were getting along well. I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s imagining but I hope she stops soon¡­ It¡¯s getting uncomfortable. I think I actually got a chill down my back a few times. After they were done telling me everything they were allowed to tell me about the world we started talking about other things. The goddesses told me about each other while I chipped in here and there with stories from my old life which weren¡¯t of the dark variety¡­ they were mostly about the time my sister was alive so to them it might have felt like I was talking about her a bit too much. Sorry about that. She was the only thing that made my life happy so I don¡¯t have much else to talk about other than war tactics, martial arts or quantum physics. I feel like I¡¯ve gotten softer though. I asked about it since I was curious and Zahrah laughed nervously before telling me she had an idea but she preferred not saying. She probably knew she couldn¡¯t lie to me so she decided to be honest. Well not that I can force her but it still annoyed me a bit. About the garden it apparently belonged to Eirene and was called the Garden of Peace. Yes. Original name I know but it actually kind of worked. The atmosphere in the garden was truly calm and peaceful and fit its namesake. I wouldn¡¯t mind spending the rest of my days lying down on a patch of grass and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the garden. It might even be better than being in the void. While the other two were openly laughing I wasn¡¯t but that was just because of me being bad at showing my emotions on my face. I actually enjoyed myself quite a bit and if the goddesses strained their eyes they could see the slight curves on the sides of my mouth which proved it. Well we had our fun but as I like to say all good things in life must come to an end and this was yet another one of them. Life has to move on. ¡°Oh. Seems like it¡¯s time for you to go Ved.¡± (Vozahrah) ¡°Right.¡± (Vedqothur) I stood up from my seat and the two goddesses did the same. As we stood in front of the gazebo we made our goodbyes since after this we probably wouldn¡¯t be able to see each other for quite a while but I¡¯ll make an effort to at least meet with Eirene from time to time since her temples are in more¡­ accessible areas. Or rather at least they still exist. Apparently all of Zahrah¡¯s temples had been ruined and were in territories of the continent where humans didn¡¯t even live but I guess that made sense. The ones who worshipped her were the dragons and they didn¡¯t worship her anymore. ¡°Well goodbye for now. I¡¯ll try and visit from time to time when I have free time in a city with one of your temples Eirene.¡± (Vedqothur) Hearing this the goddess of peace smiled and said her own temporary goodbye. ¡°I hope to see you soon. Speaking with you never seems to get dull.¡± (Eirene) ¡°Hey! What about me?¡± (Vozahrah) ¡°If you want me to visit you then you better start thinking of ways for the Races to build temples in their towns because I¡¯m definitely not venturing in any of the places you told me about any time soon.¡± (Vedqothur) Hearing this Zahrah pouted and made a dissatisfied sound but she soon just shrugged and went back to her mischievous grin. ¡°I hope you behave when you¡¯re together with Eirene without me.¡± (Vozahrah) She whispered that into my ear which made me squint my eyes at her as if saying ¡°Really Zahrah? Really?¡± I mean who did she possibly take me for? I¡¯m not some horny teenager that can¡¯t control his own lust or anything you know. She looked at me as if she could read what I¡¯m thinking still keeping that signature smirk on her face. She knew something I didn¡¯t. ¡°Anyway. It¡¯s time for you to go now Ved. I wish you luck in your new life.¡± (Vozahrah) The scenery changed again. I was in the dark again. I¡¯m sure normal people would be annoyed at all the darkness but I myself was only enjoying the calm quiet atmosphere it exuded. I was probably in my egg right about now. Zahrah already informed me that a soul would normally have to spend at least a day or so inside here while my body and soul attune themselves to each other. According to her I was supposed to be in a cave in the country known as Astrain on the Krepath continent. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly where those places were in the world. The goddesses didn¡¯t exactly show me a map or anything. I just knew their names. Since I have nothing to do I start trying to clear my mind and meditate again. And instantly I can feel everything around me but¡­ it¡¯s¡­ different than the void. I can feel the light that is my soul but I¡¯m surrounded by something else¡­ Not lights. It¡¯s more like¡­ water? But¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m not underwater right now. I wonder. Could it be mana? Maybe I can try moving it? I concentrate on the strange energy flowing around me and try making it move according to my will. And I do. Only slightly but I do. I play around with it. Moving it back and forth, trying to make shapes with it, gathering more bit by bit. And I get better. After what I think are a few hours of doing this I¡¯m much better than when I first started. I can move a lot of mana in intricate ways. I wasn¡¯t perfect at it yet. I had trouble controlling several separate flows at once and I still couldn¡¯t quite understand how I should form a spell from them but I would just need to see a spell for that so it wasn¡¯t something I was worried about. As I was enjoying my time playing around with the mana in the air I felt a light coming closer and I thought of trying something. Using soul search I found the exact location of the light and then I tried using mana search to feel what it is. Surrounding it with mana and then feeling what it was based on the shape it left behind. I wasn¡¯t very good at it but it worked. What I found surprising though was not that. The person coming closer and closer to the cave where my egg is located was a little girl. I thought Zahrah told me this place was in the middle of a monster-infested forest. What was this girl doing here? The girl kept walking around. Maybe¡­ maybe she was lost? Damn. I hate humans but abandoning a little girl in the forest just isn¡¯t my thing. I¡¯ve got nothing I can do right now though. She finally entered the cave but stopped. Seeing my container she seemed to be wondering if she should stay or leave. I¡­ hope she stays. The beasts won¡¯t come close to the cave and even though this part of the continent is less than dangerous according to Zarah that¡¯s according to my specs and not a little girl¡¯s. In the end the girl stays. I get tired of moving around mana. It seems like my body is still weak and even something like this can tire it out. And so I sleep. Waking up I can finally move. Zahrah said it might take longer than a day and in some cases even up to a week but for me it only took a single one. Or so I think as the girl still hasn¡¯t left the cave and is snuggling up to my egg. The shell is in my way so I break the top of it and jump out. Turns out even as a newborn I¡¯m still pretty big. The girl has brown shoulder-length hair and looks to be about ten years old. I¡¯m already bigger than her by quite a bit. I feel a bit bad leaving her here so I stay. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Taking a look at myself I look exactly like what Zahrah showed me. She made an image through what I believe to be magic to show me what I would look like. That was my adult form I was still far from it but the colors and overall shape were almost the same. My scales were mostly white with black scales covering my legs going all the way from my claws to only slightly below my knees and around half my tail. My eyes had a weirdly white iris, whiter than the rest of the eye. It was separated from the sclera with a black outline and my pupil was also black and slit rather than round like humans¡¯. The brown-haired girl suddenly shivered and woke up. Her eyes were a pleasant green. Still half-asleep one look around the cave and she finds me sitting and staring at her which leaves her terrified. The cold and sharp eyes I kept from my past life didn¡¯t seem to have helped much. Now then. How to resolve this? I raise up on my feet which seems to terrify her even more. Again walking towards her doesn¡¯t seem to help as at this point she¡¯s backed up against the wall and has nowhere to run to. I am finally in front of her and I sit down on all fours as I look at her. She seems less afraid seeing me do so. Good. I love progress. Now next would be. ¡°Why are you so afraid girl?¡± (Vedqothur) She seems bewildered by the fact I can talk. Seems she at least figured out I am a newborn but unfortunately¡­ nevermind actually very fortunately for her I¡¯m not a normal newborn. ¡°Why do you not speak?¡± (Vedqothur) I have to say I¡¯m enjoying being a dragon already. Not because I terrified a little girl but because I can speak like an absolute asshole that thinks himself above all others and people will just accept it¡­ Nevermind let¡¯s just stop that. I started getting a little worried about the girl though. She still wasn¡¯t speaking. Maybe she¡¯s mute? ¡°Can you perhaps not speak?¡± (Vedqothur) ¡°N-No I just¡­ um¡­ I¡­¡± (Girl) Finally she spoke. But as she speaks she starts tearing up. Maybe she¡¯s still worried about me. I can¡¯t blame her. She¡¯s a little girl and I¡¯m a dragon even though I¡¯m newly born. ¡°Why are you here girl? Did you get lost in the forest?¡± (Vedqothur) ¡°I- *Sob* I- *Sob*¡± (Girl) Not being able to continue talking she cries. She even goes as far as to forget her fear and hug me. What happened to this girl to warrant such a reaction? After around ten or fifteen minutes the girl stops and falls back asleep. I guess she¡¯s tired. Good. Sleep. In the meantime I will find what those lights wandering around here are. They can¡¯t be beasts. The beasts wouldn¡¯t come here if it killed them. They might not know what¡¯s sleeping here but they know it¡¯s something they shouldn¡¯t be messing with. Separating gently from the girl who still had tears in her eyes I use my snout to brush them off as using a claw would be dangerous and leave the cave. As soon as I do I hear someone shout. ¡°Fuck! Where¡¯d that brat go?¡± (Somebody who will die today 1) ¡°Couldn¡¯t ¡®ave gone far. She¡¯s jus¡¯ a brat. Now less whining an¡¯ more lookin¡¯!¡± (Somebody who will be murdered with no remorse today 2) There¡¯s five of them. Bandits or slave traders. Either way they are after the girl. She did seem quite cute. Maybe the kinds of nobles who would go for that exist in this world? No, they definitely do. They existed in my world as well¡­ just not at the time I was born. Nothing was keeping them from existing here either. Renewing my hate for the human race I analyze the situation. It was currently night. I didn¡¯t notice before because my eyes seem to almost completely ignore the darkness. What Zahrah said about the void¡¯s darkness being like an old friend flashes in my mind and I keep in a slight snort. Truly the darkness only seems to help me but never hurt me so far. I wonder if I will ever be betrayed by this friend of mine. I sure hope not. The darkness can be scary if not on your side. Enough silliness. I detect the position of the slavers. One of them is quite far away from the others. Let¡¯s start with him. As I¡¯m not used to my dragon form and it¡¯s not very agile I transform into my human form. Or something close to it. My feet are still claws and they are covered in scales going all the way up to my waist. I do not generate any private parts in this transformation as I will not need them. The rest my arms are also claws and covered in scales. As for my torso my back is completely covered up to my neck but my front is only partially covered on the sides leaving the middle of my chest and abdomen completely exposed. The colors are the same. Half of my arms, legs and tail are black from the claws to the elbows and knees and the rest are white. I remember when Zarah showed me a mirror in the garden. My hair was white with black outlines towards the end and reaching my shoulders in length similarly to the girl silently sleeping in the cave. My tail is kept in this form as well since it might be useful. But I¡¯m shorter this time around by around 30 centimeters. If before I was around 1.90 I was now 1.60. My eyes were the same as in my draconic form though. I could make them human but I was way too addicted to these. They showed everything with clarity not missing a single detail, I could see far and I could see through the darkness perfectly. I am not willing to give these things up just for my eyes to not have slits. It would be ridiculous. ¡°Now then it¡¯s time to hunt.¡± I jump up in one of the trees and move along the treetops not noticed by anyone towards the guy who¡¯s by himself. It¡¯s the first man to shout earlier. I¡¯m leaving the other one for last. I lick my lips slightly thinking about how to make him spit out everything about their group. I¡¯m sure these five aren¡¯t alone after all. Five people searching an entire forest by themselves would be insane. I reach the tree above the man. Seems like the reason he is by himself is because he wanted to laze out on the search. I drop down beheading him in the fraction of a second. Minimal sound is made. I throw his head to the side and set my next target. No the other four are moving in groups of two so it¡¯s targets this time. I move back into the treetops and quickly move over to the other two. They have their backs to each other and are about five meters apart. I temporarily bring out my wings and use them to fall silently between them as one of them seems to be searching through some bushes and the other is simply looking around probably afraid of monsters. Oh the irony. Retracting my wings I walk over to him first. Silently. My steps making almost no sound at all to human ears. I learned some assassination techniques in my previous life. Reducing the sound of my steps was one of them. I couldn¡¯t perfect it before but it was a problem of it being beyond physical limits. I wonder about now. Magic can probably break those anyway. As he turns around I am right behind him. He tries to scream but I slice his throat with my claws in the fraction of a second. His screams turn into gurgles as he drowns in his own blood and suffocates from lack of air and he falls down dead. The other one hears his colleague falling and turns around. Seeing him down on the ground dead he screams. ¡°HOLY SHIT! SAM?¡± (Slaver 3) I already made my way back up in the trees before he even fell and am now falling towards the second one. Finishing screaming what seems to be the dead ones name he is beheaded and his head thrown to the side. The other two hear this and try to find their companion. While I wait I pick up a small stick approximately a fourth the length of my arm and using my claws quickly sharpen the end. Perfect. I finish Just as they find me and see me standing next to the beheaded body of their companion and the dead guy with a slit throat only a few steps away together with the head of his friend. Seeing me they¡¯re terrified. The guy I decided to keep for last steps back but trips and falls on his ass. The other one takes out his weapon in a panic while shaking hysterically. I throw the stick in my hand and it lands right in his throat killing him instantly. Seeing this the other one pisses himself. *Sigh* I went too far it seems. I transform the receptors in my nose into human ones as I care little for the smell of the man¡¯s piss. Now that the test run of my new body is finished I turn towards the last man standing. It¡¯s time to ask some questions. And I have a feeling I will not like the answers. Chapter 4 What I found out from this guy was shocking. He wasn¡¯t a bandit. He was a mercenary. Why was a mercenary after a simple little girl? He wasn¡¯t. The country was. Damn it. I know I sensed a lot of souls around but I thought they were animals as none of them got close to my cave. Guess I was just being lucky. According to the mercenary. Half the country¡¯s military was mobilized to get the girl from her village. The villagers apparently sacrificed themselves to let her run away. Guess she was loved. No mention of her parents. The village was apparently burned down for resisting the country¡¯s demands. Yeah Zahrah safe country my ass! Now I have a whole army running after me looking for the little girl that I¡¯m hiding? What single whole country goes after a little girl? Is the king a horny pedophile or something? Abandoning her is not an option though. Time for a grand escape. I slice the mercenary¡¯s throat. Can¡¯t take chances. I go back to the cave in a hurry. The others are coming closer. Seems my luck just now ran out. Zahrah may have had a hand in why not all of them found me until now. I shake the girl to wake her up. ¡°Girl¡­ GIRL!¡± (Vedqothur) She opens her eyes and seeing me there she looks terrified. She might think she has been found. ¡°We need to get out of here. It¡¯s only a matter of time before they find you.¡± (Ved) No time to be surprised! Transforming my hands into proper human ones I lift her up and get out of the cave before sprouting my wings. The humans are now close enough to see me from the torchlight. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± (Soldier 1) ¡°Look! It¡¯s holding the girl!¡± (Soldier 2) I fly away while they alert the others. Some try to hit me with some arrows but none of them hit. As they shout to alert their allies in the rest of the forest. ¡°Why are you helping me¡­?¡± (Girl) If I was captured there I would have been dead. I may be a dragon but I¡¯m new to this. I¡¯m strong but there are some humans that are stronger. And if a whole army comes at me I¡¯m dead. I can¡¯t even use magic yet. ¡°Because I want to. More importantly I seem to have noticed that I don¡¯t have your name yet. I¡¯m Vedqothur but you may ball me Ved. Care to tell me who you are?¡± (Ved) ¡°¡­ Kate¡­¡± (Kate) ¡°Nice to meet you Kate.¡± (Ved) ¡°Do you happen to know why these people are chasing after you?¡± She shook her head. Tears started forming in her eyes again but she seemed to try to stop them. I wonder if that¡¯s okay for a ten-year-old girl. Not in my book. Not at all. ¡°You know Kate you don¡¯t have to-¡° (Ved) I was about to tell her she doesn¡¯t need to hold it in but I was interrupted by a fireball flying at me. How the hell did they find me? I¡¯m about an hour of walking away. I dodge it but now there¡¯s five more flying at me. I¡¯m new at this flying this so I barely managed to dodge four of them. The last one hit my left wing making me lose some air but I recovered quickly. I decided to drop down and started making my way along the treetops. ¡°Are you okay?¡± (Kate) Kate seemed worried for me. How cute. ¡°I¡¯m a dragon. You think my wing¡¯s going to get hurt by fire? I just decided that moving along the treetops would make me harder to spot.¡± (Ved) She made a face that look like it had ¡°Oh! I see!¡± painted on it and looked a bit impressed. Well she IS a young girl. Maybe something like this would be impressive to her. A few archers did spot me and try to shoot at me but I made sure none of the arrows hit. Seems like they realized I was travelling along the treetops but that made no difference. I was still incredibly hard to spot and I made it to the edge of the forest in only an hour of jumping across trees at full speed while the sun was finally rising. Ah what beautiful scenery to watch at early dawn. We were surrounded. If only it was just that but I could see around 10,000 people on the plain outside of the forest. The distance I would have to fly before I completely get away was around 500 meters. A minute of flying at full speed while dodging all projectiles coming for me¡­ Not happening¡­ ¡°Kate you wouldn¡¯t happen to know any magic would you?¡± I say in a slightly defeated tone. I have to admit. Whoever wanted Kate definitely put in the required effort to get her. I don¡¯t know what the hell they anticipated but it definitely wasn¡¯t a newborn dragon helping her. They were prepared for full on adult one. Well¡­ technically it wouldn¡¯t be enough but they did their best and although it would not be enough to stop me if I had a year or so to train before this happened¡­ It was definitely enough to stop me on the day I came out of my egg. How did I get myself in this mess? ¡°Only a bit of earth magic¡­¡± (Kate) I opened my eyes wide in surprise. I was only joking. I wasn¡¯t actually counting on her to know magic. She probably thought she wasn¡¯t adept enough for it to help but it didn¡¯t matter! I quickly turned around and went to a place with no soldiers. ¡°Show me! Quick!¡± (Ved) ¡°I¡¯m not very good at it though¡­¡± (Kate) ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I just need you to show it to me.¡± (Ved) I let Kate go so she could cast the spell, ignoring her surprise. She didn¡¯t know why I wanted to see the spell but she cast it anyway. Mumbling an incomprehensible chant for around 5 seconds during which a stone was slowly forming in front of her hand and as she finished the chant the stone flew at the tree she had stretched her hand towards. The tree had its bark crushed but that was it. It didn¡¯t look weak but it definitely wasn¡¯t overpowering either. That wasn¡¯t the point though. The whole time she was casting the spell I was looking at the mana. Now I knew how to form it. And much more. I started controlling the mana around us and attuned it with the earth attribute. I will the earth mana and form a spell. Seems like Kate still hasn¡¯t caught on to what I¡¯ll do. I lift her up again, while using mana open up a hole in front of us and jump in, sealing it back up as we fall. ¡°Phew. I can finally relax a bit¡± (Ved) I have been running around the entire morning and was now slightly tired. Not physically but mentally. It also probably had something to do with the magic I had just used as in my panic I had moved around way more mana than necessary. I let go of Kate and sat on the ground. ¡°Umm¡­ I can¡¯t see anything¡­¡± (Kate) Oh¡­ right¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m here and I can see in the dark. I promise I won¡¯t leave you so can you give me a few minutes to rest up?¡± (Ved) She looked a bit worried still¡­ *Sigh* Fine. ¡°If you¡¯re so worried come sit next to me. You¡¯ll know if I move if we are touching right?¡± (Ved) She nodded looking a bit embarassed but she seemed to have a bit of trouble finding me so I helped her out by holding her hand. ¡°There. Now we can talk and you don¡¯t have to be worried.¡± (Ved) Hearing that the girl finally relaxed a bit¡­ But she soon started tearing up again¡­ I¡­ can¡¯t do anything for her. What a pathetic genius I am to not be able to ease the sadness of a little girl. I put my hand on her head and stroked it. They say that when a woman wants to cry the best a man can do for her is to offer his chest for her to cry on. The girl wasn¡¯t a woman but I figured it might as well still apply. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Nobody will blame you for crying. In fact. Cry. Cry all the sadness out until you¡¯re dry. I¡¯ll wait.¡± (Ved) Hearing me say this she clung on to me putting her head to my chest and started crying her eyes out. Good. Tears shouldn¡¯t be kept in. Not by people like you. If nobody in the world was allowed to cry then what do I hold my tears back for? I can¡¯t quite tell but it feels like around half an hour passes before she stops. I worry about her dehydrating but right now I can do nothing about it. ¡°*Sob* Thank you.¡± (Kate) I don¡¯t say anything. I don¡¯t need to. I don¡¯t know whose fault this is but I will find out and they WILL pay. The men searching for us had passed above us a few times while Kate was crying but they hadn¡¯t noticed. Must think that we¡¯re still hiding somewhere in the forest. ¡°How did you do this?¡± (Kate) ¡°What do you mean? The hole? I just used earth magic for that.¡± (Ved) ¡°No, I mean how did you learn to do it just from seeing such a bad Stone Bullet.¡± (Kate) ¡°I only observed the mana while you were chanting your magic and copied it.¡± (Ved) ¡°No way!¡± (Kate) ¡°That¡¯s just what I did. The stone bullet that you showed me simply used mana to create and control a compressed stone before using a compressed amount of mana to blow it away. It was a simple spell but the hole was even simpler.¡± (Ved) ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. If you can do something like that wouldn¡¯t that mean that just seeing one spell from an element would allow you to control it?¡± (Kate) ¡°Something like that. I would need to actually be able to observe the mana in detail though so doing in the middle of combat is not currently possible.¡± (Ved) Hearing me say so Kate puffs up her cheeks as if she¡¯s angry. What is with this creature? Is it made of cuteness? I think I kind of understand the feelings of whoever the hell mobilized half the country¡¯s military to get to her. Still kind of mad about the whole burning down her village fiasco though. That wasn¡¯t very nice. Then again the thing I have in mind for the culprit wouldn¡¯t be very nice for them either. I guess it¡¯s subjective. ¡°That¡¯s unfair. I practiced so hard to even be able to shoot that one Stone Bullet but you just had to see it once and you can now make whatever kind of spell you want.¡± (Kate) Aww she¡¯s jealous of my talent. I want to hug her again. She¡¯s like a cute cat or dog that you can¡¯t help but want to pet. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°You know it should technically be possible for anyone to do that with sufficient training.¡± (Ved) ¡°Huh?¡± (Kate) Kate turned from pouty to hopeful in an instant. ¡°It can be done by anyone?¡± (Kate) ¡°It should be¡­ technically. I wouldn¡¯t know but it¡¯s not like I have some kind of blessing or special ability that lets me control mana in ways someone else can¡¯t. Sure I seem to be able to control and sense it much better but other than that there shouldn¡¯t be a difference and the same should be achievable with sufficient training and an affinity to the element.¡± (Ved) Kate stands up and bows to me. ¡°Please make me your disciple!¡± (Kate) ¡°Pfft! Hahaha!¡± (Ved) Shit. Wow I actually laughed. I haven¡¯t let out a laughter like that in forever. This girl just seems to ease my nerves a lot. Keeping her with me would be quite pleasant. She seems to be dejected though. ¡°Oh, sorry I didn¡¯t mean that I can¡¯t train you but it was so sudden I just couldn¡¯t help it.¡± (Ved) ¡°So you can train me? Will I be good in magic?¡± (Kate) ¡°Unfortunately I can¡¯t promise you anything. I¡¯m a dragon and you¡¯re not. That¡¯s already a sufficient for me to be unsure of whether I can train you but I also happen to not actually have any previous experience in training someone. Thus I can¡¯t promise you anything. If even after that you still want me to train you then I will do my best to teach you what I can.¡± (Ved) Looking at me with a determined expression she nods her head. I thought she couldn¡¯t see in the dark. Then again she¡¯s not looking at me directly in the eyes so I guess she can¡¯t see after all. She¡¯s just facing towards me hoping that I¡¯m there. ¡°Please! Please train me! I don¡¯t want to be powerless anymore! When those people came to my village and demanded me the others sacrificed themselves and I could still only run away! I want to become strong enough so that I don¡¯t have to run away anymore. So that I don¡¯t have to hide behind someone¡¯s back while they¡¯re doing all the work!¡± (Kate) I wasn¡¯t surprised. I had thought she had something like this in mind when she asked me for it. And I had no objections whatsoever. Having her trained would only mean less worrying for me. Of course I¡¯d still be worried about her. But if she¡¯s strong then I can reduce that somewhat. ¡°Very well. Then from today on you are Kate, disciple of Vedqothur, Champion of Vozahrah!¡± (Ved) Wow that was redundant to say. ¡°Huh?¡± (Kate) Seems she thought so too. ¡°Champion?¡± (Kate) She asked pointing at my general direction in the darkness *Sigh* Of course it was that. Well whatever I was planning on telling her if we were to travel together anyway. ¡°Yes¡­ I am the champion of Vozahrah goddess of chaos, freedom and choice and mother of dragons.¡± (Ved) ¡°B-But dragons aren¡¯t supposed to have a champion right? The Champion system was something created by the parent gods for insurance against the dragons¡­ right? (Kate) ¡°Well it¡¯s not wrong¡­ But you¡¯re only talking about the racial champions. There exist other lesser champions to lesser gods who are not parents to an entire race. Those are called Heroes. That being said I am definitely the one and only racial champion of the dragons.¡± (Ved) ¡°But¡­ But then how will the other races combat the dragons if even they have a champion?¡± (Kate) This girl is smart. And by the fact that she knew about the Champion system proved it. But she was wrong about one thing. ¡°Champions are not just there to battle dragons. They can use their power however they want. If the way they decide to use their power goes against what the god that appointed them went then he or she can just take it back. The slaying of dragons is just what champions are most famous for. That is definitely not what they are for. And neither is it a definite duty of theirs to confront all dragons as even for champions there is a good chance they would lose.¡± (Ved) ¡°But then what about you? What are you planning to do with your power?¡± (Kate) ¡±For now¡­ how about we get out of here?¡± (Ved) We had already been conversing for a while down here so it was about time we moved. Kate only nodded helplessly and got up. I grabbed her hand and started moving forward while creating a tunnel in the direction of the army. Going through there will be our quickest way out. They won¡¯t expect us to pass right under their feet. Let¡¯s just hope none of their mages are around. I wasn¡¯t actually creating a tunnel. I was just moving the earth in front of us to behind us and thus proceeded forward bit by bit while sometimes stopping and opening up a small hole to let in extra oxygen. Don¡¯t wanna suffocate down here. I don¡¯t actually know how much time I¡¯ve been going for but one thing¡¯s for sure. We¡¯ve passed the enemy. To the point where I can¡¯t feel them on my soul sense anymore. I¡¯ll need to figure out the exact range of it sometime. It should be somewhere around half a kilometer. So we¡¯re now around a kilometer away from our initial starting point. The problem is. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted.¡± (Ved) Kate was looking towards me who was still holding her hand with admiration. Now that I think about it she seems much less nervous around me now. Progress is good. I like progress ¡°Sorry Kate¡­ I really need to rest right now¡± (Ved) My head was throbbing and I could barely think clearly. If it was anyone else they might have already fainted around one or two hundred meters earlier just from the headache. Now¡­ Now I can barely keep myself awake too. Apparently in this world Internal mana storage is not a thing. Mana is an infinite resource that exists all around us. So why am I so exhausted though I didn¡¯t use up any internal energy for anything other than walking a kilometer? Because mana places a burden on your mind as you control it. If in games your MP represents the mana that your character has internally in this world if it existed it would represent the amount of mana someone can control before their mind shuts down on them. It can even be dangerous if you use too much magic beyond your capacity. I started off as being quite bad at controlling the earth around me but I learned as we progressed and I got more efficient with using earth mana. The exhaustion just got worse and made me have a worse control though and it balanced out with my learning capability. If I currently tried to repeat this thing without any exhaustion I would be able to go a few times further than today. On the other hand if I didn¡¯t have my learning capability I would have fallen down before even the 100 meter mark. That¡¯s how bad I was at controlling earth at first. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Please rest fully.¡± (Kate) Oh right I said something didn¡¯t I? I can¡¯t even remember what I told her to warrant that response. Was it something about taking a break? I don¡¯t care anymore. ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that.¡± (Ved) I could barely keep awake at this point. In a last ditch effort to not suffocate I opened a small hole to the surface. It wasn¡¯t big enough for anyone to notice it from half a kilometer away. Judging from the light it was still day out but at this point caring about that was beyond my abilities. I let go of Kate¡¯s hand and sat down on the ground leaning my back against the wall¡­ and I closed my eyes. Waking up I saw Kate leaning onto me while she slept. I guess she was exhausted too. For a different reason than myself. Mental exhaustion¡­ She might have already slept once but that is enough for you to get over your peaceful life being over and everything precious to you being destroyed. God knows it wasn¡¯t for me. Looking outside from the slight hole that I created I could tell that it was night. I might have incredible night vision but my eyes are still able to perceive darkness and light in a different manner. Night would be a perfect time for us to wake up. I still couldn¡¯t feel anyone within half a kilometer radius around us. Not even animals. There were bugs or other stuff around but I could easily differentiate them from humans. As I thought I¡¯m much better at controlling mana than before. It wasn¡¯t about controlling larger and larger amounts. The point was that I could now make use of smaller amounts more efficiently. Feeling a little guilty I shake Kate a bit to wake her up. We need to move while it¡¯s night. We can rest again later when we¡¯re more than half a kilometer away from an army that was after our asses. She slowly opened her eyes and rubbed them trying to wake up. ¡°Kate we need to move while it¡¯s still dark.¡± (Ved) Kate finally seeming awake gave a sad look. She was probably having a good dream. Maybe of her past in the village. I¡¯m glad I woke her up. Because those dreams turn into nightmares. I know that better than anyone. ¡°I already slept enough. Let¡¯s move.¡± (Kate) I nodded my head and moved the earth above us creating a hole to get out from. I picked up Kate again and jumped out. I could see the lights of a camp where the army was stationed earlier. Even if they had figured out we¡¯re not in the forest anymore they won¡¯t be able to move until morning. I covered up the hole and took out my wings again. Time to fly away from this place. Not that any other place in this country will be better. What kind of place is this to mobilize half its own military force for a single ten-year old girl? Or maybe I should worry about what Kate is to force them to act that way? Nah. Fuck them. This girl hasn¡¯t done anything bad. I look over to the girl in my arms who looked used to being carried. Still a bit embarrassed though. A small smile crept up to my face. She reminded me of my sister. I can¡¯t lose this one as well can I? Thinking so I absentmindedly accelerated while flying through the night. Chapter 5 I said farewell to the cave I was born in only a few hours ago and am in another. Since Kate and me were hungry we had to stop to rest as I hunted up a few beasts from around here. They weren¡¯t that unusual. Though they were categorized as monsters but the ones around here didn¡¯t look too different from what I saw in my previous life. I hunted down a few deer-like animals and cooked the meat. The fire was started easily enough. Friction could do miracles although starting a fire with it is¡­ easier said than done. We should be safe here. It¡¯s a few hours of flying away so it should take the enemy a day to get here. Not to mention that they shouldn¡¯t know where we are. So we decide that we¡¯ll stay here until tomorrow. Though we¡¯ve had quite a bit of rest in the past days Kate is still mentally exhausted from having her life turned upside down in a single moment. As hours past we didn¡¯t really speak much. Kate wasn¡¯t talkative currently though I didn¡¯t know how she was normally and I¡­ I wasn¡¯t ever talkative in the first place. Not when it doesn¡¯t involve getting information or negotiations. Basically I only talked when I needed that. Like that hours past until we got tired and went to sleep once again. As I woke up I spread my soul sense by habit before I could even yawn to get rid of my remaining drowsiness and what I found didn¡¯t leave me the time to do so. I was going to shake Kate awake but before I could do that- ¡°Get out of there and hand over the girl and we will think about sparing you!¡± (Commanding voice) Shit! They did know we were here. How? How did they find us? It¡¯s not as if they split up and searched in every direction. No I could tell that a large amount of the force if not all of it was here. Kate, hearing whoever the hell was shouting woke up and stared at me in horror. ¡°Stay here.¡± (Ved) As I left the cave I saw what was waiting. Hundreds of soldiers. All lined up waiting for me. If they attacked¡­ I wouldn¡¯t be able to protect the entrance for long. Yet¡­ I would rather die fighting than hand over Kate and live. Well¡­ this was a short one. What? Did I live two days or so? Heh. Kind of funny really. I thought about flying away with Kate again but as soon as I saw what was waiting I changed my mind. There were a few hundred soldiers that already had their bows ready and drawn with arrows knocked in them. I might be though but my scales are relatively weak as I¡¯m young not to mention that some of those will definitely hit my wings¡­ and my wings are even weaker. Flying away was a no go. Fighting directly was a no go. Running away in general was a no go¡­ This truly was a short life. I just wish I could have protected Kate with it but¡­ I can¡¯t. I have no idea how¡­ I can¡¯t dig through the cave as it is solid stone. I can¡¯t bring Kate outside and dig from here. They have mages too. They¡¯ll dig us up instantly. ¡°*Sigh*. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± (Ved) I said slightly dejected as I summoned a few spikes with earth magic and threw them at my opponents. A few hit a target skewering them. They¡¯ll most likely die. A few might survive if they¡¯re really lucky. ¡°ATTACK!¡± (Commander-looking man) Well¡­ Let¡¯s go out with a bang. Commander¡¯s POV: We were searching the forest for around a day before we realized that the girl was no longer there. I don¡¯t know what the thing helping her is but from the reports I received it sounded like a dragonoid. What the hell is a dragonoid doing here and why is it helping the girl? I don¡¯t know of any dragons that will benefit from helping her. Even they shouldn¡¯t want to mess with her. As we finished searching for the day we received information about where the girl and the bastard helping her had gone. I don¡¯t know who gave that information but It was apparently reliable so we set off immediately without even rest. With hope we can catch them off-guard as they probably think we don¡¯t know where they are. After all. Who would guess that they would be in the direction the main camp was completely unnoticed. How the hell did they even do that? Reaching the cave we got information for I deployed the troops to surround it while commanding the archers to ready themselves. Let¡¯s see that dragonoid fly off if he has a few hundred bows with nocked arrows pointed at him. As we were ready I shouted at the cave. The dragonoid was not a threat over all since our numbers were more than enough to handle one of their kind but I still wanted to avoid casualties on our side so I offered him safety in exchange for the girl. Before long he left the cave. Seeing him in the light it was¡­ overwhelming. The piercing eyes he had actually sent shivers down my spine. He seemed to think for a few seconds before he sighed visibly dejected while mumbling something that none of us could pick up. It took an attack from his side to snap me out as I instantly commanded my troops to attack. All the arrows that were nocked were let loose but the dragonoid used earth magic to protect himself with a shield of earth. After the arrows were let loose the front row of the soldiers stepped forward to attack. They did not last long. Although they inflicted a few injuries they all perished. Some from claws. Others from spikes made out of the earth. When they were all down. Another volley of arrows was sent forward towards him but he defended again. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ The hell is up with this guy. A few hours. A few hours he lasted. Hundreds of soldiers dead. And even now he¡¯s still standing. He looks exhausted but he¡¯s still standing. God. I¡¯d heard dragonoids were strong but this was ridiculous. The archers were almost out of arrows by now. Another volley of arrows was sent forward. The dragonoid was now clearly exhausted and he couldn¡¯t make a shield out of earth like he had been doing up until now. His scales deflected some of them but in the end he was pierced. Tens of arrows now sticking out. What remained was a battlefield which no one would think was between one person and an army. Hundreds of bodies lay on the ground dead. Among them a single dragonoid. His left eye had a gash across it and was blinded. His right arm was only hanging on by skin. It was almost cut off by one of the strongest swordsmen in the army before he was decapitated by the dragonoids claws. Covered in wounds. From shallow to deep. From wide to narrow. Large and small. I¡¯m beginning to think this guy wasn¡¯t strong but was just¡­ determined. I don¡¯t know why he was so determined on protecting that spawn of evil but he was. For whatever reason he stayed standing. Shaking my head I let go of the memory of those piercing fierce eyes. The intense hatred that increased with every attack it took. Yet somehow it seemed to me like it wasn¡¯t the pain or damage we were inflicting on him that was truly the source of the anger. I don¡¯t know why. Shit. I tried to forget yet the more I try the more I remembered. That was how influencing the presence of this one man was. Again I shook my head and stepped forward. Going inside the small cave the girl was there. Shaking in the corner. I dragged her out while she was screaming and crying until. Well¡­ she was until she saw what was outside but as soon as she did she quieted down. She mumbled something under her breath but it didn¡¯t matter. The mages would tell if it was an incantation and if they didn¡¯t say anything then it wasn¡¯t. As I dragged her outside I saw it. The dragonoid who had fallen on the ground from exhaustion and injury was looking at me. He was looking at me and weakly moving his lips. Trying to tell me something. I could tell what it was and it was terrifying. The others seeing he was alive finally brought a sword to his neck and rid him of his head. We were exhausted but we had orders so after a minimal amount of rest we headed back to the capital. The king awaited us and he would not be happy at how many soldiers perished for this. We traveled as I remembered the final words of the monster who murdered hundreds of trained soldiers by himself. I¡­ will¡­ kill¡­ you¡­ I was once again in darkness. Darkness¡­ Darkness¡­ Darkness¡­ Darkness¡­ Darkness¡­ If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.Darkness¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Heh¡­¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± ¡°Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!¡± ¡­ ¡°Hahaha! I can¡¯t believe it! HA! Mighty dragon my ass! Heheheh.¡± ¡­ ¡°Useless! Useless! USELESS!¡± ¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t even save a little girl!¡± ¡­ ¡°What the fuck do you mean ¡°genius¡±? What the fuck do you mean ¡°strong¡±? What the fuck do you mean ¡°mighty¡±, ¡°proud¡±?¡± ¡­ ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± ¡­ ¡°THIS IS HILARIOUS! HOW FUCKING PITIFUL CAN YOU GET?! NOT AS PITIFUL AS ME PROBABLY!¡± ¡­ ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± ¡­ ¡°Really¡­ funny. *sob*¡± ¡­ ¡°I *sob*¡­ can¡¯t even *sob*¡­ save a single person.¡± ¡­ ¡°Why? Why did I accept the invitation to revive? Why did I go back to hell after staying in heaven for so long?¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Wait¡­ ¡°Really¡­ why did I?¡± ¡°Why did I accept Zahra¡¯s request without thinking about it? It makes no sense. That¡¯s not the kind of person I am. Why? No¡­ I was not suspicious at all. Remembering it now. I was not suspicious at all. All of that questioning that was all just out of habit and not out of suspicion.¡± ¡°Did she do something to me? Now that I think about it I couldn¡¯t speak back then. I could only think. She was reading my thoughts? Since she could read them could she also influence them?¡± ¡°Heh¡­ Haha¡­ Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!¡± ¡°Hilarious! The goddess of freedom and choice doing her recruiting using brainwashing! HAHAHAHAHA! I can¡¯t believe it! This is too much! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± I laughed hysterically after finally realizing that I was stupidly being controlled the entire time. I could only laugh. I could only laugh at my stupidity¡­ and at Zahrah who made the biggest mistake in her life. Finally calming down I noticed that I had not thought about anything while letting out my frustrations yet I was still able to do it. I wasn¡¯t a soul. I had a proper body¡­ If you could call it that. A shadow among shadows. That¡¯s what my ¡°body¡± looked like. ¡°Heh¡­ Hahahahaha!¡± Again I could only laugh. I feel like I¡¯ve been doing that a lot ever since I died¡­ Something must have broken¡­ Yes. But there was no time to think about that. As broken as I am I now have a true task. Not something I was brainwashed into doing by a bitch goddess. No¡­ I have revenge to take and a little girl to save. I can¡¯t stay dead forever. As if sensing my determination the darkness squirmed around me. ¡°I know. You saved me didn¡¯t you? You helped me didn¡¯t you? Heh¡­ like an old friend I don¡¯t feel like dealing with at the moment¡­ huh?¡± It¡¯s time for me to get out of here. As I decided that the darkness shook and pointed. There were no lights around me. There was no light inside me. Could I no longer sense souls? Whatever. That¡¯s not important. That ability was useless anyway. I could barely tell the difference in souls between humans and bugs. I renewed my determination. Now I have a real objective. Zahrah, you¡¯re going to regret messing with me. With a huge smile on my face I licked my lips thinking about the oh so tasty revenge I will enjoy her response when she explains that she had no choice. That she was doing it for the good of the word and all other bullshit gods will use as excuses as soon as one of their decisions come to bite them on the ass. As I was thinking about various things I walked. Deeper and deeper into the void. The deeper I went the harder it was to progress. The deeper the darkness got the more I was in danger of being absorbed. But my darkness always won out. And when I was in the darkest place the void could offer and I was still on the winning end the darkness disappeared. I was back to where I was before. The bodies of the soldiers were gone.Looking down my current appearance was¡­ well it was the same as before. My past form of darkness wasn¡¯t there anymore and I looked completely human. No scales or anything anywhere. I looked at my shadow and nodded. My shadow stretched across my body and covered it forming clothes. Simple ones. Just a long-sleeved shirt, pants, boots and a cloak. I could change it¡­ but that wouldn¡¯t have been any fun. Well at least I¡¯m not naked anymore. Next step I need a new name. ¡°Kenos. Let¡¯s go with that. It¡¯s simple enough and that language doesn¡¯t exist in this world. Not to mention it goes well with what I have now become.¡± (Kenos) Now I was ready. With a bright smile on my face I stepped forward. Chapter 6 I was walking through the forest in a vague direction while examining my current situation. It was fall. The leaves on the trees had already mostly fallen off and were resting on the ground. When I came here it was spring as the trees were finishing up blooming. This meant that at the least I had spent four or five months in the void¡­ at the most? No idea. I noticed something as I walked. I could no longer directly use earth magic¡­ but I found something better. In fact I found something more than earth magic. Combining elements with my own. I could no longer use an element by itself but now I could use a different version of it. A darker version. The other thing I found out is how to use the rest of the elements. Wind, water, fire even things like lightning or ice. Even light¡­ that was¡­ honestly the weirdest. The element I currently wielded was probably not darkness but it was definitely connected to it. I decided to name it void since the Void itself seemed connected to it. The elements themselves were different as I used them with void. Earth created black crystals instead of simple stones. Fire again black fire. Water was also black. The idea was the same. Everything was dark. It was different from normal. Even lightning was black. Light was again the weirdest as it created some sort of dark light. I have no idea how it works. My elements seemed to be the opposite of light at first but now I¡¯m not so sure. Along with that I myself am much different from before. As in my body is much different than before. I don¡¯t know about any specifics but my true form or body was very close to what I would imagine elementals from fantasy were like. I was made of the darkness or void element. I could no longer transform my hands into dragon claws but void-claws? Those worked. And they were better. On the subject of transformation I myself could transform into pretty much anything human. Male, female, child, adult. As long as it was human or very close to it anything worked. Weird thing was I didn¡¯t really feel anything about being a woman even though I was a man all my life. Is my mind being influenced again? ¡­ Nah probably not. I just don¡¯t really care do I? The other important difference I noticed as I walked was my body. I no longer grew tired at all. My true body wasn¡¯t physical after all so I guess it made sense. But although it did not get tired it was much weaker than my dragon self was. As a dragon I could effortlessly jump up and across trees but now my physical abilities were about as good as they were in the prime of my past life. Maybe I could change it. Most of those soldiers I fought were way stronger than humans would be in my past life. That must mean that the humans in this world are somehow able to strengthen themselves past normal limits of what they can achieve without mana. I need to find a way myself as well because I¡¯m currently only as strong as a trained soldier in this world. Well physically¡­ skills were different. I was much better with any of the weapons the soldiers tried to end me with than them. I walked for around half a day. I didn¡¯t really need to eat food but I still tried capturing a deer like the ones I caught for Kate before. I may not be as strong as when I was a dragon but guess what, having peak human athleticism almost at the Olympic level is still pretty good not to mention that I could use incredibly strong magic like breathing. The deer were probably not something an average person of this world could handle but the soldiers I fought would be fine. So was I. I killed one of them with a void crystal and I skinned it and took the meat. I left the skin though. I won¡¯t need that and I have no place to store it anyway. I tried to start a fire with my magic but the void fire was too strong so I instead had to work on bringing it down to normal fire levels. It took me about a day of just trying to burn things without burning them too fast but I got the hang of adjusting the fire pretty well. After that I tried cooking the meat with my magic. It was honestly a good method for cooking but I still needed an hour and a few burnt pieces of meat to get it just right. It was¡­ not bad actually. If only I had spices or some other ingredients that I could cook with I could probably make some pretty delicious stuff with this newfound magic of mine. I¡¯ll need to practice controlling the different elements though. That earth spike made of void crystal that I used to kill the dear was bigger than intended. Good thing I already had past experience in controlling the earth element or I might¡¯ve blown the poor thing away completely. It didn''t take long for me to reach a road which headed north and south. The north was where me and Kate had come from. I don¡¯t know if that direction is any good but I just felt like going that way would be a bad idea so I opted for going south instead. Of course a day later I already attracted idio-¡­ bandits. My cloak was made out of my shadow. But it was the void element it was pitch black and had a simple design with no decorations but the material probably looked high class to these bunch of morons. There were seven of them and they surrounded me as who seemed to be the leader shouted at me to leave all my valuables if I want to live. When I kept ignoring him he got angry so he tried to get closer, probably to intimidate me. As soon as he took a step forward I used my newfound abilities. I wanted to test them out anyway. In the fraction of a second my shadow stretched like a blade and sliced through the leader¡¯s neck before returning to its formal place beneath my feet. Pathetic. The others didn¡¯t even see what happened. They just rushed at me as soon as they saw their bosses head fall to the floor. Theirs soon followed. Afterwards I did what any sane person would do after having killed seven people in a fraction of a second without even batting an eye¡­ I checked their pockets. The result was an abundance of silver coins which amounted to around fifty and a LOT of copper ones. I only took around two hundred of the coppers and all the silvers. I also took the most decent-looking sword they owned. Surprise, surprise it was the one the leader had. It wasn¡¯t really steel or anything high-class but it was good enough. It was a simple iron longsword and that was honestly what I wanted. After that pitiful excuse for a random encounter I was walking literally non-stop for four more days before finally I could see city walls on the horizon and as I got closer I could make out the pair guards posted at the gate and got close enough to be questioned. Stolen story; please report. ¡°Halt! State your business!¡± (Guard #1) I take off my hood and put on a friendly smile to signal good intentions. My face wasn¡¯t well known anyway. Who would need to know the face of a dead man? Even if he DID kill a few hundred soldiers. ¡°I am a traveler. As embarrassing as it is for me to say I got lost in a nearby forest and It took me a week of wandering to finally find a road and another weak to reach this city. I was hoping to finally be able to rest and maybe get some supplies as I lost my own a while back.¡± (Kenos) The guards looked at me suspiciously as I didn¡¯t look like someone that spent half a month in the wilderness but nodded anyway. ¡°That is fine but do you have the coin to pay for it?¡± (Guard #1) I moved my cloak aside slightly revealing my pitch black attire as well as the longsword I pilfered before which seemed to force the guards back to attention but I just patted the pouch tied to the other side of my attire for it to make a few jingling sounds. ¡°Okay you can pass but keep that sword where it belongs.¡± (Guard #1) I nodded and walked inside of the city putting my hood back on. There were a few things I wanted to do. I need knowledge and information. I walked around the town for a bit but before I could find an inn I found something else. I was standing in front of a big building with a sign reading ¡°Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡±. I open the doors and go in. The inside is mostly like a tavern but there¡¯s three receptionist windows. Only one of them occupied at the moment. No, it was not occupied by a beautiful receptionist lady. The guy was actually quite large and muscular. I walked up to the reception with. There were quite a few people in here but most of them just glanced at me once and turned away. ¡°What¡¯s your business?¡± (Receptionist) ¡°I¡¯m interested in becoming an adventurer. Can you tell me about the guild?¡± (Kenos) The man looked at me for a moment and nodded. ¡°Registering for the guild is simple enough. You just gotta pay a fee of five silvers and fill up this form.¡± (Receptionist) He handed me a paper and continued talking. ¡°After you¡¯re registered you¡¯ll be tested by an examiner and assigned a rank. The ranks go like F, E, D, C, B, A, AA, S, SS and SSS. Of course you can¡¯t get a high rank in a place like this. You¡¯ll need to go to a bigger guild. Maybe in one of the capitals.¡± (Receptionist) I nodded and started filling up the paper putting down my name as Kenos, race as human and age as twenty. My profession I put in as swordsman though. Don¡¯t wanna show my magic as I still don¡¯t know about how people would react to it. Being an adventurer is usually a good way to get information and going to the capital sounds good. Since it was the army doing the kidnapping the king was definitely in on it and even if he wasn¡¯t he had to have known something unless he was just a puppet ruler. And I swear that depending on past and current circumstance this country might need a new one. I handed the paper back in together with five silvers and he pointed to a door in the back. I went through it to find something like an open training area behind the building. On the other side of it was standing the receptionist holding a simple iron longsword. ¡°Take your sword out and let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got.¡± (Receptionist) ¡°Working double jobs?¡± (Kenos) ¡°We¡¯re short-handed. The town might be big but this guild is new.¡± (Receptionist) He didn¡¯t seem like he expected much out of me. He probably thought I was some noble that ran away from home or something if he judged me by my clothes. I unsheathed my own sword and walked towards him until we were only around five meters. I waited around half a minute and when I understood that he had no intention on starting off the fight I decided to do so myself. My first slash was made as a test. It was a weak slash but I made it hard to parry. It was basically just to announce that the battle started. As expected the man easily redirected the slash and countered with another but I dodged it so he connected with another. The second slash was faster and stronger than the first one and I couldn¡¯t dodge it so I blocked it and got pushed a step or two backwards. Interesting. The man was using mana and imbuing it in their body t increase their strength. Seems like mages aren¡¯t the only ones that use mana around here. The man was faster and stronger than me and I felt like he was still holding back. On the other hand I couldn¡¯t strengthen myself in the same way he did since my body wasn¡¯t something physical to imbue mana into in the first place. Instead I decided to imbue my sword. The mana around was controlled by my void and gathered into the sword flowing in a way to increase impact strength. That¡¯ll have to do for now. The man looked a bit nervous looking at my sword which was now covered with a dark aura. Whoops I didn¡¯t know it would do that. Aw well this much should be fine. He rushed at me with full strength and slashed his sword in an incredibly fast attack that I could barely see without my dragon eyes. I could only block it on instinct shoving away his sword thanks to my apparently strong imbuing of my sword and bringing the very same imbued sword to his neck. ¡°Ugh¡­ beat me good. My fault for getting nervous.¡± (Receptionist) I only chuckled slightly. I wonder when¡¯s the next time I¡¯ll go fully insane lie in the void. Heh¡­ Can¡¯t wait. I gave the man a hand as he had stumbled and fallen backwards and he took it so I pulled him up. He was pretty heavy but it wasn¡¯t like I was weak either. ¡°Brat I don¡¯t know where you got your skill with the sword or that weird imbuing technique but those were pretty good. I¡¯m a C-class adventurer myself so that would mean that you will also be starting out as one since you beat me. Welcome aboard newbie.¡± (Receptionist) I just slightly smiled and sheathed my sword. Maybe my life as an adventurer would be kind of fun. Of curse first was finding out what happened to Kate. I don''t know if I can still save her after no less than a third of a year but I at least wanted to find out what happened to her first. Adventuring comes after. Chapter 7 Though I was being a good sport about it that fight showed me exactly how weak I currently am physically. I¡¯ve completely forgotten how to fight and used only basic normal techniques. They were still perfectly executed but if I had been in top form I could have beaten Brul, the receptionist, to the ground. The fact that he had an injured leg and was obviously distressed by my imbuing made it even worse. After the fight we reintroduced ourselves to each other and I learned that he lost he used to be a top B rank adventurer but after losing his leg to some kind of monster with a high affinity to darkness he had to retire. That was the reason he panicked when he saw my own element. Basically I was just lucky. Not only was I weaker physically but I had also forgotten how to use most of my abilities effectively in a fight. Brul himself is a nice guy. He¡¯s lively and friendly to those who earn it. Those who don¡¯t are gonna wish they had. After a friendly conversation I asked him some different things. I learned that the town I was in was named Acton. The other I wasn¡¯t so happy to hear. ¡°The military mobilizing? Haven¡¯t heard of that happening rece- Oh! Are you talkin¡¯ ¡®bout that weird time five years ago where half the military burned down a village?¡± (Brul) ¡°Five years ago?¡± (Kenos) ¡°I think that¡¯s about how long it was. I have no idea what the king was thinking but then again when have I ever?¡± Shit. It¡¯s been five years. Five years I¡¯ve spent in the void going insane. I can only hope that somehow by the will of some more merciful god than Zahrah Kate managed to escape. ¡°So kid. You seemed to not be unfamiliar to swordsmanship and you can use mana well if you can imbue your weapon. Why didn¡¯t you imbue your body as well?¡± (Brul) I knew that was coming. ¡°I¡¯ve had a sort of defect from birth. My body can¡¯t be imbued with mana. It just doesn¡¯t affect it.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Hoh. Why didn¡¯t you become a mage instead then? If you can control mana well enough to imbue your weapon then you surely had talent in that department.¡± (Brul) Shaking my head I continued to lie to the closest thing to a friend I¡¯ve made in this world without even a hint of it showing on my face. Maybe in some other alternate timeline I became an actor with a few Oscars to my name. ¡°Maybe I do but I need connections or money to become a good mage. For swordsmanship I just need to practice. Same goes for imbuing.¡± (Kenos) ¡°HAH! So what then? You mean that you learned those by yourself without a teacher? Heh. Kid I wish I could believe you¡¯re joking but you seem completely serious. Let me tell you what that isn¡¯t easy to do at all let alone without a teacher.¡± (Brul) ¡°Sure it isn¡¯t but spells can¡¯t be learned without someone to teach you no?¡± (Kenos) He finally seemed to get what I meant. Just simple slashing and combat can be learned through practice and experience but for magic normally without any knowledge of it it is impossible to progress and from what I understood from when I asked about a library earlier books in this world are expensive. Magic books¡­ probably even more so. ¡°Maybe I could teach you some better techniques with a sword then?¡± (Brul) I shook my head again. ¡°I do have other techniques but I seem to be a little too inexperienced to use them in real combat.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Then let me help you with that. How about it? Want another go?¡± (Brul) ¡°Why do you wanna help me out so much anyway?¡± (Kenos) At this point I even started to get a bit suspicious. I liked the guy but he seemed to want to help me a bit too much. He quieted down a bit. ¡°Kid¡­ you know you may be smiling right now but your eyes aren¡¯t. I¡¯ve seen eyes like yours before but it was different. Old veteran soldiers that have experienced more than a single war, adventurers that have seen the darker side of the world. Some gave up and others succumbed to madness but all of them changed. Your eyes are filled with madness just like theirs but yours is different. Because even the madness is being suppressed by that strong unmovable will I see above it. I haven¡¯t seen a will like that ever before. Not in even the strongest warriors I¡¯ve met. Would you trust me if I just say I want that will to survive?¡± (Brul) ¡­ That was unexpected. I probably looked visibly surprised while he said it and not many people can shake my poker face. The guy saw right through me. *Sigh*. There goes my award-winning actor theory. I looked down and contemplated. It¡¯s been five years. The chances for Kate to still be in the castle unharmed are¡­ minimal¡­ if not non-existent. And I need to get stronger. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ Take you up on that offer. But first I would like to take a quest. Something related to combat.¡± (Kenos) ¡°There¡¯s actually a good one on the quest board over there. Goblin extermination. Critters are weak but have good teamwork and use weapons. Should be good practice.¡± (Brul) I went and picked up the quest from the wall. It was exactly C ranked. ¡°Yeah this seems good. How do I register for this?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Normally you just walk up and show it to the receptionist. I¡¯ll register you for it later. You should leave tomorrow. If you want I can recommend you a good inn.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good thanks I¡¯ll leave immediately.¡± (Kenos) He seemed a bit surprised by my statement. ¡°You sure? It¡¯s dangerous to travel alone at night. Or do you have a party?¡± (Brul) ¡°No I travel alone. And I¡¯m well aware that it¡¯s dangerous. I just don¡¯t feel like waiting for tomorrow.¡± (Kenos) ¡°¡­ Hey Kenos you wanna marry my daughter?¡± (Brul) Excuse me? ¡°Excuse me?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Hahaha! I mean she wouldn¡¯t find a better man anyway so why not right?¡± (Brul) ¡°I will most politely refuse.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Why? You think my daughter¡¯s not good enough for ya?¡± (Brul) ¡°How would I know? I haven¡¯t even seen her.¡± (Kenos) After explaining that I have no interest in someone I haven¡¯t even met once he just laughed before moving on from the topic. I got directions from him on where I have to go and left immediately like I said I would. As I left the building I heard a loud laughter coming from behind me. I walked through town. By the time I had left the guild the sun was starting to set. I sure spent a long time talking with Brul. At some point the other adventurers were whispering about how they had no idea where we fit all the liquor we were downing. Of course I fit it in the infinite void of nothingness I am made of. I have no idea about Brul though. He was probably drunk when he asked me to marry his daughter anyway. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. I was walking towards the south gate. I came in through the north one. On the way I saw a few interesting shops and¡­ a library. I went inside the library. Since my clothes looked high quality I didn¡¯t get any shit about entering but as I suspected though there were a few interesting books all the books were expensive. Even the boring seemingly useless ones. A cookbook cost two gold coins for fucks sakes. A GODDAMNED COOKBOOK! I just shook my head dejectedly and left the establishment with empty hands. Next interesting place I spotted was an enchanters shop but I walked past it. Books were expensive but enchantments even more so. I could probably learn to do it later anyway. I also saw a blacksmith and I went in. I was okay with a simple iron longsword but I could go for something better. I hoped for something durable. The inside of the blacksmith was as you would expect. There were hammering sounds coming from the back and there was a receptionist at the front who didn¡¯t look like a blacksmith. I guess the receptionist takes customers and the blacksmith¡­ smiths. Anyway I immediately walked over to the swords. Some I could afford others not. There was a greatsword there but it was too heavy for the current me to use it effectively and I didn¡¯t want something so impractical anyway. I wasn¡¯t planning on becoming a blonde spiky-haired protagonist with a fetish for giant swords¡­ that sounded so wrong. In the end I bought a second longsword for thirty silver. No, I will not dual-wield them. It¡¯s a reserve in case my other one breaks. Afterwards I saw a few more interesting shops but I didn¡¯t want to waste any more money and also didn¡¯t honestly need what they had to offer. Like an alchemist. I have no idea what effect potions would have on me. It¡¯s even possible that there would be none at all. I left through the south gate right as they were thinking of closing it. The sun was almost set but I wasn¡¯t bothered and just walked in the direction Burl gave me to the goblin cave I was supposed to clear out. All in all it took me around thirty six hours to get to the cave so the sun was now rising as I was looking at the cave with two goblins guarding it from the outside. The two creatures, both green and around 1.20 meters in height had some crude spears fashioned out of a tree branch with a sharp stone tied on top of it and were wearing nothing but a loincloth. Sounds about right for a goblin unless they¡¯re part of a bigger clan. I came out of hiding and walked towards them slowly and as they saw me they lifted their spears and screamed while running at me. I guess it was supposed to be a battle cry. I just easily beheaded them with my sword. I decided that I wouldn¡¯t use magic unless it was an emergency. These guys didn¡¯t have a means to kill me anyway as I was immaterial. Made of energy rather than matter. As they took their last breaths their bodies turned into a grey smoke and disappeared. Left behind were nothing but their loincloths and spears. Apparently this is what happens to monsters in this world. I wondered why it didn¡¯t happen to the dears but apparently they were animals. Monsters were different. Also though this happened it wasn¡¯t as if all monsters were innately evil. No, they just did what they did to survive. Well, most of them. At least that¡¯s how I understood it after hearing about goblin behavior. ¡­ It still pissed me off though. Entering the cave it would normally be quite dark but to me it was actually better that way. I could see absolutely normally and if I used void magic in here it would be much stronger. Darkness was definitely my territory. It wasn¡¯t impossible to use void magic in the light but I would have to use my shadow unless I was touching another one. Other elements seemed like they would be more effective under the sun as they aren¡¯t restricted even when they¡¯re imbued with void magic. I walked forward. Killing wave after wave of goblins with my sword. They were clumsy and their weapons were terrible but the numbers made up for it so it worked as practice. As I fought I really was slowly regaining my battle sense. I started using more and more of my old techniques. Moving more and more fluently evading attack after attack. A few of killing goblins later I had stopped counting after a hundred but I had killed a few times more after that so I was at maybe five hundred or so. I reached the final place in the cave. This was it. This was the thing that made me not care for them. Made me want to kill them mercilessly. The smell in the room made me want to kill even more. On the floor there were six bodies of naked women. All of their eyes were empty. They were broken. Far gone. Never to return. I approached them and one by one and¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I killed. It was night by the time I came back to Acton so the gate was closed. I just kept out of sight and practiced magic near the gate. My swordsmanship was back so now it was time to improve my magic once more. When the gate was opened I finally approached again and headed straight for the guild. But when I came the guild was closed. A man called out to me as he was walking by. ¡°Oh you¡¯re the newbie that joined a few days ago right? The guild¡¯s closed right now. Brul seemed to be having some problems so he told us he would be out for a while yesterday.¡± (Adventurer) This didn¡¯t sound very good. ¡°Why? What happened?¡± (Kenos) ¡°I don¡¯t know he didn¡¯t want to talk about it. Never seen him that angry before. If you want I can tell you where he lives but I¡¯m warning you that guy isn¡¯t really in the mood to talk right now.¡± (Adventurer) I nodded and he told me where his house was located so I walked there. But when I got there he was gone again so I asked the people from around here but nobody knew where exactly he went. There was only a single man that had accidentally seen him leaving through the north gate last night. There was something up and I was curious to find out what. Then it hit me. I asked the same man if he was alone when he left and he only confirmed my suspicion. I still owe him for the information. Whoever hurts him or his family WILL DIE! I turned in the direction of the north gate and walked forward. Chapter 8 As soon as I left the north gate I ran. I felt a familiar feeling surging up from inside me. It was the same as when my sister was taken from me. The same as when Kate was taken from me. I cannot lose again. Lose? Who am I fighting with again? Myself? The world? Fate? I ran. I thought about Brul. He was a nice guy. Treated me to some beer. Told me a bunch of stuff and didn¡¯t ask much back. Even offered his help to me since I seemed like I needed it. Why him? Why does he have to suffer? Why can¡¯t the ones that try to make him suffer, suffer instead? I will not allow him to suffer because of them. I will make them suffer instead! Justice? What the fuck is justice? I¡¯m not doing this for JUSTICE! WHO CARES ABOUT JUSTICE? I DO NOT LIKE HIM SUFFERING THEREFORE I WILL KILL ALL THAT CAUSES IT TO HIM! I WILL DESTROY IT! Heh...Haha¡­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! As I was having my enjoyable laugh I witnessed a wagon in the distance. It looked like something a merchant would carry goods in but it also seemed quite big. As I got closer I felt something wrong. There weren¡¯t any goods inside the wagon. There were only people. Why were there so many people in the wagon? Was it some kind of transportation service? Maybe it¡¯s a new trend for transportation services to keep their clients in cages? Haha¡­ As I got close three void blades come out of my shadow instantly beheading eleven people in no more than a second including the driver and the fat rich-looking pig besides him. But I am still running. As I pass by the wagon I stick my void blades inside and slice off the bars of the cages. Before I fully leave the wagon behind I throw my pouch of money in the wagon as well. Hiding my magic? What is the point of power if I can¡¯t use it? I had completely forgotten. Why had I forgotten something so simple? Why did I intend to take it slow in this world? Why did I imagine that having a peaceful quiet life would be allowed to me? No¡­ no it wouldn¡¯t. Because no matter what I do I always lose. Until I have nothing left. Until it is all gone. Everything. EVERYTHING! Friends! Family! Loved ones! NONE ARE SAFE AS LONG AS THEY INVOLVE THEMSELVES WITH ME! I WILL CHANGE THAT! I WILL MAKE THIS WORLD A PLACE WHERE NONE OF THEM CAN DIE! A safe place. A place where I would live silently in peace. As I was running I looked ahead and saw a blockade of some sort. They didn¡¯t look like bandits. How much time had I been running for anyway? As I got close¡­ as I saw what they were circled around¡­ I stopped. There was a single man there. A single receptionist. A single adventurer¡­ A single corpse. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!¡± ¡­ Seven void spears rose and rotated around me before each pointing at one of the soldiers as if taking aim. They noticed and took a stance seemingly ready to dodge but my spears just flew towards them at a speed they could not dodge. I ran over to where Brul¡¯s corpse was. He had a major artery in his left arm severed and was seemingly left to bleed out. His corpse was still slightly warm but I could tell that the heat was already leaving it and there would soon be none left. Again¡­ Again¡­ Again¡­ Again¡­ I did it again¡­ I failed again¡­ I closed Brul¡¯s eyes with my hand and then closed my own for a quick farewell. I burned his corpse and then buried the ashes by the road with void earth magic. I don¡¯t really know what this world does with its corpses so I just did something¡­ anything¡­ It took me only two minutes to do everything. I had no time to waste. I started running again. Further down the road. I decided to continue where my thoughts left off¡­ what was I thinking about again? I don¡¯t remember¡­ family? Friends? Loved ones? Did I have any of those again? I did right?... Right? I remembered the face of my sister. She was bright and friendly. Loved by most people. I actually had to beat down a few guys who were a bit too persistent in their approach towards her. Though I usually tried to give them a chance. I loved her but I wasn¡¯t the kind of brother to involve myself in her love life too much. After all she¡¯d probably feel annoyed at that if not slightly creeped out. Why did I lose her? I know it was a company that wanted me to join up had hired some people to kidnap her but the assholes ran off with half the money they had received upfront and never came back. But that¡¯s not the point. What could I have done to change it? If I made up my mind and joined a company? I doubt that it would matter. In fact people would probably be even more inclined to do something akin to what happened. Maybe if I made my own? Again no. Then rather than joining someone they would be threatening me to close down my company and possibly for my life. No matter what I think of There was nothing. Maybe if I hid my talent¡­ but it would be discovered sooner or later. First of all though I was intelligent as a child I was still relatively na?ve and I was also quite a show off so I doubt I could have hid it. Always¡­ no matter how many scenarios or simulations I run in my head it always ends up with her dead. Lying somewhere on the hard floor without me even being near and drowning in her own blood. Sometimes even used as a toy to satisfy the desires of those that took her from me¡­ sometimes left as a gruesome symbol of gore for me to fear. Why? Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why? I remember Kate. We talked little. We knew each other for only a day. But she was a sweet girl. Highly distressed over the fact that the villagers she knew and loved sacrificed themselves to protect her she felt a duty to not let their lives be in vain. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. No matter what I can¡¯t imagine her deserving to be hunted by half the military of a country. Again I tried to remember what I did and try to think what I could have done differently. But there were too many unknown factors. When I fought though I killed a few hundred soldiers since the terrain and position did not allow me to fight too many at the same time and I didn¡¯t know how strong the mages were. I thought. Maybe if I had done this differently. But in the end I didn¡¯t know what would happen since I lacked too much information in this world. If I had escaped in a different direction? I don¡¯t know how they found me. It might¡¯ve been useless anyway. If I had noticed the enemy sooner? Maybe? That could have helped but again I have no idea how they located us so it might be useless. In the end I still couldn¡¯t save her either no matter how hard I thought¡­ Not this time¡­ NEVER AGAIN! I WILL PROTECT! As I ran I saw a carriage at the front surrounded by soldiers wearing the same uniform as the ones who killed Brul. Behind it a wagon similar to the one I encountered on my way here. It¡¯s time. I emptied my thoughts. It¡¯s time. I erased my emotions. It¡¯s time. The only thing left inside me. Nothing. I abandoned my human form. There is no longer any need for me to take my pitiful mortal guise. I was now no more than a shadow. A void. Why could I exist in the light? Because I am not darkness. I am emptiness. I am nothingness. I am the void. I am the abyss. The soldiers seemed to have felt something. It wasn¡¯t logical but they felt something so they turned around. All of them. And as they saw me they looked terrified. There I was. Standing tall in a humanoid shape. I had no features. No face. No eyes. No ears. I was just an abyss with a humanoid shape. And when you look into the abyss¡­ Sometimes¡­. The abyss looks back¡­ I looked at them and smiled. I don¡¯t know how they knew. My form did not have a mouth but they felt it as they seemed even more terrified than before. All the shadows around seemed to be stretching towards me. The shadows were no longer afraid of the light and were no longer hiding behind something so that the light does not reach them. They just desperately reached out for their lord. Nobody noticed though. They were too busy looking at me. ¡°A- An elemental of darkness!¡± (Soldier #1) ¡°Wh- Why is it standing in the middle of the light as if it¡¯s not affecting it?¡± (Soldier #2) I could hear a number of remarks among the soldiers. Some were cursing. Others made questions nobody around them could answer. Among the voices there was a single who stood out by not being afraid. But that fearlessness was no bravery¡­ it was mere arrogance. ¡°What are you waiting for? What do you think my father pays you for? Hurry and kill this elemental or whatever and let¡¯s move on!¡± (Brat) The voice was that of a boy not yet reached adulthood. Yet it was so fearless. So arrogant. So FOOLISH! I walked towards them and some of the braver or more foolish of the soldiers came running at me after hesitating some more. ¡°Foolish idiots.¡± (Kenos) I no longer had a shadow. I did not need one for I was my shadow all along. From my back sprouted the familiar blades. Looking like giant scythes made of the void itself they reaped the life of each and every pitiful being who dared to come towards me. By the time I was done some of the soldiers were fleeing while others were barely keeping themselves from doing so. I could not allow them to leave though. I would not allow information of what has occurred here today spread. ¡°I¡± spread ¡°myself¡± across the ground and connected ¡°myself¡± to their shadows. As ¡°I¡± their shadows were now a part of ¡°me¡±. Spikes of void as thick as an arm came out of ¡°me¡±¡­ no they were also ¡°me¡±. Some pierced the hearth. Others the head. Some someplace else entirely. The point was every single soldier was now dead or dying. And there would soon be forty corpses lying in the middle of the road. I first went past the wagon from which I heard sobbing and headed towards the carriage. The little lord who looked fifteen was cowering on the floor after hearing the screams his soldiers made from outside followed by the serene silence of death. He looked at me and soiled himself. Pitiful ¡°Pitiul.¡± (Kenos) He seemed to be about to say something but I didn¡¯t feel like listening so I stabbed him in the throat with my ¡°arm¡± which was now transformed into a blade. Exiting the carriage I went back to the wagon from where I could still hear the soft sobbing and entered the back. Inside was a single girl. In a cage. The girl looked to be around seven or eighteen with chestnut brown hair. Her face though not as beautiful as either of the goddesses I¡¯d met previously she was definitely beautiful. Her face had soft but not by any means childish features and her bust wasn¡¯t lacking either. Though neither was it very big. The girl was crying until she saw me coming in to which she only backed off from me as far as her cage allowed before being stopped by the bars. I got closer which seemed to terrify her even more but I cared not. She would soon be safe. There would be no need for fear. As I stepped in front of her cage tears were streaming down her face and as two void blades came out of my back she seemed to cover her face with the palm of her hands waiting for her end. The end which would never come. I slashed at the top and bottom of the bars on the side of which I was standing and they fell on the ground. I also got rid of the top of the cage which I slashed off before grabbing and throwing it out of the wagon. The girl was still scared so I waited a few seconds for her to calm down. And while she was doing that I turned back in human form. Clothes on of course. When the girl uncovered her eyes and looked at me she made a bewildered expression. I only smiled at her and extended my hand which she flinched at a bit. Waiting a few seconds she also extended my hand and grabbed mine after which she simply¡­ cried. Chapter 9 Brul¡¯s daughter cried for a while. I couldn¡¯t blame her for it nor did I feel like stopping her. Her tears felt like those of relief, fear and¡­ worry. She calmed down after a bit. She was still holding my hand but when she noticed that she quickly let go blushing and turned around, probably to not let me notice. ¡°Are you okay now?¡± (Kenos) ¡°I¡­ I¡­ For now¡­ I think so¡­¡± (Burl¡¯s daughter) She seemed to hesitate, not sure of what to answer. She probably didn¡¯t know if she was okay herself. Poor girl. ¡°T-That¡¯s right! My father! Do you know my father? Or do you know-¡° (Burl¡¯s daughter) While she was talking she turned around to face me and interrupted herself after seeing my expression. I think she knew what exactly it meant. Just as good of a people reader as her father I guess. I smiled in my mind a little sadly at that but I did not want to show that smile to her lest she misunderstood.. ¡°Your father¡­ is no more.¡± (Kenos) Hearing this she started tearing up again but since she had just cried herself out she didn¡¯t seem to be able to do so again and just sobbed silently. I took this time to come to terms with some things myself. First. My expression changed again. I couldn¡¯t see it but I could feel it¡­ but this time¡­ it didn¡¯t feel that bad. Like it was finally what it should have been all along. Before when I was on Earth and when I was a dragon my face was almost completely emotionless. After my second death as a dragon my face became very expressional. Now it seemed like it finally achieved a balance. My face usually stayed stern and was a natural poker face but I could properly express emotion when needed. It felt good¡­ it felt¡­ relieving. I didn¡¯t understand what I am but I got some hints. I am a void. An abyss. Nothingness. Emptiness. Looks like I named my element correctly and darkness is certainly a part of it but darkness is the lack of light. Void is the lack of all that exists. Haaah. It¡¯s quite confusing. I don¡¯t know though how exactly I am what I am. Am I a part of the void souls go to after death? Is it a part of me? How did I become what I am? And so on. Questions were still abundant and answers much less so. And finally¡­ I will stop hiding my magic. My physical strength is weak so I have nothing else to rely on. On the other hand my magic is strong. If I could use this back when I was protecting the cave Kate was in. I would honestly probably have been able to annihilate my enemy. Now that I think about it what I am doing when I control the void is very different from magic. It doesn¡¯t even tire me out. I don¡¯t use the mana in the air either. I currently have an infinite capacity for using mana too thanks to being able to control the void. I guess rather than magic the void is part of me so controlling it is definitely different from using magic. It¡¯s hard to explain. Maybe if I say that controlling it to make a spike is like moving an arm? And then maybe I can compare gathering the void to manipulate the mana around me is similar to breathing? I don¡¯t know. But the void is a part of me. By the time I was done thinking the girl had seemed to calm down again as well. She probably expected my answer. Maybe she saw him being attacked by several soldiers but hoped that I somehow arrived in time to save him. ¡°Umm¡­ Sorry if this is rude or something but¡­ why are you helping me?¡± (Burl¡¯s Daughter) ¡°Good question. But the answer is just because I felt like it¡± (Kenos) ¡°You felt like it?¡± (Burl¡¯s daughter) ¡°Come on let¡¯s get out of here I still have things to do¡­ we still have things to do.¡± (Kenos) ¡°¡­?¡± (Burl¡¯s daughter) I could almost see the question mark floating above her head but she didn¡¯t say anything and simply followed me outside to see the slaughter I had committed. ¡°¡­ You did this?¡± (Burl¡¯s daughter) ¡°Is that a problem?¡± (Kenos) ¡°¡­¡­ No¡­ Thank you.¡± (Burl¡¯s daughter) She didn¡¯t seem bothered by the fact that I killed so many people. Actually she seemed relieved. Well I won¡¯t pry. I first checked the corpses for any coin and sure enough it was full of them. Especially the man sitting next to the driver of the carriage. He may have been the brat¡¯s servant or something and was probably holding the money for his lord. In the end I got around a hundred gold coins and a load of silver and gold from the guards. I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry them all but the fancy pouch of coins the brat¡¯s servant had on him seemed enchanted and was able to fit more than it looked like it would. I didn¡¯t touch the swords. They were better than the ones I had but they were useless to me. I could make a sword out of void and that would cut through these ones like butter. My own swords as well were thrown aside. Don¡¯t need those any more either. After I was done we left. I was walking slowly as the girl was still not quite up for walking energetically and I didn¡¯t want to tire her out. When we were around twenty meters away I turned around to face the scene of carnage once more and willed for fire to consume it. I stayed for about a minute keeping the fire burning at the temperature I want and controlling it to not spread to anything but what I want it to burn before simply willing it to stop and continuing on my way. Behind us was only a road covered with ash and liquid metal. ¡°That¡¯s right! Your name! I forgot to ask your name.¡± Said Burl¡¯s daughter suddenly as we were walking. Truly I had forgotten to introduce myself and I hadn¡¯t asked her name either. Good I was getting a bit tired of calling her Burl¡¯s daughter in my head. ¡°Kenos. You?¡± (Kenos) I kept it short and simple. I didn¡¯t need a grand introduction. ¡°Lillian¡­¡± (Lillian) ¡°Lily then.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Already with the nicknames?¡± (Lily) ¡°Lily is easier to say. Sorry to tell you but I usually give nicknames to anyone I meet with more than five letters in their name.¡± (Kenos) I think that was the whole reason Zahrah gave me that name... to annoy me. Good thing I changed it. Bitch. Now that I think about it I didn''t really think up a nickname for Eirene. I''ll just call her Ei from now on. I don''t think she was in on Zahrah''s bullshit. Well... I''ll find out anyway sooner or later. ¡°¡­¡± (Lily) She seemed to be thinking about something. Now that I think about it were those bastards feeding her well? Probably not. The noble brat seemed like the kind of guy to treat women he liked as toys and toys don¡¯t need to be fed well now do they? How corrupt does a 15-year old piece of shit like him become that way? Influence from his father most likely. When we were leaving the ash and metal behind it was the late afternoon. By the time we arrived at the place I wanted to go the girl had asked me to stop to rest a few times already but I urged her to go on. This has to be done today. As she asked me again I stepped off the road and stood in front of a black spear made out of crystal. Lily came up from behind me. She didn¡¯t know what this was but she seemed to realize something as when she stood before it she fell to her knees. She looked at me. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°F-Father?¡± (Lily) I nodded and she broke down in tears once more but when a girl is crying her eyes out as a man should I really be doing nothing? Last time I held her hand. This time I hug her and give her a shoulder to cry on for the whole time. All the way until she got tired from it and fell asleep. As she fell asleep I let her rest on my lap. I didn¡¯t really feel like just throwing her on the ground. *Sigh* I got reminded of Kate again. She did the same thing when she¡­ never mind. I¡¯ve decided what to do next. The soldiers from before were wearing different uniforms than the country¡¯s military. They must be a private one and the only person I could think to have something like that here would be the lord that governs the towns around here. I¡¯ll ask Lily about it when she wakes up. Until then I¡¯ll just wait since I don¡¯t need to sleep anymore. I lean back on the spike which signifies the grave of Brul with Lily on my lap and slightly smile. ¡°Well Brul¡­ It¡¯s not exactly marriage but good enough right?¡± (Kenos) I hope your soul rests well in the void¡­ friend. Lily sleeps like a log for around ten hours and by the time she opens her eyes the sun is already up. Of course she seems flustered that she woke up on my lap and quickly stands up. I just stand up as well not letting it bother me. She looks around frantically and seems to remember the events of yesterday finally looking down dejectedly with a slightly grim expression. Time to make sure what exactly happened. ¡°Lily. I know it might be a bit hard for you but can you tell me what happened?¡± (Kenos) She looks up at me still with a sad expression on her face and nods. ¡°There¡¯s really not much to say. The son of the lord was coming to town and he took a liking to me. That was¡­ all¡­ He ordered his men to take me and I was to be made into his personal toy¡­ I was just dragged around town and eventually put into a cage in the back of that wagon.¡± (Lily) So I was right that it was the lord. ¡°¡­ What are you going to do now?¡± (Kenos) ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± (Lily) Tears were gathering in the corners of her eyes again. Jeez. Both Kate and her are quite the crybabies aren¡¯t they¡­ no¡­ I guess it¡¯s only natural to cry after losing someone precious. I only knew him for a day. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t want to go back to Acton.¡± (Lily) This honestly surprised me. I didn¡¯t expect her to not want to go back there. Well this made it easier for me. ¡°Do you want to come with me?¡± (Kenos) ¡°¡­Huh?¡± (Lily) ¡°You don¡¯t wanna?¡± (Kenos) ¡°No, no! I just¡­ Why? Why are you helping me so much?¡± (Lily) ¡°¡­ Because your father helped me too.¡± (Kenos) She seemed a bit surprised. She looked at the black spike and smiled sadly. ¡°That¡¯s dad¡­ even ferocious elementals of darkness love him¡­¡± (Lily) ¡°That statement sounded a tad dangerous. Not to mention I¡¯m not darkness.¡± (Kenos) She giggled a bit. Good. If she can do that I guess she¡¯ll get over Burl. Of course you can never completely get over losing someone but you can¡¯t let it bring you down. She seems stronger than Kate was¡­ then again Kate looked like she was ten. ¡°Then where will we be going?¡± (Lily) I thought we might have to go to Acton first for her to maybe visit her house one last time but she says she doesn¡¯t want to go back there. ¡°Do you know where the lord lives?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Why would you want to know that?¡± Lily asked a bit bewildered. I showed her a devious grin. ¡°We¡¯re going to visit.¡± (Kenos) ¡°You¡¯re joking right? I mean I know you¡¯re strong but can¡¯t you die? You¡¯re lucky there were no priests or light mages in the escort because that was his third son.¡± (Lily) ¡°Light? Oh come on. Do I look like light hurts me?¡± (Kenos) I stand point my hands upwards slightly to emphasize my point. As I do so she seems to realize finally that, that is indeed the case. ¡°But¡­ how? Aren¡¯t you a darkness elemental? I¡¯ve heard that those are the strongest elementals but they sustain an incredible amount of damage from light.¡± (Lily) ¡°I told you right? I¡¯m no darkness elemental.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Then¡­ what ARE you?¡± (Lily) ¡°Yeah. Wish I knew that myself.¡± I say smiling. Not sadly. A real smile. ¡°I don¡¯t really care too much though.¡± (Kenos) I have power and I¡¯m free to use it however I like. Sure it would be nice to know what I am but I don¡¯t care too much. Not enough to go out of my way to make my journey¡¯s purpose finding that out. Lily looked at me like she had no idea what I¡¯m talking about but she seemed to realize I don¡¯t know what I am myself. She then walked back to the road and pointed in the direction we came from yesterday. ¡°The city the lord¡¯s residence is in the direction we came from. His son was probably going back there. It¡¯s a few days away though.¡± (Lily) ¡°Good enough for me. Let¡¯s go.¡± (Kenos) I also got back on the road and started walking in that direction. Seems like I¡¯ll be using Lily as a guide and an information source for now. I¡¯m going to protect her of course but she¡¯s not useless. First I¡¯ll pay a visit to the lord and then maybe the king will be next. I still need to find out what happened to Kate. As well as why. Travelling with someone else was a lot slower and they needed food. Good thing I was able to hunt really well. During the day we walked and during the night I hunted a few animals and smoked the meat for later use. I made a container out of void. Like a bag. Of course it was pitch black. The smoked meat wasn¡¯t that good but when I cooked fresh meat I used herbs as spices. The herbs around here actually weren¡¯t that different from those in my previous world and I fucking KNEW memorizing a few plant encyclopedias would someday be worth it. And though Lily had nothing to say on the smoked meat she constantly praised me for the cooked one. She always looked sad when I handed her something smoked rather than cooking some myself. It was¡­ enjoyable to travel with someone else though it was slower. Of course it helped if that someone else was an energetic and beautiful girl with a bright personality. Interestingly enough cooking with the void flame seemed to make it better... it was weird. Why the hell did a flame which is supposed to consume all make things taste better? I just decided not to question it. Magic. After six days we arrived at the city of Karpas. I smirked as we saw the city walls and Lily looked at me with a wry smile as she now knew what kind of person I was. Like that we walked ovr to the gate of the city which would probablysoon need a new lord. Chapter 10 The guards don¡¯t stop us. My hair and eyes are back to what they looked like when I was a dragon because I just don¡¯t care anymore meaning that they are white and black. The guards don¡¯t stop us though. They seem too afraid to as I look like someone they don¡¯t want to mess with. And they would be correct. The first thing we do as we get in the city is find an inn. The town was pretty big by medieval standards but we were lucky to find an inn pretty quickly. I got a room and also ordered a bath for Lily as I learned they were available. Lily didn¡¯t seem bothered by the fact that we would be sharing a room but was quite embarrassed when the innkeeper looked at us suggestively.. I didn¡¯t wait for her to finish her bath but instead left the inn and looked at some stores. Lily¡¯s clothes were dirty and even torn in some places so I bought her some new ones as well as a cloak. I could make them with void but I don¡¯t think it would feel comfortable for her to wear something I could undo with a single thought. I didn¡¯t slack though. I bought her a shirt that was a pair with a skirt which reached, some shorts to wear under the skirt instead of the uncomfortable-looking underwear and a black scarf as it would soon be winter and it might get cold. I thought about using my knowledge of the modern world to make more comfortable underwear¡­ I¡¯ll think about it. Having done some shopping I returned to the inn and threw the clothes inside the room without actually looking so as to keep Lily¡¯s privacy. I didn¡¯t really need to even open the door if I needed to look inside. The shadows could be my eyes. Of course I didn¡¯t do so. A few moments later she left the room in the clothes. ¡°What¡¯s with the¡­ shorts?¡± (Lily) ¡°They looked more comfortable than that horrific underwear.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Well¡­ I mean they ARE but¡­¡± (Lily) She seemed conflicted about something but she looked like she didn¡¯t dislike the clothes I picked so I was satisfied. ¡°Come on. We still have more shopping to do. Mostly for you.¡± (Kenos) So we left the inn and walked around town. The first place we visited was a blacksmith. From there we bought some light leather armor for Lily and a steel shortsword which was light enough for her to use. She told me she was still a novice at swords but I was surprised she even knew anything at all. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll help you with that. But infusing mana into your body you might have to figure out yourself as I cannot do that.¡± (Kenos) Rather than surprised she looked like she finally remembered that I know swordsmanship. Maybe Brul talked about me to her? Probably. He was drunk when I left him in the guild too. We also went ahead and bought some spices which were surprisingly expensive. I thought about visiting an enchanter but I couldn¡¯t find one. ¡°Hey Lily are enchanters rare around here?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Rare? You could probably count the number of enchanters in this country other than the royal ones on one hand.¡± (Lily) That was surprising. I could guess enchanters wouldn¡¯t be common or anything but I didn¡¯t think they were that rare. ¡°But wasn¡¯t there an enchanter in Acton?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Oh him¡­ He¡¯s a bit weird. He isn¡¯t getting almost any business in Acton but he refuses to leave there. If he opened a shop in the capital he would have had a lot more customers.¡± (Lily) Well he must have some reason I guess. As a last place to visit I head to the bookstore. I had already asked the location of it at the inn. The variety was better than in Acton but there wasn¡¯t anything useful. Well there was nothing useful to me but I eyed one book in particular which would be useful for Lily: ¡°The way to imbuing¡±. Cheesy title but it might have some value since I can¡¯t help Lily with that part. After we were done shopping it was almost dark. We had actually walked around the town for hours and Lily would often stop to look at different stuff like jewelry or clothes. Well¡­ she is a girl I guess. She didn¡¯t ask me to buy her anything though. I would¡¯ve bought her something if she had just asked. Well maybe I could get her something later as a surprise or something. Not like I need this much money anyway. The entire day I had wasted a total of six and a half gold coins. And that was only because of the spices and the book which together cost five. The clothes were high quality so they cost eighty and the sword together with the armor cost sixty. Going back to the inn we were greeted by a friendly woman in her forties at the door. ¡°Oh. Are you just coming back? We were about to serve dinner. Would you like to join?¡± (Innkeeper) We looked at each other before looking back at the innkeeper and nodding in sync to which she just laughed and went back to her duties. While we were eating I took the chance to look at Lily again. Even though we didn¡¯t know much about each other we had actually gotten quite close¡­ maybe a little too close. As I was thinking a large man together with two henchmen-looking guys came towards our table. The large guy had an arrogant and lecherous smile on his face as he looked at Lily and didn¡¯t even spare me the glance while his henchmen followed his example. He violently put his hand down on the table and started speaking. ¡°Hey who-¡° (Deadman #1) Before he could finish the second quite vulgar word a shadow wrapped around him dragging him to the floor and restricting his whole body. It even wrapped around his head in a way that would not let the mouth open. His two henchmen suffered the same fate. ¡°The soup¡¯s pretty good but I think you could still do better.¡± (Lily) ¡°Why are you so sure? I haven¡¯t even made soup for you before. How are you so confident in my cooking skills? Is the meat I feed you really that good?¡± (Kenos) Though I was eating now as it would be suspicious not to do so. I hadn¡¯t tried the meat I cooked for her. I tried the smoke meat but not the one cooked directly with a fire. *Crack* *Muffled scream* ¡°Shut up! Can¡¯t you see people are trying to have dinner here?¡± (Kenos) The people on the ground were noisy so I had the shadows around their arms and legs squeeze harder until their bones broke. Lily didn¡¯t seem to mind their noisiness but I didn¡¯t want to ruin the other customers¡¯ meals. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. But even then they didn¡¯t stop screaming so I clicked my tongue leaving my bowl half-empty I grabbed all three of them and dragged them to the entrance of the inn before throwing them out. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to throw them with only physical strength as the large guy was pretty heavy but I used the shadows to do it. Turning around I saw the innkeeper looking at me. I was expecting her to be angry but I was instead thanked. Apparently the guys had been causing trouble for the inn for a while now and she was wondering what to do with them. Though I was told that I could have handled it better. Going back to the restaurant part of the inn where we had been eating the other people looked at me a bit bewildered but seeing that I just sat back down to finish my soup they didn¡¯t really say anything to me. Some even laughed about the guys that got beaten and thrown out and I heard some comments saying that that¡¯s what happens when you flirt with someone who¡¯s already taken. Lily seemed to have heard those too as she blushed heavily and seemed quite flustered while I finished up my meal. After dinner we walked upstairs to our room and Lily plopped down on the bed to sleep while I sat in a corner of the room. ¡°What are you doing?¡± (Lily) ¡°Can¡¯t you see? I¡¯m making myself comfortable for the night.¡± (Kenos) She just looked at me judgingly. As if it was obvious that wasn¡¯t what I should be doing. And so today again I just sighed in defeat making my cloak disappear and lying down on the bed embracing her to which she looked like she was in heaven. No¡­ nothing sexual is going to happen. You see this all started the night after we visited Burl¡¯s grave. She had trouble falling asleep by herself for some reason so I gave her another lap pillow which she thoroughly seemed to enjoy and fell asleep comfortably. And with time¡­ three days that evolved into¡­ this. She got completely addicted to me sleeping next to her. When I asked her if it really felt that great to sleep with me she blushingly said that I simply gave off a feeling of calm and serenity which she really liked. Now at this point she couldn¡¯t sleep without me being next to her. And she¡¯s already asleep. Wow¡­ didn¡¯t even take half a minute this time. I swear it gets faster every time. Or was it because she was sleeping on a proper bed this time? Well time to get down to business. Leaving my body there I split my conscience and created another which rose from the shadows. I could control both of them at once. I was able to do it during the day as well but I just didn¡¯t see a use for it. My body¡¯s weak anyway so what¡¯s the point in having two of them in combat? Leaving my other body snuggling with Lily in her sleep¡­ that sounded slightly wrong¡­ my second body merged with the shadows and reemerged in front of the inn. I walked off into the night. I would be searching for information. During the day I already found out where the lord¡¯s mansion was through casual conversation with the shopkeepers we visited. I also learned that the lord and his three sons were currently not here either. Well one of them I knew but I didn¡¯t know the other three were out as well. I stood watching the lord¡¯s mansion from an alleyway and merged with the shadows once more emerging in the bushes of the courtyard. I didn¡¯t want to go inside the mansion yet as I wanted to map out the whole thing. I went through the shadows from bush to bush. Mapping out the courtyard. There was a simple separate shabby building from the mansion and I confirmed that it¡¯s the servant¡­ or maybe slave house. I would assume that among the servants are both normal hired individuals and slaves but who knows at this point. Having finished with the courtyard I went into a bush with a view of the backdoor. There were guards placed there but I simply merged and went under the door slightly sticking my head from the shadows I confirmed there was no one around and completely went out. I was currently in my void form anyway so I would be harder to notice than normal but I didn¡¯t take chances and transformed into a completely black cat. I couldn¡¯t quite completely transform into one so I simply took the form of one. It had no features and no eyes but I could still see of course. I checked one room after the other. I found out that there exists a separate servants¡¯ area than the shabby building outside which pretty much confirmed my suspicions that the building was the slave area. The other places I searched through. The kitchen. The different bedrooms, guestrooms. The dining room. They had nothing unusual in them other than a few sleeping people which¡­ wasn¡¯t really unusual per se but I found two rooms that made me want to spill the soup I had eaten for dinner back out from disgust. Not disgust at gore or something like that but sheer disgust at the actions of someone who dares call himself a noble. The first was a simple torture room. It had a dozen different torture devices. Some designed to inflict unimaginable pain. Others designed to force screams out of the victim before their death. The other though¡­ It had a few women locked in cages. All of them seemed malnourished and their eyes were dead. They seemed like they were begging for someone to end them¡­ That was the last straw. If I currently had teeth to clench I swear there would be bleeding in my mouth. I had thought that killing the lord and his family would be enough but it is no longer the case. If someone like me would kill them they could even brag that they were killed by me. But they didn¡¯t deserve that. Having seen enough my second body disappeared and returned to the shadows while my original one had a resolute look on his face as he was hugging Lily. The lord¡¯s family will have a fall which only the lowest of existences deserve. And I would not be the one to deliver it. I would just be the one to take out the stone which will cause an avalanche. Chapter 11 When Lily woke up I was finally relieved from my duty as a hug pillow and so we went down to eat some breakfast while discussing what we would be doing for the day. ¡°I really wish the bookstore better books in it.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Maybe you should visit the library?¡± (Lily) What? ¡°What?¡± (Kenos) ¡°The library. Oh¡­ You¡­ didn¡¯t know about it?¡± (Lily) I cannot believe this. ¡°Wow¡­ how do YOU know about it anyway?¡± (Kenos) ¡°This town¡¯s library is famous in the whole country. One of the previous lords was apparently completely in love with books so he built that library where he held his entire collection for anyone to enjoy it if they want to. Though¡­ since he died it¡¯s acquired an expensive entrance fee. Or at least that¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard. It happened before dad¡¯s time.¡± (Lily) So that¡¯s why the bookstores around here were small and didn¡¯t seem like they were getting much business¡­ If only I knew earlier I would have gone there rather than the bookstore. ¡°I¡¯ll be going there then. What about you?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Can you teach me swordsmanship? I¡¯ll just practice while you¡¯re out.¡± (Lily) Oh¡­ I¡¯m glad she¡¯s taking this seriously but¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t let you do that. If I¡¯m not here to correct you, you might pick up a wrong posture and bad habits are hard to fix. Why don¡¯t you read that book I bought you yesterday and practice body strengthening instead?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Alright I do that then.¡± (Lily) With that decided and our breakfast done we split up. After I asked for directions to the library from the innkeeper I went straight there. Needless to say I was excited. The reason I hadn¡¯t seen the library yesterday when we were wandering around town is because it was close to the lord¡¯s mansion and I was staying away from there. When I was searching it during the night I wasn¡¯t quite paying attention to the buildings around me either. The building could be described as large and simple. It didn¡¯t have any decorations and it looked to be made of simple stone. Though it was painted in a white color. The windows were large to let in enough light for the customers to not feel bothered reading in the dark though for me it didn¡¯t matter. I approached the guard at the front who requested five gold as an entrance fee. It wasn¡¯t honestly that expensive for access to a huge well of knowledge. The lack of knowledge of this world was honestly my biggest weakness before but with this I would be able to fix that. The inside was again huge. There were many rows of shelves filled with books. Interestingly enough there was no receptionist but in return I felt like the books were enchanted. Maybe they could be tracked in some way so people aren¡¯t as worried about theft? The lack of a receptionist also confirmed that I could not take books out and I would have to return and pay day by day if I still had books left that I wanted to read. Not wanting to waste too much time I quickly started inspecting the books on the shelves one by one taking every single one I was interested in. History, Geography, Magic. The library had it all. For now I pick up a few books on magic, a few on geography and a few about history. I even found a map of the continent tucked away behind one of the shelves. Magic was¡­ interesting. From what I read in these books magic seemed to be omnipotent but the people of this world don¡¯t really¡­ realize it. They use magic in basic and simple ways. Why hasn¡¯t someone with the lightning element tried creating pure plasma? Why hasn¡¯t someone with the metal element tried to create metal the way the other elements can be created from nothing? Why doesn¡¯t gravity magic exist? Spacial magic then? The way the people of this world use and understand magic Is too constricting¡­ too boring. They¡¯ve bowed down to the laws of nature. The very laws magic is supposed to be able to bend to their wills. As I¡¯m reading the books I silently shake my head with a disappointed expression. Maybe it just isn¡¯t written here. Maybe if I find some more advanced books on magic there¡¯ll be things these books didn¡¯t contain. But before that I read the history. It was mostly boring and most parts were made out so that the humans are the absolute good while their enemies are always evil. Typical propaganda. I shook my head disapprovingly once more but at the very end of one of the newest-looking books I picked up I was surprised. The king had passed away from illness four years ago and his son had taken the throne. Brul seemed to have forgotten to mention that it was the previous king that ordered the military around five years ago. I sure hope this new one knows what the fuck it was about or one of his brothers will be very pleased to have an empty throne to place their ass on. Lastly I looked at the map for about a minute, inserting the information on it into my head. It was quite the detailed map for such an undeveloped world. Whoever managed to make this has honestly earned my admiration. After inserting the knowledge into my head I compared it with the books on geography I got as well as learning about the climate of different places. The country of Astrain which I was currently in was close to the central part of the continent but was still considered to be in the southern part. Honestly it was a frontier country. North of here were the Beastlands where¡­ well the beastkin lived. Ah yes. Every other world needs a race with animal ears. Even a tyrant such as I would probably melt at the ultimate cuteness that is animal ears. ¡­ *Ahem*. Anyway. Further north from that is the elven country. Not much was written about it in the human books around the place but as expected from the lord who I have decided to now call the library lord he even had a few elven books. Though I doubt many humans would be able to read it as it is written in elven I myself had no problems with it as I had already learned the languages of all the races in my time in the Garden of Piece. The beastkin apparently didn¡¯t have a country. They lived in the Beastlands as separate tribes and clans though they didn¡¯t waste time uniting if ever there appeared a common enemy. The humans proved that concept when they could barely hold their own against them in a few wars with them in the past. The elves were united under one banner but they weren¡¯t united on the inside. There were several separate factions and stuff. You know. The ordinary. On the other side. Elves were gifted in mana manipulation. Enchanters seemed to be much more common in elven lands than in human ones and they also seemed to be good at strengthening their bodies. Honestly looking at this the elves seemed to be sort of elites. They were better than humans at absolutely everything. Their warriors were stronger, their mages more educated. They even had better culture and more beautiful cities from what I¡¯m reading. It was so weird I started to think it might be propaganda again before I noticed one simple fact about why elves can¡¯t defeat the other races. They¡¯re low in numbers. Elves have low fertility when compared to humans, their pregnancy periods last longer and they mature slower. I don¡¯t know about the other races but compared to beastkin and humans the elves were definitely short on manpower. Finishing the final book I leave the books where they previously were as well as return the map. Looking outside it was already past noon so I had been in here for what now? Six¡­ seven hours? Well whatever. I started my second search for books. There were many intelligent races in this world. Not just six or seven. Humans, Beatkin, Elves, Dwarves, Demons, Celestials, Dragons, Faeries, Giants. The list goes on. A single day just wasn¡¯t enough for me to learn about all of them but if I really wanted I could just visit the library during the night. I had nothing to do while being Lily¡¯s pillow anyway. While I was thinking I had finished picking out my second batch of books. A few encyclopedias. The rest were all about magic. Magic, magic, magic. Why not learn as much as I can when I can control it like breathing right? The encyclopedias had information on different plants, animals and monsters. The one on monsters had me more intrigued. All of them had a rank like adventurers. Interestingly goblins were E though the quest I completed was C. It was probably C rank because of the sheer number of them. Dragons were S or SS¡­ the lesser dragons that is. Ugh it took me three more hours going through the encyclopedias and I was going full speed. If someone saw me they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to believe how fast I was going through these books. Finally I could get to the magic. I read through all the books. I learned how incantations work. About enchanting which I would definitely be sure to try out later. And alchemy. I still had a bit of time before the library closed so I picked up a few more books on alchemy which had interested me. Again this had a lot more potential than the humans in this world were making use of. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After a bunch of reading on alchemy it had gotten dark out and I left the library. I felt really refreshed. Now I knew a bit about this world. Knowledge I sorely lacked now I had. I wasn¡¯t done yet though. I still have around a hundred more gold coins still and that¡¯s twenty more visits to the library as far as I¡¯m concerned. In fact I think I should visit the adventurer guild and get some¡­ I think I¡¯m forgetting something¡­ Oh¡­ Oh right! The lord! I was going to kill the lord! Ugh¡­ do I really want to bother with having his slaves killing him? I would need to organize a few things¡­ I guess I¡¯ll look into slave crests and stuff tomorrow when I visit this library again. The lord isn¡¯t even back yet so I have a bit of time. Walking to the inn I felt a weird atmosphere around town. Like it was gloomier than before. Hard to believe I know. As I approached the tavern the innkeeper was standing outside. Seeing me she ran up to me. I have a bad feeling about this. ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry. Y-your companion-¡° (Innkeeper) Right. Good. Of course this happens. Can¡¯t I take a single day to relax and read some books? Why am I so used to this? I don¡¯t feel like I should be used to this. I¡¯m quite annoyed at being used to this. ¡°Calm down and speak coherently please.¡± (Kenos) ¡°I¡­ The girl who was with you. She-¡° (Innkeeper) ¡°What happened to her?¡± (Kenos) ¡°The lord took a liking to her and took her away.¡± (Innkeeper) Why¡­ am I so unfeeling over this? I feel like I should be really angry but¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ well it makes no difference. Point is there¡¯s a change of plans. I¡¯m going to be the one killing him after all. I turned around towards the lord¡¯s mansion but stopped before taking a step after hearing something behind me. ¡°Holy shit! Did you see that bitch? I can¡¯t believe she actually tried to draw her sword on us! HAHAHA!¡± (Dead guy #1) ¡°I know right? She couldn¡¯t even strengthen her body and she tried to fight us! HAHAHA. I¡¯m sure the lord will ¡°punish¡± her for it later! Maybe he¡¯ll even give some of us a turn too!¡± (Dead guy #2) I once again turn around and head to inside the inn. ¡°Sorry.¡± I quietly apologize to the innkeeper for the mess she¡¯s going to have to clean up soon. I could erase their bodies completely but that would not be satisfying enough. I need to see the blood spraying from their freshly decapitated bodies before I can be satisfied. ¡°I wasn¡¯t really here so I didn¡¯t get to see her? She got a good ass?¡± (Dead guy #3) ¡°Oh did she! I would love to break her myself but the lord took interest in her so I have to give up.¡± (Dead guy #1) I walk into the inn and walk over to the cafeteria or whatever you would call the eating are of the inn. Who even cares? There are a few people in the room which I recognize from last night and they seem to be looking at me worriedly. Thanks guys. I appreciate the fact that you¡¯re worried about me even though we don¡¯t even know each other. The fact that there are people like you at all restore my faint hope in humanity just a tiny bit. I silently thank them in my head before walking up to the dead men walking who are still talking about vulgar things involving Lily. One of them sees me and speaks up. ¡°Can¡¯t you see these tables are occupied jackass? If you want to eat somewhere why don¡¯t you walk over to the others over there?¡± (Dead guy #4) Haha. Funny there are still 4 open tables on your side of the room. ¡°Nah boys I think this is the guy remember? The innkeeper told us that she was travelling with someone right?¡± (Dead guy #2) ¡°Oh I get it. Her love-¡° (Dead guy #1) I was sick of hearing their voices. So I simply willed the shadows to slice their necks off. The men who were six in total were now all decapitated corpses. Satisfied with my handiwork I leave the inn once more ignoring the gasps and shocked expressions of the rest of the people in the room. I arrive at the mansion soon enough walking towards the front gates two guards try to stop me but they die. The gate is closed but I simply turn my body into my immaterial form and pass through the bars of the gate as they do not matter to me. A few more guards witness this spectacle and either blindly run at me or shoot me with arrows. The arrows pass through me harmlessly while the men running at me are decapitated by my blades before they even get in range to stab me. The archers are dispatched with a single void spear each. The whole time I don¡¯t stop walking. I know the layout of the mansion. I know where that disgusting room is. I walk through the mansion while under constant attack from the guards but every single one of them die. Some people command the slaves to sacrifice themselves to slow me down while I run away but using my newfound knowledge in magic I easily break the slave crests controlling them and kill the ones who commanded them unreasonably. I may have killed the lords sons in the process. Aww well. Too bad¡­ for him. I still don¡¯t stop walking. I reach the room of the lord and the door is shut so I simply tear it to shreds with my void blades. Inside the lord was cowering behind his desk but there was no sign of Lily. I once again used my void blades to tear the lord¡¯s desk to shreds while also using an arm which came out of my shadow to raise the shitbag by his collar. ¡°Where is Lily?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Wh- What? Who?¡± (Shitbag) ¡°The girl you took today. Where is she?¡± (Kenos) I tightened my grip on him to the point where he was suffocating and he pointed to the hidden room the broken women were in before. ¡°What did you do to her?¡± (Kenos) I lessen my grip so he is able to speak. ¡°I- I haven¡¯t done anything yet I swear.¡± (Shitbag) ¡°I hope for your sake that you¡¯re not lying¡­ who am I kidding? I¡¯m not hoping for your sake. You¡¯re gonna get killed anyway.¡± (Kenos) I let him go and he falls to the ground face-first before he gets bound by me. Ignoring his surprised and pained scream from the fall I walk over and uncover the hidden room. Walking in I see Lily with shredded clothes and tears forming at the corner of her eyes. I walk up to her and hug her, hoping that her excuse for hugging me when sleeping was true and that this would somehow make her feel calmer. I wasn¡¯t actually expecting it to work but it seemed like it did as she hugged me back. ¡°Are you okay?¡± (Kenos) ¡°That¡¯s the second time you¡¯ve asked me that.¡± (Lily) ¡°Let¡¯s just hope there isn¡¯t a third.¡± (Kenos) She nodded quietly. I formed clothes for her as her newly bought clothes were torn and barely covered anything up. What a waste. I¡¯ll have to buy new ones for her again. We separated and I stood up. ¡°Come on let¡¯s go.¡± (Kenos) ¡°What¡­ about the others?¡± (Lily) I looked around to see the dead-eyed women. They were still there. Not even daring to move. Some of them were dead, probably of dehydration or starvation. ¡°They¡¯re too far gone to be saved but I guess I can at least offer them a quick death.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Not¡­ all of them.¡± (Lily) Looking around again I noticed something. There was another door in the room. Why hadn¡¯t I noticed it before? The answer was simple. It had magic on it that kept it out of sight of people. More like it seemed like it rendered people unable to register it in their sights. Whoever Lily was talking about she was probably beyond that door. Before I walked up I simultaneously summoned void blades which were unhindered in this dark room and decapitated the women with dead eyes all at once. I made sure to check for one who had the will to live still left in them but¡­ There were none. I walked over to the door which I had at first failed to notice. Now that I was focusing a bit I easily discerned it. Darkness attribute magic also worked for creating illusions and that was used here as well. I can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t notice it earlier really. Slashing apart the locked iron door the inside was even more pitch-black than the room we were just in. There was not even a single light in the entire room. To me it did not matter but Lily had to actually hold onto my cloak in order to move through the darkness. Inside the deep darkness was a single cage. Inside the cage a single girl. The girl looked to be around twelve or thirteen but gave off a bewitching atmosphere unbefitting of her young appearance. She had beautiful features and long pale-blonde hair. She had crimson-red eyes and in her currently slightly open mouth I could see fangs where her canines were supposed to be placed. ¡°A vampire?¡± (Kenos) Chapter 12 ¡°A vampire?¡± I said slightly surprised at the appearance of the girl. She was wearing nothing but rags. Her hands and feet were chained to the ground and on her neck was a big collar which seemed to be enchanted in some way. The girl also seemed surprised at me for some reason but I decided not to think about it as there were plenty of things to be surprised about. *Ahem* ¡°Sorry about that I was a bit surprised to see a vampire here.¡± (Kenos) She snaps back and seems to have finally snapped out of it. Geez I hope this is the last time I see this reaction. It¡¯s getting old. ¡°OH! Um¡­ no I¡­ its fine.¡± (Vampire girl) She seemed flustered. Who knows what she was thinking. ¡°Can you help her?¡± (Lily) ¡°Sure.¡± (Kenos) I slashed off the shackles which fell to the ground together with the bars of the cage and ignoring the vampire who blushed strongly as I approached I inspected the collar on her neck. The enchantment was simple. It will kill the girl if someone tries to take it off forcefully. The thing is that the enchantment itself was easy to erase so I did and broke the collar as well. ¡°There.¡± (Kenos) The girl touches her slender neck as if to make sure the collar is truly gone and looks at me with a hint of affection in her eyes. She stands up clumsily as if she has not used her feet for weeks. ¡°Th-thank you for releasing me.¡± (Vampire girl) ¡°Thank Lily. If she hadn¡¯t told me I might¡¯ve missed the door. How DID you know about her Lily?¡± (Kenos) ¡°What? Was there some reason for me to miss it? It stood out quite a bit as the only door in the room other than the entrance¡­¡± (Lily) ¡­ I wonder if Lily has some sort of gift with illusion magic. Or maybe it¡¯s me that wasn¡¯t paying attention. I¡¯ll look into it later. The vampire girl seemed like she didn¡¯t really know what to say. ¡°Right. Well then let me introduce myself. My name is Kenos. Ken for short. Pleased to meet you.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Um¡­ my name is Celene Nocturne. It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡± (Celene) ¡°Well then let¡¯s get out of here. This place makes me feel uncomfortable.¡± (Kenos) The two girls nodded and prepared to follow me but before we left I remembered. I once again turned around and placed my hand on Cel¡¯s head, creating a set of clothes better than those rags she was wearing. I also included some modern underwear and she honestly seemed overjoyed. ¡°Now let¡¯s get out of here.¡± (Kenos) As we leave we pass by the still-bound to the floor lord who got a slit throat as a farewell gift. Through the windows we saw a large group of guards who had not been in the mansion at the time of the massacre facing off against the slaves who were the only people from inside the mansion that were not killed. I felt a bit guilty to just let them die so I decided to give them a simple gift. In front of each emerged a single sword of black metal. The swords were all identical and were sticking out of the ground ready for someone to reach out and use them. I would not help them out directly though. Though I felt like it was partly my fault that some of them would die fighting I also felt like if I kept just gifting people victory they would come to always expect it to be granted to them. That was my whole problem with religion in the first place. Some people got so absorbed in kissing God¡¯s ass that they forgot that instead of praying to him to do shit for them maybe they could do it themselves. And I was not ready to ironically become one of the things I hate most. I changed my voice and shouted, transmitting my voice trough the shadows so that it feels like it is coming from all directions. ¡°I HAVE HELPED YOU REACH OUT FOR YOUR FREEDOM AND THE MEANS TO FIGHT THOSE WHO HOPE TO TAKE IT AWAY! NOW IT IS YOUR TURN TO STRETCH YOUR HAND JUST A LITTLE MORE AND GRASP IT!¡± (Kenos) The slaves hearing my speech took the swords from the ground and rushed the still shocked guards. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Are you sure you can leave those weapons to them? Humans easily get corrupted by power.¡± (Cel) ¡°The weapons will disappear after they are done fighting. More like I¡¯ll make them disappear. I¡¯ve only given them a chance to grasp their freedom and have no intention of giving them power to keep it afterwards. That will depend on them and their determination.¡± (Kenos) Both Lily and Cel nodded approvingly. They seemed to agree with my maybe slightly contradictory ideals. I¡¯m well aware that to some my ideals may seem a bit hypocritical but honestly I don¡¯t care. Having a balance between two extremes is much better than completely devoting yourself to one of them. So hypocrisy might not always be a bad thing. It is only bad if you use it for yourself. Having had enough of that thinking we left through the back of the mansion and jumped over the wall. There weren¡¯t many people around here so nobody seemed to notice. The fact that we were dressed in pitch-black clothes during the night also might have helped with that. We head to the inn. ¡°So, Cel. What are you going to do now that you¡¯re free?¡± (Kenos) She looked at me as if wanting to say something, about the nickname probably, but stopped and instead seemed to think about the question itself. ¡°What about you two? What are you going to do?¡± (Cel) ¡°We¡¯re¡­ what ARE we going to do?¡± (Lily) ¡°Oh we¡¯ll be heading to the capital first because I have some business then and then we¡¯ll leave the country. The Beastlands have a lot of spare space where we can either live mostly secluded from the tribes and clans that live there if we wanted or we could go to the elven country and live there as I heard that elves actually welcome humans in their country as long as they did their jobs.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Wait we¡¯re leaving the country?¡± (Lily) ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Well¡­ no¡­ I just would¡¯ve appreciated you telling me you know?¡± (Lily) ¡°I hadn¡¯t decided that until¡­ this.¡± (Kenos) She didn¡¯t say anything, seemingly understanding what I meant. ¡°So anyway. Cel?¡± (Kenos) She mumbles something I can¡¯t hear while her face is red. I just tilt my head questionably. At this point I know what she¡¯s going to say but I don¡¯t like putting someone¡¯s words right into their mouths. I¡¯ll keep asking until she says it herself. ¡°Please let me come with you¡­¡± (Cel) ¡°What? Sorry I couldn¡¯t hear you.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Please let me come with you!¡± (Cel) I noticed Lily smiling while watching this cute display which made even my cold poker face melt into a smile. I don¡¯t even need a beatkin loli or really cute and na?ve fox-girl. Yes this will do for healing my soul just fine. I now swear to whatever god of justice this world has that I will make whoever tries to hurt this creature beg me to send them to hell for the devil himself to torture them instead of me. ¡°Sure.¡± (Kenos) I pat her head while her face goes crimson red. I could almost see smoke coming out of it while she walked in front of me. The funny thing was that when I was about to take my hand away her head followed it as if not wanting it to go away¡­ I need to go back to that mansion and hope the lord¡¯s soul is still there. Then I need to invent soul magic, create a container to place his soul in and then leave it buried beneath the ground somewhere for it to be tortured in the container for all eternity. When we got to the inn the innkeeper herself said nothing. She just looked a bit afraid. I watched Lily and Cel eat dinner during which I got rid of the swords I gifted the slaves and then went to our room for both Lily and Cel to use me as a hug pillow. Good thing Cel was small or else we might have not been able to fit. I thought she would have trouble falling asleep as she was again red like a tomato but instead I was forced to admit to myself that I might literally be the best hug pillow that exists in this world and any other as she fell asleep in mere seconds. That night. Unknown to the rest of the world a single man had revived an ancient forgotten magic of which even current-day records were scarce. A single soul was mercilessly pulled out of the void, stuck in a ruby and put into a large coffin of a black, nearly indestructible metal to be buried deep underground in its own former backyard while experiencing excruciating pain the like of which it had never felt before. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. When Cel woke up she once again lit up. I swear I could use her as a lamp at this rate. Ba dum tss. Anyway I patted her head again to which she seemed addicted until Lily woke up and we went down for breakfast. ¡°So when are we heading for the capital?¡± (Lily) OH GOD THAT¡¯S A DIFFICULT QUESTION. ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± (Kenos) I DON¡¯T WANT TO LEAVE MY LIBRARY BEHIND!!! ¡°T¡­ today¡­¡± (Kenos) I needed to leave as soon as possible or else I would never want to leave again. ¡°A-are you sure you seem like¡­¡± (Lily) ¡°Today!¡± (Kenos) ¡°O¡­kay.¡± (Lily) Cel stayed quiet as she enjoyed our conversation instead. It¡¯s not as if she was the quiet type. I mean she was a little shy but otherwise she just seemed to not like speaking while eating. There are people like that too you know. ¡°Oh I should buy you some clothes again. We can che-¡° (Kenos) ¡°No!¡± Lily screamed getting the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. She instantly became red and looked down on the floor realizing what she had done. ¡°I mean¡­ I¡¯m okay with this.¡± ¡°¡­ You know those clothes are basically me right? You know having those clothes on is similar to having me constantly embracing you right?¡± (Kenos) She just nodded¡­ wow¡­ I¡¯ll just pretend to be a donkan protagonist for now. ¡°Well whatever you say. What about you Cel?¡± (Kenos) Looking over at Cell she was lit up in red once more and started nodding frantically. ¡°*Sigh* Got it.¡± (Kenos) After finishing breakfast we went back up to our room and tok our supplies which we bought the other day. As we went to exit the guild te innkeeper was at the door looking out. She turned around to see us and seemed a bit afraid to see me walk towards her. I stopped in front of her and took her hand putting a coin in it. ¡°Thanks for the room. I really liked the inn.¡± I said smiling the most genuine smile I could make right now. Afterwards I just walked off towards the north gate. ¡°That was a platinum coin right? When did you get one of those? I thought we only had around a hundred gold before we entered the city.¡± (Lily) A platinum coin was worth a hundred gold ones and it was true, we didn¡¯t have one of those when we got in the city. I held up the enchanted money pouch I had and shook it a bit. ¡°The lord gave me some stuff as an official apology. Straight from his own mansion.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Wow. When did you even manage to rob him?¡± (Lily) I just ignored her. I didn¡¯t rob him¡­this was compensation for kidnapping Lily and imprisoning Cel who was pretty much the cutest thing I have seen in this world yet. Even Kate could not compare. ¡°*Sigh* Fine. How long will we be staying in the capital then?¡± (Lily) ¡°None. I¡¯ll just go there, meet the king and we¡¯ll leave in the same day. Well I guess it technically depends on if we arrive at night when I think about it.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Umm¡­ what business might you have with the king?¡± (Cel) ¡°¡­ Just¡­ personal stuff¡­¡± (Kenos) ¡°Are you going to kill him too?¡± Said Lily narrowing her eyes judgingly. ¡°No¡­ yes¡­ maybe¡­ it depends¡± (Kenos) ¡°*Sigh* Of course. Fine let¡¯s get this over with.¡± (Lily) When we left town and were far out of sight of the walls I tried something new. I actually tried making the girls¡¯ clothes colorful. I mean I can make myself look like any color I want so why not do the same with the clothes? In the end the result was that Lily wore a white shirt with a red skirt and a white scarf with some brown boots that ended about half-way up to the knees. I also gave her a sword made of what I now call voidsteel with the hilt being covered with what looked like reddish leather for better grip with the rest of it being entirely black. Cel on the other hand wore a black shirt with a white coat and again a red skirt with short black boots and white thigh-highs. Pretty good if I do say so myself. She didn¡¯t have a weapon as she claimed to be a mage but maybe I¡¯ll try enchanting later. ¡­ Should I talk about the underwear? Of course I should¡­ I made white modern underwear for both of them. A normal bra for Lily and a sports bra for Cel as her assets were¡­ on the small side. Nothing else to say here. Moving on. For myself I just put some white on the edges of my cloak as well as made some white fur-looking material covering the edges of the hood while I mdid the same for my shirt making the bottom edges white while there was a white line going up my sides and across the middle of my sleeves as well as the edges of my collar. My pants and boots just remained simply black. I¡¯d say the biggest thing I learned through this isn¡¯t coloring stuff but instead making materials that looked leather silk and so on. Basically I became more adept at changing the properties of my void. The other good thing that came out of this is that those clothes are a part of me. In other words I can sense them wherever they are and if I concentrate I can even use them as eyes¡­ as much as I am ashamed of it. It only took us two days to reach the capital. It was indeed night so we found an inn. Leaving the hug pillow me behind I went over to visit the king. In the palace I was a black cat once again. This time I looked like a normal black cat though not a demon black cat from hell. I soon found the kings room. He slept with his wife but that didn¡¯t matter to me. I was still a cat since I didn¡¯t want to give away my face easily and I also went ahead to change my voice. I covered both of us in a vale of darkness¡­ well void actually and slapped him once with a shadow hand to wake him up. I wanted to make this quick. *Slap* ¡°Huh? Wha-?¡± (King) He looked around like an idiot finally noticing that everything around him is pure darkness and he also noticed me. A single black cat sitting in the middle of the darkness while somehow not blending into it. ¡°Hello. It¡¯s a displeasure to finally meet you.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Wha- Who are you? What are you?¡± (King) He was shaking in fear. Pathetic. ¡°I need to ask you a few questions. If your answers satisfy me I will not kill you. Understood?¡± (Kenos) ¡°What? How dare you? I am the king of this country? Do you really think you can get away with killing me?¡± (King) ¡°Of course I can. Do you think anyone will hear you here? You are in the void. Nobody will hear you scream. Nobody will see your blood. Nobody will ever find out who or what killed you.¡± (Kenos) He seemed to finally realize his situation as he started shivering even more hysterically. ¡°Now will you answer my questions?¡± (Kenos) He nodded his head repeatedly. ¡°Good. Now you see. A while ago your father mobilized the military and razed a village to the ground along with all the villagers. Tell me all you know about that.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Oh! That! Of course! My father was very sick back then. He was told that he didn¡¯t have much time left and the healers could do nothing about it as he was afflicted by a powerful curse. I don¡¯t know the details I just heard that father found an antidote in that village.¡± (King) ¡°Yet he still died. Why is that?¡± (Kenos) ¡°That is¡­ I heard that the men failed in retrieving it. That one of the commanders stole it and ran away.¡± (King) ¡°Okay. Then one last question. Do not lie as I will see through it. I want you to be honest. What do you think of the lord of Karpas?¡± (Kenos) ¡°He¡¯s great! He brings me really good slaves every time he visits. Most of them are really beautiful too.¡± (King) The king¡¯s body was found without its head on the floor of his room the next morning and no matter how hard they searched his head was nowhere to be found. At the same time the body was found three figures left the city and headed to the north border of the country. Chapter 13 Okay. So this is the first author¡¯s note thingy I¡¯m writing. Might be a bit long or maybe slightly ranty though I don¡¯t intend it as a rant so prepare your buttholes if you intend to read it. So I read the newest review I got which was pretty negative. And here people might expect me to go on a rant about it but no. In fact thank you reviewer for pointing out what you don¡¯t like about my fiction. I do agree with the reviewer on some things they pointed out though I still think they were exaggerating on some parts. Anyway yeah. I like criticism. So if anyone has any problems with my fiction feel free to point them out. If anyone has any ideas on how it might be improved feel free to point out those as well. Criticism (not baseless criticism but criticism with an actual explanation for it) helps me improve by pointing out my mistakes and is by no means anything bad¡­ unless it¡¯s just ¡°you suck kbye¡±¡­ but I think we all know that. Also I would like to point out how hilarious it is to me that he gave me 3 stars on grammar because he didn¡¯t like how I portray laughter. That¡­ ironically got me laughing. Sorry I just had to point that out. Anyway enough about me and my raging boner for criticism. Enjoy the chapter¡­ or hate it idk. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We left the capital the same day the king was mysteriously assassinated. ¡°I knew this would happen.¡± (Lily) ¡°But he called that scumbag lord a great guy! And he was getting slaves as fucking visit presents!¡± (Kenos) ¡°You know the king has no sons yet right? What if they can¡¯t decide on an heir?¡± (Lily) ¡°Oh you don¡¯t need to worry about that. He has a younger brother who can take the throne. I mean I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll be a better king or not but hey, can¡¯t be worse than terrible right?¡± (Kenos) ¡°What about the other countries? Won¡¯t they try and make use of this?¡± (Lily) ¡°The human countries tend to not mess with frontier countries because they know that if there¡¯s a beastkin invasion they¡¯re gonna be the ones getting the most fucked over it. Also it¡¯s the leaders¡¯ jobs to deal with mysterious assassinations. Not my problem some lord of darkness decided to waltz in and kill the king.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Your logic is¡­ amazing¡­¡± (Lily) ¡°We¡¯ve been travelling together for more than a week and you¡¯re still not used to it? Just look at Cel! Don¡¯t see her complaining about me killing someone who was pretty much asking for it!¡± (Kenos) ¡°Huh?¡± (Cel) Oh she was spacing out while we were walking. Seems like she was thinking about something and not listening to our conversation. Seeing her confused face I put my hand on her head. ¡°Nothing Cel don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (Kenos) She still seems a bit confused but she doesn¡¯t mind the patting I guess. ¡°I¡¯m not complaining. It¡¯s just did you REALLY need to kill him?¡± (Lily) ¡°No not really but by that logic I didn¡¯t need to kill the lord either. In fact I would have felt slightly sorry for that if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that one of the slaves turned out to be the past lord who got fucked over by Shitbag and he is in the middle of correcting Shitbag¡¯s governing mistakes.¡± (Kenos) ¡°How do you even know so much?¡± (Lily) ¡°Well let¡¯s just say that he always has a part of me with him.¡± (Kenos) Lily stops for a second and looks at me weirdly. ¡°So it¡¯s something like the clothes we¡¯re wearing?¡± (Cel) Cel was the one to realize what I meant and hearing that Lily could only facepalm embarrassedly before continuing to walk. ¡°Kinda but it¡¯s more like a black marble. You know if everyone¡¯s black swords vaporized but part of yours remained you would take it as a sign and keep it¡­ and so he did. It¡¯s good for keeping an eye on him¡­ or ear.¡± (Kenos) ¡°I still think you don¡¯t think things through enough.¡± (Lily) I think about it a little bit¡­ maybe she was right. Maybe I WAS getting a bit too absorbed in my new powers and doing whatever the hell I wanted. *Sigh* I never thought I would be one to get corrupted by power but I guess you never know until it happens¡­ ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll try to be more diplomatic from now on.¡± (Kenos) Lily seemed to have been caught a bit off guard at my honest contemplation but she just nodded approvingly and kept on walking. ¡°On another topic.¡± (Kenos) I took my hand off Cel¡¯s head by which she looked disappointed. ¡°Cel you said you were a mage correct? What kind of spells do you know?¡± (Kenos) ¡°¡­ I only know a bit of water and wind magic¡­¡± (Cel) Weird¡­ ¡°No darkness? I can feel that your affinity with it is the highest.¡± (Kenos) ¡°¡­ I¡­ wasn¡¯t taught darkness magic¡­¡± (Cel) Again. Weird. I didn¡¯t read too much about vampires I admit but from what I did I learned that they all had a high darkness attribute which was their main weapon besides the unique blood control that vampire lords use. ¡°Okay¡­ do you want me to teach you? I mean I don¡¯t know too many advanced spells but I memorized a few basic ones.¡± (Kenos) Don¡¯t ask me why because the answer should be obvious. I¡¯m a total whore for knowledge. Anything I see I love to absorb so naturally I learned the basic spells I found in the books and even memorized their chants. My memory was the most inhuman thing about me even in my previous life and I love learning things because of it. ¡°I¡­ I guess¡­¡± (Cel) She seemed reluctant. Did she have some reason for disliking darkness magic? I could think of a few things¡­ wait¡­ now that I think about it. ¡°Now that I think about it Cel are you fine in the sun?¡± (Kenos) I mean it¡¯s not as if vampires burn or turn into dust under the sun but they are supposed to be weak to it¡­ the only exception I can think of are vampire lords. I¡¯ve been saying a few things about them and have addressed them as if there are many but don¡¯t get me wrong vampire lords are by no means common. They are the elites. The royalty. They are the ultimate vampires. At least that¡¯s how they are seen. ¡°Oh! I¡¯m fine. You¡­ don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± (Cel) So she¡¯s a vampire lord or would it be a vampire lady since she¡¯s female? Okay¡­ that was unexpected. I honestly thought Cel was just a normal vampire and that I had completely forgotten about the sun until now. At least I don¡¯t have to feel bad about that. We traveled for a few days while resting during the night. Meanwhile I trained Lily with the sword and instructed her on body strengthening which I also read quite a bit about and I taught Cel dark magic. Cel seemed reluctant to learn at first but as things went on she seemed more and more eager. As for Lily she was even more enthusiastic than before I left for the library back in Karpas. She seemed to be ashamed of the fact she couldn¡¯t even put up a fight with those guards. The frontier countries ironically usually hold the weakest influence and weakest soldiers. I have no idea why. Maybe because they were newer? Maybe because they had the most criminal activity and corruption? I don¡¯t know but from what I read the coutnries further south weren¡¯t as bad. I mean corruption and crimes still exist obviously but they weren¡¯t so fucking open about it. The frontier countries were just survival of the fittest basically. What was Zahrah saying about a safe country I can live in until I get strong? Seriously Zahrah? For fucks sakes really? *Sigh* Maybe she meant safe as in it holds the weakest humans. I don¡¯t know. Eirene didn¡¯t correct her which meant that she was either in on it, agreed that sending me to a place with weak people was better than a place with actual laws, or just didn¡¯t know the current situation of this place so she just didn¡¯t say anything. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. My rage about being betrayed by Zahrah has honestly cooled down a bit thanks to Lily and Cel. I mean I¡¯m still angry at her. I¡¯m not a fucking saint. But I also don¡¯t feel the need to go out of my way to get revenge. I first want to confirm what her intentions were and whether Eirene was in on it. Not to mention I have no idea how strong gods are so I don¡¯t feel like fighting one just yet. The strongest thing I¡¯ve currently fought in this life were some of the weakest guards humanity had to offer and that wasn¡¯t too good for measuring my strength. Nothing much happened as we travelled. Other than a few bandit attacks it was all peaceful. There weren¡¯t many monsters around here as they lived in more mana rich environments which were places humans usually don¡¯t go to. Like deep in forests or maybe in secluded mountains. Both Lily and Cel were overjoyed at the soup I made for them. This time I also tried some of it and I have to admit that my cooking somehow IS truly delicious. The closer we were to the northern border the further spaced out the towns and villages were. The only thing separating the Beastlands from mankind¡¯s territory is a huge mountain range that spans the whole continent in length. Though the height on the other hand isn¡¯t that impressive. It¡¯s apparently quite easy traversing but that¡¯s by mountains with barely any roads standards. I could probably use earth magic to make a huge road or tunnel through it but I somehow don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea to do right after deciding not to abuse my power anymore. Still it served to separate the humans and beastkin and it was doing its job¡­ albeit not very effectively seeing as there are quite a few human-beastkin wars in the history books. In two weeks we had passed through a couple of villages and had kept to the quickest road to get to the mountain range. There was a single village at the foot of the mountain which was sort of a gathering place for adventurers that wanted to explore the mountain. It was the perfect place to gather information about traversing it. Who knows maybe there¡¯s a road across that we can find out about. The village itself was peaceful overall. There were the normal people trying to bother Lily and Cel but as promised I only scared them away this time rather than breaking their limbs. I even warned them first but I didn¡¯t expect them to listen. Lily was getting decent with the sword at this point and her body strengthening had gotten pretty good. If she was an adventurer she would be around C rank so she still had a long way to go. Cel was strong. Like¡­ unexpectedly strong. She caught on to dark magic fast and before long I had nothing to teach her about that so I thaught her some more water and wind which she had a bit more trouble with. She would probably be considered a genius but I had no idea what rank she would be as I¡¯ve never seen anyone stronger than C. We had now been at the village for almost a week and I became quite famous for always scaring away bastards trying to make moves on Lily and Cel. We were still gathering information but¡­ ¡°So nothing?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± (Lily and Cel) *Sigh* We can¡¯t find anything about crossing the mountains. The adventurers around here were knowledgeable about the mountain but never strayed too far so they didn¡¯t know anything about ways to get to the Beastlands. ¡°So what now?¡± (Lily) ¡°I dig.¡± I say with the most serious face I can put on and Lily gets ready to rebuke me only for me to smile. ¡°Relax. I¡¯m joking. I found a request at the guild today for an escort over the mountains and went to negotiate.¡± (Kenos) ¡°So?¡± (Lily) ¡°Well it goes like this. We escort a caravan over the mountains and they provide us with the transport. Of course it¡¯s not gonna be only us. There¡¯ll be other guards as well though I think we won¡¯t need them honestly.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Why are they crossing the mountains? I thought humans weren¡¯t welcome there.¡± (Cel) ¡°Well that¡¯s¡­ because of¡­ slavery reasons¡­¡± (Kenos) ¡°I thought you hated slavery though?¡± (Lily) ¡°Hey we just need them to cross the mountains. We don¡¯t really need to help them with the rest of the deal. In fact we can just¡­ you know. Murder them? Or if you¡¯re still against that we can just break their wagons and force them to go back or something¡± (Kenos) I mean yeah not abusing my powers is nice and all but¡­ come on. We¡¯re getting across the mountain in a caravan and then we can get rid of some traders while we¡¯re at it. ¡°*Sigh* Well I guess killing a few slave traders will only make the world a better place I guess.¡± (Lily) I kind of disagree. I kill them because I don¡¯t like them but there are definite positives to slavery¡­ for the owners of course not the slaves. ¡°When are we leaving?¡± (Cel) ¡°Tomorrow¡± (Kenos) We didn¡¯t really need to get ready. Food and stuff would be provided though I still bought some in case of emergencies. There was no training that day though as I wanted the two of them to rest up well. The next day we met up with the caravan. I wasn¡¯t very specific about what they would be doing across the mountain but it¡¯s what you would imagine. Animal ears are cute. Therefore female beastkin slaves are popular. The end. I talked a bit with the caravan master. I had already negotiated a place for the girls on the caravan as a replacement for the cash reward and he had readily agreed. I had thought that we would be starting off on a path nearby the village but instead we first headed further east for a day or so before we reached the place where we would actually climb the mountain. The mountain formed a sort of natural road apparently but not many people knew of it. It¡¯s not as if it was as comfortable a walk as it would be on modern day roads in my previous world but it was still better than using cliffs to climb over. The reason the caravans needed guards was simply because of the mountains being populated by monsters. We were honestly in danger of attack the whole time. There were some goblin bandits that lived here. But unlike the goblins I fought before these ones weren¡¯t green but brown and they also had a few hobgoblins amongst them which are pretty much a larger, stronger and ,albeit slightly, smarter goblin. Between them, the horned wolves and the trolls I¡¯d say we would make it just fine. The other guards seemed to be having a bit of trouble but I was fine. At this point I had learned to use the normal versions of the elements already so I pretended to be a strong fire mage. I still used chantless incantation though. Didn¡¯t feel like that was worth hiding. It was going well. We only had a few casualties as I was trying to make sure enough people remained for the caravan master to feel like we don¡¯t have to turn back. Morale wasn¡¯t at an all-time high but it wasn¡¯t particularly low as we were getting close. And after about a week we made it off the mountain. Everyone sighed from relief when we finally made it out into the Beastlands as if the most difficult thing wasn¡¯t coming up only now. And as everyone relaxed an arrow flew through the air and pierced the leather helmet of one of the guards prompting another to scream. ¡°AMBUSH!¡± Side story: Lilys side Holy shit¡­ I think I may have gone a bit overboard with this. I intended it as a short side story how the fuck did it end up longer than most my chapters? Actually I do know. I went into quite the detail because I never liked POVs that only showed the overall feelings of the person the POV was for. Maybe you¡¯ve read some? The ones that didn¡¯t go into any detail and just offered a barebones explanation of the feelings of the person at the time. WELL NOT THIS ONE BABY! IN FACT I MIGHT HAVE MADE IT A BIT TOO DETAILED! Anyway enjoy the side chapter. Or hate it idk. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was just a normal girl. My mother died when I was young. My father used to be a strong adventurer but he got his leg injured and was forced to retire. The healers couldn¡¯t even help him since he was injured by a beast with a strong affinity for darkness, an affinity stronger than the priests¡¯ one for light. I¡¯m sure if a High Priest got involved they would have been able to heal him but there wasn¡¯t one around and by the time my father was able to see one it was too late for recovery. After his injury my father couldn¡¯t really get a job at any place and so the adventurer¡¯s guild offered him to be a receptionist in one of the frontier countries. I was a bit sad to have to move but in the end I didn¡¯t mind since I would be with dad. After all he was the only family I had left. The country of Astrain was worse than we thought but we were in one of the safer cities. The lord around here was nice and it was one of the only safe havens in the country¡­ until five years ago when the lord was stripped of his status and a new one came. The new lord was for lack of a better term a piece of shit. His sons were more like bandits passing through towns and taking whatever they liked. Thankfully they usually announced their visits beforehand so as long as people hid their daughters and didn¡¯t agitate them they didn¡¯t take much. Me and my father usually didn¡¯t meet with any of them since dad was usually at the adventures guild and I rarely left the house other than to get groceries. My dad came back home one day drunk. That was weird. To my dad drinking was a competition. When the other side gives up he stops drinking too. And he was a STRONG drinker. Some people at the adventurer¡¯s guild called him the drink master and as ridiculous a title as that was he was quite proud of it. ¡°Heh. You won¡¯t believe the guy that came to the guild today.¡± (Brul) ¡°Dad. You¡¯re drunk. Go to bed and rest.¡± (Lily) He was already drunk enough to not be able to stand straight so I ran over and caught him before he stumbled. Really though what kind of person was this to make dad drink so much? ¡°Never seen such a kid before. He beat me without even strengthening his body with mana and then drank with me all day and still left looking like he didn¡¯t even get a drop of alcohol down his throat. Hahaha!¡± (Brul) ¡°Dad seriously.¡± (Lily) I don¡¯t know who this person was but I was really thankful to him. I hadn¡¯t seen my dad so happy very often after we moved. Or rather after mom died. It¡¯s not as if he was depressed the whole time or anything. I just didn¡¯t hear such a truly genuine laugh out of him very often anymore... ¡°You know Lily if you ever think about marrying someone that¡¯s the kind of guy you need. That kid would throw his life away like it was nothing to save something he loves. Could see it in his eyes.¡± (Brul) ¡°Dad¡­ seriously you need to go to bed!¡± (Lily) ¡°Haha! Sure princess. You can let me go now.¡± (Brul) I still helped him up to his room at least. He really was drinking too much. I felt my face get hot as I thought about marriage. I wish that kind of person really did exist. What girl didn¡¯t wish to be a princess saved by a knight in shining armor? I shook that thought away and got back to chores. I still needed to make dinner for myself even though dad didn¡¯t look like he would be eating. Nothing changed after that. Dad still went to his job as a receptionist at the guild. I stayed at home taking care of the house. If there was one thing that changed it¡¯s that dad kept talking about this guy he met in the guild that left him drunk and went to exterminate the goblins that I heard were gathering around two days from the town. He even told me he offered me to him since I wouldn¡¯t be able to find a decent guy anyway. SERIOUSLY DAD! It was peaceful¡­ for about three days. I was going to deliver lunch to my dad today but when I was turning a corner in my rush I bumped into someone. I was about to apologize but someone hit me across the face instead, making me fall on the ground. ¡°AH!¡± (Lily) ¡°You wench! Do you know who you have just bumped into? This is the lord¡¯s third son. You¡¯ll bow down and beg for forgiveness if you know what¡¯s good for you!.¡± (Guard) Looking up I saw the man who hit me was quite the large man with iron armor on. Looking behind him I saw a boy maybe two or three years younger than myself dressed in high quality clothes that a noble would wear. I quickly got on my knees. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my lord! Please forgive me! I was in a rush and did not see you when I was coming around the corner!¡± (Lily) My face still hurt but that wasn¡¯t the reason I wanted to cry. It was so humiliating. Why was he here? He didn¡¯t announce himself coming here today. ¡°Good. I accept your apology. In exchange you will come with me to my father¡¯s mansion.¡± (Lord¡¯s son) What? No¡­ no¡­ NO! ¡°NO!¡¯ I screamed as the guard that previously hit my face laughed and grabbed me. I was unwillingly pulled around town while screaming and crying. I begged them to let me go. To let me stay. I apologized over and over but the brat heard none of it. When he was done mindlessly strolling around the city and exploiting the shop owners they threw me in a cage at the back of a wagon he bought... for free and left me there. We had traveled for half a day already. When we left the city it was the evening but it was now day. I could tell from the slight opening in the curtains at the back of the wagon. I kept crying. My throat was hoarse and my tears dry but I could not stop crying. This was the end of my life. This was going to be the end. ¡°YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!¡± The voice sounded like dad. No I was sure it was dad. But there was no way for him to win. Maybe if he was in his prime but not with a limp leg. ¡°DaD! Don¡¯t! Run!¡± (Lily) ¡°What are you doing? No need to stop. Just leave a few people to deal with him and keep moving.¡± (Lord¡¯s son) No! NO! ANYTHING BUT HIM! AT LEAST NOT HIM! My thoughts were completely denied. The wagon kept moving leaving the sounds of swords clashing in the distance. I couldn¡¯t see what happened through the curtains. I could do nothing but cry again. I could do nothing. Nothing at all. I could only put my head on my knees and cry. No¡­ I couldn¡¯t even do that anymore because my tears had dried up. A few more hours passed while I listened to the random chatter and laughter from the guards outside. I couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying but I still listened I had nothing else to do in this darkness. There was only one line of light coming through the tiny gap in the back. I accepted my fate already. My father was probably dead¡­ I didn¡¯t have a place to go back to anyway. The only thing I could do now is probably kill myself before something even worse than death befalls me. I realized it was quiet outside. The wagon had stopped again. Before long I heard someone shout. ¡°A-An elemental of darkness!¡± ¡°Wh- Why is it standing in the middle of the light as if it¡¯s not affecting it?¡± I could hear the soldiers going crazy about something but it was just stupid. There¡¯s no way a darkness elemental was here. Let standing in the light. ¡°What are you waiting for? What do you think my father pays you for? Hurry and kill this elemental or whatever and let¡¯s move on!¡± I heard the noble brat complaining to his men. The soldiers started running while screaming battle shouts. Whatever the thing outside was it would probably die soon¡­ or so I thought. ¡°Foolish idiots.¡± The voice sent chills down my spine. The bloodlust contained in it was so strong, so concentrated that even someone untrained like me could feel it creeping down their backs. I cried again. I couldn¡¯t handle the fear. What followed were many very different kind of shouts. Shouts of fear. Shouts of despair. Shouts of death. And silence. Absolute silence. Whatever the thing outside was I could feel it walking closer. But it passed by the wagon. It seemed to be aiming for the son of the lord. I couldn¡¯t hear anything but I could feel whatever that thing was coming towards the wagon again. I was shaking from the fear. I saw a single hand grasp the curtains at the back of the wagon. It was pitch black and looked more like a concentrated mist of darkness than an actual hand. I stopped crying at this point and held my breath in fear of what was to happen. At least maybe whatever this thing is will offer me a quick death rather than the life I would have had after this. The hand pulled aside the curtain and the thing climbed in. The inside of the wagon got even darker than before when it came in. I could see nothing else but I could weirdly make out the thing even in the darkness. It stopped in front of my cage and two blades came out of its back. At this point I could only cover my face so as to not look at my approaching death. I heard the bars of the cage fall to the ground and prepared myself. I waited. A second. Two seconds. A few more. But it never came. I peeked out from behind my hands and what I saw shocked me. There was a man there. A single man with white and black hair and eyes. The man, my father told me about was stretching out an arm towards me as if waiting for me to take it. I hesitated. I didn¡¯t know what would happen if I took its¡­ his hand. Would he help me? Would he save me? I remembered how much my father praised this man while we ate dinner at home. How much of that was true and how much was deceit? But¡­ I decided to trust him. Not the man in front of me but my father. I took his hand and he grasped it tightly. I felt calmer holding his hand. Somehow it brought out my sadness. And I cried. I cried for a few minutes. The man waited for me patiently while holding my hand and said nothing. When I was done he asked me if I was okay to which I answered that I was. I wasn¡¯t really convinced of it myself but for now I told him I was. I didn¡¯t want to upset him. His face showed no emotion. He might be annoyed with me taking so much time. I suddenly remembered my father and asked him about him but he simply looked down. His face showed emotion now. I instantly knew that my father was no more and he confirmed it with his words as well. I thought I would cry again from having hope be born in me only to be once again torn away but my tears were now pretty dry again so I just sobbed tearlessly. Not even able to cry for my own father¡¯s death. When I calmed down he urged me to get out. I was all for it but I had to make sure of something first. I asked him why he was helping me. His answer¡­ that he just felt like it. What kind of a reason to help someone was that? I still went outside a bit unsatisfied by his answer. The outside was covered in bodies and blood. Before we moved on the man looted the corpses for money. I didn¡¯t disapprove. These guys could rot in hell for all that I cared. After he did so we distanced ourselves before he turned to the scene of the massacre once again and without even blinking or moving a limb a black fire burst forth and absorbed it. There was nothing left. Only ash and the liquid metal on the ground. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I once again realized how terrifying the man was. For a moment I had even thought that someone had just killed the darkness elemental before it had gotten to me and this was who the man was but now I realized that was only wishful thinking. For starters what kind of darkness elemental used fire as well? There was no way this person was a simple elemental. They can only use their own elements and nothing else. I mustered up the courage and asked for his name in as lively a voice as I could muster. He introduced himself as Kenos and I also introduced myself. He instantly started calling me Lily. I complained a bit through my fear not truly realizing what I had done until after I had done it but nothing bad happened to me. He just rebuked that he came up with nicknames for most people with long names. After that we walked. For hours. I asked him to take a break or stop but he kept urging me to walk saying there was something we needed to finish today. It was night when he stopped in front of a big spike made out of something that looked like a black crystal. The earth under it looked freshly dug. Looking at him I realized what it was and fell to my knees, finally losing all remaining power in my legs. ¡°F-Father?¡± I asked him barely even able to say the one word. He simply nodded and I once again started crying. As I started he came up and embraced me. It felt so good¡­ so calm¡­ so serene. The sadness kept rushing out as if he was absorbing all of it and my vision got dark. When I woke up I was staring at his face as he was leaning back on the spike. Realizing my current position lying on his lap I stood up frantically and looked around to confirm where I am. I suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday. My life had changed in one single day. This was the end of my peaceful life. The man asked me to tell him what happened and I did¡­ the short version. I could at least do that but when he asked me what I was going to do I had no idea. I had nothing to go back to in Acton. If I did it was possible that the lord finds out that his son died after taking me and come look for me. If I¡¯m found and accused of his son¡¯s murder¡­ my fate would be even worse than if his son had just succeeded kidnapping me. I absentmindedly spoke my thoughts out loud but I did not expect his answer. ¡°Do you want to come with me?¡± (Kenos) I was dumbfounded. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± (Lily) ¡°You don¡¯t want to? I¡­ was conflicted¡­ But I decided to trust him¡­ again. If not him I still trusted my father. ¡°No, no!¡± But I hesitated ¡°I just¡­ Why? Why are you helping me so much?¡± (Lily) There was a moment of silence. ¡°Because your father helped me as well.¡± (Kenos) I was shocked but¡­ I could only laugh. As expected of dad. Everyone loved him. Even elements of darkness. I once again spoke my thoughts out loud. ¡°That statement sounded a tad dangerous. Not to mention I¡¯m not darkness.¡± (Kenos) I didn¡¯t realize what exactly he said for a second but when I did I just kept on laughing, completely ignoring his statement that he wasn¡¯t darkness. Who even cared about that at this point? Our next destination was to be the lord¡¯s town. When I asked Kenos why he just answered while smirking. ¡°We¡¯re going to visit.¡± (Kenos) I didn¡¯t believe that he could just outright oppose the lord. That was his third son but surely there were mages he has hired that could do something to him. He just mocked me and at the same time reassured me. I didn¡¯t have much of a choice anyway so I told him where the city that has the lord¡¯s mansion is and followed him there. He hunted and cooked for me. The smoked meat he made was good¡­ but the one he cooked with fire was delicious. I was afraid I would get addicted and then fat if I ate too much of it. The first night I tried to sleep I had nothing but nightmares. Kenos just sat the entre night watching over the fire. He told me he didn¡¯t need to sleep and that he didn¡¯t get tired. I remembered how well I slept on his lap so I reluctantly asked him if he could lend it to me again to which he obliged albeit while looking at me like I was weird. I don¡¯t care! Anything to get rid of those god-forsaken nightmares! Again I felt so at peace lying in his lap. As if I was floating on top of the ocean. I had never seen it or swam but I imagined this is what it would feel like. As I absorbed myself in that feeling I fell asleep again. This time without any nightmares. Before long I was sleeping in his embrace. Apparently I had started hugging him while sleeping so by that time my embarrassment had already reached the max and I just started sleeping while hugging him outright. It felt different. Like I was being embraced by the dark depths of a large ocean but I didn¡¯t feel scared. The dark waters around me didn¡¯t feel oppressive. They felt calm, serene. This was exactly the feeling that made me trust this person. I just can¡¯t bring myself to think that someone I can open up to this easily would throw me away easily. I just didn¡¯t feel like this person would do that. When we got to the town we found an inn and Kenos secured me a bath. He even got me new clothes and we went around town. Shopping for ingredients for cooking and the like. He also bought me light leather armor and a sword. I thought that maybe he could buy something for himself at the alchemist but he instead got me a few healing potions and told me there¡¯s nothing useful to him in there anyway. Instead we went to the bookstore but there was still nothing interesting for him so he instead bought me a book on body strengthening. That overjoyed me. I wanted to be stronger. I never again wanted to feel so helpless. Yet I was. The next day when Ken had gone to the library I was left alone. I read the book he left me and tried to strengthen my body according to what I learned from it but it was hard. I had decided to go out but I had once again bumped into the lord¡­not literally this time. He took a liking to me since I looked nice. His guards attacked me and I tried to fight back but could do nothing. I was once again captured. I was once again useless. Ken¡­ I¡¯m so sorry for being useless. I was dragged into the lord¡¯s mansion and thrown into a dark room. The lord was apparently tired and busy as he had just come back to town but he would soon have his way with me. I looked around. I couldn¡¯t see too well but before they locked the doors I could make out other women here. I crawled slowly while touching the floor to make sure what was in front of me. I called out to the women but none of them answered. I finally found one by feeling around where I go. She was breathing but cold. I tried to shake her awake but there was no reaction. I felt like I had been locked into a room full of corpses. I remembered how I felt when the lord¡¯s son took me from my home. I wanted to die. I was right to think that if this is how I would have ended up otherwise. I hugged my knees. The tears were almost coming out of my eyes but I held them in. I can¡¯t always just cry and ask for Ken to save me. I don¡¯t want to. I looked around the room again and noticed a brighter part than the rest¡­ no it wasn¡¯t exactly brighter it just¡­ stood out. I walked over and I could make out a metal door. I tried to open it but it was locked. ¡°Is anyone there?¡± I suddenly heard a voice from the other side. The voice was quiet and obviously belonged to a young girl. I was a bit conflicted. What should I say? ¡°Are you alright? Did they hurt you?¡± I was surprised. She was locked away eve deeper but she was worried about me? ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll be fine too. There¡¯s someone who will save us!¡± (Lily) I told her with as much of a confident voice as I could muster. I was confident that Ken would come to save us. Positive even. I just¡­ felt conflicted about it. But I wanted to reassure this gentle girl who was more worried for me than for herself. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah! That guy¡¯s gonna come for sure! He¡¯s not the kind of person to not do something just because it might be difficult!¡± (Lily) At least that¡¯s what I felt he was like. He was confident all the time. Some would say he¡¯s just cocky but I dare them to say it after seeing him murder around fifty soldiers without even breaking a sweat. We fell into silence after that¡­ I walked away from the door and waited around the middle of the room. Or at least I think it was somewhere around the middle. I couldn¡¯t quite see very well in the dark. Before long I heard it. There were screams coming from outside and then silence. A door opening. Questioning. And another door opening with light coming into the room I was sitting in. Kenos was standing at the door. Some blood was on his face but he was uninjured. I really wanted to become strong so that I didn¡¯t have to rely on that powerful and fearless form standing above me. I didn¡¯t want to ask him to save me¡­ but surely¡­ surely he would be glad if I asked him to save another Chapter 14 As an arrow shot through the skull of one of the guards I had already begun walking back to the wagon the girls were resting in. I would have put it in some sort of barrier but the thing is I had already replaced the cloth which was previously covering it with my own voidcloth so none of the arrows would be able to get through. It was the only reinforced wagon. And the only wagon without any cages in it. A few arrows also shot out towards me but I burned them out of the air with a black flame. They would have passed through me completely harmlessly anyway but I decided not to freak the ones behind this ambush out TOO much. I wanted to assert myself as someone they do not want to mess with but I also didn¡¯t want them finding out I¡¯m not human. After all in negotiations having a few hidden cards up your sleeves is best. And I have plenty. Opening the curtain to the back inside were Lily and Cel as well as the caravan master who must have hidden here quickly enough to not get shot. ¡°S-sir Kenos! What is the situation outside?¡± (Caravan Master) All of the guards as well as the caravan master himself had started admiring me quite a bit during the journey. I had saved them more than a few times and they had come to even calling me sir as if I was the leader. How unnecessary. I don¡¯t want fucking slave traders to admire me goddamnit! ¡°It is hopeless. The guards won¡¯t hold out. I advise surrender.¡± (Kenos) ¡°B-but who knows what they will do to us if they capture us! For starters I don¡¯t believe they will let us leave here alive.¡± (Caravan master) ¡°Just surrender and leave the rest to me.¡± (Kenos) He nodded hesitantly. He trusted me quite a bit and I decided to make use of it. The outside was already quiet. The slave traders were probably all dead already. They were way too ill-equipped to handle an ambush by a large armed group. The only reason they had gotten this far was because of my help¡­ and I wasn¡¯t helping any longer. As we got out of the wagon the caravan master went first and taking advantage of it Lily whispered something to me. ¡°Are you sure this is gonna be okay?¡± (Lily) ¡°Hey. If they refuse to be diplomatic about stuff then I¡¯ll just play at their game. But I¡¯ll try to handle it peacefully as promised.¡± (Kenos) ¡°What about the caravan master?¡± (Cel) ¡°He¡¯s just a dirty slave trader anyway. He sells off humans and their rights to others as if they¡¯re merchandise. No need to keep him alive.¡± (Kenos) Both of them nodded. We were going to deal with the caravan soon anyway. These ambushers just did our job for us. Now then how to take advantage of this situation? I judged that we had talked enough and just jumped down from the wagon. There was a vast number of beastkin surrounding us and pointing their spears and swords in our direction. Judging from their ears and tails there were cats, dogs, rabbits, even bears. It was a collection of all kinds of different beastkin. Much different from what I read about how they worked. They weren¡¯t in formation because they didn¡¯t feel the need to be in one to handle a fat caravan master, one scrawny-looking guy with a seeming fetish for black and white and two girls who didn¡¯t even look like they¡¯d gotten out of their teen years... especially Cel. Or so I thought but one of the beastkin went over to someone who seemed to be the commander and whispered something to him. The commander had black hair and a stern face. He was slightly bigger than normal in size and judging by his tail and ears was a cat. I inwardly decided that he was a black panther. That¡¯s the image I got from the man. While I was analyzing him the man whispering something to him ran back and the commander shouted. ¡°Be careful! The one in black is dangerous. Probably a mage of significant strength!¡± (Commander) Smart. Smarter than most people I¡¯ve met in this world. I unconsciously smiled. Finally someone who seemed to be of sufficient intelligence. I met a few people which weren¡¯t garbage in Astrain like Brul and the guys at the Inn in Karpas but I feel like this is the first intelligent person I¡¯ve met with actual authority. Not counting the previous¡­ well current lord of Karpas as he was a slave before I freed him. The beastkin got into an actual formation with the spearmen at the front with the swordmen around two meters behind them and the archers even further away. It was obvious that they were well trained as it took only one simple warning of their commander to have them in formation in mere seconds. Even if it was a simple one. The commander raised his hand and the archers readied their bows. Not this again¡­ ¡°I advise you to stop.¡± (Kenos) The commander who was readying to lower his arm signaling his bowmen to release the arrows suddenly stopped. I took advantage of the fact that the caravan master could not speak the beastkin language. Lily and Cel were getting there but at this point they would only understand bits and pieces of a conversation. At this point it would only be enough for them to understand the general gist of the conversation. Not that I needed to hide this one from them. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the fatass slave trader. You can do whatever the hell you want with him. But if you dare try and hurt one of the girls behind me¡­¡± (Kenos) I took a slight pause to look at their reactions. Most of them had none. They were just waiting for orders to attack. The archers were still keeping their bows at the ready. The commander though seemed to understand that I am not to be trifled with and that it would be better to talk now than to fight. I was going to finish my sentence but decided against it. The panther seemed to understand my implications anyway even without the threat. He signaled the bowmen to lower his bows. They looked slightly surprised but followed the order anyway. ¡°Very well. If what you say is true then I want proof. If you truly do not care for the man then slay him. If you do that then I will trust you.¡± (Commander) I hope this isn¡¯t one of those stupid. Actually I can¡¯t trust someone who would betray his employer so easily situations. If it is then holy shit am I done with diplomacy. I looked towards Lily who seemed to have gotten the gist of the conversation and she just nodded towards me, taking the sword which is also myself off her waist and throwing it to me. The slave trader looked confused but not for long as I had already drawn and plunged the sword in his throat. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± (Kenos) The commander nodded and had his soldiers open a way for him to move forward. He wasn¡¯t afraid of retaliation. That¡¯s only because he didn¡¯t know what I was capable of and thought that I would not do something foolish like attack his men while I¡¯m surrounded. H walked up to us but his men still kept their weapons at the ready. Two swordsmen that looked stronger than the rest followed behind him. Maybe they were his lieutenants or something. ¡°Since you have proven that you at least care little for the life of this man I will at least listen to you. Why have you come to the Beastlands?¡± (Commander) What kind of question was that? Well I guess it¡¯s fair for me to tell him my reason for being here. For now I will comply to his questions. I will make him believe he has the advantage and try to make a reasonable deal like that. If it doesn¡¯t work I can always turn that belief on its head ¡°We''re only passing through. Our real goal is the elven country. AS for why we''re going htere. Because we don''t want to be in the human countries any more is all I''ll say.¡± (Kenos) ¡°How do I know you are not a human spy then?¡± (Commander) Oh now there¡¯s a good question to ask. You can never be too careful after all. ¡°What kind of human spy works together with a woman who isn¡¯t even a proper swordswoman yet and a vampire mage?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Vampire?¡± (Commander) The beatskin looked at Cel and seeing her deep crimson red eyes seemed to realize what she was and was convinced of it. ¡°... Can these two speak beastkin as well?¡± (Commander) ¡°Not really. They can only understand bits and pieces of a conversation but speaking it themselves or understanding long, complicated sentences is still beyond them.¡± (Kenos) Lily seemed a bit grumpy at my statement but she didn¡¯t rebuke it as it was the truth. Cel didn¡¯t seem to care. She was a genius mage but it seems that she was only average at learning a new language. As was Lily. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll need you to come to our camp. The chief will decide what to do with you.¡± (Commander?) Wait so this guy wasn¡¯t the commander after all? Or maybe chief was just a rank above him? Damn it I¡¯ve been calling him that in my head the whole time and I have no damn intention of stopping now! In fact I¡¯ll call him Com! That¡¯s your nickname Com! Enjoy it! I nodded my head, my serious face not letting even a hint of the silly thoughts I was having out into the open.He barked a few orders to his soldiers. Half of them were to stay her in case of further intrusions while the other half formed a square formation with us in the middle. ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s just safety precautions.¡± (Com) I nodded once again and signaled for the girls to come closer to me so that I would be able to instantly protect them if anything happened. Well I would be able to even without that but I wanted them to feel safe and the safest place right now was as close to me as possible. Lily actually looked a bit glad, no doubt at the fact that I didn¡¯t outright murder all of them. And I might have too if it hadn¡¯t been for Lily¡¯s request. Then again Cm was the first intelligent being I¡¯ve met in this world with actual authority so maybe I would have thought it a waste to murder him? Who knows? I don¡¯t. I have no idea what I would have done. I am unpredictable even to myself¡­ no maybe I am unpredictable especially to myself. A few times we got attacked by monster. After the third time I offered my help but Com refused saying they would handle it. Well I guess it was hard to trust me yet. Other than the occasional monster attack I felt gazes of scorn or hate sometimes as we walked but I didn¡¯t really care. A lot of people have hated me. Do you think that a few soldiers¡¯ hate can equal that of the collective hate of billions of humans? I don¡¯t. There were a few injured in the fourth battle. They were facing a pack of aqua wolves which were pretty formidable beasts. Still the teamwork and strength of the soldiers were nothing to joke about so there were no casualties. An hour had passed already since we¡¯d started walking. I didn¡¯t offer my assistance again. I had offered it once and it was refused so I decided not to do so again. I could probably heal them but trying to earn someone¡¯s trust at this point would honestly be more suspicious than just not doing anything and minding my own business. The attacks stopped happening as often after the fourth one. It was because the area around the camp was better cleared out than the rest of the forest and was avoided by monsters. ¡°We¡¯re finally here.¡± (Com) It took only an hour and a half to get here. The camp was basically an encampment surrounded by walls made out of thick wood logs. Com stepped forward to the gate and signaled for it to be opened. Walking through the gate the inside had a bunch of tents set up in a seemingly organized fashion. I wonder how long ago they started this. I silently hoped that it would have been less than five years. The soldiers dispersed as Com commanded. We were left led by only Com. There were tons of scornful gazes facing our direction. Cel hung on to my hand tightly. I couldn¡¯t pat her head because she was in an awkward position so I instead whispered to her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Cel no matter what happens I swear they won¡¯t even touch you.¡± (Kenos) It seemed that the beastkins heard that as their scorn turned into anger. Well they DO have animal ears so maybe their hearing was sharper than human. Com also seemed to have heard it as he looked back towards me over his shoulder for a second but he ignored it. We were taken to the biggest tent in the encampment where Cam urged us to go inside. I already knew what was there as I was always confirming our surroundings and situation through the surrounding shadows but I went inside. Lily and Cel followed stuck to my back. Inside, sitting on the floor in a cross-legged position was a giant man over two meters tall and bulging with muscles with two men standing behind him. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties with long flowing blonde hair and a majestic beard. I knew what this guy was the moment I saw him. A lion. ¡°Hi there. Heard about you from the messenger that came by earlier. I wonder if you¡¯re really a strong enough mage for me to bother even meeting you. I knew what was going to follow. Two men covered in black cloth from head to toe jumped out from the shadows and aimed for the two girls with their daggers. I don¡¯t know what they are thinking. The shadows are my domain. Also. ¡°I warned you.¡± (Kenos) Two void spikes rise up from the shadows and pierce the two men straight through their abdomen. If I¡¯m going to fight I¡¯ll show no mercy. Even as a test this guy threatened Lily and Cel and he WILL die for it. Four shadow blades rose up from the shadow of the lion completely silently. Before I was only able to use other shadows for void magic if I touched them with my own but those limitations aren¡¯t rules. The void is as all-powerful as magic itself. It¡¯s just up to me to figure out how it works. The men behind him tried to warn him but they were too late. He also noticed the blades but by then he had no way to dodge them. My blades moved fast. If you don¡¯t see them early you will be unable to dodge. The four blades all lashed out at different parts of his body ready to slice him to pieces. ¡°Ken!¡± (Lily) The blades stop only inches away from his body. No, scratch that. They had already went into the flesh enough to at least leave a scratch. I turn to Lily to see her looking at me with a sad look on her face. Why was she like this? It wasn¡¯t as if she was against killing. She didn¡¯t care when I murdered Shitbag¡¯s son and his men when they kidnapped her, she didn¡¯t blink an eye when we were leaving the blood-coated mansion of Shitbag himself. Lily stepped closer until she was right in front of me. I thought she would scold me again but instead she hugged me. Why? I don¡¯t understand. I looked towards Cel only to find her holding onto my arm tightly. You too? What''s wrong? ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just calm down. Please¡­¡± (Lily) ¡­ Oh I see. They were just trying to help me. *Sigh* Morons. Its not as if it''s hard for me to kill people or anything you know. Still I smiled slightly. Geez. I just can''t beat these too. I whispered a quiet thank you which noone in the room could pick up before returning to my poker face. ¡°I got it¡­ I¡¯m calm so you can let go now.¡± (Kenos) Lily nodded her head and let me go. Cel also loosened her grip so I just took my hand completely away from her and patted heron the head instead. Yes this is indeed much better than killing people. The lion hadn¡¯t said anything the entire time. He had a nervous smile on as the void blades hadn¡¯t moved away from the position they were previously in. His face sort of amused me but Lily calmed me down so the void blades removed themselves from their position and retracted back into his shadow. ¡°Heh.. Heheh¡­ HAHAHAHAHA! Good! Great!¡± (Lion) The man who had until now had a nervous smile on his face laughed out loud. I also retracted the two void spikes but the men that were skewered onto them were already dead. I don¡¯t care though. They were the ones who attacked us. I felt I was getting angry again so I just shook my head to clear those thoughts away. ¡°Boy! I don¡¯t know exactly what kind of magic that was but it was good! No, it was great! You killed two of our elite assassins like they were nothing and almost me as well. Thank you little missies for saving me.¡± (Lion) Lily looked at him with a scowl while Cel was still just enjoyng my petting. We couldn¡¯t honestly complain about what had happened. We fully expected something like that and were ready for it. But just because we couldn¡¯t complain didn¡¯t mean we had to like it. ¡°Oh. Looks like you didn¡¯t really save me out of kindness or some bullshit. Good! Even better!¡± (Lion) ¡°Get to the point.¡± (Kenos) I was getting annoyed at him again so I rebuked him in the coldest voice I could conjure but he only answered with another laugh. ¡°Hahaha! Very well. If it¡¯s like this then maybe we can work something out.¡± (Lion) Chapter 15 ¡°Chief! I heard something happened. Are you alri-?¡± (Com) Com burst into the tent as me and Leon were talking. The corpses of the two ninja wanabes were already taken care of and though I didn¡¯t feel like negotiating too much I needed something done for me and this was my best bet at getting it done. There aren¡¯t too many people who can laugh off my temper. ¡°Oh! Com, you came. Come have a sit with us. We were just negotiating.¡± (Leon) ¡°Pfft!¡± (Kenos) I couldn¡¯t hold it in. Wow. This guy¡¯s actual nickname was Com. I wasn¡¯t the only one calling him that. That is hilarious. Com didn¡¯t say anything afterwards just walking off to behind Leon and joining the other two men there. Leon looked at me a bit confused but he kept his signature smile up while we continued talking business. ¡°Well aren¡¯t you in a much better mood now?¡± (Leon) *Ahem* ¡°Anyway. Back to our discussion.¡± (Kenos) I wasn¡¯t in the mood to joke around still. Not with the guy who almost killed Lily and Cal for their stupid test. The test itself was simple and effective and I had to admit it was the fastest and most efficient way of finding out both my abilities and whether I¡¯m a spy or not. I mean which spy would kill the two assassins and almost kill the leader himself. There¡¯s no way that would end well. The fact that I stopped even though I was able to kill him also proved me not an assassin either. ¡°Right. You said you had two requests in turn for your help. Go ahead!¡± (Leon) ¡°First. After this is done I¡¯m going to need safe passage through the Beastlands and into the elven country.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Right I did get a report that said you were just passing through. That can be arranged. We aren¡¯t on bad terms with the elves since unlike the humans at least they don¡¯t take our women for their own pleasure or our men to do all the heavy work for them.¡± (Leon) So slavery doesn¡¯t exist in the elven country? Well I guess that¡¯s a bit of a stretch as a conclusion to his statement. I guess I¡¯ll find out what he means sooner or later. So the first one will be doable. But that¡¯s not the one I¡¯m concerned about. The first one I could do myself. But for the second I¡¯ll a lot of manpower which I do not have. ¡°So what about the other one?¡± (Leon) ¡°¡­ I want you to find something out for me.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Oh? Information is it? Sure what¡¯s it about.¡± (Leon) ¡°Five years ago¡­ No more accurately any time between now and five years ago¡­ there should have been a human girl that passed through the Beastlands. The girl should have looked around ten back then with brown hair and green eyes. I need to know what happened to her. No. In fact. Any information on her. Any at all!¡± (Kenos) ¡°Uh¡­ okay now that will be a bit hard. Anything else you can tell me about this girl?¡± (Leon) ¡°She should have had someone with her. Probably another human. Older. From what I understood he was a commander in the human country of Astrain.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Well. I¡¯ll try. I won¡¯t promise you anything though. It¡¯s possible that they might¡¯ve avoided all interaction with us beastkin as hard as that would be here in the Beastlands. And even if we did chances are¡­ guess you know that though huh?¡± (Leon) ¡°Just do it.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Sure okay. I¡¯ll try.¡± (Leon) ¡°And-¡° (Kenos) ¡°Relax! I¡¯m not stupid enough to lie to you. In the first place having you here will be a huge help. Since we beastkin don¡¯t have as many people that can use magic. Having a powerful mage here will help for sure.¡± (Leon) ¡°So you¡¯ll help me find information on this girl and put in good word with the elves for me as well as transport across the Beastlands.¡± (Kenos) He nods. ¡°And in exchange YOU will work here and help us out for a while. You¡¯ll need to wait here anyway for that information.¡± (Leon) I nod. ¡°Okay so next let me explain in more detail what we¡¯re here for.¡± (Leon) I could already guess what this place was. They were so close to the border and stalking out possible routes between here and the human countries. ¡°We¡¯re called the Protection Front. Our mission here is to keep watch on the entrances to the Beastlands and in case of invasions warn the clans beforehand and in case of any other kind of intrusion we are to prevent them from entering the country in whatever way we find appropriate.¡± (Leon) ¡° Well then you¡¯re not doing your job correctly with me being here and all.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Hey, I¡¯m flexible about these things.¡± (Leon) ¡°So. Is that all?¡± (Kenos) ¡°That¡¯s all about our operation here. There are a few other camps run by other people since this is a joint effort of the different clans but there¡¯s nothing you need to know about those. For now at least.¡± (Leon) ¡°Okay. So then what¡¯ll my job here be.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Well. A few things. Work around the camp. Helping the other mages with their projects. Clearing out a few dungeons who are resistant to physical damage.¡± (Leon) Oh dungeons of course. Maybe there¡¯s a slime dungeon that¡¯s giving them problems? Dungeons in this world are pretty much just like monster nests. It¡¯s not like in novels where there are dungeon hearts which are alive or something. Let¡¯s say there¡¯s a cave where there¡¯s a huge amount of goblins¡­ like the one I cleared out. That¡¯s a dungeon. There aren¡¯t even any bosses or some shit¡­ well sometimes there are. ¡°Is that all?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Sure. I¡¯m not gonna overwork you or anything but you might find that you will have more responsibilities than a normal soldier. At least it¡¯ll keep you busy right?¡± (Leon) Truly the hardest thing for me to deal with here would have been boredom. Then again when I¡¯m not busy I can always help the girls train. Well¡­ Lily train. All I can do for what Lily is training in right now is offer really bad advice. After he explained that we stayed talking for around another half an hour, discussing sleeping quarters, responsibilities and safety precautions. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stay together with the girls the entire time I was here. Or so Leon thought since he didn¡¯t know what I am. In truth the clothes they were wearing were enough for me to always be aware of what is going on around them. So I wasn¡¯t that worried. Afterwards we were given three badges of a shield with the hilt of a sword sticking out from the top of it which apparently would prove our association with the Protection Front. I don¡¯t know how much it¡¯ll help since we¡¯re human. Leon himself will issue an order to every troop in the camp to not do anything to us. I¡¯ll try to hold myself back to not kill anyone too but I make no promises. On the other hand Leon couldn¡¯t promise us a personal tent so instead I asked for an empty space somewhere around the camp. Com was tasked with escorting us there since he was most familiar with us. When we got there I started concentrating and waving mana around like it was nothing. It would have been quite exhausting for any normal mage but the difficulty didn¡¯t lie in the amount but in the control needed. Bit by bit stone rose up from the ground turning black and forming walls and a ceiling. When I was done Com just looked dumbfounded because I had just made a house. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Can all mages do stuff like this?¡± (Com) There weren¡¯t any windows, a door, or furniture but I can make those out of void magic later. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a normal mage?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Good point.¡± (Com) Looks like he understood the fact that I¡¯m not. I don¡¯t know how much he understood the situation inside the tent but seeing the two puddles of blood behind me and the four cuts on Leon might have told him something. Maybe he heard something about the assassins too. ¡°I¡¯ll inform Leon that this is where you will be staying. Your official duties will start tomorrow as we¡¯ll introduce you to the two other mages we have in the camp. Maybe you can help them with something as a start.¡± (Com) I nodded and Com simply turned around and left. Now that we were finally alone the girls who were silent until now finally opened their mouths. Though they spoke in human language rather than beastkin. ¡°So who¡¯s that girl you mentioned?¡± (Lily) Of course she starts with that. It didn¡¯t seem like it was out of jealousy or anything. Just pure curiosity. ¡°Let¡¯s talk later. I need to furnish this house.¡± (Kenos) She didn¡¯t look quite satisfied but didn¡¯t argue. She was sure to ask me about it later and it¡¯s not like I was hiding it or anything. I just really wanted to get done with furnishing the house. I¡¯ll tell them about Kate later. Using void magic the first thing I did was make a thick wooden door at the front of the house. I also walked up to and created a window for each hole I left for one. I could probably make modern-day appliances honestly but I opted not to. I didn¡¯t really care much for revolutionizing science as this word knows it. Instead I created a wooden table with two comfortable sofas on either side. I also formed a fireplace but the wood I made¡­ didn¡¯t burn so we would need some actual wood if we wanted to use it. I formed a big bed in one of the rooms along with a few wardrobes and cabinets in case we wanted to leave different things there though our belongings didn¡¯t include much and I was pretty much done. Finally. That was a pain in the ass. There were four rooms in the house two of which remained unfurnished but honestly I had no idea what to make of them. Then it came to me¡­ We need a bath and a toilet. And though I decided not to make stuff from my old world I made an exception. I separated one of the rooms in two making a small room with a toilet seat. Now you¡¯ll be wondering ¡°But what about sewage?¡±. Well the void can handle that¡­and no I don¡¯t mean storing it in the void I mean using void magic to dissipate it. So instead of water on the bottom of the toilet there was a bunch of void energy flowing around which I made to erode non-organic matter. Since the toilet as well as the floor were made of void as well they were not affected. I formed a huge bath in the other room. It would fit around ten people and still have space for everyone to spread out their arms and legs without worrying about the other people¡¯s space at all. The problem was that I would have to make the water myself. I¡¯ll create something to do it for me later. I learned a lot about alchemy in this world and that encompasses a lot more than just making different kinds of potions. Now I was really done. There was still one room left over but I¡¯ll think about what to do with it later. We also had a basement but that will also wait. Maybe I¡¯ll make myself an underground study or something like that if I ever need it. Now then the girls were waiting for me on the sofa so I sat down on the one opposite them to which they both reacted by getting up and sitting down next to me. Why am I so loved I wonder? I¡¯m just some madman with power that could potentially kill gods. If anything I thought most people would be scared of me. Is it because I saved them? I don¡¯t understand. Women are one of the things that no matter how much I racked my brain I could never figure out. I could make theories on quantum physics that would have won me noble prizes but women? Nope. ¡°So are you ready to talk yet?¡± (Lily) ¡°Sure.¡± (Kenos) First I explained to them the conversation I had with Leon. They probably didn¡¯t understand most of it so I started with that. I explained to them that we¡¯ll be staying here for a while which they accepted really easily for some reason. Makes me feel stupid for feeling guilty over not talking with them about it first. Next I explained what we¡¯ll be doing around the camp and that we¡¯ll mostly be together since they couldn¡¯t speak beastkin yet. Due to that they¡¯ll put more effort into learning the language rather than training until they¡¯re at least decent enough to speak it. And after all that came the point where I had to talk about Kate. I told them about her. How I met her five years ago when she was in a desperate situation and failed to save her. I didn¡¯t mention anything about dragons, goddesses or reincarnations but instead I told them that back then I was weak and was almost killed by the army trying to save her and that I needed five years in order to be able to move again. It wasn¡¯t a total lie but I left out the details of it. The girls were quite surprised by all this. Not by the thing about me saving a girl. By the part about me being weak and almost dying to normal soldiers. They asked me how I got this strong if I was out of commission for five years but I could only say that I just did. Even I didn¡¯t know how I became the void¡¯s incarnation. What would you call this? An avatar? I guess that works. Let¡¯s just say that I¡¯m the Avatar of the Void. The manifestation of the void. The void incarnate. It was weird. I could swear that I was human before. Was I this all along? Or was it that I somehow became this? But how? I can feel that the void doesn¡¯t have a will. It¡¯s not sentient. From what I¡¯ve analyzed so far I am the sentient will of the void. That just doesn¡¯t feel like something that you ¡°become¡±. It¡¯s something that should either be there or not. Sighing I decided to let the thought go. I was just running in circles. There was no way to find out how I became what I am. It was like if a math problem stated ¡°Find out the value of x in the following sequence¡± and the sequence is just x. There¡¯s no way to find it out cause there¡¯s no other information to compare it to. For all we know x could be 1 or it could be 1 000 000. After I let the thought go I started teaching the girls beastkin once again. Since constant learning could have a negative effect I let them take breaks from time to time during which they trained. It was nice having dedicated students. After the day was done we climbed into the bed so I could serve my role as a pillow for the two of them which were already acting as if this is the natural course of things. Tomorrow is going to be the day I start working here. As a human in beastkin camp. I just hope nothing too bad happens. Even I don¡¯t want to just cause bloodshed everywhere I go¡­ but.. I hope Leon understand that I will do so without any hesitation if ever I feel like it. Chapter 16 I woke up the girls earlier than usual this morning. Taking out a bit of our sparse remaining supplies, i started to make some breakfast which was pretty much soup. I didn¡¯t have a wide variety of recipes on hand. As always the girls enjoyed it a great deal and I didn¡¯t eat because I thought it would be a waste of ingredients. I was ready to start teaching them beastkin again but there was a knock on the door which I promptly answered. ¡°Where¡­ did you even get this from?¡± (Com) At the door was Com who looked absolutely lost on where the door and windows had come from. ¡°Are we starting already?¡± (Kenos) Com just shook his head as if giving up. ¡°As long as you are ready.¡± (Com) I nodded my head and informed the girls that I would be leaving for now, telling them to practice beastkin while I¡¯m gone. I wasn¡¯t planning on dragging them around the camp the whole time. In fact I insisted that I don¡¯t drag them around the camp the whole time which they weren¡¯t too happy about but still accepted. Before leaving I transformed my cloak into a coat. I kept the hood and the white fur along it though. I also formed the badge of the Protection Front on my chest before throwing one of them to Lily and Cel as well. It only took me a minute to do all this so Com waited patiently at the door. I wouldn¡¯t do all this in front of him after all. I was done though so I just followed Com towards wherever he was taking me. ¡°As I said yesterday you will be meeting the two other mages we have in the camp here. Maybe you can help them with something. From what I¡¯ve seen you¡¯re stronger than most of the mages in the Beastlands.¡± (Com) ¡°What can you tell me about them?¡± (Kenos) ¡°The one we¡¯ll be meeting now is an earth mage as well as an alchemist. He¡¯s not a strong mage but his alchemic concoctions can be a huge help around here. The other is a healer. Her name is Fai and she¡¯s in charge of the medical tent. We¡¯ll head there after you meet Ryndel.¡± (Com) Apparently the alchemist¡¯s name was Ryndel which sounded like a human nobles name to me. Who am I to say though. On the other hand the healer¡¯s name was apparently Fai. I like that name. It¡¯s short and sounds nice. My kind of name for sure. Maybe if I wasn¡¯t too lazy I would have named myself something better than Kenos. Well too late to change it now. As we walked through the encampment I felt even more hateful looks on me than yesterday but all I could really feel from them was the urge to laugh. It was as if they were trying to tickle me with this slight hint of bloodlust in the air. Com on the other hand felt nervous. Maybe he thought I would snap just from this? Oh come on I¡¯m not that unreasonable¡­ okay no If the girls were here I might have actually done something. Though I doubt it would have been to murder everyone. I was right to let them stay at the house. The encampment wasn¡¯t that big so the walk was a short ten minutes. I also think we passed by the healer¡¯s tent as I heard painful groans from the shadows of one of the tents we were passing. I was too spread out to look at what it was though. I already had my attention split between Lily, Cel and¡­ well myself. I could tell where our destination was even before Com pointed it out. The place smelled like herbs and alchemical concoctions even outside the tent. AS we entered I saw a man about my own height which should be considered pretty tall seeing as Com who is of above average height is shorter than me. The thing was he had wings. A fucking bird beastkin who is also an earth mage. I don¡¯t know what decides affinities at birth but whatever it was I think it didn¡¯t like this guy very much. ¡°Ryndel!¡± Com) Ryndel who up until now was too engrossed in his concoctions to even notice we had entered the tent finally seemed to realize we were there as Com shouted his name to get his attention. Turning around I could tell this man was a predator. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s strong as a mage but he was definitely strong just in general. ¡°Com¡­ you brought him¡­¡± (Ryndel) He looked at me with clear hostility in his gaze. I didn¡¯t care about it though. This man was not a threat. Maybe he was strong but I doubt he was strong enough to harm me. ¡°I told you I don¡¯t need help from a damned human.¡± (Ryndel) Good. I turned around and exited the tent. My destination was the place I considered to be the healer¡¯s tent earlier. At least I was going to but Com grabbed my hand from behind. ¡°Wait! What are you doing?¡± (Com) ¡°I¡¯m not willing to beg people to ask for my help. If he doesn¡¯t want it then he won¡¯t get it. If you want me to give it to him then you shall instruct him on how to properly ask for it.¡± (Kenos) ¡°But you¡¯re supposed to be here for-¡° (Com) ¡°Convincing people to accept my help was not in my job description. That was something you should have dealt with on your side.¡± (Kenos) I turned my hand into void breaking free from his iron grasp which I would have never been able to break with physical strength alone and walked out of the tent as I originally intended. Com stood there for a second trying to understand what had just happened before running after me seemingly having given up on me helping Ryndel. The bird beastkin on the other hand just went back to his brewing while feeling irritated about being shoved aside like I refused to even acknowledge him as soon as he refused to do so for me. Next stop was the medical tent. I could only hope that whoever this Fai was would be more reasonable. You might be thinking that I would rather just have everyone refuse my help and laze around but that would be incredibly irritating. Once I¡¯m on a job I don¡¯t like doing it half-assedly. I was truly intent on helping both the alchemist and the healer. If they didn¡¯t want it though. I refused to bother begging them to let me help instead. We got to the tent I had considered the medical tent before and it turns out I was right. Entering together with Com I saw a bunch of medical beds lined up on both sides of the tent. Some were actual beds with straw mattresses while others looked put together with wood and leaves from around the camp. I assume that they didn¡¯t have enough so they had to build more themselves. There were some pained groans from people. Most of the wounds were not what I had expected. Rather than cuts or bruises most of the wounds looked rather like acid burns. What caused this I wonder? I went closer to one of the men with burns on his hands. I purposefully picked out an unconscious one to make it easier. I tried looking a bit closer but I was pat on the shoulder from behind. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Turning around I saw a girl close to her twenties if not in the early stages of them. Judging from her ears alone I couldn¡¯t quite tell what animal she is because let¡¯s be honest differentiating animal ears when they¡¯re on a human head is more difficult than it sounds. I switched my viewing perspective to a nearby shadow from where I could see her tail and instantly figured out what she was. A deer. I came to the obvious conclusion that this was the healer named Fai. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s wise to mindlessly touch the wound. It might hurt him¡± (Fai) She seemed nervous. They might have told her I could be dangerous if irritated which would definitely make someone nervous while talking to me¡­ except that bird bastard from before. ¡°Excuse me. I was not intending on doing so but it might have looked different from another¡¯s perspective.¡± (Kenos) Com looked at me a bit surprised. What? You think I can¡¯t be polite? Was I ever unreasonable towards you when you were escorting me here yesterday? No I wasn¡¯t was I? Of course I can show proper respect towards people who did the same with me. It¡¯s just Leon and Ryndel showed far from it. Fai visibly relaxed a bit after hearing my reply going as far as to let out a sigh of relief, thinking that maybe Leon or whoever informed her was exaggerating when they said I might be dangerous. They weren¡¯t¡­ it¡¯s just that I can also be very pleasant to be with as well as shown by the fact that two girls want to use me as a hug pillow every night and get really angry if I try to slip out¡­ I feel like I¡¯m being tamed by those two¡­ Yup. It was definitely a good decision to come alone today. ¡°Umm¡­ I¡¯m Fai. It is nice to meet you. I heard that you would be coming today but¡­ is there actually something you can help with? I heard that you were a combat mage¡­¡± (Fai) I thought a bit about it. Like I said if I was going to do a job I was going to do it right. I looked back towards the wound. ¡°You said you¡¯re a healer. Do you not know how to heal these burns with magic?¡± (Kenos) ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t. There are very few healers amongst us beastkin and there¡¯s a limit to how much we can do. Maybe someone else would know but¡­ I never knew how to heal wounds like these¡­¡± (Fai) I see. Well it¡¯s not that surprising. With the lower amount of mages that the beastkin have there¡¯s no way they could have progressed to the same level humans have. In the first place healing magic is incredibly complex. Every different wound has different ways to heal it. Cut wounds, stab wounds, burn wounds, acid wounds. Every different kind of wound has different methods you have to know to be able to heal it. It¡¯s not surprising that such a complex magic was very badly developed by people who barely have anyone that can use it. ¡°Then let me teach you how to do so. Is that going to help?¡± (Kenos) Fai looked at me surprised. She thought I was a full on combat mage because not many are both combat-oriented and know healing. In the Beastlands there are probably none. ¡°You know healing magic?¡± (Fai) She looked at me with hope in her eyes. She truly wished to save the people here. I mean some of them weren¡¯t that badly hurt. The guy who just had a hand burned would just have a harder time controlling that hand if it was not healed. But in the back I saw a few people which had half their bodies covered in these that were barely alive at this point. ¡°I do. First let me heal the people with the harsher burns. After that I¡¯ll teach you how to do it while healing the people who don¡¯t require immediate attention.¡± (Kenos) She nodded enthusiastically showing me to the back where the people with the heavy burs were. I choose the one who looked ready to kick the bucket the soonest and started healing him. Using light magic I fed energy into his cells restoring them, sometimes using void energy to erase a few that were too far gone. That was only my perfectionism though. The cells that were too far gone would later be replaced by the body when it was back in full healing condition so it¡¯s not as if someone needed to be able to use void to heal them. It took me ten minutes to finish with this one. He still seemed pale but no longer was he on the edge between life and death. On the other hand there wasn¡¯t a need for understanding of cells either while doing this. That was once again my perfectionism speaking. Fai would still be able to do this even without proper understanding of cells and the precision to restore them individually. I had prepared a more¡­ general method for her to learn rather than the one that even brain surgeons would have a hard time doing correctly. I looked over ten more people, finishing the healing of each one faster than the previous. The last one I finished in only a minute or two. ¡°Okay now it¡¯s your turn.¡± I said turning to face Fai. She nodded walking over to one of the soldiers who had lighter injuries. I started instructing her on how to control light magic. Yes I wasn¡¯t just telling her the chant of a spell. I was teaching her light manipulation. It was difficult for her though. In the end I gave up on that notion and taught her a chant. Chants make things a lot easier but are a lot less versatile than actual manipulation. That¡¯s why I wanted to teach her that but it seems like I was asking too much. It took her a few tries to do the chant correctly. After all the words themselves weren¡¯t the only thing that you have to get right in a chant. You can compare a chant to a music sheet. Together with the words the person saying them had to infuse mana into each and every word in a specific way. That¡¯s why these chants always sound like something a human should usually be unable to pronounce. Each and every part of each and every word had to be infused with a specific amount of mana. It was exactly like writing notes of music below the lyrics of a song to indicate how the melody should go there. It took a few hours of instructing before she was finally able to use the chant reliably. It was already past midday outside. Looking over at Com he seemed pleased that I had actually helped with something this time around. Now that I think about¡­ ¡°What are these wounds from anyway.¡± (Kenos) Com seemed surprised at the sudden question. Fai opened her mouth to try and say something but was interrupted by him while he was wearing an awkward smile before she could speak. ¡°So¡­about that dungeon the chief mentioned yesterday¡­¡± (Com) Chapter 17 Hey guys. I was thinking of adding some titles to the chapters but guess what. I''m really bad at that so I can''t. Some of the chapters are really easy but others are a bit difficult for me. Like the first one could be "Life of a madman" or "Life of a deranged genius" but others like idk Chapter 3 or 4? Idk. A lot of chapters I just can''t come up with names for. So if you guys can offer me some names in the comment I''d appreciate that. If I''m satisfied with the amount of choices and inspiration for others I''ll try and do something. If not... well this was just a thought anyway. it doesn''t really need to happen. Anyway enough about that. Enjoy the chapter... or hate it idk. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As soon as Com told me about the dungeon I told Com any further talks I will hold with Leon so he should just leave. He still tried to follow me as I was walking towards Leon¡¯s tent but I seriously didn¡¯t want him following me around the whole time so I locked him in an earth cage. If they find hi they¡¯ll just have to drag out that birdbrained alchemist to free him. Now with both my problem of Com following me everywhere I go solved and my incredibly petty revenge resolved I stepped into Leon¡¯s tent alone. ¡°Leon!¡± (Kenos) There were five people in the tent. Three of which I recognized as Leon and the two who were sitting behind me yesterday. All of them looked towards me when I called out Leon¡¯s name but the only one who didn¡¯t look at me as if I was a nuisance was Leon himself. ¡°Oh Ken. Done with helping out Ryndel and Fai already?¡± (Leon) I chose to ignore the fact that he shortened my name as if we were good friends even though he had just tried to kill me and the girls yesterday. ¡°The birdbrain didn¡¯t want my help so I didn¡¯t give it to him. I taught Fai how to heal the burns as well so minor injuries like those can be healed. I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯s adept enough to handle serious ones with half their body covered with that yet though.¡± (Kenos) Everyone looked surprised at my report. Even Leon himself didn¡¯t seem like he had counted on me resolving one of their seemingly biggest problems so quickly. I would now solve it even better though. ¡°More importantly, I heard about the dungeon.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Oh. The preparations for the expedition there are still underway. We¡¯ll be going in a week.¡± (Leon) ¡­ You¡¯re kidding right? ¡°No need.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Huh?¡± (Leon) ¡°I said no need. In fact. Just lend me a sword, a bow with some arrows and the standard issue uniform you use around here and I¡¯ll be fine by myself.¡± (Kenos) ¡°You sure about that?¡± (Leon) I said nothing and just looked at him with my sharp gaze until he realized that question In and of itself was more useless than every single soldier in this camp. What sort of fucking soldier can¡¯t clear out A GODDAMN SLIME DUNGEON! YOU ARE A DISGRACE! ¡°Hahahaha! Okay Ken. If you¡¯re so sure then let¡¯s see what you can do! Guards!¡± (Leon) ¡­ ¡°I knocked them out cause they were blocking the way in. No heavy injuries. They¡¯re simply unconscious.¡± (Kenos) After a sigh from Leon followed by another one of his signature loud laughs he called out to a random soldier that was passing near the tent and instructed him to show me to the armory and as reluctant as he was as soon as he saw who he was going to be showing there he still followed Leon¡¯s orders. ¡°Don¡¯t steal anything human. I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s the chief¡¯s orders if you take more than you need I¡¯ll end you myself.¡± (Soldier) Completely ignoring his threat I went inside the armory. The things here truly were standard issue. There was nothing of better than good quality. I took a simple longsword, a larger than normal bow for the extra penetration power, a quiver with forty arrows and an armored uniform. Why am I doing this even though I can make much better equipment with void? Well it¡¯s simple. I¡¯m doing it out of spite because I cannot believe that these guys have failed to clear out a single dungeon of slimes. So I¡¯m gonna do this. No magic. Only basic equipment. And as an even bigger handicap I can¡¯t even strengthen my body. I won¡¯t see them complaining just because I can see in the dark and don¡¯t get tired when they have hundreds of people in the camp and can strengthen their bodies. I put on the armor while the clothes I made disappear. The uniform is a simple white coat with white pants, shoulder guards, a chest guard and greaves. Strapping the sword to the left side of my waist and putting my bow around my left shoulder with the quiver on my back. All that was left now was a slight test I would need to make in order to make this slightly fairer. I tried to completely materialize myself. Concentrating I imagined making bones, nerves, muscles and everything else in the human body out of void. I tried to make them as close to human as possible. To test if it worked I took out my sword and cut a little into my hand. Blood. Fresh blood came out. This is what pain felt like¡­ I had forgotten. This is what weight feels like¡­ I had forgotten¡­ this is what being human feels like¡­ I don¡¯t remember¡­ Anyway I left through the east gate. Since the soldiers refused to open the gate for me while thinking they were being clever. I just used wind magic to strengthen my jump and jumped over the walls. They weren¡¯t that high anyway. Only around three or four meters. This wasn¡¯t going to be a slime extermination. It was just me trying to prove a point. The point being that these people should have been able to do this if they had trained enough. The walk to the cave was supposed to only take half an hour though I didn¡¯t need to get there before I encountered slime number one. The thing which maybe came up to a bit below my knees in height, was leisurely walking around and eating different herbs. It had a core in the middle of its body just like how I¡¯d read they do. The slime itself was light blue. So it was a normal slime with no features out of the ordinary. It was still far from noticing me. Taking the bow off my shoulder and an arrow out of the quiver I covered the arrow in a spiraling mana for even more penetration. This was technically not considered as a mage technique but as a warrior one. It was considered a pretty advanced one but it was still a warrior technique so I can still use it. Drawing the bow as much as the string will allow me and aiming before releasing it straight. The arrow flies straight piercing through the core and shattering it to pieces. See? Not so hard is it? The whole thing took me exactly three seconds. My next encounter was five minutes later with two slimes. One of them lunged at me but I used sword style I perfected in my past life just for the shits and giggles. Countering every attack by dodging while using the opponent¡¯s momentum to my advantage. The slime propelled off the ground charging straight at me. I dodged out of the way while swinging the sword through the place the core will pass through a fraction of a second later and infusing it with mana to protect my sword from its acidic effect. The core is properly split in two by the time the other slime follows the first one lunging at me in the same way and getting its core sliced in two as well. The slime evaporates as grey mist quickly but the cores are left over so I pick them up. These can be pretty good for alchemy and as much as I hate that dumbass bird I might as well take these with me. I create a bag with void energy because this has absolutely nothing to do with combat and is for the camp and put the four pieces in the bag. I didn¡¯t get the previous one because as you might remember it shattered. Yes, I could have gathered the fragments. No, I did not want to bother. I kept going towards the cave and the closer I got the more slimes there were. I took out a total of twenty slime, taking each of the cores that I did not shatter with an arrow and putting them in the bag. Truly one normal person would have had difficulty with this but there are hundreds if not thousands of soldiers in that camp. Surely they could have figured something out. Surely there must be a few that can do infusion as well. While walking here I used a total of twelve arrows as I would probably get less chances to use them in the cave anyway. I finally arrived. Half an hour was the normal time needed to get here without interruptions. Taking out twenty slimes took only one or two so I got here in thirty one or two minutes. It only took me a few seconds, a single strike to take out each slime. Though I could now feel fatigue I was far from tired. These slimes were quick but their movements were too simple. It wasn¡¯t even remotely difficult to get rid of them. The only reason it took me more than a second to take a slime out is because my style wasn¡¯t offensive. I entered the cave but I could still see in the dark. The amount of darkness affinity I had was just too great to disallow me to see even as a human. The first thing I see as I enter the cave is¡­ nothing out of the ordinary¡­ is what any other person would think. There were puddles of water on the floor with more drops of water falling from stalactites. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Could they have made it more obvious? Seriously. I could barely make out the core of a slime in some of the puddles. Okay looks lie not all of them are slimes. In normal circumstances you wouldn¡¯t have been able to see those cores until you were close enough to get jumped on but thanks to my darkness vision, cause this is nothing like night vision, I was able to make them out. I pretended to not notice anything in case these blobs had more intelligence than ¡°attack when thing gets close¡± and when I got close and one of them jumped at me I instantly sliced its core in half. I may have not been fast but no matter how fast you are if your opponent knows where you¡¯re going what¡¯s the point in using that speed at all? The other four slimes didn¡¯t move from their spots. With the next one I¡¯ll be able to confirm whether these things have actual intelligence or they¡¯re acting on complete instinct. I mean the books said they acted on instinct but these kinds of things I preferred to check myself rather than blindly believing. Well looks like the book was right. Each slime jumped at me to get cut in absolutely the same way the previous one had. These slimes were slightly different from the ones outside for sure though. The ones outside were blue but they didn¡¯t look like water. They just looked blue. These ones though definitely did look exactly like they were made of water. Right up until the water turned into a big slime trying to eat you. They also were of a similar size. I decided to think that there will be more types of slimes ahead. Better safe than sorry. I walked deeper into the cave. I was right. I hadn¡¯t even been half an hour and about fifty normal slimes in before I encountered something new. There was a grey slime, almost as big as me that was like gelatin. When I tried to attack it my sword bounced off. If I get stuck in that It¡¯s THE END. Until now I had been using infusion on my sword as nothing more than a shield against the acid but now I had to sharpen it. When I did so it was significantly easier to slash the slime but I still had to make use of it¡¯s momentum to reach the core. Another hour in. Ten more gelatinous slimes along with I lost count of how many normal ones. I was actually running out of space in the bag I had upgraded into a sack at some point. But here I was. Standing in a huge room with no other entrances. I had finished exploring the cave finally and there was no other slimes in sight. I guess this cave wasn¡¯t too big after all. I turned around and was about to leave but I heard a weird smack behind me. Turning around I could see another slime. Then another fell. And another. Before long I was surrounded by slimes. I didn¡¯t know how I was unable to sense them before. Though I didn¡¯t look towards the ceiling I should¡¯ve at least felt there was something there. The answer most literally fell out of the sky¡­ or off the ceiling in this case. The last slime that fell was a large purple slime, almost twice my size without a single core in its body Looking around all the other slimes didn¡¯t have cores in their bodies either. Great. I ran into a Greater Illusion Slime. Fucking brilliant. Well dungeons do need a boss. And this one qualified quite well. I wonder if I was taking this a bit too much like it was just a game? Nah. I think I took my last life like that too. Or did I? Weird. It seems to evade me. What sort of person was I in my last life again? Strangely enough I remember what people thought about me but I didn¡¯t remember what person I was myself. Or¡­ is it that I just never was one to begin with?... Heh¡­ Well whatever. Wearing a mad grin on my face I gripped my sword tightly and poured mana around my sword and sharpened it to match the blade. It¡¯s time to prove a point. Com¡¯s POV: *Sigh* I sighed once more. I feel like I¡¯ve been doing that a lot since yesterday. When Leon told me that I had brought in Kenos so I would have to look after him I honestly thought it would be impossible. I was right. As soon as he was dissatisfied with me following him around he shut me in this cage out of the regular view of passing soldiers and left me here. ¡°Thanks again Fai¡­. And you too Ryn¡­¡± (Com) Fai had finally found me almost an hour after I was locked up and called Ryn to help with getting the cage off me. He was an earth mage even if he wasn¡¯t the strongest. ¡°I told you that human would be nothing but trouble.¡± (Ryndel) ¡°You say that but thanks to him we don¡¯t need to worry as much about those slimes now since he taught me how to heal injuries made by them.¡± (Fai) ¡°Where DID he go anyway? I need to show him what happens when he messes with us. Maybe then he¡¯ll stop thinking we¡¯re the ones who need him and understand his current position.¡± (Ryndel) We ARE though¡­ and he understands that perfectly. That being said I¡¯d better find him anyway. ¡°Thanks for the help but I¡¯ll handle the rest. You guys just go back to your duties.¡± (Com) They looked reluctant but Fai still hadn¡¯t healed all the soldiers and Ryn was just interrupted during an experiment too so both of them agreed and left. Now then. I head over to the chief¡¯s tent. That seemed to be the place where he was heading. But what I heard was unbelievable. ¡°He went to the slime dungeon? Alone!?¡± (Com) ¡°Yup. Said there was no need to wait for the expedition. Even borrowed some basic gear from the armory.¡± (Leon) ¡°And you just let him!?¡± (Com) ¡°Yup.¡± (Leon) Leon¡¯s grin really hurt right now. Especially since it was amplified with those sick one coming from the others in the room. ¡°Requesting permission for rescue operation!¡± (Com) He seemed to ponder for a moment. ¡°Hmm¡­ Granted. You can take as many men as you can gather quickly but you also need to take Fai and Ryn.¡± (Leon) I was surprised. Taking Fai and Ryn to such a danger zone? The chief¡¯s ideas have been evading me ever since the man came. As ashamed as I am to say when I led him and his companions here I thought I was leading them to their deaths. It was a complete surprise when I heard rumors of two of the elite assassins directly under the chief¡¯s command were taken out of the tent with huge gaping holes in their abdomens. ¡°¡­ Understood.¡± (Com) Still I decided to trust him. This was the man who despite pulling the short straw with both men and position managed to persevere and bring us this far. I was sure he had a plan. I left the tent quickly gathering twenty men which was the best I could do. Everyone had shifts and jobs of their own and I did not have time to gather them all on short notice. I picked up Fai and Ryn who were both incredibly surprised by the orders from Leon but still complied. I considered informing the two girls Kenos had brought with him of the situation but he had mentioned that they cannot speak proper beastkin so I decided against it. We left through the east gate. While Ryn was flying above the trees we were running towards the slime dungeon. We were expecting to meet some along the way but surprisingly we had come across none. Fai had given out on the way so Ryn carried her instead. She always did love flying. We reached the cave in ten minutes while running the whole way. We were aware that there were slimes hiding in the puddles in the front of the caves. They always tried that trick even though we knew of it. They acted completely on instinct after all. Now they weren¡¯t there which indicated that someone had already passed through here. The fact that there were no cores meant he was also collecting them. I guess I should say as expected the man did not disappoint. We rushed further into the caves. By now it was just weird. We still had not encountered a single slime. It was bizarre. We had no idea what had happened¡­ until we arrived at the final huge chamber in the cave. Each part of the cave seemed to connect to this chamber in the end. Inside the floor was covered in cores. Slime cores. But that wasn¡¯t what surprised me. There was a single core that stood out. A large purple one, bigger than a man¡¯s head, split in two. But again¡­ that was not what surprised me. Standing in front of that was a single human figure. The figure seemed to have noted our presence as it turned around. There stood a man with white and black hair and eyes¡­ eye. Most of the uniform he was wearing was gone. Half his face was partially melted, his left eye gone. The metal chest protector had fallen off, half his chest was like his face and the uniform there was gone. His left arm as well was gone¡­not the uniform, the whole arm was missing. His legs were covered in burns and there were holes in his white pants everywhere. His right hand hadn¡¯t escaped the fate of the rest of his body either having been covered up to his elbow in acidic burns. Nobody could move out of amazement as the man threw away the piece of metal which seemed to have previously been a sword aside and calmly and quietly said only one thing which resonated through the whole room and reached our ears perfectly. ¡°This is how you clear a dungeon.¡± (Kenos) And he collapsed. Chapter 18 That hurt¡­ was the first thought I had after my body ceased functioning correctly and I was forced to leave. It¡¯s not as if I would die if my human body did. Would a soul die together with the body? No. I¡¯m a spiritual entity not a physical one. Let¡¯s not mention the fact that I can split my consciousness in parts so half of me wasn¡¯t in the body in the first place but even if all of me was I still wouldn¡¯t have really been in danger of death. My body wasn¡¯t completely dead. Even with those terrible injuries the heart was still beating and the brain was still sending out electric pulses. I can only say ¡°As expected of my own body.¡± Or something like that. I would have to deal with the body later. As it collapsed Fai and Com ran towards it and while Fai immediately started healing the injuries Com had the men who were still standing there dumbfounded to lift it up and carry it to the camp. Hopefully this shook them up enough to awaken some rivalry or something. Anything that will make them less lazy about training. If they had trained more they should have been able to do this dungeon themselves rather than having to rely on a human to do it for them. I watched them for a while as they carefully carried the body through the cave and deciding it might take them some time to get back to camp I went on ahead. Moving through the shadows to the entrance of the cave I could see that it was still light outside but it wouldn¡¯t be for much longer so went into the ground as a shadow again and moved towards the camp. Once I got there I went inside the house undetected and materialized as a shadow. Honestly after that excruciating pain I felt a bit uncomfortable staying in my human form. ¡°Welcome back.¡± (Lily and Cel) When I entered the living room where the two girls seemed to be studying both looked up and greeted me with a smile unfazed by the fact that I¡¯m not only not human but not anything physical either. Well whatever. It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m gonna complain at their acceptance of my true nature. They were currently studying beastkin. I had made them some textbooks which were remarkably easy to make with my ability, as long as I maintained proper control over it, during our travel through the mountains. I couldn¡¯t keep teaching them while I as on duty guarding the caravan after all¡­ well I could but it would have been way too suspicious to do so. In any case I simply sat down on the couch and explained the sitation to them as well as the fact that they¡¯ll be bringing a body that looks like me and how to handle that. They seemed a bit worried when I explained the state of the body but I just reassured them that it was just physical injuries on the flesh and bones and I myself suffered no consequence. ¡°Are you okay?¡± (Cel) Awww she¡¯s worried about the manifestation of nothingness. Cute. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t get injured like normal people do. It was just the body I was in getting injured.¡± (Kenos) I put my hand on her head and she seemed relieved even though the hand is just darkness. ¡°So, what now?¡± (Lily) ¡°What do you mean what? I¡¯m gonna start teaching you beastkin again.¡± (Kenos) ¡°I meant what are you going to do now that they think you¡¯re almost dead and fatally injured.¡± (Lily) ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll just wake up during the night and heal myself.¡± (Kenos) She understood what I meant immediately. Looks like she¡¯s getting used to me. Soon she won¡¯t even need to ask. With that over I just started teaching them more beastkin until they came to inform them of the situation. As soon as they were informed Lily went to the medical tent but Cel stayed. Since I didn¡¯t feel like teaching beastkin to Cel alone wouldn¡¯t have been very fair I instead instructed her on mana control until Lily returned. During the night I just went back to the medical tent. There were a lot less people here now. I mean this is originally a place for people who have heavy injuries. The only reason people with light burns were in here is because they had other injuries as well. I walked up to my body and simply erased it. I was still being hugged in the early morning when I heard a knock on the door. I dematerialized and left the bed so as to not wake the girls this time and went to answer. Of course outside the door was Com who just looked at me speechless. ¡°You- How did you-?¡± (Com) ¡°I woke up during the night and healed myself.¡± (Kenos) ¡°Your arm? YOUR EYE?¡± (Com) I shrugged. ¡°I have my methods.¡± (Kenos) He just stood there for a while seemingly trying to say something opening his mouth and stopped trying to say whatever he was going to before sighing and finally giving up completely. ¡°Are you okay? Those were some pretty serious injuries.¡± (Com) ¡°I¡¯m fine. Pain is something temporary. Injures are as well as long as you manage to heal them.¡± (Kenos) He nodded. ¡°In that case could you come to Leon¡¯s tent in the afternoon? He seemed to have something to speak to you about. Other than the slime dungeon and its clearing.¡± (Com) I nodded once which he seemed satisfied by as he walked away but as I was about to close the door he seemed to remember something and turned around. ¡°Oh and thanks. The soldiers are much more motivated now that they heard that a human cleared the dungeon by themselves without even using magic. The twenty that actually saw you even more so.¡± (Com) I was surprised but smiled. Thank god. I hope these guys can get closer to their limits after this slight bit of motivation. This might be a bit out of character for me but I do always hate people who give up on improving after they¡¯re satisfied with mediocre. If you¡¯re gonna do something then why stop at average or above average? Go for excellent. Aim for being one of the elites. Even if you don¡¯t have talent maybe you won¡¯t be able to reach the top yeah but you can get close even without too much talent. This time Com really walked away after turning around and I closed the door. Lily and Cel were still asleep and I had nothing much to do so I tried something new. Turning into a shadow I disappeared from inside the house and the scenery around me changed into an infinite darkness. I am once again in the void. I haven¡¯t come here ever since I died as a dragon¡­ well I hadn¡¯t been here until I was thrown out of that body and in her. I instantly knew what I was doing wrong until now. What I was trying to do until now was strengthen my body through a temporary increase in the energy of part of my body. In other words I tried to infuse it with mana and/or void. I didn¡¯t really think it would work since my body is spiritual in nature but I had no other idea on what to do. What I was doing wrong, was that I was aiming for a temporary boost. In here I can get a permanent one. I melded with the void. Rather than making a form for myself I instead tried merging with everything around me. It was sort of like melding in with shadows in the outside world but different at the same time. Shadows can be overpowered because they¡¯re weaker than void but what happens when I try to merge with the void then? The answer is that I have to accept. Accept that I am not someone anymore. I am no one. I am the void. The more I come to that realization the more my power grows. The reason that my power has been growing so slowly was simply because as much as I referred to myself as something inhuman I still somehow felt human inside. It¡¯s time to abandon it. As soon as I thought that my influence¡­ no ¡°I¡± grew. I truly became the void. That¡¯s right. This ¡°Place¡±¡­ why was I referring to it as such? This is all me. EVERYTHING HERE IS ME. Sure I can¡¯t feel everything in here. For the sake of the comparison I couldn¡¯t feel every single crumb of bread I had in my stomach either but the insides were still me. The same goes for here. Only now. I can feel it better. Truly¡­ yes truly I am no longer human. The space that I could feel once again grew dramatically. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I am the void. I am nothing. I am a concept. I am a spirit. I am the Avatar of the Void. I am the conscience of the Void. I am my own conscience. I am me. Each time I forced myself to understand and accept a part of my new being I could feel my power increasing. I could feel my influence increasing. I wonder if gods are strong? Are they stronger than me now? Dragons¡­ dragons¡­ What about them? They are in the end a physical existence. I can kill it. But can they kill me? Someone can kill what is already dead. A zombie is a body without a soul. But can they kill that which does not exist while existing at the same time? Can they kill the contradicting existence of the concept of nothingness?... No¡­ no they cannot¡­ Enough. I have passed enough time In my inner world. I went outside of myself once more, emerging in the same place in the living room where I was before entering. It was now late morning but not yet lunch. Damn. I had forgotten to make breakfast for Lily and Cel¡­ Huh¡­ I thought I would have less of an attraction towards them after giving up the last bits of my humanity¡­ guess some things just never change. As I emerged both of them happily greeted me to which I answered with a smile concealed on my featureless face. It was a figurative smile which they couldn¡¯t see but they seem to have felt it anyway. I immediately started making them breakfast with the last of our supplies. They had to feed themselves yesterday but hey Lily isn¡¯t a bad cook either you know. After eating I started instructing them on beastkin once again until the afternoon after which I left the house again. They were advancing at the language quickly enough now that they had more time to spend learning. After all before when we were travelling we didn¡¯t have much time for it. I just hope we stay here long enough for it to matter. We might have to switch to elven soon enough and just let them learn the rest as they go. Once I left I headed straight for Leon¡¯s camp. I could feel the new power I had acquired. Right now¡­ I don¡¯t know. Dragons seem insignificant to me. What about gods? Gods are only half of what I am. They represent a concept making them much more durable than a mortal but that doesn¡¯t mean they themselves are immortal. Now that I think about it I myself am something close to a god right now. The god of nothing. The god of void¡­ Yeah¡­ right now I¡¯m only at that level. I realized that I have not yet given up all of my humanity. Lily and Cel¡­ they¡¯re still keeping me here. If they disappeared I would feel no reason for staying human. I could just give up everything¡­ I remembered once again when my sister died. It was a similar feeling back then. When I found out my sister was dead I felt so sad. So angry. But¡­ after all of that was over¡­ so empty¡­ so¡­ void. I lost my sister. I lost my everything. She WAS my everything. I felt so¡­ relieved. I no longer had anything to protect. I no longer had anything to live for. Thanks to that I could live for everything. I could protect everything. I could kill everything. I felt released. I felt anger at myself for feeling that way. I had no reason to live but at the same time I had an infinite amount of reasons to live now that that one was gone. First I wanted revenge. So I got it. Then I wanted no one to have to feel as broken as I was then so I took the world and started shaping it into one that would not allow anyone to break like I did. I could not see it through though¡­ I gave up¡­ I was tired. I¡¯m pathetic... Am I? I can¡¯t tell¡­ at this point my existence is a culmination of various whims and desires I have. When I feel like doing something I just do it. If I don¡¯t then I don¡¯t¡­ Chaos? That¡¯s a good way to describe it. My existence both back then and right now¡­ is Chaos¡­ I am void¡­ I am Chaos¡­ Which one am I really? I thought back to Greek mythology. Chaos¡­ the primeval void. The first thing to come to existence. A place but at the same time personified enough to give birth to children. Gaia, Tartarus and Eros. As well as Erebus the personification of darkness and Nyx the goddess or personification of night. Well¡­ Greek mythology was just as jumbled up as any religion and as time people lost sight of what the original stories for all these things were. Which were real and which stories false. My answer back then was of course that all of them were false and they were just stories in the first place. Now?... I¡¯m not so sure¡­ Chaos¡­ Sounds a lot like me honestly. Some differences here and there but hey¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯m confused¡­ seriously confused. I once again opted to remember what it felt like after my sister died... I¡¯m currently confused about a lot of things. But there was one thing I was sure of. If that ever happened again I would lose. I would lose everything. I won¡¯t let that happen. Heh¡­ now that I think about it this is the most complete thought I had about myself. I always interrupted myself before when I questioned what I had become. Guess that was also a sign of weakness¡­ but I still haven¡¯t given up everything¡­ and hopefully this time I won¡¯t have to¡­ I don¡¯t want to be any more broken than I already am. I wonder. Some people said that someone who realizes what should be normal isn¡¯t insane. But what of someone who realizes what is normal but doesn¡¯t stay himself from leaving that path anyway? Is that still insanity? Or is it a conscious choice to stray from society¡¯s norms¡­ well I guess it matters a lot less in this world. I¡¯ll let the psychological and philosophical discussions for when I have just a bit more answers¡­ not that I can ever answer the question of whether I¡¯m insane or not... Before I noticed I was standing in front of the main tent where Leon spends most his time. I entered and saw Leon sitting on the ground much like when I first met him. The only difference is that for the first time ever since I met him I saw him wear an actually serious face. It seems this topic is something even he isn¡¯t going to be joking about. Great. And here I thought I would finally get a break from difficult thoughts and just listen to this goofy but smart guy laugh his ass off at my expense. I didn¡¯t sit down. I didn¡¯t feel like it. He seemed to notice so as he started to speak. ¡°I¡¯ll just be honest. I didn¡¯t trust you. Technically I still don¡¯t. But I also think you¡¯re not on the humans¡¯ side. So I need you to come with me.¡± (Leon) Well that came out of nowhere. ¡°Details.¡± He nodded and I sat down this time. I didn¡¯t really get tired from sitting up but sitting down was still more comfortable. Looks like this might be a long talk. Chapter 19 I sat down on the ground expecting a long and serious talk. Leon¡¯s lack of a smile pointed to that very clearly. I had only known him for about a day but I had gotten a hold on his personality. I just hoped it wasn¡¯t something bad. I¡¯m sick of the disaster which follows me. ¡°I want you to come with me.¡± (Leon) Leon repeated himself. I still didn¡¯t know where he wanted me to go with him or why but I decided to listen to him. It might be in my best interests to not let this guy operate by himself. If he dies. I¡¯ll lose out on my source of information. But before that I needed to know more. ¡°I need more than just that you know.¡± (Kenos) He nodded once. He really looked incredibly serious. Like his life depends on this conversation. Like he was taking a gamble. I don¡¯t know what he wanted but it must be something important to him. ¡°Do you know about the human kingdom south of here?¡± (Leon) I nodded to confirm. I knew a bit too much for my own comfort. I knew both the dark and the light. Maybe I¡¯m being too dramatic about it. I hadn¡¯t even spent a month there. But at the same time I had seen all the corruption it had to offer. I had seen the slaves that were treated as nothing more but toys by a man who was called a noble. Just thinking about it makes me want to stab something which would bleed to relieve my stress. A ¡°noble¡±. If you think about the word it is in fact an incredibly beautiful term showcasing what the mindset of the medieval nobles should have been but instead what do we get? We get a man who buys the lives of others and breaks them for his own pleasure. I hope he¡¯s enjoying the torture he¡¯s being put through right now. Just like what he would have done if he had my power I laid him to rest in the most terrible way I could think of, offering him an eternal torment he could not refuse I the process. And then what of the king? A joke. He was a complete idiot. The only reason he had sat upon the throne was because those around him thought him to be easier to manipulate than his older brother who was the rightful heir and his younger brother who had somehow learned basic human decency. And they were right. The country suffered for it but they didn¡®t care. They were filling up their pockets with gold so what did they care that their citizens were miserable? Utter trash. The whole kingdom. ¡°Then did you know that their king was assassinated?¡± (Leon) I was snapped out of my disgust by Leon continuing his questions. It seemed like I was getting more questions than answers which slightly annoyed me. At least I was still human enough to get annoyed by something so trivial. Oh wait¡­ maybe that¡¯s a bad thing. I still nodded my head to confirm once more. ¡°Now the important question. How much do you know about how the clans operate?¡± (Leon) I still don¡¯t see where this is going. Why was he questioning me? Shouldn¡¯t this be the other way around? I sighed to get rid of the negatives inside of me and started explaining what I knew. ¡°I know little in the ways of the beastkin. Unlike the elves, if you keep documents then they are not open to the public. Either that or you don¡¯t keep many in the first place. All I know is that the Beastlands are separated into territories for the different clans.¡± (Kenos) I explained my genuine lack of knowledge on the matter. The beastkin didn¡¯t really strike me as the types of guys to leave meticulous written records. A lot of countries did it mindlessly as if it was the obvious better way of running a country. But there wasn¡¯t a country in the Beastlands. There were only clans. Clans that each had their own views and ways of thinking. ¡°Then you know most of it. The only difference is that there¡¯s now actually a system for the clans to make united decisions. We call it The Council. It¡¯s basically where the leaders of all participating clans gather to make a decision together. Sometimes trough reason, others through vote and others through force.¡± (Leon) I was starting to slightly see where this was going. Only slightly though. I still didn¡¯t see the whole picture. One side of me was annoyed about Leon not just getting to the point but another enjoyed staying in the dark and trying to connect the dots into something that would make sense of the situation. ¡°And the place I need you o come with me to is this very Council.¡± (Leon) Well that was just like how I had guessed. It wasn¡¯t that hard to guess either. I don¡¯t know though why he wants me to go or why he trusts me to go with him. And those two were important to know¡­ at least for me. I can¡¯t trust someone who I can¡¯t understand. ¡°So am I to assume that you are the leader of your clan?¡± (Kenos) Leon nodded. I see. That left the question of why the hell he was sent here as the leader of his clan but I guess that wasn¡¯t too important. There could have been a whole plethora of reasons for why he was sent here. Or hell he might have decided to come here himself, knowing him. ¡°The Council will gather in the united city of Tunik which is located around a week away from here.¡± (Leon) A united city? Now this was interesting. The beastkin clans came together to make a city for all of them. It¡¯s a bit too good to be true really. I¡¯m sure the whole thing has its own set of problems which I¡¯m gonna find out about. ¡°And why do you want me with you? What do you expect from me and why do you trust me to do it?¡± (Kenos) ¡°Because you¡¯re the strongest person in this camp. I want you there as my protector as I suspect some people might not be happy with me. You see some people don¡¯t quite like me as a leader.¡± Geez I wonder why? ¡°As for why I trust you, it¡¯s simple. You¡¯ve only been in this camp a day. You¡¯re an outsider and you¡¯ve proven not to care for either humans or beastkin. You only care about yourself and the people close to you. Ironically a person like that is much easier to trust than someone completely loyal and never questioning your orders.¡± (Leon) True. I could understand what he meant. Back in my days of world domination I much more enjoyed meeting with some mercenaries to discuss the terms of their contract than let¡¯s say a loyal commander of mine who was visibly kissing up to me. Well¡­ until mercenaries realized that if I was to succeed in whatever I was planning they might not have a job anymore. Idiots. Did they really think I hadn¡¯t thought about it? So many lives wasted because they couldn¡¯t understand that I had thought absolutely everything through. I shook these feelings of regret off while I thought about it from another hand. If I refused this I could regret it. If this guy¡¯s bodyguards was incompetent or happens to be someone on the enemy¡¯s side he¡¯ll die. And if he dies. I won¡¯t be able to get information on Kate. And I couldn¡¯t have that. ¡°Okay I understand. When are we leaving?¡± (Kenos) Some of the tension on Leon¡¯s face visibly dissipated after that. He seemed glad to have me on his side. ¡°Tomorrow. It¡¯s an emergency calling after all. We¡¯re supposed to get there as soon as possible.¡± (Leon) I nodded and got up. I would have to get ready and get the girls some¡­ means of protecting themselves. Though I did have the full intention of protecting them there was no reason to not make them something which would allow them to more easily do so themselves. I didn¡¯t want to make them dependent on me. I wanted to make myself depend on them¡­ maybe that was a little too high of a goal? When I got to the house the girls greeted me before I sat down. They were still reading out of the textbooks I had made for them and I apologized that today I wouldn¡¯t be able to help them as I had something else to do. I started applying all the knowledge I had, both from my previous world and this one for one thing¡­ weapon manufacturing. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. First I needed one thing. A breath¡­ no not like a break or a breath of fresh air or anything. I needed a breath of magic. Or in this case a breath of void. That was the name for something created through an incredibly high concentration of an energy in one point. It can be a simple breath of magic but breaths of fire, wind, and so on existed as well. There were some exceptions but I don¡¯t need to go into it in too many details as I would be creating a breath of void¡­ or I would be checking if it was possible at least. I started gathering void in front of me. Before long I realized it was distracting for the girls so I apologized and moved to the unfurnished room from before. I created a simple couch on which I sat and a worktable in front of me before once again concentrating on gathering the void and compressing it as much as possible before letting go. Too little concentration of it would prove a failure but the more I put in the better. So I kept at it. I kept compressing void into a simple spherical shape. It took me an hour to feel my limit in compressing anymore so I shaped it and let it go resulting in a small sphere big enough to fit in the palm of my hand falling on the table. I then proceeded to compress three more. The whole process took a total of four hours. Unlike with the healing where I improved each time I did it this seemed to be the genuine limit of what I could create at the moment. I picked one of the four and started the next phase of the weapon creation. So I started forming a sword of void around it, with it being in the middle of the guard. I didn¡¯t finish it though and let it be immaterial for a bit longer. I only made the shape. What I did form was a small needle in my hand. I concentrated void energy to the tip of said needle and used it to write on the breath of void. In a language only few people on this continent can understand. The runic language used in enchanting. The runes I wrote were ¡°Activate¡± ¡°Trigger¡± ¡°Mana¡±, before surrounding those in a circle and forming another circle to close them off from the rest which was ¡°Release¡± ¡°Harmful¡± ¡°Energy¡± ¡°Controlled¡± ¡°Blade¡±. Then I formed part of the hilt and guard of the sword. The breath of the void was contained in the middle of the guard but it wasn¡¯t visible from the outside of the sword. On the inside of the part which was supposed to be both the hilt and guard which were only one part since with my ability I had no reason to make them separate, I wrote the rune ¡°Durable¡± further increasing the durability of this already seemingly indestructible metal I had created. I then formed the blade and connected it to the other part. The enchantment also seemed to flow into it as soon as the two parts became one. I also left a mechanism in the blade but I¡¯ll leave for Lily as a surprise. I picked up the next breath and started forming a bracelet around it. Only it had a bit of a special mechanism. On a few parts of the mechanism I wrote ¡°Move¡± ¡°Unlock¡± ¡°Trigger¡± ¡°Mana¡±. On the breath I wrote ¡°Small¡± ¡°Delay¡± surrounded by two circles I then wrote ¡°Activate¡± ¡°Trigger¡± ¡°Mana¡± barred from the next part by another circle, the next part being ¡°Form¡± ¡°Needle¡± ¡°Coat¡± ¡°Death¡± ¡°Poison¡±. You already knew where I was going with that one right? I picked up the next. I formed a staff from void metal around it and on the breath I wrote ¡°Expend¡± ¡°Energy¡± ¡°Help¡± ¡°Spellcasting¡±. I didn¡¯t use a second circle for that. On the staff itself I wrote ¡°Conduct¡± ¡°Mana¡± ¡°Help¡± ¡°Spellcasting¡±. Simple enough. I grabbed the last one and wondered what I should make from this one... After debating for a bit I decided to just make another bracelet for Cel as well. She was a mage but maybe she would be in a situation where magic could not be used. I also enchanted both the bracelets with the word ¡°Fit¡± before I left. I showed the weapons to Lily and Cel. First I handed the sword to Lily. ¡°I mean it¡¯s a great sword and all but I don¡¯t see how you were just making these the whole time. It took you five hours. Last time you made my sword it took you a few seconds.¡± (Lily) I only smirked to that. She was in for a big surprise. ¡°Try pouring some mana into it.¡± (Kenos) She seemed a bit confused but did as I asked. As she poured mana into it the blade opened up releasing void energy from the spaces which formed an edge for the sword. Void steel was sharp¡­ but not as sharp as something which literally denied existence. Lily was so surprised that she dropped it and the sword embedded itself in the floor which was the only thing in this house not made out of void. The only thing sticking out of the floor now was the hilt but when Lily bent down to pick it up she found no resistance when taking it out at all. ¡°Holy¡­ Shit¡­ What have you created¡± (Lily) I laughed at her reaction. I couldn¡¯t help it. This girl really was funny. I told her to insert mana again and as she did the sword once again closed. Satisfied she replaced the sword at her waist with the new one. ¡°Okay Cel next. Let¡¯s go out though. Trying out spells inside the house isn¡¯t something I would like¡± (Kenos) Cel nodded to me with a look filled with expectations. We left the house but I didn¡¯t stop there. We left through the north gate. The guards didn¡¯t stop me this time and only looked at me with awe. They might have seen my ¡°shell¡± being carried in yesterday. They opened the gate when I asked them to though. Seems they might have gained a bit of respect for me. Only after we were half an hour away from the camp did I hand the staff t Cel and urged her to try casting a spell she liked. Cel happily obliged, grabbing the staff from me, she started chanting for a simple dark sphere which would normally be a low-tier darkness spell. What formed though was not by any means a low-tier spell. The sphere which was usually supposed to be around the size of the head of a child it was now the size of a full-grown human. As Cel released it out of surprise it ate through everything it came in contact with until it became small and disappeared. In total it traveled around a hundred meters toppling trees and eating through rocks in its way. Cel just stood with a dumbfounded expression while I once again laughed and Lily joining in this time. As a last I handed both of them the two bracelets and told them that they contained a near infinite ammunition and a deadly poison. Though I didn¡¯t know how deadly the poison would be¡­ well we decided to judge it based on the other items... On the way back we ran into a group of monsters. Four aqua wolves which were pretty dangerous in the C-rank and from B to A-rank when in big packs and with an alpha. Fortunately there were only three of them so I urged the two to test out the poison. The wolves were circling around us cautiously but as the two girls clumsily aimed their bracelets at two of them they seemed to sense danger. One of them managed to jump and dodge the small needle which was released from the bracelets but the other was hit and¡­ well what can I say? Instant death? That¡¯s pretty much it. Since the poison was successfully tested I just beheaded the other two wolves as Lily pouted because she was the one who missed and I patted Cel¡¯s head which she enjoyed greatly. Now we were ready. We returned to camp as I explained that we would be leaving soon¡­ maybe¡­ maybe if I had noticed how unnatural the relief on Leon¡¯s face was back then¡­ maybe if I had noticed that the tension wasn¡¯t because he was afraid of the other chiefs¡­ maybe things would have gone differently¡­ maybe I would have¡­ no¡­ never mind... Looking back is only an excuse to not move forward. Chapter 20 The girls had been waking up early the last two days and today was not an exception. As soon as we woke up we ate breakfast before leaving the house. As soon as we left the house itself started disappearing from the top down. Making our way to the north gate most of the soldiers were just minding their own business. The only exceptions were the twenty soldiers that Leon would be bringing along on the journey. Not that he¡¯ll need them. He¡¯s under my protection after all. I greeted Leon who seemed to have a nervous smile on his face. He must have been worried about the Council thing still. Maybe he was more worried about the actual diplomacy than the protection. Or maybe he was taking a gamble by leaving to me and was feeling nervous about whether it would pay off. In any case we didn¡¯t stay around too long and left. The journey itself was smooth. We didn¡¯t encounter many monsters since we were going further away from the mountains and the soldiers took care of most of the hunting. The monsters we DID encounter were absolutely destroyed easily by me alone and the soldiers got little time to shine. I still did my own though since I just had little to do. Sometimes I entered the inner void and just relaxed there during the night. Of course I left a hug pillow for Cel and Lily to relax on¡­ I really need to get them to quit that though. On the sixth day we finally exited the forest and after a while climbing over a hill we could see the united city of the beastkin. The city of Tunik. I have to say it was more impressive than the human cities I had seen. The whole city was made of wood from what I could see. The most notable thing about it was the giant tree it was built around. As we got closer I could ascertain that as true. The wood was durable and the craftsmanship masterful. I had nothing but admiration for the men who built this city by hand. As we entered the city me and the girls all wore our hoods. We didn¡¯t want anyone finding out that we weren¡¯t beastkin after all. Leon seemed to approve of the notion as he nodded approvingly and the soldiers just followed him without even caring about us. I guess it¡¯s an improvement that they aren¡¯t looking at us with scorn? In any case we still had a day before the Council gathered. We had arrived early as the journey had gone way too well with me and the girls there. Lily was quickly getting better at swordmanship. If it¡¯s her she might be able to slay the slime I had trouble with. Maybe not though. That illusion core trick was pretty nasty. If it was one on one maybe. But not while she¡¯s surrounded. She was getting good at countering but she wasn¡¯t perfect¡­ and this style was created for people who can be perfect¡­ maybe I should have thought her something simpler. This style is just way too ridiculous to be learned by normal people. I¡¯ll consider teaching her something better later. Cel on the other hand could probably take that entire room of slimes without any of them even getting close. She was becoming a stronger and stronger magician and now that she was learning mana manipulation she would soon have no need for spells. Something that only an Archmage can achieve. Archmages are the ones who turn magic into their tool. They control it and mold it as they please. Just like me. Cel wasn¡¯t perfect at it yet but she was getting better. She could now form low-level spells without incantations and from what that staff did to her low-level spells I¡¯d say she¡¯s good. Both of them had become strong. Much stronger than the beginning of our journey. Then again Cel was strong the whole time. The only reason she couldn¡¯t escape was because that collar she was wearing back then was keeping her from using magic. I looked at the city. The buildings were as mentioned earlier made only of wood and the roads were left natural but still felt like they¡¯re not a hassle to walk on. Guess it¡¯s the blessing of choosing the perfect location. I asked Leon what he would be doing until tomorrow and he told me he would just be going around the town. I would of course follow him. He told me that I didn¡¯t have to follow him around but I refused to listen. If someone killed him while I wasn¡¯t looking who would get me information on Kate? I could always force it out of someone but it was just easier to make and exchange and there was no easier exchange than one that has already been decided. I followed him around town all day. The girls followed after me. We visited a few stores. Some for weapons. Some for alchemy. Some for other stuff. They had some interesting stuff which I took note of. Some interesting weapons were on display. Some interesting potions were being shown. It was a new culture. They thought differently from humans so there was a lot of new stuff and I was basking in the radiance of all of it. I loved new stuff after all. Just as much as I love knowledge. There wasn¡¯t a book store or library though. It seems like beastkin really aren¡¯t much on books. I was a bit sad about that. While we were walking I saw a small girl near one of the alley ways which was begging for coin but everybody was passing her by. I put my hand into my pocket and created a coin like I¡¯d seen Leon give to a few shopkeepers to pay for the things he bought and then took my hand out. I knocked the coin up with my thumb and it fell straight into the girl¡¯s open palm. She looked around but she didn¡¯t seem to notice who it was that gave her the coin. I just smiled and followed Leon. He seemed to have noticed but when he looked at me with a bewildered expression I just smiled shrugging my shoulders. Maybe he didn¡¯t think I had any coins from the Beastlands. Well he would be correct. The coin itself was made 100% of gold and not even a hint of void anywhere. Rather than making something out of void I treated it as making the void into something when creating it. Just like I did with my body before the slimes dungeon. Hell if it¡¯s like this I could even make burnable wood. The great advances we make huh? After we were done with the shopping we went to one of the larger buildings in the city which was apparently Leon¡¯s clan¡¯s property. We would rest here and tomorrow we would attend the Council meeting. Of course the whole night I watched over Leon as he slept from the shadows. If he was worried enough about assassination that he made a serious face when requesting my help then the threat must be real right? The night still ended uneventfully. So uneventfully I questioned whether my presence here was even needed. Maybe the others weren¡¯t taking any risky moves yet? Maybe they were waiting for after the Council when they thought that we would have our guards down? I don¡¯t know. I could only hope that nothing at all would happen anymore. I was tired of the constant disasters that occurred wherever I went. Seriously if this was an RPG what would be my LCK stat? Like minus a million? Less? I shook my head to free myself of the ridiculous things I was imagining. As Leon woke up I also woke up the girls and we left our rooms at the same time. Leon seemed to still be nervous about this. No¡­ he seemed even more nervous than before. I asked him what was bothering him but he just brushed off the question and said everything was fine when it obviously wasn¡¯t. Well whatever. We would only have to attend the Council today and then we were home free¡­ well we would be free to go back to camp at least I guess. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. As we walked towards the building the Council would be held in I was surprised to find it was the giant tree from earlier. There were stairs built on the side of it and as we climbed them we reached a huge door which opened up to the interior of the tree. The inside contained a table which seemed to be carved out of the tree itself as it was still connected to it and twenty seats around it which seemed to be the same. The chairs were already almost filled. There were only two spaces remaining one of which was quickly taken by Leon. The rest of the beastkin gave me and the two girls behind me a brief glance or two but didn¡¯t look in our general direction too much. All of them had a guard or two with them and though some like the bear seemed to prefer not having them it was something like a formality. We waited for the last seat to be filled. Waitng took half an hour. But¡­ that half an hour would be my last before the disaster I had dreaded struck. As the last man came in behind him was following someone who I could only describe as an angel. But what surprised me wasn¡¯t that. It was something much different. Something much more essential. That face. That face. That face. THAT FACE! WHY IS IT HERE? WHY DOES IT BELONG TO WHOEVER THAT IS? I saw the angel moving it¡¯s lips as if screaming something and the light beneath my feet lit up but I didn¡¯t care. I was way too busy with something else. I walked slowly in the direction of the angel and I felt something wet and warm go down my cheek. That was weird. I didn¡¯t think I could cry like this. Maybe¡­ Maybe I wanted to¡­. Why? Why was she here? Of all people why? WHY IS MY SISTER IN THIS WORLD? ¡°S-¡° (Kenos) Before I could even finish the name the circle on the ground lit up even brighter. I could see the men in the Council yelling something but I couldn¡¯t hear them. Leon though¡­ Leon was standing still and watching me with a calm and sort of cold face. Before I could reach the angel with my sister¡¯s face the light reached its peak and swallowed me inciting a familiar sensation of changing scenery. When I came back to I was standing in the middle of a room with approximately twelve different people of all ages and sizes looking down on me from above. Among them there were two people I could recognize. Zahrah¡­ Eirene¡­Based on those two being here I could guess who the others were. I snapped out of my shock. It was a bit too late for it though. I tried to go into the void to escape but for some reason I could not. Maybe it was because this was the domain of the gods? You can¡¯t go from one spiritual place directly to another maybe? Or do you need help? Who cares? Not me. ¡°Well hi there.¡± (Zahrah) I looked towards her and wiped the remaining wet sensation from my face. The only thing remaining was an otherworldly coldness. Zahrah was smirking still. Just like the last time we had met. Heh¡­ reminds me of Leon¡­ I finally understood what had happened. So he betrayed me¡­ Heh¡­ Heheh¡­. I¡­ I was¡­ again? Again? AGAIN? ¡°Oh don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s your own fault. Look at yourself! You¡¯re nothing but an evil monster now!¡± (Zahrah) ¡°Evil? Me?¡± (Kenos) I couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying. Me? Evil? A little bit weird in the head maybe but evil? That¡¯s¡­ Not something I viewed myself as before. Heh¡­ Would be so nice to be evil. Then I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with this bullshit. I looked towards Eirene. She was biting her lip as she looked towards me with disdain. Why are you? I¡­ I trusted you¡­ even when Zahrah betrayed me I always thought ¡°Eirene probably wasn¡¯t in on it.¡± ¡°Eirene isn¡¯t the type of person to do that.¡±! Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t look at me like that¡­ I had just wiped the tears from my cheeks but they streamed again. *Crack* ¡°Yup. You. You killed a lord and a king just because you felt like it and did nothing to atone for it. We can¡¯t let you misuse your power like that so sorry buddy. We¡¯re gonna have to get rid of ya.¡± (Zahrah) Just because I felt like it? Because the lord was a slaver who tortured women and children alike until they were broken at which point he left them for dead and because the king was a moron who couldn¡¯t lead a country and thought slavery to be a natural thing and that human¡¯s lives naturally belonged to him was because I felt like it? ¡°I don¡¯t get it¡­ How am I evil?¡± (Kenos) The other gods looked at me with bewilderment, some of them resentment¡­ one of them pity¡­ I couldn¡¯t understand what was happening once more. Why was Eirene looking at me like I¡¯m someone to be pitied? Like I¡¯m someone who didn¡¯t even know what he was doing? I don¡¯t understand. From Zahrah¡¯s wording until now it seemed like she was faking not knowing me even though she was representing the other gods through speaking... maybe that was just because she was a chatterbox. ¡°Enough of this. Why are you speaking to it? Just terminate it already. I don¡¯t have all day.¡± (God) Sorry can¡¯t let you do that. I raised my hand intending to make a spike run through all the gods but one¡­ but it didn¡¯t work. No matter how hard I tried nothing came out of nowhere. Void was useless in this domain. Well¡­ That¡¯s a bitch. I looked towards Eirene once more as the circle beneath my feet started to glow. She was stretching her arm forward just like the other gods and feeding some sort of energy into the formation underneath my feet with a pained expression on her face. This was different from light magic. As soon as the formation began to glow I as assaulted by intense pain. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡± (Kenos) I couldn¡¯t help screaming since I wasn¡¯t used to experiencing pain in this form. Eirene seemed pained as well. She seemed like she didn¡¯t want to see me in pain. Why was she still going along with this then? No¡­ she wasn¡¯t looking at me¡­ at this point what she saw was a monster in my form¡­ my form? Was this my form again? No can¡¯t be. I mean¡­ Eirene was looking at me as if it wasn¡¯t¡­ so¡­ it can¡¯t be right? It was the form of the dragon called Vedqothur¡­ but¡­ I was him right? Was I? If I was why would Eirene look like it wasn¡¯t? I am¡­ Who was I again? A tyrant who took over the world? A dragon who died while failing to protect a little girl only two days into his birth? The void? I don¡¯t know. I should be all three. I should be. I remember taking over the world. I remember dying and failing to save Kate. I remember¡­ I¡­ I remember¡­ W¡­h¡­a¡­t¡­again? As the circle of light grew brighter and brighter, amplifying my pain and with it my screams I was left with only one question as I was banished from this world by the light of origin. ¡°Who am I then?¡± (Unknown) Chapter 21 I was inside of myself. Once again I was in this world. I was formless. Not a shadow. Not a humanoid form. Maybe it would be correct to say that I wasn¡¯t here but that I WAS here. I was an endless void. I observed as souls flickered in and out of existence like candles in the wind. They could not handle it. I didn¡¯t help any of them. Some of those candles could very well be dangerous. And others could be good. But they all deserve a new chance at life. Maybe like me some are hoping to start anew¡­ maybe some are hoping for a life where they don¡¯t remember¡­ Like¡­¡­... me? *Crack* A visible white crack formed in the void but I didn¡¯t care. There was something¡­ something more important to do now. Who¡­ was I? Was I Vedqothur? The tyrant? Kenos? I don¡¯t¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t¡­ I¡­ can¡¯t¡­ *Crack* ¡­ I couldn¡¯t understand. I remembered everything. My memories didn¡¯t feel hazy or misty. They were all there just like they had been before¡­ then why¡­ WHY DO I FEEL LIKE I¡¯M BEING SPLIT APART? *Crack* I am¡­ a tyrant? A man who took everything by force and didn¡¯t care for the consequences. I was Vedqothur. A dragon born to eradicate his own kind and then died two days later failing to save a single girl. I was Kenos. A man who grew complacent with his powers. Who got foolishly tricked into a trap and was killed by the gods. Which one am I? Am I all three? Am I none? *Crack* I was confused. Very¡­ very confused. My memories jumbled together in a mess. I could remember them all. But their order confused me. Their authenticity confused me. Their ownership confused me. Were these memories mine? Were they someone else¡¯s? What came first? Was it Kenos? Vedqothur? The tyrant? Were those memories even real? Were they not twisted I didn¡¯t know. I am¡­ they are¡­ who again? I decided to put those thoughts on hold. Instead I observed. I observed as Lily and Cel cut down dozens of angels to escape the place where Kenos fell into the trap. I observed the angel which looked like the tyrant¡¯s sister desperately trying to stop them and failing. They had my weapons and they were strong. Maybe if it was only one of them it would have been hard. But they are together. I observed. I observed the man who I appointed lord of Karpas as he met the new king. The new king was much wiser than his brother. He was still young. Na?ve. So he needed an advisor. And the king directly chose the lord of Karpas for it as he was one who valued knowledge just as much as his ancestor who had first built the library in that city. This was¡­ evil? I am¡­ evil? Is doing good¡­ evil? I don¡¯t understand. I observed. I observed as a soul in my vast being caught my attention. It was trying to shine as bright as possible as if to attract me. I knew who it was. But I didn¡¯t answer it. There was something in me that was screaming at me that I should stop making the soul worry over me. That part was surely Kenos. He had been fond of the man after all. Even if they had only known each other for a day. ¡°Stop being so pathetic.¡± (Kenos) *Crack* Now I knew. There was a part of him inside of me. Then surely. Vedqothur was here as well. The tyrant has to be too. They must all be here. They must all be worried about me. They must all pity me. They must all hate me. They must all detest me. They must all be me. They must all be themselves. I was them. They were me. But that somehow seemed to not be enough. Something else caught my attention. An incredibly huge soul appeared in the void of my being. At the core of the soul was a single girl. A single petite girl with platinum hair. A girl who was called the goddess of piece. Kenos once again screamed from inside me. He screamed that I punish her for how she looked at him. For how she treated him as a monster after he trusted her. I refused. I felt it was wrong. I felt he would regret it. Vedqothur too agreed with me. The girl was carrying a bouquet of flowers. Vedqothur liked those. I wonder if she noticed how he would look at them specifically from time to time in her garden. The flowers were pure white but had a black middle. They had interested Vedqothur because they were made from both his favorite colors and he didn¡¯t know other flowers like those. She put the bouquet down with a tear streaming down her face. I wonder why? Vedqothur felt like she was mourning him. He seemed to really like the girl. *Crack* I felt sorry for the girl. She had killed Kenos without even knowing there was a part of Vedqothur in him as well. But it wasn¡¯t too late. As there was a part of him in me as well. But¡­ was that okay? I felt like it wasn¡¯t. He was not supposed to be a part of me. He was supposed to be me yet not me. The same went for Kenos and the tyrant who had remained silent until now. Whatever the case I protected the flowers from my corrosive qualities. As I thought about the tyrant the image of the angel naturally flickered into my mind. The angel was the spitting image of his sister. I felt him reacting to that. He still didn¡¯t speak though. I guess he didn¡¯t really have a reason to. Or so I thought but I heard him say one thing only. ¡°Please help her¡­¡± (Tyrant) Vedqothur was the only one who hadn¡¯t spoken yet. Even when Eirene had entered here he communicated through feelings rather than words. He noticed that I was a bit worried about it and waved it off. ¡°I have nothing to say. You¡¯ll do what you have to and that is what I want you to do.¡± (Vedqothur) *Crack* I finally understood. I wasn¡¯t empty. It was quite the contrary. I wasn¡¯t the void. It was quite the contrary. I wasn¡¯t a god. I was something else. And I had something I needed to do. A few things I needed to do. All the things I needed to do. *Crack* Vedqothur told me to find Kate and apologize for not being able to save her back then as well as punish Zahrah. Who knows? The other gods might have all been manipulated by her for all we knew. She¡¯s the goddess of freedom and choice. Thus she has the power to control them. The irony made us both giggle. Finally he also reminded me of Eirene. We needed to save her as well. She was obviously being fooled by Zahrah. The thought filled us with a bit of anger. *Crack* Kenos told me to help Cel and Lily. He was worried for them. He had grown quite attached to the two and it was pretty obvious. I also liked them. Remembering Lily laughing filled both me and Kenos with a weird joy and remembering how cute Cel was when we were patting her on the head healed our wounds and made us smile. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. *Crack* The tyrant asked me to better the world. To rid it of trash and to help the good people in it. I agreed with him that I wanted to help it. But I refused to use the same means. I would not use force. Unlike him. I had time. And he seemed to agree with me. If only he had more time he would have made his own world a better place as well. At the thought of helping the world both of us were filled with determination and resolution but before that was over he reminded me about his sister as well. Though we weren¡¯t sure if it was really her he still wanted me to save her. He didn¡¯t want his sister to be a pawn in the game of the gods. I agreed. Nobody should be one of those. *Crack* They had all told me what they wanted me to do. Their desires aligned with my own. My own desire. That¡¯s right. A desire. I needed to find my desire first. I can¡¯t just rely on someone elses¡­ That¡¯s right! Why should I find it now? That¡¯s right. A life is a journey. And sometimes a journey is to find a destination. For those who have no place anywhere else. Thus I decided. My desire is to find my desire. *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* The previously black void was now covered in white cracks. So much so that the world itself was half white. I was surprised that it had still not fallen apart. Just as I had thought that the world cracked one last time. *Crack* And the collapse began. A collapse? Heh¡­ no. This was a transformation. It was just the world reflecting myself. Since this world was by extension myself as well. As the black shards started falling they revealed a white background behind them. They fell but they didn¡¯t hit a floor. They didn¡¯t hit me. Nor did they hit even a single one of the souls here. And they stopped. They just floated. This was now the new void. A white void with black shards reflecting everything within it. Like a huge mirror which has fallen apart into an infinite amount of smaller pieces. In one of them was reflected an appearance. No longer was he a human. He wasn¡¯t a dragon. Nor was he a shadow. He was himself. He was complete. A man stood with beautiful yet sharp features. His white and black hair was long and seemed well-kept. His eyes were gentle yet firm. None could escape their sharpness and everyone could bask in their light. He looked similar to Kenos and Vedqothur but seemed different at the same time. The main thing differentiating him was the slight light he exuded. A light something like a dragon could never hope to gain. A light that an empty void could never fathom to exist. A light which for a human was not something to emit but something to either bask in or fear. It was me. I was reflected there. A new me. Different from Kenos. Different from Vedqothur. Different from the tyrant who wished for his name to never be spoken. I was me. I was complete. I was all of them yet none. I was a unique man. I was a void, yet I was an origin. The start and the end. I was not a god. I was something else. Something different. A god is bound to a world. A god is bound to rules. A god is bound to their nature. I understood what Zahrah felt like. She was bored. She wanted a way to bypass the rules and have some fun. Maybe¡­ maybe she was just stupid. Maybe she thought that tricking the tyrant was a funny idea. Maybe she thought creating Vedqothur was a bright idea. Maybe she didn¡¯t understand that would create Kenos as well. Now that I think about it she seemed a bit nervous in that last encounter. I could only giggle at that. What a moron. She probably didn¡¯t expect us to come back as someone else. Maybe she just wanted some innocent fun at the expense of an old man who was tired of life. For that she will pay the price. Now enough about me. I looked around. There was no longer a corrosive effect in this place. Instead it was a healing one. Yet now it would also not be free to enter for those gods either. The souls would still not remember who they were when they left but they will surely feel better about life. I smiled gently as I looked over at the souls. In each of the shards their past appearances and memories were revealed. I only gently looked on. I didn¡¯t touch their memories nor did I peek in them. The only thing I did which showed a single soul some favor was thank it. Before I left I stopped and wondered. A name? I was no longer the tyrant whose name was never spoken, nor was I Vedqothur or Kenos. Then would I need a new name? No¡­ I felt like it was only a convenience. I didn¡¯t want to adopt any of their names but I didn¡¯t want to abandon them and adopt a new one either. I thought about it but I just realized there was no need for a new name. Like I said before. I was them yet I was not. Thus I can just use their names¡­ well I guess the tyrant wouldn¡¯t want me to use his. He wanted a new start after all. Well. Maybe I can add looking for a name to the list of things I want to do. With a gentle smile I left the place which was no longer the void and had now become something else entirely. There was no need to name it though. That place was simply me. It was simply myself. No need for fancy names or the like. I stepped out of the world and the place I found myself made me laugh. I was in front of the city of Tunik in the Beastlands. Far enough away for no one to see me but close enough for me to laugh at what might have happened if I had shown up in the council room. Then again I wasn''t sure if there was a Council right now. It has been aproximately a month since the start of my little reformation after all I turned around and headed south. I needed to return to Astrain first. There are more than a few things there I might need to fix after all so why not start there? Funnily enough Lilyand Cel were there as well so that''s double the reason for me to go there first. -------------------------------------------------------- Welp. Here you have it. The birth of the true MC. Wonder how many people aren''t gonna like what I''m doing here. Well if you don''t you can simply leave I''m not going to beg you to stay. After all I write because I enjoy it and I write what I enjoy. In other news. This would pretty much be the end of the first arc if I had any. So thanks for reading untll now. And thanks for the comments, favorites and follows as well as reviews. That''s... pretty much all I wanted to say.... kbye. Chapter 22 I was finally out into the word. As I was walking through the forest of sleeping trees I remembered it was winter. When we had passed through here it was still fall and the tree leaves were colorful and vibrant with only some of them having fallen off back then but now the ground was covered in those leaves and the trees were left naked. Kenos hadn¡¯t even given a second glance at the beauty of this forest¡­ I was Kenos no longer. A few aqua wolves passed by me as I was walking. They didn¡¯t attack me. They knew I meant them no harm and knew that they should not attack me. They were much more than mindless beasts. Why did people call them monsters I wonder? Because they were created out of pure mana? I don¡¯t see why that has anything to do with it. They were wolves just like normal. The only difference was that when they died instead of becoming a corpse to slowly decompose they would turn back into the mana they were composed of. It was still death. But unlike those who have souls they would never come back. They were forever gone. People who had souls could rest inside of me and then return to the world after a while as someone else. These wolves could not. Thus I could not bring myself to harm them when they are just silently passing by. I looked forward and one of them had stopped in front of me and seemed to be bowing. I wonder if it understood what I am. I smiled gently at it and pet its head. I wanted to help it but I could not. I knew that giving it a present would break the balance of nature. The wolves here hunted and they were hunted in exchange. That is how it was and that is how it should be. I stopped petting the wolf and it got up running after the rest of his pack. I continued walking in the vibrant colors which covered the ground. I could see so much more in this world. I saw as nature took its course and a deer was hunted by the wolves I just passed by several kilometers behind me. I saw as a beastman was aiming a bow at a wolf isolated from its own pack, different than the one I saw, more to the southeast. I saw Leon¡¯s men guarding the mountain pass in the direction I was walking in. Just like they were a month ago. As I got close I decided I should change up my clothes a bit. Not like I¡¯m planning on being seen by them or anything but I might as well. Until now I was wearing the same clothes Kenos had. I quite liked them still but I had something else in mind. As I walked my old clothes changed slightly. The coat now instead of looking like fur looked silken and didn¡¯t have a hood and my trousers also changed the same way and a mantle forming around my shoulders which reached around the middle of my torso in length and being held by a silver brooch in the middle of my chest right below my neck. If people could see under my coat they would have seen my shirt changing into a white one, still with long sleeves with the shirt itself reaching a bit under my waist in length and a belt holding it and my new pants in place. For my feet I had some simple but high quality leather boots. I was going more for the noble look than the rich adventurer thing Kenos had going on. I laughed a bit at myself for being concerned with fashion at this point. I had been walking for four days already when I reached the mountain. I could have gone faster but I decided instead to take it easy for a bit. The whole time I was hiding my aura from the gods. The whole reason Kenos got discovered so easily is probably because he messed around by controlling the darkness and not hiding himself at all. The god of darkness probably detected him in no time at all. Kenos¡­ was not really the thinker among us. Kenos was the strongest but at the same time he was the most vulnerable because of his foolish belief in his strength. He only realized it when it was too late and he was clawing at the ground in pain in the god¡¯s domain. I had already passed into the point the beastmen were observing but none could see me. A spiritual being isn¡¯t so easily found if he does not wish to be seen. Again Kenos was bad at that. Now that I think about it. Kenos was pretty much the biggest idiot amongst us. His abilities were filled with so much potential. So much power in the hands of someone who could not use it right. I hoped that I hadn¡¯t inherited too many of his bad points. I thought for a second about going to see Leon but I shook my head. There was no point in it. How could he have refused an order from the gods themselves? I remembered how he looked at Kenos when he handed the little girl a coin. He seemed to question what he was going to do but he didn¡¯t have a choice. Zahrah¡­ took that choice away¡­ I walked by and entered the mountains. Some parts of the mountain were already covered in snow. They weren¡¯t before. Though it was fall the mountain was not tall by any means so the snow had still not come to it even then. Now though I could feel the cold. I could feel it but was not bothered by it. The only reason I could feel it was because I wanted to. I could easily block it out. Or if I wanted to I could turn this whole mountain warm with the flick of my wrist. I did not though. It would break nature. I did not want to break it. Some breaking was good. Just like how a mirror breaks so can the shell of a newborn chick¡¯s egg. This however would obviously be the bad kind. Not like how the void broke only to reveal a new shape. I appreciated my white surroundings while I walked. I felt monsters approaching from a long distance away but they generally either avoided or ignored me¡­ with the exception of one specis. The goblins in this mountain were not smart enough to feel the danger I was exuding and just thought I was another human passing through the mountain that they could loot. As one of them tried to jump on top of me from a nearby cliff I jumped backwards slightly which amounted to a distance of ten meters. Unlike Kenos I wasn¡¯t physically weak. In fact even dragons would have difficulty matching up to my strength. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The goblin fell to the ground headfirst but since the cliff wasn¡¯t that tall in the first place it did not die. It just got back up while wobbling around unsteadily. After they saw that the ambush had failed a few others fell from the cliffs in front of and behind me. The place I was at was perfect for an ambush but I had passed through it since I could already see anything several miles around me. I knew this ambush was here. And it was also the perfect place to test out my new strength. A black and white energy came out from the ground gathering in my hand. The energy itself looked incredibly beautiful to me. Unlike the void which looked nothing but creepy this energy was elegant like a stream of water travelling through the air. A white stream with the occasional black mixed in. It showed that the void was still a part of me¡­ but only a small one. The true me was much bigger than the simple void. The stream itself let out a weirdly soothing, dim, silvery light. As it gathered in my hand the energy did not make a sword or anything like that. It made a stick. A walking stick, or a cane, to be exact. The handle was rounded and easy to hold. I grabbed the cane which had formed in my hand and made a single stroke with it towards the goblins in front of me. The stroke caused the air to split and as the force of the swing reached the goblins each of them turned into mana instantly and disappeared into the air. I turned my eyes to the ones behind me but they were starting to run away. These creatures were not ones I was going to let get away though. I remembered what Kenos saw in that goblin dungeon he created. I remembered the women and their dead eyes which looked like they were begging for death. Looking at them with a glare like a knife which could stab through a dragon¡¯s scales like they were nothing, my smile nowhere to be seen and replaced with a sharp gaze, I made another swing towards the other group of goblins. A few hobgoblins were mixed in but that did not matter. They were all split apart and disappeared into the mana stream in the air. As they did I changed the way I held my cane and put it to the ground continuing my walk using it with an increased pace. There were no further offenders after that. I had gotten over the mountain in only two days as I had walked at a speed that would make a normal human tired in minutes let alone days. When I exited the mountain I didn¡¯t bother going west to the village where Kenos had stayed a week to gather information and instead headed straight south. Through the plains and the forests instead of on the dirt roads. At one point it started raining but the raindrops did not hit me. The animals approached me curiously when they saw me and followed me for a bit from time to time while some avoided me like the plague. I thought that the ones avoiding me would live long and prosper. Though I did not mean them harm they had a brilliant ability of avoiding potential danger. I reached a road which I wanted to follow after a few days. The road was muddy but I just walked on it as if it was solid. A few travelers on the roads seemed to wonder what a noble was doing by himself on a road like this while they were walking the fields. The fields were much easier to walk across while the road was in such a condition as there was at least grass there which would make it easier to traverse the mud though it was currently just dry grass and not the lush greenery of spring and summer. Fortunately none of them were slave traders so I did not have to murder them. One caravan in particular also had a few women and children. Some of the children looked at me from not too far away and a few waved. I just smiled gently and waved back with the hand free of holding my walking stick. I reached the place I was aiming for after only a day of walking. A black void spike was coming out of the ground next to the road and I stood in front of it. I went in my inner world. The white background, the black shards, the silvery light. It was just like the energy I had controlled to make my cane. The black shards reflected memories and people. They reflected forms and experiences. In one I saw a man in his late thirties or forties drinking with Kenos and smiled. Approaching the soul I touched it and showed it the image of the black spike to which it laughed. I could feel what it felt and what it felt was ¡°That¡¯s one creepy looking grave that guy made me.¡± After that thought the rest was simply gratitude for showing this to him before he moved on. I only smiled at his words and wished him a good new life. The soul disappeared from inside me. The black shards which were around it before were still reflecting his memories and form but soon cracked and broke before turning to dust and eventually completely disappearing. Technically Kenos hadn¡¯t asked me for that but I was sure he¡¯d be wearing an awkward smile on his face right now if he was still here. I also smiled. Much more gently than him. Not awkwardly. I just smiled. I could have made the grave look much better but I dared not to touch it the memento left by Kenos. I had not the right to. I simply continued walking. Next stop. Karpas. Chapter 23 Ahem. So in the comments of the last chapter I mentioned about changing the title. Thanks for all the suggestions. I liked the ones that had to do with keeping the same title but have Zahrah be the insane one since she looks to the MC as evil but I don''t feel like that will work since Zahrah knew she was bullshitting and only did so to spite the MC. I''ll still think about the new title and maybe post a poll at some point. Until then it''ll stay the same. Thanks for all the comments guys. Anyway. Enjoy the chapter. ------------------------------------------------------------------- As I approached the town I immediately felt some things that I would rather not deal with right now. There were Celestials in the town. No doubt looking for Cel and Lily. Too bad they won¡¯t find them there¡­ Well too bad for them. I concentrated and looked at each one individually. Our sister wasn¡¯t there. I guess it won¡¯t really be that bad then. Though I wanted to do something about our sister she was the lowest priority. She was no doubt following Eirene¡¯s orders and Eirene was no doubt being fooled by Zahrah but the only people who would suffer from that are me and my former companions who are currently hiding out in this country. In no way was she herself in any jeopardy. AS I got to the town I greeted the guards and they let me through easily enough. The first thing I did as I entered the city was find the inn we were previously staying in. I smiled a bit when I found it was much larger and better than before. That platinum coin I left the innkeeper could have lasted her a lifetime easily but of course she uses it to make a better inn instead. Well that being said there was probably still a lot of it left over. This can¡¯t have cost an entire platinum coin. I walked up to the guards and asked what the cost of staying at this inn was. I smiled again as I learned the cost had barely went up from before but I walked away. No need to cause the innkeeper trouble. If I was found by the celestials and identified as the void even though I was him no longer it would trouble her too much. I still felt bad about the soldiers Kenos killed in her inn. He could have dragged them outside at least¡­ well then again he was In a hurry¡­ I guess it was appropriate at that time. I walked to the library. I found that it was now full of people and found the tax for entering was drastically reduced to one silver per person when a man handed the guard a silver coin. I found that an incredibly smart idea. Even if the cost was five gold nobody would pay it but if the tax was only one silver that would not only earn a lot more money as there would be a lot more visitors but it would also attract people to live here. That was something even a commoner family could easily save up in a week. And a visit a week to this beautiful center of knowledge was quite an attractive proposal to even myself. Me, Kenos and the tyrant shared in our love of books. Ved was more of an outdoors kind of guy¡­ still smarter than Kenos was with all that knowledge though, I laughed. I enjoyed analyzing my past selves in an objective manner. It was interesting how they were all the same person yet were completely different at the same time¡­ then again¡­ I was the living proof of it wasn¡¯t I. I smiled as I walked off towards the mansion of the lord. I felt saw that there were a total of three Celestials inside in a meeting with the lord. I would have to wait to have a talk with him. The guards saw that I was looking at the mansion and seemed to have judged that I must be here for a meeting with the lord based on my attire¡­ well they weren¡¯t wrong I guess. I would need to do this later though. Maybe after the Celestials leave. TO pass the time I headed to the library. I wanted to visit this place anyway. I handed a silver coin I made to the guard and went inside. The people inside really did look like commoners. I could only see a few well-dressed people but even for them five gold may have been a bit of a stiff price to come here. Not everyone can read dozens of books in a single day after all. I myself seemed to attract a lot of attention but I simply ignored it and browsed through books on magic. I wanted to know something. Searching magic. Magic that allows you to search for specific people or places. I looked through book after book, my reading speed being leaps and bounds greater than that of Kenos. To other people it just looked like I was flipping through books and then putting them back in their place. After a few books I instead started doing something even more efficient. I just sent a bit of my energy in the book and extract its composition, recording it in my head. The ink would stand out and turn into the words and I would be able to then read it all at once. The whole process took exactly five seconds per book. With most of that time being the reading. I could almost feel both the tyrant and Kenos giving me a thumbs up though that shouldn¡¯t be possible as they are no more. In the end I couldn¡¯t find what I was looking for. There were a few searching magics I would have been able to use to find Kate¡­ if I knew stuff like her magic or soul signatures¡­ which I don¡¯t¡­ Sighing I thought what I could do about this. First of all using my power to find her is off limits. I have no idea what the gods would do if they knew someone with such power was around in their world. They¡¯re incredibly prideful and would go to incredible lengths to rid the world of someone with even the potential of reaching their level of strength. I have no idea what they would do if they found out there was someone who had surpassed it. I mean they probably couldn¡¯t harm me but I was planning on doing this stuff more¡­ subtly? If I just went around killing gods then their followers would be after me. If I went around killing their followers normal people would deem me evil and if that happens well¡­ the second coming of a tyrant¡­ I guess¡­ I had no desire on becoming one. The other ways of finding Kate would be directly. I guess that wasn¡¯t so bad¡­ it would just take more time. And honestly if in these five years Kate had somehow already died or¡­ experienced something even worse¡­ then the damage had already been done. I decided to trust the commander who had taken her away. I was sure that if he had went as far as to oppose an order from the king to capture her he must have been a good man. I doubt a commander who would abandon his rank and acquire the status of wanted criminal just for the sake of harming a single little girl. Saving her though? I could see that. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I continued reading books while waiting for the meeting in the mansio0n to finish. I would from time to time glance at it to find out if they¡¯re done yet but it seemed to be a pretty long one. I decided to ignore it and focus on books for a while. I stopped my speed reading after a while. It got boring. Instead I started reading normally but as I was at my tenth book or so someone ran into the library and screamed. ¡°Everyone! The lord¡¯s being arrested!¡± (Guard) Looking up from my book I saw the guard from in front of the library screaming that. I looked outside and the lord was surely being dragged by chains by the Celestials with cuffs on his hands. I got up and put the book back where I found it while everyone else was rushing outside. There was no rush for me. I needed to find out what was happening and I can hear and see very clearly from here already. Still I grabbed my cane as I had let it rest against the table I was reading on and went outside. While I was doing so I heard what the Celestials were actually on about. One of them took out a small black sphere and started explaining what the lord was accused of. ¡°Your lord has associated himself with the demon who is suspected of killing the previous lord. This black marble is proof of that very association. It is made of a material which the demon¡¯s servants¡¯ weapons are made of!¡± (Celestial) How did they know what those weapons were made of? Well¡­ no doubt the gods told them. After all I know for a fact that no voidsteel was ever acquired by them. If it had I would have known. A single old woman got out of the crowd and got on her knees in front of the Celestial which was shouting. ¡°P-please Lord Celestial. The old lord treated us as garbage and as trash on the side of the street. Every day we lived fearing that we might be the next to die for his amusement or that our daughters and grandchildren would be taken by him or his sons. Please Lord Celestials don¡¯t take this man away. Please let him stay.¡± (Old woman) The Celestial looked incredibly troubled. As the granny finished her speech most the other people in the square got on their knees as well as if begging them to not take away their true Lord. Well¡­ I guess it wasn¡¯t ¡°as if¡± was it? The only ones not on their knees were now me and the Celestials. I kind of stood out because of that but they seemed to be too preoccupied with dealing with this situation to notice me. ¡°S-Still. He is suspected of being an accomplice to a criminal who slaughtered many people in this very mansion. He must be punished!¡± (Celestial) By this point I could tell that the Celestial was only trying to stick with this because he must have trusted whoever gave him the capture order. I couldn¡¯t blame him if that person was Eirene. I also trusted her. Kenos did as well. Though he was influenced a bit by Vedqothur he himself still believed that the woman he saw in Vedqothur¡¯s memories was a gentle and kind one. Now then. To remedy this situation. I moved quickly looking almost like I disappeared from the crowd of people and reappeared in one of the nearby alleyways. From inside there I changed my voice. My normal one sounded pleasing to the ears and soothing while this one sounded more common, desperate and¡­ sorrowful. With that voice I screamed. ¡°The old lord took my daughter! She never returned to me since! Please don¡¯t take this man away! I beg of you! I don¡¯t want other people to have the same experience as me!¡± Some of the people looked around to see who shouted but since it was already over they had no way of doing so. A moment of silence ensued before somebody else called out. ¡°T-the old lord took my daughter as well!¡± (Man) Another moment of silence, slightly shorter than the last one. ¡°My granddaughter was taken by him! She came back but the only time she spoke after that was when she asked me to end her life!¡± (Old woman) Another even shorter silence. ¡°I-I¡­ My son was killed by one of his because he had a relationship with one of the girls he had taken a liking to!¡± (Another man) From there the crowd exploded. Each shouted the unfairness and dishonor they had faced at the old lord¡¯s rule. At this point the Celestials looked completely lost on what to do. They looked at each other and then back at the begging crowd. Some had tears streaming down others were completely crying in the arms of another. Some had clear anger in their eyes. To them the villain was not the lord. It was the people trying to take him away. Seeing as they had no way to convince the crowd one of the angels grabbed the lord and tried to fly away but as soon as they were a few meters in the air I tapped my cane on the ground and they fell back down as well as unconscious. Gravity magic. Effective against flying enemies. Well I did throw in some soul magic to tug at their soul a bit and have them fall unconscious but yeah. It was effective enough. As they fell on the ground I walked out of the alley and towards the crowd. At this point not many people were bowing and a lot of people had just stood there dumbfounded when the angels fell. A few recovered and tried to help the lord out of his chains but they couldn¡¯t find the key. Seeing them do that a few others tried searching the angels but not many were brave enough to do so. What would they do if those angels awoke? ¡°Wait! Stop! Do you realize what you are doing? If they awake right now they could kill you! Stop right now!¡± (Lord) I heard the lord shouting as I tapped the man at the back on the shoulder and asked him if I could pass. In my normal voice of course. The man made way for me and the next people hearing what I had said turned around and did so as well. So did the next. And the next. All the way until I was at the front. The lord looked up and into my eyes. I only smiled at him as I tapped the chains with my cane and they fell apart. ¡°Care to have a chat?¡± Chapter 24 The Celestials were brought in and laid down on the beds in one of the rooms which had multiple rooms while me and the lord went to the same room where he had the meeting with the Celestials. There were two couches on either side of the table with me and him sitting on them facing each other while a servant was setting tea on the table. ¡°Thank you.¡± I said to the maid with a smile. She bowed and left the room. The lord was looking at me with a conflicted expression. He was probably wondering if he should thank me or reprimand me as this would no doubt make his relationships with the Celestials even worse. I wouldn¡¯t let it though. In the end he just sighed and taking a sip of his tea he started to speak. ¡°I hope you are aware of what you have done.¡± (The Lord) He seems to have decided to be displeased with the situation. I can¡¯t really blame him but he simply isn¡¯t thinking about how to turn this in his favor which slightly disappointed me. Still. I began speaking while picking up the teacup from the table. ¡°Whatever may you be speaking of? I only happened to be passing by and saw that you and those Celestials were having trouble. The attacker was unseen. We don¡¯t even know if there was one after all.¡± I smirked at him and took a sip of my tea as well. It was quite good actually. None of us had drank much tea before so it was a new experience. The Lord was looking at me with a weird face until the sudden realization of what I meant. I could almost see the light bulb above his head. Technically a lot of people saw me. If they questioned some of them though they technically did not see the attacker I felt like most of them would keep mostly quiet. They wouldn¡¯t want their lord taken away after all. Even if a few said something about me. That would only give a slight early hint to the gods. That wouldn¡¯t be too bad. They needed a bit of a handicap after all¡­ they were facing US. They should have noticed something was off anyway. The void is sealed and I¡¯ve been jamming their observation abilities to some degree as well. Only a slight bit but some of them could have noticed it. ¡°You mean!¡± (The lord) ¡°You saw nothing. The angels suddenly collapsed as they tried to fly and you took them inside the building to help them out. Of course you need to take off the chains in order to do so. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll forgive you.¡± He looked at me seriously. It seems we were finally on the same page. ¡°What about the attacker¡¯s objective?¡± (The lord) It was nice talking to someone who caught on quickly so I smiled brightly while putting my hand in my pocket and taking out a black marble which I had taken from the angels while nobody was looking and showed it to him. It seemed to click with him instantly but I still explained. ¡°When the angels woke up for some reason the black marble that was proof of your involvement had disappeared. Now usually that would be something terribly suspicious but they search your mansion and find nothing and on top of that there was no one in the vicinity strong or capable enough to knock them out at the same time who was working under you. Thus¡­¡± ¡°I would have less suspicion on me since I would have had the chance of running away and not being arrested but chose to not take it and if¡­¡± (The lord) He didn¡¯t finish his sentence and seemed to instead be thinking as he put his hand on his chin. Instead took another sip of my tea before finishing it for him. ¡°If¡­ that little thing had let¡¯s say the effect of controlling your mind and it was now finally cleared when it was taken far away from you and you have a foggy memory of your controller and his commands¡­¡± Taking his hand off his chin the Lord looked at me seriously as if he was reevaluating me. I liked the man. He was cautious and smart. And was not the kind of person to judge by appearances. They say the biggest evil always hides behind a mask. And I had found that to be true. ¡°¡­ I see. So you didn¡¯t just do this impulsively.¡± He nodded. ¡°I must ask though. What do you stand to gain from this?¡± (The lord) Yes it is true that you would be able to trust someone much more easily if you happened to know their objective but on the other hand he seems too trusting of me. He would gain nothing from revealing me. No. I knew this man would NOT reveal me. Not because of something stupid like trust. It was pride. This man was too proud to give up someone who had helped him. Still. I found it was not bad to just tell him my reason. My reason¡­ not my objective. ¡°I just need a connection to the king. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t have you leaving your position as advisor.¡± He nodded. It must have made sense to him as well. He didn¡¯t ask me why I needed tat connection. Who wouldn¡¯t want to have a connection to a king of a country? Is what I thought he would be thinking but¡­ it seemed like it was something else. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to keep it but I¡¯ll damn well try. I can¡¯t have some idiot take the job instead. I¡¯ll beg the Celestials if I have to but I WILL keep advising my king.¡± (The Lord) I nodded. That¡¯s the attitude I wanted. Begging somebody was easier said than done for someone with a significant amount of pride. I was a bit worried that the king might also get accused but they had no proof. He didn¡¯t have a ball of voidsteel to prove his association with us. Of course normally that wouldn¡¯t work but this was Eirene we¡¯re talking about. Even if Zahrah DID try and fool her I doubt she would simply put out an arrest warrant with no proof. If she did anyway¡­ Well¡­ I would do something about it then. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. I felt sorry for her. She must be so confused right now. And I was making it worse by putting in extra doubt for Zahrah in her. She was na?ve. But¡­ maybe that¡¯s exactly why both me and Ved liked her so much. I apologized to her in my head but it was necessary to have her doubt Zahrah¡­ at least a bit. Finishing the last sip of my tea I stood up from the couch. ¡°Good. In that case I will leave. Unfortunately I can¡¯t leave a way to contact me. If they find an object of unknown material or something enchanted for long-distance communication they might trust you less and trust is something you need as much as you can get on you right now.¡± He nodded showing me that he had understood what I meant and also stood up. ¡°They will awake around an hour after I leave.¡± Leaving behind the last thing I needed to say I left the room. The lord followed me and asked one of the servants to show me out but I had one last thing to do before I left so I instead went to the backyard. The lord still followed me and seemed to be wondering what I¡¯m doing¡­ and how I know my way around his mansion so well. As we got out of the backyard I stood in a specific spot and tapped my cane on the ground lightly. The ground in front of me split and a pitch black coffin came out of the ground floating in the air. I quite enjoyed this weird habit I had quickly formed of tapping my cane when I used magic. It would probably make people think that the cane had something to do with my strong magic and that could become an excuse I could use at some point. As I saw the coffin I shook my head slightly. Kenos had gone a bit too far on this one. Once again tapping the cane on the ground the coffin o voidsteel turned to dust starting from the top with the dust disappearing in the air. A single small ruby was left behind as it floated towards the hand that I kept open in front of me. As it landed I crushed it into dust and felt a single soul float away from it and enter my inner world. May your next life be filled with kindness enough to make up for what you had cause in this one. The ground once again came together and looked as if it was never split in the first place. Turning around the lord was left speechless. I could see the ¡°That was in my backyard the whole time?¡± on his face and it caused me to put on an awkward smile. I sort of wanted to laugh but I also agreed that Kenos was¡­ affected by a cuteness overload at that point¡­ and that caused quite a lapse in his judgment. As it would for any other man. Even I would not guarantee my immunity to it. Truly cute is justice¡­ and a weapon of mass destruction if used on the wrong¡­ or right person depending on how you look at it. In any case now I was ready to leave so I left through the front gate leaving behind a dumbfounded lord and servant. It was almost night which meant that the gates would soon close. I had already read enough in the library¡­ for now. I had to admit I felt like reading a bit more but I needed to meet Lily and Cel¡­ Maybe I had even unconsciously been delaying it. I was no longer Kenos so they might reject me. They might even misunderstand badly enough to become my enemies instead¡­ I shook my head. I could only hope that they understand me¡­ I had one last thing to do in the town before I left. I created a a glove which I put on my right arm and a gem which fit into the top of it. On the gem I wrote ¡°Storage¡± ¡°Large¡± ¡°Stasis¡± in the runic language with a needle similarly to how Kenos would do it. After that was done I searched around for some stores that were still open and thankfully finding a few I was able to buy a large amount of food which would not spoil thanks to the ¡°Stasis¡± enchantment. Of course the food was not for me. It was for Lily and Cel when I found them. Unfortunately the place where they were hiding was not abundant on that so I wanted to give them something delicious to feast on after getting to them. After getting all the necessary supplies I left the town through the east gate whereas I had come in through the south one. The place where the two were hiding out wasn¡¯t exactly close and though for now they seemed to be handling themselves I needed to get to them soon. As I walked the road it got less and less muddy as I proceeded east. It seemed like the rain had not come this far. I approached a village after a day but just simply passed through without stopping. In four days I had arrived in the village right next to my destination. The village was mostly visited by adventurers so there were a lot of shops around and little living space. The reason is because the village was right next to the dungeon called Evermist Forest. And just as its name suggested it was forever covered in white mist. It was also the place where Lily and Cel were hiding. The trees were incredibly tall and normal people would probably be unable to see more than a few meters in it. Thus it was deemed an incredibly dangerous dungeon. One of the ones which was dangerous not based on the monsters. But the environment itself. A few groups of adventurers were sitting down at the entrance as they seemed to be readying themselves to enter. A few glanced at me but didn¡¯t seem too interested. Probably thinking I was either here to admire the forest or I would leave and later hire someone to take me ino it.. I just shrugged and stepped into the mist hoping that it would end well. Chapter 25 As I entered the forest I could hear surprised gasps and even a few people who were shouting at me to stop. I even felt a single person try to run after me before being stopped by their party. Good thing or else I would have had to kick him out myself. I don¡¯t want people dying running after me while thinking I need help. Sometimes animals are so much smarter than humans. As I walked through the mist of the forest I realized exactly how terrible it would be for a human to enter here. The monsters in here were all the kinds of monsters that were either incredibly difficult to deal with even on their own then made even more difficult to deal with because of the mist. Or the type which had abilities synergizing perfectly with the mist itself making them almost terrifying. To give an example. Two types of monsters that were in this dungeon were phantomss which are basically something like a ghost¡­ but able to attack people directly. People aren¡¯t able to touch it but it is able to touch them. It¡¯s incredibly difficult to deal with and is especially annoying because it is hard to detect and almost invisible¡­ now add the mist into the equation¡­ How about a monster that uses a strange ability that lets it turn into an important person from your memories to lure you away from your teammates before it strikes. People aren¡¯t usually going to fall for it since the adventurers that come here are aware of the dangers of the forest but there¡¯s always someone occasionally. These are just examples of the things in here. Speak of the devil. I saw our sister coming out of the mist. Technically she was in my memories. And I had already inherited the tyrant¡¯s love for her. Probably even Burl fit the bill for these monsters to turn into. Not to mention Cel, Lily and Kate. The monster approached me with a sorrowful look on our sister¡¯s face. I felt like it turning into our sister was like a slap to my face. And I did not intend on taking it. Tapping my cane on the ground the mist in the area was suddenly blown away in a twenty-meter radius around me. The creature in front of me was no longer my sister but a small, ugly rat-like creature standing on two legs with sharp teeth and claws. The creature called a phreal looked around nervously before growling and jumping at me with its claws at the ready. I pick up my cane and swat it away as it¡¯s coming towards me, instantly killing it and turning it into mana. Weird. I continued my walk as the mist began to set back into the area I had cleared out. This was truly a dangerous place for humans. Even if the mist was cleared out it would set back in in less than a minute. If it was a race with better eyesight or a resistance to illusion magic then this place wouldn¡¯t have been as bad but it still would have been pretty terrible even for them. I was glad that Cel and Lily were together. The vampire race had excellent eyesight and Lily had already proven incredibly resistant to illusion magic. They could not have picked a better place to hide. This place was treacherous to everyone else but as long as those two were together it shouldn¡¯t be so bad. I saw as a few phantomss gathered trying to surround and ambush me. Weird. Why did the monsters in this dungeon not understand my strength? The ones I¡¯d met in the wilds understood very well exactly what fighting me entailed. Based on this I came to a single conclusion. This dungeon is strange. The monsters don¡¯t have a will of their own is the conclusion I came to. The monsters themselves should understand the danger I pose. In fact that little furry phreal not running away after having its illusion broken goes against their behavior already. Those creatures are the types that don¡¯t feel good unless they are clouded in their own illusions. And the phantomss should be able to notice that I had already detected them but they were readying themselves to attack me anyway. Monsters that rely on illusion and shadows are usually either timid or smart. These monster were just weird. They were acting too¡­ carelessly for themselves. The phantoms attacked me. They all wore cloaks and were transparent enough to be almost invisible already normally. In this mist they WERE invisible. A claw came out of the cloaks of one of them as it rushed at me. I didn¡¯t want to use any large-scale light magic which these things were vulnerable against. Light magic was too noticeable. Nobody would have been able to notice that clearing of the mist that lasted only about ten seconds but light magic was worse. Thus instead of using full on light magic my cane started shining instead. The light was a dim silvery one instead of the golden glow of usual light magic. As the phantom tried to swipe at me at a speed it couldn¡¯t register my cane passed through it and it turned into mana. The others should have been discouraged from attacking me after this or at least more cautious but instead they all rushed me at once. I jumped upwards all the way to the branches of the incredibly tall trees. The phantoms tried following me so as I fell down I dodged the first one by shifting my body through the air hitting it with my cane and proceeded to do so with the others as well. Their movements were too simple. I finally understood why such a dangerous dungeon was so popular. The creatures here were much easier to defeat than normal monsters. Their will had been taken away and with it so was a large amount of their difficulty. That coupled with the herbs that were unique to this forest and widely sought after. Before I fell I suddenly slowed down right before touching down on the ground before stepping lightly and planting my cane on the solid surface along with my feet. I would first find Lily and then find out what was wrong with this dungeon. Depending on what it was I might need to clear it out. As I walked I came to a cliff. Tapping my cane on the ground a set of stairs were formed along it which I used to climb down. At the bottom of the cliff was a cave. As I stepped inside I was astounded as even the inside of the cave wasn¡¯t safe from the mist. It would be even harder to see in here as the mist fused with the darkness. I still stepped in. The thing I was looking for was here after all. ¡°Who goes there?¡± (Lily) I smiled at the girl raising a sword as she could only see a shadow in the mist and stepped closer. ¡°I¡¯m warning you! Leave!¡± (Lily) I stopped. I didn¡¯t want to antagonize her. I thought about what I should do to make myself known. My current voice, though the same as the one Kenos used¡­ no¡­ my character itself was fundamentally different. I was going to walk forward again but instead another shadow rushed out of the mist and wrapped its hands around my torso. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Cel?¡± (Lily) Lily was obviously surprised. Surprised enough to let her sword down. ¡°Welcome back.¡± (Cel) Now I was also surprised. But¡­ I was also relieved. Very relieved. I had wondered. What if they no longer cared about me? What if they instead came to hate me for taking Kenos away from them? I had to actually hold back a few tears from coming out. I was so¡­ so very relieved that Cel had not even cared the tiniest bit about my change. I patted her on the head with my free hand which caused her to made a content sound. ¡°Ken?¡± (Lily) Lily walked closer and was finally able to see me. I also turned my head up from Cel and came to face her. ¡°You¡­¡± (Lily) She seemed a bit at a loss for words as she saw me. I was different. Both in a appearance and in character. I smiled a bit nervously. ¡°You feel¡­ different.¡± (Lily) ¡°¡­ I AM different.¡± A moment of silence passed. Cel was still enjoying my hand on her head but it had stopped patting her and simply rested there. I was a bit nervous again. Cel seemed to have accepted me. But hen what about Lily? ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Lily) I wondered a bit about what to say. I could simply say I¡¯m Kenos but I had changed¡­ but that would be a lie¡­ or at least partially. And I didn¡¯t want to lie to them. What was the point of them accepting me if that me was a lie in the first place. I would have to turn that lie into reality. And that would make another crack. And a crack could always lead to something breaking¡­ this time the break would not be of the good kind.¡­ ¡°Unfortunately I¡¯m definitely no longer the Kenos you two came to know.¡± Lily opened her eyes widely at what I said. Cel also finally let me go and looked up at my face. ¡°Can you tell us what happened?...¡± (Cel) I nodded and tapped my cane on the ground causing a few chairs to form. Unfortunately they were made out of rock but I hoped that it would at least be more comfortable than sitting on the ground as they were smooth and had the edges rounded. Lily looked at the chair next to her and reluctantly sat down and Cel went over to the third one to sit down as well. I myself tapped my cane on the ground causing the mist in the cave to leave and surrounded us with a barrier which would not let further mist in. It would be uncomfortable to talk with it surrounding us. Lily looked around as the mist left and then turned to me. She was quite used to Kenos¡¯ antics already so I guess she wasn¡¯t going to be surprised by something like this. She seemed to be waiting for me to talk. ¡°Honestly there isn¡¯t much I can say¡­ We broke. Would be the easiest way of putting it.¡± Neither of them seemed to understand what I meant. I guess I would have to explain it simpler. I sighed. I didn¡¯t want to put it like this if I could avoid it. I didn¡¯t want to explain it like this. It was¡­ a matter of pride. Both my own¡­ and our own¡­ but here¡­ I guess there was no choice. So I started. I told them everything. About the tyrant who broke after losing his sister and took the world by force. About the dragon who broke after failing to protect a single girl from the unfairness of the world¡­ and about the void¡­ who was already broken from the start and broke again after seeing a person he was supposed to trust look at him as if he was a monster. And¡­ about me. The man who was able to come out of his egg after his shell was broken. By the end of the story Lily seemed to only be conflicted. ¡°Then¡­ then in the end¡­ who ARE you?¡± (Lily) ¡°I am myself. I am not Kenos. I am not Vedqothur. I am not the tyrant. But at the same time I am still them. It¡¯s¡­ hard to explain. I am my own person. I share some qualities that all of them had but I also have my own which they did not.¡± Lily stared at me for a bit trying to understand what I meant. She had still not been convinced. Cel on the other hand seemed to be looking at Lily with a weird face as if saying ¡°Does it matter?¡± which made me incredibly happy. We stayed in silence for a bit longer. ¡°¡­ What are you going to do now?¡± (Lily) I wanted to chuckle at how she had worded that in the same way Kenos used to but I held it back. Laughing was not allowed right now. ¡°I¡¯ll be going to the elven country next. I still have other people to visit.¡± ¡°That Kate girl?¡± (Lily) I nodded. ¡°Do you even know if she¡¯s there or not?¡± (Lily) I shook my head. ¡°Why then? It¡¯s not your fault that she was not saved. You were up against an army and knew practically nothing about this world. There was no way for you to win.¡± (Lily) She still seems to be misunderstanding something. ¡°It wasn¡¯t Vedqothur¡¯s fault that¡¯s true. But that doesn¡¯t matter. He failed. And I needed to make up for it. If I was say an adventurer and failed to save a member of the party in a dungeon I can¡¯t just say ¡°Not my fault.¡± and brush it off.¡± This time Lily nodded. And finally smiled. ¡°I guess if you¡¯re like this then it¡¯s not so different.¡± (Lily) Cel also smiled seeing that Lily had accepted me¡­and so did I. I was¡­ glad¡­ I don¡¯t think I can describe my feelings exactly. I was someone else. But I still felt love for them. I had also inherited that from Kenos. It wasn¡¯t romantic love. Lily was my friend. Cel was¡­ she was like a daughter or a younger sister to me. It truly was a complicated feeling. I was no longer the same person but I felt the same way as Kenos did for them¡­ but there was no guarantee they would feel the same for me. ¡°Then¡­ Let¡¯s get out of here?¡± Both Lily and Cel nodded as they got up from the chairs and tapping my cane they also went back into the ground and the barrier disappeared causing mist to start filling the space back up. The staircase down the cliff was still there but I stopped the girls from going up and pointed backwards towards the middle of the dungeon. They looked at each other then back at me and nodded. Looks like I wasn¡¯t the only one who found the behavior of the monsters strange. And I really wanted to find out what was causing it. After all. The last person I met that could affect minds was¡­ unfortunately quite the annoyance¡­ she still is quite the annoyance. I left my thoughts of Zahrah behind and we started walking deeper into the Evermist Forest. Chapter 26 As the three of us stepped deeper into the forest I the fog started getting even denser than before until even Cel couldn¡¯t see properly. Thus I erected another barrier which kept the fog out for about five meters around me. Of course we encountered more monsters. Some phreal showed up. To me they took the forms of our sister and Kate. To the girls¡­ I technically couldn¡¯t see what they saw. That¡¯s why the phreal¡¯s magic is so weird. It uses the person¡¯s memories to create an image. I could see the anger on Lily¡¯s face one time. Probably Brul. I could see the fear in Cel¡¯s eyes another. I don¡¯t know who that was. But I probably had to punish him. I could see the hesitation in both their eyes at one point as they let their guard down. That caused me to get slightly angry as a pillar of ice instantly engulfed the creature and then crumbled with it still inside. Maybe it was a little childish of me but I felt offended that they would take the form of one of the people I was before¡­ and a little sad that both Cel and Lily would see it¡­ There were others as well. Phantoms showed up from time to time but we took care of them swiftly. At this point Lily had gotten much better at both controlling the strengthening in her body and at fighting in general. Since she was using the void energy blade she could slice through the phantoms and still cause damage to them. Cel no longer chanted as she used her spells and she only needed low-level ones to take care of these monsters since she was using the staff enchanted by Kenos. I had entertained the possibility of upgrading them but¡­ honestly they were already strong enough to make most of the things in this world look like a joke. Only things made by master blacksmiths in collaboration with master enchanters or weapons of legend could compare. If I upgraded them even more. There was honestly more of a chance for people to try and seek them out for themselves. Other monsters included a stronger version of phantoms called specters which had much sharper claws and could actually become completely invisible not to mention they were much faster than their weaker siblings. I had to take care of them as Lily and Cel couldn¡¯t see them. I could. Since my eyes were those of gods. I also concentrated my vision more on things around me. I had it spread out before but instead of doing that I converted it more into my sense of danger or intuition if you would rather call it that. Now I couldn¡¯t see as far but I could see much more clearly in the area I could. And I could still sense danger approaching even from a distance away. The most dangerous thing we encountered though¡­ A big ghastly worm-looking thing. It was transparent and emitted a weird green glow. It had no eyes and at the front of it was a gaping mouth with hundreds of teeth. It floated around and passed through physical objects. It was what was called¡­ a soul eater. It did exactly as its name implied. It ignored all physical substance and went straight for the soul. It was a spiritual being with a visible form¡­ kind of like a lesser version of me and Kenos. The thing was fast. Coupled with its weird movements and the immunity to most magical and physical attacks this monster here could probably be categorized as an S or SS rank. It passed Lily and Cel, ignoring them and aiming for me. Looks like the barrier hiding my soul still needs some work. I tapped the cane on the ground making most of the wood on it to disappear revealing a hidden blade inside of it. Taking the blade in hand and infusing it with some soul magic I slashed at the creature right as it reached me, splitting it in two and making it turn into mana. That was honestly not a good place to be. The creature would have finished off lesser adventurers in seconds. Not to mention they had no physical way of battling it since this thing would have been immune to most magic and weapons. The wood on my cane covered my blade once more hiding it away from the world. I wanted to have time to study more magic. Though I could also study it while travelling I wanted a place to just lay down and just read about and analyze magic for a few months. I shook my head leaving those thoughts behind. They were something to think about some other time. I looked over at Lily and Cel and they were kind of left speechless. They were frozen the moment they saw it and couldn¡¯t even move until now. That¡¯s just how creepy and unsettling this creature was to normal people. No¡­ Lily and Cel are also far from normal. I guess that¡¯s just the effect it has. I waited for them to calm down a bit before we proceeded forward. The area after that was free of monsters for some reason and as we moved forward the mist only got denser and denser until only I was able to see anything further than my own nose. And as we entered the presumed center of the forest I saw what was probably causing the mist here¡­ and the only thing I could think of that could control the monsters. ¡°Why did you suddenly stop?¡± (Lily) ¡°What is it?¡± (CeL) Both Lily and Cel seemed worried but I was too absorbed in my thoughts of the thing at the center of the dungeon. A giant white octahedral crystal was floating above the ground. For all the books I read I had no idea what it was. I remember a few novels the tyrant read in his world which featured living dungeons but this seemed different. This thing didn¡¯t have sentience. I could feel it. The monsters didn¡¯t have a soul but they had sentience. This thing didn¡¯t have that. I tried examining it but there were a ton of barriers around it and I couldn¡¯t even begin dismantling them. I knew a bit about magic but in the end what I knew was all basic. I could do a lot. But in the end all of that is basic ¡°Create a barrier that protects from this¡± ¡°Make a shape out of ice¡± things like that. These barriers were complex. With several traps among them which I felt would be set off if I did something wrong. I was worried that that might cause more than just harm to myself. If the dungeon suddenly disappeared and the monsters regained their minds. They might attack the villages around here. The monsters in here are all strong. They¡¯ve been weakened by the fact that they just attack people straight on and don¡¯t act like themselves. The mist is only sort of covering up for that weakness I feel like. But¡­ the weirdest thing was¡­ someone made this¡­ it wasn¡¯t natural. There were dozens of complex barriers around it like a huge firewall protecting a system. ¡°Lily. Do you happen to know when this dungeon was first formed?¡± ¡°Huh? I¡­ think my dad said it was around fifty years ago?¡± (Lily) If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Fifty years¡­ Then there¡¯s still a chance that whoever made this is alive. Even if he was human some powerful humans tend to age much slower and can live on to several hundred years. So the chance that this person was alive was very much possible. In fact it was quite likely. I was a bit worried¡­ What should I do though? A lock like this being forced open could cause tragedy in this place. I also can¡¯t quit open it normally as I am lacking too much in magical knowledge. There weren¡¯t any books on actually advanced barrier magic in the Lord¡¯s library. At least I didn¡¯t find any. It seems like it¡¯s quite a rare thing to dabble into. Most people would just be satisfied with being able to block magical or physical attacks while more advanced barriers are used rarely. I simply stared at the crystal for a while. I can¡¯t mess with this thing¡­ not yet¡­ But¡­ at least it made me realize how little I know about this world¡¯s magic. If there¡¯s any advantage the gods hold over me¡­ it¡¯s probably their understanding of it. If they tried to seal me off with advanced magic beyond my current comprehension they might just be able to do it. ¡°Let¡¯s leave¡­¡± ¡°But¡­ we didn¡¯t even do anything here.¡± (Cel) I shook my head. ¡°We can¡¯t do anything here. We¡¯re better off leaving¡­ and maybe coming back another time.¡± I could only hope that whoever made this wasn¡¯t going to do anything with it. That this was an experiment. But if I tried to do something with it now¡­ it might cause something just as bad as whoever made this had planned and I wasn¡¯t willing to do it. As we went back through the forest I realized exactly how useless this barrier I made to hide my soul. The creatures in here all reacted to souls. It wasn¡¯t just the soul eater. I could still hide it from the gods since they weren¡¯t directly looking at me but things that looked at me through their own eyes and had the ability to detect souls were still able to see it regardless of my barrier. I put finding a better way to hide my soul on the list of things I had to do which was only growing longer. After fighting through a large amount of phantoms, specters and phreal we were finally able to exit the dungeon. It was already evening and it was getting dark. We decided to spend the night at an inn of which there were many here. We picked one that looked decent. Not too bad because it would just look weird to have someone who looks like a noble staying there and not too good because I just didn¡¯t like them. They gave off such a ¡°We¡¯re better than you¡± atmosphere I just decided to avoid them. Maybe that¡¯s a bit hypocritical coming from someone who dresses in fine silk and carries around a cane for no other reason than to look classy? In any case as I entered I rented two separate rooms. One for me and one for the girls. Looking at them they didn¡¯t seem to mind. I guess the days of sleeping together were over. I laughed at myself for feeling a bit lonely because of that. AS we ate dinner we discussed what we would be doing from now on. ¡°The Beastlands are probably being searched. Not to mention that from what I know Kate is probably not there. It¡¯s just not a place where people would live. She¡¯s much more likely to be in the elven country.¡± ¡°About that Kate. There¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t understand.¡± (Lily) I looked at her for a second before nodding my head signaling for her to ask away. ¡°Why was she being pursued by half the countries military?¡± (Lily) ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I would like to know that as well¡­¡± (Cel) I sighed lightly. It was about time I explained why Kate was being pursued. Kenos had ironically discovered the reason before he even met the king. He just didn¡¯t know it was the reason yet. The king calling her a ¡°cure¡± was what triggered his understanding of the situation. ¡°Child of light¡­¡± Both Lily and Cel were visibly surprised. I put up a barrier around us to block off sound which was one of the more complex ones I knew¡­ still simple though¡­at least compared to that firewall in the forest. ¡°A child of light is a person born once every several generations. The person¡¯s light affinity is so high that their bodies are affected by it. For a child of light¡­ their blood becomes something akin to an all-cure¡­¡± ¡°So¡­ the king¡­¡± (Lily) I nodded. ¡°The king must have somehow found her and hunted her in order to cure the illness which was plaguing him at the time¡­¡± I could see the look of sadness and anger on both their faces. I also was quite livid about it¡­ yet¡­ we could do nothing but delay it by a day or two. Heh¡­ But¡­ enough with the self-pity. If she was still alive the possibility of her being in the elven lands was high. The human lands were also an option but¡­ they were too vast and separated into too many countries to search effectively. ¡°So we¡¯ll still be aiming for the elven country then?¡± (Lily) I nodded. ¡°This time though we¡¯re not going through the Beastlands.¡± ¡°Then how would we get there?¡± (Cel) Both of them seemed questioning. They didn¡¯t know any other way to get to the elven country than to pass the beastlands. And that was pretty difficult. ¡°We head by sea.¡± Now they were confused. There weren¡¯t any sea routes between human and elven lands. There was no way to get a human ship to go there even if we paid them as it would be extremely dangerous. They might be categorized as pirates and attacked or get lost at sea as there is no established route to there. ¡°But¡­¡± (Cel) ¡°Nobody said we¡¯ll be taking someone else¡¯s boat. Just trust me.¡± Both nod when I ask them to trust me. At least that remains. I didn¡¯t mind them questioning me. I actually enjoyed it. But if they couldn¡¯t trust me¡­ I might be quite crushed. Well¡­ I would surely get over it eventually¡­ but I would still feel quite sad for a while. As we had decided on further actions we talked about other more trivial things as we ate dinner. Well¡­ me and Lily did. Cel still didn¡¯t like talking while she ate. She just didn¡¯t start until we finished with the important stuff. After finishing our rather uninspired meal we went up to our rooms. I would practice magic all night while Lily and Cel slept. Tomorrow we would travel east to the next country. This one didn¡¯t have access to the sea so we needed to go there first. I just hoped it wouldn¡¯t be as bad as this one¡­ if not even worse¡­ Side story: Cels meeting of Kenos It¡¯s quite short compared to Lily¡¯s but that¡¯s kind of to be expected since Cel was introduced later and I wanted to end the POV before they entered the beastlands. That would just turn into something boring if I went that far. It was just mostly to cover her meeting and impressions of Kenos. On the other hand I might create a new side chapter for both Cel and Lily¡¯s impressions of the new MC but that¡¯s still under consideration since it would be even shorter than this already short one. --------------------------------------------------------- I was born in darkness. Raised in darkness¡­ shaped¡­ by darkness I¡¯m a vampire. I was hailed as a genius of our generation because of my affinity to darkness magic. I was born as a vampire lord. But not everyone was happy with it. Most people weren¡¯t. My parents were nobles in the vampire city we lived in. Unlike humans and elves vampires didn¡¯t have a country but only hidden cities across the continents. One day my parents left for a trip to one of those other cities. I heard it was something about diplomacy but as I was young I understood little and just happily sent them off¡­ but they never returned. Thus¡­ nobody was left to protect me. People openly abused me because of my better talents but as I was not old enough to learn magic I could not fight back. All of it was done in the darkness¡­ by the darkness¡­ that vile¡­ VILE darkness. I was disgusted by the darkness affinity within me. I didn¡¯t want to ever use it. Thankfully when it came to magic I was also gifted in water and wind as well. Though there weren¡¯t many people that could teach me it. I learned enough to defend myself¡­ at least a little. I still stood little chance against groups of people. After all in the end I only knew basic spells as the teachers found nothing more to teach me. All of them were after all¡­ dark¡­ I wanted to get away¡­ I wanted to leave¡­ I wanted to go out into the light. Away from the darkness which haunted me¡­ so I did. But it was no different. Even after I ran away from the city I was hunted down and caged to be sold. I tried to fight back but they were many and strong. Why did they insist on hurting me? Why did they insist on tormenting me? They didn¡¯t use darkness magic¡­ but they were still dark¡­ I was dragged around in a cage for a long time. Probably days before we reached a town and I was thrown in a different cage. There were other people there like me. Women and girls of all ages. I spent who knows how much time there until I was bought. Since apparently I had been bought by a representative and my actual ¡°owner¡± was not present instead of a slave crest which required blood from the actual owner to be made I was locked up in chains to limit my magic and thrown in a dark cage once more. I had no choice but to cry and lament my destiny. Would I ever escape this fate of just being thrown from dark place to dark place and abused by dark people? In my darkness. A single light appeared. I heard the door to the next room open and after a bit of time someone tried to open my door. Reluctantly I called out to that person standing on the other side. She reassured me that we would be saved. It was weird. It felt like she truly believed she would be saved¡­ but she also seemed to regret it¡­ so did I. Only a bit of time passed before her reassurance became the truth. I heard everything. Probably better than the girl who had spoken to me. Vampires had much higher senses than a normal human after all. Then again¡­ I don¡¯t really know if that girl is human do I? I heard the dying screams of so many people. So many were dying right here. But¡­ that wasn¡¯t important. What was important was the thing that was causing it. I could only call it a thing because no matter how I looked at it the darkness I felt from it was not something a living being should possess. But¡­ for some reason¡­ it didn¡¯t disgust me¡­ I felt as the darkness approached. AS it entered the room I was brought through to come here. ¡°Where is Lily?¡± (Kenos) Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The voice was covered in darkness. No¡­ it emitted it. It wasn¡¯t just dark. It was the birth of darkness itself. But¡­ it still didn¡¯t disgust me. ¡°Wh- What? Who? (Shitbag) ¡°The girl you took today. Where is she?¡± (Kenos) No¡­ it didn¡¯t disgust me at all. In fact¡­ it felt¡­ warm. It reminded me of the warmth of my parents. It caused tears to run down my cheeks as the memories of my family flooded back through me. Such a darkness existed? Why couldn¡¯t I have known this darkness sooner? If I did I wouldn¡¯t have rejected my affinity so greatly. If I did I would have been able to become strong. I heard the one with the warm voice enter the room next to this one. I heard his conversation with the girl who had called out to me and given me light¡­ with Lily. He opened my door and I finally saw his form. A face with sharp features. His hair and eyes both black and white. He saved me from the cage and gave me clothes like it was the obvious thing to do. I wish other people were like this man¡­ I didn¡¯t want to leave him. He was so warm¡­ so calm¡­ so unlike everyone else. When he patted me on the head I was surprised but it was so pleasant I didn¡¯t want him to move his hand. He asked me what I would do from now on and I forced myself to say that I would like to stay with him. It was something difficult for me since the only interaction I¡¯d had with people for a long time was nothing but abuse. When I saw him and Lily getting into the same bed I was a bit surprised. What surprised me even more was that Lily offered for me to join. I was incredibly flustered and probably couldn¡¯t even make a sensible sentence as I complied. If this is what it would take for me to stay with this person then I would do it. At least I had a feeling he would be gentle¡­ But nothing happened. We just slept. I silently laughed at myself the next morning for actually expecting something. On the other hand. It felt so nice to sleep next to Kenos as he had named himself. It was as if I was being engulfed by that warmth I felt from him and being protected by it. A sea of flames that protected me and hurt my enemies. That¡¯s what it felt like. When we traveled I felt a bit out of place at first. I was quiet. Unlike Lily I didn¡¯t feel a reason to question Kenos too much and generally had little to say. The highlight was when he asked me about magic. I told him only that I know a little about water and wind but he still asked me about darkness. It was probably known to humans that most of us are born with it. I told him I never trained with darkness magic so he offered to teach me himself. I was reluctant but I accepted. I couldn¡¯t deny. Now that I had learned that darkness is not inherently bad I shouldn¡¯t have any reason to deny than just my own selfishness. I didn¡¯t want to be selfish. I wanted to be strong. So that I would become the light to burn away the darkness which haunts me. I would work hard to become strong.. I started learning magic from him. Though he did not know many spells he thaught me something much more valuable. Mana manipulation is the art of not casting spells but controlling the force of magic through your will alone and he taught it to me brilliantly. He seemed to think his advice clumsy or bad in general but it definitely was not. It was simple but pointed me in the right direction. In the end for someone to achieve the art of mana manipulation you would have to guide them to yourutmost ability. And that is exactly what he did. I so I learned. I would become stronger. To become a light. To burn away the darkness that would threathen the warmth of the man who saved me. I would become stronger. Even if it meant I would have to become dark myself I didn''t mind. I was sure that this person would set me on the right path even if I did. I refused to leave him. I would rather die than do so. I don''t know whybut he wanted to protect me. And I too wanted to protect him. Chapter 27 I was experimenting with my spells in the night when I heard the door open. I saw without even turning around who was at the door but still I turned to face the little vampire as it would be weird to talk while facing the other way. ¡°Hey there Cel. Couldn¡¯t sleep?¡± She nodded once. And stepped inside, closing the door. She seemed slightly nervous. I wonder what it was about. As I was wondering that she walked over and hugged me. ¡°Warm¡­¡± (Cel) Warm? I¡­ don¡¯t know¡­ was I warm? I believe I shouldn¡¯t exude much temperature unless I will it. But looking at the comfortable Cel I didn¡¯t dare doubt it. So as per requested I became warm. I put my hand on her head and stroked her hair. ¡°You¡¯re the same after all¡­¡± (Cel) Me? The same as who? Kenos?... Maybe she could find what she looked at in Kenos in me as well. I could not deny it. I inherited a few things from him as well so it wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to say I was him. Only¡­ I was three other people at the same time. ¡°Cel¡­ I need you to understand that I¡¯m not Kenos anymore¡­¡± ¡°Then¡­ who are you?¡± (Cel) My hand stops moving. She caught me by surprise there. When asked who I am I could only say ¡°I am me.¡± but that didn¡¯t sound right¡­ a name¡­ a name for me¡­ I am¡­ the end of a road of insanity¡­ I honestly didn¡¯t feel like a name for me was necessary. I wasn¡¯t a person. I was an entity. A being. But¡­ I guess I still needed something to call myself. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ The End¡­ or End.¡± It was even short just how all three of the others liked it. Cel nodded while hugging me. I could tell she was smiling but also seemed a bit sad. Kenos was no longer here after all. Now she couldn¡¯t even call me that as I was called something else. ¡°But¡­ you¡¯re still him¡­¡± (Cel) ¡°I¡­¡± I¡­ am¡­ Do I need to deny it so strongly? I guess I don¡¯t. She obviously still found what she saw in Kenos in myself as well. So there was no reason to deny it. More importantly. It didn¡¯t matter. I would help her no matter what. Because I love both her and Lily just as much as Kenos did¡­ if not more. ¡°I guess I might as well be.¡± I smile as I start patting her head again. I wonder¡­ was she doing this for herself or for me? Was she reassuring herself that I¡¯m not someone else¡­ or was she reassuring me that she wouldn¡¯t treat me differently even now? I¡­ honestly felt like it was both. ¡°Do you want to sleep together tonight?¡± She nodded. Sigh. Guess that¡¯s it for experimenting tonight. We laid down on the bed and the next time I could move was in the morning when a weird-faced Lily opened the door of my room and saw us laying in the bed. We woke Cel up and went down to get breakfast. I had forgotten how rotten the place we were in was until a couple of people tried to pull Lily away from the table. Of course they were immediately kicked out of the inn¡­ not by management or anything¡­ not by me either¡­ Lily did it. I didn¡¯t even need to do anything before she kicked one of them in the pride of a man making every other male in the room feel a shudder going down their spine and then kicking both of them out. Cel and I could only smile awkwardly. Paying the innkeeper an extra silver or two as an apology we stepped out of the inn and started travelling further eastward. It would take only a day or two to reach the border. On the way I inspected the progress both Lily and Cel had already made in terms of abilities. If I was to evaluate them now. I would evaluate Lily to be around rank A in ability while Cel would be AA and if she learns to use mana manipulation more freely she would skyrocket into S or SS. But for now she could only produce the same effects as her spells had. She wasn¡¯t able to control the forces of nature yet. She wasn¡¯t what this world called an Archmage. That¡¯s what people that could use mana manipulation were apparently called. Well either way their progress was stunning. A normal person could never progress this quickly in anything. I was sure that Kenos¡¯ instruction played a part but they were obviously talented and dedicated to getting stronger as well. The first night of our travels I pulled out ingredients from the crimson gem embedded into the fingerless glove on my right hand. It was an unnaturally thin gem that fit onto the glove closely and barely felt weird on the back of my hand. I made some fried eggs for them and they enjoyed them quite a bit. It was really useful that none of the ingredients in my gem would spoil. I could put in stuff which would normally never be used while travelling like milk. Cel didn¡¯t request to sleep with me tonight. I think she didn¡¯t want me to spoil her too much. Or maybe she was just embarrassed. Or maybe it was just that last night was enough reassurance for her that I would not leave her side. I don¡¯t know what was bothering her but it seemed like she was okay now so I didn¡¯t ask. I¡¯m sure she would tell me herself if she felt like it was a good idea. In the morning we traveled again until we reached a river. And on the river a fortified bridge with a huge gate on either side. We would have to be inspected to pass through there so we instead headed north travelling through the field next to the river while keeping it in view. After about an hour I made froze over the river to make a path across it. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. As we passed the border we headed further east. We were aiming for the ocean and that was simply the direction we had to take to get there. We reached a road after another day but decided not to follow it. It was best to avoid civilization in the human countries. The Celestials might still be searching for Lily and Cel after all. Thinking about that I decided to take some precautions and made the two cloaks, enchanted with the words ¡°Evasion¡± and ¡°Attention¡±. To check the effectiveness we decided we would visit a village on the way east at least once. And we found one soon enough. Only¡­ It what we found wasn¡¯t quite something I wanted to see. We had been travelling through a forest a few days after crossing the river when we saw a large amount of smoke rising in the air from the south. It was close so we decided to see what it was even though we all knew what it would probably be. When we got there what we saw was a village covered in fire. What seemed like bandits were running around the streets and raiding the houses. We could hear the screams of the men who were being killed indiscriminately and the women who had it even worse. The girls had already pulled out their weapons, knowing what would follow. My gentle demeanor had disappeared. My cane was no longer one as it had broken it¡¯s shell and revealed the blade hidden within. My gentle demeanor was nowhere to be seen and I said nothing. As Lily and Cel stepped forwards to intercept the bandits I disappeared from my location and though the village was still around a hundred meters away from me when I did so. The next second around then men¡¯s heads were separated from their necks and blood was dripping from the blade I held. From there the slaughtered ones were not the villagers but the bandits. The hunters had become the hunted and the tormented screams completely switched owners. A few men were ¡°occupied¡± with women from the village. Most of them were being handled with the bodies of their family still somewhere they could see. ¡°Disgusting.¡± Unlike most of the words I had spoken ever since I came into being this one was filled neither with warmth nor kindness. It was cold and unrelenting killing intent which spilled over the village like a flood and made every single bandits shake in fear. A few could not handle it and slit their own throats in their maddening dread. As the bandits all died there was a single second in which nobody in the village could take a breath as I temporarily created a vacuum, putting out the raging fire. Even after the bandits have died I was still burning in rage as I looked back at the destruction caused and lives lost. There were so many people here dead. The corpses of men children and women were all lying across the streets and beneath the collapsed houses. The remaining were either the lucky ones¡­ or the ones who were spared for the pleasure of the aggressors¡­ I guess spared was not quite correct¡­ Both Lily and Cel could see my rage as they came up to me. ¡°What now?¡± Asked Lily as she seemed to be looking at the people that had lost everything today¡­ What now indeed. ¡°Wait for them to calm down and gather them up for me please. They¡¯ll have to decide what to do now themselves. At most¡­ we could heal them or guide them to a nearby village and hope that they would accept them there.¡± Lily nodded. Really. What am I supposed to do right now? In the end I need to get to the elven country. I can¡¯t stay here for who knows how long and help them rebuild their village¡­ I wish I could but I can¡¯t¡­ It took an hour but the remaining living were gathered up. There were a total of six men and thirteen women. All of them had some kind of injury. Some small. Some big. Some physical. Some mental. One of the less injured men men walked forward and bowed to me. ¡°Thank you for taking the time to save our village from those bandits. We are forever indebted to you and cannot ask you to do more for us. We will handle the rest.¡± (Man) I forced myself to nod to him. As much as I wanted to stay and help I had my own things to take care of. I guess I truly cannot save everyone. Before I left I touched each of the men and women with a healing light. Some of the women tried to struggle but I still did it. I knew they had a trauma but I needed to heal them. I couldn¡¯t let myself leave with them injured just because they were afraid of me. I also gave each of the men a sword. I didn¡¯t make it out of void steel. Only normal steel. Void steel would be more effective true¡­ but it would also be risky for both me and them. If the Celestials found them they could misunderstand them being ¡°accomplices¡± to Kenos. Accomplices to what? I still didn¡¯t know. As we walked away from the village I could only grit my teeth and endure. Today I was reminded how disgusting this world could truly be. What I needed now was not the determination to save people. But the determination to leave some to take care of themselves. ¡°Cel was right. You are still the same.¡± Lily said while I was trying to keep myself in check. I could only smile wryly as we kept walking to the east. Please let the elvish country be better than this place¡­ Chapter 28 It took me almost a whole day before I could completely calm down from the scene in the village. I was not in a good place. I needed a way to conquer my emotions but that would have to also wait until I had a place to relax and feel safe¡­ or at least one where I would not have to worry about being attacked by bandits at all times. I really needed one and if in the end the elven country doesn¡¯t work out. I would just have to make one myself. I couldn¡¯t mess with the gods but I could just pretend to be a human and build a new kingdom or take over an existing one. In the end killing the gods would solve nothing. If I just simply lost my patience and killed them I would be plunging this world into an even deeper chaos than it¡¯s in right now. And that¡¯s¡­ defeating the purpose. The girls seemed worried when they saw that I wasn¡¯t calming down easily but I assured them that I just needed a bit of time. Lily seemed a bit glad that I was bothered by it. She probably thought Kenos to be a bit TOO unfeeling sometimes and I agreed with her. Though in the end she probably could not deny his kind albeit merciless nature. After all it was that exact nature that saved her life. That night Cel hugged me and asked if we could sleep together again. I could feel that this time she was doing it wholeheartedly out of worry for myself. I pet her head as I reassured her I would be okay but still didn¡¯t deny her presence. I wonder if this would seem weird from a third party perspective. It feels so natural to me at this point. So that night I could once again not move until dawn. As we continued our journey we tried using the roads this time but we encountered a few more bandit groups during the next few days. It seems that the fact that we didn¡¯t encounter any bandits until now was either because we were not using a road or if we were using a road then¡­ they were just lucky. Cel helped out from time to time and took care of the stragglers that tried to run away but for the most part me and her just sat down and watched. She was close to becoming an Archmage and didn¡¯t quite need to move to defeat a few petty bandits. Lily didn¡¯t mind. In fact she preferred this. I don¡¯t need any combat experience as the three before me have given me enough through their memories and Cel was stronger than Lily and if she also learned to strengthen herself and became a battle mage¡­ Lily would be in some serious trouble. Well¡­ strengthening and magic are very different and honestly once you learn one the other becomes much harder to achieve unless you¡¯ve practiced both at once. I¡¯ll have to start teaching Lily mana manipulation. If she can do that she¡¯ll be much better at strengthening her body. For Cel¡­ I have something else in mind for her. Something a bit more special which won¡¯t be available to Lily and only to Cel because of her monstrously high affinity to darkness. If Kate is a Child of Light¡­ then I guess Cel would be a Child of Darkness. Though I don¡¯t know how it affects her body. There¡¯s technically one for each element but it would be an astronomical coincidence for all of them to be born during the same period of time¡­it¡¯s not impossible though. I also started teaching them elven. I felt sorry for them to have to learn another right after almost becoming capable of beastkin speech but¡­ it couldn¡¯t be helped. Though this time I concentrated on speech alone. The writing of the elven language is quite complicated so I would teach it to them later. I still kept up with teaching Lily how to control mana more easily and for Cel I had some special sessions which would help her get stronger. It had been a few days since we left the village and we were walking on a road through a forest. I had calmed myself down and was thinking of ways to keep myself from losing control again. Though in that situation it was not necessarily bad that I did I might have been able to save a few more people if I had kept my cool. I should have put the fire out first. I should have scanned the village looking for people near death who I could bring back and try to get to them first. I was too lost in my rage to do any of that though. I¡¯m not going to go ahead and blame myself for their deaths. That was how the tyrant fell in the first place. He felt like all of humanity¡¯s mistakes weighed down on his back as if they were his own and blamed himself about every little thing. Even things he obviously could not help became his fault in his head. If a child lost its mother. If a person was killed unjustly. If someone was sent to jail for a crime they did not commit. It all somehow ended up being his fault. I sighed. It was those bandits¡¯ fault that the people in that village died¡­ but at the same time it was still true that I could have handled the situation better. It was no good to blame myself for everything but it would also be bad for me to not admit to my mistakes. People tend to do one or the other but a balance is important. If you can keep that then you should be okay. Only¡­ it¡¯s easier said than done isn¡¯t it? I was thinking of such things when I suddenly felt a presence and two cloak-clad people jumped out of the trees. How did I not notice them until they were so close? Damn it. Again I was too absorbed in my thoughts. This is why I wanted to deal with it in a safer place. It was obvious that these two were not ordinary bandits. Assassins? Sent by who? To assassinate me? If it was the gods then I felt like I would be surrounded by Celestials but these guys? No¡­ these guys were¡­ I noticed the affinity they exuded. They weren¡¯t human. And if anything Cel¡¯s expression should tell me what they are. Vampires. I don¡¯t know why but Cel obviously doesn¡¯t have a like for her own kind. If anything she seemed terrified of them. And anything that terrified Cel should be my enemy. It should but I would still hear them out. Out of politeness if not anything else. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Yet¡­ they said nothing. Only stood analyzing me. And looking in Cel¡¯s direction. For whatever reason the cloaks did not work on them. I was using an unknown enchantment which I did not read about so I guess there could have been problems. Maybe it was because they weren¡¯t human or because they have better sight. Oh¡­ maybe it¡¯s because they already had their attention on Cel? The enchantment states to evade attention but once someone¡¯s attention is set on her then that¡¯s it? That¡¯s pretty defective. I would have to remake those cloaks later. This pretty much meant as long as somebody knows Lily or Cel and is searching for them then the attention cannot be avoided. ¡°You! Hand over the girl to us and we won¡¯t hurt you!¡± (Vampire #1) What kind of a blatant lie was that? I could feel his bloodlust so clearly it made me want to laugh. If I were to hand over Cel then they would just try and kill me in front of her to torture her. It was written all over their faces which they thought hidden. Nothing is hidden from me though¡­ if only I don¡¯t lose my head in thought. Cel looked towards me and I just smiled warmly at her. What? Did you think I¡¯d actually do it? I turned to the vampires and smiled at them as well. ¡°I would advise you to leave before you get hurt.¡± This smile wasn¡¯t quite the same warm one I had given Cel though. ¡°I¡¯ll say it one more time human scum! Hand over the girl!¡± (Vampire #1) I was still smiling. It was a mocking smile. They didn¡¯t feel like a threat. I could kill them in a millisecond without even using magic. No¡­ they were dead the moment they stopped me and I saw Cel¡¯s expression. My smile turned cold as a single sound of wood hitting the ground resounded through the surroundings and a giant monstrous mouth, made of stone emerged out of the ground beneath the vampire who had been speaking. His screams lasted less than a second before the jaws of death closed their hundreds of teeth, crushing the vampire into a bloody mess and sinking back under dragging him along. I turned to the other vampire whilst still smiling. This one would stay alive a bit longer. He looked terrified as he turned and tried to run but he hit an invisible wall. He tried to hit it and cast dark spell after dark spell as I slowly walked over whilst still smiling. Seeing that the wall would not break he now turned and cast towards me. The spell he cast created a dark spike and shot it towards me. He seemed incredibly surprised when the spike stopped and floated in front of me harmlessly whilst turning much darker. The spell turned around a hundred and eighty degrees and shot back towards the vampire instead, missing only slightly and breaking a visible hole in the wall behind him as if it wasn¡¯t even there. While he fell to his knees drenched in sweat I walked over and stood above him. My smile still not disappearing. They wanted to hurt Cel? The girl who Kenos had saved. The girl who saved Kenos. The girl who saved ME? I used mana to grab him by the throat and he floated up while choking. I lessened my grip as I didn¡¯t want him to die yet. ¡°Well then shall I have you answer a few questions?¡± HE looked at me with anger in his eyes. Impressive. Most people wouldn¡¯t have been able to look back like that after what they had experienced jus now. I had thought he had already given up but it seems like I was wrong. Maybe I can persuade him to change his mind. My smile once again changed. From cold to sinister. Seeing that the vampire lost a bit of the color on his face. I let my cane go, letting it float next to me instead of holding it with me hand and grabbed the vampire by the throat, dragging him into the forest. It would be bad of me to take up space on the road whilst I was doing this after all. The girls followed me and when I stopped walking they simply found a place to rest. A wooden table raised from the ground as if growing out of it this very moment and I placed the vampire on top of it. The vampire tried to move but he couldn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t strapped to the table by anything. It was just that I was keeping him from moving. ¡°You won¡¯t get anything out of me!¡± (Vampire #2) My smile got even wider. I wonder if I still have a few personality problems. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m insane still. But they do say that insanity is a thing that people that have it cannot identify. Well¡­ no matter. Even if I am still a bit insane I feel like I would help the world better than the gods. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. By the time we¡¯re done you¡¯ll be begging me to listen to you talk about it.¡± One hour passed. The table and even the grass around it was stained in blood but the vampire still seemed to not have a single injury on him. Healing magic was useful because I could make sure the guy didn¡¯t die no matter how ridiculously painful it got for him. If he did die I was able to revive him as long as not too much time passed. I just needed to heal his body back and retrieve his soul before it disappeared into my realm. I didn¡¯t have to go that far though. I let him live through the entire thing. His eyes were dead. ¡°Do you want to tell me who sent you?¡± He nodded. ¡°Do you want to tell me what you were intending to do with Cel?¡± He nodded. ¡°Do you want me to end you?¡± He nodded again. I smirked. ¡°Good. Then start speaking.¡± Chapter 29 *Ahem*¡­ First of all. I would like to apologize for that shameful display yesterday. It took me a night of sleep to realize that it almost seemed like I was baiting for good comments and/or reviews which¡­ I really had no intention of doing¡­ Anyway I¡¯ll be taking it down after I post this. Second of all (Though it¡¯s related to the first). I had no intention to stop writing but rather was just shouting out my frustrations because that just makes it better sometimes. It was just necessary for me to do it because I wanted to continue but every time I tried to write I just remembered some part of some review causing me to get angry or frustrated and starting over. It was seriously just like that classic moment where an author keeps writing then crushing the paper and moving to the next. Only I was pressing the backspace. It¡¯s actually hilarious now that I¡¯m over it. Last of all. Thanks for putting up with my shit and here¡¯s the next chapter. Hope you enjoy. --------------------------------------------------------- It was a dark room. The curtains were open yet it was dark. It was not night yet it was dark. The room wasn¡¯t the only dark place as the whole city the mansion was in was surrounded by an unnatural darkness as if the residents hated the very idea of touching the light. In the room was a single desk and behind it was sitting an old man with a sharp gaze and exuding a feeling of authority. The old man was staring at a well-dressed youth kneeling on the ground and was contemplating the information he had just acquired from the individual who clearly had a nervous face. ¡°Cosmin, repeat what you just said for me.¡± (Old man) The man asked his apparent subordinate to repeat his words in hopes that hearing them a second time would lead to his acceptance of them. He didn¡¯t want to accept them but he was supposed to. ¡°My lord¡­ Yesterday morning two of my subordinates reported to have found a lead to Lady Celene and had decided to follow it but¡­ neither have reported ever since...¡± (Cosmin) The man of authority could only rub his temples. He had been so relieved when the foolish little girl had finally left the town but later he had discovered that she could have been the legendary Child of Darkness he could only be angry at himself for scaring her off. Yet that didn¡¯t stop him from being angry. Very angry. ¡°Cosmin, whatever it takes you will find Celene and you will bring her to me. Do I make myself clear?¡± (Old man) Though he was angry he kept himself from shouting at his subordinate. He was not foolish enough to just scream out his problems onto him. He knew Cosmin was incredibly capable and that even this mistake was probably not his fault in the long run. He had a weird trust for the young man who had proven himself time and time again to be a useful asset¡­ and pawn. ¡°And one more thing¡­¡± (Old man) But there was something which he could not disregard in his attitude. ¡°My lord?¡± (Cosmin) ¡°There is no need to call that brat with a title.¡± (Old man) It was that he was not loyal directly to him but to the lord of this city and was only hunting the little girl because he thought he was doing it for her own good. He had always had a soft heart and that was one of his only flaws. The other being that he was na?ve but to the old man that was more of a benefit to override the other flaws rather than a flaw in and of itself. ¡°I-I see. I guess it is true that she has not yet been decided that she would be your successor. I understand. I will not spoil her.¡± (Cosmin) After he had said that the old man waved Cosmin off and he left the room. The old man could only sigh and shake his head as he got up from his chair and looked out towards the city of eternal night he lived in¡­ and controlled. ¡®Successor? As if that little girl can serve to be my successor! That brat will only serve to further my power in the city and nothing else. The blood of a Child of Darkness¡­I wonder how it will taste.¡¯ He smirked at the thought of finally being completely rid of the annoying brat. And by drinking her blood no less. How funny that it would be blood he thought. It was almost like the children of the elements were born for his race to devour. The night continued. It would never end. For that was the city of vampires. A city where light should never be allowed to shine. *END* *Sigh* I could only sigh after hearing the story from Cel and our little vampire friend before his head fell off. From what she told us through her tears me and Lily understood that her parents had died when she was child and she was abused, probably because of jealousy over her powerful darkness affinity. Though¡­ that was her opinion. I believe there was something more going on. Of course I had wanted to ruin the person or people responsible for this but¡­ ¡°Are you sure Cel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is¡­ something I¡¯ll eventually have to resolve on my own. I don¡¯t want you to do it for me.¡± (Cel) Cel stopped me. I could understand her feelings on this so I let go of my own rage. I will respect her wishes for now. Though I seem fine and calm now that¡¯s only because it has been over a day. I¡­ had learned a bit too much about her abuse to stay calm immediately after. I put the thoughts out of my head. I guess we might have to revisit this problem at a later date. I looked at Cel instinctively¡­ if only she ever decides on it. *Sigh* It feels like I¡¯ve been putting off a lot of problems lately. First that damned crystal in the forest. Now I can¡¯t even bring down the people that caused Cel¡¯s misery. I guess I¡¯m still powerless in the real meaning of the word¡­ *Sigh* Three days pass with no accident. Only the occasional bandit attack would dissuade us from continuing our journey but Lily would always take care of them easily. She got better and better at it too. And now we had finally reached the end of the road¡­ literally. We were standing in front of the gates to a harbor town. We had initially planned to not go here as we did not need to take a boat from them. I could just make one. But something I can¡¯t make. Food¡­ We were running out. If we¡¯re going to be technical here then I guess I can make it. But for some reason the taste just never comes out right. Some people would just think ¡°So what?¡± but those people don¡¯t seem to understand the importance of good food to a human. Especially when that human is going to be out at sea for who knows how long. We tried to go in but the guards stopped us insisting that there is a toll for passing. Of course there wasn¡¯t but I still gave them their five silvers. Who knows? Maybe they won¡¯t just spend it on whores and ale¡­ though judging from their expressions I was placing my hope on the wrong people¡­ In any case once we had gotten in the point remained as what we should buy. I made a few gold coins for each of us. Even if a thief targets us I was pretty sure Lily would be okay. Cel¡­ I think she would be fine too since I reminded her to be vigilant. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Now it¡¯s just about how to split up¡­¡± ¡°I could go to the harbor and look at the fish. There¡¯s bound to be something good right?¡± (Lily) I nodded. Though I felt like there would be an abundance of fish once we¡¯re out in the ocean we still might as well get some here. ¡°Th-Then I¡¯ll go to the northern part of town.¡± (Cel) I nodded again. ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ll be going south.¡± We split up with each of us checking a particular part of the town. We didn¡¯t really decide on what to buy but I felt like there wasn¡¯t a point. We could store it all in my storage crystal. Maybe I should have made one for each of them as well? Then again¡­ I didn¡¯t really have a gem on hand¡­ As I headed south I looked through the shops. The town was livelier than what we¡¯d seen thus far in this country. It still wasn¡¯t something too good on the moral compass though as I could spot a few people trying to frantically figure out where I keep my coin. Sorry but my money doesn¡¯t exist yet. I wen though a few shops, buying some spices and different food. I was also looking out for a store where they might sell gems but I just couldn¡¯t spot one. This country seemed to be quite poor after all¡­ Well If necessary I can just make them. I was looking through a shop when I sensed something which caused me to get serious. Exiting the shop I went through an alley. When I entered the alley I was a curious-looking gentleman but when I left I was a big guy, looking like a sailor. Bad teeth and everything. Seeing the person I¡¯m looking for running through the street I ¡°accidentally¡± get in his way, pretending I didn¡¯t notice him. He bumps into me and falls on his backside. ¡°Whoa. Excuse me there little buddy. Didn¡¯t see ya.¡± He looks up at me. I was expecting him to lash out or something and try to beat the living daylights out of me. As he stood up I caught a glimpse of his crimson eyes under the cloak he was wearing. ¡°No. Excuse me. I was in a hurry.¡± He looked up at me and apologized to me¡­ this is¡­ new¡­ ¡°Oh! You seem to be a sailor. Do you happen to have seen a man with mostly white hair who dresses like a noble and carries around a walking stick?¡± (Vampire) The young vampire was polite I can give him that. Well¡­ let¡¯s give him a hint. ¡°Oh? Sure I can tell ya ¡®bout him. Take it as an apology. I saw him yesterday. Was looking for a boat to take ¡®im to the elven country. Don¡¯t know if he found one but that¡¯s definitely where ¡®is headin¡¯.¡± The young-looking vampire widened his eyes and thought about something for a second. ¡°Thank you very much for the information. Please take this as my gratitude.¡± He handed me a bag of money which I took. It would look weird to refuse it. Inside were mostly silvers. Maybe one or two gold coins. To me it was an insignificant thing but to any normal person it¡¯d be a gold mine. A commoner would literally be able to live out a few years without worrying too much with this. I made a bitter smile as I passed through another alleyway as a sailor and emerge as myself once more. I couldn¡¯t let Cel run away from her problems forever. She said she wanted to get stronger first but if she thought I didn¡¯t notice how much of an excuse that is then she really is too na?ve. At least like this it would force her to deal with it sooner or later. I told them where we would be but we would probably get there much quicker. That vampire though¡­ he didn¡¯t seem like a bad guy to me. Maybe I can convince him to come to our side as well¡­ I felt a kind of Eirene vibe from him. He felt like he was being fooled into doing this. Like Cel wasn¡¯t really someone he intended on harming. Well¡­ I might be reading too much into it. It will become evident later. If what I thought is false then whether it be Cel or myself he would definitely die. I shopped around for another hour before turning around and going back to the place the three of us split up. Lily was already there but Cel was not. Expanding my sense of ¡°sight¡± I found her easily and confirmed that she was not in danger and was already on her way so I turned it back to normal. Sometimes there are things I didn¡¯t want to see¡­ I couldn¡¯t save everyone¡­ seeing them suffering in the dark corners of the town only served to make me feel worse about not saving them. Cel arrived after ten minutes. She seemed to have not bought much except that she was also carrying a book with her. As soon as she saw me and Lily waiting for her she started walking over to us but he had her head down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± (Cel) ¡­ I still didn¡¯t know why she was apologizing. ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± (Lily) ¡­ ¡°I¡­ I was supposed to buy food but I bought the book instead¡­¡± She finally showed the book though I had already noticed it since my vision wasn¡¯t exactly normal. She stretched her hands towards me while holding the book. ¡°What? You bought it for me?¡± She nodded while slightly red. I could only smile gently. Taking the book I didn¡¯t even bother reading the title or what it was about before patting the girl on her head. ¡°If you bought it for me then why would I be angry at you? Me and Lily already bought enough food anyway.¡± I could see Lily also nodding with a smile. Ah it¡¯s good to be smiling. We headed out of town for now. As I put my hand away from Cel¡¯s head I finally read the title of the book. ¡°Birth of an Anomaly¡±. Heh¡­ Cel has some interesting tastes. And a smart mind. I wonder if this book has any relevance to me. I would read it later. I didn¡¯t want to just analyze it in the five second method. I would have plenty of time in which I would have nothing to do while we were travelling across the ocean so I might as well spend some of it reading peacefully and slowly. Just how we liked it¡­ We traveled to the north following the coast for a day before we were ready to head off. ¡°Unsheathing¡± my sword I cut down two trees which floated behind us while we got out to the beach. We also wanted to reach a place with trees other than just getting far away from the harbor town which is why it took an entire day. The leaves of the trees had already fallen off as it was still in the middle of winter. If it wasn¡¯t for the void clothes the two were wearing they would feel quite cold. Thankfully those insulated both the cold and heat quite well. As the two trees floated above the water they changed form slowly shaping themselves into a medium-sized boat which could fit around six or eight people with space to spare. I climbed in the boat as part of the trees wrapped around my sword turning it back into a normal cane. The girls looked at each other before getting on after me. As they sat down the boat started moving. It didn''t have a sail but I just used the water to create a current propelling us in the direction I wanted. So we left behind the land we''re all so comfortable with being on. Chapter 30 ¡°Boring¡­¡± (Lily) ¡°Lily¡­¡± ¡°But¡­¡± (Lily) ¡°No! We¡¯ve been over this. I know it¡¯s boring but we¡¯re all dealing with it okay?¡± ¡°*Sigh* Fine¡­¡± (Lily) She said that but I expected more complaints within the hour¡­ *Sigh* I couldn¡¯t blame her. Even I had started to run out of patience. We had been on this boat for two weeks. TWO WEEKS! Even I¡¯m starting to just feel like I can¡¯t wait to step on land again and I¡¯m able to walk on water as if it¡¯s no different from it. Two weeks stuck on a small boat you can barely even walk around¡­ Ugh¡­ just thinking about it makes my head hurt. Never again. ¡°Maybe I should have made some sort of flying device instead¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± (Lily) ¡°Oh¡­ nothing¡­¡± Thinking about it that would be¡­ impractical. It would increase the chances for the gods finding me and might be defective seeing as I had no idea where to start¡­ unless I created a plane¡­ in which case it would not only increase the chances of the gods detecting that there¡¯s a powerful existence hiding out in their world but it would also scream out to Zahrah that I¡¯m still FUCKING HERE! *Sigh* We had long exhausted our sources of entertainment. I had read the book Cel bought back in the harbor town five times now. And Cel and Lily had each read it AT LEAST once. At least meaning that honestly it could have been more. The book itself was entertaining¡­ but worthless to me in any other capacity. It was the story of an adventurer that becomes incredibly powerful so much so that he could even take on something like a greater dragon by himself. I honestly couldn¡¯t tell if the book was completely fictional, if it depicted some kind of legend or if it was some sort of biography. It was very vague about the whole thing. But judging from how the adventurer¡¯s name is something as ridiculous as Blaze, it felt more like a fiction from back in the tyrant¡¯s world¡­ Thinking about it. I haven¡¯t actually met any dragons in this world yet. Though both me and Kenos knew that Zahrah¡¯s description of dragons was probably mostly a lie and her real objectives must have had something to do with Kate, the Child of Light who JUST so happened to be in the place I was born. I still thought there might have been a spec of truth somewhere in there. Even if there wasn¡¯t honestly I was just curious about them. On the other hand. I needed to make sure that whatever Zahrah intended to happen to Kate did NOT happen as it would probably be in her favor giving me yet another reason for finding her other than just fulfilling one of Vedqothur¡¯s final wishes and clearing that regret¡­ This pointed me to wonder about something which I hadn¡¯t thought about before¡­ What would happen if I did complete these? Would I just be fulfilling the final requests of people who were no longer entirely here? Or would something else happen. Honestly I felt that the latter might be true. Though the current me was stable I still retained some instability from all three of them. Maybe if I clear their past regrets my mind would get stronger once more? Maybe that¡¯s why my emotions are so hard to control right now? I guess that¡¯s another thing to possibly look forward to. I looked down beneath the water off the side of the boat. The water wasn¡¯t clear enough for normal people to see through it but this was me we¡¯re talking about. My sight was anything but normal. In fact it was completely different from how normal humans ¡°see¡±. I could still see my reflection to some extent. That¡¯s when I noticed my eyes. My eyes looked even more inhuman than before. Not because of their shape. It was just the feeling they awakened as someone looked at them. They had a strange depth which was weirdly inhuman. Like they were gateways to a whole other world¡­ they reflected my inner world. It was hard to notice but it was definitely there. How had I not noticed this before? *Sigh* Yet another thing to worry about. I tried to change their colors but it didn¡¯t work. That really surprised me. I tried changing my hair and that worked. So why not my eyes? Whatever the case my eyes were stuck like this. I needed to hide them. People up until now hadn¡¯t noticed but there was always the possibility. Which brought up another question. ¡°Hey¡­¡± Both Cel who was currently meditating and Lily who was too mentally exhausted to do that looked in my direction. ¡°Did you guys notice that my eyes look weird?¡± Both of them look at each other then back at me and nod. Great. This confirms it. If they can see it then I need to hide it. I would probably be much more exposed to people¡­ much more vigilant people from now on. Just as I was thinking about it, as if waiting for us to be at the end of our ropes , I barely saw the elven harbor that I was waiting to come into view in the distance. It was beyond the horizon but my vision was not impaired by that in the slightest. ¡°FINALLY!¡± Hearing what I said Cel and Lily who can¡¯t see that far away also figured out that we had finally finished our voyage but instead of heading straight there I turned the boat west towards the shore. We would go the rest of the way on foot. We had honestly already seen a few elven ships and the only reason they did not see us is the illusion barrier I placed on our boat to make it harder to see from a distance. If we got closer they might discover us. Even if they didn¡¯t we still can¡¯t quite dock in the harbor can we? Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. As the boat got up on the shore Lily and Cel instantly got off it. While Lily started running around screaming happily Cel instantly laid down on the ground with a content smile on her face. I myself was also happy. We finally reached the elven country. It had taken¡­ so¡­ long to get here¡­ How many times did we experience death because of something stupid? First it was Vedqothur because of his lack of knowledge of this world. Then it was Kenos because of his complacent attitude due to his power being one with the potential to greatly surpass the gods. I could only laugh bitterly at the memories of death in my fragments. Seeing as I was on the elven continent I went for a more proper look by extending my ears and pointing them. Yes. I was making myself into an elf. I knew humans in this country weren¡¯t treated badly but I still thought that If we had at least one elf in the group then we would seem at least less suspicious. I also made my hair completely white erasing the black outlines. As for covering up my eyes. I just simply made a black blindfold. I didn¡¯t need them to see anyway so I just needed for other people to not see them. The next problem was the boat. It was just weird. Normal boats and ships are made out of planks and different parts. Mine was just wood. One boat-shaped piece of wood. That was unnatural so I didn¡¯t want to just leave it here. It was possible that there existed nature magic in this world or something though I had not yet read about it but just in case. I used earth magic to pull the boat completely on land and a white fire blazed in the middle of it quickly devouring it and turning it into nothing but black charcoal. I was worried that the smoke might attract people so I urged the girls to stop playing around. We needed to visit the town. Our supplies were running out again and I was sure the girls would appreciate sleeping in a proper bed for the first time in weeks. Now that I think about it. The last time they had slept in a proper bed was¡­ back when we left the Evermist Forest. After that we tended to avoid towns and villages which resulted in them generally sleeping on the ground. Even in the harbor town I had only been hurrying to get on with it so I didn¡¯t think about letting them rest in a bed for a night. I sighed as I understood how much I had neglected their needs due to my own lack thereof. Well at least I would let them rest in a bed tonight. I swear even if the town somehow denies humans I¡¯ll at least assure them a proper bed to sleep on. Worst case scenario I would either sneak them in or create a bed for them to sleep on somewhere else. We parted with the beach going up on the path and following the direction towards the town. It took us a few hours until we got there but once we did I could see the magnificence the town exuded. It was nothing compared to the dirty and bland towns we had been in until now which I had not even bothered describing. Technically we could not see the inside of the town but¡­ just the feeling it let off somehow made us ecstatic to see what¡¯s inside. The walls were tall and white. Much different to the gray boring stone walls in the frontier human countries which seemed more like they were keeping their citizens in rather than keeping threats out. The guardsmen posted at the entrance also looked dignified and were wearing fancy-looking armor. Not quite the kind of armor that heroes would wear with designs on it and stuff but as full-body armor they already looked much better than the barely passable as armor uniforms the soldiers in the human kingdoms wore. The Protection Front also had a good design for armor but I couldn¡¯t help but think that this one was better if not slightly more impractical. It might have been the result of having less soldiers than other countries so they might just be pouring as much resources as possible to ensure that each and every one were as well equipped as possible. Then again these weren¡¯t royal soldiers so I guess it¡¯s jumping to conclusions. The guards saw us from afar but stood tall. There was no greed in their eyes but only pride and dignity. They did not stop us as we proceeded into the town. Probably the effect of my presence in the group. The town almost shined. It was evidently lively and had a good feeling about it even before we entered. It wasn¡¯t just simple grey stone. The different buildings were painted differently based on the preference of the owner while a lot of them were white there were also other colors present here and there with most of them being bright. The people were going about their business in the busy street but most of them seemed content with living in this place whereas in the human countries most were irritated as if they¡¯d like to be anywhere but where they were at that point in time. We instantly started searching for an inn. We were incredibly tired from the long journey. How long had we been travelling without stopping at a town. Three weeks? Four? I had honestly not been counting. Fact us the girls were tired and though I myself was not capable of being that. I still felt the urge to just lay on a bed for a while and think about nice things. We were finally here. We finally made it. And it was just what I wanted. I hoped that I could get some good conditions for studying magic amongst other things in this country. And by the looks of the happy look on most of the citizens¡¯ faces. I might even get it. Chapter 31 Ah. I was finally able to relax on a bed finally. When we found an inn I had forgotten that this country would have different currency but that didn¡¯t matter much as I just looked at a few of the nearby shops and street vendors until someone took out a silver coin that I could copy. Normally whoever was looking would have only been able to see one side but my vision was different. As for why I was relaxing on a bed even though I shouldn¡¯t feel fatigue. It¡¯s comfortable. It just is. Don¡¯t get me wrong. I still don¡¯t feel any fatigue but just relaxing in a nice bed once in a while is¡­ nice¡­ not necessary¡­ but nice. Like how I didn¡¯t need to eat but I didn¡¯t mind enjoying the taste of food once in a while. Lily and Cel were also relaxing in their own room after taking a bath. They might even be asleep. A long journey like the one we had can be exhausting. Not on the body as they got to rest every night. But on the mind. Most humans just prefer to set up a comfortable home at a specific location and live there. Same goes for vampires. Speaking of vampires I wonder what that one I pointed in this direction was currently doing. I was positive that he wasn¡¯t here yet. We were travelling at a speed that a normal ship could never travel at the entire time. Day and night. Yet it still took us over two weeks to get here. There was no way they would have been able to catch up. They also needed to find a boat to get them here unless they wanted to cross the Beastlands and that should have been a challenge in and of itself¡­ Yeah¡­ they might catch up eventually. Once we settle down somewhere. They¡¯ll have difficulty though if we keep travelling. I wanted to decide where we would head next together but in reality there¡¯s only one place we COULD head to. The capital. I don¡¯t actually know its name but that¡¯s where we should be heading probably. Honestly I barely know anything about the elven country other than the geography. Interestingly whoever made the map in the Karpas library that Kenos found brilliantly made the geography of the whole continent but the cities were only inserted for the human portion of the map. I can only think that someone else inserted them afterwards and that someone didn¡¯t know the positions and names of the elven ones. Regardless. The capital of a country is always as good a place to start as it is a good place to end. The reason being of course that there is a lot to do in the capital of a country. The royal family usually lives there, there¡¯s usually a lot of shops and merchandise from all over the place and it¡¯s a good a place to search for Kate as any. If possible I would like to acquire the assistance of someone with significant influence for that as well. Or maybe I could gain influence myself¡­ In either case I needed to get to the capital to do it. In the end I enjoyed myself by rolling around in the bed until the morning. Someone might think that staying put for so long might drive someone insane. But that someone must not have spent two weeks travelling on a boat. Not a ship. A boat. Right after a week of travel on foot. A bed is just¡­ nice to have once in a while. I also didn¡¯t have much to do during the night. I could have experimented with magic but honestly I believe I¡¯ve hit the bottleneck without further knowledge or some instruction. On the other hand the only types of magic I currently can¡¯t do are the very technical ones. The ones which aren¡¯t simply about casting a spell from the elements but things like advanced barrier magic or ritual magic which I¡¯d only read a slight bit about. Enchanting was another thing that I haven¡¯t mastered though by this world¡¯s standards maybe I have¡­ Seeing as it was morning I got up from my bed and left my room. The girls had already left their room earlier so I just went downstairs into the dining room and greeted them with a good morning before sitting down. ¡°It¡¯s quite unusual for you to get out of bed after us.¡± (Lily) Cel also nodded to that, probably agreeing that it was unusual for me. ¡°Even I want to spend some time rolling around on a bed from time to time. I also had thinking to do.¡± ¡°About our next course of action?¡± (Lily) I nod. We were speaking in elven by the way. It would be weird if we spoke human here. Or rather than elven¡­ I guess naming the language after the country was more appropriate as everyone here spoke it. Not just elves. So since the name of the country is Helia. I guess saying that the language is helian would be more correct? ¡°We¡¯re going to be heading to the capital right? I mean I can¡¯t think of any better place to go.¡± I nod once again. She also seemed to have the same thoughts as myself. ¡°We¡¯re looking for that Kate girl though correct? How will we find her?¡± (Cel) ¡°¡­ That¡¯s the hard part isn¡¯t it? For now we¡¯ll just go to the capital. There are going to be more opportunities for us there than in this harbor town for sure. If push comes to shove then¡­ I¡¯ll just do something more drastic about it. Until then there¡¯s no point in worrying.¡± Both Cel and Lily nod. There was also the problem with accommodations but I feel like I can solve that with a few gold coins. Judging from how silver and copper coins were the same in this country and just made of different metals I figured that gold cons too would be like that so I didn¡¯t worry too much about money. ¡°So how do we get there?¡± (Lily) ¡°Asking for directions?¡± (Cel) I nodded at Cel. ¡°No better way to go about it really. I¡¯m going to need you two to do it for me though. Since I only look like a blind elf most would think it weird that I¡¯m even asking for the way to the capital.¡± They nodded once more before we were done with the conversation and started eating instead. Even the food was better here. I felt like that if she had the ingredients from this country then the innkeeper from Karpas would be able to make some really magnificent dishes. She was a fine cook after all. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. After breakfast we decided to split up again. I gave them a lot of silvers and only a few gold coins and told them not to use the gold unless necessary. If it turns out to be different from this country¡¯s normal gold coins then they would just apologize saying that they must¡¯ve been lied to as they¡¯re new to the country and were given fake coins. Just in case the gold coins differed in design from the silver and copper ones. Before they left I also gave each of them a present. I created two rings each with a ruby embedded into the top and on the ruby¡­ though it was incredibly hard to do as it was small I wrote ¡°Large¡± ¡°Storage¡± ¡°Stasis¡±. Just like on my own. But for theirs I added ¡°Bind¡± ¡°Through¡± ¡°Blood¡± in a circle around it. I explained to them that they would need to put a drop of their blood on the gems so nobody else would be able to use them so they did before we split up. Of course¡­ this was done in my room and not in a public place. I am not an idiot. I also added the binding feature to my own. I didn¡¯t think anybody would be able to steal it from me but I might as well. It might be useful to make fun of some people. As I walked around town I could truly appreciate that we were in a better place than the human frontier countries. According to what I read the human countries aren¡¯t all bad. But the three countries which border the Beastlands are not places you would ever want to be. Other countries which are further south are better places from what I heard. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re heaven on earth but neither is this one. Every country has its own problems and though humans are not commonly mistreated here they still have less privileges than elves. A random one that I know is that only elves can join the royal guard. Though other races can join the army they are not allowed to protect the royal family directly. There¡¯s also still some elves that dislike humans and treat them as something lower than themselves too so it really isn¡¯t that great a place. It just beats living in a frontier country so bad that people are actually willing to cross the Beastlands to get here. As I was walking a single building happened to catch my attention with the sign on it being a sword crossed with a staff and a shield behind them¡­ An adventurer¡¯s guild? Here as well? Well if I¡¯m gonna get information¡­ No¡­ I already decided that I would leave that to Cel and Lily. A blind elf asking for directions would just be weird. I walked past the adventurer¡¯s guild as if I never saw it in the first place. I didn¡¯t stop staring at the sign either as that would look weird with how I¡¯m not supposed to be able to see. There wasn¡¯t anything interesting with me walking around town other than something I overheard a few people speaking about. Apparently there would be some sort of test for both swordmen and mages in the capital. Something about a tutor for a member of the royal family. Sounded like a good way to get close to them. Though it might include a background check or it could be that I won¡¯t be allowed to participate at all. If that is the case then¡­ well¡­ I¡¯ll just have to find another way. Nothing else caught my attention as I reunited with Lily and Cel in front of the inn we stayed at in two hours. Both of them had a sack of ingredients with them as I instructed them not to use the rings in front of other people. Cel somehow managed to get a lot more information than Lily though. She even tested the gold coins on purpose. Lily smiled a bit stiffly when she learned how much Cel had been doing. They did share a sort of sister relationship so she might have been ashamed at how she let her do all the work. The gold coins themselves were not regarded as fake. So with that¡­ We left the harbor and headed for our next destination. The capital of the elven country of Helia. From what Cel and Lily gathered the place itself was around a week and a half away. The elven country was relatively small. Not as a country. But as the only country of its race. Most human kingdoms are technically smaller with the exception of one or two of them but this one country was the only country the elves had so it was natural that it would be big compared to the humans who had twelve. Even if half the population of this country consisted of races other than elves. They also apparently gathered information on the tutor thing. Apparently the royal family were looking for a tutor for their youngest son. They were looking for strong individuals though they didn¡¯t manage to learn anything about the participation requirements. Maybe there¡¯ll be more information in the capital where it would be held. The trip itself was uneventful. We didn¡¯t even encounter any bandits. The most we did encounter were a few merchants and other travelers along the way. Learning from my past mistakes this time we actually did pass through the villages on the way to rest in the inns there before proceeding. I didn¡¯t want to torture the girls or anything after all. After a little bit over a week the tall walls of the Helian capital, Seloran, came into view. We had reached our destination. You could even say that this marked our real ¡°arrival¡± in the country. The walls were tall. I mean the walls of the harbor town were also pretty tall but these were enormous. It made me question whether they were built to defend from human attackers or titans. Well, no matter. We were finally here. From here we would finally be able to rest up a bit while I work on setting up a search for Kate. It wouldn¡¯t be practical for me to search the whole country by myself after all. Chapter 32 Sorry about not releasing any chapters in the past few days. I''ve been thinking a lot about this arc/part of the story/chapter and boy did I bite off more than I can chew. Who would have ever imagined that writing a peaceful part of an action story while introducing new characters and advancing old ones while still keeping the story going and keeping it interesting would have been hard for someone who''s barely been writing for over a month... me... I did... Anyway. Enough about that. I hope you find this chapter worth the wait as I can''t guarantee you it was... because I don''t have NEARLY enough confidence or arrogance in myself to say that it definitely was. Enjoy! -------------------------------------------------------- We were questioned by the guards as we approached the gates and there was an actual toll to pass into the city. The toll was only a silver per person. There were separate prices for if you have wagons with you and of course nobles and other people in a high position were exempt from this but that¡¯s irrelevant as we just handed the three coins and went inside. The guards also asked Lily and Cel to take off their hoods but when they did they instantly understood why they had hid their faces¡­ or at least I think. They either thought it was because they were both quite beautiful or because neither of them are elves. As for me. They didn¡¯t ask me to take off my blindfold as I pretended to be unable to see the whole time and I have to say my act seemed pretty convincing. The problem was when he found Lily and Cel¡¯s weapons although they were not registered in the adventurer¡¯s guild. I had to stick up for them as the ¡°elf¡± in the party and convince them that they had just come to the country and have just yet to register. There were a few others too like why I was with them when I didn¡¯t have an intention to join their party which I took advantage of and instead asked them more about the rumors about the mage test that the royal family had been preparing. The two guards that were expecting us looked at each other then back at me with a faint smile on their faces. The smiles weren¡¯t malicious or ridiculing but rather warm and somewhat pitying. I felt a bit conflicted about that. Even I had a hefty amount of pride, not as a being of power above the gods. But as a man who wanted to learn more about magic and had created his fighting style from nothing at all¡­ well technically I was not the one to create it¡­ but he was still part of myself so it was true that all that he did was also accounted to myself.. After all, this power I had was something that felt more granted than earned. Even though I knew that it was neither and that it was something I was born with. ¡°You probably mean the test to decide the third prince¡¯s tutor. It will be held three days from now in the royal palace but¡­ Not just everyone can get in.¡± Said the guard with a weird smile on his face. ¡°What are the conditions for getting in then?¡± The guards seemed a bit surprised at my unwavering smile and turned a bit more serious about their explanation seeing that I¡¯m either someone who¡¯s being cocky or of significant skill. ¡°You would either have to be someone of significant fame or to prove either your magic or swordsmanship with a test. After that the person will be chosen by the third prince himself after an explanation and demonstration of their abilities. You should go to the front of the royal palace if you¡¯re interested. You are lucky as the registration was supposed to close tomorrow so you can still register.¡± (Guard) I nodded and thanked him for the information. The two questions I currently held was. Weather I should use swordsmanship or magic to get in. Weighing my option I thought about it a bit. Both of them had huge drawbacks. If it¡¯s magic then the fact that I don¡¯t know too many advanced spells might be a problem. I was sure they would take me since I am basically and Archmage. A person who has become so close to the elements and magic that they could be considered a different race from their initial one. As for swordsmanship. The fact that I am pretending that I¡¯m blind is a huge drawback but the other is that I don¡¯t have personal experience with strengthening through mana. Even now that I have an incredible amount of strength it is not because of mana but because I could simply control my strength. In the end¡­ I decided to go with both. No need to conceal either was there? As we entered the town we were assaulted by an assortment of vivid and bright colors which were spread around the city. But¡­ for some reason even someone like me who usually preferred the more subtle and soft variants of these colors could appreciate the beauty of the town. The colors were not obnoxious but seemed to belong in just the right place. That being said it wasn¡¯t as if there were no dark colors but it was almost as if those colors were shunned within this town. If only that were metaphorical for how there wasn¡¯t any darkness in this country¡­ As we walked the roads we noticed a few carriages and wagons pass by going either up or down the road but one of them garnered specific attention as everyone actually gathered to greet the person in the carriage. It was almost as if there was a parade only there was only one carriage. The person inside the carriage was a boy around twelve and a woman who seemed in her twenties. Judging by that, the sun symbol on the carriage and the people¡¯s reaction to it I could only assume that the boy was my future pupil while the woman was his mother. Elves ages are so confusing¡­ then again who am I to talk? As we walked we were searching for an inn. I wanted to find one before I went to register as it would provide a meeting place as well as a simple resting place. The problem was that we couldn¡¯t find one. As we reached what seemed like one of the town squares Lily suddenly suggested she would go ask a guard about it. I had no problems with it but she seemed to not care as she ran off before she received any confirmation. *Sigh* There she goes again. She seemed to be doing that quite often recently. Not running off without listening to me¡­ well that too but what she was doing was leaving me alone with Cel. Sighing again I walked over to the fountain in the middle of the square and sat on its edge. It didn¡¯t seem to be prohibited as a human and an elf were also sitting down on the opposite side. Cel walked over with me and sat down next to me. It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t notice how she looked at me¡­ but that didn¡¯t change the fact that I was reluctant. I knew she was older than she looked so she wasn¡¯t a child anymore but that wasn¡¯t really what was bothering me. Honestly I had always thought the law which prohibits people from being in a relationship with people under a certain age was stupid and restrictive. I mean I understood that that sort of thing shouldn¡¯t happen between an adult and a child but what¡¯s a child is so subjective. Nobody can detect the moment a child becomes an adult. It¡¯s not about age. No what was bothering me was something much more selfish¡­ was she really looking at me? Or was she looking at a fragment of my past? I looked towards Cel to find her looking down with a smile on her face. It seemed like she really enjoyed being together with me. But again¡­ I felt like she was just thinking of me as Kenos and not as End. My problem was incredibly selfish. Honestly I couldn¡¯t be in a relationship with Cel until I clear that up. We just stood in silence until Lily came back before long, putting on a bitter smile as she saw us. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the hell she was expecting. In any case she told us why there were no inns around here. It¡¯s not that there weren¡¯t. There just weren¡¯t any on the main street. She then pointed out that the guard had pointed her in the direction of a good inn nearby. We found the inn easily enough after that and rented two rooms for four days. The inn itself was quite extravagant and unlike previous inns we¡¯d stayed at it had an actual public bath rather than just a tub they took up to your room and filled with water in which you could wash yourself off. I was honestly looking forward to it. But first. I needed to go get my job done. I couldn¡¯t wait until tomorrow as the registration would be closed off then. I informed both girls that I would be gone and left the inn, heading straight towards the large palace in the middle of the town. Apparently the town was separated between common areas, noble areas and the palace which was the home for the royal family and their guests. The common areas were the outer parts of the town which was built in the shape of a circle with the noble areas being further inside and the palace in the very center. I walked while thinking about what sort of test would be at the palace but something caught my attention. A single girl ran past me wearing high quality clothes. I was still in the commoner¡¯s area but those clothes looked nothing like those of a commoner¡­ but again¡­ who am I to talk¡­ What caught my attention was not that though. What caught my attention was her black hair coupled with the pale yellow tint of her skin which both suggested her to be of eastern descent¡­ eastern descent but not in this world. In fact. This world only had one ¡°race¡± of humans and that was the Caucasian one. I thought about different possibilities as she ran rounded a corner and went into the noble area with the guards not even stopping her. The reason she wasn¡¯t stopped was that she had the royal symbol on her clothes which meant she was their personal guest. In the end I came to a conclusion but I decided to leave it for later. In the end since I would be affiliating myself with the royal family I would either have a chance to meet with her again or to ask someone about her. In the end my curiosity would be satiated but I would not have to resort to stalkerish methods to do it so I was content with that. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. I myself also tried to enter the noble area from the same entrance she had used but the guards did not stop me as well. Maybe it was because I also wore quite the extravagant clothes? Well no matter. It saved me an interrogation so I won¡¯t complain. In the first place maybe commoners weren¡¯t really prohibited from going in here but it¡¯s just that nobody really does? I walked through the streets until I reached the gate of the royal family¡¯s home which was also known as the Sun Palace. The guards eyed me suspiciously but I just walked over to them innocently and asked them about the competition. The guards themselves pointed me to a direction slightly away from the gate in a way that a blind person would understand while looking slightly annoyed. They might have had to do this a bit too regularly for their own good. I just smiled while I was listening to their directions and then turned and headed straight there. The place they pointed me to was a sort of park area. I saw a line with a few people in it waiting to sign up and an even larger amount of people waiting outside of a very large tent which seemed to serve as the place the test for entering would take place. Of course they wouldn¡¯t bother letting inferior mages in the competition. I just walked over and stood at the line end of the line. I noticed that even though a few people on my line had already passed the tent had only one person leave. Seeing that there were over twenty people waiting in front of it¡­ this would be a long afternoon. The registration itself was simple. They just asked me whether I was a mage or a swordsman as well as my name. The person who was handling the registration raised an eyebrow when I told them my name was End. It wasn¡¯t because he understood the meaning. It was because it was incredibly short and I didn¡¯t mention a family name. But he still just pointed me to the tent anyway. When I say my name I always say End in English but that language does not exist in this world so people wouldn¡¯t actually know the meaning of it. The wait was long but unlike other people I could actually observe what was going on inside the tent so I was one of the less bored ones. It took five hours until it was finally my turn. During that other people had gathered after me. One of them tried to cut the line and take my place trying to take advantage of my blindness but I just tripped him with my cane and entered myself leaving him cursing with a red face. Assholes are everywhere. The inside was what I could only describe as an arena. A large circle covering most of the inside of the tent was risen out of the ground, probably with earth magic, with a staircase on either side of it. Stepping up the staircase in front of me stood three people. The one on my left was a large over two meters tall with a greatsword almost as big as he was on his back. The one on the right was a beautiful woman with a smirk on her mouth who was wearing a customized robe¡­ I was tempted to call her out on her blatant seductive clothing which revealed a large part of her bust and thighs but I resisted. The one in the middle was an elf who seemed old even for one. His hair was white and his face had wrinkles. Elves barely age in their lifetimes which suggested that this man had lived for hundreds of years to look like he currently does. I wonder how powerful of a mage he is. The old man in the middle looked at me appraisingly for a second before speaking. ¡°Mage or swordsman?¡± (Old man) ¡°Both.¡± I answered simply before unsheathing the sword in my cane¡­ normally this time. Not by completely stripping the wood from the sword. The old mage looked at me, once more evaluating me. ¡°I see. Unfortunately we have not brought someone capable of both swordsmanship and magic with us today. I apologize for that. You have a choice to be tested on one of the two or take two of us at once.¡± (Old man) ¡°Then let¡¯s go with the latter.¡± The others who seemed to show only slight reactions to what I was saying until now suddenly got angry. ¡°Hey brat! Who the hell do you think you¡¯re speaking to?¡± (Large man) ¡°Aren enough. You and me will go together. IF he is simply overestimating himself then this will be a good lesson.¡± (Old man) ¡°W-Wait. Master, you¡¯re going?¡± (Woman) The woman seemed quite surprised at this. ¡°You¡¯ve fought your share. I¡¯ll take this one. Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s plenty more waiting outside.¡± (Old man) The woman seemed a bit displeased but still stepped down from the platform. The whole time I simply stood and waited. ¡°I apologize for that. Are you ready to begin?¡± As he says so a staff appears in his hand from seemingly nowhere and the large man draws his weapon. Before I even finish nodding the man rushes towards me. *Sigh* Impolite. I throw aside my blade¡¯s sheathe before dodging the man¡¯s first attack. The mage was mumbling an incantation with closed eyes, probably thinking I would be held off for at least a bit but unfortunately for him this man isn¡¯t strong enough to hold me even if I restrain myself. I was a bit surprised that the old elf was not an Archmage. I guess it truly is something only a select few can achieve. As I dodge the first attack of the large man I bend my body in a weird way, making use of my flexibility before kicking straight at his exposed gut. Well¡­ as exposed as the full-body heavy armor he¡¯s wearing keeps it. He flies back a few meters since I held back but looks to be in pain as his armor is a bit dented. Blunt force can cause a lot of damage even through armor you know. The old mage opens his eyes in that moment and I hear the last words of his chant which are pretty much the name of the spell. ¡°Hellfire Pillar!¡± (Old man) I know that one. Or at least I¡¯ve read about it. I don¡¯t have the chant though. Maybe I should¡¯ve listened more closely. I would have been able to hear him if I tried. I was still slightly off balance as I hadn¡¯t even put my leg back on the ground but instead of regaining it I further unbalance it until I¡¯m falling. I put one of my hands to the ground and using it push myself off into the air and away from the zone of the spell used before pointing a finger at the old man while I was still airborne. A small drop of water gathered in front of my finger and quickly fired off with an incredible force and speed almost reaching that of sound. The old mage could do nothing about it when it pierced his shoulder and caused him to fly back a few meters effectively throwing him outside of the stage. That one was a quick victory. He had not let his guard down but to me it seemed like he had gone rusty. Maybe he hadn¡¯t been in actual combat for a long time. As I landed on the stage effortlessly I looked over to the other opponent. He looked at me in honest shock as he got over the pain in his gut and finally seemed to stop underestimating me while raising his sword. He imbued his sword with mana so thickly that even a normal person would be able to see a faint blue glow around it. Unlike the mana monsters were made of which had turned into looking like a gray mist normal mana was actually bright blue if concentrated enough to be seen. Rushing me with his full speed he actually used proper technique this time as he faced me. He wielded the huge sword as if it had no weight at all even though I calculated it to be somewhere around a ton in weight. His first attack was a wide horizontal slash which I ducked under but the slash stopped right where my body was before as if the man knew I would do that in the first place and turned the edge down towards me. I was honestly quite impressed for him to be able to stop mid-slash with such a huge sword was honestly impressive to me. But¡­ I jumped to the left rolling on the ground and standing back up in only a second. His sword had stopped right above the ground of the arena, not damaging the ground at all. He turned to me as he fixed his stance and once again charged. I shook my head and charged towards him as well while sharpening my sword with wind mana. That was the advantage of . I¡¯d always liked straightforward people like this. As we reached each other both of us slashed with an incredible speed. The result was that his sword was only half as large now. His body itself was unharmed. He looked at the sword in his hands and threw it away. ¡°I surrender.¡± He said while walking away. I faced the white haired man who had been watching after being thrown out of the arena. ¡°So am I in?¡± He nodded. ¡°Come to the Sun Palace in three days. That is when the actual competition will take place. Also I wouldn¡¯t be sure of my victory if I was you. If it was a tournament you would no doubt be the winner as the strongest but in the end this all depends on how the young prince sees it.¡± I simply nodded as the lower part of my cane flew back towards me. Grabbing it I put the sword back inside and left the tent to see the astonished faces of the people outside. The Hellfire Pillar had reached outside the tent and burnt a hole in the top. I laughed heartily as I left and went back to the inn. I know I have a purpose for doing all this but I might as well have fun with it. I smiled as I thought of the possible ways to have fun with the competition in three days while I headed back to the inn. Chapter 33 My god. I re-read some of my older chapters. I feel like I could do them so much better now¡­ *Sigh* Too late for that I guess. If I edit them now too many people will not want to re-read. Guess I¡¯ll just have to fix it in further chapters and hope for the best. I¡¯ve been reading a lot of other stuff lately. Before I kind of just read it for fun but now I can actually appreciate what other writers are doing and actually pick something up while reading their stories and that¡­ makes me happy... more happy than it probably should. As a minus to that the speed of my releases has slowed down quite a bit so I wanted to apologize about that again. Anyway. I hope you enjoy the chapter. ---------------------------------------------------- High above the continent of Krepath where End currently resided there was a floating island. The floating island was something the gods created for the Celestials who were once their fateful servants after they had descended to the mortal world together with the other races. There were several islands. They weren¡¯t mobile but each continent had at least one floating above it. In the case of the bigger ones there were more. For example above the continent of Krepath there were three but it was the southernmost one which was incredibly busy lately. On that island was a woman who looked around her twenties. With beautiful golden hair tied in a ponytail and sapphire blue eyes she stood behind a desk of high quality wood in a room seemingly made of white marble while looking over some documents with her wings folded. As there was a knock on the door she put the documents down before speaking. ¡°Enter.¡± (???) As the door opened a male Celestial entered. Probably to report something else. ¡°Lady Sophia. We have found traces of them in Lestil.¡± (Celestial) ¡°Lestil? That¡¯s all the way on the edge of the kingdom neighboring Astrain. *Sigh* Anything else?¡± (Sophia) ¡°About what we are to do with the lord of Karpas¡­¡± (Celestial) ¡°¡­ Let him go. We can¡¯t keep him locked up any longer.¡± (Sophia) The winged man bowed deeply before leaving the room and the still sighing Sophia behind. She was many things but she was not an idiot. But in the end they could find no proof against the lord of Karpas and keeping him locked up for such a long time was already going pretty far. She didn¡¯t know why but she knew that he was involved somehow. Her brother had thought her better than to dismiss something as pure imagination as instincts could actually be right quite often. Right. Her brother. The one she had left behind when she had died. Not all champions of the gods were reincarnated directly and among those who are even less managed to retain any memory at all about their past lives. Even she remembered very little and even the parts that she remembered were hazy. She felt how she admired her brother greatly. She felt how he was also fond of her. She felt that her life was not all great but was still better than most. She felt that that was also due to her brother. *Sigh* To the current her it ¡°felt¡± weird. She had no idea what to make of this past brother of hers but the fact that she always thought about him when she was frustrated meant that he either did the same or that he often saved her from it. If it was the latter she wished her was here for her. In the end other than remembering what she ¡°felt¡± about him she remembered only two things. Her name and that her brother was amazing. She hadn¡¯t talked about it much about I with Eirene. She had only mentioned it once when she didn¡¯t want to take a new name. *Sigh* She shook her head trying to get herself together. She had better stuff to do. Lestil was a port town which meant they could have went god knows where. She needed a better lead than that. She needed to find out where they were headed. *END* It was the morning after I was tested. I needed to wait two more days but I had no idea what to do so I was just lying around on my bed in my room. There was a knock on my door and I knew who was there. I could even guess what she was here for. ¡°Come on in Lily.¡± As the door opened it was indeed the human girl that stood in the doorway with an awkward smile on. I could tell that what she came for would be a bit uncomfortable to talk about for her and me both which only cemented my belief as to why she was here. ¡°Mind if I sit down?¡± (Lily) I shook my head and she took a chair to sit. There was actually a table with two chairs in the room. The inn was probably the best we¡¯d stayed in since coming to Helia. Scratch that. The best we¡¯d stayed in ever. Even the beds couldn¡¯t be compared to the ones we¡¯d been sleeping on. ¡°So? Knowing you, you already know what I¡¯m here to talk about right?¡± (Lily) ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be fair if I said it would it?¡± Lily looked down and sighed as if preparing herself for what is to come. I also prepared myself. ¡°It¡¯s about Cel.¡± (Lily) I nodded. As I thought she wanted to talk about it. She hadn¡¯t stopped trying to get us alone for quite some time so I had figured that she would eventually do this. She probably figured that now was a good time since we had reached our destination. I didn¡¯t say anything and waited for her to continue. Lily let out another heavy breath of air. ¡°You know how she feels right?¡± (Lily) I nod. ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you doing anything about it.¡± (Lily) And I sigh. ¡°If you understand me so well then shouldn¡¯t you know?¡± Lily looked at me with a serious expression. ¡°I have no idea. I just don¡¯t get it. I know you¡¯re not the type of guy to push her away. Hell you slept with her already when you found us so then-¡° ¡°It¡¯s not about that!¡± I interrupted her. I was starting to get angry and even sad. She hit me where it hurts. But that wasn¡¯t because it was true. But because it greatly missed the point. ¡°It¡¯s not about whether I want to accept her or not¡­ What do I accept when she isn¡¯t even looking at ME.¡± Lily opened her mouth to speak but her eyes opened widely just as she was starting as she seemed to have realized what I meant. ¡°You¡­¡± (Lily) ¡°Can you deny it? Can you tell me right now while looking me at the eyes that the one Cel treasures is not me but one of the fragments I was constructed of?¡± I was really getting heated up. This was the one thing that could make me lose it like this other than the atrocious activities of bandits, slavers and the like. Why was it that I was getting so heated up? It was because I was seeking acceptance and understanding. I was created in order to grant the desires of my three fragments. That didn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t have a will of my own. But that is exactly why this was such a big deal to me. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Is there a difference?¡± (Lily) And that pushed me over the edge. I was now in the territory of anger so intense that it actually calmed me down. ¡°Lily. Tell me. If there were three broken down boats. And a carpenter took a few usable planks from those three boats and built a new one out of them. Would that boat still be the boats it was built out of?¡± Again Lily widened her eyes and instantly looked at me apologetically before turning into another awkward smile. ¡°End I¡­ Okay¡­ I got that you¡¯re also thinking about it. But isn¡¯t it fine? Even if you¡¯re a different boat you still have the same design.¡± (Lily) I widened my eyes as well. ¡°What? You¡¯re trying to tell me that it¡¯s not that she still loves Kenos but loves me because I am like him?¡± Lily nodded before getting up. ¡°Sorry about that. Think on it for a bit. Just¡­ make sure to think on it.¡± (Lily) She walked through the door after opening it. *Sigh* This love business is though work. I guess¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter does it. When I think about it me and Kenos aren¡¯t that different. Actually none of the three of us are too far apart from the other. All of us hated slavery and injustice. All of us enjoyed reading to a degree. All of us¡­ No¡­ I guess there is no us anymore¡­ I should stop that. There is only I. I had already accepted the legacy of the three who created me. I should have accepted all that they were and did. I guess I wasn¡¯t there yet. But no longer. I will save MY sister. I will protect MY loved ones. I will complete my wishes. Until now I had treated them as something that I was supposed to do because I had accepted the legacy of the three before me but I was wrong. It is because I accepted the legacy that I wanted to do them. Lily and Cel were Kenos¡¯ loved ones. Thus they were my loved ones. The tyrant¡¯s sister was my sister. Cel¡¯s love for Kenos was love for me. I would accept it all I said. I was a little late in doing so. I had to thank Lily for making me realize what I should have been doing. I let out a breath of relief. After I let that out of my system I suddenly felt lighter which astounded me. Did I just become even more powerful than before?... No¡­ I guess that¡¯s just the feeling of having a weight lifted from your shoulders. Huh¡­ I never thought it would literally make me feel lighter. I laughed a bit at that. Maybe I should invite Cel to go around the city after the competition. I spent the rest of the day lying around in bed but decided to go out for a stroll the next one. As I walked through the town I reveled in the beauty. The elves really made their towns feel like the sun just because of all the bright colors. It felt lively and happy. Well¡­ there were dark corners as well¡­ I passed through the common district. Quite a few people looked at me curiously but then proceeded with their own lives. Only a few buildings really stood out to me in the city. The adventurer¡¯s guild which was made completely out of wood. And the temple for Solaris, the god of the sun, which was made of a smooth stone painted in different shades of white, red, yellow and orange. In the end what stood out the most was the royal library¡­ but¡­ that was probably just me wanting to get in there. Unfortunately it required a pass. Now I NEEDED to get in good with the royal family. Just think of all the books I could read. I could barely contain my drool while thinking about it. I had gone from the common district into the noble one. The guards did not stop me this time as well. That was where I saw the royal library. The temple was in the common areas. As I thought the commoners weren¡¯t really banned from the noble section but were just shunned. As for the guards that stood between the two parts of the town¡­ I had no idea why they were there¡­ to look intimidating maybe? The noble section itself was full of people. Some looked like the stereotypical pompous noble douchebags while others less so. I hoped the king of this country wasn¡¯t of the former type as that would warner another relocation¡­ and I was tired of those. At worst I would take over the country. In truth I have already come up with a possible way to stop the gods from interfering too much with me without killing them. I remember Zahrah and Eirene told me that in actuality gods were unable to manifest their power on the mortal realm. That¡¯s the whole reason they needed champions to do it for them. So in the end. Wasn¡¯t all I needed to do to break connections with those champions? Sounded simple enough to me. But it needed a bit of experimentation so I would wait on it. Upon returning to the inn in the afternoon I saw that Cel was exiting the restaurant in the inn. That¡¯s right. Not a mess hall but a restaurant. Normal inns served food only in the morning and at night but this place had a restaurant built in. I just waved at her with a smile and we went up towards our rooms together. It was a bit awkward after all. You could say I lacked a bit in social skills. But that only encompassed things involving in romance. ¡°Hey Cel...¡± Cel looked towards me a bit surprised that I said anything at all. Usually when it was just the two of us we both kept quiet. I had no idea how to say this¡­ Ugh. I just bit the bullet and said something. ¡°Would you like to go around town with me? I have the competition tomorrow but maybe the day after?¡± Again she looked surprised but tilted her head cutely. I had to admit. If I ever were to be loved by someone. Then someone as cute as this would be nice. Yup. It would be great in fact. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already go for a walk today? Did you not see enough of the town?¡± (Cel) Oh dear¡­ for once¡­ we have not a donkan protagonist but a donkan heroine. Great. I stifled my laugher at that. Take a hint Cel. Please. For me. ¡°I would actually like a walk with you.¡± She seemed confused a bit for a second but she seemed to have realized that that meant that we could have some time alone so she nodded happily. *Sigh* I feel like I could¡¯ve done better with that but at least I did it. As for the contents of our outing¡­ I¡¯ll think on it later. For now¡­ I¡¯ll test that interference for the gods. Imagine how confused the races will be when suddenly their gods go silent. My awkward mood from before had completely evaporated as I changed the smile on my face to an amused smirk. Funnily enough my smirk was quite similar to that of Zahrah. Only¡­ it was much more dangerous. I smirked even more widely at the thought. She would get what¡¯s coming to her. Everyone will¡­ and I¡¯m not talking about only the gods. It would be just a matter of time before I would change this world for the better. Chapter 34 A council had gathered on that day. In a room of gold, surrounding a round table. A council consisting only of immortal beings. Or at least. That is what they called themselves. The meeting had already neared its end. All that was left was review what they had learned through each other and decide on a countermeasure just like they had done when Kenos had emerged out of nowhere. ¡°So let¡¯s go over everything again. You¡¯ve all felt the weird thing in the mortal world and we all agree that it¡¯s probably an enemy who is hiding from our senses correct?¡± (Zahrah) Almost everyone nodded. One did not but the goddess of freedom and chaos simply ignored her and continued talking. ¡°Very well. Then in that case we will initiate a search immediately. As for what we¡¯ll do when we find it-¡° (Zahrah) Not able to finish her sentence most of the gods instantly stood up some slamming the golden table in the middle of the room with various faces. There was confusion, anger and disbelief. None of them could believe what was happening. ¡°What the hell? I can¡¯t feel anything on the mortal realm. Not even the darkness!¡± (God of Darkness, Zephiron) ¡°DAMNIT! I CAN¡¯T FEEL SHIT EITHER!¡± (God of Wrath, Regnos) They had all been robbed of their senses. Robbed of their power over the world. ¡°How could this have-?¡± (Zahrah) Zahrah realized that it must be connected to the anomaly they had all faced and straightened up, leaving the room in a hurry. While running through the golden decorated hallways she could not shake the feeling that she had messed up though she could not tell where it was that she did. Stopping after a short run she stood in front of an arch. The gate to the mortal world. It was in fact not impossible for gods to go to the mortal world but there were laws which prevented them from doing so other than in dire circumstances. The current gods though did not care about any such laws. To them this was a dire circumstance already. Zahrah touched the arch and poured her mana inside of it while the engravings covering it lit up the gate, no longer empty, started filling itself with a weird blue energy. Only a few seconds and under the arch was full of a weird blue energy which formed a gateway. By this point the other gods had caught up, seemingly understanding Zahrah¡¯s idea. None of them were very glad about being left pretty much blinded but their hopes of getting to the mortal world and straightening out this issue themselves were quickly crushed by what happened next. Seeing that the portal had opened Zahrah stretched her hand and tried to put it through but as she touched it she felt an indescribable pain. Pain like she had never felt before. As a goddess her power was not small. She was one of the strongest beings in the world and was also quite fond of letting other people do the dirty work while she deceived them and watched from above. Thus she had never been injured before. ¡°ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!¡± (Zahrah) ¡°Zahrah!¡± (Eirene) Eirene seeing her ¡°friend¡± rolling on the ground in pain instantly rushed over trying to help and cast some magic hoping to heal her friend. The other gods, all astounded at what had occurred, were all doing what they did best. Some were thinking about what to do next while others were¡­ ¡°Move it!¡± (God of Wrath, Regnos) The god of wrath true to his namesake was incredibly angry. He walked past the goddess of peace and goddess of chaos and stuck his arm through the portal only to end up on the floor screaming just like Zahrah had. On that day the domain of gods. Became their prison. *END* ¡°Heh.¡± ¡°Something good happen End? You seem to be in a pleasant mood.¡± (Lily) We were having breakfast in the inn. I had just cast the interference spell which would cause the gods to become effectively blind a few minutes ago before coming down to eat with the two. As such I couldn¡¯t hold back a smirk and a slight laughter as I watched a large idiot in the domain- No, excuse me. Prison of the gods stupidly repeat the mistake Zahrah had made and tried to come through the portal. Yesterday I had thought of separating their connections to their chosen but I had realized there were two problems with that. One is that they could just make another chosen afterwards. Another was that both the god and the chosen one had a chance to receive heavy damage upon the forceful disruption of the connection, to the chosen that would be fatal. Though that wasn¡¯t even possible to accomplish by any other god so they probably had thought it to be fine. I myself don¡¯t care what happens to most gods and even less about their champions. What I cared about was only one pair. The goddess Eirene and her champion who I suspect is my sister. The evidence all pointed to it. It was her who shouted the commands to activate the trap Kenos had fallen into and Eirene had mentioned that like me, her chosen had also been from a world with no magic. I doubted she knew about her being my sister though. If she had she would have told me. I held no doubts about that. She was one of the only people in this world which I could truly trust no matter what even if my interaction with her was small. I also anticipated that the gods might have actually had a way to enter this world which seemed to be correct so I completely severed their world from any other and put a barrier around it which they would not be able to break due to its sheer size and strength. A very different type of barrier to the one we found in the Evermist which had based its strength on its complexity. They still kept their bonds to their chosen and they could still communicate with them¡­ but that was it. They could no longer do anything else. Cel nodded, agreeing with Lily that something good must have happened to me. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. I was just watching two clowns get hurt in a comedic fashion.¡± ¡°Clowns?¡± (Lily) Oh right the concept for them was probably lacking in this world as of yet. ¡°Something like a jester.¡± ¡°I¡­ see.¡± (Lily) She looked quite puzzled as to why I would be laughing at something like that. She knew I wasn¡¯t the kind of person to laugh at somebody else¡¯s misfortune. She had forgotten I laughed at it quite often as long as that somebody else was my enemy. ¡°I had thought you were just excited for your date with Cel tomorrow.¡± (Lily) She smirked at me knowingly. *Sigh* Why do you have to be this childish about it? You were the one who wanted me to do it in the first place¡­ well not like I didn¡¯t. Cel had momentarily stopped eating and was looking at the ground with a red face. From what I can guess Lily probably found out about our arrangement, most likely from Cel directly and then explained that it would be no simple walk. ¡°Well I am looking forward to that. But first I¡¯ll have to go impress the royal family today.¡± ¡°Oh come on. It¡¯s you. They¡¯ll probably take you instantly.¡± (Lily) ¡°*Nod* There¡¯s no way they would take any other mage even if you only display your magical prowess without any of the knowledge or other skills.¡± (Cel) ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re so confident in me but don¡¯t get your hopes up too high. The one choosing will be a child after all.¡± I said that but they seemed to not care in the least. Either confident that I would make it or that even if I don¡¯t I would do something even better. Well¡­ they weren¡¯t wrong about the second one. But I still wanted to get close to the royal family. It would be easier to get to the country like that if the need were to ever arise. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Well. I¡¯ll be going then.¡± Seeing as we had finished eating I decided to head off. I honestly did not know of the time we needed to gather. Either they had forgotten to inform me or we would be gathering at no specific time whatsoever. In either case I decided that going now, in the morning would me most suitable. Cel and Lily both nodded and waved me off as I left the inn. I walked through the crowded streets of the bright city until I reached the outer palace gates. The palace itself had a huge garden surrounded by the outer fence and then in the middle of the garden sat the actual palace. ¡°Halt! No one is allowed in the palace without proper authorization!¡± (Guard) Hmm¡­ But I didn¡¯t really receive a pass or anything. ¡°I¡¯m here because I was chosen for the tutor competition though¡­¡± ¡°Nobody gets in without a document allowing entry.¡± (Guard) Just as I was thinking of walking away and then sneaking in from a different location the gate opened as a large man wearing heavy armor and a greatsword on his back passed through. ¡°Oh. Hello there. It is nice to see you again.¡± For a second Aren was surprised seeing as I was wearing a blindfold but still recognized him but he seems to have already figured I have a way of seeing or at least sensing other people during the battle so he recovered quickly. ¡°Heh. Nice to see ya too buddy. We¡¯re gonna have to have a rematch after last time. But first how about you get in?¡± (Aren) The man was the one who I fought in the examination. The large man called Aren. The guards looked at me surprised for a second but then regained their dignity and let me pass through with Aren. We walked through the garden to the front gates of the palace and went inside unhindered thanks to the large man¡¯s presence. As we walked through the hallway I initiated a conversation. I had a feeling I would like the man. ¡°Sorry about the sword by the way. I guess I showed off a bit too much.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. That was only a replacement I used for the examination. I didn¡¯t wanna use my actual sword after all.¡± (Aren) Well now it made sense why I could cleave it in half so effortlessly or why it wasn¡¯t even enchanted. Unlike his current sword. ¡°Sorry about that at the gates by the way. The truth is we had to give you a permit when you passed the examination but not only were you the only one who passed but we were also pretty blown away by your performance. So we kinda forgot.¡± I chuckled a bit. I should keep the showing off to a minimum from now on. Though I will keep my pride. Unfortunately for the king I am not going to just kneel in front of him and beg him to accept me. That is the one thing I would not do. I still had pride. As a being surpassing the gods. As a magician and swordsman. And as a former ruler and conqueror of an entire planet. Judging from the populace and their loyalty to the royal family the king was by no means a bad man. But even so the one thing he will need to understand before he accepts me is that I will serve no one. As we arrived in front of another huge double door the knight, or at least I am assuming he is one, stopped. ¡°Well. Good luck. Not that you¡¯ll need it.¡± (Aren) He said with a smirk. Seems like he also thought I would make it. *Sigh* It seems I have that sort of effect on people. The guards on both sides of the door pushed it open and I walked inside, leaving Aren behind. The inside was a long hallway with a red carpet in the middle. It was painted yellow and looked almost like gold. In the very back of the room sat two thrones, elevated with stairs, on which were sitting who I assumed to be for obvious reasons the king and the queen. I walked while observing the rest of the people in the room. There were six people at the bottom of the stairs who were all kneeling in front of the king. Half looked like mages while the others had swords hanging from their waists. They were probably the rest of the participants. Huh. I guess I¡¯m the last one? The men did not look like adventurers or anything like that. They were all obviously nobles. So they probably got through with connections. Heh. Aren did say I was the only one to pass the actual examination. Behind and to the kings left stood a tall young-looking man who was obviously a member of the royal family. Probably the first or second prince. Next to him stood the old man who had been at my examination. To the direct right of the king stood a young boy who was obviously the third prince we were supposed to be teaching. And to the direct left of the queen stood a girl who looked like she was in her teens. Maybe the princess? I don¡¯t really know the full extent of the royal family. I don¡¯t even know if they have daughters or how many. On the other hand. It is quite curious how many children the king and queen have seeing as elves are supposed to have a low birth rate. There were also a lot of guards in the room both lining the way to the front and a few around the royal family. Aren walked in from another entrance behind the royal family just as I reached the rest of the participants and smirked at me before walking over and standing next to the old mage. I smirked back before standing in the line of participants. The rest were still bowing but I did not. The attention of the room had already gathered on me as I walked forward but now I could feel annoyance in some of their looks. ¡°What are you waiting for? You are in front of the king. Bow!¡± (Older Prince) So it did come to this. Of course it did. You can¡¯t meet royalty without them asking to bow in front of you. Or so I thought but the king put his hand in front of his son as if asking him to stop and stood up from his throne. ¡°Rise.¡± (King) As he said so the other six rose from their position. They looked really annoyed as well. This is going better than expected. I just came here but I¡¯m already annoying the living daylights out of the nobles and royalty. Just as planned. Not. But still it was interesting so I did not really try to stop it. I wasn¡¯t going to bow down. I wasn¡¯t going to disrespect them either. It was simply that these people took everything other than complete obedience as disrespect. ¡°AS you know you have gathered here today to teach my youngest son all that you know in the ways of magic and the sword. But. Before you can do that we must decide who is most worthy of doing so. As such you will be escorted to another location where you will be allowed to show your skills. As you know the one who will decide his teacher is my son. Aren, please escort them to the inner courtyard.¡± (King) Aren made a slight bow before coming down the stairs and walking past us while being followed by the third prince and his older brother. Everyone including myself turned to follow them but the king had one last thing to say. "The blindfolded man. Remain here!¡± (King) He said while pointing at me. The other participants were smirking at me as if saying ¡°Serves you right¡± which I found hilarious. I didn''t like being ordered around but I stopped turning towards Aren and faced the thrones once more. Now then I wonder what the good king would want from me. ----------------------------------------- The cliffs are real. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOWysv2YKC0 Chapter 35 You wanted another chapter? Here have it! Hope you enjoy. -------------------------------------------------------------------- It seems I wasn¡¯t the only one surprised at the king¡¯s order as the older prince and the princess seemed to be as well. The third prince didn¡¯t seem to care and was just excited about choosing a teacher. I was a bit annoyed honestly. He had ordered me as if he owns me already. If he is only keeping me here to punish me for not bending the knee earlier then I am going to be quite mad. With the gods unable to stop me I no longer need to hide anything. Not my power. Not my aura. Nothing. The only possible threat to me are the champions but they would be a joke. Even if they transport me to the domain *cough*prison*cough* of the gods that is no longer their domain. It is mine. They won¡¯t be able to hurt me there. And if it is indeed true that they can¡¯t break my barrier then they can¡¯t trap me in one either. No matter how complex they make it unless it would cause something like the destruction of the world if I force it I can always just break it. Even if they can make something like that it would require a lot of time and preparations and even after that I will have all of eternity to figure out the barrier piece by piece and come back. Of course I will be careful. I will still hide most of my abilities simply because I have no need of them and having a trump card is always good. But if they decide that bossing me around is a good idea I would have to prove them otherwise. The king sat down and waited for the princes and Aren to leave the room with the other candidates. Or rather seeing my treatment here ¡°other¡± might be unnecessary. When they left the room the king finally addressed me. ¡°I apologize for that. I needed you for another task.¡± (King) Oh so he didn¡¯t just keep me here because I offended him. I see. It seems he realizes that an Archmage is not someone to mess with even if you are the king of a country. But more importantly. ¡°And what might that task be?¡± The king nodded at the old mage and he chanted, setting up a sound barrier around the throne room. The princess seemed confused still but the queen must have known what was going on. Either that or she had one hell of a poker face. ¡°I am in need of a teacher. Not for my son but for someone else.¡± (King) Someone else? Something finally clicked. ¡°I see. I had wondered why you couldn¡¯t just have the court mage or a commander from the army train your son. They were busy with that other person.¡± The king nodded affirming my conclusion. So wouldn¡¯t that mean that if I take over then those guys from earlier would be unneeded?... Heh. I suddenly want to do this. ¡°It is impressive that you deducted that so quickly. Certainly just as Elrond said you seem to be an intelligent and powerful man. May I ask for your name, honorable mage?¡± (King) I was honestly impressed with the king. He didn¡¯t look down on me because I had no background and was respectful to me as he seems to have heard of my prowess. Elrond¡­ is probably that old man next to him. ¡°My name is simply End. May I get yours in return?¡± He seemed a bit surprised. He must have thought I knew his as he is the king. ¡°Ah yes. Excuse me. My name is Terion Seloran. As you know I am the king of Helia.¡± (Terion) He proceeded to introduce his wife, Miria Seloran and his daughter Erina Seloran. The old mage was introduced as the court mage, which I sort of guessed already seeing his position, as well as a personal advisor to the king. What was left was to talk about this other student of mine. ¡°About the one I will be teaching.¡± ¡°Ah yes of course. As you have probably already guessed I wanted you to be her teacher in secret if at all possible. You see she cannot read and she can only speak our language due to a magical necklace we have her wearing which translates for her. So if possible we wanted you to include all sorts of education. You seem qualified based on your intelligence.¡± (Terion) This sounded fishy but to me it wasn¡¯t really that big of a deal. I could sense no lies in his voice. He wasn¡¯t trying to trick me. He was really just looking for a teacher for this girl he is talking about. ¡°And in return?¡± Of course I couldn¡¯t agree unless he met my requirements. I also thought of something interesting to annoy those nobles from earlier and I might have some fun while I¡¯m at it. Well¡­ it was something necessary anyway. ¡°Of course. We can give you pay for your services.¡± (Terion) ¡°I am not interested in money.¡± Of course I wasn¡¯t. I¡¯m a machine for infinite amounts of any material in existence. Why would I need a few coins? ¡°Then what is it you desire?¡± (Terion) Asked the king seemingly hopeful that it is not too ridiculous. ¡°I don¡¯t desire much. I have but two requests.¡± Terion nodded, waiting for me to speak. ¡°The first is that I want somebody found. Five years ago I encountered a human girl who I was separated from and I have reason to believe she is in this country. I need her found.¡± The king nodded once again, pointing to the fact that he had accepted my request. ¡°I would need more information about the girl but we can talk about that later. What about the other?¡± (Terion) ¡°The second is access to the royal library.¡± He seemed to hesitate this time. ¡°Why would you need access to the royal library.¡± (Terion) ¡°If you think it is because of your military secrets then you would be very wrong. I love books. Simple as that. I want to read the books in the royal library. From magic to history. If you really don¡¯t want me looking at some military secrets or whatever you have locked away in there then I suggest you put them away somewhere and I won¡¯t mess with them.¡± "That''s not what I..." (Terion) Then what?... Oh wait. Right. "I''m not blind. I wear this to practise sensing mana." I had forgotten about the blindfold already as it isn''t an inconvenience. I hadn''t even thought about it in the last two days. ¡°I... see¡­ In that case I can grant you full access to every level except the second underground one.¡± (Terion) He said slightly reluctantly but also with a hint of relief. ¡°That is acceptable.¡± I nod affirming that I would agree to that. The second underground level was probably where the secrets of the country were locked away and I didn¡¯t need access to those in order to find them out. ¡°Is that truly all you require? If it is only that then I don¡¯t mind granting one more.¡± (Terion) ¡°Mmm¡­ In that case a position as your court mage and permission for me and my two companions to live in the palace would be good. This would be good for both you and I after all.¡± In truth I had already decided to ask him that since the beginning. I hadn¡¯t included it in the requests because I had predicted that the conversation would probably move in this direction. If it hadn¡¯t I could have included it separately. Not as a request but something that would benefit the king. ¡°Yes. I understand that it would be suspicious to have an unnamed mage be visiting the royal palace every day. If you are a mage accepted by me personally and you live in the palace there would be less of a problem. But I do not know of your two companions.¡± (Terion) I was glad to hear so. In that case I wouldn¡¯t even have had to bring it up if he hadn¡¯t mentioned a third request. It also meant the king himself was quite intelligent. But¡­ my companions huh? Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Yes¡­ well that might be the difficult part.¡± ¡°Do they not have any talents so that we may hire them as well?¡± ¡°Oh no. Both of them are incredibly talented. One is an accomplished swordswoman while the other is a mage close to becoming an Archmage. With both being my apprentices. It is the fact that neither of them are elves that will be difficult.¡± ¡°I see¡­ that will indeed be¡­ difficult.¡± At this point I looked at the rest of the people of the room. The princess was looking at me with a face of confusion while the queen and the old man were waiting patiently for us to finish negotiations. ¡°If they are your apprentices then it cannot be helped. They will be allowed into the palace and will each have a room here. But¡­ I will be unable to grant them any privileges beyond that.¡± (Terion) ¡°That is fine. They will simply be here as my apprentices. Nothing more, nothing less.¡± The king nodded. ¡°In that case I would like to introduce you to your student.¡± (Terion) He said as he stood up. I nodded and started climbing the stairs. The queen stood up and together with old man Elrond and the princess we left the throne room through the door Aren came in through before separating in the hallway as the two women took off in the opposite direction. In truth I already had an idea of who my new student might be. If I hadn¡¯t I wouldn¡¯t have accepted so easily and would have wanted information first. Now me and the king were walking together with Elrond through the hallways. Unlike the throne room the Hallways were painted white while the ceiling was still yellow. The floor was made of a white stone. Different from marble, it was completely white. There were all kinds of decorations on the wall paintings, swords. I had also noticed how the interior of the palace was never cold and had amounted that to the runes which were invisible to normal people, positioned around the place. I didn¡¯t know the rune though which was interesting to me. The rune for warmth was in my knowledge but this one was different. While I was thinking Elrond spoke up to me. ¡°Congratulations on your new position friend.¡± (Elrond) ¡°You were the one to make this happen were you not?¡± ¡°It seems you have me all figured out.¡± (Elrond) He said with a slight smirk. He seemed like quite the energetic old man. ¡°I have to ask. Why were you at the examination that day? I¡¯m quite sure you had better stuff to do as a court mage and advisor to the king.¡± The king was of course listening to our conversation as he was right in front of us. ¡°Ha. I had thought to at least visit on the last day. There were no promising candidates before that you see and I wanted to see Aren and my apprentice beat around some people in over their heads. I am glad I did so out of boredom. I found out how rusty I had gotten. Maybe we could have another match? A mages duel this time.¡± (Elrond) ¡°I have already promised Aren a rematch so it would be unfair to refuse yours.¡± ¡°Heh. Elrond if I didn¡¯t know any better you seem to be more glad that he¡¯s here than his student was when we made her the offer.¡± (Terion) Oh. This was interesting. So the girl actually accepted having a new teacher. Which reminds me. I guess this is as good a time to ask as any. ¡°I actually had a question.¡± ¡°What might that be?¡± (Terion) Asked the king, full of curiosity. ¡°This student of mine. She is not of this world is she?¡± The two suddenly stopped walking. ¡°You¡­ how?¡± (Terion) ¡°It is quite simple. Though. It was only a coincidence. Three days ago when I first arrived in a city I saw a curious human girl who had a peculiar skin tone. No human in this world has a skin tone like that. She was also wearing the royal symbol on her clothes. Something that a human shouldn¡¯t be allowed to do. It¡¯s her isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes¡­¡± (Elrond) ¡°Elrond?¡± (Terion) ¡°We¡­ summoned her. We¡­ performed the hero summoning ritual¡­¡± (Elrond) ¡°You seem quite unsatisfied with it.¡± ¡°How were we to know it would summon a girl who could not even be called an adult yet? That was¡­ not my desire¡­¡± (Terion) I had put a sound barrier around us which they in their shock had forgotten to do. Elrond seemed to have noticed it and seemed thankful. ¡°Would that cause¡­ problems?¡± (Elrond) ¡°¡­ No¡­ It would not¡­ but I would prefer that the girl is not used for wars.¡± I knew of the hero summoning ritual. It was incredibly complex. I had the formation stuck in my head and was cross-referencing it with the vast amount of knowledge of the runic languages in my head but I still could only understand a few of them. Less than ten percent of the ritual was within my understanding. The rest was a mystery not even I could understand. ¡°Of course¡­ we were planning on using the hero to lead us into battle but now¡­ at most we would ask her to protect our city if it is attacked.¡± (Terion) ¡°¡­ In that case I have no objections. Only¡­ you will not need her to protect this city. I am here now after all.¡± Both of them seemed taken aback by my declaration but still nodded. In all honesty. I wanted a position of advisor. I liked this country. I didn¡¯t want it to fall. The king was kind. The streets filled with brightness and happiness. I truly wished for this country to stand. If the king were ever to fall I truly wished for the next one to be like him. That prince¡­ If that was the first prince I would have to teach him how to be more like his father. ¡°Now. Let us go see my new student shall we?¡± I finished with a smile. The other two seemed to have brightened up as well seeing as I wouldn¡¯t judge them for their mistake. It was truly not their fault. The hero summoning was a very mysterious magic. You would never know who or what would be summoned. There was no way for them to predict it would be a young girl. I myself¡­ did not wish to see an uninvolved girl not even from this world to fight. Their sincerity told me that neither did they. ¡°I have only one last question.¡± I kept he sound barrier around us as we moved only planning on dispelling it after this final one. Both Terion and Elrond seemed to be listening to me intently without looking at me. ¡°What caused you to be desperate enough to do it?¡± The hero summoning ritual¡­ required a lot of mana. Several high level mages were required. Mages like Elrond. And if the ritual failed¡­ they would die. ¡°I will tell you about it later. We have arrived.¡± (Terion) We stood in front of one of the doors in the hallway. There were quite a few doors, probably leading to rooms of their own. Probably guest rooms from the sheer amount of them. Terion knocked on the door and let me stand in front of it. I heard footsteps from beyond the door getting closer and finally realized something I had not accounted for. Well. Too late for that now. The door opened revealing a girl with long black hair and dark brown, almost black, eyes. ¡°Hello. My name is End and I will be your new teacher. May I ask your name as well?¡± With a gentle smile I introduced myself. ¡°Airi¡­ my name¡¯s Airi.¡± (Airi) Now that I looked at her again¡­ she looked¡­ familiar. I hadn¡¯t seen her before three days ago but¡­ for some reason there was something that seemed familiar to me in her. I wonder what that could be¡­ maybe it was just because she was from the same world as me. Well. No matter. I will teach her. About this world, magic and the sword. Chapter 36 I was surprised. I was at home one day only to be surrounded by a flash of light. When I opened my eyes I was in an unfamiliar location. Surrounded by people, most of them looked like they had fainted while one of them looked barely able to keep his consciousness but was still ready to fall at any moment. The only person who looked fine was a man, looking in his thirties with a golden hair color. But what surprised me were his ears. Pointy. Unlike anything I¡¯d ever seen before. But I had read about them. After all at this point you could say that reading fantasy novels and anything similar ran in the family. I couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying at first. It would be a lie if I said I wasn¡¯t scared. In a lot of the novels I read the summoned people were made into slaves or forced to fight for something they don¡¯t even care about¡­ but that never happened. The man gave me a necklace which helped me understand him and vice versa. He apologized to me. Saying he didn¡¯t mean to summon someone like me. That he thought someone more accustomed to battle would be summoned and not a child like myself. I was relieved to hear all of this¡­ but I couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit frustrated as well. I had always wanted to fight for what was right. I was raised to believe that someday I would have to do so. That¡¯s why I thought that the day had come. But the king didn¡¯t want me to fight for him. He promised to take care of me until they found a way to send me back. That he would treat me like family. But I stubbornly insisted that they teach me to fight. Left with no choice, he agreed. I wanted to get stronger, to help, but when my lessons began I could tell that my teachers were reluctant in their instructions. That just like the king they didn¡¯t want to make me fight. I was a bit angry. I wanted to become strong. I wanted protect this place. If a king as kind as this is on the throne then the country must be good as well. That wasn¡¯t the only reason for me to believe that though. It wasn¡¯t like I was locked in the palace the whole time. I was allowed to leave when I liked. The king didn¡¯t want to keep me there. The only thing he wanted was for me to inform him when I left. He always sent me off with a smile and asked me to be careful. It had only been a week but I felt how much he cared about me. I also cared about him. It was as if he was a second father to me and I a second daughter to him. I couldn¡¯t explain it. Only a week¡­ I wanted¡­ to stay here longer¡­ The streets were always filled with people. Most of them were smiling and laughing. The colorful town was a bright place. I was also happy when I looked at it. I really did want to stay here longer. It¡¯s not as if I didn¡¯t miss my world. My father and my uncles were always kind to me¡­ but they were also very busy. I didn¡¯t blame them for that. They were incredibly important people .More important than even the king. So I couldn¡¯t blame them for it. I would one day probably become the same when I inherited their position. But now¡­ I didn¡¯t have to. I was free to choose for myself what I could do¡­ And this place¡­ I definitely wanted to protect this place. Today again I was running back to the palace after I had spent all morning outside. I needed to return for my lessons but I had gotten carried away with wandering around town and had lost track of the time. While I was running though I saw something unfamiliar in this bright town. The streets were filled with colors. Blue, green, yellow, orange. All kinds of colors were gathered in the streets, either worn by people, or on the buildings themselves. But there was one person who defied them. One who stood out. Black and white. A monochromatic existence in a world of colors. I ran past him. Since I was in a hurry I only glanced at him from the corner of my eyes but that was all I needed to understand that he was not normal. My instincts were screaming something but I couldn¡¯t tell exactly what so I ignored them and kept running. I was still in a hurry. It was two days after that that the king offered to introduce a new teacher to me. Though he wasn¡¯t sure whether he would accept. I myself accepted instantly. I hoped that this new teacher would instruct me better than the ones who did not want me to fight. If he agreed to it then it would be tomorrow that we would meet. So I waited while thinking about what kind of person would reject a request from the king of the country. When I heard a knock on the door the next day I was quite nervous. It was probably the king. But would he bring good news or bad news. While keeping such thoughts in mind I walked over to the door and opened it expecting to see the face of my second father. Yet who I saw was completely different. He stood out. A monochrome person in a colorful world. The man I had seen the other day. I couldn¡¯t think of what to say. He spoke first. ¡°Hello. My name is End and I will be your new teacher. May I ask your name as well?¡± He asked me with a gentle smile. Though I had lost my words I felt compelled to answer. ¡°¡­ Airi¡­. my name¡¯s Airi.¡± (Airi) *End¡¯s POV* After we introduced ourselves Terion compelled us to go to his study where we could discuss things further. Things like what exactly I would need to teach her and some things regarding my requests. While heading there we separated from Elrond. Airi herself didn¡¯t say anything but she seemed to be a person of few words anyway. As we reached the study Terion urged us to make ourselves at home so we sat down at the table in the room after he cleared away the board which was on it. The board itself was quite interesting. It looked like chess but with differently shaped figures. I would have to ask him about it later. I had often played chess with James, one of my three sons. Seeing that I looked interested in the game the king spoke. ¡°That is something me and Elrond often play. Would you like to try it later? I can explain the rules to you.¡± (Terion) ¡°Ah. Yes that would be nice. It looked like a game I knew myself though the figures were different.¡± I had planned to leave it at that but I suddenly got the urge to ask something else. ¡°What about you Airi? Would you happen to know of a similar game?¡± The king was ready to speak thinking that Airi wouldn¡¯t know it since she was from another world but unexpectedly to him she nodded. Interesting. I wonder what world she¡¯s from. It would be too much of a coincidence for us to be from the same world but if she is I wonder how that world is doing. Maybe I should visit at some point. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to travel between worlds. Not with my power. ¡°Interesting. So you had this kind of game in your world as well? Maybe you would like to play as well then?¡± (Terion) Airi shook her head while keeping her natural poker face which would come off as cold to a large amount of people. To me it just looked cute. Because I knew what not being able to show your emotions is like. She was sort of like me. Or rather one of my fragments. To be specific. She was like the guy that doesn¡¯t like his own name. And everything that¡¯s happened in this world has only given him more of a reason to hate it. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°I¡¯ve never been fond of it¡­ my uncle was.¡± (Airi) ¡°Ah, I see. Well in any case let us talk about the matter at hand. We can converse about the game more at a later date.¡± (Terion) I nodded. I also wanted to get to business. ¡°Then for starters I need to know what you are able to teach her.¡± (Terion) ¡°I am able to teach her anything from any of the God¡¯s Races¡¯ languages to mathematics. Of course with magic and the sword included. The only thing I can¡¯t teach her is... well¡­ basic common sense.¡± ¡°Hah! I see you are not going to try and fool us on that part. I can tell that you are quite different from all other people I know. A normal person would not just stand when six other people are bowing in front of a king. Even if they are reluctant to do so.¡± I could only shrug my shoulders with a smirk. The whole time we were speaking Airi was observing me but she didn¡¯t change her expression. She was just looking at me as if trying to find out what makes me tick. ¡°I understand. I am impressed that you know so many languages but I will only ask you to teach her the elven one. At least for now. The rest of the normal subjects I¡¯ll leave to you. As for magic and the sword teach her¡­ in moderation.¡± (Terion) ¡°No!¡± (Airi) I was surprised when the quiet girl suddenly protested in a loud voice. I would also be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t impressed by her determination to protect this place. If I had been summoned instead of brought here after my death I would have probably flipped out pretty badly. Then again¡­ I still flipped out pretty badly anyway. ¡°She seems to want me to teach her seriously though?¡± ¡°We are not going to ask her to fight. You said it yourself didn¡¯t you? ¡°As long as I¡¯m here she won¡¯t need to¡±.¡± (Terion) I shook my head. ¡°Asking her to fight and teaching her to do it is a whole different thing Terion. If she wishes to learn it so much then why not let her?¡± Airi turned to look at me. her face didn¡¯t change but her eyes were screaming with gratitude and appreciation. Geez. How determined can you get girl? ¡°But still¡­¡± (Terion) ¡°Look Terion. I¡¯ll teach her and she will decide what to do with it. You can¡¯t force her to just do nothing.¡± He looked at me for a second and then nodded reluctantly. ¡°In the first place. You guys keep talking about fighting and everything but I still haven¡¯t quite been told what it is you are supposed to be fighting.¡± Terion looked down, as if unable to face me while talking. It must be pretty serious if he used something as risky as Hero summoning. If it failed it would have been disastrous for his forces. High class mages are powerful¡­ and not easily found. They aren¡¯t as rare as Archmages but they are still definitely powerful. Most of them can do chantless incantations too. I think that Elrond was going easy on me when he didn¡¯t. ¡°The demons have been showing signs of gathering recently. I speculate that they will be attacking within less than a year from now.¡± (Terion) ¡°Why do you think they will be attacking the elves in particular?¡± ¡°They are gathering their forces on the east end of their continent. We are just the closest to them. I don¡¯t know if they will be attacking us for sure but the demons are known to annihilate everyone in their way. We are just the first ones in it.¡± (Terion) Wow. Demons sound pretty bloodthirsty. I wouldn¡¯t want to encounter one of them In a dark alley at night¡­ or would I? In any case the situation doesn¡¯t sound too good for sure. The demons are a race which is equal in power to the elves while they have as high a population as humans. That¡¯s about all I know about them but it¡¯s enough for me to know that they are quite a force to be reckoned with. The only reason they had been dormant until now from what I can guess is the war they caused a hundred years ago. In the end they were defeated so they were probably recovering from it. ¡°*Sigh* Enough about that. All we can do is prepare for the worst. When can you start teaching her?¡± (Terion) True enough. There was no use thinking about it too much. If push comes to shove I might have to involve myself personally but I will protect this country. Why couldn¡¯t they have started with the human frontier countries? Wait no¡­ the people there are suffering enough as it is. It sounds to me like the demons aren¡¯t a welcome race in the world I plan to create. I might have to make them into the second coming and going of the dinosaurs if you know what I mean. *Sigh* I had hoped that I wouldn¡¯t have to display an overwhelming force in order to make this world a better place this time but if the demons truly are as battle hungry as Terion claims them to be... Nevermind I can think about this more later. I¡¯ll look up more about demons in the library. But teaching huh? I noticed Airi looking at me with hopeful eyes. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry. I¡¯ll only be able to start the day after tomorrow.¡± That seems to have depressed her a bit. This girl. *Sigh* Well. I guess it¡¯s not bad to have something you want to protect. It could be that she didn¡¯t like her life before coming to this world. In any case I would not be able to teach her anything tomorrow as I had something to do. The rest of our conversation was largely irrelevant. As we were almost done I decided to have the rest of the conversation while walking towards the outer gate. We told Airi that she didn¡¯t really need to come along since it would only be discussing things about my compensation but she still showed off at the exit. Thus I exited the palace which would become my home from tomorrow on. I was sort of looking forward to teaching Airi. The girl seemed to be incredibly enthusiastic. Almost as enthusiastic as Lily and Cel were when we started. But before that I would have to progress my relationship with Cel. Things really weren¡¯t going to work if they remained as they are. As I left the palace I walked towards the inn while thinking about tomorrow. ---------------------------------------------------------- Welp. There it is. This date with Cel thing¡­ is gonna take me so much effort to figure out. I seriously have no idea what to write for that. Also I should really stop being as predictable with my writing. God. I mean I knew I gave you guys a really obvious hint as to who Airi was but come ON (I love you). Anyway. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Announcement *Sigh* Oh yeah. You know this is gonna be great when we¡¯re starting with a sigh. Not going to be a rant though. Just a bit of a pain. You see I¡¯ve been trying to write the new chapter and have been having some difficulties doing so. After a while I noticed that these difficulties stem from the fact that I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I¡¯M GOING WITH THIS. So I¡¯m gonna take a bit of a break. A hiatus if you will. I¡¯m gonna take the time to plan out the story which will let me pump out chapters much faster and more consistently and on top of that increase the quality (Hopefully). Of course the downside to all of this is that I¡¯ll need time to do so. So¡­ Well¡­ I¡¯m gonna take some time off. Not because I¡¯m tired of writing. Don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯m taking a break so that I can write better. On the other hand. Another thing that¡¯s been bothering me is that I started forming another story in my head AND IT ISN¡¯T LEAVING ME ALONE! EVERY TIME I TRY THINKING ABOUT TRUE INSANITY THE NEW ONE JUST COMES ALONG AND IT GOES ¡°Oh hey there. See ya thinkin¡¯ ¡®bout my big bro. Hows about I join in?¡± IT¡¯S AGONIZING. Maybe I¡¯ll figure something out about it too during this break. I only have one question about it. What do you guys think of tables? I mean I can¡¯t make them but I¡¯ve been thinking. What do you guys think about them? Does it add to a story? Take a way? Or do you think it¡¯s all about how it¡¯s executed? Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Well that¡¯s all from me for now. Hopefully this doesn¡¯t last too long. Trust me I want to write this story and the next just as much as you guys want to read them. Maybe more. So anyway. Thanks for reading. And thanks in advance for all the patience. Hell even if you aren¡¯t patient I can¡¯t really blame ya. Cya in¡­ well¡­ however long this takes for me to do. EDIT: So for whoever the hell is reading this again. I''m thinking of writing another story which I already mentioned in this post but what I didn''t know at the time was that I''m going to do it NOW. I''m going to post a second update when I post it for anyone that''s interested but I want to plot it out and everything first. Sooo.... This is gonna be on hold for now. It''s gonna come back eventually. Because I''ll probably get tired of writing the other story at some point and come back to this one. Anyway. Yeah. That''s happening. Another Announcement Sorry for the long wait without any updates guys. So I''ve been thinking of True Insanity and what I discovered was... Uh... nothing. But I did plot out the next few chapters and arcs and stuff and honestly I don''t seee it continuing for MUCH longer. Or maybe that''s just me because I can''t really imagine the exact number of chapters it''ll take to finish it. In any case. TRUE INSANITY IS NOT STOPPING. I just wanted to make that clear. BUT! I''m starting something new which I will be working on together with True Insanity. I say together. I''ll be moving back and forth between the two depending on my mood but I''ve planned this one out to be... honestly quite a bit darker than True Insanity. True Insanity IS dark. But I''ve always felt that darkness has not been properly portrayed or written or something. Basically I don''t like it. Plus the story is moving in a much lighter direction than before with End in it. Now for the new one. Things will be a lot better done (Or at least I hope they''ll be better done I guess that''ll be for you to decide). It''ll have tables and RPG elements but there will be no levels. Yes no levels. You''ll see how I pull that off but it will NOT be fast to progress. The MC is going to be weak at the beginning. Not too weak too weak but weak enough. And he''ll have another handicap which you''ll discover if you read it. And if you''re interested in that. Here. Only the prologue''s out so far and I''ll have the first chapter out tomorrow unless I get lazy or something idk. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! As for True Insanity. I''ll continue writing and should have another chapter out next week. Probably idk. As I said. Everything depends on my mood. Again. Sorry for not releasing anything for so long. I think it may have something to do with me losing my roots as just writing for fun. Idk why but before I went on that hiatus which I guess is technically still going I felt obligated to you guys to post a chapter every once in a while. But now I''m BACK! In my full not caring at all about any of you glory (I love you). Thanks for reading this announcement. And thanks for reading my story so far and staying with it. I really appreciate you guys'' comments whether they were criticism, talking about parts of the chapters they liked or just fixing any mistakes I made though some simple mistakes I made kind of embarassed me. Like I fucking wrote faith instead of fate in Lily''s POV of meeting Kenos TWO TIMES. Man I suck so bad. Chapter 37 Hey guys... I''m back. I am incredibly sorry for delaying this chapter for so long. Unfortunately there was this stuff this week that I just couldn''t get my mind off. I tried forcing myself to write several times but nothing good came from it. I even told one of the commenters of the second announcement that I was writing it currently like a week ago and I swear I wasn''t lying just... I fucking couldn''t do it for some reason. So I''m sorry. I hope you guys can forgive me for delaying it for so long. Hell I couldn''t even update my other fiction this week because of all this shit. *Sigh* Anyway I finally did it. I finally finished it. It''s not extra long or anything but I hope you enjoy it. --------------------------------------------- Lily¡¯s POV: As End left for his ¡°test¡± or ¡°competition¡± I thought about what we should be doing in that case. I wasn¡¯t worried about End in the slightest. Even if he somehow, by some extremely unlikely possibility failed to get in with the royal family he probably has tons of other ways thought out to complete his objective. But what about me? What¡¯s MY reason for being here? I just followed him here because I knew that no matter where he went it would be a better place than¡­ than¡­ well¡­ there¡­ my country. *Sigh* My only regret was going so far away from dad¡¯s grave but¡­ if what End told us is true then it wouldn¡¯t matter where we are. Dad would go back to the living just like how End did when he died for the first time. The only difference would be that he would not remember it. At first I didn¡¯t know what to think about it. It was hard trusting End with the stories that he told us but¡­ really if he wanted to lie he would probably make it a bit¡­ more believable? But¡­ my reason huh? I don¡¯t really have one... I know Cel just wants to live for End¡¯s sake but I¡¯m different. Not like I¡¯m not grateful to him. I can never thank him enough for what he did for me. Who the hell would make a grave for someone they met a day ago and then rescue his daughter? Really¡­ that guy¡­ I really wanna do something for him... even though¡­ what can I do for someone who can pretty much be called a god? Well¡­ he wants me to find something of my own to live for¡­ and I want to do that too¡­ Cel is like a sister to me by now. I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t understand her when she says she wants to live for him but it¡¯s just not like that for me. I have to say I was surprised yesterday¡­ three broken down boats¡­ I honestly didn¡¯t even believe half of what I told him after I heard him say that. To think that even he had such worries. I ¡­ I guess I was treating him too much like the perfect person I was envisioning him to be. Yeah¡­ he has problems of his own too. I¡¯m just na?ve for thinking that he was a generous god that had nothing of his own to worry about so he decided to help the two of us out¡­ While nodding my head to nobody in particular I got up from my seat. Cel looked up as I stood as if asking me if I was going somewhere. I really can¡¯t be burdening him too much. I want to live for myself and by myself. ¡°Cel. I¡¯m going to the adventurer¡¯s guild.¡± (Lily) Cel looked at me curiously for a second before getting up as well and it was my turn to wonder what she would be doing. ¡°Are you coming too?¡± (Lily) ¡°End told the guards we would be in the city to register in the guild. If you¡¯re going then we might as well go together and make it out to be the truth.¡± (Cel) Oh right he did say something like that to the guards. Thankfully we still have quite a bit of money left from what End gave us back at the harbor town. It should be enough to register to the adventurer¡¯s guild in this country if it¡¯s a similar system. We took our cloaks and lifted our hoods as we stepped out of the inn. As always the streets in the country were bright and lively. It was a shame we¡¯d spent so much time cooped up in that inn for no other reason than having nothing to do. And being a bit afraid of the fact that we were in an unfamiliar place. Even End ended up taking a walk or two around from what I understood. We acquired the location of the building simply enough by asking for directions. We already looked like avid adventurers just from our appearance alone so nobody had any reason to be suspicious. Cel was clenching the staff which was only a tad bit shorter than her in her hand and my sword was strapped to my waist. Both were the last presents we received from Kenos before he¡­ *Sigh* What¡¯s wrong with me today? I¡¯m not usually this much of a downer. Maybe it was because of my conversation with End that it finally sunk in that Kenos was¡­ *Sigh* While digging myself deeper in the pits of depression our feet pounded on the paved roads of the city and making our way through the crowds which impeded us only a bit. Before I knew it we had arrived at a large wooden building with a sign of a sword crossed with a staff with a shield in the background. Yup. This is as ¡°adventurer¡¯s guild¡± as it gets. As we entered the place I did not fail to notice the similarity to the guild building I was quite familiar with. There was a bar to the side which seemed to be serving alcohol. There seemed to be humans, beastkin and elves sitting around the place. Some drinking and laughing at each other¡¯s stories. Others discussing how to work better as a party. A party which was thinking on what mission to do next. This was so familiar¡­ so¡­ nostalgic... Not many spared us a second look as we walked up to the receptionist counter, which was run by a female elf, and waited for our turn. Only a few minutes passed before it came. ¡°We would like to register as adventurers.¡± (Lily) ¡°To register as adventurers you would have to fill out these forms as well as pay ten silver coins. Twenty for the both of you. Will that be fine?¡± (Receptionist) Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I nodded and took out twenty silver coins to give to her. ¡°Is it possible to have them filled out by another person?¡± The woman looked at me for a second and nodded pointing us to a door in the corner. Of course we could speak elven now thanks to End¡¯s constant tutoring but writing was still out of reach for either of us. So we would need to have these filled out by someone else. As we opened the door what came into view was a small door with a table and three chairs in the middle. One of the chairs was already occupied by a young-looking elf with glasses who was reading a book. Something told me he and end would get along. He looked up from the book and seeing us enter he closed it and put it aside. ¡°Two silver. One for each.¡± (Elf man) He didn¡¯t say anything else so I handed him two silver coins. He quickly put them in his pocket and put out his hand. Guessing what he meant I handed him my own sheet and told him the information which needed to be filled out in turn. When Cel did the same I was surprised to hear her age being twenty. She¡¯s older than me? She really doesn¡¯t seem like it! The person themselves simply continued saying their information. The other party was not surprised at the age but when race came into question he lifted his eyes from the paper and looked questioningly at Cel for a second before starting to move his pen with his head down again. I guess even in this country vampires are rare. Vampires that walk around in the day are probably even rarer. Still unlike the human countries I guess vampires won¡¯t be hunted around here just for their race. Maybe the people around here are too used to other races to discriminate just for something like that. When he finished writing in all the required information he handed our sheets back and relaxed back in his chair while reopening his book. He said nothing else so we just looked at each other weirdly before leaving. I guess we both had the same impression. That was quite the weird guy. The receptionist had a few people in a line but they were less than before. It still took longer this time to get to us since there was another person looking to register and he took his time filling out his paper. I waited a bit impatiently while tapping my foot. I swear if the guy took one more minute I would have kicked him off to the side so he can fill out his paper there. When our turn finally came we handed our own sheets to the receptionist. She looked them over and looked up at Cel with a surprised expression while she was looking over hers but just like the man earlier she quickly recovered. Just like with the guy who filled out the papers before she took them in the back and came back a minute later with two cards, one for each of us. ¡°You will start off as an F rank. As you complete missions you will be able to go up to higher ranks. For example if you want to become a D rank adventurer you will need to complete 15 F or D rank requests. Those are also the only levels of requests you will be able to take. Thank you for registering.¡± (Receptionist) She explained everything with a smile but there was still something I was wondering about. ¡°Is there something like a party system in the guild?¡± (Lily) ¡°Ah no. Parties are free to form and there is no need to officially recognize them. Conflicts between party members are also handled by the party itself and not the guild. Also I seem to have forgotten to mention but fighting in the building is prohibited okay? I noticed how you were looking at that person who was filling out their papers earlier.¡± (Receptionist) I smiled nervously while scratching the back of my head. Damn she saw that? And my face is hidden beneath a hood too. Maybe my irritation was visible in my actions. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± (Lily) She never let her smile drop as she waved us off and welcomed the next customers. Now then with our registration finished we would have to go back to the inn. Unfortunately we can¡¯t read the requests as they were written in elven or uh what was End calling it recently? Helian? There was someone waiting who was ready to read out the requests for a fee but honestly Cel probably wasn¡¯t interested in taking one anyway so we simply left. While walking back to the inn I looked over the card. It was a simple thing and didn¡¯t even have all the information we gave on it. It just said my name, my specialty as a swordsman and my rank. Other than that personal information was kept at a minimum. It was made from a weird material I don¡¯t quite remember encountering in the past. Since I was absorbed in looking at the card which would surely become the key to my future I didn¡¯t notice the reason Cel ran off as soon as we reached the inn but as I looked up the reason became evident as End was standing and smiling his usual gentle smile at us. Cel had run up to him as well and he patted her on the head. It was cute seeing Cel being patted on the head. So cute that I decided to forget that she was actually older than me. ¡°Hey.¡± I decided to call out ¡°Done at the palace.¡± He looked at me directly with his blindfold still on and nodded. I wonder why he put that thing on. His eyes may have been weird but if I were to be honest I wasn¡¯t quite able to take my own eyes off of them when speaking with him. They had a weird sort of power behind them¡­ maybe that was the reason he covered them up. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go inside so you can tell us what happened over some tea or something? You like that right.¡± (Lily) ¡°Indeed. Some tea would be nice.¡± Announcement <. <... >.> ...I''m. ... back? Man its been a long time since I''ve posted anything. If you haven''t given up on me as an author after the constant delays and then my absence for... shit what is it now... three months? Well I salute you and thank you. So right now I am literally writing this from inside a car which I''ve been in for an hour and will probably be in for four more (I''m not the one driving it''s okay). I finally did my final exam today. So I''m mostly free now. And I''ve been waiting for this moment before posting anything. The reason there hasn''t been a chapter or announcement earlier is because quite frankly I had too much on my mind to be able to concentrate on writing. I''m not gonna lie. I had the time. I just couldn''t get my mind off other things while writing and that didn''t feel good for me. So sorry about that. Now about how things are gonna go from now on. I still might not release a chapter for a week or so and yes I know I just said I''ll be free and I will but I will be doing something else first. Rewriting. Now before you think "Aww shit he''s finally back and now I have to reread the whole story over cause he''ll be rewriting it" hear me out... please. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I won''t be changing any of the story. I actually do have a lot of shit I want to change but I won''t cause as you may have thought I don''t want to force you guys to reread it. Now my other story "The Darkness Within" is only 3 chapters plus a prologue so I WILL be fully rewriting that. This one I''ll more just rewrite it to change around the early chapters where I didn''t have a particular style of writing (not like I do now but it should be better than before I hope. God I hope I haven''t managed to somehow regress) to my current one. Amyway. That was all I wanted to say. Thanks for reading and being patient with me. Well. It has been a LONG time. So. It''s been almost a year since the last update in which I said I was back and was doing shit only to disappear right after. Sorry about that. Life got busy. And while I was trying to continue the story I never really could think of a good way of doing so. Writing a story as you go can be... a pain sometimes. But unfortunately, I''m not good at planning it out so I have to stick to that. So enough about excuses. You might be wondering what''s this update about and will I be continuing the story now that I''m back. Well. The update is because I wanted to ask all of you about something. Which brings me to talk about the story. I will not be continuing this. It was simply too long ago that I tarted, I had many ideas at the time that I''ve completely forgotten and I don''t feel like I can feel connected to this as a writer after such a long pause and having given up on it once already.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. What I MIGHT do is post a rewrite. I wanted to ask you if you''re interested in reading that. Only the story WILL be majorly different and so will the characters. To the point where you might be better off approaching it as a new story, though the prologue WOULD remain much the same. Sorry again for disappointing you all. And thank you for taking the time to read this. I would appreciate if you leave your answers in the comments as I believe a simple poll will not be enough to convey your opinions. The new fiction is out So. Before I post the link. I want to remind everyone that this will be a story, very much different from before. While the main character is similar, others will look like they''re missing. Sometimes that will be the case. In other cases they just haven''t been introduced yet. So you''re really best off approaching this as a new story, even if it IS sort of a rewrite of this one. That being said. I also wanted to thank people. Not just for coming to read this new fiction but for reading this one and liking it. Even if you decide not to continue reading my work, I want to thank you for sticking around so far and apdologize once more for being gone for so long and only coming back to this.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Without further ado though. For those who have decided to continue reading. Here you have it. A Tyrant: Unshackled