ã€ŠRealm Walkerã€‹


 Chapter 1: The storm

    Keys ringed in doors as they opened and a young man walked inside. He turned eighteen this year and wore a bored expression on his face. He lazily took his shoes of and slowly approached stairs.

    ¡°Honey, is that you?¡± The woman in her fifties asked, as she took a quick look at him from doors nearby.

    ¡°Hi mom, I¡¯m home.¡± He replied with a small wave of his hand.

    ¡°Dinner will be ready soon so wash your hands and come to eat.¡± She told him as she went back to the kitchen.

    When she disappeared again, he went up to his room and quickly threw his school-bag on the bed. As his mother reminded him, he went and washed his hands as he doesn¡¯t want to listen to her nagging about it later. In a few minutes he was already sitting in the kitchen and gulping down his meal.

    ¡°So Tom, how was school today?¡± His father asked as he glanced at him from behind his newspapers.

    ¡°Nothing really worth mentioning.¡±

    ¡°You always say that. What about that test from last week?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know. Teacher still didn¡¯t bring it back.¡±

    ¡°Pete please, let him eat first.¡± His mother defended him as she washed the dishes.

    ¡°I¡¯m only curious Susan.¡±

    After few minutes passed, the front doors opening could be heard again.

    ¡°We are home.¡± Two female voices shouted cheerily as they came inside.

    They were Tom¡¯s two sisters. The older one, Sarah, just turned twenty-four. She recently started living alone and today she was supposed to move her remaining things to her new apartment. Beside her stood his younger sister, Elisa. As she was only nine years old, she cutely held Sarah¡¯s hand and was happily smiling right now.

    ¡°Tom you should go look at Sarah¡¯s apartment, it¡¯s so nice.¡± Elisa tried to persuade him as he was the only one who didn¡¯t see it till now. ¡°And she promised me that I can even sleep over sometimes.¡± She tried to make him envious, as she showed her love for her big sister.

    ¡°Good for you.¡± Tom answered in monotone voice, not really interested.

    ¡°And, and¡­¡± Elisa started praising her sister again, but Tom interrupted her as he suddenly got up.

    ¡°Thanks for dinner mom. I will be in my room, studying.¡± He told them as he disappeared on the stairs.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that boy in last years?¡± His mother wondered as she picked up dishes after Tom.

    ¡°Let him be honey. He will grow out of it.¡± Peter responded not really worried as he turned the TV on.

    ¡°I will go talk to him.¡± Sarah reassured her parents and hurried after Tom.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Peter wondered as he watched TV not really caring what was happening around him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong dad?¡± Elisa asked curiously, now eating her dinner.

    ¡°Nothing really sweetheart, they just warned that the storm is coming tonight.¡± Peter answered not really worried about it as he watched news.

    *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

    ¡°Tom, can I come in for a second?¡±

    Tom could hear his older sister as she opened a door without waiting for his reply.

    ¡°Why are you asking when you already let yourself in?¡± He asked her, not really interested in what she had to say.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. I got a surprise for you.¡± Sarah said grinning and gestured him to follow her as she went back to the hallway.

    After a deep sight he got up and went after her. He knew it was better to go, or she would just constantly nag him about it.

    ¡°What do you want sis? I¡¯m not really in a mood for your surprises.¡± He told her, as he went closer to her.

    She was patiently waiting for him in front of her old room, from where she just moved out recently.

    She went in, still gesturing him to follow her, not really caring about his sulky attitude.

    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not in the mood for your silly jokes.¡± He started to sound angry after he noticed that she still didn¡¯t give a damn about how he felt. Prepared to finally snap at her, he went inside after her.

    After he angrily went in, he noticed her standing beside VRMMORPG machine. Yes, the thing everybody wanted but not everybody was so blessed as to obtain it. It was developed and released together with a game, RealmWalker, three years ago. It wasn¡¯t like machine was extremely pricey, no. The problem lied in the number of accounts that could be bought. In release date it was merely one million for the whole world and it never went beyond that. There was only one server for it and company who made it never mentioned any extension about the numbers of players. Even if you successfully acquired the machine and a game, but you were too late, you could never log in. When your data was scanned and inputted inside and once account was registered its space was taken. Only way to vacant it was to delete it. Another problem was that once you did this you would never be able to log back in, even with vacant account space. So basically you got only one in a life-time opportunity to play RealmWalker. When you leave, there is no way back.

    As Tom quietly stared at his older sister he was wondering: ¡°Why is RW machine still here? You said that you were finished moving.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m giving it to you.¡±

    When she said that, his mind went blank.

    ¡°WHAT?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying, I¡¯m giving it to you.¡± She said again, enjoying his reaction.

    ¡°But what about you sis, and your account, and your guild, and your work? I know you love that game.¡± He was confused. He, once in TV, saw people who quit RealmWalker and all of them regretted it as biggest mistake of their life.

    He was well aware how much time she spent in that game. At start she only wanted to use it for her theme in college. But then she fell in love with it. As time slowly went by she made friends in there, they created party and then even a guild. One of the first¡¯s guilds that were created in RealmWalker actually and one of the best, with her as guild master.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I already bought my own machine and downloaded all avatar data I needed for transfer from this one.¡± She replied with big smile on her lips.

    ¡°What about account space? It will never allow me to just log in.¡± He wanted to know as he still stared in disbelief.

    ¡°This year they added new vacant account spaces. 100 000 if I was to be precise. And I was able to obtain one thanks to my position as guild master.¡± She explained to him still looking happy about his reaction. ¡°I already registered it on your name and had it synchronized with this machine. All you have to do is let the machine scan you for your personal data and you are good to go.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    As he stood there and his brain slowly recovered from the initial shock, it finally jolted him: ¡°I will be finally able to play RealmWalker.¡± He thought.

    ¡°Thanks sis, you are the best.¡± He suddenly hugged her, not really caring about being embarrassed.

    ¡°I have seen how much you wanted to play last years. So it is only natural that I help my little brother.¡± She answered little surprised from the hug earlier. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get you in to the game.¡±

    It took them roughly one hour for everything to set up and upload. She explained to him how to take care of machine from time to time and how to find her in the game later. Now the only thing he needed to do was to log in, create an avatar and he was ready to start.

    After he seen her off, because it was getting late and the early mentioned storm hovered above them, he went to talk to his parents.

    ¡°Did you two know about it?¡± He asked blatantly, already knowing the answer.

    ¡°Of course.¡± They answered together, already knowing what he asked about. ¡°Sarah mentioned it. If your marks in school won¡¯t be affected by it we don¡¯t see any reason to forbid it.¡± His father calmly explained and warned him.

    After that Tom rushed to his room and quickly finished his homework. Message of his parents was clear to him. Either he keeps his marks in school, or they will ban him from RealmWalker. In school he was average so it didn¡¯t really cost him extra effort or time to comply with their requirements. Also this was his last year before university, so he didn¡¯t really have so much studying to do. And after three years of waiting and listening to, how great the game is, he wasn¡¯t willing to risk a ban from his father. He knew from first hand that it was pretty hard to lift it.

    Finally he sat down in the RW machine, ready to complete the creation of his avatar. He put on a helmet and blue light enveloped him.

    ----------

    Please confirm your age.

    ----------

    This was another problem he had before. ReamlWalker was labelled 18+. There was violence, gore, sexual themes and a lot of another adult stuff that wasn¡¯t for minors. Literally nothing was censored. You could also feel a portion of pain that you suffered in the game through the machine. About 40% of it. This had many bad recesses through the world, but developers were uncompromising saying: ¡°We want to bring so much reality as we can. Let the players feel what their avatars feel and create a strong bond with the world of RealmWalker.¡±

    ¡°Welcome new soul.¡± Soft female voice said to him as he floated over the planet resembling Earth. Only it looked much bigger. Also two moons instead of one rotated around it. But the biggest surprise was the ring of asteroids which was slowly cycling it.

    ¡°Are you ready to become a new realm-walker?¡± Voice asked as a woman figure radiating gold light appeared before Tom.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He said excitedly, unable to mask his smile.

    She nodded few times satisfied with his determination.

    ¡°Then let me be your guide.¡± She said and blue window opened before him.

    ----------

    Please choose your starting race.

    ----------

    Then a long list appeared. It was divided to the two main categories. One of them was humanoid races. Here you could find humans, elves, dwarves, dryads, beast-men, fairies, trolls, orcs, halflings, vampires. Each one of them having a lot of subcategories. For example elf could be wood-elf, high-elf, night-elf or blood-elf. Some of them are better at healing, some at nature magic and some at range combat. Differences aren¡¯t that big, but with this system one could dedicate everything solely for one purpose, or create some kind of hybrid class. There were infinite possibilities in RealmWalker. You could learn anything you want, but based on your race and class some things will be learned faster and some would be very hard and have harsh conditions to accomplish.

    For example, take a human mage. He can learn any kind of magic and acquire an absolute mastery in it. He can even acquire masteries in many different types of magic simultaneously if he dedicates his time and great effort for this goal. But elves will always learn magic faster than humans.

    Another great thing about RealmWalker was the fact that you weren¡¯t bound by your class like in another game.

    This meaning: when you choose a mage class you could still go and master sword-fighting or archery. Of course as mage you will need to spend tremendous time for this. So 99,9% of people concentrated on mastering one thing first. Another problem was you never really know if you mastered your class as there were literally infinite possibilities of how to cast spells or how to combine them and create something new and original. Of course this doesn¡¯t apply only to mages but to all classes. You want a healer who is good at assassination? Sure, go and create it. These classes then create a hybrid class, or as developers called it a new Legacy line. Everybody has this ability but it was tremendously hard to acquire. From start of the game to this date only four unique Legacy lines were confirmed.

    Another category Tom could choose his avatar from was monsters. This was allowed only recently, when they decided to increase account numbers. New players could become a monster avatar in the game. There were skeletons, zombies, wolves, ghosts, slimes, goblins, almost any basic monster in the game.

    The problem was: It was very difficult to play as the monster. You would need to adapt to almost everything, because it would be new to you. When you wished to start as a wolf you will need to learn how to run on four legs in the game properly for moving or use of claws and fangs for attacking. Another harsh thing about the monsters was their death penalty.

    As human you only lose some experience points, items you have equipped at your death can be stolen easily and you can¡¯t log back to the game for 7 days. Then you will be revived in a closest temple. As time of revival would be too long this way, there exists an exception for this rule. That is, if you die, your friends or party members can directly bring your dead body back to the temple and you can be revived almost instantly if a special item is used. This item can be obtained in the game through various means as quests rewards or drop items. Also everybody is provided with one after logging in for first time.

    When you die as a monster you will be revived almost instantly in a place called Nest of Origin, but you will lose all experience points and downgrade back to lvl. 1. Many would ask: Why bother with it? Because, as monster you have a special trait of evolution which humanoid avatars don¡¯t possess, Bloodline. Take the wolf as an example. After levelling and obtaining power and knowledge you can evolve to barghast type and from there to cerberus type or werewolf type of the monster, based on what you did for evolution and how you did it. This, of course, is very hard. As monster you would often need to kill people in villages or near cities for experience and when you do they put a bounty on you and quests are created to hunt you down instead. Monsters could also have big problems with armour they want to wear or weapons they try to equip.

    Tom, curious about a lot of possibilities, randomly clicked on monster list and read description.

    ----------

    Imp

    They are lesser and weakest race of devils. Imps are small and not very attractive monsters. Because of this they are lonely little creatures, always in search of attention. They often use jokes and pranks as a means of attracting friendship, which often backfires when people became tired or annoyed of the imp''s endeavours, usually driving it away or killing it. When this happens imps can be very malicious and their pranks become dangerous to one¡¯s life. Being associated with hell and fire, they take a particular pleasure from playing with temperatures and fire elements. To this end, it came to be believed that imps are often the familiar spirit servants of witches and warlocks.

    ----------

    ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be a very good race, I should choose something more powerful.¡± Tom thought to himself indecisively browsing the list. As he wanted to choose and read about another race, suddenly an unbelievable pain stormed through his body.

    ¡°Aaaaarrrgh.¡± As he shouted from shock and pain, he lost consciousness.

    When Peter came back after driving Sarah home, he wanted to speak to his son. In last few years Tom wasn¡¯t very associative and he as his father was becoming uneasy because of it. It was heavily raining outside and occasionally lightning struck somewhere in a distance.

    ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m scared of lightning.¡± Elisa said cutely as she peeked sheepishly from her room.

    Big smile appeared on Peter¡¯s face as he faced her.

    ¡°Honey, there is nothing to be afraid of.¡± He said softly, trying to calm her. ¡°Come, I promise I will stay with you until you fall asleep.¡± He offered her still smiling.

    ¡°OK.¡± She said more cheerfully now reaching for his hand.

    Peter held her and helped her back to bed. Then he sat on the edge of the bed and patiently waited for her to fall asleep.

    ¡°Daddy? Why Tom doesn¡¯t want to visit Sara in her new home? He doesn¡¯t like her anymore?¡± She asked worried about her brother.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it honey. I¡¯m sure he likes both of you. I¡¯m sure he is just shy about it.¡± Peter tried to comfort her as he kissed her on cheek.

    It took only a few minutes for Elisa to fall asleep. He quietly closed the doors behind him as he didn¡¯t want to wake her up. Then a lightning struck loudly near the house.

    ¡°Aaaaarrrgh¡±

    Peter could hear a loud scream from Sarah¡¯s room where Tom was supposed to play RealmWalker right now. With bad feeling he ran to the doors slamming them open with haste. There, Tom was lying in RW machine and steam was rising from his body and slightly burned skin could be seen on his arm and neck.

    ¡°SHIT! Susan, SUSAN! Call an ambulance!¡± He screamed full of worry while approaching Tom, seeing that he is not breathing.

 Chapter 2: Born from darkness

    <h1>Chapter 2: Born from darkness</h1>

    ¡°Hello! HELLO! Anybody here?¡±

    Nothing, only silence answered me, endless silence and darkness which was enveloping me like a cloak. I was slowly going forward, but there was nothing I could recognize here.

    ¡°Where am I? How did I get here? I don¡¯t remember.¡± I thought as I tried to remember what happened to me.

    Then suddenly I could feel a presence. It appeared suddenly as if it came to existence right at that exact moment. I don¡¯t know how, I just knew it was there, somewhere in front of me.

    ¡°There is something, I can feel it.¡± I quietly reassured myself as I carefully approached the strong presence I could feel. I slowly went after it. A minute passed, then two. But it felt weird, like eternity. Every second was long as day, every minute as week. Then at one point I recognized a shape before me, a large shadow, darker than darkness around. I stopped not really sure what I should do.

    ¡°Come closer, little one. I won¡¯t harm you.¡± Large shadow spoke to me and its calm, deep voice filled the dark void around.

    I don¡¯t know why but I believed it. As I approached, I could slowly recognize a shape. Then I finally realized: ¡°You are the dragon.¡± I stared at majestic creature in pure amazement and awe.

    The dragon was huge. I tried to look at its whole body but it wasn¡¯t possible. Creature before me was simply too humongous. It was darker than black. The only thing I could see clearly were the dragon¡¯s crimson red eyes, which intensely observed me.

    ¡°No, I was in the past, but not anymore.¡± The dragon said with deep sorrow in its voice. ¡°Now I¡¯m just a shadow, a fragment of what I once was, the last piece. Even if my body is long dead, my soul can¡¯t die. It isn¡¯t allowed to die.¡± As dragon spoke the white chains appeared over its whole body. They started to emit the white light so strong, it was blinding.

    ¡°What is that? What¡¯s happening?¡± I asked the dragon as I tried to hastily shield myself from the intense light.

    ¡°My prison, but don¡¯t worry little one, it won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    ¡°Who did this to you? Can I help you somehow?¡±

    ¡°HAHAHAHAHA¡± Dragon started laughing, sounding more mad than sane. ¡°An unborn soul is asking if it can help me. HAHAHAHAHA¡±

    ¡°Unborn? But I remember¡­¡± I paused as I realized I can¡¯t remember clearly. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s all foggy but I definitely remember being alive. I remember feeling pain and then¡­ AH I don¡¯t know.¡± I shouted nervously, clutching my head.

    ¡°Strange.¡± Dragon said thoughtfully. ¡°I can feel that you aren¡¯t lying to me. But souls shouldn¡¯t be able to remember their previous life, especially the souls of lesser creatures. But maybe¡­, yes, that may be a possibility¡­¡± Dragon thought loudly to himself, fascinated by this small miracle.

    ¡°What happened to me? Do you know something?¡± I asked, already frightened from answer.

    Dragon stayed silent for a minute as it studied me very closely.

    ¡°If I¡¯m guessing correctly then something must have happened to you in your world. That something must have brought part of your soul here. Hmm, interesting.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked now more confused than frightened.

    Dragon, speaking in half riddles, was not really helping me.

    ¡°It means that you are either very lucky or very unlucky. It means that you will stand before a difficult choice in your future.¡±

    As I heard the dragon spoke, I became even more confused. Dragon could see it as it said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it now, it¡¯s pointless.¡±

    ¡°But what should I do? I don¡¯t remember who I am, or what happened to me.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°That¡¯s an easy one. Just go and live your life anew. Create a new path for yourself. Then, after some time, everything should come back to you and after that you will have to choose. The real question here is: Will you be ready for that choice?¡±

    Then silence returned as dragon observed me again. He could see I was carefully thinking about everything he said to me.

    ¡°I started to like you little one.¡± Dragon said abruptly, more relaxed now. ¡°You asked if you can help me, so I have a proposition for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± I said much more calmly now.

    ¡°Soon you will leave this place. You probably won¡¯t remember me. I don¡¯t know where you will go from here and what you will have to do. It will be very difficult but try and find me again. When you do, kill me, so I can be finally freed from this endless nothingness. If you manage to succeed I will grant you all of my remaining power. It¡¯s only a fragment of what it used to be, but it is still enough for you to live as a god. What do you say little one, do we have a deal?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± A straight, clear answer came from me. Even I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t hesitate with it. But I know it¡¯s the right answer, I feel it with all my being.

    ¡°HAHAHA, you answered without hesitation. I seriously like your resolve, so before your departing let me give you a present.¡± As dragon spoke the white chains around its body started to emit that strange, bright light again. Black mist started to rise from dragon¡¯s body and with great effort seep through the chains. Then, slowly, a small part of black mist broke free from dragon¡¯s body and quickly flew to me. I could feel as I was enveloped in it and my body happily absorbed it. As this happened, chains around the dragon furiously zapped with white lightning.

    ¡°Now you must leave little one. My guardian surely felt part of my power escaping the prison. If he finds you here he will destroy you without hesitation.¡± Dragon spoke hurriedly.

    ¡°Please wait! At least tell me where should I start looking for you?¡± I asked in panic as my body started to disappear.

    ¡°Your new power will guide you little one, just listen to its whispers. It¡¯s the only thing that won¡¯t betray you.¡±

    ¡°Name, at least tell me your name.¡± I shouted desperately as my body disappeared almost completely now.

    ¡°Tenebris, the Shadow God of Orbis.¡±

    That was the last thing I heard before I definitely vanished.

    * * *

    *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*

    Quick steps could be heard in an empty hallway as Sarah hurriedly walked through a hospital. It was early in the morning and in this hour, night still dominated the world. She came as quickly as she could after she received a worrisome phone call from her mother. At first she wondered what her mother wanted so early in the morning but when she told her that Tom, her younger brother, is in the hospital she immediately hurried over there.

    ¡°How is he?¡± Sarah asked visibly worried as soon as she found her father standing before closed door in the hallway.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know. Doctors are still with him right now.¡± Peter answered her nervously waiting for any news about his son.

    ¡°Where is mom?¡± Sarah wanted to know as she couldn¡¯t see her mother anywhere.

    ¡°She is with little Elisa. When she accidentally spotted Tom while we waited for an ambulance she started crying and cried herself to sleep.¡± Peter explained in hurry.

    ¡°Dad what happened? Mom didn¡¯t have a chance to tell me anything only that Tom is in hospitalized.¡± Sarah asked as she stared at closed door.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know myself.¡± Peter said. ¡°When I came back from you, I put Elisa to sleep and wanted to speak with him. But before I had a chance I heard him shouting. When I came to look he lost consciousness in that RW machine. He was burned and wasn¡¯t breathing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I should have bought a new machine for him, not just leave him with my old one.¡± Sarah was starting to blame herself with tears shoving in her eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid. Then you would have been in his place now probably. It¡¯s the machine and machines tend to broke at some point, so stop blaming yourself.¡± Peter told to her, trying to ease her guilt. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your brother is strong, so everything will be ok.¡±

    As he said it doors to Tom¡¯s room opened and nurse peaked out.

    ¡°Are you his family?¡± She asked politely and after they nodded she called them inside. ¡°Doctor wants to speak to you so please come inside.¡±

    As they stepped in they could see Tom lying on the bed. Except for bandages over his burns, everything looked as if he was just sleeping. Doctor was patiently waiting for them beside the bed.

    ¡°Are you Mr Triman?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s my pleasure doctor. This is my oldest daughter Sarah.¡± Peter quickly introduced Sarah, still nervous about whole situation.

    ¡°Ok, so I can speak before her?¡± Doctor reassured himself with Peter¡¯s quick nod. ¡°So Mr Triman, good news is that Tom¡¯s life isn¡¯t in danger for now. The small burns he received are not a big problem and they should heal with little time without leaving any visible scars. We also checked his body quickly and for now we didn¡¯t find any visible problem.¡± After doctor¡¯s reassuring words Peter and Sarah felt calmer. ¡°The bigger problem is that he is in coma and he isn¡¯t reacting to us. We don¡¯t know when he will wake up. There is high possibility that the electric shock he received somehow damaged his brain. As we are not entirely sure about extent of damage we will know more once we run some tests.¡±

    ¡°But he will wake up eventually, right doctor?¡± Peter asked hopingly.

    ¡°As I told you before there is a possibility that his brain is damaged. In these cases I can¡¯t really make any promises to you. We must do some examinations, otherwise I can only speculate.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care doctor. Please tell me your honest opinion.¡± Peter demanded, worried over Tom.

    Doctor sighted as he continued: ¡°It¡¯s possible that he can wake up tomorrow, a week from now, or a few years. I really can¡¯t make an estimate and I don¡¯t want to give you some empty promises.¡± Doctor explained as he told them honestly. ¡°Now if you will excuse me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, doctor.¡± Peter said as he watched him leave the room.

    Both, Sarah and Peter, were standing there silently as they watched Tom. They didn¡¯t know what to do, or what to say. At one side they were both relieved that his life wasn¡¯t in danger and on other they were worried about doctor¡¯s words.

 Chapter 3: The ritual

    <h1>Chapter 3: The ritual</h1>

    ¡°Master Korpus, master Korpus! Everything is ready as you requested it.¡± The young man said as he eagerly waited for his next orders.

    ¡°Finally! It took you long enough.¡± Korpus was complaining as he was studying a book in his hands. ¡°Go and tell your master that I will want to speak with him once everything is over. If he can¡¯t prepare a simple summoning ritual quick enough, he will never became a decent lich.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, master.¡± The young man bowed and left the room in a hurry.

    Korpus sighted: ¡°Today¡¯s young people are so lazy. They would have been turned into skeletons and send to the front lines two hundred years ago for this kind of sloppy work.¡±

    Right now Korpus was sitting in his laboratory. He was preparing for the summoning ritual for a few days now and was becoming quite nervous as it took more time than was necessary. Old books and apparatuses were lying all over the place. Also bones, all types of bones were scattered around the place. Some of them were from animals, others humanoid looking.

    Despite of being newly built, laboratory looked old. Dust was already lying everywhere. On one side of the spacy room was big, sturdy, wooden table with metal shackles for hands and feet. It looked ominous with old blood stains here and there. Right next to table were knives, saws, pliers, metal hooks, needles, everything in various sizes, as if token right from some torture chamber.

    On the other side, there stood a large library with all kinds of books and tomes. A lot of them specialized in black magic and necromancy. They looked old, so old one would think they could fall apart when somebody takes them out.

    Right in the middle of the room there was huge hearth. Right now blue flames from it were licking cauldron firmly stationed above it. From cauldron was rising thick, black smoke, which was trying to find its way out of the room.

    Not too far away from it was Korpus, sitting comfortably in his seat. Smoke and dust didn¡¯t bother him as he was used to it. When he finally finished his reading, he stood up and quickly checked contents of cauldron. Bald skull with empty eye sockets looked inside as they slightly shone with cold blue shade. He, Korpus, has body of a skeleton. As one of the greatest necromancers, he abandoned his humanity few hundred years ago when he started working directly for queen as one of her lich lords. Silky black robe with simple design was enveloping his skeletal figure. Only fingers with large rings and his white skull with everlasting smile were visible.

    ¡°Hmm, it will be ready soon. I must make haste.¡± He muttered. He was in foul mood as he hated being in hurry. When one becomes undead, the time stops being an enemy. Determined to finally finish his task, he takes his staff as he leaves laboratory.

    In deep thoughts Korpus slowly walks through the camp. This is already the third month that undead legion came to Celum forest, homeland of wood elves. Path to here wasn¡¯t that hard as the forest is close to the borders with Abandoned plains, which are one of the territories of undead kingdom.

    Their First legion stayed only on the edges of the forest as they started to corrupt the land and trees. With corruption they moved deeper inside. This process was slow, but it was necessary. If they went right in, legion would be weakened from nature power of forest and elves would detect them right away. On corrupt lands they have an advantage and if they were careful enough elves wouldn¡¯t be able to spot them so fast, leaving them with less time for preparation. But forest was stronger than they originally predicted and corruption was spreading too slowly.

    It took them three long months to develop corruption strong enough to finally take some roots on these fertile lands, and they were still only behind the edges of the forest. It gnawed at his mind, because this process should be faster with so much vegetation and life for corruption to feed on. Korpus was almost certain that elves already detached an army to deal with them. He needed to speed up the process, so it can¡¯t be easily purged even if they were chased out by army.

    Their camp was a quickly built establishment. It wasn¡¯t sturdy and it was uncomfortable, at least would be for humans or other living beings. Undead didn¡¯t care thought. They didn¡¯t have a need for sleep or comfort. Exception being few servants and slaves who were still amongst the living, but nobody really cared about their opinion. They were there to serve and obey, and that they will do, alive or not.

    As Korpus stormed through the camp he could see large numbers of skeletons. Legions army foot soldiers. They were armed with rusty swords, or wooden clubs and simple bows. Their efficiency was in high numbers and in the fact that it didn¡¯t matter how many of them died on the battlefield. As long as capable necromancer survived the encounter they could be raised again and again to go to battle.

    Then there were quite a number of death knights, heavy infantry of the undead. Each one of them measuring roughly around 2 meters. Encased in heavy black and blood-red armours and wielding flails, swords, war-hammers and shields or two-handed versions of these weapons. One of the best killing machines of the undead. When coupled together sturdy enough to survive even the charge of a cavalry.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Last and not so numerous part of this small army were phantasms. With their semi-incorporeal bodies and lack of presence, they are perfect for scouting and assassination missions. Some of them even able to get through walls or objects. They never leave a trace and when they move they don¡¯t make any noise. Only somebody with high magic ability or perception can effectively spot them.

    Korpus, finally arriving to the right place, could see the prepared summoning circle on the ground. With diameter around 4 meters, the outer layer was drawn with strange, curvy glyphs which created outer ring. Inside of it was carved pentagram to the ground which has 5 small empty circles in each corner of the star symbol. Quickly checking it he nodded with satisfaction.

    ¡°You took your time Malthazar. You will have to be more efficient next time.¡± He reprimanded the man standing near the circle.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry lord Korpus.¡± The man apologized bowing his head slightly. ¡°But it is still quite hard for me to perform magic in these woods.¡±

    Korpus remembered that Malthazar was one of the new necromancers and this was actually his first mission. Fresh out of the school he was entrusted to Korpus for his probation period.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Korpus sighted heavily as he waved his skeletal hand dismissing the issue. ¡°It can be hard even for us, liches, to conjure in these lands. Are the sacrifices ready as I required?¡± As he asked this 5 elven children in steel chains were brought before him. They were found playing in the woods few weeks after the legion arrived to the woods for the first time. When phantasm scouts kidnapped them, Korpus decided to use them as sacrifices for this summoning.

    Elven blood was magically strong and in case of children also very pure, one of the best catalysts for his needs. Staring at his skeletal face they started to tremble with pure fear, without strength left to even cry.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry little ones.¡± He told them in elven language, which he learned few centuries back out of boredom and curiosity. ¡°I don¡¯t torture if I don¡¯t need to. I promise you, your death will be quick and painless.¡±

    As he told them this, the children were brought inside the summoning circle, each to the different corner of the pentagram.

    Finally, with everything in its place Korpus started the ritual: ¡°M?nim xidm?t bu h?diyy? m¨¹badil?si qar??lanma, biz? m?lum olmayan ya?amaq ed?nl?r onun yeni ustas? kimi m?n? g¨¹c v? hikm?t verm?k.¡° [Those who live beyond our understanding welcome this gift and in exchange for it step into my service and give me your strength and wisdom as your new master.]

    As he spoke with evident concentration, Melthazar and 4 phantasms prepared ritual blades and readied themselves. When Korpus finished invocation he gave a sign and sent his magical energy through the staff in his hand to the summoning circle. Melthazar, together with phantasms, slit the throats of children with one deep cut, almost cutting their head of. Young blood gushed forward in five arcs and dyed the whole circle crimson red.

    Small lifeless bodies were left on the cold ground and as blood slowly left their veins, their bodies started to rot. In the end only their frail, white skeletons remained. Then, in the middle of the pentagram a presence started to form. As if it were being constructed from blood and all rotted flesh stolen from a minute ago, a body of creature started to appear. Sign that devil from the abyss accepted the deal proposed by Korpus. It took only few seconds until whole body formed and then finally, imp appeared.

    * * *

    Sun was slowly setting as it shined its last warm rays of light onto the busy streets. People, now preparing for the approaching night, hurried through the city to quickly finish their tasks for the day. Merchants closing their stores for night, guards were starting to patrol the streets, pubs and inns becoming louder as more people wanted to rest after the day of hard work. All of this was overseen by Abhedia fortress, which was proudly standing in the middle of the city. Right now silence enveloped the huge structure and only sign of life were few lights flickering in its windows. There, in one of these windows, stood a shadow as it silently observed sunset.

    ¡°I know this isn¡¯t exactly the right time, but scouts returned with their reports.¡± Man¡¯s calm voice reported as he entered room, but only heavy silence answered him. ¡°Sahodariya, are you listening to me?¡± He asked her now worryingly.

    ¡°Yes I heard you Amrag.¡± She answered him with quiet voice, still facing the sunset.

    Worried about her he said: ¡°You should go and stay with him. Or even better go and take a rest. At this rate you will only worry and won¡¯t accomplish anything. Meantime I will look after the matters here.¡±

    At his words she quickly turned to face him and angrily retorted: ¡°He is my brother, of course I¡¯m worried!¡±

    ¡°I know and I¡¯m not saying you shouldn¡¯t be,¡± he tried to calm her down. ¡°I¡¯m just suggesting that you should go and see him.¡±

    After a short silence he could heard her sobbing quietly.

    ¡°I can¡¯t. It¡¯s my fault that he is in the hospital. What should I do when he won¡¯t wake up? I can¡¯t even think about it. Every time I see him¡­¡± The tears were starting to show in her eyes as she was on the verge of crying.

    Amrag seeing this putted down the documents on nearby table and embraced her in tight bear hug.

    ¡°You can¡¯t blame yourself honey. It was an accident, so promise me you won¡¯t blame yourself for it. It will slowly destroy you at this rate and I¡¯m sure that Tom wouldn¡¯t want that.¡± He told her as he gently caressed her cheek and wiped her tears.

    After she calmed down a little, Sahodariya lightly nodded. ¡°You are probably right, I -¡±

    ¡°Damn sure I¡¯m right!¡± He told her firmly before she had any chance to blame herself again.

    ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t know what I would have done without you.¡± She finally smiled and kissed him lightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you can count on my full support in this matter. If you want, we can go see him together.¡± He reassured her, still holding her in his arms.

    ¡°No, I need to finish this first. Too many people worked really hard for me to just toss it out of the window.¡± She said as she pointed at the reports on the table. After all, right now she was Sahodariya, the guild master of Soaring Wings guild and one of the currently highest-level players in RealmWalker. Soaring Wings being one of the most popular and famous guilds in RealmWalker, could be hard to control if one wasn¡¯t prepared to dedicate his everything.

    RealmWalker is known for being a hard-core, role-playing game, so players always need to act in their character while being in the game. In RealmWalker their avatar is their real personality and they should forget everything about the real world. This is the first and most strictly watched rule by the developers and it is punishable by deleting an account if it is heavily or repeatedly violated without a good reason.

    So when Sahodariya needed to finish something, the needs of Sarah in real world must have been put on a wait-list.

 Chapter 4: Imp

    <h1>Chapter 4: Imp</h1>

    Korpus couldn¡¯t believe his eyes when he stared inside the summoning circle. Still surprised, he was wondering if he wasn¡¯t actually dreaming. He quickly played the whole procedure of the ritual in his head trying to find a part where he probably made some mistake.

    ¡°I¡¯m certain I did everything right.¡± He thought and then again checked the circle itself, this time more precisely. ¡°Hmm, the circle also seems to be drawn correctly.¡± Now coldly glaring at Malthazar if he didn¡¯t know something, but he was answered with astonishment and simple shrug of his shoulders. ¡°He also looks genuinely surprised, so I assume he didn¡¯t do anything to sabotage the summoning.¡±

    If that were really the case, Korpus would kill the young necromancer before him without a second thought. After all there was plenty of other, who wanted to study this magnificent art. One as weak as Malthazar wouldn¡¯t matter, his death not even worth mentioning before the queen. He wouldn¡¯t give him the slightest chance to become even a mere skeleton for the front rows of his army. But seeing that Malthazar was innocent, Korpus didn¡¯t know if he should laugh or cry.

    ¡°How, under the bloody ass of mother Death, this happened?¡± Korpus finally snapped staring, now angrily, at the creature inside circle. Pissed about the time he lost and five precious sacrifices he made, he was almost ready to butcher the little bugger in front of him.

    Malthazar, fully aware, of Korpus¡¯s almost legendary power, seeing his mood, quickly disappeared from his sight. He would be courting death should he stay and watch what will happen and as one wise man once said: ¡°Curiosity killed the cat.¡±

    Still obviously confused from just being summoned, imp tried to stand up. It proved to be quite a hard task as his body was still very weak and he needed some time for it to settle down.

    He was a small creature. Measuring not even 1 meter, he looked like some creepy child. His bald head was proportionally too big and round in comparison with the rest of his skinny body. Two small horns were growing from his forehead. Still covered with skin, they were quite soft and needed time to mature and harden. On sides he has long, pointy, triangular elven ears. This wasn¡¯t typical for his race as they tended to have only small holes instead of whole ears. But maybe because the sacrifices were elves they formed this way. Yellow, round eyes looked too big and instead of normal humanoid pupils, his looked like he took it from some reptile. Nose was practically non-existent and only 2 small gapes formed in its place. Large mouth, like it wanted to fulfil the proverb: ¡°Smile from ear to ear.¡± was full of small, razor sharp teeth. His tongue also took reptile traits and was slit, with two pointy ends.

    From his shoulder-blades were growing two bat-like wings, which were too small to support his body in flight. Skinny arms with tiny hands had only 3 fingers. Thumb, middle-finger and pinkie barely enabled him to grip something properly. Each one having sharp, pointy claw, which was, with exception of his teeth, his only weapons. He has skinny mouse-like tail growing as extension of his spine. Lastly he didn¡¯t have foots but instead of it hoofs. This often caused that imps moved in weird wobbly-like fashion and also used one hand as a support.

    Imp, still confused with what happened to it, looked around and when he spotted Korpus he asked: ¡°Master?¡± His voice sounding like annoyed child.

    Korpus slowly bend down and lifted him without effort, griping him by his throat. Imp alerted and frightened started trashing his body in futile struggle to free himself. Korpus seeing this was ready to kill the creature as it was starting to annoy him. On verge of casting a spell that would end its miserable life something picked his interest.

    ¡°Stop your trashing!¡± Korpus commanded with cold voice, trying to calm the imp so he can have a better look.

    As if somebody cut doll¡¯s strings, imp stopped his panicking but his eyes were still full of fear as he stared at his new master.

    ¡°Hmm, you look quite weird.¡± Korpus commented studying him slowly, his previous anger retreating like wild animal back to its cave. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure imps don¡¯t have ears and they are supposed to have dirt brown or green skin.¡±

    But imp before him looked like he was bathed in some dark bloody colour and when one looked really closely he had strange tribal-like symbols over his body. Same colour as imp himself only little darker. He could also feel a faint mana flow from the creature which was strange as he was sure that only evolved imps could use little magic and this one was clearly just a baby.

    ¡°Hoo, interesting.¡± Korpus almost chuckled when he put imp down on the ground, now in considerably better mood. ¡°You earned yourself a life by sparkling my curiosity little one.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Me thank master. Me serve and help good. Me earn me life.¡± Said little imp, somehow understanding he was just spared from a certain death.

    ¡°Hahaha, I see. Quite an intelligent one, aren¡¯t you?¡± Korpus complimented him now in good mood. ¡°You have shown me potential. We will see what we can do with it together.¡±

    ¡°Me happy, me please master.¡± Imp said as he showed big creepy smile for being praised first time.

    ¡°Good, very good. You will need a name so we can complete our contract. Hmm, I wonder what will be a good name for you.¡± Korpus started to ponder as he stared at the little creature. ¡°I can certainly feel dark magical energy from you and you actually look quite vile with that skin of yours. I know, I will call you Malakhay.¡±

    ¡°Malakhay.¡± Imp said for himself as if trying how it sounds. ¡°Me like Malakhay. Me Malakhay now. Malakhay thank master for Malakhay new name.¡±

    ¡°Haha. I see you like it. Come, we have a lot of work before us and you need to learn a lot of things if you want to be of any use to me. First being the proper language and maybe some common sense.¡± Korpus started to make his way back to his laboratory.

    ¡°Malakhay listen to master.¡± Said imp, slowly following him, trying not to lag behind.

    ----------

    ¡°Good morning master.¡±

    It was a few days now from summoning incident that Malakhay lived together with Korpus in his laboratory. As Korpus promised him before, the first thing he taught to the imp was proper use of language. At first he was very surprised with Malakhay¡¯s quick progress but also very pleased. Korpus was now confident that Malakhay was special, because normally imps were very stupid creatures. One could say it almost bordered with dementia. They were used only as messengers or fodder against the enemy if summoner was in danger.

    That is after all one of the reasons they weren¡¯t summoned anymore in this age. Today warlocks, witches and necromancers got a lot more power when compared to the past, so they always tried to summon higher tier demons. Of course if summoner wasn¡¯t powerful enough for binding, the demon killed them instantly and claimed their soul and knowledge for itself. The more knowledgeable and powerful the demon was, the harder his binding.

    Another peculiar thing about Malakhay was that Korpus definitely could feel magical energy, more commonly known as mana, from him. This should be impossible for a new born imp. At first he tried to teach him some basic spells, but Malakhay wasn¡¯t able to cast them. It was like his mana was already in use for something else, but Korpus couldn¡¯t find out for what. He liked this little mystery and wanted to find the reason for it. Also the mana in Malakhay was of dark element. But every imp summoned in past had a fire element. Korpus in the end had a theory that Malakhay must have been favoured by some high demon lord or a very powerful monster in Phanthasmos, a plane of existence where all souls, together with demons and spirit monsters reside.

    ¡°Good morning to you too Malakhay. Today I have something special prepared for you.¡± Korpus told him when he saw that his little servant isn¡¯t sleeping anymore.

    Being said this Malakhay started to pay his full attention to his master. In these few days he understood that Korpus is very knowledgeable and he could learn a lot of things from him that will help him survive.

    ¡°As I already explained to you, today I will send you to obtain your first soul core. I found a perfect creature for it, not too far away from here, in the woods, which should have a good affinity with you. It¡¯s a shadow lurker. It probably came here for easy food, from Abandoned plains, after legion started with corruption of the woods. Normally it would be impossible for you to kill it so soon, but it should be weakened as the corruption of the land still isn¡¯t complete. Also I need its poisoned fangs. So after you kill it you will take the soul core for yourself and fangs for me. But don¡¯t use that soul core just yet as it will leave you vulnerable to attack. First you must return back here. Do you understand?¡± Korpus asked, not really sure if his explanation wasn¡¯t very complicated for Malakhay.

    ¡°Yes master. I will go, kill the creature, get the core and fangs from it and return to you.¡± Malakhay answered him quickly, knowing his master likes when everything is done exactly as he wanted.

    ¡°Good.¡± Korpus was showing his satisfaction with Malakhay¡¯s quick understanding. ¡°I said it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to kill that shadow lurker, but it will be still pretty hard for you. So I have some things I want to give you.¡± As Korpus said this he brought out some items.

    ¡°Firstly, here are some clothes. It¡¯s nothing special, just some spare robe I fond and has it adjusted to your size. I also enchanted it, so when you are wearing it your mana can¡¯t be detected. A lot of creatures, shadow lurker is also one of them, track their food thanks to the mana their pray leaks so with this you should be safe if they don¡¯t spot you directly.¡± He explained as Malakhay put the robe on.

    It covered his whole body, only round head was poking out of it, until he put the cape on over it. Now, that nothing was visible, the imp looked like some dark sorcerer in miniature size. Korpus was pleased when he tried to trace Malakhay¡¯s mana, but couldn¡¯t detect any from him.

    ¡°And here are some weapons for you. They were made from bones of elven children that were used for your summoning.¡± He said as he handed two daggers to Malakhay. When Malakhay equipped them he could feel the connection between daggers and himself.

    ¡°Master I can sense these daggers, it¡¯s a weird feeling.¡± He said while curiously inspecting them.

    ¡°As I said they are from bones of the summoning sacrifices, so you are connected to them. In your hands they should slowly feed on life force of your victims. They will stay sharp and can¡¯t be broken, but only in your hands. One of the best things about them is that, they won¡¯t cut you. When somebody else tries to use them, they are just garbage.¡±

    Malakhay unsheathed one dagger and he found black, sturdy bone. They had double edged, curved blade. In the middle of both blades were carved identical runes. They weakly shined with bloody red hue, resembling Malakhay¡¯s skin. At the bottom side of the hilts was a small mechanism that allowed connecting both weapons together when you needed one of your hands free. When separated they were simple and easy to handle weapons, but together they required a mastery of higher level to use effectively. He could tell that they were also very sharp, one thrust was enough to pierce almost anything. When he tried it on himself he noticed that his master was right, the dagger didn¡¯t leave a single mark on him. Happy with the gifts he received, he hid the daggers in his long sleeves, so they aren¡¯t in a plain sight.

    ¡°Thank you master I will treasure these things.¡± Malakhay said while bowing with respect.

    Korpus received it with wave of his bony hand.

    ¡°Ok, now you must go and don¡¯t forget that I need those fangs in their best condition. I will give you seven days. That¡¯s the longest I can wait for them.¡±

    ¡°Yes master, I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± Those were the last words of Malakhay as he vanished in the doors.

 Chapter 5: The hunt begins

    <h1>Chapter 5: The hunt begins</h1>

    Night is approaching as sun falls beyond the horizon. Shadows are slowly starting to dominate everything in the forest, and instead of daily sunshine the evening darkness takes the crown of the empress for the time being. Animals are returning to their nests and night predators are slowly waking up for their hunt. As if some thick veil covers everything the happy singing of birds are being silenced, and only occasional hooting of owls takes its place.

    ¡°Finally night.¡± I heard my own voice as I moved through thick forest as quietly as I can.

    It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t stand the sun like vampires, but master Korpus explained to me that we are creatures of darkness, so we tend to feel more comfortable when the night comes. At first, when I was still in the camp, I didn¡¯t really feel the difference, but now I understand. As the distance from the camp was widening I was starting to feel uncomfortable. It was a strange feeling, like this is not a place where I should be. It has probably something to do with that corruption that master talked about.

    I know that I¡¯m still too young to really understand these things, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s really a problem. After all, experience will come with time and master is willing to teach me. Confusion I felt when I was born vanished in last days, but I have a feeling that I¡¯m forgetting something important. Oh well, it¡¯s probably not really that important if I forgot about it, but it¡¯s still bugging me.

    I¡¯m probably lucky that I¡¯m even alive, even now when I remember how master almost killed me when I was born, or summoned as he named it, chill still goes down my neck. I must work hard so I don¡¯t disappoint him, after all I don¡¯t want to die. The biggest problem is that I¡¯m bind to him with contract. Even now I¡¯m feeling it. It¡¯s quite unpleasant knowing somebody else have the power to kill you on a whim. After I learned to read and tried to look it up in books that master has he laughed at me.

    ¡°Hahaha, you were just summoned and you already want to be freed. You really are interesting Malakhay.¡± He said looking at me with that eternal bony smile of his.

    ¡°Is it that weird that I don¡¯t want to be bind by the contract master?¡± I asked frightened he will kill me for my impudence.

    ¡°Yes. At least for somebody as young as you are. But don¡¯t worry, I will not kill or punish you for this, I¡¯m not so petty.¡± He told me as he slowly patted my head. ¡°After a long time I¡¯m really interested in something, so let¡¯s make a deal.¡±

    ¡°What kind of deal?¡±

    ¡±I will try to teach you as much as I can and in the meantime you will let me study you. Then, when both of us are satisfied, I will free you from contract. So what do you say?¡± He asked knowing I don¡¯t have much of a choice if I don¡¯t want to die.

    ¡°I accept.¡±

    Remembering that now, I really didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Well he is few hundred years old, so he must have a lot of knowledge. I should probably come up with some second plan of how to kill him if he looks like he doesn¡¯t want to uphold that deal of ours. At least for now I have a lot of time for studying.

    As I¡¯m thinking about these things I suddenly stop. Before me I see a large part of web glistering under the moonlight. That must be doing of that shadow lurker. This must be a part of its hunting grounds. When I look around I can see remains of some minor fighting, so I must be right. The corpse of its prey was dragged somewhere else, so I started to track it.

    It took me nearly three hours till I found empty carcass of a big crowned deer. His antlers look like a crown of some king so his name probably came from that. It¡¯s all dry, so it¡¯s probably few days old. I¡¯m not hunter but master told me that poison of shadow lurker will embalm the body of its prey, and after meat, entrails and soul core are eaten the body will stop to rot and look like it was sanitized. When I carefully look around I can see more of its webbing.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    I spend the next two hours looking around till I finally found a cave entrance that should be a shadow lurker¡¯s nest. It¡¯s covered with thick web and looks like some kind of creepy white curtain. It¡¯s probably for security, so when something tries to get inside, it ends in webbing as the next prey. Looks like it will be problematic to get rid of it.

    Also sun is slowly starting to rise, so shadow lurker will probably wait for night inside the cave. Master told me that it¡¯s creature of night, so if there aren¡¯t some special circumstances it will try to avoid sunshine.

    It is quite bothersome as I¡¯m not confident in attacking it in its own nest. It probably has some nasty traps prepared for anybody who should attack it in its own lair. I didn¡¯t even see it yet, so I should wait for the night and look at it first. Who knows, maybe I will come up with some good plan of how to kill it. I will probably have best chance when it is feeding, but it¡¯s just my hunch.

    In the mean time I went looking around if there isn¡¯t some second entrance, I don¡¯t want for it to suddenly appear out of nowhere behind me, that would certainly seal my death, but I didn¡¯t found anything. I also successfully hunted down a rabbit. It¡¯s my first meal that I hunted alone so I¡¯m quite proud of myself. The raw meat and fresh blood was really delicious. Right after that I found a hollow tree with good outlook at the cave entrance, so I will rest here till the night comes.

    As I thought, when the sun started to set again I could see web curtain on the entrance slowly move around. I tried to stay as hidden as possible, while watching as shadow lurker carefully came outside. First thing that came to my mind was that my master must have gone crazy if he thinks that I can kill it alone. I saw some spiders that master had for his experiments, they had size like a whole human arm, but this one is huge.

    It must be at least 6 meters long and 3 meters big. Four legs on both sides of its body were maybe slim looking, but when I looked closely at the first two front legs they had something like razor edges on its end, probably meant for cutting and stabbing. Not two but six poisonous fangs were lined in its mouth waiting anxiously to bite something. Six eyes, big as my head, were looking around inspecting nearly woods. The name shadow lurker probably came from fact that when it moved around I couldn¡¯t hear it. It was absolutely soundless and looked very creepy. How can something so big not make any noise?

    When it finally inspected its vicinity, and deemed it is safe around, the spider slowly went to woods. I didn¡¯t really wanted, but I started to tail it. It was quite hard as it didn¡¯t make any sound and its grey colour was blending with its surroundings. After two hours of going around it finally came to stop and started to intensively watch something. When I circled it, so I can take a look at what interested it so much, I spotted two people half caught in its webbing. I say half, because only their legs were caught. Their upper half of body and hands were still free.

    From what master taught me in that short time we had, I know they are elven women. Both of them had two bulges under their armour in chest area. Master said that those are breasts and women have them bigger than men. There are also some other minor differences, but that is one of the most noticeable ones. Both elves have long hair reaching their shoulder blades. One has light green colour and other light blue. I know they are elves because they have long, pointy ears resembling mine.

    When I started to ponder, why that spider isn¡¯t attacking, I spotted swords in hands of elves. So that shadow lurker is waiting for them to loose strength, probably from hunger, to make its move. It can easily kill one of them but in meantime before it kills the other, she will probably heavily injure it. I can hear those two talking about something but I don¡¯t understand them. I don¡¯t know how long are they captured, but if they survive this night I should be able to use them in killing that spider.

    While I¡¯m thinking about it I can see spider slowly moving towards them. As if testing some unmapped territory, it¡¯s trying to estimate a level of threat they could still represent. Not good, if it kills them I will lose my chance. They finally spotted approaching danger and started to shout something as they readied their weapons for fight. Shadow lurker was probably thinking that they are already weakened enough because it still tried to attack them. When it looked like the blue-haired one will be killed by its razor-sharp legs, the green-haired one thrown a dagger at it.

    ¡°Schreech!¡±

    High pitching noise came from the spider as dagger punctured one of its many black eyes. It quickly withdrew as it trashed its head around till the dagger didn¡¯t come off from its wound. Giving them a glare full of hate it slowly made its way back to the forest. Looks like they are safe for now. I¡¯m stalking it around as I see it going after some wolf that was caught in its net. After it finished its meal, spider is going around its territory making some traps from webs and occasionally comes back to look at elves. However for now only as a spectator. It probably learned its lesson previously. When it looks like a dawn is nearing it made its way back to cave.

    ¡°Good, elves are still alive. I think it¡¯s time to pay them a visit.¡± I spoke to myself going in their direction.

 Chapter 6: Sisters

    <h1>Chapter 6: Sisters</h1>

    ¡°We should hurry Niila. The sooner we get that information to father the better.¡± Hiravii reminded her younger sister as they run through the night on the treetops of the forest.

    ¡°I know sister. You don¡¯t need to remind me every five minutes.¡± Niila talked back to Hiravii sulkily.

    They were two elf scouts who were coming back from meeting with spy, who monitored undead army. Only thanks to him were elves alarmed about spreading corruption in their loved forest so soon. Corruption could be very dangerous especially with somebody like lich-lord Korpus the Smiling Death, as many called him, who was one of the best and deadliest necromancers the queen had in her services.

    That¡¯s why Hiravii was in such a hurry to report to her father, who was general appointed in the charge of small army, which was right now preparing to subdue the undead in their territory. Both Hiravii and Niila were his daughters that wanted to help in this fight so they applied for scouting. At first he wanted to stop them, but in the end they successfully managed to convince him.

    Hiravii, forty years old, with light-green hair and sharp look in her eyes was one of the most skilled archers of school witch prepared the young elves for the life of a warrior.

    Niila, twenty five years old, light-blue haired beauty was similarly gifted but with swords.

    When they first heard about undead in their forest they immediately volunteered for scouting duty. Their father didn¡¯t even want to hear about it first, but when they told him they will still participate he rather made them his personal scouts and asked them to meet elven spy for information gathering. That¡¯s how they learned that undead were led by well-known and feared Korpus, their numbers and exact positions. With this information they were certain that they can banish all of the undeads before some disaster happens.

    Right now they were on their way back to inform their father. It was an easy mission, because they weren¡¯t really involved with real fighting. Even now they thought they are safe from danger as undead still didn¡¯t have influence in this part of forest.

    It was then, when Hiravii wanted to reprimand her younger sister again about the importance of quickness that she stepped into shadow lurker¡¯s webbing.

    ¡°Hiravii, watch out!¡± Niila shouted in slight panic, as she tried to push her sister away from the trap. But she was only half successful.

    Hiravii¡¯s legs were caught in spider¡¯s web as she was falling down from treetops, unable to free herself. Meanwhile Niila was caught in second part of trap that was mean for Hiravii as she pushed her out of it.

    After few seconds, when they were finally able to look around, they were both tangled in webbing and unable to free their legs.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be happening.¡± Hiravii said as she desperately tried to cut out of web. ¡°This is shadow lurker¡¯s web. They should live in Abandoned plains. I never heard of one being in this forest.¡±

    ¡°Then why is it here?¡± Niila asked frustrated from being bound and not being able to do anything about it.

    ¡°Corruption, it probably migrated here because it could feel the corruption in woods and it was easy to prey on forest animals.¡± Hiravii tried to explain, still hopelessly trying to get out of the trap.

    ¡°What will we do sister?¡± Niila sounded full of worry knowing shadow lurker¡¯s web could be removed only when spider died. Web was magical and impregnated with spider¡¯s mana and it became enchanted and almost indestructible till its owner didn¡¯t release it or died.

    Even if elves were very talented in magic, even they couldn¡¯t just easily remove it. Without spider the web needed high quantities of mana poured into it. Also this mana must be of the dark attribute, or this method won¡¯t work and only dark elves have this kind of mana. After these steps the initial imprint of the spider could be rewritten. Only then they would be able to get from it without killing the spider, but this needed at least four or five other people, so killing the shadow lurker was much easier.

    It was when Hiravii tried to reach for her bow, which fell not far away from them, that shadow lurker appeared before them for the first time. Six big eyes were quietly measuring them, waiting to seize an opportunity for final attack. When it saw that Hiravii is trying to grab her weapon, but she can¡¯t reach it, it quickly moved and attacked with its sharp front legs. Niila, paying attention, successfully warded with one of her swords and left a shallow scratch on spider¡¯s body. Not being able to kill Hiravii as it intended, spider ran to safe distance, but it took the bow lying on the ground with it. After some minutes of watching them it vanished in the forest together with Hiravii¡¯s weapon.

    ¡°That clever bastard took my weapon with him.¡± Hiravii cursed looking into the darkness of night.

    ¡°I never thought they could be that big. When I read about them, the book said the biggest ones reached only about 1 meter.¡± Niila sounded surprised after seeing the spider in real for the first time.

    ¡°Only when they have enough food. This one must have lived in forest for quite some time now. It probably came together or even before the undead legion.¡± Older sister spoke, as she borrowed one of Niila¡¯s swords.

    Spider returned a few times that night, but every time it only checked on them and then quickly left.

    ¡°What is it doing?¡± Niila nervously asked when it left few minutes before the morning sun started to rise.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably waiting and checking when we will run out of food and lose strength so it can attack safely.¡± Hiravii guessed as she checked her almost empty flask with water. ¡°As I said it¡¯s a clever bastard.¡±

    It was already their third night that they were unable to move from their web prison. Yesterday they finally run out of food and water, and only think that didn¡¯t allow them to lose consciousness was their strong determination. As it was nights before this one, the shadow lurker was quietly observing them from the shadows of the trees around them.

    ¡°There it is, same as every night.¡± Hiravii alerted her sister as shadow lurker came little closer to them. ¡°Hey Niila can you hear me?¡± She tried to shout when Niila didn¡¯t respond to her first time. ¡°Niila wake up, you hear me! Wake up!¡± Hiravii was now shouting loudly, because Niila lost consciousness, probably from dehydration.

    Shadow lurker didn¡¯t miss this opportunity and slowly tried to approach Hiravii from her blind side as she was the only one left who stood between it and a tasty meal. Just when it was prepared to jump and kill Hiravii, Niila finally woke up and threw her dagger she has to the one of its eyes, again successfully fending it off. Dark green, smelly liquid squirted from it as spider trashed around and then went back to the forest, probably to lick its wound, but they knew it won¡¯t be long before it will come back.

    When morning came both Hiravii and Niila were weakened and extremely tired, and they knew this was probably their last day.

    ¡°Do you think father send somebody to look for us?¡± Niila asked in weak voice.

    ¡°Probably not. He must think we were captured by undead and he won¡¯t risk entire forest and tribe just for us.¡± Hiravii slowly shook her head, knowing the safety of their tribe was more important than just the two of them.

    It was then that they heard some rustling noise in bushes near them. At first they thought that shadow lurker changed its tactic and tried to attack them in day, but then a little human, wearing full robe, appeared. He hesitantly came closer to them, but still stayed out of their swords distance. Then he revealed his face hidden under the cape. Full of surprise, two sisters stared at the imp who was curiously observing them.

    ¡°For the love of mother earth, that¡¯s an imp.¡± Hiravii commented clearly surprised.

    ¡°What is he doing in this forest? He shouldn¡¯t be able to survive here, I mean I heard imps are very weak and dumb summoned demons or not?¡± Niila asked still vigilantly observing the little creature.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe it came from Abandoned plains after its master was killed or something. This is a first time I¡¯m actually seeing one.¡± As they spoke, imp tried to came closer but Hiravii automatically threatened it with sword. ¡°I didn¡¯t survive this long to be killed by you.¡± She said to him, warning in her voice obvious.

    ¡°I sizga zarar quilmaydi. [I will not hurt you.]¡± Imp said as he glared at Hiravii when she pointed a sword at him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand you.¡± Hiravii replied surprised he can talk.

    ¡°Biz bir-biriga yordam berishi mumkin. [We can help each other.]¡±

    ¡°As I said, I don¡¯t understand you.¡± She told him again, this time also trying to gesture with her hands.

    For a second he weirdly looked at her. Then he reached to the sleeves of his robe and brought out two sinister looking black daggers. When sisters saw this they readied for fight, but as imp put both weapons to the ground, they were left speechless. He showed them empty hands as he slowly approached them. As he came over he started to draw something in the dirt with his small finger. When he finished they could see something that resembled a drawing of the spider. He pointed at himself and two elves, then at the spider and made a cutting motion through his throat.

    ¡°You, you want to kill that shadow lurker. But why would you do it?¡± Hiravii tried to question him. When she saw that he didn¡¯t understand her she had drawn question mark on the ground.

    Imp probably understood what she wanted to ask, because after that he added small stone inside of the spider picture and then snatched it away. When he could see that she didn¡¯t understood for the first time, he repeated that motion.

    ¡°I think that he wants its soul core.¡± Niila quietly commented still trying to grasp the unusual situation before her.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°I see. But we can¡¯t help you. We are like in prison with this web, and after few days without food and water we are quite weakened.¡±

    Imp didn¡¯t understand her and pointed at question mark she had drawn before.

    She showed him her empty flask and pretended fainting.

    After few silent seconds imp snatched a flask from her, picked up his daggers and quickly vanished in the forest.

    ¡°That was the weirdest conversation I ever saw.¡± Niila pointed out with small smile on her bewitching lips.

    ¡°Tell me about it. But he is quite intelligent. I never heard of an imp who is capable of that kind of conversation.¡±

    ¡°Well, he stole our flask.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like it is useful to us anymore. He will probably steal our weapons too when the spider kills us.¡±

    They tried to get some rest knowing they would need to stay awake and alert at night, when, after some two hours, the imp returned. He again dropped both of his daggers in front of them before approaching them. He gave their flask back, now full, and also brought two raw fishes with him. He left it all with elven sisters without saying a word and again vanished in the woods.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. He brought us food and water.¡± Niila stared at raw fish full of surprise. ¡°Yack, raw fish is quite disgusting, but I guess it¡¯s better than starving.¡± She said biting the fish with grimace plastered on her face.

    After that imp came back few times with some fruits and fishes. When night finally approached, he gestured them that he is going to hide for now. That night shadow lurker checked on them a few times, but seeing they were still alert, it never dared to attack again. It was probably resolved to wait till they starve.

    Next morning imp again returned with fruits for breakfast and went to refill the flask.

    ¡°Others will think we went mad if we tell them that we were fed by demon.¡± Niila commented nonchalantly eating them.

    After their meal he again asked them if they will help him kill the spider. This time Hiravii agreed.

    ¡°But I will need my bow to help you.¡± She said while drawing a bow with arrows on the ground.

    When imp again pointed at question mark, she drawn quiver on tree and shoved him tree, where she was captured with web. With his hoofs he wasn¡¯t able to climb, so he threw stones at quiver until he successfully got some arrows. It took him almost two hours, looking like some kid playing some kind of a game. Then she showed him that bow was taken by shadow lurker and he again vanished in the forest.

    This time it took more time before he returned, but he returned with Hiravii¡¯s bow. Two elves couldn¡¯t believe their eyes when they saw it.

    ¡°Remind me to kiss him if we survive this.¡± Niila said jokingly, starting to finally see some hope about their situation.

    After that imp watched the surroundings so they can finally take a little rest. Night was slowly approaching when they saw imp preparing to hide somewhere close, where he can probably surprise the spider.

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s your name?¡± Hiravii asked really wanting to know.

    When imp looked back at her not understanding she pointed at herself saying:¡±Hiravii.¡± Then at her sister: ¡°Niila.¡±

    ¡°Malakhay.¡± Were his words.

    * * *

    I was finally able to get those elves help me kill the shadow lurker. I must say that they were quite demanding. One would though they would be happy when somebody, who wants to kill the creature that wants to eat them, appears. Not only was I made to feed them, I was even made to fetch theirs weapon. I was lucky that the spider discarded that bow before its lair. If it were inside I wouldn¡¯t be able to get it. Even outside was quite hard to get it back. One wrong step and I could have ended like them, entangled in web. When I get back I will need to ask master if every elf is so selfish.

    Day slowly fades away and I¡¯m waiting nearby, hidden in bushes, prepared for the spider. Both women are lying on the ground, probably pretending that hunger and exhaustion finally got them. Well I hope they are only pretending, because if they really fainted that thing will eat them, and I surely won¡¯t be able to kill it alone. I can only suicide-attack it, or return to master empty handed so that he can kill me personally. In that case master will be probably more painless option.

    I can finally see it. It¡¯s studying the two elves, probably making sure that they are really knocked out. Huge spider slowly approach¡¯s them, coming dangerously close to both. While it¡¯s preparing to finally attack and devour the smaller one, she moved and slashed at it with one of her swords. Spider tried to react and almost immediately jumps backward, but it was too slow. Small elf was quicker than I though and successfully cut of one of its legs. Spider loudly hisses at her while showing its deadly fangs. Then it tried to attack again, now more wary of her, making her its main target.

    The other elf suddenly sat up and fired two arrows at it in quick succession. Both of them finding their rightful place in its eyes. Probably surprised from sudden pain, spider stood on its back legs trying to let loose arrows in its eyes. Both elves seeing it as great opportunity attacked again, this time together. Smaller one threw her sword at it and the other one fired another three arrows. Sword pierced it under the head and arrows ended in its mouth.

    As I observed them I knew that if they willed it, they could have killed me even while being bound. If all elves are so good and quick at fighting I will need to be extremely careful in this forest. Even I understand that even one good placed arrow from them can kill me easily.

    But I needed their help, so I started to sneak to spider from behind. Both elves seeing me, tried to keep its attention on them while shouting something. They did a massive damage to it but it still wasn¡¯t enough to kill it. Master taught me that I must pierce its heart in order to kill it. Otherwise it will heal itself with time, as if nothing happened. Master showed me that heart is located in lower part of its abdomen.

    As I came closer and closer, making sure I didn¡¯t make any sound, I readied my daggers. I could hear my heart beating like crazy. My hands full of sweat, I¡¯m starting to think that this wasn¡¯t such a great idea. For the first time I realized that this is really stupid, I mean that creature is many times bigger than me and I was just born a few days ago. After this realization, just when I prepared to run away back to the shadows, the spider noticed me. It lost interest in elves before it and turned around to a new threat, ready to cut me with its front legs. Seeing me, as I was trying to sneak close to it, it slashed with its right leg. I did the first thing that came to my mind and sky-dived under its leg sweep. I could feel the sharp edge flying close to my head as I near-dodged it with sheer luck.

    More confused than the spider, I found myself lying under its body. Having some serious problems because of my hoofs, the shadow lurker recovered sooner than me and tried to pierce me with its other leg. Something flew over with ¡°SWOOCH¡± sound and with ¡°PENG¡± it slammed to the leg slightly changing its path. Thanks to it, it pierced only my shoulder. Sharp pain woke me up from confusion, and when I stared in front of myself I could see the spider¡¯s exposed abdomen. Being so close its short, black hair almost tickled me. With ¡®It¡¯s now or never feeling.¡¯ I jumped second time stabbing the spider. With my whole arm burrowed in its abdomen the dagger in my hand finally reached its heart.

    From sudden pain the spider threw itself backwards and started to squirm from side to side with high pitched piercing, screeching sounds. I was flung to air, flying about 10 meters away from it when I collided with tree stump. It hurts but I forced myself to watch the spider. It slowly stopped its trashing and now only its legs were trembling and twitching. It took about 10 minutes till it finally completely stopped moving. I still didn¡¯t want to risk anything, so I waited for about another 5 minutes till I dared to approach it again. Meantime I¡¯m examining my shoulder which is now pulsing with sharp, burning pain. It¡¯s bleeding and I have problems moving my arm because of it, but master will probably be able to heal it when I return to him.

    I slowly come closer to big unmoving body and stab it with my second dagger which was still ready in my hand. When I see no reaction I finally sigh and sit down with exhaustion. Looking around I see two elves waving and saying something. I can see smaller elf¡¯s second sword near the dead spider. I remember the crashing sound when it tried to slash me and I realized that she must have thrown it to save me that time. They probably want my help to cut the spider¡¯s web that is still holding them. But I don¡¯t trust that they will let me go. After all this is their forest and from what I understand master¡¯s master is in war with them.

    Ignoring their noisy shouts I take back my dagger embedded in spider¡¯s heart and start to work on its poisoned fangs. Master told me that two will be enough for him, but I better take all six of them. I store them in small pouch provided by master so I¡¯m not hurt by their leftover poison on my way back. Now for its soul core. If I remember correctly it should be somewhere behind its head. So I carefully start to dissect that area because I don¡¯t want to damage it. My hands are bathed in green blood because of it. Master told me that soul core is quite fragile thing and if I want to quickly kill something I should always aim for it. The only disadvantage is that soul core will be ruined and can¡¯t be used afterwards.

    When I finally found it I slowly take it out. It looks like black, mirror-like sphere. I must hold it with both of my hands, because it¡¯s quite heavy and as large as my head. It will be hard to bring it back with my injured shoulder, but I should be able to do it if I take my time. Done with everything I needed to do, I look at elves one more time. They are still wildly gesturing me to release them, but I don¡¯t plan to do it now. With soul core in my hands I won¡¯t be able to escape from them and they will definitely try to catch me. With this as my last thought I disappear in the darkness.

    * * *

    ¡°That little sleazebag left us here.¡± Niila shouted at least tenth time.

    Angry at Malakhay she vented her anger whole night this way. Hiravii wasn¡¯t as vulgar as her but she was also quite irritated by him. She thought they had a deal, but it seemed like he betrayed them. They helped him kill the shadow lurker and he left them bound in its webs.

    ¡°And I even save his life when I threw my sword.¡± Niila grumbled, helplessly trying to break the web with her hands.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We can only hope that somebody will find us again.¡± Hiravii tried to sooth her. ¡°Thanks to him feeding us we at least earned more time.¡±

    ¡°Yea, but what if it ends like before? This time we will really die from hunger.¡±

    Hiavii couldn¡¯t say anything to that, because she knew it was the truth. But something felt wrong and she couldn¡¯t find out what, and it bugged her. She thought that Malakhay would try to steal Niila¡¯s swords when he didn¡¯t help them, but he left them lying near spider, as if uninterested in them. Some time ago she was taught that lesser demons are greedy and stupid, but Malakhay clearly didn¡¯t belong to this category. His communication with them and behaviour was quite clever.

    When she thought about this she could hear Niila again.

    ¡°Something is coming.¡±

    Anticipating worst scenario, that some other monster will pop-up, they readied themselves. Straining their eyes trying to find out what it is, they could only heard some rustling sounds. Then finally, from nearby bushes, Malakhay appeared. Studying them with suspicious look he stood before them few seconds, as if trying to decide what to do.

    ¡°What do you want, you traitor.¡± Niila asked with voice full of renew anger.

    Malakhay¡¯s eyebrows frowned as if he understood her, showing dark expression. He returned to spider¡¯s corpse and slowly picked up one of Niila¡¯s swords. He examined it and tried slashing with it a few times.

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s mine!¡± She still tried to preach, until Hiravii stopped her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to agitate him right now.¡±

    ¡°And? What will he do? Attack me? Sorry Hiravii but I think I can take him on even in this state.¡± She said as she glared at Malakhay again.

    Probably finally satisfied with testing Niila¡¯s weapon he looked at Hiravii with unreadable expression. Seeing him coming closer she thought he will attack them any minute, but it never happened. Stopping roughly 5 meters away from them he tossed the sword in his arms with great difficulty. Seeing they can reach the weapon he didn¡¯t wait, turned around and started awkwardly running to the forest.

    ¡°What just happened?¡± Niila asked, staring with open mouth, not yet understanding the situation.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? He returned to help us.¡± Hiravii said, trying to pull the sword with the help of her bow closer to her. When she was finally able to reach it, she started to cut the web that was binding them for last few days.

    Finally free they collected their other weapons.

    ¡°Why did he come back when he left us before?¡± Niila still didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°He was probably just cautious of us.¡± When Hiravii saw Niila¡¯s still confused look she continued: ¡°Didn¡¯t you noticed how slow he was at running away? Also, he is injured from that fight and I could see that soul core was too heavy from him, so if we wanted to catch him he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against us and he knew it. He probably also somehow understands that we don¡¯t like when demons roam in our forest, so he definitely thought we will try to either capture or kill him. So he probably went and hid that soul core first and only then returned to free us.¡±

    ¡°Ok, but why bother with returning when you could be killed?¡± Niila still asked, now also freeing herself the same way Hiravii did.

    Hiravii shrugged her shoulders: ¡°That¡¯s the part I¡¯m not so sure about. If I should guess, it¡¯s probably because he wanted us to be in his debt. Maybe he thought that if he should let us die, other elves will surely sooner or later find our corpses. With dead spider robbed of its soul core they would be able to see that somebody used us as bait and they would try to hunt him down. But he helped us and surely knows that we will inform others of what happened here. He also knows we will inform them about him as he is still a demon. He runaway thinking, maybe we don¡¯t have time to play hide-and-seek with him and if one of elves catches him later, he probably won¡¯t be killed so easily because he saved us previously. See, this way we are in his debt and own him our lives¡± She said smiling.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of maybe and probably don¡¯t you think?¡± Niila commented after listening silently.

    ¡°As I said, I¡¯m only guessing at his point.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s like you said he is one hell of a smart guy.¡±

    ¡°He sure is and I hope we will meet again.¡± Hiravii again revealed a charming smile.

    ¡°What, you in love with him now?¡± Niila tried to make fun of her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Of course I¡¯m not.¡± Hiravii rebutted it knowing Niila is joking. ¡°But he is the first demon that didn¡¯t try to kill me as soon as he saw me. We can surely learn a lot about them if one is willing to negotiate and talk.¡±

    Knowing they have to return as soon as possible they didn¡¯t even think of tracking Malakhay down. So after retrieving their weapons they were finally able to go back to their mission. After all they had an important task to inform their father, one in charge of elven army, about undead legion camp in their forest, so that elves can destroy them.

 Chapter 7: The order paid in blood

    <h1>Chapter 7: The order paid in blood</h1>

    After freeing both elves, I was able to successfully return to master¡¯s side before the time limit he set up for me ran out. I was lucky that those sisters didn¡¯t try to pursue me. Just in case I hid the core before helping them out, but I¡¯m sure that if they tried it wouldn¡¯t be hard for them to catch me. I was able to make a temporary bag for the soul core from some spider web near the shadow lurker¡¯s lair, and thanks to it, it was much easier to carry it with my injured shoulder. Master commended me when I told him I was able to kill that monster.

    ¡°Welcome back Malakhay, how was your small mission?¡± Master wanted to know when I returned to his laboratory on the seventh morning still injured and tired.

    ¡°I was able to do what master asked.¡± I said proudly, showing master Korpus the pouch with the shadow lurker¡¯s poisonous fangs. I also quickly presented the soul core I so rigorously obtained from the creature.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Master was quite astonished when he saw the core. ¡°Do you even know what you killed Malakhay?¡± He asked me studying the round, mirror-like sphere before him.

    I, thinking I did something wrong, stayed silent.

    ¡°This is the core of a shadow lurker with a bloodline.¡±

    Still not understanding I looked at him with a surprised look.

    ¡°Sit, I will explain.¡± Master commanded and showed me to an empty chair. When I quickly obeyed he continued. ¡°Monsters with bloodlines are very rare. They are much bigger and stronger than normal ones and often have very powerful abilities. There are a few ways to obtain a bloodline but all of them are quite hard to achieve.

    The easiest one is to kill other monsters with bloodlines and with a progressive accumulation of their soul cores, one is able to create a new one, unique for himself. But you will still need a strong body as a vessel for it. Otherwise it will tear you apart from the inside. The second option is obtaining a lot of experience and mastering other skills to a high degree with time. Then, when you start to understand how your body and the powers you possess really work, you are able to combine them and create a new unique bloodline for yourself.

    Lastly, one can be born with a bloodline, but if I¡¯m not mistaken, this didn¡¯t happen in a long time. Even now some people try to give birth to creatures with bloodlines by pairing parents with one, but it is without any success. Only in ancient times were creatures with a bloodline being born, so I personally think that something what made it possible has already vanished from this world.

    So now knowing this I want to ask you, how were you able to kill it?¡±

    Quietly listening to what master said I have a bad feeling he won¡¯t be pleased if I told him about the elves. But claiming I killed it alone is also no good. I will need to improvise.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it alone master.¡± I told him honestly while starting to sweat.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± He told me, interested in what I have to say.

    ¡°When I arrived and found its lair for the first time I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to do what master wanted, but returning right after that also didn¡¯t sound like a good choice. Not knowing what to do, I stalked it at night. I thought, maybe I can find its weakness with a little time. Then, on the third night, a wolf got caught in one of its webs. While preying on it the whole pack showed up. Maybe thinking they could take it down while it¡¯s busy they attacked it. While fighting fiercely the whole pack was killed but the shadow lurker was also injured quite heavily. I just took advantage of that and ambushed it. It still wasn¡¯t easy and it still almost killed me, but in the end I was able to kill it.¡±

    After a few minutes of silence master finally spoke: ¡°I see. It¡¯s not what I intended but I¡¯m proud of you Malakhay. Not everybody can kill a shadow lurker with a bloodline, even if it is injured. But next time I send you somewhere and the enemy is above your ability just come back to me. I don¡¯t intend to use you for suicide missions. After all I have a lot of undead for that job around.¡±

    ¡°Master, can I ask about the bloodlines?¡± I wanted to know more, now feeling more secure knowing he trusted my story.

    ¡°Of course, ask what you want freely, after all I promised you that I will teach you.¡±

    ¡°Where can I learn more about bloodlines?¡± I wanted to know thinking: ¡°Having something like that would surely help me survive.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, you are a greedy one Malakhay, after all even if you are young and weak you are still a demon. You don¡¯t need to worry I will teach you, as I¡¯m too one with a bloodline.¡± Master said smiling with his eternal smile. ¡°I was able to obtain my bloodline after four-hundred years through experience and experiments. Only a few people know that I have it and even fewer what it is. Who knows, maybe later I will tell you, but for now this is enough about me. Let¡¯s return to you.¡±

    ¡°Yes master.¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you the reason why I wanted you to obtain that soul core. You are new to this world and you weren¡¯t born but summoned, so you will need that core for creating a link with this world. You demons are special existences which aren¡¯t normally connected to this world, but to your original one, Phanthasmos. Actually I don¡¯t think calling it world is right. It¡¯s more like another reality or realm, or plane of existence if I must be correct. This link I¡¯m talking about is called Status. Everybody in this world creates it unconsciously the moment they are born. The only exceptions are summoned creatures like you.¡±

    ¡°So I will use it to create my own Status?¡± I asked looking at the core thinking about what master said.

    ¡°Yes you will, but that isn¡¯t the end of it.¡±

    ¡°What else will I get from it?¡± I wanted to know.

    ¡°With Status you can finally start to learn new skills and spells. It will show you your progress as you train and learn, and help you tremendously. Rumour says that the Status of the Realm Walkers is different from the one the others have, they see a lot more information with it and through levelling and gaining experience they can supposedly even change their bodies. This should be the reason why they can become so powerful so quickly, but in my opinion they depend on it too much. This causes that they don¡¯t really understand the skills or spells they are casting and that becomes their greatest weakness.

    Also, with this ritual you will gain a soul core of your own. That¡¯s more important than Status as all our power and mana comes from it.¡±

    Listening to master has made me very excited with anticipation.

    ¡°I can see you can¡¯t wait.¡± Master said visibly amused by my reaction. ¡°Be patient Malakhay, I have yet another important thing to explain to you.¡±

    I silently looked at him, waiting for his next words.

    ¡°Before obtaining Status you need to learn what the soul core is and how it works.¡± He started the explanation with importance showing in his calm voice. ¡°So, what do you think a soul core is?¡± He asked me suddenly.

    Not being certain about an answer I stayed quiet for some time and thought about it, but in the end I didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know master.¡± I said truthfully, hoping I won¡¯t be punished for my ignorance.

    ¡°The soul core is the most important part of every monster you will ever meet. The information it contains represents your whole being. You can think about it like about a book which has been written about you.¡± Master tells me, lifting the soul core of the shadow lurker from the table. ¡°Everything you learn and experience is accumulated inside of it. The same goes for our power, it all comes from the soul core. When you kill a monster and devour its soul core, yours will decompose it and absorb its power. This way you become stronger.¡±

    ¡°Master what about humans and other races different from us?¡± I asked remembering him saying that only monster races have a soul core.

    ¡°I see you are attentive.¡± He commended me, satisfied with my good thinking. ¡°Humanoid races don¡¯t have a soul core as I said before. They only have their Status. A weaker version of the one the Realm Walkers possess, as they can¡¯t alter their bodies directly through it. With fighting and completing tasks they gain something called experience points, or shortly called expi. These points are absorbed by their soul and make them stronger. They can¡¯t gain power from soul cores directly, instead they use them as catalysts in magic, alchemy, enchanting and a lot of other things.

    For all races, that aren¡¯t defined as us monsters, the power they gain this way is represented by levels. With their Status they can recalculate our power and see it in a similar form of level they use. Our Status isn¡¯t capable of this calculation. We need to rely on our instincts when we try to guess their power. But don¡¯t worry I think it¡¯s just a rough number estimate and it¡¯s not as accurate as many think. I had seen a human defeat a monster which was supposed to have a higher level than him and vice-versa.¡±

    ¡°Master can I ask something?¡±

    ¡°Of course, ask anything you want to know. This is important, so you must understand it.¡±

    ¡°Do we, I mean monster races, not gain anything when we kill a human? You said that from another monster I can devour its soul core, but what if I kill a human?¡± I wanted to know, because if so, it¡¯s useless to try getting stronger by killing them.

    ¡°Good point,¡± he said as if remembering something he forgot to mention. ¡°When you kill a human for example, you will get part of his experience points. Try to think about it as a dusty carpet. When you hit it, some of the dust will fly off. This dust is experience points and monsters automatically absorb them. I don¡¯t know how it works exactly, it¡¯s like these points remember who killed their master and just transfer to him of their own volition. The difference between us and them is that monsters won¡¯t get all of their previous expi, only a very small portion of them, maybe because their souls don¡¯t stay behind in the form of the soul core, but moves on. Also, monsters can¡¯t gain expi from killing other monsters, only the power from the soul core.¡±

    Trying to think about everything master just taught me I hear him quickly chanting something. When I looked at him I could see the shadow lurker¡¯s soul core getting smaller and smaller till it doesn¡¯t look like some black candy or marble.

    ¡°Here, I compressed it so you can easily devour it.¡± He said giving me a now small soul core. ¡°It¡¯s a very basic spell I will teach you, so you can store or devour them more easily.¡±

    ¡°Thank you master.¡± I thanked him ready to finally eat it.

    ¡°One last, very important thing,¡± he stopped me before I had a chance to put it inside my mouth. ¡°You, as a member of the true demon race, are an exception about some of the before mentioned things. Why do you think you can exist right now without a soul core?¡± He asked not really expecting an answer from me.

    ¡°I said you are a member of the true demon race. Only summoned demons are of the true demon race. Humans call a lot of monsters demons, but that isn¡¯t correct. What they call demons is the demonata race. They are only descendants of ancient demons who had an offspring with other races, so their blood isn¡¯t pure. True demons are very rare in this world and have been either summoned as you were, or were born between two true demons with pure blood.

    But let me get back to you existing without a soul core. All true demons are special because they are born with a soul and later on gain a soul core. This means they are the only race that has both a soul and a soul core. This can make you very powerful as from killing monsters you will gain both expi and soul core.

    But enough with explaining. I can see you are becoming confused. Go on and eat that soul core, we shall finish this lecture later. Oh and let me warn you, the first time eating it will be very painful and unpleasant.¡±

    As I listened to master I slowly put the soul core in my mouth and swallowed. For a few seconds I thought it will be fine and not as bad as master mentioned, but then the pain came. It is excruciating. I can feel like my body is being torn from the inside, ripping pain coursing through me like powerful waves accompanied by a burning sensation. I can¡¯t even stand anymore as I¡¯m thrashing on the ground gripping my heart, but nothing of it is helping me. Then inside of this pain a new feeling is born and something new started to form in my chest. I¡¯m certain that it¡¯s my soul core. After some minutes the pain slowly faded and I could breathe normally again.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t so bad master.¡± I said to him now standing up again with sweat forming on my whole body. A pulsation came from my newly created soul core and it beat like a second heart. Only now did the real pain come, unimaginably stronger than before. Burning blood started to flow from my nose and ears and I can tell that my bones are starting to crack. My skin is rupturing around my whole body and my limbs are bent to wrong angles by some external power that is taking a hold of me. I can¡¯t even hear my creams anymore as I sling myself to the ground not really caring if I will hurt myself more. As I slowly started to lose consciousness I could hear master laughing.

    ***

    ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t have agreed with them going to meet that spy. They are too young to be doing this kind of work.¡± The elf said storming through the tent, with a worried expression plastered over his face.

    ¡°You are too overprotective of them Ailluin. They need to see that the world is crueller than it looks.¡± Another elf, who was comfortably sitting on one of the chairs, tried to calm his friend down.

    ¡°Maybe Vestaan, but better be overprotective than dead. Knowing this I would have tied them to a tree until the whole thing with those wretched undead is finished.¡±

    Ailluin was the appointed commander of the elven forces dispatched to deal with the spreading corruption and undead legion. The elders gave him this task knowing he had plentiful experience from the previous war. Being born a warrior with a height of 1,9 meters and a body covered in slim muscles, he dedicated his life to defending their homeland for almost 300 years now. His long silvery hairs were braided so they don¡¯t hinder him in the upcoming battle.

    Elves, being very dextrous and mobile, preferred hit and run tactics which were their specialty, especially in forests, but they could quickly adapt to any rough terrain. As a nation with strong magical powers their warriors could use magic to boost their bodies to their utmost limits. Making themselves quicker and stronger they never used heavy class armour and strongly preferred middle class leather armour with a dodging style of fighting.

    Most of their warriors were trained as blade dancers. They used two light short swords with a single cutting edge and a long tapering point. The whole length of the swords was only around 70cm, the blade being 50cm long. These weapons were called Twin Fangs and were used mainly for cutting and stabbing. Blade dancers merged them with their quick acrobatic fighting style and created a deadly combination with these light weapons.

    Another exceptional thing was their archers. Using long ranged bows they could effectively shoot a target from a distance of 500 meters. Every bow was made by the archer himself and had the same height as its wielder for maximum efficiency. Archers often used wind magic to support their shots to add power and speed to them and in extreme cases of mastery even guide them in flight.

    Lastly, but also a very strong force of their army, were mages. Wind, water and earth magic being their specialty. With a higher mana pool than most of the other nations they could cast for a long time.

    Tensely studying the map in front of him Ailluin could hear the flaps of the tent opening.

    ¡°Ailluin, your daughters are back.¡± One of his messengers reported, shoving a smile on his face.

    ¡°Are they injured? Quickly take me to them.¡± He commanded, grabbing his twin fangs and almost running from the tent with Vestaan in his back.

    ¡°Not injured, only exhausted.¡± the elf tried to calm him down as he guided him through the camp to the healers.

    Finally reaching the healing tent, he went inside without any further waiting. Seeing both Hiravii and Niila sitting on the bed and drinking hot soup from a steaming cup he sighted in relief.

    ¡°Finally you two, what took you so long? Don¡¯t you understand the more time it takes to purge those undead the more serious the corruption will become! This isn¡¯t a game or some training! When you finish that soup I want to hear a detailed report about the undead forces.¡± He was happy to see them alive, but as their commander he needed to scold them. Vestaan was right about this, they must understand that in times of war nobody will pamper them.

    Not waiting for their response he went back to his tent.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so angry. He is telling the truth.¡± Vestaan warned them when seeing their restless looks.

    Both young sisters, knowing he is right, gulped down their prepared comments and started to look apologetic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make us wait long. I¡¯m also curious about what could have delayed you for so long.¡±

    ¡°You probably won¡¯t believe us when we tell you what happened.¡± Hiravii said smiling, glad she made it back alive.

    Standing before their father, Hiravii and Niila just ended their report. Numbers, positions and other detailed information about their enemy, they remembered it perfectly. They also shared their small adventure with the imp who saved them and enabled them to return. Their father, now staring at them incredulously, probably had a hard time believing that they were saved by a demon.

    ¡°You really want to make me believe that some random imp, living in our forest, saved you from an overgrown shadow lurker? Do you even know how silly it sounds?¡± He still thought they were humouring him.

    ¡°Calm down Ailluin.¡± Vestaan tried to help the sisters. ¡°You know them well enough to tell they wouldn¡¯t lie so blatantly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the truth father.¡± Hiravii once more confirmed her previous word, quickly remembering the small imp.

    ¡°Right now I¡¯m not your father, but commander and you would do well if you remembered it.¡± Ailluin warned them with a harsh tone. ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s forget about the imp.¡± He just put it out of his mind, concentrating on more important things. ¡°You can both go and take a rest. We need to prepare the attack.¡± He dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Ailluin asked Vestaan after they stayed alone.

    ¡°They were lucky to survive. Not many are captured by a shadow lurker¡¯s trap and live. But weren¡¯t you too harsh with them?¡±

    ¡°As I said, they need to learn that this isn¡¯t a game. Lives are at stake, every single decision they make could end up with their death and their mother will have my skin if something happens to them.¡± Ailluin trembled slightly from the thought.

    ¡°Hahaha, mighty Ailluin, commander of the elves is afraid of his wife.¡± Vestaan laughed at the picture.

    ¡°Enough.¡± Ailluin stopped him. ¡°I will talk to them again later. What are your thoughts about the undead?¡±

    ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be a problem looking at their numbers. If this information is correct there are only 200 of them, too few to pose a real threat.¡± Vestaan commented now with all seriousness.

    ¡°Exactly my thoughts, but it could also be a trap.¡±

    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case. I know our spy and he never even tried to feed us with false information. I think this just proves that the undead still don¡¯t know that they have a spy in their ranks¡±

    Ailluin nodded to Vestaan¡¯s words saying: ¡°So our biggest problem is Korpus, the Smiling Death. I remember that monster from war. He is cunning, wicked and powerful, able to kill hundreds with minimum effort. Such a big shot being here means this is important for their queen.¡±

    ¡°Still, I think we have enough magicians to manage him safely. With caution he shouldn¡¯t be such a threat.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I have decided. Vestaan please go and let everybody know to get ready, we are marching towards the undead.¡±

    Preparations didn¡¯t take long and the elves were now in positions to start their attack. They stealthily approached the camp of the undead legion and were successful in killing all enemy sentries without being noticed. All that was left was to kill Korpus with his necromancers, some remaining undead forces inside the camp and then they would be able to start with the healing of the forest.

    ¡°Is everything prepared?¡± Ailluin asked one more time before giving the final order.

    ¡°Yes, everybody is waiting only for your word.¡± He heard Vestaan¡¯s whisper.

    ¡°Do it.¡± Ailluin nodded his head in approval.

    In that moment all elven forces tried to attack the camp as quietly as possible, fully using the moment of surprise on their side. Archers fired arrows in quick succession at the enemies who had the highest possibility of alarming the rest of the camp about their ambush. Blade dancers, swiftly and quietly as a wind, approached the undead, their weapons drawn. All mages stood in the back rows, preparing their defensive spells against the necromancers. Ailluin, with Vestaan on his side, was in the head of the charge. Just when they finally approached a lone death knight, somebody sounded an alarm.

    ¡°We are under attack!¡±

    Ailluin, seeing one of the necromancers shouting, appeared behind the death knight and without waiting for his enemy he chopped the knight¡¯s head off in one swift motion. Not minding his lost head the death knight turned around and tried to slice him in two halves with a two-handed sword. Seeing the sword coming at him Ailluin quickly ducked, evading the blow and not waiting for his enemy jump-somersaulted to the knight¡¯s right side. The death knight not having a big chance about such a quick and tricky movement tried to block Ailluin¡¯s next attack, but without success. Ailluin chopped off his right hand near the shoulder, the knight dropping his fearsome weapon. Quickly taking the chance the elf kicked against his chest, sending his foe flying a few meters. As he heard the cracking of broken bones, he stomped on the previously chopped off head, crushing the skull with still some of the rotting flesh attached to it. The death knight¡¯s body still tried to move, but without the aid of a necromancer it was now harmless.

    Ailluin looking around himself could see many of his fellow blade dancers slaying the undead. Be it skeletons or death knights, both were being suppressed too quickly with only minor injuries on the elven side. Phantasms did some damage, but with their prepared mages it was minimal and they too were being quickly defeated. It was when he started to think that everything is going too perfectly that he could feel an oppressive, fearsome aura approaching them.

    Finding the source, he could see a group of necromancers coming, with Korpus himself in their command.

    ¡°Vestaan tell to mages to be ready!¡± Ailluin shouted his command.

    Korpus noticing him pointed his staff at him and chanted: ¡°S¨¹m¨¹k x?nc?rl?r, c?nd?r. [Bone daggers, rip.]¡± In that moment the bones of a nearby defeated skeleton formed six sharp daggers and they flew towards his chest.

    Ailluin being surprised at Korpus¡¯s speed of chanting couldn¡¯t even react. Just a moment before the sharp daggers ripped him to shreds Vestaan kicked his feet from under him. Falling to the ground, the daggers missed him and hit the elf mage standing nearby.

    Korpus, not shoving his anger about missing his target, started to chant again: ¡°Qullar?m y¨¹ks?l?c?k sizin, yuxu y¨¹ks?lm?y? v? m?nim ¨¹?¨¹n ?ld¨¹rm?k. [Rise my servants, rise from your slumber and kill for me.]¡±

    Korpus¡¯s eyes shined strongly with a cold blue hue as a lot of mana could be felt from him. Not waiting for an invitation, defeated skeletons and death knights started to rise from their death and readied to fight anew. The elves, surprised at the quick change of the situation, started to defend against previously slain enemies. But being inside the camp with slain undead all around them didn¡¯t help. A lot of blade dancers found themselves in a situation where they fought two enemies at once, only for a third to unexpectedly revive behind them and attack. Being pressured so hard, the elves slowly started to be killed and killed ones were instantly raised under Korpus¡¯s spell to fill the rows of undead anew.

    Elven mages were trying to defeat Korpus with their spells, but they were blocked by the necromancers around him. Elven archers were able to kill a few of them, but the process was too slow. At this pace even if they won, they would probably still be almost wiped out.

    ¡°We need to do something and quickly. I never imagined that Korpus alone would be able to match our attack power.¡± Ailluin said, while fighting again with the previously slain death knight.

    When it finally seemed like the mages would be able to break the necromancers¡¯ defences, Korpus laughed.

    ¡°HAHAHA, good, good, try and struggle all you want. I shall show you despair.¡± He said in elven language so his enemies can understand him. ¡°Olan lichaes g?lir v? ya?ay?? ¨¹?¨¹n acl?q v? nifr?t qidaland?rmaq v? bu zaman m?n? xidm?t. [Liches from the netherworld come and feed your hunger and hatred for the living and serve me in this hour.]¡± As he chanted again the necromancers that were so painstakingly killed started to slowly move again. Their flesh started to rot, their bones became visible and their empty eyes gained a light blue hue similar to the one Korpus had, only weaker. As they rose in their new forms, they chanted again to strengthen the defence around their master yet again.

    ¡°How can he be so powerful? At this rate he will kill us all alone without taking any real damage and after we are dead he will just build a new legion from our dead bodies.¡± Vestaar said visibly frightened from Korpus¡¯s power, still fighting undead forces around them. Defeating undeads wasn¡¯t a big problem for them, but with their revival only taking a few seconds it became a vicious cycle and as more of them died, more of the undead came back. Even if they shattered their bones, they just assembled again.

    Just when Ailluin wanted to sound a retreat something happened and the skeletons stopped reviving. A loud shout was heard from the centre of the necromancers and the liches slowly collapsed.

    ¡°Aaaaarrgh. What is the meaning of this Malthazar?¡± Korpus shouted, his anger clearly visible. ¡°You treacherous little bitch, I will have your sorry life for this.¡±

    Not paying attention to him Malthazar stabbed Korpus from the back with a long dagger right through his soul core in his chest.

    ¡°No you won¡¯t, as you will die right now.¡± Malthazar said satisfied with himself. ¡°Let me tell you a secret ¡®my master¡¯, I have been an elven spy for years now and this forest will be your final grave. This was a very long quest and I can finally complete it with your death.¡±

    Korpus being surprised at what he heard said: ¡°Quest? What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°You still don¡¯t understand Korpus? Even when I mentioned it was my quest?¡±

    Then Korpus finally understood. ¡°I see, you are a Realm Walker.¡± Being stabbed through his soul core he had problems staying conscious. ¡°But don¡¯t think I will go down so easily.¡± Korpus started to gather his dark mana again. Malthazar surprised by his strong vitality backed away in fear he will be caught in some of his last spells.

    Grabbing something in his pocket, Korpus silently chanted again. The mana feeding his spell was so great that his staff broke while channelling, frightening everybody around. When finished he tossed six small objects looking like some animal fangs. It didn¡¯t take even a few seconds when six beings appeared with the fangs as their core. Six shadow lurkers in almost transparent ghost forms. Not waiting for Korpus¡¯s command they attacked the elves. Korpus, satisfied with the chaos he created, shattered one of his rings and vanished from the scene.

    Malakhay¡¯s whole body still hurt. It was not as bad as it was in the moment of creating his soul core, but he could still feel like he has broken every bone. Also because of a high fever his head was like dipped in fire. He never thought it will be this bad when he ate that soul core. As he was lying down on the bed in master¡¯s laboratory he could suddenly feel the presence of Korpus appear out of nowhere.

    ¡°Get up Malakhay! Quickly! This is very important and we don¡¯t have enough time.¡± Korpus shakes roughly with his body, trying to wake him up.

    ¡°Yes master.¡± Malakhay tried to sit up, feeling intense pain in his body.

    ¡°I know that you still need the rest, but right now it isn¡¯t possible. We have been betrayed by Malthazar and he helped the elves to attack us.¡± Korpus said with a weird voice as he tried not to lose consciousness from his serious injury.

    Finally understanding that his life is also in danger Malakhay opens his eyes. Looking at his master he can see a dagger piercing his soul core.

    ¡°Listen to me and listen well, because I will be able to tell it to you only once.¡± Korpus warned him, not having time for long dialogues. ¡°I already told you that I possess a bloodline. With it I can remove the content of my soul core and transfer it to another body. You must never tell anybody about this ability of mine, or I will kill you without a second thought. Right now this body I have will certainly die, but you will serve as my vessel. I can¡¯t control your body through this ability and I will be unconscious most of time. So I need you to go to the queen and tell her that I will need a new body. Also as soon as you see her deliver a message: Malthazar is a traitor and a Realm Walker. Do you understand?¡± Korpus asked in a hurry, preparing to transfer his consciousness to Malakhay.

    ¡°Yes master, Malthazar is a traitor and a Realm Walker.¡± Malakhay repeated the message. ¡°But master where should I go? I don¡¯t even know a way out of these woods. How should I find the queen?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. After I complete the transfer you will devour my soul core. It¡¯s a big gamble as it could easily kill you, because your body still isn¡¯t stabilized after yesterday, but we don¡¯t have a choice. After devouring my soul core a part of the knowledge I have selected will be transferred to you. This should give you all the information you will need. I didn¡¯t have enough time to prepare so there is high chance that you will learn some of my spells, but I don¡¯t recommend to you to use them. You are too weak and they could kill you. Now go! Our lives are in your hands and I promise if you will be successful there will be a great reward waiting for you.¡± As Korpus finished his explaining he started to chant a complicated formula. His eyes lost all of their blue light and now looked like two endless black holes. Through his unmoving, slightly open mouth something like thick, black mist escaped. After being freed from his body the mist flew to Malakhay and without waiting for his permission it went down his throat. It was a very strange feeling for him, like trying to swallow something too big whole. After choking on it slightly the mist disappeared.

    Now only a fragile skeleton lied before Malakhay. As it was ordered to him, he wanted to take out Korpus¡¯s soul core, but it was too big and bones on the skeletal chest prevented him from getting it out. Thinking quickly he grabbed a hammer from the working table and tried to break the bones that were in his way. It took him some time, which seemed like eternity right now, before he finally held the old soul core of his master with the size of a human fist. Not losing any time he put the whole thing in his mouth and swallowed hard.

    This time not waiting what the new soul core will do with him, he grabbed his cloak and daggers and escaped through the window. Running to the forest the laboratory behind him exploded, the pressure throwing him few meters away. His whole body was in pain and he could tell the feeling from eating a previous soul core was coming back. Also a lot of new information just started to pop up in his head. Not really understanding what¡¯s happening he just tried to stand up and continue running. Finally moving again a sharp pain assaulted his left shoulder. He gripped it tightly, only to find an arrowhead coming out from it. Malakhay knew he must run or he will die.

    Making a few steps, his sight became foggy, but he still tried to move on. Not noticing a steep downhill, he fell. Rolling down, the pain from the arrow became unbearable and after finally smashing into a tree he lost consciousness.

 Chapter 8: The imprisoned shadow

    <h1>Chapter 8: The imprisoned shadow</h1>

    Ailluin was walking through the undead camp, making sure they didn¡¯t overlook anything important. After all, one can never be too careful when dealing with somebody like Korpus. Getting rid of the dead undeads wasn¡¯t really a big problem. They just had to burn their bodies with the Cleansing fire, an advanced spell of a holy and fire attribute. The bigger problem was the dead elves that had been revived by Korpus during the battle. They needed to purify their bodies, so they can bring them back and give them a proper funeral they deserved.

    Ailluin still couldn¡¯t call this battle a victorious one. From five hundred that came with him, only three hundred survived. Their death count was too high for the life of only one lich-lord. He didn¡¯t even want to think about ever battling two of those monsters simultaneously. In the future he will surely remember to be more cautious against his enemies and be better prepared. Spotting Malthazar, who was already preparing to leave so that he can present a false report about the whole battle, he came closer to him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough for your help this time. I¡¯m sure that without you we wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill that monster. Once you return from your next task I¡¯m sure the elders will want to reward you.¡±

    ¡°I will be sure to come back for it.¡± Were Malthazar¡¯s words as he searched through the remains of Korpus¡¯s laboratory one last time, not really paying attention to him.

    This was the reason Ailluin didn¡¯t like the Realm Walkers. They were too greedy, only interested in their quests and rewards, often not looking at the damage that was done in the process. The worst thing was that they were often very powerful individuals who huddled together to groups in which they operated, calling it guilds, so making them your enemies was often considered as stupid and suicidal. Of course there were a few exceptions, but more of them tend to not care, the lives of others cheap to them.

    ¡°What was that last spell Korpus used?¡± Ailluin wanted to know, seeing the spell for the first time. ¡°I¡¯ve lived for three hundred years and have never seen or heard about something like that.¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m correct, it was the Last will of the forsaken. One of the highest tier spells from the necromancy magic tree. It¡¯s very hard to use and requires the fulfilment of some conditions, but enables you to control a high tier undead. You need a medium to revive the very essence of somebody, in this case the shadow lurker. The disadvantage is that you can¡¯t maintain it for long periods of time. It will slowly lose its strength and the mentioned essence will be destroyed, never to see the light of the world. Even amongst lich-lords you won¡¯t find many that can use these spells.¡±

    Even now Ailluin slightly shivered when remembering the spell and six ghostly versions of shadow lurkers that appeared with it. That spell being the highest tier magic and Korpus using it six times simultaneously, were things showing just how lucky they were to survive the battle with him. Those shadow lurkers were quite hard to kill, with swords and magic not really effective against their almost incorporeal bodies.

    In the end they were able to supress them somehow, learning that attacking the core of those beings, the fangs in this case, was very effective. Not knowing where Korpus vanished in the meantime unnerved them, but they were able to feel his magic from his laboratory. Malthazar didn¡¯t wait and destroyed it with the Fireball Blast spell, fearing the lich-lord has some miraculous way to escape. But after piercing his soul core, even an enemy like Korpus couldn¡¯t do much about it. He still moving after receiving that blow was amazing enough. Surely with his death they dealt a great blow to the demon queen¡¯s forces and she will need to postpone her plans with their forest, so they have earned themselves a little time to prepare for her next attack.

    From where he stood he could see his two daughters helping others with cleaning up the dead bodies. He was glad that they weren¡¯t part of the fight, but he left them in the camp with a few others. They were to report back to the elders if by some chance they lost, but this time it wasn¡¯t necessary.

    When they spotted him they came over.

    ¡°Was the fight really so bad as the others say?¡± Niila asked, while coming closer, still pouting that he left them behind.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see? Just look around yourself. This is why I can¡¯t let you participate in the battles yet. You are taking it too lightly. When will you finally understand that your training can¡¯t be compared to real fighting? The opponents here won¡¯t spare you just because you are exhausted or made some mistake, here you die.¡± He tried to drill it into her head, but she was too young to understand. When he returns home, he will need to talk with his wife. This leisurely attitude of Niila¡¯s can¡¯t go on anymore.

    ¡°You are still saying the same thing. How should I learn when you forbade me to participate?¡±

    He could only sigh on her words.

    ¡°Father, haven¡¯t you, by chance, seen that imp we told you about?¡± Hiravii ignored their quarrel and asked. She has been trying to find him since she came to the camp, but there weren¡¯t any traces of the little creature.

    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. He probably wasn¡¯t in this camp, but just wandered into the forest from the Abandoned plains because of the corruption. You should stop looking for him.¡±

    ¡°But he helped us and maybe if we can speak to him we could learn a lot of things. We don¡¯t understand demons and this could help us.¡± Hiravii tried to explain.

    ¡°He is a demon. They are greedy and selfish and would kill to meet their goals. What else do you want to learn about them?¡± He didn¡¯t like this opinion of hers. Demons are dangerous. Even if one of them is an exception, the rest would still kill her.

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t he kill us when he had a chance?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but you can trust me when I say that if it would be profitable for him, he would kill. I don¡¯t think you will meet him again, but if it happens I recommend you to be very careful. You maybe want to speak, but I can bet that he will see it as a great chance for attack.¡±

    He lied to Hiravii about the little demon and was really surprised when he saw the figure of the imp trying to flee to the forest after the battle. When he spotted him, he immediately remembered the unbelievable story of his two daughters. Having such a unique colour of skin he must have been the one who helped them. ¡®So it really was the imp that saved them,¡¯ he thought at that time. Seeing that somebody fired an arrow and injured the little creature left some mixed feelings in Ailluin, knowing he saved his daughters.

    ¡°Vestaar, please go and take care of it.¡± He asked his friend at that time, knowing he was also aware of the whole situation.

    Vestaar only quickly nodded his head at that time and vanished in the forest not being seen by anybody. It has been a few hours now since he left. Thinking about it he could see Vestaar appear from among the trees.

    ¡°How did it go?¡± He wanted to know, while sending Niila and Hiravii back to their previous work.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Ailluin, I don¡¯t think we will see him ever again.¡± Vestaar said, a calm smile showing on his face.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    He could finally relax a little. With everything being finished they can return home. All that was left was the corruption, but this task was for the elders and mages to take care of.

    ***

    Darkness, that¡¯s the word that would best describe the world around. Nothing but darkness; where one couldn¡¯t see anything. Walls, stairs, pathways, everything was covered by it like a baby in the embrace of its mother. In this unknown, empty and quiet world, the small ball of light was like salvation and hope. If there was somebody to look at it, he would see a woman in its bright light.

    She slowly but steadily descended the seemingly endless stairs before her. If somebody lived in this darkness they would be amazed by the woman¡¯s beauty. Even as she was covered in a long pure-white cloak with a hood over her head, it was as if one could feel her beauty. Her slender body was moving graciously, not making any sound as she walked. Her long and full hair, that not even a cape could contain, had a shiny silver colour. Her white skin so perfect, that every other woman would be ashamed if she tried to be a match for her. Her full pink lips would charm any man if she were to smile at him.

    Looking at her like this, everybody would assume that she was a delicate beauty, with the need of protection. Everybody would assume it and then, then their gaze would meet her eyes. Radiating a powerful aura and showing high intelligence, the dominance of the woman screaming from them. They were almost shining with their green colour full of life, like new leafs on the trees in spring. Being looked at by them was like being seen through, your every little secret uncovered to them instantly.

    Just when it looked like the woman would descend the stairs till the end of time, she arrived to a hollow wall.

    ¡°Show yourself to me.¡± She said, gently caressing it with one hand.

    In that instant a set of double doors slowly revealed in the place of the hollow wall. Big enough for one person to comfortably move through, they were staring at her, tightly locked. Not waiting she touched them with her hand and let her mana to flow into them. Recognizing its master, the doors absorbed the gifted mana and with a loud *CLACK* they opened.

    The woman went through them just to arrive in a small room which was almost empty. On the other end of the room were a second set of doors similar to the previous one. Before them was standing an imposing stone statue. The few meters big body was robust and looked powerful. The front half of an eagle, the back half of a lion, it was a majestic griffon. Sensing the presence of the woman the stone on his body cracked. The cracks were quickly extending like a spider web, until the stone covering the griffons body didn¡¯t fall of, as if he just hatched from it.

    ¡°I greet you Sanktaj.¡± The griffon kneeled before the woman after the last piece of stone covering him touched the ground.

    ¡°There is no need for such pleasantries between us Orao. The day you accepted your duty, I lost any rights to demand any kneeling from you.¡± Sanktaj said in a good mood, but she did not like that the griffon was kneeling before her.

    The griffon¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, but one could feel him smiling when looking at his eyes as he heard her.

    ¡°Let me have this little pleasure of mine Sanktaj. I want to show my respect to you, so I did.¡± He said obviously pleased by her visit.

    Sanktaj sighed as if not knowing what to do with him: ¡°Do as you wish old friend, but know this: I have never thought of you as of somebody beneath me. It is actually the other way around, I feel indebted to you.¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be. I take great pride in my duty.¡±

    Sanktaj nodded to him, acknowledging his words with a girlish smile showing on her lips. Then suddenly, like unpredictable storms, her mood changed.

    ¡°Is the message you sent me true?¡± She asked him with a serious tone in her voice which didn¡¯t allow any lie.

    The griffon nodded his head seriously, his previous good mood only a fleeting history. Now his sharp glare radiated the aura of a predator ready to hunt its enemies.

    Both of them stared silently at the still closed door for a few seconds. Then Orao came closer to them and put one of his talons inside a large keyhole. Working as the key, he used it to open the door. As they slowly swung open a thick, black mist tried to make its way outside and flowed from the opening. Sanktaj seeing this created some bright light before her. The black mist was trying to overpower the light, but it prevailed and the mist was forced back through the entrance like some rabid animal.

    Orao and Sanktaj slowly entered, not fearing the mist as it backed away from them.

    ¡°As I told you, a little part of his power escaped and I don¡¯t know how he did it.¡± Orao told her, being unnerved from seeing the incident with the mist.

    Going forward they came closer to the dragon that was bound in here. Why do you ask? Because this was his eternal prison made solely for him. The prison made for Tenebris, who once created and ruled over all darkness and shadows. The mist now concentrated around the dragon¡¯s huge body, as if lying in wait for a chance to attack them. Being bound by white chains made of light, he was lying down, silently whispering something to himself.

    ¡°I greet you father, how have you been?¡± Sanktaj asked, looking at the dragon, trying not to show any of her concern.

    The dragon not responding to her made her nervous. It was as if she wasn¡¯t even there for him.

    ¡°Father, did you hear me?¡± She spoke again trying to pique his interest.

    Tenebris finally noticed her: ¡°Oh my daughter, my cute little daughter. I¡¯m so glad to see you. Were you a good girl? Your mama told me to give you a candy if you were a good girl.¡±

    Sanktaj, slightly shocked, tried to speak to him again: ¡°Father, I heard your power escaped.¡±

    ¡°No, no-no-no, I wasn¡¯t a bad boy, I didn¡¯t do anything bad. I would never do anything bad. Ask the little pigeon, he knows that I¡¯m always good.¡± He shakes his head madly. ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m always good. I must be good. I can¡¯t be bad because I wouldn¡¯t get a candy, you must always be good. Yes, I¡¯m a good boy.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t you tell your daughter how your power escaped the prison, father?¡±

    ¡°Oh, my cute daughter, when did you come here? How did you get here?¡± He asked now full of surprise. ¡°You are so lovely, so cute. I¡¯m so sorry that I can¡¯t play with you, but I have a lot of work. I must always work, because I¡¯m a good boy. Meanwhile, be a good girl and listen to mama. I promise we will play a lot after I finish here. Yes, yes, we will play a lot. Do you want to play with papa? Be a good girl and we will play a lot.¡±

    ¡°Father how about you tell me about how your power escaped and then I will play with you. Please won¡¯t you tell your cute little daughter?¡± She tried this approach, hoping for some results.

    ¡°Honey, your papa must work now. Yes, yes, papa has a lot of important work to do. So I can¡¯t play with you now. Maybe later, yes be a good girl and I promise we will definitely play later.¡± As he said this he lay down and started to sleep.

    Sanktaj not knowing what to think worriedly looked at Orao.

    ¡°I told you, he is mad.¡± Was his simple answer. ¡°It started a few centuries ago and it¡¯s slowly becoming worse. This prison is probably driving him insane.¡±

    ¡°I was aware of it, but I never thought it would be this bad with him. Tenebris, The Shadow God of Orbis, ruler of void and darkness, reduced to a crazy, blabbering fool. If mother were to see him like this, she would probably laugh and then cry.¡±

    ¡°So the question remains: How did his power leak out?¡± Orao wanted to know.

    ¡°Maybe by not using it for so long, his power concentrated around him until it wasn¡¯t more powerful than the chains and then it overflowed and leaked out. The same thing happened twenty years ago, at that time the current demon queen gave birth to twins, which is impossible otherwise. Before that it happened a few centuries ago and a few dead dragons revived and wreaked havoc in the world. Every time it happens some world-threatening calamity is born, that is the nature of his power after all. Now that I see him, I can tell the darkness is slowly seeping out of him and filling this space. This can¡¯t continue. I will need to make his prison stronger again.¡±

    As she said this she raised her hands and started to create a few light radiating nails, as long as an average human body. Then she commanded them and they slowly stabbed deep into Tenebris¡¯ body. Chains of light that were already surrounding his whole body attached themselves to them, like snails to the wall and power started to flow between them. In that moment the space around them became brighter with the darkness around slowly losing its imposing, heavy presence. Tenebris, not even noticing them, continued to sleep peacefully as if nothing happened.

    ¡°I can understand that his power will sometimes overflow, but why did this happen so soon after the previous case?¡± Orao still wasn¡¯t really satisfied without the clear answer.

    Sanktaj, clearly tired from using a lot of power, said: ¡°Maybe his madness is the right answer and he can¡¯t control his powers as they run amok inside of him. After all those millenniums here I wouldn¡¯t be surprised about it. But just in case I will try to ask mother about it.¡±

    Finished with everything they came to do, they slowly left the prison, locking the door again.

    ¡°If you feel something similar happening again or ever have the tiniest suspicion about something, anything, send me a message immediately. I will come right away. We must stay vigilant, especially you.¡± Sanktaj warned Orao.

    ¡°I surely will, but I would be calmer if we just killed him.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t Orao. You know that without darkness there won¡¯t be light and without both of them there won¡¯t be life, only void will remain and it will swallow everything. His death means doom to the gods and without them the world will perish.¡±

    Orao nodded to her words and gave her a farewell, becoming a statue again. Sanktaj slowly left his room and started to climb the stairs form this eternal prison created for her father. What she didn¡¯t notice was the small portion of black mist clinging to the edge of her cloak. As she put her leg on the first stair, the mist stopped clinging to her cloak and dispersed, in small doses escaping into the world while still remaining unnoticed.

    Being left alone again, Tenebris opened his eyes with a large grin showing on his face.

    ¡°Fu fu fu, being so easily fooled, you are so young and naive my daughter.¡± He laughed at her, the madness from his voice nowhere to be heard. ¡°You can make the seal stronger, but there are other ways. I was obedient long enough and an opportunity came to my door. I would be a fool not to use it. With my teachings and guidance it won¡¯t take long until my new little friend learns how to control the power I gifted him. He will seek me out and the shadows shall walk on the surface of Orbis again. Then, I can be finally freed from this eternal torture and he can take the reins of power into his hands. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA¡±

 Chapter 9: Meeting new friends

    <h1>Chapter 9: Meeting new friends</h1>

    I woke up with my whole body hurting. Especially that wound on my shoulder is pulsing with a constant stabbing pain. I don¡¯t know how many days have passed since the elven attack that almost killed me. The last thing I remember clearly is being shot by an arrow and then losing consciousness. After that everything is foggy. I vaguely remember that I was carried through the forest by someone, but it could have been just the hallucination caused by the pain and blood loss.

    I¡¯m sure that I woke up a few times, but it was only for a couple of seconds, before the combined pain from my wound and master¡¯s soul core knocked me out again. If this happens each time I devour a soul core, I will need to be extra careful with choosing a safe location as I¡¯m too vulnerable at that time.

    As I¡¯m trying to lift myself from the ground a new wave of pain is sent to my body. I clench my teeth and try to ignore it. The good thing is, I still have my daggers and cloak that I received from the master. They should make my journey at least a little easier. For the first time I check my shoulder wound and I can see a large scar that started to slowly form in its place. Somebody must have removed the arrow, because I don¡¯t see it anymore. It was probably me while being delirious. When I try to move my shoulder the burning pain almost knocks me out again. Well whatever, I could use some healing magic that master previously cast on me, but for now I¡¯m glad that I¡¯m still alive.

    I finally look around myself to see that I¡¯m definitely out of the forest. The empty plains are stretching in every direction as far as I can see. There are some strange looking trees and bushes growing here and there. With the sickly looking brown leafs and a lot of hollow branches, they look more dead than alive, at least in comparison with the vegetation in the elven forest. The rocky ground with the dried grass has a hard feeling to it, probably because the sunrays can¡¯t reach it as they are constantly blocked with thick clouds. Thanks to that everything has a greyish colour.

    I¡¯m almost certain that I¡¯m in the Abandoned plains. I remember how master instructed me to cross them to get to the queen. He was right when he told me that after devouring his soul core a lot of previously unknown knowledge will suddenly pop up in my head. For example, I know I must go north-east and cross the Abandoned plains to reach the Lands of Shaytan and there Grimthorn, the capital city of the undead and demonata race, and also the fort of the demon queen. It¡¯s a confusing feeling when the information just comes to you out of nowhere, like you read it in a book just a second ago.

    It¡¯s not just the path I should take, but a lot of other random things, like plants that are edible, monsters that should be relatively easy to kill, the anatomy of a few races that I didn¡¯t even meet yet, their names and some of their abilities, some names of other lich-lords and I also learned some of master¡¯s spells. They look very complicated and are surely deadly more for me than for my enemies. Master warned me about them, they would kill me if I¡¯m not strong enough and try to cast them. I don¡¯t even know their purpose.

    Forget the specific spells; I don¡¯t even know how to cast magic correctly. I heard master when he had done it previously, but I have my doubts that it will be as easy as it had seemed to be. Every few minutes something new shows up in my head. As I said, with this random knowledge coming to me, I¡¯m starting to be very confused and my head is staring to hurt, but for now I¡¯m thankful for every little help I can get.

    Another strange thing is my new soul core. When I concentrate, I can feel how it is slowly pulsing near my heart. It¡¯s sending the magical energy through my mana veins. They seem to be very similar to the blood veins with the exception of mana coursing through them. When needed, they are supposed to supply my spell casting with the necessary magical energy. I can also feel the soul core functioning like some kind of filter. As my body absorbs the mana from its surroundings, it concentrates in the soul core and there it is transformed to my own power.

    I can tell, this process is quite slow and is called mana regeneration. Regretfully, master was very brief when he was explaining these things to me as he didn¡¯t have a lot of time, so I¡¯m not really sure how can I use this yet. When I try, I get the feeling of concentrating and moving my mana to my hands, but it dissipates quickly if I¡¯m not careful with it.

    While focusing on my inner body, I can feel some weak foreign presence. That must be the thing master transferred to me while dying and I must bring it to the queen. I think about betraying him for a second and going my own way, but it probably isn¡¯t a good idea. I¡¯m weak and even with some of his knowledge I still don¡¯t know a lot about the world. Also, he told me that he can¡¯t control my body but he never mentioned that he won¡¯t be aware of what am I doing. I¡¯m willing to bet that he has his methods to make my life hard even in his weakened state.

    I almost forgot, I can use Status now and see some information about myself.

    ¡°Status.¡± As I said it a little bit of my mana poured to the spell and a weird window popped up before me.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    <u>STATUS</u>

    Name: Malakhay

    Race: Imp (lesser devil)

    Affinity: neutral-chaos

    Title: none

    Class: none

    Skill tree unlocked: none

    Spell book: ?????

    ?????

    ?????

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    So this is the Status master talked about. I can see some minor information about myself, but nothing really helpful for now. If master was correct I shouldn¡¯t concern myself a lot with it and use its help only when I¡¯m training my skills and spells. For now I don¡¯t really have any, but that¡¯s not a problem as they should appear with time, when I will be able to acquire a class. There are some spells listed in the Spell book section, but I can¡¯t even read their names. They are probably from transferring the master¡¯s soul to me and I shouldn¡¯t use them as he instructed me. I would like to see the Status of some realm walker to know how much different we are, but I guess that would be impossible.

    As I tried to concentrate on a specific thing in my Status, some additional information showed up:

    Affinity ¨C evaluation of your deeds and actions, and their influence on the world. It can lead to unlocking of special classes.

    Class ¨C a basic specification of the tree of skills and spells one trains in. More classes can be obtained simultaneously. After doing so, it unlocks skills one could use in the specific class. Skills can be same for some different, but similar classes or unique and specialized for the given class. By raising the class mastery one becomes more capable in it and new possibilities can be unlocked.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Oh well, standing here all day and looking at my Status won¡¯t help me, so I slowly started walking towards the north-east. I just hope this won¡¯t take too long as I want to be finished with my task as soon as possible.

    ***

    It has been a few days now since I woke up for the first time in the Abandoned plains and started travelling through them. At first I didn¡¯t really think it will be hard, but now I must admit I was wrong. My shoulder was almost healed, but I could still feel some minor pain from it when I tried to move it. Also my body finally calmed down, so my soul core was probably already stabilised and didn¡¯t hinder me anymore. It was actually quite the opposite. Thanks to it, I could feel the mana steadily coursing through me now. I just wished I knew some spells which I could try, but I guess I will still need to wait for master or somebody else to teach me some.

    Nights in this place came quickly and daytime was very short. The chilling wind was blowing continuously and there was nowhere to hide from it. It could get especially cold in the night, so my only option when resting was to dig a hole and hide in it. When the wind finally, occasionally stopped, a thick fog formed every time, worsening visibility to the minimum. If I didn¡¯t know where I was going, I would have probably lost my way the very first day.

    The biggest problem on my journey very quickly became food. I guess the name Abandoned plains wasn¡¯t just for a show. It was an empty land and trying to find something edible was quite a challenge. The information that master provided to me said that these lands were the kingdom of humans a long time ago. They went to war with the undead and demonata under the pretext of some holy crusade. In the beginning they were quite successful, until the necromancers united and with the help of some evil god cursed the whole country. In a few days most of the vegetation dried up and died and what was left mutated and became mostly poisonous. The same thing happened to the animals. In the end, the nation that started the crusade crumbled from the inside and the humans were either killed or enslaved, with only a few people successfully fleeing from death.

    This was my second day without any food and I was starting to become desperate. That was when I noticed that something black was coming in my direction. As I stared at it, the figure of a wolf showed up. It was bigger than me. The long, black fur looked ominous on it and his yellow eyes had a bloodthirsty look. If I¡¯m not mistaken that¡¯s a mad wolf, one of the animals that survived the curse and after mutating stayed in these lands.

    It ran in a straight line at me. I know I can¡¯t outrun it, I¡¯m too slow with my small body, and I¡¯m becoming really hungry, so my only chance is to fight. I readied my two daggers and prayed it¡¯s starved enough to be weakened. When the mad wolf noticed that I was waiting for him and I didn¡¯t try to flee, he started to bark and white foam created around his mouth. He was quick and dashed through the distance between us in just a few moments. When he was only a few meters from me, he leaped in his crazy speed with open jaws and readied claws. Not waiting for the impact I jumped to the side and barely dodged one of the sharp claws.

    ¡°I got you now.¡± Happy, and thinking that he made a mistake, I wanted to stab him from the back after he landed, but he was a lot quicker than I anticipated. The mad wolf turned around before I had a chance to do something and clawed at me again. From the surprise and fear I wanted to jump backward but one of his claws got stuck in my cloak as it ripped through it. As the cloth was ripping, I was tossed like a rag doll and hit the ground really hard. Before I had a chance to stand up, the mad wolf leaped again. This time he successfully landed on me, pinned me down and burrowed his fangs in my previously injured shoulder.

    ¡°Aaaaarrrgh!¡±

    The pain from his bite was so bad I almost lost consciousness while I screamed and dropped one of my daggers. The wolf started to thrash his head from side to side as he tried to rip me apart and my blood flew everywhere, painting the surroundings in dark red colour.

    ¡°You little son of a bitch! I swear, I will take you with me you fucker!¡± I could hear my screams and more delirious than sane I started to stab at his head with the second dagger I still held in my healthy arm. I didn¡¯t care about anything anymore at that moment. I just wanted to inflict as much pain as I could to that little bitch. I think I heard it yelp a few times but I still didn¡¯t stop.

    *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* As I stabbed, soon I could hear the squishy sounds of something wet, like when you are walking on the soaked ground in the rain. When I finally stopped, the head of the wolf was unrecognizable. My dagger could pierce even through his skull and its grey brain matter mixed with blood was slowly soaking the ground and my ragged cloak. The wolf¡¯s eyes were now nowhere to be seen, only black holes in their stead.

    With some work, I was finally able to escape from his jaws, the piercing pain still assaulting my almost bitten off shoulder, now with a part of the bone clearly visible. I slowly crawled to his belly, leaving a blood trail behind me and ripped him open with a few clumsy tries. His entrails and a lot of still warm blood spilled out as it bathed me, but I didn¡¯t care. I started to look for his soul core and was able to find it near the heart. It was a lot smaller than the one the shadow lurker had, only the size of a candy, so swallowing it wasn¡¯t a problem. After that I started to chew on his raw meat without minding the bad smell it produced. I was becoming very dizzy and delirious. I don¡¯t know if it was from the blood loss, or because the foam in the wolf¡¯s mouth was probably poisonous, or both, but soon after I started my feast I passed out again.

    ***

    ¡°What is this? Hey Larkus, come and have a look, I found something!¡± A loud shout was heard, as somebody was inspecting the corpse of the mad wolf.

    ¡°Don¡¯t yell like an idiot when I¡¯m right behind you.¡± Was the upset answer from Larkus, as he came closer to the lifeless body. ¡°What? Are you so stupid that you can¡¯t see it is dead, hmm Igmorg?¡±

    ¡°Not the wolf, but this.¡± Igmorg lifted the body of the imp with one hand as if it didn¡¯t weigh anything.

    ¡°Oh, an imp, now that¡¯s quite a rare sight these days.¡± Larkus started to nudge the body of the little creature with his index finger. ¡°Hey you, still alive?¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon Larkus, can we take him? I always wanted some pet.¡± Igmorg pleaded, while slightly shaking with the imp.

    ¡°Only if it¡¯s alive you idiot. Why would we drag a dead body with us?¡±

    As Larkus said this, the imp started to slowly wake up. Opening his big round eyes Malakhay found himself grabbed by his wings. Remembering how Korpus almost killed him the last time he was held this way, he started to panic.

    ¡°Let me go!¡± His childish voice was heard as he tried to get out of Igmorg¡¯s tight grasp.

    ¡°See, he¡¯s alive, so could we take him?¡± Igmorg asked again, completely ignoring Malakhay¡¯s attempts to get free.

    ¡°Sure, why not. I bet we can get a few coins for him, if we find somebody desperate enough to use him.¡±

    Malakhay had a bad feeling when he heard this, so he tried to threaten the men that were holding him: ¡°If you don¡¯t let me go, my master will kill you.¡±

    ¡°And where is this master you speak of? I sure don¡¯t see anybody around here.¡± Larkus wanted to know. He wasn¡¯t so stupid as to take the summoned servant of some necromancer; that definitely wasn¡¯t worth the trouble.

    ¡°Ha, my master is lich-lord Korpus and he sent me on an errand, so you better let me go if you don¡¯t want to face his wrath.¡± Malakhay knew Korpus was powerful and a lot of people feared him, so he tried to use his master¡¯s name.

    ¡°I see. So you are the servant of lord Korpus. That is certainly a completely different story. We will set you free right away.¡± Larkus signalled to Igmorg, who was still holding him, to put Malakhay down.

    Feeling relieved that he was successful, Malakhay wiggled with his little wings as it was painful to being held by them. Not really paying attention, because he was trying to find his previously dropped daggers, he didn¡¯t see a kick coming his way. Just as he was looking around, Larkus¡¯s feet connected with his head and sent him flying. Not prepared for it, he was hit with the full force of the attack and found himself on the ground once again.

    ¡°You-little-piece of-shit-who-do-you-take-me-for-?¡± Larkus was yelling at him, while kicking and stomping at him continuously. ¡°You think I¡¯m an idiot? Somebody like a lich-lord will never need such garbage as you. Little fucker.¡±

    ¡°Stop! Let me go!¡± Malakhay cried again, uselessly trying to defend from the painful kicks.

    ¡°I have enough of this stupid creature. Igmorg, shut him up and throw him with the troll.¡±

    ¡°But Larkus I want to keep him as a pet.¡± Igmorg protested, again lifting Malakhay with one hand.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see he is problematic? I bet that if you will let him, he will try to steal your weapon, stab you and flee. Do you really want that, to be stabbed?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then do what I told you without complaining for fucks sake. I promise I will buy you some other pet in the next town. So shut that little garbage finally up.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Igmorg nodded his head. The last thing Malakhay saw was a large fist, which hit him in the face and he passed out again. Seeing the imp stopped his trashing, Igmorg took him with them as they started to return to a small caravan of five carriages. Four of them loaded with steel cages full of other humans and creatures.

    ¡°Here, a new friend for you.¡± Opening one of the cages, Igmorg tossed Malakhay inside and shut the door behind him.

    Larkus returned to the first carriage and jumped to the driver¡¯s seat.

    ¡°Ha, saying he is a lich-lords servant. The little shit thinks he is funny.¡± He said to himself, chuckling at the idea. Seeing the imp is safely locked in the cage he stood up and yelled to the rest of the caravan: ¡°C¡¯mon you scum, MOVE! We don¡¯t have a whole fucking day and the fucking money won¡¯t earn itself alone.¡±

    ***

    As the caravan slowly moved through the Abandoned plains, Malakhay started to wake up. The rattling of the carriage didn¡¯t really help his beaten body. Again feeling the aching of every bone, he was hurting all over. When he finally remembered what had happened to him, he jerked up from his sleep and started to look around in panic. Seeing he was locked in some cage, he became terrified. Trying to get out, he was jerking with the steel bars of his cage, but they didn¡¯t even budge.

    ¡°It¡¯ useless my little friend, if those steel bars could be so easily removed I would have escaped already.¡± Malakhay heard the voice from the corner of the cage. Surprised that he isn¡¯t alone, Malakhay looked at the owner with fear shoving in his eyes. He found a troll siting on the wooden floor of the carriage. With a height little over two meters, slim athletic muscles packed on his body, light blue skin, long pointy nose and two large tusks protruding from his mouth, the troll looked like bad news.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to fear me. I will not hurt you, but I¡¯m sure they will.¡± The troll said, leisurely pointing at the guards accompanying the caravan.

    Malakhay, not responding, made him smile a little.

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust you. Stay away from me!¡± Malakhay showed his hostility, but still backed away.

    ¡°As I said, I won¡¯t hurt you. They gave you some good lynching, but let me give you some warning my little friend, the real torture will just come.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not your friend!¡±

    ¡°Oh yes you are. The moment you were tossed in here, you took half of my torture on your shoulders, so you are my friend.¡±

    Malakhay really didn¡¯t like how that sounded. When he wanted to ask the troll how he meant it, the cage opened and the thick arm of an orc grabbed him by the throat. He couldn¡¯t even scream as he was held tightly and was starting to suffocate. Hitting the hand of the orc was pointless with his strength and the orc didn¡¯t even budge. He was being brought to a single steel pole not far away from where the caravan camped for the night.

    ¡°As I said, half of my misery now belongs to you my friend.¡± The troll said to the now empty cage, not smiling anymore.

 Chapter 10: Crossroads

    <h1>Chapter 10: Crossroads</h1>

    ¡°Peter is it true? What is with Tom? I want to see my son.¡± Susan almost shouted as she approached her husband standing before the door to Tom¡¯s room in the hospital.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I came from work as soon as the doctor called me.¡± He said as he hugged her tightly.

    Just then the doors on Tom¡¯s room opened and a doctor came out, probably hearing them.

    ¡°Mr and Mrs Triman, I¡¯m glad you could come so soon.¡± They both nodded to him, obviously nervous and frightened from what he has to say. ¡°Come with me please, I don¡¯t want to talk about it in the hallway.¡± As he said this, he invited them inside, closing the door behind them.

    Tom was lying on the bed, looking as if he was just sleeping peacefully. Seeing him like this was obviously painful for both Peter and Susan.

    ¡°I called you here because I didn¡¯t want to speak through the phone. The truth is today, in the early morning, Tom had a cardiac arrest. Simply put his heart stopped beating.¡± As he said this both parents looked devastated, not knowing what to do.

    ¡°But why? You previously said that he is stabilised and there is nothing wrong with him.¡± Peter wanted to know. ¡°That we just need to wait until he wakes up.¡±

    ¡°I know what I told you previously. Other doctors that I consulted with, together with me, are becoming worried, because this isn¡¯t supposed to happen. We did all the examinations and Tom¡¯s body seems to be stabilised, so we can¡¯t find the cause. In the end we only concluded that this can¡¯t be a physiological problem but must be of a neurological character.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to say with all this?¡± Peter asked, still holding his worried wife.

    ¡°Well simply put, we don¡¯t know why his heart stopped.¡± The doctor had a worried look on his face.

    ¡°So what are we supposed to do now? How can we help him?¡±

    ¡°Well today in the morning, after this happened, I called NextGen Software, the developer of the VR machine and also of the RealmWalker game, and asked them if they have met with something similar in the past when they tested the VR machine for its safety. After a short discussion they became very interested in this case and in the end I told them that we have a person who came to harm this way. So I took the liberty of inviting them to consult what would be best to do.¡± After he said this a light knock on the door could be heard. The doctor went and opened them.

    A woman in her mid-thirties showed up with a business-like feeling around her. Wearing an expensive looking suit, a sharp look in her eyes, long, blond hair tied in a simple ponytail and confidence radiating from her face, she looked like someone who is accustomed to wield a lot of power and money. When looking at her you wouldn¡¯t exactly say she was beautiful, like in a perfect kind of beautiful, she had more of a refined beauty of a mature woman.

    ¡°Good afternoon, Mr and Mrs Triman, I¡¯m Isana Kataj, the director of NextGen Software.¡± She introduced herself with a polite smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m Peter Triman and this is my wife Susan. I¡¯m sorry, but we aren¡¯t exactly in the mood for pleasantries, so can we get straight to the point?¡± He asked while shaking her hand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can understand as I was informed about your situation from the doctor. After we heard about Tom this morning, we couldn¡¯t accept not to take responsibility as it was our VR machine that caused this. As you might know, NextGen Software owns a private hospital which is normally usable exclusively by our employees. After consulting here with the doctor and our own doctors we would like to relocate Tom to our hospital.¡±

    ¡°What will change? I mean, just doing the same tests over and over, only in another place isn¡¯t going to help him and he can lie in the bed the same way as he would there, in here.¡± Peter wanted to know, not seeing any real benefit from changing hospitals.

    ¡°Yes, you can look at it this way, but I can guarantee you that we are better equipped. It never hurts to have opinions from more doctors. Who knows, maybe we will find something that they couldn¡¯t find here. Also, it will be free of charge; we will bill everything as long as it will be needed.¡±

    ¡°You think that I will look at money when my son is in this state?¡± Peter started to get angry.

    ¡°Pete, she is just trying to help.¡± Susan tried to calm him down.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, as I said this isn¡¯t really my day.¡± He apologized, now looking more desperate than angry. ¡°What is your opinion doctor?¡±

    ¡°Well I proposed this meeting because I thought it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to have more heads working on Tom¡¯s case. So I would recommend relocating him.¡±

    Peter briefly looked at Susan and she nodded. ¡°Okay, we agree. Before I forget, I want to ask you not to mention anything about this morning to my daughters.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I understand you don¡¯t want to worry them.¡± The doctor realized without further explanation. ¡°Now then, I ask you to come with me to fill in the needed papers.¡± He said as he opened the door.

    Seeing Tom¡¯s parents go with the doctor to do all that is needed, Isana also left the room.

    ¡°How did it go?¡± A young woman asked her, after she left the room. It was her secretary, Emily Draug. Wearing a similar suit like Isana, she helped her with her work despite being quite young, just freshly out of college.

    ¡°Better than I thought it would go. They were quite rational, I thought they would try to blame everything on us and then milk us for money. I must say I¡¯m quite surprised, positively of course.¡±

    ¡°Ms Kataj, not everybody is a money-grubber.¡± Emily tried to reprimand her, while writing some quick notes into her tablet.

    ¡°My dear Emily, everything, you hear, everything in this world is about money and it would do you good to remember this, the sooner the better.¡± She tried to enlighten her secretary, with a slight smile showing on her face. ¡°Before I forget, remind me to ask the parents for that damaged machine that caused all this trouble. I want it tested and examined. Also tell to our staff to look at Tom¡¯s login account. I¡¯m interested in what happened to it.¡± She gave her instructions with a thoughtful look and serious voice. After all, they needed to solve this problem before the media catches a whiff of it and it will grow to something uncontrollable.

    ¡°As you wish Ms Kataj.¡±

    ***

    Sahodariya was walking through the long corridor, which was highly decorated with expensive statues, paintings and other pieces of art, full of confidence. The soldiers guarding it were full of respectful gazes as she walked before them and not even one would ever dream about obstructing her path. After all, for them, she was a symbol of power and courage which they secretly aspired to.

    Today she was invited to an audience with the king of the Khaitus Empire, the empire where her guild, Soaring Wings, was stationed and operated most. In the morning a messenger came to Abhedia fortress with a letter that summoned her as soon as it was possible for her. It was unexpected for the king to behave this way, but she wasn¡¯t really nervous from this meeting, as she had a chance to meet with the king a few times in the past and one could say they were acquaintances.

    From the time she started to explore the world of RealmWalker, she has already had a few opportunities to take the quests directly from the king. This created a strong friendship between her guild and the Khaitus Empire and allowed both of them to prosper.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    When she finally arrived at the end of the corridor the massive decorated double doors slowly opened, revealing the throne room behind them. It was a large hall with a marble floor and tall onyx pillars. In the perimeter stood many guards like statues, not moving, only carefully observing everybody inside. The path to the throne was surrounded on both sides by nobles of the empire. When Sahodariya entered, everybody focused on her, some of them showing friendly smiles, some ugly glares. She passed along them, finally coming before the king. He was seated on the throne, which was on an elevated podium.

    The throne itself was carved from wooden material and decorated with expensive silk, brocade and other exotic fabrics to provide more comfort. The king seated on it, a man in his mid-forties, was in a visibly good mood showing a pleasant smile on his face. Right next to him was seated his wife, the current queen, on a seat very similar to the throne, only smaller. Behind them was standing a young girl, maybe eighteen years old, the sole princess and daughter of both of them.

    Sahodariya, coming before the royal family, kneeled before them, shoving her respect to the monarch.

    ¡°I greet his majesty, the king Norius and his family.¡± She said still kneeling with a firm voice so that everybody present could hear her.

    ¡°We also welcome you Sahodariya. We are pleased that you could come so quickly after our selfish summons.¡± Norius welcomed her with a bright mood.

    ¡°I¡¯m honoured to hear that your majesty.¡±

    ¡°You are surely curious as to why we summoned you.¡± The king signalled her, with his hand, to stand up. ¡°Actually, we have some good news. The elves from Ballahan forest in the south informed us about the death of the most powerful lich-lord, Korpus the Smiling Death.¡±

    ¡°That is indeed very good news your majesty. I remember Korpus from the Demon War and he was a threat even for us realm walkers. If he is really dead, the demons won¡¯t be able to attack as easily as before.¡± She commented, already speculating about the impact of Korpus¡¯s death on the world.

    ¡°We want to use this situation, so we prepared a quest for you and your Soaring Wings. As you know, in the last few months, goblins and orcs started to populate our lands near the borders with demon territories. Till now we tolerated it because there were only small villages in those parts and lich-lords were there as goblins¡¯ reinforcements until they build their fortifications. But with Korpus¡¯s death everything changes. Our spies already reported that lich-lords are being called back by the demon queen. Without their protection it should be easy to kill and push the goblins back to the Abandoned plains. This way we want to officially ask you to take up this quest.¡±

    When the king stopped talking a blue window, which only she could see, popped up before Sahodariya.

    ----------

    Quest

    King Norius sees the death of the lich-lord Korpus as a big opportunity and he wants help from you and your guild. Kill or chase away the goblin and orc armies that started to settle in Khaitus lands, near the Abandoned plains.

    Reward: - experience points based on amount of activity

    - reputation with Khaitus Empire

    Penalty: - not accepting the quest will result in loss of reputation and trust with Khaitus Empire and king Norius.

    ACCEPT REFUSE

    ----------

    ¡°I will accept this quest your majesty.¡± She said while trying to hide her troubled face.

    ¡°Good,¡± Norius was pleased with her quick answer. ¡°Now that we have this official business wrapped up I request for everybody to leave. You stay Sahodariya. We still have some urgent matters to attend to.¡± She was stopped by him when she also prepared to leave the throne room.

    ¡°I said everybody else will leave.¡± Norius repeated himself seeing only guards stayed in the room.

    ¡°But your majesty we¡­¡± the soldiers tried to protest, that leaving him alone was against their duties.

    ¡°I will not repeat myself anymore.¡± He warned them, this time with a cold voice.

    When the last soldier left the room and the royal family with Sahodariya was the only one left, Norius sighted heavily.

    ¡°Finally, I hate these official audiences, especially when I¡¯m dealing with my friends.¡±

    ¡°Norius you know you need to behave like a king at least sometimes. Not everybody will be as understanding as Sahodariya.¡± The queen tried to reprimand him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Lenna, I also prefer this kind of conversation.¡± Sahodariya smiled at her, not minding the king¡¯s manners.

    ¡°I missed you so much Sahodariya, why don¡¯t you come see us more often?¡± The young princess said, now coming out from behind the throne and giving her a hug. One could think they were sisters when looking at them now.

    ¡°I missed you too Anabell.¡± Sahodariya hugged her back and smiled again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, recently I¡¯m very busy, but I promise you I will try to find more time for the visit.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t fool me Sahodariya, I know you too well, tell me what happened.¡± Norius wanted to know, seeing Sahodariya is hiding something from them. ¡°C¡¯mon out with it.¡±

    Not sure if it¡¯s ok to tell them about her personal problems she hesitated again. Knowing he was right he urged her again: ¡°If I can help you I will.¡±

    Seeing she couldn¡¯t hide her problems before them, she told them the truth.

    ¡°It¡¯s about my brother. You remember, I once told you I have a younger brother and sister. He tried to become a realm walker, but it didn¡¯t go well and now he is in a coma.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s coma?¡± Lenna wanted to know, not understanding the word.

    ¡°He is heavily injured and his injuries are not healing.¡± Sahodariya knew it was strictly forbidden to talk about the world outside of the game, but as she didn¡¯t say anything really important, she didn¡¯t think it was against the rules this time. Also the warning window, which appeared to every player once he broke the rules, didn¡¯t appear this time, so this amount of talking was probably fine.

    ¡°I see. I wouldn¡¯t worry if I were you, if he is your brother he is bound to be powerful, so I bet he will heal soon.¡± Norius tried to cheer her up, fully convinced about what he said.

    ¡°Yes, I bet father is right. You must introduce me to him once he becomes a realm walker.¡± Anabell told her with pleading eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I surely will.¡± Sahodariya said, now with a small smile on her lips. ¡°Now I want to ask about Korpus again. How trustworthy is that information about his death?¡±

    ¡°It should be the truth as the High Elf Council was the one who spread it. They also told me that a lot of elves died in the attack. The one who killed him was the realm walker Malthazar from Black Money guild.¡±

    If Sahodariya remembered well, Black Money was a mercenary guild. They were famous for being able to solve some hard quests and they are willing to be hired for any kind of work for the right amount of money, be it simple guard missions or big military expedition. Simply told if somebody lacks the muscles for some work they turn to Black Money guild.

    ¡°Yes, I know a little about them and their policies. What happened with Malthazar?¡± She wanted to know.

    ¡°He went back to the demon queen¡¯s palace saying he has some unfinished business there. All of this is a secret of course. I didn¡¯t tell this information to anybody except you. If the demon queen finds out he is the spy, he won¡¯t be able to show up near her ever again and we will lose a great source of information.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Norius. I will be quiet about it.¡± She promised, thinking Malthazar must go back to finish his quest. ¡°I¡¯m more interested in what were the undead doing in elven territories? If I remember correctly, they should be very weakened if they aren¡¯t on corrupted soil.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the most terrifying thing of all. They were trying to corrupt the land there. If they were successful the elves would be probably finished and after that they could pincer-attack us together with the goblins.¡±

    ¡°Interesting, the demon queen hasn¡¯t been so aggressive in a long time, the last time being the previous war. What happened, what could provoke her to be so bold?¡± Sahodariya wanted to know, thinking the developers were probably preparing some kind of big event in the game. Last time, around 2 years back in real time, that¡¯s 14 years in RealmWalker timeline, the already mentioned Demon War started. It was the biggest event that happened so far in the game and it was very popular with every player.

    The demon king of that time, the husband of the current ruling demon queen, tried to conquer the lands in the north which are territories of beast-men and barbaric tribes. At first it seemed like a minor conflict which everybody thought will end with a few battles near the borders. But it escalated to a bloody war, which lasted for 3 years in the game time. Beast-men, loosing and being desperate, asked for the help of other countries and realm walkers and only then they started to slowly take back their territories. The realm walkers were successful in killing the demon king and vanquishing his armies, but the price paid in lives of beast-men was huge.

    Sahodariya thought something similar is maybe going to happen soon. If that is true, she and her guild must start preparing for it. After all every realm walker thought that fighting in the war is fun. The expi they earned was huge, they levelled up faster and the loot they could gain was also very good, especially with powerful monsters frequently appearing on the battlefield. She couldn¡¯t help herself and smiled unconsciously.

    ¡°I know that smile.¡± Norius said while shaking his head slightly. ¡°You show that smile only when you are preparing for a battle. This is why I will never fully understand you, the realm walkers. I know that you are warriors, but every one of you loves battles and fighting more than anything. You are like crazed dragons when you are in the heat of battle, destroying everything that comes into your path, not looking at consequences. And when you don¡¯t have a suitable conflict at hand, you just create one.¡±

    ¡°Not everyone from us is like that.¡± She tried to defend herself. ¡°A lot of us are like me and are trying to help other nations to prosper.¡±

    ¡°I know and I¡¯m really thankful for your help Sahodariya. I don¡¯t know what I would do if you decided to attack us one day. It would be genocide.¡± Norius told her with a worried look in his eyes.

    After an awkward silence Lenna tried to end this unpleasant theme: ¡°Enough about such things Norius. You know Sahodariya well enough to tell she wouldn¡¯t do such a horrible thing. You trust her the same way I do so let¡¯s stop with this nonsense.¡±

    ¡°You are right my wife, as always. I¡¯m sorry Sahodariya. I let my cowardice speak for me.¡± He apologized with a bow.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize for it. Being a coward and being cautious are two different things Norius. I can understand where your worries come from. After all, you have a kingdom to look after.¡±

    ¡°As I said, enough with this unpleasant theme you two.¡± Lenna tried to brighten the mood. She clapped two times and the doors to throne room opened with maids coming in.

    ¡°Go and start to prepare early lunch. Sahodariya will eat with us today.¡± As she gave her orders she slowly left to change her clothes with Anabell in her back.

    ¡°I just can¡¯t say NO to Lenna.¡± Sahodariya chuckled as she looked at the leaving queen.

    ¡°Tell me something about it. Sometimes I think she runs the nation and I¡¯m just a decoration in that uncomfortable chair called throne.¡±

 Chapter 11: Playing with friends

    <h1>Chapter 11: Playing with friends</h1>

    ¡°Let me go!¡± Malakhay tried to protest against the orc that was holding him by the neck but it was pointless. As he was being brought away from the camp nobody around seemed to care, only some of the other orcs he could briefly see on the way were showing him a nasty smile, as if they knew what will happen to him in a few moments.

    The orcs looked quite ugly, even to Malakhay. All of them had green skin colour, only different shades of it. Their body build was sturdy and large muscles could be seen underneath their armour. Each one of them was measuring at least 2 meters in height. Most of them were bald, or if they had hair, it was of black colour. Their ears looked humanlike, with the only difference being the pointy tip. In their small eyes there could always be found an aggressive look which suggested their warlike nature. The tips of their noses were flat, as if somebody smashed it again and again until it acquired the present state of look. Another very distinctive thing about them was their fangs which were protruding from their mouth from the lower part of their jaw.

    In one quick look Malakhay could say they looked like brutes and that they will fight first and ask questions later, if they will bother to even ask.

    When the one carrying him finally stopped, Malakhay could see a lone, thick, steel pole, measuring around 2 meters, firmly planted into the ground. There were four chains coming from the pole, each one ending with a shackle. Looking at it Malakhay started to have goose bumps. The orc disregarded Malakhay¡¯s fear, came closer to the pole and started to chain him to it.

    ¡°No! Let me go!¡± Malakhay protested again trying to free himself, but it was still hopeless. He was too powerless to really do anything.

    After some moments, being finally tied to the pole, the orc took some distance from him, put down the 2-handed sword that was stored on his back until now and grabbed a leather whip that was hanging from his waist.

    ¡°No, please no! I didn¡¯t do anything wrong! Why?¡± Malakhay asked with panic fully showing in his trembling childish voice, knowing what will probably follow. The orc stayed quiet, only smiling at him with a sadistic smile.

    *CRACK*

    The whip flew through the air with the speed where Malakhay was barely able to see it and the burning pain from his chest, which came almost instantly with it, was excruciating. He couldn¡¯t focus on anything else. At that moment he forgot about his little quest or about his master inside of him and the only thing that came to his mind was pain.

    ¡°Aaaaaarrrgh!¡± Malakhay¡¯s howls could be heard in the dark night, but nobody cared.

    *CRACK*

    The second hit came right after the first one, the orc not getting him any time to ready for it. Again ripping Malakhay¡¯s flesh, he struck dangerously close to the first wound. His blood was slowly dripping on the ground and a little puddle was starting to form from it beneath him.

    ¡°NO MORE, PLEASE!¡± Malakhay screamed again, trying to shield his chest with both of his hands and not caring if he looked like a coward as he pleaded for mercy.

    *CRACK*

    The orc didn¡¯t care and instead whipped at one of his legs which were unguarded and his bare skin was exposed there. Losing even that little strength he had left in it, Malakhay¡¯s leg buckled underneath him, but the chains that were binding him didn¡¯t allow him to fall down. Instead he was left hanging by the hands, which the orc immediately took advantage of.

    *CRACK*

    He was again stuck at the now unguarded chest, this blow stronger than the previous ones. Malakhay¡¯s skinny body also didn¡¯t help him and the new wave of pain robbed him of a chance to stand up again as one of his ribs became slightly visible after the strike.

    ¡°YOU FUCKING PIG! I WILL KILL YOU!¡± Malakhay angrily shouted not knowing where he found the power for it, which earned him one hit through his mouth. Spiting blood and probably also a tooth, he naively tried to observe the direction from where the next hit will come from and dodge it, but that too was pointless. The orc seeing Malakhay is trying to dodge changed the trajectory of the whip with the simple movement of his wrist and still struck him successfully.

    At one point, as the whipping endlessly continued, Malakhay noticed that the orc was masturbating with his other hand.

    ¡°YOU MUST BE FUCKING KIDDING ME! YOU SICK PIG!¡± He tried to shout at his torturer again. The puddle beneath him was becoming larger and larger as the blood in it was starting to mix with his saliva and tears. Malakhay was at this point glad he didn¡¯t piss himself or something even worse.

    The previous shout earned him another lashing across his mouth. He didn¡¯t know how long the whipping lasted, but he was genuinely happy when he started to lose consciousness.

    ***

    I woke up in the morning, again locked in the cage, in one of the now moving carts. It looks like I ended up in the same one as the previous day. Feeling even worse than when I ate that soul core of the shadow lurker, I slowly tried to sit up. I must say, lying on the hard floor as the carriage is shaking your almost broken body against it isn¡¯t really a pleasant feeling. My chest was aching all over and every single breath I took was painful as hell. The wounds on it were still clearly visible and I was probably lucky that they already started to heal. In this situation I was genuinely thankful for my demonic blood that helped me with the recovery. Master once mentioned that thanks to it, it will be easier for me to heal my wounds. It probably saved me a few times as I remember the last few days.

    My legs and hands were shaking as I tried to support myself with them and I could still taste the blood in my mouth, or smell it with my nose.

    ¡°Easy there my little friend, you took quite a beating last night.¡± I could hear the voice of the troll from the previous day speaking to me calmly. ¡°I must tell. I didn¡¯t think you will last that long. The guy before you was at first brought back after just half an hour, but you withstood almost a whole hour. I must applaud you.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything useful to say shut up.¡± I tried to silence him, not knowing if he was making fun of me or not.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Look, I saved you some of the food from the morning, thinking you will probably need it after you wake up.¡± As he said this, he passed me the wooden bowl full of some brown, slimy-looking soup.

    It had a horrible smell and I was sure I would regret asking what¡¯s in it, but I was seriously starving so I took the bowl from the troll. As I did this he smiled at me, showing his sharp white teeth.

    ¡°My name is Ruon¡¯ga, what about you my little friend?¡± He wanted to know, still observing my every little action.

    ¡°Mind your own business.¡± I retorted, still only staring at the soup, trying to convince myself that it is edible.

    ¡°Ok, be it your way, I will call you ¡®little friend¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Malakhay.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Malakhay, that¡¯s my name.¡± I introduced myself as he was slowly starting to piss me off and being called ¡®little friend¡¯ by him all the time sounded really annoying.

    As I took a small sip from the soup, my mouth started to burn like I was trying to eat hot embers. I immediately remembered how I was whipped through it a few times last night. The soup was exactly how it looked the first time I saw it, disgusting. I can¡¯t even compare it to anything. I almost puked myself as I tried to eat it.

    ¡°You must have told some pretty nasty words to Zuran, only then he tends to whip your mouth. I recommend you to not do that next time.¡± The troll was again starting to be clever with me.

    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± I was almost left speechless when I heard him, I even forgot about the pain in my mouth for a second. ¡°That pig was whipping me while jerking off, what am I supposed to do? Praise the sick pig? Yes, good boy. Hit my one more time and then cum for me.¡± I said sarcastically, thinking it will be hard to be with this guy in one space.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    I seriously want to be comatose again. A few more times and I will probably like it better than sleeping.

    ¡°No, but let me give you a little advise. As you said, he is literally a sick pig, so when you try to fight and defend yourself it only makes him happier and the happier he is the crueller he becomes.¡±

    I must have looked really stupid because Ruon¡¯ga continued: ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to smile at him, or to not scream, just try not to scream at him. That way he probably won¡¯t kill you, probably.¡±

    He said it like he knows what he is talking about. Maybe he isn¡¯t as crazy as he sounds.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why would he kill us? They can¡¯t sell us if we are dead.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s the worst thing Malakhay. For them, we, and I mean the two of us when I say it, aren¡¯t even worth selling. We are just something that can be discarded anytime.¡±

    After hearing Ruon¡¯ga say this, my head started to spin. He can¡¯t be serious, but he doesn¡¯t look like he is kidding. I don¡¯t know what to think, I don¡¯t want to trust him, but something tells me he isn¡¯t lying.

    ¡°Your eyes are screaming WHY? at me.¡± He told me, again sitting down in the same corner where I spotted him for the first time last night.

    ¡°Well, the answer for that is a simple one. We are not the merchandise, but a part of Zuran¡¯s salary. He is the leader of the orc guards that are accompanying the caravan. If I¡¯m not mistaken the deal goes like this ¨C they will guard the caravan, slave traders and slaves and in exchange they will receive gold and some slaves with whom they are free to do whatever they want.¡± As he said this, I looked around and could see around thirty orcs surrounding the carts, every one of them armed with some weapon, be it heavy looking 2-handed swords or just thick clubs. Two of them are even holding something similar to the staff like thing that master had, they are probably some kind of mages.

    ¡°How do you know all this?¡± I wanted to know, thinking it¡¯s suspicious that he knows so much about it.

    Ruon¡¯ga smiled again with that annoying smile of his before he answered me: ¡°Well, I have had the honour to travel with them for quite some time now, so I learned a few things here and there. Trust me when I tell you that in some situations, these details can save your life.¡±

    ***

    The rest of the day was just as horrible as the morning. For lunch we got the same disgusting meal as for breakfast, the brown shitty soup thing. My body slowly continued to heal, but I was still hurting all over the place as I was shaken in that cursed cage. I can¡¯t say our pace was quick, but we never stopped during the day to give a break for the horses. When I asked Ruon¡¯ga about it he told me that we will stop only for the night. He also told me that he was captured about 2 months ago.

    When I heard this I was surprised at how he managed to survive that torture night after night without going crazy. He explained that it is probably thanks to the fact that he is a troll, they have bodies with great regeneration abilities. The next thing I learned from him was where and what slaves are. The first carriage, which is the one where Larkus sits most of the time, is something like exclusive goods. Ruon¡¯ga said there should be three female slaves there right now, two daughters of some nobles from some human lands who weren¡¯t able to pay their debts and one dark elf.

    Then in the second wagon there should be children. They are the most profitable slaves after the exclusive ones, as they can still be trained after they are bought and they can¡¯t really put up any resistance. Also some people are supposedly willing to pay a high price for them because of their sick fetishes. When I heard this from him I laughed at the idea that these humans call us monsters.

    In the third and also the biggest cage are the most people. They are the unlucky villagers captured after bandit raids or citizens that were in debts and so on and so on. These people are sold as the working force and most of them end up in some mines as workers, as lab rats on the table of some curious necromancer, cheap prostitutes in brothels or as soldiers in slave armies. Depends on their luck of who bought them. The luckiest ones become servants of more wealthy merchants whose life isn¡¯t really that bad, only doing some chores and managing a house.

    The fourth carriage is ours. They tend to put here people that are normally hard to manage and tend to cause problems. So when somebody appears on a slave trader¡¯s blacklist, he ends up here. Once you are here Zuran can do whatever he wishes with you and even if he kills you nobody gives a shit. Ruon¡¯ga called it: the gate to hell.

    When I asked him: ¡°Why?¡± He only told me: ¡°Because the real hell starts once you get into the fifth wagon.¡± He pointed at it, now without a smile.

    He didn¡¯t describe it any further, only said that there are people that tried to run away, harm the slavers or do some other stupid things. And once you are there, not just Zuran, but every other orc can do whatever he wants with you.

    ¡°Here Zuran can kill you, but there you wish to be killed. I saw those orcs how they took women who tried to run. They chopped of theirs arms near the elbows and legs near their knees and healed them with magic so they don¡¯t die. After that they ripped out every single tooth they had, made something like sex-dolls from them and raped them all night long. The worst thing is, most of those women are still alive, if you think you can call it being alive.¡±

    Hearing him talk about it I was almost thankful for being only whipped.

    I also noticed that he wore silver looking collars around his neck, both wrists and ankles, but there were no chains attached to it. It piqued my interest so I asked him about it.

    ¡°What are those things for?¡± I pointed at them knowing he will know what I have in mind.

    ¡°Oh you like my jewellery? I must say myself, it looks quite nice but I¡¯m not really wearing it from my own volition.¡±

    ¡°Will you tell me or not? You don¡¯t need to make fun of me.¡± I was starting to be annoyed again when he was talking to me like this.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous, that won¡¯t help you here. And the way you are acting, your face is screaming that you plan to escape. That is not wise. Plan as much as you want, but don¡¯t let it show on you. It will earn you a one way trip to hell.¡±

    I was left speechless by him. Is it really shoving so obviously what I¡¯m planning? If yes, I must really be more careful.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand. I wouldn¡¯t like to stay alone again. As I said previously half of the torture I experience is now yours so it eases my mind greatly.¡± He explained to me and for a second he seemed very serious, but it only lasted for a moment before he returned to his jokes.

    ¡°You want to know so I will tell you. It¡¯s called Mage-bane. As the name suggests it¡¯s supposed to be worn by somebody who knows how to use magic. I don¡¯t know how much you know about magic, so I don¡¯t know if you will understand. This thing prevents you from channelling any mana you have access to, be it inside or outside of your body. That way you can¡¯t cast any spells even if you were able to get by some miracle to a mana potion. The second very nasty ability is that it constantly drains your mana the second your body creates some. So even if you wanted to just sit and accumulate mana quietly and then use a big quantity of it to overpower the necklace, you won¡¯t be able to. A side effect of this is that you are also constantly tired, because your body tries to generate mana, but it is sipped away all the time.¡±

    I gulped down when I heard his explanation. If what he said is true, why didn¡¯t I get one of those? My master said previously that he can feel the mana emanating from me. I don¡¯t know the reason, but if they can¡¯t see this then I have at least some advantage. Maybe if I find somebody who is able to teach me the right spells I will be able to escape from here. I¡¯m thinking about asking Ruon¡¯ga, but I don¡¯t think I can trust him yet. Who knows, maybe he will immediately run to Larkus and tell him about it, just to receive better treatment.

    But just knowing I have something to work with puts my mind at ease.

    The caravan stopped for the night when the sun started to settle. The slave traders created something like improvised fortifications out of the carriages by arranging them in a circle. Inside of it they started fires and probably cooked some dinner, others put up tents or tended to horses. Meanwhile, the orcs who served as guards made themselves comfortable on the ground from the other side of this camp, creating the first line of defence, should it be needed.

    I tried to look for some opportunity to run away from this hell, but couldn¡¯t think of anything at the moment. It will be very hard without some help from the outside and I highly doubt that there will be somebody suicidal enough to help me. As I stared around the camp a slave girl of around 20 years old brought that brown shitty soup for us and after that left for the tent of one of the slavers. It could have occurred to me sooner that they will use them in the night if they can.

    ¡°So, how is our newest guest, everything to your satisfaction, oh mighty minion of Korpus?¡± Larkus showed up with an idiotic smile on his face. ¡°I heard you were accompanying Zuran last night. Hope you liked it. You will probably do it quite often from now.¡±

    ¡°Everything¡¯s great here Larkus. I was just teaching him how to spit in your face even from this distance.¡± As Ruon¡¯ga said this he boldly smiled Larkus in the face.

    ¡°You think you are funny, hmm you blue shit-face?¡± He told him and signalled to the two orcs to take him outside.

    They took him out and made him kneel before Larkus.

    ¡°You know you blue shit,¡± Larkus kicked him right in the mouth as he continued his preaching. ¡°You could have been in the other wagon if you weren¡¯t such an idiot. But on the other hand I must still thank you for taking care of Zuron.¡± He kicked him again. ¡°Thanks to you he killed a surprisingly small number of merchandise on this trip. But you are seriously starting to piss me off, so here is the proposition for you.¡± As he said this he grabbed Ruon¡¯ga¡¯s chin and made him look into his eyes. ¡°You piss me off one more time, only one more time and I will make sure you will beg to be only tortured by Zuron. You understand?¡±

    Ruonga stayed quiet, probably knowing Larkus wants to see him broken. As they stared at each other, one of the guards brought the dark elf from her cage to Larkus.

    ¡°Now I will excuse myself. As you can see I¡¯m going to spend my time with this beauty. But don¡¯t worry, to not feel so lonely Zuron sent for you so I¡¯m sure you will have your fun with him.¡±

    I could finally take a look at the dark elf that Ruon¡¯ga was talking about before. I have seen elves previously in the forest when I killed that shadow lurker, but this one was quite different from them.

    The long pointy ears and sharp looking eyes were the same, but her skin colour was dark grey, one would say almost black. Her eyes were violet and from her look I could tell that if she had an opportunity she would butcher Larkus like a pig. Her hair was long and right now also quite dirty, but I could see they had a dark red colour. She was dressed in some old rags and thanks to it she was almost naked. Around her neck was a silvery looking collar similar to the one Ruon¡¯ga and some other slaves wore. This proved that she could use magic. She had a slim athletic figure measuring around 1,7 meters, so she was smaller than most elves as they tend to be on the taller side, but this can be also caused by her being a dark elf.

    As I was studying her, she also noticed me for the first time. I don¡¯t know why but she had a weird look in her eyes as she looked at me. For a second I thought she looked surprised but it vanished almost instantly.

    ¡°Take him to Zuron.¡± Larkus commanded the guards and after locking the cage I was in again, he spoke to me: ¡°And you little shit remember, here I¡¯m the rules. So when I tell you to jump you ask: how high? You can choose to be a quiet little shit which doesn¡¯t cause any trouble and maybe I will take pity on your sorry shitty ass and move you to another cage, or I can very nicely ask Zuran that he starts to have his parties two or three times a day. I¡¯m sure he would love that. Who knows, maybe he will entertain both of you at the same time so that you can deepen your friendship.¡±

    After his little speech Larkus took the elf and vanished in his tent with her and a few other slave traders.

    ¡°So it doesn¡¯t bother them that she is from the first cart, they will just fuck everything that looks good. No wonder I could feel her hatred for them if she is raped like that, probably every night.¡± As I thought loud about these things I could hear Ruon¡¯ga¡¯s cries in the night. Just thinking about what was probably happening to him sent chills down my spine.

 Chapter 12: Broken body, broken mind

    <h1>Chapter 12: Broken body, broken mind</h1>

    It was now roughly four weeks since Malakhay was caught by the slavers. As days slowly went by, the torture of him and Ruon¡¯ga continued. It was becoming a never-ending cycle ¨C wake up in the morning, eating that disgusting soup and waiting for the night in fear of pain.

    The whipping wasn¡¯t the only thing that happened to them. Zuron was being very creative and tried to use all kinds of methods on them. If he didn¡¯t whip them he beat them either with his hands or with a club he borrowed from other orcs. He successfully broke their bones a few times, just to savour a desperate look on their faces. Other times he heated a piece of steel in the fire and burned them with it. With some other orcs he even went as far as catching a few mad wolfs from the plains and tossing them together with Malakhay and Ruon¡¯ga into one cage. After that the orcs enjoyed the show where the beasts almost ripped the little imp and troll to shreds.

    A few times even Larkus came to look at them, probably out of boredom. When he had a feeling that they didn¡¯t show enough respect for him he had them tied behind the carriage. This way they were forced to walk a whole day and if they collapsed they were dragged instead. Malakhay could occasionally spot how pitifully other slaves looked at them when they brought food for them. But he could also see their relief that they are not in his place; that they only need to do some chores and sleep with the slavers sometimes.

    Malakhay was also able to spot the dark elf a few times before Larkus dragged her to his tent. Each time he could see how she observed him with a strange look in her eyes, like she was expecting something from him.

    Another bad thing they were suffering from was the weather. Nights in this season on the Abandoned plains were terribly cold. Strong chilly winds were blowing all the time and thanks to them Malakhay and Ruon¡¯ga almost froze to death a few times. It was so bad that they went as far as hugging each other for some warmth.

    The worst came when it was raining and they were left outside the whole night without anywhere to hide.

    As all of this combined with their torture Malakhay slowly started to ask himself ¨C why was he even born? If it was only to feel the pain then he didn¡¯t want to live in this hell anymore. He couldn¡¯t think of anybody who would help him and as these nightmarish days slowly went by he started to lose hope that he will ever be able to run away.

    A few times he was somehow able to secretly observe the two orc mages that were with the guards, but it still didn¡¯t help him to come up with some method to use spells. He became so desperate that he started to try casting the spells he learned from Korpus when he transferred a part of his knowledge to him. He stopped to care if it could kill him, he just wanted to be set free from everything and dying started to sound like a good plan to him.

    The only positive thing about all of this was that they were slowly approaching Grimthorn, the capital city of the undead and demonata race and also the target of his personal quest from Korpus. He was able to overhear this from Larkus as he was talking about it drunk one night with the other slavers. Apparently they wanted to sell the human slaves there. After that they planned to buy a new batch of monster slaves which were easily purchasable in Grimthorn and transport them to the human countries. There it was easy to sell monster slaves which humans often used for hard labour or for entertainment in coliseums.

    ¡°Malakhay wake up. You hear me? Wake up, we are approaching some village.¡± Ruon¡¯ga was trying to gently wake him up because last night it was Malakhay¡¯s turn to keep Zuron entertained. When he finally opened his eyes he glared at Ruon¡¯ga for not letting him sleep longer.

    ¡°Let me be, I feel like crap after last night. That pig probably broke every bone in my body till he was finally satisfied.¡±

    ¡°Club or hands?¡± Ruon¡¯ga wanted to know.

    ¡°He used a club and I thank my luck for that as it takes less time in comparison to when he uses bare hands.¡±

    These kinds of dialogues became daily for them as they informed each other about what happened last night. Sometimes they could even predict what Zuron will do to them next time.

    ¡°If you are satisfied, let me sleep now.¡± Malakhay tried to lie back which was quite hard as his body was aching all over and he couldn¡¯t find a position in which he would feel at least a bit comfortable.

    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to know what will happen in that village?¡±

    ¡°¡­fuck¡± Malakhay said after a few seconds as he got up. In truth he was really interested in it as it was the first sign of some civilization in the Abandoned plains.

    As they slowly approached it, he could see small huts made from wood. They looked like they were randomly built till there weren¡¯t enough of them to call it a village. Malakhay couldn¡¯t think about humans, orcs or trolls living in such a small place. The correct answer came to him as they finally entered the village.

    Goblins. They were slowly coming out of their homes to see who was trespassing in their territory. All of them were wearing clothes looking more like old rags instead of armour and were armed with clubs or simple swords and shields. They were ready to attack the slavers, the only thing holding them back were probably the orcs, which are obviously more powerful than goblins.

    There were probably around 150 goblins, all looking similar. Small size, comparable to Malakhay¡¯s, they were only about a head taller than him. Green skin, looking as if they had some disease, wasn¡¯t grass green like the orcs have, but more like muddy green. The small black eyes and a long pointy nose looked unbalanced on their faces. They also had long pointy ears similar to the elven ones but not looking so elegant. It looked more like somebody has spent a long time to stretch them to their current form. They had only four fingers on their hands and legs and each one of them was bald.

    It didn¡¯t take long and one goblin came closer to Larkus who was sitting on his carriage. Full of caution he started to question him.

    ¡°What wanna heeree you?¡± The goblin wanted to know continuously taking secret glances at orcs.

    ¡°My name is Larkus and we are merchants. We travelled through the Abandoned plains and are going to Grimthorn for busyness. We would like to buy some supplies from you and maybe take a rest for one or two days. We¡¯re not here to cause you any trouble.¡± Larkus tried to explain their situation. It wasn¡¯t like they couldn¡¯t attack and kill them all because with the orcs he had he would probably be able to do it. But this number of goblins would surely be able to kill some of them, maybe even some slavers and merchandise and he was not willing to risk it.

    The goblin before him looked like he was thinking about what Larkus said and stayed quiet for a few seconds.

    ¡°Me chif, me caaled Gaburon. Me permit yoou stay, but yoou troble - we kill.¡±

    ¡°You have my word.¡± Larkus confirmed their deal as he ordered the caravan to enter the village.

    The goblin with which he spoke started to explain to the others what they talked about as he ordered them to lower their weapons and to go back to their work.

    As they slowly went to the village Malakhay noticed something weird and asked Ruon¡¯ga about it.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see any goblin women, where are they?¡±

    ¡°You must be really young Malakhay.¡± Ruon¡¯ga said shoving a smile when Malakhay looked at him. ¡°Don¡¯t look like that. You can¡¯t fool me so easily, because everybody knows that all goblins that are born are males.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°Then how¡­¡±

    ¡°You see that house that is bigger than the rest of them?¡± Ruon¡¯ga asked pointing to the centre of the village. Malakhay nodded as he was able to spot it.

    ¡°Most likely there are captured women from the other races, most probably humans. Goblins copulate with them. When they have an opportunity they will try to steal women from other races or buy them from slave traders. That¡¯s probably the reason they let Larkus stay in the village. One woman is able to give birth to two or three goblins in the span of three months and every goblin that is born is male. This way they are able to survive even with the fact that they are quite weak.¡±

    Malakhay quietly listened still observing the house Roun¡¯ga showed him.

    ¡°So that is the reason they look like a mix of all races.¡± Malakhay spoke more to himself as he thought about what he just heard.

    As the night came and Ruon¡¯ga was dragged away by orcs, Malakhay could see how some of the goblins went inside the house where the women should be. It didn¡¯t take long until they appeared again, this time carrying a human woman. As they went around his cage he could have a better look at her. She looked around thirty years old and maybe in the past was even quite a beauty, but now she looked more like a living corpse. Clothed in tattered rags, she obediently walked behind the goblins. Her eyes, open wide and staring into nowhere without any sign of emotion, looked dead.

    Malakhay thought she probably went mad from what the goblins have repeatedly done to her. As he observed them, they guided the woman to the part of the village where the orcs were having dinner right now and after a quick conversation with Larkus they killed her. Malakhay could see how they slit her throat without any problem and after that they started to cut her to smaller pieces and they tossed them into a big kettle or started to roast them on an open fire.

    A few moments after that Ruon¡¯ga appeared. Brought back by two guards he was tossed back into the cage.

    ¡°So soon today?¡± Malakhay asked a little surprised that he is already back.

    *Cough.* *Cough*

    ¡°They are having a feast and Zuran didn¡¯t want to be left out. For them it¡¯s normal to eat human meat but they don¡¯t do it with slaves as they would lose their source of entertainment.¡± He tried to explain between his coughing as he held his neck.

    ¡°Could be nice. I don¡¯t even remember how meat tastes like.¡± Malakhay said slightly surprising Ruon¡¯ga. ¡°Don¡¯t look like you want to judge me. Normally I wouldn¡¯t eat human meat but I don¡¯t really have a problem eating it. Or did you forget that I¡¯m a demon?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m just slightly surprised. I didn¡¯t think you would do that.¡±

    ¡°Well if this hell taught me something it¡¯s that you can¡¯t be picky if you really want to survive. In the past I probably wouldn¡¯t even think about eating a human, but now I definitely wouldn¡¯t stay hungry if an opportunity presents itself. And don¡¯t try to look like some good guy. I know that trolls also eat human flesh.¡±

    ¡°Only those from blood-rage clans.¡± Ruon¡¯ga strongly defended himself. ¡°We others eat only animals.¡±

    As the night went by they could hear the orcs stuffing themselves with cooked meat.

    The next morning, as Malakhay and Ruon¡¯ga slept on the cold floor like usually they were woken up by sudden screams.

    ¡°NO, please no! Anything but that!¡±

    As they opened their eyes in haste they could see two women being dragged out from the third cage where the worker slaves are usually kept.

    ¡°Please have mercy.¡± They pleaded as orcs took them out and tied them up with rope. Others only looked on with horror showing on their faces as they thought about the possibility of being in their places.

    ¡°Like I promised you Gaburon. Two healthy young women, ready to have children.¡± Larkus said as the two were brought before Gaburon.

    ¡°Gaburon looky good.¡± As he said this he asked the orcs to take their clothes off and started to inspect them closer. The women were trying to resist his touch but it was pointless. When Gaburon was finally satisfied he called for other goblins and ordered them to take the women away. Their cries could still be heard as they were carried away in the direction of the breeding house.

    ¡°Now for the second part of the deal.¡± Larkus escorted him to the second carriage where the children were locked. He again ordered the orcs to bring out every girl and made them stand in a single row. For a few minutes Gaburon browsed through the little girls like they were some bread on the shelf in some bakery.

    ¡°This and this.¡± He pointed out two girls looking around ten years old.

    ¡°Thank you for your purchase.¡± Larkus smiled with a broad grin as he pocketed some gold coins as the rest of the girls were being locked back.

    ¡°So the one from yesterday was broken already.¡± Ruon¡¯ga stated as he observed the trade before him. ¡°Those two are replacements.¡±

    ¡°And what about those little girls? If I¡¯m not mistaken they won¡¯t be able to have a child so soon, maybe after three or four years.¡± Malakhay wondered.

    ¡°I would say they are investments for the future. The goblins can¡¯t know what will happen and if they will be able to secure more women so they bought them like some sort of insurance.¡±

    Malakhay only quietly nodded to his words, now listening to how Larkus and Gaburon spoke about the slavers visiting the village regularly.

    As they spoke some old looking goblin with a long robe appeared and whispered something into Gaburon¡¯s ear. Hearing him out Gaburon looked at Malakhay¡¯s cage and he slowly approached it.

    ¡°How little imp, yoou sold?¡± He asked Larkus who was standing behind him.

    ¡°Why would you want him? It¡¯s just a little trash that isn¡¯t good for anything.¡± He wanted to know, feeling another opportunity to earn money.

    ¡°Juka heeree,¡± he pointed at the old goblin, ¡°be alchemier. He talk imp raree now. He put imp in alchemy.¡± Gaburon tried to explain.

    ¡°I see, you want him because materials from imps are rare today as nobody summons them anymore.¡± As he tried to confirm, Juka and Gaburon nodded their heads.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t sell him to you, because Zuron over there is the one who owns him.¡± He pointed at the captain of his guards.

    Juka didn¡¯t hesitate and slowly walked towards Zuran. As he approached him they started to discuss something, both of them probably trying to get the better part of the deal.

    ¡°You are popular Malakhay.¡± Ruon¡¯ga stated, now observing Juka and Zuran. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could be used for alchemy. Care to explain?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about it. I never heard anybody mention anything. Fuck, the last thing I need is to be tossed into some soup for goblins, fuck that.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think they are going to ask for your opinion in this.¡±

    Just as Ruon¡¯ga said this, they could see how both Zuran and Juka finished their little debate. Both of them returned to Larkus who was also observing them. Zuran explained to him what they settled upon. As he listened to him, he glanced at Malakhay and showed a very nasty grin.

    ¡°I bet I¡¯m not going to like this.¡± Malakhay said looking at them, noticing Larkus¡¯s smile.

    After their talking was finally over, all three of them returned to Malakhay¡¯s cage.

    ¡°You can start to celebrate you little shit, because you are still needed by somebody. Here our little friends told us that imps are used in some alchemy potions. Well, I should say not imps but their wing bones and tails.¡± Just as he said this Zuran opened the cage and caught him by the neck the same way he did many times before, so that Malakhay can¡¯t escape.

    Just as they took him out of the cage, the goblins from the village, probably at Gaburon¡¯s command, brought over a wooden table.

    Zuran laid Malakhay down on his belly on it and some goblins pinned down his legs and his arms, so that he can¡¯t thrash around. When he tried to look around he could see how Juka handed something looking like a saw to Zuran.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t be serious!¡± Malakhay shouted, knowing what will happen from what Larkus has said to him. ¡°NO, I don¡¯t want it, I¡¯d rather be dead, kill me! Somebody kill me already!¡±Malakhay tried to thrash around to free himself but the goblins were doing a good job holding him down.

    Zuran caught his moving wings without problem and stretched them as the saw in his other hand slowly approached them. Then it started. Zuran started to saw off one of his wings near his shoulder blades. The pain that went down through Malakhay¡¯s body was indescribable. He screamed and screamed and probably everybody in the village could hear him, but nobody moved to help him. He cursed everything that he laid his eyes on, but the pain still didn¡¯t go away. In a few minutes because Zuran was taking his sweet time with his job, one of his wings came off. Zuran handed it to Juka who quickly inspected it and nodded in satisfaction.

    Malakhay, who was drenched in cold sweat and his body was trembling uncontrollably, only laid there without any strength to do anything.

    ¡°I ¡­¡­¡­¡­.you.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, what are you saying?¡± Larkus wanted to know, not hearing him well.

    ¡°One day I will kill you all.¡± Malakhay said again, looking Larkus into the eyes with all the hatred he could muster. Just as he said this Zuran started to saw off his other wing and the new wave of pain appeared. The only thing Malakhay was able to do was scream until he lost consciousness.

    ¡°I guess the fun is over, the little shit is in the dreamland.¡± Larkus said as another one of Malakhay¡¯s wings was tossed to Juka. Zuran looked disappointed but it still didn¡¯t stop him from sawing off Malakhay¡¯s tail. When Juka had all the parts he needed he paid Zuran and vanished in the village, probably eager to use his new materials.

    Malakhay, now looking more like a bloodied corpse, was tossed back into the cage without anybody caring if he will survive such severe injuries.

    The day quickly went by and it was already after lunch when the caravan was ready to depart again. Ruon¡¯ga tried to ease Malakhay¡¯s pain but there wasn¡¯t much that he could do. He patched the wounds with old rags he was wearing as a shirt to stop the bleeding. Just as he pondered how to help his new friend a dark elf appeared near their cage.

    ¡°Hey you, is the imp still alive?¡± She asked in a whisper, so quiet even he had a problem to hear her.

    ¡°How did you get here?¡± Ruon¡¯ga wanted to know.

    ¡°No time for that. Is he alive?¡± She asked again nervously looking around if somebody isn¡¯t coming.

    ¡°Yes he is.¡±

    ¡°Good, when we are out of here and nobody pays attention use this on his wounds. It should help him.¡± As she said this she tossed a small sack at him.

    Catching it he asked her: ¡°Why are you helping him?¡±

    Just when she was about to disappear again she turned around and after measuring Ruon¡¯ga she finally answered.

    ¡°Trust me or not, but he is our best chance to get out from here. When he gets up tell him that I helped him.¡±

    Ruon¡¯ga wanted to ask how she meant it, but the dark elf had already vanished. He curiously opened the sack she tossed him and the smell of herbs came out of it.

    ¡°Damned father of the chaos, how in the world did she collected these? And where has she stored them?¡± He was surprised at her craftiness and mastery if she was able to do this under the constant watch of slavers and orcs.

    He waited, as she suggested, and when the caravan has finally left the village he started to secretly apply the medicine to Malakhay. It was very slow and tedious work if he didn¡¯t want to be noticed. He was also curious about her words of getting out of here. He hoped they were right, because if not, not only Malakhay but also him will be slowly tortured to death.

    ¡°I¡¯m becoming na?ve.¡± He said to himself. ¡°I almost started to celebrate with the first words about being free. That Zuran is doing quite a good job if I¡¯m becoming such a fool.¡± He reprimanded himself, still tending to Malakhay¡¯s wounds. Now that they were finally out of the Abandoned plains, they will surely go in a straight path to Grimthorn, which was about a week of travel away.

 Chapter 13: Rise from pain

    <h1>Chapter 13: Rise from pain</h1>

    After leaving the goblin village the caravan continued on its journey to Grimthorn. As they went on and left the Abandoned plains behind, they were finally able to spot the sun as it wasn¡¯t hidden behind the clouds anymore, which were everlasting on the plains. The other thing that also improved was weather as it wasn¡¯t so cold anymore and it didn¡¯t rain so often.

    But except for these small things almost nothing changed for Malakhay. He was unconscious the whole first day after leaving the village. Ruon¡¯ga tried as best as he could to ease his pain and help him heal, but except from applying the herbs which the dark elf secretly gave him, he couldn¡¯t do much. Even in spite of using them permanently Malakhay¡¯s wounds were healing very slowly and he had a constant fever.

    When Ruon¡¯ga saw him trembling uncontrollably, with sweat coming from probably every part of his small body and occasionally blabbering in his sleep, he thought he is looking at an already dead body which just didn¡¯t accepted the fact.

    The pleasant surprise for him came the next morning when he woke up after the night he shared in Zuran¡¯s cruel company. Malakhay finally woke up for the first time. He still looked like a corpse but he was alive and was probably out of the worst.

    Ruon¡¯ga tried to speak to him but he could only get one word answers out of him as Malakhay carefully inspected his wounds. He didn¡¯t even ask about the medicine that he could smell on him, he just quickly ate what the slavers gave them and went right back to his sleep. Ruon¡¯ga tried to wake him up a few times but it seemed impossible as Malakhay didn¡¯t react to his attempts. Even that night Zuran used Ruon¡¯ga for his sick entertainment and being tortured for two days left a big toll even on him. That was one of the main reasons he was trying so hard to help Malakhay because with him alive they could take turns at being tortured, as before the village.

    The other reason was the words the dark elf said to him at the village. Those sweet words of making the escape from this hell possible to which he started to cling so desperately. He even called himself a fool for believing in them, but he couldn¡¯t help himself. They gave him a new hope which he had lost a long time ago. He also wanted to confirm her words, but from that time he never got a chance to speak to her again.

    Malakhay again woke up, this time looking a little bit better than the previous day. Ruon¡¯ga, seeing him, mentioned that the medicine must have been effective.

    ¡°Medicine? Where the hell did you get it?¡± Malakhay wanted to know when he noticed the remains of it on his wounds.

    ¡°The dark elf gave it to me to help you. I have already used all of it and I must say, it probably saved your life.¡± Ruon¡¯ga told him about his weird encounter with the elf. He also noticed that Malakhay changed a little bit. He was less talkative than before and the look in his eyes was as if he stopped to notice the pain he must have constantly felt even now.

    Zuran, seeing that Malakhay is up again, started to alternate between them.

    It was only a few more days of travel until they finally reached Grimthorn. The caravan encountered more villages now that they were out of the Abandoned plains. Each time they briefly stopped for the night, sold one or two slaves and at morning continued on. The villages were a weird mixture of races like demonata, goblins, orcs, trolls, gnolls and other creatures. It was actually quite common for a village to consist of more races and those that were like the goblin village, where only goblins lived could be found only rarely.

    Malakhay was finally able to look at Grimthorn. He knew, from the knowledge that his master provided him, that it¡¯s a large city but seeing it for the first time he was still quite surprised. It was actually quite humongous. He could easily believe that a few ten thousands of people lived here.

    The first thing everybody would notice was the black walls of the city which were circling it. The black coloured stone they were built from was a special one. This stone, called manarite, was created in the distant past with a now already forgotten technique. Mages were able to pour mana into it and seal it inside. The stone became significantly heavier and depending on the element poured into it, it changed colour. When two stones with the same element were put together they behaved as two powerful magnets and stuck together. Thanks to this special ability of manarite there wasn¡¯t any need for other building materials and the structure built from it became sturdier with each stone put together.

    These were the outer walls and they could easily reach 30 meters and have a width of 6 meters. There were four main gates: north, south, east and west, through which the people could get in or out. Except for these Malakhay knew there were also some smaller ones, which were hidden and mostly used by the army in the case of a battle or siege.

    Around every 50 meters from each other towering platforms were built, each provided with one huge ballista.

    Besides the outside walls, there was also inside walls. These ones surrounded the castle and were also built with manarite, only in a smaller scale.

    The castle was also built from manarite and the name of the city, Grimthorn, probably came from it as it looked like a black thorn protruding from the earth.

    Between the outer and the inner walls most of the population, commoners, lived. One could find countless inns and shops here. Inns were more or less randomly spread through the whole city. Some of them looked expensive, as if only rich merchants were able to rent a room there and others looked more like a post-war building, ready to crumble at any moment.

    This middle part of the city was roughly divided into a few parts. There were places where there was a high concentration of diverse artisans. Blacksmiths, alchemists, bookstores, cloth stores, general stores, you name it - you could find it there.

    Then there were plazas which were used as market places. Here the before mentioned artisans could find the materials for their work in their raw forms. Ores, herbs, magic stones, spices and a lot of others one could ever think of. One of these plazas was solely used as a slave market and it was also their caravan¡¯s final destination.

    The castle looked like a towering giant that overlooked the whole city. It was the place from where the demon queen ruled and where she lived together with her royal family. The most important nobles have also built their villas around it. They were allowed to live behind the inner walls when they were in the city. However, they normally stayed in their respected territories which they governed in the name of the queen. Commoners had almost no chance to set their foot into this part of the city and they needed invitation if they wanted to pass the gates. Everyone who tried to enter without it was dealt with harshly and could be happy if he only ended up in prison.

    The only other existences that were allowed to live in the castle, except for the royal family, were lich-lords. The queen wanted to have them as close as possible in case of addressing important matters. They were the most powerful beings right after her and not even the nobles dared to incur their wrath.

    When their caravan had finally arrived to one of the entrance gates Malakhay could take a closer look at it. Like the rest of the wall it was huge. Even the biggest creatures needn¡¯t lower their heads when crossing it and four carriages could have probably easily passed through them side by side.

    As they came closer they got in line as they waited for their inspection. It took around two hours until their turn finally came.

    ¡°Next!¡± The guard shouted as their turn came. ¡°Who are you and why are you here?¡± He asked, evidently bored judging from his voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m Larkus and I¡¯m a merchant.¡± Larkus said more politely than was normal for him.

    ¡°So a slave trader.¡± The guard commented looking at the cages loaded on wagons. He called others stationed nearby to help him inspect them.

    All of them had imposing looks on their faces and they had that dangerous feeling around them which told you that you don¡¯t want to mess with them. All of them were of the demonata race, looking more or less like a human with the exception of slim tails and their skin colour which was varying from one to another. Light blue, dark purple, grey, brown, red or other shades of these colours. One of them was even pure black. Some of them had small horns growing from their heads right above their eyes. Each one of them was armed with a spear in his hand and a sword at his waist.

    Seeing them even the orcs behaved and were just quietly standing and waiting for the inspection to be over.

    Larkus looked a little bit nervous when they approached the dark elf but they only took a quick look at her and continued. When they came closer to their cage Malakhay could hear the guard mumbling something like: ¡°An imp? That¡¯s a rare sight todays.¡± He quickly inspected them and when it looked like he was ready to leave he must have noticed something he didn¡¯t like as he asked: ¡°Hey trader, this one looks ill.¡± He pointed at Malakhay who still wasn¡¯t fully healed and looked like he went through some kind of illness.

    Larkus nervously came over and tried to explain.

    ¡°No, no. That¡¯s not an illness. He tried to flee back on the Abandoned plains and the wild animals got to him sooner than we. They almost ate him alive and this is what¡¯s left of him.¡±

    The guard didn¡¯t look like he believed him but still let it slide and didn¡¯t ask other questions about Malakhay.

    ¡°And what about them? Were they also almost eaten by animals while running away?¡± The other guard asked after finishing his inspections and pointing at the fifth cart where the women who belonged to the orcs were.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°They belong to the orcs and you know how they are.¡± Larkus tried to talk his way out of it.

    ¡°No, please explain.¡± The guard wanted to hear his answer.

    Malakhay looking at a sweating Larkus smirked, ignoring Larkus¡¯s murderous look which spelled a certain and surely very cruel punishment for him later.

    ¡°The orcs can be really stupid and perverted monsters I say, but please try to understand me, I can¡¯t forbid them doing something with their own belongings and those slaves are their property. As you can surely see mine are in very good condition.¡± He tried to take their attention away from the problem, once more pointing at the first three carriages.

    ¡°Hahaha.¡± Everybody was left surprised as Malakhay started to laugh uncontrollably at the current situation.

    Larkus would kill him with his glare if he could, but he more-or-less kept his cool before the guards.

    ¡°Shut up you useless creature!¡± He tried to shut him up but Malakhay ignored him and continued laughing.

    ¡°I have a little advice for you.¡± The guard before him said. ¡°It will do you well if you remember that those words about stupid monsters could get you into serious trouble inside the city. So be a wise man and keep them to yourself. Ok?¡±

    ¡°I will surely do as you suggest. Thank you for your advice.¡± Larkus quickly said as he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken. I quite hate your kind who is all smiles and empty words and I don¡¯t want to deal with you again if you cause some trouble. Are we clear?¡±

    Now Larkus lost quite a bit of colour from his face but still nodded in agreement: ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now you will pay the entrance tax which is five silver coins for each carriage and I don¡¯t want to see your face anymore.¡±

    Larkus did as the guard asked from him and after he paid the money they were finally enabled to enter the city. Malakhay was still laughing as they entered through the gate, not minding the weird looks from everybody around him.

    ¡°Shut up you stupid creature! I promise you that you will beg for death after Zuran is done with you today.¡± Larkus shouted at him, trying to shut him up.

    As they went through the streets of Grimthorn Malakhay could notice that they were actually quite clean. He could see that there lived all sorts of creatures here. He even spotted some humans walking the streets. He was slightly surprised as he expected a tenser atmosphere in the place where so many races lived. There were also quite a bit of the undead roaming the streets which were most likely on some errands for their masters. Malakhay knew from Korpus¡¯s knowledge that lower undead like skeletons and phantasms didn¡¯t really have a will of their own and acted only when their master commanded them to do something.

    They slowly went through the city until they finally reached one of the big plazas that was used as the slave market. It contained quite a bit of podiums made out of wood and merchants shouting all over the place as they propagated their wares. The trade was conducted with the auction-like system, where merchants started with the lowest price and buyers were slowly offering more until one of them won. There were all kinds of slaves for sale. Humans, dwarfs, demonata, orcs, trolls, goblins, beast-men, elves, dryads, Malakhay could even swear he saw a fairy and they were the rarest ones of rare. There were children or adult versions of any race, simply said one could find here any slave he needed.

    When Larkus gave his sign they stopped near one of the empty podiums. One of the demonata approached them and started talking to Larkus.

    ¡°Do you want to rent a place?¡± The young demonata woman asked. She was probably staff from the city office and was in charge of renting this area to slave traders so that they can conduct their business.

    ¡°Yea. How much for two weeks?¡± Larkus asked calculating how long they want to stay here.

    She did some quick math before answering: ¡°Fourteen days, 1 demios gold coin for two days so together 7 demios gold. If you don¡¯t have demios gold, you can also pay with other currency but I will need to calculate the exchange value, so I ask of you to tell me which one you will use.¡±

    Demios gold is the name of the gold coins that are used in demonata lands. It was named after the first demon king Demios Cralux, the Blackhearted king and was used ever since the past times. Human countries and the dwarf kingdom used their own currency and even if they also traded in gold, silver and copper coins their value was different from each other. Beast-men used the currencies of other nations as they didn¡¯t have their own one and elves were the same as they preferred to exchange goods of the same value.

    ¡°7 demios gold? Isn¡¯t that a bit pricy? How about lowering it a bit?¡± Larkus tried to haggle, not liking what he heard.

    ¡°This is a price established by the city and it is not negotiable. Either pay or you can be on your way.¡± She coldly shot him down, already used to people who tried to haggle.

    ¡°Tch, here is your gold.¡± Larkus handed over the money.

    After receiving it she wrote down something and handed him the license which allowed him to trade in the plaza.

    After taking this out of the way the slavers decided to find themselves an inn for their stay in the city and left the caravan together with the slaves to the orc guards who were supposed to keep a watch over things at night.

    ¡°Why did you do that stunt at the gates?¡± Ruon¡¯ga asked Malakhay when Larkus left. ¡°He won¡¯t forget about it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I wanted to laugh so I laughed.¡±

    Ruon¡¯ga noticed that Malakhay slightly changed after all the torture he received, especially after the village. It looked like he stopped caring about what will happen to him and he also couldn¡¯t hear him scream anymore when it was his turn to be with Zuran. Sometimes, when Malakhay was tossed back into the cage after torture, he had a weird feeling from him like he didn¡¯t even feel any of the pain anymore. He just ate and went to sleep not minding his injuries. Ruon¡¯ga thought that Malakhay slowly started to go mad and probably wasn¡¯t far from the truth.

    The night in the city was quite noisy. Most of the other merchants went to their inns or brothels to celebrate their success and the only ones left were those on guard duties. Once or twice an hour a guard patrol could be seen around their part of the city, making sure that everything was in order.

    It was when both of them started to think that tonight they will be left out of Zuran¡¯s activities that Larkus showed up.

    ¡°You little shit, you think I forgot about you?¡± He said quite drunk as he started to open their cage. ¡°Take him.¡± He ordered the two orcs who were with him. They did as he said, tied him up, silenced him with some old rags by stuffing them into his mouth and stuffed him into the already prepared sack.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Larkus let him be, the little guy suffered enough.¡± Ruon¡¯ga tried to help his new friend but it was pointless.

    ¡°You shut up, you blue shit! Don¡¯t worry, when I¡¯m done with him I promise you I will think about some great present for you.¡± As he said this he locked the door again and left together with the orcs to where he came from.

    Malakhay couldn¡¯t see anything, only heard as they carried him through the night streets. He tried to puncture the cloth with his sharp nails but one of the orcs noticed him and punched him a few times to stop him. He was carried around half an hour when he heard how somebody knocked on some wood and right after that the creaking of a door opening.

    ¡°I did as you requested, enjoy yourself to the fullest.¡± Malakhay could hear an unknown voice.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Larkus said cheerfully as he probably went inside the building.

    After a few moments he was finally brought outside and had a chance to look around. It looked like some kind of basement or dungeon. The orcs put him on the table in the centre of the room and put his wrists and ankles into shackles.

    ¡°You can go. I will call you when I need you.¡± Larkus dismissed them and stayed alone with him. ¡°You know, from the moment I saw you I didn¡¯t like you. I hoped Zuran would kill you but it seems even he can be inefficient. But I can also be quite generous so if you will beg me really nicely I will leave you only half-dead.¡± As he said this he undid Malakhay¡¯s gag.

    ¡°You are so stupid if you think I will do that.¡± Malakhay said with a firm voice.

    ¡°Oh, you will beg, I will make sure of it. Before we start the fun let me tell you that nobody will hear you scream here except me and those two outside. This house belongs to my good friend and as you can see he has the same hobby as Zuran, so I went and borrowed it from him just for you.¡± As he said this he took a small wooden club from the table before him and hit one of Malakhay¡¯s hands. He waited for his scream but it didn¡¯t come.

    ¡°Is that it? You need to try harder.¡± Malakhay mocked Larkus, sneering at him.

    ¡°You little shit! I will hear you scream!¡± Larkus started to beat him with the club, not really caring where he hit him.

    Malakhay clenched his teeth and refused to scream. After a few moments when Larkus stopped he only laughed at him and mocked him again: ¡°Hahaha, you will need to try harder.¡±

    Then Larkus finally lost it. Quite drunk and pissed off he did everything that he could think of to Malakhay. Cut him with a knife, poured boiling water over him, lashed him, burned his wounds with iron heated in fire, nailed his hands to the table, but Malakhay still didn¡¯t scream. Only when he went as far as sawing off one of his hands at his wrist could Malakhay no longer hold it in.

    Malakhay himself was surprised that he hasn¡¯t died yet. He practically bathed in his blood which was everywhere. He couldn¡¯t even feel his own body anymore. He just lied there like a broken toy and this whole situation became funny to him.

    ¡°Hahahahahahahaha.¡± He laughed like a madman, unable to stop, knowing he will die soon.

    ¡®I¡¯m a demon, why should I fear this petty human? I refuse to be his entertainment.¡¯ He thought still laughing.

    ¡°So you are finally broken.¡± Larkus said, putting the saw back on the table. After that he left the room, probably to tell the orcs who waited for him to get rid of the body.

    As Malakhay laid there and waited for his end he started to hear a weird voice.

    ¡°At lassst wee foouund youuu.¡± The quiet whisper entered his ears.

    Just when he started to wonder if he went mad, thick black mist materialised before his eyes.

    ¡°What are you?¡± He asked with some of the last power that was left in him.

    ¡°Not whhaat, but whoo. Wee are thee sshaadowss. Wee weere suposssed to seerve but thee new king isss weeak soo wee reffussse.¡± The mist whispered again.

    As he heard this he remembered something. A promise made in darkness, where he was born. He didn¡¯t remember to whom, but he knew he promised to become powerful.

    ¡°No, you will obey! I was born from darkness but I will rise from pain.¡± Malakhay said with a strong voice showing his determination and unyielding will and before the mist could vanish he bit at it and swallowed it whole.

    ¡°Wee see thee old maassster wass right. Thee new king will beee born and thee shaadowsss of old shaal bee hisss power. Show usss thee will and wee shhal obbeyy.¡± The whispers slowly vanished.

    As he swallowed the mist it started to change him. He couldn¡¯t feel the pain anymore. It just vanished as if it weren¡¯t even there. He lifted what was left of his hand which was sawed off and the part that was missing grew back. But it wasn¡¯t the hand of an imp anymore. Now it had four fingers instead of three which were armed with sharp talons. Its colour changed to a weird black-grey and he could see the dark mist slowly emanating from it.

    ¡°Thee gift from thee old maasster.¡± The mist whispered again.

    Malakhay only smiled and without any hesitation slashed at his other wrist and both ankles with his new hand, cutting them off in a few quick motions. Without them he was finally able to free himself from the shackles and again the severed hand grew back exactly as the previous one. The same thing happened to his legs but the new ones also looked different. Instead of hoofs, which he had before, he now had fingers. Four of them like on his hands. With three of them facing front-side and one back-side they resembled the legs of birds. The talons which were on his hands were also present on his legs.

    Finally free he started to look for the way out when the door opened and the two orcs which brought him over showed up. All surprised they stared at him as if they weren¡¯t sure about what to do. Waking up from their initial shock they tried to catch him, but he was quicker than them. Noticing the small open window in the upper corner of the room he jumped to it, trying to flee. One of the orcs was able to come close enough and tried to grab him but as he wanted to grip his foot his hand just couldn¡¯t take a hold of it. It was like trying to catch steam. Malakhay¡¯s foot changed to mist for a second and reconstructed right after it slipped out of the orc¡¯s hand.

    Malakhay didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and jumped right at the window, gripping its frame with his new talons and slipping out of it. The orcs were too big for it and only one of their arms was able to get through. But it was too late to do something else. Malakhay being finally outside ran. He had a map that Korpus left him in his memories and from some buildings around was able to conclude where he was and where he must go. As he ran and the adrenaline started to fade he quickly became tired. After all just a few moments ago he was one step away from death and it still left its toll on him. He was able to get to the main street and with big problems finally made it to one of the inner gates of the wall which was the only thing that separated him from the castle.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡± One of the guards noticed him and became alerted.

    ¡°Need¡­ see¡­ the queen.¡± He tried to tell them, panting as he was trying to catch his breath.

    ¡°Yea sure, everybody wants to see the queen, now off with you or we will toss you into prison.¡± The guard warned him, not letting his guard down.

    ¡°No, I need¡­. It¡¯s important. Let me see the queen.¡± He said again and tried to slip by the guards.

    They immediately became alarmed and attacked him. He was so weakened from the previous events that he couldn¡¯t fight back this time and was taken down instantly. The last thing he can remember were the guards that pinned him down and just as they were to bring him away with them the voice of a young woman appeared out of nowhere.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening, who is that?¡±

    That was the last thing he could hear as he passed out from exhaustion.

 Chapter 14: Finders keepers

    <h1>Chapter 14: Finders keepers</h1>

    ¡°Young mistress. Young mistress, wake up.¡± The calm voice of the maid dressed in black uniform could be heard as she tried to wake up her mistress.

    ¡°Just five more minutes Eliin.¡± Came the muted answer from under the blankets.

    ¡°No, can¡¯t do. It¡¯s lunch time already. If you remember, you were the one that instructed me yesterday to wake you up at all cost.¡± Eliin stated, not letting herself be affected by the pleas of her mistress. After being able to finally get the blanket out of the way, a young girl around the age of twenty appeared lying on the king-sized bed.

    Feeling that her shelter was peeled off of her, she met her gaze with Eliin¡¯s. ¡°I swear you could be worse than a bunch of hungry leeches if you really try.¡±

    ¡°Say what you want, I just did as you asked. I was also supposed to remind you that today your master will return. If I¡¯m correct you wanted to go and greet her before she arrives at the castle.¡± As she said this, the young girl before her almost jumped from her bed, all the laziness forgotten, probably remembering something important.

    ¡°I nearly forgot.¡± She said as she started to choose from clothes that Eliin brought with her, standing before a big mirror.

    She is Nexaria Primea of the Pureblood, the first princess and the successor to the demon queen throne. Only twenty years old, she was still considered a child in the eyes of her long-living race, the demons. But even as a child she already possessed a great beauty which could be rivalled probably only by her mother, the current demon queen. Inspecting herself in the mirror, the fiery red eyes filled with cheerfulness and enthusiasm of a young girl stared at her. Matching their colour, her long silky hair, reached down to her waist. Possessing an hourglass figure, many of the maids wondered about how she is able to preserve it, as she liked to just laze around. Her alabaster white skin was without any impurities and if one touched it, it would be as touching the softest silk. Even her horns, which were a symbol of pride for all the demons, looked gracious as they curved alongside her head, looking like some kind of crown.

    Still inspecting herself Nexaria ordered Eliin: ¡°Bring me something easy to move in. Today I don¡¯t want any of those long dresses.¡± She said as she preferred pants over skirt, even if it wasn¡¯t really appropriate for the next queen.

    Eliin, sighing with resignation, brought over black pants, a long-sleeved shirt and tall boots suited for horse-riding.

    ¡°You know the queen won¡¯t be happy if she sees you dressed like this.¡± Eliin warned her as she helped comb her hair.

    After finishing all preparations she went to the dining room with Eliin in tow. Seeing she was alone there she asked: ¡°Where is mother? I wanted to speak to her.¡±

    ¡°The queen is busy with preparations saying, with all due respect, she won¡¯t wait for somebody who sleeps the whole day.¡± Eliin tried to reprimand her, as she brought food before her.

    ¡°And brother?¡± Nexaria asked, slicing one of the fruits on her plate.

    ¡°The young prince is with his sword instructors. He also tasked me earlier to tell you not to bother him.¡±

    ¡°Every one of them is so uptight and important.¡± She rolled her eyes up as she put the fruit into her mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that ruling a country is important.¡±

    ¡°You know how I mean it Eliin. Never mind, the problem is I still need to speak with mother.¡±

    ¡°I went ahead and asked her in your name if you could go and greet your master and she gave you her permission. I also spoke to your other teachers and moved your lessons to another date.¡± Eliin told her, knowing that¡¯s probably what she wanted to ask the queen.

    ¡°I love you so much.¡± Nexaria hugged her. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would do without you.¡±

    ¡°You would laze around and probably make problems for somebody else.¡± Eliin retorted, slightly surprised by the sudden hug, showing a small smile.

    After finishing her late breakfast, Nexaria slowly prepared to leave the castle. She was excited as her master, one of the lich-lords, would be coming back from her travels. Her mother, the queen, after finding out about Korpus¡¯s death ordered all of the remaining lich-lords to return to the capital at once. She remembered when the necromancer, who was supposed to be with Korpus in Celum forest, hastily returned a few days ago, only to inform them about Korpus¡¯s death. She didn¡¯t know what he was supposed to do in the forest, as her mother was very secretive about it, but his death shocked everybody. With him they lost their strongest force which was one of the things that promised them protection from neighbouring countries as every one of them feared Korpus greatly.

    Now the queen wanted to gather the other lich-lords and discuss their plans for the future. They also needed to inaugurate a new lich-lord in place of Korpus. This will be probably the hardest part as the few eligible lichs are struggling for power between each other. They will need to be tested and approved by the lich-lords and the queen and this will surely take a lot of time and consideration. However, the lich-lords themselves cannot stay for too long so that their posts are not left vulnerable to attacks from outside.

    As Nexaria walked through the castle she could see how servants were almost running in the corridors, just to prepare everything on time. After all it wasn¡¯t wise to let her mother wait, she learned this many times in the past and the queen¡¯s lack of patience was almost famous.

    Finally arriving at the stables she grabbed one of the servants there and ordered: ¡°Prepare my carriage and horses, I will be going out.¡±

    ¡°As the young mistress wishes.¡± He said with a bow, hurrying to do what he was told.

    It didn¡¯t take long and she was already sitting inside her carriage with Eliin sitting across from her. It wasn¡¯t normal for the maid to sit together with her mistress but Nexaria wasn¡¯t one to strictly care about etiquette so she allowed it. On the driver seat sat two of her best personal guards, both of them being female demonata. As the princess it was unthinkable for her to have male guards or teachers until she got married.

    The carriage was made from shiny black wood, named grave wood. It comes from trees growing on lands where a lot of undead slumber beneath it. Thanks to that these trees gain special properties and the wood from them turns black and almost as hard as metal. It is quite hard to reproduce so the only one using it is the royal family and some of the wealthiest nobles.

    The interior was also quite luxurious with comfortable silky seats and quite a lot of space. In one corner there was even a small ice box; a metal box with ice magic runes on its sides and a small magic core to provide mana, holding drinks for the sake of refreshment. Right beside the ice runes were fire runes, so if one wanted he only needed to redirect the mana flow from the magic core and the box would become heated.

    The carriage was pulled by two black demonata horses, also known as nightmares. In appearance they were quite similar to the normal horses that humans use, with slight differences here and there. They are bigger, quicker and also have more stamina in comparison to a normal horse. Also they are carnivores and can be dangerous predators when living freely in the wilds. Their best weapons are their sharp teeth, the bull-like horns on their head and their quite high intelligence in comparison with other monsters. They could also use some dark magic which enabled them to conceal themselves in the night.

    Slowly making their way through Grimthorn, Nexaria observed the calm streets of the city.

    ¡°It¡¯s weird how other nations like humans, elves and beast-men hate us when I can see them here in our city living side by side with other demonata without any conflict.¡± She expressed her feeling aloud. She had pondered about this a lot of times now, always wondering why the kings and queens must try to kill each other while their subjects live side by side.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Eliin only sighed heavily knowing they had already discussed this countless times.

    ¡°This is why her majesty the queen calls you a na?ve child.¡± She said observing her.

    Making idle chit-chat and buying some things that piqued her interest as they made their way to the west gate of the outer walls the night slowly approached. They went through the gates without any problems, the guards seeing the carriage belonged to the royal family only saluted to them as they cleared the way. Eliin tried to convince the young princess to stay inside the city and await the return of her master there, but Nexaria refused saying going to the plains won¡¯t be any more dangerous than inside the city walls.

    As they moved away from the walls they could finally hear the sound they were searching for. It was a rattling. A rhythmic rattling of uncountable bones as they moved through the plains. Soon after hearing the rattling sound they left the carriage and spotted a huge army of undead. Skeletons, phantasms, wights, death knights on skeletal horses and other undead creatures marched forward to Grimthorn. Looking at this spectacle Nexaria wondered again how somebody could kill Korpus if he could command even more with a single thought.

    Amid their ranks, not far from the frontlines, she spotted a large skeletal dragon with a comfortable chair attached to its back. On it sat one of the lich-lords and her master, Deq¡¯ria, the Dragon lord. If she wanted Deq¡¯ria could summon armies of undead like the other lich-lords, but that wasn¡¯t her speciality. As her title of Dragon lord suggested, she liked to travel around the countries, trying to find the places where dragons died and bring them back to life as her servants. Nobody knew the exact numbers that were already bound to her service, but she once gave a hint to Nexaria which suggested that there were tens of them.

    Spotting her only student, Deq¡¯ria commanded the army to halt as she dismounted the dragon.

    ¡°Bu etarli bo''ladi! Qaytish va mening keyingi chaqirishni kutmoqda! (That will be enough! Return and await my next summons!)¡± She commanded and with a simple wave of her hand the undead army around her was swallowed by the ground as if it never existed in the first place.

    ¡°Master I¡¯m so glad to see you back.¡± Nexaria welcomed her in a good mood, not minding what just happened before her. She was raised in the company of lich-lords so their powerful summoning and magic was a normal occurrence to her.

    Deq¡¯ria walked towards her student, slowly revealing her face under the red cape. Similar as with Korpus, only a skeletal face showed up. If one wanted to find some differences between them, Deq¡¯ria had more delicate looking bones suggesting she was a woman before changing into a lich. Also on her skeletal forehead there were two pairs of small horns revealing that previously she was a demonata. Wearing a silky red mage robe, decorated with gold strips, a noble aura radiated from her. Unlike Korpus she wasn¡¯t holding a staff but a yellow dragon eye, slightly bigger than a human fist, hovered near her hand.

    ¡°My cute little Nexaria, I¡¯m also glad to see you.¡±Deq¡¯ria said, kindly patting Nexaria¡¯s head.

    ¡°Master, when will you stop calling me cute? The future queen shouldn¡¯t be called cute by her vassals.¡± Nexaria pouted.

    ¡°Hahaha, when you will start to behave as a future queen should, I will start to think about it.¡± Her master humoured her in a good mood.

    ¡°These humble servants greet you Deq¡¯ria.¡± Eliin together with the two guards bowed before the lich-lord showing their respect.

    ¡°Eliin. How have you been? It must be tiresome to take care of Nexaria all the time.¡±

    ¡°I do what I can.¡±

    ¡°You two stop talking about me as if I¡¯m not present.¡± Nexaria pouted.

    ¡°Hahaha you see, you are cute when you are angry, but enough of pleasantries. Is it really true that Korpus was killed?¡± She asked, now boarding the carriage with the others.

    ¡°That¡¯s what the necromancer who was with Korpus told us when he returned, but I don¡¯t know any details. Mother kicked out everybody from the throne room except him and marquis Zeidan, so we didn¡¯t hear anything else.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s hard to believe for that old fox to die in some elven garden. I could understand if a whole army were to be involved but I highly doubt that possibility. There must be something else to this story. I will need to talk to your mother.¡±

    ¡°She is already expecting you, together with the other lich-lords which should arrive this week.¡±

    As they made their way through the night streets of Grimthorn, they heard a commotion before them near one of the inner gates, leading to the castle.

    Curious as to why they stopped Nexaria¡¯s head looked out of the window asking her guards: ¡°What happened? Why did we stop?¡±

    ¡°There seems to be trouble at the gate. It seems like the guards are apprehending somebody.¡±

    Curiosity being one of her features she got off the carriage and approached the gate. There, four guards were holding somebody down.

    ¡°What happened?¡± She asked, trying to act like a proper princess.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for delaying you young mistress. We will be finished here in a second.¡± A guard saluted to her, recognising the princess.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯ve asked you. I wanted to know what happened!¡± She now ordered him.

    ¡°Yes young mistress, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He started to sweat imagining he enraged one from the royal family. ¡°This creature tried to get inside and when we wanted to send him away he tried to fight his way in.¡± He explained quickly, looking as his colleagues subdued the creature and prepared to take it to the prison.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t he mention why he wanted to go in?¡± Nexaria asked, still curious about the weirdness of this situation. Everybody knew that getting inside the inner walls without invitation from the queen or high nobility spelled prison or maybe even death.

    ¡°He said he must speak with her majesty the queen.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid. Nobody just tries to waltz in and declares that he needs to speak to the queen.¡±

    As she thought about the absurdity of the situation, her master probably thinking that it takes a lot of time and came to look as well.

    ¡°So this little one wanted to speak with the queen you say?¡± Deq¡¯ria asked as if she didn¡¯t hear what was said before.

    The guards seeing who she was lost all colour, because everybody knew that angering lich-lords spelled death.

    ¡°Y-yes, m-my lord.¡± The one previously speaking with Nexaria confirmed.

    ¡°Bring him closer to me!¡± She ordered not minding the nervousness of the guards. Finally seeing the creature up close she extended her long bony finger and touched the creature¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Hmm, I see. Interesting. Really interesting.¡±Deq¡¯ria said not letting the creature out of her sight. Still touching its chest she chanted in a whispery voice: ¡°Yuxu. (Sleep.)¡± When finished, she called for Eliin.

    As Eliin came closer, as the lich-lord asked, she looked at her with question in her eyes.

    ¡°Bring him to the carriage.¡± Deq¡¯ria ordered again with a firm voice.

    Not having any choice in this Eliin did as she was ordered. She took the creature from the guards and soon vanished with it inside their carriage.

    ¡°You will not speak to anybody about what happened here! Be it your commander, nobles or other lich-lords, do you understand?¡± Deq¡¯ria warned the guards before her, her shining eyes promising unimaginable fate if they did otherwise. ¡°As far as you are concerned nothing happened tonight. There were no problems on your watch.¡± She voiced her order again and not waiting for their response she slowly went back to the carriage.

    ¡°Come Nexaria, we must hurry.¡± Were the last words they could hear from her. Nexaria, knowing when her master is serious, went after her without any questions.

    Finally moving, the royal carriage vanished in the dark night behind the inner gate.

    ¡°What do you think that was about?¡± One of the guards finally found the courage to ask.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know and I don¡¯t want to know. You heard the lich-lord. Tonight nothing happened here.¡± Was his solemn answer.

    Sitting back inside, Nexaria curiously studied the creature they took from the guards.

    ¡°Master, do you know him?¡± She asked, not knowing what to think.

    ¡°Yes and no.¡± Was the mysterious answer she was given.

    ¡°What is that creature?¡± The curiosity getting the better of her forced her to ask again.

    ¡°Do you want to tell me that you can¡¯t recognize an imp when you see one?¡± Deq¡¯ria voiced really surprised.

    ¡°That¡¯s an imp? I read about them and have seen some pictures but this one doesn¡¯t look like one. I mean there is some resemblance, but shouldn¡¯t they have wings and hoofs, also the hands are different. They shouldn¡¯t be summoned anymore in this age. If I¡¯m correct they are too weak to be really useful for something. I know many who called them useless creatures.¡±

    ¡°You should watch your tongue before calling him useless. He may be only an imp, but he is still a true demon. Their power wasn¡¯t in combat ability but in their potential to evolve. While it is true that there was only a small chance for this to happen, once it happened they could be one of the strongest demons that walked the earth. If I¡¯m not mistaken even your great ancestor evolved from an imp.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡± Nexaria was left surprised.

    ¡°Well nobody today talks about it and as you said imps aren¡¯t summoned anymore. As for his appearance, this one was tortured. Look here,¡± she pointed at where his wings and tail should have been. ¡°It¡¯s clear he had them and from the sight of how his wounds mended it looks like they were cut off. As for his hands and feet, I think he already went through an evolution phase. His height also doesn¡¯t match the height of a baby imp. The same goes for the colour of his skin.¡±

    ¡°So, why did you help him master?¡± Nexaria wanted to know.

    ¡°I want to confirm something, but first I will need to speak with the queen. This reminds me of another matter. I want to ask you for a favour.¡±

    Hearing her Nexaria almost instantly agreed. ¡°I¡¯m indebted to you for your teaching so I will do whatever I can.¡±

    ¡°When we arrive I want you to take this imp and hide him in your room. Tell nobody about him until I call for him.¡±

    ¡°I must protest.¡± Eliin said, not showing any fear from speaking against the lich-lord. ¡°The princess can¡¯t hide questionable males in her room. There would be a lot of problems if somebody found out.¡±

    ¡°It will be fine Eliin.¡± Nexaria tried to persuade her.

    ¡°No young mistress, it won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I promise you it will be only for a day, at most.¡± Deq¡¯ria said with a calm voice.

    ¡°What if he wakes up? What if he is actually dangerous? We don¡¯t know anything about him and you want to leave him in the room of the princess? That¡¯s madness.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he surely is dangerous. I can feel it from him. Still, I must insist on this. But you don¡¯t need to worry about him waking up, I made sure of that. He will sleep until I tell otherwise.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Eliin wanted to continue arguing as they stopped in front of the castle.

    ¡°You know I can order you to do it.¡± Deq¡¯ria reminded her with whom she spoke. ¡°Do it for me as a favour and one day I will pay it back.¡±

    ¡°Haaa, do as you wish.¡± Eliin sighed, knowing she won¡¯t win this argument.

    ¡°Thank you. Now I need to excuse myself.¡± After saying this Deq¡¯ria quickly left, as if somebody was chasing her.

    The only ones left in the carriage were Nexaria with Eliin, both looking at the imp.

    ¡°So? How will we smuggle him inside?¡± Nexaria wanted to know, showing a big mischievous smile.

    Eliin only grabbed her head as she muttered: ¡°I think I will have a headache.¡±

 Announcement

    Hello to everybody,

    first of all I really want to thank you for reading my story, it means a lot to me.

    This way I want to inform and appologize to you, because there will be a small hiatus for the next 2 or 3 weeks. Yeasterday at work I was told by my boss that I will be going on a business trip. I''m guessing this shouldn''t take longer than 3 weeks. I hope that you can understand my circumstances and that you will wait patiently for the next chapter. I love this story so I will be returning to it right after I get back.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    Thank you,

    Coroner

 Chapter 15: Hide and seek

    <h1>Chapter 15: Hide and seek</h1>

    As Malakhay slowly woke up, he touched his head as it still hurt him after those soldiers tried to stop him. For a few seconds he feared that they put him in prison, but as he looked around it didn¡¯t seem that way. After quick observations he realized that he was lying under something. As he slowly crawled from under it he recognized it was a king sized bed. As he started to look around himself, he could see a luxuriously arranged room.

    The wooden furniture with a lot of decorative ornaments must have been expensive, same as the thick carpet he was now standing on. He couldn¡¯t find anybody else around and as he cautiously looked out of the window he could see it was sunny outside.

    ¡°How many days was I asleep?¡± He thought, still nervously looking around, trying to remember how he got here.

    ¡°Where the hell am I?¡±

    As he pondered about these things, he noticed a human sized mirror in the corner of the room. When he looked into it he was left surprised at what he found. His body had clearly changed. He vaguely remembered what happened to him after he spoke with that weird mist which approached him while he was tortured. He grew up, no longer looking like a child. Now he had a size similar to a human around 15 years old. Of course his appearance was still far from human kind.

    His previously big head was more proportional to the rest of his body and even if it was still bald, it didn¡¯t look so creepy anymore. His eyes stayed yellow coloured but also seemed not so round and slowly started to resemble the sharp look that elves often have. Another very noticeable change underwent his horns, which were previously still undeveloped and covered by skin. Growing from his forehead and curving upwards they looked more mature than before. Also instead of the gaping holes, which he had as a nose before, a real nose formed on his face.

    But the biggest change underwent on his hands and feet. They all had four fingers now, armed with sharp talons and had a different colour from the rest of his body, which was still dark red. In the parts where they grew from the colour slowly started to change from the dark red to some strange sinister grey. After looking at it for some time he remembered how one of the orcs tried to grab him but wasn¡¯t able to because his foot changed into mist. Wondering if it was true or his tired mind just played some tricks on him, he tried to touch the bed beside him but nothing strange happened. He just touched it like anybody else would. He repeated it few times but the result was still the same.

    After this quick inspection of his body he again started to wonder where he was. The last thing he remembers is collapsing with soldiers all around him.

    ¡°Something must have happened after that.¡± He came to a conclusion only now noticing that he is also wearing a new set of clothes. It wasn¡¯t anything special, only a robe resembling his previous one, but it was still nice to wear something clean again. Truthfully speaking, everything was better than those rags he had previously.

    Still looking around, trying to find some clues to this place, he heard footsteps coming closer from the other side of the door. He slowly opened them, not making any noise, as he tried to listen to what is happening. Through a small gap he could spot two young looking demonata girls walking side by side down the long hallway. Both of them were wearing some kind of uniform clothing as they walked with hands full of what seemed to be laundry.

    ¡°Have you heard about it? They are saying the lich-lords are already in the castle.¡± One of the demonata girls couldn¡¯t hold her excitement as she said this, her voice full of amazement.

    ¡°Everybody knows about it. There is supposed to be some kind of big conference. I even heard that the queen herself and the other lords will be present.¡± The other one responded, also excited about so many powerful creatures in one place.

    ¡°Do you think we will be able to see them? I really want to look at the young prince at least once. I¡¯ve been working here as a maid for 2 years and I still didn¡¯t have a chance.¡±

    ¡°The prince is nice too, but I want to see the lich-lords more.¡±

    ¡°They are just piles of bones, what is so interesting about them?¡±

    ¡°They are the most powerful beings after the queen.¡±

    As the maids moved away their voices started to fade with the distance. Malakhay didn¡¯t wait, he slipped out of the room he was in and silently started to follow them. But when he caught up with them they were already talking about something else.

    ¡°¡­ like if she is hiding something.¡±

    ¡°Maybe she has a lover.¡±

    ¡°That lazy princess? I don¡¯t think so. There were a lot of prominent candidates and she refused all of them. I heard the queen is starting to lose patience with her.¡±

    As he listened, the maids started to talk about some other unimportant rumours. At this point Malakhay let them walk away, not interested in their useless chatter.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but it looks like I¡¯m in the castle. I don¡¯t know who brought me here, but I must find the queen before they notice my disappearance.¡± With these thoughts he vanished in the shadows without any traces left behind.

    ***

    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that it could be dangerous. We don¡¯t know anything about him. Even lord Deq¡¯ria¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop being such a worrywart Eliin. Master reassured us that it will be OK, so it will be OK. Or are you saying you can¡¯t trust the words of a lich-lord?¡± Nexaria asked Eliin, stopping in her tracks and taking a look at her.

    ¡°You know very well that this isn¡¯t about trust. I¡¯m responsible for your safety and if something happens to you¡­¡±

    ¡°As I said everything will be OK.¡± Nexaria now smiled as she tried to calm down her guardian. ¡°As a matter of fact, I would be quite surprised if that imp were able to beat you.¡±

    ¡°You put too much faith in my abilities young mistress.¡±

    A lot of people viewed Eliin only as a personal maid of the princess but the truth was she was also her personal guard. There were very few people who were as skilled in combat as her and it was one of her duties to protect the princess.

    ¡°I still think that we should have used some other place to hide him. Your room isn¡¯t really the smartest pick.¡±

    ¡°Why not? Nobody dares to go there as they please. You are the one in charge of cleaning it so there is no chance that he will be randomly discovered until master wishes for it.¡± She said as they approached her quarters.

    Truthfully speaking Eliin knew Nexaria was right. Even she couldn¡¯t come up with a better place to hide the imp.

    As they finally reached Nexaria¡¯s personal room, they went inside and closed the door behind them. Eliin put down a sack she was carrying and started to take out some clothes from it. Yesterday, before she finally agreed to hide the imp in the princess¡¯s room, she cleaned the imp¡¯s body first, as it was filthy from dried dirt and blood. It looked like the little creature had just returned from some kind of slaughterhouse. After cleaning him, she found a clean robe and dressed him. After that they hid him under the bed.

    Today at morning, after Nexaria woke up, they checked him and he was still asleep, probably because of the spell Deq¡¯ria put on him. Nexaria thought that a single robe isn¡¯t good enough so after persuading Eliin, they went and obtained some clothes for him, thinking if Deq¡¯ria will want to present him before the queen he shouldn¡¯t look like some peasant.

    Just as Nexaria looked under the bed she suddenly froze up.

    ¡°Not there.¡±

    ¡°What are you murmuring young mistress?¡± Eliin asked as she didn¡¯t hear her right.

    ¡°He is not there!¡± Nexaria shouted, panic showing in her voice.

    ¡°I warned you to stop playing these pranks on me.¡± Eliin told her as she approached the bed. Looking under it, the imp was nowhere to be found.

    Staring dumbfounded at each other for a few seconds, Eliin shot out like an arrow from a bow and started searching the room. All windows were closed and there was nobody behind or inside the wardrobes.

    ¡°He isn¡¯t here and we left the doors unlocked when we left. He must have gone outside. We were away for only two hours and there wasn¡¯t any warning of an intruder, so he must still be somewhere inside the castle.¡± Eliin concluded and prepared to leave the room.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Nexaria asked, still shocked by the situation.

    ¡°To find him of course. We can¡¯t leave him roaming freely. If somebody finds out my head will probably roll.¡±

    ¡°But how do you plan to find him? The castle is huge and he could go anywhere.¡± The princess wanted to know.

    ¡°Yesterday, just as insurance, I left my mana mark on his clothes. So it shouldn¡¯t be that hard to find him.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Did I already tell you, how much I love you?¡± Nexaria hugged her, relieved they will be able to locate him.

    ¡°Every single day when I¡¯m getting you out of trouble. Come, he can still be discovered anytime.¡± As she said this, she started to concentrate. It took only a few seconds before she recognized the traces of her mana in the air and started to follow it with Nexaria in her tow.

    ***

    ¡°So I can¡¯t go, I will be on duty.¡±

    Malakhay was hiding in the shadows as he was listening to the two guards talking to each other. He already stopped to count how many people he met and how many times he was almost discovered. The castle was huge and without the map in his head that the master left to him he would surely be lost by now. The endless corridors were stretching in each direction, each of them with doors leading to an uncountable number of rooms. Even from the knowledge that master Korpus left with him he couldn¡¯t tell where each room lead to. Guest rooms, servant rooms, storage rooms and many others, it seemed like it was endless.

    It frustrated him but in the end he was still unsuccessful in locating the queen. At first he tried to get into her personal chambers, but after approaching them he deemed it to be impossible to get there without being spotted. They were heavily guarded and not by some ordinarily looking soldiers that were scattered everywhere in the castle. These soldiers were clothed in different uniforms and every one of them had a dangerous aura around them. He concluded that they must be some kind of royal guard.

    After this initial plan to find the queen failed, he started to roam the castle and listen to what servants and guards chatted about. He thought that sooner or later he will find somebody who will lead him to his destination. After doing this for almost two hours he was starting to lose hope. He learned about some kind of conference that should take place in a few days and about lich-lords returning to the castle, everything else was useless chatter. Maids dreamt about the young demon prince, soldiers talked about powerful lich-lords. Occasionally somebody mentioned the demon princess and how lazy and childish she was.

    ¡°C¡¯mon at least somebody in this cursed piece of stone must be interested in their queen.¡± He muttered as he was hiding behind one of the many statues. He scratched his itching neck as he was trying to find somebody who could lead him to his target. That was another thing that unnerved him. Some minutes ago his neck started to itch and it wasn¡¯t going away. Scratching it didn¡¯t help him and he was becoming more nervous because he could feel that something wasn¡¯t right.

    Then finally some luck smiled at him as he spotted a death knight. Everybody else was a living being and there weren¡¯t any other undead that served in the castle. Meaning that death knight must serve one of the lich-lords that came back. He learned that the queen is currently with them to discuss what will happen after Korpus¡¯s death. So where the death knight goes, there is a lich-lord and where is a lich-lord there will also be the queen.

    ¡°Got you.¡± He muttered as he started to follow him, still scratching his neck.

    As he was tracking it he noticed that they came to the lower parts of the castle. This was weird because he knew that there are only the catacombs in these parts. There shouldn¡¯t be any reason for the queen to come down here.

    ¡°Did I make a mistake in following it?¡± Just as he started to think this and planned to return he could hear a voice.

    ¡°You are one of lord Deq¡¯ria¡¯s servants right? You can go inside.¡±

    Malakhay carefully peeked from behind the corner and he spotted two soldiers in the uniforms of the royal guard standing before a door.

    ¡°That must be the place where the queen is.¡± He was now certain.

    The death knight opened the door and went inside, closing them behind him.

    ¡°Now, how to get inside?¡± As he pondered about this, still scratching his neck, something was caught on one of his sharp talons. When he looked closer, it looked like a piece of a cloth with the same colour as his new robe. The second it came off the itch on his neck stopped and the place on his hand where the cloth was now started to feel uncomfortable. His eyes went wide as he realized something.

    ¡°They must be tracking me with this.¡± He thought and when he tried to concentrate on the cloth he could feel a small portion of mana emanating from it. Holding it in his hand, he looked at the guards before the door and a sinister smile appeared on his face.

    ***

    Nexaria together with Eliin ran from one side of the castle to another a few times now. The tracking which Eliin previously used on the imp¡¯s clothes was still there and even now she could faintly feel how it moved. In other circumstances they would have thought that the imp is making fun of them by running in circles but that wasn¡¯t possible as there was no way that he knew the layout of the castle.

    They were becoming really nervous because with each passing second there was a great risk of the imp being discovered, especially now when the whole castle was in the middle of preparations for the upcoming conference.

    One time they even came dangerously close to the queen¡¯s quarters.

    ¡°Can I help you somehow princess?¡± One of the royal guards asked her when he saw her approach him.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just looking for mother as I will need to speak to her later.¡± She quickly answered, nervously looking around.

    ¡°She should be with the lich-lords at this time. That¡¯s what she mentioned before she left her chambers.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, when you see her later, please tell her that I need to speak to her.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡± He bowed.

    As they left she quietly muttered: ¡°Great, now I need to come up with a reason why I wanted to speak to her.¡±

    Right after that the track guided them to the servant quarters.

    ¡°Does the princess need something from us?¡± One of the many maids asked when she saw her there.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just taking a little stroll to clear my head, don¡¯t bother with me.¡± She answered going from one end of the hallway to another, clearly looking like she is searching for something.

    ¡°The track goes to the catacombs. I¡¯m sure of it.¡± Eliin commented after a few minutes.

    ¡°Why would he go there?¡± Nexaria pondered and the answer for her question came almost instantly.

    ¡°Mother must be there. That guard said that she went to meet with the lich-lords and they often meet in the catacombs when they don¡¯t wish to be bothered. He must be searching for mother. Even at the gate where he was caught the guards said he wanted to speak to the queen.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s another reason to quickly find him. Deq¡¯ria previously said that he is dangerous. What if he is planning something?¡± Eliin hastened her steps as they neared the catacombs.

    The catacombs were the oldest part of the castle that wasn¡¯t used anymore. Previously it was used as the last shelter in the case of emergencies, but in this age there were a lot of secret passages that were used instead of it should the need arise. The only ones still occasionally using it were the lich-lords for their experiments. Because of that this place became unofficially theirs and servants were told that they shouldn¡¯t wander there if they really mustn¡¯t. And so without anybody taking care of it, it became deserted, dark and quite dusty.

    ¡°We are getting closer.¡± Eliin warned as she tried to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to frighten the imp. The last thing they needed right now was him running from them into the arms of the queen.

    They stopped as Eliin signalled to Nexaria that she can feel him just behind one of the statues in the corridor before them. She also spotted two royal guards who were just around the corner, probably guarding the doors where the queen with the lich-lords was.

    Both of them agreed on a simple plan. They will jump at him from behind, grab him and drag him away as fast as they could. Even if the guards notice them Nexaria could just come out and tell them that she heard her mother is here and she came to speak to her.

    Prepared to catch the imp Eliin jumped behind the statue where he was supposed to be and tried to grab him. Her hands hit something hard and as she bumped into it, it collapsed. Looking closely, it were stones stacked on each other, which can be found anywhere around the catacombs. As these stones collapsed, the noise they made was heard by the guards and they became alerted.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡± They demanded an answer, their weapons ready.

    Without any answer they slowly approached the corner from where the noise came. Just as they jumped out ready to attack, they found Nexaria sitting on the ground, while Eliin was helping her to stand up.

    ¡°Princess? What are you doing here? Are you okay?¡± They looked at her, not knowing what to think.

    ¡°I heard my mother should be here and I needed to speak to her. So I came but this cursed place is so dirty that I stepped on some loose stone and fell.¡± Just as they helped her to stand up and she started to dust off her clothes, she spotted the shadow of the imp opening the door they were guarding and quickly going inside.

    ¡°NO! Stop him!¡± Eliin saw him too as she shouted, but it was already too late.

    ***

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it went that well.¡± Malakhay thought as he approached the now unguarded door. He prepared a simple trap to lure the guards away and keep his pursuers occupied at the same time. Then he went around until he didn¡¯t reach the other side of the corridor where the doors were situated. The only thing he needed to do was to wait for his opportunity.

    He thought that he would be able to lure away one of the guards and wrestle through the other, but he got lucky and both of them left. As he approached the door he could hear the voice of some young girl, but he didn¡¯t have time to pay closer attention to it. He grabbed the handle, opened the doors and quickly went inside.

    The first thing he noticed was the four skeletons clothed in magnificent robes sitting on similar chairs. They must be the other lich-lords that master previously mentioned. Together with them sitting on the fifth chair was a young looking woman.

    ¡°That must be the queen.¡± He thought, still looking around. They were listening to somebody talking.

    ¡°¡­was probably who betrayed us.¡±

    As he heard the familiar voice he looked at the person who was speaking and he immediately recognized Malthazar, the necromancer who was there and who attacked together with the elves.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him! Master Korpus left a message for the queen! He said: Malthazar is a traitor and a Realm Walker!¡± Just as Malakhay shouted this, everybody¡¯s eyes turned at him. Most of them were surprised when they saw him there, staring at him.

    ¡°Wha..?¡± Malthazar looked around, confused, not knowing who shouted. Nobody was supposed to know about his betrayal, let alone about him being a Realm Walker. As he looked at the strange creature in front of him, he suddenly recognized a close resemblance to the imp that Korpus had summoned.

    ¡°You little worm! It is as I said; you betrayed us, led the elves to our camp and during the fight backstabbed lord Korpus!¡± Malthazar shouted back at him as he tried to attack him.

    Just when Malakhay also prepared to jump at Malthazar the door behind him opened and the royal guards appeared. Seeing the imp, who wasn¡¯t supposed to be there, they jumped at him. Surprised at the force that pinned him down, he started to struggle beneath the guards. Slashing at the one who was holding him, his talons found their way to the guard¡¯s shoulder and he cut him. Not being able to hold him anymore with his injury, the guard tried to use his body and restrain him but Malakhay was quicker. He was able to get out from beneath the guard¡¯s body and just as the other one tried to restrain him again he used his newly grown horns and stabbed the man in the stomach with them.

    Finally free he turned around back to Malthazar. At the second he had the necromancer in his sight again something crashed into him from behind. Eliin, seeing that Malakhay defeated the guards, jumped at him the moment he turned around. This time she was successful in bringing him down and restrained both of his hands as she pinned him down with her knee. He was still trying to struggle but it was useless as she was holding him tightly.

    Seeing the imp is restrained Malthazar came closer and started to chant. But before he was able to finish the spell Deq¡¯ria stood up before him and grabbed him by the neck.

    ¡°What do you think you are doing Malthazar? To use magic in our presence and the presence of the queen when you weren¡¯t given the permission?! Do you want me to kill you?¡± She asked, her eyes shining and promising death.

    ¡°But my lord, he is dangerous and must be disposed of.¡± He tried to explain himself.

    ¡°If he plotted with the elves and killed Korpus as you said, then we need to question him. Or are you trying to imply that four lich-lords wouldn¡¯t be able to hold down a single imp?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I apologise for my previous actions.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± She nodded and released him. ¡°It is good that you are so vigilant, but know your place.¡± She warned him again.

    When she was finished with Malthazar she looked at the queen: ¡°What are your commands?¡± She wanted to know.

    The queen slowly studied Malakhay who was still pinned to the ground and spoke only after a few seconds.

    ¡°It is as you said Deq¡¯ria. I want to question this imp about what happened to Korpus. He is clearly suspicious as he shouldn¡¯t even be in the castle. He also injured two of my royal guards and tried to attack one of my necromancers so for the time being lock him up in the dungeon. If it is true that he caused Korpus¡¯s death he will beg to be killed.¡±

    ¡°You must be fucking kidding me!¡± Malakhay shouted as he heard her. ¡°I was almost killed by elves, then by slavers and then by that piece of shit necromancer and you want to throw ME in the dungeon? Are you crazy you bitch?¡± Just as he finished, everybody looked dumbfounded as he called the queen bitch.

    ¡°You will not speak like that to your queen or else I will have you killed.¡± The queen warned him with a serious tone.

    ¡°You know what; I don¡¯t give a shit anymore. Fuck you.¡± He said looking straight to her eyes. ¡°Yea, fuck you, and you, and you and also you!¡± He looked at every one of them. ¡°C¡¯mon bitch, kill me. What are you waiting for?¡± Suddenly a blue hue appeared in his eyes not unlike those in the lich-lord¡¯s eye sockets. ¡°I can promise you, that you will regret it.¡± He said calmly as he smiled at her.

    Just as he finished his talk, Deq¡¯ria spoke: ¡°Please allow me, my queen.¡± And with a quick nod from the queen she summoned two of her death knights. They grabbed Malakhay and started to drag him away in the direction of the dungeon.

 Chapter 16: The eternal smile

    <h1>Chapter 16: The eternal smile</h1>

    She calmly looked at how the imp was taken away to prison by the death knights. That was the first time in her life that somebody insulted her so gravely.

    She is Nyxea Primea of the Pureblood, the current queen and ruler over demonata lands and many monsters that reside in her country. Her whole being radiates great power and authority, which even the lich-lords don¡¯t dare to challenge. With an hourglass figure, her features are similar to her daughter¡¯s, but with a more mature beauty. Although a few hundred years old her beauty is unchanging with fairy-like soft and silky skin, fire-red hair resembling a raging inferno and two pairs of horns which indicate that she is indeed nobility. Only her eyes are different, with a violet colour, promising great punishment to anybody who dares to toy with her. Dressed in a dark-blue one-piece dress which daringly reveals a large part of her chest and the alluring thigh of her right leg, she sighs at the current situation.

    ¡°For now this meeting is cancelled. I will need to hear what that imp knows before we continue. But before that, there are still some urgent preparations for the conference which I must oversee. I suggest that we continue this discussion in two days.¡± She commanded as she started to prepare to leave the room.

    ¡°My queen, that imp is treacherous and cunning. I recommend executing him before he finds some way out of the prison.¡± Malthazar tried to persuade her, while he still had a chance.

    ¡°You think that he will be able to escape?¡± Deq¡¯ria asked, irritated by the fact that he dares to speak against the queen¡¯s order.

    ¡°With all due respect, my lord, he was able to get here without anybody noticing him.¡±

    Before anybody else tried to make another long discussion from this matter, the queen promptly resolved it: ¡°There is wisdom in your words Malthazar and it wouldn¡¯t do us any bad if we are careful as you suggest.¡± The queen closed her eyes as she thought about what was said. ¡°Deq¡¯ria, you will go and use the Sleep of the forsaken spell on the imp. With that he won¡¯t wake up until we wish for it.¡±

    ¡°As you command, my queen.¡±Deq¡¯ria left the room to fulfil her commands right away.

    ¡°Thank you, my queen, with this I can stay calm as he won¡¯t be able to run away from the punishment which he rightfully deserves.¡± Malthazar bowed and when nobody could see his face, he smiled at his good fortune.

    ¡°But mother, he was able¡­¡± Nexaria tried to say something, but was instantly interrupted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear a single word from you Nexaria!¡± The queen raised her voice, looking at her daughter as if she noticed her presence just now. ¡°I¡¯m becoming tired of your laziness and random disturbances of my meetings like you did today. It is time that you finally start to behave like the princess who is supposed to inherit the throne. Why don¡¯t you focus on choosing your future husband instead of these stunts you do?¡±

    ¡°But mother, you must know¡­¡±

    ¡°SILENCE! I spoke my words. Now leave!¡±

    ¡°My queen, there is something you must know.¡± Eliin tried to help Nexaria, but was also unsuccessful.

    ¡°Eliin, I thought you would do a better job when I entrusted you with Nexaria. Perhaps you will do better on some other post and I should choose somebody stricter to oversee her, but as I said previously, right now I don¡¯t have time for this. We will speak later.¡± With a wave of her hand the queen sent them away.

    As Nexaria and Eliin were made to leave, they slowly returned to Nexaria¡¯s room. As they walked they didn¡¯t utter a single word as both of them felt ashamed at how the situation got out of the hand. Entering her room, it was Nexaria who voiced her thoughts first.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe she just threw us out like that. Usually she at least hears me out before sending me away.¡± Nexaria started to get angry, not noticing how much she resembled her mother at that time. ¡°She even went as far as humiliating me before the lich-lords and that necromancer. I¡¯m only glad that master herself wasn¡¯t present anymore to see it.¡±

    As she raged, Eliin thought to herself: ¡°There is no way that lord Deq¡¯ria didn¡¯t tell the queen about that imp beforehand. Something is wrong here?¡±

    ***

    Malthazar was quietly moving through the castle as he didn¡¯t want anybody to notice him. It wasn¡¯t so hard, because being a Realm Walker who specialized mostly in necromancy and a little bit of dark magic enabled him to use some concealing spells. This was enough to erase his existence from almost every NPC that could have been around, as long as he was able to stay in the shadows. The only things that could pose a problem were the lich-lords and the queen herself as they were too high-levelled characters for his concealing magic to work on them.

    After killing Korpus by backstabbing him, he thought that his quest will be done and he can finally go and collect his reward, but the quest didn¡¯t end. It just revealed the next part of itself to him, which required him to go and learn who the new lich-lord will become instead of Korpus. Also, a new side quest appeared which said that he should feed the queen with false information about the whole attack. In simple terms the whole thing became a chain-quest. He didn¡¯t do them a lot previously, because they tended to be needlessly long and even a single mistake could spell failure, even if the quest was almost finished. Of course the rewards for them tended to be higher than for normal ones, but so was the difficulty. So the only time he willingly received them in the past was when he wanted to progress with his class as a necromancer.

    Another problem with this particular one was the fact that if he fails he will be probably banned from the demonata country by the queen and a bounty will be placed on his head. He heard that it already happened to some of the players in his guild and it wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience. It was fine as long as they stayed in an allied country, where their guild resided, but when they tried to go to some neutral territory they were almost immediately hunted by NPC bounty hunters or other players who also earned money this way.

    Sure, one could say that even if he is killed he will just respawn in 7 days in real-time but the experience points and items he lost while being killed can¡¯t be retrieved like in other casual games. He will need to earn them again. Also, these bounties could take a lot of time to be rid of, so there is a possibility that he will be killed more than once. Especially hard to get rid of are bounties that are placed on you by some powerful NPC¡¯s and he could bet all of his gold that the queen is one of them.

    Another problem was the ban from the country. If a Realm Walker is banned from somewhere his name, class and face is publicised there and NPC¡¯s from that area stop providing any help, quests, items or other services to him. It even goes as far as calling guards or informing bounty hunters about him immediately after spotting him, as if he were a wanted criminal in the real world.

    This all could probably happen to him if his treason would be revealed. Also, he wouldn¡¯t get anything from it because the quest would be a failure. Yes, he can leave right now, but that would also mean failing as the imp will probably tell his side of the story. The quest will also fail and he wouldn¡¯t gain anything worthy of the effort and time this quest had already cost him.

    So after killing Korpus he did as he was told and rushed to Grimthorn to meet the queen. The journey here wasn¡¯t so hard and he was able to manage it easily even alone as the territory he went through were the Abandoned plains, where monsters were under his level. The problem came when he wanted to meet with the queen. For some reason she already knew that Korpus was dead and had called all other lich-lords back from their missions. When the message that he got some information about Korpus¡¯s death finally got to her she insisted that they will wait for the lich-lords. That took two weeks in the game time. It was a pain in the ass to wait, especially without anything to do. He was only able to go and level up a little bit.

    Today he was finally able to tell his version of the attack to them and just as he was finished that accursed imp showed up. At first he thought he was busted, but after seeing how the imp insulted everybody he sighed with a relief. He finally thought that with this the little shit will be executed and he can return, but he was wrong again. The quest changed again and now it required from him to kill the imp secretly without any witnesses. That way nobody would be able to speak against him and hopefully this whole thing will come to an end.

    The only thing that still bugged him slightly was what the imp said when he shouted that he was a traitor. How did he learn that he is a Realm Walker and why did it matter? He only revealed it to Korpus and the imp, to his knowledge, was nowhere around that time.

    ¡°Hmm, maybe something to do with the storyline of the quest?¡± He thought to himself.

    After carefully evading the servants on his way, he has finally reached the dungeon. There weren¡¯t many guards present, probably because the monsters in the Realm Walker game weren¡¯t known for taking hostages. They usually just killed everybody.

    He saw a group of four demonata guards sitting behind a table, just before the entrance. Not looking very vigilant, they played some card game. Stopping in his tracks he observed them. After a few seconds he spotted a chain of keys attached to the belt of one of them.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Thank god I learned that spell in case of the rogue dying in the raid.¡± He thought while smiling to himself as he approached the door that lead inside the dungeon.

    As he came closer to them he put his hand on the keyhole and chanted: ¡°M?nd?n ?vv?l nam?lum, kilidini a?maq. (Unknown before me, unlock.)¡±

    There wasn¡¯t any problem with him casting because before he left his room he also casted a spell that silenced everything he did.

    Now he only waited for the right opportunity when the guards were distracted enough to not look at the door. When he was sure nobody will notice, he slipped inside, still undetected.

    ¡°This is quite a hard quest when it requires from somebody to be able to use multiple abilities, like necromancy magic, which enabled me to get closer to Korpus and then sneaking, assassination and opening locks, which I need to finish this.¡± He thought about everything he had to do to get so far in the quest-line.

    As he carefully sneaked past the empty cells he finally reached the lower part of the dungeon. This should be the place where the imp is locked up. After searching some empty cells he was finally able to spot the bundle lying on the ground, wrapped in old rags. At first it was suspicious to him that nobody guarded the cell, but then he remembered that the queen ordered one of her lich-lords to put the creature under the Sleep of the forsaken spell. With that in effect there wasn¡¯t any need for the guards. It was a very high level spell from the necromancy magic tree. Even the most powerful necromancy users amongst the Realm Walkers weren¡¯t able to use it as it required insanely high mastery in the necromancy magic and ridiculously large quantities of mana. When it is casted on somebody he will fall asleep and nothing, except the caster, will be probably able to wake him up. The best thing about it was that not even attacking the affected party will cancel the spell.

    Many of the Realm Walkers dreamt about using it at some bosses in dungeons and then killing them easily, but as mentioned before, until this date nobody from them was able to. This was just another reminder of how powerful the lich-lords actually were. There were of course some limitations, like number of uses it can be cast or high cooldown time but when considered as a single target spell it was overpowered.

    ¡°Let¡¯s be done with this.¡± He said as he unlocked the cell with the same method as previously.

    Grasping a dagger, enchanted with dark magic, which he normally used for dealing physical damage, he approached the imp who slept on the ground. Just as he was ready to stab and kill his target a bony hand shot out of the bundle before him and grabbed his arm.

    Before he was able to realize what had happened, the same bundle started to expand until a lich-lord emerged from it. Feeling the 40% of pain, which the game transferred to his brain, he dropped the dagger as his hand was being utterly crushed. Looking with horror in his eyes, he noticed the poison-green robe, which covered the rest of the bony body that appeared before him. He instantly remembered which of the five lich-lords was defined with this colour and the name that came with it. Nara¡¯akuu, the Poison Scourge. Before he was able to do anything the lich-lord¡¯s other hand mercilessly caught him under the throat and lifted him to the same eye level.

    ¡°W-w-hhy?¡± Malthazar was trying to ask, his feet kicking around as they were desperately trying to reach the ground, but as he was choking his words were almost unrecognizable.

    ¡°Why indeed? That¡¯s the same question I¡¯m asking again and again.¡± Nara¡¯akuu spoke with a calm voice as he tightly held his prisoner. ¡°Why one of my few friends died because of a worm like you?¡± Now his eyes glowed dangerously as his skeletal face came closer to Malthazar¡¯s.

    Malthazar tried to say something again but his throat was now held so strongly that he couldn¡¯t voice a single word.

    ¡°You want to speak? Let¡¯s hear it then.¡± Nara¡¯akuu lessened his grip a little bit.

    ¡°Thh-he im-pph¡­¡± Malthazar still tried to blame the imp for what had happened to Korpus, as his quest was asking of him.

    ¡°If you think that we will believe you when you say that the imp is to blame, let me warn you, that you are making a grave mistake.¡± Malthazar heard a woman¡¯s voice from behind him and he was able to recognize another one of the lich-lords. This time a dark-blue robe appeared in his vision, right next to Nara¡¯akuu and he knew it couldn¡¯t be anybody else than Delian, the Master of Dark.

    ¡°Bh-hut, I¡­¡± Malthazar tried to speak again, but he wasn¡¯t allowed to finish.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. I¡¯m willing to bet that our information is correct.¡± The last voice that appeared behind him belonged to the last lich-lord, Rhaxan, the Army of One.

    ¡°But we shall be generous towards you. You will receive a proper chance to explain and reveal everything that you know. After all, we are not some mindless monsters and if you are able to prove that you are innocent as you claim, you shall be freed, maybe even rewarded.¡± Nara¡¯akuu slowly explained with that calm voice of his, which betrayed his cold eyes as they promised only pain and violence.

    ¡°Now let us question you.¡±

    Those were the only words before the screams could be heard from the cell.

    ***

    As Malakhay was brought away by the two summoned death knights he started to curse himself for being so stupid and trying to explain what had happened to Korpus. He should have forgotten about everything that he promised and rather hide somewhere where he could get stronger first.

    ¡°Screw this. I swear if I ever get out of this mess I will never trust anybody ever again.¡± He thought, studying his two guardians as he tried to find some miraculous method to get free. Maybe if he could use that ability when his hands and feet became untouchable, like with the orcs, he would be able to run away, but as usually it wasn¡¯t so easy to use something you didn¡¯t understand or learn properly first.

    Only after a few minutes, as his brain tried to desperately come up with some plan, he finally noticed something weird. They weren¡¯t taking him to the dungeon. Instead of that they opened a secret passage in one of the hallways, the existence of which should be known only by the royal family and the lich-lords, and entered it together with him. In the darkness around the only thing present were the rhythmic sounds of feet clothed in armour. As nobody could spot them here it didn¡¯t take long before they reached the end of the passage and after using the mechanism on the wall, the secret door to a richly decorated room soundlessly opened.

    Entering it, the death knights let him down and closed the passage behind them. After that they just stood next to the door on the other side of the room. As Malakhay started to look around himself he could spot a massive table that dominated most of the room. Before it were arranged two comfortably looking chairs, probably prepared for those who came to speak to the owner of the room. On the table he could see a few towers of neatly arranged papers, as if every one of them had an exact place. Around the table was built a large library filled with countless books of all kinds. Some of them related to magic, some to the economy or other countries, some of them so old that they have probably existed for a few centuries now and some looking like they were purchased just recently. On the other side of the room was a large fireplace, also with two prepared chairs before it, which probably served for comfort when somebody wanted to rest. Malakhay didn¡¯t need to be a genius to figure out that he was standing in the queen¡¯s study.

    ¡°Why was I brought here?¡± He asked himself, still confused about everything that has happened.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious that it was for your safety?¡± An unknown voice asked him, startling him.

    As he looked at the door which was still guarded by the death knights, two persons entered through them and again closed them.

    ¡°The queen and Deq¡¯ria.¡± He immediately prepared for a fight, only to realize that if either of them wanted they could end his life with a single move of their finger.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so alarmed.¡± The queen said as she seated herself behind the table. ¡°I¡¯m not planning to harm you in any way, even if you probably deserve it after what you said about my personage. But I shall forget about all of that for now and on the contrary, if it¡¯s a truth what Deq¡¯ria told me, you shall be rewarded greatly.¡±

    ¡°About master Korpus. You already know that I have brought him with me.¡± Malakhay stated fully convinced, as everything started to slowly make sense to him.

    ¡°You are smart. It is no wonder now that Korpus entrusted his soul with you.¡± Deq¡¯ria told him as she studied him with great interest.

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I see. Smart, but still lacking in knowledge.¡± She sounded like she was having fun. ¡°I can feel him inside you. When I spotted you yesterday night I instantly recognized Korpus¡¯s soul which resides within you. After that it was easy to put together what really happened. After I put you under my spell, I ordered the young princess who was with me at that time to hide you but I would have never anticipated that you will wake up. Care to explain how you were able to do it?¡±

    Malakhay stayed quiet, not sure what to say. After all, he himself didn¡¯t know the reason of why he was able to ward off her spell.

    ¡°You don¡¯t really need to tell me if you don¡¯t want to. Everybody has a secret or two which allows him to survive dangerous times. I was just curious.¡± She reassured him after seeing he is staying quiet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to sound hasty, but I would like to hear what happened when Korpus almost died and about your journey after that.¡± The queen returned to their original purpose of questioning him.

    Malakhay looked at both of them thinking he will be finally able to do what he came for. And so he told them everything. How he was summoned by Korpus with Malthazar present at that time. Then about his hunt of the shadow lurker and finally about the battle that happened between the elves and the undead; about Korpus entrusting his soul and some of his knowledge to him before his body died.

    After that he quickly spoke about his journey, thinking that this part probably isn¡¯t important for them. How the slave traders captured and tortured him every day, how they cut of his wings and tail for some stupid goblin alchemy and how they finally reached Grimthorn. That at the city he was finally able to run away. He left out the part with the mysterious mist which helped him, knowing it would probably cause him some problems in the future, should he reveal it. He explained his stupid attempt to enter the castle and that he lost consciousness at that time. How he woke up only to find out he is in the castle and finally how he tried to find the queen.

    Both Nyxea and Deq¡¯ria quietly listened to his story and couldn¡¯t stop to wonder how a single imp, who was basically new-born, if what he said was truth, survived through all of that. There were some parts, like the fight with the elves, which needed more explanation but they knew Korpus will be able to tell them more details as Malakhay stated that at that time he was resting inside the laboratory, so he didn¡¯t know the details of what had happened.

    ¡°This country harbours a great debt towards you and I will make sure that it will be paid.¡± Nyxea said to him thinking about everything she heard. Then she stood up and went to open the secret passage by which he was brought here. ¡°Now let us go and bring your master back.¡±

    After saying this, all three of them entered the passage together. Malakhay recognized that they went towards the catacombs. Making their exit in the same place as before, they went down the hallway. After some minutes they have reached a massively looking, black door.

    ¡°This is one of Korpus¡¯s private laboratories and except him I¡¯m the only one who has keys from it.¡± Nyxea explained unlocking the door.

    After they entered Malakhay was surprised at what he saw. He expected a lot of different apparatus, like in the camp before but the room was, on the contrary, almost empty. On one side, dug in the wall, were holes at least 2 meters big. In every one of them rested in the standing position a body made purely of bones, resembling those of the lich-lord¡¯s. After a quick inspection he learned that there must have been at least 10 of them, each one almost exactly the same in height and complexity. In the middle of the room was something resembling a crystal ball, which was stationed on a pedestal that looked like it was constructed from white bones.

    After coming closer Malakhay was able to identify it: ¡°That¡¯s a soul core.¡± He said surprised, because he had never seen one which looked so clear. He almost thought he would be able to see through it because of its glass-like surface.

    ¡°An empty soul core if I should be precise.¡± Deq¡¯ria explained to him. ¡°Go and put your hand on it.¡±

    He did as he was asked and came closer to it. It must have been true when she said that it is empty as he couldn¡¯t feel any presence from it. He slowly raised his hand and put it on the soul core.

    A few seconds it looked like nothing will happen, until he could feel how something inside him woke up and started to collect in one place. It was a weird feeling as if his insides were trying to come to one place and then compress together. A few moments later the feeling vanished and he was forced to open his mouth. After doing so some black mist in the form of a small skull emerged from inside him and started to crawl down his arm towards the empty soul-core. As it came closer to it, it looked like the mist attacked the core like a hungry beast and started to devour it from the inside. Maybe a minute passed until the soul-core before him lost its clear colour as the mist nested itself inside of it.

    Malakhay stopped touching it and observed how Nyxea took it from the pedestal. She approached one of the unmoving skeletal bodies and inserted the core under its ribcage. Another few minutes passed and Malakhay could spot how the empty holes, where the eyes should be, shined with the blue hue so characteristic for the lichs.

    ¡°Well, well, my little Malakhay, I see you were successful.¡± The familiar voice he knew so well greeted him.

    ¡°Welcome back master.¡± Malakhay bowed after hearing him.

    And so The Smiling Death walked the earth once again.

 Chapter 17: Decisions

    <h1>Chapter 17: Decisions</h1>

    Malakhay was sitting comfortably beside his master back in the queen¡¯s study. All four of them returned there once the ceremony of rising Korpus was successfully over. Just as they came back, the queen immediately asked about the battle with the elves. Korpus explained everything that happened in great details, ending the story with him entrusting his life to Malakhay.

    ¡°I see.¡± Nyxea said as she thought deeply about everything she had heard from him. ¡°So our original suspicions about a spy in our ranks were right. The only question remaining is, if there was only one?¡±

    ¡°That, I can¡¯t say. After all, the Realm Walkers is a difficult bunch to deal with. First, we will need to try to get some useful information from Malthazar and act according to them.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to sound rude, but I don¡¯t think this is the right time to discuss this matter.¡± Deq¡¯ria said as she reminded them about Malakhay being still present.

    The queen immediately understood what Deq¡¯ria wanted to say and looked at Korpus to find out if this will be a problem.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, he won¡¯t say a word.¡± Korpus vouched for him seemingly without any thoughts as he looked at Malakhay.

    ¡°Maybe it will do us good if we can use him in this matter.¡± Nyxea still pondered about something, while piercing Malakhay with a sharp glare. ¡°He isn¡¯t as conspicuous as you lich-lords and nobody really knows about him yet, he has also proved that he is capable.¡±

    Malakhay didn¡¯t understand what they were talking about, but he wasn¡¯t so stupid as to not realize that it was important.

    ¡°So? What do you say? Do you want to help your queen and your master?¡± The queen finally asked him directly.

    Malakhay didn¡¯t know how to answer. He didn¡¯t want to anger the queen as she would be an impossible opponent for him, but he also wasn¡¯t thrilled about agreeing to something that they are yet to explain to him. Seeking the help from his master he silently looked at his skeletal face.

    ¡°As I told you before Malakhay, you are no longer my servant. It¡¯s your life so you must make the choices yourself.¡±

    The queen and Deq¡¯ria were visibly surprised with Korpus¡¯s words, but they stayed silent about it.

    ¡°I will do what I can to be useful to you.¡± Malakhay finally answered. He thought about it and decided to accept the queen¡¯s proposal for now. It couldn¡¯t be bad to work for such a powerful person and he concluded that he will probably be able to reap some great benefits from it, if nothing else he will be under the protection of the crown.

    ¡°Good. I will ask Korpus to explain what you need to know.¡± The queen looked really satisfied with his decision. ¡°But before that I would like to reward you for your previous hard work, so I ask of you to state your wish.¡±

    The moment she said this Malakhay¡¯s mouth showed a cold smile.

    ¡°Revenge. I want to kill those slavers the cruellest way possible for what they did to me.¡± His answer was immediate, showing how much hatred he harboured towards them.

    Nyxea studied him for a while with a calm face.

    ¡°You may be only an imp but you are still a pure-blood demon and I myself know very well that we demons don¡¯t forget about these things. I can¡¯t say that I will help you directly. If it would get out to the public that the queen is helping somebody with murders it would harm even that little trust we have built with great difficulties with the merchants from the other countries. But I can help to falsify reports, investigations and even prepare a scape goat if something would happen to the mentioned slave traders.¡± She said, explaining her situation.

    Malakhay thought about what she said to him and understood what she was worried about. He was slightly disappointed as he thought that she will provide more help. He wanted those slavers and orcs murdered so bad his hands itched for it, but he wasn¡¯t certain if he could do it alone. After all, he was still quite weak. These thoughts must have shown on his face as Korpus said to him:

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be worried Malakhay. The queen may not be able to help you directly, but I can.¡±

    Nyxea only silently nodded as she heard him.

    ¡°There won¡¯t be a problem if you help him and I can stay calm that it won¡¯t go the wrong way if something unexpected happens. But I still want to ask if this is the only thing that you have in mind for your reward? It¡¯s too little I can do in this matter and I don¡¯t want you to think that I¡¯m ungrateful. Money, women, territory, I can grant you any of those if you wish for it.¡± She offered to him, thinking that his demon greed will speak for him.

    ¡°I want knowledge to become more powerful. I hate that I¡¯m so weak that in a fight even humans can kill me whenever they wish.¡± He stated almost instantly, not being tempted by the offer the queen proposed to him.

    Surprised by his choice she smiled inside herself, not letting it shown on her face.

    ¡°That can be done easily. I will search for teachers suitable for you and grant you access to all parts of the royal library.¡±

    ¡°Teachers won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Korpus stated, interrupting her. ¡°I will take him as my pupil.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. I will also have prepared a personal room for you, here in the castle if you wish for it.¡± She offered to him, knowing he doesn¡¯t have a place to stay in yet.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Malakhay said thinking he made quite a good deal with her. He can learn from Korpus, will be protected and fed inside the castle and have access to the knowledge they possess. With enough time he was convinced that he will be able to get stronger.

    ¡°Now that this matter is settled, I ask of you and Korpus to leave and deal with the situation that Malthazar has caused. As I said before, Korpus will explain everything to you. For now you are free to do as you wish, but remember that I can¡¯t give you much time and will call for you soon.¡± Nyxea said as she released them.

    Just as the door of the secret passage closed behind them Deq¡¯ria voiced her thoughts to the queen: ¡°Was it necessary to grant him access to the whole library? There are some things that could be troublesome if he learns them ¨C especially spells.¡±

    ¡°He may be smart, but he is still just an imp. I was surprised when Korpus offered to teach him, but I don¡¯t think he will pose a problem. After all, imps aren¡¯t that long-lived, so even if he wants he won¡¯t have time to learn anything that could harm us. For now his anonymity is an advantage for us, he can move freely with it and I can use it. If he will prove useful to us he can have his little rewards, be it books, money or women. Only time will tell if he can gain my trust or just become one of the many disposable pawns.¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t forget that Korpus took interest in him. None of us lich-lords ever had a pupil that could proudly proclaim he was taught by us directly. Even Nexaria can¡¯t really say that, as I only offer some advices and simple teachings to her to ease her progress. In the end I¡¯m not saying that the imp doesn¡¯t have his uses, but for some reason I got the feeling that problems tend to follow him everywhere.¡± Deq¡¯ria warned her, she herself still curious about Malakhay as she thought about him. There was something that he radiated despite being so weak, so she understood why Korpus bothered with him. If she will have some spare time she will surely try to learn more about him.

    ¡°As always you are correct.¡± Nyxea listened to her knowing Deq¡¯ria¡¯s advices were always worth considering. ¡°Just to be sure I will prepare somebody who will look after him for us.¡±

    ***

    As they left the queen and Deq¡¯ria behind, Korpus and Malakhay slowly returned to the catacombs through the secret passage unnoticed. Exiting from it into the dark hallway, Korpus immediately headed for the dungeon, where the other lich-lords were supposed to be together with Malthazar. Malakhay, staying beside Korpus, nervously followed him as he didn¡¯t know what else to do.

    ¡°I see that you are curious, but I will need to ask of you to bear with it for now. I just need to finish something and then we will have a lot of time for the explanations and your teaching.¡± Korpus informed him to calm Malakhay¡¯s nerves.

    ¡°As you command, master.¡±

    ¡°I told you previously that we are no longer master and servant but teacher and pupil. So you can stop calling me master.¡±

    After that they walked quietly. They weren¡¯t seen by anybody as Korpus knew his way around and how to avoid areas with servants or guards. Malakhay was wondering why Korpus was going to such great lengths as to not be seen, but he refrained from questioning the methods of his teacher.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    With a quick pace they soon reached the lower parts of the dungeon, where occasional screams could be heard. As they finally approached them the screams stopped and threw the dungeon into silence.

    Wary about the whole situation, Korpus stopped just before reaching the cell where Malthazar was supposed to be. After a few moments a disappointed sigh could be heard from inside.

    ¡°Sigh, there he goes. As we feared he put himself to death somehow.¡± A man¡¯s voice could be heard from within the cell. ¡°You can come in now Korpus.¡±

    As he was invited, Korpus entered the cell with Malakhay in tow.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that you are all right. When I first heard that you were killed I was seriously surprised.¡± Just as Nara¡¯akuu said this, the other two lich-lords also nodded their heads in unison.

    ¡°Yes, how could such a worm kill one of us?¡± Delian asked, slightly teasing Korpus about it.

    ¡°What can I say? I certainly lowered my guard at that time. But thanks to Malakhay over here I was able to make it back.¡± Just as Korpus introduced him, the other lich-lords finally took notice of him as they thought, until now, that he was just some lowly servant.

    Seeing that three other beings as powerful as Korpus looked at him, Malakhay started to sweat, feeling great pressure from their gazes.

    ¡°If it¡¯s like that I think that I can speak for everybody when I say that you have our gratitude.¡± Nara¡¯akuu said to him, not minding the imp¡¯s status.

    ¡°Let¡¯s end with the pleasantries for now. Were you able to learn something useful from him?¡± Korpus asked, looking at Malthazar¡¯s body which was still lying on the floor.

    ¡°Regretfully, no. At first he was intimidated, but as he finally regained some composure he killed himself or whatever Realm Walkers do when they end up in an inconvenient place.¡± Nara¡¯akuu quickly explained. ¡°I must say, that ability of theirs is a large pain in the ass.¡±

    ¡°I see. For now I will try to bind his body to this place. With that we should have another chance. Also, the queen wishes to speak with all of you regarding the upcoming future. Deq¡¯ria is already with her.¡± Korpus informed them, crouching beside Malthazar¡¯s stiff body.

    The other lich-lords didn¡¯t need to hear more to know where they should go. After all, Korpus was the only one from them who could still salvage something from this seemingly helpless situation.

    Just as they left he slowly finished his preparations and casted a spell. A spell so rare and complicated, that he was probably the only one who knew it.

    ¡°??????? ????? ?????, ????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????????????? ??? ????? ?????????? ????? ??????????????? ?????? ???????????? ??????????????????. (Body full of emptiness, defy the wings of life that guide you and wait until your rightful owner claims you again.)¡± The mysterious words which Malakhay never heard before were chanted by Korpus. Just as he finished, grey transparent chains appeared from beneath the body and rooted it in the place. As they finished their task they again vanished as if they never appeared in the first place.

    ¡°Teacher, what was that?¡± Malakhay¡¯s curiosity couldn¡¯t stand it anymore as he asked, not being able to find an answer even with the help of Korpus¡¯s knowledge that he obtained from him previously. Even the feeling was completely different from the normal magic that he has previously encountered. This one left him with an itch all over his body.

    ¡°Do you remember how I previously told you about the fact that I have unlocked my bloodline?¡±

    Malakhay only nodded at his words silently.

    ¡°My bloodline unlocks a special type of magic to me, which is called animae magic. With it I can influence the soul of other beings, or my own.¡±

    ¡°But why use another similar magic if you have already mastered necromancy?¡± Malakhay still didn¡¯t fully understand.

    ¡°Necromancy and animae magic are two very different things. With necromancy you control only the body or what is left of it and with animae you manipulate the soul. Each one of them is only a single half of the picture, but when you put them together you will obtain a masterpiece.¡±

    Even after this explanation there was still probably some confusion in Malakhay¡¯s eyes as Korpus continued with his explanation.

    ¡°You have seen the undead which I had risen before. They can be a powerful force, but you must be able to control and command them. Without proper commands they are just empty husks. Their body still reacts to the life force of other beings and in a constant hunger to obtain what they have lost, they endlessly try to devour the living, but that is all. As they run out of mana, which their empty body can¡¯t generate if they don¡¯t feed or some necromancer doesn¡¯t resupply it, they just fall apart. But, if you attach a soul to that empty body you will obtain a new type of undead. With a soul attached to it, the body can exist without a master, it can think for itself and act based on its own decisions if not controlled. It is also considerably more powerful than your regular undead.¡±

    Finally roughly understanding the base differences between the two magic¡¯s, Malakhay suddenly realizes something.

    ¡°Forgive me for being rude teacher, but doesn¡¯t that mean that there must be somebody else with the same bloodline as you? Could it be that lichs are created by this combination of two magics?¡±

    ¡°As always, your sharp mind surprises me and logically speaking, you should be correct.¡± Korpus complimented him, his good mood showing in his voice. ¡°But you are wrong about one very important thing. Who told you that we lichs are undead?¡±

    As he listened to him Malakhay thought he heard him wrong. He dumbly stared at the skeletal body of his teacher which clearly consisted of only bones. What was he if not undead?

    ¡°I can see that you are confused so I will explain.¡± Korpus quickly told him, having a great fun from Malakhay¡¯s reaction. ¡°Every single lich other than me is a living being. Becoming a lich is a very old teaching and considered mastery of ancient necromancy magic and there are only a few who could attain it. If a strong mage with a vast knowledge decides to become a lich, he starts to convert his body and discards all unnecessary things from it. Skin, muscles, nerves, blood, organs, everything in his body is converted step by step to a very strong magical energy or mana. As this happens, the said mana is constantly built in and integrated into his bones as they are best suited as a container for it. At this time he can even take mana from another source and by adding it to this process he can easily enlarge his previous power. The only thing he must watch out for is the quantity he takes in. If the bones aren¡¯t properly prepared or he is too greedy, they often aren¡¯t able to support all this new power and shatter, until becoming only dust. If this happens the necromancer was unsuccessful and he dies without leaving any trace of him behind. But, if he was successful, he becomes a lich, a being that is not allowed to die normally or also known as undying, not undead. He also never died during the process so he is still counted as a living being. Many don¡¯t understand this difference and thus also think we are just another undead.¡±

    Silently repeating all the information he just heard in his head, Malakhay tries to remember everything of it.

    ¡°So if I understand everything you explained to me, lichs never died and never will die unless killed, while undead are just already dead bodies that were risen by necromancy.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°But then what about the rule with a soul core that you explained to me before? You said that many non-monster races like human, elves, dwarves, beastmen or demonata have a soul, but monster races, where lichs are also included, have a soul core. Shouldn¡¯t it be impossible for a human with a soul for example to become a lich who has a soul core?¡±

    ¡°Yes I explained to you previously that with the exception of the demon race, one can have only a soul or a soul core. This rule still applies here. As a part of the process while becoming a lich, a human¡¯s soul gathers in one place inside of his body and then also compresses itself. This is automatic and cannot be prevented. When this step is finished the hardest part of the whole process takes turn. The necromancer must create a magical defensive layer, or you can also call it a vessel, around his compressed soul and then shut it in. His soul assimilates with it and in the end a soul core is created while the soul ceases to exist. This is the most dangerous part of the whole thing. If the necromancer isn¡¯t able to create the mentioned vessel his soul fades and he dies. If he creates it too small a part of his soul is shut out from it and still fades not being able to assimilate with the rest of the core. When this happens, madness and insanity overcomes the lich. These lichs must be immediately killed as they are highly dangerous. Also, if one creates a too big vessel, again only a part of the soul assimilates, but with the difference that the not assimilated part stays inside. That creates a body with a soul and a soul core at the same time and they devour each other, killing the lich in the process.¡±

    Malakhay, still trying to process everything he was told, starts to be confused with a lot of information he was offered at the same time. Korpus seeing it knows he probably told him too much, too quickly. But Malakhay did need to learn all of this eventually as he was probably going to interact with other lichs in the future, so he was willing to be patient with his new pupil.

    ¡°Teacher, you said that: ¡®every single lich other than me is a living being.¡¯ What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°That is simple. It means that I already died in the past. Or to be more precise, my body died. Here returns what I told you about my bloodline and animae magic. I was a converted lich already when I was defeated and my original body died. But thanks to my ability to control souls to some degree I was able to transfer my soul from the broken soul core to a new one similarly as you had witnessed today. Thanks to this I¡¯m probably one of the longest living beings. Through the centuries I have gathered knowledge and power. I have seen kingdoms rise and fall. I have caused kingdoms to rise and fall and I¡¯m not to be trifled with.¡± As he said this the temperature in the room visibly dropped. The mood changed instantly and Malakhay knew that if Korpus wished for it he could obtain almost anything.

    Looking at the uncontrollably trembling body of his pupil, Korpus wanted to show to him how vast the world can be and that even if he commanded all this force, in the end he was still killed.

    ¡°Teacher, why are you working for the queen?¡± Malakhay asked, noticing too late that the words he just spoke could kill him.

    ¡°You are either very brave or insane when you are asking me this.¡± Korpus lifted Malakhay by magic and held him up so that he can look directly into his eyes. The murdering aura that radiated from his teacher almost choked Malakhay as he wasn¡¯t able to fight against it.

    ¡°For this one time I will pretend that I didn¡¯t hear anything, but there won¡¯t be a second chance. Also, I will warn you beforehand that everything that I have said here was meant only for your ears. The other lich-lords and the queen are the only ones except you who know about my bloodline and if you ever tell someone about it I will make sure that you will wish to be back in the hands of the slave traders again. Knowing all this here is my last question to you: Do you still wish to be my pupil?¡±

    Malakahy stopped his pathetic struggling and stared at how death itself evaluated him like some kind of toy. Korpus was giving him a chance to change his mind while showing him a little of the world he was about to enter. It will be too late if he starts explaining what the queen mentioned before. He may have exaggerated in showing his power a little bit but if he is going to teach someone, he wanted somebody who was resolved enough to walk through hell itself. He will be used by the queen and a lot of others will try to use him against her. There won¡¯t be any shortcuts and Korpus will be hard on him. This was the last piece of kindness he could offer to somebody who saved his life.

    ¡°Yes teacher. I will not back down.¡± Malakhay said, showing a confident smile despite being held in the air above ground.

    ¡°Good.¡± Korpus put him down convinced about his determination. The mood changed again and the tension in the air vanished as if it never was there.

    ¡°But we strayed from your original question of what I did to Malthazar¡¯s body. For now I will tell you that Realm Walkers have a special ability. When they die their soul leaves the body behind and escapes it. This body will just vanish in one day. After exactly 49 days from their death their body appears in a temple and their soul simply reattaches back to it and a Realm Walker comes back to life. Before you ask, we don¡¯t know how they do it. There are a lot of unsolved mysteries about them. But we don¡¯t want Malthazar to do this so I cast a spell which I recently learned, this should prevent the resurrection. I tried to bind his body to this place. Now it shouldn¡¯t be able to vanish and when his soul returns it won¡¯t have any other option than to return here where we can wait for him and question him again.¡±

    As Malakhay listened to Korpus a lot of questions popped up in his head, but before he was able to ask them his teacher stopped him.

    ¡°I know you want to know more, but this isn¡¯t the right place or time. I suggest we leave and take care of some minor things that you will need for your living here. I also must explain to you some rules and what will be expected from you.¡± With those words they left the cell with a body lying on the ground behind them.

 Chapter 18: Secrets inside secrets

    <h1>Chapter 18: Secrets inside secrets</h1>

    A calming darkness was enveloping the room as I woke up on my new bed. I was in my room which was situated in the catacombs, deep inside the castle. Yesterday, when I left the dungeon together with Korpus, my teacher guided me here and gifted me this room, saying it was one of the empty storages which didn¡¯t serve any purpose.

    ¡°The queen has sent me a message that a room for your personal use was prepared for you.¡± Those were his exact words as he was guiding me through the catacombs.

    It must have been true, because when we arrived I could see that the room, despite being an empty unused storeroom before, was now left without a single speck of dust. On one side stood a double-sized bed, which must have been brought here just recently. In one corner of the room was prepared something that looked like a writing table with a chair. It was useless to me as I didn¡¯t know how to write properly yet. Near it stood a library which was empty as I didn¡¯t possess any books yet either. On the other side of the room was stationed a simple wooden wardrobe.

    It was a weird feeling for me to call something like this my own as I was only a servant and slave just recently. The room didn¡¯t have any windows as it was in the catacombs, but this didn¡¯t pose a problem for me. As an imp, dark places were more to my liking and offered me the feeling of safety. Teacher told me that I will need some clothes, new weapons and some other minor things if I want to be useful in the future, but those can be purchased on another day and that for now I should just rest.

    Like he suggested I went to bed and surprisingly I fell asleep. I must have been quite tired from all the things that have recently happened.

    Now, after I finally collected my thoughts and woke up, I prepared to leave my room to go find Korpus in his laboratory. Before he left yesterday he asked me if I knew where it is and after going through his knowledge that was planted in my head I confirmed with him where to look. Just as I was prepared to leave, somebody knocked on the door.

    *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

    I stared at the wooden door before me, not sure what to think. There shouldn¡¯t be anybody who knew about me and wanted to visit me, so I was becoming suspicious about this sudden visitor.

    *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

    After not responding, the knocking repeated itself, as if probing if I was still in the room.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Staying silent wouldn¡¯t solve anything so I responded, prepared to attack whoever appeared.

    The knob on the door moved as they opened and a young looking demonata girl appeared from behind them. Slowly walking inside, she bowed to me while introducing herself.

    ¡°Good morning master Malakhay. My name is Aliss and I have been assigned as your personal maid as of today.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I wasn¡¯t able to suppress my surprise and asked stupidly while still staring, not believing my own eyes.

    ¡°As I said previously, as of today I shall be your personal maid master Malakhay, so don¡¯t hesitate to give me your orders.¡± She repeated herself while standing still before me.

    Inspecting her, I could tell at first glance that she was a demonata with those small horns on her forehead. In comparison to me she was quite tall, but when I remembered my teacher she was certainly much shorter than him. I would say she was around 1,6m. Her body looked quite slim, but I couldn¡¯t tell this with utmost confidence as her black maid uniform covered it really well. She kept her black hair short, only reaching to her shoulders and tied them in a ponytail. Her dark brown eyes were inspecting me as if they were trying to predict what kind of order I will give to her.

    ¡°I never heard about this. Why would somebody serve me when I have just arrived? I don¡¯t have money to pay for a servant.¡± I proclaimed, trying to figure out a way out of this mess. I don¡¯t need a servant; I don¡¯t even know what I would use her for.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about money master Malakay, as her majesty the queen was the one who appointed me to serve you. She claimed that you will probably have your hands full with your lessons and you would probably welcome some help with trivial matters. Also, if I may be so bold as to repeat her words, she said that you should consider me as a part of your reward as she deemed your previous wish unsatisfactory.¡±

    As Aliss explained everything to me I still didn¡¯t know what to think. I¡¯m repeating myself here, but I don¡¯t need a servant. Why would the queen even bother in the first place in granting me one? I may have returned with Korpus, but why would she go to extra lengths to express her gratitude when she already promised me the entrance to the royal library? As I thought about it only one thing came to my mind. Is it possible that she wanted to show me her good will and in that way slowly bribe me to her side? No, that is unlikely. She already has powerful servants, why would she want an imp? It was then when my brain finally jolted. I see. This maid isn¡¯t the queen¡¯s gratitude, but her leash. She is to be my observer and informant for the queen about what I¡¯m doing.

    If that is so, I probably can¡¯t send her away. It would be actually bad for me because the queen would just send somebody else and this time they would probably stay hidden from my eyes. Korpus also must know about this, after all, the queen is the one who commands him. Why would the queen want me under control when Korpus is already there with me? As I was pondering about this I was able to think about only one theory that was giving me some reason. The royal library. Korpus wouldn¡¯t be able to be with me all the time, so she will need somebody who can watch me without raising my suspicions when I¡¯m in the library or alone in my room. That means that there is something interesting to be found in the library.

    As I came to this conclusion, I smiled back at the maid before me.

    ¡°Nobody worked for me before so I don¡¯t know how to behave in this situation. I lack a lot of common sense about this world as I was born just recently, are you still OK with serving me?¡± I asked her, already knowing what her answer will be.

    ¡°That is not a problem master Malakhay. I¡¯m here to serve you.¡± She stubbornly repeated her previous lines.

    ¡°Very well. Now, I must go and find my teacher. Meanwhile, do whatever you want to do. When I get back I will want to learn from you about a lot of things that I lack. Is that acceptable?¡± I was still asking and not commanding, but this was probably for the best. After all, I should appear as harmless as I can.

    ¡°Certainly. I will do as you wish master Malakhay.¡± She answered politely while bowing again.

    As I closed the door and left my new maid behind me, the smile I had on my face vanished. As I pondered about how to get rid of her I slowly approached the laboratory where Korpus should be right now. Stopping before a large door, before I was able to knock the voice of my teacher invited me in.

    ¡°Come inside Malakhay.¡± Hearing those words I opened the door before me and entered.

    The laboratory looked similar to the one in the elven forest. A lot of books lying all over the place, a big table with a comfortable looking chair and a lot of apparatuses everywhere you looked.

    ¡°Before we start, I need to explain some things to you first.¡± Teacher said to me, putting the book he held in his hands down. ¡°Yesterday, the queen asked you if you will help her. You accepted, but afterwards nobody has explained to you what you are to do, is that correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Malakhay, who are the Realm Walkers?¡± Teacher asked me out of nowhere. I must say, he liked these questions which he just seemingly randomly asked out of nowhere.

    I thought about it and in the end I found out that I don¡¯t know. Teacher understood my silence and nodded.

    ¡°The truth is nobody really knows.¡±

    After hearing him I must have looked surprised, because Korpus chuckled as he continued.

    ¡°They appeared for the first time around 21 years ago. They came suddenly, out of nowhere and truth be told, at the start nobody paid them any attention. But as they remained here, they were quickly becoming more powerful and things started to change slowly. Be it magic, martial arts, warfare or wealth, they have gained an edge probably in every aspect and the only weak spot of theirs are their numbers and the fact that they are not entirely united. They are almost godlike when it comes to their speed of learning new things. We don¡¯t know if it is normal for them, but they take the appearance of races present in our world as their own.¡± Teacher paused his speech and looked at me, his eyes demanding my opinion.

    ¡°From your words they seem to be gods, teacher.¡± I responded, not knowing if my thoughts are correct.

    ¡°There were many at the start who thought they are, but that can¡¯t be true. Then we realized a truth that was so obvious it screamed before our eyes. Do you know what this truth is?¡±

    I was only able to shake my head as teacher asked me his question.

    ¡°No? Think about it a little, I will even give you a hint, their name: Realm Walkers.¡±

    As Korpus mentioned this, I did as he asked and after a few minutes my eyes got wider as I came to a conclusion which my teacher demanded from me.

    ¡°They can travel from one world to another.¡± I said, still not able to fully comprehend how ridiculous this ability probably was.

    Korpus nodded satisfied with my answer.

    ¡°Probably yes. I say probably, because they never confirmed it, but also never negated it, so this is as close as we can get to their origin. If we assume this is true, then they must have come from some other world of which we don¡¯t know anything about. There are many speculations about the reasons that they appeared in our world. Some say their world was destroyed, others they were banished by their gods, or that they travel to appease their warlike nature, but nobody knows for sure. And now comes the question why I am explaining this to you.¡±

    As I listened something inside me told me that I won¡¯t like the answer.

    ¡°The day they appeared, they started to attack monsters. Be it plain beasts, like wolfs in the forests, or monster races like goblins, orcs and trolls, or even demonata and demons themselves, the Realm Walkers didn¡¯t hesitate and attacked viciously. By the time we became alerted and wanted to do something about them it was already too late, because some of them became powerful. From amongst them the most powerful ones started to assemble other Realm Walkers and they formed something they call guilds. The guilds nested themselves in kingdoms around the world and in exchange for authority and rights to rule over themselves they started to push our forces even more. We lost territories and millions of us died, some species, like dragons, almost became extinct. The situation became dire 15 years ago when monsters became ready to jump at each other¡¯s throats for even a little more fertile land. The husband of the current demon queen utilized this and formed a faction which was able to suppress the demon queen¡¯s power. The queen ordered us lich-lords to stand down, because if she were to start a struggle for power a war between us would spell the utter annihilation of the monster races. So we stood down and only observed. Her husband started to be reckless and with his armies attacked the neighbouring country of beast-men to the north. In the beginning he was successful, but it didn¡¯t last long. Drunk with his newfound power he clashed with armies of Realm Walkers and other nations and was utterly defeated. Everybody standing behind him perished together with him. After his defeat the Realm Walkers started to march on the queen. She did whatever she could to salvage the situation and sent us to defend the borders. It was the bloodiest war I have seen in my life, but we were more or less successful. The allied nations of the Realm Walkers were also exhausted and finally decided to pull back. Without them the Realm Walkers also slowly retreated, but even after all of this a peace treaty was never established. Even now they occasionally come and pillage our lands, but we avoided extinction. The paradox is that the deaths in the war lowered our numbers to the point where we were able to coexist together once again and the queen was able to slowly rebuild. During this time we lich-lords protected the borders as much as we could. But as we were able to live in relative peace, the irreversible is approaching us once again. The land is becoming insufficient and once we get to the edge, conflict will be irreversible. We are bound to go to war again, be it with Realm Walkers or with ourselves. But to wage a war successfully against the Realm Walkers we must find out more about them. In the past years the queen has collected devoted individuals and issued a single mission to them: find a way to defeat the Realm Walkers, by any means.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Teacher didn¡¯t need to continue for me to understand what is he trying to tell me, but he still looked at me as he proclaimed: ¡°Yesterday, when you agreed to help, this was the world you stepped into.¡±

    ¡°But teacher, you were the one who himself said that I¡¯m only an imp when you summoned me. I don¡¯t know if I will be useful at all in this matter.¡± I said, realizing that this was probably an impossible task; the only thing that awaited me at the end was a quick death.

    ¡°Refusal isn¡¯t an option for you anymore.¡± He said, half humorously, half seriously. ¡°But don¡¯t worry so much, I and the queen, we are quite good at discerning people and I believe you would do well with this assignment. I will prepare you to the best of my ability and your first task isn¡¯t that dangerous. We know that there are some Realm Walkers which have infiltrated our lands similarly like Malthazar. All of them need to be identified. Then we will be able to put bounties on their heads and chase them away.¡±

    After hearing out Korpus I thought that wanting something like that from me is ridiculous. I don¡¯t want to go to hunt something with the power of a demigod. I will need to think of a way to get out of this shit, but first I will need everything he can teach me. For now, I should play along and after the opportunity presents itself I will see what I can do about it.

    ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t need to remind you that everything you have heard here will stay only between us. Shall it be otherwise, I will kill you myself.¡± Korpus said, looking at me as if he tried to find out if I will uphold my part of the deal.

    ¡°This secret is safe with me, teacher.¡± I tried to reassure him, knowing he is not joking.

    We silently stared at each other for a few seconds, until he was probably satisfied.

    ¡°Now I want to ask, is your new room satisfying?¡± Teacher changed the topic and the previous serious atmosphere has disappeared.

    ¡°Yes, I never thought that I will have such a large place for myself. But I¡¯m still confused about that maid that showed up.¡± I answered honestly.

    ¡°So you have already met her. I know it must be new to you, but she will be helpful. And in due time you will also need to learn how to handle your subordinates. I recommend you not to abuse her, very few things are as bad as a servant holding a grudge against his master.¡±

    ¡°I will remember your words teacher.¡±

    ¡°Good. Now let¡¯s start what we came for. You need to learn a lot of things after all.¡± Korpus said as he studied me for a while. ¡°For now, open your Status and read it to me so I can understand what will be the best thing to start with.¡± He instructed me without losing any more time.

    Only now that he mentioned it I remembered that I can look at my Status. The last time I did this was on the Abandoned plains, before I was captured by slave traders. After that I was too busy being tortured to check it out.

    ¡°Status.¡± I spoke and a familiar window opened before my eyes.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    <u>STATUS</u>

    Name: Malakhay

    Race: Higher Imp (lesser devil)

    Affinity: chaos

    Title: Warlock

    : Shadow lord

    Class: Mage

    Rogue

    Skill tree unlocked: Dark magic - novice (1%)

    : Stealth tactics - novice (1%)

    : Shadow magic - novice (2%)

    Spell book: Raise undead

    Touch of the undead

    Soul weapon

    Bloodline: Magic of origin

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As I stared at my status, I was quite surprised about all the changes that have happened. First of all, my race has changed and from previously an imp I have evolved to a higher imp. That¡¯s probably the reason why I look more mature now and not like a small child.

    The next thing I noticed were the titles I have acquired. I was curious, so I read the information which was provided by the status about them.

    Warlock: they are wicked and cruel beings which only the dark side of the world can offer. Others fear them as they are the masters of slaughter and assassination by combining dark magic and the ways of the assassins. Thanks to this trait either physical or magical combat is not a problem for them as they can very easily adapt to the situation.

    As I read the description about my Warlock title I realized that my classes of mage and rogue must be directly connected to it. The same thing probably applies for the skill trees of dark magic and stealth tactics as they must also be related to warlocks. I must say, I¡¯m glad for becoming a warlock as they seem to be powerful. When I was done inspecting warlock, I dubiously looked at my next title. Truth be told, something about it seemed weird. I had enough knowledge from Korpus to know that obtaining two titles was quite a rare occasion. It can happen, but one must learn for a long time to unlock a second title.

    Shadow lord: Shadows are the prime and ancient race who should be extinct and forgotten in the modern world of Orbis. They were created as the first race by Tenebris, The Shadow God of Orbis, the first and most powerful god. As the beings that were darker than light and lighter than dark, they once ruled over the ancient world. Even the other gods feared their might and only after banishing their god Tenebris, were the other gods able to finally purge them. The other races were created only after their death, so the knowledge about Shadows has almost vanished from Orbis. Today they exist only as legends and myths in the oldest chronicles.

    As I read this I didn¡¯t know what to think. Seeing the name Tenebris made me think that I knew it from somewhere, but I couldn¡¯t remember from where. If all that I have read about Shadows is true then I have a feeling that I definitely must stay quiet about them. My intuition tells me that I can get myself killed if this is revealed. Seeing the shadow magic in my skill tree, I¡¯m certain that it is connected with the title Shadow lord. I quickly read the description about Shadow lords again and now I was fully convinced that I should never let others know about it.

    The last thing that appeared on my Status was my bloodline. This was the thing I was surprised about the most. Teacher told me previously how hard obtaining a bloodline can be, but now staring at it I was left speechless.

    Magic of origin: One of the first magics ever to be used. By learning this ancient art the mage can control the flow and purpose of the magic power without the usage of spells. He can form spells with his own mind, not being bound by the normal rules.

    That sounds incredible, but I¡¯m not really sure if I understand it. I will need to ask Korpus about this. I¡¯m also sure that if I reveal my bloodline he probably won¡¯t have a suspicion about me hiding something else. For now, I will pretend to be honest and na?ve and I will reveal everything except the shadow business.

    As I thought about my Status, Korpus coughed slightly, reminding me he is waiting for me. I was brought back to reality and remembered how he asked me to tell him about my Status. Looking at him I revealed everything except the title of Shadow lord and the skill tree of shadow magic. He just quietly listened to me, waiting for me to finish. When I spoke about my bloodline his eyes slightly shined, but that was all.

    ¡°Hmm. I must say I¡¯m quite surprised.¡± He told me as I finished. ¡°I expected that you evolved to a Higher imp as I looked at your grown body, but that you obtained a title so soon is a pleasant surprise. I knew a few warlocks in the past and each one of them was quite powerful. It is hard to master it, but once you are successful you will become a force to be reckoned with.¡± As he explained in a calm voice his good mood was obvious, if I¡¯m not mistaking it I even noticed a little bit of excitement coming from him.

    ¡°But for now you are standing on the starting line. If I¡¯m not mistaken you should be able to see numbers attached to your abilities in a skill tree.¡±

    As master said this I quickly checked it and noticing the numbers he mentioned I nodded my head.

    ¡°If you remember, in the past I have already explained to you that we monsters can only see our progress in our Status and we can influence it only through training. The numbers you see represent your mastery with the said skills. Mastery goes through ranks: novice ¨C beginner ¨C advanced ¨C expert - master - grand-master. As you obtain higher ranks more possibilities unlock before you in said skill tree and your efficiency also goes up. But as I also mentioned before, here is the line where the Status becomes useless to us monsters as we can only check our growth with it and not influence it like Realm Walkers. That¡¯s why I told you before that you shouldn¡¯t let something like numbers or levels influence your judgement too greatly when you are fighting somebody. For us its only numbers and those can be overcome with plans, strategies and deception. After all, why would you fight a master swordsman with a sword when you can kill him with a bow and he won¡¯t be able to even see you?¡±

    I understood what teacher wanted to say, but still wondered if it is as easy as he claims. Still, I think he is probably right and it will be good to remember this.

    ¡°But to know that you have obtained a bloodline so soon,¡± he shook his head from side to side as he continued, dropping the previous conversation as if it were insignificant. ¡°I must sincerely congratulate you Malakhay. I have never met anybody as young as you with a bloodline. When I think about it, I must suspect that this happened because you devoured that soul-core from that shadow lurker and then shortly after that my own soul-core. By you being so young, the two soul-cores with bloodlines must have had a big impact on your evolution and it granted you your own bloodline.¡±

    Korpus stayed silent after his explanation and only lifted one bony hand to support his chin as he thought about what he just said. Determined to find a reason for what happened he spoke again: ¡°Yes, that must be the reason. When I include your title of warlock on top of it, which is deeply connected to lichs, it all makes sense.¡±

    I looked puzzled at him after what he said and asked: ¡°Teacher, how are warlocks connected to lichs?¡±

    ¡°Well, not a lot of people know about this, but as far as I know to this date only very powerful dark mages were able to become warlocks. There are a lot of other people who tried, but they never succeeded. That¡¯s why I can be certain that my soul-core influenced you in this matter. Another piece of evidence about my influence are those three spells you have obtained: Raise undead, Touch of the undead and Soul weapon, all of them are my spells. You must have learned them when I granted you some of my knowledge.¡±

    ¡°Teacher, do you know what Magic of origin is? I don¡¯t really understand it from its explanation.¡± I asked truthfully.

    ¡°Sigh, this is why you shouldn¡¯t possess a bloodline. You don¡¯t understand and bloodline comes only with understanding.¡± As he said this I became worried because I know it will be very hard to use something I don¡¯t understand.

    ¡°But, from what you told me I can make a rough guess.¡±Korpus said, looking at me, probably thinking if it is a good idea to reveal it to me. I showed him a face full of anticipation and he must have decided that it is OK to enlighten me.

    ¡°From what you told me I suspect that you won¡¯t need precise spell formulas to control spells.¡±

    ¡°Spell formulas?¡±

    ¡°I will explain with the Raise undead spell.¡± He spoke and started chanting: ¡°Qullar?m y¨¹ks?l?c?k sizin, yuxu y¨¹ks?lm?y? v? m?nim ¨¹?¨¹n ?ld¨¹rm?k. [Rise my servants, rise from your slumber and kill for me.] What you heard is the exact formula which must be chanted if I want to activate the Raise undead spell. As I chant it, I must pour a certain amount of magic power into it depending on the effect I want to obtain from it and after that it activates and the spell is cast. But I think that with your Magic of origin you can change this phase. For example you will chant only: Artacaq v? m?n? xidm?t [Rise and serve me.] and with it you can probably acquire the same effect as me. The information for the rest of the chanting will be provided by your thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Is there some difference except the chant being shorter, teacher?¡± I asked still not seeing any big benefit.

    ¡°Yes, there is. If I¡¯m correct you can bend the spell to your will and influence its original effect. That is a very powerful tool if used wisely. For example, if there is another mage as your enemy, when he hears you chanting a spell and starts to prepare a defence for it, you have an ability to change your spell midway and create something new. He doesn¡¯t anticipate this and can¡¯t predict what spell you will use in the end. By not being able to predict he can¡¯t defend and becomes an easy target. Do you understand Malakhay?¡± Korpus asked me, his face staying serious.

    I think about what he said and nod my head. ¡°Yes teacher.¡±

    ¡°Now apply this logic not to a single mage, but to a legion of soldiers that is under the protection of a group of mages. You are easily able to go around their defences and slaughter the whole legion and they wouldn¡¯t even be able to properly respond to you.¡± Korpus studied me, probably waiting for my reaction. When I didn¡¯t give him any he spoke again. ¡°If I were younger I would kill you right now, because of that bloodline of yours. I will inform the queen about it and I recommend you not to tell anybody about it. Otherwise some people will try to obtain you and if they succeed, be it from your own will or not, the queen will issue an order to kill you and the lich-lords won¡¯t hesitate.¡±

    I gulped when I heard him, knowing he is not joking. With this I can be certain that the leash on me will only become tighter.

    ¡°But let¡¯s stop here with threats and warnings.¡± My teacher again changed the mood in the room as if nothing serious happened. ¡°For now you are my pupil and I¡¯m your teacher. As long as you will support the queen I will trust you and stay behind you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you teacher, I promise I will not disappoint you.¡± I responded with pretty empty words which were probably expected from me.

    ¡°Good. Now that I know about your status and your abilities I know exactly where to start. Hahaha, be ready because when I¡¯m finished with you I promise you that all humans will fear you on the battlefield.¡± After that a long laughter was heard from Korpus¡¯s laboratory in the empty halls of the catacombs.

 Chapter 19: No pain, no gain

    <h1>Chapter 19:No pain, no gain</h1>

    Roughly a week has passed since Korpus started to teach me. I must confess, I thought it will be hard, but I was sorely mistaken. It¡¯s more than hard, it¡¯s a living hell. Every day I¡¯m going to sleep late and I must wake up early. If I¡¯m not able to wake up on time by myself, teacher instructed my newly appointed maid to pull me out of the bed by any means necessary and judging by my recent experience, she gladly accepted her role. In the case I¡¯m not up by the scheduled time she comes into my room and a bucket of cold water is the first thing I get from her with that expressionless face of hers and a ¡°Good morning, master¡± greeting. I know she is doing it because teacher ordered her, but it still pisses me of. I don¡¯t know yet how, but I swear I will return this little favour to her later.

    The first thing Korpus started to teach me is the use of magic. Before, I had no idea how to activate spells or do those other things I need to do to cast something. After explaining it to me I was able to grasp the general idea behind casting and the only thing left was practice.

    ¡°Speaking in a very simplistic way, everyone has something like mana vessels spread throughout their body. They are similar to blood vessels, but their role is to guide your magical energy. Through them you can accumulate it in one place and then extract it from there and pour it into the specific spell that you are trying to cast by chanting.¡± Those were master¡¯s words when he explained it to me.

    ¡°But master, you told me previously that lichs discard everything except their bones, so how is it possible that you are still allowed to cast in your condition?¡± I asked remembering what he had told me about lichs, thinking that mana vessels are something that lichs weren¡¯t allowed to toss away.

    ¡°I also told you that only very experienced and powerful necromancers could become lichs. We don¡¯t need mana vessels as we use other means to collect magical energy when casting, but that is a quite complicated and also hard to achieve technique. I¡¯m willing to explain it to you when you will have better understanding about magic. For now, you should focus on the basics.¡±

    With that he started to teach me how to feel magical power inside me. In the beginning it was quite hard as I didn¡¯t know what to look for, but in the end I was finally able to feel it. It was a weird, but pleasant feeling. It was like finding a new sense in me of which I was unaware of before. At first I must have been concentrating quite hard to achieve it, like when you close your eyes as you are trying to hear something better, but now I¡¯m more or less able to feel it automatically. I was able to achieve all of this in three days. Korpus says that it was quite fast, but he wasn¡¯t really surprised.

    After this as I was finally able to feel the mana inside me and tap into it, he gave me a book with simple and most basic spells from the dark magic skill tree.

    ¡°Pick two or three spells which are interesting to you and learn them. After you are able to cast them even when you sleep, pick other ones and repeat the process.¡± With those words he let me pick my first spells.

    I went through the entire book and in the end picked the ones which could be probably most useful to me in the nearest future. The first one was the Silence spell. I probably don¡¯t need to explain this one as its purpose is exactly as its name suggests. It silences the caster¡¯s actions, be it walking or touching something. Of course, it isn¡¯t perfect and it won¡¯t work on somebody with very high detection skills, but I will still be able to fool a lot of people with it.

    The second spell I chose was the Everlasting darkness spell. With this one I should be able to reinforce already existing dark places so that light cannot easily pierce through them. This should help me to stay hidden, even if there will be some light source near me. This spell also has a good secondary use as I can put out a fire with it, if it¡¯s close enough to me.

    It took me another four days to learn these spells until I was finally able to cast them whenever I pleased.

    ¡°Good, very good, Malakhay.¡±Korpus complimented me as I showed him the fruits of my hard work in his laboratory. ¡°When you will have some time you can pick another set of spells as I told you previously, but before that there is one important thing which I want to teach you.¡±

    ¡°What is it teacher?¡±

    ¡°Do you remember your first robe that I gave you and its ability?¡±

    I was slightly surprised at his question, but as I thought about it I was able to remember.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken it could hide my magical power.¡± I answered, still thinking about it.

    ¡°Exactly.¡±Korpus said before he continued. ¡°It was only thanks to its ability that you were able to kill that shadow lurker. But you can¡¯t count on those robes all the time. Something unexpected can happen anytime and if you lose the robe your magical power will scream out your location to any nearby mage.¡±

    I could guess what teacher was trying to tell me.

    ¡°So if you don¡¯t want to be spotted and killed easily you need to learn how to hide your magical power. There are three stages one can learn when hiding his magical power. In the first one you are able to stay hidden as long as you don¡¯t start casting a spell. That means that you will stay hidden as long as you don¡¯t start to collect the magical energy in your mana vessels, but the second you break this rule your disguise will be broken and mages will be able to detect you.

    In the second stage you can go a little bit further. It will allow you to stay hidden as you prepare your spell, but the second you use it and your chant is complete and the spell is cast, you will again shine like a lighthouse for the mages. This is quite hard to achieve, but it is perfect for ambushes as you can cast your first spell from hiding. If you are able to kill the mages in the vicinity with it, you can massacre the rest of your enemies and they probably won¡¯t even know what hit them.

    Then in the third stage, which is especially hard to master, you can supress your magical power and continue casting at the same time and not be detected. Of course, nothing is absolute, but as long as you don¡¯t stumble on some especially powerful mage with a very high perception, you will be allowed to do what you want.¡±

    I slowly processed teacher¡¯s words and understood the importance of this ability to hide my magical power from the others. I have no doubts about its usefulness as I remember that not only mages can spot me this way, but also a lot of monsters are able to track their prey by this method; the shadow lurker is only one from the bunch and not even the most perceptive one.

    ¡°I will try to learn it as fast as I can.¡± I answered, trying to show that I understood everything he said to me.

    ¡°Good. Now try to feel the flow of your magical power inside you as I taught you before.¡±

    I closed my eyes and did as he told me. I was getting better at it every day and now I needed only a few seconds to feel it. I nodded my head to let him know that I was prepared to continue.

    ¡°You already know how to guide it and use it, but now you must learn how to stop this flow.¡±

    ¡°Stop it?¡± I asked a little bit uncertain.

    ¡°Yes, stop it. After all, you don¡¯t need it for breathing, walking, or other things you do. You need it only when you want to use magic, so beside that it is useless to you. And if something useless is switched on, you just need to switch it off.¡±

    I concentrated on the flow which I could almost see before me and tried what teacher told me, but I didn¡¯t really know how. When I tried to pull it back, I was only able to reverse its flow. When I tapped into it, it just wanted to be released in the form of a spell. It was hard for me just to stay in contact with it and quite some time must have passed when my teacher stopped me.

    ¡°That will be enough for now. I didn¡¯t expectof you to be able to do it on your first try. It¡¯s hard to achieve and it is quite possible that you will need months to be able to do it properly.¡±

    I opened my eyes and could feel how the sweat formed on my forehead. As I wiped it off, Korpus continued.

    ¡°For now, practise it whenever you have time.¡± He said as he waited for me to catch my breath. When I finally calmed down he spoke again: ¡°That will be all for now. I want from you to get a good rest tonight. In the morning come and find me again.¡±

    As he instructed me I returned to my room and despite it still being only late afternoon I felt really tired. At first I wanted to continue with some of the exercises which I normally do, but today I just lied down on my bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

    The next morning I was able to get up before Aliss entered the room. I didn¡¯t wait for her and went to find teacher just as he requested from me yesterday. Entering his laboratory, he stopped me before I had a chance to sit down.

    ¡°Today you will do something slightly different, so come with me.¡± We left the laboratory together and he guided me to the lowest part of the catacombs. We walked till we didn¡¯t arrive ata large cave.

    ¡°This is the oldest part of the castle. At some point it was a place where the royal family was buried, but with time it became obsolete and now it doesn¡¯t have a purpose anymore.¡± Korpus explained to me as I looked around. It was literally just a cave supported by huge columns with old sarcophaguses built inside its walls.

    ¡°I brought you here for two reasons. First, you will need a place to experiment with spells and the queen was willing to let you borrow this space. And second, you will need to learn how to fight not only with magic, but also with your body and weapons. This, of course, cannot be done in my laboratory. This brings me to another thing I must tell you.¡± As teacher finished his explanations I could see something move in the distant shadows. But it was such a small movement that I discarded it just as my imagination. Shortly after that anunfamiliar voice appeared from the darkness before me.

    ¡°Is that the one you talked about?¡±

    ¡°Let me introduce you Malakhay. This is Hataya. You probably know that every king or queen has somebody who they call upon when they want somebody dead. Hataya is one of the queen¡¯s best assassins and she kindly agreed to teach you on my request.¡±

    As I listened to him, I studied the person before me. At first glance I couldn¡¯t tell much about her. Her height could be around 1,6m, same as my maid Aliss. Every distinguishable feature was hidden under the black cloth that she wore. Hair, skin colour, potential horns, I couldn¡¯t even see her eyes as they too were hidden behind some kind of veil. If Korpus didn¡¯t mention that she is a female I probably wouldn¡¯t even notice.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°As I said, she is doing this as a personal favour for me. So when she tells you something, you will heed her words as my own and you will show her proper respect as to somebody who is teaching you combat arts. It is something you will need to learn if you want to become a warlock.¡±

    ¡°Yes teacher.¡± Was my immediate answer as I knew that Korpus wouldn¡¯t tolerate any other words from me in this matter.

    ¡°Good.¡± Korpus said as he continued. ¡°Every morning from now on, when you wake up you will come here first. Only when she releases you from your training with her will you come and find me in my laboratory for your magic lessons. Now, I leave you in her hands.¡± As he finished, he slowly left from where we came from.

    As we were left alone, we silently stared at each other for a few minutes.

    ¡°So you are the one who saved Korpus¡¯s life.¡± She stated, still only looking at me without any change.

    ¡°Yes, master Hataya.¡±

    ¡°Only master, you don¡¯t need to speak my name. The same applies when somebody asks you if you are being trained. Your answer will be no. Half of the assassin¡¯s success comes from secrecy and you will do well to remember it quickly.¡± She told me, while still studying me. I don¡¯t know why, but something about her way of looking at me felt weird. It was like she was already trying to find a way to kill me quickly and be done with it.

    ¡°Before we start, here is a little question from me, just as a matter of my curiosity. What do you think about holding on to your honour as you fight?¡±

    I didn¡¯t need to think about it as the answer come instantly to me.

    ¡°It¡¯s for idiots who deserve to be killed and I¡¯m willing to use any means if it allows me to stay alive.¡± I answered as I remembered my stay with the slave traders. Nobody asked me what I want or how I feel, so I don¡¯t see a reason why I should bother. I never want to be caught again and as I said, I¡¯m willing to do anything against it.

    As I gave her my answer, Hataya nodded her head once.

    ¡°If youhad said that fighting dirty is despicable, I would have beaten the shit out of you. As you said, honour is for idealists and idiots and it shouldn¡¯t be allowed on the battlefield. When the queen is expecting results from you, you will give them to her, be it through deceit, murder or betrayal.¡±

    I must more or less agree with her words, the only difference being that I intend to work for myself in the future, and not the queen.

    ¡°Now we will fight, so I can ascertain your ability.¡± As she finished her words, she didn¡¯t give me any room for objections and attacked me. It didn¡¯t take long for me to understand that I was overly optimistic when she called it a fight, as I was one-sidedly beaten. Be it speed, power or technique Hataya was better in every aspect. Truth to be told, most of the time I couldn¡¯t even tell where she was, or what she did. It was like I had transformed into her personal punching bag. It could have been around 5 minutes when I finally collapsed on the ground, not able to move even a single muscle anymore.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any speed, power or technique. It will be quite a chore to make something useful out of you.¡± She stated emotionless as she stood above me without showing any kind of fatigue.

    After that she waited until I recovered a little bit and started to give me her instructions of what to do for today. It wasn¡¯t anything special, she just ordered me to run at my highest speed until I collapse from exhaustion. As days went by she didn¡¯t show any signs of changing her initial instructions. After I collapsed maybe 5<sup>th</sup> or 6<sup>th</sup> time, she finally stopped this extravagant torture of hers.

    ¡°That will be enough for today. I will be expecting you here at the same time tomorrow.¡±

    As I was prepared to finally leave, she stopped me in the last minute: ¡°Also be ready, from now onwards I will attack you whenever I deem it right. Be it when you are asleep, or with lord Korpus, or when I¡¯m in the mood to beat you, it can happen anytime. Your homework is to spot my incoming attack and guard against it.¡± With those words I was finally allowed to leave. I did what Korpus said to me and went to find him in his laboratory.

    ¡°Go and take a rest for today.¡± Those were his words as I entered the room. Only now I noticed that it was already late at night. The only thing I did today was run around, so I tried to protest against teacher¡¯s words.

    ¡°But teacher¡­¡±

    ¡°No, you should rest for today as your new training took its toll. We will continue with magic tomorrow.¡±

    As I was released, I headed for my room. When I finally entered it I didn¡¯t have any energy left to practice spells on my own, so I did what Korpus suggested and went to bed. I must say I probably don¡¯t remember the last time I fell asleep so quickly.

    I woke up as the cold water was splashed on my face.

    ¡°Master Malakhay, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡± Aliss said, as she started to fill the bucket she had with her with water once again.

    I slowly opened my eyes and sat on the bed just so I don¡¯t receive another cold shower. I must say, my whole body was tingling with pain. That accursed Hataya came two times during the night when I slept and beat me to a pulp as I wasn¡¯t able to do shit about her. I¡¯m starting to suspect that it isn¡¯t training, but just a pure abuse from her side.

    After I ate a quick breakfast, I did as I was instructed and went to the deepest part of the catacombs again. As I arrived,there was nobody there. As I waited for master Hataya to arrive, something struck my neck from behind and before I knew what was happening I found myself on the ground. The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Hataya¡¯s hand, hidden under those black clothes of hers.

    I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but when I finally woke up she ordered me to run again. That was my whole schedule for the day. I ran, meanwhile she attacked me a few times and beat me until I finally fainted and probably because I looked like I don¡¯t have enough of it we also sparred. She was merciless. When she was finally satisfied and released me it was already quite late in the afternoon. And as if it wasn¡¯t enough, after I have arrived to the laboratory Kropus started again with his teachings about hiding my magical energy. In the end I was so tired that I didn¡¯t even notice that I was knocked out by Hataya once I was finally heading for my room.

    ***

    ¡°So? How is he doing?¡± Korpus asked, late in the night after Malakhayhad left.

    ¡°He is a complete beginner when it comes to fights. I¡¯m surprised that he was able to run from those slavers.¡± Hataya answered him as she entered the laboratory.

    ¡°That bad, hmm? I must apologize to you, before I didn¡¯t have any time to teach him something useful as everything happened very fast.¡±

    ¡°But he is not hopeless.¡± From Hataya¡¯s mouth those words were like a compliment. ¡°He isn¡¯t na?ve as most of the newcomers and doesn¡¯t mind to fight dirty. I can tell that once capable, he will be merciless to his enemies.¡±

    ¡°Yes, he suffered enough to know that nobody will spare him.¡± Korpus remembered Malakhay¡¯s recent history. ¡°It was the right choice to leave him in your hands.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, lord Korpus. I promise you that as long as he will listen to me, I will teach him as much as I can.¡±

    ***

    As days went by, very little has changed. My busy schedule of running, throwing up my breakfast, then running again, sparring and throwing up my launch continued. But to say everything stayed the same would be a lie. Yesterday, master Hataya borrowed some undead servants from Korpus and ordered me to fight against them. It were only skeletons, but I was more or less able to stand my ground against them until it became three against one, then it became a one-sided massacre and I probably don¡¯t need to explain who was the one being massacred.

    Also, I was successful for the first time in predicting Hataya¡¯s ambush. It happened in the hallway as I was heading for the training with her when I got this weird feeling, telling me, something painful will happen if I walk through it. My whole body tingled as I hesitated to move forward. In the end,Hataya slowly emerged from the dark corner before me.

    ¡°What you felt just now was my bloodlust which I showed in my intention to harm you. Remember this feeling well, as it will always help you to reveal even hidden enemies.¡± As she told this to me, she didn¡¯t beat me for the first time. But there is no need to worry as she corrected this little mistake of hers later that day.

    I was able to show some results even in hiding my magical energy that day. It wasn¡¯t perfect as I wasn¡¯t able to stop my magical flow totally, but I was able to slow it down. Teacher praised me for it saying I¡¯m on a very good path.

    ¡°Today, I have prepared something special for you.¡± Korpus said as I opened the door.

    Not even letting me to sit down he ordered me to follow him. We went to a different laboratory of his and after entering I could spot something resembling a magic circle on the ground. Before I was able to ask something he already started his explanations.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken you should have learned one of my spells called: Soul weapon.¡±

    I quickly checked it in my Status and nodded.

    ¡°Normally, it would be impossible for you to cast it as it is completely out of range of your ability. But the truth is, it is a quite special spell and this rule can be bypassed if I offer my help to you.¡± Korpus said as he ordered me to stay inside the circle.

    ¡°As I said, it¡¯s a unique spell which can be cast once in one¡¯s life. If you are successful a weapon will be created by it. This weapon is specific for each caster and it¡¯s created from a partof his soul or soul-core, in your case both of them.¡±

    ¡°Teacher, why is it possible for me to use this spell?¡± My curiosity got the better of me as I asked him.

    ¡°When cast normally it would need a tremendous amount of mana to be completed and I can help with its supply. Through that circle,¡± he pointed at the floor under me, ¡°I will pour my manainto you, let your body transform it into your own and then use it in casting a spell. That way we can temporarily bypass your lack of mana in this case.¡±

    Giving me some last instructions, he slowly started to pour his mana into the circle beneath me. As it absorbed his power, the outer layer started to shine as mana was being redirected and finally entered into me. I was prepared as he told me, but it was still shocking. The sheer amount of it almost tore me apart as it started circling in my mana vessels. The second layer of the circle helped me transform it to my own and remain in control of it as I started to cast a spell: ¡°???? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ???, ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???. [My soul which is one with me, obey your master and became my weapon to slay those which stand in my path.]¡±

    As I finished the chant, all that accumulated power was sucked from me in one swoop and started to form a weapon before me. It was hard to concentrate and any mistake would probably spell my doom as the power which wasn¡¯t originally mine would probably burn me to cinders if I couldn¡¯t control it. But after a few moments the oppressing feeling left me and as I opened my eyes I could see a beautiful scythe before me.

    It was slightly longer than me. I could tell at first glance that it wasn¡¯t created from any ordinary metal as it had a sinister radiance and just by touching it I could tell that it was a part of me. The black colouredshaft wasn¡¯t plain as one would expect, as it was created from endless images of weeping souls, as if they were trying to climb up on top of each other from the deepest parts of the abyss. The lower part of it had a short blade attached to it, so that I could attack with both sides of the weapon. In the upper end of the shaft was a short chain with a skull hanging on it attached to the scythe. The main blade of the weapon was curved and had an unusual white-greyish colour.

    ¡°Let me inspect it for a second.¡± Korpus said, startling me as I totally forgot about him while admiring the weapon. I handed it to him as he requested and the moment he touched it an oppressive feeling of fear and dread almost overcame me. It felt like he was holding a part of me as a hostage.

    ¡°I must say, you don¡¯t cease to amaze me,Malakhay.¡± He said, still studying it. ¡°I can tell that the blade can strike the very soul of your opponent, if he has some, and canalso be very dangerous for the soul-core. The skull on it seems to be a focus point and can help you with casting, something like a mage staff. It will go well with your warlock title as it can support you either in magic or in plain physical combat. It is a powerful weapon. Also, I can see how uncomfortable you look when I¡¯m holding it. Remember that it has been created from the essence of your soul, so if somebody else takes a hold of it, it can end very badly for you.¡± With that he returned it to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad everything went well, but I must also warn you. It was created from the soul of a demon and therefore it can get quite greedy. Don¡¯t forget that you are the one who wields the weapon and don¡¯t let the weapon wield you. You are the one doing the fighting, if you lose yourself in its power it will slowly devour you and only an empty husk will remain which will be controlled by the weapon.¡±

    I nodded as I could tell that this scythe had that ability.

    Korpus, satisfied with my answer, nodded silently. Then probably bored with the serious atmosphere,he asked casually: ¡°So, how will you name it?¡±

    As I thought about it I lost myselfagain in the weeping images of the souls on the handle and also remembered his words about the blade being able to damage the soul, so the name came naturally to me: ¡°Luo-Khai.¡±

    ¡°That means Soul-eater in the old language of demons. Yes, a fitting name for something with those abilities. The only thing left to do is to teach you how to store it.¡± I was probably looking like I¡¯m preparing for another hard task that he will give me, because he looked like he enjoyed teasing me like this. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it isn¡¯t anything complicated. You just need to command it to return to you. Now that you can control your magic to some degree it should be quite easy.¡±

    It was like Korpus said and when I poured a small amount of my mana into Luo-Khai, it slowly transformed into a thick, dark, misty matter. It started to climb my arm like some strange snake until it finally nested itself on my back and formed a large symbol resembling the scythe itself.

    ¡°Very good.¡±Korpus complimented me when he saw that I was able to do it on my first try. ¡°When you want to wield it do the same thing, only reverse.¡±

    After that we left the laboratory behind us and he sent me to get some rest. He also instructed me that tomorrow I should get used to Luo-Khai and there won¡¯t be any other training. When I looked dubiously at him he chuckled in good mood.

    ¡°Hataya must have been really strict with you if you forgot that tomorrow is the last day the slave traders stay in the city. Once you finish with your new weapon, come to me and we will see what can be done in this matter.¡±

    I instantly remembered that I have some unfinished business with them. Hearing Korpus¡¯s words, a nasty grin settled on my face as I already knew that tomorrow will be a bloody night and it won¡¯t be my blood that will be spilled.

 Chapter 20: Farewell to friends (part 1)

    <h1>Chapter 20: Farewell to friends (part 1)</h1>

    The day after obtaining Luo-Khai, Malakhay did as Korpus suggested to him as he was trying to get used to his new weapon. Thanks to the scythe being a part of him it wasn¡¯t as hard as he anticipated and in a few hours he could already swing it more-or-less the way he wanted. At first it was an awkward feeling when he tried to slash something with it, but then he understood that he shouldn¡¯t just use it mindlessly. He finally understood what Korpus ment the previous day when he said that the weapon has its own will and they needed to be on the same page to be efficient. When Malakhay was finally able to do it, he could compare it to a situation where you started the sentence, but somebody else finished it for you. After he revealed where or how he wanted to attack, the scythe itself guided him and his strikes became more precise. He didn¡¯t know if it counted as the weapon wielding him, but for now that was the only method he could come up with that helped him with controlling Luo-Khai.

    The skull, which was used as a focus for magic instead of a magic staff, also came in handy. Thanks to it, it became easier for him to concentrate and gather mana when he wanted to cast something and his casting speed became higher.

    It was when the sun started to set, when he stopped what he was doing and went to find Korpus in one of his laboratories. After knocking on the door, he entered without waiting for a response and found Korpus sitting behind a large working table.

    Korpus knowing that Malakhay was coming to see him welcomed him in good mood.

    ¡°So? Are you ready? After all, this is what you have so eagerly awaited.¡± He teased him, knowing what the answer will be.

    ¡°Yes teacher, I can¡¯t wait to butcher those bastards.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± With that word, he stood up and together with Malakhay left the room.

    As they went deeper into the catacombs, the long hallways changed as they slowly started to acquire a more cavern-like look. Before he noticed they slowly approached a steel door and after Korpus opened them, the sewers appeared.

    ¡°Teacher, this is¡­¡±

    ¡°As I told you, the catacombs are the oldest part of the castle. They also served as an emergency exit in the past, but now only a few people are aware of this. The sewers are a large complex of pathways that crosses the whole city. This way, we can get anywhere without being spotted.¡±

    ¡°But teacher, couldn¡¯t they be used this way for infiltrating the castle?¡±

    ¡°In a normal city, yes, but Grimthorn is special. Each exit is magically sealed and if somebody tries to get through it will immediately alarm us; that is if they are able to break the seal which was created by the cooperation of the queen herself and us lich-lords.¡±

    As Malakhay was listening to the explanation, he noticed that they have slowly started ascending the stairs. It wasn¡¯t long before they have finally reached a door. Korpus signalled him to stop as he approached them and placed his hand on them. While Korpus quietly chanted something, Malakhay could feel that quite a lot of mana was being poured into the locks. One after the other they loudly clicked as they were being unlocked. With the seal undone, Korpus opened the door and went through them with Malakhay in his tow. Right after that, Korpus put the seal back.

    Malakhay stared as the door before him changed into a brick wall and blended with its surroundings. With everything put back to its place, they continued walking down the dark alley. With the sun already set only the dark night surrounded them. It didn¡¯t take them even 10 minutes and they reached a large plaza which was used as a slave market during daytime. Trying to stay out of the sight of other people, they circled around it, staying in the shadows and finally stopped not too far from the main road, before a two story small villa. From Malakhay¡¯s view, it was similar to the other villas in the area. The only difference was the two orcs who acted as guards before the entrance.

    ¡°Everybody should be inside that mansion or in the stables behind it, probably preparing for departure.¡± As Korpus said this, he started chanting and it took him quite some time until he finished.

    ¡°With this everything is prepared. Nobody will be able to escape and nobody from the outside would be able to hear any noise coming from inside. If something unexpected happens you needn¡¯t worry as I will come to your aid. With that said I hope you will enjoy yourself.¡± Korpus spoke as he presented the path to the mansion to Malakhay like some actor on the prepared stage.

    As the scythe slowly materialised in Malakhay¡¯s hand, he stated to approach the mansion before him.

    ¡°Thank you, teacher.¡± Were the last words Korpus could hear from him as he went to savour his reward.

    As Korpus stood hidden, he thought about how this night will end. Normally the queen wouldn¡¯t allow this to happen inside the city, but she was willing to do an exception for Malakhay, as she was interested in him. Korpus could also feel it, the weird feeling which told him that the little creature is somehow different. He was smart, cunning and his progress was too quick to be called just luck. The only other being he encountered which was similar to Malakhay was the queen when she was still young.

    ¡°Master Korpus, the area is secured, as the queen requested. There won¡¯t be any interruptions.¡± Hataya said, as she appeared behind him out of nowhere.

    ¡°Good work.¡± Korpus nodded still observing the quiet villa. ¡°Now, show me Malakhay, are you the prey or the hunter?¡±

    ***

    After leaving the teacher¡¯s side, I quickly approached the stony wall which was protecting the mansion. With the sharp talons on my new hands and feet, which were formed by that mist before, I was able to easily climb over it in no time. After reaching the ground on the other side, I held Luo-Khay prepared in case somebody spotted me, but there was nobody in the near vicinity.

    ¡°First, I should kill all the nuisances and leave the best part for the end.¡± Malakhay murmured to himself as he started to get close to the stables which were located in the back side. Reaching the corner, he peeked out to see the very well-known carriages equipped with cages. They didn¡¯t finish their loading yet as three of them were still empty. In the remaining two I could see some slaves. While looking around I could see only 3 guards, one of them being the mage. He was probably checking the condition of the cages; the second one was tending to horses and the third was standing at the entrance. I¡¯m probably lucky with the mage being here. If I¡¯m able to kill him before they notice that something has happened only one will remain and the chance of being found by spotting my magical energy will lessen.

    After preparing myself mentally again I crouched behind the corner with Luo-Khai ready in my hand. Checking if I¡¯m out of their range of vision I silently approached the carriages and quickly hid under one of them. Waiting for the right moment, after a few minutes I was able to slip under the one which was being checked by the orc mage. He was on the back side of the carriage, where the door to the cage was. Trying to get his attention I knocked once on the opposite side of the carriage with the scythe. I needed to repeat this two more times after he finally noticed something strange and decided to come and have a look. Just as he was walking alongside the carriage I waited until he was no longer in the sight of the orc who stood before the entrance of the mansion. Waiting for the right moment I slipped out from under the carriage and now I was right behind the mage. I didn¡¯t wait for any further invitation as I lifted Luo-Khai over my head and while jumping I made a quick sweeping motion with it. The orc before me never knew what hit him as his severed head touched the ground and his body followed with a large puddle of greenish blood forming above the neck. The blade of Luo-Khai cut through him like through butter. Only now I truly realised how great the weapon in my hands really was. Satisfied with my first kill a pleasant smile appeared on my lips as I quickly checked if the remaining guards noticed anything, but they resumed their duties without suspicion.

    While looking around I noticed that the slaves inside the cage of the carriage that stood next to the one where I was hiding were staring at me, their eyes full of surprise and shock. I quickly showed them to stay quiet for now. Quickly nodding to my request they kept observing me. I took the knife which the mage had and approached the orc near the entrance as quietly as I could while staying out of his sight. Not knowing if somebody will come out from the mansion to check how things here progressed, I needed to get inside as quickly as I could. While still unnoticed I threw the knife, with the orc¡¯s head as the target.

    *CLANG*

    Of course not having the proper training the knife struck the wall near the orc and noisily ended on the ground. The orc, surprised from the sudden noise, looked for its source and spotted the knife lying nearby. It took him a moment before he realised what really happened and just as he touched his weapon and looked around I was already launched in a high jump, swinging my scythe. The moment the knife hit the wall I sprinted with full power straight at the guard. As he was distracted, he was unable to notice me until it was too late for him to do something. Similarly as before, I cut off his head, this time receiving all the blood splatter. Not losing any time I immediately went and killed the orc near the horses easily as he still didn¡¯t notice anything.

    I must say, it was such a nice feeling when I killed them. While calming down I was trying to savour it and I could tell that a large smile appeared on my face.

    Noticing that the slaves still stared at me I slowly approached them.

    ¡°Let us out of here.¡± The man locked in the cage demanded louder than I would like.

    Looking at them there were 6 of them, 2 men and 4 women. If I¡¯m not mistaken this was a cage where the worker slaves were kept. The other one which held slaves was the one where children were and there were only 3 of them, all of them girls, probably under the age of ten. By now they have also noticed me and looked at me with pleading eyes.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Ignoring the man, I first went to the cage with the children. The lock didn¡¯t pose any problem for Luo-Khay and I was able to get them out of there in no time.

    ¡°Wait here.¡± I ordered them, while I started to work on the second lock, where the adults were kept. As the cage opened, the man who previously spoke to me pushed the door open and jumped out of the cage while the rest of the slaves followed him with more fear in their movements.

    ¡°Thanks bro.¡± He said as he patted my shoulder like I was some kind of friend.

    ¡°No problem.¡± I responded, while the blade of my scythe moved quickly and beheaded him. Most of them didn¡¯t even have time to react as I reaped their lives one after another and the large fountains of red blood decorated my surroundings. Only the other man was able to make a run for it, but with the chains around his feet he couldn¡¯t make it very far before I was able to catch up to him. Before he had any chance to plead with me I sliced his neck and looked how the blood gushed out from it.

    As I returned only the 3 little girls were left alive. Sitting in the blood of their fellow humans they trembled while hugging each other.

    ¡°Please¡­¡± The snot ran down their faces as they started their weeping.

    ¡°Nope, letting you live would be a bother.¡± I informed them with a cheerful voice and in one clean sweep killed them all. Nobody helped me when I pleaded, so I didn¡¯t see any reason to make an exception for them and teacher previously instructed me that I should take care of all the witnesses. If a word would get out that queen was involved my head would roll and I¡¯m not willing to treasure other lives before my own, especially without any benefits included for me.

    With the work outside of the mansion done I casted the two spells I learned in the last two weeks and finally entered the mansion.

    ***

    ¡°Interesting, I know that he is a demon, but to kill even children so easily, with a smile nevertheless.¡± Korpus spoke to himself amusedly as he watched Malakhay¡¯s progress from outside. Truthfully speaking he thought that by now Malakhay would need his help, but it seems that their enemy is more incompetent than he had anticipated.

    Right after killing everybody outside he could see how Malakhay secretly snuck inside the mansion and slowly started executing everybody he met. The mansion had two floors and a basement. Right now Malakhay was going around the first floor while killing the patrols. Most of the orcs were beheaded for the sake of staying hidden, while others had their hearts pierced with the spear-like part of the scythe. Once everybody on the first floor was killed Malakhay approached the stairs to the second.

    ¡°Looks like he will need my help soon.¡± Korpus thought as he observed the stairs leading to a large dining room which was filled with orcs. There were 11 of them together with the remaining mage. Korpus was left amused at the image of Malakhay who charged inside like some rabid dog. More or less ignoring everything else he ran straight at the mage and using the moment of surprise he was able to gut him like a fish. With his intestines pouring out of him the mage orc howled and fell to the ground. After that Malakhay tried to run back to the dark corridor he came from, but two orcs who were not as stupid as the rest that still stared at the mage, stood in his path. One of them attacked him with a large sword swinging it overhead. Malakhay knowing he will be overpowered didn¡¯t try to block the strike and instead slid between his legs. While being right beneath the orc he chopped off one of his legs beneath the knee. Not being able to stand anymore, the orc fell down while shouting and holding what was left of his leg.

    After this little stunt Malakhay quickly stood up and attacked the second orc nearby, but that one was already prepared for it and blocked the strike with his sword. Malakhay remembered what Hataya beat into him with that little time she had and moved from one side to the other, not stopping his movements. Being so small in comparison with orcs was an advantage this time for him, because the orc couldn¡¯t land a hit on him. Using this, Malakhay stabbed the blade on the handle of the scythe through the orc¡¯s foot. Being distracted by the pain, the orc let Malakhay slip to his unguarded side. He swung down the scythe with a large arc, cutting the orc from his shoulder, through the ribs, down to his leg.

    ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s time to go.¡±

    ***

    Just as I killed the second orc who stood in my way, I was suddenly kicked from behind. Not being prepared for it I flew a few meters while landing back in the middle of the room.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± While cursing, I stood up and turned to the one who kicked me, but I was already surrounded by the 8 orcs. As they prepared to chop me to little pieces, one of them started to cry in a terrified voice.

    Surprised at what happened this time, everybody, including me, looked at him, just to see green flames engulf his body. Not being able to understand where it came from the orcs hesitated at what to do and totally forgot about me. The flame soon appeared on each one of them and the room looked like a picture of hell, where 8 bodies on fire ran around as they tried to put it out.

    ¡°Are you hurt Malakhay?¡± Came the question from my teacher as he entered the room.

    ¡°No, thank you for your help.¡± I looked at him, thankful for his help. Without him I would be probably dead now.

    He must have noticed my curious look when I studied the screaming orcs as he started explaining.

    ¡°Those flames are just an illusion and won¡¯t harm the body physically. With that said, you can kill them without hesitation.¡±

    ¡°They look like they have been tossed into real flames.¡±

    ¡°Yes, when this spell is used on somebody, he will think that the flames are real and he will even feel the pain, but there won¡¯t be any damage caused by them.¡±

    ¡°Is it possible to leave them on fire? It looks like they are enjoying it and we can kill them before we will leave.¡± I pleaded, satisfied with their cries. I wanted them to suffer as much as possible.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if that¡¯s what you want.¡± Korpus accepted my request and we headed for the rest of the second floor.

    From now onwards Korpus will stay with me and help me. He planned to do this from the start, but I wanted to try how far I could get with my abilities and this was the perfect opportunity. There were only a few guards on the second floor. As we approached them, Korpus chanted a spell and their skin started to melt like it was dipped in acid. After the skin was gone, the same thing happened to the muscles, until only bones remained. The slavers still didn¡¯t have a single clue of what was happening, because teacher isolated each closed room. They couldn¡¯t hear a single thing from outside neither open the door to leave.

    We found 4 of the slave traders while they had a party with some female slaves. Not being aware of what happened outside they still enjoyed themselves as we entered the room. When they finally spotted us they started shouting:

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    And so on, and so on.

    Being annoyed by them, I approached the closest one and used my sharp talons to plunge my arm into his stomach. Ripping through the flesh, I pierced his stomach with one of my talons, letting the stomach acid in it pour out inside of him. Not being able to withstand the pain he ducked down in loud screams.

    As the morning was quickly approaching and I still had some unfinished business, I killed the rest of the slavers in the room quite quickly by dissecting them with Luo-Khai. For a few seconds the female slaves looked relieved, but that was only until I started to behead them. Korpus just silently watched me from near the entrance whole time. When I was finally finished, whole room bathed in freshly spilled blood.

    Leaving the room, only one was left on this floor which was still unchecked. As I anticipated, when I opened the door I immediately spotted Larkus naked on the bed, while he was pinning down the restrained dark elf.

    Noticing the opened door he shouted: ¡°What do you want? Didn¡¯t I tell you not to enter unless it¡¯s important?¡± He clearly didn¡¯t recognize me, because of me evolving into a high imp. As he stared daggers at me, Korpus entered the room right after me. The stupid look which showed on his face was priceless.

    ¡°So this is that Larkus that took such good care of you Malakhay.¡± As Korpus said this, Larkus changed colour almost instantly and now he was white as a ghost. I pulled down the hood which was still covering my face as I spoke:

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m really indebted to him and I plan to return it with interest.¡± I smiled while looking at Larkus.

    ¡°No, no, no, please, spare me.¡± He didn¡¯t lose any time and immediately started to beg.

    ¡°So this is how I looked when I begged you. I must say it¡¯s quite a pitiful sight.¡± I commented, still smiling.

    Knowing I won¡¯t show any mercy he jumped down from the bed and ran to the window, but as he tried to open it, it didn¡¯t even budge. This was thanks to Korpus¡¯s spell which made sure that nobody was able to leave the mansion. Seeing the window won¡¯t open Larkus grabbed the dagger on the nearby table and tried to make a run for it. Just as he approached me I swung Luo-Khai in a large arc and cut off both his feet. Not being able to stand, he fell down and kissed the floor with his mouth.

    ¡°Gyaaaa!¡± He screamed, while looking at his bloodied legs.

    ¡°Teacher, could you get him to the basement, if I remember correctly there should be better equipment for what I have in store for him.¡± I asked Korpus in a sweet voice, making my intentions obvious to Larkus.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Teacher said as he summoned five death knights. Two of them grabbed Larkus by his ankles tight enough to stop the bleeding and dragged him away, leaving only the bloody smear behind him. The rest of the death knights were supposed to clear the basement and kill everybody who was still alive except for Zuran. I originally wanted to kill everybody myself, but as I mentioned, morning was quickly approaching and my main targets were Larkus and Zuran.

    As I prepared to kill the dark elf before me she stopped me.

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t do it! I could be useful to you.¡± She said, while looking at me, strangely not showing any signs of fear. While looking into her eyes, there was something different from the other slaves. If I¡¯m not mistaken it was rage.

    ¡°And why should I bother?¡± I asked still prepared to end her life.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t that troll tell you that I helped you before? Without me you would have died back in the goblin village.¡±

    I remembered how Ruon¡¯ga mentioned that she gave him the herbs which he used while treating me. Small hesitation probably showed on my face as she repeated herself.

    ¡°Let me live and I will gladly serve you.¡±

    ¡°Sure and when I¡¯m not looking I will end up with a knife in my back, no thank you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to sell my soul to you in a demon contract.¡± She said as if she made a big decision.

    I just blankly stared at her, not knowing what she was talking about. I looked at my teacher for explanation and he was almost laughing.

    ¡°The demon contract is an ancient ritual which can be performed by pure-blooded demons. One offers himself into the demon¡¯s servitude for the rest of his life in exchange for a favour. Once done, the contract cannot be breached and the servant is at the mercy of the demon.¡± As he finished a quick explanation, he added: ¡°To my knowledge this deal was established only a couple of times when the contractor was really desperate in reaching his goal.¡±

    I stared at the elf before asking: ¡°And? What do you want in return?¡±

    ¡°Two things.¡± She declared with a voice which wouldn¡¯t allow anything less. ¡°First, I want to kill Larkus myself. Before you speak, let me tell you that I was at his mercy longer than you and I can reassure you that I will make hell look like paradise for him before finishing him off. The second thing is revenge on my clan who tricked me and sold me into slavery. Promise to grant me these two things and I will serve you for the rest of my life.¡±

    Having a servant dedicated only to me while the queen is watching me could prove useful. If what Korpus said about the contract is true, then she won¡¯t be able to betray me. As I thought about it I must say it wasn¡¯t a bad deal for me and for a second I glanced at my teacher.

    ¡°It¡¯s your decision and I¡¯m sure the queen would also accept it. Sooner or later you will need some subordinates to do your duties more efficiently.¡± Teacher calmly explained to me, still amused by the elf¡¯s proposition.

    After considering it one more time, I decided that it will benefit me greatly and decided to accept it.

    ¡°Ok, what am I supposed to do?¡± I asked as this is the first time I heard about the contract.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually quite simple. You just need to draw this empty magic circle on her body where her heart is with your blood.¡± He drew it for me on the ground nearby by swinging his hand and using magic. ¡°After that she needs to pledge herself to your service while piercing the middle of the circle with a knife. Once that is done the contract is established and her soul will no longer belong to her.¡±

    With looking at her one more time, she only came closer, shamelessly exposing her chest to me. I must say, while looking at her from this distance she has an exotic beauty which was probably hard to find elsewhere. Not wanting to be distracted by the fact that she was still naked I bit my finger and concentrated on drawing the symbol I saw on the ground. After finishing it Korpus checked it for me and nodded satisfied with my work. All that was left was for her to pledge herself to my service.

    ¡°I, Nlaea of the Darkmoon clan, pledge myself to the servitude of my master and offer my soul in exchange for the wishes he acknowledged.¡± With those words she pierced the symbol on her chest with a knife. As the wound started to bleed, it looked weird because the blood which was spilled didn¡¯t leave the boundaries of the magic circle. Finally, when the whole circle was covered by it, the bleeding suddenly stopped and she took out the knife. But the steel blade wasn¡¯t the only thing that came out as a transparent, white, misty cloud also left her body. It mixed with her blood inside the magic circle and formed a symbol in the process. After checking it out, it looked like a letter M around which was coiling a dragon¡¯s body.

    While the symbol was created, I could feel another mind in my head. Realizing that it belonged to the dark elf before me I could tell she was feeling satisfaction right now.

    ¡°I¡¯m yours to command, master.¡± She said while bowing to me.

    ¡°It looks like it went well.¡± Korpus stated, still curiously observing us.

    ¡°Probably yes,¡± I said, staring at the elf while feeling her emotions. ¡°We have lost enough time, so get some clothes so we can leave. After all, we have a guest waiting for us downstairs and I want to present him with as much of our time as possible.¡±

    ¡°I will gladly obey.¡± Saying this, a cruel smile formed on her beautiful lips.

 Chapter 21: Farewell to friends (part 2)

    <h1>Chapter 21: Farewell to friends (part 2)</h1>

    After sealing the demon contract, the three of us left the room. The only thing left to do was to find Zuran and then take care of him together with Larkus. As our small group headed toward the basement we again came across the group of orcs which were previously set on illusionary fire by Korpus. Not being able to escape or put it out, some of them died out of shock from the constant pain that was delivered to them and some were still tossing their bodies helplessly around.

    Not wanting to spend any more time on this garbage, because the morning was approaching, I quickly ended their lives with Luo-Khai. That was the first time I noticed some changes since this night adventure of mine started. It felt like my attacks were slightly faster and a little bit more powerful than before. I wanted to ignore it, thinking it must be just my imagination, but as I stared at Luo-Khai, teacher probably noticed my puzzled look as he asked me:

    ¡°Feeling more powerful than before, are you?¡±

    Not knowing how he knew my exact feelings I looked at him almost thinking he could read my mind.

    ¡°I thought it was just my imagination, but now that teacher also mentioned it I must say yes.¡± I tried to explain while he nodded his head.

    ¡°Sooner than expected, but I guess it¡¯s thanks to that weapon of yours.¡±

    When I looked at the scythe in my hand, teacher reminded me of our previous conversation.

    ¡°Do you remember when I explained to you how the souls and soul cores work once you kill their master?¡±

    I nodded, remembering what he told me when we were in the elven forest, not long after I was summoned. If I recall it correctly, when I kill a monster and devour its soul core I become more powerful and the same applies if I kill something with a soul, then I get something called expi from them.

    ¡°That is exactly what is happening here.¡± Teacher told me, pointing at the bodies lying around. ¡°The thing is, your new weapon seems to hasten this process when souls are involved.¡± As he said this, he cast some spell on the last living orc in the vicinity and urged me to kill it with Luo-Khai. I did as he asked and slashed with it at the orc before me without minding his pleading eyes. As the blade of the scythe entered the orc¡¯s body and went through his chest, the orc died almost instantly. But the blood wasn¡¯t the only thing I could see now. Under the teacher¡¯s spell, as Luo-Khai emerged from the body, it pulled out a misty substance with it, resembling the one that appeared when Nlaea sold her soul to me.

    Realizing that it was probably the orc¡¯s soul, I was left staring for a moment. While being pulled away from the body, the soul showed an anguished expression on what one could call a face as it tried to return to its owner¡¯s body. While being exposed, Luo-Khai started to devour the soul before it, not giving it any time to set free from its clutches. When the soul was finally able to free itself a large part of it was already swallowed and only a tiny bit was able to return to its previous owner. The devoured part went through Luo-Khai¡¯s body and finally a large part of it entered me through my hands which held the scythe. As it happened I could tell that I gained a little bit of power.

    After everything settled down, I noticed that teacher still calmly observed me, while the dark elf had a surprised look plastered on her face. From our connection I could feel all her surprise and fear at the same time, fear being the dominant one.

    ¡°Normally, only a very small portion of the soul is chipped off when the body is killed and the rest vanishes.¡± Teacher started his explanations while we resumed or walk to the basement. ¡°But by pulling it out of the body, your weapon is able to devour a much larger part and thanks to that you also gain more power from it. You surely also noticed that some of the devoured soul is consumed directly by Luo-Khai.¡±

    I nodded as I could tell that a small part of it stayed within the scythe.

    ¡°As I told you, Luo-Khai has a mind of its own and for now you are its master. But, if one day it is able to amass more power than you can control, it will take over and devour you.¡±

    ¡°But teacher, is it really possible for that to happen? I mean, just now it granted me a much bigger part of the soul; at this rate it will never become more powerful than me.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you listen to me?¡± Korpus asked, this time a little bit annoyed. ¡°I said it has its own will. For now, it is just a new born baby, not really knowing right from left, but as time goes by it will grow together with you. When that happens you will need to be prepared to reign over it with a firm will.¡±

    As I thought about teacher¡¯s words, we finally arrived to the basement of the mansion. As we went through it, we could see the dead bodies of the remaining orcs who were probably busy with their fuck toys when the death knights found them. As teacher guided us to the farthest room we could already hear Larkus shouting and screaming. Finally entering the room, we found him bound to the sturdy wooden table with the death knights standing on guard, pressuring his wounds and making sure he doesn¡¯t bleed to death.

    Teacher took the initiative and with a quick chant he seared his wounds with only stumps left in the exchange for his feet. Looking at him, a big smile appeared on my mouth as I savoured his face going completely pale when he finally spotted us. Seeing that Nlaea was standing behind me clothed and without any restrains, he immediately started pleading for his life.

    ¡°No, p¡­p¡­please, don¡¯t, don¡¯t do it. I¡­, I will give you money, or¡­, or slaves, yes as many slaves as you want. I can work for you. Ask anything, just don¡¯t kill me.¡± With snot running down from his nose, I must say, he looked comical.

    I looked around the room, trying to find the second guest of honour that should have been present, but I couldn¡¯t spot anybody. Not able to see Zuran anywhere, a bad feeling of anxiety arose inside me.

    ¡°Where is that green sick pig?¡± I asked looking at the death knights, who came here first.

    ¡°Hmm, they say that there was nobody who matched your description when they searched the basement.¡± Korpus answered for them as he was the only one who could talk to them. More like speaking, it sounded like a series of grunts when they tried to say something.

    Rage swelled up in me, as my eyes stopped on bound Larkus.

    ¡°Where is Zuran?¡± I asked, trying to hold back and not killing him on the spot, because I promised him to the Nlaea.

    ¡°If, if I tell you, will you leave me be?¡± He asked, still thinking he could save his hide. Stupid creature.

    ¡°Ok, I will leave you be if you tell me.¡± I said to him, still shoving my anger at this unexpected situation.

    ¡°P¡­P¡­Promise me.¡±

    ¡°Why should I promise to the likes of you when I can torture the information out of you?¡±

    As I approached the table with tools meant for inflicting as much pain as possible, his face was even paler than before.

    ¡°I, I know about you demons. I know that when you promise something, you must abide by it. Everybody knows that demons can¡¯t break their promises.¡±

    Hearing him I couldn¡¯t decide if he was so stupid or frightened that he would bet his life on something like this, but this was probably the fastest way to get what I wanted.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Holding something that looked like a small pair of pliers, I came back to him. Seeing me, Nlaea tried to protest as this wasn¡¯t what I promised her, but I shut her up with my glare. Looking at Larkus, while standing beside him I spoke again.

    ¡°You are lucky, because I¡¯m in a hurry. So here is the deal. You will tell me where that cock-jerking pig is and I won¡¯t touch a single hair on you. Deal?¡± I asked, showing him the plier-like thing in my hand.

    ¡°No, as I said you must promise it to me.¡± He said, stubbornly repeating the same thing.

    ¡°Ok, ok, I promise that I will leave you if you tell me what I want to know.¡± I said, deliberately looking like I lost the fight. ¡°Now speak.¡±

    ¡°It happened the night when you fled. He wasn¡¯t pleased when he heard that I borrowed you and you escaped so we argued a little. In the end he brandished his blade on me and the other traders, thinking the orcs would stand on his side. But I never trusted him fully and before this happened, I quickly made a deal with the other orcs, promising them some money and slaves in exchange for killing him. Zuran was left with only 4 others, who didn¡¯t accept my proposal and after a quick fight they were able to flee, taking two slaves with them. After that he didn¡¯t show up.¡±

    Listening to him didn¡¯t improve my mood. Now knowing that the pig probably didn¡¯t stay in the city, I didn¡¯t know how to look for him.

    ¡°Do you know where he went?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have an idea, probably back to the Beggar¡¯s plains. I pray he dies a dog¡¯s death. He stole one of my most profitable slaves, the daughter from the noble family. I spent quite a fortune when I purchased her.¡±

    Thinking about his words I asked: ¡°What about the other slave he took, who was it? Maybe I can track him if I find out where or to whom he sold them.¡±

    ¡°The other one was that troll friend of yours. I think he was called Roun¡¯ga.¡±

    Hearing him, I remembered the blue-skinned troll who stayed in the cage together with me. Well, be it the daughter of nobility, or a troll, both of them are quite noticeable if I went and asked around the city. But something tells me that I won¡¯t be able to find them here.

    ¡°I told you everything you wanted to know, now release me.¡± Impatient, Larkus demanded from me thinking I would obey.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m very thankful to you. So thankful that I will let you spend your last hours with such a peerless beauty like Nlaea over here.¡± I pointed to my new servant while stepping aside and letting her through.

    ¡°NO! YOU CAN¡¯T! YOU PROMISED! LET ME FREE!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what child-tale did you hear or read, but you can bet that you are the last person I want to let live.¡± I faced the dark elf behind me. ¡°He is yours to do with as you please. We are leaving at sunrise.¡±

    ¡°Thank you master.¡±

    After that the main show of the night begun. Starting lightly, she plucked every nail on Larkus¡¯s fingers with the pliers I had in my hand before. After fingers came teeth and similarly she didn¡¯t leave out even a single one. Before she had a chance to do some serious damage, I asked teacher if it is possible to make Larkus stay alive and conscious through the whole thing. He laughed lightly and cast a spell which didn¡¯t allow Larkus to lose neither consciousness nor life from the pain that was yet to come. Piercing eyes, tearing ears, cutting out his tongue, skinning, breaking bones, crushing his balls, chopping off his dick, pouring hot oil in his wounds, amputating limbs, pulling his guts out and finally tearing off his ribs one after another and feeding him his own heart. When she was finally done with him he looked more like some weird puzzle than a human being.

    At first I thought I made a mistake when I left Nlaea to torture Larkus, but after looking at the whole thing even I¡¯m not confident in saying that I would do a better job. She ignored his screaming and continued the torture not showing even the slightest signs of distress. Once she was done, she just cleaned her hands and waited for my next orders, like the thing that she just chopped to pieces wasn¡¯t a human, but only some disposable meat. I must say, I was impressed with her. In my mind I could feel her satisfaction as she observed Larkus while he died suffering.

    Knowing the sun will rise any minute and people will fill the streets of Grimthorn, Korpus didn¡¯t hesitate and ordered the death knights to kill the remaining humans which were previously used as fucktoys by the orcs. With that we hastily left the mansion and quickly retreated back to the sewers and through them into the castle.

    ¡°Teacher, is there a convenient way to find Zuran?¡± I asked as we went back. He was the last thing I really wanted to take care of.

    ¡°If he stayed in the city it shouldn¡¯t be a problem, especially with those two slaves he has. If he left then it would be very hard, especially now when the conference of the lords is so close. The queen would need all capable hands so she wouldn¡¯t permit it. You should probably give up if that is the case and concentrate on your training.¡±

    I expected that kind of answer, but it still unnerved me. Teacher read my expression and tried to offer me his advice.

    ¡°For now become strong. Once the queen sends you to hunt Realm Walkers, you will have an opportunity to gain a lot of information so you can search for the orc you seek.¡±

    Knowing he is right we were able to return safely.

    Not long after entering the catacombs master Hataya found us and informed us that the queen wishes to speak with us. Teacher didn¡¯t seem surprised and probably anticipated this. Using the secret passages in the castle we were able to arrive to the queen¡¯s office without being seen.

    ¡°I take it your little adventure was successful?¡± She asked us as we entered the room.

    ¡°More or less.¡± Korpus said, roughly explaining what happened last night.

    Thinking about what she heard she spoke: ¡°It is as Korpus said to you Malakhay. If that orc stayed in the city it would be easy to find him and I don¡¯t see a problem in offering him to you. But if he left already you will need to forget about him for the time being. In any case, Korpus will inform you on this matter.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± I said, while bowing my head.

    ¡°Good.¡± Saying this she observed the dark elf behind me. ¡°I understand that you acquired a servant for yourself. It is rare to see dark elves outside their territories, not speaking about one becoming a slave.¡± She didn¡¯t stop to look at Nlaea, probably waiting for some kind of explanation.

    ¡°Still, didn¡¯t we agree on killing everybody in that mansion to not let anybody know that we were involved?¡± She asked, not satisfied with a witness standing right before her.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem. The elf sold her soul to Malakhay in exchange for her life.¡± After Korpus said this, the queen was visibly surprised as she stared at us.

    ¡°Sold her soul? That is¡­ Not mentioning my reign, even my father and mother weren¡¯t able to seal the demon contract with anybody. It happened only in ancient history. Now I¡¯m even more interested in you.¡± She aimed her whole attention at Nlaea.

    Pressed for some kind of answer she spoke for the first time.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing special your majesty, I¡¯m just somebody desperate to stay alive to see my enemies fall.¡± Not showing any intentions to explain any further she again bowed.

    ¡°I see. For now I will leave it at that.¡± Saying this, the queen returned her gaze to me as she spoke. ¡°I will approve of your new servant as it would be a shame to kill her.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    After hearing me she nodded her head in approval.

    ¡°Now I will ask you to leave. I still need to discuss some things with Korpus so you two can return for today and rest.¡±

    ***

    After the door to the passage where the imp with the dark elf vanished closed behind them, the queen spoke once again.

    ¡°You can enter Hataya.¡±

    Waiting only for the command of her master, Hataya quickly entered the study and after closing the door behind her she knelt.

    ¡°Your report.¡± The queen demanded, waiting for the words of her servant.

    ¡°Everything was prepared as planned; you only need to say a word.¡±

    Hearing good news, the queen showed a rare smile.

    Knowing what happened tonight, she wanted to use this opportunity. That is why she ordered Hataya to plant some fake evidence inside the mansion which will point at a troublesome noble, who is known for his deep interest in slaves. This way she could get rid of him before the conference without stirring much trouble. The only thing left was to let the investigators do their job and point their finger at him.

    ¡°That will take one problem from our list. Now we just need to prepare for the conference and play our cards right. After all, I¡¯m very interested who will show their true colours now that you are dead, Korpus.¡± As she said this, she looked at him, still in a good mood.

    ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in the outcome myself.¡± He said in good humour.

    The fact that Korpus died is still hot news in the kingdom and this information has surely spread even to the neighbouring countries. The queen knows there is somebody within her own retainers who is working against her and she judged that this will be the perfect opportunity to sniff him out. That is why she let the rest of the nation think that Korpus died. Only she, the other lich-lords and a few trustworthy people know the truth about him. Thanks to this he can move freely behind the scenes and while the conference is in hearing he will surely have an opportunity to eliminate all traitors.

    ¡°Still, are you certain that the imp and that elf will keep your existence a secret?¡± She wanted to be reassured.

    ¡°I strictly instructed him about it and once we put things into motion I plan to use him. I must say, I became quite attached to him. If everything goes right I¡¯m sure he will become a powerful ally.¡± If he could he would be smiling right now.

    ¡°That reminds me that I will need to do something about Nexaria. She can¡¯t stop asking about him.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, he really has a gift of attracting trouble.¡± Korpus laughed at her comment.

    ¡°It sure is troublesome that my daughter and the future queen is regarded as trouble.¡± She sighed, holding her head as if a headache assaulted her. ¡°Maybe I can stick them together for the time being, that will surely entertain them until we finish our job.¡±

    ¡°There will be protests and strong critique if you do it. Nexaria already declined a lot of potential future husbands. What makes you think that this will work?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t. From what you told me about Malakhay they are like water and oil, but it surely will be a good additional diversion. Also, it should prevent Nexaria from causing trouble at the conference when she will have something else to occupy her attention. Who knows, maybe it will force her to finally choose somebody I recommended as her husband.¡± As the queen said this, she smiled at the image of her daughter and Malakhay fighting against her verdict.

    ¡°The nobles will tear Malakhay to little pieces if you announce this.¡± Korpus tried to shield his little pupil, but the humorous tone from his voice didn¡¯t disappear. He too was interested in how would Malakhay try to solve such a situation.

    ¡°I see that you aren¡¯t exactly against it. You should go and prepare him so he doesn¡¯t die in the upcoming days.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, my queen.¡±

    And so Malakhay¡¯s future became more troublesome than he could expect.

    --End of ARC 1--