《Evolution-revolution ! ( On Hiatus.... I will never give up... just need time. )》 A new life form. In the god realm wars were fought once every century or two. It wasn''t anything big, just something made for political interests and so on... someone would think that gods are perfect, but no one would know if they haven''t ever met one.. The problem started when things got a tad bit heated.. A few people in power didn''t want to lose this war, so they decided to make a weapon. But as they say, haste makes waste.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Those people though only cared about success, and so they made countless experiments in the little time they had. The end result was a failure. At first it seemed that the last test would work, but... it just didn''t. Maybe if they had more time, but then again in a small scale war, who waits for the other to power up. They were angry for losing that war, but nothing too much to say. And so they threw their last experimental weapon in a trash world, to be left there, and be forgotten by everyone. 3 bandits At an unknown place, at an unknown time and planet. A silver looking ball appeared. "Hey boss look at what I just found" a bandit like figure suddenly spoke. "What ? Where?" Another voice was heard. The bandit pointing with his finger at a small crater "There". *A group of people''s voices were heard in a lush forest* "Hmm ? Now what''s this ? Some plain old silver... ball ?" "Think it can sell for anything?" "Why not take it, and if it doesn''t sell, maybe I have it." "No way Rogu ! You tricked us a few times in the past. We learned our lesson, you ain''t getting anything."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. The person called Rogu seemed a bit irritated. "Hey, you talk like it was my fault you lost that bet." Rogu said with a small hint of mirth. "Do you really miss your dead brother that much ? How about visiting him !" The person answered with anger. "There is a fine line between life and death, careful when you cross it bastard !" Rogu said, his voice radiating killing intent. "Ok guys, this has drawn out for a bit too long, stop it, before I make you" a person sounding like the leader spoke up, in that heated moment. "Yes mada- I mean Miss Rachel." Rogu spoke, his previous air suddenly gone without a trace. "You too Zarth !" Rachel spoke. "Yes, I mean I''m stopping !" The guy who was arguing with Rogu, Zarth said, his backbone nowhere to be seen. "So the question remains. What do we do with this?" Rogu finally voiced his question. "What else other than selling it, idiot." Zarth answered, almost with anger, but managed to stop himself at the last moment. Had he not, he knew how terrifying leader could get, should he ever disobey her. "Well I wasn''t exactly thinking of that. Selling it wouldn''t provide us with a lot of money anyways. Besides it doesn''t seem just like an ordinary silver ball. So why not keep it Rogu? I still haven''t paid back my lost bet." Rachel said with a kind voice, that would be said to be sweeter than honey, but with the taste of crap. Clearly she wasn''t too happy about losing, but this moment seemed too great to miss. And so the silvery round ball went to the hands of Rogu. A change! *Inside Rogu''s tent.* "I am quite sure I saw this ball twitching. There must be something about this, I can''t let anyone else find out anything about this ball. For the meantime I will research it when I can. I have always heard stories about living metal, and how a small amount of it can buy cities. Heh, who knows. Maybe Miss fortune sow my good deeds, and blessed me with luck." Rogu thought inwardly. I even had to play my cards right, so that I don''t need to hide my stuff. I know those guys, and I also know that the best hiding place, is in an obvious one. Though it''s better not to make them any suspicious at all. "AAAAH!" A scream was heard, and Rogu rushed out of the tent to see what''s going on, but even in a hurry he remembered to put that ball inside a locked now chest. You can''t trust anyone.. at least not in my profession. After he left the silvery round ball inside the chest, shined dimly for a few seconds, and returned to normal soon after. "What happened? Enemy attack ?!?" Rogu shouted out nervously. "What ? No! You''re such an idiot... it''s the leader... she found... her... pet." Zarth said, a bit terror in his voice was heard almost at the end. "Oh that wolf ? And what''s wrong with it ?? If I remember she is the one that kicked it out, since it was found stealing our meat.." Zarth finally braved himself to say"Yes, but... dead."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Oh.. we are going to have a few problems now. "It was an arrow wound." He continued. "I will FRIKING kill them !! They dare kill my Wolfy!! I guess they already want to see the other side. Kids grow up so fast and die so slowly, imma be a nice little lady and help them satisfy their curiosity. About the other world !" She screamed at no one in particular, but her anger was clear enough. I can only pray, that those who killed her Wolfy, die a painless death, though it doesn''t seem likely at this point. "Calm down leader. Who are you yelling at. There isn''t anyone here, but us." I finally braved myself to say, hoping to calm her down. "CALM DOWN ? YOU THINK I CAN CALM DOWN, WHEN I SEE WOLFY LIKE THIS ?!?" Now I was officially scared... I haven''t seen leader like this, since the time we lost one of our friends in a guild mission. I guess she really loved him. "There is no possible way we can find his killers, so the least we can do is give him a proper burial." I said, thinking if we could actually find those guys. "Yes. It''s the very least I can do for Wolfy." Rachel said, actually showing emotional weakness, and trying to keep her self calm. Though I doubt I could keep my self calm, if I were in her place. She seemed sad, and rightfully so. *Inside Rogu''s tent* It had been a bad day for leader. She should get some rest, but who am I to tell her that. She shouted at me for almost everything, and beat us up, for even the slightest mistake. This silvery living metal ball however can make me forget about every hardship I have gone through. Once we reach. A nearby city, I will go and sell the living metal, and if it actually is living metal, I will strike up a fortune. I don''t know how I can cover up my tracks, so that no one will find me after I acquire that much money, but I do know that brokers will find out about my newfound glory in half a day at best. So if I''m lucky, I will have an entire day to throw them out of my lead. I can work out something in the meantime. "Now let me see my precious gem" he finally couldn''t hold himself back and unlocked the chest. Not a chapter, but a poll. I believe that, a daily, but albeit smaller chapter release is better, but it won''t hurt to ask for your opinion on the matter.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Not a failure ? Hmm the living metal seems fine. ''I guess I was overexcited.'' "I will sleep with you my honey." Rogue said to the silver ball. As Rogu stretched his arm and touched the ball, the ball suddenly sprung up from the chest, and as if a liquid, went under his long sleeved shirt, and covered his entire arm. He panicked, and in an unforgettable action he hitted the ground, to see if it would do something. Anything for that matter. And much to his surprise, a small crater appeared. His strength seemingly having been upgraded by over a hundred fold. This "small" action, made him forget about his hysteria, and calm down. After he calmed down, the liquid metal started to cover up the rest of his body. And although terrified, he still letted it continue. He wanted to see what secrets this seemingly ordinary metal had. It was clearly not living metal, since living metal, is an something that can''t be molded easily, much less melt like that. Living metal upgrades in power, as his owner does too. And needs a master blacksmith to form it into a weapon. Blacksmith''s of that rank exist only in big kingdoms. Normally small sized kingdoms don''t have any, and if they do they would have paid a huge price to get them.Stolen novel; please report. After it covered up the rest of his body, it started moving upwards towards his head. Ok that made him panic a little.. or more than just a little, but he new he had to test his luck. It was stupid he knew it, but he let the metal cover up his entire head too. He could breath normally, to his surprise.. He could breath, and feel something. He didn''t know how to explain it, but it felt like a consciousness. Like a small puppy, or a newborn baby. That consciousness was small, and almost nonexistent, but it was there. Really pure, having no thoughts, and just existing. He tried to contact that consciousness, but he couldn''t. After an unknown amount of time, suddenly he woke up. He looked at his arms and feet, and found them normal. At least not with any weird things covering it up. He felt like he had a dream. A very vivid dream. He was covered from the feet to the head with a weird metal, and he also felt an existence, a consciousness in his mind. After he also woke up from his earlier thoughts, he realised.. He sprung up from the cold hard floor, and hurriedly checked his chest for the living metal. The chest was open, and the metal gone.. He now literally felt like crying... Trying to make heads or tails. "Hey Rogu where are you ?" Zarth called out to him. Not getting the response he wanted, or any response, he yelled this time " ROGU, RACHEL WANTS TO BE YOUR WIFE !!" "Shut up Zarth" Rogu responded, clearly annoyed from his friend''s joke. "Oh so you could speak ?!?" Zarth answered with sarcasm in his voice. Rogu clearly worn out from the earlier events said "What do you want ? My head is already a mess from lossing that round silver ball." "Yea, losing a gift from your girlfriend. That would make anyone sad.." Zarth couldn''t help but say. "You either get to the point, or I''m making your life hell." Zarth, not affected by his small talk, was about to refute to him, when he actually remembered what he had came for. "Boss wants you.. to talk I mean.. and in any case, whatever she says, just agree." "You sound like you know exactly what she is going to say" Rogu questioned him, but seeing no response he went to talk to leader. "Leader, I want to quickly go to bed and cry, so please make this fast." Rogu said, when he saw Rachel. "Huh, why ?" Rachel spoke, with curiosity. "You see, I saw that weird dream, and after I woke up, the silver ball was gone" Rogu told her of his situation, not expecting a solution, but for finding comfort. "You ever considered your dream to be real hehe" Rachel said in a mocking voice. And Rogu unexpectedly answered with a yes, but since he had tried everything to confirm it, and nothing happened, he gave up on that.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Anyways, back to what I wanted to say." Rachel said, not wanting to get sidetracked any longer. " I want you to go with me and Zarth on a mission. It isn''t anything special, but the pay is really good, however it is on a slightly dangerous area, so i decided to ask, before doing anything. Zarth has already agreed by the way." No longer able to hide her expectant face, she looked up to his eyes for hope. Having one less person would make the venture at that place, all that more dangerous, while at the same time making the mission harder to complete. "Ok, if let''s say I agree. What is the mission and where is it going to take place." Rogu said, clearly not influenced a lot, by her mention of the word dangerous. They live in a dangerous world, and someone has to adapt quickly in order to survive. " For an amazing 3 gold, the only thing we have to do is escort a carriage through the Darkwood forest. And yes, while I do know we normally take less dangerous missions, the point being, we won''t be alone, there will be 2 more teams, and the pay is huge." Rogu for this rare occasion, reconsidered.. Darkwood forest is full of mid leveled treants, and with the combination of other wild animals AND monsters, it makes a great spot for suicide if you aren''t careful enough. The Darkwood forest is in the midst of an well placed shortcut, that can be used to cut down time, between the small ranked Towen city, and Reiver city, which is a mid ranked one. Normally though, people go around the forest, since your life Worths Lot more than just an inconvenience. "You know that''s where we lost Brian, right ?" Our dead old friend.. I still miss him. "We were weak then. We were foolish and stupid. We can travel through that place in ease now." Rachel said, adding "Besides when will you ever see an offer like this, ever again." Rogu, started to be annoyed. " It''s different just passing through, and watching after. Not to mention there is a reason only 2 more teams took the mission, despite the handsome pay. It''s too dangerous. There is literally an ambush, for every 1 meter you walk, with wild animals and monsters to help the case. Protecting your team, and passing through is one thing. And protecting a huge piece of wood, that says easy to spot target is, another." "Sooo... do you agree?" Rachel asked. "Ahh.. what would you ever do without me... ok I agree. Accept the darn mission and let''s get over with it.... Oh, by the way, when is the mission starting. We need to prepare and so on, so please tell me fast." At this moment Rachel was feeling kinda sorry for her decision to answer "Tomorrow". And so Rogu kept thinking " I''m surrounded by idiots, ain''t I?" I guess they didn''t steal it.. not that I can be sure of it, but I have my ways.. stupid guys like them wouldn''t steal something worth practically nothing anyways... they didnt know of its true value, and besides they let me have it.. Arghh what is going on ! Ready ? *Inside Towen city* "Alright, what to buy next.. Ahh i still can''t believe how little time we have left. Those guys, i''m literally caring more about them, than they do for their own lives." Rogu sighed.. "It''s going to be late, and i still havent gotten everything we need." Maybe i shouldnt care that much.. maybe they are right. I mean, it isn''t the first time we have undertaken such a quest... But that forest. "Rogu, have you gotten everything we need ?" Zarth shouted out loud to him. "I''m trying, and you aren''t helping.. The least you could do is find some antioxidant, and a flash or stun spell scroll." I couldnt help but sigh again, as i remember our circumstances. just why did i agree to that. *A few hours prior* "Ok, since Rogu is the most knowledgeable, we will let him take care of the supplies, while we search for a temporary member... Rogu, are you sure we need a healer ? Those guys always ask for a lot.. And the mission says 3 gold to the whole team... We will have to register him as ours, so less money for us." Rachel said, clearly not wanting to share her money with outsiders. "You said that the other teams also don''t have one, right ?" Rogu said, something which was answered with a quiet yes. "Well then, if you don''t want us to die, you better find one fast." "We didn''t need one when we went through last time. So why now ?" Rachel asked, hopeful to avoid the situation. "Last time we were careful not to attract a lot monsters, and we played with them. Now we are going to be walking signs, writing ''COME HERE, EASY TO SPOT TARGETS''. 2 more teams aint gonna solve the problem if we are injured.. in fact that, will most probably drag us down. One injured, equals to one more person to take care of, and one less to help us." Rogu explained with impatience on his face. *Present time* "I never expected them to find a priest so fast... I mean finding a priest isn''t hard, but someone willing to go to that forest, without asking for an unreasonable price... pretty much impossible." Rogu once again sighed. "Hah, I guess you''re wondering how we did it." Rachel said, hitting the nail on the spot. "I guess, I am a bit curious" I said, clearly wanting to know the answer. I mean even if I tried I wouldn''t be able to convince any healer to go to that place with us.. Healers are highly sought after, and so many of them stay without a team, just waiting for someone to invite them, and then they ask for a price, most times reasonable.. this way of thinking is dangerous, since you don''t know the other team, but all of them have trump cards, and basically no one wants to be blacklisted by them, so everyone is sensible. And truthfully the gains outweight the disadvantages. "You see, I had a friend back then who owned me a big favor.. and he agreed to come with us for practically free." Rachel exclaimed, clearly proud of her achievement. "I guess I don''t want to know how big if a favor he owned you, to sell his services for free.." I just couldn''t believe how lucky those guys were.. "Well we did promise a small amount, so it isn''t for free, and besides,we did our job, so hurry up and do yours, and no asking for help." She said with a mocking laugh.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I don''t think they understand how serious the situation is, but I guess you can''t blame them... when they are FRIKING mentally retarded. But it isn''t like I can''t manage on my own... it''s just.. unfair. I never thought they would be left of so easily.. I even assigned them the hard part... they stood lucky this time. *A few hours later, late at afternoon* "Leader-Boss" Rogu and Zarth both exclaimed. "What!" Was Rachel''s only answer. "Why do you hate us..." they both said in one voice. "Eh, what do you mean ?" Acting like she didn''t understand. "That priest is a kid... Literally" I yelled to her, failing to see, how such a kid can be of any help to us. "And you !! Werent you two together ? Why are you surprised, and why did you let her do everything she wanted ?" I shouted to Zarth. "I have no excuses.. except for the fact that she said to leave it all to her, and that i could go and have some fun... So i did." Zarth exclaimed, feeling innocent. Of course that didn''t work with me, or would, with anyone for that matter. "Thats not even an excuse !" I shouted for the umpteenth time. And we dont have enough time to find someone else now.. Or maybe if we pay an exorbitant amount of money, maybe just then we can find someone.. Or maybe the other teams hire someone, and we wont have to get one... Oh what the heck am I thinking. "Relax. Dont judge by his outer appearance. He is really good at his healing stuff, and I can vouch that for him." Rachel defended herself and the priest. But i couldn''t let up. "So what is his age ?" I once again questioned her with irritation visible on my face. "Or by his age" Rachel quicly added. And feeling my anger, she understood that if this went on, she would lose, so she was going to have to step up the game, if she didn''t want to. "Oh Rogu please just for this one, trust me on it." And she hoped that this did the trick. Besides she felt she wasn''t wrong. She was one of the few persons that truly knew his healing abilities, but his appearance, and age left room for doubt.. Heck even she didn''t believe in him, when she first met him. "Sometimes i forget who is the leader.. Rogu-Rachel... You guys are doing just like a married couple fighting." And after this coment from Zarth there was silence, for a minute or two. "Ahh, I can only hardly believe you..." "Ermm, can i have a say in this ? I believe i wasn''t introduced properly. I am Michael, 15 years old and a natural born prodigy in the field of healing." Michael said. And i instinctively answered. " If so, then why did you decide to come with us. A prodigy of your caliber, should also be tightly kept on an Familia, or an Organisation... or somewhere.. And you are telling me they let you leave with us, to such a dangerous place ? And with ''strangers'' not to boot." Too suspicious. "I am under no contrl of anyone. My existence is wanted by many, and many don''t want others to have me. And so i am in a neutral state, belonging to no one, or anything... Of course there is also constant arguing AND fighting, about who will acquire me. Because of the many factions that want me, no one can take me easily.. Of course that didn''t mean that at the beginning everything was the same. At first, I was under constant surveillance, and it was Rachel, who helped me fight for my freedom. No one wanted someone else to have me, and if it meant me dying, that was also acceptable. Of course time by time they do come and check me, but its mostly the factions watching each other out." Michael said, clearing up some of my confusion. "Well, that was enlightening.. even so i wont believe you without any proof.. Show us your healing capabilities !" I said, taking a small knife and making a HUGE self-inflicted wound on my arm.. that proved that i more or less believed on his abilities. Now i just wanted to see them... and he should hurry up, cause I''m losing consciousness... and darn it hurted more than i thought it would.. yea I''m stupid.. "Kyaa" A scream was heard, most likely from Rachel.. i guess she didn''t expect that, did she ?" "*chanting a minor healing spell* HEAL" Michael said, and saved my life, as i watched my huge cut, slowly closing up, and my blood revitalising. I guess i have no other choice than to believe him... No minor healing spell should have such an effect.. And that proves his abilities... So i guess we should be more or less ready for tomorrow.. "Guys, we seriously have to go to sleep early, meet up with those guys as soon as possible, and immediately start our journey.. " I said for everyone to hear, myself not being an exception.. All this argument, really drew my energy... and that last action was the nail on the coffin. On the way. Last night we rented out a few rooms at a nearby inn, and slept like a rock. *Really early in the morning* "So.. are we all here ?" Rachel spoke up, ''taking'' back the aura of a leader. "Yes Boss-Leader" We responded. "Now, I know that it''s really early and we have just woken up, but we have to meet the other guys at the east of the town.. that''s where we will set off for the forest." Rachel said for everyone, including herself.. seems like she still needed time to wake up. "The sun, hadn''t came up, so everything was in something like a dimly lit room. I hadn''t had much time to actually appreciate the beauty of this city... Who knows if I would ever see it again, the way things are going, I doubt we are going to have a fun time in the forest. As time passed and we closed on our location, I was able to see better, since the sun had risen up a little and illuminated our path. Many shops, most of them closed, but some of them just getting ready to open, as they say the early bird gets the worm... or the weak is the one that has to get early.. one of these two, I don''t remember how it goes all that well.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Along the way, I noticed both luxurious and run down buildings. There were so many places I could go and have some fun... But because of them I was buried in work.. I definitely have to go and visit Heavenly Palace sometime after we return. It makes great for stress relieving. ( AN: If you know what I mean *wink wink* )" As they were heading to their destination, Rogu was already making his future plans. "Hehe!" A small angelic laugh was heard. "You guys ! Do you see that tall building?" Rachel pointed with her hand, to a far off ''tower'' tall like building towards our left. "That''s the Heavenly Palace! The dream place for all men, young and old." Rachel said to everyone. "And honestly, there was no way for ANY men not to know about it" Rogu thought. "Ehh... what do you mean ''Dream place for all men''s ?" Michael responded to her words, and left all of us dumbfounded... How can he not know ?!?! "Oh yeah, I believe we forgot that he is only 15... even so, this doesn''t make sense. Kid did you live under a rock ? Never mind, I believe that as adults, it is our responsibility to teach you about s-" Zarth said, before he was cut short by Rachel, no longer daring to complete that sentence. "Guys, we''ve reached the eastern gates. The other teams should be around here, waiting for us!" Rachel''s voice was heard again. Which was met with a sarcastic comment from Rogu "I think that we will be the ones waiting for them. I mean considering what time it is." At the end with a bit of laughter in his voice. Danger ? *At the eastern gates* "Is everybody here ?" A person''s voice was heard, just when we reached the gates. "The last team just came." Another person''s voice was heard. This time it was a young female, that seemed too mature for her age. She looked like 14 years old.. another Michael, if you go by age that is. "If that''s all of you, then let''s start, we''ve wasted enough time waiting for you !" A person who seemed most likely to be one of the teams leader yelled at us inpatiently. "Come on Garv, we''ve just reached here too. It isn''t fair to shout at them." A kind girl ''rushed'' to our aid. In front of the gate were three teams, a carriage full of items and a person sitting in front of it. Of the three teams, ours was consisted of four adventurers, then there was the team that shouted at us, which was consisted of 5 adventurers and lastly the third team, which was amazingly consisted of only two adventurers... those two didn''t seem to talk that much. After a bit inquiring we learned that how much we were paid was proportional to the strength of the original team. Meaning, you couldn''t just hire a bunch of adventurers and get more money. Our team got 3 gold. The really talkative one got 7 gold, which was understandable considering their numbers. However what didn''t make sense is, that the mute team got 11 gold... 11 good just for 2 adventurers.. I guess that should speak leagues for their strength. " Esteemed adventurers. First of all, I want to thank you, for daring to help this lowly person on this dangerous journey. My name as most of you might know, is Impir Kir, and the reason I decided to start this mission is because, my daughter is seriously ill, and needs me by her side. Also if I leave now, my cargo won''t last.. I will lose more money, than you could ever make in your whole lives. I just had to risk it.. if I do nothing, then all is lost, if I do something however, it isn''t certainly impossible to avoid this catastrophe, and I can''t give up on my daughter, in this time of need. I would have liked more people, but more doesn''t always seem to be better. I was afraid of the monsters a collection of many teams would attract, and the money I would have to spend. We already have the carriage, which makes this journey all that more dangerous, but I believe that it will be manageable. With that said, let''s set off !" Impir said to everyone here. *At the perimeter of the Darkwood Forest* The forest was dark. The sun hadn''t risen up fully, but still it was darker than it would have been on a normal Forest.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! As time passed the previous ice, which was created by that other team''s leader slowly melted, and having met no enemy till now, they found opportunities to strike up a conversation here and there. "So that''s how you two met." Rachel exclaimed with amazement. "For being so silent, you sure have quite the romantic story." "I can''t say I didn''t think of you two as lovers,but that story... took me by surprise." Zarth said. After all it isn''t an everyday occurrence, to meet a run away prince and princess, that grew tired of the corruption and just wanted to leave. They just so happened to meet each other in a dangerous situation, surrounded by over 10 mid ranked monsters, and managed to escape, by helping each other. From their original team of over 30 adventurers, only the 2 of them were left. They escaped with dangerous injuries, and took care of each other. Eventually they developed feelings for each other, and the rest is history. "By the way... why we haven''t met any monsters yet ??" Asked Rogu. "We don''t know.. I suspect something has happened inside the forest. Oh well, it''s better for us if that''s the case. Less monsters to fight." Answered Garv. Yeaa.. that didn''t last for long. A tree''s root, suddenly came to life, and tried to stab the young girl apparently named Ulian. Zarth quickly responded, by catching the root with his bare arm, and holding it back for a split second, before Rogu managed to cut it off. "Be careful, there is an monster ambush !!!" Sarn, the man from that couple said, before getting into a fighting stance himself. After these words were mentioned, 20 or more roots, suddenly came to life, trying to close off our exits. That wouldn''t easily work, with 11 highly experienced adventurers. There were 3 treants. One for each team. We went to the one closest to us, as did the others. Rogu rushed in front, not before getting his ass kicked by 5 roots, after which he was held back. Rachel and Zarth were right behind him, as they rushed for the kill. As the treant wasted 5 of his roots just to block Rogu, it was left almost defenseless, and so Rachel and Zarth went for the kill. It didn''t go as expected though, because the treant suddenly fell down. After we looked to what had happened, we saw Ulian, holding a bow and in a stance that showed she had just released an arrow, we saw the treants body.. there was an arrow on its head. "Hey, that''s kill steal !" Shouted Zarth, before getting his response, "I just wanted to paid back the favor... I didn''t mean to steal your kill, I''m sorry." Said Ulian.. immediately making Zarth anger subside. "Oh.. I mean, thanks for your help. Don''t mind, don''t mind." "Well, there goes our peaceful times... Is everyone okay? " Rachel said, clearly seeing all the treants down. "Yeap, But it''s all thanks to Zarth. You saved Ulian, and gave us time to prepare." Said that kind girl, named Claire. Something we learned during our conversations. She was the one that helped us back, before we started, and the one we talked with the most. "No- erm I mean it was my pleasure." Zarth blashed a bit. "Your pleasure sucks, if that means I have to get attacked.." Yelled Ulian, raging inside. "Ahh that''s the reason I can''t stand immature girls. You know I didn''t mean it like that, and you''re clearly looking to get your ass handed to you." Zarth grew angry from her response. "Guys, girls. Stop fighting, and move on. Our peaceful times are kinda dead. It would be for the best, if we finish the travel in 2 days. I just can''t help, but feel that something is off in this forest.. I mean something is always wrong here, but this time... I just can''t explain it. Anyways, I think it would be better to get moving for better or worse." Sarn expressed his concerns, about the dubious forest. Destination. "Hey guys are you okay ?" Said Rogu, practically shouting out to everyone. There was a couple dozens of fights after that previous one, but none so close. "Oh great, here come some more!"An army of monsters appeared, ready to fight them to death... ok, maybe there were some fights, a bit worse... A monkey like creature, jumping from tree to tree, rushed towards them, and with its great strength pushed back both Zarth and Rogu.. it seems he was the leader. A tad bit too reckless for his own good. And with him advancing, so did the rest of the monsters. Sarn run towards Garv''s team to help, and Kora, the female counterpart run towards us. There were many monsters, but it was nothing compared to their leaders strength... The two lovers protected us from the monkey, while we cleared up the minions. A mass of black spiders, probably counted on the thousands, fell before the fire of Claire. Claire was an adept witch, and helped a lot in dealing tons of damage in a wide area. Zarth killed on his own 5 low ranked treants, before getting injured at the 6th one, after which he was immediately healed by Michael. Rogu was prepared to assist wherever, and whenever he could, not staying in one place for too long. Of the team of 5 except for Claire, the other 4 adventurers, didn''t deal that much damage, but their team fight, saved Claire a lot of times she was about to be surrounded by monsters. "That was the last of them..." Garv said, finally relaxing for a bit. "We have to rest for a while before moving, but as soon as we are ready, we have to move on. We are halfway there." Impir reminded everyone. He couldn''t fight, but he tried his best, to not get killed, and protect the carriage. Honestly, the monsters were attracted more to adventurers, than to inanimate things, but he still wanted to be sure, of any collateral damage. "The sun is moving, and night is coming. We have to find a suitable spot to sleep and hide. The monsters won''t suddenly attack the carriage, and we can protect it, even if any monsters do happen to find interest. We are going to take turns sleeping. We are 11 people here, so about half an hour... every half an hour we switch. Everyone has to rest, and we also have to start early." Sarn said to everyone. It didn''t take too long to find a suitable place to ''camp'' and we started reading the traps and alarms. Lest someone be careless and miss an enemy, we needed to have backup plans.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. *At the crack of dawn* "Get up guys !" Rachel, with with Uliet, Kora and Claire shouted out loud. "Ahh I feel like a dead man walking..." complained Zarth. "Okay guys, we are almost there. Get your asses off the ground, and ready yourselves. We are going to have a hard time today too." Sarn and Rogu said. Wave after wave of monsters came at us as we advanced. "I can''t believe that, we are walking through the outer places of the inner part of the forest.. We''ve met quite the amount of monsters... are you sure we haven''t headed deeper?? There is no explanation otherwise. Why so many monsters, so far out ??" Questioned Zarth. And so, we killed as we walked. Just as they killed a particularly vicious treant, it spread a green liquid over the whole body of Zarth. It was most likely it''s blood, or something. "Ahh, Damnit ! Why me ?" Zarth angrily said, as he moved to a nearby water source to wash himself. After he came back Rachel said "Well, let''s get going." And so the group moved forward once again. After what seemed like countless hours of fighting and moving Sarn and Impir said "If we continue with this pace, we are leaving this Forest''s inner area for good in about 3 hours. After that it''s once again easy time." And so we moved on. For every 10 minutes worth time of walking, we met with at least a couple of dozen low ranked monsters, and 1 mid ranked one. Even so it was mostly smooth walk, without any special incidents. A few seconds later a giant root, nimbly moved across out adventurers, and headed for the weakest one in here.. Impir. It was so fast no one could even hope to react on time. Sarn saw this, and in the time it takes for one person to blink, he had intercepted the monster''s attack, and rushed forward to deal with it. At the same time, 4 of the 5 adventurers of the large team went to guard Impir, and we along with Claire and her powerful magic, tried to create an opening, for either Sarn or Kora to attack. Claire used fire magic, to rapidly damage the treant, in what seemed like a cone of fire. All while we tried to distract the monster''s attention, in order for the others to deal the final blow. As Kora rushed, the treant suddenly issued a high pitched scream, that made us lose focus for a split second. And that''s all it needed, in order to retreat a bit, and get some space. If we letted that happen, then the fight would never end, till one of us was exhausted... that could spell trouble for us. Thankfully at that time, Kora ''grabbed'' it''s attention forcefully, allowing for Sarn to deal the killing hit. "What the heck was that ?!?!? A high ranked monster ? Impossible, no way such a thing could be here, close to the edge if the inner forest." Rachel shouted. "No, it wasn''t a high ranked one, but just a step before that... even so you''re right. That sort of monster shouldn''t have appeared here. It''s too abnormal !" "You tell me about that." Rogu responded. "Don''t forget to loot the corpse. I think that this should worth quite a bit. In comparison to normal treants that is." Zarth didn''t forget to mention. "Well, good news at least is that we finally left the inner area. Now I doubt we will meat that many low ranked monsters, much less mid ones. Though we still have to be careful, after what happened just now, I don''t think I will be able to sleep for a few weeks." Impir jokingly said . After that, it was indeed a ''normal'' journey to the end. The amount of monsters we met drastically decreased, and we increased our pace, and reached the city around midnight. "After this, what I''m planning on doing is sleep and sleep and relax and friking avoid battles for a few days or so." Rogu thought inwardly. Not a chapter... yea ik I caught a cold yesterday, and I couldn''t focus on writting.. It wasn''t anything serious, I was just a bit ... not in the condition to write let''s say..Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Then next day I wrote the whole chapter, really great and all, and as I went to save it, the tablet run out of battery.... yea 2.5 hours of work, down the drain... Expect a chapter tomorrow... this time for sure! Relaxing ! * Next day, inside the city * "Ahh yesterday I was so tired... Now however, I feel like never before . I can predict that this day will be a good one. Now guys,dont try to steal luck from me. Hehe, time for some fun !" Rogu said, first thing in the morning, in a totally out of character manner. "Well, lets put our valuable time, into something actually good, and go outside... I have yet to visit that Bar." Zarth said. Their good mood, affecting even Rachel " Agreed. Imma go and visit that store, I''ve been drooling over those diamonds, for a long while. And now that I have the money, hehehe." Everyone, getting something less than 1 gold, since they gave 20% of the 3 gold to Michael, and split the rest to 3. 60 silver to Micheal, and 80 silver each of them, should be enough to buy whatever they wanted. *A few hours later* "Aahhh Why me !?! Why am I so friking unlucky !" Rogu yelled to no one in particular. "Huh, what happened ?" Both Zarth and Rachel exclaimed, feigning ignorance. "Ahh you know what I''m talking about ! You stole my luck, didn''t you ? Else, there is no way you guys could be that lucky, and me... being like this." "What are you talking about, you are fine." Rogu said with a bitter smile "Oh you know full well what I''m talking about ! I''m not like a certain someone that while dead drunk in a bar, managed to get the address from a lovely girl there. Or like a certain miss, that while trying to get a better deal, managed to completely and utterly scam the manager, for things, only god knows what." "Hey there were skills involved too" yelled , both Zarth and Rachel with one voice. "Still that doesn''t make you unlucky.." said Zarth. "Ermm I think you forgot about that... you know, the fact that he was stolen of all of his money, while trying to buy something good for himself... I pity you, Oh poor soul! " Rachel reminded Zarth, while at the same time, rubbing salt on the wound of Rogu.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "Oh yea.. that happened." Zarth said, in a completely deadpan manner, Trying to conceal a small smirk on his face. The day, was still bright, and all the shops had traffic. It was a very bustling city. A city, worthy to be called mid ranked. "So when are we leaving ?" Zarth finally brought the sad question, that everyone wanted to know the answer of. "What, why be in a rush.. we can stay here for a few months, and enjoy life. We have enough money for that." Rachel said, not expecting from the biggest "playboy" of all, to want to leave Rainer city, to return to Town, a small ranked city. The differences in quality between those 2 places were enormous,and since they had done a great deal of a journey to reach here, she would have expected him, to want to enjoy it more. "It''s not that I want to leave, but you know right... I made a promise to my sister, that I would be there, for her birthday..." Zarth answered their disbelieving looks, with a one of his own " What, you didn''t expect me to have that side, didnt you ?" And that answer left Rachel "Ohh, that''s so cute of our little Zarthy." Yea, it was expected to be like that. "Honestly, I had totally forgotten about that. I guess, we better go through the forest again, to save time. So who''s rea-" "DON''T !!" A voice interrupted Rogu, as he was speaking. "Eh, What ?!?" Exclaimed Rachel, caught by surprise. "Don''t leave the city, for the next month, unless you want to live. You have a weird smell on you." A small kid said, seeming not more than 7 years old. "Huh ?" Everyone exclaimed, with questioning looks. "Kid, what happened. You lost your parents ? You know it''s dangerous to head out all alone in a big city." Zarth said to the kid. "Mind you telling us the reason !?" Spoke Rogu fast, but the kid was nowhere to be found. "What the heck was that ?" Everyone asked each other. "And you. You actually asked for the reason.." Zarth said, with a mocking smile. "I don''t know. But I felt, something in those kids words.. " Rogu answered. "Yea, like the amazing luck you were supposed to have today." Zarth continued. Rachel trying not to laugh said " Still, it wouldnt be bad, to actually investigate this matter. I mean, we have nothing to lose." "Ermm I guess so.." Zarth said giving up. *2 hours later* "Sooo, now that we found nothing, can we please get going. Ahh I can''t believe you two forced me to take 3 baths..." Zarth complained And Rachel said "Heh, still better safe than sorry." "Still, we better get a good night''s sleep for tomorrow. After all, we have to start fast, if we don''t want to go through the woods. It only takes about half a day, if we are alone, and rush to go through the Darkwood Forest, and a week, to go around it. If I remember well, your sister''s birthday, is on 3 days, right ?" Rogu said "Yes." And a monotone answer was all that he got. Leaving so soon from the city of his dreams, seemed to annoy him a bit, but he almost immediately came back to himself, when thinking about his sister. "Yea.. so I guess we better sleep early tonight. This is my order for you guys. SLEEP!" Said Rachel in a funny and deep voice. And so the day passed, and night knocked the door. Not a chapter and sorry for delay, I Ill get it out soon... I hope... Welp.... I guess I didn''t want to make an update chapter, cause I would hate it if all my chapters are like that.... Good news : I have already wrote the huge chapter a week ago, and I''m just borred to write it again on tablet.... More good news : I have written even the interlude, and the first chapter for the next volume... Bad news : it''s not only motivation that keeps me from writing, but also the luck of time... reasons 70% motivation and 30% time... Upgrade in my motivation to write ? : Yes... I have introduced my novel to some friends ( I don''t know if they will actually read my novel xD ) but just for them, I will do my best, now and on the future... and no I aint forgetting my faithful readers... Sooo short notice : the novel is meant to be a bit fast paced at the beginning, so I would suggest reading one chapter behind again and the updated one... it''s really just the prologue, but I wanted to develop it more xD Another question : should I put any tags for the following content ?This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. You will know what I mean when you read it... And again I''m very sorry for the delays... 10 days without any updates of any sort, is enough to make someone forget all about a novel... Smallreason for my unmotivated self : the chapter is really big, and I want to write it in one go, so yea... that''s kinda hard, so I keep making excuses to my self, that when I have free time, I will devote 3 hours to write it and so on and on... Next thing : I''m planning a small re-write for previous chapters... that doesn''t mean you will have to re-read, I will post the changes, and it will mostly be about Point of View issues or PoV for short... and some other stuff :D So yea, be looking forward to it. Update coming tomorrow or 2 days from now ( most likely the latter ) .. Yea, I really need to get it together... Edit1 : hey nothing ever goes according to plans... Edit2 : I have written about 20 pages ( on paper ) and 1. I need to rewrite them to internet. 2. I will make changes as I write, since what I have written is only a VERY detailed draft... 3. I am writting everyday, but just not uploading... it''s a bother to write, and I feel like not many are reading... so I will start writing again, once I reach a nice point on my paper version and when I have enough time... till then it''s hiatus time... Edit3 : in case you are wondering when I am writting, it''s at school times, when I have a subject I am really borred at, not interested in, I am too good for it, or when hell breaks loose in class and paying attention is impossible. And lastly if a teacher is missing and I have time, I will write. Status update ! I have gone quite far in my drafts, but rewriting it to RRl is gonna take some time ( especially considering how far behind the story on RRl is, in comparison to my drafts written in paper ) As you know ( if you read my comments ) this story was originally going to be a really sh!tty novel, were I don''t put an ounce of effort, or I put a lot of effort, but keep writing daily. I hoped for the second. At one point, I increased he chapter length and planned to keep it that way, but lel... I also want to rewrite some stuff... When I had time ( not much of a school, and more of free time and so on... ) I thought it wouldn''t be hard to make the novel, and even devote some of my time ( a lot even ) into it.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Once I even spended 16 hours proofreading a friend''s novel ( became friends after I proofread his novel, and somewhere in the process). That was at Christmas holidays... Just so you know I''m not lazing around either... It''s been such a long time since I posted a chapter here... I feel I can improve my current style by leagues, and even prepare my self for constant updates ( although not daily ), since even at the beginning, I''m only a novice author... I will return to this story, when I feel I have improved enough, and when I have more of my story outlined. Till then, I am planning on making a new story ( yes while leaving this one on hiatus ) to be more free, and test my ideas. I can''t test my ideas, in a world where I have planned every single itsy bitsy detail...