《Shiv - The Child of Oberon - Reloaded》 Prologue: The 8th heir Prologue Year 2088 proofread by Artek Jan 22, Sunday, 11pm: The highway was illuminated by the moonlight, a lonely path of black stretched endlessly. Through the unusually empty highway, a black car sped through as if slicing the moonlight itself. Ryu Yasahiro sat back comfortably in the back seat of a black Bentley Mulsanne, his black eyes searching for something beyond the glass wall of his car. The boy, hardly seventeen, was on his way back to his home after a boring party that he had to attend because of his grandfather. He was exhausted, the party made the boy tired and weak. Ryu would never have attended such parties crowded with greedy businessmen and corrupt politicians gathered for the sake of more profit. Making the party intolerable the most, according to the boy, were the wives and the children of those greedy men. Ryu had always despised those old coots, each and every one of those that attended the party seemed like greedy pigs to the young boy. But for such thoughts to come to a normal seventeen-year-old boy makes one wonder what the boy had gone through to have such cold attitude. Then again, the thought that swam through his head never escaped to the outer world and so to those that surrounded him at the party, Ryu was an ordinary seventeen-year-old boy who knows nothing about the way of the world. The boy knew to calm his mind, to cage his emotions and so he would greet them all with a smile, talk to them, laugh with them. When things get really unbearable, he would excuse himself from the party silently. And now the tired Ryu was on his way back to his grandfather¡¯s mansion. Ryu sighed! He wanted to reach home as soon as possible, he needed sleep very badly. ¡°Kiro-san, how long is it gonna take? I am kinda tired, you know. Those elders sure know how to talk rubbish¡±. Ryu''s voice leaked of his displeasures. Kiro, the driver, smiled and replied, ¡°In 10 minutes, Waka-dono (Young Lord). We are almost there, In the meantime please take a small nap.¡± ¡°Haa!¡±, Ryu sighed making Kiro smile wryly. ¡°Call me when we reach the mansion¡±, saying so Ryu closed his eyes. Kiro nodded his head silently and then stepped on the throttle. The black car sped through the highway with the moon as the only spectator. *---*---* Ryu Yasahiro was half Japanese and half Indian, a strange combo one would say. The person in question himself had wondered about the matter. His father, Dev Khatri was from a powerful family in India. It was said that his father¡¯s ancestors were once kings of a pretty powerful kingdom in India. On the other hand, his mother, Miyuki Yasahiro was the only daughter of Isamu Yasahiro, the 7th head of Yasahiro Industries, which was at that time one of the weapons manufacturing companies of Japan, a budding industry. The two met in India when Miyuki came to do some research for her university papers which wanted her to learn about one of the oldest civilizations. She had visited Dev¡¯s palace to know about the man¡¯s ancestors. Ryu was told that it was love at first sight for the boy and the girl. In a year, the two got married. And Dev became the CEO of a financial institution, with him being the founder of the very same institute. Their marriage was controversial, with both families being strongly against it, but neither of the two was ready to give up. Thus, eventually, the marriage was accepted by the families. Everything was going fine, both were happy; Miya gave birth to a boy and girl, things were at its best for the family. But all good things will one day come to an end. In the year 2079, a war broke out amongst the Asian countries. China had declared war against all of the Asia. This war was later called the 1st nuclear war and it spanned for 4 long years, and the world felt despair like never before. The first to be attacked was the neighbouring country of India. During the war, India was in turmoil. The economy failed, the government failed, and people fell into despair. In 2 years, the northern half of India was turned into a barren land. The Khatri family had lost almost everything too. Most of the family went missing, some had fled. And so, Dev decided to flee to Japan with his family. But time and fate were too cruel to them. On the day of their departure, Chinese soldiers stormed into their mansion. The servants were brutally murdered. Dev and Miyuki carrying their children were running towards their vehicle. But before Dev could reach the car, bullets rained down on him. Miyuki froze; her eyes fell on the unmoving body of her husband carrying their 1-year-old daughter. The child began to cry as if it understood the loss of its family. Soldiers were running towards them while shooting. Miyuki tried to grab Dev and the child, but a frail woman could not carry three people at the same time. Lifting the two kids in either hand, the woman began to run, with all her might, while tears of separation and intolerable pain leaked out of her eyes. A silent goodbye to the love of her life. Miyuki got into the car and drove as fast as she could, she rammed through any soldiers that tried to stop her. She could still hear the sound of gunshots. She wept, as her eyes burned with anger, despair, sadness, all those emotions fuelled the mother to move forward. Among all those negative emotions, there was a small ray of hope. Those black eyes fell on her children. She still had a family to protect, a family to love, so the woman wiped off her tears and moved forward. They reached the airport in minutes. A private jet was already waiting for them. Dev had poured all of his remaining money to procure one. The jet was their carriage to life. The family of three boarded the plane. It was a short journey, but she felt it be the longest she ever had. *---*---* Ryu woke up from his nightmare with a violent shake; his eyes red, a tear rolling down. Wiping it with the sleeve of his suit, the boy once again gazed out of the car. He could see the mansion now and an unexpected smile broke out. That place, that mansion had been his home ever since they had come to Japan, his maternal grandfather¡¯s home, Isamu Yasahiro¡¯s home. He remembered clearly the first few days in that mansion, how he and his sister were asked to change their names and become Japanese citizens, how his new grandfather greeted them, how everything changed in an instant. Ajay was shocked, his name was the only memento left by his father, and he was heartbroken when he was denied the final memento of his father. But he had to agree, he was in a different country, his mother¡¯s country. He agreed to it only because he no longer wanted his mother to be troubled. His mother was desperately trying her best to live for the sake of the boy and the girl, and Ajay understood that. The despair he felt had made him sensitive to his mother¡¯s pain. He had sworn on the day that he reached this new home to never make his mother cry. His thoughts about the past were disturbed by the sudden halt of his car. A moment later Kiro had opened the door as always and was now slightly bowing. Ryu got out of the car slowly and stretched his limbs slightly. His mother who had come to welcome him chuckled at the sight of her son. She was still just as beautiful as she was in the past. Her eyes were black, long shiny black hair swayed elegantly in the wind, and a slender figure with the right curves. Most men found her irresistible, a perfect beauty. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He came up to her and hugged her gently. Miyuki hugged him back, patting his hair and asked, ¡°How was the party? Did you make any new friends? A girlfriend perhaps! ¡± Ryu rolled his eyes; the very gesture was irresistibly cute that she cuddled him again causing Ryu to blush a bit. ¡°No mom, I would rather be fed poison than be friends with those clowns.¡± Miyuki sighed, she knew the answer already, yet she had hoped that Ryu would have found somebody to befriend. Her son had been alone since the time they came here, only opening up to her and his little sister, Mia. ¡°Come inside Ryu, you seem tired.¡± said Miyuki. With a wry smile, Ryu nodded his head and followed the woman. Near the door, stood another figure. Ryu¡¯s face instantly had a warm smile as soon as he saw the little figure. Mia, his little sister was a treasure chest for him. He was the one who had always taken care of her, making sure that she would get the things she wanted, that she would always be happy. Her smile had always made him happy. ¡°If it isn¡¯t my cute little sister, have you been a good girl all this time?¡± enquired Ryu. Mia blushed; she liked being called cute by her brother, ¡°Mou!! Nii-san, please don¡¯t make light of me¡±, pouted Mia. Ryu laughed gently and carrying the 12-year-old girl in his arms walked inside. He stepped inside a large hall decorated with extravagant luxuries. ¡®What a bother¡¯, he thought. In the middle of the hall, sat a man, with a book in his hands. Hearing the noise of the approaching footsteps, the man slowly raised his head. Isamu Yasahiro was the 7th head of the Yasahiro industries, a weapon production industry. Isamu had become the head of the company in the year of 2063. Isamu was a capable man, he understood the possibility of China declaring war and he also understood that Japan would be one of its initial targets. And so the man started his work, innovating his company, bringing in capable scientists and other personnel. A Research and Development unit was created and under Isamu¡¯s control, the industry produced large varieties of advanced warfare prototypes. And when the war broke out, Japan was targeted first. But they were a step behind. Isamu¡¯s prototype proved useful, no they were unparalleled. China¡¯s initial attack was fended off easily with the help of the modern weapons. The Yasahiro Industries were then sought for by the Japanese government. Soon the greedy politicians and businessmen gathered around Isamu to leech him off. But the second attack from the Chinese force had an impact on the small island nation of Japan. The death toll was heavy, but the small nation once again repelled the Chinese invaders. Both sides had suffered heavy casualties. But, there was a big difference between the two nations. China had infinitely more resources to spend than Japan. And so, Isamu knew that the third attack might be the end of his country. But by then the news about Yasahiro Industries had spread all over the world. Superpower countries began to contact Isamu for his weapons. Isamu saw hope in that fact. He agreed to supply weapons to all the military powers. And soon China was suppressed. Isamu had used the 1st nuclear war to propel himself and his company to tower above all others in Japan. The country which had been half destroyed by the Chinese forces was restored by the Yasahiro family, alone they built the nation from scratch. Now the country was led by a council, a council established by Isamu. The members selected are based on merit, qualification and a strict screening process. Only those who are judged capable are given the seat in the council. To the public, the council was the highest authority. Nobody knew about the existence of a King above the council and those who knew never talked about it. This man was Ryu¡¯s grandfather. Unlike his tardy and strong physical appearance, the man was kind and humble. A man without discrimination but one who lived in honour. Isamu was now standing in front of him, smiling. But Ryu saw in his grandfather¡¯s eyes a hint of guilt. Guilt for throwing his grandson amongst power hungry wolves. Ryu had since long understood his grandfather¡¯s thoughts and kindness. He stepped forward and gave him a hug. Isamu smiled, he thanked the god for giving him such a wonderful grandson. ¡°Boy, it¡¯s almost time for your birthday, I hear!¡± Isamu asked, his eyes sparkling. Ryu had a shiver run down his spine, he knew the meaning of those sparkling eyes. His grandfather was planning something. But there was nothing he could do and so Ryu nodded, hesitantly! ¡°Wonderful, this calls for a party, my boy. Let''s invite the entire nation¡±. Ryu froze like he was stabbed in the heart. He screamed in his mind, ¡®Another one of those troublesome parties?¡¯ Recovering his wits quickly, the boy spoke firmly to stop his grandfather from starting another troublesome party, ¡°Ojii-sama, please listen to what I have to say¡±. Isamu turned back and said, ¡°Hm? You want to talk with this old man? What is it, boy?¡± ¡°Well! For my birthday, I want it to be just us Ojii-sama. No outsiders! Also, I am going to be 17 and there is something that I want you to get me as the present if it isn¡¯t too much trouble for you.¡± Ryu talked about a present hoping that would make Isamu forget about the party. Isamu looked at Ryu, amazed and amused. ¡°Trouble, you say! What are you saying, my boy? Everything that I have is for you and Mia. You are the next heir of the Yasahiro industries, the 8th head. How can it be a trouble for me? Tell me, Ryu, what it is that you desire?, Isamu¡¯s eyes had a shine like never before. This was a rare occasion after all. Ryu has asked for something for himself only on the very rare occasion. And so Isamu was all fired up. ¡°It is that there is this game that is going to be released a week after my birthday¡±. Ryu spoke slowly once again amusing Isamu. ¡°A game? Is that all you want? Just a game?¡±, Isamu asked not understanding his grandson¡¯s thought process. Isamu had doubts in his eyes. He was hoping that his grandson would ask for something grand. ¡®Just a game?¡¯ was the thought that clouded the old man¡¯s mind. ¡°It is not some ¡®just a game¡¯ kind of thing, Ojii-sama.¡± Ryu was nervous. The game he wanted was one of a kind. The very first VRMMORPG the world had ever seen. To the next heir of a huge industry, buying one or two of such a game was a small matter. But Ryu had nothing else he wanted at the moment and so blurted he out his need for the game to his grandfather, hoping that Isamu would forget the party over the game. The game capsule had an initial cost of 100$ and every person who bought the capsule got a free subscription of two months. Once the free subscription was over, the player had to pay a fee of 50$ every month. Monthly plans, yearly plans, and so on, numerous plans existed, there were even premium plans with added benefits . ¡°What is this game you speak of?¡± Isamu enquired, visibly uninterested. ¡°Dragon Lore¡± Ryu replied. ¡°Very well boy, I shall get you one. I shall take my leave now, I have a party to prepare!¡± Isamu smirked, walking away from a pale and colourless Ryu. ¡®DAMN!!! I am so dead¡¯ he thought. Prologue: The beginning of all Prologue: The beginning of all Proofread by Artek Year 2088 Jan 31st, Tuesday, 9pm ¡®What a pain! Why is grandfather so keen on these stupid parties¡¯, were Ryu¡¯s thoughts, while he was flocked by almost a dozen cute ¡®ojou-samas¡¯. He was already tired of those girls trying to hit on him and his inner soul cried out ¡®Somebody help me¡¯, to no one in particular. And as if she had read Ryu¡¯s thoughts, a little girl approached him and the ojou-samas elegantly and then bowed to them. With a beaming smile, the little girl spoke, but the words carried no hint of warmth. ¡°Nii-sama, why are you flirting with all these girls and not talking to Mia?¡± she threw daggers at her older brother, with her eyes. The girls around him understood that staying any further would cause an Armageddon and so they ran away in an instant giving various excuses. ¡°Nii-san¡±, Mia pouted as she called to her brother. Ryu smiled at the little girl. He was sometimes astonished at the change in the girl¡¯s character, a switch to the elegant mode from the normal mode only took seconds for his little sister. She called him ¡®nii-sama¡¯ when in the presence of outsiders and now that the two siblings were alone, she had reverted back to ¡®nii-san¡¯. But the true horrifying aspect of Mia was her dazzling black eyes. And now those eyes were glaring at him. But suddenly the glare disappeared as if it never happened. Mia looked at her brother and smiled, her cheeks turning a little red. He smiled; those eyes and that smile had always been a lighthouse for him. ¡°Nii-san, I¡­ I have something for y-y-you!¡± she said, stuttering slightly. Ryu was taken aback slightly as he was not expecting such a development to occur and so was at a loss of words, this causing him to stare blankly at Mia . ¡°Mou! Nii-san! Are you listening?¡± and there she once again pouted her cheeks making Ryu to chuckle softly. But this time he responded. He didn¡¯t want to suffer his little sister¡¯s imperial wrath. ¡°What did you get me, Mia?¡± he asked with a puzzled look. ¡°Not telling.¡± She pouted again and turned her head away with a ¡®hum¡¯. ¡°Is that so? Too bad. Nii-san too wanted to give little Mia a present¡± Ryu knew this was the only way. With glittering eyes Mia looked at Ryu making Ryu smile involuntarily. From the inner pocket of his suit, Ryu took out a small box, wrapped decoratively with some expensive looking cloth and then presented it to her. Receiving the box with sheer amusement, she unwrapped the decoration and opened the box in anticipation. Inside the box was a chain of silver with a locket. On the roundish locket were the words ¡®DK¡¯ engraved on to it. Mia knew what the ¡®DK¡¯ meant, it was her father¡¯s name after all. The girl felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she was strong. She wiped the tears that were about to fall, with a smile on her face she spoke. ¡°Thank you, Nii-san.¡± She then wore the chain around her neck and gave Ryu a victory pose making Ryu laugh at her gesture. Mia smiled back and then grabbed his hand, dragging him to another room. The room was lit dimly and Ryu could understand that there was already somebody inside the room. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, Ryu immediately recognised that the figure belonged to his mother. Miyuki greeted Ryu with a warm smile and gestured him to come near her. In her hands was what looked like a sword, a katana to be precise! The mother gently embraced her son, wishing and blessing him. She then separated from the boy and then extended her hands that were holding the sword towards Ryu. ¡°This beautiful katana has been passed down to generations after generations in the Yasahiro family. An heirloom, a tradition, an honour. It belonged to your father and now, it is yours!¡± Ryu¡¯s training in martial arts was adequate. When asked by his grandfather to train his body, Ryu agreed to Isamu¡¯s demands. Ryu made sure he was good enough to be able to defend himself in case of some abnormal situations arose. Other than that the boy showed no real interest in martial arts, for some reason martial arts failed to impress the boy. Yet, Ryu had properly built his body with exercise and other sports while seldom practicing the martial arts he was taught. But this time he was excited, for the sword that was before him had an aura that was pulling Ryu¡¯s mind towards it. He accepted the sword with trembling hands as excitement surged through his body. This was a first time for the boy, such excitement just from holding the sword was not a daily occurrence for the young master. Drawing the katana from the sheath, Ryu gazed at the elegant sword. The sheath alone was a masterpiece, pure black in colour with silver lining that ran over the black body. He knew the code of bushido. He was holding a true katana for the first time. Even though his previous self would not have been too much excited, the Ryu that day wanted to cherish that moment. The katana was 70cm long, with a beautiful curve and a sharp edge! He understood that the sword was treasured and was subjected to great care. ¡®Beautiful¡¯ was the only thought he had. ¡°Sekisetsu¡± Ryu heard his mother¡¯s voice. ¡°Sekisetsu is the name of the sword.¡± ¡®Sekisetsu - Snowfall¡¯ thought Ryu. He was about to ask his mother the reason why it was named so, but before he could ask, his grandfather suddenly appeared. ¡°Boy what are you doing here, the guests are leaving. You are the host of this party. Bid them a proper farewell. Come now. Carry that sword with you too. You are now the formal heir. Let the world know of it too.¡± ¡°Yes Ojii-sama¡±. Ryu bowed to his mom and walked towards the hall. On the way to the hall, Isamu whispered ¡°I got your game boy. It is in your room¡±. ¡°Huh!!¡± Ryu was puzzled. The game was not even released yet. The launch was scheduled to be a couple of months later, and so Ryu was dumbstruck at the thought of having the capsule in his room. ¡°How?¡± asked an astonished Ryu. Isamu smirked, ¡°Boy, who do you think I am?¡± Ryu smiled too. ¡®You are a scary man Ojii-sama, a scary man¡¯. But these words never left his lips *---*---* Year 2088 Jan 31st, Tuesday, 6pm Yasahiro Mansion Brian Woltale was what one would consider as the modern day ¡®Noble¡¯. Wealthy, arrogant, handsome and powerful, a typical noble. But Brian was not stupid of all things. In fact he was a cunning man. And the same Brian was now on his way to the Yasahiro mansion. ¡®Ryu Yasahiro¡¯, Brian spoke to himself as he laid back in his car, comfortably, ¡¯we finally get to meet, heir of Yasahiro¡¯. A mocking and arrogant smile flashed on his face as he contemplated the moves he should make to befriend the young master of the Yasahiro family. Truly, Brian Woltale was cunning and cruel. *---*---* English Alliance, just like the formation of the New Japan Federation was the result of the first nuclear war. The English Alliance consisted of most countries of ¡®United Kingdom¡¯ and was united under the Banner of the Woltale noble family, considerable feat indeed. During the first nuclear war, fearing China¡¯s military power, almost the entire world donated military and financial support to India, hoping the Indians would drive away the Chinese army. But fate was not their ally at all, as Chinese army marched forwards, relentlessly. And by the time the war was over, the superpowers of the world had all lost their strength and were at the brink of fall. It was then, under the power of the Woltale family, the birth of English Alliance brought stability to those regions. And Brian Woltale was the son of the man who united the former Europe. The car that Brian was in stopped in front of a huge mansion. Brian got out of his car to be greeted by a handsome 17-year-old boy. The two boys shook hands with gentle smiles. ¡°Welcome Sir Brian, it¡¯s an honor¡± said Ryu spoke while his hands shook with Brian¡¯s. ---***--- ¡°It is time for dinner my friends, please have a seat¡± Isamu waved his hand over the incredibly long dining table. The guests took their seats quietly. Once all the assembled ones had sat down, Isamu gestured the maids to bring in the dishes. The next moment maids poured in into the hall carrying different plates in their hands and in the next moment, the large dining table was filled with dishes. All the guests broke into a smile, impressed by the food before them. Isamu sat at one end of the table on a chair that resembled a throne. To his right was Ryu, Miyaki and Mia while to Isamu¡¯s left was Brian, the VIP guest. As the dinner started, Brian who was just opposite to Ryu, began talking with Isamu, asking various questions, speaking out his thoughts. Ryu who was silently eating his food listened to the conversation between the two in front of him. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.¡°So Ryu-kun, what do you think of the current world?¡± a sudden question was thrown to the young master. Ryu stopped eating and then silently looked at the one who had forwarded the question. Brian Woltale gazed at Ryu with a smile, urging him to reply. ¡°Even if you ask me that, my world right now is the mansion. So I can¡¯t particularly reply to the question¡±, Ryu replied, seemingly uninterested. Hearing the response, Brian gave a wry smile and then began to speak. ¡°That is no good young master of the Yasahiros. You are the next in line to be the heir and such a man should not be so irresponsible¡± Brian spoke in a condescending manner. ¡°If everyone in the world were to actively participate, this world could become a better place. For example, look at the English Alliance itself. We strive for a better tomorrow while aiming for a better and beautiful Earth. We have produced technologies that heals the Earth. The times of war are over, don¡¯t you think so, Ryu-kun?¡± Ryu nodded at Brian with a smile. ¡°And so here is my proposition to the heir of Yasahiro, help us rebuild Earth.¡± Ryu¡¯s eyebrows twitched. Isamu who was quietly listening to the boy¡¯s words was now deep in thought. All the guests that were in the room stopped their dinner immediately. A trade alliance between the New Japan Federation and the English Alliance was too good a news to ignore. The benefits were numerous and so the guests were already making plans of exploiting the alliance. ¡°I politely refuse¡± said Ryu as he continued his dinner. The dining room had an eerie silence for a while until a visibly flustered and frustrated Brian spoke in a calm voice. ¡°Err! Ryu-kun, may I know the reason for the refusal? I believe what I proposed was not that bad an offer.¡± Hearing Brian¡¯s word, Ryu placed his knife and fork on the table and then stared at the noble boy before him. ¡°Indeed, what you proposed was a wonderful thing. The people of both the countries get access to different technologies, the trade improves, economy will flourish, the two nations will have a stronger bond. Truly wonderful indeed¡± Ryu spoke, but the voice was cold. ¡°Is it not? All the more reason to accept the offer?¡± Brian once again pushed Ryu to agree. ¡°All the more reason to refuse, I would say. The first nuclear war came to an end nine years ago. And why is it that until now there has been no actions of alliance from your side till now. From what I learned, the New Japan Federation had requested for an alliance to the English Alliance in the past too, that too numerous times. But every time we were refused with some kind of excuse. And now you suddenly jump in with a such a proposal, that too on my birthday! Suspicious is all I can say, and so the Yasahiro¡¯s refuse.¡± Saying so, Ryu once again picked up his tableware and began eating quietly. ¡°You! Who are you calling suspicious?¡± Anger began to boil inside the noble¡¯s heart, for such cold treatment was for the first time in his life. ¡°You dare?¡± ¡°I dare. What I said is true, is it not? I am thinking that, there is something you want from us and you know that we won¡¯t hand it over directly. And so now you make this open trade farce so that you can manipulate some secret agent over here to attain what you need. Once that is taken care off, you will slowly withdraw from the trade alliance saying that our products are not of the best quality or something of that sort, right? You sure are something, Brian-kun.You waltz into my mansion, you eat my food, you try to flatter me with useless words and now you raise your voice against me? Do not try my patience, young master of the Woltale family¡± As Ryu spoke those words, he glared at the Brian, Though Ryu¡¯s face was calm, those eyes raged like a volcano. Cold sweat dripped down Brian¡¯s back, he instinctively knew that any words spoken now will only lead to his destruction. ¡°Ryu that is enough¡±. Isamu roared, ¡°He is our guest, do not dishonour a guest¡±. And so a humiliated Brian could not do nothing but walk out of the hall, his head hung low. Ryu snapped out of his trance like situation, his eyes became clear. Getting up from his seat, the boy apologised to the guests with a small bow and then continued his dinner as usual. Once the dinner was over, the guests were asked to move to the dancing hall. Only Isamu and Miyuki remained in the dining hall, the two had a smile on their face. ¡°Miyuki, it is time, he has grown, entrust the sword to him¡±. Miyuki nodded, her eyes were on Ryu. ¡®Dev, our son has become a fine man, just like you imagined.¡¯ While the others were having fun, one boy was furious. The thought of being cornered by Ryu made the boy feel anger like never before. He was insulted in front of all the guests. But the thing that irritated him more was the fear he had felt when he looked into Ryu¡¯s eyes. ---***--- Year 2088 Jan 31st, Tuesday, 9pm Yasahiro Mansion Brian was wandering around the Yasahiro mansion. He wanted to get out of here immediately and so he had phoned his father, asking for permission to leave but he was denied instantly. And so, the irritated boy walked absentmindedly when he vaguely heard some voice. The voices he heard were too familiar that the boy recognised the owners of the voice he had heard a while ago. ¡°I got your game, boy. It is in your room¡±. Isamu¡¯s spoke delightfully. ¡®Game? What game?¡¯ Brian was confused at the sudden mention of the game. ¡°Huh? How?¡± Brian recognized this voice too, it was Ryu. Brian stiffened a little. That is when it dawned on Brian, he had heard from the maids of the house about Ryu wanting some game named ¡®Dragon Lore¡¯. He did not give it any attention in the beginning because it was just a game. Brian was an avid gamer and had almost all the games that the world had. ¡®DRAGON LORE! So that¡¯s what he wanted!¡¯ Brian¡¯s lips stretched into a smile, a sinister smile. ¡®Ryu Yasahiro, you messed with the wrong guy, I will make you repent for your sins. If I can¡¯t destroy you here, I will destroy you there. Just you wait ¡¯ ---***--- Year 2088 April 10th, Thursday, 12am Ryu Yasahiro was in his room. A few months have passed since his birthday. And that day was a special day for Ryu. The launch day for Dragon Lore, world¡¯s first VRMMORPG. Ryu was excited, he was now in the capsule that his grandfather had bought him. He was surprised at how his grandfather had procured one so early. The first official day of sale was the 1st of April. And yet his grandfather had presented it to him months before. Unknown to Ryu was that, those with power and money could get a custom made capsule. And Isamu as someone who would even sell his own life for the happiness of his family. Procuring a capsule for a few million dollars seemed like child¡¯s play for him. But nobody knew that this action would greatly change the course of the entire game world itself. Ryu once again thanked his grandfather and then dived in for the first time.
Do you want to connect to DRAGON LORE
YESNO
¡°Yes¡± replied Ryu excitedly. ¡®Here it goes!! Buhahahahaa
¡°DRAGON LORE¡±
¡°BE REBORN¡±
Ryu was now inside of what seemed like a huge box. In front of him stood a young girl. He stared at her. ¡®Where is this? Wasn¡¯t I inside the capsule?¡¯ ¡°WELCOME TRAVELLER. ARE YOU READY TO BE REBORN?¡± said the girl. ¡°Yes¡± replied Ryu, visibly excited. ¡°My name is Amy; I shall now proceed to your avatar creation. Please choose a name for your avatar.¡± ¡°SHIV¡± ¡°Accepted. You may now choose your gender¡± ¡°Male¡± ¡°You may now choose your starting race. Your initial stats will be determined by the race you choose¡± ¡°Err... human please¡±, Ryu was still confused on the race he wanted, so he reluctantly went for human. ¡°Do you wish to modify your appearance traveller?¡± ¡®Oh!! Modification of appearance? Cool!!¡¯ ¡°Please increase the length of my hair by 30cm, add a bit reddish tint to the end, a little more. Increase my height a little. Bring down my skin tone a shade down. Perfect¡± ¡°Please choose your starting location¡± ¡°Random¡±, the answer was immediate. ---***--- Chapter 1: Tower beyond the walls Chapter 1: Tower beyond the walls Proofread by Artek ¡°Random¡± ¡°Do you wish to try the tutorial? The tutorial will teach you the basics of your new world! ¡°Skip please.¡± ¡°Very well traveller¡±. The cute little girl made a slight bow and snapped her fingers. With her fingers as centre, an oscillating wave oozed out from nowhere, spreading out infinitely. As those oscillating waves fell upon Ryu, he involuntarily closed his eyes. It took him a few seconds to re-open his eyes and immediately he was attacked by a myriad of colourful light, with the ever so warm light of the sun. As his eyes adjusted themselves to the surroundings, what stood before Ryu, no before Shiv was a wonderful stretch of forest. The sunlight was piercing through large gaps in the canopy, and one such escaped packet of sun light was now incident on Shiv¡¯s face. The face resembled Ryu, except for the much longer hair that now had its ends reddened slightly. And due to his height being increased little, he looked a bit older than his real age. Shiv inhaled deeply, mesmerized by the originality of the world, the freshness of the air to the dew drops on the leaves fascinated, these the newbie to an extent, but what excited him more was the fact he was free to do anything in this virtual world. While our protagonist was so immersed with the world, a strange noise rang in his ears, startling him for a second. ¡®Trrrng¡¯
Greetings Traveller!!! You have been reborn!!! A journey full of adventure awaits you!!! Will you succeed in your path or fall prey to other¡¯s will??? May the dragon god¡¯s light fall upon you.
¡®Dragon god?? That¡¯s the first time I am hearing about a Dragon god. Well, there were hardly any information that I could get from the internet. So this world is under the dragon god¡¯s power huh. That¡¯s explains the name to an extent!¡¯ ¡°Trrrng¡±
You are in the plains of Draklake. Draklake, the symbol of the Dragon god. Plains with essence of the great dragon god, Oberon You are the first to discover the plains of Draklake. You have been blessed by the great dragon god Double exp for one week. You have been gifted the tattoo of the dragon. All stats +25 for 12 hours. +50 fame for discovering a legendary place. +50 fame for being the first to gain fame. Receives compulsory quest: The Draklake Hero 1(1/3)
¡®Sweet! That is some blessing. What is this turn of events? Am I a blessed creature?¡¯ Shiv started laughing, more like roaring. He knew the importance of stats in this world. The online forums had stressed on the advantage of high stats and high levels. He was still laughing menacingly when he felt an acute pain on his right hand. He lifted his hands to check the cause of the pain and was flabbergasted by what he saw. His right hand was glowing dimly; something was accumulating on the upper side of his hand stretching till his elbow. ¡°Trrrng¡±
You have obtained a skill: Oberon¡¯s Bless (Passive) Beginner (level 1): You have been bestowed the dragon god¡¯s blessing. Being blessed by the true god, Oberon, you have been granted power beyond normal. Your body is now tougher, faster and stronger. +5 to STR, AGI, VIT and STA. +50 to HP and Mana. Unlock new skills at higher level. Receives compulsory quest: The Draklake Hero 2(2/3)
New status created: Fighting spirit: the blessing of the true god allows becoming more fierce in battle. Monsters below your level will now fear you. You may not distribute bonus stat points.
New skill unlocked: Dragon¡¯s Roar (Passive) Beginner (level 1): A thunderous roar! A roar similar to Oberon¡¯s imperial roar! Monsters in the vicinity will fear you. Allies will feel the dragon¡¯s power. 60 second paralysis. Defense decreases by 10%. 5min increase in morale of allies. Mana consumption: 100
¡®What the heck! Am I dreaming? Is this some kind of prank?¡¯ Shiv was now sceptical. He had just started and already received so many bonuses. ¡®It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want them, well whatever. But that compulsory quests thing kind of bothers me. Usually a game never has such an event in the beginning itself. And I don¡¯t think this is some kind of bug. It seems to have three parts, but chain quests don¡¯t reveal itself before the previous quest was completed. Suspicious indeed. Does that mean I have to now unlock the third part somehow?¡¯ Irritated a little at the thought, Shiv tried opening the two new quests he obtained. But every time he tried he was refused access by a notification which asked him to unlock the final part of the quest. Giving up on the thought, Shiv sighed involuntarily. ¡®Maybe I should check out my status once. Now how did it go?¡¯, ¡°err, open status bar¡± ¡°Trrrng¡±
STATS WINDOW
Character NameShivAlignmentNeutral
Level1ProfessionNone
TitleNone
Health: 100(+350)Mana: 100(+350)
Strength: 10(+30)Agility: 10(+30)
Stamina: 10(+30)Vitality: 10(+30)
Wisdom: 10(+25)Intelligence: 10(+25)
Luck: 0(+25)Fame: 100
Magic Resistance: None
Shiv stared at his status table for a while, something about the status bugged him. Closing the status bar, he then looked around for a path or some clue as to get out of the forest. ¡®Wow! What is that?¡¯ a little away to Shiv was, a disturbingly tall building. The building appeared black, in fact too black as it gave a chilly feel to the boy. ¡®Is that a tomb or something? Is that the reason why there are no monsters nearby? Well I don¡¯t see any other buildings around, guess I might as well pay it a visit¡¯. And so Shiv idly began walking on the paved road, towards the mysterious building in front. ---***--- ¡°Gehambel, a human has come¡± spoke an old woman. ¡°A human, you say! Hahaha! It has been decades since I saw one. Will this be the one?¡± spoke an old man with a large stature. ¡°We can¡¯t say. He must know true evil and despair and then pass the test. If he could not, then that is all he was worth. Our search will continue¡±, a much younger person spoke, but the voice was that of a lady. ¡°Very well. We shall wait¡±, replied Briskol. The mysterious figures were all gathered around a small pond with water that sparkled like diamonds. And in that pond, a young boy¡¯s face was floating in the water. ---***--- Shiv walked for small time, and as if remembering something he suddenly checked the time. He had been in the game for just half an hour in real time but already two hours had passed in his new world. Shiv decided to log out for now. Since he was sure that things would get interesting and hectic later, he knew that now was the only time he could rest. Moreover, he understood that this place would be perfect as no monsters would attack his sleeping body due to the tall black tower¡¯s effect. ¡®I should get back as soon as I can in the morning. No time to waste¡¯ ¡°Log out¡±. In the blink of an eye, Ryu was back in his capsule. He felt oddly tired. Getting out of the capsule he once again looked at the clock. ¡®Half past 12 huh. Let¡¯s see! 4 hours? No, too short. 5, yes 5 hours will do. Setting alarm at 5:30am, now off to sleep¡¯. ---***--- Ryu woke up to the sound of the alarm. He wanted to bulldoze the alarm and continue sleeping, but his gaming instincts did not let him to. He then switched on his computer to browse the official site of the game, wanting to check the leader¡¯s board to know the current level of the players. ¡®Let¡¯s see, mmmm ah there, leaderboard. First rank Adrian. Let¡¯s check his level. What the???? Level 16???¡¯ Ryu was dumbfounded, it had just been 5 hours since the game¡¯s release and there was already a level 16 player. But what shocked him more was that this rank 1 player had already got a class. ¡®Apostle of Light? What kind of shitty class is that?¡¯ A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Even if Ryu called it shitty, he knew that the class was something major. From the name itself he could understand that it had something to do with the God of Light. Ryu was dejected. ¡®And here I was sleeping like a log while the rest climbed up. Pathetic!¡¯ With his anger fuelling his mind and body, Ryu jumped into the capsule. ¡°Dive in¡±, he roared in his mind. ---***--- Shiv opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the bright light. Confirming that he was back at the place where he had left yesterday, Ryu gently got up and stretched his body. He then looked at the tower which was rather closer than on the previous day, and started walking towards it. Not too long after he started walking a huge wall came to Shiv¡¯s vision, ¡®That¡¯s some huge wall! Why do they need such a huge wall?¡¯ Shiv questioned in his mind. He kept walking, he could now see some more buildings and also a gate. On both sides of the gate he saw the silhouette of humans. ¡®A village!¡¯ thought an overjoyed Shiv and so started walking faster. He was truly happy. ¡®Finally the newbie village.¡¯ Newbie villages were designations where the players first appear. And as per the rules, only players above level 10 are permitted to leave the village boundaries. And so Shiv was excited that he could get to see people and all kinds of other things. Shiv¡¯s lips stretched, a truly sinister smile appeared. ¡®just you wait Adrian, I¡¯m gonna whoop yo ass big time¡¯. If a third person were to see the snickering Shiv, god knows what they would think. ---***--- Barin was yawning. He was tired of keeping watch on the gate. He had been doing this for almost 10 years. No one had ever come to their home town, not even monsters to attack, let alone guests to visit. He had no idea why he was even guarding the gate. ¡®An order is an order, I guess. Ah I want to go back to Serin, yesterday night was hot¡¯ Barin was in his wet dreams about the passionate night he had with his lover. ¡°Hey Barin, something is coming this way¡± said the fellow guard. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around brat, I have been here for 10 years and not even an insect has dared to come to the sacred village of the Dragon!¡± ¡°But look at that thing in front¡± said the brat named Lupon. Barin was now pissed. ¡°there is nothing th¡­..¡±, before he could finish, Barin¡¯s eyes caught up to what Lupon had mentioned. He could see something approaching, really fast too. ¡°By the dragon god, is that a human?¡± ---***--- Shiv was now in front of the gate. He looked at the guards. ¡®Why do they seem different?¡¯ The guards were indeed different. Even though they had the appearance of a human, something seemed amiss. ¡®Why do they have a bluish tint to their skin? Is it some kind of body art? And what the hell are those tattoos on their hands.¡¯ Both of the guards¡¯ left hands had a tattoo. Shiv looked at the tattoos on the left hand of both the guards, he soon realized that the tattoos differed from each other. The guard who looked much older had two tattoos on his hand, while the much younger one had just one. ¡®A hierarchy system?¡¯ Shiv then talked to the older guard, thinking he was the superior and he was right on that. ¡°Greetings Sir¡± Shiv spoke, in a dignified manner. Barin kept quiet and stared at the guy before him. For the first time in ten years someone has come to the village. Barin found it hard to process the thought, but the boy in front of him without a doubt existed. Giving a deep sigh, he slowly replied. ¡°Greeting human. What business do you have in this village?¡± ¡°I wish to stay at the village for a few days. As part of my training, I am on a journey¡±. Shiv nonchalantly mixed in a small lie in his words. Barin and Lupon once again went silent. Lupon could feel the tension in the air. Shrugging his shoulders, Barin once again started talking. ¡°We cannot let you in Sir, unless we have orders from above. Since no such orders were given, we have no obligation to let you in. ¡°I see. But is there no other way. I am running low on food and water. And I need to rest too. Just for a day at least?¡± Shiv asked politely with a smile, hoping to find some way in. Barin sighed once again and spoke. ¡°If you are going to offer me money or some valuables, then I will have to ask you to leave¡±. ¡°Not at all, I have only enough money to support me. As you can see that I am in a pitiful state, please help me somehow.¡± Getting irritated slightly, Barin glared at Shiv, and said. ¡°Fine! Fine! In the plains of Draklake, north of this village, lies a small pond. A pond which is home to the water spirits, called Naiad. These Naiads, you see, are completely harmless and have no fighting prowess¡± Barin continued, ¡°This pond has been under the protection of our village for a long time. But a week from today marks the start of a special ritual in our village, so the guards appointed to protect the village were all called back to prepare for this ritual. The ritual takes place only once every 10 years and lasts for 2 days. During the time of preparations and the ritual, the pond is left unguarded.¡± From the gist of things, Shiv understood why Barin stressed on the word unguarded. ¡°Ever since the guards have stopped their guard duty, the pond has been subjected to attacks by black rabbits. These rabbits have been trying to snatch the pond for themselves for a while. For now, the pond is safe, but the naiads have requested our help. From what we understood, the rabbits plan to attack the pond on the day of the festival to ensure that the naiads would not receive any help. So what will you do, human?¡± ¡°Trrrng¡±
Received quest(Optional): The Draklake Hero 3)
YesNo
Shiv was surprised at the sudden notification. He did not expect to find the final part of the quest at that moment. Shiv was pretty sure that the guard would give him some kind of subjugation quest. Nevertheless, the boy accepted without care.
QUEST: The Draklake Hero(Compulsory)
Welcome, hero candidate. You have successfully found all three pieces of the quest. You have officially been recognized as a hero candidate. Pass the quest to finish the trial of the hero.
Quest: Defend the naiads during the black rabbit attack. Kill all enemies. Days left till attack: 7days Difficulty : F+ Requirements: All three pieces of the quest Rewards Oberon¡¯s Bless Fighting Spirit Dragon¡¯s Roar 500xp +10 intimacy with Naiads +10 intimacy with guards Failure The quest will fail if: 1. If you die 2. All naiads die. (60 alive) Failure will result in being banned from entering the village.
¡®+F difficulty? Woa, that¡¯s one high level. I don¡¯t even have a weapon. What kind of stupid quest is this?¡¯ Shiv face palmed in distress.. ¡°This here is the internal wall. There is an outer wall a little further. That is the village boundary. The pond is within the outer wall and thus is a part of the village. The outer wall was built to protect powerless creatures as Naiads. The black rabbits too have their home within the outer walls.¡± Barin spoke as if to himself. ¡®So that explains why I had spawned outside the village. And the monsters not attacking me was not due to the tower but me being inside the village. Now everything makes sense¡¯. Barin continued, ¡°You have got 7 days to prepare for the attack. I suggest you get stronger. The way you are, a single bite from the rabbits can kill you. Here take this parchment and give it to the battle guide inside the village. Tell him that I sent you. Look for the second tallest building, it is red in color.¡± ¡°I can go in?¡± Shiv was sceptical about what he heard and so questioned the guard in front of him. ¡°Yes, but you are to go straight to the building I spoke off. No wandering around. If you cause any trouble inside then I will throw you out myself, Understood?¡± The sudden pressure from Barin caught Shiv off-guard, yet he withstood the pressure. Bidding farewell to the guard, he walked into the village. *---*---* ¡°Barin, why did you let the human enter?¡± But Barin did not reply, he clearly remembered what he saw a few minutes ago. The human who had nonchalantly approached them. Even though the boy appeared polite, Barin had intentionally used a strong language. He felt irritated for some odd reason. But something on the human¡¯s hand caught his eyes. On the boy¡¯s right hand was a tattoo. And Barin clearly recognised the tattoo, he knew what it meant. ¡°Lupon, Report to the elders, the hero candidate has come¡± ---***--- Chapter 2: Academy of Warfare 1 Chapter 2 The village of Draklake was beautiful, a truly marvellous existence. For the young boy, the scenery around him was mind blowing. The village lacked houses that were made of logs and the sort. Each and every building in the village was made of some kind of high quality stones. All the buildings had been decorated with great works of art. From the door to the windows panes had intricate designs carved on them. ¡®Village of the dragon riders eh. No wonder the village has sculptures of dragon all around. Must be nice to live here.¡¯ Shiv then moved forward in the search of his destination, the tall red building. On his way looking for it, he came across a fountain with a dragon sculpture in the middle. The sculpture of the dragon was so mesmerizing that Shiv almost forgot his mission. He was brought back from his thoughts by a now familiar sound. ¡°Trrrng¡± ¡®Now what¡¯, Shiv was slightly agitated. But the agitation was short lived. What the notification box in front of him showed was something incredible.
You have discovered a masterpiece: The Fountain of Elixir Sculpted by the legendary sculpture Penkorth to honor the True God, Oberon!!!! The sculpture is made of high grade ivory and is regarded as one of the wonders of the world. The water flowing is believed to have mystical powers! For enjoying one of the marvels of the world: +20 to all stats for 5 hours +5 to STR, STA, AGI, LUCK +100 fame
¡®Sweet Jesus! This village is a treasure trove! Guhuhuhu, the God truly favours me! Thank you Oberon, you are the best!¡¯ Shiv then continued to search for his destination eagerly, he hoped that the red building would also give some sort of blessing or strong weapons. ¡°What is that creature?¡± ¡°He is so fair, not like us.¡± ¡°A monster?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a human, a human has come to our village!¡± Shiv could hear the whispers of the villagers. He did not mind them for he knew that it was a natural reaction after all. When Shiv had first met the guards, he too was cautious and surprised. So he let the villagers be and kept searching. It did not take him much time to find the building he was looking for. The red building was a couple of blocks from the fountain. And it was just like the guard had said, a fiery red building that was at least five storeys tall, like all the other buildings in the village this too had dragon art all over. ¡®Is this really a village? With these many tall and huge buildings shouldn¡¯t it be a city?¡¯ even though Shiv had his doubts he could not ask anyone. Even if he wanted to, he was sure that none of the villagers would answer him. While walking through the village, he also noticed that the villagers did not have any tattoos. ¡®So the common people have none eh.¡¯ he made a mental note and the approached the red building. The front door itself was huge, almost twice of Shiv¡¯s height and had letters scribbled on it. Shiv tried to read the inscription but failed miserably. ¡®What language is this?¡¯ the letters were of an unknown language. Since he could not read it, Shiv then tried knocking on the door. ¡®Knock Knock¡¯ Like the huge size was nothing but like an illusion, the door opened on Shiv¡¯s touch. Shiv panicked a bit, but gathered his courage and walked in to a small room. In front of him were a table and a chair. On the chair sat a person with his hands supporting his chin. The man was glaring at Shiv, his eyes bloodshot, even the darkness of the room could not hide those eyes. Shiv could feel the intensity of the glare, he felt being stripped naked by the pressure. ¡°You, what have you come here for, human?¡± the man asked, his voice was so commanding Shiv had cold sweats trickling all over him. Shiv moved forward, slowly, not want to do anything reckless. He then extended his right hand which was holding the parchment that Barin had given. The strange man looked at Shiv, and then at the parchment. And out of nowhere a hand grabbed Shiv¡¯s wrist. The man was already by Shiv¡¯s side, and the letter already taken. The movements of the unknown man were so fast that Shiv never even saw him getting off his seat, let alone see the man¡¯s hand. Shiv felt fear for the first time in a long while, he knew that one wrong move and death would accompany him. For a while the room remained silent. Shiv could feel the man¡¯s gaze on his right hand. This feeling made him guess that his tattoo was being examined. But in the next moment the strange man had a 180 degree change in his attitude. Laughing aloud, the man put his shoulder around Shiv as if the two were best buddies reunited after a long time. Shiv was startled, he couldn¡¯t make head and tails of the situation and so he kept quiet, expecting the man to talk. ¡°You pass boy. We will start your training shortly.¡± The man merrily shouted at Shiv. ¡®Eh!! Training? What just happened?¡¯ Shiv was confused, he again extended the parchment. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°You no longer need that. Keep it or throw it. Trivial things aside, introduce yourself, boy¡±. The man was still smiling. He seemed like a different man. ¡®I have a bad feeling about this guy. I wanna go home!¡¯, even though his instincts warned him to leave, Shiv replied to the man. ¡°I am Shiv, a traveller. I was sent by Barin to tra¡­¡±, before Shiv could complete, he was interrupted. ¡°Shiv, from now on you will be under personal supervision, be honoured for I am Thorwin, battle guide and the grand master of the Academy of warfare.¡± ¡®Wait wait wait! Battle guide? Academy of warfare? Is this not a simple training hall?¡¯, Shiv felt his head splitting due to the speed at which events were unfolding before him. ¡®Moments ago, he was glaring at me and now he wants to train me? Just what is this development.¡¯ When Shiv hear Barin talk about a battle guide, Shiv had guessed the red building to be a training hall. Before the launch of the games, Shiv had tried to collect as much information as he could from the online forums and other game related sites. The forums had clearly mentioned about training halls that helped newbies pick up some fighting experience. Never once was there a talk about an Academy of warfare, not even in one of the forums. Shiv was not sure whether he should believe the guy or not, but he was sure that he had no other option but to accept the man¡¯s offer. ¡°The academy has three branches. Each branch focuses on 3 entirely different aspects of warfare. I will be teaching you fighting techniques, that is the physical part of warfare. You will be taught about magic and strategies of warfare by those who excel in those fields. That is all for basic introduction. From now on, you shall address me as master. Any questions?¡± ¡°Yes master¡± Shiv was hesitant. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Master I only have 10 days for my training. The Naiads¡­.¡± he trailed off. ¡°Do not worry, 10 days are more than enough. We will pound into your head everything we know with all our might in those six days. Look forward to it, young human¡± replied Thorwin with a gentle smile. But there was nothing gentle about the words that were spoken. Shiv could read ¡®I am going to torture you to my heart¡¯s content¡¯ in those shinning eyes. Gulp! ¡®Curse you Oberon, curse you¡¯. Shiv who had been wholeheartedly praising the dragon god was now cursing the same being. Little did he know that this was only the beginning! After all this place was Draklake, the village of hope or despair. He followed Thorwin accepting his cursed faith. ¡®Now I understand why everything here gave huge bonuses.¡¯ ---***--- The duo had been walking for some time now. Shiv wanted to ask where he was being taken, but he then decided against it. The guy beside him seemed to occupied to notice Shiv¡¯s worries. Shiv looked around the corridor. It was too narrow, yet it was spacious enough to allow two persons to walk side by side. The corridor being badly lit caused Shiv to stumble once in a while, but the other guy paid no heed. After what seemed like an eternity to the poor boy, the two stopped before a junction, with the path being separated in to two. Taking the left one, Thorwin walked in front, with Shiv following behind. Once again the two stopped, but this time it was in front of a door. Thorwin opened the door and gestured Shiv to get in. Shiv nodded his head at his master and then walked in. Inside was a very spacious hall. Shiv¡¯s eyes which had already adjusted to the dark, scouted the hall carefully. On the left was an armoury with all the weapons that existed in the world, to the right were dummies of different size and at the centre the, just a bed. ¡°You will be trained here for the next few days. Your body and mind will be disciplined. Only then can you truly be powerful. Do not leave this room until I say so. Food and water shall be provided to you here.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Good. Then let me tell you what you will be doing here. Starting from now, you will swing the wooden sword for 4 continuous hours. Once that is done, then hit the dummies bare handed for 3 hours followed with hitting the dummies for another 3 hours, this time with the sword. You will be given 2 hours of rest for eating and sleeping. Repeat this for the next two days. That¡¯s all. Begin.¡± Shiv¡¯s jaws dropped. This was slavery. ¡®That¡¯s all my ass¡¯ was what he wanted to say, but he replied with a nod. ¡°Great. Since you don¡¯t have to worry about food and all, train to your heart¡¯s content. If you complete this training you will be given a weapon of your choice. If you complete it, that is¡±. Thorwin gave the same cold smile that he gave earlier and then slowly walked out of the room and closed the door. Shiv once again looked around the room which was going to be his home for 2 days, then picked up the sword and started his training. ---***--- Chapter 3: Academy of Warfare 2 Chapter 3 Academy of Warfare 2 ¡°Show Real Clock!!!¡± A frustrated young boy shouted out to as to no one. Immediately a digital clock appeared in front of the boy who was now inside a dark room, swinging a wooden sword. ¡®6:30 in the morning huh! Good grief! I will be able to complete my training in time for my breakfast¡¯. Shiv had been swinging his sword for 4 continuous hours. Rather than swinging his sword just like one would practice swinging swords in kendo, Shiv used this time to practice the moves which was taught to him by his martial arts masters. Thanking the masters that taught an impassionate guy like him, Shiv continued his training. His continuous movement had triggered the creation of many new skills but Shiv paid no heed to those notification, he did not want moves that were taught to him by others to influence his game life. The young boy did not want to be restricted by the laws of his previous masters. He genuinely wanted to strive in the new world with his own original moves and he very well knew that the current him could not do such things. Shiv had also not bothered to check the dialogue boxes which indicated his stats increase or satiety level or any other notifications. He concentrated his all on mastering the sword and his body. Shiv put down his sword, panting and sweating heavily. ¡®This world is too real for a game world¡¯. Being worn out because of the training, Shiv decided to sit down for a while before he logged out. And as laid down on his bed, Shiv¡¯s ears caught hold of a strange voice. Reluctantly the boy forced his body up from the bed and then closed his eyes so as to concentrate on to the strange sounds. Shiv¡¯s concentration increased as time flew, he could not distinctly hear the sounds, which now felt like some kind of chant. He remained in the same position for a while. Ten minutes or so passed till the Shiv opened his eyes. Lifting his body completely from the bed, he paced toward the room to the left of the hall, the armoury. Taking out a bread loaf from the inventory, he chewed on the hard bread to satisfy is hunger. Finishing the bread in one bite, Shiv entered the armoury for the first time. But the moment he placed his foot inside, the chant got louder and violent. A sudden pressure attacked Shiv from the dark depths of the armoury. Shiv felt nauseated, blood drained from his face, pain surged through his entire body. But he endured, he took a step forward, then another step and another step. By the time he had taken five steps or so, Shiv was already panting, his face as pale as that of a corpse. Shiv wanted to go back, but something in him forced to move towards the dark space. With great strength, he placed his right leg forward and suddenly the pressure disappeared. Colour returned to Shiv¡¯s face as he breathed in air. The chant had gotten considerably milder. Shiv was at a loss at what to do. He wanted to move forward but at the same time cautious. Another round of that intense pressure and Shiv knew that he would collapse. ¡®I will move forward. This is my new life. None shall oppose me¡¯ A sudden burst of energy throttled the newbie forward. He walked into the armoury prepared for the worst. Those eyes no longer carried any hesitation, as power welled up in it. The armoury was dark, yet Shiv could make out he number of weapons the armoury housed. From strange weapons to the most basic ones were aligned. Spears, swords, axes, shields, there were huge numbers of weapons, of different size and type. The very amount of weapons amassed in that place caused Shiv to be dumbfounded, but his ears was once again captivated by the chant. The chant had gotten considerably louder. For a young boy like Shiv, the strange chant was an exciting turn of events. He wondered whether the chant was an effect of some kind of legendary weapons, a boy¡¯s romance indeed. At some point, the chant got awfully loud, and another step to the forward lead to a decrease in its amplitude. Shiv realized that the source of the chant was somewhere among the weapons near him. Shiv then rummaged through the numerous weapons, till he found the source of the strange voice he had been hearing till then. In his hands were a small box with a dark violet shade to it. The box looked like any other normal boxes, except for the jewel that crowned it. Shiv inspected the box closely, especially the jewel and concluded that it was the small pinkish jewel that produced the chant. As Shiv stared intently onto the jewel, magic circles appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him in a flash. The next instant, the circles began to emit intense radiation causing Shiv to shut his eyes in pain. He could not do nothing else but keep his eyes shut, until the voice of a woman shook him up. ¡°Eh? What is a human doing in this place?¡± the beautiful voice enquired, a hint of surprise and curiosity was mixed in that crystal clear voice. The startled Shiv immediately opened his eyes to confirm his surrounding and also the owner of the female voice. But the moment his eyes opened up, Shiv was struck with astonishment. His mind was in disarray. Few seconds ago, he was clearly inside the dim lit armoury and so Shiv voiced his mind¡¯s question out loud. ¡°What is this place? Where am I? Who are you?¡± Question after question emerged from Shiv¡¯s mouth. The youth could not believe his own eyes. The dark armoury had now changed into a big room with crystals emerging from every inch of the room. The crystals carried the same pinkish tint as the jewel on the top of the box Shiv had a while ago. And before he could re-order his thoughts, ¡°That¡¯s too many. I can¡¯t answer them all in a breath, you know¡± the voice sounded as if the person was sulking. ¡°Who are you?¡± Shiv asked in a reflex. ¡°Eh! You barged into my room and now you ask who I am? Such a rude human¡± the voice now had a tint of anger in it. ¡°I am sorry about that, I did not mean to intrude. I was thrown here suddenly. Just a moment ago, I was inside a dark place holding a suspicious box, and then¡­¡± ¡°And then you suddenly came here? Sigh, that old fox, can¡¯t even properly do one single thing¡± the voice cursed somebody. ¡°Sigh! What is your name, human?¡± ¡°Err! I am called Shiv¡± ¡°Shiv eh! I see. I will answer your questions for now. First this place is the inside of the box you were holding a while ago. I know, I know. Hard to believe, right? For now, let me continue. My name is Fortuna, goddess of time and space. Hey you, what¡¯s with that face. I really am a goddess. This brat! Sigh!¡± Shiv was sceptical about things, mainly about the part of the voice being that of goddess, the final sigh made things even more suspicious. ¡°I get it, I get it. You don¡¯t believe me eh. Fine, I will prove it to you.¡± When those words stopped, Shiv heard the snapping of fingers. The crystal around him began to shine causing Shiv to panic but the light faded out soon. When the light died out, Shiv found a small pocket watch suspended in the air just a few steps away from him. ¡°Go ahead, take it¡± the voice beamed with enthusiasm. Reluctantly Shiv approached the suspended pocket watch. The watch was purely silver in colour, from the chain to the round dial was made of silver, its brilliance was enough to guess the material of origin. Shiv extended his hand towards the watch and grabbed it gently and then, ¡°Trrrng¡±
Artifact found: Chains of Time You have found a very rare artifact, Chains of time. This artifact once belonged to the God of Time, Fortuna. It is believed that the god had gifted this precious watch to a human who had begged for the god¡¯s aid. The watch was soon fought by other greedy humans and so had been considered as an item with immense bad luck. The item was then lost and its where about forgotten. Artifact with power over time itself. Able to slow time. Time is doubled for the owner of the artifact. Mana consumption: 200 mana per hour 200 mana per hour consumed for each hour the power is active Usable only thrice a day Effect lasts till mana runs out or the caster cancels it.
¡®Holy cow! Time gets doubled? That means 1 game hour becomes 2 game hours? Then 6 days becomes 12 days! Though the mana consumption will run me dry in two hours. Shiv opened pocket watch and saw two dials, each had its own set of minute and second hands. What intrigued Shiv the most was, one of the dial showed the current game time while the other dial was stationary. Deciding to test the watch, ¡°Chains of Time¡±, he shouted. Shiv felt the surroundings blur for a moment and then everything returned back to normal. ¡®Did it really work?¡¯ Questioning the watch¡¯s powers, he checked the watch again and was astonished. The dial and the pair of hands which had been stationary before had started moving while the pair which had been moving was now not moving. ¡®So it really works. What an artefact. No wonder people fought for it. With careful use, this pocket watch can make a guy invincible¡¯ Shiv thought. ¡°Fufufu. You seemed to like it, don¡¯t you, human? The voice resounded once again with a chuckle.¡± ¡°Ah! Sorry for not believing you, Fortuna-sama¡± Shiv bowed slightly as an apology. ¡°No need of such formalities. So hero candidate, now that you believe me, let me answer the next question. Hm? What is it boy?¡± The voice as if noticing something in Shiv¡¯s mind, voiced out a question. ¡°Err! Can you please explain about the ¡®hero candidate¡¯ part. Fortuna-sama? I have no idea what that means.¡± ¡°Huh! You began your training not even knowing what and who you are? Are you an idiot? Sigh! Fine, listen carefully. You do know that, you are now in the village of Draklake, right?¡± ¡°I do. But strangely, I seem to be the only human no, the only traveller here¡± ¡°You did notice it eh! That makes things easier. You travellers are originally beings that were summoned to this world, in short you are other worlders. Normally when you are summoned, the Gods this realm assign you a particular village to begin your adventure. Currently, there are more than a thousand such villages. But the village of Draklake does not belong to that category.¡± ¡°Huh¡± exclaimed a surprised Shiv. ¡°Out of the tens of thousands of the summoned ones, some of them, in the range of few hundreds, gets send to special villages like these. The criteria of selection varies from gods to gods and only few gods have the privilege to do so. The village of Draklake is one such village. These special villages are under the direct protection of gods, and so everything here has divine power in it¡± ¡®I see! So that is why I received those huge status buffs.¡¯ Shiv could now figure out some of the mysteries of the villages. ¡°But just because you were summoned to these villages does not mean anything. Your time of stay is limited, may be a week or two. And in that given time you have to make use of the most you can. Some might get huge rewards, some won¡¯t. But those who completes all the challenges in these special villages are given the right to be the apostle of the god who protects the village. In your case, the Dragon God, Oberon. But you sure are lucky and unlucky as well¡± ¡°Hm! Why is that so?¡± asked Shiv unable to comprehend the meaning of the last few words. ¡°To be chosen by the One True God, Oberon in itself is an honour, you know, but at the same time a curse. The Dragon God is strict and merciless. And so the challenges he forces on to you will be one different level as compared to the other gods. Of course, the rewards will be of a different level.¡± ¡°I see, everything makes complete sense now. The Oberon¡¯s bless, the quests, the academy. All of these are to make sure I have the minimum ability to pass. But at the same time, relying on these abilities only will not help me clear this stage. Correct?¡± ¡°My, my what a sharp boy. Boy, I have a question. What did you mean by Oberon¡¯s Bless. I have not heard such a blessing before.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s something I got as soon as landed here¡±, saying so the boy lifted his right hand to show the dragon tattoo coiled around it. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.¡°You, why do you have that mark?¡± Contrary to the gentle voice till before, the voice now harboured intense bloodlust. For a moment Shiv thought that the person he was talking to had switched places with someone. In the next second, the blood lust died out and the same cheerful voice rang out. ¡°Ah, I showed you something disgraceful. I lost my composure, teehee¡± the voice apologized. ¡®Don¡¯t teehee me, you stupid goddess¡¯ Shiv retorted in his mind as he could mentally imagine a beautiful goddess doing the act. The voice continued, ¡°To call me stupid, how cruel! Sniff, sniff¡± ¡®An esper?¡¯ Shiv thought. ¡°I am a goddess, you know. At least reading the mind of a few should be easy for a goddess of my prowess.¡± ¡°Sigh! I give up.¡± ¡°Good boy, good boy. You know, I once knew a human who had the same tattoo, long ago. He was someone I cherished. Sigh, why was he born as a mortal.¡± A deep sad voice resounded in the room. Shiv wondered about the man who could make even a goddess long for him. ¡°Let bygones be bygones. Young boy, its almost time for you to leave. As a reward for letting me have some fun, I shall let you have that pocket watch and also for letting me see something good, here is a bonus¡± ¡°Trrng¡±
The goddess of time has granted you, her blessing +200 mana[align]
Shiv closed the notification and lifted his head to thank the voice, but strangely what surrounded him now where a long stretch of weapons. ¡®When did I even get back? What a whimsical goddess? May be should visit one of her temples someday¡¯ making note of to do things, Shiv logged out for a while to rest his body. [align=center]*---*---* Shiv¡¯s rigorous training continued. His master would randomly come and check Shiv¡¯s progress and then give few pointers. The rest of the time, Shiv was on his own. Occasionally he would log out to tend to his needs like food, bath, sanitary and other requirements. He would finish all those in a few minutes and return back to the game to continue his Spartan training. The artefact¡¯s power was indeed a boon for Shiv, even though his current mana could only maintain the artefact¡¯s power for only three continuous hours, the extra time he got made things much easier. Due to the pocket watch, Shiv understood that he needed to improve his mana as well as it¡¯s recover rate if he wanted to use the full potential of the pocket watch. . ¡°Show Stats¡± [tr]
STATS WINDOW
Character NameShivAlignmentNeutral
Level1ProfessionNone
Title[/tds][tds] NoneHealth: 100(+350)Mana: 100(+550)
Strength: 27(+30)Agility: 24(+30)
Stamina: 26(+30)Vitality: 10(+30)
Wisdom: 10(+25)Intelligence: 10(+25)
Luck: 10Fame: 200
Magic Resistance: None
Looking at his stats he understood that the training was meant to raise his physical stats and he saw that they had risen considerably. Shiv closed the stats bar and lifted the sword in his hands. He had now only 3 hours of training left. The 3 hours for him became 6 hours due to the artefact¡¯s power. He picked up his sword and paced himself towards the dummies which were now in a terrible condition due to all the beatings they had received. ¡°You seem to have gotten stronger than I had thought. Impressive.¡±. The sudden dialogue startled Shiv. ¡°Master.¡±, Shiv dropped the sword and bowed at his master. ¡®The boy has got his hands on the artefact. I did not expect that at all. The boy sure has caught the eyes of the god.¡¯ ¡°Seems you are ready to be taught the basics of sword fighting. I shall be passing down to you the rarest and strongest techniques that I have learned. Heavenly Elements, the strongest sword technique that has ever existed. Use it well!¡± ¡°It is an honour, master!¡± ¡°At your current level you will not be able to use the full potential of this technique; even I am unable to do so. That aside, boy tell me, how many elements exists in this world¡±. ¡°Umm 6? No 7. 7 elements.¡± ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°Wind, fire, water, earth, lightning, dark and light elements.¡± ¡°Good. Never forgot, those are the number of techniques included in Heavenly Elements!¡± ¡°That means I get to use techniques which have the properties of the elements?¡± ¡°Yes and no. You will understand better when you gain more knowledge about the techniques. But let me tell you the first two are the most basic, the rest will be more difficult than the first two. The last two are practically impossible. Only the person who created this technique was able to use all 7 of them. Now enough with the idle chat. Your time with me is almost up. Look closely¡±. Shiv was now looking at his master attentively. His concentration was so high it surprised Thorwin a bit. Shiv thought he heard Thorwin mutter something which sounded like, ¡®Perfect!¡¯ ¡°Heavenly Elements Form 1- Kaze¡± In the next instant, Thorwin disappeared from Shiv¡¯s vision. It was like he had vanished into thin air, Shiv could not even sense his master¡¯s presence. When Shiv was awestruck by the things occurring in front of him he was grabbed from behind by a pair of hands. Shiv was frightened by this sudden action that he almost jumped out of his skin. ¡°This is the first form of The Heavenly Elements- Kaze or Wind.¡±. ¡°How did you? What did you? Where did you? Was that teleportation? Is that magic?¡± Shiv exploded a number of questions at Thorwin. Bang And down came Thorwin¡¯s hand onto Shiv¡¯s unguarded head. ¡°It was no magic, you idiot. I just moved fast and swiftly, just like the wind. FOR THE WIND IS EVERYWHERE.¡± ¡®Move like the wind? Is that even possible? Can I do that too?¡¯ Shiv was excited. He had only seen the first form and he already understood the strength of the technique he was being taught. ¡®As expected of the strongest sword technique¡¯. ¡°At the moment you will not be half as fast as I was. But you will be fast enough. The more you train the faster you become. And now the second form, this will be my last lesson for you! Watch.¡± ¡°Heavenly Elements Form 2- Hono¡± A yellowish orange aura now surrounded Throwin. It looked like he was on fire, literally! The glow was bright and it made the surrounding a little hot! The fiery yellow glow was truly magnificent. Then the aura disappeared. Shiv was again confused. ¡®Did the skill fail?¡¯ ¡°Master don¡¯t tell me the second form is just some yellow light?¡± Bang Shiv was again hit on the head a second time. This time it was much stronger. Shiv winced and then a tab opened in front of him ¡°Trrrng¡±
You have been hit: -50HP
¡®50HP? Just how powerful is this monster?¡¯ ¡°Foolish boy, tell me what makes fire different from the other elements¡± ¡°It is yellow in color?¡± Bang Another hit on the head! ¡°It gives heat?¡± Bang Shiv was now crawling on the floor with pain. ¡°It burns you fool. Just why did I make him my disciple¡±. Bang This time he was kicked. Poor boy! ¡°Fire burns everything. Be it wood, clothes, or even metals, it burns all to ashes. To master this form, you must understand that. FOR THE FIRE CONSUMES ALL.¡± ¡°But what does it do master?¡± ¡°Such an idiot. Suppose your enemy has a thick arm or, what will you do? Run to your mommy? No, you use the fire to consume the arm or. The fire will negate the arm or while your strike will deal the damage you need to.¡± ¡®It can bypass defence and armours? Cool!!!¡¯ ¡°With this, it is time to end our training, you will be under a new master. Let me introduce the guy to you. Altair, you can come in and take this fool!¡± The huge door then opened and a hooded figure walked in. From the silhouette Shiv felt that the new person had a slim figure and was less muscular. The hooded figure who Thorwin had addressed as Altair now stood near Thorwin and directly in front of Shiv. ¡°Hello, my name is Altair, a mana harvester and I shall be teaching you about magic.¡± the hooded figure said in a very feminine way and then took off her hood to show a very cute face. Unlike all the people he had met till now, this person in front of him was much fairer. She had no bluish tint to her skin like the others. But the aura she had clearly told that she was as much a Draken as Thorwin was. ¡°Hello master¡± replied Shiv with a smile. ¡°Thorwin, is fire yellow in colour?¡± asked Altair, trying hard to hold her laughter in. But she could not control it and suddenly erupted into laughter. She was laughing so much that tears were rolling out of her eyes. Shiv felt embarrassed. He had not felt ashamed like this ever before. He then glared at Thorwin who too was trying his best not to laugh. ¡°What? It was your fault for spouting such foolishness¡± and with that Thorwin too started laughing. Shiv was now dyed red with embarrassment, he felt like dying. ¡®I wanna die, I wanna die, I wanna dieeee¡¯. ¡°That¡¯s enough Thorwin. Don¡¯t tease the young one anymore¡±, said Altair yet she was still laughing her stomach out. After a few good minutes had passed, the two masters settled down. ¡°Sorry Shiv. My bad. Forgive me. Let¡¯s begin our lessons shall we?¡± ¡°Yes master¡± replied a dejected Shiv. ¡°You remember the way you came in right, I want you to go and wait outside, near the fountain of elixir. I have some business with my friend here¡±. ¡°As you say, master¡±, Shiv then bowed at his masters and left without looking back. Altair made sure that Shiv had left and turned towards Thorwin, she looked different than she was just a moment ago. ¡°Why did you not tell him, Thor? Why did you not tell him about the 8th form? Why did you not tell him about the origin of the technique?¡± Altair was furious! Her body was shaking. She was mad. Mad at her friend who had not explained to his first and only disciple the perils that awaited him. ¡°Tell him about the 8th form? The origin? Are you out of your mind? Even if he were the child of Oberon there is no way he can grasp its power. It¡¯s too dangerous and you know that too. It¡¯s not a power meant to be possessed by a mortal. You know the things I had to sacrifice to learn half of those techniques¡±. The 8th form of Heavenly Elements- Tengoku, was the strongest attack that existed in the world. Legend has it that just like the name; Tengoku which meant Heaven, the 8th form was so powerful that even the heavens would bow down before it. These techniques were created by the Dragon King hundreds of years ago, Dragon King Orrinshire. The Dragon King was so powerful that he had united the entire world under his rule in the span of a few years. Only a few remains who knew that the current name of their world, Orrinshire was a tribute to this almighty Dragon King. And even fewer, some like Thorwin and some of his close friends, knew the fact that the Dragon King Orrinshire too was a child of Oberon, the first child. And now a second one has come, Shiv, the child of Oberon. ---***--- Chapter 4: Altair鈥檚 Vault and Petra鈥檚 Helmet Chapter 4 Altair¡¯s Vault and Petra¡¯s Helmet ¡°Did I make you wait for long, Shiv?¡± Shiv who was admiring the beauty of the crystal clear water in the fountain of elixir, turned to the direction of the voice and bowed lightly to the approaching figure! ¡°Not all Master!¡± Shiv replied politely with a smile. Altair smiled to the gesture, she liked the way Shiv behaved, and she liked the respect he gave her. ¡°The fountain of elixir! Magnificent piece of art, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Yes master, it is truly wonderful. The sculptor must have been the greatest to ever exist.¡± ¡°Indeed, he was, I remember those days as if they were yesterdays. Shiv, have you tasted the water from the fountain yet?¡± enquired a smiling Altair. ¡°No master! I never that chance to. No, more like, I didn¡¯t if I was allowed to drink from it¡±. ¡°Did Thor, I mean, Thorwin not tell you that the water he gave you during your training came from the fountain?¡± Altair was bemused! ¡®That idiot¡¯. Altair was mentally cursed Thorwin, for his half-hearted instructing. ¡°Well never mind. So tell me Shiv, when you drank the water you were given before, what did you feel¡±. ¡°I felt unbelievably strong, master. It was like strength some kind of strength was surging through me like something was granting me enormous power.¡± ¡°Good, now you understand the power of this water¡±, Altair sat on the walls of the fountain. To the Shiv who was watching, she seemed like a girl in her early twenties. The beauty¡¯s left hand made a trail through the clean water, a bewitching smile decorated her cute face. Shiv noticed that his new master appeared young, beautiful; her soft shiny silver hair swayed like a mighty river due to the gentle wind. The smile added to her beauty, her serene nature made things even more magnificent, even enhancing the fountain¡¯s charm. In a sense, Shiv thought his new master to be more beautiful than the fountain itself. The boy was so entranced that he spilled his thoughts without recognizing. ¡°Beautiful!¡± Altair looked at Shiv, a little surprised at the sudden remark; she blushed when she realized the boy was looking just at her. She realized that the praise the boy spoke was directed at her making her a bit happy. Altair turned her now red face away from her disciple so as to not let him notice her smiling red face and continued talking to change the mood. ¡°This water is called elixir for this very reason; it gives great power to the one who drinks it. This what people all around the world refer as magical.¡± ¡°Magical! Water imbued with magic!¡± Shiv was back to normal and was now looking at the water curiously, he was contemplating on ways of making use of the water for the upcoming battle. ¡°Let me ask you a simple question! What is magic? Does it have a greater value? What makes it different?¡± Shiv had no answer for the questions. He couldn¡¯t answer questions as that for all he knew was that there were many magical spells and that each spell required a certain amount of mana to invoke it. ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel depressed. Only a few people like Archmages know the real answer, also, the answer changes from person to person.¡±, Altair consoled Shiv as she got from her seat. ¡°Let me give you my version of how I understand the great phenomena called magic. Walk with me, will you?¡± Altair started walking as Shiv followed her silently. ¡°From time immemorial, magic has been practiced throughout the world. While some used it to protect things dear to them, others used it to destroy anything in their way. But most of those who used magic did not know its real essence. Magic is neither a tool for destruction nor a tool for protection! It is simply a part of who we are.¡± Shiv was now really confused. ¡®How can magic be part of a person? I know mana is produced inside the body, but magic?¡¯ ¡°You seem confused. I don¡¯t blame you, none would believe it. Anyway lets continue.¡± Altair increased the pace of her walk slightly as she urged Shiv to follow. ¡°Have you ever thought why some magic spells were restricted to special people? Like healing for clerks, holy magic for priests and the like. Of course, there might be exceptions, but let us speak about the general trends for now. A tainted being is able to use dark magic but not holy magic. Have you ever thought why it is so?¡± Shiv nodded his head to show he did. Altair smiled, ¡°That is why I said magic is a part of who we are. A priest has been blessed by god so he or she can use holy magic. It is not because she is a priest but because the good in her becomes the source of her magic. While for a tainted being the source becomes his hatred or the darkness inside. And so on for every other people.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take into account your new sword technique. Have you tried using them?¡± ¡°While I was waiting for master outside I did try to, but unfortunately I am not even able to use even the six moves.¡± Shiv had tried to activate the skills he had been taught by Thorwin by repeating the words his previous master¡¯s words and actions but failed miserably. It was then that he was interrupted by Altair and now he was reminded of his predicament. ¡°That is because the magic in you is locked. You have not learnt how to harness the magic in you, which need some basic knowledge about the same. As you are now you do not have the knowledge of any of the elements, well except for the names I believe.¡± Altair suddenly stopped in front of another red building. Unlike the previous one this one was half the size of the Academy of Warfare, instead had a strange design to it. Strange was not even the word to describe it, as it had a triangular shaped design! Shiv was lost in his thoughts when Altair spoke. ¡°Let me introduce myself again! I am Altair, Altair Debrolf! Mana harvester and the grandmaster of The Vault of Knowledge! Welcome to the Vault boy!¡± she said waving her hand towards the red building. ¡®Vault of knowledge!!! Cool!!¡¯ Altair walked inside slowly and with a snap of her fingers the door opened by its own. Gesturing Shiv follows to follow, the cute grandmaster walked inside. Shiv was not clear as to what the interior of the so-called vault looked like due to the lack of a light source but as if reading Shiv¡¯s mind, Altair continued, ¡°Now let¡¯s get you to understand the basic elements, shall we?¡± She then clapped her hands once and suddenly the entire room lit up. Behind her were books, millions, and billions of them. Shiv could only look at the collection in wonder. But what shocked him were not just the sheer numbers of books, bit the structure of the interior itself. From outside he thought the building to be not even a quarter of the previous one he had been training for a few days, the academy of warfare. But one look at and he understood how mistaken he was. The interior of the vault of knowledge looked like it was twice the length of the academy! With books stacked on the shelves to the very top. The shelves were placed on the wall of the triangular building and so they too were inclined at a strange angle. Yet, the books show no sign of falling down, in fact, they did not even move slightly. They were stuck to the shelf as if they were glued to it. ¡°How can this be?¡± Shiv had excitement, doubt and at the same time wonder in his tone. Altair was truly happy, after all, the vault was something she had painstakingly built with her own hands. It had taken her years to build this to the way it was. With a smile, she whispered to his ears ¡°Magic is a wondrous thing young one and now I am going to open the door to you!¡± She then again clapped and with a large squeaking sound, five books came flying from a different direction and landed on her palm. She then presented the books to Shiv who now was getting used to all the surprises. ¡°I want you to read these books! By the time you finish I will prepare some food. You must be hungry, right?¡± Shiv nodded and made a light bow. He then occupied chair next to him and began reading diligently. The first one was named ¡®Mana: Source to wonders¡¯. The others were, ¡®Basic Element: Wind¡¯, ¡®Basic Element: Fire¡¯, ¡®Basic Element: Water¡¯, and ¡®Basic Element: Earth¡¯. As he began to read the first book, ¡®Mana: Source of wonders¡¯, Shiv slowly grasped the concept of mana and its nature. The book also taught him about why different race had different mana capacity and the like. As he finished the book, a notification appeared before him, which was a delightful surprise to him.
Mana is considered as the essence of this world. Just like the air you breathe, mana flows everywhere, undying and unending. All living beings, be it human or demon, monsters or animals, all are like a container of mana. They absorb the mana from the surrounding, condense it and then stores it inside¡¯s once body. It is believed that mana was created by the Goddess of Life, Tia who dwells in this world! It is also believed that it was she who had created magic from mana. Magic consumes mana. Higher the magic output, higher the source of mana required. Generally, there exists 7 types of magic; Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Dark, Light. All of these are affiliated to nature. But if one is knowledgeable and capable enough, two or more basic elemental magic can be combined to give birth to a complex magic. For example, ice magic is said to be the combination of wind and water. It is also believed that there exists magic which does not come under these categories and is considered so strong that they transcend the boundaries of nature itself. But such magic has never been witnessed and so is considered as nothing but a fairy tale. Every life form is born with uncharacterized or unattributed mana. This unattributed mana develops a particular characteristic as the life form grows and matures. This is also the reason why a person has affinity towards certain type of magic but becomes incompatible with another! [/tds]
It took him a while to complete the book as he tried to understand everything the book offered. Closing the book, Shiv summarized what he understood, in his mind. One certain aspect that really caught his attention was the part which talked about the magic that transcended natural boundaries. Even though the book called them a figment of the imagination, Shiv was curious as to why it was mentioned in the book. He was pretty sure that those lines had some deeper meaning and so decided to gather more information on it later. As he was about to take the next, another notification caught his undivided attention. ¡®Trrrng¡¯ [td4] New skill unlocked: Magic mastery (Passive) Beginner Level (3%)
The ability to use magic freely. Your understanding of mana has enabled you to use magic with much ease . the more you improve the stronger the spell becomes. You are unable to use special magic unless you satisfy the requirements. You are now able to cast basic spells. Increase casting speed by 2% Increase magic strength by 5% +5 to INT and WIS Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.+50 to mana
¡®Trrrng¡¯
Having understood one of the fundamental laws that govern this world, you have become smarter +1 to INT and WIS
¡®Wow! This is some major development¡¯ Shiv was happy about the Stats gain and skill generation. He then continued reading the remaining books in random, as he hoped to gain more skills and stats by completing the remaining four books. Starting with Water, Shiv read through Earth, Fire, and Wind and it took him a couple of hours to finish them. AS he closed the last book, which was on wind magic, Shiv¡¯s INT and WIS grew by another 4 points.
New skill unlocked:Water mastery Beginner level 1 (0%)
Understanding the element of Water has made you stronger than before. Allows manipulation of one of the elements-Water . As your skill proficiency increases, the amount of water produced and the strength of the magic will also increase. +5% strength for water based spells +1% water affinity +1% water resistance
New skill unlocked: Earth mastery Beginner Level 1 (0%)
Understanding the element of Earth has made you stronger than before. Allows manipulation of one of the elements- Earth. As your skill proficiency increases, the amount of earth produced and the strength of the magic will also increase. +5% strength for Earth based spell +1% earth affinity +1% in Earth resistance
New skill unlocked: Wind mastery (Passive) Beginner Level 1 (0%)
Understanding the element of Wind has made you stronger than before. Allows manipulation of one of the elements- The Wind. As your skill proficiency increases, the amount of wind produced and the strength of wind magic will increase. +5% for strength in wind based magic +1% wind affinity +1% wind resistance
New skill unlocked :Fire mastery (Passive)Beginner Level 1 (0%)
Understanding the element of Fire has made you stronger than before. Allows manipulation of one of the elements- Fire . As your skill proficiency increases, the amount of fire produced and the strength of fire magic will increase. +5% strength in fire magic +1% fire affinity +1% fire resistance
Not only did he learn new skills, he also gained affinity and resistance to those elements. But something happened which made him even happier.
New skill unlocked: Heavenly Element Sword Technique (Passive - Beginner Level 1%)
The sword technique created by the Dragon King, Orrinshire, himself. This technique is considered to be the strongest technique which helped the Dragon King to conquer the world. You are the 2nd person to inherit this technique. More elements will be unlocked when your proficiency increases. Currently unlocked elements: (2/7) Currently unlocked transcended elements: (0/2)
New sub-skill unlocked: Form 1: Kaze(Active)Beginner Level(0%)
Your deep understanding of the element and the sword technique has helped you learn the first form: Kaze(wind). The first form of Heavenly Elements lets you move swiftly like the wind. FOR THE WIND IS EVERYWHERE. +10% to AGI Your presence fades making it easily to sneak behind enemies. +10% more damage when attacking with the skill. Duration: 1min Mana consumption: 100
New sub skill unlocked: Form 2: Hono(Active)Beginner Level(0%)
Your deep understanding of the element and the sword technique has helped you learn the second form: Hono(fire). The second form of Heavenly Elements lets you burn everything. FOR THE FIRE CONSUMES ALL. +10% STR Your body develops a fiery yellow aura. Your attacks bypass any and every defence. 5% more damage when attacking with the skill. Duration: 5min Mana consumption: 200
Shiv was overwhelmed just with the joy his heartfelt. He had finally inherited the cool moves his master had shown him. He was busy celebrating his new found skills that he did not notice Altair¡¯s presence. "Cough!¡±, Altair coughed to gain Shiv¡¯s attention. ¡°Ah! Master¡± Shiv bowed apologetically. ¡°It¡¯s ok. I too was like that when I first gained the ability to use magic.¡± Altair consoled Shiv. ¡°So you seem to have gained control over your magic. From the look on your face, I believe you are now capable of using the sword technique too.¡± ¡°Yes master, I am¡±, Shiv said smiling, but the smile disappeared when he saw his master had a sad look on her face. She was perplexed for a moment not knowing why the master who was smiling till then had suddenly turned gloomy all of a sudden. ¡°Well now that I have taught you all that I have I want you to go back to Thorwin and practice your new magic skills, only the magic skills. You are prohibited from using the sword skills.¡± Shiv¡¯s face became pale, ¡®again to that hell hole? No, you can¡¯t master, I will die.¡¯ Before Shiv could protest Altair snapped her fingers and Shiv felt him being swooped away from the ground and thrown back. When he landed, he was already outside the vault and in front Shiv saw Altair closing the door to the vault with the same beautiful smile he had seen at the fountain. ---***--- Shiv had been continuously training his magic skills just like he had done with his body under Thorwin. He had used Chains of Time to increase his time, or rather slow time around him, converting 1 hour into 2 hours. By the end of the allotted 2-day magic training, all his magic proficiency had reached beginner level 4 except for magic mastery which had only levelled up to beginner level 2. From this, he understood that magic mastery will only increase if he used powerful or large scale magic, or during a magic fight. He had no powerful magic so he tried to use magic which affected a larger area. At the same time, Shiv tried combining two elements to create a complex element in order to increase his magic proficiency. But he wasn¡¯t able to accomplish either of it due to his proficiency in the four elements being too low. And so the hero candidate continued with the usual method of practice and used basic spells like a fire ball, water bullet, wind blade and earth wall non-stop. He took a break only when he was out of mana or was too tired to even move. He had expected to gain a few new skills but was disappointed when he found that after all that training no new skill showed up. Shiv had almost two more hours before his lessons under Altair came to an end. So he thought to log out and go have a small chat with Mia. He had been occasionally logging out in between to meet his family. So he thought it was the right time to. ¡°Log o¡­..¡±, he could not complete it as he was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door. The door was flung open and in came a gigantic figure and together with the giant was Altair. Shiv was startled because of the sudden intrusion by the duo but his face showed no emotions at all. ¡°Shiv, how have you been? I am sorry for not visiting you all this time. I had some business to attend to. Leaving that behind, meet Petra, your new master. She will be teaching you strategies and tactics and as well as how to fight.¡±. ¡°But I know how to fight¡±, Shiv protested clearly not liking the idea of being the giant lady¡¯s disciple. He was shocked enough when he heard the giant was a woman. He was now shocked even more when he heard she was his new master. ¡®Why do I have to suffer so much¡¯ cried Shiv mentally. ¡°Fight? You think using flashy sword moves and some stupid magic makes you able to fight? Nonsense, you are as stupid as Thor said. Look here son, I am going to show you what a true fight is. And in a true fight you use this.¡± finished Petra with her fingering pointing to her head which covered with a helmet. Even though the giant was supposed to be a woman, her facial features clearly belonged to that of a man, more like a dwarf was what Shiv felt. Shiv was not one who judged a book by his cover and so he knew that the giant was strong. But his mind and body were already at its limit that he didn¡¯t want a master who had a really scary look on her face. ¡°You fight with your helmet?¡±, Shiv asked with a serious face. There was silence throughout the room for a second. Shiv thought that he was going get hit by the giant lady. But contrary to his thoughts the two ladies started laughing. ¡°Buahahahaha! He is just as you said Al! My stomach, my stomach! I can¡¯t stop laughing. Petra could hardly talk because of her laughter. She was now almost rolling on the floor, her hands squeezing her tummy. ¡°I told you so!¡± said a teary Altair who had just stopped laughing. Petra stood up and removed her helmet, her neatly plaited golden hair came to Shiv¡¯s view. The rich colour of the hair and its shiny radiance for a moment stunned. ¡°No son, not the helmet. I fight with what this helmet protects. My brain. I am a strategist and I have fought enough wars to be called one of the best of these lands.¡± She said confidently. ¡°Well now, let¡¯s not waste any more time. I have to turn you into a war machine as fast as possible. Altair let¡¯s begin.¡± Petra said looking at Altair. ¡°Begin what?¡± Shiv had a bad feeling! He did not like the way things were proceeding. ¡°Master, begin what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret Shiv.¡±, Altair replied. She gave Shiv a charming smile and snapped her fingers. And then everything became blank. ---***--- Chapter 5: The Beginning of a War Chapter 5 The Beginning of a War The last thing Shiv remembered was the smiling Altair snapping her cute little finger. His senses had then begun to fade as his conscious drifted away. When he came to his senses, Shiv found himself in a totally different place than where he had been a while ago. Not sure how long he had been unconscious, Shiv looked down to check his body only to find himself in an entirely different attire. The newbie shirt and pant which could be mistaken for an old rag had completely transformed into a red armour which covered him from his head to toe with an ominous looking black sword hung at his waist. Shiv got on his feet and scanned his new and unfamiliar surroundings which looked like the inside of building made of stone. At one end of the room, bright light pierced the darkness of the room through a door like opening. Walking out through the door to confirm his location, Shiv was greeted by an astonishing sight causing him to marvel the game¡¯s architecture. What he was standing on looked similar to a mid-century European fort that was surrounded by huge walls. When he turned towards his back, a mountain range greeted his surprised eyes. ¡®Why am I at such a place?¡¯ Shiv wondered when suddenly a window popped up in front of him. ¡°Trrrng¡±
THE WAR BETWEEN KINGDOMS
The Great Kingdom of Verunisya has always been on bad terms with peace loving Lithinian Kingdom. For centuries, peace existed between the two kingdoms until the Verunisian Army decided to ambush the Lithinian Kingdom and conquer it without even declaring a war. For centuries the Lithinian kingdom had been free of war, prospering under their benevolent kings! But now the arrogant Verunisians have dared to bear the fangs upon the peaceful Lithinian Kingdom. The Verunisian army has begun its march towards the Kingdom of Lithinia. Spies have reported that the enemy could take two or so days to gather their army and another 3 days for them to reach the kingdom¡¯s border. You, the Great King of Lithinia, have set out with your private army of 10,000 to delay the impending doom on your Kingdom. Orders have already been sent to gather the entire kingdoms army of 50,000 which lie scattered across the country, under the hold of different lords and nobles. You have taken it upon yourself the task of delaying the enemy till the kingdom¡¯s main army arrives. In addition to that, your allies have also promised you aid in this battle and have requested you to hold off the attack till their armies reach the battlefield. The enemy understands your predicament and has decided to attack you before you could gather up all your army to resist their attack, and so the veil Vernusians have planned a secret attack on the fort of Linford, a fort with great strategic importance. Luckily a spy at the cost of his life delivered you the news so that you could somehow save your country from the brink of destruction. You are now at Fort Linford, the only military structure between your capital and the Verunisian army. If Linford falls you will lose the war and your country will fall into the hands of the Verunisian kingdom. Save the country from the clutches of the Verunisian kingdom and rise up to the ranks of the greatest king Lithinia has ever seen. May the fortune of war be with you, King of Lithinia. God Speed!
Private Army10,000
Reinforcement50,000
Allied Army50,000
Verunisian Army100,000
Time left for preparation: 6days
¡®What the hell is going on? How did I end up in this shit? Why am I a king?¡¯. Shiv rewound his memory a bit and recalled that he ended up here after Altair had snapped her fingers. He knew that whenever Altair snapped her finger something out of the ordinary would always occur. His brain told him that the current change of situations too was that woman¡¯s fault. ¡®So you set up eh. You want me to fight huh? Lead an army? Altair you a witch, do you want me dead so badly? I promise you, I will crawl out of this hell alive.¡¯ Shiv was now extremely pissed. He was trembling now, his blood boiling with rage and his usually calm and clear eyes were now colder than ice. The usual cheerful and polite boy was now an existence of past. The current Shiv had a murderous aura around him. The boy was consumed by so much rage that he did not notice him biting his lips. Blood oozed down from his lips. As wiped the blood with his hands and said, ¡°You want a war? Then I will give you one. I will crush you! I will rip out the heart of every Verunisian soldier that dare attack me. Just you watch Altair, just you watch¡±. ---***--- In a large underground training hall, three figures were now talking to each other. Thorwin, Altair, and Petra were standing around a small pool, witnessing each and every action Shiv took. The three of them had cold sweats running down their body. The Shiv who was always cheerful and humble towards them, the Shiv who had always listened to them and obeyed their every word, the Shiv who would always have an innocent and bright smile had disappeared. In the pond was an after image of what one would call as a devil. The boy was emitting such an intense blood lust that even the three masters felt fear trickle down inside them. They were terrified at the sudden change and the most shocked of them was Altair. Altair was a mana harvester, an existence immeasurably powerful than a common magus or mage. With her vast knowledge and mana, she had created a small world so as to let Shiv experience the power of using strategies and tactics. She was asked by Petra to do so as Petra had told her that this would let the boy grow much faster. Never had she thought that such an action would cause her such fear, not even once. ---***--- ¡°Private Army-Show Status¡± ¡°Trrrng¡±
THE KING¡¯S PRIVATE ARMY
The private army of the King of Lithinia himself. They are loyal to the king and are even ready to lay down their life for him. They considered the words of the king as the words from a god and would do anything to fulfill the king¡¯s order. Supreme Commander- Stryn Geol Second-in-Command ¨C Vivain Gilbert
Warriors5,000
Archeers2,500
Cavalry1,500
Priest500
Mage450
Assassin50
¡®How the hell am I supposed to delay a 100,000 strong army with just 10,000. No, wait, there must be a catch somewhere. There must be something I could use to turn the tides.¡¯ ¡°Stryn¡±, he screamed at the top of his voice. He screamed to release the building stress and frustration. He was then startled by the sudden swinging of the door. Two people in the same red armour as his came in and kneeled before him. One a man in his late thirties and the other was a woman who too appeared to be at least in her late thirties. The two had a worn out face but their golden brown eyes did not even show a hint of fatigue. The man who was known as Stryn seemed to have a good physique. Though the armour covered his entire body, Shiv could feel the strength that dwelled in the man¡¯s body and gaze. The woman next to him, on the other hand, seemed like a frail woman. Her beautiful skin now had a dark tan to it with dirt sticking to her. The woman had dark bags under her eyes showing clear signs of sleepless nights. Her blond hair which was supposed to belong was trimmed neatly to the point that one would mistake her for a bald. ¡°What is your command, Sire!¡±, both spoke at the same time. ¡°Stryn, I require the map of this area, find me one.¡± ¡°At once, Sire¡± saying so Stryn rushed out and came back immediately with the map. Vivian by then had already found a table and placed it before the King. Stryn spread the map on the table for his king and took a step back, awaiting his King¡¯s order. Shiv walked up to the table and began examining the map while Stryn and Vivian stood behind silently. For almost an hour Shiv stared at the map without uttering a single word. Shiv let out a sigh and then gazed at the two beside him. The two commanders who were waiting for new orders stood motionless before him. ¡°Stryn, how much salt do we have?¡± Shiv asked in a carefree manner startling the two. Both Stryn and Vivian stood silently as if they were petrified into stone statues while they thought, ¡®Salt? Why does the sire need salt?¡¯ ¡°How much?¡± Shiv asked a second time, his tone a little heavier. ¡°Enough to last for 2 months¡¯, sire.¡± ¡®Two months eh! Salt being a product that does not go bad they have stored quite an amount¡¯, Shiv continued to think for a while and then spoke, ¡°Find out the exact amount of salt we have, Vivian.¡± ¡°Yes Sire¡±, Vivian said as she rushed out. ¡°Blind an animal and it would lose all its will¡±, when spoke those words, Stryn who could not fathom what his king was speaking could only silently gaze at Shiv, ¡°Stryn, if we have to win this war we need to blind the eyes of the enemies first.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Stryn nodded, he still had not grasped what the king meant and so waited for further orders patiently. ¡°I want any enemy scouts or spies removed from the area. Find them all, kill them all. Except for one. Capture one of the spies alive and bring him to me. Send 30 assassins for the task. Remember, only one survivor! No escapees.¡± Shiv gave out his first order. ¡°As you desire my king.¡± ¡°I want the 5 of the remaining 20 assassins to gather poison herbs. Another 5 to gather the sap of the ignutus tree. The rest are to gather edible herbs and other food items. Assign 200 warriors for each unit and ask them to gather as much as possible within 2 days. They must gather things only at daytime. Also, check the armoury and make a catalogue of all the weapons and amours, take 50soldiers with you!¡±. ¡°It shall be done. Anything else sire!¡± ¡°Summon the one in command for the warrior, archer, priest and mage units immediately.¡± ¡°Yes, Sire!¡± Stryn now bowed at his king and paced out of the room. Within minutes, Shiv heard a knock on the door. As he gave his permission, the door opened and four figures made their way in. All the four who were in charge of the various units kneeled in front of their king. ¡°I have a task for each one of you! If you successfully complete it, we shall win this war!¡± The last sentence surprised them. They had considered this a lost cause. And now the king was saying they could win. All four lifted their head with disbelief and looked at the king. What they saw made them even more confused. Their sire, the king was smiling! ---***--- The Lithinian Kingdom was considered as a gateway to prosperity and the Lithinian king to be the gatekeeper. This was not due to the kingdom being the richest or greatest kingdom but due to its geography. The continent of Aslain was divided into two halves, the northern Aslain, and the southern Aslain while at the middle of these two halves was Lithinia. The only way to cross from one-half to another was through Lithinia. From time immemorial Lithinia had prohibited the crossing of the borders and so the south and north remained without any contact. The other kingdoms knew that the one who could conquer Lithinia would become the strongest in the continent. So whenever a country tried to invade Lithinia, the others aided Lithinia to withstand the attacks. This was an unending cycle, no matter which country tried to attack, the others would immediately come to Lithinia¡¯s aid. This made it impossible to conquer Lithinia. Now, the Verunisian Empire had set its eyes on Lithinia and had sent its army to conquer it, even before the allies could arrive. In the past, every country which tried to attack Lithinia had always amassed its entire army for the invasion. This usually gave Lithinia and her allies¡¯ time to gather their armies. But now the situation was different. The Verunisian Empire did not even try to send a quarter of its army. The total army count of the empire had was near 900,000. The empire knew that by the time all their soldiers gathered up, their enemies would already be waiting for them with an army of equal strength. So the empire decided to do a surprise attack with just on ninth of its total strength. The empire also knew that the fort of Linford was the key to conquering the empire. The fort of Linford was well defended by its surrounding mountain range and passing Linford was the only way to reach the rest of Lithinia. The empire also knew that, once Linford fell the rest of the continent would fall easily. They were so sure of their victory in the war that they did not even bother sending any reinforcements. They thought that they would mobilize the main army only when Linford fell, thus letting the main army have enough time to prepare. But what awaited them was nothing but despair. ---***--- Half a day had passed. Shiv was waiting in his room. He had done everything that the situation had called for. ¡®Now the only thing I can do is trust my soldiers and wait for the result.¡¯ Shiv had given all the heads specific missions to accomplish. The assassins, just like he had ordered, had brought a single survivor from the enemy spies. They had also brought everything the spies had, including the Verunisian empire¡¯s armours and weapons. Shiv then ordered them to use any means necessary to extract information from the spy, the king showed no mercy to his enemy. The assassins had kept one they thought would break easily, and they were correct. The spy talked after a little torture. To make sure that it was the truth that he had told he was tortured a little more. The information was then delivered to Shiv and what he heard made him speechless. The Verunisian Empire had intently leaked the arrival of the army. But there was a minor difference. Instead of 7 days, the army would reach the fort in just 4 days. He also got information about the remaining 900,000 strong main army. The king froze as all his calculations had gone wrong and so panic began to strike him. ¡®No Ryu, don¡¯t panic. Everything is a part of a carefully laid script. There must be something I can manipulate.¡¯ ¡°Trrrng¡± [td4]The true plot of the Verunisian empire has been uncovered by your assassins. You have found out about the treacherous plans of the empire. You are now able to prepare countermeasures against the enemy army. Your allies have been notified and they have dispatched a much larger army for your aid. First reinforcements will reach you faster than before. Days left till army arrives: 6days Second reinforcement has been dispatched Army strength: 200,000 each from five allied countries Days left till army arrives: 9 days[/tds]
¡®6 days? The enemy will reach here by 4 days. I have to withstand the attack for more than 2 days with 10,000 soldiers. No there must be something I can do.¡¯. ¡°Did the spy tell you the route? Do you know from which side the enemies will come from?¡± ¡°Yes Sire.¡±, the assassin then walked over to the map on the table and continued his explanation, ¡°There exist two paths that the enemies can come from. One is from the south, through here, crossing the dark forest, the other is by crossing through Elden Mountain pass here.¡± The assassin pointed to two points on the map as he made his explanation. ¡®Two ways, a dark forest, a mountain pass. Hmm, interesting!¡¯ ¡°Sire, of the two, the mountain pass is shorter and less dangerous than the dark forest. Crossing the dark forest is time-consuming as the army has to travel an extra of 2 days. The dark forest is believed to have dangerous beasts and so they would most probably come through the mountain pass¡± ¡°Dangerous beast? Why are they not attacking us then?.¡± ¡°These beasts are believed to hate light and so do not come out of the forest during day time. At night, the magical spells cast a barrier to any intruders.¡± ¡°We have a barrier?¡±, Shiv was amused, ¡°Why was I not told about this before?¡± ¡°Forgive our foolishness, Sire. The barrier is effective against monsters, but against humans, it has little to no effect.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see. Summon Stryn!¡± The assassin bowed and left. A few minutes later, Stryn was kneeling in front of Shiv. ¡°Stryn, have you heard the new information?¡± ¡°Yes, Sire. Those bastards and their treacherous plans!¡± Stryn sneered. ¡°At this rate we will be annihilated even before our reinforcements can arrive. We must do something. Summon the mages who specialize in earth and large area offensive magic. Summon the archer unit commander and his best archers. I need them here now!¡±. ¡°Yes Sire!¡±, Stryn ran out like the wind and after almost an hour, returned with almost a hundred mages. Behind them, the archers entered. Since the room was not large enough for all of them, only the archer commander was asked to come in. ¡°These are the 43 who specialize in earth magic. However, all of these 97 mages are capable of large scale magic, Sire. As for the archers, the commander of the unit has chosen 470 of them whom he guarantees to be the best in the kingdom.¡± Stryn reported to his king the details about the people who were gathered in the hall. ¡°I believe; you all have been informed about the enemy¡¯s real plans¡± Shiv looked at the people in front of him. All of them nodded, their face went pale. They knew that they would lose their kingdom. They did not care for their lives, they wanted the kingdom to survive and they were ready to throw away their life for that. ¡°We are going to push back the army. Me and you, we are going buy us some much needed time and here is how we will do it!¡±. Everyone stared at their king in disbelief, some were even frowning. They had thought this as a lost cause. Even Stryn had given up. And now the king said he was going to buy them time. Even though the found it hard to believe, they nodded their heads. ¡°Our life is yours to command Sire¡±, the answer was the same for everyone that was present ---***--- Chapter 6: Orrinshire Chapter 6 Orrinshire Day 4! Lithinian army Shiv was inside a tent made for him, near the mountain pass. He had been here for the last 3 days ever since he knew the true objective of his enemy and so been planning many things, ordering his men various things to setup. ¡®So they come today! Let us see how well things go, but before that!¡¯ ¡°Show Status!¡±
STATS WINDOW
Character NameShivAlignmentNeutral
Level501ProfessionKing
TitleKing of LithiniaFame250000
Health: 15000+1000Mana: 25000+1000
Strength: 436+75Agility: 401+75
Stamina: 419+75Vitality:404+75
Wisdom: 320+75Intelligence:330+75
Luck: 0+75Perseverance: 255+75
Offence: 384+420Defense:400+250
Magic Resistance: 65%Affinity to Elements: 40%
Dragon roars(Beginner- level 1) Heavenly elements(Beginner ¨CLevel 1)
¡°What¡¯s with this status bar? Is the high level and stat an added bonus? When did I even get the perseverance stats?¡± Not only was his status off charts, the weapon Shiv carried too was way too powerful. ¡°Identify¡± Shiv shouted in his mind as stared at the sword in his hand.
BLACK DRAGON(Level-???)
A black coloured sword which evolves with the wielder! This sword was forged by the Arslan, the greatest dwarven blacksmith the world had ever known! The sword has been the family heirloom of the Lithinian kingdom and the source of envy from many for centuries! This great sword carries the strength and experience of all its previous wielders. Durability: 8000 Attack : 2000 +500 levels to wielder +75 to all status +1000 to HP and mana +25000 fame
¡°What is this ¡®OP¡¯ sword? 500 levels from just wielding a sword, that means 2500 stats points from just the sword. And what are these stats boosts, 75 to all the stats? Not to mention the incredible fame boost.¡± Shiv¡¯s eyes were sparkling. A sword such the one his hands were the dream of all gamers, it was the very definition of a cheat weapon. ¡°Sire!¡± a man in red armour with a cross on it rushed inside the tent. It was Stryn, the commander and his face was sweating profusely. Shiv could make out the panic in his voice. ¡°So the army has arrived!¡±, Shiv understood Stryn¡¯s cause of panic. He rose from his seat gently and then walked out of his tent calmly. He had camped at one of the short peaks near the mountain pass through which the enemy was believed to travel. He had placed half of his army at the same peak as he was. The others were at the other side of the pass. All of them were hidden from plain sight, under the best camouflage. Shiv had also brought 10 assassins with him and had sent them out to scout the area ahead. He looked at the vast stretch of land ahead of him and could see the land being covered by something blue. As every minute passed the blue spread around, stretching over a vast area. It was like the land was being devoured by blue flames. ¡®So that is a 100,000 men strong army huh. Let us give them a warm welcome!¡¯ ¡°Men! Shall we party!¡± Shiv smirked. The men laughed too. Even though they were afraid initially, the king¡¯s presence had eased their hearts. And so they began to move, hidden from the eyes of the prey. ---***--- Verunisian army ¡°Today we conquer Linford! Today we do what no other kingdom could ever do! Today we do what others said was impossible!¡±, the Verunisian general, Ghir Khan roared. Roar! The Verunisian army roared in response to their general¡¯s speech! Even though they were tired from the long distance travel, their morale was very high. They were sure that today their Empire would grow even more. When the mountain pass came into view the army increased their pace. Within hours, they had closed in on the pass only to abruptly come to a halt. ¡°Why have you stopped without my order?¡± Ghir Khan screamed in fury. ¡°There is a man standing on one of the peaks, wearing the Lithinian armour, Sir! He says he wants to speak to the general.¡± ¡°Must be some deserter or maybe a messenger! Men looks like the Lithinian king has decided to surrender!¡± Ghir Khan laughed and ordered his horse to pace forward. When he reached the front, he saw the man just like his men had reported. Ghir Khan kept moving forward, smiling, confident. But then he stopped at once. His face no longer had that confident smirk from a while ago. Fear struck him from deep! For, in front of him was a man in red armour with a white dragon embedded on it and a black sword on his waist. ¡®Why is he here. Why him of all people?¡¯ Ghir Khan knew the man in red armour. He had heard terrible rumours about the man with the black sword. Hailed as the strongest man in the world, the man who was referred to as The Destroyer, the King of Lithinia, Orrinshire! ¡°W.. Wh..,Why are you here, Orrinshire?¡± The general¡¯s voice had fear embedded in it, one of the most basic emotions of any living organism, fear of a superior being. ---***--- Lithinian army ¡°W.. Wh..,Why are you here, Orrinshire?¡± ¡®Orrinshire? So here I am called Orrinshire huh.¡¯ Shiv spoke, ¡°I assume you are from Verunisia! By what name are you known, general?¡± ¡°I..I am called Ghir, Ghir Khan, the great general of the empire and loyal vassal of his majesty, Mithron the fourth!¡± ¡°I see, general Ghir, if possible can you please go back the way you have come. This mountain pass is under the banner of Lithinia, under my rule and I have not given permission to anyone to walk into my territory, that too with such a huge army.¡± Shiv shouted out loud calmly. This calmness caused Ghir Khan to panic even more. He had an army of 100,000 behind him and yet the man in front of him was calm, Ghir saw no fear in the man¡¯s eyes. ¡®What is he? Does he not know any fear?¡¯ ¡°I refuse, King of Lithinia! I am here under the order of his majesty, to lay waste to your land and seize the fort of Linford for his majesty, the great!¡± ¡°Is that so general! Very well. For the crime of encroachment and insult to the King of Lithinia, I hereby judge you guilty¡±. As those words escaped his lips, the young king lifted his right hand high up in the air. ¡°Justice shall prevail. Let judgment be done.¡± With those words, he swung his lifted right hand down and in the next moment death courted the Vernusian army. ---***--- Verunisian Army ¡°Let judgment be done¡±, as soon as those words escaped from the Lithinian¡¯s king, huge magic circle appeared in the sky behind him. The Vernusian army readied their shields as they expected an offensive mage attack. But what awaited them was not fire or water or lighting, all that the magic circles produced was an intense yellow light so bright that any who looked at it had their vision robbed for a few minutes. The great army panicked, their formation collapsed. Being robbed of their vision the army was in disorder. Ghir Khan was lucky as he had closed his eyes before he was affected but unfortunately, the horse wasn¡¯t so clever. Ghir Khan left behind his horse as he began running towards his army, trying to get away from Shiv. He was now deep within his disordered army. ¡®I must take command immediately; else I will lose all my men.¡¯ When he reached the position where he had been in the start, he was provided a horse by his subordinates. He got on the horse and was about to give his order to attack when he noticed something flying towards him at an unbelievable speed! Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Arrows, equip your shields, take cover¡±, but all was in vain. The army was still blinded, even though the light the mages had produced faded away. The sea of arrows struck the soldiers accurately, killing anything and everything. Ghir was about to give another command when an arrow grazed his face, wounding him slightly. Ghir was taken aback, how could they hit so accurately from that far away. He felt his throat going dry! His body was like it was on fire! His breathing got rough! His hands went numb! Slowly he began losing control over his body! ¡°Poison¡±, this was the last word of his life! And thus the general fell, even before the war began! ---***--- Lithinian army ¡°Sire! The general has fallen just like you predicted!¡±, reported an ecstatic Stryn. They had just shot down the enemy general itself. To boost the situation, they had not suffered even a single death on their side! He was truly overjoyed! His king had just turned the tides of the war in an instant! ¡°Not yet Stryn! There are things to do! They won¡¯t give up that easily! The second in command will think of this as an opportunity to rise in ranks. So he will surely march forward. And that stupid greed of his will lead us to victory when the main battle begins!¡± ¡°Yes, Sire! Forgive my behavior!¡± ¡°Stryn, give the order to the mages! Mobilize the assassins! Let the archers retreat, they have done enough for now!¡± ¡°Yes, Sire, as you command!¡± ---***--- Lithinian army ¡°Lady Amber, the king has ordered the mages to begin.¡± ¡°Right away, Sir Stryn!¡± Amber then turned back and ordered her subordinates to mobilize. Amber was the head of the magic unit, an archmage herself! She had served the kingdom for more than 10 years now. When she first heard of the possibility of a war she was scared! She had never been in a war before! Nobody she knew had ever been in a war! The country had been in peace for hundreds of years! Even though Amber had been in the Private army of the king, she had never once met him! All she heard were baseless rumours, which she never believed! But today she had no other choice but to acknowledge the truth! The truth that all the rumours of the king¡¯s power and intelligence were proved true with a single attack! When the king had first ordered that he wanted to delay the enemies with just 500 men, she had scorned at the foolish king! ¡®What an idiot! 500 against 100,000? Is he even a king?¡¯ she had rebuked him when the order was given out. She was on watch when the enemy arrived! The sheer vastness of the enemy had made her tremble! Amber saw the king walk out of his tent, giving orders to Stryn. She smirked at the foolish king who was slowly walking towards the enemy! He could hear him shout for their general! She also saw a well-built man riding on a magnificent horse coming out of the army! ¡®Here comes the general! Now are you going to beg before him?¡¯ Amber was full of mockery towards the king! She gazed at the king to see what the foolish king would do next only to find that very king smiling at her! Amber was taken aback a little but managed to return the smile. ¡®Moron!¡¯ was what she said in her mind! Amber was quite as she witnessed the events unfold before and was surprised when she saw the enemy general trembling! ¡°W.. Wh..,Why are you here, Orrinshire?¡± She heard the general stammering. She was amused, surprised. She wondered why a general with 100,000 soldiers would stammer just by speaking the king¡¯s name? Confused at the events before her, the woman scratched her head involuntarily. ¡°Justice shall prevail. Let judgment be done.¡± She heard the king¡¯s voice! ¡®Judgment? Yeah, we all will die!¡¯ she thought but was surprised by the sudden bright light! ¡°What is this light? Why was I not told about this?¡± She roared at her subordinates when the light faded. She was about to rush towards the king to kill him herself when she saw something raining down from the sky! ¡®what use are arrows from 400 archers! The opponents are 100,000 str¡­¡¯ and then her thoughts stopped! She saw the enemy in disorder. She saw the frontline fall, then she had the shock of her life! She saw the general Ghir, who a few moments ago had challenged the king, falling from his horse! She then looked at the king! He was looking at her with a smile! She understood that look! ¡®How was that? Am I not great?¡¯, that was what those eyes were saying. ¡®Ah! This is my king.¡¯ She smiled, she admitted defeat! And so she kneeled and bowed to her king, pledging her life to him for he had shown her why people feared him so much, and why he was called the absolute strongest. She understood that the title did not purely refer to his personal strength, it was a title that was given to one who could change the tide of a war with just a wave of his hands. It was then that Stryn had delivered the king¡¯s order to begin! She stood and looked back at her subordinates! ¡°You heard the king! Let judgment be done!¡±. Loud chants erupted from all over! The mages had begun their mission! They had witnessed the archer¡¯s feat and now it was their turn to shine! ---***--- Erwin Grigod was happy! Even though his army was under attack, he was happy! He had finally achieved what he had waited 5 years for. He was now the commander of 100,000 soldiers. Well, maybe 1000 or 2000 soldiers less. Pleased with the situation, Erwin took command! Once Ghir had died, the stream of arrows had stopped! Erwin then commanded ¡°All arms to the front! March¡±. And since the annoying light too had faded out, the unified army began its march! They were now nearing the place where Shiv had stood earlier. The army was searching the mountain peaks carefully for any traces of enemies! Erwin was cautious too, he did not want to die like Ghir! The army then began crossing the pass! It was then that they heard a thunder-like the sound! Which was then followed by the screams of his men! ¡°What is going on?¡± Erwin asked looking at the direction of the screams. He froze! From the mountains, he saw huge spiked balls rolling down! The sheer number of balls that came down made Erwin lose his sanity. The spikes crushed anything that was on their way! The army was once again in disorder! But this time, the army began running in random directions to escape the spike balls. The balls kept coming down from the mountain! Those which had already reached down were now rolling towards the army as the mountain pass had a slant to it! ¡°Where are the mages! Bring them here! Now!¡± Erwin roared with anger. ¡°Sir, we can¡¯t!¡± ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t?¡± ¡°The mages and priests are stuck!¡± ¡°Stuck? In what?¡± ¡°They are stuck to the ground.¡± ¡°Ground? No! no! no! Quagmires!¡±, Erwin now understood that everything was a trap! The king¡¯s appearance and the arrows were all bait! Bait to lure him towards the trap and he had fallen into it so easily! Erwin was mad, infuriated! ¡°Retreat! Everyone retreat! Save as many mages as you can.¡± He roared turning away from the mountain pass! He looked back and he could see a pool of blood! He knew he had lost a lot and this loss was not negligible like the one they suffered due to the arrows. ¡®I will have my revenge Orrinshire, I swear.¡¯ That day the Verunisian army suffered a loss of 15000 soldiers and almost all their mages and priests which were another 5000. The army lost 20000 even before the war had begun! ---***--- Lithinian army ¡°Sire they have retreated!¡± ¡°The death toll?¡± ¡°We think that 20000 have died, including all of their mages and priests¡±. ¡°Good! What about the assassins?¡± ¡°They have started their operation.¡± ¡°Wonderful. Now Stryn shall we obliterate them?¡± ¡°Of course Sire! Wild dogs should be taken down.¡± ¡°You sure read my mind Stryn¡± The two men smiled at each other, their faces dark and eyes cold. Amber who was behind the two flinched! ¡®These two are devils, devils!¡¯ ---***--- Chapter 7: Rampages of a King Chapter 7 Rampages of a King Day 4 Lithinian army ¡°Stryn, gather the troop. We will return to the fort. There are preparations to make.¡± Shiv gave an order to his trusted commander. ¡°They have already been gathered, sire.¡±, came the reply, not from the blond haired commander, but from a petite woman who held a cane in her hand, Amber. Ever since the Verunisian army had retreated Amber has been with Shiv, refusing to leave his side. Shiv was not against this; in fact he enjoyed her company. Unlike those noble girls who flocked around him because of his money, this girl had only admiration in her eyes. Shiv smiled at Amber and nodded, acknowledging her answer and then once again turned towards Stryn. ¡°Stryn, what about the assassins? I want them back as soon as possible¡± ¡°Yes, sire. I have ordered them to finish their mission before they reached the dark forest. Once inside, there is no telling in what will happen.¡± ¡°Great. Now then let¡¯s move out.¡± Unknown to the Verunisian army, Shiv had made his assassins infiltrate the enemy. Amber was shocked when she first heard about the assassins. ¡®Just how much has he planned in that head of his?¡¯ the little girl wondered. As to when this happened, Amber failed to reach for an answer and so she asked her king who once again smiled at the girl as he replied, ¡°Ah! There was not one but two opportunities for infiltration.¡± ¡°Two? But no matter how I look at it, it seems impossible¡± Amber retorted, confused. Why do you think there was a bright light in the start? Was it to make the enemy blind to the arrows? Or was it for something else?¡±, Shiv liked the reaction the mage was giving, ¡®Cute¡¯ he thought. Amber was slightly surprised. The sudden light magic in itself was a great strategy. Not even once had she thought that the light magic and arrows were a decoy for the infiltration. ¡°And the second opportunity? Don¡¯t tell me, the mountain pass?¡± ¡°Oh! You figured it out yourself. Stryn looks like we got ourselves an intelligent one here.¡± Shiv chuckled. Stryn smiled. His heart too had nothing but admiration to the great man before him. Not only had this man bring a massive loss to the enemies, he also had his assassins infiltrate the enemies all just in a matter of a few minutes. Yet the man of such capabilities was not the least egoistic or self-centred. The face of his King always had a smile. ¡®I will serve you sire, even after my body rots¡¯. Stryn pledged in his heart. ---***--- Day 4 Verunisian army Night had come. The Verunisian army was high on morale. They had lost 20000 of their comrades, a considerable loss and so they craved for revenge. Their eyes burned with hate, their hearts thirsting for blood. No matter the cost they would take down Linford. And so they marched to Linford, this time taking the longer path. The mountain pass had been blocked with huge rocks; to remove it would take days and now that they lost most of their mages, anymore delay would result in a failure. The remaining priests numbered only a fifty or so left and while the mages were only ten in number. Erwin was asked by some of his subordinates to retreat. They had asked him to go back and bring a much larger army. Erwin was furious. Returning handed meant disgrace, something he would never accept. Moreover, he believed that 80000 was enough to win the battle. ¡®Even Orrinshire can¡¯t win against this many. The 20000 that dies was due to Ghir Khan¡¯s foolishness. But I am different, and I will bring that wretched king down to his knees¡¯. With such thought, Erwin had ordered his troops to cross the dark forest and March towards Linford. The men roared at top of their lungs. None of them were afraid of the dark forest. They had heard various stories about it but none believed them. But they did not care too; they were prepared to cross hell to reach Linford. ¡°For now we shall rest. If we march any more, our pace will fall. We set out early in the morning.¡± The troops were tired. Tired of the march, tired of the death they had seen. They wanted to sleep. In an hour or so they set up their camp and prepared tents to sleep. Erwin did not bother to set up any watch as he believed that he would not by attacked by anything in his own land. He could not have been more wrong. When the entire army slept, a group of fifty began their mission. ---***--- Day 4 Verunisian Army - Lithinian Assassins Fifty hooded figures exited their tents. They were surrounded by a large number of tents. The one in front spoke, more like whispered. ¡°Five poison, five sabotage, ten to the mages, twenty to the priests, remaining nine with me to the soldiers¡¯ tents¡± She then swung her hand forward motioning them forward. The assassins understood. They were divided into five groups to increase efficiency and to deal maximum damage. The leader, Serin was a much younger girl in her early 20¡¯s as compared to the rest of the assassin and had been given a mission personally by the king. The order was simple, infiltrate, kill, return. Whom to kill and what to kill was left to her discretion. For her the king¡¯s order was heaven¡¯s decree. The only thing the king insisted was ¡®come back, do not enter the forest. That is an order¡¯. That was the first time in the last 4 days, that her king had used the word ¡®order¡¯. Usually the gentle king would be smiling and asking others to fulfil his requests. There were never orders from the king¡¯s mouth but only requests. But of course, even if the called request, to those who followed him they were orders of the highest priority. She smiled when she thought about the fact that her king valued their lives. Oddly, it made her happy. The king had setup distractions for her men to infiltrate and now that night has fallen, it was time to honor the king wish with the enemy¡¯s blood. Serin had been surveying the army, collecting information on the location of the mages, the priests, food and other resources, the weapon armoury and items if military importance. She then calculated the steps to be taken. Her king had tried hard to eliminate the mages and priests in the previous one sided massacre. She understood that in the coming battle, these mages and priests were a thorn to her king¡¯s feet and so she prioritized on finishing of the remaining mages and priests. Mages, even though low in number, could cause great damages with their high end magic skill, while a priest could heal the injured and also cast special buffs. These two had to be removed from the equation for the king to carry out his plans. She obliged. She had sworn that she and her men would slaughter every priest and mages even if she had to exchange their life for it. Only minutes passed after the assassins began their move and yet muffled screams emerged from the Verunisian army tents. ---***--- Day 5 Verunisian army! ¡°Sir Erwin, Sire Erwin¡±, Erwin¡¯s sleep was disrupted by the sudden shouting. ¡°What is it so early in the morning?¡± ¡°Sir Erwin, the priests, the mages. They, they.....¡± the soldier¡¯s voice trailed off. Erwin jumped off from his bed, ¡°What happened to them?¡± Erwin began to panic. He had a bad feeling about it. Cold sweet made its way down the new general¡¯s face. ¡°Sir the priests have been massacred along with the remaining mages. Some of our soldiers are dead too.¡± Erwin¡¯s legs failed him as he fell to his bed. His face was colourless and his body shivered. He had hardly fifty or so priests left. All his expectation rested on the remaining priests and mages, but now even that mild hope had been snatched away from him, that too from right under his nose. ¡°Our food stocks have been poisoned sir and almost all the arrows stolen along with some other things.¡± ¡°How many died?¡± ¡°All remaining mages and priests, along with 300 or so soldiers, Sir General. The food poison has caused the death of all the cooks. Of the 8000 or so that consumed the food, 5675 has died sir¡±, the soldier replied his voice beginning to crack. ¡°Did not the cooks test the food?¡± ¡°They did sir. As the poison was a considerably slow acting, the symptoms took an hour so to surface. By the time the first cook died 8000 of our soldiers had consumed the food, sir.¡± ¡¯21,573 in the beginning and now 8300. I lost almost 30000 soldiers within 2 days and the battle has not even started. Not to mention that we were robbed of our food and our weapons. My archers are useless. I have no units which can do long range attacks. But don¡¯t think this is going to make me retreat, Orrinshire. I will not give up, with such a small set back. I will crush you with all I have, where ever you hid, I will find and kill you. I will kill you myself and rise as the greatest¡¯ Erwin¡¯s greed blinded him. ---***--- Day 5 Linford fort ¡°Sire! They have returned.¡± Stryn rushed into his king¡¯s room only to find his king embracing a black sword as he rubbed his cheeks to it. Stryn stood there, frozen. ¡°What are you doing with the sword, sire?¡± asked a visibly disgusted Stryn. ¡°Ahem!!!A sword needs love Stryn, that aside, what brings you here?¡± Shiv tried to change the topic. ¡°Is that why you were kissing it like you were on heat?¡± ¡°Nonsense, I am a noble man, Stryn. How could you think of such vulgarities? Now hurry up tell me what you came to tell?¡± Shiv acted as if nothing was wrong with his actions. ¡°They have returned sire. And they have brought great news. Our assassin¡¯s that had infiltrated the enemy was able to finish of the remaining mages and , sire.¡± On hearing that Shiv¡¯s face brightened up. No mages meant no magic attacks and no priests meant no healing. This was indeed good news to his ears. ¡°In addition they have put down 300soldiers sire.¡± ¡°Wonderful! They have done well¡± Shiv was ecstatic at his plan bringing such good results. ¡°In addition to that they poisoned the enemy¡¯s food. We do not know the exact number of death due to the poisoning but I would estimate it to be something around 9000 to 10000.¡± ¡°This indeed great news. They have done more than I expected.¡± ¡°There is more, sire. They also robbed the armies of their arrows and some other weapons. With this the enemy no longer have any sorts of long range attacks. Besides, the stolen weapons can reinforce our own armies.¡± Stryn continued as his eyes glittered in hope. Shiv was now practically in heaven. He was having troubles in planning a counter measure against the archers. And suddenly the enemy¡¯s entire archer unit was out of the scene ¡°How many arrows?¡± ¡°Roughly 50,000¡± Shiv¡¯s looked at Stryn with eyes that said ¡®Did you say 50,000?¡¯ while Stryn¡¯s Said ¡®Yes, sire. You heard it right¡¯. The two men then began laughing. ¡°Time to put down the wild dogs, Stryn! Guhuhuhu¡± ¡°Indeed my king! Guhuhuhu¡±. Amber who had just entered the room thought, ¡®devils, they are devils.¡¯ ---***--- Day 5 Linford fort ¡°My king¡±, Serin kneeled. She had been summoned by the king for her next mission. Shiv smiled. ¡°You did well. No accomplished a great deed, I could not hope for better results. Get up, enough with the formalities. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Serin, Sire.¡±, even though the king had asked her to stand, Serin remained on her kneels. For her to stand on the same stage as her king was an atrocious crime, one she could only pay with her life. In all her previous meeting, she had been on her kneels. The beautiful assassin girl felt anger to those who had casually stood up, even though it was what the king wished for. ¡°You still won¡¯t stand huh, guess I have no choice. I hereby order you to stand up. If you do not obey you will be punished for treason.¡± Shiv said, trying to make the girl budge. But contrary to his expectation, the girl did not even move an inch. ¡°To go this far. Am I that ugly?¡± That made her shudder. And in the next moment the girl was on her feet, her eyes clouded with sorrow and pain. To have caused grief to her king by her actions, the little girl felt despair. ¡°No, sire! Someone as handsome as you can never be ugly.¡± ¡°Finally you look at me. Now we can talk. Tell me, Serin have you gathered the sap of the ignutus tree?¡± ¡°Yes sire. What do you want me to do with it?¡± ¡°Good, you sure are efficient.¡± Shiv complemented the girl making her blush and smile. ¡°Take 100 mages with you and go to the dark forest. I want you to apply the sap you have collected on anything that you judge as flammable. Each of you assassins will be protected by 2 mages. Ask them to cast a barrier around. You are only allowed to enter the forest during day time. Appoint someone as a scout, preferably an assassin, but that does not mean he or she should separate from you. I just want somebody to act as a look out from monsters or the enemy army.¡± Shiv stopped and gazed at Serin who nodded her head as an approval. ¡°I have already asked some of the soldiers to gather more of the sap. So you will be resupplied every now and then. And Serin, if you find a dark beast, do not engage it. Come back to the fort immediately. Do you understand?¡± ¡°I hear and obey, Sire¡± ¡°You are not allowed to die. I know asking you to not die during a war is selfishness but I don¡¯t mind being so. I will not lose any of you; I will protect you all till my body gives away.¡± Serin smiled. ¡°Sire, then please excuse this one.¡± ¡°Do not die Serin¡± that was all he said. Serin once again bowed before vanishing from the king¡¯s sight. Shiv sighed, ¡®being king sure is hard.¡¯ ¡°Stryn, call Amber.¡± ¡°Yes sire¡±, right away. Stryn¡¯s voice came from the outside and a few minutes later, Amber kneeled before him. ¡°Sire!¡± ¡°Walk with me Amber.¡± ¡°As you wish, sire.¡± The two exited the room. Amber was wondering where the king was taking her, but she did not ask. Shiv kept walking, he walked down the various stairs and pathways till he was out of the fort. And then he asked, ¡°Let me Amber, what do you see around you?¡± A confused Amber looked around before speaking, ¡°Um there is the Fort to my left; the fort is built on the mountain range making it hard to ambush. Then to my right is the dark forest, the trees have no leaves and appears to be withered.¡± Amber stopped. ¡°Is that all you see?¡± Shiv asked. ¡°Yes, sire.¡± ¡°Hmm! Amber, how far is the fort from the forest.¡± ¡°Distance? May be 2500metres or the like, I believe¡± ¡°Good. Now what happens to the enemy who stands in such a vast area while our archers are defending the fort?¡± ¡°The enemy will be shot down?¡± ¡°Will they now? What about their shields?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Exclaimed Amber admitting her foolishness. ¡°At this point, here is the second question. Do you know what the ignutus tree is?¡± ¡°Yes, sire, I do. The tree is found only in our country, in fact only in the Elden Mountains. For ages the people of Lithinia had used the ignutus tree sap to act as fuel for cooking and other similar household purposes, as the sap of the tree is highly inflammable.¡± ¡°Is that so, then tell me what will happen if the sap was applied to those trees and somebody unknowingly sets fire to it?¡± Shiv said pointing to the dark forest. ¡°Of course the forest would burn¡±, Amber could not understand the point of all these conversations. ¡°And suppose the fire happens to be on the day that some ignorant Verunisian soldiers tried to siege the Fort. What would happen then?¡± ¡°They would burn too, why are you asking¡­¡± it suddenly dawned upon her. The reason they were sent to gather the sap, the reason the enemy was made to take the forest path, the reason some of them were sent to the forest, everything unfolded before her eyes. The answer had always been before her, but she was too preoccupied to see it. Everything thing served just one purpose, death to the enemy. Here she was thinking it was impossible to defend and the man next to her had already made plans, not to defend the fort but to annihilate the enemy. ¡°Sire, what is inside your head? ¡°Asked an astonished Amber. The sudden question shook Shiv a little. He looked at Amber with gentle eyes and laughed heartily. ¡°That was good one Amber, now let us continue¡± and Shiv began walking again. Amber kept following. The duo once again stopped, this time much nearer to the dark forest. ¡°What do you see again?¡± ¡°The forest, sire¡± ¡°Look below, Amber¡± ¡°Ah, you mean the stream. If I remember correctly, this stream here is named as the stream of Linford. Named after the fort itself by the seventh king of Lithinia. The stream has since been used as the water source for the fort.¡± saying so she looked at the stream. The stream that had always flown through with no care. The lady gazed at it, admiring it¡¯s clear and pure after when she felt something different from usual. ¡®The water level has risen, but how? The water level has never risen above a couple of inches before, even during a thunder storm. Then why has it risen almost up to my knees?¡¯ She looked at Shiv, her eyes asking, ¡®what did you do now?¡¯ ¡°Nothing much, I asked our mages to block the exit¡± said Shiv as a manner of fact. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You will know when the time is ripe. Let us return for now. We have a war to fight soon, let¡¯s not tire ourselves unnecessarily¡± saying so Shiv left with Amber following him silently, her mind trying to come up with reasons for what she saw. ---***--- Day 5 Verunisian army Erwin was on his horse. He was frustrated with the sudden turn in events. He had lost 5000 men, 3000 were immobilized because of the effects of the poison. And so the General had to ask another 1000 of his soldiers to stay behind and take care of them. He then had ordered them to move back to the capital and request for reinforcement even though he knew that it would take another 6 or so days for the reinforcement to join his army. The army was low on morale, tired and scared. Erwin knew of the situation and still refused to back down, his arrogant pride did not allow him to. His army had just entered the dark forest and to everyone¡¯s surprise, an abandoned stoned path welcomed them. This abandoned path brought joy and relief to the army as they knew that the path might take them to the enemy¡¯s fort. A little more than two hours passed since they started following the stoned path. The Vernusian army were deep in the forest and they knew that if things went smoothly, they would reach the border by night. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, and so the long hours passed. ¡®Nothing so far eh! A few more and we Are bound to reach our destination. Just you wait Orrinshire, I will have your head¡¯ Erwin had already begun dreaming about his victory and his delusion about rise to fame were rampaging in his head when he heard a loud scream. ¡°What happened?¡± questioned Erwin. ¡°Sir, our men have gone missing. ¡° ¡°Missing? Have you lost your mind, soldier?¡± sneered the General at the soldier who reported the situation. The soldiers were not sure and so they had no choice but to keep silent. But the silence did not last long as it was broken by a second scream. Once again silence fell and the atmosphere became heavy. It was then Erwin noticed his surroundings. In the dark forest around him he counted numerous red dots. Erwin faltered, as it only took him a few seconds to realize what those red dots meant. ¡®Eyes!¡¯ ¡°All men prepare for combat. Diamond formation¡±, he roared as he prepared to intercept the monsters. The soldiers followed his command and formed groups of 4. They stood with their backs to each other; their focus was entirely on the enemy. ¡°Men do not be afraid; they are just a pack of puny wolves. We are way stronger than those weak beasts. Let¡¯s finish them off quickly and use them for food. See, the gods have blessed us with food.¡± Erwin was confident that the beasts won¡¯t be a threat. He was too arrogant; the thought of surveillance did not even cross his mind. The foolish man carried himself as a great general when the truth was he was not even worthy of leading even a small group. Mistakes after mistakes and yet he did not learn. But this mistake cost him dearer than all the previous errors. The moment he had ordered his men to attack, the supposed wolf came out, lunging at the soldiers. And what came out from the dark was not even remotely close to wolves. If one were to describe this strange beast, ¡®repulsive monster¡¯, were words that would probably come to their mind. The beast had two heads, each head having 3 pairs of eyes, making it a total of 12 eyes in total. The beast¡¯s skin was dark with a strange luster to it, making it look like the armour of a shiny knight. Instead of four legs, this strange beast had six and two tails. Its fangs were sharp and long, its claws protruding out from each legs, ferocious. Dark miasma surrounded each and every beast. Even these did not make Erwin flinch. What made him flinch was the fact that, there was more than one of these beasts. He could not event count the number of monsters that had lunged at them out of nowhere. Their number though considerably less than his army, gave off vibe of being undefeatable. Some thing told Erwin that the leader of the beasts was not among the group. His intuition told him to finish them off before the beast leader appeared. He shouted, ¡°Men change to Verunisian 7 formation and finish them off as fast as you can. Do not let them escape.¡± The soldiers complied, and changed into a new formation. This time too, it was a square like the previous formation, but each square had 28 soldiers. The current formation was such that 16 soldiers made an outer square, equipping themselves with shield and spear, while the remaining 12 soldiers that made inner square had a sword and a shield. The idea was to defend and attack simultaneously, when one square attacked the other would defend. ¡®Roarrr¡¯ with a thundering roar, the beasts began their attack. The soldiers defended with their shield while their partners attacked from the inner squares. A bloody battle unfolded in the eerie forest. The battle lasted for hours; no one knew exactly how long it lasted. There were corpses of both beasts and men alike on the dry forest ground. Almost 5 hours later the battle came to an end. A tired Erwin wanted to rest but he knew that it was not the time to do so. He ordered his men to move. They had to cross the forest as soon as possible. That day the Verunisian army lost another 5000 of its men, thousands were gravely injure while the rest of them had minor scars. The beasts were known Dralves, wolves which mutated due to consuming decayed flesh of a dead dragon. These vile beasts normally moved in packs of 50 or 60 not more. Even though they had a common Dralve king, they disliked a mass gathering. None from the army knew this fact. They did not know that the Lithinian assassins had placed magical items which had scent of dragons on them among various soldiers. And soon they were attacked by another group. The attacks continued till all those who had the magical item perished. At the end of the day the army was cut short to half of what it had at the start. Even after all this, the foolish General marched forward. ---***--- Day 6 Linford fort ¡°Stryn, is it time?¡± Shiv was yawning. ¡°Not yet, sire. They seem to be late.¡± ¡°How long? Is already afternoon.¡± ¡°Sire! Why are you so eager for the enemy¡¯s arrival?¡± joked Stryn. ¡°Cause, it is tiring to sit here and do nothing.¡± ¡°Indeed. May be we should march toward them?¡± Stryn suggested to his king. ¡°You two, shut up.¡± Amber was now mad. ¡°What is wrong with you two? Shouldn¡¯t you two be wishing for the enemy to retreat? Why do you want to go to them instead?¡± Amber was angry, so angry that she failed to realize that the two before her were superiors in rank. ¡°Why you ask? Is it not obvious? To kill them? Is not Stryn? Is there something wrong with that?¡± ¡°Not at all, sire. We are just putting down some useless wild dogs after all.¡± The duo¡¯s eyes sparkled. They were too eager. ¡®Why have I to be with these idiots?¡¯ an exhausted Amber thought. The door then was flung open and Vivian came in running, her face pale. ¡°Sire, we got trouble coming our way¡± ¡°What is it? Have the enemies come?¡± She nodded to say no, ¡°our reinforcements have been delayed by bad weather. They will need at least another day to arrive.¡± ¡°Look Stryn, even the Gods are with us¡± ¡°Indeed sire, even the Gods want us to put them down¡± Saying so they again began their evil laughter. Vivian looked at Amber with a dubious face. The little mage could only shrug her shoulder and smile wryly at the female commander. ¡®Sigh¡¯, The two women in the room sighed as they looked at their king, ¡°Our king is an idiot¡± the two remarked together. Thus the four spent time talking about strategies and other stuffs. Shiv explained to others all the traps he had set for the enemy. He also speculated that the enemy¡¯s strength would be only half of the original, but warned them from being conceited. Even half the original strength was too large a force for the 10000 strong men of Linford. The discussion only lasted minutes when a horn which indicated the enemy¡¯s arrival sounded in the heavily equipped fort. Shiv rushed out of his room along with the three. ¡°Stryn and Vivian, gather the salt near the stream. Make sure that the gathered salt is not too close to the stream.¡± ¡°At once sire¡± the two dashed to fulfil their lord¡¯s command. ¡°Amber, call back all of the troops. Let them gather in front of the fort.¡± ¡°Yes, sire¡± ¡°And I want Serin here now¡± ¡°As you command, my king¡± Amber then invoked some kind of magic. A magic circle formed on the ground from which a beast that looked like bird came out. The young mage then whispered something to the word and once she finished talking, the bird flew out at an unbelievable speed. Before Shiv could question her about the bird, Amber bowed and dashed out to complete her first order. ¡°Sire, you called¡± the female assassin was suddenly in front of him, kneeling as usual. ¡®Interesting! A bird that could be used to pass messages. But still, this girl sure is fast. It¡¯s been hardly a couple of minutes since the bird was sent and she is already here. As I, thought, things are interesting in this world¡¯, a smile broke out of his face, but soon disappeared as he was once again called by the young assassin. ¡°Serin, have you called back all your subordinates?¡± ¡°I have, my king.¡± ¡°Once I give my order, gather your assassins and scale the mountains. You will be acting as archers until further orders are given. I have prepared normal arrows as well as fire arrows. I want your unit to use fire arrows only when I give the signal.¡± ¡°What will signal be, sire?¡± ¡°Judgment¡± Shiv smirked as he said. Serin smiled warmly. Her king liked drama too much, this she understood. Shiv then walked towards his 10000 strong men, he looked at them intently and spoke. ¡°Today we stand here not for glory, not for honor, not for fame, but to protect what is ours from the hands of those who desires to rob us. Each and every one of you have something you have to protect, people you love, things you care for, places you call home. We have lived in peace for years, not because we are weak, but because we are strong. The strong does not bully the weak, the strong does not bring pain to others, the strong does not fight for selfishness. But that does not mean that we will let others bring harm to us. We are not kind enough to let others snatch away from us. The enemies are large in number, and as I speak that army I marches towards us. Today we will make our stand here, not to defend this fort or our country, but to show the world that whoever dares to harm us shall perish by our hands ¡°Yeeeeeaahhhhh¡± a huge roar erupted at Shiv¡¯s words, the soldiers stomped their right foot to the ground while their weapons were held high in the air. ¡°Men! Do you wish for blood?¡± ¡°Roaaarrrr¡± ¡°Do you wish to seem our enemies burn?¡± ¡°Roaaaarrrr¡± ¡°Today we will rise above them¡± ¡°Roaaaarrrr¡± ¡°Today they will fall¡± ¡°Roaaaaaarrrrrrrr¡± ¡°They have dared to bare their fangs on us. Threatening our family¡¯s existence, our peace. This is a crime, a crime not against a kingdom or an empire, but against the people, against you. You who shoulders the hopes of a family, hopes of this great kingdom, will you bow down to those who which to enslave your freedom?¡± ¡°Nooooooo¡± ¡°We are warriors, we are the hope of those back at home, we are the symbol of their freedom and we will prevail! Today we are gods of death!¡± Rooooooaaaaarrrrrr! When the roars of the soldiers intensified, a red aura oozed out of each and every soldier forming a layer around them. What stood before Shiv was no longer men but gods. Ten thousand gods ready pulverize anything that stood in their way. ¡°All hands! To position! We go for battle¡± And in seconds it was just Shiv that stood there. Picking up his black sword, the dragon king paced himself to the forest, with eyes that craved for blood. ---***--- Day 6 Verunisian army ¡°Sir we are almost out of the forest, but there seems to be a problem?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The man we saw at the pass is standing before us.¡± Erwin¡¯s blood boiled. Anger and hatred surged through his veins. Letting ones emotion have the better of him is something a person who commands others should never do. But once again Erwin showed the world how poor a General he was. ¡°Men, charge¡±, roared Erwin. ¡°Orrinshire, you are mine.¡± ---***--- Linford fort ¡®Guess they don¡¯t even want to negotiate huh. Just what I wanted¡¯ Shiv smiled internally. ¡°Brothers, let judgment be done¡± Shiv roared. And then a volley of glowing arrows descended from the sky on to the dark forest. In the next moment, the dark forest was set on fire due to the sap of ignutus. The fire spread at a tremendous rate burning everything and anything that it came in contact with. Shiv stood calmly, watching the forest fire spread. He could hear the screams and agony of many, yet he did not falter. ¡®Any who dares to harm my kingdom will burn¡¯. Knowing that the fire would keep the enemies at bay, Shiv returned to his fort. He had to prepare the next trap. ¡°Bring the salt. Dump it into the stream¡± and hundreds of soldier came running, dumping huge quantities of salt into the fresh water stream. Shiv sat on a chair placed a little away from the forest, an arrogant action people would say. He waited, like a predator waiting for its prey, his golden brown eyes watching the burning forest intensely. And moment the army rushed out, he would execute the next trap. He knew that, due to the fire they will be coming from all directions. With all those thought in mind Shiv had placed the next trap, a trap that would decide the fate of the battle. ¡®As I thought! They are in chaos and are just trying to get out of the forest. Some might have already noticed the stream and would try to escape into the water. Perfect, too perfect¡¯ Shiv smiled. ¡°Prepare the spell. Aim at the stream. Fire when I say.¡± Shiv waited patiently. He waited for the right time. ¡°Now¡± he shouted. ¡°Cumulonimbus¡± Amber and her mages shouted in unison as they heard Shiv¡¯s signal. Right over the heads of the enemy army, who were now bathing in the stream to put down the fire, the sky began to darken. Black clouds gathered and the area began to darken. The Verunisian soldiers looked at the sky wondering why it had suddenly gotten so dark. The soldiers then saw only a flash. With a tremendous roar thunder began to strike on them, not on them but on the stream. And in an instant all who were in the stream were burned to ashes. ¡®Salt water is a good conductor of electricity, so are your armours and weapons. Did you not know that Erwin?¡¯ Shiv then stood up. ¡°Archers shoot everything that comes out of the forest. Mages prepare for battle. The rest follow me¡± Shiv said once the thunder clouds cleared up. ¡®With the thunder almost 5000 should be dead, another 5000 so severely burnt by it. The fire would not have caused any deaths but those burnt won¡¯t be able to fight, let¡¯s say another 10000 may be? Now the remaining is 30000 and that stupid general. Now come to me fools, I will show you true despair!¡¯ ---***--- Day 6 Verunisian army ¡®What happened? What just happened?¡¯ Erwin was too shocked to even think. The only think he remembered was ordering his army to march. The next moment everything around him began to burn. He helplessly looked around himself only to see his men burning. And to escape from the fire he had directed the men towards the stream. ¡°Why is this stream salty? Is it not supposed to be a fresh water? The spies definitely reported so, didn¡¯t they?¡± the tired and burned soldiers spoke among themselves. Erwin could hear his soldier speaking, he too was confused as to why the stream was salty. And then suddenly the sky began to darken. He saw thunder clouds. ¡®Why are there such dark clouds here?¡¯ Erwin then saw a single flash descending from the sky. The shockwave itself sent most of the men on the land, flying including Erwin himself. By the Erwin regained his balance, his legs gave up immediately. A pile or corpses laid all around him, burnt by the fire or electrocuted by the thunder. ¡®How many have died? 10000? 20000? We were all fools. No, I was the fool. I should have retreated long ago¡¯, Erwin finally understood. He remembered Orrinshire¡¯s warning. Guilt filled his weakened heart, burdened by his reckless acts. He very well knew, all the deaths around him was his responsibility. He stood up, his face had a strange calm to it. ¡°Men, those who can move, carry those who are wounded, return to your home, this battle is over¡± ¡°What about you, sir?¡± ¡°I have sinned too much; my end has been ascertained. I will die by his hands.¡± Erwin said and began walking. Of the remaining that was left, some returned, some stayed. Erwin¡¯s army of 50000 had reduced to around 30000 and when soldiers began to desert the army, the numbers dwindled by another four or five thousand. The rest marched forward as they followed their general. The moment they stepped out, arrows rained down on them. Erwin and the men ran; ¡®slay at least one of the Lithinian soldier¡¯ with such thoughts they ran. Even in the face of death, a soldier would never let go of his honour. ¡°Charge brothers¡± Erwin could hear Orrinshire¡¯s voice. He looked at the red armoured king of Lithinia. He saw the young King dash with a smile, behind him followed ten thousand Lithinian men including archers, warriors, cavalry, mages, and assassins exerting a fierce aura. Erwin smiled, ¡®What should I do to look so cool like that?¡¯ with such thoughts he ran, his men ran, like mad men. ---***--- Day 6 Lithinian army ¡°Charge brothers¡± and Shiv started his run towards the enemy. The Lithinian army followed, and soon the clash began, no it was a one sided massacre. The Verunisian army was too tired to keep up with Lithinian army. Blood was drawn everywhere. The two commanders of each side sliced down enemies at an incredible rate. Casualty kept rising on both the sides. Stryn, Vivian, Amber, Serin all of them were fought, their eyes smiled as they drew the enemy¡¯s blood. The mages ran down various offensive magic on the enemy while the priests healed and buffed as many as they could. Soon the Verunisian army began to fall; their numbers dwindled at lightning rate. It took the Lithinian army 5 hours to finish off the broken enemy. All that was left was the general and the king had already engaged the man. Even though he had more experience than Shiv, the mental and body exhaustion had made Erwin too weak. There was no longer a desire to win or live. Shiv pitied the man, ¡°For letting you go through all those experience, I deeply apologize. But you must understand that as the King, I had to use all available means to bring down any who dares to harm us. For now, rest in peace.¡± With such words Shiv ran his black sword into Erwin¡¯s heart. The tired general gasped, his body trembled and then went lump. The battle was over. Linford was now safe. The king walked back to his chair, exhausted. There were no shouts of joy. They knew that this was not the place for it. The men who were alive gathered in front of the king who had miraculously lead them to victory. The army kneeled before their tired king. A Stryn covered in blood walked towards the front and said as he kneeled, ¡°To the king, we pledge our eternal loyalty¡± and every one repeated. Shiv smiled at the gesture, ¡°Stryn, I am going to sleep¡±, saying so Shiv dozed off. The red army smiled back, as they watched the man who worked the hardest sleep with a peaceful face. ---***--- Chapter 8: Re-united Identities Chapter 8 Re-united Identities Draklake Three figures stood near a small pond in the garden of a particular village, astonished, dumbstruck. They had been observing a certain somebody who they had thrown into a dream world for a while. ¡°What just happened, Altair?¡± Petra was shivering. The expert strategist had just witnessed something next to impossible. ¡°How did he just end it like that? 10,000 against 100,000 and he lost just only 1000 of his men. That¡¯s absurd. No, that¡¯s impossible.¡± The person to whom Petra had voiced question stood speechless as she stared at the youth¡¯s sleeping face which was being reflected in the pond. She herself was confused as to what had transcribed before her very eyes. The real battle of Linford had been a narrow win for Lithinian army and that too because of the help reinforcements that had arrived in the nick of time. For the three in that garden, the battle of Linford was the greatest ever in history. Petra had deliberately chosen the plot because she believed that their disciple was not strong enough to win. The three wanted the boy to know despair; thereby make him understand the importance of intelligence and strategy in a fight, be it a brawl or a large scale war. Petra herself being a strategist was confident that Shiv would not be able to win to the extent that she had even prepared a speech for the time when a dejected Shiv returned. They had made it so that he could not rely on his sword techniques or the new magic spells or even the Chains of Time. They even delayed the reinforcement to the fort. But no matter what they threw at him, the boy effortlessly crushed all his obstacles. He had even made use of the terrain in ways that the three never that was possible. For the three masters, Dragon King Orrinshire was the most powerful and intelligent person that ever existed, after all in the village of Draklake that was under the Dragon God¡¯s protection, the son of Oberon was divine existence. Even when such a great being had lead the battle, the Lithinian victory was attained with much sacrifice and loss. The great king himself was on the verge of death by the time the battle came to an end. All their beliefs were shattered when they saw Shiv win, that too with so much ease, even without the help of re-enforcements. They saw the boy kill Ghir Khan, the commander in seconds, they were the boy bring down the 100,000 in number army to 30,000 even before the battle broke out, they saw 10000 men covered in red aura annihilate the remaining enemies with ease. ¡®What is he? A being even above the Dragon King? No! That¡¯s impossible¡¯ ---***--- Shiv slowly opened his eyes, still exhausted. The war had affected him both mentally and physically, ¡®The war is finally over. We won Black Dragon. Huh? Black Dragon? Ah! I am already back. I couldn¡¯t even properly thank the men.¡¯ Shiv felt a little lonely in the dark training room. Even tough in the beginning the sudden transfer and the war like situation had irritated him, in the later stages Shiv had truly enjoyed it. The men who worked hard for their king and kingdom, the unit heads that carried out his orders without fail, Amber, Serin, Vivian and Stryn. Shiv felt a tinge of regret in his heart for not able to properly say goodbye to his brother-in-arms. ¡®A pity indeed.¡¯ The boy had a lonely smile on his face. ¡®But it was fun. It¡¯s had been a while since I had so much fun¡¯, when such thoughts filled his mind, the loneliness in his smile began to fade away. Shiv looked at his waist, but elegant black sword with a white dragon embedded on it was nowhere to be found causing the boy to unknowingly sigh. ¡°So you are back? How did it go?¡± came a question. Shiv lifted his face and stared it his beautiful master whose hand carried something that seemed like a fireball. ¡°Master Altair. It was fun¡± Shiv replied with a smile, but once again the loneliness had enveloped his tired face. His master¡¯s question had brought back memories of the time with his men causing him to once again feel the loss. ¡°You did well! I know you are tired but I am afraid, I have to take you with me¡±, with a wry smile, Altair extended her hand to her disciple. ---***--- ¡°With this you have finished your training. You are now strong. As promised you can have a weapon from the armoury¡± Thorwin explained. ¡°No master. Black Dragon is my only love, I will not betray her.¡± Shiv spoke, acting as if he was hurt by Thorwin¡¯s words. Bang The instant that was said a kick flew towards the boy¡¯s abdomen, sending him flying a good distance. ¡°Weapon or death?¡± asked a smiling Altair as she retracted her stretched leg. ¡°Sheesh! When did you become so un-cute¡± Shiv said, as he got up from the ground. Altair froze, not just her the other two froze. ¡°Eh! Don¡¯t tell me that you three thought you could fool me forever?¡± Shiv spoke, his voice calm. The three could only gasp at the remark. The boy then continued. ¡°But still, Stryn, you sure have guts. To hit me on my head, that too thrice! We should probably have a chat alone, for old time¡¯s sake¡± Thorwin gulped, Shiv¡¯s eyes were so cold and murderous that the master had cold sweat trickle down his back. ¡°And Amber, what happened to the cute you who clung to me every time. The you now are as sly as a fox, so impure! Hah¡± Shiv sighed as he face-palmed himself causing Altair to fluster. ¡°As for you Vivian, why a giant? Though your blond hair seems the same, neat and long as always, but that body. To be honest, I prefer the beautiful and frail you.¡± Shiv spoke as manner of fact, while his eyes scanned Petra. ¡°Oh please don¡¯t bother with the excuses. You can¡¯t fool me anymore. So quickly go change your stupid costumes and report to me in five minutes. Do you hear me?¡± Shiv¡¯s voice grew a little cold. ¡°Yes, sire¡± three involuntarily kneeled as they replied. The three themselves were startled at their sudden behaviour as they couldn¡¯t understand why they kneeled nor did they understand why they referred to the boy as sire. The kneeling Altair then began to chant something causing a wide magic circle to form on the ground, with the three at the centre. When the chant finished, a yellowish light illuminated the hall. Magic from the circle began to engulf the three and Shiv could notice the figures of the three before him change gradually. ¡°Good to see you three once again, but where the rest? Where is Serin?¡±. Shiv asked the three before him, his voice unable to hide his excitement. But the three in front of the boy on the other hand had a gloomy face. It was Thorwin, no Stryn who gave the answer to the question. ¡°She never made it! The battle of Linford had denied us her life¡± ¡°Eh?¡±, the young boy froze. A strange silence enveloped the room the four occupied. The three who were on their feet gazed at the boy whose face looked paler than a corpse. In the next moment, the three saw trickles of tears flow down the boy¡¯s fair cheek, his lips whimpered and cheek reddened. Amber ran forward, her hands stretched open. She approached the boy and hugged him tight. The young boy clung to the warmth before him as silently wept on the beautiful lady¡¯s chest. The two who looked at the scene walked out of the room silently, their eyes moist. [align=centre]*---*---*[/align] An hour or so passed, the boy felt relieved and embarrassed. The three masters had once again assembled before him in his training room that he stayed for days. Amber had called back the other two when Shiv had calmed down and so the training hall was now occupied by four. ¡°With this your training is over. As promised, you can select one from the armoury. There a wide variety of weapons in there, all of very high quality. Even if I say they are of high quality, years of inactivity has taken a toll on some of them¡± Stryn explained to Shiv. ¡°Remember, you are only to choose one weapon, so choose wisely¡± Shiv acknowledged Styn¡¯s words and approached the dark armoury. Amber snapped her fingers and in the next moment the armoury was lit up by torches that were burning brightly. Shiv thanked the woman mentally and then scanned the room slowly. Since the last time it was too dark, Shiv couldn¡¯t properly examine the room. But this time, it was different due to Amber and so the brilliantly lit room caused Shiv to gasp. The room was a treasure trove of weapons: spears, swords, maces and what not, hundreds of them lay before him in rows that extended a long way. Shiv slowly walked towards where swords were ordered and randomly chose one. He gave it a swing, then kept it back after making a note of its shape and structure so as to not choose it again. He then chose another sword, then a third, a fourth and so on. The masters were surprised, ¡®Is he going to do that with all of them?¡¯. Amber on the other hand was worried, ¡®Is he still grieving?¡¯, she wondered. Shiv continued his swings non-stop. A little more than an hour passed and yet the masters did not interrupt. They had felt same intensity from the boy before too, and they clearly remembered the Shiv who was planning his war tactics. They did not dare to interrupt. Shiv carefully examined the weapons, not realizing the flow of time. For hours he kept repeating the same process. He had checked more than two hundred or so swords and yet was not satisfied with any of them. It was then that a rusted sword caught his attention. Unlike the other swords he had tested, this one seemed much longer with a thicker hilt. The sword did not have any sheath and the blade lacked any lustre, even I blind could tell that the sword was as useless as trash. But Shiv stared at it intently, the black gem embedded on its hilt caught his eye. ¡®Why do I feel I have seen that gem before?¡¯ Shiv felt a strange longing for the sword swell inside him. A feeling he couldn¡¯t understand or explain wrapped his mind. ¡°Master. I will take this one.¡± Shiv faced Stryn as he spoke with determined eyes. ¡°This useless sword is what you want. Are you out of your mind?¡± Stryn felt annoyed. He had the largest collection of weapons in the world, from throwing knives to legendary swords. He had let Shiv choose one, thinking the smart boy might get a good sword. And now the boy chose a rusty good for nothing crap as a weapon. Stryn trembled in anger at the stupid boy before him. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Why this?¡± Altair asked, curious. ¡°Oh, nothing special. This gem reminds me of Black Dragon¡± The three masters were stunned. They couldn¡¯t believe what they heard. To choose a weapon that would protect once life based on such feelings made the three angry as well as dumbfounded. Shiv looked at the three and smiled. ¡°You think that this sword is useless, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course! Can¡¯t you see its condition? Are you blind?¡± the three answered at the same time. Shiv smiled at the similar reaction of the three. He then gripped the sword and placed his forehead on the gem. The tattoo on his right hand began to glow, ¡°Come forth Black Dragon!¡± ¡°Who dares to summon me?¡± and then a loud roar escape from the rusty sword. The masters froze, Stryn being shocked beyond belief. He had searched for the sword, the sword of his Dragon King for decades, wanting to protect it from the hands of those who didn¡¯t deserve it. He felt a little dejected at not being able to even recognise his king¡¯s sword. Amber and Vivian seemed happy at the development as the two had a smile on their face. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Black Dragon!¡± Shiv greeted the sword, his eyes filled with care. ¡°Been a while? What are you blabbering ab..? Wait! Orr?¡± ¡°It feels good to have you back in my hands.¡± Shiv spoke energetically. He felt great at the current situation. ¡°So you have come back after all, Orrinshire. As usual, a carefree lad, aren¡¯t you.¡¯, saying so the sword gives out an old man kind of laugh and continued, ¡®But let me warn you, years of slumber has made me weak, to the point I am no greater than a normal sword. And unless I am strong enough, I won¡¯t be able to provide much assistance¡± ¡°I do not care. Be mine.¡± ¡°As you command, my king¡± And the sword shined brightly as it gave a small vibration to Shiv¡¯s hand. The rust that had conquered the sword began to fall revealing a bright silver tint. In an instant, the sword turned silver but so colour turned get black. The sheath that materialized the sword was jet black in colour, silver dragons gracing its surface. The grip of the sword remained black but the crossbar was silver. On the middle crossbar there was a dragon¡¯s head. This gave people who sees the sword an impression of a blade that coming out of the dragon¡¯s mouth. When the glow subsided Shiv froze, for the who had just reunited with his sword was suddenly surrounded mirror of different sizes. ¡®Where the hell am I?¡¯, Shiv became wary of his surroundings. ¡°Welcome, young man. Welcome to, my humble abode.¡± Shiv immediately shifted his body to the direction of the voice. His body was ready to counter attack the enemy. But when his eyes fell onto something, his eyes grew big in astonishment. Sitting on a golden throne was a young man who seemed to be in his early 20¡¯s. The man had blond long hair that swayed all over his shoulder, his ears slightly pointy and eyes blacker that space. He was dressed in a red armour, with a white dragon decorating it, and his right hand held. Shiv could see a reality familiar dragon tattoo on the man¡¯s right. A pocket watch was hanging from the same hand while the left hand¡¯s wrist was occupied by a red metal bracelet. The red bracelet was decorated by a yellow gem. The man appeared really calm as he smiled at Shiv. ¡°Who are you and Why do you look like me?¡± Shiv questioned as he studied the man thoroughly. ¡°Relax, young Shiv. I am not your enemy¡± ¡°You even know my name?¡± Shiv¡¯s widened, ¡°WHY? And why do you have that tattoo?¡± Shiv was defensive. The unknown man shrugged his soldiers and sighed. ¡°My name is Orrinshire and this is a fragment of my soul I imbued on to that sword you hold.¡± ¡°Why are you here? Why do we look alike?¡±, came another of questions. Information was something Shiv lacked, but deciding whether the guy was lying or not too was something important, Shiv knew. ¡°Why am I here you ask? Well! That¡¯s because you possess the tattoo just like me and you are in possession of my sword as well as the pocket watch.¡± ¡®Orrinshire, sword, pocket watch? Ah, is this that kind of setting? Re-incarnation? Interesting!¡¯, Shiv smiled. ¡°You are the king of Lithinia, right? Why are you here?¡± ¡°Lithinia?¡± the youth chuckled, but Shiv felt a tinge of regret in that chuckle. ¡°Its been a while since I heard that name. Yes, indeed, I was the king, I no longer am.¡±, the man smiled, a loneliness invaded that radiant face. ¡°Why? Did you lose Lithinia?¡± ¡°You still do not know? They did not tell you yet. Hah!¡±, the king sighed helplessly. ¡°Do not worry, you will know soon enough. I am not here to talk about Lithinia.¡± ¡°Then talk about our appearance.¡± ¡°I am what we old people call soul fragment. And this is how I have always looked. You just look like me because of what we old people call as re- incarnation, well just the body though.¡± ¡®Is he sulking?¡¯, Shiv felt amused, ¡°So what is it that you want to talk about?¡± ¡°You and I are similar¡±, showing the tattoo on his hand Orrinshire continued. ¡°Like you, I am the first to get the title, child of Oberon and you the second.¡± ¡°So?¡± Shiv was now curious. ¡°I will not go into it in detail. Just think of you as my successor. The mark on that hands means you a very special role to do and that role might sometimes make you do things that you won¡¯t like. That mark is a boon and a curse as well. That mark is your destiny. And the reason I came here is to ask you to do something¡± ¡°Do something? I refuse¡± Shiv blatantly refused. ¡°Ho. Refusal even before hearing what I have to say huh. What if the thing I want you to do is gather these things?¡± Orrinshire pointed towards the things Shiv was holding, ¡°You already have the sword and the watch. Now you have to find 6 more items. Will you still refuse after knowing the power the sword and watch carries?¡± Orrinshire tried to bait him. He was sure Shiv would accept. ¡°I refuse. Look here Orrinshire. I do not intend to do great things and stand out. My wish is different from what you have. I am no hero and I do not want to be¡± Orrinshire was dumbfounded. He was sure that Shiv would accept. He then smiled ¡°Very well. I will not force them to you. You can now return¡± ¡°Thank you,its¡± Shiv said and again there was a bright glow. ---***--- When Shiv came to, he was still at the armoury and in his hands there was Black Dragon. The masters then came closer and observed the sword. Of the three Stryn seemed a little sad. ¡°We have nothing more left for you. Alit''s time for the ceremony. Things will be getting a little busy here¡± ¡°Thank you, master¡± Shiv made a deep bowed to thank the three that taught him well. When the trio made sure Shiv had left their figures began to change. They suddenly seemed old. ¡°Briskol, he passed the test. Now what shall we do?¡± spoke the only male among the three. ¡°Gehambel, he still has one more test. Irene, we will keep monitoring. Irene nodded at Briskol, ¡°But why are we still using these fake names.¡± Mused Amber who was being addressed as Irene. ---***--- ¡°Identify¡±
Black Dragon (Level 1)
A sword made by a legendary blacksmith using the scales of the dragon God Oberon. This sword was made for the Dragon King, Orrinshire under the orders of the God. The sword is only usable by those approved by the God. A powerful sword which can grow along with the wielder. The sword was used by the great Dragon King himself for decades. But due to its century-long slumber, the sword has lost all its power. +1 level to the sword for every 5 levels the wielder gains +5 for all stats times sword level +20fame +50 to HP and Mana New skill created: Sword-mastery (beginner level 1)
¡®One level for every five levels huh. That means by the time I reach level 100, the sword would only be level 20? Does that mean Orrinshire who had a level 500 sword was at level 2500? No way! The level cap in this game is 500. Wait, does that mean that the level cap might be removed? Hm, I got my hands some good information.¡¯ Shiv was pleased with himself. ¡°That aside, I got new skills eh. Good. This sword is the best¡±. ¡®Now shall we have a look.¡¯ ¡°Open status¡± [td4]STATS WINDOW[tr][align=left]
Character NameShivAlignmentNeutral
Level1ProfessionNone
Title[/tds][tds] NoneHealth: 100(+350)Mana: 150(+550)
Strength: 27(+30)Agility: 24(+30)
Stamina: 26(+30)Vitality: 10(+30)
Wisdom: 15(+25)Intelligence: 15(+25)
Luck: 10Fame: 300
Perseverance: 10
Magic Resistance
Wind: 1% Fire: 1% Water: 1% Earth: 1%
Affinity
Wind: 1% Fire: 1% Water: 1% Earth: 1%
Skills
Heavenly Element Sword Technique Beginner Level 1 Magic mastery Beginner Level 2 Water mastery Beginner Level 4 Earth mastery Beginner Level 4 Wind mastery Beginner Level 4 Fire mastery Beginner Level 4 Fighting Spirit
¡®My stats are good, but this is not enough. I have one day to prepare for my quest. Master gave me food and it will last for 3 days. I need to fill my canteen with water. Then I will head out to the forest. Before that I must return to master, I need some other things if I have to complete my quests¡¯ Chapter 9: Level Up, Preparations and Quest Chapter 9 Shiv was now in the forest beyond the gates of the village. He had a single day left before the black rabbit invasion of the naiad pond. But the difficulty of the quest was so high that Shiv understood that his current strength was not enough. And that is why decided to walk in the forest, to level up, to become stronger. But soon he fell into a predicament. All the small monsters tried to run away when they felt his presence due to his unique blessing. A level 1 Shiv was now searching the forest for a suitable prey, he ventured a little deep into the forest. Shiv walked slowly through the dense forest, wary of the surroundings. The boy concentrated his sense so as to detect any movement, he very well understood the fact that a strong monster could easily dispose of him. And so the boy walked, his body ready to react even to the smallest of disturbance. Shiv scanned his surroundings carefully, he was getting frustrated for not being able to find even a single monster to fight. An hour or so passed and Shiv¡¯s patience was running out. But things changed in an instant. A smile broke out on Shiv¡¯s face for a little away from Shiv were three level 4 monsters, two-tailed foxes. Their health was not that high, a value slightly above 150, but their attack power was strangely high, a whopping 30 base damage. Shiv felt a chill run down his spine, were he a normal level one player, then he stood no chance, not even against just one of the monster. The high agility coupled with the huge damage could finish a normal level 1 or 2 in seconds. Though the level difference between Shiv and the fox was a little high, Shiv was sure that he was strong enough to win, after all, his status was comparable to a level 10. Yet, Shiv approached the foxes carefully. He activated the watch to make sure that the fox¡¯s reaction time would be doubled, giving Shiv a chance to escape if need be. Shiv knew that the watch cost him a huge amount of mana and so he wanted to finish off as many foxes as he could in the next one hour and so hoped he could find other foxes as soon as he was done with the three before him. Out of the three foxes, two were on the ground as if they were sleeping while one remained awake as it leisurely licked its fur. Shiv had circled around so that he could approach the fox from behind and so tip toed. The boy had approached the fox and had reached just behind it when the fox suddenly turned towards him. Shiv was startled for a second, but his body moved in an instant. Drawing out a small dagger that he had requested from Stryn, Shiv plunged the dagger right into the fox¡¯s neck. The chains of time helped him greatly as the fox couldn¡¯t react in time. To Shiv, the fox¡¯s movement appeared unbelievably slow, but to the fox Shiv was faster than lightning. But this sudden action caused another problem to Shiv. The moment the dagger pierced deep into the fox¡¯s neck, it wailed miserably before it surrendered to death. The wail had woken up the other two foxes that were asleep. The foxes identified the enemy as well as the death of their companion and so the two stared at Shiv intently. The foxes let out deep growls trying to intimidate their enemy. One of the foxes walked away from the other but made sure that they were not too far away. This was a move to not be an easy target for the enemy but at the same time be able to dash towards the companion to give aid if needed. The foxes were hardly separated by five metres from each other, while they were separated from Shiv by another five or six metres. Shiv, on the other hand, readied his body for a battle. His eyes switching between the foxes, Shiv took out another dagger. Shiv held the daggers in both his hands with a reverse grip. He the bend his body a little, while his hands at his chest level then suddenly dashed. The foxes were on high alert, not due to the approaching enemy because of the enemy¡¯s lightning speed. In an instant, Shiv closed the distance between him and the fox to his right. He swung his right hand up, aiming to pierce his dagger right into the fox¡¯s neck. Seeing his companion getting attacked, the other fox too dashed towards Shiv. The monster with its high agility ran at a great speed covering this distance to Shiv in a blink of the eye. Aiming at Shiv¡¯s neck, it lunged with a wide open mouth. Shiv smiled, he knew that the other guy would rush in. This insight let Shiv plan things two or three steps ahead and this was one such situation. The right hand which was aimed at the fox to his right never pierced into it. Shiv had retracted his hand slightly at the last moment. And when the second fox had lunged into the air, Shiv spun his body fast, his hands stretched out a little. His sudden moments startled foxes once again. The fox in the air landed near to the other guy as Shiv¡¯s sudden spinning caused it to lose its mark. But before the fox could even turn its neck towards Shiv, it felt a burning sensation on its neck. Shiv had calculated the fox¡¯s landing position and also its time of landing. He had then spun his body such a way that the moment the fox landed, Shiv¡¯s right dagger would pierce into its neck. The move was risky but was a one shot kill. And this time, the gamble paid off. The second fox fell to the ground. No, the third one too was one the ground, a dagger embedded into its skull. Even the fox didn¡¯t know why there was suddenly a dagger deep in its poor brain. The spin was to create an unstoppable momentum. With the chain of time activated, Shiv knew that if he were to act fast with precision, he could take down the two in an instant. And that is what he did, the right hand aimed at the second fox¡¯s neck while the left hand aimed at the third¡¯s head. Shiv was not sure if the dagger would have an impact on the third fox, he was not sure if the skull could be penetrated and so the move was truly a gamble. This reason why he took such a gamble was his high health. The various boosts had increased his health considerably and so he knew that a couple of attacks would not kill him. He wanted to feel that adrenaline rush, the excitement of a fight. Shiv smiled at the feeling of victory but what made him smile with excitement was the sudden notification that notified him his level up. The boy had in an instant reached level 5. Each level up gave a player five status points, while death resulted in a decrease of level by 1. The decrease of level was also accompanied by a reduction in five status points and 24hours ban from logging in. Shiv once again started moving. By the time the sun went down, Shi had reached level fifteen and had amassed a total of 70 points. He then allocated 20 points each for STA, STR and AGI, and the remaining to INT after all mana was something Shiv greatly lacked. He had also gained dagger mastery, which rose to level 3. Shiv had switched between the dagger and sword to improve his proficiency with both and as a result, the sword mastery too rose to level 3. Occasionally, the boy came across groups of five, during which he used his sword. He then had activated his heavenly elemental techniques, Form 1 and Form 2 to deal with the enemies swiftly. By the end of the day, Shiv noticed that the heavenly elemental technique proficiency increased much slower than all his other skills. Satisfied with his current level, he set off to the naiad¡¯s pond. He reached the pond in 1 hour and what waited for him was a pretty much large group of blue coloured beasts with looked similar to goblins. Their face resembled a human but their body was as short as a goblin and were a deep blue in colour. Shiv examined them and found slits on their neck which Shiv identified as organs that let them breath in water, ¡®just like fishes¡¯ Shiv thought. He then introduced himself to them as the disciple of Thorwin, Altair, and Petra. The naiads were ecstatic at the news. Finally help had come and they could relax a little. Eager to be of any help, the naiad¡¯s urged him to really on them. What fascinated him was the lack of a leader figure and yet the group was well organised with no history of internal strife. Shiv wanted information if he were to put down the wild rabbits and so he asked the friendly naiads lot of questions. From them, he understood the surrounding terrain, things he could use, how strong the rabbits were, their possible weakness and the sorts. Shiv thought deeply on what he could do to overcome the situation. He knew that he alone could not take down all the rabbits and so he prepared a plan. Shiv¡¯s eyes sparkled suddenly and in the next moment, orders were given out to the naiads to gather materials which could be useful to him. The naiads for some reason listened to the orders with great enthusiasm. The naiads knew everything to be known in that forest and did what they all were requested to with great perfection. Shiv did not understand why they were so friendly with him and he did not bother to ask them the reason. His time was short. Night fell and Shiv logged off for a brief moment but returned fast he had preparations to make. He then slept under a tree till morning. In the morning, he once again went to grind his level a bit. By the time he came back, Shiv had reached level 20. The points were equally distributed to VIT, STA, STR, AGI and INT. Once again night fell. Shiv sat on a stone, his beautiful sword unsheathed, waiting! ¡°It is time for blood¡± and the boy snickered. ---***--- The previous day. Deep inside a very enchanting forest, where the white moonlight barely squeezed in through the canopy, a young human sat on a large stone, in his hand a black sword with a very long blade. Illuminated by the brilliant white light, the young man was wiping the sword clean while he sang some song. His wavy black hair swayed in the gentle breeze, his golden brown eyes sparkled in the low light. The naiads surrounded him like bees attracted to honey, his song had captured them. If a girl were to pass by she would faint at the mere sight of the brilliance. The naiads were all captivated by the scene in front of them. All of them forgot that they were under the threat of an attack. All except the boy had forgotten it. In contrast to his calm appearance the boy¡¯s mind was in turmoil. There was no panic or fear clouding him, only plans and ideas filled his mind. Shiv was planning his strategy, ideas poured into his brain as more than five foolproof plans emerge in his brain. But the wanted one perfect plan, with hundred percent chance of winning and so he racked his brain for it. Suddenly the song stopped, his hands halted and a smile broke out on his face. The naiads shivered, the gentle boy they had known had suddenly vanished from their sight. What sat before them was a god of war! ¡°Hey! Can I ask you to do me one last favour?¡± the boy asked, he did not know the names of not even a single naiad. It was not because he did not ask, it was because the naiads did not have one. For them the concept of the name itself was superfluous. Another interesting fact that fascinated Shiv was that there were only women among them. The naiads nodded since their vocabulary were limited. They understood the boy¡¯s words but could only respond with nods and actions and drawings. That was how they had always replied to all of Shiv¡¯s question. Shiv who understood this had tried to ask yes or no question, while limiting any need of long explanations. ¡°I want plants which are poisonous and plants which are acidic or causes burns to the skin¡± he was not sure whether the creatures knew what ¡®acidic¡¯ and hence also asked the naiads for plants which cause burns. The Ignutus tree had given Shiv valuable information. He understood the existence of plants and trees that had different effects and so hoped to get plants with acidic sap. The naiads nodded and then dispersed. Shiv got up from his seat and then checked his inventory. He now had 3 dozen of throwing knives, 4 daggers, a crafting knife, a carving knife, an axe, a bow, 3 dozens of arrows and a lot of rope. After he had levelled up to level 11 he had visited Thorwin to request some more items for his quest. It took him a while to convince Stryn but was successful in collecting all the things he wanted. He equipped the axe and began cutting down a tree. Since his stamina and strength were fairly high, he finished the job pretty fast. Then he used the axe to cut down the tree into small parts, each 80cm long. In a few hours, he had prepared two hundred or so of them which were at least 5 cm in girth. ¡®Not at all good looking. But who cares¡¯. Then he took out his carving knife and began carving one of the ends of the wooden stick. He was slow initially but gradually his speed increased. In another 4 hours, he had sharpened all the remaining logs. Now he had two hundred stakes, capable of piercing the flesh of most living beings. Leaving the stakes aside he then walked back to the pond. From the pond he started to walk away from it, this time calculating the distance he was moving. When he thought he had reached around 35 metres he halted, taking out the rope he had, he now began tying it to the tree. He formed a circle around the tree with it, tying it at his knee level. The rope was too thin to be called a rope yet too strong to be called a thread an extremely strong twine. He then moved away from the circle and observed it. It took him a while to adjust his eyesight to be able to notice the twine. ¡®Perfect, now on to the next thing¡¯ Once again he repeated the process but the ground displacement was reduced to a quarter of the previous height. A circle was then formed around the pond again, this time much closer to the pond. Next came the turn of the stakes. Shiv stood inside the inner circle and scanned the area thoroughly. He then walked five steps towards the pond, bending down a little, he touched the earth and called out ¡°Water magic¡±. To a third person it might have struck as a failed invocation but what Shiv did was not something that could be visible to the eyes immediately. Shiv slowly took one stake and placed the blunt end on the floor, pressing it onto the ground with little force. Suddenly the wooden stake began sinking deep into the ground. Only a small part was sticking out now, the sharp point part that is. Shiv had used water magic to dampen the earth, letting the stake sink in. Similarly, he placed all the stakes close to the inner circle and then used earth magic to harden the soil. Shiv then gathered some leaves and partially hid the stakes. When all of this was completed, he cut down another tree. This time, he used half of the logs to make barricades. The rest half were used for making hunting traps. The trap he used was called as spring spear trap among hunters of earth. He took four strong and thick sticks and dug all the four into the ground. The four thick stick were placed as if they represented the four corners of a rectangle which was 30 cm long while the breadth was 5 cm. Another stick which was really long, almost a meter long and much thicker, was placed in between the previous four. The long stick was a little less than 5 cm and so fit easily between the sticks that were fixed onto the ground. The four sticks were vertical while the long one was horizontal. Using the rope, he then tied the long one to the four which were stuck to the ground. To the free end too, he tied a rope and pulled backwards. This made the long stick arch backwards making a perfect arc. The rope tied to the free end was long enough that it could reach the pond. Shiv tied the rope to the tree closest to the pond. If the rope was cut, the long stick would spring forward and would hit anything in front of it. And if there was a sharp object attached to the stick, the sharp object would impale its target and kill it. Instead of using stakes, this time, Shiv used the throwing knives. He tied a half dozen of the knives to the free end of the stick. The same traps were placed around the pond. Shiv then placed the wooden barricades in such a way that majority of the rabbits would pass through where the traps were. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. When the naiads returned with what he had asked for, Shiv used the poison plant and ground the leaves to a pulp using stones. He squeezed the leaves to get the liquid which was then applied to all the traps including the rope circles. Finally, he used earth magic to create 8 huge earth buckets which were almost the same size as his. Even though it was tiring, he then filled those buckets with water from the pond. One would have thought that the pond would go dry, but the water level did not even drop a bit. Shiv had initially raised a small wall which was only 15cms tall around the pond, the large buckets were then built close to the wall. He then squeezed out the liquids from the acidic plant. The liquid along with the poison was mixed with the water. The naiads were again requested to gather some more plants. By the time all his preparations were done the day had passed. On the next morning, Shiv went to level up and returned when he was level 20. It was already evening by then. Shiv turned to the naiads and gave them some orders, the naiads nodded their head with vigour. They gave Shiv some herbs to eat which, when he ate, rejuvenated him. Soon night fell and Shiv sat on a stone next to the pond, smiling. Like a predator waiting for his prey, Shiv waited for his enemies to come and it did not take too long. Shiv could footsteps and sounds of various other motion. His smile widened and eyes sparkled, the adrenaline rush in his body made him feel invulnerable. ¡°It is time for blood¡± the god of war had descended. ¡®Trrrng¡¯
Black Rabbit Army
The Black rabbits are approaching intending to invade the naiad pond and seize it for themselves. You have been sent to stop the marauding black rabbits and help the naiads survive. Black rabbits killed: 0/150
¡®150 huh, it is gonna be a long and rough night¡¯ ¡®Squeak! Whoosh!¡¯ Shiv could hear sounds along with the cries of the rabbits. ¡®It has finally started¡¯, Shiv kept waiting. ---***--- The black rabbits, 150 in number were running towards a particular destination, towards the naiad¡¯s pond. They were moving at their maximum speed as they hoped to take over the pond at maximum speed. But that very speed led them to their end. The black rabbits in the front suddenly stopped, some rolled down ahead, blood oozed out of those fell onto the ground. Some were instantly killed due to being cut by the strong rope. The Black rabbits were so fast that by the time some of them noticed the rope it was too late. Those who did not notice were cut deeply. Those who noticed the rope tried to slow down but to no avail, they too were cut but mildly. While those who had stopped promptly, were pushed by those rabbits that didn¡¯t know the situation. Rabbits after rabbits tumbled onto the rope. A small cut was all that was needed, as the poison on the rope began its mission and spread throughout the bodies of those who were cut. Those who were deeply wounded died instantly while the others that got wounded had a long and painful death. The number of rabbits dwindled fast. The rabbits in the back were now cautioned, they stopped their advance and carefully observed the surroundings. Finding nothing they moved forward, their speed decreased to a quarter of their maximum. That was when the second trap activated. The rabbits in the front suddenly tripped. Their running sending them flying a little forward directly into the hidden stakes covered with the same poison. And so the army began dwindling at a frightening pace. The rabbits began panicking. The only enemy they could sense was nowhere near them. They had felt the enemy¡¯s presence long ago, an enemy other than the naiad, but that enemy had remained stationary all the time. They did not understand how they were being killed. Fear struck them. Their morale fell, their instincts told them to run away but yet they moved forward as if they were afraid to go back. Only less than half had survived the initial traps. The Black rabbits then decided to spread out. They thought that if they spread out and surrounded the enemy their victory would be easy. Another foolishness. They did not know who they were dealing with. They did not realize that they were being manipulated. The rabbits now stopped running as they walked as slow ass possible. They were alert, keeping their eyes on the enemy in front who had been sitting still for the moment they had arrived. They avoided the barricades and walked cautiously through the path that was unguarded. ¡®Hihihi, that¡¯s it. Keep moving just like that¡¯. ¡°Cut it free now¡± shouted Shiv. The naiads who had been hiding till then came out with the knives Shiv had given and cut the ropes that were tied to the trees. The spring spear traps were activated once the ropes suppressing them were cut. The tension that had built up on the stick caused it to spring forward at a high speed. The rabbits could not react fast enough to dodge the oncoming attack. The knives attached to the end impaled the rabbits killing them instantaneously. Some who were in the range of the stick got hit too, the momentum sending them flying. The remaining rabbits froze. Those who were heavily wounded, he tried to take them down with arrows trying to improve his archery in the midst. Some of them hit, some did not. But he knew that very hit improved his accuracy. Taking his own time, he took down the near dead rabbits with the arrows. Surrounding the rabbits were corpses of their brothers, rage began to well up inside them. Screaming with all their might they rushed forward intend on killing the enemy in front. ¡°You got mad just with this? The main course has not even been served. Well, since you guys are in a rush, I will give you a taste of it then. Let it flow!¡± Shiv shouted the final part of his dialogue. Suddenly a rumbling sound echoed throughout, then the huge earthen buckets moved. The entire naiad population worked together to push down the buckets. With all their might and anger towards the rabbit, they pushed and slowly the buckets started to fall. A huge wave of water gushed out of all the buckets, towards the incoming rabbits. The rabbits did not even try to stop, they sneered at the naiads at their pitiful attack. This cost them dearly, the entire rabbit force that came into contact with the water winced, their flesh burning, blood gushing out. Through the burns poison seeped through into the rabbits, slowing the rabbit even more. ¡®It is finally time¡¯ Shiv Stood up, his black sword shining in the moonlight. ¡°Heavenly Elements Form 1: Kaze¡± and Shiv disappeared. With all his grinding, the skill was now at level 2. Even though the mana consumption was the same, his agility was increased by 20% which gave Shiv time to deal with multiple enemies. He appeared behind those he thought would fall with a single strike. Shiv did not even bother to activate the chains of time. ¡°Heavenly Element Form 2: Hono¡± he activated his second skill. Activating both the skills cost him more than half his mana, but the increase in agility and attack damage was worth it. Shiv targeted those which had only 20 to 30% HP left. A single strike to the back was all it needed to finish them off. In a minute, he had taken care of 5 rabbits. All that was remaining was 23 rabbits which were burnt and poisoned. And as time passed the poison kept decreasing their HP. ¡°23 against 1 eh. There is more than I thought. 10 of them would have been an ok but this is a little extra, even if they are half dead. I didn¡¯t want to use this if possible, guess I have no other choice. Chains of Time¡± and then time slowed, the rabbits lost its main weapon of agility. Shiv now used his sword in his right hand and a dagger in his left hand to take care of those in front of them. He faced the rabbits head on, slashing the rabbits and dodging their claws and bites. The fight continued for hours, wearing down both the sides. Shiv knew that the rabbits would die even if he had left them alone, but he did not want to take any chances. Blood gushed out as a fountain from the cuts Shiv made. The rabbits fell one by one and all that was left were three. Basking in the moonlight was a young man covered in the blood of his enemies, holding a black sword in his right hand. The eyes that were looking at the rabbits terrified them more. Golden brown eyes that usually glittering was now cold, the very eyes made the rabbits shiver. They now tried backing off, they just wanted to survive. When they were a little away from Shiv the rabbits began to run with all their might. The one in the front looked back to tell his companions that they were almost free. But all he saw was the two rabbit¡¯s heads getting chopped off. Before his brains could develop the sensation of fear, its head too came off. ---***--- Shiv was tired, he could not move. He took a sip of the water from the pond and his body was back to full energy. Even though he was no longer tired he still sat on the ground, he then took the medicinal herbs the naiads had given him and swallowed it. Lying down, he began allocating his stats point. From the battle, he understood his low mana was a problem. He had gained 12 levels from the rabbit hunt and a total of 60 status points. He invested 15 to INT and WIS, the remaining point went equally to all the stats. With this, he was level 32 which made him excited for it only took him two days to reach that level. He decided to have a nap there and it was then that he noticed some movements. Shiv then silently woke up. He was sure all the rabbits had been slain. Something told him that he should be really careful and so he climbed the near tree, hiding in it. Cautiously he looked around to identify the source of the movement. It did not take him too long to see what had caused the disturbance, but Shiv could not believe his own eyes. The movement he heard was that of something tripping over the inner rope circle and falling onto the stakes. Trapped on the stakes was something Shiv never imagined to confront. With 3 pairs of red eyes and three pairs of legs, a horrendous beast was trying to free itself out of the stakes which had impaled two of its legs. ¡®Why? Why is it here?¡¯ ¡®Trrrng¡¯
QUEST: THE DRAKLAKE HERO 2
Now that the black rabbits have all died, the one who controlled them has come out to seize the pond by himself. A creature thought to be extinct, a creature which is the embodiment of evil itself, a Dralve. Slay the evil beast and return peace to the naiads Difficulty : +E Requirements: Kill all the Black Rabbits Rewards Unknown????? Failure The quest will fail 1. if you die
¡®Why is it here? How can it be here?¡¯ Shiv knew that at the current state he was no match for it. He also knew that he had no other choice but to confront it. He did not want to abandon the naiads. Gritting his teeth, he jumped forwards and ran towards the Dralve. Sensing the approach of Shiv, the Dralve tried hard to get free. The poison and the stakes had eaten away 15% of its HP. But the Dralve was no weak opponent. It was at least a level 50. Too powerful for Shiv. ¡°Kaze! Hono! Chains of Time!¡± Shiv used all his skill all at once now that he had more mana. In the two minutes he had, he wasted none. The struggling Dralve proved hard to slash so Shiv could only manage 6 strikes on its back. Shiv them backed off and hid on a tree. He jumped from one tree to another to distract the Dralve. If the Dralve escaped out of the trap while he was slashing he would be dead, he knew this. So he had decided to back off every time his skills wore down. He used his bow and poison arrows against the Dralve. Aiming for the eyes, he shot arrows one after another. And just like before, some would hit the Dralve while some would miss. It took Shiv 20 shots to damage two of its eyes. And soon he ran out of arrows. With no other choices laid out before him, Shiv decided to rely on his sword. Using the remaining poison to coat the sword, he rushed forward activating all his skills, even then his mind was working on strategies to take down the beast. When he was near the beast he cast wind scythe causing a blade of wind to attack the dralve thus forcing the dralve to lose its balance. Before the Dralve could recover Shiv had landed 11 hits on the Dralve. Some of the slashes hit the same point consecutively causing more damage to the Dralve. Moreover the back attack added to the damage. He knew he was fighting cowardly but this was his only chance. By then the dralve¡¯s HP dropped below half thus angering the Dralve more. Without a care for its body, it started struggling much harder causing more damage to itself. Shiv observed the Dralve for some time allowing his skills to cool down. He would occasionally sip on the water in his canteen which increased his mana rejuvenation. Casting the skills again as soon as it was available he attacked the Dralve with all his might, landing another 10 strikes along with two critical strikes. This time, Shiv understood that the trap won¡¯t hold long. Shiv ran towards one of the barricades and slashed it down. But before he could pick it up he was attacked from behind, a powerful claw send him flying. The Dralve ran towards Shiv to finish him off. Sensing the danger Shiv got up, his hands and body trembling. ¡°Kaze¡± activating his skill Shiv lightly dodged to the left and using two throwing knives he picked up in between he struck the beast¡¯s eyes. The beast went slump, crashing onto the ground, losing all of its right eyes. Thinking that everything was over, Shiv bent down to pick up his sword. To make sure the beast was dead, Shiv planned to impale its heart with a stake and so picked up one. He stood up and turned towards the beast to finish it off. The moment he turned back, he saw the Dralve jumping at him. His hands moved instinctively, both the hands which were now holding a sword and a sharp log was stretched towards the beast in mid-air. The beast panicked. With no way to stop its jump through mid-way, the beast ran into the stake and sword together, both the weapons passing through its body. But before its life ran out, the Dralve with all its might bit Shiv¡¯s left shoulder. With intense pain coursing through his body, Shiv fell together with the dead dralve, his conscious now fading. ¡®Trrrng¡¯ was the last thing he heard. ---***--- Chapter 10: Unforeseen Circumstances 1 Hey, guys! sorry for the late update! From here onwards the plot is gonna take a slight change! So it took me a time to write the chapter. Also, I was confused as to split this episode into two chapters or not. Anyway, have fun guys! Oh, and I need an extra proofreader! Already have one, but I normally go with two proofreaders. So any volunteers? Chapter 10: Unforeseen Circumstances 1 Ryu got out of his capsule, his eyebrows furrowed. ¡®My first death, now I can¡¯t login in for 48 hours. The 48-hour ban was applicable to any player below level 50 layers while players above level 50 only had to wait for 24 hours. He had also heard a rumour that the top 100 players could log in after 12 hours which was something he was deeply interested just like all the players. But the information could not be confirmed as the rumour also said that the effects will be only handed out to those who pass level 100. The time was 10 in the night. Shiv was lying on his bed as he recalled everything that had happened a while ago, the naiads, the black rabbits and the ferocious Draklake that had insta-killed him. Shiv felt hungry, ¡®Everybody will be sleeping¡¯ thinking so Ryu walked towards the kitchen, opened the fridge, grabbed some snacks and some juice. He then returned to his room and sat in front of his computer. ¡®Let us see, www.pheonixdlforum.com¡¯ Ryu typed in the address. He browsed through the forum for any new information as he wanted to know whether somebody other than him had come against a Dralve. After a good search, he came to the conclusion that it was just him that knew the existence of the vile creature. Letting out a deep sigh, Ryu then accessed the leader table. Adrian was still first, at level 74, double the level of Ryu before he was forced to log out. He did not know how much level he had gained and what all stats would be affected. Once again sighing Ryu shrugged his shoulders. ¡®For now let¡¯s look for Draklake, there is something different about it¡¯. Ryu tried to shift his focus and so he searched and searched but there was no info on the village anywhere at all. ¡®There is really something strange about that village. And that huge tower. I got a bad vibe about that place¡¯ thinking so he shut down the computer and got on his bed, then dozed off. ---***--- Next morning Ryu woke up with a sudden hit to his stomach. Even though the hit was weak, the sudden attack startled him. He sprang up to defend himself but as soon as he saw the attacker he let out a gentle smile. A cute pouting Mia in her school uniform was glaring at him. ¡®I am in trouble. God have mercy on me¡¯ ¡°Good morning, my little sister¡± Bang came to another hit to his stomach. ¡®Damn! Who taught her to fight? Ah, it was me¡¯ ¡°Now, now, little sister, violence is bad.¡± ¡°I hate you, nii-san¡± Mia said once again pouting as she titled her head away from Ryu. ¡°You did not talk to Mia for two days and so a punishment Mia is going to hit you till she is satisfied¡±, the girl said as she glared at Shiv with murderous eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be so angry! Nii-san will apologize so don¡¯t hit me¡±, Ryu tried cajoling Mia with sweet talk and continued, ¡°As apology this wonderful nii-san will take you out for a ride, just you and me.¡± As soon as those words left Ryu¡¯s lips, her face brightened up. A shopping with her nii-san was one of the most enjoyable things in her life. ¡°Today!¡± She replied. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said, take me out today!¡± Mia shouted at top of her voice still glaring at Ryu. ¡°Ehh! Today! Fine, let¡¯s go today so don¡¯t glare at me like that¡± Ryu agreed to, having no other options She smiled at her helpless brother and then ran out to her mother to tell her about the shopping. Ryu sighed again. He couldn¡¯t help but notice that he had been sighing too much lately. Shrugging his shoulder and once again sighing, he then began his refreshment activities. He had a one-hour long exercise session which he had continued from the day he had begun to learn combat arts. Ryu then quickly took a bath and had his breakfast. Ryu then returned to his room to get dressed up for the outing with his sister. Wearing a blue denim and a white shirt with a black overcoat, he got out of his room and walked towards his grandfather¡¯s. The time was 30 minutes past 9 in the morning. Ryu knocked on the door a couple of times. ¡°Who is it?¡± came an indifferent voice. ¡°It¡¯s Ryu, Ojii-sama. I wish to speak to you for a while. I hope you are busy with something.¡± Ryu spoke slowly with respect. ¡°Ryu! Sigh¡±, Ryu was surprised at the sigh but kept quiet, ¡°you are my grandson, not the grandson of my driver. Is this how you talk to your family? Drop the formality son, this is not the Edo period¡± opening the door replied Isamu. ¡°Yes, Ojii-sama¡± though Ryu replied affirmatively, his formal way of speaking did not disappear at all. Isamu shrugged his shoulders helplessly and then welcomed the boy in. ¡°So tell me, son. What is it you have to speak? Now that I think about it, I have not seen you for two days. Busy with that game I got you? Since it is, you won¡¯t neglect your duties, so its fine, I guess¡± Isamu spoke with a smile that was coated with all his love for the boy in front of him. Ryu smiled back at his grandfather and spoke,¡°I have promised to take Mia out today, I came to have your permission.¡± ¡°She is your sister. Why do you need my permission?¡± Isamu mused. ¡°I need Kiro to drive us around as I am not old enough to drive.¡± ¡°Ah! Is that so? That won¡¯t be a problem at all, son¡± Of all the people the Yasahiro family had employed, Kiro was the most trusted and loved. Kiro was an orphan who had lost his parents during an accident. Isamu, who was acquainted with the orphan boy¡¯s parents, took him in under the Yasahiro family. Kiro was treated like family and had all the privileges just like the other members of the family. He had a room in the mansion for himself. He was sent to school and college under the Yasahiro family¡¯s name. He was even trained well in all forms of martial arts. Not only was he loyal, he was strong too and every time Ryu went out, he took Kiro with him. Ryu trusted Kiro and loved him like his own brother. ¡°Thank you, Ojii-sama¡± Ryu bowed and was about to leave when his grandfather stopped him. ¡°Take this¡± saying so Isamu stuffed one of Ryu¡¯s pockets with money. Ryu smiled and bowed once again. He walked towards the main door where Mia and Kiro was already waiting. ¡®Mia, you already called for him?¡¯ he had a smile on his face. His sister understood his thoughts very well. ---***--- Ryu, Mia and Kiro exited from a restaurant after filling their tummy. Mia was patting her tummy, she liked the food and stuffed in everything she could. Ryu and Kiro laughed at the cute Mia walking in front of them but then Ryu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Kiro, did you notice?¡± Ryu asked making sure Mia who was in the front wouldn¡¯t hear him. ¡°Yes, waka. Seven of them I presume¡± Kiro spoke softly understanding Ryu¡¯s concern. ¡°Their target must be Mia. Ransom? Political benefit? What do you think?¡± ¡°I think it must be the later. Ransom is too small a motive to abduct Lady Mia¡± ¡°You think so too huh. Summon Takeshi. Notify him. Tell him to move out with the necessary things. And do not tell Ojii-sama. We will deal with this swiftly¡± ¡°As you wish waka¡± Ryu nodded at Kiro and started walking faster, he then caught hold of her left hand and asked. ¡°What next my cute little sister?¡±, Ryu¡¯s face showed no signs of fear or anger, only a smile remained on that face. ¡°Etto! Etto! Mia ne, Mia wants a capsule too. Mia is lonely when nii-san isn¡¯t around¡± the little girl spoke, even though she had a smile on her face, Ryu could tell from the girl¡¯s eyes that she was lonely. Being the daughter of the Yasahiro family, Mia was often under the pressure of her fake friends that tried to take advantage of her. The girl was sharp and at the same time polite. She would find wonderful excuses to those friends who saw her as a means to profit. In front of the world, she carried herself with dignity and pride as the daughter of the Yasahiro family. But when it came to those of her family she behaved like a normal girl who craved for familial love. ¡®Capsule eh. Well, after today¡¯s events things will get hectic¡¯ ¡°Sure. I will talk to Ojii-sama about it. And Mia, after we reach home, you and mom will be having a trip somewhere far¡± ¡°Trip? Where to? Just Mia and mom? Nii-san won¡¯t come?¡± she questioned titling her head. ¡°Anywhere you want to Mia, just say the word. But nii-san can¡¯t come, Ojii-sama will be lonely, right so nii-san will stay back with Ojii-sama. Don¡¯t make that face. Since you will be getting a capsule, we can meet in the game.¡± Mia nodded reluctantly, slightly depressed. ¡°So where do you want to go?¡± Ryu asked trying to improve her mood. He bent down and gestured her to whisper it to his ears. ¡°Germany¡± the answer was instant. ¡°Why there?¡± Ryu was amused. He did not expect her to reply with Germany. He expected her sister to say India but never Germany. ¡°My friend from school goes there with her family. So I want to see it too¡± ¡°A friend? Great, then its decided¡± saying so Ryu took out his mobile and dialled a number. ¡°Ivanovich, where are you?¡± asked Ryu spoke in fluent English. ¡°Tokyo, with your grandfather¡± ¡°We need to get to England as soon as possible¡± ¡°As you say, waka. I presume it is for you, Lady Mia and Lady Miyuki¡± ¡°No, not for me. You will be going with them. Mia is EXCITED¡± stressing the excited part, Ryu replied. The word EXCITED was a code something that meant there was danger to the family. ¡°I understand. I will arrange one immediately. A private jet will be leaving to England tonight¡± The Yasahiro family rarely used the private jets. They kept the fact that they had private jets hidden after all, to the world the Yasahiros were just another company. Not many knew about their extent of power. ¡°Be discrete, don¡¯t BETRAY my hopes¡±, Ryu spoke calmly. Ivan paused once, another key word, ¡°As you wish, waka¡± and the call got disconnected Mia was looking at her Nii-san with glittering eyes. ¡®Today is a lucky day¡¯ the girl thought as she danced in excitement. The two then returned to their vehicle and waited for Kiro. And then Ryu¡¯s mobile rang. ¡°Waka, it¡¯s Takeshi here. I have arrived¡±, a deep and serious voice of a man sounded from the other side of the call Ryu got out of the car, gesturing Mia to stay inside, he spoke ¡°Apprehend them. Take them to the run-down building near the factory. I will come there¡± he whispered, not wanting Mia to hear. ¡°Yes, waka. It shall be done¡± ¡°Send Kiro back as soon as possible or this little devil might become suspicious¡± Ryu gave out his instructions and then got back in the car. ---***--- Takeshi disconnected the call and got out of his van, a van was sound proof, so no noise would travel out. Takeshi had parked the van in the same underground parking lot where Ryu¡¯s Bentley was. Along with him two other guys got out of the van. All three of them were in the security force the Yasahiro family owned, a private army sort of thing and the three were also trained martial artist. The three had also been trained in handling guns and modern weapons, special task force one could say. The three carried a Beretta 92FS with sound suppressor, a dagger and throwing knives. Like some random people, they were dressed in casual outfits and spoke like drunkards Meanwhile Kiro was outside the parking lot and was equipped with the same weapons except for the throwing knives. He was told that Ryu had already made the necessary phone calls to avoid people entering the parking lot. All he needed now was to cut off the power supply when the signal was given. Takeshi had already explained to him the plan through secure channels. And so, Kiro was on wait, his blood boiling. Such anger had never filled his heart ever before, ¡®Whoever you are, where ever you are, I will find you¡¯ he swore as he clenched his fists tight. Takeshi and his friends were still in the parking lot. Their conversation attracted the 7 who were following Ryu. One of them who seemed agitated at the appearance of drunkards walked towards the trio fast. The guy wore a black suite which made him look some kind of salary man who had just got out of his shift. ¡°Sir, this is a public area. You are not in a state to wander around. So kindly leave¡±, the guy was unexpectedly polite causing Takeshi to smirk, he had expected a violent threat from the guy. ¡°Who the hell are you to call me drunk?¡± and Takeshi and the other two began thrashing the black suited man. Seeing their comrade being beaten the remaining six ran towards them. They surrounded the three drunk men, with their fists raised to fight. ¡°Heh¡±, Takeshi smirked and then he shouted ¡°Kiro¡±. The secure channel was still on and when Kiro heard Takeshi¡¯s signal he switched the power off. The moment the light went out the three moved, it was like they were lightning itself. Their feet and hands were fast. Their orders were clear, apprehend them not kill them. The three reached for the ones near them, their knees connected to the enemy¡¯s stomach then stepping to the side, a chop to the enemy¡¯s neck thus sending them unconscious. The rest of them could not understand what was happening. They took out their guns and was waiting for any sound but nothing could be heard. Takeshi and the others did not waste any time; they had already calculated their next move. The position of the enemy was clear to them for they had contact lenses which had night vision embedded in them, this was one of the top secret state-of-the art weaponry which was developed by the Yasahiro Industries. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. In the next second, the 3 were near their next target. Without the slightest sound, they then executed their next move. They were all in sync like they were dancing. A high kick to the chin at the same time, even the point of contact for the time taken to the angle, everything was identical. The sudden kick and the force sent the receivers flying backwards. The kick made their brains rock the inside their skulls, causing them to lose consciousness. Now only one remained. ¡°Don¡¯t come near me. I will shoot you¡± the last assailant began to panic. He then began shooting in a random direction. When the first magazine was emptied he tried to reload it with another but his trembling hands could not do it with enough speed. The man was pinned down to the ground from behind by powerful arms and with a blow to the behind, he too fell unconscious. ¡°Kiro, it is done.¡± Takeshi disconnected the call and the power was restored. He looked at the 7 unconscious men then lifted his hand slightly above his head and made circles in the air. Seeing the signal his friends began to move. ---***--- ¡°Waka, we have arrived¡± Ryu nodded at Kiro. They were in front of a run-down building. After dropping Mia at home, Ryu had asked Kiro to take him here. Getting out of the car he then whispered something to Kiro. At first, Kiro was shocked, regaining his senses he nodded. With a gentle bow, Kiro got into the car and left. Ryu slowly walked in, he was now in a black suit, his face emotionless. One would say the boy in front was faceless. Takeshi was waiting for Ryu near the entrance. ¡°Have they spoken anything?¡± ¡°No waka. We have not begun yet.¡± ¡°Take me to them¡± Takeshi nodded and lead the way. The building looked worn down, time taking its toll on it. The wall dark and dirty, the ground filled with debris. The duo walked for a while down a long corridor and then took the steps to the next floor. Like that they kept walking until they reached the fifth floor. On the fifth floor Takeshi guided Ryu to a room which was rather clean and well lit compared to the other rooms. It was a much bigger room and with a table and chair to the right. The seven assailants were sitting in the middle, their mouths stuffed with clothes, hands tied to the back and eyes blindfolded. All of them were terrorized. Losing vision is a truly fearful thing after all. Ryu¡¯s eyes showed no trace of sympathy, taking the chair that was in the room, he sat on it and then looked at Takeshi. With a nod, Takeshi removed the blindfold and clothes in their mouth. The sudden exposure to light made them flinch, they shut their eyes tight. When their eyes began to adjust to the light, all 7 of them opened their eyes to look at a child sitting in front of them. When their eyes met with the child¡¯s their entire body shook. For those eyes didn¡¯t have any childishness to them, in fact, it looked like a monster was staring at them, there was only hatred in those golden brown eyes. ¡°My name is Ryu Yasahiro and I am going to ask you some questions. The first one is who was your target? Me or my sister?¡± The group remained silent. They did not want to talk. ¡°Takeshi do you have their names?¡± ¡°Yes, waka we have found out all such trivial information¡± ¡°Do they have a family?¡± Ryu asked calmly, a strange calmness. ¡°They do. All of them are married and have children too¡± ¡°Find out how many, who they are, where they live and what they do. Send someone to their home and start with the youngest,¡± this was what came from Ryu¡¯s mouth. Everybody including Takeshi froze, after all, these were the words that came from a mere 17-year-old child. The 7 assailants were shocked to the core, anger and fear filled their mind as they tried to break free of their restraint. ¡°Either you talk or your family disappears. Choose?¡± ¡°You monster¡± one of them shouted. ¡°Monster? Me? Then what are you guys? Were you not trying to rob my family of a life too? So you can do what you wish with my family while I cannot do the same to you. What kinda logic is that? If you are ready to steal, then you must have the resolve to lose too¡± Ryu spoke indifferently. Takeshi smiled inwardly. When his waka spoke those words he clearly understood what Ryu was aiming for and so he decided to play along. Taking out his phone, he dialled a non-existing number. ¡°It¡¯s Takeshi, have you found out about what I asked you to? Then send three people to each of the places. Wait outside till I give you further orders¡± he said, a perfect act. ¡°No, No, anything but our family. I will tell you so stop¡±, one of them succumbed while they rest didn¡¯t even try to stop the traitor. Their family was much important to them than some information. ¡°Answer my questions and they will walk away unharmed. Why and Who? That¡¯s all I need to know¡± ¡°We were asked by the Yanagi family. We do not know why. They offered us 10 million yen each¡± the men began crying now. ¡°Takeshi, find out about this Yanagi family. Use everything and anything you want. I want to know the reason and the person who ordered this attack by tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Yes, waka. What about these people?¡± Takeshi had already taken out his Beretta. ¡°Give them 5million yen each, a good job in Korea, tickets and passports for their family, a cheap house, and all other facilities like school or what so ever. I want their Japanese citizenship revoked and their rights to enter the country cancelled¡± ¡°Are you sure, waka?¡± asked a surprised Takeshi. ¡°What are you saying Takeshi! I am an innocent and pure 17-year old boy!¡± Ryu spoke with a mischievous smile causing Takeshi to burst into laughter. ¡°Waka, you sure no innocent 17-year old boy¡± Takeshi spoke still laughing out loud. The seven who were on their knees looked at the duo dumbfounded. Ryu then looked at the 7, ¡°I will forgive you this time, but that doesn¡¯t mean you won¡¯t be punished. You will be kicked out of the country, never able to return. Instead, you will live as Korean citizen with your family. Takeshi take me back to my car¡± Takeshi nodded and then asked his two friends to take care of the assailants and left with Ryu. ---***--- ¡°Ojii-sama¡± Ryu called out to his grandfather. Isamu was now in his study going through some documents. ¡°Come my boy. I am told that Mia and Miyuki are to go to England tonight along with Ivan¡± ¡°Ivan will not be going Ojii-sama, he will not be allowed to exist¡± ¡°What are you saying boy? Are you not the one who asked Ivan to take them to England¡± ¡°Yes, Ojii-sama. I had no other alternative. Ivan will be dealt with soon¡± ¡°Dealt with? What do you mean boy?¡± ¡°I believe Kiro have told you about today¡¯s events¡± Ryu then looked at his grandfather who was nodding his head to indicate that he was well informed about it. ¡°Then why didn''t Ivan tell you about such a big thing, even if I asked him not to? You are the head, not me. The situation called for your interference yet he did not tell you anything¡± ¡°Do you mean to say that Ivan has some other motive?¡± ¡°Yes. He is a traitor¡± ¡°And you came to such a conclusion just because he did not inform me?¡± ¡°Not at all. The Yasahiro mansion is always under tight security, even the outside roads are well guarded. The vehicles from the mansion are well guarded too. This discourages any vehicle from stalking us. Do you not agree? Also I looked into Ivan''s activities, his bank account, places of visit and all. I found a huge amount deposited to his account from an unknown source, This itself acts as proof¡± Isamu nodded again. ¡°Every time we go out, it is Ivan who appoints the driver, escort, and vehicle. Is it not?¡± Isamu nodded once again, he now understood the trail of thoughts yet let Ryu continue, but something told him that Ryu''s was hiding something big. ¡°Only 6 people knew about today¡¯s shopping trip. You, Mia, mom, Kiro, Ivan and me. So that leaves just two as suspects. It cannot be Kiro he never leaves the mansion unless it is to accompany us. Also, Mia had personally told him about the trip and had been with him all the time. That leaves only Ivan.¡± ¡°If you had this much proof then why is he still alive? And why have you planned to send Mia and Miyuki with him?¡± ¡°Ivan will die on the plane. The plane will be reported as it had crashed during its journey killing the pilot and all three of its passenger. Mom and Mia will be sent to Germany by another flight.¡± ¡°So you have planned everything huh.¡± ¡°Yes, Ojii-sama. I apologize for not asking for your permission and also wasting 35 million yen¡± ¡°Not at all. That was splendid. Giving life to them thus making them indebted to you and creating no excuse for violence. That was great indeed. But there is a problem?¡± ¡°Problem?¡± ¡°You, my boy. You are still here and that is a problem. You will be flying out to South Korea tonight boy.¡± ¡°But Ojii-sama you will be¡­.¡± ¡°No my boy, I am still the head and you will listen to me. Kiro and Takeshi will be living with me. For the time being you will live there until I deem it fit for you to return.¡± Ryu could not say anything more. He sighed. ¡°As you wish Ojii-sama¡±. Isamu then hugged him. ¡®Thank you for saving them¡¯ he said in his mind. But before he walked out he passed out a small piece of paper to Isamu on which were the words. ¡®IVAN IS BEING TAPPED ON TO, BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU SPEAK¡¯ Isamu furrowed his eyes. If what Ryu said was true, then Ivan was still on their side. But that was not a good news, it was a really bad one. That meant that they did not know who was the one who betrayed them. It also meant that somebody who was able to tap Ivan would have all sorts of information. Isamu had a bad feeling about things that were going on, he then took out a phone and typed in a message, ¡®Protect Ivan, Search Traitor¡¯ to an unknown number. ---***--- Ryu walked out his grandfather¡¯s room with a serious expression. He had no idea who was behind all these actions. To tap into Ivan needs too much effort as well as can only be done by someone close to Ivan. But that was the main problem, being his grandfather¡¯s right hand, Ivan met with many people instead of grandfather. At first glance, one would doubt Ivan who was an outsider. But none knew that Ivan was adopted to the Yasahiro family, as Isamu¡¯s son. ---***--- Ivanovich drove his car to the Yasahiro private hanger, alone. The night was dark with the moon being covered by the clouds. ¡®BETRAY¡¯, Ivan thought. The words that came out of Ryu¡¯s mouth had caused him a shock. ¡®Sigh! For me to be spied on so easily, pathetic¡¯ he cursed himself with a wry smile as he stepped on the accelerator. He then dialled a number and spoke, ¡°Hiromi, it¡¯s me! I know, but listen. I can¡¯t come see you for a short while. I am going to England with the Madam and her daughter. Yeah, know. I will miss you too. Love you two¡±, Ivan then disconnected the phone, his eyes moist for some reason. Ivan came to the Yasahiro house hold when he was thirteen. Picked up like a stray dog when he was abandoned by his parents, Ivan had then been with Isamu as a shadow. The boy hardly talked to anyone but Isamu, not even to Miyuki. Isamu on other hand took a liking to the boy and decided to keep him close, giving him proper education in all the necessary fields. Slowly Ivan had shed his previous cold and unsocial self as he grew up together with Miyuki. Miyuki was two-years old when Ivan first came to the Yasahiro household. Ivan initially avoided the child as he was at a loss at how to deal with a child so small. But as years passed, he became attached to her and so did she. When Ivan became 33years old, he who had remained unmarried had fully supported his step-sister¡¯s marriage even though Isamu was against it. In fact, it was Ivan who had convinced Isamu to approve the marriage. Ivan had a separate home a little away from the mansion, he had moved out of the mansion when he was old enough to live on his own. Isamu had to reluctantly send off his adopted son as that was the only thing Ivan had ever asked for to Isamu. Thus to the world, Ivan was just Isamu¡¯s subordinate. Ivan recalled his past as he drove his car to the private hanger. A smile broke out on his face when he recalled those fun memories that he kept hidden deep inside. [/alogn=center]***---***[/align] Hiromi disconnected the call and smiled. Today was the day she would finally be free of her duty. Immediately dialling a number from her mind, she conveyed the information she had just got. The other side too seemed happy. ¡°You did well Hitomi, no, Sayaka. To have that Ivan guy in the palm of your hand, you sure are skilled¡±, the other side chuckled as he spoke in a merry voice. ¡°Oh please stop with the flattery, Mr. Yanagi. I would rather talk about my payment¡±, Sayaka replied in a rush, she wanted to get out of the country as soon as she could. ¡°Everything has been prepared. A fake passport, a ticket to Australia, and double the amount you asked for. Consider the addition as a present for a job well done. Everything has been deposited in the locker you mentioned¡±, the man replied not minding the rude female voice. ¡°Thank you¡±, she then disconnected and prepared to get ready. Today she was finally free from the role she had been faking for more than two years. ***---*** Chapter 11: Unforeseen Circumstances 2 Chapter 11 Unforeseen Circumstances 2 Ivan parked his car and walked out of it towards the hanger. He the approached the private jet which was already ready on the runway. But the jet wasn¡¯t alone. Ten or so men in black suit surrounded the jet. All of them had handguns in their hand. Ivan paused, but he knew that they had already noticed him and so continued walking. ¡°Put your hands in the air!¡± came the voice of one of the men. Eight guns pointed at him at the same time. The last two guys were busy pointing their guns at the pilot and co-pilot. With his hands raised to the ground, Ivan walked slowly towards the group. ¡°Where is the other two?¡± Asked the same man as before. ¡°What other two?¡± Ivan feigned ignorance knowing very well who they were referring to. ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me dude! I will ask you again and you better answer me or I¡¯m gonna blow your head away. Where are the woman and the girl?¡± ¡°You are very well informed. I wonder who told you about that.¡± Ivan stopped a little away from the group. He then stared at the ten with cold eyes. The ten were startled for a second. They saw no fear r desperation in those eyes that making them confused for a split second. Ivan suddenly lowered his hands as he smiled calmly. The ten assaulters instantly reacted with the sudden action. ¡°The fuck do you think you are doing? Hands in the air¡±, another guy shouted out. Ivan smiled again and looked at the guy who shouted and spoke, ¡°Gentlemen, let¡¯s not be impulsive and talk this over calmly!¡± ¡°Talk? That¡¯s right! Talk about the woman and the girl and we will let you walk away alive¡± a third guy sneered. ¡°Is there no other way?¡± Ivan sighed as shrugged his shoulder. ¡°Stop stalling and start talking already! Don¡¯t try to pull anything fun or we will bury you in bullets¡±. ¡°I see! I wanted to give you a chance, but you guys leave no choice¡±, Ivan had a look of pity in his eyes. He took a pause then spoke again, ¡°Take them out¡±. As soon as those words were spoken, the two who were pointing their guns to the pilots fell to the ground lifeless. The eight panicked, their eyes scanned the entire place as they started pointing their guns in all direction. Then the third fell, fourth, fifth and then the ninth too. The one that was left had sweat all over his face. His legs trembled violently, it was as if they would give off any second. ¡°What the fuck did you do?¡±, he roared in anger at Ivan. ¡°You know, by now you should have realized that there are snipers out aiming at you. Is it really that hard to figure out, even after nine of your comrades fell? That aside, let¡¯s have a chat shall we? I have many questions to ask¡± ¡°Fuck you!¡± was the man¡¯s reply. Ivan laughed, causing the man to flinch, ¡°I was hoping you would say that. Hands¡± The gun fell from the guy¡¯s hands, blood covered the gun and the ground. The deep and painful groan of a man echoed throughout the hanger. ¡°I think you are ready to answer my questions. Or is it still ¡®fuck you¡¯? You know, I am kinda expecting it, so please don¡¯t hold back and curse me to your heart¡¯s extent¡± ¡°Fuc¡­¡± but before the words could be said, Ivan interrupted with, ¡°Left leg¡± The man lost his balance and fell to the ground, blood covered his body as it oozed out from his hands and left leg. Tears rolled out of his eyes and with a runny nose he began to groan and cry. ¡°You still got your right leg, so shall we repeat the conversation or do you have a name for me?¡± ¡°Yanagi industry! That¡¯s all I know, so please, I beg you to let me go¡±, the man¡¯s tone had reversed in a matter of seconds. The rude guy from before who was cursing Ivan was now crying as he begged for his life. ¡°Oh I do plan on letting you go, but to the afterlife.¡±, Ivan then began walking away from the guy as the guy fell to the ground dead. ***---*** Sayaka rushed out of her fake home in a hurry, with her luggage she ran to her car. She was sweating profusely, yet had a smile on her face. She had all the money she needed, now she could get everything she ever wanted. Finally, she could settle down in some far away country, get married and live a normal life. The girl in her late twenties was excited at how her life was going to change. She got into the car and started her engine and stepped onto the peddle. ¡°Leaving me alone, Hitomi?¡±, a man¡¯s voice sounded from the back seat startling Sayaka. Her smile froze and face cramped when she heard that voice. She recognised that deep male voice instantly. ¡°I¡­.Ivan? I thought you were going somewhere?¡±, she stuttered for a moment but somehow completed the question with a smile. ¡°You know that I know everything so enough with the act.¡±, Ivan spoke, as he pulled out a gun from the inside of his suit. ¡°Ivan, you don¡¯t have to do this. You know, we could run away from this place together. I have all the money we need.¡±, Sayaka tried to act her way out of the ordeal, she knew that was the only way out. ¡°A life with the woman I love? Doesn¡¯t seem a bad idea.¡± ¡°Right? Then let¡¯s run away together¡±, Sayaka urged Ivan happily. She had a smile on her face when she heard Ivan say those words, it gave her hope. ¡°Before that, say Hiromi, have I ever told you my full name?¡± ¡°Ivanovich Torshin¡±, answered a confused Sayaka. The question was unexpected and so she was not sure the importance of it. ¡°No, it¡¯s Ivanovich Yasahiro, son of Isamu Yasahiro¡±. With those few words, Ivan pulled the trigger of his gun without hesitation as he silently spoke, ¡®Goodbye, love of my life¡¯. ***---*** Ryu woke up from his sleep. It had been two days since Ryu had come to Incheon, South Korea. He was shocked when he heard that Ivan was hospitalized but was relieved to hear that the guy only had a few scratches. His mother and sister were sent to Germany while he was sent to Korea. His grandfather had bought a posh house on the outskirts of the city. The house, at first sight, did not seem so luxurious, a two storey building with a beautiful garden. The interior was what made the house exquisite. It gave off a ¡®the richest house in the world¡¯ kind of feeling with beautiful furniture and other decorations from sofas to use less expensive decorations. In such a big and exquisite house, Ryu had to live alone. It kind of made him glad and sad at the same time. He could now play without any reserve but he missed his family a little. To meet his family, he had asked Isamu to buy two capsules for his mother and Mia. Isamu had agreed but refused to buy a capsule for himself saying he was too busy and too old to play around. Ryu then went to have a bath, finishing his morning exercise he proceeded to have his breakfast. He made a vegetable sandwich and orange juice. Once the breakfast was over he then climbed onto the capsule which was installed yesterday. ¡°Dive in¡± ---***--- Shiv recognised the place he was standing, behind him was a fountain that he knew very well. With a smile, he took a sip of the water and felt a strange power course through his entire body. After that, he walked towards the gate to inform Barin about the quest completion, but not before checking his level. He was no level 40. He had gained 5 level which included one extra level from the sword. He checked his skills and stats and found that some of his stats had disappeared. ¡®10 stats points have decreased, so I lost 2 levels. Must get those levels back¡¯. He had by then reached the gate. ¡°Hello Barin¡± Shiv politely called out. ¡°Why if it isn¡¯t the traveller. I heard you successfully defended the pond¡±, unlike the first time, Barin smiled as he spoke to Shiv. ¡°By Oberon¡¯s grace, I was able to. But!¡±, Shiv stopped and looked at Barin silently. Sensing the tension, Barin raised his eyes and asked, ¡°But?¡± ¡°The rabbits, they were led by a Dralve, it attacked me¡±, Shiv answered the question. Barin stared at Shiv in disbelief, for minutes the two silently gazed at each other, ¡°What in Oberon¡¯s name? A Dralve? Are you sure Shiv?¡± Shiv could feel various emotions in Barin¡¯s voice; fear, concern and doubt, ¡°Yes I am, a black creature with 3 pairs of red eyes and same number of legs¡± Barin¡¯s face lost all its colour. ¡°By the gods! We must notify the elders at once.¡±
QUEST: : THE DRAKLAKE HERO 3
The gatekeeper, Barin has entrusted you to notify the appearance of the dralve. Barin fears that this is due to some big evil lurking around Difficulty : F Requirements: Kill the Dralve Rewards Unknown?????
¡°I will but where can I find the elders?¡± ¡°They will be near the black tower¡± ¡°Very well. I shall leave immediately my friend¡± ¡°May the True God¡¯s light shine upon you¡± Shiv parted from the Gatekeeper and ran towards the black tower. Shiv ran at his maximum speed but stopped when he reached the fountain. Near to the fountain were 3 familiar figures. ¡°Masters¡± Shiv called out. Hearing the familiar voice, the three of them turned to look at Shiv. Amber ran towards Shiv and hugged him tight, pressing his face towards her well-endowed chest startling the boy. Altair then separated from Shiv and looked him into the eyes. She had tears rolling down from her eyes. ¡°Are you alright? Did the Dralve hurt you? I am sorry I could not come to rescue you.¡± ¡°Master, how did you know that there was a dralve?¡± ¡°We were watching you.¡± Stryn was the one to reply. ¡°We are sorry Shiv, for letting you face such a danger. Originally, the dralve was something that should have been taken care by us but the ceremony had made us busy. Because of us you had to go through that¡±, Stryn said with a pained face but then suddenly smiled. ¡°But you proved yourself worthy¡± ¡°Worthy of what?¡±, Shiv asked as he furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Oberon¡¯s mark. You have proved yourself worthy. To be honest, you have exceeded our expectations and now it is time¡±, Vivian answered as she peeled Amber of from Shiv. ¡°Time? Are you planning something again?¡± ¡°Shiv we have something for you, follow us¡± and the three started walking, with Shiv following. The walk continued till the four reached the base of the black tower, ¡°This here is Oberon¡¯s Tower, an ancient structure believed to be built by the dragon god himself. And here, we will tell you things that you alone are worthy to know¡±, saying so the three entered the tower. Shiv was ecstatic, he had wanted to get in the tower since the first time he saw it. He stepped into the tower right behind the three. To Shiv¡¯s surprise, the interior of the tower was nothing like its exterior. Painted in a bright cream like colour, the inside was clean, with paintings covering where ever you looked. Dragons, humans, elves, dwarves, beast men, monsters; there were paintings of different races. Shiv stared at them in awe though he could not understand what those paintings actually meant. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The three then ascended a spiral staircase which continued all the way above. Shiv followed silently as he examined the paintings and one such painting appeared familiar to him. A painting of a human male covered in armour and holding a sword in his hands. The spiral staircase ended in front of a semi-circular room. The elders then inserted a key each and unlocked the door. The door opened and the four entered. What lay inside the room was a throne, a throne which had dragons carved onto it, the armrest had a dragon head on each of them. There were black wings on either side of the throne, the throne legs were shaped as that of a dragon¡¯s leg. In total, the throne was like a twin headed black dragon. ¡°Orrinshire¡¯s Throne, ¡± Shiv said unintentionally and moved towards it, it was like something was pulling him towards it. Mesmerized he walked towards it. For some reason he felt he was inside a very big decorated court filled with people, it felt like it was his coronation. Shiv was now near the throne, his glowing right hand caressing the armrest,¡± Beautiful!¡± he exclaimed and then prepared to sit down. Once he sat on the throne Shiv felt himself being warped in space, he felt all the light disappearing. Looking around he saw nothing but darkness. But for some strange reaso, he felt oddly calm. ¡°So you have come, mortal¡± Shiv kneeled without hesitation, ¡±Yes Great Oberon¡±. He knew that the voice belonged to the dragon god. ¡°What do you desire mortal? Is it Power? Wealth? Kingdom?¡±, asked the voice which has him the feeling of talking to a man who was wisest in the universe. A voice that had power, but was kind and polite as well as filled with love. ¡°I desire happiness oh Great God¡±. Shiv spoke out his true desire. ¡°I see the pain in your eyes but no greed. I see loneliness but no evil. I see love and care. I see a desire to help others, I see a dark past, I see a pure heart. Very well mortal, you shall receive what you wish for¡± ¡®trrrng¡¯ [td]NO[/td2]
Hidden Class
You have been offered a hidden class by the True God, Oberon. Would you like to accept
YES
¡°Yes, it is an honor¡± ¡®trrrng¡¯
You have accepted the hidden class Grand Commoner, a unique class which is given only to a very few. Due to the special characteristics of the class and the class being given by the True God, Oberon, your race will be now be changed to a demi-human. You will be human with dragon blood flowing through you. You being a common man is now able to study skills without class restrictions except for skills related to other gods or their faction. All skills that you learn will have a penalty except for skills that are unique to your class or common to all classes. The number of skills you can learn has been doubled. You can now learn 60 skills Being a commoner, you will gain fame much slower.
¡®This is wonderful. I can learn any skills I want except for holy magic. Cool. There are tons of skills I want to learn. And instead of 30, I can learn 60 skills. This is epic¡¯ ¡®Trrrng¡¯
Your race has been set to Draconian, half human, half man. Even though you look like a normal human, you have dragon blood coursing through your body. Your senses are sharpened, strength increased, you get tired much slower and your mana increases +200 to mana and HP +5 to all stats
New skill unlocked: Identification (Passive) Beginner Level 1(0%)
The dragon blood in you has heightened your senses. You are now able to identify low-quality items. As your skill proficiency increases, you can identify higher quality items
New skill unlocked: Presence Detection (Passive) Beginner Level 1(0%)
The dragon blood in you has heightened your senses. You are now able to detect the presence of others around you. Range: 2 meters Mana consumption: 10 mana/sec
¡®Wow! I already got two great skills¡¯ ¡°Mortal! I have given you what you desire and now you must listen to me¡± ¡®Shit! This is bad! This is seriously bad, I should have known!¡¯, Shiv felt the impending doom. ¡°Of course Great one¡±, nevertheless he replied in affirmative. Even though the god was a system program, it was something with artificial intelligence. He didn¡¯t want to be on its bad side at all. ¡°I believe you know Orrinshire.¡± ¡°I do great one¡± ¡°Hundreds of years ago, in the continent of Aslain there was a kingdom named Lithinia. Ruled by the human king Orrinshire, the kingdom prospered. But a single attack from the neighbouring country caused great pain to the kingdom. Though the kingdom survived the loss it suffered broke the king¡¯s heart. It was then that he sought my blessings. Pleased by his desire to bring peace to the whole world I gave him the power he needed. Time flew by and soon the entire world came under his feet. He was a generous emperor, loved and cared for by his people. But some wicked and greedy mortals did not like the way the world was. Their greed led to the assassination of their Great Emperor and once again war broke out throughout the continent of Aslain. When I heard of Orrinshire¡¯s death, I in my fury had almost destroyed the world. But I was stopped by the people of Lithinia. They prayed to me to not destroy the world their Emperor had loved and cherished. Accepting their prayers, I created the new world and named it Orrinshire in his memory. The people of Lithinia were taken under my protection and became the Draken race which lived in my garden, Draklake. They had wished upon me to grant them life till they could find themselves a new king and from then till now they have been waiting for you to arrive mortal. Do not forget their love for you, do not forget their loyalty for those are hard to find in these times of chaos¡± ¡°I will not great one for I very well know how important those are¡± ¡°Very well. It is time for you to return, I have kept you away from them for too long¡± and with that, the world around Shiv returned to what it was before. ¡®Trrrng¡¯
QUEST: : THE DRAKLAKE HERO - Completed
You have saved the naiads and slayed the evil Dralve. The Great Dragon God has bestowed his blessing to you and has accepted you as his hero. `1 [align=center] Rewards Title: The Hero King Oberon¡¯s blessing Dragon¡¯s Roar
You have leveled up You have leveled up You have leveled up You have leveled up You have leveled up You have leveled up
¡®Wow, 6 levels from completing a chain quest. Must spend the points wisely¡¯ Shiv closed the notification only to find three people kneeling before him. ¡°What are you three doing? Get up. Aren¡¯t you too old for that?¡± Shiv spoke irritated at the gesture. ¡°One is never too old to serve one¡¯s king, ¡± said Stryn still kneeling. The man chuckled at the words he thought his king would say. ¡°Get up you three. That is enough¡±, annoyed, Shiv spoke. After a while, the three got up slowly. They stood straight and stared at Shiv with eyes moist with tears. ¡°We have waited hundreds of years for yo, Sire. We have waited for you to return¡±, Amber burst out when she spoke. She fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands as she cried like a child. ¡°Now that I am here why are you crying. We can be together from now on¡± Shiv ran to her and hugged her tight. ¡°Don¡¯t cry¡±, he consoled the woman gently. ¡°Sire, let us go out. Your people await you¡±, Stryn said not minding the crying Amber and he pulled Shiv up while Vivian pulled Amber up who by then had wiped her tears. With a nod, Shiv began descending the stairs, for some reason he felt happy and fulfilled. The three followed Shiv silently and when they reached the outside, Shiv was stunned. The entire village had assembled in front of him, all of them kneeling. Shiv could make out that they were all crying. It was then he noticed that there were no children anywhere. ¡®They must be at their home¡¯ he assured himself. Shiv once again looked at the villagers, his people. Not even one of them were smiling even though their King was before them, ¡®Why is my heart aching?¡¯ ¡°Sire, this way please¡±, the three walked in front guiding their king. Shiv silently followed, troubled by the pain in his heart and the tears in his people¡¯s eyes. ¡°Sire, for hundreds of years we have waited for you. Our entire village was for the sake of greeting you, welcome you, train you, and to make you a king once again. We worked hard to build this village so that you could feel like you were at your home so that you could be at ease. Sire, did you find the place warm?¡± asked Stryn as tears made its way down his cheeks and yet having a warm smile om his face. Shiv nodded. Tears were now rolling down his cheeks. ¡®Why am I crying?¡¯ his heart was in turmoil. ¡°Sire our life was for you. And when we lost you, we prayed to the god to let us live till you came back once again. We traded our humanity, our organs, our souls so that we could see you once again.¡± They walked past the fountain of elixir which appeared lifeless to they boy. ¡°Sire, we are happy to have met you once again, we are happy to have become your masters and we are happy to have you with us after all this time.¡± They were now at the village gate which unlike before had no gatekeepers guarding it. The three then opened the gate and motioned Shiv to walk in front. Shiv nodded even though he did not want to but his body still moved as if it was being pulled by some invisible strings. The entire village was following them silently. Shiv existed the gate and walked forward. He stopped when he heard ¡°We have always loved you Sire and we still love you¡±. ¡°I love you too¡± and Shiv turned back, crying his lungs out. He froze, his body trembled, his legs became numb. And there was nothing there, no gate, no black tower and no traces of the villagers and no traces of the three. The boy lost all his strength. His weak body dropped to his knees, his hands trying to grab what was once the three people he loved but only the ever flowing air greeted his desperate hands. Nothing remained! The village of Draklake disappeared! ---***--- Chapter 12: A New Start Chapter 12 A New Start Ryu Yasahiro ran! Through the vacant pathway, he ran. It was early morning and there were none to witness the boy who ran with a flushed and teary face. His breath got rougher with every passing minute and yet he ran. He ran as if there was no tomorrow as if the world had crumbled down. Ever since the Draklake village disappeared in front of his eyes, the young man had been haunted by the memories of the place and his three masters. Every time he tried to hop on to the capsule he felt a fear in his heart like it was chained. Whenever he closed his eyes the faces of Borin, Amber and Serin would seep into his eyes. Their disappearance reminded him of his father¡¯s death, which too happened in front of him. Sometimes he cried, sometimes he got angry and sometimes he became emotionless. His brain knew that those were not real men, but his heart had formed strong bonds with them. They had spent days together, like master and disciple, had often eaten together, laughed together, cried together. And before he could even tell how much he cherished them, they disappeared. Ryu was now silently weeping in a park, his eyes shut, his heart broken. Ryu slipped into sleep without even him knowing. ---***--- Ryu woke up due to the sudden pat on his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he saw an old man staring at him intently. The tears that dried up left a mark on his face, which made the old man concerned. Wiping his tears off, Ryu smiled at the old man. The boy got up and bowed to the old man as apologized, ¡°Joesonghamnida¡±(Korean for sorry) and walked past the old man. ¡®No! No! No! This is no time to be depressed! Now is the time to fulfil the wishes of the three¡¯, Ryu felt a strange feeling grow inside his distressed heart. A desire broke out of that feeling, a desire to become what the three wanted him to be. Ryu felt peace spread throughout his body as this desire sprout in his mind. The tears stopped and instead a smile broke out on his now calm face. And so once again ran, not to overcome the sadness but to set out on a new journey fuelled by emotions of the past ---***--- Shiv returned to the same spot that he logged out from. A day before a huge gate stood there but now there was not even a spec of that massive gate. Shiv smiled as the memories of the place surged inside him. His masters, the guards, the villagers, the black tower, Orrinshire, the dragon god, the naiads, his mind went through all of those important memories. The boy smiled as he looked at the vast sky and said, ¡®Farewell my friends¡¯. Shiv turned away from the spot and started walking not even looking back for once. The walk continued for roughly twenty or so minutes when he felt the surroundings distort slightly, he felt as if he was passing through something, something like a layer or barrier. ¡®Some kind of barrier? A portal, perhaps? Teleportation?¡¯ he kept walking and walking. And so one hour passed, the land around him felt different, there were trees around him suddenly. Shiv looked around in surprise and only trees surrounded him, it was as if there never was a valley. The forest of trees around him somewhat reminded him of the one in Draklake. Shaking his head sideways Shiv corrected the thought. ¡®Maybe I should check out the map to see where I am¡¯ ¡°Map¡± and a huge panel opened up in front of him. Just as the forums had said there were 11 kingdoms in the continent of Orrinshire and he was now in Bredon, a country ruled by the Bredon Kingdom. Shiv looked through the map which made him understand his location. He was to the east of the country, in a forest known as the Forest of the Fairy, his position being shown by a small black triangle. ¡®Hm! The map does not show much.¡¯ Shiv frowned as he scanned through the map again, ¡®Guess, unless I personally visit a village or town nothing will be shown on the map. I should have checked the forums for more info.¡¯ With a sigh, the boy walked forward with an unwavering will. The walk was tiring but Shiv had no other choice and so he continued his journey. Shiv knew that walking through such a dense and unknown forest was a really dangerous thing, but again he had no other choice so he started running, making as less noise as he could. Often he would scale the trees and jump to another or use the wines to swing to another tree. This action later earned him a new quirk. ¡®Trrrng¡¯
New quirk unlocked: Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. Your actions have unlocked a new quirk +1 AGI Your balance has improved Your evasion has improved Your flexibility has improved You are now ambidextrous
Quirks, unlike skills which either consumed mana or had a time limit, were free of restraints. Once a quirk is earned it remains active till the user deletes it or wants to switch it off. What made it different from a passive skill is that quirks where limited to body enhancements. Another difference is that quirks took much more time to unlock. A skill might only take a matter of hours to unlock, while quirks required days in comparison. So in the world of Dragon Lore, a quirk was given great importance as it greatly enhanced multiple features of the user¡¯s body like reaction time, balance etc. Another reason being that quirks were limited in number, while there were millions of skills, only hundreds of quirks could be earned. ¡®Ambidextrous eh. This is going to be fun¡¯ Shiv continued his tree jumping and swinging only stopping for hunting food and resting to regain stamina. Half a day passed since he acquired his first quirk and he was yet to come across a person until he heard, ¡°Human girl.. we get¡­ King happy¡± said a grumpy voice. ¡°Me¡­ human¡­ girl want¡­too¡± another similar voice replied ¡°Come¡­ we go...human village..take girl¡± followed by a loud laugh. Shiv heard footstep which kept moving away from him. Shiv slowly got out of the bushes. He stared at the direction where the voices of the footstep had disappeared to. He then scanned the location he was standing at and came across a hole big enough for a giant to enter in to. ¡®Must be some kind of monster nest! For now, I should follow those two¡¯ ¡°Kaze¡± activating his skill Shiv jumped from tree to tree. It did not take him too long to see two purple creatures walking with clubs in their hands. ¡®Must be some sort of goblin variant¡¯ Normally goblins were always depicted as green. In the forum too that Shiv had looked into had said the goblins were green and their king which was twice the size had a much darker shade of green. Silently Shiv followed the two monsters who were half his height. They had round bellies which resembled that of a fat man. Their ears were slightly pointy and their face was oval with two canines protruding out of their mouth. The two ugly goblins marched, talking gibberish, laughing and drooling over the idea of getting a human girl. After a few minutes, the goblins stopped. The two were pointing at something while they talked. Shiv gazed at the direction they were pointing and saw something that resembled a village, but it could no longer be called as one. The village was in ruins, there were no walls, half of the houses were in ruins, while the remaining half seemed deserted. In total, the village was seemed like, all the life had withered away from it a long time ago. ¡®Why are they searching for women in a deserted village?¡¯ Shiv was deep in thoughts when, ¡°Kyyyyyaaaaa, leave me you monster¡± a scream resounded in Shiv¡¯s ears. Hearing the scream Shiv jumped down the tree and rushed to the spot only to find a young girl being dragged out from one of the deserted houses, the purple goblins laughing all the time. Shiv did not bother hiding his bloodlust as he rushed towards the goblins. The startled goblins who noticed the movement took a step back and sneered. ¡°Grrr¡­ puny human¡­die¡± saying so they too rushed towards Shiv. The first goblin swayed its club at Shiv¡¯s head with all its might, growling in anger. Shiv evaded the oncoming attack by rolling on to the ground closing in on the goblin. The dagger in his right hand was already speeding towards the goblin¡¯s wide open stomach. Shiv¡¯s rolling to the front, the speed of his thrust and finally the momentum of the goblin, all acted as a catalyst in increasing the damage dealt by the small dagger. The goblin shuddered and groaned miserably as it fell on to the ground due to pain. Seeing his buddy down the second goblin too rushed forward swinging the club towards Shiv¡¯s hips. Shiv blocked it with his sheathed Black Dragon and parried the attack. Then stepping to his left with Kaze, he then used the dagger to his left to pierce its right eye. The second goblin too dropped, but by then the first one had got up. With its health no more than 30 percent of the original, Shiv was confident he could take it down in one hit. The wound to its stomach had weakened it greatly as it staggered heavily. Judging the distance between him and the weakened prey, Shiv brought out his bow. The sheathing of the dagger, adjusting the sword to a comfortable position and equipping the bow on his back were all achieved in a matter of seconds. The three action were completed so fast that left an afterimage in the girl¡¯s view causing her to gasp in astonishment. Drawing the bow Shiv aimed it at the goblins chest. Shiv did not want to talk any chances aiming at the monster¡¯s head and so he aimed at the much larger chest area. ¡®Shoom! Shoom! Shoom¡¯ off went three arrows at lightning speed, all of which struck the target blowing holes in the goblin¡¯s ugly body. Shiv did not waste any time at all as he dropped the bow and ran towards the second goblin, not even trying to equip any weapons. He then jumped on to the back of the goblin which was trying to get up. Using his left hand, he gouged out of the goblins left eye, rendering it completely blind. Blood flowed out profusely from both its empty eye sockets. The unbearable pain and loss of blood made the monster unable to stand, with unimaginable pain it fell on its knees, then it slumped to the ground, lifeless. Shiv leapt away from the dead goblins back gasping for breath. He just looted any money that the goblins dropped and then turned to the girl who was still crying. Shiv approached her slowly so as to not startle her. His body which was covered with blue goblin blood made him look like a monster and so he moved slowly and carefully. ¡°Are you ok lady?¡± Shiv asked wiping away the blood from his face. The girl was too terrified to answer. She nodded weakly as she sobbed. Tears rolled out of her eyes nonstop making her face look dirty. Her cheeks and nose were red, her lips trembled in fear. The clothes she was wearing had tears in some places. Mud covered most parts of her, there were even some wounds on her which caused her to bleed lightly. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Tell me lady, what is your name?¡±, Shiv sat down a little away from the girl. He kept his weapons on the ground a little away to show that he meant no harm. Shiv asked as politely as he could to the whimpering girl before him. ¡°Bella¡± the answer was a whisper. ¡°Are you alone Bella? Are there others?¡± Shiv¡¯s asked calmly. He avoided asking about her parents as he did not want her to breakdown again in case they were dead. ¡°They..they took all the men and women.¡± She replied as her sobbing intensified a little, ¡°Only children like me were left behind. And now they have started taking small girls like me too.¡± The girl said as she held her face with her hands, the memories of the past incidents bringing pain to her. ¡°It¡¯s ok, it¡¯s ok. Nothing will happen to them. I will help you. So relax a little Bella¡± Shiv tried consoling her. ¡°There is nothing you can do. There are hundreds of them. I saw them, those monsters. Mom and Dad, they¡­.¡±, and the girl broke down again. Shiv frowned helplessly but kept trying to calm the girl down with words, ¡°Bella, I can help you. I can bring them back. Is there anybody else with you?¡±, he tried changing the focus of the girl. She nodded her head weakly. ¡°Ok! Good. For now, let¡¯s move from here. There might be other goblins near. So we will talk once we get to a safe place¡± The girl seemed hesitant and so she stared at Shiv for a while. And as if she had made her mind, she wiped her tears and got up slowly. Shiv watched her carefully as he sat motionlessly. The girl the gestured Shiv to follow her. Shiv nodded and followed her silently, while he remained vary of his surroundings. They entered the ruined village and walked through the pathway. Shiv glanced at the broken down houses and the blood stains on the walls. There was no sign of life at all but it looked like the attack on the village was a recent event. Shiv silently walked, his eyes often glancing at the girl who walked with her head hung down. She wore a red colour dress which was torn here and there. The blond hair which extended till half way her back was untidy. The girl was as tall as his shoulders but had a matured air to her. Shiv wondered how old the girl was and about how many children were left behind. As question spun around his mind, the girl suddenly stopped before a house which was intact and then knocked thrice on the shabby wooden door. ¡°It¡¯s me, Bella¡±, she whispered and knocked thrice again but in quick succession. ¡®A password?¡¯, Shiv thought surprised at the action. ¡®They are smart to have thought about a password.¡¯ The door the slowly opened up and a girl as old as Bella peeked her head out. She had a relieved expression on her face and her brown eyes seemed glittering. But the expression froze as soon as those round eyes fell on an unfamiliar boy near to Bella. ¡°It¡¯s ok, Cheryl. This man is my saviour. It¡¯s ok¡±, Bella spoke with a smile, trying her best to not show her weak side. The girl named Cheryl stared at Shiv once again and then reluctantly opened the door. Bella walked in nervously after she gestured Shiv to come inside the house. With a quiet nod, the boy followed the girl into the small house. The insides of the house were in a mess with broken furniture and no lighting. But the sun light that escaped in through the windows made the room bright and also let Shiv see what was inside. More than 20 children were holed up in that house. The four rooms in the house were crowded with these children; thirteen boys and nine girls. Shiv glanced at them and came to a conclusion that Bella and Cheryl were the eldest among the children. He stood silently as he analysed the situation he was in. He clearly understood that the children had hardly eaten anything. They appeared weak, some cried while some had dead eyes. Three of them were laid on the ground, they appeared unconscious. Shiv felt pity towards them and sighed inwards. He leaned on to the wall with closed eyes. He then started arranging all the information he had gathered to make a picture of all that had transcribed in the village and he could roughly guess what exactly happened. Shiv opened his eyes and once again glanced at the children with sorrowful eyes. ¡°Okay, guys! Before I start asking questions, let¡¯s have lunch¡±, Shiv spoke with a smile as he took out the meat he had hunted while he was in the forest and some bread loaves. The children who saw the food got excited but they were scared t approach a stranger and so only stare at the food with longing. Understanding their predicament, Shiv smiled wryly. ¡®This game is so real life like¡¯, thinking so, he passed the uncooked meat and bread to Bella and Cheryl. The food was hardly enough for five, but the girls knew that this enough was a luxury for them. ¡°I know this won¡¯t be enough, so I will go hunt some. I won¡¯t go far. We will start cooking the meat once I get back with more, okay?¡± Shiv asked Bella who nodded immediately. She felt thankful to the kind stranger who not only rescued her from the vile goblins but also agreed to feed her and her friends. Shiv clasped her hands together as she silently thanked the boy who walked out of the house. [/align=center]***---***[/align] Shiv didn¡¯t have to go far before he came across a wild boar. In fact, there were three boars and when Shiv checked their status, they were at level 15. Shiv made quick work of the boars and the game system rewarded him with boar meet and some money. Delighted at the catch, Shiv decided to continue hunting a little more. An hour or so passed and Shiv returned to the house with the meat from 6 wild boars. When he walked inside, a relieved Bella ran up to him with a smile. Shiv smiled back and passed the meat to her and sked her to cook them as fast as possible. Once the meat was done, it was passed to all the children along with some bread slices. The children ate everything in an instant and asked for seconds which too were finished off in the span of few seconds. They ate merrily, life had returned to their previously dead eyes. Shiv smiled at them warmly as he slowly chewed the tasteless slice of bread but the scene before him made the bread a delicacy. When they were done with the food, Shiv called Bella and Cheryl out of the house. The two nodded and followed him out and then took him to the nearby house. Shiv sat on a chair while the other two girls sat on the bed. The atmosphere felt heavy and no body spoke until Shiv decided to begin himself. ¡°Bella, Cheryl! I know that this is hard for you, but I have to know more about what is going on here. If I were to help you bring them back, I need to know everything.¡±, Shiv spoke carefully with a mild tone. He knew the girls didn¡¯t want to recall the past incidents but he had no other choice. Once again a deep silence embraced the dimly lit room. The two girls looked at each other, then at Shiv. And it was Cheryl who began to speak. ¡°Our village was first attacked last week, but the once that attacked where goblins that were green. They were fifty or so of those green goblins, but the village men were able to fend them off somehow. We had no casualties while the goblin number dwindled to half. After a few days, they again attacked us. By the end of the day, the men of the village were able to take down all the goblins. We were overjoyed as we thought that all the goblins were dead and that our village was no longer under threat. And so the village elder organized a festival to celebrate the victory.¡± Cheryl suddenly stopped, tears rolling down her fair cheeks. Bella hugged her tight as she patted the crying girl¡¯s head. Taking a deep breath, the girl continued from where Cheryl stopped. ¡°The night of the festival when the men were all drunk, those vile goblins attacked. They were more than hundred in numbers and were stronger than the normal green goblins. The drunk villagers couldn¡¯t even put up a fight. Some were killed within minutes and so the elder decided to surrender before we lost more lives. They then took all the woman and men with them and left us back. There were actually more of us. Two more girls of my age but they were taken yesterday just like how I was. If not for you, I would have...¡±, the girl trailed off as her eyes became watery. She clasped Shiv¡¯s hand and sobbed, ¡°Thank you, thank you for saving me¡±, she whispered between the sobs. Shiv felt the warmth of the girl¡¯s hand. Somehow the girl reminded him of his little sister. His hands moved to her head as he patted her gently. A few minutes later both the girls calmed down and Shiv continued asking questions. From what he gathered, he understood that there was some kind of offering on the next full moon day which was two weeks later and the violet goblins planned to sacrifice all the villagers at the offering. He also understood that there were five more children, two girls, and three boys. The two girls were caught by the goblins just like Bella. The three older boys then tried to help the two girls but were easily killed by the monsters. ¡°Do you know how to wield a weapon¡±, Shiv asked without much hope. ¡°No, the woman of this village are not taught such things¡±, the two nodded their head sideways shamefully. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. All I need to know is, do you wish to help those who got captured?¡± ¡°Of course, we do. But with our strength¡±, Cheryl spoke in a rush but stopped immediately. ¡°I see. If I agree to rescue them, will you help me to accomplish it?¡±, Shiv asked as he stared at the two intently. The two girls stared back, surprised. They never expected those words to come from his mouth. Bella wanted to ask for his help, but she couldn¡¯t burden her saviour with any more selfishness and yet her saviour is ready to provide her help. The two girls smiled at the boy. For them, the boy appeared as a merciful god, and so they nodded their head.
QUEST: BLOOD GOBLIN SLAYER
The little girls, Bella, and Cheryl has agreed to accept your help to rescue their family and friends from the cruel blood goblins. They have also agreed to provide you any kind of assistance to achieve your mission. The blood goblins had kidnapped the villagers and plans to sacrifice them on the next full moon. Stop the sacrifice and rescue the villagers Days left to attack: 2 Weeks Difficulty : +E Requirements: Save Bella, Earn the trust of the children Rewards Unknown????? Failure The quest will fail Villagers die Failure will have no effects
You have accepted the quest
---***--- Guys! some one here who can proofread? Chapter 13: Seeking Help Chapter 13: Seeking Help In the middle of a ruined village twenty-five figures had gathered, the boys and girls nervously stared at one person who had asked them to gather outside their safe zone. Fear was evident in their eyes as they restlessly observed the surrounding. Finally, a boy raised his voice, the only boy who appeared annoyed rather than nervous. ¡°Hey, mister! Why did you bring us out?¡±, he glared at Shiv. A natural reaction, Shiv thought. He was, after all, a stranger to them, even if he fed them once, and not to mention that they were burdened by memories of the vile goblins attacking their village. But Shiv decided to remain quiet as he knew that whatever he said would not have any impact on them and so he let the two girls who trusted him to do the talking. ¡°Agon!¡±, Cheryl dashed towards him and caught him by his ears. ¡°What kind of attitude is that towards someone who brought you food to eat¡±, she scolded him as she punished him. ¡°Ouch! Ouch! It hurts Chery-nee!¡±, with teary eyes, the boy tried to break free of her hold. ¡°Then behave properly or else!¡±, when her voice turned heavy, the poor boy shrunk down as he apologized for his rudeness to Shiv. But the flow events only brought a smile to his face. ¡°Shiv-sama, please forgive this stupid brother of mine. Even though he has a loud mouth, he has his uses so please forgive him this time¡±, Cheryl turned to Shiv and bowed at him as she spoke politely. ¡°Wait a minute! You don¡¯t need to bow at all. I mean, we are all kids here, I included. The way you address me as well as your behaviour is too polite. Just call me Shiv.¡±, Shiv panicked at Cheryl¡¯s sudden change in behaviour. Being addressed with a ¡®sama¡¯ was not something he had ever enjoyed, especially by those close to his age, ¡°Just act like you normally do with these children. Think of me as a friend, please¡± ¡°Eh! But¡­¡± ¡°I insist¡±, Shiv cut her off before Cheryl could finish. Seeing the troubled Shiv, Cheryl let out a gentle smile. She was liking the guy more and more. ¡®Strong yet kind and modest¡¯, she thought to herself, ¡°Then Shiv-san, please do what you wanted to¡± Shiv returned the smile and nodded. He then glanced at Bella who was near him who too nodded at him. Bella then walked forward and faced the gathering before her with Shiv and Cheryl standing next to her. ¡°I know that all of you are confused and frightened. But please listen to what I have to say¡±. She appealed to the crowd in earnest even though they were children. ¡°Our parents and friends were dragged away by those vile goblins, they have locked up our dear ones and now they want to sacrifice our loved ones for their own selfishness. Just because we are kids, the looked down on us, they throw us away thinking that we are useless, harmless, treating as trash. We are all scared, even I am, but what use is living without the ones we care for? And so I have decided to help Shiv-san here who has promised to rescue all of our people from the hands of those cruel monsters. I have gathered you all here to tell you my decision as well as to make a request. Please help me help Shiv-san¡± and the girl bowed deeply at the kids as tears rolled down her beautiful cheeks. Her hands squeezed her dress as stood still before the crowd. Silence fell. Shiv could clearly see fear in their eyes, even Cheryl noticed it. She sighed even though she had expected such an outcome. She glanced at the teary girl who was bowing, her best friend had mustered all her courage to step forward and yet none answered, or so Cheryl thought. ¡°You finally decided to fight back eh, Bella-nee¡±, came a voice from the crowd startling even Cheryl. But Shiv smiled, he knew from the beginning that one guy would surely come to their aid. Shiv saw the fire in that person¡¯s eyes, the desire for revenge, the desire to take back what he lost. ¡°Agon¡±, Shiv called out to the boy who was three years younger to him as he grinned at the boy. The boy who turned his head towards Shiv and stared at him before walking towards Shiv. Without speaking a word, he stood next to Shiv with folded hands. The kids were shocked, so was Cheryl and even Bella. But the two girls soon regained their senses and immediately walked towards Shiv. The kids nervously stared at the four who stood a little away from them, afraid to even whisper. ¡°I think; you guys have the wrong impression here.¡±, it was Shiv who spoke, ¡°You all seem to be having the wrong thoughts. No one is asking you to fight¡± Noticing that his words had caught their attention, Shiv continued. ¡°The one who will be fighting the monsters will be me. But I alone cannot engage hundreds of them and so I need to prepare traps, counter measures, which I cannot do alone. All I need is extra hands to do this and that¡±, Shiv finished with a smile. He could see the fear in their eyes fade. And one by one the kids walked towards him. ---***--- A hole, twice the size of an adult acted as the entrance to the blood goblin hide out. The cave mouth was guarded by three blood goblins who equipped swords. Shiv, Cheryl, Bella, and Agon hid inside a bush a little away from the cave mouth. A head on attack would without a doubt attract attention and so Shiv decided to stay low. He had two weeks to prepare and so he decided to observe the enemy. One of the four would remain hidden in the bushes as a lookout. Every three hours they switched the roles. Since they only needed one-day observation, each person had to do two shifts of lookout. Shiv started, followed by Bella, then by Cheryl and finally Agon. By the end of the day, they came to the conclusion that, there was always three goblins guarding the entrance. Every eight hours a new batch of goblins would be placed on guard duty. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Shiv was somewhat delighted when he found out that the guards changed shifts only after eight long hours. Once he gathered the necessary information, he began devising plans for the next day. On the second day, Shiv brought Cheryl and Bella with him and once again hid in the nearby bush. Shiv turned to Bella and Cheryl and whispered. ¡°You two ready?¡± The two girls nodded nervously and then dashed out of the bushes. The goblins noticing the movements intercepted the intruders but when they found two beautiful girls before them, their lower region took over the control. The goblins let their guard down as they chased after the girls like dogs in heat. Shiv moved the next instant. Invoking kaze and hono, he approached the goblins from behind. The goblin in the back did not realize the impending danger as it madly ran after the girls. Shiv with daggers in his both his hand, closed in on the monster. The daggers were then pushed into the either side of the goblin¡¯s ugly neck, with no resistance the blade sunk deep into the flesh. It only took Shiv a few seconds to fell the first monster. Without any delay, he dashed to the second goblin who had by then noticed him. While the first goblin chased after the girls, the second goblin stopped the chase. The goblin considered Shiv as a threat, a threat that had to be dealt immediately and so it brandished its poorly made club as growled in a deep voice. The two stared at each other, leaking intense bloodlust. For some time, neither of them moved as they continued the staring contest. But suddenly the goblin fell on its face to the ground, an arrow lodged in its skull. ¡°That¡¯s a nice shot Agon, you really are skilled with a bow¡±, Shiv chuckled as he complimented and from a tree a little away, a fourteen-year-old boy jumped down with a smile. ¡°This is what I do best¡±, exclaimed the boy with a prideful tone as he puffed his chest. ¡°The other one?¡±, Shiv asked. ¡°Bullseye¡± the boy replied with a thumbs up. Shiv nodded his head. He then asked Agon stand guard at the cave entrance and then walked inside. The cave was a little dark, but the cracks on the wall let a little sunlight seep into the cave which greatly helped Shiv. The cave walls were muddy which told Shiv that the cave was a result of erosion due to rain water. The roof also seemed weak, so weak that a small explosion might result in a collapsing of the cave. He touched the walls carefully as he inspected it for some time. Shiv wandered a little into the cave before he decided to go back to the village. By the time he reached the village, all the kids had been gathered once again. Agon, Bella, and Cheryl were back and were talking to the others merrily. When Shiv approached, all them quieted down. ¡°Good morning guys¡±, Shiv wished them which they returned with great energy. ¡°Before I start the attack on the goblins, there some things that have to be prepared. And it is for that reason I have asked for your help. First, how many of you can hunt or can use a bow?¡± Excluding Agon, three other boys and a girl raised their hands. Bella then called them forward and made them stand near Agon. Shiv then continued, ¡°Of the girls here, is there anyone that knows to cook?¡± And so Shiv divided the group of twenty-two into various departments. Five for hunting, four girls including Bella for cooking, two boys who could run fast for watch keeping, two girls and two boys were assigned the duty of transporting various materials from the village warehouse as per Shiv¡¯s request. And the remaining, under Cheryl, was to aid Shiv in trap making. Once the roles were assigned, Shiv asked the kids except the hunting group to gather axes, pickaxes, and spades. He then took the hunting group into the forest to give them a little hunting practice. But since Agon was good at it, Shiv soon let the group go out to hunt on their own. The next thing Shiv did was, tell Bella to cure the meat to preserve it for long term use. Bella who roughly understood the process agreed to Shiv and left to make the necessary preparations. When the axes and other things were assembled, Shiv made those under Cheryl cut down small trees. He along with the lids then began cutting down trees and when sufficient amount of trees was cut, he showed them how to make barricades and stakes. The two boys who could run fast were asked to hide in the bushes to act as look out, there job was to run to Shiv if they noticed any movement near the cave mouth. And so four days passed, while Shiv slowly made the necessary preparations he cut down the guards every day to lessen their numbers. The goblins being a lesser intelligent being never noticed their brethren being slain. On the seventh day, Shiv asked the Cheryl group to dig holes a little away from the cave entrance. The group nodded and began the work. The efficiency of the various groups was so great that the work accomplished was of great quality. Every day the hunting group brought back meat and fruits. Bella and her assistants made sure to cure the meat and store it for the near future. They also prepared delicious food for the kids. The transport grouped, did what Shiv asked to. They brought sacks of sugar and salt, equipment, food etc at his request and when they had nothing to do, they helped out the Cheryl group in trap making or digging holes. Shiv too did his part well; after all, he could not slack off when the other kids were doing a wonderful job. Hey! guys! fell ill for the last few days! Sorry for the delay! Will try to make for it! Chapter 14: Bringing Down Hell Chapter 14 Bringing Down Hell ¡°Agon, we are going to set up a new trap. For that, I need a thick wooden plank and three wooden pillars. Do you have any at the village warehouse?¡± ¡°I think there must be some of those at the village. Maybe we can find them in one of the ruined houses.¡±, Agon replied after brief moments thought. ¡°Good. Let us go, we don¡¯t much time¡±, and the two set off for the village. They searched all the ruined houses and found more than what they required. So the two walked back to the cave while carrying the items. Shiv then stood in front of the cave and used water magic to soften the earth. Then he stamped the three wooden pillars into the earth, one in the middle and one at each of the ends of the cave mouth. He then softened the earth which was above the cave mouth using water magic and then pressed the wooden plank into the soft earth. The plank went a couple of inches deep into the now watery mud. This wooden plank was now supported by the three wooden pillars emerging from the ground and so looked like a table with three legs. The next thing he did was place some sacks of sugar on the plank. The kids had brought ten or so sugar sacks of which four of them were placed of the plank while the remaining sugar sacks were kept inside the cave. ¡°Agon, tie a rope to each pillar. Give the free end to any of the three kids who should be hiding in the bushes. Ask them to pull the rope when they come across fifty or more goblins. Remember only if there are more than fifty¡±, Shiv explained to the boy who nodded his head repeatedly. ¡°I understand¡± ¡°I want your hunting group on the trees closest to the cave entrance, spread out, ok?¡± ¡°But we do not have that many arrows¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. You guys are plan B in case something goes wrong. How many arrows do you have left?¡± ¡°Twenty with each of us¡±, said the boy. ¡°I will be casting a fire spell, but in case I can¡¯t, you will have to shoot fire arrow on my signal. Can you do that, Agon?¡± to Shiv¡¯s question Agon energetically nodded his head. Shiv then asked the boy to take position with the others. After Agon hid, Shiv carried all the pickaxe and spades along with some meat and hid it inside the hole in the cave. This hole was something he dug up himself, a hole on the walls of the cave big enough for a person to hide. Once he placed all the equipment inside, Shiv entered the hole and using earth magic narrowed the hole¡¯s mouth to hid from the enemy. Hours passed, as Shiv waited patiently. When more than 3 hours passed three goblins passed Shiv. ¡®The next guards eh. This is the most dangerous phase of the plan. If I don¡¯t get this right it is all over.¡¯ Shiv had made the children cover 20 meters of the cave with flour. What he had done next was too narrow the cave where the flour coating ended. The cave mouth was wide enough to let only one person to enter or exit. Shiv did the same thing with the other 20-meter end. He had made a bottleneck on both sides of the 20-meter-long flour coated cave. This was all for his plan to succeed but he was not sure if this would work. It was all a gamble. The goblins were now outside the cave, busy with their routine actions. Seeing the guards, Agon, and his friends began making noises to attract the goblins and the stupid goblin fell for it easily. The three began walking away from the cave, towards the source of the sound. Things were going exactly as Shiv wanted it to. A little away from the cave mouth, the kids had dug shallow holes, holes in which Shiv had planted sharp wooden stakes. These holes were then covered with leaves to hide them from the goblin¡¯s view. Not knowing any of this, the goblins walked into the holes only to have their bare feet pierced by the sharp stakes. The wounded goblins let out groans as pain surged through their body. ¡®Ah! Phase 1 success. Now let those idiots rush out¡¯, Shiv was overjoyed as things went down smoothly as per his plan. If this was to fail, then his entire plan would have collapsed. And just like Shiv had expected, the goblin army rushed to help their comrades. Their numbers were huge, but the bottlenecks at either end that Shiv created made it harder for them to get out easily. The 20-meter-long chamber in the cave got crowded in a matter of seconds. The panicked and angry goblin mob marched aimlessly, their footsteps disturbing the flour which were on the walls and floor of the chamber. The bottleneck which was the same height and width of a goblin was now blocked by the goblin bodies, causing the air inside to build pressure little by little. Shiv waited, he wanted as least two hundred of those monsters to be inside the 20-meter chamber. When he felt the number of goblins that passed the hole in which he hid himself decrease, he used the chains of time to slow time, a large amount of mana was shaved away but it was worth it. Then activating Kaze he moved towards the bottleneck. Once near he used a fireball directed towards the sack of sugar inside the tunnel and rushed back deep into the tunnel. At the same time, Agon had pulled the three ropes causing the wooden plank to fall down thus releasing the sugar powder on the goblins outside the cave. Agon then used the bow to fire a fire arrow towards the cave. By some luck, Shiv¡¯s fireball and Agon¡¯s fire arrow hit the cave at the same time. And with this, all the conditions for a dust explosion were met. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. A dust explosion is the fast combustion of dust particles in a confined area. There were 5 conditions that had to be met for a dust combustion to take place. They being: a fire source, fuel, oxygen, correct concentration, confined area. In the case of Shiv¡¯s cave, the first 4 conditions were satisfied. But for the fifth, it was not possible. Shiv had been thinking for days to solve the problem and had finally come up with one. He made a tunnel inside the cave, with one end being the cave mouth and the other end made into a bottle neck he created a chamber. But even this did not make the tunnel a confined space. The solution he came up with was simple, wind barrier. Casting wind barrier at both the ends would make the tunnel a truly confined space. The barrier was not too strong thus letting goblins pass easily but were enough to keep the air confined. And thus, the fifth condition too was satisfied. After casting the fireball Shiv had returned to the hole he had dug up earlier and using earth magic he covered the hole to shield himself from the explosion, while Agon and the others ran away with all their might. Once the fireball and fire arrow entered the tunnel a chain reaction was set into motion. The dust particles which were suspended in the air caught fire due to the fire source and paved way to a huge explosion. ¡®Sugar and flour are highly inflammable. The finer the particles the more they burn¡¯, he knew that and so he had made the kids grind the sugar as much as they could. With a loud ¡®bang¡¯, began the explosion inside the tunnel. The sugar and flour particles exploded violently as if the tunnel was filled with gunpowder and explosives. The huge explosion inside the tunnel sent fire outwards through the two bottlenecks. The fire that escaped outside acted as a source for the sugar that was dispersed outside the cave by the hunter group to catch fire too. The goblins that were covered in sugar from head to toe were now on fire. The rapid combustion burned everything in its way. And in minutes, the fire died out as it ran out of flour and sugar particles. Shiv waited inside the hole for a while to let his mana build up. He had been continuously using water to cool down the earth around him and earth magic to solidify the earth. After half an hour of wait, he slowly dug his way out. With his sword and dagger equipped he slowly stepped out. The moment he stepped out he felt nausea and his body went limp. The chamber was filled with the repulsive smell of burnt meat. When he looked around, the roof had collapsed covering the bodies. Shiv felt a sense of relief surge through him as he did not have to see the mutilated bodies of the monsters. The collapsed roof was a concern for him too in the beginning. This was another problem he had no idea of how to deal with. And for solving this he had inspected the cave a second time. It was then he came across something that was on the roof of the cave. The thing he saw were roots, very thin roots. Roots of plants which were newborn. When he saw those roots he understood that if the roof collapsed, he did not have to worry about getting out. The entire roof was down yet bright light greeted his tired body. Shiv smiled, a smile of satisfaction. He was sure that 90% of the enemy had fallen, and he gained 10 levels making him reach level 50. ¡®Phase 2 complete. Now to hunt the rest¡¯ There were just 30 goblins remaining and he had 7 days left. Gripping his sword and dagger Shiv rushed forward determined to exterminate the entire goblin population in a day. ---***--- [tr]
STATS WINDOW
Character NameShivRaceDraconianLevel60ProfessionGrand Commoner
AlignmentOberonTitleDraklake Hero
Health: 700(+550)Mana: 430(+750)
Strength: 70(+35)Agility: 77(+35)
Stamina: 69(+35)Vitality: 60(+35)
Wisdom: 53(+30)Intelligence: 53(+30)
Luck: 30Fame: 600
Perseverance: 20
Magic Resistance
Wind: 1% Fire: 1% Water: 1% Earth: 1%
Affinity
Wind: 1% Fire: 1% Water: 1% Earth: 1%
Skills
Heavenly Element Sword Technique Beginner Level 3 Magic mastery Beginner Level 2 Water mastery Beginner Level 4 Earth mastery Beginner Level 4 Wind mastery Beginner Level 4 Fire mastery Beginner Level 4 Fighting Spirit Dragon Roar Beginner Level 1 Sword Mastery Beginner Level 4 Dagger Mastery Beginner Level 4 Bow Mastery Beginner Level 3 Identification (Passive) Beginner Level 2 Presence Detection (Passive) Beginner Level 2
Skills
Acrobatics
Chapter 15: Broken Promise Chapter 15 Broken promise A quest is directly related to a rumor. That is an undeniable law in the world of MMORPG games, virtual or not. The same law applied to Dragon Lore. Every time somebody succeeded a quest, a rumor started to spread, every time when a quest failed rumors spread too. Thus quests and rumor were considered as two sides of the same coin, always together but never the same. Such things also happened with Ryu or Shiv, but rumors about him did not spread until he set his foot in the Bredon Kingdom. Even when he had received Oberon¡¯s blessing, or when he had obtained the chains of time or the black dragon or the hidden class there were no rumors of the so-called Oberon¡¯s child. And so, one would wonder why a situation arose where the undeniable law of quest and rumor was broken. ¡°The answer is simple¡± Allen Perez, CEO of Phoenix Enterprises spoke. The man was in a meeting with the heads of different departments of his company. ¡°This Shiv was not part of the Orrinshire world, he was beyond that.¡± Allen stopped as his gaze swept across the faces of all the men and women assembled in the board room. He could see disbelief, shock, mockery and many other complex expressions in each of their faces. With a sigh, Allen shrugged his shoulder. He himself could not believe the report he had received a few hours ago. ¡°Bu still, can anyone explain to me why he was sent to Draklake. Even if he was a premium user with the highest privileges, he shouldn¡¯t be able to enter Draklake. That place is destined to be available for the strongest players¡± But the only reply that came was, ¡°We are working on it¡± which disappointed Allen greatly. ¡°Did he go through some sort of selection process? A trial or something?¡±, Allen asked hopelessly. ¡°No sir, none of the designated trials for the entry to the Draklake area has been activated. The only speculation we can come across is that the AI itself was responsible for this¡±, a woman replied as she skimmed through some papers. ¡°HINA? Don¡¯t be absurd¡±, retorted a man opposite to the woman. And soon the room became noisy with the heads of various members arguing. Some blamed the HINA while some supported the HINA. ¡°Human Intelligence Neural Assembly or HINA. The world¡¯s most advanced AI with thought process similar to humans and emotions that are on par with us¡±, not minding the ruckus, Allen spoke in a mild tone. Closing his eyes, Allen ran some scenarios in his head, he had to make his move or the game¡¯s balance would crumble. ¡°That¡¯s enough¡±, Allen shouted to gain the attention of those assembled in the room and then continued, ¡°Here is what we will do, for now, investigate the cause for this situation. Go through the logs and find out why he was sent there. Another team, monitor this Shiv guy closely. Notify me anything and everything about him. The rest of you will help to speed up the new update. Increase the number of low-level quests and also the experience obtained for all the other players other than Shiv. That should keep things balanced for a while. Now go¡± Once the members dispersed, only the CEO along with his secretary remained in the room. ¡®What is that AI thinking¡¯, Allen sighed again. HINA was the pinnacle of artificial intelligence in a sense. With brain capability above even the smartest humans in the world, it had the ability to read people''s brain waves thus making it possible to understand players need, desires, character, abilities, physical prowess, intelligence and many other things. But still, Allen did not understand why it would send someone to Draklake on the first day of the game. Yuki, find out the details about the boy, everything about him and try contacting him¡± he ordered his secretary. ¡°I am afraid we can¡¯t, Sir¡±, the woman replied politely. Her poker face remained emotionless but her words were soft and polite. She had neatly done her shoulder length hair but few strands of it fell onto her cheeks. Allen often enjoyed the view when Yuki would carelessly push those few strands to the side. The woman was his salvation from all the stress. ¡°Why is that my lovely secretary?¡±, asked Allen in fake shock. ¡°His is the next King, Sir¡± ¡°King? What just because he got a tattoo and sword you think that makes him King of Dragon Lore? Don¡¯t joke around Yuki¡±, replied a slightly agitated Allen. The game was his sweat and blood. He had sacrificed everything in his life to build the game. It had taken him years to single-handedly develop HINA. He had dreamed about a game that would evolve on its own, a game that would never die, a game with endless possibilities, and that was Dragon lore. And if someone said that his game was conquered at such an early stage, Allen would not sit and listen silently ¡°He is the heir to Yasahiro¡±, Yuki replied coolly not minding the anger in her boss¡¯s voice. She was used to his passion; after all, she had been together with him for more than ten years. Allen froze. He now understood what Yuki had meant by King. The Yasahiro industries were powerful, powerful enough to cause earthquakes even in America. There was only one King in the world now, and that was Isamu Yasahiro, powerful, cunning and if the time calls for it, brutal too. Allen knew, unlike the world which was ignorant, he knew very well about the force that has been driving the world from the dark since the first nuclear war. He knew the current head, who had single-handedly sustained Japan and then later rebuilt the country to become the strongest. ¡°Contact Yasahiro Industries. Request for a meeting with him at any cost. And Yuki¡± ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Release the Jabberwocky¡± This time, it was Yuki who froze. ---***--- ¡®10 levels! Sweet. That makes me level 50¡¯ Shiv mused happily. The explosion had earned him a lot of exp thus skyrocketing his levels. Shiv left the bonus stats point unassigned and decided to take down the remaining goblins. Every time he came across goblins, Shiv made sure to attack stealthily. This was to understand how many goblins were there and to come up the most efficient way to deal with them. With his increase in level, a single hit was now enough to deal with the goblins, but he still remained cautious. Even though he estimated the remaining numbers to be less than ten, he had no way of knowing and so he decided to move stealthily so as to efficiently finish the quest without any glitches or miscalculation like the time with the naiads. Every time he came across a group of goblins, Shiv activated ¡®Kaze¡¯ and ¡®Hono¡¯ to instantly take care of the goblins. He had dealt with 15 of them so far which was already beyond his estimation. In one such occurrence, Shiv came across another goblin. But this one was different from the rest, its skin color was not as dark as the ones Shiv had encountered till then. This new one had two red horns that emerged from its head. Its fangs too were longer as it protruded out from its mouth. With a body thrice the size of a blood goblin, the monster towered above Shiv. Shiv stopped a little away from the monster and made sure he had hidden from the monster¡¯s view. ¡®This guy is strong. Maybe a level 50 but not strong enough to be a boss monster. Goblin general, may be? A two handed axe huh. So the strength type. Probably will have high health and defense, low agility. Armor throughout the body except for the back of the neck and his arms. The head guard is thick, only his eyes are unprotected. That is some armor, I will have to move fast¡¯ gauging his enemy in a few seconds Shiv moved forward. ¡°Kaze, Hono, Wind scythe (wind magic)¡± activating three skills Shiv moved towards the goblin general. Instead of going for the back or the neck Shiv appeared in front of the general and using the arrows he had in his hand he stabbed both the legs of the general at the same time. This was to decrease the general¡¯s movement is what a normal person would think. But to a martial artist the scenario changes. When a person tries to perform an action like punching, the power that generates in his hands starts from the legs. The power starts from the leg, travelling and building up throughout the body and finally reaches the hands to produce a powerful punch. A punch which does not use the legs is a punch with next to no strength. Shiv¡¯s motive was simple. Limit the goblins leg and thereby killing the power behind the general¡¯s attacks. And it worked wonderfully. The general lifted its axe to swing but the swing would not come. The generals upper body was unable to handle the weight of the huge axe and thus rendering the axe useless. The goblin general was startled at his inability to use the axe which it had used countless times before. Soon its legs collapsed under the weight of the battle axe. During the confusion, Shiv lunged towards the general who was on his knees. And with another two arrows in his hands, he stabbed the two eyes of the goblin with all his might. The arrows bore through the general¡¯s eyes blinding it. A strategy Shiv always made use against strong opponents. He knew his limitations, rather than trying to be a hero, Shiv used strategies and his sharp mind to take down enemies. ¡®Blind them and they will fall¡¯. The blinded general became an easy prey as it only took Shiv a few minutes to cut down the monster. Once the hunt was over Shiv took time to rest and regain his stamina and satiety. The cave was a single road with no branches which made it easy for Shiv. Had it been one with several branching Shiv was sure that he would have got lost several hundred times. It took Shiv another couple of hours of running to reach the place where the villagers were held captive. The villagers were held captive in a large circular hall with them chained to the walls. Half of the villagers were crying while the another half slept on the ground. At the center of the huge hall was a gigantic throne made from human skulls, partially completed. A huge sword was pierced into the ground like it was some sort of legendary sword waiting for its owner to pull it out. Sitting on the disgusting skull throne was a monster, easily the size of a 2 storey building and as fat as an elephant. This monster was nothing like the other goblins, its red body was covered with armor throughout except for the back of the legs to allow movement. Even though it had fangs similar to the goblin general from a while ago, the number of horns on its body was more than the general. Two horns decorated its ugly head but at the same time, there were horns on its shoulders and elbows. The horns were sharp and at least a feet long. Shiv gulped, he knew that those horns could take his life in an instant. This was a true boss monster, a goblin king. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me. Were those skulls from human sacrifices? You killed humans to make a fucking throne?¡¯ Shiv felt the fear in him being absorbed by a building rage. His fists tightened as an intense anger surged through him. Shiv then looked at the hostages more carefully. His legs lost all its strength, and tears rolled out. The bodies which were lying on the ground were all headless with blood flowing around them. ¡®Unforgivable, Unforgivable. You will know pain, you will writhe in agony and I will make sure that scum like you will never see the light of a new day¡¯ and a dark aura began to form around Shiv, enveloping him. He took out his black sword which too was now covered in the same red aura. ¡°I will slaughter you!¡± roaring out loud he ran, concentrating all the red aura into his sword. Detecting the sudden movements, the huge goblin lifted his sword into the air as it faced the approaching enemy. The goblin king¡¯s eyes were focused on Shiv, gauging him but then suddenly Shiv disappeared. The king panicked a little. Its brain failed to comprehend the chain of events especially the sudden appearance and disappearance of the human boy. Keeping his guard up, the king scanned the surroundings for any sign of the enemy only to find no trace of him. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. It was like lighting that Shiv suddenly appeared in front of the King¡¯s face with the black dragon ready to strike. The goblin king though surprised used all its strength to block the oncoming attack and was partially successful. Years of experience had made its instinct and reflexes really sharp. Shiv had used Kaze to disappear from the king¡¯s vision then had used the leg armor of the king as footing to jump towards the king¡¯s face. With the sword clad in a red aura and Shiv clad in the yellow aura from Hono, Shiv swung his sword at the king¡¯s face. The goblin king had barely parried it and so was successful in reducing the damage received. The slash gave a small cut on the goblin king¡¯s face near to its right eye. Shiv who had intended to blind at least one eye of the goblin king failed to achieve results. But, ¡®Trrrng¡¯
New skill unlocked: Blood Aura
A dark red aura born from the lust for blood and revenge. Your anger and hatred towards the goblin king have brought forth a hunger for revenge. +15 AGI, STR, STA +20% attack damage +5% defense Duration: 3min Mana consumption- 300 per use
Shiv did not even bother to go through the new skill window. Closing the notification, he once again used Kaze to disappear, this time equipping the bow, he shot all the arrows he could at the goblin king¡¯s face. But the giant goblin sword blocked the path and thus rendered most of the arrows useless. Only a couple of arrows managed to find its target but none of them hit the eyes at all. Once the volley of arrows ended, the goblin king charged towards Shiv. For its huge size, it was fast and agile. Not wasting any time, Shiv took out his dagger and sword and ran towards the goblin king. The goblin king swung the axe vertically down at his enemy. Shiv rolled forward, right in between the goblin king¡¯s legs so as to avoid the axe. With this, Shiv was behind the goblin king. Using his dagger his stabbed the goblin king behind the knee and slashed it as hard as he could. The pain in its legs caused the goblin king to roar as it yanked the leg backwards thus sending Shiv flying.
You have taken 200 damage
The hit drained Shiv a considerable amount of his health, blood was now dripping from his head. But Shiv did not falter, he was blinded by rage to even notice the health drop. The impact had made him let go off his dagger but he somehow managed to hold onto the sword. Shiv got up and then activated three skills at the same time depleting his mana source considerably. Luckily the recent level up had given him enough points to increase his health and mana. ¡°Kaze, Hono, Blood Aura¡± and once again Shiv bolted towards the goblin king. This time instead of aiming for the back Shiv targeted the hands of the goblin. All three skills being activated at the same time increased the attack damage tremendously. The goblin king¡¯s swings were slow and easily dodged by Shiv. Shiv did not even think about parrying the blows, he knew that it was impossible for the current him. The axe was swung three times. On the third time just before the axe reached Shiv, he used chains of time to slow down time thus almost depleting his mana. This gave him more time to cut down the hand. Holding the sword directly above his head Shiv brought down the sword with tremendous strength, his years of kendo practice aiding his move. The sword came down clean and beautifully. It was as if the air was being cut into two. ¡®Slash¡¯ and off came the thick right hand of the goblin king. Blood splattered out of the wound like a nonstop stream. The pain caused the huge monster to roar, a deafening roar. His instincts told him to move and so Shiv jumped back, but it was futile. The roar caused something Shiv had not foreseen.
You have been affected by the Goblin king¡¯s roar: You have been paralyzed Duration: 30sec
Shiv¡¯s eyes widened. Paralysis was not something he had expected. Shiv was sure that the goblin king was at the most a level 60 and was sure that its roar would not affect him much. But what Shiv failed to include in his calculation was the fact that the monster in front of him was a blood goblin king which was outside the conventional laws. Even though 30sec was a short amount of time, it was enough for the goblin king to kill Shiv. Unable to move Shiv gazed at the goblin king and then at the people who were crying. A horrible thought crossed Shiv¡¯s mind at that time. All those who were crying being beheaded, Shiv¡¯s mind was imagining such a brutal scene. ¡°Move, move you stupid body. I promised, I promised Bella I would protect everyone. Move. Godammit . Move¡± Shiv was crying and screaming. Losing one¡¯s parents is a pain Shiv did not want another person to feel be it a real person or a NPC. With all his might he tried to move. The goblin king was limping towards Shiv with his left hand raised, ready to squash Shiv. Shiv¡¯s earlier stab to the leg had slowed down the goblin king but that was not enough to buy him time to escape. Shiv was cursing, cursing himself for being so weak, so useless. He stared at the approaching nemesis, eyes with hate and anger. ¡°I will come back for you; I will hunt you down till all eternity. In the name of Maheswara, I will dance on your dead corpse one day¡± Shiv yelled. The goblin king smirked at Shiv. It was then something happened. The goblin king stopped running and howled with pain. It was then Shiv noticed a man next to the goblin king. On his hand was the dagger which Shiv had lost a while go. The dagger had landed near the man who had used it to escape from his binding. And now he had stabbed the goblin king¡¯s legs from behind in hopes of slowing down h\the king goblin. The visibly thin man stared at the king nervously as he shivered feebly. Even though fear shook him, the old man tried to buy time for the savior who had appeared from nowhere. With shaking hands, the man once again plunged the dagger into the king¡¯s leg. ¡°Take care of my daughter for me, ¡± said the man tears running down his pale cheeks and yet he had a smile on his face. ¡®Eh? Daughter?¡¯ Shiv looked at the person with the dagger in his hands and then at the goblin king. The angry goblin king kicked the man with his foot making the man fly towards the nearby wall. ¡°No! No! Leave him alone you mongrel. I am right here. Come at me you sh*t head, not him¡± Shiv screamed as he watched the goblin king reach for the man and pick him up in his hands. Then wit the left hand, the goblin king squished the man as if it was some bug. Blood sprayed out from the gaps between the fingers, the man died before he could even scream. The goblin king opened its arms and began licking it, enjoying the blood. And at that moment Shiv snapped. The moment he snapped, his paralysis wore off too. ¡°Hey meat sack¡± Shiv called out to the goblin monster. The goblin king looked at Shiv, with delightful eyes, happy to have caused pain to his enemy. It began laughing as if it was watching something funny going around and then looked at Shiv and began to lick its hand again. It was smiling, with its eyes focused on Shiv. ¡®Swoosh¡¯, that was all the goblin king heard and his left hand slid down from the elbow. A perfect clean cut. It was instantaneous. The goblin king did not feel any pain due to the speed by which the hand was cut. The next thing that happened was something beyond the previous. To the overgrown monster, the world suddenly seemed to slow down. No, it understood very well what was going on. It could feel chains tying its body, it could feel a heavy weight restricting itself. Panic struck the monster as it struggled to break free of the unpleasant sensation. First time since the fight had begun, fear crept into its heart. With its blood eyes, the monster king looked at the approaching boy and the instant their eyes met the goblin king felt a shiver run down in its spine. Something told the monster to run, to get away from the person but no matter how hard it tried, its body refused to listen. ¡°So now you want to run away.¡±, a chilling voice came from the boy¡¯s mouth. The goblin king struggled more intently to break free of the invisible restraint. ¡°You think cutting down two hands is pain? No, not at all. Pain is something you will know shortly.¡± And again Shiv disappeared. The goblin king did not feel anything. It was confused as to why it had suddenly lost its balance. It fell down to the ground. But when it tried to stand up on its legs, it felt strong pain on its right leg. The king¡¯s eyes widened in pain and surprise, its right leg had suddenly vanished as if it never existed. The goblin no longer tried to move, fear clouded all its senses. The only thing that reflected in its eyes was the figure of a young boy covered in red. ---***--- Bella and the others were waiting at their houses for the return of Shiv along with the villagers. A day had passed since Shiv had entered the cave to rescue the others. Everyone were restless but had a smile on their face. Each and every one of them had utmost faith in Shiv. And so they had decided to do major clean up all of the houses. ¡®I must make something good for my father when he returns¡¯ Bella was thinking while preparing food for the other children when she heard the children crying. Grabbing the kitchen knife she rushed out worried. But she froze halfway, outside the house there were people, the villagers had finally returned. The children were hugging their parents as they cried their hearts out. Bella had tears, tears of happiness as she could finally meet her father. She ran towards the crowd searching for her father. ¡°Father, father¡±, she called out loudly with happiness that knew no bounds. ¡°Father? Where are you father? It¡¯s Bella. Where are you?¡± she yelled. No reply came to her calling. ¡°Father don¡¯t be quiet. Say something. Father¡± She called for her father again. Her knees were shaking for some reason. ¡°Bella¡± ¡°Shiv, have you seen my father? He is the village chief¡± Shiv then took a necklace from his pocket and placed it on Bella¡¯s hand. ¡°Why do have mothers necklace with you? It is father¡¯s treasure. I must give it back to him. Tell me where he is already¡± ¡°That is all that is left of him Bella¡± Shiv whispered. ¡°Eh? Don¡¯t lie to me Shiv, I know he is somewhere here. Father? Father?¡± she called for him again. ¡°I am sorry Bella, I am sorry. I could not¡­¡± Shiv¡¯s voice failed him, his heart in pain. Bella did not speak, she froze. ¡®Slap¡¯, ¡®Slap¡¯, ¡®Slap¡¯ ¡°You promised that you would protect them. You promised that you would return them¡±, the emotionless girl spoke as a doll. There was no anger, no sadness, not even the smallest tinge of emotions lingered in her. ¡°I¡­.¡±, He could not find the right words to say, he could not even look at the girl in her eyes. He had failed her, he was the reason that the girl had lost her only family. It was then that tears started to run down Bella¡¯s fair cheeks, her knees gave up and she fell onto Shiv¡¯s chest. Like a little girl who lost her toys, she cried and cried till the tears of her heart could no longer come out. The boy who had promised and the girl who had believed the promise stood there with their hearts shattered like castles of glass. ---***--- Chapter 16: Move Forward Chapter 16 Move Forward Under the shade of a huge tree just outside the village premises, a boy sat solemnly. With his eyes closed, the young boy recalled the crying face of a girl. The girl whom he had made a promise to and yet had failed to fulfill. The loss she had to undergo because of his weakness. Frustrated, he blamed himself and so he refused to be with the others. ¡®They are just a computer program yet why does it hurt so much¡¯, for a person who had lost his father, Shiv could very well understand the pain Bella felt. But the reactions these so called programs had been too realistic, realistic to the point that they felt alive to Shiv. ¡®This is too realistic. As if they possess genuine feelings and strong human emotions. Could it be that this world is alive?¡¯ Shiv was deep in his thoughts, his eyes still closed. A day had passed since the chief of the village had sacrificed his life to protect Shiv from the goblin king¡¯s attack. A scene Shiv did not want to remember yet still could not forget even for a second. And so to distract his mind Shiv decided to go through his status bar which he had not checked for a while. ¡°Open Stats bar¡± ¡®trrrng¡¯ Wind: 1% Fire: 1% Water: 1% Earth: 1%[/td4]
STATS WINDOW
Character NameShivRaceDraconian
Level60ProfessionGrand Commoner
AlignmentOberonTitleDraklake Hero
Health: 700(+550)Mana: 430(+750)
Strength: 70(+35)Agility: 77(+35)
Stamina: 69(+35)Vitality: 60(+35)
Wisdom: 53(+30)Intelligence: 53(+30)
Luck: 30Fame: 600
Perseverance: 20
Magic Resistance
Wind: 1% Fire: 1% Water: 1% Earth: 1%
Affinity
Skills
Heavenly Element Sword Technique Beginner Level 3 Heavenly Element Form 1 Kaze- Beginner Level 5 Heavenly Element Form 2 Hono- Beginner Level 5 Magic mastery Beginner Level 3 Water mastery Beginner Level 5 Earth mastery Beginner Level 5 Wind mastery Beginner Level 6 Fire mastery Beginner Level 4 Fighting Spirit Level 0 Dragon Roar Beginner Level 1 Sword Mastery Beginner Level 4 Dagger Mastery Beginner Level 4 Bow Mastery Beginner Level 3 Identification Beginner Level 2 Presence Detection Beginner Level 3 Blood aura- Beginner Level 1
Quirks
Acrobatics
¡®Even though my stats are off chart of a normal level 60 player, I am still weak¡¯, with such thoughts, Shiv once again closed his eyes trying to figure what to do next once he leaves the village. ¡®Maybe I should go to the capital and start doing quests¡¯, while he was busy with such thought about his future, Shiv did not realize the presence of the girl near him ¡°What are you doing here all alone, Shiv?¡± Startled by the sudden voice, Shiv sprang up on his legs in seconds. But the moment his eyes came across the owner of the sudden voice, Shiv froze and his face became too pale. ¡°Why are you here, Bella?¡± Shiv asked as he reverted his eyes from the young girl. Guilt struck his already feeble heart. ¡°Can¡¯t be here?¡± asked Bella with a forced smile. Every time Shiv saw the girl¡¯s fake smile, his heart crumbled even more. ¡°Of course, of course. Then I will be going¡± rising up Shiv began to walk away. ¡°Why are you running away from me, Shiv?¡± the unexpected question caused Shiv to freeze once again. His throat dried up and his body felt weak. ¡°¡­¡± there was nothing the boy could say and he flinched. ¡°Do you plan to leave me here alone?¡± ¡°Y¡­. you are not alone. You have got people here¡±, he stuttered as he replied in a mild voice. ¡°Is that so? Is that what you think? Is that why you don¡¯t even show your face to me?¡± ¡°I am sorry. I am sorry¡± was all he managed to come up with. His guilty heart could not endure the pain. ¡°If you are sorry then take responsibility. Look after the village of my father. Look after us. That will be your punishment. Stone for your sins with your life¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Shiv turned back and looked at the girl for the first time after the incident. ¡°Become the new chief of the village Shiv. Inherit my father¡¯s will¡± Hearing those words Shiv could not help but gaze deep into the watery eyes of a girl. Though those eyes were shedding tears, Shiv could feel the resolve they carried and so for a second he faltered. The gaze she had on him made it more painful for him but he did not run away, he could not run away and so he spoke. ¡°I cannot Bella. That is not someone like me should inherit.¡± ¡°Are you going to abandon me after making me an orphan?¡±, the words spoken had no warmth in it. Shiv could not believe that those words came from the mouth of a girl who was kind to everyone, whom he had never seen angry even once The word orphan struck his heart like a dagger. His body trembled. It was then Shiv recalled the late chief¡¯s final wish, ¡®Hey boy. Take care of my daughter for me will you?¡¯. As if something had taken away all his guilt and despair, with clear eyes Shiv walked towards the girl. Bella stared at him motionless, her heart too was in turmoil. The loss she had attained was eating away at her, she could not forgive Shiv even though she knew that he was not the one to blame. Yet still anger seeped into her heart whenever she saw the boy, even now she was trembling with anger. She wanted the boy to take responsibility, a selfish wish, she knew. While she had such thoughts, she did not pay much attention to the boy who was approaching her. But when the boy suddenly took her into his arms, she gasped. When the boy embraced her tight, her body felt hot and her heart felt calm. She could not resist; she did not want to. ¡°Don¡¯t say such things, Bella. You aren¡¯t alone. I will be with you, forever. I will be your family; I will be your brother. And I will protect you¡± And for the first time since her father¡¯s death, a smile broke out on her face. She just wanted to hear those words from someone, to be held tight by someone, to be told she was not alone in this huge world and so she cried silently on her brother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°Ah! Promise¡± [align=center]---***--- That evening, all the surviving members of the village were gathered. They stood at the village center square not knowing why they have been summoned and so had a nervous expression on their face. Even the children were called in but the paid no attention to the adults and played around leisurely. Only a young girl and another young boy stood before the crowd. ¡°My village people! I know you are busy with sorting out things between your family but the matter I have to discuss is of same importance if not lower. Our village has been destroyed and we as of now are unable to survive. We lack infrastructure, food and other necessities¡±, though the girl¡¯s voice was not loud enough, it carried conviction which attracted the listener¡¯s attention. The villagers nodded, it was a fact after all. The current state was a path to demise and all of them had been worried about it. Somewhere even planning on migrating to another nearby village. ¡°For us to get back on our feet we need to rebuild everything from scratch. We have to bring back life to things that were destroyed. As my father would have wanted I want the village to prosper once again. But for that to happen, we must choose a new chief¡±, once again the villagers nodded unanimously. They felt relieved knowing that the little girl had become a little energetic since her father¡¯s death. ¡°But the me right now can¡¯t lead us to prosperity. I lack the necessary knowledge and the experience. I do not have the power or capability to lead the village. And so I ask, is anyone willing to take over my post and become the village chief? Do you have what it takes to bring happiness and prosperity the people of this village? Is anyone ready to bear responsibility for the lives of the village?¡± Bella asked, she made sure to mix in big words like ¡®responsibility¡¯ and all to make sure that people would think twice before they made a move. Whispers soon rose here and there, but none were brave enough to come forward. They knew the burden of the position and were not ready to take on such responsibilities. ¡°Then I would like to nominate the next chief whom I believe is both capable and worthy. I wish the hero of our village to become the next chief¡±. This again caused some disturbance among the crowd. Some liked the idea while some were against it, after all for an outsider to become a village chief was not an usual occurrence. ¡°How can an outsider become the chief? Preposterous¡± said a man who was in his middle 40s. ¡°Preposterous? May I ask you why you not thought it preposterous when the same man risked his life to rescue you?¡± the man was silenced instantly. ¡°When us children were starving to death, it was he, an outsider that fed us meat, it was he who slayed goblins to protect us and it was he who rescued you from their hands. And yet, when things have returned to normal, you call it preposterous?¡±, the villagers for shocked, for it was the first time they saw an angry Bella. The girl who always had a smile on her face now had a cold gaze that pierced through one¡¯s heart. It was then Shiv talked, ¡°It¡¯s ok Bella. They will be troubled if you force them into it, you know¡±, Shiv tried to restrain Bella, but the girl refused to give in. ¡°I did not come to this decision just because he saved us. For the last few days, I have been with him, observing his action carefully. This person knows things that we don¡¯t. He made uses of things in ways we have never seen, that makes me wonder what all knowledge does this man possess. To use sugar and flour to make explosion, it itself is an unbelievable feat. Think about it everyone, if such a person were to lead us, the things we can achieve would be immense. Maybe, this small village could turn into a town that could even rival the capital city¡±, when such words were spoken, the crowd got unruly. The thought of surpassing the capital was enough to shake their souls. ¡°I agree¡±, came the voice of another girl. From the crowd which fell silent, Cheryl slowly walked towards the duo in the front. ¡°Bella¡¯s words can¡¯t be any truer. This person taught us about preserving food, he also taught us about various things that we had never even heard before. This person is a good man, trustable and reliable. I agree with him being the chief¡±. ¡°This onii-san is strong, you know. So strong that he could take down the goblin king. If that is the case then we don¡¯t have to worry about another monster attack. I agree too¡±, next it was Agon who stepped forward. One by one when the children stepped forward, the adults were at a loss of word. Half of them wanted to step forward but they did not want to cross the others in the village and so silent. Noticing this, Shiv decided to speak again. ¡°Let¡¯s do this. For the duration of the rebuilding, I will act as the village chief. If by that time, I am unable to persuade you all, then I will leave?¡± ¡°But nii-san?¡± another uproar was caused when Bella addressed Shiv as a brother. ¡°Bella, give them a chance to decide their future¡±, Shiv said in a little stern voice. And with a small put, the girl replied, ¡°Fine, fine¡±. ¡®trrrng¡¯
QUEST: THE NEW VILLAGE CHIEF
You have been nominated as the next village chief by Bella. But some of the villagers are not really happy with the decision. Change their hearts by the time the village is rebuilt. Days left: till the village is rebuilt Difficulty : E Requirements: Bella¡¯s support Rewards Unknown????? New village chief Maximum intimacy with villagers 2000contribution points Failure The quest will fail 1. if you are unable to gain everybody¡¯s acceptance. (43/78)
¡®So 53 are with me and the rest against. This is going to be tough¡¯ Shiv turned to the crowd and spoke, ¡°My name is Shiv, I am a traveler and a believer of the Dragon god Oberon. Before we rebuild this village, I need to know more about this village. Before you ask why, let me answer it. Knowing about the village will help me decide what to focus on. For example, say this village has a specialty product. Knowing about that product might help me allocate more resources or buildings for its production. In another case, say this village specializes in trade with other villages, then I could come up with methods to increase the capacity of our trade or improve the quality. Like that, each and every thing about this village can be improved many folds. But improving everything at the same time is impossible, it will only lead to our demise. And so I have to know on which part of the village to focus for now and which part to improve in the near future¡± Shiv paused for a while and scanned the crowd once again. ¡°I need to know more about the village. About the economy, about the resources available, about trade and all and mainly what all buildings the village had before. I also want know about each of you and what all you are capable of. The children already have their roles assigned which they will continue to perform. Let¡¯s bring this village back to life together¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The villagers nodded their head without much energy. Doubt clouded their minds and insecurity grasped their hearts. But Shiv did not mind, with a smile he greeted all those villagers who looked at him. When the crowd returned to their homes, Shiv turned to Agon, Bella, and Cheryl who decided to stay back. ¡°Let¡¯s start with what you three know¡±, Shiv motioned the three to begin. ¡°Well, the village was not that big to begin with so there was not much. But we had all that was needed. Our village had farms for food and a nearby stream for water. We have a mine north of here for metals and for wood we have the forest. Normally we do not do trades as ours is hidden village, but for the purpose of producing revenue we sell things at other villages. So that pretty much are our resources. There are no soldiers as we defend ourselves. Four people take turns to stand on watch.¡± Bella said. ¡°So that was the reason why your village fell so easily to the goblins eh. Once we have completed the rebuilding we will have to train the men. That means we will need a training hall. To fight we will need weapons and so for that we will need a smithy.¡± ¡°We have a smithy here. We have tailors, hunters, herbalists, farmers, blacksmiths, and masons. The smithy takes care of the need for tools¡± replied Agon. ¡°How many houses do we have now?¡±. Shiv asked looking at the partly destroyed houses. ¡°Currently, we have 17 that are useable. We used to have 31 before.¡±, Cheryl spoke a little depressed. ¡°So almost half was destroyed. What about the warehouse and granary?¡± ¡°We have them too. By god¡¯s grace, they are still intact.¡± Hearing Cheryl¡¯s reply, Shiv nodded his head once and then turned to Bella, ¡°Bella, I want you to gather the head of each profession here as soon as possible. Take Cheryl with you too¡± ¡°Yes nii-san¡± with a short reply, Bella dashed to the village along with Cheryl. ¡°Agon don¡¯t you have a school? Or library?¡±, Shiv asked with concern in his voice. ¡°Why do we need those? They are of no use¡± the reply was fast. ¡°What we need to live is taught to us by our parents. As for library, there isn¡¯t anyone who knows to write or read, you know. Those who wish to learn goes to the capital, but I heard its really expensive so nobody cares.¡± ¡°Is that so. I see¡± that particular information gave Shiv many new ideas. ¡®So for now we need to rebuild the houses. We need to repair the smithy and other shops as fast as possible. Even though the granary is intact, farming food will take time and so I need to come up with a way to procure food for all the members. Also we still lack a means to earn a steady revenue. This is going to be tough¡¯, he thought to himself. ---***--- ¡°Hello, everyone. I have asked you to come here so that we could talk about the rebuilding plans for the village.¡± Shiv addressed the gathering. ¡°Why do we have to listen to you?¡± was what some of them asked. ¡°The answer to that question is simple. The next time somebody attacks you, you will be much more prepared. Or do you wish to be slaughtered?¡± it was Bella who replied. She did not like the attitude of the people towards the one who had rescued them. ¡°Bella, don¡¯t get so angry,¡± Shiv then turned to the people before him ¡°Now is not the time for a fight, if we were to be attacked by monsters again then this village would surely fall. We lack the human resource to negate another attack. So for now let us focus on the main issue of rebuilding this village. So gentlemen and ladies shall we?¡± Everybody present there nodded. A total of ten including Shiv had gathered there. Norn the blacksmith, Blina the herbalist, Lylda the huntress, Rihthor the tailor, Ames the mason and Gery the farmer. The other three were Bella, Cheryl, and Agon. ¡°I will come to the point directly. I want to build a couple of new things in the village. The first is a training hall and the next thing is a school¡±, Shiv stopped and carefully studied the reaction of all that were present. Even Bella had a face full surprise. ¡°Training hall and school? Why do we need them?¡± the same question as Agon had asked them. ¡°I know that the idea seems useless at first sight but the very absence of these necessities was the reason for the downfall. Without a training hall how can we produce people capable to protect the village? A training hall will let us train people on the basics of fighting. Don¡¯t you think that the villagers could do better against monsters of bandit if they are a little trained. And so I think a training hall is the most necessary building¡± ¡°Then why a school?¡±, questioned the huntress, Lylda. Though her voice was sweet, Shiv could feel a tinge of arrogance and anger in that voice. ¡°We are going to open up the village for others and turn the village into an educational spot. That will earn us more money and more people¡± ¡°Open the village to the others? What nonsense are you spouting? This village has remained hidden for centuries and you want us to suddenly change our ways of life. As I thought, you are not fit to be the village chief. An outsider will never understand the ways of our village¡±, with great disgust, Lylda retorted. ¡°Oh I see. Does that mean that this ¡®ways of our village¡¯ is more important to you than the happiness of your family? Are you telling me that you don¡¯t mind making your dear ones cry just t retain the ¡®ways of your village¡¯? Listen to me people, it is exactly because of these ways that you speak of that you went extinct for a moment. An overgrown forest if not periodically thinned will only lead to the death of the forest. The laws of this villages are old, too old. They cannot protect you any longer. The attack and your fall is proof that you have to adapt¡± The six who were being addressed had nothing to say. Lylda who was shouting a few minutes ago, hung her down in shame. She was proud of her skills, yet those skills could not help her or her fellow villagers. All six of them had been captured by the goblin along with their family. They had seen people being villagers, they had seen the relatives of those who were beheaded crying and screaming, begging for help, yet they could not do nothing about it, only wait for the inevitable. Until the boy before them came out from nowhere and cut down the huge monster all by himself. ¡°We agree. We agree¡± they surrendered, their memories haunted them. None of them wanted their families to go through it again. ¡°Thank you. I know it¡¯s hard for you all, but the future of this village, please bear with it. Instead hate me all you want, curse me, abuse me. I will take it all.¡± When Shiv said those words looking into her eyes, Lylda gasped. The others too had strange feeling welling up their hearts. But none of them spoke, the just silently stared at the youth with eyes that carried a strong resolve. ¡°Even though I say we need to build a training hall and a school, I am afraid we have to put them on hold. Right now, we need houses for the people. We also lack food. So for now we will prioritize on these aspects. Even though there are other things that I want to do, let us focus on these first.¡± The others nodded in approval and gestured Shiv to continue. ¡°Gery-san, how long will it take the farms to produce food for the people?¡±, Shiv asked the only farmer in the group. ¡°Hm! Even if we were to plant fast growing crops, it will at least take a couple of weeks. The food reserve we have will only last another three or four days though¡±, the man with huge stature spoke with a sad tone. He seemed to be a man in his forties and blue eyes, with his black hair showing signs of aging. The man was at least six-foot-tall and had a body which had well-built muscles. With a clean shaved face, the man talked politely and was one among those who wanted Shiv to be the village chief. ¡°Just as I thought. In that case, our options are limited. Lylda-san and Agon, I will leave the matters regarding hunting to you.¡± ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t say, I would do it without fail¡±, though the woman replied with rude words, Shiv sensed no anger in them like before. The woman who seemed at least six to seven years older, had a really mature look to her. She was even a little taller than Shiv, with red eyes and brown curly hair which was neatly tied into a ponytail. Her facial features were good enough to make one call her a real beauty. Agon, on the other hand, nodded his head enthusiastically. ¡°Agon, don¡¯t venture deep. You remember the perimeter I set for you, don¡¯t you?¡±, Shiv warned Agon in a deep voice, he was concerned about Agon and the other children of the hunting group. ¡°Don¡¯t worry nii-san. I am not that stupid to risk the lives of my friends¡±, the fourteen-year-old boy replied with a thumbs up. Shiv could not help but return the smile. ¡°But even that is not going to be enough. The next thing we can do is buy food from the nearby villages. But to do so we need money. Or at the least items we can exchange for food. Since I am an outsider, I have no idea about the valuables here. So this matter I will leave to Cheryl. I will leave the finance of this village in your hands, Cheryl¡± ¡°Er! I will do my best¡±, replied the girl nervously. ¡°Bella, you will then bring some children and couple of adults with you to the next village to procure as much food as possible. Remember, our revenue is limited so use it wisely¡± ¡°Yes nii-san¡±, Bella replied with a faint smile. The way she addressed Shiv as ¡®nii-san¡¯ once again shocked all that were present there. Shiv then turned towards Ames, the mason. ¡°With the food issue sorted, what¡¯s left is the rebuilding process. I am not that knowledgeable masonry so I will leave it in your capable hands. Except for those whom I have assigned tasks, and some other women for cooking, you can use all the other members of the village as you see fit. The sooner you finish building the house the better.¡± ¡°HO! That¡¯s an interesting proposition chief.¡±, with a flashy smile, the man replied. His voice was full of energy, as if he couldn¡¯t wait to start working. The man called Ames was the oldest of all that were present. A man already in his early fifties yet as energetic as a child, such was the impression Shiv had about the man. Both his hair and beard were already grey. The man was the same height as Lylda but was a little stout. His voice was cheery and he always had a smile on his face. ¡°Good. As for the others, till we finish rebuilding the houses, please help Ames-san. That is all for now, you may all leave¡±, Shiv said as he bowed deeply to the people. After everybody that had gather left, only Shiv and Bella remained. ¡°Nii-san? Are you all right?¡±, she asked worriedly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Bella. Everything will be fine.¡±, Shiv replied with a smile not wanting to worry the girl. ¡°Please tell me if you don¡¯t feel right, okay? Ah, nii-san, where do you plan to sleep?¡±, asked the girl as if she suddenly remembered about it. ¡°Just like always, on a tree branch,¡± Shiv replied not understanding the importance of the question. ¡°On the tree?¡± with surprise was written all over her face, she asked, ¡°No can do. You will sleep in our house. And I won¡¯t hear any excuse from you¡± Bella pouted. ¡°Fine! Fine!¡± with no other option left, Shiv surrendered with a smile. Bella reminded him of Mia, the two seemed similar to him, at least their stubbornness were. Shiv then followed Bella as they walked towards their new house, with a smiling Bella leading the way. ---***--- Somewhere in the forest near the village, a young girl was walking aimlessly. She had been walking for days in search for a village so that she could restock her supplies and repair her weapons. The girl was coming from the neighboring kingdom of Han intending to go to the Bredon capital city. On her way to Bredon she was robbed by bandits and left astray in the forest. It had been 2 days since she had been robbed. Luckily she had some food and water left with her which let her wander around the forest. Cursing her luck, she moved forward. ¡°Do not move? Who goes there?¡± Agon shouted. He had been on watch for that night. He was sharp and so any movement caught his eyes. He shouted again. ¡°Who goes there? What do you want?¡± The girl replied ¡°Water, I need water, please¡± and then fainted. ---***--- Year 2040 London Feb 21, Tuesday, 3pm ¡°Sir, we were denied permission to meet Ryu Yasahiro. It seems there was an attempt to his life and so he is now under protection¡± Yuki informed her boss. ¡°Dammit. First that stupid AI and now this boy. Why is life so hard?¡± Allen was sulking. ¡°But we have information about the boy¡¯s location¡± Allen¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Incheon, South Korea¡±. ---***--- Year 2040 Tokyo Feb 21, Tuesday ¡°Welcome, Mr. Brian Woltale. Thank you for joining our show. It is a pleasure to have met you¡± reporter Nagi Kinoshita said with a smile. ¡°The pleasure is all mine Miss Nagi¡± beamed Brian. ¡°It is not often that we get a celebrity like you. Well! Let me introduce you to those watching the show. You all would be familiar with the latest sensation of the era, Dragon Lore. I know you are, everybody in the world is. So this young man here is the one who has topped the leader table from the very start. Let me introduce you to Adrian, the apostle of light¡± When this was being said Brian Woltale was overjoyed. ¡®I will find you soon Ryu Yasahiro¡¯ was what his mind was whispering. ---***--- Chapter 17: Helping out 1 Chapter 17 Helping out 1 ¡°Brother, why are you staring at the girl like that? Are you perhaps having indecent thoughts?¡± Bella asked, annoyed at her brother who had been staring at the strange woman for a while. ¡°What? Indecent thoughts? Don¡¯t you trust this brother of yours, little sister?¡± Shiv retorted back, slightly hurt. Well, he could not blame the girl for making such remarks. In front of the duo, a girl slept on the bed, her clothes revealing a little too much of her skin. Her white thighs and ample cleavage show were enough to make men drool. ¡°For some reason, I cannot trust you on this matter. All men are the same when it comes to this kind of thing¡± replied Bella pouting. ¡°My god!¡± with a fake shocked expression Shiv exclaimed. ¡°Such cold words for your own brother, I am hurt¡± Shiv made a crying face. The two were immersed in a heated conversation that they did not notice the girl in the bed waking up from her slumber. The girl opened slowly her eyes and looked around with her half opened eyes. As she carelessly looked around, her gaze fell on the back of an unknown boy. The boy¡¯s broad back and the long black hair with a reddish tint for some reason attracted her red eyes. In contrast to her own red hair, the boy who appeared as old as her possessed hair that had a strange luster to it. And as she was in a trance, the said boy suddenly turned his face to look at her. His beautiful golden brown iris stared at her, and in those eyes, she read surprise. Those golden brown eyes carried a strong gaze and yet was strangely warm. The boy¡¯s charming face was decorated with a sparkling smile that caused her heart to skip a beat. It took her some time to process the situation and when she recollected everything, her body swiftly moved. Jumping out of the bed, the girl brought her hands which were equipped with daggers to the front of her body, guarding her against the two strangers in front of her. She stared at the boy and girl in front of her, refusing to even bat her eyes and it was then she saw the smile on the boy¡¯s face disappear. The warmness in those eyes round eyes from a moment ago vanished and instead they now had a heart-piercing coldness to them. She shivered, unable to comprehend how a person could change so much in an instant. And then the boy spoke, his voice as cold as ice. ¡°Is this how you show gratitude to the people who saved you?¡±, she heard the boy¡¯s dignified voice. ¡°Eh? Saved? Who are you? Why did you kidnap me? Are you bandits?¡±, but she refused to believe in the boy¡¯s words. The last thing he remembered was being in a dense forest and so she was sure that the two in front of her had somehow kidnapped her. ¡°And you think bandits would feed you food? Give you water to drink? Would take care of you till you woke up? Don¡¯t mess with me, brat¡± Shiv raged hearing the girl¡¯s remarks. ¡°Enough nii-san¡±, with a hit to his head, Shiv was stopped by Bella who had then looked at the girl with concern, ¡°She just woke up. What are you doing trying to scare her, stupid nii-san?¡±, she scolded her brother. Bella then turned to the girl slowly so as to not startle her and spoke gently, ¡°Sorry about my stupid brother. Please don¡¯t worry, we are not bandits and we mean you no harm. This is just a small village inside the forest of the fairy. One of the villagers found you collapsed in the forest and carried you here. At first, we thought you were dead but then you suddenly you woke up and screamed for food. We gave you whatever we had but after eating you fell asleep again. So we shifted you to our house so that you could sleep safely¡± The girl was not fully convinced but still she withdrew the dagger and quietly stared at the two. She felt some sincerity in Bella¡¯s word and so decided to holster the daggers. ¡°My name is Bella and this here is my brother Shiv. Welcome to our village, please feel free to ask anything¡± Bella tried to convince her with a smile. ¡°Kate¡± was all the girl said. This once annoyed Shiv again. ¡°You ungrateful brat. That is all you got to say?¡± ¡°Nii-san, please be quiet. She is just confused. Let us give her some time to think. Now come, you lazy brother¡± with an angry face Bella dragged Shiv with her. Kate stared at them with amusement. Once the two went out, she then carefully observed the room she was in. ¡®A wooden house that¡¯s not too big. Well-kept too. Are they really not bandits?¡¯ with such doubts, she then slowly walked towards the door and exited the house. Outside the house, the girl saw a torn down village. With most of the houses in ruins, the village seemed as if it had just survived some sort of attack. There were men running around everywhere, each and everyone doing some kind of manual labor. It did not take long for her to understand that the village was in the middle of rebuilding itself. She then noticed Shiv and Bella talking to a group of people. ¡°How¡¯s it going with the houses? Is everything going according to plan?¡±, Shiv asked Ames who was accompanied by two other males. ¡°Actually, I discussed things with others and we think that the previous houses were too weak. Being only made of wood is not enough anymore. And so we decided to use stones as well as wooden planks this time¡±, Ames explained eagerly. ¡°That sounds great. That will make the houses sturdier. Have you gathered the materials required?¡± ¡°We have the wood but the stockpile of stones is running low, but we have asked the children to mine some¡± ¡°Children? Is that fine? I mean, isn¡¯t mining a dangerous job?¡±, Shiv was visibly worried at the words of the head mason. ¡°We know. But since we don¡¯t have any adults to spare we have no other choice. Also, the children that we plan to send are trained enough. So I think there is nothing to worry about¡±, though Ames said those words, Shiv sensed uncertainty in them which again worried him more. ¡°Then let me go with them, I am kinda worried. At the least, I can watch over them¡±, Shiv offered his help with a stern voice. Surprised, Ames blinked his eyes a few times. ¡°Are you fine with that?¡±, he asked just to make sure. ¡°Of course. Even though I myself am a kid, at least I am strong enough to protect them¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief chief. To tell the truth, I myself didn¡¯t want to send the kids. But if you were to go then everyone in the village should feel a little relieved. ¡°Brother let me come along too¡± Bella interrupted suddenly. Shiv saw concern in her eyes and her voice felt a little shaky. But Shiv nodded his head and with a smile he spoke, ¡°While I am away, it¡¯s your turn to look after the village. Don¡¯t worry, I will be back soon¡±, he assured his little sister. Even though she was not happy with her brother¡¯s words, Bella understood what Shiv said was correct and s agreed reluctantly.
Your actions have influenced the villagers. They now think highly of you You have gained the support of +7 people Acceptance: 50/78
¡°Bella! Get that ungrateful girl a decent piece of clothing. I don¡¯t want her walking around wearing a torn out rag¡± Shiv shouted with a mocking smile. Kate blushed red with embarrassment and stormed away cursing Shiv. ---***--- ¡°Clint, how far is the stone quarry?¡± Shiv asked the miner boy who was leading the way in front. A group of 5 had just exited the village and were now heading towards to a quarry to collect stones, each of them pulling a sledge with wheels. ¡°Not far. Just a ten minutes¡¯ walk. There is a small stone hill nearby with a cave mouth. We have been mining stones from the hill for a long time from there¡±, the boy answered eagerly while he pulled the sledge. All the five boys wore dirty clothes which seemed to be some kind of mining uniform. Clint who walked in the front seemed to be the oldest and the most experienced among them. Though his body was thin, the boy showed no signs of tiring out, neither did the others four. ¡°Just stones? Is there no other metals inside?¡±, Shiv asked curiously, trying to gather more information. ¡°I do not know. They don¡¯t tell much to us kids, but I think that there is nothing but stones there since I never seen any other item being mined from that cave¡±, the boy replied after thinking for a while. ¡°Hm. Clint how old are you?¡±, Shiv made a mental note of it and then continued asking various questions. ¡°I am fourteen big brother, a year younger than Agon¡± ¡°Fourteen eh¡± Shiv was no longer surprised. ¡°Good boy. So what about these kids here? Are they all the same age too?¡± ¡°No, only I am fourteen, the rest are thirteen. Since that makes me the oldest, I have to look after them¡±, the boy proudly stuck his chest out. He gave an ¡®I am an adult too now¡¯ vibe. ¡°So are all the children in your village taught so early?¡± ¡°Yes. We are taught the family job by our parents at the age of twelve. By the time we are thirteen, we start the helping out our parents in the field. And when we are fifteen we are full-fledged workers¡± ¡®No wonder this village is a self-sufficient one¡± marveled Shiv. ¡°Big brother. We are here¡±, Clint stopped and then pointed his finger towards a cave A little away to where the group stopped was a small hill with a cave came to the view of Shiv. The hill was much bigger than what he had imagined so was the cave mouth. At first, it appeared just like the mud cave that Shiv had earlier seen but once they got inside the cave, the appearance changed completely. The cave mouth opened into a huge tunnel with hard rocks as it walls. The group kept walking deep into the cave for a while, with Shiv in front protecting the kids while Clint gave directions. The tunnel was like a labyrinth with the paths dividing into many branches. Clint had directed the group and had explained that the other paths were unknown to him though the miners used to take those paths too. A couple of minutes of walking and the group came to a much wider tunnel where the group came to a stop once again. ¡°Big brother. This is the place where we usually mine the stones. We mine the stones here and then carry it to the village in the sledge. The masons will then take over the stones and shape them accordingly¡± Clint explained to Shiv. ¡°Then little Clint show us how it is done¡± Nodding his head, Clint continued his explanation, ¡°My father used to knock at the wall to understand whether the stone was good or bad. I don¡¯t know how he did but what I know is that the stones he mined always had a grey color with a little white tint, just like this one here¡± saying so Clint picked up a small stone piece from the ground and passed it to Shiv. Shiv accepted the stone and examined it carefully. ¡°We don¡¯t have any particular size requirement. We just mine them and give them to the masons. Ah, I should warn you big brother, mining is a really difficult task. Hitting the rock with a pickaxe is really hard, so be prepared. Then big brother let us begin¡± Shiv and the others nodded. One by one, they went towards their wheeled sledge which had all the essentials needed for them like food, water, and tools required for mining. The kids then picked up their respective pickaxes and headed to different directions in the same tunnel. ¡®Tick¡¯ ¡®Tick¡¯ ¡®Tick¡¯ and so the hitting started. The would hit the walls for some time and then extract the stones which were then placed inside the sledge. After a few hours Shiv felt his hand ache, his body felt heavy and numb. Panting, he asked Clint, ¡°How much more should we mine Clint?¡± ¡°Um! From what I heard from my father, we need 3000pieces of stones. To produce that many then we need to keep mining a week at the least¡±, Clint replied as if it was a normal thing to do. But those words from Clint¡¯s mouth brought a headache to Shiv. Just a few hours of mining had caused his body to become sore at places, and now he had to continue the same activity for a week. Shiv face palmed not wanting to accept the situation he was caught in. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡®trrrng¡¯
Stone pieces required: 3000 Stone pieces gathered:321/3000
Shiv¡¯s eyes bulged out. They had been mining for more than four hours and this was all they could manage to gather. ¡®Is there no way to increase the output? Hm? Increase the output?¡¯, suddenly something struck Shiv¡¯s mind. Shiv got up and looked around. He then checked the walls carefully. ¡®These walls are strong. But a large scale explosion will lead to its collapse. One meter? No that is too much. Half a meter then? Even that much is too big.¡¯ ¡°Clint I need your help¡±, Shiv acted instantly. ¡°Help? What is it?¡±, Clint asked, squinting his eyes as he suspiciously stared at a grinning Shiv. ¡°I need you to run to the village and fetch me at least 4 bags of flour and as many pieces of rags as you can. Take the others with you too¡±, Shiv gave out instructions. Clint and the others were confused. But soon Clint figured out the need for the bags of flour and he smiled at Shiv. ¡°Big brother, has anyone told you that you are a cunning guy?¡± ¡°I get that a lot¡± Shiv smile and winked. The other 3 who did not understand anything just started the grinning duo. Clint then urged the three to accompany him and the four left with their respective sledge. Once the four were outside his view, Shiv sat down. ¡®They are going to take at least 1 hour to return. Maybe I should log out for some time¡¯ ¡°Log out¡± ---***--- Ryu exited his capsule and walked to the kitchen to have something to eat. While going to the kitchen he took his mobile phone with him. There were 15 missed calls. Some were from his mother while the rest were from an unknown number. ¡®That is strange only my family and Kiro-san are supposed to know my number. Well whatever let me call mother¡¯. Ryu was about to dial to his mother¡¯s phone he got a call from the same unknown number. Perplexed, Ryu attended the call. ¡°Hello! Is this Mr. Ryu Yasahiro?¡± ¡°Yes, it is? May I know who is speaking?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an honor to be able to speak to you, Mr. Ryu. My name is Yuki Matsuda. I work for Mr. Allen Perez, the CEO of Phoenix Enterprises¡± ¡°And why is it that you have my private number Miss. Yuki¡± Ryu replied assuming the woman was unmarried. ¡°Mr. Allen wishes to have a meeting with you, Mr. Ryu¡± ¡°With me? May I know the reason for such a request?¡± ¡°That is confidential and he desires to speak about the issue with you directly¡± ¡°Is that so? I am afraid I can¡¯t accept your invitation unless I know of your intentions¡±, Ryu replied calmly, ¡°If you are so intent on meeting with me, then ask Mr. Allen to contact me personally. I do not intend to be rude, but right now my situation does not allow me to be careless. Please do not be offended¡±, with a polite tone, Ryu tried to convince the lady. Ryu decided not to think too much of them tracking his number. ¡°I see! I shall convey this to Mr. Allen. Thank you for allotting your valuable time for me¡±, saying so the other side disconnected the call. Ryu wondered about the Japanese woman just contacted her when suddenly another Japanese woman occupied his mind. ¡®Shit, I forgot to call mother¡¯. Hurriedly Shiv dialed the new number that he was given by Isamu. After a few rings, the call got connected and a woman attended the call. ¡°Mother! It¡¯s me! Sorry for not calling you till now¡±, Ryu apologized first hand. ¡°Ryu? Is that you? How have you been on? Where are you now? Your grandfather said you are at Korea. Why are you there?¡±, Miyuki asked with visible concern. ¡®Ah! So she still does not know about the kidnap problem¡¯, Ryu thought to himself. ¡°Nothing at all mother. I just wanted to come here and stay here for a while, you know just for a change in atmosphere. That aside where is Mia?¡±, Ryu asked trying to change the subject. ¡°Oh that girl! She has been busy with her new game all this time. She hardly comes out of it. I don¡¯t know what to do with her¡±, Miyuki let out a long sigh as she complained about her daughter. ¡°The capsule has been delivered? Good! Have you started playing too mother?¡± ¡°A bit. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s a game. Everything is so real¡±, the woman gasped unable to hide her ecstasy and surprise. ¡°I know, I know. Ah! Mother are you and Mia together in the game too?¡± ¡°Of course. We are at some place called Wayville in the Northorn kingdom. What about you, Ryu?¡± ¡°At Bredon Kingdom. I will come meet you after a while mother. What is your game name?¡± ¡°I used my name itself. Mia say¡¯s that I should have used some other name but I just didn¡¯t want to change the name your father liked so much. Mia named herself as Tina. Mia said you named yourself as Shiv¡±, Miyuki paused for a while and then continued, ¡°You really do like that name. Once you even cried demanding to change your name to Shiv. You were so cute back then, ufufufu¡±, Miyuki laughed as she teased her son. ¡°Mother. Don¡¯t say such embarrassing things¡±, Ryu retorted with a reddened face. He clearly remembered that time when he had lunged to his father crying his lungs out. ¡°Oh my! My son has all grown up. Mother misses that cute boy who would always follow me around¡± ¡°Mother! I have to go. Love you¡±, Ryu tried to escape from his teasing mother. ¡°Love you too Ryu. Take care of your health. Eat properly and sleep well too.¡± ¡°Yes, mother. I will¡± Ryu disconnected the call and walked towards the capsule, smiling. ---***--- When Shiv opened his eyes the four had already arrived. Getting up in a hurry Shiv asked Clint who was unloading the bag of flour. ¡°When did you guys get back?¡± ¡°Just now. Big brother, here are the flour sacks¡± ¡°Where do you think we will good quality stones¡± The boy observed the surrounding and pointed to the area nearby. Shiv nodded, then approached the area Clint showed. For a while, Shiv observed the wall, often touching the wall, sometimes even knocking on it. The first thing Shiv did was make a hemisphere shaped earth wall which covered the area marked by Clint. Shiv then made a small hole, the size of his head, on the hemisphere. Once he was done with the hole, Shiv opened one of the bagged flour and then emptied it into the earth hemisphere. Once the flour was emptied, Shiv used the unwanted piece of rag to half close the hole. The next thing he did was use basic wind magic to agitate the flour inside the earthen wall. The half-closed hole and the wind magic prevented the flour from escaping out and at the same time helped in building up pressure. Shiv then turned to the kids and spoke, ¡°Things are going to get really dangerous and so run when I give you the signal¡± When the boys agreed, Shiv walked a couple of meters away from the hemisphere. Casting a basic fire spell, Shiv aimed his hand at the rag that was now completely closing the small hole. Once the rag caught fire, Shiv signaled the kids to run while he ran together with them. The kids ran without stopping and when they were almost outside the cave, they hear a ¡®Boom¡¯ that reverberated in their ears. Shiv and the kids stood outside the cave motionless as they stare at the stone hill. Even after half an hour passed, the stone hill remained still which greatly relieved Shiv. Still cautious, the group slowly head inside. It took them double the time to reach the area than they normally took but when they reached the place.
Stone pieces requited: 3000 Stone pieces gathered:1535/3000
Their jaws dropped and eyes almost popped out from their eye socket. A single explosion had rewarded them with almost eight times their previous yield. The kids jumped in joy while Clint laughed loudly as he hugged Shiv tight. ¡°This will be over soon¡±, Shiv grinned. Thus the group of five filled their sledge with stones and went to the village. The group had to come and go five times to completely transport the stones they mined. By the time they had finished transporting all the stones, it was already dark. On the second day, they used another explosion which was slightly bigger than the previous one which resulted in giving them an even higher yield.
Stone pieces requited: 3000 Stone pieces gathered:3319/3000
¡°With this, it is over guys. You all did great. Now go have a good sleep¡±. Once the four left Shiv then walked towards the head mason¡¯s house. He then knocked the door. ¡°Who is it this late in the night?¡±, a manly voice called out from the house. ¡°It is Shiv. Can I come in?¡± The door was opened and Ames stood there with a welcoming smile, ¡°Ah chief! Please come in¡±, Shiv returned the smile as he apologized for disturbing him late in the night. Ames took him in and gave Shiv a chair to sit. While getting himself a chair Ames enquired ¡°What brings here you at this time of the night?¡± ¡°Ah, I just wanted you to know that we gathered the stones you needed¡± The mason looked at Shiv with disbelief. ¡°Wait a moment, chief. I will be back¡± and the mason stormed out of the house. It took the guy a good twenty minutes to return, his face was full of surprise. ¡°How did you get the job done so quickly? I mean, even if five adults were to do the work, it would have taken four days at the least¡± ¡°I used a bit of creativity¡± Shiv smiled and explained to Ames what he had done. Ames who listened what Shiv had to say, stared at Shiv, his disbelief clearly evident on his face. He then broke out it a laughter and patted the boy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a smart one. That girl has good eyes, after all, just like her father. Come meet me tomorrow in the morning here. Let me see how you will do with masonry¡± ¡®trrrng¡®
Your actions have influenced the villagers. They now think highly of you You have gained the support of +7 people Acceptance: 57/78
Shiv then left the house and walked towards his house. When he entered the house he could hear the giggles of two girls. Shiv smiled, knowing that one of the girls was Bella. He felt grateful to Kate for making his sister happy. Shiv stood outside the house for a while as he listened to his little¡¯s sister laughter and then knocked at the door but not before making a poker face. Bella who opened the door smiled when she saw Shiv. Shiv smiled back but when he saw Kate who was behind Bella, ¡°Bella! Why is this girl who is wearing a torn rag still here? Kick her out. She smells¡± Shiv mocked the girl while he held his nose with his hand. For some reason, he found teasing the girl really interesting and fun. ¡°Nii-san! Don¡¯t be rude to Kate¡± Bella glared at Shiv. Kate whose face went red also glared at the boy. ¡°Sister, you would side with her than with your brother? Have you abandoned me?¡± Shiv clenched his heart as he spoke with a sad face. ¡°Yes! Yes! Now please sleep on the floor from now on. I and Kate will be sharing the bed.¡± Bella said with a smile and the two girls jumped on the bed. Shiv shrugged his shoulder and sighed. ¡°Why do I have such a troublesome sister?¡± saying so Shiv laid down on the ground. ¡°Goodnight brother¡± ¡°Goodnight Bella, Goodnight rag girl¡± ---***--- Please rate the story! Help Hello guys! This time it is about the map. I have an old map of the continent which one of m readers made for me couple of years ago. So i was wondering if any of u can make a new map based on the old one. Make it a little colourful or something. Please help me! Keep reading n do rate it Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Here is the imgur link for the map: http://imgur.com/LvTjwW.jpg Chapter 18: Helping Out 2 ¡°Damn! My back hurts.¡±, Shiv groaned as he stretched his body a little. ¡°For a game, they sure have taken into account such unnecessary details¡±, complaining to himself, Shiv walked out of his new home. He could see the villagers were all busy with different tasks and were running around. Men and women together were trying their best to rebuild the village. Walking around, Shiv began observing the situation. The houses were steadily being repaired with stones. Two to three people were designated for one house. The hunting party under Lylda was able to secure meat and some berried and so Bella along with other were preparing breakfast. Even Kate was trying be useful to Bella. Ames was instructing others as he supervised the construction. Walking around, Ames inspected the houses, and would give suggestions or advices. As Shiv approached Ames, the Ames walked towards him and greeted with a smile. ¡°Good morning chief. How does it feel to sleep on the floor?¡±, grinned the man. ¡°I won¡¯t even ask why you know that¡±, Shiv replied a little dejected. ¡°My back hurts, it¡¯s like I was beaten to death or something. That aside, how are things progressing? Everything seems great¡±, looking around, Shiv asked. ¡°For now things are fine. But it is going to take a while. After all the houses were almost completely destroyed. But what worries is me is not the matter about the houses¡±. Shiv could see that Agon had something that worried him deeply. ¡°Food huh? I am guessing Lylda could not gather much?¡± ¡°Ah, well that woman is not at fault. This forest originally had abundant resources, but ever since the goblins came¡± ¡°I see! The majority of the animals were hunt down by the goblins for food and so she could not find many, is what you mean, right? Well, I was expecting a food shortage. But things are far worse than I calculated¡±, with a hand to his chin, Shiv contemplated calmly. ¡°What about the procurement from other villages?¡± ¡°The nearest village is a few hours journey from here. But it seems like, they are ready to trade with us, but¡± ¡°But we have nothing to offer in exchange. Hm! What about stones or wood? Won¡¯t that suffice?¡± ¡°Wood is out of question. After all they too are surrounded by forest. But, stones might be enough. The problem is we can¡¯t depend on Bella and others to transport the stones. Also the men are too busy and tired. If I were to reduce the number of men, then the houses will take couple of days more to finish.¡± ¡°In that case, let me do the transportation. After all there is nothing else I can do to help. So, if it¡¯s just transporting goods, then I guess I am plenty enough. Ah, but I will need somebody to guide me though¡± ¡°Eh? Is it fine? I mean, for the chief to do such things is a little¡­¡±, Ames with a look of worry and uncertainty was not sure what to say to Shiv. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Ames, I am yet to become the chief. Besides, even if I became one, I would still do it, after all it¡¯s my job to look after you guys.¡± ¡°I see. You really are a nice guy. In that case, I will make the necessary arrangement. Take Agon with you. The boy knows the way and can also help you in negotiating. He is a smart kid¡± ¡°Then please do so. Sent for me once the preparation is complete.¡± ---***--- ¡°We have been walking for three hours now, Agon. How long is it going to take?¡±, a little annoyed. Shiv asked the young hunter boy beside him. ¡°We are almost there, nii-san¡±, with a smile Agon replied to Shiv. For the boy, the long walk appeared to be nothing more than a leisurely troll but for Shiv who had to pull a cart loaded with stones, the journey was nothing close to fun. And so, the two arrived at the village after another fifteen or so minutes. An exhausted Shiv and an energetic Agon were then subjected to the wary eyes of many. The new village was not so different from theirs. The houses were made of either wood or mud. There were no proper roads, nor were there any shops. The people too wore clothes similar to that of their village. ¡°Nii-san, the village chief¡¯s house is that way. We have to meet him and let him see the stones. Bella-nee said that he will then provide us with food of equal worth¡±, pointing to the right, Agon began talking. Shiv titled his neck to the direction Agon pointed and what came to his view was a house similar to all the other houses in the vicinity, except for the fact that, the was slightly larger. Nodding towards Agon, Shiv paced himself towards the chief¡¯s house as he pulled the cart filled with stones. Even though, the villagers were curious, nobody came forward with any questions. Once the two were in front of the house, Shiv knocked on the door a couple of times and called out loud. ¡°Hello, is the chief inside? We are from the neighboring village, here to trade some stones for food¡±, Shiv was not sure how he was to speak with a village head but still he called out. A few moments later, the door opened and the two were greeted by a male in his twenties. The man had a serious expression, but there was no discontent or malice in his eyes. His dark blue eyes and silvery hair surprised Shiv a little but the fact that the man was an NPC helped Shiv calm down. With keen eyes Shiv observed this man that had opened the door. He was slightly taller than Shiv and appeared really well built. The silvery hair was long enough to fall on his shoulder but suited him well. His slightly dark skin tone synced perfectly well with the silver hair, thus making the person nothing short of a hunk.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Please come in. My name is Dian, the son of the chief. Father will meet you inside.¡±, with a deep voice that matched his profile, Dian welcomed the two inside. ¡°Thank you, Dian¡±, Shiv replied calmly and walked inside but Agon on the other side was slightly nervous but still walked together with Shiv. The two were then taken to a room on the next floor. The room had a small table and a few chairs on either side of the table, a window which ensured that the room was well lit and a second door which appeared locked. Dian motioned the two visitors to take a seat and then proceeded to the second door, opened it and disappeared. Shiv and Agon sat on the chair for some time before they were greeted by the chief. Dian had returned with the chief after he took almost a good twenty minutes. The door once again opened and a man in his late fifties walked into the room first, followed by Dian. ¡°It seems, I have made you wait for that I deeply apologize. My name is Stein, the chief of this village.¡±, the elderly man greeted Shiv with a smile. To Shiv, the man appeared a little carefree and the friendly type. Similar to Dian, the man too had blue eyes and silver hair. The two also shared the characteristic dark skin and good physique. But in contrast to the serious Dian, Stein had a big smile on his face all the time. From the moment, he walked in, till he sat down, the man kept smiling without break. ¡°Ah, hello! my name is Shiv and this here is Agon, we come from ¡­.¡±, Shiv paused for a moment and then continued, ¡°the village to the south.¡±. ¡°Ah, the village from the south, I see. You are here about the food. The young girl was really energetic, I wish she could come to my house as my son¡¯s wife. Dian here has taken quite the liking to her. Guhahahaha¡±, the chief then suddenly burst into laughter, Dian on the other hand became stiff to the point that he turned into stone. Shiv and Agon who heard these words became quite surprised and glanced at each other, bewildered ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so stiff. That was just this old man¡¯s selfish wish. Now shall we get down to business? To tell you the truth, there isn¡¯t much we can help you with. The food situation in this village too is a little bad. But since winter is nowhere near and since I liked the girl, I decided to agree to the offer¡± ¡®This man, just how much has taken a liking to Bella?¡¯, Shiv thought to himself, ¡®That aside, why is the food situation bad here too? The goblins couldn¡¯t have reached this far and there doesn¡¯t seem any problem on the surface. Just what is causing the food to go scarce?¡¯ ¡°Chief Stein, we only have stones to offer, since stones are the only thing we have extra as compared to this village. Currently I am in possession of a little less than thousand blocks of stones. The mason from my village have made sure that the stone blocks can be made use as soon as possible, for construction that is.¡± ¡°Stein is fine, no need to be so formal. A thousand blocks of stones eh! Hmm! What do you expect in return?¡±, with a hand to his chin, the chief asked Shiv. ¡°My village consists of almost 80 members. You might have heard about the recent goblin attack on us. So the fields have all deteriorated. It seems the farmers would need at the least two weeks or so to harvest something edible. And as for hunting, there are hardly any animals to prey on, once again due to the goblins. So, I wanted to acquire food for at least a week. But seeing that the situation here is not as favorable, I am not sure what to ask for¡± Seeing Shiv in dilemma, the chief thought for a while and spoke, ¡°I understand. To be honest, we are not in need of stones. It is true that stones are something we don¡¯t produce. But since it¡¯s something we don¡¯t produce, we have learnt to live without them. But the fact remains that, houses of stones are much better that those made of wood. And so, we shall accept the stones. Then again, we don¡¯t have enough supplies to trade for a thousand blocks. This villages produces potatoes and tomatoes the most. So how about one bag of potato or tomato for 10 blocks of stones? By the way, a bag roughly contains 100 potato or tomato.¡± ¡®One bag of potato per 10 blocks of stones? I am not sure if that¡¯s a good amount or not. Also, Agon seems to fine with the proposition. I know that just potato or tomato isn¡¯t much as food, but right now there is no other option.¡¯. ¡°That seems fine to me, Stein.¡±, Shiv nodded after he made some thought. The two then shook hands as a sign of acceptance. Stein then instructed his son to take care of things. He instructed Dian to give Shiv an amount of food equivalent to 300 hundred stones. And so, Shiv was able to procure 15 bags of potato and 15 bags of tomato. ¡°You have my gratitude Stein, for helping us out even when your village was facing trouble¡±, Shiv spoke with gratitude and bowed gently to the man. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. But I was surprised, for that village to ask for a trade. Of all the villages in this great forest, that village has been the only one that was completely shut off. But I am glad. Guhahaha¡± and again the chief went on laughing like a mad man. ¡°Thing happened and we had no other option. That aside, there is something I wish to ask to you Stein. Why is the food situation bad here as well? I don¡¯t think see anything wrong with the village or its people. And I am sure that the goblins did not come anywhere close to this village. So why did you say the village is short on supplies?¡± ¡°To be honest, we don¡¯t know it ourselves. For the last two months, the food situation suddenly got bad. Some of the crops withered, some hardly grew, I don¡¯t even know what the problem is. It¡¯s like the very soil has been poisoned or something. It¡¯s not like the entire field is facing the problem, just some patches of lands here and there. The farmers told me that, these patches are slowly but without doubt increasing in size. I tried asking around, with other villages. And it seems all of them seem to face the same problem. It¡¯s like the forest is rejecting us¡±, the chief replied dejected. After all, the idea of forest rejecting the village was truly a nightmare for these people who were born in the forest. Shiv on the other hand felt hope, hope for a new quest. He contemplated that the quest if solved would provide him with vast profits, though the risk was equally high. ¡°Stein, was this the first village with the dead soil problem?¡±, Shiv inquired calmly. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The forest acts as a base for another 6 villages excluding yours and mine. I did talk about this problem with chiefs of all the six villages and from what I understood, the first village to experience the problem was the one that is three days to the east of this village. I believe they had to deal with the problem for more than three months. To be exact, that village lies almost at the middle of the village. In other words, all the other villages can be travelled to from there. The other villages are hardly a day¡¯s journey from there.¡± ¡°Hm? A day¡¯s journey, connection to all the other village. Center of the forest. Hey, Agon, did anybody mention about soil problem back at home?¡±, Shiv asked Agon who was keenly listening to the conversation. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so, nii-san. Though our field were destroyed during the goblin attack, there seems to be no particular problem with the fields.¡±, ¡®As I thought, the cause of this problem is that village in the center. No, not the village but something or someone in the village is the source. Even if a quest doesn¡¯t appear, I will have to look into it. We have already made contact with this village twice. So the chances that our village might be affected is not zero. Right now, I lack information to make a clear decision¡¯ While Shiv was deep in thought, Stein suddenly began speaking, ¡°To me, it seems like, you have some thoughts about the matter. And I am pretty sure that you share the same idea as me. For starters, you seem to think that the cause lies in that village in the center. Please don¡¯t blame us for not speaking about it sooner. We don¡¯t know the root of the problem or how it spreads. It might be through humans or might be through something else, we truly don¡¯t know. If it¡¯s through humans, then there are chances that the problem has already spread to your land as well. We just did not have any way to inform your village.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about that. I have no intention of blaming anyone. It¡¯s as you said, the chances of the soil problem spreading to our village is not zero. But right now, I think it¡¯s necessary we gather more information. There are many questions in my mind which needs to be answered. And for the sake of finding a solution, I think it¡¯s best if I visit this said village. And I plan to do so as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Such a reliable young man. In that case, please take Dian with you. He is smart and strong. I am sure that he can be of some use. At the least he can act as your guide¡± ¡®trrrng¡¯
QUEST: THE PLAGUE OF THE FOREST
With a plague that affects the soil spreading throughout the forest, the villages in the forest are suffering gravely. Stein, the village chief has decided to trust you with finding a solution for this problem. He has decided to let his son, Dian to assist you in the search for the truth. Difficulty : G Rewards Unknown?????
Chapter 19: Journey to nowhere ¡°Oi Dian, just how far is this place? We have been walking non-stop for more than three days now.¡±, complained Shiv to the man who was acting as the guide for the group. Almost two weeks had passed since Shiv and Agon paid a visit to the chief of the neighboring village, Stein. And just like Shiv had suspected, the problem with the soil had spread to his village too. The symptoms appeared three days after Shiv brought the supplies. Shiv had already explained the situation to the villagers, but most of them were skeptical, some even scorned at Shiv. But when the symptoms began to surface, all the villagers fell into despair in an instant. It was then Shiv proclaimed that he would be going on a journey to find out the cause of this plague and he promised the villagers to return with a solution. For that very purpose, Shiv assembled a team of six including himself. The other members were, Dian who was to be the guide, Kate whom Shiv guessed to be a swordswoman, Agon to aid him with offence, Clint who was actually blacksmith apprentice and finally Blina, the village herbalist who was had god knowledge about plants and soil. A small number of personnel with expertise on various fields but at the same time essential for the current quest, Shiv had planned well and chosen well too. And so, the party of six have been walking for three days and three nights without much rest. Dian was a stamina monster and hardly needed rest. Unless the members pleaded to stop, the guide hardly rested. And so, on the morning of the fourth day, an angry Shiv voiced his complain. ¡°We are now on the outskirts of the village. If we were to walk a little more, then the village should come into view¡±, Dian replied without stopping or turning back. He kept walking and walking, like he was born only to walk. Just like the dark-skinned man said, the village came to view after short while. And as the party neared the village, a sense of gloominess attacked them. Even before they entered the village, they could tell that village was on the verge of death. The houses which were much larger and strongly built had layers of decay over it. There was a putrid stench that filled the air causing the six to cover their noses. The village appeared to be covered by fog, but in reality, it wasn¡¯t at all. There were hardly any villagers visible. Almost all the crop fields had rotten and this again added to the stench. Kate almost puked because of it, while the others had pale faces. With their face covered with pieces of clothes, Shiv and others made their way towards what Dian called as the chief¡¯s house. Similar to all the houses on the way, the chief¡¯s house, which was the largest of them all, too was decaying. Dian, who was in the front, knocked on what was left of a wooden door. After the fourth knock, the door slightly opened, and the face of an old woman slowly thrust out. She stared at the strangers for a while, as if trying to ascertain the identity of the sudden visitors. ¡°Who are you lot? And what do you want?¡±, came a question filled with hostility. It was evident from how she was blocking the path to inside that she did not encourage their visit. Her choice of words and tone of speaking supplemented her disinterest. ¡°My name is Dian, grandma Sari, Stein¡¯s son.¡±, Dian spoke politely as if not to worsen the old woman¡¯s mood any further. Hearing the name Dian, the woman¡¯s face showed sign of recognition, but the hostile attitude remained. She stared at the dark man for some time and then motioned towards the other five using her chin as it to ask, ¡®who are they then?¡¯. Dian nodded slightly and replied, ¡°They are from the unknown. Things happened and they have stopped confining themselves. It seems that even their lands are being affected by the plague, so these five are here to know more about the plague and are trying to find a solution. I am here as their guide.¡± ¡°Hah¡±, as if mocking the six, the old lady let out a short laugh and the continued, ¡°Find a solution? These brats? Don¡¯t make me laugh. We have searched the entire forest, left no stones unturned and all we could find was nothing. And here you come saying that you can find a solution. My son, his wife, their children, all of them, it stole everything from me. Why am I the only one left alive?¡±, the anger and sarcasm in her voice at the beginning slowly faded away. Those emotions were soon replaced by grief and loneliness. The old woman fell to her knees as she whimpered, tears rolling out of her eyes she screamed at the top of her voice.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Dian caught hold of the woman, while Kate and Blina tried to support her. Together, they walked her inside her and made her sit on a chair. Shiv and the other two boys slowly walked in along with the others. It took some time for the woman named Sari to calm down. With the tip of her dress, she slowly dried the trickling tears and cleaned her face. She then took a deep breath and the slouched back on the chair to sit comfortably. ¡°Being at the center, connecting other villages with each other, trading with them had made this village prosper greatly. The men, women and children were all happy. With abundant food, there was nothing that troubled this village except for natural deaths. There were hardly any with diseases, and for those that were sick, the forest provided them with medicine. Look at it now, the land dying, the houses rotting, and the men of this village almost extinct. What have we done wrong to deserve this fate?¡±, with her eyes closed, the woman complained as if a higher being was listening. ¡°Six or so months before a man calling himself Kayne visited this village. He said he was from somewhere in the east and was here to study about the forest. If I remember correctly, he called himself as a traveler.¡± The woman paused for a while. Her breathing was ragged and she was sweating profusely. The six people in the room silently waited for the woman to continue. ¡°We of course welcomed him, showed him around the village, taught him various things about the forest like the fountain of the fairies, the treasure trove of water sprites and the giant tree of wonder. It was a week later the tree surrounding us began to die. Even if I say die, it was not a large-scale incident. The tress began to loss leaves faster, but we paid no attention to it. Some of the branches began to wither and fall, again we paid it no heed. Often trees were uprooted, and once again we neglected the signs. Until our crops began to wither.¡± The woman gazed outside through a small window. Shiv felt that the woman was reliving the story she was narrating. ¡°We were frantic, trying to figure out what was going wrong. The herbalist of the village said even the herbs and other plants were being affected and that she could find no cause nor any solution. When the village was despairing, our guest from the east caught some strange disease. It was truly strange, his body began to shrink, I don¡¯t even know how to describe it. It was like he was turning to a tree himself. His skin color too began to change, he hardly ate anything except for water. He seemed to be not in pain as till the last moment he had a smile on his face.¡± She let out a small sigh and then gazed at the faces of the six that had gathered around her. ¡°It was then the nightmare truly began. All the crops died out, anything edible began to rot, even the wooden house. The air began to stink and it made it harder to breath. To prevent it from spreading, we even prohibited people from outside. The shortage food and the pungent air began to take its toll on those who lived here. Slowly people began to fall sick and before long almost the entire village was bed ridden. And finally few weeks later, the all died, leaving behind this old had and some other helpless people. It seems, my village has caused troubles to your villages too. I don¡¯t know how I should repent, but there wasn¡¯t anything that this old lady could do¡±, with those words, she once again began to cry, letting out all her guilt and dismay. Kate and Blina supported the woman as they shed silent tears. Dian and the other two children did not know what to do and so kept silent. But Shiv just kept staring at the woman. ¡°Grandma, if you don¡¯t mind, can you tell me where this Kayne guy came from exactly?¡±, Shiv approached her and went on his knees. He then gently asked her so as not to startle the frail woman. ¡°I only know that he came from the east. He never told anything specific. We never bothered to ask we hardly knew about any place outside the forest except for the capital of this kingdom.¡± ¡°I see. But then why would you let a stranger to visit places like fountain of fairies and all? Are they not important?¡± ¡°Ah! Even if they have such great names, they are nothing special. They were names passed down to us by our ancestors. May be because of its beauty or because of the grand stature, these names were chosen. Even after we told that to him, he still said he wanted to see them. He said that he loved nature and wanted to visit those places which had such grand names.¡± Shiv then thanked the woman and then motioned Dian and Agon to step outside the house. Once the three were outside, he turned towards Dian and Agon and asked them, ¡°Any of you know what lies to the east of the forest¡± to which the two nodded sideways. Shiv then called out the map function which displayed a map visible only to him. He then scanned through the map and then turned toward the other two. http://imgur.com/LvTjwWH ¡°This forest, to be exact, is situated at the eastern region of the Bredon kingdom. Do you know what that means?¡±, Shiv gazed at Dian and Agon alternatively. Agon appeared clueless, but Dian appeared like something lit in his mind. ¡°So that means, this man who called himself Kayne was someone from another country?¡±, Dian put forward a question. Shiv nodded and continued, ¡°The kingdoms to the east are Fernork and Hwan. Fernork is a country of orcs and that means, Kayne must have belonged to Hwan. And from what I remember this kingdom has a hostile relation with Bredon¡± ¡°Are you trying to tell that the reason for all these problems is that man?¡±, Dian asked as he squinted his eyes. ¡°I am not sure myself. Even of not something of this scale, all the kingdoms do have their own forests. But why did he come here? Why did he catch a strange disease while nobody in the village did not? When I have such suspicions, it makes me question, why did this problem start when he was around? Something tells me that he was behind this situation¡± ¡°Well, when you put it like that, things do get suspicious. So what will be our next course of action? Will we be visiting those three places she mentioned?¡± ¡°So you too think that those places have some sort of importance, right? But not now. I think we need to look around this village first. She did say that there were some still alive, so let¡¯s start from there. Our first priority is gathering as much information as we can.¡± And so with information gathering as the mission, the three split in three direction after they agreed to meet before the chief¡¯s house in the evening.