《Naulo's Corruption》 Prologue Author''s Note: okay....so I don''t seem to want to work on life right now. Therefore, I thought I might be a little productive and get started on the rewrite. I believe the pace is a lot slower than before and includes a lot more details. And yes this is a prologue and it is not necessary to read it, recommended though. *wink* Okay, so I got to get back to reality now....*tears forming* Muuuuuu.....papers....TAT ------------------------------------------------ Prologue The sky was completely black from a barrage of arrows that descended upon the group of people on the ground. The area was filled with the agonized screams of death from the soldiers on the battlefield both old and young. The ground was blood red from soaking up the mass amount of blood from the many lives lost. ¡°Commander, we won¡¯t be able to survive the advance from the enemies!!¡± A soldier wearing dented steel plate armor and holding a large round steel shield shouted to a man nearby. The man nearby wore almost similar armor except it had a hint of golden aura surrounding it. He carried a long spear thrusting it to the enemy that appeared from the front of the soldier with the shield. This man looked to be in his late 30s and had a powerful looking face with sharp eyes. He knitted his brows and gritted his teeth so powerfully that a grinding sound could be heard nearby. The old man knew if he falls here the kingdom he serve would have a high chance to be destroyed; therefore, failure was not an option. The sudden attack from the enemy kingdom provided the element of surprise. As his king was trying to gather and send the elite army to the borders to intercept the advance of the enemy his job was to hold back the advance as much as possible and he was able to succeed for 10 years. Until, the enemy brought out the ancient weapons. After the rain of arrows came the rain of magic. Fireballs were falling down from the skies and as it hit the large fireball exploded causing everyone in the range of 100m to be killed or fatally injured. What is this? The commander thought as he saw the rain of fire. Our enemy kingdom does not have this kind of magic! The ancient weapon they found must have caused this! Damn! I cannot fail here! These abominations should have been destroyed when we had the chance! ¡°REINFORCEMENTS!!¡± one of the soldiers from the back of the small army shouted. This brought a thread of hope in the soldiers still alive and motivation to push back the invading army. Soon large balls of water with a diameter of 90cm (~3ft) appeared from behind and shot towards the large advancing armies. The sky started to become dark and lightning started to appear to strike at the enemy formation from the back. Now it was the enemy army¡¯s turn to scream the screams of death. From behind the small army, who step aside, appeared a small group of people of no more than 14. Despite the small size the small army numbering 400 knew the might of these 14 by witnessing it firsthand. The commander stepped up towards these people and said, ¡°Hello, we are glad to have you here to aid us.¡± ¡°No greetings are necessary, we came to fulfill our debt for the royal family of Elma. Nothing more, nothing less. No need for thanks either.¡± said a man with medium length magnolia colored hair coldly. He looked to be in his early 20s with a delicate build and was not wearing any armor just a plane gray colored robe similar to the rest of the people in the group. ¡°Lino, no need to be rude.¡± a slightly muscular man with bright red hair appeared. He had a messy appearance with his long red hair tied up and a short-sleeve robe showing off his slightly muscular arms, which exude a powerful aura from within. When one is looking one cannot tell how powerful he is. ¡°Once this is over we can finally leave this place.¡± ¡°Now, now. Lino, Cario, and everyone, I¡¯m sure we can find a better time and place for talks. However, last time I checked we are in the middle of a war...so I suggest we start moving before we get crushed.¡± a man with bright golden colored hair said with a cheerful smile amongst the screams of war. His cheerful demeanor contrasted the scene before everyone¡¯s eyes causing a moment of silence before another fireball appeared over the group¡¯s head. The bright man immediately raised his left hand and a blue light shot up and spread across the entire group that was around. The fireball smashed into the blue barrier and disappeared with everyone completely uninjured. ¡°Haaaa, Auo, seriously. We don¡¯t know what to do with you¡­¡± Cario gave a long sigh but had a small smirk, ¡°okay, let¡¯s move!¡± All of the 14 people were completely calm during the display and started to move forwards towards the enemy.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The soldiers and the commander felt in their hearts that hope has returned to the battlefield and began to charge at the enemies with new vigor. -------------- In a village a little ways away from the place of the battlefield sat a beautiful lady in the silent streets. Most of the people living in this small village had left and moved closer to the main city of the kingdom and the ones who were left were hiding within their homes with shut doors. The beautiful lady had long glossy black hair reaching her lower back and porcelain white skin. Her eyes were large and black with long, thick eyelashes. Her face was small giving her an innocent aura. Her body was beautifully proportioned even with the small bulge showing in her abdominal area. She was wearing a dark blue colored dress and sitting silently in front of a bakery store waiting while caressing her stomach. ¡°Emy, you should go inside to rest. I¡¯m sure Auo will return safe and sound.¡± a hoarse voice called from inside of the shop. It belonged to the shop owner where Emy worked at and lived with. The bakery store belonged to an old man around the age of 80, he was now running the shop that was started by his late wife who passed away. He cares for Emy as if she was his child because his wife died during childbirth along with his child. ¡°Yes, father. I just wanted to get some fresh air.¡± Emy said with a small smile. She was beautiful, like a high-class doll, when she was just sitting there but when she smile it was heavenly. Both males and females would be petrified in place to see her smile. Surprisingly, no problems ever came because her beauty was so high that males don¡¯t dare come closer. She treated the old man as her father because she had never had one before and was alone just like him. She stood up slowly from her seat and walked inside but stopped at the entrance to take one more look towards the dense clouds in the distance. -------------- Days passed by and soon months passed. The battle still raged on but both sides were not able to advance much. The stalling process was successful with the addition of the 14 people reinforcement. However, as the battle rages onwards the enemy side starts to gain a little advantage due to their higher numbers. ¡°Those damnable Ragohu¡¯s. They shouldn¡¯t even exist! I don¡¯t understand why we did not crush them before but sign a peace treaty with them! We protected them and what did we get in return?!! A DAMN BETRAYAL!!¡± the commander yelled out during the night. The small army had to split their forces and give time for the soldiers to rest while the other half stay vigilant during the night. Soldiers who were resting nearby agreed wholeheartedly with the commander. The Elma soldiers were extremely exhausted. Even though rest and magic helped their body return to peak conditions they are still mentally tired due to the continuous battles everyday. The Ragohu troops contain up to 100x the number of troops causing morale to drop slowly with each passing day. ¡°Don¡¯t worry guys! I¡¯m sure the elite forces will arrive soon enough!¡± the cheerful voice appeared from behind the small group that was resting around a fire. ¡°Ah, Auo.¡± the soldiers and the commander smiled. Auo¡¯s cheerful persona brought about change in the atmosphere. Due to his outgoing personality he was able to befriend all of the Elma soldiers. The soldiers and the commander liked Auo because he listens to their ramblings and helps them relieve their stress. ¡°Commander, how are you feeling? Is the wound on your back healed?¡± ¡°Haha. Of course it has! Your people¡¯s magic is first class after all!¡± the commander stood up and turn around to show he was perfectly healthy now. ¡°No no, our healing magic isn¡¯t all that great. It¡¯s definitely due to your high endurance and internal mana.¡± Auo said with a bright smile showing that he meant every word he said. Even his flattery was from the bottom of his heart so therefore who could actually hate him? Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard in the distance between the two opposing armies. Auo immediately left and headed towards the sound. When he arrived he saw a group of people dead on the ground with large and small holes in their bodies. He also saw some number of people from his group struggling to keep the clear barrier up. ¡°What happened here?!¡± Auo went forwards and asked the people from his group. ¡°Ancient weapon!¡± A young lady yelled back. ¡°Auo, we need your barrier!¡± Lino said as he approached the three with Cario right behind him. The white barrier set up by the two before contained small holes that was slowly closing. Auo immediately set up his blue barrier before another explosion was heard in the distance. A few moments later, round black balls was seen travelling through the air at a high speed and hit the ground causing a large amount of dirt to shoot towards the barrier and clashing loudly, but the barrier held. Auo¡¯s eyebrows narrowed, ¡°The force of the dirt propelled by that black ball is a lot higher than the fireball before. This is getting dangerous.¡± The battle during this night was brutal. Auo was unable to maintain the barrier over a large distance due to the high penetrating force of the new ancient weapon that appeared. Many soldiers of Elma died causing the low number of 400 to dwindle to only 250. Even some people from the small group was caught in the explosions and died on impact with the black balls, which some of them exploded into pieces on contact. The battle during the night continued until the sunrise and the explosions stopped abruptly. There was an eerie silence that morning. Out of the 400 Elma soldiers 250 of them died due to the explosions and 6 of the 14 people died trying to save the soldiers and blocking the attacks. It was a night of hell. ¡°They are planning something.¡± Lino said. He was no longer clean as there were small cuts on his body and blood on his grey robe. Everyone was in a sorry state with some people missing an arm or leg or even both. A loud horn was heard in the distance before the Ragohu army of 40,000 came charging and this small group of exhausted people. Even exhausted and knowing that they will not be able to survive this enemy advance no one abandoned their station. Each one of them had eyes fill with determination to bring down as many enemies as possible. They all knew that even if they had fled they would still be killed once the Ragohu invaded. It was drilled into them that the Ragohu were evil that will kill everyone when they invade. They will spare no lives. The dust flew in the distance as the large force advanced through the uneven red battlefield filled with dead bodies picked by vultures. The small group of mages gathered their mana and prepared for combat as the soldiers raised their weapons. No words were needed to see the determination in everyone¡¯s eyes. They would fulfill their duty or they would die trying. Chapter 1 - Birth Chapter 1 - Birth In the small village near the silent battlefield gathered a small number of people from the village in front of the bakery store. One person with golden bright hair was pacing around nervously in front of the door. ¡°Calm down, Auo. She will be fine!¡± one of the village women said softly to the man. ¡°R-really? It has been a while!! Is she going to be okay?¡± Auo said worriedly. ¡°Don¡¯t act like you have never seen any childbirths process before. You know how long this can take.¡± a man with bright red hair said to Auo patting him on the shoulder to stop him from moving. Auo let out a slightly relieved sigh and said, ¡°Thanks, Cario.¡± He had witness many births before from the people in his tribe and none of them were in danger of losing their lives. However, he heard that there were still fatality rates. ¡°It is different for everyone. All we can do is hope and wait. The midwife will do her best.¡± the old man who owns the bakery store said. Out of all the people gathered he is the most worried. He had lost his wife and child during this process once before and wished to the gods to not have it happen again. Time passed slowly and soon 5 hours have gone by. The sun was high up in the center of the sky and the temperature was burning hot. Many people that were there returned to their homes to eat and rest leaving only Auo and the old man. Due to the low technology and resources in the village childbirth was a dangerous process that took a lot of effort. The villagers who stayed behind were almost all old people who did not want to abandon the only place they ever called home. ¡°WAAAAAH WAAAAH!!!¡± suddenly cries were heard from inside. -------------- ¡°Alright, doesn¡¯t seem to have any apparent defects. Seems healthy. A bit on the small side but it doesn¡¯t seem to be much of a problem.¡± inspected the midwife. Contrary to belief this midwife did not seem very old. She seems to be in her mid 30s at the most. After separating the crying child from the mother she wrapped the child in a soft white blanket. ¡°You may go and call in the family members.¡± the midwife instructed a younger girl around the age of 14. The young girl nodded and left the room. ¡°It is a beautiful boy, madame.¡± the midwife said to the disheveled women laying on the bed. Despite the messy appearance the lady was still beautiful in a natural way. The baby was given to Emy who looked at her child lovingly. ¡°What a beautiful child. He is like an angel.¡± The baby was smaller than normal but it did not seem out of place. His skin was white and smooth just like his mothers and he had black hair. His eyes were still closed and he seems to be sleeping now in the warmth of his mother¡¯s hold. The door opened and in came two people. Auo went directly towards Emy and his child to confirm that they are both safe. Emy showed the sleeping child to Auo and tears started to form in his sky-blue eyes.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Whahaha...she¡¯s so beautiful! Just like her mother!¡± he cried with a whisper. Emy eyes narrowed and she corrected Auo, ¡°This child is male.¡± ¡°Ehh?¡± -------------- 3 months has passed and everything seems to have settled down. The war in the battlefield nearby halted with the appearance of the elite troops the Kingdom of Elma sent. Auo and his tribe members along with a small group of soldiers almost lost their lives in stopping the advance of the Ragohu enemy advance. Despite the advantage of the ancient weapons the Ragohu Kingdom was able to acquire, the elite troops was able to keep them at bay with higher numbers of magicians and stronger warriors. The war was at a standstill. This long battle over near the borders between these two kingdoms of Elma and Ragohu was going to be known as The Battle of Ev. This battle was the start of the largest scale war ever known and the deepest darkest secrets not known to exist appear. And in the midst of this chaos a child was born. This child destined to be intertwined into the conflict. What shall happen to the world afterwards? No one knows. -------------- The capital city in the west of the continent was enormous covering an area of about 1,000 square kilometers and a population of around 250,000 and increasing. The palace located in the center of the city was enormous and caught the eyes of any visitor immediately. The castle was inaccessible except through the 2 bridge gates located at the front and back, since a stream of water surrounded it. The water was a calm blue but could quickly be infused with mana to turn into acid, which dissolves everything except for the area it was specially contained in. This was special water that was obtained millions of years in the past. Inside the main hall there was a gathering of officials and the king was sitting on his throne. The king looked to be around 30 years old with a well-trimmed dark golden mustache and same colored well-groomed hair. His trusted official and advisor were by his side. His advisor was around the same age with light brown hair color. ¡°Your majesty, the Renaun tribe leaders have arrived.¡± The advisor said. ¡°Let them in.¡± The king said to the servant nearby who shouted out the order. Soon the massive door embedded with gold and gems opened and in came a group of 4. The person at the front was an old man at the age of 550 but looking only to be around 50 years of age for a human. He carried himself similarly to a king and had his own imposing aura. He, however, wore nothing extravagant only a clean grey robe that covered his body. The three behind him also wore the same thing and they each gave a different aura that seemed to be clashing yet also blending to each other. From the left was a man with an average build that was 193cm tall (~6¡¯3¡¯¡¯) with bright golden medium length hair, almost reaching his shoulders, and a cheerful smile on his face. He gave the impression of an easy to get along with man and probably a bit mischievous as well. In the center behind the old man was a man with a slightly muscular build and long tied up maple red hair. He was the tallest out of the 4 reaching 215cm (~7¡¯). He had a messy appearance with a short sleeve robe showing off his lean but muscular arms giving off a powerful aura. The person on the right was of slender build with an average height of 176cm (~5¡¯7¡¯¡¯) and magnolia colored short length hair. He had a slender face one might mistaken for a beauty except for his extremely sharp eyes, which seems to see into one''s soul. He gave off an icy cold aura one might freeze from being near him. ¡°Good afternoon, Your Majesty.¡± The old man stepped forward and gave a slight bow. The three men behind him also gave a slight bow following the old man. ¡°Elder, there is no need to bow before me. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that your tribe aid us we would have lost much ground and many people.¡± the king said with a smile. ¡°It was but our duty to repay the favor your kingdom provided us 500 years ago.¡± The elder said. ¡°I understand that our contract is over now. However, a new problem have arisen.¡± the king said solemnly. The king looked over the four people before him before he continued; ¡°An important person involved in the advancement of technology in our kingdom has gone missing a few weeks ago. We predict that she was taken by the Ragohu.¡± The elder gave a slight smile and said, ¡°I understand the importance, but you should know that we have no lingering feelings for this land. We have no sense of belonging here. We have returned what we owed to this kingdom for the past 500 years.¡± ¡°How dare you people! Our kingdom provided shelter and protection for your kind!¡± one of the officials shouted out. ¡°SILENCE.¡± the king immediately reprimanded the official. The king also did not have any feelings of connection for this Renaun tribe but knew that his ancestors had helped the tribe somehow causing the tribe to become the guardians of the Kingdom of Elma for 500 years. However, he understood the power of the people of the Renaun tribe from the large role they played in the war. He cannot offend such people. ¡°I understand, Elder. As of today the Renaun tribe has fulfilled their duty and shall retire from all combat and military service. They are free from the Kingdom of Elma and are allowed to travel anywhere they please on Elma grounds.¡± the king announced aloud. Scribbling could be heard immediately after from the scribes to write out and record the notice. ¡°May I ask where are your tribe heading to?¡± the king asked. ¡°Wherever the winds take us.¡± the elder said with a smile and gave a bow and said, ¡°Well then, excuse us, Your Majesty.¡± He then turned around and left with the other three following behind. Chapter 2 - A New Home Chapter 2 - A New Home It was the middle of summer and the sun was high in the middle of the sky, it was around noon. In the vast forest north of the capital of Elma was a small group of people travelling. The children were all kept inside the carriages pulled by horses given to the group by the Elma Kingdom. During the few months after, the war died down, the people of the Ranaun tribe gathered near the capital and left soon after the meeting with the king. Many people of this small tribe died as they were sent for battle throughout the continent to hold back the Ragohu and other border country¡¯s attack. However, due to this tribe¡¯s high affinity with nature magic they contain high healing capabilities allowing them to survive through most attacks. Nonetheless, many people still died leaving some children without parents. A red-tailed hawk was seen flying in the sky and it flew down into one of the carriages near the back of the small group at an extremely fast speed one with no training would not be able to see it. -------------- A hawk flew into the carriage and landed in front of an old man. This old man had grey-white hair and a medium length beard. He looked about 50 and had an aura of a leader or a king. He took the letter attached to the leg of the hawk and read it. ¡°It seems trouble is brewing yet again.¡± he said aloud with his brows knitted. In the carriage there seems to be another person hidden in the shadows. ¡°So it seems you can¡¯t escape after all.¡± the person said with a chuckle as if expecting the trouble to come. ¡°It is not something you need to interfere with. I refuse your services and that is final. Stop coming here bothering us.¡± ¡°Elder, please understand. I¡¯m only here on a mission. I¡¯ve already stated everything I need to say. Till the next time we meet...¡± the unknown person showed an amused smile and bowed. ¡°If you are still here, of course.¡± The shadow disappeared leaving only the elder and the hawk in the carriage. **sigh** The elder let out a long sigh before burning the letter with magic and sent the hawk away. He then left the carriage and addressed to the person pulling the horse outside. It was a young looking man seemingly in his 20s. ¡°Lein, go and inform every family that we are going to have an announcement meeting at the next rest stop.¡± Lein nodded and called for a man nearby man to take his place before he left to inform the families. -------------- The sun was setting in the horizon in the west. Sounds of the nocturnal beasts were heard in the distance. The carriages were lined up and some fires were lit for cooking purposes. A little distance away near a clear lake a few people were gathered. Most of these people were male and looked to be from 20 up to late 30s.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. *AHEM* Everyone turned to face an old man standing on a raised platform made from vines. ¡°I had just received notice that we are going to be in the spotlight for a little while longer due to our large role in the war.¡± the Elder spoke. The people were silent listening to each word carefully. They all felt the ominous atmosphere the Elder is emitting. ¡°It is best if we stay cautious as we travel. We have finally been able to regain our freedom from the Kingdom. Most of you probably were not yet born when we first signed the contract. Many of our own had died while serving the Kingdom but now we shall turn over a new leaf. Those who stand here now are ones who decided to regain our independency. I have high hopes for everyone to recreate the most powerful magical tribe. But first we must survive. Our first priority is to protect the children, for they will be our pillars of support in the future. According to this notice, this danger that creeps closer will fall upon us and the chances of survival are slim, but I have hope that it shall not be the end.¡± ¡°What does the notice say, Elder.¡± one of the men in the group asked. The Elder sighed and shook his head slightly, ¡°The letter only contained one word.¡± Silence. ¡°¡®DANGER¡¯¡± The one word, as if written in a hurry describe the unknown future. All the Renaun tribe had ever wanted was freedom: to roam the world and settle down in a peaceful area, to seclude themselves from conflict and war. However, due to their high value of honor of being debt-free they were chained to the Kingdom of Elma for 500 years. Now their chain had broken yet the shackles are still there. -------------- The meeting disperses and men from the families returned to their children and wives. In one of the carriages near the entrance sat Emy. Her skin reflected the moonlight giving her an ethereal glow. She waited until she saw a man with golden hair appear from the trail leading to the lake. She quickly stood up and went towards him. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± She asked as she approached him. She can sense the gloom around him. ¡°Mmm...just that we should be more cautious on our travels.¡± he responded with the slight smile. ¡°How is Naulo?¡± Emy smiled at her husband, ¡°He is sleeping in the carriage. You must be hungry; I¡¯ve prepared some food for us. Naulo¡¯s already eaten some soup.¡± Auo nodded and followed Emy into the carriage. There were a total of 8 carriages for the 8 different families. These families were survivors of the Battle of Ev. The Renaun tribe had more people but some of them decided to stay within the cities of Elma and live their lives there. 8 carriages seems a lot but the Kingdom of Elma forced them to take it. The carriages were top quality with magic imbued onto them to make travelling more comfortable. A normal brown horse pulled each carriage. The carriages were high quality so it does not take much to pull it and horses were in high demand in the Kingdom at the moment due to the war. -------------- A year has past. In the snowy mountains of Esmori far to the north of the Elma continent near the borders. The weather in these mountains were either snowing or windy or both. The below freezing temperatures made human habitat near impossible. Nonetheless, the Renaun tribe was able to live there with ease. Due to their high magic affinity the mana covering their bodies block out the freezing winds. On the side of one of the cliffs, small houses were set up in a semi-circular formation with the largest house in the center belonging to the elder. Storage houses for extra supplies and stables were placed in the center as well. The houses were made mainly of wood obtained from a nearby forest located 32km (~20 miles) to the east of the village and some ice for windows. In one of the houses a small child was seen with their head near the ice window staring outside into the snow. The child had large round electric blue colored eyes surrounded by long eyelashes and glossy black hair reaching his mid-back and bangs that falls naturally over his forehead. The skin was ivory in color in contrast to the hair giving a delicate feel to the child. If one were to see this child one would think, ¡°What a beautiful girl!¡± ¡°Naulo, come over here and put on this coat. Your father will return soon to take you to the elders for your test.¡± A sweet voice called from behind the child. The child turned around and jumped off the couch looking seat and headed towards the voice¡¯s owner. Emy brought out a very thick white fur coat and put it on Naulo. She completed his attire with thick mittens, boots, and a hat. People of the Renaun tribe can withstand the cold well, but Emy and Naulo were not part of the tribe so they had to equip themselves well before they leave so they don¡¯t freeze to death. ¡°Now you just sit here and wait for your father, okay?¡± Emy asked Naulo and he nodded cutely. She then picked him up and placed him on the couch seat covered in white wolf fur and returned to the kitchen to cook dinner. Naulo was now a little over a year old and was required to take a magical affinity examination. Children of every race everywhere take this exam at this age. It is unknown when this tradition started but never has one not taken it had survived. Supposedly, this test also activates one''s magical power and allow the person to start absorbing mana from the atmosphere. Now all Naulo had to do was wait for his father to come back from the meeting with the elders to set up the test. Naulo was the only one testing this time because children could only be borne to members of the Renaun tribe every 4 years at the very least. Children conceived between Renaun tribe members¡¯ survival rates were also very low so not many children were born. Luckily, 3 children were born healthy a few years ago. Naulo stood up on the couch and looked outside the window once more and waited. Chapter 3 - Naulo Chapter 3 - Naulo ---Naulo POV--- My name is Naulo. I am 1 year 3 months old. I am the son of Emy and Auo. Mother followed father and his tribe, called the Renaun, in search of a peaceful place void of conflict to live. That is all of the information I am able to gather about my life right now. I first realized something was different about me when I was 3 months old. I gained a sense of self? I don¡¯t understand. Who am I? Where am I? These thought came to me as I started to question my existence. I cried a lot during my first few months after gaining my sense of self. I had headaches almost all of the time. Mother and father were really worried about me. It did not take me a long time to begin to understand these people¡¯s words. I guess it is because of my brain¡¯s plasticity? Well, there seems to be nothing in there as of now anyway. I thought it was normal to understand these people at this age. However, I could not voice anything. Mother said that it was weird since I should have been able to speak a while ago. I can make sounds but the words don¡¯t seem to come out. Perhaps there is a psychological barrier causing this? Today I am to be taken to the elders to have my magical affinity test. I was told that it would determine the amount of mana I can store and also my affinity. Magic. A word I have no recollection of. I don¡¯t think it existed where I was from before. Wait...where was I before here? However, it doesn¡¯t sound too unknown either. Hmm¡­ Urrgh...I feel a headache coming. Need to stop thinking when this happens. I continue to look outside into the distance. There is a small wall erected around the village to prevent beasts to come in. The beasts here are naturally cautious of humanoids, so it seems. Ahh...when is father coming. I am bored just waiting here. I pouted before turning away from the window to jump down the couch, but before I fully turned away I caught a glimpse of something moving. I quickly glued my face to the iced window. Urr...it¡¯s cold, but I persist. I squinted my eyes in hope I could see whatever that was again. Muu¡­.nothing? Was my eyes playing tricks with me? No no. That doesn¡¯t happen. I have really good eyesight. From the moment I realized I could see a layer of different color light surrounding people. It was beautiful and this layer of light also shows up in the dark. Actually...everything living contains this layer of light. So I have no problem in seeing in the dark. This light also fluctuates depending on the mood and emotions of people.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Father¡¯s light is the most beautiful I¡¯ve ever seen. It has a baby blue hue that gives warmth and so soft! I love mother but her color kind of scares me. It is a deep red color. Almost like thick blood. Yet, it also seems to flow softly as if protecting instead of harming. So I don¡¯t find her as scary anymore. Except for the times when dad makes fun of me...due to my...delicate features. I blame him though. Ahh!! Dad¡¯s here! I thought as my eyes brightened when I heard footsteps heading towards the door. The window I was looking through was facing the outside of the village so I can¡¯t see if dad was returning from there. Good thing my ears are also good allowing me to hear the footsteps of people through the thick snow. The door opens and father came in. He had a few flakes of snow on his head, making him look sillier with that smile on his face. I¡¯ve never seen him not smile. Well...except for the times he is running for his life from mom¡¯s wraith. I ran towards him as fast as this body can take me. People said I¡¯ve always moved fast and steady for my age. I jumped into his arms as he picks me up. ¡°Hello to you too, you little fur ball.¡± he said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. I gave him the brightest smile I could muster and I can feel my face burning. He is surprisingly warm despite wearing one layer of leather clothing. After saying a few words to mother, father turns towards me and asked, ¡°Shall we head out now?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± I nodded with a smile. Finally something different. Dad carried me out of the house and I was assaulted by the cold winds! I couldn¡¯t help but hugged my dad closely for the warmth. I opened my eyes to look over my dad¡¯s shoulders and saw two golden eyes staring back at me from the corner of my house. Ehh?! What is that? We continue to stare at each other for a few seconds before it disappeared. Was it a beast? How did it get through the barrier dad set up for this village? I know dad may be seen as an idiot but his barrier is first-class! Hmm...ouch my headache is coming again. I¡¯m getting tired. -------------- The room was dimly lit. I suppose it was to create a certain atmosphere? Doesn¡¯t really work out when I am able to see in the dark though. I was placed in the center of a large hall and there were strange lines drawn on the ground in a circular formation. The Elder and the other three elders surrounded the circular formation and started a chant. I cannot understand this chant at all. It sounds like pig latin, though I never understood pig latin. Before I knew it they finished the long chant and the symbol on the ground started to glow. Then it flashed a bright light causing me to become blinded for a good minute! Well, this is a problem I must fix. ¡°How is he, Elder?¡± I can hear father say quietly to the Elder. **sigh** ¡°He cannot hold onto any mana within his body. Actually, any usage of mana might put him in danger, I¡¯m not sure. I have never seen such a constitution before. It¡¯s like mana is poisonous to his body.¡± ¡°What?¡± the other elders responded. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense? Mana is the basis for all living things. Without it only death follows!¡± one of the elders stated in shock. Oi, is this something you say in front of a 1 year old?! Besides, you¡¯re an elder, why are you in shock so easily? ¡°Quiet!¡± The Elder said and then glanced at me. I only looked back curiously. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Auo. I do not understand. I cannot say anything about things I do not understand. But assuming that he has lived normally up till now, besides the fact that he can¡¯t talk yet, is proof that having no mana one can still live. I think that only time can tell what will happen. You may take him home now.¡± Father hesitated for a bit and then called out to the Elder, ¡°Elder, can he survive? In this world where mana provide shelter, food, water even. Mana is the basis of all living things and constitutes almost 100% of everything. If it was poisonous to him how is he going to survive? How can he grow? What do I tell Emy? How do I tell her?¡± As father said that his face contorted and the light around him starts to move erratically. Father! I¡¯ll be fine! I won¡¯t die! Mana is important, yes, but I am still here!! I can survive! If I¡¯m weak, I¡¯ll train! If I fall, I¡¯ll stand! If I don¡¯t have mana, I can still use things that do! Not having mana is not the end of the world, father! Poisonous to me? PAH!! I¡¯m always surrounded by mana but I haven¡¯t fallen yet. If it¡¯s poisonous, then I¡¯ll gain immunity! There are many more paths one can take in life. It is not limited to one! I wanted to tell father. I want to calm him. I wanted to talk to him! ¡®Father, don¡¯t worry!¡¯ I want to say. I stood up and walked towards father, hugged his leg, and looked up to him. He saw me. He saw my worry and corrected himself. He smiled. It was a sweet smile and his light returned to the usual gentleness. He picked me up and hugged me. It was comfortable. I¡¯m tired. I¡¯m falling asleep. Urrrgh...curse this childish body. I want to listen and learn more. Before I fade into a dreaming state I heard father saying to the elders. ¡°Thank you elders. I apologize for the display. I have worried everyone and Naulo. I shall return for today.¡± I can feel a slight change in gravity as father did a slight bow to the elders. Then my consciousness faded. Chapter 4 - Friends Author''s Note: I don''t know if anyone had notice but if you exchange the "U" to an "H" in "AUO" it becomes "AHO". For those who are manga and anime otakus would know what "AHO" mean (idiot). I personally just realized it. I seriously did NOT give Auo that name on purpose...0.0 though surprisingly his personality ended up like that...haha. Well here is the fourth chapter enjoy!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4 - Friends ---Naulo¡¯s POV--- It has been a year since the magical test. Nothing much has changed and nothing unusual has happened. Mother started to teach me how to write and read in her free time saying that it will be useful in the future. Not many people in this world know how to read and write, usually only leaders or nobles know. Though seriously? You¡¯re going to teach a 2 year old how to read and write? A 2 year old who hasn¡¯t talked yet? Yes, yes...it appears I still have some problems voicing out words. I¡¯m working on it! There is nothing wrong with my vocal chords so I conclude that it is psychological. As if I¡¯ve never done so before. Hmm...was I a mute before? Mother¡¯s job for this village was to teach the children how to read, write, and all of the basic information. There are not many children in the village, but there are three who are close to my age, 3 years older. The children all gathered in my living room for the lectures though. Since there were only about 6 children total, including me. There was one child that was conceived this year, though I do not know if it will be a successful birth. **BAM** The front door of my home swung open loudly and a boy with crimson colored messy hair came in with a creepy smile on his face. Behind him were two platinum hair colored girls who were twins, extremely rare in our tribe. Guh!! I suddenly felt a chill and it¡¯s not from the cold breeze that was entering from the doorway. Goosebumps appeared on my body and I can feel cold sweat running down my back. I can see a menacing dark red light coming from the kitchen area and covering the entire house. As the light reach the three 5 year olds in the doorway they froze in place with fear showing in their eyes, well except for the idiot who slammed the door open. **SMACK** A fist came out of nowhere and hit the kid with the crimson colored hair in the head. It must have contained a lot of force because the kid¡¯s face smacked onto the floor...hard. W-what is this child abuse?!! I thought with wide eyes seeing this brutal scene. Though I¡¯m surprised there was no blood. ¡°GYAAAAAAA!!!! It hurts!!!¡± the crimson hair kid cried as he miraculously sat up and grabbed his head as if to protect it. ¡°XAAAARO, how many times have I told you to not break down my door when you come here?¡± mother said very slowly. Her aura light around her seems to have taken on the form of a demon. ¡°Ehe.¡± Xaro made a cute face sticking out his tongue, only to invite another smack in the head from mother. This time with a little less force. **PAK** ¡°Don¡¯t act cute!¡± ¡°Gah!! I-I¡¯m sorry, Teacher Emy!!¡± Xaro hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply to mother. **Sigh** Mother gave a sigh that seem to have the meaning that she gave up on pursuing this matter, for now. Right after apologizing Xaro looked right at me with a stupid looking smile on his face and his eyes shining. ¡°NAULO!!¡± he called loudly as he rushed at me to give me a death hug. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He was about 2 feet away from me when he lunged at me. I gracefully did a side step and his head slammed against the wall behind me. Hmm¡­.I wonder if this is also child abuse? Though no, it¡¯s just Xaro so it¡¯s fine. ¡°Naulo¡± he cried, ¡°that was mean. Why did you avoid my hug?¡± Oi, oi. That would be me slamming into the wall if I didn¡¯t avoid. Do you want to kill me?! I couldn¡¯t say it so I just expressed my words onto my face. I made a complicated face, shook my head, gave an audible sigh, and pointed at the wall that Xaro head-butted. **Pffff** The two girls that arrived with Xaro tried to hold back a laugh. ¡°Xaro is Xaro. I think he can be a race of his own!¡± said one of the girls with short platinum colored hair and cat-shaped dark green eyes. She seems to be a bit proud stating that as well. Twins were really rare in our tribe. Though somehow the villagers thought that it would be a great idea to give them similar sounding names. I really don¡¯t understand the trend with giving twins similar things, such as names. These twins were named Mila and Mili. Mila was the older twin and more of a tomboy while the younger twin, Mili, was more quiet and graceful. ¡°Big sister Mila, you are not helping the situation.¡± Mili said quietly. Her voice blended into the atmosphere so no one really heard it. I was only able to hear it because I had good hearing. Perhaps having no mana caused my senses to be greatly enhanced?!! OH!! My eyes lit up. I see, I see. This can be useful. If my senses are higher than normal then perhaps I can use it to not die and perhaps grow stronger?!! YAY! Xaro noticed my brief excitement and seems to want to ask but was interrupted when the front door open yet again, normally this time. One kid came in. He had dark brown hair color and same colored eyes. Pretty bland compared to all of the other people in this tribe. He was 9 years old. ¡°The lecture did not start yet?¡± he asked calmly while looking at all four of us. His view settled on me and I shook my head. He then went and took one of the sitting pillows stacked up in the corner and sat down in the center of the living room. There were only enough for the amount of children in the village. Soon mother came in with a few wooden blocks and a small bowl of water for each of us. We don¡¯t use papers and have never seen a book before. Most of the villagers do not know how to read or write but the Elder said it was a good idea to teach the children this skill. Apparently only the Elder and mother know how to read and write. Lessons were usually done with us learning how to write by using water on a dry wooden block. Reading was much more difficult. Since mother would write the words on her wooden block and let us read it aloud before it dries. Well I think you get the point. -------------- I¡¯m not sure how much time has passed, but probably over 8 hours. Xaro has collapsed onto the floor with his bottom in the air. I can see his soul trying to leave his body¡­. Mila has already been crying in frustration for a while. I can see she is getting agitated. Mili is trying to act okay but she seems exhausted. Well, my mother¡¯s teaching is very strict and pressuring. So I don¡¯t blame them. Well, there is always a weird one in a group. The brown haired guy is completely calm, similarly to when he came in. It¡¯s a bit creepy. Mother asked all of us questions on reading and writing and even some simple math calculation since it is useful. Except for me since I¡¯m too young for the lessons but since all of the kids are here she allowed me to tag along. Well, she does teach me as well not expecting much. Anyway, she asked him a lot of questions compared to the other three but he answered them all swiftly, accurately, and calmly. ¡°Alright, that would be all for today. Come again next week.¡± mother said to the students. **URRRGH** ¡°I¡¯ll be dead by then.¡± cried Xaro after mother left for the kitchen to make dinner for us. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that Xaro!¡± Mila yelled with dread on her face. The front door open and father came in. Where was he all day I wonder. ¡°Oh? You kids haven¡¯t left yet? This is rare.¡± he said feigning surprise. He knows the horrors of mom¡¯s lessons. ¡°I shall excuse myself now.¡± the kid with the brown hair said aloud as he stood up and bowed slightly. I suppose a bow indicate respect to an elder person. ¡°Oh, Kan? You are still here? Usually, you would leave the lesson early. Got free time today?¡± Ah, so his name was Kan. Well, don¡¯t blame me for not knowing it, since you never really come here for lessons every week anyway. Actually, I never really see you around at all! Isn¡¯t it weird? It¡¯s a small village. ¡°Yes. I was able to complete my tasks earlier than expected allowing me to come here today and stay longer.¡± Kan replied as he returned his seat cushion to the corner and stacked the wooden block to the side. Tasks? ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see you next week then?¡± father asked him. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m being sent out with the others.¡± ¡°Ahh, alright. See you around then, Kan.¡± Kan bowed once more and left. ¡°AHHHH~~ can I also get out of the village?! I wanna escape the torture lessons¡­¡± Xaro said, though his last sentence was in a volume lower than normal. ¡°Haha, wait another 2 years!¡± father said with a laugh. ¡°Hmmph! Who needs 2 years! All three of us are more advance than the usual 7 year olds of the past! With Xaro as tank, Mili¡¯s healing, and my attack powers we can decimate all our foes!!¡± Mila stated proudly. ¡°It¡¯s nice to have confidence but it is not good to underestimate one¡¯s opponent.¡± father said seriously, but still with a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s time for you kids to go home and sleep now. It¡¯s late. I shall see you all next time.¡± ¡°Bye!!¡± the three of them said with a smile and ran out. It seems as they are still treated as kids so etiquette was not yet taught to them. Though I say all three, Mili is more reserved. -------------- Dinner. ¡°You have nice friends, Naulo.¡± father said to me. Despite me not having mana. Despite me not being able to talk yet. Despite all of that, my parents treat me normally and love me unconditionally. The villagers also treat me normally but they don¡¯t seem to really take much notice of me. Only the kids seem to pay some attention to me, Xaro the most out of them. I nodded to my dad¡¯s statement. ¡°They will help you grow.¡± father said solemnly. I looked at my father and saw a scary smile his face for a few seconds before his usual smile returned. Ehh? Ehh? What was that? Huh? I look towards mother and she had an all-knowing smile on her face as well. Ehh? What have they planned? Am I missing something? I guess I don¡¯t understand my parents as much as I thought I did. Gender-bending questions Sooo...I''ve been getting a lot of questions about the gender-bending tag way more often than I had expected. First of all, there were some hints and clues on gender-bending happening already, though since the setting is still in a small, I repeat, "small" village there is not a large effect. Secondly, the gender-bending tag will definitely play a large role in storyline development. (Or at least that is how I have planned it, since this story is still in the developing process ideas and events will change accordingly, sorry about that. I am trying my best to not have any or large plot-holes, which I''m sure will probably come up later. T.T) Lastly, please have patience for me. I know that for now the story is a bit static and no events are happening but this is the base of the story. Every character, actions, personality, and events will play a larger role in the future development of the story. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.(If not I shall make it so...<.< >.>.....since I only have the general outline of this story so the minute detailed are being created as I write and update this. Probably not a good idea but I''m to lazy to do so otherwise, besides finals are coming.) Alright enough excuses from me. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings/expectations readers have. I hope you enjoy this story, if not please tell me what you don''t enjoy about it so I can learn from my mistakes. Thank you for reading! Chapter 5 - The Forest Chapter 5 - The Forest It was a silent day. The winds were howling through the village that seems to be empty. Everyone was gathered in the village elders place in the great hall. The Elders place was separated into a great hall for meetings or ceremonies and a smaller back area for housing. In the great hall everyone was gathered and were sitting on the floor awaiting the arrival of the Elder and Auo. There were quiet whispering now and then but the great hall was mainly quiet. Naulo was now 4 years old and sitting with his mother. The other 7 year olds were sitting near their respective families. The 7 year olds were all tall almost to the size of the adults, still losing to a few tens of centimeters. They were now in the young adult stage, which lasts for a long while till the 30s. The adult stage lasts much longer. Auo and the Elder came out and stood in front of the group of people. ¡°Ahem. This gathering is for two announcements. First, the new children are able to venture into the outer regions of the forest. We need to build up our powers sooner. However, the bad news is that the forest seems to be agitated. Auo will inform you more about this.¡± the Elder said as he stepped aside for Auo to step forward. ¡°As the Elder said. There seems to be something happening to the forest. Through the barrier I erected around the village I sensed the high number of beast that moved closer to the borders of the forest; closer to the barrier. However, we need to gather materials from the forest. Therefore, the 7 year olds must be accompanied by an older person when entering the forest.¡± Auo then promptly moved backwards and the Elder went back up to end the short speech. If the meeting was so short was it necessary to have a meeting this early? Naulo thought as he was trying to stay awake. He doesn¡¯t like being woken up very early in the day. --------------- The meeting was adjourned and everyone returned to their homes. Xaro, Mili, and Mila gathered near the front gates with Kan. ¡°Kan, when are we going to be leaving?¡± Xaro asked excitedly. He was very tall and well build for his age. This was due to his harsh training with his father, who was the only magical warrior of the village. Due the Renaun tribe¡¯s features it was rare to have people that can develop physically strong bodies. Xaro was wearing leather armor, mainly, but had some steel plate armor on his chest area. Kan gave Xaro a judging look and continued to ignore him. ¡°We move out in an hour.¡± Kan said calmly before he left, leaving the three 7 year olds behind. "Kan is very distant, don''t you think? I mean we are in a small village but we rarely see him around." Mila said with her arms crossed. "Well, he is being trained to become a leader. Possibly the next elder or next next elder! So of course he''s busy. Anyway, we get to finally venture deeper into the forest!" Xaro said excitedly. "What''s there to be excited about? We are just going to collect plants. Besides didn''t you listen you the announcement? Stronger beasts are moving closer to the barrier." "How can you NOT be excited for adventure?! Beasts or no beasts I''m tired of fighting white rabbits and owls and dummies for practice! By the way, how was Sir Auo able to know that more beasts were coming closer?" Xaro said as he places a hand on his chin in a thinking pose. "It is a unique magical ability, I suppose. You don''t ask about those things though, it''s rude." Mila stated.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Soon the thoughts of venturing deeper into the forest caused the three to become excited and anxious as the hour slowly passed by. ¡°Urrgh!! Where is Kan?!! He should be here already!! The hour has already passed!¡± Xaro said while he walked around in a circle. ¡°That¡¯s weird. Should we go to find him? He might be somewhere in the village.¡± Mila suggested. ¡°He is never in the village when he disappears. So that would most likely be useless. Perhaps we can ask one of the older adults where Kan went?¡± Xaro rebutted. ¡°Un, yes. That seems to be the best.¡± Mila agreed to Xaro¡¯s suggestion and Mili nodded. As the three were preparing to head back into the village to find someone to ask, Xaro saw out of the corner of his eye a figure that went out into the forest. Xaro recognized the familiar figure but did not believe what he saw. No, no it can¡¯t possibly be him. Yeah, he can¡¯t leave the barrier without Sir Auo knowing and has no reason to. Let¡¯s assume I saw wrong. The three of them returned to the inner village area and look around for the adults. Somehow none of the adults were seen outside and the village was quiet. The three became a bit nervous. What could have caused everyone to disappear? They went towards the village elder place and entered. Inside were the adults and younger adults. Not everyone in the village was present though. ¡°Excuse us, why is everyone gathered here again? I thought that the morning meeting was over?¡± Xaro asked politely to one of the adults nearby. ¡°What are you kids doing here?¡± the older man said as he pushed the three of them outside. The three of them became really confused. They couldn¡¯t really be called ¡®kids¡¯ anymore since they were at the age of a young adult now, but they couldn¡¯t really say anything to refute the older man¡¯s words. ¡°What is going on, sir?¡± Mila asked with an annoyed look on her face. She didn¡¯t like to be pushed around, literally. Besides her uncle was one of the most powerful in the tribe. ¡°Nothing much for you all to worry over. What are you doing here? Shouldn¡¯t you be out gathering the plants?¡± ¡°We are not allowed to leave the village without a older person due to the amount of beasts that are coming closer. This was said in the morning announcement, sir.¡± Mili said with a little bit of annoyance present in her voice as well. She was usually a quiet girl, but that doesn¡¯t mean that she was nice. She is the twin of Mila so there was bound to be some similarities. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Where is Kan? He¡¯s supposed to be heading out there with you all right?¡± ¡°That is why were are here. Kan was supposed to meet up with us again after an hour but he never showed up.¡± Xaro said losing his formal tone. The older man thought for a while and seemed to have been able to conclude something before saying, ¡°Right, well I¡¯ll go tell the others to assign someone else to you all. Wait a while.¡± The older man then went back into the great hall. Soon a young man seemingly at the age of 20 emerged with the earlier older man. ¡°Lein, you are responsible for these kids for now until Kan returns.¡± The older man assigned and went back into the hall. Lein looked at the three 7 year olds and gave a smile, ¡°My name is Lein and I¡¯ll be your guardian of some sorts for a while. Sorry about Kan. He seems to be busy at the moment and didn¡¯t have time to tell you all about it.¡± Lein then scratched the back of his head showing a slightly embarrassed look. He gave of an aura of a nice guy but not one that someone can take advantage of. His attitude caused the 7 year olds to be less annoyed at the time wasted. ¡°My name is Xaro, son of Cario, mighty warrior of the Renaun tribe! I¡¯m also a warrior aiming to become the best magical warrior!¡± Xaro said proudly giving a slight bow to Lein. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he knows who we are. This is a small village after all.¡± Mila said with a concern look at Xaro, afraid that there was something wrong with his brain. ¡°Shhhh...it doesn¡¯t hurt to formally introduce ourselves to our caretaker!¡± Xaro replied feigning anger. Mili smiled and introduced herself with a bow, ¡°My name is Mili, niece of Lino, the strategist of the Renaun tribe. My specialties are healing.¡± Mila pouted for a while and also introduced herself, ¡°My name is Mila, also niece of Lino. My specialty is magic attack with all elements.¡± Mila did not bow to Lein but he didn¡¯t mind. Lein gave a business smile and introduced himself formally as well, ¡°My name is Lein. Son of the 3rd elder. Specialty is the spear.¡± Lein gave off the impression of easily dependable and not too cold compared to Kan. He was also older so he has more experience in different matters. He had silver colored hair as well as his eyes. His skin was a bit tan and he was well built with muscles similar to Xaro except not as powerful looking. He specialized more on speed over strength, opposite of Xaro. ¡°Shall we head out?¡± Lein asked the three. They all agreed quickly because they have been waiting for a long time to be able to travel deeper into the forest to see the scenery. They have heard stories from older kids and adults that the scenery changes after a certain distance into the forest and it was breathtakingly beautiful. As the four prepare to head out a figure was seen walking quickly towards the village elder¡¯s place. The figure was bundled up in many layers of clothing and long glossy black was seen flowing in the wind. The figure was too large to be Naulo. It was Naulo¡¯s mother, Emy. ¡°Lady Emy, what is the matter?¡± Lein asked Emy since she rarely comes to the village elder¡¯s place and she had a worried look on her face. Seeing Lein ask she quickly asked a question, ¡°Have you seen Naulo? I have sent him out to get some firewood but haven¡¯t seen him return in a while so I went out to look for him. I couldn¡¯t find him anywhere in the village so I¡¯m hoping if I can find him in the village elder¡¯s place. It¡¯s the only place I haven¡¯t checked.¡± Xaro¡¯s face paled at Emy¡¯s question. Lein showed a look of worry. Both Emy and Lein notice Xaro¡¯s change. ¡°Have you seen my Naulo?!¡± Emy asked in an almost pleading voice. ¡°I-, I saw someone earlier heading towards the forest that looked like Naulo. I didn¡¯t believe that Naulo could leave the barrier without Sir Auo¡¯s notice so I thought I saw wrong.¡± Xaro answered with dread. Emy¡¯s face paled looking like a ghost she ran into the great hall at an extremely fast pace that was not expected. The four stood there each showing a complicated expression. Why did Naulo enter the forest? Chapter 6 - Pieces of the Puzzle Chapter 6 - Pieces of the Puzzle The Elder, Auo, Lino, Cario, and all of the other adults present in the room were sitting in a circular formation in the great hall. Everyone seems to be having an important discussion. Mostly males were present and the few females that were present were the ones where their husbands had died in the war and if their sons had stayed back in the Kingdom of Elma. Everyone was startled when Emy entered the hall at a fast pace. Auo immediately headed towards her and pulled her onto one side, "What''s going on? Something happened?" He asked very anxiously. "Naulo...Naulo might have entered the forest" Emy said with difficulty. She was starting to blame herself for not watching over Naulo more carefully. Though Naulo has never done anything before to worry anyone. Emy received a light pat on her head and Auo went towards the group with a serious expression. "Elder, it seems we must move up the plan." ¡°Had something happened?¡± The Elder said with an understanding tone. ¡°It seems Naulo has entered the forest on his own.¡± ¡°I see. The wheels of fate have started to turn.¡± The Elder stated. Auo slightly nodded. ------------- ---A little while earlier--- When Naulo and Emy returned to their homes Emy told Naulo to go get some firewood since their house was running out of firewood used for cooking as well as to keep warm. Naulo grudgingly went out while Emy starts preparation for making breakfast. There was not much to do in the village, yet at the same time there was a lot to do. Everyone has their own jobs. From cooking to catching prey to keeping a lookout different people were assigned to different things. Emy often chose cooking and sampling new prey and plants to see if they were edible and how best to cook it. She quite enjoy her time in the kitchen. Naulo went out towards the inner circle of the village towards one of the sheds that contain storage materials. Brr...it¡¯s cold. I wanna sleep. I guess since I¡¯m already 4 mother is starting to give me chores to do. Even though I can somewhat help out around the house, I always end up lazing around in the end. Naulo thought while pouting. As Naulo approached the shed he suddenly felt a piercing yell full of anger. Naulo instinctively crouched down and covered his ears. As the yell dissipated Naulo raised his head and showed a concerned look towards the forest. Wha? What was that? It¡¯s coming from the forest? Huh? Naulo looked around the village. It seems as if the sound was not heard by anyone else. Was it the forest¡¯s problem like father said this morning? No, if so then father would have also heard it and I would have felt it earlier. What is this? Naulo was confused. A feeling originating from his deepest self came forward. Ever since Naulo was born he had never felt attached to anything. Sure, he cares for his parents and love them, but he would not sacrifice his life for them. He did not attach that much importance to anything. He felt detached to his life.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. However, this time was different. He felt it strongly and he didn¡¯t know why. He continuously look towards the forest with concern. Was this feeling connected to his past life? The more Naulo tried to ignore the sound and continue with what he was doing, the more uneasiness that appeared in his heart. He started to have trouble breathing as fear start to appear within him. Then, something like an instinct overtook his body. I-, I-, I must go. In the end this was the only thought left in Naulo as he headed towards the forest. -------------- ---Present time--- As the men started to prepare to head towards the forest only the Elder, Auo, and Emy remained in the great hall. ¡°What do you mean ¡®wheels of fate has started to turn¡¯?¡± Emy asked the Elder respectfully but also with a look of panic. If one looked closely at her face they would see concern with a bit of shock and fear. The Elder looked at Emy with a look of trust, ¡°I guess it¡¯s about time to tell you.¡± Emy looked at the Elder and Auo nervously. ¡°First off, how I know. Each one of us with a high position contains a special power. We are mutants within mutants because we had deviated from the elves and became more powerful. Auo has an extremely high sensitivity to nature as well as mana fluctuations when people use magic. That is why he is able to create the strongest barrier using the knowledge he gained. Cario might not be the only magical warrior in existence but he is certainly the strongest due to our tribe¡¯s affinity with nature. Lino¡¯s magic might not be all-powerful but he can borrow nature to help him see, even if it takes a lot of his mana. ¡°I, compared to everyone in this tribe, am weak. However, the reason I have survived till now is because I see visions of dangerous future events. Though they only appear when I have great concern over certain things and I have no control over them. ¡°Lately, I have been continuously concerned over this tribe. What I see is not a happy ending. We cannot escape our fate of destruction no matter how far we run and where we hide. Us leaving the Elma Kingdom would allow the kingdom to build it forces and fight against the Ragohu. However, with us staying there, they will face destruction as well.¡± Emy was confused and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Elder, why would the Renaun leaving allow the Elma Kingdom this?¡± The Elder gave a painful smile, ¡°It seems the Ragohu was more powerful than we all expected. This was a secret kept for 500 years. The Ragohu had always been after us, the Renaun tribe. The Elma Kingdom, even if unknowingly after the first few years, had always been protecting us from them. We are a small tribe and with the help of a kingdom we were able to live. It was a beneficial contract between the Elma and us. We gave them more military powers to rule over the neighboring kingdoms and they provide protection from the Ragohu¡¯s armies. However, I had never believed that we were safe.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Emy couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°That is a question with an answer that dates back even further, but we are running out of time. The world will be in chaos in a couple of years. Not just us, the Ragohu, and the Elma, but the entire world. And Naulo will be in the center of this turmoil. Therefore, we must protect Naulo and the children. For they will be the ones who shall determine the course this world will travel on in the future.¡± At this moment the door opened and a man announced that they were done with the preparations and ready to move out. Emy asked the last questions, ¡°Elder, what do you see in your visions? How do you see them?¡± ¡°What I see is like what people see in dreams. Everything is vague but the outcome would always be true. Naulo, I saw clearly, and he plays an important part. Whether the role he plays is good or bad, I do not know. The main role and who plays it, I also do not know... ¡°I saw a demon, no a devil sneering over the mass destruction. I saw the world end.¡± But how were you able to see that it can be saved? Can it even be saved? Emy questioned in her mind. She had a feeling that the Elder would not give a clear answer to these questions. The Elder had hope. He cared for this world and he does not want it to be destroyed. The Elder left. Auo was by Emy¡¯s side all throughout the explanation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Emy. I have brought you with me even when I know you were going to be facing danger. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Auo said with a slightly shaking voice. He loved Emy from the moment he saw her in that bakery. He did everything in his power to get her to fall in love with him and it was not easy. He would sacrifice almost everything, even his own life, if it made her happy. Emy shook her head strongly, ¡°No, I wanted to go with you. It was my choice. It was not your fault!¡± ¡°You saw that I did not feel comfortable in the kingdom so you left with me.¡± ¡°No, I went with you for everyone¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°You loved your father so much. You would not leave him like that.¡± ¡°I left for everyone¡¯s sake¡± Emy repeated herself strongly, ¡°I had a feeling at that time that I shouldn¡¯t stay in the kingdom and now I finally know the reason.¡± Auo still did not understand Emy¡¯s explanation and he felt that Emy wanted to explain the reason so he did not ask. He will wait until Emy comes and tell him clearly herself. However, now Auo believed that Emy followed him because she wanted to and the danger she¡¯s in was not his fault. He still blamed himself but felt a little bit more comforted. ¡°I think you should go and get Naulo back. He has to be safe.¡± Emy said to Auo staring into his sky-blue eyes. They were both worried over Naulo but somewhere inside them they know he will survive. Why did he go into the forest? They still did not know. Auo gave Emy a slight peck on her lips and left. Emy would not be going. The village needed some people to watch over and she was not as close to nature as them so she will not be useful even if she did go. As soon as everyone left Emy¡¯s trusting smile for Auo disappeared. Her face showed that she was now filled with dread. She then gave a hopeless smile and spoke quietly to herself, ¡°Elder, the destruction of the Elma and Renaun in your vision is not because they are after you, but they are after me. If the Ragohu were after me then that means...¡± After speaking, tears started to fall from Emy¡¯s face. Chapter 7 - Fated Meeting Chapter 7 - Fated Meeting Xaro looked towards the forest. Is Naulo going to be all right? Why did he go into the forest anyway? ¡°Alright let¡¯s head out!¡± Cario said aloud. Xaro was about to follow along but was stopped by Lein. Xaro looked questionably at Lein and he just shook his head. ¡°Why can¡¯t we go?! Naulo is our friend!¡± Xaro asked aloud as his worry changed to anger. ¡°You are still not ready for battle. You have only finished basic training, if you go you will probably be in the way more than help out.¡± Lein said strictly. Lein then caught the Elder¡¯s eyes and the Elder shook his head. Lein then stepped aside to let the three pass through. ¡°Elder, we can come along?¡± Mili asked a little surprised. What Lein said was correct; they would be in the way because they were still weak. ¡°It is a good chance for you three to see how a real situation is. The original intent of this trip was to clear the forest of the powerful beasts that came closer but now the main goal is to find Naulo. You three will learn much by observing at the very least.¡± The Elder said. -------------- Naulo was walking through the dense forest. This was his first time in the forest but he did not feel out of place. The evergreen trees and bushes were comfortable to be around. Where he is going? He doesn¡¯t know. His feet are taking him somewhere deeper into the forest. As Naulo was making his way through the forest he stopped at one of the trees because he noticed a blood stain. Hmm...There seems to be a battle. The light is much brighter over there. After these four years Naulo noticed that the light that he sees on people usually surrounds them and when they use magic it condensed to a point before magic is formed. Only few people continue to have the surrounding layer of light as they cast a spell. The light Naulo was able to see was the mana within people and all living things. -------------- Xaro, Mila, and Mili were following the group into the forest, which were ominously quiet. No animals or beasts were seen; even birds and insects were not heard. The group was making way slowly into the forest on guard due to the quiet atmosphere. Lino was leading because he was able to perceive through nature nearby using a reasonable amount of magical power. He raised his raised his hand and everyone stopped.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°It seems that the majority of the magical beasts in the area had disperse farther away and a group of powerful beasts are gathered deeper in the forest.¡± Lino said to the group. ¡°Does that mean that Naulo would be there?¡± Auo asked Lino. Lino shook his head, ¡°Even with the help of nature¡¯s vision finding Naulo would be difficult due to his lack of mana. But if I would guess I believe that Naulo would somehow be drawn there. Since the forest is acting weirdly at the same time Naulo disappeared I am assuming that it is due to the powerful beasts gathering, most likely the wolves.¡± ¡°Why would wolves be gathering near the village? Usually they would prefer to stay much deeper into the forest.¡± Cario questioned. ¡°Let us go and we shall find out.¡± Auo stated and they all started to move forward. -------------- **Huff huff** Urrgh...I don¡¯t have much stamina. Just this little hill and I¡¯m already tired? This body is so weak. Naulo was heading towards the area with the most magic. This might not be a very smart idea but Naulo felt as if something was pulling him towards that area. Just a bit more¡­ As Naulo reached the top of the small hill what he saw was blood. A lot of blood in the battlefield below covering the white snow creating a crimson floor in the small clearing. The sight of the large amount of blood did not faze him but it brought about fear in him, but it was not the fear of blood. Why am I afraid? Then Naulo saw a figure of a large black wolf fighting against a group of about 20 white wolves. The fighting was brutal as the black wolf moved agilely to avoid the white wolves¡¯ blows while landing blows of its own. There were flashes of darkness where the black wolf would disappear and reappear near a white wolf to tear out their windpipe. However, as the battle continued it can be seen that the black wolf was at a disadvantage due to the white wolves high numbers, which was still increasing as reinforcement came. One of the white wolves was able to grab on to the black wolf¡¯s tail as another came to bite its neck. Intense pain ran through Naulo¡¯s soul as he fell to his knees. SARIN!! NO!! Naulo¡¯s vision became blurry. I...need...to¡­.help...Sarin. I am to weak! I can¡¯t do anything!! I am so useless!!! I need to help!! The black wolf escaped the clutches of the white wolves by its shadow shift appearing in a nearby tree shadow. During the struggle the black wolf noticed Naulo through a similar pull that Naulo felt. It was worried. It ran around to the side of the hill and quickly grabbed Naulo by his coat collar and ran away. The white wolves did not give chase just yet. They were waiting for more reinforcement. ¡®What¡¯s the situation?¡¯ a large 8 meter tall white wolf asked the 6-7 meter wolves. ¡®Leader, we have lost about 15 wolves from our side pack and 6 wolves from the main pack.¡¯ a grayish white wolf answered, ¡®We have 8 wolves remaining from the main pack and 2 from the side pack. It is expected that from the other side packs about 40 more wolves will come as reinforcement.¡¯ ¡®Hmmph, promote the 2 surviving wolves to the main pack and recover your stamina. We shall continue the chase when reinforcement arrive.¡¯ the leader ordered. The white wolves retreated into the forest. Those who can continue to fight followed the leader while those who can¡¯t are left there to fend for themselves. Only the strongest will survive. Meanwhile, the black wolf was carrying Naulo towards a nearby cave hidden by the dense vegetation. Inside of the cave was really dark but it proved no difficulty for the black wolf or Naulo because there were many bats living there as well as large rats which gives of light to Naulo. Usually, the bats and rats would attack the weak Naulo immediately but due to the presence of the black wolf they stood still and observed hoping to be able to get remnants. Naulo was currently unconscious from the sudden pain he experience and surge of emotions that were barely there throughout his life. The black wolf placed Naulo down gently in the cave in the most comfortable place it believed to be. Naulo. Why are you here? Chapter 8 - Weak Chapter 8 - Weak ¡°It seems there was a large battle here between powerful beasts.¡± Cario said, ¡°but it weren¡¯t equal in numbers. There were about 20 wolves fighting something more powerful.¡± Cario was reading the indentions in the snow and area of the bloody battlefield to theorize what had happened. ¡°What? But aren¡¯t wolves the most powerful in this forest?¡± one of the men traveling along asked. ¡°Hmm¡­.this beast¡¯s footprint also seems like a small wolf¡¯s, meaning it hasn¡¯t fully developed yet.¡± Cario explained his observation with a confused look. ¡°Could it be the legendary black wolf? Black wolves themselves are not rare but the only one who can stay in this weather is that black wolf.¡± Auo said aloud to all of them. ¡°Then, Naulo should be around here?¡± ¡°Wait, look at this over here!¡± Cario said as he saw the black wolf¡¯s footprint near the tree. The snow falling covered the footprints of the small child who was too light to even make a deep impression so the group wasn¡¯t able to follow them. Despite the hill being small people standing at the bottom couldn¡¯t see what was on top. Cario followed the footprints up the hill and said aloud, ¡°It seems that the wolf pick up something light on the hill before it ran away from the other big wolves.¡± ¡°It was Naulo, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Auo said with almost certainty. Cario agreed with a nod, ¡°Most probably. We should follow the footprints before they get covered by the snow.¡± The weather in the Esmori Mountains were always either snowing or windy making tracking very difficult. Even though all member of the Renaun tribe were efficient in tracking, Cario was the best. As everyone was gathering atop the hill preparing to follow Cario, Lino yelled out. ¡°Wait!¡± Lino paused and closed his eyes sending out his mana to the surrounding 100 meter tall trees. ¡°It seems as if there is a group of wolves heading our way. Their number reaching around 50.¡± ¡°Are they after the black wolf?¡± Auo stated. ¡°Naulo might be in trouble right now! What if the black wolf hurt Naulo!¡± Xaro who was silent until now yelled aloud. He felt that Auo wanted to stop the group of wolves approaching instead of hurrying to Naulo¡¯s rescue. ¡°That¡¯s,¡± Auo paused, he felt no fear when he realized the black wolf took Naulo. His instinct told him that Naulo was not going to be in danger with the black wolf and he had lived a long time trusting his instinct. ¡°Lino, I can¡¯t explain it properly but I believe that Naulo would be safe and the immediate danger would be this group of approaching wolves.¡± Lino was the strategist of the group so they all looked to him. Lino nodded and said, ¡°Okay, we shall set up a base here and prepare to engage in battle with the approaching wolves.¡± ¡°Sir Auo!! Naulo is with a wolf! A wolf! Why would he not be in danger?!! Sir Lino! How can you just abandon a tribe member?¡± Xaro was getting hysteric because his best friend was in danger yet all of them were putting it off to the side! ¡°XARO! This is a decision of us adults. We have experience based on what we decide.¡± Cario reprimanded Xaro strongly. ¡°Father?!!¡± Xaro yelled in surprised, he thought that his father would be different but his father also pushed aside one of their own, ¡°Then I must go find Naulo! Even if I¡¯m going alone!¡± Xaro left the group ignoring Cario¡¯s call for him to come back and stay here with them. Auo came up and patted Cario¡¯s shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s fine Cario, Xaro would be safe since most of the other dangerous beasts has left the vicinity. I think we can let the children find Naulo. I doubt the black wolf will attack Naulo¡¯s friends.¡± Cario sighed and agreed with Auo, ¡°Mila and Mili you guys can follow Xaro.¡± Mila and Mili glanced at Lino and saw him nod so they followed after Xaro. In the distance Xaro was seen tracking the black wolf¡¯s footprints while muttering angrily, ¡°I can¡¯t believe them. Why would they do that to Naulo. They just abandoned him! Sir Lino and the other guys I understand because Naulo is weak they didn¡¯t really care much for him since he can¡¯t bring in benefits for the tribe, but Sir Auo and Father, I do not!! Naulo is Sir Auo¡¯s son!! Why would he abandon his own son?! And Father!! Father has always said that the weak must be protected, why did he also abandon Naulo?!¡± From behind two beautiful girls approached. They quietly followed behind Xaro sensing his mood. Soon they arrived at the cave where Naulo and the black wolf were. Xaro took some time to find the entrance since ice vines covered it, which were a blue-white in color and ice cold to the touch. As Xaro was preparing to enter the cave he was knock out flying towards the tree behind. ¡°Xaro!!¡± Mila and Mili screamed in shock as they rush towards him. Mili immediately used her power to heal Xaro as Mila faced the cave entrance in a fighting stance with Xaro and Mili behind her. **Grrrrr** The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. From the cave entrance appeared a 4-meter tall pitch-black wolf. The fur was so dark it did not reflect the sun in the slightest. It seems to be absorbing all the light hitting its body. ¡®Too weak! I can¡¯t leave Naulo to them. Enemies are coming!¡¯ the black wolf thought. The black wolf return quickly into the cave and brought Naulo out and ran with Naulo. ¡°Naulo!!¡± Xaro screamed helplessly at the disappearing figure of the black wolf and Naulo DAMN IT!!! I¡¯m so useless!! So weak!! I was too preoccupied with finding Naulo that I forgot to check the surroundings! Naulo is now gone right before my eyes while I got stupidly injured causing other people to worry! I¡¯m so weak! Xaro thought as Mili healed him. He was extremely disappointed in himself. He now knows that without power to back him up he will not be able to protect what is important to him. He was extremely frustrated as he clenched his fist tightly, his nails digging into his flesh drawing blood, which was also healed by Mili. After Mili was done Xaro stood up and turn towards the two girls, ¡°Let¡¯s follow.¡± The girls nodded and followed Xaro running behind the wolf. ¡°It¡¯s not just your fault Xaro. I wasn¡¯t injured or anything but I let the wolf take Naulo away. I froze when I saw that black wolf.¡± Mila said quietly, but everyone heard her clearly. ¡°No, it was normal. We need more experience.¡± Xaro said without turning around as he was running ahead of Mili and Mila. -------------- The large wolf pack was heading back to the bloody battlefield from before to make tracking the black wolf easier. The leader wolf¡¯s ears twitched as they approach the place and stopped walking causing all of the other wolves to stop as well. ¡®You, take 3 wolves from the main pack and 4 from the side pack and head around the hill near the battle area and find that black wolf. Make sure to kill him using any means necessary.¡¯ the leader ordered the gray-white wolf from earlier. The gray-white wolf immediately gathered the troops and head out without question. It seems the foolish two feet wants to challenge the Frost Wolves pack. Hummph. ¡®Fellow wolves! It seems we shall be seeing more bloodshed today!¡¯ the leader said to the other wolves who all howled with eagerness. **AWUOOOOOOOOOOO** All of the wolves then charged forward towards the battlefield. -------------- Naulo awoke as the black wolf was carrying him. His vision was still blurry and his mind was still disoriented. He still had a terrible headache from before and was in a state of half awake, in pain, and half in a dream-like state. The black wolf was trying to find a safe location near the Renaun village to leave Naulo before its enemies come. There were more powerful people in the village that could protect Naulo. With its concentration focused it did not notice the group of white wolves approaching from the sides and behind at frightening speed. Three wolves attacked at the same time from the left, right, and behind the black wolf as four wolves stood guarding the corners where the black wolf can run and the gray-white wolf was standing in front of the black wolf. The wolf from the left arrived first aiming for the hind leg, the right wolf aimed for the child the black wolf was holding, and the wolf from behind was aiming to disable the black wolf¡¯s movements by grabbing the tail. The black wolf jumped up as the three wolves came and stepped on the wolf from behind and jumped even further back. The three wolves barely missed each other as they completed the attack at different timing. The two wolves from the corner ran forward to attack. As soon as the black wolf landed the two wolves appeared and it¡¯s sharp teeth sank into the black wolf¡¯s hind leg hitting the bone as the other aimed for the black wolf¡¯s neck, which also endangered the child. The black wolf quickly threw the child behind the two wolves towards an area near the tree shadows avoiding the trees and quickly used [Shadow shift] to appear in the shadow and caught Naulo when limped away from the group. The white wolves weren¡¯t stupid they realized that the black wolf valued that child¡¯s life. ¡®Aim for that child! If we can use the child as hostage then we can even bring back the black wolf alive for the Leader to kill!¡¯ ordered the gray-white wolf as they began the chase. Urrgh...Naulo. I¡¯ve brought trouble to you again. This time...I must be able to protect you. This time you will not be alone. The black wolf quickly tried to find someplace safe. It was running out of mana fast since [Shadow shift] uses a lot of mana. The most dangerous is if it gets surrounded again and must find a wall to have its back protected. The black wolf was lucky and found a gigantic rock that could function as a wall. It was too steep for climbing so its back would be safe. It placed Naulo near the rock and quickly turn around taking a defensive stance as the other 8 wolves arrived. ¡®Well well. It seems as if you value that thing¡¯s life? Interesting. You? The Wolf of Death?¡¯ the gray-white wolf mocked. ¡®Shut up. I am me and I shall value whatever I see fit. Why are you all chasing to kill me anyway?¡¯ the black wolf questioned with a growl. ¡®Hummph, why should I answer you, brat. The leader said to kill you so your death is certain. Attack!¡¯ Four wolves ran forward as they aimed for deathblows. However, due to the smaller size of the black wolf it easily bypasses the attack of the first wolf that arrived delivering a deadly bite to the windpipe, tearing it out. The second wolf arrive soon after and delivered a bite to the torso of the black wolf, who was unable to dodge in time due to the bitten hind leg and was knocked over. However, due to the black wolf¡¯s high defense fur that absorbs everything, most of the damage was absorbed but the black wolf was still injured. The third wolf was approaching aiming for the neck of the black wolf as the black wolf turned and bit the foreleg of the wolf biting it. The wolf that was biting the black wolf growled in pain but did not let go as the third wolf approached. Seeing death approaching the black wolf used a new skill causing the third wolf to fall over and unable to move. Wait, where is the fourth wolf?! The black wolf quickly realized that only three wolves out of the four attacked him and saw the fourth wolf heading towards Naulo. Fear filled its being as it used the last of its mana to perform a [Shadow shift] towards the fourth wolf. Naulo saw the wolf approaching but wasn¡¯t able to do anything but crawl away. Naulo wasn¡¯t able to stand up due to the fear of the situation as well as the fear of the black wolf that was getting fatally injured in front of him. As the white wolf closes into Naulo he saw its shadow flicker and the battered black wolf appear in the corner of its eyes. The white wolf ignored the black wolf appearing and focused on capturing the child as a hostage. However, with the black wolf¡¯s tackle the claws of the white wolves missed its target, instead grazing the child. ¡°Arrrrgh!!¡± the child yelled as he flipped on the ground a few times from the force before landing in a bush nearby. The white wolf was quickly disposed of as the black wolf tore off its windpipe. NOO!! Naulo!! The black wolf saw the other wolves running towards the place where Naulo fell and quickly lost it¡¯s mind as it let out a dreadful howl. **AWWUOOOOOOOOOOOOO** It¡¯s all my fault! I should have quickly taken Naulo back to his village instead of recovering my mana! I should have known my own strengths before taking Naulo with me! I¡¯m too weak to be near Naulo! If I lost Naulo again!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! The golden eyes of the black wolf turned blood red as red tears started to fall from its eyes. ¡®Shit! It has entered berserk mode? I thought it wasn¡¯t possible for an immature Death Wolf?! Quickly, retreat!! Forget that thing!¡¯ the gray-white wolf ordered the other three as it¡¯s hair stood on end. The wolves still alive quickly ran away. The black wolf¡¯s wounds started to heal as dark smoke appeared. The blood red eyes only looked towards and locked onto the fleeing wolves. The black wolf did not even glance at the bush Naulo fell in and left an after image as it chased after the other wolves. I will return by your side to protect you when I get stronger! Wait for me, Naulo. Chapter 9 - Healing Author: Short chapter (filler). Life, busy. Me, stressed. The quote of "misfortune never comes singly" is extremely true. ************************************ Chapter 9 - Healing ¡°Reinforce the sides! We would not want to be surrounded!¡± Cario yelled at the others. ¡°Cario, that one is the leader. See if we can reason with it before killing it.¡± Lino pointed out the 8 meter wolf that was at the back staring intently at the battle. ¡°Gotcha!¡± Cario yelled as he rushed into the fray quickly making his way towards the wolf leader. ¡®Protect the leader!¡¯ the wolves howled. As Cario made his way through the skirmish wielding a large metallic sword with inscriptions, knocking a few wolves out of the way and stunning them, the back line of wolves attacked. However, surprisingly Cario¡¯s strength far surpasses the wolves and he knocked 4 wolves with a large swing of his blunt blade. This caught the interest of the wolf leader, who values strength. Lino did not send Cario to battle the wolf leader for no reason. He knew that wolves in general value strength much more than magical ability. -------------- Three figures moved through the forest at a fast pace. All three were silent as the person in front was concentrating on the trail left behind by the black wolf. They all stop as the scene of the wolf massacre appeared. ¡°What happened here?¡± Mila asked shocked at all the blood and dead wolves. ¡°Naulo.¡± Xaro whispered worryingly. ¡°Urrgh.¡± Everyone turn around at the sound of the small moan. Xaro quickly rushed forward towards the bush where the sound came from. ¡°Naulo!¡± However, Mili quickly intercepted Xaro. ¡°Why are you blocking me?! Naulo¡¯s there! He¡¯s hurt!¡± Xaro screamed. ¡°Poisonous plant. Deadly poison. It¡¯s difficult to find a cure.¡± Mili replied in a strict tone.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So what?! Difficult doesn¡¯t mean impossible. I¡¯m fine with it. We need to get Naulo back to the village immediately.¡± Mili was pushed aside as Xaro dived into the bush to pull Naulo out. The thorns pierced through Xaro¡¯s armor and his skin. The area pierced quickly turned dark purple and it didn¡¯t bleed. Surprisingly, aside from the bleeding wound from Naulo back, Naulo looked unaffected by the poisonous bush. Even thorn marks didn¡¯t appear on Naulo¡¯s smooth skin. However, Xaro and the others were too distracted by the bad maul wound to notice this. Quickly they ran back to the village with Naulo on Xaro¡¯s back, Mili trying to stop Naulo¡¯s bleeding after being told by Xaro, and Mila on guard for possible attacks. ------------- As the battle continued onwards many wolves died but no one from the village died. All of them were experienced in battle with their lives on the line and they were not weak in terms of power. As Cario reached the wolf leader the other wolves retreated. It seems as if the wolf leader determined that Cario was worth fighting with it. Cario took a stance with caution. He realized that the wolf leader was very powerful and surpasses him in strength. It was rare to have such a powerful beast out in the outskirts of the forest. What happened to cause this beast to appear here? The wolf leader just looks down on Cario from a distance; however, it too, was on guard. ¡°Haha, I wonder what your kind is doing out here?¡± Cario tried to strike up a conversation not really expecting a reply. ¡®To kill that filthy wolf.¡¯ the wolf leader replied telepathically. ¡°You mean the black wolf?¡± Cario questioned cautiously. He saw that the wolf leader seem to really hate that black wolf. ¡®Actually, to call it a wolf is giving it too much face. I need you to get out of my way.¡¯ ¡°If all you wanted to do was to get the black wolf, why are you fighting us? You could have just gone around.¡± The wolf leader looked offended, ¡®Me? Go around? Me, the wolf leader of the great Frost Wolf pack go around some two legged animal like I am scared?! Don¡¯t joke with me, bug!¡¯ The wolf leader launched itself towards Cario at a frightening speed. Cario lifted his broadsword to block but the wolf swiftly changed it''s direction and attacked the right side. Cario also swiftly shifted his center of balance and clashed with the wolf leader. Lino watched over the entire battle. Why chase it all the way out here? Somehow, I feel that the wolves aren¡¯t the reason for the nature¡¯s insecurity. -------------- Naulo, you must survive!! Xaro carried Naulo and rushed back towards the village at top speed. Naulo seemed to be getting worse as time continued. Soon the three reached the village and Xaro brought Naulo to Emy¡¯s house and pushed open the door. **BANG** Emy was in the living room and immediately saw the three and Naulo. She quickly picked Naulo up swiftly and lightly and went towards the bedroom. She then placed him face down on the bed. Emy had a pained expression on her face. ¡°Can you all please leave?¡± Emy stated softly. ¡°He needs Mili¡¯s healing to heal! We just need to find someone to provide Mili with the mana to heal him!¡± Xaro stated with panic. Emy¡¯s face paled, ¡°You used mana on him?¡± she asked Mili. Mili shuddered as she saw the dreadful look in Emy¡¯s eyes on her. Slowly, she nodded. She didn¡¯t understand what she did wrong. ¡°Please, leave. I shall heal Naulo.¡± Emy forcefully pushed the three of the children out of the house and locked the door. Inside the quiet room Emy looked at Naulo as he slowly becomes paler. Emy quickly went towards one of the cupboard in her room and pulled out dried plants that looked like herbs. She placed some of the herbs onto Naulo¡¯s maul wounds and then headed towards the kitchen and chopped up the remaining smaller herbs and threw them into a wooden cup with water. However, Emy did not immediately bring the medicine to Naulo. She stared at the cup then quickly, faster than the eye can see; a thin cut was made on her left index finger. Emy lifted her finger above the medicine cup and a drop of her blood slowly condensed on her fingertip shining blood red and very quickly turning dark. One drop. The medicine drink originally a murky brown color turned clear as water. Emy then quickly grabbed the cup and brought it to Naulo. ¡°Naulo, you have to drink this.¡± Emy¡¯s voice was shaking. She then slowly and carefully fed it to the unconscious Naulo drop by drop. *********************************** End Note: Don''t know when the next chapter will come out. Things will start moving in the next chapter. Chapter 10 - Dreams, Danger, and Deception Chapter 10 ¨C Dreams, Danger and Deception ---Naulo¡¯s POV--- Where am I? When I opened my eyes what greeted me was thick steel bars in a very clean but gloomy room. Huh? I thought I was gathering firewood for mother. ¡°You don¡¯t have a ¡®mother¡¯,¡± a cold voice sounded out through the room. I quickly looked around, ¡°W-who¡¯s there?!¡± The room is getting cold and distorting. I felt nauseous so I quickly covered my mouth with my hands and closed my eyes. The scenery changed. I feel trapped. I can¡¯t move. ¡°It seems it was a success.¡± a voice of a man sounded out. ¡°Really, now?¡± a bored voice of a young man sounded out. ¡°Yes, Doctor. Surprisingly, by using the solution of concentrated XH304 and the ¡®leftovers¡¯ of the others we were able to merge two of the parts together. However, a side effect would most probably be the pain, which would occur throughout life.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± I cannot see anything but I can feel the young man¡¯s eyes observing me inch by inch. It felt like I was placed into a box filled with insects. ¡°Throw him into box44.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Pain. It¡¯s painful. This is a dream, why am I feeling so much pain? It¡¯s as if I had been thrown in a pot of boiling oil and eaten alive inside and out. I can¡¯t even voice out my pain. I can¡¯t see. What happened? What is this familiar feeling of pain? ¡°Ahh, a new one.¡± ---End POV--- -------------- Emy was sitting nearby the bed where Naulo was recuperating with her hands clenched tightly. A while later the door opened and Auo came in, it seems that the villagers had returned. ¡°Naulo came back?¡± Auo asked Emy before he came into the small bedroom and saw Naulo. Auo became pale as he saw the state Naulo was in, ¡°H-how is he?¡± His voice trembled. Emy looked up at Auo with misty eyes, ¡°He¡¯s recovering right now. H-he¡¯ll be okay but I don¡¯t know when he¡¯d wake up.¡± Auo walked up to Emy and hugged her tightly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t there to protect him. I¡¯m so sorry Emy.¡± He whispered. *BANG* The door to the house was slammed opened and Cario thundered in carrying a slightly smaller body, ¡°Emy! Come and heal Xaro!¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Emy and Auo were shocked at the loud intrusion but then Emy approached Xaro. She now noticed that Xaro seemed to be in extreme pain from a rare poison. Emy was not that worried though because she held the cure to all poisons within her and quickly healed Xaro in the small bedroom. Auo went outside the room with Cario to wait. ¡°It seems that the dangers aren¡¯t over.¡± Cario said solemnly. He had an acute sense so he can somewhat predict the future. It¡¯s not something he can see but more of a feeling. This time he feels that the danger is coming and it is a danger that he can almost touch. Auo was silent for a while before he nodded. ¡°Auo¡­if I happen to die. I really hope that you can protect little Xaro for me if possible. I¡¯ve already taught him almost everything I could. I really hope that he can survive the coming dangers.¡± Auo looked at Cario with sadness but didn¡¯t say anything. ---A little while ago--- **Clang clang** The collision between Cario¡¯s sword and the Leader wolf sounded aloud in the battlefield. After a few hundred blows there seem to be no advantage seen for either side. ¡®Why are you protecting that mutt?!¡¯ the Leader asked obviously annoyed but not losing his mind in anger. ¡°We aren¡¯t protecting it. We are just protecting our village.¡± Cario replied with a smirk. The Leader¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°By protecting that mutt you are putting yourselves in danger. That thing will bring death to everything near it. It is an abomination. Something that isn¡¯t meant to be born into this world.¡± This time Cario¡¯s eyes narrowed as he was trying to comprehend what this wolf was saying. However, soon the wolf seem to have gotten a message and looked at Cario, ¡®It seems I¡¯ll have to end our fight short, strong red one. I hope we can fight again, though these forest are no longer safe.¡± **AUOOOOO** All the wolves¡¯ ears perked at the orders and retreated extremely fast. Cario and the other didn¡¯t seem to want to chase and therefore decided to continue following the black wolf¡¯s trail before. After realizing Naulo was taken back from the trails they decided to head back to the village. ---A few years later--- It was Naulo¡¯s 10th birthday. Ever since the outing of Naulo the village became more quiet. ¡°I must say Naulo, you are becoming more and more beautiful!¡± Xaro said truthfully as Mili and Mila got annoyed. ¡°Say Xaro¡­it can¡¯t be that you are gay right?¡± Mila was gritting her teeth. ¡°Ehh? There¡¯s no way I am?¡± Xaro said as he looked at Mila with a mischievous smile, ¡°I am only saying the truth. Don¡¯t worry though Mila, you have your own charms.¡± Mila blushes and turned away with a ¡°humph¡± forgetting her earlier thoughts. Naulo, Xaro, Mili and Mila were all gathered at Naulo¡¯s home to celebrate his tenth birthday. ¡°Xaro, please never open your mouth.¡± A heavenly clear voice that didn¡¯t seem to belong to this world sounded out. ¡°If I did that, Naulo, then how would I be eating your birthday dinner?¡± Xaro laughed freely. Xaro was looked at with a pair of annoyed eyes. Naulo didn¡¯t say anything and went to sit down at his seat as his mother told him. Naulo grew up beautifully with extremely slender built with beautiful skin and silky hair much to the dismay of the girls and women at the village. Even his face grew delicate giving him a cute yet beautiful type of look. Naulo wasn¡¯t all that tall though at only 150cm. These past few years all the children put all efforts in training after their close call with death. Naulo did try to join in on the training but sadly his strength was even weaker than the girls. Therefore, Naulo focused on increasing his poor stamina instead. Now even though he still is weak his agility and flexibility surpasses the other three, however, he can¡¯t beat them because his attacks didn¡¯t do much damage. Naulo was able to speak after the trip to the forest as well. However, he wasn¡¯t able to remember why he entered the forest in the first place. Today was his 10th birthday and everyone in the village recommended the children to have a meal together. Emy was in the kitchen and told Naulo he didn¡¯t have to help her prepare the meal today with her like he usually does because it¡¯s his birthday. ¡°Mili! Mila! Come and bring the dinner out! I need to head out for a bit so you guys enjoy the dinner!¡± Emy¡¯s voice sounded out from in the kitchen as she quickly wore her coat and left the house before anyone can reply. ¡°Ehh?¡± Everyone left looked at each other curiously. That¡¯s weird. They all thought but Mili and Mila still went into the kitchen to bring out all the delicious looking dishes with smiles. Naulo was still looking at the door where his mother left suspiciously. After the foods were all brought out, the other three consumed them with gusto. ¡°Naulo, are you not gonna eat? It¡¯s your birthday dinner after all. You better hurry before I finish it up! HAHA!¡± Xaro said cheerfully. Naulo had a feeling that he shouldn¡¯t eat this meal, but he wasn¡¯t able to put his finger on what it is. His mother prepared this meal for his birthday after all so he should at least eat a bit. A bit won¡¯t hurt. Naulo thought as he started to eat a little. **wheew** A relieved sigh sounded out from outside. Emy was watching from far away with Auo to see the children eating the food. ---Naulo¡¯s POV--- After eating the food mother made for us, I started to feel a bit drowsy. Even though I usually feel drowsy in the mornings and after meals this kind of drowsy was different. It was a force kind of drowsiness. I looked at the other three and they seem to have already fallen asleep. Not right! My instinct warned me. I stood up hastily but the drowsiness made me unable to keep my mind working straight. I started heading towards the door but my steps were wavering. I fell down before I reached the door feeling my body and mind slowly shutting down. The door opened and I saw mother with father looking at me with sad faces. ¡°W-why?¡± I asked with my last consciousness. Why did my parents drug me? Chapter 11 - Destruction ---Emy¡¯s POV--- ¡°W-why?¡± my child asked me disbelievingly. I felt as though a million knives were cutting through my body as tears rolled down my cheeks. Ever since he got hurt in that forest I must prepare. I heard from my husband that we would have to separate from the little one soon. ¡°He¡¯s still a child!! He needs us!!¡± I screamed at him desperately. ¡°I know,¡± he whispered back softly, ¡°I know but there¡¯s nothing we can do. It is his fate. We have no power to interfere. All we can do is to train them the best we can and send them out of this place.¡± He hugged her tightly. It was nighttime but the skies are still bright due to the snow reflection. We headed out of the village carrying the children. In Auo¡¯s arms laid the small Naulo, sleeping so peacefully. However, I know that it won¡¯t be very peaceful once he wakes up. Naulo might seem like an angel but he is quite the troublemaker. A sad laughter escaped my lips as I thought of the bleak future. We carried the 4 children towards a wagon we made a few months ago and placed them gently inside. ¡°Please safely transfer them, Lein.¡± Auo addressed the young man that was going to take the children towards the city. I don¡¯t know which one and I am not sure if I¡¯d be able to see them again. **BOOM** An explosion rang out in the direction of the village as the ground trembled. They arrived too soon! ¡°We need to head back!¡± Cario yelled. The enemy has arrived. Why didn¡¯t we all fled if we knew, because that would bring danger upon the children as well. They would chase us down but they don¡¯t know the existence of the children. I glanced at my husband feeling a regret welling up inside of me. If I weren¡¯t here, perhaps he would live for a little while longer. Our enemy the Ragohu. ---End POV--- The Ragohu troops were bombarding the Renaun village with the ancient weapons. Organized in groups with five men rolling a large cylinder-like object forward. In front stood a man dressed in black armor glaring sharply at the village barrier that was about to break. ¡°Load and FIRE!¡± he commanded the men as they stuffed a solid ball into the open end of the cylinder and lit the other side. As the wick disappeared a loud BANG sounded out as the ball headed directly towards the village hidden in the snow. With the command, the troops slowly moved to surround the village and trapping them with the cliff. **BOOM** The cannon ball destroyed what was left of the barrier and smashed towards the village and into the cliff-side. No scream rang out from the village as the Ragohu troops approached. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°It seems you¡¯re no longer putting up resistance.¡± The commander said in a deep voice. Slowly from inside the village people came out. They all showed looks of hatred and fear. The Elder came forward, ¡°It is all in Fate¡¯s hands.¡± ¡°Bullshit! Whether you die or not is all within MY, The Merciless Beming, hands.¡± The commander grinned showing off his yellow teeth. Beming looked everything like how a bandit would except for the fact that he has good armor and weapons. He seems to have been a bandit before he swore to serve the Ragohu nation. Beming glared at The Elder, ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up the little princess.¡± He smiled. The villagers were confused, ¡°We don¡¯t have anyone you want here.¡± Beming smile grew more wide as he shrugged, ¡°doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll just kill everyone here and get her myself.¡± As soon as he said that the soldiers started attacking the villagers. They all fought back and a battle started. Even though the villagers were more powerful, the soldiers were too many and each one seems to not value their lives at all. ¡°STOP!¡± A clear voice rang out. A figure rushed in between the heavily wounded villagers and the crazed soldiers. She looked delicate yet sturdy standing in front to protect the villagers. ¡°My, my Princess. You decide to show up now? The fun was about to begin.¡± Beming scoffed at Emy. ¡°Beming, you stop this now! I will go with you back.¡± ¡°Hahahahahaha,¡± Beming laughed crazily and glared at Emy, ¡°What makes you think that you have any bargaining chip? You will come with me back whether you like to or not! His majesty is awaiting your return.¡± Beming looked lewdly at Emy as he licked his lips. Even though Beming called Emy ¡°Princess¡± there was no respect in the slightest compared to when he said ¡°His Majesty¡±. Emy bit her lips, she knew that it would be hard to deal with this brute Beming. Auo stepped forward and placed his hands on Emy¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Emy is a part of our village now! Even if we are going to die we will drag as many of you with us as possible!¡± Beming glared at Auo¡¯s determined eyes. Oh? Golden hair and blue eyes. He must be ¡°that¡± person. ¡°Hahahahaha,¡± Beming laughed again, ¡°You must be Auo. His majesty talked a lot about you.¡± This time everyone showed a confused look, even Auo. ¡°I don¡¯t know who ¡®His Majesty¡¯ you speak of is.¡± Auo said. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I only heard of you from his a few times. However, that wouldn¡¯t matter anyhow.¡± With that somehow all the soldiers knew to attack with everything they got. The villagers didn¡¯t realized and some were killed with the surprising attack. ¡°STOP!!¡± Emy cried. Nonetheless, this time the soldiers kept attacking waves after waves. Many more soldiers died compared to the villagers but no one seemed to care in the slightest for those soldiers. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything here! There¡¯s no strategy or anything. They are just all crazed and being suicide soldiers!¡± Lino yelled out frustrated. Cario cut off another soldier¡¯s head as ten more came and surround him. He¡¯s getting tired from the endless enemies. No matter how powerful you still can¡¯t beat an army with just the strength of one. One by one the villagers fell and killed by the horde of enemy soldiers. Lino was stabbed from behind as Cario died from the multiple wounds and blood loss. As they died they hoped that the children were at least safe. A while later Auo and The Elder were the only ones left. Emy was crying her heart out. This was my fault, I should have left much sooner! She thought, but she just wanted to spend more time with her family. She couldn¡¯t bear to leave them. ¡°Now now, Princess Emy. It wasn¡¯t your fault. We would have crushed this entire tribe anyway whether you were here or not. Haha.¡± Beming said amusingly. He didn¡¯t even care for the hundreds of soldiers that died there. Beming strode towards the two men and pulled out a small weapon from his waist, ¡°I wanted to try out this new weapon we got. Fufufu.¡± He pointed the small weapon towards the forehead of The Elder as the Elder glared at him. ¡°Your kingdom will fall sooner or later!¡± The Elder spat out as Beming narrowed it eyes and pulled the trigger. **BANG** The loud noise echoed in the wind. The Elder fell down dead with a hole in his head. Beming smiled and then pointed his gun towards Auo¡¯s head. Auo struggled but the soldiers held him in place. He was not as physically powerful as these soldiers. ¡°NO! DON¡¯T!¡± Emy screamed. ¡°Princess, please. My ears are important for listening to His Majesties orders and stories.¡± Beming mused as he place the old styled gun on Auo¡¯s head. ¡°Oh, yeah. Since you¡¯re gonna die again I should tell you to visit His Majesty later.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know whom this ¡®Majesty¡¯ you are talking about!¡± Auo said with a pale face. ¡°Haha, you already forgot your old friend from childhood? I feel sorry for His Majesty.¡± Auo eyes went wide open. Childhood friend?! T-that¡¯s, ¡°That¡¯s not possible!!¡± ¡°Oh? But it is. And he looks forward to seeing you later.¡± **BANG** The gunshot rang out and Auo slumped to the ground with blood pooling out. ¡°NOOOOOOOOOO!!¡± Emy screamed but was held back by the soldiers. She continued to struggle and scream until she was knocked out by one of the soldiers. ¡°Hummph, carry her back. Let¡¯s go. We are done here.¡± Beming ordered as he headed back on his mount and left the area with the soldiers. In the desolate area after a certain amount of time, a figured stirred from the mountain of corpses. It climbed out gasping for breath. The once beautiful golden hair now dyed in a deep red along with everything else. ¡°Ha..Ha..Haa¡­Rufus..¡± A gleam shone across his eyes, ¡°You were still alive,¡± with a hateful voice that seems to drag you to the pits of hell. The hole on his head had disappeared as he grabbed a bag from within one of the houses and left the village following the footprints of the soldiers. Still drenched in blood Auo walked step-by-step emanating a deep and dark murderous aura. Chapter 12 - Towards the City Chapter 12 ¨C Towards the City The wagon swayed as it rushed through the snow. Lein was skillfully guiding the horses through the forest. It¡¯s been half a day traveling full speed and the horses are exhausted. However, due to the mana provided by Lein to the horses they were able to maintain top speed. Suddenly, a few shadows flickered through the trees and flew towards the wagon. Lein manipulated the horses to avoid the attack causing the wagon to scrape against one of the trees. More shadows appeared in front of the wagon forcing Lein to stop because large tree trunks were laid across the path. The horses neighed as Lein glared at the shadow figures, ¡°What do you want?¡± The shadows didn¡¯t say anything and started to attack Lein. Despite having more mana, Lein was exhausted from providing the horses mana and travelling for over half a day nonstop. The shadows attacked Lein with small knives and throwing poisoned needles at him. Lein quickly formed a barrier surrounding him as he fended off the attacks of two figures. ¡°Hnn.. What¡¯s going on?¡± Mila said groggily. It didn¡¯t take long before she realized that there were three figures rushing towards her and Mili, Xaro, and Naulo were unconscious. Quickly she formed fire marbles and shot them out at the aggressors. They swiftly dodge them without losing their speed but then Mila closed her palms and the three red marbles that imbedded into the snow exploded blowing away the three figures. ¡°Unn, Big sister?¡± Mili woke up hearing the explosion. ¡°Ehh. Why am I sleeping here?¡± Xaro woke up as well. ¡°I don¡¯t know but apparently we are being attacked right now!¡± Mila said quickly as the other two got into defensive position trying to figure out what was going on. Xaro noticed Lein having trouble, ¡°Mila can you assist Lein from a distance?¡± Mila nodded and sent glowing blue marbles towards the two figure, which they blocked with their swords but then the marble froze the sword over as soon as it came in contact with the sword. ¡°Lein come over here!¡± Xaro shouted as Lein stumbled over with small and large injuries. Mili quickly supported him and placed him down nearby Naulo. She healed his injuries but his mana was almost depleted so he can no longer be useful in battle. Once a person¡¯s mana is depleted, they will die. As long as there is a little bit of mana left then they can recover but a person with no mana will die. It was one of the laws that existed since the Grand Rebirth. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I can no longer protect you all.¡± Lein said sadly. ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Why are we suddenly in the middle of nowhere and getting attacked?¡± Xaro demanded an answer. Mila was holding the five figures garbed in black cloths back with a small ice barrier surrounding the wagon. ¡°Xaro. The village was attacked and I¡¯m not sure if there were any survivors.¡± Lein said with difficulty, but when he looked in Xaro¡¯s eyes he decided that he needed to know the truth. Even though the elders stated that they shouldn¡¯t, Lein wanted revenge! Lein wanted them all to pay back with blood! However, he knows he will die here. He believes that these children can carry out the Renaun¡¯s revenge. Xaro¡¯s eyes turned red as well as Mila¡¯s. Tears started flowing out of Mili¡¯s eyes. ¡°Who?!¡± Xaro ground his teeth. ¡°The Ragohu.¡± Lein hissed. ¡°Xaro, I can¡¯t maintain the barrier any longer. These figures seem to be waiting for something or someone.¡± Mila stated.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Haha, how right you are young lady!¡± Another shadowed figure appeared, ¡°I guess I wasn¡¯t able to meet that old one anymore.¡± ¡°Who are you and what do you want!¡± Xaro asked through clenched teeth. The leader figure pointed at Mili, ¡°I just want to bring that little missy with us and complete my mission. Too bad, that old guy didn¡¯t accept our deal for us to bring that missy with us in exchange for our help. If he agreed then maybe, just maybe, more people would be able to survive the attack. Don¡¯t blame us.¡± Mili went pale. Mila frowned, ¡°What do you want with my sister!¡± ¡°Urr¡­I think I¡¯ve said enough. Go.¡± The five figures went and attack the barrier at the same time. However, they threw weapons at it since everything that went into contact with it froze and shattered. Xaro pat Mila¡¯s shoulder and charged through the barrier and off the wagon towards the leader figure. ¡°Oh? You really want to fight me, little one?¡± ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m not a little one.¡± **sigh** Xaro charged powerfully towards that figure and they clashed. Xaro was able to push the leader back a few steps. ¡°At least I¡¯m more powerful than you!¡± Xaro said. ¡°Boy, do you know the phrase of ¡®a lamb doesn¡¯t fear the tiger¡¯?¡± The shadow figure smiled underneath the mask. Then the figure gave out a punch towards Xaro¡¯s open side. It seems to be nothing but a feint cause there was no mana in the punch that Xaro can sense. When the fist got closer Xaro felt that there was something off about it but wasn¡¯t able to react in time and as soon as the punch connected a huge amount of mana surged out and blew Xaro away crashing through a few trees. ¡°Xaro!¡± Mila shouted as she was fending off the five others protecting Mili, Lein, and the unconscious Naulo. This distraction allowed for a few needle attacks of the figures to pierce through her. ¡°Mila!!¡± Mili shouted nervously as she tried to heal the wounds. However, the loss of mana is something she can¡¯t give back. ¡°Haa¡­haa..haa¡± Mila breathed roughly. ¡°I¡¯ll hold them off! You take Naulo and ride the horses over the fallen trees!¡± Lein said. ¡°Y-you can¡¯t! You are almost out of mana!¡± Mila screamed, ¡°and what about Xaro!¡± ¡°Just GO!¡± Lein stood up with difficulty as he used that last of his mana to create a whirlwind to knock the figures far away, giving time for the others. The five figures were knocked back, but a shadow flashed and a knife embedded into Lein¡¯s heart. ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t let you deplete your mana and die that way. It¡¯s too troublesome.¡± The leader shadow said. People who use up all the mana in their body would burn from the inside out until nothing but ashes are left. The body requires mana to function so without the support, it would eat the flesh. It was one of the most painful ways to die. Though the leader wasn¡¯t being merciful, it was just because they were in a forest and that would attract attention. Not to mention they were somewhat near a city. Mila looked wide-eyed at the death of Lein. She was shocked still. Even though she was a very smart girl, she had never seen a person get killed right before her eyes. She had never experience war and death. The fear of seeing the life of a person slowly disappearing before her eyes made her lose her thought. This one tiny moment was all that professionals needed to return from the knockback and attack her. Mila quickly built a shield around her and Mili but due to the rush of all five figures and the short time, the shield was easily smashed through as five knives stabbed into her. All of them aimed for a vital spot. Mila died before even realizing as the figures took a step back and away from the wagon. Mili grabbed onto the falling body of Mila and healed her. Mila¡¯s body went back into pristine condition but she didn¡¯t live again. ¡°Mila! Big sister! Answer me! D-don¡¯t scare me! Please. P-please! Please don¡¯t leave me alone!¡± Mili sobbed. ¡°Now come with us, kiddo. Before we drag that red head back here and chop off his head in front of you.¡± The leader said coldly to the sobbing Mili. Mili¡¯s body kept shaking. She was trembling as she was mumbling, ¡°it¡¯s all my fault. They died because of me. Uncle Lino died because I wasn¡¯t strong enough. Big sister Mila died because of me. I¡¯m so weak. I¡¯m so useless. Why? WHY?¡± ¡°WHY?!!!!! UWAAAAAAA¡± Mili faced towards the sky as she let out a heart-wrenching yell. The leader¡¯s face changed as he jumped back far away from the wagon. The five other figures were too slow as they clutched their faces screaming out in agony. Smoke rose from the spaces in the five figures¡¯ clothes as their skin started to wrinkle. In the span of a few blinks the five figures were dead on the ground with extremely dried out and wrinkled skin as if they aged beyond what their body could handle. Mili¡¯s eyes grew blank as she fainted. The leader figure appeared right beside Mili who was still holding onto her sister¡¯s body. Not good. She overused her mana. I need to bring her back fast before her mana is completely gone. He grabbed the unconscious Mili and left the area not looking once at the five figures that died. -------------- Nighttime arrived. ¡°Hey boss! There seems to be a fight that happened over here!¡± A deep voice sounded out in the forest. A few moments later a group of 3 burly men arrived at the wagon wreckage. They wore leather armor and a large sword hung on their hips. ¡°Boss, there seems to ¡®ave been a fight ¡®ere.¡± Said one of the men with a large beard and bandana on his head. ¡°Boss, there is a red head kid over here! He seems to have been injured but it¡¯s not life threatening. I say that he is pretty sturdy and would fetch a pretty good price.¡± Said another man that wasn¡¯t as burly as the other two. The man they called ¡°boss¡± came into the clearing and looked around. He also wore leather armor but had a cape made from white wolf¡¯s fur drape on his back and he wielded a saber. ¡°Boss!¡± the third man called out with shock in his voice, ¡°There¡¯s another kid over here in the wagon! I got to say that this child is beautiful!¡± The boss and other two walked over to the wagon with one of them carrying Xaro over his shoulders. The boss smiled when he saw the angelic child, ¡°Hehehe. Seems like we can get a good amount this time. The cities always lack beautiful things; especially when they are young.¡± The boss turned around and headed back to his group, ¡°Grab the child and burn the corpses. Dead people, at least, deserve respect.¡± ¡°Yes, boss!¡± The three said as the one that found Naulo carried him princess style while the free handed one burned the wagon that had Lein¡¯s and Mila¡¯s corpses. Back at the bandits¡¯ camp they threw Xaro into the caged carriage and placed Naulo in a free one after moving the few other captured people into the other cage. They thought Naulo¡¯s value would increase if they kept him well fed and clean. Soon the bandits, or so they seem to be like, headed towards the city with the unconscious Naulo and Xaro. End of Arc 1 ¨C The Renaun Village Chapter 13 - City of Iris Chapter 13 ¨C City of Iris Inside the lonely caged wagon the eyes of the child fluttered. The child eyes opened and showed a beautiful blue color. Everyone in the area was quite. The child looked around seeing the flickering campfire beyond the bars. ¡°Pssh. Naulo! You are awake now?¡± whispered a voice from the other caged wagon. Naulo tilted his head. ¡°We were drugged to sleep and taken out of the village¡­¡± Xaro said slowly. He did not want to tell Naulo that everyone in the village possibly has died. Naulo was silent. He then remembered that his parents were the ones that drugged him. He was not consumed by anger at their betrayal or anything. It was not because he knew their reasons. It was because he never trusted them completely in the first place. ¡°Naulo it is fine if you are angry. Don¡¯t make a scene here. The slave traders are bringing us all towards the city.¡± Xaro informed seeing the silent Naulo. Naulo nodded towards Xaro and lay down again. ---Naulo¡¯s POV--- So, what I saw back there wasn¡¯t the trick of the eye. My ¡®mother¡¯ did want to do something to me. Since Xaro is still here with me, I glanced at Xaro, which means that the others have either taken somewhere else or died. I was the only one in this caged wagon. Did this mean that the slave traders value me? Would it make more sense to have an even number of people in two cages? I looked around to see some slave traders awake and keeping watch while others asleep. ¡°Slave trader¡± seems to be a genuine occupation. One of the guys that was awake noticed me looking around and approach, ¡°Hey little one, I see you are awake now? Hungry?¡± He didn¡¯t seem to be hostile according to the mana surrounding him so I nodded. ¡°You,¡± he pointed at one of the little girls in the other wagon, ¡°come and feed this one here.¡± I think he believes that I have no strength from the amount of time I was asleep. Though it is true because I can feel soreness in my muscles and my strength in them hasn¡¯t returned because of the drug. I am assuming that since I had no mana to push back the effects of the drug it affected me more than the others. A girl that looked around the age of 13-15 came forward with a bowl of soup. She doesn¡¯t seem like a normal little girl though. For example, her mana is much more controlled compared to other people. It wasn¡¯t something that a 13-year-old human can accomplish. She wore ragged clothing and as she was feeding me her facial expressions was completely static. I could see a glimpse of dark blue hair from underneath the layers of dirt on them.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. After eating my fill of soup I went back to sleep. At least that¡¯s what it seems like. I¡¯ll keep my ears open to see my situation. For now, let us stay quiet. Early next morning I heard rustling from the tent. It seems the slave traders awoke. I listen in to their conversations. ¡°Boss, it seems that child is a mute or somethin¡¯. Haven¡¯t heard a single word outta ¡®er mouth. Children would usually scream ¡®nd cry when they realized that they are locked in a cage, haha!¡± A rough voice was heard. ¡°That¡¯s a good thing. I don¡¯t want to deal with whiny children. I might have smacked her if she became annoying, child or not.¡± Another voice said. ¡°Quiet. We are still a few days away from the Iris City. Get ready and go.¡± A voice I¡¯m assuming is the ¡°boss¡± said. The men came out and packed up the tents as they prepared to move. The 13-year-old girl was placed in my camp to ¡°serve¡± me. I¡¯m assuming that they thought I was a fallen noble child or something? I smelled myself and realized why they thought so. I smelled of blood and death, like I escaped from some unfathomable danger. Someone died? I looked over to an eerily quiet Xaro. His eyes showed sadness but also hope. Hehe, I wonder what happened while I was out. Did I miss a good show? I am confused. Ehh? Why did I think that? Hmm¡­ A few days later we arrived at the City of Iris. The gatekeeper took a look at the document provided by the slave traders and let us through. We were taken throughout the lower city; it seems we were shown off as advertisement. Disgusting. Every one of us was stared at by a bunch of people like monkeys in a zoo. Disgusting. Their eyes glued onto me, with some people wearing better quality clothing than others. Their eyes licked me all over. Disgusting. I want to gorge them out. After the trip around the lower town we were taken into a large dark building. Inside there were people going through and fro, skittering around like rats. ¡°Welcome back!¡± A tall man in a blue robe approached the slave traders. ¡°We¡¯ve brought the merchandise.¡± The slave ¡°boss¡± said to the blue robe man. ¡°Ah, yeah of course,¡± He walked up and inspected us. His eyes shone as he looked at me. I want to puke; he was the most disgusting thing I¡¯ve seen. No he didn¡¯t look ugly or anything, it was the look he gave me. He smiled and nodded as he finished inspecting me and turned toward the large boss man with a smile, ¡°You¡¯ve done good this time! Got some very high quality items, hehehe. I think you¡¯d get a good sum this time around for you and your buddies.¡± The blue robed man then walked up to my cage and smiled showing off his silver teeth before he motion the others to take me out of the cage and lead me towards a door. I looked back to see Xaro looking after me nervously. However, this time he seems to be staying quiet and trying to understand the situation. I wonder why he isn¡¯t using his strength to break free? I was lead by three people down a set of stairs and into a large room. This room also contained cages but they were large and the inside was well decorated. I was pushed into one of the empty cage and they locked the door behind me before leaving. I stood there looking around the cage. The floors were made from a dark wood, there is a bed with good quality sheets, blankets, and pillow, there seems to be a makeshift toilet and a table with a chair. Being in a cage doesn¡¯t really feel all that new to me, however, being in a well-decorated cage like this is new. ¡°Hey, you new here?¡± A sweet voice sounded out from the cage beside me. I looked over to see a girl with ears on top of her head and a tail. She had round ears and a long puffy tail with black leopard spots. Her hair was white as it reached her lower shoulder blade. She was sitting atop her bed in a relaxed pose with her legs crossed and her tails flicking back and forth. ¡°Haha! This is an interesting treatment, huh?¡± She said with a smile showing off her sharp canines. She looked around 18 or 19 years old with a good hourglass figure of 82-62-74 from top to bottom. ¡°Well~ It¡¯s because we are classified as ¡®high-grade goods¡¯ that would be sold in an auction. They need to take good care of us for a better price.¡± She said nonchalantly leaning her head onto her hands as she lay down on her stomach. ¡°Ayyy~ don¡¯t you talk? It¡¯s boring here without anyone to talk to,¡± she pouted, ¡°Anyway, my name is Gaya, nice to meet ¡®cha, cutie!¡± ---End POV---