《The Spirits Blessing (Slow Update)》


 Prologue: A Young Wolf

    The prologue may be heavy? I can''t really tell lol. Well, enjoy.


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    Prologue


    It was midday, yet the city was dark. The clouds covered the sky and the rain pelted the roofs. Some people could be seen walking on the narrow streets, their umbrellas fending off the downpour. Cars occasionally rode through the streets, the drivers anxiously trying to meet their schedule. The rest were in their houses, their heaters heating the roof and the televisions broadcasting the weather of the next few weeks. It was a very casual day.


    Beside this city, there was a small mountain. It overlooked the entire city, its green field was being nourished by the rain. The trees also sheltered the animals as they all found their way back to their burrows. Yet there, near the edge of the mountain, a boy could be seen. He looked to be around 15 or 17 years of age. He was wearing a dark brown jacket and brown muddy shorts. His black hair covered his eyes and he was holding a plastic bag on his left hand. The boy suddenly crouched in front of him. There, two tombstone could be seen. Names were written on each one, but they couldn¡¯t be seen from the rain that was pouring down.


    ¡°Hey mom, dad. How are you two doing?¡±


    After a short pause, the boy began rummaging through the plastic bag. He took out a piece of bread and placed it on the left tombstone. After that, he also took out what seemed to be a bottle of sparkling grape juice and placed it on the right tombstone. He then sat down in front of the two graves and stared at the one on the left.


    ¡°I brought you two something. I know you really liked making bread mum. I managed to get some from our local bakery. I even got your favorite melon bread. I hope you like it¡±


    He then shifted his gaze to the other grave.


    ¡°For you dad, I know you really like those expensive wines. I¡¯m not old enough to buy it yet, so I got you some of that fancy non-alcoholic juice. It really tastes great. I hope you like it¡±


    He stopped for a bit as he stared at the sky.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s been 3 years. Time sure goes by fast¡­ you know, I really miss you guys. I can still remember your cooking mom. It was the best ever. Your pastas were also the best. Even dad¡¯s grilled dishes were amazing¡­¡±


    He stood quiet for a bit. He then went over to the bag and once again reached inside.


    ¡°It¡¯s funny how things are right now. The pain, the sadness... I have so many stories to tell you both. That¡¯s why¡­¡±


    He pulled out a knife out of the bag. Facing the tombstone, he placed the knife above his head, studying it.


    ¡°¡­ Wait for me. Mum, dad. I¡¯ll be there to join you guys for dinner tonight¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    At first, he was hesitant to stab himself. He slowly breathed in and out, each breath seemingly his last. With a resolute shot, the boy brought it to the air and brought the blade to his chest. The knife pierced deeply into him, blood shooting from his mouth.


    ¡°I..t¡­ hu¡­rt¡­ah¡­lot¡­¡±


    ¡°Hehe¡­¡­¡­hehe¡­he..he¡­¡±


    He could barely say anything as his body fell to the floor. Smiling like a child about to receive candy, the blood poured from his chest, but the ground was clean as the rain washed it away. The boy began to lose consciousness, the darkness slowly engulfing him. Slowly, and slowly. Then all of a sudden, a light seemingly engulfs him. With his vision fading, he smiled as he saw two people in his gaze.


    ¡°I¡¯m home¡­¡±


    With that, he breathed his last breath, the rain intensifying as if to mourn for a lost soul.


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    In the land of Zeriah, there is a forest named the garden of the spirits. Humans, elves, dwarves, demons. None of them dared to enter this forest. It is known that once you set foot, the spirits will drive you insane and take your soul to nourish the forest. Stories then began sprouting about people seeing spirits. Spirits who seemed to manifest into pure creatures of nature. Others claim, they saw demonic spirits. One that is more feared than the Razerok. Yet, more stories of pure divine spirits were told.


    In the middle of this very forest, a young spirit was beginning to manifest. At first it was just an orb with a striking blue radiance, but soon, tiny orbs began to gather around it. The orb began to grow and grow. It grew longer and soon, four limbs began to grow from it. In no time, a shape of a wolf could be seen. It had a white belly and flowing grey hair. Its eyes were close, but its snout was very pronounced. Its tail was also bushy and looked very soft. After a few more seconds, it began to breath. Its eyes slowly opened and it soon looked at the surroundings.


    The wolf was very confused as it stared at the world around him. Spirits were flying everywhere. Not only that, the forest seemed to glow. The mushrooms glowing yellow and small insects seemed to dance in the air. Other creatures could also be seen, though they were also glowing. Fascinated, the wolf slowly got up, though it quickly fell. It then looked at its legs and once again looked surprised. You could even see that its mouth was hanging open.


    What the hell is this?


    It quickly found a small pond and was shocked at its own appearance. Why? It¡¯s because, the boy named Laz has turned into a wolf.

 Chapter 1

    Disclaimer:


    This story has no ending. This means that I¡¯m only planning on writing a story that really has no clear ending as of this moment. You can say, it¡¯s just our M.C trying to live in a new world. So, if you don¡¯t like a story that focuses solely on day to day life, then this may not be for you. However, I will say that it¡¯s possible that a plot may appear later on. Just, not sure since this story is for fun.


    Now, if you are willing to stay, I hope you enjoy.


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    Chapter 1: Quick Introduction


    Facing reality¡­ I am facing reality right now. Actually, is it reality or a dream? I mean, right now, I¡¯m looking straight at a wolf. Actually, I¡¯m looking at myself. Am I making any sense? No, then let me make it clearer. I¡¯m actually a wolf. Just how in the world did this happen?


    I tried to speak. Instead a low soft growl could be heard. Yep, I still can¡¯t believe it. Just how did this happen. All I remember is me killing myself. Is this the so called reincarnation or teleportation that I¡¯ve read in so many stories? Just what is going on?


    Although I was confused, I couldn¡¯t help but be mesmerized at my new body. I was a wolf, no denying that. What got my attention was my fur. My fur looked very soft and gave me a beautiful appearance. Almost like a husky, but not really. Also, light blue lines ran along my bodies. In some parts, the line would end and turn into a small circular area. I wonder if these tattoos were normal. I wouldn¡¯t know since I¡¯ve never been so close to a wolf before. Then again, there were pictures¡­ but who would search up wolves on their own without any interest.


    Anyway, what¡¯s important is that I¡¯m not a human anymore. I¡¯m a wolf. I looked around my surroundings. I was in the middle of the forest. Tall trees surrounded me in every direction. What¡¯s strange though is that I really couldn¡¯t tell if this was a rainforest, a jungle or a regular forest. It was¡­ weird. The ground was littered with huge roots and vines were hanging from the trees. The ground also looked very rough and copied the pictures I¡¯ve seen in jungles and rainforest. But the humidity¡­ I heard it was very hot and humid in those areas. But here, I felt a cool feeling. It was really strange.


    I also looked at the sky. It seemed to be night¡­ wait. If it¡¯s night, how can I see so far? Then it hit me. I¡¯m a wolf. Wolves usually have good senses¡­ I think. Man, this is what I get for not studying them¡­ then again, I would never have known at the time. Letting the past go, I focused on all my senses. First of all, my sight. Not only could I see in the dark, I can also see really far away. As a human, I had to wear glasses to see. Now, I had 20/20 vision based on human standard. This really makes me happy for some strange reason. Normally I have a habit of pushing my glasses upwards, but it seems this body doesn¡¯t carry that particular need to do it.


    Next, my hearing. I closed my eyes and listened to my surroundings. I could feel my ears moving from left and right. Then, I heard it. The forest, I hear it. From the rustling of the leaves to the moving animals. I could hear everything. I could even tell and visualize my surrounding just from my hearing alone. How? When animals run, I could hear their footsteps, their breathing and the brush around them. This, for some strange reason, allows me to make some kind of mental image in my brain. Some of the animals, I¡¯ve never even seen before, yet they were forming in my mind clearly like a picture.


    I then opened my eyes. I¡¯m quite excited now. Back in my old world, I threw away my life. My family was gone and my life was filled with darkness. But now, I felt a light. A light that¡¯s filling me with excitement. I began to move my body slowly. It feels weird to walk with four legs. What¡¯s strange though is that, even though I¡¯m used to walking on two legs, I can still somehow walk in four legs. Not only that, I can even run. This must be my own brain at work, helping me move my new body. Before I knew it, I was running through the forest ground.


    I felt free as my body bounded through the forest. I barely made any sounds too. As for the forest, it rarely changed. The trees were all the exact same thing and the ground was still littered in roots and all the other stuff. What I found useful though is the fact that lily pads were scattered around the forest. At first, I thought they were weak. Of course curiosity got me so I stood on them. They were big enough for my paws to land on. Not only that, they were strong. From there, my movement became even faster as I used the lily pads for moving.


    Also, I wasn¡¯t alone. I saw various animals of different sizes. They were all running along the forest ground. Some were very similar to me like snow hares, dragonflies and birds. Others, were familiar animals but were not the same. An example would be a bear that had horns growing on its back. Of course, I quickly avoided it. But it didn¡¯t seem interested in me as it continued its meal. It was eating a deer. Yeah, this is not a jungle or a rainforest¡­ unless deer¡¯s are actually in those biomes. Yeah, I know. I¡¯m not that good in science¡­ more specifically, nature. Is that even a science? Meh, whatever. Let bygones be bygones.


    Still, this forest is rather huge. Or so I thought. After running for hours, yeah I lost track of time, I finally made it to a clearing. I slowed down and finally stopped. The forest did indeed end, but what I saw before me blew me out of the water. In front of me, the land turned into a cliff. In the horizon, I then saw a new world. They were two different kinds of environment. On the left side, a desert kind of area could be seen. On the right side, a green lush land covered the entire horizon. In between these two parts, land that were both sandy while maintaining a green lush could be seen. But what surprised was not the land itself, but the view.


    In both sides, mountains were floating on the sky. Water were flowing out off each mountain. Each of these mountain was then connected to the Cliffside. Looking at the vines, they were hugged. They also coiled around each other. They must be strong. Also, there seems to be a bridge, though it didn¡¯t lead to the other mountains. No, it led to the land below. Looking down, the entire area was covered in dark clouds, but after walking for a while, it soon became clear. I then noticed one important thing. The cliff seemed to go underneath me. Looking at the other mountains, I then decided that what I was thinking was true. I was also on a floating island.


    Checking this, I ran to the middle of the bridge. It took a while, but I finally made it. I then looked back and sure enough, it really was floating. Just what kind of world is this? Looking even closer, I also noticed that the dark clouds were never ending. Yet the strange thing was, it didn¡¯t spread. It only stayed in one single point underneath the floating Island I was in. Just what is going on?


    My ears instantly perked up. I heard sounds just below the bridge and near the forest. I looked out and really couldn¡¯t see anything. That couldn¡¯t be helped since the bridge went right into another forest. Once again, I felt curious. I started running down to the world below. Once I made it down, I saw two pillars that had a pillar placed above them. It was almost like a door really. Passing through, I immediately felt myself getting weaker. It wasn¡¯t a nuisance though as I still felt strong and good to go.


    The sounds were getting even louder now. Not only that, I could hear people screaming. Somehow, I knew what was happening. Losing no time to lose, I quickly ran towards the direction of the conflict. The forest here was a bit¡­ rougher than the one I was in. This one was pretty normal though and strange enough, I only noticed animals that I¡¯ve known about in my previous world. In other words, this was a normal forest. So then, what was so special about the forest I was in earlier?


    Before I could dwell in my thoughts, I suddenly emerged from the forest into a wide open space. I immediately smelled iron. Not only that, I could see the blood on the forest floor. Yes, this was indeed a battlefield. I slowly walked through, making sure that I wouldn¡¯t be seen. Then again, I should probably just walk normally seeing as I was a white furred wolf in the middle of the night. So I did just that. I then began seeing shapes in the distance. I tried finding a high area, but sadly there was no such thing here. Then I thought, maybe I can jump the trees. I tried it and to my surprise I did it. By jumping from one tree trunk to another, I was able to jump my way to the top. From there, I quickly made my way through the battlefield.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    It was a mess. Bodies were lying everywhere and every soldier looked to be very exhausted. Many had wounds, yet they kept on fighting. From the looks of it, there were two armies. One were wearing medieval attires that had a blue surcoat. Their emblem resembled that of France which was the fleur de lis. As for the opposing side, they wore a dark greyish armor. Theirs were more boxed than that of the French looking knights, but what surprised me were their size. They were shorter than the blue knights. It then occurred to me¡­ they were dwarves. That means this world must be that of a fantasy setting¡­ then again, that¡¯s occurred to me ever since I¡¯ve seen the flying mountains.


    Wanting to get a better look, I quickly jumped to next set of trees. Here, the fighting was at its worse. Earlier, it seems that the dwarves were only holding them off since they were in a pike formation. The knights on that side were merely using their shields to block the spearheads. Here though, it was full on close combat. The dwarves with their tower shields and their maces were bashing at the knights who fought them using their chivalric shields and arming swords. In reality though, I honestly can¡¯t tell who is winning. Both sides were pretty bloodied and they all looked very exhausted.


    The amount of people dying was also pretty even, so I honestly can¡¯t tell who is winning. Then, something surprising occurred. The men who were stabbed or hit, stood up again. The fighting then immediately stopped. Apparently both sides were surprised about this. Heck, even those guys who stood back up were surprised. Huh, so that means something surprising just happened. I wonder if healing magic is available. I mean, it is a fantasy world right. I thought about it as I laid on the branches. Yeah, I¡¯m getting real comfy here.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Did they just¡­¡±


    ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    Throughout both sides, I could hear them all voicing their opinions. They were really confused, but I was too. If I listen closely, I can clearly tell that both knights and dwarves were using different languages. The dwarves seemed to be using a rough accented Germanic language that I would never have understood, but did. As for the knights, they were actually talking in French. I don¡¯t know how to speak French, yet I understood them. What?


    Without me knowing, the surrounding soldiers were wary of their surroundings. It¡¯s as if they unknowingly formed a pact for their own good. The dwarves formed a circular positions while the knights pulled out bows, positioning themselves inside these small formations. Huh, I thought you were enemies earlier on. Knowing that I would be in danger here if I get found, I quickly stood up. That was, a mistake.


    ¡°THERE!¡±


    One of the knights quickly aimed his bow towards me. Shit, I am not about to just die again. I quickly jumped to the branch behind me as three arrows zoomed past. Crap, they are not joking around. Without looking back, I quickly jumped from branch to branch. Arrows after arrows kept coming after me. If I actually stop to listen¡­ yeah, like hell I¡¯m gona do that. But my senses were really telling me, there¡¯s a lot of things coming after me.


    After a short few minutes, I found the strange pillar thing. I leapt through and for some strange reason, I felt my body become even stronger than before.


    ¡°THERE!¡±


    Both dwarves and knights had followed behind me. This time, it was only a select few. The knights ran after me with bows while the dwarves had crossbows. I wasted no time and quickly ran.


    ¡°Shit, he¡¯s getting away¡±


    One of the knights cursed and immediately followed after me. I then heard a slight shuffle. After getting out of their range, I went to stare at them. I also focused on their conversation.


    ¡°Are you an idiot, that¡¯s the Garden of the Spirits!¡±


    ¡°And, I should care why?¡±


    The dwarf sighed. He took of his helmet and¡­ wait, it¡¯s not a he but instead a she. It¡¯s a female soldier.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the stories? Anyone who walks into that forest can never return alive¡±


    Without the helmet, she actually sounded pretty young. The knight laughed.


    ¡°And you think that¡¯s real? Really, you dwarven folk are really superstitious. Didn¡¯t you see what that wolf was capable of doing? It actually healed. HEALED! Not only that, it was also powerful¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I saw. But even so, we need to plan first¡±


    ¡°Hah, screw your planning. Both armies had to stop fighting for that thing. You know the implications. If we capture it, we can finally ignore fighting each other and focus on reclaiming the lost land¡±


    I tilted my head. Lost land? Hmm¡­ that¡¯s interesting. But still, for both armies to stop fighting. Wow, healing must be that important. But, the question is. Why me? Don¡¯t they have their own healers?


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re not going then my knights and I are going. By the four nation pact, you better be prepared to answer your council in why you didn¡¯t help me capture the beast¡±


    I could see the girl glaring at the knight. The knight on the other hand gave a scoff. He then started to pass through the makeshift pillar door. Without warning, light covered the surrounding area. A small scream could be heard followed by a thud and light immediately died. The knight who tried crossing the pillars was now unconscious on the ground. Behind him, there was a dent on the tree.


    ¡°You two, carry him back to your camp¡±


    She then looked towards her dwarven companions.


    ¡°As for us, we¡¯re retreating¡±


    The two knights didn¡¯t hesitate as they went over to the unconscious man. The girl on the other hand sighed as the other dwarves began their trek back to their camp.


    ¡°This¡­ is going to be a problem¡±


    She whispered as she looked at the young wolf on the bridge. She then walked away. She probably didn¡¯t think anyone would hear, but with my sense of hearing, I clearly heard her. Not minding it though, I quickly headed back into the forest. Really, today was filled with many surprises. My new body, a strange forest, flying mountains, dwarves and knights. Honestly, I didn¡¯t expect to see this much in just a single day. So frankly, I feel quite satisfied with the adventure. Suddenly, I felt my stomach growl. Then again, I¡¯ve been running the whole day so I expected this to happen. With that thought, I quickly went through the forest in search of food.


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    Author notes:


    Sorry this took a while. I was planning on starting it like a month ago, but¡­ I was really busy. Plus, I had a crazy road trip that took me from several states all the way to Canada. Needless to say, I was tired. But, the scenery helped me imagine the type of world I want this story to have so it was all good.


    P.S: This will have several perspectives, but I will focus on the M.C. Sorry, it might annoy some but it¡¯s my writing style and I can¡¯t write any other way


    P.S.S: Updates are irregular since I¡¯m also writing another story. A little fact, this one will not have an editor. Why? It¡¯s because this is mainly for inspiring my creativity. In other words, on the go writing. (A challenge for myself)

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2: I Was Summoned... But Why?


    Two days have passed since I¡¯ve come into this world. It¡¯s been a pretty fun experience. The only thing that disgusted me early on was, wait for it¡­ eating! Badum tish. Seeing as I used to be a human, I thought about getting ingredients and cooking them into a wonderful dish. Then, I remembered. I¡¯m no longer in the same world I was in before. Not only that, I¡¯m a wolf. How would I even try to cook with paws? It¡¯s impossible. That¡¯s why in the first few hours, I was suffering from hunger.


    I did managed to get ingredients, but I had no way of cooking it. Looking at the freshly killed rabbit, I couldn¡¯t help but drool. Half a day passed and before I knew it, I began to chew through the raw meat I had caught. It was a strange feeling. I thought I would puke it out instantly. Instead, I savored it. It was actually good. It had a sweet salty taste that I¡¯ve never tasted before. Although a warm cooked meal is better, this was actually not that bad. After this experience, I quickly got over my disgust and soon began enjoying my freshly caught meals.


    Aside from eating, I also began to exercise my body. I began running through the entire length of the forest. It¡¯s very huge, too huge for me to explore. That¡¯s why I decided to only explore my surrounding areas first. There¡¯s really nothing much to describe though since it¡¯s the same forest throughout the entire length of the way. Tall trees, rugged terrain, vines. That¡¯s pretty much it. I have to say though, although it¡¯s only that, it¡¯s a very beautiful forest. Why? It¡¯s because of the wildlife and the flowers. The flowers seemed to glow with power. The animals were very active and could be seen running along the forest floor. Predators could also be seen, but they do their best to avoid me. Hmm¡­ I wonder why?


    There is another thing that I¡¯ve been rather curious with. That¡¯s my strength. Whenever I would go to the edge of the forest, I felt weaker. Of course if I leave the island entirely, I felt weaker but it didn¡¯t get any worse than that. But that¡¯s not the real point. The main point is, I get stronger the deeper I go into the forest. Right now though, I¡¯m still kind of¡­ scared. That¡¯s why I thought about training myself first. Ugh¡­ it¡¯s times like this that I really hate the light novels. I¡¯ve read many transportation and even reincarnation stories about people coming to a different world with fantasy elements. But an important feature is, the main characters have cheat like game systems helping them.


    Of course, I¡¯ve already tried saying menu to try and open up a menu filled with wonderful skills, inventory and other cheats. But no. Nothing like that happened. Not only was I barking, but I even felt as if the surrounding animals were looking at me with pity. With my ears tucked into my head, I felt embarrassed and quickly made a getaway. But, I have hope. Why? It¡¯s because I still haven¡¯t tried magic. The thing is, I¡¯m not sure how to really activate magic so until I have definite instructions, I¡¯m very hopeful.


    ¡°Aruf?¡±


    I instantly perked up. For some strange reason, I felt my fur standing up. While running through the forest, I¡¯ve never felt like this before. That¡¯s why I instantly lowered my entire body. I looked around, but nothing seemed to be coming. I walked a bit forward and I felt my body shaking even more. That means, something is in front of me. I looked behind me, hoping for a retreat. Instead, I could only see unfamiliar territory. Crap. Did I just lose my way when I was making that monologue? Wait, why am I even doing a monologue? It¡¯s not like there¡¯s anyone listening to me? I sighed. It¡¯s a bit too late to go back now.


    Snaking my way through the vines, I quickly made my way forward. Of course my body was adamant at telling me to stay away, but the weird thing is. The closer I get, the less anxious I feel. I then finally parted through the trees and found a huge clearing. Well, the clearing itself had a reason in that a huge tree was in the middle. And here, I thought the trees were big enough. But this tree beats the other trees in appearance and size. Its trunk was much bigger and longer than the rest. Its leaves were a mix of red, orange and pink. It was quite a sight.


    ¡®Approach¡¯


    I instantly looked around, but no one seemed to be there. I then directed my gaze on the tree. For some strange reason, I felt like walking towards it. Before I knew it, I was already on the base of the tree.


    ¡®Identity Confirmed. Welcome your highness!¡¯


    I looked at the tree in confusion. Just what is this thing? Actually, how is it even talking?


    ¡®I am conversing with you using a telepathic spell. As for what I am, I¡¯m simply the Ai core that controls this forest¡¯


    I blinked in surprise.


    You can hear my thoughts?


    ¡®Yes your highness. Since you are the new ruler, I have direct access through the link that we both possessed¡¯


    Link, what do you mean by that?


    ¡®It¡¯s as I said your highness. We have a link that has connected us the moment you were born. As for how it was made, I myself do not know for I am only an Ai¡¯


    So, you¡¯re an Ai. Do you know what that means?


    ¡®No your highness¡¯


    Hmm¡­ so, I guess that means that you¡¯re not from my world.


    ¡®No your highness. As far as I know about your world, I am considered something to be more, intelligent. I was given no exact data, but this is the only thing I can infer. Also, although I do not hold every known information of this world, I am capable of evolving and learning as you do yourself your highness¡¯


    Oh, so you¡¯re like a memory card.


    ¡®I do not understand your highness¡¯


    I gave a quick laugh. This actually feels good. I haven¡¯t talked with anyone, but it is kind of weird that I¡¯m talking to a tree.


    ¡®If your highness wants, I can make a physical form of myself¡¯


    I smiled.


    If you want to, you can. I¡¯m not going to tell you what you can and cannot do.


    ¡®As you wish¡¯


    Before I knew it, a bright flash appeared. I closed my eyes from the blinding light. Like seriously, its so bright. Even when I closed my eyes, instead of darkness, it was actually kind of white. Then, it died down. Knowing that the light vanished, I opened my ey¡­


    ¡®Your highness?¡¯


    ¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but look back. Why? It¡¯s because there was a naked blond beauty in front of me. I didn¡¯t really had any time to examine her face, but I can already tell that she had a beautiful face with long blonde hair that reached all the way to her waist.


    WHY ARE YOU NAKED?


    ¡®It¡¯s because I have had no need of clothing until now your highness¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t help but keel over. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t really rebuke her from her logical explanation. I sighed.


    Can you somehow make clothes for yourself?


    ¡®As you wish¡¯


    Suddenly, the whole forest seemed to be alive. Small green particles came from the leaves and began to gather behind me. Curiosity taking over, I followed their trail all the way back to the girl. I was amazed. The small green particles were actually small tiny bits of tree leaves. They were connecting to one another and actually surrounded the girl. In a matter of seconds, they¡¯ve formed into a dress with an evergreen coat. Just what is this convenient magic? She even has green boots?


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    ¡®Is my appearance suitable for your highness?¡¯


    Ahh¡­ yes. At least with that, I won¡¯t be easily distracted.


    She tilted her head in confusion. Hey, you can¡¯t blame me. I¡¯ve had to deal with so much things in my previous life. Of course, relationships were out of the question. Even though I say that, I was still an adolescent boy with a pure heart. YEAH, I ADMIT IT OK. As if feeling my sadness, the blonde girl quickly walked up to me and patted me in the head.


    ¡®It¡¯s ok master¡¯


    ¡­ I¡¯m being comforted by a blond beauty who was gazing at me with pity. This is making me even sadder.


    ¡®Anyway master, I think we should form the contract¡¯


    Contract? For what?


    ¡®Hai, I shall explain. When you were born, a link was instantly made with my Ai system. This shows that you are truly the ruler of this forest. But, in order for the link to be fulfilled, you must form a complete contract with me¡¯


    Ok, form contract for the link. But, why should I?


    She tilted her head again. She¡¯s really adorable with her blue eyes blinking innocently.


    ¡®There are two main reason. For one, you would gain full control over me¡¯


    My brain immediately fritzed from her sentence. Full control? Doesn¡¯t that sound kind of dangerous?


    ¡®I do not understand what you meant master. But, let me fully explain. In gaining control over me, you are able to access the Ai system directly. The benefits of using the system is that a map can be directly placed into your mind. Not only that, you are allowed the benefit of teleporting as well as monitoring the entire layout of the forest¡¯


    The thoughts of youth were instantly blown away from me. Map? Teleportation? Monitoring? Although the monitoring seems useless right now, the teleporting and map is really convenient. For one, I wouldn¡¯t get lost¡­ well not here anyway. As for teleporting¡­ do I really need to explain?


    Wait, so how exactly can I use these?


    ¡®It¡¯s simple. As soon as master forms a contract with me, you are immediately bestowed access on the Ai system. You just have to think about using them¡¯


    So, I don¡¯t have to say anything.


    ¡®Hai. All you need to do is think¡¯


    This really sounds too good to be true.


    ¡®Aside for the access to the Ai system, you are also given one more benefit upon contract master¡¯


    And, what would that be?


    ¡®It¡¯s access to Spirit Library¡¯


    What¡¯s that?


    She shook her head.


    ¡®I am very sorry. I am not allowed to speak of any information regarding the library until we made a contract¡¯


    Eh? Why not?


    ¡®I¡­ do not know. For some strange reason, I have been inhibited from explaining to you unless the contract is complete¡¯


    ¡­ I am very curious. But, I can¡¯t just do this without any information. I can¡¯t just trust anyone willy nilly. Hell, not even a bombshell of a girl could¡­ Please stop looking at me like that¡­ Wait a minute.


    Does the library have information regarding my existence?


    ¡®I¡­ do not know. Rather, I am not allowed to access that¡­¡¯


    She immediately froze. I looked into her eyes and surprisingly, I saw a small blue light.


    ¡®After analyzing the data, it does show there is information regarding your existence. Would you like to access it now?¡¯


    Eh, I thought you said you weren¡¯t allowed to access it.


    She gave out a confused look.


    ¡®For some reason, I can now access this data. Though, it is only this data that I am allowed to tell you¡¯


    She froze again.


    ¡®I have also received a message to give to you. Would you like to listen to it?¡¯


    This is starting to get weird. But, with this, I realized something. I was actually summoned to this world. Whoever summoned me has actually led me here to this very spot. Not only that, there¡¯s also a message. Ugh¡­ by the stories I¡¯ve read, this is going to be a pain in the ass. Save the world, defeat the demon king, it¡¯s usually these type of settings that the main characters have to go through. I sighed and prepared myself.


    Please tell me the message.


    ¡®Hai¡­ [Hello, hello. Is this working. HELLO]¡¯


    Annoying¡­ I can¡¯t describe this voice as nothing but annoying.


    [Also, I¡¯m not annoying. I swear¡­ ahem. Anyway, I¡¯m leaving this message to you. Ahem¡­ I entrust the forest into your hands. I know you¡¯ve had a hard time in your previous world. That¡¯s why, I summoned you to this world. Of course, I only have one mission for you. That is to watch over the forest. Aside from that, have fun.


    P.s: If you want me to listen to a message, just pray to the goddess of light Arian.


    P.s.s: You don¡¯t have to stay in the forest. Just watch over it. You can visit the other continents. Even help them out if you want.


    P.s.s.s: You can use magic so don¡¯t fret over it. Only problem is, you¡¯re not like the otherworlders meaning you can¡¯t use the game menu. That¡¯s why I gave you the Ai system, Info chan. Of course you can change her name, so have fun with that. I also looked up your preference from your past, so I hope she meets your preferences.


    Now that I¡¯m done, PEACE OUT AND GOOD LUCK.


    Yours truly,


    -Goddess Arian]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    A small awkward silence happened between us.


    ¡®I see, so my appearance is master¡¯s preference. I will take this to heart and hope to better serve you in the future, Master¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t help but gave her a wry smile. Yep, she misunderstood. She completely misunderstood my situation. I was actually holding those magazines for a friend. I can''t believe I forgot them. But, it''s to much of a bother explaining now... and it''s not like I didn''t read them too. But still, for a Goddess to message that... JUST WHAT KIND OF GODDESS ARE YOU TO BE LOOKING INTO THE PREFERENCE OF A GROWING BOY!............... Thank you oh mighty goddess.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    Ahh¡­ nothing much to say. Actually, I will say that I¡¯m focusing on this story this week. Who knows, I might even have a story later. Just saying, in my time. If I don¡¯t post by US central time 12:00, then I¡¯ll probably post another chapter tomorrow instead of today again. And in the rare instance that I do post at 1:00¡­ just go to bed and wait for it tomorrow lol. I care for readers health so don¡¯t stay up to late :P

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3: Onwards, To The Shrine We Go!


    Under the cool shade of a tree, a girl and her dog were taking a relaxing break. The girl, a very beautiful blonde girl who seemed to be on her late teens, was casually patting her dog on the head. If you were actually to look closer, you would notice that the dog isn¡¯t even a dog. It was wolf, one with very strong body and had very soft looking fur.


    ¡°Master, are you comfortable¡±


    Speaking to the wolf, the girl had a very soothing voice. The wolf nodded, as if it knew the words that the girl spoke. Of course, she looked happy as a smile could be seen on her lovely face. Now, you must be wondering why I¡¯m talking in the third person perspective. Actually, I have no idea. I just started doing it since I was feeling so relaxed. Anyway, is this how dogs feel when they lay their heads near someone¡¯s legs? Man, they sure have been living the life. Not only that, Iridia was constantly patting me on the head. I would be lying if I said, this wasn¡¯t comfortable.


    Speaking of which, info chan was kind of annoying to say. In the end, I ended up calling her Iridia. Why Iridia? It¡¯s because, it was my mother¡¯s name. I could already hear you saying, ¡®Wouldn¡¯t that remind you of your past?¡¯ Well, it does. But you know, it somehow matches her well. You can say, she has the feeling that my mom also had. I can¡¯t really describe it, but it just seems right. The truth? Um¡­ well¡­ I couldn¡¯t think of a better name¡­


    Anyway, moving on. The contract wasn¡¯t what I expected it to be. I thought it was going to be a complicated series of spells and procedures that would involve a ritual where I would need to sacrifice a bit of my blood to activate it. But, it actually wasn¡¯t. All I had to do was place my hand on her chest. Specifically, the center of her chest. There, a tattoo had been inscribed into her skin. What¡¯s more, the same tattoo appeared on my arm. Then, something amazing happened. The huge tree lit up. Yeah, it lit up. Not only that, its color had completely changed into pink. It¡¯s just like those cherry blossom trees that I¡¯ve always seen in TV.


    Speaking of which, what did that mean Iridia?


    ¡°Hmm¡­ what do you mean master?¡±


    The tree, why did it turn completely pink?


    ¡°Ahh¡­ the tree. I¡¯m sorry master, but even I do not know the reason for its transformation¡±


    I gave a wry smile. For an Ai, she sure was clueless. Even when she has access to the spirit library. Actually, it¡¯s not even a library. It¡¯s just a list of skills and magic that a person can learn in this library. Also, it does explain the various races of spirits that calls this forest its home. I, for one, am considered a Deus Alpha. Although that sounds like I¡¯m a god, I¡¯m actually not. The Deus Alpha are a race of wolves that are considered to be the guardians of the forest. They have many unique abilities that are solely seen from them and are the most powerful spirits in existence. Of course, they can also be killed, but they can only be killed by a god slayer weapon. In other words, a weapon that is mixed with silver. Yeah, I know. Lame.


    But still, that really isn¡¯t enough to explain what I am. Well, I guess it¡¯s better to just learn things as we go right?


    ¡°Yes, that is a very wonderful idea master¡±


    I again smiled wryly. This girl really is an Ai. But, I have to say. She can probably grow to become more human like. I mean, just a few hours of talking and she¡¯s almost reached the stage of having a normal conversation without sounding robotic¡­ I think.


    Still, now that I¡¯m actually here, I¡¯m really curious on what kind of world this is.


    ¡°Will we be traveling master?¡±


    Yes, we will. But first, I have to find that shrine.


    Apparently, there¡¯s a shrine outside of this forest. It is an ancient shrine that was built to worship the great goddess Arian. What¡¯s important about this shrine is the fact that it will allow a spirit to manifest a human form. In other words, I would gain the ability to transform into a human person. As much as I enjoyed my past few days as a wolf, I really do miss being human. The only problem though is the fact that this shrine is located near the dwarven city of Glagur. How do I know this? Well¡­ let¡¯s just say that the map skill is op.


    Well, we¡¯ve rested plenty. Shall we begin our trip?


    ¡°Hai¡±


    I quickly stood up from my spot. Iridia also stood up.


    Climb on my back


    She gave me an alarmed look.


    ¡°But master. I¡¯m only a lowly servant. It¡¯s not good if¡­¡±


    I placed a paw on her head. Did I forget to mention that I was almost as big as a horse? No? Well, now you know. Anyway¡­


    It¡¯ll be faster for us if you rode on my back. At least then, I won¡¯t have to worry about you lagging behind.


    She closed her eyes for a moment and took a brief breath. With a red face, she nodded as I lowered my back to her. She then quickly got on and leaned on my body. I¡¯m not going to lie, I felt a wonderful pair of mounds on my back. Right now though, that¡¯s really not important. Shaking my head and breaking the spell of those mountains, I quickly dashed towards the bridge. I could feel Iridia tighten her grip, but I didn¡¯t mind. Actually, I was moving pretty fast. I must have gotten strong when I took her contract. I mean, it only took a couple of minutes before we finally reached the end of the forest.


    I slowed down, ready to walk on the bridge. Then I noticed something. Below the bridge, a small clearing was made. There, a military camp could be seen. I used my vision to fully see what camp it was. It was the French knights. They¡¯ve made a small fortification that blocked the bridge. For some reason, I felt a bit irritated.


    ¡°Master¡±


    Yes, I could see them. Hmm¡­ are there any dwarves in the mix?


    ¡°Give me a sec to analyze them master¡±


    She placed her hands and made a box motion in front of her.


    [Mirror]


    An image formed in front of us.


    [Identify]


    Suddenly, names began showing up. Not only that, other information began showing too. Race, gender, age and factions. These all began each individual soldiers that were in the camp. I began looking through them and finally concluded that the dwarves weren¡¯t present. But it seems these guys focus are not the dwarves. Instead, they were focused towards the island. How do I know this? It¡¯s because the barricades were facing towards me. As for their rear, it¡¯s like they have nothing to fear. In other words, their primary target was the forest.


    For some strange reason, I don¡¯t really like the fact that their facing the forest


    ¡°I too do not like it master. It seems as if they have bad intentions for the forest¡±


    What should we do? We can always just go around them¡­ but¡­


    Something deep inside me was rumbling. What is this feeling? It¡¯s like my blood is boiling.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just excited master?¡±


    Excited? For what?


    Iridia smiled.


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    ¡°Aren¡¯t you excited for a fight? I could feel master¡¯s feelings. If it was fear, I would have known. But instead, I could see that you¡¯re getting really excited the more you stare at those men down there¡±


    I couldn¡¯t refute what she was saying. For some strange reason, I really want to go down there and just go wild. Being a person with a peaceful background though, the thought of killing someone scares me. But, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to kill anyone right? I just want to give them a little lesson from before. Not only that, I really don¡¯t like those fortifications. That¡¯s why, they need to go down.


    Iridia, how good are you with fighting?


    ¡°Give me a second master¡±


    Her eyes began to flash. Before I knew it, they¡¯ve changed from blue to a scarlet red. With a smile she then held out her hand and a spear made out of pure energy formed. I was surprised¡­ and excited. Ah, I¡¯ve used the same words for a while now. My blood is really pumping.


    Do you think you can hit them without killing?


    ¡°Do not worry master. This spear only takes away their mana and stamina. Their life will be spared getting hit with this. If you want, you can also coat your teeth and claws with this¡±


    Really? How?


    ¡°Remember master, you only need to think about it¡±


    Oh, yeah. I quickly imagined my teeth and claws armed in spiritual energy. I even imagined a whip like weapon on my tail. Sure enough, it was successful. With this, I can go wild.


    We will stay together. Whatever you do, you must not get off me


    ¡°I¡¯ve already completed the saddle. With this, I won¡¯t be taken of that easily master¡±


    Confused, I turned my head around. She was actually riding an energy saddle. Just how powerful is this light magic. Not only that, she was also wearing light green armor. She had an imposing look of a battle maiden with a shield and a spear.


    Well, guess I don¡¯t really have anything to worry about.


    With that, I quickly leapt on the bridge and howled into the sky. I quickly saw frantic men scrambling around. There were also two guards near the pillars. I couldn¡¯t see their faces, but they seemed kind of afraid. How can I tell? Well, both the spears that were lowered to me were shaking slightly.


    With a powerful jump, I flew across the two men, right above the palisade and into their camp. Aside from the two knights, everyone else scrambled for their weapons. They didn¡¯t even have any armor on and only carried a sword or spear and their shield. I quickly went to work. Aiming at the closest man, I quickly dodged his jab and bit into his side. He screamed as he let go of his spear. I then tossed him into two other men before slashing at another.


    While I continued my rampage, Iridia was professionally warding off any soldier that came behind me. One man tried to strike at her but she leaned her entire body to the side while she jabbed him with her spear. As she sat back on the saddle, she caught two swords aimed at her with her shield. She then twisted her arm, reflecting the swords while also slashing her spear to the side completely knocking the two knights to the ground.


    ¡°SHIT! ARCHERS, OPEN FIRE¡±


    As I continued to slash at the knights, I heard soft whistling in the air. I began spinning the whip above us and soon, the arrows were easily batted aside.


    ¡°No way!¡±


    ¡°Just what are they?¡±


    Every knight had their jaws wide open. I didn¡¯t let the opportunity slip. Punishing them, I crippled another four knights and threw them at the palisade. It wasn¡¯t enough to destroy them though, but I managed to find something that can.


    Hold on


    As I sent this thought message to Iridia, I quickly jumped at the torches. I then took them on my mouth and threw them at the palisade.


    ¡°Did that thing just do that?¡±


    ¡°No way, how did it know to do that?¡±


    You can really sense that their morale was beginning to shatter.


    Hey Iridia, now¡¯s the best time to warn them. Tell them never to approach the forest again


    With a nod, she spun her spear in front of us. That did two things. One, it blocked the incoming arrows that I didn¡¯t notice. Two, it fanned the flames behind us and gave us a menacing appearance.


    ¡°LEAVE THIS PLACE NOW. IF YOU DON¡¯T, YOU WILL FEEL THE WRATH OF THE GUARDIANS¡±


    I can only imagine the fear that was in the men¡¯s eyes. You could see that they were wary¡­ actually, not wary. They were complete scared of us.


    ¡°R¡­RETREAT¡±


    When the captain finally ordered it, every man took their injured companions and began running from us. If you look at it, everyone was still alive and kicking. They just look tired and bruised. With a small bark, I finally expelled that last bit of my excitement.


    Well¡­ that was really fun, wouldn¡¯t you agree


    ¡°Hai, it was really fun. I have to say though master, you can be pretty scary if you want¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    Yeah, I guess I can. But you know, it was worth it. I finally had the chance to try out something I would never have done before. Plus, now. I feel like I have the strength to do anything. So I might as well use this new strength that was given to me. Who knows, maybe in the future, a lot more fun things can happen right.


    She took of her helmet, exposing her charming smile.


    ¡°Hai¡±


    With that, we started fanning out the flames. Searching the place, I was actually surprised that there weren¡¯t any supplies left behind. They must have rushed taking those with them. If they did, I was kind of impressed. They sure know how to act during an attack. After razing the entire camp completely, Iridia and I continued our journey towards the Shrine of Arian.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    As promised, here is chapter 3. Now, you guys are probably curious about the Spirit library. I''ll clarify it. Basically, it really is just a spirit databank that includes information about spells, skills and spirits. It also has a hidden function that has no major advantage to our M.C. That is, the instant messaging with the goddess. The only thing is, Arian can only message him. The only way our M.C can message her is through prayers... in a shrine... devoted to Arian.


    Also, the knights really looked weak in this fight. Actually, there''s an explanation for this. This is only a scouting party. I haven''t explained the layout of the overall armies yet, but I''ll explain the scouting party composition. They are a light infantry that mainly centers around engineers. That means, their sole job is to make forward fortification to support their respective armies. Since mages and cavalry are placed into their own separate roles, they are not included in this unit. In other words, the only offensive power that this group really has is their ability to lock down a position with shield infantry while archers pick off the locked enemy. Once their fortifications are breached... well, you can then consider them as cannon fodders. Yeah, it''s harsh being in these types of unit.


    Well, I hope you liked the information. Also, I will be continuing to work on the next chapter so stay tuned. :D

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4: You Can''t be a Troublemaker... Right?


    ¡°Where here¡±


    I slowly opened my eyes and noticed that the rocking from before had stopped. I yawned as I slowly stood up from the cart.


    ¡°Thank you for the trip sir. It really was a lot of help¡±


    ¡°Why are you thanking me? If it weren¡¯t for you and your pet, I would have been dead on the road already¡±


    I shook my head and finally remembered what happened. During our trip, we ran across this merchant. Of course, he was being attacked by bandits so we decided to help. Of course, we didn¡¯t harm them, but we did make sure to tie them up.


    ¡°LET GO OF US ALREADY!¡±


    ¡°IF OUR BAWS HEARS THIS, YA¡¯LL REGRET THIS MISSY¡±


    Speaking of the devils, they were shouting at the top of their lungs in the cage we made. I turned towards them and gave them a growl. They began to shiver as they all shrank inside the cage.


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­ I¡¯ve never seen such a thing before. Bandits afraid of a small wolf. Miss, you sure trained her well¡±


    Iridia gave a wry smile as she walked over to me and picked me up. As she left though, she gave a quick look towards the bandits. I swear I saw one of them piss himself. And I thought I was scary. Aside from that, you¡¯re probably wondering on how Iridia can pick me up. Well, during the first half of our trip, I found out a way to make myself smaller. Convenient no? At least now, I wouldn¡¯t catch that much attention¡­ or so I thought.


    ¡°WOW, she looks so cute¡±


    ¡°Neh, can I pet her? Can I?¡±


    ¡°HOW MUCH FOR THE WOLF. I¡¯ll give you 20 no¡­ 30 gold coins for her!¡±


    Iridia and I instantly glared at the merchant looking person. He immediately grew silent, apologized and ran away. Aside from that though, I also noticed something.


    ¡°That¡¯s such a cute child you have there missy. What¡¯s her name?¡±


    ¡­ I¡¯ll give you a few seconds to guess what¡¯s wrong¡­ EVERYONE¡¯S CALLING ME A GIRL! Yeah. Her or she. This is all I¡¯ve been described as. Honestly, I¡¯m a guy. How can people mistake me for a¡­ oh wait, I¡¯m a wolf. But still, even I have pride as a guy ok. I can¡¯t just be called a girl, hell even as a wolf I¡¯m sure I¡¯m a guy¡­ actually, there was no information on the spirit library about the Deus Alpha¡¯s gender. You can say, as a wolf, I have no gender. But still, I would very much like to be considered as gu¡­


    ¡°Her name is Fer¡±


    The surrounding people¡¯s eyes immediately sparkled.


    ¡°My, my. What a fitting name for such a cute thing¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but blink. Did Iridia¡­ just give me a female name? Oye, oye¡­ What do you think you¡¯re doing Iridia? I thought I can trust you? As if sensing my displeasure, she looked at me and gave short explanation.


    ¡®I¡¯m sorry master, but we should try to lay low as much as possible. So please, until we get your human body, just accept the name and gender for now¡¯


    Mwuu¡­ I really want to refute it¡­


    wait, why can¡¯t I be male then? Wouldn¡¯t it be the same thing?


    She broke eye contact and seemed to be looking into far distance.


    It¡¯s because you¡¯re much cuter this way


    ¡­ TRAITOR! I couldn¡¯t help but cry as my only ally has forsaken me.


    ¡°Is this all of them?¡±


    I immediately recovered myself and directed my gaze to the new voice. There, a dwarven soldier could be seen. Unlike the previous ones I saw, this man wore leather armor. It still had that box shape to it, but you can clearly see the difference between him and the soldiers from before.


    ¡°Yep, this is all of them¡±


    It was the old man who replied. Speaking of which, this man was human. As to why he wasn¡¯t being scrutinized for being a human, it¡¯s because he¡¯s part of the English kingdom. In other words, the human continent of this world has several other kingdoms aside from the French. What¡¯s more, they actually have the same names as in my world. France, England, Sicily, Venice, Milan, Spain and Russia. Well, those were the major powers. There are actually smaller kingdoms in the continent.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed. You guys are from the Riple Bandit group right¡±


    The men said nothing. They only gritted their teeth as they glared at the soldier in front of them. The man didn¡¯t care and instantly went over to Iridia.


    ¡°And, I believe it was you who captured them¡±


    Iridia gave a small nod.


    ¡°Hah, to think a young lady defeated some members of the most troubling bandit group in the region¡­ who exactly are you?¡±


    For some strange reason the atmosphere became unpleasant. I could see sparks flying between Iridia and the man. Oh, boy. Just a week of travel and adventure, I would say that Iridia has been gaining knowledge. Not only that, she¡¯s actually pretty emotional. In other words, She doesn¡¯t really know how to handle her emotions properly yet. That¡¯s why if she¡¯s annoyed, then she¡¯ll tell you she¡¯s annoyed. If she¡¯s uncomfortable, she¡¯ll glare at you. If she¡¯s mad, she¡¯ll glare at you with a hint of killing intent. Yeah, she needs to learn how to handles herself. With a sigh, I gave a short bark that broke the man¡¯s attention from her. He then stared at me and seemed to calm down a bit. The same with Iridia.


    ¡°Well, either way. I need you to come with me. As much as I don¡¯t trust you, I still have to reward you for catching some members of the Riple bandit group. That¡¯s why if you don¡¯t have any business anywhere else later, just go ahead and make your way to the barracks ok¡±


    He didn¡¯t even finish his sentence before he started walking away. As for the men, their cage was already attached to another cart before we even noticed. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to look back.


    ¡°Oh, and if you leave. Well, just say that you¡¯ll never be able to enter another Dwarven city unless you clear yourself of suspicion alright¡±


    We watched as the bandits were taken away. But still, this is going to be kind of a problem. But with this problem, there¡¯s also hope. Why? It¡¯s because, if we clear our suspicion now and actually get papers, then we¡¯ll be free to travel with actual identities. The reason I say this is because we actually entered this city through the grace of the merchant. If it wasn¡¯t for him, we would have been thrown out if we didn¡¯t show identification cards. It was only when he told them that it was us who captured the bandits that we were allowed inside. But, if we managed to get these so called identification cards, then we would be able to enter the other cities with no suspicion. Truly, the gods must be watching over us¡­ actually, goddess. O thank you great Arian Sama.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t do much to help you¡±


    The old merchant who drove us apologized. Really, such a nice old man.


    ¡°It is fine. Thank you for helping us. I do hope that you won¡¯t get into any more trouble once we part¡±


    Iridia gave him a smile as he also gave a smile. He then hopped on his cart and went on his merry way. As for us, time for some sightseeing. I didn¡¯t really get the chance to see much when going into the city, but wow is this place amazing. The houses were built grandly. They had these ancient modern feel to them. The houses weren¡¯t the typical medieval houses. No, they were fashioned in a way that complements the dwarves. There were also giant towers as well as small citadels that were spread around the city. To my amazement, these were used both as defenses and entertainment. Apparently, restaurants exist in this place. You could smell the food that was being made.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we stop to eat first master?¡±


    I nodded enthusiastically as we entered one of buildings. The inside looked like a tavern. There was a bar area that had high stools on the bar. Behind the counter, there were several barrels of what appears to be beer. Everyone was smiling, talking and laughing in here. Several waiters could be seen¡­ oh, and there were an assortment of waitresses too. There were humans and dwarves. But most surprisingly, there were elves. Just like the ones I knew from my world, they had long ears and had a graceful appearance. Also, these must be dark elves since they were tanned in color.


    ¡°DRINKS UP¡±


    ¡°HOHHHHHH¡±


    A cheer ran throughout the bar. When I looked around for the reason, apparently there are two men drinking away with people surrounding them.


    ¡°¡±¡±¡±CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG¡±¡±¡±¡±


    Both men kept chugging with the chant. As soon as they finished, they would place there empty mugs on a pan which instantly replaced by a fresh mug by the bartender. From there, they continued to drink.


    The atmosphere is very toxic here


    ¡°Yes, I believe so master¡±


    We quickly, or should I say, Iridia carried me in her arms to the counter. There, she placed me on the counter and sat on the stool. She then placed me on her lap giving me a comfortable place to sit.


    ¡°First time I¡¯ve seen you here missy. So, what¡¯ll be?¡±


    He pointed upwards. There, a list of food could be seen. They were even cheap too ranging from 10 copper coins to 2 silver coins. Really cheap.


    ¡°One order of seasoned salad and a steak¡±


    ¡°HEY BRUL, YOU HEARD THE LADY¡±


    ¡°YEAH I HEARD¡±


    A fierce battle then began in the kitchen. Paying it no mind, I kept glancing at the people on the side. It appears the young man was beat. Everyone in the group began laughing as they took the poor man to a seat. That really made me curious.


    ¡°One Beer please¡±


    Sensing my curiosity, Iridia immediately ordered a cup. This naturally got the attention of our neighbors. Actually, it only made them look even more. Before, she was already catching everyone¡¯s eye. The bartender immediately took out a cup and slid it on the counter. Iridia caught it and took a small sip.


    ¡®It is safe for you to drink master¡¯


    What do mean safe? Oye, your not a poison tester you know?


    ¡®But¡­¡¯


    No buts.


    I greatly admonish her in my mind. Although I respect her loyalty for me, but even that¡¯s taking it too far. What¡¯s more, I¡¯m a monster that only be killed by a god slayer weapon. Nothing else, like poison, can kill me. I sighed as I brought my face to the cup. I could everyone¡¯s gaze on me, but the smell is really making me come closer. I then licked the top of the drink and a sweet feeling met my tongue. What is this divine drink? It tastes so good!


    Wasting no time, I immediately started sipping the cup. With the help of Iridia, the entire cup was drank by me.


    Ahh¡­ such a taste. I¡¯ve never tasted anything like it before¡­ does beer really taste like this


    ¡®I¡¯m not sure how master¡¯s old world¡¯s beer tasted like, but the beer in this world is apparently made from a highly concentrated dose of fruits¡¯


    But it¡¯s beer, isn¡¯t it supposed to have a high alcohol concentration?


    ¡®But it does¡¯


    Not understanding what she meant by that, I noticed that everyone has gathered around us.


    ¡°Eh, what an adorable little thing. To be able to drink such an alcohol, just how did you do it missy¡±


    ¡°That wolf sure is amazing¡±


    ¡°Wow, she¡¯s cute too¡±


    Eh, what do you mean alcoholic? I didn¡¯t even feel anything from that? But it did taste good.


    ¡°Bartender, one more¡±


    With a surprised look, the man gave us another cup. She immediately presented it to me, and I wasted no time in drinking it. Oh, unlike last time, this was melonier. Man, if beer was this good, I would have drank this in my previous world regardless of age limit.


    ¡°¡­ she sure can drink huh¡±


    Everyone seemed to be gawking at us now though afterwards they raised a loud cheer. Then for some reason, they started to order me more alcohol. I ignored the drinks though since our food came in. While Iridia ate a bit of the steak, upon my suggestion, she mainly stuck with he salad. As for me, well. I¡¯m a carnivore right. So, I should focus on the me¡­ A spoon filled salad was instantly placed on my mouth.


    ¡°You should also eat vegetables Fer. It¡¯s healthy for you¡±


    I instantly felt the surrounding giving us a heartwarming look. Ignoring it, I chewed on the salad and found out something. These were giving me mana. I mean, the steak was also doing it, but¡­ the vegetables were more¡­ pure. What is this?


    ¡°Neh, how can that wolf be so cute. It¡¯s like a child¡±


    ¡°Right, right¡±


    Suddenly, the females started to approach even closer than the men. I felt my back tingling from them. Suddenly, I sensed one of them starting to reach towards me.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t interrupt her when she¡¯s eating¡±


    I looked up towards Iridia who was smiling¡­ scratch that, her eyes weren¡¯t smiling. She was also blocking the woman¡¯s reach with her own hand. After looking at her, the surrounding people seemed to sense trouble. To get rid of this, the men began chanting and drinking again. The happy mood from before returned, but there were two people who remained the same. One was a blond girl and the other was a woman in her early twenties. Neither one of them flinched as sparks were flying. I then looked up at Iridia, a single thought in my mind.


    Are you a troublemaker type character?


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    As always, I suck with titles. Also, I don''t really understand the process of making alcohol. So don''t judge me lol.


    P.S: Already working on the next chapter. Might finish it later, who knows. I might be even able to dish out two more chapters :P

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5: Magic and Pride


    How did it become like this¡­


    ¡°¡±¡±¡±CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG¡±¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°Damn, look at them go¡±


    In front of me, Iridia was currently in a drinking competition. Can you imagine it? A blonde beauty chugging through an entire mug of beer the size of her face. Not only that, she didn¡¯t seemed faze as she finished one and quickly grabbed another. Her opponent wasn¡¯t all show either. It was a human beauty who wore, what seemed to be, a noble dress. Yeah, a noble¡­ in a bar. What¡¯s the coincidence of meeting one here?


    ¡°You look, hic, a bit topsy, hic. Don¡¯t you, hic, think you should, hic, call it quits¡±


    You should talk! Your face is already red. Not only that, you¡¯re starting to wobble. Her opponent wasn¡¯t in any better shape though.


    ¡°Nyot, hic, unwil I, hic, gwet her¡±


    With a determined look, she once again began drinking through the next batch of drinks. With a sneer, Iridia also began going through her next batch. Speaking of which, I think there¡¯s a misunderstanding here¡­ WHY AM I THE PRIZE?


    Sadly, no one can hear my internal scream as they continued rooting for the two drinking girls.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Oye, how long are you going to sleep there?


    ¡°Hehehehe¡­ Mwaster¡±


    I nudged the sleeping girl who seemed to be having a good dream. Yep, she¡¯s really out cold. It¡¯s already been a few hours and she was still sleeping on the bed. It sure was a good thing that this bar doubled as a hotel. If it weren¡¯t for that, I¡¯m not sure I would have been able to get Iridia to a bed without transforming back to my original size. I sighed. There¡¯s no way we¡¯ll be able to go to the barracks today. I hope that guy forgives us. Anyway, since I have nothing else to do, might as well practice a bit of magic and look through the ones I haven¡¯t really used yet.


    Although Iridia is asleep, I still have control over the spirit library. In other words, I can still access the system without any trouble. I began surfing through the list again. In all honesty, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to memorize all of these spells. I mean, I¡¯ve been scrolling through them and they seem to be never ending. If I were to guess, there¡¯s about a thousand or more spells here that can actually be used in this world. But although I say they can be used, there usage is pretty high consuming. Not only that, magicians are probably the only people who can even utilize these abilities.  And those types of people are rare.


    Well, magicians are rare but mages are plenty. What¡¯s the difference? Mage¡¯s are people who only have the power to use one or two spells. There mana is also pretty low, but with enough training, they can become pretty important in a mercenary party or in the battlefield. A magician, on the other hand, has complete mastery over four or six types of spells. You can say, they are powerhouses with enough mana to single handedly change the outcome of an entire battlefield.


    The only reason I know this is because Iridia and I met a magician before we saved the merchant. He was a very nice person who taught us a bit of his magic¡­ not like we needed the teaching in the first place. He was helpful though as he explained the concept of magic and its usage for this world. After that, I¡¯ve had the habit of using my mana sensing spell to look for both magicians and mages. I can also combine it with the map and it tells me the high concentration of mana in each person around me. In this city, there are two people capable of becoming magicians. Aside from that, a high amount of people were either noncombatants, soldiers or mages. Well, putting this topic aside, I began going through the list. I even have a favorites section in the Spirit Library.


    Yeah, I can actually favorite the spells I want to use. It¡¯s even saved in a different tab. Spirit Library Op! Anyway, I looked through my list again.


    [Shield of Azur]


    Energy began forming around me. Yep, if you¡¯ve noticed, this was the first spell I¡¯ve ever learned. It allowed me to form a type of energy power on any part of my body. When this comes into contact with any other person or animal, it immediately drains them of their mana and stamina. You can say, this is a defensive type spell that makes an armor that completely relies on a person¡¯s mana. Since I¡¯m a spirit though, the mana consumption is quite low. Either that or I actually have a lot of mana. I then cancelled it and looked at my other spells.


    [Regalios Armus]


    Four consecutive spears appeared. They were spears made of blue flames that hovered right above me. Also, all I have to do is think and the spears immediately follow my commands. Not only that, I can focus entirely on any fight since the spear also has an automatic function in their system. In other words, I don¡¯t have to control most of the time. What¡¯s even neater about this spell is¡­ I jumped into the air and grabbed one of the spears with my mouth. Yep, they have a physical form and I can actually grab them. They¡¯re not even burning me which is very convenient. Let¡¯s see, what¡¯s next.


    [Mana Exelcius]


    As soon as I activated this spell, small blue particles appeared. They then began to gather together forming a small ball in front of me. Basically, this spell summons mana. Yeah, not gather. Summon. You can say, this is a purifying type of magic that purifies the area around you. I touched the center with my mana.


    [Expel]


    The tiny ball shattered, scattering the particles around us. I felt the cool sensation as the air is purified around me. Ahh¡­ this feels relaxing. But I can¡¯t sleep now. Let¡¯s see¡­ I immediately stop after looking at the end of my favorite list. I then began to smile, but first.


    [Teleport]


    I felt my vision change as I now saw a desert field. The sky was dark now¡­ well no freaking duh. It¡¯s night so what do I expect. I looked at the moon. It¡¯s not a full moon, but it¡¯ll have to do. I then placed my paw to the ground¡­ not that it wasn¡¯t already on the ground to begin with.


    [Summon Guardian]


    A white pentagram instantly appeared. It was filled with symbols and words that I¡¯ve never seen before. Not only that, the moon was acting weird. The light seemed to focus on the pentagram. That is really weird. Then, something surprising happened. The once white pentagram soon grew dark. Electricity seemed to come out of it as I felt a powerful force come out.


    Then, in a flash, it stopped.


    ¡°Like I said father, if we don¡¯t add more residential areas in the common section, it¡¯ll be¡­ wait, what?¡±


    I look at the figure in front of me. It was a young woman with dark hair and piercing red eyes. She was looking around strangely, confused at what just happened.


    ¡°Where am I? Why is there a wolf here?¡±


    She immediately began to glare at me.


    Are you my summoned guardian?


    She jumped back in surprise.


    Stolen story; please report.¡°Ehhh? It talks! The wolf talks?¡±


    I¡¯m not talking. I¡¯m using telepathy to talk with you


    ¡°Telepathy? How can a mindless creature like you use telepathy? Ah, aside from that, do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±


    I sighed. I guess that reaction is normal.


    I¡¯m not mindless. There is a reason I¡¯m like this. As for what¡¯s going on, I summoned you


    She gave me a blank stare. She then began to laugh.


    ¡°You, summon me. Hahahaha¡­ no seriously, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    It¡¯s just as I said. I summoned you


    ¡°How is that even possible? In my lifetime, no one has been able to summon me for my high consumption of mana. I refuse to believe that a mere wolf summoned me¡±


    She gave me an exasperated look. She sure has pride¡­ wait, depending on what she is, of course she¡¯s going to have pride.


    Uh, sorry to be unknowing, but who and what are you


    ¡°Foolish, to not even know who I am¡±


    She instantly held out her hand and I felt a bone chilling presence appear. Darkness gathered on her palm and soon formed into a scythe. She spun it above her head before slamming the rear to the ground. The force created tremor on the ground as cracks appeared around it.


    ¡°My name is Rina, leader of the Duhallan riders, daughter of the great God Hades, sole inheritor to the kingdom of the dead¡±


    She then pointed her scythe towards me.


    ¡°You who have claimed to have summoned me. As much as I do not want to accept it, I feel that what you say is nothing but the truth. But in summoning me, I hope you are prepared for the consequences¡±


    She smiled as I realized what she meant. That means I have to beat her in order to fully summon her. Not only that, I can¡¯t even undo the spell meaning I have no other choice but to beat her. Shit, I didn¡¯t see this coming. Not only that, she¡¯s practically a demigod¡­ A DEMIGOD! Do I actually have a chance against her? Well, I might¡­ but she did say her father¡¯s a god. A demigod is no problem¡­ but a god. Yeah, that¡¯s asking for too much.


    ¡°Is that hesitation I see in your eyes? Are you actually¡­ weak? Well, even cowards can do something amazing. So how about this, all you have to do is hit me once. If you can do that, then I¡¯ll consider it a win¡±


    Oh, that seems helpful. Ok, with this I might have a chance¡­ NOT. WHO ARE YOU CALLING WEAK! Even if you¡¯re a demigod, the only reason why I feel unsettled is because their might be repercussions with the gods if I beat her. But her tone and her words. She¡¯s been looking at me as if I¡¯m inferior from the very beginning. As the bandits know, doing that can only lead you nowhere. I gave a smile.


    Heh¡­ although I regret summoning you¡­ can I ask, are you sure about that bet?


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Are you saying that it is not right to go easy on a weak being?¡±


    Yep, I¡¯m mad. I really want to see her face pale in fear. I want to see that pride shatter into a million pieces. The more pride the person has, the more fun it is to break.


    Hades, if you can hear me. You sure have a prideful daughter. I hope you¡¯ll forgive me for breaking her ego a bit


    Go ahead. She needs a lesson from time to time


    I blinked. Rina also blinked. Did the god of death himself give me permission to break his own daughter''s self esteem? Hehehehee¡­ I glared at the girl in front of me.


    ¡°Oye, dad. What the hell was that? What do you mean I need a lesson from time to time?¡±


    [Distortion]


    She instantly grew wary, but it¡¯s too late. You¡¯ve been caught.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ just¡­ just what is this?¡±


    No longer could you see the confident face from before. Instead, a growing fear began to surface.


    [Imperial Chains]


    Gold chains came out of nowhere and wrapped themselves around her.


    ¡°Eh, what? I¡­ I couldn¡¯t even move. YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!¡±


    It¡¯s only a simple spell a weak being like myself used. Distortion basically distorts the world around us making it impossible to see, hear and perceive anything correctly


    Fear was instantly on her face. Her voice, quivering.


    ¡°H¡­h¡­how? You¡¯re¡­¡±


    Just a wolf. Yes, I am just a wolf. A lowly wolf who shouldn¡¯t be able to do anything right


    She gave a slight shriek as I began approaching her. I could tell she¡¯s trying to break the chains as I felt mana gather but simply break. I smiled, and soon sweat was beginning to show on her face.


    ¡°Ahhh¡­ you know, what I said earlier. I was just kidding, ya know. Actually, I think you seem very powerful. Yeah, you¡¯re actually very strong. So how bout it, I can serve you faithfully now right¡±


    Seeing as I didn¡¯t show any hint of stopping, she broke down as her eyes were going teary.


    ¡°P¡­ p¡­ lease¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I swear I won¡¯t¡­¡±


    Oh, that won¡¯t do. You seemed like a prideful young girl and since you¡¯re my guardian. Well, I have to make sure that my guardian is submissive to me right? That¡¯s why¡­


    I summoned a small feather. I then manipulated the chains to where she was on a very defenseless pose. Since she was wearing a combat skirt type of armor, I preserved her dignity by making sure that her underwear wasn¡¯t visible. I then took of her boots with the chains exposing her white foot. I lightly brushed the feather on her pale white skin. I could see her shudder from the contact.


    Well, the night is young. I do hope you learn your lesson from this


    In the middle of the night, laughter can be heard in the city of Trusk. No one knew where this laughter came from but it was so intoxicating that the residents began to laugh themselves. From this day forth, a tradition was started. A tradition that showed the residents cheerful nature to laugh and have fun, not with only friends and families. But as a city. Never did they know that this laugh came from a miserable Dullahan that was being tickled throughout the entire night.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    So, I fixed my wifi. Troubling little bugger. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


    P.S: I¡¯m not sure if I used Pride in the right context. But, you probably understand what I meant lol

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6: The Start of a Relationship


    ¡°So¡­ who is this person?¡±


    ¡°M¡­M...My name is Rina¡­¡±


    She started to squirm a bit as everyone directed their gaze towards her. You know, for a princess of the freaking underworld, she¡¯s a really shy person. Maybe it¡¯s because she was wearing slightly cuter clothes than before. Maybe her personality changed after a night of *cough, cough* rehabilitation. But still, you can¡¯t just have a complete change in personality! What happened to the brave warrior I first met that night?


    ¡°Sorry about my companion. She¡¯s very shy, so it would be really hard for her to continue to talk like this¡±


    Iridia quickly took over the situation as the red faced Dullahan sat back on her chair with steam coming out of her ears. The man only shrugged.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I care. I¡¯m guessing you came here with your identification cards right seeing as you managed to enter the city alone?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I¡­ um¡­¡±


    She looked towards the ground.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ lost it¡­¡±


    Perfect. Since I teleported her into the city, I¡¯ve been trying to figure out what we can tell the guards when we come in to be interrogated. Of course they would wonder how she managed to get into the city without a card, but there¡¯s a simple way of bypassing that. That¡¯s by saying that she lost it inside the city. Since the guards don¡¯t keep tabs on who actually comes or goes and only checks everyone¡¯s identification card, it would be easy to believe that she actually lost it after getting inside the city. With this, our lie has been set in motion. How will you respond¡­ oh, he looks irritated.


    ¡°Really, you guys are becoming more and more suspicious¡­ I¡¯ll tell you what. I know you guys want to get out of here quick. So why don¡¯t I just use the identification orb to search up your background. It¡¯ll be fast and quick. As long as you have nothing to hide, then it¡¯ll be the fastest way of making new cards for you both¡±


    Oh, so they do have something as convenient as that. But this is honestly more trouble than help. For one, Iridia is an Ai that was made to help me. She has no background information that should have been placed into their so called information system. The same goes with Rina. She¡¯s a summon. Of course I don¡¯t expect anything to come out of it. But¡­ if we refuse this, I know for a fact that they¡¯ll never trust us. Should I just risk it?


    ¡°Alright, can you please bring it out?¡±


    I looked towards Iridia in surprise. But what I saw was a calm look. Then again, she is an Ai¡­ actually, I can¡¯t use that as reason. She¡¯s pretty emotional like a human so her calm look means something is going on.


    It¡¯s ok master. Arian Sama has already taken of everything


    Eh, Arian Sama did?


    She gave a slight nod as the man returned. He then placed a small green orb in the middle of the table. He then pointed towards Iridia.


    ¡°You first. Just place your hand on this orb and it¡¯ll tell us everything we need to know¡±


    She followed his orders. As soon as her hand touched the crystal, a small panel appeared.


    ¡°Iridia Lowell¡­¡±


    He immediately grew silent. Actually, if you were to look, his face was very pale.


    ¡°Um¡­ well¡­ you are clear of any suspicion Madame. I¡¯m sorry for the cold treatment I¡¯ve given you but it¡¯s part of my job to make sure no suspicious individuals enter this city¡±


    I tilted my head in confusion. What happened? Why does he looks so scared? He even started to call Iridia Madame.


    ¡®Looking at my identity in the orb, it¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s starting to fear me¡¯


    Eh, why? What¡¯s your identity?


    ¡®Holy Crusader¡¯


    ¡­what¡¯s so special about that?


    ¡®Let¡¯s see, if I¡¯m correct with the information in that orb. It is a class that is relatively close to that of the heroes. In other words, I am a knight who has the highest form of light magic while boasting high experience in close combat


    Eh, that sounds amazing.


    I could hear a soft giggle, but it was only in my mind. That¡¯s because she was still gazing at the man with the same indifferent look as before. The man on the other hand was now checking Rina¡¯s background.


    So, what else did you find in your new identity?


    ¡®Ah¡­ Aside from being a holy crusader, I¡¯m part of a secret house of nobles¡­ and apparently, I¡¯m the leader of that so called household.¡¯


    Wow¡­ that¡¯s pretty extravagant.


    ¡®I guess so. At least with this identity, no one will bother causing us any unnecessary trouble¡¯


    I gave a wry smile as Rina finished her interrogation. At this point, the man was needlessly sweating. Without a warning, he stood up and quickly did a ninety degree bow. Wow, he looks really graceful.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for doubting you both, madames. If you have any complaints, feel free to punish me. Only I deserve this burden and my men have nothing to do with it¡±


    I was surprised by what this man was saying. But, I¡¯m even more curious about Rina¡¯s identity.


    Hey Rina, what¡¯s your identity?


    Hai. I am the younger sister of Iridia Senpai. I am a high tier magician who focuses mainly on dark magic. As for my status, it is part of the Lowell household of nobles.


    So, in summary, I was walking with two sisters who had high power and came from a super-secret household that had power that no one could mess with¡­ isn¡¯t this kind of bad for the future? Two powerhouse travelling together. This can only sound like trouble¡­ what have you done Arian Sama? Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m ungrateful. I¡¯m actually kind of happy. With this, our identification is set. Now all I need is to get my human form and have my own identity. Plus, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll be instantly targeted by strange people right? Well, anyway. I think we should get things settled here.


    After clearing our suspicion, the person himself took it upon himself to get everything ready. It was a rather impressive sight. He was running everywhere. I¡¯m quite impressed with his stamina, wisdom and determination to quickly make Iridia¡¯s and Rina¡¯s cards. In no time at all, Iridia and Rina finally got their identification card. Now, you¡¯re probably wondering how they look like. Well, they were simple cards really. The thing is though, they actually got noble cards. They weren¡¯t simple either in that the cards they had were made out of orichalcum.  This showed that not only were they nobles, but they were important MVPs. Normally, only high officials or royalty were given these cards, but¡­ well, I guess that¡¯s their identity now.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Also, please try not to lose these. I¡¯m sure you know how important these cards are¡­ if you were to lose them, then someone can use your identity. Oh and do not worry, we will find the other missing card and quickly terminate it¡±


    The two girls bowed towards them.


    ¡°Thank you for your help and don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t lose them again¡±


    Iridia gave a small smile while Rina just kept looking at the ground. With that, our time in the barracks had finally come to an end.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Rocking back and forth, I enjoyed the swaying motion of the carriage. Of course, Iridia was driving while Rina kept watch of our surroundings. You¡¯re probably wondering, how did you manage to get a carriage? Well, to our surprise, the bank actually tracked us down. They told us that our account was ready for use. We were pretty confused at first, but we followed them anyway. Turns out, Arian Sama gave us a huge amount of money. Around 1000 gold coins. You know how much that cost? If you were to turn it into U.S currency, that¡¯s approximately a million dollars. A MILLION. We became a millionaire in one day! Of course, we immediately used this money to buy the things we needed.


    We bought two horses and a wagon type carriage. We also installed a kitchen set inside so we can actually make food in the carriage. On the rear end of the carriage, there was a small repeating crossbow station that could be used to fend off bandits so we bought 200 arrows that actually fit inside the small compartment. Not only that, we bought equipment. Iridia was now wearing a very expensive set of crusader armor. She also bought a sword and a tower shield which highly emphasized her class as a holy crusader. The equipment wasn¡¯t just for show as she demonstrated how deadly she can be with the new equipment.


    As for Rina, she changed her appearance a bit. To maintain her role as a magician, she actually bought a magician¡¯s robe. From there, she casually had it tailored to look like a hybrid between an assassin, a bruiser and a mage. Not only that, she can use any type of weapon. Swords, daggers, a staff, a wand¡­ but of course, I told her to just stick with her scythe. Why? It¡¯s because it actually matches her new outfit.


    ¡°Neh, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s early to be followed by bandits¡±


    ¡°Yeah it is¡­ what do you think master? Should we stop and fend them off?¡±


    I yawned.


    Nah, just make sure to defend the cart if they attack. Also, since they¡¯re bandits you can kill them if you want


    They both nodded as we continued our merry way¡­ well, at least that was the plan. I began hearing a huge ruckus behind us. There, people on horseback could be seen. Two of the horses in the front had rough mercenary looking men on them. Actually, on one of the horses, a man was currently holding a girl in his arm. Behind this group, about ten bandits with yellow bandanas could be seen whooping and yelling.


    ¡°MOVE OUT OF THE WAY¡±


    One of the mercenary shouted towards us. Looking at the scene though, isn¡¯t it proper to help a troubled group? Plus, were also getting rid of trashes so it¡¯s a win, win situation. Also, yellow bandanas. Yep, it¡¯s the Ripley group.


    Iridia, Rina. You both know what to do


    ¡°¡±HAI¡±¡±


    With confident voices, the carriage was stopped and the two got down from the carriage. Seeing us, the mercenary looked wary. They took out their weapons and prepared to charge through. I sighed. Yep, they¡¯re clearly misunderstanding. The two charged towards my companions. Suddenly, the horses began to slow down. The two men were startled as they tried to spur them on. Instead, they completely slowed to a trot and quietly walked towards our carriage. The men couldn¡¯t understand what was happening, but they must be veterans seeing as they still readied their weapons. Rina and Iridia didn¡¯t mind them though as they walked past the two men. The look on their faces¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but laugh inside. That¡¯s because they looked confused¡­ or rather, they felt dejected at the fact that they were completely ignored and thrown aside as if they were merely toys that have lost their value.


    Putting that aside though, the bandits also slowed down. Before, they had this enthusiastic look in their eyes. Now, they were wary¡­ no, they were afraid. Well, I can only imagine. On one side, you could see a smiling crusader in full armor. On the other, a girl with a huge black scythe was also smiling. If you were them, wouldn¡¯t you feel a bit of fear?


    ¡°So, who wants to come at me first¡±


    It was Iridia who spoke. From her voice, I could tell she activated a spell.


    [Provocation]


    In that instant, all ten men got off their horses and charged. Wasting no time, Iridia and Rina went to meet them. It was a magnificent fight¡­ actually, it wasn¡¯t a fight. It was a one sided beat down. Although I told them that they can kill the bandits, the two were restraining themselves quite a bit. It might be because they were training to fight with each other. Iridia would be the tank. Her technique was amazing. Using her huge shield, she would always slant it to the side, forcing the bandits¡¯ swords and spears to slide away from her. She would then use the blunt edge of her sword to push them back forcing them unto Rina. From there, they would be forced to fight against the scythe wielding girl who spun her weapon as if it was made of rubber.


    Spin, jump, slice, push, spin. It¡¯s like Rina was dancing with her weapon, completely catching the bandits off guard. She even exchanged blows which would always end with the bandits being pushed back towards Iridia. From there, the process repeats with the occasional bandit being knocked out by either Iridia or Rina. Their teamwork was flawless. In just a few minutes, the fight ended and every single bandit was down and unconscious.


    ¡°Wow¡­ these guys are weak¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t even break a sweat¡­ oh well, at least we did what master wanted¡±


    The two girls high fived one another. They really very close to one another. To think they¡¯ve only met each other for only a single day. Then again, maybe the sisters identity thing is influencing them a bit. Well, at least their getting along right?


    Now then, what about the mercenary group. Oh, their gawking. They''re completely gawking at the two. They must have been impressed¡­ actually, maybe shocked at the fact that two girls managed to beat ten bandits all by themselves. As for the girl, I couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. From far away, I couldn¡¯t really see her, but now¡­ I know that I¡¯ve seen this girl before.


    ¡°AHHH¡­ IT¡¯S THE NOBLE GIRL FROM BEFORE!¡±


    I looked at Iridia who was pointing at the girl. As if to recognize her, the girl also jumped in her seat. Before long, sparks began to form from the two who seemed to have formed a rivalry. Uh oh¡­ I think my peaceful days of traveling has officially washed down the drains.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author¡¯s Notes:


    I actually finished this last night. But since it was late, I¡¯m posting it today with the other chapter. I hope you enjoy.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7: Trouble After Separation


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel at bliss. Why? It¡¯s because I¡¯m currently lying down as Iridia patted my fur. You know, it¡¯s a very comfortable feeling. Getting your fur stroked as you lie down with the soft wind on your cheek. It was a very comfortable atmosphere.


    ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m not giving you Fer!¡±


    ¡°But you lost to me in that drinking game. A deals a deal!¡±


    ¡°I never even agreed to that!¡±


    ¡°Yet you participated and lost. As a noble, shouldn¡¯t you keep your promises?¡±


    ¡°Grrrr¡±


    ¡°Grrrr¡±


    I lazily watched the two bicker as Iridia kept pampering me. It really was an amusing sight to see and had been the center of entertainment for the group for the past two days. After the bandit incident, the two mercenaries had requested that they join our group. At first, Iridia was about to decline them, but¡­


    Just let them join. It¡¯s not like they will impede our travel any more than they¡¯ve already done


    ¡­ She immediately conceded after hearing my opinion. OF course, I didn¡¯t miss her muttering about the noble girl being dangerous to my atmosphere, but she still complied and guided our carriage through the forest. As for the noble girl, we learned some fascinating things from her after it was decided that she will stay with us in the carriage. First of all, her origins. She wouldn¡¯t tell us her name, but she did tell us that they came from the Romanov kingdom of the human continent. She also seemed to show a personality similar to that of a princess. She didn''t say anything on this part though so we didn''t push her. As for her two guards, one being a dwarf and the other a human, they have known the girl ever since she was small.


    Seeing as they are knights though, they didn¡¯t look the part. Instead, their presence seemed to scream mercenary rather than being knights of one of the most powerful human kingdom known to this world. They were great company though as Das gave out small stories of his adventures and Dale gave out entertaining stories about the women he¡¯s met in his lifetime. Such a dynamic duo, the adventurer and the womanizer.


    Of course, once Rina and Iridia listened to Dale¡¯s stories, they were immediately on guard. It also didn¡¯t help that he kept flirting around with the two girls who can only grit their teeth. I felt them wanting to beat up the man, but I told them strictly not to hurt him. If they did, he might not live a long life. Another reason I didn¡¯t want him hurt is because he¡¯s an excellent tracker. Actually, both Daz and him were excellent traveling companions to have. Not only do they make excellent looking guards, but they had skills in leading us towards safer and comfier paths. Because of that, we''ve avoided fighting against monsters and other bandits.


    That¡¯s why, for the sake of a comfier and safer ride, please be patient. Now, as for our surroundings, it¡¯s been nothing but desert for the past few days. Now though, it was changing. The air was becoming humid and the ground around us were beginning to change into soil. Soon, it changed completely as we were now travelling through what looked to be an open plain with a grassy fields.


    ¡°Ah, Ojou Sama, Rina chan. If you guys want to see you should come out of the carriage for a bit. We are nearing the Fortress City of Glagur¡±


    Following his cheerful voice, the two immediately joined Iridia in the driver seat. They both stared at the city with wide eyes filled with excitement. In front of us, a huge mountain could be seen. Near the middle of the mountain though, huge citadel like structures could be seen. They were embedded deep into the mountains forming an impenetrable looking fortress, but the huge dwarven looking structure wasn¡¯t what impressed me. It was the steam-punk looking design that did. With my sharpened eyes, I saw gear looking things rotating from many different places inside the castle. Not only that, white smoke could be seen evaporating into the sky.


    I couldn¡¯t help but also feel excited as I stared at the city in front of us. All of a sudden, I felt my entire body lift up. The noble girl had caught me and placed me above her head.


    ¡°Neh, Fer. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s an amazing city?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but bark excitedly in reply. Seeming to feel my excitement, the girl began to giggle and laugh, while Iridia sat quietly leading our carriage towards the city.


    ¡°If only I¡¯m not driving this thing¡­ then I too could have fun with master¡±


    She whispered those words to no in particular, but Iridia¡­ you do know I could hear what you say no matter how much you whisper it right? Because I¡¯m a wolf, I have a keen hearing that can hear a person whispering from a mile away. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m very sorry. I¡¯ll make sure to spend time with you later ok. I¡¯ll make sure not to make you lonely later, ok!


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°This sure is a long line¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect it to be this long¡±


    I stared at the huge line in front of us. There were a lot of caravan looking carts. Each looked different from one another. It truly is fascinating to see different looking cultures from this long line of carts. But aside from my interest, I was actually starting to get bored. Not only that, I was also starting to become impatient. Why? It¡¯s because I finally saw the shrine I was looking for. It was located at the very top of this mountain. It had huge wide pillars and was coated in, what can only be described as, holy light. Not only that, an image of the goddess was sculpted and placed on a pedestal. If that¡¯s how she really looked, then she was a very beautiful goddess.


    Anyway, after looking for my target, I couldn¡¯t help but ask Iridia to ask the mercenaries if it were possible to cut through the line.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I believe it¡¯s impossible. The only one to have access to the fast lane are royalty and high officials. For normal nobles and mercenaries like us, even we have to wait in this boring line¡±


    Daz could only sigh as he too felt fed up with the waiting. Wait, royalty or high officials.


    Hey, Iridia. Just go ahead and cut to the fast lane


    Seemingly understanding my intention, she went ahead and began to go to the fast lane.


    ¡°Oye, what do you think you¡¯re doing!¡±


    Ignoring both Daz and Dale who were telling them to stop, Iridia kept up our pace and soon made it to the front.


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    ¡°Halt! What in blazes do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±


    A sturdy looking soldier appeared. Unlike from the city before, he was a dwarven soldier clad in black metal armor. He looked formidable, as well as his fellow soldiers, who held a pike in their hands. I could also see scabbards that had what seemed to be a dwarven made sword and a hexagonal shield that kept it¡¯s box looking shape.


    ¡°Return back to your line! This line is only for¡­¡±


    Iridia came up to him and gave him her card. The look from the soldiers face turned several shades of colors. From red, to pink, to green then to black. It was highly amusing to see.


    ¡°Those two guards and that noble are entering this city with us¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ just in case, can I please see their cards¡±


    I could feel the surrounding people staring at us. Why? It¡¯s because the normally uptight soldiers of Glagur had become weak looking in the presence of a girl. Of course, neither I nor the girls knew anything about how strict the soldiers were in this city. We really just want to get inside. The guard immediately went over to the two guards. Of course, they handed him normal card which made the man sigh in relief. The same went with the noble girl. But, once looking at Rina¡¯s card, he began sweating once again.


    Just why are two powerful nobles visiting a city like this? We didn¡¯t even get any information about them visiting!


    The dwarven soldier thought to himself. Of course, I didn¡¯t know what he was thinking as I calmly looked at the scene in front of us. He then turned to his companions and whistled a slight tune. In reply, a whistle came back to him and a huge gate began to open.


    ¡°Please guide your cart through there madams. I do wish for your safe stay in our most humble city¡±


    The man took a knee, something that is only shown towards highly important people comparable to that of royalty. I could hear murmurs from the surrounding people, but I didn¡¯t care. Neither did Rina and Iridia who calmly guided the cart through the city. Also, Daz and Dale seemed to be uncomfortable as they guided their horses with a strange look on their face. Same goes for the noble girl. Like that, we finally reached the city of Glagur.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°¡±We¡¯re very sorry for showing a shameful side of ourselves madams¡±¡±


    Both Daz and Dale were kneeling towards both Iridia and Rina.


    ¡°Like I said, you don¡¯t need to be forgiven¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was us who didn¡¯t tell you anything so there is nothing to forgive¡±


    Although they¡¯ve repeated the same lines over and over again, the two knights seemed adamant to ask for their forgiveness. I could feel a rumor starting from this as I listened on our surroundings.


    ¡°Neh, those two girls seem important¡±


    ¡°I heard they were royalty that was travelling incognito¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ then wouldn¡¯t those two get punished?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, a horrible punishment too¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think those two girls are pretty fine?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ what do you think?¡±


    ¡°The boss will probably take an interest sooner or later¡±


    I immediately put tabs on the people around us. Of the general gossiping, some of them were pretty normal conversations. A couple of them kind of hinted at a possible underworld in this city. In other words, we have to make sure to stay clear from shady looking characters. But for now, my objective is to reach the shrine.


    Iridia, Rina. Let¡¯s go. The shrine is just above us so it¡¯s better if we part ways with them here


    Hai


    ¡°Listen you two, you don¡¯t have to apologize ok. Just make sure you take care of the girl alright and all will be forgiven¡±


    ¡°¡±HAI¡±¡±


    The two began nodding enthusiastically as they stood from their place. Seeing as how anticlimactic the scene just ended, the surrounding people began to disperse throughout the various streets. I then felt myself being turned around.


    ¡°Well, I guess this is goodbye for now Fer. I promise though that someday, maybe even later, we can reunite again and play around alright¡±


    I nodded my head. Seeing that, she giggled and to my surprise, gave me a kiss in the forehead. I had a warm feeling spread throughout my body. Am I happy? Yeah I am¡­ but I¡¯m kind of sad that we were actually separating. She was a nice girl who seemed to have a proper mind. That¡¯s why, I really hope she can live a long life. She then passed me over to Iridia.


    ¡°Someday, I¡¯ll come back to take Fer from you¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try!¡±


    Both gave each other a long hard look¡­ but by the end of it, both were smiling confidently at one another.


    ¡°Anna Morozov¡±


    ¡°Iridia Lowell¡±


    The two then grasped each other¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Then, I hope to meet you again Lowell¡±


    ¡°Maybe one day, but don¡¯t push yourself too much Morozov¡±


    With that, we watched her, Dale and Daz disappear into the crowd. They were pretty fun companions to have in our journey. I know for a fact that without them, it would have been a whole lot more boring. That¡¯s why, someday. Let¡¯s meet again and journey once more to a different place. With that thought, we started our long trek to the top of this mountain.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    [Stranger POV]


    ¡°They¡¯re separating now huh. It seems like the two guards have left. What should we do boss?¡±


    The boss stared at the two girls with the wolf. In my eyes, I only saw one thing. Dangerous cold eyes that were filled with nothing but lust. Slowly exhaling the smoke he was smoking, he smiled.


    ¡°What we do best. Steal, take and break¡±


    With those words, the boss stood from the shadows and began to follow the two ladies. I also followed after them alongside ten other people. With this, there¡¯s not a doubt in our hearts. Tonight is going to be a fun night. Never would I thought that in this one day, the name of the Black heart gang would disappear in a single night.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    Hey, guys. I do hope you enjoy this chapter and expect great things in the next :D

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8: First Encounter


    This is a really huge city. I looked at the tall buildings as I was carried by Iridia. Dwarven housing sure is unique. Even though I said that, I haven¡¯t really visited any human cities yet so I have nothing to compare. Now, about this city though, I know for a fact that we won¡¯t be able to easily go through it. Not only that, the city had so many levels of stairs and paths that we had no idea were it lead. That¡¯s why, the best thing to do is ask for directions.


    ¡°So how about it? Want to steal one of the scumbags that¡¯s following us?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I mean, it probably would be better to ask one of the guards¡­ but I haven¡¯t really seen any of them. At this rate, we might not have any other choices. What do you say master?¡±


    Hmm¡­ I absolutely have no idea


    The three of us sighed. That¡¯s because, we¡¯ve noticed that a bunch of people have been following us. Not only that, I also felt two people following us via the roofs. This means only one thing. We¡¯re being specifically targeted. It¡¯s kind of stupid though. I mean, with the rumors about us and all, you would think that these guys would have a brain cell or two about trying to mess with us.


    Then again, I guess it¡¯s a development that usually happens in these types of settings. The problem is, why is it happening the very first day we arrive here?


    I then looked back towards my companions. Right¡­ I forgot that these two aren¡¯t your average looking people. Far from it, they were probably the cutest looking girls you¡¯ll ever see. As I said, Iridia is a beautiful girl with long blonde hair. She also had blue piercing eyes and a smile that can take away anyone¡¯s heart. She was still wearing her crusader armor, but she left her weapons in the carriage so right now, she didn¡¯t really seem that threatening.


    Now, Rina¡¯s beauty can be described in a different way. Just like Iridia, her hair was pretty long. The only difference is, her hair is pure black. In the sunlight, it seemed to reflect the light and gave a very lush look to her hair. Her eyes were also unique in that she had deep red eyes. Befitting of the so called princess of the underworld. Right now though, because she only wore a simple set of villager clothing, she looked like an ordinary person. Actually, she gave off the appearance that she was the weakest in our group¡­ actually, in a sense. She is kind of the weakest in the group.


    ¡°Master, should we just avoid them?¡±


    Yes, we should. The best thing to do is to jump through the city roof. Rina. Can you kill the two people on the roof?


    ¡°Hai¡±


    With a smile, she instantly disappeared. Iridia and I kept walking as we waited for her back. As for the people trailing us, I felt them stop momentarily. I also felt two signals disappear from the rooftops. Nice job Rina! As if nothing ever happened, Rina appeared above us and gave the ok signal. Not missing a beat, Iridia placed me above her head, took a running start and jumped towards the roof. We didn¡¯t stop to see the group behind us and began running through the roof. Actually, this is much easier now than before. Because we could see where we were going, it became a lot faster to move. Not only that, I could analyze the state of the city from here.


    Now, first of all, the structure. Although I would say this was purely dwarven architecture at its highest, they seem to have a hint of having European influence. The reason is because, I could see a bit of a similarity with the city of Venice. Granted that I only saw pictures of Venice, I still have to say that they had a similar structure. As for defense, this city was meant to last through a siege. There were small farms everywhere. Not only that, the city seems to have productive capability as I saw steam factories all around the place. The walls were also carved into the mountain, so it¡¯s like a natural wall that would be almost impossible to break. What¡¯s even more is that half the city actually goes into the mountain itself. In other words, there¡¯s an underground network of caves and caverns that the city uses for residential areas.


    Now, putting aside the city itself, something did catch me as strange. There seems to be areas that are patrolled heavily by guards, while others either have a small amount or nothing at all. I wonder why? It couldn¡¯t be that the dwarves didn¡¯t have enough man power. It¡¯s also impossible that this city wouldn¡¯t have enough money to hire a huge number of guards. That¡¯s why I¡¯m pretty suspicious. When looking at the guards too, they didn¡¯t seem to be the type to slack off. So why it is that part of the city had protection and patrols when another part didn¡¯t? Truly something that I should investigate later on.


    ¡°Master, I feel several presence following us¡±


    I looked behind us and sure enough, men with black and red mask were following after us. Some had crossbows while others had knives and daggers. Also, it seemed that they were people of various backgrounds. For one, I saw cat ears on one of them. Another had long ears. Several of them were short while one seemed to be a human.


    Hmm¡­ I really want to reach the shrine before doing anything else. Just avoid them. If you have to, knock them unconscious. It¡¯s better if we don¡¯t kill them off so we don¡¯t attract any more attention.


    They both nodded as we continued running through the roof. Still, these guys are annoyingly good. I saw several bolts fly past us. Actually, I redirected their aim slightly, making it look as if the man missed. Of course I saw his surprised look as he seemed to be calibrating his crossbow on the go. Wow, these guys are pretty skilled.


    Another few bolts were shot at us, but like the first, I simply redirected them causing them to miss. Seeing this, the knife and dagger users were getting irritated at the bows and crossbow people who had a confused look in their faces. Still, they kept re-calibrating and kept shooting at us. As for the others, they finally caught up to Rina. One guy came behind her and slashed at her legs. To his surprise though, Rina was already in the air performing a spinning roundhouse kick. It caught the man on the face and he was knocked towards his other companions. They didn¡¯t even try to catch him as they focused their gaze towards Rina.


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    ¡°CATCH THAT WENCH FIRST¡±


    Two dagger users finally caught up. Unlike the first, they stared at Rina first waiting for her move. Unprovoked, Rina kept her pace with Iridia who slowed down enough to catch the two in surprise. She jabbed at the first man and made him keel over. Using him as for leverage, she then twisted her entire body and kicked the other guy in the stomach. She then threw the man who was keeling over and made him fall into one of the house¡¯s window. A shriek could be heard followed by a curse and several loud thuds.


    Of course, we didn¡¯t bother stopping as we kept our momentum. At this stage though, the men finally saw what was happening to their companions. Without a second thought, they slowed down and finally stopped pursuing us. As for Iridia and Rina, they had a somewhat accomplished look on their faces.


    ¡°Ah¡­ another round of light exercise¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Well, who knows. Maybe we¡¯ll find someone stronger later on¡±


    You girls¡­


    I shook my head as I realized how much of a battle junky these two were. Well, at least they were having fun. With the shrine clear in our sight, we finally left that stupid group behind. At least now, I can worry about them later.


    ? Gonna have a body, gonna have a body, gonna have a body ?


    I couldn¡¯t help but hum that in my mind as the thought of finally having a body grew closer and closer. The two girls also felt my excitement and hummed with me. Oh, this is going to be the best day ever!


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    [Stranger POV]


    ¡°So, you let them escape¡±


    I couldn¡¯t reply as I stared at the ground and clenched my fist in frustration. I was given the job of capturing the two girls. At first, it was the boss who led us. The problem was, we were immediately found out. The first girl disappeared and soon the second girl began to run. Not only that, she jumped to the roofs as if it were no problem. Seeing that, the boss immediately told me and the other assassins to run after them. Of course, we couldn¡¯t say no, so we did.


    What happened next was a complete defeat for my side. I thought they were just simple nobles. For one, the girl with black hair seemed weak. When we caught up to her though, she was nothing like we thought her to be. She immediately took out one of my men in an instant. In my mind, it seemed impossible. Yet there it was, a man thrown aside like a pile of garbage.


    Then, the knight looking girl came in. Normally, knights and even soldiers were weak without their weapons. Especially female knights. We¡¯ve already beaten several female knights before and the boss had his fun with them. The poor girls couldn¡¯t even resist as their chastity were forcefully taken away from them. But this girl¡­ she¡¯s nothing like the female knights we¡¯ve ever faced before. She took out two of my men with a fighting style I¡¯ve never seen before. She was graceful and elegant, almost to the point that I couldn¡¯t consider that a fight but instead as a dance.


    I really underestimated our targets. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t say anything to the boss.


    ¡°Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Do you at least know where they are going?¡±


    ¡°Every time they were fighting, they were constantly looking at the shrine¡±


    ¡°Shrine? You mean the one that worships that stupid fake goddess. Ha¡­ now I really want to break those two¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel a small chill. Our boss is pretty ruthless when it comes to girls. Especially towards believers. He would always take them near the shrine and force himself on them as they begged for their goddess¡¯s mercy. Of course, the other guys would also take their turn, but as for me¡­ it felt wrong. Although I help the boss in acquiring the girls, it just doesn¡¯t feel right when I see him break the girls in front of their patron goddess. Although they weren¡¯t being saved, it felt as if the goddess was accumulating her hatred and is just waiting for the right moment to strike.


    The same goes with the two girls earlier. I feel as if they¡¯re part of something much greater than what we know of. First of all, two of my men were dead before we could even know. The second, our arrows were missing. They were actually missing. I don¡¯t like to brag, but my men are known for being experts with their crossbows and bows. That¡¯s why I was surprised to see them fumble with their weapons, always readjusting it, shooting and readjusting again. Looking at the arrows themselves, what I noticed is that before the arrows reach their target, they slightly shift to the side. If that¡¯s not divine protection, then what else could it be?


    ¡°Well, no matter. Gather up the men. We have a shrine to visit¡±


    ¡°Wait boss, you can¡¯t mean to say that were attacking the shrine¡±


    The boss began to laugh.


    ¡°Attack¡­ no my friend, it¡¯s just going to be a slight visit. Also, can you do a job for me?¡±


    He took out a sketch of a girl with two guards.


    ¡°Capture her and the two guards. Rough them up a bit will ya before bringing them to me. As for the girl, she¡¯s mine¡±


    Licking his lips, the boss started to look towards the shrine. As for me, I couldn¡¯t help but feel something terrible was going to happen. Regardless, I did what the boss said and quickly left to capture the girl.


    Please forgive me goddess Arian¡­


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    I actually have nothing to say lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be done before the end of the day so you can expect something good.

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9: You And Me¡­ Or Is It Me And Me?


    Wow, so this is the shrine


    I stared at the beautifully made shrine. Well, instead of a shrine, it honestly looked more like a temple. We walked through the gates and unto the garden. Big hedgerows were surrounding the figure of the goddess. Not only that, a small water pathway was carved that led to a pool at the base of the goddess. There, a fountain was were intertwining with one another forming a beautiful arrangement of water arcs.


    Quickly walking through here, we made our way to the shrine itself. Outside, the shrine had a circular look. Pillars went around the entire complex holding up the roof and a small dome could be seen. It really took my breath away. Judging from Rina¡¯s and Iridia¡¯s look, they seemed impress too.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Once I get back, I should tell father to make one of these¡±


    I look over at Rina who was studying everything seriously. I wonder, does the underworld not have these? She was even interested in the dwarves design. Is it possible that she never thought about using this worlds construction abilities to help her in the underworld? Well, I guess her time here will also be a good thing for her.


    Suddenly, the shrine doors opened. To our surprise though, no one was there. Unfazed, we quickly came up the steps and walked through the door. The inside was even more beautiful than I thought. Like the outside, pillars were supporting the entire structure. A carpet laid on the floor that went to the very back. There, what appears to be a pool could be seen? I then noticed that there were pathways everywhere in this shrine. What was beautiful was the fact that they actually glowed. That¡¯s why, the entire place was bathed in a soft blue glow. It felt really calming to be here.


    ¡°Hello¡±


    A soft voice ran out. I looked around only to notice that someone was sitting near the fountain. It was a young girl wearing what appeared to be a priest robe. It was purely white, but around the shoulder a blue fabric design could be seen. This same design also went to the middle though it stop past midway. The girl herself was beautiful. She was young, yet she had a mature atmosphere around her. She had light golden hair and celestial blue eyes.


    ¡°Hello, sorry for intruding¡±


    ¡°Sorry for intruding¡±


    Both Rina and Iridia gave out a greeting. They looked stiff as they politely gave a bow towards the girl.


    ¡°It¡¯s of no problems. Please, come closer¡±


    Beckoned by the girl, we slowly walked up to the pool. As soon as we got there, I felt as if I was surrounded by a gentle breeze.


    ¡°What brings you all here?¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ we heard about this shrine from a friend of ours. So my sister and I decided to come here¡±


    ¡°This place is really beautiful¡±


    The girl giggled as she stepped out of the pool. She then walked over to us, her eyes seemingly looking deep into our souls.


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ yes. Like my sister said, this is a very beautiful place. This was a real honor to see¡±


    The girl giggled even more before her gaze matched mine.


    ¡°Well, this is the shrine of the goddess. Of course, it must be pure in both spiritual and physical realms. Of course, that is why the spirits gather here. Only here can they fully take on forms befitting of their true calling¡±


    She then picked me up from Iridia¡¯s head who did nothing to stop it. Rina also watched the entire thing without doing anything.


    ¡°The great goddess sure favors you, one who was burdened a dark filled life. But no matter what happened, you persevered and always saw what was right from what was wrong. That¡¯s why, in the name of the goddess¡­ I grant you the promised blessing¡±


    With those words, she let me go. I felt myself free falling in the air, but I did nothing to stop it. I was in a very calm state, something that I¡¯ve never felt in my life before. It¡¯s like an eternal bliss¡­ a world of comfort and happiness. Then, I felt my entire body plunged into the pool. It¡¯s a strange feeling though. Unlike water, it felt more as if I was inside some kind of gooey yolk. I felt something surround me and mold me, as if my entire existence was being changed. This continued to happen until I felt my eyes closing into darkness¡­


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    I felt someone touch my forehead. I quietly stirred as my eyes finally began to open.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re finally awake¡±


    The girl from before was stroking my head. This time though, I felt sluggish and almost heavy. I looked around and sure enough I saw¡­ a hand. At first I couldn¡¯t believe it but it was there. A hand that I can move around. But then, I also saw a paw. I blinked several times¡­ just what?


    ¡°Take it easy and just look at my face for now. It¡¯ll take a while for your form to stabilize you know¡±


    The girl used her hands to bring my attention back. She then continued to touch my hair like a mom caring for her baby. I couldn¡¯t help but be embarrassed. I knew for a fact that she was giving me a lap pillow. I haven¡¯t been in any type of relationship before so this sudden development was making me nervous.


    ¡°You know you¡¯re becoming red right¡±


    She slightly teased me as she poked my nose.


    ¡°I¡­IT can¡¯t be helped you know. I¡¯ve never be¡­ what¡¯s wrong with my voice?¡±


    My voice was oddly more high-pitched than before. Almost like a¡­ girls¡­ I looked at my body and suddenly, two small mounds could be seen. I kept gaping as I reached towards them. The moment I touched them, I felt a slight indescribably feeling flow through my body. I then reached towards my precious spot.


    ¡°Nothing¡­ there¡¯s nothing¡±


    Then, when I accidently rubbed my hand on a particular area, I felt my legs give away as the indescribable feeling intensified. With this though, I found out a shocking revelation.


    ¡°I¡¯m a girl¡­¡±


    ____________________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°Feeling any better¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I could only slightly nod my head as I kept mulling over the facts. Apparently, I became a girl because of the reincarnation process. It was a rule that stated that if a person where to reincarnate, they must be of the opposite gender. Now, normally, it is possible to change one¡¯s gender using a very intricate magic formula. But, because I was sent to this world with my memories, I was given no quarter. In other words, no matter how much I want to change my gender, I wouldn¡¯t be able to since the spells wouldn¡¯t work. Clearly shocking news.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t do anything else to help. Just by bringing you here with your memories were hard enough. Plus, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s the end of the world right¡±


    ¡°Yes, I understand¡­ I mean, you¡¯ve already helped us enough so I can¡¯t just keep asking for more right¡±


    I looked towards the goddess who had a relieved look on her face. Who would have known that she was the one in the temple? Actually, now she¡¯s a bit different. She was older now and her aura seemed even more powerful.


    ¡°So, Fer chan. What do you plan on doing from now on?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I really don¡¯t know. I might actually just travel the world since that was actually pretty fun¡±


    ¡°Oh, so what do you think? I really tried my best you know¡±


    I laughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a really fun world. But you know, you should have given a bit more details when I first came here¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ yeah, I¡¯m sorry about that. One of the angels slacked off and didn¡¯t give you any proper instructions. Mou, just when I told her that you were special¡±


    She gave out a pouting look as my thoughts wondered around her answer. Special huh.


    ¡°Arian Sama¡­ why me? Why did you pick me as a guardian of the forest?¡±


    She gave a warming smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s because your soul is innocent. Out of all the souls I¡¯ve ever seen, yours had a beautiful radiance, one that can see both light and dark. Remember the two men you told Rina to kill?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes¡±


    ¡°Well, those two were criminals wanted for many things. Murder, assassination, theft, rape. Those two were at their lowest point of existence. Now, what about the men you fought earlier? You specifically told Iridia and Rina not to kill them. They were only doing their jobs¡­ actually one even has his family locked up somewhere, so you deliberately told your servants not to kill them¡±


    Eh, really. I¡­ didn¡¯t even know. Why did I tell Rina and Iridia to kill the two but leave everyone else unconscious?


    ¡°It¡¯s because, you sensed it. The soul. You are able to differentiate between those of good and evil. That¡¯s why I chose you as a protector of the forest. The forest only allows those with good intention to enter whereas those with a bad heart are immediately forced back¡±


    I see¡­ then doesn¡¯t that mean I was only chosen for my good use? I instantly crouched to the floor as a sudden pain appeared on my head.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a pretty mean thought. You think I chose you just because you have the abilities I need? Who do you think I am?¡±


    ¡°A great goddess¡­ but, in my old world, the gods were always using humans. That¡¯s why¡­¡±


    ¡°DON¡¯T COMPARE ME WITH THOSE OLD SOWS¡±


    She hit me in the head again. Ow, it hurts you know. It really hurts you know. I kept rubbing my head even more as small beads of tears were forming on the edge of my eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you never gave up¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    I looked towards the goddess who once again had a heartwarming smile. She then picked me up and embraced me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen how hard you¡¯ve worked, the things you¡¯ve gone through. Yet no matter what, you always rose back up and tried again¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I killed myself. I gave up¡­ I could never¡­¡±


    ¡°No. When you killed yourself, you made sure that your friends were safe and your foster parents won¡¯t be troubled. You made sure that the only one suffering was just you. That¡¯s why, I know how hard you¡¯ve fought and no matter what you say¡­ the only truth I see is that you¡¯ve persevered. That¡¯s why in this world, have fun. You have a bright future ahead of you and depending what you do, even this world could change a bit¡±


    She then separated from me and soon, a white light surrounded me.


    ¡°That¡¯s why, live, fight and be happy. In this world many things can happen. Oh, and don¡¯t forget to always pray to me so I would know what you¡¯re doing alright¡±


    ¡°I¡­ How¡­ how can I repay you for everything?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel tears coming down from my face. This goddess has done so many things for me¡­ I just, how can I even hope to repay her.


    ¡°Just live a fun life¡±


    I stared into her face and saw a smile¡­ a smile that can only be described as a motherly smile.


    ¡°Oh, and there might be a bit more surprises when you wake up so just ask my body double for any more info. Also, you are free to change this city however you want. My treat ok¡±


    With that, the light intensified and I once again felt my consciousness wavering.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°MASTER!¡±


    I instantly awoke. Ahh, my head¡­ It really hurts for some weird reason. I then looked at my surroundings and noticed I was back in the shrine. But, the view is pretty strange.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ where am I?¡±


    ¡°Ruff¡­ ruff¡±


    Ruff? I looked on the ground and saw a wolf¡­ actually, I looked up and saw a girl. EH? What? I blinked. Just what is going on? The wolf was sitting on the floor¡­ the girl is sitting on the floor. Why do I have two set of thoughts? I slowly stood up. Both the girl and wolf stood up. Actually, I stood up¡­ this is getting confusing.


    ¡°Ah, goddess body double¡± ¡°ruff, ruff, ruff¡±


    ¡°Just call me Arian¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Arian dono¡­ what¡¯s going on with me?¡± ¡°Ruff¡­ ruff, ruff ruff¡±


    ¡°Oh, well. It¡¯s simple. Your soul was unique so when you finally formed your true spiritual form, you were actually separated into two beings. In other words, you are both the wolf and the girl¡±


    ¡°Eh, that¡¯s confusing. Even my thoughts are confusing¡± ¡°grr¡­ ruff ruff, ruf ruff.


    ¡°Yes, quite so. If you activate the spell [parallel existence] then you should be able to control it¡±


    ¡°[Parallel Existence]¡±


    Soon, I felt my mind split in two. It wasn¡¯t painful, it just felt weird. I looked towards the wolf which tilted its head.


    This is so weird


    ¡°I know right!¡±


    As a result, there were now two me. One as a wolf and one as a girl with wolf ears and a tail. How stranger can my life get?


    ____________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    So, this was a pretty cheesy chapter lol. I might make another chapter later... or maybe not, depends on my mood.


    P.S: I wonder how many people expected that XD

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10: Warm and Cold


    There¡¯s such a big difference between my wolf form and my human form. For one, I am now a human. Did that make sense? No, it probably didn¡¯t since I just stated something obvious. Well, even though I say that, I¡¯m probably not even human. I had two wolf ears above my head and a silver white tail. I also had white hair and light blue eyes. In other words, I¡¯m probably closer to that of a Beastkin. But, when I asked Arian about it¡­


    ¡°You are actually not a Beastkin nor a human. You are a spirit kind that has taken on human flesh. Normally, when a spirit takes on human flesh, they tend to keep some characteristic features seen from their spirit form. That¡¯s the reason for the wolf ears on your head and the wolf tail on your rear¡±


    Hence, I¡¯m still a spirit. Now, the major difference between my wolf self and my human self though is my strength. As a wolf, I felt powerful and strong. I had confidence that I could ram myself on the wall and probably break through it. But, in my¡­ I¡¯m just going to call it human form¡­ I feel physically weaker. Of course, I still have a strong sense of my surrounding, but¡­ I really didn¡¯t have the same strength I had before. You¡¯re probably wondering how I know this right. Well, it¡¯s actually simple. You see¡­


    ¡°Ahh¡­ master is so cute!¡±


    ¡°Neh, let me hug her too¡±


    I was currently sitting on Iridia¡¯s lap. There, I was being held down by Iridia with pure strength. Of course, I probably do have the strength to break free¡­ but I might end up hurting her. So I tried to use the barest amount to break free. I guess I can¡¯t say I¡¯m physically weak then since I¡¯m not going full out, but you know¡­ it just feels like I¡¯m weak for some strange reason. Maybe because the feeling is amplified since I¡¯m holding on to my former wolf body. Strange sight it is. A wolf was sitting on my lap who in turn is sitting on Iridia¡¯s lap. Truly a bizarre scene for me.


    Neh, can you let go of me?


    ¡°You know how I¡¯m feeling right now right? If I let go of you, then it won¡¯t be fair¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ master talking to herself is adorable¡±


    Why is Iridia like this? I know that she can¡¯t control her emotion that much yet, but to show this much weakness just because I¡¯m ado¡­ ado¡­ AHHH, I can¡¯t even say it! I¡¯M A GUY GODAMIT. YOU CAN¡¯T JUST START SAYING I¡¯M ADO¡­ ado¡­ AGH.


    ¡°My turn¡±


    Suddenly, Rina stole me from Iridia¡¯s grasp. I tried to use this as a chance to escape, but to my shock, Rina had some strength in her. Again, I only used a fraction of my strength, but still¡­ WHY CAN¡¯T I BREAK FREE!


    ¡°Ahh¡­ this really heals one¡¯s soul¡±


    She began to rub her face on my cheek. Ugh¡­ I feel like some kind of toy.


    ¡°Can you guys let go of me now?¡±


    ¡°Not yet master. I still haven¡¯t refilled my cute meter¡±


    I sighed. Just what have I gotten myself into?


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    After an hour of being handled like a toy, the two finally settled down and released me. I¡¯ve tried many things so as to break free from them, but they only continued to manhandle me. I then tried ordering them, but not even my contract with Rina would work. Just what is going on? After that, I tried a new tactic. I¡­ I¡­ I pretended to cry. To my surprise, it worked. The two released me and even went as far as apologizing and trying to cheer me up. Of course, I was happy that they let me go¡­ but, I also felt a part of my dignity chipping away. After this though came a tricky part.


    Now that I¡¯ve used parallel existence, apparently it is not possible to reconnect our minds again. Although we are still connected by a link and can tell each other what we¡¯re thinking, our soul in a sense has been split into two. In other words, there is officially two of me living in this world. Of course, I asked Arian what would happen if we would die. The answer is, our soul would combine together and enter the realm of death as a single soul. Also, our lives our tied to one another. That means that if I die, then my wolf form dies too. If my wolf form dies, then I die too. It really is complicated.


    ¡°So, how are we supposed to call out to each of you master?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I really don¡¯t know. I mean, I guess I can use my mom¡¯s maiden name as an alias¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ if it¡¯s about your identity, then you have nothing to fear¡±


    As she said that, she passed me a card. It was an orichalcum card. In the front, I only recognized one thing. My name. It said, Ferizia Av Lowell. Everything else was pretty much gibberish to me. I analyzed the words. What language is this? Hindu? Middle Eastern? Korean? Actually, it looks like it¡¯s a combination of every language back in earth. I wonder how people read this. Well, away from that. Lowell huh. That means, I¡¯m also part of the Lowell household¡­ wait a minute.


    ¡°Oye, Arian. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m also their sister?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Your background has been set to where you are also part of the Lowell household. Also, you are the youngest sister who possesses a high concentration of light magic¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that calling for trouble!?¡±


    Arian tilted her head while I stood there with sweat pouring from my face. This is bad. Seeing from the reaction of the dwarves and the knights, they went that far for a creature with a high concentration of light magic. Now that I¡¯m actually a person, then wouldn¡¯t they try to capture me and force me into their ranks?


    ¡°Ahh¡­ I have a message from Arian Sama¡±


    I looked towards Iridia. Wait, why Iridia and not her body double?


    ¡°Ah¡­ I received another message. Goddess Sama told me to read her second message first so I¡¯ll proceed¡­ Ahem, [I do not have full link to my double. That means that I cannot send messages to her unlike Iridia. That¡¯s because, it¡¯s a pain having to control two people you know. Plus, I get to see everything happening around her so it¡¯s like me as a human living out my life in this world without any powers as a goddess. Actually, scratch that. She¡¯s a dwarf so it won¡¯t make sense when I say human]


    I shall now read the first message, ahem¡­


    [I¡¯m sorry, I forgot that light magic is really wanted by every nations now. Forgive me, but I can¡¯t really change your background now, so just do your best. Love, Arian]¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°AHHH¡­ Master is crying!¡±


    It¡¯s ok Iridia. I¡¯m only crying for the future filled with hardship. Just let me cry for a bit so I won¡¯t do it later on, ok¡­


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.[Stranger POV]


    ¡°We did our job¡­ now we can only watch¡±


    My men and I stared at the group in front of us. The boss was leading this group. Armed with a Seraphis blade and a buckler, he led his men of bandits towards the shrine. They were in a happy mood, laughing and shouting at the top of their lungs. In the midst, two weren¡¯t laughing. One was a human and the other was a dwarf. They were pretty bruised but that didn¡¯t stop them from glaring at the boss. There was another stranger, a girl. She was young noble with unknown origin. Right now, she was in the hands of the boss who constantly molested her. The girl only kept a defiant face as the boss grabbed wherever he wanted.


    ¡°Hah, don¡¯t worry¡­ by the end of the day, you¡¯ll want to be my slave until the day you break¡±


    The boss laughed as he forced a kiss on her. He then moved his head back as he began to spit on the ground. I noticed a small patch of blood. I smiled knowing that the girl bit his tongue. Suddenly, a punched could be heard followed by a small grunt.


    ¡°BITCH! You think you can get away from that¡­ well, not like it¡¯ll change anything. Actually, it¡¯s kind of turning me on. That¡¯s why, fight harder. Make me enjoy this¡±


    I gritted my teeth as I watched from the rooftops.


    ¡°Roland¡­ I¡­ we can¡¯t just¡­¡±


    ¡°No. You can¡¯t stop it. I can¡¯t stop it. You know what will happen if we interfere¡±


    Suddenly, an image of my family surfaced. My wife, smiling towards¡­ our daughter in her hands. The last time I saw them was yesterday when they were in the cage. Of course, I¡¯ve already examined them and made sure nothing has happened. But, that can change any day. All it takes is a single hostile action by me and a quick messenger to the cage. That¡¯s why, I can¡¯t do anything¡­ yet. So for now, I¡¯ll do nothing but watch this revolting sight.


    ¡°Just be patient¡­ I don¡¯t know why, but soon¡­ I feel as if things will change¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Positive¡­ my senses are usually right. That¡¯s why, I¡¯ll just hope. Hope that we can somehow kill this fucker without killing our own families¡±


    My men nodded. They all began prepping their crossbows and weapons. Tonight really will be a hectic night. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen, but I feel it. Something will happen that will change this city forever. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m ready¡­ no¡­ we, the Red Morgue will be ready to move. We slowly followed after the boss and his group. We finally made it to the front of the shrine. Today¡­ it was oddly more different than before. The marbles were more polished and the garden looked beautiful. The strange thing is, the air seemed pure and the water was emitting a light glow.


    ¡°OYE, YOU WHORES. COME OUT OF THE SHRINE¡±


    The boss was now nearing the front gate. He was also holding the girl at her hair. I could see the pained expression on her face, but I still can¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°YOU REMEMBER THIS BITCH! WELL? COME OUT! IF YOU DO, I WON¡¯T KILL HER¡±


    Silence, the shrine was really silent.


    ¡°SUIT YOURSELF. AS FOR ME, I¡¯M HAVING SOME FUN WITH MY BOYS¡±


    ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±HOHHH¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±


    He began to tear the girls clothes as his men cheered madly.


    ¡°STOP!¡±


    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE HURT¡­ Ugh¡±


    The two guards were immediately silenced as they were forced to watch the boss rip the girl¡¯s clothes away. In no time, only her underwear protected her dignity. I clutched my knife as my men held there crossbows. I could tell everyone wanted to rescue her.


    ¡°Stop¡±


    I blinked. In front of the boss, two girls were standing. They were the girls from before. But¡­ how did¡­ just when did they get there? I began rubbing my eyes to see if it wasn¡¯t fooling me. Nope, they were still there.


    ¡°How dare you do this to a girl?!¡±


    ¡°I swear¡­ you people are just like animals in heat¡±


    I watched the two girls with a cold sweat. Their eyes¡­ they were looking at the boss coldly. It¡¯s as if there¡¯s nothing in them to begin with. Not a soul that has sympathy for the living.


    ¡°R¡­Ro¡­land. I think it¡¯s best not to move¡±


    I nodded my head. I then placed my weapons to the ground. Not just my knives, but my throwing stars and crossbows too. Everything I saw as a weapon, I set it down on the floor. My men followed suit and soon the ground was littered with our weapons. I knew¡­ I somehow knew that if we were to simply have a knife, we would be cut down. I then made eye contact with the girl. She seemed to be a knight class¡­ but her heraldic colors and that coat of arms. I¡¯ve never seen them before. She then smiled which surprised me. Unlike her gaze towards the boss, her eyes towards me were filled with life. I really couldn¡¯t explain it.


    ¡°Oye, you bitch. Don¡¯t turn your gaze from me¡±


    Seemingly upset, the boss released the girl and walked towards the knight. Before he could even get into range to attack her though¡­


    ¡°Hey, Iridia. What¡¯s the holdup?¡±


    A new voice rang out. This was much younger than the two. I don¡¯t remember a third girl being in their party though¡­ is it possible they met here in the shrine. Then, I saw something surprising. I saw a bit of anxiety in the two girls eyes.


    ¡°Ah¡­ sorry, it¡¯s just. We were just seeing the situation¡±


    The other girl only nodded as she looked back towards the shrine anxiously.


    ¡°I already saw everything and there''s no need to hold back. This is my order to both of you¡­¡±


    Order? What? There¡¯s someone ordering these two? Before I could think about it more, the surrounding began to turn cold. It was as if a sudden winter appeared. Then, in an icy cold voice, I heard the girl¡¯s command¡­


    ¡°Kill them all...¡±


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author¡¯s note:


    Sorry for not posting over the weekend. I was hanging out with some friends and my family so I didn¡¯t really have any time. Also, this might be the only chapter I post today so please sleep or read the other stories you want to read.


    Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed and keep on reading


    P.S: Although I¡¯m not really knowledgeable about this area, let me summarize my small knowledge of heraldic colors and coat of arms to those who do not know about them. These are usually meant to show the knight¡¯s house or kingdom that the said knight fights for. In this way, they are very easy to identify in the field and would not be easily mistaken by either their own allies or their enemies.


    P.S.S: I really hope there''s no mistakes in the text this time TT.TT

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11: Emotions Unsealed


    ¡°So, the dwarven nation is set on the Mitacalan Peninsula¡­ that is a really weird name¡±


    I looked at the map in front of us. It was a piece of parchment that had drawings on it. The lines were all scribbled with some kind of charcoal so it was pretty crude. But, it is pretty accurate so I can¡¯t complain. Looking at the map, the dwarven nation sure has a huge border. If I¡¯m looking at it correctly, we¡¯ve only traveled one tenth of the entire dwarven territory. Yeah, that¡¯s huge. Comparing it to the human continent, its ginormous¡­ or at least it seems like that. Not only that, its northern borders were surrounded by huge bodies of water, making it impossible to attack from the north.


    What got me as strange though is the fact that in the very bottom of the territory, right after the spirit garden, there¡¯s a huge plot of land that is neither occupied nor conquered. Actually, there isn¡¯t anything drawn in. Instead it¡¯s colored in pure black. I wonder what this means. I pointed to it and directed my gaze towards Arian.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ that is called the Devil¡¯s den¡±


    ¡°That sounds pretty ominous. Why is it colored in like this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because that¡¯s all you can see. When you were at the top of the garden, didn¡¯t you see the black clouds underneath you?¡±


    Now that I think about it, I did see something like that. Was that actually the so called devil¡¯s den?


    ¡°Ah, yeah. I do remember. I just thought it was probably a storm or something¡±


    Arian shook her head.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s like that because the monsters that occupy that area is weak against the light. That¡¯s why a strange phenomenon occurred where the black clouds suddenly appeared, protecting the monsters there¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ so that¡¯s why the four nations wanted as much light magicians¡±


    ¡°Hai¡­ the only thing is, light magicians are very rare¡±


    That raised my interest¡­ as well as my anxiety. If you guys forgot, let me remind you. I am now a light magician. Because Arian forgot about the whole, light magicians are important, I¡¯m actually listed in the system as a light magician. Hearing that they are rare¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m nervous about my future. I sighed.


    ¡°Yeah, I can see that. Actually I was wondering, how many light magicians are there currently?¡±


    I could see her thinking about it for a moment.


    ¡°Through the years or now?¡±


    ¡°Now¡±


    ¡°¡­ three¡±


    I blinked at her stupidly. Did I mistake her number?


    ¡°¡­ three?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ three¡±


    ¡°Oye, oye. Even jokes have their limits you know. Now tell me, how many light magicians are their currently in this world¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­ Three¡±


    I sighed. Are you telling me that their are only three light magicians in this world as of now. What kind of joke are you trying to pull!


    ¡°Ok... then tell me, who are these three light magicians?¡±


    Again, she seemed to think about it for a second.


    ¡°You, Iridia and Rina¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Really¡­ what have I gotten myself into¡­?


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    After letting that info set in, I quickly shook my head of the troubles. If I ponder too much about it, then it¡¯ll only get me down. That¡¯s why fight on, fight on. Better to push through than to blunder midway.


    Speaking of which, shouldn¡¯t we go back to the gardens?


    I looked towards Fer. Hmm¡­ I forgot about that. Actually, I just kind of placed it aside considering no one with ill intention could go near the place. But, the whole garden being near the devil¡¯s den is kind of worrisome.


    ¡°Actually, if you solely want, there¡¯s a gate here that is linked with the garden¡±


    ¡°Are you serious!?¡±


    Where!?


    Both Fer and I immediately jumped from our seats.


    ¡°Follow me¡±


    Arian started walking towards one of the rooms. Fer immediately followed after them. As for me, I looked towards the two girls.


    ¡°You guys, stay here for a second. We¡¯ll be right back¡±


    ¡°¡±As you wish¡±¡±


    Now you¡¯re being obedient. I sighed as I followed after them. In no time at all, we were finally in a different room. This room was really pure. The air was clean and it felt as if the spirits were surrounding us. In the middle, a small pool could be seen. Instead of having a bluish color though, it had an evergreen color. It was very calming to look at.


    ¡°If you step into this pool and think about the forest, you should be transported there in a matter of seconds¡±


    ¡°That sure is convenient¡±


    You can say that again


    Both Fer and I quickly stepped into the pool. Arian also followed along and soon, I felt my surrounding change. Instead of the room we were in, we were back to the familiar forest.


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t changed a bit¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile as I looked at the nature around us. The trees were moving in the breeze, the animals were scampering about the place. It truly felt as if the forest was welcoming us home.


    At least now, we can visit this place again


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    I continued to smile as the thought of guarding this place came into mind.


    ¡°Say, Arian¡­ has this forest ever been attacked before?¡±


    I saw a solemn face on Arian¡¯s face. That told me everything I needed to know.


    ¡°So I guess that someday, I¡¯ll have to stop people from taking this forest. That means I might have to kill people in the future huh¡±


    Killing people. I was scared of doing it¡­ but at the same time, I felt undeniable sadness and anger within me. This forest accepted me the first day I was here. Although it may be because of Arian, the forest helped me grow myself even if it was a short while. I was born here and there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll let anyone take it. That¡¯s why, I¡¯ll guard this place till the day I die. Hmm¡­ maybe that¡¯s my wolf¡¯s instinct coming in. If I remember, wolves were pretty territorial.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back. As much as I want to run around this forest again, we still need to think about the future¡±


    Yea¡­ actually, you remember Arian giving us editing rights to the city right?


    ¡°Hmm¡­ yeah, I remember. Wait, are you actually planning what I think you are¡±


    Weren¡¯t you thinking of doing the same thing?


    ¡°Ahh¡­ yeah I was. I just wasn¡¯t planning on saying it out loud¡±


    I¡¯m not saying it out loud. I¡¯m saying it in your head moron


    ¡°Ugh¡­ being called a moron by my own self, just what has this world come to...¡±


    Over dramatizing my anguish, I couldn¡¯t help but giggle. We then both laughed while Arian can only tilt her head in confusion. Now, for what we were talking about. Well, I read a couple of stories about dungeon building and city management. So, I always thought what would happen if I was in those situations. Hence, I¡¯ve always thought to myself of several ways of improving cities and different things I would do to help the city¡¯s residents. Also, there were a couple of things I didn¡¯t like in Glagur, so I might as well take up Arian of her words and tinker with the city a bit.


    We got back to the shrine. When we go there though, I noticed something. First of all, Rina and Iridia weren¡¯t there. They were outside of the place. Second, I noticed a huge of people outside. There was actually two groups. One was standing above us using the last set of buildings near the shrine. The other was near the gate. On the garden, not visible to the group, Rina and Iridia seemed to be watching them. Hmm¡­ just what is going on?


    I¡¯ll go and take a look. I¡¯ll send you a visual once I get there


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Alright, thanks Fer¡±


    She immediately disappeared.


    ¡°Say, Arian. Is it possible to travel from one city to another using the shrines?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°As long as the shrine is to the goddess Arian and that you¡¯ve set foot on the pool in each shrine, then it is ok¡±


    Sweet! That means that travelling around the world is possible. I did a quick celebratory jump¡­ that is until I saw the image.


    ¡°How dare you do this to a girl?!¡±


    ¡°I swear¡­ you people are just like animals in heat¡±


    In front of me, a huge group of bandits could be seen. For bandits though, they were pretty well armed. Some had plated armor while others wore leather armor. Some used spears and others were using swords. They are bandits, yes. But they were too well armed to be merely bandits. I then saw two familiar faces. Dale and Daz. They were tied up, their body filled with bruises. Daz had a swollen cheek while Dale had a black eye. I could feel my anger rising up within me. Then, I saw someone else.


    With clothes torn around her, her underwear the only thing protecting her dignity, laid Anna. I could see some bruises on her and tears on her eyes. I instantly knew that she was being fondled and molested on her way here to the shrine. I suddenly felt my surrounding change. I looked around and noticed that the walls were freezing. Even the very air seemed to freeze. The only one who wasn¡¯t affected was Arian. Below her feet, a small circle appeared. The only area not affected, was hers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fix this later Arian. For now, I have some trash to take care of¡±


    I then walked out of the shrine, my surrounding freezing as I walk. Then I made it to the entrance. There, I could only see Iridia and Rina. The bandits were blocked from my view by the tall hedges of the garden.


    ¡°Oye, you bitch. Don¡¯t turn your gaze from me¡±


    I then saw a person approaching the girls. It''s him¡­ I feel it. He is the one leading these men.


    ¡°Hey, Iridia. What¡¯s the holdup?¡±


    Iridia immediately looked back and took a small frightened step away from me. Rina did the same as they stared at me anxiously. I wonder why? Does my appearance look that bad?


    ¡°Ah¡­ sorry, it¡¯s just. We were just seeing the situation¡±


    Rina was nodding her head like a bobble head. I wonder why she looks so anxious. Well, regardless of the situation, I¡¯ve already made my judgement.


    ¡°I already saw everything and there¡¯s no need to hold back. This is my order to both of you¡­¡±


    I then showed them an image of the ones that had no chance in redemption. With that, I saw their faces stare at me in confusion. I smiled.


    ¡°Kill them all¡±


    Finally understanding what I wanted, they both summoned their weapons in their full glory. The bandits were surprised as they all took a step back. Even the ones on the roof seemed really shocked though I sensed that they were remaining still. Seeing Iridia and Rina jumping into action, I also followed suit as spells began to enter my mind. Let¡¯s see, let¡¯s try to use only a few set though.


    [Frozen Mist]


    The surrounding was being enshrouded by a mist. It was a thick mist that really prevented anyone from seeing anything. Well, it affected everyone but us. Seeing through the mist, the bandits were shaking as they looked everywhere.


    [Ice Chamber]


    I used this opportunity to freeze some encasing them in ice. As soon as they were frozen, Iridia or Rina appeared out of thin air and shattered them into tiny pieces. The sight made every single bandit shudder. Some cursing and some blindly attacking at the air. The bandit boss was also there in the very center of it all, though he made one huge mistake.


    ¡°IF YOU DON¡¯T STOP, I SWEAR. I¡¯LL KILL THIS BITCH!¡±


    I only felt anger as I saw him place a sword around Anna¡¯s neck. Wasting no time, I charged up an attack spell and appeared in front of him.


    ¡°YOU SEE, MY SWORDS ON HER FUCKING NE¡­¡±


    I instantly felt warm liquid flowing onto my hand.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ weak. Is this what it feels to kill men like you?¡±


    I stared at him coldly. Inside those eyes, I see nothing but fear. Deeper, I saw a glint of lunacy¡­ something that can only be healed by death.


    ¡°Does it hurt? Hey, you listening?¡±


    I ask him as I remove my arm from his neck. There, a huge hole could be seen accompanied by gurgling noises but I didn¡¯t care. All I care about is the girl on the floor. Ignoring the dying man, I picked Anna up and slightly moved her hair aside, stroking her dirtied hair. She¡¯s already fainted and seemed to be having a nightmare. I carried her back to the garden.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok¡­ you¡¯re safe now, so have a good and happy dream¡±


    [Heal]


    I placed my hand above her head as a green light surrounded her entire body. Soon, the bruises and wounds began to disappear. I sighed as I stared back at the bandits. Wow, I take my eyes away from them for a second and everyone¡¯s already dead. Not only that, they died in spectacular ways. Some of them were slashed horizontally and vertically. Others were chopped into pieces. Another was only a blotch of blood, while some seemed to have been incinerated as only ashes could be seen. Really, Rina and Iridia sure can be scary.


    ¡°How are they?¡±


    ¡°They are fine master. We¡¯ve already healed them so they should be fine once they wake up¡±


    I felt relieved as I stared at my fainted friends. Honestly, getting caught by bandits the moment you guys came into the city. Come on, I expected more from these guys. I thought they were good mercenaries. Well, as long as their fine now. Well then. There¡¯s one more thing to worry about.


    ¡°You there and the men behind you. Would you please join us?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The men stared at me in fear. Wow, I wonder why everyone is looking at me in fear. Regardless though, I need their cooperation. Maybe I should take them out of their shock.


    ¡°Oye, did you guys hear me. If you don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll shock each and every one of you¡±


    ¡°We would be glad to join you!¡±


    A man instantly spoke up. He then moved his head towards his comrades who understood the situation. They all grabbed their weapons, sheathed them and began to walk towards us.


    ¡°Can we be quick though mam. There are many messengers and spies here. My family¡­ they are¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the spies and messengers. One of my subordinate has already gone to take care of them, so please be at ease¡±


    He then looked around and seemingly noticed that Rina was no longer here. I heard a sigh of relief which really intrigued me. He then gave a bow towards me.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ no problem. Now come on. We have a lot to talk about¡±


    With this, a strange meeting began with an assassins group and a spirit. Still, these guys look miserable. Their looking at me as if I¡¯m going to eat them. Come on, I can¡¯t be that scary¡­ right?


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    As graphic as the fight is, this story is still supposed to be lighthearted. It¡¯s just that, I really don¡¯t know how to write fight scenes without it being too graphic. Then again, you guys have probably read worse so this is probably tame compared to those. Regardless though, I want everyone to understand that no matter where this story goes, it will remain as a lighthearted story that focuses on slice of life and comedy.


    Also, to Reddu. I can''t promise that this won''t be a slice of life adventure story, but I do promise that their is a story line. More like, the story line is forming on its own lol. Trust me, I was surprised that theirs an actual story line forming as I write this story XD


    Well, that¡¯s all I have to say. I hope you enjoy and keep waiting for the next chapter.


    P.S: Already working on the second one. If i finish that early, I''ll work on the third one and post it today. That means, possibility of a third chapter is actually high today.

 Intermission

    Disclaimer:


    This chapter is actually a bit forward in the future. It¡¯s only four or five days ahead so it¡¯s not much. I¡¯m just putting this now as a transmission so the story would flow better. Also, it may spoil some things that may happen, but I think it¡¯s a good transition from arc 1 to 2.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Intermission


    [In the Dwarven Capitol of Dur¡¯r]


    ¡°Forgive me your highness, the ritual was unsuccessful¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    In a small chamber, a man was kneeling towards one of the most powerful figure in the continent. Orsed kaza¡¯ald, king of the dwarven nation. This man alone has changed the dwarven kingdom from its bitter days. Under his rule, he has improved the national policy of the dwarves. Food supplies were at its highest and the civilians have been given the luxury that they¡¯ve never had before. Military improvements were also made under his supervision.


    The latest technological innovation, gunpowder. They¡¯ve managed to make cannons for the past ten years with these, but they have not been able to make smaller and carry able versions of this weapons. The crossbows is still their sword while the dwarven pike wall is their shield. Discipline has also increased making the dwarves one of the most professional soldiers seen in any army. All of these were accomplished by this man, yet it wasn¡¯t enough. They needed an important factor that can help them in the fight against the Devil kin. A hero, one who is summoned alongside the other three nations. Yet now, for some strange reason, they couldn¡¯t do it.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ are you sure the spell was correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes my liege. We¡¯ve checked it over and over again. The runes shouldn¡¯t be wrong¡­ yet, we are not able to summon the hero. Also, a strange thing happens¡±


    The king gave a curious gaze towards the mage.


    ¡°What strange thing?¡±


    ¡°Whenever we distribute our mana into the device, the runes would light. But then, as if there¡¯s an overconsumption of mana, the magic cancels and the runes are destroyed¡±


    Everyone in the room gave a confused look. It really was strange. In the king¡¯s eyes, you could see that he knows something was wrong.


    ¡°How much mana are you putting into the runes?¡±


    The man shook his head.


    ¡°Barely enough to power a fireball my lord¡±


    Silence filled the room. Every man thought to themselves about the strange phenomenon. To not even consume enough power as a fireball, definitely something was wrong. In the midst of their thinking, the back door suddenly opened. There, a young girl entered the room.


    ¡°Iodi, you¡¯re late¡±


    A bewitching smile appeared from the girl¡¯s face.


    ¡°Forgive me your majesty. I¡¯ve stumbled upon some interesting things so I was rather focused for the time being¡±


    Iodi Therfall, the highest known druid of the dwarven kingdom. She¡¯s the leader of the newly created mage corps which now boast the strongest power in the kingdom. She has the highest affinity to nature magic and is known to be strict in training her soldiers. As for her mage corps, she is the only one known to be in the magicians rank. Everyone else are considered mages with high proficiency in many types of lower variant magic.


    ¡°Oh, then what exactly did you find?¡±


    ¡°I may have found the reason to your hero problem¡±


    The king instantly raised an eyebrow and began to laugh.


    ¡°Alright then, if you may lady Iodi. Please tell us your findings¡±


    ¡°As you wish. I will warn you though that this is merely a theory of mine after finding out several things in the system¡±


    ¡°I will keep that in mind¡±


    Everyone quieted down as their attention was focused on the young druid.


    ¡°As you all know, the hero summon is unique. No matter who uses the summoning spell, it will only work when the appropriate requirements are met. The first requirement, the goddess Arian must find our cause of using the spell worthy. Seeing as we¡¯re doing this to fight the devil kin, I assume that our cause is worthy. Hence, we can scratch this off from our list¡±


    She then pulled out a parchment from her robes. She then handed it over to the king.


    ¡°The next requirement, only four heroes can be summoned into this world. As the agreement in the pact between the four nations, only one hero summon for each nation. I have already received the messages from the other nations. As for the agreement, they have summoned their heroes. That¡¯s why, the possibility of us summoning a hero is high so we also meet the requirements¡±


    Everyone stared at the king whose face was confused at the parchment he was reading. The young girl smiled as she continued.


    ¡°The last requirement¡­ actually, this is more like a rule¡±


    She paused as she stared at all the officials and soldiers in the room.


    ¡°A hero can only be summoned, as long as a hero isn¡¯t present already¡±


    Murmurs began spreading throughout the room.


    ¡°Do you mean to say that the hero was already summoned without us knowing it?¡±


    It was the commander in chief who spoke up. He seemed to be going through the parchment that the king was also going through.


    ¡°Yes¡­ actually, it is best to assume that this is the most probable reason that our summon is not working¡±


    The information settled into everyone¡¯s mind. They never imagined that the hero could have already been summoned. Even the mage was surprised. In his mind, he was already beating himself over for forgetting the three rules in summoning a hero.


    ¡°Then, who can it be?¡±


    ¡°How can we find the hero in the kingdom?¡±


    ¡°This is troublesome¡­¡±


    ¡°ENOUGH¡±


    The loud voice of the king boomed in the room. Everyone once again remained silent as the king continued to look at the parchment in front of him.


    ¡°Iodi, this household that you¡¯ve listed here¡­ do explain their role in your theory¡±


    ¡°Hai. Out of many of households in the world, I¡¯ve memorized the majority of them. The Vistroux house, the Truman house, the Resparian house¡­ I can keep going, but I¡¯ve made my point. Each of these house has considerable amount of power, money and influence. Yet, this one household has had¡­ very strange information about them¡±


    She then began to draw in the air. Everyone knew she was invoking nature magic and it was an honor to see it happen before her eyes. Soon, two strange plantlike pillars appeared. In the middle, a blue screen could be seen. This was a spell that allows the user to access the worlds system, a database that has all the information for about every person in this world. There, they saw the information that concerns the Lowell household.


    ¡°If you look here, these are the only information I can find about this household¡±


    Everyone stared at the screen. Nothing, there was virtually nothing to be seen. No dealings, no power struggle, nothing. Only three things popped out. The names of three girls.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Iridia Lowell, Rina Lowell and Ferizia Av Lowell. This is really strange. To only have these members in a household, furthermore¡­ such occupations. How have we never heard of them before?¡±


    Everyone sat there in a gaze. High tiered light magician, Holy crusader and another high tiered magician. These girls were an equivalent of a small army. To have not been known of until now. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but be in a daze.


    ¡°What I would like to point out though is not that the information is strange. As I have said already, I have memorized the majority of the houses in this world. I have confidence that such a house was never seen before until now¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?! Normally, a household is created by the powers of a king. Are you saying that they¡¯ve somehow had a king who gave them a household name?¡±


    ¡°It is possible seeing as they do hail from a human kingdom. But, in my inspection, there was no meeting with the human kings that could have led to a new household. That means that the system was manipulated¡±


    ¡°¡­ this is getting interesting. What else can you say about the matter?¡±


    The spell changed the screen. There, numbers could be seen on the panel.


    ¡°This was found in one of the banks near the dwarven city of Q¡¯urrst¡±


    At first, no one knew what they were looking for. That is until the head of the kingdoms finance pointed towards a single name.


    ¡°No way! How did they earn 1000 gold in a single day?¡±


    Everyone looked towards the spot he was pointing at. Surrounded by other numbers, a surprising figure could be seen. Not only that, the deposit was the first time that money of any size was placed into that account. A rather strange occurrence. Everyone immediately began to think of foul play, including the head financer.


    ¡°I know how you all feel, but this was not foul play. These 1000 gold. After inquiring about them, they are not from our kingdom¡±


    Everyone became silent and girl once again smiled.


    ¡°The gold is also not of any other kingdom or nation. In other words, it just appeared out of nowhere¡±


    Everyone became stiff¡­ for 1000 gold to appear out of nowhere. They couldn¡¯t imagine how that happened. Yet, the king already knew what was happening. The theory that Iodi was showing him pointed to the fact that one of the three girls was the hero.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ this is really interesting. But, I can¡¯t say that it¡¯s definite. If possible, we need to study this furthermore¡±


    The girl bowed.


    ¡°I agree your majesty. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve already assigned several people to¡­¡±


    ¡°WHOA, what just happened?!¡±


    Iodi was suddenly surprised at the head of finance. He was pointing towards the screen which seemed to have flickered for a moment. Iodi directed her gaze and gasped. Right before everyone¡¯s eyes, the amount they saw before vanished. Instead, it followed the pattern of all other transactions. From deposits, to taxes and purchases. No longer did the figure appear in one single day. Now, it showed a constant deposit that led towards the extreme figure.


    ¡°Did¡­ where you just faking the¡­¡±


    ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t your liege. You have to understand, this magic is linked directly to the system. That means¡­¡±


    ¡°The information was changed. IODI, SWITCH IT TO THE MAIN SYSTEM DATABANK!¡±


    Wasting no time, she already switched it back to the previous screen. There, a surprising amount of information met them. Early beginnings, to the deceased king of the Russian kingdom¡¯s approval of the Lowell household, from small dealings to huge dealings. There was even a family line, alongside several hundred other names included with the first three. Everyone sat there in shock.


    ¡°The¡­ system was changed¡±


    Everyone couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing, yet there it was. The information they saw before had actually changed right before their eyes. It was at this point that the king knew. The system wasn¡¯t changed by anyone simple. No, it was changed by the goddess Arian.


    ¡°I WANT MESSENGERS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE KINGDOM! THE LOWELL HOUSEHOLD MUST BE BROUGHT TO THE CASTLE AS ROYAL GUEST, UNDERSTOOD¡±


    ¡°¡±¡±HAHHH¡±¡±¡±


    Several messengers immediately scrambled from the room. Even they were flustered as they ran, slamming the doors open and running towards their own horses. As for the king, a smile was in his face.


    ¡°Well, this sure is getting interesting¡±


    He then laughed a hearty laugh he¡¯s never had in a while. As for his officials, they all looked at him with a confused look.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°Burrrr¡±


    ¡°Is anything wrong master? Is it too cold?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ no. Thanks for the concern but I¡¯m fine¡±


    Two girls could be seen. One was currently filling a vial with water while the other was serving her a cup of tea. Then, the silver haired girl began chanting something. Soon, the vial began to glow.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ I did it!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations master¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, thanks. With this, we can start rejuvenating the city¡¯s economy. After selling this potion to the commoners, we should make other things like food, weapons and other useful things¡±


    ¡°Hai, it¡¯ll be a great way to revive the city¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ speaking of which, how¡¯s the subjugation going?¡±


    ¡°Ah, hai. Rina says that only 10% of the underworld is left. It should take about two more days before we have complete control¡±


    ¡°Good, once the subjugation is complete have Roland train the new soldiers. After that, it shouldn¡¯t be too much of a hassle to improve the citizen¡¯s lifestyle¡±


    ¡°Master is really kind¡­ but you¡¯re also scary when you fight against your enemies¡±


    The young girl shrugged.


    ¡°Eh¡­ I¡¯ve gotten over it. I guess it¡¯s my instincts telling me to kill. But, at least I won¡¯t kill innocent people. Never will I do that. Anyway, let¡¯s take a break. I can¡¯t wait to see the looks on their faces¡±


    ¡°Hai, hai¡±


    Suddenly, the girl grabbed the silver haired girl and began to cuddle with her. With cries of help coming from a small house, the night began to pass over them as the city went into another deep slumber.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Authors note:


    I¡¯m sorry for not posting anymore chapters yesterday. I had a bunch of IRL stuff to do. Plus, something happened with my credit card so I¡¯ve been having trouble until today. So, yeah. I had no chance in working on it until now. Well, either way, I won¡¯t promise about three chapters a day anymore. Every time I promise that, real life always seems to say¡­


    ¡°Nope¡±


    ¡­ So yeah. I¡¯m just going to post as much chapters as I can.

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12: Freeing The City (part 1)


    I walked down a narrow dark alleyway. I was in the deepest part of the city now. Here, order seemed really bad. The buildings were beginning to fall apart and dangerous looking people were slowly appearing. Not only that, it was night so it¡¯s a given that shady looking people were appearing. It has only been several hours since we killed off part of the Black Heart gang. Then, after talking to the assassin group, the Red Morgue, I found some really troubling information.


    First of all, every man¡¯s family in the group was currently being taken hostage. That means, every single one of them were on a tight leash. I couldn¡¯t help but shake a bit in anger, but I managed to control my emotion. Plus, I had to make sure not to scare the men. They really seemed afraid of me. Putting that aside, the most important info I got from them was the situation of this city. Apparently, there was a reason why part of the city was heavily guarded while the rest weren¡¯t. The city was in some sort of civil war. On one side, the Dwarven Principality of Glagur. Led by a young noble, he has been leading the soldiers from the very front against the opposition, the Black Phoenix of Glagur.


    The Black Phoenix is a mix of several gangs in the city. They compromised of different types of military members that boasted high skills. You can say, they¡¯re a mercenary like group that¡¯s occupied at least half of the city. When putting it that way, it is understandable why only part of the city is defended and others not so much. It¡¯s because, the dwarven soldiers may be ambushed and taken out easily. No matter how professional or how strong a person is, they are still prone to die in the field if precautions aren¡¯t taken.


    Because of this internal conflict, the city has degraded to the point that I never would have imagined. From the outside, the city was grand, powerful and beautiful. Inside, a terrible war was being waged. That¡¯s why, I decided to change a few things around here. Turning a corner, I then spotted a white building.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ let¡¯s see. Is it here?¡±


    I stared at the building, skeptical that it was of any importance. From Roland though, he explained that it was a hidden bar. This was the main location he believes the families are being held. Of course, he wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure the bar was actually hiding the families. That¡¯s why I decided to check it out. Iridia and Rina immediately complained to me, saying they should be the ones to do it. I told them though that it¡¯s better if they just cover me from the rear. Also, I¡¯ve asked them to set up a distraction in case I actually go for the save.


    With this in mind, I looked behind me on the rooftops. There, I saw two people staring back. Seeing as they were there where I needed them to be, I quickly entered the premise. At first, it was silent as I walked down a spiral staircase. When I neared the door though, I can hear noises, cheers and clanking of beer mugs. I opened the door and soon, I was inside a brightly lit room. Here, men could be seen drinking and laughing. For the first time, I see no women joining in with the men. I quickly made my way to the counter where a rugged man was serving drinks.


    ¡°One cup. Keep the change¡±


    With a smile, I flipped a gold coin from my pouch. With a clang, it bounced of the counter and landed right into the outstretched hand of the bartender. He instantly took a bite out of it before smiling. After a few seconds, a drink slid on the counter. I caught it and smelled the sweet fragrance of the drink.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ aphrodisiac huh¡±


    I don¡¯t know how I knew, but I could smell this strange fragrance mixed with the drink. Would I be affected by this? Well, I¡¯m a spirit so it¡¯s probably unlikely. Then again, it didn¡¯t say anything in the spirit library. Well, just in case I do feel weird, I¡¯ll have the detoxification spell ready. I took a drink of the beer and my taste buds immediately exploded with a gush of sweetness. This drink is amazing. I wonder what makes it so good. The fruits with a carbonated feel. Truly a strange combination. Also, the aphrodisiac¡­ it¡¯s not affecting me. Rather, it¡¯s giving the drink a unique sweet taste. Just¡­ what is this? How can this be possible?


    ¡°Well, how is it young lady?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ surprisingly really good¡±


    He gave a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it. It¡¯s the best thing we have in the house. Seeing as a tiny lady like you could drink, I thought it¡¯s appropriate since it¡¯s the sweetest thing we currently have for alcohol¡±


    My view of the bartender immediately changed. I thought he was the typical scary bartender trope who doesn¡¯t give a damn about his customer. Now, I can only see a sharp man who was just unlucky to have a face and body like him.


    ¡°Now, aside from the alcohol. What is a young lady like you doing here?¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing really. I just heard from a friend of mine that this bar served one of the best alcohols ever¡±


    ¡°Oh, really. That¡¯s great to hear. More customers mean good business, so I do hope you can tell more people about this place¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to do so¡±


    He passed me another mug without me ordering it. I smiled as I drank the mug in only a few seconds. I then noticed that everyone seemed to be staring at me. For some strange reason, I felt shivers run down my spine. What is this¡­ feeling? I didn¡¯t feel in danger¡­ but, this feeling still doesn¡¯t feel good.


    ¡°Hey, lady. You want to have a great time?¡±


    Suddenly a man approached me. He had an unshaven face and was staring up and down my body. As he did, the uncomfortable feeling increased. Ugh¡­ is this what they mean by, a girl knows when you¡¯re staring. Definitely, this is not a good feeling. I sighed¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure you and I have the same meaning of ¡®having a great time¡¯¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know we do. You see, even the boys there want to have a great time with us¡±


    I looked at the men behind him. They were all smiling as they shrugged away part of their coats revealing small daggers and other weapons. I see, this guy was using fear tactics on what seems to be an innocent and weak girl. I could only giggle.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    I could feel the irritation from his voice. This only made me laugh harder.


    ¡°Oye, oye. Do you even understand what¡¯s happening here?¡±


    ¡°Let me guess¡­ your trying to pick me up?¡±


    ¡°Hah, that¡¯s a light way of saying it¡±


    I felt the men¡¯s excited tension. I even saw a guy with a rope, ready to tie me up. Yep, these guys are stupid. Then again, no one knows who I am¡­ or what I¡¯m capable of. Also, I used to be a guy. No way in hell am I getting picked up.


    ¡°Hey, you lot¡±


    They immediately froze at the bartender¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Take it outside, I don¡¯t want you messing my bar¡±


    He then gave me a wink. I see¡­ I guess he has a small understanding of my strength. My evaluation of him just rose even higher. I quickly jumped off the stool and patted myself clean of any dirt. The men, had stupid looks on their faces. I ignored them and casually began to exit the place. I could hear sneers from the surroundings.


    ¡°If you¡¯re part of the Black Heart Gang¡­ I welcome you to follow. Who knows, with enough of you fighting me, you might actually win¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I tried to be as sarcastic as I could. Oh, how I wish I had Iridia¡¯s provocation skill. Sometimes, even magic users have their own limitation. Surprisingly though, I felt killing intent fill the room. The only one that wasn¡¯t leaking any killing intent was the bartender.


    ¡°Hey mister, can I have your name¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Raymond. Just Raymond¡±


    I gave him a confused stare. Raymond was a very western name. It¡¯s surprising how a dwarf has this kind of name.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re probably curious about my name. Well, if you beat these guys, I¡¯ll tell you all about it. So make sure to give em a thrashing for me will ya¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°You bet I will¡±


    With those words, I quickly ran out of the bar. Behind me, I could hear curses and shouts. I guess that really worked. I feel as if he did that purposely to have the people follow me in anger. I ran a bit farther away until I made it to a dead end.


    ¡°There you are you little bitch¡±


    I turned around and sure enough, a huge amount of men were blocking my way. I then noticed that some of the people were actually female. Hmm¡­ how did I not see them before? Still, to be part of the Black Heart¡­ they sure are unlucky aren¡¯t they? I immediately began to lick my lips. I could feel my excitement. My instincts were really blaring out. But first, I have to make sure I¡¯m only killing the Black Heart Gang members.


    ¡°Now, since were in our little playing field, I¡¯ll give one last warning. If you¡¯re not part of the black gang, I suggest you leave¡±


    None of them flinched. Instead, I could still feel their gaze licking every inch of my body. Even the girls¡­ wow, that is very surprising. Well, I do need some information. Let¡¯s see¡­ I¡¯ll be lenient. I won¡¯t kill them. I¡¯ll just make sure that they won¡¯t give the guards any trouble when I turn them in. With this, I dropped my hood. Everyone took a step back. Fear was clearly in their eyes.


    ¡°No¡­ no way¡±


    ¡°Spirit! IT¡¯S A SPIRIT¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s just not a spirit. It¡¯s the queen! GET OUT! EVERYONE GET OUT!¡±


    My excitement wavered a bit. That¡¯s because I was confused. Do they know what I am? Now, I really need to capture them for information. Wait, wouldn''t that mean that Roland knows what I am. Then again, I was too focused in making a plan for the city that I probably didn''t notice. Oh well. I guess I''ll ask him later alongside these idiots.


    Iridia, Rina. Create a barrier. Make sure they can¡¯t get out


    Hai


    As you will


    Immediately, I saw an invisible barrier form behind the group. They tried running away only to be blocked by it.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°No way¡±


    They tried to push through but to no avail. Hmm¡­ they seem pitiful. Oh well. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re going to die anyway. I began to chant one of my highest form of light magic.


    [Mystic Frost]


    The surroundings began to freeze which slowly crept up to them. Some of them saw the incoming spell and charged. With a yell, they were arching their weapons above me. As soon as they touched part of my spell though, they began to be encased by the ice. They screamed and struggled in despair as they slowly began to freeze. Soon, in front of me, several ice blue statues could be seen. The ones who didn¡¯t attack now looked at me with even more fear. They once again tried to break through the barrier, but in vain. Why are they so afraid? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m killing any of them. I sighed as I continued freezing one after another. Soon, the entire place was covered in nothing but ice. I then noticed that a couple of knives were in the air. An ice pillar was attached to these and they too froze before they reached me. Honestly, this is such a strong spell.


    ¡°Iridia. I want you to prepare ropes and a cage. A lot of them. We¡¯re going to need them all¡±


    ¡°Hai¡±


    She quickly disappeared. I then turned my gaze towards Rina.


    ¡°Come with me. We¡¯re going to look for the families¡±


    She nodded as her scythe transformed into a sword and buckler. That sure is a convenient weapon. But still, I haven¡¯t calmed down the s


    lightest. That honestly was a big letdown. Hmm¡­ maybe I should have fought them with my bare hands instead of using a spell. Oh well, the night is still young and there''s still a bunch of things to do.


    ___________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    Hey Guys. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully. Also, here''s a little bit of info that you guys are probably curious about.


    Light magic is very unique in this world. It is a magic that is solely associated with heroes, but even then the probability of a hero having high light magic is almost close to 1%. Also, their are many mages that do have some control over this, but they can mainly use only basic and intermediate types of light magic spells. Now, light magic is separated into several categories.


    Attack spells


    Defensive spells


    Support spells


    I will only explain the offensive power for now. Attack spells have different level of powers. Basic, intermediate, hard. But the one that Ferizia used is categorized under the legendary category... something that is usually unheard of. Basically, her form of light magic can take the form of many elements. Fire, water, earth, wind, etc... The only difference between normal elemental spells and her light elemental spells is that the light magic elemental spells will not act according to their nature. For example, her ice cannot be melted by fire. It can only be melted by the users will. In other words, unless she says so, the bandits will continue to be trapped inside. She also has control over the characteristics of her spells. In other words, she has the power to change how it looks, feels and reacts to the surrounding world.


    The problem with these spells though is that you need to have a huge amount of mana to continuously use them. Also, these are very weak against nullification type spells.


    Well, that''s it for now. Hope you found this useful and if anything comes up in the future, I will briefly explain it.

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13: Freeing the City (part 2)


    Subtitle: A Trainer And A Past Grudge


    ¡°I¡¯m back¡±


    I opened the doors wide as the familiar bar could be seen. The only difference though is the fact that only a few people were left in the bar. Rina immediately walked passed me and scanned the group. As for me, I quickly made my way to the counter. A mug instantly slid down the counter stopping right in front of me. Hmm¡­ it smells nice.


    ¡°Thanks for the drink¡±


    I quickly drank the entire thing. I could feel a cool feeling spread throughout my body. It¡¯s like, my body was being rejuvenated. Ahh¡­ I guess I have a new favorite drink.


    ¡°Wow, this is even better than the one before¡±


    ¡°I would think it is. Its content is perfect for something like you¡±


    I flipped him another gold coin. Unlike our previous encounter, he simply let it roll off the counter which slid down unto the floor. I studied his gaze which had a mixture of emotions on it. I sighed. I was really rash. Never did it cross my mind to put my hood back on before coming back in here. Oh well. It¡¯s not like it¡¯ll become a problem that I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot to ask. Mind telling me why you have a western name?¡±


    He had a confused look on his face until he seemed to remember our earlier conversation.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ well, it¡¯s nothing really. I actually had human parents. Because they came from the human nation, they gave me a western name. To honor them, I¡¯ve kept it ever since¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re not using it to hide yourself?¡±


    ¡°Ha, why would I need to do that? If anything, having a western name is flashier you know¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but giggle a bit. He seemed like an honest man. Even if we are enemies, it¡¯s good to see that he¡¯s not the same old cold hearted type that you see in many stories. Also, we managed to get out of that awkward atmosphere from earlier. Then again, even if our conversation seems peaceful, Rina has been flaying her weapons around us as the mercenaries surrounded us from all sides. As for me and Uncle Raymond¡­ I have a sword aimed right towards his chest while he has an axe near my neck.


    ¡°So, mind me asking. Why are you holding the Assassin guilds families here?¡±


    He shrugged.


    ¡°It¡¯s good pay. Plus, my company was given land for our own use. Because of that, we¡¯ve actually settled down quite well. Of course, we guard our families well¡­ unlike the assassin guild¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ in other words, you¡¯re just trying to live the way you know in this city?¡±


    ¡°Precisely¡±


    I couldn¡¯t really sense any malice from his words. In other words, he was telling the truth. Sigh. How am I supposed to handle this then? Oh wait, I was going to change the city a bit. Hmm¡­ I should probably contact that noble soon. This city needs some reforms and changes to suit everyone. Of course, I¡¯m still obliterating the gangs.


    ¡°How about this then. Why don¡¯t you lot work for me?¡±


    As soon as I said that, every man and woman in the bar laughed. I couldn¡¯t help but feel dumb for a moment since I didn¡¯t understand why they were laughing.


    ¡°Miss, perhaps¡­ is this the first time you¡¯ve ever heard of us?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Why?¡±


    Raymond chuckled to himself.


    ¡°When we sell our services to our customers, we always obey one single important rule¡­¡±


    With this, he immediately threw his axe away. From his pockets, he produced two weapons that gave off a dangerous glint. Silver coated daggers.


    ¡°Never betray our customers trust¡±


    Suddenly, everyone changed weapons. The mercenaries were now carrying several variants of silver based weapons. I could feel them¡­ and they felt dangerous. I quickly jumped back as me and Rina stood back to back.


    ¡°Well, this might be a problem¡±


    Rina immediately changed her clothes into a crusader class. As for me, I began thinking of several spells to use that won''t destroy the place too much.


    ¡°Yeah, no figure. [Fireball]¡±


    I raised my hand in front of me. A fire type formula spell appeared on the base of my hand. Before the spell was completed though, it suddenly sparked and shattered into tiny pieces. I stood there in daze as I stared at my own hand. I then felt my instincts kick in as I sidestepped an incoming slash.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty fast¡±


    Raymond was instantly in front of me. Flourishing his daggers, he tried to stab at my body. I didn¡¯t let him though as I blocked every single one of his attack with my sword. I could see the surprise look on his face, yet he was very determined to take me down. Ugh¡­ I¡¯m really lacking in technique. Well, what I lack in technique¡­ I MAKE UP WITH PURE FORCE!


    I quickly change the pace as I wildly slashed at the man. I could tell that he knows I¡¯m a beginner in close combat. He¡¯s even using my own force to help himself. Yet, if I just keep attacking. Somehow, one way or another. I can do it. We exchanged a couple more hits before he pushed me back. We then maintained that distance¡­ but the atmosphere feels¡­ different. It¡¯s like its changing from a serious mood into that of a normal one. I just can¡¯t seem to describe it. He then gave a slight chuckle.


    ¡°You sure are straightforward. To think I¡¯m being pushed back by a girl that only does vertical and horizontal slashes¡­ it really hurts my pride you know. Also¡­¡±


    He pointed at my sword. Eh, is there something wrong with it. I look at my sword to see nothing wrong with it.


    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s a rapier. It¡¯s primarily a jabbing weapon, not a slashing weapon you know¡±


    I tilted my head to the side.


    ¡°A jabbing weapon? What? I never knew that?¡±


    ¡°Then why are you using it in a fight if you don¡¯t even know how to use it?!¡±


    I instantly felt a hit on my head. I crouched down on the floor as I held the new bump on my head. I looked up to the man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He had his fist in the air above my head, his daggers back in their sheath.


    ¡°Uwuuuu¡­ that hurts you know. Even spirits get hurt you know¡±


    ¡°Seriously, are you actually a spirit? Did those men actually get done in by a pitiful spirit like you? I really can¡¯t see it you know, seeing that you don¡¯t have any combat experience with a rapier. Not only that, you seemed panicked when you realized you can¡¯t use magic¡­ really, how have you been living so far?¡±


    He placed his hand over his head like a teacher who gave up on his student. What is this atmosphere? It almost feels as if everyone was pitying me. I stared over at Rina and the rest who had stopped their own fight to look here. I caught a glimpse of their eyes before they broke eye contact with me. They were looking at me with pity! Even Rina! I mean sure, I probably won¡¯t be able to win without magic¡­ but still¡­ you know. Swords seem too simple. I think¡­ Ah¡­ I¡¯m panicking am I? I¡¯m not making any more sense am I? I swear I¡¯m strong. I know it. Just¡­ I just need magic and all¡­ Ahh, please don¡¯t look at me like that!


    _______________________________________________________________________


    ¡°To think we had a good mood going¡­ ah, such a mood killer¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but be depressed. The sole fact that the enemy gave up because he felt pity in my use of weapons¡­ I come from a different world ok. Of course I know what swords, bows and guns do. I just¡­ I just didn¡¯t know that there are several kinds of swords I can use, each with their own style of use. Also, you can¡¯t just expect me to become an expert swordsman from the beginning. I mean, I can probably fight better as a wolf¡­ maybe. I sighed as I took another drink to sweep away my sorrow.


    ¡°Speaking of which, how come I wasn¡¯t able to use my magic¡±


    ¡°Even you don¡¯t know about that. Just where have you been living? Also, you¡±


    He immediately pointed towards Rina.


    ¡°Eh, me?¡±


    ¡°Yes you. Just what have you been teaching your sister? To think the poor lass doesn¡¯t even know nullification magic, are you stupid?¡±


    ¡°Nullification magic? What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you guys a family of idiots?¡±


    I felt an arrow jab itself into my heart. Is it information that everyone is supposed to know? Well, sorry for being an otherworlder¡­ then again, he doesn¡¯t know that.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°We¡­ have circumstances. You can say, our memories were wiped for quite some time¡±


    ¡°Sounds tough. I guess it¡¯s unreasonable to call you two idiots then. But still, even to go as far as not knowing what a rapier is. I don¡¯t know if I should laugh or cry for you two¡±


    This guy really knows how to add salt to the injury.


    ¡°Anyway, can you at least tell me what nullification magic is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a simple answer. It nullifies magic. The process itself can¡¯t be invoked in a single go. That¡¯s why, we usually have it embedded into items so magic won¡¯t work in a set radius¡±


    ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re actually telling me this¡±


    He shrugged.


    ¡°Not like I¡¯m fighting you again. As lame as your technique was, your power isn¡¯t a joke¡±


    ¡°Huh, then what about your ''never betray your customers trust'' talk from earlier?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, about that. Well, our latest contract expired an several hours ago¡±


    ¡°¡­ eh?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but freeze. What did he mean by, expired?


    ¡°Oh, you have a pretty dumb look on your face. You¡¯re probably wondering what I meant. Well, it¡¯s easy. The Lancers are no longer under any contract¡±


    ¡°EHHHHH, Then. Our fight? What was it about then?¡±


    He shrugged again.


    ¡°No reason, I just wanted to try fighting a spirit for once. You know how hard an accomplishment it is to meet a spirit, let alone fight one. Man, I sure am glad that you¡¯re pretty weak for me to handle. Hahahaha¡­¡±


    Every time he would laugh, he was patting me in the shoulder. This guy¡­ Wait, Rina. Why are you looking at me that way? Can¡¯t you at least comfort me¡­ wahh, don¡¯t turn your eyes away!


    ¡°Well, anyway. You wanted to free the families¡¯ right?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah. Forgot about that. So, can you kindly let them go?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why not. Also, about your earlier proposition¡­ what¡¯s the numbers?¡±


    ¡°First you shame me in a fight and now you want to make a profit out of me. What makes you think I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pitch in free lessons in sword techniques if you hire us¡±


    ¡°¡­ 20 silver a month¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ make it 50¡±


    ¡°30!¡±


    ¡°40, take it or leave it¡±


    I gritted my teeth. Ugh¡­ the price sounds pricey. Then again, we have a lot of gold coins in the bank. I guess its fine considering I gave him two gold coins for drinks. Then again, I was doing that to rile him and the other people up. Also, if you look at the positive side, I get around¡­ 10 no, twenty mercenaries who managed to fight in equal grounds with Rina. Not only that, but sword lessons. I guess it¡¯s not that bad a deal. I sighed as I showed him coins worth 40 silver.


    ¡°Thank you for your patronage. Now, as for the families¡­¡±


    A door instantly opened. There, several people were being led out.


    ¡°That should be all of them. I would highly encourage you though to tell the assassins guild to look over their families better¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll make sure to do that. Hey, Rina. Can you tell Roland that the families are safe?¡±


    ¡°Will do¡±


    She instantly disappeared. As for me, I turned back towards Raymond.


    ¡°As for you, I have one more question to ask¡±


    ¡°Well, I am technically under your service, so ask away¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Good. Now then, can you tell me everything you know about the Alpha Deus and the Queen?¡±


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    [Stranger POV]


    ¡°What¡¯s the status?¡±


    ¡°The supply depot is holding out. I believe they can hold for two more days before the Phoenix completely overruns them¡±


    I gritted my teeth as I stared at the layout of the city. Right now, several key areas were under attack. The supply depot, the armory and the leathery. The supply depot was under attack by a small group of mercenaries. They all wore yellow bands showing that they were part of the yellow dragons. As for the armory, they were under attack by the black heart gang. With their black armor, they seem to blend in with the darkness. As for the leathery, they were being attacked by the scorpions. The reason they were named scorpions was the fact that they mainly used halberds that were coated in poison. They were also the most ferocious of the black phoenix seeing as they¡¯ve beaten the militia time and time again.


    This time though, they were facing the dwarven elites who were tasked in protecting the leathery. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not really worried about that. What I¡¯m worried about is the supply depot.


    ¡°We need to send more men. Is there any available units ready for deployment?¡±


    ¡°None sir. Currently, every other units is engaged with small pockets of mercenaries¡±


    That¡¯s really bad. At the rate were going, we would lose one of the most important key structure in the city. If only I had placed the dwarven elites in the depot instead. But, since the leathery is a bit more important than the depot, I took the risk. Now, the dwarven militia and the regulars are stuck in a bitter battle against the black heart.


    ¡°Reporting from the front¡±


    A young dwarf immediately ran in the room. He kneeled towards me, a standard show of respect towards their superior.


    ¡°Speak¡±


    ¡°Hah. The supply depot is safe. The bandits have been routed¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but stutter a bit. Did he just say that the black heart were defeated? Before, the current status was ¡®being overrun¡¯. Now it¡¯s victory? Just how can that happen in a span of five minutes?


    ¡°How is¡­ tell me exactly what happened¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. A new force has appeared. In one fell swoop, they¡¯ve captured virtually every single personnel of the black heart gang¡±


    ¡°Reinforcements? I thought all available units were currently busy?¡±


    ¡°The force does not belong to us¡­ rather¡­¡±


    He seemed to pause a bit. Hmm¡­ why does he look nervous?


    ¡°Well? Who are they? Speak¡±


    ¡°They called themselves the Lancers of Osnorio¡±


    I instantly froze. The Lancers of Osnorio¡­ a mercenary group famed for their strength and tenacity. This group had won their fame for single handedly destroying an elite force of the dwarven kingdom. Even when they only had twenty members, they still managed to defeat the three hundred strong dwarven army. To add insult to the wound, it was reported that the elites lost forty of their men while the mercenary had no injuries. Really shameful. To have them help us now out of all times¡­ just what is going on? Actually, how did they even get here? I cursed at the guards. I swear I¡¯m retraining every single one of them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if they helped us. I want them captured¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ actually, their leader wants a meeting with us¡±


    ¡°A meeting? Like I would meet with¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a girl¡±


    I could feel a vein instantly pop. A girl¡­ the nation¡¯s pride warriors were beaten by a girl and her small band of soldiers. I don¡¯t believe it¡­ no I refuse to believe this. How can it be possible? I could feel myself shaking in anger.


    ¡°Accept the meeting. Run back and tell her to meet us here. Also, make it specific. Only she can come. She can bring one attendant but that¡¯s it¡±


    ¡°Hoh¡±


    The messenger bowed before leaving the tent. I then looked at my lieutenants.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if they helped us or not. I cannot forgive them for the harm they¡¯ve caused to our nation¡¯s pride. Gather ten spearmen and ten archers. We¡¯re capturing the leader¡±


    They all nodded as they ran off in different directions. As for me, I couldn¡¯t help but smile. With this, I might be able to get back at those fools. A girl for a leader. Hah, this should be the easiest thing we¡¯ve ever done in a while.


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    Sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14: Freeing the City (Part 3)


    Subtitle: Peace and Annihilation


    ¡°So? How¡¯d it go?¡±


    Raymond gave a smile. He then gave a dramatic pose as he showed me a piece of paper.


    ¡°I have gotten their cooperation. Praise me!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh as I fell to the ground, grabbing my sides. It¡¯s been two days since we¡¯ve been in this city. So far, we¡¯ve managed to take over half the underworld. Of course, we weren¡¯t just fighting. Diplomacy, blackmail and a bit of fear. Those were the tools we¡¯ve been using to take over the entirety of the underworld. Though, sometimes, those tactics weren¡¯t enough.


    As a result, I have successfully initiated a civil war within the underworld itself. The new alliance was named, The Coalition. What can I say? I suck at creating names ok¡­ but, back to where we are. Currently, we were out in the garden of the shrine. Raymond just got back from negotiations and seemed to be successful in his mission. I have to say though, a man basking in the glaring sunlight as he poses with a victory sign towards me. That¡¯s going to drop you to the ground laughing no matter who you are.


    ¡°Jeez, you don¡¯t have to laugh that hard you know¡±


    That only made me laugh harder. In the past two days that I¡¯ve been with him, I found something interesting. He was the type of person that likes to joke around. Whether, making fun of himself or teasing others, he never fails to amuse everyone. You can say, he¡¯s the sole reason why his company has stayed united for this long. It¡¯s for the fact that his personality as well as his leadership intertwines so well that it¡¯s hard not like the man.


    Also, I found out something else. He was a lot younger than I thought. Apparently, he manipulated his appearance a bit using some kind of skill. Now, he looks to be in his mid twenties when, get this, he¡¯s actually 40! Just how is this possible? Well, I¡¯ve set this aside. Probably because his previous appearance wouldn¡¯t match his current personality. I mean, seriously. When I saw him fighting off part of the Black Phoenix, he was joking around casually with the other members as he killed one person after another. That honestly gave me shivers, though now. I can''t help but gasp for some much needed air from the laughing I did. Did I also forget to mention that I laugh easily?


    ¡°My bad. I just couldn¡¯t help it¡±


    ¡°Sheesh¡­ well, anyway. Here¡­ the contract with both the Merchant Guild and the black market has been signed. The two have agreed to join our cause¡±


    I pumped my hand into the air. With this, controlling the city wouldn¡¯t take that long. We¡¯ve already gathered our war potentials. The Assassin guild, the Adventurers, the Lancers and the Red Faction. As for supplies, the local shops have given their support. Not only that, both the merchant guild and black market have given their support. This is a major success due to the fact that neither side would even consider teaming up together. After telling them my plan though, they were easily brought over to our side. With this, you can say that the power balance has greatly shifted to us.


    ¡°Still, the plans you have sure is pretty grand. You really think it¡¯s going to work?¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about politics¡­ nor do I know anything about economics. But I do know that if we change a few things, we can somehow restart this city¡¯s stability. Not only that, the higher ups and politicians would find a way to fix it in the long run so for now, were just fixing it for a short term¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess. But to actually produce new items as well as institute several key structures including schools for free¡­ aren¡¯t you a part of the royalty for having this much money to do this?¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­ you have no idea¡±


    We continued talking about the future of the city. The new schools, parks and improvements that I was considering to add. Then, two more figures showed up.


    ¡°Iridia, Rina. I¡¯m guessing it went well?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. My side managed to capture the remainder of the black heart gang. Also, we¡¯ve managed to rescue several slaves as well as free several families. With that, the guards of the northern district have pledge allegiance to us¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait! Hold on¡­ did you just say that a dwarven force has pledge their allegiance to us?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It seems that the gang kept their families locked up so they couldn¡¯t do anything to them. Now that we¡¯ve freed their families, they are willing to fight for us to the end¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but have a bad premonition. It¡¯s nice having a small army under your use, especially at a time like this¡­ but these men are part of the dwarven army. They can¡¯t just pledge to another faction? Actually, it really seems impossible for the sole fact that dwarven soldiers are extremely loyal to their nation. That¡¯s why, I can only see this as a problem. I sighed¡­ guess I¡¯ll have to deal with them later. I already have one dwarven pain in the ass to deal with¡­ so having to deal with another would only bring trouble.


    ¡°What about your side Rina. Did it go well?¡±


    ¡°Hai. We¡¯ve managed to kill off all remaining members of the Scarlet House¡±


    ¡°Scarlet House? I don¡¯t remember them¡­ wait, were they the psychotic murder group I told you to take care off?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    I remember now. They were a group who specialized in killing mass pockets of innocent lives. Apparently, each member had a psychotic tendency to kill as many people as they want. They¡¯ve also managed to capture the families of the guards, but they were smart. They didn¡¯t kill them knowing that the guards would instantly destroy them. Instead, they used them as a shield to do whatever they wanted in the city.


    That¡¯s why, the area that they controlled became a sacrificial field. The black phoenix would always capture a number of young men and women. The men were hunted down and killed while the girls were captured, raped then killed in many horrible ways. I instantly placed them in the kill off list and tasked Rina with the task of destroying and eliminating them¡­ though this is the first time I¡¯ve actually heard of their group¡¯s name. Well, it¡¯s not like I actually care for them or anything.


    ¡°Great, with this. The Black Phoenix should only have 50% of its power left¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m rather shocked at the fact that you¡¯ve forced them back this much in only two days while garnishing the support of, not only the population, but the guards as well¡±


    I merely shrugged.


    ¡°What can I say? I go all out when I put my mind to it. Plus, they started it. If they hadn¡¯t tried to pull off that bullshit that they did, then I would have just gone my merry way. But nope, it doesn¡¯t work like that. You can''t expect to hurt the people I know and get away with it safely¡±


    He gave a dry smile as the two girls smiled. Honestly, I¡¯m kind of surprised at myself. I would never have guessed that I was the same person as before. It¡¯s as if, when I became a spirit¡­ a wolf type spirit, I¡¯ve been showing tendencies of fighting and, as much as I don¡¯t want to admit it, pride. I wonder if there was some kind of fact in my previous world that stated wolves were prideful creatures. I know wolves were fighters¡­ but prideful, still not sure... hmm, maybe territorial is the better word to use. I shook my head to clear my thoughts away. I then turned towards Iridia.


    ¡°Speaking of which. How¡¯s the noble doing?¡±


    She placed her finger to her chin, as if she was in some kind of deep thought.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Angry. Extremely angry¡±


    ¡°Well, who wouldn¡¯t be? The day I asked for a meeting, I immediately stood him up. Of course you¡¯d be mad as a noble¡±


    It was a very amusing sight though


    Fer suddenly appeared out of nowhere and jumped towards my arms. I quickly caught him and began to pat his soft fur.


    He was running around his office, yelling at his staff. Who knew you can get him so worked up by not being there


    ¡°Well, you already understand why I¡¯m doing it right?¡±


    Yeah I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve taken the opportunity to scout out the entire place


    Fer immediately got off. He then began invoking an ice spell on the ground.


    ¡°What the?¡±


    Raymond was immediately on guard while Rina and Iridia gave an indifferent look. Soon, a small scale of the noble¡¯s mansion could be seen. From the walls to the pillars. Everything was as accurate as it could be. Then, to add icing on the cake, the entire scale was bathed in light. The buildings were colored in exact detail. Also, there were red dots everywhere while a single blue dot could be seen in one of the rooms inside the mansion.


    Hello. Can you hear me Mr. Raymond?


    Raymond frantically looked around. I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle while I directed his gaze towards Fer.


    ¡°Eh¡­ wait, was that you?¡±


    Yes. My name is Fer. It is nice to meet you


    Bending one paw, Fer gave an elegant bow as a wolf. Losing to his atmosphere, I could see Raymond give a confused look as he unknowingly bows in an awkward stance. I could only hold my laughter¡­ if I laugh now, the seriousness of this conversation will disappear. Getting through the dilemma, Fer began the breakdown of the mansion.


    There are currently 100 soldiers guarding the compound. Normally, there are more men outside than inside. But, they were apparently expecting you Feri


    ¡°They sure are. Did you find out the composition of the men inside?¡±


    I sure did. Check this out


    The colors disappeared. Around thirty red dots that surrounded a blue dot remained. Then, small sculptures began to grow out of the ground around each line of dots. The first sculpture was that of a dwarven soldier in full plated armor. The man carried a long pike that had a three pronged point that was attached to a small cleaver. On their sides, you can also see a short sword.


    The next one was an infantryman. He had a buckler and a dwarven sword. I could also see that a mace were attached to these men¡¯s belts. Not only that, two axes were strapped to their backs. Lastly, the third sculpture was that of a dwarven ranger. He had a crossbow on his hands and a bolt pack strapped on his back. Unlike the infantry¡¯s boxed helmet, his stretched outward and had a circular shape.


    So, what do you think?


    I think everyone¡¯s jaws dropped. Even Rina and Iridia. I mean, I didn¡¯t even know you can do this with magic? Just how did this not come into mind?


    ¡°Fer, have you been practicing magic?¡±


    Yeah. Since you guys are doing the majority of the work, I was just laying around doing nothing. That¡¯s why I asked Arian if there was a place I can stay to learn magic. She led me to the back of the shrine and from there, I just kept practicing magic


    ¡°But, to control it to this degree¡­ in only two days? That¡¯s impressive¡±


    Meh, it was nothing¡­


    I could see his tail wagging. Putting aside the cute image of a happy wolf who trained hard to master the arts of magic, I stared at the composition. That noble sure planned an elaborate ambush¡­ one that had, what appears to be, highly experienced troops. I know for a fact that you wouldn¡¯t do this for just anybody.


    ¡°Hey Fer. Did you hear him say anything?¡±


    Ahh¡­ about that, there is a reason why he¡¯s doing this. Apparently, he wants to capture you since he believes you are the leader of the Lancers of Osnorio.


    Figures. Seeing that they had some kind of run in with the dwarven elite force, they must still be pretty hurt about that. Honor and pride is a dangerous thing. Although there are many cases were a noble¡¯s pride and honor can considerably help the people around them. If used incorrectly, they can lead a noble down a path they can never hope to recover from. I sighed¡­ really such a pain.


    ¡°Well, we might as well go. We¡¯ve let him wait long enough so how about we go in a flashy way¡±


    ¡°You mean, full frontal assault so their ambush would be rendered worthless?¡±


    Iridia asked for confirmation as she began equipping her shield and her sword. Both she and Rina had a devilish smile on their faces, Rina arming herself with her favorite scythe. Raymond also had a mischievous look as he began playing with his daggers. I also equipped a staff that Arian lent to me.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re all on the same page¡±


    With a smile, we headed out to meet with our new unwilling ally. This is going to be fun.


    _____________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    Sorry for not posting these few days. Had a run in with my university''s financial aid department so I''ve been stressing about that. It''s all fixed now so I can return to writing and posting chapters.


    Also, there was a comment in the previous chapter that I would gladly clarify.


    My use of the word leathery. It is intentional that I say leathery instead of Tannery and Leather-works. That''s because it separates each race/nation from one another.


    Dwarves- Leathery


    Humans- Tannery or Leather works


    Elves- Weavery


    Demons- Spinnery


    Now, the dwarves and humans have the same process of leather production and usage. Their language though is different which is why the Dwarves word will be translated as Leathery, whereas the humans words are either translated as Tannery or Leather works depending on what kingdom it is in.


    The elves is called weavery for the fact that they mainly weave many of their leather products. Also, wooden composition is added to these leather in a special process only known to the elves.


    The demons don''t use leather but their equivalence would be Metal Web Silk. This silk comes from a rare species of spiders only known to the demon continent. These spiders are farmed of their webs which are then used to produce beginner level armors. Although it sounds stronger, it is really just as strong as leather.


    I''m not going to lie, these sound ridiculous. But... meh. I''ll take it lol

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15: Secrets


    [Ferizia POV]


    This is boring. We¡¯ve been waiting in this room for ages. To think we¡¯ve been waiting this long¡­ how much time does this noble need before he could meet us? I suddenly felt my nose begin to itch.


    ¡°Hey, Rina¡­ my nose itches¡±


    ¡°Not much I can do about that. Just hold on¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ can¡¯t you scratch it or something?¡±


    ¡°¡­ You really think I can do that right now?¡±


    ¡°¡­ no¡±


    I sighed as I helplessly dangled on the rope. Right now, Rina and I were currently hanging upside down in a room. Of course, there was a reason for this. For one, it¡¯ll make the noble feel safer. I mean, if a person forced their way through with enormous power, then I wouldn¡¯t feel safe talking to them too. Plus, it¡¯ll make him bias towards me, meaning he might become too afraid of me to the point that he¡¯ll agree with everything I said.


    Now, if only that was the only reason¡­ in truth, Rina and I are staying like this since its better if we don¡¯t fight them. Why? It¡¯s because we were ambushed on our way to this mansion. I honestly thought we could take them¡­ but, well. This happened. Apparently, he sent superior class agents specialized against both magic and combat oriented personnel. Having nullification type magic and combat experience that is different from the bandits I¡¯ve fought against¡­ yeah, we were immediately outclassed. Of course, Iridia and Raymond managed to get out, but Rina and I were immediately captured. Now, it¡¯s just a matter of playing along with the noble so we could see the cards he would play before we play our own. I really need Raymond to train me.


    ¡°Is she really their leader?¡±


    Accompanied by the sound of a door opening, a voice rang out. A man came through the door. He had a high stature compared to the other dwarfs. With a semi-formal and semi armor attire, I can only guess that he was the noble I heard about leading the dwarven city¡¯s forces.


    ¡°During our battle, she was the one giving orders to her party¡±


    ¡°¡­ Are you sure? I mean, the messenger did say that it was a young girl¡­ but isn¡¯t she too young? She¡¯s just as old as my daughter¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let her looks fool you master. In that split moment, she was able to judge the situation and managed to act accordingly to our ambush. Because of that, two of them escaped¡±


    ¡°To have done that against you¡­ either she¡¯s lucky or she¡¯s talented¡±


    I watch the two of them as they continued talking about me. I just noticed that the man beside him was one of the people in the group we were ambushed by. Also, beside him, a doll could be seen. Just like the time we were ambushed, the doll was slightly hovering above the ground. I could see a small blue string attached to it in many parts of its body. Just by studying it, I felt annoyed. Because of this thing, we were hopelessly outmatched. Once it got close, those strings would spread to its opponents. Soon, I had no control over my body. A rather strange magic no? The man whispered something into the noble¡¯s ear.


    ¡°I see¡­ alright young lassie. I have a couple of questions to ask you. First, what¡¯s your objective?¡±


    I shrugged my shoulder.


    ¡°To help the city¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because it¡¯s the proper thing to do¡±


    He gave me an incredulous look.


    ¡°We both know that that¡¯s not the answer. Now, I¡¯m asking you again. What¡¯s your true objective? Money? Power? Why are you doing this?¡±


    I sighed. With this, I realized one thing. My mindset is completely different form this world. Just from his words, I can tell that he¡¯s met many people whose main objective is either money or power. In other words, my mentality is weird when compared to many people of this world.


    ¡°Well, if you believe me or not is up to you. But, I really do want to help this city. Also, I guess it¡¯s sort of revenge¡±


    ¡°Revenge?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You see, a couple of unsavory individuals held some of my friends hostage. They were injured because of it so I couldn¡¯t help but kill them. Now, I¡¯m just trying to make sure that what happened to her did not happen to anyone else so that¡¯s why I¡¯m helping¡±


    ¡°¡­ Is that really it?¡±


    I nodded. He sighed, but then moved on. I guess he finally believed me¡­ or maybe he¡¯s just thinking about something. He then faced Rina.


    ¡°What about you. Why are you with her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m her sister, of course I would be here¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­ sisters? You don¡¯t look the same as her?¡±


    She shrugged.


    ¡°Do I need to look just like my younger sister in order for her to be my sister?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ well, I mean¡­ you know¡­ I guess not¡±


    Nice job Rina! Then again, the three of us have been discussing on how were going to treat one another. Of course, were going with the three sister route. I¡¯m the youngest, Rina¡¯s the second oldest and Iridia¡¯s the oldest. We¡¯ve even gone to the point that we can call each other either by our names without stuttering. Strangely though, they¡¯re more motivated when I call them Onee chan so I¡¯ve added that to my list of things to address them by. Also, I¡¯ve been telling them to call me Ferizia or Feri. They¡¯ve been telling me that master was more appropriate¡­ but it feels weird being called master. That¡¯s why they were in tears when I told them I wouldn¡¯t call them Onee chan if they call me master. That¡¯s why they soon conceded to my demands.


    ¡°Alright, well. I guess we should move on to the next question. What is your relationship to the Mercenary group?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy. I¡¯ve paid for their services so I¡¯m technically the leader¡±


    ¡°Leader huh. Then, I suppose you understand their history with us right?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Every single bit of it¡±


    ¡°I see. So I guess you¡¯ve steeled yourself for the consequences right?¡±


    Wait, is he going to quench his revenge for the lancers on me. I¡¯m sure he knows that I¡¯m only contracting their services right? Maybe this is a good time to escape from these ropes. I tried struggling a bit. Both the man and noble smiled and I realized why. I couldn¡¯t break free of the ropes. I could feel my sweat running as I realized that these ropes were stronger than I thought. As if sensing my plight, Rina also began to struggle but upon realizing that she couldn¡¯t get out either, she shouted.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°What is it missy¡±


    We all turned towards Rina.


    ¡°Whatever you¡¯re going to do to Feri, I suggest you stop¡±


    ¡°Why should we? You both fully understood what would happen when you contracted the Lancers. Even if you weren¡¯t part of what happened back then, I must pay back the disgrace we¡¯ve been dealt with¡±


    He then faced the man.


    ¡°Do it¡±


    ¡°As you wish¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m telling you. This is a bad idea. It¡¯s not for our sake but for yours!¡±


    ¡°Hah, you¡¯re only saying that to save her aren¡¯t you. I won¡¯t fall for such tricks¡±


    I stared at the man who was approaching me. Each step he took made my anxiety even higher.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ you wouldn¡¯t hurt a young girl now would you¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have something for someone of your caliber¡±


    ¡°Something? So you¡¯re into torturing young girls?¡±


    Sensing my fear, He smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll enjoy it soon enough¡­¡±


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    [Iridia POV]


    Ever since I was born into this world, I¡¯ve been enjoying myself. Of course, it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been with Ferizia this whole time. Although she¡¯s my master, I enjoy the mindset of having her for a sister. That¡¯s why, I was really happy when she herself wanted us to be her sister.


    ¡°Ahh, the pressure. You¡¯re letting out too much¡±


    I felt someone grab my shoulder. I turned to see Raymond and his men. I could see they were all shivering.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ my bad¡±


    I breathed in and out, slowly calming myself.


    ¡°Geez¡­ you¡¯re really scary right now. Just keep calm why don¡¯t ya.¡±


    ¡°Calm? You expect me to be calm?¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m saying is, force yourself to calm down. You¡¯re really affecting everyone... plus, we¡¯ll get her soon enough anyway¡±


    I sighed as I stared at the group. I guess I should calm myself. I mean, how I feel might affect us too much. I stared at the mansion in front of us. There was a wall surrounding the place. I also noticed soldiers appearing on the wall. Woops¡­ I guess my pressure warned them about us.


    ¡°See what you did. Honestly, you three are such battle maniacs¡±


    I glared at him. This made him flinch as he raised his hands in surrender.


    ¡°Bad joke¡­ alright, let¡¯s just get her out already. As you are now, you might destroy this entire city if we don¡¯t get Ferizia back¡±


    ¡°Debating¡±


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re not supposed to be debating it. Agh, let¡¯s just go. Oye Jessie and Mika. Cover us with your crossbows. Gaul and Carri, were breaking throu¡­¡±


    Without waiting for him, I instantly ran towards the battlements.


    ¡°OYE, WAIT!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m done waiting! [Titanic Fissure]¡±


    Using the edge of my shield, I bashed it into gate. It was probably made out of metal, but that didn¡¯t stop me. With a loud crunching sound, the entire gate folded and a huge hole appeared. I then grab through it and push the gate to either side.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Ferizia!¡±


    I shouted as I entered the main plaza of the place. Every soldier aimed their eyes towards me in surprise, though they quickly recovered.


    ¡°DO NOT FEAR! IT¡¯S ONLY ONE PERSON!¡±


    They instantly swarmed me. Pikes were in the front, swordsmen in the back and archers at the walls. Paying no attention to them, I pushed the pikes aside with my shield. Using this chance, I went through the opening and cleaved at the nearest man. Of course I didn¡¯t kill him, but I made sure to use his body to push the other soldiers to the ground. Swordsmen tried to support the pike men, but I made sure to put someone in between me and the attacking soldiers. The same went for the archers.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°She¡¯s too close!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t get a sho¡­¡±


    I tossed another dwarf at the archers. I then noticed Raymond and his mercenaries closing in.


    ¡°You! You¡¯re even more insane than Ferizia!¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond as I bashed my shield at another man¡¯s face. I could tell he fainted as I heard his body hit the ground.


    ¡°Oye, distract them. I¡¯m going to find Ferizia¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Go and get her already¡­¡±


    The three immediately formed a semicircle around me as I entered the main mansion. As I entered, I saw them remain at the door. I guess they were just going to make sure that the dwarves don¡¯t enter. I analyzed the entire place. It was a rather big mansion. Everything looked really expensive¡­ but I honestly didn¡¯t care. I¡¯m here for only one thing and that¡¯s Ferizia. After walking for a bit, I stopped in a middle of a room filled with columns.


    ¡°Those in the shadows¡­ I could tell you¡¯re all there¡±


    I released every amount of bloodlust that I can. Suddenly, several people came running at me with their daggers out. These guys¡­ oh, how I wanted to meet them again. With a smile I placed my shield above me.


    ¡°[Reflect]¡±


    A white dome surrounded me as I slid my shield unto my sword.


    ¡°[Repulse]¡±


    My sword began to shine as it gathered energy. As soon as the light became pure white, I twisted my entire body and sliced near the ground. Everyone who was attacking jumped. With a smile, I then raised my shield to the air and the dome enlarged. The men who hit the dome were immediately thrown back and soon the entire room was filled with unconscious people. The only things remaining were dolls¡­ though their masters were already knocked out. If only I could use this earlier¡­ sadly, it would have caught both Rina and Ferizia too. I sighed before I felt Ferizia¡¯s energy. It was¡­ fluctuating. Something¡¯s happening to her. I immediately ran and found a couple of stairs leading down. This then led towards a door which I immediately broke down.


    ¡°FERIZIA!¡±


    I then stopped on my tracks. What is this scene?


    ¡°Are you perhaps the older sister?¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ ehh?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help sputter stupid sounding noises. I honestly expected the worse¡­ yet, just what is going on. Right now, a man as well as Rina were both using feathers to play around with Ferizia. In other words, they were tickling her. As for the girl, she was panting hard with tears on her face.


    ¡°Wait¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ this won¡¯t do Ferizia chan. You need to endure this more¡±


    ¡°But, I can¡¯t¡­ stop, my laugh. It hu¡­ Aahaahahhahaha¡±


    I rubbed my eyes, wondering if the scene was real.


    ¡°You must be confused. Let me explain. We¡¯re currently making a bet. If she lasts thirty minutes I will give her my full support. If she doesn¡¯t, well¡­ I¡¯m still thinking of something. So until then, please wait¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ weren¡¯t you¡­¡±


    ¡°I can already tell that you have a bad image of me. Let me just say, I wouldn¡¯t dare do anything to a girl like her. She¡¯s already explained herself and the majority of what she wants from me, so I decided to put away my grudge for now¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ that¡¯s rather kind of you¡±


    He smirked.


    ¡°Not all nobles are bad you know. Please get that prejudice out of your head¡±


    ¡°Aahahahahahah¡±


    With the laughter behind, I couldn¡¯t help but fall on the floors. Looking at this scene, I couldn¡¯t help but think¡­ What did I get so worked up for in the first place¡­


    I also couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty for the men I smashed into the floor¡­ Ugh, just what am I supposed to do in a situation like this¡­


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    [Fer POV]


    Well, they¡¯re safe


    Arian nodded as she kept up the amount of magic in the pool. Right now, we were currently purifying some water for a potion.


    [Holy potion- increases regenerative powers]


    This is really game like to be able to craft potions. Then again, the other heroes must believe this is a game. If you think about it, this world is nothing but a game for the heroes who came from another world.


    ¡°Hey Fer. For the past few days, I¡¯ve been sensing a disturbance on your mind. Would you mind sharing your doubts?¡±


    Why now of all days?


    ¡±It¡¯s simple. Your doubts¡­ their linked to your other half aren¡¯t they¡±


    I felt my concentration stop. The water instantly began to shine and soon, the water became dark.


    Tch¡­ I failed


    ¡°No, it was my fault. Sorry for bringing up the topic¡±


    I stared at Arian.


    Let¡¯s take a break¡­


    We went to one of the rooms. This one had a fireplace which I immediately went towards.


    O goddess here my call. Light the flame that burns within me¡­ [Ember]


    A small spark caught on the logs and a fire appeared. With the crackle I felt my body engulfed in a warm light. Magic sure is convenient.


    Arian, please sit with me


    She nodded as she went towards me. She then took my body and placed me on her lap.


    You question about my doubts. I have questions¡­ questions that are very confusing to me


    ¡°Questions like what?¡±


    I stared deep into her eyes.


    Why did you lie to Ferizia about our link?


    ¡°¡­ So you figured it out¡±


    I nodded. As a spirit, I also have connection to the library within Iridia. Not just a regular one, but a direct connection. That¡¯s why, I was sifting through the library. What I found was the spell I used to separate us. I didn¡¯t bother to check it before since I believed in Arian¡¯s words. But, after reading it, it was¡­ different. The spell was actually a short term magic that separates the mind into two for only a couple of hours. After that, the mind is instantly merged together but it¡¯s been several days now. So far, my mind isn¡¯t returning. In other words, my spell was a cover up. Something else has happened.


    ¡°Well, I guess it was only a matter of time till you found out. I just didn¡¯t think you would find out now¡±


    So, there is a reason¡­


    ¡°Yes. When we met in the divine realm, I did tell you to have fun and not worry too much. Actually, even though I say that, fate has a strange way of working. Even I don¡¯t have control over it. That¡¯s why, someday, you might be forced into things you don¡¯t like doi¡­¡±


    You¡¯re skipping my question Arian. Why did you lie to Ferizia about the spell¡­ not just to her, but also to me?


    ¡°¡­ I have reasons for doing it. But I guess it¡¯s not really any use seeing that you¡¯ve already noticed something different right? You¡¯re a smart person, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve caught on¡±


    What, the fact that Ferizia was just like me when my parents were around?


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    She then paused as if she didn¡¯t want to tell me anything else.


    Arian¡­ who am I?


    She smiled.


    ¡°You are you and she is she. Although she i...¡±


    Please answer me honestly. Who am I?


    I could feel her slightly gripping my body. She kept her smile, though I could see a bit of a worried look on her face.


    ¡°You are her sadness¡­ and she is your happiness¡±


    I tried to wrap her words around my mind. Yep, I don¡¯t get it.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense¡±


    I then felt her pat me and I soon found myself dozing off. Oh, such technique¡­ I never knew it was possible. As I felt my mind slowly vanish, I heard her whisper something.


    ¡°It soon will¡­¡±


    _____________________________________________________________________________________


    Author Notes:


    I FINISHED!!!!


    Sorry it took a while. With me going back to my university, my scholarship stressing me out and signing up for the nursing college, it was really hectic. Also, I won¡¯t lie and say much of my time clearing my mind of stress was reading many kinds of stories. I¡¯m also studying medieval combat to see if I can make the fight scenes in my story as realistic as possible for a fantasy so I hope that works well.


    Now, for future chapters, publication is just¡­ well sporadic. I can¡¯t promise anything, but just know that this story is not hiatus. (For those that makes it sound as if this is stressful for me to do. Well, this is one of my stress reliever. I like making stories though its only now and the previous year that I''m actually improving on it XD)


    P.S: I''m changing the previous chapters name from saving the city to their subtitles.


    Hope you continue to enjoy!

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16: Epilogue (Volume 1)


    Slowly, I poured out a constant stream of mana towards the seals that I created several days ago. In these seals, time itself has paused from the rest of the world. You can say, it¡¯s in a world all on its own. But, its true wonders is the healing factor associated in these seals. If one were to sustain a massive injury, I can just place them into these seals. No matter how grievous the wounds are, it will heal since time is paused, preventing the wounds from killing the person inside. Now, you¡¯re probably wondering who is inside these seals. It¡¯s Anna with her guards. After that little incident, I placed them here in the inn that Raymond¡¯s watching over. I then sealed them up to keep them safe from the ¡®cleansing¡¯ of the city.


    Slowly, the thin purple film began degrading. As the particles dissolved into the air, the girl below me began to stir. She opened her eyes, revealing Brown colored irises. She yawned as she sat up from her seat.


    ¡°Good morning¡±


    ¡°¡­ Hello?¡±


    She replied to my greeting with a bit of caution. Though, I didn¡¯t really take note of it. Keeping my smile, I stood from my seat and went to work with Dale¡¯s seal. Seeing this, Anna began to panic as she stood in front of Dale.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ releasing them from their seals¡±


    ¡°Seals?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I had you three sealed up for a couple of days. I couldn¡¯t risk having you three hurt during the confusion¡±


    She looked at me strangely.


    ¡°Confusion? What¡­ what exactly happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t remember?¡±


    She closed her eyes for a second. She must have had a headache seeing as she touched her forehead.


    ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t remember anything. The last thing I saw was both Dale and Das panicking¡­ and from there¡­ from there?¡±


    She gave a confused look as she tried to remember what happened.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but say that. I guess the experience must have shocked her memory. Either that or the seal actually had a hidden quirk in it. Is it possible that the seal erases any form of memory that has traumatic effects on a person? Hmm¡­ I should test this out later on. I placed my hand on her shoulder and led her back to her bed.


    ¡°For now, I want you to relax. You¡¯re not in any danger and your companions are safe. So just wait while I wake your companions up¡±


    Using a soothing voice sure helped since I could see her visibly relax. I quickly went to work on both Dale and Das. I really liked trying to see my limits so this time, I used parallel invocation. Soon, both seals began to disappear. As soon as it did, both Dale and Das immediately jumped from their beds with eyes wide open. Seeing that nothing was happening, the two immediately gave off a stupid look. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh seeing their faces. The two looked towards me though they seem to turn away immediately. Hmm¡­ I wonder why?


    ¡°Well, now that you three are awake, won¡¯t you join us for breakfast?¡±


    The three looked at one another. It looked as if they were talking with their eyes as they all stared at one another. After a few seconds, Anna was the first to break her gaze.


    ¡°Can I ask, how long were we in that seal?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve only been in there for a couple of days¡±


    ¡°¡­ then I am very sorry, but we must neglect your offer¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow. Right now, Anna was emitting a rather professional aura. One that befits those of higher power. Never would have I imagined this seeing as she had a happy and aloof mood during our time with her in our travel.


    ¡°Would you mind explaining why you can¡¯t join us?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that is something I am not allowed to tell you. Furthermore, my business relates to the lord of this city. I cannot just say anything that can compromise our trust with him and I must soon meet with him as fast as possible¡±


    ¡°Lord of this city? By lord, do you mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Oye lassie, what¡¯s taking ye so long¡±


    Suddenly, a rude voice interrupted me. I kind of felt annoyed as Byron entered the room. If you wonder who Byron is, he¡¯s the noble we¡¯ve met with after Rina and I were captured. Of course, I still have a grudge against him but in my time of working with him, He¡¯s a living example of a proud and honorable noble. He is rather young compared to the other warriors, but he¡¯s talent in managing a city as well as battlefield tactics were immense. Also, I was surprised to know that he had a daughter. Though, that daughter was actually an adopted one who he found alone after her entire village was destroyed. Yep¡­ he¡¯s a textbook example of what a true noble should be.


    ¡°Sir Draguss!¡±


    Anna immediately straightened her posture while Dale and Das stood with respect.


    ¡°Calm down princess, I rather not be tied down to formalities. So please, be at ease¡±


    I could tell that Anna did not expect that response as she gave a clueless look.


    ¡°Anyway, how long are you all going to take? Breakfast is already ready and everyone¡¯s waiting¡±


    ¡°Sorry, it took a while since I¡¯m still not use to controlling huge portions of my mana¡±


    ¡°Still? It¡¯s been a few days, ya should have mastered advance control by now!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t just expect me to learn advance control in only a few days!¡±


    He gave a scoff.


    ¡°Nonsense, for a magician, advance control is highly important. If ya fail to learn it quickly, then anyone, even a beginner, can negate your magic like what we did yesterday. And I sure know that ya won¡¯t want something like that happening again now do ya?¡±


    He gave a wry smile knowing that what he said really irks me. Sadly, I couldn¡¯t say anything back since what he said was true. I can only sigh in defeat as I stood ready to follow him to the dining room. Turning back, I saw the three who still hasn¡¯t gotten up.


    ¡°I know you three are confused, but come. We¡¯ll answer as much of your questions as we can¡±


    With that, I followed after Byron. Currently, we were in the palace. It¡¯s still under reconstruction after the Lancers and Iridia dealt a huge amount of damage to it. But, with everyone¡¯s enthusiasm, the finishing repairs are almost done. Rounding the corner, we finally made it to a huge door. There, two dwarven guards stood ready. As soon as they saw us, they quickly opened the door and stepped aside to let us through. The amount of respect I had for dwarven soldiers is really high. They were professionals to the very core, though I did hear them occasionally make jokes and chat. Then again, doing that means their living people and have a will on their own.


    ¡°Ah, Feri. Come here, we saved you a seat¡±


    Rina beckoned me to an empty seat between her and Iridia. I quickly ran over to them and took my seat. As for Byron, he sat at the very head while Anna sat at the guest chair beside him. Dale and Das also took their seat beside Anna. As soon as we got comfortable, maids began to flock into the room carrying dishes. Normally, we would have had the palace chef cook for us. But, I was surprised that Roland and his wife volunteered to cook for us today. I¡¯ve been invited once to their meals before, and I¡¯ve got to say. They make very delicious food. It was so good that I was willing to pay them money to make more, but¡­


    ¡°¡±We would never ask for such a thing from our savior!¡±¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The two immediately said the same thing at the same time. Truly a couple, those two were. Also, they had a cute daughter and an adorable son. Those two can easily melt your heart when you see them.


    ¡°¡±Big sister!¡±¡±


    As I thought that, the two kids ran towards me. I instantly felt my soul being healed.


    ¡°Hello Abby, Cain. How are you two doing?¡±


    ¡°We were playing with the other big sisters!¡±


    ¡°We were having fun. Won¡¯t you join us?¡±


    They glared at me with puppy dog eyes. Ah¡­ I still need to eat. I feel hungry, yet¡­ why. Why is it that I feel my hunger disappearing? As if she knew what I was thinking, Iridia tapped me on the shoulder.


    ¡°You have to eat. I know you like playing around with the kids, but you need food alright?¡±


    ¡°Mwuu¡­ just for a bit?¡±


    ¡°No. you have to eat first. Now you two, let your big sister eat first. As soon as were done, then we¡¯ll send her over to play with you two ok¡±


    With big happy smiles, the two nodded vigorously before running out of the hall. As I watched them run out, I couldn¡¯t help but smile. I then noticed that everyone was also looking at me with a smile on their faces. Somehow, I felt very uncomfortable under their gazes.


    ¡°A-Anyway, let¡¯s eat¡±


    I immediately started to dig in to my food. I was eating a simple hamburger¡­ or it should be simple. Instead, a range of taste bombarded my taste buds. Ahh¡­ those couple should really start a restaurant. I had no problem lending them the money since their food is so good.


    ¡°Oh my¡±


    ¡°Who made this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so good¡±


    By the sound of it, I¡¯m not the only one enjoying the wonderful cuisine. Ahh¡­ this really should be how mornings start. Good food and wonderful children to run around and greet you. Truly, nothing can heal your heart better than this.


    _______________________________________________________________________________


    After several hours of blissful moments, including the time that I took playing around with the kids, we all finally gathered in Byron¡¯s office. There, a slightly nervous princess with an over domineering dwarf could be seen. As for me, I decided to stand for a bit. The first bit of this conversation doesn¡¯t pertain to me so I don¡¯t feel any obligation of joining them yet.


    ¡°Can you please explain what¡¯s happened over the past days I was¡­ unconscious¡±


    ¡°Well, if I were to do that then I need to introduce a couple of people first¡±


    Byron immediately beckoned for us to step forward. To think that I didn¡¯t really want to join the conversation in the beginning. Are you planning on dumping the work to me Byron? Hesitatingly, I walked towards them.


    ¡°This here is Ferizia Av Lowell. Everyone calls her Feri and she¡¯s a rather amazing magician¡±


    I took a curtsy.


    ¡°Pleasure to meet you Anna Morozov¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see you know my name. Are you perhaps related to Iridia?¡±


    She stared at both us, passing her gaze from me to Iridia.


    ¡°Yes. She is my sister¡±


    ¡°Then, how come I didn¡¯t see you with her when we were travelling?¡±


    You did¡­


    Of course, I kept that to myself as I told her the story that Iridia, Rina and I came up with.


    ¡°Our plan was to meet in this city. After that, we were supposed to travel northwards towards the elven continent¡±


    ¡°Elven continent? Didn¡¯t you know that they¡¯re currently being invaded by the demons?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The reason we are going there is because our household is sending us there to help¡±


    ¡°The Lowell household huh¡±


    She began to scrunch up her eyebrows.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of the Lowell household before. I¡¯ve memorized almost all of the noble houses in the continent, Elven, human, dwarven and even the Ronin houses of the Devil tribes. Just who are you people?¡±


    The three of us looked at one another and giggled. We then pulled out our cards to show in front of her. Immediately, her jaw hit the floor.


    ¡°Our household has been a well-kept secret from the world for a long time now¡±


    ¡°But now, our household decided to open up to the world. That¡¯s why we three decided to explore and enjoy our experience of the world¡±


    ¡°And that, we fully intend to do¡±


    I finished up our sentence as if we three were as one. Then again, we kind of are seeing as I¡¯m the master of the two. But, I really do like them better as sisters¡­ though the Lancers know the full story. It¡¯s a good thing Raymond taught me how to control my mana since right now, no one, aside from the lancers, know who I truly am.


    ¡°But before that, we thought of helping the city for a bit. Especially since our hand was pushed¡±


    ¡°W-what do you mean by that?¡±


    Anna gave a confused look while Byron smiled. We¡¯ve already told him the story of how Anna was kidnapped. From there he would always give me a smile. Maybe it¡¯s because he approves of what I did. I slowly recounted what happened the past few days. How, Anna and her guards were captured by a gang under the black phoenix. How, we annihilated that gang and started assimilating several members under our power. At this point, I recounted the battles and the negotiations we¡¯ve been conducting as well as the purge. And now, here we were¡­ The city rid of the black phoenix and a time of rapid reconstruction.


    ¡°I¡­ I see. Is this all true Sir Draguss?¡±


    ¡°It is. If it weren¡¯t for these three, we would still be fighting for another three months¡±


    ¡°Three months huh. Speaking of which, you said that you couldn¡¯t really fight against the¡­ what was their name? The lancers? How did you managed to take them in?¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°Money¡±


    ¡°¡­ Say what?¡±


    The princess gave a perplexed look. Is it really that surprising to use money in this world to get something that you want? I mean, I got manpower and training. That¡¯s a good deal if I say so myself. After thinking it over for a bit, she seemed to accept my answer.


    ¡°I guess that makes sense. But, what I¡¯m curious about now is you. By how you¡¯ve explained everything, you seem to be a rather powerful magician. Yet, the dwarves have managed to negate your powers that easily. We all know that negation magic is easy to use, but it¡¯s hard to synchronize it with the spell you want to negate. So how is it that you managed to lose when you seem to have the power of an A rank magician?¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­ well, there are circumstances. Mainly because I still have trouble in controlling my own power¡±


    She doesn¡¯t looked convince. Is that perhaps her intuition saying that I¡¯m lying? I mean, it¡¯s the truth that I have trouble controlling my power. As for the rest of the truth, I¡¯m still very new to this world meaning I still need to learn a lot of things. Yeah¡­ there¡¯s no way I¡¯m revealing that.


    ¡°Come, come. Let¡¯s not be hard on her. She is a spirit after all¡±


    Byron immediately started to diffuse the system. I¡¯m honestly glad he¡¯s here¡­ wait? Did he just! I looked over to him and saw him give a wink.


    ¡°H-h-h-ow did you know?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but stutter as I began to sweat profusely. Looking at his face, he was pretty confident about what he just said. In other words, I knew that I couldn¡¯t fool myself out. Yet, how did he know? I was sure I was controlling my magic to the point that he wouldn¡¯t be able to know!


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, and it¡¯s actually a pretty simple answer. Although I couldn¡¯t tell before, I can tell now since you¡¯ve managed to completely block off any trace of mana from leaving your body. No normal person, human, elven, devil or dwarf could do that¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but face palm at his calm explanation. It never crossed my mind that you can tell what kind of person a person is by analyzing his mana control¡­ then again, he was probably banking on this to see who I truly am.


    ¡°Yep, I did this to see who you are. Elves normally leak mana from the tips of their fingers allowing for better mana manipulation, Dwarves convert mana into raw strength, Humans have a hard time controlling mana and would often store mana in weapons or crystals and lastly, Devils would store mana in their horns. The only ones that I know can completely hide the presence of mana are demons and spirits. Demons, in this case, do not have mana at all. Spirits, on the other hand, are beings made of pure mana but they can control it to hide their presence¡±


    I don¡¯t know what to be surprised at. The fact that he¡¯s practically reading my mind or the fact that he just explained the basic weaknesses of all the races when it comes to magic manipulation. This guy¡­ he¡¯s really scary right now.


    ¡°Now, now, no need to be afraid of me¡±


    ¡°Can you get out of my head!?¡±


    He laughed.


    ¡°Your face says it all you know. But don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not like we have a profound hatred for spirits. More like, we kind of worship them in the sense that they¡¯re known to bring good luck¡±


    Wouldn¡¯t that make me your good luck charm then!


    This thought appeared in my mind. Surprisingly, Byron gave me a wry smile.


    ¡°STOP GOING THROUGH MY MIND!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but hide behind Iridia. Right now, Byron was really emitting an Aura that says ¡®I know everything about you¡¯. I really don¡¯t like his kind of people. You know, the ones who seemingly knows who you are and what you are. It¡¯s those kind of people that know you more than yourself. They are very scary people.


    ¡°Anyway, back on the main issue. Now that you know everything that¡¯s happening, how fares the conflict?¡±


    Suddenly, the mood instantly turned. Erasing the surprised look she had earlier, she looked towards us.


    ¡°As grateful as I am to the Lowell household, I must ask you to leave. Whatever I say now is classified and must not be told to anyone else¡±


    ¡°Ahh, no problem. We will be on our way¡±


    I sighed, grateful that we were finally leaving the room.


    ¡°Princess, if I may¡±


    I instantly glared at Byron.


    ¡°Oh no, I know where this is going. We are not going to get caught up in this¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ but, after everything you¡¯ve done, you¡¯re basically a part of this city¡¯s politics now you know?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care. We¡¯re not going to be bogged down by this. Plus, we¡¯ve already set up several potion shops, orphanages and other key structures around the city. We are not going to caught up in any more than that¡±


    For a minute, sparks began flying between us. He then sighed as he relaxed on his chair.


    ¡°Alright. I guess I really can¡¯t ask for anything else. So, what now? What are you three going to do?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to stay in this city for several days to prepare for our journey. After we¡¯re done, were going to head out to the elven continent¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Well, I wish you safe travel and enjoy the rest of your time here¡±


    ¡°No problem. Also, thanks for teaching me a bit of magic¡±


    He smiled.


    ¡°No problem. Yer just like my daughter so I couldn¡¯t just leave ya alone ya know¡±


    His accent began showing up again. I couldn¡¯t help but giggle as we made our way out of the palace. As we left, soldiers were kneeling one by one. I just hope they were kneeling towards us for helping them and not for the fact that I was a spirit. Ugh¡­ I should probably change my appearance to that of an elf and copy their form of mana control. At least then, people wouldn¡¯t question me too much. Oh wat, Iridia and Rina are hiding themselves as humans¡­ Whatever, I¡¯ll just say that I¡¯m a special case. With a cheer, I raised up my fist into the air.


    ¡°Come on you two, let¡¯s start getting ready for the journey¡±

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17: The Elven Territory (Volume 2: Prologue)


    I couldn¡¯t help but appreciate the scenery in front of me. It was beautiful to say the least with the rolling hills filled with flowers of many kinds. Trees were also lining the side of the road we were taking, some had apples growing on them. I quickly jumped to the roof of the carriage. Just as we passed underneath one of the trees, I quickly grabbed one of the apples that I could reach. It was a pretty apple, the skin reflecting the light of the sun. I could also smell its sweet fragrance somehow escaping the skin that kept it sealed. With a quick bite, I suddenly tasted the sweet sensation filling my mouth. Ahh¡­ this is delicious¡­


    Ferizia!


    Fer?


    I looked towards the wolf that suddenly appeared. He looked relieved as he plopped down right beside me.


    You suddenly went out of the carriage. I thought something was wrong


    Should you really think like that? If there¡¯s something wrong, then the entire group would be alerted right?


    ¡­True


    We both stared at the line of carriages following after us. Right now, we were the lead cart. Of course, our cart is simple. It¡¯s like the wagons you would see from those old western cowboy movies. Actually, all the other carriages are the same. But¡­ our caravan was a tad special. I mean, for each cart there were two horsemen acting as escorts. Not only that, each cart had one person with either a bow or a crossbow. What¡¯s even more deadly is the fact that each of these guys can use some form of magic. From flame attribute all the way to the aqua attribute. Though, I have to say. I and my other two sisters were the main healers since we were one of the few that held huge amounts of light magic. Still, this is a very formidable caravan.


    ¡°Hey, someone¡¯s blocking our path¡±


    Oh boy, here it comes again. Bandits stopping a cara¡­ wait, that¡¯s no bandit?


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a kid?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Our two escorts immediately rode out in front of the entire caravan. Of course, everyone else was on alert as we scanned the forest for any suspicious movement. Soon, I saw the two pick up the kid. By the dress, the kid was probably a boy. He seemed pretty beat up but his life doesn¡¯t seem to be in danger.


    ¡°Set him down here¡±


    I immediately got off the cart, beckoning them two place the boy on the soft grass. They complied as they slowly laid him on the ground. I wasted no time in using healing magic. Of course, because I have been training for weeks, my control over mana has greatly increased. Not only that, I had Iridia check my status. I¡¯m not going to show you, but I will tell you that their pretty insane. Of course, light attribute magic was my main forte and was the category that had the most upgrades placed on it. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m highly confident that I can heal almost any kind of wound on any person. In seconds, my spell did its job as the boy was healed of his physical injuries. Now, he laid there, asleep.


    ¡°What do we do with him?¡±


    ¡°He looks young. You think his village was attacked?¡±


    Before I noticed it, a huge group has gathered around us. Some of them parted making a way for Raymond. He looked kind of annoyed, but as soon as he saw the boy, he sighed.


    ¡°Another one? Just how many villages are their being attacked these days?¡±


    ¡°Well, you never know. Maybe it¡¯s a seasonal thing¡±


    ¡°Seasonal? Thery¡¯re not goblins¡±


    ¡°But they sure act like one¡±


    Iridia joined our conversation with an icy cold tone. I kind of expected this considering that, strangely, we¡¯ve been meeting many kinds of villages that had the same problem. What¡¯s more is that some of the villages were completely destroyed, the men killed and the women¡­ well, you get the idea. I rather not remember the grizzly scenes. That¡¯s why, every time we find bandits, we make sure to kill every single one of them. Well, not all of them. Some were actually quite innocent and still carried high values. Plus, they didn¡¯t share the same sentiment with the lost bandits. I couldn¡¯t just have honest men killed now can I? I even have some of them under our employment now. That¡¯s why I could see some men visibly shake as they backed away from Iridia a bit. I guess they still remembered what she did to the other bandits.


    ¡°Iridia, calm down a bit. You¡¯re scaring everyone again¡±


    ¡°ahh¡­¡±


    As if finally noticing her own aura, she immediately calm down. The oppressing aura she had before diminished. Many of the men sighed a breath of relief while some stood back up on their feet. Yeah, her pressure was strong to the point that some people fell on their knees.


    ¡°Sis¡­ You really need to control yourself. Here, let me help you relax a bit¡±


    With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Rina suddenly appeared behind Iridia. Unable to react in time, Iridia couldn¡¯t fend her off as Rina began groping her breast.


    ¡°Rina. Wait¡­ Stop¡±


    ¡°Relax, relax¡±


    I rolled my eyes as the men around us began to squirm from the scene. I then focused my attention on the sleeping kid. I couldn¡¯t help but feel uncomfortable about this. Although we¡¯ve been encountering many villages that were raided, this time. It just didn¡¯t seem right.


    ¡°Hey, can someone help me bring him to one of the carriages?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ yes mam¡±


    Two of them immediately came over and helped me carry the boy. I followed after them, ignoring the huge commotion behind me.


    ¡°LET GO ALREADY!¡±


    ¡°Come on, aren¡¯t we sisters¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if were sisters or not! LET GO!¡±


    I sighed as the two started to wrestle with one another. Of course, the guys and even the female mercenaries began egging them on. I quickly hopped on the carriage that the boy was placed in and began to study him. By the looks of it, he seemed to be human. But that¡¯s strange. We¡¯re currently headed towards the elven territory. That means, most of the villages here were elven villages. The bandits though were a mix of human, elves and human variants so I really can¡¯t count them. I mean, I guess it¡¯s possible that this kid may be part of a bandit group, but it still doesn¡¯t add up. I mean, we should have been attacked by now if this kid was meant to be a bait. So far, all I hear is the scuffle outside.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡±


    One of the mercenaries gave me a worried look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Something just doesn¡¯t add up¡­ can you tell Raymond that we need to keep moving and to be extra vigilant. Maybe then, we¡¯ll be able to reach the village that this boy came from¡±


    The man nodded as he exited the carriage. Now, only the female mercenary remained.


    ¡°Is he going to be ok?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve stabilized his body so he should be fine now¡±


    She nodded as she placed a hand over the boys head. Somehow, it seemed like she had a very caring look on her face. Noticing it, I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Hey, Feri. Something¡¯s strange with that kid


    Huh?


    I stared at the kid, but nothing seemed wrong. I even checked his body to make sure I missed something, but nothing. He seemed perfectly fine.


    Don¡¯t look at his physical appearance. Focus on his mana channels


    I did as Fer said. Suddenly, I noticed that the kid didn¡¯t radiate a single bit of mana. Rather, all the mana was focused on his heart. This¡­ isn¡¯t this strange¡­ and bad?


    How is this possible?


    I don¡¯t know¡­


    This really made me on edge. I¡¯ve learned from Byron that each of the races had their own ways of controlling mana. Never did he tell me of a race that can specifically control mana to condense itself in their hearts. Rather, wasn¡¯t that dangerous? If I remember correctly, condensing mana into only one point can lead to an overcharge. In other words, the condense mana may explode causing the body to detonate. Honestly, that isn¡¯t a sight I would like to see so I¡¯m really glad Byron told me that. And yet. Now, I see this boy condensing his man¡­ at his heart even. This really seemed dangerous. Suddenly, I felt the carriage move. That must mean that we were finally continuing our journey.


    ¡°Watch over him¡±


    Hearing the urgency in my words, the girl nodded. I then got of the carriage and went back to the lead one. There, Iridia and Rina were waiting for me.


    ¡°So, how was he?¡±


    ¡°Safe and sleeping. But, there was something strange about him¡±


    ¡°Strange?¡±


    ¡°His mana. It¡¯s all gathering in one spot. I didn¡¯t notice it at first until Fer told me¡±


    We all look towards Fer. He immediately used his paws to cover his eyes, and brought his head down to the floor.


    Don¡¯t look at me. I¡¯m as clueless as you guys


    Somehow or another, his form right now was really cute. I couldn¡¯t help but pick him up and placed him on my lap. He immediately curled his body, a huge yawn escaping from his lips. I can tell that I was smiling as I placed my finger in front of him and began murmuring cooing noises. We all began to giggle, soon forgetting about the topic beforehand. Ahh¡­ I really like a peaceful day.


    ________________________________________________


    A couple of days flew pass us and everything seemed to e normal. We weren¡¯t attacked by any bandits so the morale of the caravan was high. Before, our surrounding was filled with the plains, some mountains and small trees. Now, the road was beginning to lead deep into the elven forest. We still haven¡¯t found the kid¡¯s village that we picked up, but something tells me we were close. Of course, we weren¡¯t in a rush. I mean, if the village was attacked then it was attacked. At most, we need to save our strength when it came down to a fight. Today, I was also acting as an escort. Rina also accompanied me as she took the spot on the other side of the lead carriage. As for Iridia, she took the carriage drivers spot.


    ¡°Make sure you three don¡¯t do anything reckless¡±


    I scoffed at him.


    ¡°When was the last time we did anything reckless?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Raymond gave us a dry stare.


    ¡°You really want me to list them?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Fair enough¡±


    Rolling my eyes, I placed my attention back to the road. Unlike the dwarven territory, this placed was really different. The forest was so dense that I couldn¡¯t even see the sky anymore. Yet, light seemed to pierce through all the same. Also, it wasn¡¯t humid. It was actually cold. I could feel the breeze passing through my clothes. Honestly, I¡¯m glad I took Raymond¡¯s advice and got winter clothes. If it wasn¡¯t for magically heating enhanced combat skirt and jacket, I¡¯d probably be freezing my butt off. As for some of the men, they weren¡¯t taking it as better as I did. You can hear several sneezes through the caravan.


    *Mockingbird whistling*


    I heard a series of chirp permeating through the forest air. I couldn¡¯t help but tense up and I could tell that everyone was the same. That¡¯s because the whistling wasn¡¯t normal. It sounded like a mockingbird, but in this continent. Mockingbirds hate the cold climate. In other words, there shouldn¡¯t be any mocking birds here. Iridia instantly slowed the entire caravan and we progressed through the road slowly.


    *Mockingbird whistling*


    We all stared hard into the forest.


    ¡°Just where are these sounds coming from?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Just keep watching¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    I can tell that the mercenaries were really on edge. I can hear their hands tightly grip their weapons. I can also hear soft rustling in the forest. Like, tiny steps hitting the dead leaves on the ground. It was quiet and soft, but loud enough for me to hear it. I began to whistle a series of complicated sounds. First, a soft whistle followed by three rapid ones. This indicated that magic should be used as a defensive measure instead of an aggressive measure. I then whistled softly, followed by two short harsh tunes then a soft one. This told the soldiers that our opponents were professionals and should not be underestimated. Knowing this, the men began to sweat.


    ¡°Don¡¯t provoke them. As long as were not attacking, they may not attack¡±


    Raymond whispered to the men close to him. I was far away but never underestimate the ears of a spirit. This standoff continued for several hours. Our side didn¡¯t dare attack while the other side was simply observing us. Now, I¡¯ve managed to identify at least 30 people. That¡¯s pretty small for a bandit raid. Plus, they seemed to be professionals so I immediately dismissed the idea that they were bandits.


    ¡°Hey, Feri. I see a village up ahead¡±


    I looked towards the front and sure enough, a village could be seen. Though, I¡¯m sure that by the looks of it, they were not preparing a friendly welcome. I was awed by the sight in front of us. There, a small palisade came into view. From there, soldiers were staring right at us. Their spears were all pointed at the caravan while archers could be seen from behind them. Then, as we stopped right in front of them, I finally knew who had been following us. Archers, all covered in shrubs, were atop the tree branches. They all had their bows nocked and looked ready to kill us. Wow¡­ they really don¡¯t seem friendly. Suddenly, I saw some of the soldiers part way and a rather pretty woman appeared. Like the rest, she had green hair and light green eyes. By looks of it, she really doesn¡¯t seem happy to see us. This feeling of hostility¡­ I¡¯m really sure we¡¯ve never met so why are you looking at us like that.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Ruveah! Hey Ruve¡­¡±


    Without us knowing, an arrow immediately lodged itself between Raymond¡¯s legs, effectively making him shut up.


    ¡°SHUT IT YOU PERVERT! You actually had the nerves of returning here!¡±


    ¡°Princess, please calm down¡±


    As her men tried to calm down the girl, I could tell that I had a blank look on my face. Actually, Iridia and Rina also had a blank face as we all stared towards Raymond. He winked at us giving an, ¡®I¡¯ll explain it to you all later¡¯ look. He then focused back on the girl Ruveah.


    ¡°So, Ruveah. You sure became really pretty. Do you mind us going into¡­¡±


    Another arrow was shot and this time, it flew past his head. I could hear the tch sound that the girl made as she nocked another arrow. He began flailing his hand in the air, feigning a scared tone.


    ¡°Wait, time out! Time out! You¡¯re going to hit someone!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I am going to hit someone. YOU!¡±


    Before I knew it, Raymond got off the carriage as a couple more arrows headed towards him. Of course, they lodged themselves unto the wooden platform he was on while Raymond himself began running into the forest.


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY FROM ME!¡±


    Suddenly, the girl left the palisade walls. In seconds, the gate opened and she immediately rushed into the forest. In a matter of minutes, the sight of Raymond and the girl quickly disappeared, though shouting and the occasional thud of an arrow could be heard. In some way or another, I¡¯m sure that I wasn¡¯t the only one with a blank face. Rather, even the elves were giving the blank same stare.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. She¡¯s just excited that a good friend of hers is returning¡±


    Breaking me from my trance, an old man approached us. Good friend you say? I didn¡¯t dare say it out loud. Instead, I stared at his features. He must be pretty old for an elf. I say old because of his long white beard that flew with the wind. Yet, his face looked very young. It was mesmerizing to say the least.


    ¡°Please, stop staring at me. Rather, come in, come in. I¡¯m sure you all had a rather painful time getting here¡±


    He then began to beckon us in. As he did so, the elven warriors relaxed themselves and began scanning the forest. I then noticed that the hostility from before was gone. Rather, the archers perched on the branches were still pointing their bows at us. Yet, they held no hostility. Just indifference. Does that mean¡­ that all that hostility came from the girl?


    Raymond¡­ just what did you do to inhibit that much hostility from her


    Fer came to the same conclusion and couldn¡¯t help but voice a disapproving thought. The three of us heard this in our mind and gave a dry laughter. For some reason, we all felt sympathy for the girl. Why? It¡¯s because Raymond, even though he¡¯s such a professional when it comes to a fight, has a very frivolous nature which he never showed until now. Even to go as far as peeping at the girls when we took a bath. Of course, Iridia, Rina and I naturally became the defenders of the female mercenaries and soon, every girl in the camp respected us for it. But because of that, all his perverted tendencies were focused on us. Just remembering that one time¡­ AGH!!! I¡¯ve been holding it in through this the entire journey since he¡¯s been teaching me sword techniques, but maybe¡­ just maybe, I should join that girl on the hunt.


    _______________________________________________


    Authors Note:


    Decided to finish this one instead of blue city since everyone thought the last one was the final chapter. To those reading blue city though, I¡¯ll have two chapters by next Sunday. I just need to finish a couple of things for school and I¡¯ll be set to make the chapters then.


    Now, I guess this is where the story officially starts. Although the pieces are still not together, I just hope I can write this story so that it doesn¡¯t get boring. (Their will be info dump chapters. Those are like, necessary for a lot of reason so I¡¯ll probably be jumping from 1000 to 2000 to 3000 word chapters)