《The great Cycle of Life》 Prologue-01 Good evening, what brings me the pleasure of your visit? Are you here to ask me the same as the ones that came before you? Very well, as a reward for reaching me I will grant you one wish that lies within my power. I can give you the power of conquest like the great Alexander, or may you prefer strength like I have once granted the brute calling himself Khan? Come on work with me,what do you wish for, what is your hearts desire? A STORY??? That is definitely the first time anyone has asked this of me, very well I will entertain your idea. To understand what I am about to tell you know this, everything is alive, your planet, the moon in the sky, even the shallow waters of a beach they are all alive. And everything alive will die one day, but death is not the end. We die to be reborn. Such is the nature of reincarnation, your world will die, you will die.... but all will be reborn, different yet the same. Even I have lived many lives, but unlike many I remember....... So I will tell you a story, just a tiny fragment of my own existence. My very beginnings were humble, born to a human family I grew up to be the wife of a simple farmer. I believed in the things the church told us, to endure the hardships for at the end awaits paradise. Only aged 40 cycles I took my last breath as mother of seven. I awaited paradise, instead I found there was no paradise, there was no reward! Only shadows and boundless nothing existed in that space. Time is fleeting in the emptiness, all those that lose their sense of self in that space are wiped clean, every memory lost, the very soul bleached of all that builds up ¡°you¡±. But I was not that lucky I longed to forget, to be free of my own thoughts. Until the day I was reborn. Even now I do not know how long the time I spent in was, but sadly it was not the last time. Reincarnation is fickle, I have been reincarnated as everything you may imagine, I was a planet once! An insect was but one of the many forms I inhabited. But I will tell you of one life that has formed me more than any other. My preferred method of birth is spontaneous creation or being laid as an egg, that life however started with the execrating pain that comes with being pushed out of a womb. Imagine someone trying to push you through a narrow gap and only your flexible bones prevent you from getting crushed. I assure you not a very pleasant experience. My first sensations after the pain were two massive limbs catching my tiny form after exiting my mothers womb. Everything hurt, you would imagine being born countless times would reduce the pain, but freshly born nerves unaccustomed to anything are impossible to tune out. The cold breeze hitting my back warned me of the thing I dreaded most right now. With a wet slap the giant hand of my inexperienced parent impacted my bare behind. The agony of my mistreated behind forced the single reaction a baby is expected to produce. Activating baby siren mode I loudly announced my displeasure and arrival in this world. Shortly after a nipple was stuffed in my mouth, body on auto-pilot I began filling my belly with the sustenance it demanded. Only when the roughest pain and hunger subsided did I regain my bearings. Apparently I was placed in some sort of crib or nest, my bare body buried in some kind of furs. My eyes were not working yet and except the sense of touch everything felt alien. So with nothing better to do I tried to at least ascertain my rough form, four stubby limbs, a lump on my back perhaps a tail or similar and an over-sized head. As far as I could tell this was a humanoid body, perhaps belonging to an intelligent species. Would not have been the first time I expect another ¡°human¡± body only to find out I reincarnated as some form of beast. Just so you know the ¡°human¡± type is the most common type a god resorts to for populating his newly created worlds. They are used as template for so many different races its disturbing. Lost in though I drifted into sleep, my time as baby was quite uneventful, sleep, being fed and cleaned rounded off with more sleep. I loathe this period it is BORING. Think being stuck in a barely responsive body every part hurts from growing and you can''t even see. One day I felt my eyes stir, they felt ready, straining my undeveloped muscles to open my eyes rewarded me with searing pain as the first rays of light violently entered. Sighting to myself I began the long and tedious process of getting my eyes accustomed to light again. At least this life I was not blind, I had enough of that after that life as giant worm under the earth. Finally my eyes took in the first picture, the crude ceiling over me came into view. The woven branches slowly gaining focus. The colors were quite unexpected though, seems like these eyes are quite good. I could see the heat radiating on the tar covered branches. Still unable to turn my head I was forced to look around, but being deeply buried in furs I was unable to spot anything that may give me more of a hint to what I am this incarnation or what my surroundings looked like. The only thing I noticed immediately was the blind spot in the middle, it looked like I had a more bestial face this life. A snout with a black nose sat in between my vision. I must have looked so stupid trying to see my own nose that I caused my mother to laugh. I had not noticed her approach. Or at least I think it was laughing, because I am definitely sure the giant wolf-man with silver fur coming into view did not possess any vocal chords. Viewing my parent I was mesmerized by her beauty, glossy silver fur, clear eyes that would rival a glacier, topped by pointy ears and a sleek snout. I had seen wolves and their variants many times but she was simply breathtaking. She was clothed in a simple leather tunic and trousers, that is if I identified the brown fabric correctly. All in all she looked intelligent and majestic ¡°seems like this life will be interesting¡± was what I thought. She turned her head and caused something that made me jolt in my crib, a vibration in the ether, my brain worked overtime. This vibration could only have one source and it was one of the best things that could happen. Using the vibration my mother caused as reference for the frequency of this worlds ether I managed to establish a connection. The world became brighter as my senses began to shift towards the new sensations. My happiness was short lived though, the density of was quite low, still usable but low, what turned my mood sour was that I also detected and . All three in equal concentration like this meant one thing I was not really happy to experience again... monsters. ¡°If my bad premonition is correct that also means is here¡± was what I thought. Only to be greeted by the sound I learned to hate the most in all planes of existence. ¡°DING!¡± Followed by one of the familiar boxes that came to worlds ruled by .
Welcome to the world, newborn access granted, Title acquired ¡°Keen eyes¡±
Just as I was busy dismissing the annoying window the earth began to shake, entering the room was the biggest wolf-man I had ever seen. He easily dwarfed my mother, he looked quite menacingly with a scar across his face and fully covered in green fur that could barely cover a build the Hulk would dream of. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. His giant cross between a paw and a hand reaching for me I already saw my life flashing before me as with a high pitched ¡°yelp¡± he jolted backwards. My mother was standing next to the giant brute apparently she had hit his nose with a bundle of reeds, vibrations going back and forth between both of them. As if someone had pulled the plug the giant that barely fit into the room deflated ¡­.... never underestimate the power of a wife. Shooing the wolf-man out I got another feeding time, this time I saw something rare. My mother actually did not possess the usual setup of breasts most humanoid creations had. Instead of two breasts she had four, which toppled a few theories I had of my potential race. But again my small body cursed me with its need to sleep sending me into a deep dreamless sleep before I had any chance to better inspect the room. The next weeks were utterly boring, my status finally leveled up from ¡°newborn¡± to ¡°baby¡± which allowed me to finally check the one big convenience brought with it. ¡°status¡±
Status
Name: UnnamedAge:0 Race: Lunar guardian
Level0
Vitality5Dexterity2
Strength2Intelligence5
Wisdom5
Traits
Titles1(open list)
Skills3
HP10/10
ManaN/A
QIN/A
Titles
Title:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Also called ¡°old¡± or ¡°seeing¡± eyes, you have seen hardships before opening your eyes for the first time. Visual sensitivity increased, illusions and tricks are less likely to work on you. There is no total invisibility before your gaze.
Skills
The status looked fairly tame, at least this time I was spared of any random or expecting me to act as hero or some other random thing a god of this realm hatched out in his vast boredom. Perhaps this life I could finally take a rest, no war of survival, perhaps even find a way to cleanse my soul. As I turned one year old or as many worlds call it ¡°cycle¡± finally parts of the baby restrictions lifted and I could finally tune back into the ether. The basics of the three energy types are very simple can be used to rewrite reality by transforming the ambient energy or it can be used to temporarily boost a body, personally I prefer its power to refine the mind. on the other hand cannot be used to cast spells, it can however cultivate the body and be used in certain techniques drawing out the laws of the world to create spell like effects. is different, the power of evolution, basically raw world energy unlike and it is mostly used by beasts to form cores and evolve. However I have found a unique property of it can improve the body''s ability to store the soul. With the restrictions partially lifted I began to prepare for the experiment I always planned for when I reached a plane with equal parts of energy. Splitting my consciousness into three I began to attract the worldly energy around me, for what I planned I needed quite a bit. Each part of my thoughts collected one type of energy, a small pebble of was the first to form, next to it a growing plate of and a small vortex of . Mentally I apologized to my young parents, for what I planned had only two possible results. Either a new type of core proving a theory I had for a long time or a very quick return into the cycle of reincarnation leaving a red baby shaped stain. I sincerely hoped for the first result, my parents had been nice so far and thanking them with exploding offspring was nothing I would wish onto them. You people may not know, and do not mix very well, so I thought of a solution that did not result in a violent explosion. My answer was so simple it baffled me, ¡°don''t let them mix¡± encasing both the and with a layer of and then fusing both was my solution. In theory everything should work. The process of melding the energy into solid matter and connecting it to the Channel and Meridian network was long and tedious but I endured. When both sides finally fused I was not prepared for the backlash though, I lost control of the energies. Huge amounts of energy rushed into me attracted by the violently rotating orbs of and only the sudden crystallization of saved my small behind. It still knocked me out cold. As such I did not notice any of the many notifications the system bombarded me with as I passed out. I was in for quite a surprise for when I finally awoke.
Notification ,, stat added, Title gained, baby status deactivated under the influence of . Gained racial skill , Gained racial skill
I was really exited and immediately wanted to check my status but instead I got an alert.
System notification instability detected, rejection failed, rebooting core parameters, error Superuser detected, loading file 00-x71E, forced system synchronization initiated progress 4%.......5%
Apparently my little experiment had somehow screwed with which made me smile with glee. I really LOVED throwing sticks and stones into the oiled gears the gods set up to govern their little playground. You can only take so much being used as a toy before you start loving to mess with your ¡°owner¡±. My mother on the other hand interpreted the giggling cub as a sign to feed me, thus my euphoria was short lived as it was drowned in milk. I lightly cursed my body as sleep once more forced itself upon me. Chapter-01 The following day I awoke to rhythmic movement as I found myself strapped to my mothers back as she worked the fields. The sun was up but my eyes did not act up this time. The leather work serving as my container was stuffed with pelts and I was quite comfortable. I made another discovery while in that bag, apparently my race sweats but it does not leave any residue and my sense of smell did not revolt from any strong odor. While my mother seemed to uproot some type of carrot looking things the size of a beach ball my father was plowing a freshly picked field. I noticed a small vibration from my mother which made my father blush through his fur, quite an achievement if you ask me and caused him to up his tempo close to comical levels... love is a strange thing. With nothing better to do and for now free from any shackles I began to inspect myself the old fashioned way using my energy. Bone structure is solid, but would need some reinforcement, muscles as expected baby-developed. My Meridians were quite shoddy and blocked by plenty impurities but nothing a careful application of could not fix, there were just two things that perplexed me. First why did my create a second beating heart on the opposite side of my chest cavity? And second, why I was neutral, I literally had no gender..... My head nearly exploded with questions, how do my people procreate, how do we let water without a proper hole.... how DID I leave water until now?? The tiny voice of reason in the back of my head brought me back to problems I could actually work on WHILE still unable to ask my parents, their energy based telepathy was still a book with seven seals to me. So I started cleaning my Meridians, why bother with blocked pipes in a high pressure machine if you can clean it before filling it thus making the work near impossible. Had some old masters in this world heard my thoughts they would have likely vomited blood out of anger but cut off from such worldly news my cleaning work progressed smoothly. Due to my short awake time ¡°curse you baby body¡± it took me a month to completely clean my Meridians. Checking the alert apparently was 22% done and my time without restraints was short. With my Problems taken care of I threw myself into doing the same to . Much like , the energy runs through channels, they run in different patterns and do not form circles. Preparing my mental defenses and readying myself for the coming pain I sealed the channels that led out of my Manapool and began to supercharge the poor thing. Even with eons of pain as memories if not for the benefits I would call anyone doing what I did a lunatic. If the charge is not done during early body development the Manapool could rip apart severing the link between body and soul. Even charging too slow or too fast could damage the delicate structure, it was simply not meant to be used this way. But nature never intended for other body modification and this one actually had HUGE benefits unlike stuff like Piercing or some forms of body mutilation. But the hard part was holding the charge for a full day while the pain-level could not decide between decapitation and evisceration. At least I was spared of sleep due to the agonizing pain, my mother looked worried though since I refused to eat and sleep. In the evening an old gray-furred obviously female wolf-man visited us. The smell of herbs and tonics in her fur were nauseating, my fast conclusion: ¡°mother had called the medicine woman¡±. I was still not done stretching my Manapool as the old woman started to prod and poke me. Foolish woman did she not see that I had charged nearly enough to turn the next hundred meters into a wasteland of glassed earth? When she started to use to prod for any energy blockages I could not take anymore. I turned my head to look her into the eyes and gave her the deepest death glare a few thousand lifetimes of killing could produce. The needle instantly dissolved as the woman jumped backwards teeth bared and growling. If not for the giant hand my father put on her shoulder she would have likely attacked. POV change Medicine Woman It was late in the day as the young woman that had recently given birth called for my aid. Her cub was refusing milk and sleep, only staring at the ceiling. Her tale of its twitching body must have been exaggerated though. I still packed my bag for the worst including a tonic to wash the body before burial. My old joints ached and my tail hurt as I arrived at the hut. The mother greeted me and led me to the infant. There in a crib of furs it laid, body looking normal, the silver and dark green fur of its parents had created a very light shade of green. If this one took after its father, it could become a very good hunter using its pelt for camouflage. The infant did not respond to any external stimuli and I did not want to alert it to the use of too early. It had the choice and I was not prepared to force one of the energies on the child before it entered teaching and knew what it had to deal with. Still the infant refused to even have proper reflexes forcing me to use a fine needle. Before I had the chance to use the needle, it turned its head looking me into the eyes, then the pressure descended! I had once faced a dragon to barter for a few of its scales, the pressure back then had been bad. This was WORSE! Losing my self-control I jumped back, primal instincts so long repressed I barely remembered they existed resurfaced in an attempt to at least go down fighting! Thankfully the young father caught me before I could do anything to the infant the back-lash from my healer-curse would have killed me instantly had I hurt the child. In the meantime it had stopped looking at me, staring back at the ceiling. That child whatever it was I could not stop my old bones from shaking, it was alive and whatever happened there I wanted no part in it. Excusing myself I rushed back to my hut brewing myself a strong tea. My hope of the infant not surviving was short-lived. The next day the young father brought some fish he caught over thanking me for the treatment. POV change MC ( unnamed ) Finally after two more hours I was done, slowly absorbing the high pressured into my core the pain subsided. Keeping a decent pressure was mandatory until the Manapool settled down in its new size but the overcharge was done. Using the excess not used up in filling my core I started the process I hoped to finish before came back, reinforcing my . After roughly forty days the process of strengthening became a race between me and the progress bar 95% soon it would be back and with it the restrictions the god placed on this realm. The bar reached 99%, dammit I was not ready yet, 100%.... with a searing pain my control slipped my going out of control. The violently twisting energy cracked my core in its backlash. Then the notifications started flooding in.
Titles gained: One with pain, Feared, The seed(hidden), masochist Titles evolved: Keen eyes evolved into Old eyes Abilities: Gained racial ability chromatic fur, Fear aura, Death stare, Mana manipulation, Qi manipulation, Energy fusion(hidden), Core mastery(hidden) Abilities evolved: Tough skin evolved into chromatic skin, Durable bones evolved into channeled bones
God that hurt but at least I did not lose consciousness this time. Filled with anticipation I activated
Status
Name: UnnamedAge:0 Race: Lunar guardian
Level0
Vitality25Dexterity7
Strength5Intelligence5122(hidden)10
Wisdom460010
Traits
Titles6(open list)
Skills12(open list)
HP117/250
Mana2100/512200
QI2/100
Titles
Title:Grade:EpicRank 1/10
The seeing eyes, high chance to spot the hidden, mastery of eye related skills increased. Every invisible object gets more visible the nearer to the holder of the skill. Complete fail if at least in 15 meter range
Title:Grade:UncommonRank 3/10
Pain is only an illusion, as master of said illusion you only feel as much pain as you allow. Prevents losing consciousness due to pain. Only pain endangering the being is not blocked.
Title:Grade:RareRank 2/10
Any fear inducing effect is amplified by this title. Only things truly to be feared hold this title
Title:Grade: ??Rank 1/10
Be the seed to something greater. Parts of status hidden, effect hidden
Title:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Pain is your element, as such your control of the pain you receive and cause is increased. Boosts recovery rates of health,Mana,Qi under the influence of pain.
Title:Grade:AncientRank 4/10
The rule-breaker, lifting most restrictions that are placed on you. Your soul has become part of your body, damage to body may cause damage to the soul. Soul related skills receive 100% bonus.
Skills/traits
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Any hair on your body may change color. Depends on your mood. Raises defense by 40%
Skill:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Cause fear in any creature in your area. Effect reduced or increased based on level difference.
Skill:Grade:RareRank 2/10
Project an aura of death onto your target causing intense fear
Trait:Grade:CommonRank 6/10
increased affinity for
Trait:Grade:CommonRank 2/10
increased affinity for
Trait:Grade: ??Rank 1/10
Fuse and empowers next used ability by 400% may cause backlash depends on energy amount
Trait:Grade:CommonRank 1/10
Shape and evolve your core, evolution system unlocked
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Your bones naturally channel energy, 20% Bonus to emit type abilities
Skill:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Your skin may change color, improves defense by +40
Skill:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Boost eye related skills
Trait:Grade:EpicRank 1/10
Consume the cores of your enemies, gain bonus stats based on core consumed
Trait:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
You may adapt certain perks of absorbed cores, warning may change race,appearance,soul,may endanger life
While some of the things my ¡°status¡± showed were quite expected, like , other skills were not so clear. Especially which even hid its effects from myself, I had never once in my time held such a mysterious title. The title on the other hand made me feel a tad bad. I may have overdone the stare at the poor medicine woman, if I had caused her any harm that would likely lead to repercussions. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Time began to flow pretty fast, trying to mimic the normal growth I estimated for my race I played the child for my parents. At least the maturing rate of my race is quite good, my status one day announced me to be two years old and everything went well from there. My mother easily managed to wean me off her milk, as it was replaced by a soft jelly made from meat and vegetables. I nearly threw myself on it as she presented that heavenly smelling piece on a small wooden plate. Try eating the same for two years and you get why I was so ecstatic. A few weeks after my first proper meal my teeth began growing in, I immediately retracted my statement of my race being good. My gums itched as if a whole colony of ants was making their home there. That week was hell but it lead to a great development. My father upon seeing my fully grown baby teeth took me with him on a hunt deep into the forests. The enlarged version of the leather strap-me-on my mother used in my baby days barely held as my father charged through the trees. That day I was black and blue as my father came home with a killed deer like thing. My bruises earned him a meeting with the cursed bundle of reeds that I learned to fear too. The day got better and I was finally allowed some freedom to explore the surroundings, a small patch of forest in the middle of our fields was my target of exploration. It was not far from our hut situated in the middle of our main fields. If my guess was correct my parents did not cut it down to offer pollinating insects a breeding space. Talking about insects, praise be upon whichever god invented the tight knitted fur I possessed stopped even the smallest and most penetrating insects from settling on me. My mother regularly bathed together with my father in some kind of tonic to ward of the pests. Seeing me never infested with them I was spared the foul smelling bath. Sorry for getting off-topic. That day I had a very fateful encounter in that little patch of forest, I nearly died. As I entered a small lake greeted me with shimmering blue water and a nice open clearing with even ground. This place was perfect as I planned to train my body and gain some mastery in its movement. The digitigrade legs forced me to rethink most techniques of movement I knew, for it was the the first time I had those as a bipedal creature. Quietly training I missed the hints of the predator that planned to make me his meal. A jade-green snake had hidden itself in the treetops and I had failed to scan the patch of forest estimating it to be safe. The shadow it cast saved me from instant death, its teeth still grazed my shoulder.
-60HP You have been poisoned, -5HP every 10 seconds for 2 days
My mind was racing, that poison if my parents did not have an antidote was terminal, even if I ran right now, I might not even reach the hut. In my desperation a plan was born, even if it worked there was no guarantee of survival. I dropped on all fours facing the snake which eyed me cautiously, obviously waiting for me to succumb to its poison. Using my meager Qi reserves to reinforce my limbs I bolted side-wards. Using a tree as anchor I changed my path trying to claw at the snake as I passed by its side. Unfortunately the snake narrowly dodged, my claws only leaving shallow marks on its pristine hide. Changing my plan, I charged once more, the snake hissed and charged as well. Its mouth threateningly opened the teeth dripping with venom. Using my tail to change my flight-path I narrowly dodged its bite but the first part of my plan was a success. Now all my hope of survival hinged on one hope. Using the only spell a beginner mage like me could use with the system I charged up immediately followed by the basic spell targeting the small pebble I had thrown into its mouth as I evaded the bite. First nothing happened, then the head of the snake exploded, the pebble had shattered under the force of the spell ripping its head into shreds. Luckily I was spared of any shrapnel only showered in warm snake blood. My head hurt like crazy from the fusion, I crawled towards the mutilated corpse. The poison was speeding up, obviously amplified by the sudden exertion caused in the fight. I had lost control of my lower half and the numbness was spreading upwards. With my last strength I began to dig into the carcass. I grew exceedingly desperate where was the freaking thing? Cursing like a sailor I dug through its organs until my claws hit a hard and stony surface. Ripping the core out of the body I threw it into my mouth while activating and . Then I lost consciousness sadly rather common occurrence in that life, doing my best to cling to my life. I awoke in the evening, a howl thundering through the area. My instincts reacted without my permission returning the howl, weaker and more silent but audible enough. Seconds later dirt spewed in all directions as my father impacted into the clearing, he would have even stolen the show from any superhero with that entrace. Grabbing my sorry body and hugging me close to his rippling chest the big freaking wolf-man began cry. The rest of the day was rather unique I was put into bed, fed with so many herbs my breath could likely K.O a dragon. My parents took turns watching over me checking every inch of my poor battered body. My shoulder was bandaged and treated with an oily cream that smelled worse than my breath as I was forced to watch an intense discussion between my parents until my mother lowered here head in defeat. My father stood up and fetched a small ebony box holding it like it was a raw egg. Mother carefully opened the small chest and took out a small crystal. I instantly recognized the small, blue glowing crystal. A freaking ! My mind rotated, could they have put some kind of wards on me? When could it have happened? Mother carefully touched the crystal against my forehead, suddenly my world expanded. Whoever had built that ward was an expert, I had not detected its subtle sealing and I finally understood just what it sealed. ¡°My child¡± That was the first time I heard the voice of my mother resonate in my head as she hugged me strong enough to nearly suffocate me. That evening I spent in the most intimate cuddle I had EVER experienced. In the middle of the night, my parents were sleeping I became awake, one of my mothers voluptuous breasts had blocked my breathing startling me awake. The situation was so pleasant and peaceful, I did my best to imprint the sleeping faces of my parents into my memory. But I could not delay anymore and opened the long list of status messages I had missed while unconscious. Tuning out the unimportant ones and the spam of getting treated I was left with quite a few important ones.
successful, core consumed. Stat gains: Vit+20 Str+10 Dex+25
successfully activated on assimilating traits: Gained Gained Gained Gained Gained Gained Assimilating skills: Gained Gained Gained Gained Gained Gained
Trait evolved to
Synergy between detected derivating skill evolved to
Activating my freshly gained I immediately got rid of the excess heat the cuddle had charged me with. I was quite happy with most of my gains from the encounter especially looked like a huge gain. With a bit of concentration I made every Chameleon envious as I blended with my sleeping parents turning into a weird extension of my fathers belly, not perfect but with practice it may become a life saving tool. Only the unhinged jaws felt very weird, and the prospect of being poisonous was nothing I really looked forward to. But those thoughts receded into the back of my mind as I snuggled back between my parents. Little did I know that the coming months were thickly filled with training and lessons my parents had prepared.
Status
Name: UnnamedAge:2 Race: Scaled Lunar Guardian
Level0
Vitality50Dexterity32
Strength21Intelligence5122(hidden)18
Wisdom460018
Traits
Titles6(open list)
Skills24(open list)
HP500/500
Mana61100/512200
QI2/100
Trait: Grade:CommonRank 3/10
You may adapt certain perks of absorbed cores, warning may increased resistance to poisons of any kind, reduced duration. Immunity to self-created toxins of all kinds
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 2/10
secrete toxic liquid from teeth,claws,horns
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
your teeth have specialized channels for injecting toxic liquid. Efficiency of bite based toxic applying attacks increased by 50%
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
you can unhinge your jaws to devour bigger things.
Trait:Grade:CommonRank 1/10
your stomach may expand to allow larger prey to be digested
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
your stomach is immune to any attack by devoured prey, limit 50 level difference
Skill: Grade:RareRank 1/10
create your own toxins and secrete them, currently known
Skill: Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Apply poison debuff with every hit, efficiency raised if claws penetrate skin.
Skill: Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Apply poison debuff with every bite, efficiency raised if teeth penetrate skin.
Skill:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Lick the air to analyze your surroundings.
Skill:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Ability to quickly adjust Temperature by converting excess heat into Mana or to generate heat using Mana, cost depends on Temperature.
Trait:Grade:MysticRank 1/10
Able to blend into most environments, speed and accuracy of color change depends on mastery of skill.
Chapter-02 Most military services have a "hell week" or a "hell month" i however had been going through "hell years". My father was literary a slave-driver, tirelessly he worked me to the bones only for my mother to patch me up again to educate me on history, language and urgh math. Sadly this worlds numerical system was completely different from the ones I was used to so I was unable to cheat myself around the effort with past knowledge. The things my mother taught me however were highly disturbing. Our whole race was enslaved, we lived in the outskirts of the great Elven-forests and for our right to stay here we had to offer our own young to the Elves, who rule these lands with iron fists. The highborn Elves would then take any cub they fancied after the coming of age ceremony when the cubs turned five cycles old. That is why I still had no name, only cubs not claimed by the Elves would be named. My family hope dearly that I would not be picked but after the incident with the snake my father wanted to make sure that whatever happened I would be prepared. Furthermore my species was an artificial one created by an ancient mage to be his servants, our gender would be determined by the use of our energy. Use Qi to become male, use Mana and become female. After the ceremony our gender would manifest depending on which energy we had the best affinity for. Because of that I trained like mad, straining my body to the limit and reinforcing every fiber I could lay my hands on. Thankfully growing up was quite fast as I turned four I had roughly reached the maturity a twelve year old human would have. If my father was right, I would reach the maturity of a fifteen year old close to the ceremony. Sadly I was unable to convince my father to let me hunt, he feared that the evaluation would detect a too high level so I was forced to purely grind stats. I simply could not tell even my father that I could prevent level-gain by absorbing the cores, he would have forced me to tell him about and and I learned the hard way to never show all the cards you hold especially your last stand. Strength training with big rocks, agility training and sparring with my father, followed by lessons on knowledge and common sense with mother were thus my fate. The yearly examination got close as all cubs in the village were collected by the village elder and the medicine woman. The old woman stared dagger into my skull, I had been sure that the incident was not ¡°that¡± major back then but it seemed the old woman held a grudge or something worse. The ride to the ceremony was uneventful any wildlife getting too close was instantly annihilated by the accompanying guards. Every hunter had been recalled to guard the precious cargo. Thus I was stuck in the middle wagon between six other cubs that looked fairly tame compared to me. A black cub had tried to assert his dominance over the assembled cubs only to be ignore by me. Trying to get his way by force he earned a smack on the head and a ticket to sleep. That made the other cubs quite submissive towards me but I ignored them. The ride was boring enough so I simply went to sleep. I awoke as we arrived at the gathering, a once great temple that laid in ruin. There I saw my first Elves in this world, they were as I imagined, tall slender figures with chiseled features, long pointy ears and the biggest arrogance I found I any race. The lightly armed elves were accompanied by giant wolf-man guards fully encased in plate armor. The thick metal collar showing everyone that they were bound by a slave-contract. Many of the children amassing were dirty, underfed or in other ways made to look scrawny or weak. I earned some scared gazes from the other cubs in our wagon as I turned my fur to an uneven mottled pattern of ugly brown colors. Using my Qi I lessened the visible bulk of my muscles as i seemingly deflated. The ceremony started as the high priest, the oldest wolf-man I could imagine howled a throaty roar before resting heavily on his ornate wooden staff. Assistants began leading cubs towards five great crystals in the middle of the complex. One by one the cubs were forced to lay their hands on the crystal only to get a shock and most losing consciousness. The change in their aura was abrupt, the second their hands left the crystal I could identify each as either male or female. Unfortunately not all survived this process and behind a broken pillar a pile of dead cubs grew by the hour. The black cub from my cart looked challenging in my direction before being led to the crystal. But fate was not kind and the pile grew bigger. The Elves picked just a few, a promising male, a female that showed promise in Mana still roughly 20% of the cubs were taken. Then it was my turn a female wolf-man led me to one of the crystals which was still signed with a bloody paw print of my predecessor. As I laid my paw on its surface the magical formation inside became active. Using the connection I forcefully broke into its system. The array was so simple, it was designed to charge both Manapool and Meridians with energy, the side that did not crumble to uselessness by the sudden influx of energy was the higher affinity. If both sides held on too long the cub would die, these crystals not only killed one side of our potential they even killed every cub that was TOO talented. I was not sure if I should be amazed or disgusted by the cruelty that went into creating these things. Just in case I copied the array into my mind especially the part where it triggered our gender, out of spite for fate''s plan I triggered both at the same time and then ¡°lost consciousness¡±. Lowering my breathing and heartbeat as far as I could, my ¡°play dead¡± was successful, the bored Elves took no notice of me as I was dragged along. One of the assistants was already hauling me towards the pile of dead body''s as he checked my pulse just in case. The Elves were fooled by my act and my limp body was hauled on the cart to be returned to our village. Of the six cubs only three remained, me included. As the cart left the site and came out of view I sat up undoing the changes to my fur and the Qi restraint of my muscles. That earned me a raised brow from one of the hunters and a big smile from our village elder. As I was done undoing my act I took in my surroundings and immediately saw the only other survivors. The two other cubs were female and obviously in bad shape. Shortly pondering about what would be the best course of action a memory of my mother lecturing me about ¡°the pack¡± came to the surface. Sighting deeply I ignored the voice of reason in the back of my head that told me how bad it would be to be exposed. Infusing just a strand of Mana into both of them I began to check for their health. The small brown one had a ruptured Manapool and internal bleeding. If her current state became prolonged she may die so I urged her closer to me and secretly placed my palms on her back. Her underdeveloped Meridians had failed to step into the place of her Manapool which left her life in immediate peril. She was surprised at first but did not resist, my impression on her from the earlier ride must have been still in effect making her submissive, healing the internal bleeding was quite fast but the Manapool would need multiple sessions. Pressing my forehead against the back of her head I transmitted a silent message ¡°if you want to get healed come to my hut later¡±. The second cub, also a small female but with gray fur was more complicated, her entire Meridian system had collapsed, she must have been in great pain. Unlike the first she resisted and tried to avoid my grasp I managed to grab her leg and numb a bit of her pain, which earned me her attention. When I reached for her again she did not resist but was still wary. I had to infuse her meridians with my own QI to repair the damage but I was not very optimistic, still I worked tirelessly the entire way back to our village. I only manage to drop her ¡°not done yet¡± as message before I blacked out due to overuse of energy. My parents were ecstatic to have me back, but the following days were a nightmare of pain. My entire body-structure shifted, my plan to throw a wrench into had backfired and both genders were fighting what to change me into. My parents could only watch as the first of the wolf-man tribes was born. For those that do not know what a is, it is basically both genders at the same time. True like some snails can even inseminate themselves. As I awoke the pain was over and I had time to inspect myself. My general shape was that of a quite muscular and big female(for my age), budding breasts were on my chest. My genitals however were quite a surprise, I was fully functional in both directions, it would resemble a Hyena, a fully developed vulva with womb and an overdeveloped clit that resembled a medium sized penis of my kind thankfully the birthing canal did not end in a pseudo penis like the Hyena''s. The magic involved in the ritual had given me functional ovaries and internal eggs that could produce seed. I had to be careful in the future, I was not keen to find out IF I could inseminate myself. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. My family decided to pass me off as female to the outside, my father would help me with special clothing designed to hide my ¡°differences¡±. Getting used to my newfound strength and agility I spent the next two days training and running like crazy, it seems though I would have to invent some kind of bra to keep my front stable though. With a bit luck my male side would keep my breasts small, I was not really interested to see if my mother''s over-the-top rack was hereditary. A day later we had visitors, the two female cubs and their mothers arrived at our hut. All three mothers were unsure what happened but the two cubs insisted on visiting me, they were even more perplexed as we three disappeared to ¡°play¡± in the now monster-free patch of forest on our fields, my father had made sure of that. There undisturbed from view I explained to the two that I could help them and finish healing their injuries. Both were agape as I told them of the possibility of wielding both Mana and Qi at the same time, though fusing both was impossible for them. Both became regular visitors at our farm, the gray one received the name Erelain, short ¡°Ere¡±, the brown one Argalea or ¡°Gale¡±. My parents named me Kaileron but I preferred ¡°Kai¡±, I helped the two to keep the nature of their dual energy hidden and helped them train, we turned six as Ere posed a question that made me flustered. ¡°Why do you smell like a male Kai?¡± The following situation was comical, both my friends ganged up on me to disrobe my lower half. I had to explain my unique status as ¡°between¡± the genders but the sudden revelation sparked a contest between Gale and Ere but at the time I did not realize what had happened. The three of us became inseparable and they were the first true ¡°friends¡± I had in a long time. With the help of Earthmagic we erected a small home in the patch forest and helped on my parents farm. Gales and Eres parents were not that happy with both of them nearly moving over but the additional hands, sorry paws on the farm combined with a careful application of Mana from all three of us made the farm prosper. As such Gale and Ere brought a part of the harvest home and their parents got used to our arrangement. But the peaceful time on the farm came to an abrupt end as we turned eight. On that particular day my mother had decided to prepare a special meal, entrusting us with a few pieces of silver she tasked us with buying rock salt and some foreign herbs for seasoning. Ere, Gale and Me put on our tunics and cloaks to set off towards the village center. The central square next to the well was the trading hub of our small community, traveling merchants and village folks used this gathering place to promote their wares. Ere was carrying the precious silver coins, unconsciously she was playing with the shiny pieces, which earned her a quick slap on the back of her head from Gale. The remaining twenty minutes of walk was filled with Gale reprimanding Ere as to why it was bad to display riches in a community filled with people that possess extraordinary good senses. I could not help to grin at the both of them. Gale had taken more after her mother, including her personality, which in turn made the small gray furred wolf-man quite fierce. She had also assumed the leading role between the two. Ere however had successfully developed her Meridians with the help of my treatments resulting in her becoming quite large. It was fun to watch the dominant Gale lecture her three heads larger friend. All that was only possible because Ere was really shy and insecure. She had that trait from her mother, a gentle and loving wolf-man. My own size was in the middle of the two, while Ere was more hulking my own build was far more streamlined. If not for Eres voluptuous rack most would have mistaken her for a male. Those were also the target for Gale as she grabbed hold of one jiggling mountain giving Ere a sharp pinch which made her yelp and beg for forgiveness. I could not help but chuckle at their bickering, they reminded me of younger siblings. As such I assumed the duty of the older sister and grabbed both of them by an ear and dragged them with me. We reached the market with Gale and Ere both rubbing an ear and looking down, but the market was not like we had expected. Instead of finely ordered wares and intense haggling there was a commotion in front of the stalls. A group of foreign wolf-man were surrounding a stall, pressuring the young sale-clerk a petite female that tried her best to remain against the oppressive group. ¡°Come on, nothing binds you to this shitty place, I already pummeled your male. You HAVE to come with me, don''t force me to be rough!¡± ¡°Brother just take her we can break her in later at the den.¡± ¡°You are right guys grab her and the stuff in the stall we are returning, put her to the others we are leaving!¡± The eight wolf-man started to grab the clerk and stuff pouches of spices and salt in a sack. Then I saw Regulis the mate of the clerk, blood oozing out of his swollen face. At a glace I could identify at least three broken ribs. Ignoring the seven wolf-man I kneed down to look at his injuries. Unfortunately that earned me the attention of the black furred leader, ¡°Grab that one too she will bear strong heirs!¡± Just as one of the goons got close to me, Gale pointed at the approaching man and said ¡°Ere sic him!¡±. Ere visibly bulked up and dashed towards the goon, her fist connecting with his jaw sending the stunned wolf-man flying like a rag-doll. The confusion lasted only a short time ¡°Boys kill the brown monster she got Kenny!¡± Metal scraping over leather was heard as the wolf-man drew weapons. But Ere had run back to Gale tears running down her furry face ¡°they called me monster¡± she buried her face into Gales chest crying furiously. The remaining wolf-man began to surround my friends just as I was done with the emergency treatment of Regulis. his wife had used the confusion and joined her mate gently resting his head on her lap. Standing up I lazily stretched, ¡°looks like I have to get involved¡±. The leader paid me no mind as he watched his goons close their encirclement of my friends. A quick jab in his neck immediately robbed him of his consciousness, his sword falling to the rough pavement giving off a metallic ring. Holding their leader at his neck I began a macabre puppet-show, ¡°Oh boy what do we have here little cubs that need a lesson in behavior? Looks like we need to stock up on your lacking education....¡± Having their leader out cold and obviously in danger the remaining wolf-man switched target, dropping their leader I began to knock them out one by one. ¡°Terrible form¡±* puck *, ¡°lousy footwork¡± * pow * ¡°you should not even hold a hunting knife¡± *bock * sending the fourth one to the floor I saw the last one shivering. His survival instinct kicking in he pointed his blade at Ere''s back ¡°stay back you... you BEAST! I will kill her! Don''t come closer!¡± Now he had made me angry, fighting women and children, attacking the unarmed, topping it off with holding someone hostage, ESPECIALLY my friends. Mana began to surge in the surroundings, the earth rumbled and with a * splat * the male face-planted into the pavement. ¡°Look here little boy, did you really think you were a king in this backwater village? With your measly strength? On top you actually dare to call my friend a monster.....¡± My voice going softer whispering into his ear ¡°you earned yourself quite a beating...¡±. With the increased gravity they were unable to even resist as I tore them a new one. The next half an hour I used my medical knowledge to beat those seven senseless without causing permanent harm. I always gave the people ONE chance. If we ran into each other again that would be their own bad luck. The village-folk helped me to dump the whimpering males into the village-river, shall the Elves deal with those ingrates. With my treatment Regulis was up again, his mate supporting his unsteady walk he invited us to his home. I explained to Anis his mate how she should care for his immediate recovery and how to treat minor problems that may arise. Anis bowed deeply and gave us the reserved wares free of charge for saving their furry behind. We used one of the coins to buy Ere some toys to bring her onto different ideas, we really had to work on her shyness, currently it was her biggest weakness. Gale refused any coins claiming as I did the most work I should keep them, we may need some funds for future training sessions. I had to agree, having some currency in stock may prove useful if we needed something special for strengthening us or grabbing a treat. We delivered the wares to my mother and spent the remaining day lazing on our clearing consoling Ere. I had already forgotten the insignificant incident going back to my usual daily routine. Unfortunately others had not missed the occurrence and trouble was brewing in the distance. chapter-03 Meanwhile in an Elven city close to the village. ¡°What do you mean it was unsuccessful? They had seven armed and trained recruits! We even took the trouble of hiding the contract inside their flesh! How could they fail to even capture one damn villager?¡± A young elven male fumed with anger as he questioned his subordinate. The haggard and old male elf resting on all fours planting his head against the floor trying to weather his masters rage. ¡°How are we supposed to gather enough numbers? With my sisters ploy we are banned from choosing any more cubs! We need those beasts to stock up our front-lines, my brother already has over Two-thousand under weapons and trained. We barely number eight-hundred!¡± ¡°My prince the recruits claim to have been ambushed by a hidden master, it knew gravity magic and easily defeated them! Surely the filthy beasts are planning another uprising! May I suggest you tell your lord father that you found a hidden one and ask for his permission to exterminate it?¡± The young prince stopped in his tracks, an evil grin spreading across his face. ¡° Ready my personal guard we are visiting that backwater village, no need to consult my lord father. Lest my brother claims the fame of exterminating those pests.¡± Hurrying to his feet the old advisor fled his masters presence he was glad to not be close as his master directed his rage onto the other servants. At the same time back in the village With careful steps I walked around the small lake, picking up one more of the round pebbles. A careful throw made the pebble whistle through the air, barely in time a fist intercepted the stone and turned it into dust. ¡°Kai? Is that really necessary?¡± Gale and Ere were standing in the middle of the lake balancing on a small tower of unstable stones trying to remain standing with bound eyes as I pelted them with small pebbles in uneven time frames. ¡°MASTER! While we are training call me ¡°master¡± ,Gale this training is designed to unlock one of the core abilities you will need later! Both of you will not leave those rocks until you master the first step! The next time one of such goons harasses any of us you WILL be prepared!¡± Grunting unhappily they went back into their stances preparing for the coming assault of stones. My father had announced we were ready to accompany him on a hunt but I wanted to make sure that ALL of us make it back alive no matter what we may encounter. Thus I had taken it upon me unlock their battle instinct and lay the foundation for their future martial arts and magic. As the sun neared the horizon I called both of them to the shore and began treating all the minor wounds where a stone had bypassed their defence. A hearty meal was bubbling in a pot over a small fire, as much as I mistreated them during training I made sure not to exceed their endurance. Relying on entire lives as teacher I started to form both of them into capable fighters. Using Eres natural affinity for strength, her training focused on defence and overwhelming power. Once I got my hand on some monster-material I planned to let her wield a two-handed great-mace. There was nothing that fit our little Hulk better. Gale however was way more capable in magic and her tiny frame allowed her fast speeds, as such her future weapon was to be Pole-staff. A combination of spear and great-staff many mages use. Coupling her speed and perception with magic and the unpredictable nature of a good spear, I could already hear her opponents lament. I myself planned for a very different style, most will laugh at me in the future for using it but my chosen style was dual-shield. Not ordinary shields though, one spiked shield and one blade shield. Coupled with Mana circuits and instant casting I would become the nightmare of many. But all that was still far in the future and the trouble we had stirred began to scratch on our door. An elven brigade, twenty elves and thirty wolf-man guards arrived at our walls demanding entry. Under the pressure of the overwhelming force our village-leader caved and allowed them entry. The elves confiscated the inn and the guards took residence in the stables. The troubles in harassing of the invaders took an entire day to reach our tiny farm. A guard loudly demanded entry to our house, the obviously drunk wolf-man knocked down the door. He began pestering my mother until father arrived and gently accompanied him to the door. I think he made a new record in wolf-man far-throwing. But the wolf-man did not give up fabricating some ridiculous story of being attacked he brought five friends. I think my father broke his old record by a bit that evening. They came back with ten, this time I helped my father, sadly I did not possess his strength and I could not challenge his record. A few days everything was silent as smoke woke me up. The full elven entourage with their guards was outside our farm and the old advisor was casting flame-magic at the fields. I wanted to act but my father and mother signalled me not to and held me back. Sadly I had to agree, the amount of Mana the mage was wasting on his spell showed me my own weakness, he was not an opponent I could challenge. As such our small family decided to start hunting the next day, especially since our main income just went up in flames. Grabbing everything essential we fled the house by the back-door and used the barn as cover from the elven eyes. Using earth-magic I erected a small housing in the border of the forest, that earned me a thumbs-up from my father. So all five of us went to sleep like the beasts that give us our name in one big pile of fur. The next day we inspected what was left of our home, the fields were razed, the barn and house burned down to the foundation. Only the small patch of forest had survived the onslaught of flames. But we were safe and that was everything that mattered as far as my parents were concerned. My father urged us back into the woods, he had noticed three guards not far from our destroyed farm barely managing to reach the woods to avoid detection. With our magic the immediate survival was guaranteed but we would need to hunt intensively to survive the coming winter. And I would need to work on my power, the recent events once more showed how insignificant my current impact on the world was.
Status
Name: Kaileron "Kai"Age:8 Race: Scaled Lunar Guardian
Sex:Hermaphrodite(hidden)female
Level1
Vitality90Dexterity62
Strength41Intelligence5162(hidden)32
Wisdom464030
Traits
Titles6(open list)
Skills26(open list)
HP900/900
Mana400210/516200
QI190/400
Trait: Grade:CommonRank 4/10
Control of breathing techniques increased. 20% bonus for cultivation
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 3/10
Toxic and highly corrosive substance can be used in toxic attacks, naturally generated in the stomach
Some of you might wonder where I got my new fancy skills, it turns out ingesting toxic material had a chance to unlock it for my own use. In this case my father tried to cook, the result burned a hole into the cooking ware. We still ate a small bite to appease my pleading father. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Breathing mastery on the other hand came naturally while advancing my cultivation while unfamiliar with the skill I was happy with 20% speed increase in helping my cultivation along. Father and mother had prepared the sparse equipment we were able to save from the inferno. A simple leather garb for Ere, Gale and Me. A stone mace reinforced with leather for Gale. A crude Elemental stone as focus for Gale and I got an iron spearhead mounted on a crude looking wooden pole. My mother chose to remain at the improvised den and prepare some essentials for our return. Led by my father our small group set off to our very first hunt. ¡°This is your first real hunt younglings as such try to be as silent as possible, no talking, laughing or giggling. Anything that may alert our prey or in a worse case a bigger predator is forbidden during the hunt. Gale you follow behind me, Ere and Kai take one side of Gale each watch the flanks and back. Make a stomp on the ground if you see something important or yell if and only IF we cannot avoid confrontation anymore.¡± I had to see a complete new side to my father, which while a massive hunter was most of the time clumsy and a dunce. But now every step of his were calculated and silent. We struggled to match his movement with less than stellar success. Taking the left side a step behind Gale we proceeded into the unknown. Trying to be as silent as possible I was soon rewarded with the skill further augmenting my camouflage. The sudden reduction in noise from my end earned me an approving nod from my father. Suddenly my father bowed down, inspecting an unobtrusively placed indention in the forest soil. He urged us to follow as he slowly followed the trail only he could see. Unfortunately being a tracker had not been part of my lives, I could still deal with it but my impression would end as a bloodhound sniffing the floor following by scent. As such I refrained from staining my clothes and followed my father down the trail. It took a couple hours we were close to one of the mountains in the forest, a flat and craggy rock barely covered by the mighty trees of the forest. Its tip defiantly piercing the green blanket crowned with a peak of ice. As we finally saw our target. A Malam?, a deer-like critter the size of a rhinoceros. Carefully my father unhooked his mighty bow, knocking an arrow he took aim. He slowly inhaled and let the arrow fly, the path was perfect, and the Malam? reacted too slow. But before the arrow impacted a transparent shield of wind destroyed the projectile. Ghostly shapes started appearing, dancing around the Malam?, mocking our plight. ¡°Fae¡± was all my father grumbled preparing our retreat, slowly we tried to move backwards away from the ghostly things. Though our hope was short-lived a barrier of wind blocked our retreat. ¡°Gale try your spells it looks like the Fae do not want to let us go today!¡± In the heat of the moment Gale failed the incarnation for her spell three times earning her another mocking laugher from the Fae. Then the fireball sailed only to harmlessly pass the ethereal creature. Then slowly fog started to billow around our feet, slowly rising. My father became panicked using all his strength to strike the wind barrier. The spell flimmered and groaned but held. Whatever these Fae were my father was afraid. Ere joined into the fruitless bashing on the windwall. While Gale failed one spell after another slowly running out of Mana. Her legs began shaking, and her stand became unsteady as the spells took their toll. I would have preferred to stay more low-key but this situation demanded my action. Pointing my arm at the Fae I began to concentrate. The Fae only intensified its mocking, then I closed my hand, instantly the mocking changed into a shriek. The Fae was struggling, as if something had grabbed it, locking it in place. The windwall broke down, as the Malam? decided to attack. To our luck my father was ready, grabbing the animal by its giant antler, slamming its head into the ground, where it impacted with a sickening crunch. While my father was battling I had my own battle. The Fae was struggling and any means of communication had failed. As my last resort I activated with the Fae as target. No wind moved as more and more ethereal smoke began to be forced towards my open mouth. The Fae looked like stuck in a giant tornado as I let go. Instantly the thing was sucked down and swallowed.
Living entity consumed beginning digestion. 12%... and counting
I felt the weak hits the Fae tried against my stomach but it was futile, its struggle growing weaker by the second.
Consume successful Vit+20 Dex+21 Str+5
The return to our den was without further incident, my father shouldered the massive animal, while Ere helped to support it. The glances I got from my father firmly screamed ¡°explain yourself¡± But I kept silent until we reached ¡°home¡±, unfortunately for me, dads biggest ally was awaiting us with a prepared cooking place. This would be a long night. Chapter-04 Pity, Ere and Gale watched with pity in their eyes as my mother slammed her paw on my bare behind. * smack * She kept lecturing me non-stop as to why hiding abilities from your family is bad. As the torture was finally over I started to drag my sorry beaten self into a corner of our primitive housing and slumped down. Curling myself into a small fluffy ball I used to fuse myself with the floor. No matter how old one gets no one is immune to sulking especially if mothers are involved. As such I spent the night col... cozy warm due to and alone in the corner of the room. The night would have been like any other if not for the rest of my small ¡°family¡± half asleep identifying the comfortable heat source nearby. And so my poor sulking self was crushed under close to a metric ton of sleeping family. And no sulk survives a good family cuddling, intentional or not. The next day my father took us hunting again, this time it was our turn. Ere got herself a slightly damaged Malam?, after the stone she had killed it with ripped a hole clean through it, that earned her an astonished nod from my father. Gale went for a Rikas, a spotted bearlike thing, huge angry and not that dangerous with a pole of ice jammed in its brain. ¡°Kai this time show us how you would hunt to the best of your abilities. It stays in the family time to show off!¡± Beaming me a toothy smile my father gave me a thumbs-up, I may add that I am still amazed that this gesture is a thing on this world. Well I thought may as well leave an impression, I dropped my equipment into my fathers waiting arms and proceeded to disrobe. It earned me a raised eyebrow from my father but he accepted the discarded items. With no equipment I dropped onto all fours, readying my instincts I took a deep breath, my tongue slipped out as I identified a trail. All hiding skills became active and the crawling wolf-man disappeared from view. My father later told me, that even he had problems to keep focus on me. It was soo good to finally hunt again, only the smell of my prey, the wet grass and the sounds of the forest. My instincts told me of a really nice prey practically demanding me to devour it. I may have gone a tad out of control there. Because the last thing I remember of that night was me prowling, then a black-out, only to become aware again hissing at my father. Shaking my head I slowly regained my reason, the situation was weird, Ere and Gale were hiding behind my father who eyed me like a wild beast that may attack at any moment. Then my awareness flipped down to my body, I was massive apparently I had swallowed my prey whole which left me bloated beyond recognition unable to move in the small clearing. Everywhere were signs of battle, claw-marks on trees, uprooted plants and disturbed earth. What the hell had happened here? POV Ignalis - occupation father of Kai Today was the first time my little furball would be allowed to hunt alone, I was sooo proud. I had to remain calm and composed though my wife had reinforced the importance of a good male role model for our cub. My feelings were conflicting between spoiling my child and following the instructions of my wife. Reason won, I still feared the bundle of reeds, I really hoped it had gone up in smoke with the farm, then the loss of my property would have been a sacrifice that was worth it. A cold shiver ran down my back recalling the dreaded device. Snapping back to reality, my cute furball began handing me all her equipment, wouldn''t she need it to hunt? Then she even began to disrobe, did she want to go for a smaller animal and catch it bare-handed? I was not sure but decided to allow her freedom of choice. Then it started, she dropped onto all fours, taking a deep breath she literary licked the air with a tongue that was a tad too long for our race. Her eyes opened focusing on something in the distance, then she disappeared. I still felt her presence and KNEW she was there but my eyes played tricks on me and I was unable to properly locate her. She began to move, crouching down so low on the ground her belly nearly scraped over the earth. It became easier to follow her when she started to move but only my paternal instinct and sense of smell could barely keep me on her heels. Ere and Gale were far worse off, they just tried to keep pace as we followed her roughly 50 yptis(meter) away. Slowly I began to smell the thing she was after too, this was madness! This was the territory of a basilisk, a creature so poisonous hunters claim it can transform its victims to stone! That strong is its paralytic poison not to mention the fumes it can emit. As we reached a clearing I lost contact with my daughter. I prayed to every god I could imagine that my daughter would be safe. My wife would kill me if our daughter came to harm, the situation with the snake back then was bad enough she beat me to a pulp for not properly guarding our offspring. The basilisk was deep asleep, its massive frame sprawled on a big stone bathing in the heat the sun had charged the stone with. It deemed itself invincible, no predator was aiming for such a vicious meal. Very few would survive ingesting this thing, even the great beasts in the centre of the mountain area left the beast to its own devices. I barely blinked but it was enough to miss the first strike, a row of bleeding holes had opened on the neck of the basilisk as it came roaring awake. But my daughter had already disappeared again. In fury the basilisk began lashing out into the clearing smashing rocks and flora alike. Another row of holes opened on his side, this time the basilisk landed a counter but his assailant still did not reveal itself. In its fury it lashed out at everything, even shattering the big rock it had just used to sunbathe. But its movements became slower. A white foam slowly began to form around its mouth. Minutes passed as its breathing became ragged, blood oozing through the foam. Closely after its eyes rolled back and it collapsed, wheezing, its last breath escaped the monster as it passed away. Moments later my daughter surfaced again, her camouflage peeling back like a glimmering liquid , the hit she had taken left one of her sides battered and slightly bloody. As I wanted to go and congratulate her for the achievement Gale grabbed one of my arms shaking her head. Then it became creepy. With a sickening plop my daughters lower jaws came free, like a snake she began to swallow the humongous prey. I still have no idea how it could fit but she managed to swallow it whole, bloated immensely she laid in the centre of the destruction. I got rid of Gales paws and stood up, my legs still a bit shaky from the bone-crushing nervousness I had to endure during the fight. As I got closer to my daughter my instincts began to act up ¡°danger¡± ¡°danger¡± it kept yelling. It attributed it to the smell of the basilisk still lingering in the clearing and disregarded it. I nearly paid quite a hefty price for that, as I stretched my arm towards my daughter she hissed and tried to bite me. Only her hugely bloated form made her miss, if barely. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. As if awakening from a dream her eyes changed from the cold and unrelenting gaze of a cornered predator to that of a slightly confused and VERY afraid daughter of mine. Shaking her head confusion was printed onto her face. I had my baby back and I would make certain that she got those instincts under control, like all wolf-man had to. POV Kai We had to spend half a day in the clearing as my belly began to approach more manageable sizes. Still the way home was far from gracious, I wobbled down the track like an overstretched water-balloon. Without my father and Ere supporting me I would still not be able to move. Only my high strength barely allowed me to walk. I was thankful that I had not encountered any form of picture system I would have had to go unimaginable length to destroy any kind of evidence of this shame. We returned to find my mother highly agitated sitting behind a cold fireplace, her voice seethed with sweetness as she turned around ¡°oh my look who came back!¡± But her face instantly changed upon seeing my bloated self. A quick private discussion between my father and mother followed, which earned my father a smack on the nose. I tried to get away struggling with the entrance of our den, in the end I gave up and used magic to enlarge the opening temporarily until I could squeeze myself through. Finally inside I began to check the pile of notifications I had received. Again dismissing the unimportant spam of daily activity I was left with some quite disturbing messages.
Target: Juvenile Basilisk, activated, Hit successful -650 health, bleeding and poison applied.
Basilisk hit you with -150 health
Target: Juvenile Basilisk, activated, Hit successful -440 health, bleeding and poison applied.
Juvenile Basilisk died
Activating + on
Ingestion in progress 80%.... counting complete
I had not gained any stats or level, but was not yet done, slowly I could piece the day together. I had lost myself in the hunt and may or may not have attacked or threatened my father in the end. I would have to ask him later, once I was capable of moving without resembling a Willy Wonka blueberry. My family gave me time to get done with my meal and left me alone. Losing to the instincts was apparently a big deal in wolf-man society. A few hours later, a small fire was going roasting ribs from the Malam? my family sat around and skill timer reached its end.
Successfully consumed Gained Level 14 Gained Stats Vit 54 Dex 40 Str 60 Derivating traits: Derivating skills:
Just as the window appeared my body began to hurt, like really hurt. Sharp barbs began erupting along my whole spine, my tail began to enlarge and elongate. The unfamiliar weight was odd but weirdly fitting, as if it had always MEANT to be this way. It felt really weird to get control of the new muscles, but I managed to get the barbs to lay flat against my back, hiding them in my fur. Only the Tail stood out, I still had the lush and long hair we wolf-man had on our tails but the supporting structure especially where it connected to my rump had become massive compared to before. The whole tail felt powerful, I could already imagine a blade strapped to the tip of my tail. It could prove very useful in combat. The first one to greet me was my mother who gave me a very tight hug, pressing my face into her breasts. ¡°I was really worried, don''t make your old mother worried I may die to a heart attack.¡± I could only mutter how sorry I was before she dragged me towards the fireplace where my whole family began to inspect the changes to my body. Ere was playing with a barb as my mother was inspecting my tail. Warning Ere that my barb may be poisonous stopped her idle play instantly. But something was depressing my mother after she had inspected my tail and I could not really place what had caused her bad mood. After eating my father took me to the side and told me why my mother had looked so down, apparently the tail of female wolf-man was a status symbol and mine had just become out of the norm and she may be afraid of me not finding a mate. He nearly choked on his meal as I told him that I did not want a mate yet and that revenge against the Elves came first on my list. As I was discussing with my father Gale told something to my mother that cheered her up instantly, a shiver ran down my back and made my barbs stand out. It felt like a predator had just set sight on me but I dismissed the feeling as an illusion. The following weeks were stock full of training, hunting and lessons with my mother on how to control my instincts. I had made full use of but kept for worthy prey or very valuable abilities in reserve. Thus my level kept rising quite well and I got a ton of stats on top. My status finally became closer to useful, the hunts began to lead deeper into the mountains and our family was quite happy with our hunter lifestyle. But winter came and the troubles started again. Chapter-05 The first frost came early this year, we had collected quite a bit to eat but my mother was nervous ¡°this winter will be harsh¡± she said. We had moved deeper into the mountains to build a more durable shelter. It was still mainly built from hardened earth but my father had dutifully started crafting some furniture for our small community. The biggest problem was water, my water magic came at its limits when the humidity started to drop and harvesting enough water for a day exceeded my daily regeneration. Father had scouted the village, he only shook his head the Elves were still there. We had seen the smoke over the year if anything of the village still stood, the villagers may already be gone. Then the winter arrived, covering everything in a blanket of death. My mother had been correct this season would be harsh. The following days the entire flora shed its leaves in an attempt to survive the onslaught of cold. Everything came to a standstill. Our water issues came to an end due to the plenty available snow, but the relentless cold winds became our next worst enemy. We ran out of firewood pretty fast, father tried to replenish it but his wood-felling-ax shattered in the bitter cold. We had to rely on my as the winter got harder. In some stormy nights we even had to seal the air inlets and filter the air with magic. Our once plentiful stock of meat and dried goods dwindled in an alarming rate. But the winter showed no signs of stopping. It was supposed to be spring as our food finally ran dry. We cuddled together unable to leave our frozen dwelling. We had already accepted our fate as sounds from outside alerted us. Something was scratching against our den. Father and mother were unable to stop me as my hunger took over. Whatever was there is I WOULD eat it! We may have made progress suppressing my overbearing instincts but I was still far from the level my mother had. Underfed and in bad condition I stumbled out of the dwelling the frozen air hitting me like a hammer, instantly decreasing my stamina as the tips of my fur began to freeze. My opponent had not even registered my approach the snow in my pelt had tricked its senses, the howling wind blinded its eyes. A huge direwolf had come scavenging attracted by the smell our dwelling gave off. When it noticed me it was too late, my arm penetrated its side going for its core, a triumphant smile cracked my frozen lips as my bloody and half mangled arm dragged its very core out of its flank. Before it could react I had claimed its life. Like a crazed animal I dragged the carcass back through the opening. The shutter closing the raging winds out once again. We used fathers sword to bisect the carcass. With the immediate survival guaranteed we took a risk, unhinging my jaws I began to swallow half the carcass and the core. While activating and , unlike with the basilisk the strong acid made short work of the once mighty predator so I was spared to spend too much time as a bloated whale. Then we had to wait for my skill to finish, crossing our talons that it may yield a skill to brave the cold. Then the moment of truth came.
+ successfully used on + Derivating traits Derivating skills
Error Error Error
Unknown remains trying to failed... compensating failed.... + activated..... success... commencing adaption
Whichever cruel god had invented pain, what now happened made me rip out handfuls of my own fur as one after another waves of pain rolled over me. Just barely too low to knock me out I was forced to endure as muscles snapped, bones splintered and my whole body contorted in horrible cramps. My family had to watch helplessly as my body broke, healed and broke again. We had no medicine left and our energy was so low no one could even attempt to help me.
successful Gained Titles Race changed from Scaled frozen guardian to infant Frostpoison Imoogi Derivating stats vit+300 Dex+150 Str+250 Level+45 Derivating Traits Derivating Skills
Slowly I regained my bearings. The whole den suddenly looked smaller as before, I tried to stand up only to lose balance and heavily tumble onto my back. The nervousness in the room was near solid as I croaked ¡°a little help please?¡±. Instantly warm smiles replaced the agitated frowns as they rushed to my side. After telling my family about the notifications my father signaled us all to be still and began to tell us a legendary tale: ¡°The hunters of our village told me a tale from a time long past. In a time before our enslavement as our people were strong. One of the hunters had felled a strong predator to impress his wife. But he discovered something in the guts of the slain beast. A perfect pearl was nestled into its very being. Others were jealous of his riches and fought him over it. One contender killed the brave hunters wife as a revenge for losing. The hunter in despair began cursing the pearl and threw it into a lake. But the pearl returned to his side, no matter what he did the pearl always ended back in his house. In this scorn the hunter swallowed the pearl. That day an Imoogi descended and wiped out the village. The hunters corpse was never found but the people tell us that the pearl was the seed of an Imoogi that gave birth to the very desire of the hunter . Til this day no one has ever found a pearl in their kill again but this story lives on.¡± After my father had ended his story my mother interjected: ¡°I think you ate the seed of an Imoogi but your skill overcame the curse forcefully ripping the Imoogi into shreds and integrating it into yourself.¡± I could only nod, her conclusion was pretty logical, I had never heard of Imoogis that reproduce like a parasite but I had seen too many species to disregard the possibility. With my immediate confusion cleared I activated ¡°status¡±
Status
Name: Kaileron "Kai"Age:10 Race: Frostpoison Imoogi
Sex:Hermaphrodite(hidden)female
Level88
Vitality674+(30%)=876Dexterity371
Strength625Intelligence5162(hidden)200
Wisdom4640(hidden)150
Traits
Titles8(open list)
Skills58(open list)
HP87600/87600
Mana100910/516200
QI450/2200
Titles
Title:Grade:MysticRank 1/10
You have embraced your inner beast to sate your hunger. Fellow beasts will see you as one of their own.
Title:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Ignoring severe conditions you have claimed your kill, status effects last 30% shorter on you
Skills/Traits
Skill:Grade:CommonRank 1/10
Reduce emissions that may alert others by 30% increased by further mastery
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Defence increased by 200%, 90% damage reduction of non infused attacks
[/ [table]
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Your stomach can digest anything but the most resistant materials
Skill: Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
eject deadly fumes afflicting your target with poison debuff of your choice
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Basilisk poison, near incurable, death comes in minutes
Trait: Grade:RareRank 1/10
One of the strongest paralytic poisons, freeze your enemy in their own flesh
Trait:Grade:CommonRank 1/10
Spines guard your spine, decrease chance of successful backstab moves by 40%
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Sharp barbs lie hidden in your fur, bonus to first hits with your tail 30%
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Your bones are incredibly dense, a smith would love to get his hands on it. +30% vitality Swimming speed -50%
Skill:Grade:CommonRank 1/10
Slam your foe with your tail, high chance of stun effects
Skill:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Inject a deadly dose of toxins into your foe, duration and effect of poison +400%
Skill:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Guard your vulnerable parts +40% Defence for 30 seconds
Skill:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Squash your enemies like the ants they are, only effective on smaller opponents
Skill: Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Increase your Metabolism +20% Strength, Bleeding damage deals double damage to you as long as the skill is active
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Skill: Grade:MysticRank 1/10
Imbue the very elements in your breath, based on mastery devastating effects.
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Your fur is very thick, smaller weapons have 40% reduced chance to penetrate. Resistance to weather effects +30%
Skill:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
Awaken your blood, causes a berserk state.
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Frost and cold have less hold over you. It takes double the time for you to be affected
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Your nose is very sharp, even hints of smells can be detected, warning may lead to over-stimulation
Skill:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Your breath naturally freezes on impact
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
No amount of snow or vegetation will hinder your tracking.
Skill:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Allow you to call your pack, based on your position in the pack it yields buffs to your pack
Trait:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Your scales naturally shield you from harmful energies, 50% less damage taken by energy based attacks. Mind attacks are 70% less effective.
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Your fur interlocks with itself keeping liquids and gases away from your skin. Acts isolating to weather effects.
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
These nasty spikes adorn your tail, increased base damage for all tail based attacks
Trait:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Majestic horns sprout from your temples, sign or your heritage they act as magic amplifiers. Magic +20%
Trait:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
Only the most massive beasts need more hearts, the small third heart is but a promise of the future
Trait:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
Dragons and their lower forms Imoogis hoard wealth and things that interests them. Due to the sheer amount one can hoard the Hoard stomach was developed. Capable of storing vast amounts of material in a slightly gross stomach. Current capacity 50m3
Skill:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
This skill enables you to swallow or expel items and things from your hoard stomach
Skill:Grade:CommonRank 1/10
A reckless charge, very effective as first strike attack, distance charged increases damage
Skill:Grade:UncommonRank 1/10
Bolster your defense by 50% for 5 minutes
Skill:Grade:RareRank 1/10
Feel the very energy around you, unless hiding with special means no life is undetected.
A big smile revealed way too many teeth as I started grinning. ¡°Once I get this body under control I can get us more to eat! This Imoogi thing has given me some wonderful abilities!¡± This night we celebrated, I formed a circle around my family using my long bestial body. Using all of us had a cozy and warm night. The last thing that crossed my thoughts as sleep claimed me was ¡° at least I still have thumbs.¡±. We slept until sunrise as I prepared to stock up our reserves. We used Earth magic to create some sort of airlock, basically a room with two doors I could use to exit our den without letting the cold inside. The first target were dead trees, if I could gather some firewood, I could undertake longer hunting trips. Right now I only had half an hour until the frost started to creep back inside while I could not work against it using . My first steps were uncoordinated and I may or may not have made my family laugh as I ungraciously fell over but the vast experience of my former lives kicked in and I made fast improvements. I would still not win a beauty contest but I reached my first goal. Quite close to our den I found a perfect target, a dead tree that had been dried by the frost into a gnarled and bizarre shape. Slinging my now massive tail around its trunk I pulled with all my might, which was certainly too much. The tree snapped and I face-planted into the next closest snowdrift. To make matters worse the tree fell on my head and managed to get stuck in the two horns that sprouted from my temples curving upwards behind my ears. Unable to get rid of the offending piece of wood I could only retreat in shame towards our den to get help. Father could barely stifle his laughter while removing my ¡°hat¡±, I was so embarrassed, my wish to sink into the floor nearly came true as my unconscious magic began softening the floor. At least it presented me the opportunity to stick my head into the soft floor to hide my face. After father was done with the removal he slapped my side ¡°off you go mighty huntress¡± he failed miserably to hold back his smirk as he sent me off. A few hundred meters away from the den I activated all my sensory skills and took in everything that the forest was willing to tell me. The most prominent smell was that of my family and our den, the lack of hygiene and food had created a beacon for scavengers telling them of the food that was ripe for the picking. Before I left the area I proceeded to mark my territory around the den the old fashioned way, claw marks on trees and a few carefully placed ¡°smells¡±. After finishing my business I set my target onto the smell that was closest. The dire-wolf I had killed was not alone, his pack was close and rapidly approaching. The air rippled as my hiding skills activated and the massive beast I had become melded with the surrounding desert of snow and ice. Shortly after I caught the first glimpse of the pack, a huge female leading a group of fifteen direwolfes. As far as I could tell ten females and five males followed the massive matriarch. As my gaze fell onto their leader the leading beast began to signal their pack. Whatever skill she had used my presence had been detected, the wolves fanned out, intent on uncovering the watcher. A plan formed in my head, the ice and snow already measured at least three meter thickness. Using water manipulation I began to dive into the frost. The life as sandworm flashed in front of my eyes as I remembered its old hunting techniques. Closing my eyes and pressing my maw against the ground I took in the vibrations of their movement. Only a * yelp * sounded as one of the males disappeared into the snow. Panic began to spread in the pack. The matriarch instantly restored order. They closed their ranks, carefully observing the surroundings and the treetops. A subterranean attacker was something they were not familiar with. Two more of the pack fell prey to my sneak attack before they retreated onto a craggy pile of rocks that stood defiantly out of the snow. Then something unexpected happened the matriarch spoke in a language I was familiar with, the language of beasts from a world long gone. ¡°Mighty hunter we apologize for invading your territory. You have claimed many of my pack your hunger must be sated, allow our retreat according to the rules of nature!¡± POV change Matriarch of the direwolves. When the cold arrived in the lands my pack was prepared, we had claimed a massive territory around the mountains. Its old lords covering in front of the elements that made my kind thrive. One day a scout went missing, its trail leading towards the lower hills around the mountain. Whatever had killed our younger brother we would retaliate. Then our misfortune started. We came across the smell of a dying pack of some sort wolf-hybrids. Their weakness stank into the air promising a free meal. Suddenly my skill activated but could not tell the position of my foe. I ordered my pack to fan out, the hunter was close and nothing this far out of the mountains should pose a challenge for our mighty pack. My arrogance was short-lived, only a * yelp * told of the death that had claimed one of my own. Panic and fear spread between my subordinates, I had to intervene to restore order. Whatever was out there it was dangerous! Two more of my pack were claimed by the hunter before we realized it was under our very paws. A pile of rocks close to us became our only safe heaven. It did not look good for my pack, the unmarked territory we were in must belong to a greater beast. As last resort I called out to it, appealing to the rules of nature asking to spare our lives. Then the predator revealed itself, deep green eyes suddenly opened on a small hill of snow, then the head rose out of the snow. Its camouflage was astonishing, a reptile head with long horns came into view, its head resting on a long and flexible neck. Then it heaved its slender body over the surface, massive paws digging into the snow providing support for the muscular limbs. Covered head to toe with a silvery white fur, it looked like a hybrid between a wolf and a wyvern! It spoke to us ¡°In accordance to the laws of nature I invoke the right of packs! I have young and injured to support, as such I demand a tribute of prey in return for your safe passage through my territory!¡± Its domineering voice sounded through our brains. Before any of my kin could spoil the opportunity I bowed to the creature. ¡°I matriarch of the bloodwolf pack vow onto the laws of nature to offer compensation for our lives!¡± The beast seemed pleased as it nodded into my direction, then it surprised me, ¡°the winter is hard on us all, if not for the danger of my pack I would have let you pass unhindered. Please accept my apology but the bindings of the pack are strong. Hunt well mighty wolf but my alpha awaits my return.¡± Then it sunk back into the snow, the hole it had just occupied closing seamlessly behind it. Before any of my stupid young-lings could ruin the moment I ordered our retreat. IF that THING is not the alpha of its pack I wanted to get us out as fast as possible. Chapter-06 My return towards the den went smoothly, the manacost for swimming through the snow was negligible and swimming felt really good. Lost in thoughts I made a critical error and slammed face first into the wall of our den, my head breaking through the reinforced dirt. Before I could explain or apologize I got a smack on my nose! My mother had the cursed bundle of reeds in her hand, how in three hells did she hide that thing? ¡°That was for scaring me¡±, then she gently placed a kiss on my nose. ¡°And this is for safely coming back we were worried!¡± With the combined help of my family I made it back inside the room. ¡°I got prey but it may be a bit gross, I was forced to store it into the hoard stomach to avoid being weighted down in a confrontation.¡± As I disgorged the three carcasses we were surprised by the little amount of residue that was left on them. We were still forced to wash them throughout but they had suffered no damage from the storage. This evening we all ate our fill and happily cuddled together in our sleep. I also earned a nickname from Gale ¡°my fluffy pillow¡± she called me, which made me blush and cover my face with my paws. The following weeks were marked by intense winter, the bloodwolfes paid five Malam? carcasses and went their own ways. I had a nice conversation with their Matriarch about the surrounding lands, we exchanged information on food sources, water and available materials. We also formed the maybe first ¡°non aggression¡± pact between beasts. We all struggled in our own ways to overcome the winter. With me being able to supply food, wood and materials our den grew quite comfortable. Father had also prepared pelts of my prey for skinning, due to our fur most clothing was useless but in his skilled hands thickly isolated fur-coats began to take shape. And with the current weather every extra protection helped. We expanded the den downwards until we hit the bedrock, on our way we discovered a small cavern with a bubbling subterranean river filling a small crystal clear lake. The whole ceiling was covered in energy enriched crystals bathing the cavern in a dim light. We also discovered that the old mountain in our forest was in fact a volcano! Warm water was ascending into the cavern providing a free hot spring to our den. We three children spent an entire day playing in the warm water, I had to be careful not to hurt Ere and Gale. But that is only natural when you sprout spikes, claws and horns. Our storage was filled, enough firewood for two seasons was in a chamber as my father gave me a very important mission: ¡°check the state of our old village!¡± he said. His gaze showed the big concerns he held over the fate of his fellow villagers. I used the underground exit, an accommodation of my habit to swim under the snow, to depart our den. A few rations stored safely in my hoard stomach and a few emergency potions we had created from the frozen remains of herbs under the snow were my only equipment as I set off towards the place we once called ¡°home¡±. Two hours later I arrived at our old farm or what was left of it. Burned beams of wood piercing the layers of snow were the only thing that showed signs of our old dwelling. Cautiously I approached the village walls and stole a glace at the state of the village. Everything was frozen over, the wooden walls partly destroyed, most houses burned down or destroyed. life did not react at all, the village was dead. Taking a deep breath I was astonished, there was no smell of death at all! As if the villagers had just left, the houses abandoned to the winter and thieves. I spent roughly a day collecting useful bits and pieces, a few bronze pots, a chain, the hidden sword of the village leader and a few books that had survived the fire in the village library. One of the old trading houses had the best find, a sack of crude magic foci, we could use those to provide light to our home or automate the air filtration. Stomach filled will all kinds of stuff including a very big kettle that was a real challenge to swallow I began my retreat. Brisk snapping sounds could be heard as my weight crushed a few loose remains, finally the snow was deep enough to submerge and I returned into the peaceful calm that was the sea of snow. Leaving behind the once bustling village now in ruin. My return was barely without incident, I may or may not have rammed a tree, but who had allowed that bugger to grow there anyhow? Mother and father took my report very serious, especially the part of the missing smell alarmed them greatly. Mother guessed that the Elves had taken the villagers with them as the winter broke over us. Sadly the times our family slept together was getting rarer, my stupid body had decided to grow, only the increasing depth of snow still allowed me to submerge. I had to carve out a cave in the bedrock that could house my expanding form. Honestly ¡°displeased¡± is a very soft word for how happy I was with my sudden growth spurt. But it allowed Gale and Ere to accompany me on hunting trips. While degrading my father had crafted a saddle from fine leather and fitted it to my back. The thing provided place for two riders, Ere took the front seat gearing herself with lance and shield. The back seat which was slightly elevated became the spot of Gale, she had taken a liking to the bow my father made her. All my complains on how the straps itched or pinched were shot down by mother, thus I was forced to play the pack-mule. While I could not fully submerge with the two on my back the additional firepower and close quarter flexibility paid off. I really hated the saddle but it was necessary if we were to hunt as a team. I reached level 150 due to the hunting, my stats had also become quite high due to all core going to me for . Four years had silently passed turning all three of us fourteen years old, the winter showed no sign of weakening forcing us to extend our hunts even further to still find any kind of prey. We felt it, the land was dying under the frosts grasp. It was one of those bitter-cold days that was supposed to be a summer-day as a rumbling sound alerted us. We felt the rage bubbling down the mountain, one of the old mountain lords had awoken, it was furious! We had to equip me with the war-saddle my father had made, it also allowed for father and mother to ¡°board¡± me. While my father took the front seat, mother and Gale in the middle with Ere guarding our backside I slowly stood up. Softly cursing my increasing size we exited the den to face whatever may come for our place of peace. We saw the the beasts from a distance, two lord-class beasts battling each other, both going for the kill. One was a chimera with two heads, the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpius. Its bleeding maws trying to grab hold of a drake, its crimson scales glistering in the winter sun. The chimera scored a solid hit with its stinger only to receive a claw swipe to one of its heads, the jaws visibly shattered one of its heads slumped down. This only enraged the other head more as it increased its flurry of attacks. The drake was not better off, one of its eyes a bleeding ruing, tail broken and one limb reduced to a bleeding husk. The force of the clash felt titanic to us, those beasts were at least level three-hundred, even weakened by hunger and battle we had no illusion that we could take on any of them. Thus we stood guard at the border of our territory for they had unmistakably noticed our presence. Both beasts were evenly matched but fortuna, luck was on the drakes side, one of the chimeras paws slipped just a bit, but it was enough. With a mighty roar the red drake took the opportunity impaling the remaining head of the chimera with its claws. With a sickening crunch it ripped both heads off its fallen adversary. The victory roar shook the entire mountain. The drake shot us a glace and proceeded to swallow big parts of the carcass by ripping it to shreds. As it was done an aura of superiority began to surround it as it descended the mountain. Most of its wounds had stopped bleeding as it posed quite a distance away from us ¡°What do we have here? A little filthy Imoogi nesting on MY mountain. Bow down in front of your superior KNEEL!¡± An insane pressure descended over me,
You are under effect of as a lower form of dragon your will is suppressed
My head slumped down as I cursed that overgrown lizard inwardly.
activated temporarily disabled, claim your heritage!
My third heart began to beat, power welled up through my veins. I became really angry and bellowed my defiance into the drakes face. POV change Fire drake The day had been going bad, the old chimera from the neighboring mountain had challenged me for my territory its hunger driving it towards confrontation. While I had won my injuries were plenty, as I had finished stilling my hunger on the fallen lord my curiosity shifted downwards. A lower Imoogi mounted by some furry creatures stood guard at its territories border, the scent-mark signaling its claim smelled even up here. How did this snake worm DARE to claim what is MINE?! I made my way towards a small cliff close to the Imoogi, I would show this impudent hatchling just how little its power is compared to a drake. Utilizing the innate skill of all dragonic creatures I forced it to kneel. It made my insides stir, oh how I loved using this accursed skill to dominate those weaklings. The Imoogi slumped down, hatred radiating from its eyes, YES hate me, its screams will please my ears when I tear it to shreds scale by scale! Then the unthinkable happened it stood up? And roared a challenge directly into my face! That was too much I had planned to kill the furred things and leave the Imoogi with a shred of vitality left. Now I was gonna murder that thing SLOWLY, how dare that puny thing even THINK about challenging the great ME ? This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Charging down the hill I reach it, like a weasel it avoids my first strike. ¡°It is fast!¡± It starts to run away weaving between the great trees, I give chase the puny things on its back begin to shoot stuff into my face every time I get close. While annoying it only raises my anger further. Multiple times I barely grab its tail, but the silky fur covering it slips away again and again. Slowly my stamina begins to drain, ¡°it is exhausting me?¡± Just as the thought dawns on me the furred things jump off and the Imoogi turns. Finally it decides to fight! My breathing is already ragged, wounds have reopened, I would have had to abort the chase very soon. But instead of a head on clash a green cloud is blown into my face, coughing and struggling to regain vision I stumble and fall flat. Paws close around my neck choking me, if only my tail was not broken! Bucking I struggle to get rid of the pest, finally my eye works again. As I open it, I stare directly into Hell! Its opened maw directly over my eye is the last thing that I see as the raging storm of energy unleashed by the Imoogi deep fries my head. ¡°What a useless death¡± is the last thing that crosses my mind as the great wheel of reincarnation claims me again. POV change Kai Breathing heavily I lie down next to the fallen drake, my whole energy reserves nearly exhausted, that last breath attack had been my last trump card. Shifting one Malam? carcass from my hoardstomach to be digested my stamina begins to slowly refill.
Congratulation due to winning a fight against all odds you may use to claim your opponents inheritance!
Turning my head to my family ¡°are you guys alright? That was a close one.¡± All four of them were slumped down against my belly, the attacks to divert the drakes attention had taken most of their reserves too. ¡°Do you need anything from its corpse? A window is telling me to eat that thing whole.¡± That yielded a reaction, my father stretched his back cracking and popping audibly. ¡° Nah it is fine Kai, we will take some of the scales and broken off spines that are left from its earlier fight. If even the system tells you to eat that thing don''t keep it waiting.¡± My family was all smiles while I eyes the corpse suspiciously, was that thing even gonna fit? I held the power of the basilisk acid in high regards but I had my doubts it would work. Recalling the old saying ¡°nothing ventured, nothing gained¡± I began my bloody work. Activating my jaws came free, the drakes scales were still warm as they scraped down my throat. Starting with its head to accommodate the many spine I worked my way down its massive size. Hoping dearly that I was not stopped by its shoulders, the spines made aborting my meal impossible.I expected to meet resistance as I approached its front legs but except some minor discomfort as its claws scraped down my throat I met little resistance. I felt my ribs and organs shift as I reached its hind-legs while uncomfortable it was not involved with any pain. Minutes later its tail disappeared through my muzzle like an over-sized spaghetti. My fear came true, while effective against the drake the stomach acid had a lot of work to do. It felt like being a salami, my legs flailed helplessly unable to even reach the ground. Resigning to my fate I at least did my best to camouflage myself as very big snow dune. Father had removed the saddle and erected the tent stored inside the saddles storage. A small fire was burning inside, a thin trail of smoke exiting at the tip of the tent. In this moment I deeply regretted having stepped onto the path of beast. My heart throbbed as I recalled the last hug I had shared with my mother. A single tear froze before it joined the ever present snow. It took three days to fully digest the drake once it finished the ever familiar box appeared.
successfully used on Level gain +190 Draconic heritage unlocked. Race changed to Frostfire Imoogi Stat gain Vit 2300Dex1500Str2500 Titles acquired: Draconic heritage has unlocke racial skills
Especially the last ability felt like some deity had watched and decided to answer my plea.
Status
Name: Kaileron "Kai"Age:14 Race: Frostfire Imoogi
Sex:Hermaphrodite(hidden)female
Level342
Vitality3630+(30%)=4719Dexterity2585
Strength4215Intelligence8362(hidden)2100
Wisdom6840(hidden)1400
Traits
Titles10(open list)
Skills62(open list)
HP471900/471900
Mana8362000/8362000
QI12000/12000
Titles
Title: Grade:AncientRank 1/10
Holder of this title follow the path to greater power, ascend towards power!
Title:Grade:LegendaryRank 1/10
My mind is my stronghold! Immunity to any form of control
Skills/Traits
Skill:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
As draconic being all lower forms of dragonic blood can only obey
Skill:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
The breath of a dragon is feared across all creation. 400% Bonus to breath based attacks
Trait:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
As a being of draconic blood 100% bonus to disease and poison resistance
Skill:Grade:AncientRank 1/10
The small wish to be big, the big yearn to be small again. Change your size, process takes some time, reduced size lowers Str but increases Dex.
With but a thought I activated imagining my target size. The world around me began to grow as my form contracted. POV change Selanis occupation Kai''s mother The days following the battle had been intense, my daughter had swallowed the fallen drake her balloon-like form was amusing, especially her limbs uselessly flailing until she gave up on movement again. I awoke due to an unusual pressure on my chest, opening my eyes I saw utter cuteness, my instincts instantly told me that it was my daughter. Her tiny silvery form laid between my breasts her thin nostrils flaring with each breath. I could only resist her cuteness for mere seconds as I hugged the alarmed Imoogi which responded with a * kyuuun * to my sudden interruption of its sleep. After a good cuddle she draped herself around my neck like a very warm scarf. Just in this moment my husband barged back into the tent, ¡°she is gone!¡± panic plastered onto his stupid face. Kai and I looked into each others eyes and back towards my husband. His eyes darting between me and my ¡°scarf¡± the realization fighting hard to reach his brain. I took the liberty of giving him a soft smack on his nose freeing him from his confusion. ¡°She got tiny!¡± his yell making my ears ring, my patience wearing a bit thin. At times I questioned my sanity for choosing him as mate. But those thoughts were buried quickly by the love I felt for my stupid dunce. With Kai back to being able to travel we began to store all essentials back into the saddle. As the earth began to shake.
The Mountain lord has passed away, Mount Iktaz Volcano has become active, eruption imminent! Time until eruption 15:30:10 and counting
Gale and Ere immediately woke up and began helping to store our equipment. Kai had dropped down, visibly enlarging by the second. By the time she had reached the exit of the tent she had reached the size of a medium Direwolf. We had to be fast to get out of the blast zone! Chapter-07 We had only spent a short time at our den, my hoard stomach was an utter mess. Like a trashcan they had just shoveled everything they could get their paws on into my open maw. My father had even dared to try storing the rancid thing he called cheese! He only gave up after I threatened to store HIM. Now we were like everything that is able to move on the run. The dreaded mountain had started to smoke in the last hour, gases erupting on its flanks. With the eruption imminent, prey and predator alike were fleeing side by side. The goal of survival uniting even the biggest foes. Lord-class beasts were the first to run, their large silhouettes blotting out the sinking sun. Everyone else fled as fast as their form allowed. The saddle set to its maximum width I was locked to 64% of my maximum size but leaving my family was not an option. Still we were directly behind the lord-class beasts in speed. Muscles aching, talons hurting from the force they had to endure we sped across the plains. The seconds began feeling like an eternity as the counter approached the eruption. ¡°Exhale do not hold your breath, cover your ears here it comes!¡± Mothers voice gave last instructions as the first tremors started. Then the land was tinted red as molten rock and fire thundered into the sky. The mountain had exploded! We saw the pressure wave approaching from the distance, trees and flora crushed like matchsticks. Using a small hill as cover the wave passed over us. Like our own, fearful eyes all over looked at the fiery spectacle. As we all sat there small specks of ash began drifting downwards. We were still too close! Under the strict orders of my mother we set off again. Deserted towns and the remains of desperate evacuations were all we found as the land blurred under my paws. Every once in a while a few straggler would watch our passing out of dead eyes. They had given up on life, but we never stopped. The only stop we made that day was for an abandoned supply wagon with a broken axle. We filled what was still useful into my hoard stomach and set off again. Days passed my thirst and hunger were sated while on the move, my once protesting body had given up its protest falling back into an ever-present murmur of silent resistance. Legs pumping in a constant rhythm, breath going a bit ragged we sped over the forsaken roads and paths. My passengers were not In a much better situation, they had to harvest Mana, water and food while on the move. Every once in a while I was fed a blend of nutrients mixed in water while a constant supply of Energy was infused into my body. They took turns in my ¡°maintenance¡±, the sunken eyes still told of how little sleep they could grab while on my rocking back. It took us two weeks to reach the sea, I practically collapsed into the cold water as I was unable to react in time and crashed into the shallow beach. All of us were exhausted and drained, only the looming mountain kept us going. The eruption also had a good side, the ever-present cold slowly lost its grasp on the fire bathed lands. Even down by the sea the heat erupting banished the frost . Even now the very air felt stifling, while I was trying to get some sleep my mother took out our most valuable loot. A compass and some maps looted from an abandoned ship in a dry dock. A sharp slap on my side prevented me from dozing off, while I could see that we HAD to leave, I could not repress hissing a bit at my father. Normally that would have earned me a headbutt, just his own tiredness preserved me of that. I was very uncomfortable with mothers plan to use me as a boat, especially due to making me not a very good swimmer. But my concerns did not come true as we disembarked in the best ¡°Nessy¡± impression I was capable of. Using my tail for propulsion my legs finally had time to rest. The salty water shedding the dried remains of our travels out of my fur. The water also hid the twitching that had come over my limbs as they were finally allowed to rest. I was especially happy to finally get the stains off my side which Ere had caused as she had barfed over my entire flank. We did not have enough time to clean ourselves so I had to endure the filth the entire journey. It took us three days of plowing through the waters for my mother to announce that we were finally outside of the radius and could slow down. Relieved I settled my Head onto my own back like a swan I was finally able to grab some sleep and sleeping I did, like a stone. Three days were spent rest up, I was thankful for a swarm of little fish that had decided to nibble off dead skin and residue off my paws. While tickling at first and a tad disturbing I was thankful for the cleaning service, thoughts which animals normally receive this service were droned out by the bone-wrenching exhaustion. With mother as navigator set course towards the ¡°sister islands¡± a large archipelago situated south-east from our old home. Sometimes we saw ships in the distance but they kept their distance. Ere and father spent the days with idle fishing from the back seats, while Gale practiced her magic under mothers tutelage. POV change random human fisherman The hauls had been getting worse since the war started, the foolish Elves had used large-scale magic to upset the climate. At least that is what I was told, refugees had become a normal sight after one of the larger islands of the archipelago exploded in fire and death. Even now the clouds of ash towered in the distance. My bad leg had thankfully prevent me from getting drafted, today the dull throbs of pain where my bone had shattered in my youth brought me joy and not agony. Suddenly the fish I was hunting became agitated, something was unsettling them. ¡°Good evening fisherman would you have time to give directions?¡± A female voice sounded in my head, not even ten meter away from me were four beast-man sitting on some leather contraption. I was not used to mind-speak and lost hold of my net out of surprise. Suddenly my boat rocked as a giant beast broke the surface. I saw my life flash before my eyes, remembering my poor family, another fisherman swallowed trace-less by the sea. Then my net broke the water, the beast held my missing net in its mouth, carefully placing it on my boat. It struggled a bit to get all strings out of its teeth, I was mesmerized by the majestic creature, its warm breath blowing into my face. As it finished expelling my net its head retreated back under water. Whoever these travelers were, to tame or bind such a creature they must be of high social standing! I deeply bowed and did my best to answer the females questions for direction. They thanked me by leaving me a mature Salriak, I would so use the opportunity to boast to my fellow fisherman with ¡°my¡± epic haul. I felt sad as I saw their silhouette disappear in the distance, the might and humbleness those travelers had radiated left a deep impression in me. I vowed to myself to recount the story of this encounter until my dying breath. POV Kai Note to myself: ¡°grabbing a net with my maw is STUPID¡±, the damn strings had tangled around my teeth and I had struggled to remove them. You would think that with all my time alive I would have gained some common sense! But no, I nearly made a fool out of myself by tangling myself in a stupid fisher-net. Nearly scared the poor fisherman to death as I got his net back. Thankfully my family had not noticed my deep embarrassment as they discussed the best route to the next city and which city we should head for first. They had decided on a city called Hercs, an off-shot of the local human kingdom. With the destination clear I accelerated back to our traveling pace cutting through the pleasantly warm water, whatever had caused the winter on our own lands it held no grasp here. A few hours later we came into view distance of the harbor city, ships of all sizes coming and going. The stone walls guarding the harbor dwarfing the wooden constructs that passed its floodgate. Close to the city a small rowboat headed towards us, two men rowing, transporting an official looking person. ¡°Welcome to Hercs, travelers. With whom may I speak concerning the passage and docking fees?¡± Mother was all smiles her reply broadcasting to all of us.¡±You may talk to me regarding passage fees, we do not intend to dock though. We would kindly ask you to point us towards the closest beast-ramps.¡± The official only nodded, ¡°five silver for your entourage, the beast-ramps are located in the southern end of the harbor. One of my colleagues will collect the fee and fill out your registration. Have a good stay.¡± Then he gave his men a sign as they headed to the next ship to organize the buzzling chaos. We aimed for the southern part, the beast-ramps came into sight, massive stone-steps that looked like made for giants ascended out of the calm waters. I was thankful for being underwater, even down here the smell of the city started to assault my poor nose. As if feeling my distress mother gave me a few rubs on the back. The water churned as I broke the surface, lifting myself out of the sea, claws digging into the rocky steps. It was hard to refrain from kissing the ground, the days on the ocean were enough contact with water for the entire year, at least in my opinion. Thick streams of water ran down my legs as the ocean receded its grasp. Small marine life getting evicted by the absence of water tumbling onto the pavement. I finally felt cleaner again without all the little things trying build nests into my fur. A small group of people in Uniform approached, four guards and the promised official looking person in a robe. ¡°Greeting travelers, as my colleague has told you, the passage fee is five silver. Should you require housing for your beast talk to the stable-masters down this road. If you need to sell your beast you will also find appropriate traders there. I suggest an inn in the second or first ring depending on your standing, may you have a nice stay in our beautiful city.¡± Mother handed the man a small pouch of coins, the man checked its contents smiling brightly he bowed down and took his leave. I was very certain that it contained MORE than five silver but kept any remark to myself. Mother pointed me down towards the stables, a thin boy with a cart busily sweeping the road saw us first. ¡°Please fetch your master boy.¡± the boy sped off encouraged by the copper coin my mother had thrown him. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Not even a minute later a bear of man came to us, his disinterested gaze instantly changed as he saw me. Shivers ran down my spine as his eyes seemed to inhale my very being. His trance was only broken as my mother greeted him, ¡°Good morning good man, we require a place to clean our steed and would like to inquire if any source of food is close that may accommodate its hunger.¡± The struggle to keep his focus on mother was evident, his eyes always wandering towards me, only his pride as stable-master seemed to keep the beast-nerd in check. ¡°There is a vacant box right over there, feel free to use it for cleaning. If you require food, the trader in house 24 is specialized in larger quantities. You could also venture into the city dungeon, the Minos on the second layer may fit your needs. If you plan to house it, the box costs a silver a day. We also offer the service of a healing mage if needed. Should you require my service I am in my office, the stable-boys will show you the way.¡± Mother led me into the empty box, which to my surprise was quite big, easily able to house me. The soft and clean filling of straw-like material practically begged me to take a nap. A plan formed in my head, looking my mother in the eyes I activated the ultimate dreaded pseudo skill . It took a few minutes of begging and looking miserable until mother gave in and booked the box for a full week. Paying the stable-master, more fresh filling was organized and the saddle taken off. The unfamiliar freedom felt like a blessing, this way I dozed off while my family began to clean me from head to toe. If there is a heaven that little box came very close to being one. POV stable-boy The recent weeks have been good for the city, the large number of refugees had brought wealth to our city. While the harbor practically exploded with ships the increase in beasts was negligible. Especially the true larger beasts the nobles use did not come to our stables. Master had tasked me with cleaning the road in front of the boxes as small tremors told of the approach of a new beast and a large one at that. Four exotic beast-man seated in a saddle the size of a small ship approached down the road. Their ride was breathtaking, a giant furred Imoogi variant, its aura of power making my hair stand on ends. I had the urge to reprimand those nobles, they had not put any protection on the talons of their steed. The extremely hard rock that was used on the street had proved a bane to talons. But I kept quiet as I saw those talons effortlessly pierce a finger deep into the stone. Should we make them wear protection to protect the road then? To my surprise the silver furred female asked me to call for the stable-master, her voice sounding like a melody in my head. Unlike the beast-kin of our lands, these exuded an aura of power and dignity. She gave me a whole copper coin for making haste to rely the message. My mouth already watered imagining the sweets I could buy with the coin, the remark over the talons droned out by the anticipation of fine sugary treats. I instantly decided these people were nice, the large male scared me though but that may be a common trait of the males that took up the role of warrior regardless of race and species. I watched from behind a pillar as master told them of our stables and prices. They asked for a place to clean their beast and let it rest a bit. I hid myself under the roof of the box they occupied. They unfastened the saddle and began combing the lush fur. The large beast actually started to purr as the combs did their work, it reminded me of a very content cat. The nobles acted without fear around the mighty beast, the younger females even checking in its maw and in its blind spots, whoever had trained this majesty had done an astounding job! Without protest and quite fast they finished tending to its needs. As they were done cleaning beast and saddle the silver female said something to the Imoogi. The beast then proceeded to swallow the entire saddle. The massive thing disappearing trace-less down its throat, I watched wide eyes as the construct disappeared. Sweat ran down my back, not only showed the beast intelligence it also had used Mana! The mystery surrounding the nobles only grew by the second. One of the smaller females procured a sweet smelling piece of soap as all three females held their hands and began chanting. Water formed midair binding with the soap. I had to inform my master! These people were important, three highborn female mages and an obvious Cultivator as guard. I was sad to miss the remaining cleaning but this was more important, we could not afford to upset people of their status. Practically out of breath I arrived in masters office, as usual a complete chaos of documents, tools and random things littered the spacious room. ¡°What is wrong Tim, new customers?¡± Catching my breath I began my report, his face turning grimmer by the second. A small flicker of fear passed his eyes as I told of the noble mages but he signaled me to rest a bit. ¡°Don''t worry, I will deal with it.¡± he said leaving the office in a hurry. POV Kai Sprawled out in the straw the sleep was beautiful, the others had decided to book an inn while I had a week of lazying around. The stable-master regularly checked on my well-being and the stable-boys were warming up too. I had to stop some of the more eager ones to turn me into a bravery challenge. A merchant had delivered a pile of meat and vegetables which one of the older stewards dutifully cooked into some kind of soup. His cooking could not hold a candle to my mothers but in my hunger it tasted like liquid ambrosia. Within three days my body had restored all the residue damage suffered in the wild escape. While not my favorite way of training, the experience had a great benefit for my scales and muscles. With nothing better to do I laid my focus on cultivating QI. Mana and ¡°meditation¡± (sleeping like a rock). Like this five of the seven days were spent in my comfy bed of straw. But all pleasant things have to come to an end. As I was taking a nap a commotion erupted inside the stables. Some richly dressed children, a boy and a girl were looking at the resting beasts. The large number of guards following them combined with a butler-looking man that kept trying to get them to head home were highly annoying. Trying hard to stay polite I simply closed the large door to my compartment using my tail. Burying my head in the straw hoping for precious sleep to come back. POV butler to the great house of Durmont It had been three hours since the young masters had decided to inspect the city. Mischievous as always they had gotten their fathers Lord Rexais Duromont agreement for this ¡°excursion¡±. I had barely enough time to organize a small team of guards to at least guarantee the safety of my charges. We had been through countless stores and stands the young masters curiosity had finally dragged us into the third ring towards the beast stables. As twins the two young masters were held in high regard by their parents, I had my hands full to prevent them being spoiled rotten. The older twin Horsan Durmont played the leading role in this excursion, his younger sister Inlais Durmont got practically dragged through the city. They wandered the compartments in wonder, beasts from all over the world taking their rest or waiting for their masters. Their innocent eyes sparkling as they watched the majestic and exotic forms. ¡°Carlton I want my own beast!¡± proclaimed the young Horsan, puffing his chest as far as a seven-year old could manage. I could only helplessly follow as he barged from box to box unsettling many of the inhabitants. Just in this moment the stable-master arrived bowing and greeting us. ¡°Why is the door closed?¡± filled with child-like innocence Horsan was rattling on the only closed door in the stable. ¡°Well a look could not hurt¡± I thought, completely missing how pale the stable-master had become. ¡°Honorable Carlton, it would be better to refrain from opening THAT door, beast and master are nothing you want to offend!¡± It was too late, Horsan had gotten one of the guards we had brought to unlock the door. The door had barely opened as a thick silvery tail darted out, latching onto the door it closed once more. While most of us were still dumbfounded by the action, the young lord was fuming ¡°How dares that beast to refuse me? Stable-master punish it!¡± ¡°Honorable lords, I am afraid I cannot. This beast neither belongs to our stables nor does it carry anything which would enable me to punish it.¡± The meaning slowly sunk into my mind, grabbing the stable-master by his beard I whisperer to him ¡° You want to tell me, that behind this door is an UNBOUND greater beast?¡± He vigorously nodded, a slight smile tugged at the corners of my mouth, the lord would be highly interested in this information. Calling an end to the excursion we headed back to the castle, the young lords were quite unhappy with the sudden end but this took priority. Dropping the young lords and their purchase off in the capable hands of their nanny''s I made haste towards my masters chambers. It was highly offending to just barge into his chambers but I did it anyways, behind the massive desk sat Lord Rexais Duromont one of his eyebrows raised looking at my disheveled form. ¡°I hope for your own sake Carlton, that whatever has brought you here is important!¡± His ice-cold voice made me sweat, ¡°I bring urgent news! The southern beast-stables house an UNBOUND greater beast!¡± Putting the documents he had just held down Rexais stood up. His hawk-like piercing gaze felt like digging into my skull. There he stood the Hero of many battles in all his glory, a sense of pride filled my chest for serving this great man. ¡°Yes we were unable to confirm more in the short time available but it seems to be some Imoogi variant but it is neither bound by any contract, pledge or under any form of taming magic!¡± Lord Rexais turned towards the large window behind his desk, the setting sun casting his silhouette on the wall. Lips curling up into a smile that looked dangerous in his harsh face ¡°Find its masters buy it! If that fails bind it! Use what you need to succeed!¡± The eagerness of my master spilled into me as I made haste towards the building housing the my masters most trusted, also referred to as ¡°black guard¡±. Chapter-08 It was deep in the night as small vibrations alerted me to the presence of intruders in my box. Before I could react something closed around my neck. The intruders had concealed their presence only dropping the cloak as the ring snapped shut. Certain that their plan had succeeded they started chatting, mocking me for my deep sleep.
Item Beast collar forcefully equipped
activated
It hurt like crazy but slowly the metal ring started to glow, with a roar the offending piece disintegrated into molten droplets impacting all around me. It took only seconds but she intruders had overcome the shock and started to retreat. Still covered in glowing metal droplets I took chase. They managed to delay me by closing the massive door but it only gave them a small moment. The wooden door exploded as a few tons Imoogi came into conflict with its position, wooden shrapnel showering into the courtyard. Behind me the box erupted into flames as the fresh air supply turned my poor bed into a raging inferno. The intruders used some form of grappling hook to escape onto the roofs disappearing into the shadows. Only one of them was too slow, wounded by a large piece of wood stuck in his tight, my rage focused entirely on the poor man in form of a charged Breath attack that instantly shattered any form of defense. The remains of his metal armor lasted the longest as his remains evaporated. As my rage subsided a bit I was left with a human sized molten patch of pavement and a burning stable. Sighting deeply I shook myself like a dog getting rid of the metal residue in my fur. Chasing over the roofs was out of the question, I would decimate the entire neighborhood and most likely still not get those people. Panic began to spread in the stables as the fumes the fire had released began to reach other boxes, locked up beasts bellowing out their distress. The rattling of chains coupled with massive doors barely containing what was inside created an eerie scene. I was highly annoyed but with careful air manipulation the fire died down in seconds. As if waiting for a grand entrance, that moment the stable-master charged out of his home at the head of the complex. Dressed in a white nightgown armed with shield and spear he looked utterly ridiculous, people of his stature should be banned from wearing anything but heavy plate. Pondering my options I ignored the stable-master, my group had been attacked. I needed to make sure my family was safe. Swelling to my maximum size my lungs filled with as much air as I could contain activated. The very air trembled as my shout cut through the air. Only the lack of glass windows saved the surrounding neighborhood from massive damage. The stable-master only meters away from me collapsed on the pavement, I could still hear his heartbeat but he was out cold. The other beasts instantly went quiet in this god forsaken silence I counted the seconds. Seconds that felt like an eternity later a howl answered on the mental plane. With but a thought I dove into the ground, unable to fly I took the fastest route available. The earth welcoming me back in its embrace I made haste towards the location my instincts urged me to head towards. Above ground commotions broke out as half the population began to panic the first alarm bells began to sound, the rattling of armored feet on stone reached even me deep underground but I ignored them. On my wild chase I also encountered this fabled dungeon, breaking through one of the walls I crossed a large room diving into the wall on the other side. A group of adventurers currently fighting in the dungeon must have gotten a great scare. Meanwhile deep under the castle in his private jail Lord Rexais Durmont inspected the captives in front of him. A twisted smile adorning his unwashed face. ¡°Four little Elven beasts, did you really believe you scum could freely enter MY city?¡± Pacing like a cornered animal the lord continued his half insane monologue in front of his gagged Prisoners. Chained to the wall with iron shackles laid my family. Hefting his flickering gaze onto my mother ¡°And once I have your beast that old turtle in the north can only bow to me. So I have to thank you for bringing me such a present!¡± The mad lord reached for a glowing iron rod slowly approaching Gale''s breast, fur starting to get singed filling the stifling room with the odor of burned hair. ¡°Why are you not begging for your life? You are alone, gagged, drugged and your magic is sealed by the chains? What hope can you still have?¡± Gale just smiled defiantly as much as the leather gag allowed her. The lord screamed in utter rage drawing back the glowing rod preparing to strike her. Just in this moment a tremor ran through the underground dungeon, his balance broken the crazed lord fell onto his behind the glowing rod setting fire to his pompous cape. Just in time he managed to discard the burning cloth, huffing he sat there rage drowning any reason he had left. With a *crack * parts of the ceiling began to cave in as I shoved my head into the room. In seconds I had ripped the chains out of the walls freeing my family. Full of concern I scanned their naked form for any kind of injury. Eyes coming to rest on Gales singed chest my rage nearly exploded. Scanning the room for the perpetrator I found Rexais covering behind a pile of broken rocks. Then something snapped. POV Gale I am uncertain what had given birth to the madness the man in front of me contained. His covered guards had ambushed us during sleep a potent paralytic poison quelling any resistance we could offer. Our captors did not talk, they just delivered us to their master a man called Lord Rexais Durmont. Something inside the man snapped upon seeing us, talking about finally finding revenge madness began to invade his eyes. He made his guard throw us into this accursed dungeon. He spent a full day trying to make ¡°mother¡± tell him a ¡°key¡± for our ¡°beast¡±, then he had tried to torment ¡°father¡±. It was still weird to call our adoptive parents by that name, Ere had far less problems with that I envied her a little. We had bonded in the deepest winter forming a close bond a family could hope for, still my mind struggled to address them this way, no matter how happy it made them. But his tools had failed to even dent the physical form even his fur refused to get but signed by something so mundane as normal fire. My own fur was not that lucky the iron rod had easily burned a black gap into the Gray, threatening the skin underneath. The puny man demanded us to beg for our lives but we knew, his end was coming. The very ground shaking slightly as rock parted around his doom. Kai was coming! Dust raining from the dungeon ceiling was the first sign, then Kai''s massive head broke through the crude stone ceiling nearly burying the mad man named Rexais. Like a worried mother her gaze wandered over us and came to rest on the small burn mark in my fur. Her eyes widened the green pupils turning golden her head swiveled towards the fallen Lord like a possessed doll. Deep inside at that moment Kai scared me greatly, her entire aura exuding the promise of death, easily dwarfing the once pungent odor, the entire dungeon was filled with. A deep and rumbling voice filled the small chamber a language so foreign not a word resembled anything I had ever heard yet the meaning was clear as the sky. Rexais , ¦Ð¦Á¦É¦Ä? ¦Ä¦Ï¦Ë¦Ï¦Õ?¦Í¦Ï¦É , ¦Å¦Ð?¦Ï¦Ñ¦Ê¦Ï¦Ô? , ¦Ï¦É ¦Ï¦É¦Ê¦Ï¦Ã?¦Í¦Å¦É¦Å? ¦Ë¦Á¦Ì¦Â?¦Í¦Ï¦Ô¦Í ¦Ô¦Â¦Ñ¦É¦Ò¦Ó?? ¦Ò¦Á? ¦¡¦Ð?¦Õ¦Á¦Ò¦Ç ! ¦¬?¦É¦Ï? ¦×¦Ô¦Ö? ¦Ê¦Å¦Í?¦Ó¦Ç¦Ó¦Á ¦Ò¦Á? ¦°¦Ï¦Ó? ¦Ì¦Ç¦Í ¦Á¦Õ?¦Í¦Å¦Ó¦Å ¦Ó¦Ï ¦Ê?¦×¦É¦Ì¦Ï ¦Ð?¦Í¦Ó¦Á! Rexais, murderer of children, oath-breaker, defiler of family''s receive your judgment! May your soul burn eternal never to leave the void! (for those interested it is Greek all hail g**gle translate) The very fabric of our world seemed to buckle as the last word left her muzzle. The lord just watched, laughing like a maniac as nothing seemed to happen. But his laughing soon turned to screams as ethereal flames erupted out of his body. He turned his head to the back of the room seeing something only he could perceive. Suddenly his body went limp face frozen in horror, black blood seeping out of his pure white eyeballs, the dying scream never leaving his opened mouth forever locked in that twisted form. Shortly after Kai went back to normal eyes darting confused back and forth. A big question-mark nearly gaining physical form over her skull. I was fairly certain she had as little idea as us to what had just happened and it scared her more than me. POV Kai The way out of the city was far harder than the way in had been, trying my best not to swallow or move my tongue. A kick hit the roof of my mouth, fathers voice howling through my head ¡°If I get out of here alive I will train you until you bleed! And I vow to buy the biggest toothbrush in the entire kingdom gods it reeks in here!¡± Using the cover of the earth our escape was successful. I am still highly alarmed by what had happened in the dungeon, my control had slipped again! Close to a small river I resurfaced, lying flat on my belly muzzle slowly opening. Gasping for fresh air my passengers stumbled outside. Well sorry for not being able to brush teeth with my current body! After confirming my family''s well-being I took the liberty to shrink down to scarf-size and join them in their extended bathing. That night we did not even set camp, naked and exhausted we just went to sleep next to the trees. The furious ringing of bells in the city barely reaching towards our resting spot. As dawn hit in the morning we exchanged our experience during the stay in the city which ended in a big slightly awkward family hug due to the missing clothes. With the immediate survival in question we took refuge on a small island in the middle of a medium lake. An old turtle living at the bottom of the lake readily agreed to share the area in return for not ending on the menu. While unpleasant, mother had me discharge the entire content of my hoard stomach for sorting and inventory. We ended up with a huge pile of jumbled utensils and furniture from our old den. It took us two days to even bring a semblance of order to the heap. Father had taken the duty to salvage some of the older fur-coats to create some makeshift clothes. Gale and Ere were maintaining our remaining metal utensils and mother spent the day collecting fruits, nuts and some berry. Thus our day ended with a large bowl of fruit-salad for everyone. I was happy to discover that the omnivore trait my original species held was still present, even after mixing with so many Carnivores. No one that cannot change their size can imagine the utter glee of burrowing into a bowl of tasty food larger than yourself. I got some jealous gazes for binge-napping on a warm stone in the sun but mother made sure I got plenty of sleep. ¡°Let her sleep I rather have her rested if we need to run again.¡± Was all she said to make any complaints stop. It did not take long and our equipment was sorted, this time a vastly more orderly pile was left for me to store. Mother had decided that we would travel by foot in the coming weeks to reduce the chance of detection. She had studied the map and marked our next destination, an old temple dedicated to an old Moon goddess. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The reason was unclear why she wanted to head there but without better alternatives we readily agreed. We waved goodbye to the turtle, which quite unexpectedly was quite sad to see us leave. Clothed in the leather tunics my father had made we looked pretty much like a group of ragged refugees most travelers passing just ignored us. I spent most of my time in the most comfy place of the group, buried between Ere''s breasts only my head sometimes peeked over the leather that served to stabilize my jiggling housing. Every time I looked outside I got some weird glaces from Gale but I could not place the message it might contain. It may have been three days until Gale waved Ere closer to herself, my sleep was rudely interrupted as Gale''s hand ripped me out of my makeshift bed. Glaring at Ere she stuffed me inside her own bra. Unfortunately for me, Gale''s ¡°assets¡± lacked sorely in the comfort department. Not that I was stupid enough to lay my claw on one of Gale''s most sensitive topics, I had learned that the hard way. With my sleep broken I kept my head peeked over the leather, only retreating down when other travelers passed us. The roads became better the further we neared the capital while the times we encountered soldiers increased daily. Whole battalions were on the march towards the north. All those marching soldiers did not even spare us a second glace, there was mo joy on their faces it looked like they were headed directly for war. Sadly we had no way to aquire information as most travelers, even the refugees refused to converse with ¡°lowly beast-kin¡±. With the general enmity we avoided the larger camps used by the common people and kept to ourselves. The low speed however allowed us to fully explore the rich and changing nature all around us. Especially after our long winter everyone took great pleasure in seeing the bustling nature. It was a normal evening after a few weeks on the road as we got company. Loud cursing surrounded a huge human male with a woodman''s ax alerting us of his coming long before we see him. ¡°Stupid wagon, the axle is fine! So much for his unbreakable woodwork, if I get my hands on that swindler!¡± Spewing profanity that would make most sailors turn in their graves the man was inspecting the trees obviously searching for a replacement for his mentioned broken axle. So engrossed with his search and cursing he nearly stumbled over us. He hid his shock quite well as he greeted us as fellow travelers, only a slight widening of his pupils telling of his blunder. POV Horgbert, right hand to the owner of ¡°rich harvest caravan¡± That damn swindler! How could Samuel fall for that damn hoax of a woodworker? We had gotten one of our wagons repaired but only two days later the damn thing broke again! Stuck in the middle of an average patch of forest the entire caravan was forced to halt. If bandits got winds of our predicament the entire mission was in danger. Making my way through the woods I was searching for the perfect tree to replace the broken beam as I accidentally stumbled into a small camp. Four hooded figures sitting around a burned down fire, they had reduced their presence obviously intent on keeping to themselves. Reading my ax just in case I greeted them, the target of my search a very straight tree sprouting just in the border of their little encampment. The large hooded figure pointed questioningly at the tree to which I responded by nodding. Sighting deeply he stood up, never in my life had I seen such a mountain of a man, the sitting position had concealed his maximum height. Intimidated by the sheer size, unconsciously I took a step backwards. Swiveling his shoulders the giant grabbed the tree, his muscles bulging the trunk snapped with a brisk sound close to the ground coming off cleanly. I stood in awe before this display of brute strength, the giant proceeded to offer me the tree with one hand. Dumbfounded I accepted the log only to nearly collapse under the sudden weight. The giant gave off a sound I could only guess as chuckling and returned to his old spot obviously intent on returning to his nap. ¡°Thank you kind stranger in place of my master let me offer you a warm meal for your help!¡± The man had just saved me half an hour chopping down the tree, greatly reducing the time we had to spend in this cursed forest. The giant only looked into the direction of the middle sized person seated on a bedroll next to him. That person responded by nodding, I deeply bowed in that persons direction he obviously held high reputation in this group if even that giant had to ask for confirmation. Like on command all four stood up, nearly making me gasp. Even the smallest of the group easily overshadowed me not to mention a second one close to the size of the giant. The man shouldered the tree gesturing me to lead the way. I made haste towards the caravan, the strangers effortlessly keeping pace as the sounds of battle echoed in front of us. My biggest fear had come true BANDITS! A large group of bandits had encircled the caravan, the wagons formed a circle with the guards securing a small parameter outside of it. Women and children in the center of the wagon-ring the situation was not looking great the bandits had the advantage of numbers by five to one. While we had thirty guards with proper gear the situation looked hopeless. My legs began to shiver as I saw the impending slaughter. Suddenly the giant handed the tree to the other giant gesturing towards the bandits like a parent telling its offspring to prove itself. The other took the tree without hesitation bloodlust billowing from his presence then he charged towards the bandits. The smallest of the group sighted deeply and began to follow towards the bandits. I tried to stop him, but the giant stopped me, placing ¡°paw?¡± on my shoulder shaking his hooded head. The bandits had noticed the approaching threat preparing to intercept the charging lunatic with cold steel. Digging its feet into the ground bulging muscles transferred the energy of the reckless charge into a mighty swing. The darkness had concealed the tree and now shouts of panic and alarm spread as the mighty lump of wood mercilessly crashed through their rows. With brisk sounds arrows were launched, a second unit of bandits hidden in the shadows had opened fire on the hulking berserker with his his bloody tree. The shout of warning was stuck in my throat I could already see the poor man riddled by arrow as the night turned to day, the clap of thunder blindingly bright. Not a single arrow reached its target as glowing arrow-tips rained from the sky harmlessly falling into the short grass. The second stranger stood next to the caravan crackling lightning arcing between his paws, another thunderclap thundered through the night followed by the smell of burning meat. A MAGE! But even with their overwhelming strength the bandits organized themselves going back to the offensive. Still the two remaining strangers kept perfectly still silently watching the unfolding fight. Then the tables turned again, the silvery scarf of the small stranger came alive, a concentrated beam of fire cutting through the bandits like a hot knife through butter. No bandit could get close to the mage which proceeded to decimate their ranks. With their numbers dwindling the bandit-leader finally ordered a retreat, as sudden as they had appeared the men disappeared in the thick forest. The two strangers returned to the two waiting ones and received a pat on the head? Suddenly the those four strangers looked far more like a family, just in this moment Samuel the owner of this caravan appeared out of the wagon ring. The small woman made her way towards us, the countless pouches and bags sewn to her kilt jiggling with their mysterious content. Samuel reached us in seconds her gaze scanning the four strangers. One endless moment she continued her relentless scan until she nodded satisfied. She bowed briefly ¡°Welcome strangers to my humble caravan, I see you have already met my right hand Horgbert, my name is Samuel. As leader of this caravan I offer you our hospitality and friendship feel free to accompany us as long as you see fit.¡± The four strangers took down their hoods, sharp gasps running through the assembled members of the caravan. One of the guards tried to draw his sword but before he even managed to get it out of its sheath a deep red handprint bloomed on his cheek. ¡°How dare you Duris son of Mogra to draw your weapon towards MY guests?! If I say you kiss their feet you will do that! I don''t care what grows on their skin and if its mushrooms you WILL kiss them, are we UNDERSTOOD?¡± The fuming Samuel stood in front of the young guard Duris, hand nearly smoking from the strike that had just imprinted itself on young Duris face. In this moment I was happy to not be on the receiving end of Samuel''s legendary fury. POV Kai The fight against the bandits had been very refreshing, Ere had utilized her training well taking the position as vanguard. Gale ha gotten very good in the manipulation of lightning one of the advanced elements of air and water manipulation. Originally I did not plan to participate as well but those bandits were far too organized, it felt like fighting a military unit so I was forced to help out. The leader of the small caravan Samuel had invited us to accompany them for a while, with the prospect of information mother had readily agreed. We handed the ¡°slightly¡± bloody tree to a horrified woodworker and followed Samuel''s invitation to her private fire. The Samuel woman and mother instantly got along very well, chatting for hours. Both exchanged information on the recent events. The state of the kingdom did not look very good, the explosion of our home had triggered far wider events than we were aware of. The Dwarves and Elves had allied against the Humans and Beast-kin, both sides accusing each other of using forbidden magic. The hardliners of both sides used this as an opportunity to call for war. With the army setting out to secure the borders one of the northern lords had apparently killed his long time rival. This had destabilized the region as the children of the lord pressed for revenge. With external and internal threat many of the common people fled the regions of conflict further destabilizing the already bad situation. As trader Samuel was most interested in the state of Hercs and ¡°the lost island¡± as they started to call our old home. The other people in the caravan while reserved at first slowly started to thaw up. My father got his hands on some high quality leatherworking tools which immediately started producing miracles in his paws. Many of the guards began commissioning new sheathes for their weapons and replacements for worn out leather binding of their armor. Mother displayed her talent as healer curing many small and large aliments, in bad cases she still had to rely on my help. Gale had made friends with an old man that called himself ¡°enchanter¡± while lacking in some areas his command of runes was superb. That way most of us had something to do, Ere spent her time sparring and training while I tried to get my core to evolve to the next stage. Chapter-09 "Igas" they called their village, filled with pride they proclaimed its beauty and name on a fancy sign in front of the gates. The old woman Samuel only talked a minute to one of the poorly equipped guards before the whole caravan was allowed inside, free of any toll or tax. ¡°A golden tongue¡± I muttered to myself while shaking my head. Her command of the caravan and talent of enticing those of weak will left me speechless quite often, she had proven her talent a few times on our shared journey. I was still pondering if she tried to make the poor villagers ego bust out of their chest, as she had already disappeared with the village steward to discuss the trading terms. Frankly the woman scared me a bit, she always seemed to know where or if anything of importance transpired anywhere. Currently I was hidden inside my mothers tunic, we had managed to avoid any bigger attention by labeling me as a very rare beast from our homelands. The old Woman had tried to trade for me as she had accidentally witnessed my capability to store things. Mother had in all seriousness explained that my kind of beast was immune to any form of enslavement,tame or binding magic. Furthermore she lied through a smile that my race could only be raised by imprinting right after birth, if the imprinted person died we would just return to the aether. Samuel was highly interested, I am fairly sure she at least noticed some parts of the lie, but she did not pursue the matter further. While sometimes a bit boring the current style of life was actually quite enjoyable. The old enchanter had taken a liking to Gale, believing her to be destined as his disciple he spent every free minute engraving his very knowledge into her. As she had tried to gain some freedom by telling that she missed her family, the old man simply made Samuel place our entire bunch on his wagon. While unusual Gale really had a talent for the runes, she had developed a technique allowing her to combine enchanting and her magic that even I had never seen. Using raw Mana as medium she inscribed temporary runes onto spells, vastly boosting their power by taking advantage of the runes natural ability to draw in ambient energy. The unknown use of magic had rekindled my own desire to gain more knowledge, I had become complacent by the current strength my body displayed. The glowing rune in the air had once again shown me that I was ¡°just another frog in the well¡±. Because of that I accompanied Gale to her lessons intent on finding my own use for runes or enchanting to bolster our battle prowess. Gale did not seem to mind often scratching my head when deep in though or contemplating an idea. If I ever got another life as a pet an owner like her would be like winning the lottery. The village steward and Samuel had come to an agreement quite fast, our caravan would stay in the village for roughly a week and then proceed north. The old enchanter had also allowed my father to offer his leather-works at his stand. This allowed us to gain a medium income preparing items for our not that distant departure from the caravan. After traveling together for roughly a month he had finally warmed up enough to tell us his name. Gale had refused to divulge the information, saying that her master would- or would not tell us. He went by the name Lusarth while unfamiliar I could not help to have a slight nagging voice in the back of my head trying to remind me of something I could not place my talon on. The leather-works were a family project, Ere preparing the pelts together with Mother, treating the skins in herbal tonics produced by my mother. The finished leather then finely crafted to durable equipment and clothes finally enchanted by Gale under her masters supervision. I helped by heating the big kettle we used for treating the raw pelts with my flame and infusing some energy into the process. This way the products offered in our small booth were of extremely high quality, not fancy but highly durable and resistant, the dream of every professional adventurer. Most customers first avoided the ¡±beast people¡±. That changed after a drunken man had been forced to buy one of our travel bags over a lost bet. Not only coming back, but buying an entire set made many curious, the people were so happy with the purchase we ended having to sell ¡°slots¡± where people could commission items based on crafting time. Never in my life had I seen my father smile and laugh so much, it pained me a bit that we could not stay in the caravan. The risk of being found was just too great, unable to hunt with my small size I was slowly developing a physical depression that started to affect my thoughts. Mother and I had a very serious talk, her worry was evident as I told her of my situation and that I would be soon forced to either leave alone or risk going feral. We decided together on leaving after the next stop, it would lead us close to our target the old temple. POV Dotra C-Rank adventurer currently inside the biggest Inn the village ¡°Ignas¡± had to offer. With a deep sigh I placed the little papers back into the small leather bag that had accompanied me through many battles. ¡°There is not much left to do here.¡± My friend and colleague barely reacting to my statement. It had been his idea to come to this remote place to collect enough assignment to finally complete my rank-up to B-rank the same as him. ¡°Then lets just head to the nearest city-dungeon.¡± I had heard that sentence so often my ears could bleed. Grabbing Aisi''s ear I gave it a sharp tug, the red haired sword-man wincing in pain I was sure he did not feel. ¡°It is not fun with you hot blooded physical types, we priests can''t even tease you with that ridiculous resistance.¡± His act seen through Aisi freed himself from my grip ¡°Dotra we need to do something if this place has run out of things to do, then we need to move on.¡± ¡°How about first heading to the market, grab some food, get some information I heard a caravan is in town.¡± That had gotten Aisi''s attention, like the hot blooded breed of horses with their red mane that had gotten him named Aisi, he dragged me out of the inn. I barely managed to lock our room as he stormed off with me in tow. We got us some meat skewers that got my friend to calm down, which made the stroll through the market far more relaxed. Using the skill the guild provided to all C-Rank and above adventurers I scanned the local wares.
Item:Iron Bastard sword
Grade:UncommonDamage 12-34Durability 112/150
A finely crafted iron sword, it has long shed blood, its core is damaged by a strong impact.
Item:Unrefined Manastone
Grade:CommonStatus:SaturatedDurability 5/5
Raw material for enchanting and weapon crafting
Item:Bronze tipped Arrow
Grade:UncommonDamage +12Durability 29/30
Mass produced arrow commonly used for regular soldiers
Item:Cuirass of the Nightwolf
Grade:MythicCondition:NewDurability 500/500
+150 to all stats +30% to Dexterity Immunity to external enrage effects 50% added poison resistance 20% reduced magic damage taken Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Masterfully crafted Leather-Cuirass made of enchanted and treated leather, the low quality of the base material is the only detriment on this masterpiece.
Item:Apple
Grade:CommonCondition:FreshDurability 2/2
Restore 30 satiety over 5 minutes
It took a few seconds for my brain to register the information had just procured. This time Aisi was dragged behind as I tried to stop the hunter that was carrying his fresh purchase. Out of breath I managed to stop him right before he reached his home. ¡°Sir where did you get that chest-gear?¡± The hunter frowned, ¡°i bought it what do you think? Now screw off I am not selling!¡± the door slamming shut in my face. ¡°What had gotten you so riled up Dotra? That was totally out of character, dragging people around is MY job.¡± Repressing the urge to facepalm I tried to keep it simple for my friend. ¡°Aisi what is the best grade item you currently own?¡± the question taking a moment to pass through my friends brain.¡±Rare grade why?¡± The urge to facepalm grew even stronger, ¡°because my slow friend, that common hunter just now was carrying a Mythic grade item. Not only Mythic but NEW!¡± The next moment I was back to being dragged along as we sped back towards the marketplace, due to the time most stalls were already closing down for the day. Spamming we sped through the closed and closing shops. But could not find any hint where or if a leatherworker was among the many traders. Sitting down on an abandoned crate breathing heavily my gaze fell onto a small silver animal. With still active I suddenly got a weird message.
resisted
resisted
It took me thirty tries until I could get any info at all.
partly resisted Beast, World-Boss class, Type unknown, Level unknown, no further information The target has noticed you
The silver animal suddenly watching me intensely its small green eyes scanning every pore. To my great relief it lost interest and scurried onto the shoulder of a huge beast-kin. Slowly I released a breath that I did not even remember holding. ¡°Aisi?¡±...¡±Yes?¡± ¡°i think I found our hidden craftsman....¡± ¡°And where is he?¡± ¡°Trust me on this we come back tomorrow and properly and politely ask for his service. Please Aisi, on our friendship let us head back!¡± Question-marks were flying around Aisi''s head but he followed me quietly back to our room in the inn. As the key clicked in the lock sealing the room I slumped down next to the door. ¡°Now tell me, if you found him or her why did you not at least talk to him?¡± Collecting my thoughts, my answer frightened him quite badly. ¡°Because the sign clearly said no service once the shop is closed and I am not suicidal enough to anger a person strong enough to have an unbound World-Boss class monster as his pet. If we really make contact, we have to be extremely polite! All these country bumpkins here may not realize just who or what is sitting behind that stand but we cannot take the risk.¡± Aisi swallowed dryly the graveness of the situation had just sunken in. ¡° I am suddenly really happy that you have decided to level that trash skill .¡± ¡°me too.... me too¡± POV Kai We were just packing up storing the tools and cleaning what had to be cleaned as I felt someone use an information skill on me over and over. I could not locate the source of the skill so I took a gamble. Intentionally I gave the skill the smallest piece of information I could send. Tracking the signature of the returning energy my gaze fell onto two young men. Obviously adventurers, a red headed swords-man was lazying around while the priest next to him was white as a sheet of paper. I took a moment to scan the priest myself, his level and background were of no threat so I lost interest returning to my fathers shoulder. ¡°Maybe I should tell mother¡± but I dismissed the notion since we would leave in two days and it was unlikely that those two could organize anything that would obstruct us. I also did not want to kill those two over something as small as the small intrusion but just in case I had saved their energy signatures. Lusarth insisted on another lessen before sleeping while close to torture after the busy day I kept Gale company while the remaining family was already snoring in a big pile as was our nature. Finally satisfied the old enchanter allowed Gale to head to bed as the night was already over us. Both of us joined the peaceful pile of furs, father reminded me of a sleeping puppy. Sleeping on his back his limbs were twitching softly it looked like he was running in his dream, a stupid grin plastered on his muzzle. Gale took a spot in the middle close to Ere, I curled myself to a small ball on mothers chest. Activating I adjust the ambient heat just a tad and go to sleep myself. The rising sun stirred, awakening the caravan camp, sleepy faces cursing the morning peeked out of a colorful mix of tents and wagons. Mother was the first to rise, putting me around her neck she sets off to clean herself and prepare the day. Condensing a ball of water she proceeded to clean her fur, despite my sleepy protest I also got a bath. After properly rinsing every nook and cranny her comb appeared, her silver fur quickly returning to its pristine shimmer. Brushing hers and my teeth (father stayed true to his vow) she began to prepare breakfast. Gale was the next to rise, quickly cleaning herself she joined mother in the preparation. As the odor of fresh food began to radiate from the cooking place my father got up, still half asleep he went through his own morning routine. Bucket full of water in arms he returned into the tent. * splash * Still in sleep zombie mode he headed back towards the small compartment we used for cleaning ourselves. Following closely came a deeply drenched Ere competing with father who was the best Sleep Zombie. This had been our regular routine since we had left Hercs, a ¡°normal¡± family life. The only sour note in all this was my current occupation as ¡°pet¡±. If only there was a convenient skill like ¡°humanoid transformation¡± or something similar. You only realize how much worth simple things are once you lose them. I had little to no illusion that there was any such convenience hidden in my evolution, even was more likely to erase my soul than to survive the integration of enough humanoids to return to any semblance of humanity. Deep within I made a vow to myself, if could not be a regular part of my family because of my bestial nature, I would become the strongest beast there is! No one could destroy our peace if I got strong enough, no puny mortal may touch our own. Absentmindedly I followed through the preparation for the last day on the market. We had just set up shop as my wandering thoughts were forced back to the current situation as two familiar faces approached. The two adventurers were back! Chapter-10 Father and mother had not even noticed the two men as they nervously approached. This early in the day most customers were still sleeping as the two did something I had not expected. Both of them deeply bowed in front of the stall yelling ¡°MASTER!¡± in unison. All of us were dumbfounded, even Lunarsk looked like he had seen a dragon on a bicycle. The two men held this posture obviously waiting for a response from my totally flabbergasted father. Totally taken by surprise, mother had to poke him to get his act together. ¡°Good morning brave adventurers, how may our humble shop assist you?¡± Relief was all over the face of the two men as they introduced themselves as Aisi and Dotra, C- and B-Rank adventurers. The two of them expressed their intent on purchasing a full set of equipment each. Father looked really troubled, as he told them that it was impossible. POV Dotra It took us the entire night to work up enough courage to approach the towering master, the imposing green furred beast-man with the scar in his face looked so menacing we were totally shocked as he politely greeted us offering the service of his shop. The budding hope of new equipment was shot down instantly, he told us that the caravan would leave in a few hours and all his materials had sold out. He offered us to repair some minor things and explained that the treatment of his raw material was a long process that could not be rushed. He outright refused to produce anything of lower quality emphasizing the importance of reliable gear to adventurers. Unable to convince the large beast-man and unwilling to overdraft his patience we retreated back to the inn. I could not refrain from cursing, we had placed so much hope into this encounter but I could understand the masters reasoning. We were just too unlucky to notice his tiny shop far too late, the villagers had already drained his stock of all prepared materials. ¡°I guess we need to go to your blasted dungeon after all.¡± ¡°Yeah would have been just too good to just follow him until his stock has replenished.¡± ¡°That''s it! Aisi you are a genius!¡± The look on my friends face had turned from surprise to shock, accumulating in utter disbelief ¡°Who are you? What have you done with my poor Dotra?¡± The urge to facepalm growing again I grabbed his ear, dragging the protesting swordsman towards the red big tent that housed the mysterious owner of the caravan Samuel. We still had a chance but it would require more risk that we had originally planned. POV Kai Samuel had worked her magic again, the caravan departing without a hitch the guards were even crying as we passed them! As if reading my mind Samuel turned around grinning in my direction, a cold shiver making my barbs stand out. If not by level that woman was still dangerous! Guiding my thoughts back to more mundane topics proved not very easy so I joined Gale in one of the frequent lessons designed by her master. This time he showed different methods of linking single runes into larger arrays and spell circles. While he did not know about layered or multi-runes the method of fusing runes he had developed opened whole new areas for me to ponder about. It could greatly reduce the strain on the physical material allowing far more complex layered runes to apply to even lower quality items. Just a few hours later we had finished and Gale took me to her favorite place on the wagon. She had strapped a large wooden basket to the roof and filled it with a self-crafted blanket of scrap fur that always started to accumulate with fathers work. ¡°Kai, do you think it will stay this peaceful?¡± I was quite unprepared trying to come up with an answer. ¡±To be honest I don''t think so, Gale. There can never be a true peace, as long as the ability to harm exists there will be those that will resort to rely on it. We can only become so strong that nothing has the ability to harm us anymore that would grant ourselves peace but never the world.¡± She seemed to ponder a bit about my statement, her reply made my heart hurt ¡°But the more strength you amass, the more I lose you sister! I see you fighting the urges, the pain and the horror. I feel you shiver in your dreams! Don''t bear all this alone we are your family let us share your load!¡± She hugged my tiny form locking me in place, hot tears rolling down her face as she buried her face in my fur. We stayed this way for a time I could not tell, all my time left me unable to deal with the crying girl I called my sister. ¡°I cannot bear to see you hurt!¡± giving her nose a lick made her giggle. ¡°But seeing you torment yourself hurts us too. Mother told me you have an old soul, that you may have retained fragments of an older life, she made me promise never to talk to you about it. But this is important, if you cannot speak about this with even your family it will break you eventually!¡± Those words hit me like a hammer, ¡°When has mother told you of this?!¡± I may have been too loud or released some aura but I saw a tiny hint of fear flash through Gales eyes. That made me flinch back, trying to get out of her grip she only held me tighter. ¡°Don''t leave Kai, she made us swear a blood-oath to never reveal this outside the family! Don''t shut us out.¡± My body went limp, a single tear rolling down my face, ¡°i cannot burden you with the horror locked inside my soul, it would crush you, I could not bear to lose you!¡± A triumphant smile on her muzzle ¡°try me!¡± And as foolish as it was I dragged her conscious into myself. We ended up on a craggy rock in the middle of red ocean, cold winds barraging the lone black rock. In this eerie landscape Gale appeared next to me. Her form a mirror of her physical self. She looked frightened, even as a mage she had never visited nor erected her own mind-space yet. Her eyes darting around coming to rest on the twisted form my own thoughts forced me into here. A phantom of pure darkness bleeding ink in its wake. Only Mouth and eyes shown as white emptiness. ¡°Is that you Kai?¡± I could see her revulsion about my form. Just as I prepared to send us back she hugged me! I could only utter ¡°Why?¡± pure white tears running down my inky body that seemed to avoid the pure radiating white that ran down. ¡°Silly, no matter which form you take, no matter which face you wear you stay my sister and alpha!¡± I needed to digest that statement, after collecting myself a bit, I began to talk in a raspy voice, preparing to do the one thing I had promised myself to never do again: Open myself up to another. ¡°Mother is partly right, I still retain fragment of life that has been before my current form of existence. But she is only partly correct, while my memory is not perfect I remember ALL my lives!¡± Gales eyes went wide but she did not interrupt me. ¡°I have seen so much horror, DONE so much more, that it has stained me. Look at the ocean around us, the blood I have spilled over countless lives clinging to my very soul!¡± I tried to look into her eyes after my outburst searching for the one thing I was so afraid of seeing in those pure untainted eyes: disgust. But no matter how deep I looked, the only things I found in her eyes were love and a firm will to see this to the end. I gave up, words gushing out unbidden, I told her of the lives that had formed me into what I had become. She did not stop nor interrupt me, simply supporting me listening to what I had to tell. Once exhaustion made me stop she pressed my head into her breasts petting my head ¡°Don''t worry sister, you are NOT alone anymore!¡± It felt good to finally tell someone of what I had bottled up far too long, even my soul had changed upon releasing part of the heavy load weighting me down, the rock had risen further out of the ocean of blood turning into a large hill. ¡°Thank you.¡± I said it to her, meaning every syllable that echoed through my soul. Like this we returned to the real world still firmly cuddling in the basket, someone had covered us with another fur blanket. I looked into her eyes, she patted my head ¡°Never shut us out again, we will carry the load together and perhaps we may really find peace.¡± ¡°It will be a stony road.¡± I agreed with her. This way we fell into a deep sleep still firmly locked together. On the next day Gale excused herself from her master due to feeling ill as we returned to my mind-space. The visual representation had changed again, a small black castle now clung to the small mountain, the winds had become less severe. Gale followed me through the long halls inside the building that stretched further than its outside dimension. Rows upon rows of doors passed by us as we reached our destination. The door glowed shortly before allowing us entry. ¡°Mind magic-Archive, it allows people with too long a live to store and sort memories.¡± I answered the unspoken question on Gale''s face. ¡°If you want to carry some of the burden we need to make you stronger! And stronger you will become, this room holds everything I have ever heard, known or studied regarding runes. This will be the first step on you path to become one of the greatest mages known to this world.¡± ¡°Today is an exception, from now on we will use the night to train you in here. Before we start, this is your last chance to back out what you learn here WILL change you and may even curse you the same as me.¡± Gale just looked at me as if I had the stupidest thing she had ever heard, making me sight in defeat. ¡°Let us start with the basics. You may know of Mana and Qi but are you aware that this world contains a third type of energy? No? Well that was to be expected, the third type of energy is called , while it is partly a fusion of Mana and QI it is neither of the above and yet more than the sum of its parts. Animus is the very energy that beasts and also your older sister use to fuel their evolution. Users of this energy form a physical core in their body that houses their very soul.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°That means others could slay you like a beast and refine your core to gain experience?¡± ¡°Yes and no, my own core is a bit special, it is the result of one of my own experiments. While refining my core may be possible the likelihood of a massive explosion comparable to large scale magic is far more likely. Back on topic, runes are a unique existence, the number and form of runes stays the same on every world that at least contains one of the three energy types. While worlds without are possible most are dying worlds or incapable of sustaining any life. There are exactly 3141 runes, each holding their own meaning and place in the runic alphabet.¡± ¡°I only know a bit more than 200! Do you know where the runes come from?¡± ¡°While I was not able to prove my theory I am fairly sure whatever created reality itself has created the runes, they form the rules of space itself. That is why even by carving a rune from wood, energy naturally gathers towards the rune. Runes itself attract energy, some more than others but all runes do to some extent.¡± ¡°Wouldn''t that mean that anyone could use magic by using runes?¡± ¡°Again yes and no. While activating a prepared runic sequence,layered rune or a multi-rune can be achieved by anyone keyed into its structure, the creation of those formations requires precise control of energy and will. You see runes naturally repel each other unless locked in a tight array. If that was not the case runes would form naturally and invoke chaotic magic on pure chance. The world itself would destroy itself.¡± ¡°Sounds scary.¡± I nodded to her apt conclusion giving my best old master impression. ¡°Our first step will be for you to learn all 3141 runes by heart, there are two ways slow or fast, both with their own risk. Which one do you want?¡± ¡°Fast please, if I want to have any chance of helping you I need the speed.¡± My shoulders slumped down a bit. ¡°I was afraid you would choose this, prepare yourself the first step on this path WILL hurt more than you can imagine.¡± ¡°Sit straight, relax collect all your thoughts, it should be easy in here. Compress them, begin to slowly feed the ball of self the energy I am providing you with, do not hasten this step let it slowly flow into you!¡± A soft * plop * resounded inside the stuffy library of my mind-space. The imaginary sweat that had stained Gales face vanishing like it never existed. ¡°Kai what is this, there is something in my head!¡± A bright smile plastered itself on my face. ¡°That my cute sister is you very own mind-space, magic so ancient I am fairly sure only us two wield it on this world. Now concentrate on your mind-space and me, invite me inside.¡± It took her a moment before I felt the familiar pull and followed it. We ended in a completely white space without anything inside. Only Gale and me standing in the endless blankness. ¡°Why is my mind-space empty? Yours has that rock and ocean.¡± ¡°This is the next step collect your thoughts and feel for a picture deep inside of your mind, everyone has it hidden in himself. It is called the it should silently call for you, follow its plea and make it reality.¡± The empty white space warped as a whole world came into existence, flying islands framed by lush clouds, rainbows and an endless clear ocean formed. In the center of it a white marble palace stood with open doors. An overly enthusiastic Gale dragged me inside the grand halls. Curiosity plastered on her face she nearly sped off to explore as I stopped her. ¡°Gale wait, you need to know more before you can storm around in here!¡± Her will to explore and reason to listen to me wrestled a short moment on her face before she kept still. ¡°This place is the embodiment of your very mind, only bring someone here that you trust unconditionally. Anything destroyed in here has dire repercussions on your physical self and soul. Anyone in here could greatly harm or kill you!¡± This made her instantly return to full concentration. ¡°I have two gifts for you, two large leather-bound books materialized in my hands. This is an innate skill of those that own a mind-palace. I can grant you knowledge I possess myself to a certain degree.¡± ¡°That sounds too good to be true, wouldn''t everyone be a grand-mage if they could just gift their knowledge?¡± A big smile on my face I nodded. ¡°Yes there is a catch, gifting knowledge has a price. First you can only grant basic knowledge, no mastery is retained. For example I could gift you the skill but it would not retain the work I have put into it. Second you must have mastered the hidden skill to even gift knowledge at all. Lastly every time you create one of these books bad memories of the one gifting cling to the knowledge based on the rank you gift. These books thankfully are very low level, gifting a high-ranking book would literary rip your soul to shreds!¡± Gale had gone pale hearing my explanation. ¡°The first thing I want to gift you is the same skill I use to store my memories, if you go down the path of runes you WILL need it. I did my best to keep the memories off it and will accompany you through them, still it will scar you¡± ¡°If that is the price to stay by your side I will gladly pay the toll!¡± Shaking my head I gave her the first book preparing for what is to come. ¡°Open it.¡± The book creaked ominously as the thick leather-cover opened. Black dust escaping between the pages the world began to spin. The first thing that appeared was the unmistakable smell of rust, mountains of corpses following. Slowly the memory took shape, we found ourselves in the middle of a battlefield. Mountains of inhuman corpses caking the hilly lands. ¡°Is that you?¡± Gale and me were hovering as phantoms behind one of the inhuman soldiers. ¡°Yes that is one of my earliest lives, I still believed to be in hell back then. What you see are a form of demons, prepare yourself the enemy is approaching.¡± The very air trembled as the horizon filled with a golden sheen, an army of angels assembling for the next wave. The lone demon roared its hate into the world, the fallen demons rising again. The lands thundered as millions of demons clashed against millions of angelic beings, golden and black blood mixing in rivers that flowed through the land. ¡°Why are they fighting?¡± Gale asked me. ¡°Because they have no other choice. This is the forgotten playground of a god, every demon and angel is a soul forced to battle forever for a reason long forgotten.¡± ¡°If it goes on forever and you were one of them, how did you get out?¡± my face twisted painfully as I replied ¡°By winning.¡± The scene faded back as the white marble palace took form again banishing the raging battle. Gale was trembling slightly. ¡°Do you want a break? The second one is worse.¡± She shook her head, ¡°If I stop now I might never get the courage gain.¡± She practically ripped the book out of my hand, the world spinning black again. This time we found us in a great cathedral full of golden and bright colors, a priest yelling in a foreign language. In front of him the floor was filled with peasants in their working clothes. The humans were standing shoulder by shoulder eyes glazed over by fanaticism as their ears were glued to the priests yelling. ¡°Are you the priest? Where are you in this memory?¡± I only shook my head pointing behind the altar, a giant golden triangle had been erected there. Gale''s eyes went wide as she saw what had been worked into the massive icon. A human female with golden hair and white skin was secured to the metal with a golden crown welded to her very head. The crown itself was part of the icon locking the woman in place. The priests yelling grew in intensity, doors on the side of the icon opened two armored men appearing from the darkness behind. Each one of them held a large scimitar their faces covered by a pure white mask without any features. In perfect unison they approached the hanging woman. Her golden eyes following their movement, showing she was in fact alive. The men took position to each side of the woman, the peasants going quite. With but a blur the blades beheaded the woman. Her body slumping down spilling glowing golden blood on its fall. Gale held her breath as the priest carried the headless body towards the people only to throw it into the crowd. The people went crazy, everyone tried to get hold of the body, glowing blood splashing everywhere as the frenzied mob tore the body to shreds consuming every last bit. Behind the priest light spilled out of the head, the severed spine regrowing, organs taking shape as the memory collapsed. We returned to Gale''s mind-palace, she was sweating heavily her complexion deathly pale. Gently I held her in a princess carry.¡±Let us go back, you were very brave.¡± The world spiraled as we returned to the real world. Chapter-11 It took Gale two days to regain her sunny mood during which mother had intensely cared for her. The experience had deeply drained her physically which turned the lie of illness into reality. Strong potions, magic and plenty bed rest were needed but she made a full recovery. We resumed the lessons with her master during the day while I taught her in the night. The remaining family looked concerned by the obvious exhaustion both of us displayed but they gave us room. ¡°Today we will talk about advanced applications of runes, your master has taught you the basic way of inscribing runes and also about fusing runes which was a concept foreign to me. But there are certain advanced applications he does not know and today we will look into those.¡± We were seated in a comfy pillow pool, part of Gale''s Mind-palace. ¡°Formations are more commonly used by practitioners of Qi but they are in fact based on runes. The most used setup are four runes in a cross layout.¡± Glowing white particles took the shape of the array I was talking about. ¡°These setups are all based on circles, they can be woven into each other like you would create a chain-mail. Their advantage is that they can be easily formed in battles and that with little preparation. I have compiled a list of basic, advanced and master arrays in your hidden notes. Commit them to your memory as fast as possible, then burn the paper as usual.¡± Gale nodded, her focus on a copy of the array I had just demonstrated. Once she had finished I continued. ¡°The next step are layered runes, this is more complicated, similar to the fusion you can place multiple overlapping runes into the same place of a formation to change the meaning of the single rune. This can drastically reduce the number of circles that are needed to create an effect. Notes on known combinations and some theories are in the black book, do the same as with the notes.¡± ¡°Now I will show you the most advanced form of rune application I know.¡± A single blue glowing rune took shape above my hand. The pressure it emitted caused minuscule cracks in the very space around it to form and disappear. ¡°This is a multi-rune. The rune is created by forming a rune out of countless smaller runes, like normal a multi-rune it can be set into formations and circles but its power is vastly superior. It retains the combined energy of its whole sum of parts. A single one of these runes is powerful enough to kill the drake back then. But they have a very big drawback, it takes a long time to create one, your technique of rune creation using ambient Mana cannot form one of these. My current capacity barely allows me to slowly build one of these, also it places a big toll onto my soul. I did not write this down, the information is too dangerous, we will only discuss these inside mind-space.¡± I got a short and determined nod as reply. ¡°I have pondered a bit on how to best apply runes to your fighting style and have come up with two possible applications. The first is to tattoo the runes into your skin but we would have to permanently erase the fur to keep the runes active.¡± Fear had invaded Gale''s face, she was hugging her own tail looking desperate. I could not help but smirk over her distress. ¡°The second way are Obelisks, stones made out of condensed energy bound to your soul. These Obelisks could even carry multi-runes but they require extreme concentration to wield. In your current state two are the maximum you can control.¡± Relief spread over her face as she heard the second option. ¡°And where do I get the raw material for these Obelisks? It does not sound like stones fitting that description are common.¡± A deep flush spread over my face, fumbling a bit as I tried to not die of embarrassment. ¡°They are more common than you think but getting them is unorthodox and painful.¡± Confusion was plastered on her face which made me even more embarrassed. ¡°Why would acquiring a stone end up painful?¡± ¡°They are poop! Dragon poop to be precise. Where do you think all the mass I eat goes? We dragons and its sub-breeds convert excess we cannot properly digest into stone!¡± It only took moments for her to fully slip into a laughing fit. ¡°Our mighty huntress has urinary stones!¡± ¡°It is not funny! Normally I smash them and release the powder while letting water. But to get stones the size you need I will need to precisely cultivate those rocks and that WILL hurt.¡± ¡°Please for me, consider! I would be less fluffy for you to cuddle if we burn my fur for runes. I would become less comfy!¡± I could only sight in defeat, this time she had not even used her own version of and still got me to comply with her insane request, even if I had come up with the idea. ¡°It will take time, if I consume large quantities of random stuff I should be able to produce one before we reach the next town, but you need to prepare the runes you want on it. These stones can only be shaped a limited time after they leave the body.¡± She gave me a high spirited thumbs-up as I tried to come up with an idea to fulfill the request in time. I left Gale to practice in her own mind returning to the real world. It was already around midnight as I left Gale to her own training which quite honestly looked like she was dreaming quite well. Increasing my size a bit I dragged the blanket snug around her, descending down into the main compartment of the wagon afterwards. Mother and father were still awake, sitting in each others arms they seemed to enjoy some kind of liquor while watching the stars together. I alerted them of my approach with a soft * kyuuu*, would not want to scare my parents by simply appearing on their shoulders. That had earned me a meeting with Mr.Reedbundle once and I was not keen on repeating that mistake. ¡°Hey little one, want to keep your old folks company?¡± I nodded and took a place between them, gazing at the stars. Father already looked quite drunk, while mother appeared quite sober, tipsy at best. ¡°Mother, father, I need to tell you something important. Due to reasons I cannot yet tell you, I need to leave for a few days. I have prepared these stones.¡± With a * plop * four small, blue pebbles landed on mothers lap, still a bit wet from my storage. ¡°They will allow me to find you anywhere, anytime. Do not lose them please, it would be best for each of you to carry one. If you find danger that needs my help place a single drop of your blood on it and I will know.¡± Both looked very worried, father prepared to say something but mother placed her paw over his mouth shutting him up instantly. With father silenced she turned towards me, her voice echoing through my head full of concern. ¡°We know our current life is hard on you, but do you really need to leave? The pack is stronger together!¡± ¡°Yes mother for I need to collect something very special and it will take me a while. It is for Gale and will help us later but I cannot yet talk about it.¡± Both of them hugged me, with Gale training and Ere deep asleep I disappeared into the darkness leaving behind my worried family. POV Almer, ranger in the city guard of Wyn My lord had sent me and my men out into the wild, a greater beast had appeared that began to greatly unsettle our mining endeavors threatening to rob Wyn of its needed supply of raw metal ore. As his most trusted ranger he had tasked me to gather information or to stop the beast. It only appeared during the night, no one saw where it came from or where it went, only large gashes in the very stone remained, telling of its passing. Many of the workers already told fantastic stories about the beast, how it swallowed whole mining crews guards included. But I knew better, while the damage to the mountain and its ores was great, no worker or guard had been killed by it directly. We had some deaths due to a panic when the beast again devoured enough stone to build an entire segment of a city''s walls but no actual kill. And that was what made my lord so afraid, if it could do THAT to a mountain, our walls would not offer any resistance to its attacks. While seemingly random I had found a pattern in its appearance, a certain ore was the target of the mighty beast. My prospectors had told me of it, a rare black ore that no one had found a use for yet. While plenty in this mountain all but the main vein had been devoured so I had placed a hidden ambush to guard the last remaining vein, intent on guarding my lords property. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The night was dark as the earth began to rumble, a slight indention, like a wave telling of the approach of the hidden beast. We had camouflaged us in the trees hoping to get clean shots onto the animal. Then it surfaced! All our hearts sank, the trap ring we had brought would not even fit around its paws. The beast was gigantic, silver fur stained with dirt erupted out as the monstrosity shoved its head over the surface. I am a proud man, veteran of many battles but I take no shame in telling that I have soiled myself as I saw the thing. Air rushed along us as an incredible suction devoured everything in front of its maw, cleaving the very rock. We helplessly clung to the aching trees as the beast took its meal. The last of the ore disappeared down its maw, the vein depleted. The beast once more took towards the earth, its humongous body took an entire minute to once again disappear. My men investigated the area the beast had appeared from but to our horror no trace of its passage could be found in the solid rock. I would rely to my lord that the only solution against that beast was prayer to the gods. If it ever deemed our city tasty, Wyn would disappear off the maps completely! POV Kai It felt so good to return to my real form in full size, I had wasted the first day hunting large beasts in a remote valley satisfying my instincts with their blood. But I had not forgotten why I had come out here, my senses told me of a rare ore hidden deep in the mountains. Product of eons of intense Mana accumulation in platinum ore, my target was raw orihalcum. Thankfully this world seemed not to know of its vast range of applications which left most of the veins in the area fully unguarded. Most advanced world would guard these riches with entire teams of entities that would have destroyed me in an heartbeat. While the accumulation of energy had gone well, the pain had gotten worse, letting water had become pure torture as four raw obelisks slowly took shape in my innards. Only pure will kept me from smashing them into useless powder, stricken by pain I had taken greater risks to acquire enough material before I could not hold back anymore. On the final ¡°mining¡± I had even been observed by a group of hidden hunters! There was also another downside for me, the massive intake of food and raw material had boosted my growth absurdly. While assuming my maximum size I had become a giant, sluggish monstrosity. There had also been another complication with one of my skills, had in fact greatly increased the amount of raw material needed for the obelisks. The darn skill had without my intention absorbed a large part of my harvest. While having close to unbreakable bones was nice, should the value of the mineral ever come to light I feared to be hunted down for my bones. With my harvest complete I took course towards the soft magical pull emitted by the four small marbles I had left my family. All four were close to each other and nothing had pointed towards any trouble. So I did not hurry very much and arrived close to the caravan later in the night. My timing was perfect, one more day and they would have already arrived in our last shared stop, a medium mining city called Wyn. As I reached close enough a mental shout keyed for Gale echoed through the night. Sometimes being a telepathic species really paid off, I would have likely caused a panic had I been forced to rely on sound. POV Gale My outfit clung sloppily to my body and I was extremely tired but the mental hurricane that my sister had unleashed made me hurry through the night. Mother and father had told us that Kai needed a release for her pent up instincts and had left for a small venture to satisfy her needs, but I knew better. Kai had gone out to create the promised obelisks for me. I reached the source of the shout just a few minutes later. A quite spacious clearing in the forest was where it had originated. But as I stumbled into the open my sister was nowhere to be seen. Then the earth rumbled and half of the entire space lifted upwards. She had become massive, her hot steamy breath that came from her flaring nostrils nearly threw me over. Eyes the size of a small cart stared down onto me. If not for the knowledge just who was in front of me I would have run as fast as I could. ¡°Hey Gale everything okay? Is everyone fine?¡± Out of instinct I covered my ears which was not very helpful against the mental communication, her voice was deafening. The ridiculous growth spurt had apparently impacted how she perceived her own voice. ¡°Yes but please try to be more silent madam destroyer of mountains, slaughterer of calm!¡± A hint of worry flashed through the deep green eyes. ¡°Sorry. I will try¡± It was still loud but not brain-mangling anymore. ¡°All four of us are fine, your absence had mother very worried which ended in all of us quite down but we are fine otherwise.¡± The reduction in tension was obvious as the muscles under her fur visibly relaxed. It looked like Kai had also worried quite a bit, it made me feel proud to be part of this family. ¡°The harvest was successful, I have four obelisks prepared, two for your own formations and ready to use. The two others carry the strongest formations I can produce, while you will eventually surpass me they might save your life one day.¡± A small pure blue crystal appeared before me hovering in the air, it looked like two pyramids fused together at the base with a red spherical nucleus in the middle. Her praise still in the air I did my best to summon the first formation I had prepared. ¡°Hurry I can only keep it malleable for so long!¡± I had not been lazy, placing my hand on the surprisingly warm stone the formation I had prepared sunk into the stone. A brief flash of light was emitted as I felt the connection establish, the stone had become part of myself no less than a hand or tail. Kai nodded approvingly, creating more wind. I had to struggle to not fall on my behind but managed somehow. The second obelisk appeared, it looked identical to the first and I repeated the process with a different array binding the stone to myself. ¡°The next ones only require a drop of your blood, I have prepared two functions in them, first they can store themselves inside you. Similar to the ability that allows me to change size, they will be able to disguise themselves as a small gem on an earring or similar. With further mastery you can also store them inside your mind-palace making them very strong hidden weapons. The first one holds the strongest shield I could put together, the second one is even more special, I call it . It needs a long time to recharge but it will allow you to instantly transport yourself and a few people close to you over vast distances. Both have strong drawbacks and you may not even be strong enough to wield a single one but I feel more secure with them in your reserve.¡± Two pitch black obelisks appeared, size and aura easily dwarfing the previous two. It took me two attempts to properly draw blood but the binding was successful. It required all my concentration to only get them to shrink but I was left with two hazelnut sized gems that faintly pulsed. With a very windy and quite loud sight Kai deflated until she reached scarf size again. ¡°Remind me to never suggest something like this again, I am spent.¡± Before I could reply anything she was already deep asleep, mother would be happy over her return so headed back towards the camp, carrying my loudly snoring sister around my shoulders. My two small obelisks trailing noiseless behind me. Mother was indeed very happy to get the pack back together but the two stones made her a bit uneasy, she gave me one of fathers leather bags to store them out of sight. I would get someone to craft me earrings for Kai''s gift in Wyn, that I had decided. But for now sleep called and the family pile had been assembled, with my sleepiness on the rise I was all too happy to join. That day I did not even train in the mind-palace, simply enjoying the presence of my family was enough. Chapter-12 POV Dotra The transit from Igas to Wyn was planned to take roughly a week, Aisi and me had been able to convince Samuel to request us both for an escort mission. Thus we became temporary guards to the caravan tasked with protecting its people and goods. We were also able to establish contact with the honored Master-craftsman but to our great surprise his wife was the one leading their family. As humans we were not very familiar how beast-man packs and especially matriarchy really works. It had been quite a challenge to convince his wife to give us a chance but we were intent of proving ourselves. Her first task was to acquire the higher quality skins of the animals and beast that were drawn to every caravan. Normally the hunters and guards would just kill the beasts and leave everything but their core behind but that changed as the rumor went viral that the beast-man would pay a few coins to acquire even core-less carcasses, provided the thing had not been mangled too badly. Enticed by some fast coins many guards would sell those carcasses to the family. It took us three days to build enough familiarity with them for Selanis to switch us into a different position. We would control the arriving carcasses and bleed them dry in preparation for the youngest female of their pack Erelain to skin the beast. She did not mind us watching her craft so we spent quite a while to observe her mastery in skinning. Her knowledge of skinning even rarer beasts and uncommon types of hide left us deeply impressed by the young woman. She would flawlessly finish her tasks in record time, only her skinning methods were quite unorthodox for us. She did not use any tools, infusing her energy into a talon she would perfectly separate the hide from the flesh. Selanis and the small female called Argalea would then put the finished skins into a barrel full with some kind of herbal tonic. But they did not waste the remaining parts, the Matriarch obviously very versed in alchemy and herbs carefully reduced the remaining carcass to small pellets which she would meticulously store in gourds. There was just one thing that felt off to me, the pack felt irritated and if I was not wrong quite worried. They overplayed it by drowning themselves in their work but some smiles and laughter felt forced. We did our best to assist them but they refused to talk about the reasons for their mood, the master Ignalis told us to not dig any further in a very serious tone. One evening we were allowed to join them on their camp-fire, intoxicated by strong spirits the master told us a tiny bit of their origin. We had been totally wrong, while looking like a variant of beast-man they were actually a completely different race called wolf-man in our tongue. They did not go into many details regarding their origins but Selanis told us that their people were on the decline and that they may be the only ones of them on this island. The night before reaching Wyn we were tasked with guard duty as a few noises alerted us to someone sneaking through the darkness. To our surprise the unknown trespasser was in fact Argalea, her clothing looked messily and her fur out of order. Whatever she wanted we did not even notify her, freely allowing her to pass. Watching her disappear into the forest we could only leave her be. Whatever had spooked the female that badly had even made her miss our own presence. Later in the night we were alerted by four intense flashes of light in the distance a strong magical disturbance brought us to increased alert. Not even half an hour later Argalea reappeared, the familiar silver beast deeply snoring around her neck but what astonished me were two crystals trailing behind her back. My was unable to see through the nature of the two crystals, had we not seen the radiant smile on her face we would have stopped her. But seeing the downcast Argalea suddenly regain her happiness prevented us from waking our fellow guards. As the sun rose in the morning we reported to Selanis for our daily assignment as we were overwhelmed by the radiating joy. Whatever had caused the bad mood must have been resolved. I could not refrain to wonder if the small silver beast was related to the swing of mood. Speaking of the beast it first mustered us with barely hidden danger emanating from it but stopped as Selanis picked it up to vigorously pet it. The small thing lost all tension relishing in the matriarchs gentle caress. Had I not know of the immense power this ¡°pet¡± contained I too would not have been able to resist and tried petting it. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. After the petting session a huge kettle made of a very dark iron appeared on the cart, Aisi and me were left dumbfounded, did they possess some kind of storage ability? We had only left for a short moment to secure our belonging and the large kettle had appeared from nowhere. Ignalis secured the large pot to the wagon with a few chains and ropes while Argalea condensed enough water to fill half the kettle. Obviously they intended to brew something even as the whole caravan prepared to set off towards Wyn. Large bundles of herbs were then added to the cold water, Selanis added a few pellets from one of the gourds. Only then did I notice the slab of stone they had secured the kettle on, did they intend to make fire on the way? My unspoken question on how they wanted to house the fire on the cart without risking the spread of fire got stuck in my throat as the small beast was placed underneath. Immediately intense head radiated outwards and my senses honed by regular use of Mana told me of the high concentration of energy contained in the kettle. The dark metal came alive as entire formations of runes lit up in response to the energy. Erelain was the next to take action, hauling one of the prepared barrels over they carefully transferred the skins into the bubbling kettle. Carefully I activated my on the large thing.
Item:Runic Cauldron
Grade:MysticStatus:Infused with energy, filled with herbal tonicDurability:2600/X
Once a normal household kettle a grand-master of runic enchantments has worked countless formations into its very metal. This Cauldron would make many alchemists sell their very souls to use a single time Heat dissipation -90% Energy dissipation -95% Bonus to infusion 30% Reduce failure rate by 75% Increase in potency of herbs 25%
I could barely prevent myself from going slack-jawed, each time this family did something they thoroughly destroyed my view on the world. Was everyone THAT powerful where they came from or was this pack just special? My mind reeled contemplating both options, they were definitely not someone even nobles could offend under any circumstance. The last of the skins and pelts had finished soaking in the ket...cauldron I corrected myself as the city wall of Wyn came into sight. The small hill we had just passed over gave us a perfect vantage point of the entire area. Wyn had been erected onto the skeleton of a far older city which made the archaic remnants of its old form show up here and there. Lush fields surrounded the imposing city-wall making the dark rock stand out even more. The walls had obviously been part of the older city which made repairs and added structures stick put like sore spots on its majesty. Whoever had erected the city first obviously held far higher understanding on his craft making even expert craftsman look like incompetent children. Even from afar the tireless ringing of smiting hammers and the endless smoke from chimneys told of the city''s bond towards metalworking. The caravan passed many slaves working in the fields as we approached the main gate, I could not prevent to feel disgusted at the underfed humanoids tending the plants. I had seen many places with bad slavery situations but those slaves looked severely malnourished and their collars were massive. Even larger beast-kin only worked slumped over. Following an unbidden urge my hand went towards my neck as my imagination tormented me with a vision how the burden placed by one of those rings would feel. Slowly the caravan came to a stop, Samuel began talking with the guards, but unlike before this time the guards did not look pleased at all. Author here, Chapter dump finished, i would greatly appreciate any kind of feedback, i will read it once my eyes decide to work again. Stupid sleep why can''t we live without you?! MfG: Dr_Dac Edit:Removed stupid smiley Chapter-13 The increasingly loud sounds of conflict woke me up, hidden in mothers tunic I had obviously missed the best part. Some guards had started an argument with Samuel, sadly I only could hear some broken bits and pieces ¡°not human¡±,¡±impure¡± and some more insults I rather not remember. Samuel was fuming as she ordered us to head for a nearby field that had already been harvested. I had never heard that woman angry but now her voice was seething with barely controlled rage.¡±Everyone! We of impure blood are obviously not wanted here. Build up camp on the nearby field, we will leave tomorrow after everyone had enough rest. If one of these city mongrels still wants to trade, bleed them dry!¡± There was a slight murmur spreading through the members of the caravan, obviously very few were happy about the change of plan. While some only lamented the missed profits, others loudly cursed ¡°the elitist humans¡± mocking the fact that normal humans with their diluted blood had the gall to spout such discrimination. Unlike normal, the wagons in the camp were placed in a defensive formation this time. Those capable of shifting the earth further fortified our makeshift camp, the tension hanging in the air was nearly solid enough to touch. My family made due with the unexpected situation by fulfilling mothers promise to the two adventurers that had glued themselves to our heels. Dotra and Aisi had worked tirelessly for the opportunity to get themselves one set of full body equipment made by my father. Always polite and quick to act they had proven a great help. Setting up the workbench was quite a hassle on the uneven ground until Gale lost patience an fused a few square meters into a solid and smooth slab of compressed earth. I joined father in preparing the raw material, playing assistant during his craft felt refreshing to me. The joy in fathers eyes was contagious and I knew what that meant, he prepared to go all out and pour his entire passion into these two sets. Mother handed us a piece of paper stock full of numbers, I was surprised how she had gotten that precise measurements from our two adventurers. ¡°She would have had to strip both bare to get such good numbers¡±, when this unbidden though passed through me, the slight smirk and the blushed faces of Aisi and Dorta suddenly made sense. Vigorously shaking my head managed to banish the foul images my imagination had produced, the sudden movement on his shoulder made father look at me questioningly but I stayed silent and he resumed his work. Large pieces of hide were slowly cut to precise shapes, large plates and small bands alike. I did my best to supply father with the energy he so vigorously spent in the state we had come to call ¡°craftsman''s trance¡±. His massive paws worked tirelessly, substituting energy where his large form could not reach two sets began to take shape. His choice left me quite surprised, the two adventurers must have made a VERY good impression on him. An outer robust and reinforced layer followed by a woven middle sheet followed by a comfortable inner layer. He only left a small gap in the inner layer to allow the last step in the production of our unique crafting method. A thick jelly-like substance made by a secret recipe from monster-bones was the last ingredient. After infusing the middle layer with this alchemical cocktail from mothers hands he sealed the inner layer. It took us til late in the day until both sets were finished. Then it was finally time for the enchants, Gale collected me from fathers shoulder who was already cleaning and tending to his tools. Her master had given Gale free reign this time, the combined lessons from both of us had propelled her into planes of enchanting and runic work most people could only dream of. To amplify the huge load of magic the middle layer was specially designed to hold multiple layers of runes making the nearly finished sets highly compatible to enchants. POV Dotra Today had been one of the greatest humiliations we had ever faced. Even the time I had fallen into a mud-puddle as a child had not been as bad, forced to run through my home village caked in mud laughed at by all the village children. The matriarch had simply dragged us into their wagon, without a chance to resist she had taken measurements everywhere. It did not take long before we were allowed to slip back into our clothes but we still felt violated, her small smirk did not make it better at all. Thus we blushed like little girls that were told they are pretty and fled as fast as we could. If not for her writing down every last measurement we would have been convinced to have been molested by that crafty woman. After regaining our bearings we joined some other members of the caravan that watched Ignalis work. The huge wolf-man was working with such a speed and precision that many could only look flabbergasted. I was only worried that he would spend too much energy in his trance like state but my worry was extinguished as I saw the small beast on his shoulder. My ability to sense energy was by far not enough to see through each of those monsters working in a duo. But the energy passing from beast to master was a different matter, I slightly went pale as each second a few people worth of energy were infused into the wolf-man, just what in the name of the gods were they crafting over there? What kind of gear would need enough energy to level a small village? I got a weird look from Aisi but I refrained to comment anything about what happened on that workbench, his mediocre sensing skills were not enough to grasp what was happening. Even with his inhuman speed the master took a large portion of the day to craft the two sets. We could only watch fascinated as techniques we had never heard about were used to craft our dream. Argalea seemed to be in charge of enchanting this time, if we had been unhappy to not get her master we did not show it. She gently took the beast from her fathers shoulders and placed it on her own. With great care she placed the set on a large blanket of furs. Opening the small bag by her side that she seemed to carry everywhere she went recently, the two crystals we had seen her with in that night floated outside. I was still asking myself what use these things might have as they came active, my senses were nearly grilled as immense undulations of energy emanated from the formations contained in those things. Even Aisi''s less than stellar ability made him avert his gaze. Nearly blinded we heard a voice in our head that we had never encountered in the pack. Obviously female but full of power it only said just a few words¡±Dotra left, Aisi right, place your hands on the chest-piece!¡± The power contained in the few words were enough to send us stumbling towards the blanket. As instructed we placed our hands on our assigned sets.
A complete set of body armor(show details) has been bound to your soul a set bonus has been activated(show details)
Set: The great Pilgrimage
Grade: AncientStatus: soulbound do Durability:10000/10000
Seldom seen in the world, a full set crafted by a Grand-master''s passion for his work. Bound to a soul it can never be fully destroyed only once its bonded partner perishes will it follow its master and return to nothing. Combined bonus- +1000 all stats +30% all stats +40% healing caused regenerates 5%max life per minute Immunity to most diseases and toxins 200% weather resistance slight temperature adaption air filtration increased danger sense auto-clean regeneration(consumes raw leather) active: , increase defense of a certain area by a large amount, consumes Mana , store or equip your armor from your soul, consumes Mana passive: Call of the forest, the crafter''s love for nature lives on in these pieces, grants ability
The items placed on the blanket began to dissolve into speck of light which infused themselves into our body, it only took us a moment until we deeply bowed in front of the wolf-man. Every of our expectations had been surpassed by a large margin! Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. We got a few questioning gazes from the pack as we both drew a small knife and slit our hands. With blood dripping to the earth we intoned the ancient pledge. ¡°By our blood we swear! To never willingly harm Selanis,Ignalis,Erelain,Argalea or their bound beasts and familiars! We pledge for now and forever to honor a promise of friendship, to guard their secrets, we swear this unto our very life!¡± The dense atmosphere that had gathered slowly dissipated as the very world stood witness upon our pledge. Selanis was the first to address us ¡°That would not have been necessary but in the name of my pack I thank you for this pledge. As alpha of this pack I name you friend! May the hunt always be in your favor!¡± Aisi and me had decided onto this step during the week of travel, the pledge was not only protection for them but also for ourselves. Every mage would feel the faint pressure of the pledge if he ever asked us a question that may be a betrayal of the promise. We knew of many adventurers that would not hesitate to murder to acquire items like these, the aura would keep most on distance that may cause us harm. The caravan held a toast in our name as we were forced to report to the local guild soon. Many of the fellow guards consumed their liquor wishing us luck. That evening the merry caravan and us parted ways. Shouldering our backpacks we headed off towards the gates of the city. It felt very nice to shut the unfriendly guards up using our adventurer badges. As we passed the iron gates the fattest man we had ever seen came running from the opposite direction. He did not even look at us as he sped down the path as fast as his bouncing form allowed. Moments later an entire regiment of guards and servants came running down the same road. Words like¡±Master!¡±,¡±Wait!¡± echoed out of the horde, everything else was completely droned out by the sheer volume of noise created by clanging metal-gear. But that was not our business, we were certain that those puny guards posed no danger to the caravan. As long as our friends were there they would need to bring out far bigger weapons to even look threatening at all. Thus we made our way towards the guild building, in hope this town actually had some decent assignments. POV Belvadir councilor to the regent of Wyn The day had been so good, my chef had prepared a very tasty meal as one of my personal servants brought me a message that immediately turned my mood sour. The guards my lord had brought as he was appointed regent of Wyn had once again caused trouble and my own hunger had intensified that incident even more. The servant had been waiting with his message a few hours already before I was notified of his presence. The message was quite simple ¡°Belvadir get your fat ass out here or we remove this filthy nests from our route!¡± I would have had anyone that showed disrespect towards me hanged but the single letter ¡°S¡± and the red seal placed next to it were the reason for me to run personally out of the city gates like a lowly servant fearing the whip. My servants and guards loudly following me as I made my way towards the field the caravan had chosen to use as camp. Even before I got close I saw the dreaded woman standing on one of the low earth ramps they had erected to shield their wagons. Before I even had the chance to say anything Samuel cut me off with a tone cold as ice. ¡°Eight hours! Unable to properly train your own guards is one thing, but humiliating me is another thing! Forget the deal, the meager profits from this shit-hole are not worth it! Convince a different caravan to come to this far out place of filth. This was the last time MY caravan had been here!¡± She did not even give me the chance to respond before she turned around. This was bad, really bad! I had to inform the regent immediately! My servants and guards only looked stupidly at me as I sprinted back the way I had come, what would these ingrates even know just who they had sent back from the gates! I was fully out of breath as I barged into the private chambers of my lords room. A naked girl gave off a cliche * kyaaa* as she hid her naked form under a fancy blanket. The annoyance and anger was rock solid on Socluan Emon''s face as the full authority he held as regent of Wyn crashed down over me. ¡°Belvadir, I hope for your neck that it is IMPORTANT.¡± The threat in his voice barely even concealed, the regent of Wyn rose from his bed. My own irritation made me stick my neck a bit more out than usual. ¡°Well my lord you could call it IMPORTANT. The guards on the main-gate have refused a caravan entry to the city.¡± He only raised an eyebrow ¡°And where is the problem? One pitiful caravan more or less does not impact us in any way!¡± My voice had become seething with sweetness ¡°Oh my lord, your men only managed to make the renown Samuel remove your city from her trading route. The daughter of THAT man, our ONLY source of dwarven minerals which missing will shut down the entire metal-works of the city.¡± It seemed the situation slowly began to sink into his intoxicated skull. Panic began to take hold in the corner of his eyes ¡°Pay her double! We cannot lose our metal-works under any circumstances the king needs these metals!¡± ¡°You seem to still not understand the situation my lord, she REFUSED the trade. She canceled the deal and has renounced her claim on her caravan trading rights to the city! Her right hand even gave it to me in written from! They leave with daybreak which is not even eight hours from now.¡± ¡°Are you sure we cannot convince her to leave the minerals here?¡± ¡°The chances are very low my lord, I already tried to bribe the right hand which by the way failed spectacular. My servant got a concussion from the pouch of money hitting his head. Yes my lord I am sure the chances are VERY bad.¡± Emon turned his back towards me looking out of the windows obviously deep in thought. A grin began to spread over his face that gave me goosebumps. ¡°Then my dear Belvadir we will take it by force! Prepare the soldiers we will get what is ours!¡± I could not believe what I had just heard,¡±My lord, reconsider if we do this the repercussions will be even greater than to lose our metal-works! If THAT man even suspects that we have harmed his daughter this city is done for! Not even the king can do anything if you incur HIS wrath.¡± ¡°Then there simply cannot be any trace found. Kill them all, take everything burn any evidence! This is an order, don''t make me send the soldiers myself.¡± With my lords commands running circles in my head I returned to my office. No matter how I turned it, we would lose in this situation and only one last solution would at least allow me to keep my head. I sent one of my servants to relay the order of mobilization to the soldiers as my hands traced the outline of the small metal box I had been entrusted with. It took a few moments to build the courage to open the box and grab the black crystal within. My sweaty hands had barely touched its smooth surface as an imposing voice droned through my head. ¡°Why have you contacted us?¡± with a moment of hesitation I responded. ¡°Notify the chairman my lord has gone mad and ordered the execution of his daughters caravan.¡± I did not get a response and placed the black crystal back into the box. The dice had been cast I could only wait. Minutes later a commotion broke out, the alarm bells of the city began ringing. A servant charged into my room.¡±Master horrible news! The regent has been murdered! The captain of the guard has ordered a complete city lock-down! He has tasked me with escorting you to him!¡± With shaky legs I followed the servant, ¡°My lord you had no idea just what you have offended! Now you have paid the price.¡± I did not voice out those thoughts as I followed down the stone halls that had become darker than I remembered but it may have been just my imagination.
New chapter, enjoy ;) chapter-14 It was late in the day as the whole caravan was alerted by the city-bells, even from the distance we had set up camp the rumble of the closing gates could be heard. Most members had already headed to bed as the chaotic ringing ruptured the calmness of the approaching night. Our own alarm bell rang as well, whatever had caused the city to call for a lock-down may also endanger us. All the guards went for their gear, the lookouts bolstered by at least three times their initial number. With no source of information we could only watch from afar as torches flickered on the far-away walls. ¡°Shut down the bell, those city dimwits are searching someone or something inside, look how the torches move! GO back to bed but keep the lookouts stocked up we don''t want any surprises!¡± Samuel had instantly quelled the rising unrest restoring order to our camp. With tension quite high the night passed with less rest than we had hoped for but we were thankfully spared of any trouble. The city however did not open its gates even after the sun began to rise, whatever happened must have been severe. Perked on my mothers head I accompanied my family as we went to say goodbye to Samuel. The short conversation turned into a full hour as the two women simply could not separate. I nodded off a few times, even finding myself petted in Samuel''s lap once but honestly it was extremely boring for me. Samuel gifted us a small medallion telling us ¡°if in trouble show them this¡± and also stocked up our personal rations even further. We got a cheery goodbye from the other caravan people which had already accepted us as one of their own. Gale took the longest to part with the caravan, her master had imparted her a small sigil-ring and a written letter of recommendation if she ever felt the need to visit any of the schools in the kingdom. As the road split the caravan and us took different routes towards our own future. The condition of the road got poorer the further we traveled, even the semi-regular dwellings at the side of the road turned to ruin and stopped completely after a while. That was the sign we had waited for, with civilization sparse and no travelers in sight my improved war-saddle came to use again. It ended a bit tricky to find the right size for the massive thing but after a short while we set off again. The road began flying under my paws, the familiar breeze once again welcomed me back. Even with our improved speed the distance towards our goal would take us at least a week. Those that had constructed the temple, had placed the location over the need of easy access for the masses. It was the third day after departing the caravan as the idle talk around the campfire began turning serious. Gale was resting on my head as she dropped the bombshell. ¡°I have a question Kai, back as we were stuck in the frost why did you not use your knowledge or runes?¡± ¡°Simply because I could not.¡± Confusion was plastered across of Gale''s face. ¡°Did you notice that my mind-palace was missing the first time you came into my mind-space?¡± Gale nodded ¡°I did not know that you could lose your mind-palace, how can that happen?¡± I sighted deeply as I prepared to tell her something I had hoped to hide for longer. ¡°You cannot lose your mind-palace, you can however repress or seal it. In my case it was a combination of both. You see there is something inside it that I had hoped to bury as deeply as I could.¡± Realization erupted on her furry face,¡±Is it memories you did not want to remember?¡± ¡°Close, you know that some people can develop a second personality inside of them when they are under pressure?¡± ¡°Like old Cain back in our village?¡± her mention of the village brought a small throb of pain towards my hearts. We had been unable to confirm the fate of Gale''s and Ere''s family which still weighted us down. After a short silence I went on,¡±Similar, in my case I have not a weird different person inside me but a different aspect of my own. It is not a separate personality but an aspect of myself.¡± ¡°How is that different?¡± ¡°Well, hard to explain but it is basically a accumulation of feelings and memories that I have split from myself.¡± ¡°Why have you gotten rid of part of yourself? I cannot imagine not to be whole!¡± I could not refrain from grinning upon her remark. ¡°You see I was forced to, when a soul gets blessed by a being part of their power latches onto the soul and only leaves once the soul reincarnates again. Even then bits can still survive the process resulting in random effects clinging to the newborn. In my case it is worse, whatever makes my soul different the reincarnation does not get rid of these bits of gods strapped to me.¡± Gale only kept looking questioningly,¡±The gods only lend power to people, they intend to get it back! Our short life in their playgrounds is but a moment to them. I used this aspect of mine to store all those foreign fragments. I have been hunted by different entities across multiple lives which tried to regain their lost pieces. Even worse, if the pieces have access to energy they begin growing, which in turn alienates them from their source. The gods are in danger of being permanently wounded and that may even endanger their existence.¡± ¡°So your aspect holds these god fragments and by burying your mind-palace you can somewhat throw off their tracking?¡± Her answer made me grin toothily, ¡°Congratulation the candidate has 100 points!¡± Suddenly a shadow crossed her face, ¡°But that means after you helped me your mind-palace came back! Does that mean the seal or whatever is growing weaker. Are we in danger of random gods blasting us away?¡± Her question made me slump down,¡±Yes somewhat, as you said a being yearns to be whole again, my aspect is permanently trying to restore itself. If it breaks free they can once again track me and I am very sure that this world will stop existing if they find me here. I have multiple gods of creation and many smaller ones on my heels.¡± ¡°So does this visit to the temple have anything to do with what you have told me?¡± ¡°Yes, if I am correct the ruin or whatever is left should hold a way to communicate with one of the gods of our species. With a bit luck it may even find a way to get rid of those remnants.¡± Silence began to gather before Gale dropped the last bombshell fro today,¡±When do you plan to tell the pack? I have promised not to tell but they deserve the truth. Especially with the danger of a god appearing.¡± ¡°That depends if we find anything in that temple. I promise I will tell them but not today.¡± Like this we returned to a restless sleep as the fire slowly began to burn down. In the next morning I told my parents that I would take Gale and Ere for a bit to which they readily agreed as long as we returned before the night fell. Gale was already awake but our long-sleeper Ere was still in the dream-lands as we set off. Gale had simply strapped her sister to the saddle like a bedroll which still did not wake her up. A few minutes away from the main camp we found a suitable clearing for our purposes it even included a small pond in which we dumped the heavy sleeper to wake her up. With a splash her large build impacted, the water was too flat to fully submerge her as she laid face down in the murky water. The seconds stretched, I was already considering that she was drowning as she rose over the surface coughing out water. ¡°Not funny! Why a pond would a ball of water not have been enough? I have dirt everywhere in my fur!¡± ¡°Welcome back to the waking world sister, our time is limited so I chose a faster method of waking you up.¡± It only took a few moments until Ere deflated visibly, ¡°Sorry sister you know how I am as I wake up. Have I insulted someone this time?¡± I could only grin at her question, our shy and timid Ere always ended as grumpy bear while waking up and anyone close would suffer her temper until she got a grip on herself. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Not this time, be happy that mother was not close she would have chastised you if she heard some of the things I have heard you say during last week.¡± Ere unconsciously covered her nose as she undoubtedly remembered her older punishments after insulting mother or father. With time running shorter I took control of the situation. ¡°Both of you, this day will be training day! Get in position!¡± Long ingrained behavior made them hurry to stand before me. ¡°Today we will focus on physical training, Gale your job is to master the movement of your obelisks and to integrate them into your fighting style. They are made from material that can survive the direct hit from a dragon, especially after what I have done to it they can act as shields. Ere your job is to perfect your movements, while you hold great power in your strikes, your footwork and kicks are beyond sloppy.¡± Both of them nodded, signaling me to go on. ¡°Gale you are only allowed to shield with your obelisks, basic spells are allowed but anything larger is off limits. Ere, once you have completed this session I need to see you in private, Gale you are allowed to tell her about mind-space and -palace get her prepared for their opening this evening!Start sparring, 20 minute sessions I will heal you in the five minute breaks in between.¡± Gale was the first to react, her obelisks hovering out of her bag, lightning bundling around her left paw. Ere was barely in time to avoid as the streak of energy passed by her face. A feral grin spread on her face as she launched off, dirt spraying as her paws propelled her forward. The fights were intense, I spent a good deal of energy to fix burned skin, ruptured muscles or cracked bones. Especially Ere''s paws needed frequent treatment when they had once again collided with one of the Obelisks. As the night began getting closer both had made great improvements. Gale had even started to not only use the Obelisks defensively but had quite a few times managed to leave Ere with a bleeding hole from one of its pointy ends. Forced to adapt to her new fighting style Ere had made drastic improvements to her footwork, especially sharp turns and rolls had taken hold in her standard fighting style. To my surprise she had also begun to use some fairly good kicks to pressure Gale. In the end both had suffered quite a bit but nothing a quick heal could not fix. Once I called the training done both nearly collapsed onto the earth. With a few words of praise I was rewarded by bright smiles as we headed back towards the camp. The sibling-bickering on my back once again made me appreciate the close bond my family shared. Mother and father welcomed us back with a freshly cooked meal. Like this we continued our travel towards the temple, one day travel, one day training. Slowed by our own style of travel it took us nearly three weeks to reach the first signs of the temple. Large cut stones began to show out of the thick vegetation, the road had already been entirely consumed by the forest. My worst fears came true a day later, the entire complex laid in ruin! Large broken pillars showed where once had been great halls and rooms dedicated to the worship of a god. Slowly we began searching the outer perimeter of the central buildings, broken down temple-wardens and long decayed golems were all we could find. As we got closer to the center the sound of combat alerted us. As we reached the room we found Ere in combat with three moss covered temple-sentinels, old war golems dedicated to defend temples. The decayed stone monstrosity''s were barely holding against Ere''s relentless attacks. Stone fragments shattered in all directions as she proceeded to decimate the golems. Only seconds later the fight was over and three more pile of stones decorated the broken down complex. ¡°Kai what are these stone-man?¡± ¡°Those are manufactured guardians placed in temples, like a doll with the power to move they can barely follow simple commands. Their main advantage is their robust form and the ability to withstand long periods of time without tiring or idling in their tasks. A golem will follow commands until it is unable to do so.¡± That got me a nod from Ere and we proceeded deeper into the complex, for safety reasons we stayed together from now. In the center we found the only not decayed structure, a small pagoda made from a white material. Cautiously we opened the perfectly intact door as a loud voice thundered in our heads. ¡°Welcome mortals, I see you have brought a sacrifice for me! Your dedication will not go unrewarded!¡± A humongous presence descended onto me as my senses shut down under its overbearing pressure.
A foreign presence has invaded your body! The presence is trying to take control!
activated Fallen god Esoi, goddess of the Moon repelled status: disorientation,stun,weakness applied, duration : 20 minutes
¡°What sorcery is this? Golems eradicate this threat protect your master!¡± I was still groggily trying to regain my senses, I was unfit to respond as doors rumbled open and Golems began pouring out. Like the pagoda they were in perfect condition and steadily approached us with glowing eyes. Father was the first to respond, muscles bulging he tackled the first golem that was in range, the stone colossus tumbling backwards smashed smaller of his kin as it fell onto its back. Gripped by battle fever Ere joined my father as they began rampaging through the stone hordes. Mother began to cast supporting magic and buffs to keep our two vanguards in shape while Gale began to take a closer look at the fallen golem. There were simply too many golems, even metal-golems had begun appearing as we were slowly forced to retreat. The thick entrance doors closed audibly behind us. ¡°You unfilial mortals will not leave this place alive! Die so I can live!¡± Injuries began to accumulate as the pressure increased again. The golems simply ignored their fallen brethren as they shambled across broken limbs and shattered bodies. Our range of movement got smaller and smaller as the golems closed their encirclement. ¡°Looks like this is it! At least we will go down fighting!¡± With feral glee in his eyes Father prepared our last stand.
Another chapter i hope you enjoy the small cliff ;) Chapter-15 A mighty roar thundered through the room as father charged into the mass of golems, red steam trailed in his path as he darted from golem to golem. I could only mentally claw at the dreaded blue window that with cold indifference counted down the time it forced me to watch my family die. For a moment it looked like his savage assault could actually turn the tide but the golems recovered and pressed their assault even stronger. Unable to assist I could only watch as the golems advance took more and more of our space to move. My fine nose was the greatest curse, it told me with painful accuracy just how much the room began to smell like earth and iron as the fine red mist began do congeal into droplets of blood. Suddenly the fallen golem Gale had investigated rose again! ¡°Puny mortals my golems are invincible! Rise again and bring demise to these worms!¡± The risen golem readied his mighty fist, the air rumbled as the strike hit true. Stone shards rained everywhere as the head of a golem was disintegrated by the punch. Only now did I realize that the glowing lines and runes of the risen golem had turned from blue to green. Instantly the golem turned traitor was assaulted by its own brethren, the mass of golems immediately crushing the construct. My last hope evaporated as I saw the golems turn their focus back to us, my desperate hope for our survival began playing tricks to my eyes, had I seen a hit of green in the golems surrounding the fallen traitor? Suddenly all hell broke lose, golems began turning against each other. Small in number at first green began to rise through the ranks. Each fallen golem would infect his destructors, like a pandemic the green began to spread through their ranks. ¡°What is happening? What have you done to my golems? Stop it! What are you doing, kill the intruders!¡± Even with the green light assisting us the fight took many minutes that seemed eternal. As the fight neared its end I was finally released from my shackles, like the incarnation of destruction I dove into the remaining golems. Green or blue did not matter, my rage was second only to my worry as I trailed the track of blood. At the end I found father, chest barely rising and falling, his arm still stuck in the torso of a golem his body was riddled with gashes of all sizes. I did not even notice crushing a few golems as I charged to his side. Not bothering to be gentle I flooded him with my energy, he was in disastrous shape. Whatever technique he had used to activate that strength it had cost him dearly. His meridians were in shambles, blood dangerously drained his entire body was critical. My conscious knew I could not save him, but deep within there was a small voice telling me there was a way, he may hate me but in my desperate state of mind I began grasping at straws. The door flung open, knowledge of medicine so dark and forbidden I had sealed it long ago behind a separate set of doors deep within my mind-palace gushed out. Without hesitation I plunged my own paw into my chest, lifeblood shooting forward, taking control of the precious liquid I forced it into the gashes, invading his very being. Before he had silently endured, not showing any sign of pain- most likely to not cause us worry. Now he was screaming out of his very being as runes took shapes and patterns so old and dark entire worlds had been purged to remove that knowledge from existence formed around him. Time was relative, I know not how long I spent in this state but the gentle touch of my mother returned me to my senses. Disregarding my own self-caused wound I took a look at my father. He was out cold, but my sensible ears could hear his strong heartbeat. If he could ever forgive what I had done, but he would live. All my reserves drained I too was welcomed by the sweet bliss of unconsciousness. POV Selanis The battle was over! Gale had somehow managed to twist the runic enchants that gave life to the golems but even then it had been close. I could not spare any focus as I churned out healing and buff spells as my knowledge of casting allowed me. The red mist brought back unbidden memories, only once before had I seen this technique and its price had turned one of the strongest our race had ever seen into a farmer. My heart grew heavy as a tiny voice in the back of my head told me of the inevitable. As the battle grew closer to the end the effects shackling Kai finally broke, unleashing the pure rage that I knew she hid from all of us. Like a typhoon the Imoogi dove into the figures of stone. Like ants the constructs shattered under her paws, a simple wave of the tail bisecting a metal golem. My heart demanded me to stop her, to allow my husband his rest and not to burden his soul with the memories of his grieving children. But deep within I pinned all my hope on Kai, she had made miracles real maybe this time she could also save the day. Following the trail of carnage after climbing over the fallen form of an extremely large golem I found my daughter and my mate. Sitting in a puddle of her own blood deep red runes hovered around my screaming husband. The sight of these runes gave me goosebumps, they felt wrong as if they defied the nature of this world. But I did not stop the process, my experienced eyes told me how his body mended itself, how the once feeble heartbeat grew strong again, even if it somehow got a weird echo in the end. Only as I saw the process finished and the runes disintegrating did I place my paw on my daughters side. As if awakened from a dream she sighted as her eyes rolled back in her skull and her muscles went limp. She was definitely out cold and the large wound in her chest was still gushing blood. It took my entire remaining reserves to barely stitch the damaged blood vessels together. The last thing I saw was a bloodied Ere supported by Gale joining the pile of over-exhausted beings. Then sweet blackness the overuse of my abilities had caused claimed me forcing me into a restless sleep. POV Gale The spell had succeeded! With the fallen golem as template I had created a self replicating inscription that could be transferred through the metallic channels inlaid in the golems body''s. While not perfect the spell served its purpose of allowing us the needed space to turn the tide! The afflicted golems however would burn out in minutes, the needed changes I had throw together caused a conflict in their central matrix which would not allow them to recover and eventually overloaded their core. It took a large amount of my manapool to invoke the spell leaving me quite drained but the gamble paid off. As I was finally capable of movement again I found Ere hunched over the fallen body of a golem, her rage out of control she kept pummeling the already destroyed body. Calming her proved harder than I thought but the huge number of injuries made immediate medical attention mandatory. Casting a stun spell I managed to get close enough to hug her. She struggled a short moment after the spell wore off but her rage drained away leaving behind my bleeding and scared younger sister. While not very experienced in healing I managed to patch her up enough that mother could deal with the finer work later, when we all had recovered a bit. Supporting the limping Ere we followed the trail of destruction Kai had left behind until we reached its end. I only saw the runes hovering over fathers body for a short moment before they faded and Kai collapsed but it was enough to remember the ¡°black section¡± of the compilation of runes Kai had gifted me. Unable to analyze the structure with my hazy mind we joined the sleeping form of my mother that laid slumped down next to Kai''s chest. I did not even notice the blood as we joined the pile of body''s. Sweet sleep came over us, Ere began snoring before her head even hit Kai''s side, all of us were utterly spent. POV Ignalis The had been successful, only once before had I used this last trump card of mine. Now I laid bleeding and half dead on the fallen form of my last victim, I could feel my soul slowly lose its grip on my mortal body. The once unbearable pain had faded into a faint pressure as I lost feelings in an increasingly large area of my body. Through the hazy mist clouding my vision I saw Kai approaching, I felt one word echo into my mind. ¡°Sorry¡± Then she plunged her paw into her chest and my body began to contort in agony. Never in my life had I experienced so much pain, feeling returned to once numb areas only to drown me in even more pain. Not long after my mind gave out robbing me of consciousness. I was the first to awaken, I felt stronger than I had felt in a long time! Flexing my still aching muscles I opened my eyes and nearly puked. The colors were all wrong, red smoke wafting up from my sleeping family. Trying to stand up I only launched myself into the ceiling. It took me a while to get a grip on my barely responding body. It felt like my mind was unable to match whatever had happened to my body. My stirring awoke Kai first. Her eyes opened, head slowly rising she looked at me and immediately averted her gaze. I had seen this before, every time she had done something wrong she was incapable of looking into my eyes. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Trying to be gentle ¡°Kai what have you done?¡±. The massive Imoogi began fidgeting around which looked hilarious due to her size. ¡°Kai I am not angry, what have you done?¡± In this moment Selanis awoke, the look of relief upon seeing me drained away as she fixated upon the top of my head. Confused I patted my head, my paw coming to rest on a smooth and solid surface where there should not be one in our species. Lacking any form of mirror or way to check my appearance I put more pressure in the words than intended, ¡°Kai WHAT have you DONE?¡±. Shame and guilt radiated out from my daughter as her voice came weakly into my head. ¡°It was the only way I knew to save your life.¡± Suddenly the surface made sense HORNS! Why did I have freaking HORNS? How could my mate even bare to be together with me if I had become a demon? ¡°You turned me into a damn DEMON?!¡± My rage began to grow how could my own flesh and blood betray me like this? Now my soul would never enter the eternal plains of the afterlife! Firm arms closed around me, the sweet voice of my wife buried my anger. ¡°Selanis how can you bare to touch me? I am tainted!¡± She gently turned me around, a deep happiness radiating from her face. ¡°You my dear are everything but tainted, Kai what have you done to achieve this?¡± The large Imoogi flinched under the question, ¡°His soul and body were damaged beyond repair, I had to fill the gaps with something. I infused a small part of myself to fill the gaps and stabilize him.¡± ¡°So those Horns and eyes are not demonic?¡± My silent question plastered a huge confusion onto Kai''s face. ¡°Of course not, those are dragonic features, I have infused you with dragon blood!¡± Still a faint doubt gnawed at the back of my mind, could my family still love me if I suddenly became different. The question barely surfaced as I smashed it in shame, was this not basically the same that had happened to my Daughter? How could I be so dumb and question the love of my family? It took a great deal of effort to walk to Kai and place my paw onto her snout. ¡°It is okay big girl I am not angry.¡± ¡°So you forgive me?¡± Her tiny voice was so full of hope it pained my hearts? Hearts? I could deal later with the quirks of my changed anatomy, ¡°There is nothing to forgive, I only regret that we cannot bear another child anymore.¡± A deep look of contemplation crossed over my mates face,¡±Kai is what you have done hard to do or connected to a price for you?¡± ¡°While very draining the only price I pay is to share the pain of the recipient.¡± ¡°Would you be willing to do the same to me?¡± Any form of protest from my side was instantly shut down by my wife''s stern look. ¡°Yes I can do that, but first we have a god to lynch!¡± All our gazes hardened as all members of the family rose to punish the cause of this pain. POV Kai All my fears had been obliterated, father had forgiven my transgression, while mothers request made me feel bad I had an obligation to fulfill her wish. But first we had an appointment with a fallen god. After some more healing and fixing each other up we began our descend into the lower layers of the pagoda. All doors were closed and we had to tear them down but it only delayed us and was incapable of preventing our advance. It must have been ten layers as we were stopped by a door made of pure metal. Immediately I knew what that black metal was, orihalcum! Thankfully whoever had created those doors was an amateur! While it took a full hour of concentrated dragon breath, we finally managed to melt a hole into the richly decorated slab of metal. The inside had obviously once been the central and most holy area of that gods influence. Placed on an altar laid a shimmering crystal the size of a head. In front of the altar stood a person. Once a mighty figure the avatar now in front of us was covered in cracks and in the form of a young female human. ¡°Esoi I presume?¡± My question broke the silence. ¡°So you have reached me mortals. What have I left that makes you hunt me down?¡± ¡°Not sure, we had only come to ask a few questions but what you have done has left only one way this day will end. Your death! Maybe we will get some answers but we will repay this debt of blood in full!¡± ¡°HAHA I am a god, even if fallen you cannot touch me!¡± ¡°Well, and there you are wrong. With you so weak that you cannot even hide your godly core in some fold of spacetime you are very much touchable.¡± All her haughty demeanor dropped away as she fell onto her knees. Pure and utter relief spread across her face. ¡°You have a way of ending my existence? To liberate my soul from this broken shell? If you can grant me freedom I will answer any question you may have!¡± All of us looked quite surprised by the sudden change in her behavior. Uncertain gazes were exchanged as the information sunk in. ¡°This is unexpected, yes we have a way to destroy you that would in turn return you to the great cycle of life. If you answer truly I may even leave your soul intact.¡± ¡°I accept your proposal mortal, ask your questions.¡± ¡°First I would like to know the true history about this species once hailed as your creation. Second what has caused you to revert into this state?¡± ¡°Are you a historian by any chance? No it does not look that way. For your second question, I have been betrayed. My most trusted high priest has turned against me with the help of a certain magister and another god.¡± ¡°With the help of Rodeyar, god of the Elves and nature they turned against me after our plan had born fruit. My creation, your species had become too powerful. Their devotion and faith had made me grow into a threat to many other gods. Rodeyar however managed to turn my most loyal against me.¡± ¡°The magister had assisted me as my mortal extension in the creation of the wolf-man. We however called them and they were stronger than most other races!¡± ¡°My high priest and magister used their familiarity with the and their anatomy to twist the awakening ritual each cub goes through once five cycles old. Those touched by that cursed joke of awakening were cut off from my presence, I was too proud and missed the coup, deeming myself untouchable.¡± ¡°In the end cut off from faith I was overwhelmed and sealed down here. My last remaining energy was used up in an attempt to seize control of your body. If successful it would have allowed me to flee this place and work on my revenge. But you have won, I have lost so I will comply with your demands.¡± ¡°Is that all? If so please release me from this eternal imprisonment!¡± I nodded, her information had confirmed some theories I have had. ¡°Probably last question, do you know of any way to remove blessings?¡± ¡°Simple mortal, just die. The void liberates the energy back to its owner.¡± ¡°But what would you do if that did not work? If that blessing kept going even through reincarnation?¡± A look of confusion crossed the goddess face until she began to laugh uncontrollably. Barely able to suppress her outburst she continued. ¡°Priceless, who would have guessed that in my final moments I would meet an ! There is no way that I know of to remove it, clueless one. Maybe the world itself can answer your question but I highly doubt it! So consume me and return to your ancestral path!¡± Her outburst had left me with more questions than answers but I grabbed her glowing core. The goddess was smiling like a birthday kid as I used on the core and shunted the energy to the deepest pit my mind-palace had, the overbearing life-force felt like burning tar running through my very being before it disappeared behind the seal that kept any of the godly energy from radiating outwards that had latched onto me. The avatar began to break down, entire chunks of flesh breaking off the pieces turning to white dust. Even with her form crumbling she kept smiling. As she finally collapsed a faint voice wafted out from her remains. ¡°At least revenge will be mine! Beware of the elves they cannot be trusted.....¡± With those words echoing away was no more.
God am i tired, chapter 16 is half done but should not hit the site until i had a good bucket of sleep. Chapter 15 up, i hope you enjoy. MfG : Dr_Dac Chapter-16 We felt the light turn dimmer as the last dregs of the fallen gods presence began to follow its perished master. The teeth of time so long denied began its restless work anew. Even the seal the other god had placed began to weaken, robbed of its main purpose and power source the aimless magic began to disintegrate. Father had suggested to immediately leave this place but I was able to convince him to stay for now, as hostile the pagoda had been, now its decaying defenses worked in our favor. A small fire was roasting a few strips of meat as we sat around its warmth. Once we would have been executed for preparing our meal on this ¡°holy¡± floor, now the merry flames cast eerie shadows across the pillars of the spacious room. ¡°Are you feeling okay?¡±, a deep exhaustion spread across fathers face as the same question kept repeating itself multiple times per hour. ¡°For the last time, yes I feel good. But if you keep asking I may spit fire out of frustration.¡± I earned myself a death glare from mother as my mouth threw ¡°that could happen¡± into the room before my brain could stop it. If sinking in the floor was possible I would have entirely submerged in the marble floor. ¡°So why do we have to stay in this derelict place? What benefit does it have to stay inside this ruin?¡± I knew a path of escape when I saw it, with more than obvious relief I jumped at the question. ¡°The seal did not only cut off the god from any energy but also prevented , the thing that creates the blue boxes to affects its inside. The spell I have used on father is forbidden for a reason.¡± With their attention fully focused on myself I kept going.¡±The original creator of this series of enchantments had one goal, to overthrow the gods themselves. As you have seen a god is in fact a type of life form, while some can reach levels of power that may be called omnipotence the average god is but a very high form of energy being. This type of forbidden magic was developed to rival the gods own work of creation, thus the gods forbid it, fearing for their position they tried to eradicate the knowledge wherever it appeared.¡± Fascination was written across all faces as my words clashed with eons of belief and cultural history. ¡°Your claims sound fantastic, but how can you know all this?¡± The interruption by father was expected and did not interrupt me in the slightest. ¡°I was certain that you would need some kind of proof. Gale if you would do us the honor to invite us inside?¡± Confusion was plastered across my parents faces, only Ere knew what was coming. While she had been unable to fully develop her mind-space yet, she had visited Gale in her marble palace on quite a few occasions. ¡°You will feel a faint tug against your being, do not resist, open yourself to the invitation.¡± Seconds later the outside world blurred and we found ourselves sitting in the comfy pile of cushions that Gale so liked in her palace. Mother and father were close to panic as all the tension was ripped apart ¡°PILLOW FIGHT!¡± the words had barely left Ere''s mouth as a pillow the size of a horse slammed into my face. Nearly half an hour later we were all panting and out of breath, the imaginary pillows had held up better than their real counterparts and only very few feathers could be seen drifting in the air. ¡°You owe us an explanation, what is this place?¡± The simple question brought us back to a more serious atmosphere. ¡°To keep things simple, this is a mind-palace, the physical manifestation of Gale''s soul if you will. It is located in a space called the mind-space, which is, while most often found in mages a form of mediation.¡± ¡°Do we also have this mind things?¡± Fathers innocent question made me smirk. ¡°Yes, while users of Qi have a harder time to reach the necessary state of mind in comparison to Mana users, all of us do. Take Ere for example, she has been training to open her mind-space for roughly two weeks, while still imperfect she is very close.¡± ¡°What benefit does this even have? Sounds like quite a bit of work for something that while comfortable does not seem to be very useful.¡± ¡°Not quite right mother, the mind-space allows far greater control over the self, training certain patterns and movements holds great benefit here. To top it off there is an entire branch of magic that revolves around the mind-palace, commonly called mind-magic.¡± The mention of new magic instantly served its purpose as mothers eyes began sparkling like a five-year-old that had just been told he could eat the ENTIRE bowl of candy. ¡°There is also another benefit, this space is under complete control of its owner, while changing parts requires a great deal of concentration and a fully formed mind-palace, you can adjust the very laws of the world. If a third person agrees he could allow two others fight to the death without each suffering any consequences. Thus it was often used by high ranking martial cultivators to engage in training matches.¡± Now also fathers eyes were sparkling, which was intensified by the obviously dragonic eyes he now possessed. ¡°There are however a few limitations, you are under no circumstance allowed to damage the mind-palace or the owner of the space. Any damage has dire consequences and may even kill them. Thus such matches most often are only possible in very close relationships.¡± ¡°The main reason I have opted to use this space is its privacy. No matter who he cannot eavesdrop in here without completely subduing Gale, which we would have instantly noticed. I have a few things to tell you that cannot leave this circle under any circumstances.¡± Instantly the temperature seemed to drop multiple degrees as any last bit of attention focused on me. ¡°To get you the full picture I need to start in the beginning. While it may hurt you, father you have expressed your concern to not be allowed to enter the ancestral plains after your death. To put it bluntly there is no afterlife.¡± His eyes went noticeably wider as I took the very core of his belief under fire but he did not interrupt me and after a short silence I went on. ¡°After your form perishes your essence,soul gets recycled. There is a space I came to call where all souls end up for a time I cannot estimate before they are returned to a random existence and reborn. I see the main question stuck in your throat, how I know all this. The main purpose of is to reset the soul back to an empty state, it cleanses you of nearly everything that defines you. Only in rare cases can some remnants remain but they simply get taken care of in the next death.¡± ¡°This system sounds perfect, however I have found a major exception to its working. Myself, no matter how many times I am killed and reborn refuses to offer me the salvation of being able to forget.¡± A few tears began welling up inside my eyes unbidden. Before I could collect myself Ere hugged me.¡±Don''t cry¡± she whispered in a tone of voice that simply did not fit her massive figure. Her hug managed to calm my rising uneasiness. ¡°The form you take in mind-space is a visual representation of how you perceive yourself. As you see I have held so many forms my consciousness barely grants me a from that resembles a humanoid.¡± After a few seconds I managed to collect myself again, ¡°Concerning your request I can fulfill it but only as long as the seal on this building holds. Without its interference we would instantly arouse the attention of multiple higher beings tasked with overseeing creation. I estimate the seal to last another six days to a degree that I am sure we will not attract unwanted visitors.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. It took mother only a few moments and a deep look at my father to steady herself. ¡°If I can stay together with my love I will walk through the depth of hell if I have to. Even if I now know that hell does not exist.¡± ¡°Oh hell does exist, it is a separate reality that connects most planes of existence.¡± The annoyed gaze I received made me curse my own inability to keep my mouth in check. ¡°Don''t worry dear, no matter how much family you have had, in this life I am your mother and I love you as unconditional as only a mother can! But if you dare to keep something like this from me again, I promise you the biggest ass whopping you can imagine!¡± The smile she gave me while telling this made me turn pale, quite an achievement as an ink bleeding shade if you ask me. Shortly after we returned to reality, the fire had already burned down and some strips of flesh looked a bit too similar to coal for my appetite but my hunger made me still wolf down my portion. Mother and father had taken a seat a bit on the side of the room, I only managed to catch a few scraps of their conversation but father obviously tried to prevent her to go through with her decision. In the end he could only admit defeat. ¡°Kai I am ready, let us get this over with.¡± My mother was sitting on the bed father had crafted back in the frost. We had removed the robust thing from my hoard stomach to allow a more comfortable treatment. ¡°As you know there is no going back from this, I will do the same to you I have done to father if all goes well you should be able to bear offspring again. But beware they will share your changed bloodline, they will not be regular wolf-man but an entire new race. If we leave this building may even award you the status of a new race.¡± ¡°Stop talking and do it before I change my mind!¡± I had been a doctor or nurse to know the saying ¡°never operate on your family¡± but I submitted to her growl. This time I had the benefit of no immediate danger of death, first I began by carefully opening non-lethal flesh wounds across her body. My claw encountered nearly no resistance as I proceeded with my bloody work. The knowledge about our body helped me greatly, barely any blood came from the wounds as I managed to avoid any bigger blood vessels. This time I also created a far less dangerous wound on myself, the bloody orb that began to congeal in front of me looked far more peaceful without the chaos of a battlefield around it. ¡°I am ready.¡± was all I needed to hear as the blood began to invade the gashes in her body. Taking my time I slowly began infusing her with my essence, her body only resisted but a moment until it practically began dragging the blood inside. I did manage to reduce the pain as much as I could, still she passed out near the end of the procedure. I was badly drained as well but kept enough to stay awake, the remaining family had opted to cuddle into a pile of fur close to the bed. Her breath was steady and her strong heartbeat told of her will to live. So I kept watch as her form began to shift towards her new features. This time I could watch the entire process as her horns grew in. I was fascinated, unlike fathers that resembled a ram her pearly white horns grew straight backwards with a faint twist to themselves. Her eyes were the first to change, the slitted pupils so obviously dragonic took a deep golden radiance. The last change I could observe was the lengthening and thickening of her tail. Internal changes would need more intense study later. After a good meditation to replenish my spent resources I formed a living wall around my sleeping family, shielding them from the outside I joined them in their sleep. I must have been in more need of sleep than I anticipated as I was the last to awaken. The scene I bore witness to made me smile, mother was trying to walk with father supporting her unsteady steps. The changed center of gravity obviously had impacted her more than she would like to admit. Father reminded me of a very nervous parent that awaited his first child treating mother as if she was made of glass. Lifting my head and stretching like a cat managed to dispel the last dregs of sleep from my body. ¡°Good morning. Is everything alright? I did not see any form of complication last night how do you feel mother?¡± ¡°The new tail has done a number on my balance and I feel like I could jump straight to the ceiling so full of energy are my limbs. I guess I have to join your father in some physical exercises to regain any form of more precise control.¡± A tugging sensation on my tail alerted me of Ere who stood behind me. ¡°How can I help my cute sister today?¡± I enjoyed to see her blush through her fur as she nearly managed to have smoke rise out of her ears. It took her a few tries that ended in incoherent gibberish before Gale stepped behind her, placing her paws on Ere''s shoulders her gaze turned serious. ¡°What my overly shy sister is trying to say, is that we both would like to also receive the treatment. And before any of you try to discourage us, we have already made up our mind. Ideally we would have liked a bit more time for the decision but with the seal weakening this will probably be our only opportunity. We are a family and we will share the burden as a whole!¡± The firm decision radiated from her as she anchored herself in front of me. I had seen that expression before, ¡°ask your mother¡± was the only thing I could say to avoid responsibility. Gale did not even look in mothers direction as she continued to fix me with her unwavering gaze. ¡°I can repeat the treatment but only as long as mother and father agree.¡± ¡°For such an old being you sometimes can be the biggest dunce around. It is my decision, as long as you have recovered enough we can start immediately! There is no need for further discussion, my decision has been made!¡± My pleading gaze towards my parents yielded no results and I could only give up. ¡±Do what you want, I can only do one at a time decide between you two who wants to go first. Once you are ready call me towards the bed I will prepare myself until then.¡± I had barely finished my words as I heard the bed creak. Gale had somehow managed to remove her clothes in the short moment and now brightly smiled at me. Shaking my head I redirected my entire attention to my patient all other thoughts were banished as I readied the runes. The next two days I treated Gale first and then Ere. Both experienced slightly different results. Gale grew two horns on each side of her head that like mothers pointed backwards. Ere however resembled father more as her horns curved forward. With no complication whatsoever, the remaining days as the seal grew weaker were full of laughter as all tried to get a grip on their vastly increased physical attributes. Which in turn ended with playful chases through the altar room. I however was concerned how would react to our sudden appearance once we left the dwindling area the seal cut off from its influence but that question would answer itself shortly. The seal was very close to collapsing and my worry would come true or not.
more of an information dump and preparation for the next part of the journey still enjoy MfG : Dr_Dac Chapter-17 The day had come, the air was filled with fragments of the seal. Steeling ourselves we took our longest step, some tiny voice in my head took the opportunity to disrupt me with the iconic speech from another world (it is but one step....). In that moment the sunlight finally showered us in its warm rays again, then we were flooded by blue boxes.
-Quest unlocked -New race [unnamed] has appeared! As first of a new race title has been awarded! All of your descendants will now be awarded , Due to no patron claiming creation, race [unnamed] has been registered as independent race! Due to unique physiology, [unnamed] race has received the status: -[monster race] [intelligent race] [humanoid race] -[energy affinity] [evolution] [dragonic heritage] Racial bonus has been set -[unwavering will] -[Seamless optical camouflage] -[poisonous] -[Blood rage] Independent race bonus activated! -Scrying immunity, no god or being can use remote means track [unnamed]race -First 50 generations will produce pure offspring even in the event of interbreeding -Growth correction for the first ten generations -Neutral standing with all races (may differ due to prejudices) -Divine protection until fully established, protection from local gods
Quest: Pilgrimage of the first! As the first beings of your race, you have received the quest to carve out a place in the world for your people. Claim a capital and a name to begin the history of your kin. -[nomadic] status granted until capital claimed Rewards depend on achievements during the quest! No time limit
I broke down laughing, my sudden change immediately alerted my family, a few tons hysterically laughing Imoogi are hard to miss though. ¡°This is the best that could have happened! actually has !¡± It took me a moment to get my feelings back under control, all the while my family looked at me with big question-marks in their eyes. Smiling as wide as my muzzle allowed I slumped onto my belly, all the tension that had built up over the last few days leaving my body. Gale was the first to regain her wit ¡°My notifications had no mention of , please explain Kai. Why are you smiling as if you had just nabbed a piece of mothers cooking without her noticing?¡± ¡°Sorry, what I mean is that we have been granted [independent race] status, which is basically preventing any direct meddling of higher beings from this world. It is a full set of things that are meant to allow natural evolved races to get footing in the world.¡± Mother came wobbling over and took a seat on my paw. ¡°I only got some notifications of holding your bloodline and some new racial traits that honestly look very good. Especially the [unwavering will] looks promising, even if I fear that a race that cannot be enslaved will get us some enemies sooner or later. So you will have to explain, I did not get any information on [independent race] or the protection you speak of.¡± In my merry mood I gave mother a lick on the face which left her a bit drenched and looking accusingly at me. ¡°The [independent race] bonus boils down to faster growth for ten generations, immunity to scrying, 50 generations of pure offspring and prevents gods to meddle with us. This is active until we are established. So whatever you do, do not name us and do not claim a home. As long as we do not do that we at least get partial protection and the [nomadic] bonus.¡± A strong patting on my belly brought my attention to father who still did not have his strength under control. Those pettings would have snapped a human in half! ¡°I think we should get moving, even if the scrying is blocked, I rather not be here if that gods comes checking what happened to his prisoner.¡± Fathers words immediately sobered us up and we began heading north, slowly though as four of us had trouble with their balance. Just as we were resting on a small hill that gave us a good view over the temple ruins from a distance the sky warped. A humongous golden leg descended from the clouds, the sounds of breaking stones arrived seconds later as the limb crushed the pagoda into nothingness. As fast as it had appeared the golden limb disappeared in the sky. ¡°And that is a lower god:¡± was my needless comment to my family that had become quite pale. ¡° We should get some more distance between us and that ruin I am not sure if that thing has also sent its mortal minions.¡± The potential danger made my family mount up and we sped through the night intending to gain as much distance to the ruins as we could. We kept the speed up for two days until we stumbled upon a forest hut. My sense of smell immediately told me that the hut had since a long time not housed a single soul anymore. With the promise of a roof over the head for the night we approached the wooden hut.
Do you want to claim this for your race? Yes/No
With more annoyance than necessary No was selected. ¡°I think we should use the opportunity of a solid roof to restock our reserves. If the inventory of my hoard stomach is correct we are in immediate need of food and water. Also we should use the time to fix gear that was damaged in the clash with the golems. Maybe we could also craft completely new gear, I guess father would welcome the challenge to create better pieces more suited for our changed forms.¡± Father only nodded his agreement to my statement. ¡°Kai could you try to see if any larger prey is around. We will tidy up this hut until then, even if only temporary I am not eager to have pests nesting in my fur.¡± I readily agreed with mothers request, it was finally time to hunt again! I caused a small rumble as I dove into the earth, leaving my busy family behind. My inner animal rejoiced as I tasted the air. It only took me a moment as the familiar smell of a Malam? hit my tongue. There was an entire herd in this forest, homing in on the source the smell began to gradually change. Now there were traces of fear and distress mixed into the trail of the herd. My battle instincts began to analyze the situation, grass, trees, Malam?, humans, blood, fear and some animal I could not identify. Taking the risk of showing myself I took a brief sneak above the surface, the scene I was privy to was beyond chaotic. Roughly fifteen humans in crude equipment and spears were trying to keep some giant bear on distance. The animal was already injured, spears had cost it an eye but it seemed to only further enrage the behemoth. Behind it lay the remains of at least three Malam? that had been ripped apart like confetti, which made counting them quite challenging. POV human farm guard I should have known that a post so close to the dreaded forests could not be good, no matter how good the pay was! Enticed by a wage three times higher than I could have earned as a city guard I had responded to the call. The rumors of war had done the remaining work to convince me that a post so far out was the best place to lay low. The man in charge of me and twenty other guards had trained us in repelling beasts from the royal breeding grounds. At first everything went well, we had some run ins with the occasional predator but most were stopped by the spiked fences that would have served well as main-walls for a medium village. Everything had changed as two days ago a tremor had disrupted the silence, we even lost a guard as the Malam? had in their panic run over the poor lad. The following days had become hell, animals and beasts that should only appear in the center regions of the forest began to migrate and appear around the complex! Finally the fence broke as a large mutated beast stormed the fields. Before we could react, a fortune in Malam? was ripped apart, only our intense training prevented us from running. We even managed to wound the thing but it refused to become intimidated by us, every wound we caused only fueled its anger. It would not be long until its growing rage overwhelmed its caution for the puny spears we were poking it with. I was sure that it would be my last day on this land as I prayed to our god to grant me a place in the fields of battle. So preoccupied with my own impending demise I did not notice the ripple in the earth. Suddenly something black broke out of the ground, the beast had been as surprised as us. Some kind of snake shot out from the very earth. In but a moment it had the bear in a stranglehold. The sounds of snapping bones as its mighty body contracted around the mutated bear will forever haunt me in my dreams! As fast as it had appeared the thing dove back into the ground. The bear disappeared with it, the earth closed seamlessly behind the subterranean beast. Whatever that thing had been, I was glad to not be of any size that a beast of that dimension would even consider as appetizer. My respect and fear of that forest grew even bigger, if I were to survive this stampede I would gladly return to a city even as a beggar. Eagerly would I press my head against a dirty road as long as I never had to get close to these dreaded lands again. POV Kai In the end I saved the humans, despite changing my color and telling myself that the bear was perfect for our cause or how good its hide would be for new gear; It was barely enough to drown the tiny voice in my head that told me I had shown compassion for their plight. It took the entire way back to the hut to convince myself that I had done the deed to earn some karma and materials. But deep down I knew, the seal was growing weaker, if such emotions began seep out already. Dragging the bear through the earth proved quite, easy due to my increased familiarity in controlling the earth. As I was getting close to the hut I noticed another potential target. Barely one hundred meter were between me and the dwelling as I activated all skills to hide myself. Slowing down to barely a crawl my target came into sight. The tiny creature had not noticed my approach as I sneaked closer. It was placing freshly washed cloth onto a thin cord to have it dry in the sun. Finally I was close enough, carefully my nose rose over the surface I took a deep breath and forcefully exhaled! The skirt of the tiny creature flew up exposing her furry form to the world. Immediately I dove again as Gale''s angry shout echoed through the forest ¡°KAI!! IF I GET YOUR SCALY BEHIND PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A BEATING!¡± Still snickering I resurfaced close to my father who was busy felling a dead tree. The broken hilts scattered around told me of his hard time to find the proper force to deal with the task. ¡°Welcome back big girl, was your hunt successful or is your good mood solely based on playing a prank on Gale?¡± With quite an effort my tail ripped the carcass out of the earth, the smell of its blood immediately spread across the clearing. Stolen story; please report. ¡°Nice catch, have not seen such a large Oliasker since my youth. His hide and flesh should be exactly what we need. You should deliver it to Ere and your mother, last I have seen them they have prepared the tools to deal with anything you bring.¡± Taking a look at the crushed handles that were littering the are I had an idea. ¡°I have a hint for you father, if you want to get a grip on your strength try to remember the feeling you had as you supported mother after her change.¡± A deep look of contemplation spread across his face as I made my way towards the hut, Oliasker in tow. As father had predicted I found Mother and Ere sitting on front of the hut. A wide array of tools laid spread out on the blanket they had used to cover the grass. The noise I had caused while dragging the carcass had long ago alerted them of my approach. Letting go of the bear I began to shrink to the size of a large dog and placed myself between them. Seconds later Gale arrived, her anger already visibly reduced. Without regards for the tools she stomped towards me and gave a flick to my nose. ¡°Meanie.¡± Was all she said before slumping down behind me. I got a questioningly gaze from mother but did not bother to explain as Gale began to absentmindedly play with my tail. The warm sun kept bathing me with its rays, in the short times between naps I saw the progress of their work on the Oliasker. Like in fast forward the carcass was bled, skinned and dismantled until the sun finally was low enough for the shadows to invade my comfy spot. It was already getting dark as father returned with a huge load of firewood. Once he had stored the wood he gave me a thumbs-up ¡°It worked!¡± he proudly proclaimed to which mother again only shook her head. We spent four days at the hut, fathers gear had been the most damaged but Ere''s was not off much better. With enough time to finally tend to all the items even my saddle got an overhaul. Gale had figured out a way for the straps that secured the thing on my back to adjust to a certain amount of size change. But the main modification was a change to the seats to allow the larger tails to not bother its passengers. The hide of the bear was plenty but in the end I had to hunt a few more random beasts, none of the quality of the Oliasker but the material was enough to deal with the small repairs they were needed for. Father had managed to craft a decent sized barrel in which we stored salted meat, the thing was highly uncomfortable to swallow but I had long ago learned to ignore the annoying sensation. While not perfect we managed to stock up on arrows, replace some shafts of broken spears and the gear was not close to falling apart anymore. Meditation and shared training had become part of our daily routine. While different in execution I joined our small group with my own set of exercises. On the fifth day we finally set off again. Our appearance had vastly improved, no longer did we look like a ragged band of thieves. Gale had even invented a small fashion accessory, a small leather band that imprinted with runes could be worn on our horns. I had to admit those looked quite fancy and they even boosted the already good channeling ability of our horns. With the assistance of a map, gifted to us by Samuel we had decided on the next destination. Kreban, hailed as the greatest port city on this island was our goal. On the way we would get close to one of the major human city''s called Jerias but currently we did not plan to stop there. After getting lost two times we finally managed to find the road that would eventually lead us to Kreban. Only mothers honed experience gained from our time on the sea made us realize our mistake and turn back. The solidly paved road cut through the lands in peaceful waves, clinging to the changing terrain. We had missed it in an area where its constructors had deemed a tunnel through a hill to be less work than to go around it and we had crossed over the street thus missing it. The road was perfectly empty, not a single soul could be seen as we proceeded in a moderate pace. We were still faster than galloping horses but that was due to the size I had assumed propelling us forward in a steady speed. The main advantage was that the height allowed mother to see over the canopy of trees as long as they were not too tall. On the second day on the road mother finally sighted other people. We decided to shrink me down to more manageable dimensions that on top of being less threatening also allowed other travelers to pass us without having to pass between my legs. Honestly I could really do without having people sight-see my private parts so I welcomed the change, especially in settled areas. A group of villagers were the first we met, they were in no hurry and barely took notice of us as we passed them. Gale kept an eye on them but they disappeared on a forest path shortly after. The closer we got to Jerias the denser became the villages and fields that clustered in its vicinity. The mighty trees of the forest had long made way to the gentle waving of cultivated plants. With no need for trade we also avoided the villages that had actually grown around the street in some areas. The quality of the paths that allowed travelers to go around were of a far worse quality than the main street. Now I had to actually repair the ground, unlike the main road , here I left deep imprints in the soil as I sunk down to my ankles in the soaked roads. The guards sometimes watched us with obvious hostility but they lost interest immediately as we made effort to not enter their villages. No matter how, I had a slight feeling that something was wrong, it took me three villages to figure it out. ¡°No men!¡± My outburst startled my passengers but it only took me a moment to explain what I had observed. Nearly all the villagers we had seen were female, only really old or young men could be seen a few times. We all knew what it meant, there was conflict brewing! The king must have had issued a call for arms, drafting the men of suitable age into the army. We all agreed that avoiding the conflict was the best idea, but we lacked information on how or where it was gonna take place. But as the nature of conflict it soon knocked on our doors, figuratively speaking. The silver sheen under the sunlight warned us long before the soldiers came actually into view. A small brigade of horsemen neared in the opposite direction. Trying to not get in trouble we used a medium patch of grass to make way for the riders. But even with our effort the brigade stopped next to us, a man in obviously better gear than his men approached us. ¡°In the name of the king, all men of age are to report to the main camp near Jerias!¡± The knight had raised the visor of his silver helmet, his young face surprised me. His innocent eyes must have begged mother to tease him. She shook her bountiful breasts which immediately caused the young man to blush deep red. ¡°Sorry young man, not many males around here. And the single one we have is already taken.¡± Smiles were exchanged between the human soldiers as their young officer tried to regain his wits. As if on command an older soldier made his way to the front, it looked like we had earned us the attention of their commander. The weathered man released his young officer from his torment. Under a few joking comments from the remaining soldiers the young knight returned to his old spot. ¡°While that may be true ma''am, but our orders are clear, your husband and your steed are required in the upcoming conflict as ordered by his majesty.¡± The dry and firm tone gave the impression of a long history of command. ¡°I am sorry sir knight we are but a small tribe of nomads, we do not answer to your king.¡± The originally disinterested eyes of the commander gained a fierce spark as he began seizing us up. ¡°Anyone born or raised in these lands is subject of my king, each humanoid of any race is his to command! No claim of neutrality or affiliation to tribes is enough to make you immune to his decree.¡± Without showing any sign of being intimidated mother returned his fierce gaze. ¡°Then my poor man you are wrong. Neither were any of us born on this small piece of land your king claims as his, nor are we in a stricter sense of word. So unless your king also rules the desolate forests and mountains he is no king of ours.¡± The man had become quite pale, ¡°Then I am sorry for the interruption ma''am, I would suggest you take a different route then. The enemy has invaded and taken over Kreban, if you keep going in that direction you will be drawn into the conflict. I wish you a safe voyage, may the heavens protect you and your pack.¡± We did not reply to him as his men made way for us. They remained standing for but a moment until they resumed their travel and we parted ways as they headed away from us. POV knight captain Erunall Three weeks ago the blasted Elves had attacked Kreban from the sea. The lord of the city had often claimed the invincibility of his city, but the walls fell in a matter of days! Disregarding all rules of warfare the tree-huggers slaughtered every soul in the city down to the last child. Like cattle they had bled them dry and built a wall of bodies in front of the main gate. The general call for arms had been issued only a day later. We would sweep those excuses for intelligent life out of our lands. I had answered to the call voluntarily, praised for my eagerness to free the country from the elves, I was awarded the rank of captain and placed as second in command of a small cavalry unit. My commander, a strict man named Rocus had mobilized us to assist in collecting recruits from the surrounding villages that had refused the call. He had been adamant in bringing in all those that would be a boon for our army. Because of that I was deeply surprised as he did not pressure the small tribe of beast-man we had met close to a village. He did not answer any of my questions as we made our way to the designated encampment we would use for the night. Only after we had set up our tents did he call me to his side. ¡°Don''t talk just listen, those were subjects of the mountain lords. No matter how similar they looked to beast-man, they were in fact beasts in humanoid form. The alpha had been very generous to not annihilate us for our transgression, my skill was completely ineffective! If you ever see those again, be very polite they are part of a faction in these lands that we cannot offend. If their gear was any clue they are not low on the hierarchy of the mountains. If the lords of the mountains decide to work against us we will be crushed between the Elves and hordes of beasts!¡± That was the only time I ever saw my commander drown himself with strong spirits until he passed out. The last words he had spoken to me that evening kept ringing in my ears ¡°Listen kiddo, the world is a far greater place than you can imagine. And it is populated by things you cannot even fathom!¡± His words had hit a sore spot, the more I learned about the world and the things that roamed it, the more I began to question my decision to leave my village. Could I really change anything in a world that was home to figures of unimaginable power?
Chapter 18 is in progress and may hit the site later in the day. Chapter 17 is up enjoy MfG : Dr_Dac Chapter-18 The fall of the port city had throughout derailed any plans we have had to get us a passage to the continent. The distance was also too great for me to act as boat again, so we agreed to follow the groups of fleeing civilians and bypass the conflict through a mountain-pass that was marked on our map. None of us was keen to find out if the god that had smashed the pagoda was still watching or not, the display of force that had removed an entire area was still fresh in our memories. The street passing the only viable pass was guarded by a fortress erected in ancient times; to this day the humans used its walls to enforce passage fees and control all travel through the only safe pass crossing the mountain ridge in a gigantic radius. Now we did the same as many others and hoped that its walls would prevent any pursuit of the Elven armies. Even if the city fell, we would be long gone before they could spare any troops to test the mountain fortress. Words about reinforcements and entire legions of Elves landing in the port were hopefully only exaggerations born of false rumors that fed on the general fear. Could the Elves really have called for the invasion of the entire island? The march towards the pass would take us two days but the increasing amount of refugees began to reduce our speed down to walking pace. More and more human regiments were seen as slowly the person in charge of the army began amassing his soldiers for the confrontation. The clash could not be long into the future and we were still too close! The sides of the road were littered with anything the fleeing people had deemed too unwieldy or which had broken down, turning it into fields of garbage. Bundles of fabric, entire wagons and carts riddled the once clean areas as we made our way through the desolate masses. It did not take long as we began to notice a general trend in the fleeing people, most were of impure or bestial linage! Even in the dire case of war, the so commonly practiced discrimination had made the humans abandon those they deemed impure. Entire family''s of beast-men were on the run, even healthy males in their prime had not been drafted for military service. The more I watched the people around us, the lower my expectations for the humans side became. Without resting, the long train of ragged figures followed the road, slowly the chaos on the side of the road began to change. Where once broken equipment littered the ground, a new horror began to appear, a new type of abandoned luggage. The old, the ill and those too young fell prey to the march. The insects had not yet noticed the opulent meal that was being served on their table, but it was only a matter of time before they would do so. With increasing frequency small motionless bundles appeared on the side. Without access to a water source the march began to turn into a procession of the living dead under the blazing sun. At the start we had used our magic to form a basin in which we had condensed water, but after we left the mad scramble for the saving liquid had taught us to keep to ourselves. We had to watch as an old woman that had tried to distribute water was trampled to death as the hopeless tried to reach her. Only my size prevented the desperate mob to dare attack us for our rations, every time we ate or drunk the murderous gazes around us would shower us in killing-intent. On the fourth day of the march we finally saw the fortress! Gray walls seemed to grow from the very cliffs, the etched sigils in their stone promised to last even against concentrated magic barrages. Mighty towers on its entire length made the building look imposing and indestructible. Painfully slow the long rows passed the only gate, barely two hundred meters away I was privy to the most shameful of human acts I had witnessed in a long time. A group of soldiers was stripping the passing refugees of any valuables and denied those that could not give anything passage, they were the reason the passage had become so slow! In front of the gates a large crowd had been forced to gather. Only the bad condition they were in had prevented the starving people to try their luck in charging the gate. I was still contemplating if I should bite off the puny humans head if I got close enough as the shrill ring of a trumpet echoed through the narrow valley as we finally noticed the smoke. The hills had prevented any better view but now the fire had reached an intensity that the thick pillar of smoke pierced the sky, Jerias one of the main city''s on the Island stood in flames! Panic began to spread through the ranks as the refugees began to push towards the gate. The fat pig in charge of the fortress proved to me, that biting off his head would have been to lenient. With a deep rumble the massive gates began to close. Desperate figures began to charge the bridge leading to the gate but even the massive bridge began to sink into the very walls. The screams of those unfortunate enough to be on it abruptly ended as the bottom of the trench turned into their grave. With a deep * thud * the doors locked into place, the formations and sigils began to light up as the magical defenses came active. Now we could not even pass over the walls, the barrier would fry us alive! My head spun, how had the Elves crushed the army and broken the defense of the city? It should have taken a long siege to bring down a city as well planned and defended as Jerias. We were out of options this time, our path forward was blocked and somewhere behind us the Elves were closing in! ¡°Buckle up we will try our luck with the mountain!¡± It pained me greatly to shake off those that had tried to latch onto my fur as my claws dug into the rock but we could not save them. My family had secured themselves to the saddle using rope, still they had to cling to the leather with all their force as I began to scale the near vertical cliffs. We kept outside the defense perimeter of the fortress as we ascended the mountain. Then we saw the army and finally I understood how the Elves had won so easily, SHIPS! The damn Elven mages had managed to create flying ships; I had seen the flying constructs in many variations across multiple lives but they were all a work of art that required extremely advanced knowledge to create. In the shadow of the sleek, white rumps their army marched. My heart sunk even more, if they had created flying ships they would also use them to carry heavy siege weapons. As the thought had barely crossed my mind a glowing rock sailed into the valley. Blood and body-parts splattered across the area as the magical crystal detonated in the middle of the refugees. Had we waited a few more minutes that rock would have exploded right next to us! The smoking crater had appeared where we had stood minutes ago. Fear filled me with enough energy to double the speed of our climbing. The mountain seemed to laugh at us as its density denied me the option to dive into the safety of its depth. More and bigger rocks began to impact into the area, the pressure waves of explosions that were stopped by the magical formations grew in intensity and frequency. Ripples ran across the barrier that was covering the walls, it was only a matter of time until It would break under such stress. Then it came into view, the flagship, styled after a flying dragon crept towards the fortress. Built like an artwork in white, green and gold the opulent carvings seemed to ridicule the plight of the tiny figures that died below it. The earlier bombardments were only the greeting by its smaller escort vessels! With the promise of total annihilation a huge circular tube in its bow opened. The pressure wave that was create as a crystal the size of a house was launched spread through the lands and toppled trees as it passed. The time seemed to slow down as the smoking thing sailed through the sky, tiny sparks and fragments painted a beautiful ballistic arc. Deep inside I knew that whoever had launched it had made perfect calculations, it would impact the gatehouse directly! Instantly i knew we could not survive if that thing were to hit the fortress, the resulting explosion would rip us apart even up on the mountainside we were simply too close. The crew of the fortress must have thought of the same as they launched everything they had against the incoming projectile. The spray of projectiles created in the face of death was beyond chaotic, many of them even clashed with each other, nullifying one another. Then one fateful javelin managed to make contact, unable to stop the crystal it still managed to alter its course slightly. The changed path made the mighty rock impact the cliffs over the fortress on the opposite side of us. Born of desperation a plan formed in my head, the tower between us and the explosion had given us a tiny chance! This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Blinding white light was the first I saw as the impact zone evaporated, using every defense ability I had my body turned. Even the smallest chance for my family was better than none, it would just be another reincarnation for me, for them it would be the end. The decision was not hard to make as I shot them one last gaze while shifting myself to shield them from the white death, then the world drowned in light and noise. POV Gale If only I had voted to try our luck with the forests and find a different way across the damn mountains! The horror I had to witness in the rows of refugees would create enough bad dreams to last an eternity. I did not know if I could ever look at a human without remembering their crimes from this day. We simply had not expected the Elves to win this fast and that had led us into our current situation. In the middle of aerial bombardment I did my best to cling to the saddle as Kai tried her best to get us out of the area. Tiny rocks painfully showered all over me as the overloaded crystals detonated on impact. The scholar in me looked at the flying constructs mesmerized by their design and magic, while my remaining brain screamed to get away from those harbingers of death. If nothing changed we had a chance, I could already see the edge of the shield. If only we could get behind it we would be saved. I felt the utter horror spread through her body as Kai looked at something in the distance, without stopping even slightly she increased the speed even more. Then I saw it too, like a shooting star it sailed through the sky. The throbbing pulse of its contained energy made me sick, unable to avert my eyes I was forced to watch its short journey through the sky. Finally we reached the top of the barrier, as the time began to slow down to a crawl. I saw Kai look at us, eyes filled with so much pain and sorrow. I knew what she was going to do even before her body began to shift. I wanted to scream at her, hit her, cuddle her but I was stunned by her eyes. How could anyone hold so much pain? Unable to do anything I felt her body shift, the first glimpse of destruction already pierced through the tower as her form turned itself between us and the blooming wall of energy. Then everything went dark. For an unknown time I was in the blissful darkness, just me and peaceful nothing. Then something began to disrupt the peace at first just barely, but it increased every second, it was pain demanding me to awaken. It took every ounce of my strength to open my eyes. The scene that came into view kicked my consciousness into action. All four of us were still strapped to the saddle, which had tangled itself up in a large tree. The straps that had once secured it to my sisters back were reduced to smoldering dregs that barely held together. Multiple holes had been torn into the once sturdy construct, some even still contained the small rocks that had ripped into it. The three others were still out cold as I tried to check my state, barely a quarter life left and bleeding from multiple wounds I was in a sorry state. Out of habit I reached for my small obelisks which were motionlessly lying on the forest floor a few meters below us. Instantly they shot upwards coming to a stop in front of my face. It took a moment to concentrate but I managed to close the wounds enough to stop any more life to escape my battered form. My manapool was quite drained, I had poured everything I had into Kai just as the explosion had hit. Where is Kai?! Panic began to spread through myself, no matter where I turned, I was unable to spot any glimpse of the familiar silver fur with the green hue to it. Long practiced logic began to subdue the rising panic, I could do nothing to help Kai as long I was dangling from a tree. My reserves were far too much drained to heal all of us, so I concentrated on mother, if I got her awake she could help me to save father and Ere who looked to be in the most critical state of us. It took me painfully long seconds to mend the most critical bleeding as she began to stir. Her mouth began to open but I interrupted her harshly ¡°Not now, father and Ere are in danger! My Mana is nearly out I cannot save them alone!¡± The spreading wave of energy was visible to the naked eye as she immediately got to work. The dripping blood began to dry up as the source began to seal itself. While mother worked I tried to grab my knife, the solid thing had through all odds remained at my side. After a few uncoordinated movements I finally got hold of the sleek hilt. Some muscles protested loudly as I unlatched the leather that had secured it in its sheath. I would have nearly lost my grip as more and more of my body began telling me in just how bad of a state I was in. Returning to the earth proved less of a challenge than I had feared. Clinging to my obelisks I gently reached the short grass, I would not win any race but at least it controlled my descend. ¡°Can you bring up the floating stones, your father should be ready any moment?¡± Like this I assisted in returning us all to solid ground. Ere had suffered the worst, a stone had hit her and one side of her lung had collapsed, only her sturdy build had preserved her life. It took us multiple hours until we had patched ourselves up good enough to be capable of proper movement again. Immediately we began the search for our missing sister. The explosion had catapulted us pretty far away, the smoking remains of the pass looked like a bad omen in the distance. Where once had stood an imposing fortress was now just a giant pile of stone. The detonation had caused the entire mountainside to cave in, uncountable numbers of rocks had buried the entire pass. We searched until the setting sun disappeared completely. With a small fire to warm us the entire situation began to sink in. ¡°She is gone! I could not save her!¡± The words began to spill out of me like a waterfall, tears began to rob me of my vision. If only I had trained more, any of the two obelisks Kai had gifted me could have saved us, why had I not improved fast enough to be able to wield at least one of them? Warm arms closed around me, ¡°Shhhh it is okay, cry all you need, then we will sleep and find her!¡± my tears flowed freely in mothers warm embrace. We cuddled close to share our warmth and comfort us through these dark times. Restless sleep awaited us as exhaustion demanded its tribute. On the next day we set off again with the first rays of the sun illuminating our path. We were so dreadfully slow, Kai had never complained to carry us through thick and thin; Only now as she was gone did I realize how much we had come to rely on her freely given help. Mother took the lead, no one questioned her as she began to head in a general direction. Deep down I had to ask myself, Could Kai even have survived that explosion? I was not sure if Ignalis or Ere had similar thoughts but if they did, they stayed as silent as me. Lukewarm water condensed from the air, small game we managed to hunt and berries were our sustenance as we followed Selanis on her path. One week passed until she suddenly changed directions, it did not reduce her determination in the slightest as she marched towards a mountain in the distance. In the evening Ignalis tried to comfort his mate to help her overcome the increasing likelihood of Kai''s demise. I had never seen Selanis so furious, the strike she delivered to father''s jaw easily fractured it. Her barely contained anger made her lash out, but even I had to admit each day that passed reduced the chance of finding her alive greatly. No one dared to voice out any concerns again as we followed her through the forest towards the goal only she could see.
Chapter 19 is in the works, 18 took longer than expected as i deleted the entire thing after i was unhappy with some scenes. 18 is up enjoy (please don''t murder me for the cliff) MfG : Dr_Dac Chapter-19 POV shady person deep in a mountain ¡°Just tell me it will survive! I am paying you good money to patch it up enough to fight in the ring!¡± The haggard human that was kneeling in front of me looked very uncomfortable in his skin, ¡°While I can guarantee its survival and good condition, we have run into a few problems.¡± This earned him a bit more of my attention, he squirmed like a worm that had been unearthed by a bird. ¡°No matter what grade, the collars have disintegrated, I can most certainly say that the beast is intelligent. If it is capable of casting and wakes up unrestrained it could prove a great danger to the enterprise.¡± Never had I heard of any beast that could prevent a slave collar to affect it. The doctor was right, if the beast proved intelligent it could greatly endanger our interests. ¡°If I may? I have found traces of an old seal that we could use to our advantage, I am not sure who had placed such a work of art but I am sure I can at least partly reactivate it. I must warn however, it is temporary at best, I estimate two weeks until it gives in. ¡± My personal magus announced his arrival. ¡°Oh, that could help with a beast that is immune to slave collars?¡± The scrawny man in his robe gave me one of those twisted, thin lipped smiles I so hated. ¡°It would inhibit its higher thoughts, if it cannot be controled with a collar we just have to guide its most primal emotions; We only need a ravaging beast, its instincts should be enough to deliver exactly that.¡± ¡°Place your seal then, as long as the beast can fight in the tournament tomorrow I am fine with everything. I have paid too much money to those hunters to lose my investment to some baseless fears. Some high ranking nobles have announced their presence, the fights need to be flawless!¡± I left the two men to their work, I had more pressing matters to attend, a tournament of this size attracted plenty of challengers to the pits. And with their blood would come the riches that those in power so liked to throw around them in their petty conflicts. This time would turn out especially profitable, many merchants had paid to broadcast the fights across the lands with magical means. POV Gale ¡°Welcome ladies and gentleman, to the PIT!¡± Deafening cheering echoed through the brightly illuminated stadium that had been carved from an underground cave. ¡°Today we have some attractions for you, monsters and beasts from far and wide! Will our brave challengers win glory and riches or find their grave between the teeth of the beasts?!¡± Another wave cheering thundered through the stadium, the announcer did a great job of riling up the masses. Never would I have imagined to find such a place in the hollow mountain mother had led us too. With unwavering conviction she had proclaimed ¡°She is here!¡±, the guards had not given us any trouble after father had announced he was a challenger. Like that we were led to the waiting area in the common ranks of an arena that had been carved from solid rock. Thick metal bars crisscrossed over the open pit, deep claw-marks and remains of blood on the walls told of past battles. Generously placed magical lamps bathed every last corner in their unwavering light. The announcer was suspended over the pit by metal chains his magically enhanced voice thundering through the arena. ¡°As appetizer, we should feed the CHAMPION!¡± Once again the arena erupted in cheers. On one side of the pit a gate was opened, humanoids from diffrent races were herded inside the pit as guards with long pikes forced them into the spotlight. The gate closed behind them. ¡°But we should give those poor sods a chance what do you SAY?!¡± Cheers boomed through the cave as a pile of short swords was dumped into the pit. The humanoids scrambled over each other to reach the weapons while the crowd ridiculed their plight. There were even less swords than humanoids which caused the weaker ones to not get one at all. ¡°Let us all greet the CHAMPION!¡± Painfully slow the gate on the opposite side lifted upwards, small clouds of rust came off as metal gears gripped into each other. Deep rumbling breaths could be heard, the red eyes glowing in the darkness were the first to tell of the beasts approach. The triangular head covered in black scales was the first to appear, small clouds puffed from the flaring nostrils as the predator leisurely took in the scene in front of it. Small trails of drool began to leak out between the teeth as it identified the presence of an easy meal. Supported by six legs the massive body heaved itself into the open. The light began to refract in the countless blade-like growths on its back, the thick tail dashing around in swift motions. Anyone that had thought of the beast as slow was deeply shocked as it dashed from one second to the next. In the blink of an eye two lives had been lost in the pit. A deep content rumble came from the beast as it proceeded to devour all the remaining victims, a male of obvious beast heritage was the longest to survive. But the struggled was futile in the end, the swords they had been given were even unable to penetrate the inside of its mouth. Under the grand cheers of the crowd more spikes began to grow from the beast''s back equal to the number of swords it had consumed. ¡°Ladies and gentleman the champion, the mighty ! For those new to this pit I will once again explain the rules. The arena houses five great beasts that can be challenged, each contender can demand to fight against one beast per day! If you bring your own beast to the pit you can challenge another owner to a battle of beasts for one of the five seats that control the pits! If your beast is victorious you will take his seat and the rankings will shift accordingly!¡± ¡°Without further ado do we have a CHALLENGER?¡± To the announcers challenge a man in silver armor rose from his seat. ¡°I, Ulfar challenge the number four!¡± Cheers once again erupted in the cave. Hidden under the sand of the pit had been another gate which now rose in preparation of the battle bisecting the pit in two equal halves. Shortly after the man called Ulfar entered through one of the gates. From the other side appeared a giant wolf with two heads, mottled brown fur covered its entire form. ¡°Ladies and gentleman, Ulfar has challenged the to a duel! Which conditions are gonna be placed on the ring this time? A gentleman has offered the mighty warrior cover!¡± As if on command pillars and obstacles began to rise from the sand. ¡°The vote has been decided! Ten minute time-match with obstacles, our mighty warrior has to survive ten minutes, kill the beast or snatch both of the orbs attached to the collars of the beast!¡± After a short pause for dramatic effect the announcer inhaled. ¡°LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!¡± His words had barely stopped echoing in the room as the gate that kept the fighters from each other fell back into the floor. Carefully the began circling Ulfar, both deeply concentrated on the opponents movements. Ulfar was the first to budge, the wolf instantly took the opportunity to charge at him. Only a roll made the snapping teeth of the left head barely miss the warriors head. After the small exchange they began to circle each other again, the wolf began his offensive. Once again the knight managed to avoid. The crowd began to cheer as he raised his arm in the sky, one of the orbs firmly gripped in his hand. ¡°The contender has acquired one of the balls, will he get the second one or end as a meal?¡± Once again the wolf charged, this time Ulfar once again attempted to evade but he had made his calculations without the second head! Distracted by the assault of the left head, the right one had managed to get a hold of the mans leg. A sickening crunch was heard as the armor offered no resistance to the bite of the mighty predator. The arena became a bloodbath as the honored its name and decorated the pit with remains of entrails and silver pieces of armor. ¡°The contender has found an early grave! Might his soul rejoice to have died in honorable battle!¡± The wolf was led back into the hole he had appeared from, as the gate had closed slaves appeared from hidden doors to clean the pit roughly from any pieces of Ulfar that were left behind. ¡°Now we have something SPECIAL, seat one has been challenged! Yandour has returned with a new beast to reclaim his lost seat! Will Sazaeda once again defeat him or will he return to his old position? Ladies and gentleman a battle of beasts has been demanded!¡± A commotion instantly broke out as the man in question appeared on the podium. ¡°Hello Sazaeda I have come to reclaim what is mine! I demand a death battle!¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The woman on the throne like chair in the upper ranks did not even react to his challenge. After a brief moment she gave a barely noticeable hand-sign. ¡°A battle of beasts til death! Prepare yourselves for a clash of titans!¡± Once again the gate rose to bisect the pit. Both gates leading into the pit began to rattle open. ¡°On the left side we have our CHAMPION, the undefeated since his first appearance it has firmly carried the title of champion!¡± The crowd showered the beast with applause as it heaved its body into the pit. ¡°And on the right side we have the challenger, an ! No further information are known, this battle is bound to become interesting!¡± Long spears herded the Imoogi into the ring, immediately my breath got stuck in my throat. Only the firm grip my mother had placed on my leg prevented me to yell her name. Kai was alive! Searching for joy on mothers face I only found deep worry, my eyes darted back to the furry form I had become so used to. Then it struck me, the eyes normally filled with a hint of sadness and intelligence were only home to feral anger as the cornered beast eyed its surroundings! The beast bared its teeth against the drake, deep down I knew, that was not my sister but pure instinct unleashed. Once again the announcer raised his voice.¡±As a battle of strength no additional conditions are allowed, the battle ends once one beast is dead! Let the battle BEGIN!¡± The gate rumbled downwards, the metal had barely disappeared as the drake charged. Intent on ending the fight quickly is massive maw aimed for the Imoogi''s neck. With a thundering snap the charge was deflected, a thin line of blood dripping from its wounded face the drake shook its head. Now the drake had the full attention from the Imoogi, a few droplets of blood still rained from its dangerously raised tail as it slowly swung from side to side. Its eyes slowly contracted, the drake began to reevaluate its opponent, instead of a fast ending it had received a small but annoying wound. Claws digging into the sand it deeply growled at the impudent challenger. Answering the lashing tail with its own, a flurry of attacks was exchanged, slowly but surely the more massive and larger tail began to overpower the thinner but longer appendage of the Imoogi. Droplets of blood rained into the lower ranks as the tails met again and again. In the blink of an eye both beasts had separated again, while stronger in a direct confrontation the spikes and barbs on the Imoogi''s tail had inflicted countless smaller wounds to the black tail. Unwilling to risk more in a direct clash the drake''s chest began to swell, its open maw released some smoke before a ball of flame took shape. Like a bullet it launched towards the Imoogi, nimbly it avoided the incoming fire. Resorting to quantity over quality small bursts of flame followed the larger ball, the Imoogi reacted by darting around the pit to avoid the constant stream of projectiles. Conserving its own strength the drake began to pressure the Imoogi even further, the frequency of fire increased. Again and again a ball of flame found its target, the smell of burnt fur filled the pit. Blinded by the smoke released by its own attacks a green ball passed through the barrage and impacted at the base of the drake''s raised tail. A few long seconds the drake did not even notice the green jelly that had clung to its back. Those close to the fight however could see as the scales began to disintegrate, when the acid finally burrowed into living flesh the drake roared in pain. Unable to deal with the offending jelly and the Imoogi at the same time the drake turned its own flames against the jelly. The acid evaporated instantly under the barrage of concentrated fire-breath. Unable to defend against its own breath the wound was cauterized, the bleeding staunched. But the short moment of distraction cost the drake one of its front legs, like lightning the Imoogi had used the short opening to latch onto the exposed leg. The crowd gasped as the limb reappeared in the Imoogi''s maw. Like a bird swallowing a fish the leg disappeared never to be seen again down the beast''s throat. While limbs and wounds could be healed flawlessly in this world it had served to throughout enrage the drake. Overconfident for having taken the drake''s leg the Imoogi underestimated the charge of the drake. Its massive maw closed around the Imoogi''s neck. Retaliating, the entire length of the Imoogi tangled around the drake encasing its body in a deadlock of muscles. Everyone expected the neck to snap, for the Imoogi to go limp but its spine held! The drake''s teeth were penetrating into the scales but failed to end the Imoogi''s life. Muscles bulged pointlessly as the teeth began losing their confrontation against the vertebrae and ribs. Cracking sounds filled the pit as the body of the drake began to twist in unnatural angles. Its trademark the razor spikes failed to penetrate the thick fur. A last twitch ran through the drake as its rib-cage gave in. Both beasts separated again, the Imoogi roared its victory to the world which ended quite hoarse due to its wounded neck. The Imoogi shocked the audience once again as it devoured the carcass in one go. The bag of crushed bones offered close to zero resistance as it disappeared down the long neck. The Imoogi only bloated shortly as it began visibly contracting again. Not a soul dared to disrupt the silence as everyone was shackled to the scene that played in front of them. Ripples ran through the body as it began to change and warp. Wounds closed, fur regrew as its body began to transform. The fur on its entire back from head to the tip of the tail turned into a sea of blades that would have made the die of jealousy. Its original barbs evolved into a triple-layered column of death crowned by a singular blade growing from the head like a third horn. In the end its whole body became more massive, shedding its snake heritage a third set of limbs erupted from its chest to support its increased mass. Then it was over, no one knew how much time had passed but everyone had been captivated by the scenes of pure power before their very eyes. The commentator was the first to regain his ability of speech. ¡°The Imoogi has won! Yandour is victorious! Greet our old and new first seat!¡± The very foundation of the mountain shook as the pit bore witness to unrestrained applause. The approaching guards had little to no trouble to herd the surviving beast back to the deeps due to food induced lethargy. ¡°That was Kai, but I am very certain that she has been messed with, I have seen her feral side but that was something entirely different.¡± Ignalis voice brought us back to reality. ¡°Then the trace of Mana that I had sensed on my daughter may be related to her unusual behavior. Could an enchantment induce a feral state or was it caused by the explosion?¡± ¡°After devouring that drake all her conditions and wounds should have been healed, since she has not returned to her senses it should be something else. I would bet on a seal.¡± The conversation between our parents became quite fast paced as they switched to private. Ere and I could only watch as they discussed between themselves. A single nod from father signaled they had reached an agreement. ¡°The cause of this should be a seal, one of us with good Mana control has to get close enough. That means only Gale or me can try our luck.¡± ¡°The last time she was in that state she tried to bite me before she regained her senses, you have to be careful her jaws have become a tiny bit more dangerous since back then.¡± ¡°I will do it! Don''t try to change my mind. My proposal to head for the pass has dragged us into this mess, had we taken Kai''s suggestion to cross the mountains we would not be fighting for our survival here.¡± Mother smiled gently to my outburst, ¡°Don''t try to shoulder the burden alone, we are a family and we will get her back!¡± she whispered softly. ¡°We should prepare for tomorrow, the rules say that a challenged beast cannot fight twice a day. So she will be safe until tomorrow, then we can issue a challenge and get close enough to get rid of that seal or whatever is reducing big sister Kai to THIS.¡± The usually so silent Ere had brought up a valid point, to rest and prepare we took a room in the inn that was provided free of charge for all challengers. Tomorrow I would have to face my own sister in a death battle, I was not sure what to feel besides uneasiness.
dear god i am tired, 19 is up i am gonna head to bed, will deal with errors when i am awake again chapter 19 done - enjoy MfG : Dr_Dac Chapter-20 POV Gale Our night had been beyond restless, countless times had I checked my equipment, repairing even the smallest of damages. My spear had suffered the worst, unhappy with its sharpness I had redone its sharpening over and over. In the end mother had been forced to take away the whetstone which only made me worry more. Today was the day of battle, would I be able to win? And even if I managed to break that seal, could we escape from a place so filled to the brim with powerful people? Remembering the dreadful aura that had emanated through the ranks made my fur stand on end. At least some of those people would be a fair match for sister or beyond that. Especially a regal looking old man had scared me greatly. It was not the aura that he emitted that had done the deed but the entire absence of any aura at all! That tiny human with his long, white beard looked so easy to squash, so perfectly weak, so why did my instincts yell at me to run to the ends of the world and find a rock to hide under? I must have flinched as his gaze wandered over me but suddenly the man smiled, a nice smile on his face that would have looked good on a kind village elder but it made me sweat buckets. How had the man even noticed that I had thought about him? Remembering the previous day at least helped to divert my attention enough to not collapse before the fight had even started. Fully geared and ready I found myself in the ranks of challengers, how I had walked here without noticing made me worry even more. Bit by bit the crowd began to assemble, a merry atmosphere had spread throughout the cave. Food and drinks were sold to the common spectator while the higher guests were served by their personal servants, how could they eat anything at all in a place that so reeked of blood and murder? The announcer was the last to arrive, strapping himself to his harness he was lifted up to assume his position over the pit. The air vibrated once again as his enhanced voice prepared the voice for the coming bloodshed. ¡°Ladies and gentleman. Another day, another chance. Welcome to the second day of our grand tournament! Challengers get ready to find wealth or glory in death!¡± It took a moment for the cheers to die down. ¡°Do we have a challenger?¡± As if struck by lightning I shot up, all eyes fixated on me. Intense pressure made me hesitate but a moment. ¡°I Gale challenge the new number one!¡± The pit once again drowned in cheers, a guard indicated me to follow. Stairs led down into the lower rooms, each step the workmanship that had shaped the stone got more crude until I arrived in natural caves that had been reworked to fit the owners needs. The loud noise of the arena only arrived dampened in the spacious cave. Nevertheless I could easily understand the booming voice of the announcer. ¡°A new challenger has appeared, will Gale earn glory or will the pit save some gold in feeding the new CHAMPION?¡± Like on a cue the gate in front of me began to lift upwards. The guard gestured me to go inside and only a few steps took me inside the pit. The giant gate had been raised in preparation, behind me the cave I had come from sealed itself again. ¡°Now do we have some conditions for the match?¡± A few seconds passed as those with money decided how much of a challenge I would face. ¡°DEATHMATCH!¡± A huge weight dropped onto my shoulders, unlike the dead knight Ulfar I did not even get a time-match. ¡°A generous donation! An anonymous donor has provided some help to the young Gale!¡± The picture of the elder human popped into my head unbidden. No why should he help a stranger? Pillars raised from the ground forming a forest of poles on the border of the pit. ¡°And there it comes, the CHAMPION!¡± I could feel the air vibrate as the beast heaved its form out of the tunnel leading into the arena. Its eyes were filled with malice and bestial hunger as it mustered the surroundings. Not a single reaction showed any signs of recognizing. Shutting the announcer''s annoying voice out I tried to reach Kai mentally, talking to a wall would have had the same effect, as it only served to attract the attention of the beast. The metal bars separating us creaked and then came free as the barrier thundered downwards. In the pit the noise of its fall was far louder than it had been outside. The beast charged, its maw closing half a meter in front of me, ripping the space I had occupied to shreds. Only a fast jump backwards had saved me from an early death! Finally I could see the thing that was causing all this, a small circle of runes faintly glowed on her left temple. Never before had I seen such a complex array of interwoven symbols, with great fear I realized that the entire thing was made of multi-runes! With the small circle as target I prepared my attack. Lightning surrounded my paws and my obelisks left my bag. I would destroy that magic and get my sister back! An amplified lightning strike rocked through the pit, my hope crumbled, a smoking wound had opened but I had missed. The array was still active. Now the beast knew I could attack from a distance, using its tail and breath a wild chase started. Unable to cope with its speed I had to retreat into the pillars. A thick green jelly barely missed me scattering through the pillars. Unlike the scales of the drake the metal poles proved no adversary to its corrosive prowess, in seconds a few of the poles began to topple over. Utilizing hit and run tactics proved ineffective, the beast used its tail to absorb or deflect any lightning that was getting close to its face and my forest of poles had been greatly decimated. It would not take long before every last bit of cover was gone! Deep in my brain a desperate plan was born, the chance of succeeding was low and the chance of death even higher. Giving up on the cover I charged the beast, the moment of confusion was enough to get close. But it was not enough its maw closed around my legs, I felt the cold sensation of its teeth penetrating my flesh. Only the two obelisks that I had used in an attempt to shield me prevented the jaws to fully close and rip my legs off. I felt the poison invade me, but that did not matter, pouring my entire manapool into a single spell my crackling paw came to rest on her left temple. I could only hope that the resistance I had built to her poison would allow me to survive this, with a smile everything became dark. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. POV Kai Pictures......no those are memories? Fragmented at first the scene became clear, a grand hall golden figures congratulating us. We had won, the demon-king was dead. A wish for the mighty, victorious heroes, clad in holy silver plate I awaited my reward. One by one the heroes were led away by their patron god, a graceful female approached me, her bell like voice rang through my head. ¡°Mighty hero, you have fought bravely I have a reward for you.¡± Her silk like hand caressed my face, coming to rest on the left side of my face. Pain spread through me as my vision went dark, a twisted smile ruined the perfect beauty in front of me. Her words would haunt me for a long time, ¡°You are mine mortal! No matter where or when you will forever belong to only me!¡± The pictures fragmented again... Being born again, the first thing I saw was the face of the goddess as her arm plunged into my chest. Over and over it repeated, every incarnation she would wait next to me. Thousands of times she would wait for me to open my eyes, to see her face before she ended me once again. One fateful time, I was not born but created, a powerful elemental born of a young planet. I already felt her approach as my own hand came to rest on my temple. I could hear her scream, rage incarnate as my whole life-force erupted out of my palm. A taste of earthen blood filled my mouth as my existence ended. I was born normally again, no goddess waiting next to my crib, the seal she had placed on me was shattered but not removed. Many lives I worked tirelessly to crush it into so many tiny fragments it would never hold sway over me again. The taste of blood got stronger, why was this familiar taste here? A name echoed through my head unbidden, Gale! Who is Gale? Why did that name sound so important? My mind reeled as it strained against the shackles that cursed it to watch from the sidelines. A sharp pain thundered through my very core as I snapped back to reality. Disoriented I found myself in a stone pit of sorts, a grid of metal bars spread over me.
has been lifted, higher cognitive functions restored
Then I saw her, Gale was stuck in my maw, the taste of blood that had invaded me was HER blood! Carefully I placed her down, she had lost much blood and my poison was coursing through her body. My healing was barely able to stabilize her, my rage bloomed like a flower in the spring. I would tear this place down to the last stone! A puny human strapped to a chain was yelling something, suddenly figures began pouring into the pit. Warriors of all forms and equipment began spill from hidden door,s all the while the annoying human kept yelling. A short burst of flame breached the bars and finally shut the enhanced voice one up permanetly. My short lapse of attention was not without consequences, spells and projectiles covered me in searing pain. It were simply too many, mages and warriors pressured me to become more defensive by the second. The faintly breathing Gale below me forced me to remain standing where I was. It was only a matter of time before they would overwhelm me. Then everything stopped. All movement froze, only my eyes could dart around in panic as my lungs pumped the desperately needed air in my aching body. A tiny man in a robe approached from my side, ignoring me he grabbed one of Gale''s earrings and removed the stone inlaid in its frame. He inspected the stone without a care for the chaos around him. ¡°Impressive workmanship, created by your own hands I presume?¡± His gentle voice was in stark contrast with the immense power I could feel from his tiny frame. He waved his hand and the bars over us vanished into nothingness, frozen like all of us the remaining members of my family floated downwards; Held up by tendrils of power emanating from the short man they came to rest next to Gale. ¡°You have collected a great amount of positive karma old-one, your time of death has not come on yet. The strings of fate are moving and you are one of the central pillars that may allow it to prosper once more.¡± The stone grew as it returned to its original form. I could see as the tendrils of power that stretched from the tiny man activate the inlaid structures of the obelisk that should have been only accessible by Gale or me. ¡°Reclaim your power, if this world is to have a future you need to become stronger than you have ever been. I hold great expectations for your future!¡± Those were the last words I heard from the man as the world started to spin around us. One moment later we reappeared in a broken down monastery on a mountain. The transport formation had worked flawlessly. The day had changed to night, wherever it had taken us, we were far away from where we had been a moment ago. Mother was the first to react as she rushed to Gale''s side, I could feel her energy come free as the spells continued where I had left off. Inspecting our surroundings could wait until we made sure all of us would survive the day. At the same time in a small separate dimension a hooded figure was sitting on a floating chair, its entire concentration focused on a golden construct in front of it. Made of countless revolving metal bits only the figure knew what its use was. Metal plates and wires would randomly appear, interweave and disappear. The sheer size of the chaos would have overwhelmed those of weak soul. Gems would pop into being only to disappear seconds later as their remains gave birth to more metal pieces that would spiral in random paths before they too would disappear again. It was but a moment, one of the small gems lit up. Cracks spread through the walls and floors as the figure shot up. Dust rained from its cloak as a bell-like voice spoke a single sentence that made the space crumble away. ¡°Found you!¡±
A tad shorter chapter which explains some things people had problems with in the last chapter. Don''t hesitate to voice any concerns you have, I am posting this story here on RR here to get feedback that can help to improve my storytelling. Chapter20 up enjoy MfG: Dr_Dac Chapter-21 Once again we were in bad shape, the realization that it was a common occurrence in this world left a stale aftertaste in my maw. While their own battles had been short until the stranger had intervened, gashes and cuts adorned the equipment Father and Mother wore. Gale however had taken the most damage, even burning all our reserves had barely sufficed to save her life. I had watched as the long rows of wounds slowly mended themselves; fueling Mother''s healing work had proved the best choice, while I had huge reserves of Mana, Mother easily trumped me in efficiency. We worked through the night taking turns to regenerate energy and once again infuse it in Mother''s work. Our tireless work was rewarded as the first rays of the sun fell onto Gale as her eyes slowly opened. ¡°You are safe.....thank....¡± were the only words she said before she once again closed her eyes, the faint smile on her face as her body returned to rest bombarded me with shame. Scream at me, hate me, loathe me! How can you smile? I have nearly murdered you, how can you be happy for me? Unable to even look at my family I rammed my triangular head into the loose pavement of the courtyard we had taken temporary residence in. I must have startled those around me but I simply could not endure their gaze. The cool earth managed to slowly calm me down, with my thoughts finally capable of order again it was time to analyze our situation. We were sitting in the middle of nowhere, holed up in an ancient ruin that may have been a temple eons ago. An old stranger had saved us from our imminent death and transported us here. Why here? Was anything special in this place or was the location just at random? It did not take long to find the anomaly. Stones sprayed upwards as I ripped my head from the earth, ¡°DO NOT CULTIVATE!¡± I was met with questioning gazes but to my great relief only surprise met me in the clear eyes of my family. ¡°The Qi in this place is so concentrated you would explode if you try to cultivate. It is only a guess right now but we might be in an .¡± Once again I was met with questioning gazes, while my common sense used this opportunity to kick my scaly behind. The techniques of cultivation I had witnessed so far were all only suitable to build a strong foundation. Nothing had even hinted that the people I had met even knew a sliver of advanced or higher cultivation methods. Thus I once resigned myself to the role of a teacher. ¡°What I call can have many names, but they have a single thing in common: They are not naturally formed. There are techniques to build up on the Qi refinement that is known to all of you. Once you have completely infused yourself with Qi, on higher worlds you would chose a cultivation technique that fits your body and soul to reach even higher levels of power. A separate dimension like an can be formed if a high ranking cultivator carves a room into time and space to serve as resting place or for meditation. Breaking through to certain levels of power would then cause a reaction around that cultivator. While at lower levels only some ores and stones would be infused with Qi, the truly powerful would find small worlds form around them. Depending on the rank and quality of cultivation manual those worlds could even become self-sustained or capable of growing on their own.¡± POV Ignalis Kai had really taken badly to what had happened, the normally so brilliant eyes were clouded over by guilt and shame. She had spent a few hours with her head in the floor, without the need to supply energy to my mates spells I am sure she would have run as fast and far away as her legs could carry her. It pained me greatly to see my daughter so lost, so alone, every time something good had happened she would look at it longingly; But she would keep a certain distance as if getting too close would make it vanish like a mirage. Ever since Gale had invited us to her mind-space I could only see the tiny shadow that buckled under the weight of too much knowledge and memories. I fear that she may descend into pure insanity if she kept bottling everything up. ¡°DO NOT CULTIVATE!¡±, a shower of small rocks and pebbles had landed in the bag I was sorting as Kai ripped her head from the floor. Panic was in her eyes as she did not lose a second to tell us that the QI in this area was far too potent for our technique of absorption. Imagining the mess and mourning a simple daily routine would have caused made me shiver. As if a simple sneeze could suddenly turn fatal, the entire scenery suddenly felt less colorful and more dangerous. The next few minutes were filled with Kai going full as she explained how a space like the , which she believed us to be in; could be formed and why our Qi techniques would not work here; Or to be more precise why the would work TOO good here. Ere was the first to drop the bomb, why if there were advanced methods of cultivation, she had never told us anything about it. That however turned into a long explanation which suddenly stopped as she grabbed her head as if she were in Pain. A faint blue glow radiated from the remnants of that accursed seal. I was not sure if what I had heard that moment was correct, but a faint murmur crossed the entire area. Found you! I was not sure what it meant or where it came from but Kai lost it completely, her heart rate went through the roof and she collapsed. Like doll with broken strings her entire body lost tension, she did not injure herself but her head left a neat indention in the floor. Seconds later the head raised again, a single glace into her eyes made me grab my spear. ¡°Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?!¡± Whatever was in control took its time to stretch and inspect its body, what astonished me, that I could not feel the faintest trace of hostility in it. After settling into a more comfortable position it finally bothered to respond to my threat.¡±Why? I am Kai of course.¡± It gave me a toothy smile as if that single sentence was enough to explain every question in the world. ¡°You are in the body of my daughter but you are not the true Kai! Identify yourself!¡± Lazily it used the tip of its tail to scratch behind her long horns.¡±Interesting philosophical question, is the entire soul true or just a part? I think it may be a matter of perspective, to you the daughter you raised and protected is true, but to another being I may be the true Kai.¡± Now it had lost me completely, seeing my obvious inability to comprehend it looked tired for but a moment. ¡°Do you know the concept on erasing your presence in the hunt? To reduce your pulse and breathing to hide in the mass of natural noise in a forest?¡± It did not wait for me to reply, the simple act of understanding must have shown on my face signaling it to go on. ¡°The Kai you know is the very core of the being you see before you, every non-vital emotion and memory sealed to reduce the trail IT could follow. Since you prefer to call your daughter by the abbreviation Kai, you may address me as Kaileron.¡± ¡°So Kaileron why are you here? What has happened to MY Kai?¡± For the first time real emotion could be seen running through its face as if in pain. ¡°While contradicting to call the core by the incomplete name and the construct in full, I am a safeguard placed by... me...in case IT would once again locate us.¡± Kaileron seemed to struggle shortly as if coming to term with something. ¡°My singular purpose is to compile and prepare all the knowledge the being Kai has accumulated across its existence. The safeguard is only to be activated if the soul itself is in danger. Under normal circumstances my task would have been to immediately take my...our life and escape into the cycle of reincarnation but this time it is impossible.¡± The deep resignation on its face was mixed with a great deal of irritation. ¡°What is different this time? Not that I would support the suicide of my own blood but there must be a reason for you to hesitate.¡± ¡°Because I already tried! That blissfully ignorant Kai has dammed us into this confrontation! Our soul is fused into this body, which by the way is currently failing due to unstable fusion with a less than compatible being. To make matters worse she has added a reagent to her very core which will trigger events even I cannot even begin to calculate.¡± Kaileron snapped at me. ¡°Her body is failing, Kai will die?¡± Pure annoyance radiated from Kaileron,¡±I am talking about the eradication of the very soul, complete dispersal of energy and he only thinks of this insignificant body''s death.¡± Anger flooded me as I gave the being called Kaileron a thundering backhand. It looked so confused as if I had just defied all reason. ¡°If the prey cannot run anymore it must become the hunter!¡± Moments passed until its pupils contracted again, it was nearly possible to see the gears turn behind her thick skull. ¡°Your words hold truth Ignalis bearer and father of Kai but know this, those that hunt us are gods! To hunt such beings, this family must become more than it is. Bring the others, if we are to survive strength is mandatory!¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I hesitated for a moment, ¡°Go! Every second is precious the opportunity this space offers us CANNOT be wasted!¡± Its words propelled me forward, not even a minute later the four of us returned to the courtyard, Selanis and Ere were supporting Gale who was still weak and unstable on her legs. Instead of a greeting, Kaileron awaited us with orders, while it began to encase itself with a white marble like material it began to teach us meditation. As the last bit of Kaileron had disappeared into the perfectly spherical thing, I may call it cocoon for a lack of better ways to describe it, a small child appeared next to it. Like a phantom it took shape, then it struck me: It was Kai before the incident with the snake! Selanis tried to hug it but her arms went straight through. The phantom however did not react to the gesture. Unfitting for a child of that size a cold voice emanated from it.¡±Do not waste time! This family is in danger and if you love it even half as much as the recent memories of Kai make me believe- you will LISTEN and you will LEARN! You will address me as MASTER do you understand?!¡± I was the first to answer the unrelenting shout. ¡°Yes master.¡± A smile could be seen on the face of the phantom. ¡°I cannot HEAR you!¡± This time we shouted in unison ¡°YES MASTER!¡± That only made Kaileron nod as if he had seen this scene countless of times. ¡°The first step to get you powerful is to work on your mind. This ruin holds a series of ponds in different places, your task is to find the pond which is calling you softly. Go find your calling, notify me once you have accomplished that task!¡± We had seen two of the small ponds in the outer areas of the ruins but for there to be multiple more some had to be hidden in underground areas. Gale was the first to awaken from her trance as her head snapped into a specific direction. She did not wait for any of us as she hobbled towards a target only she could see. My wife was the next to respond to the call, without any notice she disappeared, only Ere and me were left and I could not hear any call whatsoever. Shortly after Ere seemed to have heard the call as she too left. Now I was alone meditating under Kaileron''s eyes. Minutes stretched into hours until Kaileron stepped behind me and the ethereal hand slapped me on the back of my head. ¡°You are overthinking, I taught you how to meditate properly. Release your core as I taught you, shut out the worry for immediate survival find the very thing that defines you!¡± What was my very core? No it could not be, I tried years to get it under control! Fire! My entire center was that of raging flames, the second I realized it I felt a soft pull from somewhere. I do not know how I ended up in the small chamber but I was sitting cross-legged on a small pond that radiated an aura of fire. ¡°I see everyone has found their calling, this is your affinity, the element closest to resonating with your core. Bath in the energy of those ponds and try to grasp the meaning of what your element symbolizes. I will call you in the evening for you to report your understanding.¡± Sitting in the pond felt like sitting in a campfire but the flames that licked over my fur did not burn me, they seemed to embrace my form as if greeting a lost brother. There I learned the first truth of fire, Fire is neither good nor bad, nor is it hot or cold, Fire just is as it gives birth to everything. When I stood up I could see the element of fire radiating all over the surfaces, hidden in the heat or its absence, the element was everywhere! Still pondering my finding I arrived back in the central area. Kaileron had prepared some meat that we had unmistakably stored in Kai''s hoard stomach, while he himself hovered over the cocoon waiting for all of us to arrive. Gale was the last to arrive still a bit slow her step had regained much of her old grace and strength. ¡°I see in your eyes, everyone has found a small part of the very core of his element.¡± His arm pointed towards Gale, seemingly out of nowhere wind danced around her. ¡°Interesting element, while not wind itself, you carry its variant . Holding the power to reshape the very earth or gently sway a single leaf we will discuss its core in depth later.¡± Rocks rose around Ere, provoking a satisfied smile on Kaileron''s ghostly face.¡±Earth, while many shun it for being one of the slowest elements it holds one of the most relentless power there is. You have grasped your elements truth of unyielding power, not bad we will discuss this in detail.¡± Water was the next to form around my wife, ¡°Ah the element of water, flexible and gentle at times, raging and unstoppable the next moment. You have found the aspect of caring, it will greatly aid you and your own.¡± Sparks flickered around me as Kaileron pointed at me.¡± As expected, the element of Fire while destructive it also gives birth anew. You have found the aspect of renewal, Interestering¡± He shortly clapped his hands breaking the trance we must have been in. ¡°I presume you are hungry, I took the liberty of preparing a small meal. Eat and think about your element, once you have eaten stand up and place your hand on the stone I am sitting on, take the order I addressed your elements and come one at a time.¡± Then the ghostly child just closed its eyes, obviously waiting for us to finish the assigned task. I could not help but remember an old wolf-man that had trained me in combat, the same distant yet caring aura surrounded Kaileron. POV Selanis It felt nostalgic to once again be student instead of teacher, while the construct calling itself Kaileron was strict it never loaded more onto our shoulders than we could accomplish. The experience in the pond was so unique, Kaileron made us sleep in those ponds that seemed to contain the entire wisdom of their element. On the first day Kaileron gave us a gift, we were to place our hands on the stone my daughters body resided in. In my case he dragged me into his mind-space. Unlike Gale''s palace his palace took form as a giant library that stretched as far as the eye could see. He led me deep within, rows upon rows of books passed until we reached our destination. Nothing indicated how he had chosen the book but he pulled a thick leather-bound brick of knowledge from one of the endless boards. His small paws offered me the book, I only hesitated shortly before my claws tenderly gripped the delicate leather. The second the book touched my paw Kaileron buckled and blood seeped out if his eyes. Cramps riddled the small body, unable to help in his mind I could only watch and support the shaking figure. ¡°This thing had a price you were not able to pay, still your possession of this is imperative for our survival taking it upon myself is but a small price for a chance in the future.¡± He answered my silent question. Ignalis and Gale told me of similar occurrences as they were dragged into Kaileron''s mind. That evening his ghostly form looked so thin as if a single gust of air could disperse him. Only after I had time to investigate the contents of that book in my own mind did I understand just why he had taken such measures to give them to us. Cultivation, a technique so profound and mysterious my entire soul vibrated as my mind struggled to read the first letters. Entire kingdoms would have dispatched their armies to get a hold of such a wealth of knowledge. A technique dedicated for female cultivators with strong water element it produced immediate results. That evening I would have my first real breakthrough. Barely one hour practicing the dance described in the book I felt my entire being suddenly expand. The energy of the pond instantly filled the now open space as my entire being brimmed with power. The book spoke in detail about the power of cultivation and how their ranks could be measured. Spoiler : Cultivation is set in stages, each stage is vastly stronger than the one before it, each stage is filled with ten steps. Each step is twenty percent stronger than the total power of the previous step. While each step is stronger than the one before, crossing a stage roughly doubles your total power, the last three described stages even triple your power. Foundation- Novice- Wanderer- Explorer- Hermit- Challenger- Dao Seeker- Dao Lord- Now a Novice of the first step I finally understood just why the opportunity in this land was so precious, clouds and streams of energy ran bountiful across the majestic landscape. Even to my inexperienced eyes these scenes were simply breathtaking. Only now did I finally understand just how insignificant the power of us islands dwellers must look to people from the continents. Our elders had tirelessly warned just how much more danger the central landmasses of our world contained. ¡°Even the smallest beasts there are far more dangerous than on the islands, the thicker energy gives birth to true horrors and heroes.¡± That sentence seemed to cross time and space as even the raspy voice of the old wolf-man clung to the memory. The time when we would be forced to enter those lands was still in the future but I could not refrain to worry if we would gain enough power to survive there.
Finally free of that darn family event! How can anyone enjoy being stuck with half dead people you only see every five years or so. 21 is up enjoy MfG : Dr_Dac