《The hopeless student in another world》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Escape Japan, 8:25 am Home room, like any other day it was filled with the sound of the rustle and bustle of chairs, bags, chatter and laughter. ¡®Thud¡¯ ¡°Ha ha, watch out ken kun¡± ¡®Smirk¡¯ ¡°What¡¯s with the kun, Hachiro?¡± ¡®Pfft¡¯ ¡°He¡¯s just being friendly Ami¡± ¡°Your right Arata ¡®grin¡¯ oi, ken kunnnnn, why do-¡± ¡®vruuuuuu¡¯ (sound of door opening) "Morning class!" A young woman, dressed in a business suit arrived carrying a bunch of books. ¡°tsk, Haruna sensei¡¯s here, Ami lets go¡± (Ami) ¡°Okay~ Honooooka chan!¡± Yes, this was like any other day in the classroom, with the sight of the popular group or ¡®the royals¡¯ being ¡®friendly¡¯ or so it was called to kenshin or just ken to make it simpler. (Haruna sensei) ¡°Okay mina, take your- hmm? Ken kun, are you tired, do you want to go to the nurses office?¡± she asked with genuine concern. ¡®Guzun¡¯ Smiling wryly the person called Kenshintakes a chair ¡±¡­¡­ thank you sensei but I¡¯m fine¡±(Kenshin) (Haruna sensei) I see, okay mina takes a se- whaaa!? White light suddenly started to begin manifesting on the classroom wall (Kenshin, Hachiro, Arata, Honoka, Ami and the class) ¡°gu!¡± ¡°wa!?¡± ¡°Ami!¡± ¡°Honoka!¡± ¡®Thud¡¯ Suddenly, everyone was on the floor groaning and writhing in pain as they suddenly touched the air for a moment, then felt the hard ground. When they came to, they were assaulted with the sight of milky white walls of a large square hall. As their eye sights cleared up, the group of 30 could see each other getting up from the ground holding the sore parts of their body like their asscracks. What came next to view was a row of what appeared to be soldiers that stood in attention. It looked like they came straight from the time of kings and queens from Europe. They were knights that wore full plate armour. The sight of the swords on their sidesmade the classmates plus teacher wary but seeing them sheathed without seeing them having theintention of being drawn made them sigh in relief. At the end of the row of soldiers, a woman was seen walking towards the group of 30 with a somewhat tired expression. She wore a light blue robe that covered everything except the face. Her height was most likely to be 5 ft 8 that was clearly shorter than the knights who were about a head taller than her of varying sizes. The group was dumbstruck at all the knights in armourat first but their attention turned to the stranger that was walking towards them. Most of the studentscould not turn their gazes away from the woman due to her otherworldlybeauty. ''''''''''''Wooooooah!'''''''''''''' The class expressed their admiration in unison. This was because her face was, what most would call something that belonged to a Goddess. She had white skin that seemed to shine that was complimented with her blond with streaks of brown hair and her crystalblue eyes. Her appearance seemed to be of the same age as the students. If she were to go to their school, she would easily be appointed the school idol. ¡°Greetings saviours! I¡¯m Katherine Einsworth, the candidate for arch mage of Palami kingdom and daughter of the Queen Sarah Einsworth with King Alfred W. Einsworth who rules the capital kingdom of the humans.¡± Proclaimed her to the group. "¡­......" "¡­......". The class remained silent, some trying to process what Katherine just said while some was still taking in the phenomenon of being in the classroom then taken somewhere else. ¡±Oh! Doforgive me, I know it is all too sudden but everything will be explained in the courtroom¡± (Katherine) She gestured them to follow her to the next room at the end of the row of soldiers. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Courtroom The class who at first were reluctant eventually gave in to their curiosity. The place they were taken to was a room that was the same size as the other room but with a group of soldiers that wore full plate white armour without the head gear. They all had the Palami emblem that was the crown that the soldiers in the first room had on their chest armour. But they had it on their right arm. The knights were besides two people who were obviously not soldiers as they wore high quality clothing that were embroiled with fancy designs that had an majestic appearance, fit for royalty. They were seated on a throne that was on a higher platform that looked down on the group on the centre who were looking around the courtroom. The two people on the throne were smiling looking at the group looking glad. The woman on the throne that looked like the adult version of Katherine spoke first. ¡°Greetings heroes, I am Sarah, the Queen of Palami and this is my Husband Alfred, the King of Palami.¡± She introduced the two of them to the group as the rulers of Palami and the parents of Katherine. ¡°I know that you are all confused as to why you were summoned.I will explain. As you may have figured out, this is not the world you know, this world is called Lowe. We have called you here using magic that was used long ago. We summoned you here because we are at war with the ''enemy'' that made our people, from long ago, resorting tousingthis summoning magic. Please I ask you on behalf of the people, give us your strength in fighting the ''enemy''.¡± (Sarah) The Queen gave a pleading look to the group while the knights and soldiers kneeled . The first one to break from the pressure of the events was Haruna sensei who had a reputation of caring a lot for her students. ¡± What! Saviours? Summoned? Fighting? Youre telling these children to fight your war!?Take us back! You have no right to order us!¡± (Haruna sensei) She blurted out everything that piled up inside to release both stress and concern. She was angry, confused but more scared for her students as she cared for them deeply. That¡¯s why she was adored by her students. ¡±I apologise for this but we wouldn¡¯t have done so if we weren¡¯tdesperate. We will take care of you with all our resources and we would have our top knights and teachers teach you everything you need. We will give you benefits as the heroeswith our power that includes top rate treatment only higher nobles get.¡±(Sarah) Benefits was what resounded in their thoughts. The students started to imagine the treatment they would get but, some also, were still scared. They started whispering to their friends about what they thought about. Haruna sensei was about to protest but was stopped. ¡±Its fine isn¡¯t Haruna sensei, they didn¡¯t have any choice and they said they would guide us, right Katherine?¡± (Hachiro) Hachiro looked at Katherine with his smile that charmed most girls in the school. Surprised that she was called, looked at Hachiro and was immediately charmed by him for a second hesitated ¡°y, yes, I, I will also be guiding you¡±.(Katherine) ¡®smooth¡¯ some thought among ¡®the royals¡¯. With the class leader¡¯s approval, no-one else from the homeroom group had the choice to refuse anymore. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kenshins room ¡®........¡¯ He was staring into space. He was on his back with one hand on the back of his head. After Hachiro declared that they were staying. Opposition came from Haruna senseibut because the class leaders, who were also class idols wanted to cooperate, the rest of the class followed suit, leaving Haruna sensei no choice but to give up. In the courtyard, a very spacious area, the class was told to come. Outside, It was daytime with the sun unobstructed by the clouds. It made the group think that they were still on Earth in Japan summertime. The class were told they were on top of the highest mountain overseeing the city. There were no walls around the courtyard so they could see the city. It was similar to the cities of fantasy animes in their world. Taverns, inns, stalls etc. The City was divided into three areas. Where they were in right now was the royal palace in the nobles area, the next area was the common area after that was the slums area that was supposed to be part of the commoner¡¯s area but there was a huge difference between the structures as the slums building were filled with old, rundown buildings compared to the commoners area that had newer buildings. The reason they were in the courtyard was for introductions. ¡±I''ve heard from the group that in your world you do not have magic, so I will tell you about it. Magic is something that everyone is born with and we use it for a lot of things. It is also found naturally in everything in the world. With magic, you can alter phenomena to do things for you. Like this.¡± (Katherine) The Princess holds up her hand that was now emitting something pale blue and chanted ¡°common, flame light¡± in that time an orange flame ball manifested five inches above here hand. ¡®Woooooah¡¯ The class was surprised with glittering eyes. ¡°Nfufufu. I probably had the same reaction when I first saw magic.Now, as heroes you have more than theaverage amount of magic, could you tell me your status so we can determine your courses?¡± (Katherine) ¡°status? We also have that, like in a game?¡± ¡°how do we see our status?!¡± Some shouted with excited voices questioning Katherine who became wide eyed due to their excited tone. ¡±Ah, forgive me. I sometimes skip ahead when doing explanations. For the status,you can bring it up by saying ¡®status show¡¯. Only you can see it if you use this command. But if you say ¡®status show all¡¯ everyone will see your status shown in front of you."(Katherine) As they did, the homeroom group became wide eyed at the transparent panels that showed up in front of them. The group saw their statuses . ¡°Nice¡± ¡°Whoa cool!¡± Was some of the reactions. Starting from ¡®the royals¡¯ to Kenshin, they stated their status. Not very surprisingly the popular group got the highest stats. [
Status Window
Name Hachiro Matsushita
Gender Male
Class Hero Knight
Race Human
Level 1
Health 500 Strength 850
Mana 300 Stamina 900
Endurance 100 Dexterity 90
Intelligence 90
[
Status Window
Name Ami Matsuoka
Gender Female
Class Hero Cleric
Race Human
Level 1
Health 700 Strength 50
Mana 900 Stamina 60
Endurance 50 Dexterity 50
Intelligence 120
[
Status Window
Name Arata Takahashi
Gender Male
Class Hero Mage
Race Human
Level 1
Health 680 Strength 90
Mana 870 Stamina 90
Endurance 70 Dexterity 51
Intelligence 85
[
Status Window
Name Honoka Yukimura
Gender Female
Class Hero Brawler
Race Human
Level 1
Health 500 Strength 689
Mana 300 Stamina 795
Endurance 230 Dexterity 100
Intelligence 70
This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°And lastly Kenshin Hashimoto. Stats please.¡± (Katherine) What showed after that was his stats. Everything except endurance, dexterity and intelligence was less compared to the average stats of the Palami soldiers who were weaker than the summoned heroes. Only his intelligence was high compared to the group. Endurance and dexterity was quite high from average among the group. ¡±¡­. Kenshin kun was it? I see.¡± (Katherine) She waslooking sorry while smiling wryly. [
Status Window
Name Kenshin Hashimoto
Gender Male
Class Commoner (classless)
Race Human
Level 1
Health 200 Strength 15
Mana 30 Stamina 30
Endurance 100 Dexterity 80
Intelligence 350
Smiling wryly while scratching his head ¡°¡­.ahaha¡­. it seems im not fit for combat¡±(Kenshin) ¡±Pfffft, even in another world he is still hopeless! LOL!30 mana?! Is this what they call a noob?! Eff my life!¡± (Hachiro) ¡±Guhaha! Right, right? Wait! It''s also classless?! Ha!¡± (Ami) With that everyone that followed ¡¯the royals¡¯ started snickering, Kenshin just laughed it off. Haruna sensei tried to console him by mentioning he had high intelligence but that pissed off ''the royals'' who began to tease him more as they thought they were superior in everything. When the information of his status came out, discrimination for Kenshin reared its head. After the introduction they assigned the group their living quarters saying they would start proper lessons tomorrow. Everyone got their own separate room in the castle where the boys and girls rooms were separated. Kenshin, however was told there wasn¡¯t enough rooms so he was given a room that peasants slept in. That was their excuse anyway. His low stats were obviously a reason for the difference in treatment. But there was no complaints from him though as he was used to it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One week later Everybody was given magic and fighting lessons by the knights in the palace. They studied magic theory for one period everyday learning basic spells plus their nature. The basic elements were air, earth, water, fire. They all needed chanting that included words that related to their elements. For example, the air bolt spell that compressed air molecules 5 inches above the palm to a sphere that would shoot off that would expand when it hits a solid or something that was denser. The strength could be adjusted by the casters will by putting more magic into the casting. The explosion could be adjusted to the same effect an exploding deodorant would have. The chanting formula included its element first ¡®air¡¯ then its shape ¡®sphere¡¯ then its movement ¡®blast¡¯. So in summary, it would be ¡®air sphere blast¡¯. When they tried it in the practical lesson, Arata¡¯s was the strongest with ¡®the royals¡¯ following after her as her class was more mage oriented. Incidentally, kenshins was the weakest. He just laughed it off when everyone found out. After that was physical education. Hachiro was the strongest due to his advantage in having the highest stats for fighting and kenshiro was the weakest. In the sword training, Hachiro easily managed to fling the training pell while Kenshin barely managed to move it. The week after that, discrimination against Kenshins strengthened as sometimes they told him to do some errands for him like cleaning, bringing refreshments, equipment maintenance, carrying books etc. Basically, he was a sort of errand boy. Eventually they told him that he didn¡¯t need to attend the extra specialisedlessons that the others needed to have in the afternoon so he had a lot of free time. As usual, he voiced no complaints nor showed any opposition. Even though he did errands for a lot of people, his room was always cleaned thoroughlyeveryday to the point that it sparkled. Having free time in the afternoons, he went to the palace library to pass the time He was researching all sorts of things, from the difference in knowledge and culture compared to earth. Because he was tasked with lots of errands that sometimes included working with the servants to go to the market area gathering supplies and such, Kenshin got to know quite a lot of the people in the city area. Using his connections he got to learn from the people who were masters of their craft. With that, he not only learned the theory but he also got to put it into practice, of course most of it was the basics. He also was friendly with the people around the town and the soldiers who he maintained their equipment for. He was especially close with the servants of the palace. The one who was most intimate with him was his neighbor next to his room. They met each other in the night after their first week. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡®knock knock¡¯ ¡°Hmm? Come in, its open.¡±(Kenshin) ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m coming in¡± Closing the door behind her, she stood there in a maid outfit with a smile. She had white skin, green eyes and short green hair. If you put her in a cosplay maid costume she would look prettier. Her outfit right now was of course a maids but without the frills and such. Looking around the room she was surprised. ¡°Evening, my name is Beth Twine, I am on laundry duty so I''m here to take any laundry you have...." (Beth) She starts looking around the room.Surprise and fascination was present on her face. The reason was the room. The floor that used to be an old rotting wood was now replaced with something similar to glazed cherry wood. The bed was gone and on the space where it used to be was a futon It was laid on top of two tatami mats. On one corner of the room was a japanese folding screen that had patterns. The room was allso decorated with pottery, lacquerware, sculptures, swords, clothes and armour.Itsort of looked like a store. ¡±Ah. Please forgive my staring, master Kenshin I was just taken aback¡± (Beth) "No need to call me that. I may be a summoned but i amjust a free loader here. Beth-san, since we are going to be seeing each other often, please stay for tea¡±(Kenshin) With that they spent the time in idle chit chat during the time that was supposed to be the time for cleaning his room. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 months later In the courtroom all the summoned heroes were in there having a banquet. It was night time and two full moons hovered in the night sky. ¡±Here, here. Now I know that you want to get started with the banquet, but, remember we are here to celebrate the departure of our heroes, their departure for their first live training. It will be dangerous and it might only be training but tomorrow they depart to the dungeon where only 50 floors have been explored. It took our soldiers and adventurers around more than decade when it was first discovered to get to the current floor. But now that we have our heroes with us I know we will advance, discovering more floors and more monsters. I know they will come out successful because we have two full moons, a sign of success. Hazaa!¡±(Alfred) ¡±Hazaa!¡±(Crowd) It was as the king said, they would depart tomorrow. They were done with lessons now. Tomorrow they would experience live combat. In the hall, were the royal family, the knights, the heroes and nobles. Among these nobles were the sponsors for the heroes. They would use the heroes to spread their fame and power. Of course, the heroes would have the right to choose if they wanted to be sponsored by them. Some of them used this party to persuade them to let them be their sponsors, So they were dressed in their most expensive attire, with gifts and some even brought their children to court the heroes. ¡®The royals¡¯ of course, especially Hachiro who wore a tailored suit that complimented his face, had nobles with offers crowding around him. There was a similar sight with the rest of his group. Everyone in the homeroom group had at least one or moresponsor. All except Kenshin who had none. The nobles had heard about his stats. He was in a corner in his school clothes. More discrimination. The excuse this time was that the tailor called in sick. Still Kenshin didnt mind. He kept himself busy by tasting all the food in the banquet. He still thought about home. They were told that the ''enemy'' had the proper magic to send them home. This was what they said at the beginning but they didn''t say which enemy. The Humans were at war with different races. When they were told this no onerememberedor just didn''tbother to ask which enemy had the proper magic to send them home. This showed that getting back to earth wasn''t the first thing in their minds anymore. It seems that they had lost theirdesire to go home as it was won out by the notion ofthe adventures, encounters, respect,fame and glory they would get here. Some of the homeroom students had read lightnovels about being transported to another world where the summoned would fight for the people that called them here becoming heroes who respected and revered. Sharing this with the other students who weren''t too familiar with these types of stories they began to get excited at this celebrity type treatment they would get, they wereeventually favoring this world than the other. Were they so lost in the flattery and praisetheywould recievethat they would forsake their home? Kenshin had a thought. The summoned, even before they were called here had next to no attachment to what was their current life back on earth. As he was lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice a maid waving at him and walking towards him. "Beth, sorry I was lost in thought." (kenshin) "Hehe, you should pay attention you know, you are going to a dungeon and it needs your 200% focus! " (Beth) "I wil keep that in mind" (Kenshin) "You better! I would miss you if you were gone you know?" (Beth) "It''s nice to hear that from you. Don''t worry, I don''t plan on dying anytime soon." (Kenshin) "That gives me relief. I better go, so eat lots okay?" (Beth) As he saw her go, Kenshin looked down andclasped his left ring finger that was covered with a workersglove and caressed it. ".......Viktoria..........." (Kenshin) He muttered. Though his voice was normal, there was a slight quiver of his lips. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day of the training expedition In the Palace city, there were people on the road giving their farewells and good lucks to the heroes. The homeroom group was in between two groups of soldiers 15 at the front with two royal knights and 15 at the back as well with two knights and four carriages carried by horses. Kenshin was in the middle of the homeroom group with ''the royals'' at the front and Haruna sensei at the back. Hachiro, in a shining white full knight set of armour without the head gear that didnt hinder his movement was waving to the crowd along with Arata who wore a white light mage armour, Ami who wore a blue clerics robe with white bracelet on both hands and Honoka wore white metal bracers, shin guards, chest armour and headgear that looked like a boxing training headgear. Cheers sounded from left and right. "huh is that..... Kenshin!?" "Really? It is, why is he with the hero group?" "Oi! Kenshin, are you a summoned hero?" "What!? Kenshin my boy was a summoned hero?" A group of men, women and children were making a bigger ruckus that made the crowds cheers drowned out. They were the people he got to know well in this world as well as those that taught him basics. The homeroom group slowed down after ''the royals'' were turning their heads as if they heard an impossible thing. The rest of the homeroom group turned their head towards where they looked at as well. (Kenshin)"?..... Oh.Ossans, Oba chans, big sisters and big brothers. The children as well" "Boy, you didnt tell us that you were a summoned hero." "Thats so cool! Big bro is a summoned hero!" " You didnt know? I thought Beth told you?"(Kenshin) "Big miss? Ah she loves surprising us. Must be why. Anyways, I didnt know I was teaching a summoned hero." The other teachers of Kenshin started saying things similar. "Ahaha.... im not that strong to be compared to the other summoned heroes."(Kenshin) "What matters is that you return alive! Strong or not, I still need to teach you more about tailoring Ken." That''s what most of his teachers called him. From far away, Hachiro saw him being surrounded by people with genuine happy expressions. Something he didnt see much fromhis own surroundings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 week later The Dungeon "Ken! Ken! Where are you?" "Captain! lets change search duties, i''ll tell you if i find something" chapter 2 Chapter 2 Dungeon Entrance The dungeon entrance was a cave on a mountain. Surrounding the entrance were trading caravans, carriages and adventurers. Like most of the area in the Kingdom, the cave settled in a forested area. Gathered in an area nearby, the class of heroes accompanied by knights were awaiting the orders of the commander. The commander was a middle aged knight who had patches of white hair on his sides with a crop top haircut. His most significant featurewas a big scar across his face, signifying war experience. His rank was SergeantMajor. ¡±Attention! First Sergeant Morris, is everyone here?" (Captain) Next to him was his next in command whose age was the same as the commander. He gave the commander a quick nod. "Good. Alright, listen up!Tomorrow atdawn, we enter the dungeon. We have more than enough supplies for us to last us about two weeks. Our aim is to reach the 30th floor. If we deem it possible, we will continue to the next floors. Heroes, your mission is to amass as much battle experience here. Knights, you are to advise them during this and also aid at battle if needed. Everyone, is that clear?!"(Captain) """"Haa!!!!"""" A cry of confirmation came from the platoon. After that they had free time. In this world the currency hierarchy is 10 bronze coins = 1 Silver coin, 100 silver coins = 1 gold coin, 1000 gold coins = 1 platinum. 1 bronze coin in this world was somewhat equal to one yen. Some went to buy some things from the stalls set up. Kenshin was not an exception. He was currently at a stall for tools. "Excuse me" (Kenshin) "Oh, a customer. Sorry, the shop is closed for now, didn''t you see the sign?" He pointed at the sign on the counter. "Oh. I wasn''t looking to buy." (Kenshin) He pointed at a crate behind the shopkeeper. A look of surprise was displayed on the shopkeepers face. "Oh, that. That''s not for sale. They''re failed products......" (Keeper) Though it could be his normal behaviour, for a moment his voice sounded a bit on guard when he saw what he was pointing at. "Was it formed using sintering, powder metallurgy?" (Kenshin) He said it in a low volume as if to keep it a secret. The greying shopkeeper was wide eyed. With squinted eyes, he asked in a serious voice. "Boy, how do you know about that?" (Shopkeeper) ---- The platoon set up camp in an empty area near the cave entrance. There, they had dinner and went to sleep. They didn''t eat the supplies they had that was mainly preserved food like cured or salted meat. Instead they bought their food from the food stalls near the entrance. Kenshin was not sleeping. Hewas sorting out all ofhis equipment that was commissioned to each of them. It was a footsoldiers backpack thatcontained some food, water, toiletries, cutlery, pills and potions with a sleeping bag on top. That was what everyone else was given. They could carry more if they wanted but it wasn¡¯t advised. Kenshin had more than the rest of his group which earned him a small lecture from the other soldiers who said the same thing, ''Try to be more light on your feet''. He would need a bag three times the size of the bag they were given to carry the stuff he had. SO, he modified the pack so that it would be big enough to fit his stuff usinga sewing kit. The clothes that he was commissioned withfrom the palace were novice adventurer¡¯s clothes that consisted of linen pants and shirt, leather boots, leather gloves, leather suspenders and a leather belt. Kenshin modified them. His leather belt now had pouches that circled around his belt. He also put pouches on his leather suspenders and some straps for things that required quick access like pills or weapons. Both suspenders and leather belt were modified to provide quick release function. His bag was a lot bigger now and the interior safely secured his equipment with straps and pouches. They were departing tommorow. ---- Inside the dungeon All ofthe floors of the dungeon were the size of 10 football fields onaverage. Adventurers who reached the fortieth floor were told to leave before time so only some adventurers were there. The fifty floors had guide posts and lights to light the way. ¡±Easy, too easy, with our pace we can conquer all the floors. What do you think Commander? We got to the 50th floor in 5 days so we should move forward right?¡±(Hachiro) Hachiro, who just finished another floor and was heading for the next one, proclaimed with a confident expression. ¡±You guys struggled getting here? These monsters are small fries!¡±(Arata) ¡±Hey Arata, you¡¯re talking like you weren¡¯t scared when we fought those giant wasp on the 29th floor, haha, you stood still when we encountered them, you thought you¡¯re allergies were going to act up right?¡±(Honoka) ¡±Oi you know I have a phobia of bees right!? I was still suspicious when Ami told me that there was anti-allergy spell. I didn¡¯t want my face swelling up while fighting.¡±(Arata) ¡±Even though we''re in the vanguard you fight from our rear, don¡¯t be such a pussy¡± (Honoka) (Captain)¡±¡­¡­.. I¡¯ll have to discuss it with my sub ordinates. But let me warn you, don¡¯t underestimate the unknown floors, you might be heroes but we¡¯ve only prepared you for the fifty floors.¡± Right now they were inside the dungeon on the 50th floor. In the beginning the first monster they encountered were giant ants, they were around half a meter long and nearly reached the height of their knees.They were told to have an exoskeleton similar to plywood, some were scared at first but the knight hero Hachiro with his extraordinary strength one shot it with his sword. With that, the rest of the studentsgained some confidence and quickly found their way to their current floor. Four days ago, some ofthe knights established the supply point on the 39th floor. The rest of theplatoon advanced when the commander decided that the students could advance into the higher floors. Kenshin was left to carry some of the supplies in the back with the rear-guard that consisted of a party of Haruna sensei and two knights. The reason for him being placed here was obviously due to being viewed as some sort of ball boy, something that Kenshin did not complain about or refuse. Naturally, when a horde of monsters attacks the group, most would be finished off before they reached Kenshin. Even if one were to get past the front group the knights or Haruna sensei would take care of it. The two knights with himviewed him in low regard in fighting but an incident involving hidden giant black wolves that they hadn¡¯t sensed caused them to change their mind. That was a day ago at night when they were preparing to rest. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ---- Kenshin was at the back putting up the tents for the rear guard who were somewhere else. ¡°Arghhh!¡± A painful shout was heard. ¡°Shit! We let our guards down! There¡¯s a pack of black wolves!¡± There were 6 wolves, as big as a tiger with black fur and red eyes that emitted a pale blue light if one look closely.They were surrounding the two knights, a female knight, who wore light armour called Jen was on the floor with a handcovering a bite wound on her thigh and was holding up a loaded cross bow at the wolves. Next to her was a cuisse, a piece of armour that had a part of it that seemed to be bitten off.The armour was 3mmthick steel it would normallyneed lots of strikes to even begin to pierce through it so seeing itlikethis meant that the culprit was extremely strong.In front of her was Mark, a knight who used a spear taking advantage of the spears length to keep the pack at bay. ¡±Oi Ken! Get the others, get the Ca-¡°(Mark) Without looking back, Mark who was guarding Jen shouted. He cried from the tunnel that lead into the cave room that the rest of the group was in. A wolf used that moment to sidestep and dashed, fangs out, white with drool coming out. Due to its black fur and fast speed, Mark was not able to see it go past his two meter spear. Jumping, it tore through his throat. This was what could havehappened. What happened was as the wolf was gaining momentum to jump, something flew past Mark and flew below the attacking wolf and a ¡®thud¡¯ resounded. What caused it was a rope two meters in length tied around its legs. It was a bola with three weights on each end of the rope. For a moment thewolves was still from the unexpected occurrence. Mark quickly usedthat opening to stab a wolf through its eye piercing its brain immediately killing it without giving it a chance to yelp. Aggravated, the other wolves growled and went into attack mode, 1 wolf lunged at mark while the other 3 moved into his blind spot. ¡®Scchwaaf!¡¯ Jens shot the approaching wolf on the throat severing its vertebrae. Mark knew that Jen would cover him while he tried to pry his spear from the wolf the he just slew, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t pay the attacking wolf any heed and trusted in his comrade. Finally managing to take out his spear he turned to where the 3 wolves were but¡­. What came into view was two wolves dead on the ground; one had a rope tied around its jaw that was opened beyond its limits while on the other end of the rope was tied around the other wolfs left leg. But the rope on its leg wasn¡¯t what caused it to die. Looking at it, it had a knife with a blade the length of a hand but with a small area to grip, a throwing knife was stuck in its eye. Still, the throwing knife only had enough power to pierce its eye with the tip of it, something that would go in deeper if it was a normal wolf from earth. What finished it off was a dagger stabbed through its mouth. Following the path where the third one circled to, a figure came into view. The figure was on top of the third pack wolf in a runners starting form but with a dagger that was stabbed through its throat using both hands. Wearing dark brown linen clothes with a belt and suspender that was modified to hold throwing knives and a rope on the straps for ease of access. It was Kenshin. A few moments before. When he heard the cries of the two knights from the tunnel that lead to this area, he stopped what he was doing and dashed offto the source of the sound. He saw a pack of giant black wolves the size of a tiger surrounding Mark who was protecting Jen on the floor. Immediately, Kenshin pulled out a three weight bola on one hand. At the same time he tookout a throwing knife and put it on his mouth. Still running he judged that it was the right length between him and his target,he threw thebola at the wolf that began gaining momentum to attack mark. ¡®Whop, whop, whop, whop¡¯ then a ¡®thud¡¯ came afterwards. With one wolf immobilized, Kenshin used his now empty hand to take a ropethat hanged from hisbelt. He threw the other rope with two loop knotsat the twowolves that rushed to encircle him. He timed it so one wolf¡¯s leg was caught while at the same time the other end of the rope caught the other wolf¡¯s jaw. A louder thud was made and then a cracking sound. The other wolf killed by a snapped jaw and the other wolf on the floor that unintentionally assist killed the other wolf by acting as an anchor for its jaw. The one on the floor wasgoing berserk yelping with the whites in its crimson eyes showing asit tried to get up to get revenge for making it unintentionally murder its pack mate,a knife was stuck inits left eye causing it to wail in pain. Kenshin took this chance to speed up while pulling outa dagger the size of a humerus (arm bone) from his right beltsheath holding it, when he came at the right side of the wailing wolf he plunged it down its open mouth while still not stopping and heading straight to the other wolf. The other wolf raged at having its pack mates killed in a short amount of time, it prioritized Kenshin as its main opponent. It watched the boy cautiously while it stood its ground waiting for the right moment. Seeing Kenshin throw something at it, it moved its head to dodge it. Thinking that this was an opening after it dodged the projectile, it decided to attack only to close its eyes in pain from something that trailed off fromthe projectile. From that moment it was game over. Kenshin pulled out another dagger from his left side sheath with two hands. Heused his body weight to pierceits throat in a uppercut motion byjumping then using gravity to hook it andslam it down. "Mark- san, please stay on watch. I''m going to see to Jen-san.¡±(Kenshin) After saying so, hepulls out the dagger from the corpse. On the way to Jen, he speedily killed the remaing wolf. ¡±¡­.¡±(Jen) ¡±....¡±(Mark) "Jen-san let me look at those wounds¡±(Kenshin) He starts applying treatment immediately on Jen''s wounds. Grabbing Kenshin¡¯s shoulders ¡°Ken, quick! Show me your Stats!¡±(Mark) chapter 3 "Sure...." (Kenshin) Kenshin complied to his abrupt request. Code: [
Status Window
Name Kenshin Hashimoto
Gender Male
Class Engineer
Race Human
Level 7
Health 210 Strength 19
Mana 33 Stamina 50
Endurance 113 Dexterity 102
Intelligence 357
After seeing the window displaying his stats, he stood with his eyes closed, thinking deeply about something ''Engineer?! Since when did he gain that class? Level 7, that''s impossible! I''ve heard that when an engineer reaches level 5, they at least had graduated from a three year engineering course. How did he reach that level so quickly? His stats are....With the exception of some of them, it''s quite mediocre befitting a commoner. Is he just good at fighting? Was that a fluke? Those wolves were something I nearly died from even though it was only one that attacked me. So, how did this guy take on nearly a dozen of them?! Calm your ass Mark! Think!'' "Skills"(Mark) "Mark-san what''s this about?"(Kenshin) "I just need to make sure of something" (Mark) "Okay...." (Kenshin) tr]Skills[/tr]
Magic
Active Structure Mapping, Structure fortification
''What, no combat magic?! Then how did-'' His contemplating was interrupted by Kenshin. "Mark-san, Jen need''s to be looked at by a cleric. Please have Matsuoka-san see her for any infections. I will report to the commander" (Kenshin) "Ahh. That''s right, sorry for spacing out like that" (Mark) ---- Jen got treated by the party cleric, Ami, and Mark got a questioning look from the Captain thinking if he hit his head when he told them that the weak Kenshin supposedly defeated those black wolves. In those two months before, he did not just idle about. When he was told he only needed to attend their mandatory lessons, Kenshin used his free time to prepare for fighting. He knew of his lack of physical ability and fighting sense, so he read up on books and consulted with martial artist, adventurers and soldiers to pile up hisknowledge of fighting. Kenshin also used his knowledge on martial arts from earth. From his connections he was able to learn basics of some crafting skills and basic adventurer know how to be self sufficient. In this world, magic skills were activated by the help of the ''skill system'' that every conscious being had. It was theorized by the researchers of this world as being a sort of second sub-consciousness. Skill were either gained by being born with it or learning it. For example, monsters like Man-bats that were man sized bats that could fly had the ''Echolocation'' skill that they were born with. It was separate from naturally physical traits like infra red vision that occurred in Man- bats. Of course, you could get the magic variant of infra red vision in humans. All the things Kenshin showed when fighting the giant black wolves were not from the aid of the system, nor was it sub-consciously calculated moves, it was all consciously calculated ones: Judging the timing, space between the enemy, what would be most effective against this size of enemy, timing ones breath, how to quickly end the battle, what risks there are and etc Masters of martial arts or those beyond simple mastery would have done all of this sub-consciously as some have trained themselves in mountains. ---- Dungeon, 55th floor Its been a day since they went beyond the 50th floor and onto the unexplored parts of the Palami Dungeon. Without any changes in their formations, they worked their way through old and new monsters. One new creature was the Poison Trents that were tree like creaturesusing vines that were covered in poisonous spikes. They were slow but were strong andit took the class 5 minutes to kill one when around ten seconds of fighting was neede for monsters they defeated up to this point. In a way, it was a sort of mid boss. Other monsters tried attacking the vanguard but the mid guard, that were mostly ranged classes, took the role of covering them. "Razor wind!"(Hachiro) Using ''Razor wind'', Hachiro''s arm emitted a pale blue light that expanded to his sword. After that, air formed into a torrent ofwind along the edge of his blade and then swung his sword in a downward strike. In that moment, the pale blue light was gone and the torrent of air shot off from the swordand finished off a Skeleton Knight in front of him. What was left was the body of an armored skeleton who''s bones from head to toe were split apart. Originally, the skill chant was supposed to be a four versed chantbut, being a ''Hero Knight'' he was given the passive skill ''Short cast'' that used just the name only of the magic,''Razor wind''. Similarly, all the summoned heroes were able to use ''Short cast'' meaning they only had to shout out the system name. /> Code: [
Status Window
Name Hachiro Matsushita
Gender Male
Class Hero Knight
Race Human
Level 19
Health 591 Strength 902
Mana 320 Stamina 1003
Endurance 102 Dexterity 93
Intelligence 97
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. tr]Skills[/tr]
Magic
Passive Lowe Language Comprehension, Cold resist, Heat resist, Poison Resist, All elements affinity, Light Affinity, High Mana Regen, High Health Regen, High Stamina Regen, Short cast, Knight Mastery, Plate Armour Mastery, Shield Mastery,
Active + Buff Razor Wind, Sword Rain, Superhuman Strength, Iron Cocoon, Fast Step, Heavy Strike, Fortress, Rapid strike, Light Flash, Sword Trail, Grand Execution, Cauterizing Blade, Cauterizing Shield,
Near him was Ami. [
Status Window
Name Ami Matsuoka
Gender Female
Class Hero Cleric
Race Human
Level 15
Health 772 Strength 59
Mana 1030 Stamina 65
Endurance 52 Dexterity 52
Intelligence 122
"Light Weight Aura!"(Ami) Her right arm under her blue robe produced magic emissions (pale blue light or particles), generating a torrent of pale blue, comparable to lights produced by flood lights ,it charged her right bracelet gathering mana. Then as the pale blue light disappeared, the bracelet shined brighter for a moment and disappearing right after, signifying that the skill has been finished and was sent to its way to the target. After her target''s body received the magic, the target, Honoka, after contact glowed white. "Thanks Ami! I still cant get used to the feeling of my body being light as a feather. Here I go!''Barrage!''(Honoka) Curling back both arms to her chest, pale blue light emitted from her arms as it traveled to both her white bracers. After the pale blue lightemission disappeared, one tenth of a second later, a hoop of red transparent light was produced from her bracers, rolling forward to her fist covering it in the same light. A ''patatatatatata'' resounded. What lied in front of her was a mass of grey covered with a black liquid. A troll was clobbered to a unidentifiable state. "Hey Arata, use magic to wash of the goo of my arms." (Honoka) [
Status Window
Name Honoka Yukimura
Gender Female
Class Hero Brawler
Race Human
Level 17
Health 613 Strength 720
Mana 319 Stamina 812
Endurance 239 Dexterity 109
Intelligence 73
''That is some period of hers'' "Water Fountain!"(Arata) Holding a wooden staff with a rainbow colored gem at the tip, his arms emitted particles that dissipated, then the next moment, navy blue light was given off from the rainbow colored gem. Around it, the air current around converged in front of it while taking in the moisture. Gathered air turned to mist then sprinkles of water shot off to the direction of Honoka. [
Status Window
Name Arata Takahashi
Gender Male
Class Hero Mage
Race Human
Level 15
Health 715 Strength 91
Mana 930 Stamina 91
Endurance 71 Dexterity 52
Intelligence 122
That was how their party worked, two supports the two attackers. "That''s it for this floor. We''re advancing to the next floor!"(Commander) The platoon, with Hachiro''s group leading, went towards what looked like a tunnel. It was an entrance for the next area. Until now, they relied on the torches placed by the adventurers in the paston each floor but, as they have never been able to get to as far as here, there were no man madechanges to the surroundings. This didnt mean there were no light source at all. Why? because on the 56th floor, the ceiling of the cavern gave off a glowing green light. the same went for its walls. You would think it was covered in the same stuff thats made of glowsticks from Earth. The group advanced inside the glowing tunnel. Some thought with simple arrogance and some just wanted to admire the scenery. chapter 4 ''rumble. rumble'' " Jen, we just ate a minute ago and your still hung- gubah!?"(Mark) Without finishing his line, a fist was swung, leaving him keeling on the floor. Without any light in her eyes, and an unamused face, her patience reached over the threshold and hit his stomach. "Shut your trap, you prick!" (Jen) ''rumble, rumble'' Over seeing this familiar display of the two siblings was the commander who breathed out a sigh. "Get ready'' remember your roles. Kanaki, use the reconnaissance spell ''Fluid vision'' to find out if there are monsters in front of us." (Captain) Kanaki, a male member of the homeroom group, same age as Kenshin and also the same height of 160 cm but who had a tinge of brown skin and had dark brown bangs that divided in to two, was called out. He was the ''Hero tracker'' who was like a mixture of ranger and thief. His skills mainly consisted of sensing ones. Also like a ranger, he had a bow pared with a quiver of arrows on his back. The skill ''Fluid vision'' was a ocular magic. It can see the movement of liquid in a visual range of 30 meters. The range could be increased by putting in more mana to the spell. "Okay, everyone get behind me. It might not read anything that don''t contain any liquids but it will mess up my reading if you¡¯re in front." (Kanaki) As he said, the people in front of him stepped into the side to make way for his skill. Sending magic power (mana) into his eyes that started emitting light particles, "Fluid vision!" he chanted the skill name only. As if sucking in dust like a vacuum, his eyes sucked in the magic energy. His eyes were now glowing white. What he saw was a mass of grey light that was flowing inside an increasing amount of figures with different shapes and sizes That was what things with liquid, like blood, looked like. In his vision, this horde of shapes that were getting more and more bigger, headed towards the platoon. With cold sweat creeping up his skin, he told the group ¡±There¡¯s a lot monsters in front of us. From what I can see there¡¯s fluid signatures like goblins, brutes, minotaurs, ogres and theres some other signatures that I haven¡¯t seen before." (Kanaki) With that, the platoon got ready without saying anything and just began moving in to their respective places. They were tense but it was not because of fear but due to the excitement and adrenaline of fighting because of wanting to see if they became stronger after clearing lots of rooms of the dungeon. The vanguard at the front consisted of ¡®the royals¡¯, while the mid-guard, who were behind them, consisted of students who were a mixture of long ranged professions that were equipped with bows, crossbows, staffs and other magic items like rings and bracelets. The Captain was in between the midguards and vanguards to oversee the platoon. The rest of the knights were placed in the back with Sensei and Kenshin. Judging by the emitted light from the students who were in midguard, magic''s were being cast. Finally stepping into the glowing floor, the first monsters, goblins that were around 1 meter tall with green skin, hunched over and wearing leather loincloths armed with spears and rock slings, ran towards the group. Running forward they readied their spears and slings loading it with fist sized rocks. This was where the hero priestess of the homeroom group Chika, a girl in a miko priestesses dress and had kempt black hair that reached her mouth, began her role. With both her hands stretched out and facing the goblins, she deployed a barrier using short cast. ¡±Material Barrier!¡± (Chika) In that moment, a purple rectangle of about 10 metres with a width of 15 metres across. A semi-transparent purple barrier was erected. The barrier deflected the rocks and spears that were thrown at them, eventually piling up on the floor. As the waves of projectiles were rendered useless by the barrier, the platoon began flinging their attack at the goblins. ¡®schwaaf!¡¯ ¡®Bagu!¡¯ ¡®Boom, boom, boom, boom!¡¯ Arrows riddled the goblins and the wave of magic skills from the mages knocked them about with their unending barrage of speeding balls made of water, ice, fire, earth, air passing through the purple barrier. That was the good thing about the barrier as it allowed attacks from one side to pass through and it blocks attacks on the other. After that, brutes carrying wooden clubs that were around three to four metres tall, stepped through the smoke made by the attacks earlier. Their footsteps made slight tremors on the floor. ¡®Baga, baga, baga, baga!¡¯ ¡±These attacks won¡¯t cut it! Vanguard and the rest of the mid guard melee¡¯s, form a defensive line! Don¡¯t let heavy type monsters get closer to the barrier or it will break!¡± (Captain) As he said, the unending barrage of magic skills weren¡¯t potent enough to harm the brutes. Running forward, Honoka with a right fist covered in red glow who had been buffed with a body lightening weight spell by Ami earlier jumped and soared through the air up to ten metres, where her jump reached its peak. Then pulled by gravity, she plummeted towards the direction of the group of brutes. Pulling back her right fist, the glow of red on her fist became brighter. ¡±Oooooooorrrrrrryyahhhhhhhhh!!!!¡± (Honoka) Hitting the ground making cracks on the floor around her fist, the red glow transferred to the ground and like a wave travelled through the floor towards the direction of brutes. There were around twenty brutes and when the red wave hit them, they all felt a jolt in their knees and lost their balance, eventually falling over. What was invoked beforehand was the spell ¡®tremor wave¡¯. Behind her, Arata finished the preparation of his skill. Holding up his staff with a rainbow coloured gem, in front of it was a glowing white ball with 1 radius of 25 cm giving off intense heat. ¡®pa!¡¯ It shot off like a cannonball and flew towards the floor behind the brutes. When it hit, it released its contents, a moving wave of fire that scorched the other monsters behind the brutes. What was activated was Arata¡¯s skill ¡®Flame raze¡¯. The next phase of the sequence of attacks started after that. The melee group at the front went forward killing the brutes that tripped. Swords, hammers, spears and axes were swung. This was the pattern of attack they worked with. Five minutes later¡­ What remained was black blood, scorched walls, monster parts here and there. Some panting students were also there trying to catch their breath as they pushed themselves in the fray earlier. What they encountered that was new other than monsters from the previous floor 50 above were Rock Golems that were unaffected by beginner magic, that Hachiro and the other melee types beat with their physical enhancing skills such as ¡®superhuman strength¡¯. Some were giant lizards and some were mammoth sized rhinos. After that they prepared to leave for the supply squad. ¡±Okay attention everyone! I will do the roll call and then we depart. So when you hear your name, answer quickly!¡± (Commander) When the Captain was about to speak a ¡°excuse me, sir!¡± was said by Mark. ¡±Sir, Ken-kuns not here!¡± (Mark) ¡±He¡¯s not here? Shit, where did-¡° (Captain) A heap of monster loot in the row in the back suddenly stood up and¡­. ¡±Ah. I''m here. I told you I wanted to bring these back right to give to my teachers right?¡±(Kenshin) ¡±¡­¡­¡­¡­.oh yeah that¡¯s right¡­¡­..you were the heap of monster loot there¡­¡­ahaha¡­¡­.Must be getting old................................... Fuck my life.¡±(Mark) ''Facepalm'' (Jen) ¡¯.......'' (Captain) Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39th floor ¨C supply point After they returned to the supply point, they took a rest in the tents prepared by the knights beforehand. They were all tired so they chose to sleep. All except the high ranking knights who were discussing something in the big tent. The morning after that the students were told to line up for morning announcement after they ate their breakfast. After discussing something with all the knights, the Commander who was about 50 years old around the height of 190cm stood in front of the group. Clearing his throat, he spoke. ¡°I know this was unscheduled and we were supposed to be departing after today, but, we¡¯ve been talking and we have noticed that some of you are still quite¡­.. Some of you don¡¯t have the knack¡­.. For fighting¡­. It maybe because we haven¡¯t seen you perform or you didn¡¯t get the chance to show us how you perform so, we¡¯ve decided to give you the option to stay for the rest of the expedition to better improve yourselves with our guidance. If you choose to stay, we will use this floor up to the 50th. Raise your hand if you wanna go¡± (Commander) After a moment, hands were raised in the group, most of whom the commander would have chosen to go even if they didn''t volunteer. "Good. Hm? Haruna-sensei? I¡¯ve seen your summoning magic and even if it¡¯s just fire bats at best, you¡¯re still the only pperson I know that can summon 20.¡± That¡¯s right, Haruna sensei was a summoner, only able to summon intermediate type summons, and she¡¯s currently the only one who can summon 20 fire bats - The old record of most fire bats summoneed is 15. ¡±I still need to practice more, and as a teacher even if it¡¯s in another world, I''m still their teacher so I can¡¯t leave them alone.¡± (Haruna) ¡±I see. You have an admirable quality Haruna-sensei. Okay, it is permitted. Everyone, listen up. Except the following names everyone will continue their journey to the supply group. First, the knights who will accompany those who are staying behind is, me, Mark and Jen. The people who wanted to stay behind are Haruna-sensei, Eri Inuzuka, Rei Yuki, Kari Kanji, Shiroe Ono, Touka Kita and Kenshin Hashimoto.¡± (Captain) The rest of the knights who were guarding the supply point accompanied the students, royals¡¯ included, that didn¡¯t choose to stay. So they departed from the others and exited the dungeon. Seeing them depart, the Captain, Spencer Rays, looked at his group. To the right was Mark, a spear wielding knight, equipped with steel plate armour, 193 cm with caucasian skin, hair with a tinge of dark blue and a playboy¡¯s face. Level 51 and 25 years of age. Specializes in the spear as class (status) says. Left of him was Jen, a axe wielding knight, equipped with armour that has some made of plate steel and some, of chain mail. Sized 190 cm with Caucasian skin, dark brown hair in a ponytail and had charming facial features such as her nose, mouth, crystal blue eyes and facial structure. Level 52 and also 25 years of age. Specializes in Axe as class (status) says. These two joined the army and rose through the ranks together to knight. These two were twins of a commoner family, Foxrick, so they did not get a free pass like some nobles did to become a knight. Lined up next to them was, Mirai Haruna aka Haruna sensei. Wearing a dark blue robe and a short cape. On her neck was a silver chained square pendant with a square sapphire gemstone. She stood at 159 cm with a shade of light brown skin, short black hair and quite an adorable face with big eyes. Level 12 and 22 years of age, she began teaching at twenty. [
Status Window
NameMirai Haruna
GenderFemale
ClassHero Summoner
RaceHuman
Level12
Health300Strength21
Mana1900Stamina51
Endurance81Dexterity90
Intelligence190
Next to her was Eri Inuzuka, Just finished turning 17 so is one of the youngest. She was wearing a Kyudo outfit with hakamma and keiko-gi. She stood at 172 cm with black hair that was kept up by a white headband.Her eyes opened just a little less compared to the others and added with her pale white skin, she seems like the cool samurai descendant type. Her personality was cheerful. On her hand, her bow was there at a length of 221 cm with a quiver of arrows 103 cm in length. She got the palace tailor to make the kyudo outfit for her as she did Archery in school. Incidentally Chika, the priestess, got her tailor to her miko outfit for her. [
Status Window
NameEri Inuzuka
GenderFemale
ClassHero Archer
RaceHuman
Level9
Health360Strength170
Mana320Stamina390
Endurance97Dexterity502
Intelligence101
Behind her was Rei Yuki who was her best friend, She was the Hero Hunter who had a habit of hiding behind Eri due to her shy nature. She stood at 169 with brown hair was tied up into a ponytail that made her show her scalp in the middle. She had a face that would look cute if she smiled more. Her overall outfit befitted a hunters with a bear head hooded cape. Her weapons was a small axe on her back and an arm mounted crossbow that had the ammo strapped on her back. [
Status Window
NameRei Yuki
GenderFemale
ClassHero Hunter
RaceHuman
Level9
Health290Strength397
Mana157Stamina502
Endurance120Dexterity397
Intelligence92
Kari Kanji was next in line. A girl of 190 cm with black hair and a slanted bang covering half her forehead. With a small face and white skin, she wore brown leather tights with a white t shirt. Strapped to her with a sling was an acoustic guitar. Back in their original world, in the age of Kings and Queens, they would have lutes but because this world has magic, manufacturing it was made possible. Incidentally, Kari was part of a band. [
Status Window
NameKari Kanji
GenderFemale
ClassHero Bard
RaceHuman
Level11
Health231Strength57
Mana1002Stamina90
Endurance76Dexterity510
Intelligence92
With a wooden staff that twisted into two bands 20 cm into the tip and green robe was Shiroe Ono, the only other boy apart from Kenshin. He stood at 192 cm with a bishounens face with Slightly curled hair that reached his mouth that was shaded with a dark brown. Due to his height he was always asked to join the basketball team. His lack of stamina and interests were factors to why he refused. [
Status Window
NameShiroe Ono
GenderMale
ClassHero Buffer
RaceHuman
Level10
Health273Strength81
Mana530Stamina70
Endurance71Dexterity92
Intelligence90
And the only melee specialised the stay behind group was Touka Kita, equipped with a rapier and light leather armour. Her hair was split up into two, one in each side of hair and wrapping to the back of her hair. She had green eyes and a freckled face that were her good points. [
Status Window
NameTouka Kita
GenderFemale
ClassHero Swashbuckler
RaceHuman
Level10
Health310Strength512
Mana230Stamina890
Endurance150Dexterity300
Intelligence130
Next to her was Kenshin who was wearing a black hooded cloak carrying monster loots like pelts. He could have just left it with the soldiers going out of the dungeon. But, he wanted to give it to his teachers. They started their training expedition.
Let me know if there are any mistakes like in stats please Chapter 5 39th floor - 7th day of the expedition While walking to the next floor, the commander who was beside a wary Haruna-sensei, spoke. "Excuse me, Haruna-dono, but may I ask if something is bothering you?"(Commander) "Uh, umm....... Well.... Should we be concerned about monsters in this floor?"(Haruna sensei) "Hmmmm...... Let me reassure you that on this floor we don''t have to be wary of incoming attacks. Monsters wont be appearing from this floor, at most we will encounter them after we''re finished with this." (Commander) Leaking a sigh of relief "I see, that''s reassuring, thank you Commander." (Haruna sensei) "You are welcome Haruna-dono. Ahh, before we get to the next floor, could I ask you a question about your students?" (Captain) "Ask away! Although I''ve only been with them for more than half a year, I treat them as somewhat like relatives." (Haruna sensei) (Captain)"Could you tell me about the natures of the students in this group? Like in how they were at your homeworld?" "it will take quite while but if your willing to listen I will gladly tell you"(Haruna sensei) ------------- Haruna sensei talked about each of them. The conent of the talk in summary was, Eri Inuzuka was a charismatic and active girl who did Japanese style archery. Many female fans and quite a few confessions from the same gender. Rei Yuki was a girl who shied from other people except for her best friend. Kari Kanji was a cool girl. Everyone in class enjoyed her melodies. Shiroe Ono was the class mascot. Also the class representative. Touka Kita was energetic. A member and captain of the fencing club not the kendo club. (Gets confusing as sometimes its referred to as just fencing in Japan) Kenshin Hashimoto was intelligent and seemed to be ''close'' with ''the royals''. She saw that the royals seemed to ''interact'' with Kenshin a lot. "I see, their classes were automatically given to them due to their nature to some degree. " (Commander) "Is that so?" (Haruna sensei) "Well I don''t know about the non-hero boy,Kenshin Hashimoto''s, case. It seemed he gained his class manually. As in learnt it like everyone else. But I still don''t know why he chose to learn that class as it was a non-fighting one"(Captain) "Oh Ken-kun was not really good at sports back in our world."(Haruna sensei) "........ I see......."(Captain) ----------------------- 40th floor Getting consent from Haruna sensei the Captain decided to leave all decisions to the students and all the adults would watch. If need be, they would come to their aid. "Ummmm. So, who are we going to appoint leader?" (Kari) "It will be best if we chose someone who has got experience in leading."(Kenshin) Everyone nodded to his opinion. " I vouch for Touka! She''s the captain of the fencing club!" (Eri) Everyone consented. "All right, Touka your appointed leader. Tell us what to do."(Shiroe) "Sure.... I''ve seen your stats but I''ve only got a vague idea of your professions so it would be best if you tell me about it again, also include your skills and what your most proficient at so I will know where to place you."(Touka) "I''ll begin! My favourite skill is the ''scatter shot'' It uses one arrow and when its shot it turns into seven energy beam like arrows, so it''s like area of effect attack. I have a skill that makes it so all of the beam like arrows head to to one target.(Eri) This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The next to say what they were best at was Rei, the shy girl. As she was shy, she only whispered to her friend Eri. "Rei''s favourite skill is ''zero presence''. It messes with a targets vision and smell so that it wouldn''t see her! Cool right?!" (Eri) "Mines a crowd control type spell.It confuses a group by making false sounds that they would think came from enemies. Basically, if you were a target, you would hear things like roars or growls from besides you making you think the enemies near you."(Kari) "The skill I''m most skilled at is ''Over load'' a debuff on the enemy. It makes them twice as heavy. So you can say its the opposite of Ami''s skill that buffs an ally to become as light as a feather. My limit is two targets and its mana cost depends on the target."(Shiroe) "Mines just crafting skills so I can only attack with physical attacks. I''ve learnt from various crafter''s from the city, so I''ll be able to mend your gear."(Kenshin) "Right.... I will go next, mine is ''Frequency slash''. It heats up my sword until it glows hot like when metal comes out from a forge, and it allows me to slice up anything like butter." (Touka) After that, their roles was: "I will be at the front, Eri you will be mid-guard for support fire. Please shoot monsters who are range types. Kari and Shiroe use your support skills to buff us and debuff them. Rei you will be between mid-guard and front to cover my back. Ken-kun will be at the back guarding us. Everyone, is that okay? It is? Good."(Touka) ---- The group worked their way through the next 9 floors. Monsters they fought were slimes that were easy to kill with fire from ''blaze'' that everyone was taught. A horde of about 50 vulture like creatures that had paralysis poison on their claws. Their beaks were 1 meter long so you can imagine how big they were. They were shot down by Eri and grounded with ''overload'' by Shiroe. There were hordes of high ranking monsters on every floor but they advanced without serious injury. Kenshin did as he was told, guarding their rear. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the way to the 50th floor Its ceiling was around 100 meters tall. The floor was covered in green grass, trees and rivers. There was a dense gathering of trees here and there. The group walked through a path that in the midde of the floor that lead to the 50th floor. "Kenshin! Could I have a stamina pot-"(Touka) ''Vururururururur!'' (rumbling) In an area that was deep in the dense group of tree''s 70 meter''s in front of them, a group of 10 people were in front, running, wide eyed towards the group. From their clothes, they were adventurers. One of them were yelling. "Shit! Shit we shouldnt have done that!" What appeared out of the dense forest was a giant 35 meter Treant. Vines three metres thick stretched out at all directions. They reached out to about 20 meters and slammed down on the groups of trees that made a small. ''GOBAAAAAAAAA!'' The tress were broken by the power of the giant vines. Smoke covered the area for a while. When it cleared, the giant vines were laid around the floor. There were giant blue flowers with its petals closed, glowing like fluorescent lights. On the top of the treant, a giant lotus flower covered a humanoid figure, laid down on a bedding of something like a cotton. Then after that, the giant flowers opened and out came swarms of 1 meter tall Wasp. To be continued chapter 6 Treant Giant One after another they crawled out from each flower that budded from the vines. Some of them crawled along the vines as if to guard it and some was in the air. The only difference from the ones on earth was their size and instead a glowing blue appearance. From afar they looked like a bunch of glow worms in a dark cave. The surrounding monsters who hid in the dense trees of the floor started to get attacked, seconds later they either ran or died. Looking at this scene, the party including the knights took only a moment until they snapped put of their state. Passing them was the group of adventurers that came out from the cluster of trees that the Treant emerged from. "Run! Run!" (Adventurer) "Everyone! Lets go back.Move! NOW!"(Commander) Without any questions, they ran back to the exit that was 50 meters away from them without looking back. In a moments time just 50 meters to the tunnel. ''Bzz!'' A wasp trailed behind them. Around 100 meters away it was behind them. Behind it was 12 blue wasp. The stay behind groups speed compared to the 13 wasp was for every 1 meter they made, the wasp made 15 meters. For the group, 1 second turned to an hour as they felt that their lives was really in danger this time. No confidence and no dignity. They just wanted to reach the exit. So, they let go of their swords and staffs and finally, Jen, Mark, The commander, Eri, Rei, Kari, Shiroe,Touka and Haruna sensei heard a rumble and the sounds of rocks fall near the entrance. When they stopped running and looked back at the tunnel entrance behind them, there were no wasp that followed them. What they saw was boulders that covered the entrance. It took a few moments until they realized they were safe. After that they flopped down on the ground or still stood panting to catch their breaths. Finally, their breathing became calm and the sound of panting was no more. Another sound replaced it. "Sob, sob" When they looked at the source behind them, there was Haruna sensei sobbing on her knees looking down . The group thought that she was crying either because of relief or shock. Touka moved towards her. In an assuring tone "Haruna sensei its okay now, were safe lets-"(Touka) "THAT''S NOT IT!!!!"(Haruna sensei) She shouted out while still looking down. Surprised to hear her shout, the group wandered what was wrong. Jen realized what was wrong. There was one person missing from the group. "Ken..... kun."(Jen) "What about Ken? Oi ken come ou-?!"(Mark) Mark also realized it. "He.... he saved me! B-because i-i was slow.... he, he ''sob, sob, sob, sob...." (Haruna sensei) What they learned from her after that was while she was at the back of the group and when she thought everyone already got there she saw him beckoning her to come, Kenshin stayed behind to wait for her and when she reached him he pulled her along sprinting towards the exit. After they reached the tunnel mouth, Kenshin gave her a push and she kept running thinking he was right behind her. When they heard her, they all went silent. For 30 minutes they stayed silent. The one who broke the silence was the Captain. In a lower voice from his normal one "Mark, stay with me, Jen take Haruna-dono and the rest of the heroes and go back to Palami castle. Mark and I are going to find the body and at least we can give him a proper burial. Its the least we could do."(Commander) Jen without question followed the order and took the group who were without will left, just followed silently as they experienced the first casualty in their group. ------------------------------------- In one of the densely packed group of trees, meter long wasps were flying around here and there, flying under and over branches. Their fast speed that was fully displayed when they chased the group didn''t show as they had to be careful of the tight space of trees. They were searching this difficult terrain that didn''t provide enough space to display their speed. What they were looking for was what caused the wasps that were sent to kill the group of Knights and children escaping through the exit, to die. It could have been a monster that killed them but they knew that it was not, it was a human that killed them. Somehow they knew. One wasp was hovering in the air somewhere in the forest. What it was doing was looking around for the human that killed a group of its kind. Why it was here in this spot? It was because it came across a chemical that it recognized. It was a chemical that was discharged after a wasp was killed so it would mark the cause of its killing. The chemical that it followed strangely stopped as if the thing that carried the chemical flew away. A pheromone. Looking around the area where the scent of the pheromone stopped, it saw something out of place from the trees, rocks and grass. What it saw was a piece of cloth dangling above it on a tree branch. It went closer to it to investigate. ''BUZZITT! It sounded like the cry of a wasp dying. It came from the direction where the other wasps were searching It turned around, flew into the air, then zoomed of to the direction of the sound. When it arrived, what it saw was a wasp with its transparent wings mangled and twisted. Its body covered in green slime that was its blood. Puncture wounds showed in its head. It was dead. The wasp went to the other locations where the other wasps were searching but saw them with the same states. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It started moving again but towards its nest, the Treant to warn the others. Then.... ''whop whop whop whop'' ''thud!'' ''BACHING!'' Now on the floor it lay there, without life, its wings tied by a rope with two weights in each end. Its head, plugged by a dagger. ''guchi!'' It was retracted by a hand that belonged to the figure that killed it. That figure was no other than the one who slaughtered all the wasps. Behind a hooded cloak, he stood there without emotion was Kenshin. ------------------------------ Hours ago In front of the floor exit, Kenshin who made sure Haruna sensei exited the floor to the tunnels. He was pushed forward by an unexpected kick, he performed an aikido roll. A rolling technique that decreases the risk of injury rather than a normal forward roll. Quickly getting up, he faced the culprit. Haruna-sensei. She casted something on the ceiling of the entrance with the expression of a crazed person that would kill anyone to live. A hysterical grin on her face was seen by Kenshin as she mouthed, ''Become a distraction for me!''. The ceiling of the tunnel formed cracks and collapsed. Kenshin, for a second, paused at the scene he just witnessed..... But, he didn''t waste more time giving it anymore thought. He was aware of the wasp that went after him and the other wasps behind it. Kenshin threw something at the wasp, the shape of a cuboid. When it hit ''poof''. Black dust dispersed The wasp was still alive but now on the ground. Its body stretched, and its jaws writhed What that black smoke was nothing special, it was just ashes that came as a product of a fire, contained by paper. ''GACHIN!'' The wasp now lay dead with a hole made through its mouth. Now, Kenshin, with both left and right hands, armed with throwing knives, threw a knife at the nearest wasp that headed towards him but, it dodged by going to the right narrowly avoiding hitting its wings.... ''SHHHHHUUNK!!'' ''SHHHHHHHUUNK! As it avoided the the knife, a second knife found its way through its mouth. No targets missed. The first knife lodged itself into the the head of a wasp behind it. 3 down, 10 to go. The fourth and fifth were entangled with bolas just after the third one died. the sixth managed to close the gap and used its stinger on what it thought was Kenshin but it was actually pelt from a giant black wolf. Kenshin had thrown up the pelt to cover the wasp and moved to the side and stabbed the confused wasp. The seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth surrounded him then, all wasps from four directions charged, with their giant stingers pointed at him. Maybe thinking Kenshin would dash back, the other 3 Wasps aimed behind him. Kenshin chose to dash forward to the Wasps on his left, nearest to him, adjusted his hips so it would face the wasp directly, footing with the right foot forward and left foot stretched, then used his the back of his hand to guide the direction of the stinger slightly so it would miss him as he rotated 180 clockwise while still maintaining form. After that, three stingers pierced the wasp as it was in their path. They were stuck to the wasp they involuntarily killed. ''pak''pak''pak!'' Seventh down Three left. Two of the remaining three hovered at top and bottom. The bottom one that was also closes approached Kenshin hovered along the ground. It aimed at his stomach. Within a meter away it would have killed Kenshin, that was if Kenshin hadn''t rolled on his back and kicked the wasp''s stinger up. ''Thud!'' Then a ''pak!'' happened. The wasp Kenshin kicked up was stung by the wasp that was hovering above that aimed at Kenshin. Eleventh down. The twelfth wasp that was on the ground with its stinger stuck in the body of its comrade was stabbed. ''Gachin!'' Twelfth down. The thirteenth that was just behind stopped when he saw its groups numbers decrease too quickly. When it tried to run away, ''Shiik!'' No more wasps were left, for now. ---- After that, wasps came finding bodies of other wasps, but strange it was as some seemed to be missing stingers and venom sacs gone. It was now Kenshin''s counterattack. ----------------------- Hours passed Only one percent of the wasps were left. When the wasps sensed that the pheromone that was applied to a wasp''s stinger was near used, they went to the location of the stinger only to sense another pheromone laced stinger just in another location. This happened over and over not knowing they were being manipulated to go here and there to be picked off one by one. Only 20 remained now as the flowers stopped releasing anymore wasps. The next phase of the plan was initiated. Chapter 7 The Giant Treant or the ancient Treant, an evolved form of the normal treant. Born five centuries ago, it devoured flesh from living beings inside the floor. Devoured might not be the word to describe it. It was more like sucked the essence of life from them, first killing them then not letting them decompose, through its roots , they became nutrients. Through time it changed, it adapted, it became more sufficient, it used its surroundings, it used other monsters, it used the giant bees to make them serve it. So in time it grew while consuming the floor monsters. This cycle remained undisturbed until the humans came. It was wary of this new life form filled with more mana than the other life forms inhabiting this place. It watched and watched, not doing anything to alert them. It saw how they defeated other monsters, it felt its life at risk. Would confronting them be good or bad? Could it defeat them? It decided. It wanted their large amount of mana. It wanted their knowledge. It wanted to evolve once again. It was neither good or bad. It was born with survival of the fittest embedded in its nature. The opportunity came when it sensed something unusual. There were eleven intelligent lifeforms in total. But one of them had their life on the brink, while the ten waited in the surroundings. Did they not know that one was on the brink? They did, but they did not care and just waited. It was bait...... Bait for the other monsters. Used as a lure. Now was the opportunity to capture an intelligent life form. It wouldn''t let this rare opportunity pass, even more so when he target cannot fight. So it went into action. It went to the offensive. It took the dying life form with its vines and prepared it to be assimilated like it did with the giant wasps who used to roam this floor.. It went inside its mind to control it but- The giant wasps were simple to manipulate as they did not have much of a will, but this lifeforms, this lifeforms mind weren''t simple, it was intelligent. The Treant changed as it experienced all the different things that this life form had and it did not. Happiness, joy, shame, panic, excitement, fear, depression, anger, rage.... It saw this life forms memories - fear, depression, sadness and futility. Seeing what it went through, it experienced it''s first emotion. Pity. Pity for it, because of what it went through. It wanted to care for this, thing, a pitiful existence that faced so much hardship. The treant wanted to at least try to comfort it and make it forget what it experienced. It let it sleep on the softest material it had on top of a tower of flowers to keep it safe from harm. It generated heat to keep it warm. It filtered the air from any harmful elements. It released elements that had a calming and soothing effect. It thought this wasn''t enough protection so it exhausted itself and used the assimilated wasps to use as a defence. To make sure, it ordered he wasps to clear the whole floor of any life form, be it monster or not. It''s thoughts, ''My child. Do not worry. No harm can ever each you. I am here. So sleep. Be calm. Rest. I will soon be with you....'' were just like a loving parent. Asleep, this precious life dreamt, it felt afraid and it wanted protection from the humans that used it. Now the giant bees were summoned and now they attacked. The results? Bees that died = 1980 Humans that died = 0 Why? Even though they ran away in a hurry? Simple, a human that did not get out on time. Now it was coming for them. --------------------------------------------- The 20 bees that were left met their end. What stood at the pile of corpses was a figure dressed in a black hooded cloak. It was Kenshin. Kenshin looked up to the 35 meter tower of flowers. Thorns, leaves, vines, branches was what came into view. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. At the top, the big blue flower started to begin moving. It started closing. It was losing so safety measures were activated. To protect its core, it decided that it was best to hibernate, by burrowing into the ground. Reaching a conclusion Kenshin ran, ran towards the 3 meter thick vine closes to him that started to move to point up. Kenshin grabbed on to the end of it, then waited for him to be lifted up by it. It was quite slow as it got used as a substitute elevator. But it was still 15 meters away from the top. Knowing this, Kenshin took off his cloak. What was seen was his normal quick release suspenders and quick release leather belt, not on his hips but diagonally from left shoulder to waist to make way for something else. It was a harness. Kenshin made it before killing the 20 bees that were left. Why was it there? Of course, for climbing. Already connected to the harness, he took out a rope and grabbed near near the end of it that had a weight the size of a fist attached to the end. He built up power by spinning it, aiming for the right time, he released it aiming at a thick branch in between him and the giant flower. The rope wraps around it only once, not enough to say on there if someone hangs from it. Even so, Kenshin used it. After a full swing he gets inside the flower, landing on the bedding near the figure lying in a bed of cotton. If your asking why he didn''t fall, its because Kenshin used ''structural fortification'' on the rope and branch. It holds molecules of a target in place preventing from getting altered. He used it when the end of the rope wrapped around the branch and swung while also using it on the rope so it would not break. He released it when he was above the closing flower so that gravity wouldn''t pull him back. ---------------------------------------------- Right now, what Kenshins eyes laid upon was the being inside the flower. What laid on the bed was a girl, a girl yes but it was not a human. Short blond hair, pretty nose, nice face and cute furry ears. It was a fox eared girl, it was. ''Slave'' Kenshin muttered in his head. That was right, Kenshin read about them. They were at war against the human race and five other races. It was called the race war. It was one of the ''enemies'' they were summoned to fight. But why did Kenshin call it a slave? That is because, although they were never seen by the heroes, there were slaves for manual labour in the city owned by mostly rich nobles. Why were they never seen by the heroes? That''s because they either worked mostly at fields or indoor or the nobles might have thought the heroes would kill their slaves. As they were of the enemy race, they weren''t given rights. Only laws concerning Slaves were things like not killing, touching or stealing another slave. Originally, there were some races that was not human living in the human continent but because of being of the enemy race, they were put to slavery. Even so, before slavery there were strong discrimination against variants. Kenshin did not just stay there to look, he planned to do something. Save the princes in the tower? Get a kiss? Have dinner with her after? Or get to ''dessert'' right away No. He stepped towards the girl who was still sleeping, while pulling out something. -------------------------------------------------- Fox Girl POV ''They used me for bait again. This is the third time. The first time I got out without injury, but the second time time those vultures smashed into me'' ''They killed it though but now I can''t even move my legs. If it doesn''t get treated soon, I don''t think it would ever work again.... '' ''I will die surely now, either by them killing me because I wont be able to work anymore or get eaten by monsters.'' ''Maybe I should just die, it might be-'' ''!?'' ''The ground! Its shaking!'' ''!'' ''What is that!? It came out off the ground!'' ''Vi-vines are coming towards me!'' ''......Its no use! My jaw cant even move due to the swelling'' ''Is this it?'' Everything went blank after that. ''Am I dead?..........Its dark............its lonely...........'' ''I miss my family.....I miss my home...... but....it doesnt matter now'' ''kaa-san, tou-san ......protect me........'' I become aware again. I can hear something closing'' ''whats this soft feeling?'' ''huh? Am I alive? ''I think I can move....... but it''s too comfortable..........'' ''What is that!? Is there someone there? '' ''It stopped........right beside me'' ''.....don''t move, don''t move!...........'' ''..............'' ''............'' "I see youre awake'' ''whose voice is this!?...........It sounds young............is it'' ''.........crap!......I have to keep my breathing down!.......'' "your breathing paused for a moment there.........." ''.....What! Youre lying, you cant hear that well!....Uuuuu......I can feel him staring..........'' "I see, no choice, I planned on doing this before anyway" ''......what!?........he opened my mouth ..........'' ''is he planning to kiss me!?.............'' ''Oh no........hot, hot, hot, hot! Its too spicy!'' -------------------------------------- "Thats hot!" (Fox girl) She stood up and roared, panting. What happened was Kenshin poured chili in her mouth that he uses for seasoning. "Water! Water!" (Fox Girl) "Try this, it''s made from leaves from the plant that makes this stuff. Don''t worry, it neutralizes the spiciness." (Kenshin) Kenshin gives her a vial with liquid inside. Its quickly taken and drunk. "guhaaa!....." (Fox girl) "Better?" (Kenshin) Nodding, the girl replied. "Its better. but wait! Why did you do that!? That hurt!" (Fox girl) "Thats your fault pretending to sleep. You''re a slave ri- "(Kenshin) ''Pierce!'' Behind him a vine with a needle like spike had protruded from the ground heading straight for Kenshin''s head. Kenshin sensed it. Blocked it with his left hand but it left the needle in his the back of his hand. "......." (Kenshin) He gazed at the fox girl who now was wide eyed. "m-m-me!? Why are you asking me!? And why did that just attack you!?"(Fox girl) "That was yours, you attacked me" (Kenshin) The girl was flustered from being accused of attacking him. "Huh!? What are you talking about, I-I didnt do that so-" (Fox girl) The girl finally noticed that whenever she became emotional like this vines protruded out of the ground pointed at Kenshin. What she saw was vines from the ground all ready to strike him. Somehow or another she influenced them. There she began to be aware of what changed. She felt something strange, she felt better than she did compared to when she was a slave, it was like all her energy came back, no, it felt 10 times its normal amount. She noticed that before, she was unable to walk or even talk from her injuries. She saw those vines retract back as she calmed down. "It seems youve acknowledged what I said."(Kenshin) " Your...... right.... It seems I control them......Its quite shocking ......It seems that a ''Treant'' has given me its powers. .........500 years old......" (Fox girl) To be continued Chapter 8 Decision Lana Rose, a foxkin, beings like humans with the exception of the fox ears instead of human ears. They are a race that are naturally good at magic that uses spirits, or spirit magic. Spirit magic. A form of magic that uses spirits that are said to be beings that have influence over phenomena. They can be thought of as beings in another classification rather than animals, plants, fungus and so on. They have influence over basic elements such as wind, earth, water, fire, dark, light and more, similar to the magic system of humans. As they are a different type of life form, Foxkin''s are not born with them, they either tame them or spirits just come to them. Most beings like humans cant see them, but foxkin''s are one of the exceptions. They are one of many races at war with the other. Their homeland, the Foxkin continent, is east of the human continent. Foxcrown, the capital state of the foxkin continent is Lana''s home. Why Lana was a slave? It was not because war has reached their capital. It was because Lana ran away to avoid being conscripted to the army. But their army did not just conscript everyone, there were requirements. These were: Not having enough to pay the war taxes or not being in employment or being under average in spirit magic. Lana was of course unable to pay the taxes, or in employment but also bad at spirit magic. Her choices was being in the front lines as a foot soldier or a prisoner. Wanting to avoid that, she planned on going to a rumoured place that was free from the government near the border of the human and foxkin territory but, it turned out to be a trap made by human slave traders. After that, she was bought by greedy human adventurers that used her as monster bait. This happened two years ago when she was fifteen that was the foxkin legal age for being an adult. Now she was free because a monster took pity on her, giving her some of its powers. She did not reject it as she was weak before and could now probably use it to see her family again. Basically her powers were very similar to poison ivy. Control bees, summon vines, plant communication, able to use powers of other treant types. Like the treant that used poison. In front of her was a human who introduced himself as Kenshin. The person who single handedly defeated all of the treants defences. She knew this because she was able to see the giant treants memories. Now she was wary because he did not kill her but chose to wake her up. Questions were piling up on her mind and when she was going to ask him a question "I need you to do something for me."(Kenshin) He told her in an apathetic tone. "!, I- I .....o-okay!....." (Lana) She thought about refusing first but even with her newly found powers, there was this mysterious person who was able to defeat the army of wasps. She did not know what would have happened if she refused. Finally being free and dying after. That would not have been funny. "You can refuse."(Kenshin) She opened her mouth to refuse but "But I don''t think you have any choice."(Kenshin) "Huh!? What are you talking about?"(Lana) "Dont panic but there are soldiers who are probably waiting for their Commander outside the dungeon. And if you think you can take them, there are summoned heroes" (Kenshin) "Y-you mean there are human heroes here with us!? Those rumored heroes that has got extraordinary powers!?"(Lana) "I plan on finding out what was in the bottom of this dungeon and get out of this place. That why I need you to fight with me"(Kenshin) Of course, now that the danger has passed, he''s now able to escape but because of these reasons, its off the to do list. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "I will be in your care!" (Lana) Still quite fearful of him she shouted. "But first, you have to control your powers first but I trust you will be able to better control it during our advance, right?" (Kenshin) "I will try my best! A-also im sorry about you know, the stabbing and stuff...." (Lana) She says, while touching her index fingers together. ".........................................................................................Don''t worry" (Kenshin) Lana had cold sweat after a long pause from Kenshin, that most likely implied he probably minded it. ---- 56th floor It was a smaller floor, similar to the 55th floor, it had a glowing ceiling that provided light like moonlight. There was also new types of trees here that reached 20 meters. It was similar to cherry trees but had flowers with green petals. Surprisingly some trees had fruit growing from them, similar to mangoes but it was blue and had an orange like skin. Why were there petals when there is no sunlight? The glow of the ceiling might have got something to do with it like it might be photosynthesis or it might have been camouflage for the 1 meter Giant spiders that live on top. They were camouflaged either to hide from prey to attack or hide from the 3 meter giant lizards that crawled along the ceiling. "Lana, I need you to fight them, I''m going to prepare dinner and some other stuff so at least take out 9/10 of them that are around here."(Kenshin) (Lana)"9/10th!? Wh-" "Oh and do it while using weapons of your preference, dont use your powers from the treant. Only use it for defence to work on controlling your powers."(Kenshin) "What!? I did tell you that I am only a level 5 right? Thats impossible, how can i take out almost all of them without attacking with my new power? Thats like telling you to kill almost all of them without your equipment!"(Lana) "Its not impossible, its just extremely hard."(Kenshin) "Hmmpf, i told you it-..... Where are you going!?" (Lana) Kenshin had taken off everything except his clothes and he ran straight to the woods. "There''s no time. They''re heading here! My weapons are defective, so take care of them!" (Kenshin) The first monster that attacked him was a 1 meter long, green tarantula like spider. Kenshin already perceived the spider so he was prepared. The spider jumped at him from the tree tops but Kenshin manipulated it using its center of gravity to redirect it to crash to a tree nearby using his hands and body rotation. The technique didn''t require much strength. Of course, its supposed to be against human attackers but Kenshin only needed to use the principals of the technique to adapt it to his target. The spider didn''t die though but it was now unable use its legs properly. Kenshin used this type of countering to defeat the 9/10 in the floor. It took him an hour to beat the hundred of tarantula like spiders. When Kenshin came back, he was covered in bruises here and there because the techniques he used required body contact. A stuttering Lana was looking from above on a platform made by vines. chapter 9 Departure In the floor where Kenshin lost his life or was supposed to have, Mark and the commander Rays managed to clear debris of the tunnel. They expected to find the body but what met their view was what looked like a graveyard. "Sir...." (Mark) "This is...." (Commander) "What do you think caused all of this sir?" (Mark) "It''s unlikely that it was a monster that caused it. I mean what kind of monster stacks them up neatly like logs!?" (Captain) It was as he says, giant bees stacked up like logs with fatal stab wounds here and there. What''s more was, all of them were neatly piled up. All 2000 of them. ¡°What''s that?...." (Commander) What the Captain pointed at was a staff stuck on the ground that the adventurers earlier offloaded to lighten their load. On it was a pouch made of cheap twine. It was one of the pouches Kenshin used. The weapons the stay behind group dropped was also there, piled up neatly. "That kid is definitely something¡­¡­¡­"(Mark) "Oi, are you telling me that he defeated all of them!?" (Captain) "Sir, didn''t I tell you that he defeated the giant black wolves that attacked us right?" (Mark) The commander looked at him with big, wide eyes that said ''are you serious!?''. "Wait, that kid really defeated them!? I thought you were lying!" (Commander) "What?! No way! Is that why you wanted me to see a shrink?! Geez. You know sir, while the stay behind group was busy fighting at the front, he was able to off two blaze berserkers that the rest of them struggled with. Whats more was he finished them quicker than the rest of them. By making one of attack him and quickly dodging it so that the sword would get stuck unto the tree behind him, and also making the other trip up onto the other blaze berserker, by using his cloak on the floor, to make them collide, knocking both of them out, giving Kenshin the oppurtinity to finish them. They were on the palm of his hand when they picked him to fight." (Mark) When the Commander heard it, he remained silent. He never thought that the summoned kid who was not even a hero with such low specs was able to do that. He seriously underestimated him, big time. After a while, they chose to try to find Kenshin but had to stop because they were not able to locate him in the floors beyond 50. --------------------------- During that time, Kenshin and Lana was in the 60th floor. It was their third day together. Kenshin and Lana were laying in a cotton bedding, the same from when she was in the the flower. Of course there was a decent space in between. Kenshin would normally be able to sleep if it were left at that.but.... Lana who was beside him, was staring at him. Although it was dark and he was facing up, he knew that Lana had been staring at him while she was laying on the other side. It also happened in the other two nights. He chose to ignore it because he thought it was just her being cautious. But today he felt the need to confirm it. ''stare..........'' "Lana....." (Kenshin) Due to the unexpected voice, Lana was, "Ha-ha-haaii!?" (Lana) "What?" (Kenshin) "I- if you don''t mind me asking......what are you going to do with that teacher?" (Lana) Kenshin told her about his teacher before because she claimed they needed to talk more about each others background. "Nothing" (Kenshin) ''stare....... ¡°Lana, sleep now, questions tomorrow. Good night." (Kenshin) "Ah, ah......" (Lana) ''I¡¯ll ask him if I can accompany him even after getting out of this dungeon .........'' Lana has always been trying to figure out what she wanted to do in life. There wasnt much options for her due to the war. She didnt want to participate in the war and just thought she might have to continue working at the general store shes been working at in her home city to afford to pay rent for her family, as she was from a poor background and her family couldn''t afford to pay the war taxes. But due to the current events she thought that it might have been a chance to have a better future. Kenshin figured that Lana might have wanted to go travel with him but he still wasn''t sure if he could trust Lana. He knew that she didn''t lie about her past, also that she was a good girl at heart, but true trust takes time to form. By the way, he didn''t trust Haruna sensei even in the other world as he felt that she was hiding under a facade. So even when she used him as bait, he thought that not trusting her was the right call. --------------------------------- 70th floor ''scurry'' Lana startled, looked in the direction of the sound, but found nothing. Only rocks and sand. Kenshin who was ahead of her kept walking forward. Did he not hear it? He did but chose to keep moving forward. Lana seeing this hurried forward to his side. When she spotted his face, as always he was expressionless. With half closed eyes, line of sight straight ahead, no change in pace and no signs of any other action. One would think that he was deaf but Lana, who has been with him for 20 days, whose seen how he is, knows otherwise. "Four legs, walks on four, sharp feet, tail, four meters long. Its big, but its light. Lana, watch out for poison or traps.Wait, cut that. It¡¯s a pack. They probably coordinate with each other to do hit and run attacks. There are eleven of them. They''ve surrounded us." (Kenshin) Lana knew they were invisible because Kenshin mentioned it earlier. Lana who was able to use her powers to sense life forms using plant life as sensors was unable to due to the environment. Vegetation wasn''t able to survive in these conditions where all there was is rock and sand. But if she were to get injured, her auto heal abilities would kick in so most of her powers did not rely only on the environment. How Kenshin knew of their appearances even when they were invisible was due to sensing the changes in the surroundings. Even if they were invisible, they had physical bodies. He was able to deduce from their footprints how their weight was distributed due to the depression they made in the sand. That wasn¡¯t all, Kenshin also took notice of the change in the air current by using all of his senses. If it was a big monster moving around it would cause changes in the air current including the particles of sand that was moved due to the wind they produced. Still this wasn¡¯t sufficient enough for Kenshin when his life is in danger. When in situations like these, one couldn''t lax in information on the enemy. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. That was one of the principles that he made. So he used a power that was not available on Earth but was in here. Magic. It was something he created using acoustic location as a reference. It worked by emitting really low potency pulses of mana that allows only Kenshin to perceive, emit from two points. The two pulses of mana would hit the surroundings that would receive interference. The receiver, Kenshin, would use this ¡®information¡¯ received to make out the physical features of the object. It was basically mimicking triangulation. Requirements: Mastery in mana control- Allows for pulses to emit the same type of intensity. Also for the timing of the pulses emitted. Mastery in ¡®information¡¯ decryption- Allows for info received to be organised to allow for perception of outer appearance of object. Failing to produce these would result to perception interference. Its name ¡®mana triangulation¡¯ a Kenshin original. From what Kenshin sensed, they weren¡¯t using magic to turn invisible; it was a biological skill like what chameleons had to allow them to blend in to their environment but their camouflaging technique were leaps above chameleons. It was a troublesome trait they had but maybe due to Kenshin and Lana being the first people they encountered rather than regular prey, their caution was to its maximum. If it was the usual targets, they would have attacked by now using poison needles that paralyzed them then attacked it while it was unmoving. Being wary of a new foe was something that would govern their life, so it could not be helped doing so. Eventually, they overcame this wariness because they were monsters that judged only by appearance. They judged Kenshin and Lana to be weak due to their size that was a lot smaller compared to their usual game that were herd creatures that had deer like appearance, only 5 meters tall. Also, these new beings seemed to be unable to sense them if they were invisible. That was true for Lana who did not have Kenshins new magic. It was true for her¡­. The two stopped and took out palm sized mirrors. ¡°Ooh, you were right Kenshin!¡± (Lana) Lana shouted with a ecstatic expression at her companion. The creatures that were camouflaging themselves to match the background became discoloured and was revealed. They appeared to be scorpion like creatures that had four feet that were like spikes and two claws raised with a harpoon like tail. Their invisibility worked by using their preys eye sight to adjust their skin colour to appear invisible. That was their weakness, tracking their targets eyes to change their skins to appear invisible to them. That''s why the two used mirrors to trick the scorpions. With their appearance exposed, it was time to fight. Their roles were Kenshin for attack, Lana for support. ¡°Get ready¡± (Kenshin) He muttered. He threw something with his arm out, something that spun like a top, towards the scorpion, but it dodged. It took this chance to attack Kenshin with its tail that had the paralyzing venom by doing a lunge. Kenshin who stood there with the right arm out, made one think he gave up life but then pulled back his arm. After that, ¡®Buchi!¡¯ It died. On top of its head, an object in the shape of a disk with a radius of 11 cm with four ten centimetre blades that protruded from its sides, pierced it. Seeing this, another scorpion went in front of the dead creature preparing to attack Kenshin. A grave mistake. Kenshin bent his right arm towards himself again, Another ¡®buchi!¡¯ resounded. Now two scorpions lay lifeless. ¡°How are the other four Lana?¡± (Kenshin) He asked Lana without facing her who was behind him. ¡°They¡¯re immobilised.¡± (Lana) She said to Kenshin while having an expression of being proud of herself. As she said, they were immobilised. There were four other scorpions that had tried to encircle them. But they were still in one place, curled up like dead spiders. When seen close up, you could see that they were trying to move, it seemed they were bound. Bound by strings. That is what did it. Strings. More specifically, spider strings. They were string from the giant spiders. Their strings were silk like and strong to the point that it was able to support the weight of 3 grown adults. Even more, its thickness was the same as that of a piano wire. Its only weakness was that it was susceptible to fire. Other than that it was a miracle material. With it Kenshin was able to make a new weapon. It was based off a toy on earth but Kenshin was able to make it into a weapon. In its inactive state, it was a disk object made of black wood with a radius of 11 cm. In its offensive mode or active mode, it had four edged protrusions. In other words. A weaponised yo-yo. That was what killed the scorpions. ¡°Youre getting better at handling the strings¡± (Kenshin) ¡°Ehehe, in that case, will you cook karaage for me?¡± (Lana) Currently, Kenshin and Lana began using strings to immobilise their opponent¡¯s. Kenshin who was originally using strings and ropes was able to adapt it to his armament while giving Lana pointers. After that they killed the bound creatures and ate Karaage. ----------------- ¡°He¡¯s alive!? There¡¯s no way he could survive that!¡± (Haruna) Haruna sensei shouted frantically with a grim and dark expression towards Mark. A day after they found out that Kenshin was probably still alive, Mark and the Captain told the stay behind group. Haruna sensei was the first to respond. ¡°I don¡¯t know how he did it but evidence we found points to obvious human activity in the floor¡± (Mark) He told them about the corpses and items left there. But even though evidence points to him surviving the encounter, it didn''t show if he survived further than that. Haruna sensei whose expression was filled with panic and distress thought that if he was alive, he might try to take revenge. Because of this, she tried considering that even though he survived by some miracle, he might have died after. That¡¯s probably why they couldn¡¯t find the body. ¡®That must be it!¡¯ (Haruna) She thought to herself while looking down to avoid being seen making an expression of displeasure. Chapter 10 Twenty floors have passed since the fight with the invisible scorpions. They encountered giant earth worms that attack from the ground, Giant frogs that release poison fog that confuses enemies, four armed gorilla¡¯s , exploding fruit monsters, etc. ¡°You finish packing our stuff yet?¡± (Kenshin) ¡°I''m just about to send it off, the ¡®storage plant¡¯ that is¡± (Lana) What Lana was using was the ¡®storage plant¡¯. It was something that worked like an inventory from RPG¡¯s. It was only achievable due to Lana¡¯s power that used a special type of plant that comes out from the ground when in a environment suitable for it. When storing items, Lana calls it forth from the ground, a plant with the appearance of a Venus flytrap eats the object or objects and it gets safely stored underground. It could also be ordered to move the items to a different place but its moving speed is the same as a horse carriage. Incidentally, if the route that the plant takes isn¡¯t suitable, like if the place where it was told to go was like a desert, it wouldn¡¯t be able to resurface. This was discovered when the two went to the floor with the giant scorpion as it was a desert floor. Luckily, Kenshin was able to make a cart where they put all their stuff in so they could use the ¡®storage plant¡¯ again in an environment more suitable for it. ¡®Guriririri¡¯ As it was sent off, making a sound of the earth moving. ¡°All right, I¡¯m finished¡± (Lana) They were now ready to head to the next floor. The entrance was no different from the others as they were all burrows. It took around ten minutes till they found themselves in the floor after. What filled their vision was night time. There was a ceiling fifty metres above made of crystals. They were crystals that emitted light like moonlight making it seem like they were outside at night time. Black rock covered the terrain as if it was made from lave that cooled in the ocean - most likely it was. A 30 metre bridge made of the same rock was in front of them that connected to a cliff on the other side. The two should have be wary but walked on any way. Below the bridge was darkness where the crystal light didn¡¯t reach. To the sides of the bridge was the cliff wall both behind and front of them that continued for what looked like miles. After they crossed it that took 2 hours walk, stepping off the rock bridge, it crumbled as if trapping them from escape. They kept walking anyway without looking back. After walking, they saw a burrow, the entrance of a floor, 20 metres ahead. They stopped. A statue of 10 metre stood between them to the burrow. More like it floated. Made of marble like material was a humanoid statue depicting a woman with a face without the pupils or iris that made it more lifeless. It wore a Greek woman¡¯s dress with a tiara atop its head. But it did not flutter as it was made of marble like material. It floated 5 meters above the rocky surface from where its dress ended. They stared at each other for a moment, then. Its mouth opened. Then, ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡± Like a woman singing in a concert, its voice resounded echoing. It was an area of effect magic that increased gravity four times in the statues surrounding area. The same as his classmate¡¯s spell ¡®overload¡¯ but twice more. It would ground the enemies who were in a twenty metre range around it, making their body be pushed to the ground. But, the two targets were not being pushed to the ground. It saw this so it started to increase the gravity to five times. But Kenshin immediately dashed forward to the side of it, taking out his sword. Still confused as to why Kenshin and Lana were able to be unaffected, it thought that Kenshin would try to harm it with his sword. It did not pay him any heed because of knowing that it would not be harmed due to judging him to be weak. Also, its common sense that swords are not able to destroy rock, maybe crack it a little but still, even if it was something that was able to harm it, ¡®that¡¯ would prevent it.. But that¡¯s not what Kenshin did; he ran to its side. Some might think that Kenshin ran away to the burrow behind it leaving Lana behind. It didn¡¯t bother with him as that burrow was blocked. It started focusing on Lana. It was surprised as she became different in appearance. Lana had thick vines that looked like muscle fibre on her back, arms and legs. She jumped 5 metres above it, holding a battle axe with both palms. It was one of her powers that use special types of vines that grow from her to act as pseudo muscles that gave her super human strength. An attack with her power would definitely harm it; even more kill it as she aimed at the head. But it wasn¡¯t fazed as it had ¡®that¡¯. But then, ¡®that¡¯ was gone. After, ¡®Kurrag!¡¯ Her axe was embedded into its head. What would have happened normally was, when the statue had encountered intruders it would: Use the gravity magic to bind them. It would go attack after. If the gravity didn¡¯t work, it would let the intruder/s attack but would then be stopped by a force field or ¡®that¡¯. Then it would attack. What transpired that it would fall here? When it attacked with its AOE (Area of Effect) magic, Kenshin neutralised its gravity magic from where they were at by using Precision Magic Disassembly, a technique that Kenshin made for countering magic. It would generate mana pulses of varying strength that would target a magic¡¯s weak points that would render it useless. To use it requires: A type-2 or pseudo type-2 mana perception. Usually, every person can see magic as light particle emission due to a sort of third eye that overlaps with normal sight, they are type 1. But very rarely there are some born able to perceive more than just the particles, they are able to see the actual mana, they are type 2. Kenshin was not a type-2; he was a pseudo type-2, someone who was able to activate a non-natural version. He achieved it by training when he was doing mana control training. There had been accounts of people centuries ago who were able to achieve it, but was few, very very few in numbers. Using this type-2 or pseudo type, the user gets visual of the target magic and generate mana pulses that would go targeting the weak points. When magic is activated, particles of mana released by the user begin moving to form patterns. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. These particles do not stay fixed, they keep moving at varying speeds, making different patterns and shapes. This influences natural phenomena, altering the world. Other type-2 or pseudo type-2 aren¡¯t able to replicate it as they would have to process the fast patterns of mana that makes the effects of magic to influence its surroundings. Incidentally, there are some magic countering techniques that are similar to it, like using the opposite magic of the targeted magic to neutralise the effects. This was why the gravity magic did not affect the two, Precision Magic Disassembly. When Kenshin used the pseudo type-2, he ¡®sensed/saw¡¯ that the statue had a type of force field cloak around it. He ¡®saw¡¯ that it was connected to a lump of mana that was ¡®seen¡¯ on living creatures just a few metres behind it. The outer line of it was in the shape of an oblong. Kenshin could ¡®see¡¯ it was densely packed with huge mana as it was able to penetrate the rock surface it was buried in. Kenshin began to move. His target was the object beneath the rock floor. He ran pass the statue, still wary that it might attack him, it didn¡¯t leave his focus. While he did, he took out a two edged dagger/sword, around 50 cm long. At that time, he signalled Lana to use her strength boosting vines to attack the head; the head got targeted specifically due to that part usually being the brain. Kenshin jumped, while he was in the air, he began to put his mana to his sword. He started to quickly manipulate mana particles to form magic patterns moving at different speeds similar to the speeds and motions of machines from a factory. That¡¯s when it started to release a high frequency sound. He stabbed the floor where the object would be. His sword easily went through the hard compressed rock, hitting the object. Then the high frequency sound stopped. Normally a sword like that would break, be deflected or the person wielding the sword would have their arm broken. That did not happen. Kenshin was using magic, magic to make the sword tip resonate at high frequencies causing what ever thing the tip touched to have their molecular bonds weaken. It was his magic. He was able to create it by using his classmates ¡®frequency slash¡¯ as the template. He was able to gain knowledge of processes (movement of mana) that forms magic needed seeing with his pseudo type-2 vision. When he began to make it, it seemed that ¡®frequency slash¡¯ was needlessly using mana for the vibration or oscillation that cause the target sword to become glowing hot. It was also using some other unnecessary processes in it that took a lot of mana. With this, he became able to cut down on mana and cast time on his version of ¡®frequency slash¡¯ called ¡®resonation¡¯. Due to this high control of mana, chants were unnecessary for him. Kenshin¡¯s ¡®resonation¡¯ cast time was 0.5 seconds long. He has been aiming to cut it down to 0.2 seconds. With that, the object was disabled. The statues force field was gone, giving Lana a safe passage to strike. It was no longer using the AOE magic to increase the surrounding gravity. Due to that, there was no need for Kenshin to keep neutralising the statues magic. ¡®Doosh!¡¯ After being bludgeoned in the head, the statue stopped its mid-air float making it crash on the ground. ¡°Good work¡± (Kenshin) Praising the fox eared girl next to him who no longer had her fake muscles. ¡°Ehehe, praise me more¡± (Lana) To the girl who began having a big head, Kenshin ignored and simply headed to the direction of the burrow in front of them. At a later time, the two companions would have found out that the burrow that seemed to be a dead end was actually the exit of the dungeon. It was a path that did not contain monsters or light but it went through a range of mountains that was located at the North of Palami. It acted as a wall between Palami and the seaside territories. A sea that separated the human and the vampire continent 5000 km apart. -------------------------- At the time when the class was summoned time, in the vampire continent, a continent located North West from the human continent; the capital city of vampires called Fanguard, a city located near the border of the North Sea. There, a meeting with the continents empress was finished. A male with the appearance of a young male in his mid or late twenties came out of the door that leads to the throne room where influential figures would discuss politics. His height was 197 cm, bigger by ten compared to the average height of their race. He had a pale complexion, crimson eyes with silver hair, traits of the vampire race. Compared to others of his race, his hair was long and straight that cut off in a straight line at the end of it that was located at the person¡¯s neck. But what was most eye catching was with his facial structure, it was the same as that of an elf character from the fantasy franchise with hobbits, dwarfs, elves, humans and orcs. But their similarity was over from that to their abnormal life span. That was because vampires with their appearance had longer life spans compared to other humanoids. This person would become 71 years old, 130 years from the average span of life that his race had. He wore a black tailcoat with dark grey pairing of a shirt with frills at the chest area and pants. On the right part of his chest, medals that were akin to medals worn by generals on earth were there. It signified his rank of a general in the army of Fanguard. In a dignified tone, ¡°Count Buroom¡± Not only in appearance but his name was similar. A male attendant that looked younger than him by five years called out to him. ¡°Roland, tell the others to prepare for war¡± (Buroom) Roland thought, ¡¯War¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ But were already at war with two races already¡­¡­¡­.¡¯ ¡°¡­¡­¡­.If I may ask, with whom are we having a war with?¡± (Roland With a smile that spread from ear to ear, he said. ¡°Finally, I get to bless that lowly race with my presence and show them that our race reigns supreme!¡± (Buroom) With that monologue, Roland¡¯s questions had been answered. ¡°I see, so were going to be at war with them¡­¡­. Count Buroom, I assume that were going through the sea south of here, correct?¡± (Roland) ¡°Ahh, that is correct. Also, call me General, we are at war beginning now after all.¡± (Buroom) Having changed the tone to a playful one, he told him. Tables test
Guild Plate
NameKenshin Hashimoto
GenderMale
RankCopper
[
Status Window
NameKenshin Hashimoto
GenderMale
ClassEngineer
RaceHuman
Level12 (He has only been fighting monsters when he is an engineer, he needs to craft more to rise up in level.)
Health210Strength19
Mana33Stamina370
Endurance113Dexterity790
Intelligence915
tr][/tr]
Skills
Magic
PassiveLowe Human Language Comprehension, Dextrous movement, Mana Efficiency
ActiveStructure Mapping, Structure fortification, Material Enchant, Material Grafting
[
Status Window
NameLana Rose
Genderfemale
ClassTree princess
RaceFoxkin
Level51
Health210Strength25
Mana2100Stamina39
Endurance59Dexterity37
Intelligence50
tr][/tr]
Skills
Magic
PassiveNature affinity, Spirit Visual Awareness
ActiveNon (Her treant powers are biological supported by some mana)
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.[
Status guide
Level17
Healthwhat it isStrengthstrength over all. Muscle strength
Manaamount of mana they haveStaminaJust stamina
EnduranceHow much injury they could endureDexterityHow nimble one is overall. Fingers, body etc
IntelligenceA mixture of mana amount, wisdom, processing, IQ, etc
Extras + spoilers Statistics Mana capacity Human: Commoners = 20 - 40 (avg. 30) Crafters = 20 -40 (avg. 30) Fighter: -Adventurer = 20 - 120 (avg. 30) -Footsoldier = 20 - 120 (avg.30) -Knight = 50 - 120 (avg. 60) -Mage = 70 - 125 (avg. 80) Human can only do systenized magic. Foxkin: Commoners = 30 - 50 (avg. 40) Crafters = 30 -40 (avg. 40) Fighter: -Adventurer = 30 - 130 (avg. 40) -Footsoldier = 30 - 130(avg.40) -Knight = 60 - 130 (avg. 70) -Mage = 90 - 135 (avg. 100) Foxkin can only use spirit magic. Vampire: Commoners = 50- 70 (avg. 55 ) Crafters = 50 -70 (avg. 55) Fighter: -Adventurer = 50 - 300 (avg. 70) -Footsoldier = 50 - 300 (avg.70) -Knight = 120 - 300 (avg. 130) -Mage = 200 - 300 (avg. 210) (Spoiler) Amazons = 5 -12 (avg. 7) Chapter 11 Branch After the two went through the cave and reached the end, it seemed to be the end of a cliff on a side of a mountain. Sunlight that they were deprived of for more than a month hit their eyes, causing them to squint. Air that was different from the dungeons musty air was literally a breath of fresh air. Lana was busy opening and closing her eyes because she could not believe that they actually managed to conquer it. She thought of stuff like, ¡®Me, a foxkin actually conquered a dungeon!¡¯ and ¡®If my family hears about it¡¯ They could have went the other way but maybe because of the chance that they would encounter Haruna, Kenshin told Lana that it would have been troublesome and awkward if they met. It seemed to Lana at the start that Kenshin was lying about how he was feeling, but due to knowing more about him in their time together, she thought that he actually thought that doing so was bothersome. That or he just didn¡¯t want to be involved with Haruna or the other students anymore. Kenshin smiled at her who was busy with the fact that she had really got out. A moment later, they started to assess their situation. At the bottom, they could see a stream of water flowing through the ravine. If they continued walking, a plunge downwards of 2000 metres would meet them. Kenshin told Lana that they were somewhere in the north of Palami by using a compass and the Sun as a guide. As they were from a high point they could see the surrounding area well. Kenshin told Lana that there was a human town just beyond the forest behind the ravine and discuss what to do there. "Hya!" Out of nowhere Kenshin began doing something that could be mistaken for ¡®touching her up¡¯. Lana who was the victim for his groping was shocked. But she wasn¡¯t terrified. ¡°Ke-Kenshin¡­¡­. I-I didn¡¯t know you fe-felt this way for me¡­¡­. A-although you never showed me signs of being attracted to me¡­¡­¡­ I-its my first time but I will do my bes- ¡­¡­¡­.Eh?¡± To that, Kenshin who didn¡¯t hear any of that added, ¡°Lana, have you ever heard of bungee jumping?¡± To that Lana shuddered. Though she had no knowledge of the word ¡®bungee¡¯ she did know of jumping. When she began to realise what his words meant, she showed Kenshin a ¡®you don¡¯t mean¡­..¡¯ expression. That¡¯s because she saw that her foot was tied to a elastic bungee cord made with spider silk. She thought she saw Kenshin smile when turning her face to look at him. ---- 5 hours since her ordeal, all 2000 metres of it, the two finally saw the first human settlement they have encountered since. The appearance of the town was one that was closed off with walls of about 2 metres, made of cobble and wooden posts. From a higher view, you could see the farm land just beyond it that stretched to the town buildings. Two rivers went through both the town and farmlands from outside its walls. It bent its way into the town beyond where the two could see. Most likely, it went through the town and exited its walls, was what they thought. That was the case. When they went further towards it, there were two guards stationed in the only entrance and exit of this wall. Of course the two could just jump it to sneak in but it would only lead to trouble if found out later on. They wore hard leather armour with a spear. Both were in their thirties. One was black skinned, the other was light skinned. Lowe¡¯s black skin humans did not have afros; their hair was just like any other humans of this world. Straight or curly brown, black or blond. When the two finally got to the point where there plans were obviously something about asking them to allow him and her to pass or probably exchange info, the two guards without their facial expressions appearing to change from the bored one they wore, they signalled both to stop. ¡°Hold it. State your business.¡± (Guard 2) Stopping, Kenshin spoke. ¡°I¡¯m here to sell some monster loot at the town¡± (Kenshin) The guard saw the cart that contained some loot like hide, teeth, swords etc. His gaze went to the person behind the human pulled cart. As the guard thought ¡®that must be why he only addressed himself¡­.¡¯ He glanced at the person. He saw from the clothes that it was a girl. She was wearing a hood that prompted that its purpose was for concealing something and he knew why. ¡°That must be your slave right? Don¡¯t worry about others harming her due to her race, the security at the town enforces the slave ownership rights so though some are prejudice, they wouldn¡¯t be hostile.¡± (Guard 2) It seemed that the two were worried for naught. Kenshin gestured her that it was okay to take off her hood. When she did, the two guards were wide eyed as they saw her face. That was because even though the two were expecting that she had non-human traits, her face was that of a beauteous cutie that was emphasised by her blond hair with two blond fox ears that had a dark brown tip. The two were mesmerised for a while but came back from their state after they saw the boy waiting without a word. After, the two gained entrance into the town. ¡°I don¡¯t think that it would be her race that would start trouble¡­¡­¡± (Guard 2) He whispered. Without hearing what he said, the two carried on walking with their cart to the other side. The guard who was previously inspecting the wares said to the other guard, ¡°That guy must be rich to be able to afford a beauty like that¡± (Guard 1) ¡°Took the words right out of my mouth¡­¡­¡± (Guard 2) They talked as they were looking at him in jealousy. In actuality, she avoided being a ¡®toy¡¯ for her buyers due to her being found in a beggar like appearance when she was captured. She was extremely malnourished like a skeleton, her hair was nearly all gone, her scent wasn''t very pleasant, her feminine appearance was non-existent making her undesirable to be used for pleasure. That made her price lower. After she was revitalised by the treant, she, more than ever even before her enslavement, had her appearances enhanced as if she was a gem that was left to collect dust after years and years. If she had been in a richer household where her figure was being taken care of, there would be no doubt that men would be in front of her door to propose to her. ---- On their way to the town, they saw farmers that were working on crops that looked like wheat. They were using cow like livestock to plough the field. Though some still used that type of method on earth, it still gave Kenshin a reminder that he was in another world. A head of them was what he expected, a town like in RPG¡¯s. Bakeries, Blacksmith, Alchemy, Adventurers guild, Inns. Their goal was to sell their loot to afford a room at the inn. They stopped in front of what looked like a building with 3 stories. Different from the other town buildings, it had tiled and arched roof like those of army barracks. It was holding a sign that showed a long sword pointing down, the sign of the adventurer¡¯s guild. A place where people would put up requests of sorts like gathering herbs, monster subjugation, finding missing person¡¯s etc. "Wait here with our loot¡± (Kenshin) He informed Lana who answered ¡®un!¡¯. ---- The adventurers guild was three floors. When you enter, you would be in the reception. It had the receptionists at the back where you would inquire about quest, loot etc. On the right wall, there was a huge requests board that was littered with different types of requests. When you look to your left, there was a restaurant there where only adventurers plus their companions were allowed. There were all sorts of adventurers wearing different armours in good to bad conditions. If they had to be rated they were so-so. That was because their ranks were lower. The people with higher ranks were at the second floor that also had a reception and restaurant but with better furnishing and requests that higher ranking people were allowed to do. In the third floor was the guild head that managed the guild. When Kenshin entered through the doors that made nearly no sound, there was no one who was giving him a curious glance like those in movies on earth. Normally that would have actually happened but because of his nature of just having a presence that would have been lost when in a crowd, that didn¡¯t happen. He tried not to stick out as much in the crowd as possible when in earth as well. Seeing that there was no line to the receptionists, he threaded forward without making a sound. The receptionists he was going to was behind a windowless counter made of wood. A woman by the age of thirty with brown eyes and short brown hair, she was wearing a white T-shirt with a dark grey vest over it. As she had no customers, she was occupying herself with her quill, writing down logs for the adventurers she managed. It seemed she didn¡¯t notice the customer in front of her. Normally, she would have noticed a customer by now even if she was preoccupied with writing. Not being able to wait any longer, Kenshin did a ¡®ahem¡¯. Finally she noticed that there was a customer waiting for her. She unintentionally shouted ¡®Ahh!?¡¯ that resounded in the room. She covered her mouth that had already gained the attention of the adventurers. When the adventurers looked at the source of the shout, they saw the receptionist¡¯s girl bowing up and down many times to a boy clad in a black cloak. As his features were of Japanese, some were surprised in addition to being startled by the shout earlier. Some were also surprised by the fact that they hadn¡¯t noticed him at all entering, especially someone who came here for the first time. After the receptionist was stopped by Kenshin before she over did it, they carried on with their business but some were also curious as to what kind of person this newbie was. He didn¡¯t have a big presence so most thought he was weak, but just for the sake of finding out more about the person who was actually able to surprise a receptionist, a job that required one to be fully aware to their surroundings as to avoid mistakes like what had just happened, they were giving the two their ears and eyes. ¡°My name is Erica, please forgive me for my earlier blunder Mr customer.¡± (Erica) In a professional tone that was different from the shout earlier, she stated her name and asked for forgiveness. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about that, you must be tired after a long day. Also, please call me Kenshin¡± (Kenshin) He said as he smiled wryly at her. ¡°Thank you very much. What could I do for you today Mr Kenshin?¡± (Erica) ¡°Please, just call me Kenshin. I¡¯m here to apply for a membership with the guild and also to sell monster loot.¡± (Kenshin) ¡°As you request, I will call you Kenshin. To apply for a membership with a guild, first I need to see your status. I only need to know your basic information.¡± He did as he was told.
Status Window
NameKenshin Hashimoto
GenderMale
ClassEngineer
RaceHuman
Level12
While looking at his status, she made notes. It was for what would be displayed in his guild plate. ¡°Now, while were waiting for your info to be logged and your guild plate to be finished, I will tell about how the guild works. Come with me please¡± (Erica) Kenshin was guided to an empty space where customers and the staff talked. The summary of the talk was: The ranks were from lowest to highest; copper, tin, bronze, iron, silver, gold, platinum. Requests were only available that corresponds with the rank of the adventurer. For example, a silver ranked adventurer can do silver or below ranked quest. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.No interfering with other adventurer¡¯s quest with the exception of the requests holders¡¯ approval or due to a special situation. If this is violated, the one interfering would be charged or possibly demoted. Aid from others who are not adventurers, such as slaves are allowed to participate but the awards go to the request holder. Only adventurers and their companions are allowed to use the guilds facilities. Adventurers who rank below Gold are not allowed to use the facilities up stairs. Also, they have a ten percent discount from using facilities and services affiliated with the guild. Only adventurers are allowed to sell loot here. They could sell it to merchants but it was more profitable by five percent here. ¡°That¡¯s basically the gist of it¡± (Erica) She said as she concluded their talk. Coming back to the reception area, Erica gave Kenshin a grey metal plate with a size of 7cm by 12cm. It was his guild plate. Etched on it was,
Guild Plate
NameKenshin Hashimoto
GenderMale
RankCopper
It was basically a dog tag in this world, except adventurers only had them rather than soldiers. After putting it in his pocket he asked, ¡°If I could bother you a bit more, I¡¯d like to sell some loot¡± (Kenshin) ¡°That¡¯s no problem; please bring them directly to me, I will categorise them.¡± (Erica) With that, Kenshin went out of the guild to ask Lana to come in with their loot. When the two of them had gone in with 1/10 of their loot that occupied a 2 meter radius, they received looks from all the adventurers due to that amount of loot but some didn¡¯t look at them due to that, they were looking at the foxkin besides him. Just like the two guards earlier, the adventurers were captivated by her beauty that was joined by her two fox ears that added to her cuteness . Some were thinking the same as the two guards earlier as well who thought that he might have been rich. Some were, ''Ah shit, my software immediately went into hardware'' ''..........Haha, my friends don''t know it but I''m pitching a tent.....'' ''Please become my waifu'' While being ignorant from all the gazes from the adventurers, the two came up front to Erica who had an expression with two dotted eyes. She was also surprised at Kenshin¡¯s slave but mostly was flabbergasted at what they were carrying. While putting down the wares, Kenshin and Lana immediately went back out to get more of their loot. Erica who thought, ¡®there¡¯s more?!¡¯ immediately called more of her colleagues to assist her in categorising the stuff in front of her. After nearly an hour or so of categorizing loot, the ten man team that consisted of Erica¡¯s colleagues who were all female, were breathing sighs of relief. Erica, who was the representative, came up to Kenshin and Lana. ¡°All in all, the total amount equals to 1 platinum and 751 gold coins or 1,751 gold¡± (Erica) When she said that, the adventurers in the room were either spitting out there food and drinks or unable to move. That was a lot, something that would allow him to start a mid-size company or live in the capital city without working. Gaining the courage to ask, ¡°Is it alright if I ask you if you had gotten aid in getting all of this?¡± (Erica) As if he were waiting for something like this, he answered, ¡°Ah, that, yeah of course. Otherwise it would have been impossible for me and Lana¡± (Kenshin) He told her with carefully chosen words and with a sound of his voice to seem as if he didn¡¯t recite it beforehand. If he had told them he did it by himself or Lana did it all by herself, some would get curious about his origins and investigate his origins that would connect him to the summoned heroes as his physical traits were similar to the summoned heroes. If he said that it was all of her doing, the authorities might become wary of her and be ordered to kill her due to her strength as she would have been a danger due to being a foxkin. When he told her, the adventurers in the surroundings were, ''Thought so¡­¡­.'' Or ''Of course that¡¯s the case; no way would he be able to get that high tier loot like that blaze berserker sword or that giant black wolf pelt without aid. Most likely he''s just some strong groups lackey'' for various reasons. Mainly due to some judging him by his looks or class. ¡°I see. If that is all, please enjoy your stay in Frontlake town, it¡¯s not a big town but it¡¯s got lots of shops and inns that have all sorts of products and services.¡± (Erica) ¡°For now, I will be in your care. Ah that¡¯s right, just to make sure, is it okay for Lana to dine with me here?¡± (Kenshin) ¡°That¡¯s right but just you will be given discounts.¡± (Erica) ¡°Okay. Lana could you secure us a table in the restaurant, order whatever you want. I¡¯ll be in the outhouse.¡± (Kenshin) With a smile and a nod to Kenshin, she did what he told. ---- Looking at the girl who was alone in a chair with ten bags full of gold coin, a man who was being attended by two females, whose looks were good but was below Lana''s, began to make his move after seeing that her owner was gone. He was clad in high quality shining plate armour that had a logo on the right of his arm It showed a eagle like bird. It seemed to display his family crest. His guild plate that was hung at his neck by a chain showed that he was an adventurer ranked platinum. ¡°Hey, you, why don¡¯t you leave that guy and come with me, I will give you a better time compared to him.¡± Seeing a man of 25 whose appearance was that of a noble upbringing with good looks and two females beside him who wore a tag that stated they were gold rank, she heard him saying that he ¡®wanted¡¯ her. It was an opportunity that most would take upfront if they were a woman because of his good looks as well. Also, if they were beside him, who was of the highest rank, it would allow them to piggyback on him that would make it easier for them to get a high rank, something that would gain them status and a big amount of wealth. But Lana, in a tiny and shaking voice said, ¡°I''m honoured by your proposal but I would have to say no. Forgive me¡± (Lana) She was trembling and trying not to look him in the face by looking at the ground during that. She was scared because his manner of conduct was like that of those adventurers that used her as bait. The room went silent. The waiter passing by thought ¡®Ah, she¡¯s going to be asked by Sir Graham, the son of the Hester family head to be ¡®his¡¯, I feel sorry for that boy¡¯. He was the son of an influential family who had connections with big shots. Big shots with authority that allows Graham to use as if he were his own. But contrary to her expectations, he was rejected. It was something that made her go ¡®ara¡­¡­ah?¡¯ He who was rejected for the first time showed big veins popping out his head. He thought,¡¯ ah that must be it, it¡¯s because she¡¯s a slave, she¡¯s not able to defy him because of her seal right He would not let her go until she was his. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about your owner not letting you go, I¡¯ll take care of him¡± (Graham) Without hearing what he said, the person herself was looking down with her ears following and also shaking like a scared animal. She muttered an ''I''m sorry'' and turned away to face the table. ¡°You! Who do you think you are ignoring?! I am a platinum rank and also the successor to the Hester family! You think you can hide behind the slave ownership rights ahh?! So you''re fond of that owner you got? Is that it?! Ohoho¡­¡­ Even if your owner refuses to leave you with me, he aint got a choice, its either that or me killing him! Oh please refuse. I wanna see your face when I kill him in front of you! If you think anyone will stop me, no one will because I''ve got the backing of my family! If you even think of stopping me you''ll have to go against my family! I''m sure everyone here knows what happens to others who defy me, right?! Their family either gets killed or if I like them, they become slaves!¡± (Graham) Approaching to forcefully take her as she trembled, "Ah?!" (Graham) he failed as he was interrupted. ¡°Excuse me; my companion seems to have no interests in becoming your plaything. Could you please stop bothering her? Don¡¯t hope that I intend to sell her to you. If you go any further¡­. I advise you to do so otherwise¡± (Kenshin) Kenshin who came back from the outhouse told him very politely in a high mannered way that he is not going to give her up. After passing by him, he got on the chair, smiled at Lana as if saying ¡®hey, im back¡¯, something that gave her relief. Graham who was politely refused, said, ¡°Ha! It seems I have to do it the hard way. Everyone, if you¡¯ve been listening, do not interfere, you know what will happen right?¡± (Graham) They had no intentions to do so. They got the memo that if they interfered, bad stuff would happen to them. Taking out his sword on his back with the right, he took out a sword in an expensive looking metal scabbard and took a swing at Kenshin who was on his chair with his back facing him. It was a precise and fast swing, worthy of being platinum ranked but, ¡°Huh?¡± (Graham) Just two inches of the sword hitting Kenshin¡¯s head, unexpectedly it stopped. The surrounding people who were a mix of both adventurers and staff were the same as Graham, going ''huh?'' To inexperienced eyes, it would look he intended to stop his swing before it hit him to make him scared but to the adventurers who were experienced, they all knew that he was going for the kill. They thought, ¡®He was always like that, if he can¡¯t get it by negotiation he would get it by force. Now that new kid is going to die¡­.poor kid¡¯ or something like that but as he was still alive, they were giving off faces of relief and surprise. Graham who tried to swing it again from another angle to a different place was stopped again. He thought ¡®there¡¯s no impact so there is no invisible thing blocking it. Is it magic? If there was, it wasn¡¯t this guy that used it as magic needs optical confirmation and I didn¡¯t hear him chant. Is it a third party?!¡¯ When he turned his head to look for the caster, he accidentally took sight of what impeded his attack. On his handle was a string of 0.008 gauge. It lead to his back, going around to his left flank and towards Kenshin left hand. Kenshin seemed to have tied it around Grahams sword when it was sheathed without others knowing as he did it with minute finger movement. Kenshin who was keeping an eye out for Graham without looking back at him was using the reflections from the eyes of the people in front. Kenshin, who slowly stood up from his chair and turned his head to look behind his shoulder was, ¡°.......................................................................¡± (Kenshin) No words cam from him. His eyelids were just enough to expose his two pupils entirely. It was not a glare where his eyes were wide nor was it a bored look as if looking at small fry. Those eyes were those of undivided attention and 100% focus on Graham. That, with the eerie silence from Kenshin made Graham and those around became wary, as if they had to expect the unexpected. It made even his companion Lana, surprised he could become like that. Everyone in the room gave their attention at Kenshin. Graham and the girls with him were hesitating to move. They backed away unknowingly. When he saw that he moved back unknowingly due to kenshins change, he became angry and said, ¡°You two! Kill him!¡± (Graham) The two hesitated a little but they moved to attack formation. Biggest mistake he ever made¡­¡­ chapter 12 The two women launched their assault. One approaching to the right shoulder of Kenshin whose back was facing the trio with a sword that differed in extravagance from Grahams went for a thrust attack. The other woman started casting magic with her right arm holding her wrist that had a opened palm pointing at Kenshin. The movement of her arms was the customary way or the only way of using ranged magic. It was the latter. Their method of attack was a pincer attack that utilised melee for the primary attack and range magic for support. The two women immediately knew what move they would use as they fought together since long past. It seemed that their plan was for the swordswoman to keep Kenshin busy to give time for the magic using woman to cast her magic. Letting go of the bind that prevented Graham from swinging his sword freeing his arm, Kenshin avoided the swordswoman¡¯s sword by turning his body to let the sword stab empty air. ¡®Got you!¡¯ The two girls mind synchronised. It seemed they were waiting for him to dodge so that the magic user could attack then but¡­. Kenshin grabbed the swordswomans wrist. Using momentum from the attack of the swordswoman, he spun her around himself like a centrifuge. Because of the rotation, she ended up between her teammate, the magic user, who just launched an attack, and Kenshin. ¡°Ahhh!¡± (Swordswoman) ¡°Wha?!¡± (Magic user) A blood curdling scream resounded from the swordswoman. That was because the spear made of ice the magic user launched, had hit not Kenshin but had hit the swordswoman. More specifically it hit the girl¡¯s right shoulder from the front shattering her scapula. The spear was sticking out of the swordswoman. It made her drop her sword that made a ¡®clang¡¯ sound. She screamed from the pain of her muscles being torn and her plate shaped bone, the scapula, shattering into many pieces causing immense pain. A worst case scenario is where the spear would have hit her artery or worse have her tendons severed. It was a treatable injury in Kenshin¡¯s world through surgery but not here where medicinal techniques were identical to 16th century treatments on earth. For the current medical magic, severed tendon injuries cannot be treated by most cleric type classes or aany other classes. So her situation right now was the best case scenario, save her agony. Kenshin purposely avoided having it lead to a worse case not because of not wanting to hurt a girl-he didn¡¯t care at all if it were a boy or a girl-but because of making a gold ranked adventurer who were war potential for the human army, unable to fight. Additionally, he did not care about whether the humans win or lose. It¡¯s just that, he did not want unnecessary trouble, especially when it involved the human army. After realising what she had done, the magic user also screamed in terror. She unintentionally hit her companion so of course it was only natural. Eventually she overcame her dread and changed it to anger at the person who used her friend as a living shield. Choosing to attack Kenshin who had now let go of the swordswoman making her collapse on the ground, she started to use magic. Completing the first phase of the magic that was completing the chant, she tried to moved to the next process only to be knocked out by a strike to the jaw, making her brain shake that made the whites of her eyes show. After Kenshin who inflicted the injury saw that the girl was unconscious, he moved his eyes to meet Grahams. Seeing his two companions made unable to move, Graham¡¯s knees weakened and lost strength making him collapse on both of his knees. Just because of the platinum rank he had, he thought that he was invincible. Just because his family had authority over influential people he thought he was untouchable. Just because no one has ever touched him because of those reasons, he thought he could do anything. Though Kenshin had already decided that he won¡¯t be killing him, Graham didn¡¯t know this so he feared for his life. Kenshin began walking towards the Graham who remained unmoving from his place. Seeing him get closer step by step, Graham finally moved. He did not attack, if he did he might lose his life. Completely different from his haughty attitude earlier, his behind hit the floor and began backing away from Kenshin who paced his way to his front. Putting his right arm out towards Graham who bumped against a table behind, he opened the right hand and moved it closer to Graham. More specifically, his neck. Deducing what he was about to do, Graham squealed a ¡®hii!¡¯. It seemed that everyone in the room thought the same as Graham. They thought Kenshin was going to rip out his throat. It would be of course be hard to imagine Kenshin who appeared weak and passive to be able to do so, but after seeing him exhibit his prowess earlier against the gold ranked girls, they thought of a scene where Grahams blood splattered from his throat would be witnessed by them. Graham who was the target of an end like that shrieked a ¡®ahii!¡¯ again louder as Kenshins hand got closer. ¡°Quiet¡± (Kenshin) After telling him in a cold tone, Kenshins fingers finally touched the neck of Graham. After that, ¡®Thud!¡¯ Graham¡¯s body fell on the floor as if lifeless with traces of tears and snot. Contrary to their expectations, the people on the surrounding who were pale expecting to witness a murder were showing faces of confusion and some, relief. It was because Graham appeared to have been pinched in the neck and passed out. They were pondering if Graham was dead or just passed out. Some thought about how pinching the neck would make them dead or just pass out as they put their fingers on theirs to test it out. Kenshin who stood after a moment or so made the surrounding people put their focus on him. Curious, wary and frightened gazes went his way. No more hostility were directed at him. Calling out to Lana who was wide eyed at first but eventually came to his side, he grabbed the bags that had their gold in and began to walk towards Erica. Erica who saw the scene became stiff. Various thoughts swam in her head that she was unable to keep track of. But before she was able to focus her thoughts, ¡°Forgive me, I¡¯ve caused you trouble even though it''s the first day of my stay¡± (Kenshin) Kenshin said as he bowed. After apologising, he and Lana left the guild using the way the people in the surrounding made unconsciously. Normally, it was her who was supposed to apologise for not warning him about Graham, but Kenshin beat her to the punch that wavered at seeing him approach her. She thought, ¡®What am I doing?! He just saved the guild reputation from being trampled on again by people like Graham, I need to thank him! If I can¡¯t do that much then I won¡¯t have any worth in my line of work!¡¯ Resolving herself, she told the other employees to handle the party who was injured. After doing so she ran out to the front of the guild to find Kenshin. ---- After the two left, they took their cart then went towards the direction of the stables. With the cash they have, they were now able to afford a horse drawn carriage. Erica showed up with a frantic expression. She kept bowing and bowing until Kenshin told her to stop as there were people eyeing the three. She apologised and told them that if the authorities were to be involved, Erica would tell them that it wasn¡¯t Kenshin¡¯s fault with the backing of the guild so as not to trouble him anymore. Thinking about it, Kenshin would tell her where they would be staying at so if the authorities were to require the two¡¯s whereabouts she could tell them. He expected that if authorities were involved and needed the two brought for questioning but found out that they had left, that would look bad for him. After that, they went their separate ways. The two put purchasing a horse carriage on hiatus until tomorrow. They focused on finding a lodging first. Looking around the four inns in the place, they picked a place that accommodated their customers with a bath, meals and a two bed bedroom. It was the most luxurious and most expensive that cost 50 silver per night. That included two meals a day from the branch restaurant with a usage of the bath house. It was family run. A couple of around forty and their daughter and son in law who were both twenty. Kenshin and Lana were both hungry so they immediately went to the restaurant after putting their stuff in their room. The restaurant was just like the guilds''s one for the higher ranked adventurers. To describe it, it would look like the cake shops in Kenshins country. After the two were seen by the son in law and was guided to a table near the window. The hotel they were staying at was a favourite for high ranked adventurers from silver to platinum as the hotel was connected to the guild so a discount would be given and it seemed that some of them saw the scene at the guild. Though none spoke up, they directed gazes of hostility. It seemed after the scuffle, they bombarded Erica and the staff with questions about what his stats was. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Though Erika refused as she didn¡¯t want to trouble Kenshin and Lana (Kenshin inwardly complimented her) they found out from a staff member who was paid to look into it. the staff member wasn¡¯t caught. When they found out about his non-fighter class plus his low fight stats, doubt was seen amongst their faces. They didn¡¯t doubt the staff member as she had been doing it for them before, multiple times. They began to wonder if Graham really was worthy of the rank of his but his stats were publicly published. It was a coincidence as to how Kenshin and Lana picked this place, their favourite lodging as a place to go to. Ignorant of the glares around her or chose to be ignorant of it, Lana, with a hesitating voice, placed her order. Kenshin chose to follow her example of being ignorant of it as well so he gave an order to the waiter. Ignorance is bliss he inwardly told himself. After the two ate their meal that they were pleased with, Kenshin''s atmosphere changed. The reason wasn¡¯t because of the hostile gazes that the two chose to ignore. ¡°Waiter-san¡± (Kenshin) Expecting to be given a request concerning food, he frowned after hearing the contents of Kenshins whispering. He rushed off to his in laws. After a minute or so, upstairs, noises of a struggle accompanied with shouts was heard by the people in the restaurant downstairs. The waiter came back to Kenshin with a apologetic face. ¡°It seems you were right¡­. There was an intruder in your bedroom¡­. I apologise. For lacking in security. Also for allowing the intruder to escape.¡± (Waiter) Gasp could be heard and people who were wide eyed were the reactions to what was heard. Four people who were on a table adjacent to the two were frowning due to other reasons. The next words that came out of Kenshins mouth was, ¡°There were two weren¡¯t they? A tall male of about your size, the other, a female who was a head taller? ¡± (Kenshin) He said that after giving the group of four adjacent to them a quick glance, something that froze the group of four. The waiter, perplexed as to how he came to that conclusion, confirmed that. ¡°Though I couldn¡¯t see their faces because of their mask, one was definitely a woman and the other a man due to their figures. How did you come to that? Do you know something!? Ah! Forgive me for raising my voice!¡± (Waiter) Realising he began raise his voice, he apologised, something that Kenshin responded by telling him not to worry. Gesturing him to come closer, Kenshin whispered to him. ¡°That group of four¡­. Originally they were a group of six, two left. A male and female.¡± (Kenshin) Kenshin gave him a look as if it said, ¡®catch my drift?¡¯ This time, the authorities were involved. The group was captured. They were all silver ranked adventurers who confessed to having been hired by Graham. They were told that if they were to steal the gold that Kenshin had, Graham would use his influence to get them promoted to gold quickly. Kenshin used the plant ware house to store most of the gold they had got. What remained in Kenshin and Lana¡¯s room were only their toiletries and clothes. ---- The day after, someone secretly visited the group who tried to steal from Kenshin in the jail house. Though for normal people it wasn¡¯t easy, Kenshin was able to go in unnoticed. By staying out of the guards visions with making any sounds, he tip toed, it was more like a walk as his footsteps were already as silent as tiptoes, just behind them. That someone arrived at a barred cell big enough to fit around ten people. On the cold floor were four women and two men asleep. Four of them were the accomplices of the thieves. The other two were the thieves whose appearances were not seen. A door opened. A woman and two hooded figures entered. Looking around the jail room, the three that just entered only saw the four women and two men in the jail sleeping. The woman was that mage from before who attacked Kenshin. Judging from their body outline and way of walking, the two hooded figures were both men. They were there to kill the group. The two hooded figures started to take out the oil from lamps that were wall mounted and began to quietly spread it around the place. When they were finished and the woman mage who was the group lookout peeping out the door to look out for anyone incoming through the corridor gave them the go ahead. Though it was unneeded as the magic user was able to put the guards sleep, it was a precaution to look out for anyone missed. One of the assassins began searching his pockets for the flint that they were going to use for igniting the fire but wasn¡¯t able to find it. He asked the other assassin and the magic use if they had a flint with them but shook their head. Though they became troubled a bit at how they weren¡¯t finding the flints they remember they brought, they didn¡¯t panic. It could still be ignited by using magic. The assassin started to gather mana at his finger and started chanting for the basic fire spell. He expected fire to come out of his finger but kept finding it failing to materialise. The other two found out that when they tried to use magic, it failed to materialise. ¡°Oi! Whats going on?! Why isn¡¯t our magic working? Shit! We don¡¯t have time to look in to that! In 5 minutes the effects of the sleep spell is going to vanish! Find something to light the fuel!¡± (Mage woman) Looking at the two assassins, she gave orders furiously. What they didn¡¯t know was that while they were busy with their predicament, someone disabled the sleep magic on the guards at the room beyond this one. Killing the targets by using their weapons could be used but their goal was to make it look like an accident so that it would not be traced back to Graham. They didn¡¯t have a plan B they could go back to when plan A failed. Though they weren¡¯t amateurs when it came into making their targets have ''accidents'', they became over confident because in past missions, they had no need for a plan B to fall back to. For now, their mission was a fail. The woman mage concluded they would assassinate them at a different time but, ¡°Intruders!?¡± A guard who came in the room through the door that the magic user stopped looking at for a moment shouted. After looking around the three figures, he found that lamp oil was spread around the room. Thinking a bit more, he pieced together that they came here to assassinate the prisoners who were due to confess in court. The three figures who were confused at first at how the guards woke up when they were put to sleep with a magic that would normally last 12 minutes immediately began to move to take out the guard. The guard would lose a battle against assassins with a gold ranked adventurer, the guard knew that so he didn¡¯t stay to fight them but to go call the others. Faster compared to the guard¡¯s decision making the assassins already made their moves with their daggers, the first blade was already a feet away from the guards exposed back. ¡°Gah!?¡± (Assasin 1) The assassin seemed to have tripped and struck his head on to the wooden wall knocking him out. The second assassin tripped as well and was knocked out as well when he hit his head on the prison bar making ding sound. The magic user who stood there and saw the two tripping, before she was able to react had her feet abruptly come together and come up to where her hair was. She hit her head on the floor also that resulted to being unconscious. Her feet that was high in the air was slowly going down. If one was looking clearly and closely, a string tied around her feet would enter the eyes. 30 seconds after, guards rushed in the room finding the three unconscious with the prisoners slowly waking up. There were flints that the perpetrators were looking for near their fallen bodies. They didn¡¯t see or hear the figure moving on the ceiling slowly crawl out of the room and out the place. ---- In his room, Lana who was preparing to go down to the restaurant greeted him. ¡°Hey, how was your walk? Did anything happen?¡± (Lana) Unsurprised at her question he answered with a reply that didn¡¯t seem rehearsed. ¡°Ah, not much. Anyway, I found out that Precision Magic Disassembly works on people as well, so that¡¯s something.¡± (Kenshin) Though she showed a questioning face, she didn¡¯t bother to ask further. Chapter 13 Regret Regret. That could be seen on Lana''s face as she told him of the incoming invasion. Her connection to the plants in the vicinity of the invading force informed her of the threat coming. At first it was just minor disturbances like birds flying the other way of the or increase of monster activity in the seaside territories, the area where she sensed some unrest. But, these anomalies kept increasing and kept spreading nearer and nearer to the capital kingdom of the humans, Palami. After she told Kenshin, she regretted not withholding the information and just hoping that it would pass like it was not his business. That was because Kenshin who was in front of her, Kenshin who had a friendly atmosphere once you get used to him (probably applies only to those who was close with him like Lana), Kenshin who made her redo her cleaning not twice but three times, Kenshin who defended her when her fear of humans surfaced again when Graham harassed her. The Kenshin who was in front of her felt as if he was someone or something else. No trace of emotion, soul or personality. It felt as if he was just background noise. No movement, no sound, no anything. From an outsiders perspective, one wouldn''t think much of it. They might think he just lost his mind. Lana who wasn''t a outsider knows what this state of Kenshin is. It happened when the two fought each other without holding back with the intent to kill. It was something that Lana suggested when she was at the height of her confidence. She wanted to gauge herself, wanting to know how she would cope when the enemy was a person, someone who didn''t act purely due to instincts but in accordance to reason, unlike a monster. When Lana saw this Kenshin again, she forced herself to stay still trying not to curl up into a fetal position like she did when her fight with Kenshin ended. The scene where she was pushed to a corner and was so desperate that she momentarily had let her powers rampage, different to what Kenshin had taught her to do. A rampaging elder treant, something different from the one that was weakened during Lana''s metamorphosis, attacked Kenshin. The result was that it was uprooted beside Lana who was lying on a pool of blood. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The treant was trying with its remaining strength to reach out to Lana as it''s body creaked and groaned. The barks on its massive body were peeled, gouged and sometimes weekly convulsed as if gasping for air. Every time it convulsed, sand like elements kept falling off it as if drooling or bleeding. Its only aim was to protect ''her'', not paying any heed to the one that stood before the two, the one that caused these injuries. Eventually, the branches that kept reaching out even with its continuous creaking was able to reach her. Lana, who was on the floor, had bone''s protruding from her four appendages. Not only that, her ribs were sticking out, exposed in the air and her face had the skin from the cheeks to lips were ripped, exposing her teeth and gums making her appear like a zombie. The treants branches that reached her began to wrap around her as if to cradle her, feet first slowly progressing to her head. Lana, who could miraculously still see from her right eye saw Kenshin. He was untouched, no cuts nor bruises, some blood splattered across his right fingers and on his blades but it was not his blood. It was Lana''s blood. Though she became afraid of him after the battle ended, it later became regret for her suggesting to fight with the intent to kill as if their lives were on the line because when the branches that were wrapping around her began to cover her vision, she saw Kenshin''s expression, a blank. Devoid of any emotion, it was if his face was just a type of mannequin with extremely realistic human face. Like an android mimicking humans. As the treant finally wrapped it''s vines on Lana, she thought, ''I don''t want you.... to make that expression .... ever again...Its scary......Its not the Kenshin I know....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry....I''m sorry............ So please....come back....to the Kenshin....I know....and....'' Before she was able to finish her thought, she passed out. Now it was happening again, regretting telling him about the invasion that made him become like this again. Chapter 14 In the adventurers guild, an absentminded Erika could be seen sitting down. ''Three months ago those two came here. Now the two of them just went away a week ago. Haa.... Abruptly leaving and not even saying where they were going and left with a ''take care''. Lana told me that and that boy didn''t even come to say goodbye. Kenshin huh? Now that I think about it, Lana was almost always doing requests for the guild. Whenever I asked her where Kenshin was, she told me he was currently doing a project at the smiths workshop. I wonder if he''s making something? The only time I saw him again, after we first met, was at the merchants guild at the annual weekly meet-'' While she was in her own world, the door of the guild was opened with a swing making a huge bang interrupting her thoughts. "Trouble!" The female receptionists called out to the guild master who was on the first floor. All heads in the guild turned towards her including Erica. "Alice, what is it, why are you so lou-" (Guild Master) "Wi-Windcoast city has been invaded!" (Alice) Windcoast city, North from this place and as its name suggests it borders near the sea that separates the Human continent and the Vampire continent. Eyes were wide open around the guild and not one word leaked out of their mouths as they eyed the girl as if saying ''go on''. "There''s been an order from the capital saying we need to prepare for war and await more orders!" (Alice) When she finished what she wanted to say, it was as if it was the trigger to release what was building up in them, the adventurers built up a commotion. Some angry, sad, frightened, some fought and some ran. Meanwhile the guild master was silent, on the chair staring at the envelope with royal seal that was given to him by Alice. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Reading all of it, it seems that the invasion happened around three weeks ago. The invasion lasted only two days. It was a one sided battle, even though the numerical and environmental advantages were on Windcoast cities side, the city walls that were over 20 meters high were breached during the first wave. Further on, it said that after the take over, the invaders used the messenger hawks of the city to send a letter to the capital saying in summary in the end of the message to "Bow down to us, your new masters or face the extinction of your kind". The Vampires and Humans hadn''t had any contact for nearly a century after the two sides abruptly cut off access to each other. They didn''t know much about the vampire continent except vague information from countries that were fighting them. Currently the information humanity had on the Vampires had were from POW or prisoners of war that were also enemies of the Vampire continent. Those were the Kats, a humanoid race from the Kat continent south east of the vampire continent. Though tinier compared to the size of personnel the Kats send to fight the vampire continent, there is still a war fought between the two sides concerning unexplored regions in the sea seperating the two superpowers. An unknown enemy that had the capability to take over a huge city like Windcoast in just one attack. The guild master thought it futile to go against such a force but when he read what was put up near the end of the message, a glimmer of hope could be seen in his eyes. ''The Heroes have been deployed'' was what it said. Chapter 15 Heroes In the recently occupied city of Windcoast, Count Buroom who was now formally referred to as general, was in the city lords'' manor was now, with a relaxed and pleased expression, reading the reports of the recent skirmishes of the nearby strongholds that were built to protect strategic points of the highways that lead to the continents cities. He was using the desk that used to belong to this cities lord to look at the documents with his personal retainer, Roland, who stood besides him. After shuffling the papers on his desk for a bit and then putting it down on one corner he spoke, "What place was that fort called again thats closest to those mountainous region that blocks off a direct route to the human capital? Oh, and what news is there regarding the invasion ? " (Buroom) He asked as he hummed a delighted tune. "The name of the place is Fort Treadlog General. From the information gathered from our well informed slaves, its a place that doesnt yield much gain but is a place where public order is well kept. And regarding the invasion of the Fort, I would say they have already engaged the forces." (Roland) Listening to his personal retainers words with closed eyes as he entrusted the chair with his back, the General muttered ''I see, I see'' whie keeping his pleased expression. "By the way, what of the rebel forces that were captured yesterday for trying to disrupt the excecution of the cities territorial lords family?" (Buroom) "Ah, we have already enslaved all of them General, and now they are now all yours to command sir." (Roland) He informed the General of the situation as a similar pleased expression the same as the generals appeared on his face. "Ooh! That was quick! As I thought, the newly implemented enslavement crest works wonders! As expected of the Buroom family, we produce the best in enslavement magic. Our history of generation and generations of being leading experts of enslavements isnt just for show.!" (Buroom) In a maniacal tone, the count/general guffawed. ------------- Fort Treadlog, just one of the fortresses in between the town the two stayed in and Windcoast city. It was a fortress with 20 metre high stone walls that towered over the surrounding forest trees so one couldn¡¯t help but notice it. Though it was usually peaceful within the settlement, it was now in chaos. Cannon fire kept going off from atop the walls and ground. Cannons that spewed out round lead artillery at the other side. 100 cannons above and also below, fire after fire filled the top and bottom of the fortress walls with smoke from the reaction of black gunpowder. Normally this amount of firepower would have long decimated the opposition if it was only blood and flesh on the other side but contrary to what these cannons were for, the enemy they faced was but, it stood, no they stood four metres, a body of metal, steam coming from the rectangular funnel on its back, wheels for legs, for its arms they were replaced with weapons, on the right had a muzzled piece that was continuously spouting out oil that was alight, on its left was a 2 metre long cuboid barrel firing artillery. They advanced row after row numbering only 50. They received numerous hits from the fortress cannons but as if the cannon rounds were only insects in its path that hit them, they advanced forward inching in closer and closer. They had no effect on these steel coffins, only making minor dents here and there. Every time these giant steel coffins shot back with their own weapon (Left arm cannon) at the fortress, either pieces of the walls scattered or pieces of human bodies scattered. Dragon riders swept down at the giant steel coffin desperately trying to harm the enemy but to no avail. The Thick metal armour they had was too strong for the attacks of both dragon and rider. The dragon, as if it was a cock in a cock fight, frantically used its huge claws on the metal coffin but it just looked like a bird trying to move an immovable statue. It wasnt only one dragon but there were multiple dragons with riders on top trying to do the same. Just like the first dragon, there was no effect at all. At the forefrunt of the advancing coffins, a downed dragon rider was on the grass pulling towards the direction of the fort trying to excape from a steel coffing that moved forward with a noise that sounded like the noise produced form a roller coaster ascending a cart. Grunts with occasional coughs of blood resounded from the face plate of the rider. The rider knew that either going the other way or heading to the fort wouldnt make a difference in the eventual killing of the rider, but still, the rider wanted to die in the place he was born in. He resolved himself to at least that. But fate was cruel. The steel coffin had already advanced to just a few meters away from the crawling soldier. The crawling rider realising that the sound coming from his rear meant that it was too late, made a last effort of silently chanting a spell under his breath. After having clenched the hand that materialised magic with the other hand onto his chest with his back to the steel coffin, he spun around with quick desperation and launched the magic onto the enemy infront of him. An orange flame in the shape and size of a cannonball was flung towards the coffin, hitting the hatch of the enemy. There was a burst of sound like a modern day grenade and the shockwave of one. A flash of orange blinded the rider as he closed his eyes. The rider expected that the attack made little difference judging from all the attacks that his allies had launched against them but refrained from being depressed as he thought that he at least hit it back once more. The rider bracing himself for the eventual end kept his eyes closed. But no end came as he heard the cry of a lion from the sky. "Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Opening his eyes, he saw a pile of steel that was the remains of the steel coffins that seemed indestructible just moments ago. It had big holes here and there that seemed to have been caused by melting. The edges of the holes that continued though to the back of the remains of the steel coffin glowed orange as if to make a cylinder. As the rider came out of his shock, shadows that appeared above of the forts own shadow. They quickly zoomed forward to the the enemy as more and more cries of lions were heard. The identity of the mysterious shadows were revealed in the form of a lion with wings. With a body the width and size of a truck, and a wing span 1.5 times of their body length, Gryphons swarmed the skies approximately 50 metres above ground floor. From atop the gryphons, countless attacks showered the enemy. An icicle the size of a tree materialised and went fort to impale the enemy crushing the steel coffin into scrap metal and mutilating the person inside beyond recognition. The creaking of the metal was blocked out with the countless sounds of destruction. Bright pillars of fire centered on a steel coffin barraged with high intensity flame reducing it into cast metal. On top of a gryphon that was flying by, arrows that was reinforced with magic were homing on the hatch of a steel coffin making sounds of ''plink! plink! plink!'' as it gradually ate away at it. Out of the range where friendly fire wouldnt reach, gryphons dragged the enemies on the ground floor as they were quite heavy to lift off completely and other gryphons pierced the steel coffins with their beaks like chicken pecking at food on the floor. From a purple circle that materialised above a group of steel coffin out came purple birds in flocks as they exploded on the group. As more purple birds came, the purple circle shrunk as if it was paint was being used up. While the battle was still on going, four gryphons zoomed towards the back of the enemy line. In unison the four gryphons flew by close to the ground and dropped four humanoid figures when they reached 10 meters above ground. They landed without any harm, something that normal humans couldn¡¯t do normally without having any broken bones. From the right, a black knight with full plate armour with a 3 meter long sword with a width the size of a human¡¯s hip. On his back was shield with what looked like the scales of a black dragon. It seemed to move like it was alive shivering in what could be described as excitement. Next to him was a cleric in white armour consisting of light cloth armour underneath some light metal armour. She had a poleaxe on one hand and a kite shield on the other. Next to her was a mage in a dark green hooded trench coat with pointed shoulder guards and a staff with cylindrical gems on top of each other that emitted a bright light. From the portions of the body, one could clearly see it was a male. Next was Brawler in a brown cloth tank top with arm sleeves and leg what looked like a monk¡¯s leg clothing. She had a metal gauntlet on both hands that looked too heavy for her glass hour figure. When the four saw what their enemy was, they thought in unison a foreign word from this world, ¡®mechs¡¯. Seeing the so called mechs starting to retreat and encountering the four figures, they decided to attack with everything they had. Artillery and fire from the enemy shot forward to the four but before they could reach, the staff of the mage emitted magic that shot forward towards the ground and raised it to form a curve wall around the four blocking the attacks of the mechs. Such timing and speed. It stopped the attack of the mechs for a bit maybe due to shock at the power of the enemy but the four did not let this opening go as they began to retaliate. The mage in dark green, plunging the end of his staff to the ground, he casted his magic targeting 12 of the mechs. The targeted mechs began to slow as they slowly began to lose traction from the ground. Slowly, the 12 mechs began to ascend meter after meter into the air until they reached around the height of 200 meters. When they reached the height of around 200 meters, they began to drop. When they reached the ground, sounds as if a modern cannon was shot resounded. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.Smoke surrounded the crash sites of the 12 and when it cleared, something similar to what a car crusher makes was there. Due to the rotation of the planet, the mechs did not land on the same spot from before they were lifted. This prevented the mechs from hitting their allies but this also presented an opportunity for the 2 women to attack as they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about falling mechs crushing them. Both brawler and priestess jumped forward high up in the air easily reaching a peak height of 20 meters as they landed in front of the mechs. In front of a mech that looked like tank that¡¯s bipedal, one wouldn¡¯t hesitate to run away, but the brawler would not do that. Crouching for a second, the girl adopted a punching form with her right arm curled onto her armpit. She was still several meters apart from the mech to be in range of punching the mech is what most would think. But after that brief posture adjustment, the girl disappeared and reappeared in front of the mech with her right hand inside the mech making creaking and crunching noises. The girl felt warm flesh similar to that of a humans and a warm liquid that smelt like iron. The girl new she had killed someone but her face showed no regret as anger had taken over. It was the same with the other girl, she attacked her weapon that wedged itself through the mech armour as blood sprayed from the opening. She did it with a face of hateful scorn as she kept swinging her weapon with one hand that left other mechs in a similar state. In a moment¡¯s time, all the mechs around the area were destroyed. Seeing that the enemy force was no longer there, the people from the fort readied themselves to cheer but was stopped as they saw more mechs coming from the forest where the enemy first came out off. This time they numbered 200 as they began firing from the front of the forest. The knight in black armour with a 3 meter sword faced the enemy as cannon fire closed in on him. The mage next to him prepared to use magic but was stopped with the knights raising one hand to the mage. Following what the knight motioned, the mage stopped the gathering of magic to his staff. Seeing the mage comply with his request, he took out his black scale shield. Holding it in front of him, the scales moved on the shield stopped any movement, suddenly a white aura manifested from the gaps in the scales. In a short second, the white aura intensified as it took an ethereal form of an oriental dragon wrapping around the two. ¡®Graaaaaaaaa!¡¯ Screamed the dragon at the enemy. The artillery fire that seemed to slowly crawl its way to the two was blocked and deflected when they touched dragon wrapped around the two. The barrage of enemy fire lasted for only a minute as they realised it had no effect on the dragon. They decided to advance forward thinking that they could break it from close range but then from the gaps of the dragon, an intense blue light was emitted. This didn¡¯t stop the advance of the mechs as they kept getting closer and closer. Though slow compared to a horse carriage, they were faster compared to mobile cannons. This gave the knight in black enough time. The dragon suddenly started to disappear as it faded back into the shield of the knight that was seemingly put on to his back again. There, the knight stood with an intensely glowing blue sword with only one hand as he made a pose as if to slice horizontally from left to right. He did not disappoint as he exactly did that. The intense light was launched off from the sword in a crescent shape towards the mechs. But, soon after only a second of travelling 5 meters it disappeared. A dud? Is something some would say. It was not a dud. Just a few moments after the intense blue light in the shape of a crescent disappeared, as if a tsunami had happened, an invisible force struck the mechs and the trees behind them. Creaking of metal and wood joined in unison as they faced the invisible force. But, eventually the greater force won in only a matter of seconds as mechs and trees were uprooted from the ground into the air. There was no need to question who released such power as everyone in the surroundings stared at the perpetrator. The knight in black. ---- Among the rubble of the battlefield, a man in a boiler suit was groaning as he crawled away from the opened hatch of the mech unit he piloted. He had a pale complexion, crimson eyes with silver hair, and traits of the vampire race. He groaned as he pushed aside the rubble that consisted of dirt and metal parts of his mech. Disoriented, he tried crawling away from the wreckage but met with the sight of a wasteland. Wreckages similar to this one scattered here and there. When one looked from above, you could see the ground was gouged in the form of a curve that stretched along the part where the forest line used to be. He remembered seeing a blue light suddenly disappearing and then seconds after the surroundings became blurry. He grounded his teeth at the thought of falling to such a lowly race as he tried to contain the anger inside of him. He had enough control over himself to prevent catching attention. After containing himself, he thought ¡®its not over yet! Your only pets who needs to die for biting back at your masters! You will all regret not being obedient and just staying still to die by our hand! Hahahaha- huh!?¡¯ As he thought to himself with a grin plastered on his face, he failed to notice the knight in black armour behind him. The pilot froze with a stupid expression as he saw the face of the knight filled with scorn. Seconds passed as the pilot finally managed to speak. ¡°You! What are you looking at?! What, are you planning on killing me?! Oh that¡¯s right, you don¡¯t know how to speak vampire tongue, ha! How pointless, of course you don¡¯t know-¡°(Pilot) ¡°Don¡¯t be so ready to assume I can¡¯t speak your language¡± The pilot¡¯s mouth was agape as he was dumbfounded as to how he understood him and that he spoke in his native tongue. Though sometimes the mouth movements from the words he produced didn¡¯t match up like subtitles in a movie or anime, the pilot finally found out the identity of why someone from the human continent whom they hadn¡¯t had contact with for so long could speak in their tongue in such a way. ¡°A hero huh? That¡¯s why¡­. To think you humans have done the same as us¡­. Should I call it a coinci-¡°(Pilot) At mentioning that they did the same as they have, the knight in black expressed a shocked face. ¡°What?! You will tell me everything there is about that or I will kill you right here painfully!¡± He grabbed the pilot with one hand and raised him into the air. The pilot was shocked for a bit from being suddenly interrupted and hoisted but after a second, he sported a smirk as he stabbed a syringe into his leg. The knight seeing this realised what it was he injected to himself as he released the pilot dropping him onto the ground. ¡°Ha! As if I would do that! Hahahahaha¡± (Pilot) He said as he began to cackle. ¡°This for the count! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!¡± (Pilot) He shouted as his body began to darken then turn to ash. The knight staring at this with wide eyes tried to contemplate about what the pilot said. But, ¡°Oi Hiro!¡± From behind him came a voice. The knight turned around to find the mage in dark green with two others, both female, one a brawler and the other a cleric. The knight responded. ¡°I told you not to call me that. Call me by my full name.¡± The mage in green responded, ¡°But Hachiro¡¯s too long, and doesn¡¯t Hiro sound like hero? Right, Hero?¡± That¡¯s right, it was the four of the group summoned from the other world. Different from the start where they were happy go lucky, they now had a more serious atmosphere even though they were still joking around like so. Chapter 15 Heroes In the recently occupied city of Windcoast, Count Buroom who was now formally referred to as general, was in the city lords'' manor was now, with a relaxed and pleased expression, reading the reports of the recent skirmishes of the nearby strongholds that were built to protect strategic points of the highways that lead to the continents cities. He was using the desk that used to belong to this cities lord to look at the documents with his personal retainer, Roland, who stood besides him. After shuffling the papers on his desk for a bit and then putting it down on one corner he spoke, "What place was that fort called again thats closest to those mountainous region that blocks off a direct route to the human capital? Oh, and what news is there regarding the invasion ? " (Buroom) He asked as he hummed a delighted tune. "The name of the place is Fort Treadlog General. From the information gathered from our well informed slaves, its a place that doesnt yield much gain but is a place where public order is well kept. And regarding the invasion of the Fort, I would say they have already engaged the forces." (Roland) Listening to his personal retainers words with closed eyes as he entrusted the chair with his back, the General muttered ''I see, I see'' whie keeping his pleased expression. "By the way, what of the rebel forces that were captured yesterday for trying to disrupt the excecution of the cities territorial lords family?" (Buroom) "Ah, we have already enslaved all of them General, and now they are now all yours to command sir." (Roland) He informed the General of the situation as a similar pleased expression the same as the generals appeared on his face. "Ooh! That was quick! As I thought, the newly implemented enslavement crest works wonders! As expected of the Buroom family, we produce the best in enslavement magic. Our history of generation and generations of being leading experts of enslavements isnt just for show.!" (Buroom) In a maniacal tone, the count/general guffawed. ------------- Fort Treadlog, just one of the fortresses in between the town the two stayed in and Windcoast city. It was a fortress with 20 metre high stone walls that towered over the surrounding forest trees so one couldn¡¯t help but notice it. Though it was usually peaceful within the settlement, it was now in chaos. Cannon fire kept going off from atop the walls and ground. Cannons that spewed out round lead artillery at the other side. 100 cannons above and also below, fire after fire filled the top and bottom of the fortress walls with smoke from the reaction of black gunpowder. Normally this amount of firepower would have long decimated the opposition if it was only blood and flesh on the other side but contrary to what these cannons were for, the enemy they faced was but, it stood, no they stood four metres, a body of metal, steam coming from the rectangular funnel on its back, wheels for legs, for its arms they were replaced with weapons, on the right had a muzzled piece that was continuously spouting out oil that was alight, on its left was a 2 metre long cuboid barrel firing artillery. They advanced row after row numbering only 50. They received numerous hits from the fortress cannons but as if the cannon rounds were only insects in its path that hit them, they advanced forward inching in closer and closer. They had no effect on these steel coffins, only making minor dents here and there. Every time these giant steel coffins shot back with their own weapon (Left arm cannon) at the fortress, either pieces of the walls scattered or pieces of human bodies scattered. Dragon riders swept down at the giant steel coffin desperately trying to harm the enemy but to no avail. The Thick metal armour they had was too strong for the attacks of both dragon and rider. The dragon, as if it was a cock in a cock fight, frantically used its huge claws on the metal coffin but it just looked like a bird trying to move an immovable statue. It wasnt only one dragon but there were multiple dragons with riders on top trying to do the same. Just like the first dragon, there was no effect at all. At the forefrunt of the advancing coffins, a downed dragon rider was on the grass pulling towards the direction of the fort trying to excape from a steel coffing that moved forward with a noise that sounded like the noise produced form a roller coaster ascending a cart. Grunts with occasional coughs of blood resounded from the face plate of the rider. The rider knew that either going the other way or heading to the fort wouldnt make a difference in the eventual killing of the rider, but still, the rider wanted to die in the place he was born in. He resolved himself to at least that. But fate was cruel. The steel coffin had already advanced to just a few meters away from the crawling soldier. The crawling rider realising that the sound coming from his rear meant that it was too late, made a last effort of silently chanting a spell under his breath. After having clenched the hand that materialised magic with the other hand onto his chest with his back to the steel coffin, he spun around with quick desperation and launched the magic onto the enemy infront of him. An orange flame in the shape and size of a cannonball was flung towards the coffin, hitting the hatch of the enemy. There was a burst of sound like a modern day grenade and the shockwave of one. A flash of orange blinded the rider as he closed his eyes. The rider expected that the attack made little difference judging from all the attacks that his allies had launched against them but refrained from being depressed as he thought that he at least hit it back once more. The rider bracing himself for the eventual end kept his eyes closed. But no end came as he heard the cry of a lion from the sky. "Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Opening his eyes, he saw a pile of steel that was the remains of the steel coffins that seemed indestructible just moments ago. It had big holes here and there that seemed to have been caused by melting. The edges of the holes that continued though to the back of the remains of the steel coffin glowed orange as if to make a cylinder. As the rider came out of his shock, shadows that appeared above of the forts own shadow. They quickly zoomed forward to the the enemy as more and more cries of lions were heard. The identity of the mysterious shadows were revealed in the form of a lion with wings. With a body the width and size of a truck, and a wing span 1.5 times of their body length, Gryphons swarmed the skies approximately 50 metres above ground floor. From atop the gryphons, countless attacks showered the enemy. An icicle the size of a tree materialised and went fort to impale the enemy crushing the steel coffin into scrap metal and mutilating the person inside beyond recognition. The creaking of the metal was blocked out with the countless sounds of destruction. Bright pillars of fire centered on a steel coffin barraged with high intensity flame reducing it into cast metal. On top of a gryphon that was flying by, arrows that was reinforced with magic were homing on the hatch of a steel coffin making sounds of ''plink! plink! plink!'' as it gradually ate away at it. Out of the range where friendly fire wouldnt reach, gryphons dragged the enemies on the ground floor as they were quite heavy to lift off completely and other gryphons pierced the steel coffins with their beaks like chicken pecking at food on the floor. From a purple circle that materialised above a group of steel coffin out came purple birds in flocks as they exploded on the group. As more purple birds came, the purple circle shrunk as if it was paint was being used up. While the battle was still on going, four gryphons zoomed towards the back of the enemy line. In unison the four gryphons flew by close to the ground and dropped four humanoid figures when they reached 10 meters above ground. They landed without any harm, something that normal humans couldn¡¯t do normally without having any broken bones. From the right, a black knight with full plate armour with a 3 meter long sword with a width the size of a human¡¯s hip. On his back was shield with what looked like the scales of a black dragon. It seemed to move like it was alive shivering in what could be described as excitement. Next to him was a cleric in white armour consisting of light cloth armour underneath some light metal armour. She had a poleaxe on one hand and a kite shield on the other. Next to her was a mage in a dark green hooded trench coat with pointed shoulder guards and a staff with cylindrical gems on top of each other that emitted a bright light. From the portions of the body, one could clearly see it was a male. Next was Brawler in a brown cloth tank top with arm sleeves and leg what looked like a monk¡¯s leg clothing. She had a metal gauntlet on both hands that looked too heavy for her glass hour figure. When the four saw what their enemy was, they thought in unison a foreign word from this world, ¡®mechs¡¯. Seeing the so called mechs starting to retreat and encountering the four figures, they decided to attack with everything they had. Artillery and fire from the enemy shot forward to the four but before they could reach, the staff of the mage emitted magic that shot forward towards the ground and raised it to form a curve wall around the four blocking the attacks of the mechs. Such timing and speed. It stopped the attack of the mechs for a bit maybe due to shock at the power of the enemy but the four did not let this opening go as they began to retaliate. The mage in dark green, plunging the end of his staff to the ground, he casted his magic targeting 12 of the mechs. The targeted mechs began to slow as they slowly began to lose traction from the ground. Slowly, the 12 mechs began to ascend meter after meter into the air until they reached around the height of 200 meters. When they reached the height of around 200 meters, they began to drop. When they reached the ground, sounds as if a modern cannon was shot resounded. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.Smoke surrounded the crash sites of the 12 and when it cleared, something similar to what a car crusher makes was there. Due to the rotation of the planet, the mechs did not land on the same spot from before they were lifted. This prevented the mechs from hitting their allies but this also presented an opportunity for the 2 women to attack as they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about falling mechs crushing them. Both brawler and priestess jumped forward high up in the air easily reaching a peak height of 20 meters as they landed in front of the mechs. In front of a mech that looked like tank that¡¯s bipedal, one wouldn¡¯t hesitate to run away, but the brawler would not do that. Crouching for a second, the girl adopted a punching form with her right arm curled onto her armpit. She was still several meters apart from the mech to be in range of punching the mech is what most would think. But after that brief posture adjustment, the girl disappeared and reappeared in front of the mech with her right hand inside the mech making creaking and crunching noises. The girl felt warm flesh similar to that of a humans and a warm liquid that smelt like iron. The girl new she had killed someone but her face showed no regret as anger had taken over. It was the same with the other girl, she attacked her weapon that wedged itself through the mech armour as blood sprayed from the opening. She did it with a face of hateful scorn as she kept swinging her weapon with one hand that left other mechs in a similar state. In a moment¡¯s time, all the mechs around the area were destroyed. Seeing that the enemy force was no longer there, the people from the fort readied themselves to cheer but was stopped as they saw more mechs coming from the forest where the enemy first came out off. This time they numbered 200 as they began firing from the front of the forest. The knight in black armour with a 3 meter sword faced the enemy as cannon fire closed in on him. The mage next to him prepared to use magic but was stopped with the knights raising one hand to the mage. Following what the knight motioned, the mage stopped the gathering of magic to his staff. Seeing the mage comply with his request, he took out his black scale shield. Holding it in front of him, the scales moved on the shield stopped any movement, suddenly a white aura manifested from the gaps in the scales. In a short second, the white aura intensified as it took an ethereal form of an oriental dragon wrapping around the two. ¡®Graaaaaaaaa!¡¯ Screamed the dragon at the enemy. The artillery fire that seemed to slowly crawl its way to the two was blocked and deflected when they touched dragon wrapped around the two. The barrage of enemy fire lasted for only a minute as they realised it had no effect on the dragon. They decided to advance forward thinking that they could break it from close range but then from the gaps of the dragon, an intense blue light was emitted. This didn¡¯t stop the advance of the mechs as they kept getting closer and closer. Though slow compared to a horse carriage, they were faster compared to mobile cannons. This gave the knight in black enough time. The dragon suddenly started to disappear as it faded back into the shield of the knight that was seemingly put on to his back again. There, the knight stood with an intensely glowing blue sword with only one hand as he made a pose as if to slice horizontally from left to right. He did not disappoint as he exactly did that. The intense light was launched off from the sword in a crescent shape towards the mechs. But, soon after only a second of travelling 5 meters it disappeared. A dud? Is something some would say. It was not a dud. Just a few moments after the intense blue light in the shape of a crescent disappeared, as if a tsunami had happened, an invisible force struck the mechs and the trees behind them. Creaking of metal and wood joined in unison as they faced the invisible force. But, eventually the greater force won in only a matter of seconds as mechs and trees were uprooted from the ground into the air. There was no need to question who released such power as everyone in the surroundings stared at the perpetrator. The knight in black. ---- Among the rubble of the battlefield, a man in a boiler suit was groaning as he crawled away from the opened hatch of the mech unit he piloted. He had a pale complexion, crimson eyes with silver hair, and traits of the vampire race. He groaned as he pushed aside the rubble that consisted of dirt and metal parts of his mech. Disoriented, he tried crawling away from the wreckage but met with the sight of a wasteland. Wreckages similar to this one scattered here and there. When one looked from above, you could see the ground was gouged in the form of a curve that stretched along the part where the forest line used to be. He remembered seeing a blue light suddenly disappearing and then seconds after the surroundings became blurry. He grounded his teeth at the thought of falling to such a lowly race as he tried to contain the anger inside of him. He had enough control over himself to prevent catching attention. After containing himself, he thought ¡®its not over yet! Your only pets who needs to die for biting back at your masters! You will all regret not being obedient and just staying still to die by our hand! Hahahaha- huh!?¡¯ As he thought to himself with a grin plastered on his face, he failed to notice the knight in black armour behind him. The pilot froze with a stupid expression as he saw the face of the knight filled with scorn. Seconds passed as the pilot finally managed to speak. ¡°You! What are you looking at?! What, are you planning on killing me?! Oh that¡¯s right, you don¡¯t know how to speak vampire tongue, ha! How pointless, of course you don¡¯t know-¡°(Pilot) ¡°Don¡¯t be so ready to assume I can¡¯t speak your language¡± The pilot¡¯s mouth was agape as he was dumbfounded as to how he understood him and that he spoke in his native tongue. Though sometimes the mouth movements from the words he produced didn¡¯t match up like subtitles in a movie or anime, the pilot finally found out the identity of why someone from the human continent whom they hadn¡¯t had contact with for so long could speak in their tongue in such a way. ¡°A hero huh? That¡¯s why¡­. To think you humans have done the same as us¡­. Should I call it a coinci-¡°(Pilot) At mentioning that they did the same as they have, the knight in black expressed a shocked face. ¡°What?! You will tell me everything there is about that or I will kill you right here painfully!¡± He grabbed the pilot with one hand and raised him into the air. The pilot was shocked for a bit from being suddenly interrupted and hoisted but after a second, he sported a smirk as he stabbed a syringe into his leg. The knight seeing this realised what it was he injected to himself as he released the pilot dropping him onto the ground. ¡°Ha! As if I would do that! Hahahahaha¡± (Pilot) He said as he began to cackle. ¡°This for the count! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!¡± (Pilot) He shouted as his body began to darken then turn to ash. The knight staring at this with wide eyes tried to contemplate about what the pilot said. But, ¡°Oi Hiro!¡± From behind him came a voice. The knight turned around to find the mage in dark green with two others, both female, one a brawler and the other a cleric. The knight responded. ¡°I told you not to call me that. Call me by my full name.¡± The mage in green responded, ¡°But Hachiro¡¯s too long, and doesn¡¯t Hiro sound like hero? Right, Hero?¡± That¡¯s right, it was the four of the group summoned from the other world. Different from the start where they were happy go lucky, they now had a more serious atmosphere even though they were still joking around like so. Chapter 16 Clash After the repulsion of the enemy at the fort, reinforcements steadily came. Due to the path that headed straight towards the coast leading to the fight being blocked by geographical barriers in the form of mountain ranges, the first reinforcements to arrive were those who used flying mounts of the dragon variant as they had more speed and could fly above the mass of mountains. For the ground troops who didn''t have access to this type of transport, they had to go around the geographical barrier to avoid any losses from incidents like monster attacks or accidents from the journey. The aerial troops that arrived shortly after the heroes repelled the attackers at Fort Treadlog began to retake the invaded territory. In two weeks, three fourths of the territory had been taken back with no major losses with the heroes leading at the vanguard. The home room heroes were not all together at this time as they had been divided into groups to be assigned strategically to different areas. The ¡®royals¡¯ were at the fore frontal area with two other groups; a group of four and a group of six. The two groups that was with them was the group of four that had each member who were proficient with the four elements: fire, water, air, earth. The other group was what was called, ¡®Yumi¡¯s harem¡¯. It was a reverse harem that consisted of one girl; Yumi and 5 boys. Yumi was a protagonist of her own story, is what some would say, similar to one in a shoujo reverse harem manga. She was an archetype plain girl with glasses and twin braids but like stories, with her gentleness and caring attitude, she somehow ended up with this harem of bishounens (Good looking boys). The rest of the homeroom class were divided between middle guard who was to stay just behind the vanguard in retaken territories as back up and the support who stayed at the base. The royals group were leading a battalion of 100 through a grassland that touched the central settlements of Windcoast. The other two groups who each had reinforcements with them numbering 50 each, they were leading, were assigned to the two adjacent settlements so that the vampires couldn¡¯t flank the advancing battalions the royals were leading. On top of his gryphon, Hachiro began talking. ¡°HQ. We''re about to reach the enemy territory.¡± (Hachiro) He spoke into thin air as he eyed the thatched houses that were on the edge of the horizon. He wasn''t talking to the rest of the royals who were flying on their own gryphons adjacent to each other. Also, because of the speed they were flying, it was impossible to converse with each other. What he was doing was not talking to an imaginary person but reporting to a real person. The person Hachiro reported to was Yuzuki, who was presently at fort treadlog made into the headquarters for the counter attack. Her class was Hero Game Master (GM), a unique class that had archetype game option functions as skills. This enabled Hachiro to communicate with her using her GM skill ¡®call¡¯. This GM class allowed only the heroes to be made as a ¡®friend¡¯ that would then enable communications. If one was made into a ¡®friend¡¯, like in a game they would get a panel show up in front of their eyes with a requests to be a ¡®friend¡¯. If one becomes a ¡®friend¡¯, they could also send a friend requests to other heroes who was invited by Yuzuki to become their ¡®friend¡¯. It was like adding a mutual friend to enable communications with each other. Of course, all of the homeroom group except Kenshin, were all ¡®friends¡¯. This wasn¡¯t because of discrimination but because Yuzuki wasn¡¯t able to send a requests to Kenshin because he wasn¡¯t a ¡®hero¡¯. Back to Hachiro. In his mind, a voice resounded. ¡°Received. Inform me when the enemy has been sighted okay?¡± (Yuzuki) ¡°Yeah. Were just about to descend into a settlement there. It¡¯s a river village. I¡¯m going to contact you like you said if there are enemies here.¡±(Hachiro) As he had cut off Yuzuki, from the houses that edged on the horizon, multiple discharge''s of lightning that seemed to originate and centre above the houses. As soon as this was seen by Hachiro, a horizontal forward direction moving lightning leader manifested, before it branched into multiple twigs of high voltage lightning hitting the four heroes and the battalion behind. ¡®Krag-Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagg!¡¯ The accompanying phenomenon of thunder resounding for seconds was heard. ---- At the south most flank of the frontline vanguard (Hachiro''s group) battalion, a group of four hero mages were tending to their flying mounts feeding them water and also grooming them. Similar to this scene was the surroundings that were also doing similar things to their aerial mounts, airborne dragons, one of the variants of dragons with a speed that could only just barely catch up to the speed of gryphons. The four mages that were busy grooming their aerial mounts were Tamiko, the fire mage, Umeko, the water mage, Shou, the earth mage and lastly Ryo, the air mage. They represented the four classic elements and was sometimes dubbed ¡®klassiker¡¯ German for classic. The four were best friends now and even before being transported from their home world. Some could say they were counterparts of the ¡®royals¡¯ but with more moderate looks and they were also not elites. They wore mage clothing that seemed to be made of high class materials and closely resembled each other but with different colouring and sizing. As they were grooming the gryphons, a familiar face stood before the group. Clad in knight armour was Mark, a Master sergeant. He was the commander appointed to lead this battalion to secure this area. With a serious expression that was different from the time at the dungeon, he asked the group who turned around to his voice. ¡°Any word from HQ guys?¡± (Mark) The representative of the four, Tamiko replied back to the commanding officer. ¡°No. Last communication with HQ was that Yumi¡¯s group like us didn¡¯t encounter any soldiers and has secured their area. Also, the frontline vanguard battalion is reaching their allotted area.¡± (Tamiko) With an ¡®I see¡¯ from mark, his expression loosened up in a relaxed state. ¡°Alright. We are going to stay here until we get the go ahead from command. It might take a day or two as usual until we receive orders to advance again. So you guys can rest for a bit.¡± (Mark) The four gave a ''woohoo'' when they heard that they get to rest. They immediately started setting up their sleeping beds on the floor. They did journey for hour¡¯s non-stop after all and they were still kids even though in the human continent they would be adults legally as they are 16 plus old. Normally, compared to the time of earth¡¯s middle ages, the age of 11 was already considered an adult ready to become parents because of the need to reproduce early as the counter measure against being wiped out from diseases and dying by food deficiency. But that was due to lack of access to medical treatments, medical treatments that something this world has in both the form of magic and medicine. So, in this world, the four heroes weren¡¯t completely considered as adults, Mark thinks that they aren¡¯t adults yet as his expression began to turn sour. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He thought that they were still too young to be fighting wars after being summoned, and that they had their futures stolen by them, so he thought that he himself was also responsible. Seeing his facial expression, one of the students was about to ask if he was okay but was too late as Mark questioned the four quicker than her. ¡°Umm¡­. Do you feel that your situation is unreasonable? About being taken to fight I mean. If you are, then, in behalf of us, I am truly sorry.¡± (Mark) Different from his usual jokey attitude, he expressed his apology towards the group with a bitter expression. Hearing the cause of his unusual behaviour, the group laughed that made him direct a questioning gaze towards them. ¡°Mark-san, were grateful that your worried about us about that, but, even though we were distraught at first, I mean we were suddenly summoned to another world so of course we were, but seeing that we were needed by the thousands of people here, I, no every one of us feel that we must save the people here even if that means we have to bloody our hand. It¡¯s not because we were forced to do so. It¡¯s our own choice, so please Mark-san, be at peace.¡± (Tamiko) The others were nodding at what she said with resolute expressions giving Mark a peace of mind. ¡°I¡¯m glad, that you feel that way, truly glad.¡± (Mark) He gave them a sincere and content expression making the group give wry smiles and scratched their cheeks in embarrassment. Suddenly, ¡®Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!¡¯ The sound of birds was heard from the tree line on the south of the camp site. When they turned to face the origin of the sound, birds were flying away from the area where the sound originated inside the forest. All of the battalion soldiers soon swivelled their head towards that direction. They had the same thing in mind. ''Enemy!?'' It was said that it was secured their earlier by the scouts so they were baffled. They were quick to take out their weapons, something expected of high ranking soldiers. Seeing that their riders were all alert towards the direction of the forest, the dragons and gryphons too prepared themselves. Mark and a squad of soldiers were slowly approaching towards the origin of the sound with weapons in ready. Mark at the centre of two heavy armour soldiers and three ranged weapon soldiers and one gryphon that came from the group of heroes entered the forest. From the perspective of the rest of the soldiers, the shadows of the trees looked like it swallowed the squad. All of them were ready to attack anything that moved inside the forest. Their breaths were not frantic nor calm either. They have been in this type of scenario before mostly during monster or bandit subjugation. It was very unlikely it was bandits, as this area was known to have good security before and wasn¡¯t known for having any bandit activity. Maybe it could have been monsters but the records show that only small and extremely low ranking monsters were home to this territory and that they were treated as prey of the birds that left earlier meaning that something stronger appeared. This fact made the squad nervous as they kept on searching for the cause of the ruckus for thirty minutes. Eventually, after searching almost all of the forest, they decided to head back. Without incident, they returned to the start of the forest line where they were met with the figures of Tamiko and her team. The four were sporting questioning gazes, something that Mark replied to with a ¡®false alarm¡¯ relieving the young heroes. ¡°You guys, head back and rest. We have to save our energy for any orders we receive, especially you four, if we need you for something we will get you. I¡¯m going to stay here for a bit¡± (Mark) The group of four and the soldiers that was with Mark to scout headed back for the campgrounds without Mark who stayed near the tree line. Walking to the side of a tree and sitting down with a sigh, he took off his armour and weapons to set them aside. He took out a pen and paper and began writing down logs for the battalion. After he finished writing, he took out a whistle and used it making a high pitch noise. From the direction of the tents came a messenger hawk who flew in front of Mark. Mark then put the documents on the hawk and it flew towards the direction of the headquarters. Even though they could use the heroes to communicate with the base through Yuzuki, they had to use this type of communications so ¡®game master¡¯ Yuzuki wouldn¡¯t be overburdened. Preparing to head back, Mark stood back up and looked at his equipment. As he was about to reach for his chest armour, ¡°Mark-san, we need to talk quickly.¡± (?) ''!!'' (Mark) Due to the shock, his eyes became wide open to the point that it looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. His heart stopped for a bit as he became stiff. That was because he didn¡¯t hear anyone coming. The voice didn¡¯t come from the direction of the tents but from inside the forest, meaning it wasn''t likely to be a soldier. The voice originated just approximately 2 meters from him. Though it did not show through his behaviour, Mark was a competent warrior who would sense anything in radius of 5 meters be it ally or enemy without sight. Mark dispelled the thoughts of how and began to ready himself to fight at a moment¡¯s breath. With fast movement, he turned his eyes to the direction of the voice as he moved his body to grab his sword on the ground but............................ he stopped when he saw the voices owner. Something that shocked him more than the first time when he heard the voice, that now he even let his mouth open. The person who stood there was a figure in a black cloak, and a face who he had not seen for quite some time. Mark was motionless for quite some time as he sorted out his mind of all the mixed emotions of confusion and relief that flooded his mind. Finally, he did a big sigh as he relaxed his body, he said in relief. ¡°You bastard. You gave me quite a fright. You could have at least said hi to my sister and the others when you got out you know.¡± (Mark) He scolded Ken as he reminded him about Jen and the staybehind group. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again Ken.¡± (Mark) He said with a kind smile that showed how at ease he was. But Kenshin who remained expressionless said, ¡°The enemy has infiltrated your ranks Mark-san¡± (Kenshin) Cold water doused him with the unexpected news. Chapter 17 At the camping ground, the unit was done setting up camp. Tents were generously spaced apart from each other to allow for freedom of movement in regards to the sizes of the dragons and gryphons. The skies began to dye red. Normally, due to the unit being tired from travelling and moving around to set up camp, more than half of them would have been sleeping but that was not the case. They were gathered in an open space, next to where the tents were. They were suddenly called to formations by the commander, Mark, just before they were about to sleep. Questioning gazes towards Mark, who stood at the front of the formation facing them, stood with the four heroes with their gryphons besides them. Mark wore a serious and grim expression as he faced them. ¡°Listen up!¡± (Mark) From the top of his lungs, he shouted. In response to this the soldiers stood with their backs straight. Their eyes and ears directed at their commander. Mark walked around the perimeter of the group as he gazed at each and every one of the soldiers still wearing his serious and grim expression. He paced back and forth in silence. They wanted to ask what this was about but decided not to. Finally he stopped. ¡°There are enemies amongst us¡± (Mark) Faces of astonishment were displayed on their faces. He just declared that amongst them were enemies, it was unexpected for them. Looking to find some answers, they began to turn to each other to ask what he was talking about. At the furthest right of the group, a soldier from the scout squad that had eight members was being asked by the soldier in the squad next to him. ¡°Hey Kurt, do you know what¡¯s going on? What¡¯s he talking about? Has someone joined the enemy or what?¡± (?) Kurt replied back with a confused expression. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe it¡¯s a drill?¡± (Kurt) He replied with a shrug. The soldier, after hearing his reply had turned to look the other way asking others the same question. As he was out of the soldiers and anyone else¡¯s line of sight, his face became expressionless, devoid of any emotion. Silently, he took out a cylinder shaped object from underneath his clothes. It was not only him that did the same movement. The whole squad who were outside the others line of sight followed suit taking out the same object as him. They pointed the end of it to the squad next to them, directly at their head. In unison they cocked back a lever attached near the hand grip, then their index finger began to squeeze on the trigger. ¡®POOB!!!!¡¯ They fired in unison and the sound of a bullet hitting something solid was heard. It was not the intended target. A wall of earth a metre thick, spread out enough to block all the shots fired, successfully protecting the targets. When they saw that their attempts were foiled, they acted quickly. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. They changed their weapon choices to magic. But, as soon as the first mouth opened to chant, the sound of their bodies falling on the ground in unison was heard in unison. All throughout this sequence of events, no expression of surprise showed on their faces. Without a second thought, they tried to get up but couldn¡¯t. Something like ropes had bound them to the ground. The culprit were not ropes but vines that emerged from the ground. These vines had wrapped the shooters securely on the ground preventing them from moving. Not only that, their mouths were also gagged by the vines to prevent the use of magic. Still sporting their emotionless faces their muscles jerked as they began to struggle trying to get out of their constraints but failed. ¡°¡­.What¡¯s going on¡­¡­¡­ Hey Kurt, did you just try to shoot us?......... Kurt!(?) The female soldier that talked to him in the beginning began to furiously question him. ¡°Those weapons¡­¡­¡­You¡­¡­Have you sided with the enemy!?¡± (?) The soldier named Kurt ignored her as he tried to struggle to get free. It wasn¡¯t like he could as his mouth was sealed. ¡°Don¡¯t bother!¡± From behind, the rage filled voice of Mark was heard. ¡°The real one has already died, that¡¯s just something using his body¡± (Mark) Walking in front of the attackers, he gazed down towards the struggling soldiers on the floor with hatred. The faces of the soldiers around them were plastered with shock and confusion as their commander unsheathed his sword and readied it to swing. ¡°Commander!¡± ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t¡± The soldiers from the surroundings restrained the Commander preventing him from swinging his sword any further. ¡°What?! Why did you stop me?!¡± (Mark) He screamed from the top of his lungs at his subordinates as he questioned why they stopped him. ¡°Sir, you have to let us know what¡¯s going on! I know they attacked us but, but don¡¯t we need to question them first?! We need to know their motives on why they did this¡­. That¡¯s protocol right?!¡± (?) The surrounding people began to agree with the female soldier that talked to the soldier named Kurt, the one who just tried to kill her. ¡°Sergeant Barns is right commander!¡± (?) Another soldier backed the female sergeant. They knew that they tried to kill their teammates and that would automatically mean they had become enemies. But, due to them being former comrades, they wanted to find out why they attacked. ¡°You lot, don¡¯t tell me! Ken! Are these lot also one of them?!¡± (Mark) He misunderstood their attempt to postpone their execution as being in cahoots with them. ¡°No, they aren¡¯t¡± Kenshin voiced that out as he walked past the soldiers. At the sudden appearance of Kenshin, the surrounding soldiers were on guard just like Mark was earlier when they met again. They were ordered by Mark to calm down after he was released by the soldiers that was holding him. As Kenshin walked up to the attackers, one of the attackers that was on the ground was moved up to about eye level to Kenshin. Mark also walked up to the attacker and addressed the battalion. ¡°You guys are right. Sorry, I lost my cool for a second.¡± (Mark) He sighed. ¡°You need to know what¡¯s going on. I will tell you¡± (Mark) Chapter 18 [Flashback] Being told that there were enemies within them, his thoughts froze for a moment. ¡°¡­¡­..Eh?¡± (Mark) Completely caught off guard from his declaration, he reacted with a dumbfounded noise. ¡°Mark-san, were pressed for time. Please get the other heroes. They have to relay this information to HQ. If it doesn¡¯t, the chances of winning this battle will decrease significantly.¡± (Kenshin) His voice didn¡¯t contain any emotion when relaying the information to Mark, making one think if he even cared at all. The tone of his voice and behaviour neither contained indifference nor interest on the topic. It didn¡¯t seem as if he thought it was bothersome, just that, none of it contained any human aspects. Normally, Mark, a commander in charge of 50 plus soldiers¡¯ lives wouldn¡¯t have readily acted on the words of someone who isn¡¯t a soldier but Kenshin was the exception as he thought of him as a little brother and his own saviour and also his twin sister, Jen who he saved also. Jen also thought of Kenshin as a little brother. She wanted Kenshin to call her nee-chan. They covered for each other in the dungeon and also did tedious tasks without complaining or disobedience. ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Alright. Although I have some questions, I trust you so I expect you to answer them.¡± (Mark) Kenshin was someone whom he could trust his life to so without a second thought, he ran towards the camping grounds straight for the four heroes. ---- A few minutes later, Mark and a group of four young heroes were walking behind him with tired expressions. They were sleeping when Mark woke them up saying to follow him quietly. ¡°Hey Mark-san what¡¯s going on? Why are we headed here?¡± Ryo was an earth specialised mage who could erect a barrier of earth in a second asked. ¡°Just keep walking, we¡¯re nearly there¡± (Mark) Ryo, who felt that it was serious from the tone of his voice, carried on walking but with a more serious expression. After reaching the place where Kenshin was, they were all wide eyed including mark who reached for his sword. In front of them was Kenshin¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­.with three bodies on the ground. Two were knights with a crest that represented Windcoast city and both had a hole through one of their eye sockets. They were clearly dead. The other was a silver haired, pale skin young man next to him unconscious on the ground face first. He was unmoving but not dead. There were signs of life from his chest area moving up and down. Mark was going shout at Kenshin thinking he had killed the two knights but was too slow. ¡°These two were dead before I before I killed them¡± (Kenshin) Saying something so mindboggling, Mark and the four were surprised. ¡®Did he slay them or what, which is it?¡¯ was the question running through their head. Still remaining vigilant, Mark reaching his limit asked. ¡°What is this?! Kenshin! Explain quickly because this doesn¡¯t look good for you!¡± (Mark) He snarled with his sword pointed at Kenshin and the vampire. The group of four wasn¡¯t able to get out of their confusion from the situation. At first they see the guy they thought was dead appearing before them. A guy they didn¡¯t pay much attention to and also someone of little presence. The class heard from the stay behind group that he died from a horde of giant wasp. From hearing that someone who was summoned with them had died, the class began to change the way they thought about their entire situation and how they went about it. At first they thought it was a game where they could revive again and continue from the save point but when they heard about Kenshin, all of those delusions were gone. This made them become scared of fighting and refused to fight monsters for some time. Refusing to risk their only lives fearing they too would end up dead like their recently deceased classmate. It seemed hopeless for some time but then a part of the class encountered an event that got them to regain their vigour. Hearing their encounter, the rest of the class also regained their vigour. Though one exception was the teacher whose behaviour changed completely. She began to act very unusual when the topic of Kenshin came up again when Mark and the Knight Captain came back from their search. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Mark was saying that Kenshin might be alive and petitioned for the heroes to sweep the dungeon to find the person. The class found it hard to believe that he might be alive seeing that he had to go up against a army of giant wasp The teacher began to shake uncontrollably and lashed out at Mark, saying that would risk more lives if they chose to believe in his wild guest as well as adding to the trauma they had already. Seeing the person they thought dead right there before them, they had lots of questions for him and was about to ask those questions but when the person admitted slaying the two ally knights in front of them, they were unable to react and stayed stock still. Silence ensued. It was quickly dispelled by Mark who asked him to explain. ¡°Parasites have invaded the bodies of these two soldiers. Like a parasite, it uses a host. It invades the brain, taking control of their motor skills. The host is kept alive unmoving until the parasite completely takes over the body replacing the previous host. Though they retain their host¡¯s memories and experiences, the body now contains the parasites consciousness with the previous host¡¯s consciousness gone.¡± (Kenshin) Mark and the four were horrified at what they heard with aghast expressions. In the past, the human continent once had a magic in the curse system that would make a target a slave. The victim would not be able to refuse the command of their master, basically depriving them of their own will. It was banned long ago due to it being labelled as inhumane as the victims will was basically ignored by the body. They were basically puppets. Now, the slavery business now uses two methods: One was using a curse that gives the victim pain and in some cases kill them. The other was through normal enforcement of slavery without magic. In the slave business, ¡®slaves are property¡¯. That is a law officially recognised by the government. If a slave were to be caught running away by soldiers, they would be captured and taken back to their owners. They did not have the rights free people had. On earth, its name is human trafficking. Mark, upon hearing this method of control similar to one in the past frowned together with the other four. ¡®Thud¡¯ Kenshin abruptly threw a bag at his feet disrupting the group from their shock. ¡°That is the parasite that is used to control them.¡± (Kenshin) Judging from the shape, there was something in there. Cautiously, Mark used his sword to slowly open the bag. In front of them were two urchin like objects the size of a fist. Its body was coloured disgusting spots of yellow, green and brown. They were hairy like what you would find from mouldy food and the spikes were replaced with needle thin worm like appendages. Both of them had punctures through them, it was possibly what killed the two parasites. ¡±¡±¡±¡±UGG!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Seeing the two parasites appearance, Mark and the four supressed the queasiness that originated from their stomachs. ¡°These parasites originated from a similar parasite. It was only able to take over creatures who are less intelligent like fish but due to modifications performed, they were able to breed a new type that could control humans. They are under the control of a General that has subordinates who can issue orders to them.¡± (Kenshin) Kenshin pointed at the vampire. ¡°This one seems to call it a ¡®crest¡¯ as in slave crest similar to the curse magic the slave trader¡¯s use. Also, this is one of those subordinates with the power to use them. This guy also has inactive parasites on him that he uses for enslavement. I encountered their group going opposite your direction to regained territory¡± (Kenshin) ¡°Opposite our direction¡­. Wait, does that mean we passed each other without encountering the other?¡± (Ryo) ¡°No¡­. That noise earlier in the forest, was that-¡± (Mark) ¡°That was when I encountered them, that¡¯s the source of the noise you heard. It seems that if one of the slaves were killed, the others would notice instinctively. Also, there is a limit to the range they can sense if one of them are killed, that¡¯s why the recently infected slaves were not there¡± (Kenshin) ¡°....And you¡¯re saying that those recently infected slaves¡­. Were they from our group? Is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± (Mark) Mark was still sceptical of his story but feared that it might be true. The same went for the four. ¡°When you first got to this area, did you send scouts to secure the area?¡± (Kenshin) ''Ah'' After hearing the word scouts, a squads name leaked out his mouth. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­.Scout squad Kurtis¡­.¡± (Mark) Chapter 19 [Present] After hearing the story, the soldiers¡¯ faces became ghastly pale, comparable to sheet. Having been seen behaving normally before being called to line up, some of those who were close with the victims asked if there was a possibility of turning back to normal but, ¡°That was just the parasite using the host¡¯s memories and knowledge to behave as they did before. It is unfortunate but the parasite becomes the bodies¡¯ new host. One way to interpret it is that it¡¯s wearing their skins, the husks of the previous soul.¡± (Mark) Any sliver of hope to restore their former comrades back were crushed by his explanation. As they were distraught, ¡®Ssshik!¡¯ the sound of flesh being pierced was heard. ¡±¡±¡±¡±?!¡±¡±¡±¡± On the eyes of everyone, reflected the unmoving body of one of the one called Kurt. In the eye socket, a pool cue shaped weapon was stabbed through. The person wielding the cue shaped weapon was none other than Kenshin. Unable to react to the abrupt murder of a previous comrade, none were able to move. The next scene forced them to break if their frozen states as Kenshin pulled out the weapon. Along the end of the pole, an eyeball was skewered on. This would normally be where their attention was directed at but the sight of something more horrendous took the focus of everyone. Coloured with disgusting spots of green, yellow and brown similar to vomit, the urchin like creature that brought with it pieces of bloody brain matter stuck on the worm like appendages presented itself on the end of the poles tip. ¡±¡±¡±¡±?!¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°HiYAAAAAAAAA!¡± At the thought of having that thing inside their head, one of the soldiers let out a terrified scream. That scream became an impetus as similar reactions from vomiting to nausea were displayed throughout the group. They no longer doubted the information brought to them. ---- The fields in front of the river village displayed the charred figures of the vanguard battalion. These were the remains of the air force battalion, most of them. ¡°Shit! How long was I out for? Ah! Fae, are you okay?!¡± Nearest to the river village, at the front most area of the charred figures was Honoka Yukimura with Fae, her partner the gryphon, laying down in front of her unconscious. She ran towards her unconscious partner and sighed as she was just unconscious and glad that she was uninjured. ¡°Good girl, you did good¡­.Now just rest okay? I¡¯ll find the others. Seeing as I survived, the others must have also¡± (Honoka) She stroked the giant head of her beloved partner as she thought back to when they were attacked. ¡®That attack. For it to reach us all the way from there and still have that much power to have that much of an effect. Lucky I have good armour and good passive defence magic. I can¡¯t say the same for the rest of the group¡­¡­. Kuh! You guys, please be alright! No, they have to be alright, they can¡¯t die yet¡¯ She hoped for her other comrades to be alright - she did not see the charred bodies behind her as they were far and on a higher ground and she was on lower ground. Without a second to waste, Honoka began to take her saddled equipment off of the giant gryphon as to lessen her burden and also to prepare to regroup with the others. That was when she heard the sound of the grass being walked on making a faint rustling sound. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± (Honoka) As she took on her fighting pose the cause of the rustling appeared and stopped. ¡°Honoka!¡± With a bright expression, a girl in a high ranking battle cleric clothing ran towards Honoka, who was also the same with a bright expression as she received the running girl with an embrace. ¡°Ami!¡± (Honoka) The two hugged for a moment relishing each other¡¯s warmth with happy expression and after more time passed they finally let each other go. ¡°Are you okay?! You aren¡¯t injured are you?! Were you scared?! Are you feeling dizzy or feeling lightheaded?! (Honoka) The Hero brawler asked frantically as she patted down and eyed her friend¡¯s body to look for any injuries. ¡°I¡¯m okay, I¡¯m okay! What about you¡­. ¡®okaa-chan?¡± (Ami) Like a child saying to the overprotective parent to stop asking if they were alright, Ami told her friend with a teasing nickname that was a short version of her name. ¡°Ah! Don¡¯t call me that! It¡¯s because you¡¯re such a klutz that I¡¯m always worried about you.¡± (Honoka) Replying with ¡®boo¡¯, Ami sulked, not being able to deny her. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right, Hachiro-kun and Arata are in the forest, they¡¯re alright. They¡¯re searching for any survivors who crashed in the forest. They said to inform any survivors to regroup with them to figure out what to do next¡± (Ami) ¡°D-did some¡­. Were there any casualties? Ami?¡± (Honoka) After that question, Ami¡¯s expression became dark as she muttered a reply. ¡°Other than the Hachiro-kun and Arata, only four were found alive having only minor injuries and I have confirmed that the ones who crashed outside the forest have died. Hachiro-kun is searching for any other survivors in the forest. Arata is looking after the three¡± (Ami) The two¡¯s expression became bitter and stayed that way for some time. ---- Night time In a clearing inside the forest were the four heroes and their four gryphon partners. Four people lay on the ground with bandages over their bodies. One was conscious, the other three were sleeping. ¡°Major Matsuoka¡¯s abilities are really out of this world. Thank you again for restoring my fractured leg.¡± The one who was giving her gratitude to Ami Matsuoka was a woman with brown hair in a ponytail. Her name was Jen, the twin sister of Mark. She was a First Sergeant, ranking higher than her brother who was a Master Sergeant so, she was chosen to be in the vanguard battalion. The reason she was complimenting her superior Ami was because in this world, recovery magic was not like in games where the effects of the recovery magic showed itself immediately. No, the difference between fantasy games and reality was big. For example, in fantasy games or novels, a cut or bruise would disappear immediately whereas in this world, laceration that was sized two inches on the hand or leg would take around one hour of continuous use of recovery magic to heal but with visible evidence of the injury being left, like a scar. Ami would take around five minutes to recover the same wound without evidence of there being any injury. It took Ami thirty minutes to recover Jen¡¯s minor fracture, something that would normally take high ranking clerics one week, with some breaks in-between, to recover the point where they are able to move about freely. ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. It¡¯s good that you are alright.¡± (Ami) Normally, Ami would call Jen with san and Jen wouldn¡¯t treat her as her superior but they had a rule that when they are in a mission or on duty, they have to treat each other according to their ranks. ¡°Hachiro, what¡¯s your decision?¡± (Honoka) Near the two, was Hachiro, Honoka and Arata who were discussing what they would do next. ¡°We can¡¯t contact Yuzuki directly because she is resting around this time, so I sent a message to each member of the support group who is closest to her but I haven¡¯t received any message back from them that confirms to have received our message. Because of the unexpected attack leading us to now, we need orders from above if we are to continue or not, but, because we can¡¯t communicate with them, we have to decide ourselves to move or not. The commander of this unit died so it goes to me, who is the highest ranking.¡± (Hachiro) ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve established that¡± (Arata) ¡°That attack. Arata that attack managed to reduced our numbers to a degree from that far. It didn¡¯t affect us heroes that much and the other four because ¡®it¡¯ activated right on time to reduce the effect done on them. But the others were reduced to charred corpses. Arata, could you do that much?¡± (Hachiro) He gazed down as he pondered about his question. ¡°No. That attack¡­¡­.If we¡¯re talking about my most powerful lightning attack, mine wouldn¡¯t hit from that far away and wouldn¡¯t reduce their bodies to that degree. Also, mine needs to make a storm cloud in the sky to make lightning¡­. that attack didn¡¯t have a storm cloud as its source.¡± (Arata) Hachiro crunched his eyebrows when he heard that. ¡°So Arata, what you¡¯re saying is that they have a powerful mage that even tops you in fire power?¡± (Hachiro) Arata confirms with a small nod. ¡°Also, I don¡¯t know if the user of that attack was preparing that for a long time to make it more powerful or that it was deployed that moment we saw the river village, meaning it was quick just like-¡° (Arata) When he was about to say what it was similar to, Hachiro said it faster. ¡°Short Cast¡± (Hachiro) ¡®Short Cast¡¯ allowed the user to skip the chanting of a magic and just needs to have the name of the magic. But, this would require more mana from the user. It would take around 20% more mana compared to when casted normally. Only heroes were gifted with such powers. There were other versions that a few non-heroes could use but they were less powerful and less efficient. They thought that there was a danger of it being a summoned hero and having to fight without any information on the attacker. Also, it was likely that the attacker was not alone and there may be more summoned heroes with the attacker. At the thought of having to fight summoned heroes, silence overcame the forest clearing and the swaying of the trees and its leaves made the atmosphere in that area almost unbearable for anything to breath. The wind became calm and gentle after some time. The hustle and bustle of the trees also stopped, taking the severe and tense atmosphere with it. Hachiro opened his mouth slowly with a resolute expression. ¡°There are too many unknowns. If we risk it and fight, most likely casualties may appear. Prepare to retreat.¡± (Hachiro) The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Everyone in the group except those unconscious gave their consent to his order and began to prepare. ¡°Guh!?¡± The shield on his back released an ethereal white oriental dragon that grew in size and layered its body to make a barrier facing the direction of the river village. Three seconds after that came multiple impacts. Spears made from earth was barraging the barrier as they broke off and crumbled around Hachiro and the others. The barrage did not stop as piles and piles of sharp and heavy rubble began to build up around the group that sometimes splintered off, barely grazing the group under the barrier. ¡°Matsuoka! Jen! Get the injured on Alger quickly! He¡¯s the fastest so head for the nearest recaptured territory!¡± (Hachiro) He told them to take his mount, Alger, and retreat. Without objections, they quickly began to do so. Arata, who already made a wall of earth around them had launched a light magic. The magic made a flare like ball of white light appear in the sky, making the barrage of spears visible. They had the appearance of long pole shaped silhouettes approaching fast like arrows. The rate of fire from the barrage began to lessen and as soon as Hachiro noticed that, ¡°Alger! Go, now!¡± (Hachiro) Alger who had Jen, Ami and the injured on his back, furiously ran away from the group and began to fly with flaps of his wings, creating a torrent that shook the surrounding trees. Seeing them successfully get airborne and out of harm, Hachiro began preparations to follow after them with the others. The barrier from the shield, Arduino, the thing that was referred to as ¡®it¡¯, had a time limit. They knew that so the three; Hachiro, Honoka and Arata quickly got on the remaining gryphons. Without waiting for another chance of the barrage whittling away, they flew up into the air. When its wielder was out of harm, the ethereal dragon disappeared quickly. The barrage also stopped shortly after. Hachiro and Honoka on the gryphons began to contact their classmates in the recaptured territory using message and call function. Arata was facing the rear on guard and ready to defend the two from rear attacks. Arduino¡¯s auto-defence system had a cool down time of two hours before it can be used again and it automatically drains its user¡¯s mana when the defence system automatically activates, so it was decided for Hachiro to leave the defending to Arata. To prevent the enemy from spotting them, Arata deployed a mist field, cloaking them at the beginning of the escape. ¡®WOOSH!¡¯ Just when Honoka was about to send her message to those in the recaptured territory, the sound of something fast slicing through the air went past them. A moment later, ¡®BOOM!¡¯ A shock wave manifested in front of the three. ¡±¡±¡±¡±Gaa!¡±¡±¡±¡± All three of them shouted. The dilation of the air flow caused the gryphons to loose balance for a bit but then steadied themselves. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± (Arata) Stopping their gryphons, Arata shouted at the perpetrator. With weapons pointed at the direction the attack came from, the three were on guard ready to attack. ¡°Ho¡­. As expected of heroes. You didn¡¯t receive any injury from an attack that would normally leave you dead or at least with broken bones.¡± Floating in the air, a man with beautiful silver hair in an aristocrat¡¯s tail coat suit showed himself with a gleeful expression like a little child who found a new toy to play with. ¡°Ah, where are my manners. Greetings, my name is Rupert Arundel Buroom. Pleased to meet you at last.¡± (Buroom) They couldn¡¯t react. As soon as he finished introducing himself, the trio planned to attack but a pressure that emanated from the person in front of them stopped them from doing so. It was as if their bodies were under the pressure of water a thousand feet. ¡°So you are the rumoured heroes huh. Oh? What? Is the pressure too much for you?¡± (Buroom) Seeing those three gritting their jaws shut tight from the pressure just to try to not pass out, the counts impression of them plummeted. ¡°How disappointing. I thought that you might be different from those other trash in Windcoast. I do hope the summoned heroes from my empire aren¡¯t so weak like you.¡±(Buroom) Hearing about the enemy summoning heroes again, this time from a high ranking vampire, the three wanted to ask about it but the pressure stopped them. ¡°Ah.... what a waste of time.¡± (Buroom) The count sported a disappointed expression. But, that soon changed as he sensed multiple presences, some that he knew belonged to. ¡°Ah! You can still be useful. My subordinates have arrived. Why don¡¯t I watch from the side to see how much they have grown?¡± (Buroom) ¡®BOOM!¡¯ After he said that, impacts on the ground was heard. There were eight in total. It sounded like boulders thrown by a catapult. At the place where the impacts originated, eight vampires were seen in darkish blue trench coats paired with a military peaked cap. There were five men and three women not much different in age and racial characteristics from the count. All had rapiers on their side with four of them armed with additional weapons such as a glowing wand and a rifle musket with a bayonet. ¡°General!¡± A man from the group shouted before he began flying over to the count. ¡°General, please come back to base!¡± ¡°Good timing Colonel. I want you to pick two men from your team of your choosing to fight with those three¡± (Buroom) He purposely suggested two from his side to fight the heroes as he thought two were enough to beat them. Confused by the sudden requests, the colonel expressed a puzzled face. ¡°General, please come back to the base. The others are going to take care of them¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt to watch right? (Buroom) ¡°General, the base is going to be in chaos if you aren¡¯t there. Sir, please go back with me. We are going to escort you back¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Haa¡­... Fine, let¡¯s go.... It¡¯s probably going to be one sided anyway. You three, try not to die too quickly¡± (Buroom) The count left, flying with the colonel and three others flying behind. After, the count left, so did the pressure that oppressed the three. ¡±¡±¡±¡±Gasp!¡±¡±¡±¡± The three began breathing in as much air that they could as if they had been drowning a minute ago. Sweat dripped down from their faces and had fear plastered all over it. They were stock still, terrified as they tried not to shake from fear. ¡®We have to run!¡¯ The three shared that thought. They were in no state mentally to fight. ¡±¡±¡±¡±Retreat!¡±¡±¡±¡± Quickly commanding the gryphons to retreat the other way, the three were frantic. ¡®Bang!¡¯ The sound of a musket firing was heard. ¡°Ack!¡± ¡°Hachiro!¡± (Honoka + Arata) A bullet had hit him through the thinly armoured posterior region of his right thigh. (Back thigh) Before, he has been shot by a musket rifle but it failed to penetrate through even when thinly armoured due to his bugged stats that made his skin resist penetration. Having been shot by an attack that was enough to penetrate through Hachiro was enough to show that either the rifle or shooter was powerful. Not only was the heroes surprised, the vampires were too. ¡°¡°!?¡±¡± ¡°Was his armour strong or was it his body?....... Both maybe? That attack would have normally blown of his entire leg. Clearly, they¡¯re not normal¡± The one who shot Hachiro mumbled. ¡°After them. Advance with caution. Like she said, they¡¯re clearly not normal¡± A man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties ordered their group to pursue. Like the count, they began flying moments later, heading in the direction of the three. ---- ¡°Hachiro, how is your leg?¡± (Arata) Using ¡®call¡¯ he spoke to Hachiro because it was hard to hear words at high speed. Hachiro, never experiencing pain like this before was grinding his teeth, trying to prevent himself from screaming out. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to fight on ground. I think it fractured the bone. I¡¯m sorry.¡± (Hachiro) ¡°There is no need for fighting. We need to concentrate on retreating right?¡± (Arata) Hachiro nodded. ¡°Have you applied treat- !?¡° (Arata) He was interrupted by his gryphon quickly making a hard turn. ¡®VRAAAAAAa!¡¯ A red beam of light a meter in diameter just barely skimmed him. ¡°Impossible! They caught up to us?!¡± (Arata) ¡°Go low! Just between the crowns of the trees! They won¡¯t be able to target us properly!¡± (Hachiro) Hachiro who was far apart from the other two told them to When they did, ¡°¡±Got you!¡±¡± Two voices was heard in unison from below Honoka, who was behind Hachiro and Arata. A male and female, both with sabres appeared just below each wing of the gryphon Honoka was on and pierced it. ¡°Hiya!¡± (Honoka) ¡°KRUAA!¡± (Fae) Both rider and gryphon plummeted with both assailants grabbing on the sword that were pierced through a wing. Honoka and her gryphon crashed in the forest, hitting and breaking branches along the way going ¡®baki, baki, baki, baki!¡¯. Hachiro and Arata who saw her get attacked decided to go aid her. Hachiro landed, 20 metres away from Arata, was met by a high speed bayonet charge by the vampire sniper. The sniper, a woman of short stature with short silvery hair, aimed her bayonet towards his head. ¡°?!¡± (Hachiro) To be continued Chapter 20 Meanwhile, Arata, landing on the ground at the same time as Hachiro, lost sight of him due to the trees. ¡°Hachi- ?¡± (Arata) Before completely saying his name, he felt the communication between them cut off like when Honoka was downed. Worried about him, Arata directed his gryphon towards the direction of Hachiro. ¡°Where are you going?! Your opponents me!¡± Suddenly, from behind, a voice accompanied by a crisp sound of air being ripped apart was heard. The attack was a blade made of air. It missed his throat by a few centimetres. ¡®Bakik!¡¯ The attack that missed his throat hit the tree behind him. Arata who turned his head on reflex to the tree that was hit, saw that the attack gouged out a chunk from the bark. Arata felt cold sweat dripping down his back after seeing the injury that could have happened to him. Snapping out of his state, Arata turned his head to its original position where he saw the perpetrator. Hovering a metre in the air while advancing slowly towards him was a lean, pale skinned vampire with short silver hair. On one hand was a glowing wand. From behind the perpetrator, Arata saw multiple dimly glowing objects that grew brighter as they approached. They were twenty in total. As the objects got closer, they were revealed to be wands the same as the vampire in front of Arata. Grasping on the wands were vampires with the same appearance. ¡®Clones?!¡¯ (Arata) At that time, they stopped advancing when they surrounded Arata in a semi-circle and raised their wands. ¡®Tch?!¡¯ (Arata) Arata quickly put up a thick barrier made of earth from the ground. Then, from behind the earth barrier, multiple sounds of air ripping was heard. There was impact after impact on the earth barrier decreasing its size. ¡®Doga,doga,doga,doga!¡¯ Arata, seeing his barrier breaking away, focused his staff in the air and chanted a fire magic. Above each of the vampires, manifested twenty rapidly swirling fire balls. They were shot forward at the speed of a baseball launcher at point blank range. Multiple explosions resounded as they hit upon contact, exploding with the power of a grenade. Hearing the explosions and the enemy attack stop, Arata did not stay to wait. He rode his gryphon towards Hachiro¡¯s direction. ¡®Krag!¡¯ That was when the ground split open underneath him. It wasn¡¯t enough to make him drop in but it was enough to make his ride lose balance making them tumble on the ground, separating ways away from each other. Because of the speed of the gryphon, both crashed at high speed. It was enough to shake his brain, making his vision blurred. ¡°Ugh....¡± (Arata) Slowly getting up, he saw that he was in a clearing. ¡®Tch! He¡¯s relentless!¡¯ Arata thought as an unharmed, no longer floating and now running vampire headed towards him, rapidly mouthing chants as he pointed a glowing wand his way. The wand flashed, lighting the clearing and also robbed Arata¡¯s vision for a bit. When his vision cleared, the sight of multiple images of the same vampire met him. They surrounded him, cutting of his escape. ¡°Again?!¡± (Arata) On reflex, he activated his fastest barrier magic with ¡®short cast¡¯. ¡°Twister Castle!¡± (Arata) The wind attack that the vampires in the surrounding attacked him with was disrupted as they were hit by the sudden force of the wind. The force was such that it felt as if you were dropped into the sea, face first. The air formed into a twister around Arata. That was when rocks were launched from the tornado. Just after he finished materialising ¡®Twister Castle¡¯, Arata used another magic to make the ground crumble into pieces so it would be carried and be slingshot by the twister. The counter attack only lasted for 20 seconds until the twister gradually died down. Arata was on the ground where a crater was formed, kneeling as he gasped for air. The reason for this was because it was hard to breathe inside the twister. He was barely able to speak when he was chanting to make the ground break up into pieces. All copies of the vampire was hit, vanishing them. That didn¡¯t count for the original who stood at the place he was a moment ago. The vampire in front of him had cloaked himself in a torrent of air that was able to shred the pieces of earth thrown at him. His figure was slightly blurry, distorting his image as a side effect of the cloak. "I''ve got to give it to hand it to you. I didn''t think you would have been able to last this long seeing your condition. Especially against my ''chain castings''. It''s true what they say, a cornered prey is dangerous." In a slightly impressed voice, the vampire told Arata who was breathing on all fours. "Too bad you ran out of magic. You may have been able to last longer." He pointed his wand at Arata. ''Who said I ran out of mana?'' (Arata) He misunderstood his heavy breathing as a sign mana exhaustion so his guard was down. Mumbling under his breath, Arata said a word. "Warp!" (Arata) He vanished from the vampire¡¯s sight who had launched an air cutting attack that missed his neck by a few milliseconds. The attack from the vampire, missed its target gouging a chunk from the earth. The vampire stood there baffled at what happened. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!It wasn''t long until he chose to find Arata after he snapped out of his perplexed state. He cancelled the torrent of air that was cloaking and began to chant for a locating spell. But, before he finished the chant "-Wha?!" A large paw blasted him to the air. The perpetrator was the gryphon who was separated from Arata. It had been waiting for a chance to strike as it hid behind the cover of the tree¡¯s. It was as large as a multi-decked bus, so its swipe from its front paw most likely decimated the opponent. ¡®...¡¯ After no signs of him coming back, it went to look for Arata. ------- -Hachiro¡¯s side- Launched at the speed of a baseball thrown by a professional player, the sniper was launched towards Hachiro with the bayonet mounted musket pointed directly at his head. A normal attack like a bayonet stab wouldn''t inflict a fatal wound on the high spec Hachiro, but his instincts immediately flared up, telling him not to take her attack lightly. On reflex he ducked down, avoiding the attack. ''BAKI!'' The sound of a tree exploding resounded behind. Looking behind, the opponent had made a crater on a ten meter tall tree that made the creaking sound of a tree falling. Hachiro seeing this dripped cold sweat as he prepared to face off with the enemy. Like a knight on horseback, Hachiro, who could not walk due to his injury was relying on his gryphon to move around. Effortlessly and quickly pulling out the weapon stuck in the tree, she quickly backed off and disappeared into the forest under the cover of the night. Hachiro didn''t stay there waiting to get shot, he moved away from there, heading towards Honoka''s direction. ''POOB! POOB! POOB! POOB!'' As he headed towards Honoka, shots were fired from above at three seconds interval. The surrounding trees that were shot had the areas burst due to the power of the attack. The shots were extremely accurate as practically every one of those shots missed Hachiro''s head by a few inches, sometimes even grazing his nape armour. Unable to take the thought of getting shot, Hachiro began to chant a magic without the use of short cast as he wanted to preserve his mana. After finishing the preparation, he quickly swung the huge sword at the direction of the attacker. A silhouette protruded from the point of the sword as if extending. The silhouette grew longer until the attacker was in swinging range. It took all of his power to swing it, as the down side of this attack was the great amount of strength required to swing. It was like trying to push a heavy and giant lever horizontally. The sniper stopped her advance and used her rifle to block the attack. But due to the power behind the attack, she was blown away just like the other vampire. Seeing that there was no more gun shots, Hachiro breathed a sigh and turned his head around to see that the sniper was gone. ---- Honoka and her gryphon, Fae, were downed by the two attackers. Before they crashed, the two attackers pulled out their swords and disappeared from Honoka¡¯s sight. The crash knocked out both rider and gryphon. But that was just for a moment. Steadying her consciousness, Honoka who managed to stay with her gryphon when she crashed stood up as she raised her metal gauntlets. Closing her eyes, she waited. Then, ¡°¡°This is no time to rest!¡±¡± The attackers from before, who were actually twins, came rocketing through the air from both sides of Honoka with their sabres. One aimed a swing on the neck, the other aimed a swing at a leg. That was when she put each gauntlet in front of the direction of the attackers as she opened her eyes. A meter until their sabres connected, something like a field around each gauntlet deflected both attacks to the sides like arrows. The girl who aimed for Honoka¡¯s leg was redirected towards the ground face first, making her tumble and crash into the trunk of a tree. Her twin was flung overhead making him spin forward countless times towards the forest further away. The young looking girl was knocked out, evident from her face that showed her open eyes with the whites of her eyes. ¡°Phew¡­. As if two was enough to beat us all. Arrogant prick¡­.¡± (Honoka) She remembered what the count said about only needing two of his men to beat all of them. After her rant, she treaded towards the girl a few metres in front. When she was five steps away, she stopped. She was receiving a ¡®call¡¯ from Hachiro and Arata. Accepting, she inquired in a panicked voice if both of them were alright. ¡°Are you two alright?!¡± (Honoka) The two answered back with an affirmative. ¡°I¡¯m gl-¡± (Honoka) ¡°We have to retreat! I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re coming back but I¡¯m not staying to find out!¡± (Arata) Just as she was about to say ¡®I¡¯m glad¡¯, Arata added. ¡°He¡¯s right. We have to get away quickly.¡± (Hachiro) ¡°Wait, I have one unconscious here and I was just about to-¡­.Gone. She¡¯s gone!¡± (Honoka) The girl disappeared when she took her eyes off of her for a moment. ¡°Forget about it! Get on Fae and escape on ground! We¡¯ve ran out of mana so we can¡¯t take the chance of fighting them again.¡± (Arata) ¡°Kuh¡­. Fine!¡± (Honoka) With an annoyed voice, she consented. ---- Change announcement Changes were made to chapter 1 - 13 to make it easier to read Chapter 21 ¡°....You failed?¡± In the place where Hachiro¡¯s group were attacked by the red beam, four men and women were kneeling on the ground in front of a man who was around 2 meters in height. A man whose face was young but had an aura that told he had been in countless battles. He was the colonel. After the General was escorted back by the colonel, he and his three subordinates who went with him to escort the General, went back to meet with the other subordinates that were left behind. When they saw them, their bodies were riddled with some minor cuts and bruises. They told him that they failed, something already evident from a lack of proof of subjugation and nervous expressions. After their failure, the colonel sent the three that was with him to subjugate Hachiro and the others. ¡°The years must have dulled my senses. Perhaps I was too hopeful in thinking you fresh bloods could defeat those three even after the general had already weakened them for you¡± (Colonel) The colonels statement suggested that it was General Buroom who had initiated the ambush on the group of humans at the start. As the colonel stated his disappointment, the four kneeling on the ground with their heads lowered, lowered their heads in shame even more. ¡°But, as it was your first time fighting against opponents like those, a lenient punishment would suffice.¡± (Colonel) After hearing that, the four lowered their heads again even more to show their gratitude. ¡°Now. Let us await good news from the others.¡± (Colonel) ---- Below the forest canopy, two figures moved through the night at a fast pace. However, their feet did not touch the ground. They were hovering a meter above ground, one was a woman, the other a man. Flying above the canopy was another man who wore the same attire as them. They were the three sent to pursue Hachiro¡¯s team. Though their appearance looked to be below the age of thirty, they were about the same age as count Buroom who was now 71. Though the dark surroundings and peaked officers¡¯ cap made it hard to see their face, they were without a doubt beautiful. They were spread out this way to utilise their racial skills - heat vision. Just like a snakes, they could see heat as a wavelength. Having one in the air and two below allowed for both ground and aerial view. Utilising this aided the three in tracking their targets and also fighting, if need be, in a forested area. Another factor the vampires used to track the heroes was their magical power. Magical power was not leaking from them, it was gushing out of them. It was similar to the count but his was leagues above theirs and the count could also suppress that magical power from giving away his position. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Nearing the end of the forest line that lead to a meadow, the vampire far above the canopy took out a signal lamp to inform the two below that forest is ending. The two below acknowledged also using a signal lantern. Because they didn''t have the communicating abilities of a ''Game Master'', they had to resort to using signals using light. ''Rustle'' "?" The one hovering above the canopy stopped as he noticed the shaking of leaves on the trees ahead of him. There was shaking on one tree after another as if something was jumping on them. He found it odd because in his visual perspective, even with his ''heat vision'', the cause of the shaking could be found. ''thud'' That was when the sound of something hitting a solid reached his ears. Something had hit the barrier he set up to protect himself. It was a barrier that set up a repulsion sphere defending the user from physical attacks like arrows or bullets. The radius of the sphere was two meters from the origin aka the castr. ¡®So those leaves shaking earlier was a distraction¡­¡­.. Too bad you didn¡¯t account for the barrier!¡¯ As he rotated his body mid-air to face the direction of the attack, ¡°Guh?!¡± His vision became cloudy as extreme lethargy hit him. The cause of his state was an invisible cloud of gas, causing his consciousness to fade. He plummeted as his vision vanished. Disappearing below the tree¡¯s leaves, a loud snap, no it was multiple snaps that happened at once together, resounded in the area. A thud was heard afterwards. ""!"" Hearing that sound, the two hovering near the ground stopped to look to the direction of the sound. Unable to see due to the trees in the way they directed their gaze up to where their companion was supposed to be. Unable to see him, they took out their sabres clearly on alert. Something had happened to their comrade. The two cautiously approached the area where the sound was heard, trying to be as silent as possible. There they saw their dead comrade¡¯s body. In their visual perspective that had ''heat vision'', they could see the body becoming colder. Their eyes were wide open with clear shock. In their state, they didn¡¯t notice a silhouette drop down behind them without a sound. Just as the figure touched the ground it bounced back up, out of sight. ''''''''thud!'''''''' The two crashed face first on the ground, lying besides each other. Chapter 22 It was now morning. One days length away from the nearest human territory that was recently retaken, the group of heroes riding on their gryphon''s were pacing through a forest that bordered an open field. They did not fly using the gryphon''s as to avoid being spotted and also because Honoka''s gryphon, Fae, was injured on the wings making it unable to fly. The sunlight shined on the dew that formed on the surface of the surrounding foliage, sometimes making it sparkle. It would be thought of as a peaceful scenery if it wasn¡¯t for the haggard group that squeezed their way through the trees. They were moving non stop since they escaped from their assailants last night. To reduce the chance of being seen, they would go through tight areas where the gryphons barely fit and went through inefficient pathways to throw off their pursuers. When they found a densely covered area from sight, Hachiro, ¡°Let¡¯s rest here. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ve thrown them off our tails.¡± (Hachiro) suggested to res. The two who were behind him agreed. Then¡­. ¡°?! Oi! Above!¡± (Arata) Above them, flying through the skies, dragons and gryphons who were at the front were heading towards the direction of enemy territory, ---- Near a cascade, a campfire spread light to its surroundings where four people could be seen. They were the previous four sent by the colonel to subjugate the heroes but failed. The siblings who attacked Honoka were sleeping on the floor with the warmth of the campfire. The other two, the vampire mage and sniper, who were on guard duty, were not far from them. ¡°Lieutenant Swig. Come here.¡± From inside the trees came a shout that belonged to someone the two were familiar with. Swig was the wand wielder''s name and when he heard the voice of his commanding officer, ¡°Yes, colonel!¡± He did as he was told and went into the trees disappearing from the sight of his companion, the female sniper. Lightly jogging through the trees, he paced towards the colonels voice. When he passed beside one of the trees, ¡®Crack!¡¯ Something hit his neck, crushing it and breaking the vertebrae. ¡®Thud¡¯ The sound of a lifeless body was heard by no one, except the one that caused him state. From behind the tree where the soldier was attacked, a hooded entity emerged and moved silently away from the body, disappearing into the direction of the camp. Not far away from the area, the body of the colonel submerged in a stream lay lifeless. ---- At the camp. The female sniper was adding wood to the fire that made snapping sounds nearby the sleeping twins. After she finished, she went back to her post. She failed to notice the hooded figure that approached the twins and knelt down besides them. ''Snap! Snap!'' At separate times, the figure twisted both of their head that made two soft snapping sounds. The two separate soft snaps was heard by the female sniper but she figured it was just the firewood crackling that made the noise. A minute after that, the female sniper was left in a similar state with the other two lifeless bodies of the twins. ---- At the River Village, the same time the female sniper died. ¡°Gu?! -Ack!!!!!!!!¡± In the river village called Logrest where the vanguard¡¯s battalion were ambushed by the count, a scream was heard from the biggest house there in a room that most likely belonged to the previous village head. It came from the woman who was now gasping in the air in heavy breaths as she clutched her neck. On top of the king sized bed, her eyes were wide open as sweat profusely trickled down her face like a river. ¡°Brigadier General?! Are you okay?! Please answer, or were coming in!¡± There was no answer, only the gasping for air was heard. Outside the bedroom, two silver haired soldiers flung open the door to see the woman in her sleeping gown trying her best to breath. ¡°Brigadier General, are you okay?!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°You- ¡®GASP¡¯, ge- ¡®GASP,¡¯ get Gene- ¡®GASP¡¯ GET THE GENERAL! -kuh?!¡± Feeling an intense headache, she tried to suppress herself from shouting by grabbing and pulling on her hair. The soldiers displayed worried and confused faces. A moment later, probably unable to take it, she passed out on the bed. There was a pause from the two soldiers. But, ¡°Get a medic! We need to inform the General!¡± ---- ¡°She is not injured, but it seems that she is in a coma. It might have been a backlash from the use of her powers. ¡®Spirit Seize¡¯ correct General? I heard that when the host is killed, there is a backlash to the user¡± The person examining the unconscious body of the one who was referred to as Brigadier General. ''Spirit Seize'' was a unique magic that can allow the user to take over the recently dead body of another. Apart from the backlash mentioned, an additional drawback was that the user was vulnerable to attacks on her original body as the users consciousness was in the host body. "That''s........unlikely. It''s true that there ''was'' a backlash when the host dies, but she''s mastered this power to the point where it was as simple as breathing for her. A side effect like this hasn''t occurred for decades even when the host died" (Buroom) The host body that the Brigadier General was using was the recently deceased sniper. A long silence ensued. A silence that the count broke. "This means someone has slain the Brigadier General''s host huh? Ha! Maybe those heroes weren''t such a pushover after all." (Buroom) Due to the Brigadier General being unable to report the scene where she saw the dead bodies of the twins before her host died, the count thought that her host was their only casualty. "One casualty doesn''t matter. Eventually the others are going to dispose of those scattering rats, so enough of this trifle. We''re about to receive more reinforcements from my territory. 100,000 in total due in a week. Roland. The nobles from my territory and nobles outside who have invested, along with those looking to invest in this war are also traveling with the reinforcements. Because I can''t leave my post, I am going to need you to give them a warm welcome until I am able to leave my post." (Buroom) "Very well sir. I will depart tonight." (Roland) "Good. I have to recover my mana for deploying ''Lightning Empress''. I expect that there is going to be another wave coming in a few days." (Buroom) ¡®Lightning Empress¡¯. A lightning attack that boast immense range and power. Because it requires a huge amount of mana, it can only be used once a day. It was this magic that was used to attack the vanguard battalion led by Hachiro and the others. ---- Midday. The suns rays were blocked by the white and massive clouds in the sky. The wind''s were gentle, making the atmosphere of the surrounds of the river village look peaceful. The grassland in front of the river village that was empty yesterday was now occupied by rows and rows of mech units accompanied with infantry. In total, they numbered two thousand with 200 being mech units, the rest were infantry. Behind the river village was another grassland. The figure of the count could be seen there. On his hand was something like a long staff, covered by silk like fabric that had the insignia of the counts territory embroidered on. Unwrapping it, he carefully pulled out the object inside, a staff. About a meter in length, the staff of pure crystal sparkled in the sun light. With both hands grabbing near one end, the count concentrated. A moment later, the sound of static electricity permeated the surroundings. He stayed like that for an hour, occasionally opening his eyes and closing them. After an hour more, sweat was visible on the counts face. Squinting, he fought to not pass out as he was clamping his jaws shut. This was a part of the preparation ¡®Lightning Empress¡¯ required. Though slow, it was a magic that was the ¡®Buroom¡¯ household¡¯s trump card. Afterwards, he flew back to the river village to rest. Chapter 23 The next day. From the count''s surveillance team, an army of unidentified objects in the sky were reported to be heading to the river village. Ten minutes until the estimated arrival of the unidentified objects, the count waited at the same place he did yesterday alone with a very delighted expression. ¡°Those humans, they just don¡¯t learn, huh? That just means more fun for me!¡± (Buroom) The count, like yesterday, with careful movements took out the staff and began to chant for two minutes in a fast pace. It numbered 1000 words. Vampires used verses and sentences to chant, different from humans. Though it is longer, a basic water attack using the vampire chanting system are stronger in power compared to using the chant system of humans. When the count finished his chant, dark specks in the sky could be seen. ¡®Right on time¡¯ (Buroom) The count did an additional chant to fly up above the houses until he was overlooking the army that garrisoned area in front of the houses. Beyond the garrisoned area where his army was, the carbonised bodies of humans and dragons peppered the area. The count pointed the staff at the direction of the specks near the horizon. A moment later, several discharges of lightning surrounded the count as the staff began to glow a blinding white. ---- At the grassland in front of the river village where the two thousand strong army stayed behind the field where carbonised bodies of the attacking humans who were with Hachiro''s group of heroes, two soldiers were conversing. ¡°Even though I know we aren¡¯t the target, I still fear the thought of it firing from behind us.¡± A soldier who was stationed behind the rows of mechs spoke out his thoughts. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The ¡®staff¡¯ is there to prevent it from hitting us. So just stay there and watch them get toasted. Trust me, it''s going to be, electrifying.¡± The two laughed heartily as they waited for the attack. The ¡®staff¡¯ the count used was the attack''s, ¡®Lightning Empress¡¯s¡¯, targeting system. Without it, the plasma''s current and heat would not only attack aimlessly at the surroundings unable to differentiate from friend and foe, it would also attack the user. ---- Seeing the targeted side in effective range, the count released the attack. An immense amount of electricity suddenly appeared around him that made a crackling sound. ¡®KRAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!¡¯ Not a fraction of a second later, the sound of lightning booming was heard. It lasted seconds. The sounds it produced was as if a tsunami made of lightning was destroying everything in its path. When the count produced lightning, the brightness made him close his eyes. After it finished, he opened his eyes to look at the results. ¡°WHAT?!¡± (Buroom) What he saw was something unexpected. Instead of the opposing side being slain, his army that was garrisoned in front of the river village was the side that was obliterated. Remains of mechs that seemed to have blown up from inside lay scattered. Though the operators inside those mechs were protected from the current due to those mechs substituting as a sort of Faraday cage, that didn''t prevent the water tank used to cool it down from boiling then exploding. The attack that was supposed to hit the enemy had gone to an unintended course. ¡°WHAT IS TH- ?!¡± (Buroom) When the count was about to react to this scene, from the corner of his eye, he saw something approaching fast, heading for him. It was going straight for his head. Not even having the chance to react to the phenomenon of his army dying, the count quickly swivelled his body middy air to let it pass. The count let his guard down, thinking he was in the clear. As he was about to turn his head to the direction of the source, ¡®Boof!¡¯ Something exploded ¡°!?¡± (Buroom) Green smoke encompassed the air around him. By instinct, the count covered his nose and mouth with both hands that resulted in him dropping the staff. ¡®I have to get out!¡¯ (Buroom) The count chose to fly away. ¡®Wha!? Something¡¯s stopping me from moving!¡¯ (Buroom) ¡®Boof!¡¯ From beside him was another explosion that released more smoke. ¡®Boof!¡¯ Another exploded ¡®Boof!¡¯ Then another. ¡®Boof!¡¯ It kept continuing The piled up mass of smoke continued to encompass the bound count in mid-air. The count panicked for the first time in a very long time, pushing him to the edge. ''Fuck!'' His eyes were wide open and red. ''Fuck!'' Veins popped out of his forehead due to lack of air and also from the frustration of being trapped and unable to do anything like an injured animal waiting to be picked off by predators. ''Fuck!'' He clamped his mouth shut to prevent himself from shouting to vent his anger that would result to breathing in the unknown smoke that looked like poisonous gas. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ''Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!'' His usual composure and care free manner was no longer present as the pale skinned face of his was replaced by something resembling a tomato. ¡®If I am going to die here, you are going to die with me!!!!!!¡¯ (Buroom) In a quick and rapid pace, a magic with a chant that took two seconds was made by the count as a last resort. Doing so made the count breath in the smoke. ''This is it!!!!!!!!!!'' The vampire army had chemical weapons in the form of green gas that made the affected vomit blood from their nose, ears and eyes, killing in a matter of seconds. Because of the complicated, expensive and secret production process, it was only available to a tiny select few in the vampire continents army. The count wasn''t the select few, but he had information of it and also witnessed it in action. That''s why the count expected the green gas to be something similar. His expectations were betrayed. ¡®!? I was tricked!¡¯ He was tricked. He restarted flying magic that he chose to turn off when he breathed in the gas to chant a magic. Quickly, he deployed a barrier after another quick chant. It was for the suicide attack the count made as a last resort. The attack was making a storm cloud above him to make lightning strikes attack the area around him. It would not only attack his surroundings, but also him. That¡¯s why he frantically deployed a barrier earlier to defend himself from his own attack. After the barrier manifested, it suddenly disintegrated. ¡°!?¡± (Buroom) The count looked up at the dark clouds that with wide eyes. ¡°............Shit¡± ¡®KRAAAAAAAAAAAGAAAAAAAAA!¡¯ Depending on the polarity type, be it positive or negative, lightning can carry electrical currents from 30 kA to 300 KA. The count plummeted to the ground and crashed. Steam and the scent of burnt flesh was emitting from the body of the count. Because of the power of lightning, one can expect to die if hit by one. Lightning is said to have a mortality rate of 10%, meaning that 10% of people struck by lightning, die. The count was not part of that 10%. ¡°GRRRR¡­¡­.GRAAAAAAAAA!¡± (Buroom) A growl came from the count whose body steamed as he pushed himself off the carbonised ground. Clearly, he was angry. It was an anger that took over him. Wanting revenge was the sole objective in his mind. ¡°Show yourse-?!¡± (Buroom) ¡®Show yourself¡¯ is what he tried to say. But, Something was shoved into his mouth. Then, ¡®Click¡¯ The thing shoved into his mouth made the noise of a gun being cocked. Not even a second after the sound was made, ¡®Splat!¡¯ The sound of brain matter splattering was heard. ---- ¡°Commander. We¡¯ve finished our investigation on the bodies. All victims either died directly from that lightning attack or indirectly from the explosions of those mechs except one.¡± Mark, whose forces now had now multiplied to three hundred, secured the river village without any opposing forces. When they arrived, they saw both the bodies of their comrades and enemies in carbonised states. When they were headed to the river village, as per Kenshins instructions, they had encountered one of the heroes, Ami with Jen and some injured soldiers. When they found out what happened, they planned to go to the area outside of where Ami¡¯s group was ambushed. As they were told about the enemy forces they fought in addition to the overpowered lightning attack they received, they chose to avoid confrontation and focus on grouping up with the heroes left behind by going to an area outside from where Ami and Hachiro''s group split up. But, on the way , they found Hachiro and the others. They were brought back to a recaptured town they were using as a base to recover. After they recovered, they formulated a plan to defeat the counts forces in the river village by ambushing them with Hachiro using the attack he used to repel the enemy forces before and use that opening to wipe them out. But when they arrived, they found the charred bodies of their comrades and unexpectedly, enemies. Deducing from the states of the enemy bodies, the cause was the same lightning attack that took out the battalion Hachiro''s group was in. Because they didn¡¯t know who used that overpowered lightning attack, it confused them as to who it was that attacked them. Various guesses were made as to whatever caused it. Was it a monster that did that or what? Maybe it was an unaffiliated person who has other aims? Could it be that they were betrayed? Could it be that the overpowered attack wasn¡¯t actually man made but a natural event? They asked for questions as to what had happened but they could only conjecture.