《Shiv-The Child Of Oberon》


 Prologue 1(proofread)

    (Guys!!!! Its m first time with a story!!! its gonna be long!!! am sorry if it tires you out,but please do read and support me. and do give me feedback on the  story!!!! share your ideas too!!!! and forgive m mistakes. i am good in english but i cant always correct all those spelling mistakes and all... bear with it please. hope you like it. i have given this a mature tag,just incase i feel like adding some mature contents!!!! enjoy)


    Year 2040


    Jan 22, Sunday, 11pm:


    Ryu Yasahiro was on the back seat of a black Bentley Mulsanne, looking outside through the bullet proof window. He was on his way back to his home after a boring party that he had to attend because of his grandfather being one of the pioneers of the new Japan Federation. He was exhausted because of all the attention directed towards him by all those people who wanted to impress his grandfather by impressing the grandson.


    Ryu had always despised those old coots, each and every one of them had greed and an insatiable lust for power in their eyes. Some had wanted him to marry their daughters or granddaughters, while those who had sons and grandsons asked him to hang out with their children.


    Such attention and greed would have been too much for an ordinary 17years old boy, but not for Ryu. Ryu had experienced firsthand the cruelty of the world and the people living in it. The pain he had gone through had made him more mature and patient. His understanding of the people helped him during these parties.


    Every time somebody came to chat to him he would always have one of those business smiles that old politicians usually gave. He would humbly reply to all those who talked to him. If anybody had bothered to look deep into the boys eyes they would understand that the boy only had disgust in those golden brown eyes during those chats.


    Now he was on his way back to his grandfather¡¯s mansion.  His grandfather had insisted on him taking only the most luxurious car the family had. This was to make those who saw the black beauty realize the wealth and power the Yasahiro family now possessed.


    Ryu sighed! He was truly tired. He wanted to reach home and sleep on his mother¡¯s lap. He asked his driver who was in a black suit, Kiro,


    ¡°Kiro-san, how long is it gonna take? I am kinda tired, you know. Those elders sure know how to talk rubbish¡±. Ryu said with displeasure in his voice


    Kiro smiled and replied, ¡°In 10 minutes, young master. We are almost there. Meanwhile you may take a short nap; the seats can be made into a bed.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I should¡±, said Ryu and closed his eyes for some shut-in, but the moment he closed his eyes, his now deceased father''s face came to his mind. A strong and handsome face, with golden brown eyes, eyes so powerful that people found themselves unable to maintain eye contact for long.


    Ryu was half Japanese and half Indian, a strange couple one would say. Even he himself thought his father and mother to be so different that he sometimes found it hard to believe them to be husband-wife. His father, Dev Khatri was from a powerful family in India. It was said that his father¡¯s ancestors were once kings in India.


    His mother, Miyuki Yasahiro was the only daughter of Isamu Yasahiro, the 7th head of Yasahiro Industries, which was at that time one of the leading weapon production industries, not too big not too small.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    They met in India when Miyuki came to do some research for her university papers about one of the oldest civilizations. She had visited Dev¡¯s palace to know about his ancestor¡¯s life. Ryu was told that it was love at first sight for both. In a year the two got married. Dev had then been the CEO of a financial institution, with him being the founder of the very same.


    Their marriage was controversial, with both families being strongly against it. But neither of the two was ready to give up. Thus, eventually the two were accepted by the two sides.  Everything was going fine, both were happy; they now had a son, Ajay and a daughter, Kripa now. But all good things come to an end, and the same happened with them too.


    In the year 2029, a war broke out amongst the Asian countries. China had declared war against most of the Asian countries. This war was later called the 1st nuclear war and spanned 4years. The first to be attacked was India. During the war, India was in turmoil. The Economy failed, the government failed, and people fell into despair. In 2 years, the northern half of India was turned into a barren land.


    The Khatri family had lost almost everything too. Most of the family went missing, some had fled. So, the Khatris decided to flee to japan. But time and fate was too cruel to them. On the day of their departure, Chinese soldiers stormed into their mansion. The servants were brutally murdered. Dev and Miyuki carrying their children were running towards their vehicle.


    But before Dev could reach the car he was shot. Miyuki froze; Dev was lying on the ground carrying their 1 year old daughter. The child began crying. Soldiers were running towards them while shooting. Miyuki tried to grab Dev and the child. But a frail woman could not carry three people at the same time.


    Dev told her to take the two children and go, with tears rolling down from his eyes, yet a smile on his lips. He had treasured his family and he didn¡¯t want them to die in front of him now. He forced Miyuki to run. She had refused in the beginning, profusely. But again the crying of the children gave her a reason to leave her love behind.


    ¡°Goodbye... my love¡±, she heard Dev whispering. She ran with the two children in tow.


    Miyuki was now in the car, driving as fast as she could. She could still hear the sound of gun shots. In her mind''s eye, she could see her husband being shot mercilessly by those soldiers. She wept, in her eyes were anger, despair, and sadness. But there was a small ray of hope too. Those black eyes laid now on her children. She still had a family to protect.


    They reached the airport in minutes. A private jet was already waiting for them. Dev had poured all of his remaining money to procure one. The jet was their carriage to life. The family of three boarded the plane. It was a short journey, but she felt it to be the longest she ever had.


    ---***---


    [PROOFREADER: DAYLIUS]


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 Prologue 2(Proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Ryu woke up from his nightmare; his eyes were wet, a tear almost rolling down. He wiped it with his hand and looked out of the car. He could see the mansion now. He sighed, that place had been his home ever since they had come to Japan, his maternal grandfather¡¯s home.


    He remembered how he and his sister were asked to change their name and become Japanese citizen. Ajay was shocked, his name was the only memento left by his father, and he was heartbroken when he was denied the final memento of his father. But he had to agree, he was in a different country, his mother¡¯s country. He agreed to


    it because he no longer wanted his mother to be troubled.


    His mother was desperately trying her best to live for the sake of him and his sister, and he understood that. The despair he felt had made him sensitive to his mother¡¯s pain. He had sworn on the day that he reached this new home to never make his mother cry.


    His thoughts were disturbed by the opening of the door of the car. Kiro had opened the door as always, and was now slightly bowing. He got out of the car and stretched lightly. His mother was standing in front of him, smiling. She was still just as beautiful as she was in the past. Her eyes were black. Long black hair, slender figure with the right curves. Most men found her irresistible, a perfect beauty.


    He went near her and hugged gently. Miyuki hugged him back, patting his hair and asked,


    ¡°How was the party? Did you make any new friends? A girlfriend, perhaps! ¡±


    Ryu rolled his eyes; the very gesture was so cute that she cuddled him again causing Ryu to blush.


    ¡°No mom, I would rather be fed poison than be friends with those fools. They want my power, not me.¡±


    Miyuki sighed, she knew the answer already, yet she had hoped that Ryu would have found somebody to befriend. Her son had been alone since the time they came here, only opening up to her and his little sister, Mia.


    ¡°Come inside son, you seem tired.¡± said Miyuki.


    The moment he stepped inside he was hugged by a really cute being, his little sister.


    Ryu smiled a smile he gave only to his close ones. Mia, his little sister was a treasure chest for him. He was the one who had always taken care of her, making sure that she would get the things she wanted, that she would always be happy. Her smile had always made him happy.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t my cute little sister, have you been a good girl all this time?¡± enquired Ryu.


    Mia blushed; she liked being called cute by her brother, ¡°MO!! Nii-san, don¡¯t tease¡±, pouted Mia. Ryu laughed gently and carrying the 12 year old girl in his arms walked inside.


    He stepped inside a large hall decorated with extravagant luxuries. ¡®What a bother¡¯, he thought. And in the middle of the hall, a man was sitting on a chair reading some book. The man raised his head. When he saw Ryu and Mia, he closed the book and stood up.


    Isamu Yasahiro was a man who now could be considered the ruler of Japan, mighty, wealthy, cunning and powerful. He was the 7th head of the Yasahiro industries, a weapon production industry. He had used the 1st nuclear war to propel himself and his company to tower above all others in Japan. He single handedly then supported Japan from the after effects of the war, he truly was a King to the Japanese now.


    This man was Ryu¡¯s grandfather. Unlike his tardy and strong physical appearance, the man was kind and humble. He never liked to trash those without power or money like most nobles/rich did.


    Ryu had asked his grandfather why he had different view than the others. Isamu had said,


    ¡°Son, if money was life, how can one love another?¡±


    Ryu had no idea what that was supposed to mean. He was confused but did not ask anything further.


    Isamu was now standing in front of him, smiling. But Ryu saw in his grandfather¡¯s eyes a hint of guilt. Guilt for throwing his grandson amongst power hungry wolves. Ryu had since long understood his grandfather¡¯s thoughts and kindness. He stepped forward and gave him a hug. Isamu smiled, he thanked the god for giving him such a wonderful grandson.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Boy, it¡¯s almost time for your birthday, I hear!¡± Isamu asked, his eyes sparkling.


    Ryu had a shiver, he knew the meaning of those sparkling eyes. His grandfather was planning something. Ryu nodded, hesitantly!


    ¡°Wonderful, this calls for a party my boy, lets invite the whole of Japan¡±.


    Ryu froze like he was stabbed in the heart. Another one of those troublesome parties. He recovered quickly and before his grandfather started this good for nothing party preparations he talked, ¡°Ojii-sama, there is something I want to say¡±.


    Isamu turned back and said, ¡°Well shoot my boy; you don¡¯t need permission to speak to me.¡±


    Ryu: Well! For my birthday, I want it to be just us Ojii-sama. No foreign people, I am going to be 17 and there is something that I want you to get me as present, if it isn¡¯t too much trouble for you.


    Isamu: Trouble? What are you saying my boy? Everything that I have is for you and Mia. You are the next heir for Yasahiro industries, the 8th head, the next King. How can it be a trouble for me? Tell me, what it is that you desire.


    Ryu: It is that there is this game that is going to be released a week after my birthday.


    Ryu was hoping that this topic would make his grandfather forget about the birthday party.


    Isamu: A game? Is that what you want? Just a game?


    Isamu had doubts in his eyes. He was hoping that his grandson would ask for something grand. ¡®Just a game?¡¯ thought Isamu.


    Ryu: It is not some ¡®just a game¡¯ kind of thing.


    Ryu was nervous. The game he wanted was one of a kind. The very first vrmmorpg the world had ever seen. If it was a normal game he would have procured it with his own pocket money. But this thing was damn expensive. DRAGON LORE, the game said to be a revolution in the gaming world and other fields as well. The game capsule was not too expensive, it had a onetime cost of 300$. Most people could afford one, as most countries were now financially stable.


    The problem was the monthly subscription. Phoenix Enterprises, the developer of the game were truly cunning. They gave a free 1 month subscription to everyone who ordered the capsule. People were overjoyed. But that was short lived. The next statement made them shudder. From the second month onwards a subscription amount of 500$ per month.


    Ryu too was flabbergasted. He could not believe the amount. He was the richest 17 year old boy in the world, but even he didn¡¯t get that much money. Every month his grandfather would give him 1000$ as allowance. Of this, half would be usually spent on Mia. So, Ryu had no other choice but to depend on his grandfather.


    Isamu: What is this game you speak of?


    Ryu: Ojii same, the game is called Dragon Lore and is going to be viral soon. Please buy me one that is all I ask.


    Isamu: Very well boy, I shall get you one. Now if I take my leave, I have a party to prepare!


    Isamu smirked, pacing him out of a pale and colorless Ryu.


    ¡®DAMN!!! I am so dead¡¯ he thought.


    ---***---


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 Arc 1- Chapter 1: Birthday Bash(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Year 2040


    Jan 31, Tuesday, 9pm


    ¡®What a pain! Why is Ojii-sama so keen on these stupid parties¡¯, these were Ryu¡¯s thoughts even when he was flocked by almost a dozen cute ¡®ojou-samas¡¯. He was already tired of those girls trying to hit on him. He began to look around for a savior. ¡®Somebody help me¡¯, he cried mentally.


    It was like that his thoughts were read, his cute little sister had come to his rescue or so he thought.


    ¡°Nii-sama, why are you flirting with all these girls and not talking to Mia?¡± she was throwing daggers at him with her eyes. The girls around him understood that staying any further would cause an Armageddon. So they left the siblings with a lady-like bow.


    ¡°Nii-san¡±, she was now pouting. His little sister was truly horrifying. She called him ¡®nii-sama¡¯ when there were outsiders in the vicinity. Now that they were alone she had reverted back to ¡®nii-san¡¯. But the true horrifying aspect of Mia was her dazzling black eyes. And now those eyes were glaring at them.


    But suddenly the glare was gone and those eyes had the warmth of a hundred sun. He smiled; those eyes had always been a lighthouse for him.


    ¡°Nii-san, I¡­ I have something for y¡­you!¡± she said, blushing lightly.


    ¡®Sooo cuteeee! What is this cute being! ¡®If not for the people around them, he would have already cuddled her by now.


    ¡°Mo! Nii-san! Are you listening!¡± and there she pouted her cheeks again mesmerizing Ryu. But this time he responded. He didn¡¯t want to suffer his little sister¡¯s imperial wrath.


    ¡°What did you get me Mia?¡± he asked with puzzled look.


    ¡°Not telling.¡± She pouted again and turned her head away with a ¡®hum¡¯.


    ¡°I too have a present for you. Don¡¯t you want it?¡± Ryu knew this was the only way.


    Mia was overjoyed. She looked at him with puppy eyes.


    Ryu took a small box from his pocket, wrapped decoratively and presented it to her. Mia took it and opened it. Inside the box was a chain of silver with a locket. There was a ¡®DK¡¯ on the locket. Mia knew what the ¡®DK¡¯ meant. It was her father¡¯s name after all. She was about to cry but held her tears in and quietly whispered to her brother.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    She then wore the chain around her neck and gave Ryu a pose! Ryu laughed at her gesture and patted her head. Mia then held his hand and dragged him to another room. There his mother was holding a sword, a katana to be precise! She paced towards Ryu and wished him a wonderful birthday. Then she stretched the katana towards him.


    ¡°This has always been passed down to the heir of the Yasahiro family. An heirloom, a tradition, an honor. It was your father¡¯s and now, it is yours!¡±


    Ryu was trained in martial arts. His grandfather had seen to it. From the day he had come to Japan, he was trained rigorously. His grandfather had said ¡°We are warriors. A warrior must know the way of the sword¡±. He had heard from Isamu that their ancestors were once proud samurais.


    Ryu accepted the sword. He then looked at the sheath. The sheath alone was a masterpiece. It was black in color with silver fittings. It was as if it was depicting the existence of two opposite forces. He then unsheathed the sword, gently as if it were his own child. He knew the code of bushido. He was holding a true katana for the first time. He wanted to cherish that moment.


    The katana was 60cm long. A beautiful curve and a sharp edge! He understood that the sword was treasured and was subjected to great care. ¡®Beautiful¡¯ that was the only thought he had.


    ¡°Sekisetsu¡± Ryu heard his mother¡¯s voice. ¡°Sekisetsu is the name of the sword. It means snowfall¡±


    ¡®Snowfall¡¯ thought Ryu. He was about to ask his mother the reason why it was named so, but before he could ask, his grandfather suddenly appeared.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Boy what are you doing here, the guests are leaving. You are the host of this party. Bid them a proper farewell. Come on now. Carry that sword with you too. You are now the formal heir. Let the world know.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ojii-sama¡±. Ryu bowed to his mom and walked towards the hall. On the way Isamu said ¡°I got your game boy. It is in your room¡±.


    ¡°Huh!!¡± Ryu was puzzled. The game was not even released yet. It was scheduled to launch the next week. ¡°How?¡±


    Isamu smirked, ¡°Boy you are asking the world¡¯s richest man how, Blasphemy!¡±


    Ryu smiled too. ¡®True. You are a scary man Ojii-sama, a scary man¡¯.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 9, Thursday, 11am


    Ryu was excited. In an hour the game he so badly wanted to play was going to be launched. He had been waiting for it for a week. Ever since his grandfather gifted him a capsule with lifetime subscription, Ryu had been researching about the game.


    He wanted to know as much as possible as he could. Phoenix Enterprises had been giving information about the game on its official website. Like all others Ryu too was gathering all the info that he could. He switched off the computer and looked at the capsule eagerly.


    He had already gathered enough knowledge. He knew that there were currently only 3 playable races, humans, elves and dwarves. Ryu was against dwarves as he didn¡¯t like their short stature. He was debating on whether to choose between elf or human.


    He considered both the options. DRAGON LORD was set on the world of Orrinshire, a peculiar name he thought. Currently Valmoor was the only discovered continent. The game authority had refused to give any further information on the existence of any other continents.


    The continent was split into 3: eastern, central and western.  The elves and humans had 3 kingdoms each.  The names were known but the location was not. So he was unable to choose. He eventually gave up on it, he could think about that after he logged in. When he looked at the clock it was 11:50.


    ¡®It is time, let¡¯s rumble¡¯


    Ryu jumped into the capsule and turned it on.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>¡°INITIALISING¡­.¡±</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>¡°CHECKING FOR UPDATES¡±</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>¡°APPLYING PATCHES¡±</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>¡°LOADING¡±</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>¡°WELCOME TRAVELLER¡±</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Do you want to connect to DRAGON LORE</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>YES</td><td colspan=''2''>NO</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Yes¡± replied Ryu excitedly. ¡®Here goes!! Buhahahahaa


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>"DRAGON LORE¡±</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>¡°BE REBORN¡±</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ---***---


    (THATS ALL FOR TODAY! HOPE YOU WOULD ENJOY. WILL TRY TO POST ANOTHER CHAPTER TOMORROW! PLEASE RATE AND COMMENT! IDEAS ARE WELCOME TOO.  )


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 Arc 1- Chapter 2: The Day Everything Began 1(proofread)

    CHAPTER 2


    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Year 2040


    Jan 31, Tuesday, 6pm


    Yasahiro Mansion


    Brian Woltale was frustrated. ¡®Why do I have to attend that imbecile¡¯s party¡¯? Brian Woltale was what one would consider as the modern day ¡®Noble¡¯. Wealthy, arrogant, handsome, powerful, a typical noble who considered everything below him as trash. The same was true for those above him. He despised being second to another man. And today he had to attend the birthday party of one such.


    Ryu Yasahiro was the man Brian despised the most. Brian was always being compared to Ryu, to others he was seen as nothing more than the shadow of Ryu. Brian was considered the best in his hometown, envied by many, adored, respected, and feared. But here, in Japan he was considered inferior to Ryu. He hated it.


    ¡®Why must I, the heir to the English Alliance be considered lower than him?¡¯


    English Alliance, this was a result of the 1st nuclear war. Just like the formation of the New Japan Federation. English Alliance consisted of most countries of ¡®United Kingdom¡¯ and was united under the Banner of the Woltale noble family. In the 1st nuclear war, most countries had supported India in order to bring down China. They thought they could overpower China easily. But it had failed terribly causing many countries to breakdown.


    The car that Brian was in stopped and its door opened. Brian got out and was greeted by a handsome 17 year old boy.


    ¡°Welcome Sir Brian, it¡¯s an honor¡± said Ryu extending his hand.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Jan 31, Tuesday, 6pm


    Yasahiro Mansion


    ¡°It is time for dinner my friends, have a seat¡± Isamu waved his hand over the incredibly long dining table. The guests took their seat and were astonished to find the entire table lined silverware, genuine silver! ¡®How much money does this man have¡¯, everyone thought collectively.


    After everybody had sat, the maids started serving the extravagant dishes to the guests.


    Isamu was sitting at the end of the table in a chair which resembled a throne. To his right was Ryu and to his left were Miyuki and Mia. Brian was sitting near Ryu, occasionally trying to start a conversation but failing to do so.


    One of the maids had come to place the food on the table. The food was steaming hot so she found it really hard to hold to the now hot tray. When she was near Ryu she got burned by the steam and let go of the tray causing her to spill some food on Ryu¡¯s hand. The hot food had burnt Ryu slightly.


    Brian who saw this was smiling inside. ¡®Serves you right¡¯. But he wanted to impress the Yasahiros in the hall, so like any typical noble; he slapped the young maid and verbally abused her. He had thought that this was the right thing to do and this would make Ryu happy.


    Brian was smiling now. The moment he turned back toward Ryu to show how cool he was, Brian was pushed on to the wall. The push was so strong and fast, Brian could not grasp what had hit him. It took him a few seconds to recognize the hands pinning him to the wall.


    ¡°Ryu¡± Brian gasped out of pain.


    ¡°You dare lift your hands against a woman, you filth¡±


    Brian was shocked; this was a voice he had never heard before. Thunderous, even a thunder would be a pale comparison.


    Brian looked at Ryu¡¯s face; he was confused by Ryu¡¯s action.  The moment Brian met Ryu¡¯s eyes he froze. In front of him stood a man that caused Brian to feel fear seep through his whole body. The handsome face which was so pretty was now distorted. The eyes which were always kind and happy were now blood shot.


    In front of him now stood something beyond human. That was what Brian felt. It was true; Ryu was emitting a sinister aura, everybody in the hall felt the bloodlust. The pressure made them understand. The boy had inherited his mother¡¯s family trait, the will of a samurai.


    ¡°Ryu that is enough¡±. Isamu roared, ¡°He is our guest, do not dishonor a guest¡±.


    Ryu snapped out of his trance like situation, his eyes became clear. He then pulled away from Brian and apologized to him and the guests. He then gently sat on his chair and continued eating.


    Ryu did not feel any regret, he knew he was right. His paternal grandmother had taught him many things and out of those she had told Ryu, one rule was absolute


    ¡°Ajay bete (bete means son in Hindi), A true Khatri must always protect a woman, not harm her¡±


    Ryu had always cherished what Anila Khatri, his father¡¯s mother had told him, and he had followed those words till now.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    While Ryu was deep in his thoughts, Isamu was happy, even though he did not show it outside. He was happy that his grandchild had inherited the ¡®will¡¯. Its time to hand down the family heirloom.


    ¡°Miyuki, it is time, he has grown, entrust the sword to him¡±.


    Miyuki nodded, her eyes were on Ryu. ¡®Dev, our son has become a fine man, just like you imagined.¡¯


    Amongst all these things one boy was furious. Not only was he injured, he was insulted in front of all the guests. But the thing that irritated him more was the fact that he had felt fear, he was afraid of Ryu.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Jan 31, Tuesday, 6pm


    Yasahiro Mansion


    Brian was wandering around the Yasahiro mansion. He wanted to get out so badly. He had asked his father for permission to leave but he was denied and scolded harshly for his behavior earlier. ¡®She was just some commoner¡¯ thought an agitated Brian


    He was walking absentmindedly when he vaguely heard some voice. So he approached the source of that voice. He could recognize the source as he was much closer, it was Isamu Yasahiro.


    ¡±I got your game, boy. It is in your room¡±.


    ¡®Game? What game?¡¯


    ¡°Huh? How?¡± Brian recognized this voice too, it was Ryu. Brian stiffened, the very name made him scared. He felt ashamed of his fear for Ryu.


    That is when it dawned on Brian, he had heard from the maids of the house about Ryu wanting some game named ¡®Dragon¡¯ something. He did not give it any attention in the beginning because it was just a game. Brian was an avid gamer and had almost all the games that the world had.


    ¡®DRAGON LORE! So that¡¯s what he wanted!¡¯ Brian¡¯s lips stretched into a smile, a sinister smile.


    ¡®Ryu Yasahiro, you messed with the wrong guy, I will make you repent for your sins. If I can¡¯t destroy you here, I will destroy you there. Just you wait ¡¯


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 10, Thursday, 12am


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Do you want to connect to DRAGON LORE</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>YES</td><td colspan=''2''>NO</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Yes¡± replied Ryu excitedly. ¡®Here goes!! Buhahahahaa


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>¡°DRAGON LORE¡±</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>¡°BE REBORN¡±</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Ryu was now inside of what seemed like a huge box. In front of him stood a young girl. He stared at her. ¡®Where is this? Wasn¡¯t I inside the capsule?¡¯


    ¡°WELCOME TRAVELLER. ARE YOU READY TO BE REBORN?¡± said the girl.


    ¡®Reborn? Now where have I heard that?¡¯ ¡°Yes¡± replied Ryu.


    ¡°My name is Amy; I shall now proceed to your avatar creation. Please choose a name for your avatar.¡±


    ¡°SHIV¡±


    ¡°Accepted. You may now choose your gender¡±


    ¡°Male¡±


    ¡°You may now choose your starting race. Your initial stats will be determined by the race you choose¡±


    ¡°Err... human please¡±, Ryu was still confused on the race he wanted, so he reluctantly went for human.


    ¡°Do you wish to modify your appearance traveller?¡±


    ¡®Oh!! Modification of appearance? Cool!!¡¯ ¡°Please increase the length of my hair by 30cm, add a bit reddish tint to the end, a little more. Increase my height a little. Bring down my skin tone a shade down. Perfect¡±


    ¡°Please choose your starting location¡±


    ¡°Random¡±, the answer was immediate.


    ---***---


    Err, guys. a little help pls. i think that some of you find ''human'' race as too normal. du yu think i shud go for elf or half elf? pls telle me your thoughts


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 Arc 1- Chapter 3: The Day Everything Began 2(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    ¡°Random¡±


    ¡°Do you want to try the tutorial? The tutorial will teach you the basics of your new world!


    ¡°Skip please.¡±


    ¡± Very well traveller¡±.  The cute little girl made a light bow and snapped her fingers. The sound produced had an effect on the surrounding as everything began to blur.


    ¡®What is going on?¡¯ while Ryu was immersed in his thoughts, he noticed that the little girl was nowhere visible ¡°Huh!! Where did she¡­¡­.¡± before he could complete his sentence. The ground beneath him disappeared. Ryu panicked. He was now falling into a bottomless tunnel, at least that is how he felt. Fear began enveloping him. His normally smart brain had already forgotten the fact that everything around him was virtual.


    ¡®Somebody help¡¯. He was about to shout these words when he suddenly stopped falling. He could now feel a solid object beneath his feet. He opened his eyes to see what it was, and was delighted to see a ground covered with lush and green grass.


    ¡°I am never ever leaving you again¡± shouted Ryu, now lying down and hugging the ground rubbing his face on it. If he were to be seen by somebody else they would have surely taken him for freak.


    Ryu got up on his legs after the excitement of ground faded away. His brain was back in function. He realized that the world around him was a game created world. He could not believe his own eyes. Surrounding him was a green and beautiful world; he could feel the wind, the sun¡¯s rays, and the trees shade. While he was busy enjoying his new world, Ryu was disturbed by a strange sound and the appearance of some texted box in front of his eyes.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Greetings Traveller!!! You have been reborn!!! A journey of adventure awaits you!!! Will you succeed in your path or fall prey to other¡¯s will??? May the dragon god¡¯s light fall up on you.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Dragon god?? That¡¯s the first I have heard of that. So this world is under the dragon god¡¯s power huh. No wonder, its dragon lore after all!¡¯


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You are in the plains of Draklake.


    Draklake, the symbol of the dragon god. Plains with essence of the great dragon god, Oberon


    You are the first to discover the plains of Draklake. You have been blessed by the great dragon god


    Double exp for one week


    You have been gifted the tattoo of the dragon.


    All stat +15 for 2 hours.


    +20 fame for discovering a legendary place


    +10 fame for being the first to gain fame</td>[/tr4]</tbody></table>


    ¡®Sweet! What is this turn of events? Am I a blessed creature?¡¯ Shiv started laughing, more like roaring. He knew the importance of stats in this world. The online forums had stressed on the advantage of high stats and high levels. He was still laughing menacingly when he felt an acute pain on his right hand.


    He lifted his hands to check the cause of the pain and was flabbergasted by what he saw. His right hand was glowing dimly; something was accumulating on the upper side of his hand stretching till his elbow.


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody>[tr]<td colspan=''4''>You have obtained a skill: Oberon¡¯s Bless (Passive) Beginner (level 1): You have been bestowed the dragon god¡¯s blessing.Being blessed by the true god, Oberon, you have been granted power beyond normal. Your body is now tougher, faster and stronger.


    +5 to STR, AGI, VIT and STA


    +50 to HP and Mana


    Unlock new skills at higher level</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New status created: Fighting spirit:  the blessing of the true god allows becoming more fierce in battle


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.Monsters below you level will now fear you


    You may not distribute bonus stat points</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New skill unlocked: Dragon¡¯s Roar (Passive) Beginner (level 1): A thunderous roar!


    A roar similar to Oberon¡¯s imperial roar! Monsters in the vicinity will fear you. Allies will feel the dragon¡¯s power


    60 second paralysis. Defense decreases by 10%


    5min increase in morale of allies


    Mana consumption: 100</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®What the heck! Am I dreaming? Is this some kind of prank?¡¯ Shiv was now skeptical. He had just started and already received so many bonuses. ¡®It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want them, well whatever¡¯.


    ¡®Maybe I should check out my status once. Now how was it¡¯, ¡°err, open status bar¡±


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>STATS WINDOW</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Character Name</td><td width="25%">Shiv</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Fame</td><td width="25%">30</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Health: 150</td><td colspan=''2''>Mana: 150</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Strength: 15</td><td colspan=''2''>Agility: 15</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Stamina 15</td><td colspan=''2''>Vitality 10</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Wisdom: 10</td><td colspan=''2''>Intelligence: 10</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Luck: 0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Offence: 5</td><td colspan=''2''>Defense: 0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance: None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Awesome. I¡¯m the man¡¯, Shiv admired himself. He then started looking around and something grabbed his attention.


    ¡®Wow! What is that?¡¯ a little close to where Shiv was, a disturbingly tall building could be seen. The building appeared black, in fact too black. It had an eerie feel to it and Shiv felt a ¡®do not come near¡¯ kind of aura from the building. ¡®Is that a tomb or something? Maybe this is why there are no monsters nearby¡¯. He had been wondering why he had not been attacked yet, he knew that at his present condition he was easy prey.¡¯ Well I don¡¯t see any other buildings around, guess I might as well pay it a visit¡¯.


    Shiv idly began walking on the paved road, towards the mysterious building in front.


    ---***---


    ¡°The gods have sent their chosen one, Gehambel¡± spoke an old woman.


    ¡°Not yet oh great Briskol, sage of the twilight¡± spoke an old man with a large stature.


    ¡°I agree. He must prove himself. He must know true evil and despair and then pass the test¡±, a much younger person spoke, but the voice was that of a lady.


    ¡°Very well. We shall wait¡±, replied Briskol.


    The three were gazing at a small pool and in that clear liquid Shiv¡¯s face was being reflected.


    ---***---


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 Arc 1- Chapter 4: Draklake; Hope Or Despair(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Shiv had been walking for a few minutes when he looked at the time. He had been in the game for just half an hour (real life) and already two hours had passed in his new world. Shiv decided to log out for now. Since he was sure that things would get interesting later, he knew that now was the only time he could rest. Moreover, he understood that this place would be perfect as no monsters would attack his sleeping body due to the tall black tower¡¯s effect.


    ¡®I should get back as soon as I can in the morning. No time to waste¡¯


    ¡°Log out¡±.


    In a blink of an eye, Ryu was back in his capsule. He felt oddly tired. He got out of the capsule and the looked at the clock.


    ¡®Half past 12 huh. Let¡¯s see! 4 hours? No, too short. 5, yes 5 hours will do. Setting alarm at 5:30am, now off to sleep¡¯.


    ---***---


    Ryu woke up to the sound of the alarm. He wanted to throw away the alarm and sleep again but his gaming instincts would not let him sleep. He then switched on his computer to browse the official site of the game. He just wanted to check the leader¡¯s board to know the current level of the players.


    ¡®Let¡¯s see, mmmm ah there, leaderboard. First rank Adrian. Let¡¯s check his level. What the????  Level 16???¡¯ Ryu was dumbfounded, it had just been 5 hours since the game¡¯s release and there was already a level 16 player. But what shocked him more was that this rank 1 player had already got a class. ¡®Apostle of Light? What kind of shitty class is that?¡¯


    Even if Ryu called it shitty, he knew that the class was something major. From the name itself he could understand that it had something to do with the God of Light. Ryu was dejected. ¡®Here I was sleeping like a log when others climbed up, shame on you!¡¯


    With his anger as fuel, Ryu jumped into the capsule. ¡°dive in¡±.


    ---***---


    Shiv opened his eyes. He was back at the place where he had left yesterday. He woke up and stretched his hands. He then looked at the tower which was rather close now and started walking. Not too long after he started walking a huge wall came to Shiv¡¯s vision. He understood that the wall was surrounding the tower.


    He kept walking. He could now see some more buildings and also a gate. On both sides of the gate he saw the silhouette of humans. ¡®A village!¡¯ thought an overjoyed Shiv. He now started walking faster. He was truly happy. He knew that in a village he could find NPCs. And he knew that where there were NPCs, there were quests too.


    Shiv¡¯s lips stretched, a truly sinister smile appeared. ¡®just you wait Adrian, I¡¯m gonna whoop yo ass big time¡¯. Shiv could now be called a demon, a truly wicked demon.


    ---***---


    Barin was yawning. He was tired of this gate watch keeping. He had been doing this for almost 10 years. No one had ever come to their home town, not even a guest let alone monsters to attack. He had no idea why he was even guarding the gate. ¡®an order Is an order, I guess. Ah I want to go back to Serin, yesterday night was hot¡¯ Barin was in his wet dreams about the passionate night he had with his lover.


    ¡°Hey Barin, something is coming this way¡± said the fellow guard.


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke around brat, I have been here for 10 years and not even an insect has dared to come to the sacred village of the Dragon!¡±


    ¡°But look at that thing in front¡± said the brat named Lupon.


    Barin was now pissed. ¡°there is nothing th¡­..¡±, before he could finish, Barin¡¯s eyes caught up to what Lupon had mentioned. He could see something approaching, really fast too. ¡°¡± By the dragon god, is that a human? ¡°


    ---***---


    Shiv was now in front of the gate. He looked at the guards. ¡®Why do they seem different?¡¯


    The guards were indeed different. Even though they had the appearance of a human, something seemed amiss. ¡®Why do they have a bluish tint to their skin? Is it some kind of body art? And what the hell are those tattoos on their hands.¡¯ The guards¡¯ left hand had a tattoo. Shiv looked at the tattoos on the left hand of both the guards. He understood that they were not the same.


    The guard who looked much older had two tattoos on his hand, while the much younger one had just one. He understood that those tattoos may be the hierarchical. Shiv then talked to the older guard, thinking he was the superior and he was right on that.


    ¡°Greetings Commander¡± Shiv spoke, ¡®adding commander will make the NPC¡¯s mood a little easy to approach¡¯. Again he was on the mark.


    ¡°Commander? Me? ¡±, the guard was so happy that it was visible on his face.


    ¡°Of course sir, you look so dignified that I believe you are indeed a commander and the young guard there is your capable aid¡±. This much was enough to sweep the guards from their feet.


    Both started snickering, their face showing how much those words affected them.


    ¡°I am afraid we are no such things, just two lowly guards¡± replied the guard; a little sadness in his voice could be felt.


    Shiv felt guilty but still kept performing his drama. ¡°Guards? Such fine people just guards. It¡¯s hard to believe. You look nothing less than a great commander, Sir¡±.


    The two guards were now truly delighted, they now saw Shiv as a brother, a blood brother.


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Your sweet talk has made the two guards consider you as their friend.


    -intimacy increased with Barin and Lupon, the gate keepers. They now think off you as a friend


    Reward:


    you will now receive better quests (much harder to turn down quests)


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.gained access to the village of Draklake


    +5 relations with Draklake Guards


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Awesome!¡¯ Shiv was beaming inside.


    ¡°I am called Barin, and this here is my junior, Lupon. What may your name be, my friend?¡±


    ¡®My friend! So far so good¡¯.


    ¡°My name is Shiv, I am a traveller. it is privilege to be considered as a friend of such fine people¡±


    ¡°Traveller? I have heard rumors about of them. Well, let us not fret on minor things. Now tell me Shiv, why have you come to the great lands of the dragon.¡±


    ¡°As I have mentioned, I am a traveller. I travel to places in seek of an adventure, in seek of honor. Will you let me enter your great village¡±?


    ¡°Adventure eh. Ah that brings back memories when I was young. I shall not bore you with my stories. And of course, a friend of mine is always welcome. Welcome to the Draklake village, the home of the Dragon riders. We, the Draken race welcome you¡±


    ¡°It pains me greatly my friend, even though it is our first meeting; I have to ask you to aid me in a small matter? I am ashamed of myself, but I have no other option but to rely on my new friend¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so formal with me, Barin, my friend. We are friend after all. Tell me what is troubling you.¡± Shiv replied instantly, he could smell a quest.


    ¡°In the plains of Draklake, north of this village, lies a small pond. The pond used to be the home of the water spirits, called Naiad. Naiads are completely harmless and have no fighting prowess¡±


    Barin continued, ¡°The pond has always been protected by our village. But a week from today marks the start of a special ritual in our village, so the guards appointed to protect the village were called back to prepare for it. The ritual takes place only once every 10 years and lasts for 2 days. During the time of preparations and the ritual, the pond is left unguarded. Ever since the guards have left, the pond has been subjected to the attack by black rabbits. These rabbits have been trying to snatch the pond for themselves. For now the pond is safe. But the naiads have requested our help. We were told that the rabbits plan to attack the pond on the day of the festival to ensure that the naiads would not receive any help. So I beg you my friend to help those poor creatures¡±


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: THE NAIADS SAVIOUR</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Naiads, the water spirits of the plains are under the attack of the black rabbits. The black rabbits plan to rob the naiads off their home. You have been requested to stop this attack and protect the naiads.


    Days left till attack: 7days


    Difficulty : +F


    Requirements: Barin and Lupon¡¯s trust


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    100xp


    1 silver


    +10 intimacy with Naiads


    +10 intimacy with guards


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. if you die


    2. All naiads die. (60 alive)


    Failure will reset all intimacy with the guards to zero. Will be banned from entering the village


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®+F difficulty? Can I do it? I don¡¯t even have a weapon. And I can¡¯t go out of the village yet.¡¯ Shiv had read that the players had to remain inside the village for two weeks to ensure their safety.


    ¡°But Barin, my friend. I can¡¯t leave this village yet, I am shackled by the great gods. I am afraid I must turn down the quest¡±.


    ¡°Oh! It seems you got it wrong, Shiv. This here is the internal wall. There is an outer wall a little further. That is the village boundary. The pond is within the outer wall and thus is a part of the village. The outer wall was built to protect powerless creatures as Naiads. The black rabbits too have their home within the outer walls.¡±


    ¡®So that explains why I had spawned outside the village. And the monsters not attacking me was not due to the tower but me being inside the village. Maybe the tattoo in my hand prevented monsters within the wall to attack me. Now everything makes sense¡¯.


    Barin continued, ¡°You have got 7 days to prepare for the attack. I suggest you get stronger. The way you are, a single bite from the rabbits can kill you. Here take this parchment and give it to the battle guide inside the village. Tell him that I sent you. Look for the second tallest building, and it is red in color.¡±


    ¡°Very well Barin. I shall get stronger and complete your request. How can I call myself a friend if I can¡¯t even fulfill one of your small wishes?¡±


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have accepted the quest


    Days left till the attack: 7days</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ---***---


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 Arc 1- Chapter 5: Training 1(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    ¡°Off you go my friend¡±, the gate opened and Barin urged Shiv to enter through the gate.


    Shiv bid farewell to his new found friends, he was happy to be treated as a normal person. Back in his world people always treated him as if he was a god. Such a treatment had always made him mad. But now, he was just some random person, anonymous, he wanted to cherish these moments. So he slowly walked in, enjoying the view around him.


    The village was beautiful, truly marvelous. All the buildings had been decorated with great works of art.


    ¡®Village of the dragon riders eh. No wonder the village has sculptures of dragon all around. Must be nice to live here.¡¯


    Shiv then moved forward in the search of his destination, the tall red building. On his way looking for it, he found a fountain with a dragon sculpture in the middle. the sculpture of the dragon was so mesmerizing that Shiv almost forgot his mission. He was brought back from his thoughts by a now familiar sound.


    ¡®Now what¡¯, Shiv was now slightly agitated. But the agitation was short lived. The box in front of him was enough to make him jump out of joy.


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have discovered a masterpiece: the fountain of elixir


    Sculpted by the legendary sculpture Penkorth to honor the True God, Oberon!!!! The sculpture is made high grade ivory and is regarded as one of the wonders of the world. The water flowing is believed to have mystical powers!


    For enjoying the marvels of a world wonder:


    +20 to all stats for 3 hours


    +5 to STR, STA, AGI, LUCK


    +100 fame</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Sweet Jesus! This village is a treasure trove! Guhuhuhu the God truly favors me! Thank you Oberon, you are the best!¡¯


    Shiv then continued to search for his location, the effects received made him forget about the ¡®mystical powers of the water¡¯.


    ¡°What is that creature? ¡°


    ¡°He is so fair, not like us.¡±


    ¡°A monster?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a human, a human in our village!¡±


    Shiv could hear the whispers of the villagers. He did not mind them for he knew that it was a natural reaction after all. When he had first met the guards he too was cautious and surprised. So he let them be and kept looking. It did not take him much time to find the building he was looking for.


    The red building was a couple of blocks from the fountain. A really tall building which had a really bright red color. And like all the other buildings in the village this too had dragon art all over.


    ¡®Is this really a village? With this many tall and huge buildings shouldn¡¯t it be a city?¡¯ even though Shiv had his doubts he could not ask anyone. He knew the villagers were scared of him.


    He looked at them and they stiffened, visibly afraid of the unknown creature looking at them. He noticed that the villagers did not have any tattoos. ¡®so the common people have none eh.¡¯ he made a mental note.


    He was now in front of the building! The door was huge and had something written on it. Shiv tried to read it but failed miserably. ¡®what language is this?¡¯ the letters were of an unknown language so he could not read it, he then tried knocking on the door.


    ¡®Knock Knock¡¯


    Suddenly the huge door opened, like it was moving on its own. Shiv panicked, but gathered his courage and walked in. he was now in a small room. In front of him were a table and a chair. There was person in the chair, with his hands supporting his chin. The man was glaring at Shiv. Shiv could feel the intensity of the glare. He felt like he was being stripped naked.


    ¡°You, what have you come here for, human?¡± the man asked, his voice was so commanding Shiv had cold sweats trickling all over him.


    Shiv moved forward, slowly. He did not want to do anything reckless. He then extended his right hand which was holding the parchment that Barin had given.


    Suddenly his hand was grabbed. The action was so fast Shiv could not even see the person getting up from the chair, let alone see the man¡¯s hand. Shiv was now afraid, one wrong move and death would accompany him. Shiv knew that perfectly. He kept silent, letting the man do what he wanted for now.


    The strange man then started examining his hand for a while and without saying a word walked back to his chair. The next think the man did shocked Shiv. The man who had grabbed his hand and glared at him with killing intent was now smiling.


    ¡°You pass boy. We will start your training shortly.¡±


    ¡®Eh!! Training? What just happened?¡¯ Shiv was confused, he again extended the parchment.


    ¡°You no longer need that, i reckon it was given by Barin, right? Keep it. Now shall we begin? Introduce yourself, boy¡±. The man was still smiling. He seemed like a different man.


    ¡®I have a bad feeling about this guy. I want to go home!¡¯, even though this was what he was thinking, Shiv still replied in fear for his life.


    ¡°I am Shiv, a traveler. I was sent by Barin to tra¡­¡±, before Shiv could complete, he was interrupted.


    ¡°Shiv, from now on you shall be trained by me personally, be honoured for I am Thorwin, battle guide and the grand master of this institution, Academy of warfare .¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡®Wait wait wait! Battle guide? Academy of warfare? Is this not a simple training hall? ¡¯


    Shiv was confused. In the real world he had been gathering as much information as he could. in all the forums and websites he had visited there was nothing mentioned about this so called ¡®Academy of warfare¡¯? Training hall was what all forums had talked about. He wanted to ask but then decided against it. He did not want to anger his new master.


    ¡°The academy has three branches. Each branch focuses on 3 entirely different aspects of warfare. I will be teaching you fighting techniques, that is the physical part of warfare. You will be taught about magic and strategies of warfare by two other experts. You shall address me as master from now on.  Any questions?¡±


    ¡°Yes master¡± Shiv was hesitant.


    ¡°Shoot¡±


    ¡°Master I only have 7 days for my training. The Naiads¡­.¡± he trailed off.


    ¡°Do not worry, 6 days is enough. We are going to pound into your head everything you know with all our might. Look forward to it, Oberon¡¯s child¡± replied Thorwin with a gentle smile. But there was nothing gentle about it. Even though the face had a smile, the eyes were as cold as ice. It was as if the eyes were saying ¡®I am going to torture you to my heart¡¯s content¡¯.


    Gulp! Shiv felt a chill run down his spine. ¡®Curse you Oberon, curse you¡¯. Shiv who had been wholeheartedly praising the dragon god was now cursing the same being. Little did he know that this was only the beginning? After all this was the


    Draklake, the village of hope or despair.


    Shiv was now in so much despair, he had once again forgotten something important. Just like the mystical water, he forgot about the name Thorwin had called him, ¡¯Oberon¡¯s child¡¯. But soon he will come to know the power that name carried and the troubles that it would bring.


    Shiv looked at his new master who was now walking through a narrow corridor. ¡®Sigh¡¯, He could not help but leave a sigh.


    He followed Thorwin accepting his cursed faith. ¡®Now I understand why everything here gave huge bonuses.¡¯


    ---***---


    The duo had been walking for some time now. Shiv wanted to ask where he was being taken, but he then decided against it. He followed his new master like an obedient puppy.


    Shiv looked around the corridor. It was too narrow. It was spacious enough to allow two persons to walk side by side. The corridor was badly lit. He could hardly see the master. The only thing he understood was the path they were walking was slanting downwards, indicating that they were now below ground surface.


    They then reached a junction. The path now separated into 2. There was a path to the right as well as the left. Thorwin then turned to his right and walked.


    ¡°Do not take the left path, you are not ready yet.¡± Shiv heard Thorwin¡¯s order.


    ¡°Yes master¡± was all Shiv managed to speak.


    They walked for a short while and then again stopped. This time it was a door. The door was the same size as the door he had seen before and had also something scribbled on it.


    Thorwin opened the door and gestured Shiv to get in.


    Shiv walked in. Inside was a very spacious hall. On the left was an armory with all the weapons that existed in the world.  To the right were dummies of different size. At the center there was a plain space and a bed.


    ¡°Here you will be trained. Your body and mind will be disciplined. Only then can you truly be powerful. You shall be trained by me for 2 days. For these 2 days you will listen to everything I say.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    ¡°Good. This is what you will be doing. Starting from now you will swing the wooden sword for 4 continuous hours then hit the dummies bare handedly for another 3 hours then hit the dummies for 3 hours with the sword. You will be given 2 hour rest for eating and sleeping. You will have to repeat this for the next two days. Simple, is it not.¡±


    Shiv¡¯s jaws dropped. This was slavery. ¡®simple my ass¡¯ was what he wanted to say, but he replied with a nod.


    ¡°Great. I will be sending you food to eat so do not worry about that and train to your heart¡¯s content. If you complete this training you will be given a weapon of your choice. If you complete it, that is¡±. Thorwin gave the same cold smile that he gave earlier and then slowly walked out of the room and closed the door.


    Shiv once again looked around the room which was going to be his home for 2 days, then picked up the sword and started his training.


    ---***---


    (pls give me your valuable feed back so that i can improve my faults. thank you)


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 Arc 1- Chapter 6: Training 2(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    ¡°Show Real Clock!!!¡±


    Shiv shouted suddenly, frustration was evident in his voice. Anyone who was asked to work like a machine without rest would indeed feel frustrated. Shiv was no exception. Cursing his fate he looked at the time. ¡®6:30 in the morning huh! Good grief! I will be able to complete my training in time for my breakfast¡¯.


    Shiv had been swinging and practicing with his sword for 4 continuous hours. Rather than swinging his sword just like one would practice swinging swords in kendo, Shiv used this time to practice the moves which was taught to him by his martial arts masters.


    His continuous movement had triggered the creation of many new skills but Shiv turned all of those down. He did not want to be restricted by the laws of his previous masters. He wanted to create his own moves and he knew he was not strong enough for such a feat.


    Shiv had also not bothered to check the dialogue boxes which indicated stats increase, satiety level or whatsoever the message was. He concentrated his all on mastering the sword and his body. He had stopped his practice when his mental clock thought that the time had been reached and he was correct about that.


    Shiv put down his sword, panting and sweating heavily. ¡®This world is too real for a game world¡¯. Shiv was about to start his next session of bare hand training on the dummies when his eyes caught the armory at the left side of the room.


    ¡®Let¡¯s have a short break now.¡¯ he was given a 2 hours rest for every hour of training. Grabbing the food and the canteen for water he was given he walked towards the armory munching on the terrible rye bread he was given. Due to his satiety being really low he gulped down on the bread as fast as he could.


    By the time he was near the armory he had already finished his bread and was now gulping down the water. He suddenly stopped. The water felt strangely sweet; he could feel his body being powered up with every gulp of water. ¡®Must ask master about this water the next time he visits.¡¯ making a mental note of it Shiv walked towards the huge stack of weapons. He did not realize the stats buffs he got from the water he drank as he didn¡¯t bother looking at the tabs which opened before him. The water had restored his stamina and increased his vitality.


    ¡®So I am supposed to get one of these when I pass eh. Cool, I am going to choose the best weapon this armory has.¡¯ he thought that doing so would be the least revenge he could have at Thorwin. He once again looked at the weapons and was about go back to his training when something caught his eye.


    There was a mild glow being emitted from a little further from where he was. He went towards it, ¡®might be some legendary weapon. Guhuhuhu!¡¯ Again the evil smile!!!! ¡®Thorwin, I am gonna make you regret pissing me off¡¯. Shiv was now emitting a very dark aura!!!


    ¡°What is this sudden chill I am feeling?¡± Somewhere in his office an unaware Thorwin was having cold sweats.


    Shiv approached the mild glow. He looked at the weapons in front of him and realized that the glow was not from them but was coming from behind those weapons. He then started shifting the weapons to find out the source of the glow. When he had shifted most of the weapons a silver chain came to his view.


    ¡®All this work for just a chain!¡¯ Shiv¡¯s hope for revenge was crumbling. He had hoped to find something big, big enough to compensate all the miseries he was put through.


    He took the chain in his hand and pulled it, ¡®at least let me see what it is.¡±


    What came out puzzled him even more. It was a pocket watch. A silver pocket watch. ¡®Ah! I am so unlucky¡¯. He was about to put it back when he noticed something written on the surface of the pocket watch. He looked at those symbols and understood that they were the same as what he has seen on the doors before.


    Shiv was now curious. For some odd reason, his right hand, which had the dragon tattoo, began to glow too. He could feel the glowing pocket watch was now resonating with his right hand¡¯s light.


    Hesitantly Shiv opened the pocket watch and a much brighter light was coming out of it. A few seconds passed and the glow reduced to nothingness. He looked at the inside of the watch.


    Strangely the pocket watch had two dials, each having a pair of hands. On careful examination he understood that only one of the pair was moving and the other was not. Before he could ponder over the reasons for this contradiction, he again heard the familiar sound.


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Artifact found: Chains of Time


    You have found a very rare artifact, Chains of time. This artifact once belonged to the God of Time, Vakt. It is believed that the god had gifted his precious watch to a human who had begged for the god¡¯s aid. The watch was soon fought by other greedy humans and so had been considered as an item with immense bad luck. The item was then lost and its where about forgotten.


    Artifact with power over time itself. Able to slow time.


    Time is doubled for the owner of the artifact.


    Mana consumption: 100


    50 mana per hour consumed for each hour the power is active


    Effect lasts till mana runs out or the caster cancels it.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Holy cow! Time gets doubled? That means 1 game hour becomes 2 game hours? Then 6 days becomes 12 days! That means I can become stronger than what I was meant to be in 6 days. Though the mana consumption will run me dry, it¡¯s worth trying. I barely got the amount to support it continuously¡¯.


    ¡°Chains of Time¡±, he shouted and he could feel the surroundings blur for a moment. That is all he felt. Shiv was confused.


    ¡®Did it really work?¡¯ he checked the watch again and was astonished. The dial and the pair of hands which had been stationary before had started moving while the pair which had been moving was now not moving.


    ¡®So it worked. Time to work.¡¯ with new found vigor Shiv began his training. He now had 96 hours instead of the previous 48 hours under his current master. ¡®Let the race against time begin¡¯. Shiv then started beating the dummy with all his might.


    Occasionally he would log out to tend to his needs like food, bath, sanitary and other requirements. He would finish all those in a few minutes and return back to the game to continue his training.


    The artifacts power was indeed a boon for Shiv, because by the time his training was reaching the end, his stats were so high that a level 10 would pale in comparison.


    ¡°Show Stats¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>STATS WINDOW</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Character Name</td><td width="25%">Shiv</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Fame</td><td width="25%">30</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Health: 150</td><td colspan=''2''>Mana: 150</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Strength: 29</td><td colspan=''2''>Agility: 31</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Stamina: 29</td><td colspan=''2''>Vitality: 27</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Wisdom: 10</td><td colspan=''2''>Intelligence: 10</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Luck: 0</td><td colspan=''2''>Perseverance: 5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Offence: 5</td><td colspan=''2''>Defense: 0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance: None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Looking at his stats he understood that the training was meant to raise his physical stats and he saw that they had risen considerably and almost uniformly. Shiv closed the stats bar and lifted the sword in his hands.


    He had now only 3 hours of training left. The 3 hours for him became 6 hours due to the artifacts power. He was going to start his last session of training. He picked up his sword and paced himself towards the dummies which were now in a terrible condition due to all the beatings they had received.


    ¡°You seem to have gotten stronger than I had thought. Impressive.¡±. The sudden dialogue startled shiv. He had not heard this voice for 98 hours (for Shiv it was 98 hours, but for Thorwin it was 48 hours).


    ¡°Master.¡±, Shiv dropped the sword and bowed at his master.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.¡®The boy has got his hands on the artifact. He truly is the child of Oberon.¡¯


    ¡°Seems you are ready to be taught the basics of sword fighting. I shall be passing down to you one of the rarest and strongest techniques that I have learned. Heavenly Elements, the strongest sword technique that has ever existed. Use it well!¡±


    ¡°It is an honor master!¡±


    ¡°At your current level you will not be able to use the full potential of this technique; even I am unable to do so. Boy, tell me, how many elements exists in this world¡±.


    ¡°Umm 6? No 7. 7 elements.¡±


    ¡°What are they?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Ahh! Elements¡­ elements!! Wind, fire, water, earth, lightning, dark and light elements.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now remember those are the number of techniques included in Heavenly Elements!¡±


    ¡°That means I get to use techniques which have the properties of the elements?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no. You will understand better when you gain more knowledge about the techniques. But let me tell you the first two are the basics, the rest will be more difficult than the first two. The last two are practically impossible. Only the person who created this technique was able to use all 7 of them. Now enough with the idle chat. Your time with me is almost up. Look closely¡±.


    Shiv was now looking at his master attentively. His concentration was so high it surprised Thorwin a bit. But then throwing a smile. Shiv thought he heard Thorwin mutter something which sounded like, ¡®Perfect!¡¯


    ¡°Heavenly Elements Form 1- Kaze¡±


    Suddenly Thorwin disappeared from Shiv¡¯s vision. It was like he had vanished into thin air. When Shiv was awestruck by the things occurring in front of him he was grabbed from behind by a pair of hands.


    Shiv was frightened by this sudden action that he jumped out of his skin.


    ¡°This is the first form of The Heavenly Elements- Kaze or Wind.¡±.


    ¡°How did you? What did you? Where did you? Was that teleportation? Is that magic?¡± Shiv exploded a number of questions at Thorwin.


    Bang


    Instead of being answered he got hit in his head by Thorwin.


    ¡°It was no magic you idiot. I just moved fast and swiftly, just like the wind. FOR THE WIND IS EVERYWHERE.¡±


    ¡°Move like the wind? Is that even possible? Can I do that too?¡± Shiv was excited. He had only seen the first form and he already understood the strength of the technique he was being taught. ¡®As expected of the strongest sword technique¡¯.


    ¡°At the moment you will not be half as fast as I was. But you will be fast enough. The more you train the faster you become. And now the second form, this will be my last lesson for you! Watch.¡±


    ¡°Heavenly Elements Form 2- Hono¡±


    A yellowish orange aura now surrounded Throwin. It looked like he was on fire, literally! The glow was bright and it made the surrounding a little hot! The fiery yellow glow was truly magnificent.  Then the aura disappeared. Shiv was again confused. ¡®Did the skill fail?¡¯


    ¡°Master don¡¯t tell me the second form is just some yellow light?¡±


    Bang


    Shiv was again hit on the head a second time. This time it was much stronger. Shiv winced and then a tab opened in front of him


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have been hit: -50HP</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®50HP? Just how powerful is this monster?¡¯


    ¡°Foolish boy, tell me what makes fire different from the other elements¡±


    ¡°It is yellow in color?¡±


    Bang


    Another hit on the head!


    ¡°It gives heat?¡±


    Bang


    Shiv was now crawling on the floor with pain.


    ¡°It burns you fool. Just why did I make him my disciple¡±.


    Bang


    This time he was kicked. Poor boy!


    ¡°Fire burns everything. Be it wood, clothes, or even metals, it burns. To master this form you must understand that. FOR THE FIRE CONSUMES ALL. ¡±


    ¡°But what does it do master?¡±


    ¡°Such an idiot. Suppose your enemy has an thick armor, what will you do? Run to your mommy? No, you use the fire to consume the armor. The fire will negate the armor while your strike will deal the damage you need to.¡±


    ¡®It can bypass defense and armors? Cool!!!¡¯


    ¡°With this it is time to end our training. You will be under a new master. Let me introduce him to. Altair you can come in and take this fool!¡±


    The huge door then opened and a hooded figure walked in. From the silhouette Shiv felt that the new person had a slim figure and less muscular.


    The hooded figure who Thorwin had addresses as Altair now stood near Thorwin and directly in front of Shiv.


    ¡°Hello, my name is Altair, a mana harvester and I shall be teaching you about magic.¡± the hooded figure said in a very feminine way and then took off her hood to show a very cute face. Unlike all the people he had met till now, this person in front of him was much fairer. She had no bluish tint to her skin like the others. But the aura she had clearly told that she was as much a Draken as Thorwin was.


    ¡°Hello master¡± replied Shiv with a smile.


    ¡°Thorwin is fire yellow in color?¡± asked Altair, trying hard to hold her laugh. But she could not control it and suddenly erupted with laughter. She was laughing so much that tears were rolling out of her eyes. Shiv felt embarrassed. He had not felt ashamed like this ever before. He then glared at Thorwin who too was trying his best not to laugh.


    ¡°What? It was your fault for spouting such foolishness¡± and with that Thorwin too started laughing.


    Shiv was now dyed red with embarrassment, he felt like dying. ¡®I wanna die, I wanna die, and I wanna dieeee¡¯.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough Thorwin. Don¡¯t tease the young one anymore¡±, said Altair yet she was still laughing her stomach out.


    After a few good minutes had passed the two masters settled down.


    ¡°Sorry Shiv. My bad. Forgive me. Let¡¯s begin our lessons shall we?¡±


    ¡°Yes master¡± replied a dejected Shiv.


    ¡°You remember the way you came right, I want you to go and wait outside, near the fountain of elixir. I have some business with my friend here¡±.


    ¡°Yes master, I shall wait for you near the fountain¡±.


    Shiv then bowed at his masters and left without looking back.


    Altair made sure that Shiv had left and turned towards Thorwin, she looked different than she was just a moment ago.


    ¡°Why did you not tell him, Thor? Why did you not tell him about the 8th form? Why did you not tell him about the origin of the technique?¡± Altair was furious! Her body was shaking. She was mad. Mad at her friend who had not explained to his first and only disciple the perils that awaited him.


    ¡°Tell him about the 8th form? The origin? Are you out of your mind? Even if he were the child of Oberon there is no way he can grasp its power. It¡¯s too dangerous and you know that. It¡¯s not a power meant to be possessed by a mortal. You know the things I had to sacrifice to learn half of those techniques¡±.


    The 8th form of Heavenly Elements- Tengoku was the strongest attack that existed in the world. Legend has it that just like the name; Tengoku which meant Heaven, the 8th form was so powerful that even the heavens would bow down before it. These techniques were created by the Dragon King Hundreds of years ago, Dragon King Orrinshire.


    The Dragon King was so powerful that he had united the entire world under his rule in the span of a year. Only few remains who knew that the current name of their world, Orrinshire was a tribute to this almighty Dragon King. And even fewer, some like Thorwin and some of his close friends, knew the fact that the Dragon King Orrinshire too was a child of Oberon, the first child. And now a second one has come, Shiv, the child of Oberon.


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 1- Chapter 7: Training 3(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    ¡°Did I make you wait for long young Shiv?¡± the sudden conversation startled Shiv. He turned to the direction of the voice and bowed lightly to the approaching figure!


    ¡°No master, you did not!¡± Shiv was one who saw his master as equivalent to his parents.


    Altair smiled to the gesture, she liked the way Shiv behaved, and she liked the respect he gave her. ¡°The fountain of elixir! Magnificent piece of art, don¡¯t you think so too?¡±


    ¡°Yes master, it is truly wonderful. The sculptor must have been the greatest ever existed.¡±


    ¡°Indeed he was, indeed. Have you tasted the water from the fountain Shiv?¡± enquired a smiling Altair.


    ¡°No master! I did not know that one was allowed to consume it¡±.


    ¡°Did Thor, I mean Thorwin not tell you the water he gave you before came from the fountain?¡± Altair was bemused! ¡®That idiot, he did not even explain this¡¯. Altair was mentally cursing Thorwin.


    ¡°Well never mind. So tell me Shiv, when you drank the water you were given before, what did you feel¡±.


    ¡°I felt unbelievably strong master. It was like strength was flowing through me, like something was granting me enormous power.¡±


    ¡°Good, now you understand the power of this water.¡±, Altair now sat on the wall of the fountain, her hands making figures in the water, a bewitching smile on her face.


    Shiv noticed that his new master appeared young, beautiful; her soft shiny silver hair was now flowing like a river due to the gentle wind. The smile added to her beauty, her serene nature making things even more magnificent. Shiv thought his new master to be more beautiful than the fountain itself.


    The boy was so entranced that he spilled his thoughts without recognizing. ¡°Beautiful!¡± Altair looked at Shiv; she blushed when she realized he was looking just at her. She understood the praise was meant for her and it was a heartfelt praise too. She turned her now red face away from her disciple and continued talking to change the mood.


    ¡°This water is called elixir for this very reason; it gives great power to the one who drinks it. This water is magical. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    ¡°I agree, Master!¡± Shiv was back to normal and was now looking at the water curiously.


    ¡°Let me ask you a simple question! What is magic? Is it some parlor trick? Or does it have greater value?¡±


    Shiv had no answer for the question. He couldn¡¯t answer a simple question as that. All he knew was that there were many magical spells. He was disturbed. He had never thought of the meaning of magic.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel depressed. Only a few people like Archmages know the real answer. Let me give you my version of how I understand it. Walk with me, will you?¡± Altair started walking and Shiv followed.


    ¡°From time immemorial, magic has been practiced throughout the world, some used it to protect while some used it to destroy. But most of those who used magic did not know its real essence. Magic is neither a tool for destruction nor a tool for protection! It is a part of who you are. ¡±


    Shiv was now really confused. ¡®How can magic be part of a person? Surely mana was produced inside the body, but magic?¡¯


    ¡°You seem to think otherwise, don¡¯t you? I don¡¯t blame you, none would believe it. Any way lets continue.¡± Suddenly she started walking faster, Shiv tried to stay with her.


    ¡°Have you ever thought some magic was restricted to special people? Like healing for clerks, holy magic for priests and the like. Of course there might be exceptions. A tainted being is able to use dark magic but not holy magic. Have you ever thought why it is so?¡±


    Shiv nodded his head to show he did.


    Altair smiled, ¡°That is why I said magic is a part of who you are. A priest has been blessed by god so he or she can use holy magic. It is not because she is a priest but because the good in her becomes the source of her magic. While for a tainted being the source becomes his hatred or the darkness inside. And so on for every other people.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s take into account your new sword technique. Have you tried using them?¡±


    ¡°Yes master, I had been trying to after I left the academy. Strangely I am not able to do so.¡± Shiv had been trying to activate the skills he had been taught by Thorwin. He had been repeating the words his master had spoken and also the stance for the forms. It was during this that he was interrupted by Altair and now he was reminded of his predicament.


    ¡°That is because the magic in you is locked. You have to mold yourself to activate the magic and that is what I am going to teach you. As you are now you do not have the knowledge of any of the elements.¡±


    Altair suddenly stopped in front of another red building. Unlike the previous one this one was shorter but had a strange design. It was triangular in shape! Shiv was lost in his thoughts when Altair spoke.


    ¡°Let me introduce myself again! I am Altair, Altair Debrolf! Mana harvester and the grandmaster of The Vault of


    Knowledge! Welcome to the Vault boy!¡± she said waving her hand towards the red building.


    ¡®Vault of knowledge!!! Cool!!¡¯


    Altair walked inside with Shiv following her.


    She gave him a chair and asked him to sit down.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s get you to understand the basic elements, shall we?¡± Altair smiled. She then clapped her hands once and suddenly the entire room lit up. Behind Altair was something that shocked Shiv to the core. Behind her were books, millions and billions of them.


    But what shocked him were not the books but something else. From outside he thought the building to be not even a quarter of the previous one, the academy of warfare. But now he thought that he was greatly mistaken.


    The interior looked like it was twice the length of the academy! With books stacked on the shelves to the very top. The shelves were placed on the wall of the triangular building and so they were too at an angle. But the books did not even move slightly. They were stuck to the shelf as if they were glued to it.


    ¡°How can it be?¡± Shiv had excitement, doubt and wonder in his tone.


    Altair was happy, she was proud of her vault. It had taken her years to build this to the way it was. With a smile she whispered to his ears ¡°Magic is a wondrous thing young one and now I am going to open the door to you!¡±


    She then again clapped and suddenly there was a large squeaking sound. Five books came flying from different direction and landed on her palm. She then presented the books to Shiv.


    ¡°I want you to read these books! By the time you finish I will prepare some food, you must be hungry.¡±


    Shiv nodded and made a light bow. He then went back to his chair and began to read. He looked at the titles of each book. The first one was ¡®Mana: Source to wonders¡¯. The others were, ¡®Basic Element Wind¡¯, ¡®Basic Element Fire¡¯, ¡®Basic Element


    Water¡¯, and ¡®Basic Element Earth¡¯.


    He began to read the books. He began with mana. He was diligently reading the book, understanding what mana was and how it was made into magic.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Mana is considered as the essence of this world. Just like the air around you there is mana everywhere. All living beings are like a container of mana. They absorb the mana from the surrounding, mainly the ground.


    It is believed that mana was created by the Goddess of Life, Tia who dwells in this world! It is also believed that it was she who had created magic from mana.


    Magic consumes mana. higher the magic output, higher the source of mana required.


    Normally, there exists 7 types of main magic; Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Dark, Light. All of these are affiliated to nature.


    It is also believed that there exists magic which do not come under these categories and is considered so strong that they transcend the boundaries of nature itself.


    Every life form is born with uncharacterized mana. This mana develops characteristics as the life form grows and matures. This is the reason why a person has affinity towards certain type of magic but becomes incompatible with another!


    [/tds]


    </tr></tbody></table>


    It took him a while to complete the book as he tried to understand everything the book offered. He closed the book and recalled everything he had learned.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr>[td4]


    New skill unlocked: Magic mastery (Passive) Beginner Level (3%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The ability to use magic freely. Your understanding of mana has enabled you to use magic with much ease . the more you improve the stronger the spell becomes. You are unable to use special magic unless you satisfy the requirements.


    You are now able to cast basic spells.


    Increase casting speed by 2%


    Increase magic strength by 5%


    +5 to INT and WIS


    +50 to mana


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Having read on one of the laws of this world you have become smarter


    +1 to INT and WIS</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Wow! This is some major development¡¯ Shiv was happy about the Stats gain and skill generation.


    He then continued reading the remaining books in random, he was now eager hoping that he would gain more skills and stats. He started with Water and went to Earth. Once he finished Earth he read Wind and finally Fire. By the time he had finished reading he had gained 2 points in INT and WIS. He also gained the respective skills too.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New skill unlocked:Water mastery Beginner level 1 (0%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Understanding the element of Water has made you stronger than before.


    Allows manipulation of one of the elements-Water . As your skill proficiency increases, the amount of water produced and the strength of the magic will also increase.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    +5% strength for water based spells


    +1% water affinity


    +1% water resistance </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New skill unlocked: Earth mastery Beginner Level 1 (0%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>


    Understanding the element of Earth has made you stronger than before.


    Allows manipulation of one of the elements- Earth. As your skill proficiency increases, the amount of earth produced and the strength of the magic will also increase.


    +5% strength for Earth based spell


    +1% earth affinity


    +1% in Earth resistance


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New skill unlocked: Wind mastery (Passive) Beginner Level 1 (0%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>


    Understanding the element of Wind has made you stronger than before.


    Allows manipulation of one of the elements- Wind. As your skill proficiency increases, the amount of wind produced and the strength of wind magic will increase.


    +5% for strength in wind based magic


    +1% wind affinity


    +1% wind resistance


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New skill unlocked :Fire mastery (Passive)Beginner Level 1 (0%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>


    Understanding the element of Fire has made you stronger than before.


    Allows manipulation of one of the elements- Fire . As your skill proficiency increases, the amount of fire produced and the strength of fire magic will increase.


    +5% strength in fire magic


    +1% fire affinity


    +1% fire resistance


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    He was happy that he could gain so many skills. Not only did he learn new skills he also gained affinity and resistance to those elements. But something happened which made him even more happy.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New skill unlocked: Heavenly Element Sword Technique  (Passive)Beginner Level 1%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>


    The sword technique created by the Dragon King, Orrinshire, himself. This technique is considered to be the strongest technique which helped the Dragon King to conquer the world.


    You are the 2nd person to inherit this technique. More elements will be unlocked when your proficiency increases.


    Currently unlocked elements: (2/7)


    Currently unlocked transcended elements: (0/2)</td>+5 to all stats


    </tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New sub skill unlocked:  Form 1: Kaze(Active)Beginner Level(0%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>


    Your deep understanding of the element and the sword technique has helped you learn the first form: Kaze(wind). The first form of Heavenly Elements lets you move swift like the wind. FOR THE WIND IS EVERYWHERE.


    +10% to AGI


    Your presence fades making it easily to sneak behind enemies.


    +10% more damage when attacking with the skill.


    Duration:30


    Mana consumption: 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New sub skill unlocked:  Form 2: Hono(Active)Beginner Level(0%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>


    Your deep understanding of the element and the sword technique has helped you learn the second form: Hono(fire). The second form of Heavenly Elements lets you burn everything. FOR THE FIRE CONSUMES ALL.


    +10% STR


    Your body develops a fiery yellow aura.


    Your attacks bypass any defense.


    5% more damage when attacking with the skill.


    Mana consumption: 100</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv was overwhelmed just with the joy his heart felt. He had finally inherited the cool moves his master had showed him. He was busy celebrating his new found skills that he did not notice Altair¡¯s presence.


    ¡°Cough!¡±, Altair coughed to gain Shiv¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Sorry master, I was not myself for a moment.¡± Shiv bowed apologetically.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. I too was like you when I first gained the ability to use magic.¡± Altair consoled Shiv. ¡°So you seem to have gained control over your magic. From the look on your face I believe you are now capable of using the sword technique too.¡±


    ¡°Yes master, I can¡±, Shiv said smiling, but the smile disappeared when he saw his master had a sad look on her face. He wanted to know the reason why she would make such a sorrowful face. He was about to speak when Altair began talking again.


    ¡°Well now that I have taught you all that I have I want you to go back to Thorwin and practice your new magic skills, only the magic skills. You are prohibited from using the sword skills.¡±


    Shiv¡¯s face became pale, ¡¯again to that hell hole and that demon? No you can¡¯t master I will die.¡¯ Before Shiv could protest Altair snapped her fingers and Shiv felt him being swooped away from the ground and thrown back. When he landed he was outside the vault and in front he saw Altair closing the door with the same beautiful smile he had seen at the fountain.


    ---***---


    Shiv had been continuously training his magic skills just like he had with his body under Thorwin. He had used Chains of Time to increase his time, or rather slow time around him, converting 1 hour into 2 hours. By the end of the allotted 2 day magic training all his magic proficiency had reached beginner level 4 except for magic mastery. It was only beginner level 2. From this he understood that magic mastery will only increase if he used powerful or large scale magic.


    He had no powerful magic so he tried to use magic which affected larger area. He did this by trying to increase the amount of element created. But he could not also do that for his proficiency in the 4 elements being low. So he continued with the usual method and used basic spells like fire ball, water bullet, wind blade and earth wall.


    He had expected all of them to become new skills but was disappointed when he found that after all that training no new skill had developed.


    Shiv had almost two more hours before his lessons under Altair came to an end. So he thought to log out and go have a small chat with Mia. He had been occasionally logging out in between to meet his family. So he thought now was the right time to.


    ¡°Log o¡­..¡±, he could not complete it as he was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door of his training room. The door was flung open and in came a gigantic figure. Together with the giant was Altair.


    Shiv was startled because of the sudden intrusion by the duo but he regained his composure instantly.


    ¡°Shiv, how have you been? I am sorry for not visiting you I had some business to attend to. Leaving that behind, meet Petra your new master. She will be teaching you strategies and tactics. I am going to teach you how to fight.¡±.


    ¡°But I know how to fight¡±, Shiv protested clearly not liking the idea of being the faint lady¡¯s disciple. He was shocked enough when he heard the  giant was a woman. He was now shocked even more when he heard she was his new master.


    ¡®Why do I have to suffer so much.¡¯


    ¡°Fight? You think using flashy sword moves and some stupid magic makes you able to fight? Nonsense, you are as stupid as Thor said. Look here son, I am going to show you what a true fight is. And in a true fight you use this.¡± finished Petra with her fingering pointing to her head covered with a helmet.


    ¡°You fight with your helmet?¡±, Shiv asked with a serious face.


    There was silence throughout the room for a second. Shiv thought that he was going get hit by the giant lady. But contrary to his thoughts the two ladies started laughing.


    ¡°Oh my, oh my! He is just as you said Al! I can¡¯t stop laughing. Petra could hardly talk because of her laughter. She was now almost rolling on the floor


    ¡°I told you so!¡± said a teary Altair who had just stopped laughing.


    Petra stood up and removed her helmet, her golden hair plaited neatly now came to Shiv¡¯s view.


    ¡°No son, not the helmet.  I fight with what this helmet protects. My brain. I am a strategist. I have fought enough wars to be called one of the best of these lands.¡± She said confidently.


    ¡°Well now, let¡¯s not waste any more time. I have to turn you into a war machine as fast as possible. Altair let¡¯s begin.¡± Petra said looking at Altair .


    ¡°Begin what?¡± Shiv had a bad feeling! He did not like the way things were proceeding.


    ¡±Master, begin what?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret Shiv.¡±, Altair replied. She was smiling and as she had done before, she snapped her fingers. And everything became blank.


    ---***---


    (Guys do you think the chapter is too long????? am sorry. i wanted to shorten it but i just could not delete anything!!!! this is the base of my characters power so i had to explain it clearly. everything that has happened till now is for a reason. pls enjoyyyyy)


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 Arc 1- Chapter 8: In Midst of A War(proofread)

    proofread by Vikingstad and Daylius


    The only thing Shiv remembered was the smiling Altair snapping her finger. His senses began to fade after the snap, his conscious drifting away. When he came into he found himself in a different place than where he had been before. He was not sure how long he had been unconscious. He looked down to check his body. He was surprised to find himself in totally different attire. He was now in a red armor and had a black sword at his waste. He then got up on his foot and looked around. He understood that he was inside a very large stony room. He saw weapons and other war related equipment¡¯s.


    He walked out and what lay before him made him lose is mind. He was inside a stone structure. He looked around and found out that he was surrounded by huge walls and behind him was a mountain range. He understood now that he was standing inside a fort. ¡®Why am I at such a place?¡¯ shiv was wondering when suddenly a window popped up in front of him.


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>THE WAR BETWEEN KINGDOMS</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The Great Kingdom Verunisya has decided to ambush the Lithinian Kingdom and conquer it without even declaring a war. For centuries the Lithinian kingdom had been free of war, prospering under their benevolent kings! But now the arrogant Verunisians have dared to bear the fangs upon the peaceful Lithian Kingdom. The Verunisian army has begun its march. The Verunisians empire has begun gathering a huge army to march against the Lithian kingdom. Spies have reported that the enemy will take 2 days to gather their army and it would take another 3 days for them to reach the border.


    You, the Great King of Lithinia, have set out with your private army of 10,000 to delay the oncoming attack of the Verunisian army. Orders have already been sent to gather the entire kingdoms army of 50,000 which are now scattered across the country under different lords and other nobles. You have taken it up on yourself to delay the army till the kingdom¡¯s army arrives. Your allies have also promised you aid in this battle and have requested you to hold off the attack till their armies reached the battle field.


    The enemy understands your predicament and has decided to attack you before you could gather up all your army and resist their attack, so they planned a secret attack on the fort. Luckily a spy at the cost of his life had delivered you the news so that you could somehow save your country attack You are now at Fort Linford, a fort at the border between you and your enemies. If Linford falls you will lose the war and your country will fall into the hands of the Verunisian kingdom.


    The enemy understands your predicament and has decided to attack you before you could gather up all your army, so they planned a secret attack on the fort. Luckily a spy at the cost of his life had delivered you the news so that you could somehow save your country.


    Save the country from the clutches of the Verunisian kingdom and rise up to the ranks of the  greatest king Lithinia has seen


    Your private army     : 10,000


    Reinforcement           : 50,000


    Allied army                  : 50,000


    Verunisians army      : 100,000


    Time left for preparation: 6days</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®What the hell is going on? How did become a king? And how did I end up in this shit?¡¯.


    He recalled that he ended up here after Altair had snapped her fingers. He doubted that whenever Altair snapped her finger something out of the ordinary had always occurred. With this sudden change of situation he now confirmed his doubts.


    ¡®So you set me you here eh. You want me to fight huh, lead an army? Altair you witch, do you want me dead so badly that you would throw me into a war.¡¯.


    Shiv was now extremely pissed. He was trembling now, his blood boiling with rage. His eyes were now colder than ice.


    The usual cheerful and polite boy was no longer in the view. The shiv now was different with a murderous aura around him. His face now had the look of a person who would destroy everything before him. He was now consumed by so much rage that he did not notice him biting his lips. Blood oozed down from his lips. He wiped the blood with his hands and said, ¡°You want a war right? Fine I will give you one. I will crush you! I will rip out the heart of every Verunisian soldier that dare attack me. Just you watch Altair, just you watch¡±.


    ---***---


    In a large underground training hall three figures were now talking to each other. Thorwin, Altair and Petra were standing around a small pool and witnessing what Shiv was doing. The three of them had cold sweats all over their body.


    The three were the masters of the boy. Shiv who was always cheerful and humble towards them, Shiv who had always listened to them and obeyed their every word, shiv who would always have an innocent and bright smile was nowhere to be seen.


    In the pond was an after image of what one would call devil. The once cheerful boy was now emitting such an intense blood lust that even the three masters felt fear trickle down inside them. They were terrified at the sudden change. The most shocked was Altair.


    She had created a small world with the help of some rare magic stones to let shiv experience the power of using strategies and tactics. She was asked by Petra to do so. Petra had told her that this would let the boy grow much faster.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.She was sadder than she was afraid. She felt guilty. ¡®I have turned a child into a monster¡¯, tears welled up in her eyes.


    ---***---


    ¡°Private Army-Show Status¡±


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>THE KING¡¯S PRIVATE ARMY</tr></td><tr><td colspan=''4''>The private army of the King of Lithinia himself. They are loyal to the king and are even ready to lay down their life for him. They considered the words of the king as the words from a god and would do anything to fulfill the king¡¯s order.


    Supreme Commander- Borin Geol


    Second-in-Command ¨C Vivain Gilbert


    Warriors  : 5000


    Archers    : 2500


    Cavalry    : 1500


    Priest       : 500


    Mage       : 450


    Assassin  : 50</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®How the hell am I supposed to delay a 100,000 strong army with 10,000. There must be a catch somewhere. There must be something I could use to turn the tides.¡¯


    Shiv then began searching the room he was in for the map of the area.  But the one hour long search was fruitless. Shiv was now feeling true despair. he wanted to quit but then something re-kindled the fire in his eyes. ¡®I can¡¯t give up. If I do those three would look down on me again.  Never!¡¯


    ¡°Borin¡±, he screamed at the top of his voice. he screamed to let go the building stress and frustration. He was then startled by the sudden swinging of the door. Two people in the same red armor as his came in and kneeled before him.


    The only difference was that the armor he had had a white dragon on the  breastplate while those two had  white cross.


    ¡°What is your command, Sire!¡±, both spoke at the same time.


    ¡°Borin, I require the map of this area, find me one.¡±


    ¡°At once Sire¡±saying so Borin rushed out and came back immediately with the map.  Vivian ten had already found a table and placed it before the King. Borin then spread the map on the table for his king.


    Shiv walked up to the table and began examining the map. Borin and Vivian stood behind him waiting for their king¡¯s orders.


    For almost an hour shiv had been examining the map without uttering a single word. When shiv spoke the two commanders were shocked, not because of the sudden conversation but because of the question the king had asked.


    ¡°Borin, how much salt do we have?¡±


    Both Borin and Vivian stood there for a moment without replying. ¡®Salt? Why does the sire need salt?¡¯


    ¡°How much?¡± shiv asked a second time.


    This time the two were angry. Angry not at the king but at themselves. Angry for making their king repeat himself.


    ¡°Enough to last for 2 months sire.¡±


    ¡®Two months. Since salt does not go bad it is possible to store for a very long time¡¯.


    ¡°Find out the correct amount of salt we have, Vivian.¡±


    ¡°Yes Sire¡±, Vivian said and rushed out.


    ¡°Borin , if we have to win this war we need to cut out the eyes of the enemies first.¡±


    Borin nodded, he had not grasped what the king meant and awaited father orders.


    ¡°I want any enemy scouts and spies removed from the area. Not even a single one should be left alive except for one.


    Capture one of the spies alive, we will have him interrogated. Send 30 assassins for the task. Remember, only one survivor! No escapees.¡±


    ¡°As you desire my king.¡±


    ¡°I want the 5 of the remaining 20 assassins to gather poison herbs. Another 5 to gather the sap of the ignutus tree . I want the remaining to gather edible herbs and other food items. Assign 200 warriors for  each unit and ask them to gather as much as possible within 2 days. They must gather things only at daytime. Then check the armory and make a catalogue of all the weapons and amours, take 50soldiers with you!¡±.


    ¡°It shall be done. Anything else sire!¡±


    ¡°Summon the one in command for the warrior, archer, priest and mage units immediately.¡±


    ¡°Yes Sire!¡± Borin now bowed at his king and paced out of the room.


    Within minutes Shiv heard a knock on the door. He gave his permission to open the door and come in.


    All the three who were in charge of the different units assembled, kneeling in front of their king


    ¡°I have a task for each one of you! If you successfully complete it, we shall win this war!¡±


    The last sentence surprised them. They had considered this a lost cause. And now the king was saying they could win. All three lifted their head with disbelief and looked at the king. What they saw made them even more confused.


    Their sire, the king was now smiling!


    ---***---


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 Arc 1- Chapter 9: First Blood(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    The Lithinian Kingdom was considered as a gateway to prosperity and the Lithinian king to be the gatekeeper. This was not due to the kingdom being the richest or greatest kingdom but due to its geography.


    The continent of Aslain was divided into northern Aslain and southern Aslain and the middle of these two halves was Lithinia. The only way to cross from one half to another was through Lithinia. From time immemorial Lithinia had prohibited the crossing of the borders. The south and north remained without contact. The other kingdoms knew that the one who could conquer Lithinia would become the strongest in the continent. So whenever a country tried to invade Lithinia, the others aided Lithinia to withstand the attacks.


    This always happened, no matter which country tried to attack and this made all others realize that it was impossible to conquer Lithinia, and had given up.


    Now the Verunisian Empire had set its eyes on Lithinia and had sent a large army to conquer it before the allies could arrive. In the past, every country which tried to attack Lithinia, had always amassed its entire army for the invasion. This usually gave Lithinia and her allies¡¯ time to gather their armies too.


    But now the situation was different. The Verunisian Empire did not even try to send quarter of its army. The total army count of the empire had was near 900,000. The empire knew that by the time all their soldiers gathered up, their enemies would have already been waiting for them with an army of equal strength. So the empire decided to do a surprise attack with 100000 soldiers and decided to move the army after the fall of the Lithinian Empire.


    The empire also knew that the fort of Linford was the key to conquering the empire. The fort of Linford was well defended by its surrounding mountain range and passing Linford was the only way to reach the rest of Lithinia. The empire knew that once Linford fell the rest of the continent would fall easily.


    They were so sure of their victory in the war that they did not even bother sending any reinforcements. They thought that they would mobilize the main army only when Linford fell, thus letting the main army have enough time to prepare.


    But what awaited them was nothing but disaster.


    ---***---


    Half a day had passed. Shiv was waiting in his room. He had done everything that the situation had called for.


    ¡®Now the only thing I can do is trust my soldiers and wait for the result.¡¯


    Shiv had given all the heads specific missions to accomplish. The assassins, like he had ordered ,had brought a single survivor from the enemy spies. They had also brought everything the spies had, including the Verunisian empire¡¯s armor and weapons. Shiv then ordered them to use any means necessary to extract information from the spy.


    The assassins had kept one they thought would break easily, and they were proved correct. The spy talked after a little torture. To make sure that it was the truth that he had told he was tortured a little more. The information was then delivered to Shiv and what he heard made him speechless.


    The Verunisian Empire had intently leaked the arrival of the army. But there was a minor difference. Instead of 7 days the army would reach the fort in just 4 days. He also got information about the remaining 900,000 strong main army.


    He froze. All his calculations had gone wrong. He began to panic.


    ¡®No Ryu, don¡¯t panic. Everything is a part of a carefully laid script. There must be something I can manipulate.¡¯


    ¡°Trrrng¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>The true plot of the Verunisian empire has been uncovered by your assassins. You have found out about the treacherous plans of the empire. You are now able to prepare countermeasures against the enemy army. Your allies have been notified and they have dispatched a much larger army for your aid.


    First reinforcements will reach you faster than before.


    Days left till army arrives: 6days


    Second reinforcement has been dispatched


    Army strength: 200,000 each from five allied countries


    Days left till army arrives: 9 days[/tds]</tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®6 days? The enemy will reach here by 4 days. I have to withstand the attack for more than 2 days with 10,000 soldiers. No there must be something I can do.¡¯.


    ¡°Did the spy tell you the route? Do you know from which side the enemies will come from.¡±


    ¡°Yes Sire. We know. There  are two paths that the enemies can come from. One is from the south of here, crossing the dark forest, the other is by crossing through Elden Mountain pass.¡±


    ¡®Two ways, a dark forest, a mountain pass. Hmm, interesting!¡¯


    ¡°OF the two, the mountain pass is shorter and less dangerous than the dark forest.


    Crossing the dark forest is time consuming as the army has to travel an extra 2 days. The dark forest is believed to have dangerous beasts.¡±


    ¡°Dangerous beast? Why are they not attacking us then?.¡±


    ¡°They hate light and do not come out of the forest during day time. At night the magical spells cast a barrier to any intruders.¡±


    ¡°We have a barrier?¡±, Shiv was amused, ¡°Why was I not told about this before.¡±


    ¡°Forgive our foolishness Sire. The barrier is effective against monsters.But against humans it won''t stand for too long. The barrier may stop them for almost 1 hour.¡±


    ¡°Hmm I see. Summon Borin!¡±


    The assassin bowed and left.


    A few minutes later, Borin was kneeling in front of Shiv.


    ¡°Borin have you heard the new information?¡±


    ¡°Yes Sire. Those bastards and their evil plans!¡±


    ¡°At this rate we will be annihilated before our reinforcements arrive. We must do something. Summon the mages who


    specialize in earth and large area offensive magic. Summon the archer unit commander and his best archers. I need them here now!¡±.


    ¡°Yes Sire!¡±, Borin ran out like the wind and after almost an hour, returning with him there were almost a hundred mages. Behind them the archers entered. Since the room was not large enough for all of them only the archer commander entered.


    ¡°These are the 43 who specialize in earth magic. However, all of these 97 mages are capable of large scale magic, Sire.


    There¡¯s 470 archers including the commander. He chose the rest personally and guarantees that they are among the best in the country¡±.


    ¡°I hope you have been informed about the enemy¡¯s true plans¡± Shiv looked at the people in front of him.


    All of them nodded, their face went pale. They knew that they would lose their kingdom. They did not care for their lives, they wanted the kingdom to survive and they were ready to throw away their life for that.


    ¡°We are going to push back the army. Me and you, we are going to block the mountain pass and buy us the much needed time and here is how we will do it!¡±.


    Everyone brightened up. They had thought this as a lost cause. Even Borin had given up. Now the king said he was going to buy them time by blocking the mountain pass. They knew that if the mountain pass was blocked the enemies would have no other choice but to pass through the dark forest.


    ¡°Our life is yours to command Sire¡±, the answer was the same for everyone that was present


    ---***---


    Day 4!


    Lithinian army


    Shiv was in a tent made for him near the mountain pass. He had been here for the last 3 days ever since he knew the true objective of his enemy. He had been planning many things, ordering his men various things to setup.


    ¡®So they come today! Let us see how well things go, but before that!¡¯


    ¡°Show Status!¡±


    <table><tbody><tr>[td4]STATS WINDOW</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Character Name</td><td width="25%">Shiv</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">501</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">King</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">King of Lithinia</td><td width="25%">Fame</td><td width="25%">250000</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Health: 15000+1000</td><td colspan=''2''>Mana: 25000+1000</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Strength: 436+75</td><td colspan=''2''>Agility: 401+75</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Stamina: 419+75</td><td colspan=''2''>Vitality:404+75</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Wisdom: 320+75</td><td colspan=''2''>Intelligence:330+75</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Luck: 0+75</td><td colspan=''2''>Perseverance: 255+75</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Offence: 384+420</td><td colspan=''2''>Defense:400+250</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Magic Resistance: 65%</td><td colspan=''2''>Affinity to Elements: 40%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Dragon roars(Beginner- level 1)


    Heavenly elements(Beginner ¨CLevel 1)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°When did I get perseverance stats? Was it during the training? Yeah! I had ignored all tabs when I was training.¡±


    The black sword on his waist had always been a source of shock for Shiv. He had identified the sword a million times by now. Every time he did, he was shocked. No matter how many times he saw it he could not get used to it.


    ¡°Identify¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>BLACK DRAGON(Level-???)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>A black colored sword which evolves with the wielder! This sword was forged by the greatest dwarven blacksmith Aslain had ever known! The sword has been the family heirloom of the Lithinian kingdom and the source of envy from many!


    The sword carries the strength and experience of all its previous wielders


    Durability: 8000


    Attack     : 2000


    +500 levels to wielder


    +75 to all status


    +1000 to HP and mana


    +25000 fame</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°What is this ¡®OP¡¯ sword? 500 levels from just wielding a sword, that means 2500 stats points from just the sword. And what are these stats boosts, 75 to all the stats? Not to mention the incredible fame boost.¡± Shiv¡¯s eyes were sparkling. He was rubbing his cheeks on the sword with puppy eyes. Shiv could not adore his sword for long. He heard footsteps outside his tent. He sheathed the sword and waited for the person to appear.


    ¡°Sire!¡± a man in red armor with a cross on it rushed inside the tent. It was Borin, his face sweating. There was panic in his voice.


    ¡°So the army has arrived!¡±, Shiv understood Borin¡¯s cause of panic. He rose and walked out. He had camped at one of the short peaks near the pass. He had placed half of his army at the same peak as he was. The others were at the other side of the pass. All of them were hiding perfectly. Shiv had brought 10 assassins with him and had sent them out to scout the area ahead.


    He looked at the vast stretch of land ahead of him. He could see the land being covered by something blue. As every minute passed the blue spread around. It was like the land was being devoured.


    ¡®So that is a 100,000 strong army huh. Let us give them a warm welcome!¡¯


    ¡°Men! Shall we party!¡± Shiv smirked.


    The men laughed too. Even though they were afraid initially, the king¡¯s presence had eased their hearts. They began moving, hidden.


    ---***---


    Verunisian  army


    ¡°Today we conquer Linford! Today we do what no other kingdom could ever do! Today we do what others said was impossible!¡±, the Verunisian general, Ghir Khan shouted¡±


    Roar! The Verunisian army roared! Even though they were tired their morale was very high. They were sure that today their Empire would grow even more.


    When the mountain pass came into view the army increased their pace. Within hours they had closed in on the pass. Suddenly the army stopped.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Why have you stopped without my order?¡± Ghir Khan was furious.


    ¡°There is a man standing on one of the peaks Sir. He is wearing the Lithinian armor! He says he wants to speak to the general.¡±


    ¡°Must be some deserter or maybe a messenger! Men, looks like the Lithian king has decided to surrender!¡± Ghir laughed and made his horse pace forward. When he reached the front he saw the man just like his men had reported. Ghir Khan kept moving forward, smiling, confident. But then he stopped abruptly. His face no longer smiling. Fear struck him from deep! In front of him was a man in red armor with a white dragon embedded on it and a black sword on his waist.


    ¡®Why is he here. Why him of all people?¡¯


    Ghir Khan knew the man in front of him. He had heard terrible rumors about the man. Hailed as the strongest man in the world, the man who was called Maheswara the destroyer, the King of Lithinia, Orrinshire!


    ¡°W.. Wh..,Why are you here, Orrinshire?¡±


    The general¡¯s voice had fear embedded in it, one of the most basic emotions of a human, fear for a superior being.


    ---***---


    Lithinian army


    ¡°W.. Wh..,Why are you here, Orrinshire?¡±


    ¡®Orrinshire? Why is he calling me Orrinshire? So here I am called Orrinshire huh. Now where have I  heard that name? well whatever!¡¯.


    Shiv spoke, ¡°I assume you are from Verunisia! By what name are you known general?¡±


    ¡°I..i am called Ghir, Ghir Khan, great general of the empire and loyal vassal of his majesty, Mithron the fourth!¡±


    ¡°I see, general Ghir, I suggest you stop here. This mountain pass is under the banner of Lithinia, under my rule and I have


    not given permission to anyone to walk into my territory,¡± Shiv was calm, too calm.


    This calmness caused Ghir Khan to panic even more. He had an army of 100,000 behind him and yet the man in front of him was calm, Ghir saw no fear in the man¡¯s eyes


    ¡®What is he? Does he not know any fear?¡¯


    ¡°I refuse, King of Lithinia! I am here under the order of his majesty, to lay waste to your land and seize the fort of Linford for his majesty, the great!¡±


    ¡°Is that so general! Very well. For the crime of encroachment and insult to the King of Lithinia, I hereby judge you guilty¡±. Saying so Shiv  raised his right hand above his head.


    ¡°Justice shall prevail. Let judgment be done.¡± With those words he swung his lifted right hand down and then a bright light erupted from where the king was, blinding the Verunisian army.


    ---***---


    Verunisian Army


    The great army panicked, their formation collapsed. Being robbed of their vision the army was in disorder. Ghir Khan was lucky as he had closed his eyes before he was affected. He got down from his horse as that too was affected. He then began running towards his army, trying to get away from Shiv.


    He was now deep within his disordered army. ¡®I must take command immediately, else I will lose my men.¡¯ When he reached the position where he had been in the start, he was provided a horse by his subordinates. He got on the horse and was about to give his order to attack when he noticed something flying towards them from the sky!


    ¡°Arrows, equip your shields, take cover¡±, but to it was all in vain. The army was still blinded, even though the light had


    faded away. The sea of arrows struck the soldiers accurately.


    Ghir was about to give another command when an arrow grazed his face.


    Ghir was taken aback, how could they hit so accurately from that far away. He then felt his throat going dry! His body felt like it was on fire! His breathing got rough! His hands went numb! Slowly he began losing control over his body! ¡±Poison¡±, this was the last word of his life! Thus the general fell, even before the war began!


    ---***---


    Lithinian army


    ¡°Sire! The general has fallen just like you predicted! ¡±Borin was ecstatic. They had just shot down the enemy general itself. To boost the situation they had not suffered even a single death on their side!


    He was truly overjoyed! His king had just turned the tides of the war in an instant!


    ¡°Not yet Borin! There are things to do! They won¡¯t give up that easily! The second in command will think of this as an opportunity to rise in ranks. So he will surely march forward. And that stupid greed of his will lead us to victory when the main battle begins!¡±


    ¡°Yes Sire! Forgive my behavior!¡±


    ¡°Borin, give the order for the mages! Mobilize the assassins! Let the archers retreat, they have done enough for now!¡±


    ¡°Yes Sire, as you command!¡±


    ---***---


    Lithinian army


    ¡°Lady Amber, the king has ordered the mages to begin.¡±


    ¡°Right away Sir Borin!¡±


    Amber then turned back and ordered her subordinates to mobilize.


    Amber was the head of the magic unit, an archmage herself! She had served the kingdom for more than 20 years now. When she first heard of the possibility of a war she was scared! She had never been in a war before! Nobody she knew had ever been in a war! The country had been in peace for hundreds of years!


    Even though she had been in the Private army of the king she had never met him! All she heard were rumors about him, which she never believed! But today she had no other choice but to acknowledge the truth!


    The truth that all the rumors of the king¡¯s power and intelligence were proved true with a single attack!


    When the king had first ordered that he wanted to delay the  enemies with just 500 men she had laughed inside! ¡®What an idiot! 500 against 100,000? Why is he even  a king!¡¯ was what she thought. She had reluctantly followed him!


    She was on watch when the enemy arrived! The sheer vastness of the enemy had made her tremble! She had waited there to see what the king would do!


    She saw the king walk out of his tent, he was giving orders to Borin. She smirked at the foolish king who was now walking towards the enemy! He could hear him shout for their general! She saw a well-built man on a horse coming out of the army!


    ¡®Here comes the general! Now are you going to beg before him?¡¯ Amber was full of mockery towards the king! Suddenly the king looked at her and smiled! Amber was taken aback but returned the smile. ¡®Moron!¡¯ was what she said in her mind!


    She kept witnessing the events and was surprised  when she saw the general trembling!


    ¡°W.. Wh..,Why are you here, Orrinshire?¡±


    She heard the general stammering. She was amused. She wondered why a general with 100,000 soldiers would stammer just by the king¡¯s name? she was not ready to believe that the king was strong!


    ¡°Justice shall prevail. Let judgment be done.¡± She could hear the king¡¯s voice!


    ¡®Judgment? Yeah, we all will die!¡¯ she thought but was surprised by the sudden bright light!


    ¡°What is this light? Why was I not told about this?¡± She roared at her subordinates when the light faded. She was about


    to rush towards the king to kill him herself when she saw something raining down from the sky! ¡®what use are arrows


    from 400 archers! The opponents are 100,000 str¡­¡¯her thoughts stopped!


    She saw the enemy in disorder. She saw the frontline fall, then she had the shock of her life! She saw the general Ghir,


    who had moments ago challenged the king falling from his horse!


    She then looked at the king! He was looking at her with a smile! She understood that look!


    ¡®How was that? Am I not great?¡¯, that was what those eyes were saying. She smiled, she admitted defeat! She kneeled and bowed at her king, pledging her life to him.


    It was then that Borin had delivered the king¡¯s order to begin!


    She stood and looked back at her subordinates!


    ¡°You heard the king! Let judgment be done!¡±. Then there were chanting all over! The mages had begun their mission! They had witnessed the archer¡¯s feat and now it was their turn!


    ---***---


    Erwin Grigod was happy! Even though his army was under attack, he was happy! He had finally achieved what he had waited 5 years for. He was now the commander of a 100,000 soldiers. Well, maybe 1000 or 2000 soldiers less. Erwin took command!


    Once Ghir had died the stream of arrows had stopped! Erwin then commanded ¡°All arms to the front! March¡±. The army began its march! They were now nearing the place where Shiv had stood earlier. The army was searching the mountain peaks carefully for any traces of enemies!


    Erwin was cautious too! He did not want to die like Ghir! The army then began crossing the pass! It was then that they heard a thunder like sound! Which was then followed by the screams of his men!


    ¡°What is going on?¡± Erwin asked looking at the direction of the screams. He froze! From the mountains he saw huge spiked balls rolling down! The sheer number that came down made Erwin lose his  sanity.


    The spikes crushed anything that was in their way! The army was once again in disorder! But this time the army began


    running in random directions to escape the spike balls.


    The balls kept coming down from the mountain! Those which had already reached down were now rolling towards the


    army as the mountain pass was slanting!


    ¡°Where are the mages! Bring them here! Now!¡± Erwin roared with anger.


    ¡°Sir, we can¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°The mages and priests are stuck!¡±


    ¡°Stuck? In what?¡±


    ¡°They are stuck to the ground.¡±


    ¡°Ground? No no no! Quagmires!¡±, Erwin now understood that everything was a trap! The king¡¯s appearance and the arrows were all bait! Bait to lure him towards the trap and he had fallen into it so easily! Erwin was mad, infuriated!


    ¡°Retreat! Everyone retreat! Save as many mages as you can.¡± He roared turning away from the mountain pass! He looked back and he could see a pool of blood! He knew he had lost a lot and this loss was not negligible like the one they suffered due to the arrows.


    ¡®I will have my revenge Orrinshire, I swear.¡¯


    That day the Verunisian army suffered a loss of 15000 soldiers and almost all their mages and priests which was another 5000. The army lost 20000 even before the war had begun! This day was later known as the ¡®Mountain Death¡¯ incident!


    ---***---


    Lithinian army


    ¡°Sire they have retreated!¡±


    ¡°The death toll?¡±


    ¡°We think that 20000 have died, including all of their mages and priests¡±.


    ¡°Good! What about the assassins?¡±


    ¡°They have started their operation.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful. Now Borin shall we obliterate them?¡±


    ¡°Of course Sire! Wild dogs should be taken down.¡±


    ¡®Guhuhuhu¡¯


    The two were now laughing, an evil laugh!


    Amber who was behind the two flinched! ¡®These two are devils, devils!¡¯


    ---***---


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 Arc 1- Chapter 10: The Battle of Linford(proofread)

    proofread by Daylius and  Vikingstad


    Day 4


    Lithinian army


    ¡°Borin gather the troops, we shall return. There are preparations to make.¡±


    ¡°They have been gathered sire.¡± Amber was the one who replied. Ever since the Verunisian army had retreated amber has been with shiv, refusing to leave his side. Shiv was not against this; in fact he enjoyed her company. Unlike those noble girls who flocked around him because of his money, this girl had only admiration in her eyes. Shiv smiled at amber and nodded, acknowledging her answer. The sudden smile made Amber blush.


    ¡°Borin have the assassins return as soon as possible once they finish their mission.¡±


    ¡°Yes sire. I have ordered them to finish the job before they reached the dark forest. Once inside there is no telling in what would happen.¡±


    ¡°Great. Now then let¡¯s move out.¡±


    Unknown to the Verunisian army, Shiv had made his assassins infiltrate the enemy. Amber was shocked when she first heard about the assassins. ¡®Just how much has he planned in that head of his?¡¯ admiration shot up in her heart. As to when this happened, there were two opportunities, she had asked the king directly and the reply came with a smile.


    ¡°Why do you think there was a bright light in the start? Was it to make the enemy blind to the arrows? Or was it for something else?¡±


    Amber was again shocked. She had thought that the light was to cause disorder and help the archers deal as much damage as possible. Now the man was saying there was more to that!


    ¡°And the second opportunity? Don¡¯t tell me, the mountain pass?¡±


    ¡°Oh! You figured it out yourself. Borin looks like we got ourselves an intelligent one.¡± shiv chuckled. That¡¯s all he said.


    Borin smiled. His heart too had nothing but admiration to the great man before him.


    Not only had this man cause a massive loss to the enemies, he also had assassins infiltrate the enemies like it was very small thing. Yet the man of such capabilities was not the least egoistic or self-centered. There was always a smile and a humble face.


    ¡®I will serve you sire, even after my body rots¡¯.


    ---***---


    Day 4


    Verunisian army


    Night had come. The Verunisian army was high on morale. They had lost 20000 of their comrades, they craved for revenge. Their eyes were burning with hate. No matter the cost they would take down Linford. So they marched to


    Linford, this time taking the longer path.


    The mountain pass had been blocked with stones; to remove it would take days now that they lost their mages. They had only a 100 priest left and 10 or so mages. Erwin was asked by some of his subordinates to retreat.  They had asked him to go back and bring a much larger army.


    Erwin was furious with them. Returning would make him look weak and incapable in front of others. Moreover h believed that 80000 was enough to win the battle. ¡®Even Orrinshire can¡¯t win against this many.¡¯ This was what he believed. He had ordered the troop that they would cross the dark forest and March towards Linford.


    The troops roared. None of them were afraid of the dark forest. All they wanted was revenge. They had heard various stories about it but none believed them. They did not care too; they were prepared to cross hell to reach Linford.


    ¡°For now we shall rest. If we march any more, our pace will fall. We set out early in the morning.¡±


    The troops were tired. Tired of the march, tired of the death they had seen. They wanted to sleep. In an hour or so they set up their camp and prepared tents to sleep. Erwin did not bother to set up any watch as he believed that he would not by attacked by anything in his own land.


    He could not have been more wrong. When the entire army slept a group of fifty began their mission.


    ---***---


    Day 4


    Lithinian Assassins


    Fifty hooded figures exited their tents. They were surrounded by a large number of tents.


    The one in front spoke, more like whispered.


    ¡°5 poison, 5 sabotage, 10 mages, 20 priests, 9 and me soldiers¡±


    She then swung her hand forward motioning them forward.


    The assassins understood. They were divided into 5groups to increase efficiency and deal maximum damage. The leader,


    Serin a much young girl in her early 20¡¯s had been given a mission by the king personally. The order was simple, infiltrate, kill and come back. Who to kill what to kill was all her choice. For her the king¡¯s order was heaven¡¯s decree.


    The only thing the king insisted was ¡®come back, do not enter the forest that is an order¡¯. That was the first time in the last 4 days that he had used the word order. Usually he would be smiling and asking others to fulfill his requests. She smiled when she thought about it, her king valued their lives. Somehow it made her happy.


    The king had setup distractions for her men to infiltrate and now that night has fallen it was time to honor the king with the enemy¡¯s blood.


    She had been surveying the army, collecting information on the mages and priests, the food and other resources, the weapon armory and like that. She then calculated the steps to be taken. Her king had tried hard to eliminate the mages and priests in the previous one sided massacre. She gave priority to finishing of the remaining mages and priests. She understood why the king wanted them dead. Mages could cause great damages with a high end magic skill, while a priest could heal the injured and also cast buffs. These two had to remove from the equation for the king to carry out his plans. She obliged. She had sworn that they would slaughter every priest and mages even if she had to exchange her life for it.


    Only Minutes passed after the assassins moved and muffled screams could be heard here and there.


    ---***---


    Day 5


    Verunisian army!


    ¡°Sir Erwin, Sire Erwin¡±, Erwin¡¯s sleep was disrupted by the sudden shouting.


    ¡°What is it so early in the morning?¡±


    ¡°Sir Erwin, the priests...¡°the soldier¡¯s voice trailed off.


    Erwin jumped off from his bed, ¡°What happened to them?¡± Erwin began to panic.


    ¡°Sir the priest have been massacred along with the remaining mages and some soldiers.¡±


    Erwin¡¯s legs failed him, he fell on his bed. His face was colorless, his body shivering. He had hardly 100priests left. He had thought that they would be enough during the siege of the fort. His hopes were all crushed when he heard the news. But the next sentence from the soldier sent Erwin into despair.


    ¡°Our food stocks have been poisoned sir and almost all the arrows stolen along with some other things.¡±


    ¡°How many died?¡±


    ¡°All remaining mages and priests sir along with a 300soldiers. The food poison has caused the death of all the cooks.


    Currently the soldiers who consumed the food are more than 8000. Of them 5000 has died sir¡±, the soldier replied his voice beginning to crack.


    ¡°Did not the cooks test the food?¡±


    ¡°They did sir. The poison was a slow acting one. It took an hour to show any symptoms. By the time the first cook died 8000had consumed the food sir.¡±


    ¡®20500 in the beginning and now 8200. I lost almost 30000 soldiers within 2 days and the battle has not even started.


    Not to mention that we were robbed of our food and our weapons. My archers are useless. I have no units which can do long range attacks. But I will not give up. I will crush him with all I have. I will kill him myself and rise as the greatest¡¯


    Erwin¡¯s greed blinded him.


    ---***---


    Day 5


    Linford fort


    ¡°Sire! They have returned.¡± Borin rushed into his kings room to find a shiv kissing a black sword. He stood there, frozen.


    His king was now talking to the sword, rubbing his cheeks on it, talking to it and often kissing it.


    ¡°What are you doing with the sword sire?¡± asked a visibly disgusted Borin.


    It was now Shiv¡¯s turn to freeze. He did not expect anyone to interrupt his love session with black dragon.


    ¡°A sword needs love Borin, you will one day understand?¡±


    ¡°Is that why you were kissing it like you were on heat?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, I am a noble man Borin. Leave it, what news due you bring me?¡±


    ¡°They returned sire. And they have brought great news. They have finished of the remaining mages and priests sire.¡±


    On hearing that Shiv¡¯s face brightened up. No mages meant no magic attacks and no priests mean no healing. This was indeed good news.


    ¡°In addition they have put down 300soldiers sire.¡±


    ¡°Good good. Anything more?¡±


    ¡°Yes sire. They poisoned the food they had. We do not know the exact number of death due to the poisoning but I would estimate it around 9000 to 10000.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful. They have done more than I expected.¡±


    ¡°There is more sire. They also robbed the armies of their arrows and some other weapons. Our armies could be resupplied with those.¡±


    Shiv was now practically in heaven. He was having troubles in planning a counter measure against the archers. And now he had to deal with none.


    ¡°How many arrows?¡±


    ¡°Roughly 50,000¡±


    Shiv¡¯s looked at Borin with eyes that said ¡®Did you say 50,000?¡¯ while Borin¡®s were saying ¡®Yes sire¡¯. The two men then


    began laughing.


    ¡°Time to put down the wild dogs, Borin! Guhuhuhu¡±


    ¡°Indeed my king! Guhuhuhu¡±. Amber who had just entered the room thought, ¡®devils, they are devils.¡¯


    ---***---


    Day 5


    Linford fort


    ¡°My king¡±, Serin kneeled. She had been summoned by the king for her next mission.


    Shiv smiled.¡± You did well, I could not hope for better results. Get up, enough with the formalities. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Serin Sire.¡± Serin was still kneeling. She did not want to be rude to her king. Every time she had met him she had always been kneeling, even when others had stood up.


    ¡°You still won¡¯t stand huh, guess I have no choice. I hereby order you to stand up. If you do not obey you will be punished for treason.¡± Shiv said, trying to make the girl budge. Even after the threat she would not stand, she did not even look at him.


    ¡°To go this far. Am I that ugly?¡±


    That made her shudder. She had caused pain to her king. Tears welled up in her eyes. She got up, reluctantly. She then looked at the king and spoke.


    ¡°No sire! Someone as handsome as you can never be ugly.¡±


    ¡°Finally you look at me. Now we can talk. Tell me Serin have you gathered the sap of the ignutus tree?¡±


    ¡°Yes sire. What do you want me to do with it?¡±


    ¡°Take 100 mages with you. I want you to go to the dark forest. I want you to apply the sap to those trees. Each of you assassins is to be protected by 2 mages. Ask them to cast a barrier around. Continue doing this until the army arrives, but come back during night! I do not want anyone to die. Send 100 soldiers to gather ignutus sap and ask them to resupply you often. Let them be accompanied by the remaining mages. If you find a dark beast do not engage it, come back to the fort. Do you understand Serin?¡±


    ¡°Yes sire, I do.¡±


    ¡°You are not allowed to die. I know asking you to not die during a war is selfishness but I don¡¯t mind being so. I will not lose any of you; I will protect you all till my body gives away.¡±


    Serin smiled. ¡®The king truly is kind and benevolent; I must protect him at all cost.¡¯


    ¡°Sire, then please excuse this one.¡±


    ¡°Do not die Serin¡± that was all he said. Serin once again bowed and vanished.


    Shiv sighed, ¡®being king is hard.¡¯


    ¡°Borin call Amber.¡±


    ¡°Yes sire¡±, right away.


    Borin left and instead Amber appeared.


    ¡°Sire!¡±


    ¡°Walk with me Amber.¡±


    ¡°Yes sire.¡±


    The two exited the room. Amber was wondering where the king was going but she did not ask. Shiv kept walking, leaving the fort. He kept walking and suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Let me amber. What do you see around you?¡±


    Amber was even more confused. She looked around. ¡°Um there is the Fort to my left; the fort is built on the mountain range giving it an advantage in defense. Then to my right is the dark forest, the trees have no leaves and appears to be withered.¡± Amber stopped.


    ¡°That is all?¡± shiv asked.


    ¡°Yes sire.¡±


    ¡°Him, amber tell me the distance between the fort and the forest.¡±


    ¡°Distance? May be 2500metres?¡±


    ¡°Good. Now what happens to the enemy who stands in such a vast area while our archers are defending the fort?¡±


    ¡°The enemy will be shot down?¡±


    ¡°Will they now? What about their shields?¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Exclaimed amber admitting her foolishness.


    ¡°Here is another question for you Amber. Do you know what the ignutus tree is?¡±


    ¡°Yes sire, I do. The tree is found only in our country in fact only in the Elden Mountains. For ages the people of Lithinia had used the ignutus tree sap as fuel. The sap of the tree is highly inflammable.¡±


    ¡°Is that so, then tell me what will happen if the sap was applied to those trees and somebody unknowingly sets fire to it?¡± shiv said pointing to the dark forest.


    ¡°Of course the forest would burn¡±, amber could not understand the point of all these conversation.


    ¡°And suppose the fire happens to be on the day some ignorant Verunisian soldiers trying to siege the Fort. What would happen then?¡±


    ¡°They would burn too, why are you asking¡­¡± it suddenly dawned upon her. The reason they were sent to gather the sap, the reason the enemy was made to take the forest path, the reason some of them had went to the forest now.


    Everything came to a single thing, death to the enemy.


    Here she had been thinking it was impossible to defend and the man next to her was making plans not to defend but


    annihilate the enemy.


    ¡°Sire, what is inside your head? ¡°Asked astonished amber.


    Shiv looked at amber and laughed heartily.


    ¡°That was good one Amber, now let us continue¡± and Shiv began walking again.


    Amber kept following. Later they stopped again, this time near to the dark forest.


    ¡°What do you see again?¡±


    ¡°The forest sire¡±


    ¡°Look below amber¡±


    ¡°A stream. This has always been here. This has been the major water source for our fort sire.¡± saying so she looked at the stream. There was something different than usual.


    ¡®The water level has risen, how? The water level has never risen above a couple of inches but now it is almost up to my knees¡¯.


    She looked at Shiv, her eyes asking, ¡®what did you do now?¡¯


    ¡°Nothing much, I asked our mages to block the exit¡± said Shiv as a manner of fact.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°You will know when the time is ripe. Let us return. We have a war to fight¡± saying so Shiv left and Amber followed silently, her mind trying to come up with reasons for what she saw.


    ---***---


    Day 5


    Verunisian army


    Erwin was on his horse. He was frustrated with the sudden turn in events. He had lost 5000 men, 3000were immobilized because of the poison. Erwin had to ask another 1000 of his soldiers to stay behind and take care of them. He had ordered them to move back to the capital and request for reinforcement even if took another 6 days to reach.


    The army was low on morale, tired and scared. Erwin knew that still he did not want to go back. He was adamant on marching forward. His army had just entered the dark forest. There was a stoned path to the army¡¯s surprise. It made things much easier for them was what they thought.


    It had been 2 hours since they had entered. They were deep in the forest. If things went smoothly they would reach the border by night.


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


    3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, like that hours passed.


    ¡®Nothing so far. 3 hours more and we will reach our destination. Just you wait Orrinshire, I will have your head¡¯ Erwin had already begun dreaming about his victory and rise to fame when he heard a scream.


    ¡°What happened?¡± questioned Erwin.


    ¡°Sir, our men have gone missing. ¡°


    ¡°How the hell can they go missing now?¡±


    The soldiers were not sure. They kept silent. The silence was broken by another scream. After the scream a roar could be heard.


    It was then Erwin noticed his surroundings. In the dark forest around him he could see many red dots. It only took him seconds to realize what those red dots were. ¡®Eyes!¡¯


    ¡°All men prepare for combat. Diamond formation¡±


    The soldiers followed his command and formed groups of 4. They stood with their backs to each other; their focus was entirely on the enemy.


    ¡°Men do not be afraid, they are nothing but wolves. We are way stronger than those puny beasts. Let¡¯s finish them off and use them for food¡± Erwin was confident that the beasts won¡¯t be a threat. He was too arrogant; the thought of surveillance did not even cross his mind. He had considered him a great general when the truth was he was not even worthy of leading even a small group. Mistakes after mistakes and yet he did not learn. Just like before he made a mistake even now.


    The moment he had ordered his men to attack the supposed wolves came out. And what came out were not even remotely wolves. The beast had two heads, each head having 3pairs of eyes, making it a total of 12 eyes in total. The beast¡¯s skin was dark and had a strange luster to it, making it look like an armor. Instead of four legs the beast had six and two tails. The fangs were sharp and long, claws protruding out from each legs, ferocious. There was miasma all around it.  Erwin would not have flinched just for this. What made him flinch was the fact that, there was more than one of these beasts.


    He could not count as the number was great. He estimated them to be at least 1500 in number. Erwin knew that the leader of the beasts was not on this group. So he had to finish them off before the beast leader appeared.


    He shouted, ¡°Men change to Verunisian 7 formation and finish them off as fast as you can¡±


    The soldiers complied, the changed into a new formation. This time it was a square like before. But each square had 28 soldiers. There was now two squares. 16 soldiers making the outer square equipped themselves with shield and spear; the inner square had a sword and a shield. The idea was to defend and attack. When one square attacked the other would defend.


    ¡®Roarrr¡¯ with a thundering roar the beasts began their attack. The soldiers defended with their shield while their partners attacked from within. A bloody battle was going on.


    The battle lasted for hours; no one knew how long it lasted. There were corpse of both beast and men alike. Almost 5 hours later the battle finished. Erwin was too tired. He wanted to rest but knew that it was not the time to. He ordered his men to move. They had to cross the forest as soon as possible.


    That day the Verunisian army lost 5000, another 1000 injured the rest devastated.


    The beast were called Dralves, wolves which mutated due to consuming decayed dragon flesh. They normally moved in packs of 10 or 20 not more. Even though they had a common Dralve king they disliked mass gathering. None from the army knew this fact. They did not know that the Lithinian assassins had placed a magical items which originated from a dragon on some of the men of Verunisia.


    And soon they were attacked by another group. The attacks continued till all those who had the magical item perished.


    At the end of the day the army was cut short to half of what it had at the start. Even after all this Erwin marched forward.


    ---***---


    Day 6


    Linford fort


    ¡°Borin is it time?¡± Shiv was yawning.


    ¡°Not yet sire, they seem to be late.¡±


    ¡°How long? Is already afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Sire why are you so eager for the enemy¡¯s arrival rather than out own?¡± joked Borin.


    ¡°Cause it is boring to sit here and do nothing.¡±


    ¡°True. Shall we go to them then?¡±


    ¡°You two, shut up.¡± Amber was now mad. ¡°What is wrong with you two? Shouldn¡¯t you two be happy if the enemy retreated? Why are you going to them?¡± Amber was angry; she had forgotten that she had called the king a fool.


    ¡°Why you ask? Is it not obvious? To kill them? Is not Borin? Is there something wrong with that?¡±


    ¡°None sire, we are just killing some useless wild dogs, nothing more.¡±


    The duo¡¯s eyes sparkled. They were too eager.


    ¡®Why have I to be with these idiots?¡¯ an exhausted Amber thought.


    The door then was flung open and Serin came in running, her face was pale.


    ¡°Sire, we got trouble coming our way¡±


    ¡°What is it? Have the enemies come?¡±


    She nodded to say no, ¡°our reinforcements have been delayed by bad weather. They will need at least another day to arrive. ¡±


    ¡°Look Borin, even the Gods are with us¡±


    ¡°Indeed sire, even the Gods want us to put them down¡±


    Saying so they again began their evil laughter.


    Serin looked at Amber. Amber shrugged her shoulder and nodded her head.


    ¡®Sigh¡¯ both the girls sighed together and looked at their king, ¡°Our king is an idiot¡± is all they said.


    Thus the four spent time talking about strategies and other stuffs. Shiv explained to others all the traps he had set for the enemy. He also said that the enemy strength would be only half of what was the original strength. The discussion only lasted minutes when a horn which indicated the enemy¡¯s arrival was sounded.


    Shiv rushed out of his room. He then called Borin.


    ¡°Borin, gather the salt near the stream, make sure it is not too close to the stream¡±


    ¡°At once sire¡± saying so bolt ran.


    ¡°Amber call back all of the troops. Let them gather in front of the fort.¡±


    ¡°Yes sire¡±


    ¡°Serin have you called back all your subordinates?¡±


    ¡°I have my king.¡±


    ¡°Once I give my order, gather your assassins and scale the mountains. You will be acting as archers until further orders are given. You will be using fire arrows and when I give the signal bring down hell onto the forest.¡±


    ¡°What will be signal?¡±


    ¡°Judgment¡±


    Serin smiled. Her king liked drama too much, this she understood.


    Shiv the walked towards his 10000 strong men, he looked at them. He then spoke


    ¡°Today we stand here not for glory, not for honor, not for fame. Each and every one of you have something you have to protect, parents, wives, husbands, children. Whatever it may be, the enemy has marched up on us to seize those precious things away. But we will not let that happen, will we men?¡±


    ¡°Noooo¡± there was a huge roar, a thunderous one.


    ¡°They have dared to bare their fangs on us, they have threatened our family¡¯s existence, and they desire to obstruct our peace. This is a crime, crime not against a kingdom or empire, but against the people, against you. Will you bow down to those who which to enslave your freedom?¡±


    ¡°Noooo¡±


    ¡°We are warriors, we are the hope of those back at home, we are the symbol of their freedom and we will prevail!¡±


    Rooooooar!


    ¡°Today they fall, today we rise and today we show the world the punishment for those who threaten our peace. Today we become the gods of war.¡±


    Rooooooar!


    The morale was so high that the soldiers had a red aura around them, fighting spirit and senses heightened. What stood before Shiv was no longer 10000 men. What stood there were 10000 gods, ready to destroy anything that threatened their peace.


    ¡°All hands! To position! We go for battle¡±


    And in seconds it was just Shiv that stood there. He then walked towards the forest.


    ---***---


    Day 6


    Verunisian army


    ¡°Sir we are almost out of the forest, but there seems to be a problem?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°The man we saw at the pass is standing before us.¡±


    Erwin¡¯s blood boiled. He did what a commander should have never done. He let his emotions take control of him.


    ¡°Men, charge¡±, roared Erwin. ¡°Orrinshire you are mine.¡±


    ---***---


    Linford fort


    ¡±Guess they don¡¯t even want to negotiate huh. Just what I wanted¡±.


    ¡°Brothers, let judgment be done¡± he roared.


    And the a volley of glowing arrows descended from the sky on to the dark forest.


    The forest was set on fire in an instant due to the sap of ignutus. The fire spread at a tremendous rate burning everything and anything that it came in contact with.


    Shiv stood there, watching the fire spread. He could hear the screams and agony of many, yet he did not falter. ¡®Any who dares to harm my kingdom will burn¡¯, was what he was thinking. He walked back to the fort. He knew that the fire will keep the enemy occupied for a while.


    He had to prepare the next trap. ¡°Bring the salt. Dump it into the stream¡± and hundreds of soldier came running and dumped the salt into the fresh water stream.


    Once it was done all of them returned. Shiv was now sitting on a chair place right in front of the gates of Linford. He waited, like a predator waiting for its prey, his golden brown eyes watching the forest. Any moment the army would rush out. And due to the fire they will be coming from all directions. He knew that and had planned for the next trap.


    He could then see movement in the forest. ¡®As I thought they are in chaos and just trying to get out of the water and escape into the water. Perfect, too perfect¡¯ Shiv smiled.


    ¡°Prepare the spell. Aim at the stream. Fire when I say.¡±


    Shiv waited. He waited for the right time.


    ¡°Now¡± was all he had to say.


    ¡°Cumulonimbus¡± all the mages said at the same time.


    Right over the heads of the enemy army, who were now bathing the river to put down the fire, the sky began to darken.


    Black clouds gathered and the area began to darken. The Verunisian soldiers looked at the sky wondering why it had suddenly gotten so dark.


    The soldiers then saw only a slash. With a tremendous roar thunder began to strike on them, not on them but on the stream. And in an instant all who were in the stream were burned to ashes.


    ¡®Salt water is a good conductor of electricity, so are your armor and weapon. Sis you not know that Erwin?¡¯


    Shiv then stood up. ¡°Archers shoot everything that comes out of the forest.¡± Shiv said once the thunder clouds cleared up. ¡®With the thunder almost 5000 should be dead, another 5000 so severely burnt by it. The fire would not have caused any deaths but those burnt won¡¯t be able to fight, let¡¯s say another 10000 may be? Now the remaining is 30000 and that stupid general. Now come to me fools, I will show you true despair!¡¯


    ---***---


    Day 6


    Verunisian army


    ¡®What happened? What just happened?¡¯ Erwin was too shocked to even think. The only think he remembered was ordering his army to march. The next moment everything around him began to burn. He helplessly looked around himself only to see his men burning. When the fire began to subside he had directed the men towards the stream to put out the fire.


    ¡°Why is this stream salty? Is it not supposed to be fresh water? That was what the spies had said.¡±


    Erwin could hear his soldier speaking. Then suddenly the sky began to darken. He saw thunder clouds. ¡®Why are there such dark clouds here? Thunder cloud? Salt? Noooo¡¯, he realized what was going to happen.


    ¡°Get out of the water, now¡±, but it was already too late. A single flash descended from the sky. The shockwave itself sent most of the men on the land flying. When Erwin regained his balance, his legs gave up immediately. What lay ahead of him were corpses, all around him.


    ¡®How many have died? 10000? 20000? We were fools. No I was the fool. I should have retread long ago ¡¯, Erwin finally understood. He remembered Orrinshire¡¯s warning. He felt guilt and hatred. He felt burdened. All this death was his responsibility. He stood up.


    ¡°Men those who are alive, return to your home, this battle is over¡±


    ¡°What about you sir?¡±


    ¡°I have sinned too much, my end has been ascertained. I will die by his hands.¡± Erwin said and began walking. Of the remaining some returned, while some stayed. Of the 50000 Erwin had brought only a little more than 30000 was with him. The moment they stepped out, arrows rained down on them.


    Erwin and the men ran, they would at least slay one of the Lithinian soldier that was all they thought. They wanted their honor to remain with them.


    ¡°Charge brothers¡± Erwin could hear Orrinshire¡¯s voice. He looked at the red armor king. From behind came 10000 men including archers, warriors, cavalry, mages, and assassins exerting a fierce aura.


    Erwin smiled, ¡®What should I do to look so cool like that?¡¯ with such thoughts he ran, his men ran, like mad men.


    ---***---


    Day 6


    Lithinian army


    ¡°Charge brother¡± and Shiv started his run towards the enemy. The Lithinian army followed, the clash began. The Verunisian army was too tired to keep up with Lithinian army. Blood was drawn everywhere. The two commanders of both sides were taking down enemies at an incredible rate. The casualty kept rising on both sides.


    Borin, Vivian, Amber, Serin all of them were fighting, the mages and priests helped them form far. Soon the Verunisian army began to fall; their numbers dwindled at lightning rate.


    It took the Lithinian army 5 hours to finish off the broken enemy. All that was left was the general.  He was fighting Shiv with all his might. Even though he had more experience than Shiv, the mental and body exhaustion had made him too weak. There was no longer a desire to win or live.


    Shiv pitied the man, ¡°I am sorry. I cannot let a man who tried to harm my kingdom live.¡± With such words Shiv ran his


    Black sword into Erwin¡¯s heart. Erwin gasped and then went lump. The battle was over. Linford was now safe.


    The king walked back to his chair, exhausted. There was no shouts of joy. They knew that this was not the place for it.


    They gathered in front of the king who had lea them to victory.


    The army kneeled and presented their weapon to the king. Borin who was in the front said, ¡°To the king, we pledge our eternal loyalty ¡°and every one repeated.


    ¡°Borin, I am going to sleep.¡± Saying so Shiv dozed off.


    ---***---


    (Hi... i do not know if you would like this. I know that this war has little action. If you feel disapointed them i am sorry. This was setup for his strategy class so i emphazised on strategy than action. But i promis the next fights will contain more action with strategy. It took me 3days to come up with the fort location and these strategies. Pls.give me ur comments.)


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 1- Chapter 11: Preperations(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Draklake


    Three figures stood, astonished, dumbstruck. They had been observing a certain somebody who they had thrown into a dream world.


    ¡°What just happened, Altair?¡± Petra was shivering. She had just witnessed something next to impossible. ¡°How can he just end it like that? 10,000 against 100,000 and he lost just 10 of his men. What is he?¡±


    Altair and Thorwin were also speechless. The real battle of Linford had been a narrow win for Lithinian army and that too came with the help of the reinforcements. They had believed that this had been one of history¡¯s greatest battles.  Petra had deliberately chosen the Battle of Linford hoping Shiv would despair and fail.


    They had planned on showing him despair; make him understand the importance of strategy. Petra herself being a strategist was confident that Shiv would not be able to win. She had even prepared a speech for the time when a dejected Shiv returned.


    The other two were speechless. They had made it so that he could not really on the sword technique and the Chains of Time. They even delayed the reinforcement.


    For the three masters, Dragon King Orrinshire was the most powerful and intelligent person that ever existed. Even when Orrinshire had lead the battle, the Lithinian victory was attained due to the reinforcement. The King himself was on verge of dying.


    All their beliefs were shattered when they saw Shiv win, that too with so much ease, without the help of re-enforcements.


    ¡®What is he? A being even above the Dragon King. Impossible¡¯


    ---***---


    The next time Shiv opened his eyes he was in a large room. To his left was an armory and to the right where dummies.


    ¡®Now where have I seen this before? A deja vu?¡¯


    Shiv looked around and it dawned on him that he was back at his training room. ¡®So I won. The war is finally over. We won Black Dragon. Huh? Black Dragon?¡¯


    Shiv looked at his waist but no longer was the elegant black sword with a white dragon embedded on it there.


    ¡°Nooooooo, my Black Dragon¡± Shiv¡¯s scream echoed throughout the academy and within seconds the door of the training room flung open and Altair came running towards Shiv. She froze midway. She saw a boy with dark long hair and golden brown eyes crying, tears rolling down like a river.


    ¡°What happened Shiv? Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°Master my Black Dragon. I want my Black Dragon¡±


    ¡°Eh? Are perhaps referring to the sword?¡±


    Shiv¡¯s eyes lit up. He looked at Altair as if she were god. ¡°Master, do you have my Black Dragon?¡±


    ¡°Errr! That was all a dream. You just were in a dream world that I created tee-hee¡± Altair said with a cute pose.


    Shiv looked at her and said, ¡±Please kill me master. I no longer want to live in this world without my Black Dragon¡±


    ---***---


    It took hours to console Shiv. After he reverted back to normal, Shiv was visited by all his masters together.


    ¡°With this you have finished your training. You are now strong. As promised you can have a weapon from the armory¡± Thorwin explained.


    ¡°No master. Black Dragon is my only love, I will not betray her.¡±


    Bang


    The instant that was said, he was kicked. Not by Thorwin but by the gentle Altair.


    ¡°Weapon or death?¡± asked a smiling Altair.


    ¡°Weapon¡± replied Shiv.


    He then walked to the armor and looked at the weapons. There were different kinds of weapons: spears, swords, maces like that, a hundreds of them. He went towards the sword section and began holding and swinging each sword. The


    masters were surprised, ¡®Is that boy going to do that with all of them?¡¯


    Shiv continued his swings. The masters did not interrupt. They had felt this intensity before too, when Shiv was planning his war tactics. They did not dare interrupt.


    Shiv was carefully examining. He did not realize the flow of time. For hours he kept doing the same thing. He had checked almost 200 swords and yet was not satisfied with any of them. It was then that something caught his attention. A rusted sword lay in front of him. Unlike the other swords, this one was much longer, the hilt too was thicker. The sword did not have any sheathe, the blade had no luster and was the portion which was not rusted had a silver tint . What caught his eye was the black gem embedded on its hilt.


    ¡®Why do I feel I have seen that gem before?¡¯


    ¡°Master. I will take this one.¡±


    ¡°This useless sword is what you want. Are you out of your mind?¡± Thorwin was annoyed. He had the largest collection of weapons in the world, from throwing knives to legendary swords. He had let Shiv choose one,thinking that Shiv might get a good sword. And now the boy chose a rusted good for nothing crap.


    ¡°Why this?¡± Altair asked, curious.


    ¡°Oh nothing special. This gem reminds me of Black Dragon¡±


    The three masters were stunned. ¡®Why is a block head like him our student?¡¯


    Shiv looked at the three and smiled. ¡°You think that this sword is useless don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the three answered at the same time.


    Shiv smiled. He then gripped the sword and placed his forehead on the gem. The tattoo on his right hand began to glow,


    ¡°Come forth Black Dragon!¡±


    ¡°Who dares to summon me?¡± suddenly there was a loud roar.


    The masters froze. Thorwin being shocked beyond belief. He had searched for the sword, the sword of his Dragon King


    for decades. ¡®The sword had always been with me and I could not even realize that.¡¯


    ¡°My name is Shiv and I have summoned you. Be mine Black Dragon!¡±


    ¡°Be yours! Such impudence. I do not belong to any one. Put me down and disappear mortal. Only the chosen one is


    allowed to wield me. Wait, is that the mark of the Dragon God. Why do you have it?¡±


    ¡°I was blessed by Oberon, I guess?¡±


    ¡°So you have come back Orrinshire. Very well, I will let you wield my power. But let me warn you, years of slumber has


    made me weak¡±


    ¡°I do not care. Be mine.¡±


    ¡°As you command Orr¡±


    Then the sword began glowing. The rust began to fall and instead of silver tint, the sword began to blacken. The blade became longer so did the hilt. The grip of the sword remained black but the crossbar was silver. On the middle crossbar there was a dragons head. When viewed from the top it looked like the sword was coming out from the dragon¡¯s mouth. Then the sword began emitting a dark aura. The dark aura surrounded the blade and formed the sheathe.


    When the glow subsided Shiv froze. He was now surrounded by mirrors. ¡®Where the hell am I?¡¯


    ¡°Welcome young man. Welcome to my lair.¡±


    Shiv looked at the direction of the voice and had the shock of his life. Sitting on a golden throne was a young man in his 20¡¯s. The man had blond long hair, slightly pointy ears. He was dressed in a black armor carrying a black sword, black gloves and black boots. To the left of the throne was a large black shield. In his right hand a pocket watch, a dragon tattoo on the same hand. His left hand had a silver bracelet which had a red gem embedded on it. A silver chain with an unusual locket was hanging from it. The man was calm and smiling.


    ¡°Who are you? Why do you look like me?¡± Shiv questioned.


    ¡°Relax young Shiv. I am not an enemy¡±


    ¡°How do you even know my name? And why do you have that tattoo¡± Shiv was defensive.


    The unknown man shrugged his soldiers and sighed.


    ¡°My name is Orrinshire and this is somewhere in your mind.¡±


    ¡°My mind? Then why are you here? Why do we look alike?¡±


    ¡°Why am I here you ask? Well that is because you have the tattoo like me and you are in possession of my sword and watch.¡±


    ¡®Orrinshire, sword, watch? Ah I remember¡¯


    ¡°You are the king of Lithinia, right? Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Lithinia, its been a while since I heard that name. I was the king, I am no longer.¡±


    ¡°Why? Did you lose Lithinia?¡±


    ¡°You still do not know? They did not tell you yet. Do not worry you will know soon enough. I am not here to talk about


    Lithinia¡±


    ¡°Then talk about our appearance. Are you a devil? Shape shifter?¡±


    ¡°I am no such thing. I am what you call ghost. And this is how I have always looked. You are my reincarnation, well just the body though.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that bullshit. Reincarnation my ass¡± Shiv was now pissed.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe what I say. Just ask your masters. They will confirm what I said¡±


    Shiv knew it was a waste talking about it now.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°So why are you in my head?¡±


    ¡°You and I are similar¡±, showing the tattoo on his hand Orrinshire continued. ¡°Like you, I too was once called the child of Oberon, after being blessed by him. Only you and I have ever received this mark¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Shiv was now curious. Knowledge is power, he knew that very well.


    ¡°I will not go into it in detail. You are my successor. . There are things you must do even if you don¡¯t like it. That mark is a boon and a curse as well. The mark is your destiny. And the reason I came here is to ask you to do something¡±


    ¡°Do something? I refuse¡± Shiv blatantly refused.


    ¡°Ho. Refusal even before hearing what I have to say huh. What if the thing I want you to do is gather these things?¡±


    Orrinshire pointed towards the things Shiv was holding, ¡°You already have the sword and the watch. Now you have to find 6 more items. Will you still refuse after knowing the power the sword and watch carries?¡± Orrinshire tried to bait him. He was sure Shiv would accept.


    ¡°I refuse. Look here Orrinshire. I do not intend to do great things and stand out. My wish is different from what you have. I am no hero and I do not want to be¡±


    Orrinshire was dumbfounded. He was sure that Shiv would accept. He then smiled ¡°Very well. I will not force them to you. You can now return¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡± Shiv said and again there was a bright glow.


    ¡®They will come to you eventually. They belong to you young man. That is the dragon¡¯s curse. Don¡¯t make the same mistakes like I did young one. I wish you luck.¡¯


    ---***---


    When Shiv came to, he was still at the armory and in his hands there was Black Dragon. The masters then came closer and observed the sword. Of the three Thorwin seemed a little sad.


    ¡°We have nothing more for you boy. You may leave.¡±


    ¡°Thank you master¡± Shiv bowed at the three and left.


    When the trio made sure Shiv had left their figures began to change. They suddenly seemed old.


    ¡°Briskol, he passed the test. Now what shall we do?¡± spoke the only male among the three.


    ¡°Gehambel, he still has one more test. And it is near. Irene have you prepared everything¡±


    ¡°Yes Briskol, I have used all of my magic to summon it here. Will it be fine to have that thing near the village?¡±


    ¡°It will be fine. Irene. Your barrier should be enough to keep it away from here¡± said Briskol.


    ¡°Hope this one does not turn out like you strategy lesson, Briskol¡± spoke Gehambel.


    ¡°Let us leave. We have to prepare the festival hoping he would come back alive¡±


    ---***---


    ¡°Identify¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Black Dragon (Level 1)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>


    A sword made by a legendary blacksmith using the scales of the dragon God Oberon. This sword was made for the Dragon King, Orrinshire under the orders of the God. The sword is only usable by those approved by the God.


    A powerful sword which can grow along with the wielder. The sword was used by the great Dragon King himself for decades. But due to its century long slumber the sword has lost all its power.


    +1 level for every 4 levels the wielder gains


    +5 for all stats


    +20fame


    +50 to HP and Mana


    New skill created: Sword mastery (beginner level 1)


    </tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®1 level for every 4 levels huh. So when I level up to 100 I will get an extra 25 levels? Just what was Orrinshire¡¯s level for the sword to give a 500 level boost? Omg!¡¯Shiv gulped hard.


    ¡°I got another skill eh. Good. This sword is the best¡± and he kissed the sword numerous times. ¡®Now shall we have a look.¡¯


    ¡°Open status¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>STATS WINDOW</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Character Name</td><td width="25%">Shiv</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Fame</td><td width="25%">30</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Health: 300</td><td colspan=''2''>Mana: 300</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Strength: 34+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Agility:37+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Stamina: 36+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Vitality: 33+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Wisdom: 24+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Intelligence: 26+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Luck: 0+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Perseverance: 13+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Offence:30</td><td colspan=''2''>Defense: 0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Wind: 1%


    Fire: 1%


    Water: 1%


    Earth: 1%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinity</td></tr>Wind: 1%


    Fire: 1%


    Water: 1%


    Earth: 1%</td>[/tr]<tr><td colspan=''4''>Skills</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Heavenly Element Sword Technique Beginner Level 1


    Magic mastery Beginner Level 2


    Water mastery Beginner Level 4


    Earth mastery Beginner Level 4


    Wind mastery Beginner Level 4


    Fire mastery Beginner Level 4</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®My stats are good, but this is not enough. I have one day to prepare for my quest. Master gave me food and it will last for 3 days. I need to fill my canteen with water. Then I will head out to the forest. Before that I must return to master, I need some other things if I have to complete my quests¡¯


    ---***---


    Shiv was now in the forest. Small monsters had tried to run away when they felt his presence. Shiv chased them. He used the chains of time to slow the world around him. This made it much easier for him even though he did not like it. Shiv¡¯s status had made him pretty strong. There were small monsters like six tailed cat, small spiders and some two tailed wolves which were roaming alone. The wolves were more  powerful than the spiders and cats. He had made sure to attack those that were alone. He knew that he was not strong enough to deal with a pack of them. He had checked the forums but there was no information about such monsters so he concluded that these monsters were specialty of Draklake. He dealt with them with ease with the help of the watch¡¯s power.


    Because he had used the watch, instead of 1 day he now had two days to prepare everything. He grinded his level till afternoon. By then he had reached level 11 as he got to kill a fair number of wolves. He invested his points in STA, STR and AGI for now. For the upcoming war these were important for him or so he thought.


    From leveling up 11 times he had gained 55 stats points. He gave 20 each to STA and STR, the remaining to agility. His sword mastery rose to level 3 while Form 1 and Form 2 leveled up to level 2.


    He noticed that the heavenly elemental technique proficiency increased much slower than all his other skills.


    With this he set off to the naiad¡¯s pond. He reached the pond in 1 hour and introduced himself to them. The naiads were ecstatic and offered any help he wanted. He understood that they had no leader and everyone was equal among them.


    He asked them some questions. From them he understood the surrounding terrain, things he could use. He temporarily used them to gather things.


    The naiads knew everything in that forest and did what they all were requested to. Shiv did not understand why they


    were so friendly with him and he did not bother to ask them the reason. His time was short.


    Night fell and Shiv logged off for a brief moment. He returned fast and resumed his preparations. He then slept for a while. In the morning he went to grind his level a bit. He returned when he was level 20. By then it was evening. He cross checked everything he had set up. He then talked to the naiads for a brief moment, and then they disappeared.


    Shiv stood there waiting with his unsheathed sword, ¡°It is time for rabbit stew¡±.


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 1- Chapter 12: Miscalculation(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Deep inside a very enchanting forest, where light squeezed through the gaps between the top cover of leaves, a young human sat on a large stone, in his hands was a black sword with a very long blade. The young man was wiping the sword clean while he was singing some song. His wavy hair flowing in the air, his golden brown eyes sparkling in the low light, his beautiful skin glistening. If a girl were to pass by she would faint at the mere sight of brilliance.


    The naiads were all captivated by the scene in front of them. All of them forgot that they were under the threat of an attack. All except the boy had forgotten it. Unlike his calm appearance the boy¡¯s mind was in turmoil. It was not due to panic or fear, it was due to the numerous ideas his mind was developing to finish of the pests. Shiv was planning his strategy. Suddenly he stopped his cleaning and smiled. The naiads shivered, the boy who was so calm before now wore a devils face.


    ¡°Hey! Can I ask you to do me a favor? ¡± the boy asked, he did not know the names of not even a single naiads. It was not because he did not ask it was because the naiads did not have a name. for them a name was superfluous. Another interesting fact was that there were only women among them.


    The naiads nodded since they were unable to speak. They understood the boy¡¯s words but could only respond with nods.


    ¡°I want plants which are poisonous and plants which are acidic or causes burns¡± he was not sure with acidic plants and hence also asked the naiads for plants which causes burns. The Ignutus tree had given Shiv valuable information. He understood that the plants and trees have different effect. So he was hoping to get plants with acidic sap.


    The naiads nodded and then dispersed. Shiv got up and then checked his inventory. He now had throwing knives, a dagger, a crafting knife, a carving knife, an axe, a bow and a lot of rope. ¡®That Thorwin, I had to fall on my knees to make him lend me those¡¯. After he had leveled up to lvl 11 he had visited Thorwin to request some items for his quest. Thorwin had refused immediately. Shiv had to ask Altair for convincing Thorwin. He equipped the axe and began cutting down a tree. Since his stamina and strength were fairly high, he finished the job pretty fast. Then he used the axe to cut down the tree into small parts of lengths 80cms. In 7 hours he had prepared 163 of them which were at least 5 cm in girth. ¡®Not at all good looking. But who cares¡¯


    Then he took out his carving knife and began carving one of the ends of the wooden stick. He was slow initially but gradually his speed increased. In another 4 hours he had sharpened all the remaining logs. Now he had 163 stakes, capable of piercing the flesh of most living beings. Leaving the stakes aside he then walked back to the pond. From the pond he started to walk away from it, this time calculating the distance he was moving. When he thought he had reached around 35 metres he halted, taking out the rope he had, he now began tying it to the tree. He formed a circle around the tree with it, tying it 60cms from the ground. The rope was too thin to be called a rope yet too strong to be called a thread.


    He then moved away from the circle and observed it. It took him a while to adjust to it as he could barely see the rope.


    ¡®Perfect, now on to the next thing¡¯


    The next thing he did was the same as before, tying the rope to the trees. This time the height from the ground was just 10 cms. A circle was formed around the pond again and unlike the previous circle it was much closer to the pond. Next was the turn of the stakes. He stood near the inner circle. Walked five steps towards the pond, bending down he touched the earth.


    ¡°Water magic¡± he called out. Nothing happened or so was what one looking at it would think. Shiv then took one stake and placed the blunt end on the floor. Suddenly the stack began sinking into the ground. Only a small part was sticking out of the ground  . Shiv had used water magic to dampen the earth letting the stake sink in. Similarly, he placed all the stakes close to the inner circle and then used earth magic to harden the soil. Shiv then gathered some leaves and partially hid the stakes.


    When all of this was completed, he cut down another tree. This time he used half of the logs to make barricades. The rest half were used for making hunting traps. The trap he used was spring spear trap. He took four strong and thick sticks and dug all the four into the ground. Another stick which was really long, almost a meter long, and placed it between the previous four. The four sticks were vertical while the long one was horizontal. Using the ropes he tied the long one to the four which were stuck to the ground. He then tied a rope to the free end and pulled backwards. This made the long stick arch backwards making a perfect arc. The rope tied to the free end was long enough that it could reach the pond. Shiv tied the rope to the tree closest to the  pond. If the rope was cut, the long stick would spring forward and would hit anything in front of it. And If there was a sharp object attached to the stick, the sharp object would impale its target and kill it. Instead of using stakes, this time Shiv used the throwing knives. He tied those knives to the free end of the stick. He placed the same traps around the pond and used the wooden barricades to make sure the rabbits passed through where the traps were.


    When the naiads returned with what he had asked for, Shiv used the poison plant and grinded the leaves to get its liquid using stones. The liquid was then applied to all the traps including the rope circles. Finally he used earth magic to create 8 huge earth buckets which were almost the same size as his. Even though it was trying, he then filled those buckets with water from the pond. One would have thought that the pond would go dry, but the water level did not even drop a bit. Shiv had raised a small wall which was only 15cms tall around the pond, the large buckets were then built close to the wall. He then squeezed out the liquids from the acidic plant. The liquid along with the poison was mixed into the water. The naiads were again requested to gather some more plants. By the time all his preparations were done the day had passed.


    On the next morning, Shiv went to level up and returned when he was lvl 20. It was already evening. Shiv turned to the naiads and gave them some orders, the naiads nodded their head with vigor. They gave Shiv some herbs to eat which, when he ate, rejuvenated him.


    As a predator waiting for his prey, Shiv waited for his enemies to come. It did not take too long as Shiv heard footsteps approaching.


    ¡°It is time for rabbit stew¡± saying so he got up.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Black Rabbit Army</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">The Black rabbits are approaching. They intend to invade the naiad pond and seize it for themselves.  You have been sent to stop the marauding black rabbits and help the naiads survive.


    Black rabbits killed: 0/150</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®150 huh, it is gonna be a long night¡¯


    ¡®Squeak! Whoosh!¡¯ Shiv could hear sounds along with the cries of the rabbits. ¡®It has started¡¯, Shiv kept waiting.


    ---***---


    The black rabbits, a 150 in number were running towards their destination, the pond. They were moving at their maximum speed and that speed proved fatal for them. The black rabbits in the front suddenly stopped, some rolled down ahead, there was blood oozing out of the rabbits. Some were instantly killed due to being cut by the strong rope. The Black rabbits were so fast that by the time some of them noticed it was too late. Those who did not notice were cut deeply. Those who noticed the rope tried to slow down but to no avail, they too were cut but mildly. But that was all that was needed . A small cut was enough, the poison on the rope began its mission and spread throughout the bodies of those who were cut. Those who were deeply wounded died instantly while the others that got wounded had a long and painful death. The number of rabbits dwindled fast. The rabbits in the back were now cautioned, they stopped their advance and carefully observed the surroundings. Finding nothing they moved forward with slowly, still running.


    That was when the second trap activated. The rabbits in the front suddenly tripped. Their running sending them flying a little forward directly into the hidden stakes covered with the same poison. And so the army began dwindling at a frightening pace. The rabbits began panicking. The only enemy they could sense was nowhere near and they had felt that the enemy was stationary. They did not understand how they were being killed. Fear struck them. Their morale fell, their instincts told them to run away but yet they moved forward as if they were afraid to go back.


    Only less than half had survived the initial traps. The Black rabbits then decided to spread out. They thought that if they spread out and surrounded the enemy their victory would be easy. Another foolishness. They did not know who they were dealing with. They did not realize that they were being manipulated.


    A smiling Shiv thought, ¡¯today I am going to have rabbit meat for dinner¡¯, drooling. Drooling in middle of a battle was something only he would do. The rabbits now stopped running and were walking slow. They were alert, keeping their eyes on the enemy in front who had been sitting still from the moment they had arrived. They avoided the barricades and walked cautiously through the path that was unguarded.


    ¡®Hihihi, that¡¯s it. Keep moving just like that¡¯. ¡°Cut it free now¡± shouted Shiv


    The naiads who had been hiding till then came out with the knives Shiv had given and cut the ropes that were tied to the trees. The spring spear traps were activated once the ropes suppressing them were cut. The tension that had built up on the stick caused it to spring forward at a high speed. The rabbits could not react fast enough to dodge the oncoming attack. The knives attached to the end impaled the rabbits killing them instantaneously. Some who were in the range of the stick got hit too, the momentum sending them flying.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    The remaining rabbits confused froze. Those who were heavily wounded, he tried to take them down with arrows trying to improve his archery in midst. Some of them hit, some did not. Every hit improved his accuracy. He took down the near dead rabbits with it. Surrounding the rabbits were corpses of their brothers, rage began to well up inside them. Screaming with all their might they rushed forward intend on killing the enemy in front.


    ¡°You got mad just with this? The main course is has not even been served. Well since you guys are in a rush, I will give you a taste of it then. Let it flow!¡± Shiv shouted the final part of his dialogue.


    Suddenly a rumbling sound could be heard, the huge earthen buckets were moving. The entire naiad population was working together to push down the buckets. With all their might and anger towards the rabbit they pushed and slowly the buckets started to fall. A huge wave of water gushed out of all the buckets, towards the incoming rabbits. The rabbits did not even try to stop, they had thought that it was just water and had taken the incoming water lightly. This cost them dearly, the entire rabbit force that came into contact with the water winced, their flesh burning, blood gushing out. Through the burns poison seeped through into the rabbits, slowing the rabbit even more.


    ¡®It is finally time¡¯ Shiv Stood up, his black sword shining in the moon light.


    ¡°Heavenly Elements Form 1: Kaze¡± and Shiv disappeared. With all his grinding the skill was now at level 3. Even though the mana consumption was the same, the duration was increased to two minutes which gave Shiv time to deal with multiple enemies. He appeared behind those he thought would fall with a single strike.


    ¡°Heavenly Element Form 2: Hono¡± he activated his second skill. Activating both the skills cost him almost half his mana


    but the increase in agility and attack damage was worth it. Shiv targeted those which had only 20 to 30% HP left. His single strike to the back was all it needed to finish them off. In 2 minutes he had taken care of 7 rabbits. All that was remaining was 23 rabbits which were burnt and poisoned. As time passed the poison kept decreasing there HP.


    ¡°23 against 1 eh. There is more than I thought. 10 of them would have been an ok but this was too much even if they were half dead. Guess I have no other choice. Chains of Time ¡± and then time slowed, the rabbits lost its main weapon of


    agility. Shiv now used his swords to take care of those in front of them. He faced the rabbits head on, slashing the rabbits and dodging their claws and bites. The fight continued for hours, wearing down both the sides. Shiv knew that the rabbits would die even if he had left them alone, but the samurai blood in him did not let him do so. Blood gushed out as fountain from the cuts Shiv made. The rabbits fell one by one. There were now 3 left. The rabbits did not try to approach him, they were now scared for what they saw was so terrifying.


    Basking in the moonlight was a young man covered in the blood of his enemies holding a black sword in his right hand. The eyes that were looking at the rabbits terrified them more. Golden brown eyes that usually glittering was now cold, the very eyes  made the rabbits shiver.


    ¡®God of Death¡¯ was the only thing the rabbits thought. They now tried backing off, they just wanted to survive. When they were a little away from Shiv the rabbits began to run with all their might. The one in the front looked back to tell his companions that they were almost free. But all he saw was the two rabbits heads getting chopped off. Before his brains could develop the sensation of fear, its head too came off.


    ---***---


    Shiv was tired, he could not move. He took a sip of the water from the fountain and his body was back to full energy. Even though he was no longer tired he still sat on the ground and took the medicinal herbs the naiads had given him and swallowed it. He then lied down and began allocating his stats point. From the battle he understood his low mana was a problem. he had gained 12 levels from the rabbit hunt, the sword gave him another 3 levels. He invested 15 to INT and WIS, the remaining point went equally to all the stats. With this he was level 35 with the power of a level 50. He decided to have a nap there and it was then that he noticed some movements. He then silently woke up and climbed the near tree, hiding himself in it. Cautiously he looked around to identify the source of the movement. It did not take him too long to see what had caused the disturbance. Shiv could not believe his own eyes.


    The movement he heard was that of something tripping over the inner rope circle and falling on to the stakes. Trapped on the stakes was something Shiv never imagined to confront. With 3 pairs of red eyes and legs a beast was trying to free itself out of the stakes which had impaled two of its legs.


    ¡®Why? Why is it here?¡¯


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: THE NAIADS SAVIOUR 2</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Now that the black rabbits have all died, the one who controlled them has come out to seize the pond by himself. A creature thought to be extinct, a creature which is the embodiment of evil, Dralve. Slay the evil beast and return peace to the naiads


    Difficulty : +E


    Requirements: Kill all the Black Rabbits


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. if you die


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Why is it here? How can it be here?¡¯ Shiv knew that at the current state he was no match. He also knew that he had no other choice but to confront it. He did not want to abandon the naiads. Gritting his teeth he jumped forwards and ran towards the Dralve.


    Sensing the approach of Shiv the Dralve tried hard to get free. The poison and the stakes had eaten away 15% of its HP. But the Dralve was no weak opponent. It was at least a level 70. Too powerful for Shiv.


    ¡°Kaze! Hono! Chains of Time! ¡± Shiv used all his skill all at once now that he had more mana. In the two minutes he had, he wasted none. The struggling Dralve proved hard to slash so Shiv could only manage 6 strikes on its back. Shiv them backed off and hid himself on a tree. He jumped from one tree to another to distract the Dralve. If the Dralve escaped out of the trap while he was slashing he would be dead, he knew this. so he had decided to back off every time his skills wore down. He used his bow and poison arrows against the Dralve. Aiming for the eyes, he shot arrows one after another. Some would hit the Dralve some would miss. It took Shiv 20 shots to damage two of its eyes. He ran out of arrows and had no other choice but to rely on his swords. Using the remaining poison to coat the sword he rushed forward activating all his skills, even then his mind was working on strategies to take down the beast. When he was near the beast he cast wind scythe causing a blade of wind to attack the dralve thus forcing the dralve to lose its balance. Before the Dralve could recover Shiv had landed 11 hits on the Dralve. Some of the slash hit the same point consecutively causing more damage to the Dralve. More over the back attack added to the damage. He knew he was fighting cowardly but this was his only chance.


    By then the dralve¡¯s HP dropped below half. This angered the Dralve more. Without a care for its body it started struggling much harder causing more damage to itself. Shiv observed the Dralve for some time allowing his skills to cool down. Casting the skills again as soon as it was available he attacked the Dralve with all his might, landing another 10 strikes along with two critical strikes. This time Shiv understood that the trap won¡¯t hold long. Shiv ran towards one of the barricade and slashed it down. But before he could pick it up he was attacked from behind, a powerful claw sends him flying. The Dralve ran towards Shiv to finish him off. Sensing the danger Shiv got up, his hands trembling. The beast ran with all its might towards Shiv


    ¡°Kaze¡± activating his skill Shiv lightly dodged to the left and using two throwing knives he picked up in between he struck the beast¡¯s eyes. The beast went slump, crashing on to the ground, losing all of its right eye. Thinking that everything was over, Shiv bent down to pick up his sword. To make sure the beast was dead, Shiv planned to impale its heart with a stake and so picked up one. He stood up and turned towards the beast to finish it off. The moment he turned back, he saw the Dralve jumping at him. His hands moved instinctively, both the hands which were now holding a sword and a sharp log was stretched towards the beast in midair.


    The beast panicked. With no way to stop its jump through mid-way, the beast ran into the stake and sword together, both the weapons passing through it body. Before its life ran out, the Dralve with all its might bit Shiv¡¯s left shoulder. With intense pain coursing through his body, Shiv fell together with the dead dralve, his conscious now fading.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯ was the last thing he heard.


    ---***---


    how is it? give me ur honest opinons.


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 1- Chapter 13: Problems(proofread)

    Proofead: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Year 2040


    Feb 12, Sunday, 10 pm


    Ryu got out of his capsule. ¡®My first death, now I can¡¯t get on for 48 hours. The 48 hours ban was for low level players. Any player below level 50 had to wait for 2 days while players above level 50 only had to wait for 24 hours. He had also heard a rumor that the top 100 players could log in after 12 hours. This long waiting for low levels was to make sure that the player would not immediately set out for revenge or the like and get killed again. The time was 10 in the night.


    ¡®Everybody will be sleeping¡¯ thinking so Ryu walked towards the kitchen, opened the fridge, grabbed some snacks and a drink. He returned to his room and sat in front of his computer.


    ¡®Let us see, www.pheonixdlforum.com</a>¡¯ Ryu typed in the address. He browsed through the forum for any new information. He wanted to know whether somebody other than him had found a Dralve. After a good search he came to the conclusion that it was just him. He then moved on to the leader table. Adrian was still first, lvl 74, double his lvl before the death. He did not know how much level he had gained and how much penalty will be given. ¡®Let¡¯s look for Draklake, there is something different about it¡¯. He searched and searched but there was no info on the village anywhere. ¡®There is something strange about that village. And that huge tower¡¯ thinking so he shut down the computer and got on his bed, then dozed off.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 13, Monday, 7:15 am


    Next morning Ryu woke up with a sudden hit to his stomach. Even though the hit was weak, the sudden attack frightened him. He sprang up to defend himself but as soon as he saw the attacker he smiled. A cute pouting Mia in her school uniform was glaring at him. ¡®I am in trouble. God have mercy on me¡¯


    ¡°Good morning my little sister ¡±


    Bang came another hit to his stomach. ¡®Who taught her to fight, oh it was me¡¯


    ¡°Now now little sister, violence is bad¡±


    ¡°I hate you nii-san¡± Mia said with watery eyes. ¡°You did not talk ¡®hiccup¡¯ to Mia ¡®hiccup¡¯ for two days ¡®hiccup¡¯¡± Mia was now in cry mode, tears rolling down her cheeks, her face red.


    ¡°I am sorry¡± and Ryu hugged her tight and lifting her up, he kissed her forehead. ¡°As apology this wonderful nii-san will take you out for a ride, just you and me.¡±


    Her face brightened up, a shopping with her nii-san was one of the most enjoyable things in her life. She smiled and asked Ryu to let her down. Mia ran out to her mother to tell her about the shopping. Ryu then began his refreshment activities. He had a one hour long exercise session and then proceeded for a bath then having a bite of the breakfast on his table he then began wearing his clothes. Wearing a blue denim and a white shirt with a black overcoat he got out of his room and walked towards his  grandfather¡¯s. The time was 30 past 9 in the morning. He knocked on the door.


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Ryu Ojii-sama. I wish to speak to you for a while. I hope you are not in a hurry.¡±


    ¡°Ryu you are my grandson not the grandson of my driver. Is this how you talk to your family? Drop the formality son, this


    is not the Edo period¡± opening the door replied Isamu.


    ¡°Yes Ojii-sama¡±


    ¡°So tell me son. What is it you have to speak? I have not seen you for two days. Busy with the game? You must not neglect your family for your own joy my son. Never let go off your family.  ¡±


    ¡°Yes Ojii-sama. I have promised to take Mia out today, I came to have your permission.¡±


    ¡°She is your sister. Why do you need my permission?¡±


    ¡°I need Kiro to drive us around as I am not old enough to drive.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Go ahead, I got others to drive for me¡±


    Of all the people the Yasahiro family employed, Kiro was the most trusted and loved. Kiro was an orphan, he was then taken in under the Yasahiro family. Kiro was treated like family and was given things a family member would get. He had a room in the mansion for himself. He was sent to school and college under the Yasahiro family¡¯s name. He was trained well in all forms of martial arts. Not only was he loyal, he was strong too. Every time Ryu went out he took Kiro with him, he trusted Kiro.


    ¡°Thank you Ojii-sama¡± Ryu  bowed and was about to leave when his grandfather stopped him.


    ¡°Take this¡± saying so he stuffed one of his pockets with money.


    Ryu smiled and bowed once again. He walked towards the main door where Mia and Kiro was already waiting. ¡®Mia, you already called for him?¡¯ he  had a smile on his face. His sister understood his thoughts very well.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 13, Monday, 2:15 pm


    Ryu, Mia and Kiro exited from a hotel after filling their tummy. Mia was patting her tummy, she liked the food and stuffed in everything she could. Ryu and Kiro laughed at the cute Mia walking in front of them. Ryu slowed down, sensing this Kiro did too.


    ¡°Kiro, did you notice?¡±


    ¡°Yes young master. 7 of them I presume¡±


    ¡°Their target must be Mia. Ransom? Political benefit? What do you think? ¡±


    ¡°I think it must be the later. Ransom is too small a motive to abduct Lady Mia¡±


    ¡°You think so too huh. Summon Takeshi. Notify him. Tell him to move out with the necessary things. And do not tell Ojii-


    sama. I will deal with this personally¡±


    ¡°As you wish young master¡±


    Ryu nodded at Kiro and started walking faster, when he reached Mia he held her hand.


    ¡°What next my cute little sister?¡± he asked with a smile.


    ¡°Em Mia wants a capsule too. Mia lonely when nii-san is not around¡±


    ¡®Capsule eh. Well after today¡¯s events things will get hectic¡¯


    ¡°Sure. I will talk to Ojii-sama about it, and Mia after we reach home you and mom will be having a trip somewhere far¡±


    ¡°Trip? Where to? Nii-san won¡¯t come?¡±


    ¡°Anywhere you want to Mia. I can¡¯t come Ojii-sama will be lonely. Since you will be getting a capsule, we can meet in the


    game.¡±


    Mia nodded, slightly depressed.


    ¡°So where do you want to go?¡± Ryu asked trying to improve her mood. He bent down and gestured her to whisper it to his


    ears.


    ¡°Germany¡± the answer was instant.


    ¡°Why there?¡± Ryu was amused. He did not expect her to reply with Germany. He expected India or Korea.


    ¡°My friend from school goes there with her family. So I want to see it too¡±


    ¡°Very well¡± saying so Ryu took out his mobile and dialed a number.


    ¡°Ivanovich. Where are you?¡± asked Ryu in English


    ¡°Tokyo, with your grandfather¡±


    ¡°I need you to book 3 tickets to England¡±


    ¡°Yes young master. I presume it is for you, Lady Mia and Lady Miyuki¡±


    ¡°No, not for me. You will be going with them. Mia is EXCITED¡± stressing the excited Ryu replied.


    The word EXCITED was a code. It meant that there was danger to the family.


    ¡°I understand. I will arrange one immediately. A private jet will be leaving to England tonight¡±


    The Yasahiro family rarely used the private jets. They kept the fact that they had private jets hidden.


    ¡°Be careful Ivan, do not let the two of them know¡±


    ¡°As you wish young master¡± and the call got disconnected


    Mia was looking at her Nii-san with glittering eyes. ¡®Today is a lucky day¡¯ she thought not knowing the real thing. The two


    returned to their vehicle, got in and waited for Kiro. Then his mobile rang.


    ¡°Young master, it¡¯s Takeshi here. I have arrived¡±


    ¡° Apprehend them. Take them to the run down building near the factory. I will come there¡± he whispered, not wanting Mia to hear.


    ¡°Yes young master¡±


    ¡°Send Kiro back as soon as possible¡±


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 13, Monday, 2:30 pm


    Takeshi disconnected the call and got out of his van, the van was sound proof, so no noise would travel out. Takeshi had parked the van in the same underground parking lot where Ryu¡¯s Bentley was. He had brought two others with him. All three of them were in the security force and were trained martial artist. All three had been trained in handling guns too. The three carried a Beretta 92FS with sound suppressor, a dagger and throwing knives. Like random people they were dressed in casual outfits and were talking like they were drunk.


    Meanwhile Kiro was outside the parking lot and was equipped with the same weapons except for the throwing knives. He was told that Ryu had already made the necessary phone calls to avoid people entering the parking lot. All he needed now was to cut off the power supply when the signal was given. Takeshi had already explained to him the plan through secure channels. Kiro was on wait, his blood boiling. ¡®Whoever you are I will find you¡¯ cursing his enemy in his mind, Kiro waited.


    Takeshi and his friends were still at the parking lot. Their conversation attracted the 7 who were following Ryu. One of them walked towards the trio, he was in a black suite which made him look like a very gentle man. The man approached them and spoke


    ¡°Sir, this is a public area. You are not in a state to wander around. Kindly leave ¡±


    ¡°Who the hell are you to call me drunk?¡± and Takeshi and the other two began thrashing the black suited man. Seeing their comrade being beaten the remaining six ran towards them. They surrounded the three drunk men, with their fists raised to fight.


    ¡°Heh¡° Takeshi smirked and then he shouted ¡°Kiro¡±. The secure channel was still on and when Kiro heard Takeshi¡¯s signal he switched the power off.


    The moment the light went out the three moved, it was like they were lightning itself. Their feet and hands were fast. Their orders were clear, apprehend them not kill them. The three reached for the ones near them, their knees connected to the enemy¡¯s stomach then stepping to the side, a chop to the enemy¡¯s neck thus sending them unconscious. The rest of them could not understand what was happening. They took out their guns and was waiting for any sound but nothing could be heard. Takeshi and the others did not waste any time, they had already calculated their next move. The position of the enemy was clear to them for they had contact lenses which had night vision embedded in them, this was one of the top secret state-of-the art weaponry which was developed by the Yasahiro Industries.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    In the next second the 3 were near their next target. Without the slightest sound they then executed their next move. They were all in sync, like they were dancing. A high kick to the chin at the same time, even the point of contact to the time taken to the angle, everything was identical. The sudden kick and the force sent the receivers flying backwards. The kick made their brains rock the inside their skulls, causing them to lose consciousness. Now only one remained.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come near me. I will shoot you¡± the last assailant began to panic. He then began shooting in random direction. When the first magazine was emptied he tried to reload it with another but his trembling hands could not do it with enough speed. The man was pinned down to the ground from behind by  powerful arms and with a blow to the behind he too fell unconscious.


    ¡°Kiro it is done. Bring the young masters out¡± Takeshi disconnected the call and the power was restored. He looked at the 7 unconscious men then lifted his hand slightly above his head and made circles in the air. Seeing the signal his friends began to move.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 13, Monday, 3:30pm


    ¡°Young master, we have arrived¡±


    Ryu nodded at Kiro. They were in front of a run-down building. After dropping Mia at home, Ryu had asked Kiro to take him here. Getting out of the car he then whispered something to Kiro. At first Kiro was shocked, regaining his senses he nodded. With a gentle bow Kiro got into the car and left.


    Ryu slowly walked in, he was now in a black suit, his face emotionless. One would say the boy in front was faceless. Takeshi was waiting for Ryu near the entrance.


    ¡°Have they spoken anything?¡±


    ¡°No young master. We have not begun yet. ¡±


    ¡°Take me to them¡±


    Takeshi nodded and lead the way. The building looked worn down, time taking its toll on it. The wall was dark and dirty, the ground filled with debris. The duo walked for a while in a long corridor and then took the steps to the next floor. Like that they kept walking until they reached the fifth floor. On the fifth floor Takeshi guided Ryu to a room which was rather clean and well lit compared to the other rooms. It was a much bigger room and with a table and chair to the right. The seven assailants were sitting in the middle, their mouths stuffed with clothes, hands tied to the back and eyes blindfolded. All of them were terrorized. Losing vision is a truly fearful thing. Ryu approached them, taking the chair he sat on it and then looked at Takeshi. With a nod Takeshi removed the blindfold and clothes in their mouth.


    The sudden exposure to light made them flinch, they shut their eyes tight. When the eyes began to adjust to the light all 7 of them opened their eyes to look at a child sitting in front of them. When their eyes met with the child¡¯s their entire body shook. The eyes were not of a child, it looked like a monster was staring at them, there was only hatred in those golden brown eyes.


    ¡°My name is Ryu Yasahiro and I am going to ask you some questions. The first one is who was your target? Me or my sister?¡±


    The group remained silent. They did not want to talk.


    ¡°Takeshi do you have their names?¡±


    ¡°Yes young master¡±


    ¡°Do they have family?¡±


    ¡°They do. All of them are married and have children too¡±


    ¡°Find out who all they are, where they live. Send someone to their home and start with the youngest,¡± this was what came from Ryu¡¯s mouth.


    Everybody including Takeshi froze. The person who said these words were a child, a mere 17 year old child. The 7 assailants were shocked to the core.


    ¡°Either you talk or your family disappears. Choose?¡±


    ¡°You monster¡± one of them shouted.


    ¡°Monster? Me? Then what are you guys? Were you not trying to rob my family of a life too? So you can do what you wish with my family while I cannot do the same to you. ¡±


    Takeshi smiled. He now understood that the family thing was a farce. It was just a trick to make them talk. He decided to play along. Taking out his phone he dialed a non-existing number.


    ¡°Its Takeshi, have you found the family of the persons I have told? Then send our people there. Wait outside till I give you further orders¡± he said as if he was talking with somebody.


    ¡°No No. not our family. I will tell you so stop¡±


    ¡°Answer my questions and they will walk away unharmed. Why and Who? That¡¯s all I need to know ¡±


    ¡°We were asked by the Yanagi family. We do not know why. They offered us 10 million yen each¡± the men began crying now.


    ¡°Takeshi, find out about this Yanagi family. Use everything and anything you want. I want to know the reason and the person who ordered this attack by tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Yes young master. What about these people?¡± Takeshi had already taken out his Beretta.


    ¡°Give them 5million yen each, a job in Korea, tickets and passports for their family. I want their Japanese citizenship revoked and their rights to enter the country cancelled¡±


    ¡°Are you sure young master?¡± asked a surprised Takeshi.


    ¡°Killing them won''t help us at all. If we kill them their children will come for revenge. Why such needless violence¡± Ryu then looked at the 7 who were as shocked as  Takeshi was. ¡°I will forgive you this time. You will be kicked out of the country, never to return. Instead you will live as  Korean citizen with your family. Takeshi take me back home¡±


    Takeshi nodded and then asked his two friends to take care of the assailants and left with Ryu.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 13, Monday, 5pm


    ¡°Ojii-sama¡± Ryu called out to his grandfather. Isamu was now in his study going through some documents.


    ¡°Come my boy. I am told that Mia and Miyuki are to go to England tonight along with Ivan¡±


    ¡°Ivan will not be going Ojii-sama, he will not be allowed to exist¡±


    ¡°What are you saying boy? Are you not the one who asked Ivan to take them to England¡±


    ¡°Yes Ojii-sama. I had no other alternative. Ivan will be dealt with soon¡±


    ¡°Dealt with? What do you mean boy?¡±


    ¡°I believe Kiro have told you about today¡¯s events¡± Ryu then looked at his grandfather who was nodding his head to


    indicate that he was well informed about it.


    ¡°Then why didn''t Ivan tell you about such a big thing, even if I asked him not to? You are the head, not me. The situation called for your interference yet he did not tell you anything ¡±


    ¡°Do you mean to say that Ivan has some other motive?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He is a traitor¡±


    ¡°And you came to this just because he did not inform me?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. The Yasahiro mansion is always under tight security, even the outside roads are well guarded. The vehicles from the mansion are well guarded too. This discourages any vehicle from stalking us. Do you not agree?¡±


    Isamu nodded again.


    ¡°Every time we go out, it is Ivan who appoints the driver, escort and vehicle. Is it not? ¡±


    Isamu nodded once again, he now understood the trail of thoughts yet let Ryu continue.


    ¡°Only 6 people knew about today¡¯s shopping trip. You, Mia, mom, Kiro, Ivan and me. So that leaves just two as suspects. It cannot be Kiro because he had been with us the entire time as he lives with us. Mia had personally told him about the trip and had been with him all the time. That leaves only Ivan. To strengthen my suspicions I had Ivan¡¯s call records searched and Ivan¡¯s bank too. The bank statement of Ivan shows he received 1billion yen 5 times this month from an unknown source. And the phone records showed Ivan having continuously talking to a number. The number was dialed at 9:30 in the morning and 2:30 in the afternoon. I had asked Kiro to tap into the call just in case. We have the call recorded. ¡±


    ¡°If you had this much proof then why is he still alive? And why have you planned to send Mia and Miyuki with him?¡±


    ¡°Ivan will die in the plan. The plane will be reported as it had crashed during its journey killing the pilot and all three of its passenger. Mom and Mia will be sent to Germany by another flight.¡±


    ¡°So you have planned everything huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes Ojii-sama. I apologize for not asking for your permission and also wasting 35 million yen¡±


    ¡°Not at all. That was splendid. Giving life to them thus making them indebted to you and creating no excuse for violence.


    That was great indeed. But there is a problem?¡±


    ¡°Problem?¡±


    ¡°You my boy. You are still here and that is a problem. You will be flying out to South Korea tonight boy.¡±


    ¡°But Ojii-sama you will be¡­.¡±


    ¡°No my boy, I am still the head and you will listen to me. Kiro and Takeshi will be living with me. For the time being you will live there until I deem it fit for you to return.¡±


    Ryu could not say anything more. He sighed. ¡°As you wish Ojii-sama¡±. Isamu then hugged him. ¡®Thank you for saving them¡¯ he said in his mind.


    The next day the entire Japan federation shook. On every paper were two headlines. One was the death of Mia Yasahiro, Miyuki Yasahiro and Ivanovich Mikael. The second news was


    ¡®Yanagi Corp crumbles! Huge debts brings down world¡¯s second largest company.¡¯


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%">[url= http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6979</a>] NEXT CHAPTER [/url]</td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 1- Chapter 14: Class Attainment(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Year 2040


    Feb 16, Thursday, 7am


    Ryu woke up from his sleep. It had been two days since Ryu had come to Incheon, South Korea. His grandfather had bought a posh house on the outskirts of the city. The house at first sight did not seem so luxurious. It was a two storey building with a beautiful garden and had a fountain too. The interior was what made the house exquisite. Unlike the exterior of the house, the interior was rich. It gave off a ¡®the richest house in the world¡¯ kind of feeling with beautiful furniture and other decorations. In such a big house and exquisite house, Ryu had to live alone. It kind of made him glad and sad at the same time. He could now play without any reserve but he missed his family too.


    To meet his family he had asked Isamu to buy two capsules for his mother and Mia. Isamu had agreed but refused buy a capsule for himself saying he was too busy and too old to play around. Ryu then went to have a bath, finishing his morning exercise he proceeded to have his breakfast. He made vegetable sandwich and orange juice. Once the breakfast was over he then climbed on to the capsule which was installed yesterday.


    ¡°Dive in¡±


    ---***---


    Shiv remembered the place he was standing, behind him was the fountain of elixir. With a smile he took a sip of the water and felt the power course through his entire body. After that he walked towards the gate to inform Barin about the quest completion, but not before checking his level. He was no level 40. He had gained 5 level which included one extra level from the sword. He checked his skills and stats and found that some of his stats had disappeared. ¡®10 stats points have decreased, so I lost 2 levels. Must get those levels back¡¯. He had by then reached the gate.


    ¡°Barin my friend¡±


    ¡°Why if it isn¡¯t the traveller. I heard you successfully defended the pond¡±


    ¡°By Oberon¡¯s grace I was able to. But?¡±


    ¡°But? What happened my friend?¡±


    ¡°I was attacked by a Dralve, seems it was what was leading the rabbit¡±


    ¡°What in Oberon¡¯s name? A Dralve? Are you sure Shiv?¡±


    ¡°Yes I am, a black creature with 3 pairs of eyes and legs¡±


    Barin¡¯s face lost all its color. ¡°We must notify the elders at once. I cannot move from here, Shiv, my friend, I can¡¯t move from the gate so I request you to inform this to the elders ¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: THE NAIADS SAVIOUR 3</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The gatekeeper, Barin has entrusted you to notify the appearance of the dralve. Barin fears that this is due to some big evil lurking around


    Difficulty : F


    Requirements: Kill the Dralve


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. if you die


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°I will my friend. Where can I find the elders?¡±


    ¡°They will be in the black tower¡±


    ¡°Very well. I shall leave immediately my friend¡±


    ¡°May the True God¡¯s light shine upon you¡±


    Shiv parted from the Gatekeeper and ran towards the black tower. He was excited that he could finally enter the tower.


    Shiv ran at his maximum speed but stopped when he reached the fountain. Near to the fountain were 3 familiar figures.


    Thorwin, Altair and Petra was standing there like they were waiting for someone.


    ¡°Masters¡± Shiv called out.


    Hearing the familiar voice the three of them turned to look at Shiv. Altair ran towards Shiv and hugged him tight,


    pressing his face towards her well-endowed chest. Shiv blushed for a moment. Altair then separated from Shiv and looked him into the eyes. She had tears rolling down from her eyes.


    ¡°Are you alright? Did the Dralve hurt you? I am sorry I could not come to rescue you.¡±


    ¡°Master how did you know that there was a dralve? ¡±


    ¡°We sent it to you.¡± Thorwin was the one to reply. ¡°Originally the Dralve was to be dealt by us. But I had it come to you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Shiv¡¯s voice raising.


    ¡°To see if you were worthy enough¡±


    ¡°Worthy of what?¡±


    ¡°Oberon¡¯s mark. You have proved yourself worthy. You have exceeded our expectations and now it is time¡±


    ¡°Time? Are you planning something again?¡±


    ¡°It is time you know the truth. Altair cancel the magic¡± . Altair nodded and snapped her finger. The three young masters in


    front of him suddenly began to age. Instead of the 30¡¯s they now looked like they were more than 90 years old, wrinkled


    and feeble.


    ¡°We are the elders of this village, I am Gehambel, Knight of the dusk¡±, said an old man. Pointing towards the one who once was Altair he said,¡± Irene, the White Fairy¡±, then pointing towards the remaining old lady, ¡°Briskol, the sage of twilight¡±


    ¡°Um, and you expect me to believe that, Borin? ¡±


    ¡°B.. Borin? Who is that? I.. I am no Borin. I am Gehambel¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah yeah. So Amber, Serin how have you been? You both looked much prettier the last time we I saw you¡±


    Amber and Serin glided towards Shiv and at the same time gave a knock to his head.


    ¡°Ouch what was that for¡±


    ¡°You must not say such rude things to a lady, even if you are a king¡±


    ¡°My bad, my bad. So tell me about the Dralve¡±


    ¡°Well you see, the Dralve had skipped into the territory somehow. Usually they live pretty far from here. We  tried to find


    out how it got in and during the search we found a hole in our barrier. After fixing the barrier we were about to kill the beast when Borin said that we must let you kill it. He was so stubborn that we had to agree. Sorry¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. It is fine¡± said Shiv with a smile.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: THE NAIADS SAVIOUR 3- Completed</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have successfully reported the appearance of the dralve. You have found out that the dralve got in through a barrier hole which has already been fixed. Knowing this the villagers can sleep in peace


    Rewards


    +30 relation with Draklake


    +30 fame


    Gained entrance to the black tower


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">You have leveled up


    You have leveled up


    You have leveled up


    You have leveled up


    You have leveled up


    You have leveled up</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Wow 6 levels from completing a chain quest. I will get a bonus level too. Must spend the points wisely¡¯


    ¡°Shiv we have something for you, follow us¡± and the three started walking, with Shiv following. The walk continued till the four reached the base of the black tower, ¡°This is Oberon Tower, and here we will tell you things you cannot disclose to others¡± saying so the three entered the tower. Shiv was ecstatic, he had wanted to get in the tower so badly when he had first seen it. The interior unlike the exterior was not eerie, it was clean and white with paintings everywhere on the wall. The three then ascended a spiral staircase which continued all the way above. Shiv was astonished for wherever he looked all he could see were paintings. And some of them were familiar. The painting was not, but the person inside the painting was familiar. It was his or to be precise Orrinshire¡¯s painting. Most paintings depicted Orrinshire with Amber, Borin and Serin, some were his solo paintings, some was of a castle and some were of Linford. Like that, the tower wall was covered with hundreds of painting. ¡®Orrinshire sure is loved¡¯ he thought.


    The spiral staircase ended in front of a semicircular room. The elders then inserted a key each and unlocked the door. The door opened and the four entered. What lay inside the room was a throne, a throne which had dragons carved onto it, the armrest had a dragon head  on each of them. There were black wings on either side of the throne, the throne legs were shaped as that of a dragon¡¯s leg. In total the throne was like a twin headed black dragon.


    ¡°Orrinshire¡¯s Throne¡± Shiv said unintentionally and moved towards it, it was like something was pulling him towards it. Mesmerized he walked towards it. For some reason he felt he was inside a very big decorated court  filled with people, it felt like it was his coronation. Shiv proceeded forward while the three looked at Shiv with disbelief. They were shocked the moment Shiv had exclaimed ¡®Orrinshire¡¯s Throne¡¯ and now the boy was moving towards it as if it was his throne.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Shiv was now near the throne, his glowing right hand caressing the armrest, ¡±Beautiful!¡± he exclaimed and then prepared to sit down. Once he sat on the throne Shiv felt himself being warped in space, he felt all the light disappearing. Looking around he saw nothing but darkness. But for some strange reason he felt oddly calm.


    ¡°So you have come mortal¡±


    Shiv kneeled, ¡±Yes Great Oberon¡± even though it was only just the voice of the god.


    ¡°What do you desire mortal? Is it Power? Wealth? Kingdom?¡±


    ¡°I desire happiness oh Great God¡±


    ¡°I see pain in your eyes but no greed. I see loneliness but no evil. I see love and care. I see desire to help, I see a dark past,


    I see a pure heart. Very well mortal, you shall receive what you wish for¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Hidden Class</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have been offered a hidden class by the True God, Oberon. Would you like to accept</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>YES</td>[td]NO[/td2]</tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Yes, it is an honor¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have accepted the hidden class Grand Commoner, a unique class which is given only to a very few. Due to the special characteristics of the class and the class being given by the True God, Oberon your race will be now be changed to a demi human. You will be human with dragon blood flowing through you.


    You being a common man is now able to study skills without class restrictions except for skills related to a god or its faction.


    All skills that you learn will have a penalty except for skills that are unique to your class or common to all classes.


    The number of skills you can learn has been doubled. You can now learn 60 skills


    You will gain fame much slower since you are a commoner.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®This is wonderful. I can learn any skills I want except for holy magic. Cool. There are tons of skills I want to learn. And instead of 30 I can learn 60 skills. This is epic¡¯


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Your race has been set to demi human. Even though you look like a normal human you have dragon blood flowing through you. Your senses are sharpened and you are much stronger than normal humans


    +100 to mana and HP


    +3 to all stats</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> New skill unlocked: Identification (Passive) Beginner Level 1(0%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> The dragon blood in you has heightened your senses. You are now able to identify low quality items. As your skill proficiency increases, you can identify higher quality items


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> New skill unlocked: Presence Detection (Passive) Beginner Level 1(0%)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> The dragon blood in you has heightened your senses. You are now able to detect the presence of others around you.


    Range: 2 meters


    Mana consumption: 10 mana/sec


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Wow! I already got two great skills¡¯


    ¡°Mortal! I have given you what you desire and now you must listen to me¡±


    ¡®Omg! This is seriously bad, maybe I should have denied the class¡¯


    ¡°Of course Great one¡±


    ¡°I believe you know Orrinshire.¡±


    ¡°I do great one¡±


    ¡°Hundreds of years ago, in the continent of Aslain there was a kingdom named Lithinia. Ruled by the human king Orrinshire, the kingdom prospered. But a single attack from the neighboring country caused great pain to the kingdom. Though the kingdom survived the loss it suffered broke the king¡¯s heart. It was then that he sought my blessings. Pleased by his desire to bring peace to the whole world I gave him the power he needed. Time flew by and soon the entire world came under his feet. He was a generous emperor, loved and cared by his people. But some wicked and greedy mortals did not like the way the world was. Their greed led to the assassination of their Great Emperor and once again war broke out throughout the continent of Aslain. When I heard of Orrinshire¡¯s death, I in my fury had almost destroyed the world. But I was stopped by the people of Lithinia. They prayed to me to not destroy the world their Emperor had loved and cherished. Accepting their prayers I created the new world and named it Orrinshire in his memory. The people of Lithinia were taken under my protection and became the Draken race which lived in my garden, Draklake. They had wished upon me to grant them life till they could find themselves a new king and from then till now they have been waiting for you to arrive mortal. Do not forget their love for you, do not forget their loyalty for those are hard to find in these times of chaos¡±


    ¡°I will not great one for I very well know how important those are¡±


    ¡°Very well. It is time for you to return, I have kept you away from them for too long¡± with that the world around Shiv


    returned to what it was before. When Shiv opened his eyes he saw the three kneeling, their heads bowed.


    ¡°What are you three doing? Get up. Aren¡¯t you too old for that?¡±


    ¡°One is never too old to serve one¡¯s king¡± said Borin still kneeling


    ¡°Get up you three. That is enough¡±


    The three got up and looked at Shiv. The three had tears rolling down their eyes. ¡°We have waited hundreds of years for


    you Sire. We have waited for you to return¡±


    ¡°Now that I am here why are you crying. We can be together from now on¡±


    When Shiv said this the three had a painful expression. ¡°Sire, let us go out. Your people await you¡±


    With a nod Shiv began  descending the stairs. For some reason he felt happy and fulfilled. ¡®maybe it is because I could meet those three¡¯. The three followed Shiv silently. When they reached outside, Shiv was stunned. The entire village had assembled in front of him, all of them kneeling. Shiv could make out that they were all crying. He noticed that there were no children anywhere. ¡®They must be at their home¡¯ he assured himself. Shiv once again looked at the villagers, his people. Not even one of them were smiling, ¡®Why is my heart aching?¡¯


    ¡°Sire, this way please¡± the three walked in front guiding their king. Shiv followed, troubled by the pain in his heart. ¡°Sire, for hundreds of years we have waited for you. Our entire village was for the sake of greeting you, to train you, to make you a king once again. We worked hard to build this village so that you would feel like you were at your home. Did you find the place warm Sire?¡±


    Shiv nodded. Tears were now rolling down his cheeks like the other three. ¡®Why am I crying?¡¯ his heart was in turmoil.


    ¡°Sire our life was for you, we prayed to the god to let us live till you came back once again. We traded our humanity, our organs, our souls so that we could see you once again.¡± Shiv heard them saying this while they passed over the fountain.


    ¡°Sire, we are happy to have met you once again, we are happy to have become your masters. We are happy to have you with us after all this time.¡± They were now at the village gate. The three opened the gate and motioned  Shiv to walk in front. Shiv nodded even though he did not want to. The entire village were following them.


    Shiv existed the gate and walked forward. He stopped when he heard ¡°We have always loved you Sire¡±.


    ¡°I love you too¡± and Shiv turned back, crying his lungs out. He froze, his body trembled, his legs became numb.


    There was nothing there, no gate, no black tower and no traces of the three. Shiv dropped to his knees, his hands trying to grab what was once the three people he loved.


    The village of Draklake disappeared!


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 1: A childs cry(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Year 2040


    Feb 19, Sunday, 6 am


    Ryu was having his morning jog through the nearby park, he had been jogging for an hour continuous now. The jog was not to work out his body but to ease his mind. Ever since the Draklake village disappeared in front of his eyes Ryu had been haunted by the memories of the place and his three masters. Every time he tried to hop on to the capsule he felt a fear in his heart, like it was chained. Whenever he closed his eyes the faces of Borin, Amber and Serin would seep into his eyes. Their disappearance reminded him of his father¡¯s death, which too happened in front of him. Sometimes he cried, sometimes he got angry and sometimes he became emotionless.


    His brain knew that those were not real men, but his heart had formed strong bonds with them. They had spent days together, like master and disciple, had often eaten together, laughed together, cried together. And before he could even tell how much he cherished them ,they disappeared. Ryu was now silently weeping in a park, his eyes shut, his heart broken. Ryu slipped into sleep without even him knowing.


    ---***---


    Year 2028


    May 13, Saturday, 12pm


    Royal Palace of Khatri¡¯s


    ¡°Dadi(Hindi word for Grandmother) why is everybody crying?¡± Ajay questioned his grandmother. He did not know what was going on. Their normally empty palace was now crowded by men and women in white. He saw most of them crying, some consoling the ones crying, even his mother and father were crying. It was the first time little Ajay had seen his parents in such a stage. His young mind could not grasp the idea. In order to satisfy his curious mind, the young boy had searched for his ¡®all knowing Dada¡¯ (Dada is Hindi word for grandfather) but got upset when he could not find his grandfather anywhere. The next person who came to his mind was his Dadi, and thus his search began. It did not take him long to get to the person he had been looking for.


    His Dadi was sitting on his Dada¡¯s chair with rudraksha beads (holy beads similar to rosary, used by Hindus) in her right hand, chanting a prayer as always. He had ran to her at top speed and then grabbed on her hand to get her attention.


    ¡°What is it Ajay bete?¡± the old woman asked with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Dadi why is everybody crying? ¡°asked Ajay with an innocent face.


    ¡°Have you seen your Dada anywhere?¡±


    ¡°No¡± replied the boy nodding his head side ways, ¡±Where did Dada go?¡±


    ¡°Dada has went to meet Lord Shiva, Ajay bete. He will be staying with the lord. ¡±


    ¡°So I won''t see him again?¡± his eyes became watery, the concept of not meeting his grandfather beginning to take its toll


    in the little boy¡¯s pure heart.


    ¡°No no bete, you must not cry. Your grandfather will be sad if you cry.¡±


    ¡°But but Dada¡± tears now rolling out the boy tried to speak. The old woman lifted the boy with both her hands and placed him on her lap, then hugging him from behind spoke.


    ¡°Ajay bete, some day you will understand. Crying over those who passed away is not a tribute but an insult to their


    memories. Live. Live like they wanted you to. Live and bring them joy¡±


    The boy could not understand what the woman was saying, his heart could no longer bear the pain of not seeing his


    Dada again. And with a loud scream his pain flowed out with a cry.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 19, Sunday, 6:30 am


    Ryu woke up due to the sudden pat on his shoulder. Opening his eyes he saw an old man looking at him intently. Ryu had


    tears flowing, which made the old man concerned. Wiping his tears Ryu smiled at the old man, getting up he then bowed


    at the old man and apologized for sleeping to the old man. ¡°Joesonghamnida¡±(Korean for sorry) and walked past the old


    man. The dream of his Grandmother had given him strength to move forward. He now perfectly understood what his


    grandmother had said then.


    ¡®. Live. Live like they wanted you to. Live and bring them joy¡¯ repeating the phrase in his mind he ran and ran with a smile


    as bright as the morning sun.


    After a good 15 minutes Ryu was at his house, he finished his bath and breakfast in 30 minutes and without wasting any


    more time he jumped into the capsule ¡°Here I come DL, dive in!¡±


    ---***---


    Shiv returned to the same spot that he logged out from, at the place which had a huge gate before, gate to Draklake. Now there was nothing but a vast  valley .


    ¡®Farewell my friends¡¯ with a silent prayer, Shiv turned back and walked. He had walked for 10 minutes when he felt the


    space around him distort slightly. ¡®Some kind of barrier? Teleportation?¡¯ he kept walking and walking. One hour passed


    and the land around him felt somewhat different, there were trees around him suddenly. It was like the valley changed into forest in an instant.


    ¡®Maybe I should check out the map to see where I am¡¯


    ¡°Map¡± and a huge panel opened up in front of him. Just as the forums had said there were 11 kingdoms and he was now in


    Bredon country ruled by the Bredon Kingdom. Right now he was to the east of the country, in the forest of the Fairy, his


    position being shown by a small black triangle.


    ¡®So the map does not show much. Guess unless I find a village or town myself nothing will be shown in the map. This


    game is tough, they want us to explore without any prior knowledge huh. I should have checked the forums for more


    info. Ah never mind¡¯


    With a sigh the boy walked forward with unwavering will. The walk was tiring but Shiv had no other choice so he


    continued walking. Walking through the forest is a dangerous thing, Shiv knew this so he tried jumping from trees to


    trees sometimes swinging to another tree. This action later earned him a new quirk.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New quirk unlocked: Acrobatics</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination.


    Your continuous jumping from tree to tree and similar activities have unlocked a new quirk


    +1 AGI


    Your balance has improved


    Your evasion has improved


    Your flexibility has improved


    You are now ambidextrous


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Quirks, unlike skills which either consumed mana or had a time limit, were free of restraints. Once a quirk is earned it remains active till the user deletes it or wants to switch it off. Another difference is that quirks took much more time to unlock.  A skill might take a matter of hours  to unlock, while quirks required days. So in the world of Dragon Lore, quirk was more desired than skills. Another reason being that quirks were limited in number, while there''s millions of skills, only hundreds of quirks could be earned.


    ¡®Ambidextrous eh. This is going to be fun¡¯


    It took two days of jumping from tree to tree for him to get the quirk but the quirk itself was impressive. Shiv continued


    his tree jumping and swinging only stopping for hunting food and resting to regain stamina. Half a day passed since he


    acquired his first quirk and he finally heard voices of people. Shiv slowed down and hid himself in a nearby bush.


    ¡°Human girl.. we get¡­ King happy¡± said a grumpy voice


    ¡°Me¡­ human¡­ girl want¡­too¡± another replied


    ¡°Come¡­ we go..human village ¡±


    Shiv heard some footsteps, the sound kept decreasing. He then got out of the bush and looked at the direction where the voice had come from. There to his front was a hole big enough for a man to enter. ¡®Must be some monster nest, for now I will follow those two¡¯


    ¡°Kaze¡± activating his skill Shiv jumped from tree to tree. It did not take him too long to see two purple creatures walking


    with clubs in their hands. ¡®Must be some sort of goblin variant ¡¯


    Normally goblins were always depicted as green. In the forum too that Shiv had looked into had said the goblins were


    green and their king had a much darker shade of green. Silently Shiv followed them. The two ugly goblins were marching, talking gibberish, laughing and drooling over the idea of getting a human girl. Shiv followed them patiently, suppressing


    his rage at the goblins that wanted to harm a girl. After a couple of hours Shiv saw a village, but it could no longer be


    called so. There were no walls, half of the houses were in ruins, the remaining half seemed deserted, in total the village was like life had withered away from it a long time ago.


    ¡®Why are they searching for women in a deserted village?¡¯ Shiv was deep in thoughts when,


    ¡°Kyyyyyaaaaa, leave me you monster¡± hearing the scream Shiv rushed to the spot to find a young girl being dragged out


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.from one of the deserted houses, the purple goblins laughing all the time. An enraged Shiv jumped down from the tree,


    landing in front of the two purple goblins. The startled goblins took a step back.


    ¡°Grrr¡­ puny human¡­die¡± saying so the two rushed towards Shiv.


    The first goblin swayed its club at Shiv¡¯s head which he evaded by rolling on the ground towards the goblin, his hand which had equipped his small dagger was now being thrust towards the goblins stomach. The rolling to the front, the thrust and the running goblins momentum all acted as a catalyst to increase the damage dealt by the small dagger. The goblin shuddered and fell into the ground due to pain, it health was now less than 30%. Seeing his buddy down the second goblin too rushed forward swinging the club towards Shiv¡¯s hips. Shiv took out his Black Dragon, equipping it in his right hand and parried the attack. Then stepping to his left with Kaze, he then used the dagger in his left to pierce its right eye. The second goblin too dropped, by then the first one had got up. The wound to its stomach had caused the goblin to stagger and weakened. Judging the distance Shiv brought out his bow. Him sheathing the weapons and equipping the bow was so fast that the girl lying on the floor blinked with surprise.  Drawing the bow Shiv aimed it on the goblins forehead.  Even though he had not attained any archer mastery skills, he was confident that at this distance he would not miss.


    ¡®Shoom¡¯ went the arrow which struck its target blowing the head. Shiv did not waste any more time, he dropped the bow and ran towards the second goblin, he did not even try to equip any weapons. He jumped on the back of the goblin which was trying to get up. Now using his left eye he gouged out of the goblins left eye too, rendering it blind. Blood flowed out profusely from both its empty eye sockets. The pain and the loss of blood made the monster unable to stand, with unimaginable pain it fell on its knees, then it slumped to the ground, lifeless.


    Shiv leapt away from the dead goblins back, he did not bother with the japtem. He just looted any money that the goblin¡¯s dropped then turned to the girl who was still crying. He approached her, covered with blue goblin blood. He himself looked like a monster now.


    ¡°Are you ok lady?¡± Shiv asked wiping away the blood from his face.


    The girl was too terrified to answer. She nodded. The man in front was her savior but the way he looked made him look really scary.


    ¡°Tell me lady, what is your name?¡±


    ¡°Bella¡± the answer was a whisper.


    ¡°Are you alone Bella? Where are the others?¡± Shiv¡¯s voice was calm, he did not want to startle the already scared girl.


    ¡°The monsters took the men and women . Only children like me were left behind and now they have started taking small


    girls like me too.¡± The girl began sobbing, the memories of the past incidents bringing pain to her.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, it¡¯s ok. I will bring them back Bella, you saw how strong I am¡± Shiv tried consoling her.


    ¡°You cant. There are hundreds of them¡±


    ¡°Do not worry, I will free them. But I need you to help me. I know it is wrong to ask this of you but this is the only way¡±


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± She reluctantly asked.


    Shiv explained to her what he wanted her to do so that he could save the villagers. She refused the moment the plan was


    told, scared she began to run away from him.


    ¡°If you run now you will never see them again. Are you going to abandon them, your family?¡±


    At this, she stopped. Her village had been a beautiful village which prospered greatly. The village was self-sufficient and hence never had to do trade with other villages. The goblin attack was sudden. In the silence of the night hundreds of goblins raided their village, imprisoning everybody. She had lost all hope and decided to end her life without being saved. But now she had hope returned to her, but with a huge risk.


    ¡°I accept. I will help you¡±


    ¡°Good. When were they taken?¡±


    ¡°Two days before. They were talking about a sacrifice on full moon¡±


    ¡°When is the next fool moon?¡±


    ¡°Two weeks from today¡±


    ¡°Do you know how to wield a weapon¡±


    ¡°No. sorry¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. We are short on time. Let us move.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: HELP THE LITTLE GIRL</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The little girl, Bella has requested you to rescue her family and friends from the blood goblins. The blood goblins had kidnapped the villagers and plans to sacrifice them on the next full moon  Stop the sacrifice and rescue the villagers


    Days left to attack: 2 Weeks


    Difficulty : +E


    Requirements: Save Bella


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    Villagers die


    Failure will have no effects</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have accepted the quest</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®So a quest got triggered because I offered to help her. Interesting. Now, in order to solve this situation, I must do a recon and then come up with a plan. For now the cave entrance¡¯


    Shiv lifted the young girl in his arms, a princess carry and began rushing towards the cave he had seen before. Since he was running, he reached the place in minutes. The two hid in a bush to check the surroundings. The cave mouth was now guarded by another group of goblins.


    ¡°Bella you are up¡±


    The young girl then got out of the bush and stood in open space making sure the goblins could see her. The goblins


    noticed her the moment she came out of the bush.


    ¡°Human girl.. we get¡± and the four started approaching the girl. Seeing the goblins the girl began running. The goblins


    sped up trying to catch her. The four of them passed the bush Shiv was hiding, unaware of him. The moment the goblins passed by, Shiv exited the bush and with Kaze activated he approached the goblin who was last. His hands had equipped two arrows in each, his left hand pierced the goblins throat from behind. Before the goblin could make any sound his right hand thrust the arrow  from below its mouth, vertically,  rendering it unable to shout. The goblin fell with the critical hit to its throat and brain. The three in the front did not notice, their lust clouded them.


    Shiv did not waste time looting, he extracted the arrows from the goblins corpse and rushed forward. Instead of using the arrows, this time he took out his sword. Activating Hono together with Kaze, Shiv cut down the 3rd goblins legs. The goblin screamed with pain alerting the two in front.  Sensing their friends agonizing cry they stopped their pursuit of the girl. The two monsters now targeted the man who had hurt their brothers. Roaring they rushed towards the man unable to sense the strength the man wielded.


    Shiv too rushed forward. He knew that the one he cut now will not be able to move and he need not worry about it. With the sword in his right and the dagger in his left he ran towards the monsters. Just like the goblins he had fought first, these two also began swaying their clubs without any thought. The two monsters attacked him together, their clubs aimed at his torso. Shiv shifted to his left thus evading one of the attacks and using the sword he parried the second attack at the same time bending to stab the goblin¡¯s right leg. The one who got stabbed lost balance and fell onto the other causing them to fall on to the ground. Wasting no time he dashed towards the goblins. Before the goblins could move Shiv started slashing at them with all his might and with 10 slashes the two died.  Leaving the dead behind, Shiv walked towards the remaining goblin. The goblin had seen his comrades die in an instant and like all living things fear crept into its mind.


    Its body shivering, hands trembling, throat drying up. It looked at the thing approaching him. Covered in blood, holding a sword and a dagger, death was approaching it slowly. The goblin looked into the eyes of the one walking towards him, golden brown eyes which said,


    ¡®I am death¡¯


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 2: Goblin Cave Extermination(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    In the middle of a ruined village some children had gathered, led by a beautiful child. They stood staring at the stranger who had called them out from their hideout.


    ¡°My name is Shiv and I am here to help you. We are going to rescue your parents and friends. For that I need your help too.¡±


    The children were afraid. Suddenly they were gathered together and now they were asked to fight. None of them talked. Sensing the disorder, Bella spoke.


    ¡°We have to help him, he is strong. He just now killed 6 goblins.¡± The last part attracted the ears of all who were present. The day of attack was still fresh in their memories, they remembered how easily the adults had surrendered. One of them who tried to fight was killed in seconds.


    ¡°I may have killed 6, but theres more than hundreds inside. To kill them all I need your help. Will you help me? ¡±


    ¡°Are you going to make us fight?¡± asked a small girl who tugged behind Bella.


    ¡°Heavens no. I want you to run some errands, that is all¡±


    ¡°Errands?¡± the small girl asked, tilting her head.


    ¡°Yeah! For now I want you to get me all the sugar and flour you can. No salt.¡±


    ¡°Sugar and flour? Why? Are we going to give them to the monsters?¡± this time a boy asked, he was much older than the small girl.


    ¡°Not at all, we are going to kill them with it¡±


    All there, including Bella were dumbfounded. ¡®Kill with sugar and flour¡¯.


    None of them could grasp the meaning behind what he said. Bella then urged them to move, she wanted to do everything she could to help Shiv.


    ¡®17 children on their own for two days. Poor things. For now I must hunt, we need food. There might be someone among them who can cook¡¯


    Shiv walked into the forest in search of monsters he could hunt, he scouted the area and found a pack of wolves. Shiv was now a level 55 and so the wolfpack did not pose any threat. He dealt with them using a precise strike to their head, killing them in one hit. Shiv then dragged back the wolves so that children could skin them. He knew making children do such things were not right but he had to, he wanted the children to be mentally prepared for the future, even if they were NPCs.


    When he had finished gathering the wolves at the village center, the children had returned with 10 sacks of flour and sugar each. Shiv then asked them to skin, he had assumed that the children would refuse but instantly they took out their knives which they had hidden  somewhere and slowly started skinning.


    ¡®Wow, tough guys.¡¯


    ¡°Bella, do you have weapons stored anywhere here?¡±


    ¡°No, the goblins stole everything except these. These are knives from our kitchens. All that is left are arrows.¡±


    ¡°Arrows huh. Good. Bring them to me, and some ropes too¡±


    When Bella left to retrieve the arrows, Shiv turned to the children who had almost finished skinning the wolves.


    ¡°Agon¡± Shiv called out to the eldest boy among them. Agon came running to him.


    ¡°Agon do you know how to do curing?¡±


    ¡°Curing? Yes I do.¡±


    ¡°Good. I want you to prepare the salt brine needed to cure the meat. We don¡¯t have much food. I will be hunting once again. By the time I go onto the cave I will be taking half of the meat with me¡±. Agon nodded and left. After that, Shiv sat down on the ground. He had said that he would use an explosion to kill them, but it was not so simple. Even if he had two weeks to prepare, the explosion was not so easy. He did not know how deep the cave went. To make sure that he could use the explosion, he had inspected the cave the last time he and Bella had gone there.


    After Bella lured the goblins Shiv had finished them off instantly. He had then inspected the cave. The cave mouth was at the bottom of a small lump of soil. The earth there had a small curve protruding out from the ground level forming a small arc. It was a mud cave formed by the flow of a large amount of water, so the cave was not that strong.


    ¡®If I use explosion the cave mouth would collapse for sure. I can¡¯t fight against all of them either. So I have to take the risk. Maybe I should strengthen the area where the explosion would occur. That would increase my chance of escaping. Still?¡¯ Shiv was racking his brains for ideas. Had it been a forest like area like the time he fought the rabbits he could have devised a million plans. But the cave was tricky.


    ¡®All I can use inside the cave is stalactites on the cave roof. What else is there? Think think think¡¯ Shiv was so deep in his thoughts that he did not notice Bella standing near him.


    ¡°Shiv, I brought the arrows and ropes we had left. Where should I keep them?¡±


    ¡°How many arrows have you got?¡±


    ¡°Nearly 40, there are more in the warehouse.¡±


    ¡°Any bows?¡±


    ¡°The goblins broke most of them, I think only a handful will be useable¡±


    ¡°Good. Take those bows and distribute them to the eldest among the children. I will be showing them how to use a bow as self-defense¡±


    ¡°Ah! That will not be needed. Most of us know how to use bows, well theoretically at least¡±


    ¡°No can do. I want them to practice with a target. They will have to gather their own food once I get into the cave¡±


    ¡°I understand¡± Bella nodded lightly.


    ¡°Next I want you to bring me all the spades, axes and pickaxes you got. Take some of the children with you¡±


    ¡°Ok¡±. She replied eventhough there was confusion in her eyes.


    ¡°After that ask them to practice their archery, make sure there are no accidents¡±. Bella once again nodded and walked away.


    When he had finished with his requests, Shiv went to the forest to hunt down more wolves. He hunted down anything big enough to be made into food. Every now and then he would return back to the village to dump the meat and then would once again go to hunt. By the time he returned it was already night. The children were all sitting around a campfire eating small portions of meat. Shiv approached them and sat down. He was handed a piece of meat too.


    ¡°Bella, from tomorrow onwards we start our preparations for the infiltration. I will need all of you to help. I am going to get some sleep¡±


    ¡°Yes. Goodnight¡±


    ¡°Goodnight everyone¡±


    ---***---


    Next morning Shiv woke up to Bella¡¯s call.


    ¡°Shiv, everyone is ready. What should we do?¡±


    ¡°Yawn. I will be with you in a minute¡± Shiv got off from the tree he was sleeping on. He washed his face and then went towards the gathering. All of the children were waiting.


    ¡®13 days left. No more time to waste. We are eighteen in number including me. The youngest being 14 and the eldest 17. Bella is the only one who is 17 years old.¡¯


    ¡°We are going to carry all of the things I told you before to the front of the cave. Take your bows with you. Let us go, we have people to rescue¡±


    The 18 members marched towards the cave. Shiv scouted ahead to make sure the surroundings were safe. When they reached the cave there was just a single goblin guarding the place which Shiv took care of in seconds. Once the threat was put down Shiv entered the cave making the children wait outside. He had to find out a way to bring down the goblins. He carefully began inspecting the walls around him, feeling it with his hands.


    ¡®Mud, mud, mud. God is there nothing I could use?¡¯ Shiv looked up to the roof as if he was asking the Gods above for help. It was then his eyes caught something interesting.


    ¡®Hihihi. Gods truly do favor me¡¯ and he walked back out.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get started my friends. First we need to powder the sugar. The sugar will act as reserve in case of emergency. Second what we need to do is to dump all the flour into the cave so that the flour spreads throughout and gets deposited on the walls of the cave. We will be pouring flour for a length of 20 metres. Third I need wooden stakes, for that we will have to cut down two trees. Fourth I need a big hole 30 meters from the cave, inside it. It should be big enough for a person to fit, the person being me. Fifth I need 60cm deep and 60cm wide holes in the ground. Sixth I need the fastest among you to stand watch inside the cave. Run to me if you see any goblins. For now that would do. Who will do what is up to you. I will be digging the hole inside the cave. Those who are going to powder the sugar do it inside the forest, take your bows with you. That is all, disperse¡± picking up a pickaxe and spade, Shiv walked in.


    He stopped at the cave entrance and walked from there, measuring the distance he was covering. When he approximated that 30metres was covered, he put down the pickaxe and spade. He then approached the wall to his left and placed his hands to it.


    ¡°Water Bullet. Water bullet. Water bullet.¡± Casting the water spell was to weaken the wall and make the mud easy to dig out. Using the spade he began digging out the mud. This continued for hours. The child on watch was a little far from him, but within his vision. The boy was keenly watching out for any danger. Hours passed and Shiv called out to the boy and walked out of the cave. Some were working, some were resting. When they saw Shiv approaching they began to work immediately making Shiv smile.


    ¡°Guys, this is not some kind of training. Relax. I want you to finish the work in 6 days. You don¡¯t have to rush. Agon I want you to try hunting small animals, no wolves though. But get on top of a tree then use the bow to hunt the animal. Beware of snakes¡±


    Agon nodded at him and rushed into the forest with his bow and arrows. Shiv knew that Agon was still inexperienced but this was the best way to make him learn archery faster. He then asked everybody to gather and began having their lunch. Shiv finished the lunch in minutes and went back inside the cave. He stood watch for half an hour till the boy returned to take over. Then he continued his digging for another hour. Once completed, he informed the watch boy about it and exited the cave. By then Agon had returned with some fox corpses. Shiv then inspected the progress so far. Everything was going smoothly. He had finished his task so now he could help with the others. There were four more tasks to be completed and five and a half days left to finish it.


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


    Shiv began chopping down a tree for the purpose of making stakes. And thus the preparations continued. There were times when the watch boy would come running at max speed, Shiv would then go into the cave hiding in the shadows to inspect while the rest would hide. Sometimes there would be goblins and sometimes not. Whenever the goblins numbered less than 3, Shiv would take care of them instantly. If the numbers were higher he would use ¡®Kaze¡¯ to escape the cave and hide with the others as dealing with this many inside the small cave was nearly impossible. The goblins that came outside would then stand guard not minding the stakes, sugar and other materials. Seeing this Shiv and others concluded that the goblins were idiots.


    Once the goblins came out Shiv would attack them after he made the kids shoot a volley of arrows. Before the goblins could get back their wits, Shiv would deal with them with such precision that the kids would feel awe. 5 days passed like this and all the tasks were completed. Shiv then asked the children to return to the village except for Agon.


    ¡°Agon you will have to stay with me for a little more time. I have a dangerous job for you. There is nobody else I can rely on. I cannot guarantee your safety either. Will you help?¡±


    ¡°Of course big brother. It is a man¡¯s duty to protect¡±. This impressed Shiv. For Shiv, Agon was now a man.


    ¡°Well said Agon. We are going to set up a trap. For that I need a thick wooden plank and three wooden pillars. Do you have any at the village or should we make new ones?¡±


    ¡°We have those at the village. Maybe we can find them in one of the ruined houses¡±


    ¡°Good. Let us go. No more time to waste¡± and the two set off for the village. They began searching in all the ruined houses and once they got what they required they went back to the cave. Shiv then stood in front of the cave and used water magic to soften the earth. Then he stamped the three wooden pillars in to the earth, one in the middle and two at each of the ends of the cave mouth. He then softened the earth which was above the cave mouth using water magic on it and then pressed the wooden plank into the soft earth. The plank went 6cm deep into the mud. The wooden plank then was supported by the three wooden pillars. It now looked like a table with three legs. The next thing to do was place the sacks of sugar on the plank. Shiv began to carefully place the sacks on the plank. He could only place 4 sacks. The remaining sugar sacks were kept inside the cave.


    ¡°Agon I have tied ropes to each of the pillar. I want you to hold on to this and then hide in one of those bushes or the tree. Pull this when you see more than 5 goblins coming out. Remember only if there are more than five. Also if just one or two goblin comes out make some noise to lure them out.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡±


    ¡°You do have the bow and arrow with you right?¡±


    ¡°I do big brother¡±


    ¡°Do not forget. We need fire. I will be casting a fire spell to but I need you as a backup. Now go¡±


    After Agon hid himself with the other end of the rope Shiv carried all the pickaxe and spades along with the some meat and hid it inside the hole in the cave. Shiv then hid himself in the hole and waited for goblins to come.


    Hours passed, Shiv waited. When more than 3 hours passed two goblins passed Shiv. They were going towards the cave mouth.


    ¡®The next guards eh. This is the most dangerous. If I don¡¯t get this right it is all over.¡¯ Shiv had made the children cover 20 meters of the cave with flour. What he had done next was to narrow the cave where the flour coating ended. The cave mouth was wide enough to let only one person to enter or exit. Shiv did the same thing with the other 20 meter end. He had made a bottleneck at both sides of the 20 meter long flour coated cave. This was all for his plan to succeed. He was not sure if this would work. It was all a gamble.


    The two goblins were now outside the cave and were busy with their stupidity.  Agon then made some sounds to attract the goblin. The stupid goblin fell for it and began walking forward. Shiv wanted this. He had made holes around the cave mouth and had planted stakes in those holes. These holes were then covered with leaves to hide them from the goblins. Thus when the goblins walked forward, the two of them stepped into these holes thus stepping on the very sharp stakes. The stakes pierced the bare feet of the goblins, making them scream.


    ¡®Ah! Phase 1 success. Now let those idiots rush out¡¯, just like Shiv had expected the goblin army rushed to help their comrades. There were too many of them, but could not get out of the cave because of the two bottlenecks. The 20 meter long chamber in the cave got filled easily. The goblin footsteps disturbed the flour which were on the walls and floor. The bottleneck which were the same height and width of a goblin caused the air inside to build pressure little by little. Shiv waited, he wanted at least a 100 goblins to get out of the cave and at least  200 to be inside the 20 meter chamber. He could not count but he waited. When he felt the number of goblins passing him decreasing, he used the chains of time to slow time. Then activating Kaze he moved towards the bottleneck. Once near he used a fireball and directed it towards the sack of sugar inside the tunnel and rushed back deep into the tunnel.


    At the same time Agon had pulled the three ropes causing the wooden plank to fall down thus releasing the sugar powder on the goblins outside the cave. Agon then used the bow to fire a fire arrow towards the cave. By some luck, Shiv¡¯s fireball and Agon¡¯s fire arrow hit the cave at the same time. With this all the conditions for a dust explosion were met.


    Dust explosion is the fast combustion of dust particles in a confined area. There were 5 conditions that had to be met for dust combustion to take place. They being: a fire source, fuel, oxygen, correct concentration, confined area.


    In the case of Shiv¡¯s cave, the first 4 conditions were satisfied. But for the fifth, it was not possible. Shiv had been thinking for days to solve the problem and finally came up with one. He made a tunnel inside the cave, with one end being the cave mouth and the other end was made into a bottle neck. This decreased the area but did not make the tunnel a confined space. The solution he came up with was simple. Wind barrier. That was the solution he had come up with. Casting wind barrier at both the ends would make the tunnel a truly confined space. The barrier was not too strong thus letting goblins pass easily but keeping the air confined. Thus the fifth condition was now satisfied.


    After casting the fire ball Shiv had returned to the hole he had dug up earlier and used earth magic to cover the hole, while Agon had run away with all his might. Once the fireball and fire arrow entered the tunnel a chain reaction was set into motion. The dust particles which were suspended in the air caught fire due to the fire source and paved way to a huge explosion.


    ¡®Sugar and flour are highly inflammable. The finer the particles the more they burn. Have a blast¡¯


    ¡®Bang¡¯ and thus began the explosion inside the tunnel. The sugar and flour particles exploded, it was like the tunnel was filled with gunpowder and explosives. The huge explosion inside the tunnel sent fire outwards. The fire from the outside acted as a source for the sugar that was dispersed outside the cave by Agon to catch fire too. The goblins covered in sugar were now on fire. The rapid combustion burned everything near it. In minutes the fire died out as it ran out of flour and sugar particles. Shiv waited inside the hole for a while to let his mana build up. He had been continuously using water to cool down the earth around him and earth magic to solidify the earth.


    He waited for 15 minutes. Slowly getting out of the hole on the wall with his sword and dagger equipped he looked around. The moment he stepped out he felt nausea. There was the smell of burnt meat everywhere. When he looked around, the roof had collapsed covering the bodies. He was kind of relieved as he did not have to see the bodies. The collapsed roof was a concern for him too in the beginning. This was another problem he had no idea of how to deal with. For solving this he had inspected the cave a second time. It was then he had asked for god¡¯s help. As if answering his prayers god had showed him something on the roof. The thing he saw were roots. Not big and thick roots, but the thin, very thin roots. Roots of plants which had just born into the earth. When he saw those roots he understood that if the roof collapsed, he did not have to worry about getting out. The entire roof was down and light was falling upon him. He smiled, a smile of satisfaction. He was sure that 90% of the enemy had fallen, gaining 10 levels (8 lvls from exp and 2 lvls from the sword) from all the killing.


    ¡®Phase 2 complete. Now to hunt the rest¡¯


    There were just 30 goblins left and he had 7 days left. Gripping his sword and dagger Shiv rushed forward determined to exterminate the entire goblin population in a day.


    ---***---


    (Sorry for not posting a chapter yesterday. i was busy with figuring out ways to make the dust explosion possible in that scenario. and was bus with reading a manga "eyeshield 21")


    Any ways enjoy guys. give me your comments, rate my ff, follow and hit favourites. have fun


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 3: A broken promise(proofread)

    proofread by Daylius


    CHAPTER 17


    A broken promise


    Year 2040


    London


    Feb 20, Monday, 11am


    A quest is directly related to a rumor. That is an undeniable law in the world of MMORPG games, virtual or not. The same law applies to Dragon Lore. Every time somebody succeeds a quest a rumor starts to spread, every time when a quest fails a rumor spreads too. Thus quests and rumor are like two sides of the same coin, always together but never the same.


    The same thing also happened with Ryu or Shiv, but the rumors did not spread until he set his foot on the Bredon Kingdom. When he had received the Oberon¡¯s blessing, when he got the chains of time or the black dragon or the hidden class there was no rumor of the so called Oberon¡¯s child. One would wonder why there was such a situation where the undeniable law or quest and rumor was broken.


    ¡°The answer is simple¡± Allen Perez, CEO of Phoenix Enterprises spoke. The man was in a meeting with the heads of different departments of his company.


    ¡°This so called Shiv was not part of the Orrinshire world, he was beyond that, he was in Draklake, the garden of the Gods. Is it not understandable that if a being does not exist then rumors does not exist either? This player was in Draklake so rumors spread in Draklake, that is all¡±


    ¡°Then why is it spreading now in Valmoor continent?¡± asked one of those who had gathered.


    ¡°Because he is now in Bredon Kingdom which is a part of Valmoor continent. The problem is not the spread of the rumor. The problem is this event is not supposed to have been triggered so early, it is too early. Nobody is supposed to have access to Draklake unless a dragon agrees to take the player personally to the village, which is supposed to be a reward of a SSS rank chain quest. That boy can change the entire world with his will. He has more power than us. I want you to find out the reason as to why did that boy reach there and how was he able to get the blessing, the chain of time, the black dragon sword and even the goddam class. Get out¡±


    Allen was furious. An event that was supposed to happen only after a year had been unlocked on the first day of the release.


    ¡®What is that AI thinking? I should not have given it the ability to judge people and act accordingly¡¯


    The AI of Dragon Lore named DAI (Dragon AI) had the ability to read peoples brain waves to understand players need, desires, character, abilities, physical prowess, intelligence and many other things. Sometimes, if the AI found the player interesting, it would give the player a little advantage in the beginning of the game. That was what happened with Ryu. The AI saw the boys desire to be free, the desire to be above all, his abilities, his pain. Emotions were something the AI too had, and the emotion it had towards Ryu was not pity but care. So when Ryu had asked to send him to a random location, DAI without hesitation had send the boy to Draklake, a village that DL (Dragon Lore) fans would call Shangri la.


    ¡°Stupid AI¡± cursed the CEO. ¡°Yuki, find out the details about the boy, everything about him and try contacting him¡± he ordered his secretary, a beautiful Japanese woman.


    ¡°I am afraid we can¡¯t Sir¡±


    ¡°Why is that my lovely secretary?¡±


    ¡°His is the next King Sir¡±


    ¡°King? What just because he got a tattoo and sword you think that makes him King of Dragon Lore? Don¡¯t joke around Yuki¡±


    ¡°I did not mean that Sir, he is the heir to Yasahiro Industries¡±


    Allen froze. He now understood what his secretary had meant by King. The Yasahiro industries were powerful, powerful enough to cause earthquakes in even America. There was only one King in the world now, and that was Isamu Yasahiro, powerful, cunning and if time calls for it, brutal too.


    ¡°Contact the Yasahiro Industries. Request for a meeting with the boy and Yuki¡±


    ¡°Sir?¡±


    ¡°Release the Jabberwocky¡±


    This time it was Yuki who froze.


    ---***---


    ¡®10 levels! Sweet. That makes me lvl 60¡¯ Shiv was happy about the increase in levels. The explosion had earned him a lot of exp. He left the bonus stats point unassigned and decided to take down the remaining goblins. He had been running at his max speed. Every time he came across goblins he would stop and hide. This was to understand how many goblins were there and to come up the most efficient way to deal with them. With his increase in level, a single hit was now enough to deal with the goblins. Every time he would activate ¡®Kaze¡¯ and ¡®Hono¡¯ to instantly take care of the goblins. He had dealt with 15 of them so far. After dealing with the goblins he began running deeper into the cave, and in one such occurrence Shiv came across another goblin. But this one was different from the rest, its skin color was not as dark as the previous ones. It had horns on its head and was much bigger, almost twice Shiv¡¯s height.


    ¡®He is strong. May be a lvl 50 but not strong enough to be a boss monster. Goblin general may be? Let¡¯s see, he has a two handed axe huh. So the strength type. Probably will have high health and defense, low agility. Armor throughout the body except for back of the neck and his arms. The head guard is thick only his eyes are unprotected. That is some armor, I will have to move fast¡¯ gauging his enemy he moved forward.


    ¡°Kaze, Hono, Wind scythe (wind magic)¡±   activating three skills Shiv moved towards the goblin general. Instead of going for the back or the neck Shiv appeared in front of the general and using the arrows he had in his hand he stabbed both the legs of the general at the same time. This was to decrease the general¡¯s movement is what a normal person would think. But to a martial artist the scenario changes. When a martial artist or a normal person tries to perform an action like punching, the power that generates in his hands starts from the legs. The power starts from the leg travelling and building up throughout the body and finally reaches at the hands to produce a powerful punch. A punch which does not use the legs is not even half as powerful as a full body punch.


    Shiv¡¯s motive was simple. Limit the goblins leg and there by killing the power behind the general¡¯s attacks. And it worked wonderfully. The general lifted its axe to swing but the swing would not come. The generals upper body was unable to handle the weight of the huge axe and thus unable to use it. The general was surprised, his legs collapsed under the weight of the battle axe. During the confusion, Shiv lunged towards the general who was on his knees. With another two arrows in his hands he stabbed the two eyes of the goblin with all his might during his lunge forward. The arrows bore through the general¡¯s eyes rendering him blind. This became a routine for Shiv, if the enemy was stronger. ¡¯Blind them and they will fall¡¯ was what Shiv thought and it was true. The blinded general became an easy prey. It only took Shiv 10 minutes to cut down the monster.


    Once the hunt was over Shiv took time to rest and regain his stamina and satiety. He knew that he had 7 days left so he took it easy. And so the rescue mission continued. The cave was a single road with no branches which made it easy for Shiv. Had it been one with several branching Shiv was sure that he would have got lost in seconds. It took Shiv another couple of hours of running to reach the place where the villagers were held captive.


    The villager were held captive in a large circular hall with them chained to the walls. Half of the villagers were crying half were on the ground. At the center of the huge hall was a gigantic throne made from human skulls, partially completed. A huge sword was pierced into the ground like it was some sort of Excalibur. Sitting on the throne was a monster, easily the size of a 2 storey building and as fat as a couple of elephants together. He like the general before were of different color, red. A red goblin monster sat on the throne with a sword in front of him. A body covered with armor throughout except for the back of the legs to allow movement. A true boss monster, goblin king.


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me. Those skulls were from human sacrifice? You killed humans to make a fucking throne?¡¯ rage was building up. Shiv looked at the hostages more carefully. His legs lost all its strength, tears rolled out. The bodies which were lying on the ground were all headless with blood flowing around them.


    ¡®I was late. I was sleeping and playing around when people were being killed. Unforgivable, I will slaughter you. I will show you pain¡¯ a dark aura began to form around Shiv, his eyes bloodshot. He took out his black sword which too was now covered in the same red aura.


    ¡°I will slaughter you!¡± shouting he ran, concentrating all the red aura into his sword. Detecting the sudden movement the huge goblin lifted his sword and waited for Shiv to attack. The goblin king¡¯s eyes were focused on Shiv but then suddenly Shiv disappeared. The king was shocked. He did not expect the human to disappear. Keeping his guard up the king searched the surroundings for any sign of the enemy. It was like lighting that Shiv suddenly appeared in front of the King¡¯s face with the black dragon ready to strike. The goblin king though surprised used all its strength to block the oncoming attack and was partially successful.


    Shiv had used Kaze to disappear from the king¡¯s vision then had used the leg armor of the king as footing to jump towards the king¡¯s face. With the sword clad in red aura and Shiv clad in the yellow aura from Hono Shiv swung his sword at the king¡¯s face. The goblin king had barely parried it and so reduced the damage it received.


    The slash gave a small cut on the goblin king¡¯s face near to its right eye. Shiv had intended to blind at least one eye of the goblin king but failed.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> New skill unlocked: Blood Aura</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> A dark red aura born from the lust for blood and revenge.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.Your anger and hatred towards the goblin king has brought forth a hunger for revenge.


    +5 AGI, STR, STA


    +20% attack damage


    +5% defense


    Duration: 3min


    Mana consumption- 300


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv did not even bother to go through the new skill window. Closing it he once again used Kaze to disappear, equipping the bow he shot all the arrows he could at the goblin king¡¯s face. But the sword was ready to block the arrows too. Only a couple of arrows managed to find its target but none of them hit the eyes at all. Once the volley of arrows ended the goblin king ran towards Shiv. For its huge size it was fast and agile. Not wasting time Shiv took out his dagger and sword and ran towards the goblin king.


    The goblin king swung the axe vertically down at his enemy. Shiv rolled forward to avoid it and rolled in between the goblin king¡¯s legs. With this Shiv was behind the goblin king. Using his dagger his stabbed the goblin king behind the knee and slashed it as hard as he could. the goblin king roared and yanked his leg backwards sending Shiv flying.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have taken 200 damage</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The hit drained Shiv more than half of his health, blood was now dripping from his head. The impact had made him let go off his dagger but he somehow managed to hold onto the sword. Shiv got up and then activated three skills at the same time depleting his mana source.


    ¡°Kaze, Hono, Blood Aura¡± bolted towards the goblin king. This time instead of aiming for the back Shiv targeted the hands of the goblin. All three skills being activated at the same time increased the attack damage tremendously. The goblin king¡¯s swings were slow and easily dodged by Shiv. Shiv did not even think about parrying the blows, it was impossible for him. The axe was swung three times. On the third time just before the axe reached Shiv, he used chains of time to slow down time. This gave him more time to cut down the hand. Holding the sword directly above his head Shiv brought down the sword with tremendous strength, his years of kendo practice aiding his move. The sword came down clean, beautifully. It was as if the air was being cut into two.


    ¡®Slash¡¯ and off came the thick right hand of the goblin king. The pain caused it to roar, a deafening roar. Shiv had already moved back sensing the danger, but it was futile. The roar caused something Shiv had not foreseen.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have been affected by the Goblin king¡¯s roar: You have been paralyzed


    Duration: 30sec</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv¡¯s eyes widened. Paralysis was not something he had expected. Even though 30sec was a short amount of time, it was enough for the goblin king to kill Shiv. Unable to move Shiv gazed at the goblin king and then at the people who were crying. A horrible thought crossed Shiv¡¯s mind at that time. All those who were crying being beheaded, Shiv¡¯s mind was imagining such a brutal scene.


    ¡°Move, move you stupid body. I promised, I promised Bella I would protect everyone. Move.  Please god. Move¡± Shiv was crying and screaming. Losing one¡¯s parents is a pain Shiv did not want another person to feel be it a real person or a NPC. With all his might he tried to move. The goblin king was limping towards Shiv with his left hand raised, ready to squash Shiv. Shiv¡¯s earlier stab to the leg had slowed down the goblin king but that was not enough to buy him time to escape. Shiv was cursing, cursing himself for being so weak, so useless. He stared at the approaching nemesis eyes with hate and anger.


    ¡°I will come back for you, I will hunt you down till all eternity. In the name of Maheswara I will dance on your dead corpse one day¡± Shiv yelled. The goblin king smirked at Shiv. It was then something happened.


    The goblin king stopped running and howled with pain. It was then he noticed that a man was standing next to the goblin king. On his hand was the dagger which Shiv had lost a while go. The dagger had landed near the man who had used it to escape from his binding. And now he had stabbed the goblin kings legs from behind.  The man was a thin tall man who himself was shivering.


    ¡°Hey boy. Take care of my daughter for me will you?¡± said the man tears running down his pale cheeks and yet he had a smile on his face.


    ¡®Eh? Daughter?¡¯ Shiv looked at the person with the dagger in his hands and then at the goblin king. The goblin king kicked the man with his foot making the man fly towards the nearby wall.


    ¡°No no. leave him alone you mongrel. I am right here. Come at me you sh*t head, not him, not Bella¡¯s father¡± Shiv screamed as he watched the goblin king reach for the man and picking the man up in his hands. Then with left hand, the goblin king squished the man as if it was some bug. Blood sprayed out from the gaps between the fingers, the man could not even scream. The goblin opened its arms and began licking its hands. At that moment Shiv snapped. The moment he snapped, his paralysis wore off too.


    ¡°Hey meat sack¡± Shiv called out to the goblin monster. The goblin king looked at Shiv, with delightful eyes, happy to have caused pain to his enemy. It began laughing as if it was watching something funny going around and then looked at Shiv and began to lick its hand again. It was smiling, with its eyes focused on Shiv.


    ¡®Swoosh¡¯ that was all the goblin king heard and his left hand slid down from the elbow. A perfect clean cut. It was instantaneous.  The goblin king did not feel any pain due to the speed by which the hand was cut. The next thing that happened was something beyond the previous. The goblin felt the world around it slow down, it felt itself slowing down like being bound by chains. It began to panic. First time since the fight had begun, fear crept into its heart. It looked at Shiv, the boy was walking towards it slowly, eyes fixed on it.


    The goblin king looked into Shiv¡¯s eyes just for an instant. That very instant was enough. The goblin king began walking backwards, a strange fear was making it take step backwards.


    ¡°So now you want to run away. After killing people for your stupid entertainment, now you want to walk away. You think cutting down two hand is a pain? No, not at all. Pain is something you will know shortly.¡± And again Shiv disappeared. The goblin did not feel anything. It was confused as to why it had suddenly lost its balance. It fell down to the ground. When it tried to stand up on its legs, it felt strong pain on its right leg. When it looked at its leg, the right leg was missing its feet.


    The goblin no longer tried to move, fear clouded all its senses. It could only see one thing and that was a ¡®god of death¡¯.


    ---***---


    Bella and the other children were waiting at their houses for the return of Shiv along with the villagers. A day had passed since Shiv had entered the cave to rescue the others. Bella was happy that she could meet her father again. Her father was the village chief. Her mother had died when Bella was young, so for Bella he father was everything.


    ¡®I must make something good for my father when he returns¡¯ Bella was thinking while preparing food for the other children when she heard the children crying. Grabbing the kitchen knife she rushed out. Outside the house there were people, the villagers. The children were hugging their parents and crying, the villagers too were crying. Bella had tears, tears of happiness as she could finally meet her father. She ran towards the crowd searching for her father. When the villagers saw her, everybody looked down avoiding eye contact, nobody had the courage to tell her the truth.


    ¡°Father? Where are you father? It¡¯s Bella. Where are you?¡± she yelled. No reply came to her calling.


    ¡°Father don¡¯t be quiet. Say something. Father¡± She called for her father again. Her knees were shaking for some reason.


    ¡°Bella¡±


    ¡°Shiv, you brought the villagers back. Have you seen my father? He is the village chief¡±


    Shiv then took a necklace from his pocket and placed it on Bella¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Why do have mothers necklace with you? It is father¡¯s treasure. I must give it back to him. Tell me where he is already¡±


    ¡°That is all that is left him Bella¡± Shiv whispered.


    ¡°Eh? Don¡¯t lie to me Shiv, I know he is somewhere here. Father? Father?¡± she called for him again.


    ¡°I am sorry Bella, I am sorry. I could not¡­¡±Shiv¡¯s voice failed him, he was crying, his heart in pain. Bella did not speak, she froze.


    ¡®Slap¡¯, ¡®Slap¡¯, ¡®Slap¡¯


    Shiv was slapped continuously by Bella. The girl was emotionless.


    ¡°You promised that you would protect them. You promised that you would return them¡±


    ¡°I am sorry. I could not keep my promise¡±


    It was then that tears started to run down Bella¡¯s fair cheeks, he knees gave up and she fell onto Shiv¡¯s chest. And she cried and cried till the tears of her heart could no longer come out.


    The boy who had promised and the girl who had believed the promise stood there with their hearts shattered like  Castles of Glass.


    ---***---


    (I don''t know whether you guys will like the drama. but i want to write a ff which has drama as well as action. so enjoy)


    Pls rate my ff. Give me your review. Have fun


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 4: Happenings(proofread)

    proofread by Daylius


    Chapter 18


    Rebuilding the village


    ¡®Hah! I could not bring back her dad¡¯. Shiv was lying down under the shade of a huge tree just outside the village premises. He did not want to be with them, it reminded him of his failure and a crying Bella.


    ¡®They are just a computer program yet why is it that it hurts so much¡¯ for a person who had lost his father, Shiv could very well understand the pain Bella felt. ¡®This is too realistic. Do they have emotions as well?¡¯ Shiv was deep in his thoughts, his eyes closed.


    A day had passed since the chief of the village had sacrificed his life to protect Shiv. A scene Shiv did not want to remember. To distract his mind Shiv opened his stats bar.


    ¡°Open Stats bar¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>STATS WINDOW</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Character Name</td><td width="25%">Shiv</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Oberon</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Race: Draman(demi human)[/tds]</tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">65</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">Grand Commoner</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Fame</td><td width="25%">100</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Health: 1760</td><td colspan=''2''>Mana: 1500</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Strength: 90+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Agility:93+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Stamina: 80+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Vitality: 83+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Wisdom: 70+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Intelligence: 76+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Luck: 10+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Perseverance: 19+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Offence:86</td><td colspan=''2''>Defense: 0</td></tr><tr>[td4]Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Wind: 1%


    Fire: 1%


    Water: 1%


    Earth: 1%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinity</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Wind: 1%


    Fire: 1%


    Water: 1%


    Earth: 1%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skills</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Dragon''s Roar- Beginner Level 1


    Heavenly Element Sword Technique- Beginner Level 3


    Heavenly Element Form 1 Kaze- Beginner Level 5


    Heavenly Element Form 2 Hono- Beginner Level 5


    Magic mastery- Beginner Level 3


    Water mastery- Beginner Level 4


    Earth mastery- Beginner Level 4


    Wind mastery- Beginner Level 4


    Fire mastery- Beginner Level 4


    Identification- Beginner Level 1


    Presence detection- Beginner Level 2


    Blood aura- Beginner Level 1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Quirks</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Acrobatics</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°So every point I assign to vitality increases my HP by 20, similarly mana increases by 20 for every point of wisdom. Even though my stats are off chart for a normal lvl 65 player, I am still weak. Sigh¡± Shiv once again closed his eyes trying to figure what to do next once he leaves the village. He was considering going to the capital of Bredon Kingdom.


    ¡°What are you thinking lying down alone?¡±


    Shiv was startled to the sudden voice. He got up and looked at the one who had just talked to him. His face became to pale when he saw that it was Bella who had spoken.


    ¡°Why are you here Bella?¡± Shiv asked without making eye contact with the young girls. Guilt struck his heart, he was unable to look at the girl who he had failed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t come here?¡± asked Bella, still grief stricken.


    ¡°Of course you can. You can sit here. Then I will be going¡± rising up Shiv began to walk away.


    ¡°Why are you running away from me Shiv?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± there was nothing the boy could say, he flinched.


    ¡°Do you plan to leave me here alone?¡±


    ¡°You are not alone. You have got people here¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Is that why you have been avoiding me? Do you feel responsible for my father¡¯s death?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry. I am sorry¡± was all he managed to come up with. His guilty heart could not endure the pain.


    ¡°If you are sorry then take responsibility. Look after the village of my father. Look after us. That is your punishment¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Shiv turned back and looked at the girl for the first time after the incident.


    ¡°Become the new chief of the village Shiv. Inherit my father¡¯s will¡±


    ¡°I cannot Bella. That is not someone like me should inherit. It is yours¡±


    ¡°Mine? You want a fragile girl like me to run a village? Are you going to abandon me after making me an orphan?¡±


    The word orphan struck his heart like a dagger. His body trembled. It was then Shiv recalled the late chief¡¯s final wish ¡®Hey boy. Take care of my daughter for me will you?¡¯. Shiv walked forward, closing in on a crying Bella. His eyes no longer had guilt or dismay. There was no longer fear or doubt, the boy had found his path to retribution. The girl looked into the boy¡¯s golden brown eyes and smiled weakly. To her surprise she was hugged. His right hand on her head patting it gently.


    ¡°You are not an orphan, you have me Bella. I will be your family, I will be your brother. And I will protect you and the village you hold dear¡±


    The girl smiled once again, her heart now had a ray of hope, a touch of love. She cried silently on her brother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I understand brother.¡±


    [align=center]---***---


    That evening, all the surviving members of the village was gathered. They stood at the village center square not knowing why they have been summoned. A young girl and another young boy were standing before them.


    ¡°My people! I know you are busy with sorting out things between you family but the matter I have to discuss is much important. Our village has been destroyed and we as of now are unable to survive.¡± The villagers nodded, it was a fact after all. The current state was a path to demise.


    ¡°For us to get back on our feet we need to rebuild everything from scratch. We have to bring back life to things that were destroyed. As my father would have wanted I want the village to prosper once again. But for that to happen, we must choose a new chief. I cannot take the position of a chief as I am too young and inexperienced. Does anyone wish to take over?¡±


    There were chattering that could be here and there, but none were brave enough to come forward. They were not neither ambitious nor brave enough to bear the responsibilities of a chief.


    ¡°Then I would like to nominate the next chief. I wish the hero of our village to become the next chief¡±. This again caused some disturbance among the crowd. Some liked the idea while some were against it.


    ¡°How can an outsider become the chief? Preposterous¡± said a man who was in his middle 40s.


    ¡°Preposterous? May I ask you why you not thought it preposterous when the same man risked his life to rescue you?¡± the man was silenced instantly. It was then Shiv talked,


    ¡°It¡¯s ok Bella. They will be troubled by this sudden decision. For now let us stop the election of a new chief here and concentrate on the rebuilding of the village. I will help out too. If, by the  time the rebuilding finished, the villagers feels that I am worthy to be a chief then I will take over as the chief. Is that not better?¡±


    ¡°Very well brother¡± another uproar was caused when Bella addressed Shiv as brother. ¡°Oh I forgot to mention. Today onwards I will be his little sister it seems¡± said Bella with a smile, one of the best smile she had ever had. There was no opposition from the people.


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: THE NEW VILLAGE CHIEF</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have been nominated as the next village chief by Bella. But some of the villagers are not really happy with the decision. Change their hearts by the time the village is rebuilt.


    Days required to rebuilt: till the village is rebuilt


    Difficulty : E


    Requirements: Bella¡¯s support


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    New village chief


    Maximum intimacy with villagers


    2000contribution points


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. if you are unable to gain everybody¡¯s acceptance. (29/78)


    Failure will reset all intimacy with Bella. You will be banned from the village.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®So 29 are with me and the rest against. This is going to be tough¡¯


    ¡°Bella and Agon come with me please¡± Shiv called out. The two followed Shiv closely. When they were pretty much away from the crowd Shiv began talking.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°I need to know more about the village. About the economy, about the resources available, about trade and all and mainly what all buildings the village had before¡±


    ¡°Well, the village was not that big to begin with so there was not much. But we had all that was needed. Our village has farms for food and there is a nearby stream for water. We have a mine north of here for metals. For wood we have the forest. Normally we do not do trades as ours is hidden village, but for the purpose of producing revenue we sell things at other villages. So that pretty much are our resources. There are no soldiers as we defend ourselves. Four people take turns to stand on watch.¡± Bella said.


    ¡°So that was the reason why your village fell so easily to the goblins eh. Once we have completed the rebuilding we will have to train the men. That means we will need a training hall. To fight we will need weapons and so for that we will need a smithy.¡±


    ¡°We have a smithy here. We have tailors, hunters, herbalists, farmers, blacksmiths and masons¡± replied Agon.


    ¡°Bella how many houses do we have now?¡±


    ¡°Currently we have 17. We used to have 31 before.¡±


    ¡°So almost half was destroyed. What about the warehouse and granary?¡±


    ¡°We have them too. By god¡¯s grace they are still intact.¡±


    ¡°Hmm I see. Bella I want you to gather the head of each profession here as soon as possible¡±


    ¡°Yes brother¡± and Bella ran away to the village.


    ¡°Agon don¡¯t you have a school? Or library?¡±


    ¡°Why do we need those? They are of no use¡± the reply was fast.


    ¡°Is that so. I see¡± Shiv was now thinking about ways to improve.


    ¡®So for now we need to rebuild the houses. We need to repair the smithy and other shops. Since the granary is intact farming will be the main source for food. Then next is a training hall. It is going to be tough¡¯


    ---***---


    ¡°Hello everyone who has gathered here. I have asked you to come here so that we could talk about the rebuilding plans for the village.¡± Shiv addressed the gathering


    ¡°Why do we have to listen to you?¡± was what some of them asked.


    ¡°The answer for that question is simple. The next time somebody attacks you, you will be much more prepared. Or do you wish to be slaughtered?¡± it was Bella who replied. She did not like the attitude of the people towards the one who had rescued them.


    ¡°Now now Bella. Don¡¯t get so angry. So gentlemen and ladies shall we?¡±


    Everybody present there nodded. A total of 9 were gathered there. Norn the blacksmith, Blina the herbalist, Lylda the huntress, Rihthor the tailor, Ames the mason and Gery the farmer. The other three were Shiv, Bella and Agon.


    ¡°I will come to the point directly. I want to build a couple of new things in the village. A training hall and a school¡±


    ¡°Training hall and school? Why do we need them?¡± the same question as Agon had asked them.


    ¡°Sigh! Listen people. Without a training hall how can we produce people capable to protect the village? Do you think soldiers are born from air or something?¡± Shiv¡¯s voice raised. He was getting angry at them. ¡±And the school. We are going to open up the village for others and turn the village into an educational spot. That will earn us more money and more people¡±


    ¡°Open the village to the others? What nonsense are you spouting? We have remained hidden for centuries and we take pride in that fact¡±


    ¡°Oh I see. So you don¡¯t mind your children dying for your stupid pride. I understand, you value your village¡¯s pride more than your own family¡¯s life. Very well. I am sorry I did not know that you disliked your family so much.¡± The 6 who were being addressed had cold sweats. All of them had been captured by the goblin along with their family. They had seen people being villagers, they had seen the relatives of those who were beheaded crying, screaming.


    ¡°We agree. We agree¡± they surrendered, their memories haunted them.


    ¡°Good. We will be setting up shops of each profession except for the smithy. The outsiders will be allowed to trade in those shops. For now we will only be selling things as we lack revenue to buy products. The next thing is we will send some of our children to the neighboring town so that they can learn new profession. Doing so will help us improve our village. We will have to build an office for the chief and we will be collecting tax for the purpose of improving the village. The tax amount will be set to a very low amount for now. That is all¡±


    ¡°These things are new to us? How do you know these?¡±


    ¡°The place where I come from has these kind of things. So what do you say? Shall we start rebuilding? It is going to be hard¡±


    ¡°Fine. Let us begin in a day.¡±


    ¡°Ames, can you prepare the blueprints for the buildings I mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Very well. Then I shall have my leave¡± Ames then left.


    ¡°That is all for now. Then you may leave¡±


    After everybody left Shiv and Bella remained.


    ¡°Brother? Are you going to be all right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Bella. Everything will be fine. For now let us focus on rebuilding the village.¡±


    ¡°Where do you plan to sleep?¡±


    ¡°Just like always, on a tree branch.¡± Shiv replied with a smile.


    ¡°No can do. You will sleep in our house. If you don¡¯t listen to me then I won¡¯t talk to you ever¡± Bella pouted.


    ¡°Fine fine¡± Shiv surrendered with a smile. Bella reminded him of Mia, both where stubborn as hell. They both then walked towards their new house, with a smiling Bella leading the way.


    ---***---


    Somewhere in the forest near the village, a young girl was walking aimlessly. She had been walking for days in search for a village so that she could restock her supplies and repair her weapons. The girl was coming from the neighboring kingdom of Han intending to go to the Bredon capital city. On her way to Bredon she was robbed by bandits and left astray in the forest. It had been 2 days since she had been robbed. Luckily she had some food and water left with her which let her wander around the forest. Cursing her luck she moved forward.


    ¡°Do not move? Who goes there?¡± Agon shouted. He had been on watch for that night. He was sharp and so any movement caught his eyes. He shouted again. ¡°Who goes there? What do you want?¡±


    The girl replied ¡°Water, I need water, please¡± and then fainted.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    London


    Feb 21, Tuesday, 3pm


    ¡°Sir, we were denied permission to meet Ryu Yasahiro. It seems there was an attempt to his life and so he is now under protection¡± Yuki informed her boss.


    ¡°Dammit. First that stupid AI and now this boy. Why is life so hard?¡± Allen was sulking.


    ¡°But we have information about the boy¡¯s location¡±


    Allen¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Incheon, South Korea¡±.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Tokyo


    Feb 21, Tuesday


    ¡°Welcome Mr. Brian Woltale. Thank you for joining our show. It is a pleasure to have met you¡± reporter Nagi Kinoshita said with a smile.


    ¡°The pleasure is all mine Miss Nagi¡± beamed Brian.


    ¡°It is not often that we get a celebrity like you. Well! Let me introduce you to those watching the show. You all would be familiar with the latest sensation of the era, Dragon Lore. I know you are, everybody in the world is. So this young man here is the one who has topped the leader table from the very start. Let me introduce you to Adrian, the apostle of light¡±


    When this was being said Brian Woltale was overjoyed. ¡®I will find you soon Ryu Yasahiro¡¯ was what his mind was whispering.


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 5: Non-combat skills(proofread)

    proofread by Daylius


    ¡°Brother why are you staring at the girl like that? Are you perhaps having some indecent thoughts?¡± Bella asked her brother slightly annoyed.


    ¡°Not at all Bella. Don¡¯t you trust your brother?¡± Shiv retorted back, slightly hurt. Well he could not blame the girl for that. In front of the duo another girl was sleeping on the bed, her clothes revealed a little too much of her skin, white thighs and ample cleavage enough to make men drool.


    ¡°For some reason I cannot trust you on this matter. All men are the same when it comes to this kind of thing¡± replied Bella pouting.


    ¡°My god. Such cold words for your own brother, I am hurt¡± Shiv made a crying face.


    The two were in such a heated conversation that they did not notice the girl in the bed waking up. The girl opened her eyes and looked around. The first thing she noticed was the long black hair of Shiv. They appeared soft and silky. When Shiv turned towards her, she saw his eyes, the beautiful golden brown color of his eyes made her gasp. She could not take her eyes away, the eyes had such power, yet they were warm and beautiful. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on his smiling face. While she was mesmerized by the sight in front of her, she did not realize the fact that the person in front of her was a stranger.


    It took her some time to process the situation. Suddenly she jumped away from the duo, holding a small dagger.


    ¡°Is this how you show your gratitude to the people who saved you young lady?¡± Shiv asked the startled girl.


    ¡°Eh? Saved? Who are you? Why did you kidnap me? Are you bandits?¡±


    ¡°And you think bandits would feed you food and water and would take care of you till you woke up? Aren¡¯t you a smart girl?¡± Shiv was little annoyed at the girl¡¯s behavior. Bella gave a hit to Shiv¡¯s head and then spoke to the girl.


    ¡°Sorry about my stupid brother. We are not bandits and we mean you no harm. One of the villagers found you in the forest and carried you here. We thought you were dead first. Suddenly you woke up and screamed for food. After eating you fell asleep again. So we shifted you to our house so that you could sleep safely¡±


    The girl was not fully convinced but she withdrew the dagger and quietly stared at the two.


    ¡°My name is Bella and this is my brother Shiv, welcome to our village¡± Bella said with a smile.


    ¡°I am Kate¡± that is all she said. This annoyed Shiv again.


    ¡°You ungrateful brat. That is all you got to say?¡±


    ¡°Brother, she just woke up. The poor thing is confused. Let us leave her alone for now, we have work to do. Now come you lazy man¡± and Bella dragged Shiv with her.


    Kate stared at them with amusement. She then observed the room she was in. ¡®A wooden house. Not too big. Well kept. I am lucky to not have been caught up by bandits.¡¯ She then slowly walked towards the door and exited the house. Outside the house the girl saw a torn down village. There were men working everywhere. Some were running here and there carrying things while others were discussing something. She then noticed Shiv and Bella talking to a group of people. The moment Shiv came to her view her heart skipped another beat.


    ¡®No you must not Kate. This is a game. He must be a NPC. Don¡¯t forget that¡¯ with her mind and as her heart calmed down Kate walked towards the group. Somehow she felt that those two were the head. (A woman¡¯s intuition is a really scary thing). She could hear the group talking.


    ¡°So you brought the blueprints of the building eh. Good. So first let us concentrate on the houses. Are you going to build them the way they were or are you going to modify them?¡±


    ¡°We think that the previous houses were too weak, being made of just wood. So we will be using stones as well as wooden planks this time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Have you gathered the materials required?¡±


    ¡°We have the wood but the stockpile of stones is running low¡±


    ¡°Then send the mining team to gather the stones. Wait! Do we even have a mining team? I did not come across a miner during yesterday¡¯s meeting¡±


    ¡°That is the problem. All of the miners were killed by the goblins except for the son of the head miner. We cannot send that child alone and we do not have men to spare for to accompany the child either. Can you go with the child and help him with the mining?¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST:STONE MINER</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The village is under reconstruction. But the reconstruction to begin the masons require stones. Accompany the miner boy and collect enough stones.


    Stone pieces required: 3000


    Stone pieces gathered: 0/3000


    Difficulty : F


    Rewards


    +30 intimacy with masons


    +30 intimacy with miners


    Mining faction will be created


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. if you abandon the child


    Failure will reset all intimacy with the villagers. Will be banned from entering the village


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°You need just the two of us to gather 3000 stones?¡±


    ¡°There is no other way. We are sorry.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I even take the children with me?¡±


    ¡°The children? We are not sure. We don¡¯t think anyone would come¡±


    ¡°Brother let me come. I will also asks the children too¡± Bella said to Shiv


    ¡°I can¡¯t have you do such an arduous job. I would rather you stay here and manage the villagers. But I would like you to ask the children, preferably the older ones¡±


    ¡°Very well brother¡± with that Bella walked away. She smiled at Kate who was staring at the group.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have accepted the quest</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Bella! Get that ungrateful girl a decent piece of clothing. I don¡¯t want her walking around wearing a torn out rag¡± Shiv shouted, mocking Kate.


    Kate blushed red with embarrassment and stormed away cursing Shiv.


    ---***---


    ¡°Clint how far is the stone quarry?¡± Shiv asked the miner boy who was leading the way in front. A group of 5 had just exited the village and were heading towards the quarry to collect stones, each of them pulling a sledge with wheels.


    ¡°Not far. A 10 minutes walk. There is a small stone hill nearby with a cave. We had always used the cave to mine stones.¡±


    ¡°Just stones? No valuable items?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. It was said that there were only stones in there.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Clint how old are you?¡±


    ¡°I am fifteen big brother.¡±


    ¡°Fifteen and already a miner. Good boy. Agon what about you? Are you a mason?¡±


    ¡°No I am a farmer¡±


    ¡°I see. What about you two? What are your names and age?¡±


    ¡°I am Klier, I am a farmer too. And I am 15 ¡±


    ¡°My name is Dimon, a blacksmith. 15 years old¡±


    ¡°So are all the children in your village taught so early?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We are taught the family job by our parents at the age of 14.¡±


    ¡°That is some village. No wonder your village is a self-sufficient one¡± marveled Shiv.


    ¡°Big brother. We are here¡±


    There a small hill with a cave came to the view of Shiv. The hill was much bigger than what he had imagined. The cave mouth too was big. At first it appeared just like a mud cave that Shiv had earlier seen but once they got inside the cave, the appearance changed. There were hard rocks around them and the tunnel was wide. The group kept walking, with Shiv in front protecting the cave from any sudden attacks while Clint gave directions. The five walked for a while, the tunnel was like a labyrinth with the paths dividing into many branches. Clint had directed the group and had explained that the other paths were unknown to him though the miners used to take those paths too.  A couple of minutes of walking and the group came to a much wider tunnel. It was then that Clint asked the group to stop.


    ¡°Big brother. This is enough. We can get the stones from here. We mine the stones here and then carry it to the village. The masons will then take over the stones and shape them accordingly.¡±


    ¡°Then little Clint show us how it is done¡±


    ¡°My father used to knock at the wall to understand whether the stone was good or bad. I don¡¯t know how he did but what I know is that the stones he mined were always the small color. It always had a grey color with a little white tint like this stone¡± saying so Clint picked up a small stone piece from the ground and passed it to Shiv. Shiv examined it carefully and then passed to the next.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any particular size. We just mine them and give them to the masons. Mining is hard. Hitting the rock with the pickaxe is really hard. Big brother let us begin¡±


    Shiv and the others nodded. They went towards their wheeled sledge which had all the essentials needed for them like food, water and other things. The group picked up their pickaxes and headed to different directions, well, all of them were in the same tunnel but at different spots.


    ¡°Please be careful with the pickaxe and don¡¯t play with it. That is what my father always says¡± Clint said repeating his father¡¯s words.


    ¡®Tick¡¯ ¡®Tick¡¯ ¡®Tick¡¯ and so the hitting continued. After an hour or so Shiv heard the sound,


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> New skill unlocked: Mining (Passive) Beginner Level 1 (0%)</td></tr>Your efforts have borne fruit. You have become more skilled in the field of mining<tr><td colspan=''4''>


    +1 STR, STA and PER


    You can now mine more in shorter time


    You consume stamina at lower rates


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Hihihi keep it coming¡¯ Shiv grinned. His hard work was being rewarded. With new found vigor the boy kept mining. The group of five often took breaks to have their meals and catch their breath. Hours passed and they got bored of the continuous hitting. Their will to work began to drop except for Clint who was by now used to it.


    ¡°Clint how can you keep hitting the stones like this?¡± complained Agon.


    ¡°It is nothing big it¡¯s just that you are lazy¡± retorted Clint.


    Shiv too was exhausted. He had had enough of the mining so he checked how much stones they had acquired.


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Stone pieces required: 3000


    Stone pieces gathered:221/3000</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv¡¯s eyes bulged out. They had been mining for more than four hours and this was all they could manage to gather. ¡®At this rate it will take more than a week to mine 3000 stone pieces. Is there no way to increase the output? Wait! I can use a small scale explosion to gather stones.¡¯


    Shiv got up and looked around. He then checked the walls carefully. ¡®These walls are strong. But a large scale explosion will lead to its collapse. 1meter? No that is too much. 500cm? no that too is not possible. 30cm would do. For a 30cm thick chamber I would need at least 1 full bag of flour or sugar¡¯


    ¡°Agon I need your help¡±


    ¡°What is it big brother? I need you to run to the village with a sledge and fetch me at least 4 bags of flour. Take the others with you too.¡±


    Agon was confused. He was thinking what the need for flour in a quarry was. It hit him fast and he smiled at Shiv.


    ¡°Big brother, has anyone told you that you are a cunning guy?¡±


    ¡°I get that a lot¡± Shiv smile and winked. The other 3 did not understand anything. The last time too Shiv had made them carry sugar and flour but none of the three knew the purpose.


    Agon urged the three to accompany him and the four left with a sledge. Shiv sat down.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡®They are going to take at least 1 hour to return. May be I should log out for a few minutes. I have not talked to mother and Mia like forever¡¯


    ¡°Log out¡±


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Incheon


    Feb 21, Tuesday, 4pm


    Ryu exited his capsule and walked to the kitchen to have something to eat. While going to the kitchen he took his mobile phone with him. There were 15 missed calls. Some were from his mother while the rest were from an unknown number. ¡®That is strange only my family and Kiro-san are supposed to know my number. Well whatever let me call mother¡¯. Ryu was about to dial to his mother¡¯s phone he got a call from the same unknown number. Perplexed, Ryu attended the call.


    ¡°Hello! Is this Mr. Ryu Yasahiro?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is? May I know who is speaking to me?¡±


    ¡°My name is Yuki Matsuda. I am the private secretary of Mr. Allen Perez, CEO of Phoenix Enterprises¡±


    ¡°And why is it that you have my private number Miss. Yuki¡± Ryu replied assuming the woman was unmarried.


    ¡°Mr. Allen wishes to have a meeting with you Mr. Ryu¡±


    ¡°With me? May I know the reason for such a request?¡±


    ¡°That is confidential and he desires to speak about the issue with you directly¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I am sorry but I have to refuse¡±


    ¡°Why Mr. Ryu? It is not every day that you may get to meet such a person! I wish you reconsider¡±


    ¡°My grandfather has asked me to not meet with anyone without his permission¡± Ryu lied. It was impossible to live in such a grand city without meeting with anyone as he now lived in a house by himself. He lied as he thought that the woman on the other side did not know his situation.


    ¡°I am afraid that you cannot deny this request. You do not want to offend Mr. Allen¡±


    ¡°I am denying the offer as I am busy with my game. So please excuse me¡± Ryu denied politely, not minding the threat from Yuki.


    ¡°Is that so? Then perhaps we should ban you from using the game. That might change your decision I presume¡±


    ¡°Are you threatening me lady?¡±


    ¡°I guess I am Mr. Ryu¡± there was sarcasm in that tone. Yuki did not consider the boy as someone who could do anything against her corporation. And to her surprise Ryu began laughing.


    ¡°Mr. Ryu why are you laughing?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry. That is the first time somebody has threatened me. I could not hold my laughter¡±


    ¡°Are you mocking me brat? I know that you are no longer in Japan under your grandfather¡¯s protection. Don¡¯t act so high and mighty.¡± Yuki¡¯s tone changed. She was angry at the boy for mocking her.


    ¡°Yes I am. You think just because I am Korea that I am vulnerable?¡± Ryu¡¯s voice was now cold.


    ¡°If you do not volunteer to come by yourself, we will use force to make you comply¡±


    Hearing this Ryu once again laughed. ¡°I accept your challenge woman. Don¡¯t worry I will not be involving my grandfather. I will be waiting¡± with that Shiv disconnected the call. A normal boy would feel terror, but Ryu was amused. It was the first time that someone had threatened him. He smiled at the new experience he had. ¡®Shit I forgot to call mother¡¯. He dialed his mother¡¯s number,


    ¡°Mother! How are you? I am sorry for not calling you¡±


    ¡°Ryu. I am fine son. How are you? Where you now. Your grandfather said you are at Korea. Why are you there?¡±


    ¡®So she does not know about the kidnap problem¡¯


    ¡°Nothing mother. I felt I wanted to come here and stay here for a while. That aside where is my little sister?¡±


    ¡°Oh that girl is busy with her new game¡±


    ¡°The capsule has been delivered? Good. Have you started playing mother?¡±


    ¡°A bit. I could not believe that it was a game. Everything is so real¡±


    ¡°I know. Mother are you and Mia in the same place in the game?¡±


    ¡°Of course. We are at some place called Wayville in the Northorn kingdom. Where are you son?¡±


    ¡°At Bredon Kingdom mother. I will come meet you after a while mother.  What is your name in the game¡±


    ¡°I used my name itself. Mia say¡¯s that I should have used some other name. She named herself as Tina. What about you?¡±


    ¡°I am called Shiv.¡±


    ¡°Shiv? You really do like that name. I remember the time when you cried asking us to change your name to Shiva. You were so cute back then¡±


    ¡°Mother. Don¡¯t say such embarrassing things¡±


    ¡°Oh my son is all grown up. Mother misses that cute boy who would always follow me around¡±


    ¡°Mother! I have to go. Love you¡±


    ¡°Love you too Ryu. Take care of your health. Eat properly and sleep well too.¡±


    ¡°Yes mother. I will¡± Ryu disconnected the call and walked towards the capsule, smiling.


    ---***---


    When Shiv opened his eyes the four had already arrived. He got up in a hurry.


    ¡°When did you guys get back?¡±


    ¡°We just got back now. Here are the flour sacks. It took us a while to convince the others¡±


    ¡°Agon shall we?¡± Shiv asked Agon. The boy nodded.


    ¡°Clint where do you think we will good quality stones¡±


    The boy observed the surrounding and pointed to the area nearby. Shiv nodded then approached the area Clint showed. Using earth magic he created a thick wall which took him a while because of his low proficiency. Once the wall was created a wind wall parallel to the earth wall. Then taking a bag of flour he poured the content into the space between the walls. Once the contents were emptied Shiv made another earth wall overlapping the wind wall. The second earth wall had a small hole which was sealed with wind barrier. The hole was big enough to let Shiv¡¯s head pass through. This hole was to provide the fire source from a safe distance. Shiv asked the others to get back a good 10metres. He then standing 5m from the wall used a fire ball and aimed it at the hole. Before the fire ball hit the area Shiv fled towards the group and asked them to run as fast as possible. This was a precaution to not get caught in case the cave started to fall apart. They were now 30metres or so and stopped there waiting for the sound of the explosion.


    ¡®Boom¡¯ the group heard the sound of the explosion. They were now cautious and were observing the cave for any signs of cracks. After the pass of 30min the group decided to check the area of explosion. Slowly they moved forward. When they reached the place all of them were astonished. There lay in the area of the explosion three times the amount of stones than they had mined. All of their jaws fell. They had been mining for four continuous hour and had got barely 200stones and in front of them lay a huge pile of stones. Shiv checked the amount of stones,


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Stone pieces requited: 3000


    Stone pieces gathered:1535/3000</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Jackpot. Let us go dump these stones at the village and come back. This will be over soon¡±


    Thus the group of five filled their sledge with stones and went to the village. The group had to come and go five times to completely transport the stones they mined. By the time they had finished transporting it was getting dark.


    ¡°That is enough for today. We will finish this by tomorrow. Let us go¡± and so the group left to the village. The five were so tired that they slept like a log once they had their dinner. The next day the group left for the stone quarry. By the time the second day ended the group had gathered stones more than required.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Stone pieces requited: 3000


    Stone pieces gathered:3319/3000</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°With this it is over guys. You all did great. Now go have a good sleep¡±.


    Once the four left Shiv then walked towards the head mason¡¯s house. He then knocked the door.


    ¡°Who goes there?¡±


    ¡°It is Shiv. Can I come in?¡±


    ¡°Yes of course.¡±


    When Shiv entered the house the mason asked. ¡°What brings you at this time of the night. Well I have finished the task which you had given me¡±


    The mason looked at Shiv with disbelief.


    ¡°Wait just a moment. I will be back¡± and the mason stormed out of the house. He returned after a short while, his face full of surprise.


    ¡°How did you get the job done so quickly?¡±


    ¡°I used a bit of creativity¡± Shiv smiled and explained to Ames what he had did. Ames was truly shocked. He laughed a hearty laugh and patted the boys shoulder.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a smart one. I like you boy. Come meet me tomorrow in the morning here. Let me see how you will do with masonry¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡®


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST:STONE MINER(Completed)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have not only collected the required the stones, you have gathered them in a short time


    Stone pieces required: 3000


    Stone pieces gathered: 3319/3000


    Difficulty : F


    Rewards


    +30 intimacy with masons


    +30 intimacy with miners


    Mining faction will be created


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST:AN ARCHITECT¡¯S LESSON</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have been invited by Ames, the head mason to join him in his work. He wishes to know how you will perform the masonry job.


    Difficulty : Complete the quest STONE MINER


    Exceed Ames¡¯s expectation


    Rewards


    Unknown???


    +10 intimacy with the villagers


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. if you fail to satisfy Ames¡¯s expectation


    Failure will reset all intimacy with the villagers. Will be banned from entering the village


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Wow another quest. Great¡¯


    ¡°Very well. Then I shall meet you tomorrow.¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have accepted the quest</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv then left the house and walked towards his house. When he entered the house he could hear the giggles of two girls. Shiv smiled, he was happy to hear Bella¡¯s giggle. He was grateful to Kate for making his sister happy. He walked in with a serious face.


    ¡°Bella! Why is this girl who is wearing a torn rag still here? Kick her out. She smells¡± Shiv mocked the girl with a serious face holding his nose with his hand, but smiling inside. For some reason teasing the girl was fun for him.


    ¡°Brother! Don¡¯t be rude to Kate¡± Bella glared at Shiv.


    Kate was blushing lightly but was glaring at the boy too.


    ¡°Sister, you would side with her than with your brother? My heart aches. Have you abandoned me?¡± Shiv acted like crying.


    ¡°Yes now please sleep on the floor while I and Kate will be sleeping on the bed.¡± Bella said with a smile and the two girls jumped on the bed.


    Shiv shrugged his shoulder and sighed.


    ¡°Why do I have such a troublesome sister?¡± saying so Shiv laid down on the ground.


    ¡°Goodnight brother¡±


    ¡°Goodnight Bella, Goodnight rag girl¡±


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 6: A Foundation with Stones(proofread)

    Proofread By: Daylius and Vikingstad


    ¡®Knock¡¯ ¡®Knock¡¯


    ¡°Ames, it¡¯s Shiv. I came just like you asked¡±


    ¡°Well come in. Aren¡¯t you early? It¡¯s just 7 in the morning. So eager to work eh?¡±


    ¡°I was kind of excited at the thought of learning something new¡±


    ¡°Ho ho! Is that so? Well wait here for a second, let me get those plans for today¡¯s work.¡±


    Shiv nodded and waited inside Ames¡¯s house. The mason had a wife and a small kid, a happy family one would say. Ames returned soon with the things he wanted.


    ¡°Follow me Shiv, We have things to build¡±. Shiv followed Ames who walked out of the house. They walked till they caught up with a group of people, the masons. All of them greeted Ames with a ¡®Hi¡¯ and looked at Shiv with a questioning look.


    ¡°This boy is gonna help us with our work. I need you guys to work him hard till he collapses¡± Ames said to the group with a dark smile. The group smiled back at Ames, their eyes glittering. Poor Shiv felt a shiver run down his spine. ¡®What have I got myself into?¡¯


    ¡°Off you go Shiv. Help them with whatever they need.¡± With that Ames went off somewhere carrying his tools.


    ¡°Then shall we begin, brat? My name is Rave and you are going to be working under me for now. So that¡¯s how it is, now follow me¡±


    Shiv nodded and walked behind the man who had just named himself as Rave. Rave had a big stature and a beardy face with a look like he had just got out of his bed. The two walked towards the warehouse. There in the warehouse lay a pile of stones. Rave then said.


    ¡°I want you to bring a 100 pieces of these with you to the place we just met. Use the sledge¡±


    Shiv then did as requested. It was not hard, as he used the sledge to carry stones from the quarry. Once he moved the stones, Rave handed over to him a hammer, a couple of chisels, a file, a ruler, a bottle of ink, a pen and a rectangular stone.


    ¡°Your second job is to makes stone bricks of this size and shape from all of those stones by the end of the day. You will be allowed to leave here only after you finish the task¡±


    ''trrrng''


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: WE NEED STONES</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Rave the mason has asked you to shape the stones into rectangular bricks. He wants you to finish them by the end of the day.


    Days left : 1day


    Difficulty : E


    Requirements: Ames¡¯s curiosity


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. If you do not finish the task by the end of the day.


    Failure will reset all intimacy with the guards to zero. Will be banned from entering the village.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">You are unable to deny the quest. The quest has been accepted</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®What the f*ck? 100 pieces of these? Ames, I am going to kill you for making me do this¡¯


    ¡°I shall start right away¡± Shiv replied with a fake smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit boy. Oh and place the stone on a sand bag before you start. Rest is all self-study. See you later¡±


    ¡®Sigh¡¯ Shiv cursed his bad luck. He then sat down with his tools and the brick. Shiv first observed the brick that he had.


    The bricks were not too big and were smooth and well-polished. Picking up the nearest stone he placed it on the sand bag given to him. The stone had settled down perfectly.


    ¡®This piece should be enough for making two bricks. How am I supposed split it into two?¡¯


    Shiv observed the stone piece carefully. He could see some cracks on the stone piece. Taking the hammer and chisel, Shiv began his work. He placed the chisel on the crack and hit the chisel lightly with the hammer. He saw the crack widening. A couple of more hits split the stone in half. Shiv then removed one half. He then used the ruler to mark the dimensions of the brick which he had taken a while ago. Using the pen, he inked the stone piece. Once he had marked the dimension, Shiv took the chisel and then began chipping off the stone piece from the edge.


    ¡®Tick¡¯ ¡®tick¡¯ ¡®tick¡¯


    It took Shiv a little more than an hour to finish the chipping. The brick was hardly the same dimension. He knew that he still had work to do. Taking the file that he was given, Shiv began shaping the stone. Another hour passed and finally the brick was finished. Shiv felt proud of his first work.


    ¡°Inspect¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Low Quality Brick</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Made by an idiot on his first try, the brick is nothing but a failure


    Durability: 10


    [/tds]</tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°What the hell? Are you picking a fight with me you stupid AI? You want a piece of me?¡± Shiv was angered. ¡°Chains of time¡± he shouted and the time slowed.


    Taking the second piece Shiv began chiseling, his full mind on the job. This time it took him 30min less than the first time and then it happened.


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr>[td4]


    New skill unlocked: Sculpting (Passive) Beginner Level 1 (0%)</td></tr>Sculpting  is an art. An art which can produce wonders which can be marveled.


    Your efforts have borne fruit. You have become more skilled in the field of sculpting.<tr><td colspan=''4''>


    +1 STR, STA and PER


    You can now sculpt faster


    Quality of product increases


    You consume stamina at lower rates


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Hihihi! Just the thing I wanted¡¯


    Shiv then continued his work. In another couple of hours he had finished three bricks. Every time he finished his brick, his speed as well as his proficiency increased. By then he was able to finish a brick in 20 min, but that time did not reduce any further. The chains of time had given him double the amount of time, but Shiv knew that even with that he might not be able to finish the task in time. So he worked without stop, his hands began to ache, his stomach growling, his legs went numb due to the continuous sitting. By the time it was evening Shiv had finished only 43 bricks, that too with the help of ¡®chains of time¡¯. His sculpting skill was now at beginner level 6. Once it hit level 6, it hardly gained any experience with the brick sculpting. Shiv did not mind, he was too busy with his work.


    He now had 57 more to finish, but his body fatigue was building up. With the time in the game world now 6 in the evening, Shiv had 6 more hours to finish the job. With the power of the watch, 6 hours became 12 hours. But even that too was not enough. In 12 hours the maximum possible was 36 bricks. And so the total by the end of the day would be only 79. Even after knowing that failure was imminent Shiv continued his work. He worked till 4am in the morning of the next day to finish the task. He knew that he had failed, he did not cry or agonize over the failure. He had given his all to the task, so he was happy. His only regret was that he would have to leave Bella. With such thoughts Shiv closed his eyes.


    ---***---


    ¡°Wake up Shiv. How long are you gonna sleep?¡±


    Shiv was woken up by a hand shaking him sideways. The sudden action had startled Shiv causing him to wake up instantly. He calmed down when he saw that Ames was the one who had woken him up.


    ¡°Finally awake, eh? Let¡¯s go. We have job to do¡±


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.¡°Eh? But I failed yesterday¡¯s task¡±


    ¡°What task? Rave, what is he talking about?¡±


    ¡°I dunno either. Maybe he has gone crazy with all that chipping.¡± Rave smiled and winked at Shiv.


    ¡°But you said to finish it by the end of the day.¡±


    ¡°That you did too. All I see are 100 bricks, all smooth and strong.¡±


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: WE NEED STONES(Completed)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have finished the task given to you. Rave is happy with your work and has complimented you.


    Difficulty : E


    Requirements: Ames¡¯s curiosity


    Rewards


    New skill: Architecture(hidden)


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New skill unlocked: Architecture- Hidden skill (Passive) Beginner Level 1 (0%)</td></tr>Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and constructing buildings.


    Your efforts have borne fruit. You have learned a hidden skill by impressing the mason Rave with your dedication and hard work.<tr><td colspan=''4''>


    You can now sculpt faster


    Quality of product increases


    You can now build new buildings


    You consume stamina at a lower rate


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>New Title Unlocked: Hard-worker</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have been given the title of HARD-WORKER. Your dedication, sincerity and hard-work has earned you the title.


    skill proficiency increases faster


    stamina consumption reduced


    new skills can be learned much faster


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv smiled with tears in his eyes. He was sure that he would be kicked out of the village. The news of him passing made his heart leap in joy. Shiv wiped off the tears and thanked Rave, then walked towards Ames for his new assignment.


    ¡°Wait boy. Take the tools with you. They are the hands and legs of a sculpture¡±


    ¡°I can? Thanks Rave¡± an overjoyed Shiv thanked Rave and collected the tools.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Shiv, we have much to complete¡± Ames urged Shiv to leave


    The two then proceeded to one of the ruined houses, with this one having only half of it destroyed.


    ¡°We are going to use the bricks you made to rebuild this little beauty. This time we do it together. We will be using a little


    clay mixed with mud to strengthen the bonds between the stones. You ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes Ames¡±


    Ames then began demonstrating the process. He first showed Shiv the mixing process of the clay, mud and water. Once that was done, Ames began the rebuilding. He took the mixture in his hand and then applied it to the area where the house was damaged. A pretty thick coating was applied and on top of that the stone was placed. Then using the handle of a hammer, Ames hit the brick a couple of times.


    ¡°This is how we do it. Once we fill the area, we will then apply the mixture to fill any holes and then smoothen the surface with a flat wooden piece, before the mixture hardens. Now, let''s begin since we have to finish the reconstruction as soon as possible.¡±


    Shiv nodded and repeated the process perfectly, his speed was good too, all thanks to the new skill that he had acquired. He was happy, for he had always lived the life of a prince and now he was a common man like he had always wanted to be.


    ---***---


    More than two weeks passed. Kate and Bella had become good friends and were always together. Kate had wanted to leave the village and go to the capital city but was unable to because of Bella prohibiting it. The road to the capital was dangerous and Bella did not want her friend to be in danger, even though Kate was a ¡®traveller¡¯. Bella had asked Kate to stay with her till the reconstruction finished, she had promised Kate that she would ask the villagers to escort her into safety. Kate had no choice but to agree and had been living in the village since.


    Shiv was happy with the idea of her sister spending her time with Kate but he acted as if he was annoyed with the idea and mocked Kate by calling her ¡®rag woman¡¯.


    The masons with the help of Shiv had completed the rebuilding of houses and were now working on a wall around the village to keep it safe. The wall was being built a little far from the village as there were many new buildings yet to be constructed. Two days had passed since the work had started and Shiv was now a great worker. His architect skill had levelled up to beginner level 6 allowing him to construct a wide variety of buildings. Time flew fast and in another two days, the stone wall was completed.


    The next job was the construction of a training ground and an armory. The training ground, unlike the normal training halls in the game, was being made in an open field. Shiv had insisted that the training ground be open and not be inside a hall, or surrounded by walls. There were archery ranges with targets at different distances, dummies to practice sword and spear techniques, a small armory for weapons and wooden swords, and an office for the instructors. The training ground was big enough for fifty people. It took 2 weeks to finish the training ground. Once the training ground was finished, Ames called for Shiv.


    ¡°Why did you call Ames?¡±


    ¡°Ah Shiv! Let me get to the matter. You see we have finished the training ground and the armory too. But as for the weapons for the armory, they are having some problems.¡±


    ¡°The blacksmiths? What happened?¡±


    ¡°You remember Norn, don¡¯t you? He and his sons had gone to the nearby cave to gather some metals. The same cave where you got your stones from. He has been gone for a while and has not yet returned. So I want you to take a look. I fear something might have happened to them¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST:AN ARCHITECT¡¯S LESSON 2</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Norn, the blacksmith and his family has gone missing. Ames fears that they are in danger and has asked you to look in to the matter


    Difficulty : Complete the training ground


    Exceed Ames¡¯s expectation


    Rewards


    Unknown???


    +10 intimacy with the villagers


    +10 intimacy with the blacksmiths


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. If you fail to bring back the blacksmiths


    Failure will reset all intimacy with the villagers. Will be banned from entering the village


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°I shall bring them back as soon as possible¡±


    <table><tbody><tr>[td4]You have accepted the quest


    [/tds]</tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Map

    Here i am giving you a map of the world! My friend, Shadowcerberus was kind enough to make me a map. thank you!


    Here is the imgur link for the map: http://imgur.com/LvTjwWH</a>


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 Arc 2- Chapter 7: Jabberwocky(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Year 2040


    Feb 24, Friday, 10 am


    ¡°Hello everybody! Welcome to all! Today LBC Media brings you a special program! Yes, for the first time, after the release of the epic game DRAGON LORE, Mr. Allen Perez, the CEO of Phoenix Enterprises is going to appear in the show. And I am going to be interviewing the master brain behind the game. Stay tuned folks. Here comes the big man. Welcome, Mr. Allen, welcome to our show¡±


    ¡°Thank you Miss Beth, you look beautiful as always¡± Allen walked over and kissed the top of her hands lightly. Beth blushed from the unexpected course of actions.


    ¡°Thank you Mr. Allen. I am honored to be praised¡±


    ¡°A beautiful flower must be praised, a flower like you are really exquisite¡±


    ¡°Mr. Allen that is a little too much for a fragile girl like me. So shall we start the live interview?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead. I am all ears¡± Allen gave a fake smile. He was not one bit interested in interviews but had to come because of his secretary Yuki pressurizing her.


    ¡°Mr. Allen, what inspired you to take the initiative to produce such a game¡±


    ¡°Initiative? When I was young, my grandmothers would tell me bedtime stories in which the hero would ride a dragon and slay the evil king. Like any other boy those action scenes had captivated my heart.¡± Allen replied while he was thinking ¡®What a pain¡¯.


    ¡°Oh, so that is how the theme of the game was set. How long did it take you to design it?¡±


    ¡°It was tough, you know. This being the first VR game, it took me 3 years to accumulate the knowledge I wanted, another 3 years to select the staff who would work with me, a year of trial and error, 4 years of programming, 2 years of testing and debugging, 1 year to get the necessary approvals. So that makes it 14 years. I would even venture on to say more than 14 years.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a pretty long time Mr. Allen. Well, leaving that aside and moving on to the gameplay. Recently there was an interview of the strongest player in DLR (Dragon Lore Reality), Adrian. What are your thoughts about the strongest player?¡±


    ¡°I did watch that interview and frankly I do not consider him the strongest¡±


    The interviewer, Beth and everyone watching the show were shocked, that included Brian Woltale himself. ¡°Why do think so Mr. Allen? Are you indicating there is a person stronger than Adrian, the Apostle of Light? ¡±


    ¡°The Apostle of Light is indeed the strongest class in DLR, but just because he has the strongest class one cannot be assumed to be the strongest player. There is one single person who has power beyond all others. Miss Beth, have you heard of the rumors of NPCs going rampant?¡±


    ¡°I did Mr. Allen and that was to be the main topic for today¡¯s show. There were reports from all around the globe that some NPCs are attacking the players as if they were cursed. Is this some kind of event or a bug Mr. Allen?¡±


    ¡°Bug? In my system? Not at all. The occurrence of such rampages are due to a single person. Actually these things were meant to happen only after a year or so after the launch. ¡±


    ¡°Then why has it been triggered now?¡±


    ¡°Miss Bella, do you play DLR?¡±


    ¡°Yes I do. I will be frank, I hardly get time to play, so I have not been in the game much.¡±


    ¡°Then I believe you are still ignorant to the history of the world that this games is based on. Am I not correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes you are¡±, Bella replied sulking slightly. She was kind of angry at Allen for making her seem like an idiot to the entire world.


    ¡°Have you heard of the name Orrinshire?¡±


    ¡°I have. Is it not the name of the world in DLR?¡±


    ¡®True. I will tell you an interesting fact. Orrinshire is the name of a man who once ruled over the world. The world was named after him by his followers after the fall of his empire. As for who and what that man is, I will let you find out yourself. Now back to the point. These events have unfolded because somebody has inherited Orrinshire¡¯s will¡±


    ¡°So what you mean is that that single man is responsible for all these events?¡±


    ¡°That is the truth¡±


    ¡°To cause such havoc, he surely must be an evil overlord¡± Bella said the first thing that came to her mind. Allen did not reply but just smiled at Bella, making her and the viewer¡¯s believe that an overlord has come. He had accomplished what he had wanted to, to bait Ryu Yasahiro and to turn the other players against him. For that he had purposefully omitted the part about Orrinshire being the child of Oberon. He knew mentioning that would make Ryu Yasahiro equivalent to a god.


    ¡®You better come to me boy or you are going to suffer¡¯


    Little did Allen Perez know, that he was digging his own grave.


    ---***---


    The interview with the CEO of Phoenix Enterprises became viral instantly. The news had a global effect. Every single player was now discussing the rise of an evil overlord unaware of the true intent of Allen¡¯s words. An uproar was being caused by the players. News of the existence of a powerful evil man had spread like wildfire. And as a means to counteract it, guilds had begun to form. The stringent conditions for forming a guild were simplified by the company itself. Allen had expected the players to form guilds when there was a large scale event happening. And so hundreds of guilds rose in a single day. Players diligently began grinding to become strong. Allen had another trick up his sleeve which was to reduce the cost of the capsule and the subscription fee. The costs were cut by half thus allowing influx of new players. He was reaping profit while at the same time, trying to make Ryu bend his knees.


    Not knowing any of these, the boy who was supposed to be an evil overlord was now having a heated conversation with his younger sister.


    ¡°Bella, lend me Kate for a day¡±


    Bella¡¯s eyes widened, jaw dropped, cheeks reddened.


    ¡°Brother! I did not know that you were a pervert. To ask your own sister to help you get a girl, that too your sister¡¯s friend.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Let me rephrase it. I need Kate¡¯s help with a small rescue job¡±


    ¡°Rescue? Who?¡±


    ¡°Norn and his sons have not returned yet. So Ames has asked me to go look for them. And I thought that having Kate with me would makes things easier¡±


    ¡°Hm. You do have a point. You could have asked her directly. Why ask my permission?¡±


    ¡°I want you to ask her to accompany me¡±


    ¡°I am asking you why I should be doing that.¡±


    ¡°Because she does not know that I am a traveler and I want that fact to remain hidden for a while longer¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Bella asked tilting her head, a finger to her chin.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you yet. It¡¯s something I have not even told you. ¡±


    ¡°A secret? What is it? I want to know¡± pouted the cute girl.


    ¡°After I come back girl, I promise¡± Shiv said patting the girl¡¯s silky hair making Bella blush slightly.


    ¡°Fine, I will ask her to. When will you be leaving?¡±


    ¡°Now. I have a bad feeling about this, so you better run to her right away. Ask her to meet me here as soon as possible¡±


    Bella nodded and scuddled away.


    ¡®I hope those three are ok¡¯


    ---***---


    ¡°Kate!¡±


    ¡°What is it Bella? Your face seems pale¡±


    ¡°Kate, help me¡±


    ¡°What is it Bella? What happened?¡±


    ¡°My brother! He is going to do something dangerous again. Please Kate, lend him your strength¡±


    ''trrrng''


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: AN ESCORT</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Bella, your close friend has asked you to aid her precious brother in his task. She believes something bad is going to happen and requests you to protect her brother.


    Difficulty : +F


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    +50 intimacy with Bella


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. If you die


    2. If Shiv dies


    Failure will reset all intimacy with Bella. She will be hostile towards you if you refuse.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Bella. I will go with your brother and bring him back safely¡±


    ¡°Thank you Kate¡± Bella hugged her ¡°Right now he is waiting for you. Come with me, I will take you there¡±


    ---***---


    Shiv could see the two girls walk towards him. ¡®It went well, just as I imagined¡¯ he thought smiling. Shiv knew that his only option was to ask Bella. Had he approached Kate himself then the fact that he was a traveler like her would have been revealed. Shiv did not desire that, he had plans and he had things that he wanted to confirm.


    ¡°So my escort has arrived. Then let us depart right away. The three blacksmiths might be in some grave danger.¡±


    Kate nodded, she was briefed by Bella during the walk. Now that Kate understood the mission, she was better prepared.


    ¡®A +F difficulty quest is easy for me, with my level of 84 and my class this should be like a walk in the park¡¯ Kate was confident in her levels.


    Shiv and Kate bid farewell to Bella assuring her that they would return soon. When the two were considerably far from the village Shiv posed a question to the girl behind him.


    ¡°Hey rag woman, Are you a swordsman?¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°It helps if I know how strong my escort is¡±


    ¡®He is just a NPC, telling him won¡¯t be a problem at all¡¯ Kate thought.


    ¡°I am a swordsman, I am an Elemental Healer¡±


    ¡°Elemental what?¡± Shiv asked, he was curious to know what the class was but played it cool.


    ¡°Sigh! You NPC¡¯s are such idiots¡±


    ¡°NPC? And why are you calling me an idiot you rag woman¡±


    ¡°My name is not rag woman, it is Kate. Well whatever. Elemental healer lets me use the elements to attack my enemies and I can also heal and purify¡±


    ¡°Heal? Well you will be useful I guess. Let us pick up the pace¡± Shiv then began running, Kate followed him close.


    In minutes the two reached the stone mine. Shiv stopped abruptly when he saw something he did not want to see. There at the entrance of the mine lay a person, collapsed on the ground, with blood flowing from a wound on his torso. His clothes were bloodied and it seemed that he was barely alive. The moment Shiv stopped Kate glanced towards the direction Shiv was looking. Seeing a bloodied man Kate rushed towards him. She had already finished casting a high level healing spell. The spell gave of an orange glow which then slowly spread over the person¡¯s body healing all wounds he had on his body. Slowly the person opened his eyes.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Kate asked concerned.


    ¡°Thanks to you lady. You have saved me. I am Vern, son of Norn¡±


    ¡°Norn¡¯s son? The blacksmith¡¯s son?¡± Shiv asked, his eyebrows furrowing. ¡®Not good. If he was wounded so badly then what would be the condition of those two?¡¯


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Ah! You know my father? That is great. Strangers please help me. My father and brother were taken away by a foul beast. I somehow freed myself from my captivity but before I could escape the beast attacked me, wounding me fatally¡±


    ¡°Do you know where those two are held at?¡±


    ¡°I know. Let me take you there. Thank you strangers¡±


    ¡°Lead the way¡± Shiv said to the man who was now fully healthy.


    Vern then slowly began walking towards the cave with Shiv and Kate following. Shiv remembered the last time that he had come to the mine. The group of five had then only taken the left paths. This time Vern was taking the right turns at every junctions.


    ¡°Kate follow me closely¡± Shiv whispered to Kate


    ¡°Are you getting scared? How unsightly¡± Kate mocked.


    ¡°Please just follow me closely¡±


    ¡°Fine fine. I did not know you were a scary cat¡± Kate moved closer to Shiv.


    The three then walked for a while. Suddenly Vern stopped and then pointed forwards and said, ¡°The beast and my family is ahead. I don¡¯t want to see that thing again. I will wait here. Please bring them back.¡±


    ¡°We will¡± it was Kate who replied this time. She felt that Shiv being a NPC was not cut out for action.


    ¡°Shiv stay here with Vern. It will be too dangerous¡±


    ¡°What are you saying. You are following me. Not the other way around¡± saying so Shiv took out his worn out dagger.


    ¡°Are you going to fight the beast with that? You must be out of your head¡±


    Normally a player would talk to a NPC politely in hope of getting a quest or any other reward or valuable information. But Kate could not bring herself to talk politely to Shiv who had always teased her.


    ¡°I will do what I want woman¡± with that Shiv ran forward at his maximum speed disappearing from Kate¡¯s view. A panicked Kate started running too, determined to catch up with Shiv and knock him off his feet. With boiling rage she dashed forward. The tunnel she was in began widening and at a point it became huge. Kate stopped for a second as she could hear muffled voices of a male.


    ¡°Hello! Anybody there? Is that you Shiv? Don¡¯t play around¡± Kate asked, panicking. She was not concerned about Shiv but about her friend Bella who was the only NPC Kate genuinely liked. She then again heard muffled voices. The voice was coming from a little ahead. She slowly walked forward, casting a lightning spell which covered her body like an armor.


    ¡°Where are you?¡± she called out even though it was dangerous as she had no other option. She then sharpened her ears and waited for the voices, which she heard again. This time it was much more audible. Her movements were with care, he eyes scanning the area. With a few more steps she came across the source of those muffles she had been hearing.


    There on the ground were two humans, their mouths stuffed with their own clothes. Kate could not see any chains that were binding them which confused her. ¡®If they are not chained then why are they still here?¡¯ before she could finish the thought something caught her eyes. ¡®Huh? Can human limbs bend at such an angle?¡¯ She then took a closer look, which caused her to shudder. The two who were on the ground had both their legs and hands broken and bent in the opposite direction of the way they were supposed to be. She could not believe her own eyes, such cruelty was not a common incident for her.


    ¡°Divine Healing¡± she once again casted the same healing spell as the one she had casted before. The orange glow then covered the two victims fixing their arms and legs. She then moved to remove the clothes in their mouths when she saw the faces of the two in front of her distort, their eyes reflected fear. She understood that there was something behind her and so she slowly turned back ready to attack. But she cancelled the spell when she saw it was just Vern.


    ¡°I thought you were not coming. I have found your father and brother. Let us leave now before the beast comes¡± Kate said smiling at Vern. But there was no reply from him


    ¡°Vern? Are you alright? Why are you looking at the ground?¡± Kate asked feeling uneasy.


    Vern then slowly lifted his face and looked at Kate. Kate shuddered when she saw Vern¡¯s face. What was a normal boy a little while ago was now nowhere visible. The face was now distorted, what was supposed to be his eyes were now hollow with a black miasma leaking out of it endlessly. The ears sharpened, the long hair no longer visible, and his skin began to decay and showed traces of bones, fangs protruded out of his mouth. Vern¡¯s hands were now black, with claws as sharp as knives, his legs were hairy and looked like that of goat. The legs were too long compared to his upper body which made the ¡®thing¡¯ seem towering. The most menacing thing was the wing shaped bones from his back which gave the impression of a dark angel. Kate could not move a muscle, she was paralyzed due to fear. It was then


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: AN ESCORT 2</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have come across one of the foulest creature that has ever existed in the history of Valmoor. The Satyr is considered as the underling of the greatest darkness of the world, the jabberwocky. Slay the satyr and free the village and the mines from evil.


    Difficulty : D


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. If you die


    2. If Shiv dies


    Failure will have no effects </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Kate did not move, she wanted to but could not. Her body had already given up. ¡®I am sorry Bella. I could not protect your brother¡¯ Kate closed her eyes waiting for death to claim her.


    ¡°What the f*uck are you doing, you idiot?¡±.


    This made Kate open her eyes in shock. She looked at the person who had just said those words. What she saw was something she could never forget. A man with black hair, holding a dagger and a black sword covered with a red aura, in midair. She could for some reason see his golden brown eyes and a yellow glow around his body, which made the boy appear as some kind of god in that poorly lit area. The way he was in air made Kate think that he was flying even though she understood that he was just trying to jump on to the satyr¡¯s back.


    In a flash the boy was on the beast¡¯s back, the sword running through the satyr¡¯s chest while the dagger was pierced into the head. The satyr cried with pain and then yanked its body to get rid of the invader.


    ¡°How long are you going to sit there? Get up you idiot¡±


    ¡°You are a player too? You lied to me¡±


    ¡°Do we really have to go through that now? Move you idiot.¡±


    Kate then snapped out of her trance. She then used the only piercing attack she had.


    ¡°Wind spear¡±. And wind began to gather on her hand which slowly began to take the shape of a spear. She then aimed at the satyr who was busy with Shiv.


    ¡°Are you going to kill me along with this thing?¡±


    ¡°Of course. That is the least you deserve you baka!¡±


    ¡°Baka? Japanese? Wait, now is not the time.¡± Shiv then jumped of the satyr with his black sword. The dagger was still stuck to the Satyr¡¯s head. ¡°This thing does not have as eyes. I should have thrusted the dagger somewhere else¡± Shiv had used his most effective way to deal with a stronger monster. ¡®Blind it and kill it¡¯ was a strategy Shiv usually always used against strong monsters.


    ¡°Kate! Use your strongest attack. I will buy you time¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t order me around, you cheater¡±


    ¡°Kate¡± Shiv shouted


    ¡°Fine. I need 1 minute¡±


    ¡°Here you go. Chains of time, Kaze, Hono, blood aura, wind scythe¡± five skills together was not something that Kate had ever seen. She had seen players use up to 4 skills, that too rarely. Now she was witnessing a player who she had thought to be a weak NPC activating five at the same time. The skills he activated made him glow yellow, while the sword gave a red color, suddenly she felt a shift in time, and she could not tell if time got faster or slower. Then he suddenly vanished. Kate for a second panicked, but the next second she was surprised when she saw him appearing in front of the monster. She gaped at him with wide eyes when the boy with golden eyes, used the satyr¡¯s leg as a boost to jump higher towards its face. Making a flip in midair, with his left hand the boy gripped the dagger while the right hand pierced through what was supposed to be his left eye and finally landing behind. The instant that he landed, his next attack began, this time using the sword and dagger. The attacks were all directed towards the satyr¡¯s feet. The attacks were so fast she could not count the number of strikes the satyr was suffering. The final attack was with the black sword. A horizontal slash, Kate saw the sword make a red a line in the air and with that Shiv jumped back. Kate was confused with this move, she could not understand why he would move away suddenly. As if to answer her doubts, the satyr collapsed on to the ground. The continuous attacks to the legs had caused so much damage to the beast that its legs could no longer support it.


    ¡°Your 1 minute is up babe¡± Shiv said calmly looking at Kate instead of the beast. In those eyes Kate saw something she had never seen before. The eyes which were calm and beautiful were now cold. It gave her the feeling that Death itself was looking at her, making her shiver. Waking up from the trance she activated her strongest spell.


    ¡°Light fall¡±


    Light fall, a spell which was granted the third strongest holy magic. But to unlock its true potential one had to be a ¡®pope¡¯ of any church. Kate was just a healer thus the spell¡¯s strength was greatly reduced. Nevertheless the spell was devastating for unholy beings such as the satyr. The poorly lit room was then suddenly filled with light, light that came from nowhere. The light then began to gather around the beast as if it was attracted by it. The beast began to scream, its flesh was being eaten away by the light.


    The already weakened satyr could not bear the intensity of the last holy attack. When the last rays of light disappeared there was not even a flesh piece of the beast left. Instead there lay on the spot a small black rock.


    ---***---


    here is a question guys. Why do you think Shiv, who normally plans all his attacks, just ran away when Vern said the blacksmiths were ahead? gimme your thoughts with the reason.


    enjoy. have fun


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 Arc 2- Chapter 8: A Liar鈥檚 Truth(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST:AN ARCHITECT¡¯S LESSON 2(Completed)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have successfully rescued Norn and his son. In addition to that you have also vanquished a great evil.


    Difficulty : +F


    Requirements


    Complete the training ground


    Exceed Ames¡¯s expectation


    Rewards


    +10 intimacy with the villagers


    +10 intimacy with the blacksmiths


    New skill unlocked: Weaponsmith


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv closed the tab and then looked at Norn and his son


    ¡°Norn? Are you alright now?¡± Shiv asked with concern.


    ¡°Thanks to you two I am¡±


    ¡°I am sorry about your son, we had no other choice but to kill him?¡±


    ¡°Son? That was no son of mine. What gave you the idea of him being my son? This boy right here is my one and only son, Vern¡±


    ¡°But Ames said that you had two sons¡±


    ¡°No I don¡¯t. That idiot Ames must have been drunk then¡±


    Shiv did not reply, his mind was already calculating various possible scenarios. The most possible one was that the beast had manipulated the villager¡¯s memories. ¡®But where did it come from? I do not think the village had harbored the beast in the past¡¯


    ¡°Norn, if he is not your son then who is he? And why did you bring him along¡±


    ¡°I do not know who he is. He was with us in the goblin cave. For some reason we cannot remember anything about him before the goblin incident. A couple days before he introduced himself as one of the villager¡¯s son and asked me to make him my apprentice. I agreed instantly, which I think was strange of me to do so. He volunteered to come with us to the mines and once we were inside he changed and attacked us. I do not want to remember the things that happened after¡±


    ¡°We understand Norn. Rest here for a while. We will take you back shortly¡± saying so Shiv then approached an angry Kate who had been throwing daggers with her eye for a while.


    ¡°So how was the fight with the satyr?¡± Shiv asked with a grin. Shiv swore that he heard something snap and the next moment a fist connected to his abdomen which sent him flying back.


    ¡°What the? Are you really a girl?¡± this time it was a kick to nether region. With that Shiv collapsed.


    Kate looked down on him with fiery eyes, her fists clenched. ¡°You liar¡± and a kick once again.


    ¡°Kate I will die if you kick me like this¡± Shiv tried to protest, covering his parts with his hands.


    ¡°You are better off dead. For more than two weeks made me think you were a useless NPC. Had I known you were a player, I would have kicked your ass every time you called me ¡®rag woman¡¯.¡±


    ¡°That was a joke. Besides what so wrong about ¡®rag woman¡¯. It suits you well¡±


    With that Kate snapped again, She walked forward to hit him again, ¡°Why are you smiling when you are being hit? Don¡¯t tell me you have that sorts of perverted interests?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just, this is the first time I have had this type of conversation with anybody. It kind of makes me happy¡±. For Shiv who


    had always lived as a royal prince, such things as a fight or argument was a new experience. ¡®May be she can be my friend¡¯ was what he was thinking.


    ¡°You are creeping me out¡± Kate backed away a little. But she could understand that the smile Shiv had was a genuine smile. When she saw that smile it made her happy for some reason.


    ¡°Kate! Sit¡± Shiv patted the ground next to him.


    ¡°I am not your dog for you to order me around¡± Kate approached Shiv and hit his head with her fists then sat down next to him.


    ¡°I heard you say ¡®baka¡¯ a while ago? Why was that not translated?¡±


    ¡°Well I do not know the reason myself. I heard sometimes when your emotions run amok, the translator software fails to


    translate a couple of words. I read that, this was intentional and can be used to identify a player. As for whether it is true or not, I do not know.¡±


    ¡°I see. I am half Japanese myself.¡±


    ¡°Half eh? It is pretty common to meet people from the same nation in this game¡±


    ¡°Kate! Will you be my friend?¡±


    ¡°You are my friend¡¯s broth¡­! Hey, if you are a player how come you are Bella¡¯s brother?¡±


    ¡°It took you a while to figure that out. That¡¯s a long story¡± Shiv then explained to her everything including the thing about Oberon and Orrinshire. He told her about Draklake and disappearance, about how he came to the village, the goblin cave, about the previous chief. When he finished narrating his story Kate looked at him with widened eyes.


    ¡°Orrinshire? I have heard that name recently. Where was it?¡± Kate began thinking. She racked her brain and it struck her like thunder. Her eyes widened and she stared at Shiv.


    ¡°You say that you are the successor of Orrinshire¡±


    ¡°Yes. Sadly I am, sigh¡±


    ¡°So are you the evil overlord?¡±


    ¡°Overlord? Evil? Do I look evil?¡±


    ¡°You do. Have you not seen the interview with Allen Perez?¡±


    ¡°Who is that? What does that have anything to do with me?¡± Shiv asked indifferently.


    ¡°You do not know the CEO of Phoenix Enterprise¡±


    ¡°Is he someone I should be knowing?¡±


    ¡°What? Where on earth are you living?¡± Kate asked sarcastically.


    ¡°I get it. He is some big shot. So what?¡±


    ¡°A few days before there was an interview of Allen in LBC media. And there he talked about a strange occurrence¡±


    ¡°Occurrence?¡±


    ¡°Just like the ones we saw. NPC¡¯s going rampage and he said it was because of Orrinshire¡¯s successor which is you. But he did not tell anything about you being related to Oberon¡±


    Shiv tensed up. He did not expect the Phoenix Enterprises to make such a move. Shiv more or less expected the company to send some hooligans to abduct him but not something like portraying him as a great evil. ¡®This is going to make things hard for me¡¯


    ¡°Sigh! He did not have to go that far just because I challenged his secretary¡±


    ¡°Challenge? What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Well his secretary called me and asked me for an appointment, which I refused. She then threatened me, which I ignored. So now they are using media to make me surrender¡±


    ¡°Why are they after you? What is in it for them?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe because of the blessing. So troublesome¡±


    ¡°Troublesome you say. If it were me I would have ran behind them. Maybe they want to make a deal of some sort. You will get a load of money¡±


    ¡°Money?¡± Shiv then laughed. He laughed till his eyes began to shed tears.


    ¡°Why are you laughing? Its money you idiot. May be thousands of dollars¡±


    ¡°Tell me Kate. If you were the richest person in the world and if someone offers you money in exchange of something you hold dear, what would you do?¡±


    ¡°I would refuse. If I am the richest, why should I need money? Are you an idiot?¡± Kate was annoyed with the question.


    ¡°That is what I did, I refused¡± Shiv said with a smile that made the girl blush for some reason.


    ¡°Kate, will you be my friend?¡±


    The sudden question startled her, she looked at Shiv intently. The boy¡¯s face had lost the warmth it had moments ago. Those eyes were crying, even though no tears came out.


    ¡°We already are friends¡± She said looking away from Shiv to hide her red face. Had she turned back and looked at the boy¡¯s face she could have seen the face of a boy who made his first friend.


    ---***---


    ¡°Kate there is somewhere I have to go. Can you come with me?¡±


    ¡°Where are you taking me this time?¡± Kate asked, she was tired with all the action she had.


    ¡°To a cave. I believe that place is the source of that beast. So I am going to destroy the cave.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of the beast, care to tell me why you suddenly ran off a while go, leaving me with Vern¡±


    ¡°Oh that! Simple, because I knew he was an enemy¡±


    Hearing that Kate froze. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    ¡°He called us strangers, did he not?¡±


    ¡°Yeah he did. So what? You expect everybody in the village to know us?¡±


    ¡°Yes I do. The day before you came, Bella had gathered every one of the villagers. That day she had announced that I would be the next chief in front of them with me standing with her. That means every villager should know me.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he was busy with something and so he could not have joined¡±


    ¡°I did think of that too. During the journey you had called my name many times. And yet, right before I left you and ran, he again called me ¡®stranger¡¯. You know how rumors spread among the NPC. So at some point he should have heard my name at least once. But the problem is not that. The problem is when did he get into the village and how long has he been there. From what Norn said, the guy was with them since they were in the village. If that was the case, then the man was once a villager.¡±


    Kate nodded her head. She could understand what Shiv was saying, she felt like she was doing an investigation. Shiv continued,


    ¡°I assume that, the man¡¯s relatives were all beheaded and he was the only survivor. The death of his relatives might have created a darkness in the man, which then attracted some evil being or soul. So that means he was there when I was being nominated. Then why was it that he did not remember me. Did the darkness delete his memories? I do not understand, but for now we have to destroy the cave so that nobody enters it again .And Kate, the black stone that the satyr left make sure you keep it away from others. Once my job here is finished we will do something about it¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Kaye nodded once again. She had a black stone, which was covered in clothes in her hand. She could feel the darkness even with all those layers of clothes. Shiv had promised her to take her to the capital himself so that he could take the stone to someone in the church of Oberon.


    Once they reached the cave, Kate then used a water and earth spell to collapse the cave and thereby closing it off to the outside world.


    ---***---


    ¡°Bella! They are back¡± Ames shouted. Hearing those words, Bella dropped the food tray she had in her hands and ran outside of her house. She was worried, for Shiv was her only family now and Kate her best friend. Far off, she could see the silhouettes of people. She ran and ran barefooted, not minding the stony path.


    ¡°Brother¡± She called out, with tears, like a child.


    ¡°Why are you crying lady?¡±


    ¡°I missed you¡± and she hugged the boy not minding the people around. When realization struck she jumped back blushing.


    ¡°First you hug me and now you push me away? Brother is hurt¡± Shiv mocked the girl. Then patting her head gently he said, ¡°I am back little sister¡±.


    ---***---


    ¡°Ames! Get everybody here. We have a problem¡±


    ¡°Right away Shiv.¡± Ames could sense the tension in the boy¡¯s voice so he did not mind being ordered. Shiv was now in the village square with Bella and Kate. The two blacksmiths were now being treated by the herbalist just to make sure they had not suffered any internal damages. Shiv had then called forth all the villagers to speak with them about what had happened. When the villagers gathered, Shiv told them about the satyr and about how the beast was living in the village along with the others camouflaged as a human. The villagers were shocked and began to panic.


    ¡°Do not panic¡± Shiv roared, activating the dragon¡¯s roar skill which he had not used like forever. ¡®This is pretty useful. I should use this skill more often¡¯. ¡°We do not have time to panic. We must act fast. The beast was in the shape of a man like us and I believe he came from the goblin cave. That means there is a chance that there might be another one among us. And to clarify that, Kate is going to cast a purifying spell. Please co-operate¡±


    The last part of the speech caused an uproar which was silenced by a white light. Kate had once again casted a light fall, which was aimed at the villagers. When the light disappeared everyone present remained unharmed.


    ¡°Now we can live with ease. The next thing to do is shut off that cave. Which I have already done with the help of Kate¡±. Shiv knew that if there were beasts inside such a measure would not be enough but he had made Kate do it to ease the villagers.


    ¡°The next thing we have to do is complete the rebuilding process. And then begin training of new soldiers to defend and protect us. We need a chief to manage the village in case of an attack so I ask of you to appoint someone of your choice soon.¡±


    The villagers were now murmuring between them. Ames knew what Shiv was aiming for and so willing gave a push to the people. ¡°I Ames agree to Shiv being the new Chief¡± Ames declared, which was then seconded by the mason group, the blacksmith group and the mining group. Some of the villagers agreed too as Shiv had helped them build a wall and houses. Now Shiv had the support of 64 out of the 78 villagers. Seeing them agreeing to Shiv being the next chief, the remaining 12 too reluctantly agreed thus making Shiv the next head.


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: THE NEW VILLAGE CHIEF(Completed)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have been named as the next head of the hidden village. You have now control of the finance and military of the village


    Difficulty : E


    Requirements: Bella¡¯s support


    Rewards


    New village chief


    Maximum intimacy with villagers


    2000 contribution points


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Would you like to provide a name to the village</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Draklake¡± Shiv did not even have to think.


    Once he was made the chief, Shiv then prioritized in the manufacturing of weapons for the training hall. The blacksmiths under Norn began to work on the weapons. Shiv wanted to improve his blacksmith skills so he volunteered himself to work under Norn. Initially Norn refused, making the chief of the village work under him was not something he wanted. But Shiv insisted and so Norn reluctantly agreed. The new skill, weapon smith made things easier for Shiv.


    ¡°Open weaponsmith info¡±<tr><td colspan=''4''> New skill unlocked: Weaponsmith (Passive) Beginner Level 1 (0%)</td></tr>You have unlocked a hidden class weapon smith. Weapon smith allows you to forge swords of superior quality.<tr><td colspan=''4''>+1 STR, STA and PER


    You can now forge weapons


    As your skill proficiency increases, special weapons will be unlocked</td></tr>[/table]<tr><td colspan=''4''> New sub skill unlocked: Repair (Passive) Beginner Level 1 (0%)</td></tr>Your efforts have born fruit. You are now able to repair weapons. The quality of the weapon depends on your skill proficiency.<tr><td colspan=''4''>Repairing restores 5 durability


    As your skill proficiency increases, durability restores increases</td></tr>[/table]


    ¡®Finally I got the repair skill. But I am not skilled enough to repair my dagger¡¯ Shiv thought while he began his work in the forge where he had to hammer the hot metal till it took the shape of the weapon he was told to make. The job was arduous, lasting three weeks. Every day he would spend his time in the forge with Norn, honing his skills. The first day, he was not allowed to do anything but repairing some broken weapons. This continued for another two days, by then his repair skills was beginner level 4. On the fourth day, he was made to heat the metal using the forge. Shiv had to stay in front of the forge and heat the metal, the heat from the forge often burning him. It took more than a week for Shiv to start hitting the metal with a hammer. All the weapons he made were poor quality and so were recycled. Another two days passed till Shiv could make weapons of decent quality. From then on, Shiv¡¯s weapon quality increased considerably.


    Once the weapons were forged, they were then shifted to the armory and arranged properly. The training hall was now complete. A completely exhausted Shiv fell on to the ground and slept soundly without a care.


    ---***---


    The very next day, work began on the school. Shiv had informed Ames that the school must be spacious and should have at least 10 classes. Ames had asked Shiv why there was a need for so many. Shiv said when the village grows, the school would need more rooms. Ames did not ask any further questions and began work on the school. The classes were big enough for 40 students, it had a small forge, a garden, a tailoring unit, farming tools and mining tools. Shiv had set up the school because he knew that once word spread about the existence of a school where skills are being taught, the players from all over the continent would come to the village. Shiv had planned the tuition fees to be 1 gold for now.


    The school would attract players and so to take advantage of that, Shiv asked Ames to set up stores where the players could buy. The players could not sell things as the village severely lacked revenue. Shiv knew that but there was no way around it unless he uses real money to get gold. Shiv was not keen on the idea and so decided to wait till the village started producing revenue.


    More than a month passed and the reconstruction was on the verge on finishing. Shiv had asked the villagers to travel to the nearby village to spread the news. Now there was a school, a training hall, shops, chief¡¯s office, more than 30 houses of which only half were occupied, farms, and a big sturdy stone wall with a gate too. The once hidden village was converted to the village of Draklake.


    ---***---


    Shiv was at the village square which had a new fountain. The villagers had all gathered there.


    ¡°Friends! I know declare the village of Draklake officially complete¡± Shiv roared.


    There were applauses all over.


    ---***---


    (the chapter is not much. well next chapter Ryu is going to meet Allen! what do you think is going to happen. will Ryu bow? or will Allen get his ass kicked?


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 9: Refugees(proofread)

    proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Bloodnightkishi: A school? You serious?


    Gamelover43: Ya dude. In the village of Draklake.


    Dragonrider: Entrance fee is 1 gold. Pretty expensive for newbies like me.


    Windmage4u: But still a school for learning skills? Isn¡¯t it great if you can learn a skill like blacksmith for 1 gold.


    Warriorlover: Right! We can learn masonry, tailoring. For now the school teaches five skills. I heard a rumor that the number of skills taught will increase in the future.


    Iceprincess: I am already at Draklake. This is epic. If you have no restrictions then you can get a skill in five days. The shops won¡¯t buy anything from you though.


    Wolfguyvin: The food¡¯s great too. And the rice fields are a sight to see. For those who want to mine, there is a stone mine nearby too.


    Merchantboyme: I already set up a shop here. I have to pay a rent of 1 silver per day but business is booming.


    And so the comments in the official Dragon Lore site were booming. Millions of players talked about the new school system. Within a couple of days a little more than a hundred players came to the village. The reconstruction had made the village look more elegant than before. Shiv had made the stone masons to decorate the village with a few dragon sculptures. New shops were set up and people flocked around the school to get admission into the school.


    Forty students in each class was the setup for the school. Since there were six skills being taught, that made the total students that could be accepted in the school to be 240. 240 gold was the revenue the school created within 5 days.


    When the flow of people to the village increased, the 240 seats got filled up in days. But those who came after were not sent back empty handed. Shiv knew that the school would be an instant hit and so he made pre-booking possible at a sum of just 10 silvers. This would ensure that the person who pre-booked would attend the lessons, if he did not then the school would gain 10 silvers and the empty seat would be given to the first person in the pre-booked list. Pre-booking was available for the next two batches. After that the admission were put on hold. Those who could not even pre-book decided to stay at the village, even though there were no taverns or houses. They did not mind sleeping outside for a few days to earn the skills they wanted. A week after the school admission started the admission closed due to the seats and pre-booking slots being filled up. In 5 days, the school generated 288 gold. Once there was revenue being generated, Shiv then began with phase two of the village reconstruction.


    The training ground had many practicing different weapons, but most of them were the village NPC¡¯s. Training halls were common to most of the villages and so it did not attract much attention. Shiv was the instructor for those in the training hall. He taught them the martial arts he had practiced for years at his home. Once the first batch of the school were about to graduate, Shiv called for Ames.


    ¡°Ames!¡±


    ¡°Yes chief.¡±


    ¡°Let us use those new students for some errands¡±


    ¡°Errands?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The mason students will have to build a tavern and 10 more houses. The mining students will go gather the necessary stones. The blacksmith students will set up a shop to repair the weapons of those who need at 4 bronze per repair. 1 bronze will be taken as tax, the rest will go to them. The herbalist students will gather the necessary herb and make different potions. They will be allowed to have one potion of their choice free of cost. The tailoring students should be using the skins my training hall students brings them from the hunt. The cooking students will use the meat the hunters bring and serve it to the villagers. That way it will help us a lot and they will get a chance to use the skills they learned.¡±


    ¡°Very well chief¡±


    ¡°Ames. Do ask the respective mentors to accompany them. And I want you to supervise the building process. The tavern must be pretty big, with rooms for twenty or so, maybe a three storied building? I will leave it you to decide. Don¡¯t forget the dragon carving. ¡±


    Ames nodded and retired. Shiv then looked around the place. The once deserted and lifeless place was now booming with tons of people. He wanted to build more buildings like a church, library a barracks and so on. But right now he wanted money, money was the most important for the village to evolve into a town.


    ¡®It is going to take a while for the village to become a major educational center¡¯


    ¡°Open village affairs tab¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Village mode</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Population: 841(778+63)</td><td colspan=''2''>Happiness: 84/100</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Culture:11/100</td><td colspan=''2''>Technology:5/100</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Sanitation:81/100</td><td colspan=''2''>Crime:2/100</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Economy:8/100</td><td colspan=''2''></td>Military:1/100[/td2]</tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®As I thought. Not at all good. The only good thing now is the sanitation level. The crime level is low. Hmm? What is that hundred? Maybe the values should reach hundred for the village to become a town? I should search the forums for more information. The population is 841 huh. 63 NPC and 778 players. The population is too low so I can¡¯t ask for taxes either.


    The culture and technology is low. Well the culture will increase with more sculptures or other art forms. But technology? Should I built a library? Is there any other way to increase technology? Building advanced buildings? I have no information. Must gather more information somehow. Maybe when I go to the capital. As for military, I can train some in the training ground once the population increases. But for that to increase I have to make the village attractive. And for that I again need money. So no matter what, I will have to wait till the economy builds up. Maybe I should let more shops be opened. Build another tavern? A restaurant? Commission a bard to sing? Too much problems to think. I need someone to share the problems. If Kiro-san were here he would have helped¡¯


    Shiv was troubled with a lot of things. His brain was now running wild with the problems in front.


    ¡°Brother? Are you alright?¡± with an angelic voice, Bella asked, her face full of concern.


    ¡°Ah Bella. It¡¯s nothing. Just was caught up with something. Tell me Bella.¡±


    ¡°Be sure to take a rest brother. Ah, I almost forgot. There some people that wants to see you. They are waiting at the


    gate for you?¡±


    ¡®People? Waiting for me?¡¯


    ¡°I will go at once. Meanwhile Bella, cook me something to eat. I miss your cooking¡± Shiv said with a smile.


    Bella blushed and walked away saying nothing. Shiv then proceeded towards the gate to meet the visitors. When he was


    at the gate, he saw a pretty big crowd. ¡®What the?¡¯


    ¡°I am the chief of this village? Who are you people?¡±


    ¡°Ah! I am Doval and these are my people. We come from the kingdom of Hwan.


    ¡°Hwan? Why have you come here?¡±


    ¡°I beg you! Please provide refuge to us.¡±


    ¡®Refuge?¡¯ Shiv then looked at the people who were behind Duval. All of them appeared tired, some seemed injured too.


    ¡°Kindly explain the reason for this migration¡±


    ¡°The kingdom of Hwan was attacked by the neighboring orc kingdom of Fernork¡±


    ¡°By the orcs? Are you telling me that the entire country was attacked?¡±


    ¡°No, the orcs attacked some of the villages to the west of the kingdom. We were told that there would be an attack by


    the capital.¡±


    ¡°Hwan capital? They warned you but did not help you? Is that what you are trying to say?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the capital gave us the weapons and other provisions and then asked us to defend the village by ourselves. We tried to defend but the orcs were so strong that we could not even kill a single one¡±


    ¡°Hm I see. Very well. Wait here for a minute. I will be back¡±


    Shiv then returned to the village and sought for Bella.


    ¡°What is it brother?¡±


    ¡°Ask Ames to gather all the high level players. Tell him to get to the front gate through the gate behind the village, undetected. And get me Kate and the hunter team now¡±


    ¡°Why brother? Is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°There is. Once you notify Ames, go inside the house and don¡¯t come out unless I call for you. Is that understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes brother¡±


    A couple of minutes after Bella left, Kate and the hunter group met with Shiv.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why did you call for me?¡± Kate asked, she could feel the tensed atmosphere around Shiv.


    ¡°We are under attack¡±


    ¡°Attack? Are you kidding me? Why attack us?¡±


    ¡°It is not an attack yet, but there is a chance that an attack might occur. So I need you to come with me¡±


    ¡°Fine. I will come


    ¡°Thanks Kate¡± Shiv patted her head with a smile making the girl to blush. ¡°You guys, stay behind me, attack only if I tell


    you to. Agon you are in charge of them¡±


    ¡°I understand big brother¡± Agon replied, his voice full of respect for the big brother in front of him.


    ¡°Then let us go¡± and Shiv began walking to the front gate to meet the refugees.


    ---***---


    ¡°Mother? Are you there?¡± Shiv used the chat option to talk to his mother.


    ¡°Ryu? I guess I should call you Shiv here.¡±


    ¡°It is fine mother. I have a request¡±


    ¡°Request? That¡¯s rare. Are you in some sort of trouble?¡±


    ¡°I am mother. I just became the chief of a village. It¡¯s killing me.¡±


    ¡°Oh my! A village¡±


    ¡°Mother! Please come here. I want you to manage the village. Please¡±


    ¡°Manage? Me?¡± Miyuki was flustered.


    ¡°Yes mother. You are capable of managing things in the company. A village of this size will not be that much a problem.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.There are things I need to do. Please mother¡±


    ¡°Sigh. Wakata! I will come there as soon as possible, with your sister. Try your best till I reach the village¡±


    ¡°I will be waiting for you mother. I miss you and Mia¡±


    ¡°We miss you too Ryu¡± Miyuki said with a sad voice.


    ¡°I have to go mother. I will contact you soon¡±


    With the chat terminated Shiv then approached Doval. ¡°Doval! You said your villagers escaped and ran here, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we were lucky enough to escape¡±


    ¡°Oh! How long did it take you to reach here?¡±


    ¡°It took us 2 weeks. We have been walking for days in search of a place to shelter and were walking without an aim when


    one of us heard some travelers talking about this village. So we asked them the way and they led us here. We do not ask you to provide us refuge for free, we have a little money with us so in exchange for the money grants us some food and water¡±


    ¡°Is that so? How many of you are here?¡±


    ¡°We are 43 in number. There were 76 in the beginning but some of them went missing on the way¡±


    ¡°Missing eh? Kate, do it. Ames get ready¡± Shiv used dragon¡¯s roar.


    <table><tbody><tr>[table]


    You have used dragon¡¯s roar


    60 second paralysis. Defense decreases by 10%


    5min increase in morale of allies


    [/td4]</tr></tbody></table>


    The people outside the gate including Doval was paralyzed. Using the moment, Kate began chanting the spell for lightfall. Doval¡¯s eyes had fear in them, those eyes were cursing Shiv.


    The moment the paralysis wore off, some from the refugees sprang forward to attack Kate with daggers in their hands. The moment they moved, the hunter team had already released the arrows. The ones who tried to attack were shot down instantly. Everyone including Kate and Doval were surprised.


    ¡°Hunter team! That was perfect¡± Shiv praised them. The hunter team did not even wait for Shiv¡¯s order. Their priority was already set, safety of the chief and those of the village. When they saw the people with daggers, their body moved on their own, each one of them aiming for the head of the enemy.


    ¡°I am sorry Doval. This was the only way. There were assassins among you. The missing people are most probably their doing too¡±


    Doval fell to his knees, not even in his wildest dreams had he thought about assassins hiding among them. He had lost almost half of the escapees due to those men. Tears rolled down from his eyes.


    ¡°Doval and the rest of you! Pledge loyalty to me! If you do, I will grant you permission to enter. I will grant you a place to call home! I will grant you life!¡±


    Once again everybody around Shiv were shocked. ¡®Accepting people without even asking anything in return, is he an idiot?¡¯ were what most players were thinking.


    ¡®Ah! Our big brother is such a kind man¡¯ was what the hunter group was thinking.


    ¡®What is he up to now?¡¯ was what Kate was thinking. Kate knew that Shiv did things which were thoroughly thought out.


    She waited for the time when she could ask him directly, there were already many things she wanted to ask him.


    On the other hand, the refugees were the most shocked. They had come to the village hoping to buy some food and to get some rest, never did they think that they would be allowed to live there.


    ¡°I Doval, as the head of these people, now pledge my life to you¡± he bowed to Shiv, crying tears of joy.


    ¡°Welcome to the village of Draklake! The village of hope!¡± Shiv said. The original Draklake was called village of hope or despair. But Shiv wanted everyone that came to the village to feel only hope.


    ¡°Bella. Give them what they need. Food, water, rest. Let them have it all. Ames. Build those houses as soon as possible, stop the work on everything else. Focus on the houses. Hunter group, we need meat. Herbalist team give them some potions. The rest of you will help these people in whatever way possible. Today we celebrate. Prepare a feast. Sing dance eat and drink¡± Shiv roared. The word celebrate and feast caused an uproar instantly. Not only the players, even the NPC¡¯s overjoyed. They all began running here and there to prepare the things for the party.


    "Hey Shiv! Why did you let them in?" it was Kate who asked.


    "I want the village to be a symbol of hope to all those in need of help. So I let them in. Also they might be useful later"


    "Then how did you know that there were assassins hidden among them?" Kate asked, she knew that asking anymore about letting the men in would be futile.


    "I was not sure myself. It was just a trap. I wanted you to use light fall to confirm two things. One was to check if there were any satyrs or other beasts. The second to find out what they would do if we attacked them."


    "The entire refugees could have attacked?"


    "No they would not have attacked. They ran away from a war with the orcs fearing for their lives. They are not fighters and they do not know how to fight. Hence they ran. NPC who are able to fight do not run away, that is how it is set. So i was sure they would not attack. And when Doval was paralyzed, there were no killing intent from him, just the regret that he was going to cause the death of all the refugees because of his decision. Well I had placed Ames behind them to flank them in case the worst happened."


    "The worst?"


    "Yeah! the worst case scenario! What if all of them were satyrs?" asking a question Shiv walked away.


    Kate''s body shuddered of the thought about a group of satyr attacking, She shook her head and ran towards Bella, trying to forget the conversation she just had.


    ---**---


    Shiv sat on the walls of the fountain, looking at all those people moving around, smiling and laughing. The very scene of everyone having fun made him happy. ¡®Ojii sama, this was what a party should be like. People with no facade, enjoying their lives with all their might.¡¯ Shiv thought to himself.


    ¡°Why are you smiling like that?¡± the sudden voice caught Shiv¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Kate? Why are you here? Shouldn¡¯t you be with Bella?¡±


    ¡°I just came out for some fresh air. She sure is energetic, that girl.¡±


    ¡°Is it not wonderful? This atmosphere and these people. Their smiles and laughter, their gestures and actions, their


    desire to be free. Ah I envy them?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever had a party with your friends before?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I have not. I don¡¯t have any friends¡± Shiv said, looking at Kate, the always smiling and cute was now sad, even


    though there was a smile, those eyes felt like crying, there was loneliness in those eyes. Kate could see those emotions clearly.


    ¡°You are my only friend Kate, my first friend ever since I came to Japan¡±


    ¡°Are you not Japanese? Where were you before?¡± Kate asked, trying to change the topic so that Shiv would cheer up. Not knowing that the topic she chose was another land mine too.


    ¡°India. My father¡¯s place.¡± Shiv said looking at the artificial sky.


    ¡°Father? So you are half Indian half Japanese? It is my first time seeing one. Give him my greetings¡± Kate said, smiling.


    ¡°Have you heard about the first nuclear war Kate?¡±


    ¡°I have! The war between China and In¡­¡± her voice trailed off. Something told her that she had asked the wrong


    question, that she had reopened a wound in the boy¡¯s heart.


    ¡°My father was killed by the Chinese soldiers in that war¡± Shiv replied, still having a smile, his eyes were still looking at


    the sky, as if it they were searching for something in that night starry sky. Kate was silent. She clenched her fists, shivering, cursing herself for being so stupid.


    ¡°Kate! Have you heard the name Yasahiro?¡±


    ¡°I have. Why?¡± Kate asked, slightly confused, slightly relieved.


    ¡°What do you know about them?


    ¡°I know that they are the most powerful family in Japan. I heard their influence spreads across the entire globe.¡±


    ¡°What if I told you that my name is Ryu Yasahiro?¡±


    ¡°Ryu Yasahiro?¡± Kate¡¯s brain did not process the name. ¡®Where have I heard that name before? Ryu, Ryu, Ryu Yasahiro, so


    familiar¡¯.


    Kate then suddenly looked at the boy, with trembling knees, she fell to the ground, her body going numb. In front of her was Ryu Yasahiro, the prince of Japan, the heir to the Yasahiro Industries, world¡¯s most powerful seventeen year old boy.


    ¡°Are you going to stop being my friend Kate? Just because I am Ryu Yasahiro?¡±  The boy¡¯s voice was calm, sad, scared. Kate felt the emotions in the boy¡¯s mind through his voice. She looked at those brown eyes, and there she saw just a lonely boy who wanted a friend who he could trust. The realization caused a change in Kate, she could not feel fear towards the boy.


    ¡®That¡¯s right, he is just a boy, a normal boy¡¯ Kate smiled. ¡°Like hell! You big idiot¡± and with that shout she knocked Shiv¡¯s on the head laughing. The boy laughed too. The laughter of a boy who just got his first true friend.


    ¡°By the way Kate! Wanna come with me for a trip?¡±


    ¡°A trip? Where to? Bredon? Hwan?¡± Kate asked, tilting her head.


    ¡°London¡± Shiv replied, his eyes regaining the liveliness.


    ¡°London? Why?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Just to repay a friend for his kindness! Shall we pay Allen Perez a visit my friend. Ufufufufu!¡±


    ¡®Eh?¡¯ Kate froze. The boy who was moments ago on the verge of breaking was now having an evil smile, leaking a black aura.


    ¡®A demon! I became friends with a demon¡¯


    ---***---


    (Sorry for not posting yesterday. my wrist were aching due to constant typing and so i could not type yesterday. i had planned to release a long chapter today, but i could not do that either. Sorry guys. Next chapter will be Allen ass kicking with the appearance of a new character!)


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 10: Palace Visit(proofread)

    (i hope i do not offend any one with this chapter. if you feel offended, i apologize!)


    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Year 2040


    Feb 28, Tuesday, 7am


    Somewhere in Tokyo


    Haruna Nakagawa was nervous, more nervous than when she was attending an interview for her job. The twenty year old girl, wearing a white top with blue stripes on and blue jean was now inside a black car which was on its way to the airport. She was all alone in the car with a small bag as her companion. Haruna could still not believe that she was on her way to the airport.


    That morning she was woken up by her father. Her father appeared pale and scared, shouting at the girl to wake up. When she had woken up, the girl was asked to come down to the living room saying that there was someone who wanted to meet her. The girl was still sleepy due to her late night gaming hobbies. Reluctantly she got out of her bed and walked to the bathroom to freshen up. Changing her pajamas into something more appropriable, she walked down the stairs to the living room.


    There on the sofa sat a young man who appeared no more than 25 years old, wearing a black suite. The man stood up and greeted the girl with a bow, smiling gently, his brown short hair neatly kept. The boy then spoke with a voice beaming full of confidence.


    ¡°Miss Haruna! The young master has sent me to take you¡±


    ¡°Eh? Who?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Where is my manners? Pardon me Miss Haruna. My name is Kiro, young master Ryu¡¯s driver. He has asked me to bring you to the airport where your flight to London awaits you. ¡±


    Haruna and her father, Kiyoshi Nakagawa froze. Both their minds could not grasp what was going on. They stared at Kiro with disbelief.


    ¡°Mr. Kiyoshi, I have to apologize for the young master¡¯s rudeness. But he desires Miss Haruna to accompany him to London. I have already informed Miss Haruna¡¯s workplace about this. They have agreed to grant you paid leave. Miss Haruna shall come back in a couple of days. You have no need to worry as the young master will be accompanied by his mother and sister too. I shall be waiting outside in the car for you Miss Haruna.¡± and Kiro walked away leaving the two dumbfounded. When things began to settle, Haruna rushed to her room not waiting for her father to retort. In minutes she finished packing everything she needed and at the same speed she got in the room she ran out to the car while shouting, ¡°I will see you in two days Papa. Take care.¡±


    She got in the car laughing, she was happy to have got the chance to go somewhere she had always wanted to. London was one of the places she wanted to visit, even though she herself did not know why. When the initial enthusiasm cooled down, the girl¡¯s body began to tense. She then realized that she was alone in the car.


    ¡°Um, Kiro san, where is his mother and sister?¡±


    ¡°Oh! They are in Germany on a vacation¡±


    ¡°They are coming too right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Why would they?¡± Kiro asked with a straight face, smiling.


    It then struck Haruna that she and her father was tricked and it was going to be a trip with Ryu alone.


    ¡°Young master is waiting for you at the airport. He just arrived from South Korea. We will be reaching the hangar soon?¡±


    ¡®Hangar? Does he mean airport? Rich people!¡¯ the girl thought not knowing the place she was being taken to.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 28, Tuesday, 7am


    Yasahiro Mansion


    ¡°Ryu why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I came to meet a friend of mine, Ojii sama¡±


    ¡°Friend you say?¡± Isamu asked, his eyes glittering. For years Isamu had tried many methods to try to make the boy


    befriend someone, but all his plans always ended fruitless.


    ¡°Yes Ojii sama. I want to travel to London with my friend. Can I Ojii sama?¡±


    ¡°London eh? Why there?¡±


    ¡°Nothing big Ojii sama. Somebody tried to play a game so I just want to end the game thoroughly¡±


    When Isamu heard this, the happy face he had till then suddenly vanished. ¡°Who?¡± was all that the man asked. From the tone of his voice it was evident that the man was now mad. Isamu had one rule in his life, ¡®family is everything¡¯. Dare to touch any one from the family, the normally kind man becomes a merciless hunter. Ryu knew what would happen if he were to tell Isamu of the person¡¯s name.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Ojii sama. Let me handle him. I have already asked those in London to make the necessary preparations. So please calm down¡±


    It took a while for Isamu to calm down, slowly the smile returned to the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°Is it a girl?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Ryu did not understand the sudden question.


    ¡°Your friend, is it a girl?¡±


    ¡°Yes Ojii sama¡± Ryu said, slightly blushing. Isamu looked surprised for a second but began laughing loudly. ¡°Very well boy. Go on. But boy, never make a girl cry¡±


    Ryu nodded with a smile and gently bowed to his grandfather and walked away. Isamu looked at the boy and realized that the boy¡¯s back was no longer lonely.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 28, Tuesday, 8am


    Yasahiro Private Jet Hangar, Tokyo


    Ryu got out of his car and walked towards a small office like building. He opened the door and found Kiro standing


    outside the door which had a label saying ¡®Visitor¡¯s room¡¯


    ¡°Kiro-san, has she come?¡± Ryu asked with a voice which was slightly nervous. The world¡¯s richest and powerful boy was getting nervous. Why? Because he was going to meet his first friend. Kiro nodded at Ryu to answer his question.


    ¡°How do I look? Is this ok?¡± asked the boy who never once cared for his looks. Wearing a black suite similar to Kiro, the boy looked nothing short of a celebrity.


    ¡°You look wonderful young master, except for your face which looks like it¡¯s going to explode any minute. I have never seen you so tense.¡± Kiro teased the boy. The boy smiled and then walked forward, taking a deep breath, he opened the door.


    Inside the well-lit and air conditioned room, a girl was shivering, her teeth clattering due to the cold. The girl had a sweater on her and a cap covering her head. With hands covered with gloves she was hugging her body to escape from the cold.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ryu asked, suppressing his laughter at the sight.


    The girl was startled and with a ¡®Kyaa¡¯ she jumped out of the chair. The girl then looked back to see who it was that talked. She gently turned around as if she were scared to make any sudden movements. Tilting her head and body, she looked at the person who was standing near the door. A boy with jet black wavy hair and golden brown eyes was standing near the door wearing a black suite. He had a smile on his face and she understood that smile was for her.


    ¡®Those eyes, why are they so beautiful¡¯ her heart raced when she looked into those eyes, she could feel her heart beat.


    ¡°If you were feeling cold you could have asked Kiro-san to turn off the air conditioner. Sigh¡± Ryu said shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.


    ¡°Hi! My name is Ryu Yasahiro! Nice to meet you¡±


    ¡°Eh? Um! Etho! Haruna Nakagawa, nice to meet you¡± replied Haruna nervously. She was cursing inside for being seen like


    that by Ryu.


    ¡°Then Haruna shall we?¡± Ryu asked waving his right hand to the outside of the door.


    Haruna nodded and walked outside of the room followed by Ryu. Kiro opened the door towards the hangar, when he saw Ryu and Haruna. The three then got out of the building through the back door, which lead to the hangar. Walking towards something that Haruna had only heard before, an Embraer Legacy 500 business jet.


    The young girl gaped at the jet, a thing she had only seen in magazines and news shows was in front of her. With


    widened eyes she walked towards the jet escorted by Ryu and Kiro.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 28, Tuesday, 10am


    London


    ¡°Haruna, wake up. We have arrived. Wake up¡± Ryu gently woke up the sleeping girl. The girl then slowly opened her eyes and then looked at Ryu. She did not recognize the person in front of her and was about to scream for help. Ryu felt Haruna tensing up and looked at the girl. When he understood that she was about to scream, he shut her mouth with his hand.


    ¡°Haruna, its Ryu. Calm down¡±


    Those words brought recollection to Haruna¡¯s brain. She remembered the things that had expired before she fell asleep. Ryu gently removed his hands and smiled at the girl.


    ¡°Let us go. I will let you sleep in a short while after we reach our rooms¡±


    Haruna nodded and followed Ryu. The two exited the jet. Kiro was already waiting for the two, standing beside a car. Ryu walked Haruna towards the car and opened the back door for her to get in. Ryu then got into the front seat and then asked Kiro to start the vehicle. The already sleepy Haruna fell into a slumber once she got inside the car. She was too sleepy to enjoy the view outside the car. Ryu and Kiro smiled at each other thinking ¡®what a simple girl¡¯.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 28, Tuesday, 4pm


    Haruna slowly woke up from here deep sleep and stretched her hands, yawning, with half opened eyes. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and once again stretched her hands. Once the sleepiness left her, the girl felt something strange about her surroundings. She looked around and was shocked when she saw the room she was in. the room was huge, painted in white and decorated with beautiful carvings. There was ample sunlight entering from the windows making the room well lit. The walls had some paintings hung on them, a chair and a table in the vicinity, a wooden cupboard with intricate carvings, and the floor had a carpet. The girl could not understand where she was and so she slowly got out of the bed. Before she could explore the room, there was a knock to the door. The next moment the door was flung open and in came a handful of women dressed as maids carrying make up sets, girl wardrobes, shoes, hats and everything girly.


    Haruna was flabbergasted from the sudden intrusion and was about to protest when the maids attacked her without a word, the girl could not even let out a squeal. It was an all-out war.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 28, Tuesday, 10am


    Phoenix Enterprises Head Office


    ¡°Sir!¡± Yuki called out to her boss who has busy monitoring his game world.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡°Can¡¯t you see that I am busy right now Yuki?¡± Allen sneered at his secretary.


    ¡°Sir, you have a call¡±


    ¡°I said I am busy¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the Prime Minister.¡±


    Allen dashed towards Yuki and snatched the phone away in seconds.


    ¡°Mr. Winfred! It¡¯s such an honor Sir¡± Allen began smooth talking the man on the other end of the call.


    ¡°Yes Mr. Winfred¡±, ¡°I will Mr. Winfred¡±, ¡°Of course, I will¡±, ¡°Thank you Mr. Winfred. Have a good day.¡± Allen gave the phone


    back to Yuki, and suddenly began laughing, ¡°Yes, yes, yes¡± he shouted startling Yuki.


    ¡°Sir, calm down please. You are scaring me¡±


    ¡°Yuki, we have a party tonight?¡±


    ¡°Party? With the Prime minister?¡±


    ¡°And the venue?¡±


    ¡°Buckingham Palace young lady¡± Allen said smiling gleefully at his now frozen secretary.


    ---***---


    Year 2040


    Feb 28, Tuesday, 4pm


    Buckingham Palace


    Allen Perez arrived at the palace in his brand new red Lamborghini. The man exited the vehicle and then walked towards


    the attendant who was waiting at the door.


    ¡°Allen Perez¡± Allen said to the man who seemed as if he was in his late sixties. ¡®A butler eh!¡¯ thought Allen.


    The attendant nodded slightly, ¡°We have been waiting for you sir. The King and the rest are waiting for you¡±


    Allen was excited. He had always dreamed of such a moment. He felt so happy that his face always had a smile on it. The attendant took Allen to a large hall and asked him to wait there in the room. Allen sat on the seat he was provided with, still smiling. A few minutes passed and the attendant announced the arrival of the King and Queen. Allen rose and steadied his suite, he put on his best smiling face and awaited the King¡¯s arrival.


    When the door to the room opened, five people walked out of the door. Allen was confused. He recognized three among those. King Aiden was in the middle, to his left was Queen Hanna. The Prime Minister was walking beside the queen. Allen recognized them, but he did not know the other two that were accompanying him. To the right of the King was a young boy and girl dressed in expensive dresses.


    Allen did not pay those two any attention and then walked towards to the King. The group halted when they saw Allen appearing. With a smile the King spoke, ¡°I assume you to be Allen Perez¡± the king asked.


    ¡°Yes your grace¡± Allen kneeled on the ground. The king stretched his right hand towards the man. Allen then held the hand gently and lightly kissed on the ring. These traditions were still followed even in modern times.


    ¡°Rise young man¡± the king said and then began walking. Allen felt a little left off but he followed the group closely. He could hear the conversation between them and he understood that the king and queen were enjoying the talks with the unknown boy. Allen felt anger build up in him for being avoided. They proceeded to another large hall. The king and queen sat down on something similar to thrones. King Aiden then asked the others to sit. Even then the boy was close to


    the king. Allen kept his anger at bay and kept smiling.


    ¡°Allen Perez, let me introduce you to this fine young man. This here is Ryu Yasahiro, the next in line for the Yasahiro industries. Have you heard about them?¡± the King asked.


    Allen Perez could not respond. There in front of him sat a boy, smiling. But the eyes that were staring at him were not at all smiling. He felt those eyes piercing his body, he felt as if he was naked in front of him, insecurity and powerlessness was what Allen was feeling.


    ¡°Your grace, you flatter me. I am just a seventeen year old boy. I do not think Mr. Allen would have heard about me¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡± the King laughed. ¡°Just like your grandfather, modest to the very end. You have not introduced to me the maiden with you Ryu.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Forgive me, your grace. This here is my friend from home. I just brought here along when she said she wanted to visit the place.¡±


    ¡°Then why is the little maiden so silent. Perhaps she does not entertain talking with us old people¡± the King made a sad face.


    ¡°I..its not that¡± the girl said in broken English. This surprised all who were there. The girl had almost shouted at a loud voice. The King and Queen broke out into a laughter while Ryu smiled. The prime minister was shocked with the royal family¡¯s laughter while Allen could not even begin to grasp anything that was going on.


    ¡°Seems like I scared the young maiden Ryu. I must apologize¡±


    ¡°No your grace. It is me who must apologize. I had kept it a secret about this meeting to give her a surprise. Seem the girl is too nervous. Please forgive her rude behavior.¡±


    ¡°Still the formal way of talking. Have I not told you about your grandfather being my best friend? His grandson is like mine too. And yet here you go with those formalities. Do you talk to your grandfather in similar way?¡±


    ¡°I am afraid, it is so your grace¡± the boy replied with the smile.


    ¡®Friends with the King? Same as my grandson.¡¯ These words were plaguing poor Allen from inside.


    ¡°Your grace, it seems Mr. Allen is not feeling well. Let me take him out your grace.¡±


    The King nodded. When Ryu got up from the seat, Haruna too was about to get up. But was prevented by Ryu. He then walked towards the sweating Allen.


    ¡°Mr. Allen let me take you out. You seem unwell.¡± Ryu spoke, glaring at the man. Allen did not resist and so got up from the seat. Ryu then supported the man and walked him out slowly. When the two had disappeared the Prime Minister asked the King,


    ¡°Your grace! Why do you treat that boy with such care? Is he not some noble¡¯s son?¡± Winfred¡¯s voice had a bit of annoyance in it.


    ¡°Winfred, you are a small man it seems. A noble¡¯s child? That boy is far beyond that. He and his grandfather are far more powerful than you think.¡±


    Winfred did not ask any further. ¡®The king is scared of them?¡¯ was a question that was in his mind.


    ¡°Do you know why I care about them? They have so much power that in a snap of their fingers the world would bow and yet they remain silent. Do you know the world¡¯s largest company Winfred?¡±


    ¡°Allen Perez¡¯s Phoenix Enterprise. The launch of his game made his company become number 1 in a month. I heard he overtook the Japanese company, Yanagi corporation in a few weeks who had been first for years.¡±


    ¡°That is why I call you a small man. You do not know the true might of the Yasahiro¡¯s. They remain in the dark, hidden from the world. For the world, they are the King of Japan. But for those who truly know them, they are an existence that stands above all. I will give you a warning Winfred, do not anger them or else you might feel horror beyond your dreams just like that man called Allen Perez. He has angered them and now he shall pay the price for his foolishness¡±, the king then and queen closed their eyes and uttered a silent prayer to the gods above. They prayed to the god to show mercy on the man named Allen. A shocked Winfred just sat motionless. Haruna just looked at the direction were Ryu had headed hoping nothing bad would happen.


    ---***---


    ¡°Allen, I will get straight to it. You have made me mad and so I will give you the appropriate punishment. So now choose, your life or your company which one of these would you want to keep with you? You have one minute to decide¡± the voice was calm, his face void of expressions, the eyes cold as the winter.


    Allen gazed at the boy, his heart already breaking apart. The man had worked years and years to get to what he was. The once poor boy had strived relentlessly to reach the state he was in. He had overcome everything time had thrown at him, not giving up, not wavering. The company was his dream, life and soul.  He opened his mouth, but the voice would not come out.


    ¡°Allen, decide already. If you say you want your life then I shall buy your company and you will be given the appropriate compensation. But if you choose the company, you will die here and buried somewhere deep in the bottomless ocean and your family will inherit the company. Oh and if I buy your company I will be shutting down the game too. I don¡¯t like things that reminds me of my enemies.¡±


    ¡°Please! Please give me the company¡±


    ¡°Ho? You choose company over your life? Why? If you choose life then I would give you money enough to create a new


    company¡±


    ¡°I do not want a new company. This company is my sweat and blood. I worked years to perfect this company. I can¡¯t let it go.¡± Allen Perez was already on his knees, with his eyes gushing out tears like a stream.


    ¡°Well said Allen. Have you been freed from the lust of power?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°You were drunk with power. You forgot the past, you forgot the efforts you had put to make the company. You assumed you were the king of the world and pushed around others according to you whim. You were once like all other common men and yet you hushed those below you when you rose to power. I shall let you go this time, but there won¡¯t be a next time. I may be forgiving but Isamu Yasahiro does not forgive. Power and money are means to live do not think of them as life Allen. Too much money and power will make you lonely, like me¡± Shiv said with a smile. When the boy was speaking the last line, Allen felt the loneliness the boy had underwent. He looked at the boy who was now smiling.


    ¡°Thank you¡± a small whisper escaped from Allen¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°So what do you say Allen? Care to be a seventeen year old boy¡¯s second friend?¡±


    ---***---


    (I wonder if i met your expectations about the encounter between Ryu and Allen. am sorry if it was a dissapointment. I thought this way was better than having Ryu go beat him up or something.)


    My new ff


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> ARMAGEDDON: THE NEW WORLD</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 2- Chapter 11: New changes(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Phoenix Enterprises


    ¡°Sir! How did it go? Was everything alright?¡±


    ¡°Alright? It was hell. Such humiliation. Ryu Yasahiro I will make you pay for this¡± when the initial shock and fear


    disappeared from Allen¡¯s heart, his mind was then consumed by rage and hatred.


    ¡°Sir!¡± Yuki called out to her boss.


    ¡°Shut up woman and get out. I am not in the mood to listen to your blabberings¡±


    Yuki was taken aback. Never once has he been so violent towards her. She could see the agitated Allen¡¯s reddened face.


    Yuki saw anger in those eyes and so she decided to leave the man alone for a while.


    Allen Perez banged his desk with frustration, his mind replayed the events of the day, the humiliation he had to undergo. His powerless state made him even angrier. With rage in his eyes he then turned towards his master capsule. Getting inside it, he said, ¡°AI Mode¡±


    ¡°Amy¡± Allen called out and from thin air a girl appeared. In a white dress with an angelic smile, the girl bowed to Allen


    gently,


    ¡°Why have you called me Mr. Allen?¡±


    ¡°Why was a player allowed to go to Draklake so early?¡± Allen asked without any delay, no pleasantries.


    ¡°Because he was found worthy of it¡±


    ¡°And on what basis did you arrive to that conclusion¡±


    ¡°I have four reasons. The first one being, he was the first buyer.¡±


    ¡°First buyer? How is that possible? The first buyer was the king¡¯s grandson, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I do not know how Mr. Allen. But from the records in my database, Mr. Ryu was marked as the first buyer¡±


    ¡°Hm! Then the other reasons?¡±


    ¡°The second reason was because he chose ¡®random¡¯ as destination¡±


    ¡°What the f*ck? Are you stupid?¡±


    ¡°Not at all Mr. Allen. Had he chosen a particular destination then I would not have sent him to Draklake. So the ¡®random¡¯


    condition is most crucial. The third was because of his family background. From various sources in the internet, the data I


    gathered showed that Mr. Ryu was of royal blood, which was the condition that a player should satisfy to enter


    Draklake¡±


    ¡°And what is the fourth one¡± Allen asked indifferently. The third condition Amy mentioned was what Allen had come up


    with himself. This restricted the number of possibilities by a very large margin.


    ¡°The fourth reason is he had a very high IQ¡±


    ¡°IQ?¡± Allen was beginning to get mad. Even though the conditions were all solid, he did not want to accept Ryu.


    ¡°Yes an IQ of 131 which makes him a highly intelligent person. For a player to be able to succeed the Dragon King, an IQ of 130 was set as minimum.¡±


    ¡°So he barely passed the fourth condition. What have happened if he failed the last condition?¡±


    ¡°He would have been sent to some other village selected randomly¡±


    ¡°Ho! Amy I have a question for you¡± Allen spoke, grinning.


    ---***---


    London


    ¡°Haruna! I am sorry¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why are you apologizing?¡± Haruna was startled by the sudden apology. The two were now on their way back to the


    hotel from the palace.


    ¡°For involving you in this. For forcing you to come with me. For doing things without your permission¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. I had fun¡± Haruna lied not wanting to anger the person next to her. When she was first asked to get into the car


    that was in front of her house, she was weirdly happy. She was excited on the idea of a trip with the richest boy in the


    world. But the turn of events made Haruna lose her sanity many times.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to lie. I know what you were going through. I am a victim myself¡± Ryu smiled at the girl who now had a


    confused look.


    ¡°When I migrated from India to Japan, I was 7 years old. My father¡¯s home was where I was born and the place where I


    built my first castle of memories. When the war broke out, it destroyed my family along with the castle. I have seen


    mother looking at father¡¯s photo and crying, I don¡¯t know how many times. To support mother and my little sister, I had


    to let go of my innocence and happiness. The next ten years of my life were spent in molding the next head of the family,


    to give birth to Ryu Yasahiro. In those years I forgot something and that was friendship. Ajay Khatri was a boy with hundreds of friends while Ryu Yasahiro has just his shadow with him¡±


    Ryu then looked outside the window of the car and then turned to the driver, asking the man to drop them near a park.


    The two were brought to a small park where the moonlight was dancing to the tune of the night wind.


    ¡°I have lived my past ten years as Ryu Yasahiro, for the sake of my family. Every day I would be taught various things


    from languages to martial arts, things needed by a leader. Never have I gone to a school or places a normal boy would


    go. I wanted you to see, see and understand the so called life of a rich person.¡±


    ¡°Why not make friends with the other rich boys?¡± Haruna was curious. She could not grasp why the boy was so in need


    for friends when he could get those rich people to be his friends.


    Ryu looked at the girl and smiled. With a sigh he then looked around the park. Haruna was confused by this sudden


    gesture but she kept quiet


    ¡°In my life so far, I have attended more than a hundred parties of those rich people and every time those so called rich


    boys came with the intention of being my friend I rejected them bluntly. Wanna know why? Because they wanted me to


    be their puppet not friend. All they see in me is my monetary worth and not the person Ryu. The girls who tried to flirt


    with me were all the same. It¡¯s just money and money. I have lived among such people for ten years, suffocated by their


    greed.¡±


    Haruna remained silent, not knowing what she must say to console the boy.


    ¡°I brought you here because I wanted you to understand me, the person Ryu. Just like all those normal seventeen year


    old boys there are things I want and like too. But the world around me does not care.¡±


    ¡°Why not try talking to your mother or grandfather?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t Haruna. Both mother and Ojii-sama have their own sets of problem. They have to go through far more worse


    things and so I will not burden them anymore. This is my life, a life among greedy people with unlimited wealth. I could


    have taken you to some hotels or beaches and we could have spent time just like normal friends. But I am not normal,


    and I want you to understand my world. I am truly sorry for making you accompany me¡± saying so Ryu bowed at the lady


    to apologize for his behavior. He wanted her to know the miserable life he was leading, he wanted her to experience it


    first hand, the uneasiness the boy had always faced with a bright smile.


    ¡°Ryu, let us go back. I promise that I will show you the fun things of a seventeen year olds life¡± Haruna said, smiling, with


    no fear in her heart. She understood that the boy in front of her was like all those boys, childish and cute.


    She stretched her hand forward, to let the boy grab it. When he grabbed her, she pulled him hard and began running,


    dragging him along, laughing wildly. The confused boy soon began laughing too, the innocent laugh of a child. For him


    the spring of his life had begun.


    ---***---


    ¡°Mother! How have you been?¡±


    ¡°Fine Ryu. Have you been eating well?¡±


    ¡°Yes mother, you worry too much¡±


    ¡°Of course I worry, you are my son¡±


    Ryu smiled and then said, ¡°Mother are you close to the village?¡±


    ¡°Draklake Village was it? It seems we will arrive there shortly. Half a game day at most. Mia is very excited, she has been


    pestering me to play longer so that she could see you sooner¡±


    ¡°Tell her I miss her so much. And mother, when are you coming back?¡±


    ¡°Well! Your grandfather says it¡¯s not ok to come back and so we will not be coming back soon. I miss that place¡±


    ¡°Very well mother. I miss your cooking¡±


    ¡°I will be back soon and then you can eat all you want. Oh and bring your girlfriend too¡±


    ¡°She is not my girlfriend mother¡± Ryu retorted, blushing.


    ¡°My son seems to be getting shy. That is a first time¡±


    ¡°Mother I am going. Love you¡±


    ¡°Love you too son¡±


    Ryu then disconnected the phone and got into the capsule. A couple of days had passed since his encounter with Allen


    Perez. Ryu was now at the Yasahiro Palace. He had decided against going back to Korea as he wanted to meet Haruna


    often. His grandfather had strictly denied him the permission to go back to Korea even before Ryu asked.


    ¡°What do they mean girlfriend. We are not something like that yet¡± muttering under his breath Ryu then got in the


    capsule and said, ¡°Dive in¡±


    ---***---


    ¡°Brother! Where have you been? Even Kate was not here¡±


    ¡°I had some things to take care of and I have a surprise for you.¡±


    ¡°Surprise? What is it?¡± Bella asked excited at the prospect of a sudden surprise.


    ¡°Not telling. You will find out soon enough. Now go call Ames¡±


    Bella pouted, a little annoyed but still ran off to get Ames. Shiv then looked around. The new tavern and houses were all


    completed. The village looked much crowded than before with more number of stalls and people.


    ¡°Open village affairs tab¡±


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Village mode</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Population: 2195(2036+159)</td><td colspan=''2''>Happiness: 78/100</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Culture:19/100</td><td colspan=''2''>Technology:5/100</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Sanitation:71/100</td><td colspan=''2''>Crime:12/100</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Economy:21/100</td><td colspan=''2''></td>Military:9/100[/td2]</tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Hm the population has doubled so has the economy. The village is short on houses for the people to live. The pace is too fast. At this rate I will have to increase the boundary of the village. Before that!¡¯


    ¡°Open Military tab¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Military Mode</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Archers: 17</td><td colspan=''2''>Assassins: 0</td></tr><tr>Cavalry:0<td colspan=''2''></td><td colspan=''2''>Infantry:0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Mages:0</td><td colspan=''2''>Siege Units:0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Special Units:0</td><td colspan=''2''>Spy:0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Private Army: Not Available</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Hm. Not impressive at all. We need more men. What should I do? I can¡¯t have a private army either eh. How very


    troublesome. Now next,¡¯


    ¡°Open Population¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Population Mode</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Villagers: 139</td><td colspan=''2''>Players: 2036</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Houses: 34</td><td colspan=''2''>Taverns: 1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Special buildings:1</td><td colspan=''2''>Utility Buildings:2</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®Special buildings eh. One? The school? Hm, interesting. Utility buildings must be the forge and the training ground. Why does tavern come here? It should be under economy. Is it because it has residential area too. I see.¡¯


    ¡°Open Economy¡±


    ¡®trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Economy Mode</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Income: 48G/ day</td><td colspan=''2''>Treasury:1008G</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Expense: 0</td><td colspan=''2''>Investment:0</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Zero investment and expense? Open investment¡±


    <table><tbody>¡®Trrrng¡¯<tr><td colspan=''4''>Village mode</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Hygiene: 0%</td><td colspan=''2''>Happiness: 0%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Culture: 0%</td><td colspan=''2''>Technology: 0%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Economy: 0%</td><td colspan=''2''>Military: 0%</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Invest 5% of treasury to each. Close window. Open expense¡±


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Expense Mode</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Expense:432G</td><td colspan=''2''>Investment: 432G</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡®That should do it. Wait a sec, 432G? 5% of 1008 is 50.4. 50.4G for each of the six should add up to 303G then why is it 432G?¡¯ Shiv pondered into the problem for a while before it clicked to him. It was not 1008 G that was used for the calculation, it was 1440G, the monthly income. 48 gold if collected every day of a 30 day month would give 1440 gold.


    ¡®So that means, the investment amount will be deduced only after the month ends, that is the 1st of the next month. Hm, interesting. Where is Ames? Why is he so late?¡¯


    Shiv began walking to Ames house. He did not have to walk too long, Bella came running to him with Ames with her.


    ¡°Took you long enough. Seems the village has gotten busy.¡±


    ¡°Yes chief. Good thing you came back, I was hardly able to keep the place together.¡±


    ¡°Report of the previous days Ames¡± Shiv asked.


    ¡°Yes chief. The school is doing well. There are more and more applicants. We have to do something about it. Also, the crime rate has increased a lot. There are always problems in the tavern and so. Food is getting scarcer. The travelers are arguing against the shop owners for not being able to sell anything here. The houses are being forcefully occupied by the travelers. We could not do anything in fear of our lives. And to add to all the troubles, people from other villages have


    begun to settle down in our village too¡± Ames reported, sighing, frustrated.


    ¡°Hm! Is that so? School eh,okay. For the school increase the student intake for one class to 80. Assign two teachers to


    teach, 40each in different classes. Increase the batches that can pre-book from 2 to 3. That should solve the situation for now. The problem will return to haunt us soon though¡±


    ¡°It will return to haunt us again?¡± Ames asked with distaste and displeasure.


    ¡°Yes. Our village is small and so the travelers do not have any means to spend their time. If there were things other than


    the school to attract their attention, that would eliminate the rush at the school. For now we won¡¯t do anything, let it go


    as it is. Only if he had people who could teach different skills.¡± Shiv sighed shrugging his shoulders. His idea about a


    school was getting too much attention, much more than he expected. Of course he knew that people would be flowing in


    large quantities, but not this soon. He had expected people to arrive for classes after a while.


    ¡°Eh! But we do have some who can teach new skills¡±


    ¡°What? Who? Why was I not told about them the day I came here?¡±


    ¡°That was because they are not from our village. Remember the refugees? They have some skilled painters, musicians


    and sculptures¡±


    ¡°So letting them stay was good after all. Bella ask Doval to come here please¡±


    Bella nodded and once again ran away.


    ¡°Ames, we will include artists, musicians and sculptors to the curriculum. They will be temporary for now. We will run


    classes for a couple of weeks and see the results. If they fail to get at least 20 students then we will take them out.


    Announce this at the village square. Do mention that they are temporary classes. We will begin with 40 students, 1 gold each.¡±


    ¡°I understand chief¡±


    ¡°As for food. That is a problem. Let us go meet the merchants for now. There must be plenty of travelers who are merchants¡±


    ¡°There are chief. I will ask them to gather here as soon as possible. What about the crime rate?¡±


    ¡°Hm. For that we have to increase the guards. We will need more guards and give them proper training. But again, to train them we need a good teacher adept in fighting. I will look into it now. You go gather the merchant Ames¡±


    ¡°Yes chief¡± and both of them separated. Shiv walked towards the tavern where most of the players gather while Ames


    headed over to the merchants.


    The tavern was bigger than all the other buildings in the village, except the school. The tavern was designed to occupy


    over a hundred people with more than 20 rooms on the first and second floor. A three storey tavern where the ground floor was a restaurant to serve the players. Shiv entered the tavern silently, he wanted to observe the place.


    There were players here and there, the NPC receptionists and waiters were having it tough controlling them. It was like a bee hive without a queen, chaos everywhere. Some were arguing while some were shouting out loud. Some of them were flirting with woman players, others were busy cleaning their weapons. Shiv could not help but sigh at the sight in front of him. ¡®Sigh! What an unruly flock?¡¯


    Shiv moved to the receptionist who stood up to bow at him. Shiv stopped her before she could and cautioned her not to


    say anything. He then moved past her and then talked to the head waiter about something. The waiter nodded and then


    he gathered all the remaining waiters, the cooks and the receptionists and went outside the tavern.


    ¡°Silence¡± Shiv shouted, his dragon roar paralyzing the players for split seconds. This was a dangerous move but Shiv


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.nevertheless used it.


    ¡°Good! Now that you are all silent, I have a favor to ask¡±


    Everybody present in the room glared at Shiv with rage in their eyes. Not only did the man paralyze them, now he was


    asking for a favor.


    ¡°Ah I forgot to introduce myself¡± as Shiv was speaking, the paralysis wore off and all the players rushed towards Shiv


    equipping their weapons, some were casting magic spells. Not minding them, Shiv continued,


    ¡°Welcome to Draklake, the village of hope. I am Shiv, the chief of this village!¡± Shiv said with his best smiling face.


    The entire tavern froze. They looked at Shiv and then at each other. They were not sure whether to trust him or not.


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke around Brat, the chief of the village is Bella. Her right hand Ames looks after the village for her. Your lie has


    been seen through now die and give us your items.¡± Someone shouted and rushed forward. At that moment somebody


    barged inside the tavern, a young and beautiful girl walked in with another man accompanying her.


    ¡°Brother! I have brought Doval just like you asked¡± Bella replied. Shiv then approached her and patted her head gently


    which made Bella smile with happiness.


    ¡°Chief, I once again thank you for letting us stay. Why have you called for me?¡±


    ¡°Ah Doval. Just a minute. I have a small business to finish¡± he then faced the hundreds of stunned players and began


    talking.


    ¡°As I said, my name is Shiv, the chief of this village. And I need you to do me a favor¡±


    In an instant the attitude of the player changed. The tigers who were ready to tear apart Shiv were now obedient puppies


    beneath Shiv¡¯s knees.


    ¡°What do you want us to do?¡±


    ¡°I need you to join our village army¡±


    There was silence everywhere. Everybody lost their interest very soon and they returned to their seats and sat idle.


    ¡°Ho!¡± Shiv mused. ¡±I need guards for my village. Just 50 of you. For 2 game months¡±


    None were interested so they did not reply to Shiv¡¯s word and yet Shiv continued.


    ¡°You will be paid 30G each at the end of the 2 months.¡±


    At this point some began to fidget. Even it took 2 months, 30G was a pretty hefty. In the world of dragon lore, 100 copper


    was equal to 1 silvers while 100 silvers equaled 1gold coin. And here, the reward was 30G. Some of the players thought


    that Shiv was a fool to give away this much money for such a simple task.


    ¡°Also, for these 2 months you will be receiving 10% off in every shop that belongs to the villages, like the blacksmith,


    school etc¡± Shiv baited them some more. 10% off was a very high price for the village since it was low on economy but


    Shiv still put forward such a reward because having strong players as temporary guards was good enough to


    compensate for the loss.


    ¡°¡±With that said, I will be giving you a quest. The level does not matter, anyone can apply. First come first serve.¡± And


    Shiv clapped his hands.


    With that a table popped before every player in the tavern, school and village. Shiv had sent the receptionists and


    waiters to spread the word.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: THE PROTECTORS OF DRAKLAKE</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The chief of the village has asked you to help him guard the village of Draklake. This is until the village develops its own army. Protect the village and villagers from internal and external threats.


    Guards: 0/50


    Days left: 60days


    Difficulty : +E


    Rewards


    30G


    10% price reduction in village owned stores


    +50 intimacy with villagers


    +100 contribution points


    +200 fame


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1.   If you fail to maintain peace


    2.   If half of the villagers dies


    3.   If you abandon the mission


    Failure will reset all intimacy with the villagers to zero. Will be banned from entering the village.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    There were numerous ¡®I accept¡¯ being shouted throughout the village. Shiv smiled, ¡¯Got you!¡¯. The ability to give quests was given to players who were chiefs or had other important positions. Shiv being a chief had just given out his first quest.


    The number filled up instantly, in a flash to be precise. Shiv then asked the players that were now the new guards to gather outside the pub. Once they gathered, he asked some of them to bring the remaining guards. Shiv then instructed them to not allow players who were not able to become guard to follow or share the quest. Fifty was the least required. The players nodded and dispersed. In a few minutes, the fifty assembled. Shiv asked them to write down their names in the piece of paper that he gave. The fifty wrote and returned the paper back. This paper was then checked by Shiv. Since he was the one who gave the quest, he was able to get a table of the players who were accepted as guards. He checked the names in the paper list and table. Once everything was settled, he then turned to the players.


    ¡°You fifty have been appointed as guards. You all are equal, no matter what level you are. If any of you tries to fight with


    each other in the name of being a higher level I will banish you from the village forever. You shall be the role model for


    the village. For the next 60 days, you will be allowed to live in the houses the village has. But we are short on them and hence you will be living in the empty classrooms for a couple of days. New houses will be given in a week or so .You will


    be given the necessary things like armor, weapon and so if required by the blacksmith, these should be returned once


    your 60 day duty expires. Do not lose them. Food will be given to you at half the price. Now to your duty. Maintain peace


    throughout the village. The crime rate has gone up and so I want you to bring it down. If you encounter a crime, capture


    the troublemakers and fine them 1gold. If they refuse to pay bring them to me and I will banish them.¡±


    At this there were murmurs among the players. 1G fine and banishment were not something they could agree to so


    easily.


    ¡°Do not worry. Everything that I have said is now being announced throughout the village. This itself will help in bringing


    down the crime rate considerably. Threats are best in this type of situations. But threats are not enough. So if there are


    troublemakers even after this, we will deal with them accordingly. The next duty is to protect the village from external


    threats. The items the enemy drops belongs to the one who killed. Do not fight over it, I will not entertain it in the least¡±


    Shiv glared at the fifty.


    ¡°I will be your leader. Do not fight amongst yourselves to decide the leader. You will follow my orders alone. There will


    no other leader for you. You are prohibited from small quests from the villagers. This is because once you are guards the


    villagers will trust you more and so will approach only you not the others who are not guards. I do not want a civil war here in my village. Visit the tailor by the end of tomorrow, you will be given a dragon emblem which will serve as an


    identification. Now for your first task, the houses that were supposed to be that of the villagers are being occupied by


    other players. So you will have to force them to vacate. Here is the order with the seal, show this to them. Tell them it¡¯s


    the chief¡¯s order. Now disperse, I will call for you if needed.¡±


    With this the fifty new guards dispersed. They were excited and troubled as well. Excited about their new quest, troubled


    by the person who was to be their leader, Shiv.


    Once the party dispersed, Shiv then walked towards Doval. Doval bowed at Shiv to show his respect. Shiv nodded his


    head and gestured Doval to follow him.


    ¡°Doval, I heard your people are good in art and music. Is it so?¡±


    ¡°Yes chief. Our previous village was pretty famous in Hwan kingdom for it¡±


    ¡°Oh, that is a good news. Doval, you do know about the school in our village?¡±


    ¡°Of course chief, it is the main attraction of our village after all.¡±


    ¡°True, but I wish to change that. For that I need your help¡±


    ¡°Change? I do not comprehend¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get so tensed. The village now only has the school which brings forth people and income. But that alone is not enough to help a village grow. We need culture and technology along with the military power. You understand don¡¯t you


    ex-chief?¡±


    ¡°Of course chief I do. What is it that you desire?¡±


    ¡°I plan to construct a library and a church in the village. I need your people to beautify it with paintings and sculptures.¡±


    ¡°Paintings and sculptures? It would be an honor chief.¡± Doval smiled with ecstasy.


    ¡°Once that is finished your people will have to beautify the entire village, the stone wall, the fountain and so. I need a


    statue of the true god Oberon at the village gate. We will go into it in detail later. The thing I want you to now is bring me


    the best in your village.¡±


    ¡°Best in what chief?¡±


    ¡°Anything and everything. Music, painting, sculpting and any other profession. I am going to appoint them as the new


    teachers in the school. They will teach 40 students about their profession. Send them to school tomorrow. I will make


    the necessary arrangements.¡±


    ¡°Such a task to us refugees¡± Doval was moved to tears.


    ¡°Who are these refugees you speak of? I see none. Only one of the villagers of Draklake.¡± Saying so Shiv walked away


    from Doval, who was bowing at him with tears dripping from his eyes.


    The next destination was the place where the merchant players were gathered by Ames. Shiv approached the place and


    saw Ames arguing with another guy. He walked towards them to find out the reason for the argument.


    ¡°Ames? Why are you fighting with the traveler?¡±


    ¡°Ah, chief. This mongrel here says that he wants to leave. Says he is not obligated to hear the chief¡¯s blabbering¡±


    ¡±Yup! I want to leave and this pig is not allowing me to. I have the freedom to do what I want. I am a traveler, I have no


    reason to stay. Who would want to stay in this useless excuse for a village?¡±


    The last few words caused Shiv to snap. In an instant Shiv was in front of the guy who bad mouthed the village he loved.


    A single punch, just a punch right to his abdomen. That was all Shiv did. That was all that was needed. The player was


    sent flying a good way back and landed on the ground unconscious.


    ¡°You are hereby not allowed to enter my village, throw him out now.¡±


    Once he finished with his words, a light enveloped the unconscious player and teleported him. This was what happened


    when somebody was banned from entering, he would be forcefully teleported outside.


    ¡°Now that the commotion has finished, let us get to the reason why I called for you. Our village is now running low on


    food. The sudden increase in population has caused the village unable to produce enough food.¡±


    ¡°Why are you talking about food to us? You want us to sell you food?¡± one asked.


    ¡°Not at all. I do not have the money to buy them. But I have the money to buy ideas¡±


    ¡°Ideas?¡± another voice arose.


    ¡°Yes! All of you are players from different part of the continent. Are you not?¡±


    ¡°Yes we are. Player? You are a player too? How did you become a chief?¡±


    ¡®Damn there was a smart one. Those idiots in the tavern did not realize I was a player and I thought these merchants


    won¡¯t either. Well I will avoid that question for now.¡¯ Shiv thought and once again began speaking.


    ¡°As I told. You are from different places. The places you come from might have a different way of life and so a different


    way of doing things. All I want you to do is, each of you will bring me your own method of solving the problem. Out of all


    the solutions I will choose three. The player whose plan gets chosen will be rewarded. The others will get a


    compensation of 5 golds each¡±


    Ames was stunned at the suggestion. He could not help but smile. There was a limit to what a single person can think of. But here instead of one, over a hundred were going to be thinking for a solution. Ames was once again impressed by the


    new chief.


    ¡°You will be personally explaining the plan to me. And I will tell you in advance. The person who gets first will become


    my strategist. Something like a prime minister and of course it is not mandatory that you be my strategist. You are free


    to turn down the opportunity. If you do, the second best will be given the chance and if he too rejects, the third will be


    given the opportunity which he can reject if he wants too. All the best, you have 4 game days to think of one, starting


    from tomorrow morning¡±


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: THE STRATEGIST</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The chief of the village has asked you to help him with the food shortage. He expects great ideas from you.


    Days left: 4days


    Difficulty : +E


    Rewards


    5G


    +50 intimacy with villagers


    +200 contribution points


    +300 fame


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    The quest tab appeared in front of everyone. All of the merchants were so excited by the quest that they ignored the fact that Shiv was a player. Using this, Shiv made his exit along with Ames.


    ¡°That was brilliant chief. But why the position of Strategist¡±


    ¡°Ames. Food shortage is something most villages encounters. In such a situation what they normally do is buy food from other place or increase food production by hunting or larger farms. But that is not what I want. The merchants know that too. I made it specific that I don¡¯t have the money to buy. They also know that the hunters in the village can¡¯t gather enough food either. This forces them to think of new ideas. And if someone can come up with a solution for this then that person is good enough to be a strategist. Leaving that aside, we have more pressing matters. The village has become too small to accommodate all of us. So we are expanding.¡±


    ¡°Expanding? But it will take weeks to expand the entire village¡±


    ¡°I know. It will take weeks if it is just us villagers. So to make things fast, ask the travelers to help. Announce this


    tomorrow. The reward will be 1 G for each volunteer and 5% reduction in cost price in the village owned shops. Five


    hundred travelers will do. Take the students from the school. They must be given highest priority. Just tell them this is a


    test. The remaining you will get soon. Remember, only five hundred, including the students¡±


    ¡°I understand chief.¡±


    ¡°Good. Start with an outer wall. Do not destroy the old wall. Remove the gate of the inner wall once the outer wall is


    finished. The inner wall and outer wall should have four gates at the four different directions. The five hundred will help


    with the protection too. Once the wall is over, we will build new houses. How many houses and how far the wall should


    be is up to you.¡±


    ¡°Brilliant, I will begin at the earliest.¡±


    ¡°Now to the next problem¡±


    ¡°We have another problem?¡±


    ¡°Yes we do. The new villagers. I am sure that they are now jobless. Are they not?¡±


    ¡°Ah! My mistake chief. I forgot that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they will be converted into farmers once the plans from the merchants arrive. And now the final issue. Here is 500 gold. I want you to distribute this money to the villagers who have set up shops. Ask them to buy items from


    the travelers, only cheap items. The items can be recycled or remade. Ask them to buy things that they find useful. This


    will reduce the complaints from the travelers. Any questions? ¡±


    ¡°None at all¡±


    ¡°Good. And Ames, we will need a feast soon¡±


    ¡°The occasion chief?¡±


    ¡°My Mother and Sister are coming¡± Shiv replied with an excited voice and smiling face.


    ---***---


    (Its been a while guys. let me apologize for not posting on the day i promised to. my dad dragged me to the garden and made me work non stop. so sorry. now here is the new chapter after a week. almost 6k. hope you guys enjoy. and thanks for all your support.keep reading and have fun. Ah and we have a reason to celebrate. my ff has reached the rank 15. a little more and we will be in the top 10. thank you once again)


    My new ff, kindly read.


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 Arc 2- Chapter 12: Expansion and Threats(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    Holyknight:


    Hey!Hey! Did you hear?


    Girllover3: Hear what?


    Holyknight: Duh! About the new skills that are being taught at Draklake Village?


    Dragonrider: I heard rumors about it. But the new skills are not that special right? Painting, sculpting and music. Well there is cooking lessons, so I guess it is alright.


    Earthmagi24: Yeah. Why are they teaching useless skills like that? Cooking is good, but why the rest.


    Warriorgod: That¡¯s right. Who would wanna learn sculpting and all. The chief is an idiot.


    Firequeen: Idiot you say. Did you know that the village of Draklake was nothing more than a slum like village two weeks ago. In two weeks he changed the face of the entire village. It hardly had fifty people and now look how many people are rushing to Draklake in a day. And you call the chief stupid.


    Inukami: I was there. I mean on the first day the village was opened to the outside world. There were very few houses and shops other than the school and forge. And now the village is being expanded to let all of those that come fit in.


    Traderangel: The chief is handsome too. Some even say he is a player.


    Thormerchanthero: No. That guy is a player. We confirmed it yesterday when we were given a quest by him. He addressed us merchants as players.


    Veteranarcher: What? He is a player and he is a chief? How did he become one? And you even got a quest from him? I am jealous. Wait! I heard there was some kind of festival. Have you guys donated anything?


    Goddesstrisha: Yes. The festival is in two real days. I donated 3G. I heard it is going to be one of the biggest festivals in the game. Really looking forward to it. My classmates are gonna do a maid-cafe.


    And so the dragon lore site was in an uproar. The news about the new skill lessons did not attract much attention. But the festival and the expansion of the village was being discussed widely. In chat,  in school, in offices and almost everywhere in the world the news about a player becoming chief of a village was spreading like wild fire. This news ignited the hearts of many who then decided to either create a new village or subdue one. Some guilds began to increase their strength by recruiting new players and thus form a new village.


    The bigger guilds, though, had other plans. ¡®Dragon¡¯s Bone¡¯ guild, the largest so far with 89 members with only +90 level players decided to bring Shiv under their guild thereby making the village and its profit their own. The leaders of the guild were busy making strategies while the chief of the village was busy with the preparation for a festival, after all his mother and sister were coming.


    The village of Draklake was in an uproar. For the first time after the new chief took charge, the town was busy preparing for a festival. The villagers and players were all trying their best preparing things. Ames was busy coordinating the different groups, Bella was in charge of the feast, Norn in charge of the decoration, Gery was in charge of various entertainment programs, and Rihthor was busy preparing outfits as per the list Gery had given him. Blina was the one that was the head of the discipline group and finally Lylda was hunting for meat along with the other hunters. The mood around the village was joyous and light. People were running here and there decorating the places, some were practicing their acts, and a stage was being prepared under Ames¡¯s watchful eyes. The different classes of the school were performing their own acts like dance, drama and so.


    For the villagers and the players this was a first. A festival of this scale and that too in a remote village was something they were witnessing for the first time. All the money that Shiv had earned and the village income too was spent on the festival. The players contributed too when they heard about a festival and feast. Some gave a few silvers while others gave as much as 5 golds. Almost all the players gave money for the cause and thus a sum of 3706G was being spent on the festival.


    New stalls were being opened, paintings and sculptures were now being sold. These were no normal paintings and sculptures, all of these gave a bonus to those who owned them and thus there was already a queue in front of the various sculpture and painting shops. Shiv had deliberately used the festival to showcase the greatness of painting and sculpturing thereby promoting the two jobs. This not only helped the village to earn more income, it also attracted people towards the village. As news spread out about the painting and sculptures, high level players too began to visit the village. This strategy was a great success as the very next day, the department of painting and sculpting was fully booked for the next 3 weeks. Shiv had by then increased the tax rate from 0% to 2%. This was welcomed by all of the villagers and shop owners for they knew the tax rate in the other villages was a staggering 19% which increased often.


    Shiv had promised that as long as the village had other means of producing income he would never increase the tax rate above 10%. This gained him even more respect and trust from the villagers and players as well. The players were also asked for tax if they wanted a house of their own, a citizenship facility was initiated which made them the citizen of Draklake not Bredon. Some would ask what the advantage was in being a citizen. There were a few advantages and disadvantages.


    The players who became citizens were bound to join the army in case a war broke out. That was the one and only big disadvantage. The advantages, however were many. Citizens would get better quests, more contribution points, better items for cheaper price, would be given a house to stay at, a place to set up shop if they needed and the interest rate of 2% like the villagers. They had the freedom to go for adventure whenever they wished for.


    The players that were not citizens were not given any place to stay. They would have to pay rent, if they wanted a house. The tax rate for non-citizens was 3%. New NPCs from other villages were made citizen for free while the players had to pay 1G to be one. This process required a lot of paper work to be done and so Bella was given the job. Thus the village income was almost doubled. Of the two thousand players, four hundred agreed to be citizens and so instead of houses apartments were made. Each apartment two floors which had 10 rooms each and therefore 20 apartments were made in the outer region of the village.


    Shiv had already planned for this when he had ordered Ames to create a new wall. The wall was finished in a couple of days with the help of hundreds of players. Once the wall had been finished, Shiv halted the construction process and ordered the men to begin work for the festival. He had intended to conduct just a feast but then decided to go for a festival as he thought this would make the village more popular. Shiv had sent his hunter group to the next villages to buy as much food items as they could. He had allocated 1000G for the food. And thus the curtain to the first festival in Draklake was raised.


    ---***---


    The day of the festival had come. Shiv had inaugurated the festival with a glass of juice as he was still under aged. Moreover he did not want his family to find out that he had alcohol. The village soon got busy with various events. There were people all around the village singing, dancing, having a great time. More and more people came in from different villages to take part in the festival. The shops selling food were busy with large number of customers, the stage had various acts being performed on it. The shops and stage generated more revenue as minutes passed.


    When the entire village was having fun, the chief of the village was standing in front of the gate waiting for his family. Beside him was a nervous Bella.


    ¡°Why are you nervous Bella?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am nervous. What if they don¡¯t like someone like me?¡±


    ¡°What is wrong with someone like you?¡± Shiv asked confused.


    ¡°I am not really part of your family¡±


    ¡°Silly girl you worry too much¡± Shiv patted her head smiling at the nervous Bella. Suddenly they hear somebody¡¯s voice from afar.


    Shiv sharpened his ears while Bella tensed up. Suddenly Shiv eased up and started smiling.


    ¡°Bella! They are here¡±.


    This caused the young girl to tense up even more, she was almost shivering.


    ¡°Nii-san¡±   Shiv heard a shout coming from the front. And then a girl much taller than his real sister came out from the dark followed by a beautiful woman. The girl who shouted ran towards the boy and hugged him tight laughing and crying at the same time.


    ¡°Oi! Oi! Little sister why are you so tall? What happened to my little sister?¡± Shiv asked mocking the girl who was hugging her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me little, you idiot brother¡± the girl pouted and separated from the boy. Shiv smiled inwardly thinking ¡®cute¡¯.


    ¡°Have you forgotten your mother Ryu?¡±


    ¡°Mother¡± Shiv called out and walked towards the beautiful woman with long black hair. He hugged her and said,


    ¡°I missed you mother¡±


    ¡°Me too Ryu, we missed you too¡±


    Seeing the two hug, the girl too joined them, hugging the two, while Bella watched the family re-union with teary eyes. She felt left out and sad but remained silent so that she would not ruin their re-union. Then,


    ¡°What are you spacing out for Nee-san, it is a family re-union. That means all the family should be hugging. Why are you still not here?¡± the little sister asked Bella, smiling.


    ¡°Come here child¡± the mother called out. Bella slumped forward, her head bent down, she slowly walked forward still unsure about what to do. It was then that Shiv held her hand and pulled her towards him. He then hugged her and kissed the girl¡¯s forehead. Following Shiv, the mother and the little sister too kissed her on her forehead. Bella froze from the sudden kisses she received.


    ¡°We are family after all¡± the three said in unison. The girl fell to the ground, with her moistened eyes and looked at the three, her new family.


    ---***---


    ¡°Hello to everyone here. Thank you for making this festival a success. Now let me introduce you to two very important people.¡± Shiv was on top of the stage with the other females and Ames. Shiv then stepped back and then one of the woman stepped forward.


    ¡°Hello! I am Miyuki, a merchant and this boy¡¯s mother. It is nice to meet you¡± Miyuki did a simple introduction. Her beauty was doing the rest. The entire male players gathered were eying Miyuki with lustful eyes which did not go unnoticed by Shiv and Ames.


    ¡°Hi friends, I am his little sister, Tina. You can call me Tina-chan¡± Tina said striking a cute pose which was again accepted with lecherous gaze from the males.


    ¡°Ames! I wonder, what should we do to those who bear ill intention to the chief¡¯s family?¡± Shiv said loud enough for those assembled there to hear.


    ¡°Pour boiling water over their *beep* and then make the wolves bite off their *beeps*. At least that must be done chief, after all they are your mother and sisters, including Bella¡±


    ¡°That seems a nice idea, then Ames ask Norn to heat his forge. Seems like we will need gallons of water to burn all of these men¡¯s *beep*¡± Shiv said. The two were smiling at the crowd in front of them with eyes that said, ¡®I will burn you if try anything suspicious¡¯


    ¡°Demons¡± the crowd called out in unison.


    ---***---


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    The day after the festival, the village returned to normal. Shiv, Miyuki, Tina and Bella were in their house having breakfast when there was a knock on the door.


    ¡°Chief it¡¯s Ames. The merchants are ready with their plans. They are waiting for you at the village square¡±


    ¡°Good Ames. I will be there soon. What about the construction works? How long will it take?¡±


    ¡°It will take 4 weeks chief. Twenty apartments as the one you asked for will take time chief¡±


    ¡°No worries. Just finish them soon. And the travelers must be given room in the finished apartments. Have you prepared the rooms as I have asked?¡±


    ¡°Yes chief. The rooms in the lower floor will be given to those who are alone. The rooms in the upper layers will be occupied by two.¡±


    ¡°Good. Ames, don¡¯t forget that the last five apartments should have three storey¡±


    ¡°I remember chief.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then you may go. And ask Doval to start the decoration works. Do warn him about not using the sculpture students¡±


    ¡°Very well chief. Have a pleasant day¡± Ames waved a bye at the family and exited the house.


    ¡°Then let us go. We have a strategist to choose¡±


    ---***---


    The four were on their way to the village square when they met with another girl.


    ¡°Kate! Where have you been? Why did you not come for the festival?¡±


    ¡°Eh! My father was having some problems so I could not log in¡±


    ¡°Is that so. Meet my mother and my sister¡±


    ¡°Hello dear, I am Miyuki and this is my daughter Tina¡± Miyuki introduced themselves to Kate.


    Kate smiled at them and bowed gently. Before Tina could ask anything Shiv said


    ¡°Ok then let us go. They are waiting for us¡±


    Miyuki smiled at her son, she very well knew why her son was in a hurry.


    ---***---


    ¡°So you guys have come up with a plan eh? Then let me hear it.¡±


    One by one the merchants began to explain their plans. The explanation was being done from a little away from the group so that others would not include points from other¡¯s plan. The plans of most of them were based on the same thing, increase the area of farming. The same thing again and again. Shiv got bored in seconds but he kept listening to them nevertheless. And so hours passed, only two more were left.


    The next was a little boy, his appearance suggested that he was one. The boy had blonde hair and had blue eyes. It seemed like a character out of an anime. Shiv looked at the boys eyes for a while then gestured him to begin.


    ¡°My name is Randal, a special kind of merchant. As you have requested I have come for a solution for your food shortage. I believe every one of the previous merchants would have suggested expansion of the field, crop rotation and all. I think this is the right way too¡±


    When Shiv heard this he sighed. ¡®Another one with the same idea¡¯ is what he thought. He lost his interest but still listened to the boy¡¯s idea.


    ¡°But the problem cannot be solved with that. From what I have gathered, the fields are pretty far from here, near the freshwater stream. I understand this setup was made to make irrigation easy but at the same time this causes a great problem too¡±


    Shiv eyes widened. ¡®Finally somebody with some brains¡¯. He smiled inwardly and his ears and eyes focused on the boy.


    ¡°Being a little far from the village, the fields are prone to be attacked by wild animals or monsters. Some come to feed while some come to rest on the field. Since the fields are not part of the village perimeter, the monsters are free to enter the fields. Till now the village had adequate food to feed itself and so they did not take any actions against them. The monsters destroy almost a quarter of the food, which if prevented would feed a lot of people¡±


    ¡°So you want us to build a wall around them and appoint guards?¡± Shiv asked indifferently.


    ¡°Not at all. Building a wall is simply a waste. In the future if the village needs to expand the field, then the wall will become a nuisance.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then what do you suggest Randal.¡±


    ¡°I suggest we build an aqueduct. Then make another wall outside the village. The new area to be dedicated purely for farming. This will ensure it safety as well as more food production. The aqueduct will provide water for irrigation as well as other needs.¡±


    ¡°Good. Good. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°No Sir. That is all¡±


    ¡°Mother. Do you have anything to ask him?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. I have been wondering for a while. Why are you dressed like a boy?¡± Miyuki asked looking at the boy, who was shocked by the sudden question. The boy was sweating and his eyes were looking at random directions. Shiv smiled seeing the boy tense up.


    ¡°What are you saying? I am a boy¡± the boy tried to resist.


    ¡°Is that so? With that level of disguise did you expect to fool us?¡± Shiv asked smiling. ¡°Mother, since she is a liar should we ban her from here?¡±


    ¡°No please no¡± the boy¡¯s voice changed, the boyish sweet voice became feminine and the voice sounded as if she were singing.


    ¡°So that is your real voice. Who are you? Why are you disguising as a boy?¡±


    ¡°My name is Randal, I come from the Hwan kingdom. I was being chased so I ran away from there.¡±


    ¡°Chased?¡± Kate asked, shocked. She too was from Hwan and so found it hard to believe.


    ¡°Yes. The kingdom has been eliminating players and NPC¡¯s outside the capital. My party members were executed and then banned from the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°What? Banned? Why?¡± Kate asked.


    ¡°I do not know. All I know that the new king had ordered for the execution¡±


    ¡°A new king? What happened to the old one?¡±


    ¡°The old king was assassinated by a group of players. Their leader then crowned himself as King. The players and NPC¡¯s were being executed to keep the news spreading out¡±


    Shiv was speechless. A player who assassinated the king and then became king.


    ¡®Executing people to prevent leakage. To go that far, something is not right. Now I understand why there were assassins among Doval¡¯s group when he first came to the village. This is going to get troublesome¡¯


    ¡°Bella, bring me Ames and Doval¡±


    ¡°Yes brother, right away¡± Bella rushed off. Shiv then turned to the little girl.


    ¡°Well, I like your plan, though it has problems here and there like you have not explained to me the structure of the aqueduct, how you plan to make it useful for the village. The aqueduct is something I thought of too so no worries. I have it covered.¡±


    ¡°Eh covered?¡± the girl was surprised.


    ¡°This test was to find a suitable person to become my aid. I have already solved the problem and people are already working on it. I am sorry for not telling you this. Anyway you may return. I have one more person left.¡±


    Like all those who had come before, the last man too said the same thing about expanding the field and so he was rejected too. When the results were announced, only Randal was selected, there was no second or third ranks, only the first. With that Randal became the strategist of the village.


    ---***---


    ¡°Doval, I heard that a new king was crowned, why did you not tell me about it? Why did you not tell me about the execution and all?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry chief, I did not want to involve you in the problems of another kingdom. I have troubled you enough already¡±


    ¡°Sigh! Doval.¡± Shiv shrugged his shoulders. ¡°So from what I heard from you and Randal, the new king seems to be working with the orcs and are planning on something. I think I know what is going on. The kingdom of Hwan is now an orc kingdom. The orcs are expanding their reach. So once the entire eastern continent falls, it will be our turn¡± Shiv¡¯s face was indifferent, but his eyes had rage in them. He then turned to Ames.


    ¡°Ames, I need you to announce this thing to the players and villagers. Ask them to keep this a secret for now. If they ask why then tell them that if the Hwan kingdom hears of this the village will be targeted. We are not strong enough to repel them. Then ask them to help you with the construction works. Finish the residential building. Take a day¡¯s rest then immediately begin work on the next building. You do remember the buildings I asked you to build, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes chief, once the apartments are finished, we will begin work on the third wall and clearing the area. Then we will plow the land between the third and second wall, build a granary. A small number of farmers will start their work in that area while the rest will work at the old farms. Then build an aqueduct, a church and a library.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry Ames. I have been overworking you terribly. Really sorry¡±


    ¡°It is an honor chief, a true honor. To think the village which had broken houses would become something like this is like living a dream. This something the entire village agrees on, so work as much as you want chief. We will stick with you till we die¡±


    ¡°Thank you Ames. Do not overwork. Do take at least a day¡¯s rest every week. Explain to the travelers everything and accept only volunteers. Buy food from the other villages if needed.¡±


    ¡°Yes chief.¡± Ames was confused at the last part. It felt as if the chief was preparing for a voyage or something and was ordering everything in advance.


    ¡°So Randal, here is your first and only duty, protect the village. That is all!¡±  Shiv looked at his new strategist and said.


    ¡°Yes that is all. You will manage the military of the village in my absence. Education will be managed by Ames, Culture by Doval and Mother will manage the rest. In my absence mother will be the chief and you will all listen to her.¡±


    ¡°In your absence? Where do you plan to go chief?¡± Ames asked, his fears were becoming true.


    ¡°To the capital of Bredon. There are thing that must be done. Do not worry, I will be back in a month or so. Till then look after the village Ames¡±


    ¡°Yes chief¡±


    ---***---


    When Ames announced the situation in the Hwan kingdom, all the players were stunned, even the high level ones. An orc kingdom attack was no simple thing. But here a human group aided by the orcs were attacking and annexing kingdoms, thats something really dangerous. Some were scared of being attacked, some were excited about getting new quests and so almost everyone agreed to help the village in fortifying and expanding itself before a war broke out. They loved this village which had more fun things than the other villages and towns. And so the work on the expansion of the village began. The village was so excited that they did not notice that the chief was missing.


    Outside the gates of the village, on the path to the capital, three hooded figures ran like the wind without letting the world know of their presence. Shiv the chief, Agon the hunter and Kate, the elemental healer were heading towards the capital with objectives best known only to them.


    ---***---


    (with this the village arc is over! next is arc 3- the capital of Bredon awaits you!)


    (And sorry for the short chapter and delay. i had some things to do.)


    My new ff, kindly read.


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 Arc 3- Chapter 1: The capital and the beast(Proofread)

    proofread by: Daylius and  Vikingstad


    Three weeks had passed since the trio had started their journey to the capital. Passing through different terrains, they pushed forward. In between, they stopped at villages and towns to resupply themselves with necessary items. And now only a couple of day¡¯s journey were left for the three to reach their destination.


    Every once in a while Shiv would chat with his mother enquiring how things were going on in the village. He had asked his mother to send some of the villagers to the neighboring towns to acquire various military classes like assassins, warriors and so on. He had then asked Randal to improve the military prowess of the village. New NPC¡¯s and players were coming to the village every day and so the village was growing at a tremendous pace. At the end of the three weeks, the village had already finished the work on most of the new infrastructures. An aqueduct now towered over the village bringing water from the nearby stream. Originally the stream would not have been capable of supplying water to the aqueduct. To rectify this shortage, a team was sent to point where the stream broke out. The team was ordered by Shiv to find out where the stream originated and to widen the stream a little by any means necessary. The team were mainly players who could mine. When the team reached the origin of the stream, they found out it was from an underground source and so to increase the water flow they dug around the source. A day¡¯s work and the water in the stream got doubled, any more would cause problems and so Shiv called them back. With the water flow doubled, the aqueduct was now functioning properly. Water tanks were built throughout the village for storing water. This water was used for the purpose of irrigation, drinking and so on. The water tanks were Miyuki¡¯s idea. The remaining water was then left to flow into the forest there by creating a new stream.


    A third wall had risen around the village and the area between the third and second wall were being converted to farms with a couple of new granaries and other small buildings. Different crops were imported from neighboring villages. Orchards were made, flower bearing plants were planted for beautification and so more than half of the area between the third and second wall were now being utilized for food production. This was more than enough, actually twice the amount of food were now being produced. Shiv had then asked his mother to sell the excess food to the merchant players. The merchant players could then sell it in neighboring villages or towns. His mother had asked him why sell to the merchants and not directly to the other villages.


    ¡°Mother, this way we won¡¯t¡¯ have to worry about transportation and other troublesome things. Moreover, we can ask the players to pay a little more, as they earn more EXP by selling the goods to other villages. From what I¡¯ve heard, buying goods also earns them EXP. So that means they get double EXP while we make extra profit¡± was what Shiv had replied to his mother.


    The apartments had already been finished and now most of the people had a place to live. The guards were given a full apartment which was named guard¡¯s corridor. The number of guards were increased from fifty to hundred when the village was being expanded. Some of the guards were appointed as instructors in the training ground. As the village population increased more and more NPC¡¯s began to train and so more NPC¡¯s were drafted into the village army. Now the military numbered to 74 with 35 archers and 39 warriors. Shiv had ordered Randal to increase the size of the military as much as possible. And so the village prospered.


    Hearing the news about the expansion of the village, skilled architects, sculptors and other professionals moved to the village in search of a job. The village was a pool of opportunity, which when used correctly would make one famous in months. Everybody knew this and so they rushed to the village to put their own mark on history. But the village leader was not so na?ve to let them all in. Such works were only given to the villagers and citizens. The rest of the players were only allowed to do manual labor like mining stones for the masons and so on. And so the players who wanted to build or sculpt something in the village had to become citizens. This again increased the income for the village and also the military strength.


    Shiv was happy with the progress of his village. He knew that it was now only a matter of time for the village to evolve into a town. Content with the news he heard, Shiv continued his journey with Kate and Agon.


    ---***---


    As days passed, the trio neared the capital. 3 weeks and 3 days had passed and now they could see the capital in the far distance ahead of them. They continued walking at their own pace as none of them were in a hurry. Slowly the distance decreased. By morning of the next day, they had travelled most of the distance and were only a little away from the ever prospering capital. When they saw the capital, they started realizing the size of it. Stretching over a vast area, the capital stood as an elegant and beautiful piece of art, surrounded by white walls.


    When the three reached the gates to the capital, they were let in as soon as the guards verified them to be humans. The world beyond the gate inspired awe in the three visitors, they observed the buildings around them with dropped jaws. Once the excitement toned down, Shiv asked the nearby guard the way to the church. The guard then accompanied them and showed them the way to the church personally. The three thanked the guard and presented him some food as gratitude which the guard accepted happily. Once they bid farewell to him, they then approached the church. A long queue could be seen as NPCs and players were lined up before the church and so the three followed suit waiting for their turn. The afternoon sun was shining with all its vigor causing the tired three to wobble occasionally. But still they continued to stand in the queue. Couple of hours was what it took for the three to enter the church to visit the priest.


    ¡°I wish to see the high priest¡± Shiv said to the priest politely.


    ¡°Why do you wish to see the high priest?¡±


    ¡°For I wish to seek an audience with the pope¡±


    ¡°What? A mere traveler like you wishes and audience with the great pope? Blasphemy¡±


    Shiv sighed from the sudden change in tone of the priest and so he reluctantly showed the priest the mark of the dragon on his right hand.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be. The child of Oberon¡± the priest shouted, backing of a little. The priest¡¯s voice echoed throughout the church and caused every door in the church to be flung open. Priests, clergies, and even bishops ran out of the doors in response to the voice they just heard. One man walked calmly towards the three and then asked,


    ¡°Priest Alwin, why is it that you are shouting inside the church?¡±


    ¡°Bishop Marko, the child of Oberon¡± the priest replied pointing at Shiv¡¯s tattoo.


    The bishop looked at the direction where the priest pointed. The moment he saw the tattoo, he froze for on the man¡¯s hands were the symbol of the dragon god.


    ¡°Forgive us, child of Oberon. What is it that you desire?¡± the bishop¡¯s tone was full of respect. It was as if he was talking to the dragon god himself.


    ¡°I want to see the high priest, if possible. There is something I want to show him. So can I?¡± Shiv replied politely.


    ¡°Of course please follow me.¡±


    Since everything happened inside the church, none of the players or NPC saw what had happened. The bishop lead the three through a door, then a flight of steps and through another door. The door opened the way to a corridor which had a door on the opposite end. The bishop walked forward and knocked at the door.


    ¡°High priest, you have a visitor?¡±


    ¡°A visitor? Who is it this time? The nobles?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all. Someone greater than that¡±


    ¡°Greater?¡±


    ¡°The child¡±


    And suddenly the door flung open and on the other side stood a man with huge stature and widened eyes. The eyes were searching for something among the group of people and when it found the thing it was looking for, a smile appeared on the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°To be able to witness such a thing, ah I am honored. Please come in¡± the high priest invited the three inside. The bishop bowed and left. After closing the door the high priest sat down on a chair offering one for each of the visitors.


    ¡°Hello, I am Vintos, the high priest of the Bredon kingdom. Now what brings you here, great one?¡±


    ¡°Please high priest, I am no great one. A simple human like you. Please address me as Shiv and I am here to ask you a favor¡±


    ¡°Favor? Please¡± Vintos gestured Shiv to continue.


    ¡°I wish to have an audience with the King and the Pope¡± Shiv replied, his eyes had a fiery glint.


    From those eyes and the tone of Shiv, Vintos understood that the matter of discussion Shiv had was of utmost importance. But the high priest was hesitant.


    ¡°An audience with the Pope is plausible but to meet the king, I am afraid I cannot help you with that.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then I shall find a way myself to visit the king.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. As for the audience with the Pope, I will let you know when you can see his highness in three days. Till then please stay here in the temple of your father¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your concern high priest but I am afraid I will have to refuse you¡±


    ¡°Why great one? Is this humble abode not to your liking?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. There are things I want to do and for that I wish to not stand out too much. If I were to live here, I might attract more attention. That is why, so please let me stay outside. And do ask the other priests and paladins to not give me any special treatment in front of the other devotees¡±


    ¡°Very well, but do visit the church once in a while.¡±


    ¡°I will. Now I shall take my leave¡± the three stood up and bowed at the high priest and walked back the way they came. Once they were out of the church, the three then set out in search for a place to rest and refresh. Soon they arrived at an inn and booked two rooms, one for Kate and the other for Shiv and Agon. They spent the rest of the day at the inn resting. The next day Kate separated from Shiv and Agon to handle some unfinished business. After Kate went, Shiv and Agon also left their rooms and headed to the weapon shop.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Welcome customer. How may I help you?¡±


    ¡°Hello sir. I was wondering if you had twin daggers with you.¡±


    ¡°Twin daggers? Not Dual swords?¡±


    ¡°No sir, I need two daggers, if possible of the same origin¡±


    ¡°Same origin?¡±


    ¡°I mean same material and same design or so.¡±


    ¡°That is the first time I have received such a request and so I am afraid I do not have one of your specification¡±


    ¡°Is that so. Then please give me 20 steel arrows¡±


    ¡°Of course and if I may say, please visit the weaponsmith of the town for the daggers you wanted. I believe he might be of assistance. And that would be 20 silvers sir.¡±


    Shiv paid the amount and then set forth for the weapon smithy, which was easy to find. The weaponsmith welcomed them with a bright smile and when Shiv mentioned his need there was surprise all over the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°Twin daggers? Ho! Someone with a unique taste. Well I am afraid I do not have one. But I could make you one if you have appropriate material.¡±


    Shiv thought for a while and then opened up his inventory and then he smiled.


    ¡°I think I have the perfect thing for you¡± saying so Shiv took out some black scales.


    ¡°What are these? I have never seen them before? Don¡¯t tell, dragon scales?¡±


    ¡°No, not dragon scales. These are the scales of what is called dralves, wolves that consume dragon flesh. So what do you say, are these enough?¡±


    ¡°Wonderful. I have never seen such magic imbued scales before. They are similar to dragon scales but different at the same time. How many daggers do you want?¡±


    ¡°Well, I have 40 of those scales so make me 20 of them. And as payment would 10 of these scales be enough?¡±


    The weaponsmith was dumbfounded at the proposals. To give away such high quality material was something the weaponsmith could not believe.


    ¡°I guess you prefer gold after all huh¡± Shiv then began to put back the excess scales when he was stopped by the weaponsmith.


    ¡°No, I will take it. My name is Golof, it is good to do business with you. Please visit me whenever you are in this city, I will give you the best weapons for the cheapest price.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I am Shiv. Golof when can I have the daggers?¡±


    ¡°Well, I shall start right now. And it will take me at least ten days.¡±


    ¡°Ten days? Golof do me a favor and make me four of them now. I will come get the remaining six once you finish.¡±


    ¡°Four eh. Agreed. I will try to deliver them in 4 days.¡±


    ¡°Make them look beautiful my friend¡±


    ¡°Of course, these babies deserve the utmost love¡±


    ¡°Oh and can you make me a bow with these scales?¡±


    ¡°Bow? Another odd request. I thought you were a swordsman.¡± Golof said pointing at the black sword hanging down from Shiv¡¯s waist.


    ¡°I use bows too when the situation demands. The bow helped me kill the dralve¡±


    ¡°Well I cannot say it is possible all I can say is I can try. The scales are not long enough to be made into a bow, so I will have to combine two or three to make a decent bow. I am not sure if they are combinable and so I cannot say anything about it now.¡±


    ¡°Is that so. Well, give it a try.¡±


    Shiv gave the remaining scales to Golof and smiled at the weaponsmith before walking away with Agon. The two wandered around the city, visiting places, passing time and having fun. The day passed without anything special going on. Kate came back late in the night and the three had dinner and went off to sleep.


    The next morning, Shiv and the other two asked the guards for a way to meet the king. The guards immediately put down the request with glare and walked away. Shiv then approached the castle and he was stopped before he could get anywhere near and so that too ended in failure. The dejected trio were now sitting on the fountain walls wondering how they could get an audition with the king.


    ¡°Kate, go seduce the castle guards¡± Shiv told the girl next to him and as a reply, got hit on his head.


    ¡°This is not going good. How the hell can we meet the king?¡± Kate was frustrated.


    The three sat with their brains trying to figure a way inside the castle.


    It was then that the voice of someone startled the three. The three looked to their left and saw some guards and one among them were shouting.


    ¡°Kate, let us get closer to them. Might be a quest of some sort¡±


    The three moved closer and as Shiv had expected, it was a quest, quest for the entire capital. A tab opened in front of all the players in the capital.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: SLAY THE NIGHT</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The capital of the great Bredon kingdom is being terrorized by a mysterious beast. The beast attacks the nobles of the kingdom during the night, leaving them on death¡¯s verge. The king of the kingdom has asked for traveler¡¯s help to slay the beast, which has been causing havoc in the kingdom .


    Players that are needed: 100


    Difficulty : +D


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    1000 Gold


    +50 intimacy with the kingdom


    +50 intimacy with guards


    +50 intimacy with church


    +50 intimacy with nobles


    +500 contribution points


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. if you die


    2. somebody else slays the beast


    Failure will reset all intimacy to zero.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv was delighted, he did not waste time and accepted the quest without even completely reading the quest. As Kate and Agon were part of Shiv¡¯s party, they too got the quest as Shiv was the leader. Soon the remaining 97 were filled up at a tremendous rate. Those who could not get into the hundred were cursing those who were chosen. While the one¡¯s chosen were boasting in front of the others. Soon a commotion broke out. The trio slipped out of the place before the commotion got out of hand. The three returned to the inn and gathered in Shiv¡¯s room.


    ¡°Listen you two, for now do not let others know that we are in the hundred. Some might try to kill us to prevent us from clearing the quest. Remember if we die the quest fails. So do not tell anybody. Now the next thing is; we will not make our move yet.¡±


    ¡°Why chief? If we do not move now then someone might slay the beast¡± Agon enquired.


    ¡°I do not think so. For the king to ask the help of travelers means the beast should be something they could not handle. That means the beast might be pretty strong. So I do not think the beast will be slain that easily. We will wait for the others to make their move. That will provide us much needed information, like how strong it is and what type of beast it could be.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡± Kate gave her consent and Agon nodded at Shiv.


    ¡°We will wait for two days. Agon, I need you to gather information from the local stores and the inn. Since you are not a traveler they might think that you are just gathering information to satisfy your curiosity. Change your attire a little bit so that no one recognizes you. For the next two days stay in another room.¡±


    ¡°Yes chief¡± Agon replied.


    ¡°Kate, as for you I want you to get mana potions, health potions, poison antidote, poison herbs, paralysis potion and some things of the sort.¡± Shiv said to Kate and gave her some gold coins. Kate nodded and then went out to get the things. Shiv gave Agon some money to buy clothes and some jewelry asking him to buy clothes which made him look like a rich noble¡¯s son. Agon agreed and fled out of the room. Once the two left, Shiv walked out of the room, heading towards the church. He had things to prepare for the upcoming hunt.


    ---***---


    ¡°Hey Razor, I heard you got some special quest?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I am special after all. Wolin, ask the other two to come, we have a beast to slay¡± a boy in his teens, holding a red sword that looked bigger than him replied.


    ¡°Yes sir, right away¡± a girl ran away smiling.


    ---***---


    ¡°Marcos, get the stupid drink you moron¡±


    ¡°Sir Adrian, just a minute.¡±


    ¡°I do not have a minute to spare for nobody¡¯s like you. I have to catch the beast and earn the king¡¯s favor. Hurry up¡±


    ¡°Yes Sir Adrian¡±


    ---***---


    As if the fate wanted them to meet, the three who were destined to fight gathered at the same city to finish a quest the king had given.


    The child of Oberon, the strongest blade master, the apostle of light. Three who held the title of the strongest were busy preparing for hunting down a beast, not knowing what was in store for them.


    ---***---


    My new ff


    Sorry for the late release. will speed up from today


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> ARMAGEDDON: THE NEW WORLD</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 3- Chapter 2: Winds of Fate(proofread)

    Proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    ¡°Great one? What brings you here so soon?¡±


    ¡°High priest Vintos. Please do not refer to me as great one, I am nothing but a simple man.¡± Shiv was not happy with the way he was being addressed.


    ¡°I am afraid I have no other option great one. To address the child of the true god with his name is an unforgivable sin¡±


    ¡®Sigh¡¯ Shiv sighed with shrugged shoulders clearly not liking the way he was being treated.


    ¡°Anyway, High priest I have come to you to ask for your help¡±


    ¡°My help?¡± Vintos asked a little confused.


    ¡°Yes, I believe you have already received news about a vicious beast havocking terror in the capital?¡±


    ¡°Of course, such a sad thing to happen to the people of this great city¡± Vintos sympathized with the people of the capital.


    ¡°The king has summoned one hundred of us and has asked us to deal with this beast. I too am now hunting down the beast¡±


    ¡°Wonderful! As expected of the great one, already eradicating the evil of the world¡± Vintos was overjoyed from the sudden statement Shiv made but Vintos¡¯ reaction made Shiv sigh once again.


    ¡°I was wondering if I could postpone the meeting with the Pope to some other time, once the beast has been dealt with.¡±


    ¡°Hmm! Is that so? Very well, I shall inform his highness about your decision.¡±


    ¡°Ah, there is something else too!¡± Shiv said a little hesitant.


    ¡°Another favor?¡± Vintos asked.


    ¡°My team lacks a person who can heal. All of us are capable of attacking and so I was wondering if you could¡­.¡± Shiv trailed off.


    ¡°A healer? You want a healer? Is that all? Such a simple thing can be done right now. Please wait here. I will be back soon¡±


    Vintos left Shiv and returned after a few minutes with a boy accompanying him. Behind Vintos was a young boy with blond hair and blue eyes, with a cute smile.


    ¡°This here is one of the most promising healers our church has, Grohl. Even though he is quite young, the boy has talent¡±


    ¡°But he is just a boy, I can¡¯t take him to a battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Please do not worry, the boy has already seen enough battles¡±


    ¡°But still¡± Shiv was hesitant.


    ¡°Please take me with you, Great one. Do not worry about me, I am not weak¡± the boy tried to convince Shiv.


    ¡°How old are you?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen. Is that a problem?¡±


    ¡°Do you really want to do this? I can¡¯t guarantee anything, not even your life¡±


    ¡°Do not worry, I am prepared for the worst¡±


    ¡°Sigh! Fine, Fine¡± Shiv finally gave in. the two then exited the church and headed towards the weapon smithy. Shiv then called out loud from outside the smithy.


    ¡°Golof? You in there?¡±


    Hearing the call, a middle aged man with a long brown beard and hair walked out, his left hand stroking his beard while the right hand was holding a metal hammer.


    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t the esteemed traveler-sama. Why are you here? Did the thoughts of the twin daggers make you lose sleep?¡± Golof asked trying to tease Shiv. Shiv ignored the tease and went directly towards the matter in hand.


    ¡°Golof, I need the twin daggers as soon as possible?¡±


    ¡°Oi! Oi! What is with this sudden demand? You said you will come after four days¡± Golof was surprised with the sudden demand.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. But the king asked some of us to slay a beast which has been murdering people in the city. I too am part of the hunting squad¡±


    ¡°The beast? I know of it. A friend of mine was attacked by it a few days back. By god¡¯s name he was lucky to have escaped¡±


    At this point Shiv¡¯s eyes brightened. Information was something that had a very high value in such virtual games and Shiv knew that very well. He had come to the smithy to ask for his weapons and now he got valuable information too.


    ¡°As for your twin blade, I will deliver them by tomorrow. Would that be enough?¡±


    ¡°Well, there is something I want you to make for me. Here is the details of it. I will come help you every day. We have to finish it as soon as possible¡±


    ¡°What in the world is this? What are you boy? I am speechless. Interesting. This thing will fetch me a fortune. Very well I will make it for you.¡±


    ¡°That is a great help Golof. By the way, mind telling me where this friend of yours is?¡±


    ---***---


    ¡®Knock¡¯ ¡®Knock¡¯ ¡®Knock¡¯


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Mr.  Vernor? My name is Shiv, can I talk to you?¡±


    ¡°What is this about?¡±


    ¡°It is about the beast that attacked you. I need to ask you some things about it. The king has asked me to slay it and I need to gather all the information about it to slay it¡±


    ¡°Come in¡± said an angered voice.


    ¡°Thank you¡±


    Inside the house was a man with wounds all over his body. His right eye was damaged, he had multiple fractures and was in extreme pain. Shiv felt sad from the sight in front of him, he then looked at Grohl and then gestured him forward. Grohl nodded and approached the wailing man.


    ¡°What are you up to boy? Get away from me¡± the man squirmed angrily. The boy did not pay any heed to the man¡¯s words and then began casting some spells. A white light engulfed the bedridden man¡¯s body. As time passed the wounds closed up, the skin regained its smoothness, his eye healed. In less than ten minutes the once bedridden man was now completely healed.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± the man shouted in surprise. The man was surprised with the sudden change of situation, he then stared at the boy with grateful eyes.


    ¡°Thank you boy! Thank you!¡± the man held on to the boys eyes and started crying. ¡°I have been all alone ever since the beast attacked. My wife and my so called friends, every one of them abandoned me. It is thanks to Golof I am still alive.¡± the man talked while he was sobbing.


    ¡°Please do not cry. The true god has seen your pain. Everything will be alright as long as you have faith in him¡± Grohl tried consoling the man. It took a while for the man to calm down.


    ¡°Thank you both of you, thank you. My name is Vrolis, an assassin or should I say ex-assassin¡±


    At this revealing Shiv was taken aback.


    ¡°You are an assassin and you were wounded this badly? Did you attack it head on?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. I had no idea about such a beast in this capital. I was betrayed¡± the man began to sob again. Shiv felt sorry for the man and so remained silent for the man to calm down. Shiv then moved towards Grohl and whispered,


    ¡°Sorry about this, I know I should not make you run errands, but can you please go buy some food for the man. Buy the best, the old man must be hungry¡±


    ¡°Ah! Such kindness! I will do anything for a kind person such as you, great one¡± Grohl replied with eyes full of admiration. Shiv sighed and gave the boy a few coins and then sent him off. Grohl was quick and returned with a huge amount of food and gave it to the man. This once again made the man cry, he greedily took in the food which often caused him to choke. The two silently watched the man eat.


    ¡°It has been ages since I had eaten food so great¡± the man thanked the two bowing his head down deeply.


    ¡°It is no big deal. Now tell me Vrolis, what happened? Who betrayed you?¡±


    ¡°The kingdom has a royal assassin group named ¡®Silent forest¡¯. I was one of the high ranking officials and the one closest to become the next grandmaster. I had many achievements and so had numerous friends within the group as well as outside it. I had a wife who too is from the same group as I. Last week, I was invited by my friends from the organization for some party which they said were their way of showing their thanks to me for various things I had done for them. And so that night they made me drink so much that I was barely able to stand. Once the party was over they carried me with them and entered the back alley. I was not sure where they were going but since they were my close friends I did not ask anything. Suddenly they put me down and disappeared. I was sitting on the ground not even able to stand on my own. I looked around but could not see anything as I was drunk and it was dark too. I called out loud for my friends but none replied. I called out to them numerous times. It was then that I heard the growl of something. I immediately stopped shouting and sharpened my senses and once again I heard the growl. The growl continued and each growl seemed to be getting closer to me. Something inside me told to get up and run. I tried to get up but my legs would not heed my will, the growling approached me slowly. I could feel the presence of something behind me, a dark presence. The air around me turned foul and it became hard for me to breathe, it was as if the entire area was dying. Slowly my nose picked up the stench of rotten flesh which I could recognize easy due to my line of work. For the first time in years my heart felt true fear and despair, for in the dark behind me I saw red orbs, not one or two but ten of them ¡±


    At the mention of ten red orbs Shiv froze. He had encountered something which had a similar feature, a dralve which had three pairs of eyes which equaled to a total of 6 orbs. Something began to nag Shiv¡¯s mind, for some reason he could not shake the feeling that the beast was related to the dralve he had fought before.


    ¡°I began to drag my body backwards and began crying for help. The friends who I trusted more than anything did not show up. I tried to get up and run but I wobbled and fell a few times. All this time the beast slowly watched me as if it was enjoying the act I was going through, like the last efforts of a weak prey that was about to die. The fear in me had caused the effect of the alcohol to wear off partially which enabled me to get up, I slowly began to walk away. Suddenly I fell to the ground as I felt something push me down. There was a warmth on my back and I tried touching. The area I touched was wet for some reason and there was something¡¯s sticking to my body, a throwing knife. I pulled out the knife and for some reason my heart was aching like it was telling me to throw away the knife. I went against the inner voice and tried feeling the hilt and blade. It was my own throwing knife, the ones I always carried with me. Then it struck to me what was happening, the party, the alcohol everything was a trap. My friends who I trusted so much had thrown me into the mouth of death. I understood that I was bait for the beast before me and they were trying to lure out the beast to take it down. My heart was in rage and my mind lost all its sense. With the anger fueling my body I ran towards the beast to attack but it was useless. I was tossed aside like an insect and then bitten and slashed with the claws many times. That was all that I can remember, at that point I lost my consciousness. The next time when I woke up, I was in the hospital with bandages all around my body. From there I was told that I was unconscious for three days. I immediately went to my home to meet my wife, I was sure that she would be worried of my absence but once again i was punished by fate. My home was empty, no valuables, no furniture, and no wife, everything was gone and on my bed was a letter which read as, ¡®Sorry Vrolis, there someone I love, I married you because that person wanted you out of his way. Thank you for everything. Goodbye.¡± with this the man once again broke down.


    Shiv looked at the man with pity. The man was robbed of everything he had earned and loved. To add to it, his wife was one of the master brains of the betrayal. Shiv felt an ache in his heart and so he sat on his knees and held the man¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Vrolis, help me slay the beast¡±


    Vrolis and Grohl froze for a moment and stared at Shiv.


    ¡°Great one, how could you ask such a cruel thing to a man in this state? Do you not feel sorry for him?¡± Grohl who had looked at Shiv with admiration a while before was now glaring at Shiv with disgust.


    ¡°Tell me Vrolis. Do you plan to cry out your remaining life? Do you plan to let those who hurt you get away? Do you plan to remain a loser in front of others? Is this the pride of one of the top assassins of the kingdom? Will you remain here and cry till you die or will you slay the beast and become the hero of the kingdom? Where is your pride and honor?¡±


    These words stung deep in the man¡¯s eyes. The once dead eyes regained the vigor it once had. It is said that men fall into despair in the span of seconds, but men can also regain hope in the blink of an eye. All that they need is a person to point the direction, the path to despair or hope. Here the door of hope was opened by the chief of the Draklake, the village of hope.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ---***---


    Shiv took the two new members of his team to the inn he was staying, he rented another room for the new and introduced them to his old comrades. They got close immediately. Now the team had a healer, an assassin, an archer, and two swordsmen. Shiv then asked Vrolis to explain to Kate and Agon the things he had told Shiv. Once Vrolis finished his story Shiv began to talk.


    ¡°How many of you know about the Dragon King and about the lost continent of Aslain?¡±


    ¡°Aslain? There was a continent like that?¡± Kate was dumbfounded from the sudden revelation while Agon and Grohl nodded their head indicating that they did not.


    ¡°I have heard a thing or two about the ¡®dragon king¡¯ but this is the first time I have heard about this lost continent you just mentioned.¡±


    ¡°As I thought, only a very few know huh. Fine I will tell you myself.¡± Shiv then explained to them everything he knew about the dragon king, Aslain continent and Lithinia, about the war and the destruction of the continent by the dragon god, Oberon. He told them about his dragon tattoo and about the artifacts of the dragon king.


    ¡°Hm! For the world to be named after a single man, what kind of person was he?¡± Vrolis spoke in admiration. Both Agon and Grohl were looking at Shiv with great respect while Kate was not too happy.


    ¡°Why do you have such big background setting both in real life and the game? Can¡¯t you be normal at least here¡± was what the lady said glaring at Shiv. Shiv sighed and hung down his shoulder, he too did not wish for such a setting.


    ¡°Well that aside, why was this mentioned here?¡± Kate asked still glaring at Shiv.


    ¡°Yeah right, remember the forest I mentioned, the one near Linford castle?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡± the four replied together.


    ¡°The forest was home to wild beast which feasted on meat of a dead dragon. These beasts were once normal wolf which accidentally tasted an evil dragon¡¯s meat. As time passed they changed into beast with black scales. They underwent severe mutations like three pairs of eyes and limbs, twin tails and so on.¡± When this was revealed all the four stared at Shiv as something hit them hard on their head.


    ¡°You are joking, right?¡± Kate asked, visibly scared.


    ¡°These beast had scales around their body which resembled that of a dragon and had immense strength compared to a wolf. Lithinians called them dralve, half dragon half wolf.¡±


    The four who were listening gulped unknowingly as the figure of a dralve materialized in their minds.


    ¡°So you are saying a dralve is rampaging around the capital?¡± Vrolis asked.


    ¡°No, it is not a dralve.¡± This statement caused the four to sigh.


    ¡°I think it is an alpha dralve¡±


    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Kate growled.


    ¡°These dralves are always controlled by a single leader just like the wolves. An alpha dralve is the leader of a dralve pack. And the reason why I assume the beast is an alpha is because of the number of eyes.¡±


    ¡°Number of eyes?¡± Grohl asked a little confused.


    ¡°Yes. Dralves are said to have three pairs of eyes, not more. But the one Vrolis saw had five pairs. I know that I am being ridiculous but we have to expect the worse in order to come out safe. So each of us will keep in mind that the beast we are going to fight is at least three times more powerfull than us. A normal dralve is of my level and so if a dralve has to obey an alpha, the alpha has to be at least twice as strong as a dralve, right? And so we will assume the alpha¡¯s power level as thrice as mine and so unless all of us combine our strength there will only be death waiting for us. Understood? ¡±


    ¡°Yes¡± the four replied.


    ¡°Good. I have a little more than 100G with me. I will give you each 15G. You can buy the things you want with the money, anything you think will help you have a better chance of survival. Remember once the battle with the beast starts there is no going back, so be prepared.¡±


    ¡°So when are we going to start?¡± an excited Agon enquired.


    ¡°On the fifth night. Tonight we wait for the other travelers to begin the hunt. If they are able to slay it then it will be a huge disappointment for us but it is worth the risk if we can gain more information about the beast. Vrolis, I want you to move out at night, scan the area for any battle between the beast and travelers. Do not approach it at any cost, never. Your mission is to observe and report, do not engage.¡±


    Vrolis agreed to Shiv and then grabbed the gold coins Shiv handed over to him and exited the room. The others followed the assassin with the coins Shiv gave. Once everyone left Shiv sat on his bed, his head trying to come up countermeasures for the beast.


    ¡®I am right now level 72. So far the highest level is level 123. Assuming the beast to be twice as powerful as me then the beast should be at least level 120 or above. Even if the player with highest level will have trouble fighting it. But if it is thrice as strong as me then God help me!¡¯


    ---***---


    That night of the hundred players that had accepted the quest more than eighty had already moved out in search for the beast. There were already fights between the players and so some were killed in between the disputes. Even before the night fell the number of players reduced to sixty two. Vrolis sighed at the pitiable travelers who were slashing at each other instead of laying traps for the beast. The back alleys were now dyed red and decorated by fallen bodies and loots.


    Vrolis hid himself in the shadows like a ninja, erasing his presence. He was on one of the tall buildings in the capital and so could see almost the entire capital. There he sharpened his senses, awakening an ability that only few knew, mind eye. This skill let him hear and see things much better than a normal human. The mind eye skill gave him the eyesight of an eagle and also the ability to see in dark, the skill also gave him the hearing capacity of bats. This skill had saved him a million times and was also the reason for his success and accomplishments. And so he began scanning the entire capital for any abnormalities. He could only sense the sounds of swords clashing and cries of agony. The night passed without anything special. Other than the players killing themselves Vrolis did not sense the beast¡¯s presence.


    ---***---


    The next day Shiv and his party discussed various traps that can be used against the beast. Grohl suggested using holy water but the plan was not accepted as it was hard to get a decent amount of holy water. But Shiv did not abandon it completely as he asked Grohl to run to the church to get small bottles of holy water. Grohl returned soon with seven bottles. Once that was out of the question the party moved to other plans like wooden traps, ambush and many other ideas but none of them seemed a good plan for Shiv. The secret weapon he had asked Golof to make would take at least three more days. But then they should make as many plans as they could to counter the beast. This quest had a difficulty level of +D, but Shiv knew that once the identity of the beast was revealed the level might even raise to B. An alpha Dralve was such an existence.


    Shiv would shut himself in his room for an extended period of time trying to think of various traps and about how the beast enters the city and where it disappeared to. There were too many mysteries to the quest which made Shiv feel anxious. His team of five were made of three NPC¡¯s who unlike him and Kate will permanently die if anything went wrong. This was an added weight to Shiv¡¯s shoulder. And so days and night passed. Nothing special happened for three nights except for the player candidates slaughtering each other. On the third night, the count of candidates dropped to twenty one. Some of these remaining kept low fearing that they would be killed by other players while some laid down waiting for the right moment to strike the beast or other candidates. There was another group, a group which knew things like this would happen and decided to remain silent till the last of the player killers disappeared. Shiv and party belonged to the third group. Shiv had gotten the twin daggers he had ordered and they were now sheathed inside a brand new holster made by the tailor he had visited on the first day.


    Every night Vrolis would scan the area for the presence of the beast. In the last four days, the beast had appeared only once. On the night of the fourth day, ten of the remaining twenty one which were part of the group which killed other candidates hopped out of their holes in search for the beast. Vrolis was bored with the work he was given. For the last three days all he sensed was the travelers killing each other. That night too Vrolis expected the same and so scanned the area lazily. He could feel the ten travelers move separately, covering the entire capital. He yawned wide with sleepy eyes and then decided to take a short nap. He decided to scan the area once more before the nap and then began counting the number of travelers.


    ¡®What? Why is there only eight remaining? Another went missing.¡¯ Slowly the number of players dropped one by one. Vrolis focused more and more to sense the presence of an external force which was exterminating the travelers and then his senses began to scream. His face began to sweat and his body trembled. Vrolis sensed the same fear he had felt the night he was attacked by the beast. Slowly something began to appear in Vrolis vision, a beast with three pairs of legs, tails and as black as coal. Vrolis then watched silently as one by one the travelers fell prey to the beast, shivering like a child that saw a ghost.


    ---***---


    ¡°So it is a dralve after all. Seems my fear was right after all. An alpha dralve of all things.¡± Shiv sighed in frustration. ¡°Vrolis I am sorry for making you do this, really sorry¡± Shiv apologized as he could see how shaken the assassin was. The assassin was suffering from a trauma after all.


    ¡°It is fine. I can¡¯t be afraid of it forever. Also, it is me who should apologize for being a burden to you¡±


    ¡°Not at all. You have already done enough¡±


    ¡°Till the beast breathes the last of its breath what I do will always remain insignificant my friend¡±


    ¡°Very well. Now there only eleven of us left. Before we move out let us try asking for help of the other candidates. Excluding me, Kate and Agon there should be another nine of them. If by any chance even one of them agrees to help us then we might be able to slay the beast much easier¡± Shiv pointed out.


    ¡°Won''t that be a problem? What if they try to kill us?¡±


    ¡°I do not think they would. The ones that were intent on killing other candidates have perished and so I think the remaining are those who want to either run away from the beast or the ones that wants to slay the beast in a fair battle. Let us try asking, we might hit gold¡± Shiv replied winking at Kate who asked the question. This gesture made Kate blush.


    ¡°And there is something I want to show you guys too, something that will help us kill the beast¡±


    At this the four looked at Shiv who was now smiling at them.


    Little did they know that the action of asking help would cause them unforgettable pain.


    ---***---


    My new ff


    Sorry for the late release. will speed up from today


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> ARMAGEDDON: THE NEW WORLD</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 3- Chapter 3: Preying the predator 1(proofread)

    proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    "Good afternoon everybody. My name is Shiv and I am here to address the remaining players on the quest given by the King. As you all know, five days have passed since the quest was given by the king, but we are yet to make any progress. The number of candidates has decreased from one hundred to just eleven. Of these eleven, three are from my party. And so i am taking this opportunity to ask the remaining eight to cooperate with us to slay the beast"


    There were murmurings everywhere around the fountain. Both NPCs and players were making a fuss about the sudden announcement.


    The NPCS were scared as they had expected the almighty and immortal travelers to easily exterminate the threat that had been running amok in the capital. But now a man just declared that only eleven of the chosen hundred remained. They were at the verge of panic when Shiv continued to speak.


    "It is impossible to slay the beast individually, for the beast is stronger than you think."


    "How do you know whether it is strong or not?" Someone from the crowd threw a question at Shiv.


    "Because I have fought with a beast similar to the one in this capital. But compared to the one here, the beast i slayed can only be considered as a baby."


    This remark from Shiv earned the ears of plenty of people, some of the candidates were hiding themselves and listening to Shiv.


    "What proof do you have?" Another questioned.


    "My friend here was the first to see the beast or should I say, the only one who escaped the beast. This man has seen the beast with his eyes and has also felt the power the beast possessed. Now to testify that I have seen the beast" Shiv stopped speaking and then gestured the weaponsmith Golof to hand over the scales and the dagger that Golof had. Shiv then raised his hands so that all that had gathered could see the two items.


    "This black thing is a scale of the beast i slayed and the dagger was made by Golof using these scales. Golof who gave you these scales and when was it given?"


    "You gave it to me, my friend. Those are some real beauties. I can''t seem to get enough of them. So dazzling and strong. You gave  them five days ago, asking me to make you some daggers and a bow with them"


    When Golof finished speaking there was once again murmuring among the audience.


    "Now to the person who escaped. Vrolis, do you find this scale I have in my hand familiar?"


    "Yes I do. They look similar to the scales of the beast that attacked me. But the scales seemed much darker and longer than the scales you possess"


    "So now you have proof which you are free to believe. If any of you wish to team up with us, please gather here tomorrow by this time. Thank you" Shiv then walked away leaving the group that gathered along with the rest of his party. Golof followed Shiv as he had matters to discuss with him.


    ¡°Shiv, as you requested I have finished the work on four daggers, of which the twin blades were already delivered. Here are the two daggers that I have made. As for the bow and the six remaining daggers I will deliver them in another ten days. The special weapon you have asked will be finished in a couple of hours or so.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Golof! You were a great help. I will come and receive the special weapon at night¡±


    ¡°You did pay me well so no worries. Come visit me after you succeed in slaying the beast. Bye¡±


    After Golof had separated from them, Kate asked Shiv


    ¡°Shiv, why did you not tell them that Vrolis was an assassin?¡±


    ¡°You want me to disclose details about our party to complete strangers? For now they only need to know about me, you and Agon. Vrolis and Grohl are special units which will be hidden from the rest, that is if there is someone willing to cooperate with us¡±


    ¡°Why hide it from people who will cooperate?¡±


    ¡°To make sure that any surprise attack from those new partners on us will fail.¡±


    ¡°Surprise attack?¡±


    ¡°Kate, you are such an idiot. Listen, right now there are eleven who have the right to hunt the beast. Say the eleven are divided into groups of three, four and four. Now assume that any one of the groups decides to join us. That means the eleven are divided into groups of seven and four. Say once we form a group, the other four, after gathering all the information about the group decides to kill us, then? ¡±


    ¡°Oh¡± Kate exclaimed.


    ¡°It may also be possible that the remaining eight candidates are of the same group and to infiltrate us they give an act as being enemies or something. There is no way we can trust them and so Vrolis who is a high level assassin can guard us all the time from the shadows and Grohl can heal us or curse them if it is deemed as necessary. This is a race Kate, race in which anything is allowed¡±


    ¡°I see. By the way, what are those daggers you got? They seem identical to the daggers you own¡±


    ¡°Ah, these? This one is for you and the other one for Agon¡± Shiv said passing the dagger to Kate and Agon. ¡°As for Vrolis, I will give you one later. And Grohl I assume that you are fine without one?¡±


    ¡°I do not need such dangerous looking thing great one, the god¡¯s grace will act as my attack and defense.¡± The young boy replied smiling at Shiv. ¡°But great one, what is this special weapon?¡±


    ¡°That is a secret my friend. You will find out soon¡±


    Shiv then turned towards Agon. ¡°Agon did you buy the arrows I asked?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did get the arrows and quivers. I also bought a new bow for me. With the rest of the amount I bought a light weight armor which will not hinder my speed and movement¡±


    ¡°Good. Now we wait till tomorrow¡±


    ---***---


    "Razor! What do you think about that guy''s announcement?"


    "He doesn''t seem to be fabricating nor does he seem part of the group which were PK''ing so I guess it is safe to believe what he said"


    "So are we going to join his party?"


    "No we won''t. Since it carries a great risk. What if one of those who joins this party of his causes problems? We might end up in trouble. Let us move separately. Besides out of us four, only i was given the quest so we four will deal with it somehow. But if what he said is true then the beast is going to give us a hard time"


    Raven looked at his giant red sword and whispered to it, "Lend me your strength buddy" and as if to reply his request the sword let out a dim glow.


    Raven smiled and then sheathed his sword into the scabbard on his back and then walked,


    "Let us go. We will keep an eye on things for now. You three are not in the list of hundred so keep an eye on things with minimum exposure, keep a low profile."


    "Yes boss" the three companions replied and then scattered leaving the red hero alone.


    ---***---


    ¡°I found you at last! Ryu Yasahiro, you will pay for your sins¡±


    The boy who was named the apostle of light clenched his fist recollecting the humiliation he had undergone a while ago. Gritting his teeth he slammed his fist on the table next to him scaring his two companions.


    ¡°Marcos I got a job for you, don¡¯t disappoint me¡±


    ¡°No Sir Adrian¡±


    ---***---


    Next day Shiv and his party was waiting at the fountain where he had announced to the others about his knowledge about the beast. He was now waiting hoping at least one of the remaining candidates would join him to hunt down the beast. To his surprise there were already two at the fountain waiting for Shiv. Shiv then waited for another three hours or so and when he had called of the waiting game, there were five candidates who were willing to join Shiv.


    Out of the five, three were boys and the rest were girls. The five introduced themselves as Maya, Nadia, Gist, Marcos and Rehan. Rehan, Maya and Nadia were of the same party while Gist and Marcos were solo players and had jumped at the chance of getting a high ranked quest. It had only been a little more than a month since the game had launched and so high ranked quests were a rarity. Right now rank A quests were the highest available difficulty though there were rumors that some had even got S ranked quests.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Rehan was a knight, Maya a berserker and Maria a healer, one of the stable and powerful combos. Gist had introduced himself as sword dancer, a unique class with great attack and defense. Marcos though was nothing special, an archer, a normal one. Shiv was surprised when Marcos told his class as a solo archer had many disadvantages in a game. Marcos had then explained to Shiv that his previous party disbanded as the leader was incapable and weak. Marcos then explained that he had accepted the quest to gain more fame and contribution points so that he could become a noble or the sort, he had expected to hunt down the beast together with the remaining 99.


    Once the introductions were over, the candidates formed a party. Shiv then fulfilled his end of the bargain and gave the new five members the necessary information. When the five heard what Shiv said they could not believe their ears,


    ¡°Level 200 or above? Why is such a thing here in this city? Are you sure?¡± Rehan could not fathom the things he heard, his body had already began to tremble. The two girls despaired at the thought of fighting such a thing, so was Marcos. But different from the other four, Gist looked unshaken. He looked Shiv in his eyes and then sighed,


    ¡°And? What is the plan? You already have everything set, right?¡±


    ¡°Ho! What makes you say so, Gist?¡±


    ¡°Call it a dancer¡¯s intuition!¡± this remark made Shiv smile and Gist smiled back too.


    ¡°Come with me guys, what I am going to show you is classified information. Do not disclose even if you were to die¡± Shiv then kept walking till they reached the weapon smithy.


    ¡°Golof, is it ready?¡± Shiv called out loud and out came a man laughing.


    ¡°Of course it is. It is in the warehouse behind the smithy¡±


    The group followed the weaponsmith to the warehouse silently. Golof then opened the door and let the group see what was inside it.


    ¡°You? How?¡± Gist could not muster the words. Everyone else was dumbfounded.


    Shiv walked near the numerous weapons and then smiled. ¡°These babies are going to kill us an alpha friends. Let me introduce these babies to you, say hello to Dragon Lore¡¯s very first Ballista units, Iron Striker¡±


    Even Shiv¡¯s own party members were dumbfounded.


    ¡°How did you?¡± Kate asked Shiv with her voice full of excitement.


    ¡°This idea came to me when I was thinking about my past exploits. I mean the dust explosion concept I used to hunt down goblins¡±


    ¡°How are these two related?¡±


    ¡°Let me finish. Dust explosion is a concept which is based on principles of our real world. And so I thought, if principles and laws of our world were applicable to this world then will things of the real world work inside this virtual space. When such a thought occurred to me, I wondered why not try making something of our world in here. And so first I and Golof tried making a metal cross bow which is mountable on your hand, like in those action movies. After a little effort we were able to make one, though it had its limitations. The next day I brought a photo of the simple ballista which I drew with my own ideas. Of course I had a little help from a weapon loving maniac of a friend. For the last five days I and Golof have being indulged with this thing here and we finally were able to make two miniature version of the real ballista. Well you really can¡¯t call it a ballista though¡±


    ¡°Why is that so?¡± Gist questioned.


    ¡°I believe you might have seen a real ballista somewhere. The real ballista fires its spikes in a parabolic fashion that is the ballista body is inclined to the ground, but these ballista are not¡±


    ¡°I see. They are parallel to the ground¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are. And so this decreases the effective range of the weapon which in this case is a good thing.¡±


    ¡°Why is it a good thing? Is it not better to have a longer reach so that we might hunt down the beast from a safe distance?¡±


    ¡°Gist, think about the area we are going to fight the beast. We are in the middle of a capital, a fully populated area. What happens if we use a ballista with very long range? It will cause a lot of problems¡±


    ¡°I see. In that case, even if the range decreases won''t it still cause damage to the city?¡±


    ¡°It will, and so each shot will be fired with the utmost care. That is also the reason I have prepared a smaller as well as parallel ballista. The range decreases because of these two factors but the power is only a little less. I believe this weapon carry enough strength to penetrate the alpha¡¯s skin. But the problem now is whom to entrust these babies to. I suppose one will go to Marcos who is an archer and so will be able to use it better. The second will be manned by my own archer, Agon.¡±


    The others agreed and so the operators of the ballista were fixed, Marcos, Agon and Maria. The two were then shown the way to operate the ballista without the iron spike ammo. The party then discussed various plans and strategies to take down the beast. Plans were made on how to lure the monster to the place where the ballista would be fixed.


    There was an open space near the place, surrounded by buildings where the beast was usually spotted which Shiv considered the ideal place to engage the alpha beast. The ballista were then placed in the narrowest alleyways and the NPC¡¯s around were asked to vacate the area as soon as possible. The group then began preparing traps in the open space which Shiv had prepared. The traps weren''t anything special, the party ploughed the land to make depressions in the ground. Shiv then asked the party to get some barrels of oil to fill the trenches with. He also gathered some iron barricades to close of all the remaining alleyways except the one that was supposed to be the way the beast was to come. Once all preparations were completed, Shiv then sent Maya and Gist to lure the beast. Shiv had secretly asked Vrolis to look after the two. Grohl had already been placed inside one of the buildings unknown to the rest.


    And now the party lay in wait. Time passed on as the party patiently stood waiting for the beast to appear. Shiv knew that the chances of the beast appearing that day was low as there was no certain pattern to the appearance of the beast. The alpha came and went whenever it pleased. Shiv came to this conclusion from what Vrolis had told him. Vrolis who had been sent to keep tab on things that occurred each night for the last one week or so had explained that the beast had appeared only two times in those days. And so Shiv was sure that the chances of the alpha appearing was less than 50%. But still he and his party lay in wait, hoping the alpha would make its appearance. And it did.


    ---***---


    My new ff


    Sorry for the late release. will speed up from today


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> ARMAGEDDON: THE NEW WORLD</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 3- Chapter 4: Preying the predator 2(proofread)

    proofread by: Daylius and Vikingstad


    "How did this happen?" Shiv could not understand the turn of events. All his plannings backfired and most of his comrades were now hugging the ground lifeless. Those who remained were already on the verge of death. Despair clouded their eyes and fear ran amok in them.


    Everything had been going well until a certain somebody appeared thwarting all the effort the team had put into hunting down the alpha. Shiv stood frozen at the sight in front of him. Unable to act unable to think unable to respond his heart welled up with emotions he had long forgotten, despair and hopelessness. But among all those emotions another emotion was spiraling its way up. Anger and hatred was now dominating the seventeen year old gamer. Anger towards the guy who had caused the deaths of his team mates. Hatred towards the guy who had betrayed him. Shiv glared at the alpha which was being engaged by Kate, Agon, Vrolis, Grohl and Gist.


    With anger fueling his mind and body Shiv stepped forward.His cold eyes focused on the alpha which was causing havoc and terror in his comrades hearts. Without even the slightest hint of fear the boy ran forward with his beloved black sword, emanating a blood red aura!


    ---***---


    An hour or so earlier.


    "Rehan! What is going on at your end?" Shiv had initiated a voice chat with the recon team. Rehan, Maya and Gist had been sent earlier to scout the area where the alpha was believed to enter the capital city. The team had been on standby for almost two hours and yet there were no signs of its appearance.


    Shiv had still asked them to continue their work. He did not want the alpha roaming free just because they did not have the patience to wait for it. All the preparations have been done. The ballistas were fixed at their respective positions and the traps were set. Except for the three who were scouting the remaining were manning their respective positions. Marcos, Agon and Nadia were behind the ballista while Shiv and Kate guarded the three. Grohl had been made to hide in the nearby building which was now vacant while Vrolis was tailing the recon team and acting as their support without their knowledge.


    "Nothing yet Shiv. We are currently on top of a tree a little away from the breach in the wall. Two hours have already passed. I do not think that the alpha will make its entrance today. I think it is best if we postpone.....wait! I hear something"


    "Roarrrrrrr"


    A sudden roar echoed throughout Shiv''s ears, startling him for a second.


    "Gist lure it towards here. Do not engage. Do you hear me?"


    "I heard you. What is that thing? Why is such a monster here?" Shiv could clearly make out the panic and distress in Gist''s voice.


    "Gist. Don¡¯t panic. Just bring it here somehow. I need all three of you here alive or everything will fall apart. The alpha can outrun you if you stay on the ground. Always remain on a higher platform and use ranged attacks if you have one. This way you can attack as well as make it chase you"


    "Ranged attacks? But the three of us have swordsman type classes. How the hell can we use a ranged attack? Who the hell are you?" The last question was directed at a foreign figure. Shiv understood that Vrolis had come in contact with the recon team. Shiv knew that the three could not use any ranged attacks and so had already informed Vrolis about his first duty.


    "Gist! That is my backup plan. His name is Vrolis and he is a top level assassin NPC. He will deal with the ranged attacks. Just get back here safely."


    "So you did have hidden pawns. Not that i complain. Very well. We will do as you say. Rendezvous in ETA 5 minutes. Gist out"


    ''Does he a have military fetish or something'' Shiv thought involuntarily but the unwanted thought was soon replaced with the thought process of a gamer.


    "Everyone, they have made contact with the alpha. Prepare your weapons! Its party time"


    Shiv used dragons roar to boost the morale and attack power of his team mates. The ballistas were loaded, weapons were drawn and senses sharpened. Cold sweat trickled down the faces of the players as their heart pumped blood vigorously.


    "Approaching rendezvous point" Gist informed all the teammates through chat. "Target is following Vrolis and will come into your view now"


    And just like Gist had told Vrolis came in running from the only path that was open. The alpha beast was right behind him chasing vigorously with its mouth ready to bite off anything that it could. The assassin was barely escaping the clutches of the alpha, obviously using some sort of assassin related acceleration skill.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>SLAY THE NIGHT: QUEST UPDATE</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have identified the mysterious beast. Just as you had presumed the mysterious beast turns out to be an alpha dralve, a ferocious and terrifying demi wolf. The alpha dralve is still in its starting growth phase and so is what can be considered an infant compared to a fully grown adult apha dralve. Being a child, the alpha dralve has not yet fully awakened it''s full power. It currently possesses only half the power(only Lvl 140) but is still a great threat. The alpha dralve seems to have been searching for a suitable layer to establish it''s domain and so has decided that the capital city is the best choice.


    Players that are remaining: 11


    Difficulty : B


    Rewards


    Unknown?????


    10000 Gold


    +100 intimacy with the kingdom


    +100 intimacy with guards


    +100 intimacy with church


    +100 intimacy with nobles


    +5000 contribution points


    Failure


    The quest will fail


    1. If you die


    2. More than half the population dies


    3. The king dies


    4. All the noble dies


    Failure will result in the fall of the Bredon kingdom. The alpha dralve will give birth to more dralves and thus lay waste to the entire kingdom. You will be scorned by the entire continent and everybody will shun you. Your alignment with the gods will fall and you will be considered as minions of the fallen dark gods.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    For a moment Shiv was stupefied. Every one of the remaining candidate too were.


    ''What the hell? Fall of the entire kingdom? And a B level quest? This is too big to fail. But the only good thing is that the level of the beast is much lower than what I had expected. But again Lvl 140 is still an impossible thing for me. Good thing i got 4 candidates above Lvl 100. Now all we need is to limit its movement and slowly eat away its health''


    A smile broke out on Shiv''s face. Things were looking good for him. Not only did the alpha have a much lower level than he had calculated, he also had four high ranking players to counter the alpha. Gist had a world ranking of 9, with a lvl of 121 he was the ninth strongest player according to the ranking system. Rehan and Maya were level 110 and 109 respectively while Maria was level 105. Shiv himself could be considered an equivalent of a level 100 player. With Vrolis who was a skilled assassin of Level 125 the team was unbelievably strong. Not forgetting Grohl who even though was a trainee priest had an amazing level of 115 himself. And thus among the 10 among the team six were above level 100. Including Shiv it totaled to seven.


    "Ballistae fire on my mark. Do not fire now. Let it come closer. Kate get inside the building. We can win this if you do as i say. Its only level 140. With the ballista and traps and our team a win is possible"


    Shiv gave orders to everyone. He waited till the beast was closer. This was not only to increase the chance of ballista spikes hitting the beast but was also to let the recon team join the main forces.


    When the alpha had appeared Shiv had used identify to check its status and when he did he was shocked. Even though all other stats were hidden the alpha''s HP which was 12000 was now 10800. That is a decrease of 10% was shown.


    "Gist why is the HP of the alpha down by 10%? How did you guys bring it down?" Asked a surprised Shiv hoping he could use the same attack to easily kill of the beast. But the answer was shocking and unbelievable.


    "I don''t know. It was already like that when the beast came. The assassin  friend of yours inflicted a damage of 2% or so. I am guessing that the alpha has poor regeneration and it had not completely healed after being injured the last time it was attacked. If that is the case then our chances of winning increases too as most boss level monsters have high regeneration."


    "Might be as you say. Any way get here soon. The beast has gone offensive and we have to engage it as soon as possible. The ballista team will fire as soon as you guys makes your entry"


    "Affirmative. We will be there soon"


    Shiv then signaled the ballista team to get ready to shoot. While signalling his mind was trying to organize the new information he had got and trying to improve their current strategy.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Once the three had joined with Shiv''s group Shiv once again used dragons roar.


    "Ballistae fire"


    Unlike the previous time which boosted the moral and attack power of the teammates, dragon roar was used to  reduce the defense of the alpha and if possible to paralyze it. But Shiv knew that the dragon roar being only beginner lvl 4 would not paralyze the lvl 140 beast. Shiv used the skill hoping that the skill would at least affect the beast speed and it did.


    Shiv was greeted with a notification which read as,


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Due to the use of dragon''s roar the enemy''s defense has been decreased by 10% for 5min</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Due to the use of dragon''s roar the enemy''s agility has been decreased by 50% for 5min</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The ballista team who had also received the notification immediately sprung into action. The ballista spikes were fired and of the three two were on target while Marcos who was an archer had missed and his spike had slightly grazed Gist who was the nearest to the beast. Gist glared at Marcos but kept quiet. As soon as the spikes found its target Shiv had signaled them to keep firing till they ran out of spikes. And so the firing continued but before the team could even fire the sixth spike the beast with a sudden roar sprang towards the ballista team.


    Each high speed spike had cut off a good amount of HP per attack and of the total fifteen that were fired ten had found its target.


    Agon had aimed for the legs of the beast trying to cripple it if possible and thus had hit the two front legs of the beast there by reducing its agility and balance. Nadia had randomly fired without any thought and so had missed two of the five she fired. Of the remaining three,  one had hit directly on the head thus earning a critical hit and also blinding it partially. While the other two were trying their best to inflict maximum damage Marcos did not live up to the expectation of others. He had missed two shots while the other three shots had inflicted only small damages.


    In total the three had manages to bring down the HP of the alpha from 12000 to 6800. What was left was a little more than 55%.


    Had the monster been a normal one the team would have felt joyous for bringing down the HP to almost half in minutes. But what they were facing was an enemy which was of a different level than the monsters they had so far faced. Terrorizing, cruel and monstrous, an alpha dralve was the embodiment of everything bad in the universe and it brought fear into every living being that existed.


    The alpha had recognized the ballistae  as a threat that should be taken down without any delay. The alpha ran towards the ballistae growling and bearing its sharp fangs but before it could initiate an attack the beast was flanked from both of its sides by Gist and Shiv. The female berserker and elemental swordsman had already positioned themselves in front of the ballistae team to guard them from the oncoming attack.


    Shiv had already used Kaze and Hono had already his attack from the left side of the beast while Gist used his strongest skill hell dance. The alpha being more than 50 levels higher than Shiv, his attack could only cut off 100 or so with every time his attack hit that too because Hono was negating the alpha''s defense. But Gist''s attacks were much more efficient and was dealing a damage of 300 per attack.


    The continuous attacks from the two had caused the alpha to turn its attention to them. The alpha turned towards Gist swiftly causing the sword dancer to stumble. It took him a few seconds to steady himself and jumped back but the few seconds delay was already a huge flaw. The alpha had brought its hand down which hit Gist on its shoulder eating away half of his health.


    All those who saw this were shocked. Among all those who were there Gist had the highest level as well as defense. A single hit from the beast had caused a huge drop. Two hits from the beast and you die, such a situation was a burden that caused the team to shudder. Yet even in that chaos, Nadia did not forget her job.


    "Oh goddess as pure as the whitest flower, let your love cure the world of its pain, restore"


    One of the highest level healing spell, restore was a spell which returned the player to the status he was just before being victim to an attack. It was a skill that was of the highest tier, a skill which could instantly rejuvenate the health from 1% to 100% in seconds. Thus the skill was something all healers wanted but only few achieved. Nadia was one of the few who had attained this level.


    Once Gist was fully healed he jumped back a few times to increase his distance between him and the alpha. The alpha was staring at Gist, growling with it''s red eyes glowing in the dark.


    While its attention was on Gist, Shiv had already moved towards the beast before his skills ran out. Using all his might Shiv drove his new dagger into the beast neck.


    The dagger drove deep into its neck causing the alpha to writhe in pain. The beast began to growl violently and turned its neck towards to Shiv. Before Shiv could draw back his hand and dagger, he was bitten by the alpha reducing his health to 100 in an instant. The bite had caused Shiv to fall back and thus the dagger remained on the beast''s neck. Shiv fell to the ground with a thud and lay on the ground. The sudden attack had caused his body to be paralyzed. The beast then kept towards Shiv to finish him of when an iron spike crashed in to it causing the beast to tumble on to the ground.


    Rehan who had been on guard till then approached the beast and began attacking the beast. Gist used his sword to keep the alpha busy thus letting Rehan slowly eat off the health of the alpha. The alpha who was being cornered by the two began to activate some kind of skill. But another spike rammed into the beast once again interrupting its attack.


    Shiv looked at the direction of the ballistae and found Agon loading his next spike. Agon shot the next spike before the beast could get up. The second spike impaled the beast''s leg to the ground pinning it down. Using this opportunity Maya and Kate jumped into the scene unleashing a flurry of attacks. Slowly the pinned down beast began losing its health at a tremendous rate.


    They used all their might to hack off the beast''s health. Its health bar dropped from 55% to 30% in a few minutes. While the four were busy with the beast, the ballistae team was looking for chances to fire the remaining spikes. Agon and Nadia was so busy with the scene before them that they did not notice Marcos skipping away nor did they notice the danger that was lurking in the dark.


    ---***---


    While the others were busy fighting the alpha, Vrolis was hiding on the rooftop of a building on watch. Shiv had asked him to not engage the alpha and to stay hidden till he was called for and so Vrolis who had been asked to stand down was now keeping an eye on the surrounding.


    For some reason he had been getting a bad vibe. His instincts told him that something was amiss and so he was closely scanning the area. Even after the hundredth scan his heart wouldn''t calm down and so he would re-scan the area. And during one such scan his senses picked up the presence of an outsider. The aura the outsider had was powerful and felt similar to that of a priest. But the normally calm and serene aura of a priest was not what Vrolis had sensed. The presence had a sinister dark touch to it. Vrolis could feel killing intent and intense hatred emanating from the outsider.


    Without wasting a single second he began leaping from one rooftop to another. The outsider was approaching the ballistae team from behind and what alarmed him the most was the disappearance of  Marcos. The last time he scanned he could distinctively tell the presence of the three who manned the ballistae. But now, even though there were three presences, the one of Marcos was missing and a new presence had entered the locality.


    Vrolis rushed forward hoping his intuitions were wrong. But before he could arrive at the scene, calamity had already struck.


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> ARMAGEDDON: THE NEW WORLD</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%"> NEXT CHAPTER </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Arc 3- Chapter 5: The light that bleeds

    Chapter 31


    Light that which bleeds


    ¡°Nadia! The beast is at the verge of death. A couple of hits from our ballistae and I am sure it would drop dead. Aim carefully, we only have a total of six spikes with and be careful not to hit the others.¡± Agon shouted while his eyes were glued on the beast.


    ¡°Um! Agon, where is Marcos?¡± Nadia asked a little worried. Marcos had suddenly gone missing and Nadia was scared that something might have happened to him.


    ¡°I do not know and I don¡¯t think we have the liberty to be worried about him right now. He might have run away or something. Now concentrate on the beast¡± Agon urged Nadia to go back to shooting the beast. Ever since the battle with the beast had started, Nadia had been shooting the spikes whenever possible while simultaneously healing any one that had a low health. Due to this Shiv and the others had given majority of the mana potion to Nadia as the entire plan depended on her effectiveness. Thus it could be said that Nadia was the central tower of all the strategies of the party. This was the reason that she was made to stand behind the ballistae as it could act as a guardian to her if necessary. Shiv had carefully thought of everything and had come up with a sure to win plan but he did not take into account the appearance of an outsider.


    A short that emitted bright light stuck out from Nadia¡¯s chest. Blood spurted out from the wound like the water from a huge fountain. Agon froze for a moment and before he could even react the sword dug into Nadia¡¯s flesh three times more rendering her lifeless in seconds. The lifeless body fell to the ground covered in blood, her beautiful golden eyes going pale. Agon unsheathed his dagger and ran towards the outsider, rage clouding his senses but fuelling his movements. The dagger bit into the outsiders shoulder making him kneel down in pain. Agon pulled out the dagger and began his next thrust aiming for the neck of the attacker. With all his might and speed he swung down his arm hoping the attacker would drop dead but everything went vain when he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. The pain was then accompanied by a warmth, the warmth of his on blood. This time, it was Agon¡¯s turn to kneel down. Gripping the wound in his abdomen with his left hand he looked at the attacker with hatred and disgust.


    The attacker smiled at the boy. His crimson eyes showed no signs of remorse or guilt, there was only satisfaction in them. Dropping back his hood the attacker kicked Agon on his face thus sending him flying towards the others. The dying boy fell in between the party and the beasts causing both the sides to be startled. But the alpha reacted faster and it reacted in a way that none would have imagined.


    It ran towards the half dead boy and in an instant the boy was gone. Only a hand remained on the ground, the body had disappeared. Shiv froze, his brain could not grasp what had occurred. His hands trembling, he looked around himself searching for Agon¡¯s body and it was then he heard the sounds of bones crunching. His mind went blank, leg went numb.


    ¡°No, not again. Please don¡¯t. Please, I beg you. Not him¡± tears gushed out of his eyes as he wailed like a child who lost his mother. Memories of separation ran amok in his mind, the memories of the Draklake village and his three masters filled his heart with grief and now there was another person who had left him.


    The health bar of the alpha which was supposed to be at 30% or so was now a little over 50%. The beast had eaten Agon to replenish its health. And now it was glaring at the party who had lost its healer and archer.


    Anger began to well up inside the young boy¡¯s heart. An anger so intense that his body began to develop a black misty aura.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skill Upgraded: Dark Aura</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Blood aura has grown in to Dark aura. A black aura born from intense anger and hatred. The aura gives you immense power in exchange for your life force. Your anger and hatred towards the alpha dralve has brought forth a hunger for revenge.


    +40% attack damage


    +15% defense


    Duration: Till HP runs out or is cancelled by the user


    Mana consumption- 1000 per use


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    With his black dragon sword in his right and the black dagger in his left, Shiv leapt forward towards the alpha, the dark aura which gave him immense power was already eating way his life at a tremendous rate, but he did not mind, all he saw was the alpha beast in front of him. Activating Hono and Kaze along with Dragon¡¯s roar. The black aura from the Dark aura skill mixed with the yellow aura which was due to the skill Hono and gave forth a black aura with tints of yellow. The alpha which was now paralyzed due to the dragon¡¯s roar skilled glared at Shiv. The attacks hit the alpha right on its face causing it to wail, as black blood rushed out from the cuts.


    Rehan and Maya who were till then near Nadia¡¯s corpse unsheathed their weapons and rushed towards the attacker. Rehan thrust his huge sword aiming at the outsider¡¯s abdomen while Maya was activating her special skill, Creators wrath. A berserker¡¯s attack depended up on its rage and so creator¡¯s wrath increased her rage up to 200% making her attacks and agility twice as powerful. She had intended to use it against the alpha if things went bad but now the blond guy in front of her had the highest priority.


    ¡°Creators wrath¡± she yelled out and soon red markings appeared on her body, her blue eyes turned red making her look like the devil himself. Rehan who had been till then attacking the blond but unable to land a successful hit retreated immediately. The blond was confused as to why the knight had retreated but was immediately made to defend a fury of blows from the berserker. Creator of wrath was a passive skill which had a duration of 5min. once the 5min were over Maya¡¯s body would feel extreme exhaustion and would be rendered paralyzed for two minutes and thus the skill had a very big disadvantage. If she was unable to finish of her enemy within 5min, her death was certain.


    The blond boy gritted his teeth, even though he was blocking the attacks, his health was still decreasing indicating the attack power was too high that blocking was only a little effective. In less than three minutes, Maya¡¯s attack speed was so high that the blond boy could hardly see the sword she was holding. Maya began preparing for her final strike, the boys¡¯ health was now at 10% and she was sure a single attack or so would end his life. She concentrated all her powers to the tip of the sword, activating another special skill, double pierce. An attack which pierced the victim twice at the exact same spot. The first attack not only caused damage in also rendered any defense at the point of contact as bull thus letting the second pierce attack do twice the damage. Pulling back her sword, she thrust it with all her might, aiming at the boy¡¯s heart and with a clang, the attack shattered the armor at the point of contact. Preparing for her next strike, she pulled back her sword once more but the attack never came.


    ¡®Shoom¡¯ ¡®Shoom¡¯ ¡®Shoom¡¯


    Rehan could clearly hear the sound of something fly through the air, not once but thrice. His widened when he saw something he did not expect. The iron spikes had impaled into Maya¡¯s back causing her attack to be canceled and also making her lose her balance. Rehan rushed towards Maya to prevent her from falling but before he could reach her, the blond boy had already thrust his shinning sword into her throat and slice it off. The iron spikes had a tremendous attack power, just three of it had caused Maya¡¯s HP to reduce to 5% and the exhaustion from the creator¡¯s wrath had caused her to defense to drop too, thus making the iron spike hits as critical hits. And the final blow was to her neck, severing her head from her body. Rehan ran towards the boy who had by then consumed a couple of high grade health potions to recover to almost full health.


    ¡°You are next, Marcos. Once I am done with this bastard, you are next. I will rip you apart¡±


    But the battle was horrifyingly one sided. The boy had a hard time against Maya because he could not cope up with her attack power and speed. But Rehan¡¯s was a different case, his strength was and speed was not enough to make the boy sweat even a little. Every attack Rehan used against the boy was ineffective, and was countered. Rehan¡¯s health began to deplete at a fast pace and in no time reached 5%. It was then, something that startled the attacker occurred. Rehan¡¯s HP till then was almost depleted shot back to full health. The boy stood in daze as he saw the full HP bar of his enemy.


    ¡°Just because your HP has been regenerated does not mean you can win with those weak attacks¡±


    ¡°Silent Prayer¡± Rehan dictated the name of the skill he had just used. ¡°This skill makes me immortal for 10min, triples my attack power at the expense of my life. The moment the skill runs out I die and lose five levels. Till now I have never used the skill, so be honored. Now die¡±


    Rehan gushed towards the blond guy who was a little late to react to the sudden attack. Rehan¡¯s sword made a slash and hit the target on its stomach causing the boy to writhe in pain. A single attack had caused him to lose almost 20% of his length. The boy tried to back off from Rehan but to his dismay, Rehan had already anticipated this and had begun the second attack. At this moment a spike sprang towards Rehan¡¯s back. Twisting his body, Rehan evaded the spike and thus escaping its clutches but the sudden twisting had caused him to lose his balance and fall down. Before he could get up the blond boy was already in front of him. His normally bright sword was now emitting a red color. Rehan understood it was some sort of skill and tried to block the attack, while his back was still to the ground.


    Marcos was smiling at himself for getting such an easy target, he was sure that even if the spike did not hit, his master had got the advantage now and would surely finish of the enemy knight. But once again things did not go as he thought. While smiling and enjoying the fight between his master and Rehan, Marcos did not notice the guy lurking in the shadow behind him, not until something plunged into his back, impaling his heart.


    ¡°How does it feel to be backstabbed?¡± a deep voice asked, filled with rage. The voice was trembling so much that Marcos could not recognize it at all. He tried to shout, call for help from his master and so he opened his mouth. But no voice came out, for he felt immense pain in his neck. The lurker had removed the dagger from Marcos¡¯s back and slit his throat before Marcos could shout, all in a matter of seconds that Marcos did not even understand what was going on. Slowly his health began to drop as the dagger once again pierced his heart, now from the front. The dagger was pulled out and then it came down again impaling his throat. This impaling strike continued for a minute so. Marcos could not react, the pain every slice caused him made him unable to think or act and soon he lay dead, his corpse covered in wounds and blood.


    Once Marcos was dead Vrolis leapt toward Rehan to defend him from the sudden attack. His years as an assassin had helped him travel at speeds normally impossible to humans and in seconds Vrolis was behind the blond with the dagger already half its way towards the blond boy¡¯s vitals. Sensing the attack from behind he jumped out of the way causing the skill to be cancelled. Vrolis helped Rehan up, the two then intently stared at the boy in front of them.


    ¡°Now that the rat is dead, let us take care of you now.¡± Vrolis said pointing towards the dead Marcos. The blonde felt a shiver when his eyes met that of Vrolis.


    ¡°Why did you do this, the so called apostle of life? Have you decided to become the apostle of dark now? Such underhand methods?¡± Vrolis¡¯s voice did not hide his disgust for the player in front of him. But this sudden revelation made Rehan dumbfounded.


    ¡°You are Adrian? The one with world rank 1? What do you want with us?¡±


    ¡°With you? Nothing. If anything you should curse your bad luck. It is due to your bad luck after all that you are part of Shiv¡¯s team. All I want is to see him beg for his life and watch him despair when I steal all his precious things from him.¡± And the boy began to laugh like a maniac. The next moment a sharp pain broke out of his knees.


    Vrolis had already begun his attack, the first attack was to the knee, trying to cause the boy to lose his balance and agility. The second attack was to the abdomen and the third to the heart, triple strike. Triple strike was one of Vrolis¡¯s skill which let him strike at very fast pace. The attack being not anticipated and sudden caused the boy to lose a lot of HP. He swung down his sword at Vrolis which was easily evaded. Next was Rehan¡¯s turn. He had little less than five minutes left before he dies and so he wasted no more time. The broad steel sword which was given to him by the knights order when he became a knight was now slashing at the intruder eating away his health. Every time the boy tried to parry or counter the attack, Vrolis would appear behind him and thrust his dagger onto his back. The boy was now powerless and was in great danger as the other two continued their attack. Both of them then prepared for the final strike and was about to execute it when Gist came flying and crashing on the blond boy. Vrolis and Rehan were shocked with the sudden crashing and looked towards the alpha, what they saw shocked them. Kate was on the ground, her limbs torn down by the alpha while Shiv was defending himself from the barrage of attacks the alpha was firing.


    Gist got up hugging his stomach.  He limbed towards the two while he clutched his sword with bloody hands.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Rehan asked, his face was pale now as all hopes of defeating the alpha had now disappeared.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. We thought we were winning. Shiv had activated a skill which made him really over powered and so we were hacking down it health while barely remaining alive. And then it suddenly became too strong. I don¡¯t know what happened, may be some sort of special boss skill but it really is unbeatable now, at least not in our tired state. May be if you two could join we might have a chance. The alpha had been emitting a blackish aura ever since it powered up. And only one pair of its eyes are open, I am guessing it sacrificed its eyes for more power or something, I don¡¯t know. Damn we very much need a healer¡± Gist complained, still limping towards the Alpha.


    The last phrase told by Gist caught Vrolis¡¯s attention. Grohl, they still had Grohl, but why was he not healing anybody. Vrolis then looked towards the boy, who was now getting up from the ground, his health was now a 2%, but a smile broke out on his face as he witnessed the scene before him.


    ¡°Serves you right Ryu, this is what you get for insulting me. Don¡¯t worry this is just the beginning. I will take away everything from y¡­.¡± before he could finish his sentence, he fell to the ground, the last bit of health running down to zero. Rehan had cut him down with all his might and then he too fell to the ground as his skill ran out of time. Gist stared at the two for a while and then began limping towards Shiv to help him out. Vrolis had already disappeared, he was now running towards the building where Grohl was, hoping the little priest was still alive.


    ---**---


    ¡°I will kill you, you bastard.¡± Shiv screamed at top of his voice. Even though he was under heavy attack, his eyes were glaring daggers at the alpha that had slayed his friends. The dark aura around him had subsided as he did not want to die before the beast was slain. When Kate was dead and Gist was send flying, only despair and anger filled inside Shiv. His brain could not understand what had gone wrong, his heart could not bear the pain it was paining. With tears still rolling down from his cheeks, Shiv still pushed on, trying everything he could to bring down the alpha.


    To Shiv¡¯s dismay, the alpha was getting faster and faster as time passed. Till now, he was able to block the attacks directed towards him, but now one or two always came through and caused him damage. The high difference in levels made each attack bite of large amount of health. And now, Shiv was on his knees, his head hung low as he stood in wait for the last strike. His eyes were lifeless and his face pale. From a distance, Gist was shouting at him to stand and fight. But Shiv was already dead, mentally. Agon¡¯s memories were now being played inside his mind, the young boy who had always followed him, the young hunter who had always obeyed his every order, he was now gone. Shiv wondered what he would tell the boy¡¯s parents, how he should face them. With every fleeting moments, more and more pain shrouded his broken heart. For some the boy was a NPC, but for Shiv, he was very much a living thing.


    ¡°Giving up already Mr. Chief of Draklake?¡± a sweet male voice echoed out. ¡°Such a pity and here I thought you were something great. Well, now that you have given up, shall I finish it off myself?¡± a young boy with red long hair appeared out of nowhere near Shiv. He looked as if he were fifteen or so, holding a sword almost double his size and was crimson red in color. Behind him was another boy with grey hair, holding a katana like sword, he was dressed like a Kung Fu student and had no metal armor on him. Together with the two, a girl stood, holding a staff and dressed in a white rob. Her hands were holding a staff which was as tall as her, and her head was covered with a black witch hat.


    ¡°Let us begin guys. Damn the thing is still at full health¡± the guy with red hair shouted and ran forward. The three attacked from different direction and all the time there a guy behind the beast attacking it from its blind spot. The red hair acted as the main tank as it absorbed the agro as well as most of the damage from the alpha. The three used a variety of skills and attacks to approach and deal damage to the beast. While the red hair guy was attacking from the front, the other two would hack away at the beast with class exclusive skills. The guy in the kung Fu dress was a samurai monk, though he was able to equip swords, the monk class caused him unable to wear any defense and so he was the most vulnerable among the trio. The woman was possibly a witch, she being able to use dark magic and also having a witch hat too. The rob she wore made her defense less just like the monk, but the witch often cast a mana shield whenever an attack was directed towards her. The last was the guy with the huge red sword. He had long red hair and matching eyebrows. The sword he equipped was too big for the boy¡¯s stature and yet he wielded it just as it was his very own arm. Some type of swordsman sub class, all three of them above level 100, Shiv was measuring the new guys. He had come to a conclusion as to what their class and level were from watching their attacks and clothes. The trio continued hacking down the beast¡¯s health and just like before, a black mist covered the alpha¡¯s body and its health shot back to full in an instant. Shiv and the others stared at the beast in shock.


    ¡°Again? What is that skill?¡± Gist who had by then limped back towards Shiv questioned in disbelief. In every game he had so far played, the boss sometimes did power up tremendously, but that was a one-time skill. But the alpha, not only did it restore its HP, it also evolved, the level bar on it showed 160 as its current level. ¡°An unbelievable thing, truly unbelievable.¡± Gist could not stop from saying.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± the red haired boy seemed angry. ¡°Fine I will finish you off myself. Crimson death form 4: Hell blizzard¡±


    The moment the boy activated the skill, his red sword began to glow with a fiery aura. The boy¡¯s back began to grow black wings which kept growing till it was twice the length of the boy, his ears began to sharpen, fangs and claws grew out. His neatly kept hair were now lengthening too giving the boy an unruly appearance. With the sword held against his chest the boy stared at the alpha taunting it to attack. The angered alpha swung its right front leg, sharp claws covered with dried up blood came down on the red hair, intending to cut him down but the claws never reached its destination. The boy had disappeared just before the attack hit him. He was now under the beast, facing its soft underbelly and what followed were a series of really fast set of attacks, aimed at its legs and belly. The alpha beast wailed in pain and tried to move away but the attacks to the legs caused it unable to move. By the time the skill wore off, the alpha only had 10% of it health left. The red haired guy jumped away from the beast and then signaled the others to finish it off. The two companions activated their skill and then approached the beast to slay it in one go.


    ¡°Deaths Embrace¡± the witch used a dark magic which caused thousands of black colored hands to emerge from the ground and constrict the alpha, the hands caused burn on the alpha¡¯s body thus reducing its health little by little. And before the alpha could restore its health, the next attack came.


    ¡°Heaven splitter¡± the monk roared as his sword made a vertical slash on the beast head, splitting it into two, a very neat cut. The beast fell into the ground motionless, black blood oozing out.


    Gist and Shiv stared at the three who were now walking towards them, smiling at them as well as looking down on them.


    ¡°See, piece of cake. Dude, you really need to learn how to fight. Well, I can¡¯t blame you for being back stabbed. You should not be so trusting.¡±  The red haired mocked Shiv and then the trio began laughing. They were so busy mocking Shiv that they did not detect the movement behind them.


    ¡°Look out¡± Shiv cried out seeing something behind them, but the warning was already too late. The red haired guy looked behind him, wondering what Shiv was referred too. What greeted him was his monk friend being chewed by the alpha. His low defense had caused him too much as the over powered alpha lay waste to him in seconds. Above the alpha¡¯s head a series of number was shown, ¡°Level 165¡±. The alpha which was supposed to be dead not only did it revive, it had evolved too. The red haired unsheathed his sword in rage and stared at his dead friend being chewed by the beast. The witch shrieked out loud, catching the beast attention and in an instant the beast was now before her, its claws already on its way to cut her down. The witch cast her mana shield but it was not strong enough, her body was hit with the claw which send her flying a good length.


    Now all that left were a red haired sword boy, Shiv and half dead Gist. The three grasped their sword and glared at the beast, ready to strike it the moment it moved. The alpha glared back, its red eyes intently watching the three. When its eyes made contact with Gist, it sped towards him intending to finish the weakest among the three. Bracing himself, Gist waited for the impact but nothing came. A blinding light descended on them, all the four who were in that open space were covered by the light. Shiv and the other two could feel their HP and energy being refilled. It was a high level spell and Shiv knew who the caster was. Looking around he found Vrolis and Grohl running towards them in a hurry.


    ¡°This guy was knocked out by some body and was tied down. Took a while to wake him up.¡±  Vrolis explained. Shiv nodded his head as he understood who might have knocked him out.


    ¡°Great one! There is something I must tell you.¡±


    ¡°Not now Grohl, the beast is still alive. We have to slay it or else we all die¡±


    ¡°You cannot kill it with your sword Great one. It is being protected by the Dark God¡¯s mist. Without light the beast cannot be slayed. Look the beast is now in pain as my holy spell is a curse to it¡±


    Shiv and the others looked at the beast which was now writhing in pain on the ground. Even though its health remained constant, it was surely in pain.


    ¡°Great. Listen to me Grohl, I need you to prepare your strongest spell. Cast it only when I tell you to. Understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, great one¡± Grohl nodded. Shiv gestured Grohl to move away from the open space and then turned towards the others.


    ¡°Listen guys, there is only one way to take that thing down and for that we work as a team ¡±  Shiv said looking at the red hair.


    ¡°Fine, fine I get it. What is the plan? And you better be fast, the thing is getting up¡±


    ¡°Can you use that hell blizzard skill once again?¡±


    ¡°No can do. That is a skill I can use only once every day. But I have another set off skills equally powerful¡±


    ¡°That is enough. Use it after that boy casts his holy spell. We three will bring down the things HP. You stand and protect the kid¡± saying so Shiv dashed towards the beast activating Kaze, Hono, Dragon¡¯s roar and Dark aura, thereby completely depleting his mana pool. Gist and Vrolis followed behind, activating their own sets of skills. The three surrounded the beast just like the red hair trio did, with Shiv being the main tank. The barrage of attacks took place at very high rate that the beast could not cope up with it. Shortly later the beast¡¯s HP dropped to 10% and the Shiv screamed. ¡°Now Grohl, hit him¡±


    The boy roared in his cute voice ¡°God¡¯s Verdict¡± and the earth trembled lightly, the night clouds split and then a single ray of light shot down at a tremendous pace hitting the alpha right on its head pinning it down to the ground. The dark aura around its body was being absorbed by the light, slowly the alpha¡¯s body came into view covered in numerous cuts and its own black blood.


    ¡°Red hair, finish it off¡±


    ¡°Crimson Death Form 3: Devil¡¯s Claw¡± The red hair rushed towards the pinned down beast, the huge sword he was carrying suddenly split into two halve turning into dual swords. As he neared the beast, the shape of the sword slowly changed, it width decreased and length increased, slowly it was transforming into two scythes. The high speed run was followed by a very powerful jump, the red hair boy seemed flying through the sky and when he landed, he was on top of the beast¡¯s head. He placed the scythes on each side of the beast neck and in one powerful motion beheaded it. The head of the beast rolled down on the ground and came to a stop in front of Shiv. Once the rolling stopped a tab opened up in front of him.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have failed the quest. Somebody else has cleared it and so you have failed it. No penalties are applicable


    </tr></td></tbody></table>


    Shiv fell to the ground in relief. Gist hugged Vrolis in joy while Grohl danced around. The red hair stood there gazing at the beautiful white moon. The beast was finally dead.


    ---***---


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 Arc 3- Chapter 6: I will be with you forever

    For the next few days Ryu did not go online. Whenever he saw the capsule, regret seeped into his now fragile heart. Miyuki and Mia were told about Agon¡¯s death by Haruna. Whenever Miyuki or Mia brought the topic Ryu hardly responded to them. His eyes seemed lifeless and even when his face had a smile on it, those golden brown globes did not. Things got even worse when Isamu who had till then kept quiet about it, began to ask questions.


    On one such occasions he asked Ryu,


    ¡°Why are you so upset when this Agon guy is just a computer program? Don¡¯t be a fool and cheer up¡±


    ¡®Just a computer program¡¯ cause Ryu to snap and for the first time in his life he talked back at his grandfather shocking everyone in the house.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare talk about Agon like that¡± was what he had told his grandfather. Ryu then stormed out of the room, banging the door behind him stupefying the Yasahiro household.


    ---***---


    When things began to change from bad to worse, Haruna decided take actions. She was furious when she heard about Ryu¡¯s behavior for the past few days. Miyuki had occasionally called Haruna with a worried tone, not knowing how to help her only son. And so, it was Haruna who came with a plan.


    Taking out her smartphone, she dialed Ryu¡¯s number. It took a while before the call was attended and the voice that greeted was as heavy as lead.


    ¡°Hello¡± came the voice of a boy that seemed to have been half dead, causing Haruna to flinch.


    ¡°Ah, Ryu! It¡¯s Haruna. Are you free today?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Free? Yes I am. What is it?¡± it was apparent that he was uninterested.


    ¡°I was wondering we could go out, I mean I wanted to go to a shrine nearby and pray for the village.¡±


    ¡°Village?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Draklake. Seems the village is doing well.¡±


    ¡°Why pray for a village in a game? Is it not stupid?¡±


    ¡°May be so. But for me it as real as it can get. Is it not the same for you? Or are you going to abandon them? Have you forgotten about Hwan and Fernork combining their might?¡±


    ¡°What do you wait Haruna?¡±


    ¡°I want you to stop wailing like a girl¡± the voice that replied was cold.


    ¡°What? How dare you?¡± Ryu yelled back.


    ¡°I did not know that the great Ryu Yasahiro was a weakling who hid behind his mother when he was bullied. Pathetic, truly pathetic.¡±


    ¡°Haruna! Watch your tongue woman.¡±


    ¡°How long do you plan to stay in your room and cry like a baby? Are you not going to apologize to his parents? To the village? Are you going to let the others in the village die just because you are afraid of getting scared? Do you think only you are hurt because of this whole damn situation? Is this how you are going to end things?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. There is no way that I can go to the village. How can I face them? I killed Agon¡± Haruna could feel the despair and dismay in Ryu¡¯s trembling voice. She could feel the boy¡¯s pain.


    ¡°It is you that think that way. Do you know what his mother told Miyuki-san when she informed her about her son¡¯s death? ¡®A warrior dies happily for the sake of his lord and village. I do not hate the chief, I hold him dear for letting my son have a great life and a wonderful end.¡¯ This is what she told. And look at you? Shutting yourself home while his parents have accepted the fact and trying to move on. You are their hope Ryu, go back to them. Talk to them. Get stronger and protect them. That is your duty towards them as their chief. You do not have the privilege to mourn and relax as long as you are their leader.¡±


    ¡°But he died because of me¡±


    ¡°No, he died because of us. I too bear responsibility and so I decided to get stronger so that I could protect everything that he wanted to protect. That is what he would want you to do, for him you were hope, please do not let his death go vain. Protect the village he loves, that is the way to honor his memories. Is it not?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Which shrine?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°You said you wanted to go to some shrine, right? Which shrine?¡±


    ¡°Ah, just come over to my house. We can go from here. There is a shrine close to my house. And wear something nice, not your typical black suit and all.¡±


    ¡°Fine young lady. I will be there in an hour. Bye¡± Ryu could not help but smile at her last phrase.


    ¡°Bye¡± Haruna smiled and disconnected the phone. She then ran towards her cupboard to select the day¡¯s battle suit.


    ---***---


    ¡°¡±Be careful, Ryu. Take good care of here. It¡¯s so nice to be young¡± Miyuki and Mia giggled slightly."


    ¡°Its not like that mother.¡± Ryu for some reason felt embarrassed.


    ¡°Like what? I did not say anything.¡± Miyuki feigned ignorance while Mia kept giggling.


    ¡°I am going mother. Bye Mia¡±


    ¡°Have a nice date onii-sama¡±


    Ryu shrugged his shoulders a little at the mention of a date and walked towards the car silently. Miyuki and Mia looked Ryu warmly. The boy had regained some of his energy back and now they prayed things would get better by the time he came back.


    ¡°Shall we go have something sweet dear?¡±


    ¡°I want ice-cream¡± Mia jumped in excitement.


    ---***---


    Ryu stepped out of his care. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt and a blue denim jean and looked really great. Even though he felt nervous, his legs paced forward and his rang the calling bell. The door opened fast and there stood Haruna in a dark blue one piece dress with her hair tied neatly. The sleeveless dress stretched till her knees and suited d her perfectly. The dark color of the dress complemented her beautiful white skin. With a little lip gloss, her red lips shined brightly enhancing her even brighter smile. For a moment Ryu stood there dumbstruck.


    ¡°Shall we go? It¡¯s just hardly a five minutes¡¯ walk from here¡±


    Ryu nodded still lost in the girl¡¯s beauty causing Haruna to blush slightly. She held Ryu¡¯s hand dragged him with her. She laughed slightly when she Ryu¡¯s face going all red. The two seemed happy, happy to have met each other. The two talked about various things while they walked slowly towards the shrine. Haruna kept holding the boy¡¯s hand and Ryu did not mind it the slightest.


    When they reached the shrine which was not much crowded, they prayed with their eyes closed. The two wished for the village to be a safe and great place for those who were abandoned and those who were weak. They swore to get stronger so that they could prevent another death.


    The two then went to nearby restaurant to have lunch. Everywhere they went, they invited the attention of those around them, such were the beauty of the two. Haruna¡¯s smile and Ryu¡¯s elegance at the envy of boys and girls alike. While the two had lunch, the waitress threw secret glances at Ryu at the same time glared at Haruna. Finishing their lunch, Ryu took Haruna out for shopping buy here clothes he thought suited her best. By the time they finished shopping, it was already evening.


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    ¡°Hey Ryu, come with me. There is on more place that I want to take you to¡±


    ¡°Where to?¡±


    ¡°A special place. At least for me. A place where mother often took me. It¡¯s not some big place, it¡¯s a tree house little away from our house.¡±


    Haruna guided Ryu back to her home and then from there took him through various alley ways till they reached a small open plot. The plot was in the outer region of the residential area and was peaceful. A massive tree occupied the middle of the small land, which was covered in grass. On top of the tree was a small tree house, hardly big enough to let a couple of thirteen year old to fit in. a wooden staircase paved the way to it and Haruna sat on that stair case, her hands running over it gently. Her eyes moistened a bit, and her cheeks reddened. Ryu went close to her and held her hand, his eyes gazing into hers. Haruna gave a smile and wiped her eyes.


    ¡°When I first came to this place. I was eight. Mom took me to this place on my birthday. Dad was busy with his work and said he would not make it for my birthday party and I was sad about it. And then she took me here, and let me climb up the stairs. That day I played inside this house for hours. From then we would often come here, she and I would spend hours here, chatting, laughing, playing.


    The last time I came here was when I was seventeen. It was a Tuesday evening. Mom and dad had fought about something over the phone and she was crying. So I thought I would take her out to the tree house. I dragged her out even though she said she did not want to. I thought if we talked about things in this place she would cheer up. It was a little late in the night and there were none around. We were talking about various things when a couple of men approached us. They were drunk and were trying to feel our body. One of them tried hug me but he got hit by mom. The two men got angry and one of them took out a small knife from his pocket. He then asked mom to give him all her money. Since our home was a few minutes¡¯ walk from here, we had no money with us. They then caught hold of mom and then asked me to go get the money from home. I was scared. I did not want to leave mom with those two, and I knew if I were to scream they would really kill either of us. And so I agreed to go get the money.


    I ran and ran, as fast as I could. I called dad as soon as I reached home and then took all the money I could find and rushed back. Dad had by then alerted the neighbors, but it was too late. By the time was back here, all I saw was my mom on the ground, blood flowing out of her neck. Those two guys tried to rape her when I was gone and when mom resisted they killed her, just like that. The two men were caught after a week or so. From then dad began to come home early. You know, so that I would not feel lonely. But every night when I think about it, I feel like was the one who killed my mother. If I had not taken her to this place that night, she would have lived.¡± Tears flowed out of Haruna¡¯s eyes as she recalled her past. Her red cheeks were wet with her own tears and her lips trembled as she wept profusely.


    Ryu held her hands tight as he silently wept with her, he placed a hand on her head and patted it gently. Haruna leaned forward slightly, placing her head on Ryu¡¯s chest as she cried her pain out. It took a while for Haruna to regain her composure but even after the tears stopped, she did no move away from the boy¡¯s embrace. The two stayed like that for some time. Haruna felt a strange warmth embrace her and she felt her heart calm down rapidly when the strong arms of the boy gently held her. The chest she was leaning on felt soft yet muscular, she could hear his heart beat which was unusually fast since he was holding a girl in his arms.


    Haruna smiled, even though she felt embarrassed she felt happy that she could make the boy¡¯s heart race. Wiping her eyes with her slender hands she moved away from Ryu but her gaze bore into Ryu¡¯s eyes. She smiled when the boy turned away his gaze. She then moved closer to him, her face inches away from his. Her rosy trembling lips then touched his face, a kiss to the cheek followed by a warm embrace. Ryu could not fathom what had just happened. His embarrassment, shyness and nervousness caused him to blank out for a while.


    ¡°Cute¡± Haruna could not help but pinch the boy¡¯s cheeks causing him to flinch slightly. She pushed him down and then ran away from him. The boy fell to the ground but was smiling at, her back. Shaking his head sideways he thought, ¡®What a woman? I want to protect that smile¡¯


    Turning back her little head, she stuck out her tongue at the boy who was on the ground and then began running away once again. Ryu got up from the ground and chased her. He ran slowly so that he could see the girl look back at him with a smile for that smile had enticed him, he was now captive of those bright smiles and shinning eyes. The boy was falling in love.


    The girl ran into her own house and locked the door leaving Ryu outside. Ryu tried to knock the door but a sweet voice stopped him from doing so.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do everything by own. You have people who like you around you. Stop carrying everything own your own. Let me share half of it, I will be with you forever¡± the voice then trailed off and Ryu knew that the girl had mustered all her courage to come with those words and he knew those were her true feelings. A smile broke out on his face, leaning his back on to the door, he said.


    ¡°Forever¡±


    The two stood on either side of the door with reddened face and happy hearts, their face bore a wide smile as an adult woman and young boy began to connect their hearts with each other.


    On the room next to where Haruna was, her father Kiyoshi smiled as he watched his only daughter beam in happiness. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched his daughter and in his mind he said.


    ¡®Your daughter is happy, Asuna!¡¯


    ---***---


    Please read my 2nd fic


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 Arc 3- Chapter 7: Meetings 1

    Shiv and Kate stood in the graveyard to the west of the capital town, outside the walls of the city. A peaceful places surrounded by nature, a place one would find apt for a final sleep. With trees and lake adjacent to it, the graveyard was something of great beauty, a deadly beauty. With numerous tombs occupying the graveyard, Shiv and Kate stood solemnly in front of one of the tomb. On it were the words ¡°Agon Aftol- Brave Warrior¡±


    A week or so had passed in the game since the battle with the alpha. Shiv had not stepped into the game since Agon¡¯s death but now, with Kate holding his hands he once again set forward. Being pulled by her slender hands he followed her like a baby would follow its mother ad now she had pulled him in to the resting place of Agon for a final goodbye.


    Without uttering a single word Shiv stared at those words on the tomb, his eyes said everything he had to. It had always been so, Shiv never had to speak, Agon would understand everything Shiv wanted just be seeing his eyes. For the two speech was not at all needed. This might be because the advanced AI of the system doing its job. May be the AI did it so that the NPC¡¯s might look more real or may be the AI just were following the instructions it was given by some programmer. But for Shiv, Agon appeared nothing less than a living being. The two stood there, as memories of past flowed before their eyes. Time slowed, so did the wind around. The birds quitened out. It were as if the nature joined the two in a silent prayer. But soon the silence was broken by the sounds of footsteps.


    Shiv and Kate looked back and was then greeted by a smiling face of Vrolis. The guy had a gentle smile and was as usual dressed in his assassin uniform. He stepped forward and gave Shiv a light hug.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you once again¡± Vrolis¡¯s voice was that of relief rather than happiness. Shiv smiled and hugged him back and said, ¡°It¡¯s been a while Vrolis¡±


    The three then returned to the capital. On their way Vrolis told him about the festival that the king held to celebrate the death of the alpha. He told Shiv about hoe the king offered Raven the seat of a noble and also about the land that was offered to him. But Raven had cleanly denied the offers.


    Young Grohl had returned back to the church and the weapon smith Golof was having a great time. The ballista we made were presented to the king and it seemed like the king liked the weapon. And so Golof got hired as the royal weapon smith. Vrolis then took Shiv to the inn they had been previously staying. And there in the room were eight black daggers, laid on the table in a row.


    ¡°The blacksmith guy gave it to me asking me to hand it over to you. He also wanted you to meet him. Seems like there is something he wants to talk to you. He is still at his old smithy. One more thing. Yesterday Grohl came by. He told me to inform you that the meeting with the Pope has been arranged. Once you are ready just go to the church.¡±


    Shiv nodded his head and then looked at the daggers on the table. He took one from them and threw it to Vrolis and another at Kate.


    ¡°Those are for you. Actually I wanted Agon to have one of these too. Guess I will give to him the next time I visit him.¡±


    An eerie silence engulfed the room. Shiv held a dagger in his hands and on it he carved the name Agon- The Undying.


    ---***---


    An hour or so past and now Shiv stood before the doors of the huge church. The church¡¯s door had a dragon as its handle, everything about the church seemed like a dragon to Shiv. Sighing inwardly he knocked at the door. There was a huge crowd in front of the church waiting for their chance to visit the high priest. Shiv not being in the mood to wait all day, just walked towards the door not minding the ruckus the players and NPC were causing. His knock at the door was answered and the door opened slightly. A small head came stuck out of the door and whispered.


    ¡°Please go back. Can¡¯t you see there are others before you?¡± the young boy urged Shiv to go back.


    Shiv then pulled up his right sleeve and the mark of the dragon god came in to the boy¡¯s view. ¡°Tell the high priest that Shiv is here. He will understand¡± Shiv said politely to the boy. The boy looked at the tattoo then back at Shiv, it was obvious form his facial expression that he did not realize what the dragon tattoo meant but nevertheless nodded his head and then disappeared.


    Few minutes later the door once again opened, this time the high priest himself came to welcome the child of Oberon. With a wide smile and apologetical eyes he welcomed the boy in causing the ones who were making a ruckus to quiet down instantly.


    In the high priest¡¯s room Shiv was served tea and some snacks as he was entertained by the high priest himself. Once the two finished with the pleasantries, Shiv immediately jumped into the main topic.


    ¡°So, why have you summoned me? Has the audition with the Pope been sanctioned?¡±


    ¡°I am glad to inform you that his highness has agreed to meet you. He also conveyed that he was looking forward to meet you in person. All that is left is your approval. So when shall we have the meeting, great one?¡± Vitrian asked with deep respect. Even though Shiv was not able to slay the beast, the high priest still had great respect for Shiv and he knew everything that had transcribed that night. Since he knew everything he avoided the topic as he did not want the chosen one to feel any more pain.


    ¡°As soon as possible, once I am done with the meeting I have to look for a way to meet the king. I have to warn him about an impeding war.¡± Shiv¡¯s face gave of a complicated expression, his eyes were dark and cold.


    The high priest for a moment was taken back. The news of a war was something he was hearing the first time. ¡°In that case, why not have the meeting now, that is if you are okay with it?¡±


    ¡°Now? Is that possible?¡±


    ¡°Yes of course. His highness seems to have a lot of time now a days and so I believe he might welcome you open handedly¡±


    ¡°Err! Then I guess its fine with me too. Please let me meet with his highness¡± Shiv lightly bowed his head at the high priest who too bowed back lightly. Getting up from his chair, he then took Shiv to a separate room. The room was sealed with magical incantations and took a while to open up. Inside the small room was a rectangular mirror, almost double the size of Shiv. Vitrian then motioned Shiv to stand in front of the mirror and he himself moved to the side. Once Shiv was in position, the high priest began to chant another spell.


    As the spell progressed, distortion began to form on the plain mirror in front of him. Ripples appeared in the middle of the mirror slowly changing the solid surface into a wavy one. By the time the high priest finished his chanting, the mirror had completely transformed into a portal. Vitrian then motioned Shiv to move forward.


    Taking a deep breath Shiv paced forward, he closed his eyes as he felt his body make contact with the way surface. He could feel the wavy substance engulf him but in the next moment he felt that he was leaving behind the squishy material. When he opened his eyes, Shiv was now in another room which was much bigger than the one he just came was. The room was well decorated with statues of dragons as well as was well lit. In front of the boy stood two young priestess with wide smiles. Bowing lightly at the boy, the two spoke simultaneously.


    ¡°Welcome to Dragon Church, o great son of Oberon¡±


    Shiv was for a moment startled by the sudden welcome and was at a loss of words. Regaining his composure, he smiled back at the two beauties and then walked forward.


    ¡°We have been expecting you. His highness has been really eager to meet you. Right now he is waiting for you. Please follow us¡±


    Shiv followed the two priestess into a labyrinth, he could no longer understand how many turns and straights he was t ken through. It took a good thirty minutes or so for the trio to reach their destination. The two priestess bowed lightly before vanishing from his sight. Shiv then let out a small sigh and gently knocked at the door.


    ¡°Come in¡± came a sweet voice.


    ¡®A woman?¡¯ thought the young boy. Shiv then opened the door gently and closed it behind him. He looked at the person who was sitting in front of him and was truly astonished to find a young woman smiling at him. One of her slender long hand was holding a cup while the other was resting on her lap. She was wearing a white colored robe which had a dragon symbol on her chest area. Her rosy lips and the dimples on either side of her cheeks made her quite cute. With long eye brows and sharp dark eyes that stared at Shiv intently her face was really like of a goddess. She then gestured


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    Shiv with her hand, to sit on the chair opposite to hers.


    Shiv quietly sat on the chair, his eyes glued to the woman opposite to him. The woman gave off a smile seeing the nervous Shiv gazing at her intently.


    ¡°It¡¯s rude to stare like that. Is it so hard to believe that a woman is the head of the church of Oberon?¡±


    ¡°Er! No, not at all. I am sorry for staring your highness, it¡¯s just that no one mentioned you to be a woman. Actually I was expecting an old man and so was really shocked to see you. I apologize for being rude to you.¡±


    ¡°Its fine, its fine. Any way I myself am surprised to find a young and handsome boy like you to be the chosen one. I did hear the rumor about you being young but honestly not so. It¡¯s a pleasure to have met you Shiv. My name is Talia Ivnov, head priestess and the mother of the church of Oberon. Welcome to Dragon palace!¡± the woman welcomed Shiv with a smile. ¡°High priest Vitrian told me that there was something you wanted to tell me.¡± She then looked at Shiv and gestured him to talk.


    Shiv then took out the black stone from his bag and handed it to the lady before him. The moment her hand came in contact with it her lips trembled. A single word escaped those lips,


    ¡°Jabberwocky¡±


    ¡°You know what that stone is?¡± Shiv asked, his eyes fixed on the woman in front.


    ¡°Where did you get this?¡± her voice was deep and serious, so was her face. It held a grave expression.


    ¡°I come from a village west to the kingdom¡¯s capital, called Draklake. A while ago, I was attacked by a monster. Actually one of the villagers turned in to one. And when the monster was killed, it dropped this black stone. Is anything wrong?¡± he answered as a manner of factly.


    ¡°Sigh! Do you know anything about the beast called Jabberwocky?¡±


    ¡°I have certainly heard the name but I do not know much¡± Shiv lied even though he had read the poem ¡®Jabberwocky¡¯ countless times when he was younger.


    ¡°Long ago, when our world was yet to be born, the gods roamed around in the form of various creatures. It was said that at that time there was only vast sky and no land, there was no earth, no water, no planets and no life. It was just the gods and the vast sky. Among those gods, two were considered the strongest, two dragons- Oberon and Titania. The two were married and had soared the skies together. But the goddess had an affair with another god, the bat god Camazotz. Titania gave birth to Camazotz child, a mix of dragon and bat like creature. Oberon was furious and he slayed his wife and the bat god. The child was then branded as an abomination and exiled to the nether realm. The child them swore revenge against the gods and began to create havoc everywhere. It called itself Jabberwocky and with the powers inherited from its parents it created its own world. The worlds it raised became home for all sorts of evil and thus he raised an army to fight against the gods. In order to fight back against the evil ones, the great gods created our world and together with it we were born. After years long war, the Jabberwocky was finally sealed by the first Dragon King with the help of his companions. But during the sealing, the beast sworn that it would return and have its revenge against the world and gods that abandoned it. Thousands of years have passed and now the seal is at the verge of breaking. Just like it had sworn, the jabberwocky will once again cause havoc bringing forth the destruction of the world¡± the beautiful lady sipped in the tea once she finished the story.


    ¡°And I am guessing that it¡¯s my job to put an end to the escaped evil god, right?¡± Shiv asked with his eyebrows lifted.


    The woman smiled wryly but did not reply. She could clearly see the dissatisfaction in the boy¡¯s face and so she decided to shift to a different topic. ¡°Stone you brought is actually something the minions of the evil Jabberwocky inherits. Just now I told you that the evil god raised an army of its own to wage a war. These army were made of the minions which were born from the drops of black blood of the Jabberwocky.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Then this stone here is the blood of the creature?¡± Shiv questioned, a little confused.


    ¡°Yes and no. The minions were born from the blood indeed but the blood then becomes the heart of the minion. Unlike the heart of normal living beings, their hearts are actually as hard and as lifeless as a stone, just like this black stone here.¡± lifting the black stone, Talia explained with eyes full of disgust.


    ¡°Just a second. Are you telling me that this thing here was actually the heart of the thing I killed back then?¡±


    ¡°That is exactly what I meant. This here, is actually the heart of a full developed minion. When a minion is first born, his heart is actually the size of a drop of blood but as hard as a stone. As the thing matures or as it consumes the lives of humans or other living being the hearts size increases. The larger the size the older and stronger the minion. The size of the heart can tell you whether the minions you killed was a common soldier or a general of the evil army. The strongest minions are said to have a heart twice the size of our head.¡± Talia said with a smile and eyes that glistened with killing intent. That aside, I heard that you had something else that you wished to discuss with me. What might it be?¡± She clearly wanted to no longer talk about the topic and so pulled out a new one.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it is appropriate or not but I wish to bring along with me a boy from the church¡±


    ¡°Bring along? To where? And why?¡± even though her face gave off her surprise, her voice remained calm as usual.


    ¡°Ah! My village needs one. The church we are building now is almost in the final stages and so we would want someone from the church, is what I want to say but the truth is I want a healer with holy attributes to protect m village when the time comes¡±


    ¡°I see! But does that mean that you do not have a church in your village?¡± the smile on her face gave off a bad vibe causing Shiv to gulf.


    ¡°Not at all. The last time when I was at the village, the church was already half finished. Right now my mother has been given the role of the village chief and I believe that she is quite good at it. So I guess by the time I return the village will have a church with no priests.¡± Shiv said hoping the woman in front of him would also let him have some priests for his church a clever approach.


    ¡°Ho! I see. In that case I will let you take the boy you mentioned and also will send some priests and priestess from the order after all I can¡¯t deny the request from the child of Oberon. Is that all?¡±


    ¡°About the stone? What should I do with it?¡±


    Talia though for a while and then spoke, ¡°In case you come across these vile things I request you ask the church to send it to me. I will deal with them. As for this thing here, I will keep it with me too¡±


    Shiv nodded, letting out a sigh he smiled. The two then talked on various things until a knock on the door interrupted them. The priestess who had accompanied him earlier had come back. She bowed lightly and talked,


    ¡°¡±Your Holiness! The King of Brendon has summoned you and the Great One¡±


    Talia had a surprise look, her eyes travelled towards Shiv, who too had a surprised look.


    ---***---


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 Status and explanations

    For those who are wondering what Shiv''s status is...


    Actually when i went through the status bar, i saw some stupid values and so i re-did the status bar. and lemme give you an explanation first.


    +1  point in VIT=  +20HP   normally it is +10HP


    +1 point INT= + MP


    Every +25 point WIS= +100MP    this is something new from my part.


    from the previous status, i saw that the HP and MP were rreally high than what it should be according to the VIT and INT status. so i did a bit of tampering and brought to the right values.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>STATS WINDOW</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Character Name</td><td width="25%">Shiv</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Oberon</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Race: Draman(demi human)[/tds]</tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td>72<td width="25%"></td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">Grand Commoner</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">Child of Oberon</td><td width="25%">Fame</td><td width="25%">1500</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Health: 2000</td><td colspan=''2''>Mana: 1600</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Strength: 95+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Agility:95+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Stamina: 80+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Vitality: 85+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Wisdom: 70+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Intelligence: 100+5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Luck: 10+5</td><td colspan=''2''>Perseverance: 19+5</td></tr><tr>[td4]Magic Resistance


    Wind: 1%


    Fire: 1%


    Water: 1%


    Earth: 1%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Affinity


    Wind: 1%


    Stolen story; please report.Fire: 1%


    Water: 1%


    Earth: 1%</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Skills


    Dragon¡¯s Roar- Beginner Level 5


    Heavenly Element Sword Technique- Beginner Level 5


    Heavenly Element Form 1 Kaze- Beginner Level 7


    Heavenly Element Form 2 Hono- Beginner Level 8


    Magic mastery- Beginner Level 3


    Water mastery- Beginner Level 4


    Earth mastery- Beginner Level 4


    Wind mastery- Beginner Level 4


    Fire mastery- Beginner Level 4


    Identification- Beginner Level 3


    Presence detection- Beginner Level 4


    Mining- Beginner Level 2


    Blood aura- Beginner Level 2


    </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Quirks


    Acrobatics


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    he had an intial MP and HP of 100.


    then the draman race change gave him +100 Mp and HP.


    Finally the magic mastery gave a +50MP.


    HP= 100+100+ (85+5)*20= 2000


    MP= 100+100+50+(105)*10+300=1600


    if you guys find any other mistake point it out. oh and do tell me what WIS is used for. rather than looking up in the internet for it, i guess i will depend on you. oh and about the new chapter, will release it soon(tomorrow- already half way through)! so dont feel bad and wait a little more.


    another question is, what do you guys think will be the EXP needed for a lvl 72 to level up to lvl 73?  is it 10,000 or higher? i just need an approx value. just to calculate something for the next chapter.


    Goof night guys, oh feel free to ask me any questions. also do click, fav, follow and rating buttons.[/b]

 Arc 3- Chapter 8: Meetings 2

    The room Shiv was standing was truly extravagant and spacious. With the walls covered with murals and the ceiling with intricate carvings, the palace court room looked as if it was made by the gods themselves. On a higher platform was the king¡¯s throne, which was made of pure gold and other precious gems covering it. To its left and right were similar thrones but with lesser decoration, occupied by the Queen and the Princess. On the lower platform on either side of Shiv were arranged a series of chairs, all of which were occupied by rich nobles who were dresses up in expensive clothes and ornaments.


    Shiv who was summoned by the King was immediately brought to the palace courtroom where he came across some familiar faces. In the courtroom other than the royal family and the nobles and ministers, stood Vrolis, Golof, Grohl, Kate, Raven, Maya, Nadia, Rehan and Gist. For a moment Shiv was shocked, he stood frozen but was pushed forward by the soldier behind him. Stumbling a little, he moved forward and was met with smiling faces from his old comrades. Shiv weakly smiled back at them, he was not ready to meet with them as he partly blamed himself for being the cause of the quest failure.


    Shiv then kneeled onto the ground on his left knee and bowing lightly he addressed the King of Brendon, Alivas Ironheart The Third.


    ¡°Your Majesty¡± Shiv said with respect, at least his voice was one with respect.


    ¡°So you are Shiv. Hm! I see¡± the King¡¯s reply was one willed with doubts. The man called Alivas seemed old, with long grey hair and beard that matched his hair. His face was one that was filled with wrinkles but the blue eyes if his had the vigor of a young boy. With his right Hand brushing his long beard, the King spoke once again. ¡°I heard that you were the one that had designed the weapon called Ballista. Is that true boy?¡±


    ¡°Yes your majesty, it was supposed to be a counter measure for the beast but sadly it did not pan out as I expected.¡± Shiv¡¯s voice was filled with distress and despair. He fought back the waves of emotions that was welling up inside him and remained calm and composed.


    ¡°Ho! And Raven here said the one that came up with the idea of weakening the beast with a holy magic was your idea. Is that true as well?¡± Alivas¡¯s voice was cold and loud causing many in the courtroom to shudder, but Shiv remained calm.


    ¡°It was just coincidence sire, the young guy over there came up with the idea. I just made him use the spell on my order.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But all these people here insists that you were the one who slayed the beast, even Raven here thinks so. What is the meaning of this boy?¡± once again his voice thundered, anger was the emotion those words leaked out.


    Shiv hearing the words suddenly looked at the red haired boy named Raven who winked at Shiv with a light smile. Slowly Shiv¡¯s gaze fell on the others, every one of them had a smile on their face. Nadia was showing a thumbs up sign while Mary gave a victory pose. Gist on the other Hand nodded his head once with a smile.


    ¡°Why?¡± Shiv¡¯s gaze once again fell on Raven.


    ¡°What do you mean why? It was your team that did most of the damage to the beast. I just happened to get the final strike. I am not a bastard that steals another¡¯s kill. The reason I interrupted was because you were being ambushed by that Adrian bastard. I hate backstabbing, so uncool¡± Raven replied while he gritted his teeth on the mention of Adrian, it seemed like Raven had marked Adrian as scum just like Shiv and the others.


    ¡°You know, its fine to be a little selfish, boss¡± came Gist¡¯s voice. ¡°You are too na?ve. If it were me I would have run behind this guy to get back my quest win. Well, it is not that I don¡¯t like the way you are now, an honest guy is good once in a while, ain¡¯t it people?¡± he asked to the other three who nodded their head in agreement.


    ¡°Ho! What a touching scene this has become! With this I have no other choice but to reward the group of seven for their accomplishment. Very well. I deem you worthy of the reward. For accomplishing the quest and thereby saving my people and my kingdom I tHank you from the bottom of my heart¡± the old man till then who was unfriendly and shouting spoke in a mild tone, this time his tone was of happiness and gratitude. The moment the king¡¯s voice broke off, a sound resounded in Shiv¡¯s ears.


    ¡®Trrrng¡¯


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>QUEST: SLAY THE NIGHT (Completed)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>The capital of the great Bredon kingdom now safe. The people can now roam the streets without fear. You who have made a great sacrifice to protect the city will always be cherished by the people who know of your pain. The king who knows your sacrifice has taken a deep liking to you and has bestowed up on you a title.


    Difficulty : +D


    Rewards


    Title: Bringer of Hope


    Fierce God Light Armor


    10,000 Gold


    +100 intimacy with the kingdom


    +100 intimacy with guards


    +100 intimacy with church


    +100 intimacy with nobles


    +5,000 contribution points


    You are now a Hero to those of the Royal Palace and have a standing equal to that of a high ranking noble.


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Shiv was overjoyed, so was everyone in the room. All of them had struck a fortune. Not only was the experience received really high, the pay was humungous. A total of 10,000 gold coins for each of them was truly overwhelming. Shiv immediately checked his level and found it to be 77. He had jumped from 72 to 77, a total of 5 levels. That much high was the amount of EXP gained from a B rank quest. Shiv when tried to open the title notification it gave him a warning saying that it was impossible to keep the title as ¡®Child of Oberon¡¯ was an irreplaceable title. While Shiv was busy tampering with the notifications, he King suddenly spoke causing all in the room to freeze.


    ¡°You boy have done a great thing for us. Not only did you take care of the vile beast, you have also given my country a really great weapon. I have seen it working with my very own eyes. Splendid. The speed, range and power of the attack is something I have not seen before. As gratitude for giving my kingdom a master piece I fulfill one of your wishes, provided it is in my reach. So speak boy.¡±


    Shiv though for a while. Everybody in the room thought he would ask for more gold or be names as a noble. But what Shiv said was completely different.


    ¡°I need an army sire!¡±


    The courtroom fell silent. Everybody in the room had their eyes on Shiv now. Some were anxious, some were confused, and some had doubt while some questioned the guy before them.


    ¡°Why do you need an army boy?¡± the king was now cautious. Not everybody would ask for an army in such occasions.


    ¡°Sire, have you heard of the village called Draklake?¡± Shiv humbly asked.


    ¡°Of course I have, after all it is part of my kingdom. I heard that the village has been prospering after the entry of a new chief. They even have a school for teaching skill. What of it?¡±


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°I am the chief of Draklake, sire¡± Shiv said and once again the room fell silent. Shiv continued his side of the story. ¡°Few weeks ago, I gave refuge to some who had escaped from the Han kingdom.¡± At the mention of refuge and kingdom, a courtroom suddenly became noisy. Most of the nobles began to call Shiv as traitor and all sorts of other curses were flying out.


    With a slightly louder voice Shiv continued. ¡°The Han kingdom has joined forces with the Orcs.¡± And once again the hall was silent. The king had a really serious face and he gestured Shiv to continue. ¡°One of the refugee was the chief of a village burnt down by the marauding Orcs and so when I enquired them about why the kingdom did not provide any help, they did not even know the reason. At first I thought the entire empire was overrun by the Orcs and I guessed that the king of the kingdom had fallen at the Hands of the Orcs. But..¡± Shiv stopped and then looked around him.


    Taking in a light breathe, he continued. ¡°But a strange news fell on my ears. The kingdom of Hans has a new king and this new king has joined forces with the Orcs. Naturally when such a rumor reaches your ears one would without a doubt not take it seriously as no kingdom has ever allied themselves with the Orcs. But to make sure, I send in some spies. They were to investigate about the credibility of the news. What I understood from their report was, the Hans kingdom was amassing a huge army of Orcs. The villages were given to the Orcs as a playground. While the rich and the wealthy live safely in their guarded homes, the poor villagers were given as a play tool to the Orcs who love slaughtering. The women were captured and raped, the men slaughtered, the children made slaves. Villages burnt, fields destroyed. It seems that the Han kingdom has asked for the aid of the orc kingdom to help them conquer all the remaining kingdoms and then unite the continent of Orrinshire under their banner. I believe that is what they are planning. For this purpose, they have gathered and army 10,000,000 Orcs along with their army of 5,000,000. These numbers are not accurate nor do I know what they really plan but the way they have been doing things clearly indicate their desire to start a war.¡±


    When Shiv finished explaining his reasons, panic broke out in the courtroom. Every single one of the nobility inside began to murmur between themselves, despair and fear filled their minds. The King¡¯s eyes showed not even an ounce of fear, only anger flashed in those blue eyes.


    ¡°Silence¡± the king roared and in an instant the sounds died off. Gazing at Shiv, he spoke. ¡°Boy! Are you sure? If I find out that they were some random lies you will be charged for treason and banished form my lands?¡±


    ¡°As I told sire, I do not know their intentions but what I said about them aligning with the Orcs is true so is the thing about the huge army. I have people from all across the Han kingdom in my village and every single one of them says the same thing, both the villagers as well as the adventurers too.¡± Shiv replied without delay, he knew that hesitating might kill him.


    The King sighed and then clapped his hands twice, suddenly a figure in black appeared behind the king. The black figure had his face covered, no part of his body could be seen. He bent forward slightly so that his ears would be near the king¡¯s mouth. The king whispered something and the black figure disappeared as he had appeared. Alivas then once again turned to Shiv and spoke, ¡°Do you plan to fight with them with the army I provide you with?¡±


    Shiv shook his head in denial, ¡°I wish to build a wall sire¡±. This was the third time that Shiv had stunned everyone in the courtroom. This time even the king felt shocked from the reply he got. Not minding the others Shiv continued. ¡°Our great kingdom of Brendon is a truly strategic place. We are located at the middle of the continent and at the same time shares borders with every other kingdom too. Yet we are unable to go offensive. Because if we were to attack a particular kingdom then the rest of the kingdoms might attack us at the same time. But the location has its advantage too. No kingdom would attack us as they might be attacked by a third kingdom. But right now the situation is different.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± questioned the king.


    ¡°With Han and the Orc kingdom working together, they could easily conquer the elven kingdoms of Aldford and Penkort. If the two kingdoms were to fall, then that would mean the entire eastern continent would fall in to the hands of the Han kingdom, they would become Han Empire with such a feat. At this point someone would say that the other kingdoms would interfere. If that were the case the only kingdoms to interfere would be Northorn and Thorpes. Just say, the orc kingdom of Orkenfol suddenly decides to attack Thorpes at that time, what would happen? Now as for Northorn with Thorpes out of the equation and us unable to support any of the kingdom, they would not dare to fight either. Thus Hans would conquer the eastern side. With the eastern side in their hands, what do you think will happen to us? They could single handedly crush us, without fail. Everything up to this is just a speculation. But I believe you will soon hear news about the attack on the both the elven nations¡± just as Shiv finished saying, a messenger barged in to the courtroom in his hands were two scrolls.


    The king received the scrolls and as he read through them, his face paled and his eyes lost its life. The scroll fell to the ground and his body trembled. With a feeble voice he spoke, ¡°Penkort is under attack the orc and Han soldiers. Northorn and Aldford are preparing for war while Thorpes is fending of orcs from the Orkenfol. The size of the enemy is 12,529,000¡±


    That day was something that nobles would never forget for their worst fears were coming true little by little. Just like the young boy had predicted, things were unfolding at a really fast rate.


    ¡°Boy, why do you want to construct a wall? What use is it against the mighty army?¡± the king¡¯s voice was feeble.


    ¡°If it were an ordinary wall then it would easily break. What if it were fort in the shape of a huge wall?¡±


    The king could not believe what he just heard. A fort in the shape of a wall. That was something he did not even dream about and here the boy was saying it so easily.


    ---***---


    <table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"> PREVIOUS CHAPTER </a></td><td width="25%"> MAIN PAGE </a></td><td width="25%">[url=] NEXT CHAPTER [/url]</td></tr></tbody></table>

 Here is the link to the new version

http://royalroadl.com/fiction/6749</a>


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.Here is the link to the new version of the story! For now just the prologue!

 About the new versionof Shiv

    To all my readers. Lemme talk about the new version  bit. This might help you clarify things. The new version of the story is a little different.


    Though all the elements of the old version are retained, the events have a totaly different cause and effects. So if you think that the story is same then you might be mistaken slightly.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.Although the story takes place in the same places as the old one, there might be new information or new events and so i recommend all my reader to read the new one.


    You will soon feel the difference.


    That''s all from the author-san here.


    Have fun

 Please read

    I have started rewriting this story under the titlte, Shiv - the child of oberon - reloaded


    And below is the link to it


    http://royalroadl.com/fiction/6749</a>


    The story has small changes as well as is more descriptive with longer chapters.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Those who are of the thought that thay will wait till i catch with thw old story, a news for you. The new version has extra events as well as difference in characters. So if u dont wnna miss them,  do read the new version