《Chaos uploaded》 Prologue 1- Daily life with fateburn sisters Our story begins in a 2-floor house, where a red-headed girl, Nysa, was currently laying down on her bed, holding a book. She wasn''t studying, nor playing games, unlike she usually did. She was currently wearing black, casual pajamas, even though it was nearly mid-day.It was vacations after all, it is not like she needed to get out of her room ''early''.Her appearance wasn''t anything special. A flat-chested, 15 year old teenager, with an obviously tomboyish body, not too different from a classic shota, if not for her hair, which reached down to her shoulders. Complementing her already imp-like looks, she had one of the rarest eye color out of all: amber. She placed the back of the pen against her lips, bumping it a few times against it absently minded, as she thought what she could write. It was simple, yet hard... it almost tempted her to simply throw the book away and go back to gaming, but yet she couldn''t. It just didn''t feel right to give up so easily. Determination surged up in the back of her mind, as Nysa closed her eyes, imagining herself at the top of the world. Crowds and crowds trying to interview her, yet the girl having far too little time, even for receiving an interview from presidents of countries. Waving away, Nysa just laughed. "Don''t worry, I had a book prepared just for this day!Now, mongrels, stop asking questions and just read it!" Demon Lord Nysa said... before her daydream faded away, as she returned to focus on the book. Dear Diary, Day 1 It was another day in the ''Fateburn'' mansion. Our mansion. The name might sound weird, but bear with me, it will get explained soon for all the people who are interested in the autobiography, of me, the great Nysa Fateburn!...And I wish death to all those who just chuckled at this sentence. W-wait, I didn''t mean that, don''t stop reading! *Ahem* As I was saying earlier, it was just another boring day in our mansion. Right now, it was just me, and my beautiful sister together alone... or well, the closest to alone I could be. My father is a legendary hero, named "John Za Yuusha" who is often adventuring in multiple worlds, being a retired badass who prefers to record the stories of new, recent heroes as his era has already passed...or so he claims!That guy is an otaku who never leaves his basement, always writing some manga to meet the deadlines! Well, manga are awesome and all, but geez, that guy takes it to another level!He even comes out wearing a black long coat and a sword that he got gods-knows-where!Although he is awesome, since he is giving us the best gift in the world tomorrow!Teehee~! Back to the subject of introducing my family members, there is my mother, which divorced from my father. I don''t know much about her, since both me and my sister were far too young to remember about these years, but apparently, she got an issue with her husband''s obsession for his hobby. Now to write about my sister... Nysa was about to write about her sister, as a generous-sized chest, underneath a shirt, got between the impish girl and her personal diary. "Sis, you didn''t eat anything today. I know it is vacation, but you still need to eat." Nysa instantly jumped back, in surprise, even dropping the book and the pen as she fell down on her butt. "S-sis?" she replied, as she finally realized that it was Inas, her older sister, who was talking to her. Inas, unlike Nysa''s brat-like looks, already looked like a mature woman,almost one head taller than her sister, with long, silky blonde hair, which reaches halfway her back. Not only she had longer hair than Nysa, but she also had a bigger chest, reaching the classic D-cups.Not only that, but her eyes were blue, rather than amber like her sister''s.Because of such contrast, many people doubted they were sisters at all! "Yes? Let''s come downstairs to eat." the blonde-haired sibling answered, with a toothy grin, probably because Nysa was blushing so much, making the redhead stare in a daze for a few seconds... "...why these had to grow again?!" the redhead said, nearly shouting as she even proceeded to touch ''them'', obviously jealous, even squeezing to check if they were real! Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. After a few minutes later, the two of them were together, at the kitchen, eating lunch with an awkward silence between them, although Nysa had her left cheek a bit swollen, due to a great slap given from her sister. "The world is unfair..." was all that the smaller sibling managed to say during breakfast. The silence, though...nobody could hear anything during the breakfast, except the sounds of the sisters eating, and even then, the overwhelming awkwardness only made them eat as quietly as possible. Even the little fly which was buzzing around was louder than everything else in the room...but noticing the silence, even the insect landed on the table, overwhelmed by the pressure in the room. "So...uh...sis?Do you know what day is tomorrow?" Nysa replied, quietly, trying her best to resist the overwhelming silence, and even attempted to fight back against it...but it was futile.Her words fell into deaf ears. "It is our birthday!" Nysa added, with a wide, awkward, grin, spreading her arms cheerfully, getting up and walking in front of her sister."And daddy said we are going to receive a biiig gift tomorrow!So look forward to it!" "....how can you get so much energy?" The older, aloof sibling replied, with a yawn, even leaning back on her chair as she placed her hands behind her back.If she was even lazier-looking, she would even put her feet on the table! Oh, she already did that. "I get exhausted just from looking you jumping around, calm down for a while before I check what exactly they put in your candies." "Sowwy!But don''t tell me you are excited about us being the beta-testers of the next console!" The excited, loli red-head replied with a wide grin... Only to make Inas fall together with her chair, onto her back in surprise. "Wait, what!" was what the blonde sister shouted, in surprise."Oww...but what do you mean by beta-tester?!H-how is working a birthday gift?" Inas said, even a bit angry at the fact that her father never told anything about it, but yet, couldn''t help but be curious. "Oh, he didn''t told you?Well, it is simple!He became a writer for a MMORPG recently, and his works are just raising the popularity of the new console more and more!Yesterday, he told me that we are going to be the first players, under special conditions, so they can promote the game even further!" Nysa replied with a wide grin, seemingly proud of finally, for once, outdoing her sister on information. Maybe that was why her father didn''t tell anything!Thanks daddy! "...so we''re working for free...and we''re supposed to treat it as a birthday gift...and we''re not getting paid...and this is our birthday gift..." Inas replied, with blank eyes, not even bothering to get up from her position, as she was still wondering how the hell this made sense. "...It is the new virtual reality RPG you were searching for in your computer in the last few days, sister." The red-headed sibling said, with a grin....knowing what extreme changes would happen right there. "W-wait, we are getting to play it before anybody else?! For FREE?!" Inas'' eyes, now, turned into the classic ''$'' symbol, as she already thought of the fame she would get...especially as she remembered what Nysa said earlier-it was all going into TV!Free fame!Free stats!Free advantage!And above all, playing for free, avoiding the cost of setting up a capsule and the monthly subscription. "Onwards, for glory!For money!And above all...for FREEdom!" Inas said, quickly standing up, pointing her finger ahead, to a mere wall in the kitchen. ".......sister, it is only getting launched tomorrow." Was all that the younger sibling, now the more sane-looking one, said. "I got carried away, then." =========================================================================== Author''s corner: So!I finally got to write my own fanfiction!I still can''t believe on it! But either way, please comment and don''t forget to rate, because any views and comments will make me a very very happy man inside! Disclaimer: I might make references to other settings, animes and mangas, and the plot might or might not end up similar to some others that you might have already seen. Prologue 2- Let the games begin! Author''s note: I got a few followers already! Yay! XD Either way, this chapter was a pain to write, to be honest.I have never written a male character before, and I get awkward quickly when writing social interactions(Notice how the previous one, almost half of it was just Nysa by herself), meaning that what you are seeing in this chapters, are my ''weak spots'' in writing.The fact that my brain could not stop and think of this scene, and instead was just daydreaming of epic fights against dragons, Cyclops and the likes did not help. Also, about the poll, it might take a while for me to write in proper ''first person'', but I''ll try my best!And besides, the poll only counts for when the sisters are separated. Now, onwards! ========================================== In the next morning, Nysa would be the last to wake up, mainly due to being far,far too nervous to sleep.Even though she was already mostly informed of the details, it was still too vague!What if she screwed up? What if she couldn''t play such game? And so, she decided to do a ''training session'', pulling out an all-nighter, and even falling asleep on top of her computer. Keyboards truly are comfortable pillows. Either way, when Nysa woke up...she realized she wasn''t in her bedroom anymore, and rather, was in the couch of the living room, on the left side, with her sister on the opposite side of the couch, still asleep. "...Was I kidnapped?" She mumbled to herself, letting out a yawn, and then turning to the center of the living room, where a man stood. The man was wearing sunglasses, and even pressing a staff against the ground, with both hands on the top of it...and wearing some sort of military outfit.If he popped up in pretty much any weird anime, he wouldn''t look out of place at all! Sadly, he is in the real world, and so he was very much out of place, enough for some people to even think he is a figment of their imagination. "Children, arise! Your first tribulation in this harsh, harsh world is about to come!" He said, not yelling, yet his voice still echoed across the room...although his badass pose was soon interrupted, by a slipper to the face. "O-old man, what is up with that oufit? W-why you are acting even weirder than usual? And above all..." Nysa said, finally being aware of the situation."Why you are waking me up at 10 A.M. during vacations?!" She shouted, loud enough to wake her sister up. "Oi, what is up with all the ruckus..." The old sister said, annoyed, as she let out a loud yawn, stretching her arms above her head, unaware of her surroundings, before turning to look at the other two people that she shared a house with: her sister, who was angrily scolding the otaku father. It was a chaotic scene, yet...she couldn''t help but grow a small grin at the pair yelling at each other. "And gueez, why do you had to carry me all over to the couch? I am a grown lady, I can walk by myself! I am not a baby anymore, I am a grown woman, I am responsible enough to wake up whenever I want, especially on vacations! I don''t need to wake up early, y''know? I mean, if the ''work'' started today, you should''ve warned me..." "Sorry ma''am!" The otaku father said, in a rigid, military posture, bowing down to his little spoiled princess. "Don''t go sorry on me, sorry isn''t giving me back my morning sleep! The morning sleep is what makes my skin complexion be as beautiful as it is right now!" Nysa kept shouting, only to make Inas, in the background, not only get an awkward smile and also a sweatdrop on the forehead. They''re worse than a married couple...was what Inas said in her head, as the two of them kept their bickering.After a few more seconds, the oldest sibling let out a deep sigh."Alright, you two. You both can continue it a little later. So...why we were carried here, daddy?" Inas asked, trying her best puppy eyes she could do. "You see, children." John finally straightened up, taking another serious tone."...there wasn''t enough space in your bedrooms, so I needed to do some reforming along with the guys who brought the console, to fit the game there. I was afraid of you two waking up before it was ready, so I carried you both to the living room. What a great father I am, huh?" The man said, laughing cheerfully, almost brimming with confidence and happiness again, even though she was receiving the worst scolding in his life a few seconds ago. "Re.." "...forming?" The sisters said, in unison, completing each other''s sentence as they tried to wrap their head about the information they had just been fed. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Yeah, things like the manga, books and games. They were taking too much space in the room, so I had to deal with them." He replied, with a smile, not finding anything wrong with what he had just done, after all. It was something he needed to do, to fit the game in their room."I also had the guys change the beds, so you two are living in the same bedroom, while I made the room with the capsules become the gaming room." And he only added fuel to the fire. The two twins just stared at him with blank eyes, along with a deadly aura surging around them.He broke one of the biggest taboos that a man could: He transformed the girls'' bedrooms while they were sleeping.The silent pressure only increased more and more, even making the father shiver a little. "If it is any consolation, the game is already installed, and the beta-test server will open within a hour." John replied, rubbing the back of his head as he said that."I would try to get the most out of the beta-tests. According to a friend of mine, you''ll keep the character progress even after the game launches...but I''m not too sure on that information." "Thanks daddy, you are the best!" Nysa was the first to reply, making a sudden contrast on how she looked a few seconds ago, with a wide, happy grin on her face. Was she just playing a prank? Or was she just that emotionally unstable? Either way, she just pounced her father and hugged him tightly, before letting go, giggling like a child who just got a present. ''Married couple.'' Inas thought to herself, chuckling slightly at the sight."Thanks for the present, father." She said, giving him a hug, although not as tightly, or long-lasting as the younger sister."Take care, I''ll go ahead and play.Who knows, maybe we''ll be on the leaderboard." Inas said, laughing cheerfully. The otaku just let out a slight chuckle, smiling a bit at her. "Give it a try, on both the game, and on the leaderboard. Now, children! It is time for your tribulations, and challenges! Neither of you must back away from the perils that await you in this dangerous world, because I know, that both of you will achieve what many great people have failed!" he said, returning to the same ''personality'' that he was in, in the start of the morning. "Sure, sure old man!" The redhead said, waving away as she ran upstairs, giggling cheerfully. "But no danger is greater than running on the stairs!" was said by the old man, although by Nysa''s distance, it was barely audible...and seemingly the older one of the sisters, was also just as rebellious, as she ran upstairs. "I''m not letting you log on first!" Inas shouted, although she couldn''t catch up with Nysa. "No way, you and your fat chest are always the slowest one in the house." Nysa said cheerfully, already opening the door to her sister''s ex-bedroom, and without even checking the manual, or the surroundings very well, she jumped into the capsule."Game, start!" She shouted, getting ready for starting it...but nothing happened. "Silly, it is ''log-in'', not ''game, start''." Inas replied, with a smug grin. "Login!" The redhead shouted, excitedly...only for it to fail again. With a sigh, she gave up, and decided to imitate her sister''s words."Log.in.", and only then the capsule closed around her, introducing her to the new reality."...Game, start!" She shouted, defiantly as she finally felt her consciousness fade away.
WELCOME TO REALM OF CHAOS
=================================================================== Author''s corner(2): As for the name of the game, I had been debating a lot in my mind. I''ve even progressed the plot a bit on Wordpad, but yet couldn''t find an idea.I wanted it to have the name ''chaos'' in it, since I don''t plan for the game to have ''order''.A constantly changing world, Many names have already been popping up in my head, some more appealing than others.Chaos Redux online was one of my favourite ones, but yet, a quick google search already trampled on the originality to ridiculous extends.I do bother with originality, at least enough to not copyright anything. ...Oh, and if people didn''t notice, their father at the start, was wearing an outfit not too different from coachman Ohta from gunbusters.Old anime, but I still liked his personality. Prologue 3- Seth, the god of exposition! Nysa would now open her eyes, only to see a whole new world...or rather, a whole new island. A small patch of stone and dirt floating in a sea of clouds, just enough space for her to stand up there without the risk of falling off. She did not even dare to take a step, though, as the clouds covered everything below her knees."Hello?Where am I?" She shouted, looking around, only to hear...nothing, for the next few seconds. "Oh, hello. Usually the newcomers don''t wake up so soon, but I suppose you are an exception." A teenager of the same age as Nysa herself appeared, from under the clouds .He was wearing white robes, similar to a white mage, although he had a smug grin on his face. "Welcome to the world of Apophis. Well, the introduction that is. My name is Seth, the ancient god of foreigners, and I am pleased to make acquaintances with you." He said, in an aloof way, almost as if he had no worries or doubts in his life. "Right...uh...there are actual gods in this world? I thought that the players were the ones who could change the world the most." Nysa replied, rubbing the back of her head. What could she do against a god? Well, except talking and dying, that is. "Everybody finds it surprising, yes. I am just one of the many beings that you''ll meet in this world, but granted permission by the higher powers for the task of taking care of matters with people like yourself. The introduction, boring stuff, you know the drill." The god said, stretching his arms as he let out a loud yawn."As for what you said, Ms. little kid, you are completely right. Players have untapped potential, ability to revive, a reckless behaviour and...well, you are a player yourself, you know what I''m talking about. Even us gods have limits to our powers." "I''m not a little kid, I''m already sixteen years old!" Nysa shouted, indignantly. "It is not my fault that my body never grows..." She said, looking down a bit, even feeling a bit nervous about her lack of chest. "You can change that, at least right now, in this part of the world, y''know?" Seth said, with a wide grin."Of course, it isn''t recommended to change your body a lot, though. Disorientation, lack of balance and so on." He shrugged, almost as if he had no care in the world.Well, he IS a god, so he probably was used to being higher than anybody else in the world. "...I agree with you, so I''m not changing my appearance." Was Nysa''s reply, as she already customized her appearance on such matters, at least just a little tiny bit. "...I mean, I''m not changing my appearance too much." She said, whistling innocently and looking away. "Right." Seth said, rolling his eyes a bit. "Enough with the delays, and time to get on the introduction!" The god, Seth, said as he snapped his fingers, and suddenly all clouds that covered the island disappeared, showing Nysa a view of the whole world... or at least, the habitable parts of it, and not showing much of the ''unexplored'' territory, which was pretty much the size of a small continent. "This world, Apophis, is a world with few rules. Well, just one single rule actually: There is no rule except those you decide to obey. Of course, facts such as strength, hesitation, ignorance and so on can limit things you can achieve in this world, but even then, with enough dedication, anything is possible." The young god said, laughing cheerfully. "...So, since anything is possible and all rules are gone...can one become a god?" Nysa asked, tilting her head.It was a possibility, but nigh-impossible at that. The god only laughed even more, after hearing the little girl''s question. "That''s right!Even godhood is achievable!But so far, those who are gods are born as one, and there is a lot of things like trying to keep followers and stuff like that.Really, being a god is more trouble than worth." Seth said, laughing a bit."I mean, imagine having to micromanage your religion so they don''t do anything stupid, and try to keep a good reputation for everybody else.But, I guess I am just ranting a bit by now."Seth said, now rubbing the back of his head with an awkward smile. "Yes you are ranting a bit." Nysa replied, with a chuckle."Seth, god of chatterboxes." She said, with a small chuckle. "Now, can you give me the list of races and classes?" Nysa quickly added. "I can''t do this before I explain the setting! No more sidetracking, no more distracting your god from his godly duties!" Seth said, crossing his arms, now quite focused. "The basic premise of this world, Apophis is that it is divided in three factions, two of them currently in war: Those who follow the hero in a path of justice and kindness, and those who follow the demon lord in a path of carnage and slaughter." He explained, although he sounded even a little bit bored as he explained these two. "The last one is the ''wilders'', where you don''t follow either, but have less resources and are less trusted.Each race though, starts in one of the three groups by default.You can change it over the course of the game, but I don''t advise it! If you do something, stick through it until the end!" He said, obviously enjoying to explain this last faction to Nysa. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "...So...." Nysa thought for a bit, blinking. "What happens if a demon lord, or hero dies?" She thought, already finding a flaw in the ''big'' factions. What was the point?These two ''leaders'' would always end up in dangerous situations to protect their kind, otherwise they''d be kings for nothing.Well, at least the hero would... Nysa''s thoughts were interrupted, as the god, Seth, was roaring with laughter."If that fails, in the case of the demon lord, they pick the second strongest one...which would be the case of the demon lord.As for the hero, they pick the second strongest person in the hero''s kingdom, and put him in power. Thus far, these two positions have only died of old age, as not even the hero can kill the demon lord, nor can the demon lord can kill the hero, as they both lack the burst power needed to kill before their rival escapes." "That...makes sense." Nysa replied, blinking."So the hero and demon lord are just titles.Simple enough." She mumbled under her breath.Either way, any sort of attachment she got to either faction had just disappeared.It is just a position, just like a president who changes every few years, except their position is more permanent."I''ll want to be a wilder, though." Nysa said, deciding that the best way to become stronger, and enjoy the world, was to avoid being forced into either one of the two factions. "Oh? You''re the second player who chose the wilders, just from this bit of information." He said, before snapping his fingers, and instantly, a window with all races of the wilders appeared in front of Nysa. "Y-you can do that?" Nysa said, her eyes widening, before she sighed."...I guess that''s a God for you." Afterwards, she began to consider each option carefully, deciding to eliminate some of the most impractical ones, deciding to stick with those that she considered relatively fun...only making her torn apart even more.Which one should she choose out of these...
NagaHalf-snake, half-human, they are often feared in their natural habitat the jungles.As ambush predators, they often rely on their deadly venom and strong body to win battles.Due to their long, snake-like tail, they rarely are able to wear armours not specifically made for their kind,but at the same time, have a natural plating to protect themselves. 10% STR bonus Passive poison resistance Huge body size
ArachneA hybrid between a spider and a human, they are often seen as crafty predators who often rely on traps coupled with their venom and added mobility, they often prefer to gradually weaken their opponent before moving in for the kill. 10% DEX bonus Passive slow resistance Large body size
FaeUsually playful, sometimes childish, they are folk who loves fun and games more than anything else in the world.But behind their childish behaviour and weak constitution, they are able to cast spells as if they were a second nature, even having magic specific for their own kind. 20% MAG bonus 10% less CON Racial skill: size shift(lv1, beginner) Tiny body size
SlimeOften the simplest out of all creatures, lacking any organs, they are also surprisingly hard to kill.Capable of regenerating from close to any physical injury, the only two solutions universally accepted is to rely on magic, or somehow hit the core. 500% bonus HP regeneration Immune to critical hits on the slime body Guaranteed critical hit in the slime core. Racial skill: shape-shift(lv1, beginner) medium body size(scales with HP)
''Too many options'' was what Nysa thought, as she stared at the five windows. -------------------------------------------------------- Author''s corner: Ah, this chapter frustrated me to no end to write, to be honest.I know the pain of all you readers, the exposition, but sometimes I feel like I can''t avoid it.How else would Nysa know of the stuff? This was the first chapter I was afraid I wouldn''t be able to finish in time, since I had to rewrite it a few times until I got it right.Seth was at first an emotionless man, but soon the chat got too awkward.Then I wrote him as an Onee-san.Failed again. Now, I wrote him as the teenager boy he is there. Please don''t forget to rate and vote!Even if too shy to rate, at least vote, I want to know the opnion of my readers! Chapter 01- Transformations, decisions and freefalling. Author''s corner: I''ll try an experimental writing style today.I am not too sure how it''ll turn out, and if you readers will approve of it, though!Maybe it''ll turn even better than my current one, especially since Nysa won''t be always in the company of sentient, right? So please enjoy this chapter, brought to you by...myself! =D EDIT: Funny story...this chapter was published one hour ago, by an accident, namely me pressing the button ''post'' instead of ''preview''.a grand total of 7 F5 ninjas saw my mistake, even though I deleted it 3 minutes later. ========================================================== Nysa''s POV After reviewing each of the four races, I couldn''t help but reach a conclusion.The fae, with the size-shifting ability, would be the best out of all options, since all other races had a crippling weakness that made them unfit for adventuring.Nagas aren''t the fastest creatures, along with big size, they are bad in-door fighters.Arachnae suffers from a similar issue, as they are specialized ambush predators.Slimes meanwhile, can either work really good, or really bad...but then, guaranteed critical hits is a massive disadvantage against strong monsters and players. "I think I''ll choose...fae" I said, sighing.It was a hard decision, since she wasn''t sure if it was possible to change race later on...but at the same time, she couldn''t help but drool a little at the prospect of size-shifting.She could be too small for the ranged opponents to hit, but when against melee ones, she could easily grow big enough to outmatch them!
Are you sure you want to choose the ''Fae'' race?
YesNo
The window popped up, asking for a confirmation, after all it would be bad if she accidentally picked a race she didn''t want. "Yes, I want to pick the Fae race." She said, pressing the ''yes'' button in front of her.
Congratulations! You are now a fae!
As the window appeared, I felt...strange.Somehow everything was getting further and further from her. Even the god, which previously was of the same size as herself, looked rather distant. Not exactly like a mountain, but he stood almost as tall as her own house!"I''m...so small..." "Yes, that was what the ''tiny body size'' meant." Seth said, amusedly as he stepped closer."I bet I could squish you by accident if you''re not careful." I couldn''t help but take a few steps back from the god.Now his presence was truly overbearing to say the least.I barely could reach his knees in height!Did...she pick the wrong race?It was something cruel, if the programmers let the players pick a race where even a single human looked like a giant in comparison to her! The god just smirked ,still walking closer, and even lowering himself, mainly to look closer at me. "Don''t worry about ''small'' details such as that, and look at yourself." He said, simply snapping his fingers to make a mirror appear in front of me. My body, and clothes, had changed quite a bit with the transformation: I now had a pair of transparent, bug-like wings, as big as my body, although they weren''t big enough to touch the ground, thankfully. My shirt had changed into one that covered just her chest, exposing her belly, and at the same time, had a pair of holes for her wings to pop through.Her pants, on the other hand, changed into a black skirt...which only made me blush bright red, and afterwards I held the short skirt down."W-what is the big idea, god of teenage-hood?!I am a flying race, I can''t have a skirt!" complained, only to make the god laugh at my reaction. "What is so funny about it?!" I say...before looking over at the mirror again, not finding anything funny. "I request a change of clothes! Now!" Seth laughed even more."Alright, alright." He said, and just as quickly as I shrunk, my clothes changed a bit, the skirt being replaced by short jeans.Just as exposing, but at the very least, there was no possibility for the same kind of humiliation...and as I kept thinking more about it, the god decided to interrupt my thoughts."Either way, I think the introduction is finished by now, unless you have more customizations you want to do." "Wait...you''re not teaching me how the combat system works? And the locations? And the game mechanics?" I blinked, her eyes opening wide in surprise. "Haha, nope! I want people to figure these things on their own, besides there isn''t any penalty for dying in the first level.Not even time-out.You players are too unfair..." The god mumbled this last bit, if it wasn''t for my size, I wouldn''t hear his words."Now, are you ready for entering the world of Apophis?" Seth would ask, with a smirk on his face. "Yes!So what is the list of places I can start in?" I ask, with a wide smile."I mean, there should be some variety, even for Fae, right?At least a few safe jungles for me to start in.So what place you recommend?" "Hmm...well, since you are a bit special, for chatting with me for so long, I''ll give you an advantage!You can spawn wherever you want, as long as you play a game for it!" Seth declared, with a wide, happy grin. "...What game?" It felt...just too good of an offer.I mean, what sort of game would a god challenge me to?I hope it is easy and short... "I call it, freefall! Good luck!" Seth said."Now look below you." ...I look down. I see the continent, the volcano in the far east, the glaciers in the north, and other various places. I could feel the wind blowing against my body, it was quite refreshing!...wait...they''re growing bigger. The land was growing bigger, and more detailed. Only a few more seconds, I realized. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Save meeeeee!" I shouted, the G-force barely letting me speak. I was so high up, I was sure I would hit terminal velocity until I reach the ground!Everything was growing larger and larger, my only blessing is that I would land in a relatively safe place, like the forest, and not the volcano.But even then...my hope was disappearing, more and more, the closer I got to it. And then I hit the ground, and everything turned black.Now time to wait for respawn... ...or not.I just fell through a few feet through the ground, nothing I couldn''t climb out of."Seth! Next time I see you, I''ll make you pay for such tricks!" I shouted towards the sky, shaking my fist towards it, not fearing the divine retribution. "You called?" The familiar voice came, from right behind me...well...I''m screwed, but I''ll not go down without an attempt to survive! "Forgive me, please!" I shouted, hoping that I would not get smitten. Getting killed a few seconds into the world is not fun! "Okay, I forgive you! Besides, I came here because I forgot to tell you something. You can access the menu now, just say that word and it''ll pop up. Don''t forget to activate the window pop-up in the options, before going to adventures! You even have some messages there unread!" Seth said, laughing carefreely as he disappeared. ....that explains how I survived.Now, the tutorial is over!It is only me and me alone and the monsters I slaughter, and maybe the people I find! "Menu, activate!" I shouted, with a wide grin, excited....only to realize it did not work."...Menu." And only now the thing appeared.
Options
Equipment
Status
Inventory
Messages(2 unread)
Log out
"Options!" I said, quickly skimming through the options.There was truly nothing that she really cared about...except the one option that Ted told her to toggle. "Activate automatic window pop up!" As soon as she activated that option, two windows popped up.
You have learnt a new skill!
Fae magicRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cost: 20 mana per inchCast time: instant
Cooldown: 1 minuteType: Racial
Through focusing magic on their wings, the user is able to grow or shrink.Cannot be used if the wings are damaged Size range: 0''8'''' - 1''4'''' (Current size: 1''0'''')
You have obtained a new trait!
Fae''s bodyRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
Fae, as a racial trait, have a natural ''mana battery'' in the form of wings.Because of that, they are often greatspellcasters , but at the same time, their bodies are lighter than even people of the same size. 20% increased MAG -10% CON
I blinked.The Fae skill...it sounded good on paper, but now that I look at the drawbacks..."I was cheated." I said, talking to myself as I stared at the mana cost, coupled with the cooldown.Well, maybe it could get better as she practised, but right now, it was quite bad, maybe even horrible. "Now before anything, time for the inventory." I say, as I opened it...only to notice the great amount of things I had.My jaw dropped as I looked at it. It was just...a training sword, and some bread.Well, better than being barehanded! Now to equip my big great loot!
Beginner''s sword
Durability: 1000/1000Rarity : ¡î¡î¡î¡î¡î
Type: SwordAttack: 1-1
A beginner''s weapon, enchanted with a barrier to not break.Due to the barrier''s properties, the weapon got the closest thing toindestructibility, although the barrier that protects it not only prevents the sword from being harmed, but also prevents the sword from harming others...making it the perfect training weapon.
"Well, that''s what I get for choosing to start off as a wilder..." I say, Laughing, I began to crack my knuckles, getting ready for some exploring in the wild forests, and maybe slaughtering a few animals.Wolves and bears.Not bunnies, though. They are too cute to be slaughtered. Chapter 02 - Beginners woods Nysa POV "Now, it is finally time for adventuring!" I shouted, carefreely as I waved the sword around.Before adventuring, there was something else I wish to do, though. "Stats!" I shouted, deciding to know my situation right now, rather than later.It was critical to know what I could, and what I couldn''t do, right?After all, even though this is a game world, I shouldn''t be rushing just yet. ][/tr]
Nysa fateburn
GenderFemaleRaceFae
Health33/33mana120/120
ClassNoneFactionNone
Level1(0%)Fame0
STR5AGI20
MAG12CON5
DEX20RES10
ATK1DEF0
Skills
Fairy magic beginner(lv1)
Traits
Fae body Tiny size
"Wait...what is this..." I mumbled, and then I examined the tiny body trait, out of mere curiosity.
Tiny body size
TypePhysicalRating:¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î
Because of your smaller size, you are extremely nimble, but at the same time, your constitution and damage are lowered. CON and ATK are halved AGI and DEX are doubled
"That...is interesting." I said, mumbling awkwardly.How did she forget about that? Well, at least I have increased agility and dexterity, meaning that my speed is better than most. So now I was wandering around the forest, where even the grass was large enough to barely reach my knees."Gueez, somebody must not have heard of a lawn mower!" I complained, nearly shouting, only for a black shadow to cover me. I looked up to see the source of the darkness...and I instantly regretted it.It was a massive butterfly, just barely smaller than mine. W-well...it might be a legendary one...hehe... Even then, my face only paled even further, as I saw a bird flying through the skies, and swooping the butterfly with its claws. Maybe that was the king bird, right? The king bird would always be bigger than the queen butterfly...probably. As soon as the bird landed on a branch, it was ambushed by a large snake, being eaten whole in seconds. "...How many legendaries I''ll see here, I wonder." Nysa mumbled to herself, still in denial that she was the small one. Even then, her next sight just made her shake in fear, as the tree next to the snake seemingly turned alive, and captured the snake within its branches, and began to eat its newly-caught prey. I-I''m a the bottom of the food chain, it seems... Maybe that big tree dude could help me? Or maybe he wasn''t sentient? He was awfully content with eating the snake raw, although it made sense for him to not cook: He was a tree, after all. My thoughts were interrupted, as an orange fell from the tree, and landed right in front of me."...that...was close." I mumbled, staring at the fruit that nearly took my life.Even the fruits could kill me in this forest! The orange was so big, I''d need both arms to carry it! but then I heard a chittering noise from the other direction... It was a squirrel. A level 1 critter, probably a joke for anybody who knows how to hold a sword. Easy enough, eh? I mean, it doesn''t look that tough, being 1ft tall. But I was not a normal player. I was a tiny fae, barely as big as the squirrel, and I apparently was between his meal and him."Uh...don''t worry, I''m not threatening, I am not harming you, don''t worry, no need to worry." I said, backing away a bit...and then I slipped, falling over the orange. The rodent didn''t let the opportunity be wasted, and tried to jump on top of me, to pin me down! Screaming and shutting my eyes, I held my wooden sword forward to protect myself. Through some sort of miracle, the squirrel landed right on the sword''s tip, although since it was made out of wood, it wasn''t sharp enough for the rodent to impale itself on it. "C-calm down, i-it is just a smelly rodent..I can''t lose this early..." I mumble to myself as I stood up with shaky legs. Every step I took back, though, the squirrel took two towards me. It seemed that he was determined to hunt me, especially after I hit him like that. And another, simple charge towards me. Even if it was simple, to the point of other players being able to easily counter it, it wasn''t so simple at my size! Without any hesitation, I pointed the sword ahead again, but this time the squirrel had learnt its lesson, and jumped over it, on top of me. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "I''m dead! I''m so dead!" I shouted, as I was forced back down due to the squirrel''s weight, and deciding to not be bitten, I attempted a simple, suicidal tactic: Break the enemy''s head with mine, before its jaws can break my head.And so, I used a head-butt against him, before he could bite. No wonder it was one of the weakest mobs in the game, since even that was enough to stun him. After that, I rolled to get on top of the rodent, to get in a better position. So many close calls, this fight felt closer to a mini-boss than a mere critter! Noticing that the squirrel had recovered from the stun, I decided to stun him again, but with the sword''s handle this time. Repeating the process over and over, I made sure to not give him an opportunity to fight back. "...I won..." I mumbled, under my breath as I fell down onto the squirrel''s fluffy corpse, exhausted. Thankfully, he wasn''t bleeding too much, otherwise I''d be soaked in it by now...the squirrel was truly a good bed, with all that fluff. Now to ponder on what I can do... ================================================================= BESTIARY!
NameSquirrelLevel1
HP5Mana0
STR5AGI10
MAG1CON1
DEX10RES1
Notes: Fluffy death.One of the weakest enemies in the game that can have an aggressive behavior towards other beings, the squirrels are highly territorial.Even though they are much weaker, if aggressively hunted, they group together to attack the offender in packs of dozens.
NameButterflyLevel1
HP1Mana5
STR1AGI25
MAG15CON1
DEX20RES10
Notes: Butterfly are often docile critters, and this subspecie even more so.They lack the ability of attacking predators, and instead, especialize on flying.They have a high resistance to magic, and their wings have various uses in crafting
NameBlue birdLevel5
HP10/10Mana2
STR5AGI30
MAG5CON10
DEX30RES5
Notes: Blue birds are one of the weakest wild birds that can be found, but are still a threat nonetheless.Studies show that they are relatively docile towards beings who live in the ground, but often hunts small insects for sustenance. They also fiercely protect their nests, and so, it is extremely dangerous to obtain their eggs.
NameYellow-ringed cobraLevel7
HP30/30Mana2
STR30AGI5
MAG5CON15
DEX15RES5
Yellow-ringed cobra(often called yellow cobra for short), is a relatively weak specie, as they lack the venom that the cobra family are famous for.Instead, they make up by having larger than average bodies, sacrificing speed and magic for strenght to crush prey.
NameTreant(BOSS)Level???
HP???/???Mana??
STR??AGI??
MAG??CON??
DEX??RES??
Considered the king of the forest, such being should not be angered lightly, unless one has a death wish. While possible to defeat, one must not do so without preparation. He is often friendly towards wildlife and adventures, but occasionally he decides to take a ''friendly bite'' out of the nearby animal when the hunger hits.
============================================== Author''s note: Yay, the pace is finally picking up now! I decided to, instead of restricting myself to just 1k words or so, I''ll write a chapter until I find the events it covered satisfying, to avoid filler.Surprisingly enough, this was quick to write.Don''t expect double-releases today, even though I posted this much earlier than usual! =D PS: Should I continue with the bestiary thingy in the way it is? Or should I, instead, just post the monsters that Nysa herself defeated? EDIT: Oh gods, just realized how filler-ish this chapter is.A whole chapter just to fight one single squirrel?! XD Alright, I''ll try to give you all a double-post tonight.(No promises though) Chapter 03- First meeting(part 1) Author''s note: Sorry for the late deliver of this chapter. XD Either way, I just noticed how hard it is to write about a person wandering in a place alone, with nobody sentient.Maybe I''ll make that change in the next few chapters. Also, before anything, I must declare some things that I''ve said in an earlier reply. Some of the classic stats(Willpower, Wisdom, and stamina) are not mentioned in the character table.This is on purpose, as it is hard for the system to measure it. If you think about it, a person would have more willpower and stamina when trying to survive in life-or-death situations, than against a spar match. And for wisdom, how do you measure it?I believe it is simply the ability of learning things, but even that is not measurable. =============================================== Nysa POV After a few more minutes of thinking, I finally calmed down.I could kill one squirrel, it wasn''t that hard, now that I think about it.They were predicable, and that one only knew how to charge and bite...No wonder even I could win against them. Although...if I was 5ft tall, I''m not confident I would be able to hit it. Even at the same size, he managed to dodge my strike once! I guess that''s the advantage of being small, nothing big will ever hit me. Maybe in the future, I can even fight other players equally! But right now, I don''t want to risk fighting them. I don''t even know how to take advantage of my race''s skills, like my magic, or even my wings! Wait. Wings?..."oh gods, tell me I was not dumb enough to forget the fact I have wings." I said, mentally facepalming
You are not dumb enough to forget the fact you have wings.Probably.
"Thanks, that was reassuring!" I said cheerfully, with a wide grin. Of course, I did not forget! I just had priorities, like surviving rabid squirrels! Now, to learn how to fly. It should be simple, right? Closing my eyes, I tried to feel my wings.It...felt weird. I could feel them, yes, but they felt stiff, even though they are light. It felt weird to feel extra ''limbs'' on my back.Trying to move them, in an attempt to imitate the motion of a butterfly, I attempted to fly. I could feel it.I could feel that, if I tried to fly, it was as simple as jumping forward!And so, I did that. ...At least, that''s what I hoped.
Nysa didn''t bounce.
-3 HP
"Ow, ow oww..." I said, getting back on my feet, with a bloody nose."Alright, ground, you asked for this! I''m leaving you for sure this time!" I shouted, as I attempted to fly again.This time, I didn''t try to imitate the gentleness of a butterfly, and just flapped my wings as fast as I could. Noticing that I was about to return to the ground again, I began to flap my legs and arms in the air too, in an attempt to make sure I could stay in the air. I managed to stay in the air a little longer, although another window appeared, distracting me long enough to make me fall on the ground, face-first.
Nysa used headbutt! It wasn''t effective!
-1 HP
My head, thankfully, didn''t fall hard enough to get hurt, although I was panting a bit, trying to recover my breath. When you feel tired, even the ground itself can be comfortable! I then rolled onto my back, to read the notification.
You have learnt a new skill!
FloatRating: ¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î
level 1, beginnerXP: 0.05%
Cost: Stamina(medium)Cast time: Instant
Cooldown: noneType: Physical
By flailing your limbs, you manage to create enough air resistance to slow your fall slightly. decreases falling speed by 20% higher levels decreases falling speed and cost. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
"So, this is not how I should fly..." I declared.Floating was not the same as flying... Maybe flight was something only available at higher levels. Either way...new skills are always great! On that subject, I still need to figure out how to cast the size-shifting magic. I thought deeply on the best method I could use, to cast such advanced spell. "Size-shift!" I yelled, although that only made me feel like an idiot. Magic, even in this game, is much more complex than just shouting with determination. I needed something, anything that could teach me how to cast spells. That is my main objective for now: To learn how to use magic. And I know exactly how to do this goal of mine! To do what any sane gamer would do in my situation! Wander aimlessly and slaughter everything that can be slaughtered! With such thoughts and confidence, I jumped onto my feet, and began to wander around in the jungle. Who knows, maybe I''ll find something interesting in the jungle, and at the very worst, I might get out of it and find civilization. Humming a happy tone, I began to wave my sword around. "Time to get this party started!" I shouted, as I began to wander around. Unlike the first few minutes into the forest, the forest seemed as if it was devoid of life.I couldn''t even hear the sound of the crickets, wasps or anything. But yet. The sense of danger was only increasing. It was as if I was being hunted.As if there was something, very, very wrong with this. My only cue was a simple, leaf rustling. Almost on instinct, I began to run away, not even turning back. Anything big enough to shake bushes, was big enough to consider me food, so it wasn''t a good sign. Even though I ran as fast as I could, although the sounds of steps only got louder and louder.It was catching up to me. The creature was so close to me, it was even blocking the sun...although the sounds of step would suddenly stop. I instantly tried to turn back, only to trip on my own feet, and fall down the ground. As soon as I fell down, I could catch a glimpse of its shape and appearence. It was a grey wolf.Somehow, it missed, going right over my body...although I am sure I would''ve been caught if I didn''t trip. Yet...the wolf turned towards me, just a few feet away. Even if I dodged once, it was impossible to flee from it. It was faster, stronger and tougher than me... ...I think I''ll see the game over screen for the first time in this game today, but I''ll not go down quietly! "Somebody save meeeee!" I shouted, as I began to run away from the wolf, in tears. "The big bad wolf is going to eat me!" Yet, as I ran, the wolf was constantly getting closer and closer to me...and suddenly he tried to lunge again. Thinking it was the same trick, I fell to the ground, believing I''d dodge it. How naive I was. The wolf was apparently smart enough to feint the jump, and now walked closer and closer to me... I closed my eyes, getting ready to die. There was no escape. I felt the wolf circling me, just a few inches... maybe if I fake death I''ll be ignored. Yet just a few seconds later, I felt something slightly sharp against my torso, yet it wasn''t pressed hard enough to penetrate my skin.After a few seconds, I was lifted up, off the ground and carried away. Where am I going? Am I going to be food for the pups?...I can''t even reach the log out button, to save myself from the pain of death... =================================== Author''s note: Sorry for the cliffhanger folks! XD I might or might not post another chapter tonight. XD....naaah, I am sure you guys can survive another day =P First cliffhanger of the story folks! Also if anybody can guess what will happen to Nysa, they win a cookie! Don''t forget to comment and rate! PS: I''m not too sure about the quality of this chapter due to various reasons. If anybody can point out any mistake I have made, I''ll be glad! PSS: For those who are wondering, yes I plan to continue the bestiary.(but the wolf''s profile will only appear in the next chapter.) Chapter 04- First meeting(Part 2) Schedule update: Sooo...I might change my update schedule a bit. College and all is truly tiring. I''ll still upload as often as I can, but expect it to be once every two days instead of once per day. ==================================== Chew toy(Nysa) POV I kept my eyes closed, as I was being carried by the wolf. This is the end. I''ll die. I am not surviving. Many, many thoughts filled with hopelessness filled my head, as I had no idea what would happen to me. But yet, I felt some hope: If the wolf wanted me to die right now, he would''ve bitten me in half. Slowly, I opened my eyes to try to see the surroundings, before quickly closing them again. H-how fast this wolf can run?! Everything was almost a blur, much faster than I could run! Slowly, I tried to calm myself down, and slowly opened my eyes again. As soon as I opened it, I saw what seemingly was the destination: An old-looking wooden house, in the middle of the forest. But due to the strong wind, I barely could keep it open for more than a second, and quickly closed them again. Just knowing where I was going, made me relieved to some extend. And so, as soon as the wolf arrived there, I could feel that he slowed down, enough for me to comfortably see the surroundings again. The wolf''s tail, which could barely be seen in my position, was wagging left and right happily. I had no idea why the wolf looked so happy, but he soon pushed the door open, with its head, and walked inside. Inside of the house there was an old man, which wore a simple, brown robe, quite similar to a monk''s...even though by his appearance, he looked far from fit. If anything, he looked quite weak. He was currently sitting on a chair, alternating between two tasks: Examining a small, transparent crystal, and writing on a book on the table. The wolf that was carrying me, came closer to the old man, and even gave the chair a slight head-butt. "Not right now, Hachi, I am busy." The old man answered, without even bothering to look at the wolf, causing him to whine a bit. "It is important business, I can''t afford to be interrupted right now." He added, still too focused on the research. It was funny, there is a lady here, in a wolf''s mouth, that could be bitten in half at any second, and yet, the crystal is the most important matter. Luckily, the wolf agreed with me on the subject, that I was more urgent than any piece of jewelry! The wolf quickly hopped onto the table, moving around on it a bit, and opened its mouth, to drop me in the middle of the old man''s book. "F-finally!" I shouted, slowly trying to stand up. "Old man, can you teach your dog some manners? That guy just kidnapped me!" I quickly added, standing up. "Wait...what..." The old man replied, trying to understand the situation I guess it was truly something weird. I''m sure that I would also freak out if my pet just dropped a tiny girl on top of my table! "Uh...right.Let me introduce myself. I am Nysa fateburn, Fae in training, got in a misunderstanding and I was kidnapped by your pet." I replied, trying my best to explain the situation...only to make the old man laugh. He laughed and laughed, almost as if this was the happiest day in his life. Oh gods, tell me he isn''t one of these types. "Hachi, this is great! What a good boy you are!" The old man replied, ignoring me as he picked his dog up, and pulled him into a hug. Well, that is great, I''m apparently a priceless treasure! Everybody must love me! Or...wait. That is closer to a bad thing, isn''t it? "Ahem, I am still here. And uh...I need some help on getting down the table." I said, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. Maybe I could survive the fall, but there are times a girl should not risk it, especially right now. "...Can''t you just fly off it?" The old man replied, almost as if that was the easiest thing in the world. Well, for sure it was the easiest thing in the world to say! Go on old man, shake your bones a bit and jump off a cliff to see if you''ll survive! "No I can''t! I was born with a birth issue that made me unable to fly as well as other fairies, that''s why your dog could catch me!" I replied, sounding a bit angry. It was just an act, to make it more realistic. If I was part of a flying race, but couldn''t fly, I should be quite mad about that, right? "And...that birth issue of yours also stops you from using magic?" The old man replied. Did...did I just met a mind-reader?An omniscient god of old ages?Does he even knows my three sizes? My face was currently in doubt between becoming pale, and turning red. The man, seemingly sharp enough to notice the change in my face, just laughed. "Don''t worry, the answer is obvious. After all, if you could use magic, neither you, nor Hachi would be here." He explained, matter-of-factly... ...So he concluded that I was weak, due to his wolf being able to catch me. It made complete sense...yet I couldn''t help but feel bullied. That was a matter of pride, y''know?! At least I survived the encounter! "Hmph, I am sure you wouldn''t have such smug attitude if I could cast spells." I replied, crossing my arms and turned away...only to get distracted enough, to see the ink on the book I was standing on. Apparently, it was notes for creating something named... mana battery? "...What is up with that, old man? I mean, everything has mana, so why something needs a mana battery?" I replied, already jumping into conclusions. But hey, it was obvious right? As long as one''s magic stat wasn''t 0, they contained a mana pool.But yet...that declaration only made the old man laugh. "Fae truly are something, for even a cripple to know what I took years to fully understand." He replied, with a wide grin. "Yes, everything has mana. Rocks, dirt, jewels, you name it, it has mana. But yet, just like there are differences between cups of water, there are differences between mages. This ''mana battery'', is just a project to perfect mana containers, so even the weakest mage can make up for the difference against the strongest one, provided he has enough containers, and are skilled enough." He explained. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ...Wait....Isn''t that...isn''t that game-breaking?! For even a level 1 wizard to have endless amount of mana? I-isn''t that...something that must not fall in the wrong hands, due to how much power it can give to a single person? And above all...isn''t it extremely dangerous to develop, and maybe even illegal? But there was something else I couldn''t help but wonder... "Old man, are you a wizard?" I asked curiously. If he worked with magic stuff, then he should know a lot...probably enough to even teach me about it. He seemed some sort of an old, wise mentor after all. But yet, he just smiled widely. "Wizard is not a title fit for me. If I need a title that describes me well, is ''magical scholar'', since unlike many of the idiots they call wizards, I research the depths of the theory of magic." He replied, laughing. "But I''m retired, and I plan to live the rest of my days peacefully. The mana stone is just a pet project of mine. I doubt it can work either way, can''t even find a way to make the stone absorb mana after the enchantment is placed." "...Can you teach me magic, so I can help you on this project?" I replied, with a wide grin. "I mean, I might not be good at magic just yet, but I might even surpass you if I get started! And two heads think better than one, so please teach me!" I declared, boldly. "Nope." Yet, it was just flat-out rejected. I expected to be rejected...but not this easily! C''mon, have some sort of hesitation in that cruel heart of yours! Please?! "W-wait, what?! But I''m a fae, one of the best at magic! I can''t go magic-less, right? I''ll die! I swear I''ll die if I can''t get help!" I declared, trying to look as sad and desperate as possible. "Pleaaaaseeeee?" I said, doing the puppy eye tactics. It never failed for me, ever! The only one that ever managed to resist this stare was my soul-less sister, who didn''t want to share her chocolate! Anybody else kneeled and obeyed my will in the moment I did this. "...5 days." The old man said, after a few seconds...with a rather stern, annoyed glare, rather than the relaxed way he was before he met me. "5 days? 5 days for what?" I ask. 5 days was a long time, at least for me. I''m still young, and this game was just released, I must keep adventuring! "I''ll only teach you magic for five days. After that, you are on your own." He replied...and I knew his tone. Any sort of disagreement will only lower the time...but yet... "Nope, I''ll not be on my own! I''ll use the knowledge I learn to help you on your experiments!" I replied, without hesitation. Maybe that would move his feelings a bit. "...the training starts tomorrow.Go to sleep early, wake up even earlier." He replied, almost as if my words fell in deaf years. What sort of cruel, psychopathic old man wouldn''t smile by being helped by a cute little girl like myself?! There must be some screws loose in that man''s head! As I thought that, my thoughts were interrupted by another window.
Quest: Magic 101
Type: One-timeDifficulty: C+
''Old man'' has accepted you as an apprentice on magic, but also as a partner on developing a mana battery! You must not only learn magic in 5 days, but also give him the inspiration he needs to finish his life-long project!
Rewards: Mana battery(small) Mana battery recipe Magic scholar class
Fail conditions: Old man''s intimacy getting too low Old man''s death time limit: 5 days
Wow...just wow. I could only stare at the quest, with mouth wide-open. This was...this was good, right? To get a quest this early in the game, and one-time too! Not only that, but the quest is something I was already going to do, so accepting it is no issue at all! "Accept!" I said, without any hesitation. ...I just realized I had said something weird. But thankfully, it seems that both Hachi, and the old man have left by the time I accepted the quest. Moving over one of the pages of the book, I decided to use it as a blanket, to try to fall asleep...but yet, I could not help but wonder. Wonder how the training will proceed tomorrow. I considered logging off, but the time in the real world passes so much slower than in the game. I''ve even heard, once or twice, that for every four hours in-game, just one hour passes outside of it. But what...what if I fall asleep in the game? Wouldn''t that be a full nap in just 2 hours? Deciding to experiment on that, and knowing that my sister didn''t stop playing yet, and my father was probably busy with deadlines, there was little to nothing to loose. Not being able to fall asleep, I could only stare at the celling, wondering how magic would work. ============================================= Author''s commentary: Heeey folks! So, this chapter was a rather interesting experience for me to write, and many things ended up making me either unsatisfied, or very proud of myself. I did not introduce the old man''s name just yet on purpose too, but for now, treat him as if his name was ''old man''. As for him acting like that...well, I''ll make a sidestory for him after the quest ends. ^_^ Chapter 05- A magical failure Author''s note: ....writing...addiction...@_@ Being more honest, this chapter was a bit of a pain to write.I wanted to write, yet I couldn''t write due to me being unsatisfied. XD It was still done in one day anyway .......and guys, is there any cure for writing addiction? It is more addictive than drugs, and I really want to start writing bigger chapters....yet I can''t XD I take away my promises! I will continue doing daily posts! ===================================== After a few hours, I woke up, and stretched my arms, as I let out a loud yawn. It was a whole new experience, to sleep on top of a book, and it was even a bit comfortable! Who knew these pages could be useful on something other than boring people to death! "Gooood morning!" I said cheerfully, letting out a loud yawn, slowly pushing the page off me as I got up. Stretching my legs a bit, I stepped off the book...before realizing that the table was far, far too high for me to not get hurt by jumping. "Gravity, you might think you can win from me, but I also have some tricks!" I said, before jumping off, using [float] to slow my descent slightly. It was a bit of a comic sight, to see a fae flailing her limbs while falling down...and landing face-first, again, before the rest of the body fell to the ground.
You made a perfectly (un)safe landing
-6 HP
"I''m alright!" I shouted, slowly lifting myself up. Now to find that old man! Where could he be... well, time to look for him to start off my training! Without any hesitation, I walked towards the door closest to me...and tried to look under it, only to see nothing but darkness. Well, it is understandable for people to not be able to keep their homes lighted up all the time! "Old man, where are you?" I shouted, into the room... and only then, I heard the sound of footsteps, along with a door opening. The wolf had returned!"W-wait, don''t grab me!" I shouted. This is bad! Very very bad! I decided to jump, to grab the doorhandle to open it. I managed to grab it, although... how am I supposed to turn it? And so, I was grabbed again by the wolf, by my torso, before being dragged away. That dog...that dog really needs to be taught some manners. This is NOT how you should treat a lady! Hachi began to leave the home, and after few minutes, we arrived at our destination: A small clearning, not too far from the old man''s home. There, the old wizard was standing up, holding his cane against the ground... looking less-than-happy. Right besides him, there was a stone disc, around 5ft radius. On the top of the stone circle, there was engravings: A circle, and a single point in the center of it, with small lines connecting the circle to that point. Hachi, by some reason, didn''t drop me down right away. Instead sat down right besides the old man, with me still being held by the wolf''s mouth. "You took your sweet time to wake up, lazy bum." The old man said, coldly and yet somewhat harshly. "That is understandable, though. And besides, I needed to set things up before we start the training." He said, with a sigh. "...What are these runes for?" I asked, curiously. The runes were basically a circle, barely fitting on the disk of stone from how big the circle was. In the center, there was a single point, with a lot of lines flowing towards it. "Oh, that''s a ritual I''ve researched. It isn''t as great as the magic stone...but..." The old wizard let out a laugh."It lets anybody get used to magic in minutes. Even the most inept person would be able to cast at least the most magic spells after being subjected to this!" He added cheerfully, proudly. It felt even a bit...amusing to see an old man talking so proudly of his invention. "...What are the drawbacks?" I decided to ask. It was far too good to be true, after all, if there was nothing bad, why not every warrior learn magic? "...About that...well, it is expensive to set up the ritual, and the runes only work once." He said, diverting his eyes a bit as he said that. I let out a giggle. "You are lying, aren''t you?" "....Do you want to learn magic or not?" He replied, unhappily as he crossed his arms. Well...it was risky to learn magic like this, but what is the worst that can happen? I mean, if I die horribly, I''ll just be revived right? And above it all, if I refuse, I have no doubt I''ll fail the quest. Yet I can''t help but wonder... why is it difficult rating B? Isn''t that one of the highest ones? But so far it looks...easy. Painful, but easy nonetheless. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. "Yes, yes I do." I said, calmly, trying to hide any hint of nervousness. Worst-case scenario, it''ll hurt enough to make me regret being alive... nothing too big...nothing that I should worry about... it is just a small price... "Then climb on the centre of the stone.Exactly where the small dot is, though! One inch wrong and we''ll all regret it!" He said, making sure I could hear him. Yes, in the middle of the stone. Got it. That''s where my death awaits. With low hopes and high dreams, I walked onto the disk of stone, similar to a prisoner who is walking towards the electric chair. It was a...rather scary experience. Almost as if all of my brain was shouting that nothing good will come out of this. "Alright, I''ll now activate the magic circle." The old man said, with a smile...that could only be summed up as ''creepy''. As soon as it activated, the circle on the stone began to glow... And...well...time seemed to slow down. It reminded me of the famous myth, that when you are about to die, your life flash before your eyes. My character''s life was too short, so I got enough time to think a simple equation. Wizards are cranky. Old men are also cranky. So an old wizard must be extremely cranky. Meaning... I am a dead woman! And with that, a white flash, followed by some of these blue windows flashed in my vision... and right after that, I got the closest thing to death that the game has to offer.
You have obtained a new title!
Project_Fae
Rating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡îType: Special
Due to a lack of wisdom and planning, you were willingly subjected to a wizard''s experiment unknowingly. 50% less chance of dying through experiments.
Mana overload!
-29 HP, +29 Mana
Due to being subjected to a massive amount of magic and pain, your body grew tougher!
+2 CON
Due to being subjected to a massive amount of magic and pain, your body grew more resistant!
+2 RES
Due to being subjected to a massive amount of magic and pain, your body is more attuned to magic!
+2 MAG
You know the feeling, of when your body ends up so damaged, so quickly, that you don''t even have the time to notice the pain? Well, that was my situation right now. I became a well-done Fae... Well, my body was still too sore to move, and my eyes were temporarily blind, as I laid down on the ground. I couldn''t even get up...even though my stamina was not used up, the rock under me became more and more comfortable as time had passed. Maybe it was normal for habitants of this world to faint after being subjected to such thing... and with that, I fell asleep. Old man''s POV I saw it with my own two eyes, the phenomenon that happened. Apparently, Fae are much better than humans on absorbing magic... meaning that the rune I''ve made to recover my own magic, is considered overkill for their kind. I only stared at the Fae, worrying about her lack of movement. Did...I kill her? "Heal!" I shouted, deciding to use my magic to help the Fae. I promised, 5 days of training, and I will not allow her to die due to my own mistakes during this period! I sighed in relief, as I saw the little fae snoring peacefully on the ground. She was fine...but my head wasn''t. How...how did she fall asleep with such injuries?! "...Hachi, go take her back to her bed." I said, needing some time away from the snoring girl and the dog to try to review the situation...and then as I saw Hachi take the fae away, I remembered something. Something important enough to make my face go pale. "Wait, you old dog, don''t you dare to drool on my book!" I shouted, as I tried to run after the dog! My poor old man hips! Chapter 06- First steps on magic! Author''s note: Teehee ^^; I forgot to add one table for a vital ability I wanted Nysa to get for a while, so I decided to assume that not all changes are immediate in that ritual, and she obtained it somewhere along these hours of sleep. ======================================== After a few hours, I slowly woke up, stretching my arms a bit...but yet, before even opening my eyes, I noticed something weird. I felt...weird. Lighter, stronger than usual but above all that...I could feel something inside of my body. A small, tingling feeling, almost as if my blood pressure was so high I could feel the blood flowing inside of me, especially inside of my wings.Was it magic? Or something else? Yet. I couldn''t care less about that, this early in the morning. I let out a loud yawn while getting up. It was far too early for complex thoughts like that, I thought to myself as I opened my eyes...and realized, I was still in the game. Specifically, on top of the book that was now my bed. But...everything looked slightly different. A bit unusual, and even a bit colorful. In fact, everything looked like they have a strange, mist-like substance surrounding them.The wooden table had a green one, the lantern was red colored, even the air had a slight, weak yellow color. The only thing in my sight, that lacked any aura, was the windows in front of me. Probably, it popped up somewhere along my sleep.
You have obtained a new trait!
Mana sight
TypeMagicalRating:¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î
An essential skill to all wizards, and a common one in anybody who is exposed to magic. mana sight enables the user to see the ambient mana in the air.
"...Wait...is that..." I looked again into the air, after closing the window. "Mana? Magic?" I said to myself, staring at them...yet soon, my vision was drawn to the stone right next to the book. The one that the old man had experimented upon. I frowned a bit...the colors of the stone, unlike the rest of the world, looked chaotic. Almost as if they were struggling to get out, and to absorb each other. I couldn''t explain the feeling, but yet by some reason...I couldn''t help but notice there was something wrong with it. Walking closer to the stone, my eyes began to hurt a little. The ever-changing colors were only good at giving me a head-ache, nothing else! Without caring about the consequences, I placed my hand on the stone, and slowly pet it, caressed it. If the mana outside fought like this, wouldn''t there be no world? So, magic shouldn''t fight each other. As soon as I saw the colors of the stone slowly stop shifting, even merging slightly. Now instead of the colors fighting each other, constantly shifting for dominance, they were peacefully resting together, becoming a rather peaceful sight, rather than a chaotic one. As I basked on my pride, for solving the conflict between the colored mists, suddenly a window appeared on me.
You have learnt a new skill!
Mana ManipulationRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cost: VariesCast time: Varies
Cooldown: NoneType: Magical
The user is able to use their will to manipulate and interact with the surrounding mana. Increased levels let you manipulate magical energies better.
"...I think that wizard''s experiment just made me insane." I said, letting go of the stone, letting out a sigh. "Colors Fighting? Petting a stone to calm it down? " I began to ponder what came over me...except the only answer I could find, was something similar to possession. Yes, that was not me! I swear, I still am a sane being! I follow logic! Knowledge! I am a genius who is not impulsive and actually does everything coldly calculated! Yet the more I tried to assure myself, the more I felt like hiding under a rock until I forget this event. Apparently I''m the only person that has mana sight. I mean, if that old man also had mana sight, then it would be quite simple to fix the mana rock issue, right? Staring at the rock, I could not help but daydream and ponder about the incident. Maybe that''s how magic felt like. Well, sure it looks more fun than just shouting words, at least for me! Either way, I could manipulate external mana, it seems. What about the internal one, though? I mean, the [stats] at the very least, claim that I have mana inside of me. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I wonder...now that I had mana manipulation, maybe I could learn how to use my own special magic? Or maybe, even learn how to fly? "Woof woof!" My thoughts were interrupted as Hachi came inside of the room, and jumped onto the table. "W-wait!" I shouted, although it fell onto deaf ears...but thankfully, he didn''t try to pick me up again, and instead just gave me a few friendly licks, soaking me. "...Alright, you win." I replied, letting out a sigh as I began to pet and caress Hachi''s head...and couldn''t help but enjoy the feeling of his fur. Who knows, maybe this wolf would make a better bed than the book! And easier to drag along for my adventures too! As I kept ''cuddling'' my ''little wolf'', the old wizard came into my room. "Awake already? I know I''ve cast healing spell on you, but usually, people stay knocked out for a few days after nearly dying." He said, matter-of-factly, moving over with his cane. He was wearing blue robes today, although it only made him look even older, rather than younger. It was even a comic sight, from how much he fit on the ''classic'' wizard look! He would then look at the stone that I had messed with...and suddenly froze up, in shock, nearly letting go of the cane that supported him. "...Do you have any idea of what you''ve done, little Fae?" He asked, in a stern tone. "I do-" I was about to speak up, although I was interrupted by another lick on the face from my new ''pet'', before Hachi pushed his snout against me, knocking me onto my back."I d-do know what I did!" I replied, before I was being rolled around by Hachi. S-stop treating me like a puppy! I''m a teenager! A teenager! "How did you do it, then?" He asked, obviously trying to hold back a small smile as he saw Hachi and me ''playing'' with each other. Stop giggling you elderly old man! Save me from this tickle-torture monster! Every time I tried to escape, the wolf just rolled me back before it continued to tickle me! S-stop it! I could feel my face becoming redder and redder in embarrassment. "I-I don''t know! I-I just saw some colors and told them to stop fighting!" I shouted, before being buried under the mass of fluff named ''Hachi''. I''ll dieeeee! Save me already! old man''s POV "Hmm...interesting.." I mumbled to myself, staring at the stone that the Fae had played with, even picking it up to look closer. Before, I thought that different elements could exist together, but were constantly absorbing each other- that was why the world is in balance, since no element has a bigger amount than any other. But yet, this little Fae, the little girl who claimed to not know a thing about magic, was able to destroy this thought of mine, without even having the slightest idea of what she just did. Maybe the elements were not supposed to oppose each other...that would also explain why some people can have affinity for more than one element. It would also explain why my experiment was failing: I planned to let the four elements, earth, water, air and fire constantly conflict into each other, destroying themselves but leaving the energy behind inside of the mana stone. But maybe, just maybe...this might be a better idea. At least, I can call these last two days something I have not said in the few last years: ''Progress''. But yet, something could not help but scare me, as I looked at my dog, along with the little girl. Who knows what sort of chaos she might sow in this world... I couldn''t help but let out a laugh, at how ironic this development was. The girl who knew the least in this world, was also the one who could change things the most. I was right on deciding to teach her, even if it was just for a few days. Although...I do not know what I should do now. Should I teach her what I know...or should I let her follow her own path... ...The latter sounds easier for my old bones. ========================================================== Author''s rant : So, this chapter was a great writing experience for me. I was preeeetty afraid of being too exposition-ish, or making the chapter too short. I mean, this is the first time Nysa is actually doing something that isn''t possible in reality! Besides, this chapter, even if the plot didn''t advance too much still holds something ''special'' to me. At first, I was going to make Nysa a fighter. One that gets close to the enemy and change sizes for her advantage. Then I was thinking of making her go hybrid: Decent at everything, both magic, and fighting(even if her race didn''t fit it.). And now? This might be just her first step on relying more on magic than strength! Don''t forget to point out edits, I''m not too confident if I wrote this chapter right, so any feedback is appreciated! Chapter 07- Achievements in ignorance Author''s note: "It takes an idiot to do cool things, that''s why it''s cool" - Haruhara Haruko =3 =========================================================== Nysa POV After a few minutes, I managed to escape Hachi. That dog...that dog is simply too scary. It feels like in the moment I let my guard down, he''ll kidnap me and lick me all over again. I couldn''t help but shiver in fear: that dog was scaring me more than any sort of demon lord ever could. Yet, I couldn''t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside, from how much attention he gave me. No! Bad Nysa! Stop getting ideas! I shook my head a bit, looking over to the wizard, which was still examining the stone. "Hey, old man! You said you were going to teach magic, so when we''ll start?" I said, both excitedly, and demandingly. "Well, you got most of the basic of magic down by doing this." He laughed. "But you still can''t cast a single spell, can you?" "Uh...no I can''t. I mean, I learned how to manipulate mana but not casting spells. Not yet at least." I replied, rubbing the back of my head with a sheepish smile. ''How did I do this anyways? I just...willed it to happen, I suppose.'' "Then, for that it is rather simple." The old man said with a smile "Most of chanting is to achieve a state of mind to achieve a specific result. The more complex the spell, the longer is the chant to make sure we don''t screw up. Anybody can make a massive fireball in seconds, if they have mana for it, but few are those who can cast the most complex spells casually." The old man explained, with a wide grin. "Now, you can skip all sort of chanting, as long as your imagination is strong enough to imagine something, and nothing else. Do not think of fire as anything but fire, otherwise the spell will fail." He said...although it made me a bit skeptical. "It is...that simple to cast magic?" I replied, blinking a bit. "Let me try!" I shouted, and then held my hand forward, closing my eyes. Think of a magic that wouldn''t destroy this home, yet it is simple enough for me to cast. Simple, yet flashy enough to make sure I could cast it. The ball spells. Water sphere, fireball, boulder toss and wind bullet. All of these were easy and simple, just imagine the element in a round shape...and shoot it forward. "Water sphere!" I shouted, and I felt my hands becoming slightly wet... yet when I opened my eyes, I saw the old man was in a quite damp mood, water dripping off his clothes. "...Alright, little kid, as impressive as it is to cast spells like that, I advise you to not do it in a place where you can hit other people with it." The wizard said, letting out a deep sigh, manipulating his own mana to heat the air around him up, to dry his clothes. It was quite a sight. I grinned a bit, deciding to cast such spell on myself, by imagining my body heating up, burning up to make myself hot and comfortable. Yet, after a few seconds, I noticed something. I smelled...fried chicken.
Stop making a 5-star meal out of yourself
-8 HP
"...Save meee!" I shouted, as I began to roll around on the table to try to set the fire off, only to feel like I''ve nearly drowned seconds afterwards. Out of the frying pan and into the fridge, they say. Coughing, I looked up at the wizard, while I was completely soaked, enough to look like I just jumped into a pool. I could see that the old man was chuckling, smilling a bit... at least I was assured that I wouldn''t fail the quest from lack of intimancy. Angrily, I stared at him. "Alright, game is on old man!" I shouted, pointing my hand towards him, deciding already aim for something more advanced...imagining a mix of water and earth, in an attempt of creating mud, and then shot towards him with magic. Only then I opened my eyes... to see the ball of mud, easily as big as myself, being reflected back at me, by a wind shield he cast around himself. "W-when did you do that?!" That was my last thought before being buried in a ball of mud. Only after a few seconds, I managed to dig myself out, glad that it was as liquid as it was, otherwise I was sure I''d be crushed. The wizard meanwhile was just chuckling, shaking his head. "You''re truly a gifted woman." He said, extremely amused. "I took weeks to be able to cast spells as fast as you did. Well, except for the fire shield: that was my first miscast." He explained, laughing cheerfully. "That''s because I''m a fae! Also old man, how''s the progress on the mana stone I healed?" I decided to ask, remembering the quest. I''ve already learnt magic, right? At least its principles...so the only next step for it was to finish the mana stone! And then I''ll finish the quest, and manage to obtain a class! Who knew how rare the magic scholar class is anyways! This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. And above it all... it was an one-time only quest! Probably anybody who finds the old man from now on would have to do some other task to obtain his favor. "Well about that...that mana stone isn''t going to work." The wizard said, letting out a sigh. "It is hard to draw the mana without breaking it, and unless I draw the mana in equal amounts it becomes unstable and eventually loses all energy. Above all, most of people can''t use such amount of magical energies." He said, shaking his head. Meaning...that Nysa''s way of dealing with it had failed. Yet...she blinked at his words. It sounded simple to fix it up for her... especially since she had a little knowledge from outside of this world to help with her. "Uh...but what if, instead of making it like a mana storage to use in the middle of the table, we consider it as a mana storage device? So after using it all in a battle, you simply use it to regenerate your mana afterwards?" I asked. If it was like that, then it could be used just as a meditation enhancer, right? The wizard just blinked a bit. "That could work...it wouldn''t be as good as what I expected, but it would still be great..." He mumbled, considering the possibilities. "But I''m not sure it is the best we both could do." Noticing how unsatisfied he was, I decided to say something, that I wasn''t sure how well it would be received. "What if we don''t care about long-term uses, and instead use much smaller stones? Then the people could use each one of the stones, each for one spell, right?" I asked, as if it was obvious. The bigger the stone, the bigger the spell, right? "That..." The wizard looked shocked at the idea, as if such thing never passed through his head....it was easily the closest thing he could wish for. It wasn''t as permanent as he''d like, but yet...the progress, even on the conceptual level, was nothing short of amazing. But on the idea of smaller stones, the wizard had a moment of enlightenment. Mana was often restored by eating, and so...what if he found a way to make people ingest stones? "What if we grind them into dust? And maybe get people to eat it, to restore their mana?" The wizard suggested, with a small grin. It might end up very badly, but at the same time, in case of success, the future possibilities would be endless. "What sort of person would eat pure dust? I consider it too dry! Everybody would need a cup of water right after this...so why not mix water and dust together?" I replied, almost knowing what this conversation would lead to. "Hmm? Just like a potion?" The wizard asked, looking...quite interested in my idea. "Yes! A potion to restoring mana! Just like there is health potions, stamina potions, and so on, we can call it...Mana potion!" Nysa shouted, excitedly, believing that there was such inventions outside the forest...although the wizard''s eyes opened wide, just for a second as Nysa said that, although he quickly recovered. "That is a fine name...yes I like it." He said, with a grin. "You have what it takes to be a mage, and above it all to research. I guess I made the right choice of making you my pupil, haven''t I?" He laughed cheerfully. "Let''s do this ''mana potion'', then." He added, with a wide grin.
Quest updated!''
Quest: Magic 101
Type: One-timeDifficulty: D
''Old man'' has grown to respect you enough to listen to your ideas! Sometimes it is better to go to the drawing board and make something easier after all!
Rewards: Small mana potion Mana potion recipe Magic scholar class
Fail conditions: Old man''s intimacy getting too low Old man''s death time limit: 3 days
"Yes, let''s do it." I said, with a wide grin as I read the quest notification. ==================================================== Author''s corner: Gueez, this chapter was a pain to write. I think that daily uploads is wearing me off a bit, I''ll count this chapter for both Saturday and Sunday, and use this Sunday to rest and maybe ponder a bit of the plot, maybe play some games and so on. Don''t worry, I''ll be back =D Sidestory: The game is on! Author''s corner: Heeey folks! So I got a writers'' block on the arc with Nysa, so to buy time, decided to write about Inas'' side till the writers'' block poofs away. So, please don''t forget to comment, do you want me to continue with Inas'' sidestory for now, or you prefer Nysa''s training arc? I''ll do both, don''t worry, all it changes is the order~! =============================================================== Inas POV "Let''s do this!" I shouted, with a rather excited tone. The game left the idea of progress for the players, not for the in-game mechanics...or so the internet said. A world where, no matter what you do, you are able to progress, a world where no effort ever goes to waste. It was truly dream-like, wasn''t it? But yet, I had a goal. A simple, mere goal that I doubted it''ll ever change: the goal of staying two, maybe three steps ahead of my sister. Meaning there was no time to waste, no questions to ask, just plow through the tutorial and start beating things up! Just as I got this pumped up, the game finally started, and here I was, on an island in an ocean of clouds. I couldn''t help but grin, as I stared into the endless sky. "Welcome to the ancient world of Apoph- wait, got my script mixed up, let me try again." The teenager-looking boy said, as he made a small handbook appear on his hand."Yeah, I knew it. Welcome to the world of Apophis, my name is Seth, the ancient god of foreigners!" He said, with a wide grin, as he made the book disappear. ''Technology is sure amazing, to make such unique A.I.'' I thought to myself, as I stared at the god... "Right. I''m Inas fateburn, but in this game I''d prefer to go with the name of ''Stephany''." I declared bluntly, deciding to keep my name a secret from other users. Nothing good would come from people knowing my true name, and afterwards being able to get revenge on me in real life. I''ve seen far, far too many books which had the protagonist dealing with such situation after all! "Riiight...but I''ll continue calling you Inas anyways, since that is a cuter name." Seth said, with a wide grin on his face. No matter how much he acted, I knew his true intention though: Inas is easier to say than Stephany. "Just don''t call me that in front of the other players!" I shouted...and only then I noticed, that there was a ''secret'' I''ve shared with him, that I don''t plan to share with anybody else in this world. Because of that, my cheeks already turned slightly red. ''I-it is nothing. I''ve already shared much worse secrets around.'' I thought to myself, my pout making my cheeks puff out a little bit. "Ah, calm down will you?" The trickster god said, shaking his head, even rubbing his hand against his face, almost as if he was the one who is supposed to be tired... "We didn''t even get around the introduction and you''re already making us both sidetracked.." He added, sighing deeply. "...fine, fine, let''s do the introduction. " I declared, with a smile. "Then we''ll do the character creation screen, right?" I added. "Yup! So, basically the idea of the setting is that there are two major factions in war with each other, the hero and the demon lord. Some races are considered parts of the hero faction, or the demon faction, like for example the humans almost always being part of the ''hero'' group. The former often preaches about protecting the weak and helpless, and put dozens of laws to try to stop people from doing ''unlawful'' things. As for the demon lord, it is basically a ''fish eating fish'' faction, where duels to death, robbery and so on are a common-place." He said, letting out a small yawn. "But there is the wilder faction, that isn''t allied with anybody, and instead lives their life in the wilderness, doing whatever they want, following whatever dreams they hold dear!" Seth said, with a wide smile. "Excuse me but...shouldn''t people like yourself be impartial to all three factions?" I asked, scratching my cheek awkwardly. Shouldn''t the tutorial guy be completely impartial, instead of leaning to one specific side constantly? "I''m not forcing you to join any other, I''m just saying what they are!" The god of partiality said, with a laugh, seemingly not offended by my words. "I can choose what I like or dislike, just like you can do yourself" ...Good point."Alright, then. If there is nothing else to speak, may I choose my kind already?" I asked curiously. "Also, I won''t choose any faction yet, I want to see ALL races first!" "Sure!" Seth replied. ...Never before I felt so much difficulty on choosing. The game easily had more than 100 races. To make things easier for myself, I decided to go for the ones that could potentially be good warriors, rather than tailored for other playstyles, such as elves being rogues or mages. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. And so, I was able to reduce my options to 4 different races that could work for me. Some more exotic than others, but I was still confident I would be able to master it.
DraconianA hybrid between a draconian and human, they are often feared in many regions. With a bigger body than most races, claws sharper than many, along with the ability of flight and breathing fire there are few who can stand this race''s might...unarmored. As proud draconians, along with exotic body shape, there is little to no equipment that can fit them, and even less people willing to craft something for the already-powerful race. 20% STR bonus 20% CON bonus Racial skill: Fire breath(lv1) Penalties to wearing non-draconian armor unable to wear breastplates. Large body size
HumanThe classic jack-of-all-trades, no benefits and no weaknesses. Because of this, they trump any other race in adaptability, even if they are in a disadvantage in a straight fight. Always learning and always adaptating, the humans are often feared for their potential. 10% faster skill learning. Faction: Hero
DwarfOne of the most hardy races, only losing to humans in terms of adaptability, they settled for living underground for the last few centuries, producing armors and weapons for the army. Often considered the best of all races in terms of crafting, the weapons and armors they produce are among the best in the known world. Night-vision 10% CON bonus 10% STR bonus 10% AGI penalty Faction: Hero Starts with skills: Blacksmithing(lv2, beginner) heavy armor(lv2, beginner)
SlimeOften the simplest out of all creatures, lacking any organs, they are also surprisingly hard to kill.Capable of regenerating from close to any physical injury, the only two solutions universally accepted is to rely on magic, or somehow hit the core. 500% bonus HP regeneration Immune to critical hits on the slime body Guaranteed critical hit in the slime core. Racial skill: shape-shift(lv1, beginner) medium body size(scales with current HP)
Even with everything I had discarded, there was still so many options... knowing my sister and other players, they probably picked the first one they saw and ran along with it. "...Seth, you are the god of difficult decisions from now on." I declared, while still looking at my options carefully. "Haha, that''s what people always think when they see all the races!" Seth declared, laughing out loud at my suffering. It isn''t funny! I am a power-gamer, and I could see the potential of these races. I just knew it, that if I followed the path of the warrior, none of these would be considered ''wrong''. The slime, under right circunstances, would be considered nigh-invencible and would be hard to indentify, and harder to kill. Dwarves could craft high-end equipment. Humans could learn faster than any other race. And draconians wouldn''t need to rely on equipment, and probably could craft some by themselves in the later levels, and also comes with a fire breath as a bonus. Yet...I felt like if I pick any of these, I''d lose on the rest. All I could do is close my eyes, and pick one of the species, hoping that fate and luck would choose for me. After all, I did all I could, and yet, this last step was far too hard. To choose one, forget the rest. Gulping, I finally felt my finger touching the window. All I hoped was to not regret my decision. Chapter 08- Potion making, quest completing. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -Clarke''s third law Also...I WAS tempted to make it a bunch of exposition on science to flaunt around my non-existant knowledge on chemistry. XD Decided to simplify a bit by not adding numbers and such. Sorry for the late release, made an extra-large chapter as an apology! Also don''t forget to comment errors, and rate. XD I think I wrote it a bit too rushed, after all. ================================================================ Nysa POV Now, currently, both me and the wizard were staring at the mana stone, as we thought on the experiment. It wasn''t supposed to be hard, simply grinding it into dust, and mixing it in water. The quest was practically solved. There was absolutely nothing that could go wrong...right? right? "So, to grind a mana stone, by the lost knowledge of the fairies, we need to-" I was about to explain all science stuff that I obtained through the internet, but I was interrupted. "I''m an old wizard, I already know a little bit of alchemy, and even more about crushing." The old man said, with a laugh, before he made a small box of stone around the mana crystal, and attempted to crush it into powder. The reaction to it...well, was a bit spetacular. I truly did not expect an explosion of mana, big enough to break the stone, and strong enough to make me fall off the table. ''Float!'' I thought to myself, as I began to fall towards the ground, flapping my wings like mad...enough to slow my descent, at the very least.
Gravity is a cruel mistress!
-10 HP
I saw the message, although I did not get up just yet, deciding this was a safer way to go about it. Meanwhile, the wizard had set up a protective barrier on his skin and clothes, meaning he was unhurt. "...That was more violent than I expected.." The wizard mumbled, as he stared at the broken stone box. At the very least, little to no dust managed to escape it, otherwise bad things could happen. "Y-yeah...now it is time for step 2." I mumbled, slowly getting back up, by climbing on the table''s leg. It was quite hard at first, to say the least, but I soon got the hang of it, by flapping my wings to lighten my weight, while trying to climb the table''s leg. I couldn''t tell whether or not the wizard was a patient man, or was just amused at my attempts since I barely could get off the ground, but either way my effort was soon rewarded.
Skill (float) has leveled up!
Skill (float) has leveled up!
As I kept flapping my wings, I slowly got used to the movements... at least just enough for me to feel a slight difference in it. I remembered my swimming lessons, where if I waved my arms too fast, all that happened was me sinking faster...but if I kept my movement uniform, and relatively slow, I could actually swim effectively. One, two. One, two. One, two. Keeping the rhythim inside of my head, moving my wings up during the ''one'', and then moving downwards during ''two'', I managed to climb a lot more effectively. Even if I was unskilled on it, I finally managed to get the hang on it! Sadly, I finally climbed back to the top of the table. ...and then fell on it, finding too tiring to stand up. Who knew that fear of falling down to the ground as I climbed was so effective at making me forget how tired the skill made me. "You know, you could''ve just asked for my help." The wizard said, calmly as he got up, and walked towards a wardrobe. He opened it, and then I could see various flasks, some empty, and some full of liquids. I couldn''t understand a single word on them, since they were too far away. By the time I could read the first words, ''potion of...'', the wizard had already picked the empty flask and closed the door. "Now, I guess we''re nearly done." The wizard said, filling the flask with water, summoned with magic. I couldn''t figure out how to cast the spells so fluidly... maybe if I practice mana manipulation more, enough to receive some sort of enlightement, just like I did with the float skill. I sat down, deciding to watch the wizard, hoping it would all work out in the end...although there was something that was bothering me. Did he know I was a player?...probably not, since he was so far away, it was doubtful any other player found him and left. I watched him picking a handful of the magic dust, and dropped it inside of the flask of water, before putting the lid on, and shaking it a bit to mix the water and mana dust. I could see the water''s color changing, from transparent, into a faint blue-like glow. its color wasn''t too different from water mana, except it felt...different. Almost as if it was more pure, as if it had no attribute at all. "Is it...done?" I asked, curiously yet afraid. "Yes....of sorts. I guess your idea was quite good, little Fae, but now it is the testing stage. Can''t truly sell something that will simply destroy people, right?" The wizard said, with a kind laugh, as he got ready to drink it. "W-wait, what about mana overload?" I asked, remembering what happened earlier to me. I had nearly died over there! I can''t afford to let the wizard to die, not yet! The wizard just laughed. "It is easy to avoid it, and I''m not drinking it all at once. The spells I''ve used in these few minutes would be enough for a sip." He said, with a warm smile, before drinking the mana potion. Just one little gulp. Yet it was enough for his face to pale slightly, quickly placing the potion back on the table."....strong." He mumbled, obviously not expecting it to affect him to this extend. "Hmm...maybe we should sell it in smaller bottles, with more water dilluting it?" I asked, deciding it was the obvious option. "Y-yes..." The old man answered, struggling a bit to stay steady on his feet for a few more seconds, as he released the excess mana into the air. Well, even if this version was a failure, it was still progress nonetheless! And so, we made another one, this time, with a lot less dust, and a lot more water. The ''mana'' this time, was a lot more clear than before, probably because of how dilluted it was. "And now, I think we are ready!" I declared boldly, watching the old man taking a sip of this potion...and this time, he only looked slightly healthier, rather than deadly pale. Surely, we could fit more mana...but it would be risky. It is better to keep the formula the way it is. And that was how I''ve created, the first mana potion in the whole game! Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Hmm...true. I guess I made the right choice on hiring somebody like yourself." The old wizard said, laughing out loud, obviously happy about the results. The results of our collaboration, even if it was somewhat simple. "I guess it is true. Even an old wizard like myself can be a student from others." He added, thinking on how it was Nysa''s suggestion who made it work, in the first place. "So? What will you do when you leave?" "I...I don''t know. Maybe I''ll just learn new things, maybe I''ll change the world, just as much as we changed right now." I replied, with a grin. I knew I was lucky. Lucky that the solution of the quest was so easy...but I guess if I wasn''t a fae, it would be a lot harder than it was. "That''s the path of a true scholar, Nysa." The wizard replied, with a laugh.A somewhat empty laugh, as he knew that I had to leave sometime...and this time was coming sooner than expected."You can take the potion, if you wish. Think of a gift and a memory, for the first thing we''ve made together." He added.
Quest complete!
You have successfully created a mana potion! This invention might change the way the mages fight, and even change the course of wars, assuming you are able to make it widespread!
You have leveled up! You have leveled up!
Class change! Magic scholar
Magic scholars are mages, who often lack the power or affinity of other mages, but make up for it by preserverance, knowledge, creativity and skill. Is not restricted to any school of magic Skill: doublecast Meditation 100% faster reading speed 20% mana regen increase 10% mana increase +5 RES +3 MAG
Do you want to change class?
YesNo
Over-excitedly, I moved my hand to quickly press yes...although I slipped up and pressed no instead. ...crap...
Are you sure you want to refuse class change?
YesNo
No! No! I want to accept the class change! Let me class change!
Congratulations, you are now a mage scholar!
You have learnt a new skill!
DoublecastRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cost: Varies.Cast time: 2 seconds
Cooldown: 10 secondsType: Class-specific
With superior skill, you learn to cast more than one spell at a time, at the cost of increasing the mana needed for both spells by 20%, and decreasing their power by 20%. As skill level increases, cost, power, cast time and cooldown decreases, while number of spells increase.
You have learnt a new skill!
MeditationRating: ¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cooldown: NoneType: Class
By focusing on the surrounding mana, you are able to gather them inside of your body, regenerating your magic faster, while increasing the power of spells 10% mana regen increase 10% MAG increase(while meditating) Can''t move while meditating
I let out a small sigh of relief, with a happy smile, as I stared at the new skills...already thinking of their potential.An immobile fortress, firing spells just as fast as a machine gun fires bullets, a nearly invencible outpost. Yet that was too far away...at least right now... "Oh, and I have a small favor to ask to you. Mind if you deliver the recipe to the king?"He asked, with a small grin on his face. "Wait...king? I thought the hero was the leader of the human race, not the king!" I declared, confused. Did Seth trick me? "Well... Yes. The hero is the leader of our army, and he gets the final say on everything, but on the other hand, he is always adventuring. The king is the one responsible for managing the cities." The old wizard said, laughing cheerfully.
Quest: Publishing mana potions!
Type: One-timeDifficulty: C+
The old wizard decided that you are trustworthy enough to receive the task of delivering the recipe to the king. There is also the fact that he is too lazy to give it himself, but that''s another point!
Rewards: Increased intimancy with the king Emnity with the current nobles
Fail conditions: Be discovered as a player. Anybody but the hero or king learning the recipe.
I stared at it for a few seconds....it looked far, far too risky. Yet at the asme time, more than just a little tempting to accept it. Closing my eyes, I placed my finger on the yes button, deciding that meeting with the king was more than worth it, and the enmity was only towards the maker.
You have accepted the quest!
"...So...how I get to talk with the king in the first place?" I asked, tilting my head. "Oh, just tell the old inventor Melchior managed to suceed his life-long project. I think that would be more than enough." Melchior said, casually...and only now I realized I never asked his name, and only now I learnt it. Oh well, it''s not like he noticed it! ===================================== PS: Nearly forgot to mention! This is the end of Nysa''s ''introduction'' arc. The next few chapters will be focused mostly on Inas now. XD Chapter 09- A slimys tale Author''s corner: Have fun! I had no friggin idea how to write a slime character, considering the lack of human senses. As the comments pointed out earlier, it would be a cheat if it got mana-senses right away, and at the same time...if it got normal sight, it would lack its greatest advantage: the capacity of sensing from all angles. So I decided to go for middle term! Tremor-sense, the arts of detecting things through vibrations! Also decided to forget the word ''sidestory''. Inas is going to be rather important for the story anyways! ============================================== Inas POV And so, as I pressed my finger on the race, letting fate decide it for me, I bit my lip slightly, in nervousness. I slowly opened my eyes, to see which one fate had picked in store for me.
Are you sure you want to choose the ''slime'' race?
YesNo
I nodded, without any hesitation."Yes, yes I do." I said. I was already gambling my destiny, my character''s future, so I decided to go all the way through! That is the only way a true gamer should play, not hesitating and sticking with something until the end! But then...something happened. I felt as if my eyesight slowly became blurry, before fading away completely. I could hear the god talking, although his words only became fainter and fainter, to such extend I couldn''t even hear him anymore. I could feel my lungs letting the air out, and even if I tried to, I couldn''t breath. I couldn''t feel any muscle in my body. At most...I could feel my skin.
Congratulations! You are now a slime!
You have learnt a new skill!
ShapeshiftingRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cost: NoneCast time: 5 seconds
Cooldown: NoneType: Racial
Due your race having an extremely flexible body, you have learnt how to mold your shape according to your will and knowledge! Higher skill levels let you have more complex forms, along with faster transforming time.
I was glad that, even if I was like this, I could still see the window in the middle of the darkness. Are all slimes supposed to be like this? I shivered in fear...I feel so sorry for the kind, now that I think about it. I could then feel slight vibrations on the ground, coming from the same direction that the god, Seth, was...and afterwards felt something touching my ''skin''. I attempted to scream and run away in surprise and fear, and yet I couldn''t move a single inch. "Hello? Can you hear me?" A familiar voice appeared in my head, and I could only try my best to nod, calming down. "That''s good. I don''t know what the ''higher-ups'' were thinking on this race...to not even give you the ability to hear. Oh well, consider this a blessing from me, Seth! From now on, you can hear, even though you were ''born'' without ears!" He said, proudly before removing his hand from my skin. And yet. I could feel the darkness slowly creeping up on me. I could feel even the air against my skin...showing how alone I was now. I immediatelly moved forward, towards the warmth that was assuring me that everything was going to be alright. Don''t go Seth! You are my only hope! "Right, right. Look, I know you want to stay here where it is safe, and I don''t blame you. But for you to recover your eyesight and such, you need to adventure on your own. Don''t be afraid, alright?" The voice explained to me, and then I felt as if I was teleported. I couldn''t see the surroundings, but I was sure of it. I was completely sure it wasn''t in the same place. The wind was weaker than before, and I could feel the grass under my body...which by some reason, I could ''taste'' the few blades of grasses that managed to pierce my ''skin''. It was a completely unknown experience to me. I was tempted to already log off, to tell my sister...but I think she''d request me to change races, if she learnt what I''m going through. As I thought of that, I could feel the blades of grass inside of my body slowly dissipating inside of me. Uh...does that mean I can just live off grass? I never knew slimes could be peaceful herbivores like this. Oh well, more food for me! Munch munch! And so, I began my quest, to become the best grass muncher in the world. I''ll be the player who ate the biggest amount of grass in the whole game! Ah, but that isn''t something to be proud of, is it? At least, the grass is tasty. Munch munch! As I munched on the grass, I could feel slight vibrations of something moving behind me...or was it on the front? What is the difference anyways?! How do I know if I''m turning my back to others, or talking to them?! And where is my clothes and armor anyways?! Either way I''m glad to find something else. And so, I moved over towards it...in a slug-like pace. I could even feel the antennae growing above my head, and my body getting thinner but longer, as I moved forward. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Shapeshifting skill has leveled up!
Uh...great. So I''m not a slug. Well, it doesn''t matter right? At least I can move in this form now! Really slowly...real slowly...One day I''ll reach it. Whatever it was moving, had stopped for a few seconds, before it began to move again, away from me, before coming back closer. Yes, come closer! I promise, I only want hugs! I then felt something piercing my skin. It felt dry...and hard. "What is this thing...?" An annoying, brat-ish voice said, as if it was grossed out by my appearence. Is...is this being poking me with a damn stick?! And even considering me gross?! Angrily, I shifted back into the slime form, and attempted to latch onto the annoying poker. Somehow, it wasn''t too hard to move like that. I was still somewhat blind, so I couldn''t make out the shape of the being which was poking me, but I knew something rather soon. The thing was flailing, seemingly having four limbs. I knew that because I had enveloped it...and getting rather annoyed, I decided to slowly crush it, to make sure it couldn''t escape. Do not poke me with branches. I''m a fragile girl, gueez! And now, I had to deal with various things. First, the weird, thick substance floating inside of my body, along with the weight of my victim, and annoying ''gurgle gurgle'' sounds. Ah, how I wish this thing died faster. Angrily, I tried to move my body, as if it was the fist of an angry god trying to crush the helpless victim, by clenching itself around the annoying noise-maker. The good thing is, the next news made me smile.
Shapeshifting skill has leveled up!
I felt like I could feel every inch of the being''s body... at least, enough for me to carve its general shape into my memory. Four limbs, along with one head, it was more than enough for me. My current goal was, nothing more, and nothing less, turn back into a human-like form. It shouldn''t be that hard......right? I could feel the struggles of the creature dying down, and I smiled as I felt it turning into nutrients, even as it struggled. It was a rather good, but weird, sensation. Not one that I could feel outside of the game, that''s for sure!
By killing a lawful being your infamy has risen by 50! But since there was no witnesses, it was only raised by 10!
And so, that was how I became a criminal. Well, good luck hunting a shape-shifting featureless blob! Either way I had more things to care about, rather than me being somewhat wanted, like trying to imitate the digested being''s shape as much as I could. As much as I tried, to take a human-like form, it seemed this body wasn''t adapted quite yet to it. It was like trying to push yourself out of an elastic ball, which was constantly trying to push you back down. But I knew I could do it. I knew I was making progress. All I needed was to remember... remember my own appearence. My long, flowing hair, my beautiful body, my cute face. I knew I could do it. ...And I managed to partially suceed, at the very least. I couldn''t keep my form very stable, as it was constantly trying to flow back to the ground, back to the ''normal'' shape, while I kept struggling to keep it like this. I could form a vague, humanoid head, although the ''hair'' was constantly flowing back downwards, needing me to put more and more effort into it.
Shapeshifting skill has leveled up!
Soon enough, though, I managed to stabilize my form: It was still far from being humanoid, but at the very least, it was slightly more human-like. I couldn''t be more glad that slimes lacked stamina, and instead just needed my own willpower. As long as I didn''t give up, one time, I''ll achieve a perfect form...but for now, I could only wander around like this. I could lift my arms, but in seconds they ''melted'' back onto the ground, which then I re-absorbed the goo back into my body... it seems just forming a small head was my current limit, although I wasn''t satisfied with just that! I needed to make it human-like enough for me to talk! But for that...I needed more samples. Deciding to not expose this ability to others, and assuming the other ones of my kind don''t become human-like very often, I slowly morphed back into my featureless, round form...and start hunting, for more humans. Infamy is such an overrated stat anyways. Chapter 10- The hunter and the prey. Author''s note: Soo...welp, I didn''t know how to progress this little part very well so I had to improvise. XD Either way, today I might upload more on Nysa''s side. I got the inspiration for the next few chapters on the fae, plus hit a roadblock with Inas anyways. ^^; Also, I forgot to upload it. >_>;;; but that''s besides the point. ============================================================== Inas POV I was humming a small song as I wandered around in the forest of slimes. I did not know the name of the place, but I decided to call it like this anyways! It is not like somebody could correct me in this form, right? Right? Either way, I kept moving, exploring the place, although wherever I walked to, the forest seemed...dead, almost. There was little to no movement in the surroundings in the last few minutes. I even felt tempted to scream, is anybody there? But yet...I lacked vocal cords. Maybe. I could already feel steps coming, although I couldn''t help but assume I was hidden. I lacked any way to see the surroundings...and the only thing I noticed, was that these steps were much lighter than the boy''s. Maybe it was somebody who was actually skilled? Then I felt it. A shiver in my spine, as the man took a step towards me, and then froze. I could try fighting him, but yet...my instincts told me otherwise. Whoever was there, was skilled enough to kill me in a few seconds. It wasn''t just the pressure: the being was staying still, and not yelling or anything like that. W-well, it might not be too late to beg! I tried to reform my body, into the human shape as much as I could, and tried to wave at the source of the sound! Maybe if I show some intelligence, I''ll be safe, right? Hunter POV ''Where did that kid go...'' I thought to myself, as I searched for the kid of the village''s chef. He was always a rebellious, yet curious one. It reminded me of when I was a kid, if I wasn''t saved by the old hunter that day, I am sure I''d become just a meal for the local bear. It was a few hours already ever since the kid had gone missing. I even searched him on the blueberry tree, where he always hid, but I couldn''t find anything...anything other than the tracks of the predator who ate that kid. I felt angry, of course: Lil'' Bryan had a good heart, even if he was troublesome to deal with. But the thing that had digested him...it was a slime it seemed. It made sense, since I couldn''t even find the boy''s bones. I could see the race, simply by one single fact: there was a path without any grass. One where the slime came from, and another, somewhat moister, was where the slime had gone to. Since it was just one single slime, it wasn''t dangerous enough for me to alert the village. I could handle this on my own. And so, I followed the trail for a few minutes, only to find the dark-green slime, slowly oozing through the forest. I remembered what my teacher said: Slimes hunt by sensing movements. Meaning, the best way to hunt them back, was to not move at all. I took one step forward anyways, mainly to get in an aiming position, to shoot at the slime. The slime seemingly had sensed this single step, and froze. I could feel it nearly staring into my soul...good thing it had no eyes, otherwise I might''ve feel bad about killing it. But yet, something unexpected happen. The slime began to shake slightly, almost as if there was something inside of it struggling, and a few moments later, a young girl came out of the slime, waving at me. I''ve...I''ve heard legends of a slime taking a human form, but such beings were extremely rare. Maybe it wasn''t like that, since the girl was starting to be swallowed by the slime again, slowly melting. That girl...probably was the slime''s next victim. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I''ve failed saving the boy, I should do something about this at least, right? I could shoot the core from my location, but the slightest error, and I''d be the one killing the girl instead. Deciding to throw caution aside, I decided to do something. Something that could only be considered dumb: I ran forward, and attempted to grab the only part of the girl that remained outside of the slime: her arm. But yet, her arm simply melted, slipping through my fingers. Did I...did I fail? Inas POV W-what was that?! I simply made a human form, and the thing dashed towards me? W-what is up with that reaction?! Deciding to risk it, I oozed as fast as I could from him...before making my ''head'' come out of the body again. He didn''t react. Maybe it was because I was too far away... I slowly oozed back towards him, and made the ''head'' appear again, this time even faster than before.
Shapeshifting skill has leveled up!
Right, not now. I am testing the aggro range. Right...mid-range is not angering the creature. I came even closer to it, just as close as I was before, when ''it'' grabbed my arm, and popped my head out. No reaction. Was...was that noise just a hallucination?No it can''t be. I then decided to repeat that motion again, until I got a reaction out of that. Hunter POV ...that is the weirdest slime...I''ve ever seen... How the hell am I suppose to explain to the village chef? That I had to deal with a slime who ate his kid, and that slime is like this? No it can''t be...it looked too harmless. "You''re a weird one, aren''t you?" I said, petting the humanoid head. It even looked a bit cute. The slime seemed to shake a bit at my words, but it was probably happy...or so I thought, as I saw the color of the slime change into red, and it began to jump up and down. I took a few steps back, both scared, and concerned for my own safety, although seconds later, the slime jumped towards me. I barely had the time to let out the loudest scream in my life, as it pounced on my face, and everything had gone black. Inas POV Don''t call me weird! Don''t call me weird! I''m not weird, I am a PERFECTLY NORMAL girl! I''m just curious, alright?! I''m not doing anything stupid, I just want to get a human shape fast and quick, but for that I need to learn human habits! A slime trying to learn is not a weird sight, do you understand?! Do you understand, you ignorant idiot?! I am the best example of a perfectly normal player who wants to achieve the leaderboard! I raged. I raged at my habits, I raged at the hunter, I raged at the fact I couldn''t talk, but mostly, I just raged. And by the time I came back to my senses, the hunter was already absorbed.
By killing a known hunter in a nearby village, your infamy has risen by 100! But since there was no witnesses, it was only raised by 20!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
...Well, I think I''m not going to be friendly to anybody any time soon due to my infamy... but at least I got a few more levels! Who knew gaining levels was so easy in this game! But at the same time...who knew what was the level of the hunter. Ranged classes are extremely fragile, and I just caught one before he could react...what a stupid fool he was. Oh well, more tasty XP for me! Chapter 11- Natural predator Author''s note: Decided to try a little more of Inas. XD Also, I guess I am a promise-breaker. XP On another subject, yes, I am not putting stats very often with Inas, but there is a good reason for it: She is unaware that commands can be activated through thought, rather than voice. XD =========================================== Inas POV So, after a little rest and calming down on being called weird, which I''m not, I decided to focus back on my objective: to turn myself back into a humanoid. Or at least the closest I can turn into... and next step, was to manage to speak again. Only then I could begin to properly adventure, until then I''m just a lowly monster of a slime, capable of murdering an experienced hunter through various underhanded tactics. I didn''t know how I did it...but I doubted it would work again. So I needed to level up, more and more, until I manage to keep the human shape without effort. But yet...that goal felt rather far away, didn''t it? Humans are complex creatures, I don''t even know all their organs, let alone how to imitate them. Oh well, I''ll figure out that problem later on, for now I just need to look like a human, not be one! And so, I closed my eyes and began to focus. For a slime to become a human...for a mere amoeba turning into a human...it had a path, didn''t it? It wasn''t something like ''I''m am amoeba'', boom, ''I''m a human''. Maybe that was the point...to slowly shape it. To slowly, but surely shape in the form I wanted. And so I began to focus, on my own shape. On my body. I could feel it. First, small extensions, such as my arms, slowly sprouting outside of my body, taking some of the liquid with it. Afterwards, the fingers, shaping themselves, becoming longer, and splitting from the main ''trunk'', like a tree grows its roots. And now, for my head: A long, flowing hair, along with my relatively cute facial features, I could feel myself gaining shape, but this time, it wasn''t forceful. It just felt...natural. How did it feel last time anyways? It felt like I was fighting against a current, swimming against a river. Now it just felt like I was being dragged along with it. Now, for the torso...a great chest, along with a slim waist, that was the way it should be. Keeping focus on that image, I kept shaping myself according to it, but being quite slow. By this time, the worst thing I could do, was to let my body collapse into itself, making me lose all progress. Yes, that''s the way. Not be forceful, but be somewhat imposing... gueez, all this inner monologue is making me tired!
Your shapeshifting skill has leveled up!
ShapeshiftingRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î
Level 6, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cost: NoneCast time: 4.5 seconds
Cooldown: NoneType: Racial
Due your race having an extremely flexible body, you have learnt how to mold your shape according to your will and knowledge! Because of your knowledge, persistence and thought process, you managed to make your shape more stable than before! Higher skill levels let you have more complex forms, along with faster transforming time.
But yet, I couldn''t help but grin slightly at the sight of the window, in the empty darkness. I didn''t figure out how to call the windows yet, as I was unable to speak, just think. But yet...this was progress. A very welcome progress on both my skill...and my appearence. But yet, I wasn''t done. I needed something more: the legs, otherwise I felt like I was far, far too slow to move, especially comparing to the hunter I had recently killed. But yet... every time I created the legs, it simply collapsed back into a pool of goo. In fact, now that I think about it, even my fingers were dripping slime, gathering a small pool under my body... but yet, this small pool was absorbed back, forming the fingers again with it. I felt stable, but yet, my body was constantly changing slightly...I guess my body wasn''t hard enough for it. I could only accept my new appearence, as good enough for showing myself in front of other people. My body, even if I couldn''t change color yet, was still good enough to show myself to humans. My mouth was still featureless, so at best, I could manage to smile or pout. Same with my eyes, I could at most make it look like eyes...but yet, it was completely fake. It didn''t let me see anything at all, and at most, I could blink. I didn''t bother with other things, since it was either unecessary, or I simply couldn''t do it with my current skill. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Well, my next step would be try to negate the biggest disadvantage my race has: Lack of civilization. And I know my next clue too! The hunter came out of a small village which was nearby, right? Meaning they are a lot more exposed to monsters such as myself...meaning they might accept me more easily! Off I go! And so, I began to slowly ooze around in the forest, in the hopes I could eventually find another human...and maybe hopefully don''t murder the poor man. Aah, why don''t I get the ability of talk yet? It would make things sooo much easier! But I guess nods and such would be enough. At the very least, it was somewhat easy to detect the hunter''s footsteps, and my own ''path''- the leaves were crushed into the ground in the case of the hunter, and in mine, the ground lacked any sort of leaf at all. I wouldn''t doubt it would be a lot easier to get lost if I followed my eyesight, rather than my touch....if I had one that is. I love being a slime now~! As I walked forward, I could ''hear'' the sound of footsteps on the ground. Quite a bit in fact, it was almost disorientating to have so many people within my ''range''...but it only showed that I was getting close to a human settlement, and soon I realized I wasn''t on the dirt anymore, and instead, on something solid. I grinned slightly, realizing I was on a road. I walked a few more seconds, before feeling vibrations on the ground. And whatever it was, it was just coming closer and closer, at extreme speeds...did...did I find a predator of the slimes? Amita POV I had logged in a few hours ago, and at first, just hunted for a small village to live in. Even if I was a wilder, I still needed to log out occasionally, and so I needed a safe place. I had found it, and afterwards...it was somewhat underwhelming, especially the hunting areas in the village. Geeh, being a draconoid was much more boring than I thought. Even the wolves nearby were killed in a handful hits, when I was level 1! Now I was level 5, meaning I should already get going out of the village...but yet a part of me couldn''t shake the feeling. The feeling of some sort of secret quest in it. It lacked blacksmiths, guards, and at best, had some hunters which were good with arrows. It was even a bit of a wonder how they survived thus far!...maybe it was because it was the beginner area, there was little to no powerful monsters. And so, it was boring. I tried to learn various crafts, like how to hunt with crossbows, but yet....well....it seems one of the drawbacks of this race, was that it couldn''t hold a weapon without breaking it. Even the swords I could manage to obtain were far too easy to bend to the point it was useless...well, if I used my sharp claws on it. The torso and face were still quite vulnerable to attacks, even if the legs and arms served as an armor.I know because I experimented that....apparently the programmers let you hurt yourself with your own weapons. Well, it is a bit realistic, but still- My thoughts, and my inner monologue was interrupted by a sight. A sight that rendered me speechless...the sight of a female slime...A cute one at that... Inas POV Yes, I did find the predator of slimes! I desperately ran away, the only salvation was my HP regen, which healed every hit I received. Every time it caught up to me, I received a sharp pain, as if it was trying to eat me!
Nom Nom!
-5 HP
That doesn''t helps me at all, you troll window! Somebody save me! Somebody, stop this thing from catching up to me! Slimes are rare, and a slime like me is even more rare! Save the endangered species! I couldn''t scream, but yet, I could run. And so, I ran as fast as I could inside of the village, with the predator following me constantly. Did...that... was that the guard dog of the village?! I''m going to die! Third person And so, the news spread like wildfire in the village, until everybody knew it. The dragons do not kidnap human princesses, but rather, they kidnap slimes. The implications was commonly accepted as "More than wrong, less than disturbing.". ============================================================= Silly chapter of the day! XP Chapter 12- Natural predator(part 2) Author''s note: Soo...this was a bit of a challenge for me to write, since I had no idea how to do it...and so I simply improvised a lot. XD Also it is shorter than usual, mainly because it is a filler to some extend. XD ====================================== Inas POV As I ran, I couldn''t help but notice how quickly my body, and mind adapted to situations. Why, exactly? Because even if temporarily, I managed to create legs! Legs good enough to run as fast as the predator! But yet, there was something else. Something that made things quite harder for me. I lacked any sort of eyesight, meaning I often bumped into obstacles. Get out of the way, carts! get out of the way, farmers! I couldn''t help but find the situation nervous, since I bumped into something every few seconds. I felt like I was as lost as a blind man in a shootout! The windows came up so often that I swear, even if I had sight I wouldn''t be able to see anything! I mean, sure it is helpful to keep track of my health, but there is a limit to it!
Stop hugging the wall!
-3 HP
open the door before entering!
-5 HP
(failed)Hug of death!
-8 HP
You tried to run, but a cart was in the way!
-5 HP
By running constantly, your body became more agile!
+1 AGI
See?....well the last window was a bit more helpful, but it isn''t enough to make me escape my predator, and the damage was constant, to the point it was outdoing my regeneration! Somebody help me! Anybody! Any villager, please save me from this bloodthirsty monster! But even as I thought such words as strongly as possible, I couldn''t hear any footsteps except the one from the predator, which was just a few feet away from me. Amiita POV Oh, gueez! Who knew that slimes could be so fast? If she was silver-colored, I would consider her the fabled silver slime which appeared in old RPGs, which give a lot of XP if defeated! But that made it all the more fun to go after her! And then, I realized something. The slime was extremely clumsy, to the point she kept bumping into everything. She had bumped straight into a wall, although instead of staying quiet and falling down into the ground, like a relatively normal human would, she ended up ''bouncing'' on the wall, and nearly going into my arms. Keyword, nearly. She passed by me, just inches out of my reach as she returned to running...leaving me to hit the wall as well. Thankfully, due to my specie, I wasn''t hurt by the collision, but it made me somewhat surprised...and excited. This was somebody I needed to catch, even if it is only for the challenge of it! And so, I returned to the slime chase. Next time, I managed to hug the slippery slime...and she simply slipped: I hugged her too tight, and then she acted almost like a soap, slipping off my grasp and moving under my arms, then between my legs and escaping behind me. It took a few seconds for me to realize what had just happened, and all I could do was to be glad that I wasn''t wearing a skirt, and instead was wearing leather armor! Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. After I recovered from the shock, I tried to run after the slime, my face now red in embarrassment in the next few seconds, before turning back into its normal color...and now the girl ran inside of a wooden cart full of fruits, hard enough to knock it down, and then kept running forward without losing any speed. Meanwhile, I tried to jump over the cart...only to land on the fruits, and slipped down, falling down on my tail. I quickly got back on my feet, to chase my prey. But every time I got too close to her... the slime girl got lucky, and managed to gain some distance from me again! The chase kept going strong, though, I''m not letting such rare prey run away from me! "..Stop...running..." I mumbled, panting as I grabbed the slime''s arm...and then I felt everything go black, along with my thoughts. Too soft...too comfortable... Inas POV I was extremely tired after a dozen of minutes of running around, although by the end of it...I didn''t manage to throw the hunter off. My arm was caught by the hunter, and even though I could just break off simply by shapeshifting... I was too exhausted for it. At this point, maybe the death penalty wouldn''t be so bad, at least I''d get a small rest. But yet, death never came. Instead, I felt a weight on my body, as I was pushed onto the ground, and there was...something...or rather, somebody on top of me. At first I was scared. Very scared, I was helpless to whatever that thing wanted. But then all fear disappeared, in the moment I heard a noise. The noise of snoring, along with the feeling of something sticky, warm over my body...probably being saliva. Gross! But yet...I was far too tired to care about such things like how gross the drool was, and instead, enjoyed the body warmth as I slowly drifted down to sleep, right under my predator. Innkeeper POV I couldn''t help but become curious about the mess outside of the inn. There were various adventurers and travelers who even paid the bill and headed outside, even before they had finished their meal. Anything that could do such thing was far from something normal. Deciding to leave the rest of the shift for my assistant, I came out of the inn...only to see a hectic scene, of a draconian chasing a slime in the shape of a woman. ...I...surely have never seen anything like this in my life. They both looked exhausted, but yet, they were faster than I could ever hope to run. "They''ve been at it for half hour." A man told me, helping me understand something. How inhuman these people were...but yet, I saw the draconian finally grab the slime''s arm, and falling on top of her. At first, I was somewhat worried about what sort of scene might happen...but instead, I saw a sight that could only be considered ''cute''. the draconian fell asleep on top of the slime, and the slime soon followed the dragon into the land of dreams. "Alright folks, the show is over." I declared boldly, before anybody did anything wrong. "Somebody help me to carry them to a room in the inn." I added, hoping there was somebody kind in the crowd. After all this was done and over, I''d ask for payment, but for now, it just didn''t sit right for me to let these two sleep on the streets, even if they didn''t seem the kind to carry money. Chapter 13- Breaking bed Author''s note: I can''t believe how many times I had to rewrite this chapter. XD Well, I''d like to have more time to edit and such, but I know the pain that you all suffer whenever I delay a chapter. Sooo...here goes nothing! ================================== Third person POV It was a peaceful morning in the town of beginnings, the sunlight finally putting an end to the night''s darkness, and telling the inhabitants it was time to wake up. Most of them woke up peacefully, maybe even lazily, deciding to spend a few more minutes in bed. Amiita was not one of these people. She slowly woke up with a small yawn, and even tried to rest for a few more minutes, although such thought was quickly interrupted by a feeling. A weird, wet and somewhat sticky feeling... caused by the person the draconian was sharing the bed with: A slime. Amiita POV "Eh?...eeeh?!" Just what happened? Why am I sharing the bed with a slime? What just happened last night?! Calm down, Amiita, calm down. It must be a misunderstanding, right? Yeah, that''s right. That''s the only explanation, maybe this slime is a fierce predator who tried to eat me in my slee- "Somebody save me from this perverted monster!" I shouted, as I slapped the slime''s head away...as soon as I felt her squeezing my chest. I don''t know what was worse, the feeling that the slime was violating me or... The fact that the slime''s head was shot away from the slap, out of the window! W-whatever the way you look at it, that is not normal! Especially since I still felt the slime on my body! Did it just grow back?! The slime''s head just popped out of the neck, as if nothing ever happened! Seconds after, I heard a banging noise on the door of my room, while the sleep-slime even moved forward, nearly kissing my lips... and right in that awkward moment, the door was kicked down, and a warrior, with a greatsword came out of the hallway. "Somebody called for my help?!" He shouted...before seeying me and the slime girl. "Nevermind, take your time!" He added, quickly lifting the door, trying to fit it back into place. "It is a misunderstanding, it is not the way it see-!" I shouted, only to receive a kiss from the sleeping slime. That was my first kiss, you idiot! My first kiss was stolen by a monster in a RPG! ''I''m going to die...'' That was my last thought, before I felt everything going black. Inas POV Ah, that was a nice dream. I don''t know how I fell asleep, but since I''m a slime I guess the world is my bed, isn''t it? At least I''m all good and ready for adventuring! And the bed feels so nice! Nice, warm and squirm-...wait... This is not a bed. I think I fell asleep on top of a person...Oh well, no biggie I''m sure she is still alive! Teehee~! And as soon as I rolled off my victim, I...I was met with a response that I did not expect...and only made me confused. "Don''t try to drown me next time, alright?!" Wait. What. What just happened?! What was I doing?! I swear that if slimes could blush, I''d be as red as a fire slime by now! And my mind isn''t helping, these things aren''t for my age(Even though I look forward to it)! I backed away from the source of the perverted voice, falling off the bed. Now my legs were on the bed, while the rest of my body was on the floor, facing the celling. "I-I mean don''t cuddle me anymore! I''m not into girls unlike you, alright?!" Good! I''m not guilty! I feel like a weight disappeared from my shoulders, it was just a cuddle! Just a cuddling season, yes that''s better! Now time for me to get up, and away from this place, before this illusion of innocence is broken! Or not.
I declare you and mr.wall married. You may now kiss the husband.
-10 HP
Thanks for nothing, mr.Snark window! The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
You''re welcome. But pay attention to your other lover lest you want an angry draconian.
...Draconian, eh?... Wait, that is not the time for my imagination go wild! I need to escape before I question my preferences! "I see you''re not into girls either. Good, that makes things easier!" ... Good! She got the clue! Haha, that makes things a lot more easy for me too! No more misunderstandings, or anything like that! I moved my body, mainly to do a laughing motion, smile and nod in agreement. "Hmm...you can''t talk either...that makes communication difficult." My newest ''lover'', excluding mr.Wall, is the best! She understands all my troubles, of course it makes difficult to talk! There are so many things I want to do, yet there is so little I can actually go and do without what others take for granted! I want to see agaaaain! "We should hunt some wolves!" ...And without any hesitation, my arm was grabbed and pulled fast enough to send my body flying, repeatedly hitting the walls while the over-excited, insane draconian dragged me away.
Bumpity bop, Inas goes pop!
-5 HP
-10 HP
-15 HP
''I''m going to dieeeee!'' (turning back the clock, to the start of the conversation between Inas and Amiita) Amiita POV I took a deep breath, recovering from the trial of endurance. I felt like some of my stats increased from it, but yet, what I lost made stats look like nothing at all. I shook my head in denial, it was just a game. Nothing big! Nothing worrying! Nothing I can''t simply forget, it was just Amiita''s first kiss and failing to wrestle with a slime! And yet, the slime looked friendly enough... "Don''t try to drown me next time, alright?!" I declared, deciding to think it was just a cuddle. Nothing more. Nothing more, I''m still innocent..... but then I realized how ambiguous I was. No it is not like that, dang-it! "I-I mean don''t cuddle me anymore! I''m not into girls unlike you, alright?!" And with that, I think I broke the slime, as she tried to walk away, yet just bumped into the wall, falling back onto the ground. "I see you''re not into girls either.Good, that makes things a lot easier!" Yeah! I mean, with that it is safe to assume that nothing happened between me and her! Nothing at all! But yet...I couldn''t help but notice the slime was silent during the whole time...so quiet...yet her actions made the slime look like a very outgoing and talkative person. "Hmm...you can''t talk either...that makes communication difficult." Yeah. So she can''t say anything, and I wouldn''t doubt she has bad eyesight...but yet, since the slime can change forms at will...or so I''ve seen in the race selection screen, there should be a way to let her get eyesight, and maybe even the ability of talk. Hmm...well...I am a draconian, yet I don''t know how to fly yet, maybe there is something related to it. Maybe I''m not strong enough to fly...just like how the slime is not good enough to talk! And there is a simple, quick fix on all of these issues! "We should hunt some wolves!" I shouted, knowing that, no matter the issue in any game...there was nothing that couldn''t be fixed with enough level grinding! Off we go! After going downstairs, I waved at the innkeeper. "Put it on my tab, I''m coming back tomorrow!" I shouted, before I ran out of the inn, and out into the wilderness. "And now, we are here! Time for hunting!" I shouted loudly... ...And only now I realized what became of my new companion. .....I was carrying only her arm, and probably lost of the rest of the slime''s body along the way. Crap. Chapter 14- The start of a great grind. ''My king, you do not understand slimes. Slimes can be fearsome beings, whose no arrow can kill, no sword can maim, and no magic can destroy. Any injury is healed in the matter of seconds, and it can go from near-death to full health in the matter of a minute at most. Ever since I''ve met one of them, I''ve been thankful for the fact that they are content to lay down on the grass and only digest what is foolish enough to touch it.'' - Lord Terius I, the cowardly court mage. ================================================ Amiita POV I giggled awkwardly at my partner, Aqua. I did not know her name, but I had to call her something, right? Either way, she seemed rather...mad at me, for taking off with her arm while slamming the rest of her body against walls and such. It was fun at least! "So, here we are. At the wolf woods, the starter area~!" I declared. Each place didn''t had a specific name, and the people over in the village only referred to this place as ''the forest'', meaning I had to give it a more specific name! It is only fair, soon the wolf woods will be crowded with beginners, meaning it needed a cool name! Either way, the name was slightly misleading. Wolves are not the most common enemy around here, it was just the apex predator of the region.A level 6 monster, that by now I could slaughter with ease, even with the difference in levels. Last time I was around here, I killed one wolf every few minutes, meaning that it was the best spot to grind, at least out of the ones I knew of. But yet...even though I''m not alone now...what is this feeling? It must be nothing, right? Even though I have not found a single wolf in the forest all the way to this part of it, it shouldn''t be a big deal. Maybe somebody else hunted them. It seems that even my partner, Aqua, has noticed the feeling as well. By some reason, it felt like she was a lot more focused, if not scared, than before. "Oh don''t worry, that feeling happens to anyone who never entered in a forest." I said, although it was mostly to convince myself. Inas(Aqua) POV I followed my partner, for a few different reasons. First of all, I am blind and mute, meaning that communicating with anybody is a pain in the butt, and getting lost is easier done than said. But a part of me...a part of me felt like I was walking into my own doom. "Here we are, the wolf woods area!" She declared cheerfully... ...Only to make me freak out. A wolf is not the weakest beast, rather, they can be rather dangerous. Not as dangerous a draconian, yes, but far from being insignificant. I bet they could even knock us into the red health area, if we are not careful. But as Amiita spoke, there was a feeling. No, not a feeling. I was sure that something was up with this forest...something more than just wolves. "Oh don''t worry, that feeling happens to anyone who never entered in a forest" No, the feeling of imminent death should NOT happen this early in the game, no matter how inexperienced the player is! Amiita POV And so, our hunt began! But first of all, I wanted to make sure Aqua could keep up with my pace, and so I decided to let her deal with the first enemy that appeared. Luckily enough, the first enemy was just a fox. A 3ft tall fox, which probably could scare anybody who is new to this world. "This is a test for you, alright?" I decided to back away, to not intimidate the small animal. I even felt a little bad, but yet, I knew how fearsome that animal could be for beginners. My first fight with a fox, took a whole minute after all! As soon as I backed away, Aqua looked at me, rather than at her enemy...what is up with that action?! Does she wants to get killed? The fox considered that as a moment of weakness, and ran towards the slime, to pounce at her. I even began to run towards Aqua, to try to protect her from the danger...and yet...yet... The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Something unexpected happened. Or maybe it was expected. The fox managed to jump into the slime''s neck, but it was quickly enveloped by the slime...and began to slowly get crushed and destroyed, the blood darkening Aqua''s color, as she looked innocently at me...as if nothing ever happened in the first place. .......well.....uh... I couldn''t help but gulp. Riiight...she was living here before I logged on. Of course nothing was scary for her anymore. Inas POV "This is a test for you, alright?" I heard these words, and ''looked'' at my draconian companion, confused. Well, there was something sneaking behind me, but nothing attacked us thus far, and nothing caused me more damage than that reckless draconian. Eh, should I worry about it?...probably not.
Be more careful, water-for-brains!
-15 HP
I felt a sharp pain on my neck, almost as if something had bitten it. Well, probably was that ''something'' which sneaked behind me. Well, it was somewhat impressive, but nothing I should worry about. It sorta killed itself. By destroying my neck, my head fell on top of it, making me turn back into the shapeless blob I was previously, with a fox stuck inside of me. Now all I needed was to crush and digest! Yum!
You won the battle!
[97.5% remaining for next level up]
And now, to turn back into the humanoid form, after a good meal! It wasn''t enough for another level up on the skill, since I already had this form memorized, and was probably my ''default'' shape. Amiita POV Calm down, Amiita, you just saw your friend digesting a fox in front of your eyes, no biggie. No problem. There is no problem with the fact that I''ve saw a little fox die in one of the most horrible ways to the point that the history lessons on medieval devices look cuddly in comparison. Yeah, no problem. It is just a game after all. Nothing to worry about. No need to worry about things being melted alive. I''ve seen a lot worse during my life. ....Who I am kidding. "If your go eat like that, do somewhere out of my sight!" I shouted, curling my hand into a fist, and punching the slime''s head away. "Gaaaah!" And so, I heard a scream, along with a man falling down from a tree, onto the ground, his head covered in slime. ... And so, I whistled innocently while I walked away. It wasn''t me! PKer POV Hmm..a draconian and a slime...well I am not too sure if they would work out, they look too weak....but yet, they might be just what I need for my plans. Yes, perfect. I think I''ll start to execute the plans...after a little lunch. I took out a small sandwich from my bag, and began to eat it while looking at the pair. "If your go eat like that, do somewhere out of my sight!" And then, I saw something green heading quickly towards me. Everything has gone green. Except my HP, that part has gone red. But worst of all...."My sandwich!" I shouted, as the sandwich I was about to eat was stolen by the slimy blob that hit my face, and it was quickly moving back to rejoin the main body. These girls... I''ll make them pay... ....10 copper coins, so I can buy another sandwich. "That was my breakfast, you jerks!" ==================================== Ah, just remembered, the main character is Nysa, not Inas, yet I''m writing so much about the slime. Give me a few more chapters, so I can smoothly change POVs, and then finally go to the next arc. XD Chapter 15- The bark is better than the bite(part 1) ''My king, I believe you have never met a fae. Even the worst of them have a higher mana affinity than even the best archmage that we humans have, and ever since I''ve visitted their kingdom, I''ve been glad that they have the dedication of a child, the attention of a bird and the size of a bug.'' - Lord Terius II, the cowardly court mage Author''s note: First time writing a battle scene, folks! Also...decided to stick with the name ''Aqua'' for Inas from now on, since she can''t speak to correct Amiita. XD You guys don''t mind that, right? ================================================= Amiita POV After we had calmed down from our little ''incident'', I couldn''t help but sigh and look at Aqua. She looks so innocent, so defenceless...and yet, one wrong hug is enough to get yourself eaten alive by her. Well... maybe it is like that for all races, since I could also crush a person''s neck in a single strike too. But no other race can end somebody in a way as disturbing as her. Oh well. Not my issue, I suppose! Besides I gain some extra experience from letting her eat, so it is all good! But yet, it wasn''t enough. "Well, that was just an appetizer, time for the main meal." I declared cheerfully, grabbing Aqua''s hand, while keeping the rest of my body away from her, so I could flee in case she decided to eat me as well. I-it is not that I don''t trust her...its just that it was so unnerving! One interesting feature about the forest, though, is that the deeper you go inside...the darker it becomes, mainly due to the trees blocking the sunlight. I bet that in the deepest parts of it, it would be impossible to notice whether it was day, or night. Creepy, but I don''t plan to go over there just yet! As we got deeper inside of the forest, the monsters also changed. It wasn''t squirrels, foxes and other cuddly things, but rather, wolves, boars, bears among others. Luckily, it wasn''t enough to flee from reality but yet... it was harder to deal with, especially the wolves, who are feared since they always attack in an ambush, in packs of 4 or more even though just 2 are as hard to deal with as a bear. When I''ve searched for the dangers of the forest, by asking the village, I also heard of myths. Myths of a great wolf who lives in the depths of the forest, who no animal dares to enter in his territory, except for the wolves which are under his protection. AROOOOOO! In the moment I heard that, I already got in a battle stance. "Be careful, Aqua, these wolves are no joke." I said, receiving another nod. I couldn''t help but feel a bit sorry for the slime, and her lack of speech... but right now that wasn''t the best time for it. Third person POV It was already the time for the wolves'' breakfast, as they wandered around in search for prey...and soon, they found the prey they wanted. An odd, green human girl, right besides a draconian. Draconians were somewhat tough to hunt, and so, they decided to attack her, with the full pack to avoid casualties. A full pack of 7 wolves. The wolves surrounded their prey, circling around it while hidden in the bushes. Aqua, sensing their presence, hugged her partner Amiita tightly. "What is wrong?" Was all that Amiita said, before the battle actually began. The wolves walked out of the bushes, circling the two girls. "Be careful...a wolf pack appeared." She said, remembering Aqua''s disability. Seconds later, the ''first wave'', composed of 4 out of the 7 wolves attacked, while the rest watched them. Two attacked the draconian in a pincer formation, while the remaining one tried to go for Aqua''s neck. Amiita managed to catch the wolf which pounced in front of her, hugging it tightly to restrain its movements, although the one on her back managed to climb on top of her back, already aiming to bite her neck. It wasn''t an unusual tactic, since most of the wolf packs usually did that, and it worked...but not for Amiita. She had a countermeasure for it, which she was only able to do due to her strenghtened body. The draconian did a german supplex, to hit the wolf that she was holding onto the ground, and slam the one behind her down to the ground as well. It was a simple, yet effective tactic. One that should not be done with a normal human body, under any circunstances. Things were going well for her, as she managed to get a stun effect on both wolves at once. The rest, was somewhat simple. falling down on the first wolf on her back, to pin it down under her weight. Afterwards, Amiita followed up with an open-hand thrust into the wolf on top of her, piercing its neck with her claws and afterwards threw the corpse away. Lastly, she moved her hands behind her back, to simply crush neck of the wolf that was pinned down. "Phew...easier than last time..." She mumbled, noticing how she didn''t get a bite this time, only losing a total of 5 HP due to the wolf claws. Aqua POV Well... it is time for another, easy and quick XP! Or so I thought, at the beginning of the battle. The wolves were much smarter than they looked, as instead of giving me a simple, quick pounce to the neck so I could capture them, they did something different. The two wolves who attacked me in a pincer formation, didn''t go for a direct, quick fight. Instead, they took quick bites of my body, to constantly damage me. It...hurts. Less than I would expect from losing a hand, but it was still bad. I tried to jump on the wolf in front of me, only for him to quickly back away, going around my body to bite at my legs, making sure to run away when I got up. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
You received a (lot of) bite(s)!
-5 HP -8 HP -5 HP -7 HP
I grinned slightly, finally realizing how they wanted to fight. They were somewhat smart, to be able to utilize hit-and-run tactics...but I knew how to best them even when they used such lowly tricks. I waited for them to make a move again, to lunge towards my hand...instead of doing what a normal person would do, dodge the hand, I simply jumped in the way of the attack, engulfing the wolf inside of me as I fell down to the ground. The other wolf, though, froze in fear after I engulfed his partner. That was a bad move to say the least, since now I could take advantage of it, and grab the wolf''s leg and pulled him inside, engulfing him as well. It would be fine...if not for one single thing. The wolves are strong enough to struggle, even after being engulfed! It was less damage than from outside...but yet I couldn''t help but be afraid.
Your meal is trying to escape!
-5 HP -8 HP -50 HP CRITICAL!
Suddenly I froze in pain. The game was supposed to lessen pain...yet just the slight graze on my core, was enough to nearly knock me unconscious. I quickly used the shapeshifting skill, not to fight back, or take any other form, but simply to move the core away from the wolves...s-so painful...I could feel my health already being in red. Thankfully, the wolves have stopped struggling, due to lack of air...but still, that...that was too close. Now I know, the drawbacks of trying to eat things without being prepared. I could hear more steps. Not from my ally, but from the rest of the wolves...but thankfully, they were running away, after noticing they lost more than half of their group in this skirmish.
You won the battle!
[47.5% remaining for next level up]
I killed only two wolves...yet it was close to bringing me to a level up. No wonder the wolves were considered an apex predator of the forest. It nearly killed me, and yet, just a quick fight with them gave me half the experience I needed for a level up... Amiita POV I couldn''t help but be shocked. The battle between Aqua and the wolves was going extremely smoothly, until the end...which then, Aqua lost her form, and was seemingly stunned. What...what just happened? Why she nearly died out of nowhere? I sighed, deciding to carry her over, back to the safer parts of the woods, rather than letting her die here. But as soon as I turned back, I heard a sound. One that could only be described as ''frightening''. AROOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It was a wolf''s howl. And yet, it was enough for me to nearly lose my balance...and the window that came up with it made my face go pale in fear.
The corrupted woodback wolf(lv.20) has awakened!
T-that...isn''t that the forest''s boss?! I was just level 10 from all the grinding, yet that thing has the double of my level! And who was the fool who awakened it anyways?! PKer POV After I recovered from the loss of my sandwich, I ran down into the forest. Rumours spoke of a wolf. A big wolf, whose might could match the small village in the forest''s edge. I was simply stumped, on how to beat him, as I tried to fight him a few times before...yet he finished me, in the matter of a few bites, and yet shrugged my own attacks off, as if my knife was made out of wood. But today, it would be different...I''ll bring it down. And together with him, I''ll bring the people who wronged me in the game down as well. Stepping inside of the wolf''s territory, I whistled. Whistled as loud as I could, in hopes to attract him.
The corrupted woodback wolf(lv.20) has awakened!
That was the message that popped up.... and yet I couldn''t help but shake. The last time I fought him, he was just a silverback wolf, of level 15...what...just what happened for him to grow like that?! As I pondered on the circunstances, I saw a shadow coming from the wolf''s lair...a black wolf, almost twice as big as he was last time, easily dwarfing me in height. "Eh.....uh......I got to go I left the tap open over there in my house BYE!" I politely excused myself, before running away for my life. It was plan to aggro him, and then run away... but yet, at first it was out of malice, to make the wolf and the offenders kill each other and let me steal the loots. Now it was survival instinct. ========================================================= Author''s note: This was my first attempt on doing an actual cliffhanger! BWAHAHA! Chapter 16- The bark is better than the bite(part 2) ''My king, have you ever visited a draconian? They have fearsome claws and ridiculous toughness, to the point of our best swords being nothing but a toothpick for them,and they are able to defeat any human in a fair barehanded fight. Lastly, most, if not all of them have any of them have a stamina that far exceeds the best warriors, especially in the bed...hehe..'' - Lord Terius III, the shameless court mage''s famous last words. ========================================== Inas POV I slowly recovered from the pain...only to see something. A fearsome window, right in front of my eyes...
The corrupted silverback wolf(lv.20) has awakened!
Eeeh?! I''m just level 5 and nearly got killed by normal wolves, let alone the boss! He''ll rip me apart! But yet, even if I tried to get up, I was still quite sore from the wolves. I knew my health was steadily recovering, but yet, it would take a while for me to be back on my top shape... Amiita POV After a few seconds from the warning, I couldn''t help but calm down. When things go south, panicking like hell like Aqua is doing, would not help..but yet, I couldn''t blame her for panicking too. But yet...isn''t the boss too far away? It is not like the bosses would run away from their lair very often, right? "I wonder, though...why is it ''corrupted silverback wolf''? Wouldn''t it be ''silverback wolf'', instead?" I thought out loud, staring at the warning screen. Just that word, was enough to make me feel nervous. Should I stick here? Or maybe I should run? Hmm...I do- "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" I heard a shout, as the same man that fell down the tree, was running away like his life depended on it. " That''s just my luck..." I mumbled. It was obvious what he was running away from..and I swore on my draconian pride, that if I survive this, I''ll make sure to have that man''s head on a pike by the end of the day. I looked back at Aqua, just for a second. The girl had 60% of her full health...but yet, even if it was 100%, what help would she be against the boss? And so, I heard the footsteps, along with the bushes shaking slightly. I couldn''t help but grimace. A part of me, truly, wanted to fight the boss...but yet another part just told me to run away, and leave the slime behind as a distraction. I decided on the former. "...Run away." I said, to the slime. I did not know whether or not she was a player or a NPC. But if it is the latter...I was not sure if she would revive after death. After saying that, I looked back at the bushes, my legs shaking slightly. "Now, it is just me and you." I mumbled, as I stared at the wolf''s ferocious eyes, as he took a step out of the bushes. A massive, silver wolf, who slowly walked towards me. His eyes, though, glowed an unnatural purple...something that made me only more nervous, maybe even more than his massive size. Even at all fours, he was just as tall as myself... I took a step back, a bit nervous and redundant to fight this beast so suddenly. Inas POV I was shaking. I was afraid. Did I want to stick in here, and fight a creature much higher than my level?...but yet, I heard these words. "Run away" I couldn''t help but nod...as I began to run, to the opposite direction of the heavy footsteps from the boss. but yet... it was leaving a nasty taste in my mouth, to simply run from the conflict. Reluctantly, I walked away, but yet, I couldn''t help but think. What way do I have, to fight an enemy much tougher than myself? What way I could kill, what I could not engulf? I then grinned, remembering how I once managed to fight without engulfing...and the sandwich I stole in the process. ......maybe....yes that''s the method. Amiita POV I let out a sigh in relief, as I noticed the slime running away. Good...I won''t risk losing her, not now. But yet, just blinking was enough to make me regret it, as the wolf took advantage of even that slight mistake and lunged at me.
-140 HP
I groaned in pain, with the wolf pinning me down under its weight. It was scary. Very scary to see him up close...especially after the first hit putting me in red. But yet, I would not dare to fight him if I had no strategy."Fire breath!" I shouted, opening my mouth wide, spewing a stream of fire. Sadly, the wolf reacted in time, and it didn''t look very damaged. If anything, it was just a light searing...but yet it was enough. Enough to make him wary about me, giving me enough time to stand up...but to make me use this skill right away...with its cooldown of 5 minutes...and I saw the damage it did. It did just 1% of his max HP. I''m so fucking dead. I stared at the wolf, back right into its eyes, glaring at him. And so, the wolf began to circle around me...but I also began to walk in circles, keeping the same distance from him. I wonder how far away the slime is by now... Then I saw it. The clue for the attack, the wolf stopped moving and crouched slightly. I grinned, getting in the stance again...I need to adapt to this fast. And this seemed to be the best way to dodge it. Silence hanged on the air, for a few seconds...before the wolf did another jump, towards me. With that, I quickly ran towards the wolf, both of us started to dash at the exact same time. Yet, we didn''t do the same motions. As soon as the wolf approached me, in mid-air, I crouched, sliding under him, the wolf landing under me.
-10 HP
The damage between the two attacks was worlds apart. Just because one is strong, does not mean its weight can do as much damage as the charge... and now it was time to ''counter'' the attack. Before the wolf could react, I pressed my hands against its belly, slowly standing uip. Oh gods...the weight... this is not something of my level should deal with. But yet, it was too late for regrets. I was lifting him. I was lifting the darn wolf off the ground, ever so slightly. "Gaaaaah!" I shouted, as I finally got up, and slammed the wolf onto the ground, on his back. It didn''t do much damage, but since it was a full hit, it was higher than just the small dent my fire breath did on him..added with a light stun effect. And now, I was on top of the wolf."If your back is made of wood, your belly is made out of...Tofu!" I shouted, not having energy to come up with a good comeback, as I began to slash at it. But the wolf, not a pushover, quickly rolled, to escape from my claws, and ran a fair distance from me... Good. That combo did a grand total of...9% of his HP. And he nearly killed me under a second. The odds sound fair, doesn''t it? And so, we returned to our previous positions, to prepare ourselves to dash at each other again. I smiled, as the wolf got ready for another pounce... Good, his A.I. is far from the best. WIth that, we dashed at each other again...or so I thought, it was just a feint on his side, doing a quick hop rather than a massive lunge. And yet, I was running towards him, at full speed, straight towards its maw. I could see, the wolf even grinning at my face. ...but yet, death didn''t come, instead, came a great surprise. A ball of slime fell on the wolf''s face, blinding him for a few seconds. I did not know what happened there, but I knew one thing for sure. Time for another attack. I ran under the wolf while he was distracted by the green goo, and lifted him off the ground...this time, slamming him head-first onto it. And now, he was stunned again. I couldn''t help but grin, as I began to slash his vulnerable underbelly nonstop...but yet, a part of me was worried. Didn''t I tell Aqua to run away?! Why she was still here? Inas POV I could ''see'' it. The first exchange of blows between them...the wolf took a bit of damage, but yet, the draconian nearly died. But even under such circunstances, I couldn''t help but grin. The wolf was very easy to spot for me...and seemingly, even easier to hit. I took my head off, by the time the second exchange happened. Now, it was the third one...and the wolf didn''t move, while Amiita did. Knowing what might happen if I didn''t do anything, I threw the projectile at the wolf''s face.
Don''t lose your head now!
-10 HP
You learned a new skill!
Slime throwRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cost: Varies(HP)Cast time: 1 second
Cooldown: 20 secondsType: Racial
You learnt that sometimes, solving problems with your head might involve throwing it at them! And with that, you can now throw parts of yourself at the enemy, since it''ll regrow in the matter of minutes. Chance of causing blindness, slow and trip.(higher chance of applying blindness if hitting eyes, higher chance of slow if hitting the legs.Duration scales with HP spent) Converts HP into damage at the ratio of 1:2. If HP sacrificed is higher than the enemy''s max HP, it engulfs the enemy.
I couldn''t help but grow distracted for a second...such great skill...and just what I needed too! I wonder how people will react about being killed from a giant flying head! But yet, there was something that I needed to do, before thinking about the skill. I laid down for a while, mainly to hide myself on the grass...mainly to not end up getting the wolf''s attention more than I already did. After all, I knew there were more things I could do...more methods to damage the wolf and help Amiita, even if none are practical. With that thought, I began to climb the closest tree, planning for another attack. This was actually pretty exciting! Amiita POV And now, the wolf was back on his foot, glaring at me. I couldn''t help but stare back. I already took 25% of his total life. There was a chance, I could see it...even if my HP was in red, I just needed to avoid all his attacks and fight back, right? Yet, such thoughts and hopes are easy come easy go. He was getting smarter...more careful. For the third time in this battle, we stopped circling each other, and took off. But hoping for a fair, face-to-face confrontation from either side was anything but stupid. He lunged, not towards me, but to jump above my body to catch me from behind. "Like I''d let you!" I shouted, grabbing his front leg... but yet, I forgot that I wasn''t invincible, and was dragged along the ground, hard.
-20 HP
I groaned. 2 more blows like this one, and I''ll die...but yet, I was calm. If I lost my cool now, I''ll die. Now I was under the wolf again, and all I needed to do, was to slam him back down. It is impressive, isn''t it? How such powerful boss could be beaten with such simple tactic. But yet...he recovered. right after the slam, instead of being vulnerable to 5 slashes, I could only hit him twice before he ran away. I knew why, though...I removed 30% of his HP. It was time for the next part of the ''script'', isn''t it? I couldn''t help but grimace. He climbed the closest tree, up to the top of it, and howled. Howled loudly, enough for me to receive a light stun effect...yet that wasn''t the part that worried me the most. As soon as the howl ended, I saw what happened... he called reinforcements! A dozen wolves came out of the bushes nearby, growling. At normal circumstances, I knew it wouldn''t be troublesome...but yet this wasn''t normal circumstances at all: My HP was barely 30% full... But this wasn''t the time to worry about such things! "Bring it on!" I shouted, taunting the wolves. I regretted angering the pack like this, but this was not the time for regrets, it was time for fighting! This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. With a war shout, I ran into the pack of wolves, recklessly. I punched one of the wolves in the head right away, knocking him out cold. My only blessing, was that this pack was seemingly weaker than usual, for me to be able to kill one in a single hit... But yet this was going to be annoying. Inas POV So... the wolf boss called for reinforcements. But at least, the battle slowed, even for a few seconds. I needed to watch the battle carefully...even though I was on a branch, I could still feel the vibrations. Was it intuition? Or something else?...no, they weren''t that far away. But above all, I could feel something that could only make me shiver in fear and excitment. The wolf boss was on the top of the tree I was on, watching the battle. Luckily for me, I wasn''t noticed... probably because my body had the same color as the leaves around me. I did not know what happened, but I could hear him growling...and I grimaced. I knew what it meant, that he was going to attack me, wasn''t it? But I was much weaker.... Well, this just means I need to use that attack defensively! I waited for a second. Still growling. two seconds. Still growling...and on the third he stopped growling. That was my cue. And that was the time for me to attack. Now...if just throwing my head is effective...how effective would it be, for me to throw my whole body instead? And so, I jumped off the branch, shapeshifting into a ball, in mid-air. That was the main drawback...I needed to make sure I could stay in the air for four seconds. And then I landed on the ground. For my surprise, I took 0 damage...yet I felt something inside of me. Did...I crush one of the reinforcements? Ooops~! But that wasn''t time for me to worry about such thing, as I bounced away from the arena. But a good consolation, was that I heard a loud crashing noise. The wolf jumped on the branch I was on, only to have it break! Teehe~!
You learned a new skill!
Bounce!Rating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 10.00%
Cost: NoneCast time: 4 second
Cooldown: 0 secondsType: Racial
Your suicidal mentality caused you to develop a new technique! You can now jump without badly maiming yourself! Converts jump height(in ft) into damage, at 1:5 ratio! Number of bounces scale with CON and skill level(current: 3 bounces)
Amiita POV I was slaughtering wolves, left and right. 9, 10, 11...but then, I realized something. The last one was missing. I turned back, to see the last one, ready to pounce me.... and I saw something, that could only make me blink in surprise. The wolf...was crushed by a giant green ball. " What the hell is that girl doing..." Yet, my thoughts were answered as I heard a loud crashing sound. Turning to it, I saw the wolf boss, on the ground, stunned. Whatever happened, made him lose 12% of his maximun HP and land on the ground face-first, and right after that, he rolled to fall on his back, stunned. Did... did she knock him off the tree? Well, no matter! I quickly rushed towards him, to give the usual flurry of slashes.By the time he recovered enough to get back on his feet, he lost 50% of his max HP. Yet, something told me, that it is only going to get worse from now on. And my guess , was sadly right, as he didn''t attack me straight away, and instead looked high up to the skies, where the sun still shone brightly...and let out a loud howl. As he did that, a black smoke came out of his mouth... "Fuck if I''m letting you do that!" I shouted, not even interested in his special attack, as I ran towards him, and took advantage of his current position. I ram at his chest, with all my weight and strenght, in an attempt to interrupt him. It worked well enough. Enough to make him stop howling, and lift his front legs slightly. Deciding such soft stun wasn''t good enough, I began to shower him with punches. With each punch, he was lifted up higher and higher...and by the time my own combo was finished, he was standing on top of his two back legs, ready to slam towards me. Yet, that attack was interrupted. Interrupted, by a ball of slime, that hit him square on the chest, finishing the job and making him fall down on his back again. I knew where it came from. Grinning slightly, I began to slash his belly again, making the wolf have only 30% of his HP remaining as he recovered enough to dash away. And only now, I saw why it was a ''corrupted silverback wolf'', rather than a ''silverback wolf''. Because of that skill he used, everything was dark...while his own body was purple. A really dark purple, nearly indisguinshable from the night itself. And now, he was growling like mad. I had 50% of my max HP... while the wolf had only 20% left. It was all or nothing, for both of us now. I felt like we were finally fighting on fair grounds. Inas POV Uuugh...I''m never, ever doing this ''bounce'' skill again...I feel bounce-sick... But that wasn''t time to complain. As soon as I got out of the bounce form, I heard a howling sound. One that was so loud, that could not be anything except the wolf boss. I grimaced, knowing it was something bad...yet it did nothing. Not for me, at least. "Fuck if I''m letting you do that!" I heard my friend shouting such words, and I grinned. Just from her shouts, along with the sounds of slashes, I knew she was on an onslaught. Yet...I knew that the wolf wasn''t fully vulnerable. Because of that, I ripped my head off again, getting ready to throw at him...and soon there was a moment of silence. One where Amiita wasn''t attacking anymore, and the wolf wasn''t moving. Yet...I knew, it was the wolf who managed to recover from the onslaught of slashes. Before he could counter it, though, I threw my head at him, in an attempt of inflicting the status effects. Specifically, the ''trip'' effect.
-20 HP
And then, I heard a loud vibration. The sign that, whatever I did, knocked the wolf on his back. Good, but such thing would never be enough to kill him. Not yet at least. There was still work to be done... Amiita POV One hit I''m dead. Two combos he is dead. Such fact only made us more careful of each other, taking much longer than the other attacks. We both were exhausted...yet we both did not feel the need to run away. I couldn''t help but grin. The fight was drawing to its end. We were both staring at each others'' eyes, intently. Only one of us will be leaving alive, even if the two of us are close to dying in the first mistake we make. One minute has passed, ever since the last exchange. The wolf stopped growling...but didn''t attack me. He instead, jumped high into the trees, on the branches, where I could barely see his body."This is bad..." I mumbled to myself, trying to follow the wolf as he ran across the branches. It was a clever tactic, to use stealth to make me lose track of him. Yet...it was an attack I couldn''t find a way to counter. Not yet at least...I couldn''t let my guard down, not at the final stretch. And so it happened. The last exchange of blows, the wolf jumped down, from the branches and towards me in the hopes of catching me by surprise."You fell into my trap." I said, staring at the wolf''s eyes as his massive body was falling onto my direction. I took a step back, and prepared to jump out of the way. Yet, I received a pleasant surprise, as the wolf''s side was hit by a huge ball of slime, knocking him sideways, and making him roll onto his back. This was the second-to-last combo. One that I couldn''t help but master as the fight had gone onwards, and one that I couldn''t help but love doing. 5 quick slashes on the belly, before he recovered and ran away...with only 8% of his max HP. Inas POV I was nervous, and I swear I would sweat if I was human. I was out of ideas on how to hit such fast beast, which moved unpredicably and quickly...I needed a time.One single second, where it moved predicably... I felt every single vibration on the trees, every footstep the wolf took. I couldn''t lie, I was worried, mostly because the 20 seconds cooldown of the ''slime throw''. But yet, it was far too late for regrets. I saw the opportunity, the opportunity of a single, clean strike that might be the difference between life or death. He jumped off the branch, and I didn''t hear his footstep again...but I heard a single step from the draconian. That much was enough, for me to have a clear picture of the wolf''s path, and because of that, I threw the biggest ball of slime I could produce....
-50 HP
Ah, I guess I''ll just wait and ''see'' how it goes now. It would be a shame to lose, after coming this far, wouldn''t it? Amiita POV I grimaced, as the wolf climbed the treetops again, repeating the same strategy. I knew what he planned to do. And now, my focus was greater than ever...especially since I had a little ''surprise'' prepared for him. Seconds after he started jumping around, he tried to lunge at me from that height. Originally, I''d be worried. I''d know that I would die from this. I know how hard it would be, to dodge such lunge and not get caught in the follow-up. And so, I will not dodge. I closed my eyes, and opened my mouth wide. "FIREBREATH!" I shouted, mostly inside of my life, as I let the strongest firebreath I could manage, straight into the wolf''s face. Strange, how things go. To think that in such realistic game, the last attack was the strongest one...both of us, no, the three of us just used our strongest movements in quick sucession of one and another. The fire breath, though...it was stronger than I expected. It caused the trees behind the wolf to catch on fire, and soon, it began to spread...both dispelling the darkness, and making a new danger arise, the flames. By the end of my fire breath, the wolf back down on the ground, having lost his momentum. He only had 1% of his HP left. Any hit could end him...yet the surroundings looked so dangerous, that I doubted either of us would escape alive either way. I stared at the wolf''s eyes, giving him a quick nod. A nod, to show respect. One to show how glad I was for such battle...before we both began to charge at each other. No tricks, no lies this time. This is it. The final phase of the battle. PKer POV "Well... that battle was interesting. But it is time to jump in." I mumbled, having a bad habit of talking to myself in such scenes. I couldn''t help but laugh inside of my mind. A quick hit on the draconian, and then she''d be stunned, and fall down as the boss'' prey. And afterwards, I just needed to finish the last 1% of the boss'' HP without dying. Isn''t that too good to be true?....Yes, it is too good to be true. There was the slime, who almost acted as the draconian''s guardian angel, protecting her from any sort of danger. I need to deal with her, before the two powerhouses kill each other. ================================================= Author''s note: This chapter is dedicated to my fellow readers, and as a proof that I was not spending a day(two days actually) resting! Also, next chapter will have Amiita''s and Inas'' stat tables. I would put them here...but they are about to get 2 level ups, so it would be a waste, wouldn''t it? XD Either way, this chapter was a bit fun to write. I hope the rule of awesome overrides any inconsistency. Also, decided to not put too many window snarky comments, mainly due to how unfitting it is to the situation.XD And lastly....... I put this at wordcounter. I saw that this chapter had 4.1k words or so. This must be the biggest chapter of the story, by far(the second-biggest, for scale, was 2k.) Also, yes. I put a cliffhanger right there. Problem? =P Chapter 17- Bark is better than the bite(final part) Author''s note: Guee! My obsession with math drives me nuts! The worst of all? I don''t even know if the game''s math is balanced. XD ================================================= Amiita POV I stared at the wolf. He stared back at me. It was the last minutes of his life, the battle was decided. Yet...it didn''t sit right for me. Not to let him burn, or to finish him with less than what I got. At the same time...the wolf had its eyes bright, staring back at my soul. I knew what he meant. Not begging for freedom, or for live...what he wanted, as me to finish him. There wasn''t any meaning behind this last action, we both did at the exact same second. Running, to finish each other with all our strenght. The conclusion was set in stone... yet, it seems that the wolf wanted to still struggle until the end. This is it. The final attack one of us will deliver before death. No trickery, no lies, nothing, but raw pure strenght in this last conflict. I knew he was bigger than me. I knew he was stronger than me. Yet...I felt bound. Bound to finish a battle like this. "Don''t hold back on me now!" I shouted angrily. Inas POV The battle was about to end. Amiita was about to win...but yet, I felt something. A sense of fear striking within my heart. I then heard it. The sound of a small footstep. Turning around, I felt something sharp pierce my cheek.
-5 HP
I couldn''t help but shiver as soon as I saw the window. "Tsk. Things won''t be as easy as I hoped." A voice...An ally? Doubtful, he attacked me. He was an enemy...More specifically, a player killer. No other reason, for him to attack us, right? Other than free XP. Meaning, the battle was about to start... my first battle against a fellow player. I used [slime throw] and threw the projectile into the last time I sensed his steps.
-10 HP
I...missed him. He somehow is able to not let me spot him, as he walks around. "Any reason to throw slime at that direction? Ya blind or what?" The voice came from behind me. Not as a taunt, but as a honest question... and there was only one reply that could be done. I turned, slamming my fist behind me, only for it to hit nothing. This...this was hard. I never expect players being so hard to hit.
-40 HP
A stab on my back...he probably did not know that slimes are immune to critical, and don''t actually have a ''back'' for it to take effect either. "No hard feelings between us, ri-" I didn''t let him finish the sentence, punching him on the face, hard enough to push him away. I didn''t know how much damage I did with that motion, but that surely affected him, right? I couldn''t help but be excited, and jumped forward, and began to punch. Over and over, I felt like I was hitting something solid... but by some reason, unlike before, he wasn''t being shot back. "...Why you''re punching the tree?.......So you ARE blind, aren''t you?" The voice came right under where I was punching. Meaning I just needed to lower my fist a little bit! Yet, I felt the same hard texture...damn, he dodged it. I couldn''t help but grow furious, at the fact he was slipping through all my attacks. Come here and fight like a man!... sadly I couldn''t shout, meaning at best I could glare at the direction he was in. I heard a single step, probably in fear, as soon as I did it. In the same second, almost like a predator, I jumped after him. I barely missed him, but I felt his body-even if it was just his cloak. Quickly, I reached for the cloak, and tried to pull him inside of me... Except I only caught his cloak.
-40 HP
I felt it. This time, it was a stab, not a throw...yet when I tried to reach for his arm, I realized that he already let go of the knife, and ran out of the way again. I hate this guy. Amiita POV It was a simple exchange. Yet the most fierce one I''ve felt in my whole life. A distance of 30 meters between each other, that could be crossed in seconds. Yet such distance felt a few kilometers long instead. 30ft. 20ft. 10ft. Inas POV Let.Me.Hit.You! I shouted, in my mind as I ran in the endless darkness. I tried to reach for him, yet he only avoided my strikes, slipping away. I tried to follow him, yet his steps were too light... time to change tactics. A normal fight would only make me dead, wouldn''t it? I waited till I heard the next step. And instead, received a stab.
-20 HP
No matter. Not now at least. I moved my hand, to give a slap at the direction... but instead of throwing just one, I decided to try something else. I tried to de-form my arm mid-swing... not too differently how my form, at lower levels, was much more liquid, almost like a shotgun of slime.
You learned a new skill!
ScattershotRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cost: Varies(HP)Cast time: 0.5 second
Cooldown: 20 secondsType: Racial
Throwing both your arm, damage and aim away, you learn the importance of a high amount of bullets! You cannot throw more than 50% of your max HP. Converts HP into damage at the ratio of 1:2(divided by the number of bullets) Number of bullets, and their aim, is uncontrollable. If HP sacrificed in a single bullet is higher than the enemy''s max HP, it engulfs the enemy.
-20 HP (5 bullets shot)
I grinned a bit. My attack did little to no damage...but yet such thing was enough, as the enemy was hit. I only heard a light groan just two feet away from me, but it was still enough. I punched him on the face, just like before. I knew I hit him this time, as the flesh caved in my fist slightly, before he was shot away. But I wasn''t done just yet. Thanking the fact that I received this skill, which had a separate coldown, I threw it. with all my strenght, the biggest blob of slime I could.
-51 HP
And then I heard. The last hit. It wasn''t the most exciting battle...but yet, I knew I won mostly through luck. Luck, of him not being a warrior, and instead, being closer to a rogue. I didn''t gain any experience...mainly due to it only being awarded after the fight ends. But then, I heard a loud thud from the surroundings...and finally the window appeared.
You won the battle!
You gained a level!(6x)
[37.5% for next level up]
6 level ups...sheesh! that''s what I got for killing a player and a boss! Amiita POV 5ft. 4ft. 3ft. 2ft. 1ft. And at last, we arrived at each other. And we kept true to our unsaid deal, of fighting each other with full power and no smarts. He threw the whole body at me. And I received it with my whole body. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
-80 HP
I did not know. I did not know how I survived this attack. My HP was in single-digits, or so I felt...but yet he was running, while my hands were holding his head. If he knocked me into anything, it would be the end. I planted my feet on the ground. I won''t let myself be outmatched. Even against an opponent much stronger than me, I knew I just needed a good foothold. The time seemed to slow down...same with the speed we both were going at. And now, it was the time...the time for a last show of strenght, for the wolf to not feel shame for losing to me. I did what I considered impossible earlier in this battle. I surpassed my limits. The wolf did not realize it until it was too late... I was lifting him up by the head. I did not know how I was doing this, though. "TAKE THIS!" I shouted, even though it was dumb to let go of my air right now. And with that, I did a last attack. Or rather, the last counter...and slammed the wolf behind me, upside down.
You have gained a level!(4x)
[42% remaining for next level up]
He did not move anymore. But yet... His eyes showed no signs of regret, much less pain. He was a steadfast warrior, from the start, up until the end. It was a battle where only one of us walked away...and I was the winner. I offered my prayers to him."You''ve lost to me today. We both fought until the end...and the only thing I can offer, is that I didn''t lose to you, and won''t lose to anybody." I declared. "I shall take this, and wear with pride." I added, moving over to the wolf...taking out one of its fangs. Funny isn''t it? I was so immersed to the game, that I offered promises to a dead NPC. A weird promise, of me not losing to anybody, to a person I just killed. A weird promise, of me wearing a part of his corpse, to remind me of this moment. Yet I could only smile at this. There''ll be a day, where I''ll laugh at what I did today. But for now, I''ll be proud of my actions. The action of respecting an opponent, who seemingly respected me.
You have gained a new item!
Wolf''s fang
Durability: 100/100Rarity : ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î
Type: amulet
A memory of the first battle, and the first great obstacle on the adventure, holding this reminds you of the battle and promises you have made. You do not need to equip it to use the effects. Effects: You can replay the boss fight by focusing on the item. Confusion and fear effects are 50% less effective on you.
"Even when in death, you still want a rematch, don''t you?" I mumbled, staring at the wolf''s corpse. ============================================================== Author''s note: By the way, couldn''t find the best way to remind the girls of CHECKING THEIR STATS so instead, I put them here. Also yes, points are automatically assigned depending on the user''s playstyle(So you can''t just study magic and puts all points in strenght.) Inas(pre-battle) Spoiler :
Aqua
GenderNoneRaceSlime
Health267/267mana30/30
ClassNoneFactionNone
Level5(47.5% for next level up)Fame-30
STR21AGI15
MAG5CON35
DEX15RES5
ATK23DEF0
Skills:
Shapeshifting(lv6, beginner)
Traits:
Slime body
Regen
Tremorsense
Inas(Post-battle) Spoiler :
Aqua
GenderNoneRaceSlime
Health293/293mana35/35
ClassNoneFactionNone
Level11(37.5% for next level up)Fame-30
STR35AGI15
MAG5CON40
DEX25RES5
ATK38DEF0
Skills:
Shapeshifting (lv6, beginner)
Slime throw (lv1, beginner)
Bounce (lv1, beginner)
Scattershot (lv1, beginner)
Traits:
Slime body
Regen
Tremorsense
Amiita(pre-battle) Spoiler :
Amiita
GenderFemaleRaceDraconian
Health204/204mana20/20
ClassNoneFactionNone
Level10(56% for next level up)Fame10
STR40AGI15
MAG1CON20
DEX15RES4
ATK48DEF10
Skills:
Fire breath(lv4, beginner)
Unarmed combat(lv6, beginner)
Traits:
Draconian body
Amiita(post-battle) Spoiler :
Amiita
GenderFemaleRaceDraconian
Health227/227mana22/22
ClassNoneFactionNone
Level14(42% for next level up)Fame10
STR45AGI20
MAG1CON25
DEX25RES4
ATK56DEF10
Skills:
Fire breath(lv4, beginner)
Unarmed combat(lv6, beginner)
Traits:
Draconian body
PS: By the way...please comment on what you think of this chapter. XD Interlude: The idiot, the slime and the drunkard. Author''s note: Next chapter is back to Nysa! I just had this little scene in my mind, and I do not want to let it slip off yet. Also, this chapter was completely unplanned in the draft...it is just that I got the idea, and I could NOT resist writing it. ================================================== ???? POV I was at the tavern, drinking some good ol'' beer after all that happened. It was a bit amusing, wasn''t it? To do such reckless action, for nothing but greed for power... but do I regret it? Probably not. That was a valuable lesson, that stealing is not something that anybody can do. The level penalty, the 24 log-out period, did not apply until level 10...which for that, I was quite thankful for. But yet the images were so vivid that I kept drinking, trying forget it. "Y''know...I saw the great wolf today." I said, drinking, as I looked at the nearby warrior. He looked like a seasoned adventurer, wearing an iron armor, along with a big sword. Yet... he didn''t made me nervous, like the draconian did when I saw her fighting. "The one in the legends of the village. The reason that nobody goes too deep in the forest." I added. "R-really?... how are you sure it wasn''t just a tougher than average wolf?" The warrior replied...but yet he looked skeptical. At first, I drank to forget...but maybe I should drink to confess. "Two ladies fought him. A slime, and a draconian. I doubt a ''tougher-than-average'' wolf could give trouble to such people. And I can claim for sure that they are not pushovers." I added, drinking more. "And.... how you know these two girls are not pushovers?" "Simple. I fought with one of them. Wanted to take the wolf for myself. Make a name for me. Say what you want, I don''t regret it. Not because I failed. No, in fact I''m glad for failing. This kind of business is harder than you think, and you only know it after a bad move nearly kills you." I said, drinking more. "Do you know how it feels to have your skin burnt by a slime? Well, I can say how it feels, and it is enough to give the priest at the church some trouble." I added, lying. Mainly because, I did not know how NPCs would react, about me being able to survive death. "...I see. Well, you are going to be killed by them both sooner or later...but before you do...how were they? Were they pretty or what?" The warrior said, with a hopeful glint in his eyes. I was far too familiar to the feeling...and I grinned. "Enough to make the goddess of beauty jealous." I replied. In the corner of my eye, I saw the two of them walking inside of the tavern. "Hey, you two, come here! I was just speaking about you both!" I shouted, waving my empty mug in the air. The slime grimaced, and the draconian just looked awkward...yet they both walked closer. I knew that the slime hated me, though...just from the feeling, that she would pounce me if we weren''t in a town. "Bartender, the meal of the day for the lil'' fighter here!" I added, placing my hand on the slime''s head. It was a way of saying thanks, for giving me such a great fight. "Hmm? You are being overly friendly wih the person that you nearly fought to death with." The warrior said, surprised... yet intriged. "It is a thanks, think nothing of it. A thanks for teaching me, that the path of the ruthless and merciless, is often the harshest and most dangerous one. Not changing it, but I guess a little thanks wouldn''t hurt." I said, laughing cheerfully. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "...Excuse me, mind if you explain what happened between you two?" The draconian said, scratching her cheek. It was a cute sight, but she was not my type. "When you can, explain it yourself, little girl." I replied, laughing out loud. "But for now, dig in." I added as I gave the slime the plate. It was simply cooked fox meat, along with some vegetables such as potatoes. ...And I saw her eating the plate clean. In one single motion... and afterwards her digesting it, slowly melting the food into a gross mess... "...Y''know, suddenly you don''t look so cute anymore." I said, with a small sigh as I placed my hand against my forehead...only to see the slime pout, looking at my eyes...somewhat angry, but it still seemed too cute. "The name is Shade. Feel free to look for me someday." I replied, walking away from the tavern, laughing out loud. Amiita POV Hmm...I can''t help but wonder. What happened between them? "Uh...can you tell me?" I asked, to the slime partner. "Hey. He told me that he tried to kill that wolf for fame while you two fought it, and in return, he nearly got killed by the slime." The nearby warrior said. ....It was obvious that he was killed, but he was sneaky enough. Can''t blame him, it would throw things into chaos if others knew he could revive, just like other players. "Good job." I said, placing my hand on top of Aqua''s head, giggling a bit. "He got what he deserved." "Now, if you don''t mind me, I''ll be taking my leave." The warrior said, stretching his arms up, and walking away. Too bad I didn''t get his name, but I never knew him well enough. Meanwhile, I saw Aqua smilling cheerfully, deciding to follow the warrior outside. Well... I guess a breath of fresh air is good. And so, I tried to walk away... But unlike the rest, I was blocked by the bouncers of the bar. "Y''know, somebody has to pay the tabs." The guards said.. ...And suddenly, I realized. I realized that nobody was as nice as I thought.
You learned a new skill!
CleaningRating: ¡î¡î¡î¡î¡î
Level 1, noviceXP: 10.00%
Cost: NoneCast time: None
Cooldown: 0 secondsType: Physical
With your extensive experience in cleaning, you can now clean a house with nothing but a wet piece of cloth! You can make hard surfaces so clean that you can see your reflection on it! You have a 300% attack modifier against dust bunnies! You can now use brooms as a weapon!
They made me pay for it. Chapter 18- Planning and cuddling. ''My king, we should be afraid of even our own kind. Since we have no natural abilities, there is nothing stopping us from learning various things without restraints, and even creating things ourselves. Anybody could become anything, even that peasant in the streets might know more of magic than me, even that beggar in dirty clothes could be a legendary diamond-rank adventurer!'' ''...Maybe I should hire that peasant to be my court mage.'' - A famous joke. Author''s note: And now it is time to go back to our favourite 1ft tall flatboard in the story! Sorry for the late chapter. College, plus family drama is no fun, y''know? But now, things SHOULD have calmed down. Changelog: Changed Nysa''s fail condition(removed ''death'' as a fail condition, otherwise she''d be an idiot to not rush to the capital to finish it as soon as possible), changed some of the character''s stats to fit the new formulas, spent yesterday just fleshing out background stuff to make the ''game'' somewhat balanced. Also, re-named ''Size-shifting'' skill to ''Fae magic''. ==================================================== Nysa POV "So, Old man, when I''ll leave for the mission?" I asked, excitedly, with a wide grin. I couldn''t help but smile...I''m so excited for it! I mean, I just got a class, and already being able to get an audience with the king! Who would not be happy with such thing? "In the moment I find the darn map in the store room, you can leave." He said, grumbling... was it something I did? Or was it simply because he was annoyed about not finding things? "U-uh...I don''t need to leave right now...I-I mean, sure, I really want to change the world by publishing the potions, but I still like you old man!" I declared, with a smile... only to make Melchior chuckle. "If you care about me that much, then just return after you deliver the recipe. Besides..." His eyes suddenly turned cold...no, I could even sense a hint of regret in them. "I know the world very well. Even if I don''t tell you to return, I am sure you won''t be able to overstay in the capital. There is a reason for me to prefer to live over here in the forest, over that place." I blinked a bit. "Uh...what do you mean? Isn''t the capital the safest place?" I couldn''t help but ask...the strongest, safest city was at the same time not where the players started? "Who said the capital is safe?" The wizard said...making me shiver. I never heard him speaking like this...it is scary. "It is where the strong, and the hypocrite lives. Only noble men I know that comes from there is the king and the hero, but even then I''m sure they have some dirt under the carpet. That''s why nobody must spot you with the recipe, Nysa. They''ll do everything they can to steal it from you." He said... And I couldn''t help but show fear in my face. " B-but...uh...I think I''m too weak for it. I mean, sure I learnt magic, but before that even Hachi was able to catch me." I said, hesitantly... "That''s why you''re not going to the capital. Not yet at least. I need to get my map, so I can make a good travel path for you, so at the very least, you can flee from all except the elite of the capital. If the information reaches their ears, I can only curse our bad luck since I doubt even I could flee from them, let alone fight back." I shivered. What could be their levels? 50? 100? 200? Maybe even higher? W-well...either way, it was something I knew for sure. No fighting them. No telling anybody. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "Try to practice with Hachi for a little while, while I search for the map. Try to see how long you can go without being caught." I heard him say...and then he opened the front door of the house with wind magic, and walked back in his room before I could say anything. I gulped. Both me and him knew one thing for sure... I didn''t had the heart to hurt the cuddle-happy wolf, and he was too fast for me to outrun without the help of magic...and it always pushed me to my limits, to escape the cuddle session. And then I saw Hachi. The cheerful wolf entering inside of the house... and then he saw me. His tail moved left and right, almost like how a puppy would react to seeing this owner arriving inside of the house. Except, it was him spotting his prey. Or Chew toy. Or maybe his pillow. I didn''t care what he saw in me, I only knew I had to run, otherwise I''d be buried in the fur for the rest of the day. It was a near-death experience whenever that happened, mainly due to the heat. While I was busy thinking of such thoughts, Hachi jumped on top of the chair, and afterwards, on the table. I could only thank the gods that I was far enough from the chair, for him to not land on me. With that, I jumped off the table, and used my skill. [Float]. Combined with that, I clapped my hands strongly, towards the ground, using my magic to emit a strong gust of wind. Strong enough to make me fall smoothly on the ground.
Your Mana manipulation skill has leveled up!
For the first time, ever since I logged on, I landed on my feet. But, just a safe landing was not enough. I saw a shadow appearing around me...and I knew what it was. It was Hachi''s shadow, the guy already jumped off. I quickly ran away, under the table, with the massive wolf following me. One single mistake, and I''ll be its plaything. Deciding the table was too wide, I turned, mainly to go under the chair. Hachi, being somewhat smart, decided to go around the chair, earning a precious extra second of advantage. Yet it was not enough. It is still too close for comfort. I quickly ran to the bookshelves... no, actually it would be a bad move. If Hachi knocked it down to get me, I''d get murdered by both the wizard and Hachi. Instead, I ran to the wizard''s reading chair. A simple, more comfortable-looking chair made mostly for him to spend relaxing afternoons on it. I made a run for the chair. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, with the shadow of the wolf right behind me... Except when I got close, I realized something: the chair itself was too small for me to fit in. But yet...I remembered. The main reason for me to play as a fae. [Shrink] I thought strongly to myself, trying to imagine the mana of my body simply being ''compressed'' into a smaller shape. But yet, such act made me lose a lot of the mana to cast such spell.
Your Fae magic skill has leveled up!
but when I realized, I could barely slide under the chair, with my new-found size. And with that, I laid down on the ground, to drag myself forward and slide into safety. But all of my hopes were shattered, as I felt a paw, covered in thick fur, blocking my path...and then I felt Hachi licking me, before lifting me up with his mouth, just like how he kidnapped me when I first met him. And that is how I spent the rest of the afternoon: Being Hachi''s cuddle toy. Chapter 19- Departure Author''s corner: Procrastination got me. The instant-gratification monkey is good at kidnapping those who are not careful. ============================================== It was a half hour of fluffy hell for me, the punishment for not being able to escape from Hachi... although I only struggled for the first few minutes. Even if I thought it was humiliating, I''d be lying if I said I didn''t enjoy it... But as soon as I heard the sound of the door opening, I quickly began to struggle again. I can''t let the old man be disappointed in me! I-I mean, what sort of high and mighty wizard would let herself be a wolf''s plaything? "Ah, I''ve finally made the preparations for you. Hachi, come over, me and Nysa need to talk a little." He said, sitting down on his chair, and the wolf quickly jumped on his lap, carrying me along. "S-so, did you find the map?" I asked, only to receive a nod in response. "Yes I did. It reminds me of my old adventuring days, you know?" The old man said, laughing as he took the map out of his robes, spreading it, to show the map to me. I couldn''t help but gasp in surprise as I stared at the huge map... to go from one corner to another, it would take a few months! But then I realized. The map did not mention any of the demon''s empire or the wilderness. It was just the kingdom''s territory. "So, the path I want you to take is from here..." The wizard placed his finger on where we supposedly are in the map: In a small forest. "To here." And then he slid his finger, to the closest village. "There, you''ll find a dungeon, that I would rather like if you explore it, for experience." "A-a dungeon?" I asked, shocked. Wasn''t it a term exclusive for players? "Oh, don''t worry about it. It is so easy even I could beat it, but....these old man bones are not made for travelling anymore." He replied, with a light chuckle, moving his hand to pet Hachi. "Either way, after that, I want you to go to the first major city in the kingdom, the city of Qwoji. There, you''ll take quests to get citizenship and trust, and afterwards, the magic aptitude test, so you can enter in the royal magic academy. That is the easiest way for you to get inside of the capital." "Why isn''t everybody allowed in it?" I asked, confused...only for the wizard to laugh. "That''s because of the nobles not wanting to share their space with commoners. Even the weakest mage allowed in it, would be stuff of legends for those outside of the capital, and there is no higher pride for families than saying that their son entered in it." He said, with a melancholic look, even though he was smilling. "But today is too early for you to think about politics, isn''t it? By the time you get there, you''ll probably beat even me in magic, let alone the other students." I giggled. "That was because I was taught by you!" "Sure, sure. You are a prodigy on magic. I just gave you a light push on the right direction." He smiled, warmly. "You should prepare for the travels, though. Even if you are legendary in magic, you need a tent to sleep in and food to eat. Unless the ms. little inventor creates a new spell so we don''t need such things." "Teehee, I think that is sorta out of my limits, isn''t it?" I laughed, wrily. "But I can''t prepare very well while I''m Hachi''s hug toy!" I added. "Alright, Hachi. Let go of your little toy and play with your ''old man'' instead." He laughed...and I couldn''t help but blush, at the fact that he got used to the nickname I gave him. Hachi barked happily, placing me on the ground, before he began to lick Melchior''s face, excitedly. I giggled. Now it was time for the old man to face the fluffy hell! Meanwhile, I gathered what I needed: A small tent, fit for my size, along with enough food to last me a few days, and a backpack... and maybe a weapon. The tent, a simple, plain robe from the wizard was good enough: In the woods, I could gather a few branches to support it. for the food, I picked some of what I found in the fridge: a few apples, which I quickly put in the inventory while the wizard wasn''t looking. Just one apple for my size, was enough for me a whole day! Lastly, for the backpack, I used one of the old man''s pouches, originally made for storing small ingredients. I didn''t need it, so it actually was my sleeping bag. "I''m all ready!" Nysa said with a cheerful smile, walking back to the living room where the wizard was... and smiled at the sight, of Hachi sleeping, with the wizard still caressing his head, absently minded. "That was faster than I expected...but there is something else you need before going." He said, with a small smile. He moved his hand into his pocket, then took out a small test tube, small enough for him to casually hold it between his fingers, and held it for me. I took it. "What is this?" "Something I call ''overcharged mana potion''. It is too strong for me to take, and it would kill you if you took it." The wizard said, matter-of-factly. "It looks useless due to how lethal it is...but you''ll know when to use it." I nodded. "Alright, I''ll be going now." I replied with a warm smile. He simply patted my head."...It was a short while, but I''m sure I''ll miss you as much as you''ll miss me." he said, smiling. "I''ll miss you too! After I deliver the recipe, I''ll be sure to come back here!" I said, hugging him, even with the size difference...and he smiled, picking me up and giving a strong hug back. "Alright, I''ll see you when you succeed." Melchior replied, placing me back down on the ground. "Now, you should go while the day is early. It would be no good if night fell before you arrived at the village." With a warm smile, I nodded. "Alright. Goodbye, Melchior!" I said, for the first time ever since I''ve met him, I called by his name. And now, I couldn''t help but look forward to my travels, even if they might be full of dangers. As soon as I put my feet outside of the house, I smiled. "stats" I mumbled to myself, making the stat window appear. I was a bit excited, gods knows how much I gained during my stay there. Spoiler : This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Nysa
GenderFemaleRaceFae
Health49/49mana148/148
ClassMagic scholarFactionNone
Level3(50% for next level up)Fame0
STR5AGI22
MAG22CON9
DEX20RES19
ATK1DEF0
Size-shiftRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î
Level 2, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cost: 20 mana per inchCast time: instant
Cooldown: 59 secondsType: Racial
Through focusing magic on their wings, the user is able to grow or shrink.Cannot be used if the wings are damaged Size range: 0''8'''' - 1''5'''' (Current size: 0''8'''')
Fae''s bodyRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
Fae, as a racial trait, have a natural ''mana battery'' in the form of wings.Because of that, they are often great spell casters , but at the same time, their bodies are lighter than even people of the same size. 20% increased MAG -10% CON
DoublecastRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 10.00%
Cost: Varies.Cast time: 2 seconds
Cooldown: 10 secondsType: Class-specific
With superior skill, you learn to cast more than one spell at a time, at the cost of increasing the mana needed for both spells by 20%, and decreasing their power by 20%. As skill level increases, cost, power, cast time and cooldown decreases, while number of spells increase.
MeditationRating: ¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 0.00%
Cooldown: NoneType: Class
By focusing on the surrounding mana, you are able to gather them inside of your body, regenerating your magic faster, while increasing the power of spells 10% mana regen increase 10% MAG increase(while meditating) Can''t move while meditating
FloatRating: ¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î
level 3, beginnerXP: 30.05%
Cost: Stamina(medium)Cast time: Instant
Cooldown: noneType: Physical
By flailing your limbs, you manage to create enough air resistance to slow your fall slightly. decreases falling speed by 24% higher levels decreases falling speed and cost.
Mana ManipulationRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
Level 2, beginnerXP: 54.00%
Cost: VariesCast time: Varies
Cooldown: NoneType: Magical
The user is able to use their will to manipulate and interact with the surrounding mana. Increased levels let you manipulate magical energies better.
============================================== Author''s corner: Ah, I''ll finally be picking up the pace for the story. As for the reason I took so long uploading this chapter... I tried to search for mapping software for me to draw one, so I could put a picture representing the in-game world map. XD It ain''t gonna happen, buddy. I''m the worst at drawing maps. XD Chapter 20 - Flight! Author''s note: Re-named all previous chapters, by adding ''chapter xx'' before them. I don''t know why I did it, I guess it was for procrastination. XD Edit: I am an idiot. I put chapter 20 in the name of this chapter...basing off the ''lastest uploaded'' page saying that I had 24 chapters. In reality, 5 of these weren''t part of the main story(3 prologues, 1 sidestory and 1 interlude), meaning that the correct number here is chapter 20, NOT 25. I''m such an idiot. ================================================================== Nysa POV I smiled warmly as I looked at the hut that once was my home for a few days, before going over to my journey. I couldn''t wait till I find my sister! I bet she would be so impressed about it! I excitedly flapped my wings, before I began to think about how to proceed. The next logical step was to go to the village, according to the wizard but that was just the ''main quest line'' wasn''t it? It was a long time until I arrived the village, anyways. According to the wizard, it would take one whole day until I arrive there. Oh well, I could use that time for productivity, right? I bet I could learn to jump, or maybe create a few new dozen skills until that time. Or maybe gain a few dozen levels. And I already knew what to do to train my first skill! I jumped ahead, using the ''air-burst'', the skill I used to slow my fall when fleeing from Hachi, along with the skill [float]. I didn''t take off. I jumped again, this time, trying a little harder. Nope, not taking off... but the momentum was helping. And so, I did the third jump, and instead of doing it just as I jumped, I tried something different. I let the constant stream of air, just as strong as the jumps.
The skill [float] has leveled up!
The skill [Mana manipulation] has leveled up!
You have learnt a new skill!
FlightRating: ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î
Level 1, beginnerXP: 5.00%
Cost: 5 MP(per second), small stamina costCast time: Instant
Cooldown: 0Type: Air magic
By using wind magic, you managed to out-do gravity and fly! Current maximum speed: 1ft/s. Higher levels increase flight speed and maneuverability
I couldn''t help but grin widely. In the moment I have a mana regen of 5 points per second, is the moment I''ll never touch the ground again... although I remembered something. While I have this activated, I can''t cast any spells without resorting to my dual-cast... suddenly, flight isn''t as exciting as before. Even then, I was quite slower than when I ran... Well, that''s to be expected, from a level 1 skill. I can''t complain too much, since a few seconds ago I was a flightless fairy, and now I was flying freely. And even then, this is so fun! I spread my arms wide, enjoying the breeze for now, deciding to not bother so much with skills for the next few minutes. I even closed my eyes, to enjoy the sensation of flight even more... But then, the sensation of flight was soon interrupted. Interrupted by the feeling of being carried away. It was a strange, and somewhat unsettling feeling...and so, I opened my eyes, and realized something. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A blue bird thought of me as easy prey, and tried to kidnap me. Well, I would be dead meat...if I didn''t know how to use magic. Although the direction it was dragging me was the same as the one I was going, so I didn''t bother to escape. Not yet at least. After a few minutes, the bird decided to land for a meal. It flew down, towards a nearby branch. That was my clue to escape it. I smiled, already deciding on the method to use. I used the wind magic, to form a blast of wind, instead of going down to make me fly upwards, I aimed up to make me go down, dragging the bird along with me.
The skill [Flight] has leveled up!
I smiled at the skill level up, before I noticed the results of my attempt: It made the bird hit the branch face-first, dropping me down. Not a problem, I still had mana to spare! I had only half of my max mana, but it was still good enough. I gathered my magic on my hand, deciding to try the ''double-cast''. I threw a fireball up, at the bird, while using [flight] on my body, to slow down my landing.
You won the battle!
[37.5% for next level up]
I know that I am powerful for my level but... isn''t that a little too fast?! I mean, if I kill 8 of these birds, I''d receive a level up! Smilling, I already knew how to farm for quick XP. To fly, attract birds, get a ride, and kill them. And so, I walked until my mana recovered. It was a bit surprising, how quiet the forest was, though. Was it because I was too small to be noticed? Was I even going in the right path? I did not know. But by the time I realized, my mana fully recovered again. Now let''s try this again. I crouched down on the ground, to get ready for a jump. "One, two, three!" I jumped, and activated [flight]. I flew upwards, aiming for the skies. And just like I expected, it took only a dozen seconds until one of the birds spotted me, and flew down. I let myself be caught... mainly because I would get a free ride. If he flew to any other direction, it was a simple matter of burning it down at point-blank range. I was carried for a second or two, everything was going smoothly, except for one fact. The bird was dumb enough to not plan ahead of time, and so, we both ended up stuck on a web, which connected two trees together. "You dumb bird!" I shouted, angrily. "CREEEE!" The bird shouted back, sounding closer to a crow than anything else. I felt like I should punch the bird right there right now...but there was a bigger issue, at least for me: Whatever is the thing that made this web. I could hear some giggles coming from deep in the woods, coming closer. "Aya knew that Aya''s trap would work!" A girlish voice said, sounding quite happy. ======================================================== Author''s note: So, due to everything happening in college, AND difficulty on writing, I''m changing my update schedule. Expect 1 chapter every 2 days, rather than 1 chapter per day. I''m sorry folks about that, but college takes priority y''know? Chapter 21- A new companion! Author''s note: Unexpected delays! Birthday parties! Programming problems! Travelling between cities!Anime! Games! Anime! Games! Light novels for inspiration! Listening to character songs! And hating on DMCAs on some light novels but that''s a whole can of worms I''m not opening. Nay. =========================================================== "Aya knew that Aya''s trap would work!" A girlish voice said, sounding quite happy. I shivered slightly against the web... By some reason, the voice scared me. Closing my eyes, I focused on my magic again. I tried using the [rocket boost] again, mainly to escape the web this time... Except it was not only sticky, but also quite elastic... meaning I just got pulled back to the original position, now even more stuck on it. could only be glad that I could still breath between the threads, even if it was just barely. A few seconds later, I felt the web shaking slightly, and I knew the reason: the bird, which also got trapped in it, was taken away.
You won the battle!
[31.5% for next level up]
Alright, just that window led me to two conclusions: First, the owner of the web is not a monster. Secondly, it killed the bird in seconds. I think I knew what is the person who trapped me in here: An Arachnae, half human, half spider. A few seconds after I received the message that the bird was killed, I was the one who was picked up. I saw the massive woman, easily 9ft tall in height. From belly and up, there was a chitin armor, probably the default clothes of the race, and from the waist and below, it had the exact same appearence as a spider. I shivered in fear, closing my eyes and expecting the worst...but yet, the worst never came. "Who are you?" I received a question, and seconds later, I was poked on the stomach. Suddenly, she...didn''t look as scary as before. She almost looked a bit innocent, just from the tone of her voice... but yet, it was better to not make her wait for an answer, right? "I''m Nysa the fae!" I replied, with an awkward smile on my face, wondering. Has she ever met a Fae in her life?...if so, are faes actually pretty rare? "Oh...so that''s how a fae looks like! Hmm....Aya is almost jealous of you~!" Aya said, giggling. "What do you mean by ''almost''?" I replied narrowing my eyes. I did not know how much I would regret from asking such question. "Well, you are weak physically, you are tiny enough for a bird to carry you away, and unless you cast it from far away, Aya could probably kill you before you finish casting any spell. Is there any reason to be jealous?" She said...nearly making me feel depressed. Magic has its benefits! Magic can get really strong, you know?! How you''ll react when I begin to summon meteors on your face?! Fae are strong! They just had a bad start! I thought various complaints, which could be summed up to ''Aya is an ignorant fool who does not respect magic.'' "Teehee~ Fae are so cute when mad~" She said, poking my belly again with a wide smile, one that nearly made me angry. I''m not cute, you idiot! "So, where you''re heading to anyways? I mean, I haven''t seen a house anywhere close to where we are, and in fact..." She stopped for a few seconds, taking a deep breath while averting her gaze. "I''d sorta like some company! It is boring to stay here in the woods by myself." "I''m going to a nearby village." I replied, honestly. There was no point in lying, after all. "But I''d ra-" And just as I was going to declare my objections, I got interrupted. "It is settled, Aya is going with you!" The reckless spider-girl declared. In the moment I heard that, I already began to think. Think and ponder on the benefits and disadvantages of bringing her along... ...Well the main benefit is that she is going to be my meat shield, and my ride. ......As disrespectful as she was earlier, I''ll let it slide, on the basis that I do not need to take a single step to reach my destination. "Alright, then. The village is over there." I said, pointing to the direction I was travelling in. "I''ll go on your head for now, though!" I added, jumping off Aya''s hand, and onto the top of her head, smilling cheerfully. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "Aya wonders, though...how does the human village looks like? Do you know what sort of things they have over there?" She asked me. I smiled awkwardly. "A blacksmith, probably, a few hunters to gather food, farmers, a tavern, an inn, a lot of houses, a restaurant or two, tailor, and since it is close to a dungeon it probably has a magic shop and a church with a cleric for us to heal in. But that''s just the norm, that place might be an exception." I replied, mostly basing off most of other RPGs with similar set-ups. I had a bad feeling. One that made me start regretting whether or not I should''ve dragged Aya along. I mean...uh... wouldn''t the villagers try to kill her, thinking she is a monster? But yet... considering everything, I knew the truth about her already. She is a player, and I am a player... considering it is the beginner''s forest, or so I assume, and we have the double firepower we normally have, we can deal with anything that is thrown at us! Wait...isn''t that tempting fate? Aroooo! Yes it is. The howl of the wolf signaled the start of the fight, and seconds later, a group of them came out of the bushes, in a pack of 4. I shivered a bit, needless to say, I was scared. Especially since they looked quite similar to Hachi, even if somewhat weaker. But yet I was still somewhat confident about it. "Uh...they look quite scary. Do you think we can deal with it?" My untrusty steed said, nervously. "Yep! Just do what you usually do and everything will be fine!" I added cheerfully. Aya began to run away from the wolves, trying to go on the same direction we were in. "W-wait, what you''re doing? Don''t show your back to the enemy!" I shouted, as I saw the wolves running after us both. The only reply I got was a small giggle, as the wolves began to chase us. One at each side, and two right behind us, the distance between us and the group only decreasing. A few seconds of chase, and she did something I should''ve seen coming: She shot web behind her, trapping two of the wolves in it. "Now it is my turn!" I replied, already having an idea how to finish them quickly: I threw a fireball at the web, causing both the webbing, and the wolves to burn together. While we were distracted, though, the wolves attempted a pincer attack, pouncing us from both directions. Aya grinned a bit, and instead of trying to block it, she jumped over the attack, and landed on top of the two wolves. The battle was practically won, since Aya looked like she lowered her guard, and began to inject venom in one of the wolves... or so I assume, since she was biting on it, and threw the wolf away. Afterwards, she did it the same thing to the second wolf.
You won the battle!
You have leveled up!
[31.5% for next level up]
Simple and easy, just the way I like it."Hmm...I expected more from them." I mumbled. They weren''t so scary now... especially since I had an easier time with them than with the squirrel. I guess that''s the benefits of a partner and magic, huh? "Oh...well, Aya admits it was easier than expected." Aya said, rubbing her cheek, looking back at the scorched corpses of the wolves. "Aya means, you did kill two wolves, and normally Aya would have to deal with four, not two." Alright, now for the biggest challenge of the day. Teach the Arachnae proper grammar as we go forward, so she speaks in a less annoying way. This is going to be a long trip. =============================================================================== Author''s note: There you go, folks! Sorry if Aya sounds a bit flat of a character! XD I need to develop her a little bit more, and I dunno how to do it. She is the hardest character for me to write about thus far. XD Chapter 22- The village of Qwoji Author''s note: This is going to be the first chapter without the orange bar! Maybe! EDIT: I lied. Wrote the title wrong(Forgot to add ''chapter 22'' to it) ========================================================= The rest of the travels was fairly uneventful, compared to the fight with wolves earlier, and the fateful meeting. It seemed that the random encounters were fairly rare. Was it because we were still in a forest for beginners? Or was there some other reason? Either way, gaining a level looked easier than it actually was, due to the lack of monsters to fight in the first place... so I was rather thankful for the old man''s teachings, and directions to the closest dungeon. "Are we there yet?" "Nope" And that was the most eventful thing that happened. "Are we there yet?" "Nope." "Are we there yet?" "Nope." Or rather, the only thing worth mentioning. "Are we there yet?" "...Aya, for the last time, we''ll arrive soon." I mumbled, cursing under my breath. It can''t be that hard, right? Especially with the fact she began to ask such question only thirty minutes after we set off. " At this rate, Aya- I mean, I will die from tired-ness!" The Arachnae declared, stubbornly. "...It is ''die from exhaustion'', Aya." I corrected her, just like a proper grammar teacher should. " See? I''m so exhausted that I''m not even thinking straight! Let me rest, pleaaaseeee?" She begged me, looking at me with the closest thing to puppy eyes an Arachnae could do. "We''ll just walk for twenty more minutes and we''ll rest for the night." I lied, feeling little to no guilt. I could only hope my karma has not decreased from this. Twenty minutes later, though, I stayed silent, occasionally playing with my wind magic. It was rather fun, to juggle balls of winds between my hands.
The skill [Mana manipulation] has leveled up!
The skill [Mana manipulation] has leveled up!
It was a surprisingly fun and productive little game...though I wonder... could I use it as a deadly projectile? Maybe if I make it smaller and faster, I could do quite a bit of damage, just like a gun! The destructive power of a bullet in a medieval world is- " Are the twenty minutes over?" Aya asked, a bit tired...but it was mostly boredom, nobody gets tired just from walking for twenty minutes, right? ...Why did you have to interrupt me out of all times! Now I forgot what I was thinking about! But I''m pretty sure it was related to making you stop asking the same question over and over. But I knew the best way to get revenge from this... "Just five minutes have passed." I lied through my teeth. I do not want to sleep in the woods, when with a bit more of effort, both me and her could sleep inside of a warm bed. So... there is no issue lying a bit right? Especially since it was a good punishment. Harshness builds character! "....But it is so boooring to walk..." That sums up the travel. Me being a dirty liar, my partner complaining and beasts rarely attacking. I loved wherever a wolf popped up, since it helped on both mine, and my partner''s extreme boredom. By the nightfall, we finally arrived at a small settlement... although Aya was far too tired-looking to jump in happiness. "Gee, that wasn''t so hard, right? I mean, it was just four hours of walking." I said...before my face paled a bit. "Didn''t you say just ''twenty minutes'', my dear fae?" She replied...with a voice that made me shiver. Hell hath no wrath like a spider scorned. "L-look at the good news! We have a good bed now!" I replied with a cheerful, awkward smile. The walls surrounding the village wasn''t that high, even Aya dwarfed them... but out of respect, we both had an unsaid agreement of walking to the village gates...only to be blocked by the guards. They weren''t too tough looking, wielding only a spear and iron armor, compared to my friend, Aya...but without a doubt, they had more inside, so they can protect the people from monster attacks. "Halt, who goes there?" The guard to the right said, moving his spear to block our path. "Aya the Arachnae and Nysa the fae!" My friend said, right away. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Uh... we are travelers, and we''ve recently met a human adventurer who spoke of great deeds, giant monsters and legendary spells. We''ve asked where we should go to get started on the path of greatness, and he told us the direction to the village, since according to him, it has a nearby dungeon." I lied quite a bit. At the very least, it shouldn''t sound too weird. "You know, you never said anything about great adventurers and such, Nysa. Aya wants to hear more about it!" My ditzy friend said...that was not the time to say such things! """...""" "....You never asked about it." I replied, trying to salvage the hopeless-looking situation. "Uh... alright... you two are allowed inside of the village, I suppose... just don''t make any trouble." One of the guards said, relunctantly. H-hey, we''re really powerful, and my friend here can eat people you know?! You can''t treat us lightly! I am strong! Strong you hear! My inner thoughts began to rage, at how pathetic the guards were. But yet, I can''t say them out loud, lest I want to lose the rights of entering the village. So I could only pout and cross my arms, as we walked inside. The village wasn''t very big, but there was a few buildings that stood out from the rest: The adventurer''s guild, although it was just a small branch...or so I assume since it wasn''t much bigger than the rest of the houses. There was also a small inn, and a church at the distance, and all these three, ''major'' buildings were in the center of the village. It made sense, since they''re also the most important ones, and they probably take shelter inside of the adventurer''s guild. As we walked, all adults kept a ''safe distance'' of 10 meters from us, treating us as if we we are extremely dangerous. Even if they didn''t show any intention of murdering us in cold blood, this wasn''t much better. It seems that many of the adults held grudges against our races...or maybe it was just against the Arachnae. The children on the other hand... "Wow, are you an Arachnae?" "How do you walk on eight legs?" "What do you eat?" "Can you produce some silk?" "The fae is so cute! What is your name?" "I''ve always wanted to see a fae!" "Can you show me some magic? Pleaaseee?" "Arachnae are more awesome though!" "Fae are cuter!" "Can I see your fangs?" "Your wings are so pretty!" We were ganged up by the children. There was so many of them that my trusty friend, Aya, could barely move in the crowd! Meanwhile I stood up on top of Aya''s head, trying to kick away all of the hands that were trying to grab me. "Somebody save me!" I shouted, as I struggled to not get caught. "...Don''t you mean ''somebody save us?'' " Aya replied, some of the children even climbing on top of her back. "T-this is not the time to correct me!" I shouted back. Aya could deal with a bunch of children, but if I fell off right now, I''d feel like a doll thrown in the middle of the kindergarten... ============================== Author''s note: I was planning for a slightly bigger chapter...but this event with the children felt somewhat amusing, and also the perfect place to stop it, meaning, you got the average sized-one so I have more time to play games. XD Chapter 23- Adventurers guild(1) ======================================================================= Nysa POV After our rather unfortunate incident with the children, which delayed us for almost a whole hour, we finally were free. I couldn''t help but smile a bit as I thought about it, even if they were quite a bother. Because of the incident, it looked like we gained some trust of the village: the people didn''t try to avoid us as much as they did before, but they still gave a good space for Aya to move around due to her huge size. "So, Aya? Let''s go to the adventurer''s guild, and afterwards, to an inn?" "Hmm, how about we multitask instead? You go to the adventurer''s guild, and I''ll go to the inn to rent us a room?" Aya replied, obviously trying to go to sleep after such walks...but yet, it wasn''t something that she should do. Not yet at the very least. "Nope, it won''t do, if you want to get registered, you must go with me! So let''s go, my trusty steed!" I shouted, pointing my hand towards the guild. "...Fiiine...." As we arrived there, though, the feeling was... quite different than I expected. It was small, yes, but it didn''t mean it was empty. There were dozens of adventurers sitting on chairs, sharing stories, some others were simply staring at the billboard, trying to decide what is the next quest they should take, and there were a few kids on line, begging the counter staff to let them become adventurers. "Hey, you had to see the face of the bandits when I did that!" "No way, I can''t believe you used that!" "And that, my friends, is how I saw the great wolf and lived to tell the tale." "That is nothing, come back with his head rather than fleeing with your tail between your legs." "That monster that is half as big as a dragon! You want me to die, you idiot!? No way in hell I''m fighting THAT!" We got a few odd glances, although it was nothing too major... well, except for one guy. "Hey, how come these freaks are allowed in here?" A young man shouted, although he looked somewhat... whimp-ish, I guess? I mean, I bet the wolves outside were tougher. "The word ''adventurer'' isn''t just for those who are humans, elves or dwarves. Anybody who is willing to do the task, is welcome to become an adventurer." A massive warrior declared, although he wasn''t wearing any shirt, as he put his mug on the table."So, do not say such childish words again. As long as one is willing, one can become an adventurer." He said, with a smile. There were some whispers around the room, though. "Isn''t him Ragnor?" "What is he doing here?" "Pfft, these are the words of a weakling you know? I mean, it takes much more to be an adventurer than jus some pep talk and hopes, unlike what you''re talking." The young man said, even moving closer to the table, with a cockish grin."Let me show you how good one can fight a battle with just hopes! Come and show me what you are capable of!" "You are right." The warrior replied, and before anybody could react... there was a fist on the young man''s face, nearly caving it in. The punch was strong enough to send him flying across the room, and through the window."One needs a working brain to become an adventurer." "...that....was overkill..." I mumbled, and my Arachnae companion nodded, her face just as pale as mine. Was that... was that the strong men in the world? Where just a casual punch can send a man flying away? Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Except for the healers, who walked outside to heal the nearly dead man, the tavern soon returned to their original state, although they spoke about the man, rather than their own adventures. "...Yeah, I bet he could kill the great wolf in one punch." "Heck, I bet he''d kill a dragon in one punch!" I smiled a bit. Probably all this was already a normal ocurrence. With that, me and Aya walked over to the counter. "Uh...I''d like to register ourselves as adventurers..." My partner said as she scratched her cheek a bit. "Oh, that''s alright. But for that, you need the registration fee." The woman said, with a kind smile... although she looked a bit nervous as well. "How much is it?" "100 copper coins." ""..."" "......can I give you two half-eaten wolves instead?" Aya said...making me open my eyes wide. What sort of offer is that?! "That''s...that''s not money, Aya!" I replied, not even knowing where the girl got such crazy ideas. "But it can be made into money. Can you show them?" Wait, what?....uh...it was accepted, just like that? "Alright, just let me get them out of my inventory." Aya replied, moving her hand behind her back, and taking a wolf out of thin air, and placed it on the counter. ...we are screwed, Aya already revealing the inventory... "Oh, you have a storage ring? Don''t show it off needlessly, they are quite rare." She said.... making me let out a deep sigh in relief. Even the other adventurers didn''t give it too much attention, aside from a curious glance. "Either way, I suppose the corpse is good enough for you two." "Wait, remains can be traded for money?" I asked, blinking. "Yup! Lots of tailors want such things, and not even a fraction of them have the capacity of killing even the foxes. Either way, you two need to come with me, for the test." "Wait, what test? Isn''t registration just paying?" I asked, blinking awkwardly... only for the woman burst into laugher. "Sure it is, if you want to simply do errands like delivering letters or finding stray cats. For actual fighting and adventuring, you need to be tested, and classified as at least D-rank. We''ll do the tests separately, first you, Arachnae." The woman at the counter said, with a smile. "Alright, just...be a bit quick, even if I''m strong I am afraid of being stepped on." Nysa replied, as she jumped off Aya''s shoulder, and on the counter. "See you later, Nysa!" Aya replied with a smile, before going to another room with the woman... leaving me alone. Well, it is good for her to be the first one. It gave me enough time to think up on new spells, which could be more useful, and fancy than a mere fireball... ================================================================ Author''s note: Well, I admit, this chapter could''ve been done better, like not making the adventurer who got punched in the face look like a dumbass... buuut let''s be honest, you find that sort of person anywhere. Don''t forget to comment and rate! PS: Sorry for the short chapter, it is just that the end was either here, or in 2k words from here. XD Chapter 24- Adventurers guild(2) Nysa POV After what felt a few minutes of testing, Aya came back, along with the receptionist. "So, how was it?" I asked with a smile. Any advantage should be grabbed and hugged to death, and since Aya was just tested...well, she knew how things would play out. "Well, it is quite hard. I got C rank, though, so that''s something to be proud of!" She said, puffing up her chest, to make herself look even bigger than before..."I bet you can''t surpass it." "...I think I will." I''ll aim for at least a B rank, even if it is only to not having to deal with Aya being like that, and to assure myself, that I am not weaker than her. "If you two are done with your chat, it is time for the Fae to be tested." The woman said, motioning for me to climb on top of her shoulder. "We''ll be back soon enough!" She added to Aya... "....I can walk on my own." I mumbled as I jumped off the counter, using wind magic to safely land on the ground. "By the way, my name is Larissa." The woman, which was leading me towards the downstairs, said. "The name is Nysa." I replied, deciding that it would be rude to not exchange greetings so soon. Soon, after we had gone through a staircase to the underground, we arrived inside of a large, circular room, with three dozen training dummies... although these training dummies were similar to scarecrows. "Well, here is the first part of the test, your offense. You have to destroy all scarecrows. A-ranked adventurers would take just 10 seconds to do it, on average, while B-ranked ones do it just under 20 seconds." The woman said... making my face go pale. one second to destroy all of them?! But then I remembered, that Aya got C rank... meaning that as long as I get them down under 20 seconds, I''ll be better than her! "So, when it starts?" "When the first scarecrow is hit." Was the answer I got... which made me grin widely. "Make sure to stay behind me, then." Closing my eyes, I began to focus. Focus on the idea, which was almost silly at first...to destroy all scarecrows as quickly as possible. I was hoping it wouldn''t make the room collapse as well, though, so I needed to do some edits. I entered in the [meditation] state, which made me see things a lot better. I didn''t activate on my own, but I guess the game sensed my mental state. Moving my hand forward, I made a ball of wind in the center of it. But I didn''t shoot. Instead... I activated [doublecast], to cast another ball of wind on top of the first one, making them slightly bigger. It was easy, until three minutes of charging... which then it felt like I was trying to yank the chain of an over-energetic dog. I kept it under my control, though, just long enough for me to aim. "Mana Overload: Tornado!" I shouted, mainly to look cool, as now I poured all of the remaining mana inside of the wind spell, and shot it forward. I did not see what happened afterwards. I only knew I was knocked backwards, onto the wall... everything turned black.
-45 HP!
I didn''t know that it included experiments I did too... but yet, I felt myself recover back to full HP seconds later, probably due to a healing spell.
+40 HP!
"So... did I pass?" I asked, getting back on my feet... before looking at the destruction it caused. It did a massive, ball-shaped hole on the opposite side of the arena, big enough to destroy... ... All but one scarecrow. "...." I threw a fireball at it,using my recently-recovered MP, to burn it into ashes. From less than 1 second, I ended up taking... "Uh... how long I was out?" I asked, somewhat angry at that single scarecrow. "Hmm... well, the whole test took 18 seconds, the standard for B-ranks... so I guess you were cold for 15 seconds. By the way, don''t tell anybody I healed you. It is against the rules to help, but I guess it would be bad if I let somebody die under my watch." The woman replied, sounding... amused. ...I hate that stun effect now. "Either way, for the next test, it is the ''fighting'' test. Simply putting... you need to defeat me. I am a B-rank adventurer, before I''ve began to work for the guild, so if you beat me, you''ll be of that rank." She said, and I was a bit curious for what happens if I lose against her... and how she would rank my strenght in such situation. Stolen novel; please report. "Can you wait for 2 minutes before we start?" I asked, hoping to get my mana back... "How about 1 minute instead?" The woman replied, making me gulp a bit. She then closed her eyes... and I focused on the mana surrounding my body, mainly to speed up mana regen. At this rate, I could be a bit glad... mainly because due to the boost to the meditation, I would fully recover my mana. But yet, I was scared. Scared of what could be the next part of the challenge... "Time is up." The woman said with a rather... scary grin. "Now, we''ll start in 3...2...1..." And then, it finally started. She made a tullip grow in the stone, right in front of her...growing to 5ft tall."Now, time to start the test~!" She added, as the flower began to move, to ''face'' me. Gulping, I stared at the plant back... And then I discovered what it was capable of. It shot fireball towards me. "Water ball!" I instantly countered it, by making a ball of water in front of me. But yet, the woman which was testing me didn''t seem surprised... as she made more plants grow around her, without even showing any signs of exhaustion... and now I had to deal with three fireballs, in quick succession. "Stone wall!" I shouted, making a small stone in front of me, twice my tiny size... but yet, the fireballs were too strong for it. It didn''t outright destroyed it, but instead it knocked it over, towards me. I shifted the ground, just like what I did to create the stone wall. Instead, to make a small ''fox hole'' under my feet, barely avoiding the blow. After that, the fireballs just stopped coming. But yet, I knew what would happen next. Instead of fighting in the open space, I decided to fight underneath it. Slowly and surely, I made a small tunnel underground... and covered the entrace, to make sure I wasn''t found so soon. ...I didn''t plan it through, since it was too dark.But thankfully, the mana sight doubled as dark vision, to some extend. Now...time to try out this weird idea. I wonder if it''ll work~! Larissa POV I stared at the small slab for the next few seconds. "...Did I just kill her?" I gulped, moving over to lift it. After her little display , I already assumed she would be as hard to defeat as the Arachnae from earlier... but I was careless. My superiors would kill me if they knew I killed somebody, even if it was just from inexperience. How am I supposed to know a mage that nearly collapsed half of the arena die just like that? But yet, as I lifted it, hope came back to me. There was not a single sign of blood, meaning that she survived... "Are you alive?" I asked, to no reply. I turned back to see the flowers, which were the cause of the murder... but yet, by some reason I only saw 2 of them... ...then I saw it. The ground broke under the flower, and swallowed it, before turned back to normal. "... I know you are there." I said, mainly to myself, as I took a small step backwards. Mainly so I wasn''t staying in the range of danger. Even with that thought, I ended up failing, since as soon as I took a step backwards, the floor fell down, making me land on my butt in the pit. I tried to get up, but I was too late, as the edges of the pit moved over, to close onto me, only leaving my head unburied. "It is my win, right?" Nysa POV I grinned, truly, earth magic is more useful than I''ve given credit for! Even if I can''t make huge boulders to crush the opponent yet, it was still more than useful for making pitfalls! "It is my win, right?" I asked, as I stood proudly, finally climbing out of the stone ground. Gueez, these tunnels were too hot. I swear I''ll need to take a bath after all this digging. "Well... I didn''t expect that... but yes, it is your win, even if it was only through cunning." Larisssa said, bluntly. "...Hey! Digging is harsh work, not just a simple trick!" I shouted, this time voicing my complaints, although I began to focus, mainly to move the ground out of the way, smilling... "But before I award you the title, there is another test you must do." She replied, with a rather malicious grin. "...W-what it is?" "Clean up the whole mess you did to the arena. This place was not cheap, but wasn''t made to test mages such as yourself." She mumbled, unhappily. ... this is going to be a long night... ======================================================= Author''s note: I''m not sure if it is just me, but I feel like the writing quality of my work is somewhat decreasing as I go along @_@ I want your guys'' opnion on the matter. Chapter 25- Night time. Author''s note: Yush, I''m still alive! It is just that there are many things coming up, and not only that, but my addiction to games... and me brainstorming a new story that came up to my mind and was too good to pass up. I''m not posting the new story just yet though. xD I still need to plan it step by step and not wing-it. ====================================================================== I was a bit lazy on my work. I simply filled the holes and walls with earth, until it looked good to go. I didn''t wish to make it as tough as before, but just usable enough for her to not notice.
You learned a new skill!
RepairRating: ¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î
Level 4, beginnerXP: 23.00%
Cost: Varies(MP)Cast time: 2 seconds per cubic meter
Cooldown: 0 secondsType: magic
Through experience on repairing things, you can now use earth magic to repair simple structures! Be careful, the repaired areas is quite weaker than they previously were!
"Ah, destroying is so much easier than fixing." I sighed with a tired smile, looking at the now fully fixed arena. It is too bad it wasn''t a quest, otherwise I''d gain quite a few levels for that...but the repair skill was just as good, especially since it was a magical repair, rather than repairing physically. "I''ve finished! So, what is my rank as an adventurer?" I said as I walked outside of the training room, to the receptionist''s desk, only to have her smile a bit. "That... was faster than I expected. Well, since you managed to beat me, you are B-rank, but I advise you to only accept C-rank or lower missions for now. Don''t overestimate yourself, alright?" The woman replied, showing me a rather happy, yet a bit tired smile. I nodded. "So...is there a badge or something?" I asked curiously. There must be some sort of system, right?...but yet she just laughed. "Well, I need to make them first.By a week or two, it''ll be ready." Ah, so there''s that. To avoid the stealing of badges, they make it on the spot."Alright, I''ll be back soon!" I said to Larissa, waving to her as I walked away. Unlike before, there was relatively few adventurers, although Aya was still there, chatting with Ragnor cheerfully. "Well, I''ve just passed the level of the wolves recently, what place should I try to explore next?" "I''d advise exploring caverns for most of people, but for your kind, I''d suggest the mountains instead. The biggest difficulty of the mountains is the terrain, and anything short of the ocean and volcanos shouldn''t be the biggest issue, while caverns are either too small for yourself, or have monsters that are too dangerous for you thus far, and due to your web, flying monsters can easily be killed by you." Ragnor gave as a reply, still drinking beer. I did not know how many bottles he had drunk so far, but he finally showed signs of being a bit tipsy. "I''m back! I...uh...accidentally damaged the arena and needed to fix it." I shouted happily to the two of them, as I ran to the table...although I needed to jump to even reach the bottom of the chair, before I managed to get on top of it. "I am a proud B-ranker now!" "I''m so happy for you!" Aya replied, with a smile. I expected her to be jealous, but she didn''t follow my expectations. Instead, she was quite happy for me, I could see it in her eyes. "Oh, who is the little lady, Aya?" The bulky man said, laughing cheerfully as he placed his mug on the table. ...He was a bit intimidating, but I knew he meant no harm. But yet, I was sure he could destroy me in the matter of a second or two, even if it was only because we were so close to each other. "Oh, my name is Nysa, and I''m a magic scholar!" I said with a wide, proud grin. "...You don''t look very scholar-ish, though." Ragnor replied, skeptically...although that only made me a bit mad. "I agree with Ragnor. You look closer to an over-energetic child than a scholar or researcher." Aya added, crossing her arms as she did so. "At least I''m civilized enough to wear shirt and pants." I replied, with a smug grin, only to make Ragnor laugh, while Aya froze up in embarrassment, although she soon recovered and laughed shily as well. "You know...I think the adventurer''s guild is going to close soon, since the people working here need to sleep." I said, shily. "Besides...me and Aya still need to reserve a room in the inn." Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "Oh, wait, that is true..." Aya replied, rubbing the back of her head. "We lack any money, though..." She mumbled, pouting at that. "Well...that''s a problem." I replied, rubbing the back of my head. "I''m not very good with teams, but the place I''m going to go is relatively safe for me, and it isn''t something that should get you two killed. How about I pay for the rest at the inn, and you two become my teammates for this next adventure?" Ragnor said, smiling a bit. "Well... I''m not sure, we might be taking advantage of yo-" "We accept!" Aya said, picking me up almost like a doll, without giving me time to reject his offer. "Alright, ladies. I''ll meet you both at the inn." He said with a wide grin. "I still have to pay the tabs, you two go ahead." We both nodded in agreement, and afterwards walked out...mainly for a breather, rather than going in the inn right away. "This place is so much fun, isn''t it?" I asked with a smile, rather happily as I looked at Aya''s eyes."I am looking forward to the adventure we''ll go tomorrow!" I added, grinning widely... Although by some reason, that made Aya look a bit uncomfortable, averting her gaze. "Y-yeah, I''m looking forward to it too." She mumbled as she rubbed the back of her head. "What is the matter?" I couldn''t help but ask, blinking a bit as I stared at her. "I mean...uh..." I couldn''t say it. The words escaped me. I couldn''t think of how to finish this sentence. "Nothing, don''t worry about it." She replied. I knew there was something she was hiding from me... and I knew there was something I hid from her as well: I am a player. These few seconds, somehow felt longer than the day we''ve spent together... as the clouds on the sky spread, revealing the beautiful moon, and some of the stars, shining brightly. I stared at it, rather than at Aya. I knew what the stars are, I''ve seen it countless times, but yet none of them shone as brightly as tonight. "The sky is beautiful tonight, isn''t it?" I asked. I didn''t need to look back, to know she nodded in agreement. Even though I''ve already slept in the game a few times, I didn''t ever had spent the time to enjoy the scenery. Ragnor walked outside of the adventurer''s guild by now, to see both me and Aya stargazing. "Hey, you two! You both should come inside, it is a bit cold out here, right?" He said... probably out of concern, as I doubt he could be affected by weather so much. "Right. Aya, let''s go to the inn." I said, although it took a few seconds for her to snap out of it."R-right!" She said cheerfully, and somewhat embarrassed, as she walked inside of the inn, still carrying me. Not that I mind it. And soon we arrived inside of the inn, where it was mostly empty. Most of people were already sleeping by now. "Two rooms, please. One for a single person, and one for two." Ragnor said simply, placing a silver coin on the counter. The innkeeper nodded, as she gave him the keys to two rooms. One was number 8...and the other one was number 9. "Sleep early, and wake early ladies. I want to go out by 8th AM." He said. "Alright..." Aya said, although her happiness, compared to earlier when she was talking, had diminished quite a bit, and she looked closer to...tense, maybe even tired. Was it something I said? The one that had both me and Aya, was the 8th, while Ragnor got the 9th one, our rooms being right besides another. "Thanks, Ragnor!" I said, waving at Aya, although I was absently-minded for now. I was a bit worried about Aya herself, especially with the way she acted. We both walked inside of the room, where Aya just dropped me casually on my own bed, which was a bit too large for my comfort, before she just jumped on her own, wordlessly. "...uh...Aya? If there is any problems, just say it, alright?" I replied, with a sheepish smile. only for her to shake her head. "No, it is nothing, Nysa. You should go to sleep, tomorrow you have a long day." was Aya''s reply. I nodded, covering myself under the blankets. While the others slept, I had something else I wanted to do. "Menu" I whispered to myself, opening the menu screen.
Options
Equipment
Status
Inventory
Messages
Log out
Afterwards, I pressed the log off button. Real world, here I come! Chapter 26: Breakfast Author''s note: News, folks! I achieved nirvana! I achieved the enlightenment! I managed to get off the rails before I had gone too far off in them! And I nearly made a mistake that many fictions, and long-runners and such have made: To try to be something other than it is. If it is a comedy, slice-of-life romance series for example, no need for larger-than-life plots and dreams, for example. And here we are, following the mere premise of two girls playing a virtual reality game. No need to add anything more, as long as I keep things interesting, riiight? ;P =============================================================================== Nysa POV After logged out, I looked around, seeying the capsule slowly open. I smiled a bit. "Ah, back to the real world." I said as I climbed out... thinking of everything around me a lil'' too small. It was no wonder, though, since I was so used to being...less than half of my normal height, at least in-game. I stretched my arms up, letting out a yawn. I already felt the need to login back on the game, as I looked at the surroundings. It was... bland. Even dead, I dare to say, but it was mostly just me, who was used to the magical colors, to see the mana in the air. Yup, the real world has no magic, even if I wish for it. "So boring." I mumbled, although I still needed sustenance, and after the next few weeks, to study at the school as well. But yet...I couldn''t take out the thoughts of how fun it was to be a fairy in-game. I couldn''t help but wish to simply go back to the capsule, right here and right now. But yet, I had to be strong. I can''t be too addicted in a single session, could I? And besides...I don''t know where my sister is in-game. As I climbed outside of my capsule, I looked right besides it, where my sister was playing. It was currently empty, meaning we both logged off around the same time, thankfully. I giggled cheerfully, as I ran downstairs. "Sis! Where are you?" I shouted, while going downstairs "I''m here!" I heard the voice, and followed it...finding her in the living room, watching TV. She was currently eating a cereal bowl, a rather simple breakfast, while watching something akin to a news channel... except it was exclusively focused on only the game, ''realms of chaos''. It seems they are going all-out on marketing. For now, though, it was a simple interview, between a journalist, a young man, somewhat inexperienced-looking and the creator of the game... which looked a bit too old. Maybe mid 80s, but yet, he had an aura...a personality that made him look as energetic as Aya "Uh...sis? What are they talking about?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head, as I watched them, hoping to get some context. "Calm down, they are just starting. You got here in a good time, I bet many players are too busy playing to realize the real world is a source of skills and power as well!" My sister shouted, grinning widely as she watched it. "So, Mr.Hermes, what was your inspiration for creating a game?" The jornalist asked. A simple question, we all knew about. "Hoho , that, my boy, is a very deep question. It is a lot more profound than what I''m about to say...but I simply thought ''How nice would it be, to share the worlds I dream of, to other people? What if they also dream of a fantasy world like myself?''." He said, almost laughing. "Erm...uh... the next question is, do you plan for any ending in the game, or it is similar to other famous MMORPG games, which only ends when there is no more players?" That was something...a bit far off, right? I mean a few online games lasted more than twenty years, so of course this one wouldn''t fall off so soon. "Oh my! What a great question! I don''t plan for it to end up dying, forgotten in the back of the minds of everybody. Instead, I plan to make a great quest chain, to create epic scenarios where everybody works together to save the virtual world. In general, I only wish to live long enough to see the beginning, to the end of the world I''ve created. I shouldn''t be saying this, but it is already implemented in the game! I just don''t expect anybody to solve it for the next few years, but color me surprised if they do! I know, I know, bad planning for economy and all, but hey, when you are a trillionaire with big dreams and no descendants, you need to have some fun before you die, right?" The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I blinked, while the jornalist just froze at his words, taking a while to compose himself. "Sis, do you have any idea of what is this ''grand quest line''?" Inas asked, as she looked at my eyes. "Uh...it is a S-rank quest or higher?" I replied, rubbing the back of my head... "Oh, so you did already gain a quest. So what is it?" ...I''ve been seen through, clearly. "Uh...well...erm...I trained with a wizard, and gained a class, alongside it, I gained a quest that needs me to go to the human capital..." I said, trying to be a little vague. "And...how about you?" I asked, now a bit curious about her. It isn''t fair if only I shared information, right? "Dead ends. Dead ends everywhere. Thus far, me and my friend just settled down to murdering the strongest monster in each area in the hopes of one of them leading to a plot...but dead monsters can''t speak very well." Inas said, shrugging. "Either way, could you help me out on something?...there is an information I''d like to search for, and since you are going to the capital in-game, I bet it has something." "Hmm...what could it be?" I asked, blinking a bit at my sister''s brutal methods... although it was no lie. The boss monster was always the most important, and more often than not, is guarding something good. "Well...I''ve killed a boss monster, named ''Corrupted woodback wolf'', or something along these words, and I''m curious what is the ''corrupted'' attribute. Y''know, it sounds like something that might pop up. Really often." I nodded in agreement. The fact that there is corrupted monsters, either hints the demon lord faction can make monsters stronger, or there is a hidden force at work. "And...sis? What is your race in the game?" "I''ll only tell you if you tell yours." My sister replied, without hesitation. "On three, then." I said, with a smile. ""One"" ""Two"" ""Three"" "Fae!" "Slime!" We both said it at the same time...... and we both couldn''t help but burst out laughing at each other. "Sheesh, a fae? Like the ones from fairy tales? Sheesh, I thought you outgrew such things at 5 years old!" My sister said, with tears in her eyes. "And you are just a jelly! I eat things like yourself for breakfast, sheesh!" We both said, before we glared at each other. "But you should know, slimes are lethal, bio-weapons who can engulf enemies and digest them! Anything smaller than the slime in question is nothing but a meal!" My sister said. I grinned, as I decided on what to say. "And I can cast spells that makes things go boom! I bet I''d win from you, even if I''m smaller!" "Hah, I want to see you being able to make me go boom!" Inas replied, we both moving towards each other, forehead against forehead, the sibling rivalry being extremely obvious. "Hey girls, I made some cookies!" We heard our father shouting...I blinked. By the time I blinked, my sister was nearly gone from my vision, running towards the kitchen. "No way, I want some too!" I shouted, running right after my gluttonous big sister. News Uh, guys? Well, you see, due to various reasons, like my mother getting sick, lack of inspiration to write, alongside not one, not two, but three major college homeworks I have to do, I''ll need to put the fiction in a temporary hiatus. I promise I''ll be back until May at worst-case scenario, but for now, I''ll be focusing on college and taking care of my family. As for not telling you guys earlier, it was mainly because I was trying to act strong and keep trying to shoot out chapters, even when my life is in such dire situation. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I''ll just get things sorted up, and when it does, I''ll delete this post and post a chapter. Chapter 26 - Back to the game. Author¡¯s note: Hey folks, I suck don¡¯t I? I took a whole month off to rest and build a buffer¡­yet I only got this chapter done. XD I blame my newfound addictions! Also, I know my writing skill has deteriorated ever since I left you guys hanging! I can¡¯t help but apologize on that little fact, besides, I¡¯m tired from rewriting this chapter for the¡­11th time. Getting back into writing this fiction is hard. XD NOTE: I¡¯m returning to the fiction, but the schedule has changed. The next chapter will appear when it is finished, rather than tomorrow. ===================================================================== Nysa POV I let out a small yawn. The breakfast was, for now, too quiet. Even a bit boring. Even if I tried to think of a new subject to speak of, such thoughts quickly disappeared, replaced by my excitement, and eagerness to return to the game. So many things to do! So many things to learn! Magic! Swords! Dragons! Monsters! XP! Gold! Power! Fame! Grinding! Farming! Learning! Growing! Fighting¡­ ¡°You should wipe out that creepy smile off your face. You¡¯re nearly drooling on your food.¡± My sister just ruined my fantasies, replacing the feeling of excitement with one of shame. ¡°It is not creepy. It is cute, handsome and probably gets more boyfriends than your grumpy face.¡± I arrogantly replied, puffing up my chest. ¡°The only thing that face of yours get are the little girl lovers.¡± She replied, taking a sip of her tea to hide the wide grin on her face. ¡°Right, right. Now think with me: I¡¯m a childish girl who decided to be a fairy in the game. You¡¯re a bland girl who decided to be a man-eating slime in the game. I think that shows who¡¯s not going to get married.¡± I replied, knowing that at the very least, I had a chance with some guys, the smug grin returning to my face. ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± She replied, holding back her laughter. ¡°¡­.I walked right into that one.¡± I replied, deciding to stay quiet for now. ¡°Yes you did.¡± Inas replied, with a cheerful laugh, as if she was declaring her victory over this match. "So what you''ll do after the breakfast?" I couldn''t help but ask. "I think I''ll return to the game "Hmm, well that''s a good question. I think I¡¯ll go check the internet for some tips and tricks I could use on the game. And maybe I could post some tricks online." I smiled, already planning to check any information she might post later on. Maybe I could find more information than she just gave me. "Of course, it''s going to be hard-to-prove, time-consuming lies so the others lose time while I gain it. I might get hated on the internet, but nobody needs to know my in-game name." She added, letting out an evil laugh, while I already felt a sweat-drop on my forehead. Of course. It would be too easy to get all information from her. ¡°What if they are the one posting lies?¡± I asked, with a small giggle. There¡¯s always that risk. Nothing prevents lies being posted on the internet, after all. ¡°Then I took the short end of the stick.¡± Inas said with a small laugh. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh as well, as my sister spoke such words. ¡°I¡¯m the smart one I guess. I¡¯ll just experiment with whatever I can find in-game, and for now have fun.¡± I replied, letting out a loud laugh while walking upstairs, to my room. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Suit yourself, then¡± Was the only words I heard, before arriving at where the game was¡­ a part of me was a bit curious, though. Should I experiment with knowledge found in books and internet? Or should I find my own path? The more I thought about it, though, the more I felt like it was a better idea to do things by myself¡­but yet, I wanted something.
Welcome back to realms of chaos!
. I couldn¡¯t help but let out a small laugh. ¡±Yes, I¡¯m back.¡± I smiled, although much to my disappointment, there was no ¡®lobby¡¯ room or anything of the sort. I was directly put back in my body, right where I left it: under the covers of the inn¡¯s bed. It was disappointing, as I could not meet Seth, and ask him a few much-needed questions, like how magic works. So much for shortcuts, I suppose. Looking around at the inn¡¯s room, I found Aya sleeping peacefully¡­with a torn pillow, full of bite marks, along with some acid-like venom dribbling from it. That thing was far from usable, and I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s how spiders digest their meals¡­it is an oddly cute sight... but I¡¯m sure I¡¯d be long dead if I was her teddy bear. A part of me couldn¡¯t help but think about it. That woman in the adventurer¡¯s guild could control plants with magic, or even create them. Doesn¡¯t that means that there is much more to magic, than the 6 classic fantasy elements? Because of that, I could not take my eyes off the pillow. The poison element. Would I be able to create poison, if I analyzed it? I could study and understand fire, to create fireballs. Same principle, I suppose. Grinning slightly, I decided it. Taking advantage of my helpless little friend, I jumped down from the bed, walking closer to her. I needed to be careful, though, otherwise I¡¯ll end up suffering the same fate as the pillow I¡¯m about to study. Probably that was the closest to death I ever got to, as I used my air magic to help me get to Aya¡¯s bed, right besides the poisoned pillow¡­I shivered at the scent of poison. Thankfully, it isn¡¯t strong enough to hurt me just from smelling it. Heading closer the green liquid, I was already shaking in fear a bit. I must not touch it. And above all, I should not get too close to Aya while she is sleeping, lest I suffer the same fate as it. I closed my eyes to ¡®feel¡¯ the elements. Staring at it, I couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback a bit. The poison¡­it was close to earth element than any other one, yet it wasn¡¯t quite like rocks. Slowly and surely, I tried to pull the mana from the poison, wanting to test out with it, and even try to reproduce it. Yet, as I tried to move it, I felt a¡­headache. But yet, I kept trying. Persistence is the key for most of things, right? Besides, it can¡¯t be that hard, to learn an element such as this one¡­
You have run out of mana!
I stared at the window which appeared, dumbfounded. I had more than 150 mana, right? Then¡­then how that can be true? ¡°Stats!¡± I said, still not believing in the window.
Nysa fateburn
GenderFemaleRaceFae
Health49/49mana0/153
ClassMagic scholarFactionNone
Level4(31.5% for next level up)Fame0
STR5AGI23
MAG25CON9
DEX20RES19
ATK1DEF0
So it is true¡­I lack enough magic to experiment on poison. Sighing, I made a mental note to not forget experimenting with poison after a few levels. Defeated, I waited a few minutes until my mana was back, so I could move back to my bed and go to sleep. Even if I failed at such experiment, it still proved something: I could use magic, to manipulate much more than just the main elements, and even things that already existed. Questioning what made some materials easier to create, and manipulate, I slowly fell asleep on my own bed, to rest a bit until morning came, smilling slightly at the thought of dungeon diving. Maybe I¡¯ll grow powerful enough to actually cast poison magic tomorrow.