《Evolved: The Apocalypse of White Light》


 Chapter 1/ Prologue: The White Lights

    Prologue


    Human was once top of the food chain because of their high intelligence and the ability to build high end weapons to protect themselves from the other dangerous species. Through trials and errors and many years of experimentation we cemented our status as the dominant species. Not because we were strong individually but because we were extraordinary when united, nothing was impossible when we combine our collective strengths and talents. For so long we have ruled as tyrants in Earth, destroying and creating something on a whim. Many species has been extinct because of us humans.


    But the winds has shifted a terrifying phenomenon has occurred. They were evolving, every creature was evolving it happened slow at first but became increasingly frequent. The evolution chain triggered not because it was of natural causes but because of the sudden appearance of the orb. White translucent light fell from the sky like snow except its behaviour is peculiarly disturbing. The white orb vibrates as it fell from the sky and suddenly it vibrates extremely fast when it found a suitable target.


    The target that has been attacked will then convulsed and then begin to change rapidly and enhanced or change them base on their hidden desires in exchange they will lost their mind unable to control their action and become completely something different. A monster only capable of destruction, who thrives in killing anything that moves.


    This is was the start of a new age. Where money did not matter. Only Power.


    Chapter 1


    The sound of someone running broke the silence that has engulf the forest of Dencia. The dense forest covered in a lot of number of different trees were scattered and not in an orderly fashion. The forest was not widely visited because of the monsters that roam the area even before the "Apocalypse" happened. Many humans who evolved under the influence of the white lights lost their mind and became demons not only them but every creature who was affected lost their mind and simply killed anything that moved instinctively. After the humans evolved they left the area after killing a lot of civilians and bathing in their blood and munching on their hearts.


    Lemrod broke out of the push panting he hunched his back while resting his hands on his knees. His breathing was haggard and laboured he looked behind hesitantly and was met with the image of a terrifying giant cockroach. Fortunately this variant of the cockroach species that evolved is one that can''t fly. Exchanging their ability to fly for strength and tougher armour they evolved with extremely tough shells that even tanks can''t penetrate. Their strength alone is staggering. They could hit multiple buildings with their sharp legs and all of them be cut up into pieces with only rubbles and stones scattered about to mark their once beautiful existence.


    The dark haired teenager sighed miserably his face covered in small cuts and bruises from running into small branches or thorny plants in the area. He was quite short around 5ft5 and his body size was normal, not fat yet not thin either. His eyes were dark brown almost black if you don''t look at it properly. He was wearing a simple black shirt and dark blue jeans that fit around his legs perfectly. Around his waste was a dagger in its sheath that hang on his belt.


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    He was in this predicament because he was hoping to find some food. The stock that he was relying on to survive has been finished despite his effort to ration them so they would last him until help arrive. Its been a month no help has arrive. He spent the better time of the month hiding from the cockroaches that still roam the broken city. The cockroaches that can''t fly are quiet east to deal with as they are giants and you can see where they are as they stand 12 ft. high. But the dangerous variant of the species although weaker than them, they were faster and can fly. That''s make them more dangerous as the attacks are not predictable and their ways of injuring or killing victims were much more varied.


    Suddenly images of his parents lying pathetically in their own blood flashed his mind and he grimaced. Instead of being afraid anger filled his being and he looked at his pursuer with a piercing gaze. Inside his head he questioned his weakness, he did not blame anyone or the creatures that killed his parents for their death. He blamed himself for being too weak or for being unable to even lift a finger as he watch the legs of the monster pierced their flesh and then sliding diagonally, a chunk of the upper body was cut and the monster held the pierced flesh laughing in delight at his cutting skill and proceed to eat the meat in front of the boy. After getting over the initial shock he ran in disgust, his mother has urged him too with her last dying breath. He didn''t cry, Lemrod did not feel anger or sadness. He just felt cold and empty.


    Unsheathing the knife in his belt he turned to face the beast. He wasn''t scared he''d gladly embrace death with open arms but even death had to earn the privilege of getting a hug from him, nothing was free in this world everything came at a price. He place his left foot behind him and raised both of his hands in front of his space while his eyes observed the giant cockroach that moving towards him leisurely bidding his time. Trees were dismantled as the ugly monster advanced towards him judging that he was close enough for his legs to pierce he raised his legs aiming at Lemrod. Before the attack reached him he jump backwards barely dodging the incoming attack. Lemrod did not take into account the speed in which the leg would spear him he forgot gravity accelerated the progress of the weapon charging towards him. Luckily for him instinct took over and because of the adrenaline rush he jump backwards before even thinking about it.


    Lemrod smiled at the beast and prepared to brace his body for the landing. He expected a hard surface to stand on, what he didn''t expect was a hole covered in dead leaves.


    Lemrod screamed as he fell deep down into the abyss. Whether that was literally or figuratively he didn''t quite know yet.

 Chapter 2: The Dark Light

    Chapter 2


    Dozens of white light surrounded him. He felt disorientated and his vision was hazy, was he dead? it was on the questions that lingered on his mind as his brain unscrambled itself from confusion. Trying to gather information by using his eyes wasn''t quiet possible just yet. He tried using his ears and he can only hear a faint buzzing sound surrounding him. It''s not quiet the same sound as buzzing but it was similar to it, he just can''t put a finger on it. He tried getting up and immediately pain devoured his broken body like a hungry predator relishing in his suffering of his prey. Instead of screaming from the pain he instinctively bit his lip as to not make a sound. A small stream of blood trickled from his cut lip to his mouth and he could taste the rancid metallic taste of the fluid.


    Lemrod finally regained his eyesight and immediately wish he hadn''t. Surrounding him was twenty white lights. The odd thing was instead of attacking him they were attacking each other instead. Bumping into each other while vibrating it was spectacular sight almost enchanting if not for the fact that he knew he was going to loose his mind and become a mindless beast. Lemrod finally figuring out what was going after observing their stranger behaviour briefly. They were fighting over his body, ashamed they weren''t girls he sighed disappointedly. Suddenly the white lights stopped vibrating and stopped as it frozen in mid air, a dark ominous presence made Lemrod shivered in fear. The area was then covered in darkness and the white lights was simply absorb and disappeared briefly. Lemrod looked around the white entities had vanish and the dreadful feeling he got earlier has not disappeared. In fact the dark pressure it was exerting only doubled.


    His breathing was laboured as he struggled to extract oxygen from the atmosphere. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he spotted a dark luminescent light that advanced towards him while hovering. It had a peculiar glow unlike the white lights who skittered and vibrated while producing an intense white light. This dark ball however was simply covered in strange aura that doubled the gravity around it.


    "What are you?" asked Lemrod his voice shaking from fear obviously affected by this mysterious dark ball of energy who seemed to have great powers that even the white lights cowered and froze because of his dominating presence.


    The entity stopped in its tracks as if it was processing the words that were said by the human. Lemrod did not expect this action and thought it was just surprise at his voice yet he wondered if this strange entities that invaded his world and cause the "Apocalypse" to happen are capable of understanding human speech or even had any intelligence ingrained in their being and not just mindless viruses that attach themselves to creature and cause the "evolution" to happen because it was its basic instinct.


    "I don''t know" the dark ball of light responded. His voice ancient, cold and foreboding. Lemrod gasped at the sudden development, he had no idea that they were capable of human speech let alone to have any intelligence.  Seeing as the human had nothing to say since he was in a state of shock he continued to move forward towards him. Before Lemrod could react he was engulfed in darkness and he could feel the dark entity trying to become one with him at a cellular level breaking down his human cell for the evolution to occur no doubt. The dark entity tore through his conscience entering his mind and absorbing it but Lemrod was not about to go down without a fight. Even though it felt like his soul was being burnt alive from the inside still he held on his sanity selfishly, he wasn''t going to make it easy for this alien to take over his body. This was his.


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    Memories of the past began to resurface from the depths of Lemrod''s soul. He remembered a time where he was being bullied by a group of 14 year old when he was 10. They laughed as they proceed to pummel him with their fist and proceed to kick him with their feet. His face and body were heavily bruised and he did not know why they were inflicting this kind of pain on him, he knew for certain he did not do anything wrong yet the world mocked him for being powerless and weak. Helpless and afraid he cursed his faith and lost consciousness. When he woke up the 14 year old kids who bullied him were on the floor were unconscious, pools of blood gathered around them. Their faces unrecognisable, their nose flattened, their teeth was just gone scattered all over the concrete floor. Scratched marks that cut deep into their flesh were littered around their bodies. Normally any child would have been scared and shock at what happened but Lemrod who was 10 at the time simply laugh evilly, his hands covered in blood. His eyes showed that he relished in carnage and slaughter.


    Lemrod cried out in pain the pain of being devoured by the dark ball of light was too intense for him to handle mentally alone. The sudden elation of pain distracted him from his forgotten memories. Everything hurts and old memories keep haunting him, wearing him down mentally. His strength and consciousness slowly faded and his soul was fully devoured by the dark being leaving not even a shred of his essence left. The dark entity has successfully erased the humans existence and can now change his body to suit its needs and accommodate his growing powers.


    Without warning from inside of the dark ball of light a hand tore through its flesh tearing his body from the inside out. Before it realised what was going on his alien flesh cracked and scattered before his existence was wiped out he caught glimpse of the being the wiped him from the face of the earth. The entity shivered at the sight that revealed to him, a being made out of nothing but shadow and darkness. It was the human he devoured, although it had the same appearance it was not the human. In fact the dark ball of light wasn''t sure if this creature was human at all, his eyes glowed red and his body did not show human flesh, instead darkness covered his very being. It smiled menacingly before picking up at the black core that the monster had left and ate it hungrily. The creature covered in darkness then proceed to laugh in a high pitched voice. Lemrod''s body suddenly returned to normal the shadow that wrapped around him dissipated not even leaving a trace of it once being there.


    The inhuman shrieked/laughter was heard even in the destroyed city of Denjor. The evolved monsters were stricken with fear and was paralysed on the spot and collapse.


    Not dead only unconscious.


    Unknown to Lemrod his body was going through evolution and not just his body even his soul is going through the evolutionary process.

 Chapter 3: The One Who Commands the Shadows

    Chapter 3


    Lemrod''s body begun to change, old cells, tissues and bones were destroyed and recycled to use as the foundation for the new cells that were ten times as better than the old one. They were change to accommodate his powers. After the breaking down process his cells were now able to siphon the power of darkness and attune to his body. The bones in his body turned black absorbing the dark matter in the area slowly strengthen itself.  The evolution process changed his body into the ultimate predator responding to his hidden desire for strength in time he will grow strong the more darkness becomes one with his body and he might evolve even further. There were no limits for Lemrod only endless possibilities.


    The process was finished although there were no visible changes outside of his body inside was a different story. Dark matter wrapped itself on his body like protective gear shielding him from harm. The sudden noise jerked him awake from his slumber and instinct took over, the darkness immediately gathered itself on his leg empowering his jumping power. Sensing danger Lemrod jumped and he took off with incredible speed out of the hole.


    Using the darkness to cover himself and absorb the impact of the fall because he flew too high and was not expecting it. In fact Lemrod was confuse as how he is able to do this incredible feats but he can''t think straight at the moment. His body and mind is hungry and sensing a possible prey robbed him of his ability to think his mind decided  instead is focus on satisfying his deep desire to eat.


    A piercing scream pierced the quiet darkness as the monster who disturb his slumber charged him with unimaginable speed, it''s movements were uncanny yet graceful enough to mesmerise him for a brief moment. His heightened senses picked up on the danger and he twist his body backwards to avoid the attack from the feline beast. Out of the corner his eyes four claws nearly came in contact with his body. Landing on his feet gracefully he noticed for the first time that the sun has set yet strangely the darkness was not a disadvantage for him in fact he felt overwhelming strength. His eyes were accustomed to the dark and could see as if it was day time, the only indication that it night time at all for Lemrod is the big blue moon shining  softly in the starry sky.


    Although this astounded him the hunger that is driving his instincts mad is becoming much worse almost to the point of taking over his sanity. He grimaced. "I need to eat" he thought and he smiled evilly at the giant feline beast who was looking for him. The giant cat standing in front of him searching for his prey in the dark will not be able to find him as Lemrod wrapped himself in dark matter, making him invisible even to the cat with night vision. Bidding his time for the right moment to strike he observe his prey hungrily. Having accumulated vast amount of dark matter in his body he was ready. Focusing the dark matter on his legs empowering his dashing ability, he came out of hiding surprising the feline. Without a hint of hesitation he gathered all the accumulated dark matter towards his dominant hands and formed a giant scythe to decapitate his prey.


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    Having the element of surprise the feline monster didn''t had the time to dodge as it was preoccupied at being shock, the dark matter activated its property to ignore armour even with the extreme thick coat that covered its majestic body and it was supposedly twice as hard as the cockroach shell. The malleable scythe decapitated the head of the feline cat without much resistance. Dark red liquid gushed out of the monster defiling the earthy soil with its blood. In a heart beat the malleable matter ate the blood hungrily slurping the spilled liquid, having lapped up the blood from the soil it proceed to enter the feline beast at the artificial entrance that was made and drained the creature of its blood. Lemrod in a daze like a drunken man stumbled towards the dead creatures chest and piercing it with his hand covered in dark matter he took the creatures heart and smiled evilly. There embedded in the heart muscle was an orange core, remnant of the white ball of light entity as it took over its body. This was the last remaining proof that its''s existence was the reason why the beast evolve.


    Lemrod devoured the heart and the core hungrily basking in its essence and his power to take lives. Having devoured the core Lemrod suddenly felt a change in his body.


    Without warning a blue box appeared in front of him


    <table><tbody><tr><td>    Dark Matter Manipulation level up to Rank 2         </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Before he could read what it said a sharp pain devoured his entire body and he fell to the floor unconscious.

 Chapter 4: Understanding

    ¡°Hmm so a level up system is put in place after evolving?¡± Lemrod mumble the words over and over again while pacing up and down the predetermined route.


    The carcass of the feline beast was covered by the sun that¡¯s now starting to show its presence to the world once more. Having read the information presented from the bright blue box and learning how to make it disappear with a wave of a hand, he ponders about this newly acquired information. ¡°It might be just skills that evolves further and level is non-existent.


    You get strong in this advancing your control on your set skill.¡± he thought. Having come to an idea his eyes flash brightly and he grinned. ¡°Let me test this theory then¡± he said to no one in particular.


    Lemrod flexed his finger and willed the dark matter surrounding him, the dark matter wasn''t as thick as yesterday, it wasn''t as dense and this puzzled him greatly. He scrunched up his face in confusion. He also noticed that his control over the dark matter dropped quite severely and he can''t help but grimaced at the sudden development.


    Was he losing his powers? He questioned silently. Dread filling his mind. Stopping his experiment for the moment, he focus all his power on finding out the answers to his questions. He mulled it over and over again until he thought about a possible cause of the change in control.


    He looked up at the sky and saw the big fireball shined brightly, giving plants the much needed raw energy to survive. Then he proceed to survey his surrounding and saw small patches of shadows cast by the trees. ¡°It might be because it¡¯s not night time.


    So my power has lessened and the control of my dark matter is clearly affected by this.¡± In fact the boost of power that I felt has been lowered to about half.


    Seeing the patches of dark matter cast by the trees and the plants. He willed the shadows to go join the dark matter circulating inside him. Slowly it leaves the safety of the tree and float up in the air, swishing and swashing, behaving like a liquid although with a thought it can solidify. It went inside him and he can feel himself getting stronger.


    Delighted by this discovery he couldn''t help but smile although his mood has been considerably down after he discovered a weakness to his ability. Although things were not favourable to him during the day but when night time comes. That¡¯s becomes a completely different story.


    Looking at his surroundings Lemrod knew he couldn''t stay here for long, using his now vast superior eyesight compared to when he was human he spotted the abandoned city.


    ¡°Its really like a city in a apocalyptic world huh?¡± he laughed quietly to himself. He found his current situation amusing because never in his wildest dreams thought that he would could  experience this feeling of power and freedom.


    Sure Lemrod did not really hate his previous lifestyle living with his parents in the city and doing the same old routine every day, his parents leaving to their respective workplace and him going to school to help him get a job for the future and mock about with his friends. It¡¯s not like they were rich but they were definitely well off unlike other families.


    But.


    Lemrod paused dazed while taking in the surrounding area again, although it looked destroyed and barren, strangely there was beauty hidden if you overlooked the toppled buildings and dead bodies scattered and monsters roaming the plain. The world never looked more savage as if Mother Nature finally unveiled her mask revealing her true nature and destroying the hundred years of temporary peace felt by the majority of the top of food chain, making the world once more a dangerous place to live without power.


    Lemrod finally understood the words ¡®survival of the fittest¡¯ and he savoured every single syllable of the word making him tremble with pure bliss at the thought of not being bound by society.


    He was unrestrained and laws can¡¯t hurt him. Sticks and stones may break his bones but who says they¡¯ll get a chance to he smiled dangerously.


    Time skip


    Months of travelling by foot at night and using the dark matter to hide his presence so no single beast could sense his presence as he faithfully headed north to the city of Norwell the place where the king resides. He rested at day time and hunted small prey, critters that were not yet affected by the white lights. He drank from the canteen which was filled with water that he found while passing through an abandoned village.


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    The smell of decaying flesh did not bother him and he simply manipulate dark matter into a mask that purifies the air around him. Lemrod discovered that he could use dark matter and control it to cover his body like an armour and with his mind he can imagine a structure of an armour or a weapon and it stays in that form unless he wills to go back to its original liquid state.


    Strangely enough after playing with his ability while walking to satiate his boredom the mysterious blue pop up box appear again informing him of his gains.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>¡°Dark matter manipulation level up to 3¡±</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>¡°Because of your ingenious ways of manipulating the dark matter, you can now receive random enchantments to weapons or armour you create using the dark matter¡±</td></tr></tbody></table>


    This was how the dark matter mask that he wore was able to purify air that he breathes in as it converts the stench in the air to clean and breathable air.


    Although the enchantment would disappear if he dissolve the current state of the mask and if he makes another mask it would surely have another enchantment so he kept the current mask thinking the enchantment is clearly useful and with a bit of effort concealed inside his little pocket dimension as Lemrod liked to call it.


    Although it can''t store physical material object, it can definitely store his dark matter. After all he needs somewhere to store his dark matter to use in day light combat because unlike night time the whole area wasn''t covered by darkness putting him at disadvantage.


    A pair of soldiers distracted him from his current thoughts, guarding the entrance which is a huge gate about 25 ft. high and looking at the walls surprise Lemrod even more as he can see that new bricks were added on top of the old ones.


    ¡°They must have wanted to increase the overall height of the wall¡± Lemrod mused quietly. Still walking forward to the gigantic gate that stood before him, its appearance was awe inspiring and Lemrod can¡¯t help but gasped in awe at its sheer size.


    Still he wondered how they were able to increase the height of the wall to about 20ft so quickly, the overall size of the wall was now 50ft in total. I mean it¡¯s no use against evolve lifeforms that can fly but the thickness of the wall and its shear height would definitely stop the evolve creature from barging in without a proper invitation.


    "This beasties definitely needs to learn some manners" he muttered to himself.


    A lot of resources, money and definitely workers were involve in accomplishing this amazing feat.


    Grinning that he finally has the much needed company. He only had himself to talk to and he almost thought he was going to insane with the loneliness that he felt.


    He approach the guards carefully wanting access to the current stronghold.

 Chapter 5: The Faithful Encounter

    Lancelot POV


    Lancelot and the other peculiar fellow George was put in charge by the Commander Lucas one of the strongest evolved humans that retained their humanity after the transformation cause by the white lights, the task given to them by the commander were to guard the city gates and to inform him or any commanding officer of any changes that occurs outside the city.


    They were like a sentry or a watchman task to carry out one of the most boring yet important job concerning the safety of the current stronghold where the king resides.


    Given the task by the person they admired, they took the task quite seriously not wanting to let the commander down.


    His promotion wasn''t that surprising considering he had one of the strongest ability which is to control fire. It wasn''t surprising considering his fiery persona. The way he charge head first to the battle field against the advancing evolve creatures consisting of giant felines, cockroaches and many reptiles that were not even identifiable or what their species of origin was before the apocalypse.


    9 months had passed since then and the attack from the creatures had waned, considering our forces has grown larger and more and more humans that evolve didn''t become demi-humans.


    Of course humans who were affected and showed signs of changing into an abomination, a demon who thirst to spill the blood of his former species were quickly disposed of before they can cause havoc but that was not always the case.


    There were really no difference of course in terms of appearance between the demi-humans and the saints, what the official term is now called to identify the mutants as it were. The only real difference was their mentality, while the saints didn''t want to kill their own kind having retained their personalities after the transformation, the demi-humans however were the complete opposite. By the time you notice hundreds or even thousands of people might have died and by then it was too late.


    The casualties of course depending on the ability they received after the transformation.


    Unsurprisingly since there were problems identifying the saints and the demi-humans, fortunately there were humans who hated the demi-humans who killed their parents or massacred their villages, by the time they were touched or attacked by the white lights their transformation gave them a passive ability to detect a demi-human but this was extremely rare and only Lady Khali had that ability in all of saints residing in the City of Norwell.


    That¡¯s especially helpful now since the incident two months ago were the guards not knowing the difference between a demi-human and a saint as they all look the same let an outsider in.


    The demi-human was very powerful that even though there were about two hundred evolve humans or saints which had powerful abilities but not truly learned how to control them were decimated in a blink of an eye and the city was left in ruins. Some of the survivors fled here and some to the south and to the west.


    A young man suddenly caught Lancelot¡¯s attention, he was casually walking as if on a stroll towards the city. It was very peculiar seeing as the young man did not seem to be disturb or afraid of the dangers lurking in the dark. This put Officer Lancelot on alert seeing as this might be one of the demi-humans and they have to be on guard for a possibility of being attacked.


    An attacking demi-human was serious business and this could result in a lot of civilians dying if this monster gets in.


    ¡°George, wake up you son of a bitch!!¡± Lancelot whispered to his sleepy companion harshly. Surprise by the sudden noise made by Lancelot, George shook himself awake still feeling sleepy.


    George furrowed his eyebrow in a questioning manner ¡°What?¡± he asked not quite sure what the fuss was about.


    ¡°Be on guard¡± whispered Lancelot in a serious manner and looking where Lancelot¡¯s eyes was fixed on he figured out the serious problem. A young man was casually walking towards them, he was getting closer and closer by the minute. A dark aura of liquid was swirling and swishing inside him covering him protectively.


    ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± George gasped in horror and surprise. Seeing the George panic like that, he frowned.


    ¡°What?¡± Lancelot ask questioningly, he didn¡¯t expect George to over react.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see it? Inside of him is something weird and it¡¯s creeping me out¡±


    Seeing the confuse look on Lancelot face, George couldn¡¯t help but sigh in annoyance. ¡®Yeah I forgot my eyes aren¡¯t quite normal, my eyes gain a special ability after evolving. I can see a lot of things other people can¡¯t¡¯.


    ¡°Get Lady Khali, I will see what this young man wants and if he is indeed a demi-human, I¡¯ll try to hold him off as best as I can while you get reinforcements¡± seeing the urgency in his voice, Lancelot didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately left to get Lady Khali.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.She was one of the few people who had the unique ability that can tell whether a person was a demi-human or not. According to the rumours she gained that ability after evolving because of a certain event involving her lover who was mercilessly slaughtered in front of her by a powerful demi-human. That event fuelled the hatred in her heart and after she became a saint and trained her ability rigorously. She went on a hunting spree killing hundreds and hundreds of demons within a month. She was one of the few saint that demi-humans truly feared. The king himself highly valued Khali and treat her like a God, her value went especially up because of her unique ability.


    The king gave her own mansion and hundreds of servants to cater her needs.


    George POV


    ¡°Evening officer how can I help you¡± the young man cheerfully shouted.


    Shock by the sudden turn of events, he was speechless. Here he was scared shitless by the aura of pure evil this young man was emitting that he was sure that the stranger was demi-human.


    So he steeled his heart for the upcoming fight that would surely end his life.


    But to this surprise, all he could see was a young man dressed in tattered clothes smiling at him. His black hair long and messy.


    ¡°You mind opening the gate for me my good man¡± he spoke in a cherry manner the tone of his voice confident and certain that his wishes will be granted.


    ¡°Halt. Stranger¡± commanded George quite coldly. His eyes fixed on the young man observing his every move.


    George watch the young man¡¯s face looked at him questioningly, not quite understanding the hostility.


    ¡°Have I offended you in anyway officer? If so I deeply apologise from the bottom of my heart. I mean it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t like staying outside with nothing but the clothes on my back or the rags seeing as this clothes have now become tattered.


    All I¡¯m asking is for you to let me in. Such a simple request should be within your powers to grant, should your soul be merciful enough to a poor child such as myself¡± the young man complained to the officer with a distraught face. Strangely enough George could hear a hint of sarcasm with the way he weave his reasoning skilfully.


    George decided to humour the young man seeing as there was no immediate threat and besides it¡¯s not like there¡¯s a lot he can do if the young man is a demi-human and decided to end the personality he was currently flaunting.


    ¡°You are right it is within my power to let you in but seeing as your identity is unknown and there is a chance that you could be a demi-human. I¡¯m afraid I George will not take any chances and suffer the future consequences if your true identity is of a demi-human¡± countered George skilfully.


    Lemrod¡¯s POV


    Demi-humans? What the fuck is this guy talking about, is he messing with me?


    Seeing as the guard named George was awaiting his reply, he decided to bluff and pretend he knows what this demi-humans are.


    ¡°Surely if I was the creature that you describe, I would have forcibly let myself in my good sir. Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m just a humble soul ambling along towards this city for someone to look upon me and might took pity on me and give me some needed help. I hold neither the power to create such a havoc in the city¡± Lemrod cried out. His face skilfully shows the face of a helpless boy whose world was taken apart by force. A lost soul who lost everything he once had.


    ¡°Then tell me young man, what is that vile thing inside you?¡± George ask cautiously ending the charade. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Lady Khali leading two hundred soldiers with her ready to meet the stranger at the gate.


    Shock by the sudden question Lemrod was speechless. His dark matter is not usually visible to the naked eye. Even beast cannot see it inside of him unless he takes it out but this soldier saw the dark matter he thought he can successfully hide. He wanted to pretend to be a normal human for now until he knows what exactly happened to the world during the nine months that he¡¯s been away but unfortunately that wasn¡¯t the case anymore.


    Before Lemrod could reply the huge gates came alive and the screeching sound that it made draw his attention. A soft groaning came from the giant gate as it open revealing a stunning beauty with red hair, her silky clothes covering sexily inviting his eyes to her supple breast. Lemrod gaze trailing down to her legs covered in tight leather. Her eyes pierced his soul and Lemrod knew he was taken. Call it love at first sight but her gaze alone made him tremble from his core and for the first time in his life, he craved something.


    Her blue eyes became the new light to his world and he was determined to have her.

 Chapter 6: Khali

    Khali¡¯s POV


    The sudden brightness that hit my eyes disturb my everlasting punishment. The agony I felt every night, my punishment. Nightmare designed to ensure that I don¡¯t forget the piece of myself that I lost. I was there damn it. I was right there.


    A damsel in distress. Damn right I was.


    It hurts. I grabbed my chest, it throbs it hasn''t recovered from the pain having its other half ripped out viciously without remorse.


    I don¡¯t think it will be ever be healed. As long as those fuckers still roam this world. I promise you Harvey, I will destroy every one of those fuckers that took you from me.


    You were mine.


    MINE!!!


    Tears fell from my face. It¡¯s been a nine months since then. But the pain hasn¡¯t lessened. In order to sleep, I had to take drugs. I would have followed you, sweet heart, but I can¡¯t yet. Not yet. They have to feel my pain. My suffering.


    I was given the power to exact judgement on those sons of bitches.


    No!! No!!


    Stop.


    Blood. I can still smell the stench of death. His screams.


    I increased the grip on my chest, the pain still not wanting to fade. All I could do is just curl up in a ball and shut the world around me.


    ¡®Harvey I need you!!¡± I cried out silently. I¡¯m not sure how long I can last without you. I¡¯d do anything to see you smile again.


    A knock on my door garnered my attention and I jerked my head towards it.


    ¡°Who could it be at this hour¡± I muttered darkly under my breath. Still I¡¯m glad as it has distracted me for the moment. Wallowing in my sadness can be put on hold till later.


    ¡°Munchkin you mind opening the door, I heard moaning and I thought you might be in dire need of my services¡± a young man from the other side of the door shouted cheerfully.


    I froze, who the fuck is tha- before I could finish my train of thought I remembered what transpired last night. There was an outsider that could be a demi-human trying to get access inside the city and according to officer Lancelot, my ability was needed.


    To my surprise I didn¡¯t feel anything from him. There was no indication that he was a demi-human nor was he a saint. This intrigued me because I''ve never met anyone quite like him. I could always tell whether one was just a normal human, demi-human or a saint base on the aura inside of them.


    All I felt from this outsider who introduce himself as Lemrod was emptiness. His aura felt like a bottomless pit, showing nothing and revealing nothing.


    Having no evidence of him being a danger to the city we had to take him under our care, after all it¡¯s our duty as the defender of the people.


    Although he seem to be quite normal on the outside, I can¡¯t help but feel that he¡¯s hiding something. I decided that I must keep my eye on him and also make his life a living hell.


    My blood boiled having remembered something unpleasant.


    That scum Lemrod, he suddenly sprint towards me and smiled playfully. He took both of my hands and even had the audacity to ask my hand in marriage.


    Well not quite what he said but how else am I going to interpret it.


    ¡°I want you, be mine.¡±


    Remembering those words and from the arrogant insect makes me want to strangle something.


    I must be a masochist. I promise myself I will not associate or get close to anyone to avoid getting hurt again and here I am taking in outsider who¡¯s probably a playboy.


    Yeah definitely a play boy. Wagging their tails and tailing every beautiful woman they encounter.


    ¡°Khali, munchkin, you there?¡± his playful voice bringing me back to reality.


    Opening the door abruptly while glaring at him. Not expecting his girly scream I couldn¡¯t help but let out a small laugh.


    Realising that he was staring at me in wonder, a gentle smile still plastered on his face. I felt myself turning red.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I ask coldly.


    ¡°You¡± he smirked. His eyes staring right at me, observing my reaction.


    Realising I¡¯m not going to get any proper answer. I slammed the door right in his face. I¡¯m not in the mood for this. His flirting is only making my blood boil and currently I don¡¯t even consider him as a fellow human after his behaviour.


    His nothing but an an insect.


    Sigh. Harvey I miss you.


    Fully awake I decided it will be a good time to let off some steam. This insect turns out to be nothing but a pain in the ass, but I still can¡¯t still shake this uneasy feeling.


    ¡°Going somewhere?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡± I answered curtly.


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


    ¡°I¡¯m tagging along¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous and you might die, seeing as you¡¯re an ordinary human¡±


    ¡°Suddenly I feel loved¡± he winked in my direction. His voice playful and mocking.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just die?¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha yeah yeah, shall we go?¡± he mockingly gestured the front door with his right hand.


    Seeing as there¡¯s nothing I can do to persuade this dumbass might as well let him do whatever he wants. I mean it won¡¯t be my fault if he dies from the evolve creatures outside.


    I smiled evilly.


    I must admit though the clothes I gave to him surprisingly suits him. The charcoal black suit and the pants used in combination with a white shirt and red tie definitely is a huge improvement compared to his rags. I snickered.


    While walking out the main gate with the insect, I noticed George¡¯s eyes fixed on Lemrod. He seems to know something and I wonder why he¡¯s not sharing his suspicions. I¡¯ll be sure to interrogate him later.


    Still the walk has been peaceful, I notice he¡¯s not overly curious to where our destination is and was just content looking around and observing the landscapes as we pass them.


    Normally I wouldn¡¯t endanger a civilian like this even if it¡¯s an insect like him but the beast were hunting is not particularly dangerous. I¡¯m sure before the evolution it had been a chicken. Seeing as there will be a food shortage soon due to the amount of survivors from other cities or others who have moved because they heard the city of Norwell is a safe place to be. We have a lot more to feed now compared to before.


    Before it becomes a problem, I might as well stop it. That stupid commander Lucas will most likely dump this annoying task on me anyway. Urghh what a pain.


    ¡°Were here¡± I announce to the insect.


    ¡°Hmmm¡± is all the reply I get. Seeing this weird reaction from him I turned around. Usually he will respond with something very sarcastic and you can¡¯t just help but want to kill him on the spot.


    I raised my eyebrow, the things he brought completely defies logic.


    ¡°A picnic basket? And is that a blanket?¡± my voice high pitched and hysterical. What the fuck is wrong with this insect. Has be become retarded.


    ¡°Yeah. Problem?¡± a puzzled look plastered on his stupid face.


    I¡¯m going to kill him, I swear. Khali breathe, inhale, exhale, inhale, and exhale.


    ¡°Why?¡± I said in very dangerous voice.


    ¡°Were here to hunt and not here on date, you insect.¡± I bellowed angrily. Stomping my foot to make sure he gets the predicament that he¡¯s in.


    ¡°No you¡¯re hunting, I¡¯m here on a date with myself¡± he reasoned. His tone facial feature shows how proud he is of his stupid answer.


    Speechless. I think my mind just broke.


    This is hopeless. Oh well this guy won¡¯t be of any help anyway. He¡¯ll just be in the way so I guess the arrangement is fine, but seriously I think he¡¯s mentally ill. Can¡¯t he see that this is still a dangerous place, those dragon like serpents could wander in here out of nowhere and things could get ugly, those things are dangerous.


    In the distance I discern a movement. Must be my prey. A gigantic chicken covered in flames was perched on top of an oak tree. Well its appearance resembles more of a phoenix rather than a chicken. Only the appearance is the same and you could kill them quite easily by cutting of their neck or destroying their massive head.


    The only thing that make them quite dangerous is that they breathe fire.


    ¡°Blood arts: Sonic Spear¡± I bit my thumb causing it to be bleed and the liquid to flow steadily. I willed it towards my dominant hand while raising it in the air. In a blink of an eye it formed into a spear.


    Concentrating and fixing my eyes on the Phoenix chicken I got into the throwing stance.


    The spear emit a deadly killing aura, I smiled and threw it, making the spear travel at the speed of sound.


    The phoenix chicken¡¯s head exploded. Its body drop to the ground missing his head of course.


    ¡°Must be the time of the month¡± I hear someone mutter. I glared at the insect noticing him sprawled on the uneven ground on top of the picnic blanket munching food with one hand while reading a book on the other hand.


    Annoyed by his comment I was about to kick him to teach him some god-damn manners when a dozen of high pitched scream caught my attention.


    Che!


    ¡°Guess we have some company¡± I muttered excitedly. This just means more meat.

 Chapter 7: Dragons Descendants

    Lemrod¡¯s POV


    I sigh unhappily as I look up at the dimming sky the sun having accomplish his job for the day signals to the world that the moon will soon start his shift. The orange light plastered on the grey sky as the sun makes his exit adding flare by making the dimming orange light slowly disappear with him.


    Although the sun can¡¯t be seen anymore there is still some light left.


    I¡¯ve been sprawled in this picnic blanket for hours now. I¡¯ve been hearing the death cries of the Phoenix chickens for what felt like an eternity. I wonder if this is Khali¡¯s way of torturing me, I turn my head sideways and from a distance I could see her locked in battle with one hundred of those chickens.


    Their fire not being able to penetrate her blood barrier so they resort to using their claws and beaks in a vain attempt to stop the onslaught of their species. She must have killed thousands by now seeing as the ground she is standing in is literally covered in blood.


    I grimaced at the appearance of Khali. She¡¯s covered in blood head to toe and seem perfectly fine in wiping out thousands of this poor creatures.


    ¡°Hey Munchkin¡± I called out. She immediately turn around after slicing off the head of the giant bird and glared in my direction. She must really hate that name I smirk and smiled at her cheekily which seemed to enrage her even more.


    Mouthing out the word ¡®what¡¯ at me I just continued to smile at her stupidly. Giving out a resigned she look back at her opponents which numbered around fifty. Their fallen brethren scattered all over their nesting ground. Khali then stop moving and that caused the Phoenix Chicken to stop as well as if wary of what Khali might do next.


    Suddenly the blood on the ground levitated and began forming into a small sized tennis ball. They circled all around Khali hovering around like some sort of drone.


    The scene was quite surreal and terrifying as I watched in awe and wait for the horrors to unfold. At her command hundreds of blood balls flew towards the Phoenix chicken all at once at blazing speed. Some of the blood balls punctured the chest of the poor beast and some just lunge directly to their head.


    Having finish her job and seeing the look of shock on my face she flashed a smile, her face full of confidence.


    ¡°What did you want¡± she ask playfully as she wiped the blood off her face by using her arm. Dried blood still remain on her face giving her a barbaric look.


    ¡°Oh nothing. I was just wondering why we were butchering chickens for your own amusements. Not like I condemn your actions munchkin but I certainly do not approve of it. They haven¡¯t harmed anyone so far right?¡± I replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m not your munchkin. Call me Khali.¡± She ordered haughtily as if expecting me to obey her wishes because of her recent display of power.


    ¡°Sure thing munchkin¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you¡± she roared threateningly.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try¡± I replied back dismissively.


    ¡°Anyway¡± I started before she could reply with another threat. I know she thinks nothing of me and totally hates the nickname I gave her but I can¡¯t help it, it¡¯s in my nature to tease someone I like thoroughly. I find it cute whenever she pouts and the way she tries to act tough is just plain sexy.


    Staring at her like this, even covered in blood and guts she truly is a beautiful woman. The way she moves and talks spurs hidden desire within me I never thought I possessed.


    The feeling of wanting to possess her increases with each moment I spend with her but deep inside I know I¡¯m not good enough for her. My face is average, I¡¯ve never really been a lady killer or a smooth talker, heck I¡¯ve never even had a girlfriend before so how am I supposed to make a goddess like her fall for me.


    It¡¯s like howling at the moon.


    ¡°What are we going to do with all of that meat? We¡¯re not just going to leave it there because that would be a really bad idea. It might attract dangerous monsters¡± I pointed towards the killing ground. The stench of blood heavy in the air.


    ¡°Were bringing it with us¡± Khali simply answered.


    ¡°Huh?¡± not quite understanding what she mean. I gave her a blank look.


    She just laughed at me while lifting her hand up and out of the corner of my eye from a distance I see the Phoenix meat levitating a few meters off the ground. Slowly but surely they start to drift in our direction.


    ¡°You see I can control blood. It doesn¡¯t really matter who¡¯s blood it is my power doesn¡¯t discriminate¡± she laugh loudly seeing the dumb look on my face.


    Regaining my composure I shrug my shoulders, pretending to not be impressed. ¡°Whatever¡± I muttered. I could probably do that too I reasoned.


    Packing up the things I brought with me which consist of a basket and folding the picnic blanket neatly and stuffing it inside the basket. I stood up and was about to follow Khali when a sudden rustling noise attracted my attention.


    Golden slit eyes peered back at me inside the cover of darkness. Gathering the dark matter to my eyes to give me enhance eye sight I can see an elongated snake that has the head of a dragon and it¡¯s body covered in scaly spikes. Its wings flapping in beats cause the air to vibrate and flutter around him rustling the dried leaves on the ground.


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    Following the gaze of the creature, I deduce it¡¯s targeting Khali. The monster probably thought she¡¯s the biggest threat out of us two. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m happy about that.


    Oh well I guess it¡¯s my turn I clench and I unclench my hand excitedly.


    In a blink of an eye the snake move with precision, letting out a menacing loud hiss as it opened its mouth hoping to catch Khali off guard.


    Surprisingly Khali didn¡¯t notice the snake¡¯s advances. Must be from fighting all day I reasoned. As it about to reach its intended victim I acted swiftly and gather my dark matter to both of my legs helping me move at the speed of sound. With my right hand I gathered a huge number of dark matter and let it form a really thick shield.


    The sound of the beast impacting my makeshift shield in high speed caused both of us to fly in two different direction.


    Khali stifled a gasp when she saw me flying towards a tree and it snap in half upon impact. I stood up and dusted myself off and glared at the snake dragon.


    ¡°Wha--- what? What the fuck?¡± shouted Khali after seeing the dark matter surrounding my entire being.


    ¡°I thought you were just a normal human¡± she uttered quietly in disbelief. I guess my cover is blown. It¡¯s not like I was planning to hide that I¡¯m a saint, I was going to tell her eventually but I wanted to lay low and slowly gather information about what¡¯s happening around the world before revealing my beautiful existence to the world.


    It was quite a shock mind you, knowing that I¡¯m not the only evolve being and there¡¯s quite a lot of us it seems.


    The snake dragon hissed angrily in my direction. Its slit eyes glaring at me and willing his kill intent to scare me into submission.


    I smiled giddily as night time finally descends upon the world covering it in a blanket of darkness.


    ¡°You pick the wrong time to attack¡± I mockingly laugh at the enrage snake. To goad it even more I beckoned him with my fingers.


    Within a split second the snake flew high up in the air and its mouth open gathering vast amount of energy in his mouth it then proceed to fire short burst of fire ball which consist of five fire balls in total.


    Each blast was devastating puncturing the ground and the area around me was soon littered with decent size holes.


    The snake then disappeared and reappeared behind me using his spiky tail to slam into my back. The impact cause me to cry in pain and I feel a steady flow of blood in my back.


    Damn it I cursed inwardly. I was careless. I won¡¯t let it happen again I muttered angrily.


    Using my dark matter as temporary means to stop the bleeding. I used one of my newly acquired skill to create an armour to protect my body.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Enhancement: Spikes</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Having remembered the blood balls that Khali used earlier to wipe out the Phoenix chickens I decided to copy her technique. Imagining the blood balls but instead of forming my dark matter into a round shape I formed them into a spiky needle shape instead. In an instant twenty needle spikes circle around me defensively.


    The snake cautiously stopped in its tracks because it sees the foreign objects surrounding me.


    Not wanting to wait for the snake to attack, I charge at him head on using my dark matter I created a flat solid disk levitating in mid-air and rode on it while commanding the ten of the spike to surround me defensively, at the same time sending the other ten to attack the beast.


    Dodging my attacks with ease it weaves its body skilfully avoiding each of the spike. I stared at my enemy in awe, its movement precise and accurate. The way he dodged my spike effortlessly surprise me.


    This might be harder than I thought.


    Suddenly a flash of inspiration filled my mind. I covered myself in the dark matter erasing my presence.


    The snake realising that I vanished, tensed as it observed it¡¯s surrounding with calculating eyes. Having seen a slight movement to its left side it instantly lunge at it with its mouth open.


    It then shrieked in surprised as the human shape dark matter fell apart after its deadly attack.


    Ha what an idiot.


    That was only a clone that I created. I¡¯m so glad it worked. I celebrated inwardly.


    Seeing an opening I sprint as fast as I could towards my enemy, using the sword I created that had a lightning enhancement. With a sizzle and the smell of burning leather.


    I cut the snakes head clean leaving the rest of its body to wriggle on the ground recklessly causing its blood to spurt everywhere.


    Kneeling on the ground with a tired smile on my face. Having no strength left I felt myself falling, bracing for the hurt that soon would come after I tensed.


    Instead of a hard ground meeting my charming face, a soft bouncy flesh took its place.


    ¡°I win¡± I announced to Khali who cushioned my fall then blacked out.

 Chapter 8 Start

    Chapter 8


    Kahli¡¯s POV


    What is this?


    Huh?


    I sat there with my knees on the stone cold floor with the moon hovering up above us in a nonchalant manner holding Lemrod tighter as my heart hammer against my chest violently.


    Terrified and afraid at the scene happening in front of my very own eyes. Coming out from Lemrod¡¯s body were dark matters and they were spreading on the floor moving in a slow eerie pattern heading to the fire snake dragon¡¯s broken body.


    I couldn¡¯t move stricken with fear and confusion.


    *slurp* *slurp* *slurp*


    I could hear the body being drained of its blood and lapped up greedily inside this living power.


    ¡°What are you?¡± I mumbled weakly to myself. Too afraid to speak.


    Today has been nothing but surprises. I suspected he wasn¡¯t ordinary since I couldn¡¯t tell what he was and that has never happened before but the power that he used to protect me points out that he¡¯s a saint. I mean there¡¯s no way he is a demi-human, he still has he¡¯s sanity.


    But.


    The one thing I¡¯m worried about is the dark matter that seems to be alive and has a mind of its own. This is definitely something abnormal.


    Concentrating on my surrounding again, I couldn¡¯t help but be slightly afraid being in the cover of darkness and only the moon and the stars as a source of light. Feeling a movement on my lap I look down and see his eyelids open staring straight at me ¨C No not at me. I can¡¯t help but feel that I¡¯m not in his peripherals at the moment. Lemrod seemed to look straight through me as if he¡¯s not really conscious of the surrounding yet.


    The silence seem to continue for a long while and I was afraid to break the frailness of the atmosphere. To be honest I¡¯m not completely sure on how I feel towards him. Ever since Harvey died I feel completely void. Nothing has ruffle up my emotions like he has. Is this a good thing?


    No, I don¡¯t need something like a friend. I¡¯ve decided that I only need myself.


    Lemrod suddenly raised one of his hands towards the sky and looking at it in a melancholic manner. As if it had a significant meaning to him. Something only he knows and can understand.


    ¡°You probably could have defeated that monster in a blink of an eye¡± he said quietly in a solemn tone. The suddenness of his words left me unable to think of a response so I kept quiet staring at the blanket of darkness in front of me.


    The silence continued to drag uncomfortably. Is he waiting for a response I wonder?


    Should I tell him that he¡¯s wrong? The Dragon¡¯s Descendants were considered superior evolve beast in the kingdom. If I have to give it a rating I¡¯d say that the one he fought earlier was a high tier B rank at least.


    I might have been able to deal with it without much trouble I agree but at my current state back then, I might have had to fight as if my life depended on it considering I spent the whole day hunting and exhausted my abilities.


    ¡°Hey¡± he started again.


    I looked at him to let him know I was listening.


    ¡°Did I do something unnecessary?¡±


    No. You didn¡¯t. Thank you for your help, if you weren¡¯t here I don¡¯t know what would have happen.


    But what came out of my mouth was something completely different.


    ¡°Yes you did. Next time stay out of my way.  I don¡¯t need you playing white knight around me¡± I muttered coldly.


    Why? I screamed internally. What is wrong with me? Is it that hard for me to admit that I needed help?


    A part of me wanted to immediately take back what I said but my pride held my tongue, momentarily robbing me of my ability to speak.


    ¡°So it was my like that¡± he laughed bitterly. His voice hurt and pained.


    He got up abruptly from my lap and without a word walked towards the darkness. And all I could do was stare at his back, the darkness swallowing him as he headed deeper into the forest. Away from the city and away from me.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Huh? Why?


    I asked confuse as tears slowly trickled from my cheeks and unto my empty lap. The warmth of his head gone with the wind.


    It doesn¡¯t matter I repeated in my head. It¡¯s better this way in the long run.


    I don¡¯t need anyone.


    Yet why does my heart ache.


    Smiling crazily with tears streaming down my face. I stood up and hazily made my way towards the city Norwell.


    Lemrod¡¯s POV


    Hahaha I laughed hysterically covering my face with my right hand and slowly push my hair upwards down my scalp. I inhaled the cold fresh air heavily and open my eyes towards the moon. A smile playing at my lips. Strangely my heart felt empty and void but as a joke didn¡¯t numb the pain.


    Her words playing over and over in my head. It feel like I¡¯m going mad from being disappointed in myself and having expected a lot from her. Am I an idiot? As I thought that I couldn¡¯t help but scream incoherent words towards the sky. The jumbled up sentences that came out of my mouth resembled me uncomprehending the pain, sadness, disappointment, anger. The anger that I felt wasn¡¯t directed at Khali but to me and my naivety.


    Who did I think I was? Did I expect to steal her heart just because I protected her from something she could have easily dealt with herself and I expected to be thanked for it, to be showered with kisses and love.


    I knew from the start that she didn¡¯t like me and never spared a thought for me but I thought that- that was it. I finally cracked the code and broken her indifference towards me and got her to finally see me as something more than a stranger.


    But.


    I smiled bitterly at the memory. I¡¯m nothing more than a nuisance to her.


    I guess I can¡¯t go back now. I don¡¯t know what to do if I see her again. Would I feel resentment towards the girl that I save but in return I receive nothing but hostility, with my mind hazy and conflicted, I couldn¡¯t come up with a proper conclusion.


    I decided to run away. From the city and from her. Hoping that I will forget my first crush.


    I wasn¡¯t stupid to call her my first love or anything dramatic like that. I barely knew the girl and it was her appearance that hooked me in. Had me following her like a desperate beggar.


    I don¡¯t want to be tied down anymore. I want Khali to be forgotten like an unpleasant memory. I guess I¡¯ll go where the wind takes me from now and see where it leads.


    My adventure is just now starting after all. Breathing in the fresh air and looking at the world in a new light not for the first time.


    Looking at the pop up box filled my eyes with glee as something is about to change and I¡¯m about to rock the world.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Dark matter manipulation rank up to level 10. By becoming acquainted with the darkness, you have learned to take advantage of its mysterious powers. You are now truly on your way on becoming the true ruler of the Night. As a ruler you need subjects. Base on your desire, a new ability has been unlock: Servants of the Ruler of Night. </td></tr></tbody></table>.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Servants of the Ruler of Night: Activating this skill will consume a monster core and will take on the beast appearance. As its master you will be able to summon and unsummon the current Servant. The servant will be permanent unless slain and will be able to grow and evolve as it kill more and more creatures alongside you. (Current Summon: 0/1)


    Skill Level: E </td></tr></tbody></table>.

 Chapter 9 Nyu

    Chapter 9


    Lemrod¡¯s POV


    I woke up with a yawn and greet the day sleepily and immediately covered my face by raising my left arm upwards to blocked the sudden attack of the sunlight. Deciding it better to move towards a place with shade, I lazily crawled towards a nearby tree. The fallen leaves rustled against my knee and elbows as I slither towards the heavenly shade of darkness. Having gotten the sun off my back I sighed in content. Yesterday¡¯s fear and troubles hazily put in the back of my mind.


    This was a new day. A new start. A whole new world.


    Now all I need is a magic carpet and a monkey. Forget princess Jasmine, she can fuck off.


    Now fully awake, I stayed lying down looking at the fresh green leaves of the tree I was using as a shield to the cursed sun. Remembering the new skill I unlocked yesterday. I buried myself in deep thought. This really wouldn¡¯t be so difficult if I could summon more than one servant but seeing as that is not really an option, I have to think about this delicately and carefully.


    It would be a sin to just randomly select a servant willy nilly. I can¡¯t have that. I know I¡¯m lazy but I¡¯m not that lazy. Well seeing as I¡¯m near the nest of the Phoenix chicken, it would be a nice time to go pick up all those chicken cores. (special thanks to Blazing frost for making me laugh. As a reward I decided to write another chapter)


    There¡¯s just one problem with that, I didn¡¯t really want to be known as Ruler of the Darkness sir Chicken Ala King. I mean of course that might not happen and I could evolve the Phoenix Chicken into something powerful but really a chicken? I think if there was someone else who had the same power as me and unlock the skill to summon a servant and he picked a chicken. I don¡¯t know about you but I would have slapped the shit out of the crazy heathen and make him apologise for being born.


    Seriously a chicken. I mean you get to pick on what to summon base on a monster core and out of every bad-ass monster you could have chosen, you decided a chicken was fit to your liking. I just call that being lazy and I would shoot any fucker that disagree with me otherwise.


    Having realised that I was slightly over reacting and ranting to no one in particular, I smiled sheepishly and mentally told myself off for getting carried away. Lord knows why I was ranting about a non-existing character similar to myself and choosing a chicken as its first demonic servant. I chuckled at the thought. Having realised of something pretty amusing my mind froze and a menacing smile slowly creeped its way out transforming my face in a sinister manner.


    ¡°What if I can make servant stronger by making him consume monster ores¡± I whispered to myself excited at the prospect. Having steeled my resolve, I decided to go see the monster cores of the Phoenix Chicken, I got up in a slow and methodical way. I¡¯m still hurting, not emotionally but physically. I cringe as I stood full height the pain in my leg reminded me of the battle with the fire snake yesterday. I deduce that the fire snake belongs to a family of monster called the Dragons Descendants, make sense really I nodded to myself. They do resemble a dragon to an extent and have distinct features comparable to a dragon. Especially the wings and the ability to breathe fire, can¡¯t forget about its claws I grimaced.


    Wouldn¡¯t it be cool to have that kind of monster at my beck and call, a sudden realization made me jump and I celebrate in the air. Wouldn¡¯t that fire snake yesterday drop a monster core? Hehehehe I grinned evilly. Besides I cannot believe I was seriously about to consider a chicken as my first servant. Wouldn¡¯t that make me a hypocrite? I cried in disgust. I shivered at the thought disgusted with myself. Even if I could make it evolve by making it consume monster cores, I was seriously considering a chicken after all that rant. Ahh I¡¯m so disappointed in myself I cried while walking towards the hunting grounds.


    Having reached my destination, I broke out of my self-loathing. Standing still appreciating the rocky ground, the sun in the sky and the beautiful greenery surrounding my precious chicken monster cores. I nearly cried. It was simply too beautiful.


    I had to take a moment to appreciate the significance of this moment. This was going to be cemented in history as how the ruler of the night contracted its first servant. The servant that will be feared by all. Mwahahahahahaaha.


    Realising that I was slowly losing my composure again. I decided to straighten myself and lightly scold my idiotic behaviour mentally. Before I took another step I realised my clothes were in tatters, sighing again at my incompetence I gather the dark matter from the surrounding shade and I immediately notice the difference. The dark fluid now moves at a quicker pace towards my direction and readily gather in my right palm in no time at all. This must be the power of having rank my Dark Matter Manipulation to level 10. I can¡¯t help but let a small dark laugh escape my charming lips.


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    Imagining a dark long blazer in the form of a jacket the dark matter understood what I wanted and covered my body as it forms into a blazer jacket covering my shoulders, arms and both side of my legs. Seeing as the half of the front is exposed, I quickly imagine a dark pants and that immediately happened.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Dark Blazer Enchantment: +2 Luck </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Dark Pants Enchantment: Fire Resistance +5</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Well not bad¡± I said proudly looking at the enchantment added to my beautiful outfit. I didn¡¯t bother with the clothes since the Dark Blazer was enough to cover the front as it wrapped itself around me. Well the dark blazer covered most things except some of the chest area.


    Now I¡¯m ready to meet my first servant I smiled contended at how things were proceeding. Seeing as I couldn¡¯t wait any longer I wrapped the dark matter around my legs and leapt forward towards the fire snake. Glinting in the sunlight, the fire snakes monster core sat in the ground besides its dried skin. Bewildered by body¡¯s lack of blood, I nodded in realisation figuring out what had happened to it. ¡°Must be why I levelled up dark matter manipulation so quickly¡± I thought. ¡°But how could it have drained the monster of its blood? I was practically unconscious after defeating it. Does it have a mind of its own¡± I wondered. Seeing as my questions are not going to be answered any time soon, I decided to let the matter go.


    Seizing the monster greedily. I let out a small laugh, giddy at the thought of having my very first servant. Before invoking my skill, I studied the monster. It was circular in shape and fit the palm of my palm perfectly. It wasn¡¯t completely smooth as it had jagged and uneven surface all around. The monster core was translucent meaning it was see through, the monster core was light orange and inside of its was a black circular shape and around it was an aura with a tinge of dark orange.


    ¡°Fascinating¡± I whispered in a dazed manner.


    After observing it. I immediately utter the skill name ¡°Servants of the Ruler of Night¡± and the monster was immediately consumed by a dark flame and it slowly hovered up levelled with my eyes and the dark flame suddenly contorted in a weird way. After a while the weird shape flame begun to resemble the outline of the fire snake that I have killed yesterday. Without warning the dark flame vanished and a leathery snake with claws fell down to my waiting palm, cushioning its fall. Its eyes still close, I just admired my first servant with awe and excitement.


    The size was not the same as the fire snake yesterday. This snake was a lot smaller so I assumed that it was a baby seeing as it could fit the palm of my hand, it has to be. I squealed internally at how cute it was and inspected its wings. With my other hand I touched his wings and it was leathery yet soft to touch.


    Suddenly a bunch of pop up box bombarded my vision.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> You have successfully materialised your first servant. Due to the owner having a dark attribute the Fire Snake has mutated and became a Shadow Snake. Shadow Snake is weaker during the day but its strength is doubled at night. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Surprised at the sudden turn of events I immediately examined the Shadow Snake. Its leathery skin turned a shade darker, giving a seriously badass look. ¡°Nice¡±


    The snake slowly opened its eyes, blinking a few times and tilt its head at seeing me. I merely stared at it for a while and the beast suddenly jump towards my face, latching its claws softly at both side of my cheeks as to not fall off and licked the tip of my nose. Surprise by the sudden movement I let out a voice of surprise but that surprise turned into laughter.


    Grasping it with both hands I gently encourage the beast to let go and surprisingly it seem to know I wanted and gave my nose a last lick before plopping down as it let go of its hold of both of my cheeks.


    ¡°Nyuuuu¡± the Shadow snake squealed in happiness as it hop up and down on top of my hands looking at me like I was its father.


    Feeling genuinely happy. I decided to call my first servant Nyu.

 Chapter 10 Scorpio

    Chapter 10


    Lemrod¡¯s POV


    Having collected all the Phoenix core and infused them with my dark matter so I can store all this babies in my pocket dimension.  I decided to travel west and see if I can find a cave somewhere to hole up in for the day, it shouldn¡¯t be that uncomfortable since I can practically make anything out of dark matter; well almost anything. I smiled hearing Nyu''s slow and steady breathing while he¡¯s curled up like a scarf on the back of my neck. Surprisingly he¡¯s quite warm considering he¡¯s cold blooded, must be because of his flame attribute.


    Having travelled quite far for two hours, I hear the ground trembling and vibrating. As if by instincts I jumped in the air using my legs that was enchanted by the dark matter. Having the sun facing towards in my direction, I instinctively use both arms to shield my eyes from the sun. Not quite sure on what¡¯s going on yet I quickly unsummoned Nyu fearing for his life. In the short time that I have had him, which was only for two hours, I¡¯ve grown quiet fond of Nyu so I didn¡¯t want to take any chances.


    The roar of an unknown beast snapped me out of my thoughts and made me look down on the ground, what I saw made me flinched as the mouth of the beast was inches away from my feet and I immediately curled my feet upwards hitting the back of my thigh instinctively. While descending down I created a platform in mid-air using dark matter and landed on top of it to observe my unknown opponent.


    I cringed in disgust at what I saw. A giant worm covered in liquid green ooze that drips from its body, the liquid itself act similarly to acid as it burns  away the leaves and grass on the ground. The mouth was big with a diameter of about sixty inches filled with lethal spikes as sharp as any sword and seemed to be well placed around its mouth for when it closes, the gaps on the sides of the teeth gets filled by the other spike all around the mouth, making it able to close its mouth completely.


    ¡°Well this day could have gone better¡± I muttered dejectedly. I guess I need to see how it fights and what kind of tricks it has at its sleeves. Eyeing up the green liquid oozing out of its teeth and body, I wouldn¡¯t be surprise if it had to do with those.


    While thinking of a strategy to use against this monster, I quickly gather the dark energy around the area and they swirl and swoosh around me like a mindless drone set on auto pilot. ¡°Well let¡¯s try this first¡±. A humanoid take shape on the side of me, it was my shadow clone and I created him some armour and weapon to increase its defence and offensiveness in combat. The great thing about this bad boy is that I can control its actions manually from afar although there is a limit on the distance during the day while the limit is removed at night.


    Seeing the worm monster using its body to shape like a spring in order to increase its jumping height made me laugh as I¡¯m too high up for him to reach, enrage by my action it sprayed green ooze out of its mouth that travels at the speed of sound. My shadow clone shifted his weight and sprinted in front of me to block the attack with his body. That attack alone destroyed my clone and made me think twice about my opponent. I shouldn¡¯t underestimate this abomination, doing so might lead to my early death, I grimaced inwardly at my naivety.  Unused to combat, thinking because I had the high ground and it can¡¯t reach me I was safe. I realised that I have to change and adjust my mentality soon. The world has changed and there¡¯s not a safe place anywhere so I have to be vigilant.


    Creating two shadow clones this time, I jumped down with them while I set the clones on auto pilot to just attack the beast when they see fit and dodge the attack if they¡¯re in danger. Not following my shadow minions, while descending I imagined a skate board  and made it so it will be powered by my dark matter. Thus creating the shadow board.


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Shadow Board: Created by using Dark Matter Manipulation. +25 Speed</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td> Dark Matter Manipulation level up to level 11 </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°WHHOOOOOOOO!!!¡± I shouted in excitement, feeling the sharpness of the wind upon my face. It¡¯s cold touch making me relax while I think of ways to end my opponent¡¯s life. My dark blazer fluttering with the wind making the loose fabric fly behind me, my black long hair pushed back while I glide around the giant worm beast waiting for an opening.


    The beast distracted by the weird movements that I was making , while gliding, eyed me cautiously. Its eyes transfixed on my silhouette, after watching and observing my movement for a minute, the beast finally decided to attack and sprayed me with the liquid ooze. I danced around its clumsy attack as I twist and turn, leaning my body to appropriate positions to dodge his incoming attacks.


    My shadow clones took notice of the opportunity I was creating for them and charge silently like a ghost towards the giant worm. They both raised their sword in an identical manner, pointing it forwards. The point of the sword directed in a thrusting position. Using their leg muscles, body muscles and arm muscles to deliver a strong thrust to puncture the beast skin.


    Moments later, a horrific shriek from the beast filled the surrounding area. Finally noticing the shadow clones as their sword is stuck in the beast skin and the green ooze proceeds to melt their shadow swords. Without any wasted movement, the beast immediately lunge down and devoured the clones angrily. Its eyes glowing red to emphasize its anger towards while staring at me.


    I smiled to return the favour, enraging the worm even more. The bottom of its neck continued to gush out in liquid ooze, creating a small puddle around him. ¡°It seems that the ooze itself was its life force and the worm uses it as a weapon¡±


    Noticing that the giant worm¡¯s wounds were closing slowly of its own accord, I clicked my tongue annoyed at its auto regeneration ability.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that kind of thing was possible but I guess this is not the old earth anymore¡±. Not allowing the beast to recover fully, I created a giant axe bigger than the beast itself, intending to split the beast in half. Using the shadow board as a stepping stone, I jumped down, holding on to the heavy handle of the giant axe, intending to take advantage of the law of gravity.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The beast seeing my attack tried to dodge but the heavy mass of the axe accelerated my descent and cleanly indulged itself on the beast innards as it travels downwards cleanly. The worm¡¯s hardened muscles couldn¡¯t prevent the giant axe from completely slicing it in half.


    As if denied food for a long period of time, the dark matter proceeded to gorge itself on the life force of the slain beast as if it was a five star meal. I stood there awkwardly, my face contorted in bewilderment and surprise at the spectacle that was happening in front of me. I have a feeling that I should be scared by this or at least be worried at why and how my dark matter seem to have a will of its own when it comes to consuming blood but somehow I¡¯m not even bewildered or bothered by the current events. I sigh while putting a hand on my face and shaking my head left and right. I just remembered that I have always been this type of guy. An entity that accepts situation as long as it doesn¡¯t endanger my life or anyone close to me.


    Noticing that the dark matter seem to have finish lapping up the life force of the worm beast, I looked at the ground and smiled wryly. ¡°Even the liquid on the ground was lapped up, you must have been hungry huh?¡± I uttered quietly in a surprise voice.


    ¡°Oh well time to move on¡± I announced to no one in particular while grabbing the beast core and putting it inside my pocket dimension.


    ***************************************************************************************************


    I¡¯ve been travelling for a few weeks now and Nyu has gotten a lot bigger than before. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure on how to use the monster core to upgrade my companion so I tried what first comes to mind; making Nyu eat it. To be honest I come up with this idea because of an inspiration from my dark matter who seems to get slightly stronger whenever they consume the blood of the beast that I have slain. From the few weeks I¡¯ve been travelling, I¡¯ve come across a number of slain beast that are either recently slain or rotting with their blood intact. Oddly the dark matter didn¡¯t go ballistic and devour the slain beast blood, it just ignored it. The ones I slain however is a different story, after I killed my opponent, the dark matter immediately cast its attention towards it and devour it in a blink of an eye. Odd right?


    Nyu can ingest the monster core but there seems to be a limit on how many he could take. Nyu uses the monster core as a food source and gets full easily because of his small size. Depending on the rank of the monster core, the easier or harder its satiety gets filled to the brim. Nyu can eat fifty Phoenix Chicken monster core a day while only digesting two Giant Worm monster core satisfies him for the days duration. During the course of our travel, Nyu did a lot of growing and he¡¯s now the size of a horse so I tend to hide him in public, just in case people gets wary of him and kill him on accident, thinking that he¡¯s a wild beast.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the cider you ordered¡± a well-dressed maid with a pleasant voice informed me, enabling me to break out of my deep thoughts and focused on my surroundings again. I seem to have develop a habit of doing that lately, well I can¡¯t really blame myself, there¡¯s a lot to learn and in terms of information, I¡¯m behind the times.


    ¡°Thanks¡± I replied. Taking the drink from her and appreciating her appearance as I do so. She giggled as she noticed me casually checking her out, so I winked at her and she snorted in surprise, her cheeks blushing. Having finished her job she immediately headed to the bar to get more drinks for the other customer.


    Taking my eyes off her, I paid attention to my sparkly drink. Taking a sip and closing my eyes as I do so, I shuddered as the strong strawberry flavour invaded my mouth and giving my taste bud a well-deserved massage.


    I sigh in contentment.


    I¡¯m in a town called Scorpio, which is South East from the city of Norwell.


    The inn I¡¯m currently staying in is situated at the edge of town so it¡¯s not really popular. Concerning money, it¡¯s possible to sell monster cores so that¡¯s what I did considering I have hundreds in my pocket dimension. The town is heavily guarded by its guardian who seems to be a saint that can tame monsters that are weaker than him. This town was rebuilt on his orders and he protected the people here during the rebuilding process. The town was then renamed Scorpio base on the beast he tames. Yep you guessed it, he tames Scorpions.


    The ten giant Scorpions are position strategically outside of town and they roamed around their perimeter, attacking any wild monster that came too close to the town.


    Finishing my beloved drink I headed out of the inn pushing the double doors open. The noisy atmosphere and the amount of people was having an effect me, not used to that kind of atmosphere and the amount of people, I feel slightly uncomfortable and out of place.


    My objective today is to go the Guild office and register as an adventurer. According to what I have  gathered so far, the Adventurer¡¯s guild was recently formed with the help of many Saints with peculiar powers that could bend the will of the earth and transmute various objects into different materials.  This help the Adventurers guild take flight as different guild branches was built in various cities and towns. Different Branches were governed by different Guild masters chosen by the King for their strength and valour.


    The guilds hires adventurers to help control the pest which are wild monsters that are rampaging around the landscapes causing problems for villages, towns and even cities. Surprisingly dungeons have been discovered and they seem to have appeared in different areas around the continent. This was thought to be the work of the white lights.


    ¡°Looks like the fun¡¯s about to start¡± I muttered excitedly as the four story building came into view as well as the amount of people lined up to be a member. Most members that joins are probably saints.


    Gazing at the azure sky, I could feel that things were about to get stranger as time goes on. The white lights objectives and what they want is still unclear.

 Chapter 11 Opponent

    Chapter 11


    ¡°Finally¡± Lemrod exclaimed. He had been waiting for his chance to register but unfortunately he had to wait his turn. He looked at the clock surprise at the time, it seems he had been waiting for almost three hours. He remembered leaving the inn called Elmundo at twelve in the afternoon after quenching his thirst for the cider; the only thing his addicted to at the moment. Hearing the receptionist at the guild office shout ¡°next¡±, Lemrod headed down to her station which was at the very bottom row of the lined front desk.


    There were ten receptionist male and female taking in details from Saints who wanted to join the guild, to take quest and earn varying rewards depending on the difficulty of the job taken. The whole procedure didn¡¯t take long as all you needed to do was touch a glowing stone enchanted with magic and the stone itself will automatically identify your name, gender, rank and ability. Once the stone has determined your information, it will automatically store that data in the Guilds database among the other members.


    All new adventurers will start at the very bottom rank which is Rank E and their job consist of lowering the number of pest outside of the city. The quest would consist jobs such as hunting a family of Speed Rabbits or a pack of Evolved Wolves so on and so forth. Surprisingly very few monsters outside of the continent that are not in dungeons are given a rank. Giant Worms are Rank F monsters. The Giant Feline beast is Rank E, Cockroaches are unranked, Phoenix Chickens are unranked and the Dragons Descendants are considered Rank B. The monsters in dungeons that are made by the White Lights are different and are much more dangerous compared to the evolved monsters outside. (Next Chapter I will be posting the ranking of the monster cores, how the saints gets stronger and the ranking of most monsters)


    Finally looking up from the data sheet she was looking at, the receptionist in charge of desk 10 looked at Lemrod with tired blue eyes. Her brunette hair in a ponytail and her cute cheeks in a slight huff as if she¡¯s tired from sitting there all day.


    ¡°Long day huh¡± Lemrod started. The receptionist only smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Yep¡± she agreed eagerly. ¡°Been stuck here since this morning, I would kill anyone just to have a break¡± her eyes glistened dangerously for a brief moment.


    ¡°Well you can kill the guy the after me¡± Lemrod leaned lower down to be closer to the cute receptionist as he begun to whisper ¡°Not going to lie but he¡¯s been following me since this afternoon, it¡¯s been 3 hours now and he¡¯s still wouldn¡¯t go away. I think he has the hots for me, but honestly I don¡¯t swing that way¡± after he finished, he winked jokingly at the receptionist.


    ¡°Aww poor you, maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s not really following you at all and was just unfortunately stuck behind you because of the line¡± she agreed with faked sympathy. Giggling at his idiotic declaration.


    After hearing the complete logical explanation of the cute nurse, Lemrod nodded while closing his eyes in a deep thinking motion. ¡°Maybe, just maybe¡± he muttered trying to go for a dramatic effect.


    Laughing at the strange boy in front of her. ¡°Made my day thanks¡± she told him, her lips now curled up in a natural smile, which made Lemrod blushed. Not knowing what else to say, he just winked at her but that only made her giggle more. The jingle of her voice was like music to his ears.


    ¡°Here you go¡± reaching out to the stone next to her hand and handing it to Lemrod.


    ¡°Just touch it right?¡±


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s pretty much all you have to do, don¡¯t let go of it until a blue pop up box shows up¡± the receptionist explained.


    ¡°Got it¡±


    Taking the glowing stone from the receptionist silky smooth hands, he then proceed to held the glowing stone in the palm of his hands silently waiting for the stone to finish analysing him.


    ¡°So after registering, can I immediately start off dungeon quest?¡± Lemrod inquired.


    ¡°Well no, since you have just started we are not authorised to give you a higher ranked quest. You know, to reduce casualties. You need to be at least B Rank to start doing basic Dungeon quest. The Rank B quest will most likely involve you being sent on an errand to gather certain materials or ingredients found in the lower level areas¡±


    ¡°So how does the rank system work?¡± inquired Lemrod his brow furred and displeased at hearing the news. He didn¡¯t want to do the boring quest and was more eager in exploring the newly formed dungeon. His adventurous spirit made him giddy and excited at the prospect of being able to explore and being able to find out the secrets and treasures of the dungeons. If things don¡¯t work out he has decided to sneak past the guards guarding the dungeon entrance in order to fill his curiosity.


    ¡°Well¡± the receptionist paused dramatically, putting a finger on her chin and looking upwards recalling the stored information from her memory. ¡°You accumulate points by doing quest and that¡¯s how you rank up. For example each Rank E quest will be divided into different difficulties, the difficulties are divided from Difficulty A, B and C, with C being the easiest to do in the Rank E quest category. Difficulty A quest will only give you 25 points, Difficulty B 10 points while Difficulty C 5 points¡±


    Pausing to catch her breathe she proceeds to explain again. ¡°You need to accumulate 100 points in total in order to rank up. The next rank will give you more points compared to the points given on lower ranks, the reason for it is because is the rise in difficulties, thus giving you more points.¡±


    ¡°However there is a way for you to gain a Rank B status early, and that is by defeating one of the Dragon¡¯s Descendants roaming around openly and showing it to any of the receptionist. We have the authority to override the system and manually change your rank status without you accumulating any of the points.¡± She finished professionally.


    After hearing the last bit of information given by the receptionist, Lemrod¡¯s face brightened up quickly and the previous worries disappeared from his face, almost as if there were never there in the first place. Seeing the change in the boy in front of her, she smiled relieved that the problem he seemed to have with the system has disappeared. Linley liked this boy because of his refreshing attitude, unlike the other Saints whose purpose was just to join the Guild and was not interested in small conversations, the day proceeded to be very dull and that made her job even more painfully boring as time ticked by until he arrived to provide a bit of entertainment.


    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing after completing the quest, I can go to one of the receptionist here and hand in the finished quest to gather my rewards and store the points garnered from the quest?¡± Lemrod asked.


    ¡°Yes¡± Linley winked at him to let him know he¡¯s right on the ball.


    A blue pop up sign suddenly obstructed Lemrod¡¯s view.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Lemrod Chrome</td></tr><tr><td>Age</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>Ability</td><td>Dark Matter Manipulator</td></tr><tr><td>Rank</td><td>E</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The bright stone then started flashing from green to red and back again. Perplexed by the strange situation and worried that he did something wrong he gave a questioning look to the receptionist.


    ¡°Is this supposed to be normal?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha relax¡± she laughed seeing the stupid look he¡¯s giving her. ¡°That just means that the stone is loading your information to the database, you should get another pop up telling you that you¡¯re information has been successfully stored to the Guild¡¯s database¡±


    ¡°Oh¡± Lemrod sighed in relief.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You''re Information Has been sucessfully stored.


    Thank you for your cooperation Adventurer.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The stone then stop flashing after informing Lemrod that it has been successful.


    ¡°Here you go¡± Lemrod then hands back the bright stone to the receptionist. After taking the stone from him, she then placed the glowing rock on a drawer under the table.


    ¡°After you completed a quest, you don¡¯t need to hold the Information Stone to be able to store the accumulated points from the quest.¡± Reaching with her left hand under the table again, Linley took out a small black pocket book which has a black stone in the middle. The book was made from a very special metallic substance that¡¯s very sturdy yet light. This type of metal was chosen for its practicability. The lightness and the size of the notebook would not hinder the Adventurer as its weight almost seems like it¡¯s not their while its size makes it possible to store in almost any size pockets.


    Curious about the object being handed to him Lemrod waited for the receptionist to explain its uses. ¡°This artefact is called Monster Scanner and it has the ability to scan most monsters your encounter in your journey. It works by pointing the black stone at the intended target and the stone will then proceed to analyse the target by absorbing visual particles in the backgrounds and collecting some of its DNA signature. The Monster Scanner can determine the Monsters name, rank and racial abilities.¡± Linley explained.


    ¡°Ohh, that¡¯s pretty amazing¡± Lemrod replied, clearly impressed.


    ¡°Yes, this is one of the artefacts found in the last floor in one of the dungeons after defeating the boss of the dungeon. Blaze Drake a famous enchanter was able to analyse the artefact and mass produce it, he¡¯s also the one who created the Information Stone.¡± Her excited voice shows how much she admired Blaze.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Amazing¡± Lemrod replied, trying to sound sincere about his compliment. Linley¡¯s eyes sparkle at Lemrod¡¯s reply and vigorously  nodded her head in excitement. Her bright eyes seem to say ¡°I know right¡±.


    ¡°Anyway¡± Lemrod began trying to change the subject. ¡°I have defeated a dragon descendants and it was a fire type but the problem is, I used the monster core in order to use one of my skills; I can however provide evidence that I have defeated it.¡± Lemrod finished meekly, trying to explain his circumstances to the receptionist.


    ¡°Well, normally I don¡¯t think that would be enough to get your rank to change but since it¡¯s you I could probably make an exception depending on the type of evidence.¡±


    ¡°Hmm well ok¡±


    Lemrod backed a few steps and begun to channel his dark matter, a dark aura begun to pulse around Lemrod.


    ¡°Summon Shadow Snake¡±


    Out of nowhere serpentine shape begun to take place in front of Lemrod. The surrounding Saints stood agape watching the strange spectacle happening inside the Guild¡¯s abode. Some Saints got into their battle mode, stood alert and ready. They all watched Lemrod like how a hawk watches its prey.


    The summoning process was complete and Nyuu stood before his master, he was 4 meters long and as big as a grown horse. Seeing that he has been summoned and eyeing the spectators surrounding Lemrod, thinking that they were surrounded by enemies, Nyu immediately curled around his master protectively and hissing aggressively at the surrounding Saints, warning them to back off. Seeing the distress behaviour on his servant, Lemrod just laughed and begun to stroke Nyu smooth hard scaled feathery skin to calm him down.


    Lemrod finally notice the stares from the Saints nearby, he just smiled and waved at them awkwardly. The Saints finally relaxed their stance, knowing that there was no danger and proceeded to line up again.


    ¡°Sorry about that¡± said Lemrod apologising at the receptionist.


    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re just full of surprises.¡± Linley said casually.


    ¡°So is this enough evidence for an immediate rank up?¡± Lemrod inquired.


    ¡°More than enough¡± Linley reassured him.


    Sighing in relief Lemrod unsummoned  Nyu immediately.


    Taking out the Information Stone again from the drawer she begun to manually access Lemrod¡¯s Information and change it by poking the air in front of Lemrod. Bewildered by the action of the receptionist but did not want to interrupt what she was doing, Lemrod just shrugged and did not ask any questions.


    ¡°Alright, here you go, Check if your Rank has been changed¡± said Linley as she handed him the Information stone.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Lemrod Chrome</td></tr><tr><td>Age</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>Ability</td><td>Dark Matter Manipulator</td></tr><tr><td>Rank</td><td>B</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°Yeah it¡¯s been changed. Thanks.. ehh¡ª¡°


    ¡°Linley¡± Linley interrupted, knowing that he was going to ask for her name.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Lemrod¡± Lemrod replied  smiling and putting his hand out to shake hers. Seeing the gesture Linley complied.


    ¡°Nice to meet you¡± she smiled brightly.


    ¡°And you¡± Lemrod equally glad that he made a friend.


    Guessing what he was going to ask next, Linley pointed at the Quest Board across the floor. ¡°You can take a quest right over where I¡¯m pointing, that¡¯s the quest board.¡±


    Nodding his head in appreciation he waved goodbye to Linley and walked over to the Quest Board.


    ***********


    ¡°Hello my name is Micah Frost. We noticed that you chose the same quest us. So how about partying up with us for a while, you know as the saying goes, there¡¯s safety in numbers¡± said a petite girl with silver hair.


    Surprised by the sudden question, Lemrod just stood there with his jaws slightly open. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I said-


    ¡°No I know what you said¡± Interrupted Lemrod ¡°but why me?¡±


    ¡°Well, you look like a powerful summoner¡± Micah replied.


    Lemrod was about to contradict her observation but decided not to, he was feeling mischievous. Besides it¡¯s not every day you can pretend to be a summoner, in fact he might as well be, seeing that he can summon servants because of one of his skill. It¡¯s better to hide his real ability anyway, Lemrod¡¯s not entirely sure how trustworthy Saints are as he does not associate with them.


    Before he could say anything, a muscular man covered in steel plated armour who looked like he was in his 30¡¯s came over. He glared at Lemrod and sneered.


    ¡°Micah we don¡¯t need a Summoner in our group. Apart from they¡¯re summoned beast, the Summoner is a weak class¡± he said coldly.


    ¡°Brother don¡¯t say that¡± Micah protested. ¡°This guy has a B rank monster as a companion and that alone would increase our chances of survival in the dungeon. Apologise to him¡± she glared at the man she calls brother. Seeing the glare from his sister he backed off and gave Lemrod an even colder glare.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± he said stiffly.


    Smiling ¡°I don¡¯t think that was a sincere apology¡± Lemrod said.


    ¡°Bastard¡± shouted the armour guy angrily. ¡°Know your place summoner. Without you¡¯re Snake, you¡¯re nothing.¡± He spat.


    ¡°Brother. Stop this¡± Micah shouted, but before she could say anything else Lemrod spoke.


    ¡°How about this, if I win against you in a duel. You have to admit that you¡¯re nothing but a little bitch but if I lose then I won¡¯t join the team. Fair?¡± Lemrod proposed.


    Hearing the proposal, the armour guy gave a confident look.


    ¡°Ok¡± the armour called Gilan agreed.


    *****


    Having move to a spacious location. Lemrod and Gilan stood opposite each other. Nyu was normally summoned and was glaring at Gilan dangerously. Nyu¡¯s scales has started to change giving it a feathery texture instead of a scaly one. Lemrod surmised that it was probably due to eating a lot of Phoenix Chicken cores that the slight change in appearance has occurred.


    Micah who was reluctant at this arrangement at first but seeing that there is nothing she could do to stop them, reluctantly agreed and become the judge for the duel.


    Wearing a smug look Gilan brandished a giant axe and smiled at Lemrod. His posture confident and overbearing.


    ¡°Start¡± that was the signal. Micah stood in the distance and proclaimed the start of the duel with her cute timid voice.


    Hearing this, Nyu wasted no time and slithered forward, charging at Gilan hoping to take him by surprise at the sudden movement.


    ¡°Stone Prison¡± shouted Gilan. A bunch of boulder suddenly surrounded Nyu and imprisoned him. Nyu let out a surprise cry, his body unable to react at the sudden change in terrain, slammed directly at the boulder in front of him. The boulder didn¡¯t even crack at the force of the impact. Lemrod could tell this was no ordinary boulder, this was made using his ability, and it was only natural that it was going to be different.


    ¡°Nyu use Shadow Flame¡± commanded Lemrod. Lemrod is commanding at the back, keeping up appearances that he¡¯s a Summoner type Saint.


    After hearing the command, Gilan immediately used ¡°Rock Magic, Fire Resistance Enhancement¡±


    Nyu hearing the command from his master tried to use ¡®Shadow Flame¡¯ to break through but due to the ¡®Fire Resistance Enhancement¡± that attack was nullified and Nyu became unable to do anything. Nyu was imprisoned, unable to help his master.


    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re pet has been sealed Summoner. Surrender now if you don¡¯t want to get hurt¡± saild Gilan boldly, sure of his victory.


    Lemrod just smiled, wrapping his leg in dark matter he blinked forward and appeared behind Gilan. Because Gilan had become a skilled warrior with a large experience in battle due to him exploring the dungeon and facing different type of enemies, he immediately sense danger and used a defensive type ability.


    ¡°Rock armour¡±


    Lemrod confident that he will be able to give Gilan a clean hit in the back of the head, wrapped his fist in dark matter to enhance the damage of his attack. However his fist only hit the rock armour, the damage was reduced to zero due to the armour beneath the rock armour covering Gilan.


    ¡°Ou, you¡¯re quite strong brat.¡± Exclaimed Gilan, surprise at Lemrod¡¯s speed and strength.


    ¡°Are you really a Summoner?¡±


    ¡°Who knows, why don¡¯t you find out yourself¡± said Lemrod, in a teasing voice.


    Swinging the giant axe with him as he turned hoping to catch Lemrod off guard, the axe hit nothing but air. Lemrod had backed away, putting a good amount of distance between them.


    Not waiting for him to recover at his failed attempt to injure him. Lemrod conjured multiple spear that hovered beside him. Gripping one of the floating spears, he begun to throw them at Gilan using extreme force. With the spear boosted by the dark matter, each hits pack a punch that punctured and peeled Gilan¡¯s rock armour. The impact of each hits making him step back.


    Not wanting to be outdone by Lemrod, Gilan then conjured up floating boulders beside him and begun hurling at Lemrod.


    ¡°Shadow Clone, Defensive Formation¡± Lemrod immediately conjured a show clone using dark matter. The clone conjured held a massive sturdy shield made from the dark matter and intercepted Gilan¡¯s attack, sacrificing himself to be used as a meat shield.


    Both men show sign of enjoying the battle and a vicious smile both plastered on their face. They did not stare at each other with hate, they look upon each other with nothing but admiration and respect for the other person¡¯s strength.


    The battle ended with them both collapse and losing consciousness after exhausting their ability which put¡¯s grain strain on the physical body.