《Towards the Light》 The day of Ouch March 1st, 2098 "Monster Mayhem Online is the first VRMMORPG that this world has ever seen. Our technology offers a new gaming experience unlike anything before, indistinguishable from reality. This game is filled with Majesty, Mystery, and most importantly, MONSTERS. At this point, it is a phenomenal game; however, we continue to astonish and amaze. Of the millions of monsters in here, including the bosses, every Single monster has it''s own unique skill repertoire made of the tens of Millions of skills in this game; and yet, there is still another kicker. Every Single monster and NPC can be bent to serve any player. These monsters or NPC, once trained or befriended, can operate autonomously and independently of the player. The possibilities of this are Endless. Want to found your own kingdom? You can. Want to raise an army? You can do that too. Want to conquer the world? I''ll leave the possibilities to your imagination. The first 20,000 buyers will have their capsules installed in their place of choice free, and will obtain a lifetime subscription. This game will be released tomorrow. That is all." This was the spiel that the sweaty little CEO of Potato Industries gave to the world as he walked off with a smug little smile. Of the millions of people that saw this, over 80% were instantly hooked. They rushed to the stores en masse. Among this mass, was Sameul Atronov. As everyone rushed to the stores, and he waited outside of ''Phenomenal Purchase'' (A replacement for B*st B*y). He was panting with excitement and joy. He had driven to the store as fast as I could, and still there were people their ahead of me! They waited outside and out breath crystallized in the air as we waited... The cloud of crystallization hung in the air over us as we were all silent as we saw the pimply store clerk come and then... turn over the closed sign to open... ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE! It was madness, punching and screaming. He thought he may have broken someone''s nose, but to be fair, some girl kneed him in the balls, so he wasn''t too terribly happy. Sameul somehow was able to get a copy. The only thing he could think of while he was giving my address to the clerk was "YAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS." Sameul was walking out, nearly skipping out of elation. Then, he made a choice which he does not regret, but would change his life. He saw a girl skipping merrily, holding the certificate for the game, and a car (Little tiny electric car) came barreling down from the right. He looked at the driver and saw his eyes filled with a crazy glint. Sameul knew what that glint was, the flames of greed. The greed for the game The world seemed to slow down as he ran out and pushed the girl out of the way. He felt an intense pain in his side as he was thrown to the left. He saw a group of red liquid drops sail through the air, painting the concrete with red. Sameul looked at the girl to see if she was alright, and she seemed fine, though really angry for some reason. She came up to him and kicked him in the gonads while yelling "You idiot!!!!!" Though her words and expression seemed to contradict each other because there were little crystal droplets streaming from her eyes. That wasn''t the only thing that was wrong. He couldn''t feel her kick. Come to think of it... He couldn''t feel anything. And that is when the world went dark and void... Sameul awoke in a small, uncomfortable bed draped in scratchy white sheets that felt extremely uncomfortable against his skin. He groggily say up and observed his surroundings. His bed was in the center of a small square room with white walls. This room was sparsely decorated with furniture (consisting of one desk, two tables, bed, lamp). To one side, there stood what seemed to be hospital equipment... Sameul sat up straighter with his eyes bugging out at the needle that was jabbed into his arm. He surveyed the room again and thought to himself "Crap, what did I do this time?" A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.At that moment, an older man with greying hair stepped opened the door with a smile. ""Looks like you''re finally up kid. Good to see you awake, though it would have been better to not have seen ha at all. You must have been the 200th victim of that Monster Mayhem stampede... Kids these days." "How long was I out?" "Hm? Oh about two months." He stared at him slack jawed "Two months?! Are you kidding me? How unlucky can I be?!" "Well, you can count yourself lucky you didn''t die at least. I heard there was one fatality in this mess. Some poor sap got himself shot and the game was taken. Consider yourself lucky!" He just stared at him incredulously. "You''re kidding right? Two months, I better get going" He said as he moved to swing his legs off the bed... But they didn''t move. He looked at his legs curiously and tried again. No response. He began to get scared and he turned to the old man. "What''s wrong with me doc? WHAT IS IT??" "First of all young man, I am not a "doc" my name is Richard Strolonhoff, creator of the technology for the VRMMORPG that caused this mess. Secondly, we had to pump you up with drugs to make sure you survived." Sameul stared incredulously at him "You''re kidding right?" "Awww, you found me out? Darn. Okay, truth is, you broke your spine and so it is very unlikely you''ll every regain control of any of your body that is below your waist." He said with a smile that belonged on the face of a little child that did something naughty, not on some OLD GUY! "I was questioning your identity! Not the state of my body! Dang it!!!" "I said it was unlikely you would regain your bodily controls, not impossible. Actually, that is the reason that I came here today. To give you a solution to your.... Unique predicament." He stared at him for a second. "I''m listening" "GOODY! So then Sameul - Can I call you Sammy? Splendid! So Sammy, your predicament is unique, but also offers me, the producer of the technology, a brilliant opportunity. We have been trying to test our technology to see the medicinal possibilities and poof, here you are. We would like to extend to offer to you for a two month, full dive environment to see how your body will respond to the treatment that you will be undergoing during this time. We will cover the expenses and of course, take care of your dogs." "So what''s the catch. Wait, How Did You Know I had Pets?" "The catch is that... There is none. Take it or leave it, thought I don''t think you can afford to leave it. Your insurance doesn''t cover the operations you will be needing." He stared at this man cautiously. This man, Richard, seemed to know everything, and was willing to playing dirty. His offer was splendid and a gift, though Sameul was not quite sure how he knew all this about him, which put him on edge. Sameul clears his throat and says with apprehension " I accept this deal... Though I do have a condition." "What might that be?" "I''d like to be able to break off this agreement at any time." "*sigh* You really don''t trust me do you? Okay deal" said the strange old man as he takes out the head gear for the VRMMORPG. "Here, put this on and say, Connect to Monster Mayhem. I already have an account for this device. You just have to make your character." Sameul took the headgear from this strange man, and put it on, looking at the man with a cautious look. He lay down in the bed. He breathed out "Connect to Monster Mayhem" And with that, the world went bright and white Chapter 1: Character Creation The complete blinding light that surrounded him transitioned to a deep, almost abyss black. A deep, rumbling, masculine voice began to speak. ¡°Welcome to Monster Mayhem Online, the scan of your iris identifies you as an unregistered user. Would you like to create a new account.¡± ¡°Yes please.¡± He answered with excitement brimming in his voice. He had been waiting for this, even though he got hit by a car. ¡°Please choose your name.¡± ¡°Abrum.¡± He liked that name that once belonged to his grandfather. To him, that name conveyed warmth, generosity, and gentleness. ¡°Please select your gender, you may choose male, female, neutral.¡± ¡°Male.¡± He selected without hesitation. He wanted this game to be as close to normal, and converse with the players normally. And besides, he didn''t agree with that kind of hobby. ¡°Please select your race, there are twelve playable races currently, each with their own strength¡¯s and setbacks. More playable races will become available as the game progresses and racial quests are completed.¡± He thought long and hard about this, because he knew that his race could greatly alter the way he would interact with the world. Being a vampire might be fun, but then he would be hunted and persecuted by the churches. Also, he wouldn¡¯t be able to play during the day, and that would be a lot of wasted time. A beast man race may be fun, however, they are shunned and discriminated against in human metropolises. Unfortunately, the game was rife with racial discrimination, and this would make playing as a beast man harder, despite the physical abilities. Playing as an elf would be fun, because they had good relations with the humans and superior magical abilities; and yet, their physical characteristics were abysmal. They would receive severe penalties for melee damage and had a low stamina cap. The inverse was true for playing as an orc. They had huge capacities for close combat. They started out with nearly double the vitality and strength of a human; and yet, their magical capabilities were basically nonexistent. The undead were a good all-around race. Their endless endurance comes from the fact that, well, they are dead. They are very capable in the area of dark magic. Yet, there is a catch. They receive 5 times the normal damage from Holy Magic. Playing as a dwarf would be fun, because they have an accelerated learning rate for crafting. Some skills can have an accelerated learning rate if the player has real life experience with the in game skill. Since nearly no one would have experience in crafting weapons, the dwarven race grants a head start in a extremely coveted skill. Sameul didn¡¯t choose the dwarven race for one reason in particular: Their diminutive stature. Also the characteristic to gain to debuff of nausea from riding and transportation was off putting. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The final race that Sameul came to in his potential choices, was the race of possibilities. Humans. Now humans are a race that has no notable strengths, however, no noticeable deficiencies. They are a good race for both those that are not committed players, or people who are extremely ambivalent about their class choice. Just as Sameul was about to choose the race of human, that rumbling, deep, masculine voice cut in again. ¡°The gods of this world have recognized your heart. One that is willing to sacrifice oneself for another, thus, a unique race has been opened to you. Would you like to proceed?¡± Sameul thought about it for a second. This is a unique occurrence, but what if the race is absolute crud? Yet, he thought his prime choice as human was uninteresting, thus he answered ¡°I would like to proceed with the unique race.¡± ¡°Congratulations traveler, you have been granted the race of the Angaellis. Their racial attributes and abilities will be revealed as time passes and you accumulate knowledge. Would you like to alter the default appearance of the Angaellis?¡± A tall male with a thin, but toned frame appeared in front of him. The figure was about six feet tall, with white hair, and stormy blue eyes that seemed to see into the depths of one¡¯s soul. ¡°Leave as is.¡± The figure disappeared and the voice rumbled ¡°Choose your starting city. You may choose Hundria, (Kingdom of Lirt), Sefica (Queendom of Jull), or Yine (Kingdom of Terr).¡± These names were unfamiliar to Sameul and he just chose one at a whim. ¡°Sefica¡± ¡°Welcome to the world of Atreties, enjoy your stay¡­ hahaha¡± The voice rumbled and had a strange laugh at the end. Sameul disregarded the uneasiness that came from the ominous laugh and prepared himself for his future adventures. Hey guys. Liking it so far? I appreciate any constructive criticism you guys can offer. Thanks! Chapter 2: Training Hello again everyone. How are is it so far? ¡°XXXXX¡± Talking ¡®XXXXX¡¯ Thinking In a brilliant flash of light that heralds the arrival of a new player, Abrum was born into the world of Atreties. As he observed his surroundings, his face changed to one filled with wonder and amazement. He looked at his hands, scrutinizing every inch of them, and continued to look around. ¡®Is this really a game? It feels¡­¡­ just like life felt before my accident. I can feel the rough texture of my pants, the slightly cold breeze. I can taste the moisture in the air. OOooooh¡­. What in heaven¡¯s name is that smell?¡¯ He continued to look around himself. The city was alive with bright hues, shop signs, vendors selling their wares. There were guards in bright regalia of Blue and Gold, but the thing that caught Abrum¡¯s eye were the players. Not specifically the players, but the menagerie of creatures that would follow each player like an entourage. Among these menageries were three headed dogs, hunched humanoids with leathery wings protruding from their shoulder blades, and some animal like humans. However, each of these beautiful creatures, that should be full of life, had collars around their necks. ¡®Maybe that¡¯s the sign of companionship¡¯ he shrugged it off and approached one of the players and asked him if there was a training hall any where. ¡°Sure thing kid, it¡¯s down a few blocks, take a right on Villa Ysmir, and you¡¯ll find it at the end of the street.¡± Abrum thanked the player and was on his way. The reason Abrum wanted to find the training hall was simple. He was not strong, and he wanted to be. He refused to be like the generic noobs that went out and died in droves whenever a pack of wolves made their appearance. As he walked to the training hall, there were numerous comments on his unique appearance. ¡°Wow, look at his hair, I don¡¯t remember that being an option in the character set up.¡± ¡°Forget the hair, his eyes look like they¡¯re staring into my soul¡± ¡°He can stare into my soul any time, my heart and soul belong to him!¡± Abrum kept walking, and sped up a little bit when he heard that last comment. He shook his head thinking to himself ¡®That last comment escalated things a bit quickly. Goodness.¡¯ As he walked, he marveled at the realism of the game. The NPC¡¯s were going about their daily lives, just like a normal person would. Abrum almost couldn¡¯t tell the difference between the NPC¡¯s and the players. The only thing that could possibly be used to differentiate would be the clothing, as well as the monster companions. As Abrum turned down Villa Ysmir, he noticed that the buildings began to get shabbier. The buildings seemed to be less and less colorful, and the houses started to lean a bit. When he arrived at the end of the street, the houses were basically colorless. The training hall was a different story altogether. It was made of bricks with a deep red hue instead of the generic building material of wood. The door was a huge oak door that had two metal bars that attached it to the door way. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. With some apprehension, Abrum opened the door carefully and walked inside. He was greeted by a burly man, five foot ten, that looked like he could chop down a tree with his bare hands. The man looked a tad bit irritated with Abrum¡¯s presence. ¡°No this is not a magic shop, those are down on Freya Boulevard. No this is not a black magic shop either, I don¡¯t know where those are. This is the training hall, get it? THE TRAINING HALL!¡± The man was beet red when he had finished. His eyes were bulging. These construct a very scary scenario, especially when the one wearing these contortions of emotion could snap you like a twig over his knee. ¡°W-well good. I must be in the right place then.¡± ¡°Right place? What are you playing at? I paid my bills! No I do not want to buy anything.¡± ¡°You misunderstand sir, I came here seeking your services. I would like you to teach me if that would be convenient. I believe someone of your stature would be overly qualified to teach an inexperienced traveler, such as myself, the way of the sword.¡± Abrum suavely replied. The instructor just blinked for a few seconds. Realization swept across his face like a wave of soothing water. He blinked away a few tears, and mumbled to himself, something about how he¡¯ll do a good job with this one/ ¡°Come here lad, come closer so I can see your face.¡± Abrum was puzzled by this and just came closer. As he approached, he realized something. The instructor¡¯s eyes were white, as if they were sightless. ¡°Actually, sir, are you sure you are qualified to teach me? With your eye sight and all.¡± The man gave him an incredulous look ¡°How about a little duel then? To see if this BLIND man can beat you, the picture of health. Go over to the wall and grab a wooden sword?¡± Abrum complied ¡®This is going to be interesting¡¯ Abrum proceeded to put himself in the ready position opposite from the older man. ¡°You can come whenever you are ready BOY.¡± The man said derisively. Abrum was a bit angry at this and charged forward, not making a sound, using the man¡¯s blindness to his advantage. He charged and then jumped slashing downwards with a terrifying force. The man merely smiled, sidestepped out of the way, and Abrum went tumbling. Abrum recollected himself and charged forward with a slash. The man parried with a smile and all of a sudden, Abrum was on the floor, without his weapon. He looked up at the man in awe. The man smiled and offered his hand ¡°The names Aleqe, what might yours be son?¡± ¡°Abrum¡± ¡°Well then Abrum, the only thing I have to say¡­ Is your attacking style stinks.¡± And so began the training. Chapter 3: Training... Part Two! How is it so far guys? I''d really appreciate some comments to know what you guys think. Otherwise, I can''t adjust it to your liking. Thanks for all the views so far. Also a thank you to whoever was kind enough to take their time to rate it. Abrum had been training with the Aleqe in the training hall for 8 in game days straight. Only stopping to eat and drink and sleep. Abrum had gotten a total of 16 hours of sleep for the 8 game days. Needless to say, Abrum was ¡°physically¡± and mentally exhausted. Abrum tended to fight with dual weapons, using one to defend, the other to attack. Those 174 hours of training were not fruitless. He had learned three important skills that would definitely give him a head start. The blade mastery was extremely important. It gave a damage bonus to all bladed weapons. This basically meant, if Abrum was holding a blade, he could do damage. The second skill was dual wielding mastery. This added a percentage of damage if Abrum was using two weapons simultaneously. The last, most important, and the skill with the most painful learning process was sensing aura. This skill allowed Abrum to see the aura of people. This could act as a locating skill. He could plausibly fight numerous people with his eyes closed. Also, ones aura could reveal what one is feeling, or what they are like. The base of an aura tells what a person is like. They are usually on the white and black color bar, almost never will it have a different color, except if someone is insane. The outer ring will tell what a person is feeling. Red for anger Green for Happiness Orange for excited Blue for Calm Black for Malicious Intent Such a useful skill came with quite the painful cost. To gain this skill, Aleqe tied a blindfold around Abrum¡¯s eyes and proceeded to smack him around for the next 6 hours until Abrum could defend himself without his eyes. Needless to say, Abrum wasn¡¯t happy. What he was happy about were various stat gains in Agility, Dexterity, Strength, Vitality, as well as the new stat Perseverance. That one was obtained near the beginning when Aleqe smacked him around ruthlessly for the first hour. Currently, he was sparring with Aleqe. They were locked in combat, splinters flying left and right from the colossal might that was exerted in every swing. Abrum had a face that showed worry. His swings were becoming frantic, trying to keep up with the inhuman speed of his instructor. Aleqe had on a serene, but devilish smile upon his face as his strikes flowed like liquid, but contained the force of a bull. The confrontation ended in Abrum on the ground, clutching his side. Aleqe looked down at him with that ever smiling face ¡°You¡¯ve improved exponentially, however, you always seem to break down whenever I start to move seriously.¡± ¡°OF COURSE! If you hit me even once, it hurts as if I was hit by a car! I know what that feels like!¡± ¡°What is this car you speak of?¡± Aleqe asked with a curious face ¡°Nevermind. How are your moves so fluid?¡± ¡°That¡¯s simple lad, I can teach you how to do it, though, you¡¯ll hate me for it.¡± Abrum looked apprehensively at the smiling devil in front of him. ¡®I want to learn that skill but after what happened on day four¡­.¡¯ *shudder* ¡°Ok, I¡¯m probably going to regret this, but show me how it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Alrighty then boy, we¡¯re going on a field trip, to outside the city gate.¡±Aleqe went to the back of the hall to gather some supplies while Abrum gathered up his twin wooden swords he had grown accustomed to using. After he was finished, Aleqe came out with a leather satchel that looked to be very heavy. ¡°Boy, come over here.¡± Although Abrum didn¡¯t want to, he knew he would get beaten if he didn¡¯t. He approached Aleqe cautiously, however, Aleqe grabbed him and proceeded to attach metal cuffs with strange runes to his arms and legs. Abrum looked nervously to Aleqe and asked ¡°What are these?¡± In response, Aleqe just smiled his smile, raised his hand and yelled ¡°Gravitas Articavis¡± Suddenly, the cuffs felt a lot heavier than they were and nearly knocked poor Abrum to the ground. He looked to Aleqe, but all he said was ¡°Strength training¡± as he walked out of the training hall. Abrum proceeded to follow Aleqe as they walked through the city. The hues the town once again amazed Abrum after being deprived of color after the merciless training. Aleqe was unphased due to his inability to see, however, he never bumped into a single person. There were many players in the town square advertising for a group. ¡°On a quest to slay the succubus that lives outside the city to the west, any cleric or paladins are welcome.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°I¡¯m a level 40 ranger, willing to track down any monster for you.¡± ¡°Selling high grade Subjugation collars for only 30 silver¡± At the sound of the last call, Abrum saw his masters face contort into a mask of displeasure. ¡°Something the matter master?¡± ¡°I remember the days when people would actually take the time to bond with the creatures. When the creatures would follow because of loyalty, not because of some magic¡­¡± Abrum thought about this and asked the question, ¡°What do the collars do exactly?¡± ¡°They rob whoever or whatever they are attached to of their will. It doesn¡¯t work on travelers though. Only a few can resist the collar, and those are usually killed off.¡± With that being said, Abrum and Aleqe continued to walk in silence. They passed the gates and came to a field full of rabbits and foxes. This green expanse was bordered by a rapidly flowing stream. Beyond that, there lay the green forest, full of pine trees and conifers. The image looked like it was right out of a fairy tale¡­ of course if you exclude the newbie players that were chasing the rabbits and the foxes, yelling fierce battle cries. Abrum just looked at the scene in amazement. He then saw something that he felt wasn¡¯t quite right. There was a mob of players chasing after two little white foxes. They were hurt and seemed to be bleeding from various cuts. The mob of players had them cornered against the wall of the town. The one who was leading them (short, red haired) pulled out a collar that was silver all around with a blood red gem in the middle. Abrum pointed it out to Aleqe, and his face contorted in rage. ¡°Would you like me to take care of it master?¡± Aleqe looked at him surprised, but just grinned and said ¡°Give them hell¡± Abrum proceeded over to the players. Just as the red head was approaching the two white foxes, something leaped over the heads of the mob and landed in front of the two foxes. This person tilted his head up slightly, smiled a smile that would freeze the River Styx, and proceeded to slaughter those who would take away the free will of another. In his mind though, Abrum was thinking to himself ¡®I¡¯m such an idiot, I¡¯m going to get myself killed!¡± He looked back over at the foxes. He saw the raw terror in their eyes. The fear of death, or worse, being made to live as one doesn¡¯t want to. At that point, he resolved himself to protect them, even if it cost him his in game life. He turned to the mob and raised his hand with the sword and said ¡°Come what may, you have no right to deprive these animals of their god given will!¡± Abrum then realized something. The STUPID GRAVITY CUFFS! He looked over at his master pleadingly, but his master just smiled at him. Abrum just sighed and turned to the mob, as they were looking at him as if he was retarded. ¡°They¡¯re just animals, so why don¡¯t you just give it up?¡± Jeered the red head with a belittling sneer on his face. In response, Abrum rushed towards him, preparing his wooden sword. But he couldn¡¯t rush with the stupid gravity cuffs. Then he had a thought. If the gravity cuffs make movement hard, use as little movement as possible. He stood still and let the mob come to him. They all came at him at once. Whenever someone attacked, Abrum merely redirected the swing to use it against another assailant. He swung sparingly, to reduce the amount of effort he had to use, ergo, he swung only when there was an opening. In no time at all, he had finished the noobs. He stood at the top of the pile and looked around. He looked pretty cool, but what was going on in his mind was very different from the surface. ¡®HOLY TACOS I DID IT! THAT WAS SCARY! MASTER IS EVIL!!!¡¯ After Abrum was finished with the noobs, he looked over to the two white foxes. They were cowering in fear after seeing their tormentors eliminated by the man in front of them with such ease. Abrum looked at them kindly, took out some meat from his pack, and gave it to the little foxes. They were hesitant at first, unwilling to accept the meat from this powerful stranger, but then after a time, they began to devour the meat strips in front of them. Abrum watched them with a kind smile on his face. After they had devoured the meat, they came up to Abrum, and began to rub their heads against him affectionately. He smiled and petted them. As soon as his hands touched their foreheads, a blinding light was emit from his hands. ¡°W-what¡¯s going on?¡± Chapter 4: Mark of the Angaellis and the Foxes Story I''d just like to say thank you to Lonjest for all the criticism he has given me. It has given me ideas where I need to improve. it''s a bit longer than the last. Also, thank you for pointing me to where I could find the tables. Thank you very much Lonjest. Also thank you to Xatoatox for pointing out something and giving me suggestions. I believe I resolved the problem. Also to Heftybookboy, I got your explosions right here. Enjoy guys **************************************************************************************************************** As the light began to clear, Abrum¡¯s eyes became wide. He couldn¡¯t believe the scene which lay in front of him. The two white foxes had undergone an astonishing change. No longer were these foxes pure white. These little ones, well, not so little any more, were no longer small timid and afraid. They were majestic. They had gold, swirling patterns that traced their bodies until they connected at the gold tipped tail and ears. They looked a bit confused. *Ding* The sound of a skill being learnt. Abrum checked the box that appeared in front of him.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Mark of the AngaellisBeginner356.8%
The mark given by and Angaellis. Will protect the bearer from any kind of subjugation class magic. Some creatures will be offered the ability to shift into a more humanoid form. To apply this mark, one must have a high intimacy with the markee. The bearer of the mark will gain properties of the Angaellis that gave the mark. Whoever or whatever is affected with the mark will have the ability to respawn after 4 days if killed. These benefits only apply if one continues to serve under the Angaellis that gave the mark. The bearer of the mark will have an increase in experience. The amount of the increase is dependent upon the level of the mark. The higher the mark level, the higher level creatures it can affect. Allows communication between the Angaellis and the creature. Unlike subjugation magic, the bearer of the mark retains their free will. Does not work on players.
Abrum¡¯s eyes bugged out at this message. He reread it a few times and then looked at his hand in amazement. ¡®This is the power of an Angaellis?! What?!! I am so happy I picked this race. THANK YOU GOD! But isn¡¯t this a little over powered.¡¯ The foxes were sitting down in front of him, looking up at him. They cocked their heads to one side cutely, and together as if synchronized. Their green eyes stared up at him questioningly. ¡°Master? What just happened?¡± Abrum looked around searching for the voice. ¡°Master? I¡¯m right here.¡± Came a voice from the foxes. ¡°Yeah master, stop looking around like an idiot.¡± That last comment hurt just a tad bit. Eh, you could call Abrum fragile. ¡°Is it you two that are calling me?¡± ¡°OBVIOUSLY! Baka¡­¡­¡± He looked at the foxes with a bit of disbelief. He wondered why the mob of hunters were chasing them. Usually, mobs like that only banded together to eliminate monsters with high infamy, and judging by the colors of their base auras, very bright white, it didn¡¯t make sense. ¡°Why was such a huge mob chasing after you? Usually only monsters of high notoriety are hunted with that kind of fervor.¡± At this point Aleqe had walked over and was observing the situation with mirth upon his face, though his face was completely absent of any signs of surprise. He was still wearing that stupid smile he always wore. ¡°Fancy you can talk to animals now boy? C¡¯mon, there¡¯s no time for that. We still have to get you trained.¡± He said as he began to walk away. Without a single care, he just walked away. No congratulations or anything of the sort Abrum thought this was odd and began to follow, and so did the foxes. Abrum was surprised. He asked the foxes while walking ¡°Why are you guys following me? Not that it is unwelcome company, I¡¯m just curious¡± The foxes looked up at him with their cute lil green eyes, and one of them sighed and said, ¡°You saved us from those hunters, gave us a mark that will protect us, so I guess you could say we view you as our benefactor and master.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you guys have a family to return to? Some mother or father worried sick about you? What about a brother or sis¡ª¡° ¡°Dead. All dead¡­¡± He looked at the foxes with a sympathetic face and asked quietly ¡°Do you want to talk about it¡­?¡± *Sigh* **************************************************************************************************************** "We had been running since morning. Me and my sister, running away from those humans. Despicable. They hunt us for our fox fur, for our eyes, for our claws, but worst of all, for slaves. Those humans took our father and mother away from us. We had been out the morning hunting for food. When we came back to the glade we called home to find the remains of our father. He was nothing more than a bloody mass, barely recognizable. He no longer had that soft pelt he was so proud of. That soft pelt that my sister and I used to lay our heads against as we slept. His eyes were also gone. Those beautiful deep green eyes that looked at us so gently. That reassured us that everything was alright. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. All that was left was a bloody mass in the middle of our glade. His blood was spattered all around the glade. The crimson liquid that used to fill our father with such life was seeping back into the ground. The hunters were inexperienced, that much could be inferred from the carnage. I looked, and turned to my sister. I looked into her eyes, seems something had broken inside of her as well. I then saw the fire in her eyes. The utter grief, pain¡­ and then, something else. Anger. Pure, righteous fury. How dare they take away our beloved father who had cared for us even though, we were not in fact his biological children. HOW DARE THEY DO THIS?! I saw the resolution in her eyes, and at that moment, we decided to take revenge for our dear father. We found tracks leading away from the glade. Definitely inexperienced hunters. We followed the trail, it wasn¡¯t hard. If we ever lost sight of the footprints, we could always pick up the smell of blood. Our father¡¯s blood. The stench was clear. We trailed the humans to another glade, where they were proceeding to destroy another family of animals. I watched as a mother rabbit was cornered and slaughtered. That didn¡¯t bother me. We hunted these types of beasts. What I couldn¡¯t believe was the one that cornered the rabbit¡­. Was our mother. We looked in disbelief at our mother. How could she side with the humans that had slaughtered her husband, our father? She trotted over and sat down by a human with silver armor with golden accents. Then I noticed something that made my eyes widen in horror, and, hopelessness. Around my mother¡¯s neck, was a silver collar with a blood red gem in the middle. Then the worse realization of my life hit me when I saw, no smelled, the blood from our mother¡¯s mouth, It was¡­. Our fathers¡­ It took me a second to process, and then I finally recognized what that collar was. Subjugation magic¡­ They had taken my mother¡¯s mind, played with it until she was just a broken doll. After all that, they used her to kill our father¡­ Rage swelled up within me. How could they¡­ I looked at my sister and we attacked together. White foxes are known for their magical capabilities. Needless to say, my sister and I are both adept in magic, particularly fire magic. We use our tails as other creatures use wands or other implements to channel magic. We are both adept at fire magic. We began to start our fire magic. Balls of flame began to form at the tips of our tails. As we looked at our mother, or the broken husk of our mother, we were determined to free her from her slavery. The rage at our father¡¯s loss and the destruction of our mother¡¯s mind fueled our fire balls. Once we were done, we hurled the fire balls towards the group of despicable humans. The result was spectacular. The flaming balls of fire hurtled towards the group. When they made contact with one, they exploded outwards in a blossom of flame and blood. The flames caused the droplets of blood flying through the air to sparkle like a million crimson stars before they were evaporated. The carnage was beautiful. We saw our mother before she was blown to pieces. It almost seemed like she smiled before the fire ball hit her painting the surroundings red. The glade was on fire, the grass danced with flames, a picturesque scene of the flames of vengeance. We bawled at that moment, but were satisfied. All that remained of that wretched hunting party was the ash and the smoke. OR so we thought. As the smoke cleared, we saw a big blue sphere, about 4 meters in diameter. Inside were the mob that was chasing us, and the man in silver and gold armor. His long blond hair was filled with soot, but he was otherwise unharmed. He turned look at us, in those eyes were pure malevolence. He dispelled the shield and ordered his underlings to go take care of us.¡± **************************************************************************************************************** As she was finishing her story, she looked back at Abrum, but jumped back as she saw what state he was in. His eyes¡­. Were clouded in grief. He was nearly tearing up at the story. The foxes looked at him incredulously until he said ¡°Make no mistake, at the very least, I will hunt down the man in the armor, and kill him.¡± He bent down, and picked them up. He held them up and said, ¡°I will name you Bella, after the Latin word for war, and I shall name you Tella, after the Latin word for weapon. Together, we will bring the man responsible to justice.¡± After saying so, he tenderly hugged the two little foxes with tears in his eyes, yet his eyes were full of resolve. The two little foxes were surprised and looked at each other, and smiled. ¡®Master is a good person¡¯ ¡®Maybe not all humans are bad¡¯ Hey guys, I hope you are enjoying this so far. Again, I would appreciate any constructive criticism if you find something is not to your liking. Thank you Chapter 5: Near Drowning Thank you all for the support thus far. I''m sorry the shortness of the chpaters. I''ll try to get them longer The strange group continued to travel across the plains. Until they arrived at a river. This strange group consisted of a blind man, a white haired man, and two golden and white foxes. This group was Aleqe, Abrum, Tella, and Bella. The foxes tended to wander off and bring back rabbits. Aleqe tried to cook the rabbits at first, but after the foxes nearly choked to death after eating his cooking, Abrum took over. Through the journey he got a new skill. The cooking skill got to beginner 9 and was stuck at 99.9%. This was due to the fact the foxes were ravenous. Abrum couldn''t really complain because of two reasons. 1: The foxes caught the parties food 2: How could he resist those cute green eyes
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience
CookingBeginner999.9%
This skill enhances the taste and buffs that your dishes provide. The higher level the skill, the more delicious the food and the easier cooking becomes.
The foxes and Aleqe alike seemed to enjoy the cooking though. The foxes still wouldn¡¯t come close to him after he hugged them. Abrum assumed they still held bitter hatred towards the humans, and were grieving. He understood. He understood what it was like to lose one¡¯s parents. He had experienced it. The hopelessness that welled up inside of him when all he could do was just watch as the tragedy unfolded, unable to do anything. Oh, he knew what it was like, the long, agonizing, sleepless nights occupied with his thoughts revolving around a single thing ¡®If I had only been a little faster. A little stronger. Why wasn¡¯t I? Why couldn¡¯t I be?¡¯ That incident had kindled inside him the desire to become strong. Strong enough to protect those he loved. He trained. He tried hard in school. Although, all his efforts just fell into that deep dark pit in his soul, but he kept trying. Eventually, he found that no matter how much he tried, he would never be strong enough. He was broken. He was lost. And then. He was saved, in more ways than one, by his pastor. He was more like the father that he once had than anyone else. His pastor gave him support, and offered kindness that no one else would. Through the traumatizing events that led to him being orphaned, and then the heartwarming events that saved him from his depression and saved him spiritually, two things were kindled inside of him. These two things became closely knit. First and foremost: To emulate the kindness and generosity that his pastor showed him, in his darkest hour. Second: To be strong to have the ability to show kindness in any situation. These two fires in his soul were what he was based around. Somehow, these drives, which would be considered virtuous and righteous, got him into the current situation. The surroundings were very picturesque. The river bent around a hill with a single, low hanging tree, at the pinnacle. This tree provided large amounts of shade from the oppressive sun. Aleqe sat under the tree leisurely eating an apple, enjoying himself thoroughly. The scene would be beautiful, if not for the situation that Abrum was in. He wasn¡¯t sitting up under the tree enjoying a delicious piece of fruit, noooo. He was lying face down on the river bank coughing up lungs of water while Bella and Tella were nipping at his ears. He was blue in the face and seemed like he was on the verge of death. Aleqe was just leisurely observing, happily crunching on his apple. ¡°What are you doing boy? That was only a minute and a half! Get back in there! You still have a few hundred more swings¡± Abrum staggered to his feet, water trickling out of his mouth. Any sane would scream profanities at Aleqe and run the other way as fast as they could. Abrum wasn¡¯t a normal person though. Those two purposes drove him to go back into the river with his swords, and stand at the bottom of the river. Aleqe laid back and continued to eat his apple, the juice dribbling down his chin. He just sat and watched him as Bella and Tella went off to go hunt some food. Aleqe was frankly surprised at the boy¡¯s perseverance. Many would have given up or run screaming. But not Abrum¡­ Meanwhile, Abrum was practicing his sword form underneath the river. The silver cuffs on his ankles were enough to keep him on the bottom. His usual sword form required adjustment to cope with the flow of water. A normal slash was countered by the current, so he adjusted his movements until he seemed almost like the water that surrounded him. Flowing and fluid were his strikes, he almost looked like a snake. Of course, the awe inspiring sight was a bit less awe inspiring when Abrum was purple in the face or whenever he messed up his swing, and the current caught his arm of sword and threw him down the river bed. After repeating this action for 8 days, yet again, only stopping for food, and two hours of rest per day, he was a different man, (now with a light fear of water). After the 8 days, Aleqe and he sparred for a one day together. The blows that were exchange were no less forceful than the ones before, yet something was different. Whenever he parried against Aleqe, he would always deflect his attack by turning his sword at the right moment, and then have his other sword snake in for a counter attack. Aleqe was honestly impressed, though one couldn¡¯t see it on his face scrunched up in concentration. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Abrum was no longer one that was scared of the swings from his instructors. He had been half drowned approximately 7,040 times in the past eight days. The swords now seemed to be extensions of his body, the way he moved them, one would almost think he had been born with those swords in his hands. The arms snaked in and out gracefully, yet aggressively. He would not give the man a break. Not the one who had nearly drowned him 7,040 times. Bella and Tella were watching the exchange attentively with their bright green eyes. They were sitting under the tree munching on the rabbits Abrum had cooked for them. Abrum was smiling broadly when he saw Aleqe¡¯s face scrunched up. ¡°Losing it old man?¡± ¡°Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr¡­¡­..heh heh.¡± The danger alarms in Abrum¡¯s head immediately went off when he heard Aleqe¡¯s strange laugh. He jumped back quickly to get as much distance as he could from Abrum. Whenever his teacher laughed like that, it was never a good sign. Abrum stood in a ready stance, wary of what was to happen next. Aleqe just stood there, his head body bent over, his head was hanging down loosely upon his chest. His arms dangled holding his swords lightly. Abrum who was using his Aura sense suddenly paled as he realized something. Aleqe¡¯s aura. The outer was¡­ dark dark green. Green with deep black mixed in to be precise. An immense amount of pressure was released. At that moment, Aleqe rushed forward, body bent down nearly parallel to the ground. The speed was unimaginable. In a split second, Aleqe had covered 4 meters. If Abrum¡¯s attack were a rapid river, then Aleqe¡¯s attacks were a tsunami. Unfathomably dangerous, and inescapable, the blows rained down upon Abrum. He had no time to counter attack and was occupied with keeping himself alive. The foxes perked up at this sudden development. They saw the one that had saved them in trouble¡­.They ¡®How faithful¡­¡­¡¯ Abrum jumped back yet again, to retreat from the onslaught of blows. Yet, this action offered no refuge from the onslaught of blow. Aleqe just dashed forward and renewed the attack. Abrum was amazed at how his instructor had changed. His original speed had increased by threefold. The blows were more powerful as well. Abrum was being pushed back step by step, till his back was against the river. At that point he got an idea. He kicked up some water into his instructors face. Aleqe didn¡¯t see that coming and stepped back in surprise. Abrum wore a joyous smile while he performed a smooth, graceful strike. This strike hit Aleqe in the ribs and felled him! Not. In reality, Aleqe merely parried the blow, and then kicked Abrum back into the river. With a splash, Abrum did a back hand spring and then sank into the water, waiting for his instructor. And waited. Then it dawned on him. His instructor wouldn¡¯t jump in, there was no need to. Eventually Abrum would have to come up for air. He cursed himself for his impulsiveness and swam back to the surface. As soon as he came up for air, he was smacked hard, but not too hard on the crown of his head. He saw Aleqe squatting down in front of him. Aleqe offered him a hand. Abrum took it and stood up, coughing up water. He looked up at his instructors face apprehensively, but his Aleqe was smiling. ¡°Nice tactic boy. If I was a couple of years younger, I would have followed you right in without thinking.¡± ¡°Thanks old man. What happened near the end? Your strikes became much more rapid!¡± ¡°A man has his secrets boy! I¡¯m honestly flabbergasted at the amount of progress that you¡¯ve made in the past few weeks. There is nothing left I¡¯m willing to teach you.¡± Abrum looked at Aleqe incredulously. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be there is nothing more you CAN teach me? Not nothing more you want to teach me.¡± ¡°¡­Meh.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Aleqe began to walk towards the tree, ignoring Abrum. Abrum stumbled to catch up to him. They sat under the tree eating the apples. ¡°After today, I wanted to end your training, but I decided I have one more challenge for you.¡± Abrum eyed Aleqe nervously, his deep blue eyes filled with apprehension. ¡°What would that be master?¡± ¡°Your final challenge will be to subjugate the Succubus that is causing trouble to the east of the city.¡± [tr]
Subjugation of the Succubus
Type:TrainingDifficultyE+
A succubus, a creature of seduction, has begun to plague the town to the east of Sefica, Hillshir. You are to go and subjugate the succubus. Quest cannot be declined.
Abrum just stared at the box, but then something registered. ¡®My first quest!¡¯ ¡°Oh by the way, to help you on your little subjugation, I have a gift for you.¡± Abrum looked excitedly at Aleqe¡­ That was until Aleqe grabbed his face with his hand. Abrum was more than a bit scared when Aleqe¡¯s hand started to glow. And then, the blinding flash of light. Chapter 6: Stories Thank you all for the support thus far. I plan to post a chapter every two days, if not every day. Tell me what you guys think of this one Abrum¡¯s face began to burn. He bent over clutching his face after Aleqe removed his hands. ¡°What the heck was that!¡± Abrum screamed out in pain. Aleqe just looked at him with pity. Those eyes that had no sight still manage to convey how pitiful Abrum seemed. ¡°Sorry, now read up about your present.¡± *Ding* The sound of a skill being learned. Joy. Abrum looked at the skill for a moment. His eyes widened, and he began to smile until it reached the corners of his face¡­ and then his face scrunched up in pain again.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience
Blades of the AngaellisBeginner00.0%
This skill allows the user to summon any type of bladed weapon. These weapons are made of light and cause and additional 5 holy damage for each additional level. The base damage increases with each level. (Note: This racial ability was forcefully unlocked by [???] Aleqe).
Abrum was extremely happy with the skill. While he was happy, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the ¡°[???]¡± was in front of Aleqe¡¯s name. ¡®What kind of monster is teacher?¡¯ Aleqe just smiled at him and came at him with his wooden swords. His strikes were fast, but normal. ¡°Best way to grasp a skill is to train with it.¡± Abrum had to jump back in a panic to avoid the swings. He tried to concentrate, but it was always broken by the dangerous swings of Aleqe. Then Abrum nearly face palmed. The game had a skill assist. ¡®Blades of the Angaellis¡¯ Abrum though out frantically. There was that customary blinding flash of light accompanied the skill¡­ Aleqe used this opportunity to smack Abrum in the ribs¡­ Hard, though Abrum kept standing, and then he felt something in his hands. It felt as if Abrum was holding his two wooden swords, but when he looked at his hands, he was astonished. In each hand was a magnificent sword. Most of the sword was white. The handle and hand guard were mostly a golden color, while the blade was traced with golden line patterns. The two swords glowed softly. A smile crept across his face, wiping away the grimace of pain. Abrum started up his flowing attack. The swords of light traced lines of light in the air. The swords connected once with Aleqe¡¯s. The result: Aleqe1¡¯s swords shattered. He looked surprised as he looked down at his broken swords, then just smiled. ¡®Your potential is much greater than mine ever was. But your burden¡­¡± Aleqe thought. He jumped back and bowed sarcastically. ¡°Good job boy. I¡¯ll leave you to your mission then. I¡¯ll be back at the training hall.¡± He smiled wryly. Light began to coalesce around him. When he was completely wrapped in light, the light disappeared, and Aleqe was nowhere to be found. Abrum looked stunned. ¡®Dang it, why didn¡¯t he teach me that? My teacher is just too whimsical.¡¯ Abrum just sighed at his luck and looked to Bella and Tella. They got up and meandered over to Abrum. Their green eyes met his and they asked him ¡°Are we going somewhere?¡± ¡°Where¡¯d the blind man go?¡± Abrum stood there for a second wondering how to answer them. They had no obligation to follow him when he went on this quest. So he presented them with the option ¡°I am off to subjugate a succubus that has begun to cause trouble. You are welcome to join me. I would appreciate your company; however, you are not obligate to come with me.¡± At the word succubus, their hackles rose at the word succubus. ¡°There is one of those foul creatures so close? We will be most happy to assist you in subjugating it.¡± ¡°DIRTY!¡± Abrum looked at them puzzled. Their green eyes were filled with the flames of rage. He was curious as to the reason of their outburst. ¡°What is the reason for such a strong response?¡± Bella and Tella looked at him confused for a second, then realization passed over their faces. ¡°You don¡¯t know the history of the white foxes do you?¡± Abrum shook his head. ¡°Man was once a creature that showed moderation; however, as time passed, their greed festered inside of them until it completely destroyed that moderation that they once showed. They began to lust after the riches and wealth. They hunted many races for their treasures. One of these races was the white fox. They hunted us to near extinction for our white pelts. The slaughter that accompanied their greed was unbearable. The blood. The carnage. The screams.¡± ¡°The Angaellis saw the massive amounts of atrocities that humanity was committing. They came down and gave power to the species, starting with the foxes. With their help, the Angaellis stopped the atrocities that humanity committed. It got to the point where the tables had been turned. Humanity had been driven into a corner. The Angaellis and his forces were preparing to siege the final stronghold of humanity, Sefica. The queen, seeing the dire situation, called for a summit to discuss a treaty. The great leader of the Angaellis, the Archangel Mebaleqe, and the queen met and discussed a treaty. The Angaellis did not want destruction, and thus a treaty was made. The humans would no longer persecute the races, and the other races would allow them to live. With peace restored, the Angaellis returned to their realm.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°This pact was upheld up to the Great Darkness. Then the lines became a bit blurred.¡± Abrum had a confused look on his face. ¡°What is the Great Darkness?¡± ¡°The Great Darkness was when there was a rise in demons. The Angaellis returned to help the races prevent the destruction that the great demon king, Seraz, led. Wherever Seraz led his army, only smoking heaps of corpses and buildings remained. The Angaellis banded together the races and the army of the Church, to construct the Army of Light. The forces of Darkness and the forces of the Light met on the plains of Garia. Before the battle, the Arch-Angaellis Mebaleqe said these immortal words. ¡®Fight for a brighter future. Onwards towards a better future. TOWARDS THE LIGHT!¡¯ The two armies clashed together. Many were lost that day. There were many acts of bravery, but none were braver than my ancestors. They fought beside the Mebaleqe. On that day, with our ancestors¡¯ assistance, Seraz was killed.¡± ¡°Mebaleqe left the races with a task. To purify any demons that appeared in the time to come. This is why we will assist you in your task.¡± Abrum looked at them for a second, before a grin broke out upon his face. He was really grateful for their help, regardless of their reasons. ¡°Thank you both, shall we get going then?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They both said in unison. Abrum just smiled and gathered his pack and began walking. The two foxes followed, flicking their golden tipped tails back in forth. The group walked off into the forest with the setting sun as their back drop. After it had grown dark, Abrum had made a camp fire to cook the rabbits that the two foxes would bring him. He lay down and gazed at the stars. He appreciated the feel of the breeze that whistled through the trees. He lay awake listening to the crickets chirping, the owls hooting, the girl sobbing. Wait. There was one that wasn¡¯t supposed to be there. He bolted up right and listened again. There was definitely sobbing. Abrum got up and followed the noise till he came upon a beautiful girl. She was maybe the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had long raven hair black hair, skin like porcelain, and two beautiful chocolate eyes which were red from crying. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, marring her lovely face. Her dress was plain and form fitting, revealing her lovely figure. ¡°Are you okay miss?¡± Abrum asked with a worried face. She looked up at him startled, the tears stopping for a second. ¡®Goood night! She is beautiful.¡¯ ¡°N-no *hic* I-I¡¯m *hic* not!¡± She stutters out as she bursts out into tears. ¡°Hey it¡¯s okay, her, let me help you.¡± He helps her up and leads her to the campfire where she can warm herself. He sits down and waits for the foxes to return. He occasionally glances at her to see if she is all right. She dries her tears as soon as the foxes come back. They drop their rabbits over at Abrum¡¯s feet and proceed to inspect their new companion. Abrum begins to cook the rabbits over the fire, seasoning the rabbits with the herbs he found along the way. He glanced over to see how the foxes were acquainting themselves with the girl. The foxes approached the girl cautiously, and she stared at them in wonder, watching the way the firelight reflected against their sleek white and gold fur. The foxes brushed themselves up against the girl, and she seemed to light up at this. After a while Abrum finished cooking the rabbits. He took them off the spit and divides the meat between four wooden dishes. He takes one of the dishes and squats down in front of the girl and hand it to her. ¡°What is you name miss?¡± She looks startled, but accepts the dish and answers in a small voice ¡°Andrea.¡± ¡°So Andrea, what are you doing out here in the forest all by yourself?¡± She looks up frantically, in a panic as if she just realized something. ¡°Our village was attacked! You have to help us!¡± She began to recount her story. ¡°It happened about two months ago. The village was having its festival of harvest. All the townsfolk were having a good time. The mayor gathered up around to make an announcement. He was going to announce his marriage. He called his bride to be up to the stage. A shrouded, hooded person came up to the stage, and then took off her hood. It was the succubus!¡± ¡®The succubus? Well that¡¯s odd¡¯ ¡°All the men staggered in unison. I felt severely threatened by the woman that stood up on the stage. I looked into my father¡¯s eyes, and I noticed immediately something was wrong. Next, all the men just left. Along with that Succubus! Please you have to help me!¡± [tr]
Subjugation of the Succubus, Sub-quest
Type:Training/EventDifficultyE+
A succubus, a creature of seduction, has begun to plague the town to the east of Sefica, Hillshir. You are to go and subjugate the succubus. Andrea has asked you to save the towns men from the succubus, most importantly, her husband. Quest cannot be declined.
¡®HER HUSBAND?!¡¯ Chapter 7: Information Gathing and a Holy Battle Hey guys. I''d like to thank you all again for providing me with so much support. I you haven''t noticed, I''m drawing a lot of inspiration from the fic Trinity Online by J.D. Dickinson. I suggest you go give it a try. You can find it on Japtem. Thanks again. ¡°S-so you¡¯re married?¡± ¡°Yes. Happily with THREE kids.¡± Abrum looked at her flabbergasted. How could such a beautiful woman have birthed Three children?! After he recovered from his shock, Abrum realized something. ¡®Crud, the succubus grew her forces. Not only that, with this quest, I cannot even fight the thralls head on. What to do, what to do!¡¯ While Abrum put on a troubled face, contemplating his situation, the girl looked even more desperate. Abrum looked at her and sighed. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll help you. I was already on my way to subjugate the succubus anyway. I will be more than happy to help you. So dry your tears, I am here.¡± The girl just looked shocked at Abrum as he wiped off her tears. He gave her a comforting smile, his soul piercing blue eyes were filled with compassion. He looked into those deep chocolate brown eyes that told a story of so much pain. He knelt down to hug her¡­ This was interrupted by the foxes tackling him. ¡°She¡¯s married you idiot!¡± ¡°Baka!¡± Abrum just looked at the two foxes sitting in his chest reprimanding him for something that he had no intention of doing. ¡°I was just going to comfort her! I didn¡¯t have anything dirty on my mind!¡± As the foxes and Abrum bickered back and forth, Andrea just sat back and watched, startled. Then a smile broke across her face. She began to chuckle, and then out right laugh. Her face was quite beautiful when it was smiling and laughing. ¡®Wait, bad Abrum! She¡¯s married!¡¯ The foxes just looked at him with those green eyes. Instead of anger, they were filled with mirth. ¡°Hey, can you two get off me? You¡¯re a bit heavy¡± He swore, if foxes could pout, they would have. They reluctantly got off of his chest. He sat up and yawned. ¡°I believe it is time to get some rest, we have a succubus to subjugate tomorrow. I¡¯ll take the first watch.¡± Andrea and the foxes laid down together, and soon were asleep. Andrea lay in the middle of the two foxes, her chest rising slowly as she breathed in and out. Bella and Tella lay against her, their tails wrapped around themselves for warmth. In short, it was adorable. Abrum looked at them in envy ¡®That looks really warm.¡¯ he thought as he shivered as the breeze whistled through the trees. Abrum looked up at the stars above and marveled once again at the realism of this world. Dawn came and the sun rose. The light streamed through the branches to alight the picturesque scene. Abrum was cooking two rabbits he had caught over a camp fire. Andrea awake and wiped her bleary eyes. She stretched her arms and let out a big yawn. The foxes awoke and yawned cutely. ¡°Breakfast sleepies.¡± After they had eaten, they continued to travel. Ever once and a while, a forest monster would attack them. Since Abrum¡¯s level was still level one, but his skills were more than sufficient to deal with the monsters that they came across, he gained 7 levels. Now he was a whopping level 7! He checked his status for the first time since he had joined the game
Status Window
Name:AbrumAlignment:Neutral
Level:7Class:None
Race:AngaellisGender:Male
Titles
None
Fame:0Infamy:0
-
Health:2014 / 2014Health Regen:4.6 / Sec
Mana:100 / 100Mana Regen:14.5 / Sec
Stamina:3034 / 3034Stamina Regen:40.3 / Sec
-
Strenght:560Agility:240
Vitality:380
Intelligence:10Wisdom:12
Leadership:0Luck:-5
Abrum looked at his stats proudly. His stats could match a level 50 with ease. His health and vitality would allow him to survive almost any situation he got himself into. His stamina would allow him to attack unceasingly for hours. And yet, His mana related stats were a very far behind his physical ones. He had heard of a magic academy that one could enroll in. Something like H*gwarts. He was a bit concerned with the negative 5 luck though. ¡®How in the world did I manage to achieve that?¡¯ The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Abrum just pushed it out of his mind and kept walking, till he tripped and fell on his face. He just stood up, brushed himself off with a sigh, and kept walking. The strange caravan travelled for the whole day. By nightfall, they had arrived at the village of Hillshir. The town seemed to be deserted. The doors were all shut, as were the windows. The streets were completely devoid of any life. The markets stalls were sealed up. There seemed to be the remains of a festival in the town square, but the place was trashed, broken tables, food all over the ground. Andrea hurriedly ran over to one of the houses and knocked. The door was opened to reveal an old wrinkled face. ¡°Come in, the voice croaked.¡± Andrea was let in, but when Abrum tried to cross the threshold the door was closed. ¡°No men, not until the succubus is dealt with. The men will be a liability.¡± ¡°Do you know where I can find information about the succubus?¡± Abrum yelled ¡°Try the library, now leave me alone.¡± Answered the grumpy voice. Abrum could have sworn he heard something along the lines of ¡°Men¡­¡± as he walked away. He and the foxes wandered the town. They saw many shops, all were closed up. The town seemed completely deserted. Abrum would have believed it was a ghost town if not for the earlier encounter. However, eventually, he became more aware of his surroundings. His sense Aura ability showed that there were many people present in the village, all women. Their auras showed they were extremely agitated. Abrum pitied them. Having their fathers, brothers, and sons turn against them, it must have been hard. ¡®I will set this right,¡¯ Abrum swore to himself. Abrum and the foxes finally found a tower with a wooden sign hanging from an iron bar over the door way. The sign depicted and open book and read Libraria of Hillshir. It was quite the magnificent buildings. The doorway had a baldachin supported by doric columns. Abrum pushed open the doors and was assaulted by the beautiful smell of books. He gazed in amazement. The room was large and circular, the ceiling so high that it was shrouded in darkness, impossible to see. The walls were lines with bookshelves that towered up and into the darkness. There was a circular clerk¡¯s desk in the middle of the room. ¡®Well crud, how am I going to find any information in this mess? It is not the lack of information, but too much of it!¡¯ Abrum walked over to the clerk¡¯s desk and noticed two things. One, the giant mana crystal that pulsated quietly inside the clerk¡¯s desk. The second was the sign that said this ¡°Ask for a book, and it will appear.¡± Abrum looked puzzled at the sign. How would a book appear if he asked for it? Abrum decided to try it and called out something he wanted ¡°A book about the Angaellis.¡± He yelled into the darkness. At his request, the mana crystal in the center started to pulsate gently. Out of the darkness, a white book was lowered. It landed neatly in Abrum¡¯s hands. He looked absolutely flabbergasted. ¡®Well, information is information.¡¯ He thought as he opened the book. A bright light surrounded him. When he opened his eyes, he was on a battle field. Strange demonic troops attacked troops dressed in white. He saw some of the white troops had feathery wings. A demonic troop rushed up to him and slashed his with a wicked looking scimitar. It passed right through him. Abrum just looked around in amazement. Blood flew, swords danced people died. He was just amazed that a book could have taken him to a place like this. One of the figures on the light side caught his eye. This person wore an angelic face. He had six wings, with blades attached, sprouting out of his back and held two Blades of the Angaellis. ¡®That must be Mebaleqe¡¯ Abrum thought to himself. That Arch Angaellis was magnificent in battle. His swords weaved in and out, cutting the demonic soldiers to ribbons. His six wings propelled him forward, and they slashed out creating a tornado of magnificent death and carnage. He watched as Mebaleqe approached a giant beast with three heads. A chimera. Mebaleqe calmly raised him hand and muttered something. The result was fantastic. Innumerable streams of light exited his hand and attacked the chimera. Explosions happened all of the body, blowing bits of flesh away, until there was nothing left except the skeleton and some meat on the body of the chimera. While Mebaleqe was amazing, Abrum began to notice the two twirling figures that kept up with Arbum¡¯s insane pace. They were male and female, both with white hair and scimitars in both hands. They flashed in and out, cutting away at the jugulars and the carotid arteries. These attacks were so fast and accurate it was unbelievably. Their scimitars traced lines of blood in the air, as if they were painting a picture. The thing that really stood out to Abrum was the two foxlike ears that sprouted from the two¡¯s ears and the fluffy white tail that protruded from just above the gluteus maximus. ¡®Are those¡­ white foxes?¡¯ Thought Abrum. Suddenly, an arrow laced with darkness came from the right flank, and pierced the side of the male fox. The female fox stayed to attend to him. Mebaleqe did so as well, leaving the frontlines to the other Angaellis. Abrum walked over to see how bad the damage was. They opened up the shirt of the male fox. Where the arrow had pierced, dark veins traveled outwards, getting longer by the second. The female fox was crying. Mebaleqe just knelt down and put his hand on the wound. Abrum heard him mutter something and then say ¡°Purify¡± in a melodious voice, almost as if a choir was singing. The dark veins receded and the wound closed. The two foxes cried joyously and hugged each other. They bent down on one knee before Mebaleqe and seemed to swear fealty to him. Mebaleqe just smiled, helped them up, and they went back to fighting. Abrum was ripped from the scene and was back in the library. He looked around. Bella and Tella were looking at him curiously. All of a sudden, Abrum felt two excruciating spots of pain. *Ding* *Ding* Abrum heard these two noises, and then passed out. The Surprising Development Hey guys, another chapter, one that I have been looking forward to writing for a very long time. I hope I did it right. Also Diosis, I made this chapter 12.55% longer than the previous chapter. Sorry if that''s not enough. I''ll try to make the chapter''s longer in the future. Thank you all again for your support Abrum was having a fitful dream. In his dream he was in a barren forest, no leaves were on the trees. The wind caused the trees to creak. In the middle of this barren forest was a lone tower. It had one window at the top. Abrum¡¯s ethereal body was lifted up to the window, and he could hear something. Laughter. He could hear laughter, but not the good kind. He heard laughter that had a tinge of hopelessness. The laugh that is made when one knows all is lost. But not only that. There was only a tinge of hopelessness left in the laughter, the rest was mad. This could possibly the worst combination. Maniacal, uncontrolled laughter, coupled with hopelessness. Abrum recoiled from the window just as a body threw itself against the window. He could see the eyes. The glowing red eyes filled with madness that stared at him. The body receded back into the darkness. Abrum just heard that creepy laugh again. Then Abrum woke up, though he didn¡¯t open his eyes. He just lie there thinking what in the world that dream could have been. In the game, dreams were always a view of somewhere, sometime in the game. He wondered when and where that could have been. He felt two warm tongues licking his face. ¡®Bella and Tella¡¯ Abrum internally sighed at this and opened his eyes. He was met with two sets of familiar green eyes. The thing that startled him so much was that the green eyes were not on the two foxes that he had saved, but on two beautiful faces. Human faces. They were identical. They had long beautiful white hair that streamed down to their shoulders. ¡°Who are you two?¡± Abrum asked, but then he realized something. He saw the two cute little fox ears upon their heads, and the white, but gold tipped, fluffy tail upon their rumps. ¡®Don¡¯t look there!¡¯ Abrum screamed at himself. There was a biiiig problem. Neither of them were clothed. They were crawling toward him on their hands and knees, their voluptuous chests completely exposed and their long hair swaying from side to side. At this point, Abrum just closed his eyes. ¡®See no evil¡¯ ¡°What happened to the two of you?¡± Abrum asked with his eyes closed tightly. ¡°Why master, we just want to serve you better.¡± They said softly in unison ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer the question! More importantly, isn¡¯t there anything for the two of you to wear?¡± Abrum cried out frantically. He didn¡¯t understand the situation. Why in the world would the two of them have changed into humans? Then he remembered the two *Ding*¡¯s that had sounded right before he had lost consciousness. ¡®What do I do now? Darn that -5 luck!¡¯ He pulled up the skill notification list and just gawked.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Absolute LoyaltyMaxedMaxedMaxed
Due to the actions of Mebaleqe in saving the persecuted races, all the persecuted races view the Angaellis as their saviours. They will be absolutely loyal to you if they discover you are an Angaellis. The white foxes are one of such races. They will fight for you, and even die for you. They will do anything to be approved by you.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
PurifyAdvanced1099.9%
The ability to purify the darkness. As an Angaellis, you naturally have the utmost ability of this skill. Can be used to remove curses, darkness, and poison. Costs: 100 mana. More needed for serious problems. If there is not enough mana, then health will be converted to mana points to provide for the cost.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Wings of the AngaellisBeginner10.0%
THese are the wings that signify the race of the Angaellis. The higher the ability level is, the more easily they are controlled. They can be used to fly, strike or block. Only can be hidden when at intermediate level.
Abrum just stared. And stared. He then turned around and saw two feathery wings sprouting from his back. He tried to feel the wings. They were like another two arms, the joints were extremely different though. He flexed them, and moved them around. Then two soft voice interrupted his concentration. ¡°Is there anything we can do to service you master?¡± ¡°Anything at all?¡± Abrum scrunched his eyes up tight as he remembered his two problems. ¡°Can you answer my question please? How did you two get like that?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve always had this ability since you gave us your mark master.¡± ¡°We just thought it was not necessary to change; however, when we discovered that you were an Angaellis after those magnificent wings sprouted from your back, we immediately changed.¡± ¡°We felt we would be better equip to attend to your needs in these forms.¡± Abrum¡¯s mind and heart were racing. How was he supposed to deal with this?! He calmed down and asked This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.¡°Is there any way we can get you two clothed?¡± ¡°Why? Wouldn¡¯t master rather us to remain as such?¡± Abrum face contorted in confusion ¡°Where would you get that idea?¡± ¡°Never mind my sister master, she is a bit of an idiot. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°We can clothe ourselves if that is what you wish.¡± ¡°That is what I wish.¡± After a few moments a soft voice called out ¡°You can open your eyes now master.¡± Abrum opened his eyes, and to his immense relief, they were clothed. They were wearing flowing, white, clothe dresses that went down to their mid thighs. The dress was quite low cut, but it was better than nothing. Their gorgeous, cream white legs were mostly exposed from below their dress. ¡°Where did those dresses come from?¡± ¡°The white fox clan is adept in magic. Even though we are young, we are have grasped the rudiments of magic.¡± One of them answered swiftly When Abrum looked at them, they didn¡¯t look that young. They were thin, voluptuous beauties with long white hair and brilliant green eyes. Their golden tipped, white tails swayed from side to side. Their cute golden tipped fox ears were perked up. ¡°To confirm something, you are Bella and Tella correct?¡± They both nodded their heads. ¡°And you have both decided I am your master right?¡± ¡°You are Angaellis master. There can be no greater joy for us than to serve the Angaellis. We would be happy to do anything for you.¡± Bella said rather suggestively Abrum just ignored this and proceeded to ask ¡°Is the reason that you want to serve me just because I am an Angaellis?¡± ¡°That is not the only reason master. You saved us from those hunters. We owe you our lives for that. Just like the Arch Angaellis hero Mebaleqe saved our kind, you saved us.¡± Tella answered softly ¡°So it is for those reasons we will commit our bodies and souls to you.¡± They said in unison. They knelt down in front of him Abrum just looked at them stunned, then started to laugh. The two looked at him curiously with their green eyes, and tilted their heads cutely in unison. ¡°Well then, we can research for the succubus¡¯ weakness together.¡± ¡°Of course master¡± they said in unison. And so, the long research time began. They began to call down all the books about succubus¡¯ weakness. There were mountains of them. They spent the whole day reading. When it got to be night, the foxes started to illuminate the surroundings with little balls of light coming from their tails. It was a comical sight. During this time, Abrum got numerous stats from the loads of reading. His mana pool now reached 250 points. He had inceased it to 250% of its original size. Here are the things they found out 1: Succubi are more resistant to light than most, but still take 3x for holy damage 2: Succubi are emotional creatures, they will likely fight without any strategy whatsoever. 3: Succubi need life energy to survive, this is why they need thralls. They had still not found anything till Tella called Abrum and Bella over. ¡°Here look what I found¡± she called out. Abrum and Bella walked over and looked at the book that Tella was poring over. Tella pointed out a specifc passage. Abrum read aloud ¡°The succubus is a creature of lust. They manipulate and fulfill the carnal desires of men. Conversely, the incubus manipulate and fulfill the carnal desires of the fairer sex. Both use the spell ¡°Charm¡± to control humans. The incubus and succubus drain these humans of their life force. These controlled humans are called thralls. They will obey the master or mistress and will do all in their power to protect them. The spell of ¡°Charm¡± is almost impossible to break when employed by a succubus or incubus. There is a way to break the spell. Delivering a blow to the nether region of the thrall will disrupt the spell of ¡°Charm¡± and cause immense pain, these combined will cause the spell to be Dispelled.¡± Abrum just looked incredulously at the words. ¡®I have to bust up balls? Oh¡­. No¡­..¡¯ Abrum just looked at the two and said ¡°I think this is all we need, we can call it a night.¡± The two girls just nodded their heads and yawned cutely. There was some sort of fiery determination in both of their eyes though. This made Abrum a bit wary. Abrum took out his bed roll out of his pack and started to lie down. Then he realized that Bella and Tella didn¡¯t have a place to lay down. ¡°Here, you two share the bed roll, I¡¯m going to go make a place for me to sleep elsewhere.¡± Abrum offered as he started to walk off in the direction of a cozy looking pile of books. Suddenly, he felt the grip of two hands upon his collar. ¡°We couldn¡¯t possibly displace master from his bed, so we¡¯ll sleep with you, to keep you warm of course.¡± Bella suggested. ¡®Oh dang it! That¡¯s what that fire of determination was!¡¯ ¡°N-no need, that pile of books does look really comfy¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t possibly, we¡¯ll keep you warm. All night long.¡± Said Bella with a seductive smile. ¡°Couldn¡¯t we just turn into our fox forms Bella? We would be nice and furry and keep master warm that way.¡± Tella suggested ¡°SHhhhhhhhh¡± Bella shot Tella an angry look. ¡°L-let¡¯s do that then!¡± Abrum said and lay down into his bed roll. Tella smiled, turned into her fox form, and bounded into the bed roll. She curled up with her tail wrapped cutely around her. She was pressing up against Abrum¡¯s thigh, and it was really warm. Bella sighed, turned into her fox form, and trotted over to the bed. She curled up on the other side, mirroring her sister. Abrum just breathed a sigh of relief and drifted off. Abrum had the same dream again. The mad person throwing itself at the window again and again, all with the maniacal laughter in the back ground. Then, his ethereal body was spirited off to another location. This time, it was in a dark wood. The trees¡¯ foliage was so thick that no light came through from the sun. The only place light was generated from was the pale glowing moss that on the trees, casting a pale blue light. The light cast a sickly glow on the surroundings. Abrum¡¯s body drifted through the trees until they came to a structure. A chapel by the looks of it. The stain glass windows were broken, and the door was hanging on its hinges. Suddenly, a deep, blood red light streamed through the door and the window frames. This is when Abrum woke up. In a compromising position. A Ball-Busting Day I am so very happy that we are close to an average of 1,000 views. I hope one day to be in the top 50, though I know it is very improbable. Regardless, I am most appreciative of your support. Thank you all, truly. I made it longer for those who wanted to be longer. Over 2000 words. Yay... Abrum woke up to two things. Something nibbling on his ear, and something nibbling on his right big toe. Abrum had a pretty good idea on what was nibbling his ear, but his toe? He opened his eyes, and it was just as he feared. Bella was clinging to his left arm in human form. His bicep was shoved into her deep valley, and her legs intertwined around his left leg. She was still asleep. Her breathing was light and would have been cute if she wasn¡¯t nibbling on his ear in her sleep/ ¡®Dang it, how can she do that in her sleep? It feels odd¡­ but good¡­. Dang it.¡¯ Then he looked down at the right his right leg. There was Tella. She had her whole body wrapped around his leg. His shin was shoved in her valley. Her long legs were wrapped around his waist. She was nibbling on his toe. Abrum just lay there for a second. What kind of ridiculous situation had he gotten himself into? At that moment, Bella stuck her little tongue into his ear and started to probe around. ¡®Gosh dang it! The -5 luck!!!!!!!!!!¡¯ Abrum just internally sighed. He noticed he was doing that a lot recently. He started to shake Bella gently. She opened her eyes and wore a cute sleepy smile. When her eyes met Abrum¡¯s, she smiled a beautifully and her gold tipped ears perked up. They stared into each other¡¯s eyes. Those beautiful green eyes. Bella blushed slightly as she gazed into the deep blue, soul piercing eyes of Abrum. This beautiful moment was interrupted Abrum¡¯s yell of pain. Tella had, using the full force of her jaw, bitten Abrum¡¯s toe. She was munching on it now, and Abrum could feel her sharp canines entering his toe¡­ Still asleep. ¡°H-hey Tella! Wake up! Wake UP!¡± Abrum said frantically as he was shaking her and his leg. She opened her eyes and looked at him sleepily. She smiled and said sweetly ¡°Good morning master.¡± ¡°Good morning my butt! Will you stop chewing on my toe!?¡± Tella just pouted and reluctantly untangled herself. Bella did the same thing. They both sat in seiza position. ¡°Whatever happened to staying in fox form?¡± ¡°Well, you looked so cold¡­ And these forms have more body area, and thus better heating ability.¡± Replied Bella ¡°Cuz we wanted to!¡± Answered Tella Abrum just face palmed and started to gather the bed roll. ¡°As an apology, would you two go out and catch come breakfast?¡± They both nodded, changed into their fox forms and padded out of the library. Abrum just internally sighed once again. He went over to the pile of books that they had brought down and proceeded to throw a book in the air. At the pinnacle of its arc, the mana crystal pulsated and the book floated up into the darkness. He proceeded to do so with the other books. It was quite the odd scene. A man throwing books behind him like a mad man, uncaring as to where they went. After a few minutes of this process. The last of the books were receding into the darkness. Abrum exited the library with his pack and proceeded to make a battle plan. ¡®The succubus¡¯ won¡¯t be a problem due to her weakness against light energy. The problem will be the thralls. Their numbers will be immense with all the townsmen. The way to deal with them is to bust some balls. I won¡¯t do anything but block and kick, block and kick.¡¯ Abrum went to the town square, activated his Blades of the Angaellis and did some image training. He spun block, kicked, swept with his feet. The success rate was 90% instant crotch hit after a few hours of training. His wings were getting in the way, so he kept them tightly folded on his back. He couldn¡¯t wait until he had enough control over them to fight using them. After that, the foxes came back with breakfast. Abrum took the rabbits the foxes had gathered and began to cook. Bella and Tella returned to their humanoid forms and sat down, their tail wagging. While he was cooking, Abrum thought of something troubling. Would Bella and Tella be able to hold their own in the upcoming fight? They could hunt the rabbits without any trouble, but humans? ¡°Are you guys going to be able to hold your own in the upcoming fight?¡± ¡°Whenever we went disappeared during the journey to the river, we were training our bodies. To make sure that Golden armored man would pay!¡± ¡°We watched your training with Aleqe and learned from it too master. You won¡¯t have to worry about us.¡± Abrum contemplated the new information for a little while. ¡°How about a little bare handed sparring?¡± ¡°With master? Of course.¡± Said Bella ¡°YAY!¡± screamed Tella They stood in the town center, with the twin foxes at one side, then Abrum at the other. ¡°Come¡± Abrum said And so they did. Wickedly fast, just like their ancestors, the twins sprinted forward. When they halved the distance, they moved into a pincer formation and attacked at once. ¡®Their team work is impressive¡¯ Abrum absent mindedly thought as he dodged Tella¡¯s attack and she went tumbling forward. He ducked under Bella¡¯s kick and swept her leg out from under her. He smiled at this, until he felt a strong blow to his side. ¡®How did she get back up so fast?¡¯ Abrum thought to himself and jumped back. They both came at him again. Bella punched and Tella kicked. Abrum dodged the punch and grabbed Tella¡¯s leg. He swung Tella into Bella and they went sprawling. ¡°Goodness gracious! You two are fast! Well, you pass my test.¡± They both got up with their tails wagging ¡°Now how about we go put down a succubus.¡± They both nodded and the group headed off to the east. They passed through the forest. The birds were silent, the wind howled ominously. All of a sudden, they heard a scream. A scream of agony, a scream of death. They rushed forward to a clearing. They saw many people, all men. One was on the ground, and was bleeding profusely. He was a thin wiry fellow, thin face, shrewd, but bright green eyes. Currently, he was laying in the middle of the men begging for his life. ¡°Please let me go! We won¡¯t come after your mistress again, I promise. I-I¡¯ll stop them! Just let me go!¡± The man pleaded. One of the men, a big buff man walked up to him. He offered his hand. The wiry man looked relieved and took the hand. The man pulled him up¡­ right into his sword. The thin man just opened his eyes wide and choked on his blood, spitting some into the face of the buff dude. He disappeared in a flash of light, signifying that he was a player. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.Abrum recognized that man. He was the one back at Sefica that was trying to gather players to put down the succubus to the east. ¡®Well he had his turn, now it is ours.¡¯ Abrum thought to himself as he walked forward into the clearing. The twenty people¡¯s heads turned in unison to gaze at him. The burly man who still had blood all over him stepped forward. ¡°What business do you have?¡± Abrum looked at him ¡®Surprisingly civilized¡¯ ¡°We have come for your mistress.¡± With those six words, something changed. Their eyes. They filled with an intense bloodlust. ¡°You¡­ have come to take the mistress.¡± The burly guy said in a menacingly quite voice¡­ ¡°WE WON¡±T LET YOU!!!¡± And with that, the battle began. ¡°Bella, Tella, Pincer attack, I¡¯ll be heading in the front. You know what to do to disrupt the magic.¡± Abrum yelled as he summoned his dual blades. The first sword he locked with belonged to a tall man. Abrum parried and brought his knee up hard. Needless to say, the man collapsed with a face contorted in agony. Abrum ducked under and incoming slash and swept his opponents legs out from under him. He stood up, stomped, and parried the next blade. Bella and Tella were doing their part to, and extremely well. A man slashed at Tella, she lunged under his slash and punched upwards, right into the jewels. The man fell forward, and Tella used his falling momentum to push him into one of his comrades. Bella would utilize her long slender legs to sweep her opponents to the ground. She would then proceed to stomp with a passion. Her fury had already taken out 5 people. A man stabbed at Abrum. He deflected the stab and the man stumbled forward. Abrum pick up his knee and ran forward. The man bent over in pain. Abrum threw the man into another and kicked violently into another that ran forward to attack. One tried to slash, Abrum ducked under and brought the hilt of his sword up hard. The battle raged on, but ended with the men all on the ground writhing in pain. Abrum wiped the sweat off of his brow. ¡°That was¡­ fun.¡± Abrum said while thinking ¡®I¡¯m so sorry, it was for your own good!¡¯ Bella and Tella walked forward to him ¡°You two did well, I am really impre¡ª¡° His congratulations were cut off as a silver arrows sprouted from his shoulder, his bicep, and his thigh. Bella and Tella rushed towards him. In that moment, he lost around 300 health.
Warning: The enthralled boss, Orion the Hunter has appeared
¡®A little bit late on the notice¡¯ Abrum thought as he jumped back. ¡®How did he fire off three arrows that quickly? How big is his bow to get them at that speed?!¡± A man walked out from the trees. Abrum saw thin, toned man with long brown hair walking out of the woods. His belt shined with a mysterious glow but the thing that caught Abrum¡¯s eyes was the massive bow man had. It was as tall as him and the wood glowed with a mysterious luster. The man stepped forward. ¡°I am Orion. I assume you have come for the mistress?¡± He asked in a deep rumbling voice. ¡°You assume correctly.¡± Abrum said as he charged forward. With speed that would parallel a cheetah, Orion had three arrows nocked in his bow. He let them fly. Abrum deflected the first one, and used the momentum of that swing to dodge the second one. The third one flew right at Abrum¡¯s face, and he ducked. Bella and Tella were advancing as well. Orion nocked the bow again with a strange looking arrow. He fired and the arrow exploded into buckshot. Both Abum and Bella and Tella were caught in the blast, but they kept running using their arms to shield their faces. Bella and Tella were bleeding from the shrapnel. Abrum saw this and was unhappy to say the least. He ran forward with speed fueled by rage. Orion did something surprising next, he threw his bow at Abrum. He cut through it, but it was a distraction. Orion had used this time to pull a dagger from his boot and throw it straight at Abrum¡¯s heart. Abrum couldn¡¯t avoid in time, so he twisted his body to minimize the damage. It entered into his shoulder. At that moment, Orion drew two short swords and proceeded to hack at Abrum, Bella and Tella. Bella and Tella couldn¡¯t help much in the exchange since they were unarmed. They were chanting something as they dodged ever so gracefully. When they had finished their chant, Abrum noticed his health had recovered to full. He nodded gratefully to the foxes and proceeded to dance with Orion. They exchanged blows magnificently. Abrum had to admit, Orion was talented. He was holding his own in this confrontation. Whenever Abrum would try to sweep out Orion¡¯s legs, he would jump back or jump over Abrum and proceed to counter attack. They danced. The clearing was filled with the clangs of swords and the groans of the men on the ground. Abrum seemingly tripped on one of the groaning men, and Orion went in for the attack. ¡®Got¡¯cha¡¯ They both thought in unison. Abrum swung his leg up as hard as he could, and since Orion wasn¡¯t expecting that, he crumpled to the ground in pain. ¡°Whew. That was actually fun! Good job Bella, Tella.¡± Abrum stated in a brave voice. Bella and Tella rushed over to him to check for any injuries. He shook them off saying. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be more worried about your own injuries? Heal those up first. I¡¯d feel terribly if you sustained any scars on my account.¡± Abrum said as he wrenched the dagger out of his shoulder. It hurt, a lot. He continued to wrench out the arrows while Bella and Tella healed themselves. ¡°Let¡¯s go and end this.¡± Abrum said while walking. They both nodded and continued to walk. He looked to the two of them. ¡°If I start to act weird, knock me out. You don¡¯t need to fight me and the succubus.¡± ¡°Of course master.¡± They both said in unison. And so, they walked off into the direction Orion came from to end the quest. Succubus and Angaellis Thank you all for the support thus far. I''ve been progressively trying to make the chapters longer, and have realized that my current chapters are nearly twice as long as the beginning ones. I''ll try to continuously improve. I''d like to remind everyone that I appreciate any and all constructive criticism. Thanks! They walked until they found another clearing. This one was smaller than the last, and only contained a hooded person.
Warning: You have entered the boss area presided over by Lilith the Succubus
¡®Well, at least we are in the right place¡¯ Abrum summoned his sword and pointed it at the hooded figure. ¡°Lilith, I have come to end your reign of seduction and mischief. One has taken away the father, the husband, the brother, and the son from all the ladies of the town. They mourn the loss of their loved ones. The culprit is you! This will no longer go ignored. Prepare t¡ª¡° Abrum¡¯s ¡°magnificent¡± speech was cut off as he was tackled by Bella and Tella. He looked confused until he saw their faces were flushed red. He looked at the succubus, and could see a large smile beneath the hood. ¡°Master¡­ I can¡¯t wait any longer.¡± Bella moaned out seductively as she straddled him ¡°MMmmmmmmm. Master¡¯s smell¡­¡± Tella said as she rubbed up against Abrum¡¯s side. To describe what was going through Abrum¡¯s mind could easily be described in one word. Panic. ¡®What the heck am I supposed to do in this situation?! I thought succubi controlled men and incubi controlled women!!!!! What is going on?!¡¯ These were the thoughts that proceeded through his mind as Bella and Tella proceeded to grind him. Bella clung to his left arm while Tella clung to his right. The cloaked figure laughed at Abrum¡¯s exquisite expression and walked slowly towards him, her pale legs proceeding and receding into and out of the cloak. She removed her hood and Abrum¡¯s breath left him. Her face was beautiful. Her pale face was contrasted by the blood red lips and eyes that adorned her face. Her luscious golden hair fell gracefully around her face. Her expression was wickedly seductive. A lush red forked tongue poked out and trailed along her florid red lips. She smiled at him and began to walk towards him. Her cloak fell and pooled at her long slender legs. It revealed her figure. To describe it in one word is difficult. Ravishing. Her figure could be described as sinful, yet perfect. She was a tall beauty, around 5 feet 7 inches, with a voluptuous bosom, and slender legs. She wasn¡¯t wearing much. At this point, Abrum just closed his eyes. See no evil. Of course he wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to go without a way of sensing his opponent. His aura sense would be able to track Lilith better than his own eyes. She was still advancing, though her aura was tinted black. Abrum knew something was wrong. Abrum extended his wings, knocking both Bella and Tella off of him. He used his wings to flap back. Thankfully, Bella and Tella were knocked out when they hit the ground. He felt remorseful for his actions, though he was glad they weren¡¯t hindering him at the moment. ¡®The advances aren¡¯t unwelcome though¡­Stop it!! Focus!¡¯ He screamed to himself. Lilith had stepped back in surprise when she saw his wings. Her aura indicated she was happy. There was another color mixed in her aura. Hopeful? That didn¡¯t make sense. Abrum¡¯s thoughts were interrupted when she summoned her weapon. A scythe. A long black pole with a wicked blade at the end. ¡°So you have come to slay me then Angaellis? Do your worst! Just because I can¡¯t charm you doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t defeat you! I am not afraid of death! I ACCEPT IT!¡± She screamed and rushed at him with inhuman speed. She slashed when she was ten feet away. His spidey senses went off and he dodged. The trees behind him were sliced. Abrum was surprised at the development. ¡®Crud¡­ long range? This is gonna be interesting.¡¯ She kept swinging and Abrum kept dodging, leaping, twisting turning. While he was doing this dance, some of the slashes caught him in his abdomen. He coughed in pain, and used his wings to propel himself up onto a tree branch. Lilith took the opportunity to conjure magic into her hands and point it at Abrum. A beam of black energy erupted from her hands, crackling, sparking, fizzing. Abrum dodged, but even though he had dodged the main energy beam, he still was caught by the dark lightning that surrounded the beam. He fell and hit the ground, hard. Lilith strolled up to him. She loomed over like an angel of death. Raising her scythe, he could hear her sob quietly, but why? Abrum just smiled, and parried with his blades. Close combat, this was His territory. He caught the second strike between his twin blades and pushed her back using his wings to propel himself forward. She jumped back and twirled the scythe expertly and came at him with a slash to the abdomen. He blocked it and was pushed back. She swung again, this time moving the blade behind him and cutting a light gash across the small of his back. Abrum hopped back wincing in pain. This grimace was then replaced by a smile. This was a real battle. Spinning the scythe, she charged at him again. This time, she used it in a circular motion to slash out at his neck. Abrum ducked and swept her legs out from underneath her and made to stab her on the ground. She curled her body feet facing the air and used the scythe to propel her feet right into Abrum¡¯s jaw. Abrum stumbled back and was barely able to stop the blade that would have slashed across his back again. ¡®Dang she¡¯s good. This is annoying having to defend from the front and the back. She can strike me anywhere with that weapon.¡¯ Abrum thought as he blocked another slash to the back. He slashed at her and she blocked with the pole of the scythe and used it to push him back. She slashed again but missed. She used the momentum of the swing to carry the scythe over her shoulders into her other hand and slice dangerously. ¡®I have to get under her guard. A scythe¡¯s main strength is its length, but that is also its weakness. Once I¡¯m past the blade, her options will be limited.¡¯ She was twirling the scythe and came again. He ducked under the swing and slashed upwards with one sword. She blocked the sword with the pole, but not before Abrum stabbed her with the other. She jumped back with a slash, clutching the wound in her abdomen. He smiled when he saw that it had worked, and charged again. She watched him closely, and then slashed downwards, burying the scythe in the ground. A dark wave of energy proceeded in a straight line towards Abrum. He jumped over it¡­ right to where Lilith was. She had used the scythe¡¯s handle as a springboard and met him in the air. He tried to change his trajectory, but to no avail. She made a sad face and slashed downward. He twisted his body to avoid and then slashed with both swords, twirling in a magnificent circle of death, his blades making lines in the air. Blood flew out behind her, the red droplets twinkled in the air. She hit the ground, hard. She lay there, blood spilling out of her abdomen. She looked up at him. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Kill me. I have no desire to live like this any longer.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Stealing men? Whoring away just so I can survive? This is hell. I can¡¯t even be with anyone without killing them. That is the way of a succubus. Unending torment. Though succubi are creatures of lust, we are denied love. I thank you Angaellis, for granting an end to my torment.¡± She said with such bitterness in her voice that it made Abrum flinch Abrum looked at her with eyes that were shocked. How could he kill her? The one that suffered so. Alone in a world that dictated that she would die if not whore her body away? He looked at her with compassion. His blue eyes conveying unfathomable empathy. He knelt down to her, her blood streaming out on the ground and said these words. ¡°I will not let you die. I will not. I will free you from your torment though.¡± She looked up at him. Her eyes filled with anguish. ¡°Do not give me false hope Angaellis, if you are so good, then end my torment.¡± ¡°And so I shall.¡± Abrum¡¯s weapons vanished and he laid his hands on the wound. He had 1450 health points left from his fight and all 250 mana points. ¡®Oh please let me have enough. Please!¡¯ He called out in his mind to his God. ¡°Purify.¡± He said in a soft voice.
Consumed 250 mana points.
Consumed 1254 Health Points in place of mana points.
A bright light surrounded the succubus as she had a look of utter surprise on her face. As the light started to fade, he heard a little noise. *Ding* *Ding* ¡®Oh great, what did I do now?¡¯ As the light cleared, Abrum gawked at the changes in the succubus. Her eye color had changed from blood red to neon blue. She was dressed in a long, flowing white robe. It was a bit low cut, but that wasn¡¯t what Abrum was gawking at. What he was gawking at was the two feather wings that were sprouting out of her back. The shock on his face was mirrored by Lilith who looked at her new wings. Her mouth hung open like a broken box. Abrum checked the message box that had just popped.
Congratulations, you have succeeded in purifying Lilith the Succubus. Due to the purification, she is now Lilith the Lesser Angaellis. She will be loyal to you as her master.
[tr]
Completed: Subjugation of the Succubus, Sub-quest
Type:Training/EventDifficultyE+
The succubus that plagued the town of Hillshir is no more, instead, a new Angaellis is born. You have saved the towns men like Andrea asked. Also, you liberated her husband, Orion.
Lilith looked up at Abrum with emotion in her eyes. He didn¡¯t understand half of the different colors swirling around in her aura. What he did understand was that she was happy. That much was apparent by the dazzling smile on her face. She knelt down in front of him. ¡°I have no idea how you did it but you did. You saved me from my suffering. Not only that, you gave me a new life! One free from the requirements of a succubus. I can never repay you for your kindness.¡± At this Abrum nodded sheepishly. ¡°I have made my decision. I will dedicate this new life to the one who gave it to me. You are my lord my one and only, and I will do everything in my power to serve you. I hereby dedicate myself to you¡­ What is your name?¡± He smiled down at her and said ¡°Abrum¡­ my name is Abrum.¡± Lilith and Abrum returned to the village, dragging Bella, Tella, and the rest of the men. It was hard work needless to say. While they were doing so, some women started to come out. They saw their husbands, their children, their brothers, their fathers. They called out to the other women, and soon, they were swarmed. Soon, men started to come out of the forest and run into the arms of their beloved families. It was a truly touching scene, and Abrum was truly happy to be a part of it. Bella and Tella came around. They perked up their ears when they saw Abrum, but immediately flattened them when they saw Lilith. ¡°Who is this master? A new friend?¡± asked Bella ¡°She is the succubus. I purified her, and now she has sworn fealty to me. Oh, that reminds me.¡± Abrum replied as he put his hand on Lilith¡¯s. A light shown and a collar like tattoo appeared around her neck. It looked overtly sexual with her form. ¡°That is the Mark of the Angaellis. It will protect you from any subjugation magic so you won¡¯t be put under a spell. You can move the mark around, it doesn¡¯t have to be around your neck.¡± ¡°Mi¡¯lord saved me, and I dedicated myself to you. Am I not mi lord¡¯s?¡± ¡°Ummm.¡± Abrum said as Lilith moved and grabbed his arm. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Bella said while tackling Lilith. ¡°Master is ours! You can¡¯t have him!¡± Tella said in a loud voice. Abrum just sighed and turned to the two people that had approached him. It was Andrea and Orion. Andrea stepped up and said in a quiet voice ¡°Thank you for saving my husband. You have no idea what you have done for this village. We will forever be in your debt!¡± ¡°I must thank you for returning me to my wife. I am also sorry about the wounds I inflicted upon you earlier. I think I deserved that kick to the balls. We have no way to repay the kindness you have shown us. Take this and our ever-lasting gratitude.¡± He handed Abrum a belt. He used his identification skill.
Orion¡¯s Belt
Type:???Durability:?? / ??
Quality:???
???
Abrum accepted gratefully and they both turned and left. He turned around to see Lilith sitting on top of the foxes with a satisfied smile on her face. ¡®*Sigh* It¡¯s going to be a long trip back.¡¯
Suggestions for Orion''s Belt abilities? Return Sorry for the late update. Also, I apologize if it is a bit more scatterbrained than usual. Thank you again for the support. I am going to have fun with this arc An Angaellis, a former Succubus, and two Foxes walk into a bar¡­ Any ideas on how it ends? Before they left Hillshir, they were thanked innumerable amounts of times. Mothers, wives, and daughters, came up to him with tears in their eyes thanking him. He would always smile sheepishly. Abrum thought he saw Bella, Tella, and Lilith shooting threatening glances at the women who approached him. ¡®They couldn¡¯t be¡­ nah.¡¯ Abrum thought to himself. They strolled over to the general store. Abrum was going to buy Bella, Tella, and Lilith their OWN bed rolls. ¡®Considering what happened last time¡­¡¯ Abrum thought to himself as he pushed the door open. He was greeted by a short man with a huge smile on his face. ¡°Ah the savior of our town! What can I do for you?¡± The short man asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to buy bed rolls for these three. Do you have any?¡± ¡°Of course. Over on that wall are the bed rolls. The higher quality bedroll, the higher the stat buff. Bed rolls give stat buffs depending on how long you sleep in them.¡± Abrum left the store with 4 bedrolls that cost a few silver together. They would grant a 50% stamina boost for a day if one slept more than 8 hours in the bed roll. Abrum wasn¡¯t exactly rich, so he had 5 silver and 40 copper left after the exchange. As they left the town, there were many things said. ¡°You are welcome here anytime Angaellis!¡± ¡°I pray for your safety Angaellis!¡± ¡°I hope my daughter gets married to someone like that. But those kinds are few and far between. Wait! MARRY MY DAUGHTER!¡± At that last one, Abrum sped up his pace and soon was out of the town. Abrum hadn¡¯t equipped the belt yet because he had no idea what the restrictions were, so he just kept it in his inventory. They made good time and were half way back by night fall. Bella and Tella went off to hunt, but before they did, they had whispered something to Lilith in low and threatening voices. Abrum was troubled by this and went over to talk to her. ¡°Were they bullying you Lilith? You can tell me.¡± Abrum asked in a comforting voice, full of compassion. ¡°No, they were just establishing some ground rules¡­ Like I¡¯ll follow them¡­¡± Lilith snorted while scooting closer to Abrum. He put his arm around her to comfort her. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure it will work out. Just give it some time, they aren¡¯t bad girls.¡± He said as he retracted his arm and continued to prepare the fire. He was bent over with the flint and steel when he saw two pale slender arms come out and embrace him from the back. His back stiffened as two hills pressed up against his back. She put her lips right by his ears and whispered. ¡°You saved me from the life of the Succubus. You forgave me for the wounds I inflicted upon you, and you continue to treat me well. You seem to care so much for Bella and Tella, but you also show me the same amount of affection. Why?¡± ¡°Well why shouldn¡¯t I? Why shouldn¡¯t I show kindness? Is there a reason why I shouldn¡¯t? I also believe that I should emulate the kindness that was once shown to me¡­¡± Abrum replied completely sincere. He meant those words, and Lilith knew it. She just smiled and continued to hug him, and Abrum continued to stiffen until his back was arched as far as it could go. She started to nibble on his ear, and Abrum couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He used his wings to fly up to a tree leaving Lilith on the ground. ¡°I show kindness, yes. However, I expect you to show it in turn. I also expect you to grow stronger, so that you can show kindness in any situation. We are returning to my old instructor. I expect you to train under him until he gives you his satisfaction.¡± Abrum gave this speech perched on top of a tree branch with a bright red face. He honestly looked ridiculous. A dove blushing is what he looked like. Lilith just giggled and nodded. Bella and Tella came back carrying something. It wasn¡¯t food, it was a wolf pup. A white wolf pup. ¡°Master! Look what we found! She seems to be hurt!¡± ¡°Can we eat it?¡± Abrum hopped down from the tree and took the white wolf pup from the two foxes and looked at the wound. There was quite the nasty gash across the left leg. The wolf pup looked up at him with worried eyes. ¡°Would you two go out and catch dinner? I¡¯ll tend to this poor pup.¡± Abrum looked at the gash and put his hands on it. ¡°Purify.¡±
100 Mana points consumed
Due to the fact that purify was a holy foundation spell, the healing variety, it had a small side effect of healing, even though it was mainly a detox magic. The wound closed up slowly, and the white wolf was looking at Abrum gratefully. It took out its little tongue and began to lick Abrum¡¯s hand. Lilith took the little wolf and began to pet it. It started to lick her as well. ¡°What a friendly little one we have.¡± Abrum said with a smile. He went back to making the fire while Lilith played with the little wolf pup. The foxes brought back dinner and Abrum scratched them behind their ears which they seemed to appreciate immensely. After they had all eaten, the little wolf pup left, licking Lilith¡¯s hand once more before it went. Abrum lay down and tried to go to sleep, however, sleep seemed to escape him. He tossed at turned but could not go to sleep¡­ Then, he looked up at the others, all sleeping peacefully. They all seemed so happy, all so safe. Abrum smiled and drifted off to sleep. When he awoke, he was happy to notice no one was in his bed roll! Twas a miracle. He roused everyone and they continued upon their journey until they came upon the city. The gates were just as majestic as usual and the guards as inattentive as usual. They walked through the gates unhindered. Bella and Tella were both in their humanoid form, and they received some stares from the men of the town. ¡°*Whistles* Look at those beauties¡­ who¡¯s the idiot with them?¡± ¡°Nah man, look at the blonde, those legs!¡± ¡°What the heck are you talking about? Look at the guy that¡¯s with them¡­¡± At that last one, Abrum hastened to the training hall. He was uncomfortable that the males were scoping his companions out with less than pure intentions, though he was more disturbed that some females were looking at him in a hungry way¡­ He hastened with his group until the came to the training hall. When Abrum entered, Aleqe was in the center of the training hall laying waste to some training scarecrows. His strikes were as fluid and as forceful as ever. Aleqe immediately turned to greet them when Abrum opened the door. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Abrum waved to Aleqe, but he had a look of shock on his face. This gave way to a look of confusion, then finally a grin. ¡°I see you finally got your wings boy. And seems as if you obtained a new companion for yourself. Care to explain what happened?¡± Aleqe asked. He sat down like a child waiting to be told a story with a giant smile on his face. Abrum sighed and proceeded to tell the tale. He ended with the message that Lilith had become his under Angaellis. ¡°So you already have an Angaellis underling? Wow, that was sooner than expected. Oh well, I guess I need to do it then.¡± He said as he reached out to grab Abrum¡¯s face. Abrum dodged. Aleqe looked puzzled and reached out to grab his face again. Abrum dodged again. ¡°What are you doing boy? Come here!¡± ¡°Why? Why does it have to be my face? Why won¡¯t you ever explain this to me?¡± ¡°Never mind boy, quit whining!¡± Aleqe continued to grab at Abrum, and Abrum continued to dodge. Aleqe finally had enough and swept Abrum¡¯s legs out from under him. He pounced on top and grabbed Abrum¡¯s face. Bella and Tella tried to get Aleqe off, but he wouldn¡¯t budge. Aleqe¡¯s hand started to faintly glow, and Abrum¡¯s face started to burn. Then there was a brilliant flash of light and a familiar sound. *Ding*
Congratulations, you have ranked up from Angaellis to (Greater) Angaellis
Aleqe got up, and backed up a good ways away while smiling. Two spots of intense pain appeared on Abrum¡¯s mid back. He got to his knees and hunched over from the pain. They continued to hurt for a few minutes. After it was done, he looked at his back. What he saw greatly surprised him. Out of his back were not two wings, but four. They were about 6 feet long, and majestic. Abrum just looked at them flabbergasted. Aleqe just smiled and said this ¡°You know the succubus quest was one commissioned by the Adventurer Guild. You could go to collect the reward¡­Just a thought. Also, did you bring your companions here to train? I can tell Lesser Angaellis is capable in a fight, she won¡¯t need training. The foxes however¡­ Well, leave it to me!¡± Aleqe said while dragging Bella and Tella. Before Abrum could say anything they were gone. He turned to Lilith who had a confused look on her face. Abrum sighed and left the training hall with Lilith. They walked down the dilapidated street. Abrum had told Lilith to fold her wings. They were hidden under her cloak just as his were. Despite her wings being hidden, her beauty still attracted attention. Abrum internally sighed as he had to suffer the killer gazes. They reached the Adventurer Guild after a little while of walking. It was a squat building that looked more like a bar than a guild. When they entered, they were greeted by a rowdy scene. The inside was spacious with many round tables on the right side of the room. To the right were counters with clerks talking to adventures. The whole of the right wall was a big board that was plastered in papers. Quests. Many of the adventurers at the tables were partying. Probably some big quest they had successful. Abrum walked over to one of the counters. There was a male clerk there who looked extremely bored. ¡°I¡¯m here to register the completion of the ¡°Subjugation of the Succubus¡± quest. Is there any kind of reward available?¡± Abrum said loudly. The clerk nodded and went off to get whatever it was. The room went silent. Abrum looked around confused. Everyone in the guild was staring at him. A man stood up and pointed accusingly. ¡°How could you ¡®ave completed the quest? Our guild party of 50 couldn¡¯t even get past the thralls! There is no way that you could have done it!¡± Abrum recognized the man as the one he saw being killed in the clearing. The man¡¯s eyes were bulging at this. Abrum was a little taken aback at this and was about to reply calmly to diffuse the situation when Lilith stepped in. ¡°How dare you! Are you accusing mi¡¯lord of lying?¡± ¡°Shut up you whore!¡± They continued to bicker. Abrum was about to stop them when the clerk came back. The boy had come back with an apologetic look on his face. He explained that one had to be registered in the Adenturer¡¯s guild to be eligible for the reward; however, he could register as an adventurer and receive reward of 10 gold. Abrum opted for that option. He registered and was given a dull copper badge. The clerk stopped Abrum before he was about to go. ¡°Umm¡­ sir? I was told to offer this quest to anyone who was able to finish the Succubus quest.
Slay the Bloody Madness
Type:AdventurerDifficultyD
The town west of Sefica, Trier, has recently fallen under the domain of a terrible entity. A vampire, fallen into the abyss of madness, has taken residence in a lone tower. Find it and release the poor thing from its misery.
Abrum thanked the clerk as he turned to deal with the situation that had been stirred up. The man and Lilith¡¯s bickering had escalated into a full out screaming match. A crowd of adventurers were surrounding the wiry man, supporting him. Abrum went to the middle and raised both of his hands. ¡°We have better things than to fight one another. We are all here to have an adventure, make friends, not to sit around bickering, making enemies!¡± At this, the surroundings quieted. Abrum smiled and turned to the wiry man. ¡°I did defeat the succubus, but I had a lot of help. I also did my research on the weaknesses of the thralls. All it takes is a bit of planning.¡± The wiry man quieted down. He looked at Abrum and said these immortally foolish words. ¡°I agree with you upon that, however, I can¡¯t ignore how your companion insulted my honor. I request a duel with her!¡± ¡®How in the world did she insult your honor?¡¯ As Abrum was about to refuse Lilith spoke up. ¡°Of course I will take your challenge!¡± *Internal sigh* Duel and Sparring Thank you all so much for the support so far. Does anyone know how they choose the top 50? I got the chapter out Diosisis! I Did it!!! Outside of the Adventurer¡¯s guild stood a huge crowd of people. Abrum was a part of this crowd of people. He was internally sighing and face palming. The crowd was gathered around two people who were standing around 30 feet apart. They were the wiry man, whose name was Gall, and Lilith. Gall had a bow slung across his back and a quiver of arrows. Lilith stood there confidently without any weapons whatsoever. ¡°No weapon? Are you trying to insult me? You¡¯re going down!¡± Lilith just stood their quietly as the duel starter countdown sounded 3¡­¡­2¡­¡­.1¡­¡­¡­BEGIN Gall took out an arrow, said a skill name, something like Piercing Arrow, and fired promptly. The arrow tore through the air at amazing speeds. Lilith just dodged it, and started to casually walk towards Gall. He continued to fire arrows getting more and more frantic as she closed in on him. When she was half way, he yelled out a new skill name ¡°TRIPLE ARROW!¡± Three arrows exited the bow, all with a poisonous green covering. They came at Lilith in a line, one heading straight for the middle of her chest, the others heading towards her arms. She ducked under the middle arrow and caught the other two arrows. Gall paled at this. Lilith looked at the arrows in her hands for a second nonchalantly, and then threw them back at him with force. The arrows ripped through the air and pierced straight through his thighs. They exited out the back of his legs and stuck themselves in the ground. The blood flew in the air like a thousand crimson stars, and then splattered onto the ground, painting a red line that connected the arrows to his thighs. Gall fell to his knees, his face contorted in a grimace of pain. He looked up with such rage, but Lilith looked at him like he was a bug. He pulled back the bow string and fired a single arrow. She jumped over it and came running. He panicked firing another arrow. She jumped over it, sailing through the air. She brought her leg up high in the air. Some of the guys¡¯ faces went red, while Abrum looked at them confused. She brought her foot down on Galls head. Gall¡¯s head was brought to the ground. Hard. She stood up, not even deigning Gall with a look, who was now unconcious. She walked nonchalantly over to Abrum. The crowd parted for her, not wanting to get in her way. She knelt down in front of Abrum. ¡°Your honor has been protected mi¡¯lord¡± Abrum face palmed at this. He helped Lilith up and they walked, the crowd parted as they walked through. As they were walking, Abrum thought something was off. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you summon your scythe Lilith? That match would have been over a lot quicker if you had.¡± ¡°Ummm. Well, mi¡¯lord, ever since I changed to an Angaellis, I can¡¯t use my previous magic, except for the storage magic, but that¡¯s irrelevant¡­ I¡¯m sorry for not telling you earlier.¡± Abrum looked stunned. He had taken away her power? How could he have done such an atrocity? Abrum opened his mouth to apologize; however, Lilith stopped him with a raised hand. ¡°I know you are about to apologize mi¡¯lord, because your heart is kind. Remember mi¡¯lord, you saved me from that terrible fate. If that means I lose my magic, then so be it. I would like a scythe though¡­¡± Lilith muttered the last part. Abrum smiled at this and they walked to the blacksmith¡¯s shop. When they entered, there was a burly man hammering away at steel. Abrum was amazed at the variety of weapons that lined the walls of the shop. There were maces, chains and flails, throwing knives, short swords, longs swords, wicked looking daggers, spears, pikes, axes, war hammers, war axes, halberds, KATANAS, kunio, and all manner of fatal instruments. While Abrum was gazing amazed at all of this, the blacksmith had finished his work, a longs steel sword. Abrum saw runes that glowed in white. They disappeared as he dipped it into the cooling barrel. The burly man noticed them and walked over. ¡°Looking for a weapon for yourself, or for the lady? As you can see, I have all manner of weapon that has ever been crea¡ª¡° ¡°You don¡¯t have a single scythe though.¡± Lilith interrupted calmly. The man looked at her astonished and then smiled a smug smile. ¡°I keep all the best in the back. Follow me.¡± He said as he led them into a back chamber. Abrum was more puzzled with this room than anything. There were some normal weapons of course, a black great-sword with blood red runes tracing up and down the blade, a white pike that had a single rune on the tip; however, most of the things back here looked like puzzle boxes. Thousands of hand-sized cubes lined the walls, each with different markings on. The black smith picked up a little white cube with light blue markings tracing it and a blue circle in the middle of one side. The circle looked suspiciously like a power button. He tossed the cube over to Lilith and said gruffly ¡°Touch the power button.¡± She looked curiously at the cube and did as she was told. The cube glowed for a second, then went back to normal. The smith looked disappointed and reached to take the cube back, but was interrupted by a blinding flash of light. Lilith was standing there and her hand hit the floor while holding somethin, a scythe. The scythe¡¯s shaft was six feet long, while the blade was half that. The white blade had faint blue runes lining it. Most of these runes centered on the large rune that connected the pole to the blade. There were long, line like runes that ran up and down the shaft. Lilith looked surprised, but lifted it easily. The smith looked at her surprised. No one¡¯s surprise could parallel Abrum¡¯s. His jaw had hit the ground long ago. He looked at the smith surprised. ¡°Who the heck are you?¡± The smith smiled at him and said ¡°I¡¯m Terre, the Cube Smith.¡± ¡°Cube Smith? What the heck is that?¡± ¡°A type of smith that has the ability to make weapons can turn into cubes. It¡¯s a very handy storage feature. Are you going to buy that model or not? It is 7 gold.¡± ¡°Well¡­ what are the stats?¡± The smith moved his hands in the air for a second and a box appeared in front of Abrum.
Angel of Death
Type:ScytheDurability:350 / 700
Damage:100~200
A scythe of death and judgement. Wieldable only by the holy classes or races. Gives a light debuff of 10 damage per second and weakness to holy based attacks for 30 seconds.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.Abrum looked at the weapon stunned. It was a very good weapon, minimum damage of 100, and maximum of 200. The light debuff was spectacular. That meant it would do 300 damage with the debuff alone. Abrum smiled, handed him the gold coins and turned to leave. The smith looked surprised at the money. Lilith pressed the blue circle in the middle of the shaft. This turned it back into its cube form. She turned to follow Abrum. The smith looked surprised at his earnings and Abrum was almost to the front door when Terre called out to him. ¡°Wait? Aren¡¯t you going to haggle or something?¡± ¡°No. Frankly, I think you deserve more than 7 gold, but I can¡¯t really waste my money right now. Thank you for the scythe, we¡¯ll probably be back for more business.¡± Abrum said to him as he exited the shop. ¡®Strange man.¡¯ Thought Terre as he went back to working. Abrum and Lilith continued walking through the city. Lilith looked a bit dejected. When Abrum asked her what was the matter she said these words. ¡°You spent most of the reward for freeing me on me. That doesn¡¯t seem right. Why would you do that?¡± Abrum looked at her and said ¡°Because I want to make sure you don¡¯t get hurt?¡± She pouted at this and he put up his hands and thought of another answer. ¡°Because I want to make sure you can serve me well?¡± She calmed down after this and smiled. Something was off about that smile and Abrum knew he would have to be vigilant that night. They continued walking to the training hall. Lilith was toying with the scythe the whole time, turning from cube form to scythe and back again. When they arrived, they found Bella and Tella both collapsed on the ground. Aleqe was standing over them, muttering something about to little stamina. When he saw Lilith he perked up. ¡°Lesser Angaellis, come spar with me! These two have too little stamina at the moment.¡± Lilith came forward and activated her scythe. Aleqe just smiled, and did something surprising. Two white blades appeared in his hands. The handles and the hand guards were gold while the blade had gold lines tracing up and down the blade. Abrum opened his mouth in surprise. This meant Aleqe was an Angaellis! Abrum was about to stop the two from fighting to question Aleqe, but they ran at each other simultaneously. Aleqe¡¯s speed was in a whole different league than Lilith¡¯s. She came spinning her new scythe. She slashed out with a slash to his abdomen. Aleqe jumped and sailed over Lilith¡¯s head. He landed behind her, and simultaneously swiped out his sword, and his leg. She jumped over the leg and blocked the sword with the shaft. She went flying back. She spun herself in the air and landed feet first against the wall. Lilith smiled and propelled herself off of the wall flying towards Aleqe. He had to roll out of the way to dodge the slash that came at him. Lilith landed and slashed out at him. He rolled under her slash and punched her in the gut. She went flying up and hit the ceiling. She came falling down with a slash. Aleqe jumped out of the way, but not before sustaining a little gash on his arm. He dropped his swords with a yell. His hand was steaming. The debuff apparently worked. He looked at Lilith surprised, then smiled. Two wings sprouted from his back. They were white, but with a metallic sheen. She charged at him again and slashed at this back. He blocked the strike with one wing and knocked her back with the other. She went flying back, and land a good ways away. She stood up and pointed the head end of the shaft directly at Aleqe, burying the blade into the ground. She pushed a button, and a bright light was emitted from the end. Aleqe went flying back into the wall. He smacked it hard, coughing up blood. He lay there for a second, and stood up. He looked up with a wicked grin. Another set of wings popped out. He rushed forward, propelled by two wings, while two of them were extended in front of him. The two extended wings slashed at her, pushing her back. She jumped back and twirled the scythe counter attacking. He blocked with two wings. He smiled¡­ until she punched him in his blind face. She then smacked him with end of the scythe. He fell backward clutching his face. She then proceeded to slash out at him with her scythe. He jumped backwards, propelled by his wings. Another set of wings sprouted from his back. Six wings¡­ Abrum had seen that before¡­somewhere. He flew around the training hall, firing thin beams of light at Lilith. She dodged two of them, and then caught one with her scythe and sent it back at him. He frantically dodged and fired more rapidly. She continued to dodge the beams and managed to throw back a few. Aleqe descended to the ground, and summoned his swords again. The debuff had worn off. He looked like a maniac. He was smiling wickedly with blood streaming out of his nose. Despite the maniacal look he wore, his aura was a light green. Happy. His wings propelled him forward at amazing speeds, much faster than the first arrow of Gall. He slashed with his two swords, and all six wings. Lilith had to jump back extremely quickly. He just smiled and began to turn at an incredible speed, his six wings and blades extended. She backs up, because Aleqe had become a tornado of death. She smiled and aimed the scythe again and pushed the button. He went flying into a wall, leaving an indentation in it. He pulled himself out of the wall and smiled¡­ scarily. He raised his hands, and shouted out. ¡°May the light cut through the darkness, the dawn cut through the night, break through the darkness. Upon this day, your end is nigh, face your doom!¡± From both hands, lines of light were spewed at a rapid pace. They snaked towards Lilith. She spun her scythe in from of her to protect herself. The lines of light exploded upon impact. She was thrown back. The lines continued to come and the explosions rang out in the training hall, pounding Lilith. The lines finally stopped the smoke cleared. Lilith was lying on the ground, unconscious. Aleqe smiled at Abrum who had his finger pointed at Aleqe. ¡°Oh, did I forget to mention who I was? I¡¯m Mebaleqe, Arch-Angaellis. Pleasure to see you again Abrum.¡± Failure to Protect Thank you all so much for the support. I know Abrum has been a bit OP thus far, so why not a bit of hardship. Let me know what you guys think of it. Abrum¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. He was standing before a legend! The one that had forced humanity to its knees, but then spared them. The one that had ended the greed of the humans, for a time. The one that had saved the races. Aleqe, no, Mebaleqe gave him a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to explain myself right now, I have to train these two.¡± He gestured to Bella and Tella. ¡°Also, the mad vampire will be too easy if you have already learned the purify skill.¡± He snapped his fingers and 2 sets of gravity cuffs appeared upon his wrists and ankles. ¡°That¡¯s better. You have fun with the succubus, I mean, Lesser Angaellis now.¡± Aleqe snapped his fingers, and Abrum was no longer in the training hall. He was surrounded by trees that were barren. The dead grass crunched underneath him. The wind whistled through the trees. Abrum recognized his surrounding, but he couldn¡¯t quite place where. All of a sudden, the cuffs around his ankles and wrists gained weight. He hit the ground, on his hands and his knees. He saw Lilith was lying a ways a way, unconscious. Abrum tried to push himself up. His biceps strained and tore at the extra weight that was added. He was panting as he fell to the ground again. His muscles screamed in pain. The weight from the cuffs confined his body to the ground. He lay there looking up at the barren trees, trying to recall where they were from. He was thinking how he was going to be able to defeat a mad vampire in his state when a sound broke his train of thought. It was a growl. Abrum drew his head up at this and his eyes widened in horror. There was a white wolf emerging from between the dead trees. The wolf was advancing towards Lilith, and that¡¯s when Abrum noticed its eyes. They say the eyes are the gate ways to the soul. What Abrum saw disturbed him. The wolf¡¯s eyes looked¡­ lost. The eyes were infused with madness, the gaze darting about at unnatural angles. The eyes were bloodshot, and the veins were much larger than they should have been. Abrum tried to get up, straining his muscles. One thing that Abrum realized, and it made him strain his muscles more violently. He saw the primal instinct prevalent in that wolf¡¯s eyes. Hunger. The wolf walked towards Lilth, spasms occurring across its face. The mouth foamed. Abrum strained violently, and managed to pick up one of his hands. His great strength stat did not help him one bit in this situation. The wolf had covered half the distance between Lilith. It stumbled, and fell. Abrum looked hopeful at this, put his hand down. The wolf got up and kept stumbling towards Lilith. Abrum pulled violently and finally got both of his hands up. The wolf had now covered three fourths of the distance to Lilith. Abrum strained his leg muscles, trying to pick his feet up that were weighed to the ground. The wolf had now reached Lilith. It opened its jaws, just as Abrum fell over. The wolf bit down hard upon Lilith¡¯s leg. Blood spewed from her thigh, and the wolf removed a good chunk, chewing slowly. It looked at Abrum, almost mocking him as he chewed, blood streaming down from its lips, and Lilith screaming in the background. The wolf bit once more, tearing more meat away, and more blood squirted out. Lilith screamed in pain, and tried to push the wolf off. Abrum stared in horror. Why couldn¡¯t he protect her? Why? He finally snapped when Lilith stretched out her hand toward him and mouthed ¡°Help me¡­ please¡­¡± Abrum, gathered all his strength and used his wings to propel himself forward, his eyes gleaming in desperation. He hit the wolf with his body and it went tumbling. Abrum was crouched by Lilith, his wings surrounding her, to protect her. He remained crouching, wings around Lilith, watching the wolf stagger to its feet. Its eyes still portrayed that deep hunger. It licked its blood stained lips and stumbled forward. Abrum just braced himself for the inevitable bite. Lilith seemed to realize what he was doing and didn¡¯t like it. She could feel her pounding away at the inside of his wings, but he didn¡¯t care. He wouldn¡¯t fail to protect the ones he cared for¡­ not again. The wolf stalked towards Abrum. He tried to lift his hands to defend himself, but to no avail. The wolf jumped at him and bite deep into his arm. His health only dropped about 25 points. The wolf was very weak, but the pain was very real. Abrum screamed out in pain. The wolf ripped away the meat and chewed. The wolf grinned wickedly and jumped at him again. Abrum lifted his hand as hard as he could, and barely was able to block the bite. Still, it cost him some of the meat on his arm. The wolf smiled as it tore away the meat. Even though Abrum¡¯s health wasn¡¯t declining, he could feel the pain of the wolf ripping away at his legs and his arms. As his screams continued, the blows from Lilith got weaker and weaker until they stopped. When his health reached down to 1000, the once white wolf was now coated in the red of Abrum¡¯s blood. Abrum¡¯s had become accustomed to lifting his arms to protect himself. The wolf grinned wickedly, the maddened gaze meeting Abrum¡¯s eye. Abrum had an idea. The wolves wouldn¡¯t attack without their pack, unless of course they were mad. If he could cure the madness, the wolf would run, or at least it would stop attacking. The wolf came in for another attack, and Abrum stretched out his hand painfully and grabbed for its neck. The wolf dodged and bit Abrum on the neck. This did 300 damage. Abrum screamed in pain, the blood making it sound like a sick gurgle. Abrum swallowed his pain and grabbed the wolf¡¯s neck with both hands. He used the weight of the cuffs to hold the wolf to the ground. He was on top of the wolf. A thought passed through his mind. It would be so easy just to snap this wolf¡¯s neck. Just a little squeeze would be all it took. Abrum was intrigued by this idea. He could put the wolf out of its misery. Out of its madness. The wolf¡¯s eyes bulged out at him. Abrum was thoroughly tempted by this idea. He was about to start squeezing when he saw something flash across the wolf¡¯s eyes. Fear. The look in the eye that said: I don¡¯t want to die. Abrum knew there was at least the smallest chance to cure the poor thing, so he muttered bitterly: The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Purify¡± There was a flash of light and the world went dark. Abrum dreamed a fitful dream. He was surrounded by lush green trees. The leaves swayed as the wind tossed them. There was a figure in a dark cloak carrying something long, but it was wrapped up with cloth. The figure advanced into a clearing. There was a gathering of 12 proud white wolves. They were much bigger than usual, around 4 feet tall standing. They turned to the figure, and when they saw him, they bared their fangs and flattened their ears. The figure walked confidently forward, and the wolves backed up. The man strode to the center of the clearing and the wolves surrounded him. Their growls filled the tense air with noise. One wolf jumped at him. The cloaked figure swiped his hand at the wolf, which sent the wolf flying. The wolf hit a tree and slid down. The man proceeded to unwrap the object in the cloth. It was a black long sword. Its blade was unnaturally dark, as if it absorbed all the light. It had a large, red ruby on the end. Two things happened simultaneously. One, the wolf that had been hit previously stood back up and attacked one of its pack, mouth foaming. Two, the man raised the sword, and the gem let off an ominous red light. The man plunged the sword into the ground, and a crater formed. The grass died inside the crater. The man stood up, leaving the sword plunged in the ground and walked off to the side to watch the exchange between the wolves. Abrum¡¯s ethereal dream body was confined to watch the scene that played out before him. That one foaming wolf had moved on from its original target. The wolf that had previously been attacked was now foaming at the mouth as well and attacking. It seemed like a zombie outbreak. While the wolves were fighting among themselves, the sword¡¯s ruby glowed a deep crimson. The dead grass continued to extend beyond the crater. Whenever the grass touched one of the trees, it withered and lost all of its leaves. The wolves were unaware of this due to the fact they were fighting the ever increasing amount of mad wolves. Abrum was forced to watch the scene unfold. The trees dying and the death spreading ever further. The wolves were almost all mad, except for one. This wolf was bigger than the rest, and was fiercely fighting off the 11 wolves at once. The fact that the 11 wolves used no strategy helped the lone wolf quite a bit. She batted them aside with her massive paws. She pounced left and right, lashing out with her jaws. The strange figure began to become impatient and fidget. Striding forward, the man slashed one hand through the air. The lone wolf went flying. Correcting itself in midair, it landed, only to be mobbed by the other 11 wolves. Abrum couldn¡¯t do anything to help. He reached out his hand¡­ stretching, hoping there was something he could do. Anything. And then he awoke. As he opened his eyes, he felt two drops of moisture hit his cheek. He looked up puzzled to see Lilith¡¯s face quite near his. She was crying. Abrum wanted to lift up his hands to wipe away the tears, but he couldn¡¯t due to the gravity cuffs. He croaked out to the crying Lilith ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t help you Lilith¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± He apologized with tears in his eyes as he recalled the memory. He had watched her blood flow like a crimson geyser, signifying his failure to save her. He had watched her bleed. He couldn¡¯t do anything¡­ She moved her hands to dry the tears in his eyes, and smiled such a sad smile. Her tears came at more frequent intervals. She said to him ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t protect mi¡¯lord¡­¡± She broke down, using her hands to cover her eyes. ¡°It is a master¡¯s duty to protect his servant, and it is the servant¡¯s duty to protect the master. We both failed today. Failure is the predecessor to success. It is unfortunate that this failure had such consequences. It¡¯ll be okay.¡± Abrum hugged Lilith with his wings, because his hands and legs were shackled to the ground. They cried for a little while together. Abrum noticed something. The blood coated wolf was watching to the side. IT was watching. The thing that caused all this pain. Abrum glared at it, and the wolf whimpered pitifully. It trotted over and tried to rub its head against Abrum¡¯s leg. The same leg that it had torn apart with its fangs. Abrum wanted to kick the thing away, make it go away. All he could do was brush it away with his wing. The wolf tried to get close to Abrum. Abrum steeled his heart and batted the wolf away with his wing. The wolf looked at him. It walked off into the wood, tail between its legs. Abrum watched it go with a few misgivings in his heart, but did not stop the wolf from leaving. Abrum looked up at Lilith who had dried her tears. Then Abrum realized where he was laying. It was a lap pillow. He sat up, his cuffs gouging out a trough in the earth. He got on his hands and his knees and tried to get up. The cuffs wouldn¡¯t allow it. Abrum realizeds something. There were four appendages that weren¡¯t weighed down by the cuffs. His wings. He gave them a flap to test them out. They carried him off of the forest floor. He flapped his wings again and he shot up to above the trees. Through trials and (painful) errors, Abrum was able to hover above the forest floor. He did not master it, but enough to where he could transport himself. Lilith also did the same, due to the fact that one of her thighs were injured. Abrum had partially healed. Sleeping was a healing property, however only in long periods of time. Abrum had nightmares, but he had slept nonetheless. Lilith had stayed awake to watch over Abrum. Both hovering over the ground, they made their way through the forest. They travelled for a long time. Taking breaks to rest their wings, they ate their scarce provisions. Their provisions were running dangerously low after their third break. They were relieved when they saw a hunting party. Abrum folded his wings behind his back and called to them. What he saw horrified him. They turned around, and bent their necks at unnatural angles. One there faces were plastered big smiles. But their eyes¡­ They were the eyes of madness. A New Companion I am so sorry this is late. I already have the rest of this arc planned out, so I had to drag myself to write it out. Also, I read the fiction "Until Death?" and I laughed so hard. I recommend you guys check it out. Also, if you guys can find the time, can you give this story an advanced review on the fiction page? I''d like to see where I need to work on. Thank you! Abrum recoiled in horror, as the mad hunters stumbled forward. Their cackles resounded through the forest as they raised their crossbows to fire. Abrum, using his now herculean strength, pulled Lilith into a bear hug and folded his wings around her and himself. The hunters fired a volley, sticking into Abrums pristine wings. Abrum couldn¡¯t feel it though, he was concentrating solely upon getting Lilith away safely. The arrows flew and flew and flew. Countless times, they impacted upon his wings; and yet, they held strong due to the ironclad will of Abrum. Somewhere along the way, he heard a *Ding*.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Wings of the AngaellisIntermediate10.0%
These are the wings that signify the race of the Angaellis. The higher the ability level is, the more easily they are controlled. They can be used to fly, strike or block. The intermediate level was unlocked by the unbreakable will to protect. Now can be hidden at will.
The arrows still flying, he trudged along. Each step, his muscles screaming in effort. Nevertheless, he trudged onwards to safety. After a while of trudging, the volley of arrows began to abate. He smiled relieved and set Lilith down. She looked a bit unhappy about that but began smiling afterwards. She looked up at him and said these words ¡°You know I was perfectly capable of handling them? Unlike you, I don¡¯t have the weights.¡± She smiled as she said this and Abrum face palmed. He just nodded his head weakly as Lilith skipped off to deal with the problem. Abrum trudged after her. Moving around was getting easier the more he moved around, though it was still hard. After trudging for a while, they encountered the hunters again. They cackled maniacally as they loaded their bows again. Lilith dashed forward, spinning her scythe in front of her. She deflected the bolts from the crossbows with ease as she closed the distance. She slashed out with the back of her scythe, throwing one of the men back into the other. She pulled the scythe back, bringing the end of the pole into another man¡¯s face. Sweeping her legs around, she felled the last two hunters. She raised her scythe to put them out of their misery, but Abrum raised his hand to stop her. She looked at him curiously. He hobbled over to the fallen madmen. Abrum bent down over one of the hunters. Just as he was about to lay his hands upon the hunter¡¯s face, he heard a twang and a small yelp. He turned around to see one hunter up, a recently fired crossbow in his hand. Lilith promptly knocked him to the ground. Abrum saw the wolf that he had cured laying near him, a bolt sticking out of its side. It had come to save him, even when he had pushed it away. It looked at him pitifully, whimpering, and passed out. Abrum frantically picked up the little wolf and took out the arrow. Lilith knelt beside him and took the wolf, a white glow leaving her hands. The wolf¡¯s wound began to close and Abrum sighed with relief. He turned back to the mad hunters and he began to purify each of them. It took a while due to the fact his mana had to regenerate. After they were all cured, Abrum sighed and leaned his back up against a tree. Lilith came to sit with him, the wolf sprawled across her lap. Abrum smiled and coughed a bit in his hand. He looked at his hand surprised and hid it quickly. They lay against a tree, side by side, taking in the fresh air, and the groaning of all the men. Abrum had hidden his wings so he could lean against the tree easier. After approximately an hour, one of the men came to. He sat up, rubbed his bleary eyes, and surveyed his surroundings with a curious look on his face. His eyes widened as he saw Abrum, but more importantly, the beauty by his side. The man hobbled over to the pair. ¡°Excuse me¡­ who are you? How did I get here and why are all my companions groaning?¡± The man bombarded them with questions. Abrum raised a hand to silence him. ¡°I am Abrum, this is my companion Lilith. You were raving mad and attacked us when we met. My companion here subdued you, giving me the opportunity to purify you.¡± Abrum answered rather curtly. The man looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but he stifled the urge. The man just nodded weakly and started to rouse his companions. They all groaned, some mumbled for more time. One awkward awakening was when one of them men hugged his awakener while half asleep. With some difficulty, the rest the hunters regained consciousness and stood up, conversing among themselves. Some shot lustful glances at Lilith, but those immediately stopped when they saw Abrum. He was smile was friendly, yet extremely scary. They gathered in front of Abrum and bowed in unison, the first man in the front. ¡°We are deeply grateful for freeing us from the consuming madness. I am known among the hunters as Yelt. I thank you once again.¡± Abrum just nodded while smiling. They bowed again, gathered their things, and dispersed into the woods. Abrum watched them go with a satisfied look upon his face. ¡°Mi¡¯lord is quite kind to have spared the men, as well as the wolf.¡± Lilith simply stated as she lay her head against Abrum¡¯s shoulder. Abrum smiled, about to say something when his stomach growled fiercely. The wolf that was laying in Lilith¡¯s lap jumped at the sound and looked around frantically for the source of the noise. Lilith and Abrum just laughed. ¡°I will go procure food mi¡¯lord. I will return with all due haste.¡± She stood up and left, her eyes full of mirth. With the scythe over her shoulder dressed in the long flowing white dress, she may have been the oddest hunter ever. Abrum just smiled as she left and the wolf padded over to him. Picking the wolf up with a smile, the wolf began to lick his hands. He smiled and picked up the wolf. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear its story¡± Abrum muttered to himself. Abrum put his pointer and middle finger on the wolf¡¯s forehead. A light shined and subsided quickly. The wolf had changed drastically, its fur was lined with gold patterns. It had a wing-pattern on its back. The tail and ears were tipped with gold. It had a gold line around its neck, almost like a collar. It looked up at him. ¡°I am not an it, I am a she!¡± ¡°Wow, sparky little one aren¡¯t ya?¡± Abrum started to scratch behind Her ear. She smiled and started to snuggle, but then pulled away. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t distract me! Even though that feels reeeeaaaalllyyyy good¡­ I need to warn you! This forest has been infected with an epidemic of madness. Every creature is infected, and are nothing more than raving lunatics. You purified me, so there¡¯s still a chance they can be saved.¡± ¡°Wait. Who can be saved?¡± ¡°The twelve guardians that are supposed to protect the forest. They were also infected due to special circumstances, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have let this happen. To save the forest, you must purify the guardians like you purified me. Pleeeeaaaaasssseee?¡± [tr]
The Forest of Madness
Type:AdventurerDifficultyD
The proud forest of Trier has fallen into madness. Literally. A wolf has asked for your help in purifying the 12 guardians to bring about order once again.
Abrum was going to decline the quest. He had already suffered enough in the forest, so he turned to the wolf with apologetic, yet compassionate eyes. Then she cheated. She used her puppy eyes. Her eyes went wide, and her ears drooped over her face. One ear covered on eye, and the other ear drooped sadly to the side. If that wasn¡¯t enough, she added a little whimper. Abrum¡¯s reaction can be described in 3 words. His will broke. He sighed and said. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.¡°Yes, yes fine. I¡¯ll do it. Now, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I am Fenrir.¡±
Quest accepted
Abrum sighed as his stomach growled and Fenrir curled up on his lap. She was quite big and spilled out of his lap. He pet her and started to scratch behind her ear. He heard her moans inside of his head. It was a bit disconcerting. He scratched harder, and started to scratch her belly. He continued doing this until he found a certain part on her belly. As he scratched there, she moaned louder and louder inside of his mind. Abrum looked a little conflicted. ¡°Mi¡¯lord, I found foo¡ªwhat in the gods name did you do to the wolf?!¡± Lilith had arrived back. Slung across her back was a small deer. She looked quite haggard. Her dress was caked with mud and the blood from the deer soaked a part of her dress. She looked like a character out of a survival show. Abrum jumped up at this, his face flushed red with embarrassment. He felt as if he was caught doing something wrong. ¡°I was just scratching her ear is all¡­ Oh you mean the gold. I used the Mark of the Angaellis on her so I could communicate with her.¡± ¡°Ah. So what¡¯d she say?¡± Abrum recounted his story carefully. Lilith¡¯s facial expressions didn¡¯t change until she heard he had accepted another quest. She looked¡­ proud? She bent down and picked up the wolf hugging it hard. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll help you!!!¡± She looked quite comical. Fenrir had her front legs pointed skyward. Because she was so long, her back legs touched the ground easily. Fenrir had a look that could equate to ¡®SAVE ME¡¯ while Lilith was in her own little world hugging the wolf. Abrum just laughed heartily. Abrum stood up and started to prepare dinner with the deer meat. Since he didn¡¯t have his pot or any of his tools, the meat wasn¡¯t as well cooked as usual. Lilith didn¡¯t seem to like it. Fenrir had a different opinion. Abrum watched her carefully as she sniffed at the piece of meat in front of her. She cautiously took a bite. The reaction was surprising to say the least. Her eyes¡­ changed. They turned to¡­ Rainbows? The expression on that wolf¡¯s face was pure happiness. No, a better word would have been ecstasy. She devoured the rest in a blink of an eye. He could see her tongue probing her lips to find another tasty morsel. ¡°Ummmmmm¡­¡­ Is it good?¡± Fenrir snapped out of her ecstasy turned to Abrum with hungry eyes, and pounced on Abrum. ¡°MOOOAAAARRRRR¡± she roared in his mind. Lilith took the wolf off of Abrum with difficulty. Fenrir sat obediently by Abrum, waiting for the next batch of meat to be done. Her tongue was lolling out of her mouth, looking more like an obedient dog than a proud wolf. Abrum just smiled and shook his head as he cooked the rest of the deer meat. Lilith was happily sitting on the ground, petting Fenrir. Lilith found Fenrir¡¯s weak spot, and Abrum¡¯s concentration took double the effort as he heard Fenrir¡¯s moans in his mind. After one large piece and two smaller pieces of meat were done cooking, he turned around and was greeted with quite a sight. Lilith was laying on the ground stuck under Fenrir. Fenrir was sprawled across Lilith¡¯s torso with a face of pure relaxation. Abrum began to approach them quietly; however, the smell reached Fenrir¡¯s nose before he arrived. She perked up her head and saw the food. Her eyes went into rainbow mode and she used Lilith as a springboard to propel herself towards Abrum. Fenrir sat obediently in front of Abrum while Lilith rolled on the ground clutching her abdomen. Abrum gave one of the smaller pieces to Fenrir, who promptly ate it, then tackled him. Proceeding to eat the rest of the meat, she lay on top of Abrum as she gnawed away at the big piece. Abrum managed to pass the smaller piece to Lilith, who was trying to suppress her laughter at the situation. While Fenrir was still gnawing on the meat, Abrum pushed her off, stood up, and brushed himself off. Abrum yawned. He was quite tired from the events of the day. ¡°Tired Mi¡¯lord?¡± ¡°Yep. I believe it¡¯s time to turn in. We have a long quest ahead of us.¡± Abrum said as he reached into his pack and pulled out his bed roll. Then he realized something¡­ There was only one bedroll. The rest were back at the training hall. He looked nervously at Lilith. She kept a straight face: however, her eyes danced with pleasure. Abrum offered the bed roll to Lilith. ¡°I couldn¡¯t deprive you of your bed mi¡¯lord. The night is so cold, that I couldn¡¯t. However¡­ I also feel that even with the bedroll, the night would be to cold. As mi¡¯lord¡¯s personal¡­ servant, I believe it falls under my purview to make sure mi¡¯lord is warm.¡± She said as she advanced forward, swaying slightly and seductively. ¡°No need to trouble yourself. Is it not the lord¡¯s duty to assure that his servants are well cared for? You may have the bedroll.¡± Abrum said while laying out the bedroll. Lilith advanced and lay down in the bedroll with a pout. Abrum sighed with relief. He had thought she would fight him more over this. He lay against a tree, making himself comfortable. Fenrir had finished the meat and came and lay across Abrum¡¯s lap. She looked up with cute puppy dog eyes. ¡°If I continue to travel with you, will I get to eat more?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He said while petting her. ¡°One condition though, you have to go hunt for the meat. Just between you and me, I don¡¯t think Lilith is cut out for hunting.¡± ¡°Okay master! I¡¯ll do my best.¡± She said and lay her head down. He could hear her repeating a mantra in his head ¡°Yummy meat. Yummy meat. Yummy meat.¡± This continued until she dropped off to sleep. He smiled. He called up his status just before he went to sleep.
Status Window
Name:AbrumAlignment:Neutral
Level:7Class:None
Race:AngaellisGender:Male
Titles
None
Fame:0Infamy:0
-
Health:1980 / 2014Health Regen:3.7 / Sec out of 4.6 / Sec
Mana:250 / 250Mana Regen:14.5 / Sec
Stamina:3034 / 3034Stamina Regen:40.3 / Sec
-
Strenght:560Agility:240
Vitality:380
Intelligence:10Wisdom:12
Leadership:0Luck:-15
He looked it over and then drifted off to sleep. He had the same dream as the previous time. The clearing with the twelve wolves and the sword. When he awoke, he realized why Lilith gave in so easily.
Oh just a quick question. Nice big battle between players to defend Sefica. Yes or no? Orthirs Region Hey guys, thank you all for the support thus far. From what I have gathered, it takes votes to put someone in the top 50. Is that correct? Also, if you guys could take the time to rate my fiction, I would be most appreciative. I love any constructive criticism that you can offer. Thanks ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abrum awoke, and wished he hadn¡¯t. Fenrir was no longer on his lap warming him, but someone else was. Lilith was laying on his chest, her mounds pressing up against him; however, that wasn¡¯t the worst part. She was wearing an extremely revealing black lingerie which starkly contrasted with her white skin. Her stocking clad legs bordered his thighs as she was straddling him. He awoke while stuttering. ¡°T-The heck is this?!¡± Lilith heard him. She sat up on his crotch. The position they were in could be taken in a very¡­ different way. Yawning and stretching out her arms, which made her mounds bounce, she looked at him sleepily. ¡°Good morning¡­ mi¡¯lord¡± She said softly and seductively, like they just had a wild night. ¡°Good morning to you too¡­ Is that what you thought I would say?! Good morning my butt! Why didn¡¯t you sleep in the bedroll? Why sleep out here? And where did that lingerie come from?!¡± Abrum spewed his questions out frantically without thinking. He mentally face palmed after that last question came out. ¡°Well mi¡¯lord, you looked¡­ soooooo cold out here,¡± She breathed out ¡®so¡¯ into a seductive sigh. ¡°And I didn¡¯t have the heart to take advantage of the gift you gave me while you suffered. I thought I would keep you warm. And for the lingerie question. As I told you, all my previous magic is gone¡­ except the storage magic. I have many more outfits that I could model for you mi¡¯lord¡­?¡± Lilith looked at him expectantly. Abrum weakly cried out in his mind ¡°Help me, somebody!¡± as Lilith started to undo his shirt. She smiled as she started to lick his neck sensually. Abrum just closed his eyes, trying to find his happy place. White sandy beaches, the ocean calmly lapping¡­ gently breeze¡­ NOT WORKING!!! She had moved on to his chest and was tracing her tongue across it gently. Her slender fingers were tracing lines down his abdomen. He knew where they were headed. At that moment, Fenrir came bounding out of the forest with a deer. Abrum nearly cried with joy. She bounded onto Abrum, knocking Lilith off. She sat on top of his abdomen wagging her tail. ¡°I brought meat! That means you make it yummy, right?¡± She said while pawing at his chest, while her tail wagged back and forth. Abrum breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Fenrir appreciatively. He scratched her ear and whispered in his mind ¡°Thank you.¡± Cocking her head to one side in puzzlement, she looked at him. He just scratched ears and asked her to get off. Fenrir padded over and sat obediently by the deer that she had caught, her eyes filled with the expectation equivalent to a child on Christmas. Abrum sighed in relief as he got up from that uncomfortable position. He collected himself and prepared the meat. Lilith pouted but got changed to Abrum¡¯s relief. The clothing materialized in her hands. Abrum went back to cooking the food. While he was cooking, he conversed with Fenrir about the location of the guardians. ¡°So where exactly are the guardians?¡± ¡°They are scattered around the forest. The forest is split up into 12 sections. We currently are at the east most section. The guardians roam around the forest on patrols. The area we are currently in is the territory of the weakest of the guardians. ¡°Yes yes¡­¡± Abrum wanted to try something different with the meat today since Lilith seemed to dislike it yesterday. Abrum while he carried on his conversation, he saturated the meat with ground up herbs mixed into water to create an aqueous solution. He then added it to the meat, and it sank in while sizzling. After an extended period of time, the water had evaporated, leaving the meat saturated with the herbs. The meat had become tender, not juicy though. Abrum was quite proud of the meat he had made. The smell alone made Fenrir wag her tail crazily, puddles of drool began to form at her front paws. He set down a meat skewer in front of Fenrir, which she promptly devoured. The reaction was quite melodramatic. Fenrir¡¯s eyes sparkled, her ears perked up. Her tail was moving extremely fast. She lay on her back. He heard her voice in his head ¡°I¡­ have seen HEAVEN!!!!!!!!¡± She lay there, not moving¡­ perfectly still. Abrum was quite puzzled at this reaction. He handed a skewer to Lilith, who ate it. No abnormal reaction. Abrum looked quite puzzled and was about to take a bite of his when he noticed something. She wasn¡¯t moving. She fell over onto her back and lay there with a smile of bliss on her face.
Title: Superb Chef has been gained
Cooking has levelled up to intermediate 1
¡®My first title and it had to be a chef. Joy¡­¡¯ Just then, Fenrir picked up her head and sniffed the air. Her ears flattened on top of her head and she growled. At the edge of the clearing, a large white wolf emerged. The wolf stood about 4 feet tall from paw to head, and 6 feet long from head to tail. It was pure white. The creature would be majestic, but its eyes precluded that image. Its eyes twitched and darted around at irregular intervals. It stalked into the clearing and stood above Lilith.
Warning the Mad Guardian of the Forest, Orthir, has arrived
¡®Oh¡­ snap¡­¡¯ The wolf just grinned and looked at Lilith. Abrum, with worry filled eyes, threw a filled meat skewer at the wolf. The wolf caught it with its mouth and bit down. The meat filled its mouth and the wolf smiled. It licked its lips, hungrily. The madness in its eyes was replaced by hunger. ¡®¡­Crud¡­¡¯ It left Lilith behind and began to pad over to Abrum. Closer and closer, its feet brought its huge body closer. Its legs contracted convulsively as it came closer. Half the distance had been covered when something odd happened. The wolf paused mid step, its convulsions stopped as well. The wolf had a big stupid grin on its face. Just like Lilith¡¯s¡­ It fell over on its side with that frivolous grin. ¡°What?¡± *Ding* Abrum pushed the notification aside for the moment. If it was immobilized, he could heal it. Abrum rushed forward with enthusiasm. ¡®This may be easier than I thought¡­¡¯ And that¡¯s when the wolf¡¯s consciousness resurfaced. It glared at Abrum and tried to stand up. ¡°To late for that wolfie¡­¡± muttered Abrum as he jumped on top of the wolf¡¯s back and placed his hand on it. ¡°Purify.¡±
Consumed 250 Mana Points
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Consumed 780 Health Points in lieu of Mana Points
*Ding* With the activation phrase, a blinding flash of light was produced. At this, Abrum started to cough violently. He turned away from the wolf and continued to cough until the light faded away. When he opened his eyes, he noticed two things. One, the ground that he was coughing towards was dyed blood red. Second, he was sitting on top of a naked female. Her hair, which reached to her shoulder blades, was silky and white. Her figure was modest, but still nicely shaped. She had blue eyes. There were three things abnormally different about her. 1: The wolf ears that sprouted out from her hair 2: The wolf legs that she possessed in lieu of human legs. They were covered in white fur. 3: The fluffy wolf tail that sprouted from just above her butt Fortunately, there was fur covering her most important parts¡­ He was sitting on top of her, which he realized was an awkward position. Lilith had been awakened by the flash of light. Her eyes were opened wide, staring at him accusingly. Abrum put his hands up and attempted to stand up. He was grabbed by the wolf girl and pulled back down. She was on top of him now straddling him. ¡°Mooooooaaaaaarrrr!!!!¡± She moaned. Abrum¡¯s face went bright red. ¡°M-m-more what?¡± ¡°MEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT!!!¡± At this point, she started to paw¡­ or was it hand at him? Abrum just nodded wearily, and pushed her off. At this, Fenrir started to complain to him as well. Lilith, whose eyes had been shooting daggers just a moment ago, were now emulating the puppy eyes of Fenrir. Abrum just sighed and started to prepare the remaining deer meat. Orthir was waiting patiently, her tail wagging back and forth. \ ¡®Great. What have I done now?¡¯ While he was cooking the meat, Abrum checked the system messages.
You have discovered the one perk of the title Superb Chef. Due to the taste, when your dishes are consumed, they send the consumer into a brief period of intense ecstasy. How much time is put into the dish will differ the duration of said ecstasy. Depending on the person, your food may become addictive.
Abrum was quite pleased with that one. This would make the trip much easier. He moved onto the next message. As soon as he opened it, his expression darkened. His expression became worse and worse, and when he was finished, his face was the color of ash. He gloomily went back to his cooking. Saturating the meat with the herbs. He went through the whole process again until he had 7 filled meat skewers. He then went over to the waiting Fenrir, Lilith, and Orthir. Orthir immediately snatched one from his hand and began to munch on it. Fenrir jumped and grabbed hers out of the air. Abrum handed Lilith one and sat down. His face lit up when he tried his cooking. It WAS good, but that was it. He looked around and the reactions were different with each person. Lilith was red in the cheeks breathing heavily. Fenrir was munching the meat with an expression of complete bliss. Orthir¡­ now Orthir¡¯s reaction took the cake. She was staring at the meat skewer intently, taking in its scent. She took a bite, and her expression changed drastically. Her cheeks loosened, her eyes went wide, and she began to drool. After the first bite, a message came up
Earned 30 contribution points for Orthir¡¯s Region
Intimacy with Orthir has increased by 60
After this, she began chowing down. The message boxes that kept popping were so numerous that it clouded Abrum¡¯s vision. Four skewers of meat later, Abrum had amassed 2,400 contribution points, and his intimacy with Orthir was 4,800. Abrum knew the cap for intimacy was 5,000, so he was surprised he had raised it so quickly. He knew Lilith¡¯s intimacy was in the high four thousands because he had saved her from her fate. The fox twins¡¯ intimacy was in the three thousands, however the Absolute Loyalty subskill maxed it out. Fenrir¡¯s was a whopping 4,900. ¡®Dear heavenly Father¡­ thank you for the Superb Chef skill¡­ Amen.¡¯ Abrum prayed in his mind. As he was praying, Orthir cleared her throat. ¡°Thank you for saving me from my horrible fate human. I am deeply grateful for your intervention. If not for you, my region would never recover. I thank you for saving my region. Also¡­thank you very much for the meat. It was delicious. It was juicy. It was tasty. Etc. Etc.¡± As Orthir began to rant about the meat, Abrum coughed softly to get her attention. ¡°Oh¡­ yes. Besides the meat, I believe your rewards are in due order. You may choose anything from this forest to take with you as long as you have enough contribution points. This is a great honor for a human.¡± With that said, the forest became alive with floating boxes, the prices. The trees were 100-200 points. Fenrir had a price of 500. Above Orthir¡¯s head was a floating box that denoted 20,000 points. ¡°Why are you worth so much Orthir?¡± ¡°It is only natural, I am a class B+ boss after all.¡± ¡°B+? Is that a ranking?¡± ¡°Why yes, the combat ranking system. The system ranks fighters from rank F to S. F being to lowest, then E, D, C, B, A, S. The plus denotes that I am a being that takes a group to defeat me. It is very uncommon to see an A class. S class are known for their unnatural strength. There has only been one documentation of something above an S class..." ¡°Quiet interesting. What rank would you place me at?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I would place your cooking at Sage.¡± ¡°Is that another classification system?¡± ¡°Yes, skill have a different category. Going from least to greatest, these would be the rankings. Apprentice, Tradesman, Sage, Master, Legendary. Sage is usually the highest a human can reach in its life time, at least for the category of cooking.. Masters are respected throughout the lands, regarded as prodigies, regardless of their profession, while Legendary are only known in legend.¡± ¡°You keep translating the scale into human limitations, what about those of an Angaellis?¡± ¡°I do not know. The Angaellis are beings of immense power and benevolence. My ancestors were saved by the Angaellis. They were given the task to protect the forest. This I will do until my dying breath.¡± This conversation gave Abrum much new information, and thus he was happy. He decided to pose another question. ¡°What would you do if there was an Angaellis on Atreides currently?¡± ¡°I would serve them to my dying breath.¡± Abrum smiled at this and unfurled his wings. Orthir went slack jawed¡­ ¡®This is gonna be a fun reaction¡¯ Abrum thought with glee. The Wolf Lord and Cala Heyo guys, it''s been a while I know. Thank you all for the support thus far. If you guys have any suggestions of comments for the story, or just want a conversation, shoot me a private message. Also, we are almost up to an average of 2000 views per chapter! YAAAY. Also a thank you to Ms. LL for proofing this. Orthir sat slack jawed. Abrum smiled and waited for a reaction; however, she just sat there, her ears twitching at intervals of 4 seconds. Abrum stood there waiting for a reaction, and he did get quite a splendid reaction. Orthir jumped up five feet in the air, her powerful legs propelling her upwards. She kind of crouched in the air, and came back down. She landed in a dogeza position. With her fluffy tail in between her legs like a sad puppy, she had buried her face into the fur and was muttering this: ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I couldn¡¯t keep the forest safe Grandmama! The Angaellis has come to inpect the forest, and I couldn¡¯t even keep the forest well!!! I¡¯m sorry Grandda! The Angaellis has come to inspect the forest, and I couldn¡¯t even keep the forest well!!!¡± Abrum¡¯s forehead wrinkled in worry. As he tried to help her up, he said ¡°I-it¡¯s okay! I¡¯m not here to inspect or anything! It¡¯s okay! It¡¯s okay!¡± She looked up at him with teary eyes ¡°Really? I¡¯m not in trouble?¡± ¡°No, no, of course not! I¡¯m here to exterminate the mad vampire! The only reason I¡¯m here is that Mebaleqe teleported me here!¡± At the name Mebaleqe, Orthir¡¯s face went as pale as her tail. She went back to her dogeza position muttering in repentance, apologizing and etc. Abrum was frantically trying to get her up. Unbeknownst to Abrum, upon Lilith¡¯s face, a devilish smile had developed. She stepped up to Abrum and said these words ¡°Let me deal with this¡­ Just give me and her a moment¡­¡± Abrum backed away and watched as Lilith knelt down to the muttering Orthir. Lilith cupped her hands to Orthir¡¯s fluffy ear and whispered something. Orthir¡¯s face underwent a dramatic change. It went from paler to much paler, then to a deep red blush. Orthir sent a furtive glance at Abrum, then looked at the ground blushing much more. Lilith smiled and walked to stand by Abrum. He looked at her puzzled. ¡°What in the world did you whisper into her ear?¡± She just winked at him, and put one finger in front of her mouth in a shushing gesture as Orthir walked up to him. ¡°If it pleases my lord, I would like to accompany you in your quest in purifying the forest.¡± She paused and then chose her words extremely carefully ¡°I would also like to accompany you even after, if you would take this¡­ body to serve you however you may need¡­¡± Like the thick headed idiot he was, Abrum didn¡¯t understand the implications of the second part of her speech. He just nodded his head nonchalantly. Companions were good, and she was a B+ monster. Orthir misunderstood this, and her face went deep red. She thought to herself ¡®He isn¡¯t even fazed by things like that! Goodness gracious!¡¯ Abrum was just happy that he obtained a powerful companion. As he was in his own little world, the white wolf, Fenrir just sighed and said ¡°I guess there is no need to keep up this ruse anymore?¡± Abrum just looked at her in confusion. Orthir saw Fenrir and went much paler than before when she saw the wolf. Fenrir gave a wicked, wolfish smile, exposing her canines and disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Abrum had to cover his eyes. After the light faded, all he could see was a Wolf woman in a white robe. She was almost an identical copy of Orthir, except she was a whopping 15 feet tall. She stood regally in all her gigantic beauty.
The Wolf Lord, Fenrir, has graced you with her presence.
At this, Orthir fainted in shock. Fenrir smiled at this. Even Lilith paled at this development. Fenrir opened her mouth, and spoke. ¡°I thank you for freeing this host from its madness. I also thank you for embarking on the noble quest of freeing the forest from its madness. For your deeds, I will answer any question your mortal mind may ask.¡± Abrum looked curiously at the tall woman, and asked a single question. ¡°Compared to all the meat you have tasted before, where was my meat on the spectrum?¡± Fenrir looked stunned at him for a second, then began to chuckle until it turned into a beautiful laugh that shook the forest. She laughed so hard, she fell over, toppling a tree on her way down. Well, there goes the regal image¡­ ¡°HAHAHAhahaha¡­ huff¡­ huff¡­ Oh dear gods! I haven¡¯t laughed like that in a very long time. Thank you for that Angaellis. Your cooking skill¡­ Could evolve into God-like if you put in enough work. Currently, I think your cooking skill would rank at¡­ sage I haven¡¯t had meat that good since¡­ well never mind. Also thank you for this strange little mark.¡± She raised her hand and it had a gold tattoo on it. ¡°Quite an interesting power you¡¯ve inherited. I think I will return the favor.¡± A glow started to emit from Abrum¡¯s palm. Abrum hid his eyes and heard Fenrir whisper into his ear ¡°Tell Mebaleqe he still owes me that dance.¡± The light faded, Fenrir had disappeared, but something had appeared upon Abrum¡¯s palm. It was a white wolf print. It spanned his entire palm. As he observed it curiously, he got numerous messages.
You have been blessed by the Wolf Lord Fenrir. Affinity with wolves is raised
Gained the Mark of the Wolf Lord. Increased agility and strength when in a forested environment. Immune to subjugation magic.
Gained Skill Shapeshift: Wolf-man hybrid
Gained Passive Ability Commander of Wolves
Abrum looked curiously at the skills. He was happy for the increased agility and strength, though he was curious about Commander of Wolves and Shapeshift. ¡°Show Skill information Shapeshift and Commander of Wolves."
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Shapeshift: Wolf-man HybridBeginner10%
This ability allows you to transform into a mighty wolf man for a time. Strength and Agility will be quadrupled. Numerous skills will be unlocked. This skill is unable to be controlled until the advanced level. Amount of time that will user will stay transformed depends upon the skill level.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
(Passive) Commander of WolvesBeginner10%
This skill allow the possessor to communicate with all types of wolves. The higher the ability, the easier it is to command the wolves. The higher the skill, the higher the loyalty. Another factor is the intimacy with the wolves. This skill also extends to wolven beast men or women.
\ Abrum was happy with the skills, as he lately had been. Abrum was a bit uneasy about not being able to control the shapeshifting until advanced level. He pondering how that might create problems when he realized the situation. Lilith was shaking Orthir, but she wouldn¡¯t wake up. Abrum walked over, concerned about the situation. Orthir wouldn¡¯t wake up. Abrum heard Fenrir¡¯s voice in his head ¡°Just make some meat¡­ that¡¯ll wake her up.¡± ¡®Why are you in my head?¡¯ ¡°Because of the mark on your hand. Don¡¯t bother trying to take it off, you¡¯re stuck with me¡­ hehe!¡± Abrum just sighed inside of his mind. ¡°Lilith, would you please go get some meat? The smell of meat would probably wake her up.¡± Lilith nodded submissively and walked off. Abrum shook his head. ¡®She acts so submissive, but she is a seductive devil!¡¯ Abrum tried to form a hatchet with his Blade of the Angaellis skill. It took him a few tries since he was most used to doing swords. After his fifth attempt, he was satisfied. It had a smooth, white handle about one and a half feet long. It curved just a bit to form a comfortable grip. The blade was fringed with gold and was about as big as his hand. Abrum started to hack away at a tree for fire wood. After he got half way, he noticed something odd. There was something oozing out of the tree. He picked it up. ¡®T-this is?!¡¯ Cala was making her way towards Hillshire. Cala was a level 44 warrior. She was quite proud of her profession. Most of the girls she knew in the game would hide behind a warrior while they took the paths of mage or rogue. Cala was proud to fight out in the front. She was quite good at her job to. Her name was a well-known one throughout the adventurer guilds. Even though she was in the lower tiers level-wise, her cheerful personality and her willingness to sacrifice herself for her comrades made her quite popular. Her looks didn¡¯t hurt either. Her tall, slim figure was quite attractive. Currently, she was on her way to put down that succubus that had been causing so much trouble as of late. Her journey had been delayed by several bandit encounters, like the one she was currently in. She was surrounded by seven bandits, the epitome of filth and scum of society. The leader, a burly man wearing plate armor was wearing a sickening grin. ¡°What¡¯s a pretty lady like yourself doing out in the woods all by herself? You should be careful! There are reports of bandits roaming these roads.¡± He said with false worry in his voice. ¡°Allow us gentlemen to escort you to our nearby campsite!¡± Cala smiled brightly at him and said these words ¡°I think I can manage on my own, thank you mister.¡± She said ¡°Tsk, tsk. Boys! I think this little cheeky brat needs to be taught a lesson. Not to turn down the good will of gentlemen such as us!¡± The bandits all rushed at her at once like the cowards they were. Cala sighed and began to twirl her spear, slowly at first, then extremely quickly. The first bandit made contact with her¡­ which is to say, the butt of her spear planted square in his face. The next bandit came at her swinging an axe. She ducked under it and swung the spear sweeping out his legs. She then stepped forward, kicking him in the head while simultaneously bringing the end of the spear into another bandits face. ¡®Three down¡­ four more to go¡­¡¯ Spinning her spear quickly, she resumed her ready stance and waited for the rest of the bandits to come at her. The bandit leader¡¯s face twitched and distorted. ¡°I-I know you!!! You¡¯re the Spear of Lightning!!!!!! RUN FOR IT!!!¡± At this, the bandit leader turned and ran like his life depended on it, because the fact was, it did. ¡®What ridiculous name have I obtained now? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ Cal a thought to herself She started to twirl her spear at her side at a frightening speed. Arcs of ominous, bright lightning were coming off the spear. She suddenly raised the spear and rammed it into the ground. The lightning arced out from her spear. The lightning rose and fell like serpents until they connected with the bandits, instantly incapacitating them. The bandit leader with his plate armor experienced the most pain due to his brilliantly conductive armor. It was fun to watch him dance. Eventually, they all fell unconscious. Cala brushed herself off and with a smile, started to skip down the path like a little girl until she regained her composure. She kept walking until she finally arrived at Hillshire at around sunset. What she expected to find was a town barren and devoid of activity. Her friends at the adventurer guild had said that the town was barren, since all of the men were gone. What was in front of her was the antipathy to that statement. The town was a bustling with activity. The vendors in the town center were selling their wares. The hunters had come home from hunting. They had their game slung over their back. They were talking and laughing as they were greeted by their wives and their children. Cala was confused by the whole scene that lay in front of her. Wasn¡¯t the succubus supposed to have destroyed the life that these people had. She approached one of the hunters ¡°Excuse me sir, my name is Cala, I¡¯m from the adventurer guild¡­ is there not a succubus plaguing the area?¡± He turned to Cala. ¡°Not anymore. There was a succubus here. It was hell¡­¡± He shivered. ¡°However, there isn¡¯t anymore. Ah Andrea!¡± A black haired beauty came and hugged the hunter. Cala was thoroughly confused it the situation. The Apollo Guild had gone out to subjugate the succubus. It had been an extremely large undertaking with much pomp and grandeur. The Apollo Guild had an average level of about 40. So why was something that had defeated the good sized guild just gone? ¡°Excuse me Mr¡­.?¡± ¡°Orion, the name is Orion.¡± ¡°So Mr. Orion, what happened to the Succubus?¡± The dark haired beauty, Andrea, spoke up. ¡°That Angaellis came and helped us! He dealt with the succubus.¡± ¡°He ¡°Dealt¡± with it? All by himself?¡± ¡°No, there were two foxes with him. He actually Purified the succubus actually, he didn¡¯t kill it. He is known around here as the Angaellis of the East. His actual name is Abrum.¡± Cala thanked them and walked away. She was contemplating this Angaellis of the East, Abrum¡­ The townsfolk seem to like him a lot. The thing that most intrigued her was that he hadn¡¯t killed the succubus¡­ he had purified it. He might be an interesting person to meet¡­ Blood of the Angaellis I have to apologize for this gallingly late update. Life hasn''t been particularly unkind, just a bit hard. I started a new fiction, Mad Hatter. I am excited about the future for that one. Thanks for the support thus far. Again, sorry for the late update. Abrum stared at the glowing blue sap that seeped through his fingers.
Mana Sap
Type:IngredientDurability:5 / 5
Quality:Excellent
This sap is used in high grade mana potions. If used in a cooking recipe, the meal will have a mana effect depending upon the dish. (Not: Also a counter for any aphrodisiac).
Abrum looked very confused at the sap that was dripping through his fingers. The counter for the aphrodisiac seemed a bit odd. He looked at it fascinated. His attention was then drawn to the wood.
Mana Wood
Type:BuildingDurability:500 / 500
Quality:Superior
A type of wood imbued with mana. This wood is a beautiful deep brown. If this wood is used to cook a meal, the mana smoke will permeate the meat and add a mana effect.|
Abrum looked to the sap and the wood and rubbed his hands excitedly. Lilith had come back with the meat. Abrum smiled and got to work. Abrum did what he did last time. He started a fire and began to cook the meat over the fire. He cut up the herbs over the meat so that they would fall and begin to sizzle upon the meat. While he was cutting the herbs, he accidentally cut his hand open. Some of his blood dripped onto the meat and sizzled. ¡®Crud¡­ I hope it doesn¡¯t ruin the taste¡­¡± And he just continued on cooking with no idea of what he had truly done. Next, he started to pour the mana sap upon the meat. It sizzled and permeated the meat. It let out a delicious piquant aroma. Orthir¡¯s delicate nose started to twitch as she smelled something. It was¡­ meat¡­ but not like any meat she had smelled before¡­ it was¡­ different¡­ Orthir opened her eyes. She sat up groggily. ¡°What the heck happened¡­¡± The memories started to come back to her in flashes. ¡®I ate some food. Abrum saved me. He is an Angaellis¡­ WE MET THE WOLF LORD.¡¯ At the last memory, Orthir sat up much straighter than before. Abrum saw the movement out of the corner of his eye. ¡°You¡¯re finally up.¡± Abrum said with a smile as he walked over to her. Orthir sat looked to him and then noticed something faaaar more important. He was holding meat. She could tell that scrumptious aroma was coming from the meat. She sat with her legs spread wide, drooling at the meat, looking surprisingly similar to a dog. Abrum noticed where her gaze was directed. ¡°You can stop drooling already. Here.¡± Abrum handed her the meat with a good hearted chuckle. Orthir took it greedily and started to munch on it. Abrum saw Lilith pouting out of the corner of his eye. ¡°There¡¯s some for you to.¡± He handed some to Lilith. She took it with a pouting expression and started to munch on it. Abrum just smiled and started to munch on his meat and started to make plans. The next forest guardian¡¯s base wasn¡¯t far from their current location. If they traveled by foot for a few hours, they should get there without trouble. He wondered if his meat would work on the wolf like it had on Orthir. He contemplated the trouble situation of the forest situation, completely unaware of the troublesome situation that was developing around him. Orthir¡¯s cheek was blushing quite a deep red. She was fidgeting restlessly while casting furtive glances at Abrum. Her nervousness led to her eating more meat. This caused her fidgeting to increase and her furtive glances to occur more frequently. Such a vicious cycle. By the time she was done with her meat, she was panting, her cheeks dyed a deep red. Lilith noticed the changed. As she ate, a burden seemed to be relieved from her shoulders. She touched her sides at times. Her eyes widened after she had finished half of her meat. She pulled her collar out and checked down her dress. Her eyes got even wider. She ran over to Abrum quickly. ¡°Abrum! LOOK!¡± She said this as she pulled up her dress. She was wearing that provocative black lingerie she had on before. Her beautiful figure was completely exposed. Abrum averted his eyes quickly. ¡°W-what are you doing?!¡± ¡°The scars you gave me from the fight! They¡¯re gone!¡± Abrum wore a complicated expression. He turned around slowly, as if combating something and saw unblemished skin. ¡°¡­.How¡­?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know! I was just eating your meat and the pain from my sides started to fade. I think there were some other effects as well.¡± Abrum reached out his hand and stroked the smooth skin on her abdomen. He was amazed. He had cut so deep, yet there was not a single blemish on her perfectly smooth skin. Lilith let out a seductive moan as he stroked. Abrum¡¯s hands made a hasty retreat. He was astonished. He looked up to Lilith and said. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What other effects?¡± ¡°I¡­. started to¡­.. g-get¡­. Hot?¡± Abrum turned away at this and observed his meat. He checked the name.
Heavenly Meat
Type:ConsumableDurability:5 / 5
Quality:???
This meat, already made with care by the Angaellis Abrum has been coated in mana sap. Also: a bit of his blood dripped onto the meat, giving it some other effects. 300 Hp over the course of the meal 1000 Mana over the course of the meal Weak Aphrodisiac. (Potent Aphrodisiac countered by Mana sap. Reduced to Weak Aphrodisiac.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Blood of the AngaellisBeginner10%
As an Angaellis, a being of gentleness and love, your blood has special properties. It can act as a powerful healing agent as well as an aphrodisiac. Leveled up by providing healing through blood.
Abrum stared at the meat and couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. The taste had been much better than before, but he had attributed that to the Mana sap, not his mess up with his blood. Abum sighed and grabbed a flask of Mana sap and went to solve the problem with Orthir. As he walked closer, she seemed to fidget a lot more, her face turning a deeper shade of red. ¡°Umm¡­ Orthir? Are you feeling alright? You look a bit flush.¡± ¡°I-I-I¡¯m f-fine¡­ J-just a li-little h-hot¡­¡± She stuttered out cutely. ¡°This might help. Here.¡± Abrum handed her the flask of Mana sap. She took it with a flush face and drank it quickly. Abrum had some misgivings about such a valuable material being used like this, but he dismissed them for three reasons. A) It could be easily obtained in the forest. B) It would be extremely troublesome if he didn¡¯t resolve it. C) It was his fault in the first place. Her face decreased in redness and she soon returned to normal. ¡°I feel better now¡­ I¡¯m fine¡­ we can start going now!¡± Orthir said quickly in an attempt to divert his attention from the situation. Abrum nodded, mercifully accepting the distraction and packed up, a bit troubled that his blood was an aphrodisiac. They packed up their supplies and went off in search of the guardians. While they were walking, Abrum experimented with different light weapons. His difficulty in making the hatchet revealed to him how limited his repertoire was. He first experimented with knives. He created a basic dagger first. Then he started to mold it to make it longer and thinner like a throwing knife. He practiced making these types of daggers and throwing them. He also practiced making hatchets. He augmented the original hatchet to make it more aerodynamic. Thus he created a throwing hatchet. He found he was much better at throwing the hatchet than the knives. He happily was throwing his new weapons around. He stopped when Orthir scolded him for hitting a tree. He practiced making axes, war hammers, but the creation he was most fond of was a giant greatsword he created. It was as tall as he was, so it was pretty useless, but it still looked quite amazing. Golden hilt with gold patterns tracing up the long white blade. Lilith also took part in this practice to see if she had the capability. In a short, she did not. Anytime she attempted it, light gathered into her hands and then promptly exploded. After this, she was always pouting while Orthir was laughing. After a time, they arrived at the guardians den. Abrum prepared himself in silence, that is to say, he started to cook his glorious meat to draw out the beast. After it was finished, he picked it up and walked to the cave silently. He was hoping the meat would be enough to stun it like it had Orthir, but the paralysis was a chance thing. As he neared the cave, and overwhelming stench of death hit him right in the face. He dropped the meat surprise. He peered in sensing something was wrong. Abrum furrowed his brow wondering what was wrong. Abrum, along with Lilith and Orthir went into the cave. When they arrived inside the cave, Lilith¡¯s wings quivered signifying her disgust. Abrum put his hand over his mouth. Orthir stood silently. Before them was a gruesome scene. There were body parts everywhere. Bodies of hunters lay everywhere. Their weapons lay shattered around them. Crossbows lay in shattered disarray, bolts lay around the cave in numerous quantities. Blood painted the walls in messy splatters. In the center of all of these bodies was a large wolf bleeding heavily. Abrum came up and checked the wolf. It wasn¡¯t breathing anymore. Abrum stood and shook his head. Then, he heard something. Shallow breathing. It wasn¡¯t coming from the wolf though, it was coming somewhere else. He looked around, until he saw it¡­ That¡­. It was in the corner, breathing shallowly. Beast Mode... Activated Hey! I''m finally back from my hiatus. Sorry this chapter came gallingly late. But hey! I guess I''m back. I appreciate the support thus far and that makes my laziness all the more unforgiveable. I''m planning on finishing up the Vampire arc and then take a hiatus from this series to work on the Mad Hatter series. I have such plans for it. It''s unfortunate that my thoughts go faster than I write. When that happens, I kinda lose the motivation to write. So sorry about that. Author''s Note: I recommend listening to this song while you read this. I think it sets the mood well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaioIutcHKI It was a pitiful sight that lay before the two Angaellis and the Guardian. All three felt immense pity for the creature, but only one truly understood the pain. There before them was a little wolf pup, whimpering as it lay in the blood of its mother. It had watched as the cruel hunters had killed the one it called mother. While its mother was in the throes of madness, it killed many of the hunters. Despite the madness of its mother, she still instinctively protected her baby. While she was successful in this, the little wolf pup had to watch the scene of the hunters tearing apart its mother. Lilith walked forward with a kind face which would be quite unbelievable on the face of a succubus, but now perfectly fit the countenance of an angel. The wolf pup drew back in fear and snapped at Lilith. She retreated with a sad expression on her face. Seeing this turned into her wolf form and approached the little wolf pup. She approached whispering something. The wolf pup stopped whimpering and ran right into Orthir. Abrum wore a complex expression as he watched the touching reunion. Hie thought were interrupted by Fenrir¡¯s voice. ¡°You¡¯d better hurry young Angaellis.¡± Said Fenrir¡¯s voice inside Abrum¡¯s head. ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡± Abrum mentally replied ¡°Seems like the villagers are a bit fed up with the mad guardians¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°What I mean is, if you don¡¯t get moving soon, you¡¯ll have a bunch more guardians end up like the one before you.¡± ¡®Dang it¡­¡¯ Abrum thought this as he ran off in the direction indicated by Fenrir. ¡°W-wait! Where are you going?¡± Called out Orthir ¡°The other guardians are in danger! I¡¯m heading out. Please take care of that wolf pup for me.¡± As he ran, he thought about that little wolf pup. That wolf pup¡­ it was all alone now¡­no parents... All it could do was watch powerlessly as its only family was taken from it. That loss¡­ Abrum held a deep sympathy and more importantly, empathy with the pup¡¯s situation. If he could prevent more of those situations from happening, he would do his best. These emotions and drove him to run faster and faster, until he had left Lilith behind in the dust. As he ran, Fenrir gave him directions. Soon, he reached a clearing. There a terrible battle raged. The ten remaining mad guardians were there waging a fierce battle against a mixture of adventurers and villagers. The adventurers were easily distinguishable by their combat and magic prowess. Near the edge of the clearing stood a couple of villagers that looked like non-combatants. There were women and small children. ¡®They must have brought the whole village to fight the guardians¡­¡¯ The battle was really something to see. There were around 6 mages at different edges of the clearing. They were raining down spells of earth, ice, and wind, but none of fire or lightning as to avoid causing a forest fire. There were knight-like adventurers, most with iron equipment and small shields. They kept the guardians occupied while the adventurer archers and mages rained down spells and arrows. The hunters also helped, but their efforts were disjointed. More often than not, the hunters¡¯ arrows would damage the adventurers. There were a few clerics, but not nearly enough to stem the tide of damage the guardians did. Most of the arrows that hit the guardians penetrated the fur, but the fur of the guardians seemed to reflect the spells cast upon it. The earth, ice, and wind spells that were cast bounced right off and hit the tanks. ¡®My goodness¡­ their organization is terrible¡­¡¯ Lilith had finally caught up to Abrum, and so had Orthir. For some reason, she was carrying the wolf pup. ¡°What are you doing Orthir? I thought you were going to take care of the wolf pup.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± ¡°Never mind, just stay with the other villagers and protect them please. C¡¯mon Lilith¡± Abrum and Lilith rushed into the fight. Lilith ran to a guardian that was attacking a mage unit by the edge of the clearing. Abrum ran straight to the middle of the clearing where the largest wolf was. The adventurers there were in sore need of relief. Most of the tanks were in critical condition, and the mages attacks did nothing. When he reached the middle he noticed something. A katana was stuck in the center of the clearing with a crater around it. ¡®This¡­ kinda looks like the place from my dream¡­ I wonder w¡ª¡® Abrum¡¯s thoughts were cut short as a man in iron armor came hurtling at him. Abrum ducked and the man hit the ground and bled for a second, then shattered into particles of light leaving behind some miscellaneous items. Abrum turned back to the giant wolf. The situation wasn¡¯t good at all. Three of the 6 mages were focusing their attacks on the wolf, and this caused the Tanks to die much faster than usual. The wolf attacks were heavy to say the least. With the last tank, there were only 3 left. Abrum charged forward, summoning his swords just as the middle tank was taken into the mouth of the wolf and with a sickening CRUNCH his virtual life was ended. Abrum jumped at the wolf¡¯s face swinging his swords. They penetrated the wolf¡¯s snout and its eyes had pain inside of them. It swiped its paws in rage sending one of the other tanks flying into the ground. The last one, seeing his friends¡¯ dead, charged in bravely. The wolf eyes reeled with madness and jumped back only to jump forward on top of him. The wolf jumped back and forward, back and forward over and over again, its eyes gleaming with madness as it crushed the last tank. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Abrum rushed to the side of the wolf and slashed as hard as he could with his dual blades. The blades penetrated only shallowly and the wolf swiped at him. He ducked and made to stab his blades up into the belly of the wolf, but it was all a feint. The wolf swiped at him and it hit, throwing him back a bit. He stood up and charged forward once again. He was interrupted by a scream. A scream resounded through the forest, one that reached Abrum¡¯s ears over the din of battle. It spoke to Abrum in ways that words could not. Abrum turned to look at the source of the scream, and his eyes widened, his pupils contracted to see the sight. The guardian that Lilith had been battling was bleeding heavily. Lilith had done quite a lot of damage, but the difference between a former C rank boss and a B rank boss was apparent from the outcome. It¡¯s true the wolf was breathing heavily from its wounds but Lilith wasn¡¯t even breathing anymore. The wolf held its mad head up in triumph, twitching all the while, its eyes rolling sporadically. In its mouth¡­ it held Lilith. She hung limp, like a marionette with its strings cut. Her arms dangled loosely out of that ravenous maw. Abrum¡¯s eyes started to dilate. The guardian he was previously fighting took this opportunity to strike. It opened its jaws and snapped at Abrum¡¯s arm. It crushed his arm¡­ but his face didn¡¯t show any sign of a grimace to correlate to the damage. Abrum¡¯s eyes were completely devoid of emotion. He didn¡¯t react as the ligaments and tendons were torn brutally off of his arm. He didn¡¯t care as he bled out on the ground. He looked to the hunters that were cowering in fear as they retreated to defend the non-combatant group. His eyes sent that message to his brain, but he couldn¡¯t process the situation. ¡®It¡¯s happening all over again¡­ those I care for¡­. They¡¯re being taken from me¡­ There¡¯s no point.¡¯ Abrum¡¯s body fell heavily and he lay on the ground, his blood pooling around him. The mad guardian underwent a startling change. As it walked towards the cowering hunters, its slavering maw started to twitch more and more. It padded step by step, but its body progressively became smaller and smaller. Step by step, the muscle mass decreased, the fur lessened, and the joint structure in the behind legs changed. It crawled forward on what was now its hands and knees. Now, instead of a savagely mad guardian, a muscular man with wolf ears, a tail, and thankfully fur covering the important parts was crawling with red lightly tinting his cheeks. The madness was no longer prevalent in his eyes as he collapses and snored peacefully. Abrum couldn¡¯t care less about the disturbing sight he had just witnessed. Lilith was taken from him. She was taken¡­ His precious companion and the girl with such a brilliant smile. The wolf that had taken her¡­ it had dropped her body like it was nothing¡­ NOTHING! It dropped her and padded over to Orthir and the rest of the villagers. Orthir stood up and growled at the wolf that tried to attack the villagers and more importantly the pup. More of the guardians finished up the under-equipped adventurers that had taken up this doomed quest and converged upon that point until all 9 remaining ones were threatening the safety of the non-combatant group. The remaining archers and 5 mages that survived and were forming a ragged perimeter around the non-combatants ¡®Oh well¡­ I guess I failed the quest¡­¡¯ That is what went through Abrum¡¯s mind¡­ Apathy¡­ he had lost what he was defending, so what was the point? He lay in his blood as he surveyed the faces of all those who were about to ¡°die.¡± All he saw was a bunch of computer programs that only mimicked humans. He held onto this terrible thought as he surveyed the villagers, Orthir¡­ and then the wolf pup. His eyes met those of the wolf pup. As he gazed into its eyes, he didn¡¯t see just a computer program. He saw emotions in those eyes that were frighteningly human. He saw within those eyes fear, but more importantly, a startling depth of pain. Those little eyes conveyed the pain of losing the only family it had. That loss¡­ Abrum could empathize with. ¡®And now these ¡°guardians¡±¡­ They DARE to try to take the poor wolf pup¡¯s life!? After it has already lost a parent¡­¡¯ The light of determination returned to Abrum¡¯s eyes. He tried to stand, but the sudden loss of muscle in his arm and the weights kept him from getting up. He tried to summon a sword to help him stand, however, it would not come to him. He had lost too much blood for him to be able to focus on materializing the blade. Abrum searched frantically for something to help him up. His frantic eyes stopped upon the black sword that had started it all. Closer inspection revealed that the sword was of Japanese origin. The scabbard was black with deep purple snaking designs up and down. The hilt was composed of black ribbons interlacing with deep purple ones. On the very tip of the hilt was a dirty white ribbon that seemed anathema to the whole design of the hilt and scabbard. As he stared at the blade, a voice from the distant past rang out in his head. ¡°Truly wanting to protect someone means you are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of that someone.¡± Abrum closed his eyes as he remembered those words from distant past. His eyes opened again, burning with determination. He reached up his hands and grabbed the hilt and thus began to change. Bleeding Out Well... this came a little bit later than anticipated, and a lot shorter than I would have liked it, for that I am sorry. You should be able to expect another chapter by the weekend. Those of you who have stayed with me through the slow updates, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would appreciate any comments or constructive criticisms. For those of you who are worried that Lilith is dead, GUESS WHAT?! SHE IS! But if you recall, I wrote something in the Mark of the Angaellis that you all will be happy to remember. I would recommend listening to this song while reading. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zZee9YYzP8 Abrum¡¯s hand used the deeply embedded sword to pull himself up to his knees. His back hunched as he underwent his metamorphism. There were tearing sounds as he underwent this change. This was from his shirt that he was wearing ripping apart as the muscle mass in his torso, abdomen, and arms increased dramatically. The bone structure in his hand changed slightly as his hands became clawed weapons. His pants also ripped, but still retained their important function of modesty. The bone structure in his leg changed, the original bones snapped in pieces to make joints and other joints began to fuse. The end result was something that looked like a wolf¡¯s behind legs. He began to grow fur all over his body. This fur was not white and pure like the guardians, but rather a deep, blood red. His transformation was similar to that of a werewolf¡¯s on the night of the full moon, however, there were two differences. One: there was no moon to be seen. Two: This was no ordinary werewolf. Abrum gritted his teeth as he underwent this metamorphism. Here¡¯s the closest description of pain that I can describe. Imagine you are at the gym. You¡¯ve done however many pull ups it takes to tire you out. You want to give up and drop down but your mind says no and you strain your body to do that one last pull up. As you bring your chest to that bar, you can feel those biceps tearing. It hurts a lot but once you¡¯ve gotten to that bar, you¡¯re heart overflows with joy (Remember that joy), but your muscles still burn like fire. Now, imagine that pain all over your body as your muscles tear and reform. Now, imagine the pain of having your leg shattered by let¡¯s say a metal bat over and over again, and feeling some of your joints fuse like unworldly arthritis. Now imagine that pain, divide it by four then multiply by three (The in game pain meter is 75%). That pain is quite terrible right? Now remember that joy and triumph that was felt after that last pull up? Multiply that by 20. Despite all the pain that he was undergoing, he was smiling. He smiled as the muscles ripped and the bones reformed into new shapes. Now, don¡¯t get the wrong impression, he did not enjoy the pain, but rather, relished in opportunity to right the wrongs of the wolf guardians. He kept the smile throughout the whole transformation except when his mouth started to change as well and he was no longer capable of a human smile. His canines became elongated and wickedly sharp while his other teeth also gained a keen edge. His nose and mouth elongated into a noble snout. Wolf ears sprouted from the top of his head and a tail sprouted from just above his rump and elongated into a thick long tail. After his transformation, he stood up, and gave a blood boiling roar. His puddle of blood actually seemed to boil around him.
Due to the circumstances surrounding your shape-shift, your ability has transformed from {Shape-shift: Wolf-man} ? {Shape-shift: Blood Were-Wolf Variant}
Tortar POV ¡®This expedition was doomed from the start¡­¡¯ thought Tortar, the level 47 ranger as he readied his bow and loosed an arrow. His short brown hair flowing as his long legs carried him across the battle field. His elven ears peeked out from behind the hair as his arrows whooshed from their bow. His equipment was some of the best in the expedition, and thus he had come underestimating the circumstances. They had rushed into the clearing only expecting Horthar, the head guardian to be present, however, 10 of the guardians were present. Their over-confidence was the cause of the lack of planning and thus the dire situation they were in. ¡®Noble cause they said¡­ no way we could lose they said¡­¡¯ He continually backed up as he continued to fire arrows with his comrades. He was near the back of the defensive formation around the noncombatants, but even from his vantage point, he understood the situation was hopeless. He had realized that the mages were absolutely useless from his passive ability ¡°Hawk¡¯s Eye¡± which allowed him super human vision. Even if he realized this, the mages didn¡¯t and continued to cast their spells with desperation. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡®These idiots¡­¡¯ Tortar thought spitefully as he burned through his already depleted ammunition. A ¡°comrade¡± of his was swept away by the paw of one of the guardians, and as he turned, he saw one of the NPC hunters get his arm completely bitten off by a guardian. ¡°Tsk¡­ Piercing Arrow¡± Tortar muttered as he shot an arrow at the head of the guardian. The arrow penetrated the snout but had no significant effect except gaining the wrath of the guardian. He heard a particularly terrifying howl from the direction of the front lines, but he paid it no mind. ¡®Aw¡­ crud¡­¡¯ Tortar reached into his quiver to pull out another arrow, his hand met not with a wooden shaft, but empty air. He cursed himself for being so careless and endeavored to jump out of the way. He rolled to the side expecting the guardian to charge right past him, however, this was not the case. Tortar looked up curiously to see why the guardian hadn¡¯t passed him and was met with a strange sight. The hunter still had his arm lost, however, there was something connected to that stump at the shoulder. Tendrils of dark crimson sprouted from his wound binding the murderous guardian¡¯s legs and restricting its movements. Furthermore, there were other tendrils that were dug into the ground, anchoring the hunter and more importantly the tendrils. Tortar was surprised and pleased by the turn of events and looked to the hunter¡¯s face to give his approval, however, the sight that greeted his eyes immediately stopped his shout of approval. The hunter¡¯s face had two emotions on his face. One was that of pain, the pain of having the bone ripped straight from its socket and the muscle torn straight through. The other was fear. What was strange it that he did not seem to fear the wolf, but the tendrils coming from his own body. He stared at them in horror as they writhed and bound the wolf. The wolf struggled and strained against the bonds to some avail. It managed to break a few, but nearly as soon as they were broken, they reformed and continued to restrict the guardian. (I know it¡¯s a bit late but let¡¯s call this particular guardian: Guardian A) A crimson mist blew in from the direction of the front line. Tortar turned his ¡°Hawk Eyes¡± to the origin of the mist and his heart almost stopped dead cold. There, at the center of the clearing, far behind all the other fighting stood a crimson beast. It towered at around 7 feet tall, covered in blood red fur. In one hand was a weapon that seemed out of place in the red were-wolf¡¯s hand. It held an elegant, but dark katana in its left hand, though it was still sheathed. Its muscles rippled as it raised its arm and made a sign with his hand. The mist that was around Guardian A began to solidify. Specifically, they congealed into numerous blades that proceeded to pierce and then enter Guardian A¡¯s body in liquid form. The strange thing was after they entered, the wounds that they made to gain entry disappeared. Guardian A stumbled and the muscle mass started to decrease and the snout shorten until there was a short, stuffed animal-like, wolf woman that collapsed upon the ground. The other 8 guardians turned to address the threat of the red beast¡­ no the red Wolf. The Red Wolf bared it¡¯s teeth and raised its hand again. The bodies of the dead and those of the wounded spouted blood tendrils that endeavored to restrain the guardians. After seeing what had become of their comrade, they hopped madly about the battlefield avoiding the tendrils. One guardian charged towards the Red Wolf but was intercepted inside of the crimson mist that surrounded him. The mist forcefully entered the mouth and nose of the foolish guardian that tried to attack him, and in a few seconds, there lay a wolf woman down on the ground twitching, completely red in the face. The Red Wolf readied itself in a stance that was oddly like a Japanese quickdraw stance as it stood in front of the 7 guardians. The mist around him entered the scabbard of the katana and the Red Wolf crouched his legs. And then¡­ it began. A Light through the Hate Finally back to this one. Haven''t posted in a very long time due to losing my computer for a weekend, then finding it under a bunch of stuff. Also, I have been planning the Mad Hatter series and re-planning this one. So. The vampire arc as the audience thinks it will end in the next chapter, which should hopefully be out by tomorrow. For those of you who will still read this after I have been gone for so long, you have my deepest thanks. Remember, I love comments. While the battle began, Abrum¡¯s conscious was withdrawn deep within his own mind, completely surrounded by inky blackness while his avatar became the baleful harbinger, fighting against incredible odds against the mad guardians. Abrum was on his knees, sitting, his back slumped and his arms hanging to the ground, palms facing upwards. His head hung down, his chin in his chest. It was the image of one who is weary, and exhausted. As he sat, images flitted across the inky black expanse that surrounded. Abrum lifted his head and watched these images. He soon realized that these were his memories. How the game had access to them, he did not know, but he sat and watched. His life seemed to play out right before his eyes. The warmth and happiness he experienced from the years between his birth and that of his twelfth year. His father was a smart man, with a wiry mustache, who always had a terrible pun to pull out. Though his father always nit-picked at his grammar, Abrum had loved him dearly. The way that his dad would set aside his work and always seemed to have time for his son if there ever was a big problem. His mother complimented his father well. She was the outgoing, social doctor. She always treated her patients with kindness, and was adept at breaking bad news. She was stubborn, and refused to give up, almost to the point of fault. While she was kind and gentle, she turned fierce as a lion when if her friends or family were hurt. On his 5th birthday, he received the best present a child can receive. He got a little sister. She was a major component in his life and Abrum took pleasure in teaching her things. Thus, she came to idolize her brother. Abrum had always found it odd how his sister idolized him. Everyone he knew either had trouble with their siblings, or they just had a peaceful relationship Nevertheless, he and his sister got along quite well. Abrum looked fondly upon the memory of his mother and father and sister. They were a happy family. Then, a cataclysmic event completely upheaved his warm life. An image, bigger than the rest flashed across the inky blackness. It was the report of the plane crash. His parents had flown on a vacation for their anniversary. On their return flight, their plane crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. In that moment, his ordinary life was shattered. The image of his tearful separation from his beloved sister went slowly across the inky expanse. Abrum went to go live with his aunt and uncle while his sister went to go live with the grandparents. The arrangement was completely strange, though Abrum didn¡¯t question it at the time. A single emotion gripped him after that moment. Helpless anger. Anger at the world. For taking his mother. For taking his father. For separating him from his sister. This rage had been assuaged by his catharsis brought about by the spiritual guidance from a pastor he had the fortune of meeting, however, it was not completely gone. The loss of Lilith must have triggered the release of the restraint and caused his transformation along with the atrocities that were being committed by his body. Abrum could feel the tears reforming from reviling the painful memories from his past. The following images were of darker days, where this anger had gripped his heart. He seemed to lash out at everyone who tried to extend a helping hand. Thus, he delved deeper and deeper into his anger. That darkness started to control him, he became more and more unstable, until finally, he ended up in jail for his first charge of assault. This was the darkest moment of his life. He had lost his family and now was in jail. The world seemed to be working against him. Surrounded, and assaulted by such painful memories, Abrum curled up, and lay in that infinite blackness. While all this was happening, the Red Wolf, who had since been surrounded and beaten down by the other guardians, was kneeling on one knee, its eyes giving a baleful glare at those mad guardians. The guardians had been whittled down to 6, however, it wasn¡¯t plausible that the Red Wolf by itself could defeat the group of B class bosses. The dark katana in the wolf¡¯s hand was already deeply stained with blood. Somehow, the guardians had avoided dying, but only barely. The ones that were defeated were in a sorry condition. The clearing had become a sea of blood, which the wolf had utilized to the full extent. However, despite the extreme health and mana increase that was gained from the transformation, it seemed that the battle had exhausted even that. The guardians began to close in, their jaws slavering with the expectation of the meat. The players and remaining villagers had taken the opportunity to escape while the guardians were distracted. Tortar originally wanted to help, as did some of the other players; however, once they saw the eyes of the Red Wolf. They were filled with a baleful hate. A destructive determination. An unrestrained danger. Thus, they had taken the opportunity to escape while they could. However, exhausted and drained, the Wolf still cast its hateful look at them. Defeated, and subdued, but that hate didn¡¯t leave. Abrum lay curled up in the middle of that inky blackness of his mind, seemingly forsaken, to steep in his anger. . *Richard Strolonoff POV (Creator of the game. Reference Day of Ouch)* Richard sat in the same hospital room with the lights out. The same one where four days ago, he had presented the offer to Sameul. It was the middle of the night, and the mass amounts of medical equipment surrounded a hospital bed, where numerous tubes were inserted into a single person. This was Sameul. There was more equipment than usual. These tubes and etc. sustained Sameul, and would continue to sustain him. The light of the various monitors that displayed Sameul¡¯s vitals partially illuminated the hospital room. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. This was not what Richard was watching. In actuality, Richard was indifferent to the well-being of this na?ve boy. What he was watching was the large screen that was on the wall, hung by a fixture and bolts that completely differed from the style of the hospital. Upon this screen, the adventure of Abrum were displayed. Richard had been watching for the past four days. He had sat upon one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs, and watched. He had watched impassively, watched the struggles and pain of Abrum, with an indifferent gaze. However, his expression finally changed at the appearance of the Red Wolf. It had changed to disappointment. ¡°How¡­.. disappointing.¡± He mumbled to himself. He saw how the Red Wolf fought. The awe-inspiring speed it moved at. The peculiar ability to control blood. What disappointed him was the look of hate in the Red Wolf¡¯s eyes. An irrational hate. A hate born from an immense loss, and lack of understanding. That hate born from hardship, where there is a lack of support. Of comfort. Of the loving God. Richard reached over for the remote about to turn it off. Before his hand reached the remote. There was a change in the wolf¡¯s eyes. *Abrum¡¯s POV* The inky blackness that surrounded Abrum was unforgiving. It was oppressive. The harsh infinite nothingness that offered no escape contained him and allowed him to steep in his rage¡­ This hopeless blackness was broken by a small light. A comforting light. It grew stronger and shone down upon Abrum. He lifted his head and looked up at this glow. And his eyes widened. How could he have forgotten him who introduced Him? The one that had brought the light, and dredged him out of that anger. Various images streamed past, quicker and quicker as time went on. They were all memories that included that man. That beautiful man of God. Abrum felt his hopeless, irrational, anger fading from him as he recounted these memories. He felt so much lighter. Thus, the inky blackness gave way to a glorious light, and he was returned to his senses. *Richard Strolonoff POV* Richard settled back into his chair to watch what would unfold. The clawed hands of the Red Wolf loosened its grip upon the long black katana and the dark sheathe in the other hand. The long katana drooped down, the tip touching the ground. The Red Wolf was down on its knees. The full moon peeked out from the trees that had previously shrouded it bathing the Red Wolf in moonlight. The moon reflected off of the pools of blood, creating a surreal scene. The Red Wolf¡¯s fur started to grow lighter, the muscle mass started to decrease and the joints in the legs began to return to their humanoid nature. The long snout started to mold back into its original form. The six remaining guardians watched, unable to comprehend the situation. There, in the middle of all the blood, was a toned man, chest bared, with white hair that glittered in the soft moonlight and four long, feathery white wings from his back. The moonlight danced around him, swirling and sparkling. More specifically, it swirled around the black katana. It flowed in hidden patterns and was absorbed into the black katana. As the moonlight was absorbed, the blackness seemed to be dispelled as a miasma from the blade and the hilt. The miasma floated through the vortex of moonlight creating a tornado of light and dark. With the black removed, there remained a spectacular result. The blade of the katana was a soft, silver hue; however, the moonlight that reflected off of it had a harsh glint. The hilt was now wrapped in a white ribbon, and the ribbon that dangled from the edge of the hilt was no longer dirty, but a pure white. A more noticeable change was that the ribbon was moving upon its own. It snaked up his arm and wrapped around the bicep. The tip of the ribbon dug into his arm and drew a little bit of blood. The small amount was absorbed and the wound closed, however the ribbon remained wrapped around his arm. For the first time, Richard showed an expression of interest. ¡°I see you don¡¯t disappoint¡­¡± *Abrum¡¯s POV* Abrum¡¯s eyes were wide open. He almost couldn¡¯t believe the amazing sight that he was in the center of. Completely astounded of the blade¡¯s startling transformation. The marvelous sight fascinated him as he gazed with his ice blue eyes. However, his attention was drawn to his arm when he felt the ribbon sliding up his arm. Smooth and silky, it slid up to his bicep. He felt the pain at his bicep as it cut him. The thing that most startled him was what happened immediately after. A monotone voice in his head sounded. ¡°Blood analysis positive. Angaellis race authenticated. Deactivating Eclipse¡¯s security measures. Preparing insanity countermeasures, Standby.¡± As soon as this was said, more of the ribbon wrapping the hilt unraveled and wrapped around his arm until it was completely wrapped. ¡®What in the world?¡¯ Thought Abrum as that monotone voice receded. What was going on? The black miasma that was a part of the moonlight vortex suddenly was sucked into the black sheathe at an alarming rate. Abrum also noticed a change in the way the moonlight flowed through the air. Instead of congregating around the katana, it seemed to be¡­ going around behind him in four sub vortices. He assumed they were spinning around his long wings. ¡°Commencing insanity countermeasures.¡± Rang the monotone voice in his head. As soon as that sentence was finished, the ribbon that completely wrapped Abrum¡¯s arm tightened. Abrum¡¯s arm was manipulated by the ribbon, forcing to raise his arm above his head, katana gripped tightly in a reverse grip. ¡°Beginning in 3¡­2¡­1¡­¡± ¡®Oh dear¡¯ Abrum thought to himself. Moonlit Crisis Well, here''s the next chapter. Unfortunately, I realized to finish this arc, I need two more chapters to go into the Realm of Night arc. And yes, that last sentence was a little teaser. I would like your comments regarding Abrum''s progression. You should be able to expect those two chapters to be out sometime this coming week. The first may be out this weekend but no promises. On a side note, is anyone willing to do the cover art for this story? Anyway, I love comments, remember that. It was a momentous moment. The moonlight vortex suddenly stopped spinning abruptly. Abrum¡¯s wings completely unfurled in all there majesty were only augmented by the shiny, silver, but intangible moonlight that surround them. The moon bore witness to the lone Angaellis that knelt in the field of blood. It softly illuminated his face, which was tilted upwards. His clear blue eyes observed the blade that was delineated by the moon. It seemed like it was primed to be plunged straight into the ground. The mad guardians froze. They were still under the influence of the contagious madness, which destroyed all reason. However, the primal instincts that speak on the same level as reason told them, this was incredibly dangerous. The irrationality born from madness drove the guardians. However, this irrationality was defeated, overpowered, by the irrational fear born from this momentous scene. The world seemed to be holding its breath in apprehension. Abrum was no exception. While he was the focus of the amazing scene, he was just as anxious as everyone else that was watching. His apprehension reached its climax as the countdown finished, and the ¡°insanity countermeasures¡± would commence. He wondered what kind of amazing sight he would see, and if it would involve him being injured. ¡°Error. Insufficient moonlight. Searching for alternative power source. Standby.¡± The look in Abrum¡¯s eyes changed to one of realization, and then confusion. Considering that the moonlight was centered around the katana, he surmised that the monotone voice in his head was from the sword. Sentient weapons weren¡¯t unknown in the world of Atreides, though they were rare. Sentient weapons generally developed their own human like personalities through interactions with their users. Considering the how the speech was akin to that of an emotionally devoid computer, there must have been few to no previous owners for this particular blade. Abrum made this deduction quickly and concisely. While he was usually very unaware, when he actually paid attention to his surroundings, his acuity shone like a star. ¡®Well that was anti-climactic. But where would one locate a new power source?¡¯ he thought bemusedly. The only thing that surrounded him was a field of blood and 6 huge wolven guardians thirsting for his blood. While they were restrained by that fear, they wouldn¡¯t be that way for long. As he thought about his fate, the voice rang out in his head again. ¡°Alternative power source located. Extraction commencing immediately.¡± ¡®So one was found¡­ but where?¡¯ he questioned in his mind. The answer to this enigma was answered in a prompt, albeit, extremely painful way. The ribbon controlled arm brought the sword farther up. ¡®Better reception for moonlight? That shouldn¡¯t make a diff¡ª¡° He was interrupted mid-thought when the ribbon forced his arm down, katana and all. The hilt made an almost graceful arc as the silvery blade plunged into his abdomen. One could admire the ease with which the blade entered his toned abdomen, Abrum¡¯s eyes widened in shock. The immense pain that originated from this actions caused Abrum to shut his eyes tightly, and bend over. The tip of the blade could be seen sprouting from his back. From an objective perspective, it was lucky that the blade hadn¡¯t hit his spine and caused him death. However lucky it may have been, Abrum didn¡¯t feel lucky at all. He felt himself weakening from what he assumed was blood loss. While his eyes were tightly closed, he heard that accursed, monotone voice above the sensation of pain. ¡°Sufficient charge obtained from host. Recommencing with the insanity countermeasures.¡± The ribbon moved his arm and removed the sword from his stomach, and not gently. Abrum looked down at the gruesome wound that was left by the blade. Except it wasn¡¯t there, which Abrum marveled at. The wound was gone, and the pain had decreased to a bearable point. The ribbon arm was forced his arm upwards to the sky, still in reverse grip. Delineated by the moon, the blade started to glow an unearthly silver. Abrum cringed at this action, the memory of the pain still vivid in his mind. The ribbon arm swung downward, the blade plunging¡­ straight¡­. For the ground. The blade buried itself half-way into the blood stained ground. The mad guardians saw this as a chance to attack. With the blade¡¯s movements sealed by the ground, what better time to attack? The six rushed in, assured of their victory. How wrong they were. The blood that covered the clearing began to ripple, the origin point from the katana stuck in the ground. The ripples became more and more violent. The blade¡¯s strange glow intensified. The blood immediately surrounding the blade became of a silvery color. The silver began to spread like a contagion, turning the blood into that unnatural silvery blood. The guardians were splashing across the blood, completely uncaring about the change in color. They were unaware of what the blood did. If they had looked back, they would have seen their wounded comrades being slowly enveloped by the silvery liquid. As they plowed through the silver blood, their movements began to get slower and slower. The silver was sticking to them and crawling up their legs. The guardians were stopped and then covered one by one, until there was only a single guardian left. It pulled against the blood, driven by the irrational madness. Abrum watched as it was enveloped. ¡°Process one completed. Commencing process two.¡± Thus, the silver lumps that were the guardians began to glow with a soft, pulsing light. The piles started to get smaller and smaller until they were human sized, signifying their purification. It was finally finished. Abrum sighed in relief. This wild ride in the forest was finally over. The guardians were purified, and Abrum collapsed to this knees in relief. That was until he heard that same monotone voice inside his head. ¡°Insanity removal complete. Preparing elimination of targets. Standby.¡± ¡°What? Nononononononononononononononononono, don¡¯t do that!¡± Abrum said frantically. As if ignoring him, the soft pulsing light from the human sized lumps started to intensify dangerously. He looked around for a solution to the impending doom, but there was nothing. ¡°¡­¡­¡­se me.¡± Crooned out a soft, feminine, silky voice in his head. Abrum jerked his head upwards and looked around. ¡°Sheathe her¡­¡­use me.¡± The mysterious female said again. Abrum looked to the pure black sheathe that was in his other hand. He was apprehensive to sheathe the light inside such darkness. ¡°I know¡­you are apprehensive, but it is my job to restrain Tsuki.¡± The voice explained. ¡°If she isn¡¯t restrained, all those guardians will die. No exceptions.¡± Abrum¡¯s eyes widened at these words, then hardened in determination. The problem was, he couldn¡¯t sheathe the sword as long as it was in the ground. He struggled to lift his arm that was wound by the ribbon. Except, the ribbon just tightened, causing his muscles to tighten to bear with the pain. With the muscles so tightened, it was impossible for him to move it. Abrum struggled and struggled as the lights intensified. Then, there was a light bulb that flashed on in his head. Abrum positioned his legs so that he was squatting down. Then, driving with his legs, he brought his body up. Since the ribbon arm was so stiff, it came up along with the torso, drawing the sword along with it. Hurriedly, he took the black sheathe and shoved it over the glowing katana. The mysterious light left the clearing abruptly. The blood turned back to red and slid off the now humanoid guardians. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The ribbon fell limp, no longer gripping his arm like a boa constrictor. Abrum fell to his knees, exhausted. His head hung low, and was obscured from the moonlight. His diaphragm contracted in sporadic intervals. He threw his head back and opened his mouth. He was laughing. The sporadic contractions were those of laughter. He knelt in the blood, a sheathed katana in front of him. All around the clearing were the unconscious guardians. He was laughing at the moon. It was genuine, heart-felt laughter of relief. If anyone had seen this scene, they would have thought that Abrum was a murderous psychopath. He was laughing so hard he was crying. This was an emotionally stabilizing. He had just been through a very painful experience, physically and emotionally. The memories of his sister, his loving parents were fresh in his mind. The pain of being stinking STABBED by that crazy katana still lingered. His tears from laughing were also a remembrance of his beloved family. Thus, the lone Angaellis laughed and cried away in the moonlight. He continued on for maybe a good thirty minutes, until he finally gained control of his emotions. His tear sparkled in the moonlight as he looked up at that beautiful full moon. And that¡¯s when he noticed the notification.
Due to the fusion of moonlight into your blood stream, your race has changed from {Greater Angaellis} to {Silver Arch-Angaellis}.
¡®Oh nuts.¡¯ Abrum thought as he felt the familiar points of pain in his back that signified the arrival of a new set of wings. He grit his teeth and bore it as his final pair of wings were sprouted from his back.
Racial skill: {Blades of the Angaellis} has been replaced by {Moonlight Aura}
Racial skill: {Mark of the Angaellis} has evolved into {Mark of the Moon}
Racial skill: {Wings of the Angaellis} has evolved into {Silver Wings}
Racial skill: {Blood of the Angaellis} had evolved into {Blood of the Silver Angaellis}
Shapeshifting: Blood Wolf-man has been forcefully sealed as it is currently incompatible with your race
Abrum furrowed his brow. He opened up the skill information for these new skills.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Moonlight AuraBeginner10%
A skill that clads one¡¯s weapon in the power of the moon. Damage dealt is proportionate to the Understanding of the Night stat. Proportion increases with level. Costs: 100 Moonlight energy Duration: 2 minutes
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Mark of the MoonBeginner10%
The variation used by THE Silver Angaellis. It retains the base effects of the original Mark of the Angaellis, such as the capability to respawn after 4 days and the immunity to subjugation magic if they serve under the Angaellis. The notable differences are there is no experience benefit for the markee. There must be at least 70% intimacy for the markee. The single exception is that the Denizens of the Night only require 50% intimacy to receive the mark. The markee receives a 20% increase in stats at night time. An additional 5% is applied on the night of the new or full moon. Cost: 500 Moonlight energy
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Silver WingsBeginner10%
Unlike their counterpart, the Silver Wings are not usually tangible. They are the materialization of the moonlight that flows through the Silver Angaellis¡¯ veins. They can be turned on and off without any cost to Moonlight. However there are options that consume Moonlight energy. These are the following options. Solidification of Wings for Flying: Allows the Silver Angaellis to fly Cost: 3 Moonlight energy for 1 second Wing Bash: Causes base damage of 50 and fixed possibility of stunning Cost: 120 Moonlight energy Barrage of the Moon: Fires off a barrage of solidified moonlight energy. More shots are fired as Silver Wings is leveled up. Cost: 500 Moonlight energy
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Blood of the Silver AngaellisBeginner10%
Posses a powerful healing effect if drunken in the day, just like the Blood of the Angaellis. The distinct difference between the two is that during the night, Blood of the Silver Angaellis turns to an irresistible aphrodisiac, but only at night. The healing increases as the level increases.
Abrum was incredibly impressed with these new skills, especially the Silver Wing sub-skills. The only problem was¡­ HE COULDN¡¯T USE ANY OF THESE SKILLS! They all required moonlight energy, which was something he did not have. Thus, all the skills were absolutely useless, unless he had a way of procuring the Moonlight Energy.
Due to your race, the class, Moon Strider, has been opened up for your use. This class offers Moonlight Energy
Moon Strider Mad Jester here. Sorry for the incredibly long wait. I had to memorize 12 pages of music for an event and then had finals. I still have two finals this week, but in essence, I am done! I believe you can expect another chapter in 3 days. I also found something interesting about how the Best Rated works. So I would appreciate if you guys made some honest reviews.. In all honesty, I don''t believe that this story deserves four stars in its current shape. Drop a comment, vote, and a review and I will be pleased. Thanks! Abrum reread the information window that appeared in front of him. This was a momentous point in time. This was the decision that would decide how his character would evolve henceforth. Thus Abrum thought about the decision carefully and deeply. ¡®Since it is a race specific class, it is logical to assume that the class will augment the power of my new race. This is supported by the fact that it offers Moonlight Energy to power my new racial skills. But what is with the name Moon Strider? A very vague name that doesn¡¯t describe whether it is a class based on melee, magic, or manufacturing. Even if it is a racial class, there is still the dangerous possibility of it being one of those joke classes, with no potential. Then, I would be stuck with it.¡¯ These were the possibilities that played out in his mind. Some might find it surprising that Abrum would consider this choice instead of just accepting thoughtlessly. Abrum was sharp in some areas, and a completely and hopelessly dense in other areas. Abrum sat thinking in the moonlight, with the sheathed katana in front of him. He finally came to the irrefutable fact that lay before him. If he didn¡¯t accept the class, he would lose access to the racial abilities he had come to rely upon. The blades were his only weapon that he possessed other than the katana, and considering the damage it had caused him, Abrum was reluctant to even touch it again. However, this was only a side motivation. The main drive that pushed him to accept this mysterious class was a steadfast passion that was tempered in the flames of loss. He wanted to become stronger so he would be able to protect Lilith. He knew she would revive because of the Mark of the Angaellis, or well, Mark of the Moon now. However, even though he realized this, it was only natural for him to feel pain and guilt watching his beautiful companion being ripped to pieces. What gnawed at him even more was he was unable to do anything to stop it. He wondered if she would forgive him¡­ Abrum¡¯s finger stretched forward and accepted the new class, and thus opened a new door on his journey and redemption. After accepting the class, four simple notification boxes appeared before him, and he read them quickly. His face lit up like a Christmas tree after reading the first two boxes. But after reading the next two, his face turned ashen. He glanced apprehensively at the katana at his knees. Cautiously, he picked it up by the night black scabbard, purposefully avoiding the ribbon. ¡°Geez¡­ I am too tired to deal with this!¡± Abrum shouted exasperated into the dark night. He shook his head. So enacting the best solution to fatigue, he went over to a tree and lay beneath it to sleep. He made sure to set the katana a safe distance away. For reasons that will later be explained, he made sure he lay surrounded by moonlight. After getting comfortable, he closed his eyes and released himself into the oblivion of sleep¡­ and one of the bodies began to stir¡­ *Richard Strollonhoff¡¯s POV* He sat in that same chair he had been for the past few days, always watching, an impassive pagan deity overlooking his realm. Sitting upon that simple hospital chair, he thought of himself enshrined on a magnificent throne overlooking the realm he had created, watching the one he had benevolently given a chance. This is how Richard Strollonhoff thought of himself. A god, a deity, a supreme being ruling over the insects called players in his realm. What did he care for the players that were being cheated, bullied, or sexually abused? His legal team was the best, because money can buy almost anything. If charges were brought up, they would take care of it. But charges would never be brought up, Richard was careful. No one would dethrone him. No one¡­ He was quite literally playing God in the realm of Atreides. The saddest thing was, he didn¡¯t realize he was only playing God. He actually believed he was God in this realm. He watched the insect that was named Abrum drifted off to sleep. Richard smiled and took out his phone from his pocket. He dialed a number and put the phone to his head. ¡°Proceed with the update¡­ also I want player #@65%$@8 to have the stats reset, level, everything¡± A moment of silence, and then Richard responded in a cold low voice ¡°Whether the insects live or die is my decision. I decide if they are hunted by the whole continent of Atreides or they are loved. And if I want a player reset to level one, you will follow my orders. Don¡¯t forget, since I am the head of the development department, to you: I am god. So if you want to be able to feed your family, you will listen to orders or I will have your head understand?!¡± By the end, Richard¡¯s voice had become that of an angry tyrant. His words carried a lethal edge and he was screaming. He hung up abruptly and stood up from his throne and abruptly left. On the other end of the line, that currently nameless person put the phone down on its cradle gently, and muttered ¡°Sure¡­ head of developing¡­ while you were at the parties¡­ who do you think made the game¡­ It sure as heck wasn¡¯t you¡­ You¡­god? Don¡¯t make me laugh¡­. God isn¡¯t someone like you¡­¡± and he strolled out of his cluttered office to fulfill the orders of the Tyrant. And all of this was unbeknown to Abrum as he simply slept, in the moonlight. Thus, the 2 and a quarter hours past in real life, but in game, the night passed peacefully¡­ or it would have if there hadn¡¯t been all the bodies stirring. However, the night passed relatively uneventfully. *Abrum¡¯s POV* He was having such a happy dream. It was such a warm place. He was playing with his two dogs in a large field. His two huskies were fighting over the squeaky toy he had been throwing. He watched them with a smile. He had raised them since they were puppies, and he loved them both dearly. He was having such a wonderful dream¡­ and then he awoke into the newly updated world. There was one thing that immediately caught his attention. There was something warm and furry sleeping on his chest. It was apparently big because it also covered his arms and his legs, which somehow got spread eagle. He craned his neck to gather information about the situation. His face changed from one of confusion to one of pure happiness and joy. His previous thought that it was only on animal on top of him was incorrect. There were a total of 11 little wolves on him. They were on his arms, his legs, lying to the side of him and leaning against him. A warm smile crept across his face as he looked down at his chest. On top of his chest, there lay a little wolf curled up, it¡¯s cute little face partially hidden behind that lovely fluffy tail. Its little chest rose and fell as it breathed in and out. Abrum was in heaven at this point, He loved canines, felines, even bovines (not aves though. Birds were scary¡­)! Dogs and cats were fluffy¡­ And he loved cows just because. However, whenever he thought about birds, crows in particular, he was reminded of a semi-traumatic childhood experience *shiver*. Seeing the little wolf on his chest, his first instinct as a human being was to hug it. He strained his muscles against the bodies of the wolves, trying to hug the embodiment of adorability that lay on his chest, however, his arms moved about an inch, but no more. Extremely confused and unhappy, he looked at his arms, looking from what was restraining him from embracing the bundle of cuteness that lay sleeping. His eyes alighted upon the gravity cuffs that he received from Aleqe. These very cuffs were stopping him from fulfilling his instinct of hugging the fluffball that was on his chest. He was extremely confused at why he could not seem to lift them. With Aleqe¡¯s hell training under his belt, he had been easily able to lift the cuffs that were around his ankles and wrist. However, no matter how he strained against the shackles, he could not budge them. As he struggled, quietly of course as not to wake the little wolves, he noticed a small box. As if heralding the changes of the new world, instead of the characteristic blue that was used for messages, it was a bright yellow. Inside the box, it read in fat little bubble letters: Update 2.1. Abrum willed the message box to open and he read the message with a grave face.
This update has introduced some minor changes that should not affect gameplay very much at all. There were three corrections to the system 1: A menu layout along with a different status window layout 2: Minor adjustments to certain boss mechanics 3: Minor adjustments to certain players¡¯ stats to maintain the balance of the game Thank you all for your support thus far. Go forth, and may your way be lit, your swords thrust straight, your arrows fly true, and your magical prowess grow ever further. Sincerely: Developing Team.
Abrum saw the third ¡°minor adjustment¡± and a feeling of unease welled up inside of his heart. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.¡°Status Window¡± Abrum whispered out in a low voice. One of the little wolves stirred at this, but went back to sleeping peacefully. [/ tr][tr]
Status Window
Name:AbrumAlignment:Neutral
Level:1Class:Moon Strider
Race:Silver AngaellisGender:Male
Titles
None
Fame:NoneInfamy:None
-
Health:100 / 100Mana:100 / 100
Stamina:100 / 100Moonlight Energy:534
-
Strength:10 (-5)Agility:10 (-5)
Satiety34%
Intelligence:10 (-5)Vitality:10 (-5)
Leadership:10 (-5)Luck:-5
If Abrum had the ability to facepalm, he would have. Those ¡°minor adjustments¡± as the developing team called them rendered his hours of hell training with Aleqe meaningless. All that pain and suffering, being beaten with a stick while blindfolded in the name of training was useless now. However, what really pushed his buttons was not the resetting of all his stats, but the fact that he still retained the negative 5 luck. It honestly infuriated him. ¡®Are you kidding me?! Strollonhoff¡­ what is this?!¡¯ Abrum fumed silently in his mind. With his stats reset back to level one, it was impossible to move the cuffs. Abrum resigned himself to lay beneath the fluff piles and rest a bit more. He decided to review the system messages he had received about his new class, from last to first.
For your unique class, it is required that you wield the sentient katana, Tsuki as your primary weapon.
Due to the nature of your class, you will experience a 50% decrease in stats during the daytime. However, also due to the nature of your class, your stats will experience a 50-200% increase depending on the phase of the moon.
Abrum shook his head and sighed. The status decrease was one heck of a hurdle. With his level currently at one, along with the fact of the status decrease, he would have trouble fighting even a rabbit without dying. Of course, victory against a rabbit would be assured with the strange katana, Tsuki; however, as stated before, Abrum was reluctant to touch the katana again. ¡®Isn¡¯t having a required specific weapon much too restrictive? MMOs are supposed to offer freedom¡­ Choosing a weapon is a huge part of the game. So restricting me to a single weapon is a bit too restrictive isn¡¯t it?¡¯ Abrum complained in his mind. He then cleared up his grumbling attitude, as it wasn¡¯t helpful or right. He continued reading the boxes
Obtained capability to hold Moonlight Energy. There is no currently relevant limit to the amount of Moonlight Energy you can store at one time. You can gain Moonlight Energy by sitting in the moon¡¯s gentle rays. The current rate of absorption is 100 Moonlight Energy per hour. This rate can be augmented using the skill Moonlight Meditation. It is next to impossible to obtain Moonlight Energy anyway except for the method mentioned above.
He was happier about this message box. This meant he could accumulate 1000 Moonlight Energy if he was just sleeping. He had only managed to accumulate 534 Moonlight Energy the previous night due to the fact he acquired the class roughly half way through the night. He continued reading, and the next two boxes were simply skill acquirement notifications.
You have gained the skill {Moonlight Meditation}
You have gained the skill {Moon Bolt}
You have gained the skill {Moon Step}
Abrum opened the window for Moonlight Meditation. It simply was a skill to augment his intake of Moonlight Energy. At level one, it increased the Moonlight Energy intake by 25%. This was satisfactory in Abrum¡¯s eyes. It would allow him to have a total of 1250 Moonlight Energy every day. The Moonlight Meditation would only continue to increase in effectiveness as it leveled up. He reviewed the information for Moon Bolt. It was a bolt of compressed moonlight. It cost 25 Moonlight Energy and was a decent mid-ranged attack as far as he could tell. Abrum opened up the skill window for the Moon Step. A smile crept across his face as he read through it, seeing something he could use in his current situation.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Moon StepBeginner10%
The three forms of the Moon Step are by far the most definitive of the Moon Strider class. These forms past on from generation to generation have arried to you now. Use them well. First Form: New Moon: Turns the body incorporeal, reducing damage received to almost nothing. However, the first form is extremely taxing upon the body. Allows the user to pass through solid objects and for solid objects to pass through the user. If the skill is deactivated, by choice or otherwise, while an object is still passing through the body, the damage will be incredibly painful as the organs, joints, tendons, blood vessels, and skin are forcefully displaced. The pain system will be raised to 50% of the actual pain if this situation occurs. Cost: 25 Stamina per second. Second Form: (Sealed): (Sealed) Third Form: (Sealed): (Sealed)
If the first step made him incorporeal and able to pass through objects, then he could use the skill to free himself from the cuffs. Abrum was apprehensive of the pain increase. He was not a person who took pleasure in pain, nor did he take pleasure in the pain of others. His heart hurt more when he saw other people in pain than when he was in pain. He was content to lie there, trapped for a time, but then an image came into his head. That of Lilith¡¯s death, dying in front of his eyes as he could do nothing to stop it. This pushed him to the brink. He knew he only had four seconds. Four seconds, otherwise he would be in excruciating pain. Thus, he muttered under his breath ¡°First Form: New Moon¡± 4 Seconds left His body turned to a dark mist, and all the little wolves that were on him plunked to the ground. 3 Seconds left He sat up quickly and pushed himself up with his arms 2 Seconds left He stood up, and checked all over, starting from his head to make sure nothing was still inside of him. 1 Second left He realized there was a little wolf curled around his leg and he jumped with all his strength to avoid it. 0 Seconds left. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, panting heavily. All his stamina had been consumed in those four seconds. Basically the only skill he had obtained were draining and could only be used practically if he strengthened his body. He collapsed panting, resigned to lay among the cute guardians for the time being. But You Cant Take My Experience! I must say, thank you all for being honest in your reviews, and thank you for your comments, albeit angry comments, which have informed me how I can amend the situation. I was planning on doing this later on, but with the influx of unhappy readers, I feel obligated to make this change sooner. I do apologize for any unnecessary resentment I may have generated from the last chapter. I also apologize for the unhappiness I generated. I guess the catching up chapter can wait till next time. Thus, I present to you this chapter You can take my stats, but you can¡¯t take my experience! (Side Note: Arkane put up a review on my other fiction, The Mad Hatter asking when it will continue. I do not have a definitive date. I actually am taking a sociology class in the near future to augment the quality of the story and the depth of the society in that story. So I do not know when I will continue. I can honestly say, I have that one much better planned than this one. Thanks for that nice review by the way.) Abrum was in the middle of the clearing he had fallen asleep in. In his hands, he held a long slender stick around the size of his forced primary weapon, the katana. After his stamina had regenerated, he had scoured the surrounding trees for a suitable branch for his training. Once he had found one, he had taken it to the middle of the clearing and begun on the long, grueling journey to achieve his previous strength, and surpass his previous self. His training progressed at a slow rate in the beginning. He was unsure how to wield a double handed weapon efficiently, and also, the branch with which he was training with was inadequate. After about an hour of swinging the branch around aimlessly, he finally dropped the branch in frustration and resignation. ¡®I¡¯m not getting anywhere with this. The branch isn¡¯t balanced like that katana, and thus isn¡¯t effective¡­¡¯ thought Abrum to himself. Unwilling to pick up the katana, he decided to focus upon strength building exercises. He took himself to a tree that had a suitably high branch and began doing pull-ups. In his mind, he kept that horrific image of Lilith dying right before his eyes, and that spurred him on. For a straight 45 minutes, he did those pull-ups at a frightening pace, never slowing, only increasing in speed as he cursed himself for his powerlessness. One might say that this is impossible, even with the pain reduction being on 25%, the dolor would be too much. However, he had gained many things from Aleqe¡¯s hell training besides stats. His upper body had stretched its pain toleration to the very human limits! This was further pushed past human reason during his time in the forest, where his body had been massacred twice with extreme prejudice. The pain toleration was stretched ever further with his experience of his whole body tearing during his transformation into the Blood Wolf. Thus, this was nearly nothing to him. The stats had no effect except to further augment the potential of the body. While this was valuable, the experience that Abrum had obtained through his pain, his hardships, and his struggles made the value of the stats insignificant. He had been accustomed to his previous power, now all that was required was to restore it. His high pain toleration would increase his rate of training by almost 25%. With his high pain toleration gained through experience, the breaks that he would require would be minimal, and thus cut out the time consuming breaks. He let go of the branch and sat at the base of the tree, lightly panting. There were numerous tiny boxes in Abrum¡¯s view, heralding his increase in strength, but he brushed them away. He smiled and muttered under his breath ¡°You can take my stats, but you can¡¯t take my experience, painstakingly cumulated through the hell training and travels¡­¡± at this, he slightly chuckled. The stat gain was insignificant in his eyes. His goal was to overcome this challenge, and be triumphant in the end. One might wonder how in the world he was not giving up. His journey in the forest and finally have all his hard work taken away because of the flippant order of the ¡°god.¡± One of course was his drive to right his wrong. His powerlessness allowed Lilith to die, and he refused to let that happen again. The second can be summarized quaintly in the following quote: ¡°One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.¡± Abrum saw all these setbacks, all these struggles, as trials to make him stronger. They were merely lessons that would benefit him in the end. Thus, with that mindset, he continued the cycle of pushing his body to its current limits, tearing apart his digital muscles, and then resting to allow the muscles to regenerate even stronger. After about an hour, he had a rough training regime in place. He would spend about 45 minutes out of an hour doing his training, and spend the rest regenerating. He continued to do those exercises until his hands bled. Ripping muscles, waiting for them to regenerate over those agonizing 15 minutes. He sat contemplating, heavily panting. He looked at his bleeding and noticed the something very different about his blood. He raised his hand and watched his now silver blood trickle down his hands. As he watched the silvery blood mesmerized, he came across an idea that would cut the regeneration time in half, if not in quarter. Apprehensively, he lifted his hand to his lips and licked a portion of his blood off. He felt his fatigue fading at a rapid pace, and in a mere minute, his fatigue had faded. He smiled at the new discovery that would cut his increase his available training time from 75% (45 minutes out of an hour) to a full 98.33% (59 minutes out of an hour). With this in mind, it wouldn¡¯t even take him 4 days to achieve his previous strength. ¡®¡­But this is going to be a painful next four days and what about sleep!?¡­ eh¡­ Who needs sleep?¡¯ Thus, Abrum continued to train, putting his heart into it while the guardians slept, exhausted from their madness. *Training Center* While Abrum was doing his hell training, Aleqe was putting the fox twins through his own¡­ special variation. It had only been two days since the twins had been left with Aleqe, or rather, Abrum had been teleported away from them. Since then, Aleqe had put them to work, and began their training. In his centuries of battling experience, and the preceding century of his blindness, Aleqe was adept at judging what weapon would best suit a person. From their aura, Aleqe had a very specific weapon in mind. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. With that weapon in mind, he using his best wise person voice, he asked them, right after Abrum had disappeared: ¡°Do you want strength? You¡¯d be able to see Abrum faster this way.¡± Bella was cautious in her choice of answer, trying to search Aleqe¡¯s face for any ulterior motives. It is said that eyes are the windows to the soul. Since Aleqe¡¯s eyes were scarred shut, one could call his soul windowless, unreadable. This was the case for Bella in particular who could not sense the calm, flowing aura around Aleqe. Seeing no ill intent in his face, Bella slowly nodded. Tella, being Tella, immediately answered ¡°Yes!¡± in an enthusiastic voice. She felt extremely sad whenever Abrum wasn¡¯t around. If getting stronger was her ticket to seeing Abrum again, then she¡¯d put her heart into it. Clumsily of course, because that was her personality, but she would put her heart into it. With the consent of the two, he had immediately put them to work. Aleqe was sitting in the middle of the training hall, watching the two fox twins work. Using long poles, they were currently painting one of the inside walls. ¡°Thrust!¡± Aleqe yelled suddenly. Bella tried to comply with the best of her ability. Gripping the base of the pole with her right hand, she thrust quickly forward. Tella did the same, but with more rapidity. ¡°Tella¡¯s win again. Bella, that means you have to paint the back wall, and no slacking on the hand positions.¡± Aleqe said with a friendly chuckle. ¡°Good job Tella. Continue painting this wall. No slacking on the hand positions either.¡± Bella pouted and trudged over to the back wall while Aleqe followed. Bella was lost in thought as she walked. She was puzzled by the way this ¡°great teacher¡± was teaching. Originally, she thought he was just obtaining cheap labor out of the two of them; however, she dismissed this thought after he meticulously positioned their hands on the paint poles. Bella wasn¡¯t dim, and she could see from the meticulous way that Aleqe taught them about their hand positions that he was preparing them for something. She just didn¡¯t know what. Thus she painted the back wall with Aleqe meticulously, and affably correcting her hand positions. He pointed out that one should keep their hands wide apart, this allowed for more maneuverability for the pole. He also taught where the center of gravity on the pole was and how to harness this, allowing one to spin the pole in a propeller motion. When Aleqe was demonstrating the propeller motion, he did it with such force that it splattered paint everywhere. Bella meticulously brushed off the still wet paint off. Tella just had a huge smile on her face and she painted HER wall with more vigor, complying efficiently whenever Aleqe randomly called out ¡°THRUST!¡± At the end of that day, while Abrum was still on his first day of the painting regime Aleqe off-handedly proposed a little match. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a little paint match? You and your sister have been tediously painting these walls for the past three days. Why not show me the results of your training?¡± Aleqe suggested slyly. ¡°Sure thing Mister Al!¡± Tella answered excitedly. Aleqe¡¯s eyebrow twitched at the casual shortening of his name, but Tella didn¡¯t see this, she was already in the center of the training hall, dipping her pole brush into a bucket of blue paint. Honestly, even if she had seen it, she wouldn¡¯t have known what it meant. Bella was reluctant, complaining about the paint getting in her ears and on her fluffy tail, but acquiesced after Aleqe¡¯s sly mention of Abrum. Thus, the two twins stood at opposite ends of the training halls, Tella, with her brush dipped in blue, and Bella¡¯s dipped in red. Aleqe lazily called out ¡°Begin.¡± The laziness in his voice was to mask his interest in the match. Immediately, Tella rushed forward, holding the pole in front of her while Bella waited for her. After Tella was within reach, she executed a flurry of thrusts, the rapidity of which was startling. The muscle memory gained from the past two days allowed Tella to not think about the technique, but only of the speed. Bella, while not as fast as Tella, had a different way of wielding the pole. With her hands widely spread across the pole, she was able to maneuver the pole easily. With her left hand at the pole¡¯s center of gravity, she was able to flip the pole at fast speeds, blocking most of the strikes. However, even with the impressive blocking maneuvers, occasionally, the tip of Tella¡¯s brush would touch Bella¡¯s body, leaving blue marks. These marks were congregated around the head, heart, and groin. Aleqe was impressed that Tella would go for these areas purely on instinct, attributing it to the foxes hunting instincts. Bella became wily with her attacks, throwing in feints to confuse Tella, making her move the pole to block the incoming feints. Usually after a succession of three feints, Bella would make a serious attack, which were nearly always successful. There were long red streaks on the ankles, forearms, and wrists. Aleqe smiled while he watched the exchange. Tella and Bella started to combine the other¡¯s style with their own. They continued to have their paint fight, until they were all coated. Bella was not happy with the outcome, having paint all over her tail. She lowered her guard for a second. ¡°Wait! It¡¯s so messy! We should sto-.¡± She was cut off mid-sentence as she got a paint brush right to the face as Tella took advantage of the opportunity. Bella grabbed the paintbrush and slowly removed it from her face. She looked coldly into the eyes of Tella. ¡°Why you¡­¡± and then the paint began to fly again as Bella grabbed the red paint bucket and dumped it on Tella¡¯s head. ¡°This is fun!¡± Tella said and dumped the blue bucket on Tella¡¯s head. Thus the paint continued to fly. Aleqe sensed all of this, amused. ¡®These two¡­ born naturals in the naginata techniques¡­ I probably should break up the pain fight about now¡­ But it is so funny to watch!¡¯ So Aleqe resigned himself to watch them a bit longer. (Don''t forget to Rate and Comment. Please Rate. And Comment. Smiles to all!) New Styles Sorry this chapter is late. I did a ton of research on the different sword styles, hoping one would match the one I had in mind, but to no avail. I would like to thank Mortium for the nice four star review. I would also like to thank Koutacchi for the nice, long, informative comment. It shows me you guys care. I endeavor to read every comment and every review on my stories. I value my audiences opinion and thoughts. When I hear you like it, it fills my heart with joy. When I hear you are displeased with something, I try to amend it. I''d like to thank VTkun, a reader who has commented on almost every chapter. To any other long time readers, I appreciate your dedication and perseverance. I am sad that I cannot recognize and thank every one of you by name, but I appreciate it. So drop a comment or review. 3 Days Later. Abrum sat with his back against the tree, not even breathing hard any more. He had stopped really breathing hard after the day previous. His grueling training had finally come to an end. His beautiful stats were increased to their former glory. He had found that the pain was much less during the night due to the fact his stats increased, making the training easier. He found that his stats were increased by 200% because currently, the moon was full in the night. Despite the incredible increase, the increase in training wasn¡¯t nearly as significant as one would think. This was because his blood could not be used to shorten the resting time during the night. If one recalls, the Silver Blood is a potent healing agent during the day time, but at night, it becomes an even more potent aphrodisiac. Abrum almost experienced the night-time effects of the blood on the first night. He was reminded of this danger when he was reviewing his status window. Abrum watched the setting sun as he sat under the tree, his bare back scraping against the tree. ¡®I really need to get new pants and a shirt¡­¡¯ thought Abrum as he pulled out the last of his rations from his inventory. Smiling as the warm light of the dying, he reviewed his status window, which bore the fruits of his efforts. [/ tr][tr]
Status Window
Name:AbrumAlignment:Neutral
Level:1Class:Moon Strider
Race:Silver AngaellisGender:Male
Titles
Superb Chef
Fame:NoneInfamy:None
-
Health:3500 / 3500Mana:100 / 100
Stamina:5000 / 5000Moonlight Energy:2534
-
Strength:600 (-300)Agility:240 (-120)
Satiety10 % (Currently Eating¡­)
Intelligence:10 (-5)Vitality:400 (-200)
Leadership:10 (-5)Luck:-5
He smiled and noted that his meticulous, systematic, and grueling training had been successful, making his stats even greater than when he lost them. His stamina had been expanded from the repetitive, arduous training. The fact that he only took short breaks, and very few of those forced his vitality stat to expand to survive. His health had been expanded from the constant punishment that his muscles and hands took for four days straight. (Note: Vitality: Increases rate at which stamina and health recover naturally Intelligence: Increases rate at which mana recovers Strength: Increases upper body strength Agility: Increases lower body strength as well as the rapidity at which the entire body moves) Abrum took a look at his hands which were deeply scarred. The wounds had been healed by the blood, however, due to the rapidity and frequency that the blood was used, some of the wounds were left as scars. Abrum could only barely see the wolf¡¯s paw on his palm that he had received from Fenrir. He didn¡¯t regret it a single bit though. On the condition that he would pick up the katana. If he was honest with himself, Abrum knew he had been stalling on picking up the weapon. He stayed sitting, but stared at the sheathed katana. Abrum reached out his hand. It hovered over the sheathed katana, shaking slightly. The pain of the experience came back fresh in his mind. The burning pain in his abdomen. The moonlight infusing into his blood stream, which felt as if his very veins were set aflame. He became hesitant, unwilling to pick up the katana. But¡­ then that moment crossed his mind. That cursed moment that was enshrined in his mind. The sight of Lilith in the guardian¡¯s maw. Her piercing scream of pain. The crimson rain. The look in her eyes pierced Abrum right in the heart. The look in those eyes would never leave him. Instead of anger or disappointment, they were filled with trust. Trust in Abrum. Even in the jaws of the guardian, her eyes showed nothing but trust. She had put her trust in him even in the jaws of death. ¡®How can I stop here?¡¯ Abrum¡¯s hand stabilized and decisively grabbed the sheath. Picking it up, he observed the lining on the sheath. He watched the ribbon attentively for any movement. No response was shown. Abrum¡¯s apprehension faded significantly at the lack of the response. The very next thing was his curiosity. What was this weapon and what were the stats? Abrum, using the identification skill came up with an unexpected box.
The status window for this weapon is hidden. It is only for those who know the name of the weapon.
In spite of himself, he became even more curious. He thought about it, and then brought up his message history until he came to the particular message box he was looking for.
For your unique class, it is required that you wield the sentient katana, Tsuki, as your primary weapon.
Abrum pulled up the locked window and said a single word. ¡°Tsuki.¡± The window disappeared, and in its place appeared not one, but four boxes.
Tsuki is the name of the weapon passed down through generations of Moon Striders. A weapon that was able to control the light and dark of the night. A single entity in the beginning until a terrible, unspeakable tragedy occurred. This event caused the personality and form of Tsuki to splinter into two parts. The blade took upon the name Tsuki no Hikari. The sheath took upon the name Tsuki no Yami.
Tsuki no Hikari
Moonlight Energy:0 /100Damage:20-30
Level:1
Tsuki no Hikari possesses a personality completely devoid of the concept of consequences. This personality will do whatever it takes to eliminate the enemy, even at the expense of the user, cold and logically. This is because this personality inherited the strong drive of the origin, but not the people skills of its origin or the moral compass. This personality inherited the light capabilities from the origin, Tsuki.
Iaijutsu no HikariThe first strike after drawn from Tsuki no Yami will convert 100 Moonlight Energy in the blade into damage. Conversion will increase when the blade levels up.
Reaction to SeperationIf Tsuki no Hikari does not return to its sheath, Tsuki no Yami, within ten seconds after its drawing, the residue of the Moonlight energy will manifest violently and uncontrollably.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Tsuki no Yami
Yoru Energy:LockedDamage:10-15
Level:1
Tsuki no Yami possesses a personality that is unmotivated, but enjoys manipulating people¡¯s minds. This is because this personality inherited the people skills, but not the strong drive or moral compass of the origin. This personality inherited the dark capabilities of the origin
Yoru no YamiIf striking a target with the sheath, Tsuki no Yami, 10 Yoru Energy will be consumed and the target will be afflicted with a blind debuff for 10 seconds. Time for blind debuff will increase when sheath levels up.
Reaction to SeperationIf Tsuki no Yami is not reunited with its blade, Tsuki no Yami, within ten seconds, the Yoru Energy will run rampant, causing an incredibly infectious madness to spread.
The personalities of Tsuki no Hiraki and Tsuki no Yami will not manifest unless they are separated for too long. The goal of the Moon Striders for the past generations is to reunite the two splinter personalities into the origin, Tsuki.
50% of experience gained will be relegated and then equally divided between Tsuki no Hiraki and Tsuki no Yami.
This was a lot of information for Abrum to absorb. The experience relegation would not affect his adventure much at all. He never relied on things like levels to increase his stats. The one thing that was did catch his eye was the Reaction to Seperation. The ten second time limit effectively forced him choose a different sword style. ¡®It can¡¯t be the Hyoho Niten Ichu-Ryu, I don¡¯t have a wakizashi. The style that closest suits these particular circumstances would be Muso Jikiden Eishen-Ryu.¡¯ This style is a focused upon the rapidity of the unsheathing, striking, and then resheathing. In essence, it was a quick draw style. It was the art. A style that emphasized resheathing the blade between each technique. It was an art that turned a sheathed weapon into an instrument of death in. Abrum, the character would have no experience with this whatsoever; however, Sameul possessed vast amounts of knowledge pertaining to sword styles. Sameul¡¯s uncle had been an avid enthusiast of sword styles outside of his corporate job. His uncle, who spent a lot of time with his brother¡¯s family, taught Sameul about many different sword styles. Abrum stood up and walked to the middle of the clearing, holding the katana by his side. He was slightly sweating. Although his knowledge of the sword style was extensive, it was only theoretical. ¡®Ten second limit¡­ the basic So Makuri should only take 4 seconds with this body¡­That¡¯s a six second margin of error¡­ Well that¡¯s comforting.¡¯ Abrum breathed in. He gripped the hilt of Tsuki no Hikari and pulled quickly. His katana glowed a silvery white. It danced up and down the beautiful blade.
100 Moonlight Energy consumed
He raised the sword quickly and made a diagonal slash, the silvery light making a line through the night air. He raised the sword again and slashed diagonally in the opposite direction. No line of silvery light. 1 second He then did a horizontal slash, and then another going the opposite direction 2 seconds He then performed a slash to the legs. He returned to his natural standing position. 3 seconds He tried to put the katana back in, but he missed the opening 4 seconds Fumbling with the katana, Abrum tried to replace the katana. 5 seconds 6 seconds 7 seconds 8 seconds Finally finding the opening, Abrum hurriedly sheathed the katana. Shaking his head, Abrum made a decision in his mind. ¡®That took too long. I guess I need to make a new technique.¡¯ One might say this was impossible, but Abrum possessed an unusual sort of circumstance. He possessed the knowledge of numerous sword styles. These resources would give him a solid foundation, but also allow for modification. Thus, Abrum went to work constructing his new style. *Training Center* (Still three days later) Aleqe sat in the center of the training hall, observing the twins as they swung their training naginata¡¯s. The day after the paint fight, while they were eating breakfast in the back room, Aleqe proposed they both train with the naginata. Bella immediately accepted. She was tired of the painting, and painting, and painting. It always seemed to end up in her hair or her tail, and she couldn¡¯t figure out how it always fell there. Tella was a lot more uncooperative. Tella wanted to play the tail paint game more. This game sprouted from Tella¡¯s boredom, since Bella always needed to be taught by Aleqe. The objective of the game was to get paint on Bella¡¯s tail without her noticing. Tella hadn¡¯t been noticed yet and she wanted to continue the game! Aleqe pulled Tella aside for few seconds, and started to whisper something into her fox ears softly. In a few seconds, Tella came back with a stupid grin on her face, and she was ready to train. Bella didn¡¯t know what was whispered, but she was happy to be done painting. Thus, they had been training with the naginata for the past three days. From the paint fight, Aleqe knew the two twins had opposite specializations. However, those specializations complemented each other nicely. Tella specialized in attack. She did not care for extravagant things like feints. Instead, she relied on her speed to make her thrusts and slashes deadly. She also relied upon it to block incoming attacks. She was weak to feints since she attacked mostly upon instinct. Bella specialized in defense. She was not as fast as her sister, but she was infinitely more wily with her defense and attacks. She relied upon her incredibly fast mind to predict the enemy¡¯s movement based upon the body language and positions of the enemy. Though, after a certain speed, her mind could not keep up and she was overwhelmed. They were each other¡¯s kryptonite. Aleqe decided to let them improve by sparring with one another for three reasons. 1: They would familiarize themselves with each other¡¯s combat style, and allow them to work as an efficient team in the future 2: Since their specializations were the weakness of the other, letting them spar against one another would allow them the opportunity to shore up their weaknesses 3: Aleqe did not have to do anything except give little pointers. Minimal work at maximum efficiency! They had progressed quite nicely. The match that Aleqe was currently overseeing was comparable to a hurricane. Tella was thrusting her shaft at incredibly speeds while Bella was moving her blade in smooth long arcs. Aleqe smiled and watched the match contentedly. Wolf Moon Hey everybody. I sincerely apologize for the lateness of the chapter. To acknowledge your question DkDax, I will be explaining why he does what he does. I would like to thank all of you for your faithfulness to the story. to AMP: I got your fluff bundles right here! Drop a comment so I know you all enjoyed or not And please leave a rating. It only takes a few seconds for you, but it makes my day. So enjoy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 hours later Abrum walked into the clearing with the katana by his side and a deer over his shoulder. On his face was a splash of blood and a huge grid. After five hours of perfecting his basic technique, he had become extremely hungry. Thus, he decided to fulfill his hunger and test out his new technique at the same time. If the deer on his shoulder was anything to judge by, the technique was wildly successful. He walked to the middle of the clearing and put the deer down. Upon examination, there was an odd characteristic about the deer. The deer¡¯s body was unblemished with a single cut. Everything was perfectly normal except for the head. There wasn¡¯t one. Half of its neck and head had been completely severed with one clean cut. There was not a single jagged edge. The neck was leaking a substantial amount of blood. Abrum started to gather branches for the spit and for the fire he would construct. As he was looking for suitable branches, his eyes passed across the fluff bundles (that was what he had taken to calling the sleeping guardians). They had slept throughout the course of his training. Originally worried about their condition, Abrum had checked upon them at regular intervals. Every time, their breathing and heartbeats were stable, so the worry that Abrum had originally carried was dropped, and he continued to train, pondering how to wake them. Abrum began to construct the fire and the spit that he would later cook the deer upon. He receounted his successful hunt. It had only taken him an hour to find a suitable deer. After the deer was killed, he had done something quite strange. He had carried the deer, allowing the blood to flow and leave a clear trail of wet crimson liquid. He had taken many detours before coming back, leaving a trail of blood throughout the whole forest leading back to the clearing. Abrum began to debone and skin the deer and taking out different herbs and spices. He cut the meat up into suitable pieces by half unsheathing the katana and using the exposed edge to make the cuts. He put the three pieces of meat upon the spit, turning it at intervals and putting the herbs and spices upon it. As the delicious smell of roasting meat wafted into his nose, a smile crept across Abrum¡¯s face. ¡®That Superb Chef title almost makes things too easy.¡¯ Abrum smiled as the smell wafted throughout the clearing and into the forest. He cooked on into the night. The meat took much longer than normal to cook because of the immense size, but cook it did. Abrum smiled and rubbed his hands as the meat turned a lovely golden color, somewhat like chicken. The remaining blood dissipated and seasoned the meat even further. Abrum took the meat off the spit and was ready to eat. He was about to eat, but he heard something rustling behind him. He turned just in time to see multiple white, fluffy streaks go right past him. Abrum flipped over in a backwards somersault and onto his feet. He crouched and put his hand on the hilt, ready to draw his katana. But the sight before him was one that brought joy to his heart. On top of those pieces of meat that he had painstakingly cooked, were eleven fluffy wolves were ravenously eating. He relaxed his grip on the blade and sat back down relaxed. ¡°Hey! Leave me some! I need to eat too!¡± They all continued to eat except for one. The primal urge of hunger had left this particular guardian¡¯s eyes. It perked its head up when it saw Abrum and padded over to him. It rubbed its head against his hand and put its head in his hand. Happy by the gesture, he extended two fingers and whispered the activation phrase for one of his skill. ¡°Mark of the Moon¡± A soft light emitted from the tips of his fingers and flowed upon the fluffy fur. It traced lines of silver across the fur. The lines mainly were upon the left side of the wolf. Above the wolf¡¯s front left leg, the lines traced one filled circle and then fragments of an outline of a circle around the filled in one. Lines connected the fragments in intricate geometric designs. The lines then congregated into one big line that traced along the spine. Abrum was able to hear the voice of the fluff bundle ¡°Abrum! Abrum! Dang, he can¡¯t hear me¡­¡± The voice that rang out in his head was extremely familiar. ¡°Orthir? Is that you?¡± Abrum questioned in response to the voice. ¡°Abrum? Why is your voice in my head?¡± ¡°Telepathic communication capacity is a side effect of the blessing.¡± Abrum began to further elaborate upon the effects of the Mark of the Moon. By the end, Orthir¡¯s eyes were sparkling. ¡°You mean that? You gave me all that?! Can you do that to my sisters and brother?¡± Abrum cocked his head at this request. ¡°And where would they be?¡± Orthir gestured over to the other 10 fluffy wolves ravenously devouring the meat. ¡°Those are my lovely sisters and my idiotic brother.¡± Orthir turned and barked a few times at the other fluffy wolves. In unison, they all perked their heads up, looked at Orthir. She gave a few more barks and they all came over and sat by Abrum. ¡°They also wish to become vassals of the Moon Strider.¡± Abrum was happy about this, until he realized something. ¡°How did you know about my class?¡± ¡°Originally, the forest was liberated from the forces of darkness by an Angaellis. One who bent the night to his will. He built a tower in the forest and entrusted our ancestors with the safety of the forest. We were to guard the forest and the tower until another Moon Strider arrived. We, that being me and my siblings, wish to serve under the Moon Strider as our ancestors did. Isn¡¯t that right guys?¡± The rest of the fluff bundles barked cutely in agreement. They used their fool-proof method to get Abrum to accept. The puppy eyes. They tilted their heads down at the correct angle and looked up with those startling clear blue eyes. Abrum shook his head in acceptance and gestured for them to come forward. Each came forward and each in turn received a Mark of the Moon. Each received a pattern identical to the one that Orthir received. As each went up to receive their mark, Orthir gave their name. ¡°This is my brother Ugothir. These are my sisters Yula, Jula, Kula, Bula, Pula, Bothir, Kothir, and Lothir. Our parents weren¡¯t the most original with names.¡± Abrum patted each of them on the head as he gave them their marks. They were all very respectful. When Ugothir came up to receive his mark, he dropped a piece of slobbery meat before Abrum with a big innocent smile on his face. Abrum gave a cramped smile, but fortunately, before he could pick it up, Yula and Jula had started to fight over it, yelling out telepathically ¡°MINE!¡± This is what Abrum gathered from the introduction. Yula, Jula, Kula, Bula and Pula were from the same litter. They were the only survivor of their litter, so they were rather tightly knit. Orthir, Bothir, Kothir, Lothir, and Ugothir came from the same litter. Bothir, Kothir, Lothir and Orthir saw Ugothir as their little brother, one to be protected. Ugothir, despite his tough name, was a bit clumsy. Abrum looked at the line of new fluff friends. In unison, he heard their voices in his head ¡°We promises, as the vassals of the Moon Strider, to serve you to the best of our capabilities. In return, we expect meals.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Abrum nearly burst out laughing at their serious demands for meals. He gestured to what remained of the deer meat. ¡°Please help yourself.¡± They all nodded seriously in unison and went back to eating. While watching them eat, out of sheer boredom, he turned on his aura sense to look at their auras. The outside auras were perfectly clear that they were happy. Their inside auras were nearly all white. There were splashes of deep black here and there, but for the most part, it was white. Deactivating the aura sense, Abrum sat in a meditative position, and whispered under his breath\ ¡°Moonlight Meditation.¡± He wanted to absorb as much Moonlight Energy as he could before IT began. The guardians were eating their fill, until Ugothir perked his head up. ¡°What is that? You all hear that too, right?¡± All of the guardians perked their heads up and listened carefully. Indeed there was something amiss. The whole edge of the clearing was rustling, a bustling of activity. Abrum broke the meditation and stood up. ¡°You all pledged your loyalty to me in return for good food. I have upheld my end.¡± The forest rustled and from the woods emerged wolves. They were not as big as the guardians, only about 3 feet tall from paw to head. However, there were many of them, nearly a hundred in total. They all had one thing in common, the look of madness was prevalent in all of their eyes. Yula and Jula looked around in unison. ¡°Why are so many gathered?¡± Abrum smiled and explained ¡°Hunger is an instinct that transcends thought. I only lead them here with the promise of food.¡± Abrum gestured to the trail of now dried blood that led from the edge of the clearing to the center. Abrum picked up a single piece of meat and shook it. Unable to resist the hunger, one of the wolves bounded from into the clearing running straight at Abrum. He threw the piece of meat up. The wolf jumped for it. When the belly was exposed, Abrum threw a punch at the wolf¡¯s abdomen and whispered ¡°Purification.¡±
25 Mana Consumed
There was a small flash of light and the wolf went flying. Abrum grinned with relief. ¡°So they can still be saved.¡± He turned to his new comrades. ¡°Your families, your friends, you subordinates have all fallen under the infectious madness. Are you going to let this opportunity pass? The opportunity to save them?¡± Abrum shouted. Each of the guardians looked to one another, and then stared back at Abrum with the same resolute eyes. ¡°Of course not!¡± The guardians started to change. They were originally in their cute fluffy forms, which were only 2 feet tall and incredibly fluffy. They metamorphosed, they lost their fluffiness (I know, terrible right?). In its place was slick fur covering lean powerful muscle. Their cute round eyes turned into the eyes of merciless predators. Their legs grew. They were now 6 feet tall from paw to head, menacing, and under Abrum¡¯s command. Surrounded by these guardians, Abrum screamed out ¡°Fight against the madness! Free them from their mind¡¯s shackles! Lead their minds towards sanity. Towards the Light!¡± Goaded by Abrum¡¯s screams. The mad wolves descended into the clearing. The guardians in unison raised their heads and gave a howl at the moon. Thus it began. Abrum rushed forward, his legs moving at incredible speeds due to his high agility. He was running in a crouched position. His head was level with the wolves¡¯ heads. One bounded at him with its teeth bared, ready to tear Abrum¡¯s flesh. Abrum planted his left leg, and then quickly pivoted on it. Executing a round house kick with his right leg, he hooked the wolf¡¯s head from behind and threw it to the ground. He then punched it in the side while saying ¡°Purification!¡±
25 Mana consumed
A harsh light emerged from his hand and the wolf went unconscious, but its madness was gone. Another wolf came at him from the side, its teeth bared. Abrum used his legs to do a small jump backwards. Doing a back hand spring, he put both of his hands on the wolf¡¯s back and did the same thing that he had previously done. He continued to do is routine of dodging, counterattacking, and then purifying. Out of the corner of his eyes, he was watching the guardians get to work. It honestly was astounding. When the guardians were gripped by madness, they were only able to use basic skills. Those were {Bite} and {Scratch}. However, now that they madness was no longer prevalent in their minds, they could show all of the abilities of the Sanctum Lupis species. This roughly translates to Holy Wolf. The howl they had executed before the fight was a skill called {Begin the Hunt}. All wolves had this ability, and it raised attack power and critical rates for 30 minutes. This was insignificant though because this fight¡¯s aim was to purify the enemy, not kill them. The guardians just used this skill more out of instinct than out of necessity. What astounded Abrum was their glowing paws. After ever swipe of their paws, there was a line of glowing light. This was the skill {Paw of Purification}, and attack that combined the strength of the guardian with purifying power. Ever swipe cured another wolf. Freed them. This was not the end of their amazing power. While Abrum was dealing with his 13th wolf, he saw Orthir back away from the fight. She opened her mouth. Light started to materialize and crackle with energy around her mouth. A beam of light shot out at an amazing speed, hitting 4 wolves. They fell to the ground, purified. This was the skill {Holy Beam}, a skill that only dealt holy damage, which eradicated the darkness, and only left the wolves slightly burned. Abrum smiled and continued with his work¡­ *Town of Hillshir* Cala was getting ready to leave the town of Hillshir. She had spent a good amount of time there, getting to know the residents and learning what she could about the strange happenings surrounding the Succubus Subjugation quest. She had been sent by the higher ups in the Apollo Guild to investigate the incident. The information she had gathered was rather vague. The stories were varied between the women and the men. However, they all agreed he had left in the direction of the capital. So Cala was packing up. She had made preparations to leave, however, she wanted to check the scene where the succubus was last reported one more time. With her spear in hand, and her enchanted leather armor on, she went into the forest to see the scene for one last time. As she approached her destination, she began to hear strange swooshing sounds and labored breathing. Cala slowed her approach and stealthily approached the clearing where the succubus was last seen. Cala reached the edge of the clearing and she saw a sight that astounded her. In the middle of the clearing, was a beautiful woman wearing a luxurious white flowing gown. However, the gown was tattered and dirtied. That wasn¡¯t the most shocking part. The woman was wielding a white and blue scythe. She was swinging it at amazing speeds. The way she wielded it was as if it was an extension of her body. Suddenly, she stopped her swings. The gown settled around her body and a golden tattoo around her neck was visible. The woman turned around and looked straight at Cala with those startling neon blue eyes. ¡°May I help you?¡± Asked the Lilith. Discussion Since I cannot produce chapters efficiently without my computer, I was wondering what I could do to improve my story without it. Thus I came to this. I value all your input, so I would love any questions, comments, concerns or psychological frustrations you may have. Just type it in and I will answer in 12 hours maximum, if not in the hour or half hour, it just depends. So please, feel free to write anything that may be on your mind. It doesn''t even need to pertain to the story, it could just be about you. I care about my audience''s opinions immensely. But what I care about more is my audience as individuals. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.With that said, just comment and I''ll answer, respond, encourage, or just flat out chat with you. In the Shadow Hi guys, Mad Jester here and I''d like to first apologize for how long it took me to produce this chapter. If anyone out there has ADHD, they understand that if one possesses ADHD, their brain doesn''t always focus on what they want it to. ALso, I''d like to welcome you to the Prisons of Night arc (Tenative name). Also, I''d like to announce my new fiction, Splinter! My first try at a sci-fi fiction (and a darned good one if I say so myself). Anyway, leave a comment or a rating. Thank you all! Abrum sat in the middle of the clearing, leaning against the panting Orthir in her fluffy form. His breath was slightly erratic, however, it was nowhere near as heavy as the guardians¡¯ who lay sprawled around him. Around the clearing were roughly two hundred unconscious wolves in various positions. While the guardians and Abrum were dealing with the original hundred, more mad wolves arrived, increasing their burden. Abrum mumbled to guardians ¡°Geez¡­ How many hours has it been?¡± There was a clamor of tired voices. ¡°I think only two hours¡­ man¡­ we are out of shape¡­¡± said Ugothir. ¡°Speak for yourself¡­ I *huff* am in *huff* perfect shape!¡± voiced Orthir in a semi-serious voice. ¡°Admit it Orthir, we are out of shape¡­ We haven¡¯t done something like this since the Elven Magician Gandol went on a rampage.¡± Retorted Yula. ¡°That was forever ago. You¡¯ve gotten fat since then!¡± quipped Bula. ¡°You¡¯re the one whose fat!¡± ¡°Guys, is there really a need to fight?¡± ¡°Shut up you fatty!¡± said Bula and Orthir in unison. ¡°Oh, now it¡¯s on!¡± Abrum smiled and listened amusedly as the mighty guardians of the forest bickered like children ¡°No wonder we couldn¡¯t do a thing against that crazy vampire. Because of our obesity, the madness spread.¡± Lothir commented semi-thoughtfully. Now this caught Abrum¡¯s attention. Abrum was completely ignorant of the culprit or how this madness started. ¡°Wait, a single person caused this madness? Can you describe the circumstances?¡± As the guardians explained, Abrum¡¯s face displayed signs of shock. Their story was nearly the exact same as the dream of the clearing Abrum had. ¡°The vampire caused the madness? How could you tell it was a vampire?¡± Abrum asked ¡°They have very distinctive fangs!¡± ¡°He smelled weird.¡± ¡°The eyes¡­ THE EYES!!!¡± Said Bothir, Kula, and Ugothir. ¡°If I remember correctly, it was said that there are 12 guardians, but there are only 11 here. What happened to the other one?¡± Abrum asked puzzled. All the guardians looked down at this, none willing to speak up. Abrum realized what the silence implied and what he had blundered in upon. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡± He said it a serious voice. ¡°The past cannot be changed, forgotten, or erased. However, the lessons learned can prepare one for a brighter future.¡± Said Jula thoughtfully as she looked at the sky that was streaked with orange and yellow from the rising sun. ¡°Looking all cool: saying that and looking up at the sky. You stole that from some famous person! Who was it?¡± Yula cried out telepathically while getting up. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just smarter than you are you fatty! Just accept it!¡± Jula said with a hint of arrogance in her voice. ¡°Oh yeah?!¡± ¡°YEAH!¡± ¡°Ahem. Fluffy vassals of mine? Can we get back onto the topic? Do any of you know which direction the vampire fled?¡± Abrum asked, abruptly silencing the fat verbal war. The clearing was silent, verbally and telepathically in an instance as each of the fluffy vassals looked at one another. ¡°Before he turned us mad, we made note of where he came from.¡± Said Bothir ¡°Since most vampires need shelter to shield them from the day¡¯s light¡­¡± said Kothir ¡°It is probable that he came from that direction¡± said Lothir. They pointed at the direction of the rising sun, as it stained the night sky with its radiant light. Abrum nodded as he looked in that direction. There was a tall tower that looked suspiciously like the one in his dream. It towered above the dead trees, casting a looming shadow even in the face of the coming dawn. Abrum wanted dearly to go and put down the threat that had cast a shadow over the entirety of the forest. He saw all the dead trees around him and was sure that if the threat was removed, the forest that had survived from time immemorial would return and flourish again. However, he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to raise his body. ¡®Oh wait¡­ That¡¯s right, I haven¡¯t slept in¡­ how many days has it been? Oh dear. Consciousness¡­Fading¡­¡¯ Abrum¡¯s head slumped forward as he drifted off. The guardians, seeing how their Alpha fell asleep, looked at each other. ¡°We¡¯ll take first watch then. The guardians in the dawn. Come on Yula and Bula.¡± Said Jula as she walked on her powerful legs and into the forest as Yula and Bula followed silently. The other guardians began their metamorphisms. They decreased in mass and increased in fluffiness to put it bluntly. They gathered around and pushed their warm, furry, and fluffy bodies against him. He stopped shivering as much as the warmth of the his fluffy vassals coursed through his shirtless body. A contented smile spread across his lips and he was transported to the world of dreams. Abrum stood in front of a large tower, the one he had seen in a past dream. The tower was still as imposing as ever, but there was a singular difference in this dream. This time, the tower had a door. It was a door made of deep, dark, sturdy oak that hung upon thick metal hinges. Abrum tugged upon the rugged handle, but the door only rattled in response, indicating the presence of a lock. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Abrum stepped back with a faint smile upon his face. ¡®This is as good a time as any¡­¡¯ He thought to himself as he readied himself in a draw stance. Holding the sheathe by his waist with only his palm and his thumb, he slowly wrapped his other fingers around the hilt. In a flash, he brought his right arm up with the force of 300 strength stat. The blade flashed and a silvery line of light was traced diagonally across the door. Sheathing the blade, Abrum waited to see the result of his strike, and he was not disappointed. Where the silvery line of light had previously been, a cut opened and the door fell backward into the darkness inside the tower. Looking in, Abrum saw a staircase that ascended not into light, but into darkness. Abrum shivered a bit as he felt something unknown. Something dangerous. Something dark. Something ancient. Abrum brushed off the foreboding premonition and climbed the stair into the darkness. He extended the blade a small portion from the sheathe, where they were still touching each other, but about 2 or 3 inches were exposed, illuminating the path ahead. The ancient stone steps seemed to crumble as he approached the top. The darkness visibly shied away from the light coming from his blade, but he noticed that the amount of shying decreased significantly as he approached the top of the tower. Finally he came to the landing, where a door resided, breaking the monotony of the black bricks. Pushing the door back, he opened and leaned in to the room looking at the interesting sight that lay before him. The circular room was about three meters in radius, but it seemed very cramped due to the presence of the rafters supporting the roof. In the very middle of the room sat a figure. Wrapped in a long black cloak, the figure sat there shivering. The light from his blade faintly illuminated the room, casting shadows from the rafters, and, more importantly, the shivering figure in the center of the room. Abrum cautiously approached the shivering figure, keeping his katana at his hip, at the ready. As he approached, he was able to hear the incoherent muttering of the person. ¡°I did nothing wrong.¡± ¡°Lies.¡± ¡°I DIDN¡¯T¡± ¡°You left themmmmm¡± Approaching the cloaked figure cautiously and extended a hand. He removed the cloak to reveal the face of the one underneath it. It was an older man with blond, graying hair along with a thin beard. His red eyes looked so empty as he stared at the ground, shivering. Abrum looked very worried and knelt down besides the poor man. ¡°Excuse me, are you okay? Hello? Can you hear me?¡± asked Abrum while he shook the man. The man looked up at him with those empty eyes, those eyes without any semblance of light. Those eyes then moved to look over his shoulder. Abrum looked back behind his back to see what the poor man was staring at. There was nothing but the shadows squirming in the background as his katana moved. Turning back to the man, Abrum reeled back in shock, doing a backwards somersault to land in a draw position. The man no longer had his empty blue eyes, instead, his eyes were completely black. Not a single bit of color was visible in those eyes. He slowly opened his mouth, revealing long pointed canines. ¡°The brighter the light, The darker the shadow. Even in the night, We shall still grow. The species that shun the day For their sins and their crimes We shall keep them locked away. They shall do their time. We are Warden. No one escapes.¡± Abrum slashed out in a flash at the origin of the unearthly voice. The man just took the slash and rolled backwards. Standing up, Abrum noticed something behind the man. Behind him, the shadows squirmed unnaturally, as if they were alive ¡°We are Warden. No one escapes.¡± Uttered the man. The shadows peeled from the wall and came at Abrum like a wave. Slashing swiftly, he was able to stop the onslaught of darkness, but only for a moment until it flooded over him, making the whole world go black. Abruptly, Abrum sat up, awoken from that hellish nightmare to the noon day sun. ¡®Let¡¯s get whatever that thing is.¡¯ *Town of Hillshir* Cala quietly walked along the path to Sefica. The noon day sun blazed over head, which put her in a really foul mood. She would have left much earlier if not for her encounter with the person who called herself Lilith. After getting her name, Lilith had refused to speak, despite the constant attempts on Cala¡¯s part. As she walked, she wondered why in the world such a talented individual like Lilith was doing out in Hillshir. It didn¡¯t have anything that would attract a scythe wielder. The strongest monster that had ever been spawned in that area was a certain succubus, so it didn¡¯t make sense that a powerful person like Lilith would be out there. What was stranger was that Lilith had asked Cala to take her back to the capital. Cala came to the conclusion that Lilith wasn¡¯t from the area and didn¡¯t read into it anymore. Her response to the request was interesting: ¡°Sure why not? I am going back to meet my master anyway. He runs a training center in the city, so I¡¯d be happy to.¡± Cala had noted the mild reaction on the cold face of Lilith at the mention of the training center, but dismissed it. They traveled back to the city without any incidents. Of a Broken One Hey guys, Mad Jester again, and here''s a new Chapter! After reading Silvertongue''s comment, I felt that I should get another chapter out as soon as possible. So, enjoy and please leave a comment, or better yet, a nice rating. I usually mention the people that leave informative comments or just ratings in my little Author preamble. With that note, thank you for all the support thus far. (Also, please give my new fiction, Splinter, a try!) Abrum looked up at the sky turning to night. The dying sun in the west as it cast its feeble rays across the dark sky as night fell upon the land. He sat on Ugothir¡¯s back and was riding through the forest at a frightening speed. Ugothir wasn¡¯t the only male guardian for nothing. The strength of his legs could only be described as explosive. One might think that Abrum would be extremely troubled at the dream. The overwhelming power that the mysterious shadow had displayed would make a B class party tremble and quake in their assorted shoe ware. However, Abrum had no fear. Of course, his stats received an increase of 100% due to the half moon that hung in the sky. This made his stats, equivalent to a level 75 player, double. However, this was not the reason for his unwavering confidence. This stat boost would become rather insignificant since Vampires also receive stat boosts from the night. No, his confidence came from his newly acquired army. Yes, as he raced through the woods on Ugothir¡¯s back, he was surrounded by wolves. After awakening, Abrum had waited until all the wolves had awoken. Abrum appointed Ugothir as his method of transportation, who was very happy about the appointment. He charged the other 10 with commanding the wolves. Thus, there were ten units comprised of 20 wolves and 1 guardian. Abrum had split them up like this to make it easier to direct them. This was something that his father had taught him. While his uncle was obsessed with fighting styles, Abrum¡¯s father was extremely interested in military tactics from all ages. Both had taught him various things, so this is why there was a gleam of confidence in Abrum¡¯s eyes. Thus, Abrum rode through the woods accompanied by an army 211 strong. This may not seem like a lot, but he had 11 fluffy vassals. ¡°We¡¯re approaching the tower.¡± Said Ugothir telepathically. ¡°I¡¯m tired. And Hungry!! You promised us meals, so we want meals!¡± ¡°FOOOOD.¡± ¡°FEED US!¡± ¡°NOOOOOW.¡± cried out numerous guardians through telepathy. ¡°Fine fine. We¡¯ll stop here.¡± Said Abrum dismounting Ugothir. ¡°Gather around¡± The 11 guardians gathered around while their subordinates sat at the edge of the clearing surrounding the tower. ¡°Each of you are a commander of a unit. Each of your units are responsible for procuring their own food. I¡¯ll cook whatever you bring back.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Okay¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± they all called out simultaneously as they bounded off into the forest. Without a word, their units followed them immediately Only Ugothir and Abrum were left in the clearing. ¡°They are amazing aren¡¯t they? My sisters I mean. They command their units with such authority, and grace.¡± ¡°Are you saying that you can¡¯t?¡± Asked Abrum curiously. Ugothir looked down at his paws sheepishly as he sat. ¡°I¡¯m so much younger than them. They¡¯ve always been taking care of me¡­ I just don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever reach them.¡± he said sadly. Abrum saw the look in his eyes. He had seen that very same look in the mirror for so long. The inadequacy that the empty gaze portrayed. The anger at said inadequacy. The hopelessness in the face of inadequacy. Abrum simply smiled a knowing smile and leaned against Ugothir¡¯s soft fur. ¡°There is no need to compare yourself to those around you. I believe the one above has a plan for all of us. So it is useless to compare ourselves to those around us. Sometimes it can be a good motivator to compare ourselves, but it is important not to lose sight of the bigger picture. God is a loving father. He loves us no matter what we do, no matter how inadequate we are, or how often we mess up. At least that¡¯s what I think.¡± Abrum said telepathically while looking at the night sky thoughtfully. Ugothir was a bit taken back by the little speech that Abrum gave. He smiled as well as a wolf can and lay down, leaning his body against Abrum. ¡°I do like your beliefs.¡± ¡°I like them too. On a different note, aren¡¯t you hungry?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Orthir will probably bring back too much. Her eyes are bigger than her stomach most of the time. Ah, speak of the devil.¡± ¡°DON¡±T CALL ME A DEVIL¡± said Orthir as she came out of the forest followed by her subordinates. ¡°First one back. That was really quick.¡± Abrum commented as he watched her subordinates drag two deer along. ¡°We were lucky and found these close to the perimeter of the clearing. They were grazing, so we got them fairly easily.¡± Orthir commented as they dragged the deer to Abrum. ¡°Cook for us!¡± Abrum sighed and started a fire and began to cook the deer. Before he was done, more of the guardians returned with their units dragging their prey. After he cooked a portion, he would feed the units. Most of the wolves were happy with their portions, however, there were a few greedy ones that tried to take more than their respective portions. They were put in place by their unit commanders. Abrum smiled as Ugothir and the rest feasted upon the meat. He sat back with them as they finished their meal. ¡°The menace to the forest is right in front of us. The one that killed the life in the forest, spread the madness that kept your mind in shackles. It manipulated you, caused you to do things that many of you would like to forget. In the words of Jula: ¡®The past cannot be changed, forgotten, or erased. However, the lessons learned can prepare one for a brighter future.¡¯¡± Abrum called out to the wolves. Jula nodded with satisfaction as she was referenced. ¡°The mistake was letting this evil roam free, unrestrained. We now have the chance to make that mistake right. To correct the mistake so that it will no longer affect the future. Will you let the evil that destroyed the forest roam free, or will you put down this threat this day to protect your future and your children¡¯s future? Let us put down the threat, this very night! To battle my friends!¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. All the wolves that sat around the clearing raised their heads and howled at the sky in response. This was their Begin the Hunt skill which raised critical hit rates and damage rates. Among the 200 wolves, only about 25% actually possessed the skill, however, the skills effects stacked up to a certain points. Abrum stood proud in front of the howling wolves, and his fluffy vassals. ¡°TO BATTLE!¡± Abrum said by raising his sheathed katana in the air. A little message box appeared in front of his face and his face slightly blanched.
The vampire, Vlad the Ripper, has heard your cry of challenge. 20 seconds until he is down the stairs
Abrum backed up away from the door with Ugothir. ¡°All units forward. Guardians, stay back a bit and direct your troops while using Holy Beam as ranged attacks.¡± Abrum said as he stood at the front of the wolves. ¡®Might as well start this off with a bang¡­¡¯ thought Abrum as he extended his six ethereal wings high.
Vlad has appeared
The door creaked opened and opened into deep blackness as a figure stepped out into the cold night. ¡°Moonlight Barrage!¡± Abrum called out. All six of his wings detached from his body and flew to the sky. As they ascended, they dissipated into tiny particles of light. They spread across the night sky and disappeared among the stars. Abrum just stared up at the sky and awaited the big finisher. A little box appeared in front of him and his face blanched.
Time until the barrage is unleashed: 59 seconds.
¡°Fire ranged attacks.¡± Abrum ordered quickly. He wanted to gauge the strength of this ¡°Mad vampire.¡± The name, the Ripper, was an extremely ominous one and Abrum wasn¡¯t stupid or reckless enough to engage in a close combat fight with an unknown. The 11 guardians gathered their own energy in their mouths and spat out a purging light at the shadowy figure. A few of the other wolves were able to fire off weaker versions of the skill called Holy Bolt. The light splashed over him in a wave as all the beams connected at once creating a large flash. Abrum put his hands in front of his eyes to shield his eyes from the dazzling light. The light was gone just as quickly as it had appeared and Abrum looked to see the situation. He was surprised to see the figure still standing. He lowered his cloak, exposing his face and those cold red eyes that stared at the others. Abrum was taken aback when he realized that Vlad was the same, shivering man in his dream. The face he was making was completely unlike the one in the dream. The health bar that floated by Vlad¡¯s health bar was only 25% depleted after that massive attack of over 50 wolves. While he was still overcoming his shock, Vlad had already made his move. He had rushed forward and had grabbed one of the wolves. Then he did something extremely strange and gruesome: With a sickening ripping sound, Vlad used his hands to wrench the ribcage of the poor wolf apart. He was surrounded by spiraling red balls of light. To Abrum¡¯s horror, Vlad¡¯s health bar began to fill again. ¡°Yula, Bula, Jula, fire off another volley, the rest of you, get your units back. We can¡¯t have him regenerating his health.¡± Responding quickly due to his Commander of Wolves skill, they complied and fired off another volley covering the retreat. Jumping on Ugothir¡¯s back he called out to the other guardians ¡°Lothir, Orthir, Bothir, you are with me. Hit and run tactics people. All the other guardians are on ranged duty. I want the wolves to secure a perimeter around the area. We don¡¯t need any unneeded surprises.¡± Again, due to his Commander of Wolves skill, all his orders were met with surprising efficiency. The guardians gave the orders to their respective units before running off to their positions. The wolves disappeared into the dead forest. Riding upon Ugothir¡¯s back, Abrum was rushed straight to Vlad the Ripper. Vlad turned his head and locked eyes with Abrum. They flashed red and Abrum found he couldn¡¯t move from his position. Lothir attacked Vlad from behind with Purifying Paw as she ran past and the eye contact was broken for a split second. Abrum found he could move his body again and jumped off of Ugothir and unsheathed and slashed his katana in the same motion. Vlad held up his forearm to block the slash and the vibrations from the strike went up Abrum¡¯s arm. Abrum winced and used his strike to propel himself over the Ripper and land upon the back of Bothir who was passing after taking a swipe at the back of Vlad. Riding off, Lothir made her strike and rode off with the rest of the guardians. The rest of the guardians fired off their Holy Beams in quick succession, covering their retreat. As they went, there was a little ding and Abrum smiled. ¡°Here comes the bang.¡± Muttered Abrum as the barrage began. It was as if the heavens opened up and released their wrath. The stars above seemed to rain down upon the poor vampire. The innumerable stars in the sky seemed to intensify in their brightness. The intensifying light rained down spears of light, piercing the vampire with their sharp points. Each piercing was accompanied by a flash of light and a dazzling explosion. They tore the earth around the vampire apart and pierced through the tower, an unstoppable destructive wave. As the smoke cleared, Abrum observed the nearly empty hp bar. Only a single sliver was left. However, the eyes that were supposed to hold defeat and despair only held joy. ¡°C-come closer¡­ so I may tell you my story¡­ and so the sacrifices of my people shall not be in vain¡­¡± Thus Abrum approached the vampire to hear his story. Aftermath Three chapters in three days. Man, I haven''t had that pace since the first chapters. You''re welcome Silvertongue. You all wanted more, so HERE! Leave a comment or better yet, a good rating. I''ve calculated I need approximately 35 more good ratings to get into the top 50. ALso, here''s the link to my new fiction, Splinter. So leave a comment! The burned vampire lay in the crater created by the skill Moonlight Barrage. As Abrum walked forward, his wings began to reappear, and this caused a look of relief to pass through the vampires eyes. ¡°Angaellis, my story is not one of joy and happiness. But I beg of you, listen so the story and plight of my people may be heard.¡± He asked with a pleading look in his eyes. Abrum sat at the edge of the crater, with his elbows on his knees and hands supporting his chin. He did not regard the vampire coldly or disdainfully, the look in his eyes was one of honesty curiosity. ¡°Guardians, get your units some food, I suspect we may be here for a while.¡± ¡°What about you? What if he tries to attack again?¡± Asked Bothir in a concerned voice ¡°Then I¡¯ll have no choice but to finish him off; however, I highly doubt he will attack. Ugothir, you¡¯ll stay with me.¡± Replied Abrum. Ugothir padded to him and lay down, putting his head at the edge of the crater, looking at the vampire. He let out a slight snarl that conveyed the warning of what would happen if Vlad betrayed Abrum¡¯s trust. However, Vlad just smiled at this and nodded. ¡°Where to begin¡­ where to begin¡­ I guess I¡¯ll explain how we got into our plight.¡± Said Vlad as he sat up and leaned his back against one of the slopes of the crater. ¡°Our plight started when the leaders of our race, the King of Night, became greedy and decided to side with the demons in the second Darkness War, forsaking the side of light. Our race, the species of night, is often wrongly related to darkness. Even in night, there is light.¡± ¡°Second Darkness War? Do you mean the Great Darkness?¡± ¡°AH, I forgot that you humans do not have record of the first Darkness War. However, that¡¯s not important to my story and I have no time to give you a history lesson. The fact is, Darkness lost the Second war. As punishment our race was condemned to prison for 100 years to atone for our mistakes. In charge of us was a hero from the war. However, in his time from fighting the darkness, he had been tainted by the darkness. He didn¡¯t release us as promised. No, on the day we were scheduled to be released, he stood up and gave us a grand speech, condemning our actions as treason to the highest order of light. Thus, by his orders, we were sentenced to imprisonment indefinitely.¡± ¡°How did you escape?¡± ¡°Through the sacrifices of my people, I was able to get out, along with our people¡¯s treasure, Tsuki... However¡­ Warden¡­ Why can¡¯t I remember?¡± said Vlad as he looked at his hands. His eyes looked empty and a bit broken. Abrum activated his aura sense to see if Vlad was putting on an act, and his eyes saw something extremely interesting. The outline of his aura was, indeed, the color of confusion. The base of his aura was much lighter than he had previously thought. It was a light grey. Abrum had expected someone with the title of Ripper to be a lot darker. There was a string of darkness that he had previously not seen. It was connected to the back of Vlad the Ripper¡¯s head. Abrum stood up quickly and jumped into the crater and sliced the air right besides Vlad¡¯s head. The black line that was connected to Vlad was cleanly and his last portion of his health bar disappeared. ¡°Warden¡­ Finally gone¡­Save my people Guardian¡­ our Queen¡­.¡± Said the vampire frantically as he started to dematerialize. ¡°And thank you¡­¡­¡± Vlad¡¯s head slumped forward as his body became immaterial and shattered into shards of light. All that was left of the poor vampire was a single scroll and two books. Abrum reached out and grabbed the things of the deceased vampire. However, before he was able to observe them carefully, he heard an ominous creaking above him. Looking up quickly, he realized his blunder. While the Moonlight Barrage had finished off the undead, it had also caused extensive damage to the surrounding area. Abrum had never given Vlad the chance to move away from the tower, and thus, the tower had suffered heavy damage from the destructive spears of light. The foundation of the tower had become unstable due to the extensive damage caused by the spears of light. The base was nearly gone, and the displaced air from Abrum¡¯s strike had to go somewhere. Thus, these circumstances combined caused the situation that Abrum was now trembling at. ¡°RUN UGOTHIR!¡± Abrum ordered. His order was met by obedience as the tower fell at an agonizingly slow speed. The guardian ran from the falling tower, however, Abrum just stood there with an inexplicable smile upon his face. Ugothir reached the edge of the clearing and turned. As the dust settled, Ugothir was able to see Abrum standing atop the rubble with a crazy smile on his face. ¡°HAHA! The first form works on buildings!¡± Yes, Abrum, instead of running had invoked the first form of the Moon Steps. The other guardians gathered in the clearing, drawn by the sound of the tower crashing to the ground. Orthir was the first one to arrive, even though she was carrying a massive deer in her mouth. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°An experiment that succeeded. No need to worry. Get the other guardians. After we eat, we are mobilizing.¡± Abrum said with a fearless smile upon his face. ¡°The shadow line came from the direction of the capital. I¡¯d like it if we¡¯d mobilize as quickly as possible.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Orthir noddd and ran off to tell the others. And Abrum sat with Ugothir and examined the items from Vlad. The scroll was of no interest to Abrum. It was a crafting schematic, and thus, held no importance in the immediate future. One of the books had a worn black leather cover. After reading the first page, Abrum realized that this was the journal that Vlad had kept. The item that really caught his eye was the third book. It gave off an aura, unlike the other books. It had a solid red cover that seemed to shift as one looked at it from different angles. Along the spine were flowing letter sewn in gold with sharp angles at times. To Abrum, this was a language completely unknown to him. Wondering what mysteries the book would hold, he opened it carelessly without thinking. The book glowed red for an instant, obscuring the pages, and then, the strange aura around the book was gone. Abrum looked across the pages and then started to flip through them frantically. Every single one of the pages was blank. ¡®Darn. I thought this was going to be something good.¡¯ Right after he had completed this thought, a message box appeared in front of him.
Passive Skill Gained: Dominating Shadow
Abrum read through the skill information. There was no way to level up the skill, and it served to protect the owner. The protection parameters were intentionally vague, which made Abrum a tad bit worried. Usually, when game designers made a description intentionally vague, there was a little surprise accompanying the item. It didn¡¯t specify the activation parameters either, which also made Abrum nervous. In time, the guardians came back with their food and Abrum had the task of cooking the food. The smoke from the fire and the delicious smell wafted up into the air. A separate pillar of smoke wafted up into the night sky, a memorial for the wolf that gave its life in the fight against the vampire. The morning came and they set out. As they walked, they noted that the foliage upon the trees was returning at a startling rate. With the absence of the vampire, the forest was slowly recovering. Abrum rode upon Ugothir, discussing with the guardians the placement of the units. ¡°Since most of the forest life ran off when the madness spread, there is really no need for 12 guardians until the forest returns to its normal state. In all honesty, it probably will only need a single one of our units to safeguard its recovery.¡± Orthir commented as she walked along besides Ugothir. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s okay to leave only a single guardian behind with only 20 wolves? Aren¡¯t multiple guardians like a symbol of security?¡± asked Abrum ¡°Pffff. As if. In this stupid slaver country, most of the people were more focused upon catching us and subjugating us than being grateful for us protecting the forest. The only people that would actually miss us would be the elves. Their realm is to the west of Sefica.¡± Replied Bothir ¡°They are a bit stuck up though. Last time we visited, they only gave us cold thank yous.¡± ¡°They even tried to say that Gandol wasn¡¯t their fault!¡± ¡°Bunch of arrogant *insert colorful word*¡± muttered Bula ¡°Tsk, tsk. Language Bula.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who are they?¡± ¡°Trying to change the subject? Not happening.¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s right, who are those people?¡± Abrum looked in front of him as they were coming out of the forest. In the distance, he saw three cloaked people traveling in the distance. ¡°Guardians. Take your units and create a perimeter, but hide yourselves in the foliage. I want to greet these travelers myself¡­ Be prepared to fire off your ranged attacks.¡± Said Abrum. His orders were carried out swiftly and quietly. They disappeared into the recovering forest and he sat along the road the travelers were bound to pass. He hid Tsuki in the bushes besides him and waited for the cloaked travelers to pass. ¡®A good opportunity to test out the extent of the Dominating Shadow.¡¯ He wiped off the smile that was creeping across his face as he sensed the figures approaching. As they approached, Abrum was able to hear their conversation; however, they were speaking in a different language. Abrum was able to look up at their face while sitting there. Even though their conversation only consisted of brief exchanges of an unknown dialect, Abrum realized the amount of information being conveyed was vastly disproportionate to the amount of words exchanged. And then, they passed in front of Abrum. Abrum stretched out a hand and croaked out a single word. ¡°W-water.¡± The three travels looked down upon him with their startling cold green eyes. ¡°Fla Morti Bog.¡± Said the one in the middle. ¡°E-excuse me?¡± Abrum asked politely Apparently, the traveler was done talking. With disdain in her eyes, he kicked Abrum in the side, sending him sprawling. Abrum¡¯s body was extremely sturdy, however, she had managed to leave a sizable bruise. Abrum winced at this, but would have dismissed it if the next words hadn¡¯t come out of her mouth. ¡°Foolish human. How dare you stand in the way of the three Swords of the Elvish nation.¡± ¡°Out of our way human.¡± ¡°Trash.¡± The shadow that was cast behind Abrum began to squirm and wriggle. Now, Abrum was a very patient man, and would have forgiven the three elven beauties that stood before him; unfortunately, his shadow did not share that trait. Elves...*sigh* Alright folks, here is another chapter. I wasn''t planning on releasing another one for a qhile, but since Greeman asked politely and Rancholo did dogeza, I decided to give you all another chapter (but it''s a bit shorter because of it). Also, to address Pale Rider''s concern (Love the name by the way, Sword Art Online 2 if I''m not mistaken) not every person he comes across will be added to his harem. I''m not going for the ending where he ends up with a gigantic harem. Every person is a gear in his rise to power. So yeah. Enjoy, comment, and rate. Abrum sat clutching his ribs looking up at his tormentors. Even though the blow was insignificant, he needed to keep up the act to find the activation parameters for the Dominating Shadow. While they were kicking them, Abrum calmly used telepathy with the guardians. ¡®Do not fire yet. They have yet to do any real damage. However, if they begin to use swords, you have my permission to restrain them. On a different note, who are these Three Swords of the Elvish nation?¡¯ asked Abrum curiously as he endured the kicks. ¡®Well, the big breasted one that kicked you first is Ti-era. Of the three, she is the most skilled in the way of swords and axes. The thin one, Liba, is the one that is the most skilled in bows of the three. She is also skilled in earth magic. The one with generous proportions all around, Veila, is a mystery. She was only dubbed a Sword of the Elven kingdom a short while ago.¡¯ Communicated Jula. ¡®Why are you describing them exclusively by their proportions?¡¯ Ignoring the question, Bothir continued ¡®We don¡¯t really have any knowledge Veila.¡¯ ¡®So, what would happened if I retaliated to this terrible treatment?¡¯ ¡®They hold a high level of influence in the Council of Trees. Because of this, they possess a degree of arrogance. At least they know their place when speaking to us. OUCH! Are those steel tipped boots?¡¯ ¡®Anyway, they are, in general, annoying. They¡¯ve been asking us to join their separate factions for a few decades now. However, they wouldn¡¯t even help us when the madness the madness spread. Those are steel tipped boots!¡¯ ¡®Maybe our master has that type of hobby.¡¯ ¡®HECK NO. I DO NOT! Show yourselves to them, but take no aggressive action. Also, feign ignorance about my position. Now that we know we know who they are, we may be able to enter a civil conversation. I¡¯m not sure how much more of this I can take without taking aggressive action.¡¯ ¡°Elves of the Loihon Nation. What do you think you are doing beating a traveler in our territory?¡± The three elves turned and looked in the direction of the voice and their eyes were immediately widened. Standing there, at the mouth of the forest, was Ugothir in human form. He stood tall, a toned and muscular body standing in the forest. To Abrum¡¯s surprise, there were quite a few scars upon his body. His tail swayed slowly in between his wolf like legs, and his ears stood upright. Behind him, multiple wolves were coming out of the forest. The elves immediately changed their composure and dropped to one knee. ¡°Lord Ugothir. This peasant tried to hinder our journey to aid you in the fight against the madness. We had feared you had already fallen, but it is to our great relief that you are well. But it was our distress for your well-being that led us to act so rashly.¡± Said Veila ¡°Does that make sense at all? Instead of hurrying, you attack this poor traveler to assuage your arrogance.¡± Ugothir says with a cold look in his eyes. ¡°Since the forest is not completely dead yet, it seems we have arrived in time to combat the madness.¡± ¡°Direct us as you will.¡± (Author Rant: Now, as you all know, in stories, sometimes the protagonist gets beaten down. This happens in nearly all anime and manga and novels and basically all story telling in general. Now, there is nearly always a turning point in these stories. The part where the protagonist shows awesomeness, completely stunning those around him or her. I, personally, call those ¡°Screw You Moments.¡± I love these moments and they give me a happy feeling inside. There are actually quite a few of those in the Bible, cuz you know, God and all. Anyway. Welcome to the ¡°Screw You Moment¡± chapter!) This is when the other guardians came out of the forest. They came behind Ugothir, showing a side of majesty. Abrum was a tad bit awe struck that the bickering fluff bundles could give off such and aura. They looked the part of the noble forest guardians. They looked majestic. Then, the bomb dropped. ¡°Lord Ugothir, you did not have that marking on your shoulder the last time we met.¡± Commented Ti-era. ¡°Nor did you Lady Orthir.¡± ¡°A-all of you have markings.¡± Stuttered out Liba. The guardians looked at each other and smiled. ¡°We have found a lord worthy of our service.¡± Said Ugothir with a hint of pride in his voice. The elves were dumbfounded by this. It was all over their faces. The way their eyes were widened, the slight slackening of their lips. They couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°L-lord Ugothir. We have heard nothing among the elves of another Allegiance entreaty.¡± Ti-era stuttered out confused. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Of course. It is not an elf that we have sworn allegiance.¡± Bothir said with a smug look upon her face. At this, Liba stood up quickly, her face containing am unbelieving smile. ¡°Of course you have sworn allegiance to an elf. No other race possesses the majesty required to command such noble beasts as yourself.¡± She said in a sincere manner. ¡°Your ¡®noble¡¯ race only sent help 3 months after we requested assistance. So you can drop the pretentious bull about you being here to help us. If I had to give a guess, your Council of Trees sent you to see if you could procure the land our ancestors have protected for centuries.¡± Said Bula ¡°Every one of our fair propositions were ----¡° ¡°I¡¯ll stop you right there. You were interested in our land to expand your kingdom. You would have cut off the villager¡¯s food source. And your ¡®fair¡¯ reparations amounted to little under the forests monthly income from trade alone.¡± Orthir interrupted with an unhappy expression on her face. ¡°The only elves who offered us a fair trade were Trelay Moon. If I¡¯m not mistaken, that¡¯s your Trelay Veila.¡± (Author¡¯s Note: a Trelay is the elven equivalent to a human royal house.) Veila nodded and spoke up for the first time. ¡°Indeed it is. My father and father before him all made entreaties to you and your ancestors throughout their entire lives. I had planned to continue their work; however, hearing that someone beat me to it¡­¡± Her eyes flashed dangerously, a cold murderous glint in her eyes. ¡°I would love to meet this lord you see as better than the previous heads of Trelay Moon.¡± ¡®Oh, the head of the Trelay Moon? This could be an opportunity to make a show.¡¯ Thought Abrum. ¡®Alright Ugothir, reveal the identity of the lord.¡¯ He said telepathically as he procured his katana from the bush. ¡°Even if you haven¡¯t realized it yet, you already have met our lord.¡± Ugothir said dismissively ¡°Impossible, we haven¡¯t met anyone on our journey here.¡± In response, Ugothir slowly raised an arm. His finger extended at an excruciatingly slow speed until it pointed directly past them. They turned and looked behind them, expecting something that would stun them. Instead, there was Abrum, brushing himself off. When he realized the elves gazes were on him, he gave a big old grin. ¡°This idiot? You must be joking!¡± Said Ti-era ¡°How could such an imbecile be the lord of all of you?!¡± Liba nearly screamed. ¡®Master, what in the world are you doing?¡¯ ¡®Letting them genuinely attack me to show the power difference. Also, it will make it their fault if they are beaten to badly.¡¯ Abrum communicated with a smirk. This was when Veila finally spoke up. ¡°My father, and his father before him all dedicated their lives to expanding the Loihon nation¡­They were wildly successful, but failed to get your territory. And ignoring my ancestors¡¯ entreaties, you hand the territory¡­ OVER TO THIS IMBECILE?!¡± Veila raged. ¡°I won¡¯t accept it!¡± Before any of the guardians could stop her, she had turned around and started to run at Abrum. Her arm blurred for a second and Abrum bent backwards. He saw three bo shuriken, iron throwing darts, hit and stick in the tree. Coming back up, he readied himself for a strike, but he found that it was unnecessary. Veila Moon was fast, she had closed the 2 meters in less than a second. She had already drawn a ninjato and was closing in quickly, and finally stepped upon his shadow. The world seemed to slow down in that one moment. Her once calm face twisted with rage, she drew her arm back to strike. But her strike never came. ¡°Ah. So those are the activation parameters. Killing intent.¡± Veila turned and saw her arm. Coming up from Abrum¡¯s shadow was a long tendril constraining her arm and it slowly spread up her arm. Before she could, she felt something cold and slimy coming up her thighs. Looking down, she began to realize how grave of a mistake she had made. She could no longer see her feet. They were sinking slowly into Abrum¡¯s shadow and numerous tendrils were coming up, dragging her deeper and deeper. A tendril with a sharp tip came up, and hovered above her head, ready to end it. ¡°Non-lethal methods preferably.¡± Abrum said a bit panicked. The tendril disappeared into the shadow. Ti-era and Liba watched dumb-struck as their comrade began to sink. Struggling, she stayed defiant until the very end before her head disappeared into the shadows. A box appeared in front of Abrum and a disturbed look came across his face.
{Prisoner 001: Veila Tal Moon} has been obtained
Abrum looked up slowly, his clear, ice blue eyes met the eyes of Liba and Ti-era. ¡°Now, do tell why you are really here.¡± Liba gulped and answered first. ¡°We received reports that a slave shipment consisting of primarily elves was passing through the region. We were sent to stop it.¡± Abrum nodded and grinned slightly. Time to wreak some havoc on the slavers. Sins of a Slaver Author¡¯s Preamble: I usually don¡¯t prewrite the preamble. I usually just insert it at the beginning when I¡¯m at the posting stage, but I felt that this chapter required it. Now, all of you that have been happy with the series thus far may not like this chapter. It isn¡¯t pretty. It isn¡¯t full of rainbows, unicorns, and butterflies. This is a chapter to give you a glimpse of the darkness of Sefica. In the face of a great evil, good men and women can take three routes. They can give into the darkness and just give in. They can ignore it and try to continue on with their lives. Or. Or they can stand in the face of the darkness and combat it. Now, I ask you my audience, which path seems like Abrum? Okay, serious stuff out of the way, to Mr. Pale Rider, you just gave me a phenomenal idea with the Four Horsemen. To Dordul, I dunno how fluffy elves would work¡­ Also, I noticed an 6% dissatisfaction rate with the last poll. While this was lower than expected, I find this personally unacceptable, and I feel as if I have failed you as a writer. I apologize to those 8 people. I¡¯d like to thank the 117 people that still like this story. I also know that the amount of views have decreased as the chapters went along. My first chapter has 7k views, but now, in the late stages, we struggle to reach even 1k. This is troubling to me. I reeeeaaaaalllllyyyy do not want to do a rewrite¡­ But I dunno, I may have to. Anyway, comment, rate, and TELL OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT THIS FIC. (Also, to WalkingOrange, I love your comment at Succubus and Angaellis.) Abrum sat upon one of the many sweeping hills that were in the Hunger Plains. These plains separated the capital from the forest. He sat upon the hill adjusting the clothes he had procured from the shop in the village. He decided he couldn¡¯t go around half naked forever, so they had made a detour by the village. While he was there, he had managed to gather information about the slaver¡¯s normal routes. Currently, Abrum sat eating a roasted Goril. This was the main type of monster in the hungering plains. They were worm like creatures that had an interesting exterior organ called the Kortium on their skin. It constantly exhumed a slight amount of mana, enough to keep their bodies afloat. Similar to how sea snakes wiggle, using the water to propel themselves, the goril use the grass to mobilize themselves. Abrum smiled as he looked out. His wolves sat around the corpse of a massive goril known as a Grass Knight, eating the cooked flesh. A beast several meters long, they are one of the more dangerous monsters in the Hunger Plains. He had arrived back from the village to find the wolves battling the monstrosity, and joined the battle late. He had only gained 2 levels since the wolves had done most of the damage, and the experience distribution was based upon the amount of damage dealt. The points were distributed into luck, because he really had no need for them in any other spot. ¡®But it really helps to have more cooks.¡¯ Thought Abrum. The elves had obediently helped with the cooking after they had had a witness of Abrum¡¯s shadow. Abrum found it weird, but the guardians just said: ¡®The elves may be an arrogant race, but they at least can respect power.¡¯ Abrum looked up at the sky as the sun seemed to fade into the clouds. The slavers went along their routes at night because that is when the majority of the goril sleep. They rely upon solar energy to fuel their mana reserves. They are said to possess a peculiar organ that converts solar energy to mana. The mana obtained from this organ is what powers their Kortium. Thus, unless they have impressive mana storage, they won¡¯t be moving around in the night. Abrum watched as the sun set, and the night began its journey across the land. The half-moon peeked out from behind the clouds, casting a silvery glow across the plains. Abrum sat on the hill, quietly eating, watching the horizon. And there it was. A speck upon the horizon. A group of orange lights marring the silver blanket that the moon lay down upon the plains. Abrum¡¯s eyes turned to this spot on the horizon. ¡°Time to mobilize folks.¡± Abrum said standing up. Riding Ugothir, they rode towards the foreign light. Abrum sat atop Ugothir, as they came over a hill, the light of the torches extremely close. He scanned the slaver caravan. There were 5 covered wagons along with around 20 guards with them. Abrum couldn¡¯t see any of the slaves, so he assumed they were in the covered wagon. Something caught his eye, and he couldn¡¯t tear it away. There was a carriage made of luxurious wood, and gilded with what seemed like gold. It was pulled by two fine grey horses. Flanking the carriage were three horsemen, with fine gilded halberds that had an aura to them. ¡°Four waves. First consisting of Orthir, Bothir, Lothir, and Liba supporting from behind. Second consisting of Yula, Bula, Jula, and Ti-era. Third wave will consist of Ugothir and I. Last wave shall consist of Bula, Jula, Yula, Orthir, Bothi, Lothir, Ugothir, Ti-era, Liba, and myself. Rest of the guardians will secure the perimeter. Regular wolves, stay back and help secure the perimeter. I¡¯d rather us not have any casualties. Avoid the carriage until the last wave. The horsemen protecting the carriage have me a tad bit nervous.¡± The guardians and wolves nodded, due to his Commander of Wolves skill, they prepared efficiently. The elves were walking around trying to find their place in the formation. Abrum sighed and directed Ti-era to the middle of the formation for the second wave. He had to personally direct Liba to the spot from which she was to conduct her magical bombardment. Abrum dismounted from Ugothir and strode confidently to the top of the ridge, and he overlooked the caravan. The moonlight coming from the north fell onto his back and cast his shadow upon the caravan. Abrum raised his hand above him. ¡°Detain them, but try not to kill them. This amount of people is not enough to fatally injure our current forces.¡± Abrum said in a quiet voice. ¡°Oi! Who is that up on the ridge?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. The quest reward is too much to take any risks.¡± ¡°He¡¯s just a single guy, take him out so we can move on.¡± ¡®Players are taking part in this depravity? So this is a protection quest.¡¯ Thought Abrum. ¡°Well then. Begin.¡± Abrum said. That¡¯s when the carnage began. Orthir, Bothir, and Lothir came over the ridge like the wind. The explosive power of their legs made them blur in the eyes of the players. They moved faster than the players could perceive effectively. The first wave was designed to disorient and distract. An enemy that has their attention in a different place is a lot easier to deal with than one that has its attention on the attacker. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Liba rained down arrows upon them while the guardians ran, slashing out their paws, running to the south. They moved quickly through the forces, running quickly. The caravans forces were in disarray, they were trying to make a formation with their battered health. A player that looked something like a priest was chanting some spell, most probably a priest. ¡°Orthir, stop him.¡± Abrum indicated the priest looking player. A huge paw connected with that player¡¯s neck shortly after, crushing his windpipe and blocking The guardians, after they had achieved their goal, disappeared over the hill to the south. ¡°Second wave.¡± Yula, Jula, Bula, and Ti-era appeared from the ridge to the east, right in front of the caravan. Disorganized and hurt, the players could do nothing to stop their onslaught. As the guardians ran through, they used a skill called {Brutal Paw} on the legs and arms of the enemies. This was a skill that inflicted a medium amount of damage, but could inflict the /Broken/ status upon a limb. This skill would effectively make a limb immobilized for the rest of a fight unless the target had an insane regeneration rate. Ti-era, as a Sword of the Loihon nation, did not disappoint. She didn¡¯t have such a skill as Broken Paw, so she just cut the arms and legs clean off using two swords. Abrum was quiet honestly impressed with her. ¡®She¡¯s going to outclass you ya know.¡¯ Abrum sent out telepathically to his guardians. In response to this, Jula suddenly blurred. The priest from earlier had an unfortunate fate. In one quick instance, his arms and legs were broken. ¡°You were saying?¡± ¡®My bad then¡­¡¯ Abrum tried to laugh it off. ¡®Note to self. Jula is one prideful wolf¡­¡¯ The guardians and Ti-era fled back over the ridge to the east after they were finished. ¡°I guess the third wave is unneccesary. Alright folks, we¡¯re skipping straight to the fourth wave. Take down the guards without killing them if you can, but if not, do what you must.¡± Abrum got on top of Ugothir, and rode over the ridge in unison with all the other forces going over the ridges. They rode through the players, who were shouting things like: ¡°T-they¡¯re heading to the carriage!¡± ¡°Stop them!¡± ¡°I-I can¡¯t move!¡± They approached the carriage like a deer hunted by a pack of wolves. Jula was the first to jump in, already looking to prove herself after Abrum¡¯s last comment. She had rushed in faster than anyone, more ferociously than anyone. The horseman swung his halberd, but it was too slow. Jula had already gotten under his swinging distance. Using {Brutal Paw}, she broke his arm. However, she was too quick, to reckless. Thus, one of the other horsemen were able to bury their halberd into her back. Jula sported an arrogant grin for one second, then it turned to one of fright. Ice started to spread across her body from the wound, like an infection, it started to crawl across her body. ¡°And what do you think you are doing to one of my charges?¡± said a voice right behind the unfortunate guardsman. That was the moment Abrum relieved him of his life. That guardsman still had that look of confusion on his face when his head hit the ground. The guardians immobilized the last guardsman without any difficulties. ¡°Bula, take Jula to the perimeter, get her treated. Lothir, Bothir, and Yula round up the players in an orderly fashion and check on the condition of the slaves in the wagons. Orthir, Ugothir, human forms please. Time to see what behind the door.¡± They ran off to comply with his orders. Abrum was alone with Orthir and Ugothir. He opened the door, and the stench of death hit his face like a brick. Reeling back in shock, he heard a wet smacking sound. The sound of hips hitting each other. Abrum looked inside and saw something in the dark that he would not forget soon. He reeled back to outside the carriage. ¡°Orthir, Ugothir, go¡­ stop that man from continuing to violate that poor strangled elf¡¯s corpse.¡± The guardians¡¯ faces hardened. They looked inside and reeled back for a second. Then, with hardened faces, they went in and dragged the obese man out. They threw him down on the ground, his pants still around his ankles. ¡°What are you doing?! Do you have any idea who I am?¡± ¡°Not in the slightest.¡± Said Abrum, barely containing his anger. ¡°I¡¯m Duke Willsing, I provide every last noble with the slaves they want! I have direct connections to the queen!¡± Abrum¡¯s face hardened. ¡°You¡­ cater to the nobility huh? Even the queen?¡± ¡°ESPECIALLY THE QUEEN! Now, if you don¡¯t want you head removed from your body, I demand you let me go!¡± Screamed the obese lecher. Now, Sameul was a Christian. He believed in the doctrines of mercy and grace. Of forgiveness. He served a god, the only God. The God that gave unlimited grace and mercy. Abrum tried his best to emulate that, but he was not God. He was human. Imperfect. So his mercy, though incredibly big, was limited. Drawing his sword in a flash and sheathing it again, Abrum showed Willsing that he had passed the limit of his mercy. Thus, Duke Willsing¡¯s head hit the ground it a sickening thud. He was silent for a good long minute. ¡°Hey Ugothir, Orthir¡­ I think I¡¯m going to destroy the capital with all its perverse and corrupt nobles¡­ What say you?¡± They stood silent for just a second. They looked at each other and then looked back to him. ¡°¡¯To the ends of the earth, we will follow you. We will support your endeavors, and when it seems that you are losing your true self to a task, we will pull you right back out.¡±¡± Abrum smiled happily at their response. A box appeared in front of his face and he laughed at it.
Due to your actions, you gained the title of {Noble Executioner}. 20% additional damage done when attacking a person of noble status.
Reunion Author¡¯s Preamble: Since that last time, I have decided maybe it¡¯s a good idea to prewrite them from now on. Alright, acknowledgements. Mr. Sunderkeenin, I love the gif (note to all my viewers. If you want to make my day, leave a gif in your comments. Or better yet, leave a rating and a gif!). But seriously, unfortunately, no popcorn is needed for this chapter. It will take a while before Abrum gets those nobles, but I feel you all will be extremely pleased with the result. Also, kudos to our new commentor, Lengzai. I had the pleasure of waking up two days ago and reading all those comments. Made me very happy. Now, many of you have been wondering when Abrum¡¯s new team and his old team would reunite¡­ Surprise! Anyway, rate, comment, and tell others about the fic. (I apologize for the lateness, I have been teaching at a dance camp). Also, this chapter is much shorter than usual. I think you¡¯ll find it satisfying though. (Only 1400 words.) Abrum sat on one of the hills contemplating his next move. He had gathered some disturbing information by questioning the players. Apparently, these slaver trips happened every week. They had become a regular occurrence in the queendom, and now seemed normal. The concept of slavery was deeply engrained in the capital¡¯s society, further reinforcing Abrum¡¯s determination to see the capital burn. The players were promptly executed by the elves. Boy¡­hell hath no wrath like an elf pissed. There was one thing that Abrum was very hopeful for. The liberation of the vampires. The guardians had discovered something quite interesting when checking up on the slaves. He could recall it perfectly clear. ¡°Master, you know how Sefica usually uses some kind of subjugation magic to control the slaves.¡± ¡°Yes of course. A silver collar with a red jewel at the nape of the neck.¡± ¡°We found something different on all the slaves. This collar.¡± At this point, Lothir had handed the collar over to him. This was the collar that Abrum was now pondering over, sitting on that grassy hill. It looked similar to a leather choker, and had an iron buckle. What made this collar unique was what was inside of it. Instead of a smooth, unblemished surface, there were 4 sharp protrusions. Looking at them longer, Abrum realized the identity of those protrusions. They were teeth, fangs to be exact. Abrum pricked his finger on one and saw his silvery blood magically disappear into the fang. Abrum could only smile. He had already found a lead for the vampires. He planned to interrogate the Wilsing royal family, and plausibly slaughter them. Abrum drew himself out of his own mind and stood up. ¡°Alright folks, time to mobilize. Ugothir and Orthir will be staying with me. The rest of you, please escort the elves back to their nation. Try using your influence to get these poor elves cured of the vampiric curse. Ti-era, Liba, I expect you to help with the escort. Think of it as your apology for trying to screw the guardians over.¡± After giving the orders, he pulled Lothir and Bothir to the side. ¡°I want you two to escort the carriage to the elves. I want it cleaned out and changed as little as possible. I have a plan for it.@ Thus, Abrum and the elves went separate ways. Riding back to the capital upon Ugothir, he wondered if they would reach the border without any trouble. Of course, Abrum had very little trouble reaching the capital. The biggest monster he ran into on his way back was a Grass Bishop, a tricky type of Goril with a significantly larger mana capacity than the regular goril. The extra mana it absorbed through the sun was used to cast long range, and destructive spells. Of course, it would only be a problem if one were to be hit by the spells. Abrum and his two guardians were much too fast to be hit by some worm¡¯s spells. They were able to arrive at the imposing walls of the capital the following night. Abrum sat out of sight of the gate and looked at the hulks of fur and muscle. Abrum sighed, thinking about how much of an uproar that would make. ¡°Can you change into your fluffy forms? You mustn¡¯t look imposing or they won¡¯t let us through the gate.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t protect you in those forms!¡± ¡°Hush brother. Fluffy forms now.¡± Said Orthir as she began to change. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The fluffy to muscle ratio started to change, heavily favoring fluffiness. At the end, they looked like balls of fluff (Think fat Pomeranian, but with a bit more *poof*). They looked up at Abrum with those blue eyes, and shook themselves, their fur swaying slowly. ¡°That fluffy enough?¡± ¡°Dear goodness¡­ I need a camera right now. *Ahem* Sorry, yes, I think that¡¯s innocent enough to let us through the gate.¡± And he was right, the guard let them into the capital without any trouble. The city lay asleep except for the adventurers who were gathering parties and the occasional merchant who had realized that night time selling was incredibly profitable (Those usually had massive bags under their eyes). Abrum strolled through the city with a different look in his eyes. He had seen the darkness of the capital with his own eyes. He had seen the depravity. Now that he was looking for it, he could see the darkness. The occasional person being dragged into an alley. The strained expressions of the waitresses as they were continually harassed, knowing they could do nothing. Many other things. Abrum sped up his pace a bit, and his little fluffy vassals sped up as well, their now stubby legs quickly making steps. They finally arrived at the training hall, but Abrum barely recognized it. Gone was the peeling red paint and the chipped wood. The training hall looked better than new. ¡®It wasn¡¯t like that when I left¡­¡¯ ¡°Now, Ugothir, Orthir, it is important to be respectful to the master of this training hall. He is an Angaellis like myself.¡± Abrum communicated telepathically. They just nodded their fluffy head, making their floofy fur to sway. ¡®Gah¡­ I need a camera¡­¡¯ thought Abrum as he pushed open the doors to the training hall. The smell of paint hit his senses, like a tsunami of a scent. Looking inside, he saw Aleqe sitting in the middle of the room with another person. They looked like they were having tea. ¡°Come in Abrum. Bring the fluffies with you.¡± Abrum walked in and started to observe the person sitting with Aleqe ¡°I see, well not see but you know what I mean, that you¡¯ve noticed my guest. This is Cala, an apprentice of mine before you.¡± Abrum sat down with them and nodded respectfully to Cala. ¡°I am Abrum. A pleasure to meet you.¡± He said as he prepared himself a cup of tea. He looked surreptitiously at Aleqe. ¡°No need to worry. She knows my identity.¡± Aleqe said. The tension in the air visibly decreased ¡°Wait, another one knows?! I thought that was a sacred secret?¡± Cala asked a bit frustrated. ¡°How¡¯d your mission go?¡± Asked Aleqe, completely ignoring Cala¡¯s frustration. ¡°If you mean purifying the forest, then yes, I succeeded. If you could give me some warning next time, that would be great. Lilith died in the process. I have no idea where she respawned and I am very worried if she is alright.¡± While Abrum was giving Aleqe as serious telling off, Aleqe was just floating a smile. ¡°Hey! This is serious Aleqe! Someone diead!¡± Abrum said while shaking Aleqe. Then Abrum heard the door close. Abrum shut up quickly in that instance. He started to slowly turn around to face the door. However, he didn¡¯t have enough time to make a full 180 degree turn before he felt two mounds touch his back. They squished as they were pressed against his back. She rested her head upon his shoulder, and her silky blonde hair cascaded down upon his chest. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Ugothir asked curiously. ¡°Shut up moron, you¡¯re ruining the moment.¡± Orthir said sharply. Abrum sat and put leaned his head against Lilith¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay¡­ I¡¯m so sorry I couldn¡¯t protect you, and¡ª¡° ¡°Shhh. It¡¯s alright. Just let me engrain this moment into my mind.¡± So Cala and Aleqe got to watch awkwardly as they had their little reunion. (If you¡¯re wondering about the guardians, Orthir was sitting on Ugothir¡¯s head to silence him). Back in Town Author¡¯s Preamble: I guess most people liked that Lilith was back. It made me pretty happy as well. Now, I noticed LengZai wanted a pov of the Veila Moon, so I thought: why not? To Mr. Sunderkeenin, they will get their just deserts. Abrum will personally make sure of that with his Tsuki. Also, there may not be many chapters for the coming 2 weeks. I¡¯m applying for a job that will require me to work 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. But, hey. That will provide money. Anyway, Rate, Comment, tell people about the fic, and leave a GIF. (This chapter is kinda a teaser like the last chapter.) {{Abrum¡¯s POV}} Abrum was strolling through the streets. He was in a very good mood. Lilith was wrapped around his arm as they strolled down, and in their wake were the two fluffy vassals. Aleqe had told Abrum the fox twins were at the Adventurer¡¯s guild because they had been taking requests as of late, putting their training to good use. Abrum had to turn in the Mad Vampire quest anyway, so he decided to cash it in and wait for the fox twins there. They had arrived without any trouble. The adventurers were all in a frenzy about something. ¡°Did you hear?¡± ¡°Seems like the weekly escortation team was wiped out.¡± ¡°So¡­ no elves?¡± Abrum¡¯s face transformed from one of happiness to one of determination. ¡®Even the players take part in the depravity¡­I guess the capital will have to literally burn.¡¯ Thought Abrum as he walked up to the desk for his reward. ¡°I¡¯m here to receive compensation for the Mad Vampire quest.¡± ¡°Of course sir. Is the lovely lady upon your arm a part of your party?¡± Abrum had to ponder that for a second. She had set out with him, but had not made it to the vampire part. He wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. ¡°I was not in the party at the time of completion. I was incapacitated upon our way there.¡± Said Lilith with a great amount of technicality. ¡°That is still grounds for compensation. I will be right back.¡± Replied the clerk and went into the back. She came back with two bags that jingled when it shook Abrum smiled a small bit when taking the bags and sat down at one of the tables with Lilith. ¡°Now, how did you know about that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a very smart girl. Now, why don¡¯t you tell me what happened after we were¡­ separated.¡± ¡°Well, do I have a story for you.¡± Abrum said. He began to recount the events that had happened from the purification of the guardians, him changing into a Silver Angaellis along with obtaining a new class, the fight with the 200 wolves, the destruction of the vampire, the encounter and subsequent swallowing of Veila Moon, to the destruction of the slavers. Lilith made a few comments here and there such as: ¡°11 guardians? 10 of them are female?!¡± ¡°Blood of the Silver Angaellis? So it¡¯s an even more powerful aphrodisiac at night¡­ fufufufu¡­¡± ¡°You trapped an elf in your shadow? How does that work?¡± When he told her about the slavers, he got the most interesting response. ¡°So, when do we start?¡± she asked with a curious look in her eyes. ¡°Start what?¡± Abrum asked confused. What in the world could she be talking about. ¡°Destroying the city of course. You wouldn¡¯t let that poor elf¡¯s death go unavenged.¡± Abrum was taken aback and smiled a big ol smile. He picked up fluffy Ugothir and put him on his lap. He held his two forepaws and made him stand on his hind legs. ¡°We have to wait till the rest of these come back.¡± Abrum said. Ugothir yipped cutely as he lay on Abrum¡¯s lap, getting his belly rubbed. Lilith was about to say something, but then looked down suddenly. Orthir was pawing at her shin with her soft leather paw. And she was cheating. Orthir used the puppy eyes. Lilith just smiled and picked up Orthir and started to rub her tummy. ¡°How are these fluff balls going to help take down the capital?¡± ¡°Quite honestly, I¡¯m pretty sure that I could destroy the capital right now with this.¡± He brought Tsuki out from under the table and showed it to Lilith. ¡°However, if I were to destroy the capital now, I would kill many innocents, and then, I wouldn¡¯t be much better than the nobles. It will take time to prepare the measures to spare the innocents.¡± Lilith nodded and continued to rub the fluffy Orthir. ¡°When do you think the twins will be back?¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Probably not for a while. They usually come back around late evening, so, maybe another hour?¡± So, Lilith and Abrum just sat and talked. Until¡­ something its head on the underside of the table. {{Veila¡¯s POV}} As I saw my last glimpse of day, I swore to myself to destroy that incompetent b*stard. He just took away what my ancestors had worked for centuries to obtain. He must have used some trick. He had to have. She swore to end him. End him and all that were related to him. However, that promise seemed null and void now. Ever since that day, I have been surrounded by darkness, left alone with my thoughts. The darkness seemed to go on forever. There seemed to be no concept of time and space. I had lived 165 solar cycles before coming into the shadow. Now, I do not know how long it has been. Hours, or even full cycles. There is no concept of time. Only the Black Cloud that comes and attack relentlessly. It has taken away my will to keep the promise I swore to myself. I have lost count of the times the black cloud has visited. At first, I dreaded its arrival. Dreaded it like the day of destruction. It never brought pain or harm to me, it brought something much more dangerous. The mind shattering, leg wetting pleasure. That is what it brought. I lasted maybe 4 or 5 visits from the black cloud before my will started to break. Looking back, I¡¯m amazed that I lasted that long. I can only attribute it to the Yurati training that I endured my whole life. (Author¡¯s Note: Yurati is the elven equivalent of a shinobi / kunoichi) Around the 10th visit, I started to look forward to the cloud¡¯s visits. Now, after innumerable visits from the cloud, I can¡¯t even think of a life without the cloud. My Nimbus. Nimbus would sometimes talk to me as well, whispering sweet honeyed words into my sensitive ears. I believed everything it said. It said Abrum was my lord. I have no idea who this Abrum person is, but I don¡¯t care. Previously, I would have been cautious, but it is the Black Cloud. It is the only thing that has stayed beside me for my incarceration, no, my liberation, so I will believe it, whatever it tells me. I will always be able to tell. The black cloud has a specific pleasure that is different and more decadent than anything I have experienced in my 165 cycles. My vengeance seems so unimportant now. So foolish. I could enjoy the life of darkness. With Nimbus. Even now, it¡¯s coming back to bring me back. The cloud is descending. Take me sweet cloud. My Nimbus. {But the sweet pleasure she was so accustomed to wasn¡¯t in this cloud. No, this cloud had a different purpose. The cloud had become more substantial and now lifted her out of the dark room. The ceiling opened into light and she was thrust out into the world again, right in the middle of the adventurer¡¯s guild, which was where Abrum was.} {{Abrum¡¯s POV}} The sudden noise startled Abrum and he rocked back in his chair. Ugothir stood upon his lap and raised his fluffy hackles, and growled at whatever was under the table. Orthir on the other hand, had a great big grin on her fluffy face and she jumped under the table. Abrum looked at Lilith with a quizzical look and bent down to look under the table. There, under the table, was Veila Moon, in a position unbefitting of a Trelay¡¯s head. She had her face pressed against the floor where Abrum¡¯s shadow was. She had her rear up in the air and he was using her hands to scrape at the floor. ¡°¡­n-no¡­ Take me back¡­ I-I¡¯ll be good¡­ please¡­ Take me back¡­ N-nimbus¡­.¡± She pleaded to the floor, or rather, to the shadow. It was quite a pitiful sight, her scraping at the floor. Lilith looked up at Abrum with an interesting expression. Abrum just had a flabbergasted expression. ¡°So that¡¯s how it works¡­¡± Lilith said with an odd expression. Abrum ignored that comment and reached out and touched her on the shoulder, with only good intentions in his heart. ¡°H-hey? Veila was it? Are you alright? You shouldn¡¯t be on the floor like that.¡± He said, as he moved her out from under the table. However, as soon as his bared hand touched her bare shoulder, her back suddenly arched, bending her lithe, well-proportioned body. He let go suddenly and backed away. He thought he had hurt her, but it was the exact opposite. She looked up at him with clouded green eyes. She then opened her mouth. ¡°NIMBUS!¡± Behind Door #1... A PERVERTED ELF Author¡¯s Preamble: I am very sorry about the late release. My computer chord was partially broken a while ago, but now it is really broken. I thought it was completely broken and was going to order a new one; however, I thought I would fiddle with the chord one more time and learned it worked. I have to hold the chord in a steady position at all times, but that position changes depending on how stupid my computer wants to be. SO. I¡¯m hoping that I can finish this chapter before my computer runs out. Alright. To Mr. Pale Rider, I do not think that slavery is essential to medieval society. Now, as I have mentioned previously, Abrum got his love of battle from his uncle. However, his father loved tactics, and Abrum spent more time with him since he was his father. So, this is kinda the phase of preparation for that one big ¡°Screw You moment¡± as I like to call them. I was really happy with all the comments and discussion. Made me really happy that my humble little story is something to debate over. Thank you all. Anyway, Rate (actually do it! Advanced rating would be nice), comment, and tell others! (Kinda a transitory chapter again. Next up, the church''s reaction to Abrum!) {{Veila¡¯s POV}} I clawed at the floor. I begged. I put myself in such a shameful position. The previous me would be aghast and agog; however, I didn¡¯t care. I would do anything if it meant that I would be reunited with Nimbus. Anything. As I scraped at the shadow, I heard there were voices talking in the background. It didn¡¯t matter. All that mattered was the pleasure that Nimbus could bring. And then, I was reunited with Nimbus, but not in the way that I knew. I felt something touch my shoulder, but before I could brush it off, my body received something from that touch. Pure pleasure exploded from that one point on my shoulder. It traveled up and down my spine, dancing across it like lightning. I arched my back in surprise, trying to lessen the pleasure so I could understand what was going on. But it was relentless. Up and down, all across my body, until finally it came to my mind and exploded. I may or may not have let out an incredibly lewd sound. Then I thought to myself. I know this feeling. This pleasure. Unrelenting. Lingering. With a little zap that only intensifies the pleasure. This was my Nimbus. That was the pleasure that was so different than anything that I had experienced in all my cycles. I turned to stare into the depths of Nimbus, in his shadowy glory, but a different sight met my eyes. A pale face framed by long, silky white hair. A worried expression was in his ice blue eyes. Even though their colors were so cold, I could sense warmth. They say that the eyes are the window to the soul. This person had a very warm soul. There was no mistake. Nimbus hadn¡¯t abandoned me. He was still here. Thus, I flung myself to him calling out. ¡°NIMBUS!¡± {{Abrum¡¯s POV}} ¡®How in the world did this happen?!¡¯ were Abrum¡¯s thought on the situation. He had a busty, well-proportioned elf wrapped bodily around his leg, like a child would do. On top of that, there were rather lewd noises exiting her mouth. Moans of pleasure to be exact. She had her slender arms and her well sculpted legs around his shin and thigh. She was grinding her body against his leg, making loud moans while she was doing it. Now, Abrum¡¯s table had pretty much everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that an elf?¡± ¡°The heck? No slave collar and she¡¯s making such noises.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t I seen her somewhere before?¡± ¡°She looks very familiar¡­¡± With the intense scrutiny, Abrum started to feel uncomfortable. ¡°Hey wait¡­ Isn¡¯t she one of the Elven Swords?¡± ¡®Crud! They found out! Gotta go.¡¯ He shot a look to Lilith to express the urgency of the situation. He had braced himself for the face of Lilith, but instead of the dead, expressionless eyes with the scary smile, she had picked up the floofy puggle wuggles and was already headed to the door. Abrum started to hobble as fast as he could after her. It was hard to move with a sensual elf clinging to one leg. He had made it out of the door just in time. He could hear the chairs scraping across the floor and he knew they were coming for him and the perverted elf. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. As he ran with Lilith, he looked pleadingly at her as she carried the puggle wuggles. ¡°Is there anyway to get her off so I don¡¯t have to keep hobbling?¡± ¡°Just try to survive.¡± She said with a smile. ¡°You aren¡¯t the least bit worried or jealous are you?¡± Lilith just responded by laughing good-heartedly and running faster with the Floof bundles. ¡°Ugothir, Orthir, any ideas?¡± ¡°Not a single idea.¡± Said Ugothir. ¡°Huhuhuhuhu¡­expanding the pack opportunity¡­Lord¡¯s harem¡­ candidate¡­¡± some very dangerous things were leaking out of Orthir¡¯s mind. ¡®Note to self¡­ be wary of Orthir¡­¡¯ thought Abrum to himself. ¡°Hey, you can talk to these little ones right? I don¡¯t see your golden mark on them though.¡± Said Lilith as they ducked down an alley and were almost to the training hall. ¡°Ah, about that, it¡¯s a new mark. Mark of the Moon. I¡¯m not quite sure how the upgrade will affect the previous marks. We should probably ask Aleqe when we get back. After we get her off my leg.¡± Abrum said as they arrived at the training hall. They burst through the doors and closed them quickly. There, in the middle of the room sat Aleqe with a big grin on his face. It was a knowing grin. The sounds of moaning reached his ears and the smile just grew bigger. Abrum leaned against the wall, panting just a small bit. Not from the physical exertion, but the nervousness. He couldn¡¯t let the adventurers examine Veila, a sword of the Loihon kingdom, in this state. If they saw the weakness, the slave trade in Sefica might increasingly deal with elves. ¡°Ah. So I got the timing right. Hehehe. Must have been quite a commotion at the adventurers¡¯ guild¡± said Aleqe as he got up from his position. Abrum stood still for a moment, flabbergasted. ¡°Y-you knew this would happen?¡± ¡°Well, your shadow seemed to be digesting something. It was going through the pleasure track so I took a little guess. It was a good workout to run back here right? You needed it anyway. When you change races, your stats reset, so I thought it would be a good idea to see how much you trained yourself on the way back. I must say, you got back here faster than expected.¡± ¡°Yes, I trained on the way back, it was hard but the hell training he---Hey wait a minute. Before I start to lecture you, can you get the grinding elf off my leg?¡± Abrum asked. ¡°Why don¡¯t you like it?¡± ¡°¡­You perverted old man. Get her off of me¡­¡± Abrum said only in a half joking manner. ¡°Not that simple. You have an interesting skill right? Dominating Shadow was it?¡± ¡°Yeah, I am now thoroughly regretting every picking up that book.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a skill that most vampires have. A skill that protects them and turns their worst enemies into their most infallible allies, through the art of pleasure. The activation is the killing intent, and it will spit one back out when all possible killing intent is destroyed. After completion, the one that was swallowed will feel an intense, sensual pleasure, every time the owner of the shadow touches them.¡± ¡°Oh for the love of¡­ Is there a way to get rid of this skill, or at least reverse the effects?¡± Abrum asked as he began to try to pry Veila off. Lilith was trying to pull her off as well, muttering something like, ¡°That¡¯s enough now¡­ it¡¯s my turn¡­¡± ¡°No, and maybe. Sorry to say, you¡¯re stuck with the perverted shadow skill. The effects that it leaves is akin to a high level curse. It could be removed, but it would take regular doses of holy water and purification magic.¡± ¡°Now, is there a way to get her off?¡± Asked Abrum desperately. Veila¡¯s Yurati trained body wasn¡¯t just for show. He could not manage to pry her off in the position he was in. Abrum turned to face Aleqe, and was a bit taken aback. Aleqe had quite the grin upon his face. ¡°Well, like I said, just being touched by you will cause her intense pleasure. The brain has only so much capacity for pleasure. If you give her enough she should pass out.¡± ¡®Why are things always complicated?¡¯ Thought Abrum as he began. I¡¯ll leave the rest to your imagination dear readers. Take Meh to Church Author¡¯s Preamble: Now, the responses were large and varied for the poll, thus, I¡¯m very glad we did this early. I¡¯m going to let you all in on a secret. I wasn¡¯t going to go with the loli option unless it was the overwhelming majority. However, Shirikei brought up an interesting idea. Who wants the vamp character to be in the body of a mature vamp, but have the dissociative personality disorder? That way, EVERYONE¡¯S HAPPY! Just a thought. Suddenly, pineapples and bellybuttons. Anyway, CHAPTER! (I¡¯m in a really crazy mood right now). To Maou201, why in the world would you GUT ME?! To Pale Rider, I¡¯m not sure if it works on both sexes yet, let me give it a shot and I¡¯ll get back to you on that. To Felight, when has Abrum been a lewd angel? Also, to Mr. Magic, thank you for the review. So audience, follow suit and be like Mr. Magic, leave a review. Rate, comment and tell others! Abrum walked the street with Lilith and the fluff bundles. He was currently trying to scrub his mind completely clean of the last hour. Yes. The last HOUR. She had a high resistance to pleasure due to her Yurati training, so it took the inexperienced Abrum a full hour to get her to pass out. Nothing dirty (You perverted audience), just some like trailing of the fingers interrupted by firm gripping at intervals. Currently, Lilith was laughing about it, making it that much harder to forget about it. ¡°Oh! The way she moaned and clung to your arms like that! And then your face when she put your arm into her cleavage. I thought you were going to explode!¡± she laughed as they walked. ¡°Master is a bit too innocent.¡± Asserted Orthir. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be educated in that at my age! I¡¯m still a minor!¡± Abrum retorted ¡°He¡¯s going to get seduced isn¡¯t he Ugothir?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to stay out of this.¡± Ugothir replied wisely. ¡°No way I¡¯m getting seduced. This lewd angel over here has already given it a try, and I was not thinking about how great her body was, or how good those mounds felt, or¡ª¡° ¡°¡±Seduced¡±¡± rang the voices of both of the fluffies. ¡°Ufufufu¡­ It was really great huh? Any time you want it, I can---¡° ¡°We are about to go into a church, so clam it you lewd angel.¡± Abrum cut her off before she started to indulge into perverted fantasies. It had taken a full hour to remove the elf from his person. The moans that she had let out and the honeyed words directed toward Nimbus (AKA now Abrum) were very troubling to Abrum in more ways than one. So, they had set out on one more errand. To procure the holy water that would hopefully cure Veila or her ¡®shadow addiction¡¯ as it was referred to. Yes, this was the reason why they were outside the church. ¡®I wonder if I get a discount for being a heavenly being?¡¯ Abrum wondered as he walked through the oak double doors. Inside, he was quite astounded. The room was filled with pews under a high vaulted ceiling. What disappointed Abrum was the religion was not based after Christianity. There seemed to be numerous different altars lining the walls that were supposed to represent different gods. Above each of the altars was a single stained glass window that depicted the corresponding entity. However, in the back there was one large altar. Above it was a grand stained glass window, behind which one could see many floating balls of light, magnificently showing the stain glass in all its splendor. The stain glass depicted a figure clothed in white flowing robes holding what a ball of crimson. At his back sprouted lines of white and yellow, like rays of a sun. While he was marveling, a man clothed in a long white robe, like those of a priests, came up to Abrum and his group. ¡°Ah. Finally one who does not use the vile subjugation collars. Welcome, welcome. What can I do to help an upstanding man in a sea of vileness?¡± Asked the priest with a joyous smile. Abrum smiled relieved. ¡°Yes, we have come to purchase high grade holy water? The kind that can purify high level curses?¡± The priest¡¯s smile cramped a small bit. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry to inform you, I do not think one that cannot even afford armor can afford high grade holy water.¡± The priest stuttered out. Abrum looked down at his clothes and nodded. He understood. He never really had enough money to buy armor since most of the high level monsters he encounter he subsequently befriended. ¡®I didn¡¯t want to do this, but whatever. I need that holy water.¡¯ This is when he let his six silver wings out. They were not like normal wings due to his race. Six ethereal strips of silver light unfurled from his back. They stood out from his back not like wings, but as if the light were being continually discharged from his back to form these wings. Mixed in with the silver light were colors like light blue, grey, and deep blue. Now, Abrum was expecting some awe, maybe a bit of the falling upon the hand and knees. He was a stinking angel after all. However, the reaction was the exact opposite. The priest recoiled with a look of fear and revulsion upon his face. ¡°M-moon Demon!¡± he yelled out. ¡°Demon? Where? Look, just calm down, alright?¡± Abrum tried to reason with the priest, but he just kept screaming about some moon demon. The doors in the back burst open and figures in white armor with gold linings came out. ¡°Cleanse the demon from this holy church paladins!¡± ordered the priest as he stumbled back. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. They drew their swords and were coming down the aisle at and excruciatingly slow pace, their full armor clinking. Abrum looked frantically to Lilith. She just shrugged, but then a look that Abrum didn¡¯t like flashed across her eyes. ¡®Nonononononononononononononononono¡¯ Abrum thought to himself as she took the scythe cube from her neck and activated it. She then proceeded to smack the back of Abrum¡¯s head with the pole end of the scythe. ¡°Bad Moon Demon.¡± She said in a reproachful tone. She smacked him one more time over the head for good measure. Abrum crouched down holding his head in fake pain, playing along to whatever plan Lilith had come up with in that instance. He also retracted his wings because they weren¡¯t going to be any help whatsoever. This little performance stopped the approach of the prjests and all the paladins. ¡°T-this demon is under your control?¡± Asked the priest in a shocked voice. In response, a beautiful smile crossed over her perfectly sculpted lips. Her deep red lips parted to reveal her perfect teeth. It was at this moment she unfurled her two Angaellis wings. The feathery wings accompanied by the heavenly smile made her look like a true angel. ¡°It is only natural for the light to conquer the dark. This demon is under my control.¡± She said in a melodious voice. ¡®Dear goodness¡­ You¡¯re supposed to be an angel, but you¡¯re lying?! And in a church of all places?!¡¯ Abrum raved in his mind. ¡°These two noble wolves. You should recognize them. They are Sanctum Lupus. They helped in capturing the demon.¡± ¡®Transform to half your real size please. We need to validate Lilith¡¯s claims¡­¡¯ The fluff bundles complied. The fluff to muscle ratio changed dramatically. In the place of the two fluff bundles with the adorable eyes were two tones and sleek wolves with the eyes of hardened hunters and killers. The priests and paladins were in awe of the spectacle before them. ¡°My lady!¡± They fell upon their knees and bowed respectfully. ¡°Is it alright if the demon roams the church guarded by the wolves while we discuss the negotiations for the holy water?¡± ¡°O-of course. The wolves look extremely capable. As long as he doesn¡¯t touch anything¡­¡± stuttered the priest. Lilith smiled and flicked her hand dismissively towards Abrum. ¡®Man, she¡¯s enjoying this¡­¡¯ thought Abrum as he walked away with the two wolves. He passed through one of the doors at the back of the room and was astounded again. The next room was much more extravagant than the last. The ceiling was significantly higher and the walls were nearly completely covered in stained glass. However, none of these were opened to the outside. They were illuminated by floating balls of light behind them. Each of stain glass windows had altars underneath them. Abrum marveled at each of these exquisite pieces of art as they walked through the room. There were a few people kneeling in front of different altars, offering up their prayers. Their voices mixed and created a gentle white noise in the background as he walked. As he neared the end, the light balls behind the stain glass became very dim. He finally reached the end of the room. On the end of the wall was a large black cloth draped across the whole back wall. ¡®Now why in the world is such a large section of the wall closed?¡¯ Abrum looked around to see if anyone was watching. The only people around him were kneeling with their heads down, or too immersed in prayer to care. Abrum carefully reached up and grabbed the tarp and tugged it down. What was behind it was breath taking. In front of him was an exquisite stain glass window. There were no light balls behind it, but that did not make it any less magnificent than the other stain glass windows. Depicted in the stain glass window was a woman in a silver dress. Abrum was a bit disconcerted because the dress was cut down all the way to Venezuela (if you catch my drift). Her silver hair cascaded down her shoulders and over her back down to her waist. Her skin was nearly as pale as her hair and her eyes were a silver that matched her hair. He just had to marvel at the beauty and the artwork. He noticed something as well. The setting behind the beautiful maiden was a clear night sky. Above her head was a full moon. Abrum came to the realization that the person depicted in the image must be the deity of the night. Abrum felt it necessary so he did the following. He knelt down before the altar and offered up this prayer. ¡°To whoever it may concern, I pray to you now not because I honor you as a god. There are no gods other than the god that I believe in. I communicate to you now as a friend. Thank you.¡± With that said, he got up and walked out of the church to wait to for Lilith to come out. It didn¡¯t take long. She came out with two large jugs and a large smile on her face. ¡°I warned them. Told them judgment was going to come to the capital soon. They are going to begin evacuating the people that are innocent. Those are the only ones that will listen to the church.¡± A thin smile came across Abrum¡¯s face. Not a chapter, just a really funny suggestion How about a senile loli vampire? I think that would be hilarious for comedic relief. Dunno if I''d put another vampire in for Abrum''s companion. Just give your thoughts Happy Announcement Alright, the reason I have not posted in a while is for two reasons 1: I was away from home 2: I needed to do the homework that I had procrastinated on. This led me to realize something. In the past, I have been incredibly sporadic with the rate of posts, so I will be amending that. Towards the Light will have a weekly release, upon Friday or Thursday beginning this week. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. It may be more, but I will endeavor to release a chapter upon either one of of those days. (Another Note: 4000 average views and 45 ratings! Good job! Also, next chapter I''m going straight into the judgement day, time skip. God save the Queen, because nothing else can face Abrum''s wrath..) The Beginning of the Extermination Welp... Here we are again. I had a very happy realization. My little fiction, that I just wrote for fun, is ranked 122nd. It makes me so happy I can''t even describe it. I wouldn''t be here if not for the support of all you beautiful and encouraging readers (along with the not so encouraging, heckling crowd.). Hope you all enjoy it. I would implore you to leave behind a review if you really liked this chapter. Thank you all again for all the support. Rate, Comment, and RATE YOU PEOPLE! {2 weeks later} Day and Night began their bi-daily exchange of the skies. The sun set as it had ever day since the beginning of time. It cast a mixture of orange and red across the sky as it slowly disappeared under the horizon, the death of the day if you will. In last hour of its descent, as if defiantly announcing its imminent ¡°death¡± and disappearance, the color it cast turned drastically darker, painting the sky with a hue of red akin to that of freshly spilt blood. Its last bit of energy spent, the sun disappeared below the horizon, allowing the night to take the skies. While Night clad the sky in its dark raiment, it could not darken the area around Sefica. Usually, the plains that entirely surrounded Sefica were completely dark. However, upon this night, an innumerable amount of lights dotted the plains outside the walls, vastly dwarfing the amount of light that was exuded by Sefica. At a glance, it would seem a huge army had encamped a mile outside of Sefica. The identity of these people was actually much different. These numerous people outside Sefica were not driven by war lust or greed of land to encamp outside of the capital. They were not even citizens of a different nation. Every single person was, in fact, a citizen of the Queendom. A majority of these people were actually residents of the capital. The rest had come from Hillshire and the other towns to the North, East, and West. One might ask, what in the world had caused such a large gathering of people, and in the peculiar location of outside the capital and not inside of it. To explain this, we must return to the day 12 days ago. This was the day of the monthly mass of the Pantheon, the major religion in the Queendom. It honored all the gods equally, with the exception of the Overgods. This event was not only a religious one, but also one of social import. Many people from the different towns would make their journey to the capital on a monthly basis to attend the sermon given by a member of the Pantheon church. This was a huge event, and the nobles, and even the Queen herself would regularly attend these services. Usually, it was given by the gifted orator, Cumilus Varen, and lasted for about 3 hours. Very few of the players attended, except for those that chose a Faith based profession. This sermon started off as any other would usually. Minister Varen ascended the podium in the plaza and began his preaching. Due to the nature of the Pantheon, innumerable amounts of gods for the stupidest things without any sort of hierarchy, their theology was twisted, contradictory, and full of holes. However, due to the vast ignorance of the uneducated masses, the emotion and demagogic speech that Cumilus Varen used was able to sway them. It began to derail about half way through. Cumilus Varen was riling the crowd into a religious fervor, denouncing the anarchic and inferior demi-beasts and elves. He was promoting the authority of the Queen. His speech was interrupted when a man clad in the robe of a priest accompanied by two men with white and gold armor ascended the podium. ¡°You DOG! You betray your holy duty by not warning the people here about the coming judgment!¡± Now, this shout would have been ordinarily have been ignored as heckling, however, the person who had yelled this was none other than Priest Koleb. He was the head priest of the Queendom¡¯s Pantheon church branch. He was known for being calm and kind, always ready to help the needy and the sick. He seemed to always have a gentle smile, thus, his current expression shocked the audience. His face was twisted into the epitome of wrath. ¡°You dare preach about the supremacy of the Queen?! We have known about the sick perversion of the Queendom¡¯s since long ago! We have kept silent in fear of our church being evicted from the Queendom!¡± His voice was filled with self-contempt and utter hatred. Then his face changed to one of joy. ¡°But no longer must we remain silent! I have no more fear! 2 days ago, we were visited by a divine messenger!¡± A look of shock became universal in the faces of the audience. Varen, the skilled manipulator with a silver tongue, was at a loss for words. The voice of Koleb continued to ring through the plaza. ¡°The Angaellis, in her divine mercy, brought us a warning! Judgment is coming upon the capital!¡± He suddenly whipped his head to the right and pointed directly at the nobles and royals. His rigidly straight finger seemingly a sign of condemnation. ¡°Her lord is coming! To completely eradicate the sick perversion and sins of slavery!¡± He stared straight into Queen Bose¡¯s green eyes, defiant and triumphant! ¡°However!¡± He suddenly turned, almost spasmodically, towards the masses. ¡°She informed me, that those that released their slaves and fled from the capital would be spared! For those that didn¡¯t take this chance to repent and change their ways¡­ There would be absolutely no escape, or mercy given.¡± This message, though given by only one man, caused a huge exodus from the city. Among those departing were day laborers, a cube smith, seamstresses, a blind training hall owner along with his students (One of which had an elf clinging to his leg and refused to let go), brothel keepers, a woman that looked remarkably similar to the ¡°divine messenger¡±, blacksmiths, 2 wolf guardians, and a huge amount of freed slaves. These were the people that were repentant in the face of judgment. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. However, the northern district remained habituated. In the face of divine judgment, Queen Bose, far from repentant, pursued her own hedonism in an even greater scale. Immediately after the sermon, her herald announced that she would be hosting a huge ball, as well as a slave trade among the nobles. It could be said that some people just cannot be saved. Anyway. The message from Priest Koleb was disseminated quickly. Those that were at the monthly sermon quickly returned to their families. While those in the capital fled to the outside, those in the towns on the outskirts of the Queendom actually came towards the capital. Thus, it arrived at the current situation. A ring of sparkling torches surrounded the city, all the people sat in an atmosphere filled with expectation and anxiety. An unnatural stillness was in the air on this night. All these people were from different walks of life. One light departed from the circle, followed by two others. Rumbling down the path to the capital was an ornate carriage followed by two covered wagons. Drawn by two horses, the carriage with its darkened windows, along with its entourage approached the west gate. The guards atop the west gate spotted the incoming carriage and immediately recognized it. ¡°Open the gates! Duke Wellsing is back with his shipment of slaves!¡± The portcullis was drawn open and the carriage, along with its wagons were allowed to pass through the gate. No one would dare to stop the Duke¡¯s carriage. As the main slave provider for the kingdom, he had a particularly fearsome reputation. The people that caused him trouble just had a tendency to disappear. The Duke¡¯s entourage made its way down the lonely and quiet streets. Taking the path to the plaza, not a soul was seen. The only light in the lonely streets came from the torches held by the coach and wagon drivers, who wore floppy hats that covered their ears. Behind the wagon driver¡¯s bottoms peeked a white tails. The light from the torches created shadows that seemed to dance in ways that they should not have. The clattering of the wheels upon the cobble stones echoed throughout the streets, the sound waves kept bouncing off the walls of the narrow streets, creating an unholy cacophony. The carriages arrived at the luxurious Wellsing estate. The gates were immediately opened for them and they were allowed in. The guards of the Wellsing estate knew the carriage well, and it was customary for the gates to be opened on the sight of the carriage. The carriage drew into the large circular courtyard to the front of the manor accompanied by the two wagons, filled with male and female elves. The wagon drivers dismounted from their position and began to unload the elves from the wagons. The carriage door still remained unopened when the manor doors burst open. A man in full, grey, armor came out flanked by 4 other guards carrying halberds and swords at their waists. The man in the front was actually a warrior of significant repute. Known as the Slate Rook, Gregory Vorn was a knight that sported the highest defense in the Queendom. Loyal to the House of Wellsing, he was a virtuous person, just loyal to the wrong people. After descending the steps, he stopped suddenly, turned around and raised his gauntlets to cover his face, just in time to block the two throwing knives that would have embedded themselves in the back of his neck. The other four that were following him fell to the ground, a knife embedded in the back of their neck, cutting off the brain from the rest of the body and effectively killing them. ¡°Huhuhuhuuuu¡­ Impressiiiive¡­ You could block that huh?¡± said a figure dressed in shinobi robes. Her beautiful face smiling, her long elven ears protruding outwards, and her hair ponytail hanging downwards as she hung by her toes from the edge of the overhang reached over the from doors. ¡°Veila Moon. What business do you have here? I believe Sefica has a non-aggression pact with Trelay Moon, or should I say, the Moon Assassins? If you leave now, I believe Duke Wellsing would be magnanimous enough to ignore the slight transgression.¡± Gregory Vorn said. Veila smirked and then held up three fingers. ¡°There are three reasons why I won¡¯t do that. 1: If I do, Abrum will not give me my reward.¡± Her body shivered slightly after saying this, as if thinking of something overwhelmingly pleasant. ¡°2: Duke Wellsing is not in that carriage. His body was thrown in some ditch for the Gorils to devour, just like he deserved, but we brought you his head.¡± Gregory¡¯s face turned ashen at this and he turned to look at the carriage. The door opened slowly, and his face blanched even further. Out from the carriage came a man with longish white hair, ice blue eyes, wearing commoners clothing. In his right hand, he held a katana sheathed inside of a gorgeous pure black sheathe. In the other hand, he held a severed head that was severely decomposed. Abrum tossed the head to the ground with a grave expression upon his face. ¡°And 3: this isn¡¯t just a slight transgression upon my part.¡± Veila said while smiling. She snapped her fingers, and something very surreal happened. All the elven ¡°slaves¡± that had been unloaded from the wagon¡¯s tossed off the rough, oversized garments that covered them. Underneath, they wore a silvery tight fitting garb, the custom uniform among the Trelay Moon. Each had a bandolier full of assorted throwing weapons. At the hip of each were two daggers. The wagon drivers took off their hats to reveal the fox ears that sat atop their heads and to allow their gorgeous white hair to unfurl. The carriage driver simply grabbed something from around her neck and in the next instance, a large white scythe was in her hand. Gregory Vorn couldn¡¯t find the words. Veila simply smiled and said ¡°This is your queendom¡¯s extermination.¡± Bad News Unfortunately, Microsoft word is suddenly deciding to adopt the attitude of "Screw You!." So until I can fix this, I can''t release any chapters for any of my stories. I''m using 2013 Word with 8.1 Windows. Ideas? The Wicked are Doomed to Fall Bet ya didn''t think I would be able to keep to the schedule. Well here it is! After so long, it took me a good 6 hours to write this, due to distractions and etc. Well. Here ya go. Rate, Comment, and Give and advanced rating. Thanks guys! To Abrum, the fox twins, Lilith, and all the elves, it seemed that Gregory Vorn held his composure, his face completely set in stone, giving nothing away. In actuality, it was much different. Gregory Vorn was a man built upon his beliefs. He thought he had a strong foundation for his ¡°moral character.¡± He sported not only a high physical defense, but his mental fortitude was a step above the average as well. He was the unshakable shield of House Wellsing. The 6th generation of the proud protectors of one of the 3 Noble Houses. He was the shining star that had restored the public¡¯s respect for the line. He was an upstanding man, and one of high moral caliber; however, those who walk with the wicked are bound to fall with them. His moral ideologies were second to his loyalty to House Wellsing, especially the honorable Duke. He had turned his eyes away from the moral decadence of the Duke and his daughter, hoping that they would change their ways, but never contradicting them. The second he saw the head of the Duke in front of him, he was no longer the impassive stoic Slate Rook with a heart of stone. He was just a human with a heart that was pounding in his chest, surging with so many different emotions. Disbelief, Anger, Despair, Grief, Loss, Regret, Desire for Revenge all mixed together threw his heart into turmoil. All these emotions raged against each other, fighting for control of the body. While this struggle only lasted an instance in reality, Gregory Vorn felt that instant lasted for an eternity. Abrum could see this struggle in his eyes, the flickering of different emotions by the twitches on his face. ¡°Veila, Lilith¡± Abrum called out. ¡°¡°Yes?¡±¡± ¡°Hurry and secure the mansion with your Trelay. Your surprise attacks will be most useful inside and not out in the open. Bella, Tella, be on your guard.¡± Veila nodded and made a gesture. This was when the ¡°Moon Assassins¡± showed their impressive agility as they sped into the mansion through any opening, regardless of if it was on the first or the third floor. As Abrum watched as they scrambled into the mansion, he also kept Gregory Vorn in his line of sight. Abrum didn¡¯t know much about this Rook, but he doubted the reaction would be with word. He watched as Veila went in last and nodded to him and disappeared into the mansion. ¡°Here it comes!¡± Bella yelled. Now, most people would look up and look what was coming, instead, Abrum immediately dove to the side like his life depended upon it. One might find it odd that Abrum would react in such a way; however, there is a proper explanation. Aftere Aleqe¡¯s training, the words ¡°Here it comes!¡± signify definite suffering if one did not move immediately. So effective was Aleqe¡¯s method of reinforcing this that one could consider it engrained on an instinctual level. He dove to the side just in time. He heard the sound of crunching wood, frantic neighing, and then a large crash. Abrum rolled and then jumped back a few times to get some distance and survey the situation. He was baffled with what he saw. A figure clad in full grey armor was in the same position that Abrum had been previously been, in front of the carriage, with his arm extended out, frozen in the position of a completed punch. There was a scary discrepancy, the carriage wasn¡¯t there anymore. Abrum had his eyes locked upon the Rook, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see the carriage a few meters away, laying upon its side. The horses were dead or dying from either strangulation of the reins or the wooden harnesses poking straight through the ribs. ¡°Despite the decadence of his character, the Duke did not deserve to die!¡± Gregory Vorn screamed out. ¡°I have failed to protect the Duke¡­ At least I can use my life to repent for my crime¡­yes, yes¡­.¡± He said more to himself than the others. He chuckled to himself derisively for a second while he bent over and picked up the Duke¡¯s head. ¡°Y-you¡¯re still here milord. J-just watch! I will remove this ingratiates from your presence! Just sit and watch!¡± He moved spasmodically over to the wrecked carriage. He reached up with just one arm and grabbed the carriage. He began pulling and righted the carriage, (which keep in mind would weigh 1200 lbs). There was only a single horse that was still alive at that point. He set the head upon the step of the carriage. He was hunched over, his back turned towards the fox twins and Abrum, and his face hidden, whispering something to the severed head. They rushed in with their naginata¡¯s and thrust quickly, targeting the chinks in the armor where the shoulder connects with the breast plate. They thrusted quickly and their strikes were precise, as expected of those who survived Aleqe¡¯s training. They had made a decision quickly and were unified in the effort. However, their thrusts were only rewarded with a dull clanging sound of metal hitting stone. Their eyes widened and immediately tried to jump back, but they weren¡¯t fast enough. Rook¡¯s hands were reached behind him and were clenching the shafts of the naginatas in his hands tightly. The surprise was only registered upon the faces of the twins for a second before they simultaneously abandoned their weapons. They jumped back to the sides of Abrum and watched as Rook turned around. His face was no longer that of a human. His face was as grey as stone, and looked to be the texture of it as well. Two small stubby horns were protruding from under his hair. His eyes had gone from a stormy blue to¡­ something else. His pupils had become elongated, turning into something like sclera. ¡°Oh crap¡­ Gargoyle.¡± Muttered Tella. Vorn, or should I say the Gray Gargoyle opened his ugly fanged mouth and let out a bestial roar. ¡°Welp... charge!¡± Abrum said reluctantly as he readied himself for the annoying fight that was to ensue. *Inside the Mansion* Feeling the air whipping in her face as she burst through the window, Veila felt alive. A startled manservant was the first casualty. Veila didn¡¯t even bother with a blade, she merely used two of her delicate fingers to puncture straight into his windpipe. She relished his face of surprise as he fell gurgling blood. She was flanked by two of her Trelay as they ran down the third floor¡¯s main hallway. A guard came here and there, but she dealt with it before her escorts needed to deal with it. She never used any of her numerous blades, she only used her skilled hands (Extremely skilled in the art of combat and no stranger to the art of pleasure). She was unstoppable. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. It was the same upon all three floors. The Moon Assassins held the element of surprise and they came crashing down upon the unaware inhabitants of the mansion like a silver tsunami. In the midst of this ¡°Silver Tsunami,¡± was Lilith, an embodiment of purity¡­ Well¡­. She would have been if she wasn¡¯t stained with more blood than any of the assassins. None of the guards, who fought for a living, were any match for the assassins, who fought as a way of life. They seemed to have no order whatsoever, but they actually had but a single purpose. Destroy the Control Crystals to remove the effect of the subjugation collars and to escort the slaves out. In minutes, the assassins had secured all the slaves easily. They were all gathered together being prepped for the slave trade ball. What they were having trouble with was destroying the Control Crystals. None of the elves of Lilith had every used subjugation magic, thus they had no idea what a control crystal looked like. At the estates of the two other Great Houses, Ugothir¡¯s team and Orthir¡¯s team (both were conducting similar raid and rescue missions) were in the same predicament. To solve this, the teams had to come up with a solution. The elves ¡°persuaded¡± one of the servants to lead her to the room. She was brought into a room with shelves filled top to bottom with many peculiar red crystals. In the center of the room was a large glass ball mounted upon a peculiar pedestal with flashing lights. The crystals were destroyed methodically. Veila personally destroyed the large glass ball. She thought the pedestal looked important too so she tore that up as well. It was destroyed with much sparking of electricity and the lights were flashing erratically while it was being stabbed. She walked away satisfied, completely unaware that she had destroyed some very important circuitry. The wolf teams just opted to destroy anything that looked like a crystal. They eventually ended up with the same result, and also encountered the same glass balls and pedestals, which they promptly destroyed. After that was done, both the elf team and the wolf team escorted the slaves out of the city. *???* ¡°Sir¡­ 3 reality stabilizers just went offline¡­ What do we do? If a sizable energy fluctuation occurs¡­ there is a good possibility that the Noviverse will collide with ours¡­¡± ¡°The players think it¡¯s a game, heck, the ¡°game designer¡± thinks it is a game. We¡¯ll just install more stabilizers, but hide them better this time. It¡¯s implausible that a sufficiently sized energy fluctuation will occur to put the dimensional bridge in danger. Contact the team and get them to install more stabilizers.¡± ¡°¡­Yes sir¡­ *Outside the Mansion* The once luxurious courtyard with the immaculate lawn and the impressive paved road way was in shambles. The turf was torn up in innumerable places and there were craters in paved road with all the bricks strewn about. The only place where the turf and the road were still intact was around the carriage. The Gargoyle wouldn¡¯t allow Abrum to get close to it. The Gargoyle was kneeling down, clenching his abdomen while Abrum was panting a good distance away, he had ordered the fox twins to help with the evacuation because, without their naginatas, the fight would be unreasonably risky. The Gargoyle opened its mouth and roared out defiantly. Abrum¡¯s sharpened and he started. Abrum became just a blur, rushing forward to the Gargoyle. He muttered the incantation for the activation of Moonlight Aura while he was rushing at the Gargoyle. It swung its fist while pivoting upon its toes to come up from the kneeling position, creating an incredibly fast strike. Abrum slid under the deadly strike and then planted his feet in the blink of an eye. ¡°Go in peace.¡± Abrum said quietly as he unleashed his strike at the abdomen. This strike could be considered tragically beautiful. The strike, full of Abrum¡¯s pity for this poor one, was purposed to minimize the pain that this poor unfortunate soul would feel. With his full emotions behind that single strike, Abrum freed the poor one. Though the Gargoyle was a being of stone, stone couldn¡¯t hold up against the multiple attacks at a single area consistently. With that, the misery and confusion of Gregory Vorn was ended, in such an anti-climactic way as well. As the body fell, Abrum swore he could see a tear upon the stone cheek. Abrum stood above the two pieces of lifeless stone, panting. His face turned solemn as he heard a voice in his head. ¡°The slaves are all evacuated. The clerics are also done with the shield magic.¡± Abrum looked up and saw a shimmery energy over the whole of the capital, forming a bubble. He extended his silvery energy wings and shot up quickly, his wings elevating him to the middle of the city. He stood upon nothing but air as his wings were extended in all their glory. He was quietly muttering something, almost as if praying. He suddenly straightened up. ¡°This is my retaliation against you Sefica.¡± He took the katana off of his back and then drew the blade slowly. ¡°I condemn you to burn in you self-righteousness.¡± Saying so, he took the katana and hurled it like a spear towards the west wall of the city. It soared straight and true, burying half of its blade into a house¡¯s wall. ¡°And I condemn you to be swallowed by the darkness that you danced with.¡± He took the sheathe and hurled it at the royal castle. It twirled in the air until it crashed through the window. ¡°This is your judgement, and my own. I will stay and witness.¡± 10 seconds. Those ten seconds seemed like an eternity. And then, Collision Alrighty you some momentous news. This shall be the last chapter for Towards the Light since I am planning to take the story in a different direction now. DO NOT WORRY, the story is not dead. I will be making a sequel going off what is stated in the following. This is a teaser if you will. It is also a GUARANTEE that this storyline will continue. It may be a while though since I have to prepare for standardized testing like the Psat and the Sat and the Act. All that fun stuff. YAY! Now, I hope to see the same enthusiasm for the sequel as I has seen in this one. This has been a journey, and this story would not be where it is without you all for your support. I am kinda stuck for the title for the sequel, so leave a comment below with your thoughts on the sequel title. You can complain and heckle as much as you want about this decision for such a big plot change, but I probably will NOT take as much notice of them because I feel this decision is the best for this story. So, do what you always have. Rate, Comment, and leave an advanced rating. And prepare for a new adventure! No one will ever know what happened after those ten seconds, but the event that occurred hugely affected the ¡°game¡± world and reality. October 21, 20XX The world was in for such a huge shift, some even began to name it the apocalypse. Armegedon. Upon this day, in the countryside of Oklahoma in the middle of the field of Mr. John Stewart, a massive explosion of silvery light and flames occurred without any warning. It mushroomed high into the sky, and as it fell, a black miasma spread across the sky, blotting out the sun, and causing wide spread crop death. The American military, all fine men and women, investigated thoroughly and discovered a strange phenomenon. In the middle of the field of Mr. Stewart were what seemed to be ruins of a town, and a grand castle. Architecture that was not of our world. Around the world, phenomenon similar to this began showing up with ever increasing frequency. In Time Square, a large number of wolves appeared and caused mass panic. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.A fleet of hundreds of wooden boats suddenly appeared off the coast of California. A land mass equivalent to that of Australia suddenly appeared in the North Atlantic Ocean. A vast forest suddenly replaced the landscape and housing to the west of Mr. Stewart¡¯s field. Humanoid beings with elongated ears and fair skin populated this vast forest. Other such instances occurred all over the world. The scared public looked to the major political organizations for an explanation for this phenomenon. All claimed ignorance to the even that shook the world. Thus, the governments of the world began their respective investigations. The explosion in Oklahoma was the first to be investigated, because it was the most destructive. None of the military¡¯s personnel expected to find anything alive at all. It would not be humanly possible to survive such a large explosion. However, to their extreme surprise, they found one. In the center of the rubble and ruins, they found a Caucasian male with white hair that came to his shoulders sitting upon his knees looking blankly at the sky. A line of dried tears was streaked upon his dust stained face. Upon closer investigation, it was revealed that he was unconscious. They took him back with them to the research base set up to investigate Phenomenon H-1. When awoken, he was asked a series of questions by the doctor. The following is paraphrased from the report submitted by the doctor about his brief exchange with his patient. Q: What is your name? A: Sameul sir. Q: Where are you from? A: I am a citizen of the United States of America. Q: Do you know what the caused the silver explosion? A: I did sir. I thought I was in a game. Q: What is this game? A: Monster Mayhem Online. The patient fell asleep after a few more diagnostic questions to assess mental health and stability. This is where the chapter of ¡°just a game¡± closes and a new one is to be written. New Title for Sequel? So now that this segment is done with, I am thinking about making this a trilogy. This is a poll for the titles I like for the sequel. Vote and comment as you see fit. Rejoice my Viewers! The Monstrosity that is the PSAT hath been SLAIN! You can expect the start of the new series within the end of October! And I think I have chosen a name for the series and the first chapter! In the Twilight And for the first chapter Unjust Justice and Unfair Funeral The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I''ll let you speculate on what that will mean. (The funeral is for one who isn''t dead, so don''t get all riled up. Well, not really dead? I dunno). Comment as you see fit. I like what I am thinking right now. SO COMMENT AND GET READY FINALLY GOT AROUND TO IT, on a different note I submitted In the Twilight and should be out soon whenever it gets approved. ON a different note. Halloween is coming up, and I kinda like writing spooky stories. SO! In the comment below, write what kind of scary stories you''d like to see. The premise and etc. So comment and what not and be ready for In the Twilight to be out. I think you''ll like the prologue. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. :D