《The Last Guild: Remastered》


 Book 1 Prologue: The Beginning

    Prologue.


    In the year 2150 a new game came into existence. Eternia, a DMMO-RPG (Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.) A VR game that no other company has been able to recreate since. A game that millions upon millions of player play each day.


    Eternia¡¯s main quality could be defined as giving the player absolute freedom.There were 100 different species to plays as, 1,000 customizable characteristics, 85 main classes and around 200 subclasses of which players can choose up to till 10 classes, 2 main class and 8 subclass. 100,000 weapons, and armors, all customizable along with level growth as well. The game even allows the player to change the color of their teeth! The game has a level cap at 100, but there¡¯s some many things that can be achieve with those levels.


    Along with the various classes, people can spec it to however they want, so long as you fulfill the necessary conditions. This system allows the player to be diverse, and made almost impossible to have the same character as another person, unless it was intentional.


    Even goes a step further with the limitless customizable armors and weapon. By paying in-game money or real money, you¡¯re able to alter shape and form of your armor or weapons to fit your style. Including shapes, handling, colors, etc¡­ (Their name and special effects are still the same.)


    The world is called Ethal, gigantic world that was around 3 times bigger than earth. On Ethal there are 5 major continents and this allowed players to travel and discover new and exciting things.


    The game holds a plethora of activities, ranging from swimming, cooking, to mountain climbing and dungeon exploring. You could do almost anything you wanted. However Eternia biggest source of fame and notoriety were the guilds. In the world of Ethal you can create your own guild, own property and fight against one another. This was one of the biggest form advertisement for the game as the media would always feature guild fights. There¡¯s always fighting between guilds for supremacy. Either over land or dungeon rights to full on competition and domination. This can range from small strife¡¯s to guild wars to guild raids (where an enemy guild attacks your stronghold) to countries fighting and even to full-on continents going to war.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Amongst the tens of thousands of guilds, there was one that stood at the top. A guild known far and wide for doing impossible deeds and their amazing players. That guild was Crimson Strife. Almost no one didn¡¯t know who they were. They were undefeatable in almost any guild war they participated in. Compared to other big name guilds who have around 30,000-42500 members, Crimson strife had only about 20,000 guild members. They control over 4/5 of the continent where their guild building is at, Kaoth. They could beat all of the games dungeon raids including ones that were thought to be impossible. Amongst the guild¡¯s founding members, 5 of them holds the rank for the top 15 best players in the world.


    The guild experience many things over the years, fame and fortune for their accomplishment. Envy and jealously from those that they defeated. The guild experience many things through its life time, good times, bad times, awkward times, and even scary times. They shared it all, laugh¡¯s, smiles, sadness, joy, giddiness, and above all happiness.


    Alas, that was a by gone age and all good stories must come to an end. But for every story that ends, another one shows up.

 Book 1 Chapter 1: The End?

    Chapter 1: The end?


    Drakus POV


    I look up at the golden statue of my player character with eyes full of amazement. Even though I walked by it millions of time already, it was only now that I fully recognize the detail.


    *Huhh, I¡¯m really going to miss this, all of this.*


    I stood staring at the statue that looked exactly like my player character. My player character was a draconian, half dragon and half human. Although the gold statue was large, it still captured my characters height of 6¡¯4. Even the chisel feature and the body was clearly shown. Because it was gold it wasn¡¯t able to show off my red eyes but perfectly complement my short blonde hair. I wore an armor made of dragon scale with skin that exposes some of my reals scales and spikes sticking out of my lower jaw and temple.  In my left arm it holds an ornate shield while the right held out a sword carved out of a dragon¡¯s bone (Search up ornate shield if you don¡¯t know what it is.)


    I simply stood there and admire the statue as it would be the last time I ever see it again. After 15 years of running, Eternia was finally shutting down. Players started to log off and quit one by one as the date drew closer and closer.


    ¡°And today¡¯s the day.¡±


    I said with a low sigh.


    ¡°Feels like only yesterday that I was able to buy this game and explore world. Those were some good times.¡±


    While I was reminiscing the past, a voice snapped me out of it. A small screen popped up in front of me, requesting to talk.


    XXX: ¡°Hey Drak, where are you?¡± ¡°The rest of the guys are here, come on!¡±


    I message him back ¡°Alright, I¡¯m on my way.¡±


    Currently I was in the Grand Sanctuary, our guilds stronghold located in the Kaoth Continent. The outside appearance is similar to that of a museum combined with a mausoleum. The building extends way deeper and has a total of 10 floors. The first 8 floors are referred to as sanctum, and each one of them have different over-world.


    Guilds can be expanded upon by paying real money to add in new feature. We all pitched in to help pay for what the guild building would be today, however one of the guild member was quite rich and paid for the remaining 2/3 of the total cost. Because he paid for most of it, we allowed him the liberty of choosing the layout of the guild building.


    During that time, he was captivated by a novel from the 21th century, a novel called ¡®Overlord¡¯. As such he model the Grand Sanctuary after the stronghold in the book. A structure with a main building at the top and subsequent floors downward. A couple of the members voiced their concern at the layout but ultimately conceded when we reminded them it was his choice.


    Beginning at the top was the Earth Sanctum. The floor is filled mountain ranges and a replica of the Grand Canyon but only bigger. 2nd is the Ocean Sanctum, a huge area filled with water. There were islands here and there but as the name applied, it was a vast ocean. 3rd is the Frozen Sanctum. The area is covered in thick snow and heavy snowstorms. 4th is Inferno Sanctum, the area is populated with volcanoes and molten ashes. 5th holds the Sky Sanctum, a world completely composed of clouds. There are floating building with design that is based off the romans architecture. 6th is the Night Sanctum, an area that is constantly dark and a giant moon overhead. The area has a dense forest and a giant castle in the middle. 7th is the Dragon Sanctum. An area filled with large mountain spires and a clear blue sky. Finally there¡¯s the 8th sanctum, the Galaxy Sanctum. The area is filled with stars and planets rotating around. The platforms are flat asteroids and every hour a comet will soar over the area. The 9th and 10th floors are referred to as the outer and inner sanctum. This was where the guild members resign, sleep and where we can meet up and chat.


    One of the biggest feature to a guild building is being able to populate your halls with NPC monster. This feature is heavy prominent in guild raids. You can assign any monster in the game into your guild hall depending on what they are and their assign level. Each one of our over-world holds tons of different variety of monster that fit with each world nicely. It even takes one step further, by having you design and program your own NPC. From designing what they look like to their class and equipment¡¯s. Depending on the guild and how big it is, the max you can have is around 50 created NPCs.


    There are limitation to the system to keep it fair. The total level of all created NPC can¡¯t exceed 4350. This is to limit players from making all the NPC level 100. Unlike the player characters, you only have a certain amount of points to put into your NPC specs. This again is to limit players from making extremely powerful NPCs.


    You can earn the rights to create a free NPC when your guild reaches a certain amount of members. If your guild has around 200 members then you get your first NPC. You would need around 450 for another, 800 for the next and so on. There¡¯s a threshold and after that you have to pay real money to create another NPC. Crimson Strife was one of 250 guilds that was able to have 50 created NPC.


    I activated the guild ring and teleported to the 9th floor, the outer sanctum and made my way forward. Guild rings are rings that allow one to quickly transport to anywhere within the guild building. The only way to get it is to be a member, and the only way to become a member is to be approve by 4 of the founding members.


    I walked down the onyx and gold hallway until I soon reach our guilds flag located just outside the Inner Sanctum. Before any guild is finalize, they must first created their design/logo to distinguish themselves. Ours was simple, we had a sword, staff, and a bow crossing each other. The flag not only symbolize the guild but it literally represent the Guild. In guild raids the only way to win is either make the enemy surrender or destroy their flag. Their second most important function are in dungeon raids. At the end of every dungeon you would plant a copy of your flag to show that you defeated the raid. On it, it would etched all the players¡¯ name that participated in the raid. This is more for the community to see who was able to beat the dungeon.


    While I was remembering all the past raids that I¡¯ve participated in, I heard a voice call out to me.


    XXX: So this is where you are.


    I turn around and saw him walk towards me.


    The person was around 5¡¯8, a decent build, and had a kind look on his face where if you were to meet him randomly and strike a conversation, you would become friends with this guy instantly. The guy''s look on the other hand was a different matter. In short he looks like your typical anime hero protagonist. He wore a robe that looks of a leather duster and arctic long coat mixed. On his hand he has light gauntlets that have magic symbols on them. He had on a long black pants with several belt buckles attach here and there. Going back to his face, it was like a generic anime face minus the large spikey hair. His hair was more flat and combed. Most of his hair was white except for some part of it being black near the top. His eyes are heterochromia, with his left eye has a black pupil with a brown iris. While his right eye has a magenta pupil with a golden blue iris. This was due to him choosing the race, Alvians. Alvians were one of the chosen creature that you could play as. They have huge mana pools but have low health and weak to physical attacks. Very few people actually choose them as a starting species as it very hard to master. He also has a bag slouched over one his sides which gave his character a scholarly feeling.


    This person was one of my oldest friends in the game and one of the founding members, Nu-Ru.


    ¡°Hey. Sorry that I took so long, I kept on getting distracted on my way here.¡±


    I see him start to look at our flag as he walks towards me.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I know what you mean. When they announce the shutdown I started to notice the building in a different light. Now I¡¯m looking at every nook and cranny with bewilderment. I¡¯m really going to miss all of this.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile inward. He was one of my first friend when I started to play the game. We had so many thing in common that we could have been brothers from different families. While I was thinking this, another thought occurred in my mind


    ¡°Hey, how did you find me anyway?¡±


    He looked at me and pointed his thumb behind him.


    Behind him stood a tall beauty. Around 6 feet to 6¡¯1 in height. Her skin was tan, not to dark but more of a deep tan, while her hair was rose red. Her face was beautiful, as if every feature was sculpted by the most delicate of hands. Even if you threw dirt at her face, it still wouldn¡¯t lose any of its luster. Her eyes had an almond color. She wore a military uniform that was colored primarily red. There were golden designs on the sleeves and collar. A small white mini cape draped over her right shoulder. The uniform looked to prioritize mobility over defense. Its design also manage to show off her voluminous breast and ample bottom. She had 2 weapons holstered on her hips, a pair of bayonets. The blade resemble those that were used by the British during the 1700¡¯s. The hilt of the weapons were a mix of gold and black with design of roses on them. She had an aura of power and respect but was also able to show her feminine side as well. Her entire demeanor and posture seems to derive back from British or the English back then. She was a created NPC and her name is Altina, the grand Guardian.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I had her use her Overseer ability.¡±


    *Oh yeah, the Overseer class has that kind of ability*


    [Overseer] was one of the 200 subclasses that one could pick. It was a class mostly for dungeon raids. With the [Overseer] class, it allows the person to have a command point of view. He/she is able to locate their teammates almost anywhere so long as they¡¯re in the party and also have the ability to look at each player character status. (They can see how much health, mana they have, equipment equip, buffs activated, etc¡­) It was a class that required tons of skill to fully master it.


    ¡°You know if we were to play hide and seek, she would probably win all the time¡±


    I said trying to crack a random joke. To my surprise he gave a small chuckle at my rather horrible joke.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Yeah her ability is quite useful in certain situations. Anyway come on, there¡¯s only like 14 minutes left before the game shuts down and the others are still waiting for you¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s go!¡±


    With that all 3 of us walked to the inner sanctum and towards the council room.


    While walking Nu-Ru said ¡°Hey I¡¯ve always been wondering this, but why does she follow you everywhere when you¡¯re in the guild building?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never really thought much about it. But yeah I did notice that she did do that a lot.¡±


    Nu-Ru: "You never tried to check or change her settings?"


    Created NPC were still programs that needed commands and inputs to function. Players would put in traits or certain feature and the computer would do its best to follow that command.


    *Having her following me around when I¡¯m here means that someone must have a put a command in her settings.*


    I moved my hand over to her and opened up her up her settings. A small rectangular box appeared and a mass flood of text and information flashed through the screen. I scrolled down the walls of text until I got into the specific inputs. I scrolled until I reached the bottom.


    There were only 2 commands that stood out the most. The first was ¡°Undying loyalty to the guild and guild master.¡± The second was ¡°Completely in love with guild master, Drakus.¡±


    *Considering the 2 commands kind of overlap each other and the nature of them, her following me makes much more sense now.*


    ¡°I think I found out found our mystery.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°What was it then?¡±


    ¡°She has 2 commands, Undying loyalty to me and the guild and is completely in love with me.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s interesting, wonder who put those commands in her. So you going to get rid of the completely in love command?¡±


    ¡°No, and I have 2 reasons for that. The first being that I have no right to change the settings. They were made by our guild members that poured in their time and money to create her.¡±


    Before Altina, we had 49 created NPC. We were so close to having 50 NPC that almost the entire guild chipped in and funded together to make her.


    ¡°The other members have just as much rights to her as I do, what kind person would I be if got rid of something without their consent. The 2nd reason is that the game is shutting down anyway. Doesn¡¯t matter if I got rid of it now, it¡¯ll be gone eventually.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°You¡¯re right, guess it doesn¡¯t really matter does it?¡±


    After walking for about another minute, we reached our destination.


    We stopped at large metal double door that was decorated with multiple golden designs and was made out of black obsidian.


    Behind it was the council room, this was where many of the higher tier guild members and founding members go to talk and plan for events.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I pushed open the door and went in. A large creaking sound accompanied it as we walked in I looked around and notice 6 people about and talking.


    XXX: ¡°So you¡¯ve finally decided to show up, nyaa? Here I thought we might had to say our goodbyes without you, nyaa.¡±


    I looked to my left to see another one of my friends and one of the first female founding members, Kaetzchen. (German for kittycat)


    She was around 5¡¯8 and she¡¯s a Kati?, essentially a race of cat like people.


    Her outfit, or lack of it consist of what seem like Bikini combined with a lingerie with was sleeveless. They covered her rather large breast and lower region and seemed to emphasize them. A small black cape was attach to behind her clothes. She wore light armored leggings up till her knees. On her left hand holds a gauntlet with spiked finger, while the right hand held a black gauntlet with 3 5inch blades extended from the knuckle region. The only place that wasn¡¯t clothes were her stomach, part of her legs, her arm and her tail. They were covered with golden yellow and bright orange fur. Her face was similar to a cat as well. Her hair was sharply cut with edges with 2 cat ears sticking out of her head. Her facial feature included whiskers, little bit of fur from her neck to her lower jaw. Her eyes looked exactly like a cat as well.


    ¡°Sorry, I kept getting distracted while I was on my way.¡±


    XXX: ¡°It¡¯s cool man, but next time check in and tell us. Kitty here was worried that you might miss all of us saying goodbye.¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°I was not, nyaa!¡± she said with a pouting face.


    The man standing next to her was her best friend, Trion Jazz. He was a little bit shorter than me, around 6¡¯2 or 6¡¯1. He had a fit build similar to mine. He wore a skintight black suit that seems similar to a jumpsuit and looked to be part of his skin. It also had a neon-blue outline that spread throughout his entire body that started from his chest. He has a neon visor that covered his eyes. He had long black and brown dread locks that reached to his neck. A total of 4 small sound speakers were attached to his outfit. 1 on each shoulder and 2 on his waist belt. Along with small circular neon disc that covered part of his arms and leg, constantly spinning.


    While they were playfully fighting I walked over to 3 people who were talking near the table.


    ¡°Hey, sorry for the hold up.¡±


    XXX: ¡°About time you showed up, what kind of person plans an event but doesn¡¯t get there in time? Seriously waiting for someone is f*cking annoying.¡±


    The man who answered was a talking skeleton, Manom. His character is a lich. His clothes were completely black, black robes, boots, pants, gauntlet, etc¡­ His black robes was adorned with many purple flourish designs. The only thing that wasn¡¯t covered was his face, which was composed of a deer skull without the horns. In the eye sockets there were red orbs that serves as the eye. In his left hand holds a staff completely made out of bones with magical orbs aligned on it.


    XXX: ¡°Manom is right, we were about to leave if you didn¡¯t came.¡±


    Next to Manom was his brother, Arsenal. He was around 6¡¯6, a lean and muscular body. His character is an Ogre. His entire is black with red and blue tattoos etched over the body. He wore an open brown leather duster that showed off his chest. He wore what seems like a jean and a black leathery pants. His entire left arm was covered with magical symbols and incantations. The right arm has a gauntlet just like Kaetzchen, spiked fingers and small curve blades sticking out on the top. Unlike the regularly generic ugly orc, ogre were more human like in appearance and hard sharper teeth¡¯s then a regular human. He has quite a handsome and had sharp look to him. He has long disheveled hair which was grey. A long scar was located on his left eye. On his back he has a crystal red spear and a Zweih?nder. On his belt he holds 2 other weapons. A claymore on the left while a katana on his right side, holstered.


    They were brothers and they had a sibling rivalry. They hate each other guts, they would make everything into a competition in order to one up the other. This also shows in their characters. Arsenal has always been fighter, preferring to jump into the enemy and fight them head on. Manom is a careful fighter, attacking when they¡¯re vulnerable or sending summons to attack and picking off enemies.


    XXX: ¡°Arsenal, Manom you don¡¯t need to be rude, no one¡¯s perfect, so lay off.¡±


    The one who defended me was the 2nd female founding member, Reptillia.


    Her character is an argoanian, basically lizard people. Her height is around 5¡¯7 and she had a tail sticking out. She wore essentially a ninja outfit. Completely black with some blue outlines with reinforce armor pieces along the chest, shoulder and knees. A brown scarf hanged from her neck with strange marking on it. Her gauntlets housed 2 hidden blades. On her belt there was a bunch of weapons attached. Shurikens, kunais, smoke bombs, daggers, poison, etc¡­ Her face was if a lizard and a crocodile mixed together. Her scale skin was completely green and hints of black with several spiked skin sticking out. Namely 2 semi large spikes just above her eyebrows.


    ¡°Reptillia, thanks for covering me but they¡¯re right. I¡¯m the one at fault here.¡±


    I made my way to the last of the founding members and the last female member, Shae.Alpha.


    I made my way to the table and stood next to her


    ¡°Sorry for making you wait.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s cool, got nothing to do anyway so I wasn¡¯t affected by you being late.¡±


    She had the typical tomboy look. Short cut rough hair, a tall build around 6¡¯1 and fairly modest breast. The only thing different about her was that she was an android. This was one the new character class that you could pick from the Future Cybernetics expansion. Her character is a synthetic while the armor looked to be extensions of her body then separate pieces of clothing. On the back there¡¯s a cog gear that took up most of her back. Her shoulder guard were rectangular and had mechanical parts in them. The same can be said about her arms and legs. There were gaps where you could see the cogs and wires about. Her gantlets were big and bulky with a crystal at the end of the palm. She wore a long white pant that added to her mechanical look. Her face was like a doll but you could still tell that it wasn¡¯t human. Her features were perfect the only thing that gave it away was her eyes. The eyes were somewhat lifeless and were a light blue with black pupil. (Sorry if you can¡¯t fully imagine what she looks, trying to find the right words to describe her was difficult. you should still get some idea as what I was trying to describe.)


    Floating next to her head was a small mechanical ball. It was completely mechanical just like her and constantly spinning. It looks almost identical to the Globus cruciger minus the cross. It was entirely silver with gold and red along the ridges. This was her orbitor, a special weapon that follows her commands due to her [android commander] class.


    After talking with them I made my way to my seat. The others started to take their seat while Altina stood a distance behind my seat.


    I leaned back and took in the view of the counsel room in it¡¯s entirely. The table that we sat in was circular with a hole in the middle. It was made of fine wood and decorated with beautiful carvings. The chairs were made of the same materials with a red cushion for the seats. The back part of the seat is tall and firm and gave a sense of royalty to it. The surrounding area was also filled with the same chairs, around 150 or so.


    Manom: ¡°So did you actually plan something or are we just here sucking on our thumbs until the game shutdown?¡±


    ¡°I thought it would be nice if we all met one last time before this is all over. You know like a captain going down with his ship.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°That¡¯s it? Man, if I had known I wouldn¡¯t have decided to log on. I could have catch some f*cking sleep.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°No one said you had to join us. Why don¡¯t you leave right now if it¡¯s bothering you so much?¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°Now, now kittens shouldn¡¯t fight amongst each other, nyaa.¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°She¡¯s right, let¡¯s enjoy what little time we have left.¡±


    While they talking to each other, I looked to my right and noticed Nu-Ru in deep thought. He had both of his hands on his chin and was looking downward. A signature trait when he¡¯s in deep thought.


    ¡°Hey what are you thinking about?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I just find this whole situation strange.¡±


    The other stopped their conversations and started to focus on us.


    Trion Jazz: ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Why would they suddenly shutdown Eternia? No matter how I look at it, it doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°It¡¯s a game, so it shutting down isn¡¯t all that surprising.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Under normal circumstances I would agree, but this is different. Eternia is a one of a kind game. No other games have been able to create or improve on what this game has done. So it makes no sense as to why they would shut it down if millions upon millions of players log on every day.¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°Maybe they¡¯re preparing a sequel?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°If so, then how come we haven¡¯t heard anything about it? We¡¯re talking the biggest company in the gaming industry.¡±


    Manom: ¡°He got a point, if there were news about a sequel, practically half of the earth would know about in less than an hour.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°No matter how hard I wrap my head around it, I can¡¯t seem to find a plausible answer.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter now, the game¡¯s going to shut down in like 3 minutes. Nothing we can do about it now.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Sigh. You¡¯re right but still it doesn¡¯t feel right.¡±


    At that point the mood became sour and depressed.


    *There¡¯s no way we can end all of this on a depressing note. Come on, think! What¡¯s a memorable experience that we all shared?*


    ¡°Hey remember the first dungeon raid we did?¡±


    I looked around, hopping my sudden announcement would bring up any memories. I saw Nu-Ru cracked a small smile.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°You mean the raid that took us literally 23 tries before we beat it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I specifically remember when Manom tried to resurrect that golem and got himself killed by another one.¡±


    Manom: ¡°Hey! I was just curious and that was the first time I got that spell.¡±


    Trion jazz: ¡°Whatever dude.¡±


    Manom: ¡°Alright fine, but what about that time where you literally ran into the attack of the golem swing?¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°I remembered that, I was rolling on the ground laughing my ass off!¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°Says the guy that thought it was a good idea to agro 13 skeletons to our position, nyaa.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°If I remembered correctly, you were the first one to die because you wanted to kill them all. You were such a knuckle brain back then and still are¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Oh if we¡¯re going to find faults then what about the time where we were at the boss and you cast a speed buff on us rather than a defense buff?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Ahhh, don¡¯t bring that up! Seriously I made one mistake alright! Besides we still beat it.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°The rest of you beat it, me and Arsenal both died because of that mistake.¡±


    Even now when we¡¯re talking and bickering with one another, it was fun. All the memories, fights, raids, quests, and friends.


    We all started around the same time, around when the game was release for about 8 years. Hard to believe it¡¯s been that long.


    ¡°I¡¯m really going to miss all of you.¡±


    Those words rang true. This was game is my only interaction between them. We all live across the world from one another. Even if we were to someone meet up, it would be awkward especially with our age difference. The youngest of us being Shae and Nu-Ru at 18 and 19. The oldest is Kaetzchen at 33, while I¡¯m around 27.


    They all looked at me and nodded. No doubt thinking the same thing. I check the virtual clock and it reads 12:59:43


    *17 seconds until shutdown.*


    I watched the time until there was only 10 seconds left. I closed my eyes and counted.


    ¡°10 ¡­¡­¡­ 9 ¡­¡­.. 8 ¡­¡­..7¡±


    Soon I started to hear the others start to count down. I opened one of my eyes and saw them do the same thing. They closed their eye¡°5¡±s and waited for the end.


    ¡°4¡± *After this I need to hit the bed, got a big day tomorrow.*


    ¡°3¡± *Wonder what I¡¯m going to do from now on?*


    ¡°2¡± *Maybe I should take this chance and find a girlfriend? How long has it been since I had one, 3 years, 5?*


    ¡°1¡± *Whatever, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll think of something to pass the time.*


    ¡°0¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ...................................................................................................................................................................


    Hope you enjoyed the bonus chapter. The next one will be uploaded in 3 days or if I finish writing another chapter before then.

 Book 1 Chapter 2: Question and Answers

    So I finished the chapter I was writing earlier than expected so I am releasing this chapter now.


    Chapter 2      Questions and answers


    *¡­.* is when someone¡¯s thinking. ¡°¡­.¡± Is when someone is talking


    Drakus POV


    I opened up my eyes expecting to be in my room, but instead what greeted me was the council room.


    ¡°Huhh?¡±


    I quickly looked around and saw that I was still in the game. I also saw the others having confuse looks on their faces as they looked around.


    *Was the time off*


    I checked the time and said it was at 00:00:11.


    *It¡¯s still running.*


    Manom: ¡°Did they delay the timer?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°There should be no reason to delay it.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°Maybe they were faking it?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°That would make even less sense.¡±


    I put both of my hands to my face and sighed.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±


    XXX: ¡°Is something the matter master Drakus?¡±


    I quickly brought my hands down and looked up. The others were looking at me, no, more specifically they were looking to the side of me.


    I turned my head to the right and saw Altina standing next to me with a concern look on her face.


    *Did she just talk?! No way, she¡¯s an NPC that can¡¯t be possible, but.*


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but what did you say?¡±


    Altina: ¡°I said are you alright master Drakus?¡±


    *What the hell!?!*


    Manom: ¡°Did she just talk?!¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°That isn¡¯t possible!¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°Well she just did, all of us heard her.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Did the game company did something to the NPC?¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°Maybe the shutdown was a lie in order to surprise us, nyaa?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible, we¡¯ve gone as far as robotics but not full on artificial intelligence.¡±


    While they were arguing back and forth I racked my brain for a reason as to why this was happening. They started to argue even louder and I needed time to fully think.


    *Ahhh, I can¡¯t think! This isn¡¯t making any sense.*


    ¡°Everyone be quiet!¡±


    They all stopped talking and looked at me.


    ¡°Altina go outside, wait there until I call you in.¡±


    Altina: ¡°As you command.¡±


    She put one hand on heart and bowed before leaving us.


    ¡°Now that the distraction is out of the way, we can focus on what the hell is happening.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Seeing as how we¡¯re still in the game that means they must have delayed the shutdown.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Check your menu screen. It won¡¯t let me log off.¡±


    All of us open our character menu screen and tried to log off. However every time we hit the icon, a message pops up.


    ¡°Impossible...¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Why won¡¯t it let us log off?¡±


    Manom: ¡°There must be something wrong with the system.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Or there is no system?¡±


    Nu¡¯s sudden statement caused everyone looked at him.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Hypothetically, what if we¡¯re in the game itself or somewhere else?¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°You can¡¯t be serious? This isn¡¯t some weird sci-fi show or something.¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°She¡¯s right there¡¯s no way that can happen, nyaa.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Then how do explain the NPC suddenly being able to talk? What about us not being able to log off?¡±


    He was met with silence. A couple of us opened their mouth but quickly closed it.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°All I¡¯m saying is that right now we¡¯re in an unknown situation. We shouldn¡¯t discredit something because it outlandish.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°If what you¡¯re saying is true then where exactly are we?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°It¡¯s obvious we¡¯re not in our world anymore, or at the very least not on earth. So there¡¯s 2 possibility I came up with. The 1st is that we¡¯ve been transported in the game of Eternia. The 2nd is that we¡¯ve been teleported somewhere else but still retain what we have here.¡±


    Manom: ¡°What makes you so sure?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°When Altina was talking, she showed a deep respect to Drakus and obeyed his order.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she also called me ¡°master¡± as well.¡±


    Nu-Ru nodded.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°From this we can tell that Altina is knowledgeable or at least know who we are.¡±


    The others nodded and started to think about it.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Now on to the 2nd problem. Whether we¡¯re in Eternia or another world.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°How are you going to find that out?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I have an idea.¡±


    Nu-Ru stood up and walked a couple of steps backward.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Come forth my assailant!¡±


    Immediately a black shadow formed and rose up from the floor. It soon took form and kneeled down before Nu-Ru.


    It was a dark elf, her skin was tanned like Altina but darker. Her entire body was covered in a black outfit. The only thing visible was part of her face and her eyes. The armor was similar to Reptillia looked much tighter and without the extra armor pieces. Her mouth was covered with a cloth that made her seem more like an assassin or ninja. Her eyes were jaded green and her hair was a brunette brown that was tied into a long ponytail. On her belt holds several weapons. On the right side there¡¯s a kodachi (basically a short katana) while the left side has 3 daggers. 2 regular ones with the last one having a zig-zag blade.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    She was an NPC created by Nu-Ru, her name is Sirva.


    Sirva: ¡°You¡¯ve called my master?¡±


    Everyone was silent and surprised by the sudden turn of event. However Nu-Ru seemed to anticipate part of it and quickly recovered.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I have an assignment for you.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to meet your wished my master.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I want you to leave the Great Sanctuary and look around. The search radius is 3 kilometer. If you see anything important or vital then come back immediately, do not engage without my permission.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°As you command.¡±


    They stood there for about a couple of seconds before Nu-Ru figured something out.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Oh right, you may go.¡±


    And just like how she came, she left. Turned into a shadow and disappeared.


    Kaetzchen: I can¡¯t believe that worked, nyaa.¡±


    Reptillia: You and me both.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Well at least now we know that we¡¯re not in the game anymore.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°And how exactly did you giving her a command do that?¡±


    Manom: ¡°He¡¯s right, NPC aren¡¯t allowed to leave the guild building. They were strictly made to be in the guild building at all time. ¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°That¡¯s right, if she had said she couldn¡¯t do it or can¡¯t comply with that order, then it mean that we are stuck in the game. But that isn¡¯t the case, she followed my orders and is off looking right now.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°That still doesn¡¯t mean that we¡¯ve suddenly transported to another world.¡±


    While they were talking I thought of something else.


    *What about magic?*


    If seemed that Sirva could use magic, so what about us?


    I stood up and stretched out my hand and subconsciously said


    |Fireball|


    Immediately a small fireball formed in my hand shot towards the table. I was knocked back on my ass while where I sat was burning.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Hey are you alright!?¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°What did you think you were doing!?¡±


    The two of them came over and helped me up, while the others were putting out the fire. While they were doing that Altina entered the room quickly.


    Altina: ¡°Is everything alright?¡±


    ¡°Everything is fine, there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    The rest looked at Arsenal and where the seat was burning.


    Manom: ¡°In Eternia, it¡¯s impossible to use any type of destruction magic in the guild hall. I think Nu-Ru is correct in his assumption.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°Got anything left to say Arsenal?¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Unfortunately yes, looks like you might be right Nu-Ru. We might be actually be stuck somewhere else.¡±


    Kaetzchen: The only question now is where we are and how we got here, nyaa ?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Let''s first look at we do know. We¡¯ve in a sense become what a characters are. We know that we can use magic, thanks to Drakus. Finally we¡¯re not in our own world but we¡¯re not in Eternia either.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°The only other problem I see are the NPC¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    Manom: ¡°Sirva and Altina are suddenly alive, so who¡¯s to say that all the other NPC¡¯s in the Grand Sanctuary aren¡¯t?¡±


    I felt a cold sweat dripped down my neck just thinking about all the different populations of NPC¡¯s that are inside the Sanctuary.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°My point exactly. Even if those two show loyalty, what about the others? They aren¡¯t programs anymore but living creatures, so they must have thoughts of their own.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to see for ourselves.¡±


    They all turned towards me and had nervous looks on them.


    Reptillia: ¡°Even if you say that, it won¡¯t be that easy.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°Yeah and we¡­..¡±


    I held up my arm and stopped them there


    ¡°If all we¡¯re doing is speculating and don¡¯t act, then how will we get any answers?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Drakus got a point, I much rather meet and possibly fight NPC¡¯s then sit here and think all day.¡±


    Some of them nodded but their faces show reluctant.


    ¡°Altina, come here.¡±


    Altina: ¡°Yes my master.¡±


    ¡°Tell all the other Sanctum Guardians to meet in the Dragon Sanctum in an hour and a half. We¡¯ll be waiting for everyone there.¡±


    Altina: ¡°As you command, master Drakus.¡±


    With that she made her way out of the council room.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Alright that settles that, but why in an hour and a half?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to use the time for some preparation. If the possibility of the NPC¡¯s being hostile are true then we¡¯ll probably need it.¡±


    They all nodded in agreement. We activated our guild rings and teleported ourselves to the armory and then made our way to the Dragon Sanctum.


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


    Authors corner: Here¡¯s chapter 2! As always if you enjoyed the chapter then write about it in the comments below and I¡¯ll read through them. If you see any errors or any ideas to make the series better then post it in the comment section below. Chapter 3 will be uploaded in  3 days.


    Next chapter will be a bit more interesting, wait and see.

 Book 1 Chapter 3: Training and Practice

    Here is the next chapter. Enjoy.


    Chapter 3 Training and Practice


    Drakus POV


    It took around 45 minutes before we left the Armory and teleported and then our way to the Dragon Sanctum.


    *Man that was long and tiresome.*


    The hard part wasn¡¯t getting the items but rather finding them. Unlike in the game where you can scroll through a screen and simply transfer the item, now we had to manually find it.


    Luckily one of the guild member was extremely OCD about having everything organized. Literally everything was sorted into so many different categories. However that did make it easier to find what we wanted at the very least.


    We mostly had our best gear equipped already, but we went to the armory to stock up on high grade potions, spell scrolls, herbs, and backup power weapons if the situations calls for it.


    We also found out how to store items. Just like in the game we had the options to store them in our inventory. We was also access through our character screen just like in the game. There is a certain limit of how much you can store all at once.


    In Eternia weapons and items were categorized in different rarity. Common, special, rare, unique, enchanted, legendary, and finally Abyss class. Each one more powerful and harder to obtain than the rest.


    In Eternia, Abyss items were the most powerful but barely anyone had one. One could only obtain one by completing a myth ranked quest which was hidden by the developers so that it wasn¡¯t known to the public and would only be discovered after meeting a very complicated series of conditions. Only the top five guilds had a person with one. Most of the 250 strongest guilds though did have multiple legendary class items.


    The Dragon sanctum was created by me and one of the other guild member, Burstor. He handled most of the design and programing of the different floors when we start to build the Sanctuary.


    The area is filled with tall rocky spires and dense forest. There are also huge arch trees that littered the area. They were the homes to the monster living here. Most of the monster are dragons and wyverns. Their levels are around 80-85.


    We made our way to the central arch tree. The average arch trees are around 20 times bigger than your average tree. The central arch tree is around 10 as big as the arch trees. There were two different stone walkways to connect the central tree. One that leads from the preceding floor and one that goes to the next.


    We walked into the tree into the central area. It was hollowed out and carved out. Here was where we would host fight clubs and competitions from time to time. The inside looks similar to a roman coliseum. A huge circular rounded area for people to fight in and wooden seats carved from the tree and could house around 3000 people.


    Arsenal: ¡°We¡¯re here, now what?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°We still got like 20 minutes left, so we might as well relax.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Fine by me, I¡¯m way too tired to do anything else anyway.¡±


    While the others sat down and relaxed I leaned against the wall. I couldn¡¯t help but look around at the world before coming back to the others.


    *Sigh, how did we get into this mess? This was supposed to be a fun last minute goodbye, but instead we wind up into who knows where. Wonder if they blame me? I was the one that invited them, if I hadn¡¯t done that than they would still be on earth.*


    I walked over to where they were.


    Kaetzchen: ¡°What¡¯s wrong, nyaa? Why the gloomy face, nyaa?¡±


    ¡°Do you guys blame me for putting you in this situation?¡±


    They all turned and looked at me.


    ¡°If you guys didn¡¯t come then you wouldn¡¯t be here in this situation. You all would be safe somewhere else.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I would be lying if I said that wasn¡¯t true.¡±


    Manom: ¡°True, we wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the situation that we are in now.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°But if you¡¯re asking us if we blame you, then no.¡±


    I looked at them with a surprise face.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Knowing you, you would have stayed until the game shut down and probably be in the same situation as we¡¯re in right now.¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°The one difference being that you would have been alone, having none of us to help you.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°We¡¯re all in this together man. Don¡¯t put all the blame on yourself.¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°That¡¯s right, nyaa! We¡¯re here to help each other at every step so have faith, nyaa!¡±


    My eyes started to tear a bit after hearing what they said.


    ¡°You guys are truly some of the best people that I¡¯ve gotten to know, thank you!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Now the only problem left to solve is to find out how we got here and how to get back.¡±


    Manom: ¡°We should first find the problem, the solution will come after words.¡±


    While we were all thinking about that question, a loud booming voice interrupted our thoughts.


    XXX: ¡°Ahhh so this is where you all are.¡±


    We all turned as a shadow passed over the coliseum and then landed near us.


    It was a dragon, but very different from the ones that are stationed here. Most of the dragons were hulking and massive, this one was more slender but still hulking. He stood about 1.5 times bigger than me. He stood on its 2 hind legs. Its arms were about the same size with 4 razor sharp claws on each hand. 2 massive wings spread across his back giving him a majestic aura. His scales and skin looked to be like armor attached to him. It radiated a color of gold and bronze combined. Its neck was fairly short compared to a dragon but long compared to us. His head was exactly like a dragon face should be. His eyes were red with black slits. Near his nose area a strange marking could be seen. His teeth were neatly aligned and sharp as well. 2 long black horns were sticking off from his temple.


    He is the Dragon Sanctum guardian, Dragos, my created NPC.


    ¡°Hello Dragos.¡±


    Dragos: ¡°Hello my masters.¡±


    He gave a bow similar to what Altina did in the before.


    Dragos: ¡°Altina informed me that you all would meet in my Sanctum but I didn¡¯t know that you would be here, please forgive my tardiness my masters.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, we never really specified a location so it¡¯s our fault. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±


    Dragos: ¡°You are most kind my master, thank you.¡±


    *Just like Altina and Sirva, just how loyal are they?*


    Dragos: ¡°The others guardian won¡¯t be arriving for quite some time, is there anything I can do for you my masters?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Actually we were planning on using the field for training.¡±


    Dragos: ¡°Training?¡±


    He looked up with a surprise and puzzled expression.


    ¡°Is there something wrong with that?¡±


    Dragos: ¡°Forgive my insolence but why would the great rulers of the Sanctuary need training for?¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Because we can get stronger.¡±


    We all turned toward him and he continued.


    Arsenal: ¡°It¡¯s like swing a sword. Every time you swing a sword, you essentially get stronger. The more you swing it, the more you get used to it. The feel, the tempo, the weight behind it, etc¡­ there¡¯s always new things to learn by training. You don¡¯t get stronger if you do nothing all the time.¡±


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


    Dragos: ¡°You¡¯re right, forgive for my naivety my masters.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Alright then, so who wants to go first?¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°Me, me, me, me, me, nyaa!¡±


    I watched as she was jumping up and down like a child trying to get an adult attention.


    ¡°Alright, so who wants to go against her?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Me¡±


    ¡°Alright everyone, get to the seats.¡±


    We all walked up and took a seat while the 2 of them got in the center and prepared.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Alright then, if both of you guys are ready, then begin!¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°|Double mirage| |Flash Strike|¡±


    Instantly she split into 2 and charged at Shae. I couldn¡¯t help but be surprised at how Kaetzchen was able to use her skills.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°So that confirms it, you can activate your attacks and spell by saying it just like in the game.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but something feels a lot different than it was in the game.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: |Orbitor Shield|


    The orbitor moved a top of Shae and casted a shield around her. Both of Kaetzchen attacks were blocked and both of her doubles disappeared. She quickly retaliated after jumping back some distance.


    Kaetzchen: |Piercing Force|


    She slammed her right hand against it and it pierced Shae¡¯s barrier. Shae drew up her arms and defended the attack while being push back.


    Kaetzchen then quickly charged in for another attack, but Shae was quick to retaliate.


    Shae: |Orbitor Stun|


    Before she notices, the orbitor was behind her and release an electric wave that stun Kaetzchen and dropped her to her knees. Shae quickly closed the gap between them and attacked.


    Shae: |Heavy Knuckle|


    Kaetzchen was knocked out of the circle.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°The winner is Shae.¡±


    Trion quickly walked down to Kaetzchen while Shae helped her up.


    Trion Jazz: ¡°You alright kitty?¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°I¡¯ll live, nyaa.¡±


    Shae: ¡°Sorry about that. I didn¡¯t know it would have that much force behind it.¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°It¡¯s alright. I was being serious as well, nyaa.¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°I¡¯m next, so who wants a go?¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°That would be me.¡±


    Shae and Kaetzchen slowly made their way over to the bleacher area while the Trion and Reptillia made their way to the field.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Ready, set, go!¡±


    Reptillia: |Cloak|


    Her entire body started to become transparent and a second later she disappeared.


    Trion Jazz: ¡°As if.¡± |Thunder Boom|


    His four speakers suddenly sparked and launched 4 electric circular sound waves in all four cardinal directions. However, none of them hit their mark.


    Trion Jazz: ¡°What?!¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°That was smart, but I¡¯m smarter.¡±


    We all traced the voice toward one of the higher walls where she came into view. She hung on the wall, looking down on Trion.


    Trion Jazz: |Sonic Boom|


    Reptillia: |Dash|


    She quickly jumped from where she was, dodging the attack and toward him. She grabbed one of her daggers and activated a spell.


    Reptillia: |Shadow blade| The blade was covered in darkness and made it longer.


    Trion Jazz: |Blade Kick|


    They both launched their attack at the same time but the one who won was Reptillia. He brought his leg down in a downward swipe. Reptillia surprisingly dodged it by doing a twirl, spinning around his attack. She got behind him and brought the blade to his neck.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Alright that¡¯s it, Reptillia is the winner.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°Man that was close girl. Were you trying to kill me?¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°Please, if I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead already.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I guess Arsenal and Manom want to fight each other, right?¡±


    Manom: ¡°I think we¡¯re sitting this one out.¡±


    All of us turned our heads toward them in disbelief.


    Arsenal: ¡°I¡¯m going to have to agree with him on that.¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°Are you guys sick or something?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Yeah, you guys usually would jump at any chance you would to go against each other.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°As the others have shown this is very much real. The damage, the skill use, spells, etc¡­¡±


    Manom: ¡°Most of our spells and attacks are very high rank. I¡¯m not exactly comfortable in possibly killing my brother.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair, I suppose you can train on your own with the target dummies later.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°All that leaves is Nu-Ru and you.¡±


    ¡°You wanna go?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Of course!¡±


    We both walked to the center and got prepared. I pulled out my sword and shield while Nu-Ru waited for me to finish.


    Kaetzchen: ¡°Alright then, ready, set, go, nyaa!¡±


    I immediately charged at him.


    |Fury Slash|


    Nu-Ru: |Enchant: Iron skin|


    A light engulfed him and he put his hands up and completely blocked my attack. I jumped back while he quickly shot of a succession of spells.


    Nu-Ru: |Paralyzing mist| |Icicle shards|


    I quickly dodged to the left avoiding a cloud of bright yellow mist and held up my shield to block the incoming projectile.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Not good enough!¡± |Gravity Down X2|


    Instantly my body became heavier and I dropped to my knees.


    Nu-Ru: |Whirlwind blast|


    |Unmatch force|


    A force was released from my body, canceling his gravity spell and blocking his incoming attack.I quickly charged at him when I was freed.


    |Immolation| |Triple Blade Slash|


    Flame soon surrounded me, I quickly charged at him as to not give him any ground to make a move. I swung my sword once but three slashes hit Nu-Ru.


    He was knocked back but was able to shoot off one more spell


    Nu-Ru: |Frozen tears|


    |Pyro Charge|


    Small ice orbs started to form and shot straight forward at me. Flames completely covered me and I shot toward him like a bullet. His attack did hit but I powered through them. He didn¡¯t have time to open his mouth before I had my sword at his throat.


    Kaetzchen: ¡°The winner is Drakus, nyaa!¡±


    I put sheath my sword and offered a hand to pick him up.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°That was tough but also fun. I almost forgot just how good you¡¯re at this game.¡±


    ¡°Haha, yeah you had me in a tight corner. Truth be told I¡¯m surprise that I was still able to win.¡±


    We both laugh for a couple of seconds before Nu-Ru face got serious.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°looks like they¡¯re arriving.¡±


    I turned my head to the other entrance of the arch tree and watched them come in.


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


    Authors corner: Here''s another chapter. If you enjoyed it then write about it in the comments below and I''ll look over it. If you also saw any errors then also put that in the comments and I''ll try and fix it.


    This chapter was a little bit battle orientated then what I originally planned. This was my first time writing a battle scene so I have no idea if it was lacking or not. If you could voice your opinions on whether it sufficient or not, that would be greatly appreciated.

 Book 1 Chapter 4: Answers and Action.

    Chapter 4 Answers and Action


    Drakus POV


    I looked over and five beings made their way over. Each of them different from one another.


    The first one was a humanoid beast with 2 heads. His entire body is around 2.5 meter tall. His entire body is black with red outlines scattered across his body. Fur can be seen around his chest and neck area. His chest is bare said for 2 gauntlets and shoulder armor piece on his right side with spikes on it. He wore a black metal leggings with spikes on his knees. The two faces are similar to Rottweiler dogs with red markings on top of each forehead. They both wore spiked collar. He carried a two-handed battle axe that¡¯s the same height at him and the blades are 15 inches in diameter on each side.


    He was created by Manom and the Inferno Sanctum guardian, Orthodox.


    Standing next to him was an angel, literally.


    She looked entirely human except for the 2 big wings that extended from her back. She stood around 2 meters tall but she was floating as well. She wore a garb similar to a dress and vicar which covered most of her body except her hands, and head. A stole hung from her neck with a symbol of a brilliant sun at the end of each strand. (A stole is basically the long fabric part of the vestments, search it up for a better picture.) Her entire garb is white and gold and adorned with golden designs. Her entire faced shined, all of her feature were perfect similar to that of Altina. She has long curly golden hair and a halo can be spotted just above her head. Her left hand holds a book while her right holds a transparent orb.


    She was the creation of Kaetzchen and the Sky Sanctum guardian, Leona.


    Behind her and Orthodox were 3 additional figures.


    The one on the left at first looked human but the lower half of her body is snake. She stood 2 meter tall, around the same height of Leona. Adding in the length of her tail would make around 3 meter long. Her tail portion is about a foot in width. The skin color is a mixture of pink and purple and magenta. The upper portion is human and half snake. She wore a purple corset which emphasize her breasts and hand garbs. The skin color of her upper body is mostly a light tan white. The skin is similar to that of a snake, with scales but less visible. She wore a sleeping mask that covered half of her face. On the right side of the mask it showed an eye that is closed with an X cross over it. The left side has an eye that is opened. She holds a rod around 2 foot long. It was similar to a caduceus minus the wing. (Search up ¡°caduceus¡± to get a better picture.) A white snake on the left side and a black on the right. There¡¯s a crystal orb in each of the snake''s¡¯ mouth.


    She was the creation of Reptillia and the Earth Sanctum guardian, Lissina.


    The one next to her and in the middle is the weirdest one.


    Its entire body and was very geometric. The upper body is 2.5 meter tall and a 1.5 meter wide made out of blue crystal. Its entire body is a geometric shape, made up of a combination of hexagonal prism and pyramid. The body is like that with a flat bottom. Its¡¯ arms are the same with a slightly small size for the arms and same applies to its 3 fingers. It also has 6 long crystal extending from his back that are also the same shape and smaller. The feet are the same as well, being smaller than the body and shorter. It has a total of 9 dots that form an X with makes its face. (I model it after the Pok¨¦mon Reggie Ice. Just essentially imagine that with 6 back crystals and an X face.)


    This abnormal being was created by Arsenal and the frozen Sanctum guardian, Polygon.


    Finally on the left side was what looked like a regular person with blue-greenish skin.


    She was around 6¡¯5 and looked much like a fish. She looks human but in reality is a siren. On land she would have normal human legs and feet, but in water she would have tail. Her entire skin color is blue-greenish. Currently she wore a Hawaiian style shirt and bikini and shorts. A towel with very colorful flower design draped around her waist and downward to her knees. Similar to Lissina her skin also had visible scales similar to a fish. Her features are very beautiful. Her eyes have slit pupils and the rest of the eye are a neon blue color. There¡¯s a fin of each side of her head and on her necks were pairs of gills. She has light pink flowing hair that reached to her stomach. He holds a staff that is around 2 foot long. At the top end holds a blue floating crystal with a strange symbol engraved on it.


    She was the creation of Shae.Alpha and Ocean Sanctum guardian, Meral.


    I felt a couple of drops of sweat going down my throat. Although I didn¡¯t physically show it, I was shaking in my boot.


    *If what Manom and Nu-Ru said is true, then they might even be more dangerous.*


    All of the guardians were all lvl 100 as they were made by us. We each design them to be powerful in certain fields


    *If a fight should to break out, could we possible win?*


    Nu-Ru must have sense my uneasiness because he put his hand on my shoulder and reassured me.


    *Alright calm down, right now you need to act powerful!*


    ¡°Ah, so you have finally come.¡±


    Orthodox: ¡°Of course, what kind of servant doesn¡¯t follow his master¡¯s order?¡±


    ¡°I see, now we just need to wait for the other three.¡±


    XXX: ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡±


    I turn around to the other entrance and three figures made their way over.


    Two of them are Altina and Sirva, while the last one was the one who answered me.


    He was abnormal just like Polygon. His entire body seems like an outline of a man. He stood around 2 meters tall. His entire body seemed to be space itself. He was mostly completely black except for small suns, planets and galaxies that covered his body, constantly moving. The only clear features were his lips, eyes, nose and mouth. When he talked it sounded as if more than one person spoke with him. It gave him an omnipotent feeling.


    He was created by Trion Jazz and the Galaxy sanctum guardian, Nabuu


    Dragos moved toward the other guardians as they made their way to the center while the rest of us did the same. As soon as all of us were together the Guardian soon knelt before one of us respectfully in front of their creator.


    Altina: ¡°Everyone please offer your respect to the masters.¡±


    Lissina: ¡°Earth Sanctum guardian Lissina has come to serve my masters.¡±


    Meral: ¡°Ocean Sanctum guardian Meral has come to serve my masters.¡±


    Polygon: ¡°beep beep boop boop beep beep boop beep.¡±


    Orthodox: ¡°Inferno Sanctum guardian Orthodox has come to serve my masters.¡±


    Leona: ¡°Sky Sanctum guardian Leona has come to serve my masters.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°Night Sanctum guardian Sirva has come to serve my masters.¡±


    Dragos: ¡°Dragon Sanctum guardian Dragos have come my masters.¡±


    Nabuu: ¡°Galaxy Sanctum guardian Nabuu has come to serve my masters.¡±


    Altina: ¡°Grand Sanctum guardian Altina has come to serve my master. By your order all the guardians are assembled. Order us however you wish.¡±


    Looked down at them kneeling and I started to question whether or not this was real or not. I quickly snapped out of it.


    ¡°Thank you for coming guardians.¡±


    Lissina: ¡°Your gratitude is unnecessary.¡±


    Nabuu: ¡°We are your servants, it¡¯s just as Orthodox and Lissina said.¡±


    Polygon: ¡°Boop, beep beep beep boop boop beep beep.¡±


    I heard the other whispered to one another.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°I guess we got rid of the idea of them possibly betraying us.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°Now that we¡¯ve confirmed it, now what?¡±


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


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Now we find out where we are.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Sirva, your report.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°Yes, the surrounding area is filled with trees. From my reconnaissance it would seem that the Grand Sanctuary is located in the middle of a dense forest. There don¡¯t seem any intelligent life form within the 3 kilometer and most of the animals and monsters that I¡¯ve encountered are weak or too small to take notice.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Is that all you have to report?"


    Sirva: ¡°Yes my master.¡±


    I looked over to Nu-Ru and he showed a slightly annoyed and disappointed look, Sirva caught on quickly.


    Sirva: ¡°My deepest apologies my master. I failed to achieve your orders.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°No, no you¡¯ve done exactly what I told you, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s different from what I expected.¡±


    The Grand Sanctuary was originally located on a mountain range in the continent. It was formed deep within the mountain with the entrance on the outside. We originally chose that spot as it would be perfect to defend against almost all attack. But now we¡¯re located in a forest in who knows god where.


    Kaetzchen: ¡°At least now we know that we¡¯re not in Eternia but another world, nyaa.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°That doesn¡¯t exactly help our situation one bit, if anything this is bad news.¡±


    Manom: ¡°Right now we should fortify our defenses while we¡¯re still unknown about the situation.¡±


    Reptillia: ¡°I agree, we should take things slowly.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Has anything happen to floors while all of this is going on?¡±


    Lissina, Meral, Polygon, Orthodox, Leona, Sirva, Dragos, Nabuu: ¡°No, all floors are fully functional. Beep, beep, boop, beep.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°even though nothing has happen, still fortify the defenses, have extra guards and pay very close attention to anything that might be suspicious.¡±


    They all answered immediately.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Also I¡¯m curious as to how you are able to pass on information and who¡¯s in charge should a situation arrives.¡±


    Altina: ¡°Nabuu is our communication expert, all information goes through him and then the entire floor. I¡¯m responsible for the military power of the Sanctuary and everything else is monitored through me.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave everything up to you.¡±


    Altina: ¡°As you command my masters.¡±


    ¡°Before you all leave there¡¯s one more thing we need to discuss. From now all do not refer to use as ¡°masters¡±, please use our names.¡±


    All the NPCs looked up with wide eyes and surprise looks.


    Leona: ¡°Forgive me for interjection but is there a reason as why you wish for this request?¡±


    ¡°This is something we all talked about and deemed unnecessary.¡±


    I looked to the others who gave their approval.


    Nabuu: ¡°But how can we address our creators and rulers of the Grand Sanctuary with such formality?¡±


    *Just how high of a regard do they have for us.*


    ¡°Tell me when you look at us what exactly do you see?¡±


    All the NPCs answered respectfully toward their creators and us as a whole.


    Lissina: ¡°Beings who are wise and powerful, master worth serving under.¡±


    Meral: ¡°Perfect being, ones who are incapable of mistake.¡±


    Polygon: ¡°beep, boop boop beep beep beep boop.¡±


    Orthodox: ¡°Beings with limitless strength that rule over us.¡±


    Leona: ¡°Kind and compassionate, ones who will never abandon each other.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°Whom we choose to serve with our life.¡±


    Dragos: ¡°Beings stronger than all of us guardian, our masters.¡±


    Nabuu: ¡°Omnipotent beings who have brought us together.¡±


    Altina: ¡°The absolute rulers and the ones who create us. The supreme rulers of all the guardians and the Sanctum and are masters worth serving until the end of time.¡±


    I looked over to the others and saw a mixture of feelings in the other¡¯s faces. From proud and awe to slight embarrassment and awkwardness.


    ¡°I see, thank you for all of you telling me this. Now I clearly understand everyone¡¯s¡¯ thinking but I still wish for you to address us by our names and not simply ¡°master¡± all the time.¡±


    Altina: ¡°If that is all of your wish then we, the guardians will do our best to meet your wish.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°That¡¯s all for now. We¡¯ll be in the Inner Sanctum, if there is anything wrong then immediatly report it to us.¡±


    All the guardians replied at the same time. We activated our guild rings and teleported to the Counsel room.


    *Sigh, that was tiring. Man who knew that talking could be so stressful.*


    Altina POV


    After the masters teleported away, we waited for a couple of seconds before standing back up. I turned to the other guardians who were waiting for orders.


    ¡°As they command we¡¯ll increase our security, Nabuu send some of your creatures to the other floors as communication links so that we¡¯re in touch.¡±


    Nabuu: ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°The rest of you, inform all the sanctums of the master¡¯s orders. Have patrols and guards posted at the beginning and end of all the entrance.


    Everyone: ¡°Yes!¡±


    I nodded my head in contempt and was on my way out until the others started a new topic.


    Lissina: ¡°Sirva, why did they order you to survey the outside?¡±


    Leona: ¡°Sirva is what you said true about the outside?¡±


    Sirva: ¡°Yes the Grand Sanctuary is currently located in the middle of a dense forest.¡±


    ¡°We can clearly deduce that something has happen to the Grand Sanctuary.¡±


    All the other guardians looked at me.


    Dragos: ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Although I¡¯ve never been outside, I do know that the Sanctuary was originally located on a mountain in the Kaoth continent. Judging by their reaction it would seem they realize that we along with the building have been teleported.¡±


    Meral: ¡°That would make sense as they want to increase security on the floor.¡±


    I nodded toward Meral and the others started to think on it as well.


    ¡°They are mostly likely planning their next course of action, all we need to do is follow their command.¡±


    Before I dismissed them Polygon spoke up.


    Polygon: ¡°Beep boop boop beep beep beep.¡±


    Orthodox: ¡°Polygon is right, can we really address them so casually?¡±


    The others also show concerned face regarding the subjects.


    *Calling the rulers and our creators by their name is disrespectful and something no servant has any right to do, but.*


    ¡°We are servants created by our masters to serve them, their word is law and we will follow them without question! Although it might be disrespectful to them but if they wish it we shall comply.¡±


    I look to see the others with the same fiery determination as always when it comes to our masters.


    ¡°You all know what to do, now go. I¡¯ll head back to the inner Sanctum and await them there.¡±


    They all did a small bow and soon left for their sanctum. I soon walked toward the inner sanctum and toward my master.


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


    Author¡¯s corner: If you enjoyed the chapter then write about in the comments and I¡¯ll look over it. If you also see any errors then write about it in the comments and I¡¯ll fix it as fast as I can.


    Just some more info dumping before I get into the meat of the story. Next chapter will be a bit more laid back and then I¡¯ll have something happen. Please try to rate and review this fiction.

 Book 1 Chapter 5: Outside

    Chapter 5 Outside


    Drakus POV


    It¡¯s been five days, or at least what seemed like five days from the clock, since we enter this world. We spent most of our days exploring the Sanctuary. Getting used to the setup, making sure everything was in order. We have yet to take outside, Nu-Ru argues that we should first focus on defense then exploration.


    Currently I¡¯m inside the Council room along with Nu-Ru. Around two days ago I discovered that the room still holds the guild functions.


    ¡°So found anything yet?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Turns out all the functions still work.¡±


    He was looking through a menu screen.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Everything is still the same as when we were in the game. Members, globes, map, total currency, etc¡­ And we can activate it from almost anywhere inside the Sanctuary.¡±


    We were currently investigating the guild for anything that might give us a clue as to what¡¯s going on. Nu-Ru was looking through the data while I was looking through the character menu. Kaetzchen and Trion Jazz were in the outer sanctum relaxing. Arsenal and Manom were again in the training hall practicing again. Reptillia and Shae were making runs through the floors.


    I closed my menu screen and sighed due to the frustration. We¡¯ve been looking for about three days and we barely learned anything new.


    ¡°So anything new on your side?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Nothing so far, like I said everything seemed to be the same as it was in the game.¡±


    ¡°We could try checking outside.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°How many times have I said that we need to be careful?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been stuck here for about 5 days and we¡¯ve practically running in circles. We haven¡¯t made any process regarding anything outside the Sanctum.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I was planning on sending someone outside and doing some more scouting.¡±


    ¡°Why not let me go?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°You can¡¯t be serious? We don¡¯t know anything about the outside, who knows maybe you¡¯ll be attacked by a dragon out there.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t learn anything by just sitting on our ass all day and being scared. And it¡¯s just like you said it yourself, what if there¡¯s no way of getting back.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°We need to do something.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Huhhh, Alright fine, but if the other find out about this then they¡¯ll kill me.¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡±


    I got up and equip my armor and weapons. Before I activated my ring he gave me an item. It was a light blue glowing rod. It was an item from Eternia called a [Transfer beacon]. It sends a beacon so that your friends knows where you are.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I¡¯ll be here in here looking over the controls a bit more. If you see anything dangerous then immediately activate the beacon. I¡¯ll use the globe to locate the signal and teleport to where you are. Don¡¯t do anything reckless!¡±


    ¡°I got it, trust me I¡¯ll be careful.¡±


    I activated my guild ring and teleport to the Earth Sanctum. I was near the entrance of the rocky terrain and soon made my way to entrance of the Sanctum.


    I stopped about midway and hide behind a pillar in the room. Around six figures were standing about and talking. One of them was Altina. The NPC mobs that populated the Sanctum were now alive just like the others and seems to show the same amount of loyalty as our NPC.


    *What is she doing here?! Here I thought I could get away quietly.*


    I started to move quietly from pillar to pillar. I kept to the backside of the pillar to make sure that none of them saw me. I was almost out until Altina spotted me.


    Altina: ¡°Drakus is that you?¡±


    I froze in place and I turned my head slowly. They all stopped and look toward me with curiosity.


    *Shit! Should I make a run for it? No, that would only make things worse.*


    I quickly straighten up and made my way toward them. As I got closer the NPCs started to kneel while Altina gave a bow.


    ¡°Hello Altina. What are you doing here?¡±


    Altina: ¡°I¡¯m making my rounds through the Sanctum and I decided that the entrance should have some guards as a precaution.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Altina: ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    *Think, think! What¡¯s a plausible explanation that they¡¯ll accept?*


    ¡°I¡¯m going outside.¡±


    Altina: ¡°Outside?!¡± She gave a surprise look.


    ¡°Yes we finally decided to take some action and explored the area.¡±


    Altina: ¡°I see then I¡¯ll prepare some guards immediately.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡±


    Altina: ¡°But what would happen if something were to show up and we aren¡¯t there to defend you?!¡±


    *The others will mostly likely find out about me if Altina goes through with her plan. And having guards around me will only slow me down.*


    I waited about a minute before answering.


    ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m incapable of protecting myself?¡±


    Altina: ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I was trying to imply!¡±


    ¡°To me it sounds like that you have more faith in the guards then in me.¡±


    Altina: ¡°Please forgive me but if anything were to happen to you, it would be devastating!¡±


    I looked down at her who had her head down in shame. I felt a bit guilty as they were looking out for our best interests. I suppressed the urge to sigh and continued on.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be doing this if I wasn¡¯t confident, besides I have precautions so your fear are needless.¡±


    Altina: ¡°As you command, but why is it that you insist on going alone?¡±


    *That¡¯s the real kicker isn¡¯t it? Alright think!*


    ¡°The rest of you (NPCs) have been doing a wonderful job maintaining the Sanctum while we¡¯re in the dark. The others (guild members) are all doing their best as well, so should I.¡±


    Altina: ¡°I see, very well then good luck on your mission Drakus.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I soon made my way to the door while Altina and the others resume their duties.


    *Phew, that worked out better than I expected. Also technically I didn¡¯t exactly lie when I said that I had to go outside.*


    I walked through the entrance and made my way outside the Sanctum. Immediately I was greeted with a wide range of trees. Trees as far as the eye can see. They looked similar to rainforest tree except that the leaves were yellow instead of green. The tree were a bit taller than the Sanctum, less than 220 feet.


    I quickly looked around and chose a direction to go. I chose northwest of the entrance and started to move. I jumped high up and landed on the branches and started to move among the trees.


    Over the last couple of days we learned more about our bodies. We concluded that we became our player character. All the traits and attribute attributed to them are now ours. Their strengths, speed, perception, dexterity, etc¡­


    *I¡¯m jumping through trees at breakneck speed and I¡¯m barely tired.*


    I did this for about another 4 minutes before I stopped.


    *Alright I should have travel about 3 kilometers. If what Sirva said was true then there¡¯s nothing here but trees, animals, and lower level monsters*


    ¡°That just means that I have to go beyond that.¡±


    I started to pick up the pace and the area soon blurred. This went on for a while before I stopped near a river bed. I went down to get a drink and to check it out.


    ¡°If there¡¯s a river here then maybe it connects to an ocean or waterfall.¡±


    I looked and saw that it flowed downward. I moved among the trees again toward the river source.


    I soon reached a small rocky waterfall. It was small and the water that fell formed a small lake which further down make the river. I stood and marvel at the natural beauty of the scene.


    ¡°Man wish I had a camera so I can show it to the others.¡±


    I moved in closer and I notice some materials on land near the area where the water falls down. There were bags and a pair of clothing¡¯s.


    *Do those belong to someone?*


    Before I could investigate I heard a humming noise coming from the lake area and jumped into the trees to hide myself.


    I waited around for about a minute before something came out of the waterfall, it was a girl. She was completely naked, and humming a tune. Her face was quite perfect, her feature were sharp and beautiful. Long golden hair hang from her head down to her waist. Her breasts were pretty big and her waist was very fine. She looked around 17-19 and stood around 5¡¯6.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I stood daze looking at her. I soon snapped out of it and continue to watch it. I watched her scrub her body and made her way to shore.


    *What am I a pervert? Good thing no one can see me, whether that¡¯s a good thing or not is yet to be determine.*


    I was about to leave until I noticed a ripple in lake near her. I concentrated and saw that there were about 5 animals in the water. They looked like crocodile with humanoid body. It looked like she haven¡¯t notice from the noise of the waterfall.


    *Should I go in and help her? But I have no idea if those things are dangerous or not.*


    One of the creature snuck up on her and raise from the water. It opened its mouth while she was looking through her stuff.


    *Ahh, fuck it!*


    I jumped from the tree and drove my hand straight into the creature¡¯s chest. A large scream can be heard from the creature and the girl turned to where we were. I grabbed onto something inside it¡¯s chest and decided to rip it out. I ripped out what seemed like a heart and its body fell in the water. The heart was bloody and beat for about 10 seconds before it was a lump of meat.


    Instantly the remaining creatures came up and charged at me. I knew they were coming already so I grabbed one of them and punched it in the left eye. It flew backward onto a huge rock near the waterfall. I then focus my attention on the other two that were keeping their distance.


    I charged at the one nearest me. It raised his right arm to slam me down but I jumped over him and landed on his head. I grabbed my sword and stabbed it downward into its head. It wiggle a bit before dropping dead. The other one moved near me and raised his tail. I used my shield to defend against the attack and backed up.


    |Dash| |Pierce|


    I activated those two skills and ran toward the creature. I swiftly evaded its tail swipe and stabbed my sword into its chest. |Pierce| then activated and a big hole exploded from its chest. Blood and organs were dripped down from the hole into the water.


    I unsheathe my sword and walked toward the girl who stood there in a daze.


    ¡°You alright?¡±


    XXX: ¡°Behind you!¡±


    I looked behind me as the creature where I punched in the eye almost ate me. I grabbed his jaws and stopped it from closing on to me.


    We haven¡¯t yet gotten used to our new bodies yet so we still had trouble especially after a fight. I was started to lose my strength until the girl came from the right side and stabbed him in the eye with a small sword.


    It gave off a loud scream and knocked the girl backward into one of the boulder near the shore. It staggered back and tried to pull out the sword that was lodged in his eye. I ran toward it and grabbed it jaws and then used as much force as I could muster to rip open his jaw.


    A lifeless body hit the ground and blood and the vessels were showing. The lake was almost completely red from the blood of the creature.


    *(painting noise.) That was tough! Wait what about the girl?*


    I turned to where she was and made my way to her. She had her back against the rock and blood could be seen dripping down from her sides.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Could be better, but since you took care of most of those crocado and saved my life, I¡¯m perfectly satisfied.¡±


    *I could use |healing flame| to get rid of the wound.*


    I raised my hand to her but out of the corner of my eye an arrow flew toward me. I notched back my head and the arrow hit a tree.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡±


    Instantly tons people made their way out of the wood and spread across the other side of the shore. They all had armor which were whites and covered most of their bodies. Several of them had their sword drawn near me while others were stood behind with crossbows.


    XXX: ¡°Get the hell away from her you monster!!¡±


    A knight soon made his way toward me. He was around 5¡¯9 and was covered with armor except for his head. A shield on his left hand while a claymore on his right hand. His feature was similar to the girl. His features were sharp. He had bright blue eyes and had a sharply cut hair. His body was built similar to mine and he had a rather hard look on him.


    He made his way toward and we were a couple of inches from one another.


    ¡°Or else what?¡±


    He started to raise his sword but before he could do anything the girl spoke up.


    XXX: ¡°Cain, lower your weapon! If you couldn¡¯t see but that creature was the one who saved me from the crocado!¡±


    The man lowered his weapon and started to look around. He still kept a hard look at me and ordered the people around him down.


    Cain: ¡°My apologies but I¡¯m sure you understand the situation from my point of view.¡±


    ¡°No, no I can¡¯t.¡±


    He ignored what I said and made his way to the girl.


    Cain: ¡°Are you alright princess Lucia?¡±


    *Princess!?*


    Lucia: ¡°I¡¯m fine but this wound is starting to hurt.¡±


    One of the men raced toward her and investigated her wound.


    Random solider: ¡°Sir the wound is quite deep, it we don¡¯t treat it then it will get worse.¡±


    Cain: ¡°Shit! We used most of our medical supplies on the last village.¡±


    ¡°I could help.¡±


    Cain: ¡°We don¡¯t need your help!¡± He turned at me furiously.


    ¡°And if I don¡¯t help you, your princess will get an infection and possibly die. From your tone about your medical supplies you¡¯re in a tight position.¡±


    Random soldier: ¡°Sir if this creature can help us then we should take it, we won¡¯t be able to get the proper medicine for who knows how long.¡±


    Cain: ¡°Fine, but as soon as I see you doing anything suspicious then I¡¯ll have your head!¡±


    ¡°Please you couldn¡¯t even get a scratch on me even if you tried.¡±


    I made my way over to her and the soldier moved away from her. They still stood near her and ready to take action.


    ¡°Show me where the wound is.¡±


    She lifted right arm to show a slash mark. It stretched from her arm pits to her stomach region.


    ¡°Hold still this won¡¯t hurt a bit. |healing flame|¡±


    I opened my hands and a small yellow fire formed. I crushed it and it spread throughout my arms. The soldiers got a little jumpy when they saw the flame but restrained themselves.


    I put my hand against the wound and pushed the flame against it. She let out a surprise yelp but quickly composed herself. It soon spread across the wound and after 30 seconds the flame disappeared. The cut was nowhere to be seen.


    Soldier: ¡°Amazing! I¡¯ve seen spells that can heal cuts like this but they would leave scars. But the wound is completely gone!¡±


    Lucia: ¡°Thank you!"


    Cain: ¡°Thank you I suppose.¡±


    The way he said it showed that he didn¡¯t really mean it. He moved to her side and helped her.


    ¡°No problem, glad I was able to help.¡±


    I got up and was about to leave until Lucia stopped.


    Lucia: ¡°Wait please stay.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Lucia: ¡°I wish to thank you for saving me.¡±


    Cain: ¡°Princess you don¡¯t have to do such thing. Besides who¡¯s to say this wasn¡¯t his plan to get close to you and then kill you?¡±


    Lucia: ¡°If he wanted to kill me then why did he save me from the crocado? He easily could have stay hidden and let them killed me but instead he came and protected me.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so persistent on defending me?¡±


    Lucia: ¡°My father said that anyone that is willing to go out of his way to help another deserve equal respect no matter who they are.¡±


    ¡°Fine, since you keep insisting then I¡¯ll take your offer.¡±


    Lucia: ¡°Thank you ¡­. Umm what is your name?¡±


    ¡°My name, it is Drakus.¡±


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


    This is the last of the chapters written by Thecode

 Book 1 Chapter 6: Discovery

    Ch. 6: Discovery


    Princess Lucia pov:


    I am Lucia Q. Regios, the first princess of the Regios Kingdom.


    Our Regios Kingdom is somewhat different than others. In our kingdom women have much more rights than in other countries and are even eligible for the throne.


    I was on my way home from a diplomatic mission with my royal guard from the Holy Empire in which I was tasked to negotiate a new trade agreement..


    Needless to say, those arrogant fools didn¡¯t take too kindly to the fact that the representative


    from another country was a woman since the discrimination towards women was common in this country as well as the other human countries.


    I was also there to meet my future fiance, the crown prince Michael of the ruling house of Pendragon. It is common practice for the ruling families of different countries to establish alliances through marriage.


    I eagerly anticipated the meeting hoping to finally see the prince whom I would marry.I had often fantasized as a little girl about marrying a handsome and charming prince who would cherish me and treat me as his most cherished person.  Little did I know that my expectations would be crushed.


    When I finally met him, I was flabbergasted.


    The prince looked very handsome indeed with his blue eyes,  golden hair that went to his shoulders and his face that could even be called pretty but the lustful way he looked at me when we first met made me feel that he was trying to undress me with his eyes.


    I also later found out that he had many mistresses as well as slaves from other nations whom he raped frequently.


    When we were alone, he tried to take off my clothes but I stopped him and used the excuse that we must wait until we are married.


    For the rest of the visit I avoided the prince and focused on the trade negotiations.


    The ministers were hesitant to negotiate with a women but within time, they accepted it and the negotiations were completed.


    After crossing the Eastern border into our kingdom, we went through the Great Genken forest that separates our populated areas from the the border with the Holy Empire.


    After some time traveling and after discovering a river with a waterfall, we decided to take a break and I decided to take a bath which I hadn¡¯t had the luxury to do in a while. I had been too scared to do so in the Holy Empire thinking that the first prince might try to do something to me while I was taking a bath and defenceless.


    I thoroughly enjoyed washing away that dirty feeling that I had from being in the Holy Empire.


    After stepping out of the waterfall I was attacked by five crocaddo and was saved by a mysterious creature. Little did I know that my meeting with this mysterious person would affect the fate of my kingdom and this world for years to come.


    The creature was almost two heads taller than the average man and had scales all over his body. Yet his face seemed human. He was covered in scale-like armor and had a sword made of bone as well as a shield with a sigil  that I had never seen before. I thought that he may have been some rare breed of demihuman.


    After being saved by the creature, the river which was once clear had been dyed in the red blood of the crocaddos and I had a large wound on my body.


    It was then that my royal guard appeared followed by my guardian knight Cain.


    Cain and the other knights were scared by the creature and pointed their swords at him.


    I will have to mention that although our kingdom is very tolerant towards the rights of human women, there is still a big amount of hatred as well as fear towards the other sentient races. This is common not only in our nation but in most human countries since humans have always been seen as the weakest of the sentient races. Yet because of our greater capacity to reproduce, we are able to fight the other races through sheer numbers.


    I will also have to mention that the enslavement of other races is also very common. Elves and demihumans are some of the most common slaves in the human countries that are used for sexual as well as other purposes. Many of the Holy Empire¡¯s crown prince¡¯s slaves were from other races.


    Back to my story; After arriving, Cain and my other guards pointed their swords at the creature.


    After examining my wounds, it was determined that they were serious and that we did not have enough medicinal supplies to treat them.


    It was then that the creature offered to help with my treatment. Cain and the others were skeptical at first but after listening to the reasoning of the creature, they finally relented and allowed him to examine me.


    It was then that the creature did something that shocked all of us. He created a flame in his palm and after crushing the flame with both his hands, it spread through his arms. He then place his hand over an area of the wound and the most miraculous thing happened.


    The flame in his arms spread over the entirety of the the wound which was fairly large and caused it to disappear as if it wasn¡¯t even there. Both myself and all of the guards were shocked. We have people who are capable of using healing magic in our kingdom but most of the time, a wound woudn¡¯t be healed completely and a scar would be left behind. Yet this person¡¯s magic healed it to the point that the skin was completely undamaged.


    After Cain grudgingly thanked him he was about to go when I asked him to stay.


    When he asked why, I answered that it was so I could thank him. Cain then shouted in anger that I should get away from him since it could be his plan to get close to me in order to kill me.


    His actions show his great hatred and mistrust towards other races.


    I then pointed out that if he wanted me dead, he could have let the crocaddo finish me off.


    Then the creature or maybe I should say individual asked why I was so adamant in defending him.


    I told him it was because my father the king had always taught me that anyone who offers their aide to another should be treated with equal respect. He also taught me and my siblings that as members of royalty we should always repay a debt of gratitude to one who has helped us.


    When I asked his name his reply was dracus. Little did I know that this meeting would one day affect the fate of the entire continent.


    Drakus POV:


    *What do I do now*


    I had saved this girl who turned out to be a princess and after saving her she wants to thank me and give me a reward.


    *What my friends and I need now the most is information about the world that we have come to*


    Lucia: ¡°If there is anything you want, as long as it is within my power, it shall be granted to you.¡±


    I wonder what to ask for and then it comes to me.


    ¡°Do you have a detailed map of this area. I am a traveler but I kinda got myself lost.¡±


    Lucia: ¡°I have several maps and I shall give you the best one we have.¡±


    One of her knights handed me a map that was 1 meter long and 1.5 meters wide. It was a map of the world with a label for each country, the physical layout of the continents as well as the national flag of each country. It even listed which population populated each country.


    Lucia: As you probably already know this continent is called the central continent and it is one of five continents in the world.


    She then points to a location on the map of the central continent.


    Lucia: ¡°This is the great Genken Forest which takes up much of the Eastern portion of our Regios kingdom.¡±


    I peruse the map making mental notes of which countries belong to which races. I then notice a very large country to the East of this one with a familiar looking flag.


    ¡°What is the background of the other large country that is to the East of this one?¡±


    Lucia: ¡°That is the Holy Empire. It was said to be founded about one thousand years ago by the seven heroes who saved the continent from the first invasion of the demon lord and his army from the demon continent to the East. Each of the heroes who suddenly appeared during the invasion wielded a sword of great power and were very strong. After driving the demons from the continent they established the Holy Empire with the strongest of the heroes, who wielded the most powerful of the swords establishing the imperial family while each of the other heroes became one of the dukes of the empire. All together, they established the seven great families that rule the Holy Empire today and are now worshipped as Gods by the Empire¡¯s people. Furthermore, the swords of the heroes as well as the skills to fight with them are passed down to the head of each family. The Holy Empire has also led the alliance of human countries during other invasions by the demons. Right now I am engaged to the crown prince of the Holy Empire in order that we may forge an alliance with them.¡±


    That last bit about her engagement was said with her making a melancholic face.


    She also went into an explanation of the other continents and the countries that made them up.


    ¡°Thank you for the maps. I think that I should get going so that I can continue my journey.¡±


    Lucia: ¡°Wait! There are two more things that I would like to give you¡±


    She reached into her pocket and took out a golden ring that had a coat of arms on it of a majestic lion on its two front legs with a crown on its head.


    Lucia: ¡°This is the ring with the crest of the Regios family that only those from the royal family as well as their most trusted servants are allowed to wear. It is an ancient class magic item known as the ring of valor that any citizen with the identify skill would recognize. If you show it to any city guard within the Regios kingdom, you will automatically be allowed to enter a city without paying a toll. You will also receive a 40 percent discount when staying in an inn if you show it to the owner.¡±


    Cain: ¡°Princess, you can¡¯t be intending to give such a treasure to a non-human¡±


    Lucia: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he isn¡¯t human. He saved my life. As a member of the royal family, I must repay my debt to him. I will also give him 200 gold coins.¡±


    She then proceeds to take out a large bag of coins from a bag and gives it to me.


    ¡°Thank you for the gifts, I will now take my leave to continue my journey.¡±


    Lucia: ¡°I hope that we meet again.¡±


    After leaving, I put the gifts in my inventory and head for home.


    I than make my way through the forest as fast as I can until I reach the Grand Sanctuary. I could have taken it easy and gone slower but I didn¡¯t want to worry anyone because of being gone too long. I also wanted to test my abilities to see how fast and far I can go while not taking a break. What I found out is that this body is ridiculous and that I had become a total cheat.


    After making it back to the Grand Sanctuary I found Altina at the entrance who after seeing me return flew into my arms and hugged me.


    After realizing that she had hugged one of her masters and behaved shamefully, she immediately pulled away with her face turning bright red.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°How long have you been waiting for me to come back¡±


    Altina: ¡°I haven¡¯t waited long Drakus. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡±


    ¡°Lets go to the council room. I have to tell the others what I have learned from my excursion into the forest.¡±


    After hearing my suggestion, she calmed down and we teleported to the council room where we found Nu-Ru sifting through some data.


    ¡°Hey Nu-Ru, I¡¯m back.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°You idiot, do you realize how worried everyone has been about you after they realized you were gone.¡±


    ¡°I have an idea¡±


    After I said that after looking at Altina, her face turned completely red again. Upon seeing this Nu-Ru started to chuckle for a bit.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough laughing. We have to contact the others to come to the council room so I can relate what I have learned.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°No need to worry. They are already on their way.¡±


    After another five minutes the others arrived and I recounted about my excursion into the forest


    as well as  my meeting with the princess and the gifts she gave me.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to learn so much from a simple excursion into the forest.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°I can¡¯t believe you met a real fucking princess. I¡¯m damn jealous of you right now.¡±


    Manom: ¡°Why are you jealous? You would only have scared her off anyway with your ugly mug.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that my face can be considered quite handsome, which is more than I can say for you Mr. faceless, undead lich.¡±


    Manom: ¡°You want a piece of me?¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Bring it!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Enough! Now from the information described by Drakus I can confirm my theory that we have been sent to another world. After all, Eternia never had a kingdom known as Regios. Now Drakus can you take out the world map the princess gave you and explain what she told you about the world.¡±


    ¡°Yes from what she told me, this world seems to be divided into five continents. The continent we are on is known as the central continent and is mainly populated by Humans with several countries populated by demi-humans and beastmen as well as a variety of low to mid level monsters. There are two large human countries with the others belonging to other races. Of particular note is the country of the elves that live within the Great Northern Forest as well as the kingdom of Dwarves that lies in the mountains in the western part of the continent. The Eastern continent is otherwise known as the demon continent and is populated mostly by demons. They are ruled by the demon lord whose ancestors have tried invading this continent several times but has been repulsed by the alliance of the two Human kingdoms. The Western continent is home to mainly demi-humans and beast men. They are lead by a lion beastman named regulus whose family has prevented human incursion into the continent for centuries. The Southern continent is also known as the dragon continent since it is mainly dragons who live there, although there is also a population of high level monsters. The dragons are ruled by the dragon emperor Tiamat who is said to have lived for millions of years. Finally, there is the northern continent which is home to a mysterious group. Little is known about it but something is going on there.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°That was a good explanation. Can you also explain to me about this Holy Empire that the princess mentioned.¡±


    I then went on to recount the information the princess told me about that country.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°This information confirms another one of my theories that we might not have been the only ones to come to this world¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°What do you mean, nyaa.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°I¡¯m also lost dude.¡±


    Nu-Ru: Think about it. Seven heroes with swords of great power. Also look at the Flag of the Holy Emipre; doesn¡¯t it look familiar.


    Shae Alpha: ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°You¡¯ve probably guessed right. The Holy Empire was most likely founded by the seven founders of the Holy Knights Guild.


    In the world of Eternia, although the Guild Crimson Strife was thought to the most powerful guild among the many different guilds, there was one guild that was constantly fighting with Crimson Strife over the title of the strongest guild. That guild was the Holy Knights Guild. The Holy Knights Guild only had two criteria that it strictly adhered to in order for someone to join. The first is that the applicant had to have a human character. The other was that they had to have a character related to sword fighting. This guild with 30,000 members was always trying to challenge Crimson Strife in different ways in order to claim the title of the strongest guild in Eternia. What they were most famous for was that six of the seven founders had a sword magical item of the legendary class and the guild master had an abyss class sword item, as well as the fact that all of these items had ridiculous cheat abilities.


    The names of the seven leaders and their swords were: Sigfried whose Magic sword Gram could cut through any defence, Roland whose Great Sword Durandal could unleash magical waves of destruction to take down hundreds of enemies at once, Oliver whose sword Hauteclere had a charm effect that left most enemies stunned before being cut down by the blade, David whose sword Tyrfing had the ability to take away the sight and hearing of an individual once cut with the blade, Seijirou, a samurai who wielded the Kusanagi Blade that healed and recovered the stamina of the wielder by taking it from any enemy that was unfortunate enough to be cut by the blade, Ayato who wielded the sword Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, which allowed him to use and seal off one or more of the skills or abilities of an enemy once they are cut by the sword, the Guild Master Arthur who wielded the most powerful sword in the game, Excalibur, an abyss class sword item which could increase his stats 50 fold when in battle, which could destroy any other sword, and which was completely indestructible


    The two reasons that Crimson Strife would always come out victorious against such a formidable foe such as the Holy knights guild is because of the unstoppable strategies of Crimson Strife¡¯s Genius strategist Nu-Ru as well as the fact that each of the leaders of Crimson Strife were also armed with a legendary class item in addition to the abyss class items owned by Drakus and Nu-Ru.


    Back to the story:


    Shae Alpha: ¡°What I don¡¯t understand is that those seven heroes founded the Holy Empire about one thousand years ago, so how can they be those same jerks from that troublesome guild.


    Nu-Ru: Most likely when the game shut down those of us who stayed to see the end weren¡¯t just hurled through space but time as well.


    ¡°What do you mean¡±


    Nu-Ru: What I mean is that the different groups that stayed to the end were most likely sent to this world but in different eras of this world¡¯s history.


    Arsenal: So does that mean that those seven bastards are controlling the Holy Empire from the shadows?


    Nu-Ru: From the information Drakus received, they are most likely dead. I mean even though they were players from Eternia, their characters were still humans with set lifespans. Further evidence that they are deceased comes from the fact that their prized swords are being wielded by their descendents so unless they used some skill or magical item to prolong their lives, it is very likely that they died a long time ago.


    ¡°For now we can¡¯t be sure that there aren¡¯t enemies in the shadows or that there aren¡¯t other players out there, so for now it would be best if we were to be cautious. We also have to decide in what direction our guild will proceed in this world.  Nu-Ru, as our guild¡¯s strategist, give us your opinion on the current situation.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°At this point we should assume that there is no way back home. I mean those seven fellows couldn¡¯t find it but if you were to look at their personalities, they probably never tried. Also we have no idea what sent us to this world in the first place. We also have no idea as to what happened to our real bodies when we became our characters and were brought here.¡±


    Kaetzchen: So you mean that we could be stuck in these bodies for the rest of our lives nyaa?


    Shae Alpha: At least you¡¯re still flesh and blood. I may be stuck as an Android for who knows


    how long.


    ¡°So Nu-Ru what do you think we should do¡±


    Nu-Ru: For now we should gather more information on the immediate area surrounding the great sanctuary and further fortify our defenses. Now that we know that we are in an area that is hostile to non-humans, we have to make countermeasures against an attack on the Grand Sanctuary from the human kingdoms.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan? Are we going to explore more now?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Yes, but not right now. If we have to out there, then we should at least study up on anything and everything we can first. Let me look through that map one more time.¡±


    Princess Lucia POV


    Cain: ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would gift such a precious treasure a creature like that.¡±


    ¡°He saved my life and more so. That was the least I could do for my savior. Now, are we all packed up?¡±


    Cain: ¡°Yes ma¡¯am! We¡¯ll reach the fort near sundown.¡±


    My guards were packing up while Cain was issuing order. I ran back to the lake to make sure all my possession where in order. Everything was set, we were about to leave until something shiny caught my eye. It laid on the rocky floor.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    It looked to be a small scepter. The handle was a transparent silvery color while there was a bright blue orb at the top. It was very beautiful looking and I was pondering why it was doing out here.


    Cain: ¡°Princess, what is that?¡±


    Cain came over with my house along with the other guards who were ready. Cain suspiciously looked at the item along with some of my guards.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I found it near the lake where...do you think it belongs to Drakus?¡±


    A wild thought occurred to me and the more I think about it, the more it made sense. One of the soldiers inspected it, making sure it was safe.


    Guard: ¡°So far it doesn¡¯t seem to be dangerous. But I¡¯ve never seen anything like this before.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not dangerous, than I¡¯ll keep it.¡±


    Cain and some of the other guards were about to interject but I gave them a hard look. They quickly back off and we were on our way. I stuff the rod in the pocket of the tunic and we continued on our way.


    Little did I know the series of events I would get entangled in once I reached that city.


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


    So this is the first chapter that I wrote myself and that wasn¡¯t left over from Thecode¡¯s written chapter. Like I have said before, if anyone has any comments on something I did wrong or something to make the story better please post it and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Also please rate and review my work since it doesn¡¯t take too much time.

 Book 1 Chapter 7: Plots and Arguments

    Chapter 7: Plots and Arguments.


    Princess Lucia POV.


    After we left the forest we arrived at the fortress city, Lion¡¯s Den. At the front of the city, there were many merchants and others who were waiting in line in front of the city gates. Most likely they were traveling to the Holy Empire.


    We waited in line to be let into the city until it was our turn. I then showed my ring of valor to the guards and we were let in to the city without having to pay the fee of ten silver coins for our whole group. Unfortunately I wasn¡¯t looking very closely at them or I would have seen the evil smiles on some of their faces.


    As we entered the city we made our way to an inn suggested by one of my royal guards Mordrid who is familiar with this city since he used to live here.


    Mordrid is a knight who is in his early thirties with pale skin along with long red hair that reached his shoulders and freckles that cover his face.


    We made our way to the inn as the people of the streets were parting ways for us. Almost as if they were trying to ignore us. It was when we were halfway there that I felt a sudden chill.


    *Are we being watch*


    I tried to look around as cautiously as I can as to not draw any immediate attention.


    Cain: ¡°Princess, for a moment I felt a presence watching us.¡±


    *I was right*


    ¡°Ignore it for now since whoever was watching us has seemed to run away.¡±


    Afterwards, we check into the inn and took a long deserved rest.


    The next day, Mordrid volunteered to show me and the other royal guard around the city.


    My personal knight Cain came with us as well as Gawain, Pursiple, and Tristan who are also members of the royal guard.


    Gawain is a knight who is in his late fifties with an almost full head of black hair except for his cyburns and black eyes. Although he is somewhat more aged than the other royal guards, he is no less formidable than the time when he is in his prime.


    Tristan is a young knight in his late twenties with black hair and tanned skin and beautiful green eyes. He is a perfectly honorable knight except for his habit of seducing and bedding young women.


    Percible is a middle aged knight who wears a mask due to receiving scars as a child from his house burning down. The mask he wears along with the fact that he doesn¡¯t talk about himself both give him an air of mystery.


    ¡°Mordrid, how do we get to the clothing district. I could use a change of clothes after going through that forest.¡±


    Mordrid: ¡°Follow me Princess, I know a shortcut through the back streets.¡±


    As we follow Mordrid through the city we come across a deserted alleyway and make our way through. Just like yesterday the streets were more deserted.


    Gawain: ¡°I don¡¯t like the looks of this shortcut Mordrid.¡±


    Mordrid: ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. After all who¡¯d be dumb enough to attack a member of the royal family of the Regios Kingdom when they are protected by members of the royal guard.


    Gawain: ¡°I suppose you are right but I still don¡¯t like it. Even still we must maintain our vigi¡­aaaah.¡±


    At that moment we all look towards Gawain and saw a knife sticking out of his neck.


    Before anyone could say anything we see two dozen black clothed assassins as well as several city guards came from the exit of the alleyway.


    Tristan: ¡°This seems to be some sort of trap.¡±


    Percible: ¡°I agree. It looks like some of the city guards were bribed for this.¡±


    Cain: ¡°Whatever the danger, our first priority is to protect the princess and ensure that she escapes. We cannot bring shame to our duties as members of the royal¡­gaaaah.¡±


    At this point we see a sword sticking through the abdomen of Cain and the one who is holding that sword is none other than the royal guard Mordrid.


    Mordrid: ¡°I¡¯m sorry but the Princess has an appointment with an individual who would very much like to meet her.¡±


    Tristan: ¡°Mordrid, how could you betray your oaths?¡±


    Perciple: ¡°Weren¡¯t we who accepted the duty of royal guards supposed to be like brothers¡±


    Mordrid: ¡°You may have thought about it that way but I always thought about it as a way to advance my position in society. Now someone very powerful has made me a very compelling offer to help him kidnap the princess. Oh, and don¡¯t expect any help from the soldiers at the hotel. Their dinner this evening was dosed with a very powerful sleeping potion that will keep them asleep for the next 12 hours. My friends here will finish them off once we have taken custody of the princess.¡±


    Tristan: ¡°Princess, you must escape.¡±


    Perciple: ¡°We will hold them off for as long as we can.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your service and goodbye.¡±


    I then run out of the alley. As I am running, I heard two screams. Tears began to swell in my eyes but I kept on running. I keep running, eventually reaching the center of the city only to find it completely deserted with no one in sight.


    *Somebody help me. Somebody save me*


    Little did I know that as I was hoping for someone to save me, the rod that I found was glowing in my pocket. I stared at it with a confused look until three more assassin fell from the roof and surrounded me.


    Then as I was running three assassins appeared in front of me.


    Assassin 1: ¡°End of the road princess¡±


    I looked behind me and saw that the other attackers had catched up and I resigned myself to my fate.


    Drakus POV


    During the day that we saved the princess, Nu-Ru immerses himself in the map and the new world. The rest of us tried to get him to relax a bit. Eventually we succeeded in getting him to stop. The next day we all helped Nu-Ru with researching.


    We had been going over the different sources of information in the control room for some time now when a window popped up warning that a beacon had gone off and that a guild member was in danger.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°How is this possible? We should be the only ones from the guild who came to this world.¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°Also all of the beacons should be accounted for nyaa.¡±


    Nu-Ru: Drakus, did you by any chance lose the beacon I gave you when you went on your little scouting trip.


    ¡°Of course not. Look I still have it in my pocket¡­huh.¡±


    I remembered putting it in my pocket so I could easily grab it. I then checked my inventory to make sure I didn¡¯t store it there.


    Nu-Ru: I thought so. So let¡¯s see who is giving off the signal.


    Nu-Ru activated the window and on screen was the princess who I saved surrounded by assassins who look to do her harm.


    ¡°Hey that¡¯s the princess of the Regios kingdom that I saved. We have to help her.¡±


    I equip my weapons and was about to storm right on out until Nu-Ru stopped me.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I¡¯m sorry Drakus but I can¡¯t allow that¡±


    ¡°What do you mean Nu-Ru? She¡¯s in danger!¡±


    Nu-Ru: You¡¯re supposed to be the guild master so please try to think logically. Right now we are trapped in a world that we know very little about. We have no idea how strong we are compared to the local population. Furthermore, since she is a princess, the person who sent those assassins to target her must be a very powerful person in human society. At this point in time, we simply cannot afford to draw attention to ourselves.


    *He can¡¯t be serious!*


    I turned my attention away from Nu-Ru and towards the others hopping that they might agree with me.


    ¡°You all don¡¯t agree with him do you?¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°logically speaking, attacking those assassins when we don¡¯t know their strength could be very dangerous for us.¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°¡°I agree with you Drakus, but Nu-Ru is right as well, nyaa. We can¡¯t attract unwanted attention, nyaa.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°Sorry dude but the risk is too high. We have too much trouble at it is, we can¡¯t be inviting more.¡±


    Reptilia: ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think it would be fun to test my assassination skills against the assassins of this world.


    Arsenal: ¡°I don¡¯t have a problem with helping that princess. I just want something to test my full power on.¡±


    Manom: ¡°I agree with Nu-Ru. I think that it is best to act on the side of caution.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that most of you wouldn¡¯t help someone who is in trouble. I¡¯m especially shocked about you Nu-Ru. Have you all forgotten that we used to be regular humans just like her? Just because we were sent to a different world in our bodies from Eternia doesn¡¯t mean that we should allow ourselves to lose our humanity and forget the fact that we are still people.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I felt my rage coursing through my body. I could also feel my face contorted because of it. Nu-Ru simply lowered his head, the hoodie blocking his face making it hard to see what kind of expression he was making.


    I grinded my teeth in frustration and I then storm out of the control room. Altina was waiting in the hallway.


    ¡°Altina come with me.¡±


    Altina: ¡°Where are we going Drakus?¡±


    ¡°To the fortress city of Lion¡¯s Den.¡±


    We teleported to the Earth Sanctum and headed towards the entrance to the Grand Sanctuary. As we near the Entrance I see Nu-Ru in front of the door.


    ¡°What are you doing here? Aren¡¯t you busy with your investigation!¡±


    I spoke in a sarcastic and condescending tone, hoping to rallied him up but to no avail.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I thought I could try to convince you not to go but I guess that¡¯s not possible.¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Geez, you were always the most hot-blooded one in our group. You¡¯re much worse than


    Arsenal and Manom. Though I guess the reason you were elected guild master was that you were the Guild¡¯s mood-maker.


    ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡±


    Nu-Ru waited a bit before finally answering. He let out a heavy sigh and responded.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I guess my point is that if you are dead set on going, the rest of us will support you.


    Besides, knowing you, all you would have done was barge right in.¡±


    Nu-Ru activated his teleportation spell that brought us back into the conference room where the other stood at the ready.


    Nu-Ru: Okay, now that everyone is here and calmed down, here is our strategy. Drakus, Reptilia, Altina and I will go and save the princess. Arsenal, Manom, alert the floors, have them ready just in case we encounter trouble. Shae Alpha go to Nabuu, have some invisible scouts posted around the sanctuary. We need to make sure we don¡¯t get followed and have them prove reconnaissance should the enemy have reinforcements. Trion, Kaetzchen, you¡¯ll be an emergency rescue party should we need it. This fight won¡¯t be just to save a princess. It will also be to test our power against the warriors of this world. Does everyone understand?¡±


    I was surprised at how Nu-Ru came up with the plan so quickly. But I then remember who I was dealing with.


    Everyone: ¡°Right!¡±


    Nu-ru: ¡°|Portal|¡±


    Princess Lucia POV


    Assassin: ¡°There we go.¡±


    After trying to run again, they eventually caught up to me. they tied my hands and legs, dragging me back to the center of town. This time the grounds were filled with my soldier guards who were still asleep.


    I flew to the ground and landed with a thud. I tried to stand but all I could managed was to sit up right. Standing in front of me was none other than the traitor guard himself, Mordrid.


    ¡°You! On my name as princess, I¡¯ll get you!¡±


    The knight simply chuckled and kicked me in the stomach, taking away my breath. He kicked me again and I was on my side, gasping for air.


    Mordrid: ¡°Talk all you want, but face it. You lost, now be a good girl and stay quiet.¡±


    He slowly walked away to talk with some of the assassins and city guards. As I tried to get back up again, something got my attention, my Royal Guards. Cain, Perciple, and Tristan were thrown near me. they looked to be heavily injured, blood was pouring from their deep wounds.


    Mordrid: ¡°Here¡¯s your payment.¡±


    He was dealing with what seemed like the City guard captain.


    Captain: ¡°That¡¯s nice and all but those royal guard bastards killed many of my good men. I want more to compensate.¡±


    Mordrid: ¡°What do you want?¡±


    The captain stood there pondering until he looked over at me.


    Captain: ¡°I want her. Well more specifically, we want her body.¡±


    A deep coldness passed through my body and I couldn¡¯t stop shaking. I knew what he meant by those words. Mordrid pondered a bit before answering him.


    Mordrid: Fine but make sure there¡¯s no visible injury, we don¡¯t want to upset my client.¡±


    My body couldn¡¯t stop shaking as their wicked smiles were visible. I tried to back up but they grabbed me and forced me down while they started to undress me. Cain and the other were weakly screaming at them but to no avail.


    *Someone...please help me. Cain, father....Drakus.¡±


    Captain: ¡°What the..?!¡±


    I opened my eye to see a black colored hole opening right in front of me. Some of the soldiers back off. Then the unexpected happen. A fist flew out of the portal, hitting the captain into a wall. A massive hole was created with his dead body.


    XXX: ¡°None of you are laying a hand on her.¡±


    I quickly looked over as the familiar voice rang through the air. Within a second Drakus walked out of the portal, but he wasn¡¯t alone. Behind him was a friendly looking man dressed in strange clothes with two different colored eyes and who looks to be a mage. Another was a tall tanned women armed with two strange blade weapons. She was extremely beautiful and dressed in an glorious looking uniform. The last one was a lizard beast women who seemed to be dressed in the same type of black clothes as the assassins except her belt held many strange weapons.


    Drakus: ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. Tears began to form as I hugged him. He patted my back, saying everything was ok.


    XXX: ¡°I hate to ruin this touching reunion but we have bigger problem. Are those your men?¡±


    The mage looking person brought me back and pointed towards Cain and the others.


    ¡°Yes! They¡¯re my royal guards. They need help!¡±


    XXX: ¡°Say no more. |Divine Blessing|¡±


    He extended his hand. A bright yellowish light appeared surrounding Cain and the rest. After a couple of seconds they stood back up, fully healed. Not only that the other soldiers also seemed to have woken up.


    ¡°How did you¡­¡±


    Mordrid: ¡°Who the hell are you!?¡±


    I looked back to see Mordrid with the city guards and assassins armed and ready. I looked nervously at them and back to Drakus and his friends. They didn¡¯t even looked worried what so ever.


    XXX: ¡°Our name doesn¡¯t really matter right now. Besides there¡¯s no point as you¡¯ll be dead anyway. So here is how this will work, we can either do this the easy way or the har..¡±


    Mordrid: ¡°Get them!¡±


    He didn¡¯t let the mage finished as he gave the command to attack. Several guards charged at them while a several of assassins attacked from behind.


    XXX: |Stone Tomb|


    XXX: |Dual Slash|


    XXX: |Backstab|


    Drakus: |Inferno Slash|


    The mage in front casted some form of spell as the ground morph and surrounded some of the guards, encasing them. Those that didn¡¯t got caught up in the attack were killed instantly by the beautiful women. The assassins tried to sneak attack them from behind but they were dealt with as well.


    The lizard woman dissapeared just as some of the assassins attacked at once. One by one a dark shadowy dagger pierced each of their body from behind. Soon she reappeared, walking it off.


    But most impressively of all was Drakus. Fire formed and surrounded his sword, a small flaming tornado wrapped around it. He swung his sword, catching about the remaining assassins and killed them.


    All I could do was simply gawk at what had just happen. I looked over to see Cain and the other guards simply staring at them with amazement. Mordrid and his allies on the other hand were shaking.


    Drakus: ¡°It looks like we¡¯re doing this the hard way.¡±


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


    Please rate and review my story if you like it. It will only take five minutes so it shouldn''t be too much trouble. Also in the future I will be posting polls to see in what direction you guys would like some parts of the story to go. Also if you have any suggestions on how to make the story better feel free to comment or post them with your reviews.

 The LAst Guild Character Guide

    Hey loyal fans. Sorry to say this but I can¡¯t release a chapter today since college work is kicking my ass. But in order to wet your appetites for future chapters, I prepared this character guide to help you remember all of the different characters. I will update it as the story progresses.


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


    The Last Guild Character Guide


    Founding members:


    ¡¤         Drakus: Draconian who can hot headed sometimes even though he is technically the Guild Master of Crimson Strife.


    lvl 100- Main class: [arch knight] [animalistic] [dragon lord] [blade master] Subclass: [dragon rider] [pyro apprentice]


    ¡¤         Nu-Ru: Alvian who is a master of Magic and is Crimson Strife¡¯s main strategist, lvl 100- Main class: [archmage] [enchanter] [shaman] Subclasses: [scholar] [alchemist] [identifier] [tactician] [prodigy]


    ¡¤         Kaetzchen: Cat demihuman who is a mother like figure for the leading members of Crimson Strife, lvl 100- Main class: [martial artist] [animalistic] [amazon] [animal shifter] Subclasses: [sun beast] [dancer]


    ¡¤         Arsenal: Ogre who is the brother of Manom and is known to always fight with him due to being hot headed, lvl 100-


    Main class: [berserker] [vampire] [sword master] [doom knight] Subclasses: [dual wielder] [blood warrior]


    ¡¤         Shae.Alpha: Android who is also a logical thinker like Nu-Ru and who acts as the strategist for Crimson Strife when Nu-Ru is not present., lvl 100- Main class: [Guardian] [android commander] [supporter]  Subclasses: [Defender] [chef] [blacksmith] [automaton] [engineer]


    ¡¤         Trion Jazz: Cyborg who is the most laid back member among the leaders of Crimson Strife, lvl 100- Main class: [rider] [doppelganger] [martial artist] [supporter]  Subclasses: [scout] [technician]


    ¡¤         Manom: Undead Lich who even though can be hot-headed when arguing with his brother can still be a cautious fighter when battling enemies., lvl 100- Main Class:  [Necromancer] [Summoner] [blood mage] [undead lich]  Subclasses: [pact dealer] [chosen undead]


    ¡¤         Reptillia: Argonian which is a type of Lizard Beastman who enjoys fighting as an assassin since she gets to be like a ninja., lvl 100- Main class: [Assassin] [animalistic] [hunter]  Subclasses:[tracker] [robber] [thief] [spy master] [chameleon]


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Sanctum Guardian NPC


    ¡¤         Earth Sanctum- Lissina lvl 100, created by Reptillia. Main class: [animalistic] Subclasses [loyal guard] [alchemist] [dark caster]


    ¡¤         Ocean Sanctum- Meral lvl 100, created by Shae.Alpha. Main class: [animalistic]  Subclasses: [loyal guard] [siren] [aquatic druid]


    ¡¤         Frozen Sanctum- Polygon lvl 100, created by Arsenal. Main class: [ani-morphic]  Subclass: [loyal guard] [elementalist] [abnormal being]


    ¡¤         Inferno Sanctum- Orthodox lvl 100, created by Manom. Main class: [hellspawn]  Subclasses: [loyal guard] [warlord] [abnormal being]


    ¡¤         Sky Sanctum- Leona lvl 100, created by Kaetzchen. Main class: [angel] Subclass: [loyal guard] [acolyte] [shrine priests]


    ¡¤         Night Sanctum- Sirva lvl 100, created by Nu-Ru. Main class: [assassin]  Subclasses: [loyal guard] [chunin] [shadow guard]


    ¡¤         Dragon Sanctum- Dragos lvl 100, created by Drakus. Main class: [animalistic]  Subclasses: [loyal guard] [greater being] [dracomancer]


    ¡¤         Galaxy Sanctum- Nabuu lvl 100, created by Trion Jazz. Main class:  [ani-morphic]  Subclasses: [loyal guard] [greater being] [elementalist]


    ¡¤         Grand Guardian- Altina: Human type character who was programmed to be in love with the Guild Master Drakus by the members of the Guild who created her. Acts as the leader of the guardians and is in charge of protecting the Grand Sanctuary.  lvl 100, created by 2/3 of the guild. Main class: [buccaneer]  Subclasses: [loyal guard] [overseer] [wife]


    Regios Kingdom:


    Princess Lucia: 1st princess who is engaged to the first prince of the Holy Empire.


    Cain: personal knight and head royal guard of Princess Lucia


    Gawain: Old Royal Guard who protects princess Lucia and who even with advanced age can still keep up with the younger guards.


    Tristan: Royal Guard for Princess Lucia who would be the perfect example of a knight if not for his habit of seducing women to have one knight stands with them.


    Perciple: Mysterious Royal Guard who protects princess Lucia and who wears a mask due to having his face scarred when his house burned down as a child.


    Mordrid: Royal Guard who betrayed his charge Princess Lucia in order to help a mysterious benefactor.

 Book 1 Chapter 8: Plans for the Future

    Hey everyone, since I made you wait a while for the next chapter, I decided to make this one extra long. Enjoy.


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


    Chapter 8: Plans for the Future


    Mordrid POV


    It was supposed to be a simple mission. Get the princess to the fortress, bribed the guards and


    then kidnap her. Everything was set and all of it went a courting to plan. I would sell the princess


    and be given the title of Duke along with some ransom from the other guards from wealthy. Until


    they came, at first I couldn¡¯t believe what I heard. Some scaled demi-human saved the princess.


    I dismissed it at a joke, but now with it in front of me, I believed it.


    The one called Drakus appeared out of nowhere, not only that it apparently brought along


    some allies. A mage, a female warrior and a lizard woman. At first I thought they wouldn¡¯t make


    a difference but within seconds they killed my men¡¯s with ease.


    XXX: ¡°Hmm, casting spells on living being is just the same as dummies. What about you guys?¡±


    XXX: ¡°Yeah, all though I didn¡¯t expect those assassins to die so easily. That was one of my


    weakest attack too.¡±


    ¡°Who¡­who the hell are you people?!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but scream as the individual were just having a casual conversation. As if we


    weren¡¯t there. The mage casually looked over and let out a sigh.


    XXX: ¡°Seeing as you¡¯re dying to know, I¡¯ll tell you. My name is Nu-Ru and that¡¯s all you need to know.¡±


    ¡°Nu-Ru? What kind of name is that?¡±


    The mage or Nu-Ru casually shrugged his shoulders.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°That¡¯s my name whether you like it or not. Now then onto the matter at hand. I don¡¯t


    know who ordered you to capture the princess but I do know this. You will fail, so I want you and


    your extra assassin out in the woods to surrender peacefully?¡±


    *How did he know about our reinforcement?! Does he have some detection spell?*


    ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s a funny joke boy! We out number you, so how about you surrender quietly and


    we might spare you?¡±


    I put on my confident look again as to try and get the mage to think otherwise. We still had the


    advantage, not to mention if they were there to save them then they would need to protect the


    guards as well.


    The mage simply looked back to his friends and started conversing with them once more. I felt


    sweat dripping down my throat as they still proved to be quite powerful.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Where are the resident of this city?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Where are the people? What did you do to them? Surely you didn¡¯t kill them all did


    you.¡±


    ¡°Why would I answer you?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Because I want to know. If you answer my question, then I¡¯ll answer yours.¡±


    I stared at him, trying to wrap my head around why this mage would care so much. I weighed


    my odds before answering.


    ¡°They¡¯re outside the city, the guards forced them out.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Ahh, I see now. You used the guards to evacuate the civilians. With no witness then


    you¡¯re free to do whatever you want. Very clever.¡±


    The mage spoke in a condescending tone.


    ¡°Enough of this! I answered your question, now you answer mine!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Fair enough. No.¡±


    I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I readied myself and ordered the guards and assassins to group


    up. Soon we surrounded them.


    ¡°Fine then we¡¯ll just kill you. But I¡¯m am curious why you were so concerned about the people of


    this city.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Well it wasn¡¯t completely out of concern. I just wanted to know something else, their


    safety was secondary.¡±


    ¡°And what might that be?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Whether or not we can go all out or not. Without civilians, we can actually fight without


    worrying about hurting them.¡±


    I was about to laugh his statement off as a mere bluff but there was still a lingering doubt.


    There¡¯s forty five of us against four of them. I rationalized the odds and all of it was in our favor


    even if we were to lose a lot of men.


    ¡°Ha! Bluff all you want, we still outnumber you.¡±


    Once more the mage simply ignored me and went to his comrades.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°So here¡¯s the plan, Reptilia, you¡¯ll get rid of the extra assassins. We don¡¯t need prying


    eyes. Altina, you¡¯ll protect the princess along with the guards.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°|Life Cocoon| |Tri-barrier|¡±


    Light bended around the princess along with the royal guards. The next second what seemed


    like a barrier formed around them. The woman that he was talking to stepped into it and simply


    stood there.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Finally Drakus and I will take care of them.¡±


    The two of them causally walked up while the lizard woman disappeared with a trace. I focused


    my attention to them.


    ¡°You arrogant fools, die! Attack!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°|Enchant- Greater strength| |Enchant- Warrior¡¯s Dance|¡±


    Two mirage of light shined down upon him before quickly rushing towards my men. In a single sword swing, he decapitated the heads of five guards.


    Drakus: ¡°|Flash Fire.|¡±


    He extended out his arm and suddenly small bright lights popped in the air. Within a second


    they grew to be powerful explosions. Around half of the guards were caught up in the flames. I


    could feel the flame from where I was and couldn¡¯t help but shake at its terrifying power.


    ¡°You¡­you fools! Don¡¯t attack the demi-human head on! Assassins kill the mage, we can¡¯t have


    him prove aid to the demi-human.¡±


    The assassins that were waiting on the side lines finally made their move. Streaking through the


    flames they charged at the mage and demi-human from behind and above.


    Nu-Ru: |Electric Cage|


    Drakus: |Flare burst|


    The air started to shake and spark. Soon bolts of electricity formed and moved all over the air


    near the assassins. They moved and connected with one another until they formed a


    rectangular box. Those caught up in it were electrocuted instantly. The assassins who were after the demi-human were almost incinerated when streaks of flame burst from his body, hitting everyone closed to him.


    Around half of our forces were already gone. The men were shaking in their boots, whimpering like children''s. Even the assassins that I was lended had fear in their eyes. I turned my attention back to them as they walked towards us. But it wasn¡¯t over appearing next to them was the lizard women from before.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°You¡¯re back, how was the hunt?¡±


    XXX: ¡°Pretty boring most didn¡¯t even realized they I was there. For assassins they suck at their job.¡±


    From the way that they were speaking with one another I concluded that they had dealt with our reinforcement.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°It would seems that this little farce has come to an end. Let¡¯s wrap this up shall we.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Please wait a moment!¡±


    To my surprise the mage stopped and simply looked at me.


    ¡°You two are strong, there no denying that. How about you join us instead?!¡±


    The other guards looked at me with a mixture of confusion and hopefulness. I tried to ponder on my next words as they could be my last.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that you are handsomely rewarded if you help us. Women, gold, power, prestige, anything that you want. You have my word.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I have another question to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Of course! Ask away and I¡¯ll answer as best as I can.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°What else can you offer.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but do a sudden intake as I wasn¡¯t expecting him to ask for more.


    ¡°How much do you want? I¡¯ll get you all that you ever want!¡±


    Nu-Ru put his hand on his chin and did a pondering motion. I watched him with caution as I tried to come up with more for the bargain.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Come forth my assailant.¡±


    He snapped his finger and within seconds a pool of shadow formed in front of him. The men were jumpy as the shadow rose from the ground and took shape. It was a person that had a similar outfit the lizard woman. It kneeled in front of him.


    XXX: ¡°Yes master.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Please stand up and show your face.¡±


    The figure did as told, facing our direction she took off her cover to reveal her face. I could hear and see the guards gasping at the sudden beauty. It was a dark elf and the most beautiful person I¡¯ve ever seen.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°So tell me Mordrid, can you offer someone more exquisite than my servant here?¡±


    He suddenly spoke, bring my attention back to him and the elf besides him. I started to sweat almost uncontrollably as I realized I couldn¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°Well¡­.No. But.. I can offer you mountains upon gold, you¡¯ll live like a king!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I see.¡±


    His casual response gave me a little hope that he could have been persuaded. He opened his bag pouring the contents out of it. At first I couldn¡¯t believe my eye, gold coins was falling endlessly from the bag and they showed no sign of stopping. But it wasn¡¯t just gold coins there were diamonds, jade, beautiful crystal object. All of it poured out into a pile that was about half his height.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Can you offer me equal or more than what I have here.¡±


    ¡°I...I..uhhh.¡±


    Once more I was speechless. At every turn he would one up me.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Regarding power and prestige, well you can probably guess my answer to them. So then, here¡¯s my final question. Will you surrender or do we have to do it the hard way, again.


    ¡°We...We surrender.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Nu-Ru POV


    *Finally, well that¡¯s one thing taken care of. Now onto our second issue.*


    I turned my attention away from the knight and the guards to the assassins that were scattered about. I forgot to remind Reptilia to spare one of them to collect some info. Now I have to be careful.


    ¡°Now then please surrender quietly.¡±


    Assassin: ¡°Never!¡±


    Within the next second the unexpected happen. They all started to commit suicide. Each one of them pulled out their blades and stabbed themselves in the stomach . One by one they fell.


    *Shit! I need to save one of them.*


    Out of one of my eye I noticed one who had just gotten his blade out. I intervened as to save him.


    ¡°|Gravity down X2|¡±


    I warped the gravity around him, forcing him to the ground and preventing him from killing himself. I let out a small sigh before turning my attention back to the guards.


    ¡°All of you drop your weapon and gather around there.¡±


    I gave them an order and pointed to an empty area in the plaza. Reluctantly they followed as they were told and sat down all together. I assigned Altina and Sirva to guard them while I converse with the princess.


    When Drakus, Reptilia and I walked over, her guards were a bit defensive, carefully watching us. But that was dispelled when she walked to us.


    Lucia: ¡°Thank you...Thank you so much. There are no words that can truly express how grateful I am to you.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Well your welcome but you should be directing it towards Drakus. He was the one that wanted to come, I just tagged along.¡±


    The princess soon turned her attention away from me and towards Drakus. While they were talking, I walked over to the lone assassin that I tied up with a spell. He was wrapped around a tree, immobile.


    ¡°Comfortable? Don¡¯t worry you¡¯ll find that I¡¯m a kind man. So long as you don¡¯t annoy me that is. Now then, who do you work for?¡±


    Assassin: ¡°.....¡±


    I tightened up my fist which activated the spell again. The magical chains started to tightened making him grunt in pain.


    ¡°I have no doubt that you know that there are worse things than death.¡±


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Assassin: ¡°......The Black Order.¡±


    ¡°What is your objective?¡±


    Assassin: ¡°Our contract was to capture the Regios princess and then deliver her to our client.¡±


    ¡°Was it just you who was issued the contract?¡±


    Assassin: ¡°...Yes¡­ but when they find out that we failed they¡¯ll finish it. We never leave a contract undone.¡±


    ¡°Who is your client?¡±


    Assassin: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°....You think I¡¯ll believe that?¡±


    Assassin: ¡°That¡¯s the truth. We only met some kind of middleman of our client. I¡¯ve never heard or seen him before.¡±


    *It has to be someone who was in a high position of power. By the sound of the organization, it would seem that it is big as well. ¡­*


    ¡°You¡¯re telling us the whole story. I¡¯ll be taking you with me.¡±


    Assassin: ¡°I¡¯m afraid that is all you¡¯re getting out of me.¡±


    In the next moment my eye caught the assassin moving his hands to his belt. Through the gaps I saw small black balls. He threw it to the ground which exploded, causing smoke to rise. I put up a small barrier to protect myself. When the smoke cleared the assassin¡¯s body was limp.


    *No..no...NO!*


    I went to check the body just as Drakus along with the others came over as well.


    ¡°Damn it..Damn it..Damn it¡±


    I started curse at the my carelessness. I grinded my teeth while clenching my fist. I looked to the others to see them rather scared of me so I finally decided to calm down. Taking in deep breaths, I calmed myself down.


    I deactivated the chains and his body fell to the ground.


    Drakus: "What should we do now?"


    ¡°I...I don¡¯t know. But first thing''s first we need to prioritize the safety of the princess.¡±


    Drakus and I whispered to one another as so the princess won¡¯t hear us. Hundreds of scenarios played in my head as now we were intertwined with the princess now. I had planned to learn more about the world and explore after saving her, but now things are complicated. On a whim I took a chance.


    ¡°Princess, would you like to hire us?¡±


    Princess: ¡°What?¡±


    That was the collective reaction from everyone, Drakus and the others included. The princess knows too much about us and we know too little of the world. A collaboration was in order.


    ¡°I said would you like to hire us. We may not look like it, but we¡¯re part of a guild. You¡¯re being hunted by powerful people. We can help you.¡±


    The princess looked hopeful but her eyes quickly changed to being cautious.


    Lucia: ¡°What exactly do you have to gain from this?¡±


    ¡°Information and secrecy. We¡¯re from a far off continent, your culture is very different from ours. We wish to get accustom to it, what better way than to have a princess as a guide.¡±


    Lucia: ¡°And the secrecy?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen our power. Our existence is abnormal, especially after revealing it to you. In return for protecting you we expect that our existence to be kept hidden.¡±


    The princess brought her hand to her chin and pondered the deal. The way she conducted herself told me that she wasn¡¯t just an ordinary princess, but an intelligent one was well.


    Lucia: ¡°You have yourself a deal.¡±


    In my mind I swiped away imaginary sweat while making a pheww noise. I then reach into my inventory and pull out an egg shaped magic item.


    ¡°For now let¡¯s head back to the Grand Sanctuary and plan our next move.¡±.


    *This should protect her for now.*


    ¡°Princess take this item. It is an enchanted class magic item known as Hestia¡¯s Blessing. It will put up a magical barrier around the place you intend to stay tonight. It will keep out all of those who have hostile intent towards you and will warn you of their approach. If the warning goes off use the beacon that you acquired from Dracus to alert us and we will come to help.¡±


    Princess Lucia: ¡°I understand. Thank you for your aid and for saving the lives of myself and my guards.¡±


    Drakus: ¡°Don¡¯t think anything of it. We¡¯ll come back tomorrow and let you know about our decision about how we will proceed from now on. Nu-Ru, lets go.¡±


    ¡°|Portal|¡±


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


    Assassin Leader POV


    I am the leader of an elite assassins guild that does business with both the Regios Kingdom and


    the Holy Empire. We receive requests for assassinations and other kinds of dirty work from those that are willing to pay our price. Naturally this includes the rich merchants and the nobility from both countries.


    I am currently in our main base on the border between the two human countries and am going over some documents regarding new requests when one of my subordinates burst through the door to my office.


    Assassin subordinate: Leader, terrible news. We have lost contact with the 3 squads of assassins that were sent to kidnap the Regios Princess.


    ¡°Impossible. Although most of the members that we sent are not considered our elite, they should have been more than enough to deal with the few royal guards she had with her, especially since the one in charge was one of my direct subordinates. In addition they also had the assistance of the city guards and our collaborator within her royal guard.


    *It can¡¯t be possible that they were all defeated.*


    Assassin subordinate: ¡°Leader what should we do?¡±


    ¡°The first thing we should do is confirm that they failed their mission and are dead. Send several reconnaissance units to do a thorough investigation. Also contact our spies within the city. If it is confirmed that they have failed I will personally head out with our most elite units to finish the job.¡±


    Assassin subordinate: ¡°Yes sir¡±


    After my subordinate heads out I start to think to myself.


    *It shouldn¡¯t have been possible for them to have failed. We had overwhelming force on our side. The only way for the mission to have failed would be if an outside force got involved. Unfortunately there is no way to know what happened until the investigation is completed*


    After mulling the situation over a little more, I return to my work.


    Drakus POV


    After we returned to the Grand Sanctuary we decided to hold a meeting to discuss our plans for the future. Everyone was called to the Conference Room, even the guardians accompanied everyone. As soon as everyone was present, we started our discussion.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Okay everyone listen up. Due to recent events, I as the strategist of Crimson Strife have determined that it is necessary for us to leave the Grand Sanctuary in order to go out into the world and learn more about it.


    ¡°So we are finally heading out of this place huh.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Yes, also I have determined that it is necessary for us to split into teams in order to maximize the amount of information that we can obtain.¡±


    Kaetzchen: ¡°So we have to split up nyaa.¡±


    Trion Jazz: ¡°Dude, I don¡¯t like the sound of that!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Truthfully, I don¡¯t like it either but it is the strategy that guarantees the largest success in gathering a large amount of information about this world. Also I have decided that in order for each group to have enough power, most of the sanctum guardians will also participate in this expedition.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°Won¡¯t that leave the Grand Sanctuary exposed to enemy attack?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°As long as several Guardians are present to coordinate our forces within the Grand Sanctuary, then we should have no reason to fear of enemy invasion. After all, we have confirmed today that the beings of this world are much weaker than ourselves. According to my estimates, most of them should be below level forty. Isn¡¯t that right Reptillia?¡±


    Reptilia: ¡°He¡¯s right. while  hunting down the assassins, I was hurt by one. My blood appeared with my health and mana. Numbers flashed telling me the damage just like in the game. I even used my identification skill on a whim. Turns out they have levels as well. The highest one there was around thirty."


    I was a bit surprised by the new information but was also greatly confused as well. Was the world we are in real or fake? I quickly shook my head and focused on the task on hand.


    ¡°So how are we splitting up.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°There will be six groups in total with five leaving to gather information, while the last will stay to guard the Grand sanctuary.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°The first group will consist of Drakus and Altina who will offer themselves as mercenary guards to Princess Lucia, since it seems like someone powerful is after her. In the process they will also be tasked with learning about the Regios Kingdom.¡±


    When I heard my name along with Altina, I looked at her for confirmation. Oddly enough Altina¡¯s face suddenly grew red


    Altina: ¡°Drakus and I alone together¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do great together.¡±


    Altina: ¡°Yes, I will do my best to live up to the title of Grand Guardian of Crimson Strife.¡±


    Nu-Ru: "Anyway the second group will consist of Sirva, Shae Alpha, and I who will go to the Holy Empire to learn about their system of magic as well as to learn about their politics. This is also because we three are the only other ones who can pass off as human."


    Nu-Ru: "The third group will consist of Manom, Arsenal, and Orthodox who will go to the demon continent to research the different types of monsters and demons as well as to learn about their current political situation. From what I hear there is some form of civil conflict going on there.""


    Arsenal: "You¡¯re kidding! Why am I always stuck with him?"


    Manom: "Quit complaining. Since we are the only ones who can go without arousing hostility from the native population, we have to do it."


    Arsenal: ¡°I guess you¡¯re right but I still don¡¯t like it. Well at least I might be able to achieve the dream of every man to create a harem since there are a lot of demon women who would be interested in a strong and handsome guy like me.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°Gross!¡±


    Reptilia: ¡°Disgusting!¡±


    Manom: ¡°Such an idiot.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Hey, don¡¯t insult the dream of all men!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°If we can please get back on topic.¡±


    Arsenal: ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Back to the plan; The fourth group will consist of Kaetzchen, Leona, and Trion Jazz who will head to the Northern Continent in order to find out information about the group that rules there.¡±


    Nuru: ¡°The fifth group will consist of Reptilia, Lissina, and Meral who will go to the Western Continent to learn about the Beastmen and Demi-humans that live there.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°What about the Dragon Continent to the South¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Currently it would be unwise to try to infiltrate the Southern Continent since we have no idea about the level of the strength of the dragons and other monsters that live there.¡±


    ¡°So the others will guard the Grand Sanctuary¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Yes, Dragos, Nabuu and Polygon will head up the defense and maintenance of the Grand Sanctuary while we are away.¡±


    Dragos: ¡°You have nothing to worry about our masters. We will guard the Grand Sanctuary with our lives.¡±


    Polygon: ¡°Beep Beep Boop Beep Beep.¡±


    Naboo: ¡°Yes, I agree Polygon, the masters will have nothing to fear with us standing watch.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°That is all for now, are there any objection?¡±


    I looked around to see everyone with resolve in their eyes. Even a couple of them, including myself were smiling at the prospect of learning more about the world.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Good, I¡¯ve already informed the princess about you Drakus. The rest of us will leave in two day time. Pack up everything and anything that you need and we¡¯ll meet here to go our separate ways. Echo message still work so be sure to keep in touch.


    Everyone: ¡°Yes!¡±

 Book 2-Chapter 1: Capital

    Hey everyone. This is the first chapter of the second book that focuses on the adventures of Nu-Ru¡¯s group. I chose to make book 2 about Nu-Ru because I wanted to let one of the other mc¡¯s besides Drakus have a point of view for the second book. Don¡¯t worry book three will be about Drakus and Altina¡¯s adventure. In addition, I have not at this point decided how many chapters each book will be. Also you should not assume that the other books won¡¯t be as exciting since the two strongest within Crimson Strife aren¡¯t in them. There will be plenty of battle, intrigue and romance as well. There might even be one or two army battles. For the most part though there will not be any major army battles at this point for books two or three since they are in the human kingdoms and focus much more on intrigue as well as character development with some romance mixed in. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.


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


    Book 2- Chapter 1- Capital.


    Nu-Ru POV


    Near the Holy empire laid a vast land with hills and forest scattered about. Plots of lands were cultivated with farmers at the helm. All the roads from around the empire leads directly to the Capital of the empire, aptly named the Holy Capital. A certain carriage filled with several individuals was making its way to the Capital.


    ¡°Wow, what a wonderful view.¡±


    Driver: ¡°First time in the countryside young man?¡±


    The one who responded was the driver of the carriage. The man looked to be in his early sixties with short grey hair and wrinkled skin. He had a small hunch, making him seem quite small.


    ¡°In a long time yes. Where we¡¯re from, we don¡¯t see much serine areas like this.¡±


    Driver: ¡°Take it in as much as you can, it ends essentially when we reach the Capital by the hour.¡±


    The old man let out a warm chuckle before turning his attention back on the road. I got off the of the passenger seat and climbed back in the carriage where Shae and Sirva sat. I sat down across from them.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be reaching the capital by the hour, wonder what we¡¯ll see there?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Humans of course.¡±


    Ever since Shae became an android her emotions were altered in some way. She still felt them but her body and face sometime fail to express them, often coming out as monotone. I suppressed a chuckle at her mute response.


    ¡°What about you Sirva?¡±


    Sirva: ¡°I do not know now master.¡±


    Sirva sat kneeling down towards me. When she replied to my question as she bowed her head, a small bell chime could be heard. The reason for this was the Empire hated demi-humans and considered them beneath them. Often many demi-humans are subjugated as slaves, elves were among the popular slaves.


    Before we left we decided that Sirva would need to at least play the part so I gave her [Alert choker.] It¡¯s a choker item with a special ability imbued into it. Should the user be in danger it will send an alert to all party members. The design itself resembles that of a collar, the only thing left was painting symbols on it to make it look authentic. She was dressed in a rather plain tunic and pants, albeit enchanted by me. Although Sirva was quite ok with it, I voiced my displeasure of it when it was suggested.


    Us on the other hand looked much more fashionable. We decided to not wear our best gear as they would draw enormous amount of attention. I settled on an outfit similar to my old one. A tunic underneath some scholarly clothes with vest. I still had my inventory bag, so we had our best gear should we need it. I¡¯ve also used my illusion magic to conceal my ears and eyes to pass as a human.


    I¡¯ve was even able to disguise Shae mechanical parts to make her look fully human. She wore an outfit similar to mine. All of our equipment were still high level so we didn¡¯t have to worry about much.


    For the past hour, we simply did nothing. Shae brought along a book for her to read while I stared out into the distance. Time seemed to slow down as I admired the wonderful scenery. As we got closer to the capital, more and more villages came into view. I looked at the people working about with curiosity.


    *Hmm, I wonder. |Identify|*


    After activating my skill the same game window popped up just like it did back when it was still a game. Everything in my sight was divided into the same category. Their name was unknown as I didn¡¯t know them. However their levels were visible along with health and mana level. I casted every villagers I could in my vision to try and get a feel for it.


    *Most are below level 10, while those city knights from last time were around low 20¡¯s.*


    I continued my investigation as we passed them onto the next village. Like before it had the same result, most were very low level. One of the villagers had what seemed like a rusty short sword. When that came into view I was able to identify it. The name of the weapon, it¡¯s stats, and it¡¯s rarity.


    ¡°Are we really in another world?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Huh? What are you going about now?¡±


    I accidentally spoke my thoughts aloud, enough for Shae to hear me. I was about to dismiss it but if anyone would understand what I¡¯m thinking, it would be her,


    ¡°For a while now, I¡¯ve been using my identification skill. And it¡¯s just like Eternia, the stats, level, name, everything. We can interact with the world like it¡¯s a game but the world is real at the same time.¡±


    Nothing made sense. The more we discover the more the questions piled up. The biggest of them were, are we really in another world. Much of the evidence supports it but at the same time, there is also evidence of the game as well.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Quite frankly I don¡¯t care if this world is real or a game world. All I care about it is getting back in my old body again. If we can achieve that then it doesn¡¯t matter if this world is real or not.¡±


    I stayed silent for a bit, contemplating her words. Thinking about it, she was right. I couldn¡¯t help laugh at the rather simple answer.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Guess I¡¯m just overthinking it, again.¡±


    Driver: ¡°We¡¯re at the outskirts of the Capital, we¡¯ll reach the checkpoint within minutes.¡±


    The old man¡¯s voice snapped me back to reality. I stood up to get a better view of the capital. I couldn¡¯t help but let out a gasp of air at the site of the huge capital.


    Even from a far distance it was massive. A gigantic wall was erected around the Capital, spanning as far as the eye could see. Even with that, there were a couple of buildings that stood tall. What seems like the top of a church was seen, along with tall buildings and spires. The most impressive was a tall spire building in the middle of everything.


    Within a couple of minutes the wall was looming over us. The carriage suddenly stopped and we got off.


    Driver: ¡°This is as far as I can take you. Just head to the checkpoint over there and you¡¯ll be good to enter.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for driving us this far. Here.¡±


    I kindly thanked the man and presented him with two gold pieces. Gold in this world was a bit more valuable than in Eternia. The currency went along the lines of copper, bronze, silver and gold coins. Also the conversion rate was that 100 copper=1 bronze, 100 bronze= 1 silver and 100 silver = 1 Gold. Thanks to the gold from the princess and my alchemy skill, I was successfully able to mass produce their standard gold coins. All members have at least around a million gold coin should any situation come up.


    The moment I brought out the coin the old man looked like his eyes were going to fly out.


    Driver: ¡°This...This is too much.¡±


    ¡°I insist, you drove us all the way here. It¡¯s the least we can do.¡±


    The man cupped the gold coins as if not to lose them. He became teary eyed as he constantly thanked me. After saying our goodbyes we followed the path to the checkpoint. The surrounding area wasn¡¯t much to look at, a couple of merchants here and there with stalls.


    Fortunately for us there were multiple lines so we were near the entrance in no time. A pair of guards waited for us. They had on full body armor of a silver color. They didn¡¯t have a helmet and in their right shoulder guard was the symbol of the empire.


    ¡°Hello. We¡¯re new to the empire. We would like passage for three please.¡±


    The guards looked at us with mild suspicion, namely they looked at me and Sirva.


    Guard: ¡°What might be the reason for you coming here?¡±


    ¡°Why to be a part of the empire of course. When we left, we decided to go here as this was the pinnacle of humanity.¡±


    The guards cracked a small smile before one of them walked inward into the city. The Holy empire were a rather conceited bunch. They believed that humans were the apex of lifeforms and everything else was beneath them.


    *Looks like Drakus advice worked out after all.*


    Within a minute the guard came back, carrying some small card shape paper.


    Guard: ¡°Hold out your hand. We¡¯ll mark you as a civilian of the empire.¡±


    We did as we were told. It looked to be similar to a washable tattoo stamp. They placed it on our arm and sprayed some light substance over it. Soon there was an imprint of the empire symbol on our hand. I looked over to Sirva to see her with the slave symbol on her hand instead. I suppressed the urge to frown and looked ahead.


    Guard: ¡°You¡¯re now official residents of the empire. The total cost of admission is one gold for all of you.¡±


    I payed the guard and we made our way in. They did a little check on our goods and equipments. They checked my bag but luckily they didn¡¯t activate the inventory so it seemed like an ordinary bag. They quickly finished up and we were on our way in.


    At first I was rather surprised at the civilization of the empire. The streets were wide enough for people to go to and from. There was even a road payment for horses and carts to move around. My original expectations were somewhere along the lines of medieval style living so its surprising. Something I immediately noticed was that every demi-human that I saw was walking alongside a human, never by itself.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Hey! Stop daydreaming.¡±


    Shae¡¯s sudden shout brought me back to reality. She was ahead of me so I sprinted to catch up to her. We continued on our path to the our destination, the center of the empire.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°So, where is exactly is this Holy academy again?¡±


    ¡°If I had to guess it would be the one with the large spire that we saw when we¡¯re outside the wall.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°You think they¡¯ll just let random people join their Holy Academy¡¯?¡±


    The Holy Empire values power above all else, especially magic. According to the princess, the Holy Academy was built to train and hone the power of those who have it. It was also a sign of status as well. Commoners were those with no power or strength. Next are the villeins, and the middle class who possess talents. The nobility class is divided into Barones, Marquise and Dukes. All under the royal family.


    ¡°If the princess information is correct there should be an evaluation test for applicants of the academy. So long as we show our strength, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. But we do need to limit what we can or can not use.¡±


    Shae nodded and we continued to discuss future matters. While doing so I started to notice something. We were being watched by everyone around us. They would take quick glances at us from all direction.


    *Are we standing out? Is it our clothes or is it because we¡¯re new here?*


    I couldn¡¯t help but get cautious as we should have easily blended in with the crowd. I ignored them and we made our way forward. Eventually we decided to stop at some diner. The tables were set outside with a couple inside the stores. It was one of those open air restaurants. We took our seat as a female elf came to us and took our order.


    XXX: ¡°Ummm...What would you like today?¡±


    We asked for what they offer. Eventually we decided on a meal that was big enough to feed all of us. The elf quickly sprinted away with our order, as if she was afraid of being there for another second.


    It was that moment I realized something. As soon as we sat down, all chatter stopped and the customers all around were talking in whispers. All of them staring at Sirva. At first I was confused by that fact, trying to figure out why so until a voice called out.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    XXX: ¡°Excuse my boy. Excuse me!¡±


    A sudden voice called out that grabbed everyone¡¯s attention. I looked back to see a small puggy fat man making his way over to our table. The oddest thing about him was the way he was dress. Unlike the people around he wore an outfit reminiscent of a suit. He was smoking on a pipe with a monocle on his left eye.


    He wasn¡¯t alone however, what seemed like a sheepman man accompanied him along with another female sheepman carrying several goods. They both wore a butler and a maid outfit. He made his way over, seemingly hopping along the way. He stopped just beside Sirva and excitedly inspected her.


    XXX: ¡°Wonderful! Simply wonderful! A genuine dark elf!¡±


    *A dark elf? What does that have to do with anything? Unless¡­¡±


    Back in Eternia there were different categories of elves. The most common were the wood elves and the dark elves. The dark elves were the classical image, a darker skin elf. They were typically proficient in arm combat compared to the elves magical affinity. The lore told that they were extremely ruthless and tough enemy. In fact among the top 10 most popular created NPC¡¯s monsters, dark elves were ranked around 2nd place.


    I looked over to Shae and our eyes meet. She also seemed to have found out as well. I turned my attention back to the man who was eyeing Sirva as she were some grand item.


    XXX?: ¡°Exquisite ! Absolutely exquisite! My boy is this dark elf yours?¡±


    ¡°Yes she is.¡±


    I replied with a forced cheerful smile. He simply nodded before returning his attention back to Sirva.


    XXX: ¡°Tell me me my boy where did you obtain such a wonderful item?¡±


    I quietly clicked my tongue in annoyance at him referring to her as an item, but kept a straight face.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s quite rude to not introduce yourself before engaging in a discussion.¡±


    XXX: ¡°Of course! where are my manners? I am Baron Matwain. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±


    *A baron? That means he¡¯s among the lower nobility faction.*


    I kept the thought to myself trying to keep my facade on.


    ¡°Hello Mr. Matwain, my name is Nu-Ru.¡±


    Matwain: ¡°Nu-Ru? An odd name don¡¯t you think my boy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve not from around here. I came from a far away place.¡±


    Matwain: ¡°I see, I see. Forgive my boy. If you don''t mind me asking again, where did you obtain her.¡±


    My brain went into overdrive as I tried to come up with a plausible explanation as to why a dark elf was under the command of a child. (Reminder Nu-Ru is 18 year old. Shae.Alpha is 19 year old.)


    ¡°It was a gift. A gift from my father.¡±


    *When all else fail go with the pompous dad approach* I thought to myself while trying to put on a proud expression. It seemed to have worked as we continued talking.


    Matwain: ¡°My boy are you perhaps willingly to sell her?¡±


    *So that¡¯s what he¡¯s after.¡±


    Matwain: ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to get my hands on one for years now but to no avail. No adventure or mercenary group would go and find a tribe to capture one no matter how much I was willingly to pay them. I¡¯m make sure you earn a profit of course. 600 gold.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Matwain: ¡°I see, then 750 gold then.¡±


    ¡°I said no.¡±


    Matwain: ¡°You drive a hard bargain my boy. 1,000 gold coins. That¡¯s my final offer.¡±


    ¡°And here¡¯s my final answer, no!¡±


    We stood staring at each other for a solid minute. Those in the store and around where watching our debate. It was when I finally gave my answer that something changed. There was a short changed in his demeanor but I caught it. He was annoyed, angry, frustrated that I was challenging him. Within that very second his expression turned back to the cheery, bubbling attitude.


    Matwain: ¡°I see. Well then how we do a Slave exchange then?¡±


    ¡°Slave exchange?¡±


    I haven''t heard that time before, even when I talked with the princess regarding the empire.


    Matwain: ¡°You don¡¯t know what a slave exchange is my boy? Well it¡¯s as the name suggests, we essentially trade slaves. However since you don¡¯t want to trade then we can fight for it.¡±


    *Fight?*


    Matwain: ¡°Basically we would fight against one another with our slaves as bets. The fights can range from simple games or a full on fight.¡±


    I was about to immediately say no but I quickly retracted my answer and thought things out some more. He isn¡¯t going to simply give up like that.


    ¡°Very well, I accept.¡±


    A smile formed on his face but it was a cruel and sly smile.


    Matwain: ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s wonderful. So name your price.¡±


    ¡°I want those two over there.¡±


    I pointed at his slaves behind him. I caught another sly smile, this time much more revealing. Most likely he thought that even if he lose he could easily replace them. The smile shows how much confident he had in winning.


    Matwain: ¡°A fair deal my boy. We¡¯ll fight it out, how does that sound boy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly fine. If I¡¯m not mistaken there is a large circular courtyard. We¡¯ll fight there.¡±


    I got up and walked towards the plaza with Matwain right behind me. We attracted quite a bit of attention as by the time we got there, there were a number of onlookers. We stood a couple of meters from one another.


    I used my identification skill while he got ready. His full name popped up with everything as usual.


    *Level 25. To me he¡¯s really weak but that¡¯s physically. To this world he must be a strong mage. But the problem isn¡¯t how strong he is, rather how strong am I? I need to restrict myself, but how much?*


    I cursed myself again in my mind for not asking about the magic of this world when I discuss some matters with the princess. Of course the very reason we were sent here was to investigate this world magic. I shook my head to focus on the matter at hand.


    Matwain: ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    I nodded my head and ready myself. We would fight using spells. The winner would be decided when one of us falls to the ground.


    Matwain: ¡°|Air burst|¡±


    The air in front of him compressed together and shot towards me. I easily saw through it and slid to my right to dodge it. However that didn¡¯t end there, more bullets fire at me. For the next minute I easily dodged them. Before heading to the capital I broke in my body some more, learning how far I can push my body.


    Although it isn¡¯t to the extreme that Drakus or Arsenal can do like punch down a massive tree with a single punch. I¡¯m still able to go beyond a normal human being. I jumped around with ease while dodging the attack.


    Marktwain: ¡°What¡¯s wrong my boy? Am I going to hard on you?¡±


    All he did was stood there while firing off spells. To an outsider it would seem that Marktwain was in the lead while I was simply trying my hardest to dodge. but it was going as I had plan. He used the same spell over and over again, giving me enough time to use a high level identification skill, |High Skill Identify|¡±


    The skill was rarely used as it all it did was identify the skill name, and what it does. But the more powerful version, |High Skill Identify| allows the user to see everything, name, rank, range of damage, mana cost, etc¡­.


    Soon a ding noise was heard and a small window popped up. I quickly read all the text, namely the rank of the spell.


    *Rank 3? If everything is converted into Eternia gaming terms then that means their spells can possibly go up rank 12, or even higher. If he¡¯s a rank 3 then what about potential other powerful mages, how strong are they?*


    Questions formed in my head that wanted answers. However I couldn¡¯t fully concentrate because I was still in a fight. I finally stopped and stared back at him.


    Marktwain: ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you want to surrender? Well I don¡¯t blame you.¡±


    ¡°No, no. I just extended the fight for a little experiment. Now then let¡¯s finish things up.¡±


    I brought up my hand and pointed my index finger straight at him. ¡°|Pulsating mana burst|¡± Mana concentrated around my fingertip until a small orb appeared. It radiated power that even caught Marktwain off guard. I fired it at him which he barely blocked it.


    He apparently activated another skill in which wind formed a barrier around . The shot hit the barrier with full force but was deflected because of the wind current. It headed towards the fountain and destroyed it along with destroying the pavement around it.


    Water spurted everywhere catching everyone off. The only sound that could be heard was the water raining down as everyone eyed me with awe and terror.


    *That was one of my weakest rank 4 spells and it did that much damage. I need to be more selective next time.*


    I quickly turned back to Marktwain while trying to keep my surprise at a minimum. He jumped back a bit when our eyes made contact.


    ¡°Care to continue?¡±


    He looked at me as if I suggested if he wanted to jump off a cliff without a parachute.


    Marktwain: ¡°No...No! It¡¯s your win, take them please!¡±


    He backed off and seemingly bowed down. I notched my head over to tell Shae and Sirva to come over. Following them were the sheepmen. Several guards walked over to see what the disturbance was. I quickly explained the situation along with paying for the damage and we were on our way.


    We continued further just around the time the sun was starting to set. I asked the two if they knew any good inns or resting spots. They lead us through another district before coming across an inn similar to a four star hotel. We rented some rooms, one for Shae, Sirva and I. The other was for the sheepmen.


    After settling in, I called the two over.


    ¡°I would like to know your names.¡±


    XXX: ¡°Baa, I¡¯m Bamen. This is my daughter, Bamun.¡±


    The sheepman, Bamen, replied with a loud baa at the beginning of every sentence.


    ¡°From now on you¡¯ll serve me. I will not treat as you object or tools but rather as living beings. Work hard and diligently and you¡¯ll be rewarded.¡±


    Bamen: ¡°Baa, As you command.¡±


    I pulled out a small pouch in it was filled with around six gold coins.


    ¡°Use the money in their to buy some new clothes. The rest that is left, you may keep.¡±


    The girls eyes widen at what I said. The father grasped the pouch and bowed, thanking my generosity. They were on the their way out but the girl stopped and said ¡®thank you¡¯ to me before closing the door.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Hmm, I thought you were going to set them free. What¡¯s with the change of heart?¡±


    ¡°Of course I want to set them free, however we need them as well. The plan is to learn as much as we can. In order to do that, we need to reach the top. Every noble has tons of slaves, we need to at least keep up the image.¡±


    I didn¡¯t turn to face her and responded with my back to her. I heard the sound of the mattress as she sat down.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°You know ever since we got here, you¡¯ve been in a sour mood. Normally you¡¯re quite stoic and calm. When you were facing that guy, you seemed unhappy.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I hate that kind of attitude. Those type of people get on my nerve.¡±


    The room stayed silent after that. Soon I heard Shae get up again and made her way to the door.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°I¡¯ll be heading out. Kind of want to explore more, I¡¯ll be back before night time.¡±


    I simply nodded as she left the room. I then turned my attention to Sirva.


    ¡°Sirva, I have a task for you.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Scout the entire capital. Map out the area and report back to me.¡±


    She nodded her head and within a couple of seconds disappeared within a puff of shadow. Finally I was all alone. I let out a long and heavy sigh before jumping backwards onto the bed.


    I faced the ceiling with the orange and yellow color of the falling sun permeated the room.


    *Wonder how the others are doing?*


    I closed my eyes with those thoughts in mind. My brain and body was tired, and soon I was asleep.


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


    Hi everyone, hope you liked the chapter. Unfortunately, I''ll only be able to post one chapter next week due to being overloaded with college work. Sorry in advance.

 Book 2 Chapter 2: Orientation

    Hey, everyone. I made you wait a while so this chapter is longer than usual. The next chapter will be out on Saturday. Hope you enjoy it. Sorry I had to delete the post and re-poste it because I got the title of the chapter of the wrong on the main page. Sorry to anyone who''s comments were deleted.


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


    Book 2- Chapter 2- Orientation


    Nu-Ru POV


    After spending the night at the inn and getting some much needed rest, it was finally time for the orientation. I had Bamen inform me more about the capital and it¡¯s in working. Most of my prediction were correct with minor changes. Sirva also mapped out the entire capital which I managed to save and store into the map function. Bamen and Bamun fixed us up breakfast which was very delicious.


    After finishing up breakfast Shae and I headed out to the academy. Bamen and his daughter would stay behind while Sirva would follow us in the shadow. An interesting sight to behold was when we finally made our way of the inn and onto the streets. As if a fairy wisped by, there were decoration all around the stores and streets.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Wonder what they¡¯re celebrating?¡±


    ¡°From what I learn from Bamen, it¡¯s a ceremony in honor of the orientation. It is a way of saying good luck to those who planned on joining.¡±


    Shae looked back at the surrounding with the same expression as before. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was disinterested because of her being an android or because she simply didn¡¯t care. I activated my map and pulled up the layout of the Capital.


    As I had guessed yesterday the capital layout was circular. An interesting that I discovered was


    the more noble classes and family resided more towards the center of the capital. With the royal


    family castle dead center. The academy literally separate the common and noble classes by being between the different elevation of the capital layout.


    Using the map I found the quickest route towards the Academy. Using the alleyways and our bodies, we easily reached the academy in no time. Landing on top of a tall building we had a high view of everything and everyone. A mass of people were slowly making their way towards the Academy building.


    The Academy was by far the most impressive thing I¡¯ve seen. It was massive and expansive, a stretching across the horizon similar to how the wall. The style looked similar to a grand cathedral mix with the Hagia Sophia. The building had a gold and silver color theme with other colors here and there. It towered above all the buildings, even some of the nobility homes as well. The tall spire that I saw yesterday was also part of the Academy.


    I once more couldn¡¯t help but gawk at the sight in front of me. Shae shook me to grab my attention again. We carefully jumped down and made our way back to the streets again. Crowds of people littered the massive courtyard that lead to the Academy. Everyone was talking as we casually walked forward.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°A thought occurred to me, will they even accept me?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°The Holy Empire is strictly patriarchal. Heck I haven¡¯t even seen any girls here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like I said, they¡¯ll accept anyone with power. Although that fact is true but you also need to consider the fact that we¡¯re on the commoner side. Most likely there will be several females on the noble side.¡±


    Shae simply nodded in agreement and we continued on the way. Soon the gates came into sights. We were near the middle so we eventually stopped and waited just like everyone else. We waited there as the crowd piled up more and more. Eventually it was time for everything to begin.


    A sudden flash of light appeared on the sky, a large projection of some sorts. Soon several individual came into views. The image clears up to reveal what I assumed was the royal family with the Queen and the prince. Strangely there was no sign of the king.


    XXX: ¡°Welcome people of the empire! I, Prince Alfonso D. Arthur welcome you all!¡±


    The crowd burst into cheers, obviously showing sign of affection to the prince. The one who answered had to be the prince as he didn¡¯t look any older than I was. He had on the typical prince charming look. Long golden hair, clear blue eye, a tall physique, etc¡­ The scary fact was that he looked exactly like Arthur from the Holy Knights guild. I pushed the thought aside and continued to listen in.


    Alfonso: ¡°As many of you are aware, today is the orientation for our Holy Academy where you all will be put to the test to see if you may serve under the empire. I personally wish you all the best of luck.¡±


    With that the short announcement ended. The crowd once again let out a cheer once more. Even though the announcement was short, people treated it as if it was a major speech. I turned my head towards the gate as a creaking noise sounded as it slowly opened.


    ¡°Hmm, so that¡¯s the prince. He¡¯s just like the princess described him. I didn¡¯t expect him to look so similar to Arthur. What do you think Shae?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°He looks like a total douche. Just like Arthur.¡±


    I was completely caught off guard by how blunt Shae¡¯s response was. What made it even more funny to me was how monotone she spoke it.  I burst out laughing hysterically at her response. Those around us looked at me as if I was crazy, so they walked around us. I tried to catch my breath again before calming down.


    ¡°From what I heard from the princess, he¡¯s quite the scumbag. Though we don¡¯t exactly have proof of that and we heard that from a bias source. For now let¡¯s keep that thought to ourselves.¡±


    We continued on our way into a large building. The inside of the building was spacious, reaching for several meters high in the sky. Candles and golden Chandeliers light up the ceilings and the room. The entire room seemed to be made of glass as light reflected everywhere. Large windows of mosaics lined the wall as we continued to move forward.


    We headed further in until we reached what seemed like the middle of the building. The room was massive spanning hundreds of miles in all direction. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw another group making their way in. They were fewer in number compared to our group but it was clear they were different.


    They were the part of the noble faction. One piece of evidence that supported my theory included how they were dressed. Unlike us who had on rather shabby clothes and tunics, they had on nice clean outfits. They were accompanied by either a maid or a butler, usually a demi-human. But the biggest evidence was when they first saw us. All of them, upon seeing us had smug expressions.


    They made their way over to us but stopped a fair distance between one another, as if trying to ignore us as a whole.


    XXX: ¡°Attention people, attention.¡±


    Everyone turned their attention towards the source of the voice. There stood a scholarly old man that looked to be around his mid-eighties. He had a long white beard that reached to the ground and had skin with many wrinkles. He wore an outfit similar to a bishop from the Catholic Church in our world. Behind him stood an array of different individuals.


    To his left were those in armors, knights. They were side by side, forming a row to his left. The further left the more decorated and powerful the knights were. The same could be said for those on his right, which included mages. They all had on different colors of armbands on their arms. Spread around were groups of what seemed like healers and medics.


    XXX: ¡°I am the grand chancellor of this academy, Issian Thusa. I welcome you all here. Now then let¡¯s begin the inauguration. We¡¯ll have each one of you go up and choose a division to join. For those who might not know, you¡¯re free to choose whoever to fight, If you win then you¡¯ll join that certain rank.¡±


    ¡°Choose? Rank? What the heck? Any clue Shae?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°The choose part is pretty self-explanatory. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed the colored armband, they have a pattern.¡±


    I looked back with what she said in mind. I soon noticed that she was right. The weakest looking mage and knight had on a green colored armband. The pattern of weakest to strongest seemed to go green, orange, yellow, blue, purple, red, white, and finally gold.


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s an interesting system but also a little bit counterproductive. All a person has to do is challenge the weakest one and they are in.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Well let¡¯s think of it like this, they are testing the applicants and advertising them  at the same time as well.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Take a good look up there?¡±


    She nodded her head up to the ceiling. All I could see was the candles and chandeliers, nothing more.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Here, |Detect Observers|¡±


    Shae quietly activated her skill. My radar started to ping with several bleeps. I instantly looked back up, this time several circular orb looking outlined showed up.


    ¡°What are those?¡±


    Shae.Alpha ¡°I picked them up the moment we entered this area, thanks to my passive skill |Detect Observation|¡±


    |Detect Observation|, a passive support skill that is used to detect prying eyes. Back when it was a game the skill was really useful at locating enemy watchers.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Those things seem to work like cameras in that they use magic to record images and sounds. They were also used to project that public announcement of the prince.¡±


    ¡°What would I do without you? Hehe. But still, what does that have to do with anything about advertising?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Well here¡¯s a theory, in fact the thought dawned on me when I heard that we had a choice. Back in the old days, the English and Europeans were very adamant about arranged marriages so their grandchildren would have the best aspect of their parents. In fact it seems that everyone here follows this.¡±


    I looked back to see someone challenging a knight with a blue armband.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°More than likely it¡¯s used to coerce the commoner class to try harder. It¡¯s a way of showing them off to the nobility class with an extra daughter or son. They get a potential heir while he or she gets to move up in life. Logically speaking, it¡¯s a win-win scenario.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t even considered that possibility to that extent. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The Holy Empire values power and strength above all else. A practice like that would be logical and effective.


    I turned my attention back to the one going for the trial. There were large field outlines on the floor, one for the knights that other for the mages. While the two tests were going on, I kept myself occupied by doing some more investigation.


    I maneuver my way to close to the front so I could have them in my sights. I used |Identify| on all the knights and mages. I even used |High Level Identify| and |High skill Identify| at every moment that I could to gather as much evidence as I could. The training went on for an hour, during that time I evaluated very piece of data and information I could, going as far as to double check everything over.


    In terms of strengths they were all weaker than I had hypothesize. The green knight was level 18, the same was true with the mage as well. Orange was level 19 for the knight but the mage was 18. Yellow and blue knights were level 21 while the yellow mage was level 20 and the blue mage was level 21. For the knights of purple, white and red, they were all constant level, level 26. The mages were the same issue as well purple and white were level 23 while red was level 26. For the gold knight and mage, they were level 31.


    I assumed we would be strong as we¡¯re literally our level 100 characters but if my calculations and hypothesis are correct than we¡¯re more powerful than I had thought. The knights back at the city were around level 20 ¨C 21. The assassins were around level 30 at most.


    Back in Eternia if a person was a high level then he should have the advantage. For the most part that¡¯s true, however there were exceptions. Most of which depends on variables such as different skills, items, ability, class, etc¡­ Depending on how a person goes about it even if the level difference was around 3-5 then theoretically the weaker person had a chance of winning.


    However this wasn¡¯t the case for them. Every level for them is an achievement. If we truly even more powerful than what I originally thought, then that means we need to be even more conscious.


    Time flowed quickly as I dwelled on my thought. By the time I finally left my thoughts, the orientation was almost over. I looked around to see me with only a few other people standing about to be called. Those that apparently passed were on the sidelines. Almost all the the nobility side passed while a couple from the commoner side.


    ¡°How long have we been waiting?¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°Around an hour or so by now. You were busy staring into the distance; no doubt lost in your thoughts.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Same thing as you, only I got some sleep. I learned this cool trick to this new body of mine. I can go to sleep but at the same time be alert and ready should I need it. Basically I could stand and sleep. It is a nice plus to this android body.¡±


    For a moment there I swore that Shae cracked a joke/ being sarcastic but here monotone voice once again threw me off. I turned my head away back to the orientation. Soon there were only three people left, us included.


    We waited to be called but it was the other person next to us. He had on a ragged looking tunic coat that covered up his body and face. He walked up to the mage side and chose the purple mage to do battle. I was about to simply dismiss the battle and go back to my thoughts again until he removed his cloak, revealing a female elf.


    She looked to be the stereotypical look of a fantasy elf. Light skin, long braids white hair, and the signature long ears. She wore the cloak over her under tunic. But the most impressive thing of all was that she didn¡¯t have on a slaver mark or anything to show her as property.


    ¡°A free demi-human?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hold my surprise and let the words slip from my mouth. Even Shae also looked quite surprised by how her eyes widened. The crowd behind us started to break out into loud chatter. Mostly they were bashing the female elf, chastising her. Even some of the noble students were throwing scraps of food that they prepared.


    The elf did nothing and simply stood there, facing forward, ignoring all of them. The testers were chatting with one another, most likely arguing whether or not to throw her out.


    Issian: ¡°Everyone! quiet!¡±


    The chancellor booming voice echoed through the building, quieting everyone. When everyone was silence he continued on.


    Issian: ¡±I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s a demi-human or not. If she can prove herself then she¡¯ll be accepted, if not then she¡¯ll be thrown out like everyone else. Is that clear?¡±


    He spoke in a low but powerful voice that made everyone listen. Everyone started to quiet down but I could still see they weren¡¯t happy; their eyes were filled with bitterness. I looked back just as the elf and tester began.


    The elf attacked first, firing off a magic that I never saw before. The mana around her condensed and formed small crystals. The attack was apparently called |Crystal Shards|. She fired it at the mage which erected a small barrier to protect him. She didn¡¯t let up and continued to attack.


    The barrier held up but cracks formed as it withstood the attack. Soon the barrier shattered just as the mage rolled out of the way. The mage prepared a fireball which flew towards the elf. She brought up her barrier as a small shield formed from crystals. The mage¡¯s attacks were relentless, as he was constantly releasing spell after spell.


    She couldn¡¯t get out another attack as she focused on defending. The attacks hit her shield and all around her, and the area around here. Before the testing began the mages formed a special barrier at each testing ground to protect it. Bits of dust started to form, making a small cloud of debris.


    She began to move around to avoid the attacks. The mage mainly kept himself centered while the elf ran around him and all over. This went for about two minutes as the mage constantly attacked and defended when the elf could attack.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°I¡¯m guessing you already noticed.¡±


    ¡°You mean the fact that he¡¯s cheating, yes.¡±


    For the past five minutes the mage casted continuous spells one after the other without so much as stopping for a break. The reason for this was because the other mages behind him were casting support spells on him. During the time I was getting used to the my body and magic, I conducted an experiment on spells. After casting spells consecutively for about eight minutes, I almost passed out.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    That was one of the law that I discovered about this world and magic. Unlike back in the game where you could do that, you now would experience a mana backlash from using so much mana. The body is wasting more mana than the body can regenerate.


    The dust effectively hid the fact from outside views, said for us and the noble students who were enjoying her struggle. What made it worse was that she already knew that they were cheating. However should she try to point it out, no one would listen to her. Even the chancellor wasn¡¯t intervening either.


    But it wasn¡¯t because he has a disdain for her, rather it was more of an observative look. However that wasn¡¯t the only thing working against her. She would eventually run out of mana as she has to power her crystal shield.


    I took a step forward but was immediately blocked by Shae.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. I understand your feelings but you can¡¯t rescue every puppy that¡¯s been kicked around. We are here for a reason. You of all people should know that.¡±


    I wanted to refute her. I know that she knows that I knows that it¡¯s true. I bit my lip in defeat before backing off and turning my attention back to the fight.


    The sound of battle started to quiet down. The dust just about cleared away showing the mage without so much as sweating. The elf was breathing heavily with small cuts and wounds all over her body. A small smile started to creep up the mage''s face as he raised his arm for one final attack.


    Instead of dodging or running around, she instead charged in. This caught the mage off guard for a second but he quickly recovered. This gave her enough time to form up another shield just as he fired his spell at her. It hit the shield and followed with a loud explosion with smoke trailing everywhere.


    A large smile popped up on his face but before he had time to celebrate his victory the elf jumped out of the explosion. Her shield was almost completely broken while her body had burns and bruises from the attack.


    The mage had little time to protect or retaliate before she knocked him to the ground with her shield. Crystal shards formed around her as she was on top of him.


    Issian: ¡°That¡¯s enough! You have passed.¡±


    The chancellor walked over while making his announcement. She slowly got off of the mage while he backed off. But there was still hostility in his eye.


    Issian: ¡°You did well, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    XXX: ¡°..... Als.¡±


    Issian: ¡°Well congratulations are in order Als. From now on you¡¯ll be protected by the academy, you have my word.¡±


    Even after the test she still had on a hard look on her face. Even after everything she hadn¡¯t relaxed one bit. They finished talking as she headed back. Everyone started to talk at the same time, namely bashing her.


    She walked back while I slowly made my way up to her. She stopped just before me, glaring at me.


    Als: ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re hurt. Let me heal your wound.¡±


    Als: ¡°I don¡¯t need your pity or help human.¡±


    She spoke those lines with malicious intent but that didn¡¯t bother me.


    ¡°That means you have some way to heal your wound. Like plenty of potions or perhaps some healing spell. Or maybe you have money to buy some medical supplies.¡±


    She remained quiet, just glaring straight at me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take your silence as a no than.¡±


    Als: ¡°Why are you helping?¡±


    ¡°The match was unfair and yet you won through sheer determination, not to mention those healers aren¡¯t going to help you. ¡°


    She still looked at me with skepticism but eventually answered.


    Als: ¡°Fine, but if you do anything suspicious then I¡¯ll hurt you.¡±


    ¡°There are more effective ways if that was the case, but whatever. |Heal| |Close Wound|¡±


    I activated my lowest grade healing spell. Within a couple of seconds the wounds were closed and almost gone. Even she was surprised by how powerful my spell was.


    ¡°Better?¡±


    Als: ¡°.....Yes¡­..Thank you.¡±


    Her hostility was still there but to a lesser extent. She reluctantly thanked me before finally walking away and leaning against a part of the room. However my action attracted more attention than I thought.


    Not only were the other students talking about me but also the testers as well. They all eyed me with a weird look of confusion and suspicion. I ignored them as Shae and I were the only one left.


    Issian: ¡°Which among you would like to go first?¡±


    ¡°Ladies first.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°Hmph. So, what¡¯s the plan? Take out their best one and win?¡±


    Shae let out a small snort sound at my sarcastic, generous gesture. A small smile formed before I got serious.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t that easy. Yes our objective is to get to the top to learn as much as we can but you know it isn¡¯t that easy. Beat them but make a show out of it, we don¡¯t want too many prying eyes.¡±


    Shae nodded before making her way to the knight¡¯s side.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°I would like to fight for gold.¡±


    Everyone suddenly got quiet at Shae¡¯s statement. Most people looked at her like she was crazy to suggest taking on a powerful knight. So far no one has decided to try their hands at either red or white, let alone gold. A chuckle could be heard as the golden knight walked up to the field.


    The man towered just a head over Shae who was among the smallest of the guild leaders. His armor was much more bulky compared to the rest of the knights. He had short cut brown hair with a smug expression on his face.


    Knight: ¡°Might I ask who you are? I¡¯ve never seen you before.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Shae, and that¡¯s all you need to know about me.¡±


    The knight let out another small chuckle as Shae made her way to the field. Everyone, including the testers, those that passed and failed were watching them.


    Knight: ¡°Are you sure you want to fight me? Maybe you should try green first, we can¡¯t have you hurting yourself now.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t choose you if I didn¡¯t think I had a chance of winning now would I?¡±


    Knight: ¡°Hmm, a valid point. But hurting a woman isn¡¯t how I do things, so I¡¯ll tell you what I won¡¯t fight you whatsoever. Go ahead and hit me, heck I¡¯ll even give you a dozen tries. So go ahead and try your¡­¡±


    The knight never finished his sentence as he was sent flying back several meters. The sight was so bizarre that no one so much as moved at what they saw. To them some girl just punched the most powerful tester across the room with a single punch.


    I couldn¡¯t help but let out a small groan/sigh at her action. I mentally face-palmed myself and forced myself to continue looking.


    *What happened to being careful?*


    The first one to fully break out of the daze was the chancellor. He ordered the healers to go and help up the knight that was thrown across the room. They slowly dragged him over as he was unconscious. A large fist dent was visible on the breastplate.


    Shae slowly walked back to me as I walked up to the plate. During that time I shared an echo with Shae.


    *What happened to being careful?*


    Shae.Alpha: *He surprisingly pissed me off, besides it¡¯s not like I did anything that was overkill. Also you have your own match to worry about.*


    With that the call ended and it was my turn. Before Shae defeated the knight, there wasn¡¯t much interest anymore as the orientation was almost over. However after Shae¡¯s performance, all eyes were on me now.


    ¡°I would like to battle for gold.¡±


    To my surprise the mage seemed collected and didn¡¯t seem to be bothered by what had happened and by me challenging him. He walked up with a bit of swagger that showed his confidence as well.


    Mage: ¡°Before we start, there¡¯s a question I would like to ask you. Was that your companion just now?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Mage: ¡°That knight was a good friend of mine. I know just how strong he is, and she knocked him out with a single punch. Are you just as strong as her?¡±


    ¡°...Yes.¡±


    I reluctantly replied to his question. Of course the reason for the question was mostly likely to assess the situation.


    Mage: ¡°I see. This is kind of a secret law but should anyone ever challenge a gold rank knight or mage, we¡¯re supposed to use only about of ? our real power should we really need it. Forgive me, but now I¡¯ll  be using all of my strength.¡±


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


    Mage POV


    The air around me shook as I released my power. Mana was coursing through my body as I released all my magical seals. I felt the air growing tense as everyone stared at me. I half expected him to get nauseous but he withstood it.


    *He didn¡¯t even flinch when I showed my real power...Guess I really have to give it my best.*


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin. |Arcane Arrows|


    I pointed my finger at him as several orbs fired at him. He ran to the side to avoid it but it followed him. The attack almost connected before a barrier formed to protect him.


    ¡°Quick thinker, let¡¯s try this. |Flash mines|¡±


    Balls of energy formed all around us, the fields and in the air. They were balls of light that floated around. I didn¡¯t let up and fired more Arcane Arrow at him.


    He was really quick, only running around and dodging the attack. Surprisingly he was even able to dodge the mines through narrow spaces. However what made me worried wasn¡¯t the fact that he was dodging the attacks but that he hasn¡¯t attacked me even once.


    *Then I¡¯ll just have to force his hand*


    I continued to fire at him, forcing him to constantly move. We continued on for about a minute until I finally saw him slip up.


    ¡°Got you. |Shield Dome|¡±


    |Shield Dome| is a defense spell that erects a circular shield from the ground to protect the individual. However there were other uses as well. I formed the barrier around the boy, trapping him. He looked rather calm while being trapped.


    ¡°I would suggest you either break out by using your most powerful spell or use for most powerful defense spell as this will hurt.¡±


    I moved all the floating orbs into close proximity to him. |Flash mines| is a defensive and offensive spell that creates mines that explode upon hitting them. One exploding isn¡¯t that bad but all of them together would cause some serious injury.


    ¡°|Arcane Burst|¡±


    I concentrated as much mana as I could and fire it at the mines. The moment they made contact, a loud and large explosion took place. Several more explosions detonated after, blinding the room and causing smoke to rise from all over.


    I even saw some of the testers look at me in horror. Although the spells I used were high tier Rank 4 spells, their power combined equalled at least a spell rivaling that of a rank 5 mid-tier spell. I prayed that I didn¡¯t accidentally kill the boy. I slowly waited until the smoke was finally gone.


    When I saw him still standing, I was both glad and amazed as well. But that wasn¡¯t what surprised me the most. It was the fact that he barely took any damage. A yellowish orange glow enveloped him. His clothes had several cuts and were dirtied but other than that he was fine.


    The entire room was silent at the revelation that was in front of them. Even I couldn¡¯t help but stare at the boy who withstood the attack.


    *That must be a defensive spell. But to defend against such an attack it would need to be the same rank or higher. That means this boy can use at least rank 5 magic.*


    Even after coming up with that conclusion, I still couldn¡¯t truly believe that fact.


    ¡°For him to be this powerful at such a young age. Imagine what he can be in a few years?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but whisper those words with excitement in them as well.


    XXX: ¡°Well, it¡¯s my turn. |Spirling s¡­¡±


    ¡°I surrender.¡±


    For once I actually saw a surprised look from the boy.


    ¡°There is no doubt that you¡¯re powerful, you withstanding my attacks proves this. No point in me getting hurt if the winner is already decided.¡±


    After a moment of silence he lowered his arms and thanked me. He slowly walked back to his friend while I walked back to the others.


    XXX: ¡°Why did you quit?¡±


    XXX: ¡°Yes, he¡¯s right. You could have won, especially since you showed your true power.¡±


    I shook my head in disagreement at my colleagues¡¯ rather insular view.


    ¡°No, you may have felt it at a distance but I was there. He could beat me with ease. And I have no doubt that he was just toying with me.¡±


    My colleagues went silent when I told them that. They all started to eye him with eyes of mystery and curiosity but also fear as well.


    XXX: ¡°Just who is he?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know but I have the suspicion that he will accomplish great things in the future.¡±


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


    Nu-Ru POV


    I had just unexpectedly won the match with the mage¡¯s surrender. Many of those who were watching were shocked and began to talk amongst themselves. It was then that Grand Chancellor Issian began to speak.


    Issian: ¡°With this the ranking matches portion for the entrance exams is over. For those applicants who failed to defeat the individual they challenged, they shall be evaluated by that individual and assigned to a corresponding rank according to his or her evaluation of the applicant¡¯s abilities. Also for those who are not satisfied with their current rank, they shall be given the chance to raise their rank twice a year during the semester and end of term exams. Now as for living arrangements: You shall live together according to what rank you are with the higher ranks receiving the best accommodations and the lowest ranks receiving the worst. That isn¡¯t to say that any of our accommodations are not fit for a person of noble stature. Now all new applicants can pick their course schedule after heading to the administration building within the next five days, with classes beginning two days afterwards. Your rank will also affect which courses you are allowed to choose as well as the level of access you will be allowed to the grand library which contains books with many spells and martial arts skills of varying levels. Now proceed to find the lord of each rank who will escort you new students to your quarters. That is all I have to say and I hope that all of you young seeds of the Holy Empire make good use of your time here.


    After that speech we met up with Serva and my servants and proceeded to find the lord of our rank. Yes apparently the person in charge of each rank was called the lord of that rank. Apparently the lord of the rank was the magician that I beat since he was considered the strongest of all of the gold ranks. He proceeded to show us to our rooms and my servants to the slave quarters. I had Sirva scout out the entire academy for its layout. When we saw the rooms for the Gold Rank students we were astounded.


    Back in the Grand sanctuary, every member had their own room. Mine was filled to the brim with magic items, tools, scrolls, etc¡­ Ever since we were teleported to this world, I never really rested in my room. Even Shae was surprised by how the room looked as well.


    Each individual¡¯s room was very luxurious with ample space that not only had a king sized bed but also came equipped with a bathroom and a personal library. It also came with its own kitchen if one wanted to cook for one¡¯s self or have their slaves cook for them. After being astounded by the luxuriousness of our new abodes, Shae and I found that our rooms were right next to each other. This will make discussing our plans much easier. So after moving ourselves in we met to decide what to do next.


    Shae Alpha: ¡°It feels weird living in such luxurious rooms.¡±


    ¡°I guess we aren¡¯t used to such things. Since we both came from lower middle class families back on earth.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°Yeah you have a point. So what are we going to do now.¡±


    ¡°We should now try to learn as much as we can about the Holy Empire by using the facilities here such as the Grand Library. The Grand Library should contain much information such as about the magic as well as the history and politics of the Holy Empire. We should also try to find out if the threat to Princess Lucia came from the Holy Empire. To do so we must ingratiate ourselves with the nobles here at this school, and through them, their parents. To do so will help us gain influence in order to further our goal of finding information about this world in hope of finding a way home. From here our mission truly begins.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°So let¡¯s get to it.¡±


    :

 Book 2 Chapter 3: First Day

    Book 2- Chapter 3- First day


    During the day we spent the entire time in our rooms discussing what to do next. Although


    training and honing the student¡¯s abilities is the objective of the academy, it¡¯s vague at best. Those that join the academy are free to take any classes that they want. It can range from a political career to being a guard. The gold dorm, as I called it was located near a forest area.


    All the dorms were located in separate complexes near the same forest area. Because of this I


    was able to have Sirva along with Bamen and his daughter to be in the same building as us.


    After getting settled in we started to discuss on what to do next.


    We were both gold but we were in different divisions. I was in the mage section while Shae was


    in the warrior division. This way we can cover more ground than us being together all the time.


    Later the same gold mage appeared again explaining the academy system along with the


    classes we could take, which was everything.


    Shae and I eventually decided our courses for the future. My job was to investigate the history


    of the empire and how it related back to the Holy Knights guild, along with learning more about the magic of the world. Shae¡¯s job was to learn the more political side of the empire, it also helped that her father was a politician. She was also to document the power of the empire should we need to fight.


    Sirva¡¯s job was to investigate the so called secret organization, known as the Black Order. During the day and when we¡¯re out in public, she would act as a slave. At night or free time she would go around and collect as much information as possible.


    The whole process took much longer than I thought it would be. As a result by the time we were


    finished, it was already late evening time.


    After taking care of all the planning and talking with the Lord, I was finally alone. Shae decided


    to take a bath while Bamen was cooking up dinner. I lay on the bed with my eyes closed. I was


    already tired and was about to drift to sleep until a message popped up.


    ¡°Drakus request an echo message.¡±


    I was a bit surprised by the sudden message. I lazily opened it and within a few seconds and we


    connected.


    Drakus: ¡°Hey Nu, how is it going?¡±


    ¡°So far so good. Right now we¡¯re already in the academy that the princess mentioned. How is it


    on your end? You should be near the near the Regios kingdom aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Drakus: ¡°Yes. However we ran into some trouble.¡±


    The moment I heard that I instantly stood up. I already knew what he meant by trouble.


    ¡°The Black Order? What happened?¡±


    Drakus: ¡°It happened today. We were resting when they attacked, around ten attacked us. A


    couple of them got some sneak attacks in but they didn¡¯t do much damage to me.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Did you learn anything new?¡±


    Drakus: ¡°Yes. We were able to extract some more info but unfortunately a couple of them got away. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but stay silent when Drakus told me that.


    ¡°Well no one¡¯s perfect; it¡¯s not entirely your fault. Whatever this Black Order is, they are big and powerful but so are we. Just watch your back. They now know about you.¡±


    Drakus: ¡°Got it. Anyway we got some info on them but it  isn¡¯t that useful. They are a human underground organization, the biggest. They have several branches and sections to them. They have influence over the central continent, even connections in other continents as well.¡±


    ¡°How much? Any specifics?¡±


    Drakus: ¡°No, the guy that I caught was apparently some new lackey. He doesn''t know much believe it or not, but apparently he¡¯s part of the Assassination quarter of the Order. Other than that, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Thank you for sharing this with me. Watch your back, we maybe powerful but if they gang up on us then they still have a chance.¡±


    Drakus: ¡°Got it, tell Shae I said hello.¡±


    With that the call ended and I fell back down on the bed. I let out a sigh while looking at the ceiling.


    *Things are just going to get tougher from here on out.*


    I was lost in my thoughts that I didn¡¯t even notice Bamun coming into the room.


    ¡°Bamun? What is it?¡±


    Bamun: ¡°Ah¡­.Forgive me¡­..Ms. Shae is at the dinner, and you..¡±


    ¡°I got it, thank you. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    I politely cut her off and we headed towards the kitchen. Shae¡¯s and my room were upstairs while the bottom floor consist of the kitchen and living room. Bamun and Bamen lived in the basement, the slave quarters. although it was in the basement, it was still a comfortable room.


    I walked in to see Shae already sitting down with Sirva and Bamen standing at attention near the table. The food that was laid out was quite foreign to me. It looked to be some soup, roasted meat, diced fruits and vegetables among all else.


    I sat down on one of the chair and waited.


    Bamen: ¡°Umm master, why aren¡¯t you eating.¡±


    ¡°I can say the same for you, why aren¡¯t you sitting down?¡±


    Bamun: ¡°Uhh¡­ we can¡¯t. We can only eat after you all finish.¡±


    ¡°Well I¡¯m not like that. If we¡¯re together and it¡¯s dinner time then we all eat together.¡±


    At first they were reluctant before finally sitting down, Sirva included. We all ate the dinner the Bamen cooked. Most of the food tasted delicious and similar to food back on earth.


    After dinner, Bamun was washing the dishes while Bamen was doing other chores. Finally I recalled the information that I got from Drakus back to Shae.


    ¡°So what do you think?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°I don¡¯t know. We have no idea how strong this organization is. It would be foolish to dismiss Drakus¡¯¡¯s encounter but right now we can¡¯t do anything. At most we just need to be extremely careful should they somehow relate Drakus back to us.¡±


    I nodded my head in agreement as I was practically thinking the same thing as well. We began thinking up some counter measures when Bamen came in.


    Bamen: ¡°Please forgive me for interrupting but these were sent for you.¡±


    He held out his hand, holding two large folder looking packages. I grabbed on that had my name on it while Shae grabbed the other. We opened them at the same time and inside each one was a colored armband. They looked much like the ones the testers wore. These however were much more stylish and lavish. The symbol of the empire that was embodied on the entire armband added to its golden appearance.


    ¡°Hmm, fancy. So what is this, our identification or something?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°That would seem to be the case. Hey, since this is an academy, doesn¡¯t that mean we have to wear uniforms?¡±


    ¡°No. So long as you dress appropriately then you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Shae: ¡°I see. Hmm, you mind if I modify my armor, wearing this loose semi fancy tunic isn¡¯t all that great.¡±


    ¡°No problem, now that we¡¯re in the academy we can wear what we want. So long as we don¡¯t go overboard. Anyway it¡¯s getting late, I¡¯ll be heading off to bed. Bamen, Bamun, Sirva,  you¡¯re free to do whatever you want till night time.¡±


    They nodded in understanding before leaving. Shae and I headed up the stair and into our respective rooms. I got in bed and just lay there as the sun was setting. Soon I was already asleep.


    ¡­¡­¡­..


    Bamen: ¡°Please wake up master Nu-Ru.¡±


    A voice called out, causing me to wake up. I slowly rose up to see Bamen at the door. I rubbed my eyes a bit before finally getting out of bed. I dismissed her and went to take a shower.


    After the shower I decided on what to wear. I opened up my inventory and looked for a suitable armor. Eventually I settled with my some of my old favorite gear.


    I had on a light long sleeve tunic with a white jacket over it. Two criss cross belts held together a long brown baggy pants with several small pockets that were filled with items. My hands were equipped with a light leather gauntlets. The boots was a combination of iron and arctic style books.


    This gear was my old look before getting my now legendary gear. The reason I still kept these pieces was because I had them for the longest time, and I still think I look pretty badass. I quickly shook off my chuunibyou and headed out.


    Bamen was waiting for me outside the hallway. She followed me as he headed down. by the time we got there Shae was nowhere in sight.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Shae?¡±


    Bamen: ¡°Ms. Shae has already left.¡±


    I simply nodded as we headed towards the kitchen. There were some left over food with Bamun standing there. I quickly sat down and ate the breakfast that was prepared. While eating, Bamen presented me with a sheet that seemed to function as a schedule.


    On it were classes that I chose while discussing with the Lord yesterday. I quickly looked over it to learn where they are before finishing up breakfast. Within a couple of minutes I was out of the complex and on my way to the main campus.


    Tons of flower beds and trimmed trees littered the front yard of the building complex. I followed the path from yesterday until I reached a cross road, one going to the main campus the other to the training area.


    I followed the path to the campus and hummed all the way there. I couldn¡¯t help but admire the beauty of the path there. It was like a giant garden with all sorts of flowers growing around the path. Eventually the path led to main road with other paths connecting to a gate.


    I eventually reached the gate where other students were making their way over as well. A mixture of knights and mages were walking about. The knights had on light chain mail and a sword at their hilt. The mages had on the stereotypical looks. Some had on long robes, other had on the large triangle hats, and some even had all of them with small wands or catalysts.


    I cast my eyes from one to another, simply looking out of curiosity. Most of them had on either blue armbands or ones of a lower tier. I eventually reached the gate and made my way inside. After some investigation through Sirva, the academy is structure similar to a giant church school.


    It is basically a giant main building with several sub-buildings connecting to it. There are different gates all over the academy as the school encompasses all of the Empire¡¯s potential best. I walked in to see a wide space before me. Students were scattered about, talking with one another. I was about to head inside the building until I heard a commotion.


    I looked behind myself to see a cluster of students standing and sitting around. I moved in closer where the students stood near each other. Three people were the center of attention with a person on the ground.


    XXX: ¡°You bump into me, so this is payback for dirtying my clothes.¡±


    XXX: ¡°I did not! You moved in front of me at the last second.¡±


    The kid on the ground voiced his complaint back but was meet with a kick to the stomach by what seems like his lackey.


    XXX: ¡°Don¡¯t get high and mighty commoner. Just because you¡¯re a blue rank knight doesn¡¯t mean you are equal to us.¡±


    The ringleader held up his hand as an orb started to form.


    XXX: ¡°Learn your lesson!¡±


    Before he could activate his spell I stepped in and stopped his hand. I grabbed his hand before he struck it down. It took a moment before they realized I was there. He quickly broke free and backed up.


    XXX: ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°My name is not important, a better question is why you¡¯re bullying him.¡±


    XXX: ¡°Don¡¯t act so tough! I¡¯ve never seen you before, that means you¡¯re not from the nobility side are you?¡±


    ¡°And if I¡®m not?¡±


    XXX: ¡°Not only are you a commoner but you¡¯re ignorant as well! How dare you treat your senior like that!¡±


    ¡°Senior? You¡¯re no older than me. How can you be a senior?¡±


    XXX: ¡°Are you stupid, I expect nothing else from a lowly commoner. The rank you have determines your standing. Check it.¡±


    He held out his left side to show a purple armband.


    *A purple one huh?*


    XXX: ¡°Learn your place. Also, where¡¯s your armband? You¡¯re supposed to have it on everyday. What¡¯s wrong, embarrassed of your rank?¡±


    He spoke in a tone that was condescending that most likely tried to embarrass or get a response out of me. His lackey, along with the other students started to join in on the laugh.


    ¡°I see. I didn¡¯t know that. Well I believe introductions are in order. My name is Nu-Ru ¨C¡°


    I stopped mid-sentence and opened my inventory and grabbed out the gold armband. I quickly fashioned it to my arm.


    ¡°-and I¡¯m a gold rank.¡±


    As if someone pushed the mute button, everyone got quiet instantly. They all stared at me and the golden armband.


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


    I could see in their eyes, utter displease at the sight in front of them. I could already see it in their eyes, they don¡¯t believe what I said was true. But the armband was authentic, that fact was irrefutable.


    As if time restarted everyone backed in fear at the revelation. Everyone started to whisper amongst one another.


    XXX: ¡°Gold rank?! When was there one?¡±


    XXX: ¡°I actually heard a rumor about a gold rank. Apparently he fought Lord Dewa.¡±


    XXX: ¡°Yeah, I heard about him to, I heard from some of the other lords that Lord Dewa even used his full power to fight him. He won without attacking.¡±


    XXX: ¡°Are you kidding me?! Are you saying he might be as strong as them?!¡±


    *Them? Who the heck is ¡®them¡¯?*


    That one statement caught my attention in that there were others who were at least a gold rank just like Shae and I. However, it wasn¡¯t just one or two but ¡®them¡¯ as in multiple people. I shook my head and brought my attention back to the matter at hand.


    ¡°Is that how you treat your senior?¡±


    My sudden statement brought everyone''s attention back on me. The bully looked at me with nervous expressions while backing up.


    ¡°If you¡¯re done then leave. Today¡¯s the first day of class we can¡¯t have you be tardy. Especially if you were to be involved in an ¡®accident¡¯.¡±


    I spoke those lines in a low threatening voice that caused them to jump a bit. They all scurried away like scared children. The others started to walk away in fear as well. When most were gone, I turned my attention back to the kid.


    I extended my hand to help him up. He was reluctant at first but eventually grabbed it and he was on his feet.


    XXX: ¡°Thank you...Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No problem. Don¡¯t let them get to you; you¡¯re strong, much stronger than those guys who were born with that power. You got here through hard work. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.¡±


    The boy was in a small daze at my speech before thanking me again and walked away. I headed back to the main building. Following the provided map I eventually reached my class.


    The room was structured similar to how a university classroom was. Several long desks curved pointing towards the front of the classroom. Several students were standing about talking while others were sitting. The moment I stepped in, everyone got quiet, eyeing me.


    I ignored them and looked around for a seat. Most were taken but they were far away, not to my standing. I soon spot an empty table at the front with one person sitting. I walked closer to see the elf from last time.


    ¡°Als was it, do you mind if I sit next to you.¡±


    Als, like the others eyed me the moment I walked in until I came over to her. She stayed quiet for a bit before answering yes. I thanked her and sat down. The class soon began to talk with one another about me and the elf.


    I had a much better look at her. Her clothes now consisted of a light green and brown silk outfit. The clothes were a bit revealing with the midriff and arms visible. I shook my head and turned away before I start being called a pervert.


    Within a couple of minutes, the professor walked in and class started. The beginning of the class was a small introduction. The latter went onto the subject of the course. It was about magic and the basics of magic, how the world works, the way magic is applied, the history, the different ranks, etc¡­


    Most of my previous theories proved to be true regarding the new world. The same explanation back in Eternia applied to this world as well. Of course I learned some new interesting facts as well, namely just how strong the world is compared to us.


    The previous heroes of the Empire and the leaders of Holy Knights Guild were to the citizens of this world, the pinnacle of power. The magic rank still applied to this world, with rank 12 being the highest. However after listening in the highest threshold of magic according to the teacher were ranks 9 and10. That was no doubt due to Ayato of the Holy Knight guild who was a swordsman and a powerful mage as well.


    There were also other individuals that achieved that high rank of magic. Most of it was chopped up to legends. I, myself can cast up to rank 12 magic though. The rest of the class wasn¡¯t that interesting so I focused most of my attention to the new knowledge.


    Soon the class ended while I was lost in my own little world. Students were starting to stand up, Als stood up. When she was packing up, something caught my eye, namely an injury.


    ¡°Where did you get that wound?¡±


    She stayed silent, ignoring me while packing up.


    ¡°It¡¯s rude to leave some someone hanging when they ask a question.¡±


    Als: ¡°.....I fell down some stairs.¡±


    *What kind of clich¨¦ response is that?*


    I kept the thought to myself and packed up as well. We left the room at the same time, and I followed her for a bit.


    Als: ¡°Why are you following me?¡±


    ¡°You got those injuries because some people were bullying you right?¡±


    Als: ¡°......¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow you everywhere until you answer my question. I¡¯m a gold rank, I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t voice their displeasure at me.¡±


    Als: ¡°...Yes. Are you happy?¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t so hard. Here, |Heal|¡±


    I activated my spell and healed her wound without everyone seeing it. Once again she looked at me with a weird expression at my action.


    Als: ¡°Why are you doing this? Talking to me, helping me?¡±


    ¡°Do I need a reason to help a person? That¡¯s how I am.¡±


    Als: ¡°Cut the shit. You¡¯re a human just like everyone else. Are you after me? I saw you with that dark elf from yesterday. If you are I¡¯l¡­¡±


    ¡°I have no ulterior motive. I¡¯m trying to help you because ¡­¡±


    Als: ¡°Because?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want anyone else to go through the same thing,¡±


    Als: ¡°Huh?¡±


    I answered her question and finally left her to go to my next class. For the rest of the day I just sat through the class, taking in new knowledge about the world. I chose classes that would provide a wide range of knowledge.


    Most were new but very negligible in the overall scheme of things. The day went by in a blur when it was finally time for my last class. A class recommended by the Lord, a class for powerful and special individuals.


    Shae and I decided to take it as it would provide us a class to discuss some matters. The class was set in the back part of the building. I made my way there until I caught up to Shae who was waiting for me.


    ¡°Sup. How was school?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Pretty boring. Half of it was sitting in a classroom while the other half was exercising and PE courses. I¡¯ve already passed high school and now I¡¯m going to school in another world.¡±


    This time I could hear Shae¡¯s frustration in her voice while her face remained monotone. I let out a slight chuckle and we made our way towards the building. On the way there we saw another person walking towards the same designation.


    After catching up, I realized it was Als.


    ¡°Als? Are you heading towards the special class as well?¡±


    Als: ¡°Is that such a surprise?¡±


    She was clearly mad at my rather offensive comment. I panicked a bit before Shae managed to calm the situation down before we walked together.


    ¡°Sooo, what made you take this course?¡±


    Als: You¡¯re really nosey aren¡¯t you? I was recommended by it by my assigned Lord.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Was it because of your special magic? Those crystallization spells.¡±


    ¡°Yea, I¡¯ve never seen magic like that before. What exactly is it?¡±


    Als: ¡°You sure ask a lot of question.¡±


    ¡°Come on, just the bare minimum? I did heal your wounds. I just want to know what it is.¡±


    Als: ¡°...... It¡¯s a sublevel of magic. It¡¯s called crystal magic. It is a rare magical ability that very few have.¡±


    ¡°Well that makes sense. What else can you do?¡±


    Als: ¡°There are many applications but I could only use a few¡­ That¡¯s all you need to know.¡±


    ¡°One more question, can they be used to create crystals? Crystals that can be used for monetary value?¡±


    Als: ¡°No. Unlike normal crystals that made from condensed mana deep underground, I can only create ¡®unstable¡¯ crystals that can only be used for attacking. Like any other spells, they will eventually wither away into mana.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡±


    The conversation ended and we continued on our way. We eventually reached a corridor that lead straight to a single door. While walking, a thought occurred to me.


    ¡°I know that this ¡®special¡¯ class is to train those who have high capability but who else?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Earlier today, I learned about others just as powerful as ¡®us¡¯. If so then that means they might have this special class as well.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Hmm, I see your point.¡±


    Als: ¡°Do you not know who they are?¡±


    Both Shae and I turned to Als who finally spoke up, but also at her knowing who we were talking about.


    ¡°Who are they?¡±


    We reached the door and made our way in --


    Als: ¡°They are among the strongest families in the Empire, they are the six chos--¡±


    --and we were ambushed from both sides. The moment we opened the door, two individuals rushed us from the left and right. Als didn¡¯t finish her sentence as they caught her off guard but no us.


    ¡°|Counter Barrier.|¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°|Iron Defense|¡±


    Shae and I activated our skills, defending ourselves against our attackers. A hexagonal, yellow barrier appeared and blocked my attackers attack. But that wasn¡¯t it, the moment he made contact with it, it let out a small electric shock that knocked him back. Shae brought up her arms to defend against her attacker before knocking him back.


    We didn¡¯t have time to relax as two more individual jumped towards them straight on.


    ¡°|Spiraling Wind Barrier|¡±


    The air around us accelerated and formed a small tornado barrier to protect us. However it also obscured our vision until one of them jumped through towards us.


    *He jumped through my defensive attack?!*


    I was shocked that I didn¡¯t even have time to defend but luckily Shae had my back. She got in front of me and knocked him back.


    I canceled the barrier to get a better view of everything. The attackers gathered around and stood around on what looked like an elevated steps bleacher. There were a total of six individuals looking down on us.


    ¡°Identify yourselves now! It¡¯s against the rules for any and all students to engage in combat in a noncombat zone.¡±


    As the barrier dissipated I got a better look at them.


    One had short spiky blond hair and blue eyes and stood at about 1.9 meters tall. The chest-plate on his silver armor had the same insignia as the wielder of Gram Siegfried.


    Another who stood at a striking two meters tall, with raven black hair that went down to shoulders and whose black eyes seemed as cold as ice. He also had a great-sword strapped to his back. He wore black armor with a red insignia on the chest-plate that matched that of Durandal¡¯s wielder Roland.


    Two of them seemed somewhat similar standing at 1.8. Both had long black hair tied into a ponytail in the fashion of a samurai and black eyes (Think Seijirou from Log Horizon). They both also wore red samurai armor with a katana strapped to their waste. The only major difference between them was the insignia on their breastplate: one which belonged to the kusanagi blade wielder Seijirou and the other belonging to the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi wielder Ayato.


    One had long straight crimson hair that went to his lower back and stood at about 1.85 meters tall. His cold blue eyes gave off a feeling of seriousness. On the chest-plate of his armor was the insignia of the wielder of Tyrfing, David.


    The last one stood at 1.85 meters tall had short, chestnut brown hair and green eyes. Unlike the others, he gave off a feeling of friendliness. He wore shining white armor with the insignia of the wielder of Hauteclere, Oliver in Gold on the chestplate.


    Back to the story:


    Shae: ¡°Nu-Ru, do you see those insignias¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have an idea who they are.¡±


    The one with the insignia of Roland speaks up


    ¡°So you realize who you are speaking to peasant. We are the heirs to the original six duke houses of the Holy Empire.¡±


    End


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

 Book 2 Chapter 4: New Introductions

    Book 2- Chapter 4- New introductions


    Shae Alpha POV


    One minute we were having a nice conversation, the next, we were ambushed. Thanks to our radars we detected them and managed to get them but they were still tough. We backed up, allowing us to get a better look at those that attacked us.


    There were six of them in total, staring down at us on some elevated stair bleachers. If that wasn¡¯t enough, they were the descendants from the previous guild leaders of the Holy Knights guild.


    *If my face was real, I could actually show a surprised expression. Nu on the other hand¡­*


    When I had discovered who they were, I immediately informed Nu. For the first time, he did a double take. Looking between them with confusion before calming down. He slowly nudged his way over and whispered.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Looks like you¡¯re right. I...I didn¡¯t consider that factor¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Right now we have bigger problem.¡±


    We didn¡¯t go much farther as one of the individual interrupted our whisper conversation. ¡°I must say that I¡¯m quite disappointed. I heard that they were others as strong as us, but here I discover they are a mage, a woman and an elf.¡±


    The one spoke with a clearly annoyed and disdain filled voice.


    ¡°Well is it the pot calling the kettle black. Said the group who ambushed us, some knight¡¯s you are. You don¡¯t  know us and we don¡¯t know you. Now get off your high horse.¡±


    I was also annoyed as well. For the first time, I clearly voiced my true feelings, I even felt my face showing the emotion as well. In response to my retort, the person¡¯s vein popped up. His face contorted in rage but before he could do anything, two of his friends stopped him.


    XXX: ¡°Calm down, we can¡¯t have you killing our guests. Especially before I get another crack at them. Hehe.¡±


    XXX: ¡°Requa is right, you need to calm down Rumo.¡±


    He looked back between the two before finally calming down. He took a deep breath before crossing his arms.


    ¡°My name is Rumo Roland, heir to the Roland second grand family.¡± He stood to be around two meter tall, with raven black hair that went down to shoulders and whose black eyes seemed as cold as ice. He also had a great-sword strapped to his back. He wore black armor with a red insignia on the chest-plate that matched that of Durandal¡¯s wielder, Roland.¡±


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, my name is Requa Siegfried, heir to the Siegfried fourth grand family.  Let¡¯s get along. Hehe.¡± The one who answered had short spiky blond hair and blue eyes and stood at about 1.9 meters tall. He had on a playful look to him but at the same time, that of a predator waiting for a challenge. The chest-plate on his silver armor had the same insignia as the wielder of Gram, Siegfried.


    ¡°My name is Huas Oliver, heir to the Oliver seventh grand family. I do hope we can be friends in the future.¡± He stood at 1.85 meters tall had short, chestnut brown hair and green eyes. Unlike the others, he gave off a feeling of friendliness. He wore shining white armor with the insignia of the wielder of Hauteclere, Oliver in Gold on the chestplate.


    ¡°I am Kugei Seijirou, heir to the Seijiroyu fifth grand family.¡± ¡°I am Yusei Ayato, heir to the Ayato sixth grand family.¡± The two that answered were two individual that stood at the side, close to one another. Two of them seemed somewhat similar standing at 1.8 meter. Both had long black hair tied into a ponytail in the fashion of a samurai and black eyes (Think Seijirou from Log Horizon). They both also wore red samurai armor with a katana strapped to their waste. The only major difference between them was the insignia on their breastplate: one which belonged to the kusanagi blade wielder, Seijirou and the other belonging to the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi wielder, Ayato.


    ¡°......I am Truas David, heir to the David third grand family.¡± The last one to answer had long straight crimson hair that went to his lower back and stood at about 1.85 meters tall. His cold blue eyes gave off a feeling of seriousness. On the chest-plate of his armor was the insignia of the wielder of Tyrfing, David.


    Rumo: ¡°Now that we have introduced ourselves, it¡¯s about time for you to do the same.¡±


    I panicked a bit on the inside as I was caught up during their whole introduction. I opened my mouth but before I made a fool out of myself, Nu stepped in.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°A pleasure to meet you all, I am Nu-Ru. We¡¯re from a faraway place, Shae and I hail from the same place.¡±


    He quickly moved his eye at me, I caught that action and knew what he meant. I stepped up and nodded to show that Nu was telling the truth.


    Requa: ¡°Nu..Ru? Shae? Those are odd names aren¡¯t they? So you¡¯re foreigners huh? That would explain quite a number of things. So then, what about you girl?¡±


    The question wasn¡¯t directed at me, but Als who stood behind us, as if trying to hide herself. A couple of seconds passed before she finally stepped up.


    Als: ¡°I am Als...Evergreen.¡±


    She spoke in a slightly shaken voice while trying to avoid eye contact with them. Probably because she was a demi-human or the fact that she was in front of them. Either way she quickly backed off.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Now that introductions are out of the way, you mind telling us why you ambushed us?¡±


    Rumo: ¡°Don¡¯t presume to point fingers commoners, blame Requa for his stunt.¡±


    Requa: ¡°Ohh come one Rumo, as if you weren¡¯t curious as well.  Anyway, I apologies. Are you happy now Rumo.¡±


    Huas: ¡°Now, now. Let¡¯s calm down everyone. We¡¯re all responsible in one way or another.¡±


    Requa: ¡°Huas, right. Let¡¯s all forget about this. Now then we can finally move on, follow us.¡±


    The short spikey hair kid jumped down and walked across the room. The others followed suit with us just behind them. The room looked to be similar to a large shed, eventually we reached a door. Behind it was a wide open space. The ceiling was closed off by what seemed like glass, similar to a greenhouse. The field looked to be as large as football field.


    Requa: ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get started!¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Wait!¡±


    The boy was about to do something but Nu held up his hand to shut him down.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°First off, where¡¯s the professor? We can¡¯t just do wha¡­¡±


    Requa: ¡°Huh? You didn¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Know what?¡±


    Requa: ¡°Well you see, this ¡®special¡¯ class was originally created for us. No one could compare to us, so they created this class where we could spar with one another. So no one really teaches, so we¡¯re free to do whatever we want.¡±


    I opened my mouth to question the validity of that but quickly reminded myself that they were high nobility, they could do whatever they want.


    Requa: ¡°Now that that is out of the way, let¡¯s get things started. Seeing as how there¡¯s only three of you, we¡¯ll fight in pairs. You three versus three of us. Doesn¡¯t that sound fair?


    ¡°Sure¡­ ¡®not like we have a choice anyway.¡¯¡±


    I kept the whisper to myself as he went back to his friends to talk to. I turned back to Nu and Als who were talking it out.


    ¡°So. what¡¯s the plan?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I...I don¡¯t know. I have no data on them, let alone a plan. Right now, we should play it safe. Als, what role are you?¡±


    Als: ¡°Role? What¡¯s a role?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Sorry, allow me to clarify. You can only use offensive spells correct?¡±


    Als: ¡°Yes.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Here¡¯s the plan. Shae and Als will be the front fighters, I¡¯ll support you guys with spells and enchant spells. We¡¯ll stick together and cover each other¡¯s back.¡±


    ¡°*Whisper.* Hey, shouldn''t you be in the front? I¡¯m a support class remember?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°*Whisper.* Those guys are all direct fighters, right now I¡¯m a mage and you¡¯re a warrior. We need to play our roles. Besides you can¡¯t use your Orbitor, not to mention a warrior using support skills will raise eyebrows. ¡±


    I wanted to object but what he said did ring true. Rather than dwelling on that, I got focused on the task at hand. Our opponents were Requa and the two with the katanas. We stood a fair distance away from one another, we positioned ourselves Als and I at the front with Nu behind us. They stood side by side in a carefree attitude. The others were on the sideline.


    Requa: ¡°Alrighty then, here are the rules. We''ll be sparing until we can¡¯t fight anymore. Of course I would suggest giving it your all. Are you guys ready?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re ready.¡±


    The moment I said that, they charged directly at us. It took me a second to fully register just how quickly they lunged at us but I quickly snapped out of it.


    ¡°|Heavy Knuckle.|¡±


    Als: ¡°|Crystal Shard.|¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Magic Arrows.|¡±


    I used my skill and punch the ground into huge rubble. I quickly grabbed a piece of the ground and threw it at them. Requa unsheathed his sword and cut it into two. I picked up another one but it ended in the same result. The other two managed to block and defend against our spells.


    Soon they came in full force with Requa charging right at me. I held up my arm and defended against his slash thanks to Nu¡¯s iron flesh enchant. I didn¡¯t take much damage but the force knocked me to the side, away from Nu and Als. He didn¡¯t let up as he continued to attack relentlessly. All I could do was dodge as we separated.


    I could only attack with light jabs and punches, but they were blocked by his sword.


    Requa: ¡°When I first heard about you, I was skeptical. A warrior that fought with no weapon, now seeing you in person I can see that it¡¯s all true.  Hahaha, show me more!¡±


    His attack started to become more frantic and quick. He picked up the pace and caught me off guard with the sudden boost in speed. I dodged the attacks by the hair, but eventually he decided to wrap things up.


    He probably was tired of running so he stabbed his sword into the ground and ran towards me with the blade streaking against the ground. Requa swung up, sending dust towards me. It blinded me for a moment, allowing him to move to my side for an attack.


    But thanks to my new body, the dust had little effect from the dust. He came in for an upward slash but I stopped it with |Heavy Stomp.| I did a small jump and activated my skill to bring down my leg against the attack. I kicked it with a powerful force to knock him back, temporarily dazing him.


    I quickly dashed towards him to finally finished him off. I could imagine the scene already. Using a skill and knocking him straight to the ground...but that wasn¡¯t what happened.


    Requa: ¡°|Counter.|¡±


    The next moment completely surprised me. Even in his small dazed state, he managed to quickly turn around and repel my attack. But it wasn¡¯t that, it was the fact that he used a Skill.


    *No...That can¡¯t be! That was definitely a skill, but that¡¯s impossible¡­ No it¡¯s just that we never seen anyone use a skill before.¡±


    Back in Eternia attacks were separated into two different categories. Spells which were magical attacks by mages and spellcaster and skills which were abilities or attacks used by warriors.


    I couldn¡¯t think more about it as he quickly went in for another strike. That moment caused me to panic internally, causing me to use one of my more powerful defense skill, |Ironguard Wall.| A skill that boasted the highest defense, allowing me to easily defend anything even Nu¡¯s strongest spells. But what happened shocked me even more.


    Requa: ¡°|Cross Slash|¡±


    He activated another skill and charged straight in. I readied myself to completely bounce back the attack but that didn¡¯t happen. I felt my power drained a bit, the next moment I was hit by his skill. I felt the force of it and was knocked back. Numbers flashed before me as my health went down by a bit, but that wasn¡¯t what concerned me.


    *What?! Why didn¡¯t my skill activated? I didn¡¯t take that much damage but...but I shouldn¡¯t have taken any.*


    I observed him with frantic eyes, looking everywhere as to give me any hints. Eventually I looked upon his sword, which was glowing.


    *That¡¯s¡­ The legendary sword item, Gram. ...I see, that makes sense now.*


    One of the swords used by the leaders of the Holy Knight guild was known as ¡®Gram the penetrator.¡¯ The weapon special ability allows it to cut through all defenses of an enemy. Be it armor, support spells/skills or ability. To be more specific it ignores those attributes and attacks them as if they don¡¯t have any armor on.


    I took my eyes off of him and back to Nu and Als. They were having trouble as well as the two they were fighting were using their legendary swords¡¯ abilities as well.


    Requa: ¡°I must say that I¡¯m generally surprised. You¡¯re quite strong, you¡¯re the first one who actually kept up with me. Let¡¯s continue!¡±


    He readied himself again, this time I charged at him. But instead of running at him, I ran passed him towards Nu. By the time I got there, his opponents had him on the ground. Supposedly he was caught off guard as well.


    I got the jump on him, knocking him away from Nu. I quickly helped him up and we stood side by side.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve already figured it out?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Yeah. Another careless blunder.¡±


    His face contorted into a small face of annoyance and rage. No doubt it was due to missing this piece of information. Nu would also be hard on himself whenever things went awry. Whether it was because he took it too seriously or whether it was because of his ego was something he never discuss with us. I quickly acted before Nu did anything.


    ¡°We surrender!¡±


    I spoke those lines with the loudest voice I could muster. I looked around to make sure they heard me. Requa and the other eased up and sheath their swords.


    Requa: ¡°Already? Just when things were getting fun. Whatever.¡±


    To my surprise he gave up rather quickly and walked back to the others. I looked back to see Nu walking towards Als and helping her up.


    Haus: ¡°So how was the fight?¡±


    Requa: ¡°It was fun, but boring as well. I thought they would be more of a challenge.¡±


    Roland: ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you fought against some commoners. Where do you see the challenge in that?¡±


    Requa: ¡°True but it was still disappointing.¡±


    They were talking behind our back, trashing us. I couldn¡¯t help but grind my teeth because in reality we would wipe the floor with them. The only thing stopping us were the ¡®Binding Ring¡¯ item. In Eternia the item, ¡®Binding Ring¡¯ was a special item that allowed players to lower their level. The purpose of the item was higher rank players to play with friends that were lower ranks. Helping them a quest, a duel, or training them.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    After the orientation we equipped the rings as a precaution. We limited ourselves to level 32 at most to give us some leeway as well. I had no choice but to ignore them and continued on my way towards Nu. I got there as Nu slowly lowered Als to lean against the wall.


    Out of all of us she was the one that took the biggest beating. There were bruises all over her body with light wounds and cuts as well.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Als: ¡°I¡¯ll live¡­.I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Als tried to get back up but she didn¡¯t make that far before using the wall as a support.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Here. |Heal|¡±


    Nu activated his spell and healed her wounds. She slowly slid down the wall until and started to relax.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Here you go. Just get some rest.¡±


    Als: ¡°......Thank you.¡±


    Nu simply nodded before walking back to me.


    ¡°You seem to be rather close to her.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°She would argue otherwise. Anyway, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re curious regarding them.¡±


    I nodded, telling him to continue on.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°First thing is first, regarding their levels they¡¯re only level 26 at most.¡±


    ¡°What?! How could they be so strong?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°You''re forgetting one thing, they aren¡¯t monsters.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but let out a ¡®huh¡¯ sound as i was confused as Nu¡¯s question. The question made no sense to me. He waited for me to answer but when it didn¡¯t come he just answered it.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I identified everything, their equipment and their swords respectively. Surprisingly they are almost on par with our current equipment.  The only things that made a difference were the swords. They¡¯re the real deals.¡±


    ¡°But...But how? Those weapons were among the best legendary weapons. A player would need to be at least level 95 to equip it, let alone use it.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I know. This was one of the pieces of evidence that points towards this world not being a game. But that doesn¡¯t explain why they¡¯re able to equip it. ...For now it¡¯s not that big of an issue. The weapons are for extensive purposes, weakened in a sense compared to their original power. But we should still keep an eye on them.¡±


    I wanted to debate some more but Nu did had a point in his argument. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh in agreement. For the rest of the class, we kept to ourselves. Nu and I talked about what to do next while looking out towards them while they sparred with one another.


    Soon class finally ended and we could finally leave the academy. Nu and I decided to head to the food and shopping district to look at some merchandise and to get some fresh air as well. Sirva came to pick us up and was a tour guide as we navigated through the district. We spent the better part of the hour just looking around on the goods being shown.


    Most looked neat but were practically useless to us. We did buy a couple of things, such as potions, elixirs, etc¡­ More on Nu¡¯s end to learn more of how advanced the world really is. It was around late evening when we decided to finally head home. We were on our way back until something ran into us. It hit Nu and fell down on her but.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡±


    Getting a closer look, I realized it was an elf. It looked to be no older than a child. she had on dirtied rags that covered up her body. Upon closer inspection she looked to be hurt with a nasty bruise on her head. I bend down to help up but she started fighting me as I touched her.


    ¡°Please calm down, we aren¡¯t going to hurt you.


    XXX: ¡°Let go of me! I need to run!¡±


    I eventually got her up and help her still just as a group came out of an alleyway towards us. They numbered five in total, all gruff looking men. The little girls started to shake uncontrollably when she saw them.


    XXX: ¡°There you are, now be a good girl and come over here.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Who are you? What do you want with her?¡±


    XXX: ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Now hand her over.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see a slave mark on her. She¡¯s free.¡±


    XXX: ¡°This is your final warning. Hand her over or else we¡¯ll get serious.¡±


    The men spread out, surrounding us and backing us against a wall. I motioned the little girl behind me to protect her.


    ¡°Say, can we beat the crap out of them already?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°We¡¯re in kind of a narrow walkway right now, I can¡¯t use my spells without possibly hitting everything around me. So let¡¯s go with this, Sirva, take care of them.¡±


    Following Nu¡¯s order Sirva charged directly at the intruders. They didn¡¯t even have time to react as she used a high kick and knock out two of them. The others backed off before one of them charged in trying to grab her.


    Sirva easily jump up, dodging him and then strike down. His head hit the pavement with a huge thud. She slowly stood up while brushing herself off. Out of the remaining two, one fled the scene.


    XXX: ¡°Screw this!¡±


    The last one pulled out a rusty knife and charged at Sirva. He lunged at her but once more she easily evaded him. Quickly sidestepping, she grabbed his arm and then threw him against a wall.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Good job Sirva.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°I live to please, my master..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. We won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    The little elf girl hid herself during the fight but slowly walked out into view.


    XXX: ¡°Tha...thank you.¡±


    ¡°Why were they chasing you?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°It isn¡¯t all that hard to guess why. Anyway where do you live? We¡¯ll escort you there.¡±


    The elf was about to object but both of us insisted. Eventually she gave up and we helped her home. During the walk we learned that the girl name was Alia and she was a free elf because her previous owner died. Before she was enslaved again, she found a way out.


    Eventually we reached her home...no the proper term was shack. Her home was located in the poor commoner district near the edge of the wall. The shack was very run down, with holes and decrepit plywood. Dirt and trash littered the streets with a horrible pungent smell all around.


    We walked in to see a small room that looked much nicer on the inside. There were two rooms, in the house. One main room and a door that led to another small back room, The main room wasn¡¯t that big, at most holding about 30 people. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a broken bed in the back room.


    Alia: ¡°Thank you for helping. I...I don¡¯t have any¡­¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°It¡¯s alright. But do you really live here? All by yourself?¡±


    Alia: ¡°No...My sister lives here too.¡±


    ¡°Sister?¡±


    As if on cue the front door made a ¡®irk¡¯ noise as it was slowly opened.


    Als: ¡°What the?!¡±


    The one the came into view was Als, the elf. I looked over to see Nu surprised as well at the odd turn of event. But that didn¡¯t last long as she quickly threw down her stuff and turned towards us with hostility. But before she could act Alia stepped in.


    Alia: ¡°Please don¡¯t! They¡¯re friendly.¡±


    Alia stepped in-between us, causing Als to back up a bit in surprise.


    Als: ¡°Explain now.¡±


    For the next few minutes we informed her on what happen after going to the shopping district. At first she was still skeptical but she eventually resigned and acknowledged it.


    Als: ¡°I see. Could I talk with you all outside.¡±


    We all slowly got up and stepped out of the shack. Soon we were outside with Als.


    Als: ¡°What the hell are you up to? First you helped me, now you¡¯re helping my sister.¡±


    ¡°Umm, Nu, you mind explaining?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°When I helped you, it was because you were hurt and no one was going to help you. Regarding your sister, we meet her by accident. We helped her because it was the right thing to do.¡±


    Als: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Feel free to ignore it or put it off, but that¡¯s the truth.¡±


    Als: ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Als: ¡°Just ignore us. Don¡¯t talk to me in class or get close to me ever again.¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Wait--¡±


    Als: ¡°I said leave us alone! We¡¯ve held out with just us. We don¡¯t need other meddlers.¡±


    The way she made it out, it was as if she was annoyed at us for helping her. I was about to argue back but Nu stopped me.


    Nu-Ru: ¡°If that¡¯s what you wish.¡±


    He turned and walked away with Sirva. I looked back at Als and Nu before running to catch up to him.


    ¡°Just how ungrateful can she be?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°Please drop it, we are kind of at fault for getting involved with her. Besides¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides?¡±


    Nu-Ru: ¡°I can see where she¡¯s coming from.¡±


    Nu ended his sentence and we walked in silence until we were finally back at the dorm.


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


    Assassin leader POV


    ¡°Is this report correct?¡±


    I was in my office, shifting through every information gathered by my spies.


    XXX: ¡°Yes! We¡¯ve even double checked it sir!¡±


    I looked through the information twice.  I couldn¡¯t help but let out a massive sigh at the information presented. The funniest thing about it was that most of the information gathered on those that aided the princess came from a child that stayed behind and heard the event taking fold.


    *If this is true, then we have a massive issue on our hand. That means it¡¯s their issue as well.*


    ¡°That¡¯s all for now. I¡¯ll inform them.¡±


    My subordinates nodded and left the room. I quickly grabbed all the information that we have and left the room. Our base was a small wooden house with a lower interior in the ground. I walked through corridors that were dimly lit.  Eventually I came to a room.


    Inside the room was nothing. No windows, no item, just an empty dark room with no lights. In the middle stood a thin, tall pillar with a crystal at the top. I closed the door and activated the crystal. Within a couple of seconds a small rectangle image flashed. It flickered a bit before an image cleared up.


    Through the use of  the crystal and specially imbued magic, images could be shown. Even long range communication was possible but most were in the early stages of development. Although there would be no images and only vocal communication was possible.


    XXX: ¡°Diosas, is that you?¡±


    Finally a voice responded from the static. It was a shrill, high voice of a woman. She was my leader and head of the Assassination branch of the Black order.


    ¡°I have my report Catherine.¡±


    Catherine: ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°According to our reports we¡¯ve finally identified those that killed that knight and our assassins. We¡¯ve already confirm that the demi-human that assisted the princess is one of them along with the female knight with him. Also, the group that we sent after them was taken down. A couple escaped to tell us this.¡±


    Catherine: ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Even without the image on, I still knew what she was thinking. Boring. That was the kind of attitude that belonged to her.


    ¡°The next individual appeared to be a lizard woman assassin. We don¡¯t have much information on her. Finally we have a mage. From the reports, it would seems that he¡¯s the leader of the group. He tried to negotiate with the knight and even captured one of our assassins to learn more. As for how much, we don¡¯t know.¡±


    Catherine: ¡°How powerful is this mage?¡±


    ¡°The story from the child was jumbled. From what we could piece together, two of the spells he used were a lightning type spell, and a gravity type spell.¡±


    Catherine: ¡°Did you just say gravity?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Catherine: ¡°From my extensive knowledge. A spell like that would be around a sixth rank spell.¡±


    When she said that I accidently made a loud gulping noise. Although my knowledge of magic wasn¡¯t that wide, I still knew the implication of what she meant by that.


    Catherine: ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m planning on sending more troops to trail the demi-human. According to my spies, they¡¯ll be within Regios territory soon. The mage on the other hand, we don¡¯t know.¡±


    Catherine: ¡°The Holy Empire.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Catherine: ¡°He¡¯s mostly likely at the Holy Empire by now. If they¡¯re investigating the Black Order than they will head to the only two human countries. If the demi-human is following the princess, then it¡¯s only logical to head to the empire to cover all sides.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll prepare scout immeda¡­¡±


    Catherine: ¡°Cancel that order.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    Catherine: ¡°Because I¡¯ll be the one in charge. I¡¯ll head to the Empire and look for this man. You on the other hand focus on the demi-human and the princess.¡±


    ¡°Well certainly that would make things easy. But why? You never involve yourself in anything, why now?¡±


    Catherine: ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious, because this will be interesting.¡±


    With that, the call ended and I was by myself. Although I asked her that question, I already knew the answer. Catherine, or as she referred to in the Order, Catherine the Craved.


    *If she¡¯s joining the fray then this might get messy. I almost feel sorry for the mage.*


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


    Hey everyone. Hope you liked the chapter. Here is some important news. First, chapters 1 through 5 that were all originally written by thecode have been redone. Don¡¯t worry, the plot and all of the important things are mostly the same, the biggest differences would be some new details as well as the fact that word choice and grammar have changed, especially with the descriptions of some of the main characters. Another piece of news is that I finally figured out how to add the symbol for the fanfic on the main page. That symbol also happens to be the flag of Crimson Strife that was described in chapter 1. Finally I would like to ask for those of you who like my fiction to rate and review it to tell me what you think and what I could do better. I am always open to new ideas as I try to decide in what direction the story will go as well as the direction of the relationships between the different characters.

 Book 2 chapter 5: New Revelations

    To all of my readers, I¡¯m sorry for posting so late. I¡¯ve just been swamped with papers and other homework from my college classes lately. I¡¯ll try to post more frequently in the future. Enjoy the chapter.


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


    Book 2- Chapter 5: New Revelations


    Nu-Ru POV


    Over the past week or so we got more accustomed to the new lifestyle. After a while it started to become second nature. Wake up, eat, go to the academy and simply learning until class was finally over.


    Over the week, we learned a couple of new things regarding the world and everything in it. Most of the Empire¡¯s knowledge revolved around the Holy Knight Guild as heroes and the formation of the Empire. Regarding how magic works, it was very similar to Eternia, the use of mana and the concept of mana existing everywhere.


    Along with learning more about magic, we didn¡¯t learn much else that we didn¡¯t already hypothesize. The most disappointing part of all was that there was little to no evidence going against the royal families and the Black Order. However I ordered Sirva to continue, just because you couldn¡¯t find it doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t there.


    We also made some advancement when it came to the six descendant. At first I assumed they were stuck up pompous knights with the same insular views as everyone. They proved to be durable when trying to hold a conversation. During that time I¡¯ve grown to know more about each one of their personality.


    Everyday we would train with them. After altering the ¡®Binding Rings¡¯ we were now had more leeway when it came to fighting. With the knowledge of the sword and equipment in mind, we fought with the six on equal ground. However we still needed to keep up the facade on being strong but not too strong.


    Back to the story:


    It was another day. It was near the end of the day and we were in the special class. Over the past week Requa have been challenging us, namely Shae to ¡®test¡¯ us. In any situation I would ignored him but we didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Not to mention, we didn¡¯t have much to do either way.


    ¡°|Air Slash|¡±


    Activating my spell, sharp wind bended and flew towards Requa. He easily dodged rolled it and continued to run straight at me. He would dodge by the hair of it, making a show of jumping around.


    Requa: ¡°Got ya! |Fury Slash|¡±


    ¡°|Magic wave|¡±


    I held out my arm as it accumulate mana before firing it off in all direction. Requa sword, gram has the ability to cut through all defense skills and attack, but spells used for defensive purpose didn¡¯t count.


    The shock wave was enough to push him back a fair distance before barraging him with |Air Slash| again, knocking him back down. I quickly used |Enchant- speed boost| to run over to him and pin him down.


    ¡°Do you surrender?¡±


    Requa: ¡°I don¡¯t have much of a choice now do I? Hehe.¡±


    He surrender rather easily, and laugh at it while I helped in him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shae wrapping up her fight with Haus. But what got me was Rumo fighting against Yusei and Kugei at the same time. Although I hate to admit it, he looked to be very powerful.


    He was fast and nimble, even with his great sword. Especially since the two were just as fast, if not more. He was able to hold his own, eventually pushing them back.


    Requa: ¡°Impressive huh? Rumo the best warrior in the Empire, next to the prince of course.¡±


    ¡°The six families knows each other right, including the prince¡¯s family?¡±


    Requa: ¡°Yes. Our ancestors were the legendary heroes that formed the Empire. But you already knew that didn¡¯t you? But yeah we know each other, especially Rumo, I guess you can call him Alfonso¡¯s best friend.¡±


    *That¡¯s an interesting piece of information*


    I thought to myself when Requa told me that new information. I brought my attention back just as he defeated the two. I resigned myself from the field and walked towards the edge where I left my baggage. I pulled out canteen from the bag before taking a drink.


    While relaxing I heard magic being used, I looked over to see Als training in the corner, again. Ever since that time, she¡¯s been ignoring us, as if I wasn¡¯t even there. Even though I said we would leave her alone, I still tried to get her to open up.


    I stood at a distance, watching her using her magic. Hey crystallization magic was something Eternia didn¡¯t have. I¡¯ve been trying to replicate it, although it hasn¡¯t been going well. Even after studying up on magic and crystals, the process was still challenging. I watched her attack and use all sorts of moves that I never saw before. Eventually she took a break after a couple of minutes of training.


    Sensing an opportunity, I slowly walked over. She sat on the ground with sweat flowing down her cheek.


    ¡°Want a drink?¡±


    I held out my hand with the canteen. As per usual she simply ignored me, namely she turn her head away, refusing to look at me. I let out a small sigh before putting the canteen on the ground next to her.


    ¡°Your crystal magic is amazing. I tried replicating it but no matter how hard I try or study, I can¡¯t. It¡¯s cool.¡±


    Als: ¡°......¡±


    ¡°... That magic must have been tough to learn and master. Did you learn it by yourself or were you gifted at i--¡±


    Als: ¡°My father.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Your father...wait.¡±


    Before I could ask for any more, she got up and gulp down the remaining water in the canteen before tossing it over to me and walking away. I wanted to stop her and ask her again but I knew it wouldn¡¯t make a difference.


    *Sigh...Well at least I managed to get one response out of her. Progress... I guess.*


    Class was almost over so I decided to finally back it up. Shae was waiting near our stuff.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Why are you still trying to talk with her? She said that she doesn¡¯t need our help, just leave her alone.¡±


    ¡°When did you care about this kind of stuff?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Quite frankly, I don¡¯t like her. But the real question would be, why do you care?¡±


    ¡°.....¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°You said something about ¡®experiencing¡¯ what she went through or something along those lines. Did you have a tragic past or something?¡±


    ¡°And if I did? What would you do about it?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°...¡±


    This time, Shae was silent. It was a rule that members of the guild wouldn¡¯t reveal their personal life so carelessly. Those who do, only tell the bare minimum, wanting to keep their secret hidden.


    ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing. I won¡¯t ask you to fully understand my intentions but I ask you to trust me.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°I trust you, but I just don¡¯t get it.¡±


    With that, the conversation ended and we finally headed out. Shae headed back to the Dorm while I went to the market plaza again. I heard there was a sale so I decided to stop there to see what new items and or food I could potentially buy.


    The market area was crowded as always so I had a rather hard time walking through. It was when I looking through the goods that I felt that I was being watched. I could only rely on my instinct as my radar would only pick up incoming enemies if I was engaged in a fight. After walking for a while, I was sure that I was being followed. I maneuvered through the crowd until I came to an alleyway.


    Then I broke into a full sprint, running through the back alley hoping to lose them. I sprinted through using my map, using the quickest route back to the academy. I was almost free until they blocked me. The alleyway lead to a street but before I could step out, four individual stepped out.


    I slowed down to a halt and was about to turn back but more people came out of the woodwork. The thought of escaping using |Fly| or |Greater Jump| was viable but that would mean I wouldn¡¯t learn why they were after me. Also there were no guarantees that they wouldn¡¯t follow me again.


    Having decided to stay, I confronted them.


    ¡°Who are you people?¡±


    XXX: ¡°Stupid brat. Don¡¯t tell me you forgot about us and how you made us lose our good.¡±


    I focused on the one that spoke. It took me a moment before realizing that it was the same guy that tried to kidnap Alia. From the bandage on his face, it wasn¡¯t rocket science to assume that he¡¯s after revenge.


    ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s you. What do you want?¡±


    XXX: ¡°You made us lose a valuable good. We want compensation. If you give us your dark elf, we might call it even.¡±


    I tried to keep my poker face on but I could feel a frown forming on my face when he mentioned Sirva. I quickly reminded myself to calm down before finally addressing them.


    ¡°And if I don¡¯t¡±


    A cruel smile creeped up onto his face as he unsheathed a weapon. It was a dagger but what caught my attention was the tip of it, an odd metallic green color. After using |Identify| I realized that it was poison.


    XXX: ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to make you.¡±


    The other pulled out similar blades before charging right at me. There were eight of them in total, three charged at me.


    ¡°|Arcane Missiles.|¡±


    We were in a fairly narrow alleyway so any AOE spell will only cause trouble. Activating my spell, pocket of mana formed and shot towards my assailants. They were caught off guard, apparently not realizing I was a mage. Having said that the three fell as their comrades took a couple of steps backwards in fear.


    XXX: ¡°You idiots! Charge him at once!¡±


    The ¡®leader¡¯ brought them back with his order, they shook off their daze and charged at me. The small time that it took them to get their head straight, I prepared two spells.


    ¡°|Blockade| |Pulsing Flash.|¡±


    Extending from the ground were walls of transparent mana. Two popped up around me, blocking them while two more formed at the entrance, trapping them inside. They didn¡¯t have time to figure out what was going on before concentrated balls of light formed around them. The next minutes were blinded by the explosion accompanied with a small boom.


    I brought down the blockade and looked around to see them on the ground. I double check to make sure I didn¡¯t accidently killed any of them. The last thing I needed was being involved in murder. After confirming that they were still alive, I made my way out but --


    XXX: ¡°Die!¡±


    I turned around fast enough to see the man up but not only that, he was lunging at me with the dagger. I didn¡¯t had enough time to do anything but I didn¡¯t need to.


    In a split second he was knocked back. I looked around until my eye were on a sword that shot next to me, besides my head. I turned around to my surprise to see Rumo standing behind me, defending me.


    ¡°Rumo?¡±


    I could hide my surprise at his sudden appearance and even more so as he defended me.


    Rumo: ¡°How careless of you, never turn your back until your enemies are truly dead.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but nod in response as there were truth in his words. I looked back to see the man trying to stand up while shaking in fear because of Rumo.


    XXX: ¡°Ju...Just you w-wait! I¡¯ll get back at you!¡±


    After yelling his final words he ran away leaving behind his comrades. Rumo slowly unsheathed his sword.


    ¡°I suppose a thank you is in order, but what are you doing here?¡±


    Rumo: ¡°I was here on an errand. I heard some racket so I came here to check it out and found you. I wouldn¡¯t have intervened if you weren¡¯t so careless.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m amaze you care so much. Seeing as how your views against mages are quite prejudice. I thought you would have just left me to die.¡±


    The moment I finished I felt a killing aura coming from Rumo. His face turned a black purplish color as he stared me down. It took me a moment before I realized that what I just said was offensive to him and his honor.


    Rumo: ¡°I may dislike you mages but I would never seep so low as petty revenge or grudges. I have my own honor, don¡¯t simply presume.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Rumo simply stood there and we held each other gazes until he finally left. After piling up the bodies and tying them up I finally made my way to the Dorm.


    Bamen: ¡°Welcome back...Master Nu.¡±


    ¡°Hello Bamen. Where is Shae and Sirva?¡±


    Bamen: ¡°Madam Shae is currently in her room. Sirva hasn¡¯t shown up yet.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll call when I need you.¡±


    Bamen bowed her head in agreement before leaving. I headed up the stair until I was finally in front of Shae¡¯s room door. After knocking on the door and waiting a bit it finally open.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Welcome back, what took you so long?¡±


    ¡°I ran into trouble. Anyway, we need to talk.¡±


    I made my way in and pulled up a small stool and sat down next to her bed. Shae jumped on her bed, sitting up.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°So what do we need to talk about?¡±


    ¡°We need to wait for Sirva.¡±


    We waited a couple of minutes before Sirva finally appeared from the shadows. She knelt down before us but we quickly dismiss her action so we can get the important information out the way.


    ¡°Sirva, report.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°Yes. Regarding the Black Order, I have still yet to find anything relating to them. I learned that they have had dealings with them but they were a long time ago. I¡¯ve been searching the six families including the royal family but I have produced little results. If they are in league with one another, they are hiding it well. My apologies my master.¡±


    I wanted to let out a sigh but that would have just proven that I was clearly disappointed even though I expected there to be little to no link to one another.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I half expected that there would be little results. You are only one spy after all, don¡¯t be too hard on yourself.¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Sirva: ¡°Thank you for your consideration my master. Regarding your next order, the investigation of the royal family. It is as you say my master.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Ok, can someone tell me what the heck you two are talking about?¡±


    ¡°Remember when the prince made that announcement?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Yeah? And?¡±


    ¡°That was a public announcement, to all the people. Wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for the king to deliver that speech? And yet all that were shown was the queen and prince, but no king.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°...Well...Maybe¡­¡±


    I could see it on her face, what I said finally dawned on her.


    ¡°Sirva, continue on.¡±


    Sirva: ¡°Yes. This took much longer, no matter where I search and who I spied on and eavesdropped, the king was barely mentioned. A couple of rumors were mentioned but were mostly gossip. However I ultimately found the answer, he was ill struck.¡±


    ¡°Ill struck?¡±


    Sirva: ¡°Currently he is bedridden, I¡¯ve only learn this from a conversation of some maids that helps the king.¡±


    ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t he been mentioned yet? Do the people don¡¯t know?¡±


    Sirva: ¡°From how the people act, only those close to the royal family know. Also while learning more about the king, I learn that there is a second prince as well. He seems to be bedridden as well.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Second prince? When was this? Where was this information all this time? Why didn¡¯t the princess inform us?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because she didn¡¯t know about it either?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Did you happen to figure out when they were bedridden?¡±


    Sirva: ¡°From what I learned, the second prince was bedridden around two months ago. The king was bedridden just a little a while ago. At most, three week ago.¡±


    ¡°Three week ago...Around the same time the Regios kingdom and the Holy Empire decided to make contact. No one but the royal families and those closest to them only know about their situation.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Hold on...Are you saying that there¡¯s a cons--¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying anything...but right now we have too many questions and very little answers and clues. But something is certainly up...but the next question is, what exactly is going on?¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°I agree that something is going on but we have too little information to make any judgements.¡±


    ¡°For now, we should continue to quietly gather information and try to remain somewhat inconspicuous. Who knows, if we continue to gather information on the royal family as well as the other 6 grand families, we might very well unearth information regarding a conspiracy. Truthfully, the actions of the first prince as well as the lack of information regarding the current state of the royal family make me very suspicious.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°You have a point but I still say that if you really wanted to remain inconspicuous, you shouldn¡¯t be messing around with that elf girl. You constantly helping her has already drawn unwanted attention. For example, from a certain group of thugs that attempted to sell that girl¡¯s sister and who then tried to ambush you today.¡±


    I was caught up in my own thoughts that I didn¡¯t have time to respond to Shae. It took me a moment before realizing what she was talking about.


    ¡°How do you --¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°I used my orbiter¡¯s monitoring and stealth functions to follow you and see what you were up to in the city since I was kind of bored here in my room .¡±


    ¡°You know, spying on people is a very bad habit.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°Someone has to watch your back. Besides, even though you are supposed to be our guild¡¯s strategist and have always been lecturing Dracus about acting impulsively, you have been acting very strange when it comes to that elf girl. I wonder have you actually fallen for her?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. As I¡¯ve told you before it¡¯s just when I look at her....I...can¡¯t help but help her. I understand your concern but I can handle it.¡±


    Shae Alpha: ¡°You keep mentioning about that but never really talk about it. Is the memory that painful? I know our guild has the rule of not asking about each other¡¯s past too much but right now we need to be focus. I¡¯m here for you, remember that...We¡¯re a friends after all.¡±


    She brought her hand over to mind, holding it to reassure me. I took a moment, taking in what Shae just said. I took in a deep breath before exhaling and responding to her.


    ¡°You''re right, I¡¯m sorry if I have been going overboard. I haven¡¯t taken your opinion into consideration...I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°That¡¯s better. Let¡¯s take a break, we¡¯ll grab something to eat and continue this later.¡±


    I agreed and we headed down to for some dinner. Afterwards we finish our discussion on what to next.


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


    Rumo¡¯s POV


    It had been some time since three new arrivals had transferred into our class that was meant for only us highest nobles of the Holy Empire.


    At first they seemed to be no competition for us. One was a weak and vulgar girl who fought with her bare fists while the other two were useless mages that could only fight from a distance.


    At least that is what I thought at first.


    As time went by, the vulgar girl named Shae and the male mage named Nu-Ru gained the ability to defeat some of us one on one. I don''t know how they gained such power in such a short amount of time. I considered the possibility that they have been somehow holding back their power since we met.


    My theory was reinforced when I witnessed Nu-Ru taking down a group of thugs in an alleyway. I only stepped in when I noticed one of the thugs who he stupidly only knocked out, attempt to attack him from behind.


    And after saving his good-for-nothing life, he had the nerve to insult my honor. Of course to my surprise he apologized to me


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Two more week passed by as the three integrated with us. To my surprise the others gained new opinions regarding the three but mostly for the ones called Nu-Ru and Shae. Although, I still held my doubts about them. Something about them wasn¡¯t right.


    One day as we are all sparring in class a messenger arrives bearing the sigil of the royal family.


    Messenger: I bear a summons from the first prince for a matter of the utmost urgency. The members of this elite class are to follow me to the royal palace for an audience with the first


    Prince.


    And so we follow the messenger to hear what business my friend Alfonso has with us.


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


    Nu-Ru¡¯s  POV


    What is going on?


    A messenger just arrived from the first prince who apparently has an urgent request for the members of our class. While I followed him I sent an echo to both Shae and Sirva to check up on them. After a couple of seconds both of them responded.


    *Shae, Sirva can you hear me?*


    Serva: *Yes Master.*


    Shae Alpha: *Reading you loud and clear.*


    *That¡¯s good. I¡¯m guessing you also received a message to meet the prince?*


    Shae Alpha: *Yea, so Nu what are we going to do? Are we really going to answer the summons of that Douchy first prince.*


    *I¡¯m afraid we have no choice. We have to maintain our cover as loyal citizens of the Holy Empire. Also this is a great chance to meet this first prince face to face and see what type of person he really is.*


    Shae Alpha: *If you say it¡¯s necessary, I¡¯ll go along with it but I won¡¯t like it. That guy reminds me too much of that super Douche Arthur.*


    *Thanks. Also Sirva, I¡¯ll rely on you to stay in the shadows and guard against any unseen threats.


    Sirva: *By your command, I shall carry out your will.*


    After our talk I continued on my way until I eventually meet up with Shae. We followed the messenger along with the other seven to three carriages surrounded by imposing looking knights.


    We are then escorted by carriage through the capital and towards the royal castle.


    Once near the entrance to the castle we exit the carriages and make our way to the entranceway.


    We are then escorted by the messenger and knights through the halls of the castle that are decorated with gold, jewels and tapestries depicting the glories of the Holy Empire, especially those of the seven founders.


    We eventually we reached the throne room where we witness the first prince sitting on the throne in an overconfident manner.


    Seeing him again makes me realize how truly similar he seems to the Guild Master of the Holy Knights Guild Arthur. But what stood out the most was how barren the room was. The throne he sat on was the king¡¯s throne. Beside it were other thrones, most likely for the queen and prince.


    I couldn¡¯t really think more about it as the six along with Als kneeled down to the prince so Shae and I did so as well.


    Alphonso: ¡°Rise all of you, especially you my six friends whose status within this kingdom is not less than my own.¡±


    Rumo: ¡°Tell us Alphonso, what was urgent situation that caused you to summon us to the palace in such a manner.¡±


    First Prince: ¡°Right to point as usual, ay Rumo?. Well the problem is that a pack of E ranked monsters are lead by a D rank are causing trouble on our border with the Regios kingdom. They are attacking merchant caravans as well as any travelers who are unlucky enough to come upon them.¡±


    *E rank? So that¡¯s the way this world categories monsters huh?*


    Back in Eternia monsters weren¡¯t only rank by levels, they had categories. Regulars, mega, major, ultra, legendary, master, enigma, ancient and finally god tier. Their level, health, ability, and status depends on what tier they are. Typically a way of knowing what tier a monster was, was by looking at their colored health bar. Mobs of random enemies were regular and mega base, sometime with a major tier enemy leading them. Other higher tier were randomly spawned here and there, namely in dungeons. Typical of any MMO¡¯s or RPG¡¯s.


    *I have no idea or any data regarding this world monsters ranks. Now that I think about it we only fought human rather than monsters. Perhaps this will be a fruitful adventure.


    Requa: ¡°That¡¯s impossible, there haven¡¯t been monster sighting on the central continent for years. Even if they¡¯re only rank F.¡±


    First Prince: ¡°I used to think so as well but our reports made by those lucky enough to make it back after facing them aren¡¯t wrong. That¡¯s why it was decided to send some of the empire¡¯s most talented individuals to deal with the threat.¡±


    ¡°Why us? We may be strong but why not send tons of your troops¡±


    My sudden statement caused everyone to look at me including the guards and the six. No doubt they were surprise that I questioned the prince.


    Alphonso: ¡°It is true that I can simply send troops to deal with it but there¡¯s another problem with it. There is a high possibility of the F rank monster being led by a rank E.¡±


    Everyone grew silent and looked at Alphonso with a varying shocked expression. I had no idea just how strong an E rank monster is, but depending on their reaction, it¡¯s apparently powerful. I had no choice but to play along with them.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    I looked back at the six to see their response. Their eyes burned a furious passion, they were up to the task.


    Rumo: ¡°We understand the mission and will complete it for the Glory of the Empire.¡±


    Other Five: ¡°For the glory of the empire.¡±


    Alphonso: ¡°Regarding you three, I¡¯ve heard reports from them as well. It would seems that you are on par with them. You will also be joining them, but you probably already know that. Provide them with as much support as you can.¡±


    Reading it superficially it was a genuine compliment but I didn¡¯t see it like that. The say he said it has an undertone, ¡®You¡¯re just weaklings, your job is to help them out.¡¯ He was clearly looking


    down on us because Als and I were mages.


    *Looks like Arthur¡¯s disdain for mages is hereditary.*


    I quickly glanced toward Shae to get her opinion. She simply nodded back showing that she was willingly go along.


    ¡°We agree as well.¡±


    Alphonso: ¡°Perfect. Arrangements have already been made. You¡¯ll be traveling to the Chustre Forest, several kilometers away from the capital near the Wollea city. From our reports, the creatures have made the forest it¡¯s home. I wish you all the best of luck.¡±


    Everything quickly finished up and we were on our way home. The six were returning back to their home which was nearby to the royal castle. Only Als, Shae and I were leaving in the carriages. Even now, Als decided to take a carriage by herself.


    ¡°So what do you think?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°My expectation of him went up a bit before dropping back down. He¡¯s good at pretending, I¡¯ll tell you that.¡±


    I gave a slight nod in agreement. Even in the short time of seeing him, I could already tell he was trouble. Didn¡¯t help that he was eyeing Shae and Als either.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Regarding this monster quest...If anything this might be a good opportunity to test our strength against this world monster. But you did had a point, pushing everything to us. Some prince, Tchh..¡±


    ¡°For now we¡¯ll do as he say. But I¡¯m more interested in what I saw. Why was the prince sitting in the kings throne. Something definitely doesn¡¯t add up.¡±

 Book 2 Chapter 6: Wild Hunt Part 1

    Important announcement. Hey everyone, I have a few announcements to make concerning this fanfic. First some good news, I recently got a new co-writer named infinite sky to help with the workload of writing the fiction and our fiction will be hosted on the site http://rebirthonlineworld.com/the-last-guild-remastered/</a> of which he is an editor. Just for the record infinite sky is the new screen name for this fiction¡¯s original author Thecode who agreed to help me split the work in writing chapters. Now for the bad news. After some discussion we have both agreed to put the fanfic on a temporary hiatus due to the fact that our school work for college has been piling up and neither of us has the time to write fanfics anymore if we want to get good grades in our classes. I personally have 4 different big research papers to do for four different classes in addition to a shit load of regular homework. So as a parting gift before going on temporary hiatus and in order to wet your appetites for what is to come we decided to post the first part of the three part adventure in the Last Guild book 2: Wild Hunt. Enjoy!!!


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


    Book 2 Chapter 6 - Wild Hunt part 1


    Nuru POV


    After the meeting with the prince we were assigned a task, eliminating some local monsters. Regarding the city, it¡¯s located near the outer gates of the Empire. The city provides some of the best grown fruits and vegetables around. According to the reports the forest is gigantic, filled with dense trees. Luckily for us it¡¯s self-contained so we don¡¯t have to worry about the monsters running away.


    Before heading out we discussed a plan of action with the six. After some planning we decided to split into groups. We would each take one side of the forest and work our way through the middle. This way we could cover more ground.


    I did some more personal research regarding the world and it¡¯s ranking system for monsters. Their ranking system goes from rank F to E to D, C, B, A, S, SS, and finally SSS. Supposedly anything that is rank S or higher only exist in legends. Hopefully we won¡¯t have to deal with any unneeded trouble. The number of ranks were the same so I did some calculations to determine their corresponding ranks to Eternia¡¯s. However I had no information on them so at most all I could form was a basis.


    It was decided that Rumo, Requa, Als, Haus and I were on the same team. We were assigned the northern part of the forest. Shae, Traus, Kugei, and Yusei were assigned to the southern quadrant. Our plan was to work up and down and eventually meet one another after the extermination.


    For our equipment, the prince prepared quite a number of supplies, potions, extra armor, scrolls, food, etc¡­ I still kept on my equipment, the same was true for Shae as well. The six were all dressed in decorated armor that resembled the ones their ancestors wore. Each had their swords fashioned to them. Als didn¡¯t have much so I decided to lend her some spare gauntlets and armor chestpiece and leggings. She accepted them reluctantly after much convincing.


    Eventually we finished our preparation and headed out. We all took a carriage early in the morning as it would take a couple of hours before we reached our destination. We sat in silence as the carriage buckled around on the bumpy road. Als sat near the end next to me. Even now she still ignored me, turning her face away towards the small window.


    ¡°Soo...what kind of resistance are we expecting?¡±


    I¡¯ve always had a small issue with complete silence, it was too awkward for me. So I decided to strike up a conversation to get some more info and maybe pass the time.


    Rumo: ¡°We¡¯ll be expecting rank F monsters. Our reports tells us that they¡¯re Wilaers.¡±


    ¡°Wilaers? I see¡­¡±


    I had no idea what they were but I could let it show so I just played along. We stayed silent for the rest of the trip. Within an hour we finally reached our destination. Stepping out what greeted us was a ransacked town. Destroyed homes and buildings as far as I could see. The forest was just behind the part of the town we were in.


    ¡°Where is everyone?¡±


    Haus: ¡°The townsfolk have been evacuated already. It¡¯s too dangerous for anyone to live here with Wilaers as a possible threat.¡±


    I nodded back as we unloaded and prepared ourselves. I had my Infinity bag with me with all my equipment and items stored inside. This way the others won¡¯t be hindered by carrying around all the extra items and I can quickly pull out whatever we need.


    After making sure everything was in check we finally decided to head in. The dense nature reminded me of a rainforest without the humid air. The trees spanned several meters, blocking the sun¡¯s ray. As we went further in there was more destruction, namely fallen and broken trees. Some had their branches torn off their back and some trees were even completely knocked over.


    Things were silent as we trekked through the damaged forest. I didn¡¯t even so much as hear any small insects moving about. After ten minutes or so, something finally happened. Several dots blinked on my minimap, coming closer to us.


    ¡°Everyone form up!¡±


    My sudden outburst caught the others off guard but the loud rustling noise made them focus again. We quickly formed a perimeter just as they showed up.


    The Wilaers looked very similar to chimpanzees. Their fur was a reddish purplish color. Their body was very bulky, especially their arms which were quite large. Several large canines protrude from their teeths. They were hanging onto the trees with either their tails or upright.


    Within seconds they numbered seventeen total Wilaers.


    Requa: ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot of them. So what¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°The three of you will be the vanguard. They have us surrounded so spread out; cover as much ground as you can. Als and I will be in the middle providing you with support. Stay close and don¡¯t charge at them.¡±


    I instinctively called out a battle plan. As the guild¡¯s main strategist all the duties of coming up with battle plans fell onto me.  Be it for raids, dungeons or random monster encounters I had a strategy for everything.


    They all looked at me, nodding that they understood what to do. I felt a bit of jealously and anger


    from Rumo but he didn¡¯t have much time to express it as they were coming. Letting out a loud roar the Wilaers charged in.


    ¡°|Outburst|¡±


    They all charged at us so I used my AOE spell to push them back, giving the others space. Als had my back, firing off crystal shards at wilaers.


    Rumo: ¡°|Heavy Slash|¡±


    Haus: ¡°|Flash Slash|¡±


    Requa: ¡°|Uppercut Slash|¡±


    Each one of them activated their skills against the Wilaers. To my surprise they killed several wilaers at once. The remaining Wilaers backed off in fear as several of their comrades were cut


    down instantly.


    During that time I finally had time to Identify and analyze the monsters. Everything popped up as usual, the name, level, health but what caught me off guard was the rank as well. The health bar was black, indicating that it was a regular tier monster but it also showed the rank near the level.


    The average level amongst them were around level 24. Although they were high level they fell


    rather easily. The answer to that was obvious, they were monsters. In typical MMO¡¯s and RPG¡¯s


    monster were always higher levels than average players. Monsters were creatures that solely rely


    on power, with the higher tier being more diverse and powerful. But the reason why ¡®players¡¯ and humans are typically stronger than monsters was because of one thing, diversity.


    Strength could easily be filled up with magic, equipment¡¯s, speed, teamwork, one skills, etc¡­


    Especially teamwork as more diverse play style and fighting will always over pure strength alone. That¡¯s why humans and ¡®players¡¯ are able to keep up to high level monsters.


    Back to the story:


    A loud cry came from one of the Wilaers. It was so long that all of us had to close our ears to


    suppress the noise. By the time it stopped more reinforcement showed up.


    I heard Rumo loudly clicking his tongue in annoyance at the sudden turn of event. They now


    numbered twenty, slowly trudging forward at us.


    Rumo: ¡°Enough of this!¡±


    Rumo tightly gripped his great-sword and readied his stance. The sword glowed, radiating power. He swung his sword in a horizontal fashion, launching a wave attack. Five of the Wilaers were caught in the attack. It was a clean cut through their body. The others roared in retaliation and charged at us. Rumo charged in to confront them, Requa and Traus went in to cover him.


    ¡°Hey! We need to stick in formation!¡±


    Als: ¡°We have other problems!¡±


    I didn¡¯t have time to argue anymore as we were surrounded. A couple of them jumped down, surrounding us. I clicked my tongue in frustration and refocused my effort to us. Hopefully the others could take care of themselves.


    ¡°|Pyro Spiral|¡±


    A vortex of flame formed in hand, radiating heat. I threw the vortex at the incoming wialers who tried to dodged it but failed it. As the vortex got closer they tried to run around it but my attack expanded, catching them off by surprise.


    Three were caught in the attack, burning instantly. A couple got caught in the attack and managed to get off with slight burns.


    Als: ¡°|Crystal shard|¡±


    Als fired her spells at the wilaers but it barely did any did any damage to them as they used their hulky arms to shield against the attack.


    Als: ¡°|Crystal Spear|!¡±


    I turned my head towards Als in surprise. It was a spell that I¡¯ve never heard of. The crystal formed as always but this time forming a long spear form. It formed and flew towards one of them. It tried to defend against it with its hand again but this time it failed him. The spear pierced his hand and through his body.


    I was surprise at the new spell that Als used.


    *When did she have that spell. Did she create it...Does that mean we can create spells from already existing magic?*


    My thoughts were interrupted when I realized that Als was on her knees, panting. During that time a couple decided to go in for a sneak attack.


    ¡°Like hell you are! |Stone Stalagmite|¡±


    Before they could go any further stalagmite formed from the ground, piercing their body around the head and chest area. They retracted when the body went limp. At this time they apparently got the message and ran away.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Als: ¡°I¡¯m...I¡¯m fine. I just overexerted myself.¡±


    I slowly help her to her feet before remembering the others. I quickly looked back to see them alright for the most part. The Wilaers numbered dwindled but it was obvious that Rumo and the rest took some damage. By the time I got to them they had already finished up. The rest scattered as I made it to them.


    ¡°Is everyone alright?¡±


    Getting a closer look they had small dents and marks on their armor. A couple of scratches were visible but nothing serious.


    Requa: ¡°We¡¯re alright¡­.But out of breath that¡¯s all.¡±


    After confirming that everyone was ok I finally turned my attention towards Rumo.


    ¡°What the hell were you thinking?! Why did you rush in?¡±


    For the first time since we got to this world, I raised my voice against someone. The others went silent while Rumo directed towards his anger at me as well.


    Rumo: ¡°I highly doubt a petty mage would understand. We were superior to them, we could have easily taken them all on.¡±


    ¡°It seems that you¡¯re forgetting us as well. What would happen if they had called in more reinforcement? What would happen if Als and I were taken by surprised? You can¡¯t simply rush in blindly, there are reasons why plans exist!¡±


    Rumo and I were having a heated debate. Voicing our angers and complaints at one another. A fight would eventually break out if it wasn¡¯t for Requa and Haus to separate us.


    I calmed myself, repeating in my mind that the argument was the last thing we needed. Eventually I calmed down and so did Rumo.


    ¡°How is everyone¡¯s injury?¡±


    Requa: ¡°We got off easy, so light at best.¡±


    ¡°I see. Hold still, I¡¯ll use a healing spell on all of you.¡±


    Rumo: ¡°I won¡¯t be needing your assistance.¡±


    Rumo walked away from us while chugging down a health potion. I suppress the urge to call him back and simply healed the rest with |Healing Ward|.


    Huas: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Requa: ¡°Man magic sure is convenient sometimes. Maybe I should study up on it.¡±


    Als: ¡°...Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No problem. Anyway what do we do now? Continue on?¡±


    Huas: ¡°I would suggest making camp here and resting for a bit. Their numbers are large, we¡¯ll need to conserve our strength.¡±


    The others nodded in agreement we made camp there. I grabbed out the supplies from before and help set up. The others were curious as to how I was able to store all the items that we brought along. I was able to convince them that my bag was a special magic item that could store many objects.


    That apparently worked as they simply shrugged it off. I also made a mental note not to simply wave around my gear so openly. We rested while waiting for the food to quickly simmer.


    Rumo decided to go on guard duty, leaving us to wait. While waiting I decided to strike up a conversation to learn more about them.


    ¡°Sooo you guys are all childhood friends right?¡±


    Requa: ¡°Yea. From the day we were born to now, all of us know each other.¡±


    ¡°Then do you mind if ask this question? Why does Rumo hate me...more specifically hate mages.¡±


    Haus: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly classify that as hatred. During the foundation of the Empire, the founders had a code. ¡®To fight in the field, that is true honor.¡¯ Mages were looked down upon but over the centuries, they have revoked that idea back a bit. However Rumo still strongly believes in that principle.¡±


    Requa: ¡°He doesn¡¯t exactly hate you. Trust me, I know what that looks like. He¡¯s a good hearted man, the only problem is that he fails to express it sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I ended the conversation as there wasn¡¯t much to talk about anymore. Als stayed silent during our talk, sitting the farthest away from us. Within a few minutes the food was finally ready. It was a light meal with soup, dried meat and bread.


    We quietly finished up and packed up. We chose a light meal over indulging ourselves as we still quite a lot of work ahead of us. We continued on our way, deeper into the forest. We stayed in formation, Als and I covered the rear while the rest covered the side and front.


    We treked along for about twenty minutes without so much as a whisper from anything. It was like the forest was dead, nothing alive but us. The land was barren, pockets of uprooted trees were littered everywhere. I was starting to think that we got rid of all of them until my ear caught something. The sound of something being thrown, and it was big.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Everyone get down!¡±


    I ran to the front and used |Barrier| on all of us. The next moment a tree that looked to have been uprooted hit the barrier with a huge thud. It didn¡¯t end there as two more trees hit the barrier.


    ¡°Everyone scatter!¡±


    During the short interval that another tree wasn¡¯t thrown at us I quickly canceled my barrier for us to escape. We made it just in time as one more landed on where we were.


    Requa: ¡°Where is it?¡±


    Haus: ¡°Over there!¡±


    I followed his finger to a creature moving through the remaining trees. Eventually it landed a couple of meters away from us.


    While the Wilaers looked like chimpanzees, this one looked more like an ape. It was significantly larger than the rest, about 1? times larger. Its arms were massive and hairy. It snout was sticking out from its face with odd looking symbols on it. The fur remained the same with a more ruby color.


    *Is that¡­|Identify|*


    Sure enough it was the rank E monster. The naming of it was similar to Eternia, it was a Champion Wilaers. But what caught my attention the most was its level, 28. Way more powerful than the typical wilaers.


    Requa: ¡°Hehe, looks like we caught a big one.¡±


    ¡°This one isn¡¯t like the others¡­we¡¯ll need to coordinate ourselves an¡ª¡°


    Rumo: ¡°Ahhhh!¡±


    I didn¡¯t have time to finish my sentence before Rumo charged in and struck the wilaer. It let out a roar in retaliation to Rumo¡¯s charged. It brought up its massive arms and completely blocked his attack with minimal effort. Just as Rumo was recovering it brought down it hulking arm and


    slammed them into the ground.


    It wasn¡¯t for Huas, Rumo would have died.


    Huas: ¡°Now¡¯s not the time for daydreaming! Come on!¡±


    Haus loud shout woke everyone up as they finally got their heads straight. Requa formed up with


    Haus and Rumo while Als got ready.


    ¡°We can¡¯t take that thing without a plan! We need to regroup and fal¡ª¡°


    Once more my plea turned to deaf ears as they charged at the beast without so much as hearing


    my warning. I cursed under my breath and got to work.


    ¡°|Enchant- Dance of Warriors| |Magical Amplify|¡±


    Using my support spells I increased Rumo and the others physical strength while boosting Als and my spells.


    In short our fight was a mess. The monster was clearly stronger than us, both physically and in experience. All we could do was run around him while attacking when there was an opportunity. Most of the time our physical attacks were deflected by its hulking arms while it easily dodged our spells by jumping around.


    It seemed that it was toying with us, jumping around in a wild manner. Eventually it must have gotten bored as it started to attack. Jumping around, flying its arm everywhere, trying to hit someone. Luckily we were able to dodge most of it as it was mindlessly waving its arms around.


    *We...we need to regroup...but*


    We need to back off and come back with a plan to fully take on the monster. The only problem was Rumo who was still at it, trying to fight the monster. All of us took damage to some degree, Requa and Haus the most as they were backing Rumo up.


    ¡°If this keeps up¡­ |Smoke Screen|¡±


    The air combusted as the area was blanketed in a black smoke. I screamed the order to retreat and lead the way out. They quickly followed me soon after as the wilaers let out a roar trying to find us.


    We ran towards a more forested area as to lose ourselves in the trees. After running for a couple of minutes we finally stopped to catch our breaths.


    Als: ¡°Did...Did we lose it?¡±


    Haus: ¡°It would seem so¡­¡±


    I nodded my head in agreement as they started to relax but not me. I walked up to Rumo --


    Rumo: ¡°What are y--¡±


    --And head butt him in the face with as much force as I could muster. With my new body the pain was minimal but it still stung a bit. Rumo staggered back a bit before landing on his butt. He immediately got back up and grabbed my collar and pulled me in close.


    He was clearly mad but so was I.


    Rumo: ¡°Why you! What the hell are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°I can say the same for you. What the hell were you thinking charging in like that? Do the lives of us and your friends mean nothing to you?¡±


    Rumo: ¡°How dare you! I¡¯ll--¡±


    Haus: ¡°Enough!¡±


    Surprisingly Haus was the one who screamed and broke up our fighting. We pushed one another away while still glaring one another.


    Huas: ¡°Right now this isn¡¯t the time for a civil conflict. Rumo, Nu-Ru has a point. You recklessly charged in without much thought.  Need you forget that we¡¯re facing a rank E monster?¡±


    Requa: ¡°Haus has got a point. I like fighting powerful opponents as much as the next guy but that was dangerous on your part.¡±


    Rumo wanted to argue back but when faced with his friends, he slowly backed off. But I could still feel hostility from him. I quickly acted before the argument got out of hand again.


    ¡°Alright we need to focus. Let¡¯s put our difference aside to deal with this problem.¡±


    The others looked at Rumo who eventually resigned.


    ¡°Good now then onto our plan. Right now we know that we¡¯re facing a rank E monster. Despite its size, it¡¯s very agile and mobile.¡±


    Requa: ¡°Not to mention tough. Whenever I swung at it, my sword would bounce back as it I hit a full plate of armor. ¡°


    Haus: ¡°It¡¯s also quite intelligent. It knew to dodge your and Als¡¯s spell while maintaining its distance with all of us. It even used the remaining sparse trees to its advantage.¡±


    We started to list out what we all noticed during our fight. The beast was strong and agile as mentioned before but it was a monster nonetheless. We had something it didn¡¯t, intelligence. I started to think of it as a usual special class monster back in Eternia. From there everything clicked into place.


    ¡°We¡¯ll divide into groups this time. Haus and Als, out of all of us you two are the weakest. You¡¯ll be on the rear and provide us with support. Rumo, Requa and I will be the vanguard, we¡¯ll deal with the monster directly. My role will mainly support, drawing its attention at a time to allow you to strike at it. Do not be afraid to use your swords ability. Keep a far distance with it, always move around. Everyone got it?¡±


    I looked around to see approval from all of them. Even Rumo grudgingly agreed as well but I knew it out of all of us he hated depending on me to come up with the plan. I simply ignored his hostility and set everything up. While the others prepared I walked to the edge where the trees began to dwindle.


    I looked around before using my spell. A small orb of mana formed before flying up into the sky. It exploded similar to a firework for several seconds.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s see if my theory is correct¡­¡±


    I waited but nothing showed up. I decided to fire off another explosive a few minutes after and waited. For a while I thought that it wouldn¡¯t work but before I completely abandon the idea a loud noise was coming our way.


    The theory was that the monster was looking for us as well. If a predator has its prey cornered then it was more likely to give chase after it.


    Within a matter of minutes it came through and landed just a couple of meters in front of me. It let out a roar as soon as it spotted me and charged straight at me. I had a head start so I was able to put some distance between us. I easily maneuvered my way through the trees while the wialer had some trouble.


    I¡¯ve always wondered why the trees in the forest were uprooted especially since the wialers were primates type monsters. But then I consider over factors. The forest was heavily dense, even if their size was small, they would still have trouble fully moving around. Especially the bigger one and the champion version. The remaining trees that weren¡¯t in the uprooted area were oddly arranged, but it was enough for them to easily jump from one to another. The way they were structuring the forest, it was to make it their domain.


    I looked back to see the wialer having trouble trying to catch me. Its big frame can¡¯t fit through the small gaps in the trees while a normal human could easily walk through the trees. Eventually it was where we wanted it.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    I lured it deep enough into the forest that now it¡¯s movement was heavily impeded. Jumping from the trees they performed a sneak plunge attacked against the wialers. It worked better than I thought at it looked to be heavily damage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let up!¡±


    This time the battle shifted in our favor. It¡¯s greatest strength was its physical strength but it was blocked by the trees. Even if it were to try and get rid of the trees, it would prove difficult as we were consistingly bombarding it.


    Using fire spells, I would burn the wialers, giving ample time for Requa and Rumo to easily attack when it was burning. The plan went without a hitch and within a couple of minutes the wialer finally fell. The moment the body hit the ground a loud cheer came from Requa and Haus, surprisingly, even Als joined in.


    They ran over to give their applause and thanks for the plan working. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at their general affection towards me. The only one that was excluded was Rumo who had no choice but to acknowledge me.


    We finished up our celebration and finally moved on. We were behind schedule in when we would have to meet up with Shae so we quickly picked up the pace. After a couple of minutes we reached what seemed like the center of the forest. The entire area was completely uprooted with trees scattered everywhere. It was an odd sight as this didn¡¯t match my hypothesis on how they uprooted the trees for mobility.


    *Such a large space...what purp--*


    My thoughts were interrupted by roar, similar to the one from the champion. Everyone knew what that meant so we got formed up. The next moment another champion wilaer appeared. It looked around and eventually spotted us. For a second I could have swore that it was surprise just as much as we were.


    It quickly snapped out of its daze and let out a roar which was interrupted by a flying man, literally. On closer inspection it was Kugei. He flew through the air towards, slashing the wilaer.


    *What the?*


    Those were the only thing I could think up as I saw that. The others were just as surprised.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re getting away!¡±


    I looked over to see Shae with Traus, and Yusei running over. It took them a moment before noticing us.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Oh hey, what a coincidence. And here I thought we were late. We¡¯ll be right with you in a moment. Yusei, let¡¯s go!¡±


    On her order he quickened his pace and jumped on top of Shae. As he descended Shae activated one of her skill, |Reinforce fist| and |Bullet Punch|. He came down just as she punched towards the wilaer. He landed on her fist and used the momentum to dive straight at the wilaers. I couldn¡¯t help but let my mouth fall in amazement.


    Like Kugei he flew towards him like a bullet, landing a powerful blow that caused it to stagger backwards. As Yusei retreated Shae and Traus rushed in. The wilaer let out one more defiant roar before swing his arm at Shae.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°|Martial combat-Steel fist guard|¡±


    Using her skill she took the attack head on and stopped it. Traus ran from behind and used Shae as a boost by jumping from her shoulders. He flew much higher and descended with his sword in tow.


    Traus: ¡°|Heavy blade Strike|¡±


    I was a fair bit away so I wasn¡¯t able to hear his voice when he used his skill. He brought down his strike on the monster. A huge gash mark appeared on the chest of the wilaer. It let out one more low roar before finally dropping.


    Even after all seeing that I still couldn¡¯t see my eyes. Not just because of the creative way she fought the wilaer but the teamwork and coordination of Shae and her group. I looked over to see everyone else with my same reaction.


    I quickly shook off my daze and ran towards Shae.


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°Hey. So how did you like our show?¡±


    ¡°I...I¡¯m just impressed. Certainly a lot better than when we fought one. How was the sweep on your end?¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°So far so good. That one almost got away.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, these champion versions are much tougher than I thought.¡±


    Shae.Alpha: ¡°You might want to check again.¡±


    I was confused by Shae¡¯s statement, the way she made it out, it was different. While the other gathered to talk with one another, I made my way to the body. At first I was just confuse but soon caught on.


    Unlike the champion wialer we fought. It¡¯s fame was less built and it¡¯s fur was a orange hugh rather than the red color. I couldn¡¯t help but look hopelessly look at it with confusion. On a whim I used my |Identify| skill.


    *Wilaer...queen? As in a mother? Then that would mean there¡¯s a fat--*


    Suddenly I lost all feeling in my body. In fact I didn¡¯t even realize it, my body felt weightless. In times of stress and trauma, namely life or death situations, the human mind slows down. Time is perceived through the brain and it¡¯s ability to coordinate appropriately. Right now time was moving in slow motion, my mind was processing everything that was happening.


    My body was flying through the air like a rag doll. The others slow and muffled voices calling out. My sense dulling, trying to figure out what was going on. And then time re-started.


    My body was sent flying and eventually hit one of the few tree lying about. Everything happened so quickly that even I didn¡¯t have a chance to fully comprehend. My body began working again but my mind was still adjusting to that moment.


    Even with our new bodies and power, we were still living beings. We could heal wounds but that doesn¡¯t mean we couldn¡¯t get hurt.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHH!¡±


    I could only let out a small loud scream before my throat was filled with blood. The bitter taste ran all the way from my throat to my stomach as I cough it up. Pain racked my body as every part of it was on fire.


    I even almost passed out if I didn¡¯t use my passive skill to calm my mind. I quickly checked my health to see that it went down quite a bit. Not so much that it was shocking but more in what I had experience since we can to this world.


    But my concern wasn¡¯t how much health I lose but who caused it. I tried to focus my sense or at the very least trying to find out what hurt me. A loud scream caught my ears as I turned towards the source. My vision was still blurry so I could only make out a big blurry image.


    ¡°..Idnea...Ident...ify¡±


    The small screen popped up as per usual and I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes --


    ¡°Yo..goataa to be kidd--¡±


    It was a rank D category monster. Way out of our expected league.