《A Fate Set in Stone (On Hold)》 Prologue - A Nice Day To Go Fishing He had the strange sensation that he was drifting through the air, if the air were some sort of dark, viscous fluid, at least. Sight, sound, every one of his senses were non-existent and yet somehow he knew that his entire being was slowly moving in one direction. The destination and how long he''d been floating toward it were a mystery, but he definitely felt that arriving would spell the end of what little existence he had left. While clinging to the last speck of life with all his might, the current swept him along and with every inch of distance what was left of his mind faded a tiny bit more. Just as he resigned himself to accept eternal sleep, a sudden flash of pain yanked him back into the world of consciousness. Once more aware of what was happening, the first thing to enter his mind was confusion. Hadn''t his senses abandoned him a long time ago? Where did this pain come from and what does it mean? The brainstorming was cut short as he sensed that he was now moving in a different direction and after a few moments he felt light as a feather. That suffocating force that had been surrounding him for who knows how long was gone. This freedom was a foreign sensation after all that time spent adjusting to the constricting liquid being the norm. For the first time in what felt like his entire life inside this place, he tasted hope. How could he have let himself forget such a wonderful feeling? It was at that moment that a voice broke the silence, the first sound he''d heard in ages. "Oooh, the best catch I''ve had in a long while! Please tell me you can put two words together or at least form simple thoughts." Whoever spoke was clearly male, with a voice that sounded like someone had recorded a whisper and then turned up the volume until it could be easily heard. It was kind of creepy... and for some reason sounded excited. ''I really wish I could see this guy or at least speak, what does it matter that I''m no longer alone if I can''t even interact with anyone'' he thought silently. It seemed as though his wish was granted, because he could feel himself expanding and twisting until a shadowy figure in a vague humanoid shape stood in his place. He looked around and found himself in what appeared to be a barren wasteland consisting of dull gray earth under his feet and large, charred rock formations off in the distance. The sky above him was just a colorless film that lacked a single star and he could hear what sounded like running water behind him. While processing all of that in the back of his mind, the majority of his attention was focused on the man sitting across from him. "Ah, excellent! You can even remember the general shape of your old physical form. I must say that I''m quite impressed, I can count the number of souls that have been able to do that on one foot!" Laid back on a flat chunk of one of the darkened boulders which littered the area, using it as a makeshift recliner, was an older gentleman whose most prominent features were a long gray beard that reached all the way to his belly and a wide grin that caused the childish excitement in his deep brown eyes to shine brightly. A wide-brimmed hat sat upon his balding head, tilted back at an angle that made it seem like it could fall off with even a slight breeze. He wore a red tank top covered in a ridiculous floral pattern and a pair of plain blue trunks which made it so that this guy could not possibly look more out of place against the dreary backdrop. He nonchalantly propped one leg up over the other and wiggled the toes of a sandal-clad foot to emphasize his point. The shadowy man-shaped figure could only gawk at the eccentric old man for several seconds before finally pulling itself together and deciding to try to answer him. "This doesn''t feel like a dream. Who are you and how did I get here?" "They all ask the same questions, it gets so old but I suppose I shouldn''t expect anything else. I am currently acting as the substitute god of death for your world and you are here because you died and I fished you out of the river of souls over there." The old man points past the dark outline in the form of a person to where a long stream of blackened goop made its way across the landscape. After turning around and watching the molasses-like substance flow for some time, he noticed that once in a while small white lights would float up close to the surface, to the point where he could just barely catch a glimpse of them. Lost in thought, he didn''t notice that the old man was now standing to his right until he heard a cheerful whisper in his ear. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Kind of nasty looking, isn''t it? By the time those souls reach the end of the river they''re usually wiped clean and ready to be stuck into new life without any hint of their previous selves left over. Sometimes a particularly strong-willed soul makes it all the way there while still having a few memories, I have to pluck those ones out and ship them off to another world since the gods of Earth are really adamant about trying to hide anything about the afterlife from you guys. They want to see what happens to a world with minimal divine involvement, I guess." A lengthy, exasperated sigh parts his lips, but he continues speaking soon after. "That damn god of death went on vacation so now I''m stuck doing his work until he gets back. I''ve been bored out of my mind, I mean, have you seen this place?! No wonder he needed a vacation, this shit hole has me so stir crazy that I''m risking getting in trouble for fishing you out of there before you got to the end, just so that I''d have someone to talk to!" "You pulled me out of there due to boredom? Don''t get me wrong, I am thankful for it but this is a pretty anticlimactic way for me to learn the mystery of the afterlife that has haunted every human being since forever. You''re not what I expected a god to be like at all, even if you are only a substitute." Hopefully he hadn''t hurt the old man''s feelings or anything. He contemplates giving him a reassuring smile, only to realize that his current form doesn''t even have a face. It seems his suspicions were correct because he is answered with a dejected grumble. "I knew I should have gotten fireworks... maybe a few balloons too. I can always throw you back in there if you aren''t satisfied with my company." The bearded substitute death god turns away from the river and back to him, the big smile from before returning to his lips, except this time there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. "No no no, that won''t be necessary. I was just..." The shadowy form flickers and loses some of its shape for a split second and can''t help but take a step back in fear. Hopefully he hadn''t screwed up and caused his own doom by angering the old guy. Thoughts of being stuck in that void once again make him shudder but his worries are put to rest when he realizes that the old man is now laughing. "Bahahahaha! If you had a face I bet the look on it would have been priceless. I was just messing with you, if I threw you back then who would I talk to? Anyway, how much of your memory remains intact? I pulled you out early but you were still in there for quite some time." That cheerful smile loses its form, replaced by a serious expression. Instead of answering, he goes very quiet and begins to think hard about anything and everything he can remember. He had a name, if only he could remember what it was. It started with the letter J... it was on the tip of his tongue! "My name is Jed, I think I am a little over twenty years old, I lived somewhere out in the country, all I remember about my death is a pain in the head... Oh and I hate Brussels sprouts. That''s everything that first came to mind, there''s a lot more but some things are foggy. I guess I should be happy that I even have this much, thanks again mister.... wait, do you have a name or shall I just call you Death Junior?" "Call me whatever you like, Jed. I don''t mind, I''m a pretty laid back guy unlike a certain god with a massive scythe up his a-... Oh shit, speak of the devil, he''s coming home! I can feel it and normally I''d be really happy but if he sees that I''ve been screwing around and breaking rules I''ll get a bad report sent to the other gods and they''ll all hate me and it will be SUPER awkward at parties. There isn''t enough time for me to give you a proper reincarnation so we''ll just have to make do! I''m going to send you straight to another world and you''ll have to find a body yourself. I don''t know where you''ll end up but take solace in the fact that it''s a world with magic and dragons and shit. Everyone likes those, right? Good luck!" Before he has the chance to voice his opinion on the subject, a bright light envelops Jed and his vision begins to blur. Chapter 1 - Reincarnation Rocks! As the blinding light fades and he slowly regains his vision, the bewildered shadow-man that is Jed spun in a circle to get a glimpse of the new surroundings. It''s still just as dark and grim as the death god''s home from his world... was this all some kind of joke? Maybe he hadn''t actually left at all and that stupid old man was about to jump out to laugh at him some more. A blue vortex of energy appeared directly in the middle of his line of sight, interrupting his inner turmoil and starling him enough to elicit a yelp of surprise. It quickly shapes itself into a rectangle and then text forms across the front of it. *Bloop!*
Hey, Jed!
Sorry we had to part so quickly, I only had time to teleport you and leave you with this message. The world I sent you to is called ''Andrathos'', it is basically an experiment that a few powerful gods threw together in their attempt to make a livable world inspired by some old RPG games. I am assuming you''ve played one...if not then you''re probably fucked. Since you didn''t go through a proper reincarnation cycle, and by that I mean birth, I''m sure you''ve noticed that you don''t have a body. Go find one quickly, I don''t know how much time you''ve got before you start fading away. I couldn''t take the time to choose where I sent you, but hopefully there are some corpses or coma patients laying around. You never know, right? I should probably just have told you that at the beginning so you didn''t waste your time reading this... Oh well! Have fun and no matter what happens, just remember that it is probably better than being in that river again.
Sincerely, ''Your friendly neighborhood substitute death god''
P.S.
Just think the words ''Status'' and ''Skills'' to see how good a body you''ve picked out, assuming you get one.
When he''s finished reading the letter it blinks out of existence and he''s forced to adjust to the darkness once again. Everything about this situation is insane and it is starting to get to him. Just what did the old man mean by ''fading away''? It seemed like if his spirit disappeared then that would be his permanent end. No soul would mean no soul river, no reincarnations, not even another chance with a wiped memory. The fear was overwhelming but Jed knew that now wasn''t the time to worry about it. ''I already died once, I don''t want to do it again before I even get a chance.'' With that thought all his worries are jammed back into the recesses of his mind and he begins to calm down some. He''s not sure how long he''s got but he plans to use every bit of it to find a suitable body. His focus renewed, Jed starts walking through the dark and gradually it gets easier to see. The walls are formed of jagged gray stone and it is easy to tell that he is in some sort of tunnel that is probably part of a cave. Weaving his way past a stray stalactite, he frantically looks around for any signs of life. Plenty of different kinds of bugs skitter up the walls, in and out of tiny cracks and even across the ceiling but that was no help, after all, nobody wants to be reincarnated as a beetle. A small ball of fur streaks past his leg with an impressive amount of speed for something so tiny. Seeing the motion out of the corner of his eye, Jed whirls around to watch the rodent speed away and into the pitch black belly of the cave. ''Better than bugs but that still really isn''t something I''m willing to live as. There has to be an exit somewhere, if I can make it outside then there have to be better options than a rat.'' Quickening his pace, Jed jogs as fast as he can go while still avoiding the rocky outcroppings and sharp turns of the seemingly-never-ending cavern. After a few hours of attempting to navigate the natural labyrinth he notices that it is getting increasingly difficult to move his spiritual body and his movements are closely resembling those of a drunkard. Staggering around another turn, his imaginary eyes widen in surprise. The mouth of the tunnel opened up into a much bigger room, but more importantly there were bats hanging up above and occasionally zooming around on leathery wings. He had hope of getting out of here after all! If there were bats then he was probably somewhere close to the exit of this nightmare. "I just need to make it a little farther...I can do this, come on, move it, me!" The pep talk aimed toward himself has the side effect of making him look like a crazy person to anyone watching and also happened to scare the bats. A flurry of wing beats signal the start of a disaster, the swarm of furry little devils descends and the tornado of puff balls engulfs poor Jed. He swats at them with incorporeal hands but they fly right through him, making him realize that he wasn''t actually in any danger. On the other hand, the sound of so many bats swirling around him, screeching their lungs out was enough to scare him off. With dwindling strength, Jed dives over behind a boulder and slumps down against the wall. He stays like that until the screeching fades off into the distance and he can only assume they either calmed down or left the cave. With a heavy sigh, Jed tries to heave himself up off the floor, only to fall right back down in a pitiful heap. The shadowy form that he had been willing so hard to hold up finally turns back into a shapeless blob. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ''I''m not sure if my luck is amazing or terrible, I happened to be the one soul that the old man pulled out early and was able to keep some of my memories, only to end up being teleported into the middle of a massive cave and with a time limit! Fate must be trolling me, looks like this might be the end of me but at least I had a good run.'' Feeling exhausted, he lay there and savored the strange feeling of peace that had come over him as his vision slowly succumbed to darkness. His thoughts drifted off, wondering about if the old man had gotten away with it or not. He didn''t seem like a bad guy, hopefully he''s over there right now being thanked and given a gold star sticker for a job well done. I wonder what those parties he mentioned are like? A party fit for gods must be pretty crazy, imagine all that extravagant food... do gods eat food? Some time later, against all odds, the lights turned back on. Jed banished the groggy cloud that blunted his mind and sat up, wondering why he was still alive. This wasn''t the after-after life, he was sure of that because after looking around, he confirmed that he was still inside the cave and even in the same exact spot. Something was off but he couldn''t quite place it, in fact, everything seemed taller. He tried to stand up and was surprised to find that his strength had returned, but his celebration would have to wait because everything was still so high up... no, he was shorter! Jed''s gaze rocketed downward to get a good look at his body, only to find that the shadowy form he''d worn before was completely gone, replaced by what looked to be a similar humanoid shape that was made entirely of the rocks which could be found all around the cave. But why was he so small!? A moment of clarity drove away the panic as he remembered the old man''s letter. ''Status'' The word echoed in his head and sure enough, the blue rectangle made its return. *Bloop!*
Status Information
NameJedAge23
RaceLesser Earth ElementalGenderN/A
Level1ClassN/A
Health200/200Mana150/150
Strength20Agility5
Vitality20Dexterity5
Intelligence15Wisdom15
''He wasn''t kidding about the game thing but how the hell did this even happen? I passed out and fused with a rock I guess? This rabbit hole just never ends.'' Jed dismisses the screen with a simple thought and then focuses on the word ''Skills''. *Bloop!*
Skill Information
Skill NameSkill Effect
Heart of Mana (Passive)Stamina replaced with mana.
Soul of Mana (Passive)Grants exponentially increased mana regen.
Enchanted Eyes (Passive)Grants the sense of sight through magic.
Enchanted Ears (Passive)Grants the sense of hearing through magic.
Earth Magic (Active) Lvl 1Allows use of earth infused mana.
Assimilation (Active) Lvl 1Consume nearby earth to restore health.
''This is actually kind of cool, I just need to think of it all as a game.'' He reassures himself with a quick nod and then dismisses that screen as well. ''So then... what to do first?'' Chapter 2 -Batter Up! A 3 foot tall golem consisting of a plethora of mismatched rocks sat cross-legged on the floor of the cave. Its torso was about the size of a large watermelon and above that sat an almost cube shaped head that bore a close resemblance to a tissue box, if that tissue box were chiseled out of stone by someone wearing a blindfold and happened to have a horizontal slit cut into it from which two glowing blue eyes shown. It had two arms and legs, though they weren''t even close to being symmetrical. The hands looked like someone had taken a baseball-sized rock and glued a series of interlocking pebbles onto it in an attempt to form fingers. The feet were similar, except they were more of a rectangular shape. This majestic creature just so happens to be Jed, who is currently deep in concentration as half a dozen pebbles float around him like a hula hoop. One by one he fires the tiny stones through the air like bullets and they bounce off of the back wall of the cave with a harmless clattering sound.
Congratulations!
Your level in Earth Magic has increased to level 2!
Intelligence +2 Wisdom +1
''Wow, I really can use magic! This is awesome, I even gained stat points.'' He stands up and just barely resists the urge to strike a victory pose before wobbling over to where the projectiles had landed. He stumbles a few times but manages to regain his balance, thankfully avoiding an embarrassing face plant onto the floor. There are six small chips in the wall that were suspiciously pebble-sized, the marks are small and don''t look like anything more than scrapes which barely damaged the surface. ''Well... not quite as powerful as I thought, but I bet getting hit with that would sting like a bitch.'' After taking a moment to console himself and duct tape his remaining dignity back together, Jed realizes something. ''The reason I am so clumsy is most likely due to the fact that my Dexterity and Agility are really low. I guess it makes sense that a walking slab of rubble wouldn''t be very graceful. I should definitely stick a few points into those two once I level up. Maybe I can find a few of those bats to kill, revenge and experience at the same time sounds too good to pass up.'' Jed ventures off into a side passage connected to the massive room, determined to kill two birds with one stone, or bats in this case. Taking great care to do his best to remain quiet, he creeps through the shadows with the subtlety of a marching band. He really can''t help it, those legs of his just don''t want to move the way he wants them to and the sound of rock scraping rock echoes down the tunnel. ''This is going to be difficult, I won''t be able to hit them mid-flight so I need to have the element of surprise.'' He peers down at the misshapen hunks that he calls feet and lets loose an internal sigh. Using the edge of the cave to steady himself, Jed is able to lessen the noise to a decent degree and he decides to continue on. The tunnel splits into two and he decides to go left which brings him into an alcove where the air is damp and small streams of water trickle down from the ceiling and along the walls. Off to the side, tucked behind a nook in the wall, Jed spies his prey. His eyes grow brighter, almost like it is his way of smiling. Five bats hang upside down, probably having sweet dreams about bugs or fruit or something. The one in the middle is much bigger than the others, almost three times their size. With its wings expanded it could probably rival Jed for size. ''Muahahaha, I''ve finally found some and they''re even asleep. Prepare to meet your doom, you winged rats.'' His outstretched hand turns into the sun of a mini solar system made up of stone pellets and he trains his eyes at the unsuspecting creatures and this time fires off all of his pebbles at once like a shotgun. Quantity over quality looks to be his plan here. Two of the smaller bats are shredded by the barrage and die almost instantly, a third has one of its wings blown apart and falls to the ground, shrieking in pain. The fourth smaller bat quickly takes off flying in such a panic that it smacks into a wall and scurries to right itself so that it may take off again. The large one is hit with a few of the small stones but only one seems to be effective because it hit the thing right in the damn eye. It unfurls its wings and growls with rage, blood dripping across its face. ''Of course the one time I get a lucky shot on an eye and it is on a creature that doesn''t even need it to see! And since when do bats growl?'' Ignoring the others for the moment, Jed focuses his attention on the wounded bat that is crawling its way along the floor, he takes this chance to try his magic on something bigger than pebbles. His gaze turns upward to one of the less imposing stalactites and he wills it to crack horizontally, causing the tip of it to free fall, piercing the back of the already half dead bat on the floor. It is turned into a doughnut made of blood and fur. ''That was a bit overkill, I almost feel bad for it. I had to try it though, that was too cool.'' Jed mentally berates himself when he realizes that it was dumb to get distracted like that, even if they''re not any real danger. He silently vows to be more careful in the future and then looks back up. The bat that had hit the wall earlier is nowhere to be found, it probably fled down the tunnel to safety but where was the big one? Just as he was thinking that, something heavy slams into him from behind and the impact combined with his poor balance sends him toppling forward like a rag doll. As he tries to push himself back up, a deafening screech resounds throughout the cove and another blow squishes him against the floor. He can feel a few cracks forming in his body and it hurts! ''Since when do rocks have nerves, and more importantly, what kind of bat is this!? Are they feeding these things steroids in this world?'' The full weight of how bad a situation this is finally bears down on Jed and he curses his carelessness. There is a time and place to experiment with baking bat doughnuts, but it wasn''t now in his first fight at level 1! Somewhere between the flurry of blows from that seriously overweight bat, Jed remembers he has another skill! From the description he can only guess at how it works, but now is a really good time to figure it out, preferably before his body is ground into sand. Imagining that he is pulling the mana out of the surrounding earth and into himself, Jed is surprised at how naturally it comes to him and before long bits of gravel start breaking off from the ground and worming their way into the cracks in his skin. ''There we go, that should keep me alive long enough to figure something out. Why hasn''t the damn thing got-'' His interior dialogue is momentarily interrupted by a certain rude bat slamming into him. ''-gotten tired yet? Time to try something crazy!'' Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Since he can''t seem to get off of the floor with the constant BATtering and his shitty balance, Jed reaches an arm out behind himself and hopes for the best. The baseball sized hand detaches itself from his arm with a bit of magical assistance and he wills it to float a few feet into the air. ''I really hope this works.'' Jed starts trying to focus a big pool of mana inside the rock that was once his hand, imagining it expanding until it popped. It starts to vibrate dangerously in midair for a few seconds and then there is a loud cracking noise, following by shrapnel filling the entire room as it explodes. He hears a thud somewhere off to his right and then silence. Flipping himself over onto his side with his one good arm, he notices that Assimilation seems to still be in effect because it is already starting to rebuild his missing hand and he is also now laying in an oval shaped depression in the floor. With no small amount of effort he manages to find his footing and hobbles over to where he''d heard that sound. Twitching in a puddle of blood with tiny rock shards sticking out of every inch of its body was the monster bat that had given him so much trouble. Looking at its current pitiful state, Jed can''t help but wonder how this thing got the better of him just moments ago. Careful not to fall over, he slowly raises a foot up and brings it down hard, squashing the thing''s face like a grape. *Bloop!*
Battle Report
You have slain the following:
3x Bat Lvl 1 1x Goliath Bat Lvl 5
The following enemies escaped:
1x Bat Lvl 1
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
Your level in Earth Magic has increased to level 4!
Intelligence +4 Wisdom +2
Congratulations!
Your level in Assimilation has increased to level 2!
Vitality +2 Strength +1
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
You have reached level 2!
+10 Unused stat points.
''Wow, that bat was a pain in the ass but it looks like it payed off big time. Status.'' *Bloop!*
Status Information (Unspent:10)
NameJedAge23
RaceLesser Earth ElementalGenderN/A
Level2ClassN/A
Health187/220Mana112/180
Strength21Agility5
Vitality22Dexterity5
Intelligence21Wisdom18
''I got some nice upgrades here and it looks like Health and Mana scale directly with Vitality and Wisdom, that''s good to know. That must mean that Intelligence is magic damage or something similar and Strength is obvious. I don''t see any defensive stat though, I wonder if that''s also a part of it. Oh, right!'' He quickly pops 5 points each into Dexterity and Agility.
Status Information
NameJedAge23
RaceLesser Earth ElementalGenderN/A
Level2 ClassN/A
Health190/220Mana116/180
Strength21Agility10
Vitality22Dexterity10
Intelligence21Wisdom18
''Yesssss, finally I can walk in a straight line! Look out world, I can now move at a satisfactory level!'' Jed starts to walk around in circles, even daring to go so far as to walk backwards for a little while. What a badass. Chapter 3 - Eat Your Veggies Jed flops down onto the floor to take a break and allow his mana to regenerate fully. He''s feeling somewhat tired after his battle and the following victory lap. ''It makes sense, that one passive replaced stamina with mana so this is how fatigue must work for me. I''m assuming I''ll feel better with a short rest, I can''t tell if I need to sleep in this body yet.'' Impatient to get moving again, he spams his status screen periodically until it looks close enough to being full. With renewed vigor the miniature elemental hops up onto his feet and stretches his arms up into the air, breaking the silence with the sound of his joints scraping against each other like nails on a chalkboard. Noticing that the corpses are still littered around the room, an idea pops into his head. If this world is like a game, then aren''t enemies supposed to drop items or something? As if the poor bats hadn''t been violated enough, Jed flips them over to see if he missed anything but there are no signs of drops. ''Well they are just bats, I don''t really know what I was expecting. Maybe it is for the best, I doubt I can even use many items with a body like this. My status screen makes it look like I am somewhere between being a player and a monster but I''ll have to do some testing to figure out what that means.'' After making his way back to the fork in the tunnel, he decides to try his luck at going right this time. Might as well explore this place and get a few levels in before heading outside. If a stupid bat was that tough in this world, imagine how fearsome wolves and things could be. As Jed gets deeper into the latest tunnel, more and more of these strange looking plants start showing up. Upon closer examination they look like an asparagus, except much bigger and they give off a faint greenish glow. They tend to grow close to the walls in little patches of three to five. He comes to a stop when a dark blue lizard with white speckles covering its scales happens to slither out from between some rocks. It shoots him a curious glance but then quickly turns away and begins munching on one of the weird plants. ''I just realized that I have natural camouflage in this cave! As long as I stay still I probably just look like another chunk of stone. I should really use that to my advantage when possible.'' As the lizard continues to gorge itself, Jed scoots his way toward it with small steps. He''s careful not to make any sudden movements and watches the reptile''s head closely for any indication that it is about to turn around. He has a much easier time with his newly upgraded stats and before long the little elemental is positioned right behind the lizard in a blind spot. He calls on his earth magic and whips up a cloud of dust into the air around the lizard, obscuring its vision. Now is the moment of truth, with a few well placed steps Jed is in range to bring a fist down in the spot where he remembered it was standing. His stone fist impacts the floor of the cave and cracks the ground, along with part of his hand from the power of the blow. ''No satisfying smoosh noise, it must have moved in time. Also, ow.'' He shakes his hand out and activates Assimilation while the dust cloud clears. The lizard is now on the opposite wall, glaring and hissing at him. It flicks its tongue in the air a few times and then jumps off of the wall, darting toward a foot-shaped rock. Jed is too slow to react to the speed at which the thing moves and looks down just in time to see fangs latch onto his foot. They look a lot more like those of a snake and venom dripped off of the tips of the two largest fangs at the front of its mouth. ''Venom, huh? I guess being made of stone has its perks after all.'' He kicks out to try and dislodge the thing from his foot and without its fangs being able to penetrate anything, it has no grip and easily goes flying, landing upside down with its feet flailing wildly in the air. Jed takes this opening to shoot a rock the size of a golf ball straight toward its head. The lizard is overjoyed as it flips itself over and regains its footing, only to take a rock to the face and fall back over in a daze. Everything is blurry but it can just barely make out what looks like a boulder falling toward it. That boulder is actually Jed, who is performing an impressive belly flop right onto the weakened creature. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ''Let''s see if you can dodge this!'' The force and weight of his whole body squashes it before it manages to scramble away, splattering his chest with green tinted blood. He goes to stand up but something is wrong because his leg slips right out from under him. Confused, Jed looks down and sees that half of his foot was missing where the lizard had bit him and there was a pleasant sizzling sound coming off of it, like bacon in the morning. ''Acid venom... you''ve got to be shitting me. What the hell is in those plants it was eating?'' He''s in the middle of trying to repair his foot faster than the acid melts it when he hears that familiar sound. *Bloop!*
Battle Report
You have slain the following:
x1 Toxic Cave Lizard Lvl 7
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
Your level in Assimilation has increased to level 3!
Vitality +2 Strength +1
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
You have reached level 3!
+10 Unused stat points.
''That thing was level 7? It seemed too weak to be that much higher than me, the fact that it is poisonous must make it worth more experience I guess.'' A few seconds later the acid that was melting his foot finally wears off and he is able to get it back into working condition. After taking a couple tentative steps to test it out, he''s satisfied that it''s good as new and opens up his status screen to test a theory. ''Status'' *Bloop!*
Status Information (Unspent:10)
NameJedAge23
RaceLesser Earth ElementalGenderN/A
Level3ClassN/A
Health223/240Mana134/180
Strength22Agility10
Vitality24Dexterity10
Intelligence21Wisdom18
Jed sticks all 10 points into Strength, bringing it up to 32 and then closes the screen. He finds the spot where he''d missed the lizard earlier and busted a chunk off of the ground. He moves off to the side of it and pounds the floor with his new-found strength, leaving a bigger hole than the last one but that was to be expected. Holding his hand up closer to his eyes, Jed takes a moment to examine it closely. ''I was right, it is cracked much less than before. Since I can''t wear armor or anything as an elemental, it looks like raising Strength also benefits the density of my body. I feel pretty fragile for being made of stone but this should be a huge help.'' Chapter 4 - Battle Begins Jed had been walking for quite some time now, the plants gradually increased in number and it was starting to look like a forest of the deadly, luminescent flora. With the knowledge he''d gained from the fight against the first lizard under his belt, it was a simple matter of breaking off the chunk of himself where they bit him before the acid could spread. It rendered their secret weapon useless and he could just repair himself afterward. Once a few more of their brethren had been crushed with ease, they seemed to have understood that he was a threat because every time he tried to attack one, it would quickly dart away into the crevices in the shadows and vanish from sight. ''Dammit, they see me as a predator now and the little bastards are too fast for me to catch. I felt like I was getting close to another level up too... But with all these overgrown asparagus plants around the place, I must be getting close to their nest, at least I hope so.'' A swift kick snapped the base of a plant that had gotten a little too close for his liking, sending it rolling across the dirt. He had to take out his annoyance on something and he could have sworn that vegetable was looking at him funny. ''They''re supposed to be level 7 monsters! Have some pride and stop running from a level 3, come face me like a man...lizard...lizardman!'' Jed entered a larger part of the cavern that opened up into a huge wide-open area where the vegetation was so thick that he''d need to push his way through it. Scanning the area, his ethereal blue eyes noticed that the roof was almost five stories high above him and the familiar flutter of dark wings could be seen going back and forth from naturally formed shelves of rock sticking out of the walls. At the far back of the cave there were a series of rock formations that looked almost like massive stairs and though he had a difficult time seeing over top of the stupid plants, he noticed several of the lizards laying around on their surface. ''Jackpot. I''m not letting any of them escape this time.'' He heads back toward the mouth of the tunnel he''d just come from and piles up every stone in the area that he''s able to lift, completely sealing off the exit to thwart would-be escapees. It takes away his own choice of running away as well, but he''s confident that now, knowing all their tricks, he won''t have too much trouble. ''The lizards could become dangerous if I get swarmed by too many at once and the bats would be an annoying distraction if they got involved. Looks like I should try to take out some of them first before I go any further.'' Jed stands next to a nearby boulder and starts to break off different slabs of stone until he''s got a neat little pyramid of fist-sized rocks, as well as a pile of pebbles on his other side. He wills three of the larger ones to float, making their way slowly upward through the air and closer to the bats. ''This is tougher than I thought it''d be, I''ve never tried to control them when they were so far away from me before. I think it will work out but hopefully this doesn''t eat up too much mana.'' They start to swell with energy, vibrating and spreading out a little bit more to encompass a larger area of the room. Without warning they explode and Jed feels a noticeable wave of fatigue hit him all at once. That''s when all hell breaks loose. Dozens of the small corpses rain down all over the room and there is a sickening melody of cracking bones and gore splattering around, painting a hefty chunk of the asparagus forest red. One even bounces off his head and onto the floor, letting out a squeak of defeat before it goes still. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Hissing can be heard across the room as the reptiles frantically try to figure out what is causing all the commotion. Jed ignores them for now, they''re far away and he isn''t going to make the same mistake twice. It was clearly a good decision because three of the much larger bats look completely unscathed and are barreling toward him through the air like fuzzy missiles from hell. Jed does his best to avoid freaking out, he concentrates on bringing the pile of pebbles aloft and into a spinning motion around his body. Thinking about how he''d done it before with them orbiting his hand, Jed just has to apply that to a larger scale. They start whipping around him faster until all that''s left are blurs in the air, just in time too, because the bats are a split second from bearing down on him. The first to arrive unleashes a pained screech as a large hole is torn through its right wing and another two pebbles slam into its side, flinging it onto the ground. A stray projectile blows off the leg of the second bat, causing it to turn away and retreat for the moment. With most of the orbiting rocks having already served their purpose, the final attacker manages to slip past Jed''s defenses without getting hit and slams right into his chest. However, this isn''t like what happened last time. Jed''s eyes shone a little brighter with glee, his footing holds and he manages to catch a hold of a wing in each hand. The tearing noise as he rips off both of its wings is music to his ears and when the flightless torso of the beast plops onto the floor, a stomp soon follows, putting it out of its misery. Bat number one is flailing around helplessly in a futile attempt to take off from the ground, the massive missing part of its wing and the wounds to its side left it in no condition to fly. Taking note of its position, Jed aims his arm directly at it and then sacrifices a piece of himself, firing half of his arm off like a cannon, leaving nothing but bat paste strewn across the ground. While that happened Jed never once let the last bat out of his sight, he''d learned his lesson about losing track of these guys. It lets out a small growl which must be the bat''s version of a battle cry and swoops down at him. Jed fires off the last couple pebbles that had still been airborne, all but one missing their mark. It was enough though, the one hit he''d scored threw its trajectory off, slowing it down enough for Jed to make out its movements. He reeled back the arm that wasn''t half missing and sent a punch straight at it. What resulted from the exchange was a bloody explosion that left his hand covered in bat bits and what was left of the demolished creature sailing across the room and sticking to the wall. ''I used a bit more mana than I''d like but that went pretty well.'' Jed activates assimilation and waits for the battle report to appear, except it doesn''t come. Confused, he looks around only to notice that the lizards which had been up on top of the rocks at the far end of the room were nowhere in sight. His eyes scan the forest of plants that they could be hiding anywhere inside. ''Oh dear.'' Chapter 5 - Combat Continues With a quick glance at his status screen, Jed notes that he has just under half of his mana left and his decision is made. Gathering up every bit of courage he''s got, he steeled himself and glared into the sea of green. Then he spun around and started running as fast as he could back to the exit where the plants were more sparse. Upon arrival at his makeshift barricade from earlier, Jed dives into the massive stack of stone and curls himself into a ball. Already tired after the fight, the sprint to his current location left him exhausted but he couldn''t rest yet. ''I''m a rock, I''m a rock, I''m a rock...'' Jed repeated that thought over and over in his head. To his great surprise, his body began to shift and rearrange itself bit by bit, when finished he fit in quite nicely with the rest of the pile. *Bloop!*
Congratulations!
You have acquired a new skill.
Masonry (Active) Lvl 1The art of shaping or building with stone.
''Well that''s convenient, looks like I can learn skills by figuring out how they work.'' Jed realizes that they must still be looking for him because the battle hasn''t announced its end yet. Resolving himself to hide until they either give up or a decent amount of his mana regenerates, he starts planning his assault. (Random Lizard''s POV) ''No idea who that guy was but he left us all this food and just took off running before we could even thank him! Must be shy or something.'' He gulps down another bat and turns to watch the others of his kin. A few are gorging themselves along with him, but most of them are combing the area over and over. ''I wonder why they are so worried, anyone who brought us a bat buffet is okay in my book.'' (Back to you, Jed!) Bursting out of the pile of rocks, back in his regular form, Jed takes a second to process everything. There are two of the reptiles close by and luckily one of them is turned away from his position, the other stares at him with wide eyes. Further back he sees three of them snacking on the bat corpses that still littered the floor and who knows if there are more in the tangle of glowing weeds. An elongated stone in the shape of a stake, courtesy of his new skill combined with earth magic, pierces the throat of the lizard that first saw him and it gurgles out a broken cry of warning to the others, right before getting smashed with a much larger but shapeless rock from above. Trying to maintain his ranged advantage, Jed sends a flurry of stone splinters right into the face of the second lizard, who had just turned around to charge him. The small shards dug their way past its scales, stabbing holes into its front legs, neck, and eyes. It hisses in pain as its charge is halted, clawing at the spikes in a vain attempt to remove them. The finishing move isn''t even noticed until a spherical rock impacts its skull, cracking it and leaving the creature prone on the ground. Of the three remaining lizards that he''d seen, two are noisily making their way right for him, while the third must have vanished into the greenery while he was fighting the others. They''re fast, and the bursts of pebbles he sends their way are almost all dodged, pinging uselessly across the room. One of them was hit with a few, doing little more than stunning it, but that was enough for him to finish it off with a final shotgun blast of the tiny stones. Jed sent a kick at the reptile that had finally arrived but it dove right over the top of his foot to bite at his shin. The venom starts slowly eating away at him, leaving Jed no choice but to use earth magic to snap that chunk off of his leg. Surprised by the sudden lack of resistance, the lizard falls off of him with the piece of melting rock in its mouth. He gets that joyful gleam in his eyes again as what''s left of the acid covered stone blows up inside the things mouth, tearing off its lower jaw and spraying green blood onto the tip of his toes. Jed decides that his new paint job just isn''t enough yet and squishes it a few times with his foot until it stops moving. Twirling around in search of the last enemy he''d seen earlier, he catches a glimpse of its tail sliding around the corner of what looked to be a small side passage he hadn''t noticed with his first search of the room. ''Shit, I hadn''t even noticed that was there, I wonder where it leads?'' *Bloop!*
Battle Report
You have slain the following:
26x Bat Lvl 1 3x Goliath Bat Lvl 5 4x Toxic Cave Lizard Lvl 7
The following enemies escaped:
1x Toxic Cave Lizard Lvl 7
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
Your level in Earth Magic has increased to level 7!
Intelligence +6 Wisdom +3
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Congratulations!
Your level in Assimilation has increased to level 5!
Vitality +4 Strength +2
Congratulations!
Your level in Masonry has increased to level 2!
Dexterity +2 Wisdom +1
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
You have reached level 5!
+20 Unused stat points.
''Awesome! So many level ups, time to take a look and spend my points. Status.''
Status Information (Unspent:20)
NameJedAge23
RaceLesser Earth ElementalGenderN/A
Level5ClassN/A
Health235/280Mana167/220
Strength34Agility10
Vitality28Dexterity12
Intelligence27Wisdom22
After spending a minute or two thinking about the pros and cons of each stat and where to spend his points, Jed finally decides and afterward looks at his status again.
Status Information
NameJedAge23
RaceLesser Earth ElementalGenderN/A
Level5 ClassN/A
Health270/300Mana283/320
Strength34Agility15
Vitality30Dexterity15
Intelligence27Wisdom32
''That should help with some of my mana problems and coordination.'' Satisfied with his progress, Jed was about to pull up his skills screen when a roar sounded throughout the cavern. Across the room from him was a lizard whose size put the others to shame. It might be taller than Jed, and he won''t even try to guess its length. Its scales were a deep blue just like the other reptiles but the speckles on this one where a neon green and if he wasn''t imagining it, they looked to have a dull glow similar to the plants. Acidic drool dripped from its opened mouth, the length of its fangs looked like they might even be able to pierce Jed''s rocky body. On its back rode the lizard who''d managed to escape, with a smug, toothy grin across its stupid face. ''You! Did you really go and tattle-tale on me to your mom!?'' That''s what went through his mind and what he wanted to say, but all that came out was a deep grumble and the scrape of stone. For the first time in his new body, Jed realized he could make sound. Maybe that means he could learn to speak some day!? Tossing his excitement of this new revelation to the back of his head, he prepared himself for what looked like it would be a very dangerous fight. Chapter 6 - Like Mother, Like Son The mother hisses something directed to the smaller lizard on her back and it hops off, waddling over to the stair-like formations of rock to get a good view of the impending duel. It growls back in what sounds like protest to having to sit the fight out, but one look from the huge creature shuts it up. Jed patiently watches their exchange, happy to wait for the other party to instigate the fight since every second gets him closer to being back to max mana. The overgrown reptile finally turns back to him with narrowed eyes and leaps off of the ledge. It lands at the edge of the mini forest, crushing the plants underneath it and then spins around, demolishing everything in its vicinity with its tail. The result is a large, barren area that''s devoid of any glowing asparagus and looks a lot like a mini arena. It growls a challenge at Jed, causing a few droplets of acid to splatter on the floor in front of it. The sizzling vapor rising from those spots adds to the creature''s intimidation factor, which was already pretty impressive to begin with. He steps forward onto the very edge of the ring, making sure to bring plenty of stone chunks along with him. Jed makes them float low enough to be hidden by the plants that circle the outskirts of the desolate area, stashing the rocks throughout the sea of green. With a spine-tingling hiss, the monster before him pushes itself up to its full height and the spiky fins running along its back stand on end. Jed doesn''t know what that signifies but he''s pretty sure that nothing good is about to happen. Such great insight on his part is what saves him as a spray of the corrosive liquid melts the spot where he''d just stood into a puddle. Jed had dove to his left with his pitiful excuse for acrobatic ability, luckily it was enough to get him clear of the first attack. As he''s getting to his feet, another volley of acid comes flying toward him from the now extra irritated looking lizard. With the wave of what he calls his hand, a thin wall of rock bursts from the ground, absorbing the dangerous substance before quickly melting away. When the last layer of his half-assed shield turns to mush, he''s startled to see the open maw filled with teeth coming right for him. Jed flings a jagged slab of rock into the open mouth, cutting the inside of its throat which makes it instinctively close its jaw. His tiny moment of success ends as its head still comes barreling into him, flinging the small elemental across the floor and into the gathering of plants. Coughing and heaving until the now half melted stone falls out of its mouth, the projectile cutting through the air goes completely unnoticed by the lizard until its too late. A long earth spear drills a hole in one of its hind legs, burrowing its way through the scaled hide until it partially sticks out of the other end. In rage and pain, it turns around to face the sneaky rock man with a glint of hatred in its eyes. A cluster of pebbles smack into its face and eyes, temporarily robbing it of sight and screwing up its aim enough that the spray of acid it had cooked up especially for Jed was off its mark. He managed to weave past the majority of the spray but part of his shoulder was coated in acid. Faced with the threat of the corrosion spreading slowly through his body, Jed disconnects his shoulder from the rest of himself, unfortunately losing his arm along with it. Not willing to lose this chance, the mourning of his loss will have to wait for later and he dashes toward the beast. Just as the massive lizard regains its composure, a spike breaks out of the ground, piercing a hole in its underbelly and a sudden weight lets it know that the elemental is now on its back. It bucks and spins, freeing itself from the spike underneath, but not without suffering a long gash as the sharpened rock is torn out from its belly at a bad angle. Jed shapes his one good hand into a short lance and stabs it into the back of the lizards neck, giving himself a way to hold on as he''s thrown around by the frenzy. It wizened up and rolls its entire body across the hardened ground of the cavern like a crocodile, finally dislodging Jed from itself. Before he can move, a large claw crushes him down against the floor, trapping him as the lizard prepares to end him with a final blast of acid. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ''Shitshitshitshit!'' In a panic, Jed calls all of the rocks he''d hidden in the glowing forest to himself. They reach him just in time to form together into a dome above him and block the blast of acid. Several droplets leak through the holes in the dome since it is comprised of many different rocks and isn''t one solid object. Three or four land on him in different places but he has no time to worry about them. He knows that if his concentration falters, the dome will crumble and drench him in acid. Activating assimilation to hopefully hold the corrosion at bay, he notices that the gravel breaking off of the ground and being sucked into his wounds is working faster than the last time he''d used it. Not by a lot, but the couple levels he''d gained in the skill had clearly increased its power enough that the tiny droplets of venom were completely halted in their tracks. Ignoring the battle going on in the small holes that littered his torso, he jams a huge burst of mana into the dome and forces it up and away from himself at the same time. Every single one of the acid-coated stones burst into shards that swarm the giant lizard. Most of them just bounce off of its scales, but a couple of the larger bits of shrapnel dig their way into its flesh, leading to that familiar sizzling noise coming from the wounds. It seems only its outside and inside are resistant to the acid it produces, but the soft meat in between is being cooked. Slowly rising to his feet, Jed takes a look at what he''s wrought. The high pitched hissing noises that the lizard is making give him a hint and his eyes glow happily when he notices the longer shards embedded in its neck and even one sticking into its eye socket. ''I''m really tempted to say something about tasting your own medicine but I don''t want to sound cheesy and I need to finish this before I run out of mana.'' Taking a moment to draw chunks out of the ground and form them into a bigger stone, Jed watches the creature warily, ready for anything. Suddenly it opens its mouth, most likely readying itself to fire off another stream of acid, but it never gets the chance. A rock the size of a volleyball slams into the spike in its eye like a hammer on a nail, angled perfectly to drive it into its brain matter with great force. Finally, after all that effort, Jed indulges in the beautiful sight of the colossal lizard crashing to the floor, never to move again. He falls to one knee, supporting himself with his good arm to avoid crumbling to the floor from exhaustion. Finally taking a moment to examine himself, he realizes what a sorry state he''s currently in. After using so much mana to blow up the dome, he''d had to deactivate assimilation to avoid running out. The arm he''d lost was only repaired down to his elbow and there were still four craters along his chest. Luckily the corrosive effect of the acid had run out before doing any serious damage to him. ''Wait a second... the battle didn''t end yet. What happened to...'' Quickly using what little strength he has left, Jed turns and sees the little blue lizard that had caused him all this trouble. It dives out from between two of the strange plants and in blind rage jumps right at him without even attempting to dodge anything. He easily catches it by the neck and holds it away from himself so that it can''t bite him. Looking into the two swirling blue lights in the elemental''s head, for the first time the small reptile felt fear. It couldn''t move a muscle and just hung there like a rag doll. What kind of hell did this being that killed its mother crawl out of? There was no mercy in its eyes. Jed leaned a little bit closer and remembered something. He thought about how he''d spoken with the old man in that strange, shapeless but still humanoid form without a mouth. His eyes shown with great joy and a sound broke the deathly silence. "Eyks...pee..." That was the last thing the lizard heard before Jed choked the life out of it. Chapter 7 - Making Friends
Battle Report
You have slain the following:
1x Toxic Cave Lizard Lvl 7 1x Toxic Lizard Queen Lvl 12 (Elite)
Feat accomplished.
For defeating the Toxic Lizard Queen, you''ve received a new skill.
Acid Resistance (Passive)Take 50% less damage from acids.
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
Your level in Earth Magic has increased to level 8!
Intelligence +2 Wisdom +1
Congratulations!
Your level in Assimilation has increased to level 7!
Vitality +4 Strength +2
Congratulations!
Your level in Masonry has increased to level 3!
Dexterity +4 Wisdom +2
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
You have reached level 6!
+10 Unused stat points.
''Hmm... a few points here... a couple there... aaaand all good to go!''
Status Information
NameJedAge23
RaceLesser Earth ElementalGenderN/A
Level6 ClassN/A
Health340/340Mana400/400
Strength40Agility15
Vitality34Dexterity19
Intelligence30Wisdom40
''Skills'' *Bloop!*
Skill Information
Skill NameSkill Effect
Heart of Mana (Passive)Stamina replaced with mana.
Soul of Mana (Passive)Grants exponentially increased mana regen.
Enchanted Eyes (Passive)Grants the sense of sight through magic.
Enchanted Ears (Passive)Grants the sense of hearing through magic.
Acid Resistance (Passive)Take 50% less damage from acids.
Earth Magic (Active) Lvl 8Allows use of earth infused mana.
Assimilation (Active) Lvl 7Consume nearby earth to restore health.
Masonry (Active) Lvl 3The art of shaping or building with stone.
''I''ve made some pretty good progress inside of this cave, I think it''s finally time to get the hell out of here before I forget what the sky looks like.'' Jed sets off down the tunnel, all the while retracing the path he''d previously taken inside his head. It only takes a little over an hour before the expansive cavern, where he''d had his first run in with bats, comes into view. This time he quietly makes his way across the room, avoiding any action he thinks would startle the bat swarm and cause a repeat of what had gotten him stuck in this mess in the first place. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. At the far end of the tunnel he can see strands of light breaking up the darkness. He knows it must be the mouth of the cave and quickly picks up his pace, sprinting as fast as his tiny legs will carry him, over toward the long-lost rays of the sun. Stepping through the exit, he''s surprised at how quickly his eyes adjust after being underground for so much time. Truly, magical vision is the way of the future. Jed wishes he could shed muddy tears of happiness at this wonderful sight. The bright blue sky, filled with the occasional fluffy cloud, rests high above a lush forest of actual trees. No more of the stupid asparagus plants, he couldn''t be in a better mood. Past the forest, he can make out a dirt road connecting it to a town which sits nestled again a couple rolling hills. Further investigation reveals that the mouth of the cave sits atop a small section of cliffs, from which a rocky trail descends all the way down to the closest edge of the forest. With a skip in his step, he makes his way down the path, whistling a tune which sounds more like a malfunctioning trash compactor. At that moment, something unexpected causes him to stop in his tracks and go silent. Jed hears voices coming from around the corner, further down the trail. They sound too far away for him to be able to make out complete words and he has no way to tell if they are a potential ally or enemy. ''I want to talk to people so badly but I have no idea what reaction they''d have to my current state.'' His eyes tilt downward to scan over his stone exterior, making him hesitant to approach them. Seeing nowhere to hide other than back inside the cave, Jed makes his choice. ''Fuck it, I decided to leave the damn cave and that''s what I''m going to do.'' He drags a chunk of rock over to the middle of the pathway and plops down on top of it as if it were a chair. Making himself comfy, Jed leans back and awaits whoever they are. The voices starts to become clearer as they approach and finally he can make out what they''re saying. "Relax man, I come here all the time for easy leveling. Nothing but weak monsters like rats and things live around these parts, there are also a few venomous lizards but that''s why we brought George over there." (Male Voice 1) "You guys only want me for my heals, my feelings are hurt!" (Probably George) says in an obviously sarcastic manner. "Heh. Well you better hurry up and level so you learn a spell that cures feelings. Just kidding, we couldn''t make it without you, especially since a certain somebody won''t stop standing in the fucking fire." (Female Voice) "...Come on that was one time! You know it was an accident, plus it''s been weeks. When are you going to stop bringing it up?" (Male Voice 1) "Probably once you stop getting tunnel vision and actually keep things off of me long enough to cast a spell." (Male Voice 2) "It''s not my fault that you''re a shitty mage and can''t pronounce your chants correctly. Why the hell did you even choose that class when you have dyslexia?" (Male Voice1) "You''re just jealous that you have no magic talent and can''t blow shit up with fire like I can." (Male Voice 2) "You take that back before I-... the fuck?" (Male Voice 1) The four nooby adventurers come to a halt just after they round the corner, all of them staring wide-eyed at the short elemental that is currently waving in their direction. The group consists of a tall, bulky looking man wearing rusted armor and holding what looks like a crude two-handed axe made of iron, a lanky youth in gray robes with a poorly cut wooden staff, a woman in plain clothes with a bow and quiver strapped to her back, and finally a dark-haired guy with a club and cross-shaped necklace bringing up the rear. "..Hull...oh..." grumbles Jed as he stops waving and attempts to greet the newcomers. Several jaws drop and they all look back and forth at each other. After they take a moment to get over the shock, the four of them begin whispers things under their breath. "That thing just spoke! You all heard it, since when has anyone known of talking rock people?" (Probably George) "Yeah, it''s weird... maybe it''s an elite monster of some kind. Should we kill it?" (Female Voice) "I don''t know, I''ve been here before but never seen anything like it." (Male Voice 1) "No no, don''t kill it. It looks like a mini version of an earth elemental, I''ve read a few things about them in one of my spell books. It said nothing about them talking, only things about summoning them or making familiar contracts. I bet it is some kind of rare version, we should catch it and try to sell it to some rich person at the magic academy." (Male Voice 2) Jed stares at them in confusion until the group suddenly all nod to each other and ready their weapons. They stare at him with determination and the big guy steps out in front of them, while the archer and mage fan out to either side. Jed hops off of his rock as they slowly approach and readies himself for combat, sighing internally. Chapter 8 - On The Road Again As Jed cautiously watches the approaching warrior, he sees an arrow flying toward him out of the corner of his eye. Too slow to dodge it, the projectile hits him in the ribs and bounces off without doing any noticeable damage. Though he''s amused by the pitiful attack, there''s no time to laugh with the warrior now charging toward him, axe raised over his shoulder. ''Heh''. A great idea pops into Jed''s head and with a small nudge of his magic the gravel slides out from underneath the man''s foot, sending him headfirst into the dirt with a satisfying grunt of pain. The axe cut up part of the man''s arm as he fell on top of it and seeing this, Jed finally understands why you aren''t supposed to run with scissors. Tendrils of golden light stream from the hand of the cleric at the back of the group, enveloping the warrior and slowly knitting his skin back together. Before Jed can do anything to interrupt the healing, the mage shoots a poor excuse for a fireball into his chest, which leaves him feeling warm and toasty but otherwise unharmed. In the middle of mentally face-palming, Jed''s gaze is drawn toward the archer. The woman''s bow has a faint glow to it and the arrow comes spinning toward him with a great deal more force than her previous attack. He can only assume that it is some sort of skill and decides that it''s probably a good idea to dodge this one. Trying to move out of the way before it''s too late, Jed notices something is off and after looking down at his foot that feels stuck, he understands the issue. It is fused to the ground in a coat of ice, probably courtesy of the annoying mage off to his left. Unable to avoid it, the arrow slams into his right arm, this time digging into his rocky skin and leaving small cracks branching outward from the wound. Annoyed and beginning to get angry, Jed jerks his leg around until it bursts free of the ice, leaving shards strewn across the floor. While the archer reloads and the mage begins another chant, the warrior rises to his feet, finally healed and ready to regain his dignity. Charging forward, the man is met with a burst of rock splinters aimed at the opening in the face of his helmet. Hastily blocking his face with an arm, he can only swing the axe blindly in the general direction of the short elemental in the hopes of hitting something. Already pretty short, Jed easily manages to duck under the frenzied attacks and sends a forceful punch right into the warrior''s knee. The poor quality of the armor leaves much to be desired in the way of protection and does little to save the large man''s kneecap. A few snapping sounds are followed by a howl of agony and the warrior goes toppling over, once more onto the ground. The large slab of stone, that Jed had been using as a chair earlier, comes floating over to him and he makes it hover between him and the archer as a shield. It blocks another one of the charged arrows, allowing him to focus on firing earth spikes in the direction of the cleric. Twisting his body to the side and jumping backward, the guy does a pretty good job of dodging the first couple spikes, but it isn''t long before he''s speared through the gut and falls over with a pale face. The chanting coming from the mage grows louder as he points at Jed and a long spear of ice forms in the air, then goes flying toward him, only to be shattered by the rock shield that quickly moves to intercept it. With the shield out of the way, the archer fires another powered up shot and the arrow drills its way deep into Jed''s leg, far enough to actually get stuck in him this time. Grumbling broken profanities under his breath, Jed turns Assimilation on and tears the arrow out of his leg to allow the wound to repair itself. Letting go of his control over the hovering rock shield, it crashes to the ground and he moves his concentration to both the archer and mage. Dirt goes shooting up into the air in front of them and swirls around into clouds of dust, obscuring their vision to hopefully give him some respite from the constant ranged barrage. Something sweeps into the back of Jed''s legs, flipping him backwards into the dirt, where he sees the prone warrior grinning at him through clenched teeth. Before the axe comes around for a second blow, Jed slides the rock shield across the ground and into the side of the man''s head with great force. Looking at the now limp body that''s leaking blood from its head, Jed decides that the warrior is either dead or unconscious and pushes himself up to his feet, just in time to see the now fully healed cleric, archer, and mage all glaring daggers at him. "..you...staur..ted... et." accuses Jed with arms crossed. He hears them angrily muttering to each other about revenge and then a few seconds later something about being low on mana. Not wanting to give them time to come up with a plan, Jed starts repeatedly firing his trusty pebble shotgun in their direction, leaving painful looking bruises and scrapes all over them. "Aaahgh!" "Dammit... gah!" "Ow. Fuck!" The three of them all raise their arms and cover their faces, then quickly turn to run. The cleric is the furthest back and the archer is fast, both of them easily outrun the mage who''s still being pelted. Jed keeps flinging rocks of all shapes and sizes at them, knocking the mage to the ground, but missing the others as they make it out of his range. While keeping an eye on the mage, who is now laying still, Jed walks over to the warrior and confirms that the man is definitely dead. ''Well the armor is way too big for me... I could probably make the axe work somehow, though.'' Searching the corpse, Jed finds something that looks strangely like a loot bag, upon opening it a notification pops up, telling him that his current gold balance is now 14 and then the bag disperses into tiny pieces of light. ''Aww yeah! Cash money.'' About to reach for the axe, Jed notices something strange. The warrior''s armor is falling apart and slowly trickling into Jed''s body. He checks, and it looks like he''d forgotten to turn Assimilation off. Switching the skill off now that he was at full health anyway, Jed sees the stream of liquid iron stop moving and return to the armor. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Unsure about what is happening, he decides to go with it and reactivates the skill. Right away the armor starts draining once more and after a few minutes it stops, leaving the armor almost completely gone. *Bloop!*
Congratulations!
You have acquired a new skill.
Iron Blood (Passive)Absorb ore and metals to increase Strength.
''So that''s what was happening, good to know. Time to check on mister mage over there.'' After grabbing the axe and snapping the wooden handle in half to make it more his size, he heads over to the mage who is still taking a dirt nap. Jed kicks at the mage''s side, flipping him over and onto his back. Looking closely, he can see faint signs of breathing and is able to tell that the guy is still alive but knocked out cold. ''I''m in a good mood after getting a new skill and in my infinite benevolence I shall spare your life. I''m still going to steal all your shit though. I''m not a saint.'' A few minutes later, Jed''s gold balance is up to 27, and after most of that time is spent shortening the mage''s robe with the warrior''s axe, he now has a shiny new miniature robe to wear. Covering himself in the robe, flipping the hood up, and wielding the shortened axe, Jed now looks like he could be a very short dwarf who hates sunlight. ''With my masterfully crafted disguise, I''m basically invisible. Time to hit the road!'' *Bloop!*
Battle Report
You have slain the following:
1x William the Warrior Lvl 4 1x Melvin the Mage Lvl 6 (Spared: Half xp, +10 fame)
The following enemies escaped:
1x Ariana the Archer Lvl 5
1x George Lvl 4
You looted:
27 Gold
1x Iron Axe
1x Beginner''s Hooded Robe
''WHAT!? Half xp, that''s bullshit! See what I get for trying to do something nice for somebody? Last time I let someone live, that''s for sure. Next ti-...'' *Bloop!*
Congratulations!
Your level in Earth Magic has increased to level 9!
Intelligence +2 Wisdom +1
Congratulations!
Your level in Assimilation has increased to level 8!
Vitality +2 Strength +1
Congratulations!
Your level in Masonry has increased to level 5!
Dexterity +4 Wisdom +2
''Shut up, nobody asked you, blue scre-..'' *Bloop!*
Congratulations!
You have reached level 7!
+10 Unused stat points.
''...just show me my status.'' Quickly and angrily poking his finger at the status menu, Jed spends his 10 points and then looks it over.
Status Information
NameJedAge23
RaceLesser Earth ElementalGenderN/A
Level7 ClassN/A
Health360/360Mana346/430
Strength41(46)Agility20
Vitality36Dexterity23
Intelligence37Wisdom43
''Looks like absorbing that armor gave me an extra 5 Strength, not too shabby. Now then, off I go to enjoy this lovely day!'' Happily twirling his axe, his stolen robes fluttering in the breeze, Jed marches his way down the trail leading through the cliffs. Chapter 9 - Over the River and Through the Woods Leaving the cliffs behind, the dirt road up ahead leads to the beginning of the forest to the Northwest. To either side of the road are small shacks that look to be abandoned. They''re probably used as temporary shelter for when adventurers come out here to hunt. Seeing one of them with a fire burning outside, Jed pulls his hood down a little further and trudges past it, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Needless to say, he fails miserably, though it seems to be his lucky day, as whoever lit the fire either isn''t around or is inside at the moment. Picking up his pace, he''s almost home free when somebody shouts at him. "Hey! Wait up!" A tall, red-headed kid who looks to be in his early teens runs over (Well they''re all tall to Jed) and stops ten feet or so away. "Sorry traveler, I just need a moment of your time. I was supposed to meet up with my friends earlier but I was running pretty late and I haven''t been able to find them. Even lit a fire in the hope of drawing their attention with the smoke. Have you seen anyone on your way here?" Jed turns toward the kid, just enough to not look rude while still having his face concealed. He shakes his head ''no''. "Ahh, that''s too bad. They must be running even later than me! Thanks anyway, take care." Unsure of how to answer without speaking and giving himself away, Jed just waves goodbye and walks away. "Oh! Actually, since they haven''t arrived yet, I might as well backtrack and meet up with them on the path. Mind if I join you since we''re both headed that way?" The stupid grin on the kid''s face shows that he most likely won''t take no for an answer and Jed reluctantly gives him a thumbs up. "Sweet, lead the way! I''m Ben, by the way." He waits for the robed figure to answer but Jed never does. "So...uh... you don''t talk too much, huh?" *Nod* "Oh, well I like talking a lot. I can talk enough for the both of us hehehe...If that''s... alright with you?" *Nod* "It''s...nice out. I like sunny days, do you like sunny days?" *Nod* "You''re pretty short, are you a dwarf? No offense... I didn''t mean it like...I was short once too you know." *Nod* It goes on like that for a while as they make their way toward the forest and at some point Jed just starts nodding once every couple minutes, hoping that the kid thinks he is listening. As they reach the forest trail, Jed tunes back in to what the kid is saying and wonders if he should just say he killed his friends to scare him away. "To think that I''d meet another person who loves frogs! We have so much in common. You''re very agreeable, has anyone ever told you that?" ''Aaaaand back to auto pilot we go.'' It gets darker as the canopy of leaves thickens, casting shade as far as the eye can see. The kid seems kind of jumpy, glancing at shadows and moving bushes. Even the sounds of the bugs cause him to go rigid and it''s easy to tell how nervous he is in his speech. ''Don''t tell me he''s afraid of the dark or something... I didn''t sign up to babysit. Should''ve read the fine print when I agreed to bring him along.'' A twig snaps off to their right and the kid goes berserk, flailing around as he tries to hide behind Jed. "AHHHH! Wolves! Run away, we''re gonna dieeeeee!" Some sort of furry creature that looks like a mix between a beaver and a raccoon waddles out of the brush. It stares at the two with wide-eyes for a few seconds, waiting for them to make a move. When neither of them do anything, it turns away and shuffles across the path, taking its sweet time like it owns the place. "So... that wasn''t a wolf. My bad." Ben clears his throat and folds his hands behind his back while he pretends to be very interested in this one particular leaf on a tree. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.An hour of mental torture later, Jed spots a split in the path and a worn out old road sign made of wood. The part of it which points off to the west reads ''Civilization ahead'', while the one pointing north is strange. It looks like it previously said ''Riverside Village'' but the words were crossed out and underneath it someone carved ''Danger'' into the wood. As if noticing Jed''s confusion, the kid walks up next to him and points at the northern sign. "I know a few folk who used to live out that way, a bunch of refugees came into town one day and said the place was overrun with goblins. The village is their territory now and hardly anybody dares to go near the river, much less cross the bridge and go into the village." ''Hmm... head west and risk being discovered by humans and sold to an archmage, or go north and fight an entire village full of goblins... a tough choice. I''m gonna have to go with goblins. Think of the loot and xp! I bet I could even take their ears as proof after I liberate the village and take them into town. There''s no way they would attack me after such a heroic achievement...I hope.'' Having made up his mind, Jed takes the trail to the north, waving goodbye to Ben on his way. "W-wait... it''s suicide that way, don''t be crazy! Come to town with me, I know the best place for food. It''s so good, you''ll regret missing out!" Seeing that he''s being ignored, the kid frowns deeply and looks down the western path with a shiver of fear. He clearly doesn''t like traveling through the forest alone. ''I hope that kid does get eaten by wolves.'' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silence had never tasted so sweet until a few hours ago when he''d finally gotten rid of Ben. Jed has been walking along the northern path the entire time, yet there is still no end in sight. In his boredom, he''d invented this amazing game called ''Knock the squirrel out of the tree with a rock.'' He was getting pretty good at it too, could probably go pro for a few years and then retire in luxury. In all seriousness, he was bored out of his mind and just wanted to get out of here. The answer to his prayers came a few minutes later as he reached the finish line of the forest marathon. Now free of the trees, Jed could see a small river flowing south-east, with a rickety old bridge that looked like it had been neglected for a long time, bridging the gap between both shores. Across the bridge he could see a path lined with what looked like crude totem poles, leading off to the east where a collection of huts made up what must be the remains of Riverside Village. The sun had set and it was beginning to get dark, making it easy to see several dozen torches moving around throughout the village. There were also two large bonfires near the center of the place which billowed huge columns of smoke into the sky above. As he got within a few yards of the bridge, a hunched figure clad in rags, with greenish skin, came crawling out of a nearby bush. The goblin pulled out a chipped dagger which had probably seen better days, pointing it at him threateningly. "You go, dwarf. Not allow here. Go or kill." "...I... pick....kill." With a snarl, the ugly green creature came sprinting toward him and with surprising speed it jammed the dagger into the hood and toward his throat. It goes wide-eyed in surprise as the knife bounces right off of him and looks at it to make sure it was a dagger and not a stick. ''Stupid goblin. Bringing a knife to an axe fight.'' The dumb, confused expression on its face stayed that way even as its head hit the ground and rolled away. Jed steps over its corpse while quickly dismissing the battle report since he''d gotten no level ups. The bridge creaked under his weight as the rock man made his way over the water. ''One down, lots to go.'' Chapter 10 - Goblin Village The creaking of wood ceases, replaced by the soft crunch of dirt under his feet. As Jed cautiously heads toward the village, his magical vision quickly adjusts itself as night arrives, allowing him to clearly see the creepy totems along either side of the path. They are made up of wooden posts rising from the ground with crude ropes linking skulls and a myriad other bones together, bound tightly in a spiral that spans the length of the posts. The wooden pillars are sharpened at the very top and most of them skewer human heads in various states of decay. Taking a closer look at a particularly gruesome piece of goblin artwork, he feels a deep sense of discomfort somewhere in his heart. Unsure of why something feels off, Jed thinks back to his past before all that time spent in the colorless void and manages to piece together a few pleasant memories. One stands out from the rest and he delves deeper into it, feeling a strange warmth that he''d all but forgotten. Sitting at a dinner table with his parents and a little girl that must be his sister, everything feels right. Their faces are distorted blurs caused by the missing chunks of memories, yet somehow he can tell that they''re smiling. Just as he opens his mouth to speak, the vision fades and the abomination is once again in front of him. Despair overtakes him for a moment, he knows that he can never go back to those days. Loss. That''s what was eating at him since he''d first seen the totem. How had he forgotten what it meant to care so deeply about something, only to have it wrenched away from within his hands? Maybe one of these skulls belonged to someone whom others loved, perhaps even now they felt the pain that he knew. On the verge of having a mind-shattering revelation, he''s suddenly forced back into reality upon hearing guttural screeches and noticing the light of torches in the corner of his eye. A group of four goblins are sprinting toward him while yelling for their allies. Two carry torches and a dagger, while the other pair have small, roughly made hatchets. As they grow near, Jed can hear their excitement as they say something to each other about not having eaten a dwarf before. Rage billows out from within, slowly spreading until it numbs thoughts of anything other than crushing the creatures in front of him. The short, cloaked figure''s head rises and tilts backward enough for the four goblins to see two blue lights shining out from the depths of the hood. They glow brighter, though this time it isn''t out of glee, the shape of the luminescent orbs changes until they resemble the flickering flame of a candle. The lead goblin slows a bit and quiets down, shortly followed by the other three who look at each other and then back to figure, now unsure of it really being a dwarf. Hefting the axe up onto his shoulder with one arm and stepping toward the group as rocks burst from the earth around him, Jed sees several more torches in the distance now heading toward him. ''Good. Four won''t be enough.'' The goblins look startled upon seeing the showers of dirt and floating rocks which are almost the size of their entire body. After a moment of hesitation they all charge. "Kill fast! Tiny man have magic!" Both small boulders come flying from either side of the first goblin and sandwich him, crushing bones and spurting blood mixed with goblin bits all over the place. One of the remaining three is enraged and increases its pace, hatchet raised high in the air as it screams a cry of vengeance for its fallen comrade. The other two are not quite as brave, they only stare in horror at the puddle that used to be a goblin. They hardly even see it coming as both of them are impacted with one of the rocks and die from the blunt trauma. The last remaining goblin is nimble, ducking under the swing of Jed''s axe and following it up with a chop to his arm. The hatchet tears a a small gash in his robes but the blade slides right along his rocky hide, leaving him hardly scratched. Taking a solid kick to the stomach, the goblin goes down, scrambling on the floor for its dropped weapon before it''s bisected horizontally at the waist. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it As he''s pulling the axe up from the dirt, another group of three goblins arrive shouting gibberish that he''s pretty sure are chains of very rude words. Behind them are an additional two groups and further back he can see a lone figure with a torch running toward one of the bonfires, probably to call for reinforcements. No longer inside a cave, it is more difficult for Jed to find larger rocks, as they are mostly buried underneath all the dirt and therefore take a large amount of mana to bring to the surface. Knowing that, he realizes what he does have plenty of and makes an explosion of dirt right in front of the group. They cough and bat at the air with their hands, temporarily stunned and blind, making easy prey for the angry elemental. Jed jumps into their midst, cutting a large gash across the chest of a goblin with his axe and skewering another through the heart with the arm he''s now formed into a lance of stone. A club smashes against his side as one of the goblins fully regains its awareness of the situation and Jed can feel a few cracks forming where he''s hit. Jed kicks the goblin who hasn''t fully recovered and it topples over, leaving him time to focus on the one wielding the club. It comes at him for another swing but he easily knocks the weapon aside with his spiked hand and brings the axe around in an arc, slicing off its arm at the elbow. Howling in pain, it grips its shoulder with its one good hand and is soon after put out of its misery. The last goblin is back on its feet and tries to tackle Jed onto the ground but its strength is much lower and he easily tosses it aside. A heavy stomp pushes the little green man down against the dirt and holds it there as streams of soil rise and envelope its entire head, pushing into its mouth and nose until the goblin dies of suffocation. He feels several arrows chip away at his back and decides that it''s time to turn on Assimilation now that he''s taken a few hits. Because the robe is a bit too long for him and the streams of healing earth are coming from the ground, covered from view, the goblins can''t tell that they''ve even done any damage at all. They just see a short, robed figure with an axe that all of their attacks bounce off of uselessly. As he carves a path toward the village, leaving behind a trail of green corpses, Jed can hear screeches of fear and calls for the others to come save them from the ''midget demon'' which seems to be their name for him now. Knowing that there will most likely be stronger goblins further in, he tries to conserve mana by cutting them down with his axe or arm lance whenever possible. Thanks to this strategy, he''s almost back to full by the time he reaches the center of the village. A row of six heavily armored (for goblin standards) guards with spears stand in front of him and between the two bonfires sits a pile of bones which a much larger goblin is using for a throne. It is hard to tell while the figure isn''t standing, but Jed guesses it is comparable to a tall human, only green, really ugly, and wearing a loincloth made of the remains of what looks to be a flag, which is bedazzled with a skull right in the crotch area. Must be the latest in goblin fashion. The big goblin stands up from his trash heap of a throne and sticks out his chest with pride. "Me Gergablerga, strongest and biggestest of all tribe. Me elect big high war chief by small ones." "...e..lect..?" "Right. We civilize people. We democra sea! All who want kill tiny axe demon raise hand." All the guards and the few goblins who are still alive and standing far away from Jed proceed to raise their hands. A unanimous vote. "Tiny axe demon judge guilty! Penalty death. All go kill!" Jed can only gawk as the goblins raise their spears and get ready to attack. This was definitely not what he expected of a village full of goblins. ''I want my lawyer...'' Chapter 11 - Growth Spurt The six armored goblins steadily march toward Jed without breaking formation, followed closely by their leader. Forming a circle around him, the remaining grunts all scurry to find bows dropped by their fallen kin. After seeing what happened to the other groups, they''re content to let the chief handle the dangerous part. Stone chunks from the well and the floor of several of the huts float over to form a pile of ammunition next to him while he puts his back to the wall of one of the structures, avoiding being completely surrounded. ''Shit... isn''t the boss supposed to sit back and watch the minions fight first? Clearly this guy hasn''t read the crappy villains manual.'' Seeing that all his underlings are finally ready, the huge goblin raises his fist in the air and a flurry of arrows is shot toward the cornered rock man. Several floating pieces of rubble intercept most of the arrows and those that get through either ping off of Jed uselessly or take tiny chips off of his skin, barely damaging him. The spearmen split into two groups of three, with the boss in the middle as they charge at him. The spearmen are met with several large chunks of rock but they''re clearly more skilled than the average goblin, as all but one dodge out of the way while the loner is crushed. With speed incomparable to the others, the boss is already upon him as the spear wielding goblins regain their bearings. Jed dives to the right and watches as the leader''s momentum from the charge carries him into the wall and a huge goblin-shaped hole is left behind. As he gets to his feet, Jed chucks several large slabs of rock at the hut''s base, collapsing it on top of the boss and hopefully buying him a bit of time. Taking this chance, he runs to meet the guard goblins, pelted with countless arrows on his way. Heading to the one farthest from the others, Jed blows up a chunk of soil underneath its foot, throwing it off balance and while it stumbles he takes its head. Turning away from the new corpse, he''s just in time to see two spears jabbed toward him. One glances off of his side but the other hits him squarely in the middle of the chest, penetrating slightly and causing cracks to spread out from the point of impact. Raising his axe to prepare for a killing blow, Jed doesn''t even see it coming as a powerful kick from the chief slams into his side and sends him flying into the pile of bones that is supposed to be a throne, losing his weapon on the way. As his healing skill goes to work and he begins climbing his way out of the bone pile, a spearman lunges at him, hoping to score an easy hit while he''s down. With his axe gone, Jed grabs the spear and pulls, bringing the goblin close enough to stab his lance arm through its gut. The goblin slumps to the ground, no longer blocking his view of the two pissed off guards charging his way. Seeing its allies dropping one by one, the third remaining spearman hesitates to follow the two toward the elemental. This clearly annoyed the huge goblin, because the smaller one is suddenly lifted off the floor and lobbed straight toward Jed. Jed is busy focusing on the two spears being repeatedly thrust toward him, when a screaming goblin falls out of the air and slams into him. He''s knocked back through the pile of bones, going all the way through and busting out of the other side, where he rolls across the ground several times before finally coming to a halt. Dazed for the moment, he''s unable to react to the two goblin guards who now stand above him, stabbing at him over and over again. Stuck on the floor, with his health slowly falling faster than he can repair himself, Jed remembers one of his favorite attacks that he hasn''t used in awhile. Hearing the rumbling of the boss goblin''s footsteps growing closer, he quickly detonates a nearby rock like a shrapnel grenade. The spearman closest to the explosion takes most of the damage, having the majority of his outer layer of flesh ripped apart and quickly dying, most likely from shock and pain. Thanks to being shielded by the other goblin''s body, the final guard only gets hit with a few shards and grunts angrily. Finally freed from the constant barrage of attacks, Jed rolls away, narrowly avoiding a ground-shaking stomp from the boss. Back up on his feet and facing the intimidating figure of the massive goblin and the final guard, he tries to ignore the occasional arrow smacking into the back of his head. ''How the hell have they not run out yet?'' Taking a quick glance at the outer ring of goblins, he''s baffled to see that they''ve formed an assembly line where most of them are constantly running out to find more arrows and bringing them back to pass out to the archers who can actually aim. ''Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Aren''t goblins supposed to be complete idiots?'' As if on cue, a scrawny looking goblin who''s fresh out of arrows moves a little closer and chucks its bow at him. ''It''s goblins like you that fuel the stereotype, I guess.'' Getting his head back in the game, Jed channels his inner mason and forces his magic into one of the larger chunks of rubble. With a bit of work, he manages to carve out something resembling a crudely made shield and makes it float over to hook onto his free arm. Without a moment to spare, the boss goblin sends a mighty punch into his shield, smashing a large chunk of it off and causing Jed''s entire body to shake from the impact. The last spearman runs around to his blind spot and stabs him in the back of the shoulder, only to have an arrow pierce its throat in an unfortunate case of friendly fire. The others start shouting and a brawl begins when someone punches the archer with bad aim. Jed notices the boss staring past him and toward the fight with clear disappointment on its face. Its reward for momentarily not paying attention is a stomp on its big toe and a rock lance stabbing through its thigh. Jed watches the lead goblin''s face twist in rage and raises his shield arm in anticipation, a good call because a flurry of punches shatter it apart. He''s unable to fix it since it is technically not a part of his body, but it does at least buy him enough time to stab the huge goblin in the abdomen before he''s knocked off his feet. As fast as possible, Jed makes a dirtsplosion between him and the raging goblin chief, blocking its view as he rolls away and stands up once more. A swift kick cuts through the air where he''d just been a second ago, the force from it dispersing the dirt cloud instantly. ''This guy is scary strong for something his size... but even my slow ass can dodge him. Must have most of his points in strength.'' Jed glances at the goblins still brawling amongst each other and tries to gauge his current mana by how tired he''s feeling. Two more bursts of soil go flying into the air around the boss, followed by a barrage of every random stone Jed can sense in the vicinity that''s small enough to easily throw. With an annoyed growl the boss emerges from the cloud of dirt and is instantly met with countless chunks of rubble repeatedly slamming into him in different places. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Even with bones cracking and welts covering it from head to toe, the huge goblin slowly marches forward through the storm of rocks, seeing the little elemental on the other side which it wants to kill it so badly. The rocks finally stop flying and Jed falls to one knee, dizzy from the massive mana drain. Limping over to him, a disturbing grin on its face, the boss raises both hands above its head and forms them together into a fist. Towering over the little rock man, sure of its victory, the boss is about to strike when an earth spike bursts through the back of its skull. A loud thud resounds throughout the camp as the massive green body hits the ground and every goblin grunt stops fighting to look over at their chief. Their eyes widen in horror and they sprint off in every direction, some even diving into the river to escape. Jed is way too tired to chase them and instead just gathers up most of the gold that was dropped, then absorbs all the metal items he can find. His robe is now in tatters so he looks for something to replace it but decides smelly goblin rags are a no-go. *Bloop!*
Battle Report
You have slain the following:
28x Goblin Lvl 6 6x Goblin Warrior Lvl 9 1x Gergablerga, Goblin Chief Lvl 14 (Boss)
The following enemies escaped:
9x Goblin Lvl 6
You looted:
133 Gold
Feat accomplished.
For defeating Gergablerga, Goblin Chief, you''ve received a new skill.
Empowered Fist (Passive)Unarmed attacks deal 20% more damage.
Congratulations!
Your level in Earth Magic has increased to level 11!
Intelligence +4 Wisdom +2
Congratulations!
Your level in Assimilation has increased to level 9!
Vitality +2 Strength +1
Congratulations!
Your level in Masonry has increased to level 7!
Dexterity +4 Wisdom +2
*Bloop!*
Congratulations!
You have reached level 10!
+30 Unused stat points.
''Holy shit. Boss monsters are worth a ridiculous amount of xp.''
Prerequisite met:
Reach level 10 as a Lesser Earth Elemental
Ascension to:
Earth Elemental
Bonuses:
Size Increased +15 Vitality +10 Strength
A few minutes of point spending later...
Status Information
NameJedAge23
RaceEarth ElementalGenderN/A
Level10 ClassN/A
Health417/530Mana203/550
Strength52(61)Agility30
Vitality53Dexterity30
Intelligence50Wisdom55
Bits of gravel and chunks of rock start sliding across the ground toward him, slowly at first, then picking up speed until they float into the air and connect to his main body. It continues for awhile and Jed can feel some outside force restructuring him and when it ends he looks pretty much the same, only he stands about six feet tall. ''Sweet. Like I wasn''t already OP enough.'' --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Been having some internet issues so I tried to type this up quickly when I had the chance. Please point out any screw ups or typos if you notice them, thanks.) Chapter 12 - Arrival After resting for awhile and then searching around the village, Jed found a few coins, bringing his gold balance up to 163, as well as an old potato sack which he was able to fill with goblin ears as proof of his deed. There were also some sparse bits of food in some of the huts but one of the benefits of being made of stone is not getting hungry. After one last check for any hiding goblins, he flipped the sack up over his shoulder and hit the road under the rising sun. The goblin corpses had been sitting around all night and were starting to smell, not that goblins smell very good while they''re alive either. Of course, Jed took no notice of the rank odor wafting through the breeze, luckily for him he has no sense of smell, a blessing as well as a curse. A few rats and one of the half beaver, half raccoon things were chewing on goblin parts (not that kind) and Jed gave them a friendly wave as he made his way toward the forest. The crunch of fallen leaves under his feet, the occasional branch smacking him in the face, the sound of bird poop splattering down his shoulder, all the noises of the forest overlapped with his voice as he practiced talking to himself on his way down the trail. "Gree...tings..myname....is...Jed. ..Nice... weth...er..we''re..hav...ing. I..li..ke...big..butt...s... and... I... can...not..lie." *Splat* "..Fuck...you... bir..ds." That went on for a while until he gave up on talking and instead just took pot shots at birds as they flew by, missing them all horribly. Eventually he stopped with that too and just sighed to himself, trudging along silently. ''My aim doesn''t suck...it''s just windy and the sun got in my eye...yeah.'' Jed neglects to mention the fact that with his magic vision, his eyes are working just fine. He picks up the sound of voices in the distance and makes his way quietly through the trees, or at least as quietly as a 6 foot rock man can get. Getting close enough to hear them but hopefully remain out of sight, he crouches down behind a bush and peeks out just enough to see what''s going on. A man with a staff stands in his underwear with a deep frown across his face, he''s being held at crossbowpoint by some guy in black clothes and a mask, who looks just like a generic highwayman. But something is wrong... the mask has no holes where the eyes should be and he is holding the crossbow the wrong way, with it pointed at himself. "Hold it right there! I am the infamous Blind Bandit, famous throughout these lands for my great exploits of courage and daring. Also thievery. And by lands I mean this particular part of the forest... about twenty feet in diameter from where I''m standing. Okay, this is my first time. But mark my words, soon all shall know my name and whisper it in hushed tones around the campfire at night!" "Dude... come on, I''ve been having a really shitty day. I already had most of my stuff stolen so I''ve got nothing to give you. Also, you''re an idiot." ''Wait... is that the mage that I left face down in the dirt yesterday?'' "Hohoho, aren''t you a cheeky one. You''ve got some huge balls to dare mess with me, we''re talking like... the size of cantaloupes! But uh... anyway, back to business. I''ve got a family you know, can''t feed my kids if I don''t work! ...Okay, yes, it''s for drugs and booze. Shit''s expensive these days. So I''m sure you can empathize with me and realize I can''t go home empty-handed. Gimme your pants." The half naked mage closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, probably trying to resist the urge to light the insane bandit on fire. "I told you I''ve got nothing! I''m not even wearing pants, so get away from me and go find a healer for your head." "What!? No pants? How bold! Now prepare yourself for penetration!" The mad bandit pulls the trigger of his crossbow and by some miracle it doesn''t hit him, instead grazing his ear and flying past him and into a tree. He jumps back in surprise and slips on a tree root, falling on his ass. "Wha-...you deflected it!? You must be some kind of ninja, shit!" The robber jumps to his feet and sprints off into the woods, tripping on things and bumping into tree trunks on his way. "You haven''t seen the last of m-... waaaah!" *Thud. Tumble. Crash.* For a few moments the mage just stands there with his hands on his head and his eyes closed. Once calming down, he turns back toward the path to the town and starts walking off, supporting himself with his staff like a walking stick and muttering angrily to himself. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. When the mage is out of sight, Jed hops out from behind the bush and slowly heads the same way, careful not to catch up to the man. ''Well that was... interesting. What the hell is wrong with this world? Seeing that mage again though... it reminded me of the other two adventurers who escaped. Hopefully they didn''t mention me to the rest of the town.'' The mage kept stopping to rest, which annoyed Jed since it just made him have to wait longer, but eventually they made it to the edge of the forest. Something good must have happened, because the mage was jumping around and waving his arms in excitement. Waiting cautiously, Jed slowly crept up through the foliage until he could see out into the clearing. Wide, flat, grassy land spread out in all directions before him, further to the west it turned into hills where the town was, while to the southwest a large pond glimmered in the sunlight. Further down the dirt road, a wagon came to a halt as the mage ran up to it in his underwear, waving wildy and yelling for help. Jed couldn''t make out much more than the figures of what looked to be a man and woman up front, along with three kids in the back. After the figures looked at each other as if they were discussing something, the mage was tossed a tarp to cover himself and he hopped up onto the wagon with the others. A few moments later the horse that was pulling it took off down the road at a slightly faster pace than before. Deciding to make a detour to the pond so that he might wash off the bird poop, Jed walks along the edge of the forest, away from the road until he''s straight across from the water. Glancing around a few times to make sure there is nobody nearby, he makes a mad dash for the water and upon reaching it, dives straight in with all the grace of a turd hitting the water in a toilet. He quickly sinks until he''s fully submerged and hits the bottom of the pond. Various fish dart around through the water like tiny torpedoes and out in the middle of the pond he can see a much larger monster of a fish with scary looking teeth jutting from its mouth in all directions. Thankfully it seems to pay him no mind and just swims around, stalking some of the smaller fish who starts speeding away for their lives. After spending some time admiring the underwater view like a diver, he waddles back over to the shore and pulls himself up and out of the water. The sunlight quickly dries him off, not that being wet really mattered in the first place, and he gazes back at the road, then the town, deep in thought. ''I''ve been trying to sneak around out of habit for awhile, but now that I think about it, it doesn''t really matter since I''m going to be seen eventually anyway. Too bad I don''t have a white flag or something... ah well, I just need to get close enough to show the guards the goblin ears and then hopefully we can all be bros.'' An hour or so later, Jed approaches the town gates where two buff looking guards equipped with chainmail and the generic sword and shield combo, as well as four archers up above on the wall, stood in defensive positions to keep all unsavory characters or monsters out of the town. As they take notice of the incoming earth elemental with a sack slung over its shoulder, the archers scramble for their bows and the two warriors in front of the gate draw their swords. Before they do anything stupid like shooting arrows at him, Jed quickly starts waving and as he''s close enough for them to hear him, he grumbles out a greeting. "I...come...in...pea...ce!" They all stand there stunned and mutter a few things to each other, then one of the guards takes a small step forward. "W-what are you and what do you want? State your business!" The bag full of goblin ears is tossed and plops down at the man''s feet, spilling a few of them across the ground and onto his boots. "..gob..lins...all...dead..or..gone." The guard jumps back in surprise when he sees the massive amount of severed ears below him and after staring at them for a few seconds, looks back up to Jed. "You''re saying the goblins that took over Riverside are dead? Did you kill them?" Jed gives him a swift nod. "Yarp...I..am...friend..ly." The guard stares at him with a little bit of doubt, but he at least looks like he''s less ready to kill him on the spot. "There''s no precedent for this... Hey, Jeff! Go get the mayor, tell him that there is a talking rock man at the gate who took back the village and we have no idea how to handle this ridiculous situation!" One of the archers turns to climb down from the wall and vanishes from sight, probably headed to get the mayor. The others relax and lower their weapons when they see Jed sit down as he waits. "..come...here...off...ten.?" Chapter 13 - Reunion A few minutes later and the guards seem to have warmed up to him, as they''re now sitting around Jed in a semi circle and speaking to him less nervously. The three remaining bowmen up on top of the wall are still muttering among themselves, probably feeling left out of the conversation. After glancing behind him at the gate and seeing that Jeff has yet to arrive, the guard on Jed''s left leans forward, eyes on him once more. "So my name''s Neil, that''s Dave, and the losers back there aren''t worth mentioning. You got a name, rock dude?" The guard over on his right gives him a half-assed wave in greeting. "Yo." "..I''m..call..ed...Jed..and...hello." Jed eyes the man''s well made armor hungrily, it must be worth a few strength points if eaten. Neil takes notice of the dangerous look in his eyes and the corners of his mouth droop slightly. "Jed...my eyes are up here. I don''t know what you''ve got going on down there as a rock thing...person...guy. But I''m pretty sure I don''t swing that way." "..ehh?...no..nono...I''m..not...li..ke..that. You have...shi..ny..arm....or." "Are you trying to say I''m too ugly!?" Jed just stares at him for a few moments in bewilderment, not sure how to respond to such a reaction. Luckily, Dave steps in with an assist. "Neil is a huge drama queen, just ignore him like I do. You should really just-... oh it would seem they''re finally back." The gates swing open to reveal Jeff and an angry looking plump old man in fancy clothes with a pimp cane. The two guards that Jed had been talking with immediately jump to their feet and rush over to meet the mayor with a bow, which does nothing to make him less pissed off. "I got woken up to deal with your shit AGAIN, Neil! This happens like three times a week, what could possibly be important enough to interrupt my beauty sleep?" Both guards just point over at Jed without another word and the mayor stares past the two, over at the rock man, narrowing his eyes. After a second or two he blinks and rubs at his eyes before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a pair of glasses, wiping them off and putting them on. He stares at Jed momentarily and then shakes his head in exasperation. "Well...I guess for once you weren''t a complete idiot, Neil. I guess I''ll have to let it slide this time, but more importantly, what the hell is that thing and what''s with the foul smelling bag of goblin ears?" The guards, along with Jeff, crowd around the mayor and retell the story of their meeting with Jed to get him up to speed. When it''s over he lets out a long sigh and gives the sack of green ears a look of disgust. "I suppose I have no choice but to reward you for saving the village. Damn good Samaritans going around helping people and taking my gold. I''ve already seen the proof, so go ahead and get rid of the ears, Dave. You...Jed, was it? Come along and I''ll make sure to pay you or whatever." Happy to get a reward, Jed quickly heads after the man, who''s met with four bodyguards on the other side of the gate. They help keep people from getting too close as the group walks down the street toward a huge house that looks closer to a mansion. They pass a few different shops and plenty of houses on their way through the town, but nothing really stands out to him. Slowly a boisterous crowd gathers and follows closely along behind them, the citizens all babbling about the strange rock person who''s walking along with the mayor. When they finally arrive at the mayor''s place, he rushes through the front lawn and over to the door, ushering everyone inside before slamming and locking it behind him with a sigh of relaxation. "Thank goodness that''s all over with, I really hate crowds. You''re probably thinking I shouldn''t have taken the position in that case, I bet. But the benefits of being in charge are just too great to pass up, trust me! Oh, anyway, come have a seat and we can talk." This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Two of the bodyguards head back outside to guard the grounds, while the others stay inside and nearby the mayor just in case something happens. The mayor dives onto a fluffy couch, making himself comfortable and gestures toward a chair across the table from him. Jed carefully takes a seat, the chair creaking under him but luckily it somehow holds up against his weight. Before he manages to get any words out, a servant walks in and passes a cup of tea to each of them, quickly leaving afterward. The mayor raises his cup in a toast, apparently ignoring the fact that an earth elemental probably can''t drink anything. Not wanting to be rude to his host, Jed raises his cup as well, pouring the scalding liquid over his head while the mayor takes a small sip. The man just sits still, dumbfounded, and gives him a confused look before he goes back to speaking. "So you killed all the goblins and saved a village, good for you. The thing is... I already donated money to the Helpful Heroes Organization, or HHO as they call themselves, so that they can pay whoever does jobs for them. You''ll have to head over there to accept the reward for saving Riverside village. I''m pretty sure that request has been sitting there for months without being completed so there shouldn''t be an issue. I''ll write up something as proof and sign it for you." ''Sweet. Free gold, I knew the tea thing would work.'' "..thank...s." "Yeah, yeah, I''m a great person and far too generous with my fortune, I know." A few minutes later and Jed is all set, heading out the door with letter in hand. He happily heads in the direction where the mayor said the HHO building was, ignoring the curious and fearful stares of those he passes by. ''This is kind of awkward but it''s worth it for the gold! What should I even buy with it... metal maybe, perhaps a cloak to get rid of all this attention? This HHO place sounds a lot like an adventurer''s guild.'' He arrives at the HHO building and heads inside, noting the locations of all the strong or scary looking people in the place, careful to keep a distance from those shooting him especially hostile glares. Toward the back of the room near the stairs, there is a desk with a slightly less scary looking guy sitting at it and sifting through huge stacks of paper with a bored expression across his face. "..pay..ment..for save..ing..Riverside...vill..age..please." The man at the desk looks up from his work as he''s passed the mayor''s letter. His piercing green eyes narrow a bit but otherwise his scarred face gives no reaction to suddenly seeing a stone man standing right in front of him. After giving Jed another look over, he quickly skims the letter and tosses it into an overflowing trash bin under the desk. "Fine. Gimme a second." He starts rummaging around in a drawer, the sound of coins clinking against each other is music to Jed''s ears. Well he doesn''t really have ears but the music is still there. As Jed is about to accept payment, the sound of two simultaneous gasps come from behind him. Turning around to look over toward the entrance of the building, he spots three familiar figures. The three survivors of his first fight outside of the cave from back then. ''Ahh shit.'' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry for the chapter being even shorter than usual. Been busy lately and I don''t know how often I''ll be able to write much, I''ll still try though!