《Killed, Blessed, Reborn》 Prologue-Brutal Death POV- Sad Guy I sat in front of my little brother¡¯s grave silently, my eyes close and my head bowed. Even though it''s been five years since he passed, I can''t let go of the guilt and sadness I feel. I keep remembering the words he left behind¡­ ¡°I hate the person you¡¯ve become¡±. The wind picks up. I lean forward and press my forehead into the ground, my tears watering the grass. I wonder if he might have forgiven me. After his death, I''ve done all I could to be the kind of man he wanted me to be. But... it''s not enough, is it? I''ll try harder... I''ll try harder every year until one day... one day. I just want him to know how sorry I am for everything I''ve done and I want to make it right. The ground shakes and the trees around the cemetery sway in the wind. I lift my head, seeing water rising from the ocean and electricity snapping in the air. A tree is snapped in half with the force of the wind and fire rises from the distant grass. Darkness descends over me until it seems to be almost night. But I don''t move. The elements approach at an alarming rate, seeming to emanate bloodlust. I place my hand on the tombstone and close me eyes again. I wonder... is this brothers way of saying he doesn''t forgive me? Does he want me to die and rot in hell? If so... I won''t run. I''ll take my punishment. The fire reaches me first, enveloping my left arm at an alarming pace. The other elements are not far behind. Lightning zaps my right leg suddenly, and my right arm seems to disappear immediately. Breathing starts becoming difficult all of the sudden, and bright light seems to obscure my vision. My left leg feels a burst of pain and it seems like there is grass growing through it. There is so much light and so much pain, why am I not dead? The water pours over me, and I accidently drink in huge gulps of it There is a spear of rock pierced through my abdomen, what''s with that? I find myself lifted and pulled into the air, spinning wildly and somehow still conscious. I see what looks like zombies emerging from their graves before my vision goes dark. I died. POV- Goddess I see some human sitting alone in a cemetery crying about something or other. How stupid humans are. They all die eventually anyway. I''m soo borrrrrrrrrrrrrred. Why won''t he do something entertaining? ... Well, I could screw with him a little bit. I make a tiny tornado behind him, allowing him to feel the wind. He didn''t notice... Fine. I start to make the trees sway a bit, and I let energy crackle above him. He doesn''t react, so I take it a step further, pulling water from the ocean up, lighting fire to the grass near him. Now his eyes widen in fear. Instead of running, though, he puts his hand on the tombstone and says something about punishment. He wants punishment, eh? Fine, I''ll give it to him. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I let the fire touch his arm. He screams in pain, but does nothing else. Alright then... I zap his leg with lightning. He doesn''t even move. A little irritated, I convince the darkness to take his arm. He sees his arm disappearing, but makes not move to stop it... not that he could. I start to feel a little miffed. Who''s this human? Who does he think he is? Is he saying he''s better than me by not running? Stronger? I snarl in irritation. If it''s like that, then... I block his vision with light, take his breath with air. He gasps in pain, but there are no tears streaming down his face anymore... he almost seems... happy. With a grunt, I force the grass through his leg, ripping it apart. He''s not even screaming anymore. WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS? I pierce him with a slab of rock. I lift him in the air with a gust of wind. I pull the dead from the ground and light the cemetery on fire! I want him to see hell! I- Oh. I killed him. Shit. Life is going to be pissed... Well, what do I care? I''m way more powerful than that bitch. Oh... but if Dad finds out, he''s sure to send me into oblivion. Well, whatever. I''ll clean up the mess I made then I''ll just recycle this human''s soul into another world! Hmm. How does reincarnation work again? It''s not one of my powers so... Oh well, I''ll just stuff him into a newborns body, I''m sure his soul can take over a newborn''s, right? Well, not if it''s an older soul than his. Oh, if I just put some of my powers into his soul, he should be fine. It''s not like he''ll be able to use my power, and Dad will be none the wiser. I hurriedly toss the soul I reaped into one of the worlds that new ''God of Games'' made. I couldn''t see into it before, but with part of my soul there I''ll even have some power over it! Genius! My excitement fades as I watch the soul disappear into the unknown world. What if the creatures there are too powerful for him? His soul might be too weak, and he has no power... It would do me no good if he died again before I find away to get away with interfering in the mortal world. Dad and the God of Games would definitely notice if he died now! I bit my lip worryingly. I hurriedly give him all the blessings I posses, which is quite a lot. Then, I give him a small portion of access to my power. That should be enough, I think. In fact, he should be the most powerful creature on that world now, easily. I laugh. Maybe after he dies I''ll have him serve me in this realm. I think I''m starting to become attached to that little soul. With a serene smile, I leave to go talk about this new little experiment of mine with a few of my closest friends. Maybe they''ll give him blessings too? Fufufu. Chapter 1-New Beginning POV- Unfortunately Dead Guy There is complete darkness and I can no longer feel my body or pain... I guess that''s a good thing. Still, I hope that I can find myself in the presence of my brother soon, whether he wants to forgive me or not, because this darkness is unnerving. I try to feel or hear or touch something, but there is nothing there. The longer time I am in the darkness, the more panic sets in and I begin to wonder, ¡°Is this hell?¡±. Surely, there¡¯s something more than this in hell? Torture? Fire? Screaming? Demons? But this¡­ this nothingness is maddening. I have no idea how long it has been since I died, but it feels like an eternity. I start to question my sanity. When I was dying, was there really grass growing through my legs? Did the dead really rise? Did any of that other crazy stuff actually happen? Have I been insane all this time? Did my brother really die? Did I even have a brother? Was my whole life just a figment of my imagination? Have I always been in this darkness? What was my brother¡¯s name, anyway? What¡¯s my name? I try to scream, but I don¡¯t have a voice or a mouth. I try to cry, but I have no eyes. The silence, the darkness, the nothingness! I must truly be in hell¡­ I must be paying for my sins¡­ What were my sins? Who¡­ am¡­ I? Then, something cuts through the darkness it is pure, beautiful light. I am overjoyed by the first change in what may have been centuries. The light touches my consciousness, filling me with so much power I can hardly comprehend it. Then, I am dropped down (and I can FEEL it) into another place, a warm safe place. I feel a moment of peace, but it doesn¡¯t last long. In seconds, there is an incredible force pushing me out of the warm place and into a much, much colder environment. The world is too bright to be seen properly, but I can feel the presence of others¡­ Who? My eyes are slightly open, but it isn¡¯t with my eyes that I see this strange message: *DING*
Congratulations! You have been born!
I tried to shake it away or close my eyes, but it followed me without moving. I wished it would go away and it did, replacing itself with another: *DING*
You have been gifted with the soul of the goddess!
What the hell does that mean? This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. *DING* [table] Soul of the Goddess (Beginner lvl. 1) The most powerful Goddess in existence somehow made a stupid mistake. To fix it, she gave you part of her soul and in turn part of her own power. You are only able to access a small portion of this power now, but as the skill increases, you will be able to do as you please with it without danger of her taking it away. The souls benefits include: +100 to all stats, increased affinity to all magic types by 30%, and increased regeneration. Portion of power owned: 0% [table] I don''t play many games, but I recognize this as some kind of insane cheat. And what does it mean by "stupid mistake"? Did she kill me? If so, she''s apparently the most powerful Goddess, while I''m just some ordinary guy. why would she care if she killed me or not? Well, whatever. She gave me something that seems like it will be very useful. The first message said I had been born, so does that mean I died and I was reincarnated? But why do I have my memories? Maybe they''ll go away as I get older. I feel myself being lifted and held by something warm I hear a soft voice above me, melodic in tone. Quickly, I dismiss the message for soul of the goddess. and I try to open my eyes so I can see who this might be (my mother I''m guessing?) more boxes keep popping up in it''s place: *DING*
You have received "Blessing of Beauty"
*DING*
You have received "Blessing of Power"
*DING*
You have received "Blessing of Learning"
*DING*
You have received "Blessing of Advanced Senses"
*DING*
You have received "Blessing of Growth"
*DING*
You have received Blessing of Magic"
*DING*
You have received all of the Goddesses blessings: increased affinity to holy magic and you have obtained the ability: Pray for Miracles.
*DING*
For being blessed by a god or goddess, you are automatically enrolled into the "Battle of the Gods"
I pause upon seeing the final message. What is the battle of the gods? I want to ask, but I find myself succumbing to the lull of sleep. Chapter 2-Alone POV- Now Infant Guy I awake again to find myself alone and staring up at a stone ceiling which is surprisingly low. The world no longer feels as bright as it did before, but it''s just as cold. I am on a mattress made of straw held up by a steel bedframe. There is nothing else in the room as far as I can see, but my vision is still limited and it is very dark. I close my eyes and begin to piece my thoughts together. It seems like I am an infant now, but I have memories of dying... As well as memories of all of my life''s occurrences in perfect clarity. More perfect than it had been even while I was in that life, as I can remember the smallest details which date all the way back to when I was born the first time. My death and rebirth are fuzzy though. I try to recollect my mother''s face, or that of the other people that were in the room during my birth, but I come up blank. Being born is very disorienting. Anyway, I can''t think of anything useful that would explain why I''m in this dark and damp place. It''s only a tiny room, I think, and no one seems to be looking after me. I can''t move very well, but It seems the ceiling, walls, and floors are solid stone. Well, there''s not much I can do about that, so I ignore it and focus instead on what to do with this new life. This new life... I obtained it while I was mourning my brother, that surely isn''t a coincidence? By getting this life, he must want for me to live a better and more honorable life. So, I make some rules for myself: To not be cruel to those weaker than myself, always help others if possible, take the high route whenever I can, never be arrogant or overconfident, and use whatever power I have to protect rather than for my own personal profit. I think that brother would be proud of me after hearing such convictions, and the thought makes my heart swell a little. This time, I would do well. I won''t hold grudges, and I will forgive no matter what. And I''ll do so well people will can me a saint. I giggle a bit at the thought. Wait, giggle? I really am a baby, huh? I can''t do much like this, but... if I want to become someone who protects and helps other people whenever I can, I can''t be weak. I have the advantage to train my body, soul, and mind. Where should I start? I consider the idea of "magic", which the messages spoke of, but I didn''t really understand it so it could be dangerous. I think I''ll leave that for later. For now, I''ll just lift my arms and legs slowly and turn in small wiggles to strengthen my body. It''s not much, but as an infant hardly a day old, I tire quickly.
+1 wisdom
Huh? Oh... I can gain those kinds of boosts just from thinking? Interesting... THREE MONTHS LATER I found out a lot of strange and interesting things since I was born. Even though I still haven''t left this room, apparently, my hearing is incredibly advanced compared to that of a normal person. I can hear things so well that I can use it like sonar to develop a little mental map of my surroundings (the castle I am currently in the basement of). Everyday, a servant brings me one large meal and some water. They never speak to me, or look at me when they leave behind the tray, and it makes them more comfortable if I pretend to be asleep when they bring it, I found. At first I couldn''t understand why this was, but through my super hearing, I have listened carefully to many conversations and I understand the language fairly well. It''s a bit of a rough understanding, but it''s still amazing in only three months. The people call me "Ruksha" which is something like monster or abomination I think. I suppose there must be something horribly wrong with me to make them act like that. I soon understand a little more when I accidently spilled my water on the stone and as it stilled, I caught my own reflection. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Two words to best describe my appearance were "inhuman" and "beautiful". As I looked into the reflection I saw the most mysterious kind of baby. I had the face of an infant, but my eyes were bright gold, and had cat-like pupils that were filled with incredible intelligence and power. I had incredibly sharp fangs, in fact, all of my teeth were sharp as they could each easily tear skin. My ears were pointed at the ends, but that was covered by my mysteriously long (about chin length) hair which was a black so deep it seemed to absorb all light.There was a gold-colored gen encrusted into my forehead, which emitted a weak light, and finally, I noticed a short reptilian tail of only about two inches attached to my tail bone. But it isn''t only my appearance that is strange, I can also walk already, at only three months of age! I wonder what kind of super baby I am, since I am about the same size as any other three-month-old. I decided that some of the strangeness could be attributed to all of my blessings. The speed of learning languages and my ability to walk might be a result of the "growth" and "learning" blessings. Well, it''s only a guess, so I can''t be sure. Overall, I understand the fear, I am a truly frightening child. But there isn''t much I can do about it at the moment, so I just keep to my tasks of gathering strength and information. Since it was nighttime, there is no one to listen to, so I finally decide to ponder the mysteries of magic. There wasn''t anything like it where I used to be from, so I found it to be something very foreign to me at first. Now, I think I should try some of the things I remember from those light novels my brother loved so much. If I recall you had to do something like: find your mana pool. I guess I just need to identify my magic. I sit up on the bed and close my eyes, blocking everything out with ease. Being alone helped increase my focus a lot. I spend a long time sitting like that searching for something in vain. When nothing happens, I change tactics a little. I think about the void that I was in after I died, that feeling of power that filled me. Suddenly, I find myself in the void again, but there is no panic or fear, just warmth. I pull the warm towards me and envelop my body with it. *DING*
Skill: Meditation (Beginner lvl. 1) learned!
*DING*
"Soul of the Goddess" leveled up! (Beginner lvl. 2)
*DING*
Congratulations! You have started on the "basics of magic!"
Hmm... I take a couple minutes to discover that the meditation technique increases magical power and technique the more it is used, the better the increase is. The Soul thing leveling up made it so I had 10% control, but I''m not sure what benefits that has yet. The last message didn''t really do anything or help me out in any way, which was a little disappointing, but now I had more things to do: increase my magical capabilities, train my body, enhance my senses, and learn more about the outside world. The future looks bright. Chapter 3-Tears Chapter 3: Tears 4 YEARS LATER POV- Five-Year-Old Man Not much has changed, these past four years and seven months, other than the fact I just turned five years old today and I finally understand a little more about the reason I¡¯m trapped here. Since my mastery over the language is fluent and I have improved my hearing so that any conversation in the castle or the town around it can be heard by me, I have unraveled some mysteries about my circumstance. Apparently, my mother is a being known as an ¡®elf¡¯, and my father is a dragon. Children born between races that aren¡¯t similar enough tend to die early for one reason or another, or die in childhood because of susceptibility to disease. ¡®Rushka¡¯ as they¡¯re called, are considered disgusting abominations (I guessed it) and can even be killed if they¡¯re not careful about it. There are other Rushka like elf and dark elf Rushka, which aren¡¯t looked down upon nearly as much, but are still seen as the ¡°trash of society¡±. As if being a Rushka wasn¡¯t enough, my mother died while giving birth to me. Normally, I would be immediately put to death, but my grandfather, The Elven King, ordered me to be imprisoned down here instead. I was grateful to him at first, but then I learned that the only reason he had let me live was because his daughter asked him to. He could let me out at any time, but he refuses to, because he hates me. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not an ordinary child, or I¡¯m sure I¡¯d be crushed. Today¡¯s meal drops from the slot in the door. I pick up the metal tray and clear it of food. I am about to drink the water, when I catch my own reflection again. I sigh. Maybe I should be resentful of the way I look, since it has caused me so much grief, but¡­ Every time I see my face I can¡¯t help but be enchanted by my own beauty. When did I become so vain¡­? I shake my head and down the water quickly. It¡¯s not very clean, but it¡¯s better than nothing. Besides, drinking it every day has made me nearly immune to disease. Well, the water and the fact that my feces and urine is only cleaned out once a week by some kind of spell. I sigh after swallowing the water, flopping back onto the bed. My tail instinctively curls around me and my waist-length hair is spilling off the mattress and onto the floor. Even though I am the size of a child, and my face still has its rounded plumpness, my movements are no longer childlike. Every day for the past four years and seven months, I have run in circles around my room till I passed out, done pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, stretched my body to an ultimate level of flexibility, and practiced tight flips and turns which increased my agility. Now, I have a sort of wild grace that I certainly didn¡¯t have in past life. I am a weirdly intimidating sort of five-year-old because of that, and also because of the amount of anger I have towards this world. I mean, isn¡¯t it really unfair? For me to finally get a second chance and do nothing but sit and rot in this disgusting dungeon? It seriously sucks! How can I live my life better, how can I protect anyone when I¡¯m in here? Some days when these thoughts cross my mind, I go into a rage, attacking the door with my tail and newly acquired claws on my hands and feet. The steel door doesn¡¯t budge a bit each time. This spurs me into training my body harder and harder to its absolute limits. One day, I even manifested a ball of fire with my magic when I was in a rage. It was pitch black and it felt like pure power. However, even when I hurtled it at the door, there wasn¡¯t even a scratch left. So, I trained my body and my magic with meditation and exercise so much that I finally was able to do both at the same time. Stronger, faster, more! But it wasn¡¯t enough, the door didn¡¯t budge. Maybe I¡¯m weak? I know that my kind tend to be weak physically, mentally, and emotionally but¡­ even after all of this training? I sometimes had sad days when I just sat and stared at the walls, counting each bump on the stone. Doing this increased my eyesight by a lot. So I decided to spend the sad days training my senses to the maximum. I have yet to find any limits to this growth. As I got older, I realized that there was something strange going on with me. I seemed to have a lot more time each day to train. When I used to have about 16 hours a day, but I found the number was rising up to 23 hours a day. It wasn¡¯t until I spent two whole days awake that I finally understood. The amount of sleep I needed was decreasing. Now, I only need to sleep for about an hour a week, and I would be very well rested with just that. I also needed only one meal a week. When I started putting meals back through the slots 6 out of 7 days, they caught on and started giving me only the amount I needed. People seemed to think I was finally dying, and some people were actually happy about it, the sick bastards. What they didn¡¯t know was that I was actually getting stronger. I pondered these words a moment. What if this solitude is actually a blessing in disguise? I haven¡¯t been killed, and I can focus on training myself in a way I wouldn¡¯t be able to if I were around other people. This gives me an opportunity to become strong! I smiled at the new way of thinking that presented itself. Maybe that won¡¯t let me forgive my grandfather, but it helps me cope with the loneliness of the situation, at least.
+1 wisdom, +1 intelligence, +1willpower
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Though it¡¯s regrettable that I have no knowledge about the world, even the basics of reading and writing, I still have a lot of intelligence and wisdom just from thinking deeply or meditating. I think that all my blessings actually are helping a lot, but I don¡¯t mind. Based on the progress I¡¯ve had on breaking down that stupid door, I¡¯ll need all the help I can get. With newfound enthusiasm, I jump up from my bed and start to punch, kick and slash in the air at an invisible opponent. My tail occasionally slashes as well, since it has sharp ridges over the top of it and on the end. If I could just get my strength up, I would be an unbeatable monster! THREE WEEKS LATER The entire kingdom is in mourning. The queen, my grandmother, just passed, as well as my aunt and two older cousins. Right now, the next in line is my uncle and after him is my last older cousin. After my cousin, it¡¯s me. Well, only technically. I probably wouldn¡¯t be allowed to rule even if my grandfather wanted me to. Besides, I have no idea how to run a kingdom. Anyway, the king is in a rage this morning. His wife has finally passed of the strange illness that has struck the castle of late, and he isn¡¯t happy. The healers that were trying to help her are terrified of the king¡¯s wrath. But the king ignored them and he came straight down to my prison and he unlocked the door hurriedly. He stormed in and he saw me sitting there looking back at him. Normally, I would pretend to sleep, but it has been two years since someone last entered my room. And that was a servant girl who pretended as if she couldn¡¯t even see me. This was different. The king is a man in well-adorned robes and of tall stature. He gives off a powerful and noble air with his royal blue eyes and long golden hair. He wears a simple circlet with a blue gem in the center and he has some sort of metal covering the points of his ears. He is powerful and bright, filled with authority. He doesn¡¯t match the dank, dark room and the very dirt beneath his feet seems to disperse in his presence. I would be awed if not for the contempt muddling his eyes. ¡°You¡­ you are bad luck. Only three weeks after the anniversary of my daughter¡¯s death and¡­ my wife!¡± His voice was thick with sadness, and his eyes hollow for a moment before they filled with rage, ¡®Have you cursed me? What did I do to deserve this?!¡± I say nothing in reply. A part of me decides he is not worthy to hear my voice, and the silence brings me satisfaction. Who was he to storm in here asking what he¡¯s done? He locked his own grandson down here all this time, alone! If I were an ordinary child, I would have surely died. The king¡¯s eyes narrowed, he drew his sword, pointing it at me. ¡°ANSWER ME!¡± In that moment, I thought that he was a pitiful old man. He just needed someone to blame, didn¡¯t he? I couldn¡¯t hate him like I thought I would. He isn¡¯t a bad king, his subjects are happy and the land is at peace. He raised his children to be honorable. Depending on how you look at it, I could be considered the pest, the problem here. After a long moment of me not responding, he put the sword down and let out a defeated sigh. The lantern he was holding dropped and shattered, leaving me in the familiar darkness of my prison, and him in the unfamiliar, terrifying feeling. I saw him sitting there clearly, and his shoulders were shaking. Is he crying? ¡­ What does a person do in a situation like this? It¡¯s been a long time since I interacted with someone, but I think I¡¯m supposed to¡­ I pat his shoulder as consolingly as I can. He stiffens in surprise, but then he looks up at me with unfocused eyes. ¡°¡­you aren¡¯t so bad, are you? Maybe it¡¯s because I kept you here-.¡± He stopped, looking down again. He whispered something and a bit of light appears in his palm, illuminating the room. I took a small step back, finding the light to be a bit too much to my sensitive eyes. He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I won¡¯t hurt you¡­¡± he spoke in a soft voice, as if he thought I was a small animal. ¡°This must be the first time you¡¯ve seen it huh? This is magic. Ma-gi-c.¡± he spoke slowly to teach me, but I didn¡¯t say anything. He smiled softly, ¡°You are actually quite beautiful.¡± Gently, He wrapped his arms around me and drew me into an awkward hug. ¡°Maybe I lost part of my family, but with you, I will gain some of it back. My grandchild.¡± He nodded assuredly. To my grandfather¡¯s (and my) surprise, I started to cry. My logical side was unaffected, and I wasn¡¯t particularly relieved or happy, but the part of me that was a child cried his eyes out speaking of loneliness and pain and fear and darkness. I¡¯m really glad I¡¯m not just an ordinary kid. If I was, the solitude would have destroyed me forever. Chapter 4- Light POV- The Elven King I had come here with so much anger, but now as I look at this child I am filled with regret. What am I doing¡­? To my own flesh and blood? I started to cry in desperation and grief. If this child wasn¡¯t here, who would I force blame on? My subjects? My concubines? I¡¯m not solving anything by killing this child, am I? Just as I think this, there is a small hand patting my shoulder. The boy¡­ is consoling me? I look to him in surprise. Doesn¡¯t this mean¡­ ¡°You aren¡¯t so bad are you? Maybe it¡¯s because I kept you here-.¡± I was going to say ¡®you turned out looking so terrifying¡¯, but I stopped myself. I can¡¯t say that to a kid. Even though I don¡¯t think he understands me. To distract myself I summon a small ball of light. He backs away in fear. I suppose he¡¯s never seen magic before, has he? I try to teach him the word magic, but he only stares back. Well, I didn¡¯t expect him to do anything anyway. So we look at each other and all of the sudden I get the urge to¡­ Hug him. I once considered him a monster of immeasurable evil, but now I see that he is just a small child, and also my grandson. At the thought, I try to hold back more coming tears (what kind of king cries so much, honestly) and I am caught off guard by the sudden soft sound of crying on my shoulder. Is he¡­? His little body shakes with sobs. Regret twists my heart tenfold. How much pain did this child experience because of me? But instead of crying pathetically, I make a resolution. I will be the most doting Grandpa ever. POV- Main Dude Grandfather carried me out of the prison princess-style. I didn¡¯t know how to make him let me walk like a normal person, so I just decided to let it be a part of the payback for locking me up. I allowed myself to be carried, but I arranged myself in a somewhat more dignified manner. When we left my dungeon, I was partially blinded by the intense midday light. Thankfully, I learned to adjust my senses before we left the building to go into the main part of the castle. That could have been bad. But I was having fun adjusting my eyesight in a new range of ways, so that¡¯s a plus. It wasn¡¯t until we were walking through the halls of the castle that I finally noticed I was completely naked. Even when I did notice, I didn¡¯t particularly care. Why should I give a damn about social rules? I was half tempted to just stick my middle finger to anyone we passed, but I refrained. Finally, Grandfather handed me over to a servant girl, saying, ¡°Clean him and dress him. Make sure he¡¯s ready for lunch. Also, prepare some sweets for him.¡± Then he left, leaving me with the woman who could barely hold me up, much less carry me. I rolled out of her hold and stood beside her. She stared at me in awe. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t disgust or fear. ¡°Who are you?¡± she wondered to herself. I didn¡¯t know the answer, so I only shrugged. Shouldn¡¯t all the servants know me at this point? ¡°Well. Um.¡± She paused, staring at me with confusion. ¡°H-how about we go to the servant¡¯s baths? Is¡­ is that okay?¡± She tilted her head with a slight blush. The cat ears on her head also tilted uncertainly. She¡¯s a beastwoman, huh? *DING*
Skill: Identify (Intermediate lvl. 2) leveled up!
I snarled a little in annoyance of the box and after I dismissed it, I nodded to her question. Why should I care whether it¡¯s a servant bath or whatever? I haven¡¯t taken a bath since I was born! It¡¯s disgusting! Well, I did use water magic to clean myself off, but¡­ it doesn¡¯t really count. Especially since I didn¡¯t have soap. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. She brought me to a big circular outdoor pool lined with smooth stone. It seemed to be heated with magic, as far as I could tell, and it was pretty luxurious for a so-called ¡°servant¡¯s bath¡±. The pool was devoid of life, probably because everyone was working. She put me in the water carefully and went to go get something. As I relaxed into the water, I felt my stress melt away. I hadn¡¯t even realized how tense I had become. The woman returned with clothes and soap. She carefully scrubbed me down, even my tail and under my claws, with careful attention. Since I¡¯ve been born, I¡¯ve never felt so clean and content. As the woman washed me, she made tentative conversation. ¡°Um. My name is Celes¡­ what¡¯s yours?¡± she asked. Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think I have a name¡­ Not wanting to be irresponsive, I simply shrugged. ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t know?¡± she guessed. I grinned widely and nodded as if to say ¡®bingo¡¯. She flinched a little, probably having seen my fangs. When I didn¡¯t attack, she resumed her cleaning. ¡°Are you a noble?¡± she asked me a bit more boldly. I nodded again, but without grinning this time. ¡°Oh. I¡¯ve never seen you before. You have the ears of an elf, but-.¡± She cut herself off quickly. ¡°Um, never mind.¡± I patted her hand in reassurance. I don¡¯t mind the questions, but I don¡¯t really feel like talking. It¡¯s not that I think I¡¯m better than her, but¡­ I just find myself appreciating silence. Besides, there¡¯s no way I can talk in a cutesy voice like a kid. Hell, under my circumstance, what kid would be ¡®cutesy¡¯ anyway? Yeah, it would be a lot simpler if I were just quiet. ¡°Celes! What are you doing?! You need to help set the lunch table!¡± a gruff woman shouted from behind us. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, the king-.¡± Celes is cut off. ¡°-will have our hides if we can¡¯t keep it together! It¡¯s a crucial time now, so hurry up!¡± without listening to explanation, the woman runs off, leaving Celes near tears. Oh-no, I¡¯m not comforting anyone else today. I quickly jump out of the water and pull on my clothes, which turn out to be robes similar to my grandfathers but less fancy. Then, I grab Celes¡¯ hand and drag her after the woman who disappeared. We reenter the castle, and I find myself in a busy kitchen with servants bustling and cooks shouting at the top of their capacity. I wince and quickly dull my hearing. Ah, much better. Celes was sort of forced into the fray, and she seemed worried about me, but I found a nice little seat next to the wall that was out of the way. I sent her a thumbs up. I don¡¯t think she didn¡¯t really understand what a thumbs up was, but it got the basic point across. As I waited for Celes to return, my eyes caught sight of the woman from before. She was older, maybe middle aged, with a gruff but motherly kind of feeling about her. Her hair was tied back and her sleeves were rolled up to make work easier. I noticed that she was working two times harder than everybody else, leading and ordering people left and right with ease. She lifted heavy pots and filled them with water for soups, pulled big trays of bread from the stone ovens, mixed, seasoned, ordered someone around, and repeated. She caught me staring and called me over. ¡°You there.¡± She said to me. ¡°What are you doing sitting around? Put on some work clothes and help me.¡± She ordered. I looked down at my robes and shrugged, trying to tell her I didn¡¯t have any. She stared at me for a moment, and I considered telling her so, (even though it would break my silence which I was becoming fond of and kinda makes me seem cooler) but she immediately understood. ¡°If you don¡¯t have any, just stay away from the stoves. Here.¡± She handed me a broom and cloth. ¡°Clean up with the others and stay out of the way.¡± She said. I found myself a little excited to do something other than train (why did I train again?) and this seemed fun. What¡¯s wrong with me, seriously? Since when was cleaning fun? I answered my own question, since I got locked in a prison for five years, I guess. Chapter 5- Protector POV Our Newly-Made-Servant MC I have somehow ended up sweeping the hallways with two other children who also didn¡¯t speak. They were weren¡¯t wearing work clothes either, but their robes weren¡¯t quite as clean as mine. The boy was sweeping the part of the hall nearest to the kitchen, and the girl was sweeping the dining area. I decided that the space between them was probably my job, and so, I got to it. We swept in companionable silence, and I began to think I could get used to this. Perhaps these two will be the first friends I¡¯ll make in this new world¡­? After being locked away for so long, the thought of friendship was exciting. Well, anything new seemed exciting all of the sudden. It took an unnecessary amount of time, but finally, we finished sweeping the floors we were assigned. Shouldn¡¯t they have magic to do stuff like this? I would clean it with my magic if it weren¡¯t for the fact that it would bring way too much attention to me. For now, the best thing for me to do is probably lay low (I just got out of prison, after all). The other two children lead me back to the kitchen where we put away our brooms. The kitchen staff had apparently finished lunch, so they were quickly eating their own meals before rushing off to complete another task. Each of those of us who were sweeping also got a portion to eat, and we took it outside so we could sit in the grass as we ate. I found it to be absolutely delicious. It wasn¡¯t any better than what I ate in that prison, but eating while I was free was an amazing feeling. The two I was sweeping with and I each stood side by side as we ate. After I had finished, I glanced up to see they were still eating. I decided to wait until they were done to ask their names, but when they opened their mouths to spoon in more soup, I saw that their tongues had been cut out. It wasn¡¯t that they decided not to talk, they simply couldn¡¯t. While watching them happily eat their meal, I stayed completely still. Their tongues being cut out was obviously intentional. Who would do such a thing? POV Goddess I watched the man I had sent down with satisfaction. Somehow, I¡¯d become a bit attached to him, haha. Maybe he will provide some prime entertainment in the future? ¡°Goddess!¡± I heard the voice of that obnoxious bitch Vitrea, the goddess of energy. ¡°I-I have to tell you something!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, struggling to keep the irritation out of my tone. ¡°I wanted to tell you that I found out something about the God of Games.¡± Vitrea said, ¡°It¡¯s top secret, so can you¡­?¡± I nodded in understanding to her request, and quickly pulled up a few barriers around us. Anything about the God of Games was certainly important; she might have information on the world I had tossed the man into. ¡°What is this secret?¡± ¡°He has come up with a new game for us Gods to help decide the next God or Goddess to join our pantheon.¡± Vitrea explained. I snorted in disgust, ¡°We don¡¯t need any more Gods, there are too many as it is. Mortals shouldn¡¯t have been able to become Gods from the beginning.¡± Vitrea grimaced at my harsh words, as she is a newer Goddess herself, but she didn¡¯t mention it. ¡°Yes, well, he came up with an idea that a few chosen gods and goddesses would put blessing on a mortal or a group of mortals and have them battle with the other blessed ones. After that, the final champion would become the next God¡­ or Goddess.¡± I tilted my head a little, ¡°So what? We¡¯ve done that before.¡± It was a common practice in which we watched our champions¡¯ battle for centuries until one finally emerged powerful enough. ¡°Yes, but there are some differences this time. The world the mortals are in have levels or ranks which they can reach by defeating more powerful monsters and gaining something known as ¡°EXP¡±, it is not as based on training anymore. Plus, the higher the rank is, the closer the mortal comes to being a God. Of course, only the champion will be brought up the final step into Godhood. Also, the champions know of what is happening, and they have the choice of purposely attacking other champions or avoiding them entirely.¡± ¡°They are aware?¡± I looked to her in shock, ¡°How peculiar¡­ How long has this been going on?¡± ¡°Only a few centuries. Each God is limited to ten champions. Some bless them all at once, and some wait to bless one new champion at each generation.¡± ¡°This game is more complicated than before¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, there are all kinds of other rules, but those are the most important ones.¡± Vitrea said. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Suddenly, a thought struck me. ¡°Wait, if all of these people are ¡°aware¡± than that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean they were blessed at birth, right?¡± ¡°No, actually, the Gods and Goddesses are forbidden to look into the future, or past, of their champions. You have to watch the champion mature yourself instead of relying on the sight. So they tend to be blessed in adulthood.¡± ¡°So if a newborn was blessed¡­¡± I started. ¡°Then an older champion will almost certainly kill it.¡± Vitrea finished. I smiled softly. Unknowingly, the boy had been very lucky to have been locked up in such a cruel way. Doing so probably saved him from dying an early death. With the strength he has achieved from being locked up, and the power of his past memories he might be able to survive despite the odds. Still, it is worrying. After all, he has yet to rank up even once. I came to a decision, and I ordered Vitrea, ¡°I want you to call in all of the Gods and Goddesses most loyal to me. I will need their help.¡± POV Our Dragon-Elf Boy I was just considering whether I should attempt to speak with the other children when I saw my grandfather approaching out of the corner of my eye. No one could mistake him with his prideful stride and the glitter of his jewelry. Celes was right behind him, muttering out some sort of apology. ¡°I didn¡¯t know, sir!¡± She was telling him, ¡°And I didn¡¯t have the permission to enter him in the royal baths, so I thought¡­¡± ¡°You think I would care that much for any commoner child?!¡± Grandfather snarls, his expression twisted in his rage, ¡°To think you would treat my own Grandson like this, you incompetent-!¡± He raised his hand to slap her, and I took action quickly. If I was wrong, I would get us both in trouble but if I was right, Celes would be spared. I ran to her and wrapper my arms around her legs, my face buried in her hip. Celes let out a squeak of surprise, but she doesn¡¯t push me away. Grandfather paused, seeing the show of affection and sighed, ¡°It seems he is attached to you, however¡­¡± Grandfather runs a hand down his face, ¡°Fine, take him to my quarters and allow him to rest there. You will stay with him until I come and tell you otherwise, understood? It¡¯s been too long a day for him to have a meal with the family¡­¡± Celes nodded, ¡°Of course. I will watch over him well.¡± She bowed. ¡°Good. You may end up as his caretaker sometime soon if you do well.¡± Grandfather hinted. With that, he was off. I released Celes as soon as he was out of sight. I turned back to the children I was eating lunch with and gave them a little bow to say goodbye. They both immediately threw themselves onto the ground in a panic, kneeling with their foreheads pressed into the grass. I reached out to reassure them that I didn¡¯t mind them, but Celes pulled me back with a look of horror. ¡°Those are ex-slaves. You don¡¯t want to become involved with them. They might have a disease or something. Come along.¡± She pulled me out of the garden, and even when we were far out of sight, the two continued to kneel without moving. I felt anger rise in me, not at them, but at my Grandfather. Did he turn them into this? SEVERAL HOURS LATER Celes sat in a chair at the end of the bed while I pretended to nap. Her eyes never left me, and she reacted every time I so much as shifted. It seemed she was taking this whole, ¡®watching over me¡¯ thing very seriously. Sometimes she spoke to me, telling me about how she loved the castle, and it was much preferable to her tribe. Because she had a defect which made her senses duller than that of an ordinary cat beastwoman, she was mistreated by her tribe members. She spoke of how she was glad to have an opportunity in which she could work in peace. She also said that she hoped to be my caretaker, because the job pays more, and her daughter¡¯s life would be easier if she could bring in at least a little more money. The more she spoke, and the more she told me about herself, opening up her heart, the deeper a new conviction ran in my mind. Celes would officially become the first person in the world I had sworn to protect.
Skill: Protector (Beginner lvl. 1) learned!