《Chronicles of Sora: All over again》 Prologue: The Start As far as the eye could see, huge indigo coloured mountains painted the background of the vast landscape. Where the mountains ended, a great yellow savannah plain began. Beneath the azure blue skies, the lush savannah spread out across the lands like a huge gold-ish yellow carpet. There were few trees that broke the flatness of the plains. The stand still breath taking view, could be easily confused for a portrait. However, that was not the case. A beautiful painting would fill one with a sense of warmth. This picturesque landscape had a cold and stale feeling to it. There hung about an eerie silence in the air. This could be explained by the lack of life in the plains and mountains. How could creatures not inhabit such a beautiful land? The explanation lay at the edges of this beautiful portrait like landscape, on opposite sides, two dark blotches could be seen. From the distance, these blotches could be confused for smudges of ink. Unfortunately, this was not a painting. Only from a great distance would they appear as smudges of ink. As one would draw closer and closer, it would become evident this blotch was alive and moving. These two smudges of inks on both sides were people ¨C a large number of people. More accurately, these were two armies. *** The sheer number of both armies easily crossed quarter a million soldiers each. Second by second, these armies drew closer and closer to each other. With each step that these armies took, the earth rumbled. Every ecosystem has a fixed limit of inhabitants it can support. These savannahs too, could only support a few. However, with the arrival two grand armies, the air was quick to become stagnant. All living creatures that inhabited these plains had already fled for their lives. The sixth sense of the animals had already warned them of the impending disaster. What was left behind, was a beautiful but empty landscape ¨C and the future burial grounds for thousands. The armies that marched in an orderly fashion from the ¡®land of the rising sun¡¯, consisted of the fair elves, the short dwarves, the timid humans, the wild beastmen and other human like races. ¡®This side¡¯ of the ¡®ink blotch¡¯ was one of many colours. The proud elves, adorned in gold armour, rode in on their white stallions. Theirs was the army of the colour gold and were the smallest in numbers compared to the big four races. The short but muscular dwarves, clad in thick steel battle armour, rode massive scaly lizards. Theirs was the army of colour silver and steel. The humans, the most diversified of the group - their attire ranging from simple mage clothing to white knight armour. Some humans were on foot and some on horses. The humans easily made up for the majority of the forces but unlike the other races they were divided on many grounds such as caste, religion and country. The human armies carried many flags representing the many countries they came from. There were flags with drawings of shields, swords, animals, beasts and mythical creatures ¨C held by the flag bearer who led the columns of soldiers for their respective countries. Lastly, the beastmen; they wore nothing more than fur and leaves. However, it suited them just fine given their wild nature. The beastmen had the highest physical endurance amongst all the races and it would hurt their pride to ride a ¡®fellow¡¯ animal. After the humans, the beastmen were the second largest group in the army. There were many other minority races present in this united army. However, they are too insignificant to describe. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Seeing such a large gathering of ¡®comrades¡¯ despite being from different races ¨C the humans could not help but be cheerful; their morale was high. This cheerful attitude disturbed the other ¡®tensed¡¯ races however, the others avoided paying heed to the humans ¨C they were considered the ¡®weirdest¡¯ of the lot. Which race in their right mind would be cheerful before a battle? Fortunately, the humans were perfectly sane. They were simply happy for they had been dealing with the ¡®evil¡¯ all alone for all this time. Were they not entitled to be happy seeing aid? Under normal conditions, these races (elves, humans etc.) had their so called ¡®pride¡¯ which would never let them cooperate with one another. However, the times were harsh and desperate. Desperate times called for desperate measures and hence, these races stood above their petty politics and pride. This gave birth to the united armies; united under the banner of the living and peaceful to oppose the ¡®evil¡¯ that was plaguing the lands. The so called ¡®evil¡¯ armies that marched from the ¡®land of the setting sun, consisted of orcs, trolls and all other known malevolent monsters. These monsters only understood the language of war and blood. They were born and bred for the sole purpose of spreading disaster and laying the lands to waste. Even though they were labelled as ¡®evil¡¯, they too belonged to this world ¨C at least that is what the wise philosophically stated. These orcs though ¡®evil¡¯ kept the population of ¡®living¡¯ in check. When humans expanded too deep into nature, the orcs would trim the population ¨C at least that what the wise philosophically stated. Simply worded, these monsters were simply predators and others were preys ¨C isn¡¯t that what nature is all about? As these monsters would attack in small groups, large scale disasters were easy to avoid. Very rarely, did monsters attack in hordes larger than a hundred. Hence, monster led calamities are very rare in this world. . However, this was not one of those rare instances. How can one say that? The banding of different monsters under one flag was something very new in this world. Who banded the monsters together? What was their purpose? There were many such definite questions but only vague answers could be found. The civilizations of this world were still relatively young and very inexperienced. But they had experienced enough sufferings and hardships to know that if these monsters were not stopped, the existence of all other races would be brought into question. Hence, the races united to eradicate the ¡®evil¡¯ from its roots. This kind of story, in another world, would be a common tale but in this world it was the first of its kind. This could be considered one of the greatest wars of all times on this continent. Unfortunately, to mistake this particular battle as the true warring strength of both sides would be fatal mistake. The actual strength of both sides numbered in the millions. This battle was nothing more than a tiny skirmish. It could only be considered one of the many that were happening simultaneously across the continent. In fact, on some other battle field, where the plains were larger and movement was less restricted ¨C armies to the size of a million could be seen. Now the question does come to one¡¯s mind is, if this isn¡¯t the greatest battle to be witnessing then why are we here? Well, that would be because our ¡®Hero¡¯ is due to making an appearance here, albeit he is running a bit late¡­ Chapter 1.1 - Dead Two armies, one of the monsters¡¯ and one of the humanoid races¡¯, lined up facing each other. The air is thick with tension; any moment now the horns of war would blow to signal the start of war. Large Viking polished white blow horns, easily surpassing the length of two men, suddenly rang out aloud. *Tooootooooooo* *Tooootooooooo* *Tooootooooooo* The horns were blown precisely three times; the signal to start war was given. As the horns blew from the side of the monsters and they initiated the charge. The human led coalition waited patiently for the approaching enemy. They were tense but they had nerves of steel. They could not let a charging monsters best them. As the ¡®living¡¯ righteous saw it, it was a battle of brains versus brawns. The men who stood in the front lines, gripped their weapons tightly seeing the orcs charge. They readied themselves, mentally and physically, for they would be taking the brunt of the orcs¡¯ charge. These men were the strongest of each of the races; they held massive round shields made of thick iron and long spears, much like the Roman centurions. The plan of the human-led coalition is simple and straightforward. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence knew what they had planned for the charging orcs. Just when the orcs would be upon them, shields would be raised and spears would be thrust forth. Only dumb brutes like the orcs would rush to their deaths. Were the orcs really that dumb not to see such an obvious plan? No. However, they had no other option but to charge head on. Their large and tough physique made charging the best option. What damage could puny spears possibly do to them? ¡°RAISE SHIELDS!¡± A command was shouted out across the human led coalition as the orcs drew nearer. The warriors in the absolute front, crouched and raised their shields; completely covering their body from harm. Once the orcs were less than ten feet away, another command was issued to extend spears. In unison, the soldiers of the front line extended their hidden spears. They thrust it out with great force, in the hopes, to do maximum damage to enemy. Unfortunately, this time, the enemy outsmarted them. The orcs born with great strength, jumped up into the air when they saw the tips of the spears being extended outwards towards them. Their ¡®jump¡¯ was more of a leap through the air. In a ¡®single¡¯ jump they were two meters above the ground ¨C high enough to jump over the frontlines. The soldiers in the front lines; could only helplessly and stupidly, look on with shock as they realized what was happening. The orcs simply overcame their defenses with a ¡®simple¡¯ jump. Before the soldiers could even react, too many of them had been stabbed in the back and killed. The front line formation crumbled in an instant. Screams of many men could be heard as they died a painful death. The stench of the dead soon flooded the plains. The orcs roared in delight they raised the ripped out heads of their slain victims. It was a bloody gory sight, one which made the stomachs of all the warriors churn. The commanders could be heard swearing as they saw the orcs jump and destroy their frontline. It was beyond their imagination, since when did the Orcs think of such a strategy? Since, when could orcs think for themselves? This must be the work of the one who leads them. The human¡¯s side was quick to regroup and recover. Losses and sacrifices were part of wars. The commanders swore to avenge their fallen comrades. An order to loosen the arrows was given; immediately thousands of black arrows covered the sky. Orcs are dumb brutes. They assumed that the arrows would simply bounce off their skin. Unfortunately, for them, these arrows were imbued with magic. They could penetrate through boulders and steel armour with ease. After all, the ones who fired these arrows were the elves; the race most proficient in magic. In an instant, many of the first wave of orcs fell prey to the viciously sharp arrows. The monsters did not care for their loss, after all this was just the first wave. Their brethren had already accomplished the task they had been entrusted with; lowering the morale of the human led coalition. Whilst the united armies of the ¡®living¡¯ focused their energy on reorganizing from the ¡®unanticipated¡¯ tactic, a second and a third wave of orcs were sneakily crept in from the sides¡­before the humans knew it, they had been corned by a pincer attack. The second line of defense on both right and left flanks had been breached. If it couldn¡¯t get any worse, two elite group of monsters tore through the many line of defences and slew the commanders of both flanks. With no commander to direct, what ensured thereafter was pure chaos. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Amidst this raging chaotic battlefield, a lone youth ¡®suddenly¡¯ appeared. Tiny balls of light began gathering together, and then with a burst of light, a young man dressed in the strangest ¡®battle attire¡¯ in this world appeared on the battlefield. This man was not dressed for the battle, rather it would be appropriate to say he was in his pyjamas: tiny flame breathing dragons printed all over. Did he just get out of bed and head over to the battlefield? The young youth, a human, had a thin athletic frame, black hair and fair skin. He stood dazed as he observed his surroundings. The only words he could be heard muttering were, ¡°F*ck. Another world¡­¡± Maybe he did wake up from bed and was transported over to this world? *** ¡°Hello, there! I am just your everyday average youth who has been transported to fantasy world.¡± That would make a great introduction. However, I am seriously beginning to doubt that I am your everyday average youth. Also, this isn¡¯t my first visit to a ¡®fantasy¡¯ world. This is my second. ¡°F*ck. Another world.¡± Is that reaction better? But that isn¡¯t the problem here. Who goes to sleep and wakes up in the middle of a battle field? This must be some twisted cruel play of fate. This is not where I was supposed to wake up! I was supposed to go back home! Home is where there is no ¡®fantasy¡¯. Home is where I don¡¯t worry about being killed by monsters. Home is where my mom cooks my favourite meals. You may think I am over reacting, but trust me I am not. You may think I should be happier after all who gets lucky enough to get ¡®transported¡¯ to another world, but trust me ¡®fantasy¡¯ worlds of the light novels and the ¡®fantasy¡¯ world, I have lived through are very different. If you still don¡¯t believe me, then try living like a slime, a skeleton, and something between those two¡­live off insects, rats and worms for a diet for an entire year¡­.trust me, you will want to go home. F*ck. I am sick of them. Of all the places I had to be transported to is another ¡®fantasy¡¯ world, that too in the middle of a war? Like seriously, whose idea was this? Was it the witch¡¯s? I wouldn¡¯t be surprised, if this was her doing¡­oh great an incoming magical attack¡­a low level fireball. As much as I hate and fear this new world, I fear dying more¡­. ¡­huh¡­what the heck? My body is moving so slowly¡­
Status Window - Sora
NameSoraLevel1
ProfessionNone
Health100Mana10
HP recovery / second0.1MP recovery0.1
Stamina5Agility5
Strength5Dexterity5
Physical Damage5Magic Damage2
Physical Resistance0Magic Resistance0
Experience required for next level100Charm0
Titles: None. Skills: None.
¡­.f*ck don¡¯t tell me my stats have been reset! ¡­. So not good! I won¡¯t be able to dodge this¡­¡­. did I just get transported to a new world to be instant KO¡¯d? This might be a good time to start believing in reincarnation¡­.
- 100 HP
*** The fire ball rushed towards, Sora instantly killing him. It was all over in the blink of a second. After the smoke disbursed, the charred lifeless body of Sora was all that remained. Chapter 1.2 - Dead. Dead. ¡­. So not good! I won¡¯t be able to dodge this¡­¡­. did I just get transported to a new world to be instant KO¡¯d? This might be a good time to start believing in reincarnation¡­.Dear God, please let me be reborn as a Turkish Sultan next life, with a huge harem filled with beautiful charming young women. Granted my previous harem didn¡¯t lack beautiful women¡­.but their personality was a bit twisted. So having learnt my lesson from my previous life, I am willing to compromise on the looks but please¡­please for my sake, do something about the personality ¡­.. charming, is that too much to ask for?
- 100 HP
Bloody hell it burns¡­.is this what a true death feels like? Ah¡­my eyes feel heavy, good night world. It was fun¡­. *** Tiny balls of light began gathering together, and then with a burst of light, a young man dressed in the strangest ¡®battle attire¡¯ in this world appeared on the battlefield. This man was not dressed for the battle, rather it would be appropriate to say he was in his pyjamas: tiny flame breathing dragons printed all over. Did he just get out of bed and head over to the battlefield? The young youth, a human, had a thin athletic frame, black hair and fair skin. As soon as he appeared, he could be heard muttering, ¡° What the f*ck just happened. Didn¡¯t I just die earlier?¡± *** ¡°Hello, there! I am just your everyday average youth who just died yet finds himself in a strange d¨¦j¨¤ vu like situation.¡± That would make a great introduction. However, I am seriously *freaked* out. Did I not just die? I mean I do remember getting hit with a fireball, the pain was very real. I do remember that terrible burning sensation that spread across my face. The smell of my burning flesh, is still fresh in my mind. Was that an illusion? Hypnosis attack? Or a premonition of the future to come? I go with powerful premonition of the future! oh great there is the low level fireball that will kill me! Argh! My body is moving so slowly¡­even though I know there is a fireball coming my way, there is nothing I can do to change my future? What kind of fate is this!
Status Window - Sora
NameSoraLevel1
ProfessionNone
Health100Mana10
HP recovery / second0.1MP recovery0.1
Stamina5Agility5
Strength5Dexterity5
Physical Damage5Magic Damage2
Physical Resistance0Magic Resistance0
Experience required for next level6600
Titles: None. Skills: None.
¡­.something is different¡­. ¡­.oh god¡­.here it comes¡­.please don¡¯t hurt as much as it did in my dreams¡­.
- 100 HP
*** The fire ball rushed towards, Sora instantly killing him. It was all over in the blink of a second. After the smoke disbursed, the charred body of Sora was all that remained. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. *** Tiny balls of light began gathering together, and then with a burst of light, a young man dressed in the strangest ¡®battle attire¡¯ in this world (for the third time) appeared on the battlefield. This man was not dressed for the battle, rather it would be appropriate to say he was in his pyjamas: tiny flame breathing dragons printed all over. Did he just get out of bed and head over to the battlefield? The young youth, a human, had a thin athletic frame, black hair and fair skin. As soon as he appeared, he could be heard muttering, ¡°F*ck. I am stuck in a time loop dooming me to infinite deaths¡­¡± *** I am not giving any introduction. I don¡¯t want to be hit by that fireball! Trust me, the feeling of your skin burning; is not a ¡®nice sensation¡¯ and that is me saying it eloquently.
Status Window - Sora
NameSoraLevel1
ProfessionNone
Health100Mana10
HP recovery / second0.1MP recovery0.1
Stamina5Agility5
Strength5Dexterity5
Physical Damage5Magic Damage2
Physical Resistance0Magic Resistance0
Experience required for next level3200
Titles: None. Skills: None.
¡­.I knew something was different!...even when I die, I gain experience points! ¡­.dammit¡­.here it is again¡­. For those wondering, why am I not dodging ¡®it¡¯ right now¡­I only get a fraction of a second after coming to this world to dodge the fireball¡­with my current stat points, it is impossible. Let me just say it right now, even with all my martial arts skill etc, what is impossible is impossible. I can¡¯t move fast enough to dodge this. ¡­you know that irrationale fear one has of injections? That same feeling of dread fills me as I watch the fireball head towards me¡­
- -100 HP
Congratulations! You have levelled up. You are now Level 2!
This is a first - levelling up through dying. *** The fire ball rushed towards, Sora instantly killing him. It was all over in the blink of a second. After the smoke disbursed, the charred body of Sora was all that remained. *** Tiny balls of light began gathering together, and then with a burst of light, a young man dressed in the strangest ¡®battle attire¡¯ in this world (for the fourth time) appeared on the battlefield. This man was not dressed for the battle, rather it would be appropriate to say he was in his pyjamas: tiny flame breathing dragons printed all over. Did he just get out of bed and head over to the battlefield? The young youth, a human, had a thin athletic frame, black hair and fair skin. As soon as he appeared, he could be heard muttering, ¡°This power is so broken¡­¡± Chapter 1.3 - Dead. Dead. Dead. Hello there! Did I mention, that I have never been happier before? Why? You ask me why I am so happy? I just discovered, I have a completely broken power. Broken? You ask me why do I call it broken (=OP)? If I die, I retain my previous experience points and level. If I die, I even gain experience points and can level up! I gain 5 stat points every time I level up. If this is not broken what is? Time to gain some agility!
Status Window - Sora
NameSoraLevel2
ProfessionNone
Health105Mana10
HP recovery / second0.1MP recovery0.1
Stamina5Agility5+5
Strength5Dexterity5
Physical Damage5Magic Damage2
Physical Resistance0Magic Resistance0
Experience required for next level9800
Titles: None. Skills: None.
Aha! Hello, there Mr. Fireball. I know you are here to kill me. Unfortunately for you, I live another day. *** The caterpillar like monster which spewed out the fireball, watched in bewilderment as Sora dodged the oncoming fireball attack without even turning around to see it. It was as if he knew there was an attack headed for him. However, because the human was just barely able to dodge the attack ¨C the monster did not think of it anything more than a fluke. Sora jumped towards away from the fireball. Just barely made it! Unfortunately, the place where Sora jumped to was a pit trap which had been camouflaged very well; dug up by the humans to kill the monsters. Is this what they call straight from the pot into the frying pan? Sora could be heard swearing as he dived straight into the pit full of spears. F*ck. *** Argh¡­.I could get sick of this. Yes, I have an OP power¡­but my base stats are so low that this whole thing is useless. I dodge the fireball, and land straight into a pit of spears. Being skewered by ten spears, definitely hurt a lot more than being killed instantly with a fireball. Would you like me to describe the difference in deaths? When the spear skewers through your flesh¡­it f*cking hurts. It hurts a million times more than being burnt in the face by a fireball. I rather have a hundred fireball deaths than being killed by spears. Also the death by spears is slower. Yes, slower. This means it doesn¡¯t do enough damage to kill me in one go, so while my body hangs there ¡®painfully¡¯ , my health is slowly being leeched away. It took a whole minute for me to die. A whole minute! Can you possibly imagine what that feels like? No, you can¡¯t ¨C for it would require your to die by falling into a pit full of spears. Lesson? Don¡¯t jump to my right ¨C there is a f*cking pit trap there. OP power my *ss. Dying hurts like crazy. *** ¡°This is really bad¡­¡± a man in his mid-forties muttered as he stared at a large map that sprawled across the wooden table. He had rough tanned brown skin and dark brown short curly hair. For a human, he was extremely muscular. He wore thick red iron battle armour, a far more exquisite piece than those found on common soldier, from head to toe. Even on a hot sunny day like today, he wore the heavy iron suit ¨C even if it was frying him on the inside ¨C even if he wasn¡¯t on the front lines. This was a war, and in a war one can never be careless. Even if I am at the rear, you never know when an assassin or a spy may slip by¡­. It was that kind of thinking that helped him survive in numerable battles. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Alas, this might be one battle I might not survive. This man, Alfred Black, was the chief commander of the Thirty First battalion of the ¡®United Army¡¯, as it was called by the commoners. Currently, he stared with dreadful red eyes at the map in front of him. A battle had been waging only for half a day but the casualties were tremendous. The enemy had outwitted him on every step of the way¡­ This isn¡¯t a fight against dumb brutes but against a sophisticated and crafty commander¡­ As a chief commander and strategist, he could not help but admire the enemy. Each move that the enemy made was well thought out and dealt a swift heavy blow to the United Army. It were almost as if the enemy intimately knew Alfred and knew his every move¡­ This is no time to be admiring¡­only a third of the forces are left¡­ The situation could only be described as dire. Although, they began on equal footing with the monsters, the monsters soon gained the advantage. Now, the 31st battalion of the United Army faced certain doom. They were clearly outnumbered and vastly under powered. What could we possibly do? Retreat? Alfred knew that if he retreated from his position here, he would face the death penalty. However, at least his men would survive. There would also be repercussions on the overall war with the damned monsters however, the consequences were far from severe. There is no need to engage in a futile battle. The lives of my men are far more important to me than my own. Just as Alfred decided to issue the order to retreat, a young soldier came running towards him. This young youth had been running all day reporting the situation of the battle across the plains to Alfred. Alfred stared at the youth with dread. Every time that lad came to him, he brought terrible news. ¡°CHIEF!!!¡± The youth cried out loudly. ¡°YOU WON¡¯T BELIEVE IT!!¡± His voice sounds cheerful¡­could something good have happened? I must be a fool for hoping so. What can possibly turn around our fate at this stage? ¡°THE ARMIES TO THE EAST HAVE BEEN VANQUISHED!¡± The youth blurted out happily as he reached the chief. The young boy began gasping for air once he reached his destination ¨C the chief¡¯s tent. He ran straight from the battlefield to the chief. Being a wolf beastman, there was no way he would use a horse ¨C after all he was faster than a horse. I must have misheard him. The chief looked pitifully at the youth ¨C I am so desperate to hear good news that I am actually hearing things ¡°I think I may have misheard you. Repeat yourself Bhau-Bhau.¡± ¡°The monsters to the east have been vanquished¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me right now Bhau-Bhau. We may have to sound our retreat.¡± ¡°Chief!¡± The wolf-man cried out in alarm ¨C why was he not being taken seriously? Who in their right mind would joke to the commander chief during a war? ¡°I am not joking! The armies have really been vanquished!¡± Alfred stared at the wolf-man in disbelief with his mouth hanging wide open. The enemy forces have been vanquished? How? Impossible¡­ Alfred¡¯s mind scrambled to find a possible explanation but it drew up blank. He was the commander in chief, he knew well there were no reinforcements, he knew well the capabilities of his men and he knew well the capabilities of the enemy¡­.the enemy doesn¡¯t just suddenly get vanquished¡­ ¡°How¡­?¡± A feeble voice broke out from Alfred¡¯s throat ¨C the man was going crazy in happiness. He convinced himself this was all but a good dream. He really thought, when he woke up from this beautiful dream, he would find himself at death¡¯s door steps or already dead. ¡°A Hero has appeared!¡± The wolf man¡¯s voice rang out merrily. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x Author''s notes: 1. The two stories are not connected (99%). However, Ruler of Rules will be made reference to. I will avoid posting spoilers relating to Ruler of Rules here. 2. This story will be very different from Ruler of Rulers (especially the plot and style). 3. Hope you enjoyed reading this so far. 4. See you all back at Ruler of Rules.