《Unbound [A Litrpg, Progression Fantasy]》


 Shadows

    Catskill was Lynn''s family home in the state of New York. It was located in the mountainous region of the city.


    The village life here wasn''t the best, so his parents got married, and moved to the city of Newark.


    After a few years, the couple started to pick up their lives, and then, Lynn was born. He had been a very smart boy since he was a child, and had a bright future, but unfortunately it didn''t go as planned.


    After many setbacks, Lynn''s parents had no choice, but to go back to their hometown.


    On the way back, Lynn''s father lost control of their newly bought car and had a collision with an oncoming truck.


    He died on the spot.


    Left alone with her son, Lynn''s mother tried her best to raise him.


    When he became fifteen years old, she used the family''s savings to send him to technical college, and gave him the family''s heirloom, an obsidian crystal to commemorate his coming of age.


    After graduating, Lynn failed to find a suitable job, but found himself in charge of some electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and bricklayers, so he decided to form his own work team.


    At the beginning, he took some small jobs, but later he got more and more comfortable. So he started looking for contracts for larger renovation projects.


    After two years, he met a contractor named Chandler, and the two of them became closer together.


    As a more qualified contractor, he became the one in charge of their payment. But then, about the end of the year, when he was meant to dole out wages, he disappeared.


    The workers who didn''t get their wages smashed his office, and then someone finally called the police.


    But this contractor had disappeared from the world, and vanished without a trace with the engineering money.


    Angry, Lynn took his close friends to search for him but there was no luck. Later that evening, in a van, Lynn drove Dannie and Sammie from the village to a neighboring city.


    As soon as the car got off the highway, Sammie, who was sharp-eyed, found at a glance that the driver next to him seemed to be the wanted Chandler.


    Even though the man was wearing a disguise, he recognized him from his voice and manner of speech.


    After paying their own money, Lynn stepped on his van''s accelerator, pursuing Chandler''s car. He continued to step on the accelerator as the van shot forward with great speed.


    Seeing that the sky was beginning to darken, Dannie shouted. "Faster."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Don''t let him escape, Lynn." Sammie urged anxiously, staring at the back of the fast disappearing car.


    "Don''t worry, even if this van falls apart, I will catch up with him." Lynn replied.


    Soon afterwards, he realized the Audi car in front had started to decelerate and was turning towards the gas station. So, he also turned towards the gas station not far ahead.


    There were two large rows of gift boxes of various colors outside the gas station, blocking the glass of the supermarket inside.


    Also, there was an old motorcycle parked in front of the supermarket, so it was difficult for anyone inside the supermarket to see what was happening outside.


    Chandler honked the horn three times in the car, but no one came out. So casually, he pushed open the car door, and walked towards the supermarket and shouted. "Is anyone here?."


    Still no one responded. So, he looked around for a while, and discovered that the whole place was empty.


    There was not even the barking of a guard dog.


    As soon as he opened the door of the supermarket, he was pulled inside with a gun placed on his forehead.


    "Don''t move! Your hands behind your head!"


    "No, don''t shoot. I''m not here to take anything.." Chandler was a little frightened by the sudden development, and quickly raised his hands, and glanced left and right with trembling lips.


    There were four people in the supermarket. There was also an old man and a handsome girl, both tied back and squatting on the ground, with gags in their mouths.


    One of them was searching Chandler, when he noticed Lynn and his friends. "We got company!"


    Two guys with guns rushed towards the entrance to the supermarket, while the last one kept watch over the captives.


    Lynn and the others were about to rush through the entrance of the supermarket when all of a sudden, the door opened and two men wearing Balaclava rushed out.


    One of them pointed a short gun in his hand at the three of them.


    Lynn and his friends were shocked by the scenery in front of them. They didn''t know who these people were or what they were doing there. So they immediately stopped, and looked at each other.


    Lynn and his friends were bracing themselves for any possible outcome, when the third one joined the two men and ran towards their motorcycle.


    As soon as the driver of the motorcycle stepped on the accelerator, it spewed long exhaust gas in a high pitched scream.


    "Stop them! Thieves!" Chandler rushed out with blood on his face, and went straight after the motorcycles, but was met with several gun shots.


    Chandler immediately dropped to the ground. Lynn and others who were chasing after him also dropped to the ground, all of them rolling away in different directions.


    "Asshole, don''t you know this is a gas station?" Sammie shouted at the fleeting thieves as he got up from the ground.


    "Fire!" Someone suddenly screamed, realizing that the gas pump had started to burst into flames.


    "Run!" The four of them crawled and ran away from the gas station!


    Before they could run far enough, there was a loud banging sound, coming from the back.


    Lynn felt his body shook as a shock wave mixed with debris smashed at him. He opened his mouth wide and screamed, but he couldn''t hear his own voice.


    The surrounding sceneries spread out in his sight, little by little, like slow motion.


    He saw Dannie flying forward slowly, not far away from him, his limbs slowly drawing circles in the air.


    Someone was sent flying, farther away, fluttering slowly likewise. Judging from his clothes, Lynn deducted that person to be Chandler.


    As large masses of fire rolled over and gradually overwhelmed everybody in the vicinity of the gas station. Lynn eyesight was filled with flashes of raging fire.


    Slowly, the flames became brighter, and Lynn who was being blinded by this strong fiery light, couldn''t open his eyes. "Am I going to die like this?"


    He slowly stretched his hands to his eyes, and then stretched them forward, trying to grab something. But there was nothing in front of him, only endless light.


    After a few seconds, his body slowly flew towards the white light.


    Before he knew it, everything became nothingness, and his consciousness gradually dissipated.

 Rebirth [I]

    Lynn didn''t know how long had passed since he lost consciousness. But he realized it might just be a short time, or a rather long time had gone by.


    As he was wondering, his chaotic awareness suddenly sensed a strange but powerful aura. He felt as if there was a force-field around him, squeezing his body to death. It was as if he was about to suffocate to death.


    Where am I, am I dead? He asked himself in apprehension.


    He tried to open his eyes in order to check his surroundings, but couldn''t open them. Instictly, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind, but found that he couldn''t breathe at all.


    Shocked, he began to struggle in panic, but his hands and feet seemed to be bound by something.


    After a long while, he calmed his mind, and gradually gave up the struggle. He grappled towards the direction of the vaguely screaming voice of the woman closer to him, and subconsciously squeezed forward.


    ***


    As the wind blew fiercely, rolling-up sand and dust, the originally clear sky began to appear dim in an instant.


    The sun began to turn into a huge silver disk, high up in the sky. And beside it, was a black disk of the moon.


    The Birch tribe, a lonely small tribe on the edge of the forest was struggling in the wind at this time.


    This small tribe only had a few numbers of dwellers since it was one of the most common and lowest-ranking communities on the continent.


    At this moment, in this small clan, a powerful looking man was pacing around anxiously, the brows of his resolute face were knitted together in concern.


    "Chieftess, hold on, the baby will be out soon." The midwife''s encouragement came from the inner chamber of the man where a woman lay in childbirth''s labour.


    Hearing the voice of the midwife, Kai finally stopped pacing as the time had finally come. His wife was about to give birth?


    He was having a panic thought when a voice suddenly sounded outside the hut. "Chieftain, come and have a look at this. It''s not looking good."


    Kai''s heart jerked in panic, but after a moment of hesitation, he walked out of the hut.


    Although the wanton wind was no longer as violent as before, he was surprised to find that the originally blue sky had turned into a dark night. More so, the sun that should have appeared all day was now being overshadowed by endless darkness which occupied the entire sky. An eclipse.


    A few seconds later, an enormous world-splitting thunder suddenly rumbled and exploded in the sky.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "The abandonment...." The village Shaman shouted, her body covered in magical items.


    Kai had learned of this situation from his father before. So, he furrowed his brows, watching the surrounding movement vigilantly.


    The people of the tribe were all kneeling on the ground at this time, begging for heaven''s forgiveness together with the unique tongue of the tribe, while the clan leader chanted words and kept chanting unintelligible spells.


    Accompanied by the constantly exploding sky thunder, the atmosphere was strangely worrisome.


    The sky exploded for a full quarter of an hour. At the beginning, it was more frequent. Slowly, the interval between the explosion of the sky thunder became longer and louder.


    A while later, it only exploded once in every minute or two. During the interval following the sky''s thunderous explosion, a loud cry of a baby suddenly came from the inner chamber of the hut.


    Then the midwife''s voice rang out. "The Chieftess has given birth to a son!"


    Kai looked at the hut in surprise after hearing this. But the change hadn''t passed yet, and the Shaman was still chanting some incantations.


    The chieftain, who was anxious to see his long-awaited child, made long strides towards the entrance of the hut, but quickly controlled the warning impulse in his heart and stopped. He knew it was always better to remain alert to changes in the surroundings.


    All of a sudden, there was a gigantic thunderbolt, streaking across the dark sky. It was followed by an unprecedented huge sky-thunder.


    Immediately afterwards, a bolt of blue-white lightning streaked down from the sky, towards the roof of the chieftain''s hut and disappeared inside.


    Kai was scared witless by this development, but after regaining himself, he jumped up and rushed towards his hut. He was fearful that the mother and son in the hut could have been hurt by the lightning.


    Lynn tried to move his body forward. He thought that as long as he could break free, he would see what was going on. If he wasn''t dead, maybe he could find Dannie and Sammie.


    But as he gradually recovered his memory, Lynn began to think about the explosion at the gas station, of the fierce bodies flying in the air.


    Was he dead? What are these sticky things around him, blood, or grease? What about his friends, were they still alive, and if so, where would they be? He tried to shout a few times, but couldn''t open his mouth.


    After squirming for a while, his body suddenly felt lighten. It was as if he had escaped from a crowded space.


    Then he was dragged by a pair of hands, turned upside down on his head while being lifted with his legs. He immediately stretched out his hands, trying to grab something.


    With his mouth open, he spat out a burst of liquid. Immediately, he coughed violently, and found that he could finally open his mouth. He couldn''t stop himself from greedily taking a breath of fresh air. He tried hard to open his eyes, but they were sticky, and couldn''t open them.


    There was another vague voice in his ears, but Lynn couldn''t hear it clearly. He felt a little bit of tiredness in his body, so he gave up struggling. He let his body be moved around, and it seemed that someone was helping him clean up the filth on it.


    He had to try and open his eyes to see who was helping him. He didn''t know how long it took, but he finally felt that his eyes could open a bit. Through this gap, he could vaguely see a grey surroundings.


    Again, there was a low voice in his ears, but he still couldn''t hear what or who it was. Was it Dannie or Sammie? Are they all alive? He wanted to shout, but there seemed to be something stuck in his throat, and he couldn''t make his voice heard. He only made some babbling sounds.


    But after struggling for a while, he realized that his eyes were finally opened. He opened his hands, and shook them before his eyes. Realizing he could see clearly now, he tried to grab the shadow in front of him.


    Then, the voice in his ears became clearer and clearer. It was true that someone was talking, but he couldn''t understand a word of it.

 Rebirth [II]

    While Lynn was thinking, his confused mind suddenly sensed a strange but powerful energy. He felt as if there was a force field around him, crushing his body to death. He felt like he was being held in a death like choke-hold.


    Where am I? Am I dead? Is this heaven or hell? Lynn asked himself curiously.


    He tried to open his eyes to look around him, but he couldn''t open them. Instinctively, he took deep breaths and tried to calm himself, but realized he couldn''t breathe at all. He was shocked and confused and began to struggle, but his arms and legs seemed to be tied to something around him. They still couldn''t stretch out.


    While he was struggling, he vaguely heard a voice. The voice sounded so close and yet so far away. He was really shocked beyond words.


    After several long minutes, his mind gradually calmed down, and he gradually gave up the fight. He unconsciously moved forward, looking in the direction of the vague voice.


    He tried to move forward, thinking that if he could break free, he would be able to see what was happening. If he hadn''t died, maybe he would go and find his girlfriend and the two of them would have a great time drinking together.


    As he gradually regained consciousness, Lynn suddenly thought of the explosion at the gas station and the bloody looking corpses flying in the air.


    Did he die in that explosion? What are these sticky things sticking around? Is it blood or fat? He kept wondering if he was dead or insane.


    He tried to scream several times, but could not open his mouth. He couldn''t help but feel greatly uneasy. It was as if his body or perhaps his soul, was being transformed in a terrible manner. He struggled for a while, until suddenly, his body became light. It was as if he had escaped from the deepest part of the Amazonian jungle.


    He immediately reached out his hand and tried to grab something, but he caught hold of nothing. He tried to open his mouth, but spat out some of the liquid which appeared to be blocking his throat.


    Immediately afterwards, he coughed violently and finally realized he could open his mouth. He couldn''t resist taking a greedy breath of what seemed to be fresh air. He tried his best to open his eyes, but couldn''t open them.


    A vague voice reached his ears, but Lynn couldn''t hear it clearly. So, he gave up his struggles because his mind was a little tired.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    He had to try to open his eyes to see who was helping him. He didn''t know how long it took, but Lynn felt that his eyes were finally able to open a little.


    Through this gap, Lynn could only see the gray surroundings. He couldn''t see anything clearly, but he could still see something moving.


    Once again, the vague voice reached his ears, but he still couldn''t hear what or who it was. He wanted to scream, but something seemed to be stuck in his throat again and he could only made a muttering sound.


    After some difficulty, Lynn finally realized that his eyes were open. Now he could see clearly. He was cheering in his mind when he suddenly stopped.


    He raised his hands up again and saw that they were nearly transparent. What was happening?


    [The Unbound system activated]


    [Host: Lynn Stormfire]


    [Race: Human (Mortal)]


    What''s all these? Lynn''s clouded mind wondered.


    [At long last]


    Then the voice in his ears became clearer and clearer.


    [Welcome to the unbound realm, mortal]


    What...who are you?


    [I''m the Remnant. One of a kind....hm...the last of a kind]


    The Remnant? Lynn couldn''t help wondering if this might all have been some sort of hallucination. What am I doing here?


    [You''re here because you''re dead]


    Lynn frowned, thinking of how this strange voice seemed to know what he was thinking. How am I talking to you if I''m dead?


    [You died in a fire incident, burnt to ashes. So, without any doubt, you''re dead] The Remnant uttered in a form of affirmation. [I''m what remains of the essence in the crystal that''s fused to your soul. That''s why you can talk to me]


    The obsidian crystal?


    [Yes, it''s what kept your soul alive]


    If you don''t mind me asking, why are you here?


    [I''m the crystal guardian]


    You''re a guardian?


    [Yes, I am, and once I served a powerful refiner, a divine mage. But now, only a shadow of my old self is left]


    And the mage, what happened to him?


    [Dead, as the dead can be. This I believe you''ve already guessed]


    A chill ran down Lynn''s spine. So, he died only to know he was going to die again?


    [It was a daunting task to become a true immortal. I was with him as he traveled all over the realm, searching for the scroll of divinity] The Remnant sighed before continuing. Now that I think about it, I believe the gods were against him...]


    After the Remnant finished recounting the ordeals, Lynn finally understood the situation.


    All those who harnessed ether in this world were called refiners. No matter the class of a refiner, the highest level any essence refiner could reach was the Omnium level, a realm mortal.


    Only if a refiner found the scroll of divinity before entering the gates of Hades, would he break through the mortal realm to become a true immortal.


    [The crystal in your soul was supposed to be his way out, but....] The Remnant sighed and continued. [...my essence has been fading ever since. This is what remains of me to guide you]


    [Dexterity is initiated]


    [Constitution is initiated]


    [Strength is initiated]


    [The Twilight Skill is acquired]

 The Dark Forest [I]

    Time flew by like the wind, and at this time, ten years had passed.


    On this part of the world, the dark forest was one of the most diversed places to enter. The hills here were undulating, with a vast area, stretching tens of thousands of kilometers in length and width.


    There were three big rivers passing through the entire forest, which were several miles wide and of magnificent looks. There were also countless small rivers and gullies in the forest.


    With more than half of the tree species on the continent inside it, the forest was rightly named because of the ancient relics in the central area. But the central part of the forest was also occupied by the race of transcendent beasts known as the athons. Since there were incredibly powerful, very few people ever ventured deep into the forest.


    The outskirts of the forest was good enough to provide them their needs of meat from the knownbeast. Moreover, the closer those animals were to the edge of the forest, the lower their power bases were.


    So, there were many human tribes in the surrounding area of ??the dark forest, who lived by hunting ordinary animals for food.


    At this moment, three people were walking towards the center of the outskirts of the forest. They were holding flame torches and they kept shouting a single name. "Lynn."


    The group of three was made up of one man and two women. Both women were wearing tight animal skins. Their long dark hair were tied behind their heads with ornamental ropes made from animal skins.


    Although their appearances were exactly the same as identical twins, one of them had a white leather straps on heir head while the other had a yellow-coloured one. With their delicate faces and fur head ropes, they looked beautiful. Each one was holding a pair of long daggers in each hand.


    By their looks, they appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years of age, but their faces were full of anxiety as they continued to walk cautiously forward.


    The man among them was about twenty years old. He was of medium build, held a longbow, and was carrying a quiver full of feather arrows on his back. Along with the girls, he was searching and walking towards the center of the forest.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "This is all your fault. Why did you have to leave him all alone?" The woman with the white headband was complaining bitterly.


    The girl with the yellow hair-band replied in an aggrieved tone. "What should I have done? He asked me to find him a rope, and I left to find it. I didn''t know that if I left him for a while, he would be gone."


    The two continued to argue, time after time, but then, they would looked around and shouted anxiously. "Lynn, where are you?"


    After searching for a while with no luck, the man couldn''t help but ask. "Are you sure that the boy entered this forest?"


    "It has to be. He was saying something about catching some wild animals."


    "Then he must have come here to catch some animals after he finished weaving it."


    As the three of them were talking, a loud roar of a bear, suddenly came from the deeper part of the forest.


    Immediately afterwards, there was the crackling sound of branches and leaves caused by the pressure from the weight of a large animal.


    "Oh no." The man yelled. He quickly took a feather arrow and put it on the string, and ran towards the source of the sound.


    The two girls also followed closely with their long iron daggers poised ready.


    Further into the forest, a big black bear, with a height of more than one meters, was roaring angrily. In front of it, was Lynn, a boy of ten years of age, wearing a white animal skins that covered his body perfectly.


    Despite his small stature, he let the bear came after him. But he always slipped away at critical moments when the bear was about to pounce. From time to time, he would turn around and throw a stone at the bear, and the angry bear would respond with a roar before attacking.


    Since he was very agile and flexible, he was constantly changing his direction of movements. Hence, he was able to dodge the attacks of he bear from time to time. After so many attempts, he finally gained an ounce of Dexterity to his relief.


    [Dexterity +1]


    But to the annoyance of the bear. Seeing a giant tree of more than one hundred meters high in front of it, blocking its way, the bear angrily slammed its front paws on the ground. It let out an angry roar, hot saliva was drooling out of its mouth, ready to jump forward. In its eyes, the little boy was already on its meat plate.


    At this critical juncture, a voice suddenly rang around in the area. "Lynn, be careful."


    A few seconds later, a feather arrow pierced the eyes of the bear with the tip of the arrow going through the back of the bear''s head. It came to a stop, let out a stern roar, and fell to the ground. After a moment, or two, it exhausted its vitality and died.


    Lynn walked to the dead bear and looked down at it as the information flashed through his mind.


    [Knownbeast - level two]


    He wiped the sweat from his forehead, shook his head and sighed. Looking up, he saw the three familiar faces running over to where he was, and hurriedly shouted. "Stop, don''t come any closer."

 The Dark Forest [II]

    When the two young girls heard this, they stopped, but the man yelled as if he hadn''t heard the boy. "Don''t worry, Lynn. Just stay right there, I''m coming."


    Seeing that the man was about to run pass the giant tree, Lynn raised his hand, pointing at the branches of the tree. But before the man realized what the boy was talking about, it was too late. He found his leg caught up in a rope and a big net sprouted from the ground, suspending him in the air.


    "I told you to stop, uncle, but you didn''t stop. You know it''s not my fault you got caught up in the trap-net." Lynn shook his head and walked over to where the net was hung and said. He was about to walk towards Cassian to release the rope-net when the two young sisters ran towards him.


    The girl wearing the white headband grabbed his ears with both hands, and pulled them, shouting. "Lynn....what did I tell you?"


    "Ouch, not to come here alone?"


    "So, why didn''t you listen? If I find you ran out by yourself next time time, I will wring your ears off...hm?"


    "Yes, sister..." Lynn rubbed his aching ear vigorously, and immediately begged vaguely for mercy. "Please... if you don''t let go, my ears will fall off."


    The other girl, wearing a yellow headband quickly stepped forward and gently smacked her sister''s hands away, easing the pressure of Shesara''s hand. She pulled Lynn to the left, glanced angrily at Shesara, and turned back to the boy. "You''re not hurt, are you?"


    Lynn made a grimacing face at Shesara and said. "Don''t worry, sister, my ears are quite strong, you know."


    "I mean the bear. Did it hurt you?"


    "No, big sister. I''m fine."I wanted to catch it alive. It''s a pity that it''s dead." Lynn answered. He wanted to catch the bear alive. It was a pity they shot it dead.


    When he realezed he would be staying in this world from now on, he had been looking for ways to entertain himself and increase his power base. He was no longer a baby. At this time, he had already grown into a strong boy, about one meter tall.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Unlike other tribesmen, he not only had a hard and beautiful face, but also had a slightly paler complexion than the rest of them. But his most powerful attribute was his hunting skills.


    At the age of four, when the other children in the clan only knew how to pee and mud, Lynn was already able to guard the hunt with the clan. Regardless of how young he was, due to the memories he had acquired from his previous life, he could often come up with all kinds of strange ideas to make his tribe have a good harvest from their plantations.


    Except the Remnant, no one else knew about the secret of Lynn''s rebirth, just that he was a great talent and had an extremely flexible mind.


    In the past few years, the Remnant would occasionally exchange thoughts and check the advancement of Lynn''s power base. Anytime he found Lynn''s power base lacking, he would immediately encourage him to harness ether if he wanted to survive in this world. Great magical prowess came from a strong power base.


    Ever since Lynn followed his father to guard the hunt for the first time, the people had gradually seen that the number of death and injury had dropped significantly. In many cases, they got big harvests without having a single person got hurt.


    On many occasions, his father had tried to let him lead the tribe to guard the hunt, but he had never dared to let Lynn enter the forest alone. After all, the boy was still young, and apart from possessing a lot of good ideas, he didn''t have much ability to protect himself yet.


    Moreover, the forest was full of dangers, and there were many powerful creatures inside it, especially the Athons who were living at the central part of the forest. Every time Lynn was asked to lead the hunting team, his father would also tell him not to go deep into the forest, and ask the clansmen who are guarding the hunt to always remind him of that.


    Lynn pulled out a sharp blade, and started cutting open the bear''s skull. If it was just a normal bear, it would have no essence crystal. If it was a magical beast, it would possess a green essence crystal. But if it was an Athon, it would have red essence crystal. He already knew it was a knownbeast, he just wanted to confirm for himself.


    After opening the skull, no essence crystal was seen. So, it was indeed a magical beast, excellent for food.  Lynn was returning the knife back onto his waist when he heard the voice of the man caught in the trap-net. "Can anyone let me down?"


    Lynn turned to his sisters who were closer to the trap-net. They smiled, nodded and cut down the rope.


    After falling to the ground, Cassian struggled to crawl out of the rope net. He looked around, wanting to say some angry words to the boy but saw that he had already ran away from there. Disgruntled, he picked up the dead bear and began to trod forward behind Shesara and Hespera.