《Deadly Adventures》 1. Swordsman Vs Magic In the forest outside the city, a man wakes on the grass, he tries to recall what happened but he remembers nothing, he looks at himself, he''s wearing fighting garments and he carries a katana on his waist, he''s not a samurai, he isn''t from that world, here he is called a swordsman, the same as everyone who wields a sword regardless of what kind of sword he wields. The man tries to at remember what happened before what happened to get him, he couldn''t remember anything, not even his childhood memories, not even his name, he doesn''t panic, he''s as calm as the gentle breeze, that''s what it takes to be a swordsman. "I am the master swordsman, the master of mind and body, and my name is..." The swordsman feels as if the word was just on his tongue but suddenly it ceased to exist. "Fine, I will make a new one, From here on I shall be known as..." A black feathered bird lands on a tree, his beak is as dark as its feathers and his eyes pierce through the swordsman, or at least that''s how it felt. The swordsman freezes for a second then he speaks. "...Raven, I am Raven." The swordsman doesn''t know if that''s his real name or the one the new one, but a feeling overwhelms him, regardless of what his name was, now he is Raven. Raven looks around, he finds a road, a path out of the forest, he follows and he ends up on a bigger road, he looks back on the forest and he sees a giant wall behind it. "This must be a city." Suddenly, two bandits jump out of the bushes, the first is a mage wearing a robe and wielding a magical staff with the smallest crystal on it, the second is a warrior wearing minimal leather armor that covers stomach down to his knees, wrists and feet, he wields two one handed axes, Raven realizes he is against a magic user. "Magic is real." He thinks to himself, he tries to connect with magic a summon any spell he learned before he lost memories, nothing. "I can''t use magic."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The warrior yells at him. "Give us all you have! Now!" His intimidation fails, Raven isn''t shaken, he is already thinking about the battle. "He''s a warrior, he probably can''t use magic as well, the mage will try to hit me with his spells as I fight the warrior, I must be mindful of his attacks." The warrior is angered by Raven''s, he yells again. "I will kill you, you bastard. Strength: Grade one." Raven sees some energy seeping out of the warrior, he pulls out of his sword. "Did he just cast a spell to make himself stronger?" Raven has a dreadful realization, all other humans can use magic, it''s only him that is powerless, his sword skills seem like child''s play now. In a single moment, Raven gets distracted by the warrior when he casts the spell, the mage sees that and conjures a lasso and snatches Raven''s sword away. "No weapon? Fine, I will just have to defeat them with my martial arts alone." Raven is no master of martial arts, and he doesn''t know about any heavenly arts that would trivialize this fight, he has to be mindful of his enemies'' capabilities and answer accordingly. The warrior steps forward to attack, Raven swiftly steps back as the warrior misses his attack, the mage casts a fireball, Raven ducks, the fireball misses him, the warrior swings his axes downward, Raven goes through between his legs, stands up and kicks behind his knee, the warrior falls down, the mage casts a fireball, Raven grabs the warrior up and uses him as shield, the warrior gets scorched, Raven can''t tell if he died or if he is unconscious, but he stops moving, Raven grabs his axes, he throws one towards the mage and starts charging in his direction, the mage casts a mana shield, the axe hits it and falls on the ground, the mage casts a fireball, Raven dodges it while running. "He is unstoppable! I am done for!" The mage turns and runs away, Raven stops, drops the axe and retrieves his sword. This battle doesn''t go unnoticed, a merchant driving an empty wagon sees the whole fight, he is amazed by Raven''s skills. - You did well against those two bandits. The merchant says as he stops the two horses pulling the wagon. - I guess so, but they used magic, I certainly didn''t expect that. - What do you mean? - I can''t use magic, I didn''t know it was a thing. - Can''t use magic? All humans can use magic, but not knowing it existed? You must''ve not been raised around humans. - I don''t know, I lost my memories. - That explains it, you must''ve forgotten about magic and how to use it, look, your skills are impressive and you haven''t used magic, you''d make a great mercenary. - Why a mercenary? - Because being an adventurer is for people who don''t like killing other people, being a soldier doesn''t pay much, but being a mercenary, sure it''s dangerous, sometimes shady but if you know what are you doing you can avoid getting into that sort of trouble, but it pays well, you aren''t hired by nobodies to save their village, you''re hired by merchants like me who are willing to pay you well because your work will make us even more money no matter how trivial it is, killing some few monsters that lurk around our farms saves a lot no matter how weak those monsters are, thus you get paid more than an adventurer in this scenario. - Sure, I am convinced... How do I become a mercenary? - Don''t worry, I know just the guy. 2. Mercenary The merchant and Raven enter the city walls, this is Redstone, the city of adventurers, bandits and mercenaries, the merchant takes Raven to the mercenary hub, the Red Steel building, the first floor, there was a receptionist. - You can go ahead to the boss, sir. - Thank you. Past the receptionist is the mercenaries of Red Steel sitting around drinking booze, the bartended is also the task master, behind him is the task board. "It''s noisy in here." Raven remarks. The two head up to the second floor, Raven can no longer hear any noise. - It''s gotten quiet. - The boss is a mage, his specialty is controlling domains, that means he can cast wide range shields with varying effects. - I get it. Raven looks around, he sees a lot of garages, he wonders what they are for as he goes up to the third floor. "The second and third floor are the storage rooms, here the boss stores different things from trophies to weapons to tools, each are rewards for mercenaries who please him, but you try to open any of the rooms without permission, you will be electrocuted, if you''re tough enough you wake up in the hospital, if you''re not, you will never wake up." The reach the fourth floor, a big waiting room and a door that leads to the boss''s office, on the right are couches surrounding a table from three sides, on the left is a bookshelf that holds different works of literature and different guides that helps mercs become better, unfortunately, barely anyone reads those guides. The two sit and await their turn to enter the office. After a while, two archers leave the office, a man and a woman, they go to the staircase and head up. - What''s on the floor above? - That''s the elite mercenaries'' hub, they a have a 24/7 bartender and training grounds. - What if I head up? - You will find a door with no lock, but it won''t open unless you''re an elite merc which will be decided by the boss, it''s time to meet him. The enter the room, a man sits behind a desk, he wears a black suit with no tie, he has a magical staff floating behind him, it''s made by the finest dark wood and black diamonds are mounted on it, surrounding him are shelves mounted on three walls filled with records. The merchant whispers to Raven. "Everything he does is clean, you don''t have to worry about getting into legal trouble working for him, he keeps records of anything."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The boss greets the merchant. - Welcome, I haven''t seen you in a while, where have you been? - Here and there traveling around the kingdom, the usual business. - So who do you bring me? - This is... - Raven, I am Raven. - Today, I''ve seen him take care of two bandits who ambushed him skillfully, though he lacks in the magical department, he made a fine work out of the two without getting a scratch on him, I would like you to take him in. - You''ve done me a favor before, yes? Now I will return the favor and hire this boy you brought to me, Raven, you can wait outside. Raven went to wait outside for a few minutes, then the merchant comes out. - Thank you, but you didn''t have to do this for me. - I am a merchant, I deal in favors, selling and buying is what I do in between, will you return my favor someday. - I will. The two shook hands, the merchant lefr Raven, before he went down the staircase, Raven asked. - I forgot to ask you, what''s your name? - I am known by many names, but you shall know me as Nomed. Nomed headed down, Raven found the name weird. "Nomed? Wait that''s demon reversed, did I just make a deal with a demon. No, I am just being superstitious." Raven entered the boss''s office. - Your is Raven, right? - Yes, sir. - Drop the sir, you''re a merc not a soldier, my name is Giren, seeing how you were recommended by such a man, I will give you a chance at achieving elite status, I have ran into a quite complicated matter, it''s nothing I can''t handle, but for you, it will be a test that will put your skills through the wringer, head to Ebony Forge and tell the master smith there that Giren wants his weapons delivered. - Got it. - Head south east from here and you''ll find it. Raven headed out, this is the first time he walks through the city but it isn''t time to get distracted, he is on important mission, Giren told him to deliver a message, but seeing how he talked about this job, there is more to it. Raven reaches the forges, half of it is missing, he sees couple of men repairing and a dwarf watching them, the dwarf''s skin is as dark as ash, on his waist he carries smithing tools, his eyes glow red like a beast, Raven approches him. - Are you the master smith? - Yes, I am Gorr. - What happened here? - A bunch of bandits stole explosives from the miners, blew my forge and stole an unfinished sword. - Why would they steal an unfinished sword? - It''s made using precious metals, it for the local guild master of the Adventurers'' Guild. - Well anyway, Giren said he wants his weapons. - Yeah, I got them, but I can''t spare any man to deliver them and we''re short on money to hire more. - Maybe we can figure something out, I retrieve the unfinished sword and you spare some men to deliver the weapons. - Sure, completing the sword would help me make enough money to fully restore the forge. - You have any idea where can I find it? - In their hideout of course, but where is the hideout, I don''t know. - Then I will beat the location out of some bandit. Raven heads out searching for anyone that looks shady, while he is at it, Raven hears a fight breaks out, he takes a turn and he''s faced by a man who shivers in fear, it''s the mage bandit from before. 3. Bandits Cave The mage froze on the sight of Raven, Raven looked at him waiting for a reaction, the mage turned and started running, Raven grabbed him from his clothes, the bandit screamed fearfully. - Don''t kill me! I am sorry for before! - I won''t kill you. - Thank you! - You just have to tell me something. - I will tell you anything you want! -Where is your hideout? - I can''t tell you that, Ralph will kill me. - Who is Ralph? - Ralph, the one eyed; he''s the leader of the bandits. - Well you''re either dying now or later, the choice is yours. - Alright I will tell you, just don''t say that I told you. - Out with it already. - Go outside the city, head north, you''ll find a wolf''s den, next to it is a cave, that''s the hideout. Raven let go of the bandit, the bandit thanked him for sparing his life. "Forget about being a bandit, if I ever hear about you causing trouble, I will personally come after you." The bandit promised Raven then took his leave. "How the hell will I get past a den of wolves?" Raven has a realization. "Yes! That''s it! Wolves are afraid of fire, all I need is two torches and I will be fine." Then a disappointment, the bandits will be alerted of his presence, but wait, why the wolves don''t attack the bandits, there must a be way to avoid them. "Alright then, when I get there, I will figure it out." Raven heads to the forest, he finds the cave. "Wolves, only wolves all over." He hears someone approaching from behind, he hides behind a tree. "Did he see me?" It appears he didn''t, the man continues walking, Raven sees him, he''s a bandit, he wears leather armor and wields a short sword, Raven watches the bandit, he doesn''t head directly to the cave, he doesn''t get near the wolves, Raven follows him, the bandit disappears behind a pile of rocks, Raven heads behind him, he doesn''t find him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "Did he go invisible?" Raven thinks the bandit saw him, hid or went invisible to ambush him, Raven grabs his sword, he waits for a minute, nothing. "Is he playing games with me?" Raven looks around him, then he looks down, he sees a trap door, he opens it and goes down, he hears the rumbling of a crowd. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" The bandits yell in unity as a one eyed man fights another, Raven reaches the fighting area, now he knows where he shouldn''t go, Raven continues searching. After some time, Raven finds the only bandit not in the fighting area, he''s guarding a room. "This is so stupid, I should be there watching the fights two, but look at me, the treasure room must be guarded they said, from who? The wolves." Raven sneaks up behind him and chokes him out, he falls unconscious, Raven searches his pockets, he find a key, he uses it to open the treasure room. Raven enters, the door shuts behind him and a golem rises up, Raven swings his sword, it breaks, the golem tries to punch Raven but it''s too slow, Raven notices an ord floating in a hollow hole in the golems chest, Raven steps forward, grabs the orb and takes it out, the golem falls to pieces and the door opens. Raven looks around, he sees gold coins everywhere, he picks one. "This is fake gold, worthless." The coins are too hard to be made of gold, Raven continues looking around, he sees a katana. "How did this baby get here?" Raven replaces his sword, he also finds the unfinished sword, he goes back the way he came from to leave, he sees the men getting out of the fighting area. "I guess it''s through the wolves then." Raven turns around and runs out of the cave through the wolves den, the some of the wolves start to chase after him, Raven sprints out of the forest, he looks behind him, the wolves stopped chasing him. Raven returns to the forge as the sun falls. "I haven''t eaten all day, now I am getting hangry, I better get done with this as fast as I can, I have no energy left." Raven finds the dwarf. - The job is done. - I didn''t believe you''ll do it. - I nearly lost my life, I guess I got lucky. - Tell Giren he will have his weapons by tomorrow, wait, that sword, it wasn''t the same sword you came with. - You''re right, mine broke when I fought a golem. - You''re dumb for swinging your sword at a golem. - I did it reflexively. - Anyway, let me take a look at it. Raven hands his sword, the dwarf casts an analysis spell. - This is a sword with no stat boosts but it has dimensional properties. - That''s good, but what does it mean? - I can''t tell, you have to use it again and again until you discover what that means. - Thinking about it, dimensional properties sounds pretty good. - Don''t get your hopes up, it''s probably some stupid ability. - But it might not be. - We will see, now excuse I have to go, looking after these men all day is sure tiring. Raven returned to Giren and reported him. - Well I guess congrats, you''re elite now. - I would like my payment now. - You''ll get paid, don''t worry. - I don''t have money, I am hungry and without a place to stay at. - I will pay, but answer me this question, what will you do if I had a bounty on my head. - Well, fighting you will sure be interesting, but I would need special tools to counter your magic wich is controlling domains, but yeah, I am coming after you, if the pay is good. - You just do it for the pay? - No, I am interested in fighting you, but it must be worth it. - You''re good, you both have the batte lust and wit to recognize not every battle is worth fighting, that man sure knows how to pick them. 4. Duo After a job well done, Raven is paid and Giren receives his weapons, Raven decides to visit the fifth floor. Raven enters the room, on the wall on his right, he sees a crystal stuck in the wall projecting a task board in the air, he looks around he sees tables and chairs, far on the left is a bar table behind it is a golem bartender, though this golem is unique, he''s made with metal and held by screws and wires, he still has a magic orb in his chest but it isn''t floating in a hollow hole, the metal engulfs most of it except for some of it, on the other side of the wall where the door he entered through is, there is another door. "That must be the door to the training grounds." Raven headed to the golem. - A golem as a bartender, weird. - I am not just a golem, I am a sentient golem. - And what does that mean? - That means I have a soul. - Didn''t know golems could have a soul. - Not naturally, I was once human, I nearly died, there was no coming back, my body was beyond repair, by the help of a golem maker and a necromancer, my was put in this advanced golem, after that I met young Giren, he just founded Red Steel, I used to work in the first floor, and here I am. And then, two entered, it was the archers from before, the woman had sharp eyes, nimble limbs, and it felt like she wasn''t in the room. "The woman is Fox, the archeress, here arrows soar the air faster than sound and always hit their mark, they say their enemies don''t even know what hit them." The man''s physique was impressive, he had a dominant presence, and he was much more intimidating. "And that''s Wolf, the hunter, everything else is a prey, if we are talking skill, Fox beats him ten out of ten times, but his arrows break shields and even without his bow he can manage against any warrior, the two are considered the strongest duo in Red Steel." Seeing the new merc, Wolf was hoping to test him, his killing intent was strong, since the moment he entered the room, he saw Raven only as his prey, but there was no reaction. - The new guy isn''t our usual run of the mill green merc, he''s special. Wolf said. - His calmness is impressive, his heart is unwavering and his mind is clear, even more than me. Fox said.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The two talked as they sat in a table away from Raven. - He has a sword, he''s a swordsman, I wonder if he could take me if we fought with no weapons. - I heard he can''t use magic. - Then why is he sitting in the same room as us? - Haven''t you heard Giren complaining about us being nothing more than muscle with no brains, sure he wasn''t talking about us but that''s only makes two out of many, so this one might not have muscle, so he must have brains. - That explains his attitude, you wanna test him? - No thanks, maybe if he gets stronger, now I have no interest in him. - I think you''re right, I''m rooting for him, if he gets strong enough we''ll make a good trio. - A trio? Never, it''s only me and you. - Sure babe. Raven recognizes the strength of the duo, Wolf and Fox are not a force to be reckoned with. After a while, the duo leaves, Raven decides to take a job, he heads to the magical task board, he looks at it, he sees a bounty for someone called "Ralph, the one eyed", he looks at the picture. "This is the bandit leader, I saw him on my last job, I could''ve hit two birds with one stone, I guess I could take this job." Raven looks at robo. - So how does this work? - Tap on the job you want, a list of name will appear, tap on you name. It''s on, Raven headed out head hunting, he''s thinking maybe he gets lucky and discovers his weapon''s special ability, he head to the hideout, he searches every corner, there is no one. "What a waste of time." Heading out the forest he gets ambushed by two bandits, one is a mage and the other is a rogue, the mage wears a robe and wields a magic wand, the rogue wears light leather armor and wields a single dagger, the mage starts the fight by casting an ice spike, Raven dodges it but it goes through his clothes. "That one was fast." The rogue attacks, Raven dodges, the rogue swung too hard. "Now he''s wide open." Raven slices through him. "Shadow step." The rogue melts to his own shadow, Raven sees the shadow moving on the ground. "It''s a distaraction." Raven moves his sights to the mage, the rogue emerges from the shadow and slashes his thigh, Raven counter attacks and the rogue steps back, Raven misses, the mage casts an ice spike, Raven dodges it, now he''s away from the rogue, the rogue charges at him and the mage starts casting, this time the cast is long, the rogue casts shadow step instead of attacking, Raven sees the shadow move under him. "An ice spike to his head." "And a dagger to his heart." Before the mage casts his spell, his hand twitches, Raven sees that, he dodges though he hasn''t seen the ice spike coming his way, as he moves away, he slices the air behind him, he looks, the rogues head starts sliding off his neck and then the ice spike blows it, Raven raises his arms preventing the blood from hitting his face. The mage horrified, he just killed his friend, he turns around to run but he''s too slow, Raven catches up to him at stops him immediatly. "Answer my questions, or you''re as good as your friend."