《Dark Lord: Rise to Power》 The End Times ¡°At last, the rotten world is coming to an end¡± sighed Arin. It was a sigh of relief. The whole world had gone crazy over the impending doomsday! First it was a hushed rumor, some rambling in dark corners of Internet; then some overzealous news pages over internet, which were taken down promptly! Days passed and the murmurs got louder, too loud for mainstream news channels to keep ignoring. News Channel debates were organized, where Experts made appearance and refuted these ¡®hoaxes¡¯. When most people were sighing of relief, Arin was among handful few who were throwing their fist in rage, because, contrary to their earnest wish, the World was not going to End as the rumors were foretelling! Arin was a 25-year-old guy, whose only happy memories were of his childhood, with his loving parents! The memories were a bit blurry by now, but he remembered his father, a journalist, was killed while unearthing some dirt on some powerful people. His mother was killed by goons as she refused to hand them over the documents Arin¡¯s father had gathered. The police, the Law, Media Houses- no one had heard pleas of little Arin that time. The selfish relatives showed him their backs. At last, an uncle appeared whom Arin had never heard of or seen before; and decided to take care of Arin till he becomes an adult. But he had made little Arin¡¯s life so miserable in those few months, that the poor 10-year-old boy had to run away from his own home. Since then, Arin had taken the darker path of life. From being a cutpurse to petty thief to robbery, he had done everything to survive. The more he delved in the underworld, the more he observed how rotten humanity was to its core. Surprisingly, because of his wit and quick thinking, and may be a bit of luck, he had avoided jail term till now. Was some angel looking over him? Arin had thought that many a times. ¡°Maybe a dark angel¡± He often joked. However, this thought had slowly encouraged the boy to delve into Occult. So, anyway, these all had made Arin hating Humanity and Human Civilization more and more, the intensity of that hatred growing stronger each day! So, he was overwhelmed with joy, when he came to know that the World might end soon. Anyway, the Authorities in the World were not able to deny these rumors for long! After a leading Scientist from world¡¯s leading space agency debunked the ongoing rumors on a global news channel, a mysterious person or group revealed online all the secret Government documents regarding a 134 km wide asteroid which was heading towards Earth, and that it was so big that Scientists and Governments were at loss on what to do. A massive global riot ensued, further hampering the World Governments from taking any actions to tackle the impending doom. And there were sudden Electromagnetic Pulse happening around, further aggravating the chaos worldwide. Arin himself had experienced this lately; electronic items suddenly malfunctioning around him. He has observed a glow around him at that time. First, he had thought that he was hallucinating, but later he found out that, it was happening with many people around the world.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Things went crazier when suddenly people started vanishing. First it was assumed that the Government is kidnapping people to hide things. But when one day the young Police Chief Roy vanished in thin air on live TV, all hell broke loose! According to people present at that time, Roy was having a Press conference, when suddenly a blue glow appeared under his feet, a bell tolling was heard suddenly by everyone present there, and then he vanished in thin air! After that, things went too south to contain and the System literally gave up. People had stormed the stores to loot. The Rich people had been looted as well, for hardly anyone was willing to sacrifice own life for their security! This was Perfect Apocalypse. Arin was very happy these days, as, according to him, Humanity had started showing its true color now! However, all was going to end today, as it was the fated day. Arin was ready for the Apocalypse. He went to rooftop. The asteroid was clearly visible right now in naked eyes. ¡°Is it aiming towards me?¡± chuckled Arin, as he stretched his hands as if to welcome and hug the asteroid coming towards him. People in ground right now were literally acting like crazy ants whose anthills had been disturbed. Arin started laughing like crazy, ¡°Come, come, you end of all, let me welcome you with open arms!¡± Suddenly he again felt there was a glow on the floor around his feet. A strange circle was forming up, more complex than any he had seen in his occult books. He heard a sudden outburst of people from the ground. Strange circles were forming and people were vanishing in thin air. The crowd below didn¡¯t even know what to do at this point. ¡°What the Hell, am I as well going to¡­..¡± Arin murmured subconsciously, but was cut by another strange voice in his head, ¡°So much potential, why burn it to cinders under a fiery rock?¡± -¡°Who the hell is it?¡± shouted Arin. -¡°Someone who can give you a second chance you deserve!¡± The voice in his head answered. -¡°Second chance?¡± Arin furrowed his brow in disbelief and annoyance! -¡°Yes my child! A second chance to utilize all of your untapped potential and¡­.¡± -¡°Forget it, I am not going to relive this petty miserable human life anymore!¡± Arin interrupted and felt he had gone crazy for he was now talking aloud when no one was around him on the rooftop. -¡°I shall give you chance to be something more than Human, and maybe you will realize your true potential and achieve what you could not in this dying world. What do you have to lose anyway? Answer fast, for it is not good to stop the flow of time for such long,¡± said the voice. Suddenly Arin realized that everything around him had stopped. ¡°Fast¡± urged the voice again, this time in a bit more commanding tone. ¡°What do I have to do?¡± Arin asked. -¡°Be Hem¡¯netjer Nerthazir¡­.¡± -¡°Hem what?¡± -¡°Be my Champion, that¡¯s all I can say! Now speak up!¡± -¡°I am ready¡± Arin said, as he had nothing to lose and at the same time, he could feel his heart was racing, and a strange longing inside for whatever the mysterious voice is offering! -¡°Wise choice¡± the voice sounded happy! Arin could see the circle glowing with strange green glow, a strange bell tolling was heard in distance, and Arin vanished from the face of Earth. From the Dying World to the World of Death Arin was blinded for a moment due to the huge green flash. The tolling sound of bell had intensified to the extent that he was afraid of going deaf anytime! He had tried to close his ears, but only to find that he was unable to move his limbs. He could not feel any of his organs. It was as if his whole body had been paralyzed; but, at the same time, he felt very lite, as if, he did not have a physical body to begin with, anymore! Arin got scared too much. Anticipating to witness something too horrible for his imagination to even conjure, he tried to open his eyes slowly. There was no blinding light anymore. Rather, everything seemed pitch black. However, as his eyes grew accustomed to the surrounding darkness gradually, he realized that it was not as pitch black as it seemed at first glance. Rather, there was a soft greenish glow everywhere. He tried to look at himself. No, he was not laying down paralyzed in some stone slab as he was lowkey afraid of finding out. Rather, to his astonishment, he was now floating in space. He could see his body now, but it was translucent, as he could see through his body. Suddenly a chill ran down his spine. He realized that he had become incorporeal! ¡°Am I a ghost now?¡± Arin shouted in horror, ¡°destined to wander aimlessly in this cold dark void?¡± He felt like he could cry right now, ¡°So my torment is not over yet, and I have to get punished for eternity in this limbo from now?¡± He was hoping someone would answer him and tell him that it was all lie and his concerns were all false. But in back of his mind, he had also felt that no one was going to answer him in this God forsaken limbo. Arin was a guy who had grown up facing hardships. No matter how dark the situation seems, it couldn¡¯t keep him down for long. He quickly regained his composures and thought of knowing about his location and situation better and in details. He realized that he was probably not trapped in a black hole, but rather in a strange land of perpetual Twilight. The sky was strange with beautiful yet eerie aurora constantly changing shape, twirling and twisting, making Arin feel dizzy after a while. He shook his head and looked downwards. A well like structure was just below his feet. It was not a bottomless pit, rather it was glowing with a bright celadon hue. And now he could see a strange statue near the Well. ¡°What the¡­¡± Arin exclaimed, ¡°Where from the Statue appeared suddenly?¡± as he was sure that he would have noticed this statue first time he had opened his eyes, if it was there since the beginning. It was statue of a mysterious figure in a robe, whose face was covered in hood. He could not figure if it had hands or not, but there were two gigantic wings spread on both sides. It seems the statue was made of marble, but it was matching the surrounding, probably either because the stone was of a greenish shade or it was just reflecting the greenish tint abundant in this perpetual land of twilight. Arin tried to look at the face curved in the statue. To his surprise, it felt like that the statue was also looking at him now. Arin felt that if he could look a bit more closely for a while, he could actually see the face that was curved. Suddenly he felt like, the stony lip had moved a bit! ¡°Feeling better?¡± spoke the statue. It was so sudden and shocking that Arin darted backwards as his survival instinct kicked in. And then it dawned upon his mind, that he had regained complete control of his body. ¡°Happy now?¡± spoke the voice again. ¡°Who are you? Where am I? What is happening to me? What is this place? How long I am¡­.¡± Arin started spouting barrage of questions; but was cut short in mid by the Statue, ¡°It seems you have yet to shed your mortal traits! So many questions, yet so lack of patience!¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Wait¡­.¡± shouted Arin, ¡°it¡¯s the same voice I heard that time, in my head!¡± ¡°Yes, and now listen as I speak¡± said the Statue, ¡°I am the God of Dead! And you are in my realm, the land of Death¡±. Suddenly a thick voluminous fog slowly covered the face of the statue. As the face slowly became blurry, Arin could notice the smirk was vanishing and the face was turning grim. The thick fog covered the whole statue, and only two glowing green eyes could be seen now piercing through the thick fog. First time, Arin really felt intimidated and felt like he had been frozen in place. ¡°Listen my words, my Hem¡¯netjer;¡± spoke the strange statue, ¡°listen closely for you are now standing before Nerthazir, the Reaper Prime. I am the inevitable, the lurking shadow waiting to shroud mortals at edge of their final breath, the eternal silence trailing mortal¡¯s last heartbeat. Irrespective of whatever paths mortals take in their lifetime, all paths eventually lead to my realm of perpetual twilight only, as none can escape my grasp. You had sought the hidden knowledge of the beyond, in your last life. When you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back at you. You have answered my offer, and in return, you shall bear witness to the end of all things. Embrace your fate, for in my domain, eternity unfolds in the flicker of an eye.¡± ¡°So, I am dead and now trapped to this Land of Death forever?¡± asked Arin. ¡°Yes, and, no¡± spoke Nerthazir, ¡°You are going to a World and conquer it as my Champion. You are going to rule it and establish my superiority over all the other Gods, by crushing their followers.¡± ¡°Why me?¡± asked Arin. ¡°Maybe it was because who you are, your latent potential; or, because of your interest in the occult, or maybe¡± Nerthazir took pause for a bit, ¡°it was just a random event, a trick of fate, which binds everything, from you mortals to even us Gods¡± ¡°Are all those else who are vanishing for last few days, were being summoned by you as well?¡± Arin asked with a suspicious tone. ¡°This is for you to find out¡± Nerthazir chuckled, ¡°as well as, the path you will take and how you will tread upon it. You are not my puppet or avatar or slave. You are even free to quit being my champion, all choices will be yours, and so will be the consequences.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not something I had expected from a grim God of Death!¡± Arin said in surprise. ¡°Yes, I am often misunderstood by mortals, not that I care much. Anyway, go with my blessings, curve your own path. I wish you get what you had hoped to achieve in your last life and more. As my Hem¡¯netjer, you will have dominion over life and death. You will take life from the living and bless the dead with undeath. But remember to treat the power I am going to bestow upon you, with respect and responsibility. Or the power will corrupt you and take control of you. Following me is akin to walking on tightrope, one misstep and you are destined to fall to your doom. But if you maintain balance and can keep walking on that tightrope, you will one day reach your destiny, which I won¡¯t reveal now.¡± said Nerthazir in a compassionate voice. Arin suddenly remembered his own father, whom he had forgotten much by now. There was certain warmth in God of Death¡¯s chilly embrace. ¡°It will be done¡± Arin said automatically as he bowed his head in reverence. ¡°May it be¡± Nerthazir¡¯s mysterious statue, which seemed to have come alive by now, gestured and Arin started floating upwards, only to stop for a moment when he could see eye-to-eye with Nerthazir. ¡°Before you leave for new home, remember these doctrines of mine¡±, said the Eternal Reaper, ¡°Maintain Balance, Embrace Death with Grace, and Protect the soul from Corruption- both in and out of the body!¡± Nerthazir gestured again, and Arin started floating upwards, with increasing speed. Arin could feel his incorporeal body is crumbling under the unmatched acceleration, and everything that made him Arin was constantly dissipating. Only his consciousness remained. Arin was heading fast towards a swirling vortex of light. He felt as if he would now crash with the intense light, and what was remaining of him, his consciousness, that would be lost forever as well. He wanted to cry but he no more had a mouth to cry, or eyes to shed tears. He accepted his fate as h braced for imminent impact. Dread Lord Rises *BAM* a loud deafening sound was heard. And suddenly Arin felt he was falling at high speed. But now there were nothing that could be seen, entirely pitch black. He could feel his body once again. But this time, he realized that, he was literally laying upon a stone slab, and his body was paralyzed. He could hear a strange chant in a frail voice- ¡°Nerthazir Enkigal, seg tuku; Ilabrat, igi¡¯bar; Nanna, ki¡¯nu; Hem¡¯netjer, nepestum!¡± He had never heard such language before. But, to his surprise, he could understand the meaning. As if, something automatically was translating this strange alien language to him. The chant was- ¡°Lord of the Underworld Nerthazir, grant us strength; Messengers, clear the path; Moon God, light the way; Champion of Death, rise!¡± Arin felt it was he who was being asked to rise. But he could not. Suddenly a rectangular shaped window of fluorescent green colour appeared floating in front of him. ______________________________ | You are being requested to Rise. | | Do you accept? | | Yes/No | _____________________________ ¡°What The Hell?¡± Arin was surprised, ¡°Is it a game?¡± Well, no good in loitering over it, only sensible option was ¡®YES¡¯, but how could he select it, as he was completely immobile right now? He could not even move his lips to say ¡°Yes¡±. ¡°Whatever¡± he thought, and in his mind, he said, ¡°Yes¡± and to his astonishment, he started glowing in bright green light. He felt he has regained complete control of himself now. He slowly stood up to look around. He was inside a mausoleum it seemed. There were four more corpses laying in ground around him, all naked and strange runes were curved on their body with some sharp objects. These wounds were fresh, for blood was still dripping from those rune cravings. He looked at himself and saw same wounds were curved on him, but they were healing quickly. ¡°It was true¡± Arin heard a shout, ¡°We made it, we have summoned Death Knight¡± Arin followed the voices and discovered six people in black robe. They were all hooded, and thus face not visible much. ¡°Wait, I am a Death Knight?¡± Arin wondered, and again the same window appeared in front of him. ==================================== | Name: Arin Drez | | Profession: Champion of Nerthazir | | Race: Undead | | Level: 1 | ==================================== | Strength: 25 | |Agility: 5(-20) | |Magica: 75 | |Wisdom: 50 | |HP: 150 | ==================================== | Resistance: | | Blade 7% | Blunt 2% | Piercing 6% | | Fire 50% | Water 1% | Earth 2% | | Light -75% | Dark 90% | Mental 85% | ==================================== | Status: | | Undead(Permanent) | | Champion(Permanent) | | Disoriented(-20 Agility)(temporary) | ==================================== | Skill: | | Simple Weapon Proficiency ¨C Adept | | Unique Weapon Proficiency ¨C Novice | | Light Magic Proficiency ¨C NA | | Dark Magic Proficiency ¨C Apprentice | | Destructive Magic Proficiency ¨C NA | | Creation Magic Proficiency ¨C NA | | Necromancy ¨C Adept | ==================================== | Spells Learnt: | | Raise Dead ¨C Adept | | Dread Howl ¨C Adept | | Feeble ¨C Apprentice | | Cripple ¨C Apprentice | | Wither ¨C Apprentice | | Erode ¨C Apprentice | | Life Drain ¨C Apprentice | | Haze ¨C Apprentice | ==================================== Arin was overwhelmed by this sudden flood of information. Before he could grasp all these data and make an understanding of this, again another floating window appeared over that ¡®Status Window¡¯ ______________________________ | Novice Necromance Matthias | | wants to take control over you. | The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.| Do you accept? | | Yes/No | _____________________________ ¡°What the hell?¡± Arin¡¯s mind came back to the current situation, ¡°so these are some novice Necromancers who had summoned me in this world, to take control of mine?¡± he thought in his mind. He decided to understand the situation first, before taking any decision. The hooded figure who was in the forefront, most probably he was the one with named Matthias, looked at Arin, ¡°You, stupid Death Knight! I am your Master! I have summoned you! Bow down¡± Another hooded figure spoke up now, ¡°I knew it, we should have practiced with skeletons first, before going for a Death Knight!¡± ¡°Did you forget what we have in out hand?¡± Matthias shouted at them, ¡°I bought this with 2 bags of silver, ritual to raise a Death Knight of Death God¡± he took a pause, ¡°and you wanted to waste it on some skeletons? When six of us are together!¡± ¡°But¡±, said another person in the corner, ¡°These four people we killed, we would be in grave danger if this summoning ritual fails¡­.¡± ¡°and¡± interjected a fourth person, ¡°I think we have raised a mindless dead thrall, what are we going to even do with this stupid corpse¡± Matthias, by now, probably had lost all cool, and snapped. He took his stave, walked fast towards Arin, and shouted at top of his voice, ¡°BOW DOWN¡± Arin had gotten a grasp of the whole things by now. They were fledgling necromancers who had managed to get a scroll about a ritual to evoke the Champion of God of Death, but mistook it as Dead knight summoning ritual. Arin chuckled, as it was perfect opportunity for him to try his new found strength. Again the window popped up, ______________________________ | Novice Necromance Matthias | | wants to take control over you. | | Do you accept? | | Yes/No | _____________________________ ¡°No¡± Arin answered in his mind, and chuckled as he walked slowly towards Matthias. Matthias, and all of his friends at first thought that the ritual has worked. Also, the way he was walking towards them, it did not look like a shambling corpse, but a Dead Knight. But the more Arin got closer to Matthias, the more an unknown fear captured his heart. But, due to ego, he could not share this with his partners. Arin stopped in front of Matthias, put his hand on his head, ¡°So you are the one who dared to summon me?¡± Arin slowly strengthened the grip on Matthias¡¯s head, ¡°this thick head of yours did not even realise what are you summoning?¡± ¡°Wh-wh-who are you?¡± Matthias fumbled, ¡°Release me, it¡¯s-it¡¯s-it¡¯s hurting, aaah¡­..¡± ¡°It won¡¯t anymore¡± Arin laughed and strengthen his grip on his head further, and Matthias¡¯s head burst like a watermelon under hammer. The five people who were accompanying Matthias now froze in their place in terror. They had realized that they had unleashed something they could not even think of. ¡°S-Stop¡± cried the third person, ¡°let us go you monster¡± Arin did not reply, just smiled. He wanted to cast some spells on them to try them, but he did not know how to do that. ¡°Hey, maybe I should just give command in my mind like before¡± he thought, ¡°like, ¡®CRIPPLE¡¯¡±. But to his disappointment, another floating window appeared, - __________________________________ | Cripple- Movement Speed of the target | | is reduced based on target¡¯s resistance | | to Dark Magic and Caster¡¯s proficiency | | in Dark Magic | __________________________________ ¡°What the¡­.¡± sighed Arin in frustration, ¡°so mind command is only to access these status window¡±. He looked at the five people who were still riling in fear, and at a loss. Arin said, ¡°cripple¡±, but nothing happened. The one Arin was pointing to, cried, ¡°I am Debruz, sire, please spare me¡±. Rest of the four also sat on their knees, ¡°Oh Dread Lord, these foolish servants of yours have offended you. We beg your pardon!¡± Arin had become frustrated by now for his inability to cast the spell. Those five fools crying to him on their knees just made him angrier! ¡°Oh, stop these!¡±, he shouted in frustration, ¡°RISE¡± and to everyone¡¯s surprise, those four corpses which were ritually sacrificed and laid beside Arin slowly stood up on their feet. Ain chuckled and looked at those five fools, ¡°You tried to chew more than you could swallow; and now you need to pay for the idiotic act you had done¡±. He looked at those four corpses which were standing still, as if awaiting command from the one who had raised them, and said, ¡°Those five must have butchered you mercilessly. Repay these fools in kind¡±. Upon his command those four walking deads swiftly pounced upon the five helpless fledgling necromancers. Those four started massacring, their victims¡¯ cries echoed in the mausoleum, and amidst those shrieks Arin slowly sat on a slab and started processing everything that has happened till now. Lord of The Castle Arin was lost in processing all the information he had collected till now. These screams and cries for mercy were actually trying to help him focus, for he was used to these in his past life. Human life did not mean to him anyway. He had realized by now that he was in a World where magic existed, Gods were there and seemed to be active in greater degree. He did not know whether there were other humanoid creatures beside human; because the revenants, in their rage and great hatred, had mutilated those five beyond recognition. Arin was not sure whether this viciousness was natural for revenants, or it was channeled from him- the one who had raised them form death to Undeath, or it was their deeply buried hatred they had retained at the moment they were getting killed in hand of those six novice necromancers. Arin¡¯s chain of thought got broken with appearance of new status windows- [You have killed five enemies. You have been awarded +50 exp] [You have killed five enemies of level higher than you. You have been awarded bonus +25exp] [You have killed four Humans. Kill forty-six more to unlock title ??????????] [You have killed two Half-Elves. Kill forty-eight more to unlock title ??????????] [You have killed six Necromancers. Kill forty-four more to unlock title ??????????] [You have killed five enemies with your minions. Kill forty-five more to unlock title ??????????] ¡°What? There were two half-elves among them? so there ARE non-human intelligent species as well?¡± Arin exclaimed. ¡°And, what are these Titles? Why are they not visible? Maybe, only after achieving these milestones most probably I will able to see those titles¡± he wondered. He stood up and saw those revenants are standing still, looking at him, as if awaiting further command. He noticed that the gore splattered on their naked body were being absorbed in their body. ¡°Can you speak?¡± Arin asked them. ¡°Gwah¡­.gwa¡­gg¡­¡± one tried to reply. Arin could not decide whether they were actually trying to speak but could not, or, they were not intelligent enough to make an intelligent reply. They all looked relatively alike, just a bit difference in height. Arin had seen many corpses in his past life, but these walking corpses were a bit unsettling for him. But then he remembered he was an undead himself now, one among them only. So it would be hypocritical for him to judge them by their looks. There were two males and two females it seemed. Arin was not sure whether they were related or not, as there was no way to find it out right now. ¡°Enough loitering¡± Arin told himself and decided to move out of the mausoleum. Before leaving he had thought of raising those five necromancers he had killed. But those corpses appeared to be so mutilated that he dropped that idea. He was afraid of raising something too grotesque or mangled. However, he felt like, there was something strange with those bodies. Something was with them that he was not being able to observe but he was not being able to shed the feelings either. And suddenly, he was hit with sudden appearance of another status window- [Congratulations on unlocking new skill ¡®Scrying¡¯. Level ¡®Novice¡¯.] [¡®Scrying¡¯ skill progression 3/50] ¡°Now what type of skill is this?¡± Arin wondered, ¡°Okay, I got it.¡± But to his amazement, he could now notice a feint bluish glowing ball of light hovering over those six dead bodies. He tried to look more carefully. But there was no more status window which popped up. Arin realized whatever those were, his ¡®scrying¡¯ skill was not good enough to recognize them. Out of curiosity, he thought of touching a ball of light. But nothing happened.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Unconsciously, he said, ¡°Rise¡±, and to his surprise, he saw the spheres suddenly bend in shape, flickered, and again went back to their original spherical form. Arin got an idea, that these balls had reacted to his command, but that command wasn¡¯t effective enough. He recalled his past intentional and unintentional attempts to cast spells. Certain realization dawned on him, and he again commanded ¡°RISE¡± to those hovering bluish spheres, but this time putting more emotions and a commanding attitude behind that command. And, to his surprise, he witnessed those six balls of light taking shape of Specters. Arin was elated with joy and excitement, but also realized something of grave concern. God of Death had sent him to a mystical land full of mystery, magic and unknown danger. But the problem was, although he had been blessed with some exceptional powers, he literally knew little to nothing about his powers or skills. He was afraid that this ¡®trial and error¡¯ way of learning may be very slow, and put him in huge disadvantage. But there was no way for him other than keep trying his skills to know about them more, as well as, be ready to wait for each and every opportunity to learn and grow. He did not sense any hostility from those specters, despite the fact that they were killed just a while ago by him in the first place. ¡°Follow me¡± he gave command to his minions and decided to explore the whole building before venturing outside And thus, with his entourage of four revenants and six ghosts started exploring the building. At first Arin had assumed that it was a mausoleum. However, he soon found out that it was more than a simple mausoleum. The room he was resurrected in, he had assumed that to be the main area of the building because it was too vast. However, he now realized that it was just a small room actually. They walked through an alley with various rooms in both sides of it. Some of the rooms were closed. Some had there doors lost. Some rooms had their floor caved in. Arin wanted to search the rooms. But before that, he wanted to find an way out. After a while they came across a big hall. And Arin, to his surprise and excitement, discovered that it was a royal court. And now it dawned upon him that he was now standing on a ruin of an old castle. Arin felt that he had hit the jackpot. He had found a base of operation where from he can start. But he first needed to survey the total castle and get a complete idea of structure of the entire castle. Also, because humans had entered the castle''s inner chamber, and decided to perform a ritual while carrying five corpses with them;- it meant that this castle was not completely far from civilization. Arin had found his immediate objective- survey the entire castle before claiming it for himself, and discover any clue or objects that could empower him, or help him get a better idea of his own power as well as the world he is now part of. Also his main focus was to find a library. He commanded the Specters- "Search the castle, and find a Library. As soon as you find one come to me, and guide me there." Giving this command he started surveying the castle by himself being accompanied by the four Revenants. ======================= Special Note: Every skill and spell in the World of Nyxoria is categorized in ten tiers. Each tier needs more experience to attain than it''s previous tier- making the highest Tenth Tier near impossible for any being with limited lifespan to achieve. These are as following- 1. Novice 2. Apprentice 3. Adept 4. Skilled 5. Expert 6. Veteran 7. Master 8. Grandmaster 9. Archmage 10. Supreme Grave Lord in Grave Danger Arin had lost count of how many hours had passed in this library. This castle was probably built in such way that sunlight would not enter directly inside. This was because Arin had not realized change of day in the library. Or, maybe, he was so engrossed in browsing the vast library, which was surprisingly intact in this crumbling ruin of a castle, that he did not notice the passing of time. As soon as a ghost had found this library in the castle, it rushed to Arin as it had been commanded; and guided him to the library. He was astonished to see the vast room, filled with forest of racks, and each rack filled with big books. Arin, like a Kid in comics store, started shuffling all books. He had found various Books on Advanced Destruction, Creation and Light magic; but to his frustration most of them were not readable to him. And he decided to know about everything as much as he could. Before delving himself in his pursuit of knowledge, he had ordered his revenants to clean the castle of rubbles as much as possible to help the castle retain its original status as much as possible. He had also ordered the ghosts to patrol the castle for security. They were directed to inform Arin immediately, as soon as there were any sign of invasion or intrusion by any creature nearby. By commanding all of his minions to do their duty, he had dedicated himself to gather knowledge as much as possible. Arin did not know that three days had passed since he had started reading the books. Being an undead he did not have hunger or sleep or even any necessity to take rest. So, he could read nonstop. But, after three days he felt a mental fatigue. He found himself being overloaded with too much knowledge and information, and therefore he needed to take a break and process all to progress further. He had found out that every skill and spell in this world are categorized in ten tiers, depending on their level of mastery; Novice being the Basic and Supreme being the Highest tier. Every tier becomes successively harder to reach, making the Highest tier literally impossible to attain for most. Also, there were numerous spells but all of them belonged to four skills or schools of magic- Destruction, Creation, Light, and Dark. Each of these school worked on different principles, and each needed different types of mana core to access and process. Destruction needed a turbulent mana core which would spin from North to South or backward. This school of magic would involve harnessing all the abundant natural energy around and manipulating them to unleash huge destruction- the scale and precision of which would depend on mastery of each spell as well as the overall Destruction Skill. Creation Skill on the other hand required a fast mana core which would spin from South to North or frontward. This skillset was more about manifestation of abundance of nature and summoning various creature or otherworldly entities. The spells would suit more defensive battle strategy and withering the enemy slowly instead of directly obliterating like that was case with Destruction Spells. The magnitude, again, depended on expertise of each individual spell as well as the overall Creation Skill. The Light Skill could be harnessed with a calm mana core which would spin from East to West. It was more about blessing the allies to increase both of their offensive and defensive capabilities. Also, Arin came to know from a Book on Light Magic, that, contrary to popular belief Light Skill had some spells whose destructive capability could rival the Destruction Spells. The Dark Skill however required a slow mana core which would spin from West to East. It was about putting various curses on enemies to weaken them, which could be even fatal if applied strategically by an expert and intelligent Dark Magic Caster. Arin realised it was near impossible in natural way to master all four skills. This was specially applicable for the skills whose mana core would spin in opposite direction. Unless one had multiple mana core, they would not be able to wield different schools of spell. For example, a mana core for Dark Magic could not be used to cast Light Magic; and Destruction and Creation Magic could not be cast from same mana core. Also, although trying to cast Dark and Destructive, or Creation and Light magic with same mana core could be possible, but, the disturbed spin of mana core would reduce effectivity of both spells. Therefore, Arin decided to develop his original mana core for Dark magic only, unless he could find way to develop another mana core, or a method to bypass this current situation.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It was not only about spells and skills he knew about. He got few ideas about the world he was transported to. But to his disappointment, he could not find many books about geography or history of the world. He kept his hope alive in vast part of the library which was yet to be visited by him. From the few books he had found in the library regarding geography or history about the land, he came to know that the World is called Nyxoria. Also, there were various Gods and Divine Beings as well as some Godly figure whose description sounded pretty questionable. Arin¡¯s old world would rather tag them as Devilish than Divine beings, let alone Gods. ¡°Interesting!¡± Arin told himself. Arin was tired at that moment and was thinking of finishing the book in hand and then get up, because it was an interesting book which was talking about a cyclical cataclysm of this world. But he was stopped by a Spectre who attracted his attention with a sharp shriek. Arin felt sorry for them and wondered if there were any way for his minions to gain ability to speak. Then at least he could communicate with them better. For example, now he knew that there must had been some invasion or intrusion nearby. But there was no way for him to find out the nature of it. So, he decided to proceed with caution. Arin gathered the four Revenants and decided to follow the Specter. While passing the hall, he noticed that the Revenants had done a great job in cleaning the Hall and the alleys. But there was no time to appreciate their handiwork and it was more important to use them for their real purpose- fight for him, the Necromancer who had raised them. As they arrived in the courtyard, this was the first time Arin saw the sky. It was the same like the sky he had seen in his previous world. There was only one moon to be seen, although its size was bigger than the moon he was used to witness every night in his past life. The constellations were unknown as well. Anyway, it was no time for stargazing as well. He kept following the Specter till they arrived at the forest. Arin did not need to follow the Specter anymore, for he could hear voices of Human from nearby. He decided to go slow. Arin commanded the Revenants to wait there for his command and sneaked ahead alone to get better idea of what was happening there. He got closer to the noise and hid in a bush. There were four people and two kids. The four had surrounded the kids, and the kids were trapped like little mice in corner. ¡°Stop running you urchins, you have made us run too much¡± said one burly man while huffing. ¡°Subduing and capturing your parents were easier than finding and taking hold of you,¡± said another. Suddenly, under light of torch held in hand of one of the pursuers, Arin noticed all of the four men were wearing a uniform. ¡°Whaddahell¡­.¡± Arin exclaimed, making all of the six human look at his direction. The one with torch in one hand walked towards where Arin was hiding. His three companions switched to alert mode and became ready to jump at him at moments notice. The kids, baffled and scared, hugged each other tight. ¡°I will not ask twice!¡± shouted the one with torch in hand, ¡°Vireon, shoot at the bush, if the rat does not surrender himself on count of three¡± ¡°Right, Miliean¡± the fat guy with crossbow in hand acknowledged the command and pointed the crossbow towards the place where Arin was hiding. Arin realised it was no more possible to stay hidden. He wondered if there was any way for him to know more about his enemies before he could engage. ¡°Wish I could know their levels¡± Arin thought. As if, his ¡®Scrying¡¯ skill was waiting for him to make that wish only, he saw floating texts mentioning respective level on each of the enemies. The one called Milean, most probably leading the other three was of level 8. The one with crossbow, probably named Vireon, was of level 6. Rest of the two, one with a great sword; another with a sword and shield, both were of level 7. Arin got notification- [¡®Scrying¡¯ skill progression 5/50] Arin had not understood how the progression actually worked. However, he was not in mindset to worry about that. This was because, Arin had suddenly recalled the fact that he was still level 1. He gulped. There was too much level difference between him and his enemies. And he felt it was his last in this world. Milean counted ¡°Three¡­¡­, Two¡­¡­.¡± The Cursed Battle ¡°Please do not shoot, I am coming out¡± said Arin as he came out of the bush before Milean could finish counting to ¡®One¡¯ ¡°What cretin we have here¡± Milean raised his torch to look closely at Arin. Arin looked away at sudden appearance of bright light on his face. He was not sure whether this spontaneous reaction was due to him being an undead now, or it was because his eye had been accustomed to deem light by now. Seeing him unarmed and at a shabby condition, Milean and his companions had dropped their guard it seemed. Milean tried to look closely at Arin but flinched his nose, ¡°Are you a graverobber? Speak up!¡± -¡°Wh-what?¡± Arin fumbled. -¡°You reek of death, as if you were surrounded with corpses¡± Milean said with disgust! -¡°Or¡± spoke the man with Sword and Shield, ¡°he is a corpse himself¡±! -¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense you idiot¡± chastised the one with Greatsword, ¡°when have you seen an undead with ability to speak so fluently, and walking without his master?¡± -¡°As if you have not heard of Vampires before¡± refuted the Sword and Shield guy, ¡°You Sir-Know-It-All Saunder¡±. ¡°Shut up Damien¡± said Vireon, the one with Crossbow, ¡°If he was a Vampire, we would be dead before Milean could even raise his torch¡± -¡°Oh! For the love of Liatha*, cease your prattle you dim-witted knaves¡± shouted Milean back at his companions, ¡°we need to decide what to do with this dirty scum¡± -¡°Let me go good sir¡±, said Arin with a begging tone, ¡°even a little mouse can come to help to the mighty lion one day, and may be, one day, I too can be of help to you mighty lords!¡± -¡°Yes we let you go and you snitch us to captain Duran!¡± said Damien nervously, ¡°he already has his eyes on us¡± - ¡°Will you stop your blabbering?¡± Milean shouted back, now he seemed more frustrated. -¡°I am a simple graverobber¡± Arin pleaded, ¡°I avoid you people like deer avoid the tiger. I would never even dare to come near your captain¡± -¡°You shut up dirtbag¡± shouted the Greatsword guy, ¡°we are talking¡± -¡°If you dimwits shut your mouth for a moment, I could decide!¡± Milean raged. -¡°Who made you our leader anyway?¡± taunted Damien, ¡°why are you suddenly calling shots?¡± Arin observed that the group had started bickering among themselves. ¡°Human!¡± smirked Arin, ¡°whatever world be it; they would never stop fighting amongst themselves¡±. However, he knew that it was not time to discuss human nature. It was his time to utilize the unexpected opportunity he had been awarded right now in the form of his enemy fighting. Running away did not appear to Arin as a wise option. Just a shot at the back from the crossbow and he would be dead. And it did not seem that they would fight to the extent that they could kill or even hurt each other. It was too much to hope for. Arin quickly decided the check and utilize the weapons he had in his arsenal. One spell caught his attention, ¡®Dread Howl¡¯. He wondered what was this about. And as if waiting for his cue, he was presented with the description- [ Dread Howl ¨C A cry from netherworld that reduces morale of enemies depending on level of Dread Howl as well as target enemy¡¯s resistance to Dark Magic. Non-living enemies without Morale are unaffected by this skill ] ¡°This is cool¡± Arin was overjoyed and excited with the information, ¡°This is do-or-die for me!¡±. Arin had learnt how to cast a spell from the books. It needed strong focus, and had to be seeped with earnest emotions, and an incantation was required to channel the emotion and focus to perfectly cast the spell. It was now time for his theory to test in real battlefield. Arin straightened his spine, stretched his hands and started chanting- ¡°By the hallowed name of Dread Father Nerthazir, I command thee, tremble in dread! Let the primordial fear shatter your spirit, as I unleash upon thee the eternal throes of the deceased¡­.¡± ¡°What in the name of Lathasa**¡­¡± spoke Damien in irritation as he looked at Arin. His partners also had stopped bickering among themselves by now, and was looking at Arin. But it was too late by now. For Arin had finished his Incantation and they suddenly observed the whole forest had suddenly become quiet, too much quiet. It was such a deafening silence that they felt like they could hear each other¡¯s heartbeat, which was sounding like drums of Turags***. A sudden unknown fear gripped their heart. Before they could react or do anything, Arin had unleashed an otherworldly shriek. Something which they could not even experience in their nightmares. [ You have casted ¡®Dread Howl¡¯ successfully. Morale of Living Targets around has been decreased. Each of the Primary Statistics of every Living Beings around has been reduced by 10 ] [ ¡®Dread Howl¡¯ skill progression 3/150 ] Arin did not know how much primary stats his enemies had to begin with and how effective was the reduction. But he had to assume it was considerable, judging by their stupefied condition. However, it was not enough for cautious Arin to feel confident. He decided to use all the spells he had in his arsenal.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. But now the problem was that all the other spells he had were single target attack, and he had to quickly decide which curse had to be applied on whom. Arin was raised on the streets, among most cutthroat of people. So, one skill he had developed over years, was his quick wit and ability to take and execute decisions quickly. Milean was the makeshift leader of the group and he was the one to call the shots. He pointed his finger towards him, ¡°As the cloud of death shrouds the life, let my curse cloud your mind¡± and casted ¡®Haze¡¯ on him. Arin, as well as everyone else present there, witnessed their self-proclaimed leader Milean was now standing dumbfounded, holding his gears like a statue and drooling like a dummy. The other three, who already had lost their morale, as well as their leader¡¯s guidance for the time-being, soon discovered themselves being surrounded by four grim looking Revenants. ¡°What was your name; umm, yeah, Saunder?¡± Arin asked the one with Great Sword, ¡°are they the Undead you were referring a while ago to Damien?¡± ¡°Ee¡­ee¡­ee¡­¡± Saunders fumbled but could not make a cohesive sentence. ¡°My boys, kill these three, just don¡¯t touch the one with Torch right now!¡± Arin commanded his Revenants. ¡°Don¡¯t act so cocky you vile Necromancer¡± Vireon mustered all of his remaining courage and aimed at Arin and pulled his trigger. *shaaa* the bolt was knocked off from the crossbow and gazed Arin¡¯s neck. Vireon was most probably had aimed for his forehead or throat. But, because his hands were shaking and there was a lack of illumination in the area to take a clear shot, as well as he was being pounced upon by the grim looking Revenants, he missed the shot. Arin suddenly felt a sharp pain. He was surprised as hell. As par his knowledge, Undeads didn¡¯t feel any pain. Then how he was feeling pain? This question had aroused in his mind previously as well, when he had realized that he did not fell hunger or sleep but fell mentally fatigued after reading for three days continuously. He put his hand on the neck which was grazed by the crossbow bolt, and he found a liquid oozing out from the cut. He took some liquid in his finger to have a look if it was really blood. He found that it was a bright green viscous liquid which had a feint glow. Suddenly he felt enraged and stretched his hands pointing towards Vireon. ¡°From thee, Life¡¯s essence, into me¡± Arin chanted and started absorbing life force from Vireon and soon he started withering like a husk. ¡°Gwwggg¡­gwwa¡­¡± a Revenant made noise. Arin stopped the drain and looked at the source. Vireon dropped on the ground as a lifeless husk. Saunder, the Greatsword guy, had swung his greatsword and lopped an arm of a revenant from its shoulder. ¡°Prowess depart, weakening thy heart¡± Arin casted weakness spell on Saunder; and Saunder started shaking his hands, as if the greatsword now was feeling too heavy for him to wield. He dropped the sword and the revenant which had lost its hand pounced on him and bite his neck and tear it to his death with a ravenous bite. Damien was trying his best to hold himself against the onslaught of two revenants who were bashing on his shield continuously. Arin, now getting hang of casting his curses, casted ¡®Erode¡¯ on him, ¡°Upon you mine curse is cast, let thine Armor turns to rust¡±, and his shield broke like rotten pile of wood against next bash of the revenants, and they tore him apart with their bare hands like he was made of paper. Blood and entrails splatter in the whole area. The splattered blood broke trance state of Milean. However, he woke up to a gruesome scenery to witness. One of his companions was laying on ground like a dried husk. Another was laying dead in pull of blood with his neck nearly torn from his shoulder. When he looked at Damien, who was inside out at this point he dropped on his torch and sword and started puking. This blood and gore were too much for him to stomach. Arin enjoyed how tables had turned and how the enemy he was afraid of only a few minutes ago had now dropped his defense and was just vomiting his inside out. He looked at the revenant which had lost its arm and commanded it to come to him with its severed arm. He had witnessed that when he was draining life from Vireon his wound was getting healed. He wondered if he could do the same for this revenant as well. Arin pressed the severed hand on its shoulder and tried to envision that the excess life-force he had sucked from Vireon, which was remaining inside him after closing his own wound, was being channeled to the revenants wound from Arin¡¯s hand and the revenant was being healed. And to his surprise it actually worked. *ding* a notification window appeared, [ Congratulations on unlocking new spell ¡®Necromantic Healing¡¯. Level ¡®Novice¡¯.] And suddenly he started being flooded with notification windows- [You have killed three enemies. You have been awarded +30 exp] [You have killed three enemies of level higher than you. You have been awarded bonus +15exp] [You have killed three Humans. Kill forty-three more to unlock title ??????????] [You have killed two enemies with your minions. Kill forty-three more to unlock title ??????????] [You have obtained enough experience for a level up. Open up your status window to allocate free stat points] Arin was escalated with joy, but it was not time for him to get overjoyed, as Milean was appearing to be regaining himself in that time period. Arin shifted his attention to Milean. --------------------------------------------------------------- *, ** : Lathasa, and Liatha are Twin Goddesses who are popular among people of Western Cities; especially among the guards, soldiers and mercenaries. They would be discussed in details in later Chapters *** : Turags are a faction which would be introduced later Chapters The Boss Fight Milean had slowly started regaining composure of himself. It was now evident of why he was the de-facto leader of the group, and why he was level 8. However, the repeated psychological attack on his psyche, first in the form of ¡®Dread Howl¡¯ and then being directly targeted by the grim curse of ¡®Haze¡¯, and, last but not the least, coming to sense only to witness the gruesome ending of his companions- these were too much for a Small-Town Guard¡¯s mind to withstand. He was really shaken to the core. Only thing that was making him stand upright and get ready for a final stand in the face of an overwhelming dread and morbid carnage, was his survival instinct. And Arin was aware of this situation as well. ¡°Do not press an enemy at bay. To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape.¡± Arin told himself. It was a quote by an Eastern Scholar called Sun Tzu. The last Mafia Boss, under whom Arin used to work, often quoted Sun Tzu. And Arin had learnt and remembered all of those quotes by heart. And Arin was well aware that, if Milean would really feel that there was no way out, he might attack Arin like a rabid wolf, and put him in great danger. ¡°You are really something, Sir Milean¡± praised Arin, ¡°I did not imagine anyone would be so mentally strong to stand upright after all these!¡± Arin was evidently trying to butter up Milean. He was planning to make Milean drop his guard by giving him a hope to come out unscathed; so that, he would not go desperate berserk on Arin. ¡°I am sorry for what happened¡± he said. ¡°You are ¡®Sorry!¡¯ you say?¡± Milean gritted his teeth, ¡°after massacring my friends this brutally, you have nerve to say you are ¡®Sorry¡¯, you hell-spawn abomination?¡±. Milean picked up his sword from the ground, being extra cautious that neither the foul necromancer, nor his wretched minions jump on him. But Arin, to his surprise, did not show any sign of hostility as he bent to pick up his sword, or held it in his hand. ¡°Yes, I am¡± Arin replied in an apologetic tone, ¡°I really did not want such bloodshed. I am just a novice necromancer, and was just passing by. But I could see the bloodlust among your friends when you were trying to calm them down. It was just my survival instinct kicked in and things happened. I can not even properly control my minions, and thus such gruesome events occurred¡± Arin took a breath and said in further apologetic tone, ¡°Tell me honestly, did not you also sense bloodlust among your friends, that they would go against you to kill me?¡± ¡°Even if you are right,¡± Milean said, ¡°what you have done, is not something I can ignore or overlook. It just can¡¯t be¡±. Arin smiled in his mind. Milean had dropped his aggressive stance, and was now entering to a Negotiation Mode. He was now trying to take a commanding role over Arin. It only meant that he was seeing Arin as less of a threat compared to before. Arin decided to play along for now. ¡°So, what would you suggest Sir Milean?¡± asked Arin in a sheepish tone. ¡°Let me think, but first, shut your trap!¡±, Milean replied agitatedly, ¡°First I need to think of the kids¡­..¡± and suddenly both of them remembered the kids. In all these commotions, they had just forgotten the little kids who brought both of these groups in the first place. ¡°Wait here¡± Milean ordered Arin, as he picked up the torch to look at the kids. However, both of Milean and Arin witnessed something strange, which surprised both of them. Two Revenants were standing tall, like a wall, in front of the kids; as if they wanted to stop Milean from approaching the kids. Arin wanted to believe that those two just happened to be standing there, waiting for his next command, and nothing else. Milean commanded, ¡°move aside you foul beings¡±, but those two did not move an inch, and kept standing like a statue. Milean grumbled and ordered Arin, ¡°Tell your corpses to make way, right NOW¡±, and Arin obliged. ¡°Give Milean way¡±, he gave command, and those two Revenants obeyed. But something did not feel right. Arin looked around and saw his Spectre, who had guided him to this place, was standing far afar, looking at him, as if waiting for his command. Arin nodded him to come near.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Milean brought the torch near the kids and shouted, ¡°What have you done, you evil monster?¡± Arin was perplexed, and a fear dawned upon him. He was afraid that in his zeal to overpower his enemies, he might had hurt the kids unintentionally. He too rushed beside Milean. He was shocked as well. Arin realised that those kids were most probably caught in the crossfire, when he had unleashed his Dread Howl. Those poor kids, being unable to withstand the psychological onslaught, collapsed to the ground, and laid motionless, fainting with froth at their mouths; their small bodies being a stark contrast to the hellish gore around them. Arin leaned further to check whether they were breathing and, to his great surprise, noticed they were not human, but most probably elves, judging by their long pointy ears. ¡°Keep your foul breath away from my goods¡± shouted Milean and shoved Arin back. Arin could not keep balance and dropped on the ground. ¡°Shambling corpse and their shambling master¡± Milean scoffed and leaned down to check status of the kids. At that time, Arin realized, Milean had dropped his guard, and was focused on the kids completely. Arin looked around and saw a dagger laying near a corpse. Arin slowly grabbed the dagger and crept behind Milean, as he used to do as a thief or cutpurse in his past life. It seemed, this new body of his somehow had retained or regained that muscle memory of the past. He slowly stood on his feet just behind Milean and at a swift but powerful thrust shoved the sharp knife deep in his nape, so deep that the front sharp end of the dagger came to the other side, piercing his throat. With a feint grunt Milean dropped like a sack of cabbage, lifeless. ¡°I knew it, even if things are game-like, but it can¡¯t be nonsensical enough that a knife at a vital organ would save one just because virtue of his level difference.¡± Arin said to himself proudly. *Ding* a new Notification- [You have killed one enemy. You have been awarded +10 exp] [You have killed one enemy of level higher than you. You have been awarded bonus +5exp] [You have killed one Human. Kill forty-two more to unlock title ??????????] [¡®Simple Weapon Proficiency¡¯ skill progression 1/150] Arin didn¡¯t pay attention to these anymore, as he was getting used to these notifications by now. His concern was now more towards the kids. They were still breathing. Arin ordered the two Revenants to carry those kids with them. And to his shock, they did not scoop those kids in their arms. Instead, each of them carried one kid tenderly in their lap; as human gently cradle sleeping babies in their arms. ¡°Something is wrong here!¡± Arin told himself and decided to raise those four freshly killed corpses. He stretched his hands and commanded at the four corpses, ¡°Rise my minions, and serve me¡± The corpses started twisting and flinching. Virion raised first. He was risen as a skeleton, a skeleton archer to be more precise. Rest of the three raised as three Draugurs, carrying their original weapons and armor. [¡®Raise Dead¡¯ skill progression 12/150] ¡°Let¡¯s retreat to our base¡±, and they took the road back to the castle, which Arin had selected for his base for the time being. There were many more questions to be answered, and it was so unsettling. However, Arin decided to address the pending issue at hand right now. He had levelled up, and he had to allocate spare points. He opened up his status window. He had 10 free points to allocate, across the four stats- Strength and Agility both of which were at 25, Magicka which was 75 and Wisdom which was at 50. He decided to equally distribute points across all stats, allocating 3 to each of Magicka and Wisdom; 2 each to Strength and Agility. He did not want to be a glass canon who would die with just a slap from an enemy after all. After allocating points, he looked at his new Status Window- ============================= | Name: Arin Drez | | Profession: Champion of Nerthazir | | Race: Undead | | Level: 2 | | Experience: 10/150 | ============================= | Strength: 27 | |Agility: 27 | |Magicka: 78 | |Wisdom: 53 | |HP: 175 | ============================= | Resistance: | | Blade 7% | Blunt 2% | Piercing 6% | | Fire 50% | Water 1% | Earth 2% | | Light -75% | Dark 90% | Mental 85% | ============================= | Status: | | Undead(Permanent) | | Champion(Permanent) | ============================= | Skill: | | Simple Weapon Proficiency ¨C Adept(1/150) | | Unique Weapon Proficiency ¨C Novice | | Light Magic Proficiency ¨C NA | | Dark Magic Proficiency ¨C Apprentice (2/100)| | Destructive Magic Proficiency ¨C NA | | Creation Magic Proficiency ¨C NA | | Necromancy ¨C Adept |(8/150) | Scrying ¨C Novice(5/50) | ============================= | Spells Learnt: | | Raise Dead ¨C Adept (12/150) | | Dread Howl ¨C Adept (3/150) | | Life Drain ¨C Apprentice (1/100) | | Feeble ¨C Apprentice (1/100) | | Cripple ¨C Apprentice (1/100) | | Wither ¨C Apprentice | | Erode ¨C Apprentice (1/100) | | Haze ¨C Apprentice (1/100) | ============================= A Strange Team Arin was too puzzled at the moment. He was trying to understand his current situation, and it was too much for him to process. He had killed eight people after coming to this world. His relative strength had increased. But it was understandable that he was still little to nothing in this great new world. He had been granted strong powerful abilities. But he was yet to understand them completely. He had found a gigantic library, bound to contain great knowledge. He had delved in that sea of knowledge. And knew a lot as well. But it was not enough. Rather, he had encountered new questions which made him more puzzled. And now his strong entourage of four Revenants, one Specter, one Skeletal Crossbowman and three Draugurs had two strange elven kids as well, who were senseless at the moment. Any outside observer, looking at this strange procession, would consider that a Necromancer was carrying two innocent kids to perform some strange dark rituals. But no matter how much Arin would hate Human or Humanity, he would never even think of hurting kids; because he too was a poor kid once, and only kids helped him in those harsh unforgiving streets. Arin suddenly felt nostalgic for his past world. But he collected his thought and started thinking about what to do with the kids. They were senseless. Arin did not have any healing spell to help them. Neither he could leave them to any human settlement, least they can be chased again like they were being a while ago. Arin needed water to sprinkle on them, as it was the only way he could think of bringing them back to sense. Arin asked the Specter to find any water source nearby. They decided to stop there for the Spectre to return. Within a minute it returned and he decided to follow. However, the more Arin was following it, the more he was getting surprised. They were going back to the castle only. Arin could not imagine that there could be a water source. But now that he thought about it, he realised that it was normal for a vast castle like that to have at least one water source in vicinity. Anyway, he followed the Spectre to discover a tranquil lake on the backside of the castle. He asked the Revenants to lay those kids down by the lake. The two Revenants that were carrying those kids, very gently laid them down on part of the ground where the grass was thick enough to make a comfortable bed for them. After that, they stood by their head like eternal guards on vigil. At the moonlight, this scenery looked very strange to Arin. But it was not time for him to appreciate the strangeness of the scenery. He cupped his hand and filled it with water from the lake. After that, he carried water with cupped hands and sprinkled the water on face of the kids. He had hoped for it, but did not actually imagine that it would work. But it did. Those two kids started blinking. Arin felt it was better for them to stay outside, instead of the dilapidated castle, which may be dusty and messy for them. So he decided to let them rest in the open air only. However, those kids had regained sense by now, and slowly woke up. Suddenly Arin had a scary realization. Those kids had fainted because they were scared as hell in the first place. What would happen when they wake up and see those Revenants? They would be scared as hell; they could even collapse in intense fear or worse. Arin quickly ordered his undead minions to disperse from that area and guard the castle and surrounding area instead. He sat by the lake alone, keeping his back towards the kids.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. The kids slowly sat on the ground. They looked around and then looked at each other. They hugged each other tight, and spoke to Arin, who was sitting with his back towards them, ¡°Wh¡­.who¡­.who are you?¡± - Arin, without turning his head towards them, replied, ¡°your friend! You are safe here!¡± - ¡°Those¡­people¡± another kid spoke. - ¡°They are dead¡± Arin replied. - ¡°Dead¡­.really?¡± asked the kid. - ¡°Yes!¡± Arin assured. The kids looked at each other. Then they slowly helped each other to stand on their own feet. They slowly walked towards Arin. ¡°Mister,¡­. You are¡­.¡± one kid asked, ¡°who are you?¡± - ¡°A friend, you can trust me!¡± Arin replied. - ¡°Why are not you looking at us¡± the kid asked. - ¡°you will get scared¡± Arin said with concern. - ¡°but you saved us!¡± kid said. - ¡°yes, but I really look very scary¡± replied Arin - ¡°No we won¡¯t¡± said one kid firmly. Arin wanted to take chance and decided to reveal his face. He turned his face towards them. The little one among them got scared and hid face in shoulder of the elder kid. The elder kid gritted his teeth to hide his fear and decided to look directly at Arin¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡­.you are¡­.¡± asked the elder kid fumbling. ¡°Are you going to eat us?¡± the younger kid interrupted him. ¡°No he is not¡± spoke the elder kid to assure the other, and then asked Arin, ¡°You are not, right?¡± ¡°Of course not¡± laughed Arin, ¡°If I wished to eat you, I would have eaten you already!¡± Arin was trying to assure the kids. But probably the younger kid could not understand his words properly, and instead of feeling safe, started crying. ¡°Sister¡± the little kid started crying at top of his voice, ¡°this monster is going to eat us¡± Arin was completely dumbfounded at this incident; he was at a loss. The elder one first tried to quiet him down by patting on his head, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry¡±. But when the little one did not stop his cry after his elder sister¡¯s repeated attempt, she smacked his head hard, ¡°QUIET you Idiot! No one is going to eat us!¡± Arin was surprised as well as amused to witness temper of the young elf. Surprisingly the little kid stopped crying and rubbed his face a few times. Then he crossed his arm, puffed his face and, to Arin¡¯s surprise, walked towards him and sat beside. The elder one sighed and also walked towards Arin and sat on the other side by him. Arin liked this feeling of having these two kids beside him. He ruffled their hair affectionately, ¡°Okay, so let us introduce ourselves to each other. I am Arin. What about you?¡± ¡°Hi, I am Lumiyan¡± the little one said gleefully. But then probably he remembered that he was supposed to be angry. He quickly turned his head to other way, again crossing his arms and puffing up his face. The elder kid sighed again at naivety of his little brother, and replied, ¡°Hello, I am Auriya, elder sister of this little idiot brother of mine.¡± Lumiyan looked at Auriya and cut his tongue and again turned his head. Arin burst into laughter witnessing their childish tantrums. It was sharp contrast and an welcome from all the intense and gruesome experience he had till now, since arriving in this world. The kids looked at Arin for a while as he was laughing out loud. They were a bit surprised to see this grim looking monster laughing like a normal person. After a while they also started smiling and then, like a contagious disease, they also joined him in burst of laughter. Under the starry sky, in shadow of a haunted castle, an undead and two elf kids laughing their hearts out- this scene was too strange. No one could imagine one day laughter of these three would echo the entire world, shivering spine of pillars of this world! Dawn and Dusk ¡°So¡± Arin patted Auriya, ¡°Tell me about you two, how did you two come here? Where are your parents? Tell me if there is any way for me to contact your parents, so that you two can get reunited with your friends and family!¡± Auriya did not reply, but became quite; very awkwardly quiet. Lumiyan suddenly turned his head and looked at her sister. Arin could notice the little boy suddenly trying very hard to suppress his tears. Arin felt a bit awkward, a pang of guilt in his heart. He did not exactly know what had he done wrong, but realized something was amiss. He looked at Auriya. She was staring at the Moon. Her stare was blank. Or, it also might be that she was trying to look at far, far away; further than the moon or any distant stars, and far to the past. Arin noticed that in the soft pale moonlight of the night, this little girl¡¯s eyes were glistening with unshed tears. The alien moon¡¯s silver light had woven its delicate silvery threads across her darkened face, casting an ethereal glow upon the tiny, glistening teardrops that pooled in the corner of her eyes. Arin was a bit perplexed, and decided to change the topic. But before he could stop Auriya, the girl started speaking, ¡°They are, ¡­. they are there¡­.¡± She stretched her tiny hand to point her index finger at the Moon. ¡°My mother had told us that, when their people die in this world, they go to the field of sky, and hunt in eternal glade of Suhaniya.¡± ¡°But dad would say¡± Lumiyan interrupted, ¡°after our people die, they go to the Golden Field and enjoy the abundant harvest of Dahaniya¡± ¡°Suhaniya, Dahaniya, who are they?¡± Arin asked. ¡°Suhaniya is Goddess of my mother¡¯s people¡±, Auriya gave a sad smile, ¡°the Dusk Elves!¡± ¡°And Dahaniya?¡± Arin asked enthusiastically. ¡°He is God of Abundance, revered by people of my father¡± Lumiyan replied, ¡°the Dawn Elves!¡± ¡°Okay¡± Arin nodded, ¡°but why were you kids roaming alone, away from your people?¡± ¡°My parents lived in a remote place always, only friends they had were uncle Nerath and aunt Sora¡± Auriya replied. ¡°So, how can I contact them?¡± Arin asked as he felt that at last he could find a glimmer of hope in this desperate and depressing situation right now. ¡°You can¡¯t¡± Auriya again gave a sad smile, ¡°they have died with my parents¡± Arin became intrigued, ¡°Tell me, what happened actually! Tell me in details¡± ¡°My parents, and uncle Nerath and aunt Sora were a team; and they would go adventuring together. But after we were born, my parents would alternate for staying one of them with us, and another going with Uncle and Aunt. They had agreed to continue with a three-party team until I become old enough to take care of myself and this idiot brother of mine!¡± Auriya replied. Arin glanced at Lumiyan, this time he did not make face or pulled some childish antics. Arin felt impressed as well as sad at the same time. Auriya continued, ¡°One day uncle Nerath and Sora both came to our home. Both of them were looking gloomy. They did not greet us like before. That night they did not celebrate like they would always. Rather, the four of them talked whole night that night. I could hear my mother sobbing from the other room. But I could not check for my brother would wake up.¡± Auriya paused and took a breather, and then started again, ¡°Next day father and uncle Nerath- both went somewhere. Mother and aunt Sora both worked together whole day in packing things up. Next day, when we woke up, we saw our parents were ready to leave. Uncle and father had brought a horse drawn cart. Mother had told us that this time they were taking us as well for adventure. Hearing this, Lumiyan was too excited to leave and he hopped on the cart. I knew Mother wasn¡¯t telling the truth, but I didn¡¯t dare to ask her exactly what was wrong, and so I followed my brother. Father lit a torch, and my mother joined him in setting fire on the house. I felt like they were crying, but the sound of fire crackling was too loud and suppressed their hushed sob. We did not know what happened, but both of us were sad as it was our only home since childhood. We could not control our tears and our mother was consoling us on all the way!¡± Auriya paused again. Arin could feel her voice was getting heavy, as if her tiny throat was getting choked with tears.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Okay, let us end here¡­.¡± Arin tried to stop her, but Auriya continued, ¡°We rode for two days, stopping in a village to resupply. On third day, when we were passing through the narrow cliff of Mountain Deraz, we were ambushed by bad guys.¡± Auriya stopped again, and gulped, probably to suppress the tears that were trying to come out. She then continued, ¡°Mother told me to run away with brother and go to nearest town. Aunt Nora told us to wait for them in that town¡¯s Adventure Guild, as they will meet us there.¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s good¡± Arin jumped with excitement, ¡°then we just need to take you there, as your parents, and uncles and aunts must be waiting for you there!¡± Auriya smiled and pulled up her shirt to show her back. It was burnt. Arin did not had a beating heart or it would stop as this reminded him of some past trauma. Before Arin could say anything, Auriya continued, ¡°just as we had managed to get down from the cart, there was a huge explosion in our cart, and we fell from the cliff. My back was burnt, but my only concern was to protect my brother. I wrapped her tightly in my arms as we fell down from the cliff and then I lost consciousness.¡± ¡°So what happened after that?¡± asked Arin as he was unable to control his curiosity. Auriya replied, ¡°after I came to sense, I found myself on a mat inside a hut. My brother was sitting beside me, looking at me, as if he was waiting for me to wake up. I discovered myself laying on my stomach. As I was trying to wake up Lumiyan stopped me saying I had medicine applied on my back, and this I should stay laid down like this before the scars get healed. I asked him how did we get there, which Lumiyan replied that he too did not know, for he too wake up a while ago and found us like this. He was just waiting for me to wake up, and didn¡¯t move to discover our location for he wanted to protect me as I was unconscious!¡± Arin smiled and patted Lumiyan¡¯s head, ¡°You are a gallant Knight, are not you?¡±. Lumiyan, for the first time, give him a genuine smile, as appropriate for a kid of his age. Arin ruffled his hair in affection, and Lumiyan skidded a bit towards Arin to get closer to him. Arin put his hand on his shoulder and waited for her to start from where Auriya had stopped. Auriya also was smiling now as he appreciated the idea that how his brother. After all these ordeals the little boy had started to feel relaxed and feel secure around an adult. She thanked Arin in her heart, and continued, ¡°after a while those bad guys came inside and smiled at us. They gave us two bowls of food, it was porridge with some vegetables. They asked us to eat it and take rest. We ate it and fell asleep. But next time when someone entered the house to take out the empty bowls, I woke up. However, I was still feeling groggy and thus decided to lay down closing my eyes. The person who had entered to take the empty bowls left the room closing the door form the outside. Then I suddenly overheard some people talking outside. Those humans probably had forgotten or did not know that Dusk Elves had great hearing capability, and I got that from my Dusk Elf mother.¡± Arin could feel a sense of pride in her voice, first time something positive in her tone was observed. He patted her head as well, and she too gave him a smile, like her brother a while ago. Auriya continued, ¡°So, we overheard them discussing about giving us to someone. One of them was thinking of selling us to some slavers, while another wanted to sell us to some prince. But then I could hear a third voice, who stopped both of them and said that he had got a better contract, something like ¡®Conclave¡¯ or ¡®Enclave¡¯ I could not hear properly that time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Conclave¡¯¡± suddenly Lumiyan interrupted her, ¡°I too had heard it.¡± ¡°You were not sleeping?¡± Auriya was surprised. ¡°No, I was,¡± Lumiyan replied, ¡°but as soon as I heard ¡®Conclave¡¯ I woke up. I have often heard my parents and uncle mention the name; and whenever one of them would mention ¡®Conclave¡¯, all other would go silent. So, I knew it is a bad thing. That was why I woke up as soon as I heard the name!¡± Lumiyan talked like an adult, as if he was also trying to give his input in the conversation and establish his importance. Arin felt amused but did not interrupt them. ¡°Now as you mention it,¡± Auriya replied, ¡°I too had noticed it. Anyway, I decided we had to run away. I woke him up and made a plan to escape. In the night, when one bad guy came to give us the food, and was going to leave, we quickly jumped and darted away past him and ran like anything. They too kept chasing us and that is how we met you.¡± Auriya stopped, took a deep breath and suddenly said, ¡°Thank you!¡± This ¡®thanks¡¯ was completely unexpected for Arin. He pulled both of them to his chest and said, ¡°No need to thank me. From today onward you two have a big brother, I would not let anything happen to you!¡± Arin suddenly felt relieved, as he always had wished if someone had also told him the same when he was of their age. But at least he could speak it to someone else. ¡°But you smell brother¡± Lumiyan said pressing his nose. ¡°Yes, you do¡± Auriya replied frowning and shrinking her nose. Arin pulled both of their cheeks with each hand and said with mock anger, ¡°Speak it again!¡± ¡°Brother we are sorry!¡± they cried, ¡°spare us¡± and all three of them laughed loud. Two Revenants who were patrolling heard this, and it seemed their rotten lips had a smile on it. Welcome and Good Bye It seemed like eternity, when these three odd souls had laughed so freely and carelessly, opening up their heart. The kids felt they were again with their loving parents. Arin felt exactly the same, surprisingly. They joked and teased each other long before both of these kids fell asleep on Arin¡¯s lap. He kept patting them, to help them sleep better. He too wished to fall asleep, but he had lost his longing for sleep. Therefore, he decided to make plan for upcoming future. There are many things he had to find answers of. Questions like- - what did his status of ¡®Champion of Nerthazir'' actually entailed, what were the perks; - what rule did govern the nature of the resurrected minions- as some dead had risen as Revenants, some as Specters, some as Draugur and one as Skeleton Crossbowman - What was even the difference between a Revenant and a Draugur? - Why did the two Revenants were acting strange, as if they still had retained their ego. - Why did he even feel pain or mental fatigue, despite being an undead himself? - Was there anyway for him to gain another mana-core so that he could learn and master another school of magic? -How many minions he could have at a time? -Was there anyway for them to communicate better with him? And last but not the least, he didn¡¯t even know anything about this place he was in right now, the nearby settlements, their nature, political alignments or anything. All he knew that staying buried here, in this middle of nowhere won¡¯t help him much in future. One thing was clear, if the guards were here then it meant that there was a large enough settlement nearby, or there won¡¯t be any guards to begin with. He doubted a small village or hamlet even have four guards to spare for such ¡®excursion¡¯. So he decided about what he had to do next. He would look for a nearby settlement to gather information. Now the next problem was how should he visit a settlement. He doubted that a necromancer would be welcomed in a human settlement, especially if it was an undead like him. He needed proper clothing to roam securely in a city or town, and also, he needed money. And then he got an idea, on how easily his urgent necessity of money could be resolved. The four guards he had killed and then raised a while ago; - they were still wearing their uniform. It meant, they must had been carrying their belongings with them even now. So, he decided to search whatever possession they were carrying with them. Arin summoned all four of them. This newly resurrected Corpses answered his summon and appeared before him standing in attention. He ordered, ¡°Give me every possession you have except the uniform you are wearing and your arms and ammunitions.¡± They heed his command and handed him over their belonging- coin pouches, some keys. Saunder, the great sword guy was having a backpack. He gave Arin the entire backpack. Arin searched the backpack and found a bottle of ale, two silver bars, and a few spare clothes, a rope. Arin realized, being the strongest person of the group, he must had been used to be the group¡¯s pack mule. ¡°Go inside the castle and clean each room one by one until I give you further command!¡± Arin gave command, and then pointed towards the sleeping kids, ¡°Protect these kids when they are around you!¡± The four nodded and went inside the castle. Arin called back Vireon, the Skeleton Archer, and ordered him, ¡°Find to the highest point in the building you can access, go there, and if you see any enemy or rabid animal approaching the castle, snipe it down¡±. Vireon the Skeleton Archer nodded and went inside to fulfill his duty. Arin decided to try all those spare clothes, make necessary alteration, as well as clean the backpack for so that while carrying the backpack in town, no one recognizes it as one belonging to the guards. Rest of the night was spent in doing all these chores.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Next day morning, when the kids wake up they saw their big brother Arin had made a makeshift clothesline tying a thick rope (which Arin had found in the backpack) between two trees and had left clothes on it to get dried. He was now cleaning the leather backpack meticulously. ¡°Lisse Aure Melethron¡± Lumiyan spoke to Arin. ¡°Li..what?¡± Arin was puzzled. ¡°Don¡¯t mind this idiot¡± Auriya spoke, ¡°He wanted to greet ¡®Good Morning Dear Brother¡¯. ¡®lisse Aure¡¯ means ¡®Happy Day¡¯ in Mannish Tongue, I mean the language humans speak. And ¡®Melethron¡¯ means ¡®dear brother¡¯.¡± ¡°Okay¡± Arin nodded. ¡°We used to greet each other in our language only, but did not our parents teach us to greet ¡®Good Morning¡¯ to humans?¡± Auriya spanked Lumiyan¡¯s head. They started fighting, as Lumiyan said, ¡°Big Brother is not human, so why would I speak human to him.¡± Arin thought a bit about this comment of this little kid. Well technically he was not a human. Nor he actually mind that. For he hated humanity to the core. But as the little boy pointed out now, suddenly he felt a bit sad. As if something very near and dear to him has been lost. Auriya noticed this and whispered to Lumiya, ¡°se what you have done you idiot, you made melethron sad!¡± Lumiyan rushed to Arin and said, ¡°I am sorry brother, I didn¡¯t want to hurt you!¡± Arin patted his back, ¡°and you did not. Don¡¯t worry. Now let me introduce you to some of my people. Steel your nerve and don¡¯t get scared, okay?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be¡± said the kids together. Arin summoned all his minions, and all of them appeared to them. Four grim looking Revenants, four scary Specters, three Draugurs and one Skeleton were standing in front of the kids. They gulped but did not flinch or closed their eyes. They too had to prove they are not coward but brave kids. Arin spoke to his undead minions, ¡°These two kids are my beloved siblings. You should protect and follow them accordingly. From today onwards, their wellbeing and protection are your duty. Never forget that¡± Then he looked at the kids, ¡°you don¡¯t need to get afraid of them, they are your friends only. Alright?¡± Then Arin commanded one Specter, ¡°You will always be with them from now on, till I give you further command. Accompany them wherever they go, and protect them at any cost¡± He dismissed the other eleven minions and ordered them to resume their assigned tasks. Arin advised the duo, ¡°I am going to the nearest city. I have to do some exploration and information gathering. You two stay here, always stay together and take care of each other. I will come back soon.¡± ¡°Are you leaving us?¡± asked Lumiyan in a teary voice. Arin knelt and hugged him, ¡°no brother, I am not. I just need to find something there. Also, you two have an important duty. You see this castle. It is your duty to explore. I need to know everything about this castle. It is your duty now to perform it. I hope you will help your brother.¡± Lumiyan puffed his chest and said ¡°yes brother, it will be done.¡± ¡°I knew it¡± he ruffled Lumiyan¡¯s hair and said, ¡°never be away from your sister or Mister Specter! Don¡¯t go alone, anywhere and don¡¯t take any risk!¡± He then spoke to Auriya, ¡°take care of yourself and your brother, and also there is a huge library. If you two want to explore it just ask Mister Specter. These Undeads are there to serve and guard you. So, now I am leaving. See you soon¡± and he waved them goodbye. Arin also wanted to check the Adventure Guild and see if these poor kids¡¯ parents and uncle aunts were alive, so that he could reunite them. But he didn¡¯t tell this to the kids, so that they don¡¯t keep any hope only to get sad later. He wore the hooded cloak, carried the ale, the silver bars and three pouches of gold in the backpack and one pouch of gold in his belt, and went to explore the forest in hope of finding an way to the nearest town. The Strange Encounter Arin backtracked his path to reach the site of the massacre of last night. That sight was a sharp contrast to the lush green surrounding. Green grass had turned black due to dried blood. A simple person might not understand the kind of mayhem that had been unleashed in this site last night. However, an experienced trained eye of an instigator; or someone well versed with bloodshed and gore; or, someone with enough magical acumen to trace the residual dark energy still lingering in that area would realize a seed of chaos had been planted here, which was going to loom large in the whole continent. However, neither the Old World¡¯s Old Guards, nor the Chaos incarnated himself was aware of what turbulent time they were going to usher in this chaotic world. Ironically, the Chaos Bringer was desperately searching for his way to bastion of Order right now. Arin tried to remember from which direction exactly those guards were coming from, and he went that way. After roaming a while he found a metal road, and after walking on it for a few hours, he eventually found a road wide and maintained enough for him to consider as main road leading to a proper and big settlement. Arin hoped that if he could find a Caravan or at least a Cart travelling to the nearby major settlement. He could accompany them to enter the town. He had no intention to avoid people on road. Afterall, there was no good in hiding himself on road, when his main objective was to let himself be surrounded with unknown, potentially hostile people. As he was walking down the quiet lonely road, a distant clatter grew louder, accompanied by the unmistakable clip-clop of hooves. Arin felt excited and looked behind. To his joy he saw a horse-drawn cart approaching from behind. "Greetings, traveler!¡± the cart driver, a bulky man with a big moustache and an even bigger smile on face, addressed Arin, ¡°Might you be in need of a ride to your destination? My cart has room for another; if goodman has coin to hire the ride" ¡°Indeed, I need¡± Arin replied pulling his hood down further to cover the signs of him being an undead. ¡°Then hop on¡± the driver said as he stopped the cart in front of Arin. Arin glanced the cart and sat inside. The cart was mainly stuffed with various goods. Arin made a place for himself among the goods and started conversation with the driver. ¡°You are either very brave or very naive¡± Arin said jokingly. ¡°Why, because I gave ride to a suspicious fellow, who can kill me and steal my goods?¡± the driver smirked. ¡°Am I wrong?¡± Arin replied, faking an embarrassed face. ¡°Indeed. If you were really a smart bad guy, you would not rob my car when we are so close to the Siterion.¡± The driver laughed. Arin felt a bit relaxed. Convincing someone of your idiocy often can help you save from many danger- it was something Arin had learnt from his day of conning others. ¡°You are wise indeed, Sir¡­¡± Arin paused. ¡°Bohan¡± smiled the Driver, ¡°Not Sir, just Bohan¡±. Then he gave Arin an inquisitive look, ¡°Are you really thinking me a Knight? A burly old man driving a cart as a Knight?¡±. He turned backwards further to look at Arin better, ¡°Are you new in this region? For, even your dialect is a bit strange, I cannot recall I have heard this dialect anywhere!¡± ¡°What are you actually trying to project?¡± Arin smirked. ¡°I have a feeling you are willing to go to the settlement knowing well it is not a very safe endeavor for you?¡± Bohan chuckled. ¡°And what if you are right? Are you planning to hand me over to the authority?¡± Arin asked. Bohan twirled his moustache, ¡°If I had such plan then I would not make you alert, and just make you busy in talk until I had approached the Guards!¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. By now Arin had realized that this man was not a simple cart driver, but rather most probably either related to smugglers or shady elements of town, or in league with the rebels. And, from his experience of his past life, Arin could understand that the man was actually wishing for Arin to seek Bohan¡¯s help, and then he would extort good money in exchange of help. Well money was least concern for him anyway. He had twenty gold coins with him in the pouch, and forty-three in his backpack. So Arin decided to step on Bohan¡¯s trap willingly, because it was his only opportunity to make his way to the city right now. ¡°Then, can you help me enter the town?¡± Arin asked him. ¡°How were you planning to enter if you had not met me here?¡± Bohan asked in return, instead of answering him. ¡°First I would try to enter from front gate, and if does not work¡± Arin answered, ¡°then find another way.¡± ¡°Then you are not a wanted criminal¡± Bohan rubbed his chin, ¡°but someone who would still be denied entry for¡­.¡± ¡°Can you help me or not?¡± Arin stopped him in his track. Bohan shuffled his sidebar for a while, and showed him a mask, ¡°This will help you!¡± Arin looked at the mask, and asked ¡°Would not the guard ask me to take it down when entering?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like fool;¡± Bohan chastised him, ¡°You think I would not think that?¡± ¡°Beg your pardon¡± Arin apologized. ¡°This is a magical mask. You have to imagine a face while taking it down, and you will wear that face for the next fifty steps¡± Bohan explained. ¡°Did not get you.¡± Arin was really confused this time. ¡°As expected,¡± Bohan spoke with a tone mix of frustration and humiliation, ¡°Kindly pay heed as I explain, for I do not like repeating myself!¡± Although this was going as Arin had wished for, but Bohan¡¯s attitude and condensing nature was getting on his nerve a bit. But he needed his help, and so nodded obediently without uttering anything, as if he was afraid of opening his mouth and reveal own stupidity further. Bohan scoffed and continued, ¡°This effect will continue on your face as long as you are still at a place, or standing, or sleeping, or sitting. But as soon as you start changing your location, this illusion starts wear off, and at around fiftieth step, it¡¯s effect completely wears off, until you wear the mask again, walk another fifty steps, and repeat the same process. Am I clear? Hope I am, for I am not repeating myself again¡± ¡°Yes, you are¡± smiled Arin, ¡°thank you so much my generous lord¡± Bohan probably appreciated this small flattery, and smiled, ¡°Mention not, my good man; but you see, I am a tradesman, and I am not going to give it to you out of sheer generosity!¡±. Bohan raised his left arm and rubbed his thumb against his index and middle fingers to express his desire to get paid. Arin spoke with a dejected tone, ¡°Oh! But I am really poor, and I am afraid I can not pay much for this marvellous item!¡± ¡°How much you have?¡± Bohan asked with disappointment. ¡°I have only this much¡±, Arin showed him the pouch he was carrying, ¡°Only twenty gold, and I have to eat, find a place to sleep and things to purchase as well!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry for that¡±, Bohan taunted him, ¡°Undead don¡¯t need to eat¡± This was the time Arin realized that this man had become too dangerous for him to continue living. He quickly tried to grab Bohan¡¯s neck, but with an agility which was sharp contrast to his bulky physique, Bohan grabbed Arin¡¯s neck instead. ¡°I just need to tighten my grip a bit, and your rotten neck would crush instantly¡± Arin was at loss, and did not know what to do. He felt like helpless rat trapped in ratcatcher. Bohan shook Arin a bit and freed him from his grip. ¡°I am letting you go because it was your first offense, as well as it was evident since the start that you are an idiot. However, I am now going to take the whole pouch¡±, and he snatched the pouch from Arin. ¡°I actually had thought of charging 10 gold coins¡± he continued, ¡°but after the foolish stunt you pulled, I am charging it all¡± Bohan tossed the mask to Arin and ordered him, ¡°Get down from my cart and walk straight for rest of the path¡± and he stopped the cart. Arin did not make any protest or excuse and obediently got down from the cart. Bohan had stopped the car, so Arin started walking leaving the cart behind. Suddenly Bohan started speaking to him behind his back, ¡°Patience is a virtue which is core to Undeath, for they have time; unlike Human whose life is fleeting, and thus always in a hurry and commit mistakes!¡± Arin did not look back; bit lowered his speed. Bohan continued, ¡°As you walk towards Siterion, think of all the mistakes you have done the whole day!¡±. Suddenly Arin noticed that Bohan¡¯s voice is changing to something very otherworldly. Arin stopped in track. ¡°These types of human like mistakes is not expected of someone who has been bestowed with the Title of Hem''netjer Nerthazir. You are no more a Human, don¡¯t act like one!¡±, Bohan spoke in commanding voice!¡± A chill shiver ran down Arin¡¯s spine, as he looked back, but no one was there anymore- neither Bohan, nor his Cart. Arin murmured spontaneously ¡°My Lord, you?¡± New Life, New Adventure After walking a while, the big wide walls of Siterion were in sight. Arin picked up his pace. There were not much crowd near the entrance. Only a few people were in front of the gate, making a queue to enter. There was not much rush as Arin had anticipated, probably because it was still midday. Arin put on his mask and stood in the queue. The people in front of him did not bother to look behind. The guards were looking at the people. It seemed they were letting go familiar faces with little to no inspection. But if it was unknown or suspicious face, they were doing a thorough check as well as deep inspection of their belongings. Arin did not mind as he had only few coins and two silver bar and a flask of wine. The queue moved relatively smoothly, and finally it was Arin¡¯s turn. -¡°Hey you, stranger, no funny business. Put down the mask before you enter!¡± One guard ordered, as Arin approached him. -¡°My face is too much scarred to show to people, please let me keep it!¡±, Arin pleaded to make his act more believable. -¡°Don¡¯t worry¡± laughed another guard, ¡°we are not going to marry you!¡± -¡°He already has his share of ugly in his life!¡± taunted the first! -¡°Shut your trap¡± the second guard said angrily and looked at Arin, ¡°and you, don¡¯t delay the queue! Either put down the mask or leave and make way for people behind!¡± -¡°Okay¡± Arin sighed! In his past life the ugliest face he could remember was of Brutus, a goon whose face was already scary looking, but after a rival gang had captured him once, they had brutalized his face to such extent that he had become further scary as well as disgusting to look at. Arin always tried to avoid looking at him. But this time, he remembered that face of a Brutus, and then took off the mask -¡°Ewww¡± the Guards riled up in horror and disgust, ¡°put on the mask, and scuttle away! GO¡±. Arin nodded in agreement, put on the mask and entered the town. Now, first thing first, he had to find the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. However, instead of asking around, and attracting attention of bad guys (as he himself used to do in his past life); he decided to find it out by himself while exploring the city. In this way he would find out more about the city as well. This was not a big bustling town. There were a few small shops in the market plaza, which were not much occupied. Most shopkeepers were dozing off, most probably because this was not usual time for people to do shopping. He hardly heard vendors hawking. Some just gave him a quick glance and upon realizing that he did not have any mind for shopping, they lost interest and resumed to whatever they were doing. After a bit of exploration, he eventually discovered the Guild. As he entered the Guild Hall, he found himself in a sparse interior with mostly empty sitting arrangements. Three people in corner were sleeping- one was in robe, and one was in leather armor. Another in metallic armor was snoring very loudly. In another corner a person was probably dozing as well, with his face covered under an unusually big hat. Arin looked around a bit and noticed two women sitting in a counter. Observing both of them wearing similar uniform, he guessed they were official from the guild, and thus approached them. ¡°ID Tag?¡± one girl asked him in an unimpressed attitude, without looking at him. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have any!¡± Arin replied. ¡°So, you are here to submit any request or to apply for a registration?¡± she asked. ¡°Actually, I wanted to¡­.¡± Arin stopped himself before he could finish his sentence. Suddenly he remembered what the kids had told him about their parents¡¯ demise. There was something fishy about what had happened to them. He felt it would not be wise to mention their parents¡¯ party. Doing this he could find himself entangled in a mess he was not prepared to deal with at this current stage.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. With a sudden glance backwards, Arin noticed the strange guy with hat was peeping at him. ¡°Hello¡­.¡± The lady nudged Arin, ¡°you wanted to? ¡°Yeah, I wanted to join as an Adventurer!¡± Arin quickly replied! ¡°Are you from this city?¡± she asked. ¡°No¡± Arin replied. ¡°Are you citizen of Drihan?¡± she asked again ¡°No, I am new here!¡± he replied back. ¡°Okay. If you were our citizen, I would have to arrange a Trial for you to gauge your capabilities. But because you are not, just sign this disclosure where you say that if something happens to you, our guild would not be responsible and then only I will enroll you¡± she informed him, while extending a form. Arin filled the form and handed it over. The lady gave the form a quick glance and threw a Tag of Tin towards him. ¡°Newbies do not need a named tag. After you get promoted to Copper, you will get named tag.¡± ¡°Do I need a team or can I¡­.¡± Arin asked. ¡°Whatever¡± she replied and went back gossiping with the other girl. As Arin left the counter to look at the request board, he could sense the girls were watching him from corner of their eyes. Arin walked up to the board for a suitable quest and found one to his liking- a cleanup mission. It may sound a good one, but actually not a very glamorous one, which was why most probably there were not much taker of that quest. Basically, the Adventurer had to enter the sewer, kill each and every kind of creatures there that could pose threat. After he was done, a team of sweeper would go down there. If they came back unscathed, the adventurer would be paid; or else he was going to face trial for negligence. It was risky endeavor indeed. However, one good thing was, whatever he would find in the swear would completely and officially belong to him. There would be no questions asked- when he entered or exit the sewer. Arin realized that he should start the work as fast as possible. The earlier he would finish the work, the earlier he could get paid and move on. Arin took the Quest, registered it in the counter against his name in the counter, and received a letter from the Guild authority to submit to Captain Duran who would allow him to go to the sewer. Arin met the Guard Captain. He was a tall strong brawny man. This was the Captain Duran of whom Milean and the other guards were scared of. As Arin approached him, Duran raised his eyebrow and said, ¡°Is there any reason for you to wear a mask? Are you scared to reveal your face or ashamed to show your face?¡± ¡°Ashamed would be more appropriate!¡± Arin replied nonchalantly. ¡°Well, still I want to know how does the new ¡®savior¡¯ of the sewer of this great city of mine does look like?¡± although Duran presented it as a simple request, his order was clearly understandable. Arin took of his mask to show his Brutus face. Duran did not show any visible disgust but asked to wear it back. ¡°Come tomorrow morning,¡± he advised Arin, ¡°I will inform my deputy, he will open the sewer for you. The next day the cleaners will enter, and if they come back alive and unharmed before evening- you will receive your payment. If not, you may be in danger!¡± ¡°Well, I am aware of that¡±, Arin replied, ¡°But I wish to go right now!¡± ¡°Now?¡± Duran raised his eyebrow, as he sat straight on his seat, and examined Arin from top to bottom with his eyes, ¡°You know this is soon going to be night; and these things, whatever be they, lurking in the sewer, are going to get more dangerous? If you want to die, die outside the wall, don¡¯t make trouble for us¡± ¡°I am fully aware of this, AGAIN¡± Arin also replied in stern voice this time. ¡°I have my own way of doing things. And I believe, as per the contract between you and the guild, you are supposed to let me start my work whenever I wish¡±, Arin pointed to the Guild letter which Duran was holding in his hand, ¡°Am I not right?¡± Duran gave him a very angry look, ¡°alright, as you wish!¡± ¡°Guide this Gallant Warrior, Savior of Siterion¡¯s Sewer to his Super adventure¡± he ordered his Deputy, ¡°and next year, before posting request for the same to the guild, remind me of today¡¯s incident!¡± The Deputy nodded, ¡°Yes Sir¡±, and gestured Arin to follow him. As Arin was following the Deputy outside, Duran called him, ¡°listen boy, one advice!¡± Arin stopped and turned his head to look at Duran, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°When you feel you are in danger that you can¡¯t deal, just run away!¡± Duran said grimly, ¡°or, when you feel, you are going to die, die as close to the entrance as possible. I don¡¯t want your body rotting in great depth, making the whole process of cleaning more dangerous!¡± ¡°Got it¡± Arin replied, ¡°message received, loud and clear!¡± and followed Deputy to the Entrance of Sewer. When he came outside the barrack, it had become dusk. The market plaza seemed to become lively again. But it was no more time for sightseeing. They walked silently towards the wall. The sewer gate was near the wall. The Deputy waved at a guard nearby. As he heeded his summon and appeared next to them, he was ordered to open the sewer gate. The Deputy gave a dry smile to Arin and gestured him to go down. As Arin descended, he realized if he had a beating heart, it could be heard like loud drums. The Labyrinth When Arin made his descend in the lower rung of Sewer the daylight had gone. It would be pitch black completely, if there were not strange glowing mushrooms blooming here and there. Although their luminescence was not enough for human eyes to navigate properly, but for an Undead like Arin it was no problem at all. Actually, after spending so much time in bright day light whole day, he was at last feeling relieved in the cold embrace of darkness of sewer. Now he was missing his specters. If they were here with him right now, they would survey the whole sewer system for him in a moment, and the quest would be completed in a jiffy. But Arin doubted he could carry his undeads with him in a bustling town. He wished there was any way to summon them at will. Arin felt the need to find solution for this problem. However, that is something for the future. Now it was time to fulfill his quest. Arin realized another mistake of his. It would be a good idea if he had taken any weapon with him. But he did not. Arin felt he was getting dull after coming to this world. However, he could now utilize his dark energy skills. But only one skill was good to kill an enemy. That was ¡®Life Drain¡¯. And he decided to use that to clear the sewers. It had been more than an hour he had started exploration, and he had killed around seventeen rats till now. Life drain took around one to two second to kill a rat. So, it was somewhat satisfactory till now. One thing was strange. He had suspected that the more he would delve inside, the more he would find dangerous critters. But they were strangely absent. There were no waves of ravenous rats, mutated leech or other dangerous critters. The eerie silence unnerving. The quest was going so smoothly, that he wondered why would the Guard-captain would feel so concerned about his safety. There was certainly something that was amiss. This peaceful exploration was something that was making him feel uneasy. He looked around and suddenly noticed some strange graffiti inside the sewer wall. Who would enter such deep part of Sewer to draw such strange symbols, Arin wondered. However, as far as he could recall he had not noticed such graffities a while ago, before he entered this part of sewer. He continued following those strange scribblings, and soon he discovered that those were getting more vivid, clearer. Arin was lost on reading them and trying to make meaning of these. But suddenly there was sudden sound of metallic click, and he stumbled on the ground with a huge thud. As he was falling through the floor, he felt a sharp strange pain in his feet. Again, he was facing pain, which was not something normal from his understanding of an Undead being (although most of his understanding of undead beings was based on the portrayal of the same in popular media from his past life). Arin collected himself and sat down, only to discover that his left foot was caught in a beer trap. ¡°Whaddahell!¡± Arin wondered, ¡°who would put a beer trap here?¡±. Arin imagined most probably some criminals had taken shelter in this labyrinthian structure and had installed these traps to stop their pursuer on track. But again, it was strange for them to make strange drawings in wall and attract attention and declare their existence, unless they were super bored and thus got careless. As Arin was freeing his foot from the trap, he heard sound of water splashing. They were feint, as if some people were slowly stealthily walking on watery surface to avoid making noise as less as possible. Although the water on the floor was giving away their footstep to Arin- whose hearing capability had increased after becoming an Undead.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. He quickly freed himself and stood against the wall to get ready for a surprise attack. Now he was really missing a weapon. The footsteps were getting closer. Arin got ready. Soon he found two dwarf like figures approaching from the alley. There eyes were glowing. Arin doubted it could be eyes of any humanoid. As they came near the trap they stopped. One leaned towards the trap to discover some fluorescent green liquid on it. This was nothing but the same fluid that was flowing in Arin¡¯s veins now. When the one was inspecting the liquid and probably trying to understand the nature of the liquid, the another standing behind him was looking around. As the second one turned his head towards Arin, Arin quickly grabbed its neck with both hands and whispered, ¡°Dice is cast, your life now mine; let it flow, by dark design", and soon it started withering like a dried husk. It tried to make noise, but it was feint, as if it¡¯s ability to make a noise was dissipating just like his life force. The first creature which was inspecting the trap was a bit taken aback by this sudden flow of incidents. Before he could react, Arin had finished draining the creature dry. As the first was going to attack, Arin threw the dried-up creature at it. The creature made a sharp screeching sound as it fell on ground. Ain pointed at the creature, ¡°wither and rot, life to naught¡±. The creature threw the dried-up carcass to side and stood up. It took a short sword out from the belt, but could not attack. It started trembling in his feet. Arin took the stave the second creature had dropped and hit the first with it hard. It fell on ground again. Arin started beating the creature mercilessly. Blood splattered in the wall. After being sure it was dead Arin stood up and observed those creatures closely. They were rats, very big rats. But upon closer inspection; and taking into account of the recent encounter, he realized they were not just normal rats, but rather humanoid rats, or, Ratman. Arin did a thorough search on them. The short sword and the stuff were collected by him and taken in his inventory. After further search he found two strange amulets on both of them. It was a crude amulet with a hexagon, a snake like pattern made on the hexagon. Arin felt a feint trace of dark energy emitting from both. As Arin grabbed them in both hands, he felt that dark energy seeping inside him. But it was not just energy, but some strange visions invaded his mind, visions of a snake with red glowing eyes and a strange green fire and some strange hooded figures around it. It was so strange and invasive that Arin felt a bit headache for a moment. Arin moved forward, with the stave on left hand and grabbing the short sword firmly on the other. He was moving towards the direction the Ratmen had appeared. He did not resurrect the Ratmen corpses because he did not know how to cancel summon, and if the sweepers found those undead Ratmen next day, it might create unwanted complications for Arin. As he was moving ahead, he could hear a voice in head, it was a very familiar voice. ¡°Nerthazir¡¯s champion is a Novice, who has not realized even a fraction of his power; but that is not is the case of Nahun¡¯s acolytes. Just like Lord of Death, Lord of Decay is trying to regain its foothold. And Nahun¡¯s acolytes are more powerful by virtue of utilizing their potential; even if their rank is much lower than a Champion¡± ¡°My Lord¡± Arin replied in his mind with reverence, ¡°thank you for your guidance, but is not it a bit odd for you to be helping your Champion so frequently, like I did not expect you to be so helpful!¡± ¡°Keep on exploring, you will find your answer!¡± The voice chuckled, ¡°Now go with my blessings and prove your worth! Death and Decay The more Arin was moving ahead, towards his direction unknown, the more his surroundings were becoming surreal. The graffities appeared to be coming alive when he was not looking at. Thanks to his lord Ner¡¯thazir¡¯s warning, he now knew that followers of God of Decay was at play here. *donn* Arin realized he had put his feet on a pressure plate. Before he could react, darts started rushing towards him at lightning speed from both sides. But those darts were relatively pretty small to actually hurt him. ¡°Most probably their tips were poisoned¡± Arin thought, ¡°because I am undead, simple poisons would not work on me anymore, but it would seriously endanger any other living beings.¡± Twice Arin had activated traps till now. But problem is, there was water on surface, which would hide the traps planted beneath the watery surface. Arin decided to use the stave to identify traps submerged in water, like the blind people do. The more he progressed more traps were discovered. Although he was avoiding them thanks to his stave, it had hugely affected his movement speed. It was getting frustratingly slow. After a while, he had a strange discovery. A part of the inner wall of the sewage had collapsed, and it had revealed a hidden chamber. That chamber was dark, but at the same time, was emitting a feint reddish glow. Strangely, even Arin was not being able to clearly see through this strange darkness. It was clear that, this darkness was not natural, but rather, was due to some strange otherworldly miasma that had filled the chamber and was obstructing vision. Arin could sense in his bones that there were some dangers, lurking in the shadow; waiting, gritting their teeth, to pounce on him, as soon as he steps inside. But there was no turning back. He gripped the short sword and stave firmly in both hands and walked in. As soon as he stepped foot in the chamber, he received a notification- [ You have entered territory of death and decay. All Light, Creation Spells will have their efficiency reduced up to 20%. All Dark Spells will have their efficiency increased up to 25%] ¡°Death and Decay?¡± Arin wondered. As par Ner¡¯thazir, Nahun was God of Decay. But Death was domain of his Lord. It made Arin a bit confused. But at the same time, he was happy knowing his only power beside Necromancy, - Dark Skill had actually become more effective upon entering this zone. ¡°Look who is here¡± Arin suddenly heard a whisper, in a very shrill voice, that was enough to freeze his now mutated blood. But there were no one. He looked around. But in that thick, red mist nothing could be seen. However, he could feel that he was not alone right now, rather was surrounded by one or more hostile beings. Occasionally he could hurl a snarl, swiftly passing by him. But the problem was that they were literally invisible to him at the moment. Suddenly he recalled, he had his scrying skill. It could prove effective in identifying the enemies which were hiding in the treacherous mist, and slowly but steadily were closing on him. Arin stood farm, silent; calmed his mind, and activated his Scrying skills. And, as he had anticipated, their levels were now visible over their head, revealing their position; although they themselves were still obscure like a silhouette. It seemed at least six were there around him. They were circling around him too fast for him to take any action. They had to be slowed down, and Arin had perfect tool for it. He stretched his hand, gathered the dark energy floating around, which was abundant specifically in this part of the labyrinth. ¡°By the death''s might and pale moon''s dark glow; let your courage wane, and your spirits low¡± he chanted and unleashed his Dread Howl. The six Rat-men, which were circling around him, suddenly tripped over and fell on each other. This was an opportunity Arin could not pass, for his enemies were many and he was alone.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Arin jumped on one Ratman and trusted his stave in its eye with all his might. The stave pierced its eye and went inside it¡¯s skull where it got stuck. Arin put his right foot on its throat for support as he pulled the stave out which was stuck in the Ratman''s skull. In this process its neck got broken as he could hear the snapping sound. Arin did not waste time and smashed the other¡¯s head with his stave. However, the repeated attack of blunt force cracked not just it¡¯s skull, but Arin¡¯s stave as well in that process. As he dropped the broken stave, Arin suddenly faced a sensation behind his back. His left hand which was grabbing the short sword automatically moved behind instinctually and there was a splatter of blood and shriek. Arin looked behind to realize a rat-man had pounced on his back, but he instinctively shoved dagger in its throat. Rest of three jumped on Arin together. Arin kicked the middle one in the abdomen to push it down. The left one fell on the short sword in Arin''s left arm and lost its life. The one on right side found it¡¯s neck in deathly grasp of Arin¡¯s right hand. Arin chuckled, ¡°As I cast my curse on thee, let your life flow into me¡± and the Rat-man lost its life in minute. He tossed the dried-up body of the Ratman, grabbed the short sword with his both hands and jumped on the last remaining one, which had stood up now after getting kicked by Arin earlier. Before it could react, Arin fell on it with the sword shoved in its chest, putting weight of his whole body behind. Arin tried to pull out sword, but it probably had broken it¡¯s rib cage and got stuck inside. Arin huffed and decided to search those six of their belongings. All of them had those strange amulets of similar pattern. He absorbed the dark energy imbued in them and as a result withstood barrage of earlier strange visions as side effect. Each of them had a dagger with them. Arin took all six and arranged them in his belt. One had a strange flask with a yellowish liquid in it. With help of scrying skill, he identified it as Acid Flask. Arin kept it in his backpack to use it as a projectile if situation demands. As he moved ahead there were some patrols here and there. Most were alone or a as a team of two. They could not pose much threat to Arin. He quickly finished them before they could call for help, and create unnecessary difficulty for Arin. He continued his journey till he ended up in front of a big door. Surprisingly, there were no guards. But he felt something was behind this door. He could feel an ominous energy swirling inside. Arin felt a sensation. As he looked at himself. To his surprise, he could see his veins were glowing bright green, as if his necromantic blood was boiling inside. Arin, with the tip of a dagger, slowly opened the door. He had anticipated a trap would spring or some enemies hidden inside the room will jump on him. But nothing like that happened. The room was pitch black, too black to see even for his eyes. But he could see a strange glow coming from the center of the hall. On a closer look it seemed like the glow was emanating from a stone tablet which was placed on an altar-like structure in the middle of the hall. Strangely, it felt like, the tablet was beckoning him. Arin slowly walked towards it to get a closer look. There was a strange pattern inscribed on the tablet. It vaguely seemed very familiar. As Arin was trying to recognise and decipher it, he felt a thick oil like something dropped on his shoulder. Before he could try to understand nature of the liquid, he felt a burning sensation on his shoulder, where the liquid had fallen. It was too much painful. Arin looked upward to find out where from the liquid had dropped, only to discover a pair of bright yellow serpentine eyes. And it swept on him, like a hawk sweeps on a hare. A cold slippery lump of flesh brushed past him. Before he could react, he found himself being suddenly constricted by the same oily fleshy substance. His body below his shoulder felt a crushing pressure around. Only his hands were free. Before he could react, he found himself being lifted upward by something to bring him at the same level of those big cruel and vicious eyes. Arin looked at those eyes, and realized he had been caught in deathly coils of a huge serpent. It opened its mouth and extended its tongue to lick Arin, probably to understand his nature. ¡°Look who we have here, a cute little walking corpse!¡± it spoke, ¡°I have not tasted your ilk ever, let¡¯s see how do you taste!¡± Champion vs Acolyte Arin felt like his lower body would get crushed under this monstrous constriction. Arin decided to apply ¡®Feeble¡¯ on it, to make it lose strength, and free himself. He believed he could do it, as he was sensing excessive surge of dark energy inside him. He touched the snake and with great difficulty, chanted, ¡°Drained by shadow, let your strength flee; Weaken to death, I whisper my decree¡±. But something strange happened. He received a notification. [Curse of Feeble has been resisted] ¡°What isss thissss¡± the serpent spoke, ¡°Foolisshhh toy trying to cast dark magic? I have breathed and bassssked in Dark Mana. No Dark Magic can even touch me!¡± The serpent tightened its coil. Arin realized it was his last moment in this world. His only power was Dark Magic. And this was completely useless in front of such a monstrous being. Arin faced utter despair and regret. He did not know what to do. And then, at this critical moment, he realized his one crucial mistake. He was a necromancer. He had one important and special skill which no one else had- Necromancy. He could raise dead, let a howl that could destroy moral of enemies, and suck the very life from his enemies. And his most valuable trademark skill was raising dead. But he actually had avoided it the whole time. And now it was too late. He doubted his ¡®Dread Howl¡¯ was strong enough to shake the great serpent¡¯s morale considerably. If he started draining life from it, he feared he would rather explode before he could even suck fraction of the Serpent¡¯s life force. But, raising the dead? It was something which was completely possible, so was fighting the serpent with his undead minions. But he could do nothing. ¡°If only¡­.¡± Arin murmured in frustration. ¡°Ssssaid ssssomething?¡± the Serpent mocked. ¡°If only I could raise my minions?¡± Arin whispered, writhing in crushing pain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try¡± the Serpent taunted, ¡°whatever it issss!¡±, and tightened its coil. Arin, tormented to the core, with all his power, shouted at top of his voice, ¡°RISE!¡±. The cry was so emotional, and full of passion and intensity, it echoed through the entire labyrinthian sewage system. Arin felt giving up. But he still could feel there was a power surging in him. Actually, he felt this phenomenon as soon as he had stepped in this secret part of chamber; and it had only grown in intensity the closer he came to this hall. And after entering this chamber he had felt a sharp power spike in him. However, it was all for naught. This encounter was going to be his last. ¡°I am sorry father¡± he said as he decided to give up, and suddenly realised what he had done just now. He literally proclaimed the God of Death as his father, - not to appease him, or in fear of him, or to seek his favor. He did this automatically, genuinely, and unconsciously. He did not even know when he had started treating him as his father, but he had. Suddenly, the stone tablet in the center of the hall started glowing. It was so bright that suddenly the dark hall got illuminated in a bright green glow. And in this glow Arin first time saw his enemy at it¡¯s full extent. It was a giant snake, looked like the fearsome snake Anaconda from his past world, but much much bigger, and stronger. Suddenly the door of the hall opened with a loud screech. And both of Arin as well as the giant snake shifted their gaze from each other to the silhouettes that had gathered near the door. They were obviously Rat men. But there was something different. Their eyes were emitting a cold blue glow. Before both of them could understand what had happened, all those strange rat men jumped on the Snake and started biting, scratching, gnawing on the snake. Not only them, but there were a bunch of actual rats which also jumped in the fray. ¡°What foul sorcery is this?¡± the Snake cried, ¡°how did you turn my servants against me?¡±. The snake did not free Arin, but started throwing its attackers away with whip of it powerful tails. Many of the rat men were thrown like rag dolls against the wall. This collision was supposed to kill them. But strangely, they all stood up. However, every one of them did not got up on their both legs. Some crawled on. Some dragged their legs. But they all attacked the snake again and again. And each of them continued attacking the snake till it got crushed completely under its powerful tail.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! However, Arin realized, its strength was dwindling. The strange rat men could not make any successful fatal attack. But they were successful enough to chip way the Snake¡¯s strength bit by bit with their weak but repeated consistent attacks. ¡°STOP IT¡± the Snake shouted, wiggling in pain. It made effort to gobble Arin whole to stop those Rat men and the rats. Arin knew it was a now-or-never chance. He opened his backpack and took out the Acid flask. As the snake¡¯s gigantic open mouth closed in, Arin threw the Acid flask in its mouth. The flask broke in its mouth. Now, the snake, threw Arin away and started turning and twisting in pain. Arin felt his spine had broken in the impact. He stayed laid down on his stomach and casted ¡°Life Drain¡± on the Snake, "From your flesh, life shall seep; Into my grasp, your soul I''ll keep". And soon life force started flowing from it to Arin. And it was so potent and powerful, Arin felt all his broken bones, limbs, teared ligaments and muscles, all scratches getting healed. He felt even his energy, which he was finding missing, was returning to him. Soon he felt saturated with the snake¡¯s life force. He decided to heal his minions now. He had realized these Rat men and rats were nothing but the ones he had killed tonight and had been resurrected hearing his summon to rise. So, he felt it was wise for him to reward them with regained life force. "Bone and shadow, rise once more, Life from death, health restore." He chanted and the life force that was being suck by Arin from the snake was now getting diverted towards those walking corpses. They all again stood up on their legs. This time they seemed much healthier, stronger, livelier. Arin looked at the Snake. It was now a shadow of its earlier self. But it was still alive. Arin ordered his minions, ¡°Finish it!¡±, and this time, swiftly this was done. Those awakened rat men moved like shadow and quickly finished the snake which was already weakened enough. As it was done, suddenly, to his surprise, Arin saw the thick miasma getting dissipated, and now this time the darkness was natural, and normal enough for Arin to see clearly. He leaned down on the strange stone tablet. To his amusement, he felt the stone tablet was similar to the Stone Statue he had seen in the Realm of God of Dead, Ner¡¯thazir. ¡°What have you done!¡± cried a shadowy figure that had appeared in front of the Door, ¡°you have killed our Lord¡¯s Child, the Venom Sovereign''s avatar, his acolyte¡±. As the Shadowy figure rushed inside and jumped on the withered, mangled carcass of the giant snake, Arin could realize it was bigger Rat Man. ¡°Capture him¡± Arin ordered his minions, and they swiftly moved behind the Bigger Rat Man. The Rat Man did not resist. Either it was too shattered to resist, or it had realized that resistance was futile. ¡°Who are you?¡± Arin asked it, ¡°What is happening here?¡± ¡°We are Cuitlaquilin¡± the Ratman spoke dejectedly, ¡°I am their Cazaqui, or priest in your language. I serve The Great Nahun, the God of Decay; - by tending to his Acolyte¡± he paused, ¡°or I used to¡±. The Cazaqui now broke in tears, ¡°My Lord, I have failed you!¡± ¡°Wait¡± Arin stopped him amidst his emotional breakdown, ¡°tell me first, what is this place, why is My Lord Ner¡¯thazir¡¯s Altar is there? What are you and your God is even doing here?¡± Cazaqui laughed now, ¡°The vile city of Siterion has been built on ruin of Temple of your Lord. After Malkurt, the wretched Lord of Light¡¯s devotees attacked and destroyed the temple, they built this vile city on ruins of it. But the Dark Energy was too powerful to get rid of. When a scouting party of our clan discovered the chamber, they recognized the dark energy and its potential. So, we brought our Lord¡¯s Totem and hatched his acolyte out of it in this potent dark energy. We were growing strong and we would have successfully invaded this city soon and killed all those humans if you had not destroyed all our plan. Just imagine, all of Cuitlaquilin pouring out of the sewers at dark embrace of night, being guided by out Lord¡¯s Acolyte; when all those filthy humans were sleeping, and we would storm the entire city, kill them all; and when sun would rise, the city would belong to our clan¡±. It paused and looked at Arin with a fiery gaze, ¡°But you have destroyed it, YOU HAVE RUINED IT ALL¡± All Hail The Champion Arin¡¯s face got stern. He walked towards the grieving Cazaqui, grabbed it by neck, pulled it up and looked at its eyes, ¡°Yes, I did! So what?¡±. He strengthened his grip, choking him further, ¡°You want pity? Would you pity me, if that snake had eaten me alive? Whatever be the World, it has always been built over pile of bodies of weak killed by the strong!¡±. Arin threw the Cazaqui on ground. ¡°If I am not strong, I too will lie down as another stepping stone, for the Stronger to climb up; just like you are lying down now!¡± The Cuitlaquilin stood up. Took out a gilded dagger, grabbed it firm with both hands, and pounced on Arin. Arin just stepped aside, and it fell hard on its face. Arin smiled and put his left foot on its skull, keeping it pressed against the damp floor. ¡°So, what would you do now? You wretched vermin?¡± ¡°I will do nothing¡±, it grumbled, ¡°whatever happens to you from now on, will be done by my Great Lord! You will die under wrath of Nahun the Mighty¡±. Arin chuckled, ¡°Newsflash! I am already dead!¡± and pressed his foot harder. With a crunching sound, the rat¡¯s skull cracked under his foot. Arin was a bit surprised. Why he is not having any notifications suddenly? It was too quiet! Something felt odd. Earlier he had assumed that he gets notification only when the ongoing crisis ends. He wondered, whether it meant that the ongoing crisis had not resolved yet and there were more troubles awaiting him, like more ¡®boss¡¯ enemy! Or, whether he actually had entered a dungeon and needed to exit to the ¡®normal¡¯ level of sewer! Or, was it that some other things were there for him to explore. Arin wished, if there was any objective table or Quest Marker for him, like in actual games! Arin asked one risen Cuitlaquilin to search the dead Cazaqui of its belonging. Only an amulet and a precious ornate Dagger was there. On it¡¯s hilt a Snake was curved; the eyes were made of Ruby. The Amulet was of similar design as what he had obtained from other ratmen he had killed previously. But the metal was of Good Quality. Arin had expected to absorb the dark energy from it. But, to his surprise, no more there was any trace of Dark Energy in it. As if, with the demise of Nahun¡¯s Acolyte, as well as, the followers and the great priest, his influence had also dwindled or ceased to exist in this part of area. Arin wondered, if that was the case, then why was Nerthazir¡¯s influence was still strong there, - after destruction of the temple and the priests and all. There were so many mysteries whose answers Arin still had to find. Arin tried to pick the tablet to carry with him. But he found that it was firmly attached to the ground. Therefore, Arin and his entourage moved on to explore other parts of the secret chamber. There were mostly makeshift quarters of all the guards. Nothing of much importance or value were there. However, after looking here and there, he ended up in front of another big door. The door seemed closely shut, like no one had opened it for eons. Even the Cazaqui and its minions must had avoided it, it seemed. As Arin was stuck in dilemma on whether to open it or not, or even how to open it; he heard a thumping sound. As if someone was pushing or punching something very heavy. And it was coming from behind the door. Arin tried to listen better, and identify the source and nature of the sound better, by putting his ear against the door. But, to his great astonishment, the door opened as soon as Arin touched it. As if it was only waiting for Arin¡¯s touch to get opened. Arin entered the big hall, to find a big sarcophagus. Something was buried or trapped in it. Whatever was inside the sarcophagus, was trying hard to get out, and that¡¯s why it was making such sound. Arin thought for a moment, and tried to open the lid. The heavy stone slab of lid flipped like it was made of cardboard. A heavy green mist came out as an explosion of a failed experiment and filled the entire room. And in front of Arin, appeared a Lich. The Lich stood as an imposing figure, shrouded in a tattered robe that once bore the sacred symbols of his divine order. Now, those symbols had been warped and distorted with time, mirroring his fall from grace. His skeletal frame was wrapped in fragments of desiccated flesh, further giving him a ghastly, almost mummified appearance. His eye sockets were hollow, dark like abyss. But suddenly they started glowing with a baleful, unnatural light, casting an eerie aura around him.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Arin suddenly felt that the air grew cold and heavy around him. Wisps of dark energy started swirling around his bony fingers, which were adorned with rings of power and ancient runes. He looked at Arin, and suddenly stepped back. Although flew back would be more accurate for he was not walking but rather floating on the floor. The lich, with immense grace, bowed to Arin. And to Arin¡¯s surprise, he observed all those risen ratmen were bowing to him, perfectly mirroring the gesture and posture of the Lich. Then he spoke to Arin, with voice resonating with the hollow echo of the grave, which would sent chills down the spines of any mortal who dared to listen. ¡°I knew my Lord would not abandon me, and the moments of my shame, our shame would be forgiven and I would be blessed with a second life to serve the Dread Father¡±. Arin did not reply, for he knew, sometimes speaking less or nothing is far better than opening mouth and blabbering like fool. ¡°If I had eyes, I would cry blood witnessing the glory of Champion of our Lord. My eternal imprisonment ended when you called me to ¡®Rise¡¯. Now order me Sovereign. How should the lowly servant can be of service to His Majesty?¡± ¡°You may rise¡± Arin waved at him. ¡°As you command, Sire¡±, the Lich followed his gesture and stood up. ¡°Now give me your introduction, as well as what had happened to you¡± Arin asked, ¡°As you may see, I am still at the Dark¡±. Arin did not want to pretend, for he felt this lich could understand if he was faking, and the outcome could be foul. ¡°I can sense it my Lord¡± the Lich bowed again with utmost respect, ¡°you seem to have risen in this body not for long, as it seems you have not unlocked your chains or started utilizing your power. So let me have the Honor to be of service!¡± Arin was getting a bit annoyed with this unnecessary long speech, and he raised his eyebrow. The Lich probably got the hint, and promptly corrected himself, ¡°I am Zulkarnash, the High Priest of Dread Father. This was once an important Temple City dedicated the Lord Ner¡¯thazir. And I was the the overlord of the central Ziggurat and lord of the City.¡± Arin nodded. Zulkarnash indeed was a haunting reminder of the mortal priest he once was, now twisted into an immortal herald of darkness and death. He continued, ¡°When the vile Gods were destroying the City along with the Ziggurat, my Lord spoke to me. I followed the Dread Father¡¯s command and sealed myself in this tomb and trapped it with Dread Father¡¯s blessing, and awaited return of the Hem¡¯netjer, who would free me from this imprisonment once again!¡± ¡°Return?¡± Arin asked, ¡°Do you mean there was another before me?¡± ¡°Yes, that was the reason¡±, Zulkarnash spoke cryptically, ¡°but I think that is something to discuss when we are out of this.¡± ¡°Yes¡± Arin nodded, ¡°Right you are¡± ¡°But before that my Sire¡±, Zulkarnash waved his hand, ¡°You should have this, as it seems you lack a proper item for you.¡± A long staff appeared out of thin Air in his bony hands. ¡°Please accept it my lord and pour a bit Necromantic Energy in it!¡± Arin received it and followed his guidance. To both of their surprise, the mundane appearing staff started floating in air, emanating bright blight green luminescence; and took form of a majestic, awe-inspiring staff. ¡°Staff of Eternal Night!¡± Zulkarnash murmured with awestruck voice. It was indeed an awe-inspiring artifact, exuding both grandeur and dread. Now it was appearing to be crafted from ancient, mythical darkened wood which seemed to absorb light. At the top of the staff, a large, flawless crystal of deep obsidian was held in place by skeletal claws; seemingly carved from bone yet imbued with an otherworldly sheen. The crystal was pulsating faintly with a sinister energy, casting shadows that were dancing eerily in its vicinity. Encircling the obsidian were intricate runes and glyphs, glowing with a malevolent blue hue, the symbols of ancient necromantic power and forgotten rites. As it completed its transformation and took its final shape, it dropped in Arin¡¯s hand. As soon as Arin held in in his hand, a psionic pulse exploded around Arin, the wave spread all around, echoing through the empty chambers and sewers. Zulkarnash dropped on floor and prostrated to Arin, ¡°All hail to Hem¡¯netzer¡±, and it echoed, as if the entire Netherworld chanted in unison to glory of Arin. As Below, So Above ¡°Rise on your feet¡± Arin gestured, and Zulkarnash obeyed, and so did all those undead Cuitlaquilin, who were perfectly following the Lich. ¡°We will talk at greater length, but right now we have more pressing matters!¡± Arin spoke. ¡°Precisely¡±, Zurkarnash nodded. Arin took his majestic staff and cherished it to its glory and splendor. ¡°You know if I take this outside in the world, it will be kind of declaration on my part, that I am a practitioner of Dark Art and Necromancy!¡± he spoke. ¡°My lord¡±, Zulkarnash replied, ¡°Do you also believe the notion of Dark and Light Art, Good and Bad; and Necromancy is foul!¡± Arin did not like that question, specially from a Lich for whom he was slowly having respect in mind. Enraged, he raised the staff high and brought it down with a resounding thud, striking the floor near his feet. The powerful impact echoed through the room, establishing absolute silence instantly. ¡°You dare to suggest I harbor such frivolous pitiful feelings?¡± Arin roared, ¡°Power is Power. There is no right, wrong; good, bad. Power is unbiased. Whatever be the world, having power is virtue, and not having power is vice. If someone believes otherwise, is either tricking you to not pursue power, or is just delusional! And you dare to suggest I can be tricked or deluded so easily? What do you even know about me to suggest such!¡± ¡°Mercy! Mercy! Oh, Great Lord!¡± Zulkarnash fell on his knees, ¡°I merely felt distraught hearing dark art of necromancy; for in my life, I have been condemned by others as Evil for practicing art of Necromancy. Therefore, your words just reminded me of those! And I ended up committing blasphemy!¡± This time Arin no more commanded him to rise. He spoke, ¡°I am still awaiting answer of the question I had asked!¡± ¡°Beg your pardon!¡±, Zulkarnash repeatedly bowed and banged his head on the floor, ¡°I am a foolish servant of yours!¡± ¡°SPEAK¡± Arin ordered in a stern voice. Zulkarnash stopped his antics and replied, ¡°The staff took shape of Staff of Eternal Night as you had poured a fraction of your magnificent power in it. You take it back and it will return to its shape of mundane staff, which it was a while ago. It was basically a special artifact that takes it¡¯s shape and attribute depending on the wielder it gets imprinted on, and its power is entirely proportional to power of the wielder. When you temporarily severe the link, you will be having a normal staff. No one would notice, for the art is lost and it is now a thing of myth!¡± ¡°Alright, now listen what I am going to speak, for it is very important¡±, Arin spoke, ¡°I had descended this Sewer as mere adventurer to make it safe for sweepers to perform their annual cleaning. So, after I go outside, the cleaners will descend. If they find this place out, they will create uproar, and may even bring the whole Order down here and desecrate our sacred chamber.¡± Zulkarnash nodded. ¡°If you kill them, I will be put under trial on charge of negligence in my contract, and they will send more adventures here, again compromising sanctity of the chamber.¡± Arin informed. ¡°My lord,¡± Zulkarnash spoke, ¡°If I may?¡±. Arin nodded. Getting his cue, Zulkarnash continued, ¡°The sweepers, are they normal common men or some strong people!¡±. ¡°As far as I have been told,¡± Arin replied, ¡°they will be normal common cleaner, or else they would not send a lowest rank Adventurer like me to make way for them!¡± ¡°Understood¡± Zulkarnash replied, ¡°then I will hide this part of sewer so that they don¡¯t get idea of our existence.¡± ¡°Precisely¡±, Arin replied, ¡°So, for the time being you have three tasks! First, keep this chamber hidden from the unworthy. Second, find and establish a safe but secret, well-hidden route to above ground and meet me in my castle. Third, I am giving you command of all of these undead minions, use them as you see fit.¡± ¡°Your will be done¡± Zulkarnash replied, ¡°May I ask another question?¡± Arin nodded, and the Lich asked, ¡°The castle you just mentioned, is it at the centre of the forest beside this town?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Arin replied. ¡°My Lord, your humble servant has one request if you may¡±, the Lich pleaded, ¡°I beg you to not explore the underground before this lowly servant of yours be at your presence there. I would tell you all in details after we meet!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Arin gave him his word, and moved out. As soon as he was out of the secret part of the Sewer, he got barraged with notification windows-
You have killed two enemies. You have been awarded +20 exp
You have killed two enemies of level higher than you. You have been awarded bonus +10exp
You have killed thirty-five Ratmen. Kill fifteen more to unlock title ??????????
Raise Dead Skill Progression 63/150
You have obtained enough experience for a level up. Open up your status window to allocate free stat points
Arin was surprised to see he had amassed 452 exp points, much surpassing the 150 he needed for level up. He opted for level up and as he had anticipated he levelled up twice. Now he was level 4. Also, he had 20 free stat points to allocate. Again, he decided to equally distribute his stat points and ended up allocating 5 points to each. He looked at his Status Window- Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Name: Arin Drez
Profession Champion of Nerthazir
Race Undead
Level 4
Experience 32/300
Strength 32
Agility 32
Magicka 83
Wisdom 58
HP 195
Resistance
Blade 7% Blunt 2% Piercing 6%
Fire 50% Water 1% Earth 2%
Light -75% Dark 90% Mental 85%
Status
Undead (Permanent)
Champion (Permanent)
Skill
Simple Weapon Proficiency Adept 14/150
Unique Weapon Proficiency Novice 0/50
Light Magic Proficiency NA NA
Dark Magic Proficiency Apprentice 3/100
Destructive Magic Proficiency NA NA
Creation Magic Proficiency NA NA
Necromancy Adept 16/150
Scrying Novice 11/50
Spells Learnt
Raise Dead Adept 22/150
Dread Howl Adept 6/150
Life Drain Apprentice 20/100
Feeble Apprentice 1/100
Cripple Apprentice 1/100
Wither Apprentice 11/100
Erode Apprentice 1/100
Haze Apprentice 1/100
Satisfied, Arin went up ahead. As he came under the grate, lights of morning sun were peeping to the dark damp sewer through it. The door was locked as expected. Arin climbed the stairs. A strange smell of something burning or burnt hit his nose. ¡°Probably smell of campfire prepared by the sentry in charge of guarding the sewer!¡± he assumed. ¡°I am done, open the gate¡± Arin shouted to attract attention of the Sentry who was supposed to be there to open the gate for him. But there were no sound. Arin was surprised and shouted a few more times. There was no reply. But Arin was sure he was overhearing people¡¯s shouts and cries. This was really surprising. Suddenly a possibility struck his mind, what if the city had been besieged by enemies. Arin started banging the grate more frantically. After a while he decided of going down back and find some other way out. As he was climbing down the stair, he suddenly heard, ¡°Captain, he is alive!¡± He heard few heavy boots approaching towards him. A face appeared behind the grate. It was Captain Duran. ¡°By Lathasa, one hell of a Lucky Chap you are!¡± Duran said as he opened the grate and literally pulled Arin up from the sewer. The Deputy patted his shoulder, ¡°You were really lucky that you had decided to go to the sewer at night, instead of staying up. There is no chance you had witnessed any horror greater than what we had faced yesterday night!¡± Arin was dumbfounded, he could not understand anything but as he looked at the city, he was taken aback. The whole city was in shambles. Many building are broken. Some have caught fire. There are corpses littered on the streets. Some were fresh. Some were not. Arin leaned on one such corpse to discover it still had grave dirt lingering on it. ¡°Are these?¡± Arin mumbled. ¡°Yes, right you are!¡± Deputy answered, ¡°they are undeads¡± ¡°But how come¡­.¡± Arin asked. ¡°We don¡¯t know that lad¡± Duran replied, ¡°but yesterday at late night all the dead rose form their grave and started rampaging. Many were killed. Although they were not great in numbers. But the intensity and sudden occurrence put all of us at loss!¡± ¡°So, lad¡± Duran asked, ¡°the job done?¡± Arin nodded in approval. ¡°Well, as you can see the current state; we cannot send any cleaner to clean the below before we can clean up the mess above! So, you can wait here for things to settle down. As we will be able to manage sending team below, you will get paid. You can stay here, or can go out. But remember one thing, if things go wrong, and you don¡¯t appear for trial, you will be banned from all cities in the kingdom as well as the adventure guilds!¡± Duran patted his shoulder, ¡°Am I clear?¡± ¡°Loud and Clear¡±, Arin smiled back and decided to explore the city. ¡°He has returned¡± a mad man was rambling, ¡°prepare for the wrath, for he has come!¡± Arin glared at him, and to everyone¡¯s surprise, the mad man ran away like he had seen a spooky monster. Everyone started laughing, barring one man. A fat man, in fancy cloth kept looking at Arin, as if he was trying to scan Arin with his naked eye. Arin felt amused. He smiled at him. The man, to Arin¡¯s surprise, seemed to slightly nod at him and was lost in crowd. New Friend, New Trouble Arin looked around. That person was no more to be seen anywhere around. It seemed as if he was lost in the crowd completely. At that time, he did not mind it that much and went onwards. He had more pressing matters to deal with that moment, money and information both were at top of his priority list. He decided to talk to Guild Officials to update about completion of the quest on his end, and also discuss about next steps. The Guild Hall was completely different from what he had seen last time. Last time he had found it near empty. Today morning, it was occupied to the brim. Most people were bruised, bandages here and there. But only a few were crying in pain. Most were getting drunk, shouting, or boasting about their exploits of last night. It closely resembled the shady but lively bars and clubs of Arin¡¯s past world. ¡°Only if there were some hot chicks¡± Arin chuckled. Memories of some short but beautiful encounters flashed in his mind, making him blush without realizing. Suddenly Arin¡¯s short but romantic reminiscence came to a halt when he experienced bumping to a soft but firm pillow, promptly followed by a strong fist on face and he flying a bit away and falling on ground on his back with a huge thud. Amidst sudden uproar of huge laughter around, he heard a female voice ¡°Where are ya lookin at ya country bumpkin¡±. Arin shook his head as he stood up slowly. A maiden with extremely fair complexion, auburn hair and very strong muscular build was standing in front of him. She suddenly gave him a Viking vibe. Arin instantly used scrying to find out her level was 12. But her Name, Class, Stats all were hidden, probably Arin needed higher level of Scrying to know more about her. ¡°Have my punch made ya brain fly further away, or, do ya love to keep starin¡¯ at beautiful ladies like a fool¡± she taunted Arin. ¡°Not only brain, but his vision must fly further away, if he considers you as a beautiful!¡± Someone spoke from the crowd. ¡°WHO IS THIS, MUD BRAIN COWARD, SHOW YA FACE¡± she shouted at top of her voice. Silence was the reply she received. Before Arin could process the happenings and make a reply, he faced a wooden mug full of beer pressed again his mouth. ¡°Drink it¡± she smiled as she extended the mug to him ¡°Ya ¡®ll feel better chap!¡±. ¡°Thank you¡± Arin said as he snatched the mug which was about to break his skull from her forcing it against his face, ¡°Thanks again!¡± ¡°Why twice the thanks?¡± she asked. ¡°One for Beer!¡± he raised the mug, and then rubbed his cheek, ¡°second for letting me experience flying without casting any spell!¡± The lady burst into laughter and patted his shoulder. Arin felt like his shoulder will get crushed. He wondered how much strength a Level 12 Adventurer should have. ¡°Heya weakling¡± she extended her fist, ¡°It¡¯s me, Ragna Stormbreaker, daughter of Rahog Stormbreaker, from Icespike Clan!¡± Arin thought a bit on how to approach the situation, and decided to fist bump, with all his might, to impress the warrior lady. ¡°I am Arin, Arin Drez¡± he said, ¡°Son of Johan Drez!¡± She pulled a chair for herself and Arin. She sat on her chair, and gestured Arin to sit on his, which he followed. ¡°Drez¡±, Ragna raised her eyebrow, ¡°Never heard of the Surname. Well, I have never gone outside tundra anyway!¡± Arin smiled and nodded. ¡°Me a level 12 Barbarian, what about ya!¡± Arin choked on the beer and started coughing vigorously. Arin had thought that these notifications he was having was his special power. He did not imagine that this level things was an well-known concept in this world. It was completely normal; the way she asked him. But again, he wondered, in that case why was she asking him about his level instead of just looking at his level, like he use to do. Arin feigned a smirk, ¡°Well why don¡¯t you check it by yourself!¡± ¡°I am no Archmage!¡± she said, ¡°Unless you let me see your status window, how can I know?¡± Arin now got a clear idea. First, Advanced mages could peep other¡¯s status, not everyone. Second, people could share each other¡¯s Status Window.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I am a Level 2 warrior¡± Arin replied. He did not want others to know that he was a mage, because only spell he could cast are Dark and Necromancy, and he did not want others to know that about him. ¡°Warrior?¡± she found it unbelievable, ¡°even if you are a level 2, and you seem to be stronger than a level 2 warrior, but you are not exuding aura of an warrior. I actually thought of you as a mage, or a rogue!¡± Arin felt strong urge to check her stats, for what she just told, but it would give her opportunity of asking him to share his status widow with her as well. So, he curbed down his urge, and replied, ¡°I know that class division, but I consider Rogues as Warrior as well. Just because we don¡¯t wear armor or wield heavy mace or great sword, does not mean we are not warriors!¡± Arin tried to fake it, but instantly realized he had committed a blunder. He did not have any Rogue specific skill like trap setting, getting invisible for backstab or others (which he felt Rogues do as per his knowledge in popular media form past world). Arin felt need to change it as soon as possible. Before Ragna could say anything, he said, ¡°I do not want to be a Rogue hiding in shadow, do lockpicking or backstabbing. I just want to fight with my daggers, not being encumbered by Armors or shields!¡± It seemed this answer amused her. He laughed again and again patted his shoulder. ¡°I knew it, you have a real warrior¡¯s spirit. I used to think we Barbarians are better than Warriors because unlike them we do not hide behind Heavy armor. But you have a real Fighter¡¯s Spirit, you want to enjoy the thrill of fighting being on the edge.¡± She pulled her chair near him, wrapped her arm around his neck and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go adventuring together Arin, I will help you level up fast!¡± This was what Arin wanted to avoid extremely. ¡°Thank you for your offer¡± he said, ¡°But I just have finished a quest and waiting for its review, and then I need to do some personal tasks before resuming adventuring¡±. ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡± she laughed, ¡°I too have a quest tomorrow and I am already in a team. I was referring next time in future!¡± She looked over the door and waved at three people entering, ¡°Hey over here¡±, and whispered to Arin, ¡°they are my team for tomorrow!¡± Arin looked behind to notice a very tall guy with black hair, in leather armor, is approaching their table. He was accompanied by a girl in heavy armor. Her pointy ears, and sharp facial features were screaming of her elven blood. And then there was a Dwarf in white robe, and a book in hand. Arin felt he must be a priest or paladin, or something similar. ¡°Who is he?¡± tall guy asked. ¡°Arin¡± Ragna replied, ¡°my new friend¡± ¡°Is he tagging along with us tomorrow?¡± the Elf lady asked. ¡°No Miss, I am not¡± Arin replied as he stood up from chair and vacated the place for them. ¡°See you later¡± Arin told Ragna, and waved at the three. They did not reply. But the Dwarf was looking at him suspiciously. Arin quickly left the table and went to the Counter where the Guild Official Ladies were sitting. As he was approaching them, he looked back and tried to look at their level. To his surprise he got notification- [Scrying Skill Failed] [Scrying Skill Failed] [Scrying Skill Failed] Not only that, suddenly the Dwarf looked at Arin¡¯s direction with a fierce glare. Arin quickly hid himself behind a big burly man, and hoped the Dwarf had not seen him. He realized that there were some methods to stop High level beings from checking other¡¯s status without their consent; and some people could even realize if they were being target of scrying. Arin made a mental note of this and approached the Lady in the counter. She was the same lady from yesterday. ¡°So, you are abandoning the quest?¡± She taunted. ¡°On the contrary, I have finished it¡± he taunted back, ¡°The captain informed, given the current scenario it would take one or two day for him to arrange the cleaning team, and till then I have to wait!¡± The lady gave him a suspicious look, ¡°Alright, Guild Hall Master will look into that matter. But we can not let you have another quest unless you finish this one! So¡­¡± ¡°It is okay¡±, Arin replied, ¡°I just want to sell the things I had found in the Sewer, and want to sell them!¡± ¡°That can be done!¡± she said, ¡°As you seem to be new you may not know, but in Drihan the Adventures have to sell their loots to Guild Merchants only. Anyone selling things to merchant outside will have their license revoked for ever. As we do not charge for quests, this is how Our Guild meets its expenses. But we pay fair price, no haggling or negotiating!¡± Arin nodded, ¡°Got it!¡± ¡°As expected¡± she smiled, ¡°You are really new to Drihan!¡±. She pointed her finger to a door behind. ¡°Go though the door, go straight, and you will meet a Fox named Finnian Vulpestra. He will appraise your goods and buy from you at fair price.¡± ¡°Fox?¡± Arin was surprised, ¡°That too with such strange name!¡±. ¡°Must be some magical Fox with appraisal skill¡± he thought and opened the door shown by the lady. He was lowkey afraid of the magical fox finding out his real identity. But if he did not go now, it would lead to more suspicion. So, he steeled his mind and opened the door, and started walking towards the magical fox at end of the alley.