I asked, "Why are you so curious?"
She shrugged. "Sounds interesting. Could have cool drama."
"Drama, huh." Yeah, a lot of that. Jim¡¯s family, his own son.
I always knew I was prejudiced against humans, for petty reasons¡ªaccents, languages, handwritings, cuisines, and more. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just me. We all hate those our country wars with, for the same reasons: they harm our friends, families, and society, and we hate them for doing the same. Which country¡¯s the victim doesn¡¯t mean jack shit when everything goes to hell and the other country¡¯s responsible.
Dealing with the bullshit in Jim¡¯s life only turned my prejudice up a notch. I was starting to think like Falsker, a punchio emperor who once tried to conquer the whole continent just to rid the world of every single human.
Jim¡¯s mother... The way that dusty old whore used to look at me, like I was lower than a rat. Like I was something to pity as long as I kept my distance from Jim. Telling her son in front of me that he shouldn¡¯t be around me so much, that people would think he was a gum fucker.
We were merely friends at the time. I came to this country after escaping from trafficking when it got busted by the vanquishers. I found refuge in Retuia, a small piece of land that borders kmel-hul and has a 50 percent julioes population.
Anyway, as time passed, my anger shifted. It was hard to keep wishing death on an entire group when I was dating someone from it, making friends in it, and sympathizing with some of them.
Obviously, I still hated a lot of them just because they were humans, but it was mutual.
Jim spoke, "You¡¯re a bit too nosey, kid. How¡¯s your family holding up? Anything looking better for your father and brother?"
She made an annoyed expression. "Same thing for now... Until we get to the capital to see a doctor, things are just going to get worse. It¡¯s not like we can walk to the capital, even if the monster wasn''t out. It would take us so many days to get there."
"As soon as we''re done, you''ll all get a ride to Sundawn. I promise you that."
"Thanks, that¡¯ll mean a lot. Can I ask some more questions?"
"Depends," Jim answered.
"Why did¡ you two become adventurers? And stay adventurers, when people treat you like shit?"
That wasn¡¯t a question I expected, and even Jim was a bit surprised. I chose to remain silent, letting Jim tell her whatever noble lies he wanted.
¡°They may treat us badly, but we¡¯re important. We come across treasures like you and the chief who appreciate our work. And we just have the calling for it. To help others, no matter what."
"Even if they slur at you, wish death upon you, wish death on your child?"
He maintained a fake smile. "Yeah, even then."
"Be honest with me. You still have the heart of a human, of a regular. You must hate those who treat you terribly. Sure, maybe you had those feelings in the beginning, but eventually, all the hatred must eat away at your mental health. I¡¯m always hearing how much people fear and hate you all. You, a vlandos, must feel similar to regulars, whether they¡¯re humans or not."
I was surprised. The kid was smart. She sounded like she had experience.
That noble bullshit¡ªit was nothing but a fairy tale. There wasn¡¯t a single vlandos who became an adventurer because they wanted to do good. We did it because it was one of the few legal jobs we could get. Because we¡¯d been socially engineered to believe that was our purpose. If you were a vlandos, you should be killing monsters. Why not get paid for it?
What other jobs were there for us but ones that weaponized us? They looked at us¡ªseven feet tall or taller¡ªand immediately thought, "Fuck¡ one of them."
Of course, there were exceptions. Adventurers who actually believed in the noble ideals (or a version of them), those who were new to adventuring, those who lived in sheltered communities, those who wanted to make a ¡°difference.¡± They were the most annoying ones.
The type that made you want to beat them to a pulp. They always agreed with regulars, always ¡°understanding¡± their point of view.
If a human told them to beat up a fellow vlandos to prove they cared about humans, they would probably do it.
"Look! I¡¯m one of the good ones! You want me to lick your boots too?" They¡¯d probably suck off a homeless man¡¯s dirty dick to prove it.
They were more annoying than hateful humans. At least it was expected for them to hate us, to distance themselves from us. It was them or us, like cats versus dogs.
But a sucker on the same side as us, desperately seeking validation from the other side¡ªthe same side that talks shit behind their back and would kill them in an instant? That shit made you want to do more than break their neck.
It was a kind of rage that barely felt normal. It was disgusting.
I stopped thinking too much and tuned in to what Jim was saying.
"You know what, you¡¯re smart. I¡¯ll keep it real with you. It¡¯s the same damn reason your father does farming. Does he like it?"
¡°No. I don''t think anyone does,¡± she answered.
¡°Exactly. It¡¯s just the only job available to us. The only job that isn¡¯t too morally disgusting or humiliating. The money isn¡¯t worth this. It¡¯s never worth the stress. It¡¯s never worth knowing when you¡¯re going to screw up and mess someone up.¡± He continued to mumble, ¡°But you know you will. One day you will. You just don¡¯t know when, or why you''re going to finally lose self-control.¡±
¡°That¡¯s scarier than dealing with monsters?¡±
He answered, ¡°Sometimes, yeah.¡±
One¡¯s anxiety was caused because you didn¡¯t know when the day would come. The other was scary because you knew it would happen one day.
She slowly nodded and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s say¡ my brother is a vlandos. Hypothetical, of course. If he was one, what advice would you give me to give to him?¡±
¡°Uh¡ Lucky him, he lives in a faraway village, so he could live a free life. But¡ since he¡¯s going to a doctor, his blood will be tested, and he¡¯ll be added to the database.¡±
I noticed her surprise. "They register vlandos?"
¡°Yeah, how don¡¯t you know that? You never heard of people going from village to village, checking kids for vlandos signs?¡±
¡°No. Never happened in mine.¡±
¡°True that, kinda why I said your brother is lucky. These Government workers are lazy shits.¡±
¡°I see. Now what if he wanted to become an adventurer?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t. He¡¯ll hate it.¡±
¡°But how would he get a job?¡±
¡°Maybe the circus? He might get lucky and meet people who don¡¯t care.¡±
¡°How about Knights and Vanquishe¡ª¡±
¡°I¡¯d strongly advise against that,¡± I cut in. ¡°Better someone kills themselves than become one of those.¡±
Vanquishers were disgusting enough, but a fucking Knight? Absolutely disgusting.
¡°Oh.¡±
Jim kindly told her, in a way I couldn¡¯t, ¡°Let¡¯s stick to the simple stuff. If your brother hypothetically becomes a vlandos and doesn¡¯t get lucky and needs a job, let me know. I think adventuring is a shitty job, but it¡¯s the best of these options. Knights and Vanquishers¡ They¡¯re more painful. I¡¯ll give him all the tips and tricks to make sure his adventurer career isn¡¯t too hellish. Got it?¡±
Vernisha nodded with a little smile. ¡°I will. Thanks. You¡¯re a really nice guy.¡±
¡°So are you. It¡¯s really cool that you feel comfortable around us.¡±
I added, ¡°It¡¯s pretty okay. You¡¯re better than most kids.¡±
She told me, ¡°I suspect you¡¯re very nice too.¡±
¡°No. And no, me healing people doesn¡¯t count as niceness. Not when I¡¯m on the job.¡±
¡°Okay, okay, I get it. How¡¯s the monster hunting going? Still no sight of it?¡±
¡°No¡ª¡±
Then, in the distance, a bright fire illuminated the sky, and a cruel, disgusting voice followed: ¡®Ma¡mmy... run¡ me!¡¯
The monster was back.
Chapter 11: Run.
POV: Vernisha
Jim shot up with a serious expression. Without saying a word to Jer-kel, he drew his war hammer and summoned a pink shark-ray monster with a turtle shell, its skin covered in sharp, layered teeth.
He mounted its back. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it away from here,¡± he said, glancing at Jer-kel. ¡°You know what to do.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± she replied, her voice low.
With a swift movement, Jim took off toward the source of the sound.
_What if Lo goes after the monster too?_ I thought, anxiety creeping in.
¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s coming back!¡± someone cried.
¡°Oh, we¡¯re going to die!¡± another voice screamed.
Panic erupted in the crowd as people scattered in all directions.
Jer-kel clicked her tongue in frustration. ¡°Don¡¯t run!¡±
But, of course, they didn¡¯t listen.
With a swift stomp, Jer-kel sent a massive cockroach monster, its lobster-like pincers glowing a deep brown, scuttling forward. The pincers plunged into the earth, digging furiously. The ground seemed to cry in response, dirt rising to form a protective barrier around the panicking crowd.
¡°Let us out!¡± someone shouted.
¡°You¡¯re going to get us killed!¡± another voice yelled.
The dirt wall, thin but strong, made breaking through impossible.
Jer-kel turned to me, eyes narrowing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±
"Yeah..." I mumbled.
Minutes passed, and I anxiously scanned my surroundings, unwilling to let my guard down.
Then, I spotted a bloodied knife near one of the houses. Someone must¡¯ve tried to defend themselves earlier.
I pointed at it. ¡°That knife over there. I¡¯m going for it.¡±
¡°A knife won¡¯t save you if it attacks, but okay. Hurry.¡±
I ran toward the blade. Sure, I had a dagger, but there was no harm in having more than one weapon.
The moment my fingers wrapped around the handle, the air grew hot. Where Jer-kel had been standing moments before, the ground was scorched.
_That same monster... it¡¯s here again?!_
Jer-kel was equally confused. ¡°Why is it here...?¡±
I shouted, ¡°If it''s here, where is Jim?!¡±
The monster emitted a garbled sound, its voice distorted: ¡°Get... the shovel for the... apples... bathe the apples¡¡±
_What?_
Jer-kel¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Hide.¡±
I nodded, rushing inside the house and slamming the door shut behind me.
She darted toward her cockroach monster. The creature, now hurling rocks the size of soccer balls at the Sharfeline, landed several hits. Each strike made the monster roar in pain, but it didn¡¯t stop there. In retaliation, it shot fireballs at the cockroach monster.
Reaching her creature, Jer-kel kicked it, causing it to sink into her feet.
Suddenly, the Sharfeline¡¯s legs split open to reveal a vertical mouth lined with shark-like teeth, releasing a disgusting stench.
I immediately vomited, my eyes watering from the overwhelming smell.
_Is that some sort of skill?_
Jer-kel slammed her foot into the ground, summoning a humanoid creature¡ªan unsettling woman with the lower body of a massive black spider. Her upper body, disturbingly beautiful, had hair made of blue, writhing tongues that bled and danced in the air.
It was a sight that chilled the bones.
The spider-woman grinned, her legs elongating and shifting like living spears. They lunged at the Sharfeline with deadly precision. One leg pierced its shoulder; another sank into its stomach.
Jer-kel ran after the Sharfeline, spear in hand. Its head swelled, growing three times its size, and its neck whipped toward the spider-woman like a lethal wrecking ball.
The humanoid spider moved with surprising speed, blocking each of the Sharfeline¡¯s deadly neck slams with her arms. Every impact reverberated with a sickening thud.
Jer-kel gritted her teeth, her arm trembling. The damage to her creature mirrored in her own body¡ªa cruel consequence of the bond between a Vlandos and their monster.
Jer-kel swung her spear at the Sharfeline, its blade slicing deep into its neck.
I turned away from the fight, looking at the knife and dagger in my hand. They weren''t going to be enough.
I needed levels. Power. Monsters under my control.
My fingers trembled, but I suppressed my worries and turned back to the fight, looking through the hole in the wooden wall.
The Sharfeline massive leg slammed into the spider-woman and tossed her aside. It then unleashed a blast of flame directly into Jer-kel''s face.
Jer-kel was thrown violently to the ground, skipping across the earth like a stone over water before crashing into a nearby tree.
The Sharfeline charged a larger ball of flame and hurled it at her, repeating the attack over and over.
By the time it was done, all I could see was fire¡ªno sign of Jer-kel. But there was no way she would die so quickly. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
"Get... pints... food... dying..." the Sharfeline rasped, its voice seeping from the grotesque mouth in its stomach.
It turned its focus on me through the hole in the wall I¡¯d been staring at, then grinned.
My heart pounded as dread washed over me.
The Sharfeline tore open its own abdomen, spilling blood into thick, grotesque sacs. From these sacs, smaller versions of itself began to emerge¡ªwriggling and struggling to free themselves.
They were red sharks with four limbs, no taller than a dog¡ªabout the size of a husky¡ªand without tails. But their eyes gleamed with a strange, primal intelligence.
Twelve of its newly born offspring rushed toward the barrier Jer-kel had conjured. Their glowing bodies crackled with energy as they hurled themselves at the wall one after the other.
The wall trembled under their relentless assault, holding for a moment longer. At first, the monsters¡¯ attacks seemed to backfire; each forceful blow made them cry out, as if they were the ones in pain.
But as cracks spidered across the surface, I realized the truth: they were unyielding. Every blow chipped away at the wall, pushing it closer to its breaking point. After ten more brutal impacts, the wall split in half; five additional hits, and the structure crumbled entirely.
The villagers watched in stunned silence, their faces etched with fear as the small creatures advanced slowly, moving with a predatory deliberateness¡ªlike hyenas closing in on their prey.
Even if I wanted to help¡
I had to get out of here. The Sharkfeline knew where I was and would come after me.
I kicked the door open, ready to run, when in the corner of my eye I spotted a newborn staring at me.
Oh, shit.
I quickly reached for my knife, my heart pounding.
Before I could react, it lunged at me¡ªswift as a dart. I suddenly felt a heavy blow on my shoulder.
Then came pain, blood, and more pain.
The newborn monster had torn a large chunk from my shoulder. I slashed at its face, but it parried my knife with its claws. In the next instant, its claws sliced halfway through my wrist.
It aimed for my neck, but thank God, Jer-kel¡¯s humanoid spider intercepted it with one of her super long legs. The creature struggled, clawing at her leg, but she steadily dragged it toward her mouth. She managed to fit its entire head inside before ripping it off and chewing it like a snack.
Thank God¡ wait, something feels off.
The headless newborn monster fell to the ground.
Jer-kel stood hunched forward, the flames around her having died down, leaving her face badly burned. She stared at the ground, her movements stiff¡ªlike a zombie that had just regained consciousness.
This is bad.
I applied a healing touch to my shoulder, and the pain eased slightly.
But something wasn¡¯t right. Jim and Lo were missing. Had the creature used some trick to deceive us? Or did the tear in its abdomen mean it had already spawned offspring to keep them occupied?
I glanced at Jer-kel again; both she and her humanoid spider were acting strangely.
I didn''t know what was going on, but I was happy that the spider wasn''t rampaging.
I wanted to help, but how? Healing her would only kill her¡ªshe wasn¡¯t a monster.
Screams pierced the air¡ªnot from her, but from the villagers, who were being slaughtered by the newborns. They weren¡¯t eating them; they were tearing them apart in a frenzy, their fiery claws rupturing heads, shredding stomachs, and biting off necks.
Hell, they even turned on each other, stabbing their comrades in the back¡ªeither to secure kills or for no apparent reason at all.
They were truly monsters¡ªembodiments of pure evil.
Natasha had never described them like this. She¡¯d always warned me to avoid them, portraying them as natural disasters that delivered justice for our sins. But this was something else. She must have been out of her damn mind.
Two of the monsters fought over the body of a toddler, pulling her in opposite directions like some sick game.
Then there was a tearing sound, and no one cried for her as her parents¡ªwho had tried to defend her¡ªlay headless at her side.
I felt sick. And even worse, I felt disgusted with myself, because not only couldn''t I help, I didn''t want to risk myself trying.
While all this chaos unfolded, I hadn¡¯t just stood there, watching. I¡¯d sneaked into an open house, hiding behind the window. Running away was pointless since I would be easily targeted. Which begged the question, what could I really do other than hide?
My heart raced in my chest. My hands were slick with sweat, and blood wasn¡¯t the only thing dampening my clothes. My whole body was soaked in fear.
I hadn''t pissed myself, but with how terrified I was, I wouldn''t be surprised if I lost control.
Fuck my life.
I gripped my knife tightly, but what good was it? I couldn¡¯t even touch one of those monsters.
If I stayed here...
One of the monsters stopped chasing the villagers and began sniffing around, moving closer to the house I was hiding in.
Shit!
I dropped to the ground, covering my nose and breathing through my mouth.
It didn¡¯t see me. It didn¡¯t see me... but it can smell me.
I trembled as I heard it mumbling to itself, ¡°My... daughter... Dad! San... I am... Mammy...¡±
It was fusing words it¡¯d heard, trying to make sense of them.
It was getting closer. Fuck.
The only thing special about me was my healing ability. But I was still just a vlandos. Maybe now was the time to use everything that came with being one.
Augment speed.
Insufficient modification points. Please gain more levels to earn modification points.
Please bind with a monster to gain levels.
Fuck!
I gripped my knife tighter and crawled toward the kitchen, glancing at the pots hanging by the counter. I threw the non-enhanced knife to the side and grabbed a frying pan, hoping to use it as some kind of shield¡ªeven if it could only take one hit.
A normal pan and an enhanced dagger. That was all I had.
I could hear Jer-kel fighting the sharfeline outside. The noise of their struggle drowned out the footsteps of the newborn approaching.
I was anxious. Terrified.
I needed a plan. I didn¡¯t need to kill it¡ªI just needed to¡ª
The wooden walls shattered.
¡°Don¡¯t... kill... see!¡±
Shit!
The newborn lunged at me, its tongue lashing out while its twisted smile widened into a grotesque grin. It was too fast¡ªfar too fast!
I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn¡¯t; not if I wanted to survive. I swung the frying pan upward, using it to shield my neck. Still, its claws shredded through the metal as if it were paper. At the same moment, my dagger traced a low arc toward its stomach.
It struck.
The creature recoiled in shock, staring at my knife embedded halfway into its belly. In a burst of rage, it bellowed, ¡°QUA!¡± and slashed at me. Its claws raked across my chest, unleashing a torrent of blood.
Then, its tail coiled around my arm and swung me through the air, hurling me against the ceiling. My nose cracked¡ªpain radiated instantly. I crumpled back to the ground, gasping for air.
And then I saw it: the very claw that had torn into my chest began to heat, its surface transforming into searing fire. I dropped the pan and clutched my chest, desperate to regenerate the flesh stripped from my bone. Every ounce of my strength drained away under the strain.
The monster surged at me again, its mouth and stomach stretching open like the jaws of a ravenous lion. I was about to raise my arm to protect my face when, at the last second, I thought: fuck that. I slapped its face just as its filthy tongue lunged for my shoulder. The tongue coiled around my arm like a snake, intent on tearing it apart.
It wasn¡¯t as if I had slapped it without reason.
Then came a flash of black¡ªa burst of energy that erupted from within me. The creature dissolved into dark particles that were sucked into my left palm. I panted, my heart pounding in disbelief. ¡°Ha... it worked,¡± I thought, a moment of triumph flooding through me.
But then, searing pain shot through my hand. It felt as if lava were coursing through my veins. Against my will, another surge of black energy erupted, and the monster reformed¡ªits reappearance accompanied by even more agonizing pain. It twitched violently. I couldn¡¯t let it kill me.
I acted quickly, exploiting its disorientation. Grabbing the creature by the neck, I slammed all my weight onto it. It crashed to the ground, and I hovered over it, driving my blade in with relentless force¡ªonce, twice, over and over.
¡°Die. Die. Die!¡± I screamed as it shrieked, its claws tearing at my back and sides. Blood poured from my wounds, yet I could not stop. Every stab was a desperate bid for survival¡ªeven as I teetered on the brink of death.
Clutching it with my left hand, I summoned another burst of black energy from my palm. I gasped as blood trickled down my back and legs, the pain building like a storm, until a brutal, bone-crushing agony struck my hand. The monster flung itself back, but I seized the moment to drive my blade in again.
I continued to stab, each thrust fueled because my life depended on it. And it clawed, desperately, because its life depended on it.
It thrashed, violent and erratic, like a creature on its last legs. My vision swam as it grew weaker with every strike, each movement slower than the last.
And then... nothing. Its body went limp beneath me.
Chapter 12: Monster Enslavement
I grabbed its face with my left hand, unwilling to let it die.
My hands glowed red, and the small amount of healing I could muster stopped it from slipping away. With my hand still on it, the monster turned into black energy and was sucked into my palm.
It hurt like hell, but this time... it was bearable. I guess it¡¯s because it¡¯s too weak to fight back now.
But, damn, I was tired... So tired. It was a strange kind of exhaustion, one that only came after using my healing skill.
I collapsed forward, my body heavy. I can¡¯t heal anymore. I¡¯m too drained.
If I tried to heal even a little more, I would run out of ether, faint, and risk dying.
I knew that from experience. The last time, I almost died trying to regenerate my legs after losing them to a boulder. That attempt ended with me experiencing cardiac arrest for the second time. I got lucky then.
But this... this hurt so much.
My ribs were exposed, and I was sure many of them had been ripped away.
I needed more ether. But Jer-kel couldn¡¯t help.
The pain was unbearable. I didn¡¯t want to move, didn¡¯t want to do anything. But I couldn¡¯t just stay here.
Walking wasn¡¯t an option. Crawling? Almost impossible.
Oh wait. I have a monster now.
I sent it out, and with a flash of black, it took form. But that wasn¡¯t all.
I could see through its eyes. Hear, smell, feel¡ªeverything.
That meant I could ¡®hear¡¯ its thoughts, too.
Kill¡ Plunder, take, devour, rip the guts, feast on the muscles, drink the blood, play with the brain parts, breed, have a million descendants, grow stronger, become the strongest.
Over and over, those thoughts echoed in my mind.
It made me nauseous. The monster¡¯s thoughts were so immersive, it felt like I had a second brain.
If I wasn''t careful, I could mistake those thoughts as mine.
But, guh¡ With the amount of blood I¡¯ve lost, maybe that¡¯s the least of my concerns.
The monster''s thoughts still buzzed in my mind, but the will behind them was weak, drained.
The red and purple blood I was lying in was becoming more blurry by the second.
What can I do?
Think. Think.
I needed more ether.
I¡¯m going to do something insane.
"Bring me the corpse of your brethren. Or the ether organ in it."
The monster near me struggled to move. Every shift of its body sent pain through me, especially the stab wounds in its neck. Now that it was linked to me, we shared health.
It hurts so much.
I breathed heavily, my body too weak to make any more movements.
I was so weak that controlling the monster felt nearly impossible, but it was weak too, so maybe it balanced out.
Jer-kel was still fighting. I could see her through the monster¡¯s eyes. She was bloodied, but the Shafeline she was fighting was in worse shape. Its tail was cut off, half its face was gone, and most of its body had spider legs sticking out like spears.
And yet, it was still moving, still trying to kill her.
Breathing was becoming harder. I could barely pull in air, my chest tight with every attempt. I was making gurgling sounds. Blood¡¯s in my mouth. I didn¡¯t even realize until now.
The monster under my command tore through its sibling¡¯s abdomen, digging until it found a wrinkly, ball-like organ, beating like a heart¡ªthe ether-processing organ, or EPO.
It brought it to me. I couldn¡¯t really make it out with my own eyes, but I knew it was covered in blood and fat.
I wasted no time. I bit down on it. Lucky for me, I can¡¯t taste shit.
I tried to chew, but the meat was too tough, like a toddler trying to bite a rubber toy. I gave up on chewing and tried to swallow it whole.
But I couldn¡¯t swallow it!
Shit!
I made my monster push the organ down my throat with its claw, forcing it into me.
There was only one problem¡ªI didn¡¯t know if I¡¯d be able to absorb the ether before I died.
But... Oh... things are getting dark. Really dark.
I tried to move my arm, but there was no strength behind it.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Put my left hand on my back.
The monster obeyed. I coated my hand with my healing skill. I could only muster a little. I was hoping that the energy would stay active and become stronger when I fell unconscious, fueled by the ether in the EPO.
Hope... it must work... it must...
And then everything went black.
POV: Jim
I jumped to the side as Treecra¡¯s leg¡ª the giant crab made of trees¡ªpierced through the Shafeline¡¯s head with ease.
Its body dropped to the ground, purple blood pooling around it.
What is going on here?
I turned to Lo¡¯jul. "Are they just weak clones?"
It wasn¡¯t the only one we¡¯d killed so far. All around us were exact copies of the Shafeline.
Lo¡¯jul answered from atop his massive, four-legged creature, which had the body of a dog, gorilla arms, and a shark¡¯s head. "Since when are clones this weak? It¡¯s like we¡¯re fighting level 1 monsters."
"So what¡¯s this all about?"
He hopped off his creature and walked over to one of the corpses. His monster followed, probably under his mental command.
Its eyes glowed green, and Lo¡¯jul made an annoyed sound. "It has some kind of active skill, but I don¡¯t know what it does."
"I¡¯m starting to think this is just a distraction."
"Yeah, me too. It¡¯s trying to make us focus on the villagers."
"And we fell for it."
It wanted to level up quickly, but it knew it couldn¡¯t take us all on. God, I hate monsters.
"I hope Jer-kel-thuli-mal is okay. She should be. Yeah, she¡¯s fine."
"Let¡¯s head back now."
POV: Bahmos
Julus, Merkerthy, Tom, and I lay still on the dirt, not making a sound.
We could hear everything around us, but thankfully, we had positioned ourselves near Dreamy¡¯s burial, far away from the chaos unfolding.
The screaming from the villagers had faded significantly. There were still occasional cries, but they likely meant the monsters were running out of easy targets.
We were probably next.
Anxiety gripped me like a vice. Breathing was a struggle¡ªeverything felt manual now, and my body trembled uncontrollably.
I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Natasha. I had heard some faint sounds from the carriage¡ªhums, maybe¡ªbut once the screams began, there was nothing. But I was sure she hadn¡¯t left it either.
Am I going to die here?
Suddenly, I heard the crunch of leaves.
¡°Don¡¯t¡ my¡ run¡¡±
POV: Vernisha
Gasp!
I inhaled sharply, only to cough up blood.
Am I alive? It worked¡ It actually worked!
I wanted to laugh, but instead, a crooked smile tugged at my lips. I hadn¡¯t thought about it, but there was a real chance the other monsters could have come for me while I was unconscious.
Lucky me, huh?
I felt the roughness of my back, but there was flesh. I could move¡ªweakly, but I could move. It seemed I was mostly intact.
That EPO I¡¯d consumed must have been packed with ether. I wondered if there was a chance my own EPO could have exploded inside me.
Well, whatever. What now?
I needed to find Natasha and get out of here. But running out in the open? That was asking to get killed.
What were the chances she was alive?
I had no idea. I just had to hope they were high.
I moved cautiously and peered through a gap in the wall. I saw Jer-kel still fighting with the shafeline.
Her monster was in bad shape, just like her.
Nearby, the bodies of newborn monsters littered the ground. Had Jer-kel killed them, or had the shafeline sacrificed her young to empower herself?
If Jer-kel falls, I¡¯ll be next.
I needed to heal her monster fast and run¡ªif I could.
But if I was spotted, I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. No amount of healing could save me from losing my head.
I called over my monster, who struggled to move, and healed it. It wasn¡¯t much, but enough to make it act like a tired soldier instead of something near death.
I need to save the rest for Jer-kel¡¯s monster¡ but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have enough.
No, wait. I could gather enough.
I gripped my knife tightly and muttered, ¡°Go.¡±
Mon dashed forward, moving swiftly across the battlefield. It weaved through the corpses of monsters, ripping open their abdomens and consuming their EPOs. Then, it returned to me.
System, what are its skills?
A strange sensation ran through my mind, and suddenly I knew everything I needed to.
[Flame claws] [Strong charge] [Fire spit]
It was also level 8.
Mon made its way back into the house through the hole it had torn in the wall when it attacked me earlier. I kept to the other side to maintain stealth, and Mon came over to me, vomiting up the EPOs it had consumed.
I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m about to do this.
I wasn¡¯t sure if the gods of this world did the whole prayer thing, but I couldn¡¯t help but silently beg, Gods, please bless my stomach with the will of a rat.
I held my breath, picked up two EPOs, and began eating them like they were meatballs.
It was¡ awful. The texture, the taste¡ªit felt like I was chewing on rotting dog meat.
I fought to hold back the urge to vomit, my eyes watering as my hands trembled.
The shafeline roared and swung its claws down at Jer-kel. The humanoid spider lunged in front of the attack.
The claws tore into the spider. Both it and Jer-kel grunted in pain.
Shit.
I shouted to Mon, Distract your mother!
Mon rushed forward just as the shafeline was about to breathe fire on Jer-kel. It slashed at the monster¡¯s legs with [flame claws]. Normally, the attack would¡¯ve only scratched, but the shafeline already had deep wounds there.
The shafeline kicked back in response, but it misjudged the target, thinking it was something larger. It missed.
I bolted from my position as fast as I could, hoping the shafeline was confused about why its own child was attacking it. It probably no longer saw Jer-kel as a threat.
It¡¯s right, though. She can barely stand.
Why didn¡¯t Jer-kel use her fairy monster to heal? Oh, right¡ªher fairy had run out of ether when healing the others.
The ether-processing organ only absorbs ether from the air, but the air here was of terrible quality.
Jer-kel caught sight of me, her expression clearly one of disbelief: What is she doing here? It quickly shifted to Oh no, this kid is going to get herself killed.
She pointed away, aggressively trying to tell me to leave.
I¡¯ll leave, once I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t die.
I reached her, and she grabbed my shoulders¡ªprobably to whisper, Get out, but I dropped three EPOs into her hands. ¡°Use these for the fairy.¡±
Healing her humanoid spider in front of her would have been dangerous, as Natasha had warned me. The last thing I needed was for Jer-kel to realize what I could do.
If I had no chance of survival, I might¡¯ve risked it. But I wasn¡¯t there yet.
Jer-kel took the EPOs and nodded.
She pointed at her humanoid spider. ¡°Bring me to Shtyui. Quickly.¡±
So that¡¯s its name.
I grabbed her, pulling her along quickly. She seemed surprised. ¡°You¡¯re¡ unnaturally strong.¡±
Please think it¡¯s just a coincidence.
¡°Thank you. It¡¯s from working out a lot. Are your friends coming soon?¡±
I should¡¯ve had Mon level us up¡ªdamn it. But at least it was skilled enough to evade the heavily injured shafeline.
¡°I assume they¡¯re busy fighting its children. But I¡¯ll call them now.¡±
She said that, but I hadn¡¯t noticed the pyramid communicator on her. She went silent, maybe using one of her monster skills.
We reached Shtyui. It could barely stand. Jer-kel approached and said, ¡°You did well.¡±
She tapped it with her foot.
There was a flash of white, and through Mon¡¯s eyes, I saw the shafeline stop and turn toward us.
Jer-kel sent the fairy out. In an instant, the fairy went from being unharmed to bleeding from its nose and mouth, writhing in agony.
Yikes.
Jer-kel apologized to the fairy, then fed it the EPOs.
¡°Harve¡st run!¡± The shafeline bellowed as it charged toward us.
The sound caught Jer-kel¡¯s attention, giving me a brief moment to touch her monster from their blind spot(since they share vision) and heal it as much as I could in one go. It was enough to stop the nosebleed and get the fairy back on its feet.
¡°Shit!¡± Jer-kel gasped, her eyes widening in panic as she turned towards me.
The air whistled sharply. I saw the shafeline¡¯s claws closing in, heading straight for my neck.
Oh. I¡¯m dead.
Chapter 13: Heroism or Extreme prejudice
Oh, I was dead.
Before the claws could reach my throat, Jer-kel lunged into their path, throwing herself in harm''s way. Her chest plate cracked with a resounding impact, and she flew backward, crashing into the ground.
Caught in the momentum of her movement, I tumbled along beside her until I landed hard.
Instead of crying out in pain, she adjusted her hands to cover my ears.
Wha¡ª
I didn¡¯t need to wonder long. The answer came immediately. Her monster flew high into the air and screamed. The sound was so powerful that the ground trembled beneath us, the very earth vibrating with the force, while the shafeline howled in pain.
Good. If she could keep that up for long enough, maybe she''d force it to faint.
But then I noticed the fairy¡¯s ears were bleeding, and not just hers¡ªJer-kel¡¯s ears were bleeding, too. The pain must have been unbearable, and after a few moments, the fairy stopped her sonic assault.
The trembling of the air and ground ceased, dropping from intense to nothing in a matter of seconds.
Jer-kel muttered something under her breath. Frustration. It was clear¡ªthe fairy hadn¡¯t had enough time to absorb the ether from the organs, not nearly enough.
I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how much time was needed, but it was certainly less than I had. She¡¯d barely gotten anything.
Jer-kel tried to push herself up, but her movements were erratic, as if she had no sense of balance. Her eardrums were destroyed, and she stumbled like a drunk.
The shafeline, meanwhile, was coating its body in fire and pounced like a wild cat.
The fairy barely managed to evade it. It became a game of tag, and with every passing second, the shafeline was getting closer to catching her.
Meanwhile, I focused on Mon, trying to direct it to fire at the creature. The little fireballs shot out, but they were too slow, barely even registering as a threat. The shafeline didn''t even look at them.
I tried to lift Jer-kel, to drag her to safety, but¡ªholy shit, she was heavy. The armor alone must¡¯ve added over four hundred pounds. There was no way I could do this.
But I had to.
My muscles strained, and my legs trembled under the weight as if I were about to collapse. Come on¡ Come on¡
I slid on a pebble, crashing forward. My chin slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave of pain through my skull.
That hurt... Oh god, that hurts so much.
Jer-kel¡¯s bleeding ears suddenly stopped, and I saw many of her wounds begin to close up.
I snapped my attention to the fairy. Its body was coated in white energy, shimmering like a protective shield. It had recovered enough ether to heal itself, which by proxy healed its master.
Why doesn¡¯t it just fly higher up? I wondered. It could easily avoid the shafeline, but maybe it¡¯s worried the monster would target us instead.
Well, whatever. The healer was back online. That was good news.
Jer-kel pushed herself up and said, "Get to cover..."
"What about you?" I asked.
"Don¡¯t worry about me."
"And the villagers?"
¡°There should be some alive. I made sure of that¡¡±
Her voice wasn¡¯t cold, but I could sense a hint of worry beneath her tough exterior. Maybe she wasn¡¯t as hardened as she let on. There was a difference between hating someone and thinking they deserved a painful death.
There were definitely other monsters alive. A monster could be lurking around any corner.
I had a way to fix that.
I focused on Mon¡¯s senses¡ªits hearing and its sense of smell.
The scent of blood, feces, urine, and sweat flooded my senses. Then, I heard the low growls of monsters, too faint for a human ear to detect. About three of them, closing in.
They were probably hunting the villagers.
I know what I have to do.
I made Mon lead the way toward the monsters and followed it closely.
The first time I fought a monster, I almost died. To anyone else, my actions might seem irrational, even heroic.
But it wasn¡¯t about heroism. I wasn¡¯t foolish enough to risk my life for some noble cause. I had once killed myself, indifferent to what the future held. That lack of regard for life made it hard to value my own.
But now, there was a spark of something in me. I was excited, but also terrified, about what my future in this world might look like.
The reason I was taking this risk? Because I hated these monsters. I wanted to see them suffer. I wanted to kill them, torture them, make them regret their very existence.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
And, of course, I wanted to save these people. It wasn¡¯t just about revenge.
I spotted a monster perched on a house rooftop, looking down at a little boy hiding behind a house with his father and another person.
The monster lunged at the boy.
Go!
Mon dashed forward at full speed, kicking up dust as it sprinted. My eyes locked on the monster. Just as it was within a meter of the body, a fireball, the size of a tennis ball, hit it square in the face.
¡°Quaa!¡± the monster screeched, its pouncing form faltering, and it crashed to the ground in front of the three hiding figures.
¡°What the hell?!¡± the father¡ªat least, I assumed he was the father¡ªyelled in shock.
I didn¡¯t waste any time. I made Mon bite down on the monster¡¯s throat with all its strength. There was a sickening crack, followed by the frantic panicking of the monster, its life slipping away as it struggled.
I was making my way toward them, running around the building to reach its blind spot.
My ribs hurt.
The monster¡¯s claws were embedded deep in Mon¡¯s body. I moved quickly, finally arriving at the back of it. It had no idea I was there.
With both hands on the hilt of my blade, I struck its spine, aiming to paralyze it. I couldn¡¯t go for a throat cut, as Mon was blocking my way.
The blade sank deep into its back, but the bone was tough, and the monster struggled fiercely, trying to break free. I kept stabbing the same spot¡ªwell, I tried to. My aim wasn¡¯t great.
Just die!
After a few more stabs, its lower back finally stopped moving. Mon, at last, ripped its brother''s throat open.
Personal Level: 4
Shuralene Level: 9
This was my first time feeling this.
My whole body felt stronger. I guessed that was the result of gaining three levels at once.
I glanced at the family. They seemed slightly terrified of me, as if they hadn¡¯t just been saved by my actions. Maybe it was because of my violent approach, or because I was covered in blood¡ªboth fresh and old, from eating raw monster organs.
Or maybe it was simpler than that. I was working with a monster, the very same kind that had likely killed many of their friends and family.
I left without saying a word. I¡¯d preferred to keep my identity as a Vlandos hidden, but it didn¡¯t really matter.
I moved quickly again.
Now that I could upgrade my body, I wasn¡¯t sure about the potential drawbacks, like fatigue from the energy required for the changes.
I should only use what I¡¯m confident in.
I made Mon rip open its brother''s abdomen and take its EPO. I held my breath and ate it.
The taste and texture were still revolting. My stomach churned terribly, and my eyes teared up again.
It¡¯s whatever. I can handle this.
We found another monster in a house. It was sniffing the ground, creeping toward a room like a starving hound. This time, we didn¡¯t catch it off guard.
Its head snapped up. A deep snarl rumbled from its throat before it charged.
Mon rushed forward to meet it, and the two clashed. Their claws ignited, carving through flesh and fur as they tore into each other. Mon¡¯s talons raked across the monster¡¯s chest, but the beast retaliated with a brutal swipe, gouging deep into his side.
I moved¡ªfaster than before, maybe twice my previous speed. Not that it meant much.
The monster sensed me closing in and lashed out with its tongue. I ducked, barely avoiding the strike as it slammed into the wall behind me, cracking wood. The beast tried to press its advantage, lunging at me with its fangs bared.
Mon clamped his jaws onto its shoulder, yanking it back before it could reach me. The monster howled, twisting violently, trying to throw him off. Blood poured from both of them, but neither let up.
I circled to its flank and struck low. My blade slashed across its hind legs, cutting deep. The monster faltered but didn¡¯t go down. Instead, it pivoted sharply, swiping at me with one massive claw.
I barely had time to react. The blow glanced off my arm, sending a jolt of pain through my body.
I gritted my teeth and lunged. With both hands on my blade, I drove it toward the monster¡¯s throat¡ªbut it twisted at the last second. My aim was off. The blade dug into its collarbone instead of severing anything vital.
Mon took the opening. He surged forward, sinking his teeth into the creature¡¯s neck. It thrashed, desperate, but I didn¡¯t hesitate this time. I adjusted my grip, raised my sword, and drove it into the base of its skull.
The monster shuddered. Gurgled. Then fell limp.
Mon let go, his sides heaving. Blood dripped from his wounds.
t.Level: 5
Hm. That one must have been low-level. But it''s impossible to tell anyway.
I healed my monster, restoring it to near-full health. Most of my wounds disappeared too.
Then...
Kill¡ kill... SLAUGHTER.
Ugh¡
Mon¡¯s thoughts were getting loud, as if the barrier between our minds was breaking.
I can handle it. I know my thoughts from Mon¡¯s, but this is starting to strain me.
I felt tired, a headache beginning to form.
I left the house, moving toward the next target, but that didn¡¯t seem necessary anymore.
Wait. I can no longer smell the third monster through Mon''s senses. That means the last thing to do is check on Jer-kel.
Ah, who am I kidding? I can''t really help.
I looked at her fight. It was still bad, just like before.
The Shafeline¡¯s tail was wrapped around the fairy¡¯s leg, swinging it around with violent force. The air whistled with every swing.
That was affecting Jer-kel. Her footing was unstable. Even if I couldn¡¯t help directly, I had to do something¡ªanything. A distraction would be enough.
Mon, [fire spit]¡ª
A massive cone-shaped rock hit the Shafeline in the chest. Its body contorted with the impact, and it was thrown to the ground with a loud thud.
Lo¡¯jul (I prefer calling him Lo), and Jim arrived atop their monsters¡ªa giant tree-crab-like creature and a four-meter-tall dog with gorilla and shark features, though not in a Frankenstein way.
Jim turned to Lo¡¯jul. ¡°Nice shot.¡±
¡°Always.¡±
It took them forever.
The Shafeline lost its confidence, no longer attacking but instead raising its head to the sky. Its mouth glowed white.
¡°It¡¯s going to use that flash again!¡± I shouted.
The tree-crab monster swung its pincers up, causing massive vines to explode from the ground. One of them struck the Shafeline¡¯s jaw with enough force to make a resounding bang!
It screamed, trying to leap back, but Lo¡¯jul¡¯s monster slammed a gorilla fist into the ground, causing the earth beneath the Shafeline to disappear, swallowing it into a hole. It tried to escape, but the ground closed in on it with crushing force.
Jim dismounted and approached Jer-kel. ¡°How bad is the bleeding?¡±
¡°Bad, but I¡¯m okay for the most part. Damn, I almost thought you wanted me to die.¡±
¡°I was thinking about it,¡± he grinned.
She rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure my death traumatizes you for life.¡±
Her fairy flew above the Shafeline, which was struggling to breathe, and began to sing a chaotic but not unpleasant sound.
I wasn¡¯t sure what its purpose was, but seeing how the Shafeline suddenly fixated on it, seething with rage, I guessed it was a taunt. It was also boiling a weird rage in me, so that made sense.
The Shafeline broke through the rock walls, charging at the fairy. But as it leapt into the air, the gorilla-dog jumped after it, catching its leg and slamming it to the ground.
The tree-crab monster ejected an open pincer, pinning the Shafeline¡¯s neck to the ground. Its other pincer secured its waist.
Jer-kel clasped her ears. ¡°Blow its head off.¡±
The other two also covered their ears. I made Mon return to my seal then blocked my ears.
The Shafeline struggled against its restraints. The ground cracked beneath it, and the pincers were being forced upward.
But it wasn¡¯t fast enough.
The fairy was inhaling deeply, as though charging up a powerful exhale. As soon as the pincers were forced off the ground, the fairy unleashed a sonic boom.
This time, the force was so intense that the air vibrated violently, the ground cracked, and houses crumbled.
It¡¯s too much!
My hand warmed with blood.
¡
I felt¡ shaky, like the world was spinning. Oh, this is...
I collapsed forward, unable to move. My ears¡ªthey hurt. They hurt so much.
Chapter 14: Strange sighting
POV: Lo¡¯jul
The shafeline lay on the ground, half-dead and bloodied. It screeched, a dying bird¡¯s desperate attempt to hold on to life, but the sound was so weak that anyone except for us probably couldn¡¯t hear it.
Jer pulled a spear from her pocket space (a watery air eclipse¡ªinventory) and drove it into the creature¡¯s throat.
Jim muttered, ¡°Sorry we came so late.¡±
She spat on the ground, her voice sharp, "There are still little monsters around."
I asked, ¡°What about survivors?¡±
¡°Check,¡± she replied, her gaze already scanning the area.
¡°You lost something?¡± I pressed.
¡°Help me look for the kid. She¡¯s a vlandos,¡± Jer said, before walking off.
Jim raised an eyebrow. ¡°She is¡? Oh, that makes sense. But what about the survivors and the little monsters?¡±
Jer was already dashing away, not bothering to answer him. I turned to Jim, irritation creeping in. ¡°Look around, man!¡±
He shook his head in annoyance, then pulled out a mark-stone¡ªa portable touch-screen device. He snapped a picture of the monster¡¯s corpse, preparing to send it to the operator to confirm the mission¡¯s completion.
I¡¯d almost forgotten about that. It was a good thing Jim had remembered, since I was the one appointed as team captain for this mission. Not that I was really functioning as one.
Jer-kal-thuli-mal, a fairy, soared high above us, scouting the skies. I sent out my Goryu¡ªmy dog-gorilla-shark-like monster¡ªto search for Jer while also keeping an eye out for any monsters.
Goryu began mapping the area, scanning a wide range. I could sense everyone¡¯s presence here¡ªno monsters were alive.
Wait¡
There was a foreign smell, unfamiliar and not human. Nothing I could recognize.
Do you know it?
The growl Goryu made indicated uncertainty. Damn it.
I froze, concentrating on the scent. It was strong, but fleeting¡ªappearing for a moment, then vanishing.
But I couldn¡¯t pinpoint its origin¡
¡°Oh, she¡¯s safe. T-that¡¯s good to see. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s safe.¡±
I turned to find Jer talking to Natasha, who was holding a sleeping but very bloodied Vernisha in her arms.
Jer didn¡¯t seem fazed by the gore around her. She was unharmed. Maybe she had experience with this kind of thing.
Move your fucking ass! These survivors ain¡¯t going to help themselves! Jim¡¯s loud-ass system call broke my thoughts.
Give me a break, I responded mentally, a groan escaping my lips.
It felt like a waste of time and energy to focus on whatever strange thing was going on here. I had more important things to worry about, like giving Nub¡¯ol an excuse for why I couldn¡¯t make it for the date.
Fucking hell. Everything I¡¯d planned for tonight was gone.
Whatever. Time to focus on the survivors.
POV: Lo¡¯jul''s Partner, Nub¡¯ol
Men and women moved up and down in the luxurious restaurant, guided by employees dressed in all white.
Almost everyone here was human, except for two elf employees. I respected their ability to adapt. They were hard workers, and you could find an elf in almost any job.
I¡¯d spent most of my time requesting wine whenever the waiter came to ask if I was ready to order.
The green beverage sitting in my glass was hot garbage compared to the alcohol back home. Even if I drank an entire barrel of this ''Jumbie,'' I wouldn¡¯t feel so much as tipsy.
They really needed to start ordering some Mal¡¯quisha. It¡¯d probably kill most of them, but at least the taste would feel like godhood. Or maybe just poison. I wasn¡¯t sure.
I tapped the edge of my glass. I¡¯d reached the limit of entertaining myself.
Where the hell was that man?
I glanced at my watch. Thirty minutes to 14:00.
Sigh. Of course, on the day I¡¯d taken work leave¡
I guess he¡¯d gotten caught up with work again, like always.
Sometimes work was slow for him. Those days were the best. Even though we didn¡¯t fuck like rabbits anymore, like when we were younger, it still felt good to cook breakfast and lunch together. We¡¯d go out to the garden, disappointed to find that the birds had stolen the ripening fruits, and just be around each other.
Not talking. Not doing anything. Just sitting next to each other with my legs resting on his chest or lap, of course.
But when work was busy, it was busy. He¡¯d be gone for days. When he was really unlucky, weeks.
It didn¡¯t help when you heard about how many cheating scandals adventurers got themselves into.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
You don¡¯t hear, ¡®Hey, your man might cheat on you while he¡¯s deployed.¡¯
It¡¯s: ¡°Oh, what does he do for a living?¡±
¡®He¡¯s an adventurer.¡¯
They¡¯d get this surprised look, followed by pity. Then they¡¯d say, in the nicest way possible, ¡°From one woman to another,¡± they¡¯d say.
-
¡°He¡¯s definitely going to cheat on you.¡±
-
¡°Think about it. He¡¯s gone for days, weeks, sometimes months, with only a few people. At least one of them is going to be a woman, and you know no one is turning down a goddamn vlandos. So, it¡¯s gonna start with some flirting. Some joking. Some bonding. Then... oops, some fucking.¡±
-
¡°There are stats on it. They fuck a lot, all the time. Hell, probably more than those in the military.¡±
It was enough to drive you crazy, to make you second-guess everything. But sometimes, you just had to say, ¡°No, my man is different.¡± Even though you felt like shit inside. It hurt worse when I remembered that Vlandos women were all insanely beautiful and, more often than not, fucking bitches.
If you were a regular and your partner was Vlandos, it was like someone had painted a hot target on their head. The sexual advances¡ªand the pictures of them in bed, naked, with someone else¡ªweren¡¯t about the other person. It was about breaking the relationship. Proving, ¡®He¡¯s messing with a regular person.¡¯
I¡¯d tell myself, Sorry, I believe in him. But even diamonds could crack under pressure.
I missed the days when I was a teenager¡ªbefore I knew how common such behaviors were, before I understood why people did it.
But damn, here I was, overthinking again.
A waiter came to my table. ¡°Miss, I think an hour has passed¡¡±
I sat up straight. ¡°You¡¯re right. Sorry for wasting your time.¡±
¡°Hopefully, you¡¯ll be back. Maybe buying an extra hour will be in your husband¡¯s best interest.¡±
I adjusted the gem-spotted white fur coat around my shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ll tell him that.¡±
I was pissed, annoyed, and embarrassed. Everyone had seen me sitting there, waiting forever, like some elderly lady who¡¯d lost her husband and visited their old favorite spot to reminisce.
But whatever. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s at fault. If he could be here, he would. I was sure he was thinking of ways to make it up to me.
The thought, What if he¡¯s with another woman right now, flitted across my mind, but I kicked it away.
As I made my way toward the exit, some people¡¯s attention was drawn to my unique piece of jewelry¡ªa nose chain. A gold chain circled the crown of my head, with the centerpiece extending to my nose and holding an emerald.
Hm.
I took a deep breath, letting go of the intrusive thoughts people tried to plant in my head, and pushed my own insecurities deeper into my heart.
I just hoped he was alive, and that the mission was going smoothly.
POV: Lo¡¯jul
Jim and I found all the survivors. Only twenty. Five men, eight kids, and the rest were women. One didn¡¯t even have family. The kids explained that their fathers had been the first to die, trying to give the others a chance to escape, then the mothers died, and finally the older siblings.
It was a total shitshow. These guys needed their minds wiped. All of them. I wondered how many would even protest.
What choice did they have, anyway? Go see a therapist? With what money? The hospitals wouldn¡¯t pay for it, especially when the guild was footing the bill for mind erasure.
One little boy, no older than eight, trembled with every breath. His fingers shook, though not as badly as his father¡¯s. He was scared of everything¡ªthe sounds, the world around him.
I felt for him. Trauma wasn¡¯t something to joke about. I¡¯d never experienced anything truly traumatic as a kid, or as a teenager. Maybe my parents¡¯ divorce? Or how my mother¡¯s mother always treated my father like shit because he wasn¡¯t wealthy?
My upbringing had been good enough that those things were the worst I¡¯d ever faced.
The first time I saw real horror¡ªthe first time I fought a monster as an adventurer¡ªI was sure there had to be devils, evil gods, or something just as awful. I just knew it. As cruel as nature could be, monsters couldn¡¯t have come from it. I¡¯d said it before and I¡¯d say it again every time I saw shit like this: the mother of monsters myth had to be real.
Some truly twisted bastard had to have created them, thinking, I¡¯m going to make these evil fuckers because I hate people with a passion.
Yeah, I get it¡ªit¡¯s punishment for humanity¡¯s sins¡ªbut fuck off. Every living being had to pay for what humans did? That shit was crazy.
These monsters could tell when you were new, when you didn¡¯t know what the hell you were doing. They¡¯d target you, tear you apart, eat you alive just for the fun of it.
Being an adventurer either gave you balls of steel or sent you to an early grave, or left you a shell of your former self. Sometimes the fear never really went away. The body remembered it, maybe because of some monster skill or something.
I know the first time I met a monster, I wanted to run. No amount of money could make that worth it.
Anyway, I left Jim to tend to the survivors. I¡¯d done what I could, but I was a punchio. It was better for them to get comfort from someone they could relate to more.
When I reached Natasha, I found Vernisha standing by her side. There were bloodstains on the sides of her face, her ears must¡¯ve been bleeding.
¡°How¡¯s she doing?¡± I asked.
¡°Alive,¡± Natasha replied, her voice flat and emotionless.
She was stressed¡ªno surprise there. Nub¡¯ol always acted the same way when something was bothering her.
¡°Sorry we couldn¡¯t keep her safe,¡± I said, meaning it.
¡°As long as she¡¯s alive, I¡¯m happy.¡± Natasha turned toward Jer. ¡°Thank you, again.¡±
¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m grateful to Vernisha, too. She saved my life.¡±
¡°She did, huh? That¡¯s good to hear.¡±
I left them to talk, then remembered they¡¯d come with others.
¡°Where are your other friends?¡± I asked.
Natasha looked into the distance where the dense grass and trees met. ¡°One¡¯s alive.¡±
I followed her gaze. Damn, I¡¯d been hoping to avoid this, but whatever. I walked between the towering trees, stepping over wild vines and dead branches. Then I came across¡ªwhat the hell?
The trees in one direction were completely gone. The soil was bare, no leaves, no sign of aging. It looked like something had blown the trees out of existence and replaced everything.
I saw a man, unconscious but alive. I walked over and shook him awake.
He blinked in confusion, his body slumped, tired. I wanted to ask, What the hell happened here?
But then I thought, Do I really want to deal with this? To lose more time with my wife? To get involved in whatever this is?
I didn¡¯t want to, but leaving it unchecked could come back to haunt everyone. Since I was already here, I might as well get some answers.
I asked him what had happened. He tried to speak but couldn¡¯t. After a moment, he gave up, staring blankly ahead. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Can¡¯t remember anything. Julus!¡±
He forced himself to look around, panic setting in. ¡°Julus!¡±
I figured that was one of his dead friends. Maybe his son, since he looked older.
I pointed to the three corpses nearby. Their stomachs were exposed, their bodies half-eaten.
When the man saw it, he was shocked. I didn¡¯t say anything to him.
He didn¡¯t break down or cry, though. He just stared.
How strange, I thought. He couldn¡¯t remember what had happened, not even a little. And somehow, this bizarre event had only occurred here. Since he was alive and the other three weren¡¯t, something must have been protecting him, or perhaps he was saved by whatever had killed the monster for reasons unknown.
I tried to gather some clues, but there was nothing.
Asking him questions seemed pointless. My monster couldn¡¯t detect anything else related to the strange smell or the odd circumstances here.
Maybe I really shouldn¡¯t press further, I thought. This is risky. I¡¯ll report it to the guild.
I returned to the others, bringing the man with me, of course.
Jer was still standing by the woman and the little girl, while Jim wasn¡¯t talking to the survivors. Honestly, they probably didn¡¯t want to talk at all.
The wind blew and the air whistled. The mission was done.
Normally, I would¡¯ve called Nub¡¯ol and told her when I¡¯d be home, but I had forgotten my personal pyramid communicator at home.
So, for a while, I just stood there, waiting. Then Jer looked up at me.
''Take the family to the capital,'' she told me, her lips not moving.
Chapter 15: Sundawn
POV: Lo''ju
"And what about you?" I asked.
"I''ll stay with Jim. It doesn''t make sense to leave him here alone," Jer-kal replied.
"Got it."
I didn''t waste time. I quickly filled them in on what was going to happen. The man, Bahmos, agreed without much hesitation. Natasha, of course, agreed too.
I pointed at the ground and sent out my triver. A massive bird monster, with two heads and black feathers. Its eyes stretched from the front of its face down to its chin, like a stack of neatly arranged books.
I helped them onto the monster. I got her son and husband on as well. Once everyone was settled, holding onto my creature, I prepared for the flight.
POV: Vernisha
Everything was dark. Once again, the darkness seemed to move around me, as if it had a life of its own.
I floated through the space for what felt like forever. I knew this wasn¡¯t death. Unless, in this world, dying meant experiencing the same thing as my dreams.
Gradually, things started to clear. The bright sky appeared.
Nice. I¡¯m really alive.
I had no idea what I was lying on, but it felt¡ animal-like. I turned my head to the side to get a better look.
Feathers...? And¡ we were high in the sky?
¡°You¡¯re finally awake,¡± Natasha said, looking at me. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±
¡°Yeah...¡± I tried to move, but my body ached.
I coughed up a thick black liquid and wiped my chin, staring at it.
Lo''ju said, ¡°You... were eating monster flesh?¡±
¡°No...¡± I replied, still dazed.
"And you contracted Malertaria? You need to get to a doctor."
¡°A healing elixir wouldn¡¯t fix it?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t kill parasites.¡±
Ah, shit. I guess this was what I got for indulging in a monster organ feast. I¡¯ll survive, though.
Natasha asked him, ¡°How dangerous is it?¡±
¡°It depends. If she ate a lot of monster flesh, it can kill her in a week or two.¡±
Oh. That doesn¡¯t sound too bad. I thought. I¡¯d expected it to be more urgent.
¡°Is the medicine for it cheap, or does it require surgery?¡±
¡°Medicine. A bit... Yeah, it¡¯s expensive.¡±
I muttered, ¡°We pay taxes and we can¡¯t get medicine for cheap. Garbage-ass country.¡±
He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re a Vlandos, and below the working age, a child. If you say that, you¡¯ll get it for free.¡±
Why the hell?
He noticed the shift in my and Natasha¡¯s gazes.
¡°Jer-kel told me. I¡¯ll keep your secret... well, secret.¡±
Tch.
I said, ¡°Then you know that I wouldn¡¯t be telling anyone I¡¯m a Vlandos. Especially someone who works for or is partnered with the state.¡±
He frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll ask my wife for a favor.¡±
I raised an eyebrow. ¡°She¡¯s a doctor?¡±
¡°She works at a drug store.¡±
¡°Oh... I wouldn¡¯t need a prescription?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t that illegal?¡±
¡°Yes. You¡¯d rather go to a doctor? Honestly, you should, since we don¡¯t know the strength of the Geio tablets you¡¯re going to need.¡±
¡°No, drug store.¡± I wasn¡¯t taking any risks with them testing my blood and discovering I was a Vlandos.
He shrugged, the wind blowing his hair back and forth.
I asked, ¡°Do you have control over your hair? Or does it move on its own?¡±
¡°Control. Like moving your fingers.¡±
¡°Pretty cool. When you make those short dreadlocks, do you control your hair to get the style, or do you use your hands, or both?¡±
¡°Both, kinda. And it¡¯s braids. My wife braids it for me.¡±
Could¡¯ve fooled me. Maybe it was just the hair texture.
¡°She¡¯s better at it?¡±
¡°Yeah. She used to be a hair stylist.¡±
¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool. Does she do her own hair, or do you?¡±
¡°Me. Gets tiring doing it yourself, you see.¡±
¡°Yeah, for sure.¡±
I looked down at the bird beneath us. ¡°How many minutes until it has to land?¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
He raised an eyebrow.
I expanded on what I meant. ¡°Until you lose control over it.¡±
¡°Long.¡±
¡°How long is ¡®long¡¯?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t know. When the time is up, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±
No way in hell he doesn¡¯t know. When a monster¡¯s thoughts grow stronger, you can feel it. If he¡¯s been an adventurer for long, he definitely knows how long his control will last.
But he was keeping it secret. Why? Because that was vital information.
What would I even do with it, though? I needed to know how long his monster had been out too.
¡°How fast are we moving? In miles per hour?¡± I asked.
¡°Not sure. Maybe 150?¡±
Oh¡ With that, we¡¯ll reach the capital in no time!
I sat up and looked at the land below. Villages, towns, rivers, and a whole lot of green mountains.
There was a white river. Two guys were in it. They seemed to be dancing together¡ªnaked.
Wait.
Oh.
Never mind.
I looked elsewhere, observing a group of people working on a small house, nailing galvanized sheets onto the roof.
In another spot, some people were carrying buckets of water. Others were hiking.
It was cool to see all this. Even cooler that I didn¡¯t see anything grim¡ªno kidnapping, no murder, and so on.
Emphasis on ¡®didn¡¯t see.¡¯
¡°I¡¯m sorry¡¡± Caren muttered in his sleep. I wondered what nightmare he was having this time.
¡°Sorry¡¡±
¡°Sorry. I am sorry.¡±
He repeated the same words over and over again.
Lp¡¯jul pointed ahead. ¡°Check it out. We¡¯ve reached.¡±
I looked ahead. In the center of three massive mountains, two of which seemed to not belong (they lacked a mountain range), and one in the back that seemed naturally placed.
I guessed the capital had been built there for defensive reasons.
On the mountain to its right, there was a monster zone.
But damn, that was a massive city, surrounded by black walls¡ªmaybe twelve meters tall. I¡¯d heard it was built by Eren Starworth after the original walls had been destroyed during the Falsker invasion.
Those walls were lined with watchtowers.
I asked Lo, ¡°In those watchtowers¡ªthey¡¯re all Vlandos?¡±
¡°No, not enough of us for that.¡±
¡°So¡ just ordinary guys?¡±
¡°Most are. We¡¯ve only got two knights stationed there, and they¡¯re at the entrance gate.¡±
Interesting.
We descended a short distance away from the gates. Apparently, that¡¯s the law.
Lo helped us get to the gate, easily carrying Caren as if he weighed less than fifty pounds.
The knights wore armor unlike any adventurer¡¯s. They looked like knights straight out of legends. Their armor was gold and red, with swords at their waists and shields on their backs.
The two men were massive, both easily towering over 6¡¯9¡±.
One of them asked, ¡°What is it?¡±
I pulled out our residence papers, and Lo showed his adventurer¡¯s license. One of the knights stepped forward, scanning our papers and Lo¡¯s license with a mark-stone¡ªa device that resembled a tablet.
It took a moment, but he gave us a nod. They asked why we were here. We explained it was for medical reasons, pointing to Caren and Ulah.
The other knight asked, ¡°What kind of sickness do they have? Is it transmittable?¡±
¡°No, they ate some bread that made them sick and seems to be having a weird mutative effect on them. And Vernisha has Malertaria, she¡¯s spitting up black liquid,¡± Natasha explained, leaving out their violent outbursts.
The two knights checked for obvious signs. I obliged by spitting up black, bloody vomit for them. Then they took some blood from us and ran it through their mark-stone.
Obviously, I¡¯m worried about them taking my blood, but they discarded it as soon as they got the results. I assumed it was to verify we didn¡¯t have any transmittable diseases.
They then asked how long we planned to stay and if we had a place to stay.
If it weren¡¯t for Lo, that would have been a problem. He stepped in, saying that we¡¯d be staying with him until our family members were treated.
We paid the entrance fees¡ªfifty bronze pints for Natasha and Caren, half that for Ulah and me.
Oh, and Lo didn¡¯t have to pay since he was an adventurer. I wasn¡¯t sure why, but it seemed like the knights didn¡¯t like him. They were just being professional.
One of the knights knocked on the gate, and soon after, the double gates opened for us.
Oh, random note: the residence papers have a part that identifies citizens as either Vlandos or regular.
As we entered the city, the knights offered a parting comment:
¡°We hope your experience in Sundawn is great.¡±
¡°May the stars shine on your family¡¯s future.¡±
They seem cool.
Once inside, I was surprised by what I saw. The place was beautiful. Massive concrete buildings lined both sides of the roads¡ªcommercial buildings, it seemed.
Elves, punchios, a few Julioes, and other human races bustled around.
Oh, there¡¯s a Silyuk. They all have big foreheads, half-white and ginger hair, and a high concentration of fat in their lower bodies. Big butts, no breasts.
It reminded me of my high school principal from Earth.
Even the guys had it, which¡ªfrom what I¡¯ve heard¡ªmakes them a target in prison.
I looked around and spotted a Mulvar¡ªa dark-skinned figure with a sharp jawline but no eyebrows. His long brown hair and eyebrowless face reminded me of Super Saiyan Three.
On another street, I saw a Balash temple with three holograms in front of it. The first depicted a yellow-haired woman with yellow eyes, her gaze fixed on the distant light of a star. The second showed an orange-haired man, illuminated by a blinding light from a star. The last, the largest of them all, was a blood-red-haired man surrounded by hundreds of stars.
The three mortal gods.
Lo noticed my gaze and remarked, ¡°The universe sure has its favorites.¡±
All of them were humans. Kinda feels awkward.
I cleared my throat and replied, ¡°There might be another mortal god who¡¯s a punchio, but hidden.¡±
¡°In our legends, there used to be. Anyway, let¡¯s get your family to a doctor. I¡¯ll grab the medication for you.¡±
¡°Yeah, thanks a lot again.¡±
We walked for a while before hopping into a taxi¡ªa lizard-driven carriage. However, Bahmos, who had been silent the whole time, took a different taxi.
I turned to Lo¡¯jul and said, ¡°You¡¯re much nicer than I thought.¡±
¡°Oh. Well, Jer-kel asked me to help you all. So she must like you a lot.¡±
¡°Ah. That¡¯s good to hear. She saved me too.¡±
He nodded slowly, looking somewhat surprised. Not sure why that surprised him.
It took about ten minutes, and after crossing a bridge with a river running beneath it, we arrived at a private doctor¡¯s office.
Lo commented, ¡°It should be better than a regular hospital.¡± Then he took a card from his pocket, stopped, and asked, ¡°You guys don¡¯t have a pyramid communicator?¡±
Natasha replied, ¡°No.¡±
Lo clicked his tongue and looked at me.
¡¯Lo¡¯Jul sons''ver¡¯mol¡¯yu is trying to form a communication line with you.
Oh! Telepathy!
I confirmed the request. Once done, he returned to his normal demeanor and faced forward.
¡¯Give me a thought if you need something.¡¯ I heard his voice in my head.
¡®How close do I need to be?¡¯
¡®A mile, maybe.¡¯
¡°Thanks,¡± I said aloud.
¡°Yeah.¡±
Lo glanced out of the carriage and spoke to the security at the office¡¯s closed door. ¡°When the person inside is done, help them in.¡±
¡°Of course, Lo¡¯jun.¡±
Then he disappeared. Maybe people don¡¯t have many adventurers in the city? Or Lo has a lot of connections.
The security offered us benches, which we gratefully took.
The only problem with going to a private doctor¡¯s office was that we didn¡¯t have an appointment, and it would cost a lot more than a state-funded hospital.
But I hoped Lo knew this and chose the office for a reason.
I glanced at Natasha, who was glaring at a tall boy¡ªa Vlandos, based on his height¡ªaround 6¡¯5¡± and maybe fifteen years old.
He had blood-red and blonde hair, yellow eyes, clear skin, and was ridiculously handsome¡ªenough to be a model who could capture anyone¡¯s attention, even more than the average Vlandos man (just by a noticeable amount).
I wondered if it was just lucky genes, the power of being Vlandos, or if he could afford beauty products. Maybe he dyed his hair... or belongs to one of those star families?
I asked Natasha, ¡°You know him?¡±
Her fist relaxed. ¡°No.¡±
That was odd. This was the same woman who didn¡¯t even get angry at Caren when he was being a handful.
I pressed, ¡°Are you sure? You look like you know him.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±
On his finger was an emerald ring.
Hmm¡ That guy is definitely rich. Maybe nobility? Or has an important job. I should probably avoid him, especially since Natasha doesn¡¯t seem to like him. But if I can make friends with someone influential or wealthy, it might be useful.
Thanks to my connections with Jim and Jer-kel, Lo had helped us when we needed it.
I didn¡¯t know when or how this would pay off, but making friends in high places could be beneficial.
I stood and walked up to him. ¡°Hello.¡±
Chapter 16: Networking
To my surprise, things played out well.
I had expected him to be egotistical or overly cautious around strangers, but he was relatively friendly.
¡°And that is¡ a toy store, got some cool stuff, remote control dolls and so on.¡±
He was being friendly because he thought I was a lost kid.
¡°Oh, I don¡¯t really like dolls.¡±
¡°Oh. Why?¡±
¡°I prefer fake swords, for play sword fighting.¡±
I didn¡¯t know much about him¡ªbarely knew his interests. But he was probably around fifteen years old, so there was a high chance he liked action, swords.
Was that a stereotype? Yeah. But I didn¡¯t care. There was a damn high chance it was accurate.
¡°But why? Doesn¡¯t that hurt?¡±
¡°What¡¯s a little scratch or two? You scared of swords?¡±
¡°Fake ones? I¡¯m not scared, I just don¡¯t like sword play.¡±
¡°You messed with real ones?¡±
¡°Yeah¡?¡±
¡°You plan to become an adventurer?¡±
He stopped walking and asked, ¡°Where are you from? It¡¯s nowhere close.¡±
¡°What made you assume that?¡±
¡°You said something weird, and you talk like you¡¯re stringing all your words together. I have to think for three seconds to understand what you¡¯re saying.¡±
And you talk like a fucking old man with dementia, taking forever to say a single word.
For a second, I considered backing out, but if I was right about him having influence, most people would back down to show respect. So I needed to stand out.
¡°I¡¯m from a far village, that¡¯s why I talk fast, like I¡¯m not here to bore someone by taking ten minutes to finish a sentence.¡±
His eyebrows furrowed, went back to normal, and then furrowed again. ¡°You¡¯re talking about me?¡±
¡°Yeah, but not in a rude way. Just being honest, choosing what¡¯s best.¡±
¡°Oh¡ You think your accent is better?¡±
¡°By a lot.¡±
He smiled. ¡°You are something else. Who put that idea in your head?¡±
¡°You think the way you Sundawn guys talk is better?¡±
¡°I mean, it¡¯s not a matter of better or worse¡ª¡±
¡°Be honest, dude.¡±
¡°Obviously. Anyone with half a brain would think so.¡±
¡°You¡¯re nicer than I thought. I thought you¡¯d say it¡¯s cavemen talk, or like a child¡¯s gibberish.¡±
He chuckled. ¡°I held my tongue back. How old are you?¡±
¡°Twelve.¡±
¡°Oh.¡±
¡°What? You¡¯re acting like I said I was a zombie.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
¡°My reaction wasn¡¯t anything like that.¡±
¡°Close enough.¡±
¡°Younger than I thought, that¡¯s all. You sure your mom is okay with you just walking around?¡±
¡°You going to kidnap me?¡±
¡°How much would you even sell for? Four bronzes?¡±
¡°That¡¯s three more than you would go for.¡±
¡°My ass.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t that illegal?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°You said ¡®your ass.¡¯¡±
It took him a couple of seconds to realize my implication.
He chuckled like he was embarrassed. ¡°Oh¡ You got some jokes.¡±
¡°I¡¯m talented.¡±
¡°You should monetize it.¡±
¡°Definitely. Get rich that way.¡±
¡°Rich¡ I don¡¯t think you¡¯re that funny.¡±
¡°How would you know? I¡¯ve only made a joke or two with you.¡±
¡°Because there aren¡¯t many rich comedians.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll just be one of the few.¡±
He smiled. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±
¡°Vernisha Holinstone. You?¡±
¡°Ferzan Starworth. How long do you plan to stay here for?¡±
Starworth. Big, big shots.
¡°Until my family recovers. Medical reasons.¡±
¡°Oh. Cancer?¡±
¡°Christ, why¡¯d you jump to that?¡±
¡°No idea.¡±
¡°It¡¯s probably worse. Just something shitty they ate.¡±
¡°Oh. How¡¯s that worse than cancer?¡±
¡°Hm¡ It¡¯s complicated. But hopefully things will get better.¡±
POV: Lo¡¯jul
I entered the adventurer''s guild, climbed the stairs, filed my report on what had occurred that day, and once finished, changed into a simple outfit and left.
Now¡ Lu¡¯mat.
I didn¡¯t bother checking the restaurant I had planned for our dinner; there was no way she would still be there.
But...
I did check. Outside, sitting on a bench near the flowers, was her. She was playing some dice game on her tablet, her face showing she was bored out of her mind.
I sat next to her. She didn¡¯t turn to me or say anything.
I said, ¡°Sorry.¡±
¡°How was the quest?¡± she asked, still flicking her finger lazily across the screen.
¡°Lots of¡ um, deaths. Most of the village got wiped out.¡±
That caught her attention. She stopped flicking her finger against the screen, turned it off, and looked at me. ¡°You¡ how are you feeling?¡±
¡°Disappointed. It¡¯s one thing if it¡¯s a lot of death, but, Lu, there are only seventeen survivors.¡±
¡°Damn¡ Sorry to hear that. I¡¯m sure you did your best.¡±
¡°Yeah. But seriously, sorry for not being able to make it. I really wanted to. And then I didn¡¯t have my communicator on me.¡±
¡°I understand. You were out here fighting monsters, doing your mission.¡±
¡°Yeah, but I would¡¯ve rather been here, smiling with you.¡±
¡°You¡¯re here now.¡±
¡°I¡¯m complaining, not smiling.¡±
She stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s change that.¡±
I stood up too, towering over her. ¡°What do you want to do?¡±
¡°Read my mind.¡±
¡°I wish I could.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s make this night great. That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking.¡±
¡°You mean¡ like.¡±
¡°No, I mean something that goes on for long.¡±
I looked up at the stars. ¡°Want to¡ walk home?¡±
¡°You want to kill my legs? I¡¯m fit, but not that fit.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s just try it. We used to always do it. Walking in the darkness, under the moonlight, talking and talking.¡±
She smiled at me, but there was a proud look in her eyes. Like any doubt she had in me was gone. ¡°Sure, I¡¯d love that. And carry me if my legs give out.¡±
And so we walked along the sidewalk home. We, of course, passed by an ice cream mini-store.
¡°Haven¡¯t seen a damn Pink-terra flavor in a while,¡± she mentioned.
¡°Thought they stopped making it,¡± I said. ¡°I want to taste it.¡±
¡°You hate it.¡±
¡°I probably like it now.¡±
¡°I doubt it.¡±
We went inside, and I got a Pink-terra ice cream in a cone. She took chocolate. Even the server had to remind her twice that it was chocolate and she was a punchio.
As we walked, I asked, ¡°Feeling suicidal today?¡±
¡°Yeah, why not? ¡®Death tastes like tits covered in honey.¡¯¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you forget anything?¡±
I had said that a couple of times when I was hospitalized from a monster battle. Sounded cool and edgy in my mind as a young adult.
What? I have brain damage, broken ribs, and half of my leg is gone? Pft. Should¡¯ve seen me when my girl tried to put her finger up my ass.
¡°No.¡±
¡°On a serious note, you¡¯re really gonna eat it?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll just vomit it when I¡¯m done. It just tastes too good.¡±
¡°No food is worth playing with your life for.¡±
¡°You¡¯re just a pussy.¡±
¡°No food except that.¡±
She laughed. It was an ugly laugh, but I found it charming. I always did.
An hour passed. For half of that time, we talked, laughed, and so on. The other half was just silence, walking side by side.
Of course, she vomited the ice cream and took some pills.
We reached our home, small but perfect for us. She opened the door with the key, and we entered. I reached for the lights, but she took my hand.
¡°Let¡¯s keep it off,¡± she said.
¡°Oh. Here?¡±
¡°Why not?¡±
She pulled me onto her, and I felt her breast against my chest as we kissed. We slowly backed up, our memory of the couch in our minds.
My shirt came off, and so did hers.
I felt the couch and we got onto it. Then she stopped kissing me, but I felt her breath on my face. ¡°I fucking love you.¡±
¡°I love you too,¡± I said, kissing her again. My hands slid up her back until I reached her bra, unpinned it, and heard the small sound of it hitting the ground.
Oh.
¡°Wait, wait,¡± I said. ¡°I kinda need geio for this kid who was feasting on monster flesh.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll worry about that afterward.¡± Her hands caressed my stomach, slowly making their way down.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure she can wait.¡± I became one with her, like salt and water, dissolving until it was only water.
Chapter 17: Uncurable
POV: Vernisha
By the time I finished talking with Ferzan, the doctor was finally available, and we could go inside.
The office wasn¡¯t at all what I expected. I had assumed it would resemble a doctor¡¯s office back on Earth.
Instead, there was a narrow corridor leading to a door, behind which a person waited.
Now, we were in the doctor¡¯s room, sitting on a bench as he asked us questions.
¡°And the bread you found was from a table outside the Balash temple?¡± he asked, sitting on his red chair, tablet in hand, writing on the screen.
To spare the boring details, I explained everything about the bread and the situation surrounding it.
He asked if I had eaten the bread. I lied and said no.
I didn¡¯t want him poking around my biology, trying to figure out why I wasn¡¯t ¡°affected.¡±
Huh. Now that I think about it, it¡¯s strange that I wasn¡¯t affected.
I had stomach pains, but once I applied my healing aura, it stopped almost immediately.
That doesn¡¯t make sense. I had gotten Perstu before¡ªa disease spread by sharkcrow feces. My body healed each time, but the condition worsened quickly until my immune system could kill off the disease.
So, it¡¯s odd that my healing aura negated the mutation effect of the bread.
Maybe it was the reaction caused by the ether in the healing aura or the properties of the bread itself.
Or maybe I just didn¡¯t get one of the bad batches.
Once the questioning ended, the doctor flicked his finger, summoning a monster¡ªa giant brain the size of a rhino, with a single red ¡°eye¡± in the center, likely non-functional due to its placement.
He said it was to analyze our bodies.
The doctor sat there, taking notes every few minutes. Sometimes, he would go a full ten minutes without writing anything down.
It took me a moment to realize what was going on.
Shared senses. He was seeing or sensing whatever the monster perceived from us.
He placed the tablet on the table, his face grim. ¡°All of their cells are corrupted. The mutation is slow in their bodies, but not in their brains. I¡¯ll do my best to maintain some sense of their former selves.¡±
¡°So, they can¡¯t be fixed?¡± I asked.
¡°They will never be the same,¡± he replied.
My gut felt empty, like a sudden black hole had opened inside me, and a chill ran down my spine.
I crossed my fingers and asked, ¡°But he¡¯ll survive? The child?¡±
He raised an eyebrow, his confusion apparent. ¡°Yes... your brother will survive.¡±
Natasha, who hadn¡¯t shown any emotion, asked, ¡°And how much will that cost?¡±
¡°To stop the mutation for twenty-four hours? Two silvers. I¡¯m offering a fifty percent discount.¡±
We didn¡¯t have enough for that.
Outside, Natasha and I stood in silence.
I asked her, ¡°How is it going to be paid?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±
Don¡¯t worry about it?
Then she asked, ¡°How would you feel if they died?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Never mind. Ignore the question.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
¡°No. You can¡¯t just ask that out of nowhere and say never mind. What do you mean by that? Why would you even ask that?¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±
¡°Oh for... Is the idea to just give up? That Punchio guy said he would help us. Sure, it¡¯s embarrassing as hell to ask strangers for money, but he offered.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to be in debt¡ª¡±
¡°We can worry about that later.¡±
¡°Child... you¡¯re getting too close to them.¡±
¡°What? What do you mean by that?¡±
She gestured to my left hand. ¡°You know what I mean. I want you to not hate them, but I don¡¯t want you getting too friendly with them.¡±
¡°You were okay with me interacting with Jer-kel and the others?¡±
¡°Is your memory short? You know why I agreed to that. The fact that you did it got us a lot of help.¡±
I stared at her. ¡°I¡¯m careful. Always.¡±
¡°No, you¡¯re not always.¡±
¡°Forget that. What did you mean by your question? You went from wanting to save them, especially Caren, to now¡ª¡± I threw my hands up in defeat. ¡°That sucks. Too bad?¡±
¡°Of course not. I just wanted to know... how you would feel. That¡¯s all. Asking it now was bad timing on my part. Sorry.¡±
¡°Well, how do you think I¡¯d feel?¡±
¡°Very hurt.¡±
I took a few steps back while facing her. ¡°Yeah. So I¡¯m going to get in contact with Lu¡¯jul. You¡¯re welcome.¡±
Natasha turned away and walked back into the office.
What the hell is going on in that woman¡¯s head?
Whatever.
Now to contact Lu¡¯jul...
But there¡¯s the issue of me not having a manual on all the system features.
''Contact Lu¡¯jul.''
I wasn¡¯t sure how I would be alerted that it worked.
''Can you hear me?''
One second. Two seconds. Three¡
Lu¡¯jul is not awake
Oh. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me...
I tried again, but the response was the same. I waited five minutes, then tried again, repeating this for the next hour. The result never changed.
Fucking hell, Lu¡¯jul, did you drink yourself to sleep after everything that happened today?
My fist tightened, and my toes curled and uncured with tension. I was so angry, I cussed under my breath, my mouth clenched shut.
Something my father used to do¡ I must¡¯ve inherited it.
Tch. If Lu¡¯jul isn¡¯t available, I guess I¡¯ll have to use other options. I just met Ferzan, so I don¡¯t want to ask him for money. But if my first choice doesn¡¯t work out, well, I¡¯ll have to swallow my pride and ask someone I barely know for help.
I ran my fingers through my brown hair and exhaled sharply.
Bahmos.
He was on a call earlier, talking about a Vlandos quitting. Hopefully, he hadn''t found a replacement yet.
But that means I need to reveal my identity¡ªand worse, my seal. He¡¯ll definitely want proof, and my seal¡¯s not the usual white ¡®M¡¯. Mine¡¯s a black spider.
I thought through the challenges:
Finding Bahmos.
Proving myself, without exposing the black spider.
Hmm¡ Maybe I don¡¯t have to show the seal. There are other ways to prove I¡¯m a Vlandos¡ªsuperhuman.
I began moving, looking for him, but I had no idea where he might be. The city was so vast, covering all the ground would be impossible in a day or two.
I asked random people if they¡¯d seen him, describing his appearance. Every time, I got a no.
Where would someone like him go? I wondered. I¡¯d guess shady business, but with the deaths of those three, he¡¯s probably shaken up. He might not head straight for his usual goal.
So, where would someone go if they were stressed about the deaths of those close to them?
To family, maybe? Or to a house of relief. But being in a city meant there were a lot of houses of relief.
Fuck.
I ended up just walking around, scanning every man¡¯s face, asking if they had seen him.
Eventually, I stumbled upon a house of relief¡ªa long, yellow building with double doors wide open for anyone to walk in or out. And there, standing in front of it, was Bahmos. He was lost in thought, like he was waiting for a long-lost daughter to suddenly appear.
I walked up beside him and said, ¡°You¡¯re not going in?¡±
Inside, it looked like a church with benches, but that didn¡¯t seem to matter to him.
He looked at me, unbothered. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±
¡°Something important. I want to discuss it with you in private.¡±
¡°You lost?¡±
¡°No. It¡¯s about your job. You need a Vlandos. I know one.¡±
¡°Who told you that?¡±
¡°I heard you on the phone.¡±
¡°When?¡±
¡°When we were traveling on your lizard.¡±
¡°Oh.¡± He barely reacted.
¡°Don¡¯t you need a Vlandos?¡±
¡°What¡¯s that got to do with you? Why do you care?¡±
¡°You helped my family a lot. If it weren¡¯t for you, my brother and father would be dead.¡± I worked hard to sound emotional but not too much. Too much would be suspicious.
¡°That¡¯s something else.¡±
I wanted to pressure him into moving faster, but that would be insensitive. I didn¡¯t care about him, but I was the one asking for something. He didn¡¯t know that yet.
I said nothing and just stood there, my impatience eating away at me, though I kept a calm exterior.
People came and went.
Bahmos broke the silence and randomly asked, ¡°How are you holding up?¡±
¡°Um¡ Okay, mostly.¡±
¡°You¡¯re tough. Tougher than me.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure my family will survive, so I¡¯m not too worried.¡±
Obviously, that¡¯s a lie.
¡°I was thinking about what you saw back at that village.¡±
¡°Oh?¡±
¡°When I first saw something like that, I couldn¡¯t sleep by myself for days. Didn¡¯t leave my brother¡¯s side until he forced me to come here.¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t you just get your memory wiped?¡±
¡°Bad experiences desensitize you to future bad ones.¡±
¡°And someone like you needs to be very desensitized.¡±
¡°Got that right.¡±
¡°So, are you going to go inside or not?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think I have time. This Vlandos¡ªtake me to them.¡±
¡°¡ Is this some joke?¡± Bahmos asked me.
We were behind a cheap restaurant.
I had told him I was the Vlandos, and as you can imagine, he didn¡¯t take it well, thinking I was joking.
He shook his head, angry, then turned to walk away.
I grabbed his hand. ¡°I¡¯m not lying.¡±
He tried to jerk his hand away, but it didn¡¯t budge.
He was confused and tried again.
¡°What the hell¡¡± he muttered.
I asked, ¡°Do you still think I¡¯m just a regular child?¡±
Chapter 18: Level Requirement
Bahmos just stared at me, disbelief written across his face.
He asked, ¡°Is that some trick?¡±
Let¡¯s see how much stronger I am after those level-ups.
I grabbed him and pulled him toward me swiftly, then tossed him into the air. His body felt like a heavy backpack as I lifted him. He didn¡¯t go very high¡ªmaybe two meters at best¡ªbut I was still surprised when he didn¡¯t scream. His fear was palpable, though. As I caught him, I buckled under the weight slightly.
¡°Put me down!¡± he demanded.
I did, and he nearly dropped onto his backside, but he used his hands to steady himself, scrambling to regain his footing.
His chest heaved as he gasped for air, and he swallowed hard. ¡°Since when have you been one of them?¡±
¡°A week ago,¡± I lied.
¡°Oh. That doesn¡¯t sound too bad¡¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. I wouldn¡¯t have killed you in your sleep.¡±
¡°I find that hard to believe, but thanks.¡±
¡°I thought you weren¡¯t afraid of vlandos, since you hire them.¡±
¡°If a vlandos hates me, of course I¡¯m going to be afraid.¡±
¡°What do you need the money for?¡± he asked
¡°You already know, or at least have guessed.¡±
¡°I can borrow from your mother¡ª¡±
¡°No.¡±
He stared at me for a few moments, then replied, ¡°Too much debt is always a bad thing. Anyway, do you even have a monster?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Your level?¡±
¡°Currently, 10.¡± I was lying, of course¡ªdivided by two.
¡°No way. I felt the strength you used to throw me. You¡¯re maybe level four or six. But there¡¯s no way you¡¯re level ten.¡±
¡°How would you know?¡±
¡°I have a lot of experience with vlandos. Don¡¯t bother lying, but... if you actually are level 10, I¡¯ll hire you.¡±
¡°But I have a monster.¡±
¡°So do the people I do business with. Most likely stronger ones.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have time for it. I¡¯m strong enough.¡±
¡°Level 10 or nothing.¡±
¡°Where... would I meet you once I¡¯m done?¡±
¡°Back at that house of relief, most likely.¡±
I had to fight monsters. I wanted to avoid them as much as possible.
I felt my back, tracing the wounds where it had been torn apart. My fingers trembled, and I bit down on my lip to stop myself from remembering how close I had come to dying.
I walked away and approached a random person, asking, ¡°Where¡¯s the nearest monster zone?¡±
The old woman, leaning on her cane, turned toward me with mild surprise. ¡°Oh dear child, why do you want to know? Shouldn''t you be with your parents?¡±
¡°I just want to know for a geography map assignment I was given by my teacher. I¡¯m supposed to go around asking people questions and build a map of Terrafall based on the information I get.¡±
¡°Oh... Hm. Then maybe the Great Monster Forest. It¡¯s...¡± She pointed ahead. ¡°A couple miles into the Bellot Forest.¡±
Asking random people didn¡¯t seem like the best option anymore. I needed the precise details, so I could find the place with 99% accuracy instead of risking getting lost.
I walked away. Maybe I should just hunt animals to level up.
But monsters would obviously give me more experience. To reach level 10, I¡¯d need to take on powerful beasts in large quantities.
I guessed monsters far outclassed animals, and the last monster I killed had only given me two level-ups. Animals like wild lizards would probably give me a tenth of a level at my current strength.
Not bad, but not good enough.
A few adventurers passed by, walking up and down the street. I could ask them about the monster zone and see if they¡¯d be willing to team up.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Except, it was illegal to enter monster zones without working for a defense government agency¡ªKnights, Vanquishers, or Adventurers.
Out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention.
A child, much taller than me, but still with a child¡¯s face, was armored and walking alongside a much bigger adventurer.
So adventurers don¡¯t need to be adults? That shouldn¡¯t surprise me. Whatever, it didn¡¯t change anything for me.
Who can I get to help me out?
I tried calling Ju¡¯lus through the system, but got the same response. The bastard was asleep.
Who else could I rely on?
Oh...
Ferzan. I had no idea where he was, but someone like him probably lived on an estate.
Hopefully, he hadn¡¯t left the city yet.
I took a deep breath and made my way toward a likely place. I just had to hope it would be soon¡ªnot next week.
And, of course, I had to hope he had a white-knighting bone in his body.
POV: Ferzan
I stared into nothing, waiting for the girl to pick her earrings.
I shouldn¡¯t be here, but here I was.
It¡¯s not like I even knew her. She was just persistent about me taking her out on a date.
I didn¡¯t want to be an asshole, so I went along with it.
But now it felt like this was happening every damn moment I was in this city, and it was annoying.
One of the workers at this jewelry shop had been staring at me anxiously for a while now.
I turned and waved at him. ¡°How¡¯s your day?¡±
¡°G-good. And you? See anything you like for yourself?¡±
He wasn¡¯t the only one looking at me like I was royalty¡ªbasically, the entire shop was.
I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the shop owner was on his way over.
¡°I think this one¡¯s perfect,¡± the lady said, holding up gold earrings shaped like two small swords, forming a ¡®t¡¯.
¡°Looks nice on you,¡± I said before walking out, practically escaping.
I came to this city to get some caffeine since the stock at home was gone.
I was honestly shocked when I checked the cabinets and the warehouse, which contained enough supplies to sustain us for years.
My sister was always experimenting and studying, so she was probably the one responsible for this.
¡°Hey, Young Star!¡± A random construction worker waved at me. As his crew turned to face me, they all smiled and waved.
¡°How¡¯s your day?¡± one of them asked.
It wasn¡¯t unusual for them to try and get me to meet their daughters, no matter their age. Even those with only sons tried the same.
¡°Young God, can I take a picture with you for my daughter?¡±
I quickly muttered that I was busy and speed-walked away.
I used to hide my identity, but my grandmother absolutely hated it.
I still remembered that one dinner in Yellowbrim Country, the land of the Starlights. When she found out that every time I left my dad¡¯s estate, I dyed my hair and wore a mask, she looked at me as though I had killed my sister in cold blood.
My grandmother, a beautiful blonde woman who looked no older than thirty, sat at the end of the long black table. A plate of green ice cream, so cold it chilled the air around it, sat in front of her. She set down her spoon, which was filled with ice cream, and said firmly:
¡°You will not hide from others. You will allow yourself to be seen, heard, loved, desired, and hated by all.¡±
If it had been anyone else telling me such an absurd thing, I would¡¯ve scoffed. (Except for my grandfather, parents, and trainer.)
I had already gotten what I wanted, so all I needed now was to hit my level-up quota for the day.
I started running, hoping to avoid anyone trying to stop me for greetings.
When I reached the gates, to my surprise, the brown-haired little girl was standing there, seemingly waiting for someone. Or maybe for me.
She went from calmly looking around to locking eyes with me, sighing in relief.
Is she lost?
I walked up to her. ¡°Waiting for someone?¡±
¡°Yeah, you.¡±
...
Eh?
¡°Oh, why¡¯s that?¡±
¡°Can we talk in private?¡±
I placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke with sympathy. ¡°Did your parents tell you to do this? Or someone who''s taking care of you?¡±
She looked confused, almost offended. ¡°My mother doesn¡¯t believe in child marriage, and I¡¯m not being trafficked.¡±
...Oh.
I pulled my hand back and assessed her. ¡°So... what do you want?¡±
¡°Private¡ª Oh wait. I know something. I want to tell you something, but I need you to guarantee you won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±
¡°Yeah, sure.¡±
She balled her hand into a fist, her voice strong. ¡°Because if you do tell anyone, me and my family will be skinned alive, tortured, then killed.¡±
What the hell?
I quickly scanned the area. ¡°Are they watching right now?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±
I wanted to just finish my quota, but things had changed.
To make matters worse, she was coming to me with this, despite not seeming to know who I was.
She probably recognized me because of my hair and eye color. I was from Starlight and the Starworth family, after all.
¡°Okay, maybe you can just whisper it to me.¡±
She met my eyes, and then a sudden, alien thought popped into my mind.
Vernisha Holinestone is trying to connect to you.
Oh. ¡°You are short for a¡ª¡±
¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡±
Vlandos? So that¡¯s what she was trying to keep secret.
I accepted the connection.
''You are short for a vlandos.'' I sent telepathically.
¡®Damn me for not getting the giant genes.¡¯
''Giant genes...? You haven¡¯t tried modifying your growth rates?''
¡®No? Am I supposed to?¡¯
¡°Basically, yeah. Haha. Ever seen a regular height vlandos?¡±
¡®I didn¡¯t know there were regular-sized ones. Wait, why would anyone get bigger if it would just out them as a vlandos? That doesn¡¯t make sense. Are you messing with me?¡¯
I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ''Somewhat. It¡¯s complicated. But let¡¯s focus on the important stuff. Did you only want to tell me you¡¯re a vlandos?''
¡¯It¡¯s related to it. Basically, I want to level up so I can protect myself.¡¯
¡®That could be troublesome. Killing animals and leaving their carcasses is very illegal.¡¯
¡¯Killing monsters should be fine then.¡¯
¡®Are you an adventurer?¡¯
¡®I mean this respectfully, and not sarcastically at all: what do you think?¡¯
¡®No. That¡¯s why you came to me?¡¯
¡®Yes.¡¯
This was getting stressful.
I looked at her hard, my thoughts a tangled mess.
¡®What about those who threaten you? I could just kill them. That would be easier.¡¯
She looked surprised as if struck by something unexpected.
Was it because I was willing to put myself at risk?
I elaborated. ¡®I¡¯m strong, very strong, so I wouldn¡¯t be at risk.¡¯
¡®Oh. I¡ just want to learn to protect myself. I don¡¯t want to grow up relying on others.¡¯
¡®But this is different. Your family¡¯s life is at risk.¡¯
¡®You¡¯re right, but what happens when you kill them, and their families and friends come after you¡ªor me¡ªfor revenge, thinking I did something to provoke it?¡¯
She had a point.
I clicked my tongue. ¡°You must follow my rules, though.¡±
¡®Telepathy, please. I don¡¯t want you to say something wrong. But, thank you! And yes, I will do my best to not get you in trouble for your generosity.¡¯
¡®Of course.¡¯
Chapter 19: Great Monster Forest
POV: Vernisha
I walked alongside Ferzan to the wall gate. The guards didn¡¯t question him when he said I was going out with him.
The massive metal gates swung open, and the guards bowed as we left.
''Are you a prince or something?'' I asked telepathically.
_''Ha. No. You really, really have no clue who I am? Not even a little?''_
_''Should I?''_
''I¡¯m the grandson of Eren Starworth.''_
I stopped in my tracks, staring at him, baffled. A scoff escaped me, followed by a short laugh. _''Isn¡¯t that hearsay or something? Can¡¯t that get you executed?''_
''If I¡¯m lying, yeah.''
''I found that hard to believe.''
''Why? You know he had children, right?''
''Obviously. But their wives never survived pregnancies.''
''My mother is Abella Starworth. She¡¯s... different from other women.''
''Okay, now I know you¡¯re fucking with me. You want me to believe your mother is Abella and your father is the son of a Mortal God?''
''Is that really so hard to believe?''
''Yes?!''
''I¡¯ll show you my mother one day, and my father when he comes back.''
''You sure you¡¯re not just a prince?''
''I prefer demigod.''
''Demi-demi god if you¡¯re not lying.''
He chuckled. _''Well, whatever. Doesn¡¯t matter.''
He stretched out his arm, and from his thumb, a mass of light burst forth. It twisted and morphed into the shape of a giant white bird¡ªone with no eyes.
Then it opened its beak.
A massive black eye stared at me from inside its throat.
What the flying fucking hell.
"Why are monsters always so creepy?" I complained.
"You expect monsters not to be¡ monstrous?"
"God, I hate that you have a point. But they could at least look moderately ugly instead of nightmare fuel."
He shrugged. "My sister used to say the same thing."
"Half-sister?"
"Why would you think that?"
"I¡ I don¡¯t know. Just thinking, what are the chances of your mother surviving two pregnancies from a demigod?"
He exhaled. "She¡¯s sick because of it. So, no, she didn¡¯t really ¡®get away¡¯ with it."
"Oh. Sorry to hear that. I wasn¡¯t trying to say she was supposed to die or anything. It just... came out that way. I apologize."
"It¡¯s fine. I know you¡¯re in disbelief, not being cruel."
"Yeah¡ I¡¯m still not convinced, but I¡¯ll drop it."
He smiled and gestured at his monster with a tilt of his chin.
The creature¡¯s feathers were razor-sharp, curling unnaturally, as if they had a mind of their own.
He asked, "Think you can jump on its back?"
"Yeah."
He leaped onto the bird with ease.
The bird lowered its back.
...Okay, I might have overestimated myself.
I jumped, but nearly overshot, heading straight for the ground headfirst. He caught me by the ankle.
"Nice jump," he said, oozing sarcasm.
I clutched the feathers and used them to pull myself up behind him.
The bird flapped its wings, and as I glanced down, I spotted something horrifying¡ªmassive, jagged teeth protruding from its feathers.
What the fuck.
With a powerful beat of its wings, the creature took off, soaring straight toward the forest.
The wind made it impossible to talk, so I switched to telepathy. _''What¡¯s your rank?''_
_''Adventurer rankings?''_
_''Yeah.''_This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
_''I¡¯m not an adventurer. What made you think I was one?''__
''Uh¡ because you¡¯re a Vlandos and have a monster.''
''Oh. I just kinda do what I want. It¡¯s not causing trouble for anyone, so no one really makes a big deal out of it.''
''That¡¯s insane.''
''Really? When you have a big name, you can get away with a lot.''
''I¡¯ll remember that so I can smuggle all kinds of drugs into Terrafall and become a kingpin.''
He chuckled. ''Okay, maybe not that.''
''How¡¯d you know?''
''Just a feeling.''
''Time to change that feeling.''
''You know, you could be one of the top comedians.''
''Wow, wow! Are you acknowledging my skills?! Maybe you should sponsor me.''_
''Don¡¯t say that as a joke. I might actually do it.''
''Just so you know, I respect you.''
''So me being willing to help you level up¡ªbreaking the law and all¡ªthat wasn¡¯t enough for you to respect me?''
''Hmmmm.''
He laughed, and we traveled in silence for a while.
Then he asked, ''Why do those people want to kill you if they find out you¡¯re a Vlandos?''
Of course, he¡¯d be curious about that.
''I don¡¯t know. I think they¡¯re my mother¡¯s family. Human supremacists. I guess they¡¯d be offended that I exist, like my presence alone dirties their name or ruins their reputation.''
''Damn. I¡¯ve never met one of those.''
''No damn way.''
''I¡¯ve heard of them, but never met one. You ever met Vlandos supremacists?''
''I think I¡¯d be besties with them.''
Silence.
Fuck.
I quickly added, ''I¡¯m joking. Joking! My family are humans, and so were most of my old friends. There is human hatred in my bones.''
''Humans really treated Vlandos that bad in this modern age? I always thought it was exaggerated.''
''Spend some time in villages far from the cities. You¡¯ll see what happens when laws aren¡¯t enforced. They govern themselves however they want.'' I responded.
''Like the Wild West?''
''No, nowhere near that bad.''
Wait. How did he know that term? I thought
I asked, ''What does the Wild West mean?''
''Basically, whatever goes. Lawless land, that kind of thing.''
''Really? Is that a common phrase in this city?''
''I don¡¯t have a clue. I rarely come here.''
''Oh. So where did you hear it? I just really like learning new things and their origins.''
He shrugged. ''That¡¯s a good question. I am not sure.''
Damn. I didn¡¯t get it.
He asked me, ''You want to get taller?''
''That¡¯s such an out-of-nowhere question, but yes. Make me tall, magic man.''
''Then just desire it. Your mod points will be spent on it.''
''Can I also make my eyes super strong with it?''
''Huh?''
''I¡¯m wondering if they modify everything about me.''
''Oh. You can¡¯t alter your body beyond what¡¯s humanly possible.''
''Damn, so I can¡¯t grow three hands.''
''Haha. No. But you can change your pupil shape and color.''
''I can make my teeth extra sharp?''
''You would need to pull out your current teeth for the new row to replace them.''
''I think I understand how it works now. So how long will it take for me to become 6¡¯9?''
''You will have to find out yourself.''
¡®Hm. You mentioned before that the height of the vlandos was complicated. What¡¯s the complication?¡¯
''As you grow, you would expect to keep growing. That expectation and desire will consume the mod points, making you taller. So it¡¯s between passive and active.¡¯
¡®Oh. So if a vlandos never gained levels while growing up, they would turn out the same height as a regular person?¡¯
¡®Probably? I never cared to ask too many questions about how it worked.¡¯
¡®I see¡¡¯
I didn¡¯t think I actually wanted to be crazy tall. I had been around 6¡¯1 back on Earth, and I had hated it.
But eh, I had only hated it because of how much harder it had made dating¡ªtalk about playing on extra hard difficulty. Well, that and how insecure it had made me, envious of average-height girls, those who could freely wear high heels.
Fuck me. I had hated being tall and the thoughts I had because of it.
¡®If I had been shorter.¡¯
¡®I wish I had been her height.¡¯
But whatever. The blowbacks of being a tall woman on Earth had mainly had to do with dating. And lucky me, that had been the least of my concerns now.
I guessed it was the old but strong feelings about being tall that had me conflicted about becoming a thin she-hulk.
---
Ferzan stood up and raised his voice. ¡°We have finally reached the zone!¡±
I looked down and saw the front of a semi-spherical white-blue barrier covering what seemed to be the entire forest ahead.
The giant bird descended, and we dismounted, landing on the dry dirt track instead of the grassy sides.
I asked, ¡°The monster zone is that thing?¡±
¡°Pretty much.¡±
¡°How big is it? It seems huge.¡±
¡°About one hundred and twenty-two square miles.¡±
I couldn¡¯t visualize that size for the life of me, but I was sure it was pretty big.
We walked toward the massive dome.
My heart beated faster.
Ferzan moved in front of me and said, ¡°Send your monster out, and don¡¯t drop your guard for a second.¡±
I put my hand behind my back and released the monster so the black flash wouldn¡¯t be easily seen.
My monster took form behind me.
He asked, ¡°What was that?¡±
¡°The monster seal flash¡?¡±
¡°Hm. Okay.¡±
The fauna inside the barrier looked much wilder and larger. It was like everything outside but on super steroids and comic book radiation.
A group of yellow mushrooms growing on a rotting log outside the barrier were maybe the height of my hand. But the mushrooms on the same log inside the barrier were half my height, with additional mushrooms growing on top of them in spiraling clusters of green, blue, and black, some even glowing.
I pointed at them. ¡°The zones have that effect on everything?¡±
¡°Anything that¡¯s living.¡±
¡°That means us too¡?¡±
¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t worry, nothing will happen to us.¡±
¡°I hope so.¡±
His bird monster flew ahead, and we stepped into the monster zone together. The moment my foot crossed the barrier, I felt sudden pricks against my skin.
Ferzan didn¡¯t react, so I assumed it was no big deal and stepped in fully. Now my entire body felt the sensation, but it didn¡¯t hurt.
Weird. I suddenly felt better. Not health-wise, but as if my energy was being restored¡ªthe same kind of energy that had been draining when I had used my healing skill.
I coughed up black liquid, filling my hand with it.
My chest burned intensely.
I flung the liquid away and wiped my palm on the grass.
Ferzan noticed and asked, ¡°Why are you coughing up black¡ blood?¡±
¡°I ate monster flesh. It¡¯s difficult to explain.¡±
¡°Things were that bad for you?¡±
¡°Yes¡¡± I honestly felt bad for lying so much to him, especially when he had been nothing but generous and helpful.
He stepped closer. ¡°How long have you been infected with Malertaria?¡±
¡°A day.¡±
He stood in front of me and brushed the air, shaping it into a liquid-like form, an eclipse of shifting water.
He plunged his hand into it, making his arm vanish, and pulled out a vial of white liquid.
Removing the cap, he filled it and handed it to me. ¡°This should help, but it¡¯ll hurt a lot at first.¡±
I took the cap but hesitated. ¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Medicine. It kills dangerous viruses but also normal cells¡ªjust not as many as the viruses.¡±
I threw the liquid back and swallowed. My throat burned, and the taste of bitter, spoiled rice dirtied my tongue.
I coughed. ¡°That tastes disgusting. What the hell is in it?¡±
¡°I have no idea, but it¡¯s sold in drug stores, so it¡¯s safe to take.¡± He turned forward.
I stayed close as we walked. ¡°Where are the monsters?¡±
Suddenly, something zipped toward my face.
I panicked, raising my arm to shield my neck.
Something struck me¡ªsharp, like multiple knives.
My arm barely blocked the attack, but I paid the price in pain and blood.
I looked down. A strange black spider clung to my flesh¡ªits body covered in feathers, bird-like wings flaring.
I seized the creature and wrenched it off my arm.
Chapter 19.5: Joy of The System
Its tongue shot toward my eye like a spear, but a hand grabbed it.
Ferzan.
He threw it into the air for his bird monster to incinerate with a fire beam.
I nearly died from something so damn small? Oh my god!
I gripped my wounded arm, instinctively preparing to heal it, but stopped short. Ferzan had seen me get hurt, and no amount of excuses would fool him¡ªunless he was stupid, but I didn¡¯t think he was.
The pain was almost unbearable.
¡°Let me see the wound,¡± he said, his tone calm but firm as he gestured to my arm.
He pulled out a medical kit the size of a briefcase from his inventory. The kit was a stark mix of white and green, with an image of hands surrounded by a vapor-like energy symbol in the center.
I squeezed my injured arm tighter to stop the bleeding, my voice strained as I asked, ¡°Can you store anything in that magic circle?¡±
¡°It¡¯s a pocket space, called ¡®personal pocket,¡¯ and technically, yes,¡± he answered casually.
¡°Cool. How do I summon mine?¡±
He grabbed a roll of bandages from the kit and answered, ¡°By leveling up a lot.¡±
I groaned in frustration and pain. This was bullshit.
Ferzan handed me a healing elixir and told me to drink a finger¡¯s worth (an absurd way to measure liquid), then sprayed my hand with a small green bottle. The spray hurt at first, but it dulled the majority of the pain.
Now, it just felt like a moderately painful cramp. Still bad, but not hellish.
He wrapped my arm up carefully.
Once he finished, he asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use your monster when it attacked you?¡±
"I didn¡¯t think of it.¡±
¡°You haven¡¯t fought with a monster before?¡±
¡°Only once. I don¡¯t have much experience with them.¡±
¡°For now, try relying on your Shuralene for everything, like it¡¯s literally an extra limb. Do that until you can command it instinctively.¡±
¡°I call it Mon. Also, why was that spider so quick? I fought a monster once, a really big one, and it wasn¡¯t this fast.¡±
¡°Maybe the big monster didn¡¯t think it needed a surprise attack to kill you.¡±
Oh.
Ferzan looked ahead. A black worm the size of a large dog stared back at us, its back covered in a long fin.
A toothless, perverted grin stretched across the worm''s grotesque face as it shot toward us, its body coiling in a blur of motion.
Kill it!
Mon was a streak of shadow, leaping forward with blinding speed, crashing into the worm with the force of a battering ram. They collided head-on, muscles tensing.
The worm didn''t even have a chance to react. Mon''s claws tore into its neck, sinking deep, and the creature let out a guttural squeal, its body thrashing in vain.
Burn it with your [fire spit]
Mon¡¯s jaws snapped open, a gush of flames erupting from its mouth, engulfing the worm''s head. The air crackled with heat as the creature writhed in agony.
But the flames didn''t relent. The screams began to falter, fading as the fire consumed it entirely.
Then the worm monster collapsed. Dead.
Level 6.
Hm.
"I don''t like fighting on the sidelines. I want to be in the thick of it," I told him.
"You have a weapon?"
I pulled my knife out. "This one¡¯s enhanced, gives me a 5+ strength buff when I hold it."
"Fair enough."
He pulled a black knife from his inventory and tossed it to me. I caught it.
[+7% strength]
He then said, ¡°I¡¯d suggest avoid getting touch. You lack any amor so anything will kill you.¡±
¡°Got it. I think I want to capture some monsters. Hopefully, not the super horrifying ones.¡±
I looked up. Perched on a branch was a black bird with four wings, its eyes red.
I gripped both knives, gaining a total of +13% strength. It felt incredible.
I dashed forward, Mon running alongside me. The bird screeched and dove at me, its body glowing.
I immediately stopped.
Mon, Fire at it!
Mon hesitated for a second before unleashing a barrage of fireballs. The bird shot straight through them, barely fazed, heading straight for me like a missile.
I barely managed to dive aside as it crashed into the ground, its talons digging into the dirt.
Not wasting a second, I kicked it with all my strength, sending it tumbling. My dagger flashed as I slashed at its wing¡ª
The bird¡¯s beak detached with a snap, shooting toward me like a bullet. I flinched back, but not fast enough¡ªpain burned across my cheek as it grazed me.
Gritting my teeth, I drove my knife into its wing. The bird screeched, and its other wing glowed before it swung at me.
I jumped back, but the attack still sliced my arm. The bird screeched again, preparing to take flight.
System, what are Mon''s skills again?
[Flame Claws]
[Strong Charge]
[Fire Spit]
The bird¡¯s body pulsed with light. It was about to strike again.
Mon! [Strong Charge!]
Mon¡¯s body glowed red before it launched forward like a cannonball. It crashed into the bird¡¯s side, slamming it into a tree with a loud bang.
The creature collapsed.
I stepped forward and placed my hand on its chest.
Mon, cover my hand.
Mon moved in close, pressing its broad, heated body against me. Its claws curled around my wrist, covering my hand completely.
A black flash erupted between us, swallowing the bird whole.
It was over.
Ferzan looked on, impressed. "Want a serpent too? It¡¯s behind you."
A chill ran down my spine. I spun to the side just as a blur of blue lashed toward me.
Water slashed through the air where I had just stood. I landed in a crouch beside the creature¡ªa serpent. Its body was liquid trapped in a thin, translucent membrane.
Mon! [Strong charge]
It reared back, then fired a pressurized stream of water straight at me.
Mon [strong charged] in front of me, taking the full brunt of the attack. All the pain it took flowed into me.
I slipped to the side. Its eyes followed me, weighing whether to stop its attack on Mon to target me.
I closed in on it, ready to strike its chest, but then the stream stopped, and its tail glowed. It whipped the tail toward me.
[Fire spit!]
Before the tail could strike, Mon hit the snake in the face with a fireball. Stunned, the snake screeched, giving me enough time to stab it and grab its head, tumbling to the ground.
I called Mon over. It rushed in and bit down on the snake¡¯s tail just as it was about to coil around me.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
The snake writhed in pain, struggling to free itself. Minutes passed, and my muscles grew tired... Then it gave up.
Mon, cover me.
Mon released its grip on the tail and placed its chest on my hand. The flash came, and the snake was sucked into my palm.
I lay on the ground, exhausted. "This is so tiring¡ But to ask again, the modification points only affect the way my body changes, right? So I can''t just make myself stronger right now?"
¡°They affect the structure of how your body builds itself. It¡¯s like working out. After a night, you¡¯ll feel stronger.¡±
¡°Great... I think I¡¯ll put them into speed.¡±
Modify my speed, 10 modification points.
Modification in progress. The changes will take effect after you¡¯ve rested for 8 hours. You''ll gain 3 more points in speed stats.
System tell me my stats.
Strength: F8
Combat Speed: F7[]
Traveling Speed: F8[]
Endurance: F7
Defense: F9
Mind: F8
For each level, I gained two mod points. I also assumed that the brackets meant the stats were being modified.
I glanced at my bleeding arm, then turned to Ferzan. "It''s kinda weird. I think I like this."
"The adrenaline?"
"No. I just think... using my powers and exploring it. It''s kinda cool. It sucks I don''t have time for it."
"You''ll have time when your problem is done."
I half smiled. "You''re right."
We ventured deeper into the forest, where a massive purple flower swayed gently in the wind. Its petals pulsed as if breathing.
"Are there any animals here?" I asked.
Ferzan shook his head. "No. Monsters fear monsters, and animals associate ether with monsters. The monster zone, it''s just a sphere of ether energy."
I nodded, then spotted movement ahead. A goblin¡ªif it could even be called that. Its skin was blackened like charred wood, its eyes and jagged teeth burning with fire.
It dropped onto all fours and lunged.
Ferzan reacted instantly. Space twisted for a moment, forming a watery eclipse. He pulled a sword from his personal pocket.
"Try to keep up," he said, dashing forward.
I tried. I really did. But he was too fast.
The goblin leaped high, flames trailing from its limbs. Fire rained down.
I barely dodged, rolling to the side. Mon, protect me!
Mon jumped in front of me, blocking another fiery strike before launching fireballs with [Fire Spit].
The goblin landed in front of Ferzan, slashing down with burning claws. He blocked with his sword, then kicked it back. It snarled and lunged at him again¡ª
A powerful gust slammed into it from behind. Ferzan''s bird monster hovered in the air.
"Your turn!" he ordered.
I dashed in. Mon followed.
The goblin was already rising, embers flickering from its cracked skin. Its fiery eyes snapped to me¡ªthen it lunged.
I barely twisted aside as claws raked past, the heat searing my skin. The goblin landed, spun, and pounced again.
Mon, charge!
Mon crashed into its leg mid-air, knocking it off balance. I seized the opening, driving both daggers into its throat.
It shrieked, thrashing violently. A blazing fist slammed into my ribs, hurling me back. Pain exploded through me as I skidded across the ground.
I gasped, gripping my side. The goblin staggered, gurgling, flames sputtering from its wounds¡ªbut it wasn''t finished.
It lurched forward, dragging itself toward me, its body smoldering. Its fiery teeth bared as it lunged one last time.
Mon, Super Charge!
Mon¡¯s body flared red as it dashed forward, slamming into the goblin¡¯s ribs. The impact sent it crashing to the side.
I forced myself up, yanked a dagger from its throat, and drove it back in, deeper.
The goblin howled. Its mouth burst open, erupting flames in all directions.
I barely reacted in time, hurling myself aside as a wave of fire scorched the ground where I¡¯d been. Heat licked at my skin, my breath ragged.
The goblin convulsed¡ªthen, finally, it collapsed.
Personal level: 8
Ferzan smiled. "Nice work."
I collapsed to the ground, taking in deep breaths.
"Huh... give me a second." He pulled a small, flat device from his pocket. As soon as he tapped it, it unfolded into a hand-sized pyramid, vibrating in his hand. He pressed something on it and started speaking. A fancy pyramid communicator.
I struggled up and stepped away while Ferzan was distracted, looking for more monsters.
Once I had gained enough distance, I placed a hand over my side, and arm healing the bigger wounds. Then my rib cage, where the goblin''s fist had slammed into me.
Not too deep. I could lie about it. And since Mon and I shared health, healing myself restored it too.
I didn''t have to go far.
A walking flower stood ahead, its petals curled inward like a bud. It almost looked cute¡ª
Then it saw me.
Thick roots wrapped around its body like armor, and from its back, new flowers bloomed¡ªspinning violently before launching toward me like whirling saw blades.
Mon! [Fire spit] for defense!
Mon shot larger fireballs this time, colliding mid-air with the spinning flowers. I dashed to the side, feeling faster than before.
I wanted this one. The flame goblin would have been nice, but Mon was already a fire-based monster. I had to play it smart since I could only capture a limited number of monsters at the moment.
The flower monster twitched, then suddenly slammed into the ground like a missile¡ªvanishing.
I froze, scanning the area.
A second later, pain exploded in my neck.
I gasped, stumbling back, hands flying to my neck¡ªwarm blood gushed between my fingers.
The damn thing had burrowed under and appeared from behind.
I pressed my hands on my neck, trying my best to heal it as fast as I could.
Mon, keep firing!
Flaming projectiles rained down on the creature, but it kept vanishing in the ground and reappearing, striking from unpredictable angles.
I was getting frustrated.
I needed more firepower.
Then¡ªMon stopped. It tried to spit another fireball, but nothing came out.
Out of ether.
The flower monster was tired too. It burrowed again. I spun, ready for it¡ª
It shot up beneath Mon instead.
Mon yelped as it was launched into the air. A second later, agony shot through my stomach. I doubled over, vomiting.
I had enough. My neck was almost done healing too.
I run after Mon, throwing stones at the flower monster to keep distance.
Fortunately it worked. The monster zipped around to evade the stones.
I slammed my hand against the red tailless shark, absorbing it back into my seal. The pain dulled immediately. I touched my stomach, healing it.
Then I summoned my bird.
Fresh pain flared in my chest and arm¡ªits previous injuries carried over to me. I grit my teeth and grabbed it, healing it first. My ether reserves drained, leaving me lightheaded.
But I still had enough ether in me.
System. Skills.
[Deep Dive]
[Hard Wing]
[Beak Bullet]
Perfect.
The flower monster gasped for breath¡ªits energy clearly waning. But then, from the back of its body, flowers bloomed, their petals spinning at a furious pace.
The creature was exhausted, but it was determined to fight back.
Before I could react, the monster launched the flowers at me, a storm of deadly blades coming at me from all sides.
I run, weaving through the flying petals, barely escaping the deadly onslaught.
"Go up!"
My bird shot up in the sky.
The monster observed my bird flying high into the sky. It launched another barrage directly at my bird, the petals screeching through the air.
My bird monster darted to the side¡ªbut the flowers changed direction mid-air, seeking it out with frightening speed. And it was starting to catch up.
My bird monster got hit, cutting deep into a shoulder. A cut also appeared on my shoulder.
Hell with it. I can''t make my bird tire it out completely.
Go in for the attack now. [Deep dive]
The bird monster glowed before diving straight down like a comet. It dived straight through the heart of the oncoming blades, a comet of light cutting clean through the storm, leaving a wake of destroyed petals as it tore into the monster.
The impact broke through the flower monster, shredding its roots and slamming it into the dirt.
It twitched but didn''t get up.
I walked over. it was in a really bad state. My right hand glowed red as I touched it, barely healing it.
The forest was recovering my energy, ether, really fast, so I wasn''t lighthearted again.
Pressing my left palm to its body, a black flash engulfed it, and it was absorbed into my seal.
Four monsters now. That was my limit.
I let out a breath and leaned against a tree. The cut on my shoulder was still there, bleeding.
I healed some of it, but not all. I didn¡¯t want to look too suspicious, like I wasn¡¯t hurt at all. And I didn¡¯t want to heal too fast¡ªgetting lightheaded was the last thing I needed, even though the forest was already helping me recover at an impressive pace.
It realized something. The more I leveled up, the more I could heal. I guess I was just storing more ether now.
Then I saw movement again.
I grumbled under my breath and wanted to scream in frustration. Just why couldn''t I get a break?
A cat-sized blue ant, its body made of shifting water, skittered toward me.
I barely dodged its lunges. My dagger sliced it again and again, but it felt like cutting through liquid.
"[Deep Dive]!"
My bird launched itself into the air, then shot down in a blur. The ant reeled back, screeching as its body split apart.
Silence.
Then¡ª
Personal level: 10 Forwing level: 6
I collapsed onto my back, breathing hard.
[Choose a Life Buff:]
[Inspect - Allows scanning of levels. Cannot detect levels twice your own.]
[+10% Durability]
I grinned. This was awesome. This was what I was missing in my life. All this cool shit!
***
System, spend eight mod points on durability.
Modification in progress. The changes will take effect after you¡¯ve rested for 6 hours. You''ll gain 4 more points in durability stat.
The fact that speed took more time to modify surprised me at first. But when I thought about it, it made sense. Speed affects everything¡ªhow quickly I move, react, and even how fast I think. Durability, on the other hand, is more about withstanding damage and resisting wear.
As I walked back to Ferzan, he was sitting, his expression serious as he spoke into his device. A few seconds later, he ended the call.
He glanced at me.
I smirked. "Level 10."
Chapter 20: Natasha, mother or—
He smiled and nodded in astonishment. "That''s pretty cool. I was a bit worried when you went off on your own, but you seem to be extremely good at this."
"I adapt fast. What can I say?" I twirled my bloodied daggers, mocking a few slashes in the air. "I¡¯m curious¡ªare these weapons made from some kind of material that cuts through monsters easier?"
"Not sure. I think they¡¯re just forged from incredibly tough metal, but they also have status effect skills sealed into them."
I glanced down at the daggers, rolling them between my fingers. "I see, I see."
Ferzan watched me for a moment before asking, "Do you still want to continue? My bird spotted a monster that might interest you. It''d be useful for traveling."
"Oh, right!" I nearly lit up with excitement before sighing. "But I¡¯ve already captured four monsters. From what I¡¯ve heard, that¡¯s the limit."
He thought for a second before saying, "Give me the ugly shark one. I¡¯ll store it at my monster farm for you."
"Holy... but that one''s my strongest right now."
"It¡¯s a common-rarity monster. The one I have my eye on is uncommon¡ªan Earth-body type. You need the bird for full aerial vision, and the snake has great agility with solid racial skills¡ªit just seemed stupid when it fought you. What else did you capture?"
"Some kind of flower monster. It attacks with petals."
"Oh! Twirlflower. Sneaky attacker. Yeah, that one¡¯s a keeper. Good for ambushes."
"Damn. Alright. How do I transfer it to you?"
He extended a finger. "We make contact. You¡¯ll get a system prompt, we confirm. There are other ways, but this is the best one."
Damn it.
I hesitated. "My left hand is disfigured, so close your eyes. And tell your monster not to look."
"Oh, okay." He turned away and shut his eyes. His monster, still high in the sky, averted its gaze, likely still fixated on the traveling monster he had spotted.
Taking a breath, I reached for his finger and pressed my palm against it.
[Ferzan Starwort is requesting your monster, nicknamed [Mon], be transferred to him. Do you accept the request?]
Yes.
A flash of black and white surged between us.
[Transfer successful.]
I pulled my hand back instantly, shoving it into my pocket.
Ferzan opened his eyes. "Alright. Let¡¯s go. Oh, wait, I¡¯m curious¡ªwhat life buff did you go with?"
"Inspect."
One minute later.
"FERZANNN!"
I tore through the dense forest, weaving between towering trees and grotesque, oversized plants. My feet barely touched the ground as I leaped over fallen branches, boulders, and twisted roots.
A massive purple cabbage¡ªalmost my height¡ªshriveled into tight rolls as I passed. It reeked like a rotting rat. Weird.
But not as weird as the monster chasing me.
A beast with a heavily crustacean-armored body, shaped like a bull, barreled through the forest behind me. Its speed was ridiculous, its charge a straight, unrelenting path of destruction. Trees, boulders¡ªnothing slowed it down.
I didn¡¯t want to die. Not like this. Not this easily.
It was barely a meter away. I risked a glance over my shoulder and activated Inspect.
Level 10
Same level as me.
The armored bull lunged¡ªonly inches from striking. I grunted Now.
Out of nowhere, my bird monster dove from the sky in a blur of motion.
[Deep Dive.]
A sharp cry pierced the air as its talons raked across the bull¡¯s exposed joints¡ªone of the few areas unprotected by its thick shell. The beast¡¯s leg hyperextended, and it stumbled, crashing into the dirt with a thunderous roll.
I didn¡¯t waste the opening.
Spinning on my heel, I struck at its limbs with my daggers.
The blades sank into its hide¡ªbut stopped at the muscle.
Ferzan was right. Monsters were, on average, four times stronger than a Vlandos of the same level. But this? This was absurd.
"I¡¯ll handle it," Ferzan said.
Before I could respond, his massive bird plummeted from the sky, talons outstretched. In a single, devastating motion, it snatched the monster up and shot skyward, shaking the treetops with its sheer force.
I shielded my eyes against the sunlight, squinting as I followed its ascent. And then¡ªsomething fell.
The bull monster.
It slammed into the ground with a deafening thud.
"Nice shot," I said.
"Thanks."
I approached the wounded monster, watching as it struggled to stand. "By the way, if you could¡ I don¡¯t like people watching when I seal a monster. So, uh, yeah. Look away."
"You did it in front of me before¡" He sighed and turned away. "Okay."
With him and his monster facing elsewhere, I pressed my left hand against the bull¡¯s hide.
A black flash engulfed it.
Absorbing it into my seal was¡ straining. Like trying to lift something far heavier than I could handle.
Because we were the same level, my control over it would be weak¡ªbarely existent.
"Alright, I¡¯m done."
Ferzan turned back to face me.
I couldn¡¯t tell if he was pitying me or judging me. Either way, I damn well wished I didn¡¯t care.
For a fleeting moment, I considered saying my seal was on my private area. It would¡¯ve been a solid excuse.
But heaven forbid that rumor ever spread. If people actually believed it¡
I¡¯d either have to tame a monster capable of mass memory wipes¡ªor mass murder.
¡°Okay. I want to level up just a bit more,¡± I told him. ¡°Think I can reach fifteen?¡±
¡°Hm... Just aim for thirteen. I¡¯ll help by injuring the monsters and leaving the final kill to you. It¡¯ll take longer since you¡¯re at level ten, but it¡¯s important that your control over Crusbull doesn¡¯t harm you.¡±
¡°Right. Can I test it out, or would that be a bad idea?¡±
¡°Bad idea.¡±
I sighed and turned to Forwing, giving a silent command. The bird took off from a tree branch and landed on my right shoulder, its talons digging into my skin just enough to sting.
And so, I followed his lead. His massive bird beast unleashed blasts of wind, knocking out monsters, while I moved in for the final strike.
It was slow progress. After slaying six monsters, all between levels four and six, my experience bar barely budged. It took six more kills before I finally reached level eleven.
The moment I finally did, my knees buckled, and I had to catch my breath. Level fifteen was out of the question. No shot.
We pressed on, and after two grueling hours, I reached level thirteen. But I wasn¡¯t happy.
It felt like I was dying.
My body¡ it felt sick. A wave of nausea churned in my gut.
I dropped to my knees and vomited. The world spun violently, my vision blurring at the edges.
This can¡¯t be from the virus-killing elixir he gave me. I¡¯ve been secretly using my healing skill to balance my health.
¡°I¡¯m sick¡¡± I muttered.
He leaped down from his perch and helped me stand. ¡°How bad is it?¡±
¡°Everything¡¯s spinning. My vision¡¯s blurry, and I feel like I¡¯m going to throw up any second.¡±
¡°Oh...¡± His expression shifted, brows furrowing in concern.
¡°Did you accidentally poison me?¡±
¡°No. You¡¯re just experiencing level sickness. I made you level up too fast.¡±
¡°What the hell...¡± My hands curled into fists. Why do I get rewarded, then punished, for killing the scum of this world?Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
¡°Do you want to rest here until you feel better?¡±
¡°Please. How long will this last? I already feel like I¡¯m dying.¡±
¡°Maybe¡ two or three hours.¡±
¡°Ugh¡ and if I level up again during that time, would it get worse?¡±
¡°What do you think?¡±
POV: The Doctor at Sundawn
I ran my hands under the faucet for the past hour.
I didn¡¯t understand what they had brought to me.
It made no sense¡ªthe way their cells constantly changed. It would have been manageable if it were just like cancer, something that could be cut away.
But whatever they had? Every single cell in their body reproduced corrupt copies. How the hell was I supposed to save them?
I made it clear that I couldn¡¯t cure them, but that didn¡¯t stop my mind from racing.
I left the sterile white bathroom and wandered back toward the medical room. My hand hesitated on the doorknob when I heard voices inside.
The man was apologizing in his sleep, over and over.
Unlike usual, the woman responded.
¡°What is wrong with you? Sorry this, sorry that. Who the hell are you even apologizing to? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s annoying?¡±
Of course, he wasn¡¯t conscious, so he didn¡¯t stop.
I cracked the door open slightly, just enough to see inside.
She stood at his bedside. His murmurs faded into whispers, then shifted.
¡°Sorry for not being...¡± The rest was lost.
She froze. Her body stiffened like a statue. Then, without another word, she turned to Ulah.
He lay on a cold, white metal bed. She sat beside him and took a deep breath.
The boy muttered something. I couldn¡¯t recognize the language; it didn¡¯t sound real.
She gently took his hand, and his rambling stopped. His face twisted in pain.
A choked sound escaped him before he whispered, ¡°Mammy...¡±
She leaned in close, whispering something into his ear.
A sudden coldness filled the room. It was like winter had arrived in an instant.
What the hell?
I tried to breathe, but my lungs refused to obey. My chest tightened, air strangled from my throat.
She fell silent, then abruptly turned, her gaze meeting mine through the narrow gap of the door.
Shit.
My instincts screamed at me to close the door, but that would be too obvious.
I swung it open instead, forcing my trembling hands to remain steady.
I tried to sound casual. ¡°How are you holding up?¡±
She walked toward me. I took an involuntary step back.
She placed a hand against the side of my face. ¡°You didn¡¯t see anything. Oh, and please perform the surgery immediately.¡±
POV: Ulah
A minute before.
The strange black cat stood before me once again.
I didn¡¯t understand why. Why now, when I couldn¡¯t even move my legs?
It gazed over the scorched field, the sky thick with dark fog.
¡°What are you thinking?¡± the cat asked.
I didn¡¯t answer.
¡°Are you scared?¡±
¡°I just want my mom¡ and Vernsisha. I want them.¡±
I wanted them to take away the hunger. The thirst. The pain.
A sharp ache lanced through my gut, and I gritted my teeth, clutching my stomach with sheer willpower.
¡°Can you hear it?¡± the cat asked.
¡°What...?¡±
¡°That song you love so much.¡±
From the sky, a voice cut through the heavens, divine and sorrowful.
Balash wird fallen. Sie werden schreien,
Sie werden weinen, aber ich werde ihre Tr?nen genie?en.
Ich werde ihr Leid genie?en, daf¨¹r, wie sie mich verraten haben.
Mom. She was here.
She was always at my side.
Despite the pain, relief flooded through me. I was happy. Happy just to hear her sing.
I tried to mimic her.
¡°Balas¡ wird fillen...¡±
Again, and again, I repeated the words, each time trying to make them sound just right.
The cat asked me, ¡°Why do you want to learn that song? To sing it better?¡±
I looked at the cat. ¡°I want to do it for my mother. I want her to be proud of me, to smile at me¡ªthe same way she smiles at Vernisha. A smile that says I am worth the most important thing in the world.¡±
POV: Natasha
I walked through the streets, passing crowds of people.
''If they were to die, how would you feel?''
I remembered that question I had asked Vernisha.
I had expected her reaction, yet it still disappointed me. But I could only blame myself for how I had raised her.
At the same time, what else could I have done? Every parenting skill I had was learned by observing other mothers, trying to determine what worked and what didn¡¯t.
I had never been parented myself.
Mothers and fathers passed by, carrying their babies¡ªsome cradled against their shoulders, others strapped securely in sacks on their backs.
I didn¡¯t want Ulah to die, but as I saw it, my desires didn¡¯t matter.
That bread... I had been thinking about it for a while, and I doubted it was a coincidence.
A bread that caused horrible mutations¡ªbut had no effect on Vernisha.
I glanced down, and there it was, resting in my hand. The bread roll, warm yet oddly bitter to the touch.
I hadn¡¯t wanted to taste it, uncertain of its effects.
I did it anyway.
The flavor was unmistakable.
It tasted like my sister¡¯s ether.
Tch.
I didn¡¯t even want to think about her.
As I walked, I passed a Balash temple and stopped to look. The structure was painted in green and white, standing solemnly amid the bustling street.
Inside, at the center, stood a statue¡ªa fusion of everything. Stone, animals, people, monsters, sky. It was an amalgamation so chaotic it nearly seemed to represent nothing at all.
Blue water trickled down its surface, pooling in the concrete basin below.
Mercy water.
People sat on benches inside, listening to an educator recounting history and stories of Balash, a deity praised far too generously in my opinion.
A line had formed near the basin¡ªsick people waiting for their turn. A man in green and white robes dipped a long-handled cup into the water, pouring it carefully into their individual cups, offering healing, relief from pain and suffering.
Some would not be fully healed.
I hoped Vernisha¡¯s father and brother¡¯s deaths would serve as motivation.
She claimed she didn¡¯t care for her father, and I had long debated whether that was true. I still wasn¡¯t sure. But now, as things turned grim, I could only hope. And hope that her love for her brother wasn¡¯t deep.
I turned around and saw Bahmos. His expression was conflicted, as if he had been struggling with a decision for some time.
He asked, "Did you come to have your memory erased... too?"
I held his gaze, feeling the weight of the silence stretch between us.
I didn¡¯t need him anymore.
POV: Abella Starlight
I stood at the top of a long staircase, emeralds and jaspers lining the railings and balusters.
Tanisha leaned against me. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just call Ferzan and ask where he is?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think I need to.¡±
¡°My legs are killing me.¡±
¡°Then why haven¡¯t you taken a chair? I told you to an hour ago.¡±
¡°You¡¯re standing, so I¡¯m standing.¡±
The double doors swung open, pushed by two Punchio servants. My little brat of a son stepped lightly inside, moving as if he were a spy.
Tiptoeing, he made his way toward the steps, oblivious to our presence.
Tanisha announced, ¡°We can see you.¡±
He flinched and looked up. ¡°¡ I kinda had a feeling.¡±
¡°Why are you so late?¡± I asked.
¡°I was busy leveling up.¡±
¡°You disappeared for almost the entire day.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a little complicated,¡± he admitted. ¡°I went to get caffeine and, well... Granny is coming to the city tonight. I wanted to make her proud of my level.¡±
¡°By yourself? How many times have I told you not to enter those zones alone?¡±
¡°What does it matter? I¡¯m strong.¡±
¡°What matters is that anything could have happened to you!¡±
¡°Nothing ever happens to me.¡±
¡°Go to your room. Spend some time with your sister.¡±
"Kay Kay."
I went to my room and found Katie on the floor, watching a group of blue ants in a glass box.
¡°What¡¯s new?¡± I asked.
¡°Nothing. Professor Alox told me to experiment with ice ant acid and venom, so I¡¯m doing that.¡±
¡°What results are you supposed to get?¡±
¡°Beats me.¡±
¡°Hm. What do you plan to wear to the family dinner with Granny?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t even want to go.¡±
¡°Eh. But you must. You know Mom wouldn¡¯t let you stay home.¡±
¡°I know that. I just said I don¡¯t want to, not that I wasn¡¯t going.¡±
¡°You should be excited. It¡¯s your grandma.¡±
¡°Uh-huh.¡±
¡°She¡¯d want to see you happy to see her.¡±
She examined herself, as if searching for something lost. ¡°I don¡¯t see any monster seal on me, so that can¡¯t be the case. I hate when you act ignorant. It¡¯s like you see the sky is blue but still ask me, ¡®Is it red?¡¯¡±
I dropped to the ground, legs folded. ¡°Yeah¡ Sorry.¡±
¡°You shouldn¡¯t apologize. I just wasn¡¯t born lucky. Now, watch these ants with me.¡±
POV: Vernisha
The level sickness still clung to me, but not as fiercely as before. I could move. I could function.
Ferzan had dropped me off in the city, and since then, I¡¯d been searching for Bahmos. He was supposed to be at the House of Relief on this street.
But he wasn¡¯t there.
So I moved to the next one. And the next. And the next.
I searched and searched, but no matter how many buildings I checked, how many streets I scoured, I couldn¡¯t find him.
Why had he disappeared?
Shit. Just shit.
With no other options, I gave up and made my way back to the doctor¡¯s office. Natasha would have found a solution by now¡ªI just wouldn¡¯t like whatever she had come up with.
I found Natasha waiting outside the doctor¡¯s room.
¡°The payment has already been taken care of,¡± she said the moment she saw me.
¡°You paid it?¡±
¡°How else would it have been handled?¡±
¡°But where did you get the money?¡±
¡°A friend.¡±
¡°What friend?¡±
She exhaled sharply. ¡°You should be more concerned about your brother and father.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t just say that¡ªhow are they?¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±
Thirty minutes later, the door opened, and the doctor stepped out.
Sweat beaded on his forehead. His fingers twitched at his sides. ¡°Things have¡ complicated,¡± he admitted. ¡°Whenever I cut into their flesh, or even attempt any kind of procedure, their condition worsens. I¡¡±
Natasha cut in. ¡°Are you saying there¡¯s nothing you can do?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll have to try again, but not now. My monster control is exhausted.¡±
¡°Can we at least see them?¡±
¡°Yes, of course. They¡¯re even awake, and for now, they have control over their minds.¡±
We entered the room.
Caren lay on the bed, barely human. His body was swollen and green, his skin puffed and distorted¡ªexcept for his face, which remained eerily untouched.
His jaw moved as he tried to speak. The sounds that came out were incomprehensible, guttural gibberish.
She turned to me and said, ¡°We don¡¯t know yet¡ªbut maybe Vernisha can save you all.¡±
Chapter 21: A Life For A Secret Part 1
¡°How did you understand a word he said? And what do you mean by ¡®save them¡¯?¡± I demanded.
¡°He says he¡¯s glad to see you¡¯re well. And¡ he apologized to me. Said he¡¯s sorry. Anyway, I believe that since their body is no longer human, you can heal them¡ªrestore them to their original form without the feedback killing them.¡±
She refused to answer. Of course, she did.
¡°That can actually work? I¡ªI can really save them?¡±
¡°I think so. I¡¯m certain they won¡¯t die if you try.¡±
¡°But¡ how can you be sure?¡±
¡°Well, if you don¡¯t heal them, their condition will only worsen. And if I¡¯m wrong, you¡¯ll kill them. They¡¯ll die one way or another.¡±
¡°Hell...¡±
¡°You should prepare for anything.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t just prepare myself to get them killed!¡±
¡°Try, at least.¡±
¡°Give me something¡ some comfort. Anything. For god¡¯s sake.¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid of how their deaths might affect you.¡±
¡°And what about you? How would you feel?¡±
She looked at Ulah. ¡°I¡¯d feel terrible.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t sound too worried, mom. Always about me. Always me, me, me.¡±
¡°Are you going to try and help them?¡±
I took a deep breath and glanced at the doctor. Natasha waved her hand dismissively, and, strangely, the doctor obeyed, shutting the door behind him.
My heart raced.
My left hand glowed red, and I stepped closer to Caren.
I placed my hand on his face, and the energy drained from me as though it were being siphoned away.
Three seconds passed, the energy flickered, then surged back to life.
My control was limited, but he wasn¡¯t moving. It didn¡¯t matter.
It felt like an eternity, yet, his skin returned to a healthy tan.
I pulled my hand back. Caren stirred, his fingers twitching, then reaching for his chest.
Holy shit. ¡°It worked!¡±
¡°Ulah, next. Now.¡± Natasha ordered.
Healing Ulah was smoother. His body quickly returned to normal, but I was drained, exhausted.
¡°It worked.¡± Was it really that simple?
I sank into a chair. I¡¯d actually done it.
POV: Ferzan
I dressed quickly, slipping on a silver head covering, white shirt, silver pants, and a crimson sleeveless coat¡ªthe professional colors of respect.
I checked myself in the mirror. Lifting the head covering, I held it at my side, admiring my reflection.
Katie was already dressed in the same colors. ¡°You should wear the headscarf off to the side.¡±
¡°In public? I want to look like a young gentleman, not some thug.¡±
¡°A''ight.¡±
I adjusted it, this time leaving the sides and back of my head exposed, but covering the top and front.
I looked damn good.
¡°You¡¯re acting like you¡¯re about to go on a date.¡±
¡°I might see a cute girl in the capital.¡±
¡°I thought you liked dudes.¡±
¡°Do you just make up things and pretend they¡¯re true?¡± I muttered without looking at her.
I adjusted the head covering, making sure it concealed all my hair, except for the sideburns stopping just at my ears.
¡°I might spread a rumor about you. Save you from being married off to your cousin or aunt.¡±
¡°Ain¡¯t you the most caring sister?¡±
¡°Seriously, do you think that¡¯s why Granny wants us to have dinner tonight? So you can meet some woman twice your age?¡±
¡°It¡¯s for an evaluation of me as a Vlandos. You should be the one worrying about that.¡±
I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about that until I was two or three times older. By then, I¡¯d likely surpass level 100.
The higher a Vlandos level, the stronger their offspring would be.
Katie wasn¡¯t a Vlandos, but she was a second-generation descendant of a Mortal God. Her value was astronomical.
The other star families weren¡¯t even in their sixteenth generation.
¡°I¡¯d rather jump off a cliff.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t say such disgusting things.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll kill myself.¡±
The banter ended when Tarneisha opened the door. ¡°Miss Abella is waiting for you two.¡±
She wasn¡¯t joining us, dressed casually as usual.
¡°Are you going to be okay by yourself?¡± I asked her.
¡°Yeah. I guess I¡¯ll be playing puzzles until you two come back.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll get you something cool in the city,¡± I said as we headed for the door.
¡°Cooler puzzles.¡±
We made our way down the stairs.
The two Punchio servants opened the door for us. ¡°See you,¡± I said, waving to Tarneisha.
¡°Have fun,¡± she replied.
Katie turned to Tarneisha. ¡°Don¡¯t fall asleep without us.¡±
Mom¡¯s yellow hair, usually straight, was now styled in soft, curly waves that cascaded down her back, reaching her waist.
Her dress was a gentle blend of pale yellow and white. The bodice, a soft yellow, fitted her perfectly, while the skirt flowed out in flowing white layers.
¡°You look good,¡± I said.
¡°Thank you. You¡¯re dressed¡ well enough.¡±
¡°You¡¯re supposed to say something like, I look like a handsome young man. Or I look like my father.¡±
She said with her usually neutral demeanor, ¡°You look very handsome.¡±
I smiled brightly. ¡°Thank you.¡±
We were driven to Sundawn in a ether-powered Jeep. I tapped my thighs out of boredom, watching the city draw closer.
Soon enough, we arrived at Directa Restaurant, one of the city¡¯s most luxurious, owned by a man whose great-great-grandfather had supported the vlandos during the revolts following Valuza''s death.
Katie always said he was just trying to stay on the Vlandos¡¯ good side, in case one of them went off the rails and launched a genocidal campaign. If you asked her why, she¡¯d say it was what she would have done back then.
I exhaled. ¡°Mom.¡±
¡°What is it?¡± She asked, not turning to look at me.
¡°Nothing. Just felt like calling you.¡±
¡°Oh¡ Of course.¡±
¡°Mom.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
At the edge of my vision, something streaked across the sky, falling in chaotic bursts.
Wait¡ªwhat are those?
A shadow crashed down in front of us with a deafening thud, fracturing the pavement.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I kicked the door open and instinctively reached to summon a monster¡ªbut nothing happened. The sanctity fields, also called safety zones of the temples nullified my call.
The creature before us was grotesque, its green skin gnarled and monstrous. It stirred, rising to its full height¡ªeasily a meter taller than me.
It rasped, a garbled voice spilling from its shifting, inhuman mouth. ¡°Filthy¡ cultist¡ You are not mine¡ not my¡¡± Its face contorted, and then its entire body shuddered before splitting, forming a duplicate of itself.
A metallic shriek tore through the night¡ªmy mother had ripped the door off the front jeep.
"Don''t just stare¡ªrun!" she barked, then hurled the door like a knife.
The edge cleaved deep into the creature¡¯s flesh. It howled in response, its elongated arm snapping toward her like a whip.
She cursed, backpedaling. In a single motion, she tore open the back door and swung it to intercept the attack, deflecting the grotesque limb to the side. Then, with brutal efficiency, she sent the door spinning at its neck.
The head severed cleanly.
Katie scrambled out of the jeep, wide-eyed. "Mom¡"
"It''s okay," she murmured, staring at the twitching corpse.
The driver stood beside me, trembling.
"How is there a monster here?!" I demanded.
"I don''t know." My mother''s voice was calm, like it often was when she was public.
She rolled her shoulders¡ªa familiar motion, one she always did when pain from her illness clawed at her bones. Then she flinched, her gaze snapping up. Without hesitation, she kicked the jeep beside her, sending it flying forward.
The creature¡¯s stump of a neck bulged, flesh rupturing as another head began to form. Before it could fully emerge, the force of the jeep¡¯s impact sent it hurtling back.
But the mass of flesh only shuddered¡ªand divided again.
My mother exhaled sharply and reached into her [personal space], pulling forth a blue-and-silver lance.
The duplicates roared, then surged toward her.
I didn¡¯t waste time. I grabbed Katie and the driver and ran.
The original creature didn¡¯t follow. Instead, its distorted gaze scanned the area, as if seeking something¡ªsomeone. Its body tensed the moment it found its target.
I followed its line of sight. A small doctor¡¯s office stood in the distance. The same one where I had met Vernisha. Well it was in ruins...
Could she be near?
I swallowed hard, dropped to the ground, and crossed my legs.
Focus¡ focus.
I conjured the image of the Mortal Goddess in my mind, reached for her power.
With conviction, I whispered, "Wanda Starlight, reveal your starlight upon what is unknown to me. Show me¡ªwhere is Vernisha Holinestone?"
A dimness settled over the world. The sky pulsed. My mother swung her lance in a wide arc, steel glinting as she fended off the growing beasts. Then she turned toward me, sensing the shift.
A single bright yellow star shone above¡ªand a beam of light descended upon the doctor¡¯s office.
Just¡ great.
I sighed. "Thank you for your light."
The glow faded, the world returning to normal.
"Katie," I said, pointing. "When Mom''s done, tell her I¡¯m heading over there."
"Why the hell would you do that?! Leave it to the Knights!"
"Someone I know might be in danger."
I didn¡¯t wait for her response. I took off running.
A sudden blast of cold hit my back. I turned¡ª
The monstrous mass had been frozen solid, a towering sculpture of ice. My mother sat before it, lance resting at her side, eyes drifting onto the distant swarm of creatures.
POV: Vernisha
It all happened too fast. Even as I lay on the cold ground, a jagged pole skewering my stomach, my mind clung desperately to the moments before.
The chaos. The screams. None of it drowned out Caren¡¯s words, repeating over and over in my head.
I had healed them. I had watched as they stirred back to life. Ulah had bolted toward Natasha, clinging to her, sobbing into her chest.
Caren had lifted his hands, turning them over as if they were foreign to him. He flexed his fingers, blinking in disbelief. Then, slowly, he sat up, his eyes darting between us, a flicker of guilt and confusion crossing his face.
"Where¡ are we?"
"A private doctor¡¯s office," I told him. "You were all very sick."
"Oh." He frowned, rubbing his temple. "I remember¡ being insanely hungry. Thirsty."
His hand drifted to his stomach before his gaze settled on me.
"You look a bit dirty. Were you working on the farm?"
I forced a weak smile. "I just ended up falling a lot."
He chuckled, but the lightness faded quickly. His eyes flickered toward Natasha, his fists clenching¡ªnot in anger, but as if bracing himself.
"Natasha, you look¡ good. Are you well?"
"I think I am. You?"
"I¡¯m okay. A little weird still, but¡ okay." He exhaled sharply. "I just¡ I just want to say, I¡¯m sorry. I never really appreciated you. I was stupid. So freaking stupid. I didn¡¯t understand why you¡¯d be with someone like me, and that just¡ made me frustrated, I guess. I want you to know¡ªI¡¯ll treat you better. I mean that. I really do."
Natasha gave a small nod, then glanced down at Ulah.
Caren turned back to me. "What¡¯s on your mind?"
I met his gaze. "Just so you know, it was a Vlandos doctor who saved you."
He nodded slowly, then smirked. "Of course, that¡¯s what you¡¯d say¡"
"Thank Vernisha," Natasha said. "If it wasn¡¯t for her¡ªif she hadn¡¯t kept making friends with Vlandos one after another¡ªyou wouldn¡¯t be here in the capital, healed by one."
He looked genuinely surprised. His fists tightened, trembling slightly. His lips parted, then curled into a strained smile as he turned toward Ulah.
"And because of that¡ Ulah is okay¡"
His voice was hoarse as he muttered, "I was the old fool, huh? It¡¯s a good thing you ignored me back then. If¡ If Ulah had died because of the things I told you, that would have broken me." He swallowed hard and met my eyes. "Thank you, Vernisha. Thank you for saving your brother¡ and me."
I was stunned. My heart throbbed in a way I never thought it could for this man. The same man I never once thought of as my father.
I slowly nodded. I think being appreciated. He acknowledging he was wrong. I think... that made me happy.
I suppressed the weird strong emotions that were coming out of nowhere. "Yeah..."
I bit down on my lips, holding back the tears.
Then Ulah jerked back suddenly, clutching his throat. His sobs turned into strangled gasps. His skin swelled, darkening into a sickly green.
Natasha''s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then returned to a chilling neutrality¡ªlike she had been expecting this.
Panic surged through me. I darted to Ulah and placed my hands on him, flooding him with healing energy before the mutation could consume him. His body convulsed, his skin slowly returning to normal. He slumped into my arms, breathless, utterly drained.
Caren saw everything.
That wasn¡¯t a blunder of mine. I hadn¡¯t had time to think of some clever way to hide it¡ªnot when he was mutating so damn fast.
"Natasha¡ªMom," I stammered, my voice trembling. "How sure are you really?"
The realization struck me then. My power¡ªwas it truly healing? If their DNA was changing, then wasn¡¯t I just reinforcing that change? Restoring whatever was left of their normal selves?
I didn¡¯t think I was saving them. I was triggering something else. And judging by how fast Ulah had almost transformed, it wasn¡¯t good.
Natasha exhaled. "I don¡¯t think so anymore."
"How can you say that?!" I snapped. "Why were you so damn confident before?"
Caren stepped in, confusion and fear bleeding into his voice. "That red energy. Vernisha¡ Oh, what have you done?"
"This is different!" I shouted. "It heals! I healed you and him!"
His pupils split. His skin stretched grotesquely, his limbs swelling as though something inside was trying to tear free.
"The entire time¡ you were like that? You could¡ª" His gaze dropped to my left, to the bandages wrapped tightly around my hand. "Remove that."
"No."
"Remove it!"
"I said¡ª"
"He¡¯s going to die anyway," Natasha cut in coldly. "Show him."
I hesitated, my eyes flicking between them. Then, with a sharp inhale, I tore the bandages away, letting them fall limply to the floor.
I lifted my left hand, exposing my palm.
The black spider symbol.
Caren¡¯s breath hitched. Slowly, he shook his head, his entire body trembling. "No¡ No¡ NO!"
His scream ripped through the room.
"NATASHA! You knew?! You knew she was a darsean cultist?!"
"I am not a Darsean cultist!" I yelled. "I just have the same seal. That¡¯s all!"
Natasha remained still, her expression unreadable.
Caren¡¯s face twisted as his body swelled further, the grotesque mutations overtaking him. "You¡ are a devil. No wonder you loved me. No, you never loved me... You aren¡¯t even human."
And then, his body swelled.
His skin stretched, muscles bulging grotesquely as his form expanded beyond human limits. The floor cracked beneath him, walls groaning under the pressure. Ulah¡¯s body reacted too¡ªan uncontrollable chain reaction warping everything around us.
"I will kill you!" His voice echoed, the last words I heard from him¡ªwords that carved themselves into my mind.
Perhaps I was a hypocrite. I had wanted him dead, yet it hurt to hear him say he wanted the same for me.
I had accepted that he would hate me if he knew I was Vlandos. But this? He thought I was a cultist.
And that hurt more.
Ah¡ what the hell.
The broken remains of the ceiling rained down, but I couldn¡¯t move. My body was too weak, drained of ether. Then, from nowhere, a long piece of iron shot through the air, piercing deep into my stomach.
My vision blurred.
I was so low on ether that even if I removed the pole, I would just bleed out.
Above me, Caren twisted and split into unnatural clones, his monstrous form darting across the wreckage, searching.
I wondered¡ªif I killed the original, would the others die too?
I doubted it would be that easy.
They loomed over me, towering more than five meters tall, their gait unsteady, as if they might collapse with every step. Then one of them saw my face.
¡°You¡¡±
Shit.
I gritted my teeth and tried to shove the debris off me, but the slabs of broken stone and metal must have weighed over six hundred pounds. My arms trembled with effort as I pushed. They barely shifted.
I reached for my monster, willing it into existence, but all I got was a weak black glow before it flickered out. Something was blocking it.
The footsteps behind me grew heavier, each one sending vibrations through the ground, rattling my bones.
I fought harder, pressing with both my arms and legs, but the weight refused to budge.
¡°Argh!¡± I screamed in frustration. Just get off me!
A shadow fell over me.
¡°You freak¡¡± Caren stood barely a meter away.
I froze. My muscles seized, cold panic shooting through my veins like ice water.
¡°Fuck¡ you.¡± My voice cracked, raw and desperate. ¡°I am your daughter, Caren!¡±
The words spilled out in a frantic rush. I wasn''t sure why I said that. I hated that man... so why did I feel so betrayed?
¡°Are you really going to kill me?! How can you even think I¡¯m a cultist? I¡¯m just twelve! A little girl!¡±
He stepped closer, his presence suffocating, the sheer weight of him making the ground tremble beneath me. I felt it through my spine, through the cold metal still lodged in my body.
¡°I am your DAUGHTER!¡±
Without a word, he seized the massive debris pinning me down, and hurled it aside like it weighed nothing. Then his hands closed around me, ignoring the pole still impaling me.
¡°You are not my daughter.¡± His grip tightened, ribs groaning under the pressure. ¡°You¡¯re just a freak... something that should''ve never existed.¡±
Chapter 22: A Life For A Secret, Part 2
"Look at me!"
Caren stopped squeezing and turned toward the voice.
I could barely breathe, my ribs feeling like they were on the verge of shattering, but I recognized the voice.
Ferzan.
A disc device embedded into Caren¡¯s face and elbow, and they detonated with a violent explosion.
Ferzan screamed as his arm swung down, moving like a puppet whose strings had been severed. His fingers opened, and I fell to the ground. The impact hurt, but it was nothing compared to the blood pouring from my body.
Caren, now enraged, stomped and jumped around like a furious child throwing a tantrum.
Ferzan landed beside me, holding a glass vial filled with a red liquid.
"Shit..." He pulled the pole from my stomach, tilted my head back, and poured the liquid into my mouth. He pulled it out after a few seconds, but I only swallowed a fraction of it¡ªmaybe a quarter. Too much could be poison, after all.
He hoisted me up and ran, and Caren gave chase, yelling, ¡°Come back here!¡±
I could feel some relief, though. The blood loss still weighed on me, but at least I wasn¡¯t as weak as before.
In the distance, I saw armored Vlandos fighting Splits riding war falcons¡ªenormous brown and white birds that had nearly driven the wild horses in Terrafall to extinction.
Ferzan noticed my gaze and tried to reassure me, speaking as if I were a child. "Don¡¯t worry. Those knights will keep us safe."
I struggled to speak, my voice barely a whisper. "He¡¯s chasing us..."
We sprinted past panicking civilians, and Ferzan bolted into a nearby shop, shattering the glass doors with a powerful kick. He ran across the broken glass without a second thought. I didn¡¯t understand his decision.
The building shook violently. Caren was trying to break through.
Ferzan threw another explosive disc, blowing apart the wall ahead of us.
I needed ether. But at least my bleeding had slowed.
I moved my hand, testing its strength. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but it was enough to stand on my own again. I felt as if I had just woken up¡ªnot at full strength, but it was better than nothing.
We exited the shop. Old-fashioned jeeps weaved through the chaos, indifferent to the people they brushed aside.
Ferzan was clearly stressed, sweat pouring down his face.
¡°Up!¡± I shouted, and he looked up just in time to see Caren charging toward us like a cannonball.
Ferzan pressed me against his shoulder and leaped sideways with a powerful bound.
He struggled to regain his footing. Caren¡¯s form compacted, and in an instant, his arm stretched to twice its length and whipped toward us.
Ferzan shifted my position, holding me tighter against his stomach as he turned, bracing for the impact with his back.
We were sent hurtling through the air before crashing into a building, the wall cracking beneath our bodies.
Ferzan dropped to the ground but was up in a heartbeat¡ªlike he¡¯d barely been hurt.
I scrambled to my feet, pulling the black knife from my pocket and unsheathing it.
¡°Vernishaaaaaaaa!¡± Caren screamed, splitting into multiple forms again.
Ferzan cursed under his breath. ¡°Freaking hell. These are what you were worried about?¡±
I was almost confused by what he meant. Then I remembered the lies I told him to get him to help me.
¡°It¡¯s complicated... I¡¯ll tell you later, but he¡¯s my father. Help me kill him!¡±
That bastard thought I wouldn¡¯t fight back? That I would just let him kill me?
¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± Ferzan asked, eyes wide.
¡°Do you have any ether recovery items?¡± I asked desperately.
Caren¡¯s face bubbled with new eyes as he surged toward us. His voice was a guttural hiss, as if it had been rotting for years. He muttered my name like a curse.
¡°But we can¡¯t use monsters! Don¡¯t you see that?¡± Ferzan snapped, frustration creeping into his voice.
"I know!" I yelled. "Just give me anything if you have it!"
Caren and his duplicates charged. Ferzan pulled a green pill from his [Pocket space] and tossed it to me.
I swallowed it in one motion. In that moment, Caren¡¯s neck stretched, and he bared lion-like fangs at my throat.
Ferzan swung his sword at the neck, cutting deep.
The fangs were almost at my neck, but I managed to jump aside. I traced my blade down its neck to its stomach, fighting against the thick muscles resisting my strike.
If only it weren¡¯t so much muscle and fat, I might reach its organs.
But it didn¡¯t matter.
The lower half of its body began to swell and shift, growing into a massive hand that aimed to crush me.
I darted to the side, narrowly escaping his grasp, but he snatched a fistful of my hair.
With a brutal jerk, he swung his hand up, ready to hurl me through the air. Instinctively, I clamped down on his wrist, sinking my teeth into his flesh and wrenching it with the ferocity of a wild animal, my knife stabbing deep into the vulnerable skin.
Caren¡¯s scream rang in my ears, but my actions only fueled his rage. My body was moments away from being sent flying, but I acted quickly, slicing off a portion of my hair with a desperate swipe.
The momentum threw me, my body skipping across the ground until I crashed into a carriage chained to a nearby pole. My head was injured, blood pouring freely, and my arm screamed in agony.
I braced myself, pressing my hand through my torn shirt to grip my arm beneath the sleeve, healing it just enough to dull the pain to a manageable throb.
Without hesitation, I leapt to the side, anticipating Caren''s descent from above.
I realized my dumbass mistake¡ªhe wasn¡¯t diving at me. Instead, he was charging forward, adjusting his course with terrifying precision.
His hand reached for my throat, and I thrust the knife upward, aiming for his neck.
Our movements collided¡ªhis hand clamping around my neck just as my knife found its mark.
For a brief moment, his eyes widened with shock, the pain from the blade sinking into his flesh igniting his fury. His arms swelled grotesquely, the force surging within him.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
"Y¡ou¡" he gasped. I seized his arm and healed it.
The moment I did, his bulging muscles returned to normal. He stared at me in confusion, but I didn¡¯t waste a second. I struck again, aiming for his neck.
He released my throat with a growl, jumping backward. I chased after him, my focus only on him, pushing all thoughts of Ferzan to the corner of my mind.
"Don¡¯t touch me!" Caren shrieked, his voice a mix of fury and desperation.
¡°Fuck you!¡± I snarled, propelling myself forward with a lethal leap, my hand reaching for his neck once more.
He pulled his head back just in time, narrowly evading my strike, but my aim hadn¡¯t actually been his neck. It had been his foot.
As I hit the ground, I launched myself at his leg. His body was thrown off balance by the recoil, his foot within my reach. I healed it quickly, the damage reversing, the balance shifting in my favor.
His foot now lagged, shorter than his other knee, and he stumbled, collapsing with a feral roar.
I couldn¡¯t slow down. I had to act fast, before the mutation accelerated and he became something worse.
My knife plunged into his back, the sensation of slicing into his flesh sickening. I pulled it free, thrusting again at his spine, the grotesque tearing of muscle and skin reverberating through me.
It felt as though my body was no longer mine to control, though I knew I was the one driving it. The sound of his screams, the sticky warmth of his blood, the sickening crunch of his bones¡ªit all sent a shiver of disgust through me.
But I couldn¡¯t stop. I couldn¡¯t hesitate. He mutated again, his feet and arms swelling, growing far larger than they should have been.
It didn¡¯t matter anymore. His body was paralyzed.
¡°You¡¯re killing me¡¡± His voice was a broken whisper, tinged with fear and tears.
Blood stained my arm and soaked my dress. My hands trembled violently, teeth clattering like I was standing in the freezing cold.
But I couldn¡¯t think about it. I had to finish this.
I pressed my hand to his neck, my voice cold, almost detached. "I always hated you. But, at times, I respected you. And whenever I didn¡¯t hate you, I hated myself for it. Did you know that?"
"Get away from me¡" His voice cracked.
"I asked! Did you know that?!"
He stared at me, his eyes vacant, as if he couldn¡¯t comprehend what was happening.
"Say something, you fucking rat! Are you scared now, knowing I¡¯m doing to you what you would¡¯ve done to me for no reason at all?"
¡°No reason? You¡¯re... you¡¯re a freak.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a freak!¡± I snapped, my voice rising with fury. ¡°What did I ever do to deserve that? Name one thing.¡±
¡°You... you gave your life to the man who hates us all. You serve him. You''re a Darsean cultist. I... I wish you were never born.¡±
A cold wave crashed over me, settling into the pit of my stomach.
My heart tightened, the weight of his words sinking in. A chill crawled up my spine. I never thought I¡¯d hear this from him, not like this, not in his final moments.
My mouth opened, trembling, the words caught in my throat. I thought, maybe, as he neared death, he¡¯d reveal some kind of truth, that maybe he cared, even if it was buried deep down. That maybe, just maybe, he hated that he had to do this to me, but he felt forced to.
"F¨Cfuck¡ y¨Cyou¡¡± I choked on my words, before my hand tightened around his throat. I healed it, revealing a small human white neck, then thrust the knife forward, slicing through his neck with one swift motion.
His gurgles filled the air, his blood pooling around us.
Personal level: 17
I looked around¡ªdead bodies littered the ground, children, women, men, all lifeless. Some people staggered away, clutching at their wounds, their blood staining the earth.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Ferzan dispatching the last clone with a brutal swing of his massive axe. The head fell to the ground, darkening and withering like poison spreading across the earth.
Ferzan breathed heavily, his armor untouched, save for a trickle of blood running down his face. He caught my eye.
¡°You¡¯re okay¡ Oh.¡±
I didn¡¯t answer him, my gaze still locked on Caren¡¯s lifeless body.
His eyes moved to the body beside me, and I guessed he noticed my trembling. He walked over. ¡°Hey, you did what you had to¡ªhe tried to kill you.¡±
I knew the words I longed to say. I wanted to tell him I didn¡¯t give a damn¡ªthat I had always wished for his death. After all, he wasn¡¯t even my real father. Yet the words failed to leave my lips. Instead, I stammered, ¡°I''m okay... I''m perfect even.. I¡ª¡±
He sat beside me, his arm going around my shoulders, ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Just¡ don¡¯t.¡±
POV: ULAH
I no longer felt hungry or thirsty. Everything felt real¡ªlike walking through a field of ice cream, swimming in it, building a castle out of it. Everything felt perfect. Right. Good. I wanted to feel this way forever.
The ice cream figure, shaped like a woman, seemed to scream in pain as I squeezed her. Her body melted into mush, and red juices flooded my mouth. I stuffed the melting treats in, chewing and swallowing them.
There was so much food around. I knew Vernisha and Mom would have saved me, but I hadn¡¯t expected this. I was happy. Really happy. Yet each time, something felt off¡ªlike a piece of me was breaking away, though it felt strangely good.
I spotted a small ice cream man running toward a building. I chased him¡ªstomping him, rolling him into a ball, and hurling him into my mouth. I chewed on him, his texture like honeyed gum.
¡°Ulah.¡± I recognized the voice and immediately turned. It wasn¡¯t an ice cream figure at all¡ªit was the same black cat. Normally, I might have ignored it, but I was too caught up in my bliss.
I waved. ¡°Hey! You want some ice cream too?¡±
¡°I thought you liked bread,¡± it said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that why the corn plants had bread on their tops?¡±
¡°Hmm? I guess so. But ice cream is better. Have some!¡±
¡°Too much ice cream is dangerous for your health. You should stop eating it, or you¡¯ll get diabetes.¡±
What was its deal? I clicked my tongue and brushed it off. ¡°Go away if you don¡¯t want ice cream.¡±
I looked around for more when suddenly¡ª¡°Agh! My neck!¡± An ice cream man riding a flying ice cream bird had slashed deep into my neck. My flesh regrew quickly, and once again, my body split into countless fragments.
The cat spoke again, now approaching. ¡°You should stop, or you¡¯ll die.¡±
¡°I told you, leave me to eat my ice cream!¡± I shouted.
¡°You will be killed.¡±
¡°No! Leave me alone, or I¡¯ll eat you!¡±
It stared. ¡°I see¡ªyou just want to do whatever you want.¡±
¡°Obviously. What do you think?!¡±
¡°I¡¯m annoyed. I¡¯m bothered that I don¡¯t want you to die, even though I no longer care how your death might affect Vernisha.¡±
¡°Wait¡ you know her?¡±
Then the cat dissolved like smoke and vanished.
I stared, and then I heard a song:
¡°Balash w¨¹rde fallen. Sie w¨¹rden schreien, sie w¨¹rden weinen, aber ich w¨¹rde ihre Tr?nen genie?en. Ich w¨¹rde ihr Leid auskosten, denn sie hatten mich verraten.¡±
Mom?!
I tried to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen¡ªthe voice was close. I chased after it, ignoring the buildings in my path as I climbed over or skirted around them. The closer I got, the further the voice seemed to drift.
¡°Sowohl Balash als auch diese Welt w¨¹rden f¨¹reinander b¨¹?en.¡±
Yet I was close. I was sure of it.
¡°Mom!¡± I shouted.
It felt like I ran forever until a wall blocked me. I punched it, but it didn¡¯t budge. Instead, my arm was blown off, and a surge of electricity scorched my neck.
¡°Ich hasse sie mehr als alles andere. Sie sind das B?se selbst, sie sind Monster.¡±
The gates loomed ahead. A knight stationed there kicked them open and moved aside¡ªnot out of fear, but to gain a better angle to attack me.
I didn¡¯t care. I ran after him. I needed to become smaller¡ªshrink!
My body fragmented into countless pieces that raced alongside me. A longsword slashed toward my neck like a lightning bolt before I could react. But then he froze. I couldn¡¯t understand his sudden stillness, and I pressed on.
¡°Dies ist meine Stimme. Das ist der Wunsch, den ich an euch weitergebe, meine Kinder. Meine wundersch?nen T?chter. Bitte, tut also, wie ich euch bitte. Denn ich liebe euch alle ¨¹ber alles und w¨¹rde euch niemals verraten. Niemals. Selbst wenn eine von euch mich verr?t, werde ich euch alle weiterhin mit Liebe ¨¹bersch¨¹tten.¡±
I had run into the forest, my heart pounding, until I finally saw her. Mom. But she didn¡¯t look like ice cream this time.
Her clothes were torn and stained, blood dripping from deep cuts across her skin. She was sitting on a rock, her hand pressed to her forehead as if trying to block something inside her mind.
¡°Mom?¡±
She didn¡¯t look up right away. ¡°Ignore the blood. Ignore the wounds. They aren¡¯t your fault.¡±
¡°Who hurt you?¡± My voice cracked before I could control it, the question feeling hollow as I asked.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Her words were softer, distant. ¡°What do you see me as?¡±
My breath caught. ¡°My mother.¡±
Her gaze met mine, and for a moment, she just looked at me, like she was searching for something. ¡°So I¡¯m not food to you?¡± Her tone was almost wistful, like a memory that hurt.
¡°Ha...? That¡¯s not funny.¡±
I swallowed, but suddenly, my stomach ached, an emptiness so vast that it was almost unbearable. My throat felt tight, dry.
Mom slowly rose from the rock, her movements slow and deliberate, like something heavy weighed her down. ¡°That song you sing so beautifully... I¡¯ve always thought you have such a pure voice. I only wish my own mother could¡¯ve loved you the way I¡¯ve come to admire you. Truly, I wish that.¡±
For the first time, I saw something in her eyes that I couldn¡¯t understand. Pain, maybe, or regret. She ran a hand through her hair, and for the first time, she looked just like Vernisha¡ªfrustrated, helpless.
I felt a knot form in my chest. ¡°What do you mean?¡±
Her gaze flickered away, then back to me, and her voice softened, almost broken. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to kill you. I¡¯m sorry. But I¡¯m glad you were born into this world.¡±
She pointed at me, and that¡¯s when it happened. Her skin cracked like dry earth breaking open, peeling away in slow, deliberate layers. Dust. Her skin faded away, and beneath it, I saw only blackness. Darker than anything I had ever known.
I gasped, feeling fear coil in my gut, my breath catching in my throat.
But before I could say anything, before I could even react, everything below my neck simply disappeared. Gone, as though it had never been there at all.
Gravity returned with a shock, but I didn¡¯t fall. I was still suspended, floating, as she glided toward me, her hands reaching out to catch my head.
Her hair, dark and thick, surrounded her face like a curtain, fanning out in every direction. Then, her real face appeared, as it had always been, soft and familiar. Her smile, gentle and warm, returned.
It wasn¡¯t creepy. It wasn¡¯t false. It was the same smile she always gave Vernisha, as though she meant everything to her. As though Vernisha was the most important person in the world.
...I was getting that smile?
I was.
...I was as precious as Vernisha to her... I was the most important thing in the world to her?
Yeah... I was.
Tears welled in my eyes/ A wave of warmth spread through me, filling every part of my being, and I couldn¡¯t stop the sobs from escaping. I didn¡¯t want to. This was the happiest moment of my life.
¡°I love you, my child,¡± was the last thing I heard.
Chapters will resume tomorrow.
I have been working on the outline of Arc 2 for a couple of days. I finished writing the outlines for the chapters a minute ago(I often make a general outline for the arc, and then adapt it into chapter outlines. (just has more detail)). So, I should start posting again by tomorrow, or on Thursday. It depends if I get new ideas, or want to revise some stuff, see a plot hole for later arcs, etc.
It''s a relatively short arc, but has quite a bit of setup for later arcs, and other essential character stuff, thus me not wanting to rush making it.
this is just to reach the needed work count.
I have been working on the outline of Arc 2 for a couple of days. I finished writing the outlines for the chapters a minute ago(I often make a general outline for the arc, and then adapt it into chapter outlines. (just has more detail)). So, I should start posting again by tomorrow, or on Thursday. It depends if I get new ideas, or want to revise some stuff, see a plot hole for later arcs, etc.
It''s a relatively short arc, but has quite a bit of setup for later arcs, and other essential character stuff, thus me not wanting to rush making it.
I have been working on the outline of Arc 2 for a couple of days. I finished writing the outlines for the chapters a minute ago(I often make a general outline for the arc, and then adapt it into chapter outlines. (just has more detail)). So, I should start posting again by tomorrow, or on Thursday. It depends if I get new ideas, or want to revise some stuff, see a plot hole for later arcs, etc.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
It''s a relatively short arc, but has quite a bit of setup for later arcs, and other essential character stuff, thus me not wanting to rush making it.
I have been working on the outline of Arc 2 for a couple of days. I finished writing the outlines for the chapters a minute ago(I often make a general outline for the arc, and then adapt it into chapter outlines. (just has more detail)). So, I should start posting again by tomorrow, or on Thursday. It depends if I get new ideas, or want to revise some stuff, see a plot hole for later arcs, etc.
It''s a relatively short arc, but has quite a bit of setup for later arcs, and other essential character stuff, thus me not wanting to rush making it.
I have been working on the outline of Arc 2 for a couple of days. I finished writing the outlines for the chapters a minute ago(I often make a general outline for the arc, and then adapt it into chapter outlines. (just has more detail)). So, I should start posting again by tomorrow, or on Thursday. It depends if I get new ideas, or want to revise some stuff, see a plot hole for later arcs, etc.
It''s a relatively short arc, but has quite a bit of setup for later arcs, and other essential character stuff, thus me not wanting to rush making it.
I have been working on the outline of Arc 2 for a couple of days. I finished writing the outlines for the chapters a minute ago(I often make a general outline for the arc, and then adapt it into chapter outlines. (just has more detail)). So, I should start posting again by tomorrow, or on Thursday. It depends if I get new ideas, or want to revise some stuff, see a plot hole for later arcs, etc.
It''s a relatively short arc, but has quite a bit of setup for later arcs, and other essential character stuff, thus me not wanting to rush making it.
Chapter 23: A Cursed Realization
POV: Vernisha
Of course, things weren¡¯t over yet. Far off, other massive green mutants wandered aimlessly. But they were deteriorating. Chunks of their flesh sloughed off like melting fat.
It wasn¡¯t happening fast enough. Ferzan¡¯s eyes fixed on the rampaging clones of my father¡ and probably my brother. I couldn¡¯t tell.
Then it struck me: I had to kill Ulah. My heart dropped like a stone. I¡ No, I didn¡¯t have the time to dwell on it. I couldn¡¯t afford to hate myself right now. No time to consciously wish I was dead.
I pushed myself to my feet. Ferzan noticed the tight grip I had on the knife in my hand. He spoke softly, offering advice, ¡°You should rest. The knights can handle it¡ they¡¯re suited for this.¡±
The armored knights, perched on their warbirds, had initially been struggling. The mutants¡¯ flesh was expanding and producing new clones with every blow. But now, it seemed to be working.
Still, there were so many of them.
Ferzan pulled out a small bottle filled with clear liquid and a roll of bandage. ¡°Your head¡¯s bleeding badly,¡± he noted.
He unscrewed the bottle and filled the cap with the liquid. ¡°I can¡¯t give you more healing elixir. This is gonna burn.¡±
He covered my eyes and poured the alcohol onto my forehead. The pain was excruciating, and I did my best to suppress a groan. I wanted to swat his hand away and heal myself.
He finished applying the liquid and started wrapping my head. I stood still as he dressed the wound, my eyes locked on the knights. Their speed was impressive. Their fancy swords, spears, and bows¡ªthey were like weapons of magic.
I turned to Ferzan. ¡°These knights¡ Why don¡¯t you have cool weapons like them?¡±
¡°Huh?¡± He looked up, following my gaze as one of the knights let loose an arrow from a gleaming golden bow. The arrow struck a fallen mutant clone that was struggling to rise. The neck of the mutant pulsed before it exploded.
Ferzan glanced at me. ¡°I do have ¡®fancy weapons.¡¯¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t use them. I just think of your monsters as the real wonders,¡± I replied, my voice flat, lifeless.
I was doing my best not to think about what I had just done. ¡°The knights compensate with their weapons, since they don¡¯t use monsters. Anyway, I¡¯m done.¡±
He finished wrapping my head. ¡°Thank you¡¡±
I turned toward the ruined doctor¡¯s office, a sudden thought flashing through my mind. _Natasha._
My body moved before I could stop it. Fear tingled down my spine as I wondered why, _why the hell_ had I only remembered her now?
Maybe because it was Natasha. Even back at the village attacked by the monsters, I hadn¡¯t been genuinely worried about her. I had believed in her ability to survive.
Back then, I wondered why. It felt like it was simply _because she was Natasha._ But what did that even mean?
It meant because Natasha was Natasha.
Ferzan ran alongside me, his voice cutting through my thoughts. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What did you see?¡±
¡°My¡ mother.¡± The word ¡°mother¡± came out before I even realized it. It wasn¡¯t just a random response¡ªit wasn¡¯t just something I said to blend in.
Ferzan¡¯s face shifted instantly, his expression darkening. He said nothing, but his grim face spoke volumes. She was gone.
We reached the collapsed doctor¡¯s office, and began removing the rubble. ¡°Mom!¡± I screamed, my voice raw with desperation.
I was stronger than before, thanks to killing Caren. Much stronger. I flipped chunks of concrete that must¡¯ve weighed over 200 pounds with relative ease.
Ferzan tossed aside pieces of debris that dwarfed mine. But it was still taking far too long.
I stared at my left hand, trying desperately to summon a monster. The damn snake¡ªsurely it had powerful senses. Damn the consequences if anyone found out.
But all that emerged were faint sparks of black from my seal.
Why¡?
¡°Why, why, why?!¡± I screamed in frustration. I knew the reason. I should¡¯ve known. But my emotions were clouding my mind, and I couldn¡¯t think straight¡
Who could blame me? I had never wanted to admit it. I had never wanted to accept that the parents in this world _were_ my parents. But my ¡°real¡± parents¡ªwell, I wasn¡¯t exactly close to them.
I had been closer to my father on Earth, but over time, as his work became busier, the less we communicated. As for my mother, her constant comparisons of me to other kids made me resent her, feelings I was rarely willing to admit.
But Natasha¡ªshe was different. She was odd, yes, but I felt appreciated. I felt love from her. And I hated that. I wasn¡¯t a child anymore¡ªI didn¡¯t need love from my parents. They were just¡ biological ¡®parents.¡¯
But no amount of convincing can fool your actual feelings.
Even after an hour had passed, and I was so exhausted that all I could do was gasp for air, I kept searching for her. I kept shouting¡ªkept pleading for her to answer.
Ferzan didn¡¯t stop either, but it was clear he was only doing it to support me. He didn¡¯t believe she could be found.
I gripped the edge of a rock and just... stayed there. Ferzan wiped sweat from his forehead and glanced at me. "You... think she probably escaped?"
"She wouldn''t leave me behind." I replied without turning to look at him.
My gaze dropped to my hands, and a deep hatred began to well up from the very core of my being.
What were these hands good for? What were these so-called ''healing'' powers worth? They only hurt people! They only made everything worse.
I exhaled sharply, straightening my back. I took in the destruction around me¡ªthe blood everywhere, the children crying in the streets, likely searching for their parents. The buildings, now nothing more than rubble...
And then I saw it. The last mutant¡¯s head exploded, a sniper''s shot cleanly taking it off. Green fumes spiraled from the barrel.
I killed my family. No. It wasn¡¯t just that. I turned half of my family into monsters, and then got them killed. And...
Ah...
I collapsed to my knees. Even the jagged rocks couldn¡¯t pierce my skin.
A thought struck me.
Cursed.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I was cursed. Cursed with powers that healed the enemies of intelligent life, yet killed intelligent life¡ªexcept for me.
The realization twisted in my gut, leaving me cold. Even when Ferzan approached and simply stood there, it didn¡¯t matter.
The world felt empty. Dark. Cold. And I was alone. I didn¡¯t deserve to live.
There was a sudden rumble, and when I looked to my side, an explosion rocked the ground.
"Damn it!" Ferzan muttered as rocks flew everywhere. I was thrown back, tumbling to the ground.
Then something slammed into my leg¡ªfast, hard. It didn¡¯t break, but it hurt. A lot.
I gritted my teeth and grabbed my leg, preparing to heal it. I didn¡¯t care. My hands glowed red, but the healing aura flickered.
It flickered. On, then off.
I couldn¡¯t believe it. Not again. I hated it. I hated these powers more than anything.
The intensity was the same, but it refused to obey me.
After all the progress I had made, this happened. I exhaled, loosening my grip.
Why did I care? I was cursed. This power was useless trash. If I¡¯d never had them, I could have been happy. This... none of this would have happened.
Ferzan came over. "You okay?"
"No."
I didn¡¯t want to think.
He helped me to my feet. I tried my best to stand on both legs, but the pain was too much, forcing me to limp.
"You have family back home?" he asked.
"No. I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t even see the point of going back. It¡¯s empty."
He grimaced, standing beside me in silence.
Time passed. Eventually, a tall woman with curly blonde hair approached us. A young girl walked beside her, scanning the surroundings as she followed the woman, who I assumed was her mother.
It was definitely Ferzan¡¯s sister. The red and blonde strands of her hair made that clear. The wind tossed her hair, the red half sometimes crossing over the blonde.
The woman spoke. "Ferzan."
"Mom."
She glanced at me before continuing. "I see... Are your injuries only external?"
"Yes."
Then she asked me, her tone softening. "Where are your parents, young child?"
It took a moment for me to respond. "Dead."
Ferzan walked over to her, and she spoke again, her voice a little louder. "Okay."
Ferzan walked over to her, and she spoke again, her voice a little louder. "Okay."
---
The ride on Ferzan¡¯s back was anything but steady. With so many chunks of concrete scattered across the ground, he had to leap over debris and keep moving.
I didn¡¯t complain. I kept my hands tight around his neck, not wanting to fall off, though I doubted it would hurt if I did.
The little girl was carried by her mother, her leaps far more graceful and confident than Ferzan¡¯s.
I tried to [inspect] her, but, as expected, I couldn¡¯t see her level. It was the same for Ferzan.
I often spotted green mutant giants, or the smaller ones lying motionless on the ground, lifeless. Knights and adventurers were methodically double-tapping their corpses, perhaps haunted by the creatures'' ability to duplicate.
Time seemed to slip away quickly. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it took for us to reach the city gates¡ªperhaps just a couple of hours.
I stared at the massive pile of decaying green mutants. All headless.
As we approached the gate, we encountered a lone knight stationed there, his armor stained with green blood.
Abella spoke first, her voice tinged with impatience. "I wish to leave."
The knight stood straight as a rod, offering an apologetic response. "We¡¯ve been ordered not to allow anyone to leave due to this incident until a proper investigation¡ª"
Abella cut him off. "Who am I?"
The man hesitated before asking, "I don¡¯t understand... what do you mean, Miss Abella?"
"Abella what?" she pressed.
The knight paused, his demeanor faltering, before muttering, "Starlight."
Abella Starlight? I blinked in surprise, my gaze lifting to take a better look at her. I had heard so many stories about her, but never imagined I would meet her in person.
She was famous for being fearless¡ªand something else I couldn¡¯t quite remember at that moment.
If I knew the reason behind her fearless reputation at the time, I would have fled right then.
"No..." the knight said, his voice softer now. "We know you¡¯re a... [hero], but it¡¯s an order we received. The command came from the Senate."
Abella¡¯s tone hardened. "Do yourself a favor and open the gate. My mother is outside, and I wish to get to her as soon as possible."
The knight sighed in resignation, muttering under his breath before knocking sharply on the gate several times.
The gate creaked open. Outside, knights stationed nearby seemed confused at first, but when they saw Abella and Ferzan, they straightened immediately, their postures rigid.
We stepped outside, and my eyes landed on a woman sitting on a stone. As soon as she spotted Abella and Ferzan, she leapt to her feet.
Like Abella, she wore a dress that blended yellow and white, her blonde hair and yellow eyes strikingly similar to her daughter¡¯s.
She flashed a wide, toothy grin, her perfect white teeth gleaming. "It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve seen my grandchild!"
She rushed forward and embraced Ferzan, squeezing him tightly. Up close, I could see her slender nose and deep red lips¡ªfeatures that made her look almost too young to be his grandmother. She could easily pass for just a few years older than Abella.
When she pulled back from the hug, she held Ferzan by the shoulders, smiling down at him. His head barely reached her nose, but what caught my attention was the monster seal emblazoned on her forehead. Abella¡¯s lack of a seal there surprised me¡ªit was part of Starlight tradition, after all. I assumed Ferzan didn¡¯t bear one either, as his identity seemed more aligned with the Starworth.
Ferzan managed a faint smile, but his exhaustion was evident.
The woman turned to Abella, her smile shifting into something more calculating. "Who¡¯s this child?" she asked, her gaze narrowing as she studied me. "Have you gone and adopted another one without consulting me?"
"No, mother. This is Ferzan¡¯s friend. She¡¯s injured, so we¡¯ll be administering some care."
"Ah... I see." She turned her focus back to me, her gaze lingering. "At least she¡¯s a Vlandos. A high-level one for her age."
I didn¡¯t understand why my Vlandos status was relevant in this context.
"Hello..." I murmured, my energy draining so low that speaking took effort.
"Don¡¯t bother, child." The woman¡¯s attention shifted to Ferzan¡¯s sister, who was staring at her with unreadable eyes.
The grandmother¡¯s smile faded a little, no longer as bright as the one she¡¯d shown Ferzan.
"Katie..." Her hand passed through her red hair in an absent motion.
Before she could ask another question, Katie spoke up. "I haven¡¯t gotten a monster seal. Granny."
The woman¡¯s hand twitched, a brief moment of surprise passing over her features. She nodded slowly, and the air between them grew tense.
Abella locked eyes with her mother, silent but clearly warning her with a single, piercing gaze.
The two maintained the hard stare for a long moment before the grandmother finally turned away, slipping her hands into her dress pockets. "We¡¯ll be heading to your home now."
After a brief pause, she added, "I brought a guest to test Ferzan, by the way."
"Who?" Abella asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Just a slave," the woman replied nonchalantly.
Suddenly, the air around me shifted, and a strange, glitching aura enveloped us. A flash of light, and then, we found ourselves standing on concrete tracks surrounded by neatly trimmed green grass. Flowers and trees dotted the landscape, creating an almost serene atmosphere.
I would later come to realize that it was a life buff¡ª[Teleportation].
Ahead of us stood a grand mansion, its walls painted in red, white, and gold. Large balconies stretched from the upper floors, and tall arched windows.
A wide stone path led to towering double doors. To the side, a shimmering pool reflected the sky, surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges and flower beds. Smaller houses were scattered across the grounds, and a row of garages stood nearby, their polished doors hinting at the wealth inside.
Then, I heard the sound of metal shifting behind me. Turning, I saw a well-dressed, armored Julioes man, his pink skin and white hair unmistakable. He wore an iron rectangular triangle hanging from his left ear, long as my finger. A slave.
"Bring the child to the nursing room," Abella instructed Ferzan.
He nodded and strode toward the large double doors. Outside, Punchios stood at attention, dressed in white tunics that draped far past their knees. The fabric swayed with every movement, high collars framing their necks, while long slits on either side revealed loose, silken trousers beneath.
The men didn''t wear head coverings. It was common sense¡ªthey had a different culture.
Anyway, they bowed and opened the doors for us. I was taken to one of the many rooms on the third floor, the sharp scent of cleaning alcohol hanging in the air. It looked like a medical ward.
I didn''t think much about it. I was exhausted.
Eventually, a gray-haired, wrinkled woman entered. She and Ferzan exchanged a few words.
Then, from her earlobe, with a flash of white light, emerged her monster¡ªa strange spider made entirely of silk, its legs tipped with small, curved claws.
The doctor smiled and asked me some questions. I barely remembered what I said. I was running on autopilot.
At some point, I was told to lie on the bed. So I did. I stared at the ceiling.
The spider crawled over me, skittering toward my wounds, sewing open cuts closed with its silk.
Then, it reached my head. I couldn''t suppress a shudder. The way its claws poked at my scalp¡ªit wasn¡¯t something I could get used to.
But then, something jolted me fully awake.
While her spider was still out, she summoned another monster. A massive, human-sized sphere of blue fire. But the flames were translucent, almost ghostly.
I stared. "How?"
The doctor raised an eyebrow. I clarified, "You have two monsters out at the same time."
"Oh¡ I''m a Vlandos doctor. I focused a lot on building my mind."
"It doesn¡¯t hurt?"
"Not one bit." Her gaze drifted toward her fire ghost. It floated down to my injured leg, its ghostly flames licking up to my knee.
The pain and discomfort began to fade.
Then, the doctor''s eyes landed on my clenched left hand.
She reached for it, perhaps thinking I was hiding an injury.
I immediately pulled away, pressing it tightly to my chest. "No."
"If it''s¡ª"
"It''s the earring of my now-dead mother."
"Oh." A pause. "Was it during the creature attack earlier today?"
I slowly nodded. "Yes."
"I see. I''m very sorry." She backed away.
It hurt to lie like this. To lie about Natasha. But if I didn¡¯t give a proper reason, she might force my hand open or mention it to the others.